"While I understand they do not have many other places to stay, I am unsure if my home can accommodate this many people." Unohana announced, a well-hidden frown on her face.
"I got this, I've been thinking about the arrangement the whole trip here." I pacified. Having known that night had already fallen in the Seireitei before I opened my Garganta, I had placed the exit inside my nurse's living room. "Starrk can sleep anywhere, so he can take the recliner in the living room, Lilynette usually uses him as a pillow, so she's set, Nel or Halibel can take the couch, and whoever doesn't take the couch can have the spare futon."
"And if Isane-chan has a nightmare?"
"Don't act like you don't enjoy having Isane join you. I know you do." A pout formed on the raven haired medic's face at being caught.
"Fine. But what of Shihoin-chan or Ashido-san?"
"Yoruichi uses me like a pillow, and as for Ashido, would you be able to sleep around arrancars if there's Shinigami around?"
"I'm not sure."
"What if one of those Shinigami was awake?" Unohana side-eyed me, with a look on her face that I was sadly familiar with. It was a look that meant she morally disagreed with what I was doing, but logically understood that it was for the best. While it wasn't a guarantee, it was highly likely that I would suffer a nightmare if I went to sleep, and we couldn't have that if we wanted Ashido and the arrancar to trust us. Not with how I woke up after those.
"Probably." The hollow slayer answered.
"Great. You're taking the last futon. I'll be keeping watch in a corner." I clapped my hands, and everyone went over to where I directed them. Halibel took the couch, Nel wanting to be in Unohana's bedroom where I was. Ashido had pulled his futon up to a wall, as far as possible from Nel. Luckily, the verdette was perfectly understanding of his avoidance of arrancar. I sat in my favorite corner, since it gave the best view of the sunrise from inside Unohana's home. Yoruichi curled in on my side, with my arm around her.
"It's not fair that you can be shirtless in the coldest of the three worlds and still be this warm." The mocha skinned beauty mumbled. I smiled.
"Are you complaining?" I whispered, as Nel was already asleep and Ashido was halfway there. He kept on waking himself up whenever Nel moved in her sleep, realizing it was just typical tossing and turning, and then shifting under the blanket to try sleeping again.
"No, it's just that you're making not jumping you difficult." I blinked, before a gentle smile made its way onto my face. Her head was tucked onto my chest, so she didn't see it. There were many things I wanted to say to that, but I had to wait. Partially because right now wasn't the time to say those things, but mostly because my head was getting in the way. I don't think I'll ever believe I'm deserving of them. Especially not if I've already failed them once before. Definitely not with the things I've done. They had kept on insisting, though, so I had eventually took to ignoring the voice of my doubts and insecurities. It was harder to now than ever before, both because it was louder than ever and I didn't have their reassurances to distract me.
I gently rubbed Yoruichi's shoulder and she snuggled deeper into my side, her breathing evening out and softening as she dozed off. I listened to it for a moment, checking that she was indeed asleep and not faking it like she had dozens of times before. Once I was sure, I shifted my gaze over to my nurse, who was sitting up, staring right back at me.
"Everyone else is asleep." I spoke quietly after a moment.
"Do you know where your friends from the human world are?" She questioned, easily keeping her voice soft. I raised an eyebrow, opening my mouth as I spread my reiatsu sense to confirm what I already knew.
"Chad's with Kyoraku, Uryu has pulled Nemu awa-" I stopped mid-sentence. I spread my reiatsu sense once more.
"They left the other day." The medic confirmed. "From what Isane-chan informed me, they wished to ask you to leave with them, or at least say their goodbyes in person. They could not find you, though, and so Ishida-san convinced them to leave, stating that you would return to the World of the Living in due time. At least, that's what I heard." I gaped in shock, utterly speechless. "In my time with you, I gathered you to be the type to keep a constant track of your friends."
"I-I am." I stuttered. She waved it off.
"It is fine, I have already understood what occurred, and I believe you simply haven't realized it yet. You are still living in a 'war'. You drink coffee, which you seem to dislike, but wakes you up quicker than tea, so you are more aware if an enemy attacks. You are constantly on guard, and give out orders as if expected to. And, most importantly, you don't watch for reiatsu of people you assume are dead." My eyes widened, and a chill flooded through my body that pierced all the way to my bones.
