A Nascent King II (Patreon)

Hey guys. I'm a FUCKING idiot and forgot to do this in the middle of the month. I'm sorry. :cry:

This is NOT this week's post. Merely me correcting my stupidity.

-]|[-

“Yo!” Ichigo said as he walked into the classroom.

“Ah, Kurosaki-san.” Miss Ochi raised an eyebrow, “Good of you to join us. You only missed…” She pretended to look at her watch, “Oh, two periods.”

“Sorry about that. I wasn’t feeling well last night.” Ichigo made his excuses.

“I see. Well, I hope you’re feeling better.” The teacher replied, before waving him off to his seat.

He eyed his friends, who were all giving him questioning looks with raised eyebrows. He simply shook his head and took his seat. Thankfully, math was just a bit of recap, which he aced. He had always been good at it. Then they had lunch together, and Keigo predictably went ballistic. “ICHIGOOOOOO!” Keigo sobbed next to him, “What is with that!?” he pointed at Chad, Orihime, and Ishida who were chatting with one another. Orihime was apparently in a spirited retelling of something and was acting in ways that made her chest bounce. No doubt Chizuru would be attacking in a moment. “This is all wrong! Why are they hanging out together?!” He looked like he was having a conniption, “It’s the beauty, the beast, and the nerd! The Princess, the gorilla, and the four-eyed dork! It’s an unholy alliance and I don’t get it! What could have-”

“Give it a rest already.” Ichigo lightly slammed his fist into the top of his head, “What’s wrong with them being friends?” He then went to join them, and that just sent the brunette into even more hysterics, “Sup?”

“Kurosaki.” Uryū glared at him, “What the hell had your Reiatsu fluctuating all morning?”

“Un!” Orihime nodded, “And you even skipped class! You felt really excited!” She tapped her chin lightly.

“Don’t worry about it.” Ichigo said blandly, fighting valiantly not to blush.

Thankfully, he was saved, not by the bell, but by Chizuru. “HIME!!!” The raging lesbian grabbed Orihime’s boobs from behind, getting a squeak of shock from their healer.

And then Tatsuki kicked her in the face, “Damn it, hands off! We’ve already been through this twice today!” Tatsuki growled, “How many times do I have to teach you this lesson old man?”

“Hah.” Chizuru stood, “My skull is too thick to learn it!”

“Clearly!” Tatsuki snapped, before glancing at Ichigo, “Sup? Why’d you skip?”

“I was busy.” Ichigo said shortly.

“With what?” Tatsuki asked, before shaking her head, “You know what, never mind.” She waved it off, apparently not caring too much. “You even missed the new kid’s introduction.” She pointed out a new blonde in the room with straight-cut blonde hair that went to his jaw. His grin exposed his upper teeth.

“He looks like he’s twenty-seven.” Ichigo deadpanned, wondering who the hell he was. Maybe a Shinigami? Not one he ever met in the Seireitei if that was the case, though why they would feel the need to do that escaped him.

“Right?” Tatsuki asked, “So freaking odd, but whatever. Hirako Shinji, I think his name was. Wrote everything backwards.”

“Weird.” Ichigo shrugged, “I suppose I’ll meet him eventually.”

Their next teacher came in, and they all took their seats. It was a science class this time, which Ichigo also enjoyed, so he was paying close attention. Therefore, he was completely unprepared when his shadow surged upwards, drawing the attention of every spiritually aware human in the room, consisting of the usual suspects along with Tatsuki, Chizuru, Ryō, Michiru, Mahana, Keigo, and Mizuiro. The shadow widened and then a girl with very dark purple (nearly black) hair wearing the same uniform Meninas and Candice wore dropped from it. To the sight of every non spiritually aware person in the room, it was like the screaming girl had just popped out of the ceiling.

“WAH!” Ichigo tried to get out of the way, but it was too late. Their heads smashed into one another with loud cracks, and they both slumped to the floor, clutching them. “Owowowow…”

“What the hell was that?!” The class burst into astonished murmurs.

Their teacher was looking at the ceiling incredulously, “The ceiling isn’t damaged! Where did she come from?! Did we just witness a quantum phasing event?!” He looked like Christmas had come early.

Chizuru meanwhile looked super excited, “It’s raining girls!? Hallelujah, it’s raining girls!” She held her arms up, “Come into my bosom!” She was disappointed when no one fell out of the sky.

Ichigo rubbed his head as he glared at the girl, who was glaring back. She was surrounded by unfamiliar people, and just felt like she lived through everything that she had seen in those awful visions. She was stressed. Extremely so. She was pissed off. Her head was aching. And she wanted to fucking kill something! So, she did what she always did when she was pissed off. She exploded.

Except she didn’t. She gasped as she realized she couldn’t feel her Schrift. She couldn’t even feel her Vollständig! ‘Oh no, did everything I saw really happen!?’ She clutched at her neck, her throat feeling tight as she started to have a panic attack. She was just about to draw her sword and start slashing when Ichigo, sensing danger, hopped to his feet.

“I-I think we should go to the nurse.” He said, and scooped her up in a Princess carry.

“H-hey! What do you think you’re-!” Her voice vanished as Ichigo ran out of the room.

The rest of his classmates and teacher stared at the door in disbelief.

…

‘Please tell me I can use Shunpo in my body!’ He asked his Zanpakutō, fighting to keep a grip on the girl, who had started to struggle. ‘And why the fuck didn’t you warn me?!’

‘And miss this kind of comedy!? Get real, King!’ Zangetsu’s howling laughter filled his head.

‘You cannot, but that doesn’t mean you’re powerless. Allow me to guide you this one time, and pay attention. You must learn this for yourself.’ Old Man Zangetsu said, and it felt like Ichigo’s body went on autopilot. Reishi started to gather around his feet in a very different manner from Shunpo, and then they were on the school roof, having zipped out of the building and then floated up in the blink of an eye.

“Woah!” Ichigo almost tripped at the sudden stop and let go of the girl, allowing her to stand on her own. “Sorry about tha-” And then he was ducking the swing of a sword, which would have taken his head clean off. “Woah, put that away!”

“DIE!” Bambietta Basterbine was completely panicking. Her memories were a jumbled mess inside her head, her powers weren’t working, she still wasn’t fucking sure if she had actually died or not, and this was just the WORST FUCKING DAY EVER! She shot a condensed ball of Reishi at the man in front of her, and he dodged out of the way. Even without her Schrift, it was enough to blow a tile to smithereens.

“Fucking hell!” Ichigo cursed, ‘A little help?! I can’t use either of you in my body!’

‘You’ve already used the technique you need once, Ichigo. You merely need to do so again, under your own will, this time.’ He fed the memory of Blut Vene to Ichigo, though he had only ever used Blut Arterie so far.

