Hello readers! Another chapter down, another good writing being written with this one! Thank you all for reading and reviews, I do read them all to help me improve on the story on what I got right and what I got wrong, I hope you all continue to support me on this story!
Update: So... you're all probably wondering where I've been... WELL! After I uploaded chapter 2 in December, a week after I got hit with the nastiest fewer, I was miserable and in bed, I can't even sit straight and felt dizzy, so I couldn't really do much but rest, lasting almost the end of December, so that damped my mood of writing until January where I continued to write on chapter 3.
Then came another fewer/cold in January! From the 8th of January 2024 to the 16th of January 2024 was a shit week for me, not only I had to travel by plane to make my visa, I had to do it while feeling terrible, it was awful, after I recovered it took a while before I continue to write again, thus making this a late upload...
I just wanna say thank you for being patient and waited, and it seems I got more people following this story so don't worry, I'm gonna continue writing this. Plus I had to play the events in genshin too to gather materials for writing. And yes, they did Mountain shaper and moon carver dirty with those NPC models. I will continue writing (Unless I'm dead that's how this story would stop but lets not think about that...)
Sorry for the lenghty AN, enjoy.
Date of writing: 17th November 2023
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Genshin Impact, they are owned by their respective owners
Chapter 3: Familiar feeling, and experience
Inside the Temple of the Lion
You're fast on your feet, seems like the Knight of Favovious are competent after all."
Ichigo stared at the new arrival as held up his blade, cautious of the man wearing all black as the two stare each other down, his own blade in hand still up. "Not letting your guard down, good." he spoke as his gaze is fixated on the orange hair substitute Shinigami.
"Who are you?" Ichigo asked, but before things escalates any further, Amber jumped in between the two with her arms out stretched, breaking the stare down.
"Ichigo wait, he's not an enemy! That's Master Diluc, he's on our side!" The Outrider spoke in between the two as she looks to their old alley. "What brings you here, Master Diluc?"
The red haired man, now called Diluc puts his large sword away, crossing his arms as he stares at the group. "I came to take care of the issues relating to the Abyss, as it is involved with Stormterror, and to my surprise, I stumble against you all, the Knights of Favonious can be... insufficient..." he said as he turns his gaze to Ichigo, staring the orange hair swordsmen with a calculating look. "Except you, you might be able to set things straight around here."
Ichigo placed his sword back once Amber explained who this new person is, though he can tell this man keep his guard up at all times, and from his comment about the knights, he's not too fond of them, strange to call such names to your allies, though it could mean something has happened between him and the knights in the past. "Agree to disagree, but your involvement does make this situation a whole not more interesting." Kaeya said with a clap of his hands as he walks up to the group.
"My business is of my concern, right now I am doing what the knights can't." Diluc says as he turns to leave from where he came, Amber and Kaeya let him go as they turns and exit the other way, Ichigo stare at the tension the red head has against the knights. He didn't have much time to think about too much as he follows Amber and Kaeya out, perhaps another time he'll ask about it.
Outside the Temple of the Lion
Ichigo walks out to see the sky clearing up of the many tornados, the dark sky cleared of all the clouds, it is a clear sign he can assume the third temple has been taken care of, and that is proven true as he heard a voice approaching them. "My my, looks like you all took care of things at your end." he turned to see Lisa, along with Noelle making their way to Ichigo's group.
"Seems like you've cleared your temple, Lisa." Kaeya said with a smile, resting his chin above his hand as he sees the two unharmed, showing no struggle in their fights.
"Well I wouldn't say it was a walk in the park, but with Noelle's help we were able to clean up all the nasty monsters no problem." the librarian said with a smile, praising Noelle which caused the young maid to blush as she looks away in embarrassment.
"I-i didn't do that much, miss Lisa was the one who handled most of the work, really..." the shy maid knight said as a blush crept onto her face, embarrassed by the praise she receives as she tries to hide in by covering her cheeks with her hands.
Amber chimed in with her cheery smile. trying to make the maid feel proud of her achievement. "Come on Noelle, take the praise and puff up your chest proudly, you did great!" her positive attitude did well on making the young maid knight feel better, but still a bit embarrassed.
The group all smile and laughed as they talked, while Ichigo stood by, watching them with a smile, then a brief flash of his friends came to his mind as they group reminded him of home, his family and friends. He covered his eyes with the palm of his right hand, taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh, but his thoughts were interrupted by a voice in front of him. "Ichigo? Are you okay?" he looks up to see Amber, a concerned look on her face, eyeing Ichigo in his state.
He shook off the feeling, putting up a front as he give her a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine, just sleepy, woke up early today." Ichigo said with a wave of his hand, he didn't want to worry anyone of his personal troubles, so he decided to hide it, no need to let out emotional baggage to ruin a good day for them. "Since we're done now. we should head back." Ichigo said as he quickly changes the subject, the rest looking at him concerned, all except Kaeya on the other hand still eyes him in suspicion.
As Amber watches the retreating figure of Ichigo she couldn't help but still worry, but it's his decision on not saying anything and she will respect it, only when he's ready to talk she'll hear him out. For now she followed him back along with the others, chatting away as they traveled, taking a shortcut down the hill and Ichigo noticed a large tree in the distance with another statue of the Anemo Archon.
"That's one big three over there, is it special?" Ichigo asked as he turned his head back towards the knights, Lisa spoke up as she chimed in her knowledge of the subject.
"It's called The symbol Mondstadt's hero, it is believed to have grown after Vanessa ascended to Celestia, though right now we can't see it with the dark clouds in the sky, it'll be visible once this is all over." Lisa said with a smile.
Ichigo raised a curious brow as he looks back at the tree in the distance, he was tempted to ask about Celestia, but if he were to ask too much about something of this world it'll look suspicious, so he'll have to go into her library to read about it later. He then felt a hand tapping on his right side shoulder, turning around to see Lisa once more with a curios look. "Amber told me how you can use Anemo proficiently in your fights, and yet I don't see you having a vision on you."
Her eyes scans body from top to bottom, liking what she sees but also seeing no signs of a vision to be spotted on his body. "I find it interesting that someone such as yourself from Inazuma to be able to control the elements without the use of a vision, what's your secret?"
Uh oh, he hasn't gathered enough information to come up with a good excuse, for now, he'll have to wing it and hope they buy in to his act. "I... have it in my pocket, I'm a bit rough when fighting so it might fall off." Ichigo said with a glance to the side, they won't suspect anything, right?
"Oh, well we can do some shopping for a chain to hold onto it once we get back." Lisa said with a smile to her face, offering the opportunity to get to know the orange hair swordsmen.
Fuck! He is being backed into a corner, and if he refuses it will seem suspicious, especially to Kaeya, he's noticed how the cavalry knight has his eye on him for a while now, so he has to play it calmly for now. "Uh, sure, let me know when you're free and we can go." Icigo replied as he took a quick glance at the back towards Kaeya, from the looks of it he didn't see so for now, he'll have to be careful with the eyepatch wearer.
For now, the group walked back with Ichigo up ahead, with many thoughts running through his mind.
Mondstadt inside the city walls, road to the Knight of Favonious Headquarters
Upon arriving back and entering into the city, the knights are showered with praise and cheers, the citizens all seem to appreciate their hard work and effort in the contribution of stopping the storm, nothing like Soul Society where everyone finished their mission, just finish the job, and go back to your squad and move on with your duty, at least that's what Renji told him.
Other than that, the rest of their walk to the headquarters was normal, that was until they saw the active Grand Master in front of a building with another woman, who seem to be dressed in a black leather coat and purple clothing, her light brown hair tied in a ponytail and the thing that caught his attention, the mask she wore. Ichigo stayed back to listen in from a distance as the knights behind him sees his action, then their gaze follows Ichigo's to what he sees. "If I recall, isn't that Anatasia from the Fatui?" Lisa asked in a quiet voice.
