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Gin skipped merrily through the Senkaimon to the Human World, a Hell Butterfly fluttering ahead of him.
“Try ta keep up, Rukia-chan~” he called to the subordinate behind him, “ya don’t want ta be left behind, do ya~?”
Little Rukia was sprinting behind him, trying desperately to keep up with Gin’s pace. “Ichimaru-taicho, please wait for me!”
“First lesson, Rukia-chan,” Gin called cheerfully, “don’t expect anyone ta wait for ya ta catch up!”
Ignoring her cries of protest, he cheerily continued to follow the Butterfly, quickening his pace at the flare of Hollow reiatsu.
***
There was a monster in Ichigo’s home.
It had come in the night, howling its hunger and destroying Ichigo’s home.
As he watched the bloody fingers of his little sister reach for him, he felt once more the helpless rage consume his soul.
He had sworn, hadn’t he?
He had sworn, after Mom, that he would never be so helpless again. That his family would never fall prey to such a monster again.
And he had failed in that promise.
As the monster crawled closer, he felt something in him stir, rebelling against the prospect of defeat.
“Hado 4: Byakurai!”
A bolt of white lightning pierced the monster’s flesh, causing it to turn its ravenous attention on the two newcomers.
Ichigo’s eyes widened as he took in the two newcomers.
There was a tall, fox-faced man and a small slender girl, both dressed in some kind of traditional clothing. Ichigo, despite the danger, found his eyes drawn to the man. He was, undeniably, very attractive. But there was time for that later.
The man drew his sword calmly, even as the monster advanced upon them. “Consider this a freebie, Rukia-chan,” he addressed the girl behind him, “after all, ya’re going ta be doing all th’ Hollow-killin’ from now on.”
The monster roared and attacked the duo.
“Watch out!” Ichigo called.
The man deftly drew his sword and with a single, powerful slash, cleaved the monster’s mask in two. The monster dissolved in a spray of sand.
Ichigo stared in awe of the man’s power. As if feeling his stare, the man turned to meet his eyes.
“Ah,” he said, “it seems we have a spectator.” He tilted his head, looking like a curious fox that discovered a fascinating prey. “But it’s unusual for humans ta be able ta see us.”
“Please!” Ichigo blurted, “Please, whatever you just did, teach me how to do it!”
The man’s face shifted into one of amusement. “What makes ya think ya can just learn ?”
Ichigo’s face set in a stubborn scowl. “If I put my mind to it, I can learn.” Ichigo said stubbornly. “I’ll learn even if it kills me. But I never-” he cut off, seeing once more his sister’s bloody hands, “I never want to feel that helpless again.”
He met the man’s eyes, feeling that something stirring once more. The man’s eyes widened briefly, before settling back into an expression of amusement.
“An’ what is ya name?” he asked.
“Kurosaki Ichigo.”
“Well, then, Ichi-berry, Ah guess Ah’ll humor ya.” The man extended his hand to help Ichigo up. “Ah’m Ichimaru Gin,” his face crinkled in a smirk, “but ya can call me ‘Sensei’.”
***
It had been two weeks, and Ichigo had come to the conclusion that Gin-sensei was an absolute sadist .
“Again, Ichi-berry,~!” Gin-sensei called.
Ichigo groaned, climbing out of the debris that had fallen when Sensei had sent him flying into a tree.
“Come on now, Ichi-berry, don’ tell me ya’re tired already?” Gin-sensei flashed an evil fox-like grin. “We’ve only been at it fer five hours!”
Ichigo stumbled to his feet, grabbing the kendo stick he’d been using for practice. He ignored the pain from the bruises on his legs and torso, settling into a ready stance. Gin-sensei had him doing sword and strengthening exercises for the past two weeks, every day before and after school.
Already Ichigo could feel his stance growing surer, his swings hitting with more force than before. But it wasn’t enough, he wasn’t strong enough. If another monster- what Gin-sensei described as a Hollow- attacked, he was nowhere near strong enough to fend it off.
Hell, even that Rukia girl was better at fending off Hollows than him! Gin-sensei sent her off to fight every single one that had popped up, protecting his town for him.
And Gin-sensei… might get bored if Ichigo doesn’t improve, might stop training him. He’d certainly said as much a thousand times before.
He needed more power.
As he thought that, he felt a strange power well within him.
He rushed towards Gin-sensei, focusing that strange power instinctually. He went to slash with the bamboo sword, Gin-sensei parrying effortlessly. When his attack was deflected, a burst of energy flew out of the end of the sword, demolishing a nearby tree.
