AUTHOR'S ACKNOWLEDGMENT!
To Mr/s. Unknown Reviewer of chapter 2. I would first off like to say to you (if you are there) thank-you for taking the time to read my story and reviewing. I do wish that you had signed in so that I could try and address your issues and concerns privately, so as not to possibly spoil something for others. I will say this everything I do has a purpose to it, even if something seems radically over powered or whatnot, it's only because it has a subtle weakness. I will try and take some of your words to heart, so I can improve. So again thank-you for your review.
As for everyone else out there, well enjoy your fic and please don't be afraid (not that I'm calling you a coward or anything) to leave a review, it let's me see what YOUR perspective on things are. Which can lead to enlightened conversation on how you got to think that or answer a question you might otherwise have. Again I'm here to help you, with spoiling too much. Anyway thanks for listening now please enjoy Chapter 4.
Disclaimed: I do not own any characters that appear in this story. They belong to their respective creators.
Beta edit provided by mbpicke
Ch.4 A Mother's Visit to the Fabled Second
The next morning, Ichigo and Masaki got up early to dress and prepare breakfast, so that Ichigo could get around to showing her the second division. As Ichigo pulled on his Shinigami hakama, the smell of eggs and toast filled his nose and forced his body towards the kitchen where his mother was cooking in a light orange-colored kimono. He bided his mother a good morning which she cheerfully returned as she brought him the food so he could set the table. They ate quickly so that they could avoid any unnecessary detours and spend as much time together on Ichigo's only day off, even going as far to just leave the dishes in the sink instead of washing them immediately just to save time, though Ichigo simply considered his mother just wanted to get to the second as quickly as possible to satisfy her excitement. As they stepped out of the family home, Masaki locked the door and at her son's insistence hoped unto Ichigo's back before they sped off back towards the Seireitei.
After about 30 minutes of traveling they stopped in front of the second division barracks. As Ichigo began informing the guards who he was and the purpose of his guest, Masaki was looking around everywhere in awe having never actually come to this particular division before. After confirming his identification the pair entered the building and started to proceed through the dim hallways.
"This is so exciting, honey! I'm so proud of you!" the orange-haired female gushed in a giddy pitch; after all it wasn't every day that your son was among the elite of the elite and gave you a tour.
"Shhh! Keep it down! And stop with the 'honey' mom. I don't want people to hear about that nickname especially the people of this division!" The taller of the two hushed, not wanting anyone to hear such pride-scarring information.
Masaki smile falter a bit and she glanced around the area quickly. "What people are talking about? I mean besides the guards we saw earlier I haven't seen anyone. It's just us here sweety."
"I believe he means someone like me, Masaki Kurosaki-sama." A mysterious voice whispered next to the pair startling Ichigo's mother and leaving Ichigo to groan at his misfortune, he closed his eyes seeing Subaru of all people emerge from one of the many shadowy corridors.
Masaki looked between the two Shinigami, silently taking in the interaction between them which led to her greatest conclusion imaginable "So, wait, are you Ichigo's soul mate?" she asked mistaking Ichigo's action of placing his hand over his face as a way to hide his embarrassment instead of exasperation and mental resignation.
Ichigo groaned out even louder as Subaru chuckled at the implication, "No, Kurosaki-sama. I am not the one to your son's heart." The spy corrected in a quiet voice. "However; I do know the girl who is and she is very close to me." The woman gave a very deep and respectful bow, "Allow me to introduce myself, third seat of the second division, Subaru Kujo."
She then turned to Ichigo "So Ichigo, what brings you back here on your first ever day off? I would have thought you'd go somewhere else instead of your workplace."
"Actually Subaru, I was telling my mother about you all here in the second division. She seemed really interested so I thought I'd show her around."
The woman's eyes lit up with understanding, "Oh I see. Well just remember Ichigo: that we can't let any of our or Soul Society's secrets get out or they might cause trouble for you and her. So I implore you to be mindful of where you decide to wander to." Subaru cautioned.
"Riiight." Ichigo replied acknowledging her concern. He didn't want to ruffle any of the higher-ups feathers especially his merciless captain "Oh, by the way, are Shinjiro and Hanataro here as well or is it just you?"
"Yes, they are here too. In fact I was on my way to meet them. Would you care to accompany me?"
"Yeah, sure."
"If you would be so kind Kujo-san."
"Of course, please follow me." she said with a faint smile as she took the lead.
So the three set off in the direction of the training field, along the way Masaki asked Subaru questions ranging from, 'What do you do around here?' to the popular 'Where is my son's soul mate?' which forced Ichigo to cover his mortified face. Ichigo could tell that Subaru was answering some of the easier questions truthfully while some of the 'harder' ones were said with lots of double meaning if not intentional misleading.
As they arrived at the training grounds they saw Shinjiro standing next to Hanataro and seemingly instructing him on something, a moment later a fireball erupted out of his hands and hit the training dummy about 10 feet away from them.
"And that's how you do Soukatsui." He instructed calmly before backing away to give the medic the floor "Your turn Hanataro-kun."
"Y-yes, Taiga-san!"
Hanataro took a small step forward and extended his hand out and began to chant the incantation. Shinjiro watched on to check the young healer's form and only turned away to Ichigo and company when he saw them out of the corner of his eye.
"Well hello there Ichigo! What brings you here," he asked and took a curious glance at the orange haired woman next to him, "And who's your friend?"
The woman bowed "I'm Masaki Kurosaki, Ichigo's mother."
"Ah, where are my manners," The man returned the bow, "Third seat of squad nine, Shinjiro Taiga, at your service milady."
"Not to interrupt the niceties, but to answer your question; Shin, I'm showing my mother the second division and introducing her to some of my friends." said Ichigo, extending his hand out towards Hanataro and himself.
Shinjiro nodded his head "I see, I see, well it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. So I guess you guys ran into Su-chan on your way here." He concluded as he turned a loving expression back at his wife.
