Karin knows something is going on. Well, she should fucking know. She had come across her twin sister completely hysterical with her big brother unconscious and not fucking breathing in the middle of the hallway a few days ago. The ruined floor hadn't been explained; the scent of some random Alpha hadn't been explained; nothing had been explained.
Yuzu begged her not to get the bastard from the clinic and to help her carry their brother to his bed. When Onīchan came back with the random Alpha and went inside of his own body, covered in blood and clearly concussed, he didn't explain anything.
He did say they'll have a talk‒later. A talk he is putting off, either because he's trying to find a way to explain whatever the fuck he's stuck in now or trying to put it off as much as possible for her and Yuzu's sake. The latter is a bunch of fucking bullshit and she hopes Onīchan knows it.
"Karin-chan, please stop pacing. I have a headache," Yuzu speaks up quietly from her curled up spot on her bed. Karin growls quietly and falls back on her own bed.
"Onīchan should be home by now... it's an hour after Karate," Karin grumbles, turning onto her stomach when a sharp pain stabs through her lower abdomen. She curls her fingers over the soft fabric of Yuzu's blanket she borrowed last week. She's careful not to move it from its position on the bed, but her frustration still grows from the short length of the blanket.
Karin forces it to the back of her mind and turns back onto her back. She'd rather deal with the cramps.
"I'm gonna ask him when he comes back. I bet he'll come back with the Alpha." Karin growls again, severely suspicious of the random Alpha who seems to be hanging around Onīchan. Karin winces and presses a hand to her throat when it starts to hurt, stopping her growling.
"...what about Goat Face?" Yuzu asks quietly from where she had her head pressed into her knees. Karin snarls silently at the mention of that bastard before she huffs loudly.
"It's his busiest day. And he actually knocks on our door before barging in," Karin sneers with an eye roll.
"M'kay."
Yuzu had explained what she had witnessed‒or what she hadn't been able to witness. Something had attacked Onīchan and the random Alpha. Yuzu saw Onīchan come out of his own body and protect her and the random Alpha, and then watched as he left with the random Alpha to give chase to whatever invisible monster had attacked them in the first place; after making sure she hadn't been hurt or injured and after comforting her.
"What have you been forced into now, Onīchan?" Karin chews on her top lip, staring up at the plain white ceiling.
CREAK! CLICK!
Yuzu and Karin both lift their heads when they hear the noise from downstairs. Karin strains her ears to listen for the footsteps. Silent, but with a slight scuff every third step for her and Yuzu as a greeting. Light-footed and graceful, hesitating, but still willing to follow. Onīchan and the random Alpha.
Karin turns around so her foot hangs over the bed and lightly kicks the floor. Both sets of footsteps pause before they start walking towards the staircase.
The black haired girl smiles triumphantly. She guessed right; Onīchan was simply trying to figure out a way to explain everything. Good, because she didn't really want to have Yuzu use her ultimate weapon when she has a migraine.
TAP-TAP-TAP.
"Pups? Can we come in?" Onīchan speaks softly from the other side of the door. Karin hums loudly while Yuzu sits up.
"Come in!" Yuzu states cheerfully despite her headache.
Onīchan opens the door and Karin can't help the scowl that grows on her face when he lets the random Alpha come in first. Onīchan steps in and closes, and locks, the door behind him. Karin stares at the two bags held in one hand.
"So, we're finally talking about that night?" Karin states, crossing her arms and resting her chin on top. Onīchan gives her a small look, which she returns with an innocent smile.
"Yes... and something else too." Onīchan rolls his eyes with a soft smile before he waves a hand towards the random Alpha. "Pups, this Kuchiki Rukia. Rukia, these are my‒these are my sisters. Yuzu and Karin."
The random Alpha at least seems polite enough with her graceful bow and her slightly guilty expression. "Nice to meet you... and I... I apologize for bringing your brother into this, but please know that there wasn't any other choice..."
"What trouble have you forced on Onīchan's shoulders?" Karin asks with a scowl.
