"So, this is the place?" Ichigo Kurosaki said out loud as he stepped out of the passenger seat of the U-Haul truck and out onto the open sidewalk. It was a bright Sunday morning with very little clouds in the sky, and a slight breeze passed through the air as he stared at the two Storey house in front of him. It was modest and simple just like how his house was in Karakura Town, with a stone wall that acted as a fence and high hedges that partly covered the living room window on the left side of the house. The house itself was brick and mortar, with a jet-black shingled roof that was recently done and a small balcony on the second floor of the house where the master bedroom was located. Wearing a simple pair of faded blue jeans with his Red Octobers, he tugged on the collar of his white long sleeve shirt with a sigh before giving a small smile. Underneath the shirt, hidden away from the public eye, was his substitute Shinigami badge.
Two months.
That's how long it has been since the end of the Blood War and Yhwach's defeat. Now, with the world at peace and no longer having the threat of world ending disasters, he finally felt his mind be at peace once and for all.
"Looks like it." Uryu Ishida replied as he walked around the truck from the driver's seat and stood behind Ichigo. His hair swayed in the wind, and his glasses shined from the intense heat as he pushed them back on his face. On his wrist, dangling proudly beside his watch, was his Quincy Bengel. Unlike Kurosaki who was wearing casual street wear, Uryu was instead wearing a pair of sleek black slacks and black loafers, and a white polo shirt. "I did put the coordinates in the GPS before we left Karakura town this morning, and I highly doubt that your father was lying about the address." He continued before taking out his cellphone and sliding his thumb across the lock pad. "...54 Bushida Ave. Yeah this is it." He finished as he slid the phone back in his pocket.
"That wouldn't be the first time the old goat face would joke about something like that." Ichigo chuckled as a reminiscent smile went on his lips. "I remember when he took us out to dinner when we went to Tokyo to shop, and he lied about an address just so he could try that stupid outback steakhouse with Hat N' Clogs and Yoruichi." He laughed. He still remembered that day like it was yesterday. During the seventeen months that he was powerless, his dad, along with Yoruichi and Urahara, thought it might be a good idea to get the family out the house for a day and for him to get out of his funk of being powerless. After spending hours looking for a new set of pots for Yuzu (which the girl took seriously), they were famished and originally wanted to eat at a Sushi restaurant that Yuzu and himself wanted to try. However, his father and Yoruichi wanted to try the new Outback Steakhouse that opened on the other side of town and ended up lying about the address to get there.
'Yuzu NEVER let that down.' The Substitute chuckled internally as Yuzu didn't talk to their father for a full day, but eventually caved on her own volition due to her nature of a giant daddy's girl, while Karin went with the flow, and he had his usual "fight" with him.
"Sometimes I wonder what goes through that man's head." Uryu sighed. Before the duo could speak any further, they heard the engine of a sedan beginning to get closer to their location. Due to the quietness of the neighborhood, they picked up on the engine's sound almost instantly as the black sedan turned the corner and parked right behind the truck at a reasonable distance. Both the Passenger and Driver doors opened wide, and Orihime, Bazz-B, and Chad stepped out of the car. A sharp gust of wind blasted through the air and swayed her long orange hair, and a giant smile almost instantly plastered itself on Inoue's face. She wore a simple black skirt that went to the mid-thighs and its ends were frilly, accompanied by a red belt, white low V-Neck shirt and an open black dress shirt.
No longer in the Sternritter uniform, Bazz was instead wearing a pair of black combat boots, along with faded ripped jeans, and a white tank top. Decorating his muscular arms, was a full sleeve of tribal tattoos that melded almost perfectly into his leather gloves. If one were to look closely, they would be able to see the slight notches etched onto the tip of fingers, shaped into arrows.
Chad on the other hand, was dressed in a pale blue Hawaiian shirt, along with brown khakis and white loafers. Sitting around his neck was his prized possession, his necklace given to him by his grandfather, a man that he held in high regard. His face was chiseled and blank looking as usual, and his dark brown hair was partly covering his eyes, and sweat was slightly coated against his goatee.
"Hey Uryu! Hi Ichigo!" She waved happily as she skipped to the two teens. Chad silently waved to his friends as he walked over to the group and high fived the Ichigo and Uryu. Meanwhile, Bazz simply stared at the house in front of him while he was rubbed his left eye with the ball of his left hand as he offered a simple "hey".
Ichigo smiled warmly at her and felt his annoyance wash away almost completely. Seeing her always brightened his mood and made him feel more relaxed than he was currently used to, that being annoyed or his ever-present scowl.
"Sorry we were falling behind." Chad's deep voice softly boomed to his friends. "After we got onto the highway, and we started to follow behind you both, Orihime wanted to try a donut shop on the outskirts of town here." Chad finished before slowly looking to the house in front of them. Uryu shook his head with a slight sigh of humor as he walked around the truck and began to unlock the loading door with Chad behind him. Meanwhile, Orihime laughed nervously as she scratched the back of her neck with an embarrassed blush on her face.
"Seriously, I never seen anyone lose their shit over Doughnuts." Bazz-B sighed as he rubbed the side of his head, dragging his hand down to the back of his neck and slowly began to twist in order to soothe the numbing amounts of pain. "Fuckin' Candice keeping me up with her bullshit."
"s-s-sorry!" She nervously laughed. "But when we were on our way and close behind you, I saw a sign that was going by super-fast on the highway and it said that there was a super big doughnut with sprinkles, and it looked really tasty so I wanted to stop and see how much it was, but when we got there, there was so many options that I really didn't know what one to get so I got one of each for all of us!" She rambled. Ichigo raised an eyebrow and looked to the back seat of the car and noticed over three pink boxes with the words "GOOD TOWN DOUGHNUTS" written on the front of the box in cursive.
"It's okay, Inoue." Ichigo smiled at her and eased her embarrassment. "As long as you and Chad got here safe, and hey, at least we have something to snack on when we're unpacking." He smiled warmly. Inoue felt her blush turn darker and her smile of appreciation turn warmer. The two stood there in silence and stared at each other with smiles on their faces, and their hands slowly began to reach for each other's own. It was reminiscent to how they were in back in Los Noches, after his victory against Grimmjow and Nel sacked him right in the family jewels. The scene slowly began to wash away from their minds, and only they existed in the heat of the moment, without the scenery around them whatsoever.
"-EY!" Uryu shouted and finally got their attention. "WOULD YOU BOTH STOP FLIRTING AND COME HELP US!?" The Quincy screamed as he was dragging out a large cabinet from the cabin of the U-Haul truck. Beside him, Chad walked out and down the ramp with a black lazyboy in his arms and five boxes of shoes stacked neatly on the Lazyboy. Any regular person would've struggled to lift such an object with perfect balance, but Chad had no reaction on his face as he walked onto the sidewalk and placed the chair down before heading back to the truck. Bazz soon however walked out the truck, holding a flat-screen TV that he set down gently in front of the car.
The two teens snapped back to reality and their surroundings were back to the present, and slowly looked down to see they were still holding each other's hands before ripping them away.
"HEY! SHUT UP DAMN IT!" The Strawberry screamed and his scowl was plastered back on his face as he marched to the Quincy on the truck. As usual, the two began to bicker amongst themselves as Chad continued too silently move the furniture out of the truck. Orihime in the meantime, watched with a grin on her face as her crush and friend argued childishly with no real venom or hostility in their tones. It was a common occurrence Ichigo had with his friends, most commonly with Renji, Kenpachi, Ikkaku, and Uryu; even sometimes with Yoruichi when she was in the mood to tease him. However, not once did he have that tone with her.
"I don't want to interrupt." Chad began. Almost instantly, the two stopped arguing and looked at their friend who stood in front of them on the small metal ramp. "But can you open the door to the house, Ichigo? You have the key." he said as he pointed to the small dangling key in his pocket.