Gin grinned, then, but not his mischievous fox-grin. It was a true grin that lit up his face, and Ichigo could feel heat rushing to his cheeks at the sight of it.
“Good job, Ichi-berry,” Gin sensei said, “ye’re ready for the next stage in yer training.”
***
The next day, Gin told him to meet at a run-down traditional tea-shop near the school. It was one Ichigo passed by on occasion, but never gave much thought to.
Urahara Shoten,
the worn-out sign read.
Must be a front for the mob, Ichigo thought.
Gin-sensei was nowhere to be found inside.
Instead, there was a bedraggled, shadowy man in an ugly hat pretending to be asleep behind the counter, his sandaled feet propped up on the counter. Ichigo looked at the merchandise idly, wondering why the shop was still in business when nearly a third of the merchandise were well past their expiration dates.
Ichigo called to whom he assumed was the shopkeeper.
“Oi, seen a fox-faced man anywhere around here?”
The man did not stir. Ichigo heaved a heavy sigh, and called out again. “Oi, I know you’re not asleep,” he called again, louder.
The man tipped up his hat, his eyes cast in shadow as he regarded Ichigo from beneath it.
“Are you looking for someone?” the man asked, tapping his chin with a folded fan.
Ichigo frowned harder. “
I just said-
”
“Urahara, stop messin’ wit’ th’ kid.” a familiar voice called from the back of the shop.
Ichigo straightened up when Gin-sensei emerged from a traditional door behind the shopkeeper. He beckoned Ichigo behind the counter, leading him to a strange trapdoor in the cellar.
It led to a vast underground field, with blue skies and rolling hills, extending as far as Ichigo could see. Ichigo didn’t question it. It was by far the least weird thing that had happened to him this week.
“So, Gin-sensei, what’s next?” Ichigo asked, putting his stuff on the ground next to him.
“Wha’s next, Ichi-berry, is we unlock those latent powers a’ yers.” Gin-sensei said. “Ah felt yer potential tha’ nigh’ we met. But Ah had ta make sure ya were ready before Ah taught ya properly ta harness it.”
Ichigo frowned, nodding in understanding.
He wondered what kind of rigorous, secret techniques Gin-sensei would teach him. It was probably some kind of backbreaking work, or some form of secret technique passed down since ancient times.
Gin-sensei led him to a comfortable spot in the middle of the field, settling cross-legged. “Now,” he said, “Ah’ll teach ya how to meditate, ta access yer inner world.”
***
Meditation, Ichigo decided, was boring as hell.
No matter what Ichigo tried, he couldn’t grasp what Gin-sensei was trying to teach him. Trying to sit still and focus on breathing only drove him up a wall, not to this “inner world”.
Gin-sensei sighed disappointedly when Ichigo failed once more. “Ah don’ think this is workin’, Ichi-berry.” he said, “Ya’re jus’ not the type ta sit still.”
Ichigo sighed exhaustedly. “Then what do we do?”
Gin-sensei scratched his chin thoughtfully, his face lighting up in a mischievous smirk. “Well,” he said, “theres one more thing Ah’d like ta try.”
Gin-sensei sat across from Ichigo, taking his hands. “All right, jus’ breathe with me, Ichi-berry,” he said in a measured voice, “in one-two, out two-one, in one-two, out two-one, that’s it.”
He pulled Ichigo’s hand to his chest, guiding Ichigo further in the meditation.
“Now, imagine yer fallin’. It’s a deep, dark pit, further and further down ya go. Now, there’s a small pinprick of light, see it? Aim fer it. It grows bigger and bigger until….yer fallin’ into it.”
Gin grinned again when he saw how relaxed Ichigo became.
“That’s yer inner world.”
***
Ichigo found himself in a sideways city, confronted by two figures. The first one, a much paler version of himself, walked up to Ichigo and smacked him over the head.
“
Tha’s
fer no’ comin’ ta us sooner, Aibou,” the albino scolded.
The second figure walked to stand in front of Ichigo, his face inscrutable behind the sunglasses. “We heard your cry, Ichigo,” he said, reaching out his hand as the albino did the same, “and we have decided. Take our hand Ichigo, and call out our name.”
Ichigo didn’t hesitate. He grasped both hands and screamed a name he heard in the depths of his soul.
“ZANGETSU!”
