Uryu Ishida's face was kept in a firm frown as he dressed himself. It has been…quite a while since he lost his Quincy powers, and he has been stuck in a rather difficult situation because of it. His father has confirmed that he knows a method to help Uryu regain his abilities, but refuses to inform him of what that method is without good reason. Try as he might, he has yet to figure out a way to explain Ichigo's time traveling and warnings of the Wandenreich in a way that Ryuken will actually believe. Granted, he's gotten his father to be incredibly suspicious about how he even knows of the existence of the Wandenreich, since the silver-haired man certainly wasn't the one to tell him about them. But as soon as the older Quincy inquires about how he came to have the information, Uryu meets the brick wall of trying to explain his 15-year-old classmate is actually a 26-year-old war veteran. Infuriatingly, no matter how unwavering Uryu is in trying to make his father accept the truth, he finds Ryuken is equally as determined to think he's covering for something.
Combining a white shirt with a five-pointed sapphire cross on it with a pair of comfortable black pants and smart black dress shoes, the Last Quincy stewed in his thoughts as he journeyed out of his room towards the dining room. It was a Saturday, therefore he didn't have school, his father was only on-call for the hospital, and he likely had all day to come up with a sufficient argument that would get his father to finally agree to help him regain his Quincy powers. Going down the stairs and down a couple halls, he reached out to open the door to the dining hall and stepped inside, his eyes already going towards the head of the table where his father most always sat.
The currently powerless Quincy found that his hunting gaze was distracted by a black cloak that rippled in the wind. Wind that was not present inside an enclosed room deep within a well-furnished mansion. The one wearing the cloak which defied physics was tall and broad, a wide pillar of dark that contrasted highly with the light colors of the dining room and the warm sunlight filtering through the windows. Despite standing quietly and politely, their presence demanded attention, an aura of maturity and strength emanating from them that was akin to the warm blanket of protection Ichigo's reiatsu projected. At the neck of the cloak, a large white upturned collar rippled out, jagged and swaying of its own accord. The only visible part of the figure was their face, that of a man similar in age to Ryuken with a light stubble on his face. His unruly brown hair was indiscernible in length due to its nature of unceasingly swaying about, and his eye color was largely difficult to decipher beyond being dark due to being behind a pair of orange sunglasses. The man stood next to the table, the opposite side that Uryu was, and staring silently at his father. In contrast to how Uryu has ever seen him, the silver-haired man was holding a ceramic mug with such tightness that he seemed to be struggling to not shatter it in his grip as he glared at the cloaked figure. He was sitting exactly where Uryu had figured he would be, but his plate of food was untouched.
"My son is here, now." Ryuken growled. "What do you need to discuss that demands his presence?"
'Gee, thanks Father.' The Last Quincy immediately mentally groused. 'I love not being warned in advance that there's an intruder with unknown intentions who is seeking my presence.'
"Why have you not assisted Uryu with regaining his Quincy powers?"
"I'm obligated to help him undo the consequences of his own actions? He knew what he was getting into. If he's so unhappy over losing his powers, he should have either not taken off the Sanrei Glove or not put it on in the first place."
"His act of removing the Sanrei Glove was in response to combatting the Shinigami who performed inhumane experimentation upon other Quincies, including your father Souken. I am aware you hold no pride in being a Quincy yourself, but surely you can understand the desire to enact revenge upon a highly deserving monster." Uryu's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
'How does he know that I took off the Sanrei Glove against Kurotsuchi? Or that Father doesn't like Quincies?'
"It makes no difference to me why Uryu decided to make the decision that would result in his losing his powers. He knew that would be the result, he has to live with the consequences." The sunglass-wearing man narrowed his eyes.
"I can't imagine that Uryu has not informed you that the Wandenreich are preparing for war in accordance with the Sealed King's prophecy. You are aware that it is not false, yet you possess no desire to assist in fighting against Yhwach?"
'He also knows about the Wandenreich? Who is this person? He seems oddly enthusiastic about me getting my powers back…'
"The Shinigami surely have it covered, my son and I have no reason to intervene."
"I warn you now, your son will be forced to get involved regardless of your intentions. The Wandenreich will seek to recruit him."
"And you're so sure of this how?"
"Are…you Ossan?" The teen pieced together.
"I am."
"Your name is 'Old Man?'" As stoic as he was, even Ryuken had to question such an oddity. Relief filled the powerless Quincy as he let a sigh escape his body.
"That is the nickname given to me by my wielder, Kurosaki Ichigo. I am one half of his zanpakuto, Zangetsu."
