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lo-55 · 4 years ago

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Shattered Chains of Fate Ch. 8

Not Yet Too Late

When they are tossed unceremoniously out the gate of the Dangai (and hell, Ichigo never thought he’d miss the vertigo of a Ray Shift before) Ichigo and Yoroichi are the only ones who land on their feet. Orihime breaks their fall with one of her barriers. Seeing it in action, three pronged and glowing, helps him file away what she can do for later.

He starts looking around.

They’re in a village, one that’s empty and devoid of life. Seemingly. Ichigo sees shadows move in the buildings. Okay. Not ideal. Nothing good comes from dropping right in the middle of civilization. It always leads to a fight. London had been a shit show and a half.

At least he can see now. And what he sees, down the road, is unmistakable.

“Is that Seireitei?” Ichigo asks aloud. A sprawling city with the harsh edges and an oppressive aura of order and structure. There was a thin line the separate the streets there, shining and well kept, from even the nice enough streets they stood upon. Ichigo knew it for what it was even if Kyo hadn’t told him about it before. He can recognize a military compound for what it is.

“Yes,” Yoruichi comes to stand at his feet. “Right now we’re in the Rukongai, the outskirts of the soul society. This is the part of the soul society where the most souls live, and also the poorest part.”

Ichigo doesn’t respond as Yoruichi explains it to his friends who don’t know.

He eyes the line in the ground.

“They’ll know we’re here,” he said abruptly. “We need to move away from here. Our entrance was too flashy, and the people in these houses probably won’t keep us a secret. Yoruichi, the Seireitei. Does is have some kind of bounded field?”

There was no way a military complex didn’t have defenses, no matter how it looked right there.

“...Yes. There’s a wall that will fall should anyone try to cross the threshold without a permit. On top of that, there’s a gate guardian who will not let anyone past him.”

“That’s fine. Okay,” Ichigo ran his fingers through his hair, gathering it all to the back of his head. He tied it into a tight, short pony tail. “We need a base of operations so we can figure out how to get in. We’re short on time but still… I’d like to avoid rushing in head first.”

If it was just him, he probably wouldn’t be so cautious. If it was him, Mash, Cu, and Medusa he would have no hesitation. Break in, make a fuss, and disappear into the veritable maze he knows stretches out. Kyo had told him once how easy it was to get lost if you didn’t know where he was going.

Joy.

Yoruichi is giving him the strangest look, but she doesn’t argue.

“You’re right. Come with me. I have a friend nearby who I believe will be willing to help us.”

“Sure.”

Ichigo casts one last look at the Seireitei and follows after the black cat leading their path.

Just wait for me a little longer Rukia. I swear. I will come save you.

Three days.

Kisuke has been training Ichigo Kurosaki for three days when Yoruichi finally comes back from where she’s taken his two young friends for their own training. It leaves a bad taste in his mouth, this whole plan.

Not their ages, though they are infants by shinigami time. Smaller people than them are made killers, as Kisuke himself well knows. He was barely taller than Jinta when he had met Yoruichi, and scarcely five years older than that when she first handed him envelope of thick, expensive paper. The parchment itself had been worth more money than he’d seen in his entire first century of after-life. The life inside of it, worth somehow more and less.

He knew, understood intimately, how far a person could go for their friends. As far as follow them into a dark, dangerous new world.

They don’t have a lot of options, other than to train these teenagers to the best of their abilities. He, Tessei, Yoruichi and the Visord are all banned completely from the Soul Society. Shy of destroying the defending, interdimensional barrier that binds them, there’s no way for them to go in.

While he could, if he did then they would be faced with Yamamoto and the terrible two, Ukitake and Kyoraku, the second they stepped foot in rukongai. Even Kisuke, with his clever plans and deadly edge, can’t stand against the overwhelming power of Yamamoto’s burning blade.

That’s not even to mention the other two captains, who are kind only when they can be.

Kisuke had been young still, just a tetchy little first year in the academy, who hadn’t yet learned to hide completely behind his smiles, under Shihoin sponsorship the last year of the Quincy war.

He can remember intimately, horribly, the dark look in Yoruichi’s eyes when she walked back into the Shihoin manor with the two trailing after her. It had been the first time Kisuke had ever seen the two, and the affable captain of the eighth and the gentle commander of the thirteenth were no where to be seen.

They were commanders in a war of extermination, with shadows in the their eyes, and a hand on a blade at all times. Everything about them had been dangerous, weary dogs barely leashed to their master. Ready for the next fight, ready for the next kill. They hadn’t had the luxury of mercy then.

If any of them are caught in Seireitei, there will be no luxury allowed from the Central 46.

But these teenagers are young. The old guard, Yamamoto, Unohana, and Yamamoto’s first two students like to pretend that they’re no longer wolves. Kisuke is forced to bank on the idea that they will go after these children with as much mercy as they will be allowed.

That was the plan.

It had started as a contingency plan when Masaki and Isshin had first come to him with news of her pregnancy. A dark scheme that he wanted to discard, but he wasn’t able to. A child with the blood of a great shinigami line and a long standing quincy one. Half blooded on both sides, with the potential of a natural born hollow inside his soul.

(Kisuke’s hands have itched for years to see this boy, to find out what he could do, where his tendencies lay.

Then Masaki had died, and Isshin had forbidden any of them from coming near the Kurosaki house. Even Kisuke has enough respect for that.)

The plan was a hail mary that banked on the better nature of war veterans and murderers, and Yoruichi’s ability to train and keep track of human teenagers. She’ll have more luck herding cats.

Was .

Now, things have changed.

Ichigo lies a hundred yards away in a crater, his arms stretched out and his breathing even. Even asleep, he’s not let go of his sword.

Yoruichi sits at his side, her tail curled around her front paws.

“He really just meditated and woke up his powers?” Kisuke has to ask again. It’s the second time. Rarely does he need something repeated but this… This is a bit different.

“Mmmm. He was in a house that wasn’t his families. It only smelled like him and the mod soul, Kon. I didn’t get to see everything, obviously. I’m not sure what he did. He said, and I quote, ‘Fucking everyone is so damn cryptic all the time’. And then, ‘a backwards ray shift’. After that he slipped into something like jinzen. His reitsu changed while he was meditating, and you know the rest.”

Kisuke frowned deeply. “Who was being cryptic?”

“I couldn’t tell you,” Yoruichi shakes her head. “He’s a strange kid, Kisuke.”

“That’s putting it mildly. Have you seen him fight? I’ve never seen anyone that refined and that coarse in the same time.”

“He doesn’t have a single particular style,” Yoruichi agreed. “But it’s clear he knows several different ones, and is at least proficient in each. Did you notice he’s ambidextrous?”

“Mhmm. I did. Did you notice his soul looks older than his body?”

Kisuke is reluctant to admit it, but he might have to talk to Isshin about this.

He should be more worried. He is, his mind spinning a hundred paranoid ideas. Everything from Aizen has already gotten to Ichigo, even though he knows that’s impossible right now, to Ichigo has been replaced by a clone that Kisuke didn’t make.

* *

They finally lure the people out of hiding so Yoruichi can ask the leader of the village for someone named Kukaku.

Shiba Kukaku. If Ichigo recalls, Kyo had once told him that Shiba were a strange type of royalty in the Seireitei. Not as stuck up as the rest of the noblemen, who Kyo quietly despised (he’d never been good enough at lying to hide all of his vitriol from Ichigo) they were a rowdy bunch that blew things up a lot.

Not exactly stealthy, but Ichigo was willing to go along with whatever Yoruichi’s plan was for now. Clearly she knew what she was doing. She and Urahara, and probably Tessai and the kids, were undoubtedly from here. What happened and why they were in the world of the living was none of his business.

They were in the middle of talking to the old man when the door burst open and a pig launched a man off of her(?) back.

Ichigo caught him effortlessly around the middle.

“Ah! She threw me again!” The stranger shouted, far to close to Ichigo’s ear. Ichigo set him on his feet.

“Careful,” he advised. The man dusts his pants off and finally looks to Ichigo.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. It happens all… the… time?” He stares. Ichigo can see the flip switched in his head, and suddenly he’d ducking a punch. “A punk ass shinigami!”

“Hey. Don’t be rude,” Ichigo says with no sense of irony at all. The man is broad, strong, with a bandana over his black hair and goggles over his eyes.

“What are you doing here?!”

Ichigo just stared at him. This guy was so rowdy. They really didn’t have time to be dealing with him…

Of course, he got right in Ichigo’s face. He even patted his cheek patronizingly.

“Didn’t you hear me? I asked what a punk ass shinigami like you is-”

When Ichigo punches him he goes flying right back through the wall.

“...huh,” Ichigo says idly. “I tried to hold back.”

That training with Urahara must have done him more good than he first thought.

He picks his way through the broken wall to find his attacker knocked out on the ground.

“Oh. Well that happened.”

He shrugs it off and goes back inside to sit beside Yoruichi in front of a bug eyed mayor while a bunch of punks riding literal hogs surround the guy Ichigo knocked out.

