#i guess they would be meeting up with orihime and chad and everyone to help them

[grimmjowjaegerjaquez]

the problem with thinking about the combined story for alice and lorcan (nuada and suhaila and uriel and unnamed venus fly trap woman are all included in this) is how many other characters i have to make to be in opposition to them

[shi-daisy]

Awaited Clousure

Day 2 means cute wedding fluff! Here is my yearly tradition of writing the cuties in the reunion AU and so we have them being enamored and getting married. Hope you all like!

@ulquihimeweek

Ulquihime Week Day 2- Soulmate

Awaited Closure

Tatsuki kept fussing over her hair while Halibel applied make-up. Rangiku was going over 20 emergency plans along with Riruka and Orihime couldn't help but smile.

"If you get nerveous just say so and we'll shoo everyone away." Halibel told her. "Cyan and Tesla have the exits all cleared and I don't even have to ask Nnoitra to fight whoever wants to get violent."

She giggled. "That's okay Hali. I specifically had Kenpachi seated away from him to stop the fights. And I'll be fine. This time I'm marrying my soulmate. I can feel it."

After a failed wedding she thought she'd be feeling much more nerveous, that she would be second guessing everything. But there was nothing to stress her now, since Ulquiorra had proven time and time again his love for her, and she hoped that she had also proved herself to him.

"There, all better. Now, let's get you married."

***

"Yer a fuckin penguin. I don't know how anyone would do this." Nnoitra muttered as he finished tying Ulquiorra's tie.

Chad was readying everything in the hall along with Szayel, who took on wedding planner duties. Starkk was awake for the first time ever, and took to welcoming the guests before the ceremony started.

"You say that yet you plan to give a ring to Halibel come Spring."

"Shhh, she has ears everywhere! Pipe down!"

Ulquiorra smiled upon seeing his reflection. Everything looked perfect. "Thanks, I'm certain Orihime will appreciate everyone's efforts in making us look our best."

"Don't get sappy on me. Just promise to call and visit."

He would've hugged his annoying roommate had Starkk not burst into the room. "Schiffer, we got a situation."

***

Had it happened a year ago, she would've ran out again, for the circumstances were eerily similar. But this wasn't her nightmare first wedding and she wasn't alone this time. Tatsuki held onto her as they were both about to enter the hall when they spotted Ichigo and Ulquiorra talking.

"Kurosaki, unless there was last minute change that I wasn't made aware of, you're not a part of this wedding. So please explain to me quickly why you've asked to see me."

"I asked for you because I know Inoue would've refused. I'm not here for the ceremony, I'm just here to bring this."

He handed Ulquiorra an envelope. "What is this?"

"A scholarship voucher. Inoue just has to take it to the University and she'll have a pedagogy scholarship paid in full."

"Kurosaki, I may bring this to her but I doubt she'll accept it. Money was never what she wanted from you, and you know it."

"I do. And I know that a million apologies won't make up for what I did. But if anything else I hope this can help fix some of the damage I caused.

If you want, tell Inoue that I'm sorry and that I hope that someday we may go back to being friends but that even if we the rest of our lives without meeting again tell her she was the best friend, and girlfriend a guy could ask for. That I was wrong for taking her for granted, that I wish her all the best, and that in happy she has you to take care of her.

Sorry for the trouble, have a good wedding."

He left as quick as he'd arrived. Once they were alone, Tatsuki came out hiding and approached Ulquiorra. "We heard."

"Yes well, this is for my princess to decide. I have no interest in meddling. I'll be at the altar. See you soon, woman!" He said as he walked down to wait for her.

"Your husband is such a sap." Tatsuki told her. "Here's the envelope."

"I don't wanna think about Ichigo for a while. You can keep that until we're back from the honeymoon. Right now, I have to marry my soulmate."

***

Ulquiorra was unrecognizable, as not many had seen him smiling. But now he couldn't help himself.

The music was beautiful, and both groomsmen and bridesmaids walked down the aisle decked in dark green suits and teal dresses. But his eyes were glued to his beautiful bride as she walked down the aisle in a white princess gown.

Orihime had a smile on her face, and crystaline silver eyes that were full of happy tears, when he lifted her veil. Looking at her face in that moment was proof that soulmates existed. As he couldn't imagine himself with anyone other than her.

"I love you." He whispered before kissing her.

"I love you too." She told him once they parted.

Admist the cheers and rose petals he could feel Orihime clinging tightly to his hand. He treasured that touch greatly, because once a long time ago it was last thing he felt before facing oblivion.

But no more, he could now hold his dear woman whenever he wished.

***

"So, my princess what have you decided?" He asked her as they were finally boarding the plane to their honeymoon.

"About what?"

"Your wedding gift from the rotten strawberry."

Orihime giggled. "That can wait. I don't want to think about him when I'm about to enjoy a vacation with you."

"You flatter me, still I hope you think about it later. It would bring me great joy to see you achieve one of your dreams."

Orihime placed a hand upon his pale face and gave him a soft kiss. "I have many dreams, Ulqui, but most of them are now realized because I have you. The rest can wait."

[bleached-socks]

I would like to hear your plot ideas! 😊

Okay so, here it is. I’m going to put it under a read more since it’s pretty long

(Also, as a note, I did not include any ships, mainly because I was mainly going for friendships and character interaction and I didn’t want to try to build a relationship only for it to feel forced)

Ichigo and Chad are earthbenders who live in a village in the mountains, secluded enough that they don’t have to worry about the fire nation

They go to a snowy mountain to spar. They are earthbending (Ichigo doesn’t know he can lava bend yet) and they move a rock that has a glowing light behind it. They follow that light, which reveals Orihime, who wakes up in much the same way Aang does in canon.

(I know you said Orihime was either a waterbender or airbender, but I’m going to go with waterbender)

Orihime, finding out the truth, is saddened. She is from the northern water tribe, so she wants to go there. Ichigo and Chad of course agree to take her

As a note, because Orihime is from the northern water tribe, she only knows healing. She can theoretically attack with waterbending, but she’s not very good

On the journey, they start to teach her earthbending

They don’t have a flying bison so they’re walking everywhere

They eventually come across a town being occupied by the fire nation and, due to their inability to not help everyone they see, they decide to do something. They try to liberate the town, only to find it already being liberated??? By some guy with a bow???

They meet Uryu, who tells them they are incompetent and tells them to leave (they don’t)

His backstory is that he lived in a small earth kingdom village with friendly relations with the fire nation so that they didn’t get invaded. As a token of good will, they send Uryu to the fire nation to become a Yuyan Archer. He trains with them and becomes the best of the bunch. He works with them until they are assigned to wipe out his own village. Horrified that the fire nation would attack them, he turns against them to try to save his village, but cannot defend against the entire rest of the Yuyan Archers. He tries to at least save him family, but fails to do even that, watching his grandfather die before his eyes (Ryuken’s not dead though, he’s off running a hospital in the middle of nowhere). From then on, he vows to take down the fire nation so this will never happen again (how he plans to take out a whole nation by himself, I have no idea, but he’s dramatic enough that he’ll try anyway). He also wears all white now because his Yuyan Archer uniform was black.

Back to the present, Uryu tries to liberate the town by himself, but gets captured because they were expecting the attack and set up a trap.

Team Avatar hears all this and they’re like “huh, guess we gotta go save this funky little archer now”

They end up rescuing Uryu, but in the process, they accidentally reveal that Orihime’s the Avatar to both Uryu and the enemy. I’m thinking that this is also when Ichigo learns he can lavabend

When they escape, Uryu is like “the avatar probably has the best chance at defeating the fire lord, and since I have clearly demonstrated that I cannot liberate a nation on my own, despite my best efforts to do so, I suppose it would be best if we joined forces” and team avatar is like “yes, funky little archer a q u i r e d”

Then they go through the fire nation as they go further north (they’re traveling on land since they don’t have a flying bison) and they meet this noble fire nation girl who wants to bring justice to the world, and knows that the fire nation won’t do that.

So she goes with them. Team Avatar is all excited, cause they’re all “we finally found someone to teach the avatar firebending!”

Only for Rukia to go “yeah, so, I’m actually a waterbender… not a firebender”

The story behind Rukia is that firebender noble Byakyua married waterbender Hisana, and they both hid the fact that she was a waterbender. Byakyua’s rule is actually extraordinary good in relation to the rest of the fire nation. When Hisana died, Byakyua took in his sister. Byakyua assumed that Rukia had no bending and therefore never talked about Hisana’s bending. Rukia, who believed that her sister was a nonbender because that’s what she’d been told, was unsure if her new brother would still trust her if he found out she was a waterbender. So there’s a clear rift between them that they both contributed to (it’s a catch 22, because Byakyua never told Rukia about Hisana’s bending, Rukia never told Byakyua about her bending; and because Rukia never told Byakyua about her bending, Byakyua never told Rukia about Hisana’s bending. A lot could have been avoided if they’d been just a bit more open with each other).

Also, Renji was a military officer stationed in the city where the Kuchiki’s lived, so that’s how Rukia and Renji meet. Renji is the only one who knows she’s a waterbender, and is prepared to take that secret to the grave.

Speaking of Renji, in present time, Byakyua sends Renji to find Rukia after she disappears with the gang.

They spend a while avoiding Renji, with Rukia teaching Orihime waterbending attacks instead of just healing (Rukia’s from the southern water tribe so she only knows attacks, not healing. Orihime tries to teach her healing but she never really picks it up

Eventually Byakyua himself shows up to help bring Rukia back. In the fight, Rukia reveals her waterbending. When Byakyua sees it, he instantly surrenders. He then tells her the truth about Hisana and they make up.

Rukia then explains their goal and Byakyua approves of it. He’s always thought there were problems with the fire nation, but didn’t have the ability to do anything about it. So he gives Rukia his blessing, promising to help them with their goal if they should need it.

Renji hears about all this and is like “sign me up too, I grew up dirt poor in the fire nation and I’m cool with getting rid of the government that caused that, plus I can catch up with Rukia, who I haven’t spoken to in a while, apart from taunting as I tried to capture her.” The gang agrees and they finally have a firebender to teach Orihime firebending.

They finally get to the North Pole and learn some history and maybe prevent an invasion or something idk

When they leave and get back to the mainland, they find Ulquiorra and Grimmjow waiting. (Maybe Hallibel and Starrk too). They lose badly to them and Orihime gets kidnapped

(This next section is entirely self-indulgent I’m so sorry)

The rest of the gang is beat up and injured. Uryu leads them all to a hospital in the middle of nowhere, run by his dad. Uryu’s been there before, but the whole point of the secret hospital is that it is a neutral place for healing. Uryu doesnt embody that very well, so Ryuken told him not to come back

Ryuken heals them anyway, but has them pick up supplies for him as payment. The supplies had been stolen by bandits, so he needs fighters, but still wants to remain neutral.

Ichigo, who was the most injured of the group and is still healing, has to stay behind while the other four go, giving them their whole “we don’t need the avatar or Ichigo to fight”

(Uryu also doesn’t have a bow at this point because it got broken in the fight with the Espada, so he’s using knives that he has)

They fight the bandits like the badasses they are and get what they need and go back

Ryuken gives Uryu a bow that had belonged to his mother that she’d left for him (that Ryuken never gave him). He also advises them to stop for some candy on their way to the fire nation, which confuses them, but the accept it.

They go in their way to the fire nation so that they can get on a boat to go to the fire nation capital (where they think Orihime will be).

The issue is that all of the entrances to the fire nation are heavily guarded

They travel through a dense forest. While they’re traveling they find stall selling candy in the middle of literally nowhere.

At the stall is Urahara, who will help smuggle them into the fire nation, as long as they pretend to work for them, leading to a gag where they all pretend to work at this candy stall and having to avoid the suspicion of the guards in the city, who are trying to get them for health code violations

They finish the day as candy salesmen in a city in the fire nation, before the shop closes up for the day. The stall them mysteriously disappeared and leaves them behind.

They are able to buy themselves a ticket to the fire nation capital and are on their way.

Meanwhile, Orihime is imprisoned. She meets Aizen, who reveals that he can airbend??? For some reason??? Why can the Fire Lord airbend???

Orihime is rightfully shocked. Aizen tells her he will teach her how to airbend in order to prove that even the fully powered avatar cannot defeat him.

Aizen tells her that Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, Starrk, and Hallibel are his “children,” and each of them is a different kind of bender.

Ulquiorra (waterbender) is placed as her warden. He looks after her and forms a bond with her.

Grimmjow (airbender) becomes her sparring partner, and tries to kill her during their first spar, only to be stopped by Aizen. He was impressed by Ichigo’s lavabending and wants to meet him again.

Hallibel (firebender, and yes I know she’s literally a waterbender in canon, but I’ve decided to switch it up a bit) and Starrk (earthbender) are assigned to track down Karakura Crew and bring arrest them

Hallibel is the heir to the fire nation, and Starrk doesn’t really care about any of it.

Grimmjow is jealous that they get to go find Ichigo and goes to find them himself.

Grimmjow finds them first and challenges Ichigo to a one-on-one duel. Ichigo, the idiot, accepts.

They go out to some mountains outside the capital but still on the island and duel. Ichigo wins, but gets beat up pretty badly.

Then Hallibel and Starrk find them and attack. They escape to the capital, aided by Grimmjow, who leads them to a bar owned by Shawlong, who lets them hide out there.

A patron at the bar, the assassin Nnoitra, tells them about a secret passage to the palace. But he warns them to be careful, as he couldn’t even scratch Aizen, while had taken out Nnoitra’s eye in an instant.

They go into the secret tunnel.

Back in Aizen-Land, Grimmjow is gone, so Ulquiorra is Orihime’s sparring partner.

Ulquiorra, who finds himself caring about Orihime, tells her that Aizen conned the lion turtle into giving him energy bending to have all of the elements.

He tells her to attack him with the intent of killing him, saying if she can’t even beat him, then she will never be able to be able to stop Aizen.

She manages to defeat him. He tells her that her friends broke in not long before their fight started, and that they were probably fighting Aizen.

Ulquiorra goes to die, but Orihime heals him with a technique he taught her. “You’re my friend too. I won’t let any of my friends die, that’s a promise.”

She then goes to find her friends, leaving Ulquiorra behind because he’s still not fully recovered (but at the point where he can heal himself without needing her)

Meanwhile the infiltration gang makes it inside. They first run into Hallibel. Grimmjow decides to stay behind and fight her, to allow the others to find Orihime. He wins but ends up severely injured (again)

Next, the gang runs into Starrk, who doesn’t even really fight them.

Then Aizen shows up and immediately kicks their asses (while gloating).

Orihime shows up and tries to save them, but she’s tired from her fight with Ulquiorra and also severely outclassed.

She panics and enters the avatar state and sends her crew to the spirit realm.

(During this, Ulquiorra finishes healing, finds Grimmjow, and they escape)

I’m the spirit realm, the gang finds the previous avatars (the captains) and try to come up with a solution.

The past avatars basically tell her that she can’t win against what is basically another avatar but with more experience, but the big twist that the gang comes up with is that maybe she can’t, but they can.

Teamwork! I’ll probably work the “six hearts” bit in there somewhere

So they leave the spirit realm and go back to fight Aizen and they work together to kick his butt.

During the fight, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra, soon joined by Hallibel and Starrk as well, work together to protect the citizens. Urahara is also there helping out, much to the arrancar gang’s confusion

The big thing with the Aizen fight is that they all have fighting methods that differ from the standards of each element. Orihime is obviously the avatar, but she specializes in making shields and defending. Ichigo can lavabend, something that sets him apart from Aizen, Chad is able to earthbend a huge amount of earth at a time, Uryu is an extremely skilled nonbender, Renji is a firebender who has mastered using fire with his sword at the same time, and Rukia is a waterbender who has learned how to incorporate other bending styles into he bending

Aizen loses to the power of teamwork and friendship and they all win. Idk what happens next, I think they’re done doing plot stuff, now they do the “hang around, check on your allies, maybe do some end-of-the-story reflection”

But no more plot stuff, that’s over

I have no idea if I’m ever gonna write this but I might try

[odelschwanky]

A Good Friend (Ichigo Kurosaki x Female Reader)

Word Count: 2372

______________________________________________________

"Hey, guys!"

His voice was unmistakable. The carrot top made his way through the crowd of people to where you and Orihime stood in the hallway.  The two of you were close together by the vending machine outside of the classrooms. Her hands were clasped in eager anticipation of Ichigo's arrival and you... well. You leaned against the machine nonchalantly, arms crossed.

"Kurosaki-Kun," Orihime twittered as he came within the vicinity of you two. He greeted her happily and then looked at you.

"Hey Ichigo," you say, glancing at his tie. You never quite could look him in the eye. He always had such an intentional look. When he locked eyes with you, even by accident, his gaze would make you... bashful? You didn't know and didn't feel like sorting that out. Besides, you knew Orihime was in love with him. What kind of friend would you be to try and ruin that for her?

"Hey, (y/n)." He bent down to peek at you, meeting your eyes on purpose. "Why do you have a band-aid on your nose?" You were taken aback by his comment and remembered that you had gotten hit in the face today during gym. You touched your nose and promptly tried to hide it from him, even though he had already seen it. "Don't look," you muttered. "It's dumb."

"It's too late for that. It's okay. It makes you look tough. I like it."

You scoffed and looked over your shoulder, trying to hide your blush. You notice Orihime's demeanor change a bit, her shoulder slumping just a tad. This made you sad. You wish Ichigo would take her hints.

You waited for Ishida and Sado too and the five of you started walking home.

"There's a festival tonight, did anyone want to go?"

Everybody's faces lit up with excitement at the mention of something fun. Internally, you cringed. You hated social outings and the only reason why you had so many friends is that they came as a package deal. You thought Sado was pretty cool because he was sort of like you in the fact that you both didn't talk very much, you two became friends and then boom you had a gang of pals. You weren't expecting Ichigo to be one of those pals, but...

It was almost unanimous, the positive reaction to Ishida's suggestion. Everybody looked at you. I guess I was the only one who didn't say anything, you thought in a panic.

"(y/n), are you coming? It'll be fun!"

Orihime grinned and took your hand and looked at you with her puppy dog eyes. Sado clamped a hand down on your shoulder. "Come with us," he says, rather persuasively.

You looked at Ichigo. He confidently strode with his school bag slung over his shoulder. He glanced back at you and smiled. "Come on, you don't want to miss out on all the fun do you?"

A heat bubbled up in your core. You swear your whole face turned a bright shade of red, just by how hot you could feel yourself getting. You sighed. "I don't know," you mumbled hesitantly. "I don't think the festival is my scene." You weren't one for gatherings. You felt like people didn't want to be around you.

Ichigo rubbed the back of his head, sighing in exasperation. "Of course a festival is your scene. It's everybody's scene! It's fun." He rolled his eyes and punched you in the arm. "And you never know about these kinds of things. You say that and then you never show up. It's honestly kind of annoying."

You pouted. "No more annoying than you pressuring me to come," you fire back, still holding Orihime's hand. You look at her and her eyes were cast down, directly at her shoes.

"But okay fine, I'll come."

Everyone laughed and the five of you made plans to meet up at the top of the hill come the evening. As tough as you acted, watching fireworks and playing games with your friends sound like something out of a movie, something you were excited for.

***

You cinched your obi around the waist of your yukata and tied your hair up loosely. You frowned at the scratch and bruise on your nose, deciding you weren't going to wear the band-aid to the festival.

You were a bit of a hurry because your bath had taken longer than you expected... because you fell asleep. It wasn't that you weren't excited about the festival, you were just really tired.

Trudging up the hill, you could see everyone gathered there... except for Orihime. You gathered the hem of your yukata so it wouldn't drag in the tall grass. You could see down by the river below the different booths set up for games and food and the station for the fireworks. You approach your friends with a curious look on your face. "Hey, glad you could make it!" Ichigo looked at you deeply. You waved, trying to avoid his gaze. "Your yukata is really nice," he added.

Ishida agreed, commenting on the stitchwork. You had actually made it with your mom a few years back. It was dark blue with dolphins on it.

"Oh, thank you. My mom and I made it...Orihime's not here?" You say, looking around for the sweet girl.

"No, she ended up feeling sick and decided not to come," Ishida said, sounding disappointed. They'd make a dashing couple, you thought. You instantly felt guilty. You were only saying that because you didn't want to accept that she had a better chance than you with Ichigo.

"Well, then we have to have enough fun for her too," Ichigo chimed, corralling the group down the hill toward the games.

"We should bring her something to eat on the way home," you said to Ishida. He nodded. "She'd appreciate that. You're a good friend to her, (y/n)."

You almost threw up. You were definitely not.

***

"Kingyo Sukui!" You yell, running over to the red tent. It wasn't that crowded, much to your surprise. You peered into the pond they had set up, fascinated by all the goldfish swimming around. Their scales shimmered in the lantern light, and you admired them in reverence.

"Hey! Wait up," Ichigo said running up to you. Ishida wanted to go look at something else so Sado went with him. It left you and Ichigo alone, along with your nervousness. "What're you so excited about anyway? You never act like that."

