Yuzu stares into Ichigo's eyes. This was the most terrified he had ever seen his sister be.
𝙿𝚁𝙾𝚃𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙿𝚁𝙾𝚃𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙿𝚁𝙾𝚃𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙿𝚁𝙾𝚃𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙺𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙺𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙺𝙸𝙻𝙻.
Ichigo snarls loudly and runs towards the monster. "Get the FUCK AWAY from my Pups!"
Ichigo snaps out of his thoughts with a start when he hears someone snapping next to his ears. He flinches and takes a step back with a snarl on his face. It fades into an indifferent scowl when he sees a familiar set of brown eyes glaring up at him.
"Tatsuki, what'd you need?" He asks, stopping in the middle of the hallway.
"I asked you a question. What's gotten in to you today?" Arisawa Tatsuki asks with a scowl of her own. Ichigo stares at her for a long moment before his mouth quirks up into a ghost of a smile.
He steps around his childhood friend and starts walking again. "A truck had crashed into my house last night. I stayed up to do some repairs."
"Are the twins okay?" Tatsuki asks worriedly, following after the orange haired teenager. Ichigo stares down at his feet with a thoughtful scowl.
"ONĪCHAN!" Yuzu screeches out when Ichigo crashes through the wall and onto the street. She tries to stand, but collapses with a cry. The slashes on her leg almost cut completely through.
"Nīchan!" Karin calls out worriedly as she takes a step towards the destroyed wall.
"Stay!" Ichigo snarls out with bared teeth. He slowly stands up, ignoring the blood dripping from his face. The Hollow growls and steps out of the house.
"...Fine. Slept through the crash, actually," Ichigo eventually speaks in a subdued tone. The panic was still wrapped tightly in his chest.
"...and him?" Tatsuki walks instep with the Omega while lowering her voice. "Did he sleep through it?"
Ichigo wordlessly nods his head. He didn't say anything that morning, but he still wasn't happy about the supposed crash.
"Hey! Who're you?! Get away before you get hurt!" Karin's shout barely registers in Ichigo's mind. He widens his stance and growls at the Hollow.
𝙿𝚁𝙾𝚃𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙿𝚁𝙾𝚃𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙺𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙺𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙺𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙿𝚁𝙾𝚃𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙺𝙸𝙻𝙻.
Ichigo growls again and tenses his posture. The Hollow charges.
"Boy! Are you an idiot?!" The Shinigami yells out in frustration, her sword unsheathed. Ichigo ducks under a slash towards his head and raises his fist.
"Stay away from my Pups!"
"Is that why you weren't here for the first two classes?" Tatsuki asks, glancing at the bandaged wrist hidden by Ichigo's uniform sleeve. Ichigo nods silently, still a bit lost in thought.
It didn't hurt too bad, but it was still a nasty cut. It only aches, especially with the dark bruising wrapped around his wrist.
"Anything happen while I was gone?" Ichigo changes the subject as he stuffs his hands into his pockets.
Tatsuki stares at him for a moment before a small smile appears on her face. "We have a new student. She's pretty nice and has already presented. An Alpha."
"Shinigami..." Ichigo kneels beside the heavily injured spirit, hands pressed against the teeth gashes in her stomach. He snaps his head up when the Hollow screeches in pain again.
"Idiot... you... cannot defeat a Hollow." The Shinigami coughs wetly and glances at the evil spirit. "I am–am in no... condition to fight..."
The Shinigami lifts her sword towards Ichigo's chest. "Do you want to protect your pack?"
"Protect." Ichigo nods, glaring at the Hollow as it turns around.
"Then you must thrust my zanpakutō into your chest and temporarily become a Shinigami," The Shinigami coughs wetly and glares up at the orange haired teenager.
"You may not survive. But we don't have a choice," The Shinigami continues. Ichigo growls loudly and grabs the sword. He tugs it closer to his chest.
"Protect pups..." Ichigo nods to himself. "Protect you, Shinigami."
"It is not Shinigami. It is–"
Ichigo pauses at the classroom door. He stares at the cheerfully smiling stranger sitting next to his seat, talking with Inoue Orihime, Tatsuki's best friend.
Her hair reached past her shoulders, falling in gentle waves and her purple eyes held an icy gleam to them, clearly showing she wanted to be anywhere but there.
