Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong to Tite Kubo and whoever else actually owns it and I make no money from writing this. This story however is mine and is not to be replicated, reposted, or copied in any way without my consent. Thank you.
…
Will This Day Ever End?!?!
.
Little did they know the Shinigami Women's Association had more than their fair share of scouts in the Real World…
…
A young woman with braided hair looked down on the two Soul Reapers as they leaped away from where their bodies were stashed with a small smile. Even
she hadn't believed the news that not only was there now a new female Soul Reaper, but one with so much potential she had captured the eye of one of the Association's most favored boy-toys.
So it seems Yoruichi's information was correct…. The serious young woman thought with the same smile still on her face as she brushed off the skirt of her shihakushou and prepared to follow them.
After all, the Association had been lacking on members lately…
…
Ichigo and Tatsuki landed on the ground of a children's park, and to say Tatsuki was surprised there would be a Hollow here would be an understatement. What was even more surprising was that there was nothing in sight. Everything looked…normal. There were kids playing on the swings and even more laughing on the merry-go-round, but danger, or even reiatsu for that matter, was nowhere in her senses. There must have been a Whole around there somewhere, because it was the only explanation she could come up with.
"Why would a Hollow come here?" She wondered aloud, and when Ichigo turned to face her she knew she was going to get an educated answer from the way his face was set.
"Children are a favorite food to Hollows," he began softly.
She could only gasp at the knowledge. "Why!"
He shook his head like he didn't know any better than she did. "I'm guessing that'll be a question that'll remain unanswered forever, but if I had to take a guess…it'd be that children are still so…new." Her eyebrow rose confusedly at his answer, so he continued. "Kids are new to the world. They've had enough time to grow attached to it, gain friendships and emotions, maybe even some spiritual power, but they haven't had enough time to gain a serious thought of right and wrong. They're…innocent, if that's the right word." He scratched his head in his thoughts, but just waved it away as usual when he was done. "And lesser Hollows survive their pain by eating souls. What better kind of souls than untainted ones?"
Tatsuki was dumbfounded.
He managed to make up an answer like that on the spot! He definitely deserves his second place standing. That was when her skin shivered with the arrival of a Hollow's roar. Ichigo's face instantly lost any consternation it might have held after trying to make up a convincing answer and set itself in his usual battle scowl. "Tatsuki, I'm counting on you to fight this guy. I'm the only one fast enough to get all these kids out of here before it attacks."
She nodded seriously. This was the perfect situation to test out her new skills after training with Urahara. She hadn't gone for as long as she should have, but she knew much more now than she did before at least.
"And I can't wait to see how much you've improved," he added smartly before he disappeared and the bodies of frightened children started flying through the air, being carried by what was to them, an invisible being.
Even though she was sure the only reason she was being allowed to fight the thing alone was his last comment, she could almost feel herself beam with pride at his words. He trusted her enough to let her deal with a Hollow by herself while he actually took the secondary job for a change. It was exhilarating. She turned to face the monster that had landed in the park with an eager sense of that same pride…only to be stunned by what awaited her.
The Hollow was no larger than her, and behind the mask that covered three-quarters of its head, she could see a
human face. She had only seen a blur when her soul had been all but completely sucked out of her body, but in her last moment of true consciousness she had forever memorized the face of the giant lunk that had attacked her and so many others. A Hollow with a human face: an Arrancar. She had never truly seen one, let alone fought one. It looked so much like a human, but the hole in its chest and the mask on its face denied that humanity.
"I had hoped I wouldn't have any trouble, but a Soul Reaper's soul is so much more satisfying than any child's could ever be, even if I'm only in it for the killing. I'd tell you my name, but there's no point; you're going to die anyway," it intoned with a voice as cold as death, devoid of any emotion. He drew his zanpakutou slowly and stood to face Tatsuki in a relaxed stance, but she had frozen in place with her sword in front of her.
He looks so human…how can someone that looks so human attack kids! How can someone that looks so human be a Hollow! Her teeth chattered together in both anger and fright as she stared down her opponent that had yet to move.