Your tough girl facade quickly melted away, and you were kind of embarrassed at how Ichigo saw you just then.

"Oh," you cleared your throat, deepening your voice to its normal pitch. "I just really want to play this game. Look." You point at the goldfish dancing in the pond.

"Okay, then let's play." Ichigo looked at you with a goofy smile that made you swell with happiness and gave a few tickets to the director of the game. You were each handed a Poi scoop and a bowl and you went to work, a determined look on your face.

"Wow, you're good at this!" Ichigo praised you as you scooped your third goldfish into your bowl. "I'm not all that good," you counter back, noticing a little tear in your washi paper.

"You always do that," he says a little more quietly, scooting closer to you. "You're always discrediting yourself. I don't get it." Your stomach dropped and your mouth went dry.

"There's nothing to get, Ichigo," you reply, plopping the last goldfish, a black one, into your bowl before your poi broke. Ichigo's scoop had broken a long time ago and he didn't get any fish. You turn to him and smile, holding up your fish. "Look." He couldn't help but smile too.

The two of you walk down the crowded row of booths and stalls, the grass muffling your footsteps. The smells of fried foods wafted in the air and lantern light danced on everyone's face. Ichigo's hand brushed your own and you could feel his finger linger a little on your own. It electrified you, sending tingles up and down through your body. You quickly use both of your hands to clutch your plastic bag of fish. "Where's Ishida and Sado?" You quickly say something to distract yourself from what you were feeling.

"Uh, let's go find them. I think I know where they would be."

More and more people filled up the walkway almost separating you and Ichigo from each other. Even though you were pretty tall for a girl, you still couldn't see him over the mass of people. He reached back and felt around for you. You had to hold him now. The warmth from his touch radiated through your whole body, and he squeezed your hand inside his. "Still there?"

"Yes," you gulped.

"Good."

****

"Amazing! I know Inoue would love this!"

Ishida's voice could be heard over everything within a five-mile radius. It did make sense that Ichigo would lead you to a Shateki booth. That's probably the only thing he would be good at. You heard he did archery as a kid or something? You overheard everyone talking about his bow at lunch one day.

"Hey, Ichigo. (Y/n)," Sado greeted the both of you. You give Sado a nod. "Hey, Chad. Are you guys ready to go watch the fireworks?"

Everyone agreed... except for you.

"I think I should go ahead and get home."

Sado and Ishida nodded. I think they could notice how worn out you were already were. It wasn't just the fact that you were outside with a lot of people, but being around Ichigo, as much as it made you happy, stressed you out. There was always a nervous pull in your stomach and that horrible feeling that you were going to break Orihime's heart.

"Bye, you guys. I'll see you at school tomorrow."

Reluctantly, they let you go and you made your way to a stand to buy some takoyaki for your friend. You were halfway down the hill before you heard loud footsteps on the stone path back to where you and Orihime stayed. You lived in the building across from her.

"(Y/n)! Hey!"

You turn around, taking care to keep your goldfish and Orihime's takoyaki upright in the plastic bag you were carrying.

You could see it, that obnoxious orange hair shining in the late evening light. Ichigo was running toward you, growing closer. It made you smile and sulk at the same time.

"What's the matter?" You ask this skeptically. Why would he try to catch up to you?

"Listen, I-" Ichigo licks his lips and looks away from you. He placed his hands on his hips and shifted from foot to foot catching his breath.

"I like you."

As if on cue, the firework show began, some small scale sparklers flying up into the dimming sky. Your heart skipped a beat and you couldn't believe your ears.

"And by the looks of it, you like me too. But something is holding you back. Is that true?"

You were speechless. Why did he have you read so well? That irked you, how easily he could see through you.

"Ichigo... I don't want to talk about-"

"Come on! You're always blowing me off! What's so wrong about me that you can't let this," he motioned between the two of you with his hand, "happen?"

You deflated. The tone of his voice was so hurt. You didn't want to hurt him. You didn't want to hurt anybody.

"There's nothing wrong about you, Ichigo... I just..."

"Well? You just what?"

You thought of Orihime, and how she confided in you about how much she loved Ichigo. She talked about him in such a beautiful way, like he was the knight in shining armour of her life. You wanted her to be happy. Not only that, but you wanted Ichigo to be happy. You knew deep down he wouldn't be happy with you.

"I can't be with you because we wouldn't be good together." You couldn't believe the words coming out of your mouth right then. You wanted nothing more than to be with that stupid red-headed boy.

"You don't believe that."

His hand was on your shoulder in less than a moment and he was pulling you toward him. When your lips touched, a crack of thunder erupted and the sky lit up with colorful light. He took the bag out of your hand and pulled you closer, deeper into the kiss with his other arm. The taste of watame was sweet on his lips, and you couldn't help but melt into his touch. Your arms snaked up and around his neck, and Ichigo hugged you tightly.

"You're so oblivious," you say angrily, gently pushing him away.

"What are you talking about? I knew that you've liked me this entire time!"

You shook your head in dismay. Not everything was about him and he needed to understand that.

"No! It's not about me. Somebody loved you before you even met me. And you ignore her every day!"

Ichigo's eyes grew wide. "What?"

"Don't be so stupid," you growl. "You know who she is! You've always known."

You turn on your foot after grabbing your bag from Ichigo. He spoke to you quietly, his voice completely changed. It was no longer confident... just disappointed. "And you're going to take that food to her aren't you?"

You nod sadly, though he couldn't see it because your back was to him. "I am. Because I'm her friend. We're all good friends. And a good friend doesn't kiss the boy her friend is in love with...So this never happened, Ichigo."

He grabbed your hand again to keep you from going. "Please."

"No, Ichigo. You need to talk to Orihime. Because I know deep down you love her."

Ichigo gave your hand a reassuring bittersweet squeeze. "Who says that you're right?"

You shrug. "I don't know. Just leave it be, Ichigo."

You turn and hug him, knowing that you'll miss the feeling of safety and love that you had only felt from him one time. "Goodnight."

He sighed and watched you walk away, not knowing if he could ever have you.

[mysterylover123]

Mysterylover watches Bleach episodes 142-143

1. Ichi wakes up “My hands healed OMG how could that possibly have happened?” He needs Hitsu to remind him it was Hime, duh.

2. Ruki is super depressed now that her girlfriend is gone natch. And Ichi is also pretty panicky now and even puts two and two together. (and wow, really getting mad. Ooh, so this is the part where he starts to officially fall for her.)

3. OOH and he freaking loses it when the old guy suggests that Hime might have betrayed them (screw you old guy she would never) and Renji has to reign him in. 

4.  And Oh shit the old guy’s gonna force them not to go save her?! He’s gonna have RukiBro stop them?! SCREW YOU OLD DUDE THEY’RE SHONEN HEROES. LIKE HELL THEY’LL JUST SIT BACK AND LET A NAKAMA BE CAPTURED.

5. Ichi of course is like “SCREW YA’LL YA’LL”. You’d think these old guys had never met a shonen hero before. 

6. TATSUKI!!!!! Tatsuki’s here looking for Hime. PLEASE JOIN THE CREW TATSUKI. HELP ICHI RESCUE YOUR GIRLFRIEND. We get a beautiful sad Tatsuhime montage because this episode really likes me.  

7. Bless IchiDad and sisters for trying to cheer him up. Damn he doesn’t even wanna eat he’s so depressed. And he’s in class? Wow he really is depressed.

8. Wow Ichi’s acting like Orihime. Smiling and being friendly to people. It’s like he’s trying to compensate since she’s not around. And TATSUKI’S HERE YES. JOIN THE CAST TELL HER THE TRUTH ICHI. 

9. “I’ve always been able to sense her”. Cause she’s her soulmate. And smart enough to know that Ichi knows what’s what. And she knows what’s going on cause she’s Tatsuki. BRING HER IN ON IT ICHI STOP RESISTING. 

10. HOLY SHIT SHE ACTUALLY PUNCHED HIM FOR GASLIGHTING HER. Holy shit childhood friend flashbacks?! OMG Tatsuki feels! Tatsuki feels for hours. And dammit Ichigo Why are you still not telling her?!

11. YES URAHARA HE’S REPENTING BEING AN IDIOT AND KEEPING HIME OUT OF THINGS. OK good. And Uryu’s here too? In a sexy new outfit? Good ,Uryu. Reclaim your boyfriend before I declare a Tatsu/Ichi/Hime OT3. 

12. Tatsuki and the idiot duo are tailing him! YES TATSUKI BE IN THE GANG. (ditch these two losers thought). And we get more Tatsuki/ichigo developments in flashback form too. 

13. WHOA Ura is sending them into HM RIGHT NOW?! What about the rest of the squad? Surely it won’t just be Ichi, Uryu and Chad?

14. Tatsuki and the dumbass duo were there the whole time? And Urahara gives a little friendship analysis. IS URA GONNA TRAIN TATSUKI AND THE DUO TO BE PART OF HTE SQUAD? (please just tatsuki). 

15. ORIHIME MEETING AIZEN HOLY SHIT THAT WENT FROM 10-100 IN ONE COMMERCIAL BREAK. (lol at Aizen lounging on the throne like the evil emperor he is)

16. HIME’S GONNA HEAL GJ?! Please let this be the start of a beautiful friendship. ‘She’s not a god’. Shows you what you know dumbass. 

17. Hime is so effing OP. Aizen are you gonna tell us what her power is? “REJECTING PHENOMENON”. ‘REALITY WARPING’!!!!! IT IS THE ERI QUIRK!! ONLY EVEN MORE OP!! 

18.  Purple eyes was annoying so I’m kinda glad GJ’s gonna kill him. Though it’s probably gonna make Hime said that she healed him so he could kill someone though. 

19. The Resce Squad is having a lot of trouble running through nothing. EXCEPT URYU WHO IS FABULOUS AND COOL. And he and Ichi immediately pick up where they left off with that fun banter. 

20. And talk about the agreement with his awful dad too. Basically he broke it cause he knew Ichi would get himself killed and had to watch after him. Of course. Because he care about him duh. And he found a loophole lol.

21. ICHI DAD AND URYU DAD ARE MEETING UP? They know each other? Yikes. 

22. Hime is alone in a pretty nice looking cell. Well at least she got a couch. She’s luckier than Rukia. And like I guessed she is brooding over healing Grimmjow. Don’t worry bout it Hime I can just tell he’s one of those “gonna eventually be a less bad guy” villains. 

23. Because Hime is smart, she guesses that she needs to play along and seem useful to keep everyone safe. And with a big rumbling announcing that the heroes have arrived, we break. 

[madamteller]

|Silky Night|

Ichigo Kurosaki x Native American! Reader

Genre: Normal

𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘬𝘺, 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘨𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘯. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘺𝘦. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧-

“ICHIGO?! YOU THERE?!” Keigo was in front of me waving his hand in my face. I grabbed his arm.

“What do you want?” I looked at him annoyed.

“Firstly let go of my arm because you’re hurting it. Secondly, Teach wants you to show new girl around.” I looked up to see the same girl from nights before. She was staring at me with wide eyes.

“Yeah I’ll show her around.” I got up from my seat and walked over to her. She was tall. Almost to my shoulder.

“I guess you’ll be showing me around Mr. Kurosaki?” Her voice was soft but she sounded serious. Probably from being in the soul society for awhile.

“Yeah just follow me.” She nodded in agreement. I walked outside the door and heard footsteps behind me. During those moments, she was next to me after.

“I know you saw me last night.” I stopped in my tracks to see her in front of me.

“How did you-“

“Your spiritual energy is large and very noticeable. When I came into the room, I noticed it again around you. That’s why I was in shocked.” Her facial expression barely changed. It looked normal. I was shocked to know she noticed me.

“I’m also assuming you’re the substitute soul reaper everyone’s talking about. If so, please tell your group to stop stalking us.” I looked her and turned around quickly to see Orihime, Uryuu, and Chad behind me in a empty classroom hiding.

“Can you guys not follow me?!”

“Chad said he felt a strong presence leave the class after you two left so we went ahead and followed you.” Uryuu said to me nervously.

“So I’m guessing you were the others in the soul society,” The girl said. “If you may, can you please go back to the class so I can finish this conversation with him?”

“First you have to tell us who you are. That way we can have a clear understanding on what you’re doing here.” Uryuu said. She sighed while being annoyed.

“Fine. If it means you’ll leave me and Mr. Kurosaki alone then sure. My name is (Y/N) (L/N) of the 6th division.” (Y/N) said.

“6th division? Isn’t that-” I said til I was cut off by her speaking.

“Yes. Captain Kuchiki. I was sent by him to find the hallows that’s been hiding in the town. He then told me to say and make sure they’re all gone. You know how strict he is.” She then sighed again. I couldn’t help but walk to her and pull her along with me.

“Wait! Ichigo!” I started to walk faster to get away from them. I wanted to speak to her alone. As soon as we were far away, we came to a halt into a storage room.

“Mr. Kurosaki, may you explain why we’re in here?” She looked at me with a slight blush.

𝘐𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝖾𝗆𝖻𝖺𝗋𝗋𝖺𝗌𝗌𝖾𝖽?

“(Y/N), how’s Rukia?” She looked at me in shocked then relaxed her face.

“Rukia is...fine.” She seemed hesitated to tell me. She avoided my eyes. At that point I knew she was lying. I used my hand to force her to look at me.

“Tell me the truth. How is Rukia?” She stared at me like I did something wrong. She soon signed once more.

“Rukia is sick. The 4th division is watching over her. Nothing bad. Just the flu. She’s been stressing out after you and your group came to the soul society. She’s worried that Captain Yamamoto would of killed you guys. Which is another reason why I’m staying here for a bit. I’m watching over you.” She said avoiding her eyes from mine. Her cheeks turned slightly red.

I noticed the position we were in. My body was pressed against hers with my leg in between hers. This whole time we were in a position that makes it’s it seem like we were in one of those generic romance animes when the guy pins the girl to wall. At that moment the storage door opened to reveal the same people we were trying to get away from.

“If you’re gonna do it in school, try and find a place that’s better well hidden.” Uryuu said clearly irritated.

“It’s not what you’re assuming so get your head out of the gutter.” (Y/N) said with a clear fire in her eyes. I let go and looked away blushing.

Was she embarrassed because of this? She knew the position we were in and she didn’t know how to explain it.

“So then what was it? What made you get into that position?” Orihime said softly. She looked upset almost but at what.

“The space was small compared to our size.” She wasn’t wrong. She’s almost as tall as me. Her body clearly shows that she keeps her body in shape but still soft from what I could tell. At the same time, with me and her body in there together plus cleaning supplies, I can see why our position was like that.

“A-Anyways we’re gonna finish our tour and then head back. And try not to bother us again.” I said pulling (Y/N) along once more. I’m rather confused on why she’s allowing me to drag her.

~TimeSkip: 1 hour later~

“And that concludes my tour of the school.” I looked at her to see she still had the same expression on her face. Stoic look that could make anyone talk if she wanted.

“Thank you for bring me along and showing me everything I needed to know. Shall we head back to class?” I couldn’t help but stare at her more. Suddenly I just blurted out something.

“You know, you don’t really need to serious around me. I’m a chill guy. I’m not gonna harm you.” She looked at me.

“What-“

“I-I mean you could relax and calm down. You seemed like you’d attack anyone with one wrong more.” I avoided my eyes away from her.

What the hell was I thinking?

I soon heard a slight laugh. I looked down to see her chuckling.

“You’re a strange kid Ichigo. Rukia was right.” I could help but laugh a bit.

“You know what. Since I’m being honest can I tell you something?” I said as we started walking back to class.

“Yes you may.” She said walking next to me.

“You’re hair is very beautiful,” She looked at me and blushed. “I’m serious. You’re hair is as beautiful as the night sky. It looks so soft and it shines in the light. When I saw you, you’re hair was the first thing I noticed about you. It was the hair that reminds me of silk and the night sky.”

I couldn’t help but reach over to her hair. I was hesitate because I didn’t want to touch it with out permission but she nodded and smiled. I touched her braided hair. I leaned down and kissed it.

“Thank you Ichigo. For the compliment I mean.” She had a small blush on her face and smiles more. I don’t wanna get ahead of myself. We just meet after all.

[captainsupernoodle]

@wolfsrainrules @north-peach IT’S HERE!!

This is very long????????????

(also writing this really drove home another one of those moments where i'm just like “what the FLIP I have FAMILY as young as this hero WHAT ARE THE GROWNUPS DOING”)

Ichigo is immediately like “a person who Knows Things! Who's willing to Tell Me Those Things!” and sits down and lays out everything he's been mentally and not-so-mentally screaming about since he got STABBED with a SWORD and got up with MAGIC POWERS. Byakuya eventually meanders them to his estate and orders tea and half of soul society feels Judged even though they're not sure where it's coming from. Byakuya is massively unimpressed with Everything.

Whether this is right after the first invasion or later would change some things, but in any era what the fallout mostly boils down to is the Gotei freaking out because suddenly! The super-powerful kid they've had running around is asking questions! And doing things!! Legally!!!

Ichigo puts Byakuya on speed dial on his soul phone and calls him up every time he thinks of a problem or someone tries harassing him or Isshin says something that just. Doesn't add up.

And eventually he just starts calling Byakuya to yell about shinigami nonsense around town (his bedroom is no longer marked as a safe house, has the esteemed Gotei 13 fallen so low–), about theories and experiments he's doing to adapt kido to his reiatsu levels, about history and science and reishi architecture and whatever else catches his interests, and Byakuya pretty much always picks up, even if it's just to tell him that he's in a meeting and setting a time for them to talk, and when he visits soul society he has friends who are eager to see him but he always spends some time at Byakuya's.

(more under the cut!)

Byakuya is quick to invite him into the Kuchiki library, and they spend many afternoons and evenings just sitting quietly, Ichigo tearing through scrolls and records, Byakuya doing paperwork or reading, and sometimes Ichigo will ask a question or Byakuya will point out that this author over here expounds on that point in the book you're reading, and they'll have intellectual debates over hasty bites out of their dinner and the staff is Scandalized by the young lord taking books to the table but after the first three times they got up in the middle of eating bc byakuya was trying to enforce Decorum ichigo just brought his books with him and then byakuya had to get up to reference something and it was just too much trouble. The head servant whatever is just like fine! fine, at least they're not eating in the library, who knows what might happen with a Shiba in the works, at least the young lord still has a grip on his temper.

And it is funny to anyone who sees them together -- it took a little while because Ichigo isn't actually in SS all that often, he usually trains in the bunker and Kisuke is about all the mad scientist he can handle, but he comes to hang with Renji & other friends on some weekends -- but they actually do get along like a house on fire after byakuya flipped the "mentor" switch and let his guard down enough to keep getting sucked into heated debates. Ichigo's not a rebel, necessarily, in that he's not out there constantly looking for reasons to pick fights with anyone, he just doesn't let anyone pick fights with him or his friends and also goes "well that's stupid" with... pretty much any kind of unjust authority and law. It drives Byakuya a bit bonkers but he channels it into "educate the unfortunately misinformed future clan head" instead of immediate senbonzakura-ing. Trouble is that Ichigo is entirely ready for friendly debate throw-downs and yeah, maybe he doesn't have a law degree, but execution without a trial for trying to protect people, byakuya, really?

And this is where a little of the cultural confusion comes through, because Byakuya is intellectually aware that Ichigo is human but it doesn't really affect much beyond Ichigo being from somewhere else and being unfamiliar with soul society. And he's like, mostly adult-shaped, right? He's bigger than Toshiro, and most souls that look like Ichigo are already out doing things, even if they're still pretty closely connected with home, and he acts young sometimes but most of the time he's at Byakuya's level, just less experienced, which is to be expected given shinigami aging. So Byakuya answers any questions he has and applies pressure in ichigo's favor when needs be in the background, and otherwise lets Ichigo come to him and generally be independent.

And this works for Ichigo! He's been independent for years, wrongfully so, but he still has more life experience than most kids his age and is fiercely independent on top of that, so having someone to lean on is both novel and avoids being suffocating or condescending. A lot of the time he wants help – he already has more independence than he really wanted, and he's mostly adjusted to it, but it doesn't stop him from wanting some of that support that he's been lacking for so long, and that Byakuya is freely offering.

And eventually he figures out that he's started telling Byakuya things he hasn't told anyone else – questions about hollows eventually led to offhand mention of his hollowfication, and oh right, he'd actually kind of attacked Byakuya with his hollow mask, he'd probably want an explanation for that and even as chill as he's been so far the soul society anti-hollow rhetoric has gotta come into play somewhere with a noble –

Except Byakuya doesn't push. He never pushes. Even with that first offer, he was just laying out an option that Ichigo could take if he needed it, and he followed through when Ichigo took him up on it.

So he has a bit of a crisis and is a little more scowly than usual, but his sisters and friends know what it looks like when he's thinking really hard about something and leave him be, and he takes some long walks with Chad, just turning over what's been happening in his head and considering.

