Disclaimer: Not mine
Chapter 4
Ichigo found himself back at the river, mind reeling. He didn't want to believe what he'd heard and yet…he groaned and buried his face in his hands. At least now he knew that his friends and family had chosen the right side, even if that did mean siding with this worlds' Aizen. He picked up a rock and tossed it, watching it skip across the water. He hated this, everything was so different.
If he truly took a side, he'd end up facing once comrades and friends, could he do that? So far, he'd mostly managed to avoid fighting against anyone he really knew, except Byakuya anyway. Considering the blow that he'd been about to deliver against Shinji, he didn't really feel guilty about beating the man unconscious. It seemed that without the events of Rukia's almost execution the man still had a stick up his ass. Hopefully his stay in the Fourth would remove it, but he doubted it.
He'd thought the Central 46 were a pain back home, if they hadn't reformed then the beginning of the war would have gone very differently. Maybe if they had struck then, it would have been over quickly instead of lasting so long and taking so many lives. No one had grieved when the idiots had died, and he doubted many would grieve if these ones died… and that was an idea. He could do it, Yoruichi and Soifon had made sure he could handle assassination, but would it really change anything? Unless those in the Gotei 13 wanted this war to end, they would keep going even with the Central 46 dead. They'd probably just replace them like in his world since they were so used to them being in control. So why risk invading Soul Society unless he really had to?
Ichigo moved to the water's edge and began fishing, grateful the river still flowed to the world outside the barriers, he couldn't live off chocolate bars and nuts or even the tinned food he'd stolen from an old grocery store. Fresh food was necessary, and fish was about the only option. Nothing really grew anymore, or he'd be able to scavenge from what used to be gardens. Once he had enough to see him for the night and tomorrow, he headed back to the school.
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He breathed out, watching the smoke curl through the cold night air. He should have quit years ago and he mostly had, but sometimes… Shinji had confirmed it. He had one clan member left with common sense. Though it seemed the kid didn't even know he was a Shiba which wasn't entirely surprising. It would hardly be the first time one of them had ended up with a child they didn't know about. But he dressed like a modern human and even referred to himself as a doctor rather than healer, though he said he hadn't finished his training. But that suggested medical school and how?
Had someone else broken the rules like he had?
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Kisuke ducked, Benihime cutting down the fake soldier created by his once 3rd seat, why had he ever removed him from the Maggot's Nest? He glanced back at the shop to see the kids firing away at anything that moved. Maybe the others were right, he needed to move everything to the base, but he didn't like the idea of only having the one bolt hole in town. Besides, he liked his shop. Wave after wave the things kept coming, with no sign of any backup which meant the others were being kept occupied elsewhere.
"Getsuga Tenshō," an unfamiliar voice called, and then a wave of black and red condensed Reiatsu flew through the lines, destroying everything it touched.
Kisuke spun to see a tall young man with orange hair, a massive blade in his hand. So, this was Ichigo…Shinji was right, he did look like Kaien.
"Watch your back Geta-boshi," Ichigo snapped, taking out an attacker that Kisuke should have detected.
Kisuke turned back to the battle, keeping an eye on the young man as he did. The way he had called him a nickname…like he knew him. Everything they had learnt about this young man just didn't make sense. Especially that attack…how could he use Isshin's attack? He had to have Shiba blood, his looks screamed that much, but not even clam members shared attacks like that.
Unless… maybe's Shinji's joking question had been true? But how? Masaki had only had one pregnancy and Isshin had been crazily in love with her, he never would have strayed. Ichigo was older than the twins though, had he maybe slipped up before meeting her?
Finally, the soldiers stopped coming and he returned Benihime to her cane form, leaning on her, as the kid did something, and his blade vanished. "Thank you for your aide, Ichigo-kun," he smiled, and the kid rolled his eyes.
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Ichigo wasn't surprised he knew his name; Shinji would have told them all. Seemed like this Urahara wasn't very different to his. "I was in the area," was all he said, glancing over at Tessai and the kids, fighting down the pain of seeing them alive and well again. He started walking away, not willing to deal with the memories.
He wasn't ready yet, might never really be. But that wouldn't stop him helping where he could.
