Death and the Strawberry

Review Replies- Rosy: Thank you!!! I’m glad that you like all my collections :D I hope to improve on my spelling errors and thankfully my beta is able to catch most of them.
Kera-Izaki: Yeah, I thought it was necessary to add a little bit of history in there at least since I just kind of leaped into the present.
Nusku: *Hands more yaoi carefully*
XoXgaaraXoX: I don’t know if you got my email, but my beta told me that she thought she sent me the chapter, but it was in her draft box, so it’s all cool now! But thank you for the offer.
Yakumo: Dordonii is really freaky…but I like him a little :D He makes for great comical relief.
MasterAkira: Ichigo will always be super cute. It’s part of his powers or something X3
Sciamachy: I would really love to see Masaki bitch slap Nnoitra, it’s very deserved.
Lynzee: Thanks! I hope this is good!

Many thanks to d3m0nng3l1106 for beta’ing this chapter!!!

Death and the Strawberry: Chapter 10

Ichigo sighed in impatience as he stood with Lilinette behind Stark. Halibel had her Fraccion behind her as well, though Neliel hovered close, pressing against her and relaxing her head on Halibel’s shoulder. Barragan sat on his massive bone-throne as usual, seemingly not very interested in the proceedings of Karakura town below.

Aizen smirked as he stared down at the city and looked over his shoulder at Ichigo. “If you want your family, I suggest you retrieve them now.” Ichigo nodded once and turned, running across the sky to where he remembered his family home being. Some things you don’t forget.

Stark watched him go, ignoring Lilinette’s snickering. The back of his eyes tingled and he faced forward once again, raising an eyebrow in interest when the sky opened and an enormous amount of reiatsu filled the area. From what Stark heard, or rather what Ichigo made him pay attention to, this must be the captains.

He hoped Ichigo didn’t run into any of them.

…

Ichigo silently slipped into the twins’ room and stared down at them. It had been so long since he had seen them. Although there were two beds in the room, they were curled up together like puppies in a litter. He smiled slightly and rested his hand on Karin’s head, sifting his fingers through her hair. She stirred, but didn’t wake up. His fond expression dropped as he felt something behind him. Turning around quickly, he stared at his father, who was staring at him.

Blinking, Ichigo cocked his head to the side and then smiled. “Goat-face?”

“Ichigo…”

Ichigo looked down at his body and then back at Isshin. “If you can see me, that must mean you have some spiritual energy.”

“Ichigo, my son…” Isshin stepped forward and Ichigo tensed, ready for an attack, but was surprised when he was dragged into a crushing hug. “I knew you were still out there somewhere.”

“Dad…” Ichigo let out a yelp as the hug tightened further. “Dad!” He shoved Goat-face away. “Listen to me, I’ve come to get you out of here, we don’t have time for this. Karakura town is-”

“-Going to be destroyed.”

Ichigo blinked. “Yeah, how did you…”

“Dad?” Ichigo paused and turned to the bed where the twins were waking up and murmuring at Isshin sleepily.

“We have no time for this.” Ichigo said again. “Let’s go already.”

“I’m not just going to let Aizen destroy this town.”

Ichigo sensed the presence behind him too late and barely managed to turn his head before the hilt of a sword slammed into the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground.

Urahara sighed and rubbed the back of his head as he stared down at Ichigo’s fallen form. “So much of his power has been sealed away…”

“Yes.” Isshin sighed and wordlessly cast a kido spell so Karin and Yuzu fell back asleep. “We’ll take him to the shop; Captain Yamamoto has already begun transferring Karakura?”

“Yes.” Isshin lifted his son’s unconscious form into his arms and stared down into his face, his eyes lingering over the mask. “I wished that it wouldn’t be him, but even creatures such as he plays an important part of this world.”

“Aizen is threatening to destroy the fragile balance by sealing his powers away like this.”

“Aizen has never cared about anyone’s well being but his own.” They stepped into the night’s air and flash stepped to Urahara’s shop. Above them, they could feel the crashing and trembling of the captains’ fighting with the espada and Yamamoto’s flames keeping Aizen at bay. Inside, far below the shop in the cavern, the vizards sat quietly, waiting for Kisuke’s return and ready to fight at any moment if the Shinigami failed. Shinji stood when he felt Urahara and Isshin return and stretched his arms above his head.

“Where are you going?” Hiyori asked, twirling her sword from hand to hand.

“I want to see what they brought back.”

“Tch, probably nothing important.”

Shinji ignored her and climbed up the ladder. Where Urahara was concerned, everything he deemed interesting was important.

…

Stark narrowed his eyes at the captain he was fighting. Ichigo still wasn’t back yet and this was becoming troublesome. The Fraccion that had accompanied them to the real world had been all but destroyed and it seemed only Lilinette remained in one piece. The white haired captain she was fighting seemed to have no interest in fighting her and Stark really wasn’t concerned about that. What he was concerned with was the power of the old man who was their leader. Perhaps even more powerful than Aizen-sama…and with Karakura town transferred to Soul Society, it seemed pointless to remain fighting in the fake town.

He easily dodged the downward swing of his opponent’s second katana and glanced over to Aizen-sama to see what his orders were. A glance and a nod were all the communication he needed. All at once, the espada and remaining Fraccion sonido-ed upward, opening their palms and slipping back into Hueco Mundo. Some of the more foolish Shinigami attempted to stop them, but they were swiftly cut down. The captains were so focused on Aizen and his consequent departure, that they didn’t notice Stark re-entering the real world to find Ichigo.