"I-I didn't realize…"
"As I said, it is fine. It's easy to understand why you put no thought to not sensing your friends, if they are still dead in your mind. There are other quirks I've caught, such as your focus on busying yourself." I gulped at that. Yeah, I didn't realize I was ignoring the signatures of my friends, but I was fully aware of the second thing she pointed out. I was doing it on purpose, after all. "The question is; why? I have some theories, the most believable being that you are trying to keep yourself from absorbing the situation." I didn't speak, which she caught.
"Correct me wherever I am wrong, then." The immature, rebellious part of me wanted to go against her. The rest of me, Zangetsu included, knew it was for the best if someone was helping me out. "You are trying to not allow yourself the time to think, to take in that those you have lost have returned. You recognize both that your task is of the utmost importance, and that if you take in that they are here once more, you would be distracted from that task. Furthermore, the busier you are, the easier it is to push your conscience to the side. You've taken many lives in the wars, but you haven't taken any of that in. If my deductive skills have not stagnated, someone recognized your heart, informed you of how devastated you would become upon taking your first life, and you chose to not acknowledge any of the lives you took because you couldn't put yourself out of commission when you are so needed." Swallowing the bile that had been steadily crawling up my throat, I nodded. My nurse's face softened, and she came close to rest her right hand against my left cheek.
"Ichigo," Her voice was gentle, calming my nerves and soothing my panic. "We have three years to prepare, and in three days you have already recruited an entire force of lieutentant-class and stronger allies, broke me out of my shell, and assisted two captains in learning to use their zanpakuto. You can come to terms with what you had to do. We'll have the time." Goddammit. Why did she have to be so good at telling me what I needed to hear? I struggled to not lean into her hand, but I eventually gave in. A sigh escaped my throat, and my eyes closed in some vain effort to keep the tears in.
"…I-I will. And soon. Just not yet. Let me at least get the ball rolling on everybody's training. Let me get everyone to a point where they know what to do. Then I'll do it." I opened my eyes, meeting her blue orbs. They were slightly downcast, but at the same time had a slight pleased gleam to them.
"For now, I will accept that. But if it takes too long, I will stop you." Another sigh left me, before my lips curled into a barely managed smile.
"Wouldn't expect anything less." Unohana returned to her bed, and lay down to sleep as I rolled my head to stare out the window to the night sky. The people sure betrayed the joyous feel it was claimed to have, but the sights definitely portrayed the Soul Society as the Heaven it was supposed to be. I engrossed myself in taking in the framed sight to pass the time, finding comfort from Yoruichi curled in on my side and Unohana being the epitome of elegance as she slept a few feet away. The only time I was ever dragged out of my reverie was when the goddess of flash pulled my arm to her chest in her sleep. The position was slightly uncomfortable, but the sight of the purple-haired woman's face in completely relaxed bliss more than made up for it. I couldn't say how long I watched her after that, but I stopped when the golden rays of the rising sun shined upon us. It was entirely because I knew what would've happened if I didn't look away that I forced myself. She was far too beautiful like that. Though it did allow me to think clearly enough to remember the new habit I wanted to form. Because there was no way in Hell that I was waking Yoruichi as she was, I carefully slipped my hand from her grip (the urge to return it was great when I saw her reaching out for it) and gently picked her up in a bridal carry. The sight of her curled up in my arms with her head against my chest as she slept was one of my favorites. I stood up silently, mentally thanking the werecat's stealth training.
I kneeled down next to Unohana, and I nearly had to ask Zangetsu for help in shaking her awake because it was not fair that she could be that breathtaking with her hair loose. Fortunately, she woke easily. Unfortunately, the half-lidded look she gave me with her hair draped around her as she leaned up halfway made my mind go blank.
"Yes?" She asked sleepily.
"uh."
'Sunrise.'
"Sunrise." Understanding filled her eyes as she nodded and sat up completely. I left the room as she changed. I swore I could hear her amused chuckle as I shut the door with my foot. As I silently traveled past the living room full of sleeping arrancar, Yoruichi's breath ghosted across my bare chest, sending goosebumps across my body. I mentally thanked the Soul King that no one around me was awake to see my reaction. I then mentally cussed, because I would need to hide that reaction before the First Kenpachi finished getting dressed.