"Seems so, wonder what they want with Jean." Kaeya said as he stare at the two as he too listens from afar.
"Which is what brought us to this point in the first place." Anatasia said to the acting Grand Master standing before her. "If you are unable to promptly deal with the Stormterror threat, then you will have no choice but to leave the defenses of Mondstadt to the Fatui." she continued on, from the looks of things Jean isn't having any of it at the moment, even with how much she is holding back, the amount of work load she is having and to deal with this is pushing her to her breaking point.
"We can put an end to Mondstadt's dragon issue once and for all, all we need to do is bring that monster-" And at the moment she snapped, Anatasia was cut off with the sudden outburst of the acting Grand Master.
"Monster?" Jean said in a calm yet angered tone that is slowly rising.
"Yes, what's your point?" was all the Fatui member said before Jean spoke up again.
"I'd expect a more attitude from your diplomats, yet here you are, suggesting we put an end to the Four Winds of Mondstadt's?" her anger reached a boiling point at what she is hearing, the words sting to her core, her brow furrowed as she stares at the diplomat in front of her. "I won't have any of this nonsense in front of the Knights of Favonious, when you suggest that you put an end to one of the four winds, you insult us and our culture, so I suggest you refrain from any further comment on the matter." Jean finished her speaking as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Anatasia let out a chuckle, her right hand concealing her mouth, her eyes stare back at the blonde through her mask. "Heh...hehehe, it's not as crazy as you make it out to sound, acting Grand Master." soon she composed herself, putting on her work persona once more. "That's enough negotiation for today, at this stage it's simply... an amicable exchange of constructive opinions, no?" the Fatui said with a small wave of her right hand. "I'll be sure to make... thorough notes."
She turned to leave, but before she does, she turned her head back to Jean. "Your time is limited, if this issue isn't resolved soon, we will step in without your approval." with that final comment she left, but not before she catches a glance of the group that was watching them, with her eyes locked onto Ichigo she has her suspicion on the new arrival to the city. 'Thorough notes indeed...'
Once the Fatui member left then the group made their way to Jean, who seems to be pinching the bridge of her nose to ease the rising headache she seems to be experiencing at the moment, taking a deep breath as she then rubs her temples, opening her eyes to see Ichigo and the others. "Oh, you're all back... sorry you have to see me like this.." Jean took a shaky deep breath to compose herself, though failing a bit.
All the stress from work, and now dealing with the Fatui diplomat, and Stormterror's attack, she didn't need this today, but all hope wasn't lost. "Thank you all, the elemental flow is finally stable, we can rest easy for the time being." she said with a smile to each members of the knights, along with Noelle and their new guest, Ichigo. "The aftermath of Stormterror's last attack is finally settled for the moment." the smile didn't last long as it is replaced with a frown, looking down at the ground.
"Something's going on between with the Fatui, isn't it? We saw Anatasia left not too long ago." Kaeya chimed in as he rest his chin in the palm of his right hand, going over any ideas what they might have in planned to deal with Stormterror, if anything, he hopes it's manageable.
With a nod of her head she looked at them once more, "The Fatui aren't going to sit still while this issue is still going on, with the pressure of the delegation has become too big to be ignored... From Snezhnaya, the Goddess of Cryo herself."
"Eh? Isn't that the famous group? Well, more like infamous is more like it." Paimon spoke up, having heard of them before.
"Yes, those Fatui, and here they are suggesting to kill Stormterror, I don't think that's the best course of action." Jean said as she took in a deep sigh, her lack of sleep starting to catch up to her. "The Cryo God's Fatui have always coveted the Anemo's God power, I don't believe they have Mondstadt's best interest at heart." her posture wobbled a bit, startling most of the knights in front of her before she adjusted her footing. "Sorry you all have to see me like this..."
"Perhaps you should rest, I'll take over for a bit." Lisa said with a concerned look as she placed a hand on Jean's shoulder, letting her rest a bit. "For now let us all head back to the headquarters, then we can give a brief run down on our mission."
Everyone agreed to the notion, and with that they escorted the acting Grand Master to the building and into her office, where upon entering her chair is facing away from the group, but soon they heard giggling from behind it. "You have done well, my fellow knights, you all deserve an award." the chair slowly turns around, sitting in it a small girl dressed in all red with a hat and elf ears. in her laps a large leather backpack and a fluffy doll with a tail as she strokes it like a cat. "I, Grand Master Klee, will now give you a promotion with a week off work!" the small child now called Klee said with glee.
The room remained silent, staring at the small girl dressed in red on the chair. "Did someone lose a child?" Ichigo asked, breaking the silence, his answer earned him more giggling as she stood up and stood on the table, her hands on her hips.
"I'm Klee, the Knights of Favonious' strongest member!" the little elf girl said with joy with a proud smile. With her on the table he gotten a better look of what she wore, and it's mostly all red, plus her full height, the big red hat, brown gloves, small brown boots, a four leaf clover in front at the bottom of her dress.
"Klee, not now, I need to sit down..." Jean said as she let out a sigh, walking over to her table as she set Klee's backpack down and took a seat, easing her rising headache. "For now, can you go play in your room, we need to discuss some private matter..." she leaned forward, resting her right elbow onto the table with her head in the palm of her hand, the free hand reaching for her cup of coffee, taking a sip of it. Ah... it became cold, oh well...
Klee hops off the table to retrieve her backpack and straps it on, but not before she turned to Jean again. "Awe, but Klee wants to play." the small child said with a hint od sadness, but she understood what Jean has to go through, it didn't make it any less lonely. "Will you play with Klee later?"
Jean didn't know how to answer that, with the Stormterror's crisis still ongoing and now the Fatui hounding at her for answers, she has many things on her plates right now, but to her rescue Noelle walked up to Klee and greeted her with a smile. "I'll play with you, Klee." the young maid said as she reaches her hand out. Klee's mood brightens up like the sun as she took Noelle's hand.
"Yay! Let's go play outside!" Klee said as she practically drags Noelle out of the office to play. Jean sighs in relieve, thank the Archons for the contribution of their maid knight.
With Klee gone Jean sat straight in her chair as she set her cup down, staring at the four in front of her. "Alright, your reports?"
Amber spoke up first as she walked up to Jean's desk. "The temple of the Falcon has been cleared and we encountered no problems, I'm happy to say that Ichigo and I cleaned house and took care of all the monsters, with Ichigo displaying excellent control over Anemo." the Outrider said with a smile and a small salute.
Jean nodded at the report as she picks up her pen to write down on paper, soon dismissed Amber as Kaeya walked up soon after as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Temple of the Wolf, cleared, a small hiccup but with the arrival of Amber and our new friend, Ichigo, I was able to get out of it safely, with Ichigo clearing all the mods and a good display of swordplay to boot." the cavalry captain said. "Oh, and we encountered Diluc while we were there, one of the Abyss mage tried to take Ichigo's small friend by surprise but he and Diluc took care of it swiftly, after it set up a trap for us." Kaeya ended his report with a small wave.
Jean raised a brow at the mention of Diluc being there so she couldn't help but ask. "And why was Master Diluc at the temple?"
"He didn't specify, just said it's his business." Kaeya replied with a shrug of his arms, classic Diluc, keeping everyone in the dark.
Of course he does, he always has been ever since that day, she couldn't blame him and yet, this situation they need all the help they can get. Then again they have some help with the new arrival of Ichigo, but there's not much information on him, and they can't put all their trust to a mysterious stranger that showed up, but still... who are they supposed to turn to at this moment?
"Alright then, and you, Lisa? How did that go...?" Jean spoke up after writing everything down as she looks to the librarian.