The response that Ichigo saw from the woman exceeded anything he had ever expected "Y-you! That ack-err…Don't call me that Shinjiro!" A blushing Subaru yelled at him "…at…at least not at work." She muttered, getting a chuckle from those present and hollow Zangetsu saying he would definitely file that away for later use.
"So you were just practicing some kido with Hanataro?" Ichigo asked as he turned the group's attention away from the embarrassed woman.
"Yup! Though he messes up the incantations every now and then, he's definitely improving!"
"Hadou 33: Soukatsui!" Hanataro yelled from behind the group, causing everyone to turn and see the fruits of his labor. A much smaller burst of flames shot out of his hand and struck the shoulder of the dummy, leaving a small but noticeable scorch mark. Hanataro's nervous attitude turned into elation at the attack, "D-did you see that! I actually managed to hit it!"
"Congratulations Hanataro-kun." said Shinjiro as he patted him on the back "You've come a long way these past few weeks."
"Well, that's because I've had a good teacher…" the modest seventh seat said.
Shinjiro shook his head "Not true. I'm not all that good, heck I think Ichigo probably uses Kido more handedly then I do. If he wasn't so busy with second division, I'm sure he would have been glad to help."
"Speaking of helping, how about a friendly spar Shin?" asked Ichigo, a bit eager to get the lead out and show his mom what he could do. He thought maybe if he impressed her enough he could finally put an end to that ridiculous nickname she always called him.
Upon hearing the challenge his mother frowned with concern, "Is that allowed? Won't you get in trouble for that since you told me he was from another division?" she asked knowing that fights between different divisions usually ended up in trouble.
"Oh, it ok Masaki-san, we'll be fine so long as we don't get too rowdy." The male third seat said hoping to put whatever fears she might have to rest "Truth be told, I'm supposed to help Ichigo train to suppress his power, but since that won't happen overnight I've decided to help out and improve his skills in Zanjutsu." The man moved his hand over towards his undecorated Zanpaktou ready to draw it. "Your son is very skilled too and I'm proud to have been a part in his growth. Believe you me; he'll definitely be a forced to be reckoned with once his tour of duty is over."
The mother's face lit up considerably at the man's words and a sense of pride began to fill her at knowing that her son was becoming a man of worth all on his own merits.
As the two swordsmen were getting ready for the match, Subaru recalled a very important detail that she had forgot to mention, "Oh, before you guys start." Subaru interrupted. "Ichigo, I have a very important mission for you tomorrow. I will inform you of your task at nineteen hundred hours in your room. Shinjiro will also be there as well."
"Ok got it." The carrot top confirmed absentmindedly.
He then turned to his mother while his hand reached for Zangetsu "Mom you might want to step back and stand over near Subaru wouldn't want you to get hurt with my spiritual pressure." He then glanced at Subaru, "Subaru if you could please make a small barrier it'd be appreciated."
The woman nodded "Of course. Leave it to me. Hanataro-kun, please stand next to me so as to minimize collateral damage."
The group separated leaving Shinjiro and Ichigo in the center of the training ground. Once Subaru and Hanataro raised the barrier to protect themselves and Masaki, both combatants drew their swords and firmly planted the blade's edge into the ground and bowed their heads in respect.
"To those who came before us, watch us and guide so that we may forever uphold the ideals and beliefs that not only we have lived for but for what others have died for. To those who came ahead know that we hold the fallen within the highest of reverence!" the two men chanted in unison.
Behind the barrier Masaki tilted her head in confusion "What are they-"
"They are showing their respect for the various fallen Shinigami before them and asking for their continued guidance in maintain the beliefs and ideals they treasure." Subaru explained to the mother for the men's strange action "It's their little thing whenever they spar. I personally think it's rather thoughtful."
After saying their mantra, the pair both pulled their Zanpaktou out of the ground and gave the other a quick bow.
"You ready Ichigo?" the dark haired boy asked gripping his otherwise undecorated and unreleased Zanpaktou.
"On three." Ichigo replied lifting his huge weapon steadily in his hands and placing his foot back in his regular stance.
"One." said Ichigo tightening his grip on the blade.
"Two." counted off Shinjiro as he gathered reiatsu into his arms and blade.
"Three!" they yelled as they both charged at each other, the blades colliding into each other with enough force to cause the branches on a nearby tree to go flying off of it.
Ichigo being the physically stronger of the two pushed Shinjiro back and brought his sword forward, following up the opening that he created from the quick dead lock.
Shinjiro smoothly side stepped to avoid the attack and swung his sword over the length of Ichigo's blade, aiming to cut his chest and disarm him.
Ichigo, seeing the blade rushing at him, pushed all his weight into his foot and jumped back narrowly avoiding the swipe and quickly flash stepped behind Shinjiro, his blade coming to crash down from over-head on his sempai, who was still mid-swing.
Shinjiro managed to spin around enough and blocked the strike with his Zanpaktou causing them to dead lock again. The blades started to screech against each other from the force being applied, neither one giving an inch.
"Not bad Ichigo!" the third seat grunted out, seeing as Ichigo's speed and strength had increased by leaps and bounds since his initial arrival.
Ichigo grinned in kind, slowly applying more strength to the struggle "It's still too early, Shin. Let turn it up a bit!"
The pair jumped apart but this time Ichigo thrusted his hand out and yelled "Hadou 31: Shakkaho!"
A burst of flames erupted from his hands and rushed towards the dark haired boy who held his blade across his body while being supported by his free hand "Bakudo 7: Kaze Kabe!" he shouted, as a barrier of wind emerged in front of him and dissipated the fire, but left him blind from the smoke. He returned his hand back to his sword in preparation for the imminent attack.
Shinjiro's eyes started to scan around to see where his friend would come from next, a moment passed before pain erupted from Shinjiro's side as Ichigo had flash stepped towards him and gave him a swift kick to the side sending him flying to the wall. Just before crashing through it he put foot on the wall and kicked off it and landed in his typical kendo stance.
Ichigo using his momentum from earlier launched a Shakkaho fire spell at the man who countered with his own. When the spells collided with each other a great flame burst outward sending sparks towards the protective barrier and surrounding area. Though the flames did little to diminish the intensity the two fighters had as they merely weaved through the remnant sparks towards their opponent.