I distracted myself by making breakfast, shifting Yoruichi to my left arm so I could cook. It was easy carrying her with one arm, as I was strong and she was light. It always fascinated me how she could hit like a freight train but still be as light as a feather. Shifting my focus from that topic, I started a pot of coffee, with a few extra cups thanks to Zangetsu reminding me of the preferences of the arrancar with me. I got the rice started, and then turned towards the eggs to see Unohana, with her back to me, in front of the stove and cracking the eggs into the pan. Her hair was still undone, she was wearing only a shihakusho, and a chill dancing down my spine told me it was all on purpose.
'Oi, King, take a closer look at the shihakusho.' Shiro's voice was filled with amusement, and thus I was filled with dread. I did as told, and I was sure she heard my resulting gulp. The top she was wearing was mine, and I could tell because it was incredibly oversized. The sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, the bottom reached her mid-thigh, and a sash was tied around her abdomen, clearly to display a figure we both knew she had. She glanced at me from over her right shoulder, and all of what she was doing should be illegal.
"I assume you are wondering how I found out?" That was not at all what I was wondering, but that was a good question. I nodded. "Like how I understood your habits, it became rather obvious once I had enough clues. For example, your refusal to inform either Shihoin-chan or I of who your first time was, your lack of answer upon my asking if you would have more than two partners, and your reaction from my compliment in our bath. What set it in stone for me was your reaction just now when you woke me."
"So…you…"
"Are aware that you, Shihoin-chan, and I were in a relationship in your time? Yes." A glint manifested in her eye that was halfway between mischievous and sadistic. "Will I be teasing you like this until that occurs again? Yes." Shiro started laughing.
Oh God no. When she turned around to grab some seasoning, I was stuck staring at the purposefully displayed cleavage until she faced the stove once again. She knew exactly what she just did, and I knew she was going to enjoy every second of it. Considering she was definitely aware that I intended to hold off until I allowed myself a break, this was going to be hell.
It was painful to continue cooking with her, mostly because we both knew I was too stubborn to stop helping her out with breakfast and she was taking full advantage. The definitive worst moment was when she climbed atop the counter to grab something overhead and showed off that my shihakusho was the only thing she was wearing. The Old Man was my only saving grace, helpfully reminding me that there were waking arrancar in the next room. Shiro was the opposite. He repeatedly reminded me that Yoruichi was in my arms and would more than happily join in on any 'fun' Unohana and I got into. It was difficult, and highly straining on my impulse control, but I held out long enough for Starrk to walk into the kitchen.
"What's that smell?" He asked. I sent a prayer of thankfulness to the Soul King, because while having company wouldn't deter the First Kenpachi in the slightest, it made it leagues easier to reign myself in.
"It's called breakfast." I answered the wolf Espada, who had a really weird first name considering. "It's a meal for waking up, to give you the energy to last the day. Or at least until lunch." The arrancar hummed in interest.
"We never had anything other than tea with Aizen."
"I'm aware. That's one of the reasons why you and the other arrancar are joining us." The raven haired medic squeezed my ass as she passed me, and it was infinitely easier to not smack hers in response as I continued talking to Starrk.
"Why are you holding that woman?" he asked, clearly having forgotten Yoruichi's name.
"I'm holding Yoruichi because she was sleeping on me, and I didn't want to wake her up."
"…Can I trade you for Lilynette?" I laughed, making to keep the volume down as the werecat mewled in my hold.
"Sorry, but no. You don't want that anyway, I'd wake you up if I saw you were sleeping during the day." A small whine crawled out of the brunet's throat.
"Why does no one let me sleep?" I waved off his complaint.
"Don't worry about it, the guys I'm gonna introduce you to today will let you sleep just about all you want."
"You promise?"
"Yep."
"Alright, I'll hold you to that."