"Karin..." Onīchan trails off as a warning. Karin huffs, but continues to glare at the random Alpha. She stops when Onīchan just sighs and walks over to Yuzu's bed. Karin blinks at the reaction before scowling even more.
"This is a long story..."
"Onīchan?" Yuzu asks worriedly before crawling over to sit beside the orange haired teenager. Ichigo sighs again and lifts his arm for Yuzu to sit underneath.
He smiles tiredly and rests his chin on Yuzu's head. "A truck didn't really go through our house that night..."
And everything is finally fucking explained. It makes‒her throat close with terror. Onīchan could have died. Onīchan could die‒Karin's blood boil.
This was so much worse than she thought. This was so much fucking worse. And of course it's all on Onīchan's shoulders. Of course Onīchan wasn't given any fucking choice and now he's putting his life on the line for some fucking–
Karin growls loudly and points a dark snarl at the random Alpha. "You fucking bitch!"
"Karin!" Onīchan has the actual gall to stop her by simply using one hand, pressing it against the 11 year old's diaphragm, to lift her up in the air before she could attack the Shinigami.
Karin releases a yowl and attempts to pounce forward again, reaching out to claw at the Alpha. Onīchan growls loudly before nipping at her arm as a warning. Karin growls again, but calms down enough to be allowed to be set back on her bed.
She grunts and clenches her eyes shut when her lower abdomen suddenly clenches. Karin curls over her stomach with a hand pressed harshly against it. Fuck, this hurts.
"Pup..." Onīchan huffs softly and grabs the soft blanket on Karin's bed. He hangs it over her shoulders and back before folding it tightly over her front, almost swaddling her. Karin buries her head into the softness to block out her internal purring.
"...like I said before this... talk," the random Alpha starts quietly and seriously, "I am genuinely sorry. If there had been another choice–"
"What's done is done. I still probably would've been dragged in this an' you know it, Rukia," Onīchan interrupts the Alpha with a tired look before he sits next to Karin. "Either I would or the twins would."
Karin tries to swallow down a whine and winces when it comes out garbled. Ichigo quickly pulls her into his lap, pressing her temple against his covered scent gland. A louder whine fully escapes her mouth as she instinctively raises her head to press her nose against the gland.
She can't smell anything. No safety. No family. No pack. It was all wasted. All those years. She wants them back. She wants–
Ichigo shushes her and curls his body around hers. It calms down her panic, but her heart still wails.
"...you've already presented... haven't you, Ichigo?"
"‒your games are annoying, Ichigo! You have not‒You are not an Omega! Do you understand me?!"
Karin wails loudly while Yuzu cries out, "You don't know what you're talking about! Don't you ever‒you can't‒Onīchan‒"
Karin barely even feels Onīchan move before she suddenly has her twin pressed against her inside the blanket. Onīchan purrs from his chest to try and calm them.
"Onīchan‒Onīchan hasn't‒he hasn't! He's just‒he's just protective!" Karin hisses out through her quiet panic, glaring at the Alpha.
Don't cry. It'll prove to the random Alpha that she's correct‒even though their panic is already giving it away‒and that can't happen. Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.
"Shh. Shh." Onīchan sighs quietly, purring from his throat when he butts his chin against Karin's head. He continues to shush her gently as she buries her face into his neck to hide the tears; seeking comfort from a scent she won't be able to smell until they leave this fucking hellhole.
...that fucking bastard and this fucking hellhole... she just wants‒she just wants Onīchan to be safe again.
How does she know?
"...I..." Ichigo licks his lips, keeping his gaze pointed at the door behind Rukia, "I‒I have not presented... yet."
Does she know? She does not know. She wouldn't have‒
"You aren't a very good liar, Ichigo," Rukia states with a raised eyebrow. Ichigo barely keeps himself from flinching.
She doesn't know. She doesn't know. She doesn't know.
"I-I have not presented yet," Ichigo reiterates, much more believable than his previous statement. "I-I have not presented yet, Rukia."
