#how long do you want Ichigo to have been in Muken??

[keikakudori]

                 Words could be such simple affairs, weren't they? He had made a statement but there was no air of commitment behind those words. Only that he could help. But Aizen did not allow himself to look at the hope that he could sense pushing over the young man's posture, didn't bother to do much of anything to focus more upon it. It was, merely, that he understood how much that his own words meant something to the human who was ready to humble himself for this one thing, to beg aid of a man who had been ostensibly his enemy by proxy of being the enemy of that boy he named his friend.

                 But there was no desire to stir himself, no; the darkness of Muken had closed in upon Aizen the moment he'd been placed in this domain and there was no wish to do much but he found himself looking up when the young man began to speak again, spilling out the secrets of his heart like fine grains of sand falling through the spread of his fingers. And what he heard told the Shinigami ever so much about a soul that seemed far older than his mortal skin showed. Not for the first time, Aizen wondered how many of Kurosaki Ichigo's companions would one day become Shinigami as well. They all had that potential and he had seen it in them for some time but this young man...

                 Hm.

                 I don't care what the Quincy do. They can have Soul Society. They can have Karakura.

                 What an interesting sentiment. Had this been Before, before that day, before he had been placed within his confines, then Aizen would indeed have leapt with quick ease upon the admission that Sado put down of how he'd give him nearly anything at all. It was almost something that made him want to laugh bitterly because the young man held not the power to give him the one thing he so desired. Ah, but to say that wouldn't do them any good, now would it---? So he remained silent and still momentarily before breathing in. A slow exhale and only then did his voice fill the silence once again.

                 ❝ ... you must care for him deeply, for you to be willing to go so far for his sake. I can understand that. But cálmate. You have nothing you need to apologize to me for. To be ready to throw everything else aside for his sake... ❞ A lingering pause as his gaze shifted somewhere off into the distance. ❝ Yes, I understand your sentiments entirely. ❞

                 Then that visible eye snapped upwards to regard the young man's face. If he wished that chair in pieces, it would have been destroyed. He could have departed from this place any moment he chose but Aizen had come to dwell here, petrified by his own loss and grief and sinking deeper into that darkness. Sado proclaimed a desire to see the leader of the enemy dead and that made a grim twitch of a smile flourish on the mouth of the traitor for a second before it faded again. Yes - if he had been how he was Before, then such words would have seen Sado perhaps in a position he would not have relished or enjoyed. But that was long ago now, wasn't it?

                 ❝ You'd die to save him, wouldn't you? To keep him safe, I imagine you'd do anything. ❞

                 More silence that gelled in the cracks between speech, something that was not cold but merely flirting with the edge of apathy. Ishida Uryu had come to mean a great deal to Yasutora Sado and Aizen ... understood it. He understood the emotion that drove this young man to such desperate ends that he'd come down here to beg for the aid of the monster kept in the darkness. For all that Aizen felt of the battles raging above, it was this that truly made the war's impact far more poignant than seeing the destruction wrought by the Quincy would ever do. Because to go to any length to save someone you cared about so deeply --...

                 ❝ - so you ask me to lend my strength for this. You needn't worry about payment. You wouldn't be able to provide what I'd ask for in any case. I suggest you stand back. I imagine breaking these seals will cause quite a bit of noise and you won't do him much good if I knock you out in the process. ❞

                 Would that he could do the same. But that was gone now and he knew it.

keikakudori​:

                 How strange to find the young man here again. He had not anticipated that, truthfully, but Aizen had been left to stir more and more from his entombment within the dark terrarium that served as Muken, having the sense that not much time had passed by of late. And, too, there had been the Quincy who had come down here to beckon him with a hand and call him to his side. The question that Sado asked him made his eye narrow slightly while he took the young man’s features into account, lips pressed together while he focused upon the body language exhibited.

                 In this moment, the young man truly seemed his namesake. Tora; tiger. He could see one of those beautiful beasts in this instance, orange fur spilling with molten radiance, the dark lines there to obscure the brightness of it. Yet how he watched him, not moving anything more than his eye in this instance, whlie the youth paced back and forth.

                 ❝ … I could. ❞ He whispered the word, calmly. ❝ If I desired to. If it gave me a reason to. But this is not my conflict. This is not my fight. ❞

                 Yet he could see the stress on the young man’s features, the way in how Sado held himself with those motions. A pacing beast and he found himself sighing once, almost heavily. The words of I need your help pressed down upon him and Aizen’s head sagged forward slightly, no longer bound to the back of the crucifix which held him aloft from the floor. A weariness that he could not explain touched him with those words and he resided like that for a second, two, three — ten. After almost a full minute, he looked upwards at Sado once more.

                 ❝ What do you think I could do? In what way could I help you in this? If you have an idea of what course of action you think is best, then tell me; I do not know what has been going on. I am blind down here. I know the Quincy have attacked the Seireitei. ❞ He knew that Yamamoto had fallen; even down here, he had felt the sudden snuffing out of the old man’s energy. ❝ But what, exactly, do you wish for me to do? ❞

I could.

That simple response, those two little words, filled him with hope. I feeling he didn’t dare to hang on to. Not now, not with what he had seen. But still, there was a chance. If he could convince the other man to help in some way, maybe that could be what changed the outcome he could feel that they were all speeding toward. It was as if they were all strapped into a car going dangerously fast and the only thing he could see ahead of them was a brick wall. He had to do something.

His shoulders are tight, his chest heaving as he does his best to remain calm. Aizen, for all his faults, had been quite kind to Sado. Had given him advice when he felt lost. It was a strange friendship, if the other man would even call it that. And right now, he had no idea who else he could turn to for this. For anything.

Sado listened as the other man spoke. So he did know of some of the things happening, good. Less he needed to explain. Closing the distance, he fell to his knees before the former captain, showing him a vulnerability that few had seen. Ichigo, certainly. And Uryu.

Uryu.

“I know this is too much to ask and I’m sorry. Perdóname. I don’t care what the quincy do. They can have the Soul Society. They can have Karakura.” Eyes blinked away emotion that he was fighting like hell to hold back. “But they can’t have him.” Reaching forward, he placed large hands on the bound arm before him, head leaning forward to rest against the chair that could so easily be in pieces if the other man wished it to be.

“I want Yhwach dead. I want to protect what’s mine. I don’t have much to offer you but if I have it, it’s yours. Please.” He was barely making sense to his own ears. All he knew was that he couldn’t, wouldn’t, sit on the sidelines as the people he loved died around him.

[the-pallid-king]

He can’t help the way his attention tracks back to you when you stretch. He works his fingers down into fabric, still muddled from sleeping so deeply for so long. He thinks it was long. It felt like it.

He stills and slides a glance toward you, hesitating. “Are you going to be offended if I say I just want to know when it’s not around my family anymore? It did turn on you, and has a lot of reason to lash out.” But that sounds like he’s second guessing you. And he’s not. Not exactly. And if he is, he feels kind of bad about it, but not bad enough to stop worrying about it, apparently. And there are plenty of people to handle a rouge hollow. Assuming any of them are around, and it didn’t corner his sisters alone.

He shakes his head, "No. I'm not offended." Nor is he surprised. You already expressed your worries about it when he first told you he sent a messenger. But he also told you, "It's goin' to Grimmjow or Ganten first. It's not going to make it to your family's house unescorted. As far as everyone's concerned, Karkura is my territory. No one's gonna come or go without them knowin' about it. And they know to watch your family too." He's already told you this, but maybe it's just not enough to put your mind at ease. "We can go back ourselves if you want." He also offers, "The hollow could be back already and waitin' on us. I don't know how long it's been since I sent it. Seems like it's been long enough." They've done some time consuming things since then. He pushes to his feet. "C'mon, lets go see if it's back yet."

[keikakudori]

Have Gin and Aizen ever gotten into an argument? Has Aizen ever gotten pissed off at Gin for something? Has Gin ever pushed the wrong button?

random asks | always accepting!

by and large--? no, aizen and gin don't tend to argue very often. at least, not anymore. these two have a synchronicity that's extremely unique and organic due to years of them learning how to read one another, to the point where gin comments on aizen's actions and emotions repeatedly throughout the series, such as when he notes that aizen seems to be enjoying the fact that ichigo and his friends are getting through las noches or when momo arrived in the tenkai kechuu; aizen didn't do much to show any sort of reaction and gin noticed it and commented upon it.

but it hasn't always been so.

the years following gin's ascension to captain were probably, genuinely, the rockiest part of their relationship surprisingly enough. gin, after all, had come into his bankai and that was what finally made aizen push ahead with making gin into a captain because he was so damn proud of how far gin had come with his power and more. but equally, it was a very dangerous time for them both because gin knew he had that power to him. he had his bankai and aizen, in kind, had to take steps in order to ensure that gin would not yet try to strike at him. this led to tension between them and, yes, arguments. some punches were even thrown in some of them ( as cas and i have discussed to some degree. ) and heated words were very often exchanged. it landed somewhere in the territory of growing pains and more for them both ( along with some separation anxiety ) because they were no longer exactly joined at the hip day in and day out, though gin and aizen would often take time to spend evenings together until the defection ensued. but there were most definitely arguments and gin and aizen both can read each other fairly well; some of those arguments got vicious. but this was also the period in which aizen grew far more used to apologizing to gin and adjusting his behavior in regards to what gin might have called him out upon. aizen's not so proud as to not admit when he's been an ass and gin isn't going to not tell him that he's being said ass. so in a way, rocky as it was, they both came out of it for the better.

has gin done stuff to piss aizen off? well -- sort of. aizen doesn't have an explosive or quick temper ( if kisuke's not involved, at least. or if it's prior to Deicide. ) and so it takes a lot for him to get to the status of irritated, nevermind angry. has he been exasperated with gin? of course he has. has he wanted to throttle gin for things gin has said and done? absolutely. has he ever been outright angry with him? not too often, truthfully. gin can irritate him and has done so more than once, though it's often been in the nature of "i'm going to make you pay attention to me so you don't get caught up in whatever's making you grumpy." and the thing is, aizen knows gin's doing this but he appreciates him doing so either way. it serves its purpose, after all, so the result is that aizen is absolutely glad for that. but very rare are the moments when aizen's actually angry with gin. the most prominent example that comes to mind is Deicide and his anger didn't last long. it -- couldn't really, not in Muken. but chances are, whenever cas and i write aizen and gin having a callout on each other, that that will be one of those times when aizen does show anger with gin or at him. but they've got to get through that at some point and no one said that that would be pretty.

as for pushing the wrong buttons? yes. gin has done that. he has done that ON PURPOSE. it's very fun writing with cas's gin because gin probes at sore spots, seeks to find out what ache aizen is carrying in him, and sometimes he decides to be provocative just to be a proper little shit, mind you. but aizen's also always been fond of throwing out what could possibly be called false positives as well. there is one sore spot in him that - while he's never expressly forbidden gin from bringing hirako shinji up, he doesn't encourage it either - is a definite positive however. it's part of their interpersonal relationship, however. gin pokes at those spots, purposefully so, and in a way reminds aizen that he's not untouchable. in a way, that prodding and poking and pushing of buttons is necessary for aizen. it reminds him that he shouldn't get too full of himself. because heaven forbid that gin feed aizen's ego any more than it already has been, of course. we can't have that, now can we?

[midnightactual]

Soul Society is wack:

Rukia knows how to transfer Shinigami powers to a human, and knows some stats on it (like it probably won’t work, should be temporary, so on). Where’d she learn that? Kuchiki secret? Nope, Byakuya doesn’t give her the time of day, so...

Must’ve been either at the Academy or in 13th Divisionn. If it was at the Academy, it must’ve been first year, because Byakuya pulled her out then (1951). So they teach literally everyone in their first year a technique that is a capital crime to use, for which you will be executed... Or they teach every newly recruited Shinigami it either when they get assigned or sent on patrol. Uh, okay?

Someone, possibly Ukitake, has the idea to use Substitute Shinigami to aid Soul Society. Why? There’s only like 3,000 Shinigami. The Academy is huge. You could just up recruitment? Whatever. Why would Ukitake be the one to propose this 2000+ years into his career? Whatever.

Either way, they come to find Ginjō some 5–15 years prior to the start of the series (1985–1995)? Ginjō has Shinigami powers because...? How did he get them? Did he steal them from a Shinigami using Fullbring? If not, how? If so, why wasn’t he punished for that? Was the person he got them from executed like they wanted to do to Rukia?

Why is he the first Substitute in... however long they’ve been teaching Shinigami how to make Substitutes? Rukia states, “The chance of success is low, and if we fail you die!” How would anyone know that if it hadn’t been tried before and succeeded? Was Ginjō the first example? But that happened long after she graduated! Did she get told literally right before leaving?

