. 𝑬𝑪𝑳𝑰𝑷𝑺𝑰𝑵𝑮

   #𝙳𝙴𝚃𝙷𝙱𝙴𝚁𝚁𝙸               𝙺𝚄𝚁𝙾𝚂𝙰𝙺𝙸 𝙸𝙲𝙷𝙸𝙶𝙾 .

            ❝ 𝐍𝐎𝐖  𝐈  𝐀𝐌  𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄  𝐃 𝐄 𝐀 𝐓 𝐇 ,                        𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐘𝐄𝐑  𝐎𝐅  𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃𝐒. ❞

   ouuuh!!  reading it for the first time??  oh my, i see!  then i hope you enjoy the art bc i know i do.  i simply adore the manga, esp bc bleach/kubo led me to pursue my art career 💕   tbh i feel as though i’m in a similar boat because i’m more or less doing the same with nar/uto at the moment.  i’d read the series up to a certain point back when i was in my preteens but never kept up with the updates, so here i am, studying and learning the material at a snail’s pace p:  ok but no for real, i’m seriously over the moon you notice and appreciate my efforts ;-;  idk.  just feels real nice to know when i spend such a ridiculous amount of time working on my content slskdjfs aaaa  thank you!!!!!  also, don’t worry about it!  there’s really no need to work up the nerve to drop anon.  i promise i’m nothing special.  i’ve also never been good at socializing or holding conversations, and god knows i only know how to make an utter fool of myself lol  so yeah, no pressure!!  take your time with it and drop anon whenever you’re comfortable ^^

hello there!!  i’ll admit i’ve been pretty insecure for a number of reasons lately, and i mostly ever dread the thought of receiving an honest opinion regarding my content, especially when i’m not mentally prepared for it, but this is such a wonderful surprise that i’m just ksjfklsdf!!!!!  omg.  thank you sososo very much for taking time out of your day to tell me what you think of my son ♡  i love him to bits 'n pieces; he’s truly darling.

as for your questions… gosh.  to start, i’ll be honest with you: i had no idea who in the world muramasa was until i googled him.  of course, i have seen the anime before, but only all of the canon material because that’s all i care for ( with the exception of the movies and maybe some of the video game lore ) so thank goodness for the wiki lol.  and after reading up on him—wow.  two things: 1) canon lore blasted a massive hole into this filler arc.  2) i think i see how my content might’ve reminded you of this arc.  much of the relationship language is similar to my headcanons for ichigo and zangetsu despite how i’ve always seen them as ‘one’.  it’s really given me a lot to think about, but that’s neither here nor there for the moment.   as for that au!  well, the answer is no, i clearly haven’t lol but there's more to it, given the fact zangetsu’s never reared his head so fast before.   so, uh.,,., what do you mean by ‘shelter’?  as in, ichigo ‘sheltered’ this zanpakutō spirit within his own soul and openly shares his inner world with zangetsu?

[6:05 PM] solo: zangetsu: ’scuse m e [6:05 PM] GreenJacket: weijowejfiofiowejfiowej OMFG

more than a few things come to mind.  mostly questions regarding how exactly this could go on without one of them experiencing some sort of drawback, and what nimaiya would have to say about it all.  also can’t forget zangetsu’s overall displeasure—or should i say shiro and the old man, considering the timeline this takes place in?  yeah… got a lot of thoughts regarding this particular detail that doesn’t actually have anything to do with your question SDKJF  sorry, just thought i might mention!!

ahem.  fair warning: my answer is actually super boring and just me dumbly speculating possibilities bc i lack full context lol

so, muramasa’s ability is interesting to say the least, and before i’d read the wiki more thoroughly and only had a surface-level understanding, i was so confused lmao  i was going over this concept like, ok cool beans with the help and all, but so what if ichigo enters aizen’s inner world??  assuming aizen is present—which i’m certain he would be ( going more with canon aligned logic here ) within seconds after sensing an invasion of his soul—what’s ichigo gonna do in there, except put a megalomaniac’s pride and resolve at stake??  aizen won't be swayed by any argument or attempt at reasoning, and trying to appeal to feelings of loneliness—of which is entirely based off a split-second formed conjecture—just to relate to him would be so far beyond naïve that it’d be full-on dumbassery.