“Enough!” Ichigo yelled as the characteristic glowing blue veins appeared on his arms, and he knocked her sword away. Surging forward with speed, he grabbed her wrist and hip checked her, throwing her over his shoulder. She gasped for breath from the impact. Not missing a moment, he quickly mounted her, pressing his right foot onto her left arm, and keeping a hold of her right arm with his left hand. She continued to struggle, “Stop it, damn it!” He grabbed her face to keep her still.

Tears instantly sprang to her eyes, “I don’t wanna die!” A choked sob escaped her.

‘What the fuck happened to her?’ Ichigo asked internally, “I’m not going to hurt you!” He said, and repeated it a few times as he let go of her face.

‘She appears traumatized.’ Old Man Zangetsu said softly, though Ichigo had already known that.

They both breathed hard for a moment, before Ichigo let go of her and got up, backing away with his hands up, “What’s your name?” He asked softly, trying to keep from setting her off again.

She slowly sat up, “B-Bambietta.” She said softly, “Bambietta Basterbine.”

“Kurosaki Ichigo.” He replied, and she inhaled sharply. She realized that yes, he did indeed match the man she’d seen in the Daten.

Her eyes narrowed, ‘But that was Blut Vene. And Hirenkyaku. The Daten didn’t say anything about…’ She bit her lip. “S-Sorry…”

“It’s okay.” He replied softly, and offered her his hand, “You reacted much worse than the other two.” He muttered to himself.

She had grabbed it, but that made her stiffen, “O-Other two?”

“Yeah.” Ichigo hadn’t meant for her to hear that, “Uhh, you wouldn’t know a Candice and a Meninas, would you?”

Bambietta recoiled as a memory sprang into place. “No…stop… please stop, Gigi…!” Candice and Meninas holding her hands, stone faced and looking away. Gigi’s- no, Giselle’s hands around her throat… “…Yeah, I know them.” She croaked out, a frog in her throat. She didn’t want him to see her cry and she whirled around.

Ichigo frowned, feeling the grief, betrayal, and rage flowing out of her. He opened his mouth to say something, but someone beat him to the punch. “Ichigo!” His gaze snapped to the side, and his eyes widened as Candice and Meninas, both wearing new clothes (consisting of jeans and tees so tight they looked painted on.) landed on the roof. “Jeez, in class? What even is your…” Candice stopped talking, “…luck?” She finished weakly as Bambietta turned around.

“Bambi…?” Meninas said softly.

There was a moment of silence, and all Ichigo could think was, ‘Oh boy…’

“Is that all you have to say?” Bambietta clenched her fists, “Is that all you bitches have to say?!” She roared out, “I thought we were friends! How could you?!”

“What do you want us to say?” Candice asked softly, “That we’re sorry? We don’t even know if we all saw the same things…”

“It would fucking be a start, bitch!” Bambi bared her teeth, “I…I needed help, and you… you…” She teared up and dropped to her knees, “You let her kill me…”

“What?!” Ichigo gasped, his gaze snapping to the two girls.

They both looked mortified, “Bambi… nothing we could have done would have saved you…”

“So, you didn’t even try?!” Bambietta snapped out, “I…I thought we were friends!”

“We were.” Meninas closed her eyes, “But you know what the Wandenreich was like… You weren’t the only one who lost.” She looked away.

Candice growled, “Haschwalth captured and executed BG9 and Cang Du himself.”

Bambietta flinched, and opened her mouth to speak, but Ichigo got their first, “What. The fuck.” He said dangerously, “Are you talking about?”

The three girls flinched, and then Candice dropped her shoulders. “Ichigo…” She said, stopping, and then bowed her head, “Do-do you know about the Kaiser Gesang?”

“As of last night, yes.” He crossed his arms, staring at her with a coldness she very much disliked.

“Then you know the end of the nine years of power are approaching…” She bit her lip, “…What do you think people waiting a thousand years to avenge a genocide will do?”

Ichigo’s jaw clenched, ‘Fucking hell, I was trying not to think of it.’ His fists balled up, ‘Even if we beat Aizen we have another fucking war to worry about?!’

‘I did warn you of what I feared, Ichigo.’ Old Man Zangetsu said softly, ‘You are forewarned, at least.’

‘And we have plenty of time to kick your ass into gear to prepare.’ Zangetsu chimed in, with the sound of a fist meeting a palm echoing in his head.

Ichigo’s jaw clenched slightly, “We were meant to be enemies.” He said tonelessly. He finally remembered the momentary vision he’d had during his and Yhwach’s power struggle. Two of the girls he’d seen himself fighting were his girls.

Candice swallowed, “…If the visions we had were true, you completely destroyed my arm with your Getsuga.”

Ichigo’s teeth were in serious danger of breaking as Meninas stepped forward, “It doesn’t have to come to pass.” She walked closer to Ichigo and took his cheeks in her hands, “What we saw did not happen. And it can never happen now. Nothing is the same anymore, and I refuse to be your enemy.”

Ichigo glared at her for a few moments, before sighing and wrapping an arm around her back to hug her.

Candice looked at Bambietta, who was looking at the two with confusion and… longing? Candice blinked, but shook her head, “Bambi.” She kneeled next to her, “We were bitches. Horrid fucking bitches. Me, you, Lili, all of us.” She said, and snapped when Bambietta looked like she was going to protest. “Don’t fucking deny it! Every single one of us were awful! But what we apparently let Gigi do to you was worse, and we got what we fucking deserved in the end.” Bambietta remembered that much. Fighting side-by-side with her equally zombified friends. Candice bit her lip, “And Meni and I will spend forever trying to make it up to you if that’s what it takes.” She stood and offered Bambi her hand, “But we have another chance now. We’re away from that awful place and those awful people. We shouldn’t waste it.”

Bambietta glared at her, and took her hand. Candice smiled as she helped her friend up, but Bambietta glared harder and squeezed her hand, hard. “If Giselle shows up too, fucking keep her away from me, or this time I’ll be the one killing her.” Candice nodded, rapidly. Bambietta let go, and Candice hastily started blowing on her fingers.

Meninas shuddered, “She did the same to us, just without the…before.” She said softly, “Like Candice said… we had karma swing back around.”

“What did she even do?” Ichigo asked, and Candice went to answer, before deciding against it.

“You know what? We don’t want to have to repeat stuff either. We’ll save it for when we have that big talk.” She replied, and went over to hug him too.

“Alright then.” He said, and wrapped his other arm around her waist.

“Just know that Giselle Gewelle is a fucking freak.” Bambietta spat, looking away. “I see you didn’t waste any time getting buddy-buddy with him, Candi.” Candice frowned, “Didn’t expect Meni to get in on it too.” Candice glared, and Bambi smirked at her. “Sluts.”

Ichigo glared at her for the insult, but Candice snapped, “Fuck off, Bambi.” She was going to say more, but shook her head, “We all need an attitude adjustment, otherwise we’re going to end up killing each other.” She let go of Ichigo, “How’d you even show up?” She asked, trying to move away from that topic.