Shinjiro swung his blade diagonally across to weaken the Ichigo's kido slinging arm. The man grimaced at the slight blow and counter attacked by tackling the swordsman to the ground.
Once Shinjiro was pinned down, Ichigo started to wail down on him trying to beat the man into submission to which his opponent dropped his sword to block against the blows. After Ichigo's third strike, Shinjiro punched Ichigo in the gut as he was pulling back and used the momentary pause to throw Ichigo off of him, before quickly rolling backwards to retrieve his blade, and then launching into a flurry of attack, determined to really cut up Ichigo.
Ichigo quickly leaned back and then twisted sideways before lifting up his foot and back flipping, desperately to avoid the quick high powered slashes of the samurai.
As Ichigo dodged yet another slash he slowly lead the swordsman until Zangetsu was behind him. 'Now I got you sempai.'Ichigo thought, a small idea to regain his blade dawning on him.
Shinjiro seeing that Ichigo looked distracted swung from overhead to cut the man in half, but was nearly surprised when Ichigo caught the blade with his bare hands, preventing him from splitting his face. Ichigo held the blade firmly preventing Shinjiro's attack, and was going to throw it to the side, but a fierce kick from Shinjiro knocked the Shinigami back and freed the blade to cut Ichigo's hand a bit.
Ichigo still feeling the sting of pain, flash stepped behind Shinjiro and delivered a powerful round house kick to his back sending Shinjiro to stumble across the barren dirt, while he used the time to regain Zangetsu.
Pulling the mammoth sized blade out he turned around to see Shinjiro slowly getting back to his feet, with an eager look of excitement on his face to see his Kohai push him around quite a bit, even if he was holding back.
"You're going easy Shin. Are you trying to lose on purpose?" Ichigo taunted, since he did have the upper hand so far at least.
Shinjiro smiled despite his bumps and bruises "Weeell if you insist on getting beaten so much. I'll comply kohai!"
Shinjiro then sheathed his Zanpaktou and turned his body and crouched down, his arm lifted just above his sword in a quick draw stance. A stance that Ichigo had come to fear as the next move that would come would be what Ichigo dubbed as Shinjiro's unavoidable slash.
On the sidelines Masaki was shaking with anticipation, fear and excitement. She couldn't believe the sight before her. Her son, her strawberry was doing all these amazing feats of skill like it was nothing against someone who was supposedly stronger than himself by theoretically three seats. 'Despite how much he hates him he's so much like him at fighting.' She thought 'Oh…Isshin…if only you could see him…'
'Wooaah…I wonder if I'll be…? No! No more wondering one day I will be on their level!' A resolute Hanataro promised as he looked on in awe of his two heroes.
Subaru was also impressed by the display that Ichigo had shown thus far 'He has learned much, from us all. He's no longer dependent on his blade if some of those moves I saw mixed in to his regular style of combat is a sign of his progress. Congratulations, Kurosaki-san.'
Back on the battlefield Ichigo gulped and tightened his grip further on Zangetsu, 'I'm not quick enough to dodge it maybe I can distract him with another kido spell.'
"I got an idea king."Whispered Hollow Zangetsu.
Shinjiro seeing an opening launched his attack, within a blink of an eye he was behind Ichigo his Zanpaktou out of its sheath a trail of blood flying off the blade, as a large cut appeared across Ichigo's torso. Shinjiro immediately spun around and slashed the back of Ichigo, leaving another cut on the orange haired man.
Ichigo's body slumped forward slightly, but remained otherwise unmoving causing worry to fill those present that Shinjiro may have put too much force and accidently hurt him.
How wrong they were.
Everyone's eyes widened in surprise when Ichigo's body violently whipped around his blade coming towards Shinjiro in a rising arc, making the man jump from shock and try to put up some kind of defense after being caught off guard from the sudden attack.
The attack ripped off a piece of the third seat's outfit and managed to cut him across his shoulder, making him wince from the cut and allowing Ichigo to take the offence and force Shinjiro back, with a mad flurry of sword strikes each one more devastating than the last.
'ugggh. He's really going all out here. I might just have to release at this rate…'Shinjiro thought as he blocked yet another vicious blow "That was pretty good acting. I see Subaru been teaching you a thing or two besides fighting." Said Shinjiro knowing that when he and his wife had been alive she was a very famous actress, or at least as she told him since he couldn't remember since becoming a Shinigami.
"I've got to use everything to win, especially against an opponent who's stronger than me such as you, Shin!" Ichigo replied as he jumped back launching another Soukatsui spell to the man, who dodged as it went screaming past him and blew up one of the nearby trees in the square.
"Then I better end this here and now!" yelled the other combatant as he pointed his sword directly at Ichigo, whose eyes widened at what that stance meant. 'He's going to release. I gotta stop him!'
'Trust me! Trust your instincts and swing damn it!'The hollow yelled in Ichigo's head.
Unbeknownst to Ichigo a very faint strange white energy started to appear over the blade as Ichigo began to swing his sword. While an equally strange nearly inaudible sound resounded in his head that almost sounded like spoken words.
"Curse those who cross you!" yelled Shinjiro seeing Ichigo move to stop him from bringing out one of his own deadly weapons.
Before either combatant could continue a voice yelled out "Hadou 52: Howaitopirā no bakuhatsu" forcing the two to jump away as a beam of light erupted from the ground where they would have been if they had continued their attack.
Once the beam of light ended, Soifon appeared between the two men with a visibly displeased look on her face. She turned her head to Shinjiro, "Shinjiro what are you doing? You know that fourth seats and up with the exception of Kurosaki over there are forbidden to release their Zanpaktou unless dire situations have occurred. What do you have to say in your defense?"
Shinjiro scratched the back of his head "Sorry Taicho. It's just that Ichigo's come a really long way, and he was practically forcing me to release if I wanted to stay in one piece." Indicating the rather deep cut on his shoulder for emphasis, "Though it's my fault this occurred, please don't hold Kurosaki accountable for this as I challenged him." He explained quickly bowing his head and hoping he wouldn't get Ichigo in trouble.
