章 1: Chapter 1: Kurosaki Ichigo Is Not an Idiot
High school started with a bang from a gang and many people hitting the hospital with broken bones and a lot of bruises.
At least it wasn't a fight near the school or such.
After all, Ichigo was a lot more careful and cautious. He didn't want his two sisters to get hurt because of his fights. Humans tend to seek their opponent's weakness when they can't go against them, after all.
Thus, whenever he fought with the delinquent in towns, he would always ensure that there wouldn't be consequences he could not handle.
By the time he'd made it to school, the Opening Ceremony was already done. Ichigo met Chad on his way to their class and was told about what he had missed.
On the way, Ichigo met Orihime, who was with Tatsuki, talking animatedly together.
Ichigo ignored them as he took out his notebook and started to review it according to the lesson plans for the year. Even if he doesn't plan on being one of the Top 5 Students of his year, he still wants a high enough rank for any college he would wish to later on.
He checks the syllabus and marks his textbook where to find the required materials later. As he does so, Ichigo slowly lets loose his reiatsu (yes, he knows now what it was called in this world) slowly and very specifically toward the people he knew would be like his family members. Ishida twitches once his reiatsu hit-touches him, but he doesn't do anything. After all, Ichigo has been doing so for the past eight months that they met.
Still, for some odd reason, Ishida keeps trying to ignore Ichigo, but he can't seem to be able to do so at all. So, even now, he had been peeking at Ichigo using other means.
Ichigo would say that this might have something to do with the fact that Ryuken had introduced Ichigo to Ishida as his "Maybe-Fiancee" about eight months back and a couple of weeks after Ichigo had saved Orihime's brother. And yes, that's another difference between the dream world and this world.
What? Ichigo's a Halfblood who can instinctively use his mother's Heilig Bogen without training and have Blut and Blut Vene without any knowledge whatsoever. (Or so the Elder's thoughts). So, of course, they would want to tie him with them, especially since his mother was Quincy's Pureblood Princess.
If she was their princess, then how could she have gotten married to Isshin? This problem Ichigo thinks that he already knows the answers to. It might be similar to the dream world, but not all. Or maybe the fact that in this world, the Extermination of the Quincy didn't happen, so the Quincy didn't hate the Shinigami as much?
Who knows.
Anyway, Ishida didn't take the so-called would-be engagement really well. Neither did Ichigo himself.
So now, both Ichigo and Ishida are in somewhat of a truce. The engagement stays Maybe only, so that's good.
After all, Uryuu was more like a begrudged brother to him than someone whom he could come to fall in 'love' with. As a family member and friend? Yes. As a lover? The chances are meager. It could happen, but the chances of that happening were even lower than Ichigo and Chad going out.
Anyway, continuing to let out more reiatsu in his surroundings, smaller enough not to attract any Hollow but specific enough to awaken his friend's powers, Ichigo ensured his guard was up and his instinct on.
As the school day proceeds, Ichigo slowly increases the reiatsu he gives out, all the while making sure that no hollow comes into town. By the time school had ended, Ichigo had noticed that Uryuu's face was slightly red as if he was drunk or had a fever.
Still, he reigns in his reiatsu and sends a puzzled look Uryuu's way. Uryuu looked away with a glare and a flushed face.
What's wrong with him now?
Ichigo went home, went to pick up his sisters, took them shopping for food and restocked their inventory, made plans for the weekend with them, and then took them to see their old man and their mother. By the time they returned to make dinner, it was already 7 PM. Ichigo and Yuzu made a quick dinner while simmering curry for tomorrow's lunch and dinner.
Ichigo took a shower, meditated lightly for half an hour, and then went to bed.
That night, he started dreaming again.
It was a world of magic, swords, fights, wars, world-building, money, greed, sins, hope, love, and adventures. Of course, you can't forget the Dungeons and Gates.
When Ichigo woke up at 7 AM the following day, his eyes were old, experienced, and yet still warm with something not unlike wisdom: intelligent, insightful, sharp, intuitive, keen, and quick-witted.
This world was oddly similar to the previous dream world. That Devil, for example. Ichigo from that dream world's inner Hollow, his Zanpattou, and Asta's own Devil. The similarity was a bit too much.
