Chapter Text
Chapter 6
"He's my…!"
…
"Kurosaki?" Byakuya's eyes went wide at this. His sister Masaki had married Kurosaki Isshin… this meant only one thing… He was Ichigo's uncle. "He's my… nephew…" Byakuya whispered in shock.
"Taichou, are you alright?" Renji asked. Byakuya was snapped from his thoughts only to realize he had stopped walking at the mention of the Kurosaki name.
"Yes Renji, I'm fine. Let's get going, I want to speak with Kisuke." The noble began to walk again; well it really wasn't considered walking… it was in-between running and shunpo.
'What's up with taichou? I've never seen him like this before.' Renji thought to himself as he rushed to catch up with his superior officer.
…
Ichigo lay on his bed contemplating everything Hichigo had told him only an hour ago. He was curious but confused. I mean, he hadn't done anything to Soul society… so why would they try and kill him? Even though Hichigo had explained it was because he was a vizzard. But he was a good vizzard… right?
Ichigo was pulled from his thoughts by his sister Yuzu's voice calling up the stairs that supper was ready.
The teen sighed as he rose from the bed and headed out the door. 'Hichi, why don't we go visit that guy I punched earlier when we're done supper… maybe he can help us… train or something.'
'Ichigo, we've been over this, those people we left there earlier were shinigami! And we're vizzard! We can't go and hang around with them there.' Hichigo nearly shouted within his twin's mind, making Ichigo winch.
'It wouldn't hurt though, if we need to go, we can just run… or shunpo like you said we were capable of doing right.'
'Fine, we'll go, but one sign of danger and we're out of there.' Hichigo replied a moment later.
'Thank you Hichi' smiled Ichigo as he entered the dining room.
…
"Soooonnnn, how was your first day of school!" yelled a voice that seemed to be coming at him quite quickly. Ichigo ducked just as his father leapt over his head.
Karin just shook her head. Her father was known to be mentally retarded most of the time… alright, all of the time.
Isshin groaned from the floor, "My son, he hates me!" he wailed as he leapt up and raced to the poster of his deceased wife Masaki.
Ichigo paid no attention to the man however; he looked at his little sisters and ever so slowly whispered "Hi."
Everyone froze. Karin and Yuzu stared at their brother in shock; Isshin faced his son with wide eyes. Had he just imagined his son's voice after eight years?
"Did… did we just hear what I think we heard… Ichi-nii?" whispered Karin, getting up from her chair.
Ichigo nodded his head, "hai" he replied softly. Isshin fainted right then and there. Yuzu and Karin ran to their brother and embraced him into a tight Kurosaki sibling hug.
"You spoke! You spoke!" shouted Karin who began to leap up and down. She rarely behaved like this but she was happy damnit!
"Oh Ichi-nii! I'm so happy!" sniffed Yuzu as tears of happiness began to trail down her cheeks.
"I'm happy too Yuzu, Karin" smiled Ichigo as he pulled them back into a hug. "I have to go somewhere; I'll be back soon okay. Make sure goat-face is okay for me alright?"
"Okay Ichi-nii," Yuzu smiled as she rushed over to her otou-san, Ichigo shook his head and walked out the door. He didn't care that he hadn't eaten anything. He wasn't hungry at the moment.
…
Flashback:
It was raining hard outside, but little Ichigo Kurosaki didn't mind, he was with his Okaa-san. They were walking together, hand in hand under that great blue umbrella, towards their home.
Tatsuki had beat Ichigo in the dojo again and he had cried like he always did when she beat him, but when his mother walked through the door, he had the biggest smile on. He loved smiling for his mother, it made her happy. And what ever made his Kaa-san happy made him happy.
As they were walking past the river, Ichigo saw a young girl standing on the bank… she looked as though she was about to jump in the freezing water before her. For that split second, he forgot about his Kaa-san, and raced down the hill towards the girl yelling for her not to jump.
"Ichigo" screamed his mother as she watched her son fly down to the rivers edge. She ran after him and fell on top of him as the girl disappeared and the hollow showed his face. It roared before killing the little orange haired boy's mother.
After it had its fill, it vanished. Ichigo crawled out from beneath his Kaa-san's limp, lifeless body. When he saw the blood he began to scream, as big fat tears rolled down his chubby nine year old cheeks.
"Kaa-san" he sobbed as he placed his blood soaked hands on her chest, "wake up Kaa-san… wake up." But no matter how hard he cried out for her to wake up… she lay there lifeless, breaking his young little heart piece by piece. What was worse however, the rain seemed to pour down even harder, never letting up.
A passer by saw little Ichigo and his dead mother and called 9-1-1 before racing down towards them.
Ichigo looked up at the man that had run down the hill towards them, tears still rolling down his cheeks. "Can you make my Kaa-san wake up?" he asked softly.
End Flashback
Ichigo strolled down towards Urahara Shoten his head bent down low as the memory of his Kaa-san dying before his eyes played in his head over and over again. He couldn't stop the memories no matter how hard he tried. And it hurt.
Ichigo, take it easy okay. It's the past, and it can't be helped.
"I know Hichi… but that doesn't make it hurt any less" Ichigo softly replied in a whisper.
I know nii-san. I feel it to.
It was then that they finally arrived at Urahara Shoten. Ichigo had butterfly's fluttering in his stomach and he was quite nervous. "I can do this" he breathed deeply, it didn't help his stomach much though.
I'm here with you Ichigo, don't worry.
