Kurosaki Ayumi is born before her brother, Kurosaki Ichigo. The smallest of changes can create the largest of ripples. How much does having an older sister actually change Ichigo's story?
Less...and more...than one would assume.
(OC-SI as Ichigo's sister. Leaning more to the OC side. Also crossover power set.)
AN: Or, Sky and Lenea still suck at titles. Longer AN at the bottom.
Prologue 1: A New Life
Do you wish to live? Or do you wish to die? I can give you that choice. You need only accept one condition. Should you wish to live, you must always...
When Kisuke Urahara saw the looks on the faces of Isshin and Masaki Kurosaki, he felt his heart skip a beat. An unfamiliar and unwelcome sensation. He hadn't kept in close contact with the pair. They came to him when they needed checks on how well the seal was holding the Hollow at bay, yes, but otherwise...well. They weren't friends.
Acquaintances, perhaps. He got the feeling that for all they thanked him for his efforts, they never did trust him or like that he hadn't come up with a better solution. He didn't deny the point either. While the gnawing guilt he felt for Shinji and the others wasn't present, he still did feel a kernel of shame. Isshin had given up everything for Masaki, and she in turn had been thrown out of the Quincy families for what she had done.
If he could have been a little faster, a little better---
No. He was getting sidetracked.
"What's wrong?" Kisuke didn't bother with the shopkeeper shtick. His hooded and shadowed eyes sharp as flints. "I don't think this is a social call. We aren't close enough for that."
Brutal honesty always worked when the act wasn't called for. Isshin stepped forward and locked Kisuke with the stare of a veteran, if younger, Captain. "We need you to look at our daughter, Urahara."
He had known that Masaki was pregnant against all odds. He had been where they went for a checkup when Ryuken Ishida couldn't do more. To make sure that their impossible child, a hybrid of Quincy and Shinigami, was healthy and stable. He had told them as much multiple times.
I wasn't there when she was born, again, he was hardly their friend. But I told them to come directly to me if anything was wrong. So far as I know, their child is a healthy baby girl. What happened?
"Is she here?" Kisuke hadn't missed how Masaki had been clutching a bundle to her chest. Still, it was only polite to ask.
Isshin rolled his eyes and scratched at the barest hint of stubble on his chin. "Yeah, she's here. Masaki?"
The Quincy walked past her husband, still clutching her daughter tight to her chest. "It's nothing bad, I don't think. Just..." She sighed and held the little bundle out. "Strange. We can't figure out what's wrong."
Kisuke raised an eyebrow and leaned over, his bucket hat shadowing his face. Not enough to cover how a single blonde eyebrow climbed up it, though.
"Ah. Yeah, that is weird. Sure you don't have someone like that in your family tree?" His question was directed at Masaki, since he knew for a fact that no Shiba was ever born with eyes like that.
For the baby girl staring up at him with eyes that had far too much focus...was staring at him with blood-red eyes. The tuft of black hair was Shiba, through and through. But those eyes...
I have no doubts at all that she's their child. Neither of them are the kind to go behind the other's back, and I know that even though I don't know them well. But there is something about this that doesn't ring right to me.
"I'd be happy to look her over," was what Kisuke actually said. He gave a winning smile, the mask sliding back into place once again. "I'm afraid that I can't sense anything about her, though. She seems to be a happy, if spiritually active, child."
Masaki fairly sagged with relief, "That's what I thought. I can't sense anything different either, but her eyes are just so---"
"Strange." Isshin stepped in with a frown. A pensive one, at that. "Shiba's don't have red eyes and while my beloved Masaki's eyes are lighter than the usual, they aren't red."
Kisuke could hardly blame them for being worried. Red eyes weren't impossible, but they weren't common either. And on a hybrid child who by all rights shouldn't have existed in the first place...it was an understandable concern.
"Like I said, I'll look her over. I'm sure you're worrying about nothing, though!"
Chuckling at the sour look from Isshin and the way his wife elbowed his side, Kisuke set off to put some instruments together. He had complete confidence he would find nothing stranger than the existence of a Shinigami/Quincy hybrid in its own right. And the chance to study such an impossible being up close---!