"Oh yeah." He chuckled softly as he scratched the back of his head nervously. "Sorry about that Chad." He laughed as he jogged slightly to the metal gate and swung it open. The gate opened with a loud creak as the bottom corner grinded against the smooth pavement, and his shoes kicked the small pebbles that were scattered across the ground as he walked to the wooden door and unlocked it with the key, pushing the door open. On the right-hand side was the open and empty closet with the staircase leading upstairs, on the right-hand side, where on the left-hand side, was the living room with a box in the middle.
"Alright! It's open!" He shouted as he turned around and began to walk back to the group. Already, Uryu was holding one end of a leather couch with Chad, while Orihime was carrying a box full of Kitchen Utensils and Bazz holding two guitars in his hands. "Here, let me get that Inoue." he said as he took the box from her hands and began to walk into the house.
"Oh, Thanks Ichigo!" Orihime smiled before turning around and began to walk to the car for the doughnuts. Meanwhile, the three boys walked into the house, the central A/C instantly cooling off their bodies from the stuffy wind from the outside world as Chad and Uryu placed the couch in front of the living room window, looking out into the kitchen area. Taking a deep breath, Uryu wiped his forehead from the slight trickle of sweat as Orihime walked through the door. "Oh wow! This is much better than my old home!" She smiled happily and looked around the interior with wonder.
"No kidding, I wonder how much this set your father and Shunsui back." Uyru muttered as he looked around the house. While he wasn't attuned to the aspect of houses and house hunting, even he could see the potential and financial growth in the house and could have a somewhat decent guess of what the house could cost. As he continued to gaze around the house, his eyes finally picked up on the box. "Did you drop that here, Kurosaki?" Uryu turned his gaze to his cousin.
"No, I only brought in the box of kitchen stuff behind you guys, and I put it in the kitchen floor." He pointed to the lone box that was sitting on the floor before looking at the lone box. "What the hell is in it?" He muttered as he walked over and picked it up off the ground. The box itself was light, lighter than anything he had lifted when he packed the truck this morning and there was nothing wrong with it from what he could sense with Reiatsu. "Did Urahara or dad leave it?" He muttered as he walked to the couch and placed the box on the seat.
"What's in it?" Orihime wondered aloud as she walked over and stood beside Ichigo, with Bazz, Chad and Uryu standing beside him on his right-hand side. His face scrunched in thought, Ichigo dug into his pocket and fished out his dad's pocketknife that he gave to him for opening the boxes and sliced the tape open on the top. The slight smell of musk and the stereotypical smell of a cardboard box wafted in the air as he flipped open flaps and pulled out the contents of the box.
"Oh, it's just the school clothes for tomorrow." Uryu deadpanned as Ichigo pulled out the school uniform of Kuoh Academy, wrapped in a plastic bag. It was five uniforms in total, four of which were men's and the last was a women's size. The men's uniform consists of a jet-black blazer with white accents, over a long-sleeved button-down shirt with vertical linings, black dress pants and brown loafers. On the other hand, Orihime's uniform consisted of a white long-sleeved button-down shirt with vertical linings and a black ribbon on the collar, a black shoulder cape and a matching button-down black corset, complete with a magenta skirt.
"Oh those are pretty!" Orihime smiled happily as she pulled her uniform out of the package and held it out into the open. Chad silently took his own into his hands and opened it as well. His uniform was much bigger than the others as he nodded and folded his uniform neatly.
"This... IS ABSOLUTELY UGLY AS SHIT!" Bazz-B screamed as he grabbed his uniform and glared murderously at the clothing. "HOW IS THIS GOING TO GO WITH MY AWESOME HAIR!? DAMN YOU KUOH ACADEMY!" The Heat user screamed to the heavens as he fought the sudden urge to incinerate the clothes with a Burner Finger.
"I must say," Uryu pushed his glasses up on his face more as he analyzed the Kuoh Uniform. "While The colors used on the uniform are much more vibrant on the female uniform, the color could be more vibrant on the male uniform, not to mention the material used to make it is cheap. I wonder if they will allow me to make slight modifications to the jacket." The Quincy began to quickly mutter to himself under his breath as he began to feel the fabric of the uniform and talk amongst himself.
'Yep. Still a dork.' Ichigo deadpanned as he stared at Uryu who was still muttering to himself. He looked back in the box and noticed there was a small piece of paper at the bottom. Curiosity getting the better of him, he pulled the note out and began to read it.
"Hey kid, Urahara here. How are you likin' the new house? After your dad and Shunsui bought it here for your time at school, Mayuri and I personally stepped up the security around the house, that way ya don't get any unwanted visitors wandering around at night, although Hollow's really don't appear much in Kuoh Town, so you get more time to focus on your studies there rather than going to fight them. Or, if you wanna have some alone time with Orihime and all, since I know you liked her new battle outfit she wore before you went to the Soul Palace. Don't worry, it's up in her closet for ya. I know, I know, I'm a genius and all.'
Ichigo felt a vein throb in his head and his scowl deepened on his face. He could already see the shit eating grin plastered on Urahara's face as he read the opening paragraph of Urahara's letter. He knew exactly what he was talking about in the letter, as his face was slowly beginning to grow red. It was the Arrancar battle outfit that Chad asked him his opinion on, which he somewhat blacked out on when he noticed her boobs was much more pronounced in the outfit. Shaking his head, he decided to continue reading.
"Alright, so down in the basement, there is a gate there that connects Soul Society to the house there, all you need to do is pump it with a tiny bit of your power for it to turn on, and it'll drop you off back there, or even back to the training ground to get some sparring in and for you to train your Quincy powers more without being interrupted. That's all there is too it. School starts tomorrow at eight, so don't sleep in till noon. Take care kid! P.S If Mayuri calls about money or a certain "item" from his lab missing, you haven't talked to me at all."
"Of course, you two would be at it as usual." Ichigo sweat dropped. It was like how he would argue and bicker with Renji and Uryu, but Mayuri and Kisuke were much more childish compared to his "arguments", and downright petty at certain points. When a few weeks ago, Kisuke borrowed a computer from Mayuri's lab without him or Akon knowing. Less than a day later, Mayuri had the bright idea to steal all the toilet paper in Urahara's candy shop and took the left side of his shoes. Shaking his head, he looked back out into the neighborhood and thought back to this morning, before he had his friends left Karakura Town for Kuoh Town.
"OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! MASAKI! OUR ELDEST BOY IS FINALLY LEAVING THE NEST! I THOUGHT THIS DAY WOULD NEVER COME WHERE OUR BOY WOULD FINALLY BECOME AN INDEPENDENT MAN!" Isshin Kurosaki dramatically shouted as he clutched the portrait of Masaki Kurosaki, his late wife, with tears streaming down his face. "I AM ONLY GOING TO BE HERE WITH TWO OF MY BABIES NOW! OH MASAKI!"
"Dramatic and dumb as always." Karin deadpanned as she pulled the straw from her juice box from her mouth. "Oi! Your gonna make the neighbors mad if you keep screaming like that dad!" She shouted. However, instead of listening, the patriarch of the Kurosaki family continued to wail louder. Karin felt her vein throb on the side of her head as Isshin was continuing to wail and cry loudly.
"How long has he been going at this?" Rukia deadpanned as she walked over and stood beside the younger Kurosaki sister. Currently, she was in her gigai, and was wearing denim short shorts with black boots, and a loose-fitting black shirt that slightly hung off the left side of her collarbone. "I heard him the moment Renji and I got here."