Soifon silently took in both men's disheveled appearance before letting out a sigh, "I'm not angry, Shinjiro. I'm just surprised. I sense two powerful reiatsu's clashing on my squad's turf what else should I expect but something dangerous being here and considering the condition of the place you can't fault me for my presumption." She said gesturing to the damaged surroundings, to which now that everyone wasn't so focused on the match had to agree that the area had definitely seen better days.
The female Taicho then turned towards Ichigo, "and what about you? Why are you here? I'd have thought this would be the last place for anybody to be at on their day off." A cruel grin suddenly graced her face "unless you actually are a workaholic in which case I have some paperwork in the back that could use some attending…"
"No, not really Soifon-taicho. Actually I was showing my mother the place that I do my best every day." Ichigo said, still trying to appease Soifon.
Soifon merely grunted.
"Mother?" the woman's face spoke volumes of her confusion. Never had she expected that answer from him or anyone for that matter.
"Yeah. She's the woman next to Subaru." Ichigo said as he lazily pointed towards his mother behind the shimmering reiatsu barrier.
Soifon glanced over towards her surrogate sister and sure enough there was another person she didn't recognize but presumed it was indeed his mother because of her vibrant orange hair. The strange orange haired woman smiled and waved at her, to which Soifon nodded so as not to seem rude. "I see." She said accepting his words as truth as she turned back to the man.
"Normally when you wish to show outsiders a division, this division in particular, you must report it to the Taicho in charge for security reasons. Although I don't know what protocol was over in Hitsugaya's division, and I for one know that I never informed you of this, so I'll let this incident slide under the guise of miscommunication." She then waved her hand dismissively, "Besides Kurosaki-san today is your day off. That means you're not on duty, so we lose our commander-subordinate relationship, so just address me as 'Soifon-san', Kurosaki-san." She stated firmly, which got a curious glance from Subaru and Shinjiro, who was currently being healed of any other injuries by Hanataro.
Ichigo frowned at what she said, particularly when she didn't call him 'Sloppy-Kurosaki'. It almost felt like they were suddenly strangers to each other. "Yes, Soifon…san." He said weakly unsure of what to make of it. His eyes shifted over towards his mother who had a faraway look in her eyes, which made him worry for a reason he couldn't quite remember.
Masaki continued in her daze state until she had an 'aha' moment. Quickly she moved around the barrier and walked right up to the captain who had returned her attention back to the devastated surroundings "It's a pleasure to meet you, future daughter-in-law. I am your future mother-in-law Masaki Kurosaki!" his mother chirped eagerly, firmly clasping the hand of the now startled second division captain.
Soifon was completely taken aback from what she said. It took several moments for her mind to properly process the woman's words but when it finally did she felt her body burn like fire. Her fists clenched and unclenched and her eyes twitched as she tried to maintain a straight face.
Turning her head to face Ichigo, she was pleased to see that he had enough dignity to not actively try and hide his embarrassment.
Yes. The hand over his face was a clear sign that he knew this was going to suck.
"So what lies have you been spreading, replacement fourth seat Kurosaki…" she said in a cold un-amused tone causing a few in the group to snicker at the jump in conclusion.
'Oh Gods…' Ichigo moved one of his fingers revealing one of his brown eyes "It's a misunderstanding. Believe me." He said flatly also not wanting this to continue.
"I…see." Soifon mumbled to herself before speaking louder "Well see to it that it doesn't happen again or you will pay the price for your slander!"
As Hanataro finished healing Shinjiro he went over to address Ichigo's wounds, while Soifon looked over the damage caused 'geez. It's a good thing I interrupted when I did otherwise we might not have a meeting ground anymore.' She then walked over toward Subaru and whispered so as not to be over heard, "Tell me did you see that strange light around Kurosaki's blade?"
Subaru nodded her head "Yes, I did. If you had not intervened when you did, I think we might be at the fourth division barracks right now begging Unohana-Taicho to save Shinjiro-kun. That blade of his seemed to gather energy and use it with his swing, though he seemed to be unaware of it." She paused to think and breakdown this new information, "Perhaps that is an innate ability of his or maybe even one of the powers of his Zanpaktou?"
Soifon narrowed her eyes "Perhaps. We will have to keep a much closer eye on him lest he releases it against another one of our own. This information stays between us Subaru as an order from your Taicho and older sister." Seeing Subaru nod her head in agreement she continued, "Also in about two weeks you, Shinjiro and Ichigo will go out on a hollow hunt in Rukongai. Perhaps we can get him to learn that strange attack of his."
Having finished the private conversation the two women turned back towards the group and noticed that Ichigo was fully healed courtesy of Hanataro. Feeling that her presence was no longer needed Soifon prepared to flash step away when Ichigo called out to her.
"Hey, Soifon-san can I ask you something?"
Soifon tilted her head slightly in his direction "You already are, but I suppose it couldn't hurt." She responded crossing her arms in front of her.
Ichigo looked straight into his leader's eyes and spoke in a calm tone. "Why aren't you calling me 'Sloppy-Kurosaki'?"
Masaki tilted her head in confusion not really understanding what was going on, so she asked Shinjiro, "What's he talking about?" she whispered like a gossiper hearing a new rumor.
"It's Soifon-Taicho's nickname for him." He whispered back.
Masaki's face went from confusion to cheery at the information, knowing full well what a nickname meant or at least implied.
Soifon shifted her eyes away from the man "Simple. You are not on duty. Hence we lose our Commander-Subordinate relationship. That's it. I've already told you that I'm respectful at least when it comes to off duty matters." She said tersely, her desire to leave suddenly growing in urgency.
Ichigo scowled because something just didn't seem quite right in her mannerism. Like she was trying to hide something. "You said specifically that you'd always call me that until the day I showed I was actually competent. When do you go about changing rules that you set yourself?" he pointed out still not convinced seeing as how Soifon was particularly stiff when it came to rules and regulations.