What? He may be in exile, he may be living with a century of regrets, but he was still a scientist at heart. Chances like this didn't come up often!
I'll do it. But if I'm going to do this, I want something in return. Something to make me more likely to survive. Something to help the others in ways they couldn't do on their own.
As Ayumi Kurosaki grew up, it quickly became apparent that she wasn't a normal child, Urahara's protests to the contrary aside. She wasn't very talkative, for one. And while that could probably be put down to shyness- she was a bit shy, after all -it didn't quite ring true. When she did grow old enough to talk, her words were always far more enunciated and controlled than someone her age should have been. She excelled at all her lessons and she was more well-behaved than any child had the right to be.
"It's almost like she's an old soul," Masaki said, one time, as the parents watched their daughter curiously looking through a set of picture books.
The Quincy woman's voice was filled with the unbelievable fondness of a proud mother, yet also, the tinge of concern. Isshin, standing beside her, didn't bother hiding his own concern.
He loved Ayumi more than anything in the world, save for his wife, and he would never do anything to hurt her. But he couldn't help but be fearful. Not of his daughter, no, but for her. There was clearly something about her that even Urahara couldn't figure out. And it worried him. He didn't know if he could protect her from whatever was going on with her soul.
He didn't even have the power to protect himself, forget Ayumi.
"Yeah..." Isshin buried that deep, as he pulled Masaki into a side-hug, careful of her belly. He placed a gentle kiss on her bushy hair and smiled against the soft, vanilla-scented strands. "She's going to leave her old man in the dust by the time she's in middle school, at this rate. I'm so proud of our little angel!"
Neither of them noticed the girl, only three years old, flinch.
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Masaki had been heavily pregnant, at the time and would soon give birth to their second child. Little Ichigo was a study in contrasts, in comparison to his big sister. Where Ayumi was quiet, Ichigo was loud. Where Ayumi was shy, Ichigo was outgoing. Ayumi's hair was black as night, Ichigo's as bright as the sun.
Ayumi's serious and blood-red eyes were nothing like Ichigo's open and cheerful brown.
And yet, for all their contrasts, you wouldn't find two closer siblings if you tried. Ayumi was constantly at Ichigo's side, always with a small smile and a gentle touch. She was still a toddler herself, yet she never cried when Ichigo did. She willingly offered her own toys to her brother and simply smiled without complaint when he contrived to break them. If he was hungry, she'd give him food. If he cried, she'd take on a serious and determined frown and hug him until he stopped.
Their mother was dumbfounded...and so very, very proud. "She's such a good sibling, Isshin. I was an only child but I...I cant imagine a better big sister."
Isshin, watching as Ayumi slowly and carefully read a story to Ichigo from her picture book, couldn't help but smile himself. Her words were slow and halting, and if she seemed to get frustrated at her reading ability, she never let Ichigo see it.
"I didn't have siblings, either." The ex-Captain shook his head in clear disbelief and wonderment. His proud look could melt ice with its intensity, befitting the powers he had given up for his wife. "But I did have cousins. And they would have been teasing me and taking my toys. This is..."
He didn't have words for describing it. When Ichigo giggled and pulled on his sister's dangling black hair, Ayumi gently pulled his hand away, instead of screaming and crying at what must have been incredibly painful tugging.
"No, Ichi. Not nice." Ayumi's words were as childish as her age implied, yet no less firm for that. Her smile was soft and loving, though.
Her brother, still a baby and not up to talking, gurgled cheerfully. And pulled on her hair again.
"Right, I think that's enough. Time for your bath, Ichigo." Masaki chuckled and rolled her eyes fondly as she disentangled her children. Ichigo whined and struggled in her grip, while Ayumi tilted her head and laughed softly. She waved at Ichigo as their mother carried him away to the bathroom.
Isshin walked over to his daughter after his wife and son left the room, his fond expression still firmly locked in place. He reached a meaty hand down to pat his daughter on the head, gently ruffling her hair. "You're a good sister, you know that?"
Ayumi looked up at him curiously. After three years, her piercing red stare no longer unnerved Isshin. Sure, the color was weird, but she was his daughter and he'd gladly throw himself on a sword for her. Who cared if her eyes were red?