"DAD SHUT UP!" Karin screamed as she jumped into the air and kicked her father in the chin as hard as she could. As if it were a comedic scene playing out, Isshin threw himself onto the floor and stars floated around his head, and his eyes were swirling in their sockets. Sighing, Karin took her juice box and sat back down at the kitchen island. Meanwhile, Rukia shook her head at the scene as Isshin slowly began to pick himself off the floor as he rubbed his chin.
"G-Good on you my daughter." He groaned out with a stupid grin on his face. "You have mastered the Kurosaki secret kick technique. Because of this, you now get rewarded WITH THE FAMOUS ISSHIN BEAR HUG!" Isshin shouted. Karin felt her eyes snap open as she practically ripped the straw out of her mouth. However, before she was able to move, Isshin scooped her in his arms and began to squeeze hard. Karin struggled and felt like her entire existence was being crushed by her father's burly arms, and her legs kicked in all directions.
"Daddy, put her down or no Yakitori tonight!" Yuzu threatened with a smile on her face. Almost instantly, Isshin paled and dropped Karin with the speed of a bullet. The small child coughed and hacked as air rapidly began to rush back into her lungs. Rukia knelt and patted the girl on the back to help her ease back into the rhythm of breathing and wiped the tears away on her face. After a few seconds, Karin glared at her father who began to sweat nervously as Karin's aura spoke of nothing but pure murder. He tried to plead with her, but instead began to run away as Karin chased him around the house.
"The Old man and Karin are at it, are they?" Ichigo sighed as he walked down the stairs, holding a medium sized box in his arms. Behind him, Renji and Ganju was holding onto a stack of boxes perfectly. He wore a black T-Shirt that was low cut, exposing his muscular chests and tattoos, along with blue faded sweatpants and a pair of red sneakers. Sitting on his head, was a pair of silver framed aviators that was framed neatly and like his goggles when in his real form. Behind him, Ganju was wearing a beige t-shirt, along with khaki shorts and sandals. "Seriously, they been at it before you guys got here. I don't know if you guys ever seen them go at it, but this is usually much more... well violent." He deadpanned as he watched Karin chase their father outside.
"I would be able to see... IF YOU MOVED KUROSAKI!" Renji yelled. "SERIOUSLY, HOW DO WE HAVE MORE BOXES THAN YOU!?"
"YOUR THE ONE WHO VOLUNTEERED!" Ichigo screamed back as his scowl deepened. Rather than cowering away, the Lieutenant of Squad Six growled as a vein throbbed in his forehead.
"YA, BUT THIS IS THE THIRD TIME I GRABBED MORE BOXES THAN YOU! I'M NOT THE ONE MOVING HERE DUDE!" Renji shouted back.
"YA! I GRABBED MORE BOXES THAN-!"
*BOOM!* *BANG!* *SMACK!*
"ALL OF YOU STOP THIS RIGHT NOW!" Rukia and Kukaku Shiba, Ichigo's cousin, screamed in unison after they collided their fists on top of the three men's head, Rukia colliding her fist with Renji while Kukaku knocked sense back into her cousin and brother. Her hair was done into a spiky ponytail with her bangs out in the open. She wore a tight-fitting green tank top, along with faded denim short shorts and sandals. Behind her, clutched tightly in her hand, was a knocked out Isshin Kurosaki while Karin sat silently at the Kitchen Island again with her juice box in her hand.
"I LEAVE YOU BOTH FOR FIVE MINUTES AND ALREADY YOU BOTH ARE ACTING FREAKIN' STUPID! GET A MOVE ON BEFORE TRAFFIC HITS YOU, GUYS!" Kukaku screamed at the three who were slowly beginning to pick themselves up off the ground and slowly began to dust themselves off. Sighing in slight annoyance, she looked down and jerked her hand to get her uncle awake. "Oi! I know my baby cousin didn't hit you that hard uncle!" She sighed with another jerk. After a few seconds, she sighed and with one hand, tossed her uncle on the couch perfectly.
"My my, did I come at a bad time?" A voice cheekily made its announcement into the house and the group turned their heads to the front door. The bright sun from the open door casted the shadow of a tall, burly man wearing a Sugegase Straw Hat under his long brown hair. His pink, flower printed Kimono swayed slightly in the wind over his black and white Shiakusho and sandals. His face was plastered in a large grin, that was slightly covered due to his eyepatch covering his injured right eye. "Then again, this is quite the routine, isn't it?" Kyoraku Shunsui chuckled with a grin.
"Captain Kyoraku? What are you doing here? I thought Nanao had paperwork for you today." Rukia asked as she walked around the corner and looked at the head captain of the Gotei 13 directly in the eye. Shunsui laughed at her stupefied face as he scratched the back of his neck.
"Please, don't think a little bit of paperwork is going to keep me locked down." The Head Captain laughed, although the group didn't miss the slight trail of sweat that rolled down the side of his head.
'He's hiding from Nanao.' The group collectively sweat dropped as they quite easily seen through the man's ruse. After the Blood War, Kyoraku became much more responsible and shedded the laziness that the man was known for throughout Soul Society. However, there were some habits that someone wasn't able to get rid of that easily, if at all. While he took up the position of Squad 1's Captain, there was one thing that Nanao had to constantly hunt him down for, the bane of his existence.
Paperwork.
"Now," He coughed in his hands as a slight shiver of fear raced down his spine from the mere thought of paperwork. He seriously never understood how Yamamoto was able to have his paperwork done for the day before the first captain meeting. "I'm here to here to see you young kids off! After all, it isn't every day when you get to live on your own right? Your friends are already outside!" He smiled as he jerked his thumb behind him. Ichigo followed his trail and watched as Uryu was holding onto a box before disappearing in the back of the truck. "Now, it's just time to get the last of your stuff gone before you set off."
"Remind me," Ichigo sighed as he knelt and picked the box up into his hands and began to walk towards the front door. Turning around, Shunsui followed close behind as the rest of the group inside began to grab the last few items in Ichigo's near empty room. "Why am I, or all of us, going to live in a town over in Kuoh? I never went there, and Tatsuki went there once for a Karate tournament. What's so special about that town?"
"Quite simple really." Isshin smiled as he walked out into the front and stepped beside Shunsui. "After what you guys been through, we all agreed that you deserve some time off and finally able to focus on your studies without being interrupted or must deal with some world ending disaster. After all, at the core aspect of things, you guys are still just kids, and should have lives outside of fighting Hollows and saving the world." The Patriarch of the Kurosaki family smiled.
"And what's stopping us from finishing school at Karakura High?" Ichigo scowled at the two men in front of him. However, unlike those who flinched at his trademark scowl, Shunsui merely rolled his eyes and Isshin shook his head with a smile. Behind the trio, Rukia and the rest of the group was busy loading the final boxes on the U-haul and Chad's car.
"Kid, I wasn't born yesterday." Shunsui began. "I know you. You and your friends spend nights rotating on who hunts them down first. Last night was Uryu and your friend, Chad's night to fight them off, and the night before it was you and Orihime. Very clever indeed, but Yoruichi was watching you." He replied. Ichigo kissed his teeth in a small amount of annoyance as he could picture her giving him a cheeky, playful grin. No matter how hard he tried to sense her, Yoruichi was an expert at hiding her presence that not even Uryu was able to find her when she doesn't want to be found.
"Hey, don't look at me like that. We all agreed on it. So, until your last year of high school is done, you guys are going to spend it over in Kuoh. 'Sides, Mayuri agreed to Urahara's terms to let the captured Sternritters and Quincies go out of his lab." That last part made him internally laugh at the agreement, as he still could remember Mayuri having an absolute kitten when Urahara and Yoruichi arrived at the Grand Meeting Hall of Captains last week. He had made up a decent point with what to do with the Sternritters after Yhwach's death, and that Uryu Ishida has decided to become the king of the Quincy race and lead them as allies to Soul Society and form an alliance. At first, it was something that Central 46 almost instantly rejected at such a notion. However, when the truth came to light that Sternritter Bazz-B, Candice Catnipp, Giselle Gewelle, and Lilltotto Lampred went against Yhwach during the second invasion, they slowly began to relent on their agreement, with the sole acception that they never set foot in Soul Society ever again without any good reason, as entering without a valid cause would be punishable by death.