"Ah, the famous Kurosaki Ichigo." The silver-haired man sneered. "The supposed time-traveler."
"While I understand that the explanation of time travel is a difficult one to accept, has Uryu not provided enough information to prove it indisputable?"
"I find it more reasonable for my son to have broken into my office and read through my notebook that describes the history of the Quincy."
'Father has a what?!' He couldn't help but be startled by the information.
"I trust that he would be intelligent enough to pick up that Katagiri's untimely death lines up with the Sealed King's prophecy, and lose his head trying to come up with a counterplan."
"Therefore you have no interest in assisting him with regaining his powers when you hold the belief that it would only incite him to attack Yhwach."
"Correct."
"Delving into your reasoning, you would rather he not attempt to clash with Yhwach due to the Quincy King being far too powerful and possessing of abilities that would render counterstrategies moot."
"Considering you know so much, I cannot fathom why you would be of any other point of view." The silver-haired man snarked.
"It is bold of you to claim it is useless to attempt to defeat Yhwach when you have an arrowhead made of still silver." For the first time in his life, Uryu witnessed his father visibly appear caught off guard, the older man sitting straighter in his seat and delivering a harsh glare to the spirit.
"And you're aware of this hypothetical object how?" He prompted threateningly.
"You successfully struck Yhwach with it, notably as an act of vengeance for him having murdered your son. Unfortunately, by the time this occurred, Yhwach had consumed so much power that rather than it destroying his powers entirely, it merely stalled him for a brief moment."
"I don't know why I imagined that you would not support my son's claims of time travel, perhaps I had believed that one of you was actually sane."
"For someone so generally logical, you seem particularly disregarding of such mounting evidence."
"Every piece of 'evidence' you've given to me is coincidental at best and none of it is something that is impossible to know without such nonsensical means like time travel." The man slowly relaxed as he talked, easing his grip on his mug.
"So you claim, yet you were so perturbed just a moment ago that I knew of your still silver arrowhead."
"You managed to get into my house without alerting anyone, it's reasonable that my dining room may not have been your first stop." He reasoned.
"There are some who would be shocked by this information, but just because we are from the future does not mean that we know of everything between the moment we came back and the moment we left. We are only aware of your arrowhead due to witnessing you use it. I know not of where you hide it, nor, obviously, of the method you used to assist Uryu with regaining his powers." The spirit explained. "However, I warn you now: what we are aware of is that Uryu will be a part of the upcoming war. His dormant abilities are something Yhwach seeks to claim for himself, and the Quincy King will stop at nothing to acquire them. If you do not assist your son with his powers, Yhwach will provide them for him, and we both know what the result of that would be." The older Quincy tested his jaw as he considered a response.
"…Are you implying that Uryu would accept Yhwach's offer?"
"You have already displayed your awareness that he is likely to attempt to plot against the Quincy King. Do you not think he would acknowledge he could not defeat Yhwach in a straightforward battle, and instead seek to gain his trust so that he might stab him in the back?" Once more, Ryuken's fingers tightened on his mug, while Uryu shyly looked to the ground, as that described his mindset to a T.
"I will accept that you make a good point, but that does not mean I am suddenly going to bow my head and follow your instructions. Regardless of my being a Quincy, I have my pride."
"In the face of that, you're still going to stand by your decision?!" The raven-haired teen balked.
"What are your terms?" Ossan asked, aware of the meaning behind the silver-haired man's particular phrasing.
"What were they in this 'previous timeline' you supposedly hail from?"
"To cease any and all interactions with Shinigami henceforth, however, the circumstances were different."
"In what way?"
"Originally, there was no overbearing threat hanging over your heads. There were arrancar, as well as Aizen, but the latter was entirely separate and the former largely did not antagonize Quincy. For all intents and purposes, Uryu simply wanted to possess Quincy powers at the time that he requested your assistance."
"Then, my terms are that I will only assist my son in regaining his powers. I will not assist in any way for his training, I will not be asked for advice, and none of my Quincy equipment may be used. As soon as he displays that his abilities have returned, I will have absolutely no part in this."
"We accept your terms." Ryuken's eye twitched, Uryu taking that as a sign that the man didn't expect the spirit to agree so readily. However, the deal had already been made, and it was against the man's pride to adjust the terms after they had already been decided.
"Then, seeing as we have today off, we will begin once breakfast is finished." He instead announced. The sunglass-wearing manifestation nodded in acceptance.
"May I seat myself?" Ossan asked politely.