Ichigo didn't answer, but proceeded to enter the small shop. The moment he walked in Urahara's head snapped from the shinigami taichou before him to the orange haired teen that had just walked in the door.
Ichigo looked at the shinigami curiously before looking at Urahara. The long black haired shinigami turned to see what Urahara was looking at and spotted the teen.
"Kurosaki-kun, what a surprise… what can I do for you?" asked Kisuke as he snapped his fan in front of his face. Ichigo struggled to keep a strait face when he saw the black bruise that covered the side of said shoten owner's face.
Damn Ichi, you hit him good! Hichigo laughed but shut up when he saw Byakuya.
'Kurosaki… Is this my nephew?' Byakuya thought as he looked the teen up and down a moment.
Ichigo… that shinigami is a Taichou! Be careful around him… I don't trust him one bit.
'Taichou? Did Soul Society find out about us?' Ichigo thought as his eyes widened a bit in panic.
No, I don't think so… there would be more Taichou's here if that were the case Ichigo
Ichigo breathed out a sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted was to be captured… but still, Hichigo told him to be wary of this black haired taichou.
"…" Ichigo gulped. "I…"
Ichigo, don't stall now! You were doing so well to… Hichigo moaned out within his brothers' mind. Okay, hold on, I'm coming out.
Not two seconds later, Hichigo stood beside his brother looking Byakuya and Urahara up and down. Kisuke and Byakuya stood back shocked. Well, Kisuke was surprised… Byakuya… his jaw sort of hit the floor and stayed there.
"We were wondering if we could train in peace…" Hichigo said looking the two men before him, directly in the eyes. "And Taichou… close your mouth, your catching flies."
"Train… well, yes of course, you can use the training grounds in the basement when ever you want." Kisuke replied after blinking a moment before chuckling at Hichigo's insult towards Byakuya.
Just then Renji walked out of the back of the Shoten in his gigai. When he saw Ichigo and his hollow he was surprised. 'I didn't think they would come back…' he thought to himself as he stayed back far enough that he could see the group but they couldn't see him.
"Arigato, well go and start now… but you say anything to soul society, and I wont hesitate to kill you." Hichigo replied as he scooped his brother up in his arms and shunpoed down to the basement.
"Well, that was interesting" chuckled Urahara when the brothers disappeared. He looked at Byakuya and shook his head.
"Is that really my nephew Kisuke?" Byakuya asked softly, but Renji still heard it. His eyes went wider than dinner plates. 'Nephew! Kurosaki is Kuchiki taichou's nephew!' he shouted within his mind.
"Yes Byakuya, that's him…" Urahara smiled before walking towards the steps for the basement.
'How eventful today has been' the shoten owner chuckled to himself.
…
Chapter 7
Zangetsu
…
Urahara made his way into the underground training room in the basement of his shoten and soon spotted the twins. He listened in on the pair as they spoke.
"Hichigo… what are we gonna do now?" Ichigo asked softly as he glanced around the training area.
"We have to put you in your soul form…" Hichigo replied scratching the back of his head. "I just don't know how we're gonna do that."
Urahara chuckled before walking up to Ichigo and tapping him in the head with his cane, popping him out of his body.
"Thanks Mr Hat-'N-Clogs" grinned Hichigo as he looked his twin up and down.
Ichigo was surprised as to how he was dressed… noticing that he was wearing a shinigami uniform.
Byakuya and Renji came down the ladder into the training area and gasped when they saw Ichigo's zanpakutou, it was HUGE!
"Wow… take look at the size of that blade" whistled Renji as he walked closer to the twins. Only now noticing that Hichigo was dressed exactly like his brother only the colors were inverted. "It's huge!"
"So…" Ichigo looked at his twin ignoring Renji, "now what?"
Hichigo shook his head and chuckled. "We fight of course!"
Ichigo gulped.
"Don't worry Ichi-nii; we'll stop when we know its name."
"Okay then… if you say so."
"Ah shut up brother, and lets get to it shall we?" Hichigo laughed. Ichigo nodded.
Taking wide stances about ten feet apart, they held their identical zanpakutou in front of them and stared into the other's eyes.
Hichigo made the first move, running at his twin using shunpo, sword high above his head. He brought the cleaver sized sword down as hard as he could but Ichigo managed to block using his own copy of the sword.
Just as Ichigo was running towards his brother to make a move, everything went black. He seemed to be floating for a moment when all of a sudden he found himself lying on glass. Sitting up he looked around in surprise. "How'd I get into my inner world?" he asked himself in surprise, as he stood up from the window he had been lying on.
Glancing around his inner world, at the buildings and sideways clouds Ichigo tried to spot his twin. "Hichigo?" he called out.
"Hichigo isn't here… he is still fighting you outside of your inner world." A calm male voice said from behind Ichigo.
The orange haired boy jumped before spinning around, looking to see who had spoken. He was quite surprised to see a man, standing atop a pole on the side of the building behind him. This man looked to be around forty years old; he wore a black robe and dark sunglasses, his long dark hair fluttering around in a invisible breeze.
"Who are you? And how come your in my inner world?" asked Ichigo as he looked the man up and down a few times.
"You know who I am… I've been calling you for so long Ichigo" the man spoke softly but with a sad edge to it. "Didn't you hear me?"
"I-I don't know who you are, can't you just tell me?" Ichigo asked, taking a step back. He suddenly began to get flashes from outside of his body. Hichigo was really coming at him, and he had this look… like he was going to kill his brother.