“Anyhow. You were saying your friend lives somewhere around here, weren’t you?”

“....yes. We will have to find Kukaku’s house, but I believe that she will help us.”

“How is she going to get us into Seireitei? If the walls come down and there’s guards at the gate that cuts off the direct route.”

“You’re not wrong.”

Yoruichi explains that the Seireitei is surrounded on all sides by a spirit barrier. No amount of spirit energy will serve them any good. Which is irritating. If it was spells or a bounded field they could maybe find a way to wind through them or hack past the barriers, like Flat does as easy as breathing. But if it’s that secure, above and bellow, Ichigo really has no choice but to trust Yoruichi to know what she’s doing.

He doesn’t have any better ideas, certainly. So they set off to find this Kukaku Shiba.

The only problem is that she is, apparently, the older sister of the guy Ichigo KO’d. And that’s how Ichigo finds himself running away from a woman with one arm and a hand full of bombs.

How is this his life?

Yoruichi manages to smooth things over by explaining that Ganju had started everything and Ichigo had only hit him once. Then the scolding goes from Kukaku on Ichigo to Kukaku on Ganju.

“And I thought I had weird family dynamics,” Ichigo muttered to Uryu, who’s been watching the whole ordeal like it’s a sitcom.

“Your family dynamics are weird,” Uryu replies without missing a beat.

Ichigo snorts, but shuts up when Kukaku turns to them.

“Alright. Since this is Yoruichi and Urahara asking me, I can’t say no to this job. But I don’t trust you kids. So once Ganju,” Who had been dragged home by the hog riders while Ichigo’s group was looking for the house, “Wakes up, he’ll be going with you.”

First Ichigo knocked him out, then his own sister. Ichigo is starting to pity the fool.

Which was just great.

“Fine,” Ichigo mentally starts changing his plans again around the new arrival. It’ll add friction. Ganju clearly hates shinigami, but if they’re going up against shinigami hopefully the common enemy will help smooth over the enmity.

“But first, how exactly are you planning on getting us in there?”

“Huh? I’ll show you.”

Kukaku leads them into the bowels of the house, until they’re standing in a dark room and looking up at a round chimney that Ichigo knows extends high outside.

“I’m going to get you in through the sky!”

“...fuck me,” Ichigo says. “It’s a canon.”

Please dear god let this be less terrifying than being shot into the sky on a bow.

“That’s right! You’re looking at the number one fireworks maker, Kukaku Shiba!”

Fuck.

“Okay.”

Kukaku tosses a ball his way. Ichigo turns it over in his hands, inspecting it curiously. There’s a design on it that reminds him vaguely of a phoenix and star wars. The door slides open while Ichigo is inspecting it, and Ganju steps inside. He’s got a nasty black eye.

“Focus your energy in there,” she orders.

Ichigo, who has spent five years pouring his mana and reiryoku into literally dozens of people, does just that. It’s as easy as breathing. A light flickers and he finds himself in a perfect sphere that glows so brightly with his energy it threatens to blind even him. Beyond the confines he can hear his friends shout. So he cuts off the pouring of power and drops the ball to the floor.

“Was that right?” he asks.

The dropped jaw on Kukaku’s face was enough of an answer.

Ichigo always has been good at making impressions.

“Yeah,” she says at last, recovering faster than Ichigo was expecting. “That’ll work. My men will take you to the training room for some more practice. If it’s not perfect by tomorrow, you’ll blow up on entry.”

Ichigo doesn’t even blink.

“I understand. Thanks.”

While they’re walking away, Ichigo takes a look back just in time to see Ganju’s face twisted in unmistakable pain.

* * *

Tea steams across the table, twirling in the light of the overhead. The kettle sits on the counter, unplugged but still hot and ready to use. The wonders of human convenience.

Isshin sits across from Kisuke on the low table, his eyes strangely dark, his customary smile missing. It’s frankly disturbing, and a good sign of the times.

“So,” Isshin starts. “Why did you call? I doubt it’s a social call.”

Indeed, his son has just left on a potential suicide mission to save a girl he barely knows on grounds of a favor that he owes. It’s such a Shiba thing to do.

Ichigo is a frightening boy, he is his parents son, but Kisuke thinks he will surpass them both rather soon.

“No, I'm afraid not,” Kisuke’s tone is still light, still somewhat playful. He misses Yoruichi at his side. He kind of misses the brash, unbending teenager that had been in his basement. Ichigo seems to have a talent for worming his way into people’s good graces, despite his manners.

Kisuke can’t imagine how often he gathers followers if his plan for invading seireitei was to make allies and convince them to commit treason. Ichigo doesn’t seem stupid . Perhaps just overly optimistic?

“When did you teach your son to fight with a sword?” he asks instead, starting with the easiest question. Easier than asking ‘Isshin why the fuck does a child move like he’s lived and breathed fighting but thinks the bonds of friendship will save him?’. Or, ‘How did Ichigo do in one hour what normally takes more than ten years?’.

“I never have. Why?” Isshin frowns. “He went to karate for years, and we spar at home, but he’s never held a weapon before.”

“Is that so?” Kisuke cocks his head, his grey eyes narrowing minutely. Never touched a sword? No, that’s impossible. Ichigo moves with grace and holds a weapon with ease that only comes from long years of practice.

“Why? Kisuke, what’s going on with my son?” Isshin’s voice raises. He slaps his hands on the table, only to retract them with Kisuke gives him a Look.

Kisuke can only shake his head. “I couldn’t tell you. Your best guess is to ask him, but I know you won't do that.”

Guilt and discomfort flickers across Isshin's face. He looks down, his fists clenching in his lap.

“The time isn't right yet.”

“The time's never going to be right,” It’s something Kisuke has wanted to say for years now. “You'll keep putting it off until eventually, it's too late. I know you.”

Isshin's jaw sets and he narrows those dark eyes at Kisuke. Anyone else might have at least squirmed. Kisuke doesn’t so much as blink. “That's why I asked you to look out for him.”

“Have you seen your son lately, Isshin?” He hardly needs anyone to look out for him anymore. Even Kisuke has nothing to teach. All he van do right now, without jeopardizing Ichigo’s trust in him, is keep pushing Ichigo to grow stronger and stronger.

It occurs to him, briefly, that Ichigo might learn who they are in Seireitei, but that is a bridge Kisuke will cross when they reach it.

“Don’t talk down to me!” Isshin’s temper finally frays. The fact that it took so little is telling. Isshin is worried about Ichigo. A father who told his son none of what his life may hold is worried now for what will happen to him that life.

Kisuke wants to laugh in his face.

Since he doesn’t want to be punched, even by Isshin in a gigai, he snaps his fan out over his smiling mouth.

“Then step up, Isshin. You’re children are growing. If you’re not careful, your children will leave you behind.”

He thinks, privately, that Ichigo already has.

Isshin is silent for a long, terrible minute. Isshin is never silent. He is loud and brash and makes an excellent ‘idiot distraction’. Too good, sometimes, if he really hasn’t noticed any of this.

Ichigo walks with purpose. With weariness. Kisuke is too familiar with the dark edges of existence not to see the way Ichigo faces windows and door, the way he watches shadows, the way his hand twitches to the right like there’s something or someone there when the air is empty. Kisuke can see the darkness in the back of brown eyes.

Something happened, and the only time it could have occurred was over the summer.

What happened, in this Chaldea?

“...he asked me about Masaki,” Isshin says at last. “He asked me if she was a quincy.”

“Did you tell him?” As if Kisuke doesn’t already know the answer.

“No.”

His voice is quiet.

“He asked me in front of her grave, and I couldn’t tell him the truth. It’s already too late, Kisuke.”

“Isshin… You really area fool.”

Ichigo is gone now. Maybe, for Isshin, forever.

* * * *

That night, Ichigo finds himself sitting outside in the grass, rolling stones through his fingers while lightning bugs flicker around him.

It’s picturesque out here. Almost enough to be the paradise so many people hope for.

It’s nothing like the long, dark corridors of Kur. It’s nothing like the dead soil and the flickering cages tended to so carefully by Ereshkigal. Ichigo aches with thoughts of what might have happened to her. Where is she, that she allowed her land to fall into such a state of poverty? When had grass started to grow? When had a King taken over the afterlife?

He has a million questions and not a single answer.

Ichigo rolls a rock around in his palm. In his other hand he brings up a small knife and cuts into the stone a familiar rune. One line with a single smaller one branching off downwards.

‘Torch’.

He knows mana won’t work here. There is no life for this land of life energy. That was how they’d defeated Tiamat, after all.

So he must come up with something else.

Ichigo knows, for Scathach has told him, that most mages have absolutely reiryoku to their name. Once they die they can no longer perform their precious magic, for there is no mana for them to use.

Ichigo is blessed (or something) with an over abundance of both and a talent only for mana transference.

It seems to him that the concept can’t be that different.