(Byakuya's been one of his people since he got his head screwed on straight, but Ichigo knows he has a tendency to latch on in ways that most people don't reciprocate, and it's okay. His friends have gone to war with him for someone they barely knew, they trust him, and he can lean on Chad most times, and it's good, it's good to have friends and precious people to protect.

But Byakuya isn't looking for his protection, or for someone to follow, or to spar with or experiment on or manipulate.

He's just – there.)

His thinking doesn't change much. He's already confided more in Byakuya than he has with anyone, because before hollows and Soul Society his friend group was all human teenagers doing teenager things, and Chad was sorely needed relief from a chaotic home life but he was still Ichigo's age, didn't have answers to a lot of the questions Ichigo's been shoving deep ever since his mom died. Byakuya doesn't press, doesn't judge, thinks deeply before speaking, but Ichigo always knows he's listening.

It's. It's good. It's really good.

And I guess I have a timeframe after all because Ichigo's really been there and back by the time of the Winter War. Byakuya sent his sister and his lieutenant to support Ichigo before he'd even been denied help to rescue Orihime, and came to Hueco Mundo himself, and listened again when Ichigo came to him, glaring and stiff, and slowly, quietly told him about dying and coming back less than human, fear in the faces of his friends and enemies, about seeing a soul – a person – crumble at his own hands.

Byakuya gets a hint, then, that Ichigo isn't quite the same as a soul. Souls might go entire lives only in soul society, from birth to death, but even souls who grow naturally rather than coming from the Living World are in some ways static, slightly less flexible in some fundamental way than those in the Living World. He does a little asking around, and Ichigo is so young even by human standards – Soul Society has been leaning on him like he's as old as his power levels suggest, in a place where passive reiatsu output is often more accurate than physical appearance, and all this time he's not even fully developed as a person, is still soft and learning how to exist in the world.

Byakuya has his own crisis right about then, and I'm playing fast and loose with timelines because I don't even remember most of the show, so in this au we're in a waiting period after clashing with the Espada just enough to get Orihime back – all the shinigami are alive, Grimmjow is licking his wounds-presumed-dead, tragic batman is dead, harribel and the tres bestias are not wearing battle bikinis cool, uuuuuuuum I think???? the vizard already happened before the grand desert slaycation??? Byakuya has a few belated heart attacks when he hears about training and the dangers thereof even though he's been privy to & helping with Ichigo's solo experiments with the hollow mask, and after Orihime is back and the shinigami do whatever sneaky sneak they've been planning or however it was they figured out about the time limit or whyever they wait for the Karakura pillars fiasco instead of, idunno, trying to prevent the megalomaniac from keeping hold of the magic rock….

ANYWAY there's a quiet period and Byakuya has his oh crap i'm a dad crisis and eventually is just like this is a literal child but he's proved himself time and time again that he's capable and wouldn't appreciate anyone butting in on his business uninvited, so instead he's sneaky about it. Most of his sneaking reveals that things are about like Ichigo's described, he has school and friends and training (urahara probably notices his snooping but he's certainly not the one filling in for Isshin's catastrophic failures in parenting, and maybe he sees the need or maybe he just isn't bothered enough to do something about being spied on, and he never interferes or tells kurosaki). Okay, this is fine, if everyone else is a complete and utter failure of a parent then he'll have to fill in whatever Ichigo hasn't covered himself. He gets an actually competent shinigami to cover Karakura, gets a copy of his school schedule and keeps people from harassing him near tests, is even more stringent with fronting central 46's stupidity and Very Firmly, At Risk of Murder cuts off all possible contact between Kurotsushi and Ichigo's people (and may start quietly grooming nemu to take over the 12th but nobody can prove it).

Things are bopping along, and then we have whatever permutation of the winter war that happens in this AU. Byakuya's been busy with the Grand Karakura Relocation or whatever the plan is and reinforcing his division, whipping them into shape after centuries of nothing but low-level hollows, and he knows that Ichigo's doing the same and he isn't concerned when they have less time to communicate.

Then Aizen.

I never actually watched the interim between the hundreds of episodes of vs arrancar fights and the butterfly beatdown but i'm assuming that everybody's tied up elsewhere or else they wouldn't have let a SINGLE 15YO fight aizen on his own, right? RIGHT???

Anyway in THIS fic that's the way it works, and while urahara and some of the other captains/ whoever's fighting fit, free, and not gonna die just from standing near the powerhouses lends a hand, so Byakuya is busy but not really worried bc Ichigo is a proven warrior and he has backup and for all his unexpected fondness, byakuya is still a military man and he Compartmentalizes.

Except then Ichigo's power rises and rises and rises again, and then all at once disappears.

Byakuya promptly flips his lid and Aizen goes into the box a bit more shredded than he did in the og timeline.

Everybody else gets the idea pretty quickly and flings Ichigo at Byakuya, who figures out what happened very fast and immediately decides Isshin has lost all rights to anything, ever. Ichigo is kept abreast of all developments in the efforts to get his powers back and NOBODY leaves him to his own devices for two years because Byakuya is persistently present and Isshin is on his shit list big time so he takes great joy in thwarting him at every turn.

I haven't watched or read the Ginjo arc at all but from what I gather they sneak in while Ichigo's isolated so there's a solid chance all that mess gets cut off at the knees.

Byakuya may or may not have an apartment and double life as a reclusive rich businessman in the Living World so that Ichigo has a place to stay when Isshin is Too Much, maybe the welcome eventually gets expanded to Chad and Orihime and the twins, but whatever goes on after Aizen, Byakuya is there and backing Ichigo up.

[feelingfredly]

Keep Your Friends Close (And Your Family as Far Away as Possible)

(My Contribution to Kitsunegeddon 2019)

Summary:           

“Relatives are the worst friends, said the fox as the dogs took after him.” – Danish Proverb

Long lost relatives, yokai politics, magical turf wars...  or just another day in Ichigo's messed up life. He should never have taken up playing the shamisen.

Chapter 1--Tuesdays in the Park with Ichigo

Ichigo ducked under the branches of two pines and headed for his little corner of the garden. He’d discovered it years ago—a place to hide from kids who thought that a head of orange hair was a constant invitation to fight—and rediscovered it recently.  Surrounded by hydrangea bushes, the spot was quiet and hidden from the main paths which was a necessity if he didn’t want his friends and family to “coincidentally” discover him there. It didn’t matter where they were supposed to be, whether it was work, or school or even out on a date. Yes, Orihime had even dragged Ishida into the park to “just happen to run into him” while they were on a date. The archer was not amused.  But since it was Orihime, he nodded and didn’t contradict her even though Ichigo thought he was going to strain a muscle keeping his mouth shut.

The ground was soft and mossy, and since the hydrangeas were in full bloom their scent was an almost tangible thing.  It was beautiful in ways that Ichigo forgot the world could be sometimes.  No hollows to fight.  No blood or sand or screaming.  Just the flowers and the park, and today…   his shamisen.

He dropped his pack carefully and knelt beside it.   The long neck of the instrument still made him a little nervous when he carried it around, but it was surprisingly durable. It wasn’t like his guitar, but it wasn’t completely unlike it, either. Sort of a logical extension from one stringed instrument to another.  Like learning to switch from sword to sword as Zangetsu changed.  A blade was still very much a blade, even if they were all different.

There was a breeze which was nice.  It had been horribly hot and humid for a week, the temperatures shortening everyone’s tempers. Yuzu and Karin had gotten tiny pink battery powered fans with attached misters they used to help them cool off while sitting in the shady patio behind the clinic, and Ururu and Jinta had started fighting over who got to wash the steps of the shōten so they could play in the water from the hose.  Even Kisuke had broken down and used his lotus fan for more than hiding behind, and for once Ichigo didn’t question his clothes; the jinbei was probably the most comfortable thing he could choose, especially considering how loosely he’d taken to wearing it.  Ichigo had seen more than one of the local housewives eyeing the expanse of chest he had on display, and honestly, he couldn’t blame them.  It was quite a sight.

He sighed and settled on the soft earth; the shamisen perched lightly on his right thigh.  Yuzu had taken the little rubber mat he used for keeping it from slipping and had cut the bright pink square into a flower shape, telling him that now it looked like a peony and it would bring him romantic love.  Ichigo didn’t have the heart to tell her that it looked more like a paint spill than a peony, but he didn’t think that even peonies were likely to bring him any closer to romance so it didn’t really matter.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure he wanted romance, and if he did?  Being a human/hollow/Quincy/Shinigami/Lord of Hell hadn’t gotten him anywhere with the only person he’d ever been attracted to, so he didn’t think a damned peony was likely to tip the scales.

Scales.  Right.

Ichigo pulled out a Quincy blue yubikake that had somehow found its way into his bag.  It was daintily embroidered on the outside with his name, and he wondered how long it had taken Ishida to make.  Probably not long, but it fit perfectly over his index finger and thumb and meant that his sword callouses didn’t interfere with his playing, and every time he put it on he thought about how his mother would be happy that he was coming to accept his Quincy roots. He didn’t even mind the color.  He picked up the bachi and settled the shamisen on his lap, loose and away from his body.

 Knees hip width apart.  Back straight.  Nose, chin, belly button in a line.  Breathe.

The music came effortlessly.  The old-fashioned sounds were at odds with what he normally listened to, but somehow still very right.   It made sense in a way.  It would fit in Seireitei.  Most of the Shinigami would enjoy it more than rock and roll.  For Ichigo, though, it forced him into a mental place where he could slow his thoughts as he picked his notes, allowing the music to speak for him and through him, giving emotions that he was too uncomfortable to speak of a voice of their own, even if the only place they were heard was this hidden corner of the garden.

His feelings for his family always came out first.  It sounded sweet and steady, a refrain that he could almost hear in his sleep, while the music for Chad and Orihime and Ishida was stalwart and playful in counterpoint.  Rukia’s music was fierce and beautiful, and the other Shinigami appeared sometimes, complex and sometimes discordant.

And then there was Kisuke.

He’d gone to visit the blond at the shōten that morning, but Kisuke had been more distracted than usual, attention taken by some new problem he’d been given by Kyouraku, and when Ichigo left he couldn’t help but feel more than a little bit invisible to the other man.  Oh, it wasn’t fair of him. It wasn’t Kisuke’s fault that he wanted more attention than he was getting.  Wasn’t his fault that Ichigo felt more than was returned.   Ichigo wasn’t the first person to suffer from unrequited feelings, and he wouldn’t be the last.

But oh, those feelings…

Ichigo poured them into his music, the rhythm was his breathing when the blond stood close, or the rush of blood to his face when Kisuke smiled at him.  High notes danced along for the tingling in his fingertips when he longed to touch the smooth skin over Kisuke’s sternum.  Long slow calls in the melody echoed the ache in his chest when the other was gone for too long.

It should have been sad.  It should have felt hopeless.  It didn’t.

Ichigo didn’t believe that his feelings would ever be returned, but he couldn’t regret them.  He was a better person because of them, and the music reflected that deep-seated knowledge that even in times of hardship those feelings would sustain him.

He didn’t know how long he’d played; he often lost time when he was engrossed in the music.   The breeze, though, had picked up, and while the sun was still bright, a wild rain shower kicked up.

Ichigo didn’t hate the rain anymore, but it still carried with it the memory of loss and the connection he had to his mother, so instead of packing everything up in a rain-soaked panic, he allowed it to pour into the music as well.

If his face was wet with more than raindrops as he played, no one else needed to know.

After the rain had stopped and Ichigo had found his way to the end of the music in his heart, he sat listening to the drip-drip-drip of raindrops off the leaves of the hydrangeas.  He shook his head, hoping he hadn’t ruined his shamisen, and slowly began to gather his things.

“That was quite the performance.”

Ichigo jerked around toward the voice.  He hadn’t noticed anyone else around, but there, at the edge of his clearing was an older man in a dark suit.

“At first, I was quite annoyed to find you here, it being my granddaughter’s wedding and you without an invitation and all, but then I got a good look at you.  Later, when you played, the guests, every one of them, could feel the truth in it.  You gave my granddaughter quite a gift; it will be talked about by the family for years to come.” He bowed his salt-and-pepper head.  “I thank you.”

Ichigo stared at the man for a moment, trying to make sense of what he’d said.  “Your granddaughter’s wedding?”

The man nodded once and cocked his head to one side.  His features were sharp and Ichigo couldn’t help but think that somehow, he looked familiar.  “Yes.  The family has come from far and wide to see her married today.  It was a joyous occasion.”

Ichigo bowed his head politely, holding his shamisen tightly to his chest. “Please give her my congratulations and good-wishes.  I did not mean to intrude.  If I’d known…”

The sharp-faced man made a dismissive gesture.  “I’ve already forgiven you for your trespass, but I must ask—has your family lived in Karakura long?”

Ichigo thought about trying to explain that his father was actually a banished Death God in the human realm on a whim.  “My mother’s family has.”

The man nodded. “I was right, then. I’m guessing you’re Masaki’s boy.  Kurosaki… Ichigo, yes?”

Aaaand the day kept getting stranger.  “Yes. Kurosaki Masaki was my mother, but I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage.”

That got him a laugh and a smile that was not much more than a baring of teeth.  “Advantage is a matter of perspective.  But, for now, allow me to even the field a little. My name is Hakuzosu. I knew your mother’s mother.  She was the daughter of my cousin, but that was long enough ago that I won’t hold your ignorance against you.  I knew the kits, ah, children had grown up around here, but I don’t get back often enough to keep in touch.  There are always stories, though. The family is terribly nosy.”

Great.  Not only did he give an impromptu concert for some strange outdoor wedding, but somehow it included extended family he’d never heard of, and here he was looking like a drowned rat.

“It is an honor to meet you,” Ichigo bowed low, aiming for properly polite, and thought he must’ve gotten close enough when the old man bobbed a bow in return. “I’d be quite remiss if I didn’t make up for my ignorance somehow.  My family’s home is nearby…”

He was abruptly cut off.  “Yes, yes. If I remember correctly Masaki tied herself to…  well, to your father. It was quite the talk of the elders. Like you, she tended to, how shall I put it…  refuse to accept others’ reality and substitute her own.”   The man smiled even more toothily. “I didn’t understand her choices, but I always admired her follow-through.”

The guy clearly had less than flattering thoughts about Isshin, but then lots of people did.   Hell, Ichigo did at least half the time.  He wondered what the man meant about the elders, though. Ichigo fingered the yubikake he was still wearing, with its Quincy crosses, and the man shook his head. “No, boy, not those elders.  Your mother had quite the family tree.  It was a shame when her light was dimmed too early, but her ties to us were weak enough that even we could do nothing to save her.  For that, too, I feel there must be reparations.”

Ichigo pushed himself to his feet and tucked the shamisen into the top of his open bag.  This was getting too strange to take sitting down.

“I am sorry, Hakuzosu-san, but I must admit that this is all rather confusing.” He looked over the man again.  His suit was clearly expensive, and he was groomed within an inch of his life. His nails were manicured, and his hair styled just so. He was wearing two rings, but neither looked like any of the magical items he’d seen in Kisuke’s books. Other than that, he looked like anyone else attending a wedding.  But something felt strange about him.  It wasn’t any sort of spirit energy Ichigo had encountered before, but it was definitely not normal. The disturbing thing was that it felt faintly familiar.

“Kurosaki-san,” the man stepped closer and Ichigo was forced to look up at him.  He was tall. “Is there something special—maybe something just beyond your reach—that I could possibly help you achieve?”

Kisuke’s face flashed through Ichigo’s mind, and Ichigo flushed a little.  That was not something he wanted to talk to this stranger about, even if there were anything anyone could do.

“The offer is appreciated, Hakuzosu-san, but no.” He bowed deeply. “I am happy enough to have been reunited with lost family and to know that my shamisen playing didn’t ruin your granddaughter’s wedding. That is gift enough.”

He looked up at the taller man and suddenly made a connection. Ichimaru Gin.  The man looked like an older version of Ichimaru Gin.

“Hakuzosu-san,” he asked a little tentatively, “you wouldn’t happen to have connections to the Ichimaru family, do you?”

The toothy grin appeared again, this time with a hint of canine a little too long for comfort.  “Oh, I wouldn’t be surprised, Kurosaki-san.  The family is quite prolific, and we’ve spread ourselves far and wide.  I am fairly certain I’ve heard of a few Ichimarus. Why do you ask?”

Ichigo stared.  That certainly put the cherry on the weird sundae of the day. “For a moment you reminded me of someone.  He was an almost-friend, I guess you could say.”

Something that looked almost like sadness flashed across the older man’s face and Ichigo was fairly sure he knew about Gin’s death, whether he admitted it or not.

“Well, at least he had you as an almost-friend,” Hakuzosu said, strangely, and then bent over and picked something up from the ground between them.

“This is a pretty thing,” he said, holding up a small pale ball, larger than a pearl but smaller than a pigeon’s egg, “you must have dropped it.”

Ichigo held out his hand and the sphere was dropped into it.  It was a pretty thing, it almost glowed as he held it, but Ichigo had never seen it before.

“It isn’t mine, Hakuzosu-san,” he said, trying to hand it back, but the older man stepped back dropping his hands, refusing the action.

“It is now,” he said, a real smile twitching his lip.  “Some of the most valuable things in life come to us through happy accidents, Kurosaki-san.”

Ichigo closed his fingers around the little ball. It felt warm and pleasant in his palm.  Happy accident?  Why not?

“Thank you, Hakuzosu-san,” he said with another bow, “I will keep it and remember my good luck of reconnecting with my mother’s family.  Are you certain I can’t convince you—and any other members of the wedding party, of course—to come by the house for a visit?  You could meet my younger sisters—they’re twins.  I’m sure they’d love to hear any stories you could tell about our mother.  We were all very young when she died.”

Hakuzosu pulled an old-fashioned pocket watch out of his vest pocket and made a tutting sound. “I’m afraid that I must decline, but your invitation will be remembered, and I’m sure the rest of the family will appreciate it. I suggest you pack up your things before they become irreparably damp and head back to Urahara’s.  He will want to see your new acquisition, I’m sure.”  His tight-lipped smile reminded Ichigo of Gin so strongly that he stepped back a pace. “And I will see you again…  soon.”

The well-dressed man turned at that and disappeared through the tree branches, gone as quickly as he had appeared, the promise lingering in the air.

Ichigo looked at the—stone? —in his hand and suddenly what Hakuzosu said clicked.  Head back to Urahara’s.  He’d never mentioned Kisuke or the shōten.  How did he know about them?

“Hakuzosu-san?” He pushed through the pine trees and out onto the main path of the garden.  There was no one there.  No wedding party.  No dapper old man with salt-and-pepper hair and a knife-edged grin.  What the hell was going on?

To his left, just off the path, a gray fox stared at him, mouth open in its own foxy smile and then…  it just disappeared.