"Tatsuki-chan! Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime exclaims brightly with a wave. "Kurosaki-kun, I'm glad you're here! I was worried something happened!"
"A truck crashed into his home," Tatsuki states as she sits down. Orihime blinks before she quickly stands up. Ichigo walks past her desk, giving the Shinigami a narrowed glare.
"Are you alright, Kurosaki-kun? What about the twins? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Orihime asks worriedly, making the disguised Omega turn towards her.
"Everyone's okay. No one woke up." Ichigo gives a small smile towards Orihime. She sighs in relief and smiles back at Ichigo.
Ichigo turns back around and glares down at the forced smiling Shinigami. "Hello. I'm guessing you're the new student?"
The Shinigami glares sharply up at him, her face hidden from Tatsuki and Orihime. She nods her head and laughs.
"Mmhmm! My name is Kuchiki Rukia. It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance!" Kuchiki Rukia exclaims in a sickly sweet tone. Ichigo continues to glare at her, a silent snarl forcing past his lips.
ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛ.
"Kurosaki Ichigo." The orange haired teenager brushes past Rukia and slumps into his seat, his normal scowl covering his paranoia and panic.
"Don't mind, Ichigo. With what happened last night, he's a bit high-strung right now," Tatsuki unnecessarily reassures the new student.
"Since we'll be sitting next to each other, would you be willing to lend me your textbook?" Rukia asks with a sweet smile, holding out her hand.
We need to talk. Find a place where we can.
Ichigo bristles at the order and barely contains his growl. He gives the Shinigami a harsh glare before he stands up.
"Instructor, I'm gonna show the new student where everything is," Ichigo calls out right as the teacher walks in. He grabs Rukia's wrist and starts dragging her out of the classroom.
"Kurosaki-kun? Hey, wait–"
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Ichigo hisses under his breath as he marches down the hallway. He kicks a door open and steps outside onto the courtyard.
"My mission is to stay stationed in Karakura Town for a few weeks. And besides, I can't go back to Soul Society right now." Rukia leans back slightly, eyebrows furrowed as Ichigo stops in his place. The door behind Rukia closes with Ichigo whirling around.
"I expected you too. With how there wasn't even a trace of you left behind when I woke up," Ichigo states, his surprise and anger decreasing to a simmer. "Is it because of you transferring your powers to me?"
"Yes. Instead of taking half of it, you took almost all of my powers. Until I regain my powers, I'm practically useless in this awful gigai," Rukia answers, moving her arm around with a heavy frown on her face.
"Sorry, Rukia. I didn't–I didn't know I did that to you," Ichigo says with reddening ears and guilt stabbing his heart. It almost felt like the sword was still pierced through his chest.
Rukia sighs and gives him an exasperated look before shaking her head. "It is quite alright, Ichigo. I forgot you were a Human and didn't know how to regulate your own reiatsu. You have an unnervingly large amount of it. It is nothing that can't be fixed."
"How do we fix it?" Ichigo asks with a determined gleam in his eyes.
"It's something that will be fixed with time, unfortunately. While that is happening, you must become a Shinigami in my place," The black haired teenager states as a breeze blows past for the dramatic moment. Ichigo raises an eyebrow before huffing. He stuffs his hands in his pockets and glares down at the Alpha.
"What would happen if I refuse?" Ichigo averts his gaze by looking around the empty courtyard. He knows no one was there, but sue him. Paranoia practically flows through his veins.
"Many people would die. Both Pluses and Humans. Your sisters wouldn't be safe either. Neither would you," Rukia explains bluntly. Ichigo snorts as a sardonic grin forms on his face.
"It's always me. All of these decisions already made for me, because if I don't do it, people will get hurt. Of course it's always fucking me! You know, I already have enough bullshit to deal with, with all of the yakuza that try and kill me almost every week and that bastard who thinks he still has a say in my life even when he–" Ichigo cuts himself off and takes a deep breath. He closes his eyes and releases the breath, bringing a hand up to tiredly rub his face. He needs to calm down.
With his eyes closed, Ichigo doesn't see Rukia suddenly tensing as she stares up at his face. He looked tired–no, he looked absolutely exhausted. Like he was one breath away from collapsing.