“She showed up in the middle of Physics falling out of the ceiling on top of me.” Ichigo deadpanned. He was slightly worried that their apparent friend had called the two sluts. Normally he’d just wave it off, but, well… he’d known them both for less than six hours and had already plowed both of them. Repeatedly.

Bambietta winced, “You have a hard head.” She rubbed her noggin as she glared at him, “Damn near cracked mine open.”

Candice and Meninas giggled, “Sh-shit, do we have to wipe any memories?” Candice asked him.

Ichigo snorted, “Honestly, at this point I’m convinced half the class can see ghosts anyway. I’m surprised Orihime, Chad, and Uryū haven’t shown up yet.” He then stopped, thought about something, and started to snicker, “Heh, s-so much for him being the last Quincy.”

Bambietta chuckled, “It wasn’t even true either! His father is a Quincy as well, and a much better one than he is.” She looked at her two friends as Ichigo gaped, “How’d you show up?”

“I’m not sure.” Meninas said, “I was unconscious.”

Candice grinned slightly, “He was taking a shower and I popped out of the wall and landed on top of him.” She then made a very suggestive motion with her hand and measured him out against her tummy for Bambietta’s benefit. “Ehehehe.”

“No fucking way!” Bambietta goggled. Candice was ‘measuring’ him above her belly button! “Did you already… of fucking course you did. And you too, Meni?! You fucking sluts!”

“Oh, like you wouldn’t have locked him down too! He’s the only ‘boyfriend material’ guy any of us have ever met!” Candice snapped and stomped her feet, “Ugh, fuck Gigi for spreading those rumors about me! Why were we even friends with her?”

“What rumors?” Ichigo asked cautiously.

Candice clenched her jaw before sighing, “Ugh, okay, so absolutely none of the men in the Wandenreich were boyfriend material. Half of them were psychopaths and the other half had their heads so far up their own asses they were coming out of their own throats. But none of us were about to be spinsters. It was cold and lonely in the Silbern, and we would just go insane if we avoided people! So, we occasionally had sex with some of the lower ranked Soldats.” She admitted, hoping really hard Bambietta hadn’t just ruined their relationship practically before it started, “Except Gigi was a bitch like Bambi said, and everyone knew it. She also wasn’t as… ahem… sexy as Meni, Bambi, and me. Plus, her powers made everyone afraid of her. All of that combined meant she had a really hard time finding any guys both brave enough and actually interested in her. She got jealous and started spreading a rumor that I was a slut that would open my legs for absolutely anyone. It wasn’t fucking true! And I would never sleep with anyone else if I was in an actual relationship!” Her tone was almost pleading by the end.

“I trust you, Candi.” Ichigo murmured softly as he pulled her closer and kissed her hair. Candice sagged in relief. “Thanks for telling me. Honestly though, why the fuck were you still friends with her?”

“Because we were the only strong girls around.” Bambietta said through gritted teeth. “And we needed to stick together and protect each other.”

“Girl power.” Meninas said lackadaisically, lazily pumping a fist.

Ichigo huffed through his nose, “The more I hear about your lives before this, the more I hate it. None of you should have had to go through that kind of bullshit.” He let go of them, “I have to get back to class. Will you three be okay on your own?” He asked, and his two girls pouted, but nodded. “Okay, I’ll see you later.” He gave them both quick kisses, before vanishing. It was a good opportunity to practice that new Hirenkyaku technique.

“Lucky bitches.” Bambietta grumbled, “Of course you’d lock up the one good guy around as soon as you escape Silbern.”

“Meni and I are already sharing.” Candi smirked at her, “So be a good girl and maybe we’ll share with you too.”

Bambietta twitched, “Bitch.” She looked away, blushing slightly.

“And be glad I didn’t retaliate when you called me a slut, little Miss Black Widow.” Candice glared at her, and Bambietta flinched.

“Let’s not fight.” Meninas said softly, lightly chopping both of them on the head.

“Yeah, fine.” Bambietta said softly, “And you don’t have to worry… I’m not doing that ever again.” She went completely stone faced, “Not now that I know what it feels like to be betrayed and killed like that…” She whispered, fighting the urge to gnaw on her lip.

Candice hugged her hesitantly. Bambietta didn’t hug back, but rested her head against Candice’s. “Let’s go.” Candice said softly, and the three vanished.

-]|[-

“…” Ichigo stared at his room in disbelief, “What the hell, Goat-chin?” In place of his old bed was a large king size that barely fit in the room.

Things had gone well after school. He’d managed to dodge most of the questions about Bambietta landing on his head, and more importantly had managed to dodge the questions about the morning’s… activities. He’d met up with his father and the three girls at Urahara’s, and the man had delivered for them. A brand new Denreishinki would replace the detecting function of his now useless badge, and more importantly would allow him to access his new bank account.

He and his father had goggled at how much money was already in there, as well as his basic salary. Apparently they were giving him one hell of a carrot to go along with the stick. Though Isshin had reasoned that he had attained Bankai, so a Lieutenant’s salary wasn’t THAT far out there. And with the conversion rate to human currency? Ichigo was seriously debating not going to college.

He’d managed to wave off Urahara’s interest in the ongoing events until later, again going with the excuse that he didn’t want to have another couple conversations about the same thing.

For the rest of the day, Ichigo had been slapped upside the head at how poor his everything was compared to his combat skills. Uryū had been right about how garbage the Denreishinki was. When a Hollow had appeared and the device had gone off the first time that day, it was several minutes after all three former Sternritters (he had no idea what that meant) had detected it. He hadn’t noticed a thing until it had gone off, something all of them noticed.

Bambietta had immediately gotten pissed off over his lack of real detection ability. So as his father took the girls shopping, Bambietta stayed behind to teach him and just told Candice to get her clothes too since they were similar sizes. Not out of the kindness of her own heart though. She had an enormous amount of stress and had vented it on Ichigo. She spent the next several hours beating him over the head with lessons on Reiatsu detection. Once she was satisfied he was at least passable on that metric, she started to work with him on how to actually control his own Reiryoku. Honestly, knowing what he did now, he was kind of pissed that Rukia had never focused on it back when he had been a fledgling substitute. It just made everything harder for him now.

Once they had gone home, both Karin and Yuzu (though mostly Karin) had cried foul about their three new guests. Yuzu had warmed up quickly because she loved Meninas’s style (and he breathed a sigh of relief that it was her and not Candice), and the tall amazon had joined his baby sister in the kitchen.

Karin had been much more irritated, and it was surprisingly Bambietta that had won her over when she realized Karin liked football. And then Ichigo had witnessed, with his jaw dropped, someone give his baby sister a good match. Even as young as she was, Ichigo was sure Karin was going to be a professional when she was older, and Bambietta had schooled her. Bambietta had such a relaxed and carefree look on her face during the game that Ichigo hadn’t been able to help but watch her, up until Candice had… distracted him. Dinner had been a lively affair, with his sisters much more relaxed and happier… up until Isshin revealed that Candice and Meninas were Ichigo’s girlfriends. Then Yuzu pouted outrageously over two girls stealing her Ichi-nii, and Karin spent the rest of the night teasing him about being a playboy.