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"You won't stay for tea?" Kisuke called after the retreating figure, wanting more time to figure him out, but the kid shook his head and then vanished.
He turned away and went to work helping clean up and reinforce the barriers before ushering the children inside to check them for injuries while Tessai got dinner together, they needed to restore their energy and then sleep.
Kisuke stayed up, sending a message to Sōsuke about their encounter with the mysterious Ichigo and his attack. They were missing something, some key piece of information, that would solve the mystery.
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Sōsuke read Kisuke's report carefully, looking for every insight his fellow genius had on Ichigo. He was becoming ever more intriguing with every interaction. Getsuga Tenshō…that one had even him stumped, how was it possible? Zanpakutō did not share attacks like that, it shouldn't be possible. He looked like Kaien, shared an attack with Isshin…called Kisuke by a rather interesting name, knew of Shinji…he had to be connected to Soul Society and the Shiba. He had denied the name to Shinji but that just made him more suspicious.
He sighed and picked up his tea. How could one person be so frustratingly confusing?
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Ichigo watched the battle, seeing Gin, Shinji…Dad? Why was he there? He then took in those of their opponents he recognised; Ikkaku, Yumichika, a few others from the 11th he vaguely recognised…a bunch of those weird soldier things that had to be the 12ths doing and…no Captains? Against three Captain level fighters? Then again, they were so vastly outnumbered and…yeah, Isshin was bleeding so that ruled out his bankai. Skirmishes were far more frequent than he had first expected given the forces all lived in different worlds, was it just because their base was in the place where the three blended?
"Will you interfere?"
Ichigo didn't need to glance back to see Ossan hovering at his side, invisible to everyone else. He felt Shiro materialise as well.
"Come on King! Let's have some fun!"
Ichigo snorted at his predictable response. "I can't step into every fight," he denied weakly.
"Who're you trying to convince?"
Ichigo sighed but then stood and called forth Zangetsu, there was no point hiding now, Urahara would have reported on his attack, though he did wonder what the theories behind it were. He picked his targets and let loose.
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A wave of black and red condensed Reiatsu suddenly appeared, wiping out the majority of the soldiers and Isshin stared in shock. It was one thing to hear about it from Kisuke and another to see his own attack used so well. And then Ichigo was there, kicking back Goteitaishi hard enough the Shinigami went flying far out of sight. Isshin swallowed as he took in the young man's appearance, they had been right to compare him to Kaien, he was definitely a Shiba. Though the scowl was a different expression, then again, every time he saw another Shiba these days they were a lot more serious than they had been before this war started.
It was no surprise when the 11th Division members instantly focused on the newcomer and Ichigo made taking them out look so easy, but the blows were not killing blows. That had been commented on, he didn't seem to like killing. He let them go as the retreat was sounded, watching to make sure they really did retreat, and then his blades vanished.
Isshin took a deep breath and took a slow step towards him. "Thank you for your help, Ichigo."
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Ichigo froze as he heard his Dad speak to him, thanking him, and he hesitated, torn. He closed his eyes, basking in the sound, the knowledge that here at least his Dad was alive and well.
"Three Captains and you were getting beaten by that lot, figured I should save you the embarrassment," he finally said, trying to joke as he shoved his hands in his pockets to hide their tremors.
He heard Shinji snort in amusement at his words. He took another deep breath and turned around, getting his first really good look at his Dad. Huh, no facial hair at all, that was different.
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Gin watched the kids reactions closely and he caught the tremor before his hands were hidden, that was a very interesting reaction. He agreed with Kisuke, the kid was a mystery with how he seemed to know some of them, looked like a Shiba and shared Isshin's attack. They'd tried the most obvious answers so maybe they needed to look at the crazy ones?
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"You're bleeding," Ichigo pointed out, moving in to apply pressure to the wound, startling Isshin who hadn't seen him move.
Ichigo ignored his reaction, inspecting the wound, it was clean but deep and he pushed Isshin down before getting to work on healing it. He kept his gaze focused on the wound and not on his Father's face. It hurt, seeing no recognition in his eyes, more than he'd thought it would. He let the healing energy flow from his hands and into the wound, watching the muscle slowly knit together and then the skin. Healing family had always been easier for him, something about familiarity with their energy and also the similarity since they were family.