"Fine by me. Care to help us bring out the food? We made enough for everyone." The man scratched the back of his head lazily before shrugging. I smiled widely and held out a plate for him to take. It took two trips with the three of us, and we set it all up in the living room since that's where the most people could comfortably sit. As I came out with the pot of coffee, Halibel sleepily sat up on the couch. It was funny, how ironic it was that the person who slept all day was wide awake and the woman who ran an entire realm was the opposite of a morning person. She wasn't attacking anyone, but she was glaring at everyone. That lasted until I pushed a cup of coffee in front of her, with milk and sugar in her preferred amounts already added. I nearly laughed out loud at the faces Starrk and Lilynette made upon seeing Halibel pull down her collar and open the gleaming jaws of her mask. There was an utterly satisfied sigh from the tanned woman after finishing her first sip.
"Since when could you do that?" The lime haired arrancar asked.
"Always."
"Why didn't you do that before now?"
"No reason to."
"Do the Tres Bestias know about it?"
"Yes, now quiet." The child arrancar squeaked before slapping a hand over her mouth. Starrk watched all of that, stunned beyond belief. I chuckled before shaking Yoruichi a little. She groaned and tried to press herself further into my chest, so I shook her a little more.
"Five more minutes." She pleaded.
"But then you'll miss breakfast." I prodded.
"I'll steal some from the 4th Division."
"I mean, you can, but the 4th Division doesn't have food made by me." She stopped moving for a moment, and I heard a sniff right before she snapped to face the food. Nearly instantly, she slid out of my hold and sat to my right, opposite Unohana. The medic was sitting on the couch to the right of Halibel, I was sitting at the head of the coffee table, and Yoruichi was to the left of Starrk and Lilynette on some chairs dragged over from the dining room.
"Drink at your leisure, but hold off on the eating until I get Nel and Ashido over here." I ordered as I stood. Entering the bedroom, I was greeted by a hilarious sight. Nel had a habit of clinging to people in her sleep, and she had somehow crawled across the room to lock her arms around Ashido's abdomen. Meanwhile, what nearly made me burst out laughing was how Ashido was awake, his arms pinned to his sides and the most helpless look on his face that was directed at me. I snickered, which caused his pleading look to shift to a glare, and I came over to help him. It was only slightly difficult to pry Nel off the hollow slayer, thanks in no small part to my hollow strength. Once the soul reaper was free, I slung the verdette over my shoulder, earning a look of bewilderment from Ashido. I silently waved for him to follow as I sauntered towards the living room. The man mutely did as I asked. Well, gestured. Without bothering to explain in any sense of the word, I dumped the former 3rd next to the soon-to-be Queen, startling everybody.
"Um-" Yoruichi started, only to be cut off by Nel spontaneously springing to life and grabbing some chopsticks.
"Nel only wakes up to food." I enlightened. "No, she wasn't faking being asleep. No, I don't understand it. Ashido, you can take the seat next to Unohana." I realized after the fact that I forgot to add a formality to Unohana's name. I didn't bother to correct myself. As Ashido sat where I last was, and I sat between Nel and Lilynette (the two had gotten into an eating contest, which I expected), I caught my nurse pouting at me. I knew she would pull some shit if I had sat next to her, it just so happened that an opportunity arose. That opportunity being that Ashido would be more comfortable sitting between Shinigami than he would sitting between arrancar.
"Nel only wakes up to food?" Yoruichi asked. I nodded as I sipped my coffee.
"Yup. Even if we got attacked, she would sleep right through it." My eyebrow twitched as a memory resurfaced. I heard Shiro cackle in my mind at the memory, and Ossan sigh. "I eventually learned that that doesn't limit itself to physical food. Just shouting out names will wake her up."
"I feel like there's a story behind that." The werecat prompted. Ashido looked thoroughly confused, but I was too irritated by the memory to tiptoe around him.