"No, you know who I am Ichigo, think." The man replied. Outside of his mind Ichigo blocked Hichigo's zanpakutou with his own.
"I really don't know you… can you just leave my inner world now?" Ichigo whispered as he took another step back. He was now quite close to the edge of the building he was standing atop. One more step and he would fall. "I can't leave; I am a part of you… just like Hichigo is. Call out my name Ichigo."
Now Ichigo was a little freaked out, what did this man mean by 'I am a part of you'?
"Are you my zanpakutou?" Ichigo softly supposed out loud, as he took another step back. A few more inches and he'd fall. Hichigo was coming at his harder then ever, he had already managed to cut Ichigo in the shoulder once, and Ichigo landed a blow on his twin's side.
"Yes, you know my name Ichigo, call me out." the man pressed on, taking a step forward; in turn, Ichigo took a step back, lost his balance and fell off the side of the building.
"!" Ichigo screamed as he fell, the wind whistled past his ears as he fell faster.
The man stood on the edge of the building and watched Ichigo as he fell. It was then that he began to speak, and even as he was falling, Ichigo could hear him loud and clear.
"Face Forward, Ichigo… You should be able to hear it now. That which blocks your ears is worthless fear. The enemy is one, you are one. What is there to fear? Cast off your fear! Go forward! Never stand still. Retreat and you will age. Hesitate and you will die. Shout… My name is…"
At that moment Ichigo was thrust outside his inner world as he screamed "ZANGETSU!"
Everyone gasped, Hichigo stopped in mid-swing as they watched Ichigo. The orange haired boy stood tall, massive waves of blue reiatsu poured off of him, and in his hand was a massive yet elegant cleaver that was just as tall as he was. It had no hilt, nor a guard, it was black as night with a silver edge; a long LONG white strip of cloth was wrapped around the handle and also fluttered in the wind caused by the reiatsu.
"I think it's about time I fight back nii-san" he smirked, as his eyes turned into the brightest shade of blue known to man, because of his reiatsu. With one step he was using shunpo as he came at Hichigo. His twin now to, held an identical copy of Zangetsu in his hands. He brought the blade up to block Ichigo's attack as his twin began to circle him with shunpo.
They came at each other with everything they had, cutting, blocking, parrying, dodging and deflecting each blow they threw at one another. "Time to bring out the big guns" Ichigo thought to himself.
"GETSUGA TENSHO!" He shouted with all his might, pointing his blade at Hichigo as letting highly concentrated blasts of energy go. They came out in huge waves.
Hichigo's eyes widened before jumping out of the way. "I GIVE UP!" he shouted, "YOU WIN!"
Ichigo lowered his zanpakutou and stared at his brother in surprise. Normally Hichigo would do anything to win, but not this time.
Everyone looked at Ichigo in complete and udder shock. The power alone of this blade was something to behold.
Ichigo dropped Zangetsu to the ground before breaking out into a fit of laughs; he ran to his twin and leapt into his arms. "Did you see that? That was bloody amazing!"
Hichigo began to chuckle. "I'll admit, I didn't see that attack coming. Good one Ichi."
"Well, now that you've got that out of the way, who wants a cup of tea?" Urahara smiled cheerfully breaking Byakuya and Renji out of their trance and giving them a second to pull themselves together.
"Yeah, I could go for a cup… or two" Ichigo grinned happily as he let go of his brother and picked Zangetsu of the ground and onto his back.
"Well then, follow me" Urahara replied with a chuckle and began to walk towards the ladder that led upstairs, with every one following.
…
Ichigo fell into bed that night with the biggest grin on his face. He was so happy that if he could he would dance naked in the streets.
"I can't believe I did that" he breathed out.
He heard Hichigo chuckled within his mind. "You did good Ichigo, real good."
"Arigato Hichigo." The orange haired teen sighed as he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
…
"Did you see how much reiatsu he has? He could probably take on a taichou if he really wanted too!" Renji sputtered as he and Byakuya headed off to their rooms for the night.
"Yes, they are quite powerful… I do wish to observe them a bit more before we return to Seireitei though."
"Hai taichou, how long are we staying?" Renji asked he stopped in front of his bedroom door. Rukia was staying with Orihime for the night with Tatsuki. They had been talking about a slumber party when they left earlier.
"I don't know yet." Byakuya sighed. "It depends. I may just send you back to take care of the division while I am here."
"Hai taichou."
"Goodnight Renji." Byakuya replied as he continued walking towards his room, deep in thought.
"Goodnight taichou."Renji called out as he slid the door to his room open and walked inside, before dropping onto his bed in exhaustion.
…
"My nephew… you are indeed something else." Byakuya thought to himself as he layed down on his bed. "As is your hollow…" he added as an afterthought.
…
Chapter 8:
Sora Lin
…
The following day found Kurosaki Ichigo once again in Karakura High… he enjoyed it sure, but he was still wary of the others; namely Renji, Rukia, and Tatsuki… along with their friends.
At the moment, he didn't want anything to do with them, he didn't trust them… with the way Renji had treated him the other day it was hard to do so.
…
While having lunch alone, Ichigo was approached by another teen. When looking up form his bento box, Ichigo saw that this teen was not a part of Tatsuki's group… and he had never seen him before either.
"Hi" smile the boy as he stood before the orange haired strawberry. Ichigo looked the teen over. He was tall, maybe Ichigo's height… he had brown locks that were swept out of his brown eyes. "I'm new here… my name is Sora Lin."