Ichigo shakes his head with a cruel chuckle. "I want you to tell me about Soul Society in exchange for my help. I can't refuse, but I'd at least like to get something out of this bullshit."
"Great! I had just gotten an alert that–"
"Hold it." Ichigo lifts a hand up with a harsh glare. "This doesn't mean I accept being a Shinigami, Rukia. I still don't know jackshit about you. Not enough to fully make a decision. I won't follow your laws if they get in my way, okay? Is that clear?"
"Yes. I'm surprised you're willing to agree to help me," Rukia states with a small smile. Ichigo snorts and pats the Shinigami's head.
"I don't like leaving debts unpaid. Now, you said something about an alert?"
"How the hell is this sword even practical? Why's it so big?" Ichigo asks with a scowl, turning his zanpakutō around in his hands. He stood next to a still disintegrating Hollow and where a Plus Soul once stood before he had sent it to Soul Society.
"It's probably because of your reiatsu. You don't know how to control it, so it reflects in the size of your zanpakutō. I've never seen one so large in a sealed state," Rukia explains, looking down at her weird phone.
"Sealed state?" Ichigo asks as his scowl fades to a confused frown. Rukia nods and holds up three fingers.
"There are three forms for a zanpakutō. The sealed state, the Shikai, and the Bankai. The first form is when it is sealed. It acts just like any regular sword, only since it is a zanpakutō, its two basic powers is to give soul burials to Plus Souls and purify Hollows," Rukia starts as she lowers a finger. "The second form is the Shikai. You must learn your zanpakutō's name to achieve this form. Your zanpakutō is able to unlock its special abilities and changes form after chanting a kaigo before the name of your zanpakutō."
"My zanpakutō has a name?" Ichigo stares at the Shinigami with slightly wide eyes before staring down at his weapon. Rukia opens her mouth to speak, but stops herself with a slight tilt of her head.
"Yes. A zanpakutō is a reflection of a Shinigami's power and soul. They are living sentient beings themselves, created from your own soul. Your zanpakutō's name is the name of the living spirit that empowers your sword and lends you its power," Rukia speaks with a small nod of her head.
"Now, the last form is Bankai. It is the ultimate technique of a zanpakutō. It takes around 10 years alone for a talented Shinigami to begin the process of achieving Bankai. You must bring forth your zanpakutō spirit to the physical world and defeat it in a fight. The moment you win against your zanpakutō, you and your zanpakutō will learn Bankai. It is 5 to 10 times greater in strength compared to the Shikai. As of now, only Captains of the Gotei 13 have achieved Bankai. Save for one," Rukia finishes while crossing her arms. Her shoulders were straightened by her slight smugness about successfully explaining something.
Ichigo continues to stare at his zanpakutō for a long moment, head tilted thoughtfully. "What's the Gotei 13?"
BEEP. BEEP.
"Looks like we have another Hollow around. We'll talk on our way," Rukia states as she starts running towards the direction the alert was coming from. Ichigo nods his head and follows after the Alpha, glancing around with a narrowed gaze.
"We'll need to go back to school after this one. We spent enough time for me to have showed you around the school," Ichigo points out, easily keeping up with the Shinigami.
"Yes. That's right. Human school is a strange thing." Rukia shrugs off the thought. "The Gotei 13 is the military branch of Soul Society lead by the Sōtaichō. Most Shinigami join the Gotei 13 after they graduate Shin'ō Academy. It consists of 13 divisions, each division lead by a taichō. Each taichō has or is meant to have a fukutaichō."
"Shin'ō Academy?"
"It was once called the Shinigami Academy. It is where the majority of Shinigami learn the process to utilize their reiatsu in a six year curriculum. Now, every division has 20 seated officers. The first and second seats are reserved for the taichō and the fukutaichō, leaving 18 seats. Currently, each division has around 200 Shinigami," The black haired female clarifies, making Ichigo frown. Before he could question anything, a familiar howl cuts through the air.
Rukia tenses and speeds up, quickly followed by Ichigo. Ichigo grabs the hilt of his zanpakutō.
ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛ.
Ichigo growls and suddenly wraps an arm around Rukia's waist. She shouts in surprise as Ichigo pulls her with him when he jumps back. A Hollow suddenly barrels past, charging through where Rukia would have been.