Anyway, Tokinada messed up whatever the plan was with Ginjō. Instead, there’s a plan to use the next Substitute Shinigami as a lure for him, which every single Taichō and Fukutaichō is told about.

Renji, a Fukutaichō  immediately assumes Ichigo stole Rukia’s powers, and Byakuya, a Taichō, immediately breaks Ichigo’s Substitute Shinigami powers, thus completely ruining the one shot they had at getting a Substitute to lure out Ginjō with, since this is supposed to be a procedure that almost never works and which nobody has ever done but maybe once before. Rukia is then punished for doing the thing they were all planning on doing, that they just messed up.

Ichigo shows up with his Shinigami powers mysteriously restored, and Jūshirō doesn’t once raise the fact that maybe they shouldn’t be punishing Rukia for helping them with their plan to capture or kill Ginjō, nor does he tell everyone to stop murdering this rare Substitute who shouldn’t exist so that plan could go ahead. Everyone keeps trying to murder that rare Substitute despite having been briefed on the plan to use that next Substitute as a lure.

We later learn that stuff like using forbidden kidō just gets you a life imprisonment... so why did temporarily granting Shinigami powers to a human warrant a death sentence again? What are the other six levels of the Central Great Underground Prison besides Shugo and Muken for? What is the magical set of crimes between the 7th level and Muken that escalates you to a death penalty unless you’re immortal? Why are you teaching a technique that carries a death sentence to everyone again???

Why does this plan exist in the first place when you have the Onmitsukidō? Yoruichi is noted by Riruka in TYBW to “Have the ability to find anyone”... Yoruichi, by the way, who along with Kisuke, Tessai, and the Vizard, are just hanging out in the most obvious possible spot to patrol, the jūreichi, to which they keep assigning useless nobodies when even Naruki can get 5 Shinigami assigned to it in short order? (All of whom were murdered; shouldn’t Isshin losing 2.5% of his force have been considered a minor scandal?)

Speaking of that, why doesn’t Soul Society just permanently station at least a Seated Officer to Karakura given it is the jūreichi and attracts Hollows? Is it a plan to lure out the exiles, deserters, and criminals who have all congregated there by putting civilians in danger? (Doesn’t work if so.) General negligence? Incompetence? Who knows.

Should’ve called it the Dumbass Society, to be honest...

[blooming5th]

AIZEN SŌSUKE & HINAMORI’S BLIND DEVOTION.

*AHEM* Now this is something that I’ve been wanting to write for the longest time ~ I have discussed it with a few of my friends & I think the time has come for my thoughts to be heard & thus... sort-of announced? I don’t want Hinamori to be a blunt side character... I don’t personally enjoy that people look at her as if she’s just “Aizen’s subordinate” as even she says... so it’s about time I make a few things clear!! The actual headcanon can be found under the cut because it’s going to be pretty long... but hopefully, it’ll be something you guys can also enjoy!

( You can scroll this post all the way to the end & read the long story short LMAO )

Without further delay... I have to say that I believe Hinamori’s devotion actually has a name:

KYŌKA SUIGETSU.

Gasp. Super shocking, right? Uh... no. Not really, if you think about it.

Information on Kyōka Suigetsu: this zanpakuto’s most fearsome power is known as Kanzen Saimin ( 完全催眠, which directly translates to "Complete Hypnosis" ). & according to Aizen: “It can control all five senses and lead people to hallucinate all sorts of things.”

So now I have to ask you something that Aizen, himself, asked during the battle in Kurakura: “When did you think that I wasn’t using my Kyōka Suigetsu?”.

This cursed man holds more power on his pinky finger alone than most Shinigami do in their entire body, people. Let’s not forget this fact, alright? Therefore... a Bankai is quite literally nothing when compared to the totality of the strength he holds. It doesn’t even reach a solid 1/10 of his actual force, so... seriously... just what makes us think he wasn’t using Kyōka Suigetsu through the entire time he spent as Captain of the fifth division? Leading people on is what Aizen does best. He would have no problems deceiving people to get exactly where he wanted to... & we have that established since day one.

Scene between RANGIKU, IZURU & MOMO, in the new Bleach Brave Souls “Thin Ice: Prelude To Pandemonium” event.

Momo: By the way, have you seen Captain Aizen, Rangiku? Rangiku: No, did something happen? Momo: I haven't seen him all morning. Rangiku: I see. I haven't seen him either. Captain Aizen seems like a busy person, so maybe he's off doing something. He gathered us all and showed us his Shikai the other day. Maybe he's preparing something like that again. Momo: I hope so. Still, I'm a little worried. Izuru: Our Captain has been out all morning, too. Maybe they're dealing with some sort of emergency.

This scene happens a few days before Ichigo & the gang’s arrival to the Soul Society... so it means that he made a ceremony ( YES, AN ACTUAL FREAKING CEREMONY !! ) just so every member of the Gotei 13 could see his Shikai’s form. The man got out of his way to make his plan absolutely perfect by throwing a “haha party time !! now look at my Shikai !! haha now let’s have fun everyone !!” just so they could later be deceived by the performance of his goddamn Bankai. Are you KIDDING me?! ps: Note how Kira also comments Gin was missing? LOL @ those two. y’all acting weird and we been knew.

Now the question: How does all this relate to Hinamori’s devotion towards Aizen?

Pretty easy, really... Hinamori just happens to be a poor soul that is at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

In my honest point of view, I believe she has seen Aizen’s Shikai before anyone else has. Why? Well duh... because she’s his Lieutenant? He needs her to be perfectly faithful to him ( AND HIM ALONE... ), to never doubt the reason why he’s not there or why he disappears without warning. He needs her to believe his lies and to be unable to see through the painfully blunt truth that is standing right before her eyes. This is why I believe Hinamori’s utter devotion towards Aizen comes directly from Kyōka Suigetsu‘s Complete Hypnosis.

Hinamori is quite enthusiastic, free and outgoing throughout the series... but whenever the matter was Aizen, her personality seemed to take a 180º turn and she would go from cute and friendly to defensive and willing to take risks. An example?

Soul Society Arc: Hinamori jumps in and mercilessly attacks Tōshirō because of a goddamn letter that points him to be Aizen’s killer. Thousand-Year Blood War Arc: Hinamori’s almost crying while asking Shinji if there really had been a reason for them to kill a Quincy enemy.

See the difference? Yeah... I know I do.

I believe the Complete Hypnosis power Aizen held over Hinamori slowly started to fade away as time went by and he was no longer in contact with her. It goes unsaid that everything goes to waste with the Kurakura battle... but there’s a difference between focusing your Bankai’s hallucination effects into a single person ( like I believe he did with Momo during most of the time he was her Captain ) and focusing them on many targets at once ( exactly like what happened during the everyone vs Aizen battle ).

LONG STORY SHORT: Aizen’s a bad guy who showed off his Shikai so he could use his Bankai on everyone. But before doing that, he used it on Hinamori as soon as she became his lieutenant, which immediately granted him her blind devotion and turned her into his precious, little, discardable subordinate. Once he escaped to Hueco Mundo, the effects started to wear off of her, but were still present, which is why she asks Tōshirō to save him. When they meet again in Kurakura, he uses the Complete Hypnosis of his Bankai again, but it’s so he can make EVERYONE hallucinate and not just Hinamori, which makes the effects a lot easier on her. When she wakes up - and considering Aizen is stuck in the Muken -, Kyōka Suigetsu’s powers are completely null, which allows Hinamori to be her own self again.

[aizensamasuggestions]

Why do you think you are seen as an enemy? You've been cruel to some people, but you have a just cause. What sperates you from people like MLK and ghandi? And what seperates you from people like Hitler and gangus Khan? Do you think you are in the middle or in you're own category? All stood up for something, but some are viewed at heros while others are viewed as villains.

I’m viewed as an enemy to the Soul Society, because I am the enemy of the Soul Society.

However, unlike @yhwachsuggestions, my goal is not to destroy everything, but to tear down its scaffolding so that the foundations might be made anew, rebuilt stronger, better. If I only wanted to lay waste to everything in my path, I could have done so without a Soul knowing of my plans. Moreover, I would have joined Juha Bach when he first approached me in Muken. Instead, Kyoka Suigetsu and I befuddled his mind, making him lose track of time, giving the Soul Society–my wardens, my enemies–the advantage on the field. 

When called upon, I answered on the side of the Gotei to defeat that upstart pretender to the Empty Throne™.

I could defeat a thousand Yhwachs, but I can never be a ‘hero,’ Anon.

Long ago, when I was a student at Academy and Kyoka Suigetsu first revealed their power to me, I knew that my path was… forever changed. You’ve seen the questions I get, Anon. Mind control is the kind of power that terrifies people. For good reason. Not being able to trust what you see or feel or hear or taste is… unnerving, at best.

There is, in point of fact, no ‘good’ way to use the power of perfect hypnosis. Believe me, as a young man, I struggled with this conundrum. Certainly, I could hypnotize people to ‘do good deeds,’ but consider this, Anon. The mere act of hypnotizing violates someone’s ability to consent. Even if I used Kyoka Suigetsu to make people to plant flowers or be kind to strangers in need, it would not be done of their free will, but at my command.  If I want to use the power given to me, I must be willing to force it on someone. Otherwise, it’s not terribly useful. I can not truly take advantage of Kyoka Suigetsu if I have to ask, “Excuse me, before I call shikai, would you mind imagining me dead? Ah, not up for it? Okay, never mind.” That would be ridiculous.

And beyond useless.

My choice was either not to accept the power given to me and, (if you know anything at all about how zanpakuto work when they call to Shinigami) allow myself to be driven insane by refusing it, or… accept that my power would be, by its very nature,… evil.

I will admit I’m envious of Kurosaki Ichigo. His zanpakuto gave him no such ultimatum. He could use his power without having to think twice. All his zanpakuto demanded of him was that he become stronger, better at a physical skill, like fighting.

But, we can not chose what fate hands out. We can only chose what we do with what we’re given.

Unless, of course, we seize control of fate itself.

In that way, Kurosaki Ichigo and I are the same. We would prefer to challenge fate, and, if it will not bend, break it.

[lunahras]

Fanfic Ideas Masterpost

These are ideas I've gotten between 2012 and now for various fandoms. Anything I publish will be removed. I thought I might as well have them all in a post here so I can stop updating the list over on ff.net

Regardless, if one of these sparks some inspiration don't hesitate to run with it, I just ask for a link. (and if you'd like to know more about one I'd be delighted to ramble on).

Naruto

Our Wondrous World

In an alternate 'Naruto' world with their roles, personalities, powers, families or even destinies either switched up or completely changed, how will the children of Konoha handle the harsh life of a shinobi and the ever present threats in their lives? (This is the result of my nutty brain and all the “What if”s I've ever asked.)

or (alternate summary):

Meet Uchiha Sasuke, Konoha's resident Jinchuuriki, and his best friend Namikaze Naruto, son of the Godaime Hokage. Not to mention, Hyuuga Sakura, the bastard heir with the messed up doujutsu. And then there's all the other freaks of their generation. Welcome to Konohagakure no Sato. Do try to survive.

Shinigami to Kitsune

Uchiha Sasuke is a skilled and revered shinobi who leads a prosperous, somewhat normal life. That is, until a certain Fox Spirit comes literally crashing down from the heavens and, to his utmost displeasure, changes his whole lifestyle, as well as his views of the world. But with the arrival of this distinct fellow comes also the truth behind the mystery of his birth and the paths destiny has laid before him.

Forgotten Hero

"Sit down kids, so I can tell you a story. What? You want to hear of a hero? Well, in a way, it is about a heroine. Yes, it was girl, a girl called Kyoko. Why you've never heard of her before? -- sigh -- That's because, up until the very end, she was a tragic, forgotten hero. You see, it all started many, many years ago..." What if everything important that happened in the story as we know it was attributed to the wrong people?

Naruto and Menma: Ramen Toppings Extraordinaire

On the day the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked, one half of him was sealed off into Uzumaki Naruto. The other half, of course, had to go to his twin brother, Uzumaki Menma. Now there's two Kyuubi's in Konoha, two brothers that will support each other -- and the problem of who exactly the Prophecy refers to. Have fun, you two!

Stellar Connection

There was a connection between Sasuke and Naruto that had been forged through years and lifetimes, a bond that had long since transcended any love known to man. Because Sasuke was the moon and Naruto was the sun and they existed at constant extremes yet always stood together as one.