He had no idea how Urahara was able to get Mayuri to unzombify and give up the revived Sternritters and Soldats, since Mayuri tended to find loop holes into any problem that may arise, but when he and Urahara returned from their labs after a few hours, Mayuri had an unusually wide smile on his face, much wider than the smile that was constantly on his face.
"He does have a point, Ichigo." Uryu sighed as he hopped off the truck's loading bay and onto the pavement. "I get that you don't want to leave, but we should focus on schoolwork now that we finally have a break, and knowing you, you would try to find a way to do both." The Quincy continued before looking at Shunsui. "Is the hollow situation similar to Karakura?"
"Not really. Hollows in that town rarely rear their ugly head. So, besides the odd one or two, I highly doubt that you would run into them as much as here. Nanao had already set up your Quincy's business in the city, and the girls there already opened shop today. So, if anything, they can handle it for you all." Shunsui replied. Meanwhile, Ichigo sighed as he felt his mind weigh its options. Ever since he had accepted who he truly was, and knew about his mother's nature of a Quincy, he tried to learn more about certain abilities that came with being a Quincy that wasn't the typical Blut Vene or Blut Artery. He looked to his right hand and the small Quincy Bengle hanging proudly off his wrist. His father had given it to him a few days after the war was over, as it belonged to his mother.
He took pride in his lineage of a Quincy, and the lineage of the house of Shiba, even though their nobility was nothing compared to the Kuchiki family. He wasn't going around and using his lineage of both houses as weight or to be a borderline asshole, but he respected his family bloodline as he represented both sides, and finally felt comfortable with who he was, and had let go of the pain behind his mother's death once and for all. On the other hand, he knew that training to understand his Quincy power, as well as his regular Hollow hunting and School life would be next to impossible to balance without one being neglected completely.
"Fine." He grumbled. Although, it wasn't like he had much of a choice in the matter, since all his stuff was in the U-Haul truck already with Uryu, Chad, and Orihime's belongings. He took a deep breath and smiled before noticing Yuzu and Karin standing off to the side of the front door. While Karin looked indifferent as she sipped on another Juice box, he could see the sadness on Yuzu's face.
"Hey guys, its going to be okay." He spoke as he walked over and knelt in front of his two sisters. "What's wrong, Yuzu?" The elder Kurosaki brother asked. It had taken them a few seconds to answer, but eventually, Yuzu caved in and slightly wiped away her tears.
"I just... I'm going to miss you, big brother." She clutched on her sweatpants tightly as the tears were beginning to fall down her face rapidly. "I know your older now, and were going to move out at some point... I just wish that you... you will be okay out there." She cried. Seeing his little sister cry was something that Ichigo hated more than anything in the world. He looked over to Karin, who refused to meet his gaze and continued to silently sip on her juice box. Unlike Yuzu, Karin barely showed any sort of emotion after their mom died. However, he could see the same feeling dancing in her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to hide it.
"Don't worry guys," Ichigo smiled as he wiped the tears from Yuzu's face. "Kuoh Town is just an hour away. I could flash step back here in less than a second, Okay? It's just for a year. After that, I'll be right back home like nothing happened." He smiled warmly to his sisters. He felt Karin's muscles relax and her eyes droop more in understanding, while Yuzu nodded as she wiped her eyes away.
"You promise?" Yuzu asked.
"Of course." Ichigo replied with a smile. "Hey, Kuoh Academy is having their Annual Parent Day in the next couple of days. When you guys and the Old Man come, you guys can stay the night, how does that sound?" He smiled as Yuzu's mood brightened considerably and Karin's eye had a slight twinkle inside them.
"OI! IT'S LOADED AND READY TO GO!" Bazz-B shouted as he slammed the loading door shut and locked it tightly. Nodding, Ichigo stood back up and turned around, only to see Rukia and Renji standing in front of them with a smile on their face.
"Take care of them, okay guys? And take care of Karakura." He smiled.
"Your acting like your going away forever Ichigo. It's only for a year, so stop being so dramatic, and you'll be back here in no time, alright you idiot?" Rukia teased.
"IDIOT!? WHO ARE YOU CALLING IDIOT YOU MIDGET!?" Ichigo screamed at the top of his lungs.
"OI! SHUT UP BEFORE I MAKE YOU, CARROT-TOP!" Renji soon got into the argument and pressed his head against Ichigo's own, while Rukia glared daggers at the Substitute.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY FIVE HEAD!?" Ichigo retorted. Seconds would pass by silently as the trio stared at each other with venom in their eyes. However, like a gust of wind, the venom and hostility disappeared, and the trio laughed wholeheartedly. After a few seconds, the trio smiled at one another before pumping their fists together. "For real, thanks guys."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to keep an eye on your sisters, if not, Hisagi or Rangiku will step in. Either way, someone will be around." Renji replied with Rukia nodded in unison. Smiling in satisfaction, Ichigo walked past his friends and back towards the U-Haul. Already, Uryu was in the driver seat of the truck, while Bazz, Chad, and Orihime was already in the car behind the truck. As he grabbed onto the door of the passenger seat and opened it wide, he was soon stopped as he felt Shunsui grab onto his shoulders and gently got his attention.
"Hey, After the Soul Society has been rebuilt from the rubble, I'll be in town again and need to talk to you. I got a surprise for you and your friends." Shunsui smiled. Nodding, Ichigo hopped into the truck and slammed the door shut. The truck soon rumbled to life as Uryu twisted the ignition with the keys, while Ichigo rolled the window down and looked at his father.
"Alright old man, try not to burn the city down while I'm gone. A full year with just the girls is fine, but make sure you listen to Yuzu." Icigho sighed.
'Don't burn the city dow- How pathetic does he think I am!?' Isshin mentally sweat dropped as Uryu turned the truck's gears into drive. Before his foot pressed down on the accelerator, he turned to his cousin with a raised eyebrow as Ichigo waved goodbye to his friends and little sisters.
"Aren't you going to say bye properly to your father, Ichigo?" Uryu asked as they slowly began to drive off. However, Ichigo turned his gaze back with a blank face as he stared Uryu in the eye.
"He's like a lost and sad puppy. Give him any attention and you will forget him being quiet." Ichigo deadpanned. Upon hearing the answer, Uryu sighed as he began to drive off fully, while Ichigo looked at his family in the rear view mirror with a smile adorning his face. As the seconds went by, he saw Orihime poke her head out of the passenger seat and wave to his family and their friends with a smile.
"BYE GUYS! SEE YOU SOON!" She waved happily before going back into the car. Ichigo sighed as he knew what was going to happen in 3...2...1
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! MASAKI, OUR BABY BOY IS ALL GROWN UP!" Isshin continued to wail into the sky like a overgrown baby. However, his screaming soon stopped as Ichigo watched Kukaku slam her fist into the back of his head, knocking him out cold. Ichigo smiled warmly at his family. Not just his blood family, but Rukia, Renji, and Shunsui as well. To him, they were no longer just his friends, they were his family. With one last look, Ichigo turned his gaze forward as the U-Haul truck and car turned the corner and out of sight from the Kurosaki Clinic, and eventually out of Karakura Town.
'I wonder what they're up to now.' The Substitute thought to himself as a grin crept onto his face. Kuoh Town was only about an hour away from Karakura, two hours on a really bad day when it comes to traffic; and by now, Rukia and Renji most likely already went back home, and Shunsui would've been caught by Nanao at this point and dragged back to the "paperwork hell", meaning that Kukaku and Ganju were the only ones left in Karakura Town.