Candice, Meninas, and Bambietta had the time of their lives, and all of them went upstairs with massive grins on their faces. And then they saw Ichigo’s room, and Candice grinned, “I think I love your Dad, Ichi.” She said, before leaping and landing on the bed. “Oooh, comfy!”

“Fucking hell, I don’t even have room to work out anymore…” He scratched the back of his head.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m sure these two would be happy to give you a workout.” Bambietta snarked, grinning toothily. She took a seat at his desk, before letting out a small shriek.

“OH, I’M IN HEAVEN!” Kon came falling from the sky and landed on her breasts, snuggling into them.

“What the hell is this thing?!” Bambietta shrieked and grabbed the stuffed lion, tearing him a little bit more as she flung him away.

“For fuck’s sake, Kon.” Ichigo snatched him out of the air, “Can you behave, you little shit?”

“Never! I am in the valley of dreams!” Kon shot at him.

“Is that a Gikon?” Meninas asked curiously.

“Yes.” Ichigo replied, “One of the last Mod Souls, actually.”

“He’s kind of cute.” Meninas giggled slightly.

“See! Someone appreciates my majesty!” Kon said, before trying to kick his way over to land on Meninas. Ichigo kept a firm grip on him.

“Wait.” Bambi started to snicker, “A mod soul? You named a Kaizō Konpaku ‘Kon?’” She started to laugh harder as Ichigo blushed.

“He sucks at naming things!” Kon shot out helpfully.

Ichigo squeezed the lion, “Do you want me to call Uryū to have you fixed up or not?” Ichigo glared at him.

Kon swallowed, “O-Of course! Look at me! I’m hideous!”

“I can fix him!” Candice grinned, “I made all of our uniforms back at the Wandenreich.”

“Yes please, mommy!” Kon shot out before Ichigo could say a word.

Ichigo growled, “If you don’t cut the shit and stop perving on my girls,” Candice and Meninas smiled. “I’m giving you right back to Yuzu, Bostov.”

“Meep.” Kon… well… meeped. “I’ll be good.” He gave Ichigo a thumbs-up, “Also, nice. Didn’t think ya had it in ya!”

Ichigo growled and let go of him. He and the girls all stiffened, “Hollow?” He asked, and they nodded. And then his badge, which was buried in his dresser, started screeching HOLLOW. HOLLOW. HOLLOW. It was muffled, but loud enough that he would definitely need to find a better hole for it. “Well, time to get to it.” He sighed as he grabbed his Gokon Tekkō and exited his body, before putting Kon inside, “Behave, or I’ll have Candi put your legs on your head.” He said flatly, and Candice burst out laughing.

“This is stuffed animal abuse!” Kon protested, before Ichigo was out the window.

Ichigo blinked as he saw the three girls soaring through the sky with him, “Huh? I can handle this and be back quick, you know? You didn’t have to come with me for this.”

Candice shrugged, “Might as well. It’s a nice night.”

“What if people see you, though? You’re still in your bodies.” And then his Denreishinki went off. “Holy shit, this thing is awful! Why is it so slow?!”

“Ha!” Bambietta laughed, “You Shinigami suck!” She teased him, “You would have been relying on that if it hadn’t been for me!” She said haughtily.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, “Thanks for the help, Bambi-sama.”

“And don’t you forget it!” Bambietta smirked as Ichigo vanished and cut the Hollow in half vertically in the blink of an eye.

“Well, that’s that!” Ichigo had only drawn his large Zangetsu, and was now looking at its new shape and colors curiously. He hadn’t actually paid attention to the changes earlier. “Told you it was a waste to come with.”

“The breeze was nice.” Meninas said with a light smile. “Does seem like a waste to have such a powerful Shinigami be killing garden variety Hollows, though.”

“WHO ARE YOU?! WHY ARE YOU DRESSED LIKE A SHINIGAMI?! AND WHO ARE THESE CHICKS, HUUUUUH?” A new voice interrupted them.

Ichigo turned around with a sweatdrop as he eyed the man’s afro and huge, bushy eyebrows. They were Rock Lee sized! “…Who the hell are you?”

“H-huh?! Me?! I’m Kurumadani Zennosuke! I’m the elite Shinigami assigned to this district in place of Kuchiki Rukia, who got thrown in jail for some crime! Shaking yet?”

“So, by elite do you mean Tenth Seat or lower?” Bambietta snarked, causing Candice to snicker.

“Why you?!” Zennosuke growled.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, “Whatever, I’m Kurosaki Ichigo, Deputy Shinigami. Also, Rukia was cleared of all charges.” He said blandly.

“So much for elite!” Candice laughed as the afro man flushed, “Not even up to date in Seireitei news! I bet you don’t even know three Captains betrayed you guys huh?”

“WHAT?!” Zennosuke gasped, and that got all four of them to laugh.

And then the hairs on the back of Ichigo’s neck stiffened, and he whirled around. Zangetsu clashed with another blade, and his eyes widened, “Shinji? Is that a Zanpakutō? What the hell are you doing?!”

“Yeah, asshole!” Meninas, Candice, and Bambietta had their bows out in flashes of red, green, and magenta light, all aiming at Shinji. “What do you think you’re doing, attacking our boyfriend?!” Candice snarled out. Zennosuke hid, feeling terrified by the overwhelming Reiatsu all of them were pumping out.

“Shhh…” Shinji made a shushing motion in front of his lips, “People with Reiatsu like yours should chill out, otherwise they’ll feel your presence.”

And then they all felt it. Hollows. Strong Hollows. And one in particular that Ichigo recognized the smell of. He ground his teeth, “Grand Fisher…” He hissed out furiously. The three girls inhaled sharply as Ichigo disappeared. Two of the three debated going over to save Uryū, but sensed his father approaching so they followed Ichigo.

Shinji groaned. He hadn’t even had a chance to freak him out yet! He followed with his own Shunpo.

Ichigo appeared just in time to see a monstrous Hollow get blown back by his father. “Dad.”

“Ichigo.” Isshin looked serene as he eyed the fallen Hollow.

“You know who he is?” Ichigo asked, clenching his fist around Zangetsu as the three girls and Shinji showed up, sitting on some of the buildings around them.

“Oh yes.” Isshin said, “And I’ve been waiting for this day for six years.”

Ichigo glared as the Hollow stood, and he realized he looked weird, “What the? He looks different.”

“He’s an Arrancar.” Isshin said, “A Hollow that has ripped off part of its mask in order to gain Shinigami powers.”

“Grrr!” Grand Fisher snarled as he got back to his feet, revealing himself to be massive compared to when Ichigo had faced him the day of his mother’s death anniversary, “So, you know of us, huh, Shinigami?” He stood tall, “Don’t think your lucky shot will happen again! You’ll never touch me again!” He drew a Zanpakutō from his back. “And what luck! I’ll be able to get my revenge against you as well, KUROSAKI ICHIGO!”