however!  since aizen didn’t actually absorb his zanpakutō until after dangai!ichigo initiated their final battle, that leaves talking to kyōka suigetsu and maybe convincing them to turn on aizen because it’s been supposedly neglected… and then i read marumasu can brainwash zanpakutō and i was like OH.  if they brainwashed kyōka suigetsu and had them turn on aizen so ichigo wouldn’t have to go with the nuclear option—well, that’d be grand.  looks like a piece of old tackle from that point on, and i’m sure most of it would go the same as canon, barring two years of heavy depression over losing his powers…  a boring answer, i know.  ¬ ¬

sighs  idk if you wanted me to talk about this, but man, don’t even get me started on saigo no getsuga tenshō bc i know i must be part of the minority.

i dislike it as much as i begrudgingly accept it with wide open arms.  i want to kick it aside as much as i want to desperately preserve its existence and subsequent impact to the series, including the awful nosedive in popularity.  i dislike it because it was a half-baked deus ex machina, but i ultimately embrace its shitty entirety because ichigo needed to become human again—needed to go back to his roots.  needed the emotional development etc.  i mean, yeah, he was still technically human, but things had changed after the dangai.  it’s why shunsui gave out those soul tickets—and i hate when people say kubo forgot about that shit.  he didn’t forget anything!!  fight me!!!!  jfc  although a bit… ham-fisted in execution, the scene straight up screamed that ichigo, during that specific junction of time, was becoming something more than human.  

EDIT:  excuse me while i smack myself!  not sure if you’ll ever see this, anon, but my apologies, it seems i spoke of these scenes in the wrong order and wasn’t specific enough.  in regard to ‘that junction in time’, i was referring to training with the zero squad, which happens much later in the series.

the point of mentioning the soul ticket scene was to prove that dangai!ichigo had reached reiō status at that point, and to emphasize that it was a definite option and not just a mere possibility.  so, i think it goes without saying having power equal or greater than the power of the reiō ( soul king ) would absolutely mean he can’t go home.  this is backed up by the novel CFYOW ( eu canon ) when hisagi reveals that ichigo becoming the soul king was indeed their plan B, and only a being with all five aspects may take the king’s place.

so very sorry for the confusion.  accidental or not, i seriously hate giving out the wrong information.

dangai!ichigo would’ve never been allowed back home.  not when that was technically his most powerful form, the most powerful out of all the canon power-ups he’s ever had—even more powerful than him at the very end of the series, after his soul had harmonized.  dude was a walking hōgyoku when he faced aizen, what with all five aspects present in his soul, and if there’s anyone who disagrees with me, that’s fine but y’all best sQUARE UP with a good counter argument bc — oh p … ah and here i am rambling again.  whoops.

ah, if this wasn’t the sort of answer you expected.,,. i did my best to give you some of my thoughts ^^;  sorry if they were messy and long lol  i just have a lot of thoughts and feelings ( and severe adhd despite being on medication coughs ), so i tend to be a lost bag of wind regarding my interests lol  anyway, if you're ever curious about anything else regarding my boy, please don’t hesitate to ask, because if i can answer it, i totally will.  i’m always so stoked to talk about him or even just lore stuff!!  it's like my healing therapy lol

۵ ◜𝄞◞ ۵ ┊ Gemiya looks up at Kurosaki for a moment before her eyes shift towards the buildings that had been previously smashed the night before. It was a good thing she wasn’t in her apartment or else she’d probably be walking around with a limp or some other visible injury today. Or worse! No… instead, by the grace of some higher being she wasn’t in, but she had been nearby. Therefore, she had been witness to the whole fight.

          Her thumb gestures over her shoulder towards her apartment, leading up to the question. “How does that, get fixed so quickly? I know you’ve gone over it before but what is this Soul Society? Do you work for them? With them? I mean… I’ve picked up the basics about things so far but there’s still a lot to absorb. Are they… good? Or is it more complicated than that?” As the two begin their walk towards the mall, she turns her attention back to the path leading to it and finally pauses her waterfall of questions. 