So he focuses on the stone in his hand and calls on the energy he can feel humming around him. In the air, the grass, the earth, it makes up everything the same way mana does. He draws it into himself and tries to press into the rock in his hand. The energy sinks in, slowly at first. It’s like trying to force syrup into a water balloon made of concrete.

It’s not really working.

Some instinct hisses in the back of his mind and Ichigo sits straight up, drawing Zangetsu from where he’s sat in the grass beside him. He’s not a second too late, barely blocking a blow that comes from the shadows.

Ichigo is on his feet in a second.

He hasn’t survived this long by being stupid, and he’s always trusted his instincts. They’ve never let him die yet.

They’re far enough away that if he shouts no one will reach him in time to help. Even if he was closer, when he sees the man step out of the trees he knows without a doubt; none of his friends can take this man.

He’s tall. Silver hair and a curved smile makes him think of a snake. He almost feels like Stheno, enough that it sets Ichigo’s teeth on edge. He remembers clearly her habit of toying with those she likes, embarrassing and driving them to ruin while watching them struggle.

“You know it’s rude to attack someone when their back is turned?” Ichigo says, tilting his blade and letting the bandages flow off and into the air.

The mans smile stretches.

“You have good reflexes for a kid,” he teases, his voice light. Ichigo narrows his eyes. This man is strong. Stronger than Ichigo for certain, but if he’s careful…

“I’m not a kid. Who are you?”

“Me? Oh, no one really. I just wanted to see who it was that came to visit today. You’re causing quite the stir, you know.”

“Oh yeah?” Ichigo narrows his eyes. “Are you here for a fight?”

The man considers him. He lifts a dagger up, twirling it elegantly. He drops into a hard stands, one leg behind the other, partially bent, his hand with the knife at the back.

Ichigo gets Zangetsu up without a second to spare, blocking the blade an inch from cutting into his shoulder. It extends and retracts in the time it takes to blink.

Joy.

Ichigo isn’t the fastest person, and his sword is big and powerful not small and swift. They’re a bad match up.

Oh well.

Ichigo lifts Zangetsu and brings him back down, slicing the air and cleaving the earth. The man, a shinigami with a white coat the flutters around him, dodges to the side with a single step. Ichigo catches a glimpse of his eyes. Quicksilver, it’s gone a second later and replaced by that same smile.

“If you’re looking for a fight, I won’t back down,” Ichigo warns. Zangetsu hums in his grasp, comforting and familiar. His blood pounds, excitement rushes under his skin.

“You're an interesting guy,” the stranger muses, “Aren’t you afraid of me?”

It’s all Ichigo can do not to laugh.

Ichigo has fought gods and monsters. This is just a man.

“No way in hell.”

“What a strange person you are.” He puts his short sword back in it’s sheath and it disappears inside his sleeves. Ichigo doesn’t trust it for a minute. “I have what I need. Bye bye now.”

He waves and disappears in a blur of speed that makes Ichigo’s stomach twist. If that man wanted him dead, he would probably be dead.

Ichigo is left alone in the dark.

With nothing else to do, he picks up his rock and tries again.

He only gets a few more minutes of trying to fill the cement balloon before the door to the main house opens and Orihime comes walking out. She shivers at the chill in the air and looks around until her eyes find his. They’re full of concern and compassion.

It’s for the best. Ichigo needs to talk to her anyways.

He waves her over.

Orihime is someone that Ichigo has known for years, but barely knows at all in the end. He knows how her brother died.

(He was there when it happened, when they came broken bodied and hearted into the kurosaki clinic. Her hair was short and her eyes were wet and dull with grief. For Ichigo grief was already an old companion. He’d sat at her side while his dad tried to explain what was happening to a child that already knew. He wonders if she remembers. He almost hopes she does.)

Yet, they’ve never hung out outside of school. She is Tatsuki’s friend, and Tatsuki is Ichigo’s, and so she is in the same orbit as he is but they’ve never really gone off with each other, and rarely had true conversations.

(He keeps waiting for her to bring up Acidwire/Sora.)

(she doesn’t)

She kneels across from him, a bright smile in the dark of night and Ichigo is suddenly very, very glad that she’d not come a few minutes earlier. He’s not sure how well he could have protected her.

The thought tastes like bile.

“Kurosaki,” she smiles sweetly at him. “You’ve been out here so long. Aren’t you getting cold?”

Ichigo tilts his head before he shakes it.

“No, I’m fine.”

“O-oh.”

Orihime is unsure of herself. It seems like she always is, except when she protected them in the Dangai, and when she swore to follow him into battle.

How does he keep finding these people? These inexplicably loyal beings, with power beyond humans, who follow him into convoluted plots and dangerous schemes? How does he keep tricking people into thinking it’s a good idea?

Is everyone just stupid?

“Orihime, listen.”

She perks up, all of his attention on him. Ichigo doesn’t like saying this, but it’s something he has to. There’s no other option.

“When we get to the Seireitei, you’re going to be out top supporter. You’re our only healer, and while Uryu and I know basic first aid, it’s different from actually fixing someone. On top of that, you’re our shield. I know you’ve got an attack, but listen. Can you use it?”

Orihime’s brows furrow. “I can use it. I know how, I’ve been practicing with Tsubaki and Yoruichi for a long time now.”

“I don’t mean physically,” he corrects. He wants to be gentle, but it’s just not going to work. “I mean, can you actually hurt someone?”

She freezes.

“I-”

“If it comes down to you or them. If it comes down to them or me. Orihime, could you hurt someone? Could you attack with the intent of making sure they don’t get back up?”

She clasps her hands in her lap. “I-I can-”

“If you can’t,” he cuts in swiftly. “Say it now. When we fight we need to know you have our backs. Do you understand, Orihime? “

“Y-yes,” she bows her head. Her hair pins glow faintly in the darkness, distracting from the shadow cast over her eyes.

* * * * *

Ichigo eyes the dark waters of the Mississippi warily.

“This is insane,” he says aloud, “I’ve never seen anything this wide before.”

He spins and points at Cu. “Don’t say a thing.”

The caster lifts his hand, looking innocent. “I can’t say wha now?”

“Fuck you.”

“Stop being vulgar.”

Kyo prods Ichigo from the side, garnering his attention. Mash sits at the front of their boat, a flat barge that pushes along valiantly. They’re halfway to the whitehouse now. Halfway to the end of the war, and Ichigo can feel the stress thrum across his skin. He doesn’t know what to do now. The traveling. The waiting. The intermediate fighting is tiring everyone out, Ichigo included.

It’s hard to stay on guard 24/7, with anxiety pushing them forwards as much as anything else.

As much as supporting other people tires him out, staying on his toes constantly is a whole other type of exhausting.

He trusts his servants to keep him from harm, but they still rely on him to support them, to give them orders, to supply them with information that they need. He stays in the back, he watches and waits, and tells them where best to place their blows. He looks for opening they can’t see from so close up.

Kyo’s hand lands on his knee. Ichigo stops bouncing it. He hadn’t even realized hed started.

“Kyo…?” It still feels wrong to voice his true name out loud, even though Kyo has told him a more intimate secret than just his name.

Kyo turns his dark eyes on Ichigo. There’s a furrow in his brows. He’s just as tired as the rest of them. With the rest of the world collapsing, more and more hollow’s are being pushed into the only place left in the living world. Early on it was just weaklings, but now there are smaller, more humanoid monsters that stalk their steps, waiting to devour the dead they leave in their wake.

A war is an all you can eat buffet for creatures made of fear, rage, and hunger.

“Breath, Ichigo,” Kyo nudges him back against the crate they’re rested against, near the edge of t the flat barge.

“I am breathing,” he grumbles petulantly.

Kyo barely has enough dignity not to roll his eyes. That’s fine. Ichigo has been wearing him down for months. Kyo wears manners and politeness like armor, and Ichigo has a terrible habit of shattering things like that.

“You know what I mean. You should reserve yourself for the final fight.”

“I know. I’m trying.”

Kyo hums. The moon hangs heavy and full above their heads. Ichigo knows instinctively that neither of them will really sleep, but resting his eyes is better than nothing. With Medusa on watch, no one will sneak up on them.

It’s only a small comfort.

A bigger comfort is the shoulder pressed against his, invisible and intangible to everyone but him. Ichigo will not admit it, but it feels sometimes like Kyo is only his. The rest of these heroes are here to save the world, and Kyo is too, but while they all have each other the two of them are the only ones privy to the world of the dead and the skull masked monsters that creep in the shadows.

Something protective curls in his chest and Ichigo relaxes, leaning half into Kyo’s side. He watches the moon ripples across the water, unattainable and intangible.