Ichigo nodded and smiled, "I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, I'm also new. Today's my second day."
Sora chuckled "I know that feeling of being new all to well."
Ichigo gave him a questioning look.
"My family moves around a lot; this is my fifth new school in the last three years." Sora explained.
"Wow."
"Yeah; so how about you; is this a new school for you as well?" Sora asked as he sat down beside Ichigo and started on his own bento box.
"Sort of… actually, I've never been to school before now… well except when I was nine." Ichigo replied softly.
"Really?" Sora asked in wonder, "How come?"
"Would you believe me if I said I've locked myself in my room for the past eight years?" Ichigo answered a moment later. He didn't understand why he was telling a complete stranger all of this.
'Not complete stranger Ichi, he did give you his name.' chucked Hichigo from within his mind.
'No need to be a wise ass now Hichi-nii!" shot back Ichigo with a shake of his head.
"I would" replied Sora as he chewed on his rice "of course it depends on the reason for doing so."
Ichigo was startled, this teen would believe him?... Okay then.
"My Okaa-san… died on my ninth birthday in front of my eyes… I didn't take it too well." Ichigo mumbled quietly.
'I'm NOT going to cry; I'm NOT going to cry' was repeated over and over in his mind. 'Kami, I obviously haven't heard of self control before!'
"Wow, I'm sorry. I can understand why you would lock yourself away." Sora choked out as a bit of rice went down the wrong tube at this piece of information.
"Its okay, it happened a long time ago." Ichigo replied.
"I understand how you feel Ichigo. My mom died when I was ten… she had cancer. My Father just remarried last year."
"Sorry-"
"Its okay, it happened a long time ago as well."
'Wow, someone just like me… only he didn't lock himself away or go mute. Kami! I'm hopeless!' Ichigo thought with a sigh.
"Hey Sora, do you want to come over to my house after school… you know just hangout?" 'Get to know each other a bit more' he added silently.
"Sure, that sounds like fun." Sora chuckled.
…
"Who's that sitting with Kurosaki-kun?" asked Orihime as she looked down at the orange haired boy sitting under a tree with another teen.
Renji, Rukia, Sado, Uryu and Tatsuki came to the railing along the roof of the school and looked down at Ichigo.
"Oh Kami!" gasped Renji.
"It can't be!" sputtered Rukia.
"It is!" Uryu muttered with a shake of his head.
"This is defiantly not going to be a quiet year is it Tatsuki?" asked Sado.
"Nope, doesn't look like it."
…
Chapter 9
Sora and Songs
...
The moment school was out, Renji, Rukia and the gang raced for Urahara Shoten as fast as their legs could carry them without actually using shunpo.
Byakuya and Kisuke were enjoying a quiet cup of tea together when the front door of said Shoten slammed open.
"KUCHIKI-TAICHOU!" yelled a voice that belonged to none other than Abarai Renji, Byakuya's own fukutaichou.
"We're in here" Urahara called out and within a matter of seconds everyone was standing in the room panting hard, trying to catch their breaths.
"What is so important that you had to run like that?" chided Kisuke, pointing his fan at Renji. "You almost broke my front door down!"
"Gomen Urahara-san, but we have grave news!" Tatsuki sputtered out as she tried to slow her breathing down.
"Oh, pray tell what this news is?" Byakuya asked calmly as he looked around the room.
"HE'S BACK!" Renji yelled. "That bastard Aizen is back!"
Byakuya and Kisuke paled.
"How?"
"He was reincarnated, into the form of a sixteen year old boy. He was eating lunch with Ichigo today!" Tatsuki cried.
Both Byakuya and Kisuke looked at one another in astonishment.
…
Two boys walked towards Karakura clinic, blissfully unawares of the trouble brewing at Urahara Shoten.
"So, do you want to do homework first or later?" Ichigo asked Sora, glancing at the teen every so often.
"I guess we should do homework fist, my father would… kick my arse if I didn't." Sora laughed sheepishly.
"Oh, speaking of Fathers… mine will easily intimidate you. Just ignore him… and if you can't, well, I'll take care of it."
"Your Father can't be that bad…" Sora began with a slight frown.
Ichigo snorted, "Just wait till you meet him; Goat face is… not the brightest, nor the sharpest crayon in the box, but we love him anyways."
…
"ICHIGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" shouted a voice, followed by a blur of many colors which leapt at said orange haired strawberry the moment the teens entered the clinic.
Before the blur could totally pounce on said teen however, Ichigo sent him flying with a well landed fist to the face.
Isshin landed in a heap a few feet away groaning, "I have taught you well my sonnnnnn!"
"Okay, enough dad! This is Sora Lin from school; we're just gonna go study now. DON'T INTERUPT US!" Ichigo ranted -as Isshin leapt up onto his feet and surveyed Sora Lin- before grabbing Sora's hand and pulling him along to his bedroom. Neither noticed however, that the moment Isshin studied Sora, he paled visibly. He may not be a Shinigami Taichou anymore, but Isshin knew Aizen Souske's reincarnation the moment he saw him. He ran for the phone the moment the boys were out of sight.
…
"Okay, I believe you now; your father is a nut." Sora chuckled when they were safely in the vicinity of Ichigo's room.
"I warned you." Ichigo laughed as they pulled out their school books from their bags and began on their homework –not before Sora put on his think black rimmed reading glasses that is-.
…
Everyone was arguing amongst themselves when the phone rang in Urahara shoten. Ururu went to answer it as her boss was a little tied up at the moment, in an argument with a certain red haired freeloader.