          Only to pick the questions back up once they were walking a comfortable pace. “I mean… aside from taking out these malevolent spiritual beings, what’s your role in all this? How long have you been at this?” At that point she energetically points her finger at his face. “And how did you heal so quickly? Last I saw, your face was practically drenched in blood and sweat. Are you sure you’re alright?” If they weren’t walking and in public view she would have taken his face in her hands and inspect it, but that would probably give off the wrong idea to those in the vicinity. The last thing she wants to do is cause trouble for Kurosaki after all. He’s already doing so much for her.

          The walk hadn’t taken too long and the two just arrive at the mall’s entrance, which leads her to her next query as they enter. Both taking care not to bump into others. “Oh by the way, judging by the look on your face earlier- you don’t know what a chai latte is! Have you never tried one?”

               𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙻𝙾𝙾𝙺 𝙾𝙽 𝙺𝚄𝚁𝙾𝚂𝙰𝙺𝙸’𝚂 𝙵𝙰𝙲𝙴  had more to do with struggling to remember her slew of questions than any confusion over a latte, but clarifying was pointless, so he offered a half-hearted shrug instead as they strolled through the embellished vestibule of karakura mall.  gemi’s explanation was rather lackluster ( turned out chai was milk tea, albeit with additional spices mixed in ), and it took ichigo a moment’s pause to realize the ensuing silence was his cue to start talking.

❝oh, uh—yeah.  i’m all right.  a little sore, but mostly healed up.  it isn’t like i was in my body then, so no big deal,❞ ichigo reassured with such little tact that it was a miracle he didn’t instantly trip and land flat on his face.                    shit, that’s right!  had he ever brought up he wasn’t exactly human while battling hollows?!  unlike shinigami, other spirits, be it pluses or jibakurei, shared a distinct visual aspect: a chain of fate embedded in the chest.  to the untrained eye, shinigami appeared as normal and palpable as any other ordinary human… not to mention the whole corporeal element to his soul form that still threw ichigo for a loop.

❝crap—wait, hold on.  so you know when i’m in those black robes?  that’s when i’m a soul and not a human—i mean not that i’m not human, because i am human.❞  a fact the assholes in central-46 often chose to neglect at their convenience, much to ichigo’s exasperation.  ❝it’s just that i have to use my soul form to fight, otherwise i’d be a cripple by now… or dead,❞ he amended weakly, as though the fragility of ( his ) human life had fled him for a second.  ❝anyway, i also heal at a faster rate.  it’s nothing that could influence life or death, but it’s passive and enough so that the other half of my soul doesn’t freak out on me.❞

                      𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐞.  𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐢𝐞.   tsundere bastard.  just say you care about me.   𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.  𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭.

                           ❝don’t count on it,❞ ichigo muttered lowly, fondly, while running a hand through his hair.  considering what all gemiya had witnessed firsthand, as well as experienced both mentally and physically, he was beyond giving rudimentary definitions, but fat chance of characterizing soul society into terms as straightforward as good or bad.  soul society was complex in every sense of the word.  from its essential role in upholding the balance of all three worlds to what it meant to him after the wars, after the horrors he’d faced for the sake of artificial peace.  rukia had always described it as a paradise safeguarded by shinigami, where departed souls dwelt before reincarnation.  hunger didn’t exist, and the unmeasured pulse of time forever beat at a leaden rate.  except, much of that had proven untrue, and caveats existed at every turn, as though paradise was no less flawed than the world of the living…

so about 3 years ago, i met this wonderfully kind minat/o rper, whose muse was so endearing that they’d left an impression on me ( and ichigo, truth be told ) and left me wanting ichigo to become bffs with nardo uwu  this also engendered a genuine curiosity that i never acted on solely bc i’m a stubborn little fucker who prefers sticking to what he knows best ( b/leach ), that is until very recently..,,.,. and now it seems i’ve spiraled into nar/uto hell these past few weeks omg