* * * * * *

#bleach fanfiction #Ichigo Kurosaki #BAMF!Ichigo Kurosaki #Ichigo Kurosaki is Ritsuka Fujimaru #bleach/fate grand order #Merlin Fate/Grand Order #kyo (SCoF)#Urahra Kisuke #gin ichimaru #orihime inoue #yoruichi shihouin #isshin kurosaki

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kukuandkookie · 1 month ago

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Yes this is one I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time!! :D

When I first found out about it, it was hard to gather information on it, but from what I can tell, it’s based on a manhua—and forgive me for the tangent, but I do find this part interesting:

It seems based on an older manhua, back when manhua would emulate manga more, much like the Rakshasa Street manhua or Spirit Pact—rather than the specific Asian web-comic-style manhua that we get today where you scroll vertically and it’s all coloured (commonly called webtoons thanks to the Webtoon app).

And while earlier media can have more lax censorship, this one really does seem to just be within the vibes of BL and not truly BL. Basically, it embodies that idea of “sworn brotherhood” as a potential code for BL, where I like to call it “BL if you squint.”

The only reason I’m pointing this out is that this is what an actual bromance looks like.

I have such a frustration with people who call Chinese BL dramas “bromance” just because it’s censored, because the intent for BL is still there!!! The directors and actors didn’t go through all that effort to put in hints of BL (through eye contact, touch, protectiveness, etc), basically going against government censorship, just for their efforts to be written off as mere “bromance”!

Now I do get calling it “dangai” instead of “danmei” since the idea of danmei, at least today, is closer to yaoi, and people do want to differentiate from uncensored content. But BL specifically, by definition, is just “boys’ love,” aka “boys in love.”

A bromance is a friendship you have with your bro, bro. 😫

My frustration stems mostly from the fact that a crew facing censorship put in all that effort to make a BL despite the censors trying to stop them, but because it’s censored, fans will label it “bromance” and then new viewers won’t want to watch it.

I think people should just be more flexible with their definitions, tbh. 🥲

Especially since Chinese media itself is flexible in this regard, where some media will not confirm the male characters’ relationship, but you can interpret it as romantic based purely off of vibes if you want to (if you don’t want to, you can interpret it as just friendship). To me, that’s true bromance.

The creators will likely let fans have their fun shipping the two male main characters, but if you don’t ship them, that’s fine too, technically speaking.

Examples of this include:

Link Click

Villain Initialization

Ya She (this donghua and the manhua it’s based on)

Hikaru no Go’s cdrama adaptation

The Lost Tomb

Mysterious Lotus Casebook

The First Shot

Yin Yang Master: Dream of Eternity

and so on!

The vagueness of some of these are part of the fun haha—and you can see it as plausible deniability, I guess?? 😆

Some I also feel like may be even more intentional than others even for the “bromance” ones, like Yin Yang Master and The First Shot and Ya She and even Link Click seemingly welcome the BL interpretation by fans a lot.

(This one’s from The First Shot lol. Like doesn’t it seem more open to the BL interpretation than you might first expect? 😆)

In contrast, there are also cdramas that are wholly not supposed to be bromances, even if they did get censored cdrama adaptations, because the intent for BL is fully there:

Winter Begonia

Justice in the Dark

The Spirealm

Blue Canvas of Youthful Days

Word of Honor

Guardian

Killer and Healer

and so on~

People who call the above cdramas “just bromance”—which yes, I have seen happen—drive me a little bit crazy. x’D

If I were to continue my tangent, I’d remark again about queer-coding, which I’ve discussed before (see Cui Bei and Wang Qi from White Cat Legend or the astrologer and Prince Jinming from No Doubt in Us, who are in the background and share sweet moments but nothing is confirmed, but as long as you can gather the intent to hint at them being a couple, then yes, they are a gay ship!!!).

Anyway, sorry to suddenly go off on a giant tangent in a reblog of your post. The fact it’s not black and white is part of the fun for Chinese media, where even though censorship sucks, we should embrace this flexibility. x’DDD

But!! To make up for the tangent, I’d like to note that there’s also an upcoming cdrama adaptation of Ya She! Which is quite exciting. 👀

youtube

Ok I stumbled upon this beautiful, currently airing donghua (Chinese animation) and it's giving such BL vibes (but doesn't seem to be official BL) and I had to share. Mysterious shop keeper x clueless doctor? Shared past lives? Guardian spirit / contract? Sign me up!

The artwork is gorgeous, the episodic short stories oriented around the antiques of the shop melancholic and sweet... can't wait for it to be done airing so I can binge it.

#donghua #ya she #kuku rambles

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akariitsuki42 · 4 years ago

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Spirit Saga

Ch8

Chapter 7

After Talon had his moment, they both, Serene Jewel and Talon, decided to let me call them whenever I feel like calling them, I fell asleep peacefully that night because I got everyone back, Serene Jewel casted Calm Mind on me and I fell asleep like it was easy, it really was because Onyx turned into his little black cat form and slept with me. The next morning, I still felt unwanted here because of how Ichigo has been acting towards me, I'm just gonna wait until he was nowhere in sight because I'm going to be moving places, this can't continue on with what is going on with inside of my mind. So I got my suitcase ready, got out all of my clothing together and started to pack up everything in this room, I even took down the 15 number, means I need a place to live where I can have the freedom of doing anything I want. I messaged Mugetsu that I am coming to the cottage, and I never got a response for a while, then I heard Ichigo ask someone, "What are you doing here?" "None of your business," said Mugetsu, "Now move!" Then he entered the house when Orihime greeted him, "She's just upstairs." "How did you know that I was here for her?" I heard him ask. Orihime responded, "She's been depressed ever since she got back from somewhere, she's needs to be surrounded by the people she trusts now." Then Mugetsu entered the room saying, "I almost got lost because it was easy to find this room." "Yeah, I'm moving out of here," I said, "I can't take it anymore." It took like a few trips to get back to the cottage but it was worth it, I needed to escape from that cage, I need to find on where I can find my own path and hopefully have a healthy mental state because with Ichigo being a father and trying to be a cousin towards was not helping my case. Esperanza is explaining on what is going on with me to Orihime, Renji, and Rukia, basically she told everyone but Ichigo, Aunt Levy came to me, "How are you holding up?" "Feel much better now that I'm away from the city," I said, "But I will go back when I get this situated." "Good luck, you really need this," said Levy. I nodded knowing that this is going to be a one hell of a rollar coaster that I'm on, I'm ready for what is up ahead for me, just as long as I can visit Ichigo from time to time. I looked to where the fight of Aizen, myself, and Ichigo took place, it brought back memories to where I was always needed, I was always fighting alongside Ichigo without him saying that I can't cast anything until he makes the first move. Man, I missed those times, now I'm feeling like a burden to him, not to Orihime and Kazui, just him, only because I wanted to spend some time with him and he said that he's got other stuff to do. It really was starting to make me think if I was the reason for him acting like he is was because I did the big sacrifice for the sake of saving the Elemental Realm, if that's the reason then he will never see me ever again until he apologizes to me in person. At the cottage, I felt happy and calm because I was hearing so many stories from Dakota, Mugetsu, Volaris, Sana, Momoko, Velvet, basically everyone that is apart of my gang has their own room in this cottage. I was laughing because I was hearing the story of when I pulled the hair extensions of Mugetsu Shiba, yeah, he felt left out because he has only one name and that was just Mugetsu, I kept calling him Shirosaki because I didn't want to leave out Hichigo. Alex legally changed his name back to what he was originally called Ulquiorra, which is great on my part because that was the reason why he changed his name. Volaris asked him, "So, Ulquiorra, what power do you have?" "Chaos," he said, bluntly. I was expected him to say it like that because it was what I was used to hearing in public, I couldn't help but giggle at the comment, Ulquiorra looked at me then softly smiled, I'm glad that I found my own atmosphere but everyone must respect my alone time, so I stepped outside, Velvet stopped Ulquiorra from following me because I really needed to be alone to recharge myself before going back. I started to train with my metal suit of Iron and my Vibrainum Shield, as I threw my shield, someone's hand caught it, I looked to who it was, "What are you doing here?" "I just came to see on how you were doing," said Ichigo. I just stood there not knowing on what reason it was for him to be here and ruining my alone time, so I told him, "I never liked anyone who interrupts my alone time, you know this, so what ever reason you came here will have to wait because I can't bother to hear or look at you the way you've been acting towards me ever since I found love again, let me get this through that cinder block head of your's, I am your cousin, not your daughter or a servant to you, I am a part of your family so in that case do respect on what I have and support on what I am about to do, you can't lock me up forever I will find a way to escape and you are not going to stop me to achieve on what I was set out to do." "I agree," he said. It hadn't synced into me yet, so I continued, "And also! Wait, what did you say?" "I agree with you," said Ichigo, "I've acting like a total jerk!" "Total? More like dictating everything," I said. Ichigo agrees once again, "Again I agree, I'm so sorry for doing that to you, I've been trying to get over the fact that this was real and I read that note, when I walked into the room that's when I lost it. Akari, I cried when I saw that the room was empty." "Yeah thank Butterfly for making me do that," I said, "Don't ever say that keeping the portal and realm safe was blocking you from continue fighting for what's right." "Something's telling me to say exactly that," Ichigo said, "When I came here, Hichigo told me that you did what you had to do because something is keeping us apart." That scared me, something else is inside of Ichigo, could it be my own story taking place? I hear inside of my mind, "Lady Akari, it's your inner Hollow talking to you. All you need to know that my evil sister is inside of him and she is not there only because of where the cottage is located. You both need to stay here until she is taken care of." "How do we get her out?" I asked. She responds, "We'll weigh it out." Before Ichigo left, I told him, "Ichigo, don't leave just yet, there's something that you need to know now and it's best to stay while you still can." I grabbed him by the wrist, I called out Esperanza and Velvet over, basically I called everyone to hear what was told by me, "Guys, someting is inside of Ichigo and it is not his own hollow, I was told by MY own hollow that her evil sister is the one who has been making him act like this." That got Ichigo's attention, my hollow was hidden away when my memory was obscured by Butterfly, her sister is out in the world somewhere now, no longer inside of Ichigo because he's in a safe place that makes her go away from him. We need to get him away from her as soon as possible, which is why Velvet gave Ichigo a luck bracelet to prevent her coming to him, he accepted it because we are elementals and we are defending the ones we love and Ichigo is one out of many loved ones that I care too much for. Velvet tells him, "Do not take it off ever, that includes going to bed to sleep for the night, you won't even feel that it is there." "I don't feel it at all," said Ichigo, "It's actually extremely comfortable." "Until this situation is over, I'm afraid that you, Orihime, and Kazui are in danger of this entity," said Volaris, "It would probably be best if you guys stay until the coast is clear." "I agree, I can't imagine a world without you, Ichigo," I said to him, "We are going to find a way to solve this situation." "I'm going to help in any way I can," said Ichigo, "This can't keep happening." "Here's the thing, you are not an elemental," said Sana, "This is a battle between elements, you are not one." "But, Mugetsu, my hollow, and Dangai are a part of me," Ichigo said. Dakota then said, "We were a part of you, we have our own lives." "Still, though, we came from him," said Hichigo, "I'm actually surprised that I am here of all people." "It's because you were chosen to be a part of this realm that has yet to be completed," said Esperanza, "Not to mention, you were trusted by Akari, that is all it takes for it to happen." So, I helped Ichigo, Orihime, and Kazui over to the cottage so they could stay there until this is done and they are no longer in harms way. Well, Esperanza was helping them, I was bunking Alex with me, because I was told that he may be the next target of being in danger, I wasn't having that, I helped him get into the portal so he could lend the realm a fraction of his power, then he got an ultimate power boost, he looks at me, "Can you call me Ulquiorra from now on?" "Huh, why did you ask that?" I asked him. He gives me a look that I have been fighting the urge, I gave in, "Alright you got me, I have been wanting you say your previous name for so long." "Well, can I say something about now that I know what is like to feel emotions," he said, "It's very extreme feel to have." "You got use to it right?" I asked. He nods, "Oh yeah, over time I got use to it, but I didn't feel love again until I saw you on that stage singing the song that was being played."