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"You're very good. Shinji said you were training as a Doctor?" Isshin watched the steady hands, how smoothly and quickly the wound was healing, and he was impressed.
"Yeah," Ichigo answered absently as he took care of a few smaller injuries as well.
Isshin slowly reached out, making sure he saw his hand coming, nudging him to look up. He felt a slight tremble before the boy looked up and he stared into pained amber. "You don't have to be alone, Ichigo. Come back with us," he offered, wishing he knew what was holding the boy back. He gently gripped Ichigo's shoulders, feeling solid muscle beneath his hands.
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Ichigo stared up at his Dad, feeling the firm yet gentle grip on his shoulders and fought back his emotions as the offer was made. That manipulative…this had to be Aizen's doing, confront him with a potential family member and use those ties to pull him in. It hurt so much, and he knew it had to be pouring in his Inner World, for which he silently apologised.
Maybe…it was time to really choose? He'd learnt all he could about what had happened by eavesdropping and even questioning those Shinigami. Could he deal with being amongst them when they didn't know him?
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Shinji watched, almost holding his breath. Somehow, Isshin was really getting through to Ichigo in a way he hadn't been able to. It almost hurt to look at them, like he was intruding on something very personal.
The watch on him had finally been lifted last week for which he was grateful, he preferred his privacy thank you very much. Though he had understood why it had been necessary. It just figured they'd run into an attack on his first patrol. The group had started out small but they must have had reinforcements nearby or set off an alert that the three of them had missed. The members of the Eleventh normally would have been easy to deal with, it was the freaky soldier things that had made it so difficult. He'd been about to pull his mask when Ichigo intervened. Seeing him kick that guy so hard and far had obviously influenced the others in retreating. Shinji moving to pull his mask on had likely played a role and he knew Gin had been about to activate his Shikai.
If he came with them then Ichigo could confirm for everyone that Shinji hadn't been captured and brainwashed or replaced. But that wasn't the only reason he wanted him to join them, neither were his healing abilities. Something about the kid just felt so lost and alone and he wanted to fix it.
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Ichigo broke eye contact and nodded before pulling away and standing up, hands back in his pockets. He could do this; he could deal with seeing them all. The three men turned towards base and Ichigo followed them, trailing by a few feet, feeling them glance back every so often to make sure he was still there even as he watched their backs and fought the urge to bolt. Was he really ready to do this? And then his spirits began berating him in their own ways, it wasn't like him to be so indecisive and they didn't like it.
They reached the edge of town and Ichigo really studied the barriers, very impressed. Shinji held his hand out and Ichigo stared at him.
"Gotta lead ya through," he explained, so Ichigo took his hand and let Shinji pull him through.
Ichigo looked around curiously, the buildings were run down but not as bad as the rest of the town which was nice. Maybe he'd get more than rotting cushions to sleep on which would make a very welcomed change. He followed them and then a familiar figure emerged from the building up ahead. Even expecting to see him, Ichigo had to force back his emotions. They weren't enemies here, Aizen was one of the good guys, not an unbeatable madman.
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Sōsuke quickly left the office at feeling someone unfamiliar, seeing the tall young man walking with the other three. So, this was Ichigo. No visible Zanpakutō which was strange, clothing that had seen better days, hair a mess, though he doubted Orihime would let that go for long. This was the young man that had been causing such a stir and he was glad he had sent Isshin out, obviously it had worked.
"Welcome back," he greeted them and then turned to the newcomer. "Welcome, Ichigo," he offered his hand and Ichigo slowly reached out to shake it.
"Thanks."
He ushered them all into the office and Shinji went to his own desk while Gin lounged and Isshin sat. Ichigo hesitated, looking around, and Sōsuke indicated an empty chair. He waited for him to settle and then pulled out a blank piece of paper on which to record information.
"I am glad you have decided to join us. There are some security measures as well as medical exams for anyone new, I hope you understand?" he asked and Ichigo nodded. "Let us start with some basic information for the records. Name, age, species?"