"You may." The older Quincy hummed easily. Stepping forward, a pair of arms pulled out from the perpetually flowing darkness of the spirit's coat and slid out one of the chairs. He then gracefully lowered himself onto the seat and inched the chair forward. "Would you like some tea?"
"I would be grateful." Not needing to be ordered, one of the maids standing along the walls came forward and poured the zanpakuto a cup of tea. "It is much appreciated." The brunet bowed his head. Trying to regain his bearings, Uryu joined the two at the table, his own plate being placed in front of him.
"I can't believe it only took you one conversation to get him to finally agree to helping me, thank you, Ossan."
"You are very welcome, Uryu. As a close friend of Ichigo's, even if the Blood War were not hanging over our heads, I would not hesitate to help you wherever I am able."
"I am truly grateful for it." The teen flashed a gentle smile before turning serious. "I hope you don't mind if I take advantage of that now."
"You must have questions, then. I cannot guarantee that I will answer them all, but do not refrain from asking."
"You mentioned Yhwach wants my 'dormant abilities'. What did you mean by that?"
"First and foremost, one of the most pivotal reasons why Yhwach is such a dangerous threat is that he possesses the ability to give his power to others. What so many are blind to due to that, is the price for him giving his power to others is that, eventually, that power returns back to him. He delivers a portion of his soul to you, then, upon your death, he reclaims that portion, along with all of the power, knowledge, and skill you've accumulated." The spirit informed. "Secondly, he is able to perceive latent capabilities within others, and use his ability to bestow power to name those capabilities and forcefully awaken them. I will not tell you what your latent power is, but it is powerful enough that Yhwach hungers for it."
"I imagine, then, that part of my training will consist of activating those latent powers of mine."
"It will consist of attempting to." Uryu's eyebrows furrowed at the confusing statement, while Ryuken raised one of his own in idle curiosity. "We have only witnessed Quincies possessing unique powers through Schrifts engraved onto them from Yhwach. We are aware he is only able to name that which already had the potential to be, but we are not aware of any other methods for Quincy to activate their unique abilities than via Yhwach's blood. Thus, once your powers have reawakened, we will be trying out various methods to try drawing out your latent capabilities."
"His ability to forcefully awaken powers stems from his ability to give out power, what if we got the help of someone else who can also give out their power?" The teen tried to help.
"The only other we are aware of who possesses the ability to give others portions of their power is Jugram Haschwalth. Haschwalth is the Grandmaster of the Sternritter and right hand of Yhwach."
"…Oh."
Thankfully, Kukaku hadn't moved the Shiba House in the time since we went over to stop Rukia's execution, so we didn't need to go looking for it. Yoruichi and Unohana were with me, the werecat having laughed herself silly at the thought of me presenting them to Kukaku like I was introducing girlfriends. As soon as we stepped past the archway, which currently was still a pair of arms, Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko stormed through the front doors.
"Yoruichi-sama, Unohana-taicho, Kurosaki-san! Greetings!" They shouted in perfect tandem.
"You get -sama and I just get -san?" I muttered jokingly. "No respect for a two-time war hero, huh?" Yoruichi's bark of laughter sounded next to me, before she pat me on the back.
"Aww, is the god-killer feeling underappreciated?" She teased, a fanged grin upon her face.
"Well, obviously¸ being paid more than a Captain and having most of the Gotei willing to do anything I order them to isn't enough." I smirked back. "People are still using -san for me for Christ's sake! Anything less than -sama is just insulting!" Both of the women giggled.
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Ichigo-sama~." Unohana breathed sultrily. A pleasant shiver went up my spine at the sound.
"I'm gonna love going to bed tonight." Came out under my breath, before a smile rose to my own face. "Koganehiko, Shiroganehiko, we're just here to say hi to Kukaku! I promised her a few weeks ago that I would share a drink with her, and I'd rather not test her patience any more than I already have."
"Yes, Yes!" The one with the yellow top, I honestly was never able to figure out which was which, nodded his head vigorously. The other one, with the white shirt, bolted inside. "Kukaku-sama has been waiting eagerly for your arrival! Please, follow me!"
"Sure." The three of us stepped inside after him, following him down a couple halls until he stopped us at a set of sliding doors, the smell of smoke emanating from within. He bowed at the waist before us.
"Kukaku-sama is just beyond these doors. I will join my brother Shiroganehiko in preparing a feast for all of you!" He declared before rushing off at a breakneck pace.
"Their enthusiasm is nice." I smiled wistfully.
