With a Silent Step

Ichigo awoke in the morning to the feeling of eyes on her, and she jerked upright, looking around for the source. Ishida was sitting up, looking at her affectionately, and she smiled at him before noticing the chain protruding from his chest.

"It worked already?!" she wondered aloud, looking between his soul and his body.

"You can see me again?" Ishida asked, pleased. She nodded, and threw her arms around him. "Well," he began wryly. "You've never done things by halves." There hadn't been anything left of Aizen except a bloody smear on the floor when she'd finished their battle.

The smile faded away all of a sudden, and Ishida wondered what had gone wrong. Was he still visible, or had it been a momentary thing. "What's wrong?" he asked, and she frowned.

"My stomach hurts," she complained quietly. "And Zan's still not here." Abruptly, she burst into tears. Ishida pulled back in dismay, wondering what the hell was wrong with her.

"Uh.. Ichigo... Maybe it's just..." he reached for her, intending to hug her comfortingly, and she jerked away.

"Don't touch me!" she shouted, and threw herself out of the room. Ishida stared after her, wondering if she'd lost her mind.

-

Yoruichi was sitting at the table, enjoying the silence before everyone woke up - the Shinigami had obtained gigai from Urahara in order to faciliate their presence in the human world, and they'd been put in the room with Shinji, since Ishida had taken to sharing Ichigo's room.

She had just taken a sip of her tea when a familiar scream rang through the house. Choking on it, she ran for the source, wondering what could have gone wrong this time. Ichigo was huddled, shaking and terrified, on the bathroom floor with blood covering her hands. For a moment Yoruichi's heart dropped to her feet, and then she realized what exactly had happened. Ishida was the next to arrive at the door, already shouting about what was wrong. His shouts brought the others running, and Yoruichi pulled Rukia from the group and shoved the boys out of the bathroom, locking the door behind them.

"What's wrong with me?" Ichigo asked suddenly. "Am... Am I going to die?"

Rukia peered closely at the state of Ichigo's pajamas, and smiled. "No, you're not going to die. It's a perfectly normal thing for girls to go through. I'll go call Orihime, she can explain it better than I can." Rukia muscled her way through the throng of testosterone gathered just outside the door, telling them it was nothing for anyone to worry about.

"But Ichigo was covered in blood," Ishida interrupted her nervously. "Was she attacked? What happened?"

"Ishida," Urahara said suddenly from the back. "You're studying to be a doctor. What happens to girls?"

The Quincy spirit looked thoughtful for a moment, and then blanched. "It's... that?"

"I believe so. Although it is worrisome that Kurotsuchi put enough details into changing her that it would be so complete. I believe that if she's going through this, she is likely to be able to become pregnant - which means you'd better keep your pants up," Urahara warned. Renji was looking around blankly.

"Wait, I don't get it," he said. "What's wrong with Kurosaki? Why can he get pregnant?"

He was dogpiled by the gathered Shinigami and Vizard. "Don't you know anything?" Shinji asked. "It's her period."

"What the fuck is a period?" Renji demanded, and was dogpiled again. Urahara felt more like a father than ever before, and the thought briefly passed through his head about following in Isshin's footsteps, and finding a wife to settle down with. It was coming to that point in his life that he would have liked to see a little boy or girl with blond hair and grey eyes running around, trying on his geta and wearing his hat around the house. He would train them early about their spiritual powers, and watch with eagerness as they discovered their zanpakutou, and then when his daughter grew up, he would be ready to have Benihime out and cleaning her when the boyfriends came home, just like a good father ought to do. And if it was a son, he could take him out to Soul Society and teach him sword-fighting and strategy.

Lost for a moment in his daydreams of a family of his own, he almost missed Yoruichi exiting the bathroom.

"I've given her what she needed, and explained as best I can. Orihime's on her way, and Ichigo's in the bath. I think she'll be okay, but... Kisuke..."

He focused on her, suddenly seeing her in a new light. Heavily pregnant and glowing with it, seeing her face light up every time he brought home something new for the baby. ...Yoruichi?

They'd grown up together, and he'd always seen her as more of a sister. Recently they'd grown closer over their mutual worry about Ichigo, and the troubles the boy found himself - or herself - in. He'd always teased her about being his wife, but what would she say if he really asked her? Overcome by an unfamiliar surge of nervousness, he forgot what she was saying.

"What?" he asked, looking clueless. Yoruichi sighed with infinite patience.

"I said she's going to be fine. How's work coming with that bracelet?" She took his arm, and lead him away from the bathroom, letting him talk about how he was close to breaking the kido on her gender, and that it would be just a few more weeks before Ichigo was back to his full manly self again. It wasn't until he was seated in the kitchen, detailing his plans to an obviously interested-but-still-bored Yoruichi that he realized he'd been managed. She was smiling at him indulgently, and the idea struck itself into his brain.

He needed a ring.