Two weeks after the events of the Blood War, Kukaku and Ganju decided to move to the Human World, and finally was able to see their uncle again, his father. He could still remember the stupefied face on Yuzu and Karin when they learned that they were their cousins, and more about themselves as well as people when he, Isshin, and Kukaku sat them down and told them about the truth of their powers. He didn't tell them about Aizen and Yhwach however, as he didn't want to tell them truth of that the Mad Quincy was responsible for their mothers death and the Rogue Shinigami had a slight role in the matter and planned out his childhood. Just revealing that their father was a Shinigami and their mother was a Quincy was good enough for them to go off of for now, and they would tell them the rest when they were older.
Now, Kukaku had set up her own little fireworks shop and 100 Yen store in Downtown Karakura, with Ganju running it alongside with her.
"Okay, while you guys are bringing in everything, I am going to start making us a tasty meal! Hope you guys like Sushi and peanut butter!" Orihime dashed off into the kitchen and soon began to go into La-La land as she opened the first box of Kitchen Utensils. As she ran off, the orange haired teenager didn't see the pale faces of the four boys in the living room as they stared lifelessly at the floor. While Orihime meant well, and saved their butts more than they could count with her healing ability (minus Bazz-B), there was one thing that always remained a constant factor with the bright and chipper girl, and that was her love for making terrible, disgusting food. There was times when then girl pleasantly surprised them, especially with her chocolate chip cookies, and her delicious red bean paste. However, anything else made their stomachs go into knots.
"Dear god." Bazz-B muttered in horror. He didn't know the girl as long as the rest of the guys beside him, but he understood the deathly taste that Orihime was able to produce with her food, to the point he wondered if Askin was behind the terrible taste. He still remembered the day when he left Mayuri's nightmare of a lab with the Sternritters the nutcase had revived, and the chipper girl was waiting outside in the World of the Living with a plate of fried chicken in her hands. He wasn't one to turn away food, especially living on the god awful "food" that the Captain of Squad 12 shoved down their throats to keep them fed, but the moment he took a drumstick and bit into it, he felt like his very soul was beginning to crash in on itself, even Lilltotto wasn't spared by the disgusting taste, with the only person being able to tank the food was in fact, Askin.
"Well, that's my cue to find a pizza joint." Bazz muttered as he vanished using Hirenkyaku. Ichigo tried to protest and call for the idiot to stop, but by that point, Bazz was already long gone. Sighing, Ichigo and his friends walked back outside and began to start to unload the truck more.
It was going to be a long day for them indeed.
Soul Society
"Ah, seems like the clean up is going well." Shunsui muttered as he took a sip of his sake. A warm yet gentle breeze passed through the open fields, and the lush green grass created a swooshing noise that brought the Captain Commander a sense of peace within his old soul. Currently, he was sitting on a park bench within the Seireitei, and his strawhat was placed beside him on the neatly crafted bench. In front of him, neatly by the end of his sandals and aligned with his toes, was a wooden plate of steamed buns, and bottle of sake.
"It's still a process to get the job done, but at least the Rukongai district wasn't nearly as bad as the Seireitei. With our forces split up, we should be able to fully repair the Soul Society and Los Noches, maybe even upgrade it. *Chuckle* You know Mayuri has been dying to implement his new security systems." The Captain laughed as he watched Ikkaku Madarame, and Izuru Kira, Lieutenants of both Squad 11 and Squad 2, argue amongst themselves as they walked by him with a large stack of metal on their shoulders.
He had returned to Soul Society an hour after Ichigo had left for Kuoh Town, and could still feel the phantom pain on the back of his head after Nanao had punched him in the back of the head after he had returned in the office. While she wasn't a hand to hand combatant like Soi-Fon, nor was she an expert in Zanjutsu like Byakuya, that didn't excuse the fact that the small girl packs a super hard punch to the point he sometimes needed to actually dodge the hit. He was lucky enough to sneak out of the office again today, and watched his fellow Gotei members rebuild the Seireitei, except for Kenpachi, who was god knows where. It was weird to him, that nearly two months ago, the Seireitei and the Soul Society was reduced to a blood soaked nightmare that Quincies and Shinigami had fought to the death upon, and now it was slowly being rebuilt into what it once stood for, and even better.
"Hard to believe that this war ended two months ago." His jovial tone soon disappeared as he watched the Kido core levitating metal and manipulating the Reishi to rebuild the structures that was damaged by the war. "Time sure does fly. I really don't know how we were able to pick ourselves up this fast... Then again, if the old man was here, he would've smacked me silly and force me out there to rebuild." He smiled, as the nostalgic feeling of Old Man Yamamoto, someone he saw as a father, chastising him for his laziness and pushed him out there to help. While the old man came off as a ruthless, cunning old bastard, he had a heart to him that began to open up more as the years went by, and fully opened with Ichigo and his friends made their appearance. He was someone, that just wanted what was best for his pupils. His smile soon turned sad as he clenched the cup in his hand tightly.
"Wish you were here to see it all..." He turned his gaze to the headstone that was beside him. "...Ukitake." He smiled sadly at the headstone for his best friends grave. It was hard enough to swallow the fact that Yamamoto was no longer with him, but the fact that his best friend, his brother in all but blood, had sadly sacrificed himself to Mimihagi, the right arm of the now dead Soul King, in order to stabilize the realms after Yhwach had cut him down. He knew it had to be done, since the death of the Soul King meant the end of everything and everyone, but that didn't excuse the hurt from losing his friend. However, it was all in vain, due to the singular fact that Yhwach had absorbed the Arm of the Soul King, and was closer than ever to winning the war.
"Captain Commander!" A voice rang out to him, followed by the frantic rhythm of steps that were growing closer to his location. Kyoraku sighed as he stood up from his seat and took his straw hat into his hands. The slight metallic clang from his dual zanpakuto's echoed off the wooden bench as he leaned back upwards and placed the hat on his head, smiling as he took one last sip of sake before turning to the person who stopped in front of Ukitake's shrine. It was a member of the Stealth Corps of the Squad 2.
"Yeah?" Kyoraku asked. The Stealth Force officer bowed to one knee and kept his gaze to the ground.
"Sir, I bring you the upmost urgent news." The officer began. "Central 46 has demanded to seek an audience with you sir, along with Squad 12 Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Former Squad 12 Captain Kisuke Urahara, and Squad 6 Captain Byakuya Kuchiki sir, as well as your lieutenant, Nanao Ise." The Stealth Force member finished. Kyoraku raised his eyebrow from what was told of him, on top of having a headache beginning to pound at the side of his head from the mere annoyance of having to deal with Central 46. He didn't understand how Yamamoto was able to keep their ambition and idiocy in check for thousands of years as Captain Commander, but what also caught his attention was the fact that not only two acting captains of the Gotei are going to be there, but Kisuke Urahara was also going to be there as well. Normally, Central 46 kept the meeting of Captains down to two, but the fact there was essentially three, as well as the Captain Commander of all people was going to be present, made him wonder what the hell they were planning.
Sighing, Kyoraku grabbed the lip of his hat and pulled it over his eyes a little. "Lead the way." He muttered before he and the Stealth Force member took off and quickly with Flash Step.