[volcanofireflame150]

A Soul meets another Seoul

Ch1; Ch9

Chapter 8

I was still watching the guys meditating without losing their focus because I raised up my Scythe and casted Fire Shields all over 9 members, I had to pick something different for Chanyeol because I was told that he was hoping to be a Pyromancer but I choose something different he can be a Pyromancer, but as a healer, since I'm the warrior type of a Pyromancer, then I was told by Jaguar saying, "I'm a Balance elemental, Akari, I'm not just Fire, I am a mixture of all the elements of the world he lives in." "Thank you for reminding me, Lady Jaguar," I said, "You are free to correct me for getting your gender wrong." "I didn't say anything," she said, "You got my gender right." "Grim Earth is male," says Blizzard, "Same with Hurricane, he prefers Hurricane than his full name." "Kai, he can call me Majestic Rose, Reckless Leviathan, or Majestic Leviathan just not Reckless Rose," said Leviathan. I asked, "Did I get the gender right on Curious Heart?" "Indeed," said mother, "Swift Winter is female even though she can be acting like a male. Little Earth, the name is pretty clear on what gender Earth is." "Little Earth is female," I said, "Which I was confused about Grim Earth." "Same but Little Earth is more of a healer than a fight, she only attacks if needed," said Grim Earth, "Kyungsoo can call me Talon and Yixing can call Little Earth, Raven, she prefers Raven as her Shikai calling." "But first they need to have a strong connection with us," said Halo, with a thick accent. Shadow Phoenix said, "I think Akari knows on what she is doing, she has known me for all her life." I looked at Xiumin, went to Blizzard, and said to her, "He's ready, go to him." Blizzard went to him, then from then now she starts telling him on what he needs to know about her, then I was looking at the other guys on who is getting close, Raven was already grown close to Yixing, Shadow Phoenix said, "You can bring his shield down." I made his shield go away, Yixing came to me and said, "Thanks for making me being the healer." "You are not just the healer, Chanyeol is," I told him, "I can see that she's excited to meet you and grown closer to you." "It literally took me 5 minutes to get close to her," said Yixing. Then all the guys got connected with their Zanpakutos, I asked them, "Are you ready to learn Shikai or do you want to keep getting to know the spirits of your Zanpakutos?" "We can still do that? asked Chanyeol. I nodded, "It's all up to you if you want to learn Shikai but let me just say this, minus me, Ichigo, and Urahara, everyone here in the Soul Society has to train for 10 years in order to learn Shikai, same thing with Bankai, but Bankai is 10 or more years to master." "We'll let you know if we want to know," said Suho. Yixing stepped up and asked, "What do I do for Shikai?" "I'll let Urahara on what Shikai is," I told him then called Urahara over. Yixing began his training on Shikai with Urahara, but I told him to not use the same technique with what he did with Ichigo, Yixing is learning on his own same with the others, they have to master Shikai and Bankai on their own, just like the rest of us. He understood this because I didn't go to him, I did my own training, plus I didn't know who he was, I just went off to do my own thing, then things start happening, I was approached by this guy who has a creepy smile, I ask, "Who are you?" "I should ask you," he said. I said, "My name is Itsuki Akari Hitsugaya, now tell me on who you are." "I'm Gin Ichimaru," he said, "Might I say you are very alerted when someone approaches you." "It only happens if someone bad is approaching," I said, in a very low voice. Then a black with red aura laser passed through between us but near Ichimaru, I looked, there was Ichigo and Renji, I was not expecting them to show up at all, well, thank goodness they did, I'm feeling terror throughout my body. Ichigo told Ichimaru, "Leave her alone, you bastard!" "My, my, I see that you came to protect her," said Ichimaru, "Let's see on how that will last." Then he disappeared with me in his grasp, I can't even move away from him, all I can hear was Ichigo and Renji yelling my name ringing through my head. Whoever this Gin is bad for, I can't even make an attack move he terrified me that much, I can't even move, I could only fall to my knees because there was that much terror. Then a certain thought was making its way to being known, it was Ichigo's saying, "Get up and do something!" Which I couldn't even do, then who actually saved me from Ichimaru was Rukia's brother, Byakuya, which he only sliced him a couple times and Ichimaru was down. He turned around and said to someone, "She's in here, Rangiku." "Thank you," I hear Rangiku. I was transported to safety, I couldn't break away the trance of terror I was put under, Renji asked Ichigo, "What should we do?" "I would suggest that we slap her but she hits back," said Ichigo, "Well, we have no choice but to." Renji lightly tapped me on my face, nothing worked, Ichigo tried to snap his fingers in front of me, that didn't work. Renji did the most unthinkable thing, he said to me, "Hey, Akari, Shuhei wants to know if you want to go on your 1st date with." "Do you really think that would work?" asked Ichigo, "Also, don't play with her emotions!" "It's the only thing I can come up with," said Renji. A few moments go by, I started to overcome the trance when I heard Shuhei asking, "Is she alright? Is she hurt anywhere?" "No, she's just in a trance," says Rukia, "We are trying everything we can to get her out of the trance but nothing is working." He came into view, saying, "Akari, I hope I can still give you that present for your birthday coming up." Everybody freaked which worked, Ichigo asked, "When is her birthday?!" "Ah, shoot, I didn't get her anything!" Rukia freaked. Shuhei asked Renji, "Can you help bring her gifts in?" "You got them already?" asked Ichigo. Shuhei nodded, for a while Renji was helping Shuhei with something, then what really knocked me out of the trance was when I was hearing noises that foxes make, I looked and there was an Arctic Fox and a Red Fox. I squealed, "Bring the Arctic Fox to me!" I could not help myself when it comes to foxes, Shuhei asked, "Now, which one do you want to keep?" "The Arctic Fox," I said, "But I'll keep both since you went all this trouble." "Nah, I'll let you have the Artic Fox as your birthday gift since you did say it first," said Shuhei, leaving with the Red Fox. The Arctic Fox is so beautiful, I held her tight, then I saw the tag saying it was for Yoruichi so I'm guessing he mixed up the foxes, though I do not mind babysitting her little Fox. Shadow Phoenix tells me, "That's a familiar for a Zanpakuto." "But, mother, this is for Yoruichi," I told her. Shadow Phoenix figured out on who the Arctic Fox and the Red Fox belongs to, she was giving Shuhei a very upset look. When my birthday came around, I was feeling 2 animals cuddled with me, I looked at who was sharing the bed with me, I saw the 2 foxes and a note saying 'I can't believe that actually fool you, I could've sworn that you would've figured out that these 2 are yours not Yoruichi's or Rangiku's, they are strictly yours. signed Shuhei Hisagi.' Wow, Shuhei was able to actually to fool me, well, he's always serious about certain things, that was necessary because I was in a trance of terror from the encounter of Ichimaru. I do not like that guy what so ever, I got ready for school then teleported to meet up with Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Uryu, and Chad, mostly Uryu, I walked alongside Uryu, "Hey, Uryu." "Hey, Akari, I heard on what happened, are you feeling any fear?" he asked. I shook my head, "Not any more, I had to take a few days away for me to get back to my normal state of mind, just as long as he doesn't show up anymore." "Don't worry I'm sure that Ichigo and your friends will be there to defend you," I hear Uryu say. I felt a sense of hope in his words, then I began to walk slowly so I could meet up with Ichigo, then I noticed he is busy at the moment. I felt like a burden now, all I want to do is say thank you to him. Then I heard a female voice calling my name when I met back up with Uryu, I looked at my right, I had to stop Uryu, I asked, "Did you hear that?" "Hear what exactly?" he said, in confusion but now serious when I told him, "I was hearing someone calling my name." "Which direction did it come from? he asked. I looked at the right direction and pointed at it, which from what the others see, they were thinking I want to do some quick shopping with Uryu so they walked a head without us, well minus Renji, he went with us because I called him over. When we got closer, Uryu and Renji were now hearing the voice calling my name, Renji said, "Stay on the alert guys." We nodded, we got closer and closer, Renji, just in time, shouted, "Akari, get down!!" I got down and an spike almost shot me, Renji and Uryu went to defend me, I got out Shadow Phoenix casted Fire Shields around the 3 of us, and fought alongside them, we kept missing it because what ever it was, it was incredibly fast, it managed to capture me, making me drop my Scythe behind. I can't believe I got myself kidnapped by something strange and might be evil.

Shadow Phoenix's POV: I managed to get into my physical form without harming myself I told the boys, "We need to alert Ichigo and the others, that thing might kill her." "She's right," said Renji, "Ichigo is too focused when he's around Orihime, you, Uryu, Chad, Rukia, and other people, he's drifting away from Akari, she's becoming more of a target to enemies." "Right, let's go," said Uryu. We set off to find the others, thankfully, I can go into Akari's Gigai body, I went as her but I need to let Ichigo know that something happened to my darling. We reached Ichigo and the others, Ichigo asked, "Did you get what you were looking for?" "Something happened Ichigo," said Renji, "Shadow Phoenix is inside of Akari's body because the real Akari has been captured." "Oh no," said Rukia, "By who?" "We couldn't see it, she was with me when she heard someone calling her name," said Uryu, "Ichigo, what have you been doing lately?" "I can tell on what he's been doing," I said, "He's not being her sword every time he is around you guys." "Oh man, I'm an idiot," said Ichigo, "She should've told me in the beginning." "Well, you went too far with what you said to her a few days ago," I said, "Remember she is still 8 years old." "Wait what?" asked everyone. I nodded, "She's still 8 years old, though she acts like a true adult but in reality, she's just a little girl still." We looked at Ichigo, he was gone! Well, his body was here, but it seems like he's going to save her. "You guys should follow him," I said to them, "Go! Save Akari from who ever has her." Then off we went to save Akari, I went to the school and told the people there that Ichigo and the gang are on an early vacation trip, they believed it because I was no longer in Akari's Gigai body, Akari, please be alright. No, I must save her as well as with the others, I went to where the Scythe was, I picked it up and joined the rest, Rukia asked, "Are you sure you want to come along?" "I am her foster mother," I told her, "Every mother saves her child from any harm. Akari, must be saved at all costs or you will receive the worst burn mark of my choosing." "Yeah, let's save her," says Renji, who was the victim of the burn I gave him. We went to find on where she was, I can't sense her anywhere. I can't believe I was beginning to lose faith on finding her, I was beginning to cry mother tears. Akari, where are you? More importantly, where did Ichigo went? I hope he found her quicker than we could.

Akari's POV: I was taken into a small room, I heard a female voice saying, "Good now we can talk." "Sit," said a male, shoving me down to sit. The female asked, "Do you know why we captured you?" "Why did you?" I asked. The male said, "So, we can strip away your Soul Reaper powers!" "What are you talking about?" I asked. The lady said, "You haven't noticed? We are your parents." I was shocked because they do not act like parents to me, back when before I was capture I asked Renji on any news on my parents, this is what he said, "Apparently your father divorced your mother and decided to live in the world of the living and married a twisted woman that corrupted him and stripped his powers away, your mother married another guy who was very sweet and both died trying to save you from Hollows." I was shocked that this is where my journey of finding my parents ends here, I began to laugh insanely, because my fire powers became a part of me, I asked them, "Do you really think I would give up my powers for the likes of you?" "Yes because we truly care about your future," said the woman. Then I heard an aggression tone of voice saying, "Don't you dare lay a finger on her, you bastards!!" "Oh looky here, there is nothing you can do," said the woman. Then Ichigo killed her which turns out to be a Hollow, same with the male who acted like a father but not really, Ichigo killed that one as well. I was going insane at this point, Hichigo managed to come back into me but this time he was not the cause of me going insane in fact he's trying to stop me from going to that point, I kept on laughing manically to the point where Ichigo had to snap me out of it, I was hearing Hichigo telling Ichigo, "I swear this is not my doing I'm trying to stop her!" "Well, get out of her, before you make it worse," said Ichigo. Inside of my mind, Hichigo sees me not laughing but terrified of something, he asked, "What is it?" I pointed at the monster that those 2 managed to get inside my head it was trying to get me to suffocate, then he took care of it, I felt myself going back to normal and started to let it out in tears because that was very terrifying, Hichigo went to me and comforted me, same with Ichigo on the inside. I went back to the Soul Society and took myself off Ichigo's schools attendance because I needed a break for a while. I am only still young, my journey of looking for my parents still is going strong, I hope I can find them before anything else happens.

[darisu-chan]

The Fairest of Them All-Chapter 5

I’m back with one more update before my life consummes me again. Hope you like it. You can read chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4 on the links. Or read the new chapter or complete work in here too. 

Thank you so much for reading and hope you enjoy this new chapter!

See you!

Summary: A runaway princess, a cursed hero, a mad king. The three bring together the fairytale you never knew you needed. Can Princess Shirayuki recover her kingdom? Or will evil King Aizen triumph? And will Kuro ever be able to break his curse?

Chapter 5: Prophecy

Kuro woke up early the following day. He quickly changed into some clothes he had lying around, and started a fire in the chimney. Ishida and Orihime were the next ones to go downstairs. Ishida had already his coat and hat ready. His wife gave him a satchel, and waving them goodbye, he left. Orihime then thanked Kuro for his help, and started preparing breakfast. Kuro went out to cut them some more wood. When he came back, Chad had taken over cooking, while the lady of the house was nowhere to be found. He was glad for that, since Orihime’s food normally gave them stomachaches. On the table, Tatsuki was sharpening her knife, and Keigo was retelling the dream he had had to Mizuiro, who was busy reading a book. Meanwhile, Yoruichi was taking a nap on the window sill. Kuro chuckled at the sight. Those were his friends, alright.

“Everyone, gather round!” Orihime called from the top of the stairs.

Kuro turned around to find his friend walking downstairs, a smile on her face. Once she was down, she stood to the side, revealing the other person who was walking behind her. It was Shirayuki. She was dressed in a pink dress, which had probably been Orihime’s, but it had been fixed so it would fit her. And fit her, it did. The fabric clung to her every curve, as small as they were. Then, he looked at her face. It was clear Orihime had also cut her hair, making it even. It now reached her neck, framing her face perfectly. He noticed that there was a stray hair which rested between her eyes. It made them look bigger. He didn’t know if they were blue or violet, but they were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen.

“You look amazing, princess!” Keigo exclaimed loudly. His voice brought Kuro back from his stupor.

“Thank you, Keigo.” She answered. “But please call me Shirayuki.”

“Shirayuki it is!”

“Close your mouth or flees will fly in.” Tatsuki whispered in his ear, a grin in her face.

“Shut up.” Kuro muttered.

“Good morning.” Mizuiro greeted Shirayuki. “Hope you had a good night.”

“It was excellent, thank you.” She replied, taking a seat next to Mizuiro, just in time for Chad to start serving them breakfast. They all sat down and started eating.

“It must have been!” Keigo exclaimed. “After Ishida’s and Orihime’s, Kuro has the best bed!”

Shirayuki turned to look at Kuro startled. Her cheeks began turning a pretty shade of pink. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to keep you out of your room.”

Kuro just laughed. “It was no problem at all. But if you offer, you can sleep on the couch tonight, and I’ll get the bed.” He joked like he normally would with his friends. Then he stopped when he remembered who he was talking to.

Shirayuki laughed too. “It’s a nice offer, but I’m afraid I won’t take it. My back hurts a bit. But I’m sure the couch is nice enough for you.” Kuro snorted. He recalled what Orihime had told him the night before. Maybe they could really be friends.

“Your back hurts? Why didn’t you say so?” Orihime said, already fretting over the girl.

“It’s fine, Orihime. Really.” She told her, trying to calm her down. “It’s to be expected after sleeping in a dirty dungeon.”

“Dungeon?” Tatsuki said out loud. “They kept you in a dungeon?” Her eyes narrowed.

“Yes.” Shirayuki said, shying away a bit.

“How dare they?!” Keigo retorted, enraged. “Are you alright?! To think they’d keep the princess in a dungeon! What is Aizen thinking?”

“Keigo.” Kuro warned him. “Enough.” He then turned to Shirayuki, who was playing with her spoon. “We’ll get him, alright?” He said, putting his hand over hers. The girl looked at his hand and then at him. She nodded, giving him a small smile. Then he noticed the sly looks Tatsuki and Orihime were giving him. As inconspicuously as possible, he retracted his hand. “We have a long day of planning ahead, so eat well.” He told her, and he started digging into his food.

As they ate, Kuro observed the princess. Shirayuki truly was a gorgeous thing, with mesmerizing eyes, soft-looking skin and luscious lips. But her physical appearance wasn’t what intrigued him. It was something he had noticed in her the moment they had met. There was a fire inside of her. A light that blinded everyone around her. She had an indomitable spirit, and he liked that. She would need it if she wanted to defeat Aizen and recover her kingdom.

Aizen. The name brought back awful memories of when he had lost it all. His family. His kingdom. His strength. His will. Kuro believed he was no one if he didn’t possess the strength to protect those around him. With each passing day, he grew weaker and weaker. His body was almost completely covered in the cursed markings. He would soon be dead. The only thing that kept him going was the fact that he needed to defeat Aizen. Kuro couldn’t possibly die without taking the man down with him. He owed it to everyone in the room. He was just glad he had lived long enough to meet Shirayuki. Surely, when the time came, he would be able to leave things to her.

After breakfast ended, everyone scattered round to do their individuals chores. They would have a meeting later, when Ishida came back from town. In the meantime, Kuro decided to go fishing. The day before he hadn’t been able to hunt anything, and their resources would be scarce if he didn’t go out and look for food. Fishing was the better option since the lake was nearby. He took a satchel, his fishing rod, a bucket, hooks and chum. Kuro headed to the door, calling to Orihime.

“I’m going to the lake to fish.” He told her, door already opened.

“Why don’t you take Shirayuki?” She asked him.

Kuro groaned. Not again. “Look, stop that already. The things you’re imagining won’t happen. Ever. So drop it.”

Orihime looked offended. She crossed her arms before telling him off. “What I meant to say was that she’d be less bored with you. She’s a princess, so I don’t expect her to help me and Chad with cleaning and cooking. You know how Tatsuki is, she’d rather be alone to train. And Mizuiro’s been writing non-stop. You can either take her or leave her with Keigo.” She told him, pointing to the window. He looked out and found Keigo wildly telling a story to Shirayuki, who was smiling politely.

“Fine.” He said, grumbling. He knew better than to argue with her.

“Great.” Orihime smiled as if nothing had happened. “Take these apples for the trip.” She said, grabbing two red apples and giving them to him.

Kuro took them and nodded. Waving goodbye, he left the house and walked towards Shirayuki and Keigo. “Shirayuki.” He called her. “Let’s go.” The girl nodded and stood up.

“Where are we going?” She asked him.

“Fishing.” He replied.

“I want to go too!” Keigo added. “Just let me go for the spare rod!”

“No.” Kuro said faster than he had intended.

“What?! Why not?!” Keigo complained.

“I need you here to cut some more wood and to keep an eye on Mizuiro.”

Keigo winced. “Is he writing again?”

“Yes.”

“Fine.”

“Also, you’re in charge of Yoruichi until we get back.”

“What?! Why me?!” Keigo whined.

“Because you’re the only one who’s not doing anything.” Since Keigo couldn’t argue with that, Kuro just left, Shirayuki trailing behind him.

As they walked, Kuro couldn’t help but observe Shirayuki. She was a curious one, looking around, taking in the scenery. She smiled every time she caught sight of a bird, a squirrel or a bug. Her reactions made him smile. Even if she couldn’t see it because his hood hid his face.

“Where did Orihime get that dress?” He asked her suddenly.

“She told me she had it lying around. It’s from when she was younger.” Shirayuki answered. “She still had to fix some parts that were too big for me.” She added. It was understandable since Orihime was taller and curvier than Shirayuki was.

“She did a good job.” He said. It was true. The dress fit her like a glove.

“She was very fast.” Shirayuki said, awed. “I was impressed.”

“Orihime’s good at sewing.” His friend was terrible at cooking, but sewing was her specialty. “Ishida’s good at it too. They both have made our clothes.”

She inspected his hood and pants. “They did a great job. It’s really amazing how good they are at it. I can only embroider.”

“Embroider? Yeah, I guess that’s something fitting for a princess.” Kuro wondered out loud.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Shirayuki asked him, while raising an eyebrow.

“Nothing.” He shrugged. “It’s just something that I expected a princess to know.”

“That’s not all. I also know how to horse ride.” She replied. “And dance and sing.”

“All befitting a princess.” Kuro declared with a playful tone.

“And swordfight.” She added, grinning at his shock expression.

“You know how to fight with swords?” He asked her, clearly surprised.

Her grin widened. “My father taught me.” Then, she turned sad. “Wish I had been able to fight by his side when it mattered. But I only stayed on the sidelines, watching as he got killed.” Her tone was self-deprecating and Kuro hated it. He couldn’t stand it.

He stopped and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Look at me.” He demanded. “What happened to your father is not your fault.” He said, looking at her in the eye. “Aizen and his men use dark magic to become stronger. You couldn’t have possibly won against him.”

“But I could’ve tried.” She said stubbornly.

“No. It’s good you didn’t.” Kuro told her. “He would’ve killed you or maimed you on the spot. To defeat him, you need to be a hundred steps ahead. It takes cunning and organization. Not brute force. Believe me, I’ve tried.” He said, gesturing to his hood.

Shirayuki frowned. “Is this why you have yet to strike?”

“Yep.” He said, starting to walk again. “Ishida’s been thinking of multiple tactics that could work against Aizen. We’ve just been waiting for the ideal moment to attack. But I think that might be sooner than we thought.”

She nodded, accepting that as an answer.

They kept walking until the lake came into view. It was a wonderful sight, if he said so himself. The water sparkled under the sunlight, glimmering like a star. The breeze felt nice against the skin. And, overall, it was just peaceful. They sat down side by side, and Kuro taught her how to fish. He put the rod in the water and they waited for the first fish to take the bait.

“It’s really calm here.” Shirayuki suddenly said, as Kuro put the rod into the water again after putting the fish in the bucket.

“Not a lot of people come around here. They mostly live back in town.”

“So it’s just you seven?”

“Eight if you count Yoruichi.” He said. “By the way, remind me to catch one more fish for her. She loves them.”

“I still can’t believe you have a talking cat.” Shirayuki muttered.

“She’s not a cat.” Kuro said. “She’s a human that got turned into a cat.”

“A curse?” She asked him, believing Aizen had done it.

“More like an accident.” He answered. “Her best friend is a powerful wizard. Sadly, he’s prone to a lot of mishaps. Yoruichi’s cat transformation was one of them.” He explained as he pulled one more fish out of the water. “As she told us, she wanted to see what it was like to be a cat for a day. He tried a spell he had just come up with, and she’s been a cat for a decade.”

Shirayuki snorted. “Magic. Spells. Curses. Talking cats.” She listed. “To think those things from fairytales are real.”

“Believe me, I was surprised too.” Kuro retorted. “If I hadn’t been cursed, I wouldn’t have believed in them.”

“So why is Yoruichi with you?” She asked. “If she’s been a cat for that long, surely she had a home.”