Lisa walked up to the desk with a smile as she crossed her arms below her breasts. "Noelle and I took care of it all, with the Temple of the Lions cleaned up of all the baddies, she was a great asset, the young girl has been improvements in herself as a knight." she finished her report with a nod. Lisa stared at her friend as she writes down all the report, she wish to tell her to rest, but such a word doesn't exist in the active Grand Master's vocabulary. She wishes the crisis would be resolved soon.
"Alright then, anything else?" Jean asked as she looks up from her paper, her gaze landing on Ichigo last as the other knights turns to look at him standing there, expecting something he has to say.
'Should I tell them of what I got in the forest? They seem to be trust worthy so far, well... besides Kaeya who has his sights on me, I guess I could extend a little bit for them to open up more to me.' Ichigo debated in his thoughts as he reached into his Shihakuso, pulling out the red glowing gem from inside as he held it out for the others to see. "On my way here from the forest, I encountered this thing that dropped from the dragon after it flew off, so I picked it up along, didn't wanna leave this nasty looking thing in public."
Jean stood up from her desk, going around as she went to inspect in closer, the other knights gathering around to see, they are all fascinated by what they see, but also cautious, the crystal emanating a dark energy that they can feel, as a shiver run down their spines collectively. "And you say this is dropped from Stormterror after it flew off in the forest?" Jean asked as she looks to Ichigo for answers.
"Pretty much that's all that happened." Jean still has her suspicion about him but for now, she'll take is words for it, looking to Lisa for advice.
"See that you can analyze that thing and see what answers you can come up with." Jean asked her fellow librarian, surely she can figure out the strange object before them.
"Leave it to me, I'll simply- Ow! That hurt!" Lisa retracted her hand from the sudden sharp pain from the mysterious crystal. "The impurities in this crystal, it has a negative reaction when I get close..." the librarian said as she rub her hand to ease the pain. "It seems it has this reaction with vision wielders."
It appears everyone in the room are keeping their distance from the crystal in Ichigo's hand, all while they are questioning how he is able to hold it without issue. "If that's the case, how come you are able to hold the crystal with no problem, Ichigo?" Jean asked as she eyes him close.
'Crap...' Is all that's going through his mind right now, he looks to Paimon for answers but even she has nothing. Jean and Kaeya has their eyes on him for an answer, Amber looks to her new friend for a reasonable explanation, while Lisa stares with interest.
As if some miracle, or a disaster, a large explosion was set off outside the building of the headquarters, causing the insides the shake violently. "We'll discuss the matter another time... for now, you may stay at the Goth Grand Hotel for the night." Jean sighed as she exited the office to check on the commotion that she knows who have caused.
"Looks like you dodged the bullet this time, it's as if the Gods are looking after you." Kaeya said with a sly smile as he follows Jean out, leaving Ichigo to silently thank whoever saved him out of his situation.
"Well seeing as the topic has been dropped, want to grab a bite to eat with me?" Lisa asked the rest of the group, stretching her arms above her head a she lets out a tired moan from her work all day.
"Huh, really, Lisa? You sure?" Amber asked as she follows her friend out of the office, not before taking a glance back at Ichigo as he pockets the crystal back up and joining them in silence.
Good Hunter
With the group of four heading down and making their way to Good Hunter, they all took a seat, Ichigo setting his large blade down as Sara came up to them to take their order with menus in hand. "Welcome back you guys, great job on taking care of the storm." Sara complimented with a smile, patting Amber's and Ichigo's back respectively. "So, what can I get you all for tonight?"
"You're too kind, Sara, but all we did was our duty." Lisa waved her with a smile, letting our a giggle as she placed her order. "I'll have some soup and a side of salad, please."
"Thanks, Sara, it was no problem, but you should have seen this guy in action, it was all sorts of fighting I've never seen before!" Amber said with a large smile, placing her hand on Ichigo's shoulder as she shook him back and forth. "He's even super fast and-" Amber began but was silent by a hand over her mouth.
"Let's save it for later, it's weird hearing praise about me, plus, it's not a big deal what I can do, you were amazing out there too." Ichigo said as he leaned back in his seat as he released his hand from her mouth.
Sara let out a chuckle at the interaction between the two. "Well Amber is like that, plus getting praise from her is a big deal." she soon turns her attention to the brunette in question. "So, what will you have tonight, miss Outrider?"
Amber took a moment to thought of what she'll have, "I'll have some Mondstadt hash brown, please." the Outrider said as Sara took down her order, she then finally turns to Ichigo with Paimon beside him.
"So, handsome, what will you have tonight?" Sara said with a teasing voice as she lets out a giggle in between.
To Ichigo's dismay he averted his gaze from the comment, looking at the menu of the dishes in front of him, he couldn't ask for something costly so he decided on fishermen's toast, but Paimon saw something else and spoke up first. "We'll have the sticky honey roast!"
Ichigo's eyes widen as he looks back at the price, soon lifting the menu to cover his and Paimon's face. "What are you doing,, we can't afford that, plus Lisa's treating us." he spoke in a hushed voiced.
"But that's exactly why Paimon picked it, Lisa's treating." Paimon said innocently, looking at Ichigo with cutesy eyes.
Ichigo sighed, palming his face with his free hand as he soon lowers his menu as he faced Lisa. "I'm sorry, Paimon seemed to be very hungry, I'll pay you back when I earn some money." the substitute Shinigami said a bit embarrassed at the order made.
Lisa let out a small laugh, her glove covered hand in front of her lips as she leans back in her chair. "No worries, handsome, it is my treat, so help yourselves." the librarian said with a smile. "Plus, if you want to repay me back, you can be my little helper tomorrow~" she finished off with a wink and a smile.
A shiver went down Ichigo's spine, he gulped nervously at what she implied by 'little helper' tomorrow, only time will tell. "Um... sure..."
"Alright then, gimme me a few minutes and I'll have your orders out soon." with that Sara wrote down everyone's order and took her leave to prepare the food for the group, leaving them to themselves to chat away.
"Say Ichigo, if you don't mind me asking, why couldn't the crystal hurt you?" Amber asked, turning her eyes to Ichigo as Lisa does the same. "You can tell me, I can understand."
With curious and questioning eyes on him, Ichigo has a hard time coming up with an excuse right now, and from the looks of it, there isn't going to be anything to change the subject from this conversation. Weighing his options and considering what to do next, he took a deep sigh as he stares back at the two. "I know I haven't met you for long, and you have many questions in your mind, and I can appear suspicious to you, but right now as of this moment, I ask you to trust me, I'll... tell you in due time."
It was a gamble, he hopes the answer will be enough for the time being until everything is settled. Amber stared into his eyes in silent for a moment before closing hers and nodded her head. "Alright then, I trust you, but you should tell me soon, I can't stay quiet for too long."
"So we have your word and a promise, not very much to go on, but if you hold no ill intention towards Mondstadt, I suppose I can put my trust in you as Amber does." Lisa said, leaning back in her chair with her legs crossed. Her eyes stares into Ichigo's still holding some suspicion on him as to not let her guard down completely.
"Sorry, it's just... it may be hard to believe..." Ichgio said, looking away to avert eye contact. Before any further questions are asked, Sara arrived with glasses of water as she sets them down on the table.
"Food will be done in a wait minutes, thank you for waiting." with that said she soon returned back to the kitchen.
Everyone sat in silent for a moment, Amber taking a small sip of her drink as she decided to change the subject. "You said you're from Inazuma right? What was it like for you there growing up?" setting her glass down she leans on the table and rest her head on her hand, her feet dangling back and forth as her curios eyes stared at him.
Thinking quickly, he'll have to tell a simple story with not much detail, otherwise what they might know of this Inazuma region may contrast with his tory. "Well, I grew up in Inazuma, had a simple childhood with my mom and dad."
"And where did you learn how to fight using the sword like that?" This time it was Lisa's turn to ask, crossing her legs as she leans into the table with a smile.