…

Ichigo’s brown eyes fluttered open and he blinked slowly at the unfamiliar surroundings. He tried to sit up, but he found a strong spell had him bound in place. “Ah, you are awake, Kurosaki-san.” Ichigo scowled at the blond haired man that suddenly blocked his vision, memories flooding back to him.

“Goat-face?” He questioned, earning him a chuckle somewhere from his left. He turned his head and saw his father – only, not in regular clothing, but that of a Shinigami. With a groan, he closed his eyes. That meant it would be almost impossible for him to bring his family back to Hueco Mundo. “Shit, why didn’t you just kill me…?”

“I couldn’t kill my own son, even if you weren’t as important as you are.”

“Important?” Ichigo asked as his head finally stopped throbbing. “Tch, I’m nothing important.”

“No?” The blond haired man snickered. “Why do you think Aizen purposefully sought you out and went to all the trouble of sealing your powers?”

Ichigo frowned. “It is not my place to question Aizen-sama.”

“Aizen-sama?” Isshin laughed coldly. “Your mother and I did not raise you to willingly serve another.”

“Well seeing as how momma serves Aizen-sama as well, I would say that she raised me accordingly.”

“Masaki?” Isshin grabbed the front of Ichigo’s shirt and jerked him up as much as the binding spell would allow. “Masaki is an arrancar?”

“Yes.” Ichigo grunted as he was dropped and looked over at Isshin, who was burying his face in his hands.

“This isn’t a time for that Isshin; they might be coming for him soon.”

Isshin sighed and looked up. “Forgive me, Kisuke…” He looked over to Ichigo again. “The reason why your powers were bound and Aizen holds so much interest in you is because-”

He was cut off by Shinji, who entered the room, glancing down at the bound arrancar. “Ah, you got him!” He crouched down and rested his hand on top of Ichigo’s orange hair. “We’ve been waiting for you, Strawberry!”

“Don’t call me that!” Ichigo snapped and attempted to sink his teeth into Shinji’s hand, but it was jerked away before he could.

“My my, you do have a temper.” Ichigo growled and attempted to wiggle his body so he was in a position to kick the other man but he was easily evaded. “But that is to be expected, isn’t it little King?”

Ichigo blinked. “King? What are you talking about?”

“You mean you don’t know?” Shinji’s grin widened and he snickered.

Urahara sighed. “We were just about to tell him when you interrupted.”

“What the hell are you guys talking about?”

“Honestly, you have no tact Shinji.” Urahara said and then leaned forward to meet Ichigo’s eyes. “You, Kurosaki Ichigo,” He paused for dramatic effect, making everyone else growl in irritation, “are a Vasto Lorde and the King of Hueco Mundo.”

Ichigo was silent for a moment as he gaped stupidly. “But that…No. It’s not possible.” A varied number of emotions swept through Ichigo as the words rooted themselves firmly in his brain. “But…I’m weak! I’m not even in the top ten espada!”

“Part of that is the seal, but being King isn’t about being the strongest, it’s about knowing what is best for your people to survive.”

“Shut up!” Ichigo shouted, his anger causing a surge in his powers and breaking the kido spell. He staggered to his feet and clutched at his mask, which seemed to throb. “No…it just can’t be…” He raised his head. “If that was true, you would have killed me already.”

“Well that would be pretty stupid, don’t you think?” Shinji said with a snort, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. “Why do hollows stay within the Hueco Mundo realm, instead of the real world?”

“Because…because if the hollows ate their fill, then there wouldn’t be anybody left in the world to eat.”

“The Shinigami make sure that the world is balanced. Just like if there is too many Plus souls and the hollows were completely destroyed, like when the Quincy’s were still strong.”

“So you’re not killing me because…”

“Because like there is a king of Soul Society, so must there be a king of Hueco Mundo.”

“But that…no.” Ichigo shook his head in denial. “How do you even know it is me? I’m nothing!”

“No, you are not.” Isshin stepped forward and laid his hands on Ichigo’s shoulders. “I knew, from the moment I laid eyes on you when you were born. You may have been born in a human body, but even then your reiatsu had begun to manifest itself. I didn’t realize what it was at first, but when I saw you slip out of your human body when you were still just a baby, you had a mask with the horns on either side of your head.”

Ichigo shook his head and jerked from Isshin’s grasp. “You’re wrong! I’ve met the Vasto Lorde and they tried to kill me!”

“If they had wanted to kill you, they would have.”

Ichigo paused, thinking back to when he and Stark had encountered the Vasto Lorde and they asked for Ichigo and then let both of them live when Stark had protected him against their attack…

“Do you remember how you were still the size of a human as a hollow?”

Ichigo did remember. He remembered how easily it was for his mother to stand guard over him in her much larger hollow form. He hadn’t really paid much attention to it at the time. Even though hollows and Shinigami are ageless, Ichigo was young and didn’t know anything about how the world worked. But it couldn’t be true…

He was saved from having to say anything else by Stark kicking in the door, sending it flying through the room and almost hitting Shinji. The three men didn’t stand a chance against Stark’s sonido and could only see Ichigo there one minute and then gone the next. The King was returning to his home and they couldn’t and wouldn’t do anything to stop it.

LINE

For those who don’t read the manga, I skimped on a lot of the details about the fight because for most it would just be information that most readers already know. But I included the important stuff so don’t worry about missing out.