“Damn, that thing is huge.” Ichigo whistled.

“That’s what she said!” Bambietta and Candice called down, ruining the ‘dramatic tension.’

“Mock me all you like!” Grand Fisher roared, “The size of one’s Zanpakutō mirrors one’s level of Reiatsu! None of you stand a chance against me!” He transformed, turning even bigger with the top half of his mask fragment vanishing.

“That so?” Isshin reached for Engetsu with a smirk on his face, “Let’s see then?”

The two swung, and then half of a massive blade landed in the asphalt nearby. Grand Fisher stumbled back, a gouge cut out of his shoulder. “What?!” He fell to a knee, reaching up to his injured shoulder in disbelief, “H-How? My-My huge Zanpakutō-”

“Was just an empty blade.” Ichigo snarked, “You were more powerful as a Hollow with that lure, dumbass.”

“A Captain class Shinigami must exercise control over their Reiatsu and Zanpakutō, otherwise they’d be carrying swords the size of skyscrapers. All you had in that blade was hot air.”

“Even I know that.” Ichigo smirked at the sight of the bleeding Arrancar.

Grand Fisher was sweating heavily, before whirling around and flying to the sky. “You thinking what I’m thinking, son?” Isshin smirked as he swiped Engetsu through the air, gashing it with fiery red light. He stepped aside as Ichigo raised Zangetsu.

“Father-Son Getsuga Jūjishō!” They roared with one voice, and the golden and red attack sped after the Hollow, impacting Grand Fisher in the back. Night turned to day as the attack split the sky, blowing away the cloud cover in the area.

Ichigo and Isshin closed their eyes, “You’re free, mom…” Ichigo let out a sigh, feeling freer than he had in years. It was like a weight had lifted off his back.

Isshin clapped him on the shoulder, “She is.” He said, “And she’d be so proud of you, Ichigo.”

Ichigo breathed in, before exhaling, “Thanks, Dad.” He looked over at him, “We’ll be home soon, and then I suppose we should have that talk.” He eyed the Captain’s Haori tied to his father’s Shihakushō.

“Yeah.” Isshin vanished without another word.

“You happy, Ichi?” Candice landed next to him and embraced him. He hugged her back, smiling.

“Yeah.” Meninas landed as well and hugged him from behind. “Thanks girls.” Bambietta stayed back, watching somewhat awkwardly.

“Well, that was one hell of an attack.” Shinji grinned, reminding Ichigo that he was there. “Bit overkill for a weakling like that, huh?”

“He was the one who ate my mother.” Ichigo glared at him, “As far as I’m concerned, we didn’t use enough.” Shinji’s grin dropped, and he looked a bit chagrined, “Who the hell are you?”

“You want to know?” Shinji scoffed, “Fiiiine.” He raised his hand slightly above his head, “Here, take a good look.” He pulled down and hid half of his face behind a Hollow Mask that looked vaguely Pharaoh-like. “Recognize this?” He grinned madly.

“What the?!” All four of them gasped, “A Hollow’s Mask, and a Zanpakutō?” Ichigo had never seen another one like him before, and the girls may have hadn’t ever seen something like that at all.

“That’s right.” Shinji smirked, “I’m a Shinigami who gained Hollow abilities, Ichigo. Same as you!” He put his blade over his shoulder, “I’m a Vizard. And I’m here to have you join us, before that little Hollow in your soul decides to take over your body.”

Ichigo glared at him for a moment, before reaching out to Zangetsu, ‘Can we do that too?’

‘Hehe, can we? We can do better than this loser.’ Zangetsu replied, and Ichigo smirked.

“That so?” He asked, before reaching up. He yanked his hand down, and Shinji recoiled at the dark abyss of Reiatsu that crushed upon his senses. His girls and Bambietta all stiffened, but didn’t feel anywhere near the pressure that Shinji was feeling, even despite the fact that both Candice and Meninas were hugging him. They were utterly astonished that Ichigo’s Hollow Reiatsu didn’t seem to be affecting them. Ichigo’s mask was more of a helmet, covering his entire head, and black in color. Two long, demonic-looking horns pointed forward, and four red, spike-shaped marks crossed over the eye holes. “Like this, you mean?”

“Shit…” Bambietta cursed, feeling her knees weaken, “Th-This Reiatsu!”

“How the fuck did you do that?!” Shinji growled, actually equipping his mask, and readying his Zanpakutō. But he was entirely unsure if he could cut this entity down.

“Same way you did, dumbass.” Ichigo snarked, before dismissing the mask. The three girls breathed sighs of relief.

“Bullshit!” Shinji let the mask dissipate as well but looked cautious. “It took us years to figure out how to do that, and we all nearly died!”

Ichigo grinned, “Skill issue.” Candice burst out laughing, though it was after she wiped away some of the cold sweat from the feeling of Ichigo’s mask.

Shinji stared at him with a twitching eyebrow, “Listen here, you little shit.”

“Whatever.” Ichigo rolled his eyes, “Just say your piece, and if I don’t like it you can fuck off.”

Shinji clicked his teeth, “Fine.” He sheathed his Zanpakutō, “Like I said, we’re Vizards, and there are others like us. I came to help you get that Hollow of yours under control before it took you over…” His eyebrow twitched again, “Though it appears you didn’t need the help. Still, we’d like you to join us.”

“And I’d be interested in that… why?” Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe they have some hot chicks?” Candice smirked at Shinji as she squeezed Ichigo lightly.

Shinji rolled his eyes, “Aren’t you chicks Quincies?” Shinji looked at her, “He’s a Hollow-Shinigami Hybrid, you know? Isn’t that like, everything you lot hate, squared? Hollow Reishi is poisonous to you and all that? The fuck you all over him for?”

“He’s Ichigo.” Meninas said simply, and hugged his other side.

“Now you’re here trying to fuck up my relationships? Really making me want to come with you.” Ichigo glared at him.

Shinji rubbed the back of his head, “Jeez, this didn’t go anything like I expected.” He sighed, “Hiyori’s going to be pissed.” He muttered.

“Whatever.” Ichigo said, “I’m going home. Give me your address and maybe I’ll drop by. If I feel lik-”

“You might be able to use that mask, but you’ll need training in actually using it.” Shinji interrupted him, “It’s draining to use, and we all had a time limit when we started. Plus, all the fun little Hollow techniques we had to figure out how to use. We can help with all of that.”

Ichigo stared at him, before he let go of Meninas and drew Zangetsu again, stabbing it into the ground. There was a flash, and then Zangetsu was standing there in person. Candice gasped, “Two Ichis?!” She blushed slightly.

“Bad.” Ichigo whapped her lightly, which made Bambietta burst out laughing again.

“What the hell?!” Shinji gaped at the sight of the monochrome Ichigo.

“Sup, Chuckles?” Zangetsu grinned over at the blonde.

“Zangetsu can teach me everything I need to know.” Ichigo said, clapping his Zanpakutō on the shoulder.

