-]|[-

‘ I’m going to murder somebody. ’ Ichigo growled as he again arched his back in pain.

He had just come back from his life-and-death struggle against the Gotei 13, and he felt he was due some goddamn rest and relaxation. He’d been slashed, stabbed, nearly killed, recovered, repeat, repeat, and then attained his Bankai, only to again get slashed and stabbed nearly to death. Only even there, he couldn’t catch a break with a baseball glove. He’d been taken over by the Hollow hiding in his soul and had nearly turned into an abomination against Byakuya. He’d successfully fought down the creature, and then had tied against Byakuya, no matter what the noble called it. Kenpachi had claimed to have lost too, which just pissed him off. And then after all that hard work, he thought that they were free and clear, only to be cut nearly in half by the asshole responsible for all the bullshit in the first place!

And then it was over, they were now allied with Soul Society, and he had even been made an official Substitute Shinigami! He’d thought that would have been it and they could go home. They’d even been shown the official Senkaimon! Only for that goddamn Kōtotsu to chase them AGAIN!

So, by the time he got home, he was quite ready to just chill out or sleep for the rest of the night… and instead had to slap Kon out of his body because he caught him jerking off , before running to take a shower. And finally, finally , he was able to lay down on his bed and just relax .

That had lasted all of an hour before he started to feel as if someone was trying to suck his soul out through a straw. His body felt worse than a suit that had been perfectly tailored for him ten years ago. “ Grghh! ” He grit through his teeth, “What the fuck is going on!” He clenched his eyes shut as an enormous spike of pain rippled through him, and when he opened them, he had two sets of pupils. Not that he knew that, of course, and when he blinked, they were gone.

He needed to get into his Inner World. Now .

“Ichigo.” His Dad came into the room.

“N-Not now, Goat-chin.” Ichigo growled out, not even realizing that the man hadn’t attacked him.

Isshin eyed the badge that had fallen off of Ichigo’s bed, and kicked it away. He put on a Gokon Tekkō, “Sit up, son.” He helped Ichigo up, wincing at the groan of pain that erupted from him. “You need to get out of your body.” He said softly.

“What?” That finally penetrated the haze of pain, and then he was in Shinigami form. “Wh-what the f-fuck, Goat-chin!”

“Later, Ichigo.” Isshin said seriously, “Your soul feels like it’s trying to implode.” He grabbed Zangetsu and put it on his son’s lap. “Close your eyes and focus on your Zanpakutō. Now! You need to access your Inner World immediately. Block out the pain. Block out all other thoughts! It’s the only way to fix this.”

Ichigo ground his teeth, but did as he was told. But the pain just kept building, and eventually, he felt like something grabbed the back of his Shihakushō and pulled him backwards. He experienced the sensation of falling, and opened his eyes. “What the fuck?!”

His Inner World was a mess . The buildings were shattered and fallen like the entire city was under attack. A dark vortex of shining light was swirling above them, shooting out lightning that struck buildings and shattered glass everywhere. And it was like the vortex was sucking bits of his Inner World up and into it.

“ Fucking took ya long enough, King. ” His Hollow landed near him, looking like he was wracked in as much pain as Ichigo was.

“What the hell is going on?!” Ichigo asked, eyeing his counterpart. He didn’t look like he was responsible for this. He looked like he was getting caught in this demon portal from hell just the same as him.

“ Good fucking question. Why don’t we ask him . ” He pointed at old man Zangetsu, “ Huuuuuhhhhh, Zangetsu?! ”

The old man was uncharacteristically looking ashamed. Ichigo turned to him fully, “What is this, old man?”

Zangetsu closed his eyes, “ Something I feared. Something I dreaded. Something I tried with all my power to prevent. ”

Ichigo ran a hand through his hair in frustration, “That’s helpful.” He snarked, “Mind actually explaining ?!”

“ Oh, he won’t give ya a fucking straight answer, King. Not until it’s shoved under his nose. ” His Hollow grinned, showcasing his black teeth, “ So why don’t ya go ahead and use those Reiraku of yours? ”

Ichigo looked askance at him, before activating the technique. Despite what he figured he’d see, there were hundreds, maybe even thousands of Reiraku that formed. The majority of them coming from the swirling vortex, grabbing onto chunks of buildings, and drawing them into the portal. Each of them a gleaming, shining blue.

But the more interesting ribbons were the two coming from his Hollow and Zanpakutō. “…What is this…” Ichigo asked softly, grasping one red, and one blue ribbon. The blue one was leading to old man Zangetsu, but the red . The red was leading to the Hollow . “Why is…”

“ Ya never used those in here, did’ja? Not after regaining yer Shinigami powers. ” The Hollow that Ichigo was rapidly starting to understand wasn’t just a Hollow said, “ Didn’t ya find it strange that yer powers were in that box? That they weren’t leadin’ ta him . ”

Ichigo clenched his fists, “Then…”

“ That’s right, King! I am Zangetsu! ” Zangetsu roared out, “ So why don’tcha tell him why ya’ve been lying this whole time, huh?! ”

The skies darkened. “What is going on , old man?!”

The one Ichigo had thought was his Zanpakutō’s spirit sighed. “ It is as you’ve seen, Ichigo. I am not Zangetsu. ” Of its own accord, a building collapsed, showcasing Ichigo’s inner turmoil. And then the rain came. Cold and heavy, pouring down so hard that the buildings of his Inner World instantly started drowning in water.

“WHY?!” Ichigo roared, taking a step forward, tears falling from his eyes.

“ I never wished for you to become a Shinigami. ” Not-Zangetsu replied, “ That is why I suppressed the natural power you possessed before it could fully mature, and took its place in the heart of your power. ” He opened his eyes, “ Because I knew that if you were to become a Shinigami, there was no doubt that you would be caught up in battle. You would get hurt. You would suffer. And in the end… the time would come where I would have to kill you with my own hands. ”

“Wh-what are you saying!?” Ichigo asked desperately. “How is that even possible?! What do you mean?! Why is your Reiraku the same color as those?!” He pointed to the air.

“ You’ve seen that your father has power of his own. Knowledge. Enough to know that you needed to come here. That wasn’t always the case. For the past twenty years, he’s been bereft of them. ” Not-Zangetsu said softly, “ He gave them up, in order to save your mother’s life more than two decades ago. But that is a story for him to tell you. ” He looked up at the sky, “ What is important is that just as you have learned your father is a Shinigami, it is time for you to learn that your mother was a Quincy . One of exceptional ability and power, and it is her bloodline that I represent. ”

Ichigo sucked in a gasp, “B-But!” Ichigo looked like he was about to have a breakdown, “But then how was that FUCK of a Hollow able to kill her?!”

“ Because they were stolen from her. ” Not-Zangetsu said, looking back at him, “ Moments before her death, the prophecy laid down in the Kaiser Gesang was fulfilled. The Sealed King of the Quincy. Some even call him the God of the Quincy. He was defeated one thousand years ago by Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni and the rest of his Gotei 13. But over nine hundred years, he would regain his heartbeat. After ninety more, he would regain his intellect. And over nine years, he would regain his power . ”

He stared directly at Ichigo’s eyes, “ But not through time. Not passively. No, through the Auswählen . The Quincy were split into two groups: The Echt, or the Pure, and the Gemischt, the Impure. Your mother was born an Echt, but an incident in her teen years led to her being infected by a Hollow. ” Ichigo’s eyes widened, and his gaze snapped to Zangetsu, the real Zangetsu, apparently, in shock. He slowly turned back to Not-Zangetsu, “ Yes, your instincts are correct. Zangetsu is the ultimate result of that infection. ”

Ichigo took a deep breath, “I’ll deal with that later.”