The assassin took the man's tone as a sign of challenge. "Are you questioning me Kurosaki?" she said dangerously.
"Yes." He said immediately getting bewildered looks from those around him particularly his Taicho.
Now Soifon turned to face him fully; while on the outside she maintained her ice cold poker face on the inside she was having mixed reactions. No one. No one had ever questioned her like that and yet…this man did.
One side of her; the cold methodical captain was ordering her body to kill the man on the spot for his insubordination, but another side…a side that was curious, more disarming, more dominant simply asked her to find out why. Why had she been questioned? Why had he questioned her? And why was she so averse to leaving when he approached her?
"Why exactly?" she asked unsure of where this conversation would go, since most people didn't get a chance to explain, only the business end of Suzumebachi.
"I…don't know why exactly." He admitted which only perplexed the both of them further "It's just you seemed a bit off, almost distracted." He tried to explain "The Soifon-Taicho that I follow is a calm and collected woman who won't hesitate at all to do what she must. From what I'm seeing now; the way you're acting and thinking back on it, it seems almost different. I was just worried I guess." He clarified.
Soifon was floored from what he said. For the first time in a long time she really didn't know what to say, so taking an invisible glance toward her brother and sister she only saw them looking on eagerly to see how this development would go. Though Shinjiro took notice of the invisible hint she was sending and moved to intervene, since Subaru was busy analyzing his answer and seeing what was true and what was false.
"Perhaps, she's having a much more stressful day than normal Ichigo." He said drawing attention towards him and away from Shaolin.
Ichigo stopped and thought about what he said. Before remembering that as a Captain, Soifon had to deal with things that he didn't, plus with running not only the second division but also the Special Forces it must have been hard on her. The orange-haired Shinigami nodded his head and mentally berated himself for his behavior both in front of his mom and to Soifon.
"Hey listen, Soifon-Taicho...err Soifon-san." He corrected throwing in a bow to show his sincerity, "I apologize. I forgot that as a Taicho you've got a lot on your plate and me wrecking the training field and asking you these questions probably isn't helping. So sorry about that."
"It's ok. You were merely worried about my…health." She said continuing the lie Shinjiro inadvertently started, "So I won't hold it against you though this incident isn't to be spoken of. We don't need any more dissention within our ranks, understood?"
"Yes, Taicho!" the Shinigami present agreed.
"Good. Now I shall take my leave. Farewell." And in a flash step Soifon was gone leaving the group to their own thoughts on what had transpired.
Subaru decided to speak up to break the awkward silence that had settled in "Hmm. Since you are here Ichigo perhaps we can use this time to help restrain your power, through meditation. It might be best to do it now since you just go out of a rather lively spar."
"Yeah sure. You don't mind do you mom?"
"Not at all. Go ahead." She then got into a thinking pose, "Is it alright if I join you?"
"Not at all Masaki-san." Answered Shinjiro.
"Well, if you guys aren't going to be doing any more dangerous stuff, I guess I won't be needed here. So I'll see you guys later!" said Hanataro as he started to gather his various healing items and put it in his sling for his walk back towards the fourth.
"Ok Hanataro. Remember to practice the kidos we've been working on when you get back!" Shinjiro reminded the young healer.
"Of course later!" and in a flash step he disappeared also.
After the departure of the two the group sat down into the Lotus position and began to meditate for a little bit simply enjoying each other's company and whatever was left of the surrounding environment.
Masaki having reached a point of tranquility within herself opened her eyes and decided to strike up a conversation with the two third seats, "Excuse me Subaru-chan, Shinjiro-kun may I ask you some things?"
The pair opened their eyes and looked over to her. A cheery smile crossed Shinjiro's face."What exactly would you like to ask Masaki-sama?"
Ichigo's eyes opened as well somewhat interested to see what his mother would ask, "Well I was curious about you two. I just wanted to know a little bit about who you were is all."
Shinjiro and Subaru glanced at each other and both nodded.
Subaru moved her hand and pulled down her outfit's face mask revealing the rest of her face, "I suppose we could answer a question or two. I've wanted to tell Ichigo anyway, as I'm sure he must have some desire to know as well." She said hinting to Ichigo about the last subject they had discussed about, "My husband and I are from the Rukongai districts such as yourselves. We were at one time human beings though we had died from a rather unfortunate accident that I'd rather not discuss at the moment."
The two Kurosakis' were intrigued from hearing the information, "How did you know that you were humans. I thought that Shinigami forget who they were in their past life?" Masaki asked.
Shinjiro frowned "It's a small side effect of Subaru's Zanpaktou. It's a gift and a curse." He said vaguely not wanting to go into the details since it was personal to his wife.
"I don't understand" Ichigo replied.
"That's a bit personal Ichi-"
"No its fine, Shin." interrupted Subaru causing her husband to look at her worriedly "We are…friends, and you're always telling me to let other into my heart. This man is similar in nature to both you and sister; I will trust he won't abuse this information." She reassured hoping to convince Shinjiro to follow her wishes.
Shinjiro bit his lip but relented with a nod of his head and so Subaru turned back to them to explain "Part of my Zanpaktou's spirits power is that it allows me to remember all things that have happened in the past. Usually it's general information such as wars or figures. But occasionally it's important people of places that I had experienced in life, however most spirits forget such information when they cross back into the realm of the living. You see Zanpaktou's are eternal creatures that live in another world that's parallel to our when their master's no longer possess the ability to call them into our world. During the cycle of reincarnation a new Zanpaktou spirit is created with each new life that's introduced into the cycle that wasn't there before; however, there are the rare occasions where two people have the same Zanpaktou spirit." She paused to let them process her words.
"Anyway normally the two souls, the Shinigami and Blade spirit, are forever interlocked and no matter how many years our decades past they will always be together when they awaken to Shinigami powers unless some unknown force drives them apart. Anyway, while it is a gift in the fact; that since the past always repeats itself I can act accordingly. I am…cursed to be the only one to remember all the memories…and…all the friends Shinjiro and I left behind." She lowered her head as she started to get teary eyed "I…am jealous of the fact that others will forget such things and remain unchained to such regrets while I will forever be haunted by them. Even to this day I still see the faces of my friends at night and it frightens me to know that it will happen to everyone I eventually meet."
