Chapter 10: That Can't Be A Good Sign
It had been a few days since the incident with the squad two captain and Ichigo was still wide awake in his bed, excited that his mother would be released today. He couldn't visit her at the hospital since nearly every one of the employees knew who Masaki was and knew that her son died years ago. The idea of her finally being back home made Ichigo bounce with excitement in his bed, accidentally waking up Halibel and Neliel who were in his bed at the time. They woke up and so did the others around the bed when they realized Ichigo had jumped off the bed. When he left the room, they noticed that it was actually morning now.
Ichigo went downstairs and saw Wonderweiss sitting at the table patiently waiting for Yuzu and Hooleer to finish with breakfast. Hooleer had been very useful when it came to helping Yuzu around the house. They were too busy to notice Ichigo walking over to the table until he talked to them.
"Morning Yuzu, Hooleer, Wonderweiss." He said in a cheery tone.
Yuzu and Hooleer stopped what they were doing for a moment to return his generosity in kind.
"Good morning Ichigo." Yuzu said with a smile.
"Hi." Hooleer said in a cheery tone as well. Since she never really had a voice to begin with, the only words that Hooleer could manage to say were 'Hi', 'Yes', 'No', and 'Cool'.
Ichigo waved to her and sat down next to Wonderweiss. The blond noticed the big smile on his friends face and just had to ask him.
"You look excited Ichigo. Ready for your mom to come back home today?" He asked with a big smile.
Ichigo returned it with a nod of his own and was gonna have to stay put and wait. He might as well get all of his pent up energy out now before Karin came back with Masaki. He looked over to the door when he heard a knock and wanted nothing more than to leap up and answer it. Yuzu stopped him before he could do any such thing and she went to the door instead, leaving Hooleer to watch the food.
"Hello there?" She started as she answered the door and saw the boy from next door instead of her mother. "Can I help you with something?"
Thomas looked at her and smirked a little before answering her. "So you have this 'spirit energy' I was told about a few days ago too, huh?"
Yuzu tensed up for a second. How could a human know about the spiritual world, unless he was sent to by someone with a certain type of agenda.
"Thomas!" Wonderweiss said from behind Yuzu, scaring her almost out of her skin. "I was wondering when you would show up again."
Thomas waved at the blond boy and saw the look of confusion on Yuzu's face. "I came here the other day to get some answers and Wonderweiss said I could train with him to control all of my powers to help out. Hope that's okay?"
Yuzu shrugged and let him in. As Thomas passed her and went to Wonderweiss, he noticed the boy with bright orange hair and could feel a powerful presence from him. It was a light but heavy power that Thomas had never felt before, and it was jarring to think someone a little shorter than him held such power.
"Ichigo." Wonderweiss started, getting Thomas' attention. "This is a new friend of mine and Hooleer. Thomas Rancher. He has powers somewhat similar to a hollow."
"Cool." Ichigo started as he went over to the boy. He extended his arm for Thomas to shake and smiled widely. "I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. You can just call me Ichigo. Nice to meet you Thomas."
Thomas was hesitant at first but relented. He shook Ichigo's hand and felt a sense of power coming from the kids hand. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Thomas released his hand and stared as Ichigo was now glomped on by a woman with teal hair. She lifted him up and twirled around with him for a few seconds before letting him. Ichigo didn't seem to mind from the looks of it and actually looked as if he expected that too. Thomas didn't know what to think of that other than he must have some sort of power over them or something.
"So, what do you guys usually do here anyway?" Thomas asked as he saw more girls coming down the stairs.
"Well for the most part we just stay inside and not cause trouble for anyone." Wonderweiss said to him with a smile.
"So ya'll don't go out and do stuff?" Thomas asked as he scratched the back of his head.
"Can't really do much when the soul society wants to kill you for being who you are." Halibel said as she walked up and placed her elbow onto the kitchen counter. "Out of everyone here, you and Yuzu probably would be spared while the rest of us would be shown no mercy."
"Well no use in worrying too much about that." Neliel started as she hugged Halibel from behind. The blond was so used to her attachments that she didn't even bat an eye.
"So, how do you guys train?" Thomas asked them. He was met with smiles from both Ichigo and Wonderweiss.