***
An explosion of power ripped through the bunker as a shihakusho formed over Ichigo’s clothes. In each hand was a wicked-looking blade, each blacker than night and radiating insane levels of power.
Gin-sensei grinned. “A dual-wielder, eh?” he asked, “That’s pretty rare.” He left his gigai, and readied his blade.
“Now it’s time ta get serious about yer trainin’ Ichi-berry,” his sinister grin widened. “Shoot ta kill, Shinsou.”
***
Ichigo and Gin trained through the months, accompanying Rukia on her Hollow hunts.
As time passed, their posse grew bigger, as Chad, Orihime, and Ishida all found themselves protected by Ichigo’s blade.
Life for once was finally starting to brighten for Ichigo, even as the warm comfort of spring began to fade into the oppressive heat of summer. Ichigo’s life was finally settling into a routine.
Or so he thought.
“The hell do you mean he’s gone?!” Ichigo demanded, looming dangerously over Urahara, “where did Gin-sensei go?”
Urahara fanned himself idly, not rising to Ichigo’s anger. “Didn’t you hear?” he asked rhetorically, “They arrested him last night.”
“Who?!” Ichigo demanded, “and why?!”
Urahara peered at Ichigo from the shadowy depths of his ugly hat, his face obscured by shadows.
“Soul Society,” he intoned, “arrested former Captain of the Third Division Ichimaru Gin in the early hours of the morning for the crime of teaching forbidden Soul Reaper techniques to humans.”
Ichigo heard a distant ringing in his ears.
Gin-sensei… was gone .
Ichigo wouldn’t get to see Gin-sensei’s foxy grin, wouldn’t get to train with him-
(-wouldn’t get to sneak glances as Gin-sensei walked him home, his silver hair gleaming orange in the glow of the sunset-)
- and now Urahara is saying “punishable by death” and.
Fuck that.
Ichigo pulls his blades with barely a thought, ready to tear through the worlds to get to Gin-sensei.
Urahara, probably guessing what he was going to do, put a hand on Ichigo’s shoulder.
“Ichigo,” he commanded, an air of authority lacing his voice, “if you go there alone, you’ll die. Rally your troops, Ichigo. We’ll march on Soul Society at dawn.”
***
Orihime and Chad agreed to the plan instantly.
“Ichimaru-san has done a lot for us,” said Orihime, “it would only be fair to return the favor.”
Chad nodded in agreement.
Ishida sighed irritably. “If I let you three go alone, you’ll bungle the whole endeavor.”
Ichigo wondered what he did to deserve friends like these.
***
In another world, another time, Ichigo would have bludgeoned his way through Soul Society, brute forcing his way to save a friend.
Now, however, he was trained by the sneakiest of shinigami, had discretion and surprise beat into him until he was black and blue.
After infiltrating a nearby shinigami patrol, the four ryoka made their way through Seireitei, bribing, smooth-talking, and occasionally beating their way to the prison tower. Gin-sensei had taught them all well.
Ichigo snuck his way up the tower, where he could feel Gin-sensei’s reiatsu leaking from the restraints.
“What’re ya doin’ here, Ichi-berry?!” Gin-sensei demanded. “Ya weren’t supposed ta come here!”
Ichigo frowned harder, “What the hell do you mean?” he demanded.
So Gin told him. A tale spanning a century, of madmen and greed and his singular desire to avenge his friend.
“Urahara hid the Hogyoku, Ah don’ know where,” Gin said, “but there’s a possibility he hid it in ma gigai. When Aizen comes fer it, tha’s when Ah’ll get him.”
Ichigo scowled fiercely. “But then,” he said, “you’ll die. Either way, you’ll die.”
Gin-sensei’s countenance softened. “Oh, Ichi-berry,” he said, “Ya’ll be fine withou’ lil’ ol’ me.”
Ichigo almost decked Gin-sensei right there.
“That’s not the point, you idiot! ” he cried, “I won’t let someone I love die when I can stop it! So shut up and accept my help!”
Gin’s eyes widened as Ichigo realized what he just admitted. The berry could feel the heat rushing to his face.
Gin-sensei cupped Ichigo’s face gently. “Oh, Ichi-berry, Ah hadn’t even dared to hope…”
Ichigo pulled him into a soft, sensuous kiss.
Gin gripped Ichigo’s shoulders tight as if his life depended it, returning the kiss with equal fervor.
When they broke apart, Ichigo gave a sharp grin.
“Let’s go take out a madman.”
Gin matched his grin.
Aizen never stood a chance.