"Well, I don't know what it's like to be a big brother." Isshin continued, tapping his chin. It didn't make him move his hand from his daughter's thoroughly mussed hair. "But I don't think there's a better big sister out there. You're so nice and patient with him. Almost like you've been a big sister before."
He smiled and gave a hearty chuckle.
"Ichigo's going to be a mama's boy and attached to your hip. But, you know, maybe that's not a bad thing. It's the job of the big sibling to take care of the little one, or so I've heard." He turned his smile down on Ayumi, with a serious look in his eyes. "Make sure you're there for him, yeah?"
The old Shinigami's heart melted when he saw his daughter give him a serious nod, a firm set to her lips.
I don't know what we did to deserve you, Ayumi. I don't know what I did to deserve my family. But I wouldn't give it up for the world.
Isshin ruffled his daughter's hair once more and missed how she smiled softly when she looked up at him.
...very well. You shall have the power you seek. I warn you, though. This power will not be enough. You cannot rely on it and it alone. You will need to support your brother, as he shall always be stronger than you. Do not grow complacent nor arrogant. Or our deal will lead to nothing but heartbreak.
When Ayumi was seven and Masaki had her third and fourth child, the girl seemed to be even more protective than before. If she spent more of her energy on Ichigo, it didn't mean she ignored Yuzu and Karin. She was just as prone to hovering over them as she was with her brother.
Ichigo, bless his heart, mimicked his sister in this. He was always ready to help his baby sisters and swore he would protect them. Because his name meant Number One Protector and it was obvious he would protect little Karin and Yuzu. It was that simple.
Masaki and her husband had laughed until they couldn't breathe when little Ichigo, barely out of his toddler years, had said that with such a serious look on his face. Ayumi had looked at her brother and smiled sadly, her red eyes downcast and suddenly so very old.
Her parents never saw it, of course.
They only saw her caring smile and gentle guidance. How she helped Ichigo in caring for their baby sisters.
"I guess they don't need me anymore," Isshin wiped a tear from his eye, his lip trembling. He looked at Ayumi and Ichigo helping Karin waddle after a soccer ball while Yuzu giggled nearby. "They're already better parents than I am, Masaki. They don't need their father now!"
Masaki smacked his arm with a fond smile on her lips, "Oh quiet, you. No need to be so dramatic. Besides--"
Here she smirked and waggled her eyebrows at her husband, who felt a chill go down his spine.
"---they'll always need you to carry them around when they fall on the ground or scrape their knee. Do you remember when Ayumi dropped that book on her head?"
While Isshin let out a sigh of relief at his wife not teasing him, he smiled broadly, "Yeah! I don't think I've ever seen her pout and cry like that. She puts on that tough front, but she's a big softie beneath it."
As if she heard him, Ayumi looked over with a dry look more befitting a teenager.
"Uh oh, she heard you, dear." Masaki giggled and stepped away from her suddenly sweating husband. "Best run now, you know. I'll give you a headstart."
As Isshin scrambled out of the room with a giggling Ayumi charging after him, Masaki smiled and tried to get past what she had seen that her husband, bless him, had missed. She had powers. He didn't.
She had seen the look Ayumi sent at a ghost watching them play. A look that Ichigo had followed, though he clearly couldn't see much more than a smudge. Masaki bit her lip and sighed softly. They were coming up on that age, weren't they?
A pure-blood Quincy and a Shinigami Captain. Should I be at all surprised our children inherited our powers? Perhaps I should talk to Urahara about this...
She never would, distractions and other such things keeping her from doing so.
I know it won't be enough on its own. But I'll take any edge I can get. And this is a hell of an edge, if you'll forgive the pun. A power that no one, least of all that smug asshole, will expect. I can't turn that down. So I'll play your game. But give me the power I desire!
When Ichigo joined karate classes, around his fifth birthday, Ayumi had sighed and sent her mother a dry look. Ichigo had joined with the stated goal of 'getting strong to help onee-chan'. Ayumi had never had much interest in karate and even less in Ichigo protecting her instead of the other way around. But she still managed to find a way to always be at Ichigo's practices, cheering him on and helping him up when he fell down.