"A friend of dad, well, two of them, one taught me the basics, the other taught me the advanced." Ichigo said as he recalled his time with Urahara and Yoruichi, both of whom he have trained for a short amount of time, but still consider them his teacher. "Actually, there is a third teacher, he... was mysterious but how he taught me to properly use Zangetsu, it became second nature to me."
"Zangetsu?" Lisa asked with a raised brow, her her gaze turning to the large blade resting besides the table.
Ichigo picked up his Zanpakuto by the hilt as he lift it up, showing the black metal blade as he holds in front of his horizontally in front of him. "The name of my swords, I fight with them, they fight with me, they're like my partner in battle."
Lisa raised a curious brow to his answer, it seems he cares about his swords greatly, but couldn't put picture why, perhaps she'll ask him more about it tomorrow.
Amber on the other hand, stared at the blade in awe, leaning in closer for inspection as she can see her reflection against the flat end of the sword. "Woah, it's so huge and yet you can hold it up with one arm, that's amazing, and the quality of the sword doesn't seem to be worn out either." Amber reached out her hand to touch the flat end, tracing her fingers across the metal.
After Amber was done admiring it, Ichigo sets it down by his side. "Yeah, it's a special blade to me." Ichgio said with a hint of pride in his voice.
Sara soon arrived with everyone's order on a tray in hand, standing in between Amber and Ichigo. "Food is ready, I hope you enjoy." soon she placed the honey roast in front of Ichigo and Paimon, Amber's hash brown in front her, then made her way besides Lisa and place her salad and soup. "If any one needs anything, please don't hesitate to ask." with that Sara bowed slightly and went back to her kitchen.
After thanking Sara for the food, Paimon wasted no time in grabbing a slice for herself and taking a bite, letting out a content moan as the taste hits her mouth. "So gooood~"
"I'm happy to hear it, Paimon, please enjoy it to your hearts content." Lisa giggled as she took another bite of her salad with a smile.
Ichigo looks as the dish in front of him before using a fork to pick up a piece, lifting it up to his mouth and taking the first bite as the taste melts in his mouth. "I will agree, it does taste good."
"I know, right? I always get it once a month, twice if it's my birthday." Amber said as she finishes off her hash brown, then taking another bite of her piece. "Like it's hard to resist the temptation of the roast, but when the next month comes, that's the first item I'm ordering!"
"I see, then here." Ichigo grabbed a large slice and placed it on Amber's plate. "Here, for today's hard work and for bringing me here."
The Outrider stares at the piece of honey roast in front of her with star in her eyes, drooling slightly. She took the large slice and took a bite, savoring the taste with small tears forming at the edge. "Thank youuu~ This is heavenly~"
"I know, Paimon can't stop eating it!" As Paimon finished her slice of meat, she took another and began eating.
Everyone continued to ate, having small talk from here and there until the time to leave is fast approaching. As Lisa paid Sara for an excellent meal, she turned to the stomach filled group. "Shall we take a nightly stroll to walk off the calories?"
"I definitely need one after that slice of roast." Amber said as she stretched her arms above her head, letting out a long yawn escape her lips. "Once I get home, gonna shower and head to bed, I'm up for early patrolling."
"Sounds good to me." Ichigo agreed as he placed Zangetsu on his back. Paimon floating with her hands on her food filled stomach.
"Perfect, we can all take walk since we're all heading to the same direction." Lisa smiled as she led the way as the others walks beside her. "Oh, and Ichigo, you can come look for me tomorrow some time after noon, I'll be in the Knights of Favonious library, you'll find me there."
"Alright then, Lisa, thanks." Ichigo nodded his head as he takes in the nightly breeze, it felt calm as the walk helps clear his mind after a long day today, it felt peaceful, well as peaceful with a giant ass dragon rampaging on, but it still felt nice, it felt... lacking. Something is missing, or rather, he missed that feeling of home as it sank in slowly to him.
While Mondstadt is nice and welcoming, it isn't Karakura town and Soul Society, this isn't his home. The question that lurks his mind is will he ever find a way back, and the only connection is the mysterious God at the beginning he encountered once he arrived. Whatever she did to him, he's here now and needs to find a way back... hopefully.
"Ichigo, hello? You there?" Paimon asked as she patted his shoulder, snapping Ichigo out of this thoughts as he looks to the others staring at him.
"Something on your mine, Ichigo?" Amber asked with a tilt of her head, curious to what got him in deep thought all of a sudden as he hasn't answer some question during their walk.
"Sorry, I spaced out, nothing serious..." Ichigo waved it off, keeping it to himself.
Amber sighed as she placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head slowly from all the kept secret from her. "Just... talk to me when you're ready, alright?" The Outrider said to which Ichigo only nodded, leaving Amber somewhat satisfied "Fine, but once you make sure Mora, you can make it up by buying me lunch~" she said with a tease and a wink.
"You'll be the first one I'll ask to lunch, for sure." Ichigo replied with a chuckle, continuing on with their walk up the stairs, heading back to their respective rooms to rest up for the night.
Within reaching towards the Goth Grand Hotel, Ichigo soon sees Noelle approaching him, holding a shirt in hand with her. "I was able to find you, Ichigo, so about my offer this morning?" the young maid knight asked as she points to his torn sleeves. "I even acquired a shirt for you to wear in the meantime." she held out the simple brown shirt, just about his size from it seems.
"Oh, I almost forgot, guess I've been fighting like this I got used to it." Ichigo examined his torn shihakusho sleeves before placing his Zangetsu to the side as he takes off the damaged top, then emptying the red gem and glider, but an idea came to his mind. He soon turned to Noelle and the others to see them staring at him, all three with different shades of blushes on their faces, Paimon at the side shaking her head.
"Uh... here..." Noelle handed the shirt over as she turns her head to the side, but sneaking another peek as she side eye him with her face fully red.
Amber with her face almost just as red, steam could be seen coming out of her ears as she gently bite her fist. 'You can grate cheese on those abs!' and as for Lisa, a light blush, but with a pleased look on her face and a nod.
As Ichigo hands over and the glider, he leans into Noelle's ear, whispering something as he soon put the temporary shirt on. "Can you do that, Noelle?"
Noelle nodded, calming herself down as she took a deep breath to let the blush die down and nodded. "I can, I have studied Inazuman style of clothing, so using the proper silk wouldn't be too hard, and as for your request, it'll be easy, I'll have it delivered to your room in the morning." the maid knight bowed and soon skipped away by the clatter of her boots.
"What did you request from Noelle?" Amber asked as she recovers herself, still a bit red in the cheeks.
"You'll find out tomorrow, for now, shall we head to bed?" Ichigo said as he strapped back Zangetsu onto his back, letting out a small yawn.
"Thanks for the good show tonight, I think I'll have a pleasant dream tonight~" Lisa giggled as she bid farewell as she heads back, waving good bye to the others.
Amber soon stretched her arms above her head, a yawn escaped her lips as she soon made her way back. "We'', I better get home soon too, and I'm glad to have met you today, I'm sure you can help us in our fights against Stormterror." she cast Ichigo a smile, soon making her way back to her house.
After a long day, the two should head on to bed and get some good rest, so Ichigo and Paimon heads for the hotel.
Goth Grand Hotel
Upon entering the building, it is fairly large inside, the lobby having couches, tables decorated and paintings hung on the wall. A large chandelier hung from above the ceiling and a carpet that leads towards the front desk. A few people hang around in the lobby, some he recognized the same outfit that Anatasia woman was wearing, better steer clear of them as he doesn't want to start any trouble and get himself kicked out.
Ichigo approached the front desk, getting the attention of the female worker there. "Hello, I was booked a room from Jean?" the substitute Shinigami asked as she looked up from her large book that she was checking on, getting a look of him.