"We once got attacked in the middle of the night, in a camp in Hueco Mundo. We weren't in Las Noches, it was still Aizen's territory, so going in was suicide. It was a stealth squad full of Onmitsukido, with Nel and I acting as guides-slash-guardians. We were all asleep, and Aizen's arrancars came at us. He found out where we were because we only destroyed the sensors around us, he just had some lackeys target the dead zone. My tent was the one that got blasted, they probably recognized me as the strongest and tried to take me out before I could do some damage. They failed, obviously. Anyway, I'm pissed as shit, smoking and with nothing but my hakama having survived the cero assault. Onmitsukido are running around, tents have blasted away from the air pressure, and I see Nel dead asleep on a sheet, holding her zanpakuto like a stuffed bear. Next to nothing the Onmitsukido are using even scratch the arrancar around us, I know that Nel doesn't wake up unless there's food involved, and I'm not thinking straight, so I scream at the top of my lungs 'OMELETS' and she jumps to her feet, drool coming out of her mouth, and asking where the hell the food is. She got her bearings pretty quick, though, and we defeated all the arrancar, so I think I can go back to sleep, only for her to turn to me and ask 'I thought there were omelets'?" Everyone around me was laughing by the time I was done with my story. Ashido was still thoroughly confused, but he was also still entertained. Nel's laughter was far more nervous, but that was drowned out by both Lilynette and Yoruichi pounding the table as they howled. Unohana was giggling behind a hand, and while Halibel's laughter wasn't audible, I could see it on her face. Starrk was chuckling.
"What probably pisses me off the most about that is that the Shinigami started calling it 'Assault on Camp Omelet'. I gave up threatening people to stop calling it that when Kyoraku called it that during a captain's meeting." The laughter doubled. "I nearly fucking stabbed Renji when he ran into a fight, screaming 'OMELETS' as a battle-cry." I distinctly heard Yoruichi wheeze. "The only reason I didn't was because about three dozen Shinigami followed him, screaming the same thing." An amused chuckle escaped Halibel, as Nel clutched her sides and Starrk bellowed out in laughter.
"You have more tales such as that, don't you?" Unohana teased. I raised an eyebrow before something rose to the forefront of my mind and I slapped my barely-used chopsticks against the coffee table.
"You're goddamn right I do! Any of you interested in hearing about how Yoruichi here got into a water balloon fight with Halibel?" The werecat's head shot up in clear interest as the blonde woman tilted her head.
"YES!" The goddess of flash eagerly shouted.
"Great! So…"
"…and that's how Gin got Grimmjow to blow up Las Noches in a prank war." I finished, to everyone's great amusement. Ashido was still as lost as a puppy, but he was laughing along with everybody else. Unohana and I had cleaned up everything at some point, and everyone had followed us into the kitchen to continue listening to my stories throughout. It was kinda adorable, as well as disorienting telling people about stories that my mind kept telling me they're aware of. Sadly, all the talking caused us to miss the sunrise, but it's not as if we'll always miss it.
"Your stories tell of a much happier time than you described the wars to be." Halibel questioned, one of her eyebrows raised. I blinked at the sudden question, thinking on it for a moment as I realized it had merit. Although I wanted the good mood everyone was in to stay, I knew things had to get serious sooner or later, so I sighed before responding.
"Aizen was a manipulative genius that had planned out the Winter War over a hundred years in advance, but he was arrogant, and underestimated the capabilities of many people because he thought that no one would ever be able to stack up against him. Multiple times throughout the Winter War, we nearly won thanks to Aizen's overconfidence. So yeah, while the intensity of a war was still there, it was kinda dulled down because we were aware he was constantly thinking less of us." My eyes narrowed, and my tone steeled. "But the Blood War was different. The enemy organized it for almost 1,000 years, they studied all potential enemies with scrutiny, they made technology to suppress our strength just in case we proved too much, made sure they constantly outnumbered us, and had countless back-up plans in case shit went sideways for them despite them never believing that it would. Like Aizen, their leader was overconfident in his abilities, but he didn't underestimate us like Aizen had. If it so much as took longer than expected for us to lose, the leader would have his elite soldiers leave the battlefield under the assumption we were planning something. He had a list of people for his soldiers to look out for, people to either take extreme precaution against or avoid entirely. He would order specific soldiers to take on specific Shinigami, ones that would either have or make a clear advantage. He never broadcasted his abilities to us, he wouldn't take the chance that we could somehow plan around them." I felt a pulse from Shiro, and I realized I was shifting away from the original question. I shook my head to straighten my thoughts. "In short, The Winter War sounded lax because it was, for the most part. But the Blood War was one of the worst throughout the entire history of the Soul Society."
Everyone was staring at me, and a heavy atmosphere now hung over the room. I sighed again.