“What the fuck?!” Shinji backed away, “You let him out? This isn’t possible! We can only gain control of our masks if we defeat our Hollows! This isn’t right!”

“Ha, ya say ya can help the King, but it’s more like ya need the King’s help instead.” Zangetsu wagged his tongue, “How does it feel ta know a fresh baby Vizard is better at bein’ one than ya are?”

“Zangetsu isn’t just my Hollow. He’s also one half of my Zanpakutō.” Ichigo said, “Clearly, that isn’t the case for you.”

“…No.” Shinji clenched his fist, “No, Sakanade has nothing to do with my Hollow. Yours is intelligent.” He glared at Zangetsu, “Ours were just braying beasts, like the Hollows that can’t even keep hold of their own minds. The only thing we could do was beat them down and bury them deep in our souls. Over a hundred years ago.”

“They were.” Zangetsu said.

“What?” Shinji looked at him in confusion.

“Is a baby born knowin’ how ta talk?” Zangetsu asked, his eyes gleaming, “Nah, it just screams and eats and shits. It takes time ta learn ta do more than that. I betcha haven’t even tried talkin’ ta it since ya locked it in a box.” He grinned madly, “Too bad ya locked it away for so long, even if it has evolved, it probably ain’t gonna wanna chat.” And with that, Zangetsu turned back into the blade, and Ichigo quickly had it wrapped up and on his back.

“Oh, and Shinji.” Ichigo smirked, “You were wrong about one thing.” He raised his arm and Blut Vene’s crisscrossing veins lit up, “You said I was a Shinigami-Hollow hybrid, but that’s not right. I’m a Quincy as well.”

“Oooh, that’s some strong Blut.” Bambietta complimented him, earning a quick smile.

“Th-that’s impossible! Hollow and Quincy are polar opposites!” Shinji protested, “How the fuck did you manage that?!”

Ichigo smirked like Zangetsu, “Fuck you, that’s how.” And then he was gone, dragging Meninas and Candice with him. Bambietta quickly followed, leaving a flabbergasted Shinji standing there, alone.

-]|[-

“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN HE HAD CONTROL?!” Shinji ducked under the ballistic sandal from Hiyori.

“Exactly what I said!” Shinji dodged a kick from her, “Hell, he had better control than I did!”

“How is that possible?” Love asked him, crossing his arms.

“Yeah, fucking explain, before I go over and kill him!” Hiyori snarled, readying her other sandal.

“As if you could.” Shinji growled at her, “His Reiatsu damn near brought me to my knees when he Hollowfied!” Hiyori ground her teeth as he spent the next few minutes explaining the entirety of their encounter.

“That’s…” Lisa bit a fingertip, “That’s almost completely different. Only the most basic of similarities remain! We haven’t seen our Hollows in a hundred years! His is getting pats on the back!”

“I’m more worried about what this Zangetsu implied.” Kensei growled, “If that…thing is right, we’ve been hamstringing ourselves for over a hundred years.”

Mashiro looked uncharacteristically downtrodden, “And if he’s right, there’s going to be no way to fix it. They’re going to be so mad…”

“No easy way.” Hachigen corrected her.

“I want to know how the FUCK he’s apparently a Quincy as well!” Hiyori slammed her sandal on the dirt so she could put it back on, “That’s fucking impossible!”

“His Shinigami power must be acting as a mediating force.” Rose replied, “A perfect hybrid of all three spiritual races.” He chuckled dryly, “Who would have thought?”

“So, what now?” Love asked.

What now indeed?

-]|[-

“Do we bring the girls in?” Ichigo asked as soon as he walked into the house.

Isshin sighed, “I suppose we should. I’m pretty sure Karin at the very least suspects something.” He crossed his arms, “I’m also pretty sure she knew it wasn’t you in your body while you were off in Soul Society.”

“You might as well.” Bambietta said, “You know what’s coming, and even if you didn’t, this Aizen guy is still going to be a problem. You don’t want them to be defenseless, right?”

“Definitely not.” Ichigo said, before smirking lightly at her, “Lucky they have such pretty protectors, huh?” He knew damn well Bambietta had taken a shine to the dark-haired twin. She blushed lightly and growled at him.

A few minutes later, they were all situated in the living room, with Candice laying her legs on top of his when Karin and Yuzu walked in. Karin almost missed a step when she saw her brother and father in Shinigami getups. One of them she would have expected, but the other? Not a chance in hell. “Ichi-nii? Daddy? What’s with those weird outfits?” Yuzu squinted, “And why do you look kind of fuzzy?”

“Well, our bodies are in our rooms right now.” Ichigo said, and their jaws lowered for a second.

“Wait! What do you mean your bodies are in your rooms?!” Yuzu asked shrilly, “Are you ghosts right now!? Are you okay?!”

“We’re fine, Yuzu-chan!” Isshin vanished and then picked Yuzu up before she could react even slightly, “Do not be worried! And if you are, you may cry into daddy’s chest!”

Karin clicked her teeth, “Gonna come clean about being ghost samurai things then?” She glared at Isshin, “And what the hell, Goat-chin?! I knew about Ichi-nii but why the hell are you one too?!” She tried to kick her father in the shin, only for the man to dodge it for the first time ever. “…Huh?” She looked at him, bewildered.

“That’s what I called this little family meeting for, Karin.” He patted her lightly on the head, “And you shouldn’t kick me when I’m like this. You’ll break your toes.”

“…” Karin stared at him blankly as he put Yuzu down.

Ichigo called her attention, “When two spiritual beings clash, the weaker one always loses if the difference is overwhelming. I learned that the hard way.” He said, rubbing phantom pains from his hands in memory, “You girls might have enough Reiatsu to see ghosts, us, and Hollows, but not enough to attack with.”

“Daddy, Ichi-nii…” Yuzu looked a little overwhelmed, “What’s going on?”

“Before you start…” Meninas said, “Are you sure you want us here?” She asked softly, taking Ichigo’s hand, and giving it a light squeeze.

“Yeah.” Ichigo squeezed back, “You’re a part of the story anyway, even if you’re later entries.” He smiled, and she relaxed, leaning on him.

“Let’s take our seats, girls.” Isshin led his daughters to the other couch. “So… as Karin apparently already knew,” He shot his daughter a fond look, “Ichigo is a Shinigami, and so am I.”

“But…” Yuzu looked flabbergasted, “But you couldn’t even see ghosts! I could see more than you! Were you lying?!”

He shook his head, “Never.” Isshin let out a sigh, “My powers were…sealed, I guess you could say. I couldn’t use them, and I had less Reiryoku available than even you did, Yuzu. I only regained them when the seal broke, less than a month ago.”

“So… Ichi-nii got his powers from you?” Karin asked her father.

“From mom as well.” Ichigo said softly.

“WHAT?!” Both girls blurted, “Mom was in on this too?!” Karin gaped, “But then how…” She bit her lip, “H-how did a Hollow kill her?!”