"Ah yes, one moment please Mr. Kurosaki" Ururu's sweet voice said as she turned to the Shinigami who by now had shut up at the mention of the Kurosaki name.
"It's for all of you" she replied at their confused looks.
"Hit the speaker Ururu" Kisuke nodded.
"Yes sir."
"Ah, Isshin, what can I do for you tonight?" Urahara chuckled when they were all sitting down calmly.
"Kisuke you old fox," Isshin chuckled over the phone, "I just wanted to let you know of a little problem I have encountered."
"What would you define as 'little problem' Isshin." Byakuya replied bluntly.
"Ah Byakuya, good, you're here too."
"Just get on with it." the noble sighed at the former Juu-ban Taichou's overly cheerful remark.
"Ah yes, back to business." Isshin drawled with a snort. "Wouldn't you define Aizen Souske sitting in my son's bedroom doing homework with said son as a little problem… or is it just me?"
Everyone paled at this news… all except Urahara who burst out laughing a moment later. "Ma ma ma, Isshin-kun; always the sarcastic little shit aren't you?"
There was a deep chuckled on the other line, "You know me to well Kisuke. Hey, now that I think about it, why don't you and Byakuya come over for dinner tonight? Of course I'm already assuming Ichigo's met you Byakuya with the way he came home the other day madder than the devil himself; I believe its time we tell him of our little situation, ne brother –in-law?"
"You did that on purpose didn't you Isshin" laughed Kisuke waving his fan at the speaker phone as everyone looked at Byakuya in surprise. Said noble however, ignored them.
"Ne, now why would I do that Ki-chan?"
"You're pouting aren't you?" Urahara smirked, imagining the face his old friend before him.
"KISUKEEEEE! YOU KNOW ME TOO WELL!" whined a voice that could put any adult in their right minds to shame… mind you, Isshin was never in his right mind. Everyone tried their best to stifle their laughs and chuckles, while Byakuya snorted and inevitably choked on his tea.
"We'll be over in a hour."
"Sorry Urahara-san but me, Orihime and Sado can't come, we all have to work."
"No problem, go on and work. We can handle it." Kisuke grinned from behind his fan.
…
Homework was finished quickly and the longer they sat together, the more curious Ichigo became of the brown haired teen sitting beside him. It was then that Sora noticed the acoustic guitar sitting in the corner of the room.
"You play?" he asked nodding towards the guitar.
Ichigo looked at his guitar and smiled, "yeah… my Okaa-san put me in lessons when I turned five… was a birthday present of sorts."
"Cool… um… could you play me something?" Sora asked looked towards the guitar a moment before looking at Ichigo again, "if it's not to much trouble… Only if you want to that is-"
"Its fine, I don't mind" Ichigo laughed as the brown haired teen started rambling. Getting up he walked over to the instrument and picked it up before returning to where he had been sitting only moments before.
"I'm gonna warn you right now, I suck at singing." Ichigo chuckled as he tuned the instrument and plugged it into his amp.
"Aw don't worry about it; I'm sure you'll do fine. Now, lets see these wonderful skills of yours ne?"
"Kay, just one sec, I'll also add the background music I made for this one a while back." Ichigo replied as he grabbed his apple laptop and plugged it in to the speaker system he had on his desk. It was surround sound. "Here goes."
Ichigo switched on the background music in his 'Garage band' program and soon began to strum the strings and slowly began to sing. Unbeknownst to both him and Sora, there were a bunch of shinigami downstairs, namely Byakuya, Kisuke, Tatsuki, Rukia and Renji; all of which were listening to the music that floated down the stairs; and what they heard made their hearts soar.
Do you know where your heart is?
Do you think you can find it?
Or did you trade it for something, somewhere, better just to have it?
Do you know where your love is?
Do you think that you lost it?
You felt it so strong but nothing's turned out how you want it
Everyone was shocked at how good Ichigo's voice was.
Isshin had tears in his eyes. "I never knew he could sing like this… let alone write songs!"
Well bless my soul,
You're a lonely soul.
'Cause you won't let go of anything you hold.
"Well, all I need is the air I breathe and a place to rest my head"
"I think that this song represents how he has been coping all these years…" whispered Tatsuki softly.
Byakuya's heart ached at the lyrics… He thought about his dead sister… his dead wife… It hurt so much.
Do you know what your fate is?
And now you're trying to shake it?
You're doing your best dance, your best look,
You're praying that you'll make it.
"I think you're right Tatsuki-chan, I think you're right." Isshin replied pulling her into a one armed hug.
Well bless my soul,
You're a lonely soul.
'Cause you won't let go, of anything you hold.
"Well, all I need is the air I breathe and a place to rest my head"
Say, "all I need is the air I breathe and a place to rest my head"
Sora was shocked. Ichigo was good… really good.
Do you think I can find it?
Do you think you can find it?
Do you think you can find it, better than you had it?
Do you think I can find it?
Do you think you can find it?
Do you think you can find it (yeah),
Better than you had it? (Better than you had it? Had it?)
"Say all I need, is the air I breathe, and a place, to rest my head
Say all I need, is the air I breathe, and a place, to rest my head"
Do you know where the end is?
Do you think you can see it?
Well, until you get there, go on, go ahead and scream it
Just say...
The music faded and Ichigo looked up from his guitar.
"That was… AMAZING!" Sora cried out with wide eyes, "I loved it!"