"Ichi–"
"You okay?" Ichigo asks, gently setting Rukia on the ground. He places a hand on her jaw and moves Rukia's head, looking for injuries.
"Y-yes–yes, I'm okay. Focus on the Hollow!" Rukia quickly shakes out of her stupor. Ichigo snaps his head towards the Hollow as it stalks towards them and snarls.
Ichigo stays crouched, unsheathing his zanpakutō. He growls low in his throat, getting louder with each step closer the Hollow gets.
"...Ichigo?" Rukia's soft question makes Ichigo breathe sharply in realization. He forces himself to stop growling and slowly stands up, taking a few steps forward to block Rukia from the Hollow's sight.
"Why am I... Why am I so protective over her? Something's going on..." Ichigo pushes the thoughts to the back of his mind, focusing on the present. He's got a Hollow to kill and school to get back to. Ichigo charges forward at the same time as the Hollow.
Ichigo hadn't found the time to think about his sudden protectiveness at all. Almost a week has passed and Ichigo hasn't even given the weirdness of that first day a thought.
And now he has to wonder why Rukia was so focused on the horrible looking bruise on Orihime's leg earlier today. He couldn't believe she didn't go to the damned doctor after being hit by a fucking car!
A heavy breath leaves Ichigo's mouth as he slowly walks up towards his bedroom, pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind for now. He ruffles his hair with his towel and ignores how the excess water had soaked the collar of his shirt.
"Onīchan, have you seen my pajamas?" Yuzu leans forward, looking around Ichigo's empty room. Ichigo makes a noise from the back of his throat, startling Yuzu out of his room.
She smiles brightly and walks forward. "You were downstairs! Oh, did you take a bath? Aw! I wanted to join too!"
"You're already in the fifth grade, pup," Ichigo points out, making Yuzu pout. He smiles with a small huff before patting the young pup on the head.
"No. I haven't seen your pajamas. Have you checked the laundry?"
"It's not there. Do you think it got lost in Karin-chan's or yours?" Yuzu pouts even more, slightly upset by her missing pajamas. They were her second favorite after all.
Ichigo tilts his head, his eyes seemingly staring off in thought but were actually staring at where his closet would be on the other side of the wall next to him. He has some money to spare.
"I have some errands to do tomorrow after my tea ceremony class, but I'll look through my laundry tomorrow afterwards. Do you need anything while I'm out?" Ichigo questions instead of telling Yuzu why her pajamas were missing in the first place.
Honestly, Rukia would have taken them anyway if he didn't offer. Scared the everliving shit out of him when he had opened his closet to sleep inside the first night.
Yuzu stays quiet, face carefully blank. Ichigo narrows his eyes at the slight terror Yuzu was attempting to hide from him.
"What is it?" He asks immediately, making Yuzu flinch at being caught hiding her fear. She slightly shakes her head and avoids eye contact while fear starts to permeate the air with its bitter scent.
"...I think... I think I..." Yuzu bites her lip before stepping closer. Ichigo instinctively wraps his arms around his little sister as she raises her arms and wraps them around his neck. He tenses when he feels freezing fingers tapping against his scent blocker.
He swallows the growl that almost escapes his throat and presses Yuzu's head against his covered scent gland. Yuzu whines softly when the scent blocker stops Ichigo from scenting her, making Ichigo tighten his hug. Ichigo forces himself to stop and releases Yuzu from his hug.
He crouches down in front of his little sister and holds her face with both of his hands. He looks into amber eyes so much like their mother's, but filled with terror of the possibilities. If Yuzu presents as a Beta she would continue to be a background character in Isshin's eyes... but if she presents as an Alpha, or God forbid an Omega...
"They only last eight hours... but they lose their potency around the six hour mark. You must remember that, Yuzu. Okay?" Ichigo speaks softly, glancing between Yuzu's watery eyes.
She lifts her hands and holds her big brother's with a small nod. "I understand."
Ichigo sighs softly and smiles, completely covering the fear and apprehension he feels bubbling in his chest. Isshin already knew of Ichigo's presentation before. They only started hiding it after and even then, it was only shared with a trusted few outside the family. They have never hid any presentations from the beginning from their father... if they slip up–if he finds out...
"Alright. Does Karin–"
"Ichigo!" Yuzu screams when Rukia sprints out of Ichigo's room with her denreishinki blaring loudly. "There's a Hollow! It's–"
ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛ.