He noticed her teeth and a smile drew itself over his face. "Ah, so it's a newbie is it? No wonder. Still, a Soul Reaper is a Soul Reaper."
In a flash it was out of her sight and that forced Tatsuki into battle mode. She knew if she let her guard down she was dead, and facing an opponent as obviously arrogant as the one she was meant he was either very skilled or very stupid. She had faced speed like this before with Urahara, so she quickly turned and slashed out at the space behind her, where the white-clothed Arrancar was required to block else he be cut in two by her well-aimed strike.
"Tsk, so you're reflexes are fast enough to counter Sonido. Interesting." It seemed he enjoyed making vocal observations of his prey as he fought them, because it was said in a condescending tone that could not have reached that level after just one use. This was something he did on a regular basis.
The next time he appeared he was not simply standing anymore, this time he was crouched and only at knee level, so when the usual counter came of her slash, it went right over his masked head. She could only look down in horror as understanding came to her when he kicked her legs out from under her and prepared to skewer her through the stomach with his sword like a fish on a pike as she fell down. Her mind raced to find a solution and in a moment of genius she shot a fist out and landed it squarely in his unprotected gut, propelling her away from the striking blade and effectively ending his attack as he gasped for air from where he had been pushed from the force of her blow.
"You're a creative one, that's for sure. It's been a while since I've had this much fun," he spewed confidently as he wiped away some of the spittle from his chin that had been forced from his half-masked mouth.
"Damn you!" Tatsuki shouted as she jumped into the air and flew down at him with her sword fully ready to cut off his head. A smirk formed on his face and he easily deflected the fully telegraphed strike off to the side as he brought up his sword effortlessly and sliced through the cloth of her uniform and some of the flesh on her arm while she was skidding away from the force of her own jump.
"Foolish. Any Soul Reaper could tell you never to jump into the path of an obviously faster opponent." This time the confident tone was an all-out sneer. "Come little Soul Reaper, let me squeeze some more enjoyment from you before you die."
He disappeared again and that was how the battle stayed. He would strobe in and strobe out, and all Tatsuki could do was hope to land a strike as she dodged where she sensed he would appear next. It was an effective tactic, as much so for her as it was for him. When she would block it was almost a guarantee that his blade would ride up the length of hers and slit her arm—regardless of the guard on the katana—but if she attacked and forced him to dodge, it was almost a guarantee that her attack would hit in his scramble to get away.
Their sword dance continued like this for a while, forcing everything but the next second of battle from Tatsuki's normally contemplative mind. She hated that even after all her training, she still only added up to this in the face of a real opponent. Finally it reached the point where her anger completely bubbled over and that was when she suffered the most damaging blow so far, one that sliced down her shoulder all the way to her elbow.
"Thanks for the fight little Shinigami, but it's over now." And with that, he drew his blade into the air and prepared to bring it down…
"Tatsuki, what exactly are you doing?" A voice asked disinterestedly. Her back stiffened at the sound of Ichigo's voice and both she and the Hollow looked over to see the orange-haired teen leaning up against the swing-set of the playground with his arms crossed over his chest.
"What do you mean!" She shouted indignantly. "Can't you see I'm fighting!" She didn't know what the Hollow was doing, it could have easily finished her off by now, but she took small blessings for what they were.
Ichigo sighed. "You aren't understanding me. What I mean is why haven't you called out your zanpakutou yet? It's not a bad thing to release your zanpakutou if you have to. Put your trust in it and it'll put its trust in you, that's how it works. Trying to be a hotshot and not calling out your sword is
not something to be proud of, believe me I know. Battles work at a furious pace and if you don't survive them then it's your own fault for not using what you had available to you, especially when that thing has a consciousness of its own.
"I can hear it even now you know, crying out. It hates you getting hurt, and it's wondering why you haven't used it yet."