Ichigo turned red, "Thanks."
"And your voice is-"
"Sucks don't it?"
"No, it's beautiful, I've never heard anyone sing like that before… you know, putting all their heart and soul into a song."
"Thanks."
"No problem… can you sing another one?"
Ichigo chuckled at the sight of Sora who was practically foaming at the mouth for another song.
"Okay… I have another one, with background music again."
"GREAT!"
Switching to another homemade mp3 on his laptop Ichigo tuned his guitar once again. Everyone fell silent downstairs once again to catch the lyrics. And once again they wouldn't be disappointed. Ichigo's songs touched them greatly.
This town is colder now, I think it's sick of us
It's time to make our move, I'm shakin off the rust
I've got my heart set on anywhere but here
I'm staring down myself, counting up the years
Steady hands, just take the wheel...
And every glance is killing me
Time to make one last appeal... for the life I lead
Stop and stare
I think I'm moving but I go nowhere
Yeah I know that everyone gets scared
But I've become what I can't be, oh
Stop and stare
You start to wonder why you're 'here' not there
And you'd give anything to get what's fair
But fair ain't what you really need
Oh, can u see what I see
They're tryin to come back, all my senses push
Un-tie the weight bags, I never thought I could...
Steady feet, don't fail me now
Gonna run till you can't walk
But something pulls my focus out
And I'm standing down...
Stop and stare
I think I'm moving but I go nowhere
Yeah I know that everyone gets scared
But I've become what I can't be, oh
Stop and stare
You start to wonder why you're here not there
And you'd give anything to get what's fair
But fair ain't what you really need
Oh, you don't need
What u need, what u need...
Stop and stare
I think I'm moving but I go nowhere
Yeah I know that everyone gets scared
But I've become what I can't be
Oh, do u see what I see...
His voice fell away. Although he had written these songs, this was the first time he had ever sung them. He always sang them in his head but never voiced them aloud.
'You did great Ichigo' Hichigo voiced. Ichigo knew deep down his brother was smiling.
The background music added voices to the song compliments of Hichigo who had recorded them with his brother a while back.
Sora clapped so hard that he thought his hands would fall off.
"That was BEAUTIFUL!"
Ichigo just smiled. For once in his life he was truly happy… happy because he had finally been able to sing his songs.
…
Chapter 10
Dinner Time Disaster
Sora left a half an hour after Ichigo finished playing his guitar, after receiving a call from his father that he was needed at home, Ichigo headed down to the kitchen for dinner.
He was surprised and a little suspicious when he saw the shinigami from Urahara's shop sitting around the table engaging in "pleasant" conversation… which was pretty rare in the Kurosaki household.
"Ah Ichigo, just the person we wanted to see" Urahara chuckled when he saw the orange haired teen walk through the door.
Ichigo blinked before scowling. 'Shut up old man, I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU!' he signed angrily before sitting down in one of the remaining chairs which just so happened to be beside Byakuya Kuchiki.
"Now Ichigo, apologize to our guest. Kisuke is an old friend and I don't want you to insult him. And for goodness sakes, would you speak instead of sign?" Isshin ranted.
Ichigo just ignored his father and began to eat. He ended up eating his evening meal quickly and quietly as he was still wary of those sitting in the room. Even Hichigo was a bit apprehensive at best.
'I don't know what they are doing here Hichigo… but I don't like it.'
"Hai, lets just be careful ne?"
After dinner, Ichigo decided that he was going to bed; he didn't care what the Shinigami wanted anymore… well he did, but he didn't really like the looks that everyone was giving him.
'I'm going to bed now dad, goodnight Karin, Yuzu.' Ichigo signed rapidly before heading up the stairs like he was being chased by the devil himself, totally ignoring his father who was yelling at him to come back because they wanted to talk. The only reply everyone in the dining room got was the sound of the door to Ichigo's bedroom slamming shut. It wasn't until he was finally out of the room that they noticed that Ichigo had only acknowledged his two sisters when saying goodnight. It seemed that he totally disregarded everyone else.
Ichigo was so bloody tired of people trying to rule his life, and tell him what to do.
"I should have never stepped foot out of this room and gone to school… I would still be living a peaceful life…. and no one would try and get me to talk."
Hichigo chuckled before appearing beside his twin on Ichigo's bed. "Now why do you say that Ichi-nii, I would have thought that you enjoyed getting out of the house?"
Ichigo looked at his pale other and scowled but chose to ignore him. Sitting up on his bed, Ichigo's hand reached up to the shelf on the wall beside him and grabbed one of the many books of his personal collection. Today's choice was 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix'. Ichigo enjoyed this particular book immensely because from his point of view, the last two books (books six and seven) sucked… and there was a bit more action and drama in this particular book compared to the rest. (A/N: Sorry, but it's true. I was immensely disappointed with the last 2 books of the HP series. Book 5 was by far the best!).
And so, Ichigo immersed himself in one of his favorite works of fiction for a few hours… while Hichigo sat behind him: held him and read over his shoulder.
…
"Well, that went well." Muttered Isshin as Yuzu and Karin cleared the table and headed for bed.
"Well, we didn't get off on the right foot, so you can hardly blame him Isshin." chided Kisuke admonishingly waving his fan at his old friend.
"Quite." replied Byakuya looking pointedly at his brother-in-law. Isshin just smirked and shook his head at the noble. Said noble didn't know what his sister had seen in her scruffy looking husband… he seemed (cough-more like is-cough) clinically insane for goodness sakes! It was a wonder that the man's children hadn't gone crazy yet.