Ichigo quickly hid away the looks in his eyes as he went through his morning routine. Calling his father to check in, making breakfast and tea, or in his case coffee, for them. He makes bentos and takes his sisters to their school before going to his. On the way, Ichigo thought deeply about what he had learned from that world.
That world was the first one Ichigo had somewhat of an influence over. He didn't know how that was possible, considering that it was a dream world, but the fact that Ichigo had somewhat influenced the government movements and evolution of that world through Asta was slightly weird.
Ichigo had never been able to influence a dream world before. This was the first time. Still, he was somewhat happy that he could influence Asta and his Devil.
Ichigo had a light smile on his face as he thought and went through the memories of the magic in that world. It was very fascinating.
And oh, Yuno reminds Ichigo of Mizuiro. The ones from that dream world. Well, it made sense.
Ichigo had already noticed that Mizuiro from this reality and the one from the dream world were different and yet similar. For one, the Mizuiro in this world was an Information Broker. A very good one. One of the best. For two, this Mizuiro seems to have already noticed that Ichigo wasn't precisely ordinary as the boy had been watching Ichigo closely and with no biased insight. For the third difference, it seems that this world's Mizuiro was more possessive of those that were His. The Yuno in that dream world was protective of his little family but wasn't precisely possessive.
Hmm... The smile on Ichigo's face deepened as his eyes gleamed. The way that Mizuiro and Yuno act so calmly in the face of any situation was very telling.
Ohhh... An idea started to form in Ichigo's mind, and his smile turned slightly crazy. If his sisters saw this smile, they would run a mile away from him, but since they weren't there, no one was to know that Ichigo had already started to make plans.
When class started, Uryuu seemed to be the only one with an irk about what was happening since Ichigo had already let his Reiatsu talk.
And Mizuiro. Mizuiro's browns had already been twitching for a while now. The confusing looks and weariness in his eyes were slightly adorable and amusing simultaneously.
During Math class, Uryuu seemed to have enough of being teased by Ichigo. He stormed his way to Ichigo's table after the bell rang and, with a glare, asked him as politely as he could if he could speak with him.
The small smirk on Ichigo's face must have been seen by Mizuiro and his friends. Keigo looked like he wanted to ask, but a shove from Mizuiro had him shut up.
Uryuu and Ichigo went to the roof.
"Okay, what in the world are you doing, Kurosaki?" He half hissed, half groaned. A slightly red flush on his cheeks and his eyes narrowed at him.
Ichigo didn't react and just lifted his eyebrows at him in question. He was utterly playing innocent. The twitching of Uryuu's eyes shows how much Ichigo's innocent play gets to him. While it was amusing to see Uryuu this close to tearing out his hair, Ichigo still cares enough for his "Maybe-Fiancee" to stop his game.
"You don't have to worry about it, Uryuu. Just know that you need to step up your training by at least 70% from now on." Ichigo warned with a slight glint in his eyes. Causing Uryuu to twitch in surprise.
Maybe it was because of that dream world, but Ichigo found himself very fond of Uryuu and did not want to see him lose his gift any time soon. So, he would have to step up his training.
Uryuu wasn't an idiot. The slightly solemn glints look inside Ichigo's eyes and say that he knows something will happen. But what?
"Kurosaki... You... what are you seeing?" Uryuu asked, worried but trying not to show it. Uryuu, unlike his father and the Elders, knew that something was strange about Ichigo when they first met for the first time. The fact that Ichigo was far more mature than kids his age and sometimes even more mature than adults wasn't a lost fact in Uryuu's view. Especially when he was introduced to the Kurosaki Heir as his Maybe-Fiancee, there wasn't any surprise on the teen's face. Nor were there any other emotions.
Ichigo smiles softly. His face wasn't as indifferent as before. It causes Uryuu's heart to skip a beat in surprise.
"You know how I was slightly different from you and my mom?" Ichigo asked, not wanting to cause Uryuu to worry more than necessary.
"Yeah..." The look in Uryuu's eyes said how much he didn't like Isshin. But then again, as much as Quincy didn't hate the Shinigami in this world, it wasn't like they liked them either. So, knowing that his "Maybe-Fiancee" was a half shinigami, half Quincy does not sit well with him. At least Uryuu wasn't like his father...