"O-oh right, Acting Grand Master Jean informed me of your arrival." she stuttered as she grabs another book, flipping through a few pages as she presents it to Ichigo and a pen. "Please sign here." placing a finger to indicate where to sign. Ichigo did so as he hands the pen back while she examine the writing, to which she nodded. "Alright, your room number is fifteen, the left hallway in the back." she handed Ichigo his room key soon after.
"Thank you." Ichigo thanked her as he made his way to his room, not before the front desk lady took another good look at him before he left. Though she wasn't the only one looking, a few Fatui members watched the retreating figure walk into the hallway, among the group is Anatasia herself.
Ichigo walked down the hallway, soon stopping in front of his door with the fifteen in front of it. Inserting the key and unlocking the door and stepping inside along with Paimon, closing the door behind him.
Taking a few step inside he examined the room, a large bed, a shower, a desk with chair besides a window, drawers for clothing, a couch, and among other everyday needs, overall the room is large enough for a dozen people, and he can't believe Jean was able to hook him up with a room like this. Paimon wasted no time and flops herself onto the bed, spreading her small libs as she stretched herself in comfort. "Paimon's so tired, this feels amazing~"
"Well, while you rest, I' gonna go take a shower." Ichigo said as he grabs himself a towel as Paimon let out a tired yawn in response. And so, in he goes as he undid his clothes and stepped into the shower, turning it on as the water hits his body.
It is then he finally got the time to relax, rest his mind, giving him time to think. How ling will he be trapped in this world? Will he ever return to his own? He reach his hand to palm his face gently, letting out a sigh. He isn't one to give up hope yet, he has gone up against the toughest foes and pull through, he will find the answer and his way back, plus he isn't lost yet, Kisuke is a genius, he'll find a way to get him home. For now, he has to be patient and do his part on his end.
Taking a deep breath he proceeds to continue washing himself, feeling refreshed after the battle with Yhwach, he has forgot how long the battle lasted with the man that destroyed Soul Society.
Exiting the shower and finishing off his bathroom routine, he enters the room with a towel around his waist and another drying his hair, seeing Paimon already snoozing away. 'Guess the food coma kicked in hard for her.' letting out a chuckle he walked over beside the bed and pulls the blanket over her body, then sitting on the couch to rest up a bit. 'Tomorrow I'll have to find some answers and connections to that lady.' Ichigo thought to himself, referring to the unknown God that stranded him here
'I wonder how everyone is doing after the war... hope everything is alright...' taking a deep sigh he leans his head back, closing his eyes. His short rest was disturbed with a faint sound on his door knob, sending him sitting up as he quickly got up and swiftly made it to the door, opening it to see a figure running away. Acting fast, he grabbed a clean pair of hotel shorts and out them on, and exiting his room with the key.
His chase ended in him exiting the hallway and into the lobby, too many people are still around for him to narrow down who was at his door, and he can't go around accusing everyone. "Is something the matter, sir?" Ichigo turned to see one of the hotel staff, her arms folded in front of her as she eyes him with a smile,
"No, not at all." Ichigo said as he waved it off, soon going back to his room. "I'll be heading back to my room now."
"Enjoy your stay at the Goth Grand Hotel, sir." she bid him farewell with a bow as Ichigo's figure left the lobby, soon she let out a sigh as undid her disguise, revealing to be Anatasia herself. 'That was too close... I'll have to be careful around him next time...' she soon walks back to her room as she brought out a device from her pocket. 'I'll have to inform him about this.'
The scene played out didn't go unseen by a third party at the far back, her cold eyes analyzed the situation as she got up, finishing her drink as she exits the hotel.
Ichigo returned to his room as he closed the door, locking it. He took a look at the clock and it's almost close to eleven. He decided to wash up his clothing for tomorrow, he didn't have much to wear in battle right now so it's what he can do for now.
Once laundry is done, he grabbed set the towel back in the bathroom and decides to rest up, sleeping only in his shorts as he lay down next to Paimon and closed his eyes, drifting into a peaceful sleep.
Ichigo's inner world
Opening his eyes, Ichigo looks around the sideways skyscapers, having the feeling of familiarity as he gazes at the building all around. "Zangetsu, if only you were here right now, I need some guidance... wait.' his eyes widen, realizing he can summon them right now.
Closing his eyes, he focuses his reiatsu and pours out his soul, two figures exits Ichigo's body in a golden light as both Zangetsu stood before him now. "It is good to see you, Ichigo, though I wish we could reunite on better situations."
"I'll say, you sure was clumsy letting your guard down when moustache man pulled a sneak attack on you." Ichigo's white counter part said as he let out a scuff. "So, you need our help?"
"That, and some familiar faces, this world we're in seems like a different, I never heard of these place called Mondstadt or Inazuma before, but from what I gather the latter name is Japan based from the name." Ichigo let out a sigh, ruffling his hair with his hand as he explained the situation.
"It doesn't help that you didn't get a name from her, just a description of her appearance." the Quincy power of Zangetsu said, gathering the information they have currently. "And from there, she left you trapped only to awaken who knows how long has passed."
"So, what's the course of action?" Ichigo asked as he looks towards the black Zangetsu for answers and the plan in the meantime, honestly this talk is helping him mentally slightly, having some he knows to talk to.
"For now, we gather information on this mysterious individual, get any leads we can, and hone your skills in this new land and familiar ourselves with their culture to mask you better." the mature Zangetsu said as he stroke his rough beard on his face, looking towards Ichigo with a soft gaze. "And yes, I do miss this feeling of talking with you, Ichigo."
"Yeah, whis this new wind power you got, we can incorporate it in your fighting style, also that swing today was sloppy, I spin the blade much faster." The Hollow side of Ichigo's power boasted as he soon draws the new shape of the large Zangetsu out, appearing in his hand, pointing it at Ichigo. "I'm gonna drill all my skills in you, we're having an all night training session!"
Letting out a chuckle, Ichigo drew his blades with a smile, getting ready in a battle stance. "Sure, I could use a warm up."
"If that's the case, I'll join in then." the Quincy powers of Ichigo's Zanpakutou spirit stated as he soon materialize the shorter sword in his hand, getting ready for a two versus one training. "We can continue our talk later, seems like there is much to teach."
The three go right at it, sending Getsugas at each other and clasing blades, sparks flying as the side ways skyscrapers are damaged in the process, though it matters little as it repairs itself the next time Ichigo visits. Now, they only focus on the fight at hand as the Hollow side go for an overhead swing, bringing the blade down onto Ichigo, to which he blocked it on time.
Seeing an opening Ichigo launched a kick to the white Zangetsu's stomach, sending him backwards. Then comes the black Zangetsu jumping into Ichigo's line of sight as he fires arrows at him as Ichigo use Shunpo to dodge. "You've gotta teach me how to use that when this is all over!"
"I plan to, though it'll be harder for you to grasp, so be prepared for a harsh lesson ahead." another barrage of arrows was fired as the old man Zangetsu kept firing. "Not to mention you acquired a new elemental power in your arsenal, so we'll be busy with lessons."
Ichigo nodded and charged past the arrows, dashing towards old man Zangetsu as he prepares his a left swing of his blade, but was blocked by Zangetsu's own blade, sending sparks fly apart. Ichigo sensed the Hollow coming from behind as he blocks the incoming strike with his blade, still having his back to the white counter part. "Getsuga-" Ichigo began as he charges for his attack.
Both his Zanpakutou spirit saw this and began to charge up as well, all three gathering large amount of reiatsu into their blades. "Getsuga-"
"Tensho!"
"Tensho!"
"Tensho!"
All three fired their attacks point black range at each other, causing a large explosion at the center, smoke filled the area, soon clearing to show all three are unharmed, standing and facing one another. Soon, each started to chuckle, then laughter filled the air. "It's been so long since I've had a good spar that doesn't involve saving the world."