Masaki had needed to send her daughter a quelling look, the first time that little Tatsuki had made Ichigo cry. Ayumi had looked about ready to throw down with the younger girl. Whatever Isshin had told her about protecting her brother she took very seriously, indeed.
And while Masaki was fairly confident that Tatsuki would give as good as she took, that was no reason for an older girl to fight a younger one. Besides, she had seen the way Ichigo took on a determined set to his shoulders, when no one was looking. Sure, he gave that wide, happy smile to his mother when she walked over to him...but he was taking more after his sister than he'd probably admit.
It made her proud.
As did the fact that, once past that initial hurdle, Tatsuki and Ayumi got on like a house on fire. While Ayumi still glared at the younger girl whenever Ichigo cried, it helped immensely that Tatsuki never once lorded her skill over Ichigo. She always helped him up and if anyone felt like picking on the 'cry baby' she was right beside Ayumi in protecting Ichigo's honor.
Or, as Ayumi put it when her mother asked, "She's a good friend, mom. She's fun and tough and she likes Ichigo." She grinned, there and continued, "I have someone to help me keep Ichigo safe! Who else would I be friends with?"
Masaki had rolled her eyes fondly and patted her daughter on the head, "Yes, yes, that's good dear. You should try and make more friends your own age, though."
Ayumi had pouted and grumbled as she fixed her dark hair, so much like her father's. If Masaki's smile turned a tad sad, that wasn't a surprise. Ayumi's piercing red eyes and general shyness around strangers had left her with...real difficulties in making friends. It didn't help matters that she had a seeming disinterest in her classmates anyway. She always hung around Ichigo and his friends instead.
On the one hand, it was adorable. Especially how Ayumi had quickly picked up 'nee-chan' as her nickname by basically everyone.
On the other hand, as a mother, Masaki couldn't help but worry that Ayumi would have issues later in life. If she couldn't connect to her peers and all.
But she pushed that aside and settled for being happy when Ayumi invited Tatsuki to her next birthday party. The younger girl had been grinning up a storm at 'nee-chan' inviting her over. Masaki and Isshin had broken down completely, holding each other as they laughed madly, when Ichigo had pouted and complained about his big sister being 'stolen' out from under him. He and Tatsuki had declared a karate duel right on the spot!
While Ayumi fretted and shuffled, her red eyes looking between the younger kids, Karin and Yuzu had gurgled cheers for Ichigo. Masaki had to smack Isshin's arm when he started to tell his son to 'kick her a--". Though she had also cheered her son on, as well, if in less vulgar language.
Ichigo lost, of course, but he gave a good show of things. Tatsuki had helped him up and grinned at him, saying that he was cool, too. Even if he was a mama's boy. Ichigo smiled back as Ayumi walked over and ruffled his hair. Crisis averted and a lifelong friendship reinforced.
So it would continue for a few years. Ayumi was occasionally roped into trying karate out herself, but she proved to have far more of an affinity for kendo. Stealing her father's bokken to practice more than once, when she thought no one was looking.
Isshin had noticed it, naturally, but he didn't say anything. He was too torn between mixed pride and concern about it. He told his wife as much. As a former Captain, he couldn't help but be proud at seeing his daughter following in his footsteps...whether she knew it or not. As a father, however, he worried greatly that she would get in over her head. He didn't need to be spiritually aware, himself, to know that Ayumi was probably growing by leaps and bounds.
It was in her blood. On both ends of the family. He would dearly regret, later, that he hadn't done more to prepare his daughter.
Happy times never last.
So be it. Our deal is finalized and you will live a new life. A life of hardship and pain. One of violence and conflict. You will find yourself pushed to your limits to earn what you receive. I hope you are ready for this.
One rainy day, when Ichigo was nine and Ayumi twelve, she had been tense and keyed up the entire day. Walking to Ichigo's karate class had been an adventure in even getting her out of the house. Masaki had been amazed to see her strong, tough little girl actually crying at the idea of going out into the rain.
She had looked helplessly at Isshin and he had stared back with equal concern in his dark eyes. Neither of them could figure out what was wrong. Ayumi had never had issues with the rain before and she never cried like that.