( peter if u are reading this, hi ilu, and thank for you for inadvertently ruining me 3 yrs later slkjsf  you and nep/@tattebaios​ have ruined me, thANKs )

anYWAY, it’s probably weird of me to post fanart from a diff fandom here but hey, my blog + one of my sketches includes my boy so… whatever lol  this goes in order of my first tentative sketch of nar/uto while on the phone to my most recent atrocity  fingerguns

too much kubo influence.,.,,. also idk how to... draw young faces cries

nobody comment on the lack of clothing—i add clothing last okay

i rlly liked this one bc it felt like i was getting the hang of him, but then i lost the data and had to resort to a backup,.,. now it doesn’t look the same anymore so i’ve given up on this one smh 😔

that third rough sketch has now become a massive canvas that’s nowhere near done.  it’s gonna take time i don’t have to finish it.  maybe one day idk

ive binged the movies save for two, and so far, blood priso/n is my favorite, right next to lost towe/r ( almost entirely bc minat/o’s in it tbh ), and despite everyone and their mothers telling me to watch road to ninj/a, i refuse to watch it until i'm emotionally prepared bc:

[9:50 PM] solo: if i watch road to ninj/a, ill cry won't i BC MINATOOOOOO [2:53 AM] boop .: 100%

[3:56 PM] solo: im too scared to watch that one bc ill prob cry like a bitch [4:02 PM] GreenJacket: LJSJDJSJAUD [4:03 PM] solo: MINATOOOOOOOO

also, quick doodle of this dork before bed yesterday

i imagine he’d be a really fucking cool breakdancer and nobody can tell me otherwise; this is canon now bye

he watches as the former shinigami rolls the fabric between his fingers , not daring to open his mouth and interrupt. a cold chill runs up his spine at the way ichigo speaks , sending goosebumps across his skin. he watched silently as ichigo’s mind pieced the puzzle together , chest aching at the thought of losing his newest , and probably dearest friend. he jumped at ichigo’s abrupt stance , eyes following sharp features before looking elsewhere again. he was too ashamed to truly meet his gaze , only offering the occasional glance before his focus would return to something — anything else.

“ i’m . . not from the soul society. and i’m not a soul reaper. ” his voice was soft , low , almost inaudible if it wasn’t for the painful silence that surrounded the pair. how could this be explained , would ichigo even believe him? not that naruto would blame the latters disbelief.

“ i’m sure you know , the word vizard. ” he holds his breath for a moment before continuing. “ urahara … he asked me to keep an eye on you. he was worried and knew you were avoiding him. ” finally , naruto allows himself to stand up , only falling short by an inch or so.

“ at first , i’ll admit i was doing it for urahara. but , as we began spending time together . . i got to know you. you’re smart , and strong , and i really think you’re just a cool guy. i really do consider you a friend. i won’t blame you if you don’t believe that last part though. i know i’m not exactly trustworthy right now. ”

              𝙷𝙴’𝚂 𝙰 𝚅𝙸𝚉𝙰𝚁𝙳 ,  kurosaki thought, almost startled out of anger.  almost.  having heard the reluctant hope in naruto’s admission, there was no stopping the abrupt shift inside him, and whatever delight the confession engendered buckled to mistrust rearing its ugly head.  ichigo studied his friend through lowered lashes, a dark radiance gaining hold of his expression.  it was a decent apology, backed by compelling reason and wrapped in noble intentions so typical of urahara kisuke that only a cockroach of a man would take it all for granted.

❝did you ever plan on telling me?❞ he asked at length, instantly hating the grating mix of misplaced anger and helplessness pulling his voice tight.  ❝actually, wait.  don’t answer that.  i don’t want to know.❞

the full weight of prolonged silence unfolded, and ichigo found it as intolerable as the miserable regret still dimming naruto’s expression and the caustic disbelief left simmering within his chest, clear-cut and unmitigated.  blowing out a scoff, ichigo snatched the glove off the floor and tossed it across the room, watching it land atop the blond’s backpack before turning to his desk, evidently unsure of what he wanted out of this.  no apology would change what had happened.  there was no quick fix, no welcome justification that could set it all to rights; naruto had become someone too significant for vain platitudes and far too important to simply cut out.

