Chapter 3
The talk lasted just as long as the tea and the food did. However, it was packed with information that looked to be a surprise to Rukiea as well. That simple fact that Urahara was not holding back information from him helped int the long run of trusting the man. More so now he knew him more personally as his informer on the shinigami world. In the rough half-hour, they spent talking they laid out a training plan that in Urahara opinion would no only get him up to where he would have been having he gone to their school. But also would make whoever came after Rukiea thinks twice about going agency him. If they were not a captain that is though the likelihood of the Soul Society sending a captain for an unseated shinigami was not something he thought would happen.
Now they were in the basement though it looked more like an underground cave than anything else. Ichigo trying his best not to revert to his other type of powers as Urahara did his best to kick the shit out of him while making small comments on how he could do this or that. However, by the time Ichigo had a third half done spell on his lips Urahara stopped and gave him a strange look.
“You keep holding back what is wrong?” As Urahara stood there looking him over. His stance was loos sword at his side Ichigo sighed. Halling his sword the grate behemoth of a thing to rest over his shoulders and back he made a waving motion with his hand. He completed the half-formed spell aiming it at the bolder two feet behind Urahara. Making it not only combust in a blast of blue fire but also scorched the ground around it and even under Urahara’s feet for a good fifteen feet around where the bolder stood.
“I sometimes forgot I do not need to.” He waived at the not scorched earth under the older man’s feet. “Do that if I am just sparing to learn something.” Ichigo sighed seeing the almost angry look on the man’s face. “I just did not think I needed it when I was trying to learn more about using a sword than using spells like that.” He paused and with a thoughtful look on his face he muttered mostly to himself “Well I could use both I do need to know some of how to swing this thing so I do not hurt myself with it.” Glaring at the blade he said, “Oh hush you if you wanted to help then you would have already done so.” Ichigo laughed and a moment later a strange black being stood next to him. It seemed to have an odd number of arm totaling on seven and if you blinked or looked at it a different way one of them seemed to shift from one side of the body to the other. Its face seemed like a human in shape alone the mouth was light up from the inside by a strange orange glow and the hair completely obscured the eyes. The being looked to be naked but the skin also seemed to be made of shadow so it appeared to so no gender only a smooth black allover with no discernable parts besides what looked to be a rather large set of breasts with no nipples on them. The hair its self looked to be blowing in a nonexistent wind and looked to rest just above the sweal on the ass.
When it spoke it was with a strange voice that mostly sounded like if the wind wanted to speak. Barly their words spoke in such a way they seemed to convey familiarity of the person they spoke to and fondness but lacked a gender in the flux of the voice as they spoke in a tone that belied non of if they were male or female. They also seemed to speak with more than one voice the pitch of each just off enough to allow the person listening to know that. However, it also grated on the edge of the listener’s mind as if it was a warning. One such as to make the person not want to being to speak anymore. For fear, they lose their minds.
“Oh, my precious boy I did not think you needed help. I thought you were getting your ass handed to you just fine by yourself.” They looked over at Urahara the smile never leaving their face as they spoke “Though I do think a little more institution might help.”
When the strange being turned to him Urahara had to hide a wince and fight not to step back away from the strange thing. He could not or would not he did not understand wich it was looking at the being that was now looking at him. A strange need to curl up in the corner of a dark room came over him. Right alongside the need to understand it and find out what it was and how it worked. The slight look of what he assumed to be amusement that crossed the beings face3 made it look as if his thought were heard and found amusing by the being.
“I am the Zanpakutō of this my precious one and I have no name to speak I need no name for my precious needs not call me anything if he so wishes not to.” She walked a little closer to Urahara and this time he could not stop the involuntary step back he took from it. That action just made the Zanpakutō spirit smile at him. “I know what my precious wants with just a flick of his wrist. I know who my precious wants to kill to maim to fight with no words. I also know when my precious needs more of my power. The only thing my precious needs in instruction on how to weald me properly.” With every word the being walked closer to Urahara ever so slowly it made its way to Urahara’s side. The same smile on its face as if Urahara was just as amusing as a toddler asking why the sky was blue.
Though at the end of its speech it disappeared and was back at Ichigo’s side in just an instant. Arms wrapping around him as if it wanted to cradle him but had no idea how. With so many arms fluttering over the boy he seemed to flicker in and out of existence as the being whispered into his ear.
With everything going on everyone seemed to have forgotten about Rukiea who had fallowed the two fo them down the ladder to watch the training. However, seemingly against her and anyone better judgment, she spoke.