But when they had asked, she had clammed up. She only relaxed out of her shell when Ichigo had hugged her tightly and looked up at her with his wide, brown eyes. He had told her he didn't mind staying home if she was that upset.
Ayumi had taken one look at her brother and shuddered. Before giving a small smile and saying that it was 'fine' and she didn't want Ichigo to miss his class because of her.
So they had set out. The class had gone the normal way, Ichigo getting better at standing up to the other students, but still losing out to Tatsuki. There hadn't been anything out of the ordinary there, other than Ayumi sending badly-hidden glances at the doorway. Masaki had watched her daughter the entire time, a frown on her lips.
She had, of course, reached out with her senses to see if there was a Hollow nearby or something of that nature. Ayumi was spiritually aware and perhaps she was sensing something that scared her.
...yet, Masaki could feel no Hollows. Just the brilliant, shining, lights of her children.
It's probably nothing. Maybe she just had a nightmare?
Or so Masaki had told herself, as they all gathered themselves up to set off. Ichigo, chivalrous little boy he was, trying to demand to be allowed to walk by the street. He said that he had to protect his mother and sister from the water kicked up by cars.
While Masaki smiled and wiped him dry beneath her umbrella, Ayumi flinched and looked away. She was still tense and looking around as if expecting something. She never once stopped. Not even when the rain splashed her or when they walked past the overflowing river.
She only stopped when her arm lashed out, whip-quick, to grab Ichigo before he could run after a little girl standing by the river.
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"Nee-chan? What—the girl---!"
Ichigo struggled in her grip, but Ayumi only tightened her hold. She couldn't see anything but the girl, herself, seemingly leaning towards falling into the rushing river. Yet her other senses were screaming at her. A feeling of darkness crushing down upon her, screaming 'death' with every roar. Her blood-red eyes were wide and panicked when they looked up at her mother standing above them.
"Mom, do you feel that?" Ayumi got out, not at all caring how her voice cracked. Her twelve year old body shook with raw fear that she couldn't hope to control. No no no no no---
Masaki looked between her children and the river. Her eyes narrowed as her hand twitched towards her wrist, "Good job protecting your brother, Ayumi. Let's go home, alright?"
"But there's a girl there!" Ichigo protested, trying in vain to pull free from his sister.
His mother shook her head, "That's a spirit, Ichigo. Don't worry about her, okay? Trust mama and everything will..."
She never finished her sentence. The crushing feeling of dread slammed down upon all three Kurosakis, in concert with Masaki clutching her chest and falling to her knees. Ayumi stared at her mother with wide eyes, her grip on Ichigo finally loosening enough for him to get free. But he didn't run to the girl, as he would have in another life. He rushed to his mother's side, instead.
"Mom?! What's wrong, why are you doing that?" He turned terrified brown eyes upon his sister, now. "Nee-chan, what's wrong with mom? Why is she hurting?"
Ayumi knew the answer. She couldn't say it. She didn't want to say it and wouldn't have had a chance anyway. The cloying pressure of Hollow crushed down upon her, as Masaki climbed to shaking feet and tried to stand before her children.
She didn't get more than a foot before her chest was torn open and her body flung atop Ichigo. Her son was knocked clean out in an instant, and Masaki lay, bleeding out and powerless atop him. Ayumi, her mother's blood spattered across her face, was the only one to remain standing. Her shaky hand coming to her cheek, pulling back stained the same shade of red as her eyes.
The girl screamed. Long and loud.
"So weak. I don't know what took the woman's powers, but her soul will still be delicious..."
That menacing voice gave way to the twisted form of a Hollow. Like a malformed hamster, the girl's body dangling from its head, a leering white mask staring down upon Ayumi. The monster licked its teeth and grinned at the elder Kurosaki child. It notably ignored Ichigo and Masaki's slowly dying body.
No.
All its attention was focused on the girl standing before it. A curious tilt of the massive mask joined the terrifying leer.
"You, though...you almost kept me from such a tantalizing meal. I don't know your name, brat, and I don't care." It licked its teeth again and cackled madly. "I'm going to enjoy feasting on your soul first! Then I'll devour your delectable mother!" The Hollow leered down upon her, grin widening. "I don't care for the men, but that boy will be a fine dessert, too!"