"It has been some time yes, and a long time since we have a fight like this between Zanpakutou wielder and spirits." the old man Zangetsu said with a smile, soon withdrawing his bow and blade.
"So, Zangetsu-" Ichigo began to ask.
"Yes?" "Yeah?" both said in unison, to which Ichigo sighed, it seems sharing the same name could be confusing when addressing the both of them.
"I guess using a differing name could be better..." Ichigo began to think of a name to address the two as he soon got it. "Okay, we can keep it simple, Hollow Zangetsu can be addressed as Shiro, and old man Zangetsu can be addressed as Kuro."
"That's it? You took less than a minute to come up with that?" Shiro said with an unamused frown.
"Got any better names?" Ichigo countered back as he scuffed at Shiro's remark.
"Yeah, call me Great All Mighty-" he never got to finish as Kuro interrupted him from his declaration of a longer name.
"I like it, it will do, Ichigo, if it helps not confusing us." Kuro said in a calm voice as he soon held out his hand. "Now then, shall we start with basics?" soon activating Blut Vene.
Ichigo watch Kuro's hand as the blue lines appear, remembering the time it was first activated for him, then a shudder as a hand reach for his neck. "Alright then, let's start."
"Don't forget, you'll be learning some cool Hollow techniques with me later." Shiro called out in the back as he watched the two begin their training. Ichigo, who is now focused on gathering his Quincy side of his powers struggled a bit to even activate it as he stares at his hand.
"Perhaps we can call it for tonight." Kuro calmly said, retracting his own hand back into his cloak. "Rest up well for tonight, we can continue it another time." he placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulder with a gentle smile. "After all, we're always with you, best not to give up hope," a short pause as Kuro closed his eyes, soon opening them again as he stares into Ichigo's eyes. "after all, you never did."
"Thank you, Zangetsu." a smile spread across Ichigo's lips, soon the world around him starts to glow white as he exited from his inner world, a silent hovers through the air as the two Zanpakutou spirits are alone.
"So... you really think there's a way back?" Shiro asked, bringing up the question of one of the two has in mind.
"I do not doubt the abilities of that man, Kisuke, he has come through every time before, but in a worse case scenario..." Kuro paused, looking at up with his gaze. "I do hope Ichigo don't take the news too harshly, I cannot stand another rain in this world..." both stood silent side by side, staring into the cloudless sky, looking towards the future.
Ichigo's hotel room
A light snore filled the quiet room while the two slumbers, though it will soon be disturbed by a knock coming from the door. This repeated for a while before Ichigo slowly got out of bed, letting out a yawn as he approaches the door. "Who is it?" he asked in a tired voice.
"It's me Noelle, I have finished sewing and your clothes is fixed." a soft voice can be heard from behind the door, soon Ichigo unlocked it and opens to see it indeed is Noelle. She presented the now fixed Shihakusho folded to Ichigo as she averted her gaze. "Good morning, I have also done the request you asked, it wasn't too much trouble at all." a light blush appeared on her face, keeping her eyes from looking.
"Morning, and thank you Noelle." Ichigo smiled to her as he took it in his hands unfolding it and is amazed by the work, as if it was never damaged at all. The long sleeves is the same as they always were, and looking at the back, he can see she indeed made the adjustments to the glider now sew to it, now in a black color to blend in with it. "I can't thank you enough, I'll definitely pay you for the work."
"No need, I'm happy to help, if you excuse me, I better go and get on with me morning routine!" the maid knight bowed as she excused herself and left the hallway, leaving Ichgo by the door as he watches her leave.
Sighing he closed the door and went back inside, going to do his morning bathroom routine as he prepares himself for the morning, putting on his new Shihakusho and Hakama, dressing himself, he went to wake up Paimon. "Paimon, wake up, it's morning." he gently shook the small fairy as she rolled onto her side, facing away from the substitute Shinigami.
"Five more minutes..." Paimon said through a tired sigh, pulling the covers back onto her small body. She let out another soft snore before she felt another shaking, this time more violent as Ichigo shook her awake. "Okay okay, Paimon's awake!" she got up from bed as she floats up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Is it time for breakfast?"
"We can go when you brush your teeth." Ichigo said as Paimon lets out a groan, soon doing that and comes back out, now freshly cleaned. "Alright, let's head for the dining hall." with that said, Ichigo grabbed his Zanpakutous, his room key, and the crimson crystal with him as he pocketed it, exiting the room with Paimon, heading to get breakfast.
Upon entering, he received a few looks from most Fatui members. 'Great... second day here and people are already looking for trouble... just get breakfast and leave.' Ichigo made a bee line to the food court displayed, grabbing a plate for two as he fills it up for the two, then making his way to an empty table and sitting down to begin eating. "Let's make this quick, I wanna explore the city before we meet up with Lisa." it was a half lie, mostly to leave so they won't start trouble.
Of course, Paimon nodded with no problem as she munches on her food without a care in the world, so Ichigo made haste on his plate as well. "Good morning, comrade, pleasant day, yes?" Ichigo looked up from his half finished plate to see Anatasia standing in front of his table with a smile and food in hand, "May I join you for breakfast?"
"I'm sorta in a hurry-" Ichigo didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as she sat down across from him, folding her hands in front if her and resting her chin.
"So tell me, what's a handsome swordsmen like you doing here in Mondstadt?" Anatasia decided to break the ice with a small conversation, her eyes on Ichigo as she stares at him closer.
Ichigo has a gut feeling that she isn't just here for some small talk, he'll have to keep it short. "I'm just a traveler going from place to place, seeing what Teyvat has to offer." he kept his talk to a minimum, finishing his food as he prepares to leave, grabbing his plate, but a hand stopped him from leaving as she placed it on his own.
"Don't be like that, I just got here, can't you keep a beautiful woman company?~" Anatasia said with a wink as she held onto Ichigo's hand, but he kept on pulling his arm to release from her hold.
"As much as I like to keep you company, I do have to go, I have to meet up with a friend later." Ichigo finally got his hand out of her hold as he got up, soon making his way to the exit with Paimon following close behind.
"Then shall I be a tour guide for you through the city?" Anatasia got up and tailed Ichigo from behind, leaving her plate of food behind, walking close besides Ichigo.
At this point, she made it all to obvious that she has an alternative motive, so he'll have to figure a way to lose her. 'She's very persistent, I'll give her that.'
'Even if she does have something to gain, maybe we can change her mind if you spre-' Shiro was quickly silent as Shiro silent him for Ichigo's sake, and saving him from an embarrassment.
An idea came up to his head as they exits the hotel, "Sure, how about a shopping district." he'll use this distraction to lose her.
"Sure thing, right this way." Anatasia led the way down to the lower district as they made their way down the stairs, keeping an eye on Ichigo as she faces forward. The moment the both of them took the final step down to the main street, Ichigo quickly vanished, surprising her as she turned to where he once stood. "Huh?! What the?! Where did he go!" she let out a shocked uproar, looking around.
From the top of a windmill Ichigo watches Anatasia looks around clueless for him, letting out a chuckle as he held onto Paimon. "You okay, Paimon?"
"You could have given Paimon a warning..." Paimon held her mouth, almost losing her breakfast, soon freeing herself as she hovers besides Ichigo. "Glad we managed to lose her though, she was pushing a little too hard to approach you."
"I agree, for now let's avoid them for the time being." Ichigo hops off the windmill as he soon landed safely to the ground, taking a look around to kill some time before he meets up with Lisa. 'What to do in the meantime...'
Looking around, eberyone seems to be setting up shop or has opened up already, all lively as they greeted everyone on the streets, it amazes him that the people living here can still keep going after a storm attack yesterday. "Hello, excuse me, yes you, the orange hair swordsmen." Ichigo looks to the side and see a black hair woman calling out to him in a booth, wearing a light green dress with a clash of white. "Hello there, I couldn't help but notice someone like you, would you like to join the adventurers guild? We can use someone as skilled such as yourself." she beamed a smile to Ichigo.
