"That kid is really something" I sighed out as I leaned back on my arms, eyes closed as I sensed the reiatsu's of the group of teens.
Ichigo had just managed to defeat a lieutenant. Not just any Lieutenant, but Abarai Renji, who I had to admit was probably the strongest out of them all.
There was a couple of times I wanted to intervene, but Ichigo had managed to defend himself pretty well. I had to admit, the fact that I couldn't really find his reiatsu was alarming, but I knew he had a member of the 4th squad with them.
Now that was a bit of a surprise, but those 4th squad members were a bit soft. I wouldn't be surprised if Ichigo had bullied the poor kid into helping them.
"He really has grown, hasn't he?" Yoruichi mused as she came to sit beside me.
"It's almost scary, really" I chuckled softly as I opened my eyes. "He reminds me of Kaien in that regard"
"You ended up pretty busy yourself" She looked up at me, a gleam of amusement in her eyes.
"Oh, just some long deserved revenge" I shrugged. "No big deal"
"I'm sure others felt that as well"
"I wouldn't be surprised if Ichimaru told them I was here" I scoffed. "He would have taken delight in that"
"I am worried, though... What was that weird flare?"
"Weird flare?" I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion. "What weird flare?"
"You didn't feel that?" Yoruichi matched my confusion. "Something was off with your reiatsu for a second"
"There was?" I frowned. "That's... concerning. I didn't notice anything wrong" Except... that weird twitch in my eye. "I'll let Urahara check me out when we get back. For now, we'll just see if it happens again"
"That sounds like a good idea. Hopefully Kisuke can give us some answers"
Hopefully...
•••••
Panic flared inside me and I immediately jumped up, but before I could flash step, Yoruichi jumped on my shoulder and exuded a pressure that kept me in place.
"Calm down"
"Calm down?" I snapped. "Calm Down?! Do you realize who that is?!"
Ichigo had encountered the Captain of squad 11, Zaraki Kenpachi. A literal monster in human form.
"Enka" Yoruichi stared at me. "He'd cut you down before you could draw your blade for interrupting. You know that"
"Then what do you think he'll do to Ichigo?! Ichigo doesn't stand a chance against that monster!" I could feel a pressure building in my chance. No. I can't panic, not now.
"Ichigo stands a better chance than you do right now" Yoruichi ended up releasing the pressure, and I collapsed onto my knees.
I didn't realize I was already that far. But I didn't care, I just needed to get to Ichigo. I had to save him.
"Enka" Yoruchi snapped, and I froze. Yoruichi had never raised her voice towards me before. "You can't save anyone if you get yourself killed!"
But.. Ichigo... I had to get to Ichigo. I had to be there, I had to make sure I didn't lose him...
"I can't lose him, Yoruichi!"
She sighed, and wrapped her tail around my neck. Probably trying to comfort me as best she could in this form. "You won't. I promise. If things go downhill, I'll get him out"
"And risk exposing yourself? You're even more wanted than I am"
"Yes. I won't let Ichigo die, I promise"
"Thank you.." I felt a bit of relief. Yoruichi stood a better chance against Kenpachi than I did.
"Now breathe. You're going to end up passing out"
•••••
Ichigo had surprised me. He had managed to cut down Zaraki Kenpachi, a man that would probably give the head captain a run for his money.
Not that he came out unscathed.
Looking down at Ichigo's unconscious form on the ground, I felt dread build up in my chest. Kenpachi had done a number on him, and there was no Squad 4 around. My own healing kido didn't do much for more than shallow wounds.
"You took quite a beating" Yoruichi murmured as she looked him over. "But going up against Zaraki Kenpachi, that's expected. Taking him out in the progress is quite the achievement"
"I'd say..." I joked before that Ichigo's growth rate was scary, but now I was genuinely starting to worry. No one grows this fast, not without something helping it along.
"You fought well. You endured well. I'm impressed" Yoruichi complimented him. If only he was awake to hear it, she didn't give out compliments easily.
"What do we do now?" I asked, gazing at the growing pool of blood with concern.
"I won't let him die, I promise" Yoruichi started to glow, and I immediately averted my gaze. I heard a lighter voice chuckle. "Were you always so shy?" Yoruchi asked in her normal voice, now in her natural form.
"I'm not all that use to seeing naked people, Yoruichi"
"It's fine" she grinned. "We're both women, there's nothing with being nude around each other"
"L-Let's just get Ichigo out of here" I wasn't going to admit I didn't like looking at her because I was jealous of her body.
I nearly had a heart attack when I saw her pick Ichigo up, still completely naked. "What are you doing?"
"Relax" She purred. "We can't stay around here. I know a safe place we can go"
I was hesitant, but realized we didn't have much of another choice. "A-Alright.." I picked up Ichigo's sword, and looked over it. "You really went through it, didn't you Zangetsu?" I could almost feel a reiatsu reacting within.
"You ready?" Yoruchi asked, and I nodded while slipping Zangetsu on my back.