"So… what are we going to do about Aizen?" Renji asked after a few moments of silence as he looked around the room at its many occupants.
"Well, we don't know his motives yet… and we don't know if he remembers his time as Aizen Sosuke… so for now I would say we should observe him." Byakuya suggested. "If things get out of hand we should inform Sotaichou."
Everyone seemed to agree to this and left it at that. They continued to discuss the matter a bit further after that.
…
(2 hours later: With Ichigo and Hichigo)
"Those Shinigami are still here Hichi-nii, I wonder what on earth they are talking about." Ichigo sighed as he closed his book and placed it beside his bed on the night stand.
"Well let's go eavesdrop shall we?" Hichigo smirked as they both tiptoed out of bed and out of the bedroom, down the hall and to the foot of the stairs. They could now here everything quite clearly from where they sat.
…
"So Isshin, did you know that Ichigo is a Vizard?" asked Kisuke with a sweet smile.
Isshin looked at Kisuke in shock. "Are you serious?"
"Well yes of course I am; all of us have seen them together. Once when a hollow attacked Karakura High, and down at the shop. They consider themselves to be brothers of all things." Urahara chuckled.
"I don't know how I didn't notice this before." Isshin sighed. "Ever since his mothers death he's been more reclusive. He hasn't really spoken since then. It's a wonder that he started speaking again at all. But still, he was always on his own. I can see how he hasn't gone insane yet because he must have had his vizard as a best friend of sorts. He's really had a tough life. He was very close to Masaki; closer than the girls ever were. It really hit him hard."
"I have only met him twice… briefly at that, but he is a lot like my sister was. I look forward to getting to know my nephew." Byakuya said softly, with a hint of a smile on his face.
…
"NEPHEW! Hichigo did you hear that, that blinking bugger of a noble is our UNCLE!" Ichigo signed rapidly, his eyes were wide.
"And our dad knows about the Vizard… I wonder what else he knows about Shinigami…" Hichigo signed back a moment later.
Both had decided that they had heard enough and tiptoed back to their bedroom; falling asleep a few minutes later with thoughts of this puzzle bouncing around in their minds.
…
Everyone left the Kurosaki home a few short hours later, the only one to remain was Byakuya, who had been invited to stay in the guest room of said home.
"So, Byakuya, tell me a bit more about Ichigo's hollow." Isshin asked as both men walked up the stairs.
"Well, they treat each other like brothers. They seem to be as close as twins, if not closer. Ichigo's hollow is very protective of my nephew… that's about all I have about that at the moment."
The guest room was just past Ichigo's bedroom so Isshin decided to peak his head in and check on his son.
Byakuya decided to follow.
…
Both men crept into Ichigo's room and their jaws dropped at the sight of Ichigo and Hichigo, his twin.
Both were fast asleep curled up beside each other. Ichigo's head was resting on his twins' shoulder under Hichigo's chin, while Hichigo's arm was slung over Ichigo's t-shirt clad chest, and his chin rested upon Ichigo's head. (A/N: So Kawaii ne? THIS ISN'T A SLASH FIC SO GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER!)
Both Isshin and Byakuya stood their dumfounded for a moment before regaining control of their limbs and tiptoeing out of the room again.
…
"Well, I think its safe to say, that Ichigo's hollow is protective and safe to be around…" Isshin muttered as he led Byakuya farther down the hall to the guest room.
"I agree. I think tomorrow we should get to know Ichigo a bit more… something tells me he's been very withdrawn around you Isshin… and I wouldn't mind getting to know his hollow a bit more to. He fascinates me." Byakuya replied as he paused at the guest room door.
"Hai, we'll do that."
"Goodnight Isshin."
"Goodnight Byakuya."
…
…
Chapter 11: The talk…. (Not THAT talk! Perverts!)
…
School flew by for Ichigo the next day and before he knew it he was home and sitting in the living room with not only his father but his Uncle as well.
"So what did you want to talk to me for?" Ichigo signed curiously, although still a bit wary of the man that was his supposed Uncle.
"Well Ichigo… we wanted to get to know you a bit better. I'm afraid we haven't talked much since your mother died… and I'm sorry for that. That was my fault; I seem to have a son and yet know nothing about him." Isshin chuckled dryly.
Ichigo looked at his father as if he had grown another head. "YOU want to get to know ME? Why the hell didn't you come to me years ago when I asked? I'm thinking that it's a little too late for your questions, I don't want to talk, and I won't!" Ichigo signed angrily. Talking wasn't the issue; it was getting hurt later that was the problem. His father had tried to talk with Ichigo just after Masaki was killed… and it went well… but the next time Ichigo wanted to talk his father had told him he didn't have time. Three more times did Ichigo try… and he was let down each time, so he didn't bother trying after that.
"I know I made mistakes Ichigo, and if I could go back in time to fix those mistakes I would, but I'm really trying now. Please work with me."
"And what happens when you get sick of trying? Are you gonna leave me alone again ne?" Ichigo asked as a few tears streamed down his cheeks. 'Hichi-nii, can you come out and just hold me please before I kill someone?'
Within seconds Hichigo was out and holding his brother close all the while glaring at Isshin for making his brother upset.
"I will NOT leave you alone Ichigo, not again. I promise you that." Isshin replied softly, yet with a firm undertone.
Ichigo just nodded at the reply and promise.
"What do you want to know?" the orange haired teen asked via sign language as he curled into Hichigo's embrace.
