Chapter 9

Trust.

Who to trust?

Hanatarō… he said something didn't he…? "The Captain-Commander tried to keep out anyone that had or has very close ties to you." But why? Why keep out the people who would have fought for me, died for me, once upon a time?

Because they still might fight for me, even after having been estranged for so long? I would fight for them, despite everything….

They're watching me. I can feel it. In the hallways. During training.

Why monitor me…? Only dangerous things need to be watched or caged up….

Then I'm a threat. But to whom? I don't want to command, enslave, or do anything to cause pain to anyone here. All of the captains and lieutenants who've met me know that I'm not like that…. Someone I don't know? They have to be in a position of power, to have me monitored so thoroughly.

Then I can't trust the shinigami or anyone in the Seireitei– someone in their ranks wants me watched, considers me dangerous. If that person is in a command position… all the pawns are out too.

And what of Jajji?

He's old, if what he said is true. A thousand years as a parasite. That's how long he's been stuck to the zanpakutō life cycle. And he was Hell's judge for who knows how long before that? He could be able to manipulate me however he wants – pretend to be a friend, a confidante, and pull it off – someone that old would have those skills and no doubt he has incredible powers….

Can I trust anyone anymore?

My friends?

The Gotei 13?

The vizards?

Earn it. They have to earn my trust.

But what can I do…?

I need to be self-sufficient. I need to be stronger, faster, smarter, and soon, before whoever it is that wants me watched stops watching and actually does something….

And I need to get rid of Jajji… before he gets too close.

That means I have to pay Hat n' Clogs a visit, even if I don't know much about him either…. I can't have the shinigami finding out about Jajji – they'll freak, and if someone wants me watched, Jajji's presence would give whoever they are a reason to cage me up too.

It'd be nice to see everyone that's in the living world.

I need to learn how to open a Garganta.

Ichigo's eyes drift from the moon downward, fixing on the pallid form of Tensa Zangetsu. The zanpakutō's visage is an eerie sight, backlit by the moon and illuminated from below by the water's rippling, reflective surface.

"Tensa."

The zanpakutō locks his gaze onto his wielder's face, taking note of the steely expression that pulls Ichigo's brows into a deep grimace, and responds, "Yes, Ichigo?"

"We're going to pay Urahara a visit as soon as I'm able."

Tensa Zangetsu is momentarily surprised by the swiftness of Ichigo's decision. It is obvious to the zanpakutō that his wielder has resolved to expedite Jajji's expulsion from this inner world.

"Will you do this secretly? You noticed the surveillance, just as I have."

"Yeah. I'll never get a hold of a Senkaimon without an entourage, though, and that means I have to learn how to open a Garganta."

"That is one skill that you cannot learn in your inner world, Ichigo. And the Twelfth Division will detect an open Garganta in the Soul Society."

"Then we'll go to Urahara's compound under Sokyoku Hill. It camouflaged my reiatsu for three full days while I was training to achieve bankai, so it should at least give us some cover. Renji is the only one in the Gotei 13 who knows about it. In the meantime we can work on hierro, cero, reiatsu control, and those other things in my inner world. I don't need everyone knowing about that."

"An ace up your sleeve, so to say."

Ichigo nods, and the zanpakutō and wielder consider this rudimentary plan for several moments before Tensa Zangetsu declares, "It takes time to open a Garganta. You may have only one chance to open a Garganta, Ichigo, if the compound doesn't provide cover. Two tries, at best, before someone figures out the exact location of the disturbance."

Ichigo's eyes narrow, his countenance tensing thoughtfully as he proclaims, "We'll test the compound's camouflaging abilities beforehand, then. It'll complicate things if the Twelfth Division detects that something is afoot before Jajji is taken care of."

"And what of Urahara?"

"Urahara…. He's a scientist. He'll be curious about Jajji, and he'll want to tinker around without any interference. He won't rat me out to the Gotei 13 right away, especially considering how things went a century ago. He doesn't trust the system. That will have to be enough."

There it is again – trust. Ichigo is starting to hate the word. He segues abruptly into a new topic.

"I don't think I need to sleep much, now that I'm fully dead, so we can train for a while. Let's work on my cero again, and maybe we can start on hierro. You don't need to let the hollow out this time, now that I've got the hang of accessing that power, right?"

"Correct. Jajji will not be necessary for this."

"Where is he anyway?"