Yoruchi then flash stepped away, and I followed closely.
•••••
I heard Ichigo scream, and I flash stepped faster than I ever had before towards where he was.
"Ichigo! What's wro-"
I froze.
Yoruichi was in her human form infront of Ichigo.
Her naked human form.
I swore, and was by Ichigo's side before he could react. I immediately smacked my hands over his eyes, making him cry out in pain. Not that it mattered to me right now.
"Yoruichi, what the hell?! Ichigo is fifteen! A child!"
"He didn't seem to mind" she grinned.
"I don't care! He's a kid! Now put some clothes on before I put them on you"
She sighed and rolled her eyes before heading over to where she kept her clothes in a pile, where she proceeded to put on a turtleneck. I watched until all the necessary bits were covered, before removing my hands from Ichigo's eyes.
"Was that really necessary?" He grumbled and rubbed his face.
"You're too young to be seeing stuff like that. And since your dad isn't here, it's my job to protect your innocence" I shrugged and crossed my arms. "Yoruichi, you should have known better"
"Sorry, sorry" She sighed. "I haven't worn clothes in a while, so I forgot"
"Sure you did" I scoffed.
"Is this your first time seeing a naked woman?" Yoruichi grinned at Ichigo.
"It better be" I narrowed my eyes at the teen, who's face was bright red.
"Shut up" Ichigo groaned.
"Are you sure?" Yoruichi said playfully. "If you don't look at a young woman now-"
I cut off Yoruchi by throwing a rock I picked up right at her, which she easily dodged. "Enough, Yoruichi. The kid's would is bleeding" Blood had started leaking through his bandages. "And put on some pants before you flash the kid"
It took some fighting, but I managed to make Yoruichi get dressed despite her complaints about clothes being constricting. Too bad for her, I cared more about my nephew's innocence.
While I had struggled with Yoruichi and her near nakedness, Ichigo had been inspecting the device she had used to bring us here. Not that I was entirely sure where here was, I've never seen this place in all my years living in Seireitei.
"So you used this to fly and bring us up here?"
"That's right" Yoruichi confirmed. "There's not another like it in all of Seireitei. It's rare and valuable"
"The Shihouin's got all the fun stuff" I mused, crossing my arms.
"I wouldn't say the Shiba's didn't have anything fun either"
"Well we did blow up alot of stuff"
I could see Ichigo giving me a quizzical look, but I waved him off. I didn't necessarily like keeping things from him, but it's not entirely my story to tell. Maybe someday Isshin will be ready, but for now the kid's gonna have to be in limbo.
Instead Ichigo turned his questions over to Yoruichi, inquiring about all her abilities. While he did so, I turned towards the entrance intent on feeling around for the reiatsu of the other kids. But I didn't get a chance when a strong presence started pushing down on us.
Kuchiki Byakuya.
There was no denying the power that noble brat had. But what concerned me was the other reiatsu I felt, just barely there under the overpowering strength of the Captain's. Ganju.
Before we could stop him, Ichigo had leapt up despite his bleeding wound. Yoruichi halted him with a yell, but it didn't matter. His friends were in trouble, and there really wasn't much we could do to stop him. Unless...
Before I could even knock him out, Ichigo had used Yoruichi's device to break through the covered entrance and fly off.
"Damnit" I hissed as I rushed to the entrance, stopping when I saw the massive drop down. "That idiot!"
I turned back towards Yoruichi. "Tell me there's another way out of here" All I got was a shake of her head. "Damn. Guess we'll have to do this the old fashioned way"
I'm gonna kill Ichigo when I get my hands on him.
•••••
Climbing down the mountain side and rushing towards the Senzaikyū using Shunpo took more time than it would have with the flying device. We probably would have made it in time to stop what had happened.
While Yoruichi had managed to stop Byakuya from releasing his zanpakuto on Ichigo, we were too late for Ganju.
Standing beside his bloody body, I could feel the start of a panic attack forming in my chest. It didn't help that I could feel eyes on me.
Ukitake Jushiro's beautiful grey eyes.
But I didn't look at him. Couldn't.
Not while Ganju was bleeding out right infront of me.
I swallowed down the panic attack. I had to. I'd deal with the repercussions later. Right now I had to help Ganju. I crouched down next to him and started using the healing kido I knew. It wasn't enough, my healing kido wasn't strong enough to treat something like this.
Finally I pulled my gaze away from Ganju and met Jushiro's eyes for the first time. I saw them widen, probably taking in the changes my appearances made since the last time I saw him. Briefly I saw them go to the eyepatch, and the concern going through them.
Same old Jushiro. Still too caring for his own good.
"Juu.." I said his old nickname, almost pleadingly. I spared a quick look at Ganju, and hoped he got the message.
Please don't let another one of my nephews die.
--
So... we're just not gonna mention the many months of absence. Let's just say my life went to shit
Hopefully onto better things!
(Also please point out any grammatical issues. I type on my phone and autocorrect causes issues)