“ Very well. ” Not-Zangetsu said, “ The important part is that when the Quincy King awoke, he performed his Holy Selection on the Pure and Impure. Your mother should have been spared, but because of the infection, he considered her to be Impure. And so, her Quincy Powers were stolen from her, right at the moment she needed them the most. ”

Ichigo’s fists clenched, “And who is this Quincy King?! ”

“ You have not figured it out yet, Ichigo? ” Not-Zangetsu said softly, “ I am. ” Lightning that had nothing to do with the portal ripped through the sky, “ Or rather, I represent what he looked like one thousand years ago. I am both Yhwach, and not Yhwach, for Quincy do not normally possess Inner Worlds nor spiritual representations of their power. I may be a fragment of Yhwach, but it was you who gave me form. And it is why I have tried to shield you, for I know the day approaches when you will face the real Yhwach on the battlefield. ”

Ichigo nearly fell back, and he stumbled at the revelation. Zangetsu was the one who caught him. “ Ya, well, looks like that day has come quicker than you thought, huh? ” Zangetsu growled at the sky, before he clapped Ichigo on the back. “ For the past couple’a hours, yer Reiryoku has increased massively fer no apparent reason. ” Zangetsu said, “ That’s why ya felt squeezed in yer own skin. And then that fuckin’ thing showed up. Like the devil’s anus just opened up in our sky. ” Ichigo grimaced at the crude words.

“ Yes. ” Not-Zangetsu said, “ Six years ago, on July 17 th , Yhwach performed the Auswählen . As a Quincy born with a Shinigami father, your power should have been taken, the same as your mother’s. But he prevented that. ” Not-Zangetsu nodded at Zangetsu, “ Quincy do not destroy the Souls of Hollows because they want to. They destroy Hollow Souls because Hollow and Quincy are anathema to one another. Hollows Reiryoku is poisonous to Quincy just the same as Quincy Reiryoku is poisonous to Hollows. ”

“ Which means we’re freaks , Ichigo. ” Zangetsu grinned, “ We shouldn’t exist, but we’re just built different. ”

That got a small snort from Not-Zangetsu, “ Yhwach could not steal your power because it would be poisonous to him. So, he left you alone and took only your mother’s power. ” He eyed the sky, “ Which begs the question of why he’s desperate enough to try to drain you now . ”

Ichigo growled, “I don’t fucking care.” He glared daggers at the sky, “All I want to know is how to fucking stop it so that I can find him and shove Zangetsu up his ass.”

Zangetsu grinned, “ Now we’re fuckin’ talkin’! ”

“ Do not underestimate him, Ichigo. ” Not-Zangetsu said firmly, “ At his full power, he could defeat nearly every member of the Gotei 13 at the same time. Including the one who nearly cut you in half. ” Ichigo turned and goggled at him. He ignored Ichigo as he stared up at the vortex, “ You’ve come a long way. Despite my efforts, you continued along the path of the Shinigami. You’ve honed your power ever stronger, and have taken up this path of your own volition. Pain, injury, nothing has fazed you. You’ve stumbled, yes. ” Not-Zangetsu interrupted his protest, “ But you’ve persevered even with my hampering of your progress. But this is not a stumbling block you can overcome. Not as you are. Not as I am. It is time to stop fighting with your eyes closed. ” He turned to his wielder and flipped his coat open, revealing a shimmering blue broadsword of glowing Reiryoku, “ I thought I would feel crushed to know that your path is now set. That you will eventually face the real Yhwach. But instead… I find myself happy. It was only for a short time, but I can be no prouder of how strong you have become. Take up your true power. ”

“ That’s right, King. ” Zangetsu stepped up and merged his own black and red Reiatsu with the broadsword, turning it a deep, dark, and yet almost blinding midnight purple.

Ichigo walked closer, “You say you’re not Zangetsu. That he’s the real Zangetsu.” He said softly, looking at both of them. “But that’s wrong. That might have been the case when this all started, but you’ve both evolved, haven’t you, partners? As far as I’m concerned…” He grasped the blade with both hands, “YOU’RE BOTH ZANGETSU!” He roared, before feeling more power than he had ever experienced in his life flowing through him.

…

“Do you have any idea what’s happening to him?” Isshin asked Kisuke and Tessai as they sat next to Ichigo’s limp body. His son was deep in Jinzen, and Isshin could feel things getting worse. Kisuke and Tessai had shown up less than a minute after he called them, and Tessai was currently sealing his home away from the outside world with Kidō. He didn’t want anyone seeing this, Seireitei or otherwise. And so, for all intents and purposes, Tessai had removed their home from reality.

“As to the ‘what?’” Kisuke said softly, “Certainly. I could feel his power draining and then returning, draining, and then returning. I think we all know what that means.”

“…” Isshin closed his eyes, “But Masaki’s power was stolen instantly .”

“I suspect your son is the only person in any world that could fight the Auswählen .” Kisuke said, “No other Quincy has an Inner World. No other Quincy has a Hollow within them. No other Quincy has the tools needed to resist it.” His bucket hat shadowed his eyes, “The more pertinent question for these events is why . Why now? Why not six years ago? Why even risk this at all?”

“Something must have changed.” Tessai rumbled, “But what? ”

The conversation completely stopped as Reiatsu suddenly flooded out of Ichigo. Enough pressure to crush even the three Captains surged from Ichigo’s body. The three of them combined couldn’t output this much energy. Kenpachi couldn’t output this much energy. “What the fuck is happening!? He was never this strong before!” Isshin gasped, feeling like gravity itself was trying to crush them.

Neither were able to answer, because Zangetsu changed . The black Khyber knife with a gleaming silver edge reversed colors, with the edge of the blade becoming pitch black and the spine becoming silver. A decently sized, hollowed-out portion carved itself into the blade running along the back edge from the base to about the middle. The cloth wrapping the handle also turned jet black. But more interestingly, a second blade appeared in Ichigo’s other hand. It resembled a trench knife more than a sword, and was about the size of his arm.

The pressure vanished, and they all let out gasps as the air returned to their lungs. Kisuke let out a little laugh, “ Fascinating. ” He managed to get out, with a very… intrigued gleam in his eye.

…

Ichigo held onto his new blades, feeling a smile splitting his face. He felt complete. Whole . Something he never knew he hadn’t been until that very moment, but it just felt so obvious in retrospect. And his Inner World reflected it. There was now not a cloud in the sky, and every bit of water that had been drowning them (enough to almost reach the vortex high above them) had evaporated in an instant.

“ Good. ” Old Man Zangetsu said, “ Now it is time to put it to use. ”

“ Hehehehe, why don’tcha impress us, King? Fuck that anus! ” Zangetsu pointed at the apparently-now-officially-named Devil’s Anus, in the sky, making Ichigo sweatdrop because that had to be on purpose.

But he powered through the momentary embarrassment and swiped the smaller blade in front of him. A golden tear in the sky appeared as if he had opened up reality itself. “ Getsuga… ” He said before raising the bigger blade above his head, “ Jūjishō !” He roared as he stomped on the building they stood on.

Unlike before, the Getsuga  was neither blue nor red-tinged-black. It was a gleaming gold that looked almost molten or like the sun. The cross-shaped attack soared towards the vortex and tore through thousands upon thousands of Reiraku. The second the blast hit the vortex itself, it was like thousands of voices at once were screaming in agony. And the three of them grunted and cringed as a voice roaring in fury echoed and even shook his Inner World.

The vortex had collapsed, but it started to swirl faster and more violently, reforming into a much smaller vortex. The thousands of Reiraku had retreated, but now a much more violent attack came with a mere hundred strands. They shot out like snakes, wrapping up Ichigo’s arms as well as his two Zanpakutō spirits. Immediately, they all felt their strength weakening, though the strands recoiled utterly and even started to decay from the touch of Zangetsu’s Hollow side.

Ichigo growled out, “You will NOT!” He roared as his veins unconsciously lit up a bright red. His arteries, specifically. More physical strength than he had ever felt rippled through his body, and he tore his way out of his prison. Growling, he grabbed at the threads himself and started to pull back.