"Sleeping, more than likely, in one of the tree's branches. It seems to be his favorite pastime, aside from aggravating you."

"Oh."

Jajji is not asleep. He sits, perched atop a barren, gray cliff, and observes Ichigo and Tensa Zangetsu from afar. More than once he is tempted to creep closer and eavesdrop. He exhibits steadfast restraint, though, firmly reminding himself that it's only right that the zanpakutō and wielder have time to themselves.

As the two begin exchanging blows, Jajji wonders why the vizard is training so hard. The teen is not in immediate danger, being safely ensconced in the Seireitei with friends of a sort. And then, it dawns on Jajji – he noticed that they're watching him, and he's taking it seriously, knows not to give himself away. Jajji's opinion of Ichigo climbs a notch at this thought, but his stomach twists a moment later – he knows now, if the shinigami can't be trusted, that I'm too suspicious to be trusted.

He frowns.

That's fine, as long as he gets me out of here. It would be simpler if he wasn't in such a… delicate state, though.

The hollow mask on Ichigo's face is changing, growing, and the alabaster hierro is spreading down his face, neck, across his torso, and down to his toes. The sensation is distressingly strange. It's too much like cooling, congealing blood for Ichigo's tastes – too reminiscent of his own death.

Tensa Zangetsu's voice breaks the quiet as he praises, "Well done, Ichigo."

Ichigo would respond if he weren't preoccupied with scrutinizing his own reflection in the lake's surface. He closely resembles the hollow he transformed into during his battle with Ulquiorra, though he doesn't recognize all of the differences, having lacked access to a mirror or self-control at that time. His hair reaches down the small of his back, and its length gives it an audacious flagrance. A white mask, lined with black markings, covers his face and part of his skull; horns, menacing in their own right, protrude from the mask. The tufts of red fur that had once been present on his ankles and wrists are absent. His torn shihakusho – mangled during earlier cero training – reveals that, along with a missing hollow hole, the thick markings that had once decorated his chest are now gossamer thin, and far more intricate than two years previous.

"Let's see how well your hierro does in battle."

Tensa Zangetsu's words promptly rouse Ichigo from his perusal of his reflection, and he throws himself into the fray with zeal. Ichigo rapidly concludes that his hierro is more than adequate when Tensa Zangetsu fires a vicious cero at the vizard's torso, and rather than tearing through flesh and bone, the cero leaves only a shallow, yet wide, blistering wound.

The wound unexpectedly heals in mere seconds under the astonished gazes of both wielder and zanpakutō. They had not anticipated high speed regeneration at this stage; however, only a moment of pause results, and the two clash with renewed ferocity.

Two hours in real time. Twenty-four hours in his inner world. Ichigo's stomach rumbles discontentedly due to exertion, but he manages to fall into a light sleep with the promise of breakfast awaiting him in the morning. As he slumbers, he is comforted in knowing that, despite his troubles, he is well on his way to regaining his full strength. It is one of the few comforts he has now.

Ichigo wakes with the sun the next morning to the sensation of his stomach loudly demanding nourishment. He ambles to the kitchen, scrounging up a simple meal without the aid of any of the kitchen staff, having beaten them to their shift by an hour at least. From there, he wanders the empty corridors of the Fourth Division, searching out the tranquil reiatsu of the healing division's captain.

Ten minutes later, and he finds himself facing an empty medical office and a slightly perplexed Captain Unohana.

"You're up rather early, Kurosaki-san; I had not expected you for another hour or so. It's no matter, come sit."

The vizard does as commanded, seating himself on the examining table as Unohana begins her diagnostics. She occasionally speaks, filling the air with soothing, idle chatter, and she asks Ichigo harmless questions about his comfort, lodgings, food, and the like. It's disarming, and Ichigo is utterly unprepared for it when the timbre of her voice shifts, becoming sharp and grim.

"I do believe, Kurosaki-san, that it is not common practice in the Seireitei for one's hair color and length to change so drastically over the course of two days without an appointment at the barber's shop, which I do not believe you have made time for."

Shit. My hair is orange again, and back to its old length, I didn't even realize it.

The captain continues administering her diagnostic tests, and speaks again, ignoring the stiffening of Ichigo's shoulders.

"There is only so much I can do to mitigate the interest of the command. Already, Captain Kurotsuchi's interest is piqued. I ask that you do not do anything… outside your usual realm of extraordinary feats. For your own well-being. Perhaps you might visit the barber near the edge of the Fourth Division immediately after this physical and get a trim, before the rest of the divisions awaken."