“Well, when I got cursed, I started searching for someone who could help me break the curse. After searching for months, I found Urahara. He told me that I had two options. I chose defeating Aizen, since it was something I wanted to do anyway. As I didn’t have any money to repay Urahara for his ‘services’, he told me to bring Yoruichi with me, in hopes her curse would break too.” He said.

“How would that happen?”

“Aizen has a magic mirror he stole from the king of my land. If we ask the mirror, maybe he can tell us how to make Yoruichi human again.”

Shirayuki contemplated all the information for a moment. “What was the other option to break the curse? Surely it would have been easier to do that, and then defeat Aizen.”

Kuro sighed. “It’s actually much more complicated. Apparently, the only one who can break my curse is the fairest of them all.” He said, a defeated tone in his voice. “I don’t even know what that’s supposed to mean. That’s all Urahara could tell me.”

Shirayuki’s eyes suddenly lit up. “I know that story! My father’s friends used to tell it to me when I was young.”

“Do explain.” Kuro said.

“The fairest of them all is a maiden who has the purest of souls─”

“─And the truest of hearts.” He finished for her. “Yes. I’ve heard. Difficult to find. I even doubt she exists.”

“Not only that.” Shirayuki continued. “She’s meant to be as kind as she’s beautiful, and as beautiful as she’s kind. She can break any spell.”

“Name one person you think fits that description.” Kuro said ironically.

“Orihime.” Shirayuki said before thinking. “She’s kind and beautiful. I wouldn’t doubt her soul is pure too.”

“Yeah, well, I thought so too.” Kuro said, eyes looking misty.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. After Urahara told us about her, she tried to break the curse. She really did. But she couldn’t.” He explained. “For it to work, Urahara also told me this girl should love me above all else.”

“Ishida?” She wondered.

“Ishida.” He admitted.

Shirayuki looked at her hands, not knowing what to say. Kuro stayed silent for a few moments, and then continued. “She actually hadn’t realized she loved Ishida until she kissed me. They got married soon after.”

“I’m sorry.” She told him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s fine. I was relieved, actually. Even if it saddened me to still be cursed, I was happy that I didn’t have to reject her. I’ve always seen her just as a sister. I’m glad now the feeling’s mutual. But…”

“Deep down you wanted to feel loved?” Shirayuki finished for him.

Kuro’s eyes looked sad, and then surprised. “Yeah…” He trailed off.

“Maybe for it to work, you’d need to love her too.” She replied.

He nodded, and then caught the next fish. As he worked, he spoke again. “After that failed, I started making plans to come and defeat Aizen. My original idea was to come here by myself, but the rest weren’t having it. Ishida called me an idiot, and told me he’d come with me. That his family owned property in this kingdom, and that he was going to help me out. He wouldn’t take no for an answer. I think he felt guilty after having married Orihime.” Kuro explained. “Orihime wouldn’t let us come alone, so she tagged along. Tatsuki thought it’d be fun, and decided to come too.”

“And what about the rest?”

“Chad’s been by my side for years. He didn’t need to tell me anything. I knew he was coming whether I liked it or not. As for Keigo and Mizuiro, they wanted in too. After that, we all traveled all the way here and settled in this place.”

“I meant to ask… not everyone seems like a fighter, so why did they come?”

“Ishida is an excellent tactician. Back when we served the prince, he always came up with the best tactics to ensure our victory in fights. He’s also a damn good archer, and a proficient swordsman. Though I’m better.” Kuro proclaimed proudly. “He’s also knowledgeable in the history, geography and politics of your kingdom. He’s mother was originally from here. So, I really would’ve been a fool not to let him come with me.” Shiryauki nodded. “As for Orihime, even if we didn’t want her to accompany us in the beginning, she’s a healer. We’ve gotten hurt multiple times since we started our journey. She’s the only one who gets us back to normal.”

“I noticed that when she healed my scratches. They vanished overnight.” She said, showing him her arms, which had been covered in scratches yesterday.

“That’s Orihime for you.” He nodded. “And wherever Orihime goes, Tatsuki goes too.”

“She told me yesterday you introduced her to Tatsuki.”

“Yeah. Tatsuki’s my childhood friend. Ishida, Tatsuki and I used to play all the time as kids. When I saved Orihime, I immediately brought her to Tatsuki. I knew she would take care of her. They’ve been inseparable ever since.” He reminisced. “As for Tatsuki, we trained together in self-defense. She can disarm anyone. She’s also very stealthy.”

“She looks tough.”

“She is. She used to kick my ass when we were kids. She could still take me down if she wanted to.”

Shirayuki laughed. “I can imagine it.”

“She can’t take Chad, though. He’s as unmovable as a mountain.”

“You seem pretty close.”

“We are. Chad and I met some years ago, and we’ve had each other’s backs ever since. He was a guard like me.” Kuro said. “We’ve been through so many adventures that I can’t imagine him not being here.”

Shirayuki smiled. “And what about Keigo and Mizuiro?” She asked.

“Keigo’s not a fighter.” Kuro explained. “He’s just very good at hiding and breaking into buildings. Even if he’s loud and obnoxious all the time, he can pass by anyone. He’s been in a lot of recon missions before.”

“That’s impressive.” Shirayuki whistled. “He doesn’t give off that vibe.”

“Yeah. He only gets serious when he’s on a mission. He’s an idiot most of the time.”

The princess laughed laughed, and then grew serious. “What about Mizuiro? What did you mean by he’s writing again?”

Kuro frowned. “None of us are magical, except for Mizuiro. Sometimes, he gets premonitions of events, and he doesn’t rest until he’s written all of them down. He feels very sick right after.”

“Premonitions?”

“Yes. Predictions of future events. Most of the time we don’t know what they mean. All of us read them over and over, trying to figure them out, but we haven’t been successful yet. He even predicted I’d get cursed.” He said. “It’d really save us time if we could understand them.”

“Perhaps I can help you with that. I’m good with puzzles.” Shirayuki claimed.

“Thanks.” He answered. Then he took the apples out of his satchel. “Wanna eat? It will soon be noon.”

The princess gently took an apple from his hand. “They’re so red and big!” She exclaimed. “And juicy!” She added after she took a bite. “I haven’t had one like this in a long time.”

Kuro chuckled. “They sell them in the town nearby. Maybe we can go someday and buy more.” He said, and then bit his tongue. It was an impossibility, since it’d be dangerous for Shirayuki to stroll into town when Aizen wanted her dead.

“Id’ like that.” She said softly, cheeks red, and eyes sparkling like the water in front of them.

Kuro’s heart skipped a beat and he felt his face turn hot. He silently cursed himself. This girl couldn’t possibly have this effect on him.

“So none of you are from this kingdom.” Shirayuki muttered as they ate.

“No. We came from Karakura.” That was the neighboring kingdom.

“That means none of you know my real name.” She stated.

“Wait! Shirayuki’s not your real name?” Kuro asked, shocked.

She laughed. “It’s as much my real name as Kuro is yours.”

“So Orihime told you.” He grumbled.

“I would have found out by myself anyway.” She snorted, remembering how she made fun of him for having such a ridiculous name.

“So if Shirayuki’s not your real name, why does everybody call you that?” He asked her, clearly curious about it.

“It’s a nickname given to me by my mother. And then the whole kingdom started calling me that. It’s no wonder no one outside of here knows my real name.” Shirayuki explained.

“I’d like to know your real name.” Kuro said before he could stop himself.

She smiled mysteriously at him. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”

Kuro looked down at the almost eaten apple in his hand. He couldn’t tell her. Not just yet. It was imperative no one outside of his friends knew.

“I’ll wait.” She said. “You have a deep, deep secret. I can see it. And I have no right to know. I have no method of stepping into the depths of your heart without getting it dirty. So I’ll wait. When you want to talk to me, you’ll tell me your name, and then I’ll tell you mine. But only until the time comes. I will wait until then.”

“Shirayuki…” Kuro whispered, awestruck. He had never met someone like her. Someone who would not meddle in his affairs and wait until he was ready. He felt as if his whole life, everyone around him had forced him to do things against his will. This girl was the only one who declared she’d wait for him.

He nodded and he watched her smile. He wasn’t yet tired of her smile.

After they deemed that they had caught sufficient fish, they packed their things and headed back. Shirayuki this time carried the satchel, as a way to help Kuro. He had told her it wasn’t necessary, but she wouldn’t listen to him. He soon found out she was really stubborn, even as stubborn as he was. He let her, just to get her to shut up, he told himself. In reality, he liked how pleased she looked and how she had smiled at him when he gave her the satchel. As they walked back, Shirayuki happily talked to him about many things. She commented about the weather, and then she told him about how she used to climb trees when she was a child. He listened to her intently. Kuro liked the sound of her voice. It was deeper than he had expected from a princess, but so reassuring.

“So how old are you?” She suddenly asked.

“Why do you want to know?” He retorted.

“When you speak, you always sound like an old man remembering his life. But you can’t possibly be over twenty.” She explained.

“Thanks for calling me old.” He said, faking a frown.

“You’re welcome.” She added, a smirk on her face.

Kuro shook his head. She was impossible. “I’m eighteen. I turn nineteen in the summer.”

Shirayuki gasped and then smiled at him. “I’m eighteen too! Who would’ve thought we were the same age when you look much older?” She exclaimed.

“That’s ‘cause you’re so short! Of course you look younger, like you’re thirteen!”

“Well, you’re too tall! Who’s this tall?” She added.

“A lot of people are!” He yelled.

That got them into an argument. They bickered the rest of the way, only stopping when they were already at the door. They turned to look at each other, gasping for breath, and their faces completely flushed. Then they started laughing as if they had finally laughed after many years. When Shirayuki turned to look at him, with her doe-like eyes and her blinding smile, Kuro thought his heart would stop completely. He stared at her as if he was just truly seeing her. Why did she have this effect in him? Nothing like this had ever happened to Kuro before. He just couldn’t understand it. As she went in the cottage, he stopped thinking about those things. It wouldn’t do for him to entertain such thoughts. Walking inside, he greeted his friends. They were all sitting, except for Ishida and Mizuiro, around the table, looking at a piece of parchment.

“What’s going on?” He asked, taking a seat next to Chad. Shirayuki sat down too, next to him.

“Mizuiro just finished writing another prophecy.” Keigo explained.

“We’re trying to figure it out.” Tatsuki added.

“Let me see.” Kuro said, and started reading the words out loud. “The eclipse will happen. The eclipse is near. When the two forces join together, their light will vanquish all evil. But beware of he whose madness reigns. He will not rest until he destroys the world. Beware of the red, the red of blood. No matter how juicy it looks.” He stopped reading. He stole a glance to Shirayuki, who seemed as perplexed as he felt. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out.” Tatsuki muttered sarcastically.

“We think we figured out one part.” Orihime said, ignoring her friend. “The part where it says ‘beware of he whose madness reigns’ must refer to Aizen.”

They all nodded in agreement.

“But what of the other part?” Kuro asked. “It says two forces will vanquish all evil, meaning they will defeat Aizen. But who are these forces?”

“It also talks about an eclipse.” Shirayuki said. “And the red of blood… blood… I got it!” She exclaimed.

“What? What is it?” Kuro asked excitedly.

“A blood moon!” She answered. “A total lunar eclipse!”

They all gasped and started talking a mile a minute.

“Of course!” Kuro exclaimed.

“It makes sense!” Keigo nodded.

“The two forces must mean the sun and the moon! They need to be aligned with Earth!” Orihime said happily.

“But when will there be a lunar eclipse?” Tatsuki grumbled. “They don’t always happen.”

Yoruichi took that moment to jump on the table. “In three months’ time, we will have a lunar eclipse.”

“How do you know?” Chad asked.

“I’m a supernatural cat. I know these things.” Offering only that as an exclamation, she leapt off the table and walked to the door, just in time for Ishida to burst in.

“Everyone!” He yelled. “I’ve got news!”

“What is it, dear?” Orihime asked him, standing up to greet him.

“In exactly three months, Aizen will have a ball. All of his subjects are invited.” He explained.

They all looked at each other and nodded. It could not just be a coincidence.

That night it was decided. In three months they would all attend the ball, and enact their plan. It had to go well. After all, the blood moon was on their side.

[akaluan]

Tag Rambles 5: Ichigo and hugs

((So from this post I was challenged by Ven to do a series of drabbles out of the tags. This does go above 500 words, but you know what, I’ll take it. Thought y’all could use a bit more fluff before I go incommunicado for a day. Enjoy!))

(TAGS: Ichigo gives and receives hugs freely once he realizes people want em legacy of basically raising his sisters)

In the aftermath of the invasion, it’s almost instinct to drape an arm over Ishida’s shoulders and pull the other into a hug. It’s /relief/ and /comfort/ and /reassurance/, something that he needs just as much as he’s certain everyone /else/ does.

Ishida tenses in his hold, gaze wary and uncertain, but Ichigo pulls him a bit closer and meets Ishida’s gaze as calmly as he can. It takes a moment, but Ishida breathes a silent sigh and relaxes, leaning into Ichigo’s side and wrapping one arm around his waist.

Ichigo can almost feel the way Ishida is soaking up the contact, and resolves to do it more often; clearly Ishida is similar to Karin, wanting hugs but never wanting to /ask/ for one. It’ll take a while to learn Ishida’s tells, but Ichigo’s confident in his ability.

(Especially with the way Ishida is subtly clinging to him. Like he never expects to get another.)

(He’d been too distracted by training to notice until now. Damn.)

Then Ishida tenses again, breath hissing between his teeth. “Where is senpai going?”

Ichigo looks over, just in time to see Kaito making his way to the door, and has to wonder that himself. Did Kaito have somewhere else to be, or… was he running from them?

Orihime darts after Kaito, catching him right before he can open the door, and hugs him from behind. The way Kaito tenses, the way he twists around to stare blankly at Orihime, confirms Ichigo’s fears; Kaito had been running. Had not expected to be stopped.

(Didn’t intend to ‘inflict his presence’ on them any more than he deemed necessary.)

“Go on,” Ishida murmurs, pulling away and nudging at Ichigo’s side. “You’re better at this than the rest of us.”

Ichigo rolls his eyes but he goes, striding to Kaito’s side and resting a hand on the man’s shoulder.

“Maa, I’m not precisely needed here—”

Ichigo scoffs and tugs lightly at Kaito, trying to draw him away from the door and back to the others. Kaito’s shoulder is rigid, muscles tensed to the limit, and there’s something /wild/ and fearful about his gaze. “You’re ridiculous,” Ichigo says firmly. “You’re our friend, of course you’re needed here.”

Instead of being a comfort, though, his words only seem to make things worse. Disbelief flickers through Kaito’s expression, before it all smooths out once more and Ichigo is left guessing all over again.

(He hates Kaito’s masks. Hates them and whatever need gave birth to them with all his soul.)

Orihime lets go and steps back, and Ichigo steps in, unwilling to give Kaito an opportunity to escape before he can press his argument. But words so rarely seem to sway Kaito, only /actions/ do—

(He remembers Orihime’s words, and the similarities between Kaito and Ishida. And he wonders—)

—so instead of speaking, Ichigo wraps his arms around Kaito and pulls the man into a hug. Tries to /prove/ to the other that he matters. That they care. That they /love/ him.

Kaito is stiff in his hold, as if Ichigo is trying to hug a statue, and for a moment Ichigo wonders if he’s gone too far. Pushed the boundaries beyond acceptable.

(Kaito’s never reached out to them before, not even for casual touch. Perhaps he simply… doesn’t like it?)

Except suddenly he slumps against Ichigo like a statue coming to life, his arms moving to tentatively wrap around Ichigo in turn. It’s like Ichigo’s actions shocked him into stillness, and only now is Kaito able to process.

Ichigo can’t help the pleased noise that slips free, even as he tightens his grip and just /holds/ his friend. Tries to convey everything that he cannot say aloud. He catches Chad’s gaze and tilts his head, wondering if Chad would be willing to try as well.

(Kaito’s body is trembling faintly in his grip. Tiny, minute shivers that Ichigo doubts Kaito is aware of.)

Chad nods and steps closer, and Ichigo gently frees himself and lets Chad take his place. This time, Ichigo is relieved to see, Kaito goes willingly into the hug, letting Chad hold him close and pressing his forehead against Chad’s chest.

(After everything Kaito went through for this invasion, how much of a relief must this be? To be held. Reassured. /Cared about./)

Right. Ichigo’s not going to let it get this far again. Not with Kaito or Ishida, not with Orihime or Tatsuki, or even Chad.

(If there’s anything he’s learned while raising Yuzu and Karin, it’s that hugs are a necessary part of life.)

[zephfair]

Day 23 Bar AU Grimmichi

Day 23: Bar AU

Ichigo comes in to celebrate with his friends. Grimmjow is the hot bartender. A fight ensues because this is Ichigo’s life.

Just a quick trope-filled one for today because I’m trying to catch up.

NOTE: This is obviously a work of fiction. Please don’t get in bar fights, kids. Violence is never the answer.

Rated: T for the fight and one mention of blood. And alcohol.

“It’s supposed to be a bachelor party—lighten up, Ichigo!” Keigo yelled at him over the chaotic noise of the bar.

Ichigo just rolled his eyes as they looked around for seats, but he did try to loosen his typical scowl. He didn’t want to ruin his friends’ night, even if he didn’t really drink and he definitely didn’t enjoy crowds.

He’d gone past the neighborhood bar a lot of times, but it had never looked as busy as it did that night. Figured. There was apparently some kind of important sports game on because all the TVs were blaring and fans were clustered underneath them, screaming or booing in turn.

Ichigo was too busy with med school to waste time going out anymore. But, it seemed important to help celebrate Ishida’s upcoming wedding. When they did actually meet up, Ichigo always felt like Ishida was silently judging him, just because Orihime had had a silly crush on him in high school.

Ichigo was happy that things had worked out the way they were meant to, and he was nothing but pleased for Ishida and Orihime. In fact, he was a little amused at how shell-shocked Ishida still looked about the whole thing, as though he was just now realizing he’d finally grown the balls to ask Orihime for a date, let alone actually ask her to marry him.

Ichigo knew that Ishida had just as few friends as he did since the only times they saw each other were on campus, but leave it to Keigo to rally the guys still in town and propose a night out. As much as Ichigo didn’t like the rowdy bar, it was definitely worlds better than a strip club.

Mizuiro finally pointed at a table and pushed his way through the throng, Ishida, Keigo and Chad following him. Renji nodded at the bar, “We might as well go get a couple pitchers. They’re too busy to have table service.”

“Good idea,” Ichigo agreed and followed him. The bar was standing room only, but Renji pushed his way in and cleared a path for Ichigo.

There were two women behind the bar, moving in efficient, coordinated tandem. It looked like they were used to serving the chaos and knew how to handle it. Renji placed their order and Ichigo leaned back to wait.

“You need anything?” a deep voice asked from behind the bar. Ichigo turned to see a big guy with blue hair had just taken a place behind the taps.

“Nah, we’re good,” Ichigo said.

The guy went on drawing drafts and looking at Ichigo. The green-haired bartender slid over two pitchers and a stack of glasses to Renji in exchange for his card. Ichigo took the glasses carefully and turned right around into Keigo.

“Aw, beer? I want a Sex on the Beach. Or a Slippery Nipple.”

“You don’t even know what those are. You just like the perverted names,” Ichigo said.

“Bartender!” Keigo leaned around him to see the big blue guy. “Give me a Blow Job! No, make it two Blow Jobs!”

Ichigo choked on his own spit. He glanced at the bartender who just raised an unimpressed eyebrow. “Let me guess,” he said, “bachelor party?”

“Yeah!” Keigo cheered and Ichigo wondered if he hadn’t pre-gamed. The people on either side of them were looking unimpressed as well. “Now, my Blow Job!”

“Keigo, take these glasses back to the table with Renji,” Ichigo shoved the glasses into his hands and turned him in the right direction. “I’ll get your drink.”

Keigo started winding his way through the crowd, and Ichigo turned back to the bartender. “Sorry about that.”

“No problem. I’ll have your drinks in a minute. You the groom?”

“Thanks. Oh god, no, I’m not getting married.” The bartender nodded, and Ichigo watched distractedly as he worked and joined the two women in an intricate dance around the limited space behind the bar.

He had some cash ready when the bartender sat down a shot glass and a cocktail glass in front of him. “What’s that?” Ichigo stared.

“The shot is your friend’s. The Screaming Orgasm,” the bartender smirked with a flash of bright teeth, “is from me to you. You look like you could use it.”

Ichigo felt the flush of heat rising up his neck and hoped the darkness of the bar would cover his blush. “Holy shit,” he blurted.

The bartender leaned over the counter. “The first one is free. But you’ll be back for more.”

“Oh god,” Ichigo muttered as he tried to pick up the drinks without spilling.

“It’s Grimmjow, actually. You are?”

“Ichigo,” he said and added, “Thanks. For the drinks. They look good. Bye.”

And as Ichigo weaved his way back to the table, he thought this is why I don’t date because my smoothest comeback is thanks, they look good.