Although, Ichigo had this odd feeling that maybe, just maybe, Uryuu's father didn't hate Isshin as much as he made it out to be. Rather... Ryūken Ishida seems to watch over Isshin a bit too much. It might have been due to Isshin's own charisma that came with being a former Captain. But... Something in Ichigo's guts just had this odd laughing sensation whenever he watched Isshin and Ryūken interact.
It sounds oddly like Zangetsu's two-tone voice.
"Well, sometimes I got a lot of odd vision. It's something similar to how a Seer could see into the future but not the Set In Stone kind of future. It's kind of like precognition but not fortunetelling. Anyway, I saw that there's this creepy asshole from another realm or dimension or whatever it was called watching us. By us, I mean You and Me. And then there was a lot of fighting, and you lost your power because of how badly untrained you were. I don't know many details about why and how you lost your power, but it was pretty bad. Your father trained you back into power, but well... It was a hellish training for you. So, I want to warn you to step up your games if you don't want to suffer under your old man's hand later," Ichigo said as he moved closer toward Uryuu, all the while whispering his words into the other teen's ears. And if Uryuu's ears turned bright red, then that was his problem, and Ichigo wouldn't tease him for it.
Ohhh? So, that's one of Uryuu's weak points in this life, huh? Good to know. Especially if we're ever going to get anywhere other than a Maybe-Fiancee.
Although, Ichigo seriously doubts it. Unless, of course, Uryuu would suddenly start to really like Ichigo for who he was and not as someone who would be his Maybe Fiancee.
But then again, if what he saw in that dream and how similar it was to his life, then he could understand why Uryuu was so tense around him, especially when he had to consider that Uryuu was going to have to be married into his family, and not the opposite.
So... Fat chances.
"You..." The shocks and surprises in Uryuu's voice were already more than enough to represent his state of mind.
"Don't make a scene. And don't look around. Keep your thoughts to yourself." Ichigo said one last time before he drew back, and with a small smirk on his face, he left the other teen behind.
Amusement danced in his eyes before they turned completely unreadable and neutral.
The rest of the day Uryuu spent looking over his shoulder with a glare toward Ichigo.
The school was pretty standard after that. Well, as normal as usual can be for kids their age.
After teaching his sister how to make cake and ice cream that night, Ichigo went to bed and dreamed again.
The next morning, Ichigo woke up coughing so much that a blood spot could be seen on his hand. His eyes were shadowed and hidden away from the window so no one could see them, but if they had, they would be startled at their dark and dangerous glints.
Shit, dying by being eaten alive by zombies was not pleasant.
But Ichigo must say that gunfighting is very satisfying when there are millions of zombies in front of him. It was oddly satisfying. And a great way to relieve stress.
Oddly enough, Ichigo thinks that he can recognize what world that dream was in. Hellsing, anyone? No, maybe Resident Evil? Odd. Very Odd.
Ichigo can't decide if that world was like Resident Evil or Hellsing since Ichigo was in Japan and not other parts of the world. So he can't tell if that world was Hellsing or Resident Evil.
I mean, sure, I found a facility similar to the Umbrella Corp and a facility that looks very similar to the Nazi Zombie one from Hellsing, but... The thing is... That AI, Artificial Intelligence girl? None of such a thing or any mutated zombies like the Golgotha Virus could be found. Well, there was a T-Veronica Virus, but... well... It wasn't as strong as it was in the game and movies.
Ichigo took out of that girl who called herself Angelica Manuela by using the Shadow Clone Technique, and many ranked A Katon Release techniques. For example, Fire Release: Great Flame Jutsu and Fire Release: Heavenly Prison Jutsu.
Of course, Ichigo can undoubtedly say that he had fun fighting that woman. And he had a lot of fun annihilating millions of zombies wherever he went. What he didn't have fun doing was finding supplies to replenish himself.
Ichigo can say that the time he spent finding food and water was about 50% of all the time he had to spend doing everything else. Luckily, Ichigo had Mokuton, Doton, and Suiton. So, as long as he has seeds with him, he will never go hungry.
The only thing that Ichigo had a problem with was that damn Satellite that kept watching him.