"Like this." Wonderweiss popped out of his gigai. Thomas was taken aback when he saw this. He had no idea what just happened, but knew that now that slight flow of power inside of Wonderweiss was now flowing out completely. He moved his hand in the air and a tear in reality opened up. "Be back in a few hours." Wonderweiss said as he took Thomas' hand and pulled him in the garganta.
"Well that just happened." Mila Rose said in a bored tone.
There was a knock on the door and a familiar voice coming from it.
"Hey can one of you get the door. I forgot to bring my key."
Ichigo hurried over to the door and quickly opened it to see both his sister and his mother standing there with smiles on their faces. Ichigo rushed into his mothers warm embrace and hugged her tightly. She in turn returned the gesture with her warmth. After a few seconds the two let each other go and went inside to talk about what happened that night with the captain.
"So you mean to tell me that you have the ability to s-seduce women with your speed, Ichigo?" Masaki stammered as she she sat on the couch along with Yuzu and Karin. Ichigo was sitting on the couch adjacent of her with Neliel and Halibel sitting on each side of him.
"I honestly don't think that it works that way mom." Ichigo explained as he scratched the back of his head. "I mean, Orenji said that it probably would work on people in different ways, and it's never effected the girls in anything weird before."
Karin and Yuzu looked at the four and saw that they were all nodding in agreement. Since they've been with him, true they've been pretty clingy to him, but they all could vouch that it's mainly because of him as a person rather than his power.
"Then how exactly did you effect that captain Ichigo?" Karin asked him, curious as to what her brother did to her.
"Well, her face was really red and she kept crossing her legs for some reason. Then she left with her guys. I'm pretty sure its worn off by now." Ichigo explained, seeing that his mother looked visibly shocked and baffled by what he just told her.
Before Masaki could even say a word, an intense spiritual pressure was brought down on the whole area. Everyone felt it and looked to the window. Wherever this pressure was coming from, it wasn't far and felt almost like a hollows energy.
"That can't be a good sign." Apache was the first to speak up.
"No duh." Mila said to her in an irritated tone.
Before Apache could retort, Ichigo stood up and popped out of his body. He was still in the clothes he was wearing before, but now had his hollow parts and his zanpakuto in his left hand.
"Whoa what's wrong Ichigo?" Neliel asked him. Ichigo was never one for charging off to meet an enemy unless someone he cared about was in danger. Something must've been very wrong if he was serious about heading out to fight.
After a few seconds of silence, Ichigo finally spoke up. "It's Grimmjow and some other guys. And they're near Tatsuki."
That surprised his family as he wasn't supposed to leave the house no matter what. Unbeknownst to them though, Ichigo would go out and explore the town at the dead of night when everyone was asleep. He had seen his friends many of times, but mostly loved seeing his oldest friend, Tatsuki. She looked pretty much the same only taller and even more tomboyish than the last time he ever saw her before he died. She was his closest friend and there was no way he was going to let Grimmjow and two other guys hurt her.
"I have to safe her.' Ichigo started as he made his way to the door only to be stopped by his mother.
"Hold on Ichigo." She started in an unsure tone. "I've already lost you to a hollow before, I refuse to lose you to another. I'm coming with you."
"No you're not." Halibel started as she and Neliel popped out of their gigai's and went next to Ichigo. "You just got out of the hospital and need to recover. Plus these guys are from Hueco Mundo. Me and Neliel have fought them before, so we'll take care of it with Ichigo." Masaki was about to argue with the blond but was stopped when Ichigo spoke to her and smiled.
"Don't worry mom. I've fought tough guys before in Hueco Mundo. Everybody was pretty cautious of me when I showed, so I'll be fine. I promise." He looked right up to her with that big smile that melted her heart completely.
"Fine. But I still think you'll need more help." Masaki said to him.
"Trust us. We'll be more than enough help for Ichigo." Neliel said with a grin.
Masaki nodded and gave Ichigo a hug before the three left.
At the park, there were dead bodies riddled around the area around a crater. Three arrancar had emerged from said crater and been standing around ever since. Those three arrancar were of coarse Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, and Yammy who had eaten the souls of the people in the park.
"Man those tasted absolutely horrible." Yammy complained about the souls he consumed. "Why exactly did Aizen need to send the three of us here anyway?"