She winced at his unforgiving words but she could tell by his posture and his tone that he was not trying to cut her down; he was only trying to make a point. His last words hurt more than she had thought something ever could though. She hadn't even been the one to scream out her sword's name the first time, it had been her other half to have that honor. She couldn't hear her blade, that was how clogged her senses were by her Hollow, and she couldn't call it out, that was how clogged her senses were by her pride.
Her lover knew these things about her, but he was willing to let her make her own mistakes, let her fight her own battles. He knew how much she wanted to show him how good she had gotten, and so he had waited patiently at the sidelines as she fought her enemy. One that was both physical
and mental.
Heh, Ichigo knows me more than I give him credit for, she thought happily.
It's a good thing he's around to keep me in check, otherwise what would I be doing right now? From inside her inner world, the being that liked to be called the 'Queen' rolled her eyes.
I think you'd be dying, that's what. Any longer and I would have pushed my power onto you, little girl. Count yourself lucky the King keeps me in check too. Shut up! Tatsuki bit back sourly.
"Thanks…Ichigo," she said softly and turned back to her opponent, but was stunned when she saw he was gaping at her fiancé with eyes—eyes that had expressed nothing but amusement and snide contempt since she had met him—flooded with open
fear. He was looking at Ichigo like he was the end of the world personified.
"I-Ichigo…you say? Ichigo…Kurosaki?" The Arrancar asked shakily.
"Hey, how do you know his full name?!"
How a Hollow could lose all color in their face she didn't know, she chalked it up to his broken mask state, but it happened nonetheless. Ichigo noticed this too, and waved one of his hands from its crossed state dismissively. "You're probably new, so I'll give you a break. Don't think that's a blessing, 'cause it's not me you're fighting against to begin with. No matter if you're new or not, I'm sure the others told you that any Arrancar that comes to the Living World comes here wanting to go to Soul Society. In Hueco Mundo I don't care how you live, but once you come here it's a one-way ticket to the afterlife's afterlife.
"I tolerate the Menos and the lower classes because they're too stupid to know better, but all you broken masks, even at your level, should know all too well what the consequences are." The orange-haired Shinigami smiled eerily. "Don't worry, from what I've seen you'll make a good Soul Reaper on the other side anyway, so you'll get to continue battling all you want."
The Arrancar sighed dejectedly. "Heh, a Soul Reaper eh? Sounds boring," he mused, and continued on with a sudden manic grin, "but don't think I'll go down that easily!" He turned on a dime with the power of Sonido helping him and brought up his sword to chop down on Tatsuki's head.
And he brought it down.
The explosion of dust and sand from the impact made it impossible to see clearly, but when it started to settle the image of the Arrancar with a smirk on his face was revealed, holding his zanpakutou above what had yet to be uncovered. He didn't think it would mean much though, he had hit something. He knew that.
When
all the dust settled, it was shown that his zanpakutou had been blocked by two arms crisscrossed over each other, and the arms were glistening with black metal apparatuses. "Im-impossible…"
Tatsuki launched the Arrancar away from her by bringing up her arms and pushing the blade away. Her one shoulder burned in pain at the movement but she would worry about that later, right then she had something she needed to do. The various cuts all over her body and shihakushou were nothing compared to the wounds those injuries gave to her pride, and she needed to solve that. Standing smugly to regard the stunned Hollow as he stared at her—and trying to hide the obvious pain she was in—she settled into her regular Karate fighting stance. "My name is Tatsuki Arisawa, soon to be Kurosaki. This is my sword, say hello to Kouki. Kouki, say hello to dead man."
The last words that were able to be uttered from the wide-eyed Arrancar before Tatsuki shot over to his position and punched him in the stomach were, "You're…engaged…to the…Ki—UGH!"
And then he exploded into a myriad of spirit particles from the force impact of Kouki's knuckle-blades.
Kouki transformed back into its sealed state and Tatsuki leaned on it heavily, breathing out each breath in a heavy pant as her shoulder burned from the damage done to it. Even for that short while leaning on her blade, once the adrenaline left her system she couldn't support herself anymore and she soon saw the ground rush up to meet her face, but before it could, she was being supported by a mass of black cloth. Or at least that was all she could see, but she knew it was Ichigo.