…
Ten minutes later Karin and Yuzu found Ichigo his twin Hichigo, their father and new found Uncle sitting together in the living room talking…. well Ichigo was signing, but you get the point. (1.)
"When did you start writing your own music and singing?" Isshin asked the girls' orange haired brother.
"We, me and Hichigo here that is, started writing lyrics and music when you bought me that laptop for my 12th birthday… Hichigo usually sang when no one was home, yesterday was the first time I ever sang though…" Ichigo replied softly as he rested his head upon Hichigo's shoulder.
"Hey Hichi-nii, so everyone knows about you now do they?" Karin asked as she plunked herself down on the couch, Yuzu joining her a few minutes later.
"Yep Karin-nee-chan that's right. Hey Yuzu-nee-chan" Hichigo smiled as he gave the blond haired girl a one armed hug along with Karin.
"You knew about Hichigo?" asked Byakuya in surprise as he looked at the two little girls who were now sitting on either side of their two twin brothers.
"Of course we did, we're the only ones that ever hang out with Ichi-nii here, so of yeah it's only logical that we know. We're all best friends!" scoffed Karin as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Flashback:
"Hey Ichi-nii, who's that?" asked 5 year old Karin as she tiptoed into her big brother's bedroom late one night along with Yuzu. They had been quite scared as there were continuous cracks of thunder and flashes of lightning from the storm raging outside. They would have gone to their dad but he was helping at the Ishida Hospital due to a major emergency.
10 year old Ichigo looked up from the book he was reading on his bed, Hichigo curled beside him head laying on the orange haired boy's shoulder reading along with the boy. "Oh hey Karin-nee, Yuzu-nee, this is Hichigo-nii… our otouto-chan….(2.)" Hichigo gave a small wave and smile.
"Can we stay here tonight Ichi-nii, Hichi-nii?" asked Yuzu softly.
"Of course you can!" exclaimed Hichigo as he opened his arms wide and patted a spot beside him. "come here." Both girls crawled into the bed with their big brothers and fell asleep a little while later, but not before Hichigo and Ichigo made them promise never to tell anyone about Hichigo.
End Flashback
All four siblings were lost in memories of working on homework together when their father wasn't home, and even mundane things like playing bored games together.
…
After four hours of speaking, Ichigo fell asleep; the whole `getting to know each other` was mentally taxing on the teen.
…
Chapter 12: When all is said and done…
Epilogue
...
It was almost four weeks later that something tragic happened after school one day. Sora and his little sister Maylin were killed in a drive by shooting near their home in Karakura. It didn't hit Ichigo as hard as you would have thought… he had been distancing himself from the brown haired teen for over three and a half weeks when Byakuya had explained about Aizen and the war that followed because of him.
Byakuya and the rest of the Shinigami that were staying in Urahara shoten were concerned that maybe this was all just a trick. That Aizen had used an illusion to fake his death like he had done in Seireitei before the winter war; but it was no trick. The man was dead for good. It was said by one Shinigami who had arrived on site only an hour after Sora and Maylin's death that a hollow had eaten them... nobody really knew though.
Two weeks after Sora's death, two new students arrived at Karakura High. They were Grimmjow Jeagerhaques and Ulquiorra Schiffer. When Tatsuki and the rest of her Shinigami friends dragged the two reincarnated former Espada to Urahara's shop, they were thoroughly questioned by Byakuya and Kisuke. The two teens had admitted that yes they remembered their past lives as Espada, but they had no wish to return to that.
They had been happy to hear that Aizen's reincarnation had died, for they had no wish to see the man that had ruled over them with such a firm hand. Since their deaths as Espada they had learned something while in Urahara's shoten... their Hollow powers were gone, and they had been left with Shinigami powers instead. They decided that they wanted to help out with hollows although they wanted nothing to do with Soul Society itself. Sotaichou knew that Urahara had two helpers in his shop that held reiatsu (Ururu and Jinta), and that those helpers helped with taking down hollows. He trusted Urahara to take on more help so Grimmjow and Ulquiorra soon found themselves with jobs, and no one was the wiser.
Ichigo continued to train with Urahara and his brother Hichigo, and soon mastered all abilities with Zangetsu. He had managed to achieve Bankai in only two months... which was quicker than others who usually took years.
Sotaichou never did find out about Ichigo or Hichigo, mainly because Byakuya had told Renji and the other shinigami that were in Karakura and knew about Ichigo and Hichigo, that if he told any one about the twins, they would be out of a job and exiled from Seireitei for good... and then killed by the noble's hand... it wasn't something that Renji and the others wanted to test.
Ichigo slowly began to open up a bit more to his father... Hichigo helped a lot with that, and he began speaking regularly, although, when upset he still reverts to sign-language. It took a while, but Byakuya soon came for regular visits and slowly began to get to know his nieces and nephew. As of right now, they are a close knit family.
Renji apologized to both Ichigo and Hichigo for how he had acted when they had first met, and they became very close friends as well. Tatsuki and Ichigo mended the broken fence between the two of them and were best friends shortly after that. In fact… just about everyone that Ichigo met that year became his friends: Tatsuki, Renji, Orihime, Urahara, Ururu, Jinta, Uryu, Rukia, Byakuya, Chad, Grimmjow and Ulquiorra…(if I forgot anyone, forgive me)
All in all, it had been a very eventful year for Ichigo and his twin... but he wouldn't have it any other way.
…
-THE END-
…