"Shut up Yammy." Grimmjow said from his seated position as he felt the incoming energy getting closer to them. He looked up in the direction it was coming from and prepared himself. "I don't give a damn about Aizen's mission. This is personal."
Yammy rolled his eyes from Grimmjow and in doing so saw a girl struggling on the ground. "Oh." He started as he went over to her. "It seems that there is someone who has a good enough soul to devour." He stopped right in front of her.
Tatsuki had been in the woods in her martial arts gear to train and clear her head of bad memories. Ever since her best friend died when they were kids, she's had a very hard time trying to move on with her life. She figured that spending time with his family would help heal her wounded spirit, but instead it granted her the ability to see spirits. It was odd at first, but she eventually adjusted to it. Now though, she was staring a tall and muscular man in white getting ready to do who knows what to her after he just brutally murdered everyone else that had been there. She could only watch with hazy and wavering eyes as the man raised his foot and lowed it down to crush her underneath his heal. As she waited for death to claim her, her thoughts once again went back to that day she last saw Ichigo, and she shed her last tear.
"I'm sorry Ichigo. I was the weakling this whole time."
Just as Yammy's foot came down to the ground, kicking up dust in the process, Grimmjow noticed that his adversary's energy had disappeared. He turned to Yammy as did Ulquiorra when they noticed that the big guy was being flung away from the girl. When they saw that he had hit the ground and the dust cleared, they saw the chibi standing there with a look of anger on his face.
"Ichigo Kurosaki." Grimmjow started with a mad grin as he made his over to the boy. He drew his blade and stopped not to far away from him. "I've been waiting for this. You ready to die by my hands this time?"
Ichigo looked at the man behind Grimmjow and then to the big guy he threw with little effort before looking over to Grimmjow. "Looks like that Aizen guy changed you guys. What are you doing here?"
"Those two have their own mission." Grimmjow started as he poured out even more spiritual pressure out to get his point across. He had achieved a great power and wanted nothing more than to kill Ichigo with it. "I just wanted to kill you!"
He rushed Ichigo with his sword drawn and went for a slash. Ichigo used his speed to not only get Tatsuki but also dodge his attack. Ichigo left the park and placed her on a nearby rooftop out of harms way. He made sure she was okay before standing up to leave.
"Ichi-Ich-Ichi-Go." He heard her say in a weak and frail tone. Ichigo turned around and saw that she had a hand on his left arm. She held onto him tightly while still having that hazy look in her eyes. Ichigo couldn't tell if she knew he was there next to her or if she was hallucinating.
He smiled down at her regardless and knelt down to her. With a gentle tug of the arm, Ichigo broke out of her grip. "Don't worry Tatsuki." He started with a smile. "You'll be safe up here. I Promise. "With those words, Ichigo flashed back down to Grimmjow and looked at him with that same angered look.
"What?" Grimmjow started while grinning madly. "Did I interrupt something, Kurosaki?"
"Which one of you did this?" Ichigo asked in a serious tone. He motioned over to the dead bodies lying on the ground.
At that moment Yammy stood up and looked at the boy with rage burning in his eyes. "Boy! You are so dead!"
Ichigo didn't even flinch when Yammy ran over to him. He kept his eyes on both Grimmjow and Ulquiorra until the big guy was right next to him. Yammy raised his fist into the air and brought it down to crush the boy, but Something happened so fast that neither Grimmjow or Ulquiorra could comprehend it. In a split second, Ichigo not only had drawn his sword but he also cut Yammy's arm clean off from the shoulder without even moving from his original spot. Yammy didn't register the attack at first until he looked at his missing right arm hit the ground with a thud. He screamed out in pain and went for a strike with his left arm. Before he could get far, both Halibel and Neliel appeared in front of him and punched the big guy in his gut. Yammy went down and Neliel planted her foot on his head. Ulquiorra remembered this duo and prepared to draw his sword, but Halibel was faster than he was and had her blade at his throat.
"Don't even think about it, Ulquiorra." She said to him while glaring straight into his eyes.
"Why are you here Grimmjow?" Ichigo asked the blue haired man.
Grimmjow never took his eyes off of the boy and placed his unsheathed blade on his shoulder. "Like I said Ichigo. I just wanna kill you."
