Chapter 4
A few days later
Uryu may be willing to work with Ichigo and consider him only a comrade in arms when it comes to combating Hollows. Even now, Ichigo still gave him the bare minimum story regarding Ushiwakamaru. Which only further confused him as the legend of the famous samurai depicted them as a male instead of a female.
Uryu would not directly call Ichigo a friend and it took some bribery just for him to decide to have lunch with Ichigo and his friends. Now even Uryu surprises himself as he now finds himself training with Ichigo as if they were friends. Ichigo was not some friendly guy who is open to making lots of friends and talking about growing stronger like a generic shounen protagonist. Rather, Uryu finds himself here because he still considers Ichigo to be a disgrace.
A disgrace to archery!
"Don't pull on it! It's not a slingshot!" Uryu yelled.
"I know, you don't have to yell at me!" Ichigo yelled back.
"Then do it like I told you!" Uryu shouted.
As of right now, the two were standing in the back of the mansion with Ichigo. Where Francois had set up several targets to allow Ichigo to practice. For some reason, the orange haired boy found himself having to train in archery because Uryu couldn't let go of the fact that Ichigo was such a novice with a bow and arrow.
For some other reason, Miya thought it would be a good idea for Ichigo to branch out his skills. Only forcing the young Kurosaki to take up archery practice a day after she personally started training him in kenjutsu. To say the least, Ichigo wasn't a fan of this training as he felt like Miya is a sadist in the art. The woman may look pretty and serious, but she's really intense when it comes to swords.
Uryu on the other hand, is just annoying and critical.
"See? Let go now." Uryu said as Ichigo fired an arrow.
Barely hitting the edge of the target before Francois went to retrieve all of his arrows.
"Bad form, your arms were shaking." Uryu noted.
"I hate you." Ichigo muttered.
"Hate me all you wish, but you are only making a fool of yourself when your zanpakuto turns into a bow." Uryu said as he only further annoyed Ichigo.
"Fou!" Fou cried out as he arrived. "Fou Fou." He said as he looked at the targets.
"Fou, now isn't a good time." Ichigo said.
"Fou." Fou said as he climbed up to Ichigo's shoulder and rubbed his paw.
"I know, but my "coach" is a bit much." Ichigo said as Uryu adjusted his glasses.
"The bow is a delicate weapon from a civilized time. You cannot just fire it away as if it were a gun. It takes time to utilize it and urgency to read the situation in order to prepare your aim." Uryu explained.
"Time and urgency? Isn't that a contradiction?" Ichigo asked.
Uryu sighed, "It means that you need to take the time to see your target and how you will see them. Then when you understand that, the urgency will be the threat itself." He said.
"Like knowing how tough they are?" Ichigo asked.
"Not really, sometimes your foe is too fast or they are throwing things at you. Master the first step then you will have to get used to the environment." Uryu said, lifting his own bow.
Where he hit the target five times in quick succession. All which had hit the center with perfect accuracy.
"Outstanding, Ishida-san." Francois said as they removed the arrows.
"And be grateful that you have a great teacher such as myself. If you prove yourself, I may even help you design a brand new wardrobe." Uryu said proudly.
"I'm not wearing all white with shoulder capes." Ichigo said with a tired look on his face.
Then Francois appeared with snacks and drinks, "Is anyone parched or hungry?" They asked.
"Thanks." Ichigo said as he grabbed a glass of lemonade.
"How did they do that?" Uryu asked, wondering how fast Francois works.
"Ignore it, Francois is built to be the greatest butler in the world." Ichigo said as Francois smiled.
"That is my sole purpose after all." Francois said.
"Fou!" Fou called out.
"Yes, something for you as well, young master." Francois said as they gave a snack to Fou.
"Fou." Fou said, sounding delighted.
"Ichigo-dono, when you are finished. You will have a five minute break before Miya-sama prepares your kenjutsu training." Francois said.
Ichigo almost spit out his drink when he heard that.
"Are you all trying to exhaust me?" Ichigo asked.
"Better tired than dead, but I suppose you can sort of rest when you are deceased and buried." Francois said before heading inside.
Leaving Ichigo to groan while Uryu fell in love with the snacks given to him by the butler.
The next day
Ichigo groaned in pain as he had a few bandages around his arms and felt a lot of aches on his left shoulder. Despite using only bamboo swords, Miya still knew how to hurt Ichigo. The only good feedback that Ichigo received from Miya is that he was moderately difficult for Miya to hit for most of the time.
'She hit me lots of times. I didn't see her struggling.' Ichigo thought.
Ichigo did have enough skills to block a lot of attacks in quick succession and parried a few strong blows, but he could not even hit Miya once. A few near scratches, but that woman is impossible. What made it worse is that Miya wasn't putting in too much effort in their spars.
'Where is Nightingale when I need her?' Ichigo wondered.
"Fou."
"I know, but at least there aren't any psychopaths here to critizice me." Ichigo responded.
"Fou? Fou."
"I stopped caring about what Rukia said." Ichigo said with a shrug.
"Fou Fou."
"Let her complain all she wants." Ichigo said before stopping and looking around. "Fou, where are you?" He asked.
"Fou Fou, Fou." Fou said as Ichigo could see Fou's face.
But it was upside down for whatever reason.
"Fou, why are you on my head?" Ichigo asked with wide eyes.
"Fou, Fou Fou." Fou answered.
Ichigo started to panic, "Get off! No one is supposed to see you!" He said as he tried reaching for Fou.
"FOU!" Fou yelled in defiance.
"Fou, if you're going to come to school then hide in Mash's bag!" Ichigo said before hearing a voice.
"Kurosaki-kun, it is too early in the morning to be arguing with yourself. If you feel frustrated then maybe you should talk things out in the mirror." Orihime said.
Ichigo turned around and saw the bubbly ginger haired girl. Ichigo could only groan as Orihime noticed Fou sitting on Ichigo's head.
"The albino puppy!" Orihime said.
"Orihime, there is no albino puppy." Ichigo said.
"But it's sitting on your head. I can see it." Orihime replied.
"Fou." Fou commented.
"See? It barked." Orihime said as Fou looked confused.
Ichigo sighed, "Orhime, you leave me with no choice but someone has to tell you this." He said as Orihime looked confused. "You have gone insane and are now seeing and hearing animals. Do you think a dog is really capable of sitting on my head?" He asked.
"I suppose that makes little sense." Orihime said, seemingly accepting Ichigo's lie.
"Hey are you two up to something?" Tatsuki asked as she arrived.
Ichigo cursed as the dark haired girl arrived.
"What's with… is that a cat?" Tatsuki asked, noticing Fou.
"It's an albino puppy." Orihime answered before gasping. "Oh no! Tatsuki, if you can see it too then that means you have also gone insane!" She said.
Tatsuki looked confused, "What? If we can see it then it's real!" She said.
Ichigo busted out the coin on the string, "Tatsuki, if there is an animal on my head then there is no coin hanging from my hand." He said.
"Of course there's a coin, I can… see it." Tatsuki said as her eyes began to dilate.
Before Tatsuki could be trapped in some kind of otherworldly trance. The teacher opened the classroom door and looked outside.
"Kurosaki, Inoue, Arisawa, if you are all planning to stand outside before the bell. Then you can all…" Misato Ochi tried to say before noticing Fou.
"Fou Fou, Fou Fou Fou." Fou said while pretending he had his own coin with a string.
Misato just adjusted her glasses as she looked at Fou before quicking entering her classroom again. She then came back out with a very fancy and comfortable looking pillow in her hands. A few seconds later, Fou jumped onto the pillow and made himself comfortable.
"Fou." Fou said.
"Really? You're doing this here?" Ichigo asked as Fou turned away from him.
"Kurosaki, please take your seat before the bell or I will have to mark all three of you as tardy." Misato said, ignoring the fact that she is welcoming animals into her class.
Tatsuki and Orihime already rushed inside but as Ichigo followed them. He heard Mash call out to him as she ran closely behind.
"Senpai! Fou is missing and I can't find him!" Mash frantically shouted.
Ichigo sighed, "He's fine, I think our teacher decided to make him our mascot." He answered.
"Eh?" Mash asked.
The two entered and took their seats where they witnessed Misato quickly erasing everything on the chalkboard and drawing up a new lesson.