He decided to spend the rest of the evening with his head down, preferably drinking as much as he could handle without having to talk to the hot bartender again.

Only his friends weren’t privy to his plan. Ichigo didn’t even get any of the beer from the first round, but he ponied up some money for another round and assorted greasy foods that Chad and Mizuiro went up to order.

Unfortunately, Chad came back with another drink that he set in front of Ichigo. In his usual quiet tone that Ichigo had to strain to hear, Chad told him, “The bar guy said this is a Quick Fuck, but if you prefer, it doesn’t have to be fast.”

Ichigo did a literal spit take then wiped quickly at his mouth. His eyes went right to the bar where of course the bartender was watching him with a grin. Ichigo sucked in a breath and drank a sip while making eye contact with Grimmjow. Like hell he was going to give the bastard the satisfaction of seeing him embarrassed again.

“Ichigo found a boyfriend!” Keigo crowed and even Ishida smiled a little along with everyone else.

Ichigo ignored the teasing and went back to eating fries with Chad.

The bar was getting louder and stuffier as the sports game seemed about to come to a climax. Ishida got to his feet to go to the bar, but Ichigo pushed him back down. “This is your party, we’re not gonna make you pay.”

Keigo talked his ear off as they waited to get up to the bar, so Ichigo was glad when he could finally flag the green-haired bartender and place their order. He thought he was off the hook when Grimmjow was working the other end of bar until he slid a glass over on a cardboard coaster.

He looked Ichigo straight in the eye as he said, “This is my version of a Leg Spreader. Let me know if it’s working.”

Ichigo absolutely did not whimper. Keigo absolutely did howl with laughter. He was still laughing uncontrollably as they pushed their way back to their table.

Then it happened. Someone pushed their chair back right as Keigo was trying to squeeze behind it, and it pinned him against another occupied chair, making him yelp and tip the pitcher of beer over. Of course the beer spilled on the two people sitting at the other table who shouted and swore. Ichigo could only stand there and watch it all go down.

Keigo was spouting apologies and trying to move, but the woman in the chair was confused by the noise and turning to look so she wouldn’t pull her chair back in. One of the guys who was dripping beer jumped to his feet and got in Keigo’s face, and Ichigo knew he’d have to get involved.

“Hey, just cool it. It was an accident,” Ichigo said as he pushed the woman’s chair in with a polite “excuse me” and pulled Keigo free to stand beside him.

“That fucking moron poured beer all over me!” said the man still sitting down and wiping his face with drenched napkins.

“Yeah, he’s a moron, but he’s our moron,” Ichigo said. “Why don’t I buy your next round and we call it even?”

“Like hell!” The guy started to stand up and kept on standing up like something out of a bad sitcom. Ichigo had to tilt his head back to look into his eye and eyepatch. He had to be seven feet tall.

“I don’t want any trouble,” Ichigo warned him as his friend moved toward Keigo.

“Well, this isn’t your lucky day.”

“It never is,” Ichigo sighed. Then he felt someone at his back and looked around to see his friends gathering behind him.

“What’s going on here,” Ishida asked calmly.

“Your fucking friend poured beer all over us, and we’re going to make him clean it up,” the giant said. He reached out and shoved Ichigo who rocked back on his heels.

His buddy took a swing at Keigo who actually managed to duck it. Chad reached over and grabbed the guy’s fist.

Ichigo exchanged looks with Ishida and thought about a video game they played when they were young. “Remember the Menos?” he said to Ishida who pushed up his glasses.

He sighed. “Your ideas are the worst.”

“Yeah.” Ichigo ducked the giant’s fist coming for his ear and kicked out, sweeping the giant’s feet out from under him, and bringing him down within arm’s range.

Then it began.

Ichigo had never been involved in a bar fight and never thought it was actually a real thing. It was kind of interesting all the more provocation it seemed to take to spark, ignite and fuel what soon turned into a rousing battle.

When Chad threw the guy over his shoulder and he crashed onto another table, those men took offense. One of the women slapped another one. Fans of the losing team on the TV got sick of taunting from the winning team’s fans and started swinging. Tempers frayed by every frustration in life snapped. Soon it was an all-out melee.

Ichigo didn’t get a chance to see all of that. He was too busy trying to keep the big guy down without actually hurting him. Chad laid one guy out with a single punch while another was hanging off his back. Ishida had someone in a chokehold while Keigo threw a drink in their face. Mizuiro had his phone out and Ichigo swore was probably live streaming the whole damn thing.

Then a pink-haired guy caught him in the nose with a lucky punch, and it was on again.

Ichigo had to admit it was a little bit fun. Sure his nose hurt like hell and he had to keep spitting out blood because a punch made him bite the inside of his cheek, but it was kind of a rush.

Even the bartender Grimmjow waded into the battle, probably to try and break it up, but Ichigo thought it looked like he was having the most fun throwing people and punching indiscriminately.

When the sirens shrilled from outside and police officers started swarming in, it still didn’t end. People didn’t even try to run and escape. It seemed like they only fought harder at the thought of the fighting being soon broken up.

Ichigo tried to find his friends as the police started separating the combatants, but he was pushed against a table and into a hard chest. He immediately swung at whoever it was, but the cop grabbed his arm and before he knew it, he was handcuffed to the person next to him.

Luckily for him, it was Grimmjow who was laughing down at him. Ichigo relaxed a little and dropped his fist.

Another officer started pushing and shouting at them so they stumbled their way toward the door. Ichigo got a glimpse of Ishida calmly talking to a police officer while Mizuiro sat in a booth behind them, still on his damn phone. He couldn’t see Renji, Chad or Keigo, but he hoped they were all right.

The officer led them to a squad car and opened the back door. “Sir, I swear, we didn’t do anything wrong,” Ichigo tried to explain in the comparative quiet of the street, but the cop just grabbed his head and pushed him in. Grimmjow fell in mostly on top of him.

“I can’t believe this,” Ichigo said, the reality settling on him. “I can’t believe we did that.”

“You’re a good fighter,” Grimmjow told him.

“You looked like you were enjoying it.”

“I was. Weren’t you?”

“I just can’t believe it,” Ichigo said again.

“Well, at least it gave me a chance to talk to you again.” Grimmjow held up their cuffed wrists. “And look, we got friendship bracelets.”

Ichigo chuckled before he could stop himself. Then he laughed harder. Grimmjow started laughing, and the hysterical edge of Ichigo’s laughter smoothed over.

“We’re in so much trouble,” Ichigo said when his laugh turned to hiccups.

“Eh, I doubt it. No one’s going to press charges. Nnoitra and his idiots are too drunk to even remember what happened. We all saw them take the first swing. The owner ain’t about to press charges. I might make some money selling the video, if Nel doesn’t take it first.”

“So you’re not even worried about it?!”

“Nah. I was just doing my job. And we’ll all vouch for you and your friends. We’re not even drunk and disorderly, just disorderly.”

“Unbelievable,” Ichigo said again.

“Hey, you wanna fight sometime? I haven’t had that much fun in ages,”  Grimmjow nudged him hard.

“You have a problem,” Ichigo informed him.

“So do you,”  Grimmjow nudged him again then leaned down. “I saw you. Your face all lit up as you kicked the shit out of them.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve brawled,” he said nostalgically.

“It made you feel alive.”

“Yeah, it kinda did,” he admitted.

“Let’s do it again,” Grimmjow leaned even closer.

Ichigo knew what Grimmjow was going for and he could have pulled away but he figured what the hell. He leaned in instead and they were kissing.

Grimmjow licked right into his mouth, and Ichigo wasn’t in the mood for teasing either so he sucked his tongue right back. Grimmjow growled, Ichigo shifted, and with a little help from a very cooperative Grimmjow, was soon straddling his lap. Having their wrists cuffed together was only a minor annoyance as Ichigo ground his hips against Grimmjow’s, and Grimmjow shoved his free hand down the back of Ichigo’s jeans.

They had a nice rhythm going when someone banged repeatedly on the window. Ichigo pulled back from the kiss but Grimmjow only growled loudly. The cop rapped again and swore at them.

“Come back later,” Grimmjow said.

The cop yelled through the window, “You dumbfuck, stop that in my backseat! Are you the bartender?”

“Yeah, now leave us alone,” Grimmjow bit on Ichigo’s neck in full view of the cop, and Ichigo couldn’t hold in a moan so Grimmjow did it again.

“The bar owner’s here. He wants to talk to you.”

“Tell him I’m busy.”

“You dirty son of a—” the door opened and the cop reached in. Ichigo yelped as the cop tried to pull him off Grimmjow. There was some swearing and untangling of limbs before the cop got them both out of the car. Grimmjow adjusted himself ostentatiously, and the cop swore at him again.

“We’re being told that you,” he thrust a finger at Ichigo, “were a victim of this. And you,” he gave Grimmjow another finger, “were only following instructions from your boss, trying to break it up.”

“That’s right,” Grimmjow said. Ichigo started to speak but Grimmjow slapped his hand over his mouth.

The cop glared at them suspiciously but he was joined by two other officers. “Haven’t you let these two go yet?” one asked in a tired voice.

“I don’t like ‘em,” the cop said. “They know more than they’re saying. And they were trying to fuck in my backseat.”

“We got enough drunks to process tonight and enough paperwork to keep us busy all weekend. If these two check out, just let them go.”

“Fine,” the cop grumbled and started unlocking the handcuffs. Ichigo sighed a huge breath of relief. Grimmjow rubbed his wrist and scowled. “But if I ever see the two of you again, I’m arresting you just for looking shifty.”

Ichigo grabbed Grimmjow’s arm to start pulling him away. It didn’t stop him from shouting, “Sorry about any jizz stains on your upholstery! I have a bondage kink!”

The cop yelled something back, but Grimmjow was laughing too hard for Ichigo to catch it. “Quit antagonizing the nice police officers that just let us go without any charges.”

Grimmjow spun and backed Ichigo into the alley beside the bar. He pushed him against the wall and looked at him closely for a moment before kissing him.

“I was serious, you know,” Grimmjow said after long minutes.

“About what?”

“I do have a bondage kink. And that cop was nice enough to help out.” He held up the pair of handcuffs where Ichigo could see them.

“Holy shit, you stole them from a cop?!”

“You wanna give them a try?”

And the worst part was, Ichigo kinda really did. “I gotta find my friends, make sure they’re okay,” he panted against Grimmjow’s mouth. Then he kissed Grimmjow again.

‘I should check in with Nel,” Grimmjow said reluctantly, but he didn’t pull away.

“I’ll go find the guys, you go make sure the bar’s still standing, and we’ll meet back here?”

Grimmjow gave him one more hard kiss and finally let go.

“And Grimmjow? Don’t forget the handcuffs.”

**Plot twist: Ichigo got a frantic call later that night from Ishida who got a call from Orihime because her bachelorette party ended up becoming a Hangover-style epic adventure and she just wanted to let Ishida know she’d be home late because they kinda ended up in Vegas and sorta lost Momo but she was sure once they got Rukia bailed out of jail, Tatsuki off the MMA fight card, Rangiku clothed, and got the rest of the girls sobered up they’d be able to sort it all out.

Ichigo decided that a nice quiet bar fight was preferable and told Ishida he’d have to figure it out on his own because Grimmjow was whining again about his wrists chafing and Ichigo had to go do something. The something being Grimmjow.

Ishida hung up.

[ramblingkat]

Well I may be a drifter and I may be no good (There's joy in this song that I sing)

H/C Bingo Round 12-Nosebleeds

Bleach Magical Wild West AU. Yes, that’s a thing I did. 

Pairing: Ichigo/Kisuke(eventually)

Notes: Beta'd by Kaszira and SDehart. So many hearts. Title is from Saddletramp by Marty Robbins

This is the fault of the UraIchi Discord. Not for any particular reason, but they are all enablers.

Summary: The sound of something going crunch was audible even to Ichigo. He frowned, moving forward again. He hated bullies, and people like Obuta gave his town a bad name.

Then the stranger, whose head had snapped back, moved. There wasn’t even a move to touch his now bleeding nose. Instead, he was on his feet immediately, pale eyes cold as he focused not on Obuto but his followers. For a moment, Ichigo thought the man was going to pull a gun.

It all started with a fight over a card game. 

Ichigo had been patrolling around the town, nodding to people as he passed them. Was a bit of a boring day. Though a glance at the sky told Ichigo it might get more interesting soon. A stop by the saloon was almost required as it started getting darker out. He might as well make an appearance before too many men got in there and got too rowdy. Remind them that drinking too much had consequences. Mostly from Tatsuki and Chad, but Ichigo would have a few things to add as well.

As he walked towards the door, he heard the faint sounds of shouting and sighed. Guess he was too late for that. 

Pushing into the building, he paused to scan the area, wanting to take in what was going on. Most of the crowd was watching one of the tables that usually had card games going, and Ichigo spotted Tatsuki heading that way, scowling. Though she saw him and raised a brow, and he nodded before looking at the source of the trouble. He was not surprised when he saw Obuta and his cronies looming over a stranger at the table. All the locals knew not to play cards with the man. He would cheat, and if he couldn’t cheat, he’d threaten. 

The man, blond and with a lazy smile, was leaned back in his seat, hat tugged low so that he was just barely glancing out from under the brim of it. Ichigo felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth as he watched Obuta bluster. The man was used to townfolk who avoided him or cowered away if Ichigo or one of his deputies wasn’t around. Having someone who was so unconcerned in front of him as he accused them of cheating threw him. 

Though not enough that when the stranger glanced at Ichigo, Obuta didn’t take his opportunity and lashed out with a quick punch to the man’s face. 

The sound of something going crunch was audible even to Ichigo. He frowned, moving forward again. He hated bullies, and people like Obuta gave his town a bad name. 

Then the stranger, whose head had snapped back, moved. There wasn’t even a move to touch his now bleeding nose. Instead, he was on his feet immediately, pale eyes cold as he focused not on Obuto but his followers. For a moment, Ichigo thought the man was going to pull a gun. 

Then he realized that the man wasn’t wearing one. A moment later, Ichigo saw he didn’t need one. The stranger gave a quick jab into one man’s throat. The other hand snatched up a glass and slammed the heavy bottom into the face of the second. Then he dropped it and grabbed Obuta’s head, slamming it hard against the table. Hard enough that Obuta bounced off, eyes already glazed with unconsciousness. 

Not even out of breath, still ignoring his bleeding nose, the blond looked at the one he had hit with the glass. “Take your friends and go,” he said, tone pleasant. But him standing there, smiling, face stained red, sent shivers up Ichigo’s spine. 

Something was not right with this one. That was not the normal skills he saw in a gambler.

It looked like he wasn’t the only one who thought it. Obuta’s guy, Ichigo couldn’t even remember his name outside of thug one, picked up his boss with the help of thug two, who was still coughing from the throat strike. They didn’t even argue, and Ichigo watched as they ignored him as they scurried out of the door. That was pretty impressive. They were generally vaguely afraid of Ichigo, so they kept an eye on him when he was around. 

He watched them head out the door, then turned to look at the stranger. The man was trying to stanch the blood still pouring from his nose with a kerchief, the fabric turning red as he muttered something. Ichigo opened his mouth to offer assistance, though he couldn’t do much himself. Maybe take the guy to see Uryu. His cousin would get a kick out of hearing the details of this fight. He still hated Obuta for the one time the man had mistaken him for Ichigo. 

If he didn’t know how his cousin was, Ichigo might almost be offended. 

Then there was a pulse of something that tickled over his senses, and Ichigo saw a faint flare of green light flicker around the man’s fingers. When he pulled the kerchief away, not only had the nosebleed stopped, but the bruising that was already darkening that pale skin was gone. 

Looking a bit forlorn at his shirt, which was stained red, the man sighed and looked up at Ichigo.

“Hello, Sheriff,” the man said, the sound of his voice slightly stuffy. “Sorry for the commotion.” He gave Ichigo a bright smile, and Ichigo had to resist the urge to stare. Even with blood all over his lower face, the man was unfairly attractive. “Don’t suppose you know a place where I can clean up, hmm? Just got into town myself, and haven’t had a chance to find a place to stay yet.”

Ichigo almost offered his place. But common decency smacked him upside the head. He didn’t know anything about this man, other than he was attractive, talented in a fight, and had some sort of magic. 

“Local boarding house is run by man named Ukitake,” Ichigo said. “One of our local gamblers stays there as well, so maybe you can have a few friendlier games.” He nodded where Mizuiro was playing a game. “He’s less likely to throw a punch if he gets annoyed.”

 There was a soft chuckle. “As am I,” the man admitted. “I dislike people who are rude enough to think that cardsharp automatically means cheat.”

A cardsharp? That explained the little healing trick. They tended to be good at finescale manipulation, which is why there were so many who claimed cheat. But Ichigo had learned that cardsharps were just like everyone else. Some cheated, some didn’t, and at least he didn’t have to worry about bullets going all over the place. The occasional curse, but Uryu and Unohana were handy with fixing those.

“Come on, I’ll walk you to Ukitake’s place and introduce you, Mister…?”

The man smiled. “Kisuke Urahara. Wandering cardsharp and gambler. Nice to meet you, Sheriff.” The smile was a bit wry now. “An introduction would likely be a good thing. I do look a mess.”

He offered a hand that was surprisingly clean, and Ichigo took it. Kisuke’s shake was firm without trying to overpower. Good. Ichigo liked him already.

The shirt that draped over broad shoulders and unbuttoned enough to exposed the start of a nice chest did help a lot. Especially when it was fitted to him by a green vest that showed off the man’s trim waist. Ichigo really needed to stop getting distracted, he realized. Though the view was nice, even with all the blood. 

He wondered how the man looked all cleaned up. 

No, focus Ichigo.

Kisuke looked like he did well enough for himself, though his clothing wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t so worn to be in bad condition, but it was definitely broken in. Another good sign. If he had been in too rough a shape, Ichigo would have to worry about what desperation would drive him to. Too good a shape was also a worry, because those usually were the biggest cons around, to keep up their chosen lifestyle. 

A glance at Tatsuki, who was now lounging against the bar as she chatted with Orihime, though both women gave him smiles that worried him. When those two smiled, Ichigo knew doom was stalking him. Especially with the smirk on Tatsuki’s face. 

Well, at least he had something pretty to look at while waiting. So he lead the way out of the saloon and headed for Ukitake’s place. “How long do you plan on staying in town, Mr. Urahara?”

A glance over, and Ichigo realized that Kisuke was also looking at him. Then the man smiled again, slow and easy and shamelessly interested. 

Ichigo blushed. 

“Please, call me Kisuke. As for how long I’ll be around, well, I’m tend to stay around until I lose interest in things. This seems like an interesting enough place that I’ll stick around a bit.”

The man sounded delighted at Ichigo’s blush. Ichigo felt torn between pleased at the interest, and the strong desire to punch Kisuke himself. 

Well, at least he knew that life was going to be even more entertaining for a while. 