#Elemental Defenders #Spirit Saga #Love Arc

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imaliveinhcre · 5 years ago

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3, 40, 63

GET IN MY BUSINESS PLEASE:

#3: HOW MANY TATTOOS I HAVE & WHAT THEY ARE:

oh my god, ok. here we go LOL I have a total of 18!!!! tattoos! I have one one each wrist that say “FREE” & 07.11.99 (My moms best friends name was Jeffrey but everyone called him Free, hence FREE, he passed away on july 11 1999 when i was 8), on MY left arm above free i have “011″ for Eleven from Stranger Things, and right above that on my forearm i have Howl & Sophie from Howls Moving Castle. To the side/left of that on my arm I have calficer. On my right arm above 07/11/99 I have an anchor with the quote “ I am the captain of my soul” and right above that i have a turqouise ribbon that stands for Sexual Assault Survival. On my left bicep/shoulder whatever it is, I have a Harry Potter tattoo, the triangle/circle/line one with MISCHIEF MANAGED beneath it. On my RIGHT bicep/shoulder I have the Naruto Seal for the 9 tails. ( Im too fat for it to go on my tummy LOL ). My right shoulder blade on my back is my brothers name “Sean Alexander”, my first ever tattoo, bc i was 16 and my mom approved bc it was my brothers name. ( next was free/the date ), then on my LEFT shoulder blade I have a cat w 4 paw prints in a trail and the fourth is heart shaped, right on my neck at the base i have a triquetra from charmed. My RIGHT thigh is Grimmjow’s arrancar form ( jaguar ) and underneath it says Kishire Pantera! ( Grind, Pantera! ) My LEFT thigh is Ichigo in his first evolved bankai form ( when he fights aizen after going through the dangai ) and right underneath that I have Johnny Yong Bosch’s signature tattooed. On my LEFT calf I have the HXH (hunterxhunter) symbol. My RIGHT calf i have the curse mark from Howls Moving Castle. And last ( and certainly not least ) on my RIGHT ankle I have the quote “If you’re a bird, I’m a bird” from The Notebook with three birds around it. And that’s it ! My next one will be a Magicians themed tattoo. :)

#40: HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A FIST FIGHT ?

Techinically no ? But I remember sometime in Elementary school I tried to punch someone but they moved and I punched the fence & hairline fractured my wrist, LMAO.

#63: HAVE YOU EVER TOUCHED A SNAKE ?

Yes !! My aunt used to have ball pythons, and I’ve had friends who’ve had snakes before too. They still scare me but as long as it’s a ball python & not somethin’ thats going to kill me lmao, I’ll be fine.

#SORRYT HIS TOOK 5 EVER I am lazy af #non magicians inbox #elektranatchioss

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gunnerpalace · 7 years ago

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Seriously, the Invading Army/Reigai Filler Arc is Dumb

Reigai Hitsugaya says he's following Kageroza because the real Hitsugaya isn't strong enough to protect Momo, and Kageroza promised him that he'd be able to. So, presumably, they were all promised something.

Hey, what were Reigai Rukia and Matsumoto promised?

It could've been "I'll get Ichigo his powers back," for Rukia. It clearly wasn’t, but why not? Maybe she could’ve defected when he tried to kill Ichigo instead. (Think Ryoko and Zero Ryoko in Tenchi Muyo!’s second OVA.) Think of the conflict and angst that could’ve resulted if she’d confessed feelings and died, or something. (Think of the second John Crichton in Farscape.)

Or maybe Kageroza promised her he’d bring Kaien (and Miyako?) back. Maybe he told Matsumoto that he’d bring Gin back.

Why not? You’re telling me that the SRDI and 12th Division don’t have historical reishi samples? Even if they didn’t, we know that time doesn’t pass in the Dangai; Kageroza could’ve gotten samples of literally anyone who’d ever gone through the senkaimon, in a sort of weird dimensional Jurassic Park rip-off.

He makes two copies of Momo just to fuck with Hitsugaya. Hey, wouldn’t a Reigai Kaname have been the perfect thing to screw with Hisagi and Sajin?

You’re seriously telling me he didn’t bother trying to make Reigai Aizen? You know, who is sitting in Muken watching all this and probably laughing?

Why not do something really nuts, like make a Reigai copy of Ginrei Kuchiki? Or how about Maki Ichinose, Shūsuke Amagai, or Kōga Kuchiki? You could actually incorporate your own past filler!

Really, Ichigo loses his powers completely, and gets them back again so he can lose them in the really cute date episode with Rukia for realsie reals? Okay? Why have him lose them at all then?

Why doesn’t Yoruichi get copied, when Kisuke does? Does she kill her copy off-screen? Is it because of her cat shenanigans?

Where the fuck are the Visored? No Reigai copies of the past versions of them who hate what the present versions have become? (Think the third book in the Altered Carbon series.)

I could probably think of more if I tried. It’s like, the ultimate fanfic idea to do crazy and wacky shit, including bringing back dead people and past versions of characters, and they did absolutely nothing interesting with it. Holy shit, why bother?

(Also, everything with Kon and Nozomi is a weird repeat of Ichigo and Rukia, and Nozomi’s fusion with Kageroza to recreate Ouko gets basically reused in Fade to Black for Dark Rukia. Meanwhile, Nozomi and Kageroza dying but being friends still is very similar to what happens with Kusaka in DiamondDust, which is itself similar to Memories of Nobody and Fade to Black, wherein every movie ends with someone dying but ~the power of friendship endures, something something bonds~)

#Bleach

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hashtagartistlife · 8 years ago

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That’s the definition of a soulmate, isn’t it? One soul, two halves, split between two separate forms. Alike in every respect.

In a world where people are born with a coloured marking somewhere on their body, your soulmate is supposed to be the one who carries the exact same mark. Kurosaki Ichigo has never put much stock in these things — and the fact that his black sun mark and Rukia’s white crescent moon is as different as night and day has nothing to do with it. Ichiruki soulmates AU- or is it?