"Easy there, don't overdo it," he ordered quietly. "You did great, get some rest."
She didn't know why those words meant so much to her, but they did. It was with that in mind that she fainted in his arms with a smile on her face. She knew she did great too.
This was one rest well earned.
Ichigo grunted as he moved her into a more comfortable position in his arms while being careful not to aggravate the wounds she had. He looked down on her and shook his head slowly. "You have a lot to learn, but I'm not really one to talk. I was exactly like you at one time Tatsuki, but let's hope you never have to put up with what I did to get to the level I am now."
He knew he was talking to someone that was completely unaware of the goings-on around them, but it was like speaking it out loud helped release some of the pressure in his chest. It had taken all of his willpower not to jump in and blast the Arrancar to smithereens the second he saw Tatsuki had gotten hurt, but he knew her pride wouldn't allow her to accept his help when she wanted so badly to show him how powerful she had gotten. He couldn't stand the slightest bit of blood marring her clothes or the tiniest cut skinning her flesh, and with his Hollow's possessiveness he had nearly lost control when she saw her blood flying through the air.
It would only be a matter of time, but he knew eventually she would learn to call out to her Hollow. It was a fact, not a probability, a
fact, that eventually every Vizard learned that they could avoid unnecessary wounds and battle time if they transformed. He had been afraid of his Hollow for the longest time, afraid of losing himself to the power
he offered, but by accepting that part of him as a part of himself like it really was, then that fear disappeared and he learned he could call out to
him when he was still in his human body. Soon Tatsuki would learn the same thing, but for that to happen he would need to help her along. He knew that.
He leaned down to plant a gentle kiss on her forehead and sighed before straightening himself out.
It's going to be scary Tatsuki, but I'll help you through it. I won't let you go through it alone. Closing his eyes and concentrating on the pressures that made up Karakura Town, he looked for one in particular. When he finally found Orihime, it was little surprise that she was right by Uryuu, but what did come as a surprise was that she was by Chad and Rukia too. He resisted the urge to grind his teeth together. From the feel of things they were all waiting together, likely awaiting his appearance.
He sighed heavily.
I guess…it's now or never. Like it or not I need to see them sooner or later, and right now Tatsuki needs help. He made sure she was comfortably in his arms again just to be sure before he made them both disappear in an explosive burst of speed.
…
Not too far away on a building close by, the female Soul Reaper flicked up the vision goggles she had brought along from Soul Society, the thing that was allowing her to record everything she viewed. She was also thankful for the handy little device that hid her reiatsu too, because it was common knowledge among all Soul Society that the Kaien Shiba look-alike had come back from his quest with a dramatically more powerful ability to sense spirit pressure. And what was even more annoying was since he had come back he had continued to train and get what he had previously lacked
more than up to par. It was true in sheer volume of reiatsu he more than outmatched any captain, but now he had trained himself to have a captain's skills too.
It didn't hurt that he was handsome enough to kill.
He was right up there with Byakuya Kuchiki on the Association's 'Impossible To Seduce But Who Cares He's Too Hot For His Own Good' list.
That was, until they found a plan that worked anyway. She snickered softly.
I guess that's unnecessary now. We can just get the details
from the one closest to him. She could hardly restrain herself from jumping in joy. Nobody who looked at her would know she was a pervert at first glance, but then again she wasn't the most expressive Soul Reaper in the Thirteen Squads.
Her current mission though, brought her away from those thoughts. She had been specifically assigned by the other members because of her access to the most advanced technology in Soul Society, and she was going to fulfill that mission fully. Reconnaissance was simply an extra she would give the Association. After all, one does not gain membership into it without being evaluated by the entire group, but she was sure this one was a shoo-in.