ʀᴜɴʀᴜɴʀᴜɴsᴀғᴇʀᴜɴsᴀғᴇsᴀғᴇsᴀғᴇᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀsᴀғᴇʀᴜɴʀᴜɴ.
Shedoesntshedoesntknowshedoesntknowshedoesntknowshedoesntknow‒
Rukia breathes in deeply, violet eyes glancing towards Ichigo's neck for only a moment. She smiles, shaky and somewhat nervous, but still genuine.
"Shinigami‒and other souls with enough reiatsu–control their scent by controlling their reiatsu. Those skilled enough can continue to hide it in their sleep–but being unconscious is another story." Ichigo's stomach drops.
Oh no. Oh no. No, no, no, no, no–
"And? I'm no Shinigami. I-I thought we've already established that," Ichigo retorts, desperate to have any kind of control in this conversation.
How long has she known? How long has he been out? Do the ghosts know? The Hollows?
"Ichigo–"
"GIRLS! I NEED SOME HELP DOWN HERE!" The urgent shout makes Ichigo jump back with a loud growl. Karin and Yuzu both whimper, huddling closer to their big brother while he easily holds both of their weight.
ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛ.
"YUZU! KARIN! I'M NOT ASKING!"
Ichigo breathes in and tenses at the familiar scent. Chad... he can smell Chad... and blood!
"Chad?!" Ichigo takes a step forward before almost stumbling over his own feet. He holds the twins tightly to his chest, unsure of what to do.
ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛ.
Rukia takes a few steps forward, making Ichigo suddenly flinch back as if he would get hit. Her eyebrows scrunch together, but she slowly holds out her hands; she doesn't mean any harm.
"I'll... I'll watch over your sisters... so–so you can go check on Sado-kun," Rukia speaks softly. Ichigo stares down at her with wide eyes.
Lies. Lies. Lieslieslieslieslieslieslieslies–
Ichigo growls almost silently. He quickly swallows it down before tightening his hold on his pups.
He needs to keep the pups safe–he needs to keep Chad safe–he needs to keep the pups safe–he needs to keep–to keep–
Ichigo swallows the whining call wishing to escape his throat. His breath is shaky when he carefully sets his pups on the closest bed.
Karin whimpers loudly, grasping tightly at Ichigo's shirt collar. "Onīchan?! No! No–not–not‒"
Ichigo presses a kiss against Karin's forehead before pressing his against it. "Chad. Hurt‒he's hurt... Rukia will protect you. P-promise."
Karin whines, leaning her head back to reveal silent tears falling down her cheeks. She nods once before huddling close to her twin, practically laying on top of her.
Ichigo bites the inside of his cheek. They're both definitely presenting early‒just like him... fuck.
He briskly walks past Rukia without even a passing glance. Chad‒he has to help Chad. He's hurt. He's hurt and Ichigo wasn't there to watch his back. He wasn't‒he wasn't there! What if‒what if he got stabbed? What if he di‒
A hand, freezing to the touch and invisible to everyone, but Ichigo, grabs his nape. "Focus, Ichigo. Your friend needs help, not speculation."
Ichigo breathes in, holding it for five seconds and ignores the horrid stench of blood. He releases it and opens his eyes he never realized he closed them. Focus.
He starts walking again, taking the stairs two steps at a time. Focus.
Rukia really wishes there was some kind of manual or guide to being an acquaintance‒a friend of one Kurosaki Ichigo. It was a lot fucking harder than it has to be... but the reward is more than worth it.
The two bags Ichigo carried the entire time since his small stop at that thing called a convenience store seems to mock Rukia and her blindness. If it wasn't an inanimate object, she would have let it mock her. How could she be so blind?
She did not grow up with a pack‒not until she had presented first in her little group back in Inuzuri. When growing from pups to adults in such an environment, a presentation is the only way to figure out how old someone is. Most souls present from 15 years of age to 25 years, but dire situations or environments can push off the presentation; Rukia had roughly counted and came up with 27 years for her own presentation‒Renji's had been 29 years.