"Good morning class, we will be skipping homeroom and moving straight to foreign culture." Misato said.
"Isn't that supposed to be a third year level class?" Uryu asked.
"Consider it an early introduction, Ishida-kun. Now then, we will be tackling the ancient Egyptian government and this little specimen will be our pharaoh." Misato said while gesturing to Fou.
"Fou." Fou said.
"Yes, Fou will be our pharaoh." Misato said. "Now every student will be given different tasks. All ranging from farmers, scribes, tailors and the occasional servant." she said.
"Okay!" Most of the class said as they surrounded Fou.
It was mostly the girls who fell in love with the adorable creature. Seemingly unaware that Fou is a beast, a literal evil of humanity. At least Fou isn't dangerous seeing as how he helped heal Mash in order to allow her to have the lifespan of a normal human.
"This is so unfair! Why do we have to do all this work!" Keigo said once he received his farming equipment.
"Asano-kun, failure to participate is considered a failing grade. Today's assignments count as much as the finals." Misato said.
"That's unfair!" Keigo whined.
"Shut up Keigo, we got work to do." Ichigo said as he started unbuttoning his shirt.
"A grade is a grade." Chad said as he did the same.
As everyone received their assignments, Ichigo quickly got close to Mash.
"Hey, did something happen with Fou? I don't think he's been able to attract a crowd of followers." Ichigo asked.
"I don't think so, he's been the same." Mash said.
They both watched as most of the students bowed before Fou. All of them praising him while Fou enjoyed some grapes and sat on his pillow like a king.
"Fou!"
"All Hail Fou-sama!" The class said.
"This is weird." Tatsuki said.
"I didn't know the albino puppy would be so popular." Orihime said.
Keigo just sighed, "How come animals get the attention?" He asked before picking up a tool. "Anyways, where do we gotta go?" He asked as he started unbuttoning his shirt.
Only to notice Ichigo's form.
"What the heck dude!?" Keigo angrily asked.
"What? What did I do?" Ichigo asked.
"How come you're so ripped! I understand Chad is muscular, but I thought you were skinny like me and Mizuiro!" Keigo said, jealous of Ichigo.
"You do look quite fit, Ichigo." Mizuiro said, also looking surprised.
While Ichigo isn't as muscular as Chad who is a mountain in comparison. Ichigo did make men like Keigo and the rest of male class look like a bunch of children. Aside from his adventures across time, there is the fact that the teen had to put up with his own father's sneak attacks.
So Ichigo had one response when explaining his great physique.
"Stop complaining and get to work before Fou revokes our lunch break." Ichigo said as he picked up a hoe.
Then Keigo noticed something else.
"How come Ishida doesn't have to come outside with us?" Keigo asked.
"Apparently, I'm the royal seamstress." Uryu said as he was quickly making a wardrobe according to Fou's size.
"FOU!" Fou commanded.
"All hail Fou-sama!" Said a random student who whipped Keigo.
"OW! What the hell!?" Keigo asked before being whipped again.
"Don't question our pharaoh!" The student shouted before whipping him a third time.
Ichigo sighed, "Keigo is going to die before this is over." He said as the boys left to get started on farming crops.
"Egyptians are jerks." Keigo said with anime tears.
"They aren't jerks, they are ungrateful." Ichigo corrected.
"How do you know?" Chad asked.
Ichigo sighed again, "Personal experiences." He answered.
"Okay." Chad replied.
Ichigo was thinking back to the Camelot singularity and the time he saved Nitocris when she was abducted by Hassan-i-Sabbah. Only for her to assume him and his party to be her kidnappers which resulted in her trying to attack them.
At The Urahara Shop
Jinta was organizing the sundries of the shop when he noticed Urahara happily moving items back and forth from the outside of the shop to the inside. After a half hour of watching the bucket hat wearing man moving around, he felt annoyed and decided to take out his frustration and curiosity onto Ururu who was told to pick up a box.
"Hey!" Jinta yelled as he grabbed her by the pigtail. "What's going on down there?" He asked rudely.
Ururu winced in pain, "I don't know, I'm just moving the box." She said meekly.
"Tell me the truth!" Jinta yelled before Tessei slapped the back of his head.
"Jinta, that's no way to treat a lady or a fellow employee! Also, why are you slacking off!?" Tessai angrily asked as he started shaking the boy.
"I just wanna know what you guys are up to!" Jinta yelled as Tessai started swinging him around.
"Oh that? It's complicated to explain, but it involves helping our new business partner." Tessai said before dragging Jinta to their basement. "Come look, I could use an extra pair of hands for the remaining parts." He said.
"I can walk!" Jinta said before his head hit the stairs.
Underground
Urahara was working on some finishing touches on what appeared to be some kind of reactor. Seeing as they still had their hair, Jinta assumed that it wasn't nuclear. Then again, cancer and other diseases caused by radiation take a while to receive.
"So what? Is the boss skipping out on the power bill?" Jinta asked.
"That's not it, but we can use a bit of its power. It's to help our lovely new friend in Antarctica." Urahara said.
"Technically she is an old man in the body of a woman." Tessai said, making Urahara cringe.
"Please don't remind me." Urahara said.
Jinta also cringed, "I didn't know you he swings that way." he said.
"Moving on, we should be expecting another guest to help us. They should be here now." Urahara said as he looked at a watch in his coat pocket.
Suddenly, everyone felt loud footsteps from upstairs. Everyone assumed the guest was some giant similar to Tessai, but with a more imposing presence. Then they were surprised to see the guest to be some blonde woman wearing ancient Mesoamerican clothing.
"Hola, new temps!" She said.
"Hello, are you from Chaldea?" Urahara said.
"Right now, they are my employer so yes. Now then, do you have the reactor thingy ready?" the woman asked.
"It's almost ready, but I think it may need to be adjusted." Urahara answered.
The woman jumped down to their position and looked at the reactor. where she pulled out a clipboard and a sheet of paper.
"Let me see if I can read this." She said.
"And can I have your name?" Urahara asked.
"I am Quetzalcoatl, a luchadora and a big sister to many." Quetzalcoatl said, trying to understand the notes given to her by Da Vinci.
In defense of the Italian artist, they originally planned to summon a servant who was a scientist like Tesla but things got screwed up in the middle. So now, Da Vinci had to put faith in Quetzalcoatl making sure that everything went well with Urahara's installation.
"They should have sent a scientist instead." Quetzalcoatl said as she tried reading the documents, "Okay, let us just skip to the testing!" She eagerly said.
"Sure thing!" Urahara said.
A few minutes later
Urahara came walking out of his basement with a limp with Ururu clinging to his back with a few ashes on her face. Quetzalcoatl happily came back to the story while carrying a burnt Jinta and a somewhat injured Tessai who was coughing up smoke.
"Well, I guess that worked." Urahara said.
"Good, let us celebrate. Where do you keep the drinks?" the Aztec goddess asked.
"It's not that kind of store." Urahara said before hearing someone open the door. "Hold that thought." He said as he went to greet the customers.
Only to find Ichigo with a tired look on his face.
"Ah, Kurosaki-kun! Have you come to see my wares?" Urahara asked.
"Not really, Rukia wanted me to pick something up for her." Ichigo said as he handed Urahara a sheet of paper.
Urahara nodded as he read the sheet, "Right, Kuchiki-san's order arrived last night. Let me go get it." He said.
Then suddenly, Ichigo noticed Quetzalcoatl's head dress and was greeted with a sharp toothed smile.
"Ichigo! My little brother! You have come to visit me!" Quetzalcoatl said.
Ichigo looked shocked, "What!? Quetzalcoatl!?" He asked. "What are you doing here!?" He asked.
The goddess just laughed, "I was on a boring job, but now that we are here. We can finally wrestle." She said.
"No! I'm not wrestling you!" Ichigo said.
"Don't argue with your big sister!" Quetzalcoatl yelled as he tackled Ichigo out of the store.
"What the heck is going on now?" Jinta asked.
"As long as they do not ruin our fine shop. Just let them do as they please." Tessai said, only having concern for the store's safety.
Then Urahara came out with a small box, "Kurosaki-kun, I have the… I see he is quite busy." He said as he saw Ichigo straddling Quetzalcoatl.
"I don't want to wrestle!" Ichigo yelled.
