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There aren’t too many witches left in the world as far as Ichigo knows; but then again, he didn’t know shinigami existed until Rukia came.
Still, there’s no one to teach him and his sisters in witchcraft, so he counts it as they’re on their own. Before Masaki’s death, she had gifted him a grimoire, one of her own. It’s a thick, leatherbound book with a single topaz stone set in the center of the cover.
Ichigo’s read the book front to back at least a dozen times, drinking in every piece of information. Witchcraft is the only thing he has left of Masaki’s legacy and he’ll do anything to upkeep it. Isshin’s not exactly ignorant of their desire to learn, but he doesn’t stop that—Ichigo calls that a win.
Karin is not adept at witchcraft at all, and they learn very early after an unfortunate cauldron explosion. It seemed she had taken more after their father in abilities.
Yuzu, however, was a very skilled kitchen witch. Anything she made was embedded with her own energy, granting a small boost to their mood or even their physical abilities, although the effect was minor. Yuzu takes her responsibilities as a kitchen witch very seriously, even though it’s more old fashioned. She always stirs clockwise, never wastes food or scraps, and casts positive energy in whatever she makes.
It seems to be a fair trade off—Karin fits in with the shinigami in terms of abilities, but Yuzu is arguably the best witch in the house.
He hasn’t figured out what kind of witch he is. The book says he doesn’t necessarily need to know, but he wants to. He thinks he might be an eclectic witch, belonging to no particular faction, but he’s not one-hundred percent sure.
Together, however skilled they are in witchcraft, they figure out the different types of sabbats like Ostara, Litha, Samhain, and so on. They don’t always act on each occasion, but they usually acknowledge it for the sake of remembering.
Ichigo teaches Karin and Yuzu the difference between charms, amulets, and talismans; and how to embed something within an object using a cast and a sigil. Karin struggles with casting, but it’s undeniably easier for her than potion making. Even Ichigo leaves that for Yuzu because failure means messy cleanups and possibly singed eyebrows.
They learn different types of spells—Banishings, blessings, protection, and cleansings. They use blessings and glamor the most, usually for luck and hiding what they are. Curses are learned mostly for knowing what it is rather than using them. Ichigo forbids his sisters from using them, to which they agree. The ones listed in the book are morbid, and often lead to a long and painful death.
Ichigo doesn’t, however, forbid the use of jinxing. Jinxes are harmless even at their worst, and he knows Karin and Yuzu won’t use them all willy-willy. They jinx Isshin all the time, like putting shoes on the wrong feet or stepping on a lego—They don’t even have legos in the house. They haven’t quite forgiven what Isshin put Ichigo through, but they’re getting there.
He’s angry, sad, lonely, and Isshin knows it. He apologized then, but Ichigo needed time. Karin and Yuzu, now in the know, take Ichigo’s side immediately and they’ve been tightly bound ever since. Karin’s more willing to learn witchcraft with Ichigo, who’s taken more to it to try and fill the void of his missing soul part.
For all their learning and use of blessings, no one gets to really use it until Ginjo appears, and then Ichigo goes all out.
It’s a weird morning that day. Intuition tells him something’s wrong, and it puts him on edge.
Also, the putrid smell originating from the kitchen isn't doing him any favors. He grimaces and pads downstairs. “Yuzu, what are you cooking?”
“I’m trying to-”
Ichigo bolts to the kitchen when he hears it’s Karin and not Yuzu. He drags Karin back by the collar just in time as the contents of the cauldron burst into flames. Ichigo grabs a glass of water from the tap and tosses the contents into the fire, muttering under his breath, “ cataracta ”.
Immediately, the water bubbles and multiples into a torrential fall of water from a small glass. The cauldron fire is doused, but Ichigo forces Karin to wait. He casts one more spell to cool the iron down faster (but slow enough that it wouldn’t shock the cast iron), and then peers inside the cauldron.
“What were you trying to make?” Ichigo asks, somewhat curious and disturbed. After he’s cleared the water into the sink, all that’s left is a strange lumpy ball that looks a lot like a cat’s hairball. It smells like one too.
Karin sighs heavily. “I was trying to make a warding talisman.”
“For who?” Ichigo scrunches his brows together. “Is someone bothering you? I’ll go beat them-”
“Not for me,” Karin exclaims, tossing his head irritably. “For you . I was hoping to make one that would make that guy back off. But I guess if you could slip it into his bag somewhere, that’d work too. Smells like cat shit.”
“Language.” The smell starts to waft from the cauldron and Ichigo covers his nose. “What’d you even put in there? Wolfsbane?”
“Water hemlock and white snakeroot.” She chews her lip with a mutinous look. Ichigo nails her with a hard stare. She throws her hands in the air. “And aconite.”
“Where do you even get those?” Ichigo wants to know, but he also knows Karin won’t tell him. He rolls his eyes and gets to work sealing the product. They shouldn’t even have been breathing it in, much less touching it. Just being within the object makes him feel sick. “Nevermind.”
He seals the lumpy ball with a protective covering, but keeps it out of Karin’s hands. “Thank you for this. I know you put a lot of thought into it, but I’ll inscribe it. Don’t touch it.”
“Who said I put a lot of thought into it,” Karin snips, looking away. She huffs as Ichigo ruffles her hair, but accepts the quick side hug before getting to work on cleaning her cauldron.
Ichigo’s not sure how he’ll carve it without touching it, but he’ll find a way. It’s a gift from Karin, after all. Well, even if he doesn’t manage to carve a sigil on it, it’ll work as a very deadly poison.
