A Shifting of Life

Title: A Shifting of Life

Fandom: Bleach

Part: 19

Series: A Shifting World

Characters/Pairings: Ichigo, Byakuya, Renji, and for a short time: Shuhei, Kenpachi, Yachiru, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Kira, Momo, Ulquiorra

Warnings: does adorableness warrant a warning?

Word count: 1,320

AN: Let me tell ya guys, there are 49 chapters plus a prologue (bringing it up to 50 chapters). As I write this (since by the time I actually post this I'll be closer to finished), I have finished off 19 chapters of this rewrite.

That leaves me 31 more chapters to do...

Good lord.

Anyways, enjoy!

As of this posting: I have actually finished rewriting 31 chapters and have 19 more chapters to do.

*~*~*~*

“Oh wow,” Ichigo breathed as she leant over Renji’s lap, her hands curled over the side of the carriage as she stared at the rather large festival that they were getting closer to. Renji smiled slightly as he tucked a bit of her hair back out of her face, shaking his head at her awe. “The Living World doesn’t have anything like this,” she finally said as she sat back down much to the three male’s silent disappointment.

Unknowing to her, Byakuya and Ulquiorra had been enjoying the view that they had of the curve of her back as it went down to her well formed ass. While they had enjoyed the view, Renji had been enjoying the warmth of her body pressing against his own.

“It’s not all that surprisin’, Ichigo-chan,” Renji said, smiling as he watched her continue to take in the sights. The carriage pulled up to the front gate where they would be handed a pamphlet that would tell them where everything was, and stopped with a light jerk. The driver climbed down from the front of it, pulling down the steps that came attached to the carriage, and bowed as Ulquiorra stepped off first, taking in the size of the festival.

The Espada was garnering several curious, and some wary, looks that he was ignoring, feeling when their attention turned to Renji as he stepped down and patted him on the back with a friendly smile. The other male then turned around to offer his hand to Ichigo, the redhead smiled and gingerly stepped down, finding that the female style of kimonos were a bit more restricting. She really didn’t want to tear the fabric or stitches, running the beautiful work that had been done on it with a misplaced foot or hand.

Byakuya hovered behind her, standing ready to help if she needed him before he stepped down after her, nodding at the driver. The man climbed back in after shoving the steps backup, driving away. The four stood before the entrance to the festival, Ichigo sliding her hand into the crook of Byakuya’s elbow, holding herself from bouncing at the thought of the fun that they were about to have.

“Ichigo-chan!” Yachiru called out to them, appearing out of nowhere and wrapping her small arms around Ichigo’s waist, smiling up at her happily.

“I see that you two got here without any troubles,” Ichigo greeted, smoothing down pink hair and getting a happy giggle from the young girl.

“Kenny-chan rented us a carriage to bring us and some of tha others since Pretty-chan didn’t want to walk in his new kimono,” Yachiru chirped at her happily, allowing Ichigo to pick her up and prop her on one hip.

“Oh? Is that so? Well, I’m sure that Yumichika is happy about that fact,” she said, smiling at the child as Rangiku, Yumichika, Kenpachi, Ikkaku, Shuhei, Kira, and Mom walked up to them. Momo had a slightly strained smile on her face as Kira and Shuhei glared over at her, the others choosing to ignore it for the moment. “So wanna tell me what happened between here and the restaurant?” Ichigo asked Shuhei, the man coming to stand next to her.

“On the way over she started on her spiel about how Aizen is the only one who is worthy of being God and the King of Souls. She insulted us in one way or another. Not in any way that we can really complain about since it wasn’t stated explicitly, but it was heavily suggested at,” he told Ichigo lowly. Ichigo frowned as he stared at Momo.

“I suppose that I’ll be sending a letter to Aizen the next time that Ulquiorra sends in a report. Tell him about her and maybe he can figure out just what happened with her,” Ichigo mused softly. She hefted Yachiru higher onto her hip, getting a happy giggle from the child. Smiling down at Yachiru, she missed the curious look on Shuhei’s face.

“What do you mean? I thought that he was the one who did this to her,” he said, curious about what she meant. Everyone turned to look at them as Ichigo snorted and shook her head, smirking at them.

“You would think so, but actually, no, he didn’t do it. He was nice to her, as any taicho should have been, and that was about it really. He was worried about her mental state when he was forced to start the war, but he couldn’t really do anything about it since he was needed elsewhere,” Ichigo said, shrugging with a smile. “So it really wasn’t his fault that she is so obsessed with him. And I have a feeling that it freaks him out actually,” she said, snickering at the dark glare that Momo leveled at her.

“Come along. Let us go in, shall we? If anything, we can all meet up on the hill for the fireworks display, yes?” Byakuya suggested.

Kira held up a hand with a soft smile. “Just a moment, Kuchiki-san, I have a surprise for Ichigo-chan,” he said as he waved over two very familiar figures, making her smile brightly at seeing her friends. “I went and picked them up last night so that they would join us. Unfortunately, Orihime-san didn’t wish to come, Sado-san is working tonight, and Tatsuki-san is laid up in bed with a broken leg from a training accident. But Keigo-san and Mizuiro-san was happy to come and enjoy the festival with us.”

“That, and I get to just hang out with friends and finally get to introduce Mizuiro-kun to everyone in a better setting,” Keigo drawled, hugging Ichigo, getting it returned by the female with one arm. Yachiru waved at him from Ichigo’s other arm. Mizuiro got his own hug before he looked over Ichigo with a small smile on his lips.

“You look wonderful, Ichigo-chan,” he said in greeting, the group watching as Ichigo blushed from the compliment.

“Thank you, Mizuiro. And thank you, you two, for coming to the festival. But I don’t want you guys feeling as if you have to follow me around all day. This goes for you to, Ulquiorra. Go get to know others and enjoy yourself today,” she said, smiling at her friends. The Espada tilted his head in acknowledgement of her words before he moved closer to Kira, watching as the young blond blushed slightly.

“Shall we head into the festival?” Byakuya asked, holding out his hand to Ichigo, smiling when she took it with a pleased smile. Leading his date past the gates, the group scattered, Renji deciding to stick close to Byakuya and Ichigo, wanting to spend some time with them.

It was long before they found themselves surrounded by games, all of them enjoying the festivities going around them. The two men found themselves enjoying it even more as they watched Ichigo relax, staring in delight at all of the activities, even as she tried her hand at a few. By the time that they decided to stop for a snack, Byakuya had won her a large handcrafted blanket and Renji had won a large lion like toy that oddly reminded Ichigo of Kon’s plush body.

She snickered as she thought of Kon and shared it with the two males when they gave her curious looks. Both of them smirked at the thought with her. They left the game alley and headed for the food stalls, scents of various delightful goodies leading them towards the stalls easily.

They came to a stop, Byakuya frowning slightly, finding that Rukia was standing near the seating area, glaring at a bored looking Ulquiorra. Kira frowned at her from his seat next to the Espada but there was an undercurrent of worry coming from him.

The three companions wondered what had happened.