"Ichigo, you are not in the spirit. You are not even wearing a mask." Quetzalcoatl said.
"A mask? Kinky." Urahara commented, unaware of the context.
The next morning
Ichigo groaned as his body felt worse today. Between Miya's training and Quetzalcoatl wanting to wrestle with him and chasing another Hollow with Rukia. Ichigo was forced to accept the fact that school was his only safe haven. Which is really depressing.
At least the shenanigans regarding the Fou worshippers isn't that bad.
"Just another day." Ichigo muttered as he entered the classroom first.
"Ah Kurosaki-kun, you are early. You can help our guest for today's special lesson as part of the pharaoh project." Misato said.
"Oh so it's a project now?" Ichigo asked as his eyes twitched.
"Yes, please do help her. This is an extraordinary volunteer from Egypt." Misato said as the door slid open behind Ichigo.
"Ah Kurosaki, how good to see you!" said a familiar voice.
If Ichigo was drinking something, he would have spit it out in surprise. For when he turned around, he found Nitocris happily standing at the doorway with a box of frozen fish. What made it worse was the fact that Fou was following right behind her.
"Fou." Fou said.
"What are she doing here?" Ichigo asked.
Misato looked confused by the exchange, "Have you two met?" She asked.
Second period, kitchen
In the kitchen where home economics usually takes place. Nitocris presented a small but detailed lecture regarding how the will of a pharaoh was essentially the same as the will of a god in ancient Egypt. Ichigo just sighed as he could only wonder what Nitocris was going to make them do.
"For now, I will need a volunteer to help lead you all during the most important detail in pleasing his majesty. Cooking!" Nitocris.
Several individuals raised their hands but Nitocris ignored them.
"Kurosaki-kun, you look eager." Nitocris said as Ichigo face faulted.
"Why him!?" Keigo asked.
Nitocris gave Keigo a cute smile, "Because Kurosaki-kun looks like a gentleman." She answered.
Keigo's head fell onto his desk as he looked very offended.
"Anyways, let us begin. We will use Boulti (Nile Tilapia), Bouri (Mullet) and Clarias (catfish)." Nitocris said.
Then Rukia raised her hand, "Did the ancient Egyptians mostly eat fish?" She asked.
"Yes but there was plenty of beef and lamb. You see, cows and sheep were considered sacred so even the pharaohs would offer such food to the gods." Nitocris explained.
At least now everyone understands why seafood is on the menu today.
"Now, as the fish is already defrosted. Kurosaki will show you all how to filet the boulti." Nitocris said as Ichigo groaned and got to work.
"You could also just cut off the back and tail end without opening the insides, but I'm just going to get this done right the first time." Ichigo said he started carving up the fish. "If you want to fry it, scrub the belly with a mix of flour and salt then rinse it afterwards." He said.
"This is too much and we're getting started." Tatsuki said as she struggled with her fish.
"I think it's a good chance to be creative." Orihime said, sounding optimistic.
"Orhime what are you doing?" Tatsuki asked with wide eyes.
Everyone stopped and saw that Orihime had a tray of cream puffs.
"Inoue we are not even baking. Where did you even get that stuff?" Ichigo asked. "Does anyone want me to slow down?" He asked.
"I think we're good, in fact Chad isn't having trouble at all." Mizuiro said as Chad did a good job.
"My abuelo (grandpa) taught me how to cook tilapia when I was younger." Chad said.
Ichigo just shrugged it off and continued.
"So now the inside should be all white. Just rub off the water and rub minced garlic, cumin and salt into the belly." Ichigo explained as everyone followed along. "Now pour oil into the pot and begin frying. Be careful not to burn yourself." He said.
"AHHH!"
"What did I just say, Keigo?" Ichigo asked.
Nitocris decided to speak up, "Right now, you are making a classic kind of fish cuisine. It's called "Samaki Makli" which translates to fish fry." She explained.
Then Uryu raised his hand, "Then was Egypt rich in vegetable oil?" He asked, feeling curious about the cooking requirements.
"Egypt produced the oil, but most of it was imported from nearby lands. Even then, it was used for luxuries such as medicine, cosmetics and fragrances as well as lighting the temples and mummification." Nitocris explained as Uryu nodded.
Then Ichigo raised up the fish, "And this is what yours should look like." He said, earning awes.
Surprising many of his classmates with how perfect and beautiful his cooked fish looks. Meanwhile some of the students only reached a level to where their fish at least appeared edible. Although there were a few who did it perfectly like Chad.
"Can we add a garnish?" Mizuiro asked.
"I want to say lettuce or cabbage, but the former is inappropriate." Ichigo said as Nitocris blushed and looked nervous.
"Kuroksaki, are you trying to find a lover that badly? Do you want lettuce that badly?" Nitocris asked nervously.
Ichigo sighed, "Everyone, just grab this weird looking bread. It's called Aish and you can either stuff ingredients inside or use it to scoop up some soup." He said.
"What's wrong with lettuce? Is it illegal in Egypt?" Keigo asked, making Nitocris blush harder.
"There was an old rumor that lettuce is a stimulant and can also work as an aphrodisiac." Ichigo answered.
Orihime looked the most confused, "A what?" She asked.
Suddenly, Chizuru Honsho marched up to Orihime and offered her a roll of lettuce.
"Orihime, you should take a bite of this lettuce. For good luck." Chizuru said with bad intentions.
Before Orihime could respond, Tatsuki punched Chizuru with enough force to send her crashing into the otherside of the room.
"Take that perverted crap outside!" Tatsuki yelled.
"Calm down you two! It's just an old rumor! It's not true!" Ichigo shouted, making Chizuru whine.
Misato decided to end the lesson, "Now then, Fou-sama will taste all of your fish and give you a grade based on his reaction." She said, making Ichigo sigh.
Tatsuki sighed, "I guess only Chad and Ichigo are getting perfect grades." She said before looking at Orihime again. "Orihime, you might want to ask for extra credit." She said.
"Why is that?" Orihime asked, not noticing she has a tray full of cream puffs.
Fou suddenly hopped onto Orihime's table and sniffed the cream puffs. Fou nibbled on one and licked off the mess he made on his mouth.
"Fou!" Fou said.
"The albino puppy likes it!" Orihime said.
Fou proceeded to leave a sticky note on Orihime's arm with a passing grade. He then jumped to the various tables and continued grading the fishes of the other students. Tatsuki just sighed at the strange luck that Orihime has when it comes to good grades.
"Orihime, I know you are a good cook but how did you make cream puffs?" Tatsuki asked.
"Would you like my recipe?" Orihime asked.
"That's not what I asked." Tatsuki said.
Meanwhile the boys were having their own problems. Mostly Keigo and Mizuiro feeling jealous of Chad and Ichigo for getting a better grade than them.
"You guys are truly evil." Keigo said with tears in his eyes.
"Do you guys need cooking lessons?" Chad asked, offering genuine help.
"NO, I don't need your help and neither does Mizuiro!" Keigo said, feeling bitter.
"Just forget it Chad." Ichigo said before looking at Uryu. "And how did you do?" He asked.
"I passed but that creature has it out for me." Uryu answered as he could feel the glare coming from Fou.
Once the grades were recorded, Misato made her final announcement for the day.
"I wish to thank you all for your participation and helping to please Fou-sama. I hope to see you all ready to continue serving him once your summer break ends." Misato said.
"Wooh! Summer break!" Keigo said, feeling happy again.
Ichigo sighed, "It doesn't feel like a break." He said as he left the class.
"Fou!" Fou called out to Mash.
"Fou, I think we might need to put you on a diet." Mash said, noticing how big Fou's belly is.
Later that night
Ichigo arrived home early for once after a quick training session with Miya at the mansion. After dinner, Ichigo had expected Rukia to bother him with another hollow extermination mission or present some random new information he needs to know. Instead, he noticed how quiet it was and double checked to see if she was in the closet only to find it empty.
"Did she go to that store again or something?" Ichigo asked, wondering where Rukia is at this hour.
Ichigo waited around for a while, expecting the short girl to appear out of nowhere and bother him. Instead, he started enjoying the idea that he would get to bed early tonight. Then he realized he would be denied such a luxury when he tried using the toilet only to find Kon taped to the toilet and gagged with tape.