Isshin’s face dropped, “So, you figured that out too, huh?” He rubbed the bridge of his nose as Yuzu teared up, “Damn it, Karin, you’re too smart for your own good sometimes.”

“I think you should start at the beginning, Goat-chin.” Ichigo said softly.

“Yeah, I suppose so.” Isshin said, before ruffling Yuzu’s hair, “Daddy was born Shiba Isshin. Kurosaki was Masaki’s name.”

Ichigo did a spittake, “I’m related to Ganju?!” he asked, horrified.

Isshin burst out laughing, and the girls did as well. “Yeah, you are! Anyway, I was born in the Soul Society, which is where Souls go to after death. They’re guided there by Shinigami, which is what I became when I grew up as well. Our duties include not only guiding the Souls of humans to the afterlife, but also slaying Hollows.”

“But what are Hollows?” Yuzu was still sniffling like she was going to cry, “And why did one kill mom?!” She elbowed Karin uncharacteristically, “And when were you going to tell me about any of this, Karin?”

Her twin looked a little guilty, “I…don’t really know anything for sure. I just remember seeing Ichigo fighting those things.”

“Hollows…” Candice said somberly, “Are dead humans who failed to find their way to the afterlife.”

The two girls gasped, and Meninas took up the explanation, “If they have a lot of regrets after they die, they fail to move on. And because they can’t interact with the living, they become stuck and slowly start losing themselves. They just can’t cope when they see their loved ones moving on. If a Shinigami can’t help them along, they become corrupted.” She had always wondered what their former liege’s plan was regarding that. Quincy couldn’t help souls like that. Knowing what she knew now, she couldn’t help but wonder if Yhwach even had a plan at all for after the Shinigami were dead.

“You ever seen those chains attached to Souls?” Bambietta asked, and got nods from the two girls, “The shorter the chain, the closer they are to being corrupted. Once those chains fall off entirely, a hole opens in their chests where their hearts were. Those lost hearts then become the masks they wear. They become…”

“Hollow.” Karin said, looking pale, “And then you’re forced to kill them?” She asked Ichigo shakily.

“Purify.” He raised Old Man Zangetsu’s blade, “This is a Zanpakutō, and it purifies the soul of any crimes committed after they became Hollows, before sending them to the afterlife.” He sighed, “Most Hollows are just unfortunate. A Hollow could have been younger than you when they were turned. They could have been innocent. But they become bloodthirsty beasts, because they are desperate to fill the hole representing their empty hearts, and only other Souls nourish them for even a small amount of time.”

“…I’m scared, Daddy.” Yuzu hugged her father, who pulled her in close, “That’s so awful! And sad!”

The three female Quincy pursed their lips, looking away. It was easy to just shoot a Hollow when one was in front of them. But watching the reactions of the small girls… watching the sheer relief on Isshin and Ichigo’s faces when they killed Grand Fisher to free Kurosaki Masaki’s soul… Had they been the ones to kill him… they would have annihilated her as well.

Isshin hugged her back, “It is. And they don’t have any control over themselves, which is the saddest part. Usually, the first ones they kill are the loved ones they transformed over in the first place.” Yuzu and Karin flinched, violently. The blonde began to cry. “And that’s why it’s so important for Souls to move on, and for Shinigami to purify Hollows.” He swallowed, before continuing the story, “I worked my way through the ranks, and eventually became Captain of the Tenth Division. That’s one rank below the head honcho, so are you proud of Daddy?” He asked, a cheesy grin on his face to try to cheer them up.

“Bullshit!” Karin pointed at him, already aware enough to know what he was trying to do, “There’s no way!”

“But it’s trueee!” Isshin whined, “See my nice, white Haori? Only Captains get these!” he showed off the Tenth Division emblem on it.

“Hmph, I refuse!” Karin crossed her arms, “There’s no way they’d put you in charge, Goat-chin!”

“Oh, mother!” Annnnd… Isshin was in front of Masaki’s poster again, “Our daughters are so mean! Is it puberty?!”

“DAMN IT GOAT-CHIN, HURRY UP AND CONTINUE!” Karin threw a pillow at him, and that got Yuzu to giggle, albeit wetly. Mission accomplished!

He sat back down, “Twenty years ago, a member of my division turned up dead. I allowed the lower ranks to investigate, but then two more died. I decided to go alone to investigate myself. I was attacked by a…monstrously powerful Hollow. And also, the strangest one I ever met, then or now. It was almost completely black, except for something that was blocking up its hole, its white hair, and the white faceplate of its mask. It was very clearly artificial in some way. Like someone had experimented on it. And it fought almost like a Shinigami. It was causing havoc during our battle, so I decided to release the first seal on my power, a Zanpakutō’s Shikai.” He took a deep breath, “Almost as soon as I did, someone attacked me from behind. Likely the same Shinigami traitor who had created the Hollow, because it was a Zanpakutō that wounded me.” His daughters and even Ichigo inhaled sharply, “I could no longer fight well, and the Hollow was probably going to kill me.”

“H-How did you escape?” Karin stuttered, looking at her father in worry.

Isshin grinned, letting out a shuddering breath that had all three of his children stiffen in shock, “Masaki showed up.” He let out a somber laugh at their faces, “She just started blasting the Hollow with her arrows. She couldn’t hit it worth a damn while it was charging at her. It was way too fast. So that crazy girl just lets the Hollow bite her, holds it in place, pops off a one-liner, and then blasts the thing’s head off, point-blank!”

“Damn…” Bambietta muttered, “Fucking badass…”

Isshin laughed at their disbelieving looks, “It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen! And then the damn Hollow started to expand like it was going to explode, so I tackled her out of the way.” He shook his head, “That was how we met…”

“And then you fell in love?” Yuzu had stars in her eyes, which vanished when Isshin started to sputter.

“Nope!” He laughed again, “She was barely Ichigo’s age at the time!” Ichigo sputtered and started to cough. “I went back to Soul Society to report in, and she went back to her life.” He closed his eyes, “But despite it not being love at first sight, I couldn’t quite get her out of my head. I hadn’t even really had a chance to thank her for saving my skin. So, one day, I decided to just sneak off and find her..” His smile vanished, “Only to find her terribly sick as a result of the bite she had taken.” Karin and Yuzu flinched. Ichigo had been expecting it and controlled the reaction. “You see… Masaki was human. That much was true. But she was a different race of human. One that had developed the ability to use Reiatsu and slay Hollows themselves.”

“Just like Candice, Meninas, and Bambietta.” Ichigo threw in.

“Really?!” Yuzu gasped, and Karin looked interested as well. Candice swung her legs off of Ichigo and stood. She slapped her heart-shaped buckle, which she was still wearing despite the outfit swap. Her bow popped out and she showed it off. “Wow!”

“Hehehe, my arrows contain five gigawatts of electricity.” She said proudly.

“H-holy crap, that’s a lot!” Karin gaped.