"It is." The Goddess of Flash agreed with a similar tone. Without wasting anymore time, because the Head of the Shiba Clan was likely to throw something at us if we did, Yoruichi and I pulled open the doors.
"Finally got here, did ya?" The firework master called immediately. "Thought I'd have to send Ganju to bring you over." One of my eyebrows raised as we all stepped inside.
"You thought that would work?"
"He got you in here the first time, didn't he?" She smirked back.
"No, he fought me in here after Yoruichi brought us here." I corrected. The one-armed woman waved for us to take the cushions in front of her, which we all wordlessly accepted. "Especially now, if you think Ganju can successfully hog-tie me and drag me to the Shiba Compound, you're gonna end up surprised."
"Eh, I don't have to worry about it anymore, anyway." Kukaku shrugged before taking a puff of her pipe. "So, I hear you finally realized you've got Shiba blood in ya."
"Not that I don't think you haven't figured it out by yourself, but my dad is Isshin." I announced. She nodded in response.
"Yeah, everyone else had written him off, but I had this feeling that he hadn't been done in just yet. Nice to know he settled down. He did settle down, yeah?" Her left eyebrow raised in a demanding curiosity.
"He did." I smiled back. "I'm the oldest of three, got two twin sisters that are both eleven right now. My mom unfortunately died from a hollow attack almost ten years ago, longer story than you'd think." A frown marred her face at the information.
"How'd he take that?" She worried.
"The 'how' sounds like bullshit, but we all managed to get our goodbyes in." I soothed. "She lives on in our hearts." The Head of the Shiba Clan nodded in approval.
"Just how Kaien would want it." Was her soft hum. The woman continued before a somber atmosphere could even form. "So are you gonna be the only one stopping by, or do I get to meet these apparent nieces of mine?"
"I got no problem with connecting the family, but I'll leave it up to you whether you wanna come down to the World of the Living or have them come up to the Soul Society. Kisuke's got a matter-to-reishi converter as well as unused gigais, we've got the means either way."
"Having an excuse to go to the World of the Living sounds nice." Another puff of smoke. "I could check out if they've got some fireworks I can take inspiration from."
"We'll make sure to arrange for you to come down for a festival. It'll be fun to see how you top their displays." A wide grin ripped across the one-armed woman's face.
"Good to see you already know!" A quick cackle erupted from her. "Someone dumber would phrase that as a question!" Yoruichi and I laughed along with her, Unohana just sitting to the side with a pleasant smile on her face.
"You're the Fireworks Master for a reason, Kukaku-chan!" The werecat giggled. "If mere humans could make a better fireworks display, then something isn't right!"
"Ya got that right!" The woman took another hit of her pipe. "The girls, given their age, are sure to be in school, but what about Uncle Isshin? He can pop by for a few and be home in time for dinner, can't he?"
"He probably feels all guilty right now since he's realizing you're all supposed to think he's dead. I'll help Ganju tie him to Bonnie if you wanna give him the 'ole Shiba welcome." I grunted.
"I think I'm really starting to like you, Ichigo." Her green eyes gleamed with mischief. She tilted her head and opened her mouth. "YO! SHIROGANEHIKO! BRING A BOTTLE OF SAKE!" Bellowed from her. Instantly, a series of rapid footfalls rocketed down the hall before the man in the white top pulled the door open, shot up to Kukaku, gracefully placed a ceramic bottle on the mat next to her, and flew out of the room, shutting the door behind himself. The one-armed woman gripped her pipe with her teeth before reaching out and picking up the bottle, eyeing me as I leisurely sat back with no intentions to help her out. With the pipe still in her mouth, her lips curled up in approval as she uncorked the bottle with her thumb and first finger, her other three fingers holding it still. Tossing the cork behind her, she lowered the bottle back down and pulled open a drawer on the small stand next to her, taking out four saucers for sake.
"Time traveling really did wonders for that head of yours, eh?" She grinned as she poured for each of us.
"I've gotten the shit kicked out of me by people short a limb or two enough to know it's only patronizing to ask first." I stated as I accepted a cup.
"Unless they're stupid." The firework master noted.
"But you ain't stupid." I knew the answer to that bait. All three women laughed at my response. Once everyone had their cup in hand, we all raised them together. "So, what are we toasting to?"
"Family Reunions." The Head of the Shiba Clan announced. "Especially since these two are bound to be part of it sooner or later." She nodded to Yoruichi and Unohana.
"Word's gotten around that much?" Yoruichi seemed surprised.
"No, you idiot, I'm looking at the three of you right now. You're more obvious than Kaien and Miyako." I snorted at the look of surprise that painted both women's faces.