Captain Unohana's expression shows no outward acknowledgement of the ominous nature of her declaration. Is she… warning me? Conspiring? Ichigo does not know what motives underlie this sudden proclamation, but he will not throw away sound advice. He nods as he decides to acquiesce to the captain's veiled commands.

"Of course, Captain Unohana."

Minutes of tense silence pass, and then, "You are quite well, Kurosaki-san. You may go."

She has always been cunning. On this particular morning, in the moments directly after Kurosaki's physical, it serves her well. Captain Unohana strategically calls all of the Fourth Division's twenty Hell Butterflies to her office.

The Central 46 will not have surveillance of the two hours immediately following dawn that day. She did not condone the treatment that the Central 46 once wished upon the teen. And now, she cannot allow them any reason to enslave the boy as an experiment or cage him as a perceived liability. There will be no evidence of Ichigo Kurosaki's changed appearance until the very moment he walks out of the barber shop.

She knows that every Hell Butterfly in the Soul Society was modified for monitoring purposes immediately after the war. Captain Unohana – along with every captain and lieutenant in the Gotei 13 – is one of the few outside the Twelfth Division that knows how to selectively erase and replace the data in a Hell Butterfly's memory.

A normal, quiet morning – with a black-haired Ichigo Kurosaki walking to the barber, and an orange-haired one walking out – will now occupy that memory space, rather than the morning's true events.

Cunning. It is a word rarely associated with a healer, but Captain Unohana has always been cunning.

"Who is training with Kurosaki today?"

Imposing as usual, the Captain-Commander makes his demand as he sips his morning tea.

"Captains Ukitake and Kyoraku this morning. Acting captain Shinji Hirako will be training with Kurosaki this afternoon."

The scarred elder gives a hand gesture, indicating a particular scroll at the edge of his desk.

"Deliver these orders to Captain Ukitake. He will relay the message to Kurosaki."

Today Ichigo trains with Captains Ukitake and Kyōraku in the gardens of Ugendō –the sickly captain's family estate. Captain Ukitake has volunteered to teach Ichigo about kidō, and Captain Kyoraku has volunteered to make sure his old friend does not overexert himself.

There's only one comment about Ichigo's hair – eh, I just went to the barber this morning, got sick of looking in the mirror and seeing a stranger, what a lie – before they focus on the day's goals.

In anticipation of Ichigo's horrendously poor reiatsu control, Ukitake sets the teen to meditation for an hour. Surprising both himself and the two captains, Ichigo finds meditation much easier than he once did – what's this, have I learned patience? Or maybe it's just that there's nothing tangible forcing me to be antsy – no imminent enemy breathing down my neck. And then, when his reiatsu is suitably subdued, it's time to try the actual spells.

Ichigo's reiatsu and reiryoku control, while improved from two years ago, is still unstable, and his spells – even though they are low-level – are often overcharged and more damaging than intended.

Two hours pass with Ichigo continuously casting spells, and with each repetition his control improves, until his castings of Bakudō Number One and Hadō Number One are nearly perfect – though his castings of higher spells remain inconsistent. Lunch comes at this point, brought in by an unseated officer, and Ukitake and Ichigo converse as they eat. Kyoraku naps by the pond, unconcerned that he is missing a meal.

Somehow, the conversation travels to the topic of Ichigo's living friends and family.

"It must be difficult, considering how suddenly you were separated from them."

"Yeah, I wish I could talk to them, tell them…."

His words trail off. Ukitake does not prompt Ichigo to finish.

Tell them I'm getting on with things. That I wish I had actually been there for them….

"Ah, well you may be able to remedy that. I've been told that it will be possible for you to visit the living world in two weeks, should you be agreeable to the idea."

The teen tears his gaze from the gardens, fixing his amber eyes onto Ukitake's face in surprise.

"Really?"

"Really. There would, however, be at least two personnel accompanying you."

"What for? I'm not completely helpless, now that my powers are coming back."

"Perhaps to check on the local patrol, since Karakura town has always been a hotspot for hollows. You will also need at least one person with you who knows how to open the Senkaimon."

Not a lie, not quite. Ichigo can tell there's something hiding behind Ukitake's warm smile. He says what he suspects he's supposed to say, though that doesn't detract from the sentiment underlying his words.