Candice put her bow away and sat back down as Isshin continued the story, “Masaki was sick because for some reason, Quincy and Hollows are anathema to one another. You see… Quincy do not purify Hollows like Shinigami do. They completely annihilate them.” Karin and Yuzu sucked in gasps of air, “And like for like, a Quincy that has their soul eaten by a Hollow is annihilated in turn. Even minor injuries can be debilitating if infected with too much Hollow Reiryoku. And Masaki did not have a minor injury. That Hollow seemed like it was designed to inflict Hollowfication on its enemies.”

“Why the hell would she let it bite her if she knew that?!” Karin snarled.

Isshin chuckled, “Quincy have a defensive ability called Blut Vene. It is perhaps the most powerful of the defensive abilities I know of. Even more so than an Arrancar’s Hierro. At least potentially. Not all Blut is created equal, and your mother’s was almost unparalleled. She allowed it to bite her because she was confident it wouldn’t even be able to break skin.” He sighed, “She was wrong, and she paid for it. In the end, to make a much longer story short, a person who ended up becoming a good friend to us offered me a chance to save her. He was a bit of a scientist familiar with Hollowfication, and had come up with a way to hold it at bay. In conjunction with a vaccine of his creation, I would have to be bound into a unique artificial body which would make me fully human, and then have my soul bound to Masaki’s. My Shinigami powers would likewise be bound in keeping the Hollow presence inside her at bay.” He chuckled, “Our friend was almost trying to talk me out of it. The procedure held nothing but disadvantages for me. But if I had let her die, I would have hated myself forever. It was no decision at all.”

“Your souls were bound?!” The stars in Yuzu’s eyes were back, “That’s so romantic!” She squealed.

All three of the present Quincy couldn’t help but clench their fists. Candice and Meninas might have had Ichigo now… but where had someone like that been in their first lives? It had been easy to just think of Shinigami as the bloodthirsty, evil enemy who had nearly annihilated their race a thousand years ago. Just like all of their lessons and stories. And here was a Shinigami giving up everything for a girl he hadn’t even known, without hesitation. They were forced to wonder just what else they had been lied to about.

“Hol’ up.” Karin said, “If your powers were gone because they were keeping Mom’s soul safe from the Hollow inside of her, why didn’t they come back when…” She choked on the final words.

“Because the Hollow wasn’t in mom anymore.” Ichigo said, “It became my Zanpakutō when I was born.” Yuzu and Karin gasped in shock.

Isshin confirmed it, “That’s right. Masaki’s powers were never supposed to come back until she died. Neither were mine. But days after Ichigo was born, they started to return. We realized it had transferred over to your brother, and that terrified us. But Urahara, our friend, found nothing wrong with Ichigo. My powers were still keeping the Hollow at bay. So, he was able to grow… almost normally. The only abnormality was his strong Reiatsu and therefore his ability to see ghosts.”

“But if Mom got her powers back, why did…” Yuzu couldn’t finish her question.

“Was the Hollow that killed Mom really that strong?” Karin swallowed the lump in her throat.

Isshin sighed, “That’s the worst part of it all. The Hollow that killed her was barely strong enough to not be considered a weakling.” He said, looking down at his feet, “Masaki should easily have been able to kill it.” He clenched his fists, “But someone else had other ideas.” He hissed, before going into the information that Old Man Zangetsu had shared with Ichigo inside his Inner World. By the end of it, both girls had cried their hearts out; in sadness over their mom’s fate; in sheer, bloody relief that Ichigo and their father had freed her soul that very night by killing Grand Fisher; and in nearly apoplectic anger over the Quincy King. It was exhausting for them, and they didn’t even get talking about any training.

It made Candice, Meninas, and Bambietta feel awful. They hadn’t cared a bit about any of the Gemischt when Yhwach had performed his Auswählen. They hadn’t thought about the lives that would be destroyed. The grief people would feel. ‘Were we all really that awful?’ They couldn’t help but think as they watched the two girls sob.

Both girls fell asleep in their father’s arms after the trying day, and he brought them upstairs to their room. “Thanks Dad. For everything.” Ichigo said when Isshin came back, “I’m guessing your powers came back the day I fought Byakuya?”

Isshin nodded as he put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “That does line up, from what Kisuke told me. It was when your Hollow finally burst through the shackle my power had placed on him.” He tilted his head, “So he’s your Zanpakutō, then?”

“Yeah.” Ichigo was going to say more, but a nudge from Old Man Zangetsu kept him from continuing. They would save that for later.

“When is our next guest showing up?” Isshin asked, and Ichigo relayed the question to his Zanpakutō spirits.

“Probably by morning.” He replied.

Isshin rubbed his beard in a bit of irritation, “Hmm… we might need a bigger house by the time this is over.” He smirked at his son, “Especially if you plan on only calling girls to your side.” He wagged his eyebrows.

“Moments over.” Ichigo shot up, “Come take your lumps, Goat-chin!”

Candice laughed as Ichigo chased his father, “Something tells me he’s already planning the weddings.” That sent Meninas off into a daydream that had her lightly drooling.

“Ha! You better not be counting me in that!” Bambietta blustered.

“Say that when you’re not blushing!” Candice grinned at her old friend, who blushed even harder and growled at her.

Minutes later, they were back in Ichigo’s room. Or rather, he, Candice, and Meninas were. Bambietta had gone off to sleep in the girls’ room, on Ichigo’s old bed. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, and Ichigo could definitely see where Isshin was coming from in saying that they might need a bigger home. Candice wasted no time in kissing him as Meninas began to strip down to her new lingerie. She lay down on the bed and pulled Ichigo down, snuggling into him as she began kissing him too. Candice quickly stripped down completely naked and took his other side. The three traded kisses for a few more minutes, but Ichigo wasn’t really in the mood for sex. Not tonight.

“Yeah, it was a bit of a night, wasn’t it?” Candice let out a sigh. Meninas was too busy tracing kisses along his jawline. She bit her lip, “We…weren’t affected at all.” Ichigo raised an eyebrow, “By your Hollow Reiatsu.” She clarified, “It…should have burned even being close to you.”

He winced, “Shit, it’s that bad?! I’m sorry! I didn’t thin-”

She put a finger over his lips to shush him, “It’s okay.” She smirked, “Just engage that noodle before doing stupid stuff, mister. I would have been pissed if you burned any of my hair.”

“Roger.” He said, smiling at her. He leaned forward and claimed her lips again.

She smiled through the kiss and spent the next few minutes making out with him. “Honestly, I’m happy. I hope it’s not just yours. Not having to worry about Hollow Reiryoku being debilitating anymore would be amazing.”

“We’ll have to test it.” Meninas said, before turning Ichigo to face her and claiming his lips for herself again.

Candice let out a happy sigh as she snuggled into his side. His hand rose into her hair, and she felt so happy that she felt comfortable enough to let him run his fingers through it. She was asleep from his lovely scalp massage before he and Meninas even finished kissing.

-]|[-