Attending Shin'ō Academy, every class had a seminar about presentations. It was taught to every year and extensively went into everything there was about presentations, how to handle them and the instincts, and the biological affects of certain situations.
Alphas were naturally stronger. They were capable of more strength with little to no training. Betas were naturally more adaptable to most, if not all situations. They were capable of keeping the most chaotic groups into the best functioning teams without even knowing it. Omegas were naturally more deadly. It didn't matter if an Omega is physically weaker than an Alpha, if an Omega had enough of an incentive, they could be the most dangerous enemy Soul Society as a whole could ever face.
Alphas are favored, because Alphas bolstered the strength of Soul Society. Betas are respected, because Betas keep Soul Society running smoothly. Omegas are prized, because Omegas are extremely rare.
Out of the roughly 2,000 members of the Gotei 13 alone, there are 37 Omegas. Out of those 37 Omegas, only four are seated officers; and out of those four, Unohana-taichō is the only captain.
Ichigo did not smell like a Pup; nor like a Beta; nor like an Alpha or Omega. He didn't smell like anything. He didn't act like a Pup either.
Rukia should have been able to tell. She noticed the weird patches on Ichigo's scent glands, but didn't really know what they were. She still doesn't, but she knows they somehow hide scents and presentations.
It makes sense humans made such an invention. Humans can't hide their presentation not their scents through their reiatsu after all.
When Ichigo passed out that night... Rukia felt so incredibly stupid. Of course, Ichigo had already presented. It's the only thing that makes sense when thinking back on Ichigo's interactions with everyone around him.
Protective, alert, silently caring, confident in his own instincts.
She has no idea how Ichigo instinctively knew how to hide his presentation the moment he became a Shinigami. She has no idea why it is so instinctually ingrained in his mind to hide his presentation immediately. The only thing she does know is that she wants to kill the fucking bastard who caused this amount of distress in her friend.
And that leads into the second reason why she was so blind. She's become protective over the teenager. And not just him; his sisters too–his friends. It's a terrifying feeling and she doesn't know why it's happening.
She's only known Ichigo for a few weeks... and yet she knows with every fiber of her being, if someone were to try and harm Ichigo, she wouldn't hesitate to injure them. Permanently.
Rukia swallows back her trepidation and walks towards the bed not being used by Ichigo's sisters. She's careful to keep her hands open and in full view of the young pups; the black haired one still growls at her, uncertain and so incredibly terrified.
Rukia breathes through the broiling emotions fighting to escape her. She's incredibly careful to not release any kind of rumbling or purring to comfort the Pups. They don't trust her and she's promised to protect them–she can't scare them even more.
"...I-Ichigo..." Rukia licks her lips before tilting her head towards the bags still on the ground, "he had gone to that thing you humans call a convenience store–to get you some things."
The black haired one–Karin–continues to growl, but lowers its volume. Her charcoal eyes glance over at the two bags before scowling. Rukia swallows down the small laugh which almost escapes her mouth.
Karin looks so much like her brother with that scowl on her face. The furrow in her eyebrows; the slight snarl where her canines peak out; Rukia would almost believe the Pup to truly be Ichigo's child.
"...show me," Karin growls out, adjusting herself to hide her twin sister from Rukia's sight.
Rukia blinks before staring at the two bags. "Are–are you sure? I do not–I have no idea what the bought items are."
"Show me!" Karin orders with a snarl. "Now!"
Rukia slowly slides off of the bed and kneels on the ground. She's careful to keep her hands open and in full view of the terrified Pup as she scuffles over towards the bags.
Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Even though her stomach rolls in absolute disgust at the evidence practically being waved right in front of her face.
Rukia can't think about how all three Kurosaki siblings are acting like–like... like they aren't in a pack. She can't think about it. She can't think about it... or she's going to cry. She can't think about it.
Rukia doesn't flinch when blood suddenly floods her mouth. She quickly releases the inside of her cheek, not realizing she had been biting it. She reaches over towards the two bags and picks them up by their bottoms to let all of the items inside fall out.