[volcanofireflame150]

A Soul meets another Seoul

Ch1; Ch18

Chapter 17

I met with his sisters, Karin and Yuzu, they are a lovely bunch, I sat down in a nearby chair, Ichigo said to me, "I mean, I'm not stopping you on going to Asteria." "Oh, well, I don't know if she's awake at this time," I said to him, "Though I could appear at the front door of the place." "Good thinking," said Ichigo. So I did that, I walked into the place, Asteria's mother sees me, "Oh, Akari, you finally made it here. Welcome, here, take a seat, Asteria was waiting for you to have breakfast with us." "Oh, I see," I said to her. I walked over there, then I keep noticing that Asteria's uniform for the Karakura High School is similar but have different designs, this time I see a Golden Eagle feather attached to her skirt belt, I asked, "Is that a symbol of Zeus?" "Yes it is actually," she said, "You just now noticed that I always appear with different objects on myself." "Well, I was busy doing what I was trying to avoid doing so I could focus being here," I said, "Sorry that I didn't have time to spend my friendship time with you, Asteria." "Oh that's alright," she said, "It's understandable, I'm trying to help mother keep her store going great." "I see," I said, "Maybe I can ask for some people that I know to help around here." "Can you do that?" asked Asteria's mother. I nodded, "I know the right people of course." "We're counting on you," said Asteria. I told them, "If they get too out of hand or not listening to you, just send them my way. I'll deal with them." With that, Asteria and myself walked together then she noticed my hairpin in 3 different colors, she asked, "What happened to your hairpin?" "Huh?" I said, in a confused way. I took it off then I saw the scythe, Talon's warhammer, and Levy's combined weapon, I am impressed by on how quick thinking they are. I put it back then told her, "Just a new style." "I see," I hear her say. Then we hear an unexpected voice saying, "Akari! Wait up!" We looked, we are taking the same route as Ichigo, Uryu, Chad, and Orihime, but the unexpected voice came from Natsume Shimo. Asteria said, "Oh hey, Natsume, we didn't notice you." "Sorry, I was trying to pass through Chad," she said. I told them, "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up to you guys." They nodded, I said that so I could talk to Levy and Talon, I brought them out, Levy asked, "What seems to be going on in your mind?" "I understand if this is going too fast for you," said Talon, "But, we will wait for you to adjust to things." "It's not just that," I said, "How can I find the other elementals?" "Oh," said Levy, "That's a good question, well, Blizzard is easy to find, her weapon is a Lance." "Jaguar's weapon is an actual Warhammer," said Talon, "My weapon is a combination of a battleaxe and warhammer." "I see," I said, "What about Onyx?" "Panther, um, we are not sure on what his weapon could be," said Levy, "Since you are now the Elemental wielder, our weapons change, thankfully the scythe stayed the same, same with mine and Talon's weapon." I thought for a long time, then I asked, "Did I automatically obtain Talon's weapon?" "Unfortunately no," said Talon, scratching his head, "You have to find it." "Find it? How?" I asked. Levy said, "You'll know when the time comes." "I see," I said, "So, in other words, I can focus on mastering my Water and Ice moves." "That's right," said Levy, "I mean, Talon wants to be the last one." "I see on how he is going to do this," I said. Ichigo and the others met up with me, Orihime asked, "Who are you talking to, Akari?" "Um, I was just talking to myself," I said to her. Then I guess Levy and Talon made themselves known, Levy said, "She was talking to us, by the way, nice to meet you, I'm Levy and this is my brother Talon." "Hi," said Orihime, "Does he always dresses like that?" "Yes, he likes to make sure that no one messes with him," said Levy. Ichigo knows that feeling, Talon looks as if he could knock out Ichigo in 1 swing of his warhammer, then Ichigo cleared his throat, "If you guys don't want to be seen by others, I suggest you go back to be only be seen by Akari." "Oh, we can chose if we want to make ourselves known," said Levy, "Don't get a head of us, Ichigo." "I won't," he said, "But, now that I have a good look at you, Levy, you are a gorgeous lady." Talon overheard that, he growled at Ichigo, "Don't you even dare try to flirt with her!" "Eep!" I heard straight from Ichigo. Levy told Talon, "Calm down, Talon, he only complimented me which is what I needed all the time." "Yeah, I know, being called hideous multiple times by Kai was enough to get you lose control," said Talon, crossing his arms. As we all walked in, Asteria and Natsume were waiting for me, I went to them, Levy and Talon following from behind, I greeted them, "Hey guys, sorry I was waiting for my brother to get here." "It's alright," said Asteria, "You are so lucky that you are related to him." "Well, he took me in as his sister because I have no siblings what so ever," I said to her. After a while, class started, I then noticed that there is a black raven feather in my hair, I heard a beautiful elegant voice saying, "Alright, this topic is about different rock formations, pay attention." I nodded, knowing that the voice belongs to Raven, Little Earth. I kept taking notes that are not actually on the board yet, because Talon being a Stone/Earth Elemental he is telling all kinds of rock formations, right now I can mentally hear him and see him. Ichigo is seeing me going to town on this topic, I was writing down every word Talon was saying, then a mysterious book appeared I looked at it, Talon said, "Read this to get a better understanding of every rock formation in this world, but only in your spare time." I nodded, then Raven said to him, "I think you are going too fast for her and now she's ahead of everybody in this room." "It's not my fault that I was born with this knowledge when it comes to my element sis," I hear him say. Thankfully there were a couple people getting ready to talk over the instructor, so I told Talon and them, "Will you shut up?!" Everyone in the room was shocked at my sudden out burst, the instructor said, "Thank, Miss Akari." After that, Talon started to make sure that I was not falling behind on my studies, I was given a book about different plants in the world, fruits, trees, vegetables, and other terrains. I softly asked him, "Isn't this a bit much?" "These are from my personal library," said Talon, "So, I'm letting you borrow these until you are done." "I'll let you know when I'm ready to read these," I said, giving them back. He took them back, knowing that he is going a bit over board with this, then the teacher said, "Now, let's talk about the next important element that we all need, that element is Water." After hearing that, Talon went away and out came Levy, she squealed, "Finally my time to shine." "Psst, Akari," I heard Ichigo say. I looked at him, he was giving me a look of knowing that Levy accidentally made herself known only to him and myself, Levy notices she disappears only on him, then I gave him a look of me saying that I was sorry. He understood because I'm eager to train with Levy, that's why I'm so a head of everybody, then a guy with dark brown hair, smoky quartz eyes, and natural beige skin came in, the instructor asked, "May I help you, sir?" "I came here to pick up Akari for the day," he said. Ichigo and myself looked at each other, I shrugged because I never seen someone like that before, Levy tells me, "That is what Talon looks like, Akari." "He's that buff?" I asked. She nods, "He doesn't lift up boulders for nothing." After that, I could not help myself every time I look over to where Talon would be standing, I instantly turn red for how buffed up he is, Levy said, "You know, Talon is taken, but it doesn't stop the other women from blushing every time they see him." "Who is the lucky girl?" I asked. Talon answered, "Her name is Serene Jewel, actually, correction, she's my wife." "Oh wow," I said, "Wait, can zanpakuto spirits actually fall in love?" "Well, remember we are elemental spirits," I hear Raven say. I looked back at the school, I was seeing Ichigo coming my way, I said to them, "Um, guys, look who is coming." "Hm? Oh, shit, I think he's thinking that I'm taking you on a very early date," said Talon. Ichigo asked, "Where do you think you are going with her, Talon? Remember she's taken by Shuhei?" "I'm not that sick of a man," said Talon, "I happen to be a married man thank you very much!" "Married? By who?" asked Ichigo. I told him, "She is another elemental, her name is Serene Jewel." "Oh," said Ichigo, looked at Talon. Talon, right now, is giving him probably THE most intimidating look any one has ever seen, asked Ichigo, "Now why would I betray someone like that?" "Look I didn't know you never told us this," said Ichigo, instantly backing away from Talon, "Man, you are extremely scarier than Kenpachi!" "Wait, do you mean that?" Talon asked, instantly calmed down by that. I couldn't believe it, he is actually right this time, Ichigo has never been this terrified before with Captain Kenpachi, I mean Talon is the Stone elemental so I guess that's fair on his part. When Ichigo walked back into the school, I went by myself again, though I still see Levy and Talon, once again I have that bad feeling about Grimmjow still around somewhere, meeting me somewhere. I took a deep breath, I went to where I can find some peaceful scenery, then Levy said, "Oh, you are getting close to Curious Heart's weapon." "I am?" I asked. Sure enough there it was, I got the weapon then I asked, "Remind on how many of you are there?" "There are 13 of us," said Talon, "You are doing great so far." "How can I find Onyx' weapon?" I asked. They shrugged, I hear mother saying, "When you find Layla's weapon, he finds you because Layla is Masked Halo and that's his girlfriend." "Oh, so wait, mother, if the others are into one another," I said, with a follow up question. She said, "Yes?" "Do you have eyes for someone?" I asked, "I mean no one deserves to be alone forever." "She has a point," said Talon. I was seeing blush appear on mother's face, she said, "At one point, I had A crush." "On who?" asked Levy. She answered, "He's with Ichigo." "Old man Zangetsu?" Talon asked. She then slowly nodded, "Though then I thought it was silly falling for someone who is only existed for the Soul Reaper so he's not an elemental or anything." "Everyone has to be fall in love with someone, they can't be alone forever," I said, "Besides, it would be really weird if Old Man Zangetsu was being called father by me because Ichigo is my big brother?" "Oh she's right," I hear Talon say, "I mean, there's Head Captain Yamamoto who took you under his care." "Yeah, until I reached 3 years old," I said, "Doesn't that make me 300 years old in the Soul Society?" "Yes it does," said Shadow Phoenix, "So, right now you are 800 years old." Wow, I'm way older than Ichigo, though that doesn't mean anything, since I'm liking the way he is being towards me, just as long as he knows his limits. I told Talon to never pull me from school ever again because I love learning things the way everyone does in there, so I went back there, also told Levy that I'll start training when I'm ready and have nothing to do. She understands, the 2 sisters are talking to their brother right now, I'm with Raven right now, she said, "Great choice you made." "Thanks," I said to her, feeling comfortable being back in school. Ichigo could see that Talon pushed the training thought too hard and is getting scolded by his sisters. I started reading the book that Talon gave me to understand other rock formations, Ichigo sees this book and he taps on my shoulder, I looked at him, he said, "Scoot your desk over, I want to read with you." I nodded and combined my desk with his, we began to read with each other, brother and sister bond time as I see it, the instructor sees this and let's it slide because we almost do everything together. Lunch time came, I sighed that he went to hang out with HIS friends, Asteria and Natsume are nowhere in sight, I'm all by myself. I looked at Raven who made this amazing dish called Chicken and Dumplings, "Here you go, dear, eat up." I took it and begun to eat, she made herself known letting everyone who walks by knows that she's here only for me. She asked, "What seems to be the problem?" "Ichigo is with his buddies, Asteria and Natsume are probably doing the same thing only with the other girls, and I'm by myself," I told her, "Well, not exactly, you are always here." "Exactly," said Raven, "By the way, I've asked the staff of this school if there is an empty room so you can talk to not only me, but also Talon, Levy and your mother." "What about the other elementals?" I asked. She answered, "You need to find their weapons in order for them to appear for you physically." "I see," I said, "I guess that makes sense on your part." "I mean, Talon's weapon is going to be the last one to obtain," she said, "Anyways let's go." She led me to an empty room, I just noticed she appears to be wearing the same uniform as me and the other students, then she changed her appearance, Raven looks at me and goes, "Look, I may be only a Healing Elemental, that's not entirely true." "What do you mean?" I asked. She stepped aside showing me an Iron Dagger, she tells me, "This is my dagger." "That's right someone told me that you have only 2 attack moves," I said. Raven tilted her head, "Who told you that?" "Um, I forgot," I said, scratching my head, "Oh, I think it was Colossal Jaguar." "Jaguar?" she said, a slight of blush appeared. I asked, "Do you have feelings for Colossal Jaguar?" "Maybe I do, just don't tell Talon," she said, "He's extremely protective over me." "Wait why?" I asked. She took a deep breath, "It's best if he told you on what's going on in his mind." Then I see Talon walking up to me and tells me, "Luhan, never really wielded Serene Jewel, that was just a figment of her." "What do you mean?" I asked, being curious. Sorry if I'm annoying anyone with these questions it's just these are my elemental zanpakutō spirits so I have to know basically everything about them. Raven tells me, "Go easy on these questions towards him." "Well, it's just he told Ichigo that he's a married man," I said to her, "That got my attention, I want to help anyway I can." "You'll know soon," said Talon. He began to walk away when I grabbed him by his mid arm, I heard a slight gasp from Raven, apparently no one has ever done this to Talon before, he looks at me with an angry look, saying, "Let me go!" "No, Talon," I said, standing my ground, "I'm not letting go of any of you! Deserve to be happy! Just please don't give up on me!" That got his attention, people have been given up on me, Ichigo hasn't, neither did Renji, Shuhei, Rukia, and mother, I'm not giving up hope on Talon and the other elementals. After hearing this, Talon stayed with us 2 but stayed silent, Raven and myself talked for the rest of the lunch period, that was until Ichigo came in and asked, "Is everything alright in here?" But he doesn't see anyone other than me, who happens to be meditating to get in good connection with Raven, he didn't question it and left, that was our cue of continuing on what we were doing, Levy came out and Talon disappeared, I kinda felt bad saying all that to him, Levy sees the look on my face and says, "Don't worry, he'll be fine." "I hope so anyway," I said, softly. I sighed softly, then Ichigo came back, seeing her looking at me with a hint of softness on her face, while I have the look of worry and concern for Talon's well being. Raven said, "Talon is tough, you managed to get him to listen to you, at least that's something." "Like what is that suppose to mean?" I asked. Levy answered, "It means you are a few steps away of obtaining his warhammer!" "Are you serious?" I asked, "So, all I got to do is talk a lot of sense into him." "Not really," said Raven, "I wish it was that easy but remember he's very serious about being the last one for you to find." "Where can I find Blizzard's Lance?" I asked. Levy said, "That shouldn't be too hard, all you have to do is master both water and ice, Blizzard and myself share the same moves but Blizzard is more deadly than myself." "I see," I said, "What about Colossal Jaguar?" "We have no idea what gets his attention on you," said Raven, "Though he does say if you play a song that deals with dancing he gives you his weapon." "Really, is that all I have to do for Jaguar?" I asked. Raven sighed while saying, "Unfortunately, yes." Then I heard Ichigo cleared his throat, I looked at him, he has his arms crossed, with his of course scowled face, I asked, "What is it, Ichigo?" "You should've told me on what was going on," said Ichigo, "Though this is your issue and I don't want to push you." "Thank you, I was just telling Talon something," I said to him. Then I stood up and went back to class along with Ichigo and the others, I still can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen some time soon. I asked Ichigo, "Can I stay beside you from now on?" "If you want to," he said, not knowing my voice of concern. I just can't shake this feeling of something not just bad, but purely evil is going to happen to either me or one of my elemental spirits. This has gotten so bad that I felt something not settling well with my stomach, the instructor notices on how pale my face is being right now, so she let me be excused for the day, I left school hoping the feeling gets better sadly it doesn't. I had to get Renji over because Ichigo is still in school same with the others, Renji asked, "What's wrong, Akari?" "Something doesn't feel right with me," I told, "It feels like I'm about to faint soon." "Thank goodness that you called me over," said Renji, "What does it feel like?" "It feels like I was greeted by this guy named Grimmjow 3 times now for something that he was supposed to do but got distracted when I burned him a little," I said to Renji. Renji was a great help with this situation, sadly the sick feeling was still there, to the point where I actually started to feel weakened with my legs, Renji freaked, "Akari, hang in there, I'll take you back to Ichigo's house so you can rest there." "Just don't leave me alone when I wake up," I said to him. He listened, though I have a feeling that someone else was watching me from a far seeing me faint, I do hope it's someone on the good side. I woke up five hours later, then noticed that Ichigo and Renji were waiting for me to wake up, not only those 2 but also Uryu, Orihime, Chad, Rukia, Asteria, Natsume, and Shuhei. I noticed that my head was on Shuhei's chest, a smile appeared, maybe the feeling was telling me to spend time with Shuhei because I didn't feel that five hours ago. Or so I thought, as soon as I sat up, it came back and I had to have my head between my hands because it was that painful. Then big brother to the rescue, Ichigo came to my aid because I was trying to hold back the tears but it was too unbearable, so I can't help it. All I could say was, "Please don't leave me alone, please don't leave me." "We would never leave you, Akari," said Renji, "Especially Ichigo, Shuhei, and myself." "Please, Ichigo, don't leave me alone," I said. That's right, I recently had a dream where Ichigo turned into this monstrous thing and was powerful enough to wipe out an entire existence, then what got me the most was him turning against me.

[volcanofireflame150]