"I'm not sure, since I don't plan to stay here long, and joining in something and just up and leave doesn't sound beneficial to both parties, joining and then being absent like that." Ichigo made his way under the booth, explaining his situation.
"No need to worry about that, we operate in a wide network all around Teyvet, the adventures guild is everywhere with news travel far, plus you can be compensated as you take on requests, with the guild taking a percentage of course." the woman explained as she hands Ichigo a handbook for the guild as he looks it over, it does solve his money issue if he's gonna be in this world for a period of time.
Thinking this over for a minute, Ichigo nodded, accepting the offer. "Alright them, sign me up."
"Splendid! Please fill this up right here, and I'll submit it to the guild and inform them of a new member." she hands Ichigo a pen and paper as he wrote down his name and age, soon handing it back to her with all the details written down. "Ad astra abbyssosque! Welcome to the adventurers guild, I am Katheryne, I'll be your guide on anything you have questions on and anything else." Katheryne smiled with a bow.
"Thank you, I look forward to working with you." Ichigo said back, the feeling reminds of of working at Ikumi, this shouldn't be too hard. "Should I start now?"
"Of course, but since you're still a new member, I will have to give you an easy one for you first job, hope you don't mind." Katheryne said as she retrieves a job request from behind the counter as she hands it to Ichigo. "This should be up to your skill level, good luck." she waved to him with a smile and Ichigo looks through the paper.
"I don't mind at all, thanks." After reading the job request he made his way towards the Knight of Favonious headquarters, making his way around back to see a training field set up, and a young woman with light brown hair tied in a high ponytail, panting hard as sweats drip down her face with a wooden sword in hand, and several wooden targets set up around her.
"Good morning, you must be the one who send out the request!" Paimon waved to the panting young woman, catching her breath as she sees the two approaching her. "You must Ellin, we're here to help you with your training!" Paimon flashed her a smile.
"Good morning, hello there, and yes, I'm Ellin, the one who requested help with my training" the young woman named Ellin greeted the two, offering her hand to Ichigo.
Ichigo shook her hand as he introduced himself to her. "Nice to meet you, the name's Ichigo, what would you like to learn?"
"I want you to teach me how to fight." Ellin said, her eyes determined as she clutched onto her wooden sword.
This catches Ichigo's attention, crossing his arms he thinks for a moment, then opens his eyes to look into hers. "What's your goal for training?"
"To become a fellow knight in the Knights of Favonious, and to one day become the next Grand Master!" Ellin said with pride in her voice, staring back, her gaze not wavering as she stares at her new teacher.
"...Alright then, we can start now, seeing as you worked up a sweat that will be your warm up." Ichigo said, though he's not sure if he can be a suitable teacher to her, seeing as he was taught by Kisuke, Yoruichi, Zangetsu, the Vizards, and some training from Squad Zero, so his idea of teaching is a more direct combat approach. "Come at me with everything you have." he gestured for her to attack him.
"H-huh? You want me to hit you?" Ellin is caught off guard by Ichigo's instruction.
"You can try, you just need to land a hit on me, that'll be step one." Ichigo said as he placed both his Zangetsu's against the wall, standing a few feet in front of her.
Ellin wasn't sure if he's insane or just confident in his skills, but she can't back down now if she wants to become a knight. Holding her sword steady in both hands, she approaches forward with a large vertical strike downward, her target right in front of her. The wooden sword slowly inches close to Ichigo's head but at a split second, he's not there, hitting air as she almost loses balances.
She regained her footing as she sees her teacher leaning against the wall, his arm crossed as she dashes for her target again, slashing diagonally left as Ichigo dodges the incoming attack, "How is this training?!" Ellin let out a frustrated sigh as she stops and catches her breath, dropping on her knees.
"It's the first step, endurance, unless you can last long enough in a drawn out fight, your stamina, this will be your training to see how long you can last in battle." Ichigo said as he helps Ellin up, "Better get better in step one soon, step two will get harder."
Ellin gulped at the thought of a harder step after this, but braced herself as she reminded that this is for her goal, so she grasp her sword and kept at it until the morning soon turns to afternoon, not a single hit landed on her new teacher as she lies down on the floor, her sword rolling out of her hand. "I never had such a teacher like yourself before... I asked the other knights... they never done this kind of training for me..." Ellin said in between pants, heavy breathing as she is covered in sweat.
Ichigo walked over to the down Ellin as she lays down with her arms and legs spread, exhausted from the training they've done. "You're slowly getting there, the speed is getting better, and endurance is improving." Ichigo said as he sat down in front of her, crossing his legs.
"You think so? That's good." she looks up from her position as she slowly sits up, mimicking Ichigo's sitting position. "Say... will you... will you continue to train me? You're totally different from the knights who just tell me to do some basic drills, you, you interact and help me with my training and give feedback." ELlin soon shifted her position as she pulls her knees up, hugging them, resting her chin. "With you, I feel like I am making progress."
Not having any form of teaching skills of his own, he isn't sure if he should agree, but if what she says is that she's improving, who is he to deny it, perhaps it can be some experience for him as well. "Alright then, I'll be your teacher."
Ellin rose to herIchig feet with a cheer and smile, "Yes! Thank you, I'll be sure to request you specifically for tomorrow, and you'll be well compensated!" with fire ignated in her eyes, she feels more excited as she looks forward to the training.
"Well get some rest for tomorrow, you'll need it." Ichigo said as he got her, soon handing Ellin the paper in which she signed and hands it back to him. Ichigo and Paimon waved good bye as they made their way back to Katheryne, greeting them with a smile.
"I take it went smoothly?" she asked as Ichigo hands her the paper, examining it and soon nodded.
"Piece of cake, plus I'm getting some learning experience out of it as well." Ichigo said as Katheryne hands Ichigo a bag of Mora for his job well done.
"Well, keep it up, tomorrow will be another day, bye you two." Katheryne bid the duo farewell as Paimon rummages through and counts how many they earned, seeing a fair amount for the job.
"Wow, one thousand five hundred Mora for a training session, Paimon wouldn't have guess." Paimon soon puts the Mora back as she face towards Ichigo. "What's next on the agenda?"
Putting the bag of Mora away, he now heads for the Knights of Favonious headquarters. "To meet up with Lisa, she did say to find her in the afternoon."
Knights of Favonious headquarters
Ichigo entered the building as he looks around, searching for the library where he's supposed to meet Lisa. He didn't have to look long as a sign besides the door reads 'library' as such. Grabbing onto the door handle and opening it, seeing many books and a bottom floor over a railing. Ichigo steps inside as he closed the door and sees Lisa besides a bookshelf, examining each one as she looks troubled.
Paimon floats on over to the librarian as she went on greeting her. "Hi Lisa, how's it going!" Paimon smiled to her with a wave, Ichigo joining in as the two of them caught her attention.
Lisa smiled to the two as she waved back to them, "Hello you two, I'm glad you can make it, for a second you forgot about little old me~" she said in a tease.
"Don't worry, we didn't forget, just got finished doing a request now too long ago." Ichigo says as he pulls out a bag of Mora to show her, this made Lisa smile with a nod.
"Yeah, Paimon saw how great Ichigo did on his first request, Ellin says she'll continue to ask for his help again tomorrow." Paimon says, recounting the event not too long ago.
Of course, Lisa knew hours ago, as she saw them outside the window behind the headquarters as it caught attention from some of the knights stationed inside. She heard of the word going around so she went and see for her own eyes and it is true, so she played along and pretended not to know, letting a giggle. "That Ellin is such a hard worker, seems like you made a big impression on her for her to ask you again. Each day a different knight would assist in her training, but she never asked the same one, so you truly made a good impression on her."