Ayumi's hand shook. Her shoulders quaked. Her eyes were bloodshot and filled with tears.
She snapped.
Her scream rose in pitch and intensity as brilliant blue light surrounded her body. Rippling and tearing across her form as the Hollow stepped back and shielded its massive eyes. On the ground, her life gradually fading away, Masaki Kurosaki watched her daughter with wide eyes. Watched as the energy coalesced around the preteen, taking the form of a spectral blue broadsword in one hand. Identical versions of the same blade surrounding her head.
It was not Quincy power. The color was similar, but the energy was not. Even as her life left her eyes, Masaki knew that much.
Ayumi didn't see the moment her mother died. All of her attention was on the blade in her hand. The ghostly blue weapon had shrunk to fit her smaller body, but she still knew it. The horned guard and the skull pommel.
I have the power. But I don't want it. Not like this. Ayumi's tear-streaked face looked up at the Hollow, as her mother's blood ran down her cheek. "I'm going to kill you!"
I never wanted this. I loved my mother and my father and my brother and sisters. If this was the way to unlock my power, I wish I had never made that deal. I would give anything just to have mom back. To see Ichigo smile again.
When Kisuke Urahara arrived on the scene, far too late to help and cursing his own inattention and rusty abilities...he found not an empty body and dead children. He found Masaki Kurosaki, her broken Chain of Fate resting upon her chest. Her hands gently running fingers through the hair of her children, both resting in her spectral lap. Her sad, sad eyes turning up to look up at him over a broken smile.
"I couldn't protect them." She said without prompting. Kisuke didn't need to look past her to see her body, chest torn out, behind her. "I lost my powers and if Ayumi hadn't been here...I don't..."
In an instant, Kisuke had wrapped Masaki in a tight hug. The woman wrapped her arms around him too, sobbing into his shoulder. This was Isshin's place, they both knew it, but if he was the only one there, Kisuke would fill that role. At least for the moment.
It was only when Masaki pulled back, wiping at her eyes, that Kisuke was able to properly see her children. Ichigo, his jacket stained red, resting on one leg. He was out-cold and wouldn't wake for some time. A nasty welt grew upon his forehead and Kisuke reached out, green kaido along his hand, to gently heal it.
Ayumi, by contrast, was unharmed. Save for rain-streaked red on her cheek. Blood from her mother.
It wasn't what drew his attention.
"When did that happen?" Kisuke softly asked, his free hand reaching out to gently lift the pure white locks of hair resting over Ayumi's right eye. The hair felt no different, which if anything, made it all the stranger.
That hair is no more Shiba than her eyes.
Masaki shook her head, biting her lip, "I don't know. It must have been when she activated her powers to fight the Hollow. Ura---Kisuke." She looked at the former Captain with a level stare. "That wasn't Quincy power. I don't think it was Shinigami, either."
Tilting his head, the man nodded back, "I don't doubt that it wasn't Quincy power. If you lost your powers, it stands to reason your children would as well---"
"No, you don't understand. I don't think Ayumi ever had Quincy powers." Masaki frowned deeply as her hand gently brushed wet hair from her daughter's forehead. "Ichigo might, but she doesn't."
It was out in the open now. What Masaki had suspected from the moment her daughter began seeing spirits while she couldn't sense the barest hint of Quincy in her.
Masaki and Kisuke both looked down upon the unconscious children, lost in their own thoughts. It wouldn't last long. With a heavy sigh, the scientist turned to the powerless and very dead Quincy. The heavy look in his eyes told Masaki everything she could possibly need to know, even as it broke her heart.
"You know that it's no coincidence a Hollow attacked you, yes?" Kisuke dropped his hat over his eyes, scanning around the area. His hand had retracted from Ichigo, leaving no sign of the head injury remaining.
Sighing heavily again, the woman nodded, "Yes. It's him isn't it? He wants to do something to my children."
As much as Kisuke may have wished he could deny it, he couldn't. The looming figure with brown hair and a fake smile made that impossible. How could it not? There was no possible way it was a coincidence that a Hollow attacked at that moment. He couldn't say that his enemy knew that Masaki would lose her powers like that, but he certainly knew that the bastard wasn't above manipulating events to his favor.