"So she can already call her zanpakutou into Shikai? And what a terrifying ability, she really does have potential. I have to wonder what that Arrancar was talking about before he was purified though. Does Kurosaki-san have some sort of arrangement with Hueco Mundo?" She mumbled to herself in her usual ladylike manner. "No matter, but since she's been weakened this will be all the easier."
She rubbed her clothed hands together in glee before bounding off after the scowling Shinigami savior.
…
The odd foursome waited in pregnant silence for their orange haired commander in the still-sweltering heat. It had become a joke over time that he was their captain, even though Rukia was already a member of Squad Thirteen and Uryuu hated being associated with anything that even contained a hint of reference to Shinigami; though that had become a joke in and of itself to their group. Whether it was because of his power, or because he was the only one with the slightest of chances in the best of circumstances to get four people like them to tolerate each other, it was uncertain, but nevertheless it had happened.
They knew when they were all together they gave off a very distinct spiritual pattern and that eventually Ichigo would sense it, but so far the amount of time they had been waiting suggested that he may be ignoring them
intentionally. That really didn't sit well with any of them. Sure, they had been stunned when he had announced he was not only in a relationship, he was
engaged, but that didn't mean they didn't want to talk to him.
Naturally Rukia, knowing Ichigo as intimately as she did since she had been living in the same close quarters for so long, knew what was likely troubling their wayward friend, and she had made sure to give Uryuu one of the deadliest glares in her large repertoire. They had been stunned, but he of all people should have known that Ichigo didn't joke around. Sometimes he did in the heat of battle of all times, but when it came to matters of the heart he would sooner cut off his own hand than make light of it. This
was the person that lost his mother when he was nine after all. His heart was as tender as they came under the stone he put over it, and she had even been able to see some of that tenderness over the course of their time together.
There were even some times she wished she hadn't known Renji, that she had been able to get him out of her head, that he hadn't tried to save her just as badly as everyone else had. Ichigo had so much to offer but she just couldn't return it, that, and of course he couldn't offer it to her. She may have broken through many of the barriers he had around his heart, but the physical obstacles were just too much to overcome. She was a Soul Reaper, and the best she could offer was a gigai that would never age, and he was a human. His soul may never age, or at least age at an incredibly slow rate—even slower than normal thanks to him being a Soul Reaper—but his body would age as time went by and she would only be able to watch as he deteriorated. One: she wouldn't be able to do that without breaking down, and two: he wouldn't be able to do that to her. As familiar as they had become with each other, as much as they meant to the other, there were still obstacles within each of their hearts that prevented them from truly being together. To him, she had become like the third sister his father thought she was. She was happy for him; she had been surprised, but she was happy.
It was amusing because even Orihime was a bit miffed at her boyfriend for what he said.
Change took a while to get used to, but most of the time it was accepted after that transition period. They hadn't even known, let alone have any warning in any way, shape, or form, that Ichigo had hit it off with Tatsuki, so it was only natural that they be a bit stunned. But still, they had the good grace to feel shame when they realized they had reacted exactly like everyone else even though they were
supposed to know Ichigo better than anyone.
"We messed up, didn't we?" Chad asked in his usual tone, as deep as the ocean and as soft as silk. The man of few words made it a point to get everything across in one sentence or less, so everyone knew when he said something, it was to be taken seriously.
Rukia nodded and curled her legs up to her chest as she sat on the bench in the park, where Chad was lounging agitatedly by the fountain and Orihime and Uryuu were cuddled together on an opposing bench with faces trying heroically to hold their anxiety inside. Orihime may be annoyed at him, but she couldn't bring herself to stay away from him for too long. Love does that to a person.
"Yes Chad, I think it's a pretty safe assumption to say that we messed up."
Another silence fell over them, and a cool breeze massaged away the sweat beading down their bodies from both the heat and their unease. When the wind left them they all breathed a small sigh of relief and when they opened their eyes, who should they find standing in the center of their makeshift circle but Ichigo Kurosaki himself, holding none other than his fiancé in his arms. Instantaneously they all tensed and straightened themselves out for no apparent reason, but the same exclamation of his name still leapt from their lips unbidden.