Shinjiro gently put his arm around his lover and pulled her close to him, whispering calming words into her ear in a valiant attempt to bring her in a better mood and prevent her from crying. Ichigo bit his tongue knowing that was probably one of the worse things that could possible happen to someone, his thought drifting back to both Zangetsus' and how miserable they would be in the city by themselves forever alone and haunted by false visions of people they once knew.
Masaki bowed her head and spoke in a solemn tone, "I shouldn't have brought that up. It was a bit personal."
Subaru surprisingly shook her head. "No. I've…been trying to become a bit more open…more approachable individual. I shared that with you because I felt that I can trust you with that information. Believe me; thanks to Shinjiro I've come a long way when it comes to the interaction with other people. Anyway is there another question that you might wish to ask of us?"
Ichigo decided to try and inquire about their time in Rukongai, "You guys said you were from Rukongai. What exactly did you do when you lived there? Were you from a noble family and that's how you got into becoming Shinigami?"
They pair laughed bitter-sweetly at Ichigo's question before Shinjiro spoke up, "No, we're just regular souls from there though we did put our talents that seemed to carry over from the human world to good use. You see in the human world, I was actually a guy raised under the samurai code even though I was born in 1902. So I learned how to fight with a katana as well as the Bushido code. I was also an ensign for the Japanese navy, and managed to reach the rank of Captain of Star Division before I died." he pointed to the white star on his shoulder "That's the reason why I have this star here on my shoulder. It's a reminder."
"As for myself, when I was a human being I was an actress for a theater in New York City called the 'Little Lip theater' it was also the place where I had met Shinjiro. On a further note due to my impressive acrobatic abilities I was rather good in the art of…stealth. That was why when we reached Rukongai we employed our skill to full effect. During the day Shinjiro would serve as one of the local guards, while I performed plays to either the nobles or other souls. While at night Shinjiro would perform bodyguard-ship, and I would rob others." Subaru explained recalling the number of times she'd hit the filthy rich Omaeda residence.
Ichigo nodded his head pretty impressed by his sempai's achievements "May I ask how you two eventually met Soifon-Taicho?"
The two once again glanced at each other, this time a bit longer before turning back to orange haired man.
"Maybe next time Ichigo. Perhaps when Soifon is also present as it is her story too." Shinjiro spoke with subtle finality. "Anyway it's almost night time. You should probably escort your mother back home and hurry back for that mission briefing." He continued changing the subject.
Ichigo nodded his head and got up as did his mother. She bid them a goodbye before Ichigo and her disappeared in a flash step. Once the Kurosakis' were gone the husband and wife duo turned towards the other, "We should go check on Shaolin real quick." Suggested Shinjiro and with a quick nod from his wife the two disappeared as well.
Ichigo and his mother just arrived back to his old residence, and Ichigo himself was just sticking around long enough to make sure she got in alright.
Masaki smiled brightly at her son "Thank-you for such a wonderful tour today. I enjoyed myself and was glad to meet some of your friends especially my future daughter-in-law!"
Ichigo face turned to a look of resignation, "Look she's not my girlfriend, fiancé, or wife. So just drop it alright? Besides if you weren't around then she'd just be calling me 'Sloppy-Kurosaki'."
Instead of broking an argument Masaki just laughed at her foolish son, which confused Ichigo "You really don't get it do you?"
"Get what?"
Masaki let out a contented sigh "Oh Strawberry-chan, when a girl gives you a nickname. It means you hold at least a certain amount of interest to her."
"Interest? Her?"
"Yes. Since she cares to remember your name and face that means she's actually willing to give you the time of day, and from what I saw today she's a no nonsense woman with a good head on her shoulders."
Ichigo looked away slightly at the implication. He never really thought about it that way before now, but surely she wouldn't hold any interest in a guy like him.
Right?
"So what should I do exactly?" he asked trying not to sound too eager for advice though it didn't seem to convince his mother.
"Just try and get along with her. If it works out wonderful, if not you could at least be friends. Her family seems to like you, so that's a plus honey. So just do what seems natural, you can only be yourself and she'll have to accept that no matter what."
Ichigo smiled a sweet smile. "Thanks mom." He leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Not a problem son. Now go get them!" she cheered and with that Ichigo nodded and flash stepped away. Once the coast was clear she ran all the way back to her room and into the closet where her shrine for her beloved Isshin was. "OH HAPPY DAY INDEED MY DEPARTED BELOVED! I HAVE MET MY FUTURE DAUGHTER-IN-LAW!"
(Meanwhile)
Back in the Taicho of second division's office Soifon was sitting at her desk stewing in her own thoughts. 'What was wrong with me? Why is it that when that man questioned me I was so conflicted in punishing him?' Soifon thought to herself still unable to believe she let him off the hook almost scot free. 'and why was it that I was so shaken when that woman indicated being my possible future mother-in-law? Was it perhaps because that was the first time someone had ever said such a thing to me?' Mentally going over all her memories when people had ever approached her and none came anywhere near as close to the words the strange mother said to her, not even the ones who asked her out, to which she coldly declined.
'Maybe you have a slight crush.' Soifon's Zanpaktou Suzumebachi responded as she materialized before her mistress on top of the desk. Her two red ponytails falling over the side, while her golden stinger that matched her clothes rested across her lap as she lay stretched out across the wood feeling quite at home.
Soifon glanced at the small bee fairy-like creature, while she loathed admitting it she did get along with her Zanpaktou at least on certain subjects. She had recently learned from her Zanpaktou that her monstrosity of a Bankai was actually a corrupt version of what it's true power should be, though Suzumebachi wouldn't admit to what was causing the corruption if she actually knew, so Soifon and Subaru had resolved to figure out a way to fix it somehow.