The sky turned black as the vortex started to spew out more lightning in an attempt to attack them. Zangetsu was free and he fired a Cero  back at the sky, deflecting the lightning and again making the world tremble.

Ichigo couldn’t make the Reiraku budge, so he did the smarter thing. He momentarily let go of the strands he was holding and threw Zangetsu at Old Man Zangetsu’s bonds. The Old Man represented his Quincy powers, and so was the most susceptible to what was happening. His blade spun through the air like a buzz-saw and cut right through the Reiraku, freeing the older spirit. Ichigo yanked back on the cloth as he had seen his Hollow do the last time they’d fought, and his blade returned to his hand.

He smirked as Zangetsu grabbed the strands he’d let go of and dropped back down next to him, where Ichigo grabbed them again. With Zangetsu on his right, and Old Man Zangetsu on his left, he grinned broadly, “He wants to steal from us? Let’s show him why that’s a bad idea!” He yelled before all three of them started to yank on the glowing blue strands.

A power struggle erupted, with men and women on both ends feeling weak as they fought over their souls, the Auswählen  connecting them in ways that they never should have been. The weaker of them collapsed at the feeling of their souls being yanked on, while the stronger had no idea what was happening and therefore could only hold firm themselves.

And on the other end of the vortex, Yhwach momentarily opened his eyes three years too early. It was for barely a second, but it was enough. Immediately, psychic visions started to bombard everyone connected as The Almighty  went out of control, and Yhwach closed his eyes once more, weakened from his attempt at removing his greatest enemy from the board.

Ichigo’s eyes once again flashed with two sets of pupils as events he could not comprehend flooded his mind. A fight with Aizen who turned into a horrific beast. Being stabbed in the chest by a man with slicked-back hair. Fighting a set of four girls and casually toying with them, if he were honest. Fighting side-by-side with Aizen of all people against a much older Old Man Zangetsu, Yhwach .

And then they ended, leaving over a hundred people confused. Ichigo shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. The Reiraku started to rapidly retreat as Yhwach aborted his foolish attempt at stealing Ichigo’s power, caused by a warning from himself , three years from the future. And yet that warning had just made things worse for his goals.

“Oh no you fucking don’t!” Ichigo yelled, refusing to let Yhwach walk away without a bloody nose. Strand after strand snapped and was sucked back into the vortex, but between him, Old Man Zangetsu, and Zangetsu, six of them were unable to escape. They had firm grips on them, and so, they pulled . A final roar of rage echoed through his world as Yhwach let go of those six strands.

Six massive Quincy crosses fell from the vortex as it sealed itself off. Yhwach understood now how much of a threat Kurosaki Ichigo truly was, and let go even of the piece of his Soul in Ichigo. He would never touch it again, and permanently sealed off their connection. Old Man Zangetsu stumbled momentarily as he felt the sensation of seals on his person being released, of knowledge being unlocked.

They all watched as the six Quincy crosses finished their fall and crashed into their world. Explosions of dust, mortar, and glass covered them, before slowly dissipating. The six crosses were revealed, all of them weakly pulsing in individual colors. One electric green, two blazing red, one yellow, one pink/magenta, and a final dark blueish purple.

Ichigo eyed the sight for a moment before the exhaustion caught up with him, and he pitched forward for his two spirits to catch. “ Rest well, Ichigo. ” Old Man Zangetsu said softly.

Zangetsu let out a short laugh as he eyed the closest of the six crosses. Parts of the inner world were starting to rebuild, and the magenta cross was being hoisted skyward as the collapse was slowly undone. “ Somethin’ tells me ya ain’t gonna get much of a chance for rest soon enough. ”

…

“Looks like it’s over.” Kisuke said, before getting up to examine Ichigo. There was a marked change in the young man now, as before, he had been dead to the world as he focused on his Jinzen. Now, he looked more like he was actually sleeping. “His Reiatsu is recovering, but it’s barely a flicker of what it was a moment ago.”

“He succeeded, then?” Isshin asked, eyeing Zangetsu, “His Zanpakutō has not disappeared, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”

“I suppose we’ll have to find out.” Kisuke stood, tilting his hat forward to shadow his eyes, “Tomorrow, preferably. I’m quite interested in this new Zanpakutō of his.”

“You and me both.” Isshin smiled as he picked up his son with a gentleness that would have had the young man gawking if he was awake. He dropped him into his body and then settled him on his bed. “Sleep well, son.” He said, before scratching the back of his head, “I suppose I better get some shuteye too.” He grinned ruefully, “Because I’m pretty sure I have a reaming coming in the morning after all this.”

Kisuke and Tessai chuckled, before hopping out of the window and floating on the air, “Well, good luck to you, old friend.” Kisuke smirked lazily at Isshin, before the two vanished.

Isshin rubbed the back of his neck as he cracked it a few times, “Well, time for bed then.” He shut the lights off and walked out of his son’s room, but he hadn’t made it three steps away from the door when he froze. An unfamiliar Reiatsu was coming from inside, and he whirled around and quickly opened the door again.

He took a step inside and then gaped. Sprawled atop his son and nearly falling off the bed was a beautiful young woman. She was wearing a very tight but… unfortunate white uniform with some uncomfortable similarities to similar uniforms from several decades in the past. The top and the skirt seemed to be one piece, almost like a longer, eight-buttoned pea coat. A pink, heart-shaped belt buckle kept it from riding up more than the girl wanted. The skirt, gloves, and boots were frilly, as were the sleeves which barely came down to the middle of her biceps. Her leggings came up to her thighs. Her hair was long and wavy and a very bright, vivid magenta. A white commissar cap had fallen off her head onto the floor. On it, as well as on the bow she had around her neck, as well as all of the buttons on her uniform were clear Quincy medallions, though different from the one he’d seen Masaki use.

Oh, and she was very obviously taller than Ichigo by a few inches, and she was very well endowed. And obviously, something had exhausted the young woman because she was perhaps even more dead to the world than Ichigo was.

Isshin scratched the back of his head, wondering what the hell to do. “Oh, Ichigo…” He sighed under his breath. Why couldn’t his son just be normal? He grinned, “Well, might as well fuck with him.” A quick minute’s work had the two much more comfortable. And by that, he meant that the girl’s breasts were currently Ichigo’s pillows, and she was clutching onto him like a teddy bear. He hadn’t even planned for that!

Isshin snapped a few pictures for posterity and then made himself scarce, just barely holding back his evil chuckles.

-]|[-

“We’ve done quite a bit of recruiting over the past week, and have many new members.” Aizen Sōsuke said in his loud, clear, and confident voice. He had successfully recruited yet another powerful Hollow, though it had taken a bit of a beating to get the beast to see things his way. “It is time to see your new rankings.”

“Tch.” Their newest member, a blue-haired man whose Hollow Mask fragment was a set of jaws on the side of his face, scoffed.

“It’s been a long time since the last re-ranking. I suppose this means another set of fights?” Cirucci Thunderwitch crossed her arms, eager to prove she deserved her spot as she had dozens of times before.

“No, nothing so primitive.” Aizen said, smiling indulgently. “With the Hōgyoku, there is no need for that anymore. It will be able to sense your power and assign you your new numbers.” He tapped the arm of his throne and the item he had bled Soul Society for rose. It was still asleep, but thankfully he did not need a lot of power for this. He reached for it, but something unexpected happened. The second his hand got close, it seemed like a bolt of purple lightning connected with his finger.

The Espada watched as Aizen let out a shocked grunt, his eyes opening wide, before he slumped forward and off his throne. “AIZEN-SAMA!” Tōsen, ever the loyal man, utilized Shunpo to race to his superior’s side, not noticing how several of the Arrancar’s eyes narrowed, smelling blood in the water.

