WARNING!

This chapter includes: descriptions of blood, self-deprecating thoughts, panic attacks

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

"If you've never been a monster, you will never understand the strength necessary to command so much power, and be gentle."

Ichigo cracks his knuckles and his neck before widening his stance, still holding Rukia to him. He continues to grin at the Shinigami across from him, not caring how much his unhinged nature was currently being shown to the world.

He doesn't have shit on swordsmanship, or zanpakutō, he knows that for sure, but he's got a wish for death, depression, a giant sharp and stabby stick called a zanpakutō, and the prodigal skills of a martial art god. He might have a chance.

"Take Uryū and heal 'im. Ignore his bitchin' as I pummel this man's ass to the ground, got it?" Ichigo releases his hold on Rukia and gently pushes her towards Uryū.

Rukia gives him a small glare before huffing. "You're an absolute dumbass if you think karate will be better than fighting with your zanpakutō!"

"Well, I ain't about to fight some Shinigami with a sword I've only been able to use for two fuckin' months, bitch! You ain't exactly the best teacher!" Ichigo snarks back with a glare of his own. He immediately hones in back on the red haired Shinigami when he points his zanpakutō towards him.

"You... you're the human who stole Rukia's powers!" The red haired bitch declares, making Ichigo scowl.

"Stole? I didn't steal jackshit! Especially not from Rukia! You're fuckin' crazy if you think someone could get away with stealin' from her!" Ichigo sneers at the Shinigami, unsheathing his own zanpakutō.

"You're dead!" The Shinigami declares before leaping towards the ginger.

Ichigo dodges based on instinct alone, twirling to dodge the sudden strike towards his shoulder. He continues to pivot on one foot and twirls back around, landing a harsh and powerful kick to the Shinigami's stomach. Rowan, or Richard, or–let's just call him Pineapple for fuck's sake–stumbles back with bile and spit spilling out of his mouth before collapsing to his knees.

"Oh shit," Uryū says, now leaning against a cement wall as Rukia heals him.

"Oh shit!" Rukia states, shocked that Ichigo managed to land a hard hit with just his foot.

"Oh shit!" Ichigo exclaims with a wild grin, barely containing his laughter. "Man, you gotta be more prepared for a kick! What you usin' that sword for?! Nevermind Rukia! You're a great teacher if this is how they teach you Shinigami!"

"Thank you," Rukia says primly, focusing back on Uryū and his wounds.

"Y-you... you bastard!" Pineapple roars after wiping away the bile still on his chin.

Ichigo just stares at him before scoffing and crouches down to be eye level with the Shinigami. "Wish I was, but sadly I've got a father. Now, will ya actually pay attention to what I've to say?"

"You–you stole Rukia's powers! Killing you... Rukia getting her powers back... then we'll be able to take her back for her execution!" Pineapple glares at the ginger with a fury that makes him pause. He also pauses at the new information.

"Execution? You're takin' Rukia to get executed?" Ichigo glances over at Rukia, watching her keep her eyes downcast. Ichigo scowls and stands back up.

"You told us that you'll be taken back for a trial... but you're not surprised by this," Ichigo states, making the raven haired female turn her head to hide her expression.

"...and I told you something else too, Ichigo..." Rukia finally glances up, revealing tired eyes and an expression of grim acceptance.

"You don't know what Soul Society will do, what they probably already have done."

"To think Shinigami are so barbaric and cowardly that they immediately set an execution with no trial without the actual facts." Uryū pushes up his glasses with his uninjured hand. "I wonder how many others were executed by such cowards?"

"Oh wow... Uryū's defending Rukia? Are pigs flyin' yet?" Ichigo smirks at Uryū's glare before focusing back on the Shinigami.

"Look, bitch. Rukia and I didn't have a choice. We came to a mutual agreement. If we didn't, we woulda died." Ichigo finally gets serious, not really wanting to deal with these stupid fucking Shinigami anymore.