"How did you get there?" Ichigo asked before ripping him out. He then sprayed the stuffed animal to remove the bathroom stink, "I'm kind of scared to know how long you've been there." He said before removing the gag.
"Cut that out! Rukia left!" Kon yelled.
"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked.
Kon suddenly ran towards Ichigo's desk and climbed up to the top where he pointed at a letter.
"She left a letter and tied me up so you would read it as late as possible! Rukia ran away and didn't even give me a kiss goodbye!" Kon complained.
Ichigo felt confused and concerned as he began to read the letter to get an understanding of the situation. The next thing Kon knew, Ichigo was shoving his hand inside of Kon's mouth.
"Time to go! Give me that pill!" Ichigo yelled.
"OUCH! Do you really need to do it like that!?" Kon complained.
"The longer we wait, the harder it will be to reach Rukia!" Ichigo yelled as he kept trying to take Kon's pill.
Then they heard someone clear their throat, "I believe I may be of some help."
The two turned and saw Urahara sitting on the window frame with his cane. Like Rukia's glove, it was also capable of making Ichigo enter his shinigami form.
A few minutes later
Ichigo was running through the streets of Karakura town in an attempt to find Rukia. He cursed under his breath as he wondered what Rukia was thinking. He didn't have time to fully understand the message she left behind as all she left was a stupid tanuki drawing and a mess of writing in hiragana.
Either Rukia is trying to be subtle with her message to hide the danger she is in or she's being an idiot with poor writing technique. If Ichigo was not focused, he would have assumed the latter given how she's a terrible artist.
"Damn it, I should have summoned another Ikaros to give me an extra pair of eyes." Ichigo said before trying to channel his energy.
Before long, Ichigo found a withered red ribbon and remembered what Uryu taught him during their confrontation. With that knowledge, Ichigo quickly runs in the direction of Rukia's location. Where he immediately finds her fighting with another shinigami who had red hair and tattoos on his forehead.
He also saw Uryu lying on the road and Rukia trying to shield him. Just as the red haired shinigami tried to attack Uryu's vulnerable state. Ichigo thrusted his zanpakuto forward and blocked the shinigami's strike.
"What the?" The shinigami asked.
"Ichigo?" Rukia asked.
Rukia mentally berated Ichigo for arriving while the red haired shinigami looked at Ichigo with suspicious eyes. From having a big zanpakuto to wearing the black shinigami robes.
"What division are you from?" The shinigami asked.
"Division? Uh, the one that protects human history." Ichigo answered.
"What!?" The shinigami asked, clearly confused by the answer.
'What kind of response is that?' Rukia mentally asked.
"Tell me who you are." the shinigami demanded.
"It's rude to ask for a name before introducing yourself. Do you have poor manners or can any punk just become a shinigami?" Ichigo asked, annoying the shinigami.
"Fine, I'm Renji Abarai, I'm a lieutenant from the sixth division." Renji said before noticing the look that Rukia gave Ichigo. "So you are the one that stole Rukia's powers." He said.
"She sort of forcefully drafted me." Ichigo answered. "Still, I'm going to kick your ass." He said.
"Sure." Renji said sarcastically. "I admit, you have a lot of reiryoku for your age and it's impressive but that's all you have going for you." He said.
"Wait, is that why it's big? Does that explain the changes too?" Ichigo asked.
"What changes?" Renji asked before witnessing the zanpakuto turn into a bow. "Okay, that's strange." He said but didn't lower his guard.
Ichigo quickly adjusted his position and tried using the vague lessons Uryu gave him. All the while Renji underestimated Ichigo's ability.
"What? Do you think you're Quincy or something? The last guy wasn't so tough." Renji said as he pointed at Uryu.
"You would be surprised." Ichigo said before Renji closed on him.
Ichigo jumped back and quickly pulled back the string and summoned an arrow. He then fired the arrow with great speed at point blank range. Renji avoided it, but could feel the arrow tearing through his robe. The quick distraction caused Renji to nearly get pierced in the shoulder once Ichigo fired another arrow.
Renji brought down his zanpakuto and hit Ichigo's bow. To his surprise, Ichigo twisted the bow around and nearly slashed him with the blade at the bottom of the bow. Renji jumped back as he found himself avoiding three quick arrow shots.
Renji then extended his, "Howl Zabimaru!" He yelled as he swung his zanpakuto.
Ichigo jumped high in the air as he watched the zanpakuto turn into a massive retractable whip. He quickly fired more arrows at Renji which were sloppily blocked before one hit him in the shoulder. Renji grunted as he had to quickly move away from another barrage of arrows.
"I guess I'm not so special anymore if you can turn your sword into a whip." Ichigo said.
Renji was even more confused, "No, your zanpakuto is different. Clearly you've never learned how to trigger shikai." He said.
"What?" Ichigo asked.
"It's the most basic form a shinigami learns." Renji answered before swinging at him again.
Ichigo avoided the strikes before firing two more arrows when his zanpakuto turned into a spear. Ichigo cursed his luck while Renji sloppily blocked the two arrows that nearly hit him.
"I guess shikai doesn't matter if you can't even control your own zanpakuto's form." Renji said before swinging even faster.
Ichigo slid under the whip attack before revealing his somewhat reliable weapon. He didn't know if Renji was stronger or weaker than Saido, but Renji's position sounds like someone who is stronger than an ordinary grunt. Still, Ichigo's stupid tactic was worth the trick.
"Behold, the power of Japanese currency." Ichigo said as he swung his five yen coin.
Renji just looked annoyed, "How did you even get shinigami powers!? Are you some kind of idiot!?" He angrily asked.
Then suddenly, his zanpakuto reverted to its base form and sheathed itself. Renji looked confused and quickly tried to pull it out again. Only to find out that it couldn't be pulled out.
"To utilize Zabimaru, please deposit five hundred yen." Said a robotic voice.
Renji looked dumbstruck, "Five hundred yen? It's never done that before!" He yelled.
Renji desperately tried to pull out his sword with all of his strength but it was no use. The voice repeated it's demand for five hundred yen.
"I don't have any money on me right now. I need my zanpakuto to detain Rukia." Renji said.
"Please deposit five hundred yen." The voice said.
"What do you think this is? A zanpakuto is a weapon for fighting hollow!. Not a children's ride!" Renji yelled.
"Please deposit five hundred yen." The voice repeated.
Renji groaned, "Captain Byakuya, could you loan me some money? I uh… can't use my zanpakuto." He said, feeling pathetic.
Then he felt immense pain all over his body.
In Reality
Ichigo caught Renji in his trap and attacked him while he was stunned.
"Self Defense Rush!" Ichigo yelled as he quickly barraged Renji with a barrage of punches.
Sending Renji crashing into the ground as he woke up feeling hurt and confused. Renji slowly got back and rolled away just as Ichigo nearly impaled him with his spear. Renji swung his zanpakuto at Ichigo again only for the orange haired boy to twirl his spear and wrap Zabimaru around it.
Ichigo then used his strength to bring Renji in close and headbutt him. Renji winced in pain before being headbutted again, nearly losing grip of his zanpakuto. He started feeling annoyed by the fact that he was fighting the most unorthodox shinigami.
'And I thought lieutenant Kusajishi was unpredictable.' Renji thought before Ichigo tripped him with the spear.
Renji rolled away to avoid another stab and recalled Zabimaru to his side. He didn't expect Ichigo to be strong or capable of having a zanpakuto with multiple forms without so much as having a shikai. Then it got trickier as Ichigo's spear turned into a pair of sickles with chains. By the time Renji launched Zabimaru again, he found his wrists being tied by the chains and being pulled into the ground.
"Ichigo stop! I don't need your help!" Rukia yelled.
"Fine, if you don't want it then Uryu needs it!" Ichigo yelled.
If Rukia was going to deny being a damsel in distress, that's one thing. However, there was no way she could defend Uryu who is still unconscious. Only Ichigo would not need to worry about Ichigo or Uryu as another presence appeared.
Ichigo suddenly felt a sharp pain around his gut as he saw a tall dark haired man moving past him. Ichigo never registered that the man was there until he collapsed onto the road.
"Nii-sama!" Rukia said, sounding startled.
"This child stole your powers and gave Renji a difficult battle?" The man asked.
Renji sighed in embarrassment, "I'm sorry, Captain Byakuya." He said apologetically.