And then Tōsen reached out for Aizen, and everything below the shoulder of his right arm disappeared. There was a moment of incomprehension, of utter stillness, before blood spilled on the floor and Tōsen recoiled backwards away from Aizen and slumped to his knees. “GRAHHHHHH!!!!!” He howled, clutching the weeping remnants of what had been his arm.

And those Arrancar who had been ready to tear Aizen limb from limb at his moment of apparent weakness settled, the unfamiliar feeling of fear coursing through them.

They watched as Aizen managed to get himself up, and then looked at his hands as if he had never seen them before. He slowly rubbed each of his hands in curious thought, before finally saying, “Fascinating.” He clenched a fist, wondering for a moment if he even needed his Arrancar and elaborate schemes now. The sheer amount of power coursing through him made him feel like a god . ‘ This will bear some studying. ’ He thought to himself in interest.

“What happened, Aizen-sama?” Tia Halibel asked softly.

Aizen smiled and chuckled lightly, “For once… I have no earthly idea.” Words that had never once truthfully left his lips before. He looked over at Tōsen, whose dusky skin tone had lightened, “My apologies, Kaname.” He turned and grabbed the Hōgyoku, before feeding it the Reiatsu of ten Captain-class fighters. Tōsen, who was nearly insensate from the pain and even foaming at the lips, gasped. His wound started to bubble, spewing blood at a faster clip, before a white substance erupted from his mouth, nose, and eyes. A Hollow Mask (more of a helmet than anything) formed on Tōsen’s head before his arm was fully healed. A massive outpouring of Reiatsu that made Nnoitra grind his teeth erupted from the black man, before dying down.

Tōsen panted, before managing to dismiss his new Hollow Mask. He stood, feeling out his new arm, “T-Thank you, Aizen-sama.” He looked at their leader with a bit of fear on his face.

Aizen chuckled, “It appears the Hōgyoku had a bit of a surprise for me. I wonder what other secrets it holds.” He had always been confident, of course, but the utter relaxation on his face was for one reason. He had gone from being able to kill every person in this room to them being unable to so much as touch him. Nothing short of Yamamoto could touch him now. “Thoughts for another time.” He held the orb again and allowed its power to touch every Arrancar in the room.

When the light dimmed, Cirucci casually pulled open her dress to look at the tattoo on her right breast, expecting to see that she had either kept her position as fifth or that she had been promoted to the fourth. She could only stare at the three digits in complete incomprehension.

-]|[-

‘ You know, for one of the most confusing, emotionally fucked, and just outright painful nights of my life, I slept great! ’ Ichigo thought to himself as he was roused from his slumber. ‘ And I don’t remember my pillow ever being this warm and comfortable. ’ He rubbed his face on the soft material, still reluctant to open his eyes and let the relaxing night end.

“Ah~”

Ichigo froze. His entire body went tight. ‘ Wh-why did my pillow just moan? ’ Unconsciously, he gave the pillow a few squeezes.

“Mhmmm… that feels nice.” A feminine voice moaned sleepily.

“WAH!” Ichigo lurched up and backwards, falling out of his bed. “Wh-wh-what the hell?!” He yelled, blushing profusely at the sight of the gorgeous girl laying on his bed.

“Mhmmm…” She moaned and flipped around onto her stomach, looking at him with exhausted eyes. “Why’d you leave…” Her voice was breathy and soft and that was kinda doing it for him, especially with those pouty lips of hers, not that he’d ever admit it. “Come back…” She moaned, pouting at him. Her eyes looked foggy and unfocused.

Ichigo would take the fact that he was tempted to his grave. “Wh-Why are you in my bed?! Who are you?!”

She let out a little groan, closing her eyes. “Meninas McAllon …” She yawned, “You could at least remember a girl’s name after sex…”

Ichigo’s jaw dropped, not that she saw it. “S-S-Sex?! What the hell are you talking about?! We didn’t have sex!” He stopped babbling and growled. ‘ Goat-chin. This is your fucking fault! ’ A vein started to pulse on his head.

She blinked her eyes open. “We didn’t? But I definitely feel like I got my world rocked last night…” She frowned, but another yawn ruined that.

Ichigo’s jaw dropped. “No! We’re both fully clothed!” Ichigo snapped back indignantly, his face reddening even more, “You’re like, in full uniform! Who wears that to bed?!”

“Hmm, you have a point.” She said airily, closing her eyes again.

Ichigo’s eye twitched, ‘ Holy shit, this chick is Inoue levels of airheaded! ’

“Shame, you’re really hot.” She followed up her last statement.

Ichigo’s jaw dropped, and then reddened completely when she started to unbuckle her belt and unbutton her uniform , “Wh-what the hell are you doing?!”

“Now that I noticed it, this is really uncomfortable to sleep in.” She said sleepily as she got her uniform open and tossed it negligently at his face. He pulled it off with the lightest amount of irritation, and then his face went completely red. “Come back to bed.” His jaw lowered even more at her audacity, even as he covered his eyes (peeking through his fingers) at the sight of her cute lingerie. She giggled at him, “ You’re peeking~ ” She sang, giggling more when his fingers snapped shut. “You’re so cute. What’s your name, anyway?”

“K-Kurosaki Ichigo.” Ichigo replied.

And the girl in his bed completely froze as all vestiges of sleep and amusement vanished from her face. She actually focused on him and realized that yes, this was, in fact, the same person she had read about in the Daten so many times. “Kurosaki…” She stared at him, and then it was like she was being bombarded by visions. “Ah!” She yelped, clapping both hands to her head. “Wh-what happened to me?!” Her face was scrunched up, as she held her throbbing head.

“H-Hey, are you alright?” Ichigo immediately switched modes as he realized the girl was in pain. “What’s wrong?”

“Grrhmmh…” She groaned as she pressed her head into his pillow. She clenched her fists and got on her knees. The fact that this completely exposed her g-string didn’t so much as catch Ichigo’s attention as he started rubbing her back comfortingly.

Meninas was moaning as vision after vision flashed through her mind. Memories that she had been too preoccupied by pain and the feeling of her soul and Schrift destabilizing hours and hours ago to process.

The invasion of the Seireitei. Fighting some Shinigami. Crushing large groups of them with the buildings that made up the city surrounding Silbern. Fighting with the very man rubbing her back right now with the girls, and having their asses handed to them. Fucking Pepe .

The Auswählen  which had killed her and Candi.

Her unlife as Gigi’s zombie. No less than they deserved for not stopping her from killing Bambi. Their failed attempts to kill Yhwach. Being crushed contemptuously under the Quincy God’s heel. The sheer, terrifying power that he, Ichigo, and Sōsuke Aizen were throwing around as they fought.

Meninas buried her face into his pillow and screamed . Every bit of rage, frustration, betrayal, sadness, and terror she had felt bubbled out all at once. Ichigo stared at her, wide-eyed, but continued to rub her back until she stopped screaming, thanking his lucky stars that neither his father nor his sisters had come to investigate.

“Hey… what’s wrong?” He asked softly, hoping it wouldn’t set her off again. The pain was at least gone, but only physically. The emotional pain was still there. She sat back onto her calves and looked at him, teary-eyed. And then quicker than he could react, she was clutching onto him. Ichigo blushed bright red again as she straddled him.

He was frozen stiff, and it made her giggle a little hollowly into his neck, “You’re really bad at this whole ‘comforting’ thing, you know?”

Ichigo’s face blanked, ‘ Oh no she didn’t. ’ He was great at comforting people! Maybe said people were only his sisters, but he was good at it! Despite his embarrassment and skittishness over the fact she was practically naked, he wrapped his left arm around her lower back and started to thread his fingers on his right hand through her silky hair. He casually lifted both of them up and sat on his bed, which was definitely a mistake because that only put their bodies closer together.

“Mhmm…” She moaned softly as he started to gently massage her scalp and snuggled deeper into his neck. They stayed like that for a few minutes as she relaxed, “Sorry… I’m not usually so…” She didn’t finish her statement.