most know better than to fuck with the monstrous presence residing in karakura, especially after the war(s)—like who isn’t aware of the savior of all three worlds at that point—and the ones stupid enough to bet with their lives probably don’t warrant zangetsu’s edge.  brandishing his zanpakutō just to engage in combat with some small fry enemy… it’s excessive.  outrageously so.  it’s overkill to the point of cruelty.  there’s a good chance ichigo will even end up feeling bad.  because he’s an empathetic sap who cares way too much about everyone and everything, which unfortunately includes enemies armed to the teeth and at the ready to chop him up into little pieces.  this kid ages me.

@dethberri​

          “You know, conversation would be a lot faster if you actually said something instead of just stared. You obviously have something to say.”

               ❝𝙸 𝚆𝙰𝚂𝙽’𝚃 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶.❞   that was a lie.  sort of.   in any case, this guy sounded like a prick, and kurosaki ichigo would sooner eat his left sneaker than to ever admit to some dickhead that he’d gazed a little too long at their body and face.  even if it was true.  kind of.  not really.  ❝is this how you normally treat someone who goes out of their way to help you out?❞ kurosaki finally threw back, visibly annoyed, and quickly tucked away his wallet before swiping up the change left on the counter.

curse his innate shinigami instincts which had zeroed in on the stranger as soon as they entered the building.  of course, ichigo hadn’t outright gawked, but maybe subconsciously following them around a modest convenience store wasn’t his finest endeavor at exercising subtlety.  that, and practically jumping to help cover an expense, purportedly so he could get a little closer.  as for the so-called ❛staring❜?  well, that was nothing but astonishingly bad timing on ichigo’s part, as well as his usual shitty handle at reikaku rounding back to bite him in the ass.

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez detested the world of the living and even more so, loathed having to walk among the masses. Humans were weak and helpless and as a natural predator in his prime, he had no patience for them. These people had abandoned their instinct and fell prey to their comfortable lives behind four walls, complacent in cages of their own making. If he so wished, the Espada could slaughter them all with his bare hands, without even breaking a sweat, but instead he only scowled at their carelessness. He thought to himself, passing a crying child clinging to their mothers skirt. How pathetic. Across the street he noted a man who begged for spare change while another walked cluelessly in front of a moving car and a third was distracted by the beeping device in his palm. Grimmjow hated them all for their stupidity. The residents of Karakura Town were soft and it made Grimmjow irate to have to engage with them. Kiske Urahara nearly lost a limb trying to get him to don a gigai for the first time; the shop owner had been firm in his resolve that if the Arrancar was going to be living among them, he needed to look the part. Immediately, he suspected that the device was somehow reporting back his actions to Urahara to keep him leashed, but now, he mostly found the damn thing to be uncomfortable or more accurately, suffocating.

Grimmjow rounded the corner and proceeded inside the small market Jinta had boorishly directed him to and withdrew a sloppily scrawled list from his pocket. Although he was less than thrilled to be sent out to run errands, Grimmjow had reached his limit for incessant bickering and begun having violent daydreams of murdering them all where they stood. As much as he hated humans, he needed a break and Tessai conveniently needed dinner supplies. With audible irritation, he picked up a hand basket and began prowling the isles.

His departure from Hueco Mundo had been reluctant at best. Following his fight against the Quincy Askin Nakk Le Vaar, Grimmjow was transported through the garganta in hopes he would make a full recovery. The attack used against him left the man unconscious and although he had certainly survived far worse, the poison mercilessly worked to devour his heiro and left him vulnerable. After finally coming-to nearly 3 weeks later, the Espada discovered his spiritual defenses to be completely absent and leveled the entire compound in retaliation before he was successfully detained, leaving no survivors in his wake. As a result, he was sent back to Kiske and ordered that until he had learned to cope with his loss without the expense of others lives, he was banished to the world of the living. The smug, hat-wearing bastard then proceeded to keep Grimmjow contained to the basement until he expended all of his spirit energy and was ready to negotiate the terms of his exile. After a month and a half of threats, kido binding and violent outbursts, he finally accepted his punishment.