He rushed over to Ichigo and went for a slash. Ichigo blocked him but was actually pushed back a bit by his new found power. Grimmjow went for a kick but Ichigo ducked and punched him in his side with his left. Grimmjow stumbled a little but found his footing and sonidoed behind Ichigo. Ichigo saw that coming and turned to deliver a devastating kick. Grimmjow went airborne for a little bit before Ichigo was suddenly behind him. The boy punched the blue haired man, sending him skidding on the air for a second. Grimmjow was enraged but suddenly smiled.
"Eat it!" He fired off a red cero straight at Ichigo.
Of course Ichigo deflected it with ease, but when he saw that Grimmjow was now in front of him with a blue cero priming, he moved out of the way. Grimmjow grinned devilishly and fired his Gran Rey Cero off anyway. Ichigo was supremely confused as to why he did this, until he remembered who he had placed on a rooftop in the cero's general direction.
"TATSUKI!" He shouted out as he went over to where she was. Bu the time he appeared, there was no time to pick her up and leave, so Ichigo brought out his wings and covered both himself and Tatsuki in his reiatsu. The cero hit him and an explosion came about from it. When the dust cleared, Ichigo dropped his wing and was visibly tired from having to stop such an attack at point blank range.
"ICHIGO!" Both Neliel and Halibel shouted out, giving both Ulquiorra and Yammy enough wiggle room to escape their grasps and regroup next to Grimmjow.
"Our mission is complete for now." Ulquiorra started as he grabbed Grimmjow's shoulder. "You'll face him again, in time. Now lets go." He opened a garganta and the three went through it together, leaving the chibi and his friends to ponder just what their mission was.
"Ichigo." Halibel started as she sonidoed up to them. She was followed by Neliel who went over and knelt to the downed boy.
"I'm okay guys." He said in a tired tone. Ichigo looked over to Tatsuki and saw that she had passed out but was safe and unharmed. "At least Tatsuki is okay."
"True, but for how long exactly?" A new yet familiar voice said from behind them. They turned to see both Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihoin standing there at the ready. "It seems that Aizen must've sent them here to find a weakness. And from what we just saw they succeeded."
"What are you talking about?" Halibel started in an agitated tone. Yoruichi could see how she gripped her sword, so she prepared herself for the worse.
"Simple really." Kisuke started as he walked over towards them followed by Yoruichi. "Aizen needs Ichigo out of the way of whatever his plans are now since you've defected from his side Ichigo." He stopped in front of the downed chibi. "Meaning that he will use any weakness to make that happen. And he found that weakness." He looked over to the unconscious Tatsuki and smirked.
"She's not weak." Ichigo said to him in his tired tone.
"From what we saw, she's going to be a liability that's gonna distract you from the bigger picture here Ichigo." Kisuke started as he opened up his fan to hide his face. "They'll come for her and take her to Hueco Mundo just so you can go there and be distracted when the war starts."
"I never agreed to be a part of any war." Ichigo started as he slowly stood up. He was helped by Neliel while Halibel stared a hole into Yoruichi. "I won't let those jerks take her away."
"Well it doesn't look like you have much choice in the matter of being in this war or not." Kisuke continued, his voice dipping into seriousness. "Not only have you helped Aizen escape capture, but you also were involved in a hollow invasion not too long ago. Not to mention that you are still a hollow and you put the lives of innocent people at risk just by being here. Either way you slice it Ichigo, you're just a third party that both sides will deal with one way," he looked over to Tatsuki, "or another."
That was when Ichigo got sick of his words and flashed in front of him. He punched Kisuke in the solar plexus and saw the man fall down from the force of his blow. Yoruichi would've tried to intervene, but she suddenly felt hot and bothered all of a sudden.
"Damn. Is this what Soi-Fon mentioned about his speed?"She thought to herself as her vision became a little blurry.
"I don't care." Ichigo started, getting Kisuke's attention. "I don't care about some war, but I can tell you this much, if anybody thinks to hurt my family or my friends, then I will cut them down so fast they won't even know they're dead until it's too late."
Kisuke and Yoruichi got the message loud and clear. While Kisuke was trying to regain his bearings and Yoruichi was trying to shake off the effect of his speed, Ichigo sheathed his sword and went over to Tatsuki. He picked her up bridal style and nodded his head over to Halibel and Neliel. They left the duo on the rooftop and headed back to the house.
Done.
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Stay Sexy Out There, PEACE!