"Sorry for ruining the mood, I promise that won't be a regular thing. We have some stuff to do anyway, so are all of you ready?"
"Give me a moment." Unohana announced as she stood, going to her room to get modest.
"…You mentioned that one of the wars left everything destroyed. That was no exaggeration, was it?" Halibel asked somberly.
"It wasn't." I confirmed. "Everything is gone where I came from. I'm not letting that happen again. I can't match the amount of time the Quincy had to prepare, but I can make up for that with sheer information. I may not know how to counter everything they've got yet, but I do know what to counter."
"Can you best nearly 1,000 years of preparation with three? Even with your vast knowledge, wouldn't such an endeavor be impossible?"
"I hope it is." I answered, to everyone's apparent shock. "Because I'm damn good at doing the impossible." I caught the widening of Halibel and Starrk's eyes, as well as the proud gleam that appeared in Yoruichi's. Unohana came out fully dressed a few moments later, and I knew more of her cleavage was shown on purpose.
"Alright, one more time: everybody ready?" Everyone except the blonde arrancar nodded.
"You haven't specified what we are to be ready for." She pointed out.
"We're gonna introduce you to the captains." I explained. The soon-to-be Queen raised an eyebrow.
"And how are we going to get to them without being attacked?" I snorted.
"I forgot, you don't know me all that well yet. I don't do 'subtle'." I opened the front door and walked out, waving for them to follow. "Come on. We're gonna take a stroll through main street. Ashido, you stay in the 4th Division to recover." A lot of Shinigami glanced at me before shifting their gazes away, clearly afraid of me. I mentally noted what I was about to do was not going to fix that in the slightest. I sensed my group file out of Unohana's home and speed up to walk behind me. The hall was almost emptied out at the sight of the Espada behind me, everyone clearly gathering what they were.
"Oh, Kami, the rumors were true!" One random Shinigami screamed. I chuckled at that in unison with Shiro.
"They're running away." Lilynette announced.
"It's gonna take some time for them to stop being afraid of you guys." I soothed. "Few, if any, of the Shinigami here have even seen an arrancar. Most are just going off stories and legends. Once they see Starrk sleep everywhere and Halibel play chess with Ukitake or Kyoraku, they'll start calming down. Grimmjow is not gonna be allowed here until then." The lime haired arrancar giggled.
"So we're just gonna walk over to the captains in broad daylight." Starrk drawled.
"Yup." I confirmed. "More specifically, we're going over to the Head Captain, where we'll arrange a captains meeting."
"At least we don't have to run around everywhere." Going outside the 4th barely made a difference. At least until Rukia popped out of nowhere to kick me in the face. I blocked it with my hand, and was only startled out of any bad reaction by noticing she had attempted to kick me with her right leg that had not been removed in this timeline. The adopted Kuchiki in the meantime fell to the ground while clutching her foot.
"Stupid rock-hard Strawberry!" she cussed to herself. She was wearing a Shinigami uniform, but seeing as her zanpakuto was not at her side, I understood that her powers were still coming back.
"Did you forget that I have Hierro?" I asked, saving face by putting a smirk on my face.
"I still don't know what that is!" I blinked. That was a good point.
"It's a defensive ability that hardens my skin, from my hollow side. Blut Vene strengthens the defensive properties of my veins, from my Quincy side."
"Thank you for telling me this after I kick you! Twice!" She sarcastically shouted.
"You're welcome. Why did you kick me?"
"Because you're a stupid Strawberry that's walking around with arrancar in the middle of the Seireitei!"
"So what, ya damn Midget? None of them are attacking, and we're going to Yamamoto to strike a deal!"
"How is anyone supposed to know that beforehand, you oversized oaf?! What if some of the Shinigami try to attack?"
"Then I'll stop them! They're currently afraid of me, they'll cut the crap if I tell them to!"
"It doesn't solve the problem if you tell them after the fact!"
"Is this the one you play fight with?" Nel asked. Both Rukia and I turned to the verdette.
"YES!" We shouted in unison before returning to our 'argument'. That argument lasted until we reached Yamamoto's office, and Rukia only realized where we were when I knocked. She immediately shut up upon locating the double doors with a giant 1 emblazoned on.