As he passed by a selection of apples, Grimmjow absently chose one and took a large bite before sinking his teeth in just enough to hold the fruit against his mouth while he added something to his basket. The idea of packaged food that lasted for months at a time was a widely unappetizing concept to the Sexta Espada so he generally favored fresh produce, as well as the butchers shop down the road.

“Hey! Mister, you still have to buy that!” The clerk fussed at him over the top of the shelves from the front of the store but after meeting Grimmjow’s unwavering gaze, quickly disappeared behind the counter.

“Tch, damn humans…” he grumbled to himself, moving away from the isle of sweets and closer to the back of the shop. Why he had to pay for sustenance was beyond his comprehension; why barter for food when you are strong enough to take it for yourself and consume those who were too weak to stop you? Yet another vital concept in the key to survival that humans insisted on defying. Idiots. While he reached for a can that was suspiciously labeled as meat, the hairs on his neck bristled and Grimmjow stood still, arm outstretched. What-? Sensing a familiar spiritual pressure, he shifted his eyes to the entrance which instinctively widened upon seeing spiked, orange hair.

              𝙺𝚄𝚁𝙾𝚂𝙰𝙺𝙸 𝙸𝙲𝙷𝙸𝙶𝙾 𝙳𝙸𝙳𝙽’𝚃 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙺 𝙸𝚃 𝚆𝙰𝚂 𝙿𝙾𝚂𝚂𝙸𝙱𝙻𝙴  to make what was clearly an insult sound endearing, but urahara kisuke had somehow managed, as he so often did with most things unimaginable.  except that wasn’t an answer, and ichigo didn’t recall asking for a reality check.  so what if he wasn’t the best at sensing reiatsu?  and yeah, maybe he still couldn’t hope to identify signatures with any grade of precision despite possessing more battle experience than most seated shinigami would ever hope to gain in a single ( undead ) lifetime.  was that really enough grounds to dismiss concern?  hell no.

❝are you even listening?!  i should be at work right now!❞  contacting ikumi before visiting his old mentor would’ve been the wiser move, but consequences be damned.  urahara had yet to answer him, much less provide a reasonable explanation!  certainly a red flag if ichigo had ever seen one.  ❝look, if i’d said it’s someone in specific, then okay, fine.  tease all you want.  everyone knows i'm shit at this.  but c’mon, didn’t you feel it, too?❞

it’d surfaced for only an instant, ample time to jolt ichigo, whose immediate response had been to let himself fall against the monstrous pressure, to probe for danger, for some impression of malicious intent, but casting out his senses had been an uphill battle, as chronic sleep deprivation paired with a noisy environment and a dash of way too much caffeine had blitzed his concentration.  the most he gleaned was that it’d been across town, roughly in the shōten's direction before it flickered, then evaporated altogether.  the half hour he dedicated to reconnaissance before class had proved more than enough time to investigate, mainly because whatever or whoever’s reiatsu that'd flung him back to the blackest, most harrowing point of his entire life had well and truly vanished.

         or did it?                    𝚗𝚘, declared a warbling voice at the back of his mind.  zangetsu.  ichigo stole a sip of tea and contemplated if the slightly wobbled pitch had been a figment of imagination.  zangetsu hadn’t uttered a word during his frantic scramble home, didn’t even cackle when ichigo missed the doorknob in his haste and almost punched a hole through his bedroom door ( again ).  which was abnormal, to say the least.  that sort of thing normally merited scathing remarks that ichigo preferred to believe was zangetsu’s extremely backward way of doting on him.  admittedly, ichigo had deemed the silence a good thing.  with peace ensuing in all three worlds, zangetsu spent most days dead to the world, apparently so bored out of his fucking mind that sleeping was the best escape from the endless tedium of human life.  so, the fact he'd stirred awake could mean…  a quick shake of the head checked that line of thought.

        soul society had a firm handle on things.  besides, as the captain-commander had put it, anything less than an armageddon-level threat simply wasn’t worth kurosaki’s attention.