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"Ichigo, no last name." There was no name he could give that wouldn't raise questions and he sucked at making names up. He had to stop and think, doing the mental math. Fifteen when things started, then 17 when he'd regained his powers and learnt Aizen had not been as defeated as they all thought. Then ten odd years of war… "About twenty-eight, I think." Species…he could lie but the if he had to use his mask later…. "Visored."
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Silence reigned. As if finding out he was no more than a child was shocking enough…Visored? How? Sōsuke had not attempted such a thing since the accident that had changed Shinji and the others so how was that possible?
"Prove it," Gin said, hand casually by Shinsō, just in case.
They watched as he raised a hand and raked it through the air in front of his face, able to feel the heavy, Hollow taint, and then the mask formed, amber eyes becoming black and gold as his face was covered in the white mask. It was very humanoid compared to most of the other Visored's and unlike the majority of theirs, his was marked by two thick black lines that passed over the eye holes and down to the bottom of the mask. There was something, unnerving about that mask.
They watched him closely, but he showed no sign of losing control and then he reached up and removed the mask but did not dismiss it, instead holding it out to Shinji who cautiously took it to examine. Shinji glanced at Aizen and nodded; it was the real deal. He tossed it to Ichigo who crushed it, letting the power fade away and then sat quietly, watching them all.
It seemed the more answers they received about Ichigo, the more questions those answers raised.
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Ichigo hated the stares, the shock and suspicion, letting his gaze drop to the floor, not wanting to see it. He felt the wave of comfort from Ossan and let it calm him. That was one set of powers he would not, could not, reveal. What were the odds of another Shinigami and Quincy having gotten together? No, he would not let them know exactly who he was. No matter how much it would hurt not to tell his sisters, to have them look at him like a stranger.
"Anything else?" he asked when the silence dragged on.
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Sōsuke stared at the child before him. A Visored…was it possible for one to occur naturally like with the Arrancar? Or had someone tried to copy the accident using the boy? He was so young…he had to have been human to start, not born in soul society or he'd still physically be a child. How had he gained his powers? He fitted in so perfectly, was he too good to be true?
No family name, or at least one he was willing to share… Had Kurotsuchi been allowed to experiment on a Shiba? Or perhaps a human with high spiritual powers had been taken and altered, Shiba genes added…while he did not like the idea, he would not put it past Soul Society to do such a thing in order to get a spy into them. He was powerful, that much was very obvious after the reports of his battles and then seeing his mask, taking him down would most likely cost many lives.
Perhaps he was being overly paranoid and over thinking things. Perhaps the boy had been placed in such a deadly situation that he had developed the powers of a Shinigami and a Hollow together since the human soul could become either.
"Thank you for your help over the last several months, it was much appreciated. Especially healing Shinji and keeping him out of Soul Society's hands," he offered, and the boy shrugged as if it was nothing. "Why have you chosen to aide us?"
"Because what they tried to do to you was wrong," Ichigo answered. "I don't like bullies and that's what they are. Besides, they find out about me and they'll be coming after me. I don't know exactly how this started, just what I've managed to overhear and the answers I got out of some lower ranked Shinigami. They said the experiments were sanctioned but when the Visored were the result they tried to have you all killed. That isn't right."
Well, not exactly what he'd expected but Ichigo was right, once they found out he was a Visored they would come to kill him. "Do you have Bankai?"
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Not a question he wanted to be asked but he'd expected it. "Yes," even if it had changed from since he had first achieved it to save Rukia. The powers might still be the same but it couldn't look more different, but it was more balanced, truer to who he was.
He knew what they had to be thinking, he was too good to be true with so much power. They had to be considering that he could be a Soul Society creation to beat them from within. The only way to prove otherwise would be through his actions.
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He was powerful, maybe too powerful, but they couldn't turn him away. Such power could be the turning point of the war, to finally give them a way to combat Soul Society's vast numbers. No matter the risk, they had to take him in.
"Welcome to the rebellion, Ichigo. Isshin will handle your examination and then we'll find you somewhere to live."
"He might as well bunk with us," Shinji offered, not surprising Sōsuke. It made sense to put him in with the other Visored, if anything happened, they would be best to restrain him.
Ichigo looked at Shinji and nodded. "Thanks." He left the office with Isshin and they watched them go.
"That is one scary kid," Gin offered, and the others nodded.
TBC…