Rukia felt a much more unsettling cold fall over her when he turned to regard her—as he did each person individually—but he focused his eyes solely on hers for longer than anyone else's. She had never seen his eyes so shut-out before. Even when she had been taken back to Soul Society and told him not to follow her with every unkind word she could think of to make him do it, he had still looked at her with eyes overflowing with disbelief and despair. Now however, his usually expressive eyes—to his friends anyway—were shut like two iron gates and the only emotion that could be read in them was his disappointment, but even that seemed to be like a figment of their imagination rather than his usually brusque use of his emotions.
"We'll talk to you all, but on two conditions. One: Orihime heals Tatsuki, and two: we go get our bodies before we talk," he said frigidly.
Good Lord, even his voice
is cold, Rukia thought shakily. Right now even her beloved brother with his voice as emotionally devoid as the depths of Hell had nothing on Ichigo.
Orihime obviously couldn't even bring herself to talk in the face of this Ichigo she had thought had disappeared after their journey to Soul Society, as she only nodded before quickly rushing to her best friend and activating her Godlike abilities. Ichigo seemed to visibly breathe easier when Tatsuki was healed and he muttered a low 'thank you' before vanishing into the air again.
When he was gone, Orihime fell back onto the bench she and Uryuu had been sitting on like some huge weight had just been lifted from her. "He's really mad at us…" she said sadly as she buried her head back into Uryuu's shoulder, prompting the Quincy to wrap an arm around her shoulders just to know she had his support.
"I'm sure we can straighten everything out when he comes back Orihime, everything will be fine," the archer consoled confidently.
It would seem that Ichigo didn't want to make too much of a scene by suddenly appearing in the park again by using Shunpo, as they actually had to wait even longer this time before his enormous reiatsu was felt swirling in the air and his bright head of hair came into their view again. Their chests tightened when they saw where Tatsuki was though. Even though the fact that she was dressed in such a way as to actually show off her body was stunning enough, what had more of their attention was that she had her hand wrapped in his while the arm attached to that hand was likewise wrapped around his arm lovingly, her head set gently on his shoulder as they walked towards them. If they didn't know any better, she was supporting him as much as they were supporting each other coming towards this confrontation.
That, and of course open displays of affection by the orange haired young man and by the black haired demon of a tomboy was still taking some getting used to.
The engaged couple calmly took a seat where everyone in the circle could see them and Ichigo still regarded them all with those emotionless eyes that chilled everyone no matter how hot the day was.
"Are you okay with this? With us I mean?" Ichigo asked outright.
They were all taken aback. They had expected to get chewed out and lectured until he was blue in the face but they could only guess that he knew the effect he could have on people when he turned himself inward and had gotten straight to the heart of the matter.
"W-We were only surprised. We've all thought it over for a long time and truthfully I'm a bit ashamed I reacted the way I did. You have every right to be happy and I'm happy for you," Rukia said softly, and just like that Ichigo's eyes started glowing with the affection and emotion she knew he was capable of, the strength that defined every pore of his being.
"And you have my apologies as well Ichigo, I myself was not in my normal state of mind," Uryuu continued for her in his regular use of hyper-formal apology. This was followed by Chad's curt but remorseful request for forgiveness, and Orihime's tear-streaked hyperactive apology that was as much an interpretive dance as it was a use of words.
Ichigo couldn't help but laugh at her antics and the laughter was like soothing spring water that purged his soul of all the anger and pain he had bottled up in response to their previous reactions. All in all he felt lighter and more free when he had forgiven them than he ever had being angry at them, and that only reinforced his new promise to never stay mad at the people he cared about for more than a day.
"I'm glad that's over with," Tatsuki said joyfully. "I don't know how much longer I could have stayed mad at Orihime without punching myself!" She probably shouldn't have said that, because it was only seconds later that Orihime's big gray eyes were right in front of her, looking for all the world like her dog had just died. If she had a dog that is.