Kuoh Town, World of the Living
"Sorry guys!" Inoue Orihime laughed nervously as she scratched the back of her neck nervously. The sound of fire crackling into the cool night air echoed into the open as she, along with Ichigo, Uryu, Chad, and Bazz, sat around the camp fire in the modest yet somewhat spacious backyard of the house. It was currently nine in the evening, and the group was finally finished with packing away the things away in the new house, and decided to relax in the backyard after dinner. Bazz had returned with two boxes of cheese pizza in one hand, and a box of assorted treats in another. Currently, they were sitting around the fire in folding lawn chairs, with music playing out of Chad's cellphone as they talked amongst themselves. They were all switched out of their daily attire and in comfortable clothes for bed soon. Ichigo was now wearing a simple white tank top with black basketball shorts, Chad was wearing a pair of black sweat pants and a tight black t-shirt that accentuated his broad, muscular body, and Bazz was dressed in a pair of red basketball shorts and had a black muscle shirt, and only one of his gloves were on his hands, with the other stuffed in his pocket.
Unlike the other boys, Uryu had decided to wear a much more formal pair of pajamas. The kind that rich people would typically wear in movies, and his glasses were neatly tucked in his left breastpocket, and Orihime was wearing her usual dark purple T-Shirt and beige sweatpants, and her hair was done into a lopsided bun.
"Don't mention it." Bazz-B sighed as he tossed his crust into the fire and leaned back into the folding chair. "Like ever. Again." He growled. However, he yelped as Ichigo smacked him upside the head. The Heat user glared murder at the strawberry, but rather than attack, he kissed in teeth in annoyance as Uryu shot him a look that dared him to move, and instead let it go. Nodding, Uryu turned back to the book he was currently reading, with the Quincy cross displayed proudly on it's front cover.
"Don't listen to him, Inoue." Ichigo smiled at her. "The lunch you made for us today really was... spectacular." He forced a smile as he felt his stomach flip from the mention of the Peanut Butter and Sushi monstrosity she had cooked for everyone today. It wasn't Yuzu's cooking, since he considered that his sister was probably the best chef in the world, but Orihime did know how to make a good meal whether it was done intentionally or by pure accident. However, today was definitely not one of those days. Even Yoruichi hung the phone up on him when he asked to come and take the food, and Zaraki didn't even bother to answer. Looking around her friends, Orihime watched Chad and Uryu smile and nod at her with approval. Yet, due to the light of the flames, or even the flames increasing the heat around them, she didn't see the trickle of sweat running down the sides of their head, nor did she hear the bellies gurgle over the music.
"Well, I'm glad you guys liked it!" She beamed happily. "Tomorrow, I'll make sure to make us all a good and healthy breakfast!" She smiled giddily, a smile that Ichigo felt himself smile more and felt himself begin to calm a lot more. In front of her, the group heard Bazz sigh as he straightened himself in the chair and interlocked his fingers, placing his now interlocked hands in his lap.
"Anything is better than the hell Giselle has been making." He shuttered. Looking up from the book, Uryu bookmarked the page and closed it fully, placing it on his lap as he looked at his subordinate in question.
"The sweets you brought weren't that bad?" He asked. Bazz rolled his eyes as he looked at the half empty box of the last container of assorted sweets.
"That's because Candice and Meninas made them." He growled. " And forced me, Askin, and Liltotto to eat over and over again to get the shit to "perfection". I swear, my teeth are fucking rotten now." He growled before looking away. Meanwhile, Ichigo looked at the Ex-Sternritter with an eyebrow raised while Chad switched the song on his phone to something else.
"Where the hell were you anyway?" He growled. "You ditched all of us and came back an hour ago!" The strawberry yelled at the Sternritter who rolled his eyes.
"If you must know, dad." He teased and grinned at the deadly scowl plastered on his face. "Fuckin' Candice kept me at the Cafe with her stupid taste test and what shampoo to use in her hair tomorrow for opening day. After that shit was over, I had to stop Bambietta from destroying the damn place after Giselle pissed her off, and Menina's broke THE THIRD FUCKING CASH REGISTER!" He yelled into the open air. "SERIOUSLY, HOW FUCKING HARD IS IT TO PRESS ONE BUTTON WITHOUT YOUR DAMN POWER!?" He continued to scream into the heavens.
"You might want to be quiet before we wake the neighbors." Chad's dull voice echoed off with Bazz as he finished taking a sip of water. The Heat user growled and planted himself back into the seat. Meanwhile, Orihime turned her gaze to Ichigo and noticed that the strawberry was looking off into the sky, with stars illuminating the dark sky and not a single cloud interfering with their beauty. He looked deep in thought, and his eyes looked like they were staring off into space. She slowly reached over and took his hand into her own. The act made Ichigo nearly jump and his signature scowl to be set in place. However, when he noticed it was Orihime holding onto him, his scowl almost instantly faded away and he visibly calmed down.
"Ichigo, Are you okay?" She asked with worry. The only time he had seen that look on his face was when Rukia was sent back to Soul Society a few years ago, and hoped that he was doing okay, especially after the Quincy War was over. The Substitute Soul Reaper looked at her in the eyes and nodded with a small smile, unconsciously tightening his hold over her hand firmly but also gently. It was enough to pull the attention away from the remaining trio and looked at the strawberry's direction.
"Yeah, Just..." He sighed. "Just thinking about everything that happened these past few months that's all." He began as he scanned around the group, from Orihime to Bazz. "To think that, a few months ago, we were all fighting for our lives against an impossible enemy, and now it feels like it happened years ago, and here we all are now. New city, new school, new opportunities." He muttered as he looked back in the sky. "I forgot what peace and quiet sounded like until now. By now, you wouldn't be able to not hear the screams of a hollow, yet theres been nothing."
"Maybe your dad and the Captain was right. Maybe we do all need this." Chad muttered, and Uryu silently agreed. They had all been threw things that a normal teenager never would've experienced, from venturing off into the Soul Society, to facing impossible odds against a threat that could literally threaten all of existence if unchecked. Uryu however, felt a bit of guilt eat away at his heart at the mere thought of the Blood War.
"What did you want to do after high school, Ichigo? Both with your life as a human, and a Soul Reaper." Uryu asked his cousin. Still staring at the sky, The Substitute smiled as he stared down at his friends who were looking at him with an answer.
"Honestly? I think I might be a translator." He smiled fondly. "I always liked Shakespeare, and the figured I could make a living translating things for Western Culture or even some of old and ancient texts." He elaborated. "As for me being a Soul Reaper? I don't know. Hell, until a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea I was even royalty, both from my lineage the House of Shiba and the House of Kurosaki." He finished. Ever since he was little, he had a knack of solving issues and puzzles that came across his way, and started to fully translate things from Japanese to English during his first year of High school in Karakura Town. He figured if that pursuing a career in something he genuinely likes doing in his spare time wasn't bad.
When he turned his gaze back to his friends. Everyone except for Orihime looked at the Strawberry with a deadpanned expression.
"Lame." They collectively said in unison.
"WHAT!? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN LAME!? IT'S A DAMN GOOD JOB!" Ichigo screamed. However, Bazz snickered as he looked at Ichigo with humor.
"Yeah, if you wanna be a virgin all your life." The Heat user snickered. However, Ichigo glared murderously at the Ex-Sternritter as he stood up from his seat and glared at Bazz-B.
"THE HELL DID YOU SAY YOU CHICKEN HEADED BASTARD!?" Ichigo screamed. The moment those words left his mouth, all sense of humor left Bazz's form as he felt his anger beginning to skyrocket. The air began to grow thick with Reishi, and the humidity began to skyrocket as the tips of Bazz's gloves began to spark and burn, as he was itching to release a Burner Finger as he stood up and met Ichigo in the eye. Neither backed down in the slightest, as Ichigo was clutching tightly to his combat badge to the point his knuckles were pure white.
"Repeat that one more time you Carrot top motherfu-"
Before he was able to finish his sentence, an almost instant clicking noise erupted in the air, as instead of Bazz staring off into Ichigo's eyes, A pool floatie was replaced in Bazz's location. Ichigo's anger was instantly replaced with confusion as he looked down to the floatie on the ground. A second after, a loud splash erupted in the air as Bazz-B shot himself out of the neighbors backyard in-ground pool and shot himself over the metal fence with Hirenyaku. He was dripping wet, and his pink Mohawk was dripping with water as he planted himself back in the lawn chair beside Uryu, who's right eye was glowing blue before it disappeared. Bazz spat the remaining water out of his mouth and pouted with his right hand on his chin, with the only words muttering from his mouth was "I hate you" to Uryu.