So... he might have deliberately and purposefully smashed all those excellent Satellites that loved to orbit the earth into tiny pieces of little iron fragments using magic. Yeah, Ichigo found out that he has fun using the ninjutsu techniques mixed with magic to mess up this zombie world. Too bad that he died from overusing his ability and couldn't kill that last god damn zombie.
Ichigo hoped that whoever it was that was alive in Japan wouldn't get to meet the zombified him. Because... hmmm... his human body plus the zombie virus? Well... things aren't right for whoever would have to fight against Ichigo's body with the zombie virus.
Arg... Sorry!!! Sorry to whoever it was that was still alive!
Ichigo groaned out loud as he scrubbed his eyes and tears away. He really hopes that his human body isn't there after he dies. Of course, unless he can go back to that world to fight those zombies again.
Shit. Maybe spending more than ten years killing zombies without human interaction was not a good idea. With no one for Ichigo to protect, he lost himself in the fight and forgot to defend himself.
That. Was. His. Biggest. Weakness.
Ichigo can recognize his problem and his core right away.
Shit! Ichigo could swear that he could hear the crackling laughter of his inner demon! White Ichigo was laughing his ass out but suddenly stopped laughing without any preamble.
Ichigo ignored his inner hollow for now, and sighing out loud, Ichigo stood up and went to take a cold shower. He is sweating so much.
This isn't the first time that he dies in these dreams, but it is the first time that he got eaten by to dead by zombies. The phantom pain, stresses, and fear from the dream while clenching his teeth to wait through the pain while being eaten alive was... terrifying.
That's why Ichigo was now drenched in sweat and needed to take a long shower.
His hands, feet, and whole body seem to be shuddering from the phantom pain, so he has to take 200% of his concentration to stop his reiatsu from reacting too much. Right now isn't a good time to draw other people's attention.
Just as Ichigo was going to take off his shirt, a sharp, deep pain hit his head and caused his breathing to stagnate for a couple of seconds. His vision blurred with tears of pain, and Ichigo grated his teeth together to stop any noises that he could make from it.
Then, just as suddenly as the pain, Ichigo completely collapsed with a loud 'thud' and lost consciousness not even a second later.
Karin didn't know what had happened. She woke up today just like every other Saturday. Or not. Maybe not.
That thud was definitely from the bathroom.
Karin and Yuzu exchange surprised looks before jumping out of their beds like a fire was on their butt.
When they reached the bathroom, what Karin and Yuzu saw would forever scar their minds.
Blood. So much blood.
So so so much blood.
Karen felt her whole body freeze in shock while Yuzu cried out loud with an "Onii-chan!" as she ran toward the bloody figure of Ichigo on the bathroom floor. It took Karin a few seconds for her to snap out of her shock before she returned to Yuzu and her room to pick up her cell phone and dial the Emergency Line.
Karin didn't know how and when, but somehow, she could call the hospital and her dad's cell while Yuzu scrutinized what was wrong with their brother and why the teen was bleeding from what seemed to be everywhere.
Yuzu could only get Ichigo's bleeding to stop someplace like his arms, neck, and head while they waited for the emergency ambulance. And those wounds look like... teeth marks? What the hell?
By the time they got Ichigo to the hospital, Ichigo was so pale that his slightly tan skin looked oddly... ugly. Ichigo lost so much blood by then and a blood transfusion had to be done. However...
The blood transfusion was also not working due to Ichigo's reactant toward the outsider's blood; thus, Isshin and Ryuken have to be the ones to transfuse their own blood into Ichigo's body. Even then, they still couldn't find the reason why Ichigo collapsed.
And those teeth marks? Those were deep enough to draw blood, but by the time the ambulance got to the Kurosaki's House, those teeth marks were already healing, and only faded marks were left behind.
So, those aren't the wounds that cause Ichigo to bleed.
The question thus remains of how Ichigo was bleeding out so much blood and from where.
Yuzu said she had somehow healed Ichigo's arms, neck and head, but... there was no evidence of wounds on those spots on Ichigo's body.
And... how did Yuzu heal those wounds?
What?
She wipes it? With her hand? And then, it was healed?
What in the world is going on?
Isshin and Ryuken were so shocked and surprised by this discovery that they didn't see the change in Ichigo's body.
Yuzu and Karin was the one who noticed the change.
Their eyes widened in disbelief as they saw their brother's change with their own eyes.
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