Rukia's brother had a stoic look on his face and had this aura of regality like a noble. Byakuya clearly wasn't arrogant or looking very confident as if he thought Ichigo was weak. Rather, he could see the boy was strong and the random style of fighting was clearly not dumb luck. The Shinigami captain immediately raised his Zanpakuto and prepared to execute Ichigo.
"I best finish him off now." Byakuya said.
Just as Byakuya prepared to kill Ichigo and Rukia tried to find a way to save Ichigo. Byakuya suddenly felt a sense of danger and jumped back as a large club hit the road. Byakuya raised his blade as he saw Quetzalcoatl had arrived and created a small crater when she landed.
"A sneak attack isn't honorable in wrestling." Quetzalcoatl said as she pointed her club at Byakuya.
"Wrestling?" Byakuya asked, sounding confused.
Renji quickly tried to throw Zabimaru towards Quetzalcoatl only for Mash to arrive and block the attack with her shield. Before Renji and Byakuya could further react, Mash grabbed Uryu and lifted him over her shoulder.
"Abarai, we are retreating." Byakuya said.
"Right!" Renji said as he grabbed Rukia and disappeared with Byakuya via shunpo.
"Cowards!" Quetzalcoatl angrily shouted.
"We can try to find them later. Senpai and Ishida-San need medical help." Mash said.
Quetzalcoatl sighed, "Yes, of course." She said before whistling for her terradactyl to pick them up.
Hours later, At Chaldeas
Ichigo stirred awake and found himself in the familiar bright white rooms of Chaldea. There he found himself being tended to by a few of the advanced pieces of machinery in the organization.
"How did I get here?" Ichigo asked as he sat up, feeling slight pain around his side.
Then the door opened and revealed Da Vinci.
"Oh good, you're awake. I knew a little underhanded strike wouldn't defeat you." She said.
"Why am I here?" Ichigo asked.
"I see your bedside manner has improved." Da Vinci said sarcastically. "Anyways, you weren't too badly injured when Urahara-san found you. However, he noticed some fluxations that he couldn't treat." she explained.
Before Ichigo could ask about any potential health issues Da Vinci and Urahara had found. He started remembering last nights events including Rukia running away and Uryu being injured by Renji.
"And where's Ishida?" Ichigo asked.
"I do not know who that is." Da Vinci answered. "But you were the only one in need of help. You should see the strange things that happened to your body." She said.
"And what happened?" Ichigo asked, hoping to skim through this.
Da Vinci then pulled out a tablet, "It's hard to explain in detail but it looks like your shinigami abilities are not gone yet. Urahara-san was about to exercise Rukia-san's powers but noticed something was off." She explained.
Ichigo then saw some complicated scans of his body involving his magic circuits from when he arrived up to a recent date. He could also see what was meant to be his reiryoku built up in his body.
"From what Urahara-san said, it's possible that even by removing Rukia-san's abilities, without killing you by the way. You could still maintain the power of a shinigami." Da Vinci explained, surprising Ichigo. "Oh and as an added bonus, your magical circuits seemed to be fixed. Although they aren't perfect, it's like damaged clothing being fixed with staples." She added.
"Okay, that's surprising. I guess that means I won't get hurt by making a contract anymore." Ichigo said.
"Precisely!" Da Vinci replied.
"But it doesn't matter, Rukia has already returned to the Soul Society." Ichigo said, sounding angry with himself.
Da Vinci sighed, "That is true, but Urahara-san is hoping to speak to you about that. There may be a solution to Rukia-san's situation." She said.
"What does that guy have to say?" Ichigo asked.
"If you think you can move. Then we can meet him in person." Da Vinci said.
Ichigo groaned as he slowly stood up and took a moment to get some feeling in his legs. As he started moving towards the door, it opened and revealed Tessai who had a very serious look on his face. Unfortunately for him, his sudden appearance had startled Ichigo.
"Hello Kurosaki-kun! I am here to escort you to…" Tessai trailed off as Ichigo hit him.
"I see you are healthy enough to hit someone." Da Vinci commented.
She watched as Tessai crashed into a wall but did not look too fazed. Instead, the man removed himself and adjusted his glasses before nodding.
"You have good strength, but terrible form." Tessai said as Ichigo groaned.
"I shouldn't have done that." Ichigo said as he gripped his arm.
"Let us just go before you hit someone else." Da Vinci said going to another room.
From there, they saw Urahara helping himself to a cup of coffee while Mash and a couple of servants were waiting around anxiously. The Shielder was the first to notice Ichigo and was happy to see he recovered safely.
"Senpai!" Mash called out as she ran up to him.
"Easy Mash, I think I hurt myself again because of this guy." Ichigo said while pointing at Tessai.
"Kurosaki-kun is ready to fight but will need to be properly trained." Tessai said.
Urahara nodded, "I see, but that will be a job for someone else. For now, I think Kurosaki-kun needs to be given an update on everything." He said.
"That's right, Rukia was taken to the Soul Society but Ishida was also hurt by the shinigami that came for her." Ichigo said.
"Don't worry about Ishida-kun, his wounds weren't too bad. We could handle that at home, but he quickly left afterwards. Telling us to focus on you, despite it not looking so bad." Urahara explained.
"If I'm all the way here in Antarctica, then I can guess it was worse than it looked." Ichigo said.
"Sort of, you were having all sorts of internal issues that needed to be handled by your Italian friend." Urahara explained while gesturing to Da Vinci. "After that, I thought it would be a good time to let you know that I can get you to the Soul Society. But not in your present condition." He said.
"And why is that?" Ichigo asked.
"Well besides the fact that you still have issues with your energy between being a shinigami and a magician…" Urahara trailed off as Ichigo interrupted.
"Not a magician." He said.
"Right, but the other thing is you aren't fully prepared for the Soul Society. I doubt you can carry more than one of your friends on your own on the way there." Urahara said as he pointed at Mash and the servants.
Ichigo slowly lost consciousness when Byakuya landed a sneak attack on him so he hardly remembered Quetzalcoatl's arrival. While there's no doubt that she could have likely beaten him or at least matched his strength. Renji said he was a part of the sixth division which likely meant that Byakuya was his captain. This also meant that there's a whole army of shinigami in the Soul Society who aren't pushovers like Saido.
Even Renji was tough and slipped up mostly due to being surprised by Ichigo's abilities. Not counting the coin of course, Ichigo thought that was just dumb luck. He highly doubted that every shinigami is going to be defeated with a bad attempt at hypnosis.
"Okay, I get that much." Ichigo said.
Perhaps a few servants would help if Ichigo did somehow make it into the Soul Society. However, he isn't in any position to contract multiple servants let alone one like Ushiwakamaru who is probably at the level of a lieutenant.
"So, after we solve the solution by removing Rukia's shinigami powers for good. We're going to get to training." Urahara said.
"Won't I lose my shinigami powers? I get that my magic circuits are coming back, but would that be enough?" Ichigo asked.
A competent mage with experience and tools could no doubt take on a lieutenant level shinigami, but Ichigo doubts his few abilities from his earlier days were enough.
"Oh don't worry about that." Da Vinci spoke up. "In fact, I think you might be gaining your own shinigami abilities. At least that's what my scans have read." She added.
Now Ichigo was surprised.
"Although with the removal of Rukia-san's powers. It may take a moment for everything to adjust properly so you can have both your mana and reiryoku." Da Vinci explained.
"So what are you going to do?" Ichigo asked.
A while later, in a chamber
Ichigo found himself inside of some kind of tube shaped container while Da Vinci and a few scientists stood behind some monitors and started getting to work.
"Don't worry Kurosaki, think of this as dialysis. Only instead of removing bad blood cells, we're reducing the amount of energy within you." Da Vinci said.
"I know what dialysis is, but I never experienced it." Ichigo said from within the container.
"I thought it would make a good example." Da Vinci replied.
"So where's the excess energy going to go? It's not going to just run free is it?" Ichigo asked.
Da Vinci just smiled, "Well of course not, we're going to contain it somewhere safely and properly dispose of it if necessary." She said.
Ichigo settled with that answer, he didn't want to be drained like a battery or for Da Vinci to accidentally make a battery that ends up becoming a nuclear bomb. Luckily he didn't care enough for any more specifics as only more strange things would occur by the end of the day. Including the detail of where his excess mana and reiryoku was going to go.