"It doesn't matter! You still stole her powers and she'll still be executed! That's the order of Soul Society!" Pineapple exclaims, making Ichigo groan with an eye roll.

"Am I speakin' just fuckin' gibberish?! You're not fuckin' listenin' to me!" Ichigo runs a hand through his head with a heavy sigh. He has a feeling this is going to be a reoccurring problem with any other Shinigami he meets... it even happened with Rukia at the beginning if he remembers correctly.

"Enough talking! This is a waste of time!" Pineapple speaks as he leaps forward once again. Ichigo turns his body as the zanpakutō is sliced down where he once stood, slicing right in front of him. He leans back as Pineapple tries to slice at his chest.

Ichigo continues to dodge, watching the Shinigami with a raised eyebrow. "Oi, Pineapple. This ain't doin' any better than me talkin'."

"Just–stop! You little–"

"Hush now! That's a bad word, Pineapple!" Ichigo mockingly scolds as he trips up the Shinigami. He falls forward and lands on his knees, face turning increasingly red with his lips turning into snarl.

"It's not Pineapple, you–"

"Renji, you're letting him get under your skin," The other Shinigami finally speaks up calmly, making everyone pause. Ichigo glances over at the taller man with a narrowed gaze before focusing back on Pineapple–Renji. His name is Renji.

"I'll be better..." Renji slowly stands up with a deadly glare pointed right towards Ichigo "...Kuchiki-taichō."

Ichigo tenses at the name, eyes widening. He turns his head and stares at Rukia. He watches her clench her fists together before crossing her arms with her face hidden once again. Kuchiki...?

"Rukia... who–" Ichigo lifts his zanpakutō in front of him and barely blocks the sudden sword swing before it could slice him. A hiss leaves Ichigo's mouth when the blade forces down to press against his shoulder, easily cutting through fabric and skin.

"Do you really think you can stop this? A rookie like you? Rukia came out by herself so you wouldn't stop me. You should've just calmly stayed at home. You came here for nothing. Did you actually believe you could change something by coming? A hasty Shinigami like you can't even put one scratch on an experienced Shinigami like me." Renji taunts with a grin. Ichigo grins back with a glare, pushing back against the sword. He ignores the blood starting to fall from the wound.

"Hmph. An' that's where you're wrong, bitch!" Ichigo leans forward, making the Shinigami instinctively lean back. "Don't go underestimatin' rookies!"

Ichigo roughly lifts his sword, pushing back the Shinigami. He holds it in front of his stomach and thrusts forward. Ichigo grins wider when his zanpakutō pierces through Renji's shoulder.

A slightly manic laugh leaves Ichigo's mouth as he takes a step forward, forcing the sword deeper. "Jus' 'cause I've never fought any Shinigami doesn't mean I haven't fought before!"

Ichigo slices his sword up, slicing through Renji's shoulder. Renji stares with wide eyes before lifting his own zanpakutō, blocking a wide arched swing from Ichigo.

"Ichigo–" Uryū cuts himself off, almost taking a step forward. Ichigo raises a hand towards the mostly healed Quincy without taking his glare away from the Shinigami.

"I know, I know... don't take it too far," Ichigo drawls out while he cracks his fingers. He twirls his zanpakutō in his other hand and points it towards Renji.

"Now then. You gonna take me seriously? Or am I gonna have to slice off that arm for ya to get serious?" Ichigo tilts his head and laughs under his breath, eyes slightly crazed.

He can't say he doesn't like fighting, especially not when he's been fighting ever since he could remember–for fun and for survival. It's been so long that even if he'd rather let things be, he'll enjoy a fight, even a fight to death. But... he hates people hurting his people more than he loves a good fight. He despises it. And these people... these Shinigami...

Ichigo loves a good fight... but he doesn't like hurting people. He doesn't like it when he wants to hurt someone. But, he wants to hurt these idiots... he wants to make them pay. Even attempting to take Rukia... his Rukia, his sister... they need to pay the consequences.