-

Orihime let herself into the bathroom, locking it behind her, and settled on the edge of the tub. Ichigo was still curled up in the water, only raising her head when the door opened.

"I'm not a girl, I'm not I'm not I'm not!" she insisted. Orihime smiled sadly.

"Of course you're not, Ichigo-kun. Urahara's working out how to change you back right now. This isn't a permanent thing, Ichigo." She forcefully tipped the girl's chin up, making their eyes meet. "You're not a girl, Ichigo," she reminded the Shinigami substitute. "We're going to work this out. Just remember, it's a training exercise. Nothing more, and nothing less. And just think of it!" she added brightly. "This experience will help you immeasurably when it comes to getting a girlfriend!"

Ichigo's face flushed, and she ducked her mouth and nose under the water, not meeting Orihime's eyes. Bubbles floated to the surface, and Hime could hear a faint murmuring, and she sighed. "Ichigo-kun, I can't hear you if you speak underwater," she reminded the other girl.

Ichigo looked away. "I said I don't like girls," she repeated to the wall. Orihime was dismayed.

"Ichigo, just because you're a girl right now doesn't mean that you're automatically attracted to guys," she began, and Ichigo cut her off.

"I'm still me inside, alright? And I've never liked girls! It's always been Ish-" she cut herself off, and lowered her entire head under the water to hide her embarrassment. Orihime glowed.

"Oh, Ichigo! I had no idea! How fortunate! He's such a lucky guy!"

The water started steaming slightly as Ichigo's blush intensified. Orihime giggled, and leaned into the water to give her long-time friend a congratulatory hug. "Now, we've got to talk about this thing you're going through. I know you're a guy, and you know you're a guy, but your body thinks it's a girl right now-"

"My body IS a girl right now," Ichigo interrupted, and Orihime continued as if nothing had been said.

"And when girls go through puberty, certain things start changing in their bodies." She spoke matter-of-factly, but Ichigo had heard the male side of this from his father, years ago, when his voice had started changing. He'd heard that Isshin had tried to give a similar talk to Yuzu and Karin, but had failed miserably. No matter how female his body was at the moment, she still didn't want to hear about these things.

Orihime detailed at length exactly what was happening in her body, and by the end of it, Ichigo was horrified by the female sex.

"And you do this every month?" she asked, pityingly. Orihime nodded.

"After a while it just becomes a normal thing for us," she answered candidly. "And Urahara mentioned that whenever you're ready, he's figured out a way to bring Zangetsu back. Since you've regained your reiatsu - I can feel it all over the room, which is a relief. Last time I dropped by, it was completely empty."

Ichigo stared at her blankly. "When did you come by?" she asked, wracking her brain trying to remember the visit.

"Oh, a few days ago. They told me you weren't talking to anyone, so I left again." Ichigo felt horrible.

"You're such a good friend, Hime," she said, and started crying again. "I hate crying," she added.

"We all do. It's not something you can help, though. The good news is that the first period is usually pretty light, so if you just remember to keep everything clean, you'll be fine. I brought over some pills for the pain and everything else. If you take them, they'll help." She produced a bottle that read 'midol' in English. "They're the best. When I take them, I hardly feel like I'm on my period at all. Now, I think you should go apologise to Ishida. I think you scared him earlier."

Ichigo stood up, forgetting her nudity for a moment. "Shit! Uryuu! I was so terrible to him this morning!" She remembered to wrap a towel around her body, and opened the door. Ishida was lounging against the wall, surrounded by the rest of the group.

"I'm so sorry!" Ichigo shouted, and hugged him. She realized he was still in soul-form, and looked down at his chain. "Why aren't you back?"

Ishida looked embarrassed. "I can't figure out how."

"Is that all?" Hitsugaya asked suddenly, eyes averted from the couple. "You should have said something. All you've got to do is lay down in your body, it should happen automatically. Ishida excused himself immediately, and Ichigo realized she was still clad in only a towel, surrounded by men.

"Get lost!" she shouted. "I need to get changed!" They scattered so quickly that she didn't see them move.

-

Kisuke had vacated the house, giving Yoruichi a vague excuse about needing something from the store. Walking lazily down the street, he tried to present that there was nothing wrong with him to the world, while inside he was a mess. His stomach felt fluttery, and his heart was pounding, and if he unclenched his fingers, he felt that they would be shaking.

It was a decidedly unusual feeling, being afraid. It wasn't something he was used to, and he didn't like it.

A new thought suddenly occurred to him. If he was this torn up about actually buying a ring, how would he actually ask her? What if she said no?

The trembling in his fingers reached his knees, and for a moment he felt so weak he could barely walk, and he plopped himself down on the sidewalk.

Ichigo's sister, Yuzu, was passing by. "Urahara-san! Good morning! Have you seen Ichigo lately? He hasn't been home in a while."

Urahara offered her a tremulous smile. "He's fine, Yuzu-chan! He's staying with me."