Finding Sasuke

Sakamoto Sasuke is the best fisherman in Awa at only fourteen and life is good. Then a Konoha genin team requests a ride on his boat and his life goes to hell in a handbasket. Damn ninja and their stupid missions and stupid face recognition abilities. "You have the sharingan." "I'm sure I have no idea what yer talkin' about." "Wait, Sasuke-" "Leave me alone, you slimesucking sea urchin! You ninja are all fuckin' retarded, go sard yerself!" "Uhm..."

Haru no Sakura

After her long time crush and friend, Lord Sasuke's betrayal, Princess Sakura is forced to flee from the Fire Tribe palace with her only remaining friend, Naruto. However, fate has other plans for the wayward princess, and hunting down the Divine Beasts' hosts in order to protect her precious people and maybe even her kingdom might just be one of them. Even so, the new king's intentions are still unclear...

Bleach

Because I could not stop for Death (He kindly stopped for me)

A single arrow of a stray Quincy was enough. Ichigo, now truly separated from his body, is sent to Soul Society with the promise of an instant promotion to Taichou – right after finishing the academy. Because seriously Ichigo, you never experienced school life! But what will happen when a certain cell in Muken is suddenly found empty? Old enemies return and new friends enter the stage as they all fight at the beginning of the end.

or (alternate summary):

Never overlook enemy survivors. Ichigo learned that the hard way when a heavily wounded Quincy used the last of his strength to kill off his body. With nowhere else to go, Ichigo will have to find his place in Soul Society, which many insist is the captaincy of a Gotei 13 squad. But before that he'll have to be educated. However, when he takes his rightful position, a not-so-old, yet long-forgotten threat is rediscovered.

Lost in Time

Everything was lost but Ichigo kept fighting, if only out of principle. But then he's given a second chance to change everything from the roots and he swears to succeed this time, to protect all those precious to him - even if some of them won't be born until 150 years later. Better not mess things up, Ichigo!

i reject your reality and substitute my own

"Souten Kisshun, I reject!" So rose the Soul Queen.

One Piece

The Chase: Tales of a Cheery Escapee

Having an enormous secret not even he knew about revealed to the marines, Luffy is forced to leave Dawn Island before his time and flee to the only place unpredictable (read: crazy) enough to get them temporarily off his tail: the Grand Line. There he'll encounter the unlikeliest allies and the most difficult trials in a struggle for survival and preparation for his dream.

followed by: "The Chase: Journey of a Smiling Pirate" and "The Chase: Travels of a Coming King"

Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

The Many Issues with Time Travel

"So you traveled in time." "Yes." "Because we were dead." "Yes." "And because someone important made the wrong decision, which led to the collapse of reality and by extension the end of the world." "Yes." "So you devised a plan to manipulate us all into not dying." "Exactly." "..." "Well?" "...Who are you and what did you do to Dame-Tsuna?" "Oh, come on! And for the last time, stop pointing that gun at me!"

Medusa's Gaze

"It was an accident, I swear!" Of course, the Yakuza would have none of it. The fates have opened a different path for Tsuna, a path that he must walk by himself in order to protect his mother and brother. And it may or may not involve being chased around the world by the Yakuza, the Mafia and other such parties.

Leading Us Nowhere

Tsuna honestly had no idea why he had become detective. He also had no idea why he'd accepted this job. You know, except for that stupidly accurate intuition of his. But with the incredibly suspicious job he's landed himself with, he almost wonders if the pay isn't worth it. Almost.

The Flappy Bird Incident

There are many taboos in the Varia, from uncreative swearing to touching the Boss' steak. But one of the biggest ones would be even the mention of a certain annoyingly difficult game App, because it would bring back memories better left buried. (Exhibit A of what happens when a bearer of the Flames of Wrath rage quits on an addictive game.)

Monochrome in Red and Gray

What good does kindness in the instinct driven body of a predator? How does small, cowardly Tsuna plan to escape this situation, when his own body is the threat? (Turning into a ghoul is hell on earth, yes, but the world he gets to walk on in exchange may just be worth it) -- Tokyo Ghoul AU

Behind Mallow Eyes

For so many years it was just a game to alleviate his boredom (Insanity. Loneliness. Really, they were all the same to him). But as he took the game too far, burned the world to ashes, a maddened laughter rang in his ears and -- suddenly recognizing a monster in the mirror -- he realized it was his own. (A study of Byakuran's downwards spiral into madness.)

Russian Roulette

Vongola Decimo was shot in his last bargain with the Millefiore Boss, but no one knew the exact circumstances of his supposed murder. No one but Byakuran Gesso.

hell hath no fury

The Tenth Vongola Boss was known throughout the Mafia as dangerous, terrifyingly sharp and ruthless. In truth, he was kind, accepting, overprotective Sawada Tsunayoshi. His wife, on the other hand, was rumored to be incredibly nice and friendly, surprisingly demure for the wife of a Mafia Boss. In truth, she was Sawada Kyouko, who knew just how far from the truth some rumors could get.

Tsuna and Kyouko's Epic Post-Mortem Adventures!

A collection of one-shots based on Redemption. All the times Kyouko's haunting of Tsuna turned very, very awkward for her and all the times Tsuna and Kyouko took great pleasure in driving Mukuro up the wall.

Fatuity

Because in madness there lay absurdity, and in lies one could find entretainment. Because immortality was any man's dream, and it was an eternal nightmare. Because Skull had been alive for far too long, had died far too many deaths and had lost far more than just his pride. Because it was possible to derive amusement from fooling the shrewdest minds the mafia had to offer by pretending to be the biggest pushover on the planet.

The Mafia Game

The Rain Guardian of the Vongola wasn't considered incredibly dangerous because of his reputation as a silent God of Death, nor his fearsome smile, as shiny and wickedly sharp as his sword. No, Yamamoto Takeshi was dangerous because to him everything - the Mafia, the danger, the hunt, the fights - all of it was a game. And Takeshi rather liked games.

Necessary Evil

"So what, I'm supposed to be the necessary evil to unseal the Vongola rings? Is that it?!" Byakuran glared at the masked face of the Ancient, trembling with fury. "We're supposed to be like siblings, Tsuna and Uni and I! You can't just tell me to destroy that!" - "There is no other way if the world's energies are to be stabilized." And... there was nothing he could really say to that. It was either their future unbreakable bond... or the end of the world. The choice lied with Byakuran.

Card Games are Serious Business

When Tsuna joined the two halves of the ancient roman ring he got from his absentee father, he expected to own an interesting, somewhat gaudy and really old accessory. What he did NOT expect was an ancient spirit to come out of it, or for a simple card game to gain this much importance.Why did these things always have to happen to HIM?! Yu-Gi-Oh! AU

Thorns

This wasn't supposed to happen, it wasn't supposed to be this way! Tsuna should have protected her, but he was too weak, and now they were both stuck with no way out and he feared she'd wilt and die like the delicate flower he'd always thought her to be. He doesn't quite yet realize: every rose has its thorns.

Mother, Oh Dear Mother

Mamma was the one who fed them, patched them up, soothed their worries and offered them a home and more love than they knew what to do with. It was so obvious, in hindsight, that it wasn't Tsuna running the show, not really. Because the powerful and influential Decimo just smiled and nodded like everyone else, and did whatever she asked for. Really, she had such great children.

Air Gear

Karasu

In the final battle between the Sky and Storm Kings, Minami Itsuki died saving his beloved – only to find himself in a body months younger than it should be and a world not yet broken by corrupted wings. Taking this as a second chance, the crow that has already learned to fly sets off on a brand new journey to fix what could be and become even more awesome in the process.

Mirai Nikki / Future Diary

Mirai Nikki: Remix

Gasai Yuno is a somewhat normal fourteen-year-old girl. That is, until her diary suddenly starts predicting the future and should-be wallflower Amano Yukiteru declares his undying love for her, saying that he will protect her no matter what. And then proceeds to demonstrate. Messily. Just what has she gotten herself into?

Tokyo Ghoul

Rewind: The Unexpected Tale of a Human Ghoul

Waking up in his apartment after dreaming about a world of monsters, war, loss, centipedes and crazy scientists with a lingering taste of coffee in his mouth, Kaneki Ken finds himself unable to dismiss it all as a simple dream when it is proven to be his own future. With this new found knowledge, how will he try to change the hand that fate has dealt him?

To Try a Hundred Times

I may have been born into terribly cruel, horribly dangerous world. I may be a puny, harmless human girl. I may have had a wonderful time in my past life. But right now, all that I had was my brother, and I would be damned if I let this cruel world take him away from me! "Don't even try, Kaneki-aneki. You're way too weak." "Shut UP, Hide!"

Tokyo Ghoul: Scandals Behind the Scenes

In which Kaneki can't stop laughing at his lines, Hide is a shameless flirt - whether on camera or not - and Rize keeps popping up on set even though her contract has been over for months. "Goddammit, Kaneki, that was Take #34! Get your lines straight!"

Haikyuu!

The Black Wings of a Crow

In middle school, Hinata Shouyo entered the volleyball team in order to reach his dream of becoming the second Small Giant. Too bad his school was too weak to reach much of anything. After a crushing defeat at the hands of The King of the Court in his third year, he finally attends Karasuno High. How will he impact the team with three years of experience to back him up and an arsenal worthy of his dream title?

Hunter x Hunter

Various Reasons Why Gon is Allergic to Responsibility

He never wanted to go back. Sure he has regrets, but if there was one thing he was known for, it was that Gon Freecs always moves on. But now, for some uncertain reason, he's stuck back in his twelve year old, hunter-license-less body. Well, at least he isn't completely alone in this one. And maybe, just maybe, he can fix some mistakes. Now, first of all, how to get Kurapika to give up his revenge with the least amount of death and destruction...?

Binan Kouko

Dreams That Hide Shadows

Yumoto and his friends are Magical Boys unwillingly tasked to protect the world and fill it with love! They fight humorous looking classmates-turned-monsters with half-assed techniques and always end the day with a nice hot bath... except, Yumoto's always had such a an overactive imagination, and a fragile heart on top of that. He just couldn't deal with reality.

Ao no Exorcist

Azure

Yukio comes back home from True Cross Academy for the summer break with his (students-slash-) classmates, and Rin, blissfully unaware of his heritage, starts noticing strange things around him. Strange, terrifying, absolutely fascinating things.

Hikaru no Go

A Ko Fight is Basically a Grade School Fight

The intertwined lives of Hikaru and Akira - and how the weirdest, most fascinating friendship sprouts from their rivalry. (In which they move in together, Akira unexpectedly trumps Hikaru in matters of love and the Go world has no idea what's going on.)

Cage of Eden

Released Yet Not Unchained

The three years they spent on the island weren't merely used to build a ship. There was much exploring to do, many secrets yet to uncover and the small, oh so small possibility that they might be able to go back to their time. In which Mariya Shirou is still very much a genius, Raika Island is still very much nerve-wracking and Sengoku Akira is still very much their undisputed leader.

xxxHOLiC

Reasons Why Resetting the Universe is a Bad Idea

"A mismatched pair of eyes, one blue like the ocean of mysteries behind it, one golden like the treasure of secrets it hosted, opened to a shop that had belonged to him for such a long time. And yet, right now, at this very moment, he could feel it in his very core that it didn't belong to him only. And as time seemed to stop in this realm which didn't posses time at all, blue and golden met the crimson of blood that was never spilled."

Assassination Classroom

Our Wonderful, Incredible, Absolutely Terrifying Teacher

"Sensei, you're terrifying, ya know that? You could've been an assassin." Nagisa smiled with just enough teeth showing to send a shiver down their collective spines, "Maybe I could have, who knows. But since you're already on the topic, Hayasaka-kun, can you tell me of five different assassinations that took place in Kyoto?"A twitch, "Urk! ..." - His class isn't by any means perfect, but that's why Nagisa so enjoys guiding them every step of the way, pseudo-assassination attempts and all.

Yuri!!! on ICE

We Dance On Blades Of Beauty

"He dances on the sharpest blades and all our hearts lie on the ice for him to cut and break with the grace of a muse." Victor has broken many hearts in his time, but this time it may be his own lying on the ice in wait.

On Love, And Its Timelessness

Time froze. The feeling was disorienting, made him lightheaded. Then time did a barrel roll and some kind of salto and something that may have been a quadruple Salchow. And then. Then Yuuri was sitting on a bench, staring at an old TV, through an old TV, at a long haired and eternally beautiful and impossibly young Viktor.

A Promise Is a Promise

"Okay, I lost. Viktor's staying here." "Um, okay..." "And so am I." "...what?" "He promised me a program and he'll make me a damn program! Since I can't take him back to Russia, I'm just gonna stay here. You got a problem with that, cutlet?!" "What?" "Oh! Well that works perfectly, doesn't it? Practice starts tomorrow at seven, Yurio. Don't be late~" "As if!" "What?!"