Something zings across Ichigo's back. He whirls around with his zanpakutō raised and swings it towards Kuchiki Byakuya when he suddenly appears behind him. Ichigo stares into cold grey eyes as the blade of his zanpakutō clatters to the ground. He doesn't back down even when his mind and instincts scream at him to do so.

Blood suddenly explodes from the center of his chest, making Ichigo choke on a cry. He stumbles back, his knees buckling. Ichigo manages to keep himself upright as his hand loosens its grip on his zanpakutō's hilt. It slips out of his fingers and hits the ground with a clang.

"You're slow," Byakuya states coldly while Ichigo slowly turns around. Golden eyes stare at the Shinigami, blood starting to drip from his mouth. He watches cold eyes blink back, as if in shock that he was still standing.

"You disgust me," Ichigo hisses with a snarl, taking a step forward. He glances between Kuchiki Byakuya's eyes before spitting at the Shinigami's face.

"Ichigo!" Rukia exclaims, completely aghast by the action.

The ginger ignores Rukia and the injuries as he takes another step forward, stumbling and collapsing to his knees. He coughs loudly, blood splattering against the ground. A wheeze leaves his throat as he glares up at Byakuya, watching him wipe away the bloody spit from his face.

"You... you're her big brother and–and you're escortin' her to her death..." Ichigo laughs coldly, still ignoring the blood falling out of his mouth and chest. "You–you'll never, never be a good person... and I-I'll be laughin' as you burn in hell."

"Me being her big brother is the reason why I was sent to arrest her. She has disgraced the Kuchiki Clan and must pay for her sins. A being like you will never understand... especially with your outlandish claim of being Rukia's brother," Byakuya states calmly and arrogantly. A chuckle, more hysterical than needed, escapes Ichigo's mouth as his face splits with a wide grin.

"I've been a better brother to her in two months than you have in 40 fucking years!" Bloody teeth with an unusual sharpness to them are revealed as the chuckle turns into a cackle. Ichigo tilts his head to stare at Rukia, observing her despair.

"Stop bein' sad, dumbass... it ain't a good look on you," Ichigo speaks while blinking, forcing himself to keep them open.

Rukia takes a step forward, hands shaking and tears silently falling. "Ichigo..."

The ginger leans his head back to stare up at the overcast sky. A droplet of water falls on his cheek as he closes his eyes. He goes limp and collapses on his back.

"Ichigo!" Uryū and Rukia shout at the same time, both racing forward. Uryū slides underneath the sudden hand reaching out to him and lands next to Ichigo. Rukia is suddenly thrown back into a wall by the hand wrapped around her neck.

Uryū ignores the shouting and arguing between the Shinigami as he checks his friend's vitals. His fingers barely tremble as he presses them against Ichigo's pulse. Please... please.

"I see now, Rukia. This boy... resembles him a lot." Uryū looks up at the statement, his other hand twitching to release his Quincy Bow if necessary.

Rukia immediately shakes her head even with the hand around her throat. "H-he does, but–but that's–that's not the point! That was never the point! Nīsama, I–"

Rukia snaps her mouth shut as she glances back over at the lifeless body of her... her brother and the Quincy hovering over him and watching her. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Her expression becomes cold and closed off, the rain thankfully hiding her tears that could not stop falling.

"Looking at him now... I've come to my senses..." Rukia starts slowly.

"...there's no point in staying to make sure that being is dead, Nīsama," She continues, empty and monotonous. "I humbly accept my sins and my punishment, so please take me to Soul Society."

Everything was quiet, save for the increasingly pouring rain. Byakuya turns towards the empty street with not even a single twitch of emotion.

"Very well, I'll leave him be. If he isn't already dead... or by chance he doesn't die from those injuries, not even a speck of those Shinigami powers will be left," The Shinigami captain relents, as if it was a gracious gift.

"Renji."