A Soul meets another Seoul

Ch1; Ch10

Chapter 9

I went to the EXO headquarters because I need to clear my head, the guys sees me with a gloomy face, Baekhyun said, "Come on in, and tell us what happened." So, I sat down and I told them on what happened to me recently, Suho said, "Wow, that's a lot to handle on your own." "I can't help but being only a burden to Ichigo, that's why I must be stronger in order to fight my own battles alongside him," I said. Chanyeol asked, "How did that turn out for you?" "Chanyeol!" Suho snapped, "Be careful." "He's right Suho," I said, "I made myself more vulnerable for enemies to see me as an easy target to capture or kill." "I hope Ichigo finds that out so he can reason with you to drop the thought of being a burden to him," said Kai, "I mean, you are trying to prove yourself that you are not weak but most people have a lot of weaknesses." "Yeah, which I showed almost all of my weaknesses," I said to him, "I just hope Ichigo would allow me to fight alongside him for once." "He will one day," said Jongdae, "Don't give up hope just yet." "Jongdae is right, you still have your life to live," said Xiumin, "You can't beat yourself down too hard otherwise you will make yourself even more of a burden." From hearing all of this, I got the shock of my life when Ichigo said to me, "You were never a burden to begin with, Itsuki Akari." I looked at him, I can see the look of hurt all over his face, he came over to me and asked, "Why would you think that?" "You were drifting away, hanging out with your friends more, I never went across your mind unless I was in danger in the Soul Society, so I only hung out with Chad and Uryu because they included me in their conversations," I said to him. Ichigo says, "Shadow Phoenix opened my eyes on how old you are still, you should've told me from the beginning." "I'm sorry," I said, feeling the tears forming. Yes, I'm a crybaby, so what? I can't help myself, I'm only 8 years old still, Chanyeol asked, "How old is she still?" "I'm only 8 years old," I told them. Yeah, it went silent, Suho muttered, "Oh shit, we didn't know that either, you acted so mature." "I didn't want to be seen as weak," I said to him. I went back with Ichigo when everything was dealt with, Ichigo told me, "You know I never did say you can stop hanging out with me, I was hoping that you were noticing that." "You know on how closed up I am still," I told him, "Just give me time, I'm trying to adjust with the world of the living." With that I always stick with Ichigo but I always remained sitting in front of Uryu during school hours, Ichigo understood this decision because Uryu was patient enough for me to fully understand the ways of living in the world of the living, I told him that today was my birthday, Uryu said, "Oh, well, happy birthday, next time I'll try to find the perfect gift for you." "You being my friend is enough for me, Uryu," I said to him, "Don't stress yourself. I mean, I spent most my birthdays meditating because no one really remembered my birthday." "I understand your privacy," he said, "But, I want to match your standards of being your friend." "I don't have any standards, you practically swept my standards away," I told him, "My standards only mean for a love interest." "What are your standards as the perfect partner?" asked Rukia, "I never was told." "You never asked," I told her, "My love interest has to love me for who I am and what I'm so passionate about, Shuhei is strongly heading for that direction." "I see, so Shuhei is your love interest," says Uryu, "But that doesn't mean there can't be any competition." "There will be no competition," I said to him, "I confessed my feelings to him already, so we are getting serious." "I didn't know about this," Renji said, "Then again, you and Shuhei are always getting everyone were actually wondering if you 2 would end up together." "We are only testing the waters," I reminded him, "Shuhei understands that I'm always on the alert for anything bad." When class started, I kept getting a feeling about the 2 familiars I received from Shuhei, it feels like the Arctic Fox has a motherly touch and the Red Fox has a fatherly touch. We were in the middle of an assignment when I got sudden chills going down my spine, Uryu quietly asked, "Are you alright?" "I feel cold suddenly," I told him. I was already finished, I am that hardworking, then I felt a little sick, I got up and asked the teacher, "May I use the restroom?" "Sure, take the hall pass," said the teacher. I took the hall pass then went to the restroom, I called Renji out, he asked, "What caused you to get the feeling of being ill?" "I don't know, I first got chills," I said, "Is there any explanation?" "Trust on what your gut is telling you," he said. I said with my gut, "I think it meant Hollow Activity." "You are absolutely right but I took care of it," said Renji, "I just didn't want you to go limp in class when you come out of your body." "Thank you, Renji," I said to him. Then I went back to class, the feeling went completely away, I returned the hall pass, and went back to my desk in front of Uryu. I can't believe I can sense Hollow by sudden chills, I went to my bag and noticed a sketch pad and art pencils with a note saying, "I just thought you would enjoy this. Signed, Uryu Ishida." I took them out and started drawing away my worries and concerns. When school ended, I met up with Ichigo and his friends since I am part of his group, though I am very shy and closed up, he notices me, "Ah, Akari, I knew you would meet up with us." "Yeah," I said, softly. I kept up with them but I only kept to myself, then that's when I got the sudden chill, I went somewhere private, came out, Shikai Shadow Phoenix is out and I'm finding on where the Hollow is at, this is what I've been missing out. All the Hollow activity is always where Ichigo is at, I saw the creature and shouted, "Fire Burst!" I swung my Scythe and it dissolved when it got hit with the fire attack, Renji complimented, "Nice shot, Akari." "Thanks, Renji," I said, "But I'm sensing more so I'm guessing Ichigo and the others are probably wondering on where I am." "Nah, don't worry about it, I noticed when you went somewhere private that's why I witnessed Fire Burst for the first time," I hear him say. I giggled, I looked where Ichigo and the others were, Rukia sees us, I don't know about Ichigo, I can't see on where he is, then I heard, "Getsuga Tensho!" The attack passed me to hit another Hollow, I looked, he said, "You should pay attention more often, Akari, that Hollow almost got you." "Right, sorry," I said to him, "Fire Shield!" I surrounded us 3 with Fire Shield,  then shouted, "Solar Flare!" Then a Fire Laser went and killed 5 Hollows, I can only do 5 kills with the attack, but with Fire Shield and Fire Burst I can constantly use those without a problem. We took care of the Hollows with the help of Uryu, Chad, Rukia, and Orihime, I made sure everyone had Fire Shields though Uryu said he's fine without a shield circling around him, but I didn't listen and did it anyways, because not only does Fire Shield keeps you protected and warm, it increases the attack of what weapon you are using, I explained this move to everyone and they were surprised on how helpful I can be in battle, I mean, as far as I'm aware, there is no Pyromancer in Ichigo's group. Ichigo turns to me and says, "You know, you can turn the tables in battles like this, you always know what to do once you master a move." "Actually I've only learned that Fire Shield was suppose to be Super Nova," I told him. Renji and Ichigo were quiet for a bit, Renji asked, "Are you serious? The shield is Super Nova?" "Yeah, I was battling with Rukia and she allowed me to hit her with a Super Nova and I ended up with a Fire Shield," I said to them. Ichigo said, "Super Nova or Fire Shield, doesn't matter you can use it whenever you want." "Yeah, I guess so," I said, "I can constantly do Fire Burst and Fire Shield but I have to let my Scythe cool down whenever I do Solar Flare." "Yeah, you can only do 5 hits," says Renji, "Though, I think it's suppose to be a special move for Bankai not Shikai." "No, Faint Flame Beast Attack is Bankai, Burst is Shikai, Shadow Phoenix told me herself, you dumbass!" I corrected, "I know her better than anyone else." "This is true," agreed Ichigo, "Shadow Phoenix has been with her when she was 3 years old. Right?" I nodded, then everyone went back into their bodies and went to Ichigo's house. I hope I continue my path as a Pyromancer, Renji told me, "You will always be a Pyromancer, just don't go crazy with fire." "I've been training with Shadow Phoenix by myself, I know what to do and what not to do," I told him, "Besides, I've spent 5 separate years learning Shikai and Bankai. Even though it takes 10 years of training Shikai, and with Bankai, it takes 10 or more years to achieve Bankai." "Yep," said Renji, "Though Urahara and Ichigo learned different ways of mastering Shikai and Bankai." "Thankfully, I did it all on my own because fire works alone, I had to think like fire," I said, "I mean that's what Shadow Phoenix told me to do." Then I was left alone with me and meditation, I mean, it's all I can do for now since I feel much better. Then a single tear stroke down my face, I opened my eyes, to only finding myself looking at nothing, I looked around because what caused a tear to fall down? Beyond me, I guess, I'm so happy that I have a group of people to turn to when I need to vent without constantly waking up Toshiro or Rangiku. Though I always hate waking up Ichigo and the others because I don't want to get either a glare or get hurt, so I waited for someone to wake up, I found Ichigo asleep already because I needed his comfort for a while but that's too late apparently. So, I decided to sit in his living room for the night, then drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face. I woke up to a blanket and pillow under my head, I looked to seeing Ichigo's father who was doing that, he asked, "Why are you out here sleeping on the couch?" "I was hoping for Ichigo was awake but I was too late for that," I said, rubbing my eyes. Isshin was his name, he asked, "May I ask on what about?" "It's only a topic that he would understand," I told him, "But I can go somewhere else I don't mean to sleep in your living room." "No, it's no trouble at all, any friend of Ichigo is a friend of mine," he said, "He's been talking a lot about you, you know, you are very dear to him, what he has been telling me, he is hoping that you can fully understand on what he is trying to do." "Well, he never told me," I said, sitting up. Isshin looked behind him, Ichigo was nowhere in sight, then he said, "He's hoping that you see him as a brother than this captain of yours name Toshiro Hitsugaya." "I was never told this," I said, "I was hoping Ichigo was going to tell himself." "You see, he was then you kept your distance away from him," he told me. I looked down, feeling ashamed of myself for being closed up, I said, "I'm just scared." "Scared of what?" we hear Ichigo ask. I looked at him, I said, "I'm scared of being alone forever but I'm also scared of losing myself and the ones I hold dearest to me." "You don't have to be afraid anymore," said Ichigo, "You have us to protect you because you are fragile." "Yeah, fragile," I said, hating that word. I hate the word fragile because it always means that I'm always going to be useless, Renji told Ichigo, "She hates being called fragile, it makes her feel the word I'm not going to say thanks to Kenpachi." "Oh, right, I forgot," he said, "I'm sorry, I meant it as you are just trying to keep the ones you love so much dearly that you don't want to let them go." I nodded feeling much better, I looked up at Ichigo and I smiled, "Thanks Ichigo, I really needed that." He smiled and asked, "Why don't you sleep in my bed?" "Do you mind?" I asked. He allowed me to go in his room so I can fully rest because I feel like I have a family now, Isshin told me, "Have a good rest, my dear." I couldn't believe that I felt like I belong here, I felt much awake when I was not woken up, I sat up, rubbing my eyes, Ichigo asks, "How do you feel?" "Much better thank you," I said, sounding like my old self again. Rukia said, "I see you are back to your old self." "It's because I was having a pleasant conversation with Isshin Kurosaki," I said to her, "He told me a few things for me to understand on what Ichigo was trying to do." "Yeah, I was trying to act like a real brother compared to what Toshiro was doing," I hear Ichigo say, "I mean, I get it you looked up to him like a brother but he's your captain, a captain doesn't act like a brother, so I'm taking his place." "Thank you, Ichigo," I said, "I hope Toshiro would understand." With that all said and done, we went to school, I've never felt so connected with Ichigo than before, though I rather keep having my name being Itsuki Akari Hitsugaya, Ichigo understood, Rukia told me, "You know you can add Kurosaki as a second middle name." "Nah, I'm fine with where it is," I told her, "I mean, I don't have to rename myself as a Kurosaki." "Yeah, Rukia, she's fine," said Ichigo, "Besides, we are not adopting her, Shadow Phoenix would hate us if we did." "Oh right," says Rukia, "Never mind, I forgot that she's eager to keep you as her own daughter for as long as she can." "Yep, I respect her wishes, I mean she gave me all knowledge I needed to know," I said to her. Then we met up with Uryu, Chad, and Orihime, there goes Ichigo talking to Orihime and Rukia while I stayed by myself, Uryu sees me, "Hey Akari, sweet to see you again." "Thanks," I said, softly. Though I feel something very off, I turned around and asked, "Uryu, do you feel something wrong?" "Yeah I do," he said, "Let's go and check it out." We went to the nearby playground, seeing nothing at the moment, then I looked up and saw 2 people who were giving me red flags. There was a guy who has blue hair and the other guy had black hair showing no emotion. We both looked at each other, nodded then went somewhere private together and out we came. We approached where they were, they were gone before we tried to confront them. I told him, "Be on high alert, those 2 could show up anywhere." We finally walked in class, the bell hasn't rung yet, Ichigo sees us with serious looks on our faces, he asked, "What's wrong you two?" "Nothing that needs to concern you," said Uryu, "Let's just say we've been studying early for a test." "I see," said Ichigo, not buying on what Uryu told him but never questioned me. I was looking frequently at the windows of each classroom I went into, Ichigo was trying to find out on what I was looking for. I kept looking at the windows to my left and to my right because they can show up at random times without anyone noticing that their there. When it was lunch break, I took the lunch hours to walk around the school grounds for anything along with Uryu and now Renji since I've informed him on what happened. We can see each other but no one else on the outside can see Renji, I asked Renji, "Do you see anything, Renji?" "Not from where I am, you sure that you seen these guys and not only seeing clouds?" he asked. I told him, "I know what I saw, I just need to be sure I wasn't seeing anything. Plus I was receiving red flags about these 2." "Oh, well then this explains everything on why you are high alert," said Renji, "It might've been you losing your mind." Then a voice pierced through our conversations, "Akari, watch out!" I looked up and nearly dodged an attack, I was now up against a tree, asking, "What was that?" I then heard a laughter, "Well, well, what do we have here? A Quincy and a Pyromancer Soul Reaper."

[volcanofireflame150]

A Soul meets another Seoul

Prologue; Ch2

Chapter 1

I can't believe I am stuck in this weird room after the fact I just came from the Soul Society, tied up and gagged, I am certain that Toshiro has never told me to watch out for dangers in the world of the living. I woke up finally thinking that if I stayed quiet maybe who captured me can let me go, or so I thought that was going to happen when the person in front of me said to me, "You are going to be here until you give us answers on who sent you." I was confused, who sent me? No one but Toshiro, I can't give the information that I came from the Soul Society they are gonna think that I'm nuts. The gag was removed, I asked, "Can I know your name?" "Sure, my name is Park Chanyeol," he said, "The one behind me is Byun Baekhyun." "My name is Itsuki Akari," I said, "I don't know what you are talking about, I just moved here to live in peace." "There must be a mistake," said another voice, "Let her go for now." Baekhyun listened and untied me, I need to give Toshiro a talking to when night falls here, I stood up and was escorted out I was feeling frightened by so many people, Zaraki alone is not enough to make me feel this way.

I was led to an empty room, I looked at the person and he said, "You'll be staying here until further notice." "Thanks, I guess," I said, trying to sound calm in this situation. I walked in the room, closed the door, then wondering if Renji, Rangiku, Toshiro, or Ichigo are awake at this time, then again Ichigo is from the world of the living so he should be awake at this time. I sat on the bed, crossed my legs, and began to meditate, it's a way for me to connect with my Zanpakuto, Shadow Phoenix, we are at the level where she mothers me to no end which is what I need. Then my door opened, I looked at who was there, I was expecting that guy who led me here but, it was another guy, he said, "Come on, we're going out to eat." "You guys can go without me," I said, "I'm in the middle of meditation." With that, he left me alone, then Mister Park Chanyeol opened my door and shouted, "You have been given a direct order!" I sighed, this is what I get for ignoring Kenpachi, I said, "I'll be down." "Good, don't make me come back here and drag you out," he said. Alright, he may be like Kenpachi but now he's reminding me of Ichigo when he don't get his way with the enemy, geez, I would hate to see Ichigo yelling at me, so I got ready, I walked down and Chanyeol said, "Finally you decided to join us." I was avoiding eye contact like any smart soul reaper would do if they feel unwelcomed, then a soft voice raised his voice at Chanyeol, "She was in the middle of meditation, she does not want to be disturbed." "So? She is acting like she has never seen our faces around before," I hear Chanyeol. I couldn't take it and went straight back into my room and locked it, I took out my phone and called Renji. I got startled when I heard, "I knew you would call me, Akari." "Renji," I softly said, I always feel safe with Renji, "How is Toshiro doing?" "He's holding up, I told him that you would go back when night falls," said Renji, "Because it's night there and here is day. If you are wondering if Ichigo is awake, you should've called him first before you called me. So, my answer is yes, he is awake." "I'm not that stupid Renji," I said, "It's just I just came from there to live here, it's sounding like I'm not welcomed here at all." "You'll get through this, you like any situation that comes your way," said Renji. I told him, "Yeah, but this is a tougher situation, I met a guy that terrifies me more than Kenpachi." "Whoa, now that's different," said Renji. It feels nice that Renji is here, we were having a pleasant conversation when there was a knock on the door, Renji asked, "Should I get it?" "No, because only I can see you, you would be like a ghost if you opened that door," I said to him quietly. I went to the door and asked, "Who is it?" "It's me, Byun Baekhyun," I hear Baekhyun, I asked, "What do you want this time?" "It's just I know that we got off on the wrong foot," said Baekhyun. Renji asked, "What is he talking about?" "Let me think about that," I said to Baekhyun, "Just respect that I want to be alone." "We will leave you to what you always do," said Baekhyun. I heard him leave, then I told Renji, "They thought that I was going to hurt them even though we kill different enemies." "Yeah, which are Hollows," said Renji. I also told him, "Though I'm keeping my promise to never reveal on where I came from, they are going to think that I am crazy and might send me somewhere that would drive me crazy." "You mean an Insane Asylum?" we heard a soft voice asked. We looked and it was the guy who let me go, I asked, "Can I know your name?" "Kim Jongin, but everyone calls me Kai," he said. Renji said, "Oh great first Shikai and Bankai, now his nickname is Kai?" I looked at him and told him, "Oh shut up will you?" "What'd you say?" they both asked. I looked at Jongin and told him, "Oh I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to someone else." "Oh so you see ghosts?" asked Kai. I nodded, Renji looked offended well I needed to lie, I'm afraid he wouldn't believe me, I need to build a trust in order for me to tell him I mean that's what Ichigo, Uryu, Orihime, and Chad did with Rukia right? I hope that I am right on that part, Renji was going to touch me but then Kai said, "Well then, keep those ghosts in check." "They only go away when I want them to," I said to him, "But I need a certain ghost to make me feel wanted here." "I see, well, I'll try to convince my boss to let you continue on what you love doing," he said. Then he left, Renji said, "I see on what your plan is, you are going to trust him first before telling him on who you really are." I nodded, "But first I need that glove Rukia used on Ichigo." "You still don't know do you?" Renji asked. I tilted my head, Rangiku showed up and said, "You can pull them out when they are asleep." "Oh, wait I can do that?" I asked. Renji said, "You were gifted with that, I mean, you did it Kris Wu, Luhan, and Tao." "Yeah, it was an accident I didn't mean to make them lose their lives of what I did," I said. "That was when you were cursed with the lips of death," said Rangiku, "We lifted that curse and you were given something else." "I see," I said, "So I can use this gift whenever I want to." "Of course," she said, "By the way, how is Shadow Phoenix doing?" "She's excellent I'm so glad to finally have someone to is treating me like a child because I never knew my parents were," I said, "Sadly, I'm afraid she won't be enough for much longer." "Aww, don't say that," said Renji, "Shadow Phoenix will never give up on you." "Yeah, but what if I was given the choice of giving my Zanpakuto up or keep being treated like the outsider I always am," I said, "I would choose my sword over anything." "What is a Zanpakuto?" we 3 hear Kai asked. I looked and said, "It's a sword, I call my sword that to make sure that I don't forget on what I named it." Shadow Phoenix HATES being called 'it' but she's making an exception, Rangiku distracted me by saying, "Also, I can't believe that I am saying this but someone misses you." I gave her a questioning look, knowing that it's probably Toshiro, I got the shock of my life when Renji said, "Of all people, Yumichika and Ikkaku misses you." Flower boy and Chrome dome misses me? I asked quietly, "What about Captain Kenpachi Zaraki?" Rangiku shrugged, same with Renji, Rangiku said, "For all we know, both me, Renji, Yumichika, and Ikkaku are proud that you didn't stick with Zaraki and stick with Hitsugaya." After her talk and Renji's talk, my focused was back to Kai and his boss, his boss came to me and asked, "What were you looking at?" "Just my ghost friends," I said, "They are chatter boxes so I'm choosing to ignore them." I'm afraid that he knows that I am not from this world, I hope not, cause I do not want to be seen as a threat to them. Then Renji's phone rang, same with mine, I answered, "This is Akari." "Itsuki, come to the Soul Society whenever you get the chance," said Toshiro, "We got a situation and we might need your help." "Right," I said, hung up. Then suddenly felt tired, Kai and his boss noticed this then left me alone, I fell asleep and out I came, Renji said, "Wow, now that's awesome on how you did it without saying a thing." I giggled, "Now let's go." I could feel the pressure fade away from my body, we went to the Soul Society, I asked, "Should we alert Ichigo and his friends?" "We are already here," I hear Ichigo say. I looked at him then smiled at him, I gave him a welcoming hug, Toshiro came and said, "Itsuki Akari, welcome back, it's weird saying that." "So, what is going on?" I asked. Toshiro asked, "Do you know what happened with Kris, Luhan, and Tao?" "Uh, last time I saw them I left them with the Shiba's," I said, "I trusted Kukaku that she will train them to go back to the world of the living because of my curse." "Yeah, well, about that I think they are choosing to stay in the Soul Society," said Toshiro, "But enough about that I was reported that you are having a tough situation that you are not familiar with." "Yeah, I guess you can say that," I said, "All they did was knock me, tie my hands together and gagged me." "Oh wow," said Ikkaku, "Sounds like you ran into people that Toshiro should've warned you about." "Nah, I figured that all on my own," I said, "By the way, shortie." I looked at Toshiro, he looked at me and knows that he should've told me from the beginning, he shouted, "Look I was going to but you left before I even said anything." "Oh," I said, I am now embarrassed. "Anywho, Captain, tell her on why you only called her," said Rangiku. I looked at her and said, "But, Renji's phone was going off." "Byakuya was calling him," said Toshiro, "But now, I'm going to the world of the living with you-" "Wait, I'm fine with choosing on who comes with me," I said, "Remember, we are only related by bond you know." "Right, alright, you can chose," said Toshiro. I said, "I choose Renji Abarai." "Aw man, I was hoping you would choose me," said Yumichika. I sassed him, "Sorry, Flower boy, but there are more handsome guys that are way handsome than you, Renji is one of them." "How dare you!" he yelled. I giggled, I realized and shouted at Toshiro, "Did you seriously told me that there is no threat?!" "That was the only way to get you over here," said Rangiku. After all of that was said and done, Renji and I returned to the world of the living, I had my arms crossed and steaming because I got tricked by my own captain. I was sitting on my bed same with Renji, I didn't go into my body yet, Renji said, "Calm down, at least he knows that you are willing to release Shadow Phoenix at any enemy with all your might." "Of course," I said to him. Once again, Renji and I were having a heart-to-heart conversation then we got interruptted by Kai's opening up the door once again, I groaned and asked, "What do you want this time?" "Wow, someone is grouchy when they woke up from their nap," he said, "You got a visitor." I looked to where Renji was and he was no longer there, I went to where the front door was at, there I saw Renji Abarai in the flesh, which is good that everyone can see him but they don't know on what level our relationship is at. Chanyeol asked, "Who is this dude?" "I'm Renji Abarai, a friend of Itsuki Akari," said Renji, "I'll try to not to be anyone's way." "Execpt mine, you are always in my way," I whispered. He whispered back, "At least I'm trying to." I led Renji to my room, I was told that Renji will stay in the room right next to mine until further notice, I'm guessing that I'm staying here and can no longer go to the Soul Society, the place where I came from, that's my only worry. Renji sees the look on my face, "I hope that they will let you go back to the Soul Society whenever you want because we will miss you, especially Shuhei." My face turned red, "I'm not his girlfriend, Renji!" "Yet, there is still time for you two to mingle up," Renji teased, "For all I know you don't want to admit it." "That's not it at all, Renji," I said, "I mean, sure, Shuhei has been sending me countless of red roses but that's only because they are one of my favorite flowers." "Yet, you continue to accept them," said Renji, "Face it, you are only in the world of living to find someone that can fight with him over you." "As if," I shouted, "I have too much chaos happening in my life right now." "Oh yeah, and what's that?" Renji asked. I told him, "Was I really born in the Soul Society or Are my parents in the world of the living?" "That is one hell of a thought that is going through your head," said Renji, "Thankfully you have me and Zabimaru to protect you." "Don't forget Shadow Phoenix," I told him, "Remember that our fight, Shadow Phoenix whooped your ass." "Yes, I know, don't remind me," he said. Then we walked out, Renji suggested, "I wonder if there is a kitchen or a dining room because I am hungry." "You are not the only one," I said, "Let's go and find the locations." "Thankfully no one is around," said Renji, "Then again, I do not want to speak too soon." "Yeah, otherwise my nickname for you would be Ichigo 2.0," I said. Renji shouted, "Don't name me after him!" "Keep it up and I will," I said. We finally moved forward, we went to find the locations of the Kitchen and the Dining Room, though I have a really bad feeling that a Hollow might show up, I looked at Renji in total fear, Renji was never seen me so scared before. Then he went ahead and called Ichigo over, he came over and I calmed down instantly, we made our way towards the Kitchen, then we heard a voice ask, "What are you 2 doing?" We looked, there 9 people at, I'm assuming the dining table, Kai said, "Come on before it gets cold." "Ah, sweet!" shouted Renji. I yanked him back over to me and threatened him, "Don't act so reckless right now or I swear I will cut you in half!!! Do I make myself clear?" He nodded, both Ichigo and Renji knew if I use that tone of voice meaning that I sense a Hollow nearby. I sat right next to Renji who is now on the alert and terrified of what I just said to him, we were in the middle of eating, Suho asked, "So what do you guys do?" "Um, we don't know," said Renji, "It's kinda hard to say on what we do." "Say it and you can say goodbye to having children in the future," I whispered in a very menace voice. Renji looked at me, I was being serious on what I said, I may be little but oh boy do I carry a deadly weapon, Sehun asked, "Why are you looking like you are terrified of her?" "She's my big sister," he said, "I may be taller than her but she can beat my ass whenever I question her skills." I nodded, it's true, I've knocked his ass down 50 times, Renji knows on when not to mess with me, same with Ichigo but he's not Renji. Then our phones went off, we looked at each other, I said, "We need to get going." "Already, you should eat first," said Xiumin. Then we got a message saying 'Eat first then Hollow.' I said, "A meal wouldn't hurt." "Yep," said Renji. We ate, then I told Renji, "I'll meet up with you and Ichigo, I need to grab Shadow Phoenix." "Ah, I forgot that when you meditate, you are making her exposed to humans and us, good thinking," said Renji, "I'll see ya later." He left, I grabbed Shadow Phoenix, I went into my Soul Reaper form, and went to fight the Hollow with Ichigo and Renji.