"Enter." Well, Yamamoto already sounded annoyed. I opened the doors and walked in with my group following behind, Rukia much meeker than she had been seconds ago. "I could hear you two arguing the moment you entered the 1st Division." The aged captain growled.
"That wasn't arguing." I corrected. "We were playing. Onto more important matters, I'm gonna need you to call a captain's meeting."
"For what reason?" I jabbed a thumb at the Espada behind me.
"To introduce everyone." The Head Captain stared at them for a moment before holding his forehead in his right palm and sighing heavily.
"Sasakibe." He ordered, and the lieutenant sent out a dozen Hell Butterflies. The bearded captain grabbed his cane and stood before coming toward us.
"How did I deal with you last time?" I heard Yamamoto sigh.
"Last time I wasn't anywhere near as powerful, useful, or brazen until really late into the second war. It was easy for you to order around a teenager that you could knock out with a flick. An adult that's stronger than you, knows it, and is overall extremely useful to you is significantly harder to deal with, I imagine." His eye twitched.
"Wonderful." He grumbled. I smirked, and glanced back to see a white-faced Rukia who looked like I just slapped Death across the face.
"Y-you just…ordered the Head Captain…"
"Yup."
"A-and said…you were stronger than him…"
"Yup."
"A-are…you trying to get killed…?" I sighed as my smirk dropped.
"Since you keep forgetting: I'm not the Ichigo that thought he could take on Byakuya because he unlocked Shikai. I'm the Ichigo that beat the guy that killed the Soul King." My best-friend's eyes widened. "Don't let that confuse you, though. I'm still the Ichigo that would invade a world full of people stronger than me to rescue my friend. I'm still the Ichigo that will never let you live down being unable to open a juice box." My smile returned, and I followed after Yamamoto. "And I'm still the Ichigo that will forever be grateful for you coming into my life." Unohana and Yoruichi were at my sides instantly.
"Y'know, I'm starting to think Rukia was part of your first time~." The werecat teased. Unohana giggled behind her hand as I barked out a laugh.
"Nah, Rukia's one of my best-friends. Besides, she's got Renji."
"Furthermore, you can stop asking him, Yoruichi-chan." My nurse pacified.
"Oh? Why not?"
"Well, let's just say I solved the puzzle." An excited glint appeared in the goddess of flash's eyes as a lump of dread formed in my throat. It was going to be hell dealing with one, please, Kami, don't have them both teasing me with all they had at the same time!
"Who is it? Tell me! Please?" Unohana pressed herself up to my side and Yoruichi mirrored her, clearly expecting an answer from the medic.
"Oh my, I never said you could stop guessing, but I can narrow it down for you if you wish." The purple haired goddess's eyes were practically shining, and I gulped as I realized no one behind me could tell what was going on and Yamamoto in front of me wasn't paying attention to us at all.
"Oh, a hint!" I nearly choked as Unohana palmed my crotch without any warning. Shiro, the demon he was, kept my reiatsu level so no one could get suspicious. Betrayal filled my veins as Ossan took control of my body to keep me walking smoothly.
"I'm one of his two partners~." The First Kenpachi purred. Yoruichi extruded a gleeful aura, and a mischievous chuckle bubbled out of her throat.
"Oh ho ho ho, now this is interesting~!" Kami, why have you forsaken me? Is it because I time traveled? I'm not sorry, but this is too cruel a punishment. The raven haired medic leaned up to whisper in my ear.
"It feels so much better than it looks, by the way~." Were it not for Ossan being in control of my body, my head would be smoking and Unohana would be enjoying herself far more. To my great relief, the two women separated from my sides. To my great horror, they huddled together to whisper with each other.
'I can get Shiro, but you too, Old Man?'
'You made the decision to wait on your own. Unohana and Yoruichi cared for you more than anyone else throughout the wars, and made you happier than even Mother.'
'I have been abandoned by my zanpakuto. I HAVE BETRAYED MYSELF.'
'Yep.'
'Indeed.' I shoved myself back in control and folded my arms over my chest as I pouted.
"What's with the pout?" Rukia asked, having joined my side at some point.
"My zanpakuto just abandoned me. They don't agree with some of my decisions."
"Ah. I can sympathize."