He forgets about it until Ginjo shows up late at night to pester him on training. He’s aware of the lack of truth in Xcution. He’s grieving over the loss of his soul occupants, but he’s not stupid. Ichigo gets the chance to slip it into his bag (protective cover off) before he’s being chased by Riruka’s little pig-doll thing.
Ichigo doesn’t see Ginjo again after that.
The next he sees Xcution, it’s Tsukishima sitting at his house living room with Karin and Yuzu. Both are talking with him like he’s an old family friend, and then all he sees is red.
He blows Tsukishima out of the house with an explosive spell he’s never used before. He crashes through the newly renovated wall and splits the tree outside, clothes and skin burnt on impact. Karin and Yuzu cry out, but Ichigo casts a cleansing spell that wipes the facade from their minds.
Ichigo doesn’t realize his anger is causing the house to shake until Karin punches him in the chest with a mighty cry. The kettle shrieks so hard from boiling water, it’s nearly on par with a dog whistle. The pictures have all fallen down the walls, and anything set on tables have crashed to the floor in a cacophony of porcelain and plastic.
He sucks in a breath and exhales hard. “Karin, Yuzu, stay here.”
It’s not the time to argue and both of them know it, because they stay where they are as he darts outside. It’s raining tonight, heavy from the clouds and sinking into the earth beneath.
Tsukishima’s still there, solidly knocked out. He holds out his hand and calls for his staff. Delicate spells require a medium from him so as not to overpower.
It’s a design straight out of his mother’s grimoire. Made with twisting, gnarled wood that curls like a question mark at the top, it has a little glass ball hanging from the curl, a flame flickering strong inside. Little glass beads jingle quietly, pleasantly, around the top.
Ichigo drops a box on top of Tsukishima’s still body. It’s meant to seal off any supernatural ability and to render them human. He leaves it there, knowing the boy watching from the sidelines will attempt to open it. He won't be able to.
He finds Orihime and Uryuu together, looking lost and confused as Giriko attempts to convince them that Ichigo needs help to defeat Tsukishima. He doesn’t get the chance to explain further when Ichigo emerges from the shadows and uses the same spell he used on Tsukishima.
“Ichigo, what are you doing-”
Ichigo casts a cleansing spell on both of them and almost visibly sees the veil lift from their eyes. Uryuu is the first to be angry, gaze barely flickering to the staff in his hands. “Everyone else?”
“Yuzu and Karin are fine now. Chad’s left.” Ichigo narrows his eyes as he binds Giriko in the same box as Tsukishima. “Xcution’s mine to deal with. You can’t interfere.”
They know what he is, what his family consists of. He gave him the glass beads in the first place, as a decoration and symbol of their bond. Orihime and Chad followed soon after, adding their own touch on his staff. Uryuu nods, but he adds, “But don’t think you’re alone. We’re coming with you.”
That’s all he can ask for. Ichigo opens a gate in the tree’s shadows, only a shade darker than the moonlit surroundings, and they’re sifting through dark space. It doesn’t take long until he catches a feel of Jackie’s aura. It feels like the mud on her boots, unnaturally dirty and tainted.
As soon as he steps out of the gate, he fires off two spells: one to bind and one to silence her voice. One band of fire circles around Jackie’s hands and binds them to her waist. A second band cinches her ankles together. She screams angrily and soundlessly, mouth moving furiously but without a sound.
“You lost my respect for you when you went for my friends and family.” Ichigo tells her coldly, watching her mouth stop moving. “I will repay your actions.”
He drops the third box of the night on top of Jackie, cleansing Chad’s mind as he does so. It doesn’t take long for Chad to realize what’s going on.
No one tells him about the sword that goes through his chest.
It sticks from his chest, stabbed from the back. For a moment, it hurts , pressure ratcheting higher and higher until he feels as though he might pass out-
And then power thrums under his veins, heady and bright. He can see the world like he did before, vivid with reiatsu and the shinigami in front of him. Rukia steps out from behind him, holding a sword that burns bright with spiritual energy. “Did it work?”
“I can see you haven’t gotten any taller.” Ichigo comments blithely, half elated and half pissed.
He watches Rukia go through excitement and then irritation. “Like you’ve gotten any taller!”
“I have actually,” Ichigo says absently, picking up the staff he dropped. He checks the glass for cracks, but it’s fine. The flame inside still burns even under the cold of the rain. He eyes Kenpachi, Byakuya, Toshiro, Ikkaku, and Renji, all of which have come to see him restored. Urahara lurks in the shadows, waiting.
Renji is the first to ask. “What did you use? I thought…you-”
“A witch,” Byakuya says in Renji’s silence. “It’s been a long time since a witch has been sighted.”
Ichigo lifts his chin defiantly, but Byakuya only nods his head without discrimination. Kenpachi snorts, hefting his zanpakuto over his shoulder. “I don’t care what he is as long as he can fight.”
“That’s all good, but we’re missing some,” Chad rumbles. He stands close to Ichigo, brushing an arm against his shoulder. It’s a show of solidarity, which Ichigo appreciates. “Shishigawara Moe, Riruka, and Yukio.”
“Already took care of them,” Ichigo adds. He’d taken care of Yukio before coming across Uryuu and Orihime; and Moe had tried to open the box to free Tsukishima, only to be sucked inside. As for Riruka, well, he had let her go, but not without warning. He levels a flinty look at Urahara. “But we have some talking to do.”
Urahara holds his hands up, looking mildly pained. “Indeed, we do.”
If only he knew what Ichigo has planned for him. He just refreshed himself on the jinxes listed in the grimoire, fresh in his head and ready to be casted.
All in good time.