"Okay, then let's go." Ichigo said, feeling eager to leave.
While Ichigo was here, Mash and a couple of others were trying to better decipher the letter that Rukia left behind. With the fact that this isn't the first time Rukia has been attacked by a random shinigami. It sounds like the Soul Society isn't happy with the fact that she gave someone else her powers.
'This better end quickly… and not so painful.' Ichigo thought as he could feel the machine draining his power.
All the while, Da Vinci turned off the microphone from her end and studied the readings she was getting from the experiment. All the while a random scientist got curious.
"Ma'am if you don't mind my asking, where are we transferring Kurosaki's excess energy?" A scientist asked.
"Oh, that's going into a special container made my Dr. Romani. Prior to his passing, he had studied Kurosaki's unique biology despite no current knowledge of him being a magus." Da Vinci answered.
"And what is it? A type of battery?" The scientist asked.
Da Vinci sighed, "I guess you can call it that. Its function sort of works like a battery." She said. 'I mean, a homunculus is typically used as a battery. Although, I doubt Romani would have wanted me to use them like that.' She thought.
Of all the luck, Ichigo had to be the most unique candidate among the many masters selected for this program. While everyone else had a unique background prior to the incident during the rayshift. Ichigo was just some random boy with two seemingly generic parents and no extended family members on record. Now he had some strange way to adapt to a previously unknown energy. It just left Da Vinci wondering what else Ichigo is unconsciously hiding.
As for the "container", it was an artificial incubator used for homunculi. It wasn't sentient or even alive for that matter, but just a strange experiment taken from Ichigo's samples. Despite being a competent scientist and having medical skills, Da Vinci was concerned that Romani allowed the samples to be contaminated as there were odd traits within the homunculus. Regardless of Da Vinci's knowledge of the homunculus, it had to work as a good medium for containing Ichigo's reiryoku as well as the extra mana that was trying to circulate in his magic circuits.
"Hold on, we're only a third of the way done." Da Vinci said as she continued. 'Hopefully the homunculus doesn't explode or come to life.' She thought.
How would Ichigo feel about giving life to a sentient with his DNA?
A while later
Mash was still looking at the note and trying to piece together Rukia's message with Fou by her side.
"Fou?" Fou asked.
"Well, at first I thought Rukia was illiterate. I don't want to sound mean, but she is a bad artist so I thought she just had trouble with writing." Mash said.
"Fou Fou, FOU! Fou!" Fou shouted.
"Fou, that's just mean." Mash said.
"Fou, Fou Fou." Fou said.
"Look, Rukia's intelligence shouldn't be defined by not knowing how to use a straw." Mash said, recalling Rukia's issue with the juice box.
"Fou." Fou said.
Mash just sighed, "Well I see the issue is that I need to remove "Ta" from certain portions of the letter." She said.
Moments later, Ichigo arrived wearing the standard Chaldea uniform while also looking tired.
"Senpai, are you okay?" Mash asked.
"Other than feeling like Da Vinci shoved a vacuum cleaner into my gut. I think I'm mostly fine." Ichigo said as he sat down. "So, how are things on your end?" He asked.
"I was just explaining to Fou what I found." Mash answered.
Ichigo sweat dropped, "I don't think Fou is a reliable listener on this kind of stuff." He said.
"Fou!" Fou yelled as he jumped onto Ichigo and swiped his paw at his face.
Ichigo gently placed him to the side, "So what did you find?" He asked.
"Well, it's just Rukia telling you to not look for her and that she just wanted to return to the Soul Society. She even asked that you burn this letter." Mash explained.
"I guess it was really something that simple. I'm starting to wonder if it's a good idea to go after her at all." Ichigo said.
"Senpai, I know Rukia behaves like an angry supervisor more than a friend. However, I can't help but feel that she's in trouble." Mash said.
"I'm sure it will sort itself out. Besides, that's where her home is and probably other friends." Ichigo said. "Look, we'll go over this with Urahara. I should probably get his training done anyways. I don't wanna accidentally go insane like when I helped this kid named Yuichi." He said.
Later That Day, Urahara Shop
Urahara was relaxing by fanning himself, "Kuchiki isn't safe at all. I have no doubt they're planning to execute her." He said.
Mash looked terrified and Ichigo looked annoyed. Mash grabbed Ichigo's arm and gently tugged on it as if she was expecting some kind of comfort or something.
"She literally gave her powers to a human. Normally it isn't meant to be taken to the extreme like this, but there's no doubt that the old goats that essentially run the place demand her death." Urahara explained.
"Well now we need to hurry up." Ichigo said with a sigh.
"Don't worry, the good thing about this is that those old goats from Central 46 make the commands but with as little urgency as possible." Urahara added.
"The one and only good thing in politics, I guess." Ichigo said.
"Fou, Fou, Fou Fou Fou." Fou said with the shake of his head.
"Fou, now isn't a good time for a political campaign." Mash said.
Fou was suddenly wearing a blue sash with a black top hat on his head. He tilted his head in confusion as felt like his opinion was being ignored.
"Anyways, we can begin your training now. In fact, Ururu will help you." Urahara said as his young employee came in with a box.
Ichigo voiced his curiosity, "Is she going to be my coach or something? I thought you said you were helping me." He said.
"I am helping you." Urahara said before jabbing Ichigo with the cane.
Mash was then forced to grab Ichigo's body as his spirit had left it. Mash just sighed as she felt like trouble was about to occur. Because she then saw Ururu opening the box and putting on some safety equipment.
"Our next destination will be the basement. Ururu, just avoid sending Kurosaki into the new reactor." Urahara said as Ururu nodded.
"What are we going to do?" Ichigo asked.
A Couple of Days Later
Ichigo realized that even timid and innocent girls can be the most dangerous people. Ururu's kicks alone could have killed any normal person with the impact she left on his body. Even if Uryu was not around to criticize Ichigo into mastering the art of archery. There was still Miya who heard the news and decided to double his training.
"It's all going to be worth it. I can't complain now." Ichigo said as he was getting dressed.
"Ichigo, are you ready yet?" Yuzu asked from downstairs.
"Yeah, I'm coming." Ichigo said as he walked downstairs.
There he found his father and sisters wearing yukatas for the festival that was tonight. Ichigo instantly predicted the future when he saw his father trying to kick him.
"Where is your spirit Ichigo? You were supposed to get a Yukata." Isshin said as Ichigo dodged him.
"Dad has a point." Yuzu said.
"I didn't have time." Ichigo said with a tired sigh.
"You've been doing a lot of extra shifts at work lately." Karin said, actually sounding somewhat concerned.
"Some stuff came up. My job is uh… going through a rough process so it's going to be closed for a couple of weeks." Ichigo said, making up an excuse.
With how long Ichigo will be gone in the Soul Society. He doubts his family would think he was at work the whole time. Luckily they also don't seem to remember Rukia after she left or knew he was recovering at Chaldea. However, Isshin seemed to have other thoughts.
"Ichigo, if you're getting laid off. You don't have to be ashamed of it. Such is the sad aspect of the economy." Isshin said.
"I'm not getting fired. Everyone is coming back after summer at the latest." Ichigo said.
"Let's just go already." Karin said before too much time passes.
At The Festival
Ichigo felt some sense of relaxation but not from the crowds. The change of scenery helped clear his thoughts on recent events.
"Senpai!" A voice called out.
"Fou!" Another voice called out.
Ichigo turned and saw Mash running up to him in a cute purple kimono with Fou on her shoulder.
"Oh hey Mash, are you here to see the fireworks too?" Ichigo asked.
Mash nodded, "Yes, but I'm more happy that someone I recognize is here." She said.
"Fou." Fou said.
"Hey Ichigo, is this your secret girlfriend?" Isshin asked, prying into the conversation.
"No, she's my coworker and you're making her uncomfortable." Ichigo said as Isshin was too close to Mash.
"Hello, I am Isshin Kurosaki, please take care of my son." Isshin said.
Mash sweat dropped, "He's my senpai, he's been the one taking care of me." She said.
"Then please give my son a chance." Isshin said.
"Stop making it worse!" Ichigo yelled.
Mash raised her hands in her defense, "Your son and I are just friends! Besides, I think he's attracted to older women!" She said as her cheeks turned red.