"Oh, shut up, damn Midget!" A smug smirk grew on her face.
"Make me, Strawberry!"
"Oh, I fucking will. Come over here!" She stuck her tongue out as she retreated out of my reach. I followed her, and we ran circles around the group as we shouted automated insults at each other. Before Yamamoto could get irritated enough to try to burn me, I snapped forward to catch the midget by the back of her shihakusho. We were in front of the doors to the meeting hall, and everyone was present except Zaraki, including Gin. I blinked and dropped Rukia on her ass, hearing her immediate complaints as I walked over to the snake. He noticed almost immediately, and directed his smile at me.
"Hiya."
"Hey. Before you say anything, I want to apologize." The man tilted his head in confusion. "I took your opportunity from you. Didn't give you the chance to give Aizen what he deserves."
"Guess ya really are from the future, ain'cha?"
"Outside of the fact that I had my own axe to grind with Aizen, I took it from you because when you tried, you failed. You got Aizen in the heart with your Bankai, set off the poison, and watched a hole appear in his chest. The problem is that he regenerated, and killed you for it." The snake's grin fell, and he opened his eyes.
"Yer sayin' all o' what I did was for nuthin'?"
"No. I'm saying he had a magic bullshit rock, and you don't have to deal with that anymore. You didn't betray the Soul Society in this timeline. Rangiku doesn't hate you anymore. So after this meeting, if you really want to fulfill your promise to her, take her out on a date." The man stared at me for a long moment, his eyes open the whole time. Then he closed them, and gave me a genuine smile.
"I see, then. Thanks." I returned his smile before going back to my group.
"What did you two talk about?" Yoruichi asked.
"For his own reasons, Gin probably wanted Aizen dead more than even the Vizard did. I apologized to him for not giving him the opportunity to kill the man himself." The werecat's eyebrows rose in shock and disbelief.
"Okay." Zaraki slid into the hall, Yachiru giggling on his shoulder.
"Oi, Yachiru!" The current Kenpachi growled to his zanpakuto spirit. "You said we would be here ten minutes ago!"
"Then I thought I smelled some candy, and so I had you go to the candy, but there wasn't candy!"
"Don't lie to me! We passed the Squad 11 barracks three times!"
"But I did smell candy, Kenny! Every time we came to where I thought the candy was, it turned out to be somewhere else!"
"Eh?! How's that work out?!"
"Don't ask me, Kenny! I don't know!"
"Fine! We're here now, we'll worry about the disappearing candy later."
"But I want candy now!"
"Then go to Ukitake! He always gives ya candy, doesn't he?!"
"Thanks, Kenny!" The pink haired spirit shouted as she bounced over to her second favorite captain, who already had a small bag of treats in his hand. The meeting doors opened after the girl returned to her wielder, and everyone entered. The arrancar stayed behind me as Yoruichi leapt over to Byakuya.
"Everyone is here. Begin, Kurosaki." Yamamoto gruffly ordered. I withheld my smirk, gesturing to the group behind me.
"Alright, getting this out of the way, these are some of the arrancar I recruited from Hueco Mundo. There's a few more, but they wished to stay. They are going to be our allies, and will report directly to me until they are treated as equals. Kurotsuchi, I will tell you once and once only, touch a hair on any of their heads without explicit permission and I will personally destroy your lab, everything in it, and all of your back-ups." The clown snarled, but nodded. "Alright, you can introduce yourselves." As expected, Halibel came up first.
"I am Tier Halibel, the 3rd Espada."
"Hm, the name's Coyote Starrk. 1st Espada. This is Lilynette, she's my fraccion."
"Hi! I'm Nelliel Tu Odelschvank, the former 3rd Espada! Nice to meet you all!" The captains each introduced themselves, and I continued.
"Okay, I understand that was a little rushed, but now we're moving onto the important stuff." I stepped forward a little, and Zangetsu manifested behind me. I sensed the arrancar take a step back to give us more room. "Since coming here, my zanpakuto and I have spent every minute we had planning. I personally am not the best at it, but Ossan here makes up for that by being a master tactician. We are still not done planning, but we have a good idea and a solid start. In this meeting, we are going to set that plan in motion. So if you want to win this upcoming war, listen up, because this is Step One."