"I'm just glad I can help out, she reminded of me a bit, she seems to determined so I said yes." Ichigo answered back with a shrug, soon changing the topic. "So, what's up? You had a troubled expression on your face earlier, something up?"
Lisa let out a sigh, palming her forehead to ease the headache she is feeling. "Well I'm irritated that some books are overdue on their return, so it's giving me a headache, I just can't stand with people who can't return them on time." she shook off the feeeling, eyeing Ichigo again with a smile. "I'm sorry that you have to listen to me rant."
"Not at all, if you want, we can assist you!" Paimon said as she grabbed onto Ichigo's sleeves. "We can help you get them back."
Lisa smiled to the help as she went to her desk and job down some notes, bringing along her small purse. "I'll join you, I do want to get out of the library and get some fresh air." she walked on her as she grabs hold of Ichigo's arm, dragging him out as Paimon follow suited.
Mondstadt town square
Going around collecting the overdue books for Lisa turned out wasn't too much trouble, plus Ichigo managed to get a gift for her of an old scroll, to which Lisa expressed her joy for the gift, and her favorite flower as well. The help soon ended with the three ending at Sara as they grabbed a lunch at Good Hunter. "Today was so much fun, we gathered the overdue books, and I received some gifts from my handsome helper~" Lisa smiled as she finished her soup, leaning back into her chair.
"Glad to help, I find it enjoyable to find out more about you as well, Lisa." Ichigo finished up his meal as he lets out a sigh, feeling relaxed from his day of work. "Shall we head on back?"
"As much as I don't want to, I have to go back to work, I wish I could enjoy spending more time with you, until our next date then~" Lisa got up, with Ichigo brining the books back with him. As they made it back outside, Lisa insisted she can carry the rest back to her office, saying farewell to Ichigo, leaving the substitute Shinigami free time to explore the top floor of Mondstadt, seeing the large Anemo Archon statue.
At the base of it, he sees a green bard playing music, gathering people around, he took a close look and recognizes the one from the forest yesterday. He made his way closer as soon as the song is over, the bard bowed as everyone applaud for his performance. They rewarded him with Mora as he soon sees Ichigo, his eyes curious on him as the crowd carried on their day. "We meet again." Ichigo said to the bard.
"Likewise, it seems the wind has guided you to me. Venti's the name, music is my game." Venti strung his strings with a smile as he greeted Ichigo. "Seems like you did well on your fight against Dvalin yesterday."
"Dvalin?" Ichigo asked, confused on the name. "It's not called Stormterror?"
Venti sighed, a sad expression on his face as his shoulders slumped down. "Stormterror is the name the people call him because they forgot it's name, he used to be the protector."
It seems the information revealed to Ichigo changed his few, seems like Venti knows more than he hold on, it seems like he'll have to question more about it.
Goth Grand Hotel
"What do you mean you lost him as soon as you left the hotel?" a male member of the Fatui asked.
"I mean I lost sight of him when we got down the stairs, what do you not get by that?" Anatasia sighed in frustration, pacing back and forth in the hotel lobby as she failed in her mission to gather information out of Ichigo.
"Maybe you should have lose some layer of clothes and show him your- Ow!" The same male Fatui member was silenced by a shop to the head by another female Fatui, looking at him in disgust. "I'm kidding!"
"That was such a distasteful joke." the female Fatui member said coldly.
"Right now, we should do what we can before he arrives, we should get some results." Anatasia said as she began to calm down.
"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Another voice spoke out, surprising the three members as they turned to see who it is. They all got to one knee and bowed to him, despite him looking shorter than the rest of the members present. His attire color are mostly clashed in purple, his large hat overshadows his eyes as she looks down at each of the members in front of him. "So I take it that the negotiation with the Knights of Favonious isn't a success?" his cold eyes stared down at them.
"N-no mister Balladeer, sir..." the male member stuttered out, his gaze remaining on the floor.
"Useless, I'll have to take charge then, with two Harbingers on the job, this will be over in no time." The Balladeer makes way to the exit as he takes matters into his own hands.
Date of finished writing: 18th March 2024
Hey, sorry if it seems the last few parts felt rushed, well because it sorta was since I have to finish this and upload it before I board my flight on vacation. I finished this late night and my flight is in the afternoon. Sorry again for rushing the last few bits.
Remember to let me know how you feel of this chapter, I'll keep working on it the best I can. And hopefully work on chapter 4 while on vacation, but no promises there. Now onto answering some of the reviews!
Kaleodpscope beauty: I got you, with the elements in Ichigo's hands, I'm gonna have fun coming up with different techniques for him.
Dxhologram: A simple name change in google translate while also looking up Japanese meaning behind said word to fit.
AbyssWalker Warren: The pros of writing when a game is 3+ years old, I get to incorporate them early on and write some fun situations and scenes. Yeah I needed to write better casual conversations, gonna need to work on that in future chapters. I understand your dismay of Ichigo keeping a secret identity, but it was voiced on keeping it, but I will make an exception where Ichigo chooses who he trusts his secret with. But the readers will have to let me know on that.
TheMoonInstinct: Zangetsu is back so that answers that. But I will make Ichigo slowly learn it rather than him grasping the concept easily.
Player0ne: I got you, as shown just now he is getting that feeling, it'll be a slow build up. As for the elements, I got many more ideas cooking. As for th Konso and Hu Tao, I'll get to it when we get to Liyue.
To Conquer: Thank you for your support again, your feedback is appreciated. Yeah, I agree it is natural for a stranger to show up, say they wanna help, and question the motive, it's a sense of realism. Also don't worry, I won't go overboard with too many new techniques.
Protector for all: Diluc sees Ichigo as a capable fighter so it would make sense to call him competent to carry the knights as he views them so negatively. AN yes I am aware of bleach brave souls, I play it too, I'll have to come up with ways for those types of transformation.
carlcj23: I'm not the best in describing clothes, also can you type out what I got wrong? I took a look and couldn't find it. Also I see, I saw a few from other fanfics too, I understand the feeling that they nerfed him.
Stand up and be strong: He surely will, I too enjoy the scenery in genshin.
Proto-Saber: First off, love the name, second, thank you. I agree there's not a lot of Bleach x genshin fanfic so I took it upon myself to write some. Yes, I do watch character analysis to keep in check of Ichigo's character, and he will take different approaches to the story than the linear option presented in game. That orange hair Fatui gonna give Ichigo some flashback of another battle hungry fighter he knows. For pairing, I'll have to see how this story will go, I do have some I want but we'll see.
And for party set up, I'll sometime use the 4 party set up, but if there are like story situation that requires more than 4, I'll add 1 or 2 extra. And yes, they won't be just cheerleaders, I want them to be capable fighters that can hold their own.
Ki: I am using the in game map for a base, but I do want to add more to it as it feels small in game.
EruChitabdaTheQuiet70: That'll be a kept secret until later on in the story~
Guest: Fixed that mistake, Teyvat is fixed to continent, and I'll upload it as soon as I am done here.
N1cock: I understand if you feel that way as it feels like it early on, but now this is where the story diverge from the game.
An Unsolved Matter: He got surprised and wasn't expecting Amber to push him, plus he couldn't form a platform where she might see. The glider is for him to blend in to pretend he doesn't have a power of a God that can nuke their world.
EOS Aizen: The glider is to disguise himself to blend in with people in Teyvat. Also I understand how Ichigo received his elemental powers was lame, so I will do something different than just touching a statue. Also yes his spirits are back and will train him in the powers he posses and learn to control them.
That's all with the review, and somewhat proof read chapter. Now off to bed to prepare for my long flight... Hope you all enjoy and review! Let me know what you like and dislike! Every feedback helps for this story to grow!