Reflections

Through a truly mystifying stroke of fate, Katarina Nikiforov, single mother and working woman, is suddenly required to move to Japan for her job. She manages to find a home for her and her son in a small town close to the city. And it even has a ice rink! Her little Vitya could look forward to that, at least. (And Viktor, young and unwilling, ends up meeting a boy who will change his life.)

in your arms i dance

Everything goes just as fate orginally planned: Yuuri loses the GPF terribly, gets incredibly drunk at the banquet, turns it into one of the wildest parties to ever grace the Grand Prix, unknowingy makes his idol develop a giant crush on him, and wakes up with a headache and half the clothes he had on yesterday. There's just one little difference: Yuuri remembers. (This alters some things, speeds up others, but ultimately changes nothing.)

Friendship is Magic

Yuri and Otabek are inseparable. That's just a fact of life. Keijiro should probably mind, maybe, since he's the actual boyfriend and all. And he does sometimes wish Yuri loved him as much as he does his best friend. But, well, boys will be boys, and Keijiro will take what he can get and smile exasperatedly at every other instance.

Noragami

Divinity

There are instances, small details here and there, that constantly remind her that Yato and Yukine are not in fact human. Not even close. Yukine is a regalia, there's a sharpness to gaze, a swiftness to his gait that tells stories of swishing blades and blossoming plum trees. And Yato. Yato is a god, and looking deep enough, there are no words she can find to even begin describing what lies behind those eyes.

Yu-Gi-Oh!

Wish Upon a Star

"I wish I was a handsome boy from Tokyo!" The first time they switch is but a dream. The second time is a hallucination. The third time... well it warrants a freakout or two. And the times after, those are a reprieve, a blessing, and a pain in the ass bundled into one colorful package. Tokyo and Domino. Atem and Yuugi. Where does one end and the other begin? (Kimi no Na Wa AU)

Akatsuki no Yona

The Empress

"Don't kill my father." ...eh? No, it couldn't be. She couldn't possibly know. There was no way. But... her eyes blazed with a smouldering fire he could only ever remember seeing in his own reflection. "I'll marry you, Soo Won. You'll become king, so do not raise your sword against my father."

Boku no Hero Academia

Red Steps, Red Strings

Just one bad day. "Can I become a hero... without a quirk?" Just one wrong answer.

A Menace to Society (and by society i mean me)

Katsuki's a bit obsessive, Izuku's a bit unhinged. They have the weirdest hero-villain relationship that no one can make heads or tails of. Are they mortal enemies? Are they best friends? No one will ever know!

Gods Walk Among Us

There is an abandoned shrine in the outskirts of Musutafu that’s as empty and lonely as Izuku himself, and he can’t help but try and take care of it. Except it wasn’t quite as abandoned as he’d previously assumed, nor was the world as devoid of divinity as hero society would have you think. What is a hero if not an idol? What is an idol if not a god?

Quirkless Izuku

Midoriya Izuku enrolls at the prestigious and remote UA highschool to pursue his dream of defeating the worst villains society has to offer. With his analysis quirk, things go off without a hitch. That is, until the missing students start piling up...

Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System

Empress to a Beast

Instead of a limbless, tortured worm in the deepest bowels of Huan Hua Palace’s Water Prison, Shen Qingqiu unexpectedly finds himself the newest member of Luo Binghe’s ever growing harem. Clawing his way into power and influence turns out surprisingly easy from there, even with the constant threat of his husband lurking in the back of his mind.

Bakemono no ko

Divided.Unified

"And he never touched a sword again." In another world, under other circumstances, this might have been true. But as much as Ren is human, Kyuuta is also a monster, and both have lives to live and responsibilities to fulfill. In another world, he might have stayed in the human realm. In this one, however, he was never able to shun his other side, for there were things he had to do and a sword inside his heart that would never allow itself to dull.

Gravity Falls

Where Fun and Mysteries are Born

On the day Wendy found an old, mysterious journal near the Mystery Shack, she gained a completely new perspective on the previously thought quiet, boring town. Join her and her friend Soos as they try to solve the many mysteries of Gravity Falls (including the new employees at the Mystery Shack, the Pines twins).

Miraculous Ladybug

Purity

The sunlight shines off of the blinding white of his suit. From the relative shade of his masked face a pair of bright green eyes almost seem to glow, piercing anything they gaze at. And a wild mane of blonde hair gives an illusion of a golden halo to frame a perfectly shaped face, adorned by an anticipatory smirk that is just a bit too wide. He is beautiful.

Danny Phantom

shadow at your feet

Ever since the accident at his parents' lab, Danny has never felt quite alone. Add to that his increasing blackouts and the mysterious way all bullies and threatening ghosts keep disappearing from his life, and he's just about ready to listen to his dad blabber on about ghosts, if only to find out what the hell his life is turning into.

Harry Potter

The Art of Snake Taming through the Ages

The lion and the snake were truly two unlikely friends. But when all is completely and utterly lost, these two will have to move on from their past – to create a completely new one more to their liking. And all the while, Harry struggles to teach Draco proper manners towards mud- erm, I mean, muggleborns.

Who Needs Destiny Anyway

The death of one man can change many things. In a world where the Malfoy line died out and the Black line continued, Harry Potter and Draco Black may just grow up to be Dumbledore's worst nightmare – and Voldemort's as well, eventually – with wicked grins plastered on their faces all throughout. Blacks and Potters always did make for legendary friendships.

Ebony

Because Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way was really just Eva Rainway, a muggleborn witch in Slytherin. And as the world around her crumpled to the ground, her reality turned more and more illusory with every crack.

Of Dead Bodies, Information Brokers and Unwillingly Corrupt Officers

Technically, by sheer definition, Harry is kind of a corrupt policeman. He blames his friends and never stops to consider that he's the one who befriended a bunch of criminals in the first place. Nay, that way lies madness. "Now Harry, don't look at me like that. It's just a corpse." "Just a- dammit, Ginny. What did you do now?"

Puberty's All About Dealing With Racists and Outdated Terrorists

In a world where magic and technology are not kept apart, Harry Potter struggles to adapt to the widespread magical society after a childhood of isolation. But with the mounting pressure on magical children, discrimination still running rampant and the darker sides of society lurking and ready to pounce, an outdated magical terrorist is really the least of his worries.

The Voices in My Head

Finally, it was over. Voldemort was dead and the Horcruxes were destroyed... well, except for the one in his head and really, didn't it occur to anyone that he might have liked to know about that? Because not only had his nemesis' newly bodiless spirit decided to try and possess him (and halfway succeeded), but it had awoken the other piece of soul in his forehead. Now he has two evil soul fragments in his head fighting over who gets to posses him and a potentially permanent migraine.

and/or (same idea, different outcome)

Fall of a Hero

It was over. Voldemort was dead and peace had finally come to wizarding Britain. Imagine their surprise when their very own boy-hero turns out to be the next up and coming Dark Lord. (Tom has rediscovered the wonders of pragmatism and the art of politics. Harry... Harry is too tired to fight him off. Let him rampage for all he cares, his duty is done.)

Magicks

Magic was not something to be wielded in only one way, just like wizardkind weren't the only ones meant for it, as much as they'd insist. No, there are many different types of magic, and after centuries of silence and ignorance, the web of lies and deceit finally unravels. The ancient races are rising from their slumber, with promises of change and retribution trailing right behind them.

Welcome to Hogwarts

"A school of magic and wonder where portaits lead you astray, spirits roam the halls, and gleaming eyes watch carefully from the shadows of the forest as whispers and spells fill rooms and corridors alike. But today we do not think of such things, for another year has started, the feast is laid out, and the hat prepares to sing. This is your local radio host, Mira Alder, and to all of you I say: Welcome to Hogwarts."

Flower Flower Of My Heart

The flower curse was banned for a REASON. But now it's been unleashed again and the wizards are too late to halt the worldwide epidemic. Hanahaki is here to stay.

Twilight

The Lion and The Lamb

(And How Edward Was Fundamentally Wrong) Immortality was the sort of forbidden fruit not spoken of, for it was unreachable outside of fantasies or godhood itself. But here she found herself, face to face with an actual vampire -- unbreakable, beautiful and eternally young -- and Bella suddenly felt the irresistible urge to take. Just. One. Bite.

Star Wars

Balance

"Join me, Rey. Please." His hand reaches out- "No more dark, no more light. We will reign. Together." -hers does too.

Final Fantasy VII

Calamity

There was once a girl of the Cetra who saw a star fall from the sky. With long, silver hair flowing behind her, she approached the fallen star, delightfully curious as any child was wont to be. Her name, the name the star kept for itself after meeting her, was Jenova.

War of the Sky

Botching up the rebirth system and being reborn as a certain Hero's twin sister in a world that shouldn't exist was bad enough. What I did NOT expect was not being the only one who knows what's to come. Should have seen this coming, Strifes have the worst luck after all.

Eddsworld

Frayed

Depending on the strength of the soulbond, it can be capable of transferring physical sensations. The strongest bonds can even transfer the pain of the bonded to alleviate it should it be too much to handle. So when Edd starts feeling phantom pains on a regular basis three months into Tord's departure, well, of course he starts worrying.

The Trail of Red Behind Me

There is a journey behind every great man, and an odyssey behind every terrible one. Which one is Tord Larkson really? How does a boy become a tyrant?

The Gods Are Dead

They're wacky, dysfunctional, but still human. Until they're not. Until leaves start sprouting from Edd's sketchbooks, conflict follows Tord's every footstep, the shadows beneath Tom become wilder, and Matt's reflections start talking back.

Undertale

The Journal of Andia

In the wake of the Great Monster Sealing, any child to a monster and a mage was persecuted. Humanity had no more tolerance for the offspring of monsters. In the midst of it all, a child tries to survive.

Nomad

Monsters were not sealed away, they were banished from their towns and kingdoms, cursed to wander eternally, never to settle again. Frisk, pursued for their secret, joins a monster caravan to escape the claws of the greedy. Things... escalate.

One Of These Is Not Like The Others

"so... what do we do with it?" "WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'WHAT DO WE DO WITH IT'? WE RAISE IT OF COURSE!" "... alright bro." A woman and a baby fall into the underground. The woman only makes it to Snowdin.

Two Sins and a Virtue

After Blue finally moves out of his brother's apartment, life starts shaking things up a bit. Especially after meeting the ever evasive Lust. And the spooky skeleton at the IT center seems to be finally warming up to him.

Petals to Petals, Dust to Dust

Resetting is a nifty ability. One mental press of a button and everything would be undone, no traces left behind. Except it doesn't quite work that way, and the longer Frisk spends in the Underground the more they come to associate flowers with an ever increasing debt of guilt and mortality.

Fuck You Linda

Linda is quite possibly the most bigoted, willfully ignorant and all around frustrating person Sans and Toriel have ever met. It really makes them wonder why she enrolled her son in a human-monster cooperative school to begin with.

Cool Dudes

You're adventurous, energetic and never think much farther ahead than the next leap off a cliff. Papyrus has his hands full just keeping up with you, and you feel about the same about him. Especially when it's soooo fun to fluster him!

Angel of Ebbott

Centuries ago, an angel freed the monsters from the Underground. It is said that the angel still resides at the top of the mountain, a place now considered sacred grounds, and is guarded by ancient powers of old. Of course, eventually someone was bound to go looking for them.

Marvel

Charlotte's Web

For some unfathomable reason I have somehow landed myself in the Marvel universe. "Oh but Charlotte!" you say "This is a great chance to show off all your Marvel knowledge!" Yeah well, I may or may not only ever have read two series in my life. Stuck with a bunch of incredibly useless knowledge and nothing but the clothes on my back, my best bet is finding the only person I know of who's in the same situation as me.

Raising Chaos

Tony Stark and his unofficial extended family (which consists mostly of his self proclaimed children, human and AI alike).

Steven Universe

Death by Diamonds and Pearls

“Hey Nora.... what’s the future like?” - “....it’s.... different. Very.... very different. And yet somehow still the same.” - “.......that makes absolutely no sense, you goober.” If there was one thing Nora knew, it was that this younger version of him, Steven, would always be better than him. (Time travel happens, attempts at fixing mistakes are made, certain people are forced into therapy)

Steven Universe watches Steven Universe watching Steven Universe

It’s Not As Creepy As It Sounds (Yes, this is a watching the series fic. Yes, I am deeply ashamed. No, nothing can stop me.)