"Y-You were m-mad at me Tatsuki?" She sniffed at her best friend.
Ichigo almost felt sorry for his fiancé, but then again she had put up with Orihime for much longer than he had so he knew she must have faced her puppy-dog eyes sometime in their friendship. When Orihime really wanted to she could be the epitome of innocence and not even the British Royal Guard, for all their vaunted inexpressiveness, would have been able to stay stoic in the face of her pleading look. Even he, for all of his scowling nature, could only look for so long before he had to turn away else he crack.
Now Byakuya…that would be interesting…. I'll have to test that sometime, he thought maniacally.
Putting Orihime and that look against an unsuspecting Byakuya Kuchiki would keep him laughing for a long time coming. In fact he snickered just at the thought.
Tatsuki was apparently an expert in this field, because she smiled even though sweat was threatening to fall from her head, and patted Orihime on the head like a kitten. "Maaaybe a little, but it's gone now Orihime!" She stated soothingly. It was almost unnerving how Orihime leaned into her hand like a good little animal would. Weird indeed, but that was Orihime Inoue in a nutshell.
Uryuu coughed politely to try and bring the atmosphere to something akin to normalcy. "I believe you told us earlier that you would explain why Tatsuki is suddenly a Soul Reaper. I think now would be a perfect time to do that."
Ichigo groaned. This was going to take a while. Tatsuki surprised him though.
"Ichigo stabbed me with Zangetsu so I could become a Soul Reaper. Simple as that." They all stared at her in wide-eyed disbelief and the tomboy reflexively backed up. "What? It is I swear."
Rukia was trying to wrap her head around this. "So let me get this straight. Ichigo, for no apparent reason, decided he would stab you with his zanpakutou and give you some of his powers so you could become a Soul Reaper like him. For no apparent reason! Dammit Ichigo are you
trying to give Soul Society a reason to kill you!"
Aforementioned young man scoffed. "Even if they tried they wouldn't stand a chance against me. Besides, I needed to give her some of my power otherwise she would have died because of the unbalance in her soul. Without a zanpakutou's spirit to anchor her soul to her body then she would have died because…well because…" He tried, but the words struggled against his tongue. It simply wasn't his to reveal.
"Because I'm like him," his fiancé finished softly.
The group must have been a bit dehydrated from the intense heat, because they didn't understand what she meant right away. "Like…him…?" Orihime said out loud, even as a question it seemed to be rolling around her mind like she couldn't comprehend what a man and a woman could possibly have in physically common to that degree.
Tatsuki wasn't used to doing this, but her Hollow's presence was always in mind, like some huge reserve of power just a tap away. It was as comforting as a back-up generator when a storm was coming, especially when that generator was completely controllable. Before it had been like some rampant energy that could swallow her whole at any given time, regardless of the circumstances, but this was almost…soothing. She concentrated on that power within her, and soon she could feel the strain on her eyes as the world became clearer and more vibrant around her, increasing her eyesight to levels that would make seeing in pitch black—like that of Hueco Mundo for example—simple. That was when she knew the black was successfully creeping into her eyes.
"Yeah,
like him." And then she made sure to turn back to normal in an instant as to not freak out her friends too much, or give any innocent bystanders a view of what
true evil looked like. "My soul didn't heal after getting some of it sucked out, apparently since Ichigo was fighting so close to me, that emptiness gained a form. A Hollow made from hollowness, ironic isn't it? What I thought was training was actually strengthening that Hollow and it was trying to get Soul Reaper powers so it would be able to come out of my body without killing both my soul
and my body, but by trying that that was exactly what was going to happen. That was what happened at school. It was trying to forcefully absorb Ichigo's power. It needed something to balance it otherwise I would have died, simple as that. Ichigo volunteered and well…here I am!" She finished with a chipper smile.
Uryuu adjusted his glasses with his middle finger like he always did as he struggled to regain his composure. "And did this happen before or after you realized you wanted to get engaged?"