hence why a distant part of him supposed it couldn’t be all that bad, especially seeing as geta-bōshi had the gall to play dumb even after ichigo had pointed out the traces of reiryoku smothered on urahara and inside the shōten, like thick smears of oil paint.   heavy.  familiar.              like i’ve known it before, ichigo muttered into the night, luminous amber eyes darting over the glittering cityscape below his feet.  he ran his thumb over the hilt of his zanpakutō reassuringly, trying and failing to soothe zangetsu’s guttural howls vibrating the blade.  zangetsu knew what was up, but he’d gone nonverbal, and that didn’t ease ichigo’s mind.  it was getting worse now, which meant whatever he was searching for couldn’t be much further.

just as ichigo leapt into the air, an impression claimed his mind—dissonance—though there was an inconsistency in all the chaos.  recognition.  an ambiguous sense of nostalgia.  like reconnecting with something both old and new.  familiar yet—comprehension fell short to novelty.         a paradox.         then he found it.  at a grocery store of all fucking places.  down the canned-foods aisle stood a lean figure with unkempt blue hair, startling blue eyes, and a half-formed scowl ichigo truly believed he’d never see again.

sure enough, there was grimmjow jaegerjaquez in the flesh, just standing there.  like a total asshole.  like ichigo hadn’t thought he died in the war.  like ichigo hadn’t spent countless sleepless nights staring up at the ceiling, tallying each and every missed opportunity into a ledger of mistakes made throughout the war that narrowed down to even transitory moments.  seeing that the arrancar was alive…  ichigo felt that if he stood frozen for any longer, the emotional strain might snap him in half.

❝son of a bitch!❞    a thousand thoughts raced to put two and two together.  the spike of reiatsu—so familiar yet foreign, and the visceral response evoked before it’d throttled to near nothing, just like now.  as though grimmjow was…  heart skipping and stumbling into an erratic cadence, the young shinigami straightened but made no move to close the distance, too afraid to hope this wasn’t another fucked up ptsd-fueled dream.  he wouldn’t put it past himself.  not after the wars, the endless nightmares, and bearing the full brunt of chronic insomnia.    please, no.  not another dream.    tightening his grip on zangetsu, who echoed the sentiment, he abandoned dismay in favor of wary suspicion — then yielded to a sudden and rather random impulse.

a loud sigh of relief echoes in the steam filled bathroom , naruto pulling on the last of his sleepwear before stepping out into the cooler hallway. he holds the days dirty clothing under one arm , walking himself back to ichigo’s room with a large grin. he can barely recall the last time he was in a home that actually felt as such — so warm and inviting. his heart ached a bit , one hand rising to rest against his chest at the memory of his mother. he really missed his family , a lot. but now wasn’t the time for that.

reaffirming his usual happy go lucky attitude , he knocked before allowing himself into ichigo’s room. “ thanks for letting me borrow the shower ! i feel way better after being out today. ” he doesn’t notice ichigo right away , having moved to his backpack to store his dirty clothing. upon zipping it closed and turning to his friend , he finally notices. that familiar red glove in ichigo’s hand causes naruto’s heart to sink , eyes shooting up to meet ichigo’s stare.

“ ichigo … i — i’m sorry i didn’t tell you. i uh , i can go. if you need to be alone , or if you need time to think. i understand. ”

he lowers his head in shame , sitting in place on the floor without another word. he waits , heart racing , for the reaction most anyone would have if they found out a friend had lied to them about something so important. a raised voice , a painful silence , perhaps something outright improbable like being hit. whatever the reaction , ichigo was justified. he has every right to be angry , hurt , whatever he may be feeling in this moment.

                                     @dethberri​     /     c.

                ❝ 𝙸 𝙷𝙰𝙳 𝙰 𝙵𝚁𝙸𝙴𝙽𝙳 𝚆𝙷𝙾… 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙴 𝚂𝙾𝙼𝙴𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚂𝙸𝙼𝙸𝙻𝙰𝚁 𝚃𝙾 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚂 , ❞  ichigo began while rolling brilliant red fabric between steady fingers.  ❝i haven’t seen this design in years.❞  not since the whole debacle with kon, who had been the perfect soul-ejection replacement until ukitake had bestowed his official badge.  ❝so i thought i might ask where you got it.  but that would’ve been stupid of me, right?❞  snorting below his breath, he turned over the glove and couldn't help but wonder if this was an elaborate joke naruto had forgotten the punchline to.  or a dumb prank in the process of derailing.   it wasn’t.   then again, what had he expected?  a convoluted explanation?  flustered denial that this wasn’t what it looked like and ichigo had missed the mark by a mile?