Chapter 2 of my IRBB fic, Collision Course. Alternative titles for chapter 2 include ‘Ishida Uryuu fails to catch a break’, ‘Universe declares Ishida Uryuu as Public Enemy Number 1′, or ‘That time that Good Luck Broke Up With Ishida Uryuu And Wrote a T-Swift-Esque Song About It’ (the last one courtesy of @mizulily ).

Don’t forget that jellyribbons did some wonderful art for this fic, found here!

Collision Course

by hashtagartistlife

Two

Accretion Disc (pt 1)

Ichigo remembers the days following his mother’s death with a reluctant clarity. For someone who had been in a near catatonia for months, the memories seem burned into his neural circuits, and he can recall the most insignificant detail pertaining to that time period with painful precision. The cold air of the house, suddenly devoid of warmth. The quiet sobbing of his sisters, still too young to fully grasp the situation. The grim downward curve of his father’s lips. And the rain, always the rain, the sound of it on their tiled roof, the clammy feel of it trickling down his neck, the smell of it on the upturned dirt of his mother’s grave. Unending and relentless, bleaching the world a muted gray.

It’s different this time (and why the hell would he make the comparison anyway?, he thinks angrily, It’s not like anyone’s died— yet). The sky is offensively blue. The clouds are unashamedly white. And the day passes in a sort of haze, where nothing seems quite real to him. He doesn’t remember how he got home, doesn’t remember the excuse he gave to his father and sisters. Couldn’t tell you if Maths came before History that day, or vice versa. The only thing he sees in his mind are Rukia’s eyes, hot then cold then full of tears, all because of him.

That, and her absence; there is a Rukia-shaped hole in the fabric of his world, one that only he seems to be able to perceive. This isn’t dying. This is being erased. Like she never existed— and Ichigo wonders which is worse, to be aware of the loss and mourn it your entire life or to be unaware that you’re missing something, but spared the pain. He thinks maybe that’s why he’s holding onto his memories of Rukia so tight, at the sacrifice of all other irrelevant details; there’s no-one left to remember her but him. The mark on his palm seems to burn, and he clenches his fist around it.

And why was he even bothering—? Sure, execution, they said, capital offence, they said, but aniki, she said, I’ve come to my senses, she said. Surely— surely, if he was her brother, he wouldn’t willingly let her die, no matter how cold his eyes were. And— and the mark on his collarbones, the crescent moon, so much like hers; he doesn’t want to know what the relationship is between them but maybe this was none of his business. The moon, linking the two of them together, and he, the sun; he had no place in the sky while the moon reigned. Did she even want his intervention? What if she was back where she belonged, with the person who bears her mark; what right did he have to drag her away from her world?

But you’ve already made up your mind, haven’t you? Inoue asks him, and it jolts Ichigo out of the prison of his own mind. Families, worlds, that doesn’t matter. You’ll furrow your brow, pucker up your chin, and say there’s always a chance to change things as long as you’re alive.

Her eyes soften, and she adds: at least, the Kurosaki-kun I know would say that.

Her words remind him of something he’d forgotten; an image flashes through his head, of Rukia and a juice box and something almost, almost like a smile on her face—

His hands curl into fists, and he stands up.

Thank you, Inoue, he says. She only smiles.

No worries, Kurosaki-kun, she says, come back safe.

He nods at her, and walks away decisively; behind him, he does not see Inoue’s hands curl into fists of her own.

No, she mutters, I’ll make sure you come back safe—

— The first debris, pulled into orbit.

Their spectacular rescue plan goes wrong almost immediately; Ishida nearly dies within the first five minutes, Inoue’s rikka unknowingly come within an inch of annihilation while taking on the Janitor of the Dangai, and then Ichigo himself almost gets beheaded by giant slabs of concrete wall falling from the sky. Not a promising track record given that they are barely ten minutes into the operation, but when their first opponent appears, swinging around two giant axes, Ichigo feels the hint of a grin curling his lips. It’s not like he didn’t know what he’d signed up for, and this, at least, was something expected; truth be told, he’d have been more worried if nobody appeared to block their path. He’s been raring to fight someone other than Sandal-Hat, to test how far his abilities will stretch against other opponents, so when axe-guy declares that nobody has been able to surpass him in the last 300 years, Ichigo tells his friends to stay back as he hacks a path through.

The axe-guy is easy enough, but the Captain they encounter within the walls is something else entirely; before Ichigo can even blink, he’s being pushed out of the Seireitei by the tip of the Captain’s blade, the man waving a jaunty little ‘bye-bye!’ at him as he sprawls on the ground. His friends gather round him, but he’s fine, if a little winded, and despite the setback this is the first opportunity they’ve had since the start of the mission to take a breather.

Maybe that’s why nobody noticed it earlier.

“I— Inoue-san?” Ishida’s voice is half-strangled and disbelieving as he stares at Inoue— or, more accurately, at the mark on her cheek. Ichigo gives her a cursory glance, then does a double-take; he’s not the most detail-oriented guy on the planet, no, but he could have sworn Inoue’s mark was a…

“Your— your mark, Inoue, wasn’t it a six-petaled flower?” he asks, since Ishida looks like he’s temporarily lost the ability to speak; Inoue startles and puts a hand up to her face.

“Y— yeah, Kurosaki-kun! Why do you ask?”

“... Because,” he says slowly, as he fights the urge to open his palms and immediately check on his own mark, “because it’s not anymore. It’s— … it’s—”

“... a raindrop,” Ishida finishes for him, softly, and Inoue flames bright red and claps her hand over her cheek.

“Oh,” she gasps. “Oh, no.”

Inoue Orihime is not a deceitful person by nature. Subterfuge has never come easy to her; despite this, the paint disguising her mark has become like a second skin, so much so that she feels naked in its absence. She touches her cheek multiple times throughout the rest of the day, as if expecting it to feel different without the layers of make-up, but the skin beneath her fingertips is as smooth and unblemished as it has always felt. For some reason, this adds to her feeling of being off-kilter. Nothing seems different, and yet— now these three other people (and a cat) know more about her than anybody else bar Sora has in her lifetime.

Despite her unease, the opportunity to explain the deception behind her mark does not present itself until well after nightfall. The abrupt reveal of its duplicity had been interrupted by the parakeet boy, Yuuichi Shibata, and then there’d been Jidanbo’s arm to reattach; not to mention the weird gang of boar riders that had barged in, picked a fight with Kurosaki-kun and left as quickly as they’d arrived. Come evening, Orihime herself has nearly forgotten about the mark; until she catches Kurosaki-kun throw a furtive look in her direction, before clenching his fists so tight the tendons stand out.

It occurs to her that he hasn’t looked at his palm all day.

“I’m sorry!” she blurts out, and three people (and a cat) turn to look at her. “I— I didn’t mean to hide it from everyone— well, I mean, sort of, but not because I don’t trust you all, or anything. I—I can explain—”

“It’s alright,” someone interrupts her rather faintly, and Orihime’s startled to find out that it’s Ishida-kun. “It’s— it’s fine, Inoue-san. We won’t ask. It’s your business— not any of ours. Really, you don’t have to explain yourself to us— we’ll keep our mouths shut about this when we get back to the Gensei, too, if you’d like—”

Kurosaki-kun looks like he has something different to say, so Orihime heads him off with a bright smile. “You’re very kind, Ishida-kun. Thank you. But— but it’s ok. It’s not really some huge, important secret. And I trust you all. It’s— it’s actually a little silly, when I think about it—”

“I highly doubt that,” Ishida-kun mutters. Kurosaki-kun shushes him and gestures for her to continue. He still hasn’t unclenched his fists, she notices— any tighter, and he’ll start drawing blood. She touches the raindrop on her cheek and contemplates how best to start the explanation.

“Well, you see, my mark started settling very early— when I was around eight or nine. Sora-nii— my older brother— told me it might be best for me to start hiding the mark with make-up or something once it settled. He was worried that someone might— I don’t know, use it against me or something? He was looking out for me. But that isn’t why I started covering it up, not really.”

Kurosaki-kun interrupts. “So— so your mark is originally—”

“A raindrop, yes.”

“And you were just covering it up with—”

“Make-up, yeah.”

“Oh.” Something in Kurosaki-kun seems to give, and he lets out a long, shaky breath, slumping a little. He laughs, loosening his fists to run a hand through his hair. “I— of course. So— so it wasn’t like— your mark has changed, or anything—”

“Of course not. I— I don’t think soulmate marks are supposed to change, Kurosaki-kun. Kind of defeats the idea of a soulmate, doesn’t it? The whole cosmic, predestined thing about it. If your soulmate could change, wouldn't that make you two not-soulmates in the first place?”

“Yeah— yeah, of course. Stupid of me to think that might happen— uh, yeah.” He’s looking at his mark now, still stark black against the skin of his palm, with an odd expression; something clicks in the back of her mind, and Orihime wonders if he’d been hoping for his mark to have changed— or if he’d been afraid of it.