“Must have been a whole load’a shit that happened to you, then.” He said gruffly, his blush under control. A certain other reaction, on the other hand, was very much not under control. Meninas smiled as she felt it. She opened her lips when an alarm went off that made them both jump. “Wha-” He stared at it in incomprehension. His alarm clock had gone off?! Without Goat-Chin waking him up before it?! And then he paid attention to the actual time and date displayed, and let out a groan as he flopped backwards onto his bed.

Meninas blinked as they were now in a very suggestive position, and he wasn’t reacting to it (beyond the obvious, which she was very much liking and subtly rocking on). She tilted her head, “What’s wrong?”

“My entire fucking vacation is gone! I have school!” He moaned in despair. “How the fuck did that happened?! We left the Seireitei in early August!”

Meninas started to giggle, “Well, you better go get ready then, Ichigo-kun.” She helpfully got off of him.

“And what are you going to do?” He raised an eyebrow as he sat up.

She shrugged, “I’ll figure something out.” She then gave him a small smile, “Want me to wash your back?” She asked innocently.

Ichigo’s face flamed red, “Uhh, gotta go shower!” The coldest shower of his life. He practically ran into the bathroom and shut the door.

Meninas giggled lightly again, “He’s even more of a prude than the Daten suggested he’d be…” She laid back down on his bed, wondering what in the world she was going to do now. She definitely couldn’t go back to Silbern. She wouldn’t want to even if she could . She clenched her fist as she closed her eyes, feeling for her power. ‘… I can’t feel my Schrift… ’ She realized, and now understood just why she felt as weak as a kitten. She didn’t try to activate it, but reached for the power of her Vollständig . That didn’t seem to want to respond either. “This is a pickle…” She muttered as she reached for her uniform which Ichigo had cast aside a few minutes ago. She slapped the heart buckle, and her Quincy bow popped out. “Well, at least that works.” She said softly as she placed it back where it belonged.

Unsure of what to do now, she put the uniform on his side table and laid back down to do some thinking. The only thing she knew for sure was that she absolutely wanted to stay on Ichigo’s good side now. If nothing else, that was her best chance for survival. Though Ichigo obviously had much better qualities than that to make it an attractive option. Other than that, she had a lot of things to think through.

…

Ichigo had wasted no time stripping down and hopping in the shower. It was only here in the privacy of his own bathroom that he let some of the tension in his shoulders dissipate as he let the hot water run down his body. ‘ How the fuck did that happen? How did she pop up in my bed?! ’

‘ Heh, fuck if I know, King. ’ Zangetsu said in his mind, making him jump slightly, ‘ Ya should have taken her up on her offer, ya fuckin’ pansy. ’

Ichigo let out a growl, ‘ Shut the fuck up, Zangetsu. ’

‘ Not a chance, partner. ’ Zangetsu laughed madly, ‘ I’m everything you suppress, remember? I know full well what you want because it’s the same thing I want! And what I wanted was to stick my face between her tits and forget about the world for a few hours! ’

Ichigo blushed some more as he felt himself stiffen down below. Now that he knew Zangetsu was really Zangetsu and not just a Hollow trying to take over his body, he was more willing to listen to him. And he hated that he couldn’t deny how pleasing that thought was. He cut the link to his Zanpakutō off, and just focused on washing himself. He grabbed his soap and began lathering himself up… while feeling some embarrassment as he thought of Meninas again and touched himself. It had been a… long time since he had last done this, what with Rukia sharing his closet.

He had no way of knowing that in his Inner World, the building that now carried the electric green cross finished reconstructing itself, before the green invaded it like little tongues of lightning. A similar thing that had happened to the magenta cross hours ago.

Zangetsu could have said something about it, but this was just so much more potential fun.

Ichigo froze as his shadow seemed to darken and move of its own accord. It ran up the wall like black ichor and widened… before a girl shot out of it, screaming.

Ichigo yelped as he caught her, just barely keeping her from smashing into his face. This caused him to unbalance and slip on the wet and soapy floor, sending him tumbling back. His right arm embraced her unconsciously, while his left whipped out and caught the grab bar on the side of the wall.

The end result was Ichigo holding himself up with one arm, his back forty-five centimeters from the floor of the tub, with an incredibly sexy woman straddling him. She had long, light-green hair which was slowly darkening as it got wet. Her eyebrows were shaped like little green lightning bolts. Like Meninas, she was wearing a white uniform just… heavily modified . The double-breasted jacket had a lot of material cut off and had a simple tie under her left armpit. All of her midriff was exposed, revealing that she had a belly button piercing shaped like a lightning bolt. Her cleavage was on full display as well, seeing as the top was so tight and cut up that it had practically been turned into lingerie. Her bottom was a pair of short-shorts held up by a black belt and a green, heart-shaped buckle just like Meninas.

“Owowowow…” She said as she clutched her head, despite the two of them not headbutting each other when she landed. She was having an awful day. She woke up and had started on her hair, but hadn’t even been able to finish before getting assaulted by that soul-searing pain and those visions she could barely make heads or tails of. Their invasion of the Seireitei had started, she had kicked Kenpachi’s ass (ignore the fact that he’d already fought Gremmy. That was irrelevant.) Then she fought Kurosaki Ichigo and had him hand her her own ass instead of fucking it like she would have wanted if they hadn’t been enemies , along with the rest of the girls. Then the disaster of infighting between the Sternritters and fucking Pepe being a bitch and getting Meninas with his power.

She had been exhausted and then came the goddamn Auswählen   which killed both her and Meninas. She… she would never forget that her friend had refused to abandon her and had died with her, rather than saving her own skin. And she didn’t even want to think about being turned into Gigi’s plaything and their disastrous attempts to kill Yhwach.

All of those thoughts and visions had flashed through her mind before she fell into darkness and shadow. She didn’t even know what was real as she floated through space, feeling like it was the worst kind of nightmare she had ever experienced. No matter what she did, she had been the only thing in that dark, terrifying void. She had nothing except her own memories of events she was certain she had never actually experienced to keep her company. And then she had seen a light in the void and had done everything she could to reach it.

All those thoughts flew out of her mind the second she opened her emerald eyes and realized what position she was in, and with whom . She really should have been mad due to the beating he’d delivered to her, and the fact that he had messed up her hair, but her head was currently empty, and no thoughts were running through her mind. She drooled with stars in her eyes, “H-Holy shit, what a cock!” She moaned as she ground into him. This thing would rip her in half, and she would thank him for it!

“WAH!” Ichigo utilized his insane core strength as he shot back up to standing and practically flung the unfamiliar girl away. “Who-WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?! WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!”

“Candice Catnipp!” She chirped, her eyes having not left his cock despite the fact that he was hiding behind his hands, “Call me Candi, handsome.”

“O-Okay, Candi, now get the hell out!” Ichigo stammered.

‘ King, ya fucking pussy! She’s practically throwing herself at you! Fucking get some! ’ Zangetsu helpfully roared in his ear.

“But I’m already all wet.” Candice pouted, before she tugged on the knot for her top, loosening it and allowing her breasts to practically pop it off of her.

Ichigo clapped his hands to his eyes, “Wh-What are-?!”

“We’re in a shower, so I’m going to shower.” She was back to drooling over his cock, which was now visible and pointing straight at her. “I can’t do that in clothes, right?” She slipped off her shorts and threw both of the garments onto the sink.

“Okay, enjoy, I’m getting-” Ichigo started to get out, but she grabbed his hand.

“Dude, you’re all soaped up.” Candice said, frowning, “Am I that ugly that you want to run from me?” She pouted.

“What, no! You’re gorgeous!” Ichigo’s mouth ran before his brain.

“Aww, thanks!” She smirked as she hugged him. He completely stiffened up again. “You’re sweet! What’s your name?” She asked, despite already knowing it.

“I-I-Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo.” He managed to stammer out.