After a few seconds, Ichigo was able to calm down with the help of Orihime and sat back in his folding chair beside her. "You Chad? what do you wanna do?" He asked in order to get his mind off the The Heat user. Chad stayed silent for a few seconds before taking a small sip of his water.
"I want to become a boxer." His deep voice echoed into the air. "I was lucky enough to find a few gyms that I can train in while we live here, and I don't know what I want to do in the afterlife." He replied. Ichigo and the rest nodded in respect at the tall teen as he turned to a different song. Out of everyone in the group, Chad was the most athletic out of their group besides Tatsuki and to an extent, Orihime, while He and Uryu was rivals in the academic sense. The group soon turned to Uryu who sighed as he rubbed his eyes with his index finger and thumb.
"Believe it or not, I want to become a doctor." He began. The group, minus Bazz, looked at the teen in shock. They knew his skepticism of the medical field due to his trauma with his mother and father, so the fact he admitted that he wanted to become one was quite a shock.
"I thought you were going to be a tailor, since you love to make and alter clothing." Chad replied. Bazz wanted to snicker but stopped when Uryu gave him a glare.
"I thought so too." He began as he pulled his gaze away from Bazz and back to his friends. "But I feel like this is what I truly am meant to be, after my father had told me the truth about my mother, and felt my respect for him grow ever since, and know the reason why he never wanted me to be a Quincy." He replied. He could still remember when he had met Ryuken and Isshin during the final stretch of the war, when his dad tossed him the Silver Arrow that would stop Yhwach long enough to be killed once and for all. It was the day he had learned the truth about what happened to his mother; the day when he had seen her cut open her chest. Ever since that day, he understood why that Ryuken didn't want him to be a Quincy, as in his own way, just wanted him to be safe, and their relationship steadily improved.
"And for my, other life, as a Quincy." He continued. "I am going to be rebuild the Quincy Race, into an honorable clan of warriors, one that fight for justice and fairness, and one that my grandfather could be proud of." He clenched his fists in determination. "I won't be like Yhwach. I will be righteous and a fair King, one who treats his subjects like people and with respect. I have eons to make them right, now that I have apart of Yhwach's power within me, and I swear to you, I will make the Quincies and the Sternritters a force to be reckoned with." He finished. He knew what he was going to do was going to take thousands of years to do, but he was ready for the task at hand. He casted away his humanity the moment he ingested Yhwach's blood to get the Antithesis, and now had a direct link to the dead Quincy King's power and his near infinite longevity for aging and life.
"Well, if anyone that can do it, It's definitely you Uryu. I mean, All I want to do is open a bakery, and help with whatever I can during my time as a soul when I pass from my human body, but you have such a good goal!" Orihime giddily smiled at Uryu while Ichigo and Chad nodded in agreement.
"That reminds me," Ichigo began. "Who was even revived from Mayuri? Matter of fact, WHERE is everyone? I don't think Soul Society wants you all there, and Grimmjow would lost his mind if you were in Los Noches, so where is everyone?" Ichigo asked. He wasn't privy with all the details in the matter of the Sternritter revivals, but there had to be somewhere they were hiding, right? Before Uryu could answer, Bazz beat him to it.
"Were all cooped up in Urahara's fucking basement. One of the reasons why I high tailed it the fuck out of there and decided to head with you guys instead of being around the silent Soldats and Askin's annoying need to talk my fucking ear off." Bazz sighed. "It was that, come with you guys, or work in the fucking café with Giselle and the girls, and I'm not doing another hour of eating shit." Bazz finished with a sigh before raising his hand into the air with his fingers extended. "And to answer your second question, it's me, Askin, Giselle, Meninas, Candice, Bambietta, Lilltotto, and Gerard. How the fuck Mayuri got his corpse? I have no fucking clue. But he's down there, either annoying me with Askin or pissing off someone else." The Heat user sighed as he reached down for his water bottle.
"Really? Why didn't you use that Shadow technique to bring the Quincies back to that Shadow Realm?" Ichigo asked. He didn't know where they came from really, but it was something akin to shadows that he watched Ebern disappear into after he broke out of the Bankai Stealing medallion during the fight around Karakura Town.
"That's what this book is for." Uryu replied as he raised the book on his lap to everyone's eye level. "I found it in Yhwach's library during my time in Waherwelt. It shows how the shadow technique was used, and how I could create a portal back to Silbern, the place where Yhwach and the rest were hiding in. Once I train hard enough to master it, I'll be able to get everyone there, and start to manipulate that dimension to make it more habitable for us, make it a kingdom not built upon bloodshed and war." Uryu finished.
"I see," Ichigo began. "A good idea Uryu." It was indeed in his eyes, since Uryu built himself upon the pride of the Quincy, and it must of hurt him to realize that the race he took pride upon was war mongers, and in some cases, complete monsters. Even he felt like Yhwach was spitting upon what his mother stood for when she was alive. If anyone was able to create something like a justice and fair kingdom, it was definitely Uryu. The group soon turned their gaze to Bazz who looked at them and sighed as he slid back into the seat.
"I have no grandiose or small goal like you guys do. I been around longer than you fucks have been alive, so this new shit honestly just is not my thing." He sighed before looking at his hands. Both symbolically representing his two sides of himself. The gloved hand representing his time under Yhwach, and his bare hand representing his time when he was younger, before he got involved with the mad Quincy King. "But really?" He began and felt his eyes soften and his muscles relax in the chair. "I want to find my purpose. Something Jugo could be proud of." He began. His mind brought him back to their final encounter in Waherwelt, where he died at his best friends blade. "For years, I was angry at him. Angry at the fact that he went with the man that hurt me and him, and took everything away from us. Angry at the fact he didn't seem to care." The phantom feeling of his blade cutting into his flesh and his warm blood soaking through his clothes.
"But that day." He muttered under his breath, as he felt his body collapsing to the pavement and looked at the back of his friend. "When I felt my life leaving me, and when I looked at him. I saw something in his eyes. Something different. Something I have never seen in his eyes before." He looked up at teens in front of him. "He was sad." He continued. "His eyes had sadness in them. Not pity, just sad. And I couldn't figure why he was sad. Until, Urahara gave me this when I arrived to his training room." Bazz outstretched his hand and manipulated the shadows. The darkness coiled around his hand and soon disappeared, revealing an ornate and beautiful broadsword, sheathed and presented itself in all of its glory, and on its handle, was the emblem of his name. He took the sword into his hand firmly and rested it on his lap, gazing upon it fondly as a smirk danced across his face, a smirk full of nostalgia and sadness.
"Then it hit me." He began. "After all these years, that silent bastard still cared about me, and our friendship was still there." His smirk soon faded as he slowly pulled the blade out of his sheathe just a little, leaving just a small portion to reveal his reflection in the blade itself. "He always cared, and he didn't know how to balance his personal life and his servitude to Yhwach." He sighed before fully sheathing the blade and felt his brows furrow in anger. "Jugo was hurting, maybe even more than I was, and I spat in his face." He felt his anger spark louder as he clenched his fists. "Whatever it takes, I'm going to find a way to make Jugo proud, something that can make him smile." Bazz-B smiled and felt his fists relax.
"Well," Ichigo began. "I haven't known you for as long as he did. But, I forgive you, and the rest of the Sternritters down in Urahara's basement." Ichigo started. Bazz raised an eyebrow in genuine shock as he listened to the words that left the Substitute's mouth, even Uryu was somewhat shocked at the notion, as he felt there was going to be some sort of animosity between the two, even after Bazz had defected during the war and him being here with them. However, the strawberry rolled his eyes with sigh of slight annoyance.