"Yes, sir." Renji pulls out his zanpakutō and thrusts it into the open air. "Open!"

Large shoji doors suddenly appear in a flash, opening with a loud rumble. Three hell butterflies flutter through the open entrance, circling around their respective Shinigami as they walk past the doors.

Rukia glances back, violet turned almost black with grief and anguish. Tawny eyes, dull and almost completely delirious, stare back with determined conviction. The doors close on Rukia's shock and Ichigo's grin.

"Ichigo, you fucking idiot!" Uryū hisses once the shoji doors disappear. Ichigo bursts out laughing until it quickly dissolves into a coughing fit. He leans back into Uryū's arms and ignores how his skin itches when he starts putting pressure on his chest.

"S'rry... you's 'kay?" Ichigo asks, delirious and worried. He rolls his head around, so he could stare into concerned and fearful blue eyes. He hums before spitting out more blood from his mouth, his eyes fluttering close.

"No, no, no, no–don't you dare close your eyes! Ichigo! Ichigo, you need to stay awake for me! Shit–" Ichigo makes a noise of protest at the somewhat rough jostling and forces his eyes open. Everything was blurry, even without the fact that the rain was just pouring buckets now.

Ichigo continues to blink out the rain as he catches sight of something green and black slowly making its way towards them. The echoing sounds of wood hitting asphalt slowly gets louder and louder. Ichigo huffs out a quiet laugh, more blood gushing out of his mouth from the puff of air, and closes his eyes.

"Damn Geta-bōshi..." Ichigo slowly teeters between consciousness and unconsciousness, humming softly. He doesn't exactly have a choice, but to trust the creepy shopkeeper... not that he has any good reason not to.

"Uryū? Did you find–"

"Tatsuki?! Tatsuki, Ichigo's hurt really badly. Use the Snap Map and get here–why the fuck are you here? What do you want?" Uryū glares fiercely at the shopkeeper once he finally notices him standing right in front of him. The wagasa he held blocked the rain from pelting Ichigo and Uryū.

"Mah... is that any way to talk to the person who can heal your friend?" The shopkeeper states with a quirky smile. Uryū narrows his eyes, his lips curling up into a slight snarl.

"Uryū?! Uryū–fuck, what's goin' on?! What happened?!" Tatsuki asks loudly from the phone. The shopkeeper smiles just a bit wider while he points down at the unconscious Ichigo.

"I can't help him here... would you be willing to carry him back to my shōten? Those wounds are quite severe," He speaks again, innocently and good-naturedly.

Uryū continues to glare at him before sighing heavily. "Tatsuki, get the others and follow the Snap Map. That creepy fucking Geta-bōshi is taking us somewhere to heal Ichigo. He got hurt trying to save Rukia and now he's dying."

"Dying?! What the fuck happe–" Uryū hangs up the phone and quickly tucks it into his pocket before he finally glances down at Ichigo. He moves his arms to be holding Ichigo's back and the back of his legs, and adjusts his own legs to stand.

"If you try anything, I will make you wish you were dead... got it, Shinigami?" The Quincy sneers at the shopkeeper, standing up with Ichigo's in his arms. He ignores how light his friend was, absently noting it for later.

"Such a scary threat~! You really care about your friend!" The shopkeeper starts walking slowly, keeping the wagasa above the two teenagers. "And my name is Urahara Kisuke... just a shopkeeper of... Shinigami goods."

"Geta-bōshi, as long as you still feel like a Shinigami, you will be one unless you prove otherwise... and the only reason I'm even agreeing to this is... is because Ichigo's lost his Shinigami powers and needs help from a Shinigami." Uryū carefully adjusts Ichigo, hands twitching when Ichigo's head rests against his shoulder. He can handle it... this is for Ichigo. He has to get him inside. He can handle a little touch.

"You disgust me," Ichigo hisses with a snarl, taking a step forward. He glances at an obscure face before spitting up at it.