For the first time since she’s met her, Orihime wonders what Kuchiki-san’s mark looks like.

“Kurosaki-kun, you—” she begins, but Ichigo snaps his hand shut again and looks up with a smile.

“Sorry for interrupting, Inoue, where were you in the story?”

Orihime recognises it as the dismissal it is meant to be; she drops her line of enquiry with a smile as fake as his.

“Oh— oh, right! Yeah. So, Sora-nii thought I should cover the mark up, and it was kind of exciting, like I was putting on a disguise and being a spy, you know? But that isn’t the full reason. I— I mean, soulmate marks just— they just take all the romance out of the thing, don’t they?”

She looks around the room for support and finds only three blank faces (and a cat) staring back at her.

“I— uh— what?”

She sighs. “I told you it was a bit silly. But I mean, when I meet my soulmate, I don't want them to— to know they're my soulmate right off the bat. I— I don't want the realisation to be so… mundane. Just a simple ‘oh, your mark is identical to mine’ and that's it? I mean— I guess I almost, I wanted to test that fate? If they're my soulmate, if we're really, truly meant to be, they’ll still fall in love with me even if they thought our marks were different. I guess— if, if I ever meet my soulmate... I just want to know that it's real.”

The last word is spoken into complete silence; Orihime squirms. She's never been good with silences, especially ones centered around her. “I— I mean! That's just assuming if I ever met my soulmate. I— not that I think that's the most important thing here or whatever, it's just in case, right? Besides, I— I'm not even sure now if I want to meet my soulmate. I mean, obviously that would be nice, but— but, you can fall in love with people with marks that are different to yours. I understand that now. So— so, this is more force of habit than anything else—”

“Yeah.” Kurosaki-kun stands up; he's not looking her way. “Yeah. Of course. The— the marks are kind of bollocks, anyway. Uh, thanks for the story, Inoue. We should— we should all get some rest, it's getting late—”

She jumps up; indeed, the moon has fully risen now, and everything around them is quiet save the crickets. “Oh! Right! Of course! Sorry, I was keeping everyone up—”

There's a general rumble of dissent as everyone hastens to assure her that isn't the case, and then a general kerfuffle as everyone shifts to get ready for bed; Kurosaki-kun has left the room, mumbling something about getting some air. He hasn't looked at her properly since she's started her story, and Orihime doesn't know if she’s glad he's seen her real mark or if she wishes he'd never found out. Not that it changes anything either way, she and Kurosaki-kun were mismatched to begin with—

“Don't mind him,” a low voice mutters beside her, and Orihime turns to see Ishida-kun holding out a pillow. “Here, Inoue-san— you can sleep in the other room—”

She takes the pillow. “Did it look like I was minding Kurosaki-kun?” she asks.

He flushes; she doesn't know why, when he's the one who’s caught her spacing out. “He's— he's just got a lot on his mind. Kuchiki-san—”

Ah. Orihime feels a little bolt of guilt go through her stomach. She'd almost forgotten about Kuchiki-san, the reason they were all here in the first place. This wasn't the time for her feelings about soulmates and romance, not when Kuchiki-san’s life hung in the balance— but still she cannot help the question that drops from her lips, not when Kurosaki-kun looks like that and he’s been clenching his fists all day and several things are falling into place with heartbreaking clarity.

“Do you— have you ever seen Kuchiki-san’s mark, Ishida-kun?”

Ishida-kun looks like he expected this question; he rubs his chin ruefully.

“No,” he admits. “But I could probably make a guess, if I had to.”

She’s quiet for a moment, before she lets out a small, watery laugh. “You too? Me too, Ishida-kun. Me too.”

If she had to guess, she would bet that Kuchiki-san’s mark, wherever it may be, was black and shaped like a blazing sun—

“But, you know, Inoue-san, people have fallen in love with people who don't bear their marks before—”

“I know, I know.” She smiles at him; Ishida-kun was always so kind. She didn't know why people thought he was unfriendly. He was the kindest person she'd ever met. “It’s— it’s ok, Ishida-kun. Really. But thank you.”

“You're— you’re welcome,” he mutters. She smiles at him one last time before turning away; she bumps into Kurosaki-kun on the way out, and he looks much more relaxed, letting her pass with a nod. She closes the door behind her, and looks at the stars.

The skies are clear today; not an inkling of rain on the horizon. That was ok. Orihime loves the rain, but she loves the sun much, much more. She could wait for the rain. She was good at waiting.

Sometimes, it feels like she'll spend her entire life doing exactly that.

In the Senzaikyuu, Kuchiki Rukia stares at the same sky; the little sliver of it that is afforded by the high window is dark and uniform. She cannot see the moon, but she knows it is risen. There is a long slice of silver-white on her jail cell floor, the only source of light; she places her hand in its path, and watches it bleach her out to a ghostly consistency. She'd always considered the moon to be her element, but tonight even the moon is telling her that she does not belong in this world.

Things have been quiet since she’s been moved; she’s not sure if that’s because there’s genuinely nothing happening or if it’s because she’s surrounded by sekkisekki. She replays Renji’s words in her mind—

A boy with orange hair, and a sword as long as his height.

“.... please.”

There is no-one to hear her but the moon. Rukia prays anyway.

“Please, please— don’t let it have been Ichigo—”

Don't let me be the cause of another friend’s death—

“— I’m not worth bleeding and dying for, please— Kaien-dono—!”

As these situations go, things could certainly be a lot worse; Ishida Uryuu knows he lucked out. For a heist in enemy territory, it’s been relatively smooth sailing so far. There are worse people to have watching your back than Inoue-san, who has reasonable amounts of reiatsu, and also knows how to heal. They’d been able to hide from the enemies they’d encountered so far, and even had they been forced to fight, he was fairly confident they would have come out victorious. They were making good time through the Seireitei, and if their luck continued to hold out at this rate, they’d be at the Senzaikyuu by nightfall.

As these situations go, things could not possibly be worse for him.

Of course, of all the people he got stranded with, it had to be Inoue-san. When had the universe ever been interested in cutting him a break? He chances a glance at her, humming absently and walking a few steps behind him, and the raindrop mark on her cheek seems to glow like a beacon against her warm skin. Cool blue. Quincy reiatsu blue—

So, yesterday hadn’t been a fever dream.

The universe really, truly was not interested in cutting him a break.

There hadn’t been much time to dwell on the events of last night; after all, they’d been woken at the crack of dawn to be launched out of a cannon, and then, in true Kurosaki fashion, Ichigo had wrecked their entry by being too strong. Precocious to the last, in all things— but at least, if Inoue-san had landed with him, she’d have been guaranteed to be safe. Instead, Kurosaki and Inoue-san had spread out across the sky, straining to reach each other in some sort of perverse Tanabata recreation, before being torn apart by the currents of reiatsu and crash-landing with different people respectively. Ganjuu-san, and—

“Ishida-kun, is there something on my face?”

Uryuu starts. “No— not at all—”

Something seems to dawn in Inoue-san’s mind. Her face splits into a smile of comprehension.

“Oh! Stupid question, ha ha. I guess you’re still not used to my new mark—”

If understatements were ever graded, that one would get top marks without even trying. Still not used to it was certainly one way of putting it. Uryuu was actually thinking something more along the lines of AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SHJNJHAJN,JDFMLKSDJOENJFDS WHUEJRRKWNSA HHHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!!$#%%!$%@1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, but sure, he could work with still not used to it.

“— understand if it's weird for you, I've been covering up my mark for so long that even I think it’s a flower sometimes. Like this one time, I met a girl who had the exact same flower mark as the one I painted on my cheek—”

Uryuu draws a sharp breath. Oh, god, please tell him they were not about to delve into the subject of matching marks—

“— luckily she didn't believe in the whole soulmates thing, but still, haha. I freaked out a good few hours about the fact that I’d met my soulmate and she didn't seem to have any interest in me—”

He's smiling and nodding along politely, but inside, Ishida Uryuu is screaming. “How— how positively awful—”

“I know, right? Imagine meeting your soulmate only to find out that— that they don't believe in the marks or that they don't have any interest in you or whatever—”

“I can't even fathom it,” he replies through gritted teeth.

“— I wonder if there's someone out there with a raindrop mark, too.” Inoue-san says, wistful all of a sudden, and Uryuu’s glasses almost fall off his face.

“That— that is—”

“I mean, there must be, right? Unless— unless I'm one of those people who just— who don't have a soulmate. Do those exist? I wonder. What do you think, Ishida-kun?”

“I— I, uh— I think it's definitely a possibility that there might be someone out there with a raindrop mark—”

“— but, you know,” she continues softly, a melancholy look on her face, “do you think it might be best for them if they never meet me?”