"And what pray tell leads you to have that notion?" she huffed in annoyance, clearly unamused by the bee girl's theory.
"Weeeelll!"The spirit said happily, "I am a part of your soul and I find him kinda cute. So there." Throwing in a cheeky smile at the end, making Soifon's desire to strangle the annoying bug soar to new heights.
"Can you ever be serious?" asked Soifon while she glared at her partner.
To her surprise the spirit clamped up and looked at her in surprise."Wow. He must really be on your mind if you're like this. Maybe you should see what his true character is like."The fairy girl teasingly suggested.
Soifon was about to respond by swatting the spirit with her hand when she felt something approaching her office at incredible speed. Her eyes narrowed to her door as whatever it was slowed in speed, when Shinjiro and Subaru appeared in front of her desk she relaxed. Though she did see the rather concerned look the two had on their faces, obviously about her as they both took the chairs to sit down in.
Suzumebachi kicked herself up and spun around to smile at the newly arrived pair, "Hey you guys. Great timing maybe you can help me with her."
"It's actually about that. We were a bit worried about Shaolin and were wondering if everything was alright with her, "spoke the only male in the room, "Is she?"
"Weeeelll!" the little girl exclaimed turning back to her mistress, "Why don't you ask her?"
The pair's eyes returned back to the captain, who suddenly became interested in her clock on the nearby wall, inwardly mulling over what she should do or say since this was considered uncharted territory for her. After feeling the intense stares from all the occupants in the room, she sighed and turned back to face her family. Perhaps coming clean wouldn't hurt her pride too much. After all they were her family and they had never steered her wrong before when it came to big or important decisions.
The captain sat up from her chair and leaned forward onto the desk, her hands interlocked with each other while her eyes released their retrained emotion showing fear, worry, and doubt to the her trusted confidants. "You recall fourth seat Kurosaki correct?" she asked, hearing the two third seats resounding 'yes' she continued. "I've come to feel…conflicted about him."
"How exactly?" asked Subaru though she could hazard a rough guess, sometimes it was best to hear straight from the source itself.
"When he questioned me earlier today, he almost reminded me of 'Her' and a part of me wanted to reprimand him but another part simply couldn't." she said solemnly almost sadly, having bad memories that she had once treasured brought up again to the surface, "What do you guys make of it? Suzumebachi unbelievably thinks I have a small infatuation with the man."
Shinjiro raised his eyebrows in surprise, as he honestly didn't expect her to actually develop feelings for another person especially after 'Her' betrayal, and only encouraged Ichigo to pursue since it did make him happy. "I admit I'm surprised, but you've been acting a bit different. Not enough for it to be noticeable by a vast majority of other who don't really know changes in your behavior, but Su and I picked up on it, and Ichigo apparently picked up on it too, most likely because it's directed at him."
Subaru continued where her husband left off, "The man in question seems to be a moral individual and we've seen firsthand the principals he follows. He is strong, stubborn but determined man, who I would gladly share the battlefield with. He acts rash from time to time though he has the makings of a leader."
Shinjiro spoke again "He doesn't like delegating tasks to others that he feels he can't complete himself, and during my various training sessions with him he's eager to learn and puts only his best effort forward. From what Su-chan told me, he's also had quite a few girls approach him about companionship in the romantic sense, though he turned down all of them, these people included Fukataicho's Hinamora and Matsumoto as well as third seat Kotetsu of the thirteenth."
Soifon face subconsciously turned into a scowl at hearing of all of these women, who seemingly threw themselves at him and scoffed that the man was truly what they made him out to be, though secretly she was rather impressed of the man's fortitude to resist any urges of taking advantage of said women's crushes since most would kill to have that kind of attention from the more lavish and beautiful women of soul society
"I see, though you still haven't answered my question." The petite woman reiterated, trying to get back on topic and stop any stray thoughts from drifting to Kurosaki, though for reasons she wasn't entirely sure on.
"Well from what I've seen thus far the man is at least interested if not infatuated with you, Shaolin." The other dark haired girl replied, "I suspect he was quite taken with you at first sight, if the report I had read about the man and after witnessing his body's reaction near your presence are any clues to his inner psyches workings in regards to you Shaolin. I will also say this bluntly Shaolin; perhaps you might in fact have a small crush on him as Suzume-chan has pointed out."
"Could you please clarify as to why exactly?" the navy haired girl asked quickly ignoring her Zanpaktou's claims of 'I told you so!'
"Of course. This man to extension not only reminds you of 'Her' but also portions about yourself. He holds some of the basic ideals and principles that you value and believe in yourself, but also is willing to challenge the beliefs of others and stem cowardice and promote better beliefs." Subaru pointed out, she then went into a thinking position, placing her hand across her chin. "I take it back perhaps you're not 'smitten' with him, maybe you just seek companionship like you had obtained in us. Maybe you feel drawn to him because of your similarities, after all birds of a feather flock together."
Soifon remained silent unsure about what her feelings on the matter could truly be. She acknowledged that aside from Shinjiro, Subaru, Hanataro, Unohana and Yachiru she really didn't have any friends which technically was a much shorter list since two of them were family, Hanataro was more of a friendlier acquaintanceship, Unohana was her assigned doctor and fellow Taicho and Yachiru was her leader in the S.W.A and Subaru always doted on her forcing her to spend time with the child.
Soifon sighed, "So you think that it's loneliness," her skepticism evident, "so why is it that I suddenly feel it now of all times? After I became the sole surviving heir of the Fon clan, the only true family I had left was you two but I never found myself wanting." The blue haired captain shook her head in frustration as she let out a groan, "I just don't understand!" Hating the fact something as insignificant as this was throwing her off her normal behavior and she didn't even know the true reason why yet!
"The matters of the heart are something not even we Shinigami are capable of truly mastering or understanding. We simply live to experience all kinds of emotions both pleasant and not, as you know already dear sister when I was a human I was referred to as a genius and was constantly placed on a pedestal. It was not until after meeting my love Shinjiro that I truly realized how alone I was. I admit while I disliked him originally, he proved his heart and soul to everyone around him, and eventually, he caused me to change." Subaru spoke capturing her sister's attention as it would eventually relate to the matter at hand knowing Subaru.