Karin growls at the noise, but whips her eyes at each item tumbling across the floor. The growl eases into a rumble before completely going quiet.
"...what is it?" The other Pup–Yuzu, if Rukia remembers the name shouted from the clinic correctly–asks in such a quiet tone, Rukia could barely hear her over her own breathing.
Karin stays silent before she goes completely limp in–relief? "Scent blockers–scent blockers and suppressants..."
"Oh..." Yuzu sounds like she's one word away from crying.
Rukia desperately ignores the urge to crawl over and comfort the Pups. She continues to stare at the pile of boxes with the words 'Scent Blockers' or 'Suppressants' printed across the fronts of each one. Rukia bites her lips and takes a risk.
"...what–what do they all do?" She asks, wanting to know why they need the two items. It doesn't seem like something Pups should have, especially when presenting as they so clearly are.
"Are you stupid?" Karin lifts her head to give the Shinigami a dumbfounded scowl. "They're scent blockers and suppressants!"
Rukia holds back a scathing retort, carefully keeping any irritation from showing on her face. The Pup clearly doesn't mean to be insulting.
"Shinigami use their reiatsu to help with the effects and instincts of their presentations. We do not have these physical... items to aid us. We have no use for physical items," Rukia explains calmly.
These suppressants and scent blockers... these names sound like some the Twelfth Division would create. Rukia can't suppress the terrified shudder going down her back from the similarity realization.
Maybe it's best she doesn't know... but it definitely shouldn't be something Pups should have if it is anything similar to an... invention of the Twelfth Division.
...maybe she should learn about it. She has a horrible feeling about Ichigo buying the items for his sisters and most likely using them for himself too. Yeah, Rukia will definitely figure out how these things work.
Ichigo doesn't speak while he cleans up the claw marks down Chad's bad. His hands are surprisingly still despite the fact he's in the same room as him.
The complete silence is also making Chad, the absolutely idiotic gentle soul, fidget more and more as each second passed. Good. He'll hopefully learn not to stop a car with his fucking own body.
"I-Ichigo..." Chad breaks the silence first, just what Ichigo wanted. Ichigo hums, telling the idiot he's listening, and it only makes Chad's fidgeting worse.
"Ichigo... if I didn't do it, the driver could have died," Chad points out, in some attempt to keep Ichigo's ire at bay. Ichigo scoffs loudly and presses an alcohol doused cotton ball a bit harder than necessary against a deeper divet in the claw marks.
Chad bites back his hiss from the sudden sting, but can't manage to keep his back from twitching. Ichigo sighs quietly and sets down the cotton ball before reaching over to grab the bandages.
"...hurt earlier today..." Ichigo mutters calmly despite his instincts screaming at him to pull Chad somewhere safe to recuperate. "Hurt now too... what's going on? I can't–I can't watch your back if you don't tell me–if you don't tell me what's going on..."
Ichigo steps into Chad's view and sits on the bed. He looks up at his best friend with a worried gaze; too exhausted to keep up his mask even with that bastard in the same room. He can't see his face, so it should be okay.
All the tension in Chad's body is released. He huffs out a laugh before reaching a hand up, slowly. Ichigo immediately focuses his attention on it, but allows Chad to grab his shoulder.
"...it's nothing. I can handle it," Chad says, making Ichigo hold back a sigh.
"You can't and you're just being stubborn!" Ichigo stands up to continue wrapping the injuries.
Chad's just a normal human and these claw marks are from a Hollow. Damn this lovable giant and his foolish stubbornness. No wonder they're best friends.
Hey! Hope you all like the new chapter! I've finally updated! Woo! Though, I don't know what to feel about this chapter–at least the ending. It's definitely not my best, but I don't know if I hate it or not.
Anyways, I hope I did a good job about the worldbuilding at least. Since Shinigami already use their reiatsu for everything they do, I'd like to think they would use it to help hide their presentations and scent in certain instances. Like stealth missions or if they're getting closer to heats/ruts, but not quite close enough to request time off.
I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Bye.
WhovianWhoudini