And it was no secret that Ayumi and Ichigo were impossible children who had powers they could scarcely imagine. Kisuke knew the madman would be interested in the children and would do anything to draw out their potential. Including killing their mother to 'toughen them up'.
The plain fact of the matter is that, so long as she's tied to this world, to her husband...Isshin can never regain his powers. Masaki will never regain her Quincy powers either, and while her soul could possibly be trained to use other abilities, there's no way to say for sure.
Kisuke looked at the woman, who had turned a sad smile on her children, tears running down her cheeks. She was an intelligent woman who understood exactly what risk staying would bring. She still deeply hurt at thinking about what would come.
Yet we don't have a choice. I know he won't hesitate to keep trying to kill her in the name of testing her children. Yoruichi, Tessai and I can't guard them forever and Shinji won't come out of hiding for this. Isshin won't regain his powers, Masaki will be defenseless, and we can't ask their children to fight at their ages.
There truly was only one option. It wasn't as if they had any choice, really.
"I..." Masaki sucked in a shuddering breath, as a black cat appeared beside her. Eyes far too intelligent for such an animal stared out, as the powerless Quincy continued, "I need to go to Soul Society. If I stay, I'm just putting my entire family at risk. Right?"
Silence....until Kisuke blew out a heavy breath and pulled his hat off. Rain instantly soaked through dark blonde hair, darkening it further as gray eyes showed the intense pain the man was feeling. He only rarely showed such vulnerability.
"If there were any other option, I would give it to you. If I could restore your powers, I would. If I thought Ishida could, I would bring you to him in a heartbeat." Kisuke's words were heavy with grief, with guilt, as he continued, "If it were possible to heal your body or make you a gigai like your husbands, I would do so. No matter what the risk. You only need to ask."
Even before the last word left his mouth, Masaki Kurosaki shook her head. Tears continued to roll down her cheeks as she ever so gingerly laid her children down beside her body. She leaned down and left soft kisses on their foreheads. Lingering, for just a moment, on the white hair in Ayumi's pitch black locks.
Before standing up and looking at Kisuke with a determined set to her shoulders, as she said, "I know I need to hide in Soul Society. For their sake. I--"
She sucked in a shuddering breath and looked down, for just a moment.
"I only hope they can forgive me, one day. Isshin and my children both."
"You don't want to tell them first?" The ex-Captain asked, though he already knew the answer.
Masaki shook her head, "I want to. But if I do, I won't have the strength to do this. And if they know...he'll never..."
Kisuke gave a serious nod back and placed his hat back on his head, "Yoruichi will escort you to the Shibas. They'll take you in, happily. I'm told that family is the most important thing to a Shiba."
As the black cat jumped up on Masaki's shoulder and began to gently guide her away, Kisuke looked down at the children. Neither had stirred, though he could tell they weren't physically harmed in any way, now that he had healed Ichigo's wound. Mentally...
"I hope they can forgive me, too." He whispered, as more guilt fell upon his shoulders.
Another secret, another burden to bear. More regrets and buried pain atop a century of grief. If the Kurosaki family wanted to kill him when they found out the truth...well, he wouldn't let them.
But he'd feel he deserved it nonetheless.
Even Benihime was quiescent, her own presence weighed down by the weight of what they were doing to a good man and his wonderful children. All in the name of protecting them.
"Damn you, Aizen." Kisuke ground out, as he pulled a phone free to dial a number he dreaded. "Damn you to hell."
The rain continued to fall.
AN: The Blood War anime is poking the muse something fierce. Not surprising. Bleach is where we began with fanfic, 13 years ago, so we have a long history with it. And it always finds a way to tempt us back. This idea is, in point of fact, using stuff from our second ever fic (itself 12 years old now and referenced in the title). So. Yeah. This is probably the most enthused we've been in writing something in a long time, and it probably carries over in the final product.
At least, we think it does. We don't expect much interest, but it's something we want to do. We also promised a thread after reaching a certain number of chapters pre-written.