Ichigo beat down the blush that wanted to rise on his cheeks. "Before, but there was an incident that kind of lead me to the whole relationship thing before that."
Rukia, ever the closet pervert, leaned forward with her eyes gleaming and a sly smile already half formed on her face. "
Incident? What kind of
incident?"
The black haired tomboy resisted the almost irresistible urge to punch the old, old,
old Soul Reaper in the face. "I think this would be the time where someone like you would say, 'you're not supposed to kiss and tell.'"
It was only after she said that did she realize she had just done exactly that.
Oh shit. That summed it up nicely.
"Well you have to admit this whole thing came right outta left field, so you can understand our surprise, ne? But an
incident, oh you're definitely filling us in on
this."
The couple felt cold sweat break out on their bodies.
It goes without saying the rest of the conversation was rather…interesting. The couple was only too thankful when Uryuu and Orihime realized they were going to be late for their movie if they stayed any longer and a flash of Hirenkyaku had them gone in an instant. Only too thankful for the distraction, Ichigo had made them vanish as well. He wasn't nearly as stingy on Shunpo when something like his dignity was on the line, as Tatsuki quickly found out. One can only put up with so much after all.
She looked up at the glowing evening sky and saw that she was right in front of her house, and Ichigo was currently setting her down from her treasured place in his strong arms. To say he was fast would be the understatement of the millennium, so she didn't say anything.
"I'll see you tomorrow Tatsuki," he said as he moved to turn away and leave, only for her to grab his hand and yank him back to her.
"Who says you're going anywhere until I let you go?" She threatened mockingly as she held him firmly by his hips, not at all surprised when he did the same to her. This time Ichigo smiled slightly and the movement of his head set his striking hair ablaze in the colorful light of the sunset, making the orange locks seem like fire atop his head rather than hair. He knew what she meant and truthfully he was glad she didn't let him walk away without it.
Needing no vocal prompting, Ichigo leaned downwards and gently set his lips against hers, allowing himself the pleasure of her taste once again. If this was an addiction, then God help him he was gone forever and rehabilitation was
not an option. He tried to keep it slow, but eventually he couldn't restrain himself and it increased in fervor until he realized he had pushed her against the wall of her house and was getting slightly off-course with his kisses. With great reluctance he pulled away, and this time did manage to turn to leave. "Have a good night Tatsuki," he said over his shoulder.
"You too…" she whispered hoarsely, their kisses having effectively taken her breath, and voice, away. She remembered something before he made a step forward, and she was thankful for that, because one step could be a lot with him. "I love you."
He paused in mid-step, then turned his head and smiled. "I love you too. Good night."
And then he was gone.
Tatsuki sighed dreamily, excused herself to bed from her parents, and made her way up the stairs to her room. The day was finally over, and after going through so much in just one day, a hot bath and two days of rest seemed like the perfect solution to her weariness.
She entered her door and the last thing she remembered was a hand wearing a red glove coming flying towards her face and metallic objects being placed on her soul-self's wrists.
Then everything turned to black. As black as the stranger's shihakushou and hair.
…
Nemu Kurotsuchi looked over her handiwork with what some people might call a sick sense of accomplishment. Tatsuki Arisawa lay unconscious in her Soul Reaper form with the reiatsu-restraining handcuffs the Twelfth Division Lieutenant had had the foresight to bring from Soul Society on her wrists, effectively making her as helpless as a newborn babe. She had taken her captive's soulless body and put it on the bed, just so the muscles on it weren't cramped when she got back into it sometime in the future
I've been asked to bring the new Soul Reaper to Soul Society for induction, and that's what I've done! They'll be so proud! She thought with joy even though her exclamations were as toneless as ever. She was odd, but one really can't blame her; blame her sick, twisted, father: yes, but not her.
Nevertheless, she had obtained her mission objective, and now it was time to complete the mission altogether.
…
Author's Notes: I can't believe it's been so long since this story has been completed. Wow. Anyways, thanks for reading!