"I would like that… a visit."

If things go my way… I'll be rid of Jajji by then, and no one in Soul Society will be the wiser.

Ukitake ushers Ichigo out of Ugendō, the teen's arms laden with sweets as he murmurs "thank you" and "these really aren't necessary," but the captain willfully ignores Ichigo's protests and thanks, pushing the boy in the direction of his next destination. Once the teen is out of sight, the pale captain shuffles toward the pond to sit near his pink-clad friend.

"You wish you could have told him why, eh Jyuushiro?"

"Yes, but… he doesn't need to know."

"Ah. That he's a liability according to the old bastards."

"The information would wound his pride and alienate him further. And you should refer to them as the Central 46. You know they have surveillance everywhere."

A flippant wave of the hand, and Kyoraku speaks again as if the comment about the Central 46 was never uttered. "It's sad, how things have gone for him."

"It's tragic. I just wish… that we could properly help him."

Missive to the Captain-Commander:

Concerning the loss of one Ichigo Kurosaki's powers:

The boy, now fully human, is not to be contacted by any shinigami in any official or unofficial capacity. He is a liability, prone to rash decisions and involving himself in delicate official business of which he has no part. Without his powers he is now liable to endanger both himself and any that he calls friend or comrade. This order is to be made explicit to the members of the Gotei 13.

Concerning the cleansing of the ranks:

Martial law has been enacted; as such, due force shall be utilized to flush out traitors and to quell disobedience….

Missive to the Captain-Commander:

Concerning the death of one Ichigo Kurosaki:

With the possibility of the return of his powers, the boy is to be apprehended and observed. As a former target of the still active Togabito, and as he is one to rouse rebellion and disobedience in the ranks of the Gotei 13 with previously considerable strength, he must not be allowed to make contact with former friends and comrades, lest they impede his capture. His threat status shall be ascertained in observation.

Missive to the Captain-Commander:

Concerning the failed capture of one Ichigo Kurosaki:

Former comrades of Ichigo Kurosaki have made contact with the boy, thus making his capture an unwise choice, lest we bring rebellion to the Gotei 13. The return of his powers is evident, according to reports from the Twelfth Division. As such, the boy will be trained and made a seated official when the appropriate time and level of strength is reached; his former comrades and friends may resume regular contact. Captain Soifon is to be punished for her disobedience and failure as the Captain-Commander sees fit.

Missive to the Captain-Commander:

Concerning an excursion to Karakura Town:

Ichigo Kurosaki will soon be asking to see his living family and friends. This will be allowed, with the addition of at least one captain and lieutenant in attendance as well. The captain and lieutenant will be given special permission to freely remove their seals, should the Togabito appear. It is, however, imperative that they do not let Kurosaki know of the Togabito's activity. Such knowledge will incite him to recklessness. The date of the excursion and personnel assigned to the mission are details left to the discretion of the Captain-Commander.

(8/21/12): Meh. For reals, this is a useless filler chapter. Well, maybe not useless. But boring to write, nonetheless, which is why the writing may be subpar. I apologize in advance if that's the way the writing comes across. If it's unbearable, say so and I will attempt to rectify the issue (no editing, as usual). We're one step closer to interesting things, though! There should only be a few more training scenes, and maybe a short time jump or two, before things start happening.

The missives at the end are intended to make clear exactly what orders Yamamoto received from the Central 46, and to provide insight into the way the Central 46 thinks of Ichigo beyond the dialogue scenes; they are presented in chronological order - from immediately following Aizen's defeat, to the most recent chapter - if there's any confusion.

Cool people who reviewed need some lovin': Vuurvlieg, Toad Sage 13, Quetzalcoatls, Grimjaww, LightWight, and MoonClaimed

Vuurvlieg: mmm, it makes me happy that you enjoy the scenes with Tensa. The issues you raised will be coming soon, I promise.

Toad Sage 13: I'm gonna take that as a damn fine compliment :D

Quetzal: Ichi totes needs a break, agreed – but things never go quite as planned or as well as they should for him, no? And you're right – he will be pissed, and it will be grand.

LightWight: baw, you're a great reviewer. Gotta love Ichigo's zanpakutō! And thank you for your feedback on Jajji; I have trouble accepting unreal OC's as a reader myself, and it's been my hope to make Jajji an acceptable OC.

Thanks again to favoriters/subscribers!