So, this thing. It's an idea that appeals to us more than we thought it would. On the face of it, just giving Ichigo an older sister doesn't change things...much. But then you start to really think about his character, especially how his 'protecting people thing' is wrapped up in how his mom always protected him and he wants to do the same. Now toss in an older sibling that does the same 'protecting him' thing...
And you have a fun scenario. Going for this particular take is as much to add more to that as anything else. More to play with. It also gives a bit of 'detachement' that will come up with some characters later on. Is it an SI? No, not in the strictest sense, anyway. Ayumi is not based on me---
Lenea: And if she's closer to me in personality, weeeeeelll, she's still not actually me.
That.
If you want to look at this as an SI, go for it, if that's what you like. If you don't like SI's, look at it more as an OC that happens to come from a world (similar to) our own where Bleach is a manga series. So, we can have the future knowledge without a time-traveler or what have you. It's also more fun from a character development standpoint. If you don't like SIs or OCs in a central role...
Well. This isn't for you
(as for the last bit: This isn't just for the D R A M A. We have specific plans in place and having Masaki still 'die' fits them. Having her live (okay, she's still ded, but she isn't eaten) is done for a similar reason. Future plans.
Ditto the powers we chose. That's partially because we just like that powerset, but also because it's something different and opens up future story beats. Plus it's not just 'oh, she has Quincy powers too, neat'. It provides room for some interesting character work later on.)
Consider this something of an interest check, really. Also, while not as relevant as on Ao3, this was directly inspired by another fic. To shorten this already long note a tad:
The fic in question. Now, we'd love to actually credit the author, but we found it after it was orphaned. So, yeah, no idea who wrote the thing. In any event, while the prologue chapters in here will be similar to the story linked there, they aren't identical. We're actually going to great pains to differentiate things, although the inspiriation is obvious.
Perhaps most importantly, Ayumi is far and away a better adjusted character than Enju. Less trust issues, more actually friendly, all that stuff. That will become abundantly obvious later on, if you compare the two fics. Probably the biggest early change will be a far better relationship with her father. We've always found Enju's relationship with Isshin to be...
Yeah.
And, of course, the powerset is completely different too.
In any event, we hope people reading this like it. Even if it is a bit of a weird one. Also, if you know the powerset, it's obvious what it is. Otherwise, we're not spoiling it by putting it in the title
The loos kinda reminds me of Tales of Xillia 2's MC half, and one of the Umamusume girls half. Though, obviously, red eyes - the first one that comes to mind is Sharingan. But with the blue sword, red eyes, and white hairs, what comes to mind is Jingliu from HSR (which could be interesting given the mechanics of her abilities and her nature as ). Though, of course, with there being 'spectral blue swords' surrounding naturally made me go to Vergil from DMC.
Hm. Interested in the setup, but a tad tentative if it's going to continue to use that awful style of a constantly rotating POV and never/rarely see inside the MC's head or actually focus on them, or if it's reserved for the prologue, which is an appropriate usage of it. To be frank, to do otherwise is a major disservice to the fic when Ayumi is the sole major agent of change. Interludes, sure, but actually make her the focal character, and don't confuse the narrative by jumping between POVs every paltry 1k~ words, when it should be 1, 2 max POVs a chapter, it just makes things feel fragmented at times otherwise.
It's also a style particularly poorly suited in for Bleach. That's how you get shit like Shinigami Savant Quest with 4837 chapters dedicated to covering everything everyone does at all times, especially during large-scale fights, it drew the pacing to a crawl and everything started feeling like filler when the MC barely popped up for like, 30 chapters, and the plot advancement was glacial at best, reaching absolute zero during the fused TYBW and Ghost Mexico arcs. Honestly, I'm not a fan of drawing things out, nor am I fan of perpetual omniscience. Essentially I'm not at all interested in rewatching Bleach in textual form with minor modifications with the same draggy pacing focusing on Ichigo yet again, don't cover redundancies or near redundancies to canon, and for christ sake, stick with the actual protagonist of the fic that's shaking things up.
It says is a Fate crossover so the Power comes from there but the only one involved with swords when I think about it is Emiya Shirou, the again I don't know everything about the Nasuverse, at the top of my head something that fits Quincy thematic would be the Angels of Age of Will you know humanity, the description is alike with the vollständig energy wings and all that.