Then Mash realized she said the wrong thing. Sure, Ichigo has attracted female servants during their adventures in the singularities across time. However, she seemed to have worded that wrong when Isshin made her feel uncomfortable.
It got worse as Isshin nodded, "I see, my son has been hiding things from his closest confidant which is myself." He said in a serious voice.
"You are not anyone's closest confidant." Karin said.
"I never realized Ichigo liked older girls." Yuzu said, believing Mash's words.
"And what about you, little chipmunk?" Isshin asked as he looked at Fou. "What do you have to say about my son?" He asked.
Fou proceeded to ram himself in Isshin's face. Likely trying to state how uncomfortable Isshin is making him. That or Fou generally doesn't like him.
"Fou, get off my dad's face." Ichigo said.
"Fou." Fou said bitterly before hopping back to Mash.
Isshin slowly stood back up, "I see the little chipmunk is defensive. You have made great friends, Ichigo." He said.
"Fou is not a chipmunk he's a uh…" Ichigo trailed off as he tried thinking of a good lie.
"He's cute!" Yuzu said as Fou jumped into her palms.
Fou proceeded to let Yuzu scratch his ears and gently stroke his white fur. At the same time, Karin had some questions of her own.
"Does she bring that to your work?" Karin asked.
"Fou is like our mascot." Ichigo answered, satisfying Karin for now. "Anyways, the fireworks are going to start soon. Where do you all want to go?" He asked.
"To the games!" Isshin exclaimed before Karin kicked him.
"You're not the child here." She said.
"Your sister is so serious." Mash commented.
"Someone has to be the adult when I'm not around." Ichigo said.
Before long, Ichigo would be meeting a lot of familiar faces before the fireworks occured. Most of which were just friends from school who also came out.
Later That Night
When the fireworks came out, everyone was dazzled by the glittery explosions that peppered the sky. As the Kurosaki family watched, Ichigo could only be disturbed by more of Keigo's complaints. Among his friends, Keigo had to show up and ask if Ichigo and the boys wanted to come along for a trip he was planning.
What was worse is that Mizuiro and Chad had their own plans too.
"What do you mean you guys can't come?" Keigo asked.
"I got plans." Chad said simply.
"And I'm going to Hawaii with a friend of mine and her fellow female friends." Mizuiro said.
"Are you a secret harem protagonist!?" Keigo asked.
"No, I'm not planning anything dirty. We all just want to have a good time." Mizuiro said, but Keigo still felt depressed.
"And you Ichigo?" Keigo asked.
"Some important complicated stuff came up." Ichigo said.
"I bet there's babes where you're going." Keigo said.
"No, there isn't." Ichigo said before hearing more explosions. "Quiet down and enjoy things for once." He said, wanting to see the fireworks.
"Says the most serious guy." Keigo said, calling Ichigo a hypocrite.
Ichigo might be super serious compared to all of his friends except Chad. However, he knew how to have fun or at least enjoy himself without Keigo's shenanigans.
"This summer is going to suck." Keigo said.
'Yes it will.' Ichigo thought, not feeling too excited about going to the Soul Society.
A few days later
Ichigo woke up early in the morning to use the bathroom. With all the things that he's been through ranging from an apocalyptic version of Fuyuki City to demons and gods and now monsters of purgatory. Ichigo did not feel fear when he entered his bathroom to find a very threatening looking message on his window written in red paint.
The mirror looked like it was written in blood and had very gothic looking calligraphy. Ichigo just sighed as he read the message and knew who had left it for him.
"I really hate that bucket hat wearing jerk." Ichigo muttered.
Ichigo sighed as he quickly cleaned up the mess Urahara left for him. Where he then had to get dressed and sneak out of his home without waking anyone up. Unfortunately, Isshin's strange senses were still active and he quickly tried to body slam Ichigo from the roof. However, Ichigo's own senses were superior and he moved out of the way and allowed Ishin to crash into the pavement.
"You avoided my sneak attack, good job Ichigo!" Isshin said as he stood up.
"I think you need a hospital." Ichigo said as Isshin was covered in blood.
"I'll put a bandaid on it later. Anyways, I see you're gooing to your trip pretty early." Isshin said.
Just as Ichigo tried to make up an excuse. Isshin handed him an old worn out charm that looked ready to fall apart.
"You want to give me a dirty charm?" Ichigo asked.
"It's not dirty! Your own mother gave me that charm and now I'm giving it to you!" Isshin angrily yelled. "It's filled with lots of luck and divine grace!" He added.
"Then you shouldn't give it to me! It's a gift from mom!" Ichigo argued, now realizing the value of the charm.
"Look, there is no other person who can give this to you and whatever happens. You can put your faith in this charm to protect you." Isshin said, sounding serious for once.
"Wow, thanks dad." Ichigo said gratefully.
"Just remember to have a safe trip and return that to me when you return. Otherwise I'm going to shave off my beard!" Isshin exclaimed.
Ichigo recoiled, "Okay! Okay! I'll bring it back!" He said. "I didn't know you needed an excuse to groom yourself." He said.
Isshin just laughed and bid his son farewell.
At The Urahara Shop
After making it across town on foot, Ichigo arrived at the front of Urahara's shop where he found Chad standing there as well.
"What the? Chad, what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked.
"Hi Ichigo, I'm here to help Rukia." Chad answered.
"What? How?" Ichigo asked.
"I know you're confused, Kurosaki-kun but Sado-kun here has his own reasons to help Kuchiki-san and has the power to back it up." Urahara said.
Chad nodded, "She helped save my life when I was trying to help Yuichi." He said.
"I see, but what power?" Ichigo asked only to be interrupted again.
"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime shouted.
"Inoue?" Ichigo asked.
"I see that I am last. How unfortunate." Uryu said, suddenly appearing in full Quincy attire.
Now Ichigo was very confused as to why there were so many people here.
"You didn't think you and Mash-chan were going alone, did you?" Urahara asked.
"Not exactly but…"
"Senpai!" Mash called out.
As Mash arrived, she noticed the small crowd, "Why are our classmates here?" She asked.
"Apparently they want to help." Ichigo said.
"Oh? I know Ishida-san is a Quincy but what about them?" Mash asked as she pointed at Orihime and Chad.
"You will find out in a moment. For now, Ichigo isn't entirely ready yet." Urahara said as he poked Ichigo with his cane, summoning Ichigo's spirit.
"Do you need to do that!? How about a head's up next time!?" Ichigo angrily asked.
"You're fine, besides think of everyone here as backup. I'm sure Mash and those like her are strong, but every number counts." Urahara said.
Ichigo sighed, "Okay fine." He said before a cat suddenly approached them.
"Is this everyone? Quite a big crowd you formed." Yoruichi said.
"A talking cat!?" Uryu asked.
"You've seen Fou, how is this any more weird?" Ichigo asked.
"Fou!" Fou said.
"Anyways, let's move this inside." Urahara said as he led everyone into his shop.
Where Orihime already looked excited, "This is quite a lovely shop." She complimented.
Tessai, who was waiting inside, broke down into tears of happiness from receiving such a compliment. He clasped Orihime's hands together in gratitude.
"You are too kind, young lady." Tessai said tearfully.
"Fou Fou, Fou." Fou said.
"And your kind words are appreciated just as much, Fou-sama!" Tessai said.
"Let's go already." Ichigo said, not wanting to waste any more time.
The Basement
Most of the group was confused as to why there was a reactor in the basement, but Urahara wouldn't have time to explain it. Instead, he summoned four large pillars that slid together and created a gate.
"This is a homemade senkaimon, the normal one allows travel between here and the soul society." Urahara explained.
"I expected pearly white gates." Orihime said.
"Wrong pantheon, young lady." Urahara said.
"Let me guess, there's an issue with this gate or some big thing we should be concerned about but you think it's not a problem." Ichigo said.
Urahara chuckled, "Correct, Kurosaki-kun!" He said.
"But in reality, there is a problem but it should not be concerning unless we screw up in some way." Ichigo said.
"Also correct, once you pass through the gate. You will only have a four minute long window to pass through to the Soul Society." Urahara said.
"Isn't there a way to add more time?" Mash asked.
"Unfortunately not, normally all of you would not be able to pass through at all." Urahara said, shocking everyone.