"To Family Reunions! And growth." I smirked. Kukaku smirked right along with me, and after a moment, both of my girlfriends raised their saucers once more. "Kanpai!"
"Kanpai!" They cheered after me before we all downed our first cup.
"So, where's Ganju?" I wondered as I poured the second cup for each of us. "I know we didn't exactly warn you guys that we were coming over, but I haven't seen you call for him to get back inside."
"Oh, the brat is still going around with those other brats he hangs out with." She sighed. "Either Shiroganehiko or Koganehiko probably rang the bell as soon as you joined me. Dumbass probably just thought it was the lunch bell or something and figured that he could just make do with buying some ramen."
"I could grab him if you want." I muttered around a sip of sake. "The Shiba way, of course." A look of interest appeared in her eyes.
"You talk like you know a lot about 'the Shiba way', so how about you put your money where your mouth is? Let's see how you bring my younger brother over here." She challenged. An excited grin curled across my face and I placed my saucer down on the mat. Focusing for a moment, I searched for Ganju's reiatsu, pinning it down in the middle of a nearby Rukongai district. Once his location was locked in, I stood up, cracked my knuckles, and Shunpo'ed at my fastest while my sword was sealed to him. He and his 'gang' were riding their boars down a street made up of restaurants, which I interrupted by picking him straight off Bonnie and tearing back to the Shiba compound without slowing down. Stopping at the doorway to the room Kukaku, Yoruichi, and Unohana were in, I spun around once before hurling him inside.
"Kurosaki Delivery Service!" I shouted with glee. He only managed to begin screaming after he left my arms, it having been too fast for him to register that he had even been moved. Flailing as he shot across the room, his back slammed into the wall behind Kukaku, with him upside down. Once his momentum died, he slid down right onto his skull, his body flopping to the ground. His older sister was hunched over laughing.
"That'll teach ya to always listen when I ring for ya!" She declared between bursts of laughter. "You wouldn't want to miss your cousin coming to visit, would ya?"
"What cousin?!" He demanded as soon as he got up, rubbing the top of his head. "The only ones here are Yoruichi-chan, Unohana-taicho, and that Kurosaki brat!"
"You're still calling your cousin a brat even after we've shared a drink? You didn't bother to learn your manners, did you?" I barked with a grin on my face.
"Just 'cuz we've drank together doesn't mean you're not a brat! I'm over ten times your age!"
"And?! Toshiro is a Captain, you're gonna call him a brat too?"
"Of course not! He's put in the work to get to a high position!"
"I'm in a higher position than he is!"
"Are you an idiot? You're a Substitute!" Kukaku laughed even harder at that, Unohana beginning to giggle behind her hand.
"Keep up with the times, dumbass, I'm a War Preparation Leader! I outrank Yamamoto when the situation calls for it!" His eyes practically bulged out of his skull.
"Huh?! When did that happen?! How did that happen?!" I laughed at his incredulity.
"How about you sit down with us and I'll tell you two all about it over some drinks and some food?"
"Oh, sure!" His eyes flitted around the room for a moment in curiosity. "Though, wouldn't it be rude to start before this cousin of mine gets here?" Unohana and Yoruichi burst into a new round of laughter while Kukaku simply facepalmed.
"You idiot, I'm your cousin!"
"HUH?! YOU ARE?!" He gaped.
"I'm Isshin's kid, you moron! Why do you think I'm the splitting image of Kaien?!"
"I thought that was just coincidence!" He defended, before his eyes widened further. "UNCLE ISSHIN IS ALIVE?!" Kukaku pulled out the drawer from the stand next to her and hurled it into his face.
"I told you, you dimwit!"
"I thought you were just being crazy!" She stood with a furious expression on her face at his argument, stomping towards him.
"You want me to show you me being crazy?!"
"Wait! I take it back! I didn't mean it! Big Sis! The food just got here!" He begged, crawling back on his hands and knees.
"Like that'll matter to you when you've got a broken jaw!"
"Ichigo! You're family! Help a cousin out here!"
"Hey, don't look at me, I'm not the one dumb enough to insult Kukaku to her face." I smirked. Terror filled his visage as he attempted to run. He didn't even make it out of the room.
SO THAT COUR 2 FINALE, HUH?! TO THINK WE ALL WERE HYPED ABOUT ICHIBE VS YHWACH, HOLY SHIT WAS I NOT EXPECTING SQUAD ZERO TO POP OFF LIKE THAT!
Next Chapter: Teaching a Stray Dog New Tricks