Time slows down as a black mass appears behind Rukia. Ichigo's feet push against the ground and towards Rukia with one hand outstretched, the other pulling Yuzu behind him. Yuzu's mouth opens in a scream and Rukia starts to whirl around with wide eyes.
ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛ.
Ichigo grabs the collar of the pajamas Rukia is temporarily keeping as she outsretches her gloved hand. Ichigo pulls her forward as the Hollow behind her slashes its talons at her back, only slicing through the shirt. Her hand slaps against his chest and all of the air slams out of his lungs with his soul being literally slapped out of his body.
Ichigo immediately reaches up and grabs the hilt of his zanpakutō while Rukia falls on top of his limp physical body and Yuzu. Ichigo rushes forward and quickly slashes down with his zanpakutō. It catches the edge of the Hollow's mask before it swipes at Ichigo with its other hand.
A familiar brown eye glares at Ichigo before the Hollow's hand swats him across the hallway. Ichigo barely stops himself from slamming through the wall, using his zanpakutō to dig into the floor.
He winces at how expensive it will be to fix. "Fucking 'course."
"ONĪCHAN!" Yuzu screeches loudly, her cry echoing through Ichigo's heart. He growls loudly and charges forward at the Hollow.
"Too shallow! Ichigo–" Rukia tries to push herself and Yuzu back when the Hollow aims a swipe at her again. Ichigo raises his zanpakutō and slices through the Hollow's arm. It–he screams loudly before crawling backwards. It fades into a weird grey portal before that almost immediately disappears.
ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛᴘʀᴏᴛᴇᴄᴛ.
Ichigo growls loudly before he whirls around. He places a hand on Rukia's cheek, his pulse running a mile a minute.
"Hurt? Are you hurt? Pup–" Ichigo grabs Yuzu's tear-streaked face with the hand still holding his zanpakutō "–are you okay? Did he hurt you?"
"O-Onīchan! Onīchan, what–what was that?! Onīchan your body–" Yuzu cuts herself off with a loud wail. Brown eyes flicker silver as Rukia releases a harsh breath at the unbearable scent surrounding Yuzu.
Ichigo immediately drops his zanpakutō to grab Yuzu and hold her in his arms. He lets out something similar to a purr as he basically curls his body around his pup.
"I'm okay. I'm not hurt. I'll be back. Have to save friend. Explain later," Ichigo murmurs against Yuzu's head before he presses his forehead against hers. He takes a deep breath to calm his instincts, brown eyes only shimmering silver instead of flickering between the color.
"Rukia. Let's go." Ichigo gently places Yuzu in the crook of his physical body's arm before he reaches over and grabs Rukia by her arm.
"W-wait! Ichigo–"
Ichigo sprints into his room, easily maneuvering the Shinigami to carry her underneath his arm. He jumps out of his window and lands a foot on the top of the fence before jumping again to land on the roof of his neighbor's house.
"Explain!" Ichigo hisses, immediately sprinting in the direction of Orihime's apartment. "Why the fuck did that Hollow look like Inoue's brother?"
Those brown eyes... they were exactly like Orihime's. Inoue Sora. Why are you a Hollow?
HEY! HOPE YOU ALL LIKE THE NEW CHAPTER!
Oh my God. It's been almost two and a half fucking years since I posted the FIRST CHAPTER. Jesus Christ, I have failed you all...
I sincerely apologize, but! I did come through with my promise that I was going to EVENTUALLY post the second chapter! And, here it is!
Literally 75% of it was already finished and I literally just edited that part and finished the rest right after finishing the latest (as of May 4th, 2023) chapter for "The Butterfly (Kurosaki) Effect".
I got hyperfixated on a lot of the stories that I posted AFTER this story, but I had no intention to abandon this one! I still have no intention to. Though, this Spring has been really stressful and really busy for me, so I don't know if I'll continue to pick this story up while attempting to write for my other stories.
Whatever the case may be in the future, I sincerely appreciate each and every one of you who were waiting for this chapter and thank you so, so, so much for not giving up on this story!
Oh, and I also apologize if my writing style from the first half of this chapter is completely different from the second half. Like I said, it's been two and a half years.
I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Bye!
WhovianWhoudini