Ichigo just sighed, "Let's get this over with." He said.
"Are you not at all concerned with those odds!?" Uryu asked.
"No." Ichigo said with a groan.
Ichigo has some anxiety but then again this isn't the first time he's been in the afterlife. Only the last time it involved bringing back King Gilgamesh and crossing into the Babylonian underworld. It wasn't as concerning as the issue regarded answering questions with Ishtar repeatedly getting hurt for answering wrong.
Mash felt more fear than Ichigo, but assumed he was more composed because of said events.
"That reminds me, before I open up the senkaimon. You two needed to power up a certain device." Urahara said.
Mash nodded as she removed a medium sized container attached to her back. From there, Tessai took the container and connected it to a device that converted energy from the reactor to the container. A few minutes later, the container lit up and Tessai returned it.
"What's that? A thermos?" Orihime asked.
"I don't think that's for carrying soup." Chad said.
Then Urahara presented Ichigo with a mannequin hand, "And you sir, will need this." He said.
Ichigo looked at the mannequin hand and saw the command seal that was attached. Ichigo took the fake arm and felt the command seal pass onto his own hand.
"Now we're ready." Ichigo said.
"Wait, didn't you use that to summon that female samurai?" Uryu asked.
"It is and we only got more people like her and Mash waiting inside of that container." Ichigo answered.
Chad and Orihime were still confused as to why the container was so important but Uryu had some vague idea of what Ichigo was up to. Although it would appear that they would all have the full story some time after they arrive at the Soul Society. However it might be quite confusing to explain everything including the odd physics that need to be brought up.
"Remember, you only have four minutes and Yoruichi will be leading you. So try not to fall behind or else you will be trapped between the Soul Society and the human world." Urahara explained.
"That last detail would have been important to mention earlier!" Ichigo angrily said.
"Too late!" Urahara replied before opening his senkaimon.
Ichigo groaned as his group saw a blinding light coming from the gap in the doors. When it was fully opened, the group didn't hesitate for more than a second before rushing inside with the intent to rescue Rukia from execution. Even if they found themselves in an impossible situation, Ichigo already had a plan involving some old friends from the recent past.
While the Soul Society houses the deceased and the shinigami. The container that Mash has contains heroic spirits of myth and legend.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Omake: Forced Recruitment
There is a group of shinigami who had gone into exile after obtaining the powers of hollows. These group of shinigami were former captains and lieutenants who work as a loose knit organization rather than having their own faction or hierarchy. Even though they are not with the Soul Society anymore, they are still bound to help whenever they are needed.
Kisuke Urahara, another shinigami captain who had gone into exile, had close contact with them. Regardless of their diverse opinions, the entire group found themselves rushing to the man's shop when they heard his message from Shinji's answering machine.
"Come quick! I need help! I can't do this by myself… AHHHH! I'll pay you whatever you want! I don't want to die permanently! HURRY!"
Urahara was usually a very composed man and was at the level of a shinigami captain. While goofy and silly, the man is very intelligent and powerful. So when they heard Urahara scream like he was about to be butchered to death. They sprang to the Urahara shop, believing a powerful hollow infestation had taken place.
Shinji was the first to go in by kicking open the doors.
"Kisuke! I'm here and brought everyone! Come out so Hachi can heal you!" Shinji yelled.
Urahara suddenly ran out from the back of his shop and hid behind Shinji.
"They are behaving like wild animals!" Urahara exclaimed.
"What is it? Did something break into your shop?" Shinji asked.
"How did it get into your shop?" Hiyori asked.
Suddenly, Tessai came out looking angry, "Where is Kisuke?" He asked.
"He's right here, don't worry about him. Hachi is healing him." Shinji said. "Now, where's the threat?" He asked.
"Kisuke is the threat! Just look at what he did!" Tessai said as Ururu stepped out.
Ururu presented everyone with Fou whom she carried with a fancy pillow. Everyone was confused and those with good perception saw that Fou looked angry.
"Kisuke purchased wild animals?" Shinji asked.
"Fool! Look closely at what he did to Fou-sama!" Tessai yelled, making Shinji wince.
Hachi was the first to notice the issue, "I see that the poor little creature's fur is damaged. He might as well have been stroked with a rusty rake." He said.
"Exactly, Kisuke damaged Fou-sama's poor fur coat!" Tessai shouted.
Hiyori glared at Urahara, "You were panicking for your life because you were being punished?" She asked.
"That creature demands way too much. You can't expect me to cater to it's whims. This isn't a pet spa." Urahara said.
Hiyori bent down and grabbed her sandal very slowly before slapping Urahara across the face with it.
"Baka! We don't have time for your stupidity! We thought this was a real emergency!" Hiyori angrily yelled.
"Troublesome animals, I can see why Kisuke is complaining." Shinji said before Fou propelled himself into Shinji's face. "Get it off! Get it off!" He yelled as Fou repeatedly slapped him.
"FOU! FOU! FOU!" Fou yelled.
Hiyori just scoffed, "You can't handle one little… whatever this is?" She asked.
"I think it's a cute little prairie dog." Mashiro said as she bent down to look at Fou. "Maybe he just wants to be brushed properly." She said.
"Fou!" Fou confirmed.
Mashiro then took Fou's brush and gently brushed his white fur. The beast of calamity calmed down as Mashiro actually groomed him correctly.
"There is no need to be such a grumpy little furry." Mashiro said as she kept brushing.
"Fou." Fou said.
Suddenly, Mashiro was dressed like an Egyptian Priestess as she kept grooming Fou. Then Lisa bent down and started feeding Fou some grapes.
"Fou-sama should eat as well." Lisa said, also dressed in Egyptian garb.
"Lisa you too!" Hiyori yelled.
Love started walking out, "I don't think we need to waste anymore time here." He said.
"Agreed." Rojuro said as he followed behind Love.
As they opened the door and prepared to leave. They saw several beautiful women dressed like ancient Egyptian dancers.
"Oh good, the dancers are finally here to entertain Fou-sama." Tessai said.
"Actually, maybe we should stick for a while." Love said.
"The atmosphere suddenly feels more interesting." Rojuro commented.
"You idiots! Get your heads out of your asses!" Kensei angrily yelled. "We're here for business, not to stare at pretty girls!" He yelled as he went to grab them.
Only for Hachi to trap him in a barrier.
"Hachi what are you doing!?" Kensei angrily asked.
"I apologize, but Tessai does bring up a good point. Fou-sama is in dire need of help and Kisuke is doing a poor job." Hachi explained.
"Traitor." Urahara said.
"This got out of hand so quickly." Shinji said.
They then watched as Hachi opened the barrier for Tessai to shove a jackal helmet on Kensei's head.
"Hiyori, we will need your help too." Tessai said, turning to the blonde girl.
"Eh?" Hiyori asked with an annoyed look on her face.
A while later, in the basement
Hiyori sighed as she wiped the sweat off of her forehead, "How did they even fit a sphinx here?" She asked. "This is going to be so much work." She said as she looked at a pyramid next to a statue of Fou.
"Why are you complaining? You're doing nothing except using a whip on us like a dominatrix." Shinji said before Hiyori whipped him.
Shinji and Urahara both had the misfortune of being the slaves in charge of building Fou's pyramid. Meanwhile Hiyori worked as the slaver who would whip in an attempt to motivate them to work faster.
"Stop talking about that perverted crap!" Hiyori said before whipping him again. "Now move faster, I hate all this heat." She said before whipping them more.
"Shinji, I thought you were her leader." Urahara said.
"Why are you complaining? This is your store. How did you lose so much power?" Shinji asked.
"Stop talking! Keep pulling that piece of stone!" Hiyori shouted as she whipped them both. "One. Two. Three. Pull! One. Two. Three. Pull!" She shouted.
"Do you really need to count? Why not start at one, or even one half?" Shinji asked.
"Don't give her ideas!" Urahara exclaimed.
"Good point. One half. Pull! One half. Pull!" Hiyori commanded.
The two former shinigami captains continued to pull. All the while watching as Rojuro and Love were entertained by the beautiful dancers who were trying to entertain Fou.
"Betrayers!" Shinji shouted.
"One half. Pull!" Hiyori shouted as she whipped them again.
And thus, the dynasty of Fou begins to prosper.
END OF OMAKE