[keikakudori]

" what was it all for and don't give me any crap will 'ya? i felt only a fraction of your emotions through kyoka suigetsu. help me understand aizen where everyone else won't try. " ( from ichigo to muken!aizen )

            what was it all for.

            those are not the words he expects to hear from kurosaki ichigo, speaking of emotions, of understanding. they are not the words that seem appropriate now with yhwach’s power thrumming in his chest, with a hole carved through his torso in dreadful imitation of hollow. would a mask coat his features next? he ignores the agony of the wounds, of lungs carved open, of spine and heart missing. he is surprised he is still conscious. the weight of the quincy king’s power in his body is heavy. heavy -- it hurts. it’s cold. more than just yhwach’s reiatsu is another one overlaying it. overlaying the purity that had come so close to ruining things. how could the scales be so delicate? how could the balance be where it was? a flawed broken thing. should it not be fixed? such was the weight of the presence that mixed with yhwach’s in aizen’s body now. something that was utterly, wholly alien.

            but equally, familiar. 

            the hogyouku strains in his chest, attempting to displace this power, attempting to unravel the wound. his arm is likely to come back before the hole in his chest closes up, ensuring that skin will be healed and repaired. that things will regenerate. but he stares down at what remains of yhwach, that visible eye tired, taking in the proof of winning. if he turns his head, will he see a flickering of white waiting for him, a smile and a face he longs to reach out and touch even knowing what he knows? after all -- he carries his ghost with him. a thing of tangible weight, but only in his own hands. he misses white. he misses the monochrome. white, adorned with turquoise.

            do those large shoulders of his rise and fall with a heavy exhale? yes. emotions, kurosaki ichigo speaks of. emotions. what good are emotions to someone like aizen sousuke? what have emotions wrought in his life but pain? how long has he tried to throw away emotions for one man in particular? how long has he strained with trying to comprehend for another, something that came clear only after so long -- after his own foolishness, his own stupidity. no. he can leave that door shut. emotions are unnecessary aren’t they? so aizen has told himself in order to survive for so much of his life. there is no need to speak of such things to a boy who will scarce comprehend what was woven for a hundred years and more and now swung wildly within the god, untethered and frayed and broken. his head hurts. his chest hurts. not the wound inflicted by the thing that had been yhwach, dissolving into the goo that is the remains of that piece of the soul king.

            does he want to sneer at those remains? yes. death and damnation unto him. not yhwach but the one consumed. he wonders if rei-ou had even been aware. part of aizen hoped he had been. he hoped it had been agonizing for him. that ... thing. he truly hoped that it had hurt. he knew what could have become of this boy if things changed. he knew what could become of him even now for the system demanded sacrifice. had not sacrifice already been given in the form of blood, in devotion, in a man who should not have been given to the god that had undone what nature had wrought? of course there had been sacrifice and aizen had no doubt it had been nobly performed. gods required blood for sacrifice and yet his anger was curling in him once more at the thought. blood, death -- sacrifice. for fuck’s sake -- did ichigo know? his tongue slips out between his lips, ready to unleash something scathing to the teenager, and aizen closes his eyes. no. patience. patience was important.

            ❝ you mean what i did in rebelling against the seireitei? is that what you’re asking me, ryoka boy? ❞ his voice is lacking in the arrogance he’d displayed moments prior whilst dealing with the quincy king. had it not been a veneer? an attempt to piece the broken self back together, but held by spit and string and cobweb; aizen sousuke had broken himself and he wondered if ichigo had heard yhwach’s declaration unto him -- KYOKA SUIGETSU IS ALREADY BROKEN. yhwach had not done that. aizen knew it. he would have known if the quincy’s hand had been laid upon the blade and the PROOF OF HIS OWN BREAKING HAD LAID THERE IN HIS OWN HAND. how was he supposed to speak after hearing that? what good the pride that has laid him low? what good the arrogance? this boy, this whelp, undid him that terrible winter’s day. yet he had wished to lose, had he not? how much of that had been aizen? how much had been something else? 

            then again -- ichigo’s taken the wind out of his sails and he breathes out carefully. slowly. it’s easy to find a seat as he needs to stay down for a moment. his arm is starting to regenerate, a gruesome affair. he doesn’t look at it. bone extending first, forming the frame, hanging limp without muscles or tendons. those come next, snaking around and through the bones. ligaments too. it feels achingly painful. nerves, slithering pieces of yellow and veins, spreading and curling. he just looks to ichigo as that arm rebuilds itself, slowly. his body is struggling. what could have taken but seconds for him prior to this point will take minutes to be restored. aizen does not seem to show any pain at the rebuilding, no attempt to even look at it. it is nothing compared to what the central forty-six did to him in those days and weeks after he had been sealed away by urahara kisuke’s technique. what a kind boy ichigo was. he wondered if there would be indignation or horror if he spoke of what had been done to him. maybe so.

            he’s settled in the silence for several minutes as this takes place. this is not the reversal of events that orihime bears power over. this is something reconstructing itself to leave him complete. the arm is easier than the hole in his torso. he refuses to look down to that too. he took this strike for ichigo, this blow. it would have destroyed the daiko if it had landed. but aizen has no such fear of death or being unmade by another’s power and blows. he is truly immortal, if not invulnerable. aizen sousuke can still feel PAIN, can he not? there is still blood on his face from where yhwach had put his hand through that chest, thinking he was slaying the greatest hope for the survival of the worlds and aizen had not even flinched from taking such a blow in ichigo’s place. perhaps it’s best not to think of whether he cares about this system that was made the way it is through blood and violence; does aizen sousuke care about the seireitei? it’s hard to say if he does or not. and yet here the god sat with a wound that would have slain any other soul visible in his torso. it’s not like it can kill him. nothing can kill him, now, not after what occurred in the winter war. deicide -- a thunderclap, a spearing of his chest -- fingers on his skin. 

            a voice.

kill ‘im, kamishini no yari.

            no, he cannot die now, not anymore. the central forty-six tested that out. a month of being tortured. of being executed in various ways. and always had he risen to life once again. the bleeding never lasted. nor did the death. time and time again had the former captain arisen from the depths of extermination; again and again he rose, the hydra made monstrous by their efforts, the phoenix emerging from the ashes of its former life. how it had seemed to frustrate them that they could not imitate what had taken place at the final hours of the winter war. what had ichigo and kisuke told them? aizen wondered that, sometimes. he wondered what they had been told but the politicians had not seen fit to share such things with a man who was deemed TRAITOR to the system; how ironic it was that if he had but shared his thoughts, his desires for the experimentation, they would have allowed that. but they did not allow him freedom for he could not die. the last person to truly make him bleed, to truly kill him -- he was not here now, though aizen was sure if he but turned his head-- 

            he did not turn his head.

            ❝ because this system is flawed, kurosaki ichigo. ❞ his voice is a thing rough with pain, mental, emotional, physical. ❝ it is flawed, fundamentally and at its deepest levels. i used to have faith in it, when i was much younger. i was part of the quincy purges back then, two hundred years ago. i knew that something would eventually come to haunt the gotei once more, to come to seireitei as proof of what they had done. i did not know it would be the quincy -- but i saw it; the storm on the horizon. the gusts of wind. ❞

            even as he speaks, the arm is reforming, leaving aizen’s eyes to tighten as the air makes nerve endings scream in agony. an exposed wound he is, raw, but no more than that. of course, one eye remains muffled by the eye patch. but he did not pull his stare from ichigo. no -- aizen regards him calmly, with clarity; how far he is from the last time this boy saw him, feverish and defeated and raging at kisuke for his spineless acceptance of the system that was so BROKEN. but had that same system broken aizen too? perhaps it had. perhaps it has. or perhaps his breaking is something else, something he did to himself. what power curdles the veins of a god? but no god, he, but a man stupid, foolish, losing sight of what he had wanted above all else. 

            ❝ -- when you first came here, you saw a piece of the rukongai. the first district. it is the quietest safest district, the one closest to the walls of seireitei. but they extend in numbers around this place. they become harsher as the number of the district rises. rukia kuchiki and abarai renji -- they both come from the rukongai. ichimaru gin -- rangiku matsumoto -- kenpachi zaraki. so many of the shinigami you have met all come from the rukongai. they’re supposed to be peaceful. kaname tosen, shuuhei hisagi - i believe even izuru kira -- ... hinamori momo. so many of us. and even-- ❞ here, he smiles, grimly, while ligaments tighten around bones and muscle begins to slide down in red tongues of wet muscle fibers. ❝ -- even i. do you know it’s rare for shinigami to come from an eightieth district? the only other one i know of, apart from myself, is kenpachi zaraki. an eightieth district is a hellhole, kurosaki ichigo. ❞

            then a brief laugh. it’s a broken sound. bitter. ANGRY.

            ❝ tell me -- is it acceptable to live in poverty after death? to live in a place where rape and murder and more abound? that is what the noble seireitei ignores. children starving and used, people dying because of hollow attacks in districts where they are not coddled and safe, of starvation and death and more--❞

            ah, he’s getting heated. there’s a moment, an inhale as the muscles and skin begin to form into his arm, leaving it naked. he does not seek to flex his fingers yet. it’s still rebuilding. it’s still becoming an arm. still a piece of him. the other one is useless now, dead weight, discarded. how fortunate that it won’t make another him. what a cheerfully horrifying thought that is. one of himself is bad enough, is it not? aizen’s well aware of that much.

            ❝ -- i came from an eightieth. the worst of the worse. you ask me what it was all for? . . . to change things. to ensure that things would not remain the way they are. the nobles sit here in their ivory homes, never knowing what it is like to freeze or starve or run from hollows. they turn their heads away from the things they don’t want to see. you have seen a piece of it where kuchiki byakuya is concerned. his conflict between wishing for rukia to stay alive against his desire to uphold those oh so fucking precious pillars of morality in an attempt to set an example for those that call themselves shinigami. what fucking good is honor if he must sacrifice someone that he cares about? what is the point of having that power and authority if he will not attempt to save the life of someone he loves? ❞

            he falls briefly silent and then there’s a shift of that arm. pins and needles, the reviving of circulation. he ignores it, fingers now naked and free of seals flexing quietly as he looks to it at last. at least it was not his right arm. there was a scar upon it that he would be displeased to lose if it came down to it. he would not touch on why he would be displeased to lose that scar. not while ichigo stares at him, while he speaks of his motivations. ichigo says he wants to understand aizen where no one else will. he doubts any of this will make sense to the boy. but he speaks. what good is obfuscation now? what good is deceit? aizen does not try to bother with fallaciloquence now. there is no point. what a strange thing, to be told ichigo felt his emotions through his blade. he does not think on that either.

            ❝ you ask why i did what i did -- what it was all for. ❞

            then his head was moving as he fixed his stare upon ichigo, that pool of warm brandy no brandy now but cold topaz while aizen shifted his weight, blood still oozing from that hole within his torso. it would need time to heal. that meant they would not put him back into muken as of yet. a benefit, that. more stimulation. more things to absorb, to take in. he wants to snarl. to bare his teeth. this boy does not understand and yet he seeks to try. aizen cannot decide if ichigo is foolish or brave or both. there is much to be said where aizen sousuke is concerned and how much anyone can trust whatever emerges from those lips is up to debate these days. he has never lied as much as people likely think he has now. aizen never truly needed to lie. all one must do was simply allow others to draw their own conclusions upon things. so he will allow ichigo to draw his own conclusions. he has ever known his lack of connecting properly to others. this is no different.

            ❝ i ask you this -- how can one sit idly by and accept a system that is so flawed. ❞

            he does not speak of his loneliness. ichigo wants to know why he did what he did -- and aizen gives him an answer. do not step upon those grounds, ichigo kurosaki. you will not enjoy the fruits of your labor if you try to puzzle together the emotional entanglement that the god bears towards his captain and lieutenant. that is an intricacy that is not for the faint of heart and he was as dordoni had said once; sweet chocolate. he was not meant to bear the burden that comes from the broken heart of this god. his shoulders are not meant to carry that sorrow. so aizen will not speak of that loneliness. if he presses the issue -- well. best not.

[keikakudori]

"He was weird, wasn't he? Comin' in all kingly, makin' ya an offer like that." Gin propped himself up against Aizen's seat, white robes nearly swallowed by the surrounding darkness of Muken -- and yet, and yet... seemingly, faintly, aglow. Ethereal. Not quite right, in an almost eerie fashion. In that same breath, that same tick of wrongness, his smile drifted -- as though distracted, wrong, remedied by a blurring motion, the turn of his head as Gin regarded Aizen curiously. Wrong. His lips moved, but the drawl lagged -- then corrected itself, echoing outward into Aizen's barren kingdom of darkness.

Ghostly. Haunted.

"What'll you do, I wonder..." Gin hummed idly, pale fingers tracing along the armrest nearest to his leaning frame. He asked as though he would stay long enough to hear Aizen's answer. But he would not.