"I wanted nothing more to disappear leaving no trace behind of my existence as I always knew it would only be a matter of my finite time before I would fade into history, forgotten. Shinjiro showed me to no longer to live in darkness." She paused a blush appearing on her face before she continued, "And I admit us falling in love with each other was purely coincidental."
The female third seat turned her gaze back into her leader's eyes, and she gave what she felt was the most heartfelt advice she could, "So what I think you should do Shaolin is that you give him a chance. At the very least you could have another friend to rely on, when you're in trouble. Just take it slow and get to know him, at the worst if you hate each other it's only temporary."
Suzumebachi and Shinjiro stared at Soifon, hoping their words were reaching her and hopefully helping during this rather strange unforeseen event that occurred. Suzumebachi seemingly relaxed a bit, perhaps giving an invisible sign that the woman's emotional and soul state was stabilizing again. "Thank-you. All of you." Soifon whispered, a calm smile on her face, "By the way what brings you two here? I know you were worried about me, but I think it could have waited till after work."
Shinjiro glanced out the window "Well, tomorrow we were gonna have Ichigo on a special assignment. You would know for what exactly, so perhaps you can use that mission to see what his character is like for yourself and not hear it from us."
"I see. Well that is acceptable, and I suppose it does benefit me in the end. Is he aware of it yet?"
"Not yet. We were going to inform him but felt this should come first."
Soifon rolled her eyes at the pair, "Don't you remember the motto of second division?"
"I'm not part of second division remember? Anyway you're more important than that." said Shinjiro happily.
"I may occasionally abandon allies but I will never turn my back on my family." Said a grinning Subaru.
"Tsk. You two are incorrigible."
"Only when it relates to you sis." The two third seats replied together.
"Fine, I understand." She said wearily, "Just go and inform him of the mission. I'll simply pretend I don't know anything unless I choose to."
The two got from their chair and left in a flash step, leaving Soifon alone with the unusually silent Suzumebachi. The captain returned her gaze back to the embodiment of her soul. "Friendship, huh?" she mused, wondering aloud if that was what she sought.
Suzumebachi leaned forward with her hands on her hips as she smiled, "Maybe things will work out in the end!"
Gently Soifon stretched her hand out in front of her and Suzumebachi hopped in it as she returned it just above her heart, "Maybe indeed." She whispered.
(Ichigo)
After leaving his mother back within the safety of her home, Ichigo was hurrying back to his room having remembered that at seven he would receive a mission. Once he arrived at the second division compound he tore across the meeting square and down a nearby hallway and made to the left and then went up the stairs arriving in front of his door with five minutes to spare. When he opened the door he was a bit surprised to see Shinjiro and Subaru already inside waiting for him. "You guys are early."
"Yes, well we managed to finish up our duties sooner than expected and didn't want to keep you waiting, as we felt you would need your rest for the mission we're about to brief you on." answered Shinjiro.
"Oh…well thanks that's pretty consider it of you. So what's the mission exactly?" he asked putting his game face on.
"Tomorrow on February eleventh at five am in the morning, your assigned mission of bodyguard duty to our Captain, Soifon-Taicho, begins. You will follow her around all day and ensure that she remains safe and doesn't perform any task related to the work-place. Failure of this mission like any other mission of the stealth and punishment forces will not be tolerated. Any questions you may have I will answer at this time. So are there any?"
Ichigo thought it over for a moment "Yeah. Why would she need any bodyguards? She's a captain. She can take care of herself."
Subaru nodded her head in agreement with the statement glad to see he could comprehend the obvious, but appreciative that he was curious for details, "What you say is absolutely true Ichigo, and if this was just a matter of theoretical discuss than yes, any person with a working brain would agree with you. However because of Soifon-Taicho's importance to the function of Soul Society and it's missions; it is something never left to chance, even if it does seem redundant. As you know we specialize in stealth, but what you might not know is that a certain number of individuals in our division always tail the Taicho in charge. The reason for this is should the captain come under attack for whatever reason the Taicho will assistance in eliminating the threat thus not only granting them a greater chance of survival but also to retrieve valuable data on the incident to prevent future attacks."
Ichigo shook his head in agreement now that he saw the big picture "I getcha now but if you don't mind my asking, why me?"
"While I know that you don't quite meet the stealth requirement for the task, I'm assigning you it because tomorrow most of the people in the division we'll be very busy and we can't spare the usual individuals assigned to the task. That's why I said you will be a bodyguard instead of tailing her. Though if you can, try and stay out of sight unless she otherwise orders it."
"So it just going to be me and Soifon?" Ichigo asked
"That is correct. However, if more operatives become available I will send them to assist you in your task." She replied. "You are also to make sure she arrives at the location 'Health Land' by fifteen hundred and meet up with either Shinjiro or me there to give your report on how things went."
Shinjiro dug into his pocket and handed a small envelope to him, "Prior to entering Health Land you need to hand this letter to her not a moment sooner. If she asks what it is tell her it's a letter pertaining to today and if she asks who it's from, you can say it's from yourself. At no time are you allowed to read it."
Ichigo nodded though inside he was wondering why they said he could say it was from him when they gave him the letter. He decided if it came to it he'd just be honest and say it was from them but only if she asked. "I understand. Leave it to me."
"Very well, we shall take our leave."
The pair walked past him giving him a good luck pat on the shoulder before exiting the room. Once Ichigo was alone again he decided to turn in early so he could be up to do this mission, after setting his alarm clock for O-four hundred, he drifted off into dreamland, wondering what could occur on his newest job.
Author's note
Howaitopirā no bakuhatsu - White pillar explosion
Chant: Hear the roar of the beast that dwells in the dark calling the rays of heaven to open and strike down the prideful human invoking a righteous name! Hadou 55: Shiroi hashira no bakuhatsu!
Kaze Kabe – Wind Wall