Chapter 9: Full measure

Right now, Ichigo was walking with his mother in one of the fields not too far away from the Seireitei. It was among one of the only places that they were allowed to go to, but had to be monitored of course. The ones doing so were the stealth forces surrounding the area, but the mother son duo didn't seem to care as they were just happy to be out of the Seireitei after a long while. The looks the two would get from the populace was very unbearable most of the times, but none of the soul reapers dared to do anything physical to the two. One, Masaki was still fairly strong, about the strength of a lieutenant in her current state despite absorbing reiatsu. And two, Ichigo was far more powerful than any of them could possibly imagine.

The two were enjoying their time away from it all to just relax for a bit. Though, Ichigo was still a little disappointed that his father couldn't join them nor could his two little sisters. Masaki was the same way as she hadn't held her two daughters in months and was getting very impatient on when she could do so once more.

"Mom?" Ichigo started towards her as he noticed a saddened, far away look in her eyes.

Masaki turned towards her son and saw that he was concerned. She smile warmly. "I'm okay Ichigo. Just thinking about the twins." Her smile dropped slightly. "I miss them."

"I do too." Ichigo spoke up as he hugged her. She hugged him back and the two just sat there for a while, looking out towards the bright horizon.

As they watched the horizon, the stealth force around them were getting edgy. They have had many opportunities to take out the pair, but under the order of their captain who was given specific orders from the head captain, all they could do was observe from afar. There were twelve in total all up high in the trees waiting for any sign of hostility as an excuse. As they waited though, they were unaware of a gas coming in from above. The gas was scentless and colorless as it started to take effect on them instantly. They all passed out while on top of the trees and fell down to the earth. The sounds of bodies hitting the ground caused the mother/son pair to turn around quickly. They saw the bodies and immediately went on alert.

"Mom?" Ichigo started as he looked around to see what just happened.

"Stay close to me Ichigo, and remember," She started as she also kept her eyes sharp on anything out of the ordinary, "do not lose control. Okay?"

Ichigo nodded as he looked around for a brief moment, taking in every detail he could find out of the ordinary. So far nothing seemed off to him. Just what was going on?

Up in th trees, a masked man in a dark cloak sat in the shadows and waited. He had used the mist he created to knock out the stealth forces he knew were watching the pair and was now just waiting for it to take care of his targets. If all went well, he wouldn't have to fight anyone and could get a sample of from the boy with ease. They would just wake up later on in a confused state and be none the wiser. It was perfect in his opinion as the last thing he wanted was a confrontation from either of them down there. He waited, and waited, and waited, but something wasn't right. Why weren't they unconscious yet? The gas had spread down to them, so why weren't they feeling the effects yet? Frustrated, he decided to try something a little more direct. Knowing that either of the two could stop this, he took a canister of his gas and opened the top. He then threw it at top speeds towards them and watched it fly.

Down below, both Masaki and Ichigo were still on high alert as they looked everywhere for a possible enemy attack. It was only when Masaki saw something sailing towards them and noticed it was some kind of canister. Using her own reflexes, she caught it with some effort as whoever threw it was definitely strong.

"What is that mom?" Ichigo asked her, confused as to what she was holding onto.

"I don't know Ichigo." She answered, though she started to feel faint. She dropped the cannister and start to wobble on her feet.

Ichigo grew concerned as he watched her stumble for a moment before falling to the ground on her side. "Mom!?"

Ichigo knelt down towards her and shook her a bit, careful not to let his energy rage out of control. Last thing he needed was to explain why he was going on a rampage to those stuck up people in charge.

The man in the shadows grew even more frustrated as he noticed his gas had no effect on the boy. This was going to get complicated quickly. Sighing in annoyance, he decided to use this opportunity to catch the distracted child off guard. Drawing his sword in one arm and a syringe in the other, he took a breath and then silently leapt from the tree. He was making sure to avoid any type of noise by avoiding the branches and leaves so the kid wouldn't be on alert. By the time he had reached the boy, he stuck the syringe in his shoulder. Or at least he would have if the needle hadn't broken on contact with his skin.

"What?" The man was in utter shock that turned to horror when he saw the boy slowly turn his head towards him.

Ichigo didn't know who this masked man was and he really didn't care, all he did know was that he had tried something and was quickly regretting his decision. Ichigo fully turned and threw a punch the masked man avoided by jumping away. When he landed, he looked up to see Ichigo had jumped towards him, fist cocked back and anger clearly in his eyes. The masked man jumped back once more and saw the kid put his fist through the ground, causing a small crater to form. He looked on in shock at the kids strength and readied his blade. If he couldn't get his sample with a simple extraction, he would have to land a cut on the boy to do so instead.

Ichigo looked at the man with narrowed eyes and rushed towards him again at impressive speeds. The man dodged a few jabs and some kicks the boy did and attempted to go on the offensive. The boy didn't give him a chance as he continued on his flurry of strikes that failed to connect to this man. Ichigo was trying very hard not to let his power go out of control, but he was really struggling to do so. His mom was in danger and this man must've been the cause somehow. Ichigo didn't know and for now, all he wanted to do was pound this guys face into the dirt.

The man pulled back and decided to end this quickly. Firing a Sokatsui at the kid, Ichigo leapt out of the way and was caught off guard when the man actually managed a cut to his unprotected left arm. The man jumped back once more and quickly placed the blood into a vial. He placed a cork onto it and pocketed it quickly. A sigh of relief came over him but it was replaced when he felt the boys energy flare in the general area. It was nothing as compared to when the boy first entered the soul society, but it was still powerful.

The boy wasted no time as he disappeared and punched the man in the stomach, hard. He flew back and hit a tree.

Then another one.

Then another.

And another.

Until finally he hit the last tree and fell to the ground.

Ichigo was about to pounce on the masked man and beat him some more, until he heard, "Ichigo."

He turned and saw his mom sitting back up. Overjoyed to see her up and unharmed, Ichigo's power calmed down and he rushed over towards her. "Mom. Are you okay?"

Masaki saw her son coming over towards her and smiled that he was unharmed. He hugged her tightly and she smiled, returning the hug only to feel his left arm. She noticed the blood and quickly grabbed his shoulders to pull him away. She looked into his eyes with some concern. "What happened Ichigo?"

Ichigo smiled and explained to her what happened. Then he quickly turned to see that he was gone. Whoever that was, if Ichigo saw him again, he was going to put his fist through that mans jaw.

Unknown location

The masked man heaved and wheezed as he leaned on a wall. He felt like his chest was caved in, but he should be okay for now. He took out the vile with the blood and smirked. He pulled off his mask to reveal Kisuke Urahara, smirking.

"Hopefully this gives me the answers I want."

Next chapter will have some contact between Aizen and Ichigo.

Ya'll stay awesome, and as always,

PEACE!