"Don't give me that look dude." He continued. "I mean it, I forgive you all. If I hadn't, I probably wouldn't have told Candice to dodge the attack I fired at her." He laughed softly. He still remembered the shocked face on Candice's face when he had fired the Getsuga Jiujisho towards her. He didn't want to kill her in the slightest. In fact, he hated the idea of killing someone, and only done so if there was no other option, like the situation of Ginjo and Yhwach. "I mean sure, you guys were the enemy, and you actually tried to kill me. But, my own problems was with Yhwach and him alone. 'Sides..." He looked up into the sky with a slight chuckle escaping his lips. "...you guys aren't the first people who tried to kill me who I ended up becoming friends with." He smiled as the memories of Byakuya, Kenpachi, and Grimmjow had surfaced into his mind. They all had tried to kill him when he had first met him, and now, he considered all three to be close friends, even though Grimmjow drove him crazy with his training routines whenever he had visited Hueco Mondo.
Ichigo turned his gaze back to the The Heat wielder with a small grin. "Look, I ain't saying I have all the answers to your predicament here. Only you can figure that out, but whatever you need help with, you can count on me to help you out. In fact, you can count on all of us. You aren't alone anymore, Bazz." Ichigo nodded to him, with Orihime smiling at the Quincy and Chad nodding once before turning the music off completely. Bazz stared at the teens in front of him in minor shock. They were different from the Sternritters, as outside of Giselle and her little posse, and Gerard and Askin, they all hated each other and nearly ripped each other to shreds if it wasn't for Haschwalth and Yhwach keeping them in check, no matter how much they been threw. However, they were totally different. He hadn't learned much about Ichigo's life, since he didn't bother to learn more about him and his friends after learning he was a War Potential; but he knew the overall gist of what they had gone through before they had attacked. Instead of hating each other, since not only his new King, A term he was struggling to get used too with Uryu, was a Quincy, but his best friend and cousin took the path of the Soul Reaper, and his two friends were Fullbringers. On top of that, Ichigo was best friends with Hollows.
They all should of hated each other by default, yet somehow they had caused and created peace amongst themselves better than their actual clans had caused.
A chuckle released from Bazz's mouth as he stood up from his seat and stretched his arms high into the sky. "Don't get all sentimental on me now, Kurosaki." He muttered as he turned around and began to walk to the patio door. Ichigo felt his scowl return on his face. After all, he just admitted that he saw Bazz as a friend, and pretty much spat on the idea. However, before he was able to speak, Bazz stopped and turned his gaze to him and the rest of his friends. Instead of his usual cockiness, his eyes had more of a truthful look to them, and he had let out a slight huff of amusement. "You know something? Your not that bad, Ichigo. Thanks." He complimented before turning around again and looked to the open patio doors. "Now, we should get some sleep, since we have the fucking hellscape to go to tomorrow." He muttered before walking in the house and eventually out of sight.
"He's right." Chad said as he stood up and grabbed his phone. "We need to get up early tomorrow so we aren't late tomorrow." He said before walking into the house with Uryu behind him, leaving Orihime and Ichigo behind who stood up from their seats.
"Ready to go in, Orihime?" Ichigo asked her, who nodded happily as she walked past him and towards the house.
"You think we will meet new friends in Kuoh Academy tomorrow, Ichigo?" Orihime asked her crush who shrugged his shoulders as he kicked dirt on the fire, snuffing it out almost instantly before he began to walk to her and towards the door.
"Who knows, Inoue. I think we will. After all, it's a new school." Ichigo replied. Satisfied with the answer, The last two of the Kurosaki gang walked into the house, with Ichigo slamming the patio door shut and locking it behind him. In just a few minute's, the interior houselights were turned off one by one, as each person went to sleep, ready for the new day and new experiences Kuoh Academy would bring them.
Unaware that the world as they know it, would soon forever change.
AND CUT! This is the brand new rewrite of My "A Displaced Soul Reaper" fic!. In this timeline, the Bleach Universe and the Highschool DxD Universe are merged into one! Currently, only a handful of people from the Soul Society know about the existence of Devils and other mythological beings, where as only a handful of beings from all the pantheons know about Soul Society, Quincies, Hueco Mondo, and the Soul King. And when I mean a handful, You could LITERALLY count on one hand how many people from the DxD side of things know about them and vice versa. Btw, Sorry If i didn't get the characteristics of Ichigo and the gang down, Ill try my best next time in the second chapter!
So, this isn't going to be your typical "they befriend Rias" trope that alot of fics do (no hate towards them really). In fact, this takes place after the events of Season 1 but before the Kokabiel arc commences. There will ALSO be villains from Bleach's Hell Arc, CFYOW, and the Hellverse coming in, since CFYOW is going to be an arc for this story! Will Ichigo and the gang meet Rias? of course, but they aren't going to bow down to her and follow her every whim. THIS IS IN NO WAY A RIAS BASHING FIC BTW. But just like how theirs the Gremory and Sitri group, this will be the Kurosaki group for lack of a better term, consisting of Uryu, Bazz, Chad, and Orihime. Also, The groups won't know each other off the bat. Rias and Sona, as well as their peerage, have no knowledge of Spiritual Pressure, or Shinigami, and can't feel their power that Uryu and everyone is emitting passively, and Ichigo and the gang won't be able to sense something wrong about Rias, Sona, and their peerages since they aren't accustomed to Mana and the other mythological beings in DxD. However, with time, they will begin to feel something isn't right with each other, since Plot stuff (which I won't tell ofc) will occur that will make both realms able to slowly sense each other. Don't Worry, this is still a battle fic, but right now, think of this opening arc as a Supernatual/Slice of Life arc for the first few chapters.
Yes, Uryu is going to rebuild the Quincies and make them a Kingdom in Silbern. However, right now he has no idea how to fully manipulate the shadows yet like Yhwach and Haschwalth was able to do. I plan to make the Quincies an ACTUAL faction here, just like how the Devils and stuff are, with their own dimension and such that they can call home. That is why, I made the Bambies survive (which they canonically did survive the war, and run a cafe in the human world during the events of CFYOW), but also made Bazz, Gerard, and Askin survive with tons of Soldat's. Bazz will be Uryu's second in command, where as Askin and Gerard serve as his generals for the Soldats and the Bambies. If you want a general idea of what the Silbern will look like after Uryu figures out a way to rebuild it, think of it like a mixture Solitude and the Imperial City from Skyrim, meets the Minas Tirth from TLOTR, and Edenia from Mortal Kombat.
Lastly, There isn't going to be a harem for Ichigo or even Uryu, since that doesn't mesh with their personalities well. At most, Ichigo will be involved in a three way relationship with Orihime and Akeno, since I did decide thats who he is going to end up with, While Uryu is on the table for Sona. Don't expect them to be dating in like the third chapter though, its going to take some time.
Anyway, Hope you guys liked it! DROP YOUR COMMENTS ON WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT IN THE STORY! HOW WILL RIAS AND THE GROUP REACT WHEN THEY LEARN ABOUT SHINIGAMI? HOW WILL ICHIGO AND THE GANG REACT WHEN THEY LEARN ABOUT DEVILS!? WHAT DID CENTRAL 46 NEED SHUNSUI, MAYURI, URAHARA, AND BYAKUYA FOR!? WILL ICHIGO LEARN NEW TECHNIQUES WITH HIS QUINCY POWERS?! I WANNA HEAR SOME THEORIES IN THE COMMENTS PEOPLE!
See you all next time, when the first chapter of the first arc releases! Titled "School Days I" !