                                   naruto’s apology allowed no room for misinterpretation.

and just like that, everything else fell into place.   one by one, countless events slotted into their marked positions like pieces to an intricate puzzle.   naruto’s plethora of excuses, followed by the teen practically booking it, seemingly at random, with the same urgency as one who suddenly recalled having left the stove on at home, and ichigo, always finding himself stuck waiting.  waiting for naruto to return from wherever he’d gone, be it from a trip to the restrooms, a pressing phone call taken in private, or yet another friend needing help with a minor emergency.  then there were the times he’d come upon naruto slumped over, completely unresponsive… hell.

blind trust had dulled his wit; he should have known at that point… except, a severe lack of context left comprehension stumbling hard, and for all that he now understood, ichigo failed to grasp any reason why.

after a moment spent staring that confounding question in the face, uncertainty flashed over angled features before amber eyes swept up to meet a clear blue, probing relentlessly.  naruto was a shinigami, that much was indisputable, but ichigo was fairly certain shinigami posing as human in secret broke about eighteen separate soul society laws.  so, what kind of shinigami would set aside consequences and willingly pretend to live life as a human?  given that rukia had been an unprecedented deviation from normality, his best guess was none.

❝naruto, did you…❞  throat seizing around a terrible realization, ichigo fell silent, grappling to reach for the right words that wouldn’t cut himself too deep.   ❝were your orders to… be friends with me?❞   befriend him.  watch him.  corroborate kurosaki ichigo was a mortal being living an ordinary life.   ❝soul society felt so responsible, they sent a random officer to check up on me?  or what—spy on me?  make sure i’m still human, right, and haven’t somehow defied the odds again?❞  ichigo’s tone carried the serrated edge of scathing disbelief when he shot up from his bed, hands clenched into fists at his sides.

" Have fun coming to Soul Society . Kenpachi's been itching to fight ya kid . If ya think I'm gonna save yer ass, you're wrong . I'm hiding to ."

                    ❝𝙸 𝙲𝙰𝙽 𝙵𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃 𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙿𝙰𝙲𝙷𝙸 𝙰𝙶𝙰𝙸𝙽?❞   kurosaki ichigo blindly reached for the milk and promptly overshot the distance.  cold liquid splashed across his forearm, though the young shinigami didn’t seem to notice as he straightened up and blinked owlishly at his distant cousin from across the kitchen.

hadn’t central 46 passed some absurdly specific law that prohibited him from ever crossing blades with the eleventh captain again?  no exceptions, he recalled verbatim while throwing down a rag and hastily dragging it around the floor with his foot, mopping up stray splatters of spilled milk.  not unless it is in self-defense.  there were also vague mentions of treason and the unintentional unleashing of uncontrollable inner hollows, but that was neither here nor there.

❝urahara said he would try negotiating with the captain-commander.❞  maybe shunsui would have enough sway to swap out ‘never’ for ‘annually’ or — if they were lucky — ‘biannually’.  ❝that was like a month ago, so i figured central 46 didn’t budge.❞

stupid as the law was, ichigo hadn’t protested against it.  central 46 had acted on objectively reasonable grounds for once, as his last ‘warm up’ with kenpachi had concluded with the destruction of more than half of the eleventh division’s training grounds, not to mention a corner section of fifth division’s barracks, much to shinji’s pained amusement…  in hindsight, he simply should’ve been more careful, if not at least more proficient with dual-wielding before finally taking up kenpachi’s long-awaited demand for a rematch.  perhaps then he would’ve recognized sooner that swinging only one sword meant kenpachi had an empty hand for grabbing and throwing shit into buildings.  shit like his entire body —