Oh, she wanted to devour him so badly. Fuck fighting him. They should have recruited him! To think this was what she had been missing out on! And the fact that he was a good man, kind, completely driven, and powerful as all hell without being an arrogant asshole made him boyfriend material rather than boytoy material. He was the type of guy she absolutely would have pursued romantically if they hadn’t been on opposite sides of a war! There wasn’t a fucking single Sternritter she could say that about! That was the only reason she had only ever fooled around with a couple Soldats. Fucking Gigi spreading rumors making her out to be some kind of giga slut!

And then she abruptly remembered the visions. ‘ Were those things even real? ’ She thought to herself as she remembered the betrayal. ‘ Even if those visions weren’t real, I suppose me being here already makes me a traitor. ” She reached inwards, and realized she couldn’t feel The Thunderbolt , meaning she had definitely lost Yhwach’s favor. “ Maybe this was for the best. I can’t go back, and at least I know for a fact it’ll be safer to be by Kurosaki’s side than facing him as his enemy. ’ She smiled, “You’re supposed to hug me back, you know?” She said playfully as he continued to just stand there with his body as stiff as a board, his arms at his side.

“I-I’m not a pervert!” He yelped. No, he was nothing like Keigo and had zero desire to turn into him!

She frowned, before forcing a laugh. “You’re only a pervert if your partner doesn’t want the attention.” She pouted at him, before gently rubbing her breasts against his chest, “You say I’m gorgeous, but you won’t even look at me.” She sniffled, “You’re making me feel really ugly, you know?” Ichigo flinched, before hesitantly embracing her and opening his eyes. She smiled at him, “There you go!”

“It’s… I don’t even know you!” He said softly. “This is just really weird.”

“Tell me about it. I just flew out of a gaping void!” She forced another laugh, “And that doesn’t mean we can’t get to know each other, cutie.” She smirked, “Why don’t we… help each other wash up, hmm?”

Ichigo swallowed heavily, “Uhh…just a… quick question .” His voice broke, which almost made her burst out laughing. “W-What are those hard things poking me?”

She grinned, before turning around in his arms so that his throbbing cock was between her cheeks, though she was forced to stand slightly on tiptoes as she was a bit shorter than him. She arched her back and pushed her ass harder against him, making him jerk his hips. “You mean these?” She asked slyly as she grabbed his hands and brought them up to her breasts.

Ichigo choked as she forced his fingers to pinch her nipples, moaning lightly as they found her jewelry. “A-Are they pierced?! ” He yelped shrilly as he looked over her shoulders. He goggled at the tiny green lightning bolts on each of her perky teats.

“Ehehehe…” She continued to help his hands gently massage her, biting her lip.

‘ Heh, new fetish. Nice! ’ The commentary from his Zanpakutō was summarily ignored.

“Didn’t that hurt?!” He blurted out.

Candice laughed, “Just a little. It wasn’t that bad.” She grabbed his left hand and moved it from her left to her right breast, while his right hand she guided down, “ This one on the other hand.” Ichigo practically spasmed as he realized what he was touching. “This one hurt like a bitch .” She chuckled a little nervously as she helped him feel out her jewelry. Just like all her other piercings, the green studs that passed through her clitoral hood vertically were shaped like lightning bolts.

“You’re crazy!” He said, almost in awe.

“Ehehehe, aren’t we all a little crazy?” She asked as she started to make him rub her pussy gently. “Besides, it makes me super sensitive.” She said, her voice breathier than it had been. She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip as she chanced letting go of his hand. He had gotten into it though, and was now rubbing her well enough on his own. Her left hand started to massage her lonely left breast while she reached up with her right behind her head and found purchase in his hair. She continued to rock her hips back and forth as she began to breathe harder. “Yes…” She hissed slowly as he began to grind back against her. “Ichigoooo…” She moaned as he sped up his rubbing and pinching. “Yesyesyesyes!” She started to get loud, and Ichigo had the wherewithal to let go of her breast and cover her mouth. “Mmph!” Candice continued to moan for another ten seconds as her core tightened up, before she snapped. “MMPH!” She screamed into his hand as her legs turned to jelly.

Liquid that had nothing to do with the shower splashed on the floor as Ichigo had to help hold her up. She panted as she came down from her high, “Oh, holy fuck…” She breathed out when she managed to find her legs. She let out an elated giggle as she panted against his chest, “You sure you never did anything like that before?” His face flamed red as the events of the last couple of minutes caught up to him, but managed to feel a small amount of pride for being able to get her off on his first try. He jumped as she turned around and he felt her hands close around his dick, “Hmmm, but I didn’t do a very good job. You made me scream, but I didn’t make you cum…” She trailed off as she started to gently stroke him.

Before he could say anything, the door to the bathroom opened. Candice’s eyes widened as she took in the sight of Meninas in her lingerie. “Meni!”

“Oh, Candi, I thought I sensed you!” Meninas said, staring at them.

Ichigo almost facepalmed as he realized he probably should have realized they would know each other. Hell, Candice still had her commissar hat on her head!

Meninas had been laying down, her thoughts running at kilometers per minute before she realized Ichigo was taking an awfully long time in the shower. She had cast her senses out curiously, and had been surprised to find a second Reiatsu signature inside his bathroom…and a very familiar one at that. “How did you get here?”

“Not sure.” Candice replied, pouting that her fun had been interrupted.

“Uhhh…” Ichigo said, scratching the back of his head, “She kind of… I don’t know, popped out of my shadow? Which was really weird, by the way.”

“Huh.” Candice said, “Sounds kind of like our Shadow travel. But I wasn’t trying to do that…”

“Strange. Maybe that’s how I showed up here too.” Meninas then stopped and looked at the position they were in and pouted, “Oh, I see. You won’t let me wash your back, but you let her into your shower with open arms?”

“Wah!” Ichigo yelped, letting go of Candice, “I wasn’t-I-She-” He babbled.

“Meni!” Candice glared. ‘ Damn it, now he’s going to spook again! ’ She whined inside her head.

Meninas looked at him, before she smiled softly. She reached up and unclipped her front of her bra, and the tightness of her underwear meant it popped right off of her. Ichigo’s mouth went drier than the Sahara. She then leaned over, not taking her eyes off Ichigo, before sliding her underwear off. As she straightened out, Ichigo realized she had a small patch of magenta hair shaped like a heart above her pussy. She sashayed over and opened the shower door before stepping in behind him, which broke the spell she had him under from the second his eyes had landed on her innie nipples. She pressed herself against his back as she started to get hit by the spray from her shower head, “Hmmm, that’s better.” She said softly as Ichigo twitched.

Candice grinned as she pressed against his front, ‘ Meni, I love you! ’

Ichigo was very late for school that day.

-]|[-

When Ichigo finally left his room, he had already missed all of first period. ‘ King, I fucking love you. ’ Zangetsu sounded almost awed, ‘ To think I thought you were gay! ’ Even his speech sounded different!

‘ Sounds pretty gay. ’ Ichigo shot back with a twitch of his eyes, ‘ You live in me! How the hell did you think I was gay?! ’

‘ Oh please. ’ Zangetsu scoffed, ‘ Covering your eyes and freaking out when Shihōin fucking Yoruichi flashes you? ’

Ichigo flushed at the memory before letting out a growl, ‘ Not that I didn’t… enjoy that. ’ And oh, how he had enjoyed it. What the hell had he been afraid of all this time? Meninas and Candice were amazing; he couldn’t help but feel a surge of masculine pride at the fact he had left them both limping and exhausted. The two were currently raiding his closet for some clothes. ‘ But do either of you have any idea why they showed up? ’

‘ Probably the six souls you stole from Yhwach. ’ Ichigo almost missed a step as Old Man Zangetsu casually dropped that bomb.

‘ What the fuck?! ’ Ichigo gaped, standing still on his stairs.

‘ Come take a look! ’ Zangetsu chuckled.