He's thrown by this question. “S— sorry? Why— why do you think—”

“Well.” She shrugs, and pulls a mock-angry face that, even through his unbroken unending internal screaming, Uryuu is amused to recognise as Kurosaki. “I mean. I do believe in the soulmates thing, and I suppose if I were to ever meet my soulmate, I’d fall in love with them. But right now, I— right now, there's Kurosaki-kun and— I guess I don't want this feeling erased quite yet? It— it may not be mark-matched but I want this feeling to mean something, Ishida-kun. And… it's a little cruel to do that to my soulmate. To— to make them sit through me loving someone else— although they might be the kind of person who doesn't believe in soulmates, haha. Then I'd be worrying for nothing. But do you see where I'm coming from? Do you think— do you think that whoever has that raindrop mark will be better off not knowing me at all?”

There are a million potential replies to this question teeming inside Uryuu’s mind; but for now, he decides to go with the simplest (and truest) option of them all.

“Not at all,” he tells her, low and sincere; “I think— I think anyone would be lucky to know you, Inoue-san, mark-matched or not. I’m sure your— your soulmate— wherever they are— will feel the same, too.”

Inoue-san looks at him with the strangest expression after that, and Uryuu wonders if he was too obvious, a fear which is confirmed with the next question out of her mouth.

“Ishida-kun, you know, I don't think I've asked— if you don't mind me asking— …..what shape is your—”

She doesn't get to finish; a sword cleaves through the air where she'd been standing moments prior, and Uryuu is in motion faster than he'd ever believed possible. Adrenaline roars in his ears. Inoue-san is still mouthing the tail end of her last word; it trails off into nothing as his hand tightens around her shoulder.

Close. Far too close.

“I missed…?” her assailant mumbles, straightening up, and Uryuu casts his senses out, spirit particles already gathering around himself and Inoue-san.

“Ishida-kun,” she breathes.

“Yeah. Sorry, Inoue-san, I cut you off.”

“No, that’s not— it doesn’t matter,” she says, and they both watch their attacker draw a sword and boom something about being remorseful.

“Of course it matters. But for now, we’ll have to focus on him.” He jabs his chin at the opponent, who has started to count to ten; Inoue-san nods.

“FIVE! SIX! SEVEN—”

“Oh, and to answer your question—”

A bow takes shape around Uryuu’s hands, ghostly and flickering.

“— it’s an arrow.”

“...? What is, Ishida-kun?”

“— EIGHT! NINE—”

“My mark.” He draws on his surroundings fully, and the bow solidifies; the glowing blue lights them up from below, making her raindrop seem even more prominent than before. “My soulmate mark.”

“— TEN! THAT’S IT, RYOKA, I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU ANY MORE TIME TO REPENT! HAVE YOU BEEN PROPERLY REMORSEFUL FOR YOUR SINS THUS FAR?”

Uryuu doesn’t know much about remorse, but now, at least, he’s got one sin to confess:

“It’s an arrow,” he tells her, and the lie burns like holy fire all the way out.

#bleach #ichiruki #kurosaki ichigo #kuchiki rukia #irbb #writer life #collision course #casual reminder this is the last of my writing buffer #lmao when will this be updated next who knows!!!!#this was an ish heavy chapter but dw the ir is coming #ishihime #bleach fic

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bleachbleachbleach · 3 years ago

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I don't think modrn day Japan celebrates LNY but do you think soul society still does? It would make sense since half the ppl are old as balls and predate when japan stopped celebrating

恭禧發財! Thank you for this ask! <3333 I, uh. I answered it but I got distracted by calendars and Y2K and primordial ooze, so I’m just going to excerpt the 4th paragraph, since that’s the actually relevant Lunar New Years part! Clearly still in my Soi Fon era rn.

In the New Years episodes, Rukia et al suggest that shinigami New Years is very much an intentional borrow from the living realm, and considered as such. It’s also a fairly new one. If they’re so hyped about borrowing this new years, I imagine they probably also borrowed prior ones, and that during the relevant period, Lunar New Year got celebrated. But given their present zest for the Gregorian calendar—and the general lack of institutional memory around TBTP, which as far as shinigami lifespans go was not that long ago, and only like 30 years after the calendar switch—I feel like they probably nope’d right out of Lunar New Year and plum forgot about it. Or maybe it’s still a Soi Fon family tradition. Maybe Soi Fon doesn’t like cats because of Yoruichi—Yoruichi’s cat transformation is just one more reason for Soi Fon to like Yoruichi. She grew up on animal zodiac stories!

The rest is below the cut for posterity!

The calendar in Soul Society is so interesting to me, because like… I’m going to start somewhere calendar-adjacent, but I guess one day several hundred years ago Yamamoto decided that architecture/clothing had peaked and he decreed they were just going to stay in their Edo vibes from then on—even though like, clearly even the "modern" Soul Society/Seireitei predates Edo by quite a bit, so it must all have looked very different for most of its history, unless the shinigami actually invented this styling independently. It also wasn’t a hard stop, because some places have Western furniture and they print a reasonably contemporary-looking magazine and the 2nd has heated floors. (BUT THERE’S NO CAKE.)

They seem incredibly committed to the Gregorian calendar, and making sure their calendar syncs with the Living World’s calendar—or at least, any time stuff gets skewy in the dangai, someone pitches a fit. And I get why they would feel like that was important, wanting to keep track of their deployed units and all. Lolllll, man, you know how most of the reports are handwritten? I bet it’s only half out of tradition and the other half is out of a fear that they will Y2K themselves into oblivion by accident; and they should be rightly concerned, because that seems like something they would do. (The 12th has all those mainframes because they do not share this fear.) This is probably also why denreishiki (or the model that Rukia got) can print things. Every time Hitsugaya texts a report there’s someone on the other end with a tiny printer gluing receipt tape into a scrapbook. Or maybe someone transcribing them by hand because denreishinki print with non-archival ink.

But this is getting away from me. I guess what I’m curious about is at what point shinigami began fashioning themselves after cultures in the living world. Did they pre-exist humans (in a different form), evolve with them, or did the notions of deity, death, and afterlife need to develop first? Do they have their own independently developed cultural forms or is it all/does it all have to be a riff off the world of the living? Is this something they have ever had (prior to Edo? prior to modern Soul Society?) Is the whole "we capture a Hollow in the realm of the living and then drag it back to Soul Society for part of a ritual that takes place 12 years after the death of a captain" thing a shinigami invention, or does that also have roots in older human practices (iomante?)?

In the New Years episodes, Rukia et al suggest that shinigami New Years is very much an intentional borrow from the living realm, and considered as such. It’s also a fairly new one. ("Fairly" here could mean anything from 150 to 15 years I guess, lol.) If they’re so hyped about borrowing this new years, I imagine they probably also borrowed prior ones, and that during the relevant period, Lunar New Year got celebrated. But given their present zest for the Gregorian calendar—and the general lack of institutional memory around TBTP, which as far as shinigami lifespans go was not that long ago, and only like 30 years after the calendar switch—I feel like they probably nope’d right out of Lunar New Year and plum forgot about it. Or maybe it’s still a Soi Fon family tradition. Maybe Soi Fon doesn’t like cats because of Yoruichi—Yoruichi’s cat transformation is just one more reason for Soi Fon to like Yoruichi. She grew up on animal zodiac stories!

Honestly, I’m just impressed that the old guard shinigami have managed to adapt to what was probably a good many calendars, one after the other and many simultaneous. Do you think that’s part of why Ukitake is so zeroed in on everyone’s birthdays? I mean, besides being a nice guy and wanting the Youth to feel some sense of celebration in the passage of time while it still holds meaning in their hearts lol. They’re also handy mnemonics! Because Ukitake would not give a shit about this newfangled calendar they’re using now, were it not for its utility in tracking the birthdays of all his lovely coworkers.

I think of Soul Society of being fairly sclerotic, but it’s super interesting the ways that this is paired with these punctuations of modernization fever? Or like, a desire to bring as much of the living realm into theirs as they can, even as these efforts are uneven and sometimes a bit odd. I think it goes back to this question of whether their realm predates humans on Earth (or in Japan), has always been concomitant, or proceeds from a human ability to conceive of an afterlife. I could honestly vibe with any of these.

Pre-dating humans on earth would be fun because you could lean into shinigami monstrosity and imagine how completely different they would have been without the blueprint of a human form, and before asauchi were even a glimmer in Nimaiya’s eye. That would also suggest that shinigami would have had to adopt this idea of being balancers and having anything to do with human souls, rather than being teleologically destined for this purpose.

Being twinned to the human realm would be fun because it plays up the notion of Soul Society as reflection.

And the third option of being tied not to human corporeality as distinct from the primordial ooze, but to a particular kind of human consciousness—well, that starts getting very esoteric (she says, as though the rest of this wasn't).

Anyway, the modernization fever is interesting re: these potential origin stories because of the way it indexes how important the living realm is to Soul Society—it’s perceived as some kind of backwater frontier, but also the location of the sublime.

** Please note that I’m sure there’s some kind of Soul King-related origin story upon which the entire plot of Bleach rests, but my brain actively flouts this knowledge. What is a Soul King, I don’t caaaare.

#asks #bleach worldbuilding #bleach sociology #there is no CAKE

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