An unbidden cry leaves his mouth when the obscure person punches him across the face. He falls with the momentum, a hand pressed against his cheek and nose.

"You disgust me. You claim her as your sister and look at what's happening."

Ichigo snaps his head up at the deep voice, staring at the obscure person. He stutters out a breath and glares defiantly.

"I... I'm not strong enough, but–"

"That's right!" The person slams their foot into Ichigo's stomach, making him cough and heave. "You're not strong! You'll never be strong! It happened with Mizuiro, it happened with Orihime, and now it's happening to Rukia!"

"I'll–I'll get stronger! I-I–"

"Disgusting! Repulsive! Do you really think you can save her?! You can't even save yourself and yet you–"

"I'm not! I'm not!" Ichigo cries out in desperation to be heard. He's not, he's not, he's not, he's not–

"You killed your mother, you almost killed Tatsuki and now you've killed Rukia! You should have died instead of your mother. You should be killed instead of Rukia!"

No, no, no, no, no, no. He didn't–he didn't kill Rukia. She isn't–she isn't dead. He promised–he's going to save her–he–he...

Ichigo pulls at his hair with a sob, rapidly shaking his head. She's not dead, she's not dead, she's not dead, she's not dead, she's not dead, she's not dead, she's not dead.

"...chigo..."

He flinches away when something grabs his arms, his hands twitching to block his face. He whines loudly and curls into a ball, waiting for the impact.

"Ichi...!"

Something tight wraps around him, constricting his movement. He tries to claw it off of him. He doesn't want it. He doesn't wanna be touched. He wants his arms. He doesn't–he doesn't–

"Ichigo!" Breaths enter and leave Ichigo's lungs, too fast to gain any sort of oxygen or any semblance of where he was. He couldn't see or feel anything except searing cold and unbearable warmth and his head was pounding in beat with his heart.

"Ichigo, Ichigo it's okay! It's okay..." A voice speaks calmly and softly next to his ear, pushing past the thundering heartbeat and deafening ringing. Ichigo flinches away and tries to push out his arms, but couldn't move them past adjusting them. Something was keeping them constricted to his body. He tries to move them again as a high pitched whine leaves his throat.

Why can't he move his arms? Why were they numb? Where was he? Why can't–why can't he see? Why can't he breathe?! He couldn't–he couldn't think! He–

"Can you hear me? Ichi, can you hear me?" The voice asks, still calm and soft despite Ichigo's increasing panic and movement. "Ichigo, take a deep breath for me. You need to take a deep breath for me. Follow me, okay? Deep breath in..."

Ichigo feels someone taking an exaggerated deep breath against his back. His breathing still stutters in and out as he tries to follow. It only gets faster, making him shake his head.

"I know, I know... but ya need to take a deep breath. Try again, 'kay? Deep breath in." The voice takes an audible breath in, nudging Ichigo to follow. His breathing still stutters, but he manages to take a slightly longer breath before it leaves.

"Good, good... now deep breath out." Ichigo forces himself to breathe out even if he didn't have the air. His lungs instinctively breathe in at the lack of air, making a scratchy wheeze hiss through his teeth. He breathes out again before quickly taking in another deep breath.

"Good. Deep breath in... deep breath out... In... Out." The voice, slowly sounding more and more like Tatsuki, continues to exaggerate their breaths.

Ichigo's breathing still stutters more often than not, but getting oxygen in his brain was slowly starting to bring back his awareness and his senses. His arms were still numb and too warm for his liking, but the soft blanket that was wrapped around made up for it. Strong arms were wrapped around him in a giant bear hug to keep the blanket around him and his arms restrained even further.

His eyes throbbed by the bright lights around any time he opened them, but he was able to make out wooden floors and a white futon. Past the calm voice that was definitely Tatsuki's, he could faintly hear talking from another room, and a familiar tapping pattern from that same room as well.

Tap, tap, tap-tap-tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap-tap-tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap-tap-tap, tap.