Her natural inclinations towards helping people made her pause. "Urahara-san? Are you alright?"

Ousted by a sixteen year old girl. He was never going to keep this from Yoruichi for very long. "Aa," he answered. "I'm fine. I'm... going to buy a ring for my... friend."

"Yoruichi-san?" she asked brightly. Kisuke was horrified to feel himself blushing.

"Yes, Yoruichi," he agreed. She leaned closer.

"What kind of ring?" she asked. "A... special ring?"

"A very special ring." How the hell was a sixteen year old girl with no spiritual powers so utterly terrifying?

"An... engagement ring?"

"IhavetogonowthankyouYuzu-chanseeyoulater!" He sprung up from the ground and hurried away, feeling renewed. After reaching the jewelry shop, he realized that Yuzu had done it intentionally. That entire Kurosaki family was full of nosy busybodies and meddlers, he decided, and looked around at all of the jewels glinting back at him.

A familiar tendril of fear curled through his stomach. Now what?


-[TBC]-

I'm already working on the last chapter. XDD I don't know when it's coming, but it shouldn't be more than fifteen or sixteen chappies long. And trust me, this going to have a very happy ending.

Anise: This IS my first Bleach fanfic, which is part of the reason I'm having so many difficulties keeping them in character. Urahara's easy for some reason, but Ishida's such a mystery in the show, and I haven't figured him out yet.

Huggles for Anise's law. I don't usually watch a lot of TV, and when I do it's usually things that aren't gonna get canceled, or at least there will be something there to replace it. I watch mostly Investigation Discovery (crime shows) and sometimes things like American Idol, and So You Think You Can Dance. I don't really like serialized shows, and tend to avoid them. I adore House, which has been going strong for four or five seasons now (I lost track during the year I had no cable) and Dexter (another crime show. I never really realized how much crime I watch. XDD)

He'll get back to himself eventually. Actually, he probably does at the end of this chapter (haven't written it yet) or beginning of next chapter. Like I said in 13, he... well, she's got an excuse. It's something all women suffer through, and I know what it does to ME, who's been living with it for eleven years so far, and counting, I can only imagine what it would do to someone who's never dealt with it before, and has no preparation for dealing with it.
I'm up to date with the manga up to about 22 in English (my Japanese being somewhat less than conversationally fluent so far) and I'm pretty sure it's up to 25, so I can guess at why it's Urahara's fault, but I don't know for sure without looking it up.
And it's probably rude, but then that's how Urahara works - he just does whatever the hell he wants to, and then explains it to people afterwards. And it IS proving beneficial to Ichigo. I know this sounds like a cop-out, but I have very little-to no control over what they do, outside of a few specific things I've got planned out. Most of what happens is spur of the moment suggestions from my subconscious. And yes, I enjoy torturing Ichigo. I myself am a masochist, but when it comes to my fanfictions, I like to see people suffer; I refer to myself occasionally as a masochistic sadist. XDD

I TALK TOO MUCH. But it's your own fault for being so talkable-to. XDD *just woke up about half an hour ago, caffeine is still making its way through my bloodstream*

(Added this later, not that you can tell, having read it all at once)
Also, I tend to write by Murphy's Law. Anything that can go wrong, will. And it will go wrong in the worst possible way. So I end up turning a normal scene - Ichigo going to the supermarket for milk - into something terrible.
He gets attacked by a hollow on the way over, once he gets to the market he runs into someone he doesn't like, then can't find the brand of milk he needs. He has to go to another store, and there he runs into someone he DOES like (which can be 'wrong' if you're not prepared to deal with someone you have a crush on, and they're standing in front of you. [I never quite got out of high school. XDD]) and so on and so forth. So, like I said, even milk-buying can become an ordeal when I get involved with it. Art imitates life, they say, though, and since Murphy's law rules MY life, it tends to dictate my writing as well.

Darkephoenix: Thank you so much for reviewing; seriously. Anise, Midnight, and Angel have been with me from the beginning, and pretty faithfully review each time, but no one else is reviewing except you, so I have no idea what the heck people think about this at all, except for the hit counter which keeps going up. And I love most pairings in Bleach, but there are some that are complete canon. Ichi/Ishi is VERY canon, as is Ishi/Hime, or Hime/Tatsu. That makes my job of 'getting them closer' as you put it, quite easy. The show laid the groundwork, and I just add my own spin to it. And Ichigo strikes me as the type who is the protector of everyone (which is what he aims to do in the series anyway) but also is in need of a protector of his own, to do the things he can't. Ishida is that person, in my mind. I'm glad you like this, too. I'm trying to reign it in (I'm perfectly capable of stretching it out to twenty or thirty chapters filled with nothing but fluff, or uselessness, but no one wants to read too much of that) so I think it'll only go on a few more chapters while I tie up all the loose ends.
As for the tower, well, I've gotten over my reluctance to just call it 'the tower' but thank you anyway~