“Urahara what is going on. If that is what it says they are how could Ichigo talk to and manifest his Zanpakutō spirit already?” Though she did have the mind to hide behind Urahara when the thing looked over at her.
Urahara just sighed and said “Well it is my guess is that because of the line of work out Ichigo has gotten himself into. He might just be stronger then we thought him to be and for that reason, he was able to communicate with his Zanpakutō spirit a lot earlier than anyone else.”
Ichigo smiled and nodded “Oh yea I have been talking to them for a very long time. I think it was when I hit seven was the first time they spoke to me. It helped in the long run knowing more about what was going on and what the hallows were. Who to talk to about them and not sound like an utter loon about it all.” A laugh wheezed its way out of Ichigo at that “Oh you have no idea heaven does not know what they are and hell could care less as long as they do not enter any of the levels and start eating the souls down there. So no one had any information on them. That made it extremely hard to understand where they came from. How to keep them away and what caused them to appear.” Ichigo turned to his Zanpakutō spirit and said “Stop trying to scare them just because I am upset at the girl does not mean you can leak that much energy around to make then afraid.” The being sighed and at that moment the feel of the room wich no one had noticed change lifted. It was no longer an oppressing malevolent dark feel to space. It went back to just being an underground cavern nothing more nothing less.
The next moment the being itself fluttered a moment before being gone altogether. Leaving Ichigo to stop his blinking in and out of existence stealing on being there fully once more.
Ichigo smiled at the two and scratched the back of his head and said “Sorry about that they like to test people sometimes make sure that I am safe and all. Sometimes I do end up doing dumb things like going into a building full of demons with just three knives and one gun.”
The3 two of them just looked at him like he was crazy for a few moments before Urahara gave a much to loud laugh and got them back into training. Per Ichigo’s arrangement, they only have a few more hours before he had to go home. And Urahara wanted to make sure they got enough of the basics down to justify such a short training session.
After it was over Ichigo showing off a few more spells he knew so that Urahara could get a feel of the different power needed for it and come up with a plan on how to teach Ichigo kedo. Ichigo left leaving Rukiea at the shop letting her know that there was no way she would be sleeping in his closet and if he found her there. He was more than capable of making sure she could not enter his house at all for anything. That made Urahara laugh and then begrudgingly offer her a place till they could fix the mess she made.
On his way home Ichigo dropped off a new clean dish make to its owner. Checking on the little girl to make sure she was healing. And stopped to get his sister the present he told her he would get her. Having it gift wrapped so she could not see what it was till he was ready for her to open it.
When he got home he found his dad sulking by the framed poster of his mother. Looking for all the world like a kicked puppy. Smiling at that he called out “Yuza I am home and I got a surprise for you.”
Hearing her call back from the kitchen and knowing she ould be just finishing dinner he made his way over to her. Setting the package down on the counter and out of the way he swatted her hands away and said “Oh no not before you finish because I know you will burn dinner if I let you open it now.” That earned him a pouty glare from her but she did turn back to her cooking.
“I am almost done why don’t you go clean up and I will wait for after dinner dishes are clean to open it.” Nodding Ichigo started to make his way to the bathroom to do just that. When his dad launched into a tirade of how his kids ignored him and how he should get more respect around the house. Making Keirn kick him in the shin as she said: “Well maybe act like an adult and we would respect what you have to say more.”
Ichigo just laughed under his breath at w3hat happened and continued his way to take a shower and change. It only took him twenty minutes to do both and by the time he was done and back down for dinner everything was set. It was an affair with his dad still sulking but trying to pry where Ichigo was out of his Yuza trying her best to distract not only herself from the present Ichiogo got her. But also her father from annoying her bother to much. Kerin was talking over everyone telling a story that only got half-heard about what happened at her soccer practices that day. Ichigo just sat there looking at his family not saying anything as they all passed around food and finished their meal.
It only took another twenty minutes for everything to be cleaned and Yuza to have her prize sat in front of her at the dining table. She had tried to guess what it was during dinner but Ichigo gave nothing away and now she got to open it. She tore into it fast but carefully making Ichigo laugh softly at her enthusiasm. When she got it open she squealed in delight and launched herself at her brother. Crying and saying thank you over and over. All the while thinking of all thing things she could make with the kitchen aid and even more so how she could finally make homemade noodles. Something she had always wanted to do but hated the whole process of rolling them out and cutting them by hand.
When the evening had ended Ichigo was once more in his bed arm over his eyes contemplating all that had happened over the last few days. Thinking it would only get more hectic from then on. Knowing even if he wanted there was no way he would back down from helping Rukiea nor from the responsibility of killing the hallows that infested his town despite the protections he had placed years ago.