He couldn't stay. He was, after all, not real.

Ichimaru Gin died two years ago.

            ❝ he was, wasn’t he? i do not remember the last time i have beheld a quincy since that friend of kurosaki ichigo’s invaded hueco mundo and las noches. and for the so-called father of the quincy to come and offer me a job? i could say that would be rather intriguing -- but i have never been wont to bend my neck for another’s leash. well -- perhaps yours. ❞ gin had been allowed that. gin’s fingers curling around his neck, leaving an impression behind, a bruising pattern, a collar of his fingerprints on his skin. aizen had always chosen to wear scarves on those days. 

            he never minded. 

skip.

            the drawl -- there, yes -- it was better, wasn’t it? when had this begun? he could not remember. time held no meaning down here and yhwach had made no effort to speak of it. counting the hours, the seconds, no -- none of it mattered, not for him. a king crowned in sable, an eye bound, an eye revealed, ever weighing and measuring upon the scales of time. still, the presence of the ghost -- hallucination -- vision -- whatever it was, remained as ever, a healing balm and a poisoned hurt. not quite right -- not quite -- but enough. close enough. perhaps it was because he was so tired today. sometimes it happened like that. he could fix it.

            he could fix--

skip.

            the motion blurred. wasn’t right -- 

skip.

            there. now gin was smiling that smile of his, the corners of his mouth drawn up tight, teeth flashing. the fangs sharpened, ready for his neck. but the eyes didn’t open. he didn’t think the color was ever right. but that head lolled back for a moment, a sigh heaving forth from his chest. ah, the closeness. sometimes those fingers would brush over his hair, seeking to tuck unruly strands of brown back into place. they failed for his hair had ever seemed to have a will of its own, thick locks of wavy nature hovering ever on the verge of neatly ordered catastrophe. not today, it seemed. 

            how long had it been from the last visit? sometimes gin was there several times in one period of awareness. sometimes aizen would drift between knowing himself and not knowing several times over before he’d show himself again. he was always like that. mischievous, cheerful, as if seeking to play a game. sometimes he hovered near enough for aizen to feel him there, a presence in his lap. he knew the weight perfectly. it did not bother him when there was a faint lag. an almost slowness.

skip.

            ❝ i certainly don’t think i’ll accept, however -- it is interesting of him to make the offer, though -- isn’t it? i wonder what inspired him to do so. there’s certainly no reason i could find myself desiring to side with the quincy to destroy seireitei. it was certainly never what we wanted. what we were working for.❞

silence.

            ❝ ... gin? ❞

skip.

            darkness.

                        ❝ ... i miss you. ❞

please come back.

[the-pallid-king]

He chews his lip. "Mayuri. I used to think he wasn't as bad as he seemed." But on this side of things— the un-allied side— he seems sinister. Ichigo doesn't want to go to the twelfth. Just the idea of how many worse things Mayuri could come up with on top of where he's already been is enough to make him hesitate.

"He probably has a lot of traps. If we're lucky, we won't see him at all. He's the experimenting type."

He figures he doesn't need to elaborate. He opens his mouth and then closes it. "Some of the Captains spoke at my sentencing. Mostly in my favor. He was the one that suggested they should seal you back inside me before putting us in Muken."

He grunts. “Haven’t heard much about him, but everything I have heard makes him seem pretty bad.” He doesn’t really remember if you had many run-ins with him while he was still in your inner world, but he thinks not, because he remembers some of the other captains he’s certain you interacted with. 

The experimenting type. He sounds like a worse, even weirder version of Urahara. “I wont be upset if I don’t get to meet him.”

He blinks though, before his features twist into a sneer. “Is that what they were plannin’ to do if they could catch me?” Honestly, from Seireitei’s standpoint, that captain probably wasn’t wrong, because then this escape and the mess he’s made so far wouldn’t have happened. Then again, they’re all so over confident he’s not surprised they didn’t try to take more measures against the possibility. 

He pauses as they’re leaving the tower, suspicious about how long it’s taking Seireitei to bear down on them again. He doesn’t want to get stuck trying to defend this tower. “You know which direction? This place makes no sense to me.” 

[cheshiresense]

Reading the Aizen/Ichigo verse is so much fun. I have to ask, how do the captains (Urahara, Shinji and the like) feel about this sudden partnership?

Outsider POV, okay. Here’s a short scene from Shinji. I might do a Kisuke one later but it’s late and my laptop needs to update so I want to get this posted and you only get one scene.

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[Shinji, takes place right after his bit here]

Shinji’s still reeling from a bloody nose when he sees something that makes him think he’s also got a concussion.

The most recent Shiba prodigy is fuming in front of him, looking ready and willing to throw down against a Gotei captain right then and there, consequences be damned, but honestly that doesn’t surprise Shinji. He’s friends with Kaien after all, and for all that he and Ichigo seem like night and day most of the time, their tempers are not so different when it comes to defending the people they care about.

And it has become plenty clear that Shiba Ichigo - somehow, someway - has grown to genuinely care about Shinji’s lieutenant.

Nobody does that. It sounds cruel, but it’s one of the things Shinji has noticed– for all that Aizen is widely admired by the younger generation and generally respected by his peers and superiors, he isn’t friends with anyone, and Shinji knows he’s from Rukongai too so he doesn’t even have family, and as a result, Shinji can’t imagine anyone going to bat for Aizen the way Ichigo is doing. Maybe part of that is because - before today - Aizen has certainly never needed anybody going to bat for him, forever giving off an aura of polite confidence and quiet competency, but that - in a way - just isolates him further. The younger Shinigami vie for his attention because they see his talent, skilled without being arrogant, and willing to help without demeaning anyone, and they look no further. On the surface, Aizen Sousuke has always been perfect, and everyone wants to bask in perfection– but at the same time, they know they can never attain it themselves and so they don’t try.

It’s not as if Shiba Ichigo tries either. The boy is talented, no doubt, but honing his skills is the least of what he hangs around Aizen for, because as far as Shinji has seen, Ichigo shows Aizen none of the admiration that those under the man’s regard tend to have, nor does he treat the lieutenant with any kind of eager obeisance that those working under Aizen usually display. They may have started out as student and mentor, but their relationship hasn’t been just that for as long as Shinji has known of it.

Honestly, he’s never been able to put a label on them. Sometimes, he looked at the way Ichigo interacted with Sou-chan, and he could swear the dark bite of hostility in his scowl was real, one wrong word away from outright skewering Aizen on his sword or something equally lethal. But other times, he spotted the way Ichigo grinned in response to Aizen sighing or rolling his eyes - something the lieutenant never did with anybody else, always perfectly patient and perfectly nice - and Shinji could swear they were friends.

It doesn’t make much sense to him, their relationship, even now, because he doesn’t know their past - bumped into each other at the Academy one day, his ass - but he does know what he saw, so Shiba Ichigo coming to Aizen’s defense, even if that means breaking at least half a dozen laws just by striking a captain, is… well, admittedly not something Shinji expected, but also not something particularly shocking even if he doesn’t know any other lower-ranking Shinigami - not even Kaien - who would dare do something like this, especially in public the way they are now, in full view of his entire gawking scandalized Division.

I, Shinji thinks rather ruefully as he simultaneously tries to stem the blood flow while gauging how bad the break is, probably shouldn’t have given the kid blanket permission to come and go from the Fifth since his Academy days just because I was curious.

Nobody even tried to stop him when he stormed in through the front gates like a particularly angry thunderstorm and honing in on Shinji the moment Shinji stepped out into the courtyard to meet them.

And Shinji knows he did something wrong, said something wrong. He’s never been able to find anything that could get under his lieutenant’s skin in all the years they’ve worked together, and yet one mention of Muken and something in Aizen just seemed to… snap.

If Ichigo hadn’t gotten there when he did, Shinji isn’t too proud to admit that he’s pretty sure Aizen would’ve at the very least run him through, perhaps not fatally but definitely before Shinji could draw his own blade. He hadn’t even seen Aizen going for his Zanpakutou before Ichigo physically stopped him from unsheathing it and then flash-stepped both of them away at a speed that probably rivaled Yoruichi at her fastest.

And now here they are, almost two hours later, clothing still ripped, wounds still bleeding, and the scent of smoke still clinging to them. Neither of them look as if they held back at all in whatever spar they’ve clearly just had. Ichigo is seething, and Shinji’s whole face throbs with pain, but in this one moment, all he sees as his gaze slides past Ichigo’s shoulder to the man standing silently behind him, is the expression on Aizen’s face as he stares - wide-eyed and still - at Ichigo’s back.

Maybe it’s because he’s lost his glasses and he’s just more expressive this way, or maybe Shinji really has finally caught him off-guard, because for the first time since Shinji met him, Aizen looks completely, openly, thoroughly stunned. There’s no single name for all the emotions painted across his lieutenant’s facein these precious few seconds, only that it’s something equal parts breathless and startled and shaken, raw and fragile in a way that almost hurts to look at.

And even as Shinji watches, Aizen doesn’t notice. He doesn’t move, doesn’t even seem to breathe. But he stares at Ichigo the way one might stare at a miracle they never asked for, at something made of spun glass and hope - with wonder and awe and just a dash of fear, all wrapped up in confusion and disbelief, and all of it aimed at Ichigo as if the boy’s defense of him is something Aizen never even considered might happen.

It doesn’t last. A blink, another, a handful of heartbeats in-between, and then the mask slams home once more, all polite concern and professional alarm in the face of the unexpected altercation.

And so fake Shinji can’t believe nobody else can see it, are they blind?

The courtyard explodes into whispers, and a few Shinigami drift forward like they’re not sure if they should subdue the crazy Twelfth Division member in their midst, only to stop when Aizen waves them back.

But Shinji. Shinji watches the way his own lieutenant brushes past Ichigo, the briefest touch of fingers to a fury-tense elbow that could be dismissed as an accident before Aizen steps in front of the boy and promptly stonewalls Shinji with all the blandly pleasant power of his most earnestly apologetic smile.

“Are you alright, Taichou? I am afraid Shiba-kun got a bit hot-headed over a misunderstanding.” They both ignore Ichigo’s mutinous muttering over misunderstanding nothing damn it. “I can have Akabe-kun escort you to the Fourth. You should get that seen to as soon as possible. I will deal with Shiba-kun in the meantime-”

“Sou-chan,” Shinji cuts him off bluntly, his voice coming out nasal-sounding and irritable. “Shut up.”

He ignores the blistering glare he gets from Ichigo even as he meets the boy’s eyes. “I’m goin’ ta the Fourth. You’re gonna be gone by the time I get back.” He makes sure his voice carries. “When I told ya to work on your hit-and-run tactics, I didn’t mean walk right up to your target and sock them in the face. That’s not how hit-and-run works. And I definitely didn’t mean try it on me.”

Ichigo blinks. Aizen does too. Shinji rolls his eyes and strides away. “Akabe! With me!”

As far as excuses go, it’s not a great one. But people will take it and run with it, and so long as he drops a word to Urahara and make sure the brat gets latrine duty for a week or two, nobody will kick up a fuss about the insubordination or disrespect. Just a misunderstanding, and Ichigo got a slap on the wrist for it. No need to demote him.

Shinji still doesn’t trust Aizen, not by a long shot. But actually hurting him wasn’t his goal either, however unintentionally it happened, and if Ichigo is… is changing him somehow, if Ichigo actually holds sway with Aizen in ways Shinji’s never been capable of…

Then Shinji will back off. For now. He won’t stop watching his lieutenant like a hawk. But he’ll try to see more than Aizen simply manipulating Ichigo for his own ends, try to see too what Ichigo sees in Aizen that’s so worth protecting.

His lieutenant’s face flashes through his mind again, that moment of unguarded emotion that Aizen has never let him see before, and he thinks, for the first time in a long time, he’ll try, really try, to give the man a chance.

[cheshiresense]

I just found the alt!swinging pendulum bits you've done and I am blown away. The really funny thing? I actually remember wondering how things would be going if Ichigo wasn't alone in that verse the first time I read it years ago. Having you explore that and having those bits be UraIchi is beyond my own imaginings! How did Kisuke take waking up in the past? Did he know Ichigo was thrown back too, or did he think he was alone for a while? Any chance you'll ever consider a bit from his POV?

I imagine the Soul King (following SP canon) offered them the same deal when they were both locked up in Muken. They wake up in different places in the past though so that might’ve caused a bit of panic, especially since Kisuke would’ve known Ichigo was in bad condition before coming back, and the Soul King didn’t exactly give them details about where they would end up.