Ichigo sat and closed his eyes, and immediately found himself standing in his Inner World. He gaped at the sight of the two buildings which were… contaminated … for lack of a better word. The two skyscrapers were topped by the Quincy crosses he could instinctively feel belonged to Meninas and Candice. The energy from them had invaded the buildings, with electric green lightning forks racing all the way down to ground level for Candice’s, while Meninas’s was covered in hearts. “I repeat… what the fuck? ”

“ Catnipp-san popped out of your shadow when the reconstruction of the green one was finished. ” Old Man Zangetsu told him, floating in his usual ominous pose behind him.

Ichigo blanched, “Fuck, does that mean that’s going to happen four more times?!” He ran a hand through his hair, “Do I even try to go to school before it’s finished?” He then nearly slapped himself, “Wait, what the fuck am I worried about?! What do you mean I stole their souls from Yhwach?!”

“ It means that you are now their King. ” Old Man Zangetsu told him, and Ichigo’s jaw dropped, “ You have the special ability to share your soul with others, Ichigo. You have done so before, and it was that, not the Hōgyoku, that awoke the powers of Yasutora-san and Inoue-san. It is the same ability Yhwach possesses which allows him to perform the Auswählen . Only you are not a parasite like he is. Rather than continue to struggle against you in his weakened state, he released their contracts to you and closed off your connection permanently. He can now never affect you again, nor will he be able to affect your new vassals. ” He smiled in a very satisfied manner, “ All the things I could not speak about before, could not teach you before, I am now free to do so. It feels… liberating. ”

Ichigo felt a full-body shudder rush through him, “I don’t have vassals! ” He said hoarsely.

“ Call them what you wish. ” Old Man Zangetsu looked over at him, “ It changes little. Do not worry, Ichigo. You are not Yhwach, and never will be. You cannot steal their power for your own. It is just not who you are. The mechanism might be the same, but the effect is different. ”

Ichigo sighed in relief, but was still wary, “That…that’s not why they just…” He would be devastated if it was.

“ No. Rest assured, sharing your soul does not induce feelings of romantic attachment or even friendship. If it did, no one could ever stand against Him. ” Old Man Zangetsu reassured him.

Ichigo sighed in relief, and Zangetsu smirked, “ Yeah, so don’t go getting cold feet, King. We had fuckin’ rainbows  in here while ya were getting busy. ” And the slang was back, and Ichigo’s face flamed red. “ Ya liked it and we all know it. They’re hot, they clearly like ya, and they wanna be with ya. Fucking go be happy. ”

Ichigo wanted to snark, but settled for looking at his original Zanpakutō spirit, “I’ll need a lot more info on what’s going on, but later.” He said, and the old man nodded.

‘ Ya don’t know the half of it, King. ’ Zangetsu grinned ominously, and Ichigo shuddered.

“I’ll see you both later.” He said, before opening his eyes in the real world and continuing down the stairs. “ Now…why the hell didn’t Goat-chin do his usual shit this morning? ” He muttered to himself, having realized that much only when he and the girls had been drying themselves off. “Maybe he had to open the clinic early for an emergency?” He asked himself hopefully as he walked into the kitchen…

To the sight of his grinning father sitting at the table and wiggling his bushy eyebrows up and down like little moving caterpillars. Ichigo’s face flamed red for the umpteenth time that morning as Isshin laughed, “Skipping school to fool around with girls?”

“Y-You knew?!” Ichigo choked out.

“BWAHAHAHA!” Isshin roared with laughter, “Ichigo, with that stupid amount of Reiatsu you have and your lack of control over it, every spiritually aware person in Karakura knows about it!” Whether they were old enough to recognize the feeling was a different story. Ichigo’s soul forgot it was a Shinigami and started to exit his body as a regular ghost. “I’m so happy though! With that personality of yours, I was afraid you’d end up a lonely old man with forty-nine cats.” The father continued to rag on his son.

Ichigo snapped back to reality, “Damn it, Goat-chin.” He was still blushing profusely.

Isshin was still grinning, “Now go and call your girls down for breakfast and be glad I was able to convince Yuzu and Karin to leave you alone this morning. I got Yuzu to make extra food too.”

“Why didn’t they…” Ichigo trailed off.

“I told them that you had a bad night and weren’t feeling well.” Isshin said softly, his smile vanishing, “Which wasn’t un true. Pretty sure Karin knew it was bullshit though.” He muttered, and Ichigo shuddered.

“Thanks, Goat-chin.” Ichigo muttered, before his gaze sharpened on his father, “We still have a lot to talk about.” He said, and Isshin nodded.

“We do. Part of why I let you have your fun instead of stopping it.” Isshin said, before glaring at Ichigo, “But that’s the one time I’ll cover for you skipping school for hanky panky.”

“Roger.” Ichigo said clearly.

“And for Reiō’s sake, don’t make me a grandfather so soon.” Isshin snarked, and Ichigo was back to blushing.

“They knew some Quincy magic for that.” He muttered, with even the tips of his ears turning red now.

“Good, now go and get them for breakfast. I kept everything warm.” Isshin said, and a few minutes later, he fought the urge to cackle madly. Both girls were absolute bombshells, and both were dressed in Ichigo’s clothes. How his grumpy delinquent of a son managed to bag these two hotties boggled his mind. “Morning girls!” He called out, “Well aren’t you two cute! I can’t believe that grump managed this!”

“Goat-chin.” Ichigo groaned, but Candice just giggled.

“Oh, he has his good sides.” Candice grinned and hooked her arms around his.

“He’s very cute and kind.” Meninas agreed, grabbing his other arm.

“Excellent! Then please call me papa!” Ichigo was going to kill him.

“Okay, papa.” Meninas was apparently willing to play along because that came without missing a beat . Ichigo choked a little.

“That would be a bit too awkward.” Candice shook her head, “I’m already calling him daddy.” A grin more appropriate on Yoruichi’s face crossed hers.

That even got to Isshin, and both he and his son sputtered. “Wahahaha!” Isshin finally roared in laughter, “Oh, I like you two.” He said, “Such a joyous day!” And then Candice and Meninas blinked and started to gape (Candice a lot more than Meninas.) as Isshin used a Shunpo to appear next to the poster of Masaki, “Oh, mother, daddy gained two more daughters!” Candice and Meninas goggled at the sight.

Ichigo groaned and fell forward, slamming his head on the table. He then lifted his head slightly and whacked himself again.

Candice started to giggle, while Meninas just smiled, ‘ Is… is this what family is supposed to be? This seems…fun. ’ The magenta-haired girl wondered.

Candice elbowed her lightly, “Can you imagine this from either of our families?” She murmured to her best friend.

“Not a chance.” Meninas pouted, knowing full well her parents would be horrified. She grabbed Ichigo’s collar, “Come on, Ichigo. No need to kill your brain cells. It’s funny!”

“You’re right.” Ichigo sprang up, “I’ll kill his instead!”

They blinked as he vanished as well, and an entirely new table popped up in front of the poster. ‘ For gags only? ’ They both read the note on the table in abject confusion.

“Will you cut this shit out?!” Ichigo grabbed his father and German Suplexed him through the table. Isshin’s leg twitched in the air as Ichigo got up, “Ahh, that’s better!” He clapped his hands as he went to go pull out the chairs for his gaping new girlfriends.

“Is he, like, okay?” Candice almost decided to go over to start nudging him with her toe.

“You can hit your father?” Meninas just looked confused.

“Oh, that’s just how we play.” Isshin was right as rain and took his seat almost faster than they could follow. They both almost got whiplash.

“Moron is constantly waking the neighbors when I fling him out my window.” Ichigo grumbled.

Meninas tapped her chin, “I’m pretty sure if I even thought about doing that, my parents would have disowned me.” She said airily, with just the tiniest undercurrent of sadness.