"Tats–" Ichigo speaks quietly through his still stuttering breaths. She hums softly, barely tightening her arms around the ginger.

"'m here. It's okay... just breathe, Ichi," Tatsuki murmurs quietly. She slowly starts to rock Ichigo back and forth, knowing this wasn't the time for a hand through his hair. Ichigo whines quietly and presses his back into her hug.

"R-Ru–" His voice broke and fell away, too hoarse and raw to speak.

Tatsuki gently shushes him as she rests her head against his shoulder. "Uryū told us... we'll save her. We won't let 'er die. Not without us there, 'kay?"

"'kay... Mm?"

"Uryū's okay. Rukia healed him up real well," Tatsuki answers immediately, making Ichigo go completely limp in her hold in relief.

"Mm."

"You were havin' a night terror an' I had to keep you from hurtin' yourself. Geta-bōshi said if you continued to thrash around, you might've died." Ichigo sighs at the answer and presses his head lightly against Tatsuki's neck. Tatsuki sighs as well and carefully releases one of her arms to bring it up to Ichigo's head. She gently starts to run it through his hair, carefully avoiding any skin.

"Hmph."

"You wanna let them in?"

"Hmph!"

"Oh, okay. I'll let him know," Tatsuki says softly, slowly easing away from the limp Ichigo. He makes a noise protest at the loss of a heater, but rolls around in the blanket, further burying himself into it. Tatsuki scoots back before turning around and standing up. She doesn't bother to fix her rumpled shirt and sweatpants as she opens the door.

All conversation quiets down as Tatsuki stands there with no expression.

"Is he doing okay?" Keigo asks first, his usual spasticity subdued significantly.

"He's burrowin'." Ichigo's friends relax immensely at the news, happy that he's calmed down from his panic attack. Tatsuki points her stare towards the creepy ass shopkeeper that seems to be the partial center to everything.

"Ichigo knows that you're more involved than what's been seen, but he wants to get stronger. He'll need a few hours to recuperate though..." Tatsuki finally scowls and points down at the creepy shopkeeper. "We're gonna go with him an' save Rukia, so if ya think you're gonna keep any of us outta the loop, you better wish your dick well as I cut it off with–"

"Tatsuki! We need him for training!" Orihime scolds with a pout. Tatsuki clicks her tongue before crossing her arms.

"That's Ichi's deal," Tatsuki continues as if she never threatened the shopkeeper.

"Mm!" Ichigo hums loudly and knocks on the floor from inside the room.

Tatsuki nods her head at the sage advice. "An' he wants you to go get him ramen an' chocolate chip cookies. Those're paramount for his recovery."

"...I'll send Tessai to get the cookies and ramen now. Any preferences?" Kisuke speaks with his fan hiding his mouth and the clearly amused smile.

"Hmph," Ichigo hums again, a bit quieter and more muffled.

"He doesn't care. He just wants ramen. Orihime will eat what he doesn't eat or like," Tatsuki answers for Ichigo again.

"Alright. We have a deal, Ichigo." Kisuke closes his fan with a snap and stands up. "Now then, I don't suppose you all will go and head to school, hm?"

"Hmph, like they'll care. We won't be doing anything today anyway, so we might as well get our training started," Uryū states as he pushes up his glasses.

"Mm," Ichigo agrees with the statement. No matter how annoying and frustrating it was for the teachers, they couldn't do anything about it. Not when Ichigo and his gang have consistently made up the Top 7 rankings for their entire school.

Any extra time will be devoted to training. Going after Rukia will be a bitch to do, but they'll handle it. They always have and always will when it comes to their own. They were family and family doesn't stop until everyone was together again. Just like what Dom Toretto always says.

Hey! Hope you all like the new chapter! We're almost to the most chaotic invasion to ever happen in Soul Society, woot woot! Another chapter or two and we'll be there.

I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Bye.

WhovianWhoudini