My muse does not want to write anything above in Kisuke’s pov (or anyone’s pov) though so Imma just give you something else in Kisuke’s pov. Takes place sometime in the future after the other two bits I wrote.

Kisuke is reorganizing the Twelfth’s seated complement on paper when a commotion coming up the hall makes him glance up. His lieutenant’s dulcet tones is easily recognizable even if it does take a few seconds for Kisuke to make out what she’s shouting about this time.

“-try ta bust in, I swear I’ll bankai your ass inta the next century!”

Her reiatsu is a simmering ball of irritation, and somewhere further behind her are two muted - one more than the other - but equally familiar reiatsu signatures.

Kisuke sighs. Well, at least they’re using the door.

Hiyori reaches his office, and he half-expects her to slam it open without so much as a knock. She doesn’t knock, but she also keeps her grip on the doorknob so that when she storms inside, the only sound comes from her sandals against the floorboards.

Kisuke arches an eyebrow. “Hiyori-san, what can I help you with today?” He pauses a beat. “Because I could have sworn I said I didn’t want to be disturbed this afternoon.”

Hiyori rolls her eyes before crossing her arms with a scowl. “You know perfectly well what. Shiba’s here with some paper-pusher. Says he needs you ta sign some stuff.” She snorts. “Who does that dumbass think he’s kidding?”

Indeed. If there’s one thing Kisuke regrets about coming back to this time, aside from the tripled workload of being a captain again, it’s that he seems to have garnered the Shiba Clan Head’s disfavour. It’s troublesome at best, if only because the lieutenant keeps swooping around and sticking his nose into business that has nothing to do with him every time he sees Ichigo with Kisuke as if his cousin is some damsel in distress who needs to be saved from Kisuke’s evil clutches.

Not that that’s enough to make Kisuke stay away from Ichigo of course. Kaien would have to make sure he’s well and truly dead and buried for that to happen, and as far as Kisuke knows, the lieutenant isn’t that suicidal yet.

On the other hand…

“Paper-pusher?” Kisuke repeats in mild tones.

Hiyori shrugs aggressively. “Probably a runner from the Ninth? Who cares, Shiba brought her.” Her eyes light up with gleeful violence. “Can I kick’em out?”

“No,” Kisuke says dryly and immediately gets a sullen glower for his efforts. Hiyori twitches like she wants to launch a kick at him, and Kisuke mentally applauds her self-restraint when she manages to reel back the urge.

Ichigo’s been good for her, and not just because he managed to walk her through achieving Bankai in only a few short months.

“Why not?” Hiyori hisses at him. “Ya know that dumbass is probably just here ta drag Ichigo back ta the Shiba compound for some family get-together he only threw together an hour ago cuz he gets the shakes or breaks out in hives or somethin’ every time he even thinks about the two of ya together. I should just boot’im out! Ichigo’s not gonna wanna go.”

Here they both turn to look at the couch tucked in one corner of Kisuke’s office where a certain Eighth Division Third Seat is buried under about three blankets and fast asleep. There are bags under his eyes, and even unconscious, his brow is furrowed and tense.

Kisuke hasn’t seen him this stressed in a while. Despite all the annoyances and necessary adjustments of being dropped in this time, the past has been good for Ichigo. But Aizen has tainted at least a third of the Twelfth Division, and arranging for accidents out in Rukongai that would fool even Aizen Sousuke is a chore and a half. As a captain, Kisuke can’t not be seen for more than a day or two, especially with spies in his own labs so he can’t even use the excuse of losing track of time over an experiment or invention to sneak out. Ichigo on the other hand is regularly sent on missions outside of Seireitei, sometimes leading patrols, other times going solo, and that gives him more opportunities to slip away. But that also means a lot of the dirty work falls to Ichigo now, on top of his Third Seat duties, and Kisuke hates it.

So when they have a day like today, when Ichigo managed to finish his paperwork early, and Kyouraku doesn’t need him for anything else, and nothing Aizen-related is particularly urgent, Kisuke is loath to let anyone bother him for anything short of the apocalypse.

“Well?” Hiyori snaps impatiently.

And yet…

“Let them in,” Kisuke decides as he sets his work aside.

Hiyori stares for a moment, then draws herself up and bristles. “What?!” She whisper-screams at him. “Have you seen Ichigo lately? I dunno what’s goin’ on over at the Eighth for them ta have so much work ta do, but clearly they’re workin’ him ta the bone. The last thing he needs is Shiba’s… everything!”

Kisuke almost smiles. Hiyori has become surprisingly… steadier with Ichigo around. Their friendship is an odd one. They still bicker about as much as they did in that other future-past, but Hiyori is a little calmer in Ichigo’s presence, and she certainly listens to him more than she does Kisuke. She’s also become ferociously protective of him since the first time she saw Ichigo stumbling into the Twelfth looking like death warmed over and spending the next six hours sitting at Kisuke’s side and staring at nothing. Kisuke got no work done that day. He was tempted to simply take Ichigo back to their apartment, but people might ask questions, so he simply holed them both up in his private quarters and curled himself around Ichigo until Ichigo came back to himself.

(Ichigo had just come home from a mission - solo, two and a half weeks long, District 70, West Rukongai. It was also the first time he took a little side-trip and quietly dispatched thirteen Shinigami - five of them not even a century old, with faces young enough to pass for middle-schoolers, and obviously naive enough for Aizen to bribe or brainwash - out of the group of fifteen Twelfth Division members who also happened to be on a mission two districts away, investigating rumours of particularly strong Hollows in the area. The thirteen were separated and later found messily slaughtered in various locations where Hollow reiatsu soaked the air.

Kisuke will never be able to top the events and circumstances he manipulated in order to turn Ichigo’s soul into the perfect weapon against Aizen. But teaching Ichigo the intricacies of what amounts to wetworks and then sending him out to do a job that should be Kisuke’s to handle comes pretty damn close.

Ichigo’s told him more than once that it’s not his fault, and Kisuke knows his lover well enough to hear the truth in it. Besides, Ichigo’s never been one to hold back from telling Kisuke exactly what he thinks.

But still this is another sin for him to bear, even if it is necessary, and it drips wet and red in a way that even his most horrifying missions from his Onmitsukidou days never will.)

Hiyori predictably flipped that day, pacing back and forth like an agitated tiger and taking her ire out on the training grounds, and at the five-hour mark, she almost ran off to tear Lisa a new one for “piling too much crap on their Third Seat, isn’t the Eighth supposed ta be the squad that took it easy?!”

Somehow, Kisuke managed to convince her to stay put. The last thing they needed was the Eighth to launch an investigation of some kind. Hiyori still glared at him like she was trying to set him on fire with her eyes, but she also spent the rest of the day - as soon as Ichigo came out of his daze - shoving food at him and kicking anyone who so much as looked like they wanted to ask why the Eighth Division Third Seat was in the Twelfth Division compound. Not many though. It helped that some of them had already seen Ichigo coming and going since he graduated.

“If they only want me to sign something, I’m sure they’ll be quick,” Kisuke says now.

Hiyori does not look impressed. “You-”

“And I won’t let Shiba-san wake Ichigo,” Kisuke continues before levelling a pointed look on his lieutenant. “Let them in, Hiyori-fukutaichou. The quicker you do, the faster they’ll leave.”

Hiyori’s jaw works for a long moment, her hands clenching into fists before finally relenting. She turns on her heel and stalks back out without so much as a salute to Kisuke.

She still doesn’t let the door bang shut behind her though.

It takes her two minutes to retrieve the compound’s two visitors, and Kisuke can hear her threatening them all the way back to his office.

“-break anything and I’m gonna put you and spineless over here in the Fourth for a month!”

Then the door swings open once more, Shiba Kaien steps in with a mousey-looking young woman holding a stack of files at his side and practically cowering from Hiyori’s rage. Hiyori shoots Kisuke one last venomous warning look before shutting the door and storming off.

Kisuke isn’t surprised when he feels her reiatsu retreat only to her office across the hall despite the fact that she should be training a group of Shinigami on one of the training grounds at this time.

He ignores it. She can’t hear anything and that’s enough. He gets to his feet as Kaien and his aide approaches with greetings of Urahara-taichou, but the moment Kaien catches sight of Ichigo on the couch off to the side, Kisuke cuts off his exclamation with a perfectly pleasant, “Shiba-fukutaichou, if you startle him awake, my lieutenant will not be the reason for your impending visit to the Fourth.”

The threat seems to stun Kaien, perhaps because Kisuke’s never bothered before. The Shiba Clan Head has already given him the overprotective shovel talk, inserted himself into every conversation Kisuke starts with Ichigo the few times they’ve agreed to eat dinner at the Shibas’, even tried to drag Kisuke off for “male-bonding time” with an arm around his shoulders that threatened to strangle Kisuke that one time he caught the two of them sharing a brief kiss in passing, and Kisuke has let it all slide without batting an eye.

(On the other hand, Ichigo almost gutted Kaien for that last one, and whatever Ichigo said to him later in private, it made enough of an impact that Kaien hasn’t laid a hand on Kisuke since, and he even gritted out an apology the day after.)

Whatever the reason, Kaien’s mouth shuts with a click, and that’s all Kisuke cares about. He smiles blandly at him, then at the woman hovering nervously a foot behind the lieutenant. “So then? What do you have for me to sign?” He pauses, raking a casual eye over the woman. “Your aide is vaguely familiar to me, Shiba-san, but I don’t recall you working with many assistants in the past. Did she get a haircut? New outfit? Perhaps she used to be blond?”

There’s a moment of silence, then the woman straightens from her impression of a wilting flower and roughly signs in butchered Onmitsukidou shorthand, :speak private. no ears?:

Kisuke eyes them for another few seconds before heaving a sigh. Kaien glances between them before jumping in, “Nah, she probably just has one of those faces. Anyway, here are the files. She had stuff for the Thirteenth to sign too, so I thought I’d accompany her here to get her in faster.”

Kisuke nods agreeably. “I see. We’d best get started then. That looks like quite a number of reports.”

He tips his head in the direction of the door that leads to his private quarters before circling around to where Ichigo is sleeping. He has a feeling he knows what this conversation is going to be about, and Ichigo won’t want to miss it. Besides, it isn’t just for Kisuke to decide what they’re going to say.

He kneels once he reaches the couch, ignoring the eyes on his back. He has never been ashamed of this relationship he’s built with Ichigo. It’s the one thing that was never even up for discussion after they came back in time - they wouldn’t hide this, wouldn’t hide them. They have to work together anyway so people were bound to find out they knew each other. Whether or not Aizen or Central 46 finds out they love each other doesn’t really matter in the greater scheme of things. Maybe it’s selfish, but it’s the one thing Kisuke won’t give up, and it’s always as much a surprise as it is a relief to know that Ichigo feels the same way.

(On occasion, when Kisuke lets himself, he thinks, even if the whole world burns again, so long as he still has Ichigo, he could keep going forever.)

“Ichigo,” He murmurs, reaching out to run gentle fingers through bright sunset hair. “I know you’re tired but I need some help with work. Could you wake up for me?”

Ichigo stirs almost immediately, leaning into Kisuke’s hand before he’s even fully awake, and that’s never something Kisuke will stop marveling at, the innate trust in such a simple gesture.

“Mm, Kisuke?” Ichigo mumbles, rubbing the sleep from his eyes even as he pushes himself up onto one elbow. “Somethin’ wrong?”

“No, nothing wrong, per se,” Kisuke replies lightly, helping Ichigo peel back the blankets as he sits up. “Unless you call the truly abhorrent amount of paperwork Shiba-san and his assistant just brought in wrong, which I would not argue against.”

Ichigo snuffles out a snort, and Kisuke tries not to frown at the way he presses a palm to his forehead, pain lurking in the crease of his brow. “Headache?”

Ichigo grunts and drops his hand. “Just a small one. I’ll be-”

He breaks off, then sighs, half-exasperated, half-relieved as Kisuke touches fingertips to temples and soothes away the building migraine with a soft flicker of his own reiatsu.

“Thanks,” Ichigo sighs, sounding more awake. Kisuke hums and rises to his feet to give Ichigo some room to get up as well.

A hand slides into his, their fingers tangling, and it’s habit, easy and familiar, hello and l love you and I’m with you - the way Ichigo presses a kiss to Kisuke’s knuckles before letting go and stretching the kinks out of his back.

Then the mask comes down, all scowling irritation once more, as Ichigo pushes to his feet and Kisuke steps to the side, and both of them turn as one to their two staring guests.

“Please,” Kisuke gestures to his quarters. “Through here. I do hope this won’t take the rest of the day.”

“We can speak freely in here,” Kisuke assures once the door is shut and the only two chairs in the room have been pulled up beside the bed. Ichigo perches at the end of the bed and Kisuke takes a seat beside him.