Candice snorted, “Mine definitely would have.” She pecked his cheek before taking her seat, “Happiest day of my life was when I moved out.”

Isshin winced, “I take it your parents were as demanding and strict as Ishida Ryūken?”

“Ha.” Candice laughed bitterly, “He’s not even close. My parents literally planned my days out for me. Best thing they ever did for me was introduce me to Meni.”

‘ Oh, holy shit, they’re both ojou-samas! ’ Ichigo twitched as he made that realization. He took their hands and gave them some small squeezes, “Well, I hope you can breathe a little easier here.” He said softly.

Candice beamed at him, “You bet! Hell, even without our… fun …” She grinned sultrily at him, earning her another blush. “This is so much better than our last… home .”

Neither Kurosaki missed the implications. “Well, let’s save any heavy thoughts for later! Let’s enjoy Yuzu-chan’s cooking!”

“Thank you! Gosh, I feel like I haven’t eaten in days.” Meninas declared as they began filling their plates with Yuzu’s delicious breakfast. Meninas and Candice’s eyes lit up as soon as they took their first bites, “It’s soooo gooood!” The two said at the same time.

“Heh, that’s Yuzu for you.” Ichigo said as he took a sip of his miso soup. “She’s one of my two little sisters.” The foursome chatted about light things as they ate, with Ichigo learning that Candice was a very girly tomboy. She was feisty and loved a lot of activities more suited for delinquents, if he was honest, but also took immaculate care of her appearance. To the point Meninas chimed in that ruining her hair was a death sentence in total seriousness.

He was pretty sure he earned some brownie points when he blurted out that Candice would be gorgeous even if she had just rolled out of bed.  

Meninas, on the other hand, surprised him when she told him she was a kickboxer. Somehow, he wouldn’t have called that for her. She didn’t look all too dissimilar from Orihime despite her larger build, so he had kind of expected her to be a healer of sorts. Apparently, she’d broken the jaws of a few men who got frisky with her before.

But eventually, the food ran out and so did their topics for small talk. “So,” Isshin said softly. “What are your plans for now? I… assume  you won’t be going back to your King.”

“He’s not our King. Not anymore.” Candice shot at him before her brain caught up to her mouth. She pursed her lips, “We don’t know.” She said, “Meni and I obviously want to stick together…” The verdette looked at Ichigo, “And we obviously want to stay with Ichi…” She beamed at him, which got another flush. “Hehehe… but beyond that, we have no idea.”

“We can’t  go back to him.” Meninas said softly, “They’d kill us. So, we have… nothing now. Not even our clothes since I don’t think either of us want to wear those uniforms anymore.” She pouted. She liked that jacket and her style!

“Well, why don’t you-” Isshin started to say, but Ichigo cut him off.

“We should probably avoid making any real plans, at least for a while.” His son stated, making Isshin frown at him.

“Why?” It was Meninas who asked the question.

“Because we’re getting four more… surprise guests.” Ichigo winced lightly at the thought.

“What the heck?” Candice blurted, “How can you know that?!”

Ichigo looked over at her, “Because I currently have an electric green and a magenta Quincy cross in my Inner World, with four more scattered in the distance. You popped up when the building carrying the green one finished rebuilding itself, according to Zangetsu.”

Isshin let out a groan, “Son, I love you, but can you be normal for five minutes?!”

Candice and Meninas had paled drastically, “Wh-what color are they?!” She grabbed his shirt urgently, “What color?!” She demanded.

Ichigo blanched a little at how urgent her tone was, as well as the feeling of desperation he could feel in both her and Meninas, “One is a bright yellow.” He said, and the two stiffened.

“That’s either very good or very, very bad.” Meninas said softly, “If it’s a short blonde girl, we’re good. That’s Lili and she’s our friend.”

“But if it’s a short thing completely covered in a cloak…” Candice bit her index finger on the intermediate flange, “You kill it . Immediately! Before it can get its bearings!”

“Woah, why?!” Ichigo gaped at her.

“It’s one of Yhwach’s Royal Guard.” Candice said, “We have no idea what its power actually is , but we saw it use it once.” She felt a full body shudder run through her, “It turned a man into a… a meatball  in the most… bloody way possible.”

“Holy shit…” Ichigo flinched as well, ‘ Is it close to completion, Old Man? ’

‘ It is not. One of the red ones will finish first. However, you may lay your women’s fears to rest. None of our guests will be the ones they fear. ’ Old Man Zangetsu replied without concern. ‘ Not to say you should trust them with your life as soon as they appear, but they will all be potential allies. ’

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief, “Okay, Old Man Zangetsu says that you two can relax. He told me that our guests will potentially be allies.”

“How can he possibly know that?!” Candice demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

Ichigo coughed and shook his head, “I don’t want to have to explain it half a dozen times. Can you just trust me on this one?”

She was silent for a moment before she nodded and her shoulders relaxed, “Okay.” She said softly, and then breathed the tension out. Ichigo smiled and leaned forward, pecking her on the lips. Her hand came up to his face and she tried to deepen it, but he pulled away. He wasn’t making out in front of his father. Meninas smiled as he did the same to her. Candice smiled, “Good then. I didn’t want to even imagine having to fight one of them as weak as I am now…” She grumbled under her breath, “ Spent years training my Schrift and I can’t even use it. ”

He tilted his head at the foreign words, and then looked at his father… who had his phone out and was videoing him.  He had clearly caught him kissing them both. Ichigo’s left eye twitched, “Goat-chin…” He growled out, and his father smirked. “Delete it. Now.”

“Nyeh!” Isshin stuck his tongue out. Meninas and Candice seized Ichigo’s arms to keep him from jumping over the table. “Hahaha! They can already read you so well, son!”

“Predictable.” Meninas nodded with a serious tone, which was ruined by the small smile on her face.

“Grrr…” Ichigo growled as Candice laughed.

Isshin put his phone away, “Alright, so if we’re not making any plans now… you should be trying to make it to third period, Ichigo.” He glared at his son, “It’s the first day and you’re already skipping class. Your GPA is going to drop again.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Ichigo groaned, “Stupid Hollows. Can’t they just make appointments for after school?”

“They’re rarely considerate.” Candice giggled again, nudging him.

“And while you’re in school, we should be figuring out how much of our power and techniques we can still use.” Meninas said to Candice.

“I’ll take you to Urahara’s, then.” Isshin said, “Though we should probably get you some clothes first… maybe I should see if I still have any of Masaki’s old clothes? Might have something that would fit you girls…” Though that would be a huge ask for Meninas. She was both much taller and much bustier than Masaki. He scratched his beard in thought, before he looked over at Ichigo, “Hey, Ichigo, now that you’re officially a Substitute recognized by the Seireitei, what kind of salary did they give you? I’d look at mine, but that would give away that I’m alive…”

Ichigo stared at him in confusion, “I get paid?! ”

The two looked at one another, before Isshin rubbed the bridge of his nose, “Right, Urahara’s it is. I’ll get that figured out for you too.” He grumbled, “Of course you get paid!”

“No one told me shit!” Ichigo snapped, “Not even when they gave me my badge!”

“That thing probably is just tracking you and your Reiatsu. It might even be able to restrict you forcibly. Most Shinigami would never have even heard of it, so it’s useless as an ID too. Don’t use it. In fact, shove it somewhere and never look at it again.” Isshin said seriously, “Here, take my Gokon Tekkō.” He passed his son the same style of glove Rukia had used to eject his soul many a time, “We’ll have to teach you how to exit your body without it.”

Ichigo growled in irritation at the Soul Society giving him the useless badge. Like yeah, he understood the caution and all since he did attack the Seireitei to save Rukia, but it still pissed him off, “Fine then. I’m going to school.”

Candice smirked, “Not without some goodbye kisses!” She followed him up the stairs with Meninas on her heels.

Isshin had to put his foot down and bang on his door a few times when they still hadn’t come down fifteen minutes later.