“But before that,” Ichigo interjects with his usual bluntness, eyes sharp on the brunette still holding the files. “For fuck’s sake, change back, Hirako-taichou. This is fucking weird, even for you.”

The woman pouts for a second before a Cheshire grin splits her face. Her form wavers before the illusion spell slides off, and the familiar figure of the Fifth Division captain is the one lounging back in the chair. He dumps the files on the ground now that there’s no more need for the pretense.

“You’re good,” Shinji nods at Ichigo. “Nobody gave me a second glance on my way here. Even Hiyori didn’t notice anything.”

Ichigo shrugs. “Whatever. Why are you here?” He looks at his cousin. “And you?”

Kaien grimaces. “Don’t look at me like that. I wasn’t actually coming to get you today.” For a second, his gaze flits from Ichigo to Kisuke, and he gives Kisuke the oddest look Kisuke’s ever received from him. At the very least, the passive hostility seems to be missing. Then the man looks back at Ichigo. “Hirako-taichou came to me for a favour.”

“You owe me a few favours at this point,” Shinji retorts, but he turns back to Kisuke quickly enough, looking uncharacteristically serious. “Alright, I’m not gonna waste time beatin’ ’round the bush.” To his credit, he does pause for a moment before glancing at Kaien. “Should Kaien leave the room?”

“Hey!” Kaien snaps back, and for once, he’s completely serious too. He looks slightly confused, but there’s also an alert sort of tension in his reiatsu as he looks at them all. “I’m not going anywhere. You went to the trouble of badgering me to smuggle you in here cuz everyone would just think I’m here to drag Ichigo out. You can’t include me halfway and then tell me to leave.”

“It ain’t even halfway yet,” Shinji mutters. He looks to Kisuke though, and when Kisuke - after sharing a glance with Ichigo - nods, he shrugs and barrels on. “Eight months ago, ya told me ta clean house, Urahara. Ya told me you were cleanin’ house too.”

Kisuke cocks his head. “So I did.”

Shinji shakes his head, looking irritated. “I was only ever watchin’ Aizen, and Ichimaru once he joined up.” Kaien suddenly straightens but Kisuke doesn’t take his eyes off Shinji. “I didn’ look at anyone else ’til ya mentioned it. And then I started noticing a few of ’em leavin’ for missions I didn’ sanction. Granted, lieutenants are allowed ta look over missions and assign them without notifying me so long as I sign off on ’em before the final mission report reaches the Ninth, so Aizen’s not actually doin’ anythin’ illegal. But he assigns a lot of missions. Missions that might or might not come from up top, if ya get my drift. So,” Shinji taps a finger against the hilt of his Zanpakutou. “If my dear lieutenant’s been mockin’ up missions ta put in front of me, what the hell is he sendin’ my people out ta Rukongai for?”

Kisuke considers him for a long moment. “You mean you don’t know that yet?”

“And here’s the thing, Urahara,” Shinji continues abruptly almost before Kisuke finishes. “Ya told me you were cleaning house. And there’s been talk. Interesting talk that I’ve followed up on, and ya know what the records say? In the past seven months, thirteen percent of your squad has died, Urahara. Thirteen percent. All killed on different missions out in Rukongai. The higher-ups are gettin’ chatty. They can’t decide if ya just don’t care or you’re plain incompetent.”

Kisuke blinks. Then winces when Ichigo elbows him.

“You didn’t tell me that,” Ichigo says sharply. “The old man’s been giving you shit? Or Central 46?”

Kisuke waves a dismissive hand. “It’s nothing I can’t handle, Ichigo. I’ve never been the best captain. I’ve made mistakes before, sending out Shinigami too weak for the mission assigned to them. They don’t suspect anything.”

Ichigo only frowns harder. “…You could lose your captaincy though.”

Kisuke smiles, a twist of a thing that feels too bitter by far. “Oh you don’t have to worry about that either. I’ve invented far too many things for the Gotei for them to even consider demoting me. And who would take my place anyway? Head of a squad centered around research and development, and not something the government would want disbanded now that it exists. Kurotsuchi-san? He doesn’t have Bankai yet, he would never get the votes, and he would never win a trial by combat against me. They won’t demote me for anything short of irrefutable treason. They can’t.”

Ichigo watches him for a moment longer before knocking their hands together. “If you’re sure.”

Kisuke smiles fondly at him. “I am.”

“That’s cute,” Shinji says flatly. He even sounds like he means it, but at the same time could not care less right now. “Now what the hell is goin’ on? Cuz I’ve noticed a handful of Shinigami from other squads have also been gettin’ offed on missions. Are ya doin’ that too? And why’re ya-” He stops, and a muscle jumps in his jaw. “Are ya tellin’ me Aizen’s infiltrated all the squads? Is that it?”

“Wait wait wait, back up,” Kaien cuts in, ignoring Shinji’s blistering glare at being interrupted. “Aizen is- I know something isn’t right about the guy but why is he even doing… anything? What’s his goal?” He looks between Ichigo and Kisuke again. “And why are you two of all people doing something about it? I know you said you bumped into each other and that’s how you met but seriously I am not that fucking stupid. What is going on?”

Shinji’s gaze swings back around to bore holes in them both, clearly demanding answers.

Kisuke sighs and tugs absently on the brim of his hat before glancing at Ichigo once more. Ichigo stares back, then shrugs. “You did say Shinji would come to us first.”

Shinji’s eyes narrow at the familiar use of his first name, the syllables rolling off Ichigo’s tongue far more easily than Hirako-taichou ever had, but he stays silent, listening, always listening.

“And Kaien’s an idiot-” Ichigo continues, and Kaien makes a frustrated noise that Ichigo ignores. “-but he’s not, you know, Goat-Face levels of idiot. Neither of them’s gonna run off to the government about it. Might as well.”

And you can always modify their memories if they try running to anybody else about it, Ichigo doesn’t say because it’s exactly what Kisuke will do if it comes to that, and he figured out how to make a Kikanshinki work on a Shinigami a long time ago.

“Best get comfortable,” Kisuke advises, shifting back to lean against the wall next to his bed even as he lets the long sleeves of his haori flutter down to hide his hands. A binding spell quivers between his fingers, and beside him, Ichigo’s reiatsu whispers over his senses, so faint that even Kisuke only feels it because he’s so familiar with it.

He looks at Shinji, then Kaien, then, “What do you know of the Soul King?”

[the-pallid-king]

“That’s not… I didn’t…” Hm. He doesn’t like the amount of judgement in your tone. “Just the body. Not myself. I’d still be here. I feel like you’re splitting hairs.” It wouldn’t have even been permanent. You can’t still be this pissy over it.

That smirk is so hard to ignore, it’s like you sewed his eyes to it. “You wanna see how I’d react to the scenario of you reacting to me leaving you behind?” He has a full fledged fantasy of biting you right on the stomach. With mostly dull human teeth, but also a lot of enthusiasm. It’s a satisfying image.

He shrugs, calling back, “So if we open a garganta and see it’s not the right time, we come back, wait, and check again. I’m pretty sure I can keep my reiatsu to myself for at least that long.” He checks the surfaces and then starts pulling open drawers and… shit. He doesn’t want to dig through porn mags and half written love notes— that need a lot of help— empty lube bottles, chapstick, and loose pieces of candy. How long were they even gone for this level of disgusting? He should’ve never started with the bedside table. Gross. He shuts it, goes to the dresser and finds socks and charging cables. He turns and inspects the room, but before he can think of where to look next, he hears a key slide into the door’s lock. He freezes, certain it won’t look good to be caught in here snooping. Not that he cares about getting found out, but it’ll be a lot of unnecessary drama, he’s sure.

He clamps his reiatsu down as hard as he can as the door opens. “Ichigo, how long have you—?” The sound cuts off and he can hear steps moving toward their room and he decides it’s a good time to slip out of Kon’s room. “You think I don’t know you’re here, asshole!?”

He moves from the room and spots Kon walking toward their area and closes in behind him, wondering if that glove is in his pocket. And what the odds are of snagging it.

"Sounds like you're the one splitting hairs." He is pissy over it. He hates it. He hates the idea of you killing yourself, or really just dying at all, no matter the reason or method. But also, if Muken messed you up as bad as it did -completely understandably- he has to wonder what a long drop from the top of his very tall building and waiting for your impending death might do to you. "I don't care that it would'a probably been temporary. I woulda been furious with you and you would'a deserved it." You always see death as something so temporary. He sees at as something very final and very serious. "You're not allowed to do that to me."

He snorts a laugh. "You'd react by getting your ass kicked, obviously."

He blinks at the empty space where he could last see you before you went off to look for that glove. "That could be like fifty gargantas." Sounds exhausting. "D'you think they'd be able to detect those?" It's a real question. Without equipment, he's not sure if they'd be able to feel them out naturally or not. He can to some extent, but they have to be close. "You wont have to worry about your reiatsu. You're gonna give me 30 seconds, remember? If I see it's not dark, I'll just come back. If I'm longer, you can follow." That seems reasonable, he thinks.

Hearing the door unlock, he feels an immediate territorial aggression starting to rise, but then your spiritual pressure is just gone. It's so fast and unexpected he jerks to his feet, throwing his blankets off, and completely forgets that he's entirely naked as he rounds the corner to find Kon approaching. And, consequently, you sneaking up behind him. He feels immediate relief, though slight confusion, while he registers that you're 'disappearing' on purpose. And then he realizes he's standing in front of Kon totally naked, and he really feels no shame about that whatsoever. "You should probably learn to announce yourself better." He tells Kon. "It's gonna get awkward for one of us and it's probably not me." It's probably going to be you, honestly, but you're clearly up to something so he's not going to point you out right now.

[the-pallid-king]

thank you youre so nice! I have been reading and keep getting lost/can’t find the start of what your writing. Was just wondering how Zangetsu and Ichigo ended up in exile. It has me intrigued. I can’t wait to see what will happen next

<3

They're not technically in exile right now, just laying low. (Can you imagine how mad Shi would get if he was accused of hiding?? lmao But they're kind of doing exactly that).

Basically; the balance between worlds got really messed up somehow and Seireitei decided to put the worlds on lockdown. They wanted all the powerful hollows in Hueco Mundo and they wanted no travel without them and their permission between Soul Society, the Living World, and Hueco Mundo.

They waited until Ichigo and Shiro were apart (at this time, Ichigo was going to university full(?) time, so they weren't glued to each others side 24/7) and then tricked Shi into Hueco Mundo, then put everything on lockdown. Shiro figured out pretty quickly that he couldn't get back to the world of the living, but was entirely helpless to do anything about it while Ichigo realized the same from the living world.

Fast forward three very long years, in which Shiro proceeded to go a little feral and capture, torture and eat every shinigami he could get his hands on in his efforts to get back to the living world and also inadvertently take over Las Noches and subjugate a sizable hollow population yikes... and Ichigo finally conned Urahara into helping him get to Hueco Mundo. Ichigo's bitter enough about the forced separation to more or less ignore the nastier stuff Shiro's been up to. They play a little dirty and trick/force/not give Urahara a choice into bringing not just Ichigo back into the living world, but Shiro and two others as well (Grimmjow, who is in neutral to good standing with Shiro but not necessarily under Shi's commanded, and Gantenbainne, who is loyal to Shiro).

Of course, the reappearance of three rather notable and powerful hollows didn't go unnoticed by Seireitei. Seireitei waited until they were starting to get comfortable in the living world, and again waited until they were apart, and tried to capture both Ichigo and Shiro for breaking their rules. They succeeded in getting Ichigo. Shiro killed a few and maimed a few others, and forced the group attacking him to retreat.

Since his sense of time is completely fucked, Shi genuinely has no idea how long Ichigo was locked away in Seireitei before he managed to borrow a portal to Seireitei (the worlds were still on lockdown at this point), where he went a little more than a little feral and hacked his way through a barracks and whoever Seireitei threw at him until he rescued Ichigo from Muken. They went through Devision 12 and bunch of Mayuri's lab equipment on their way out. Something they ruined reopened the ability to travel between worlds.

Understandably, Ichigo came out of Muken a little worse for wear and they've been struggling with that a bit. They're basically inseparable at this point and quite frankly, Shiro would rather rip his own arm off than leave Ichigo's side right now. They're in Hueco Mundo now because that's where Ichigo seems most comfortable and because it's unlikely Seireitei will come hunting them and manage to get through Shiro's castle full of cannibals, but they're able to freely move between Hueco Mundo, the living world, and even Seireitei if they choose.

And now you're basically caught up :)

@ichxgo Did I leave anything important out??