#Zibeth speaks

[cheshiresense]

Ok so, I was reading and super enjoying your hunger!verse Tsuna thingy and I was forced afterword to go seek out more arcobaleno fic (FORCED. Pshhh). Annnnyway I did and now I'm desperately curious if we'll be seeing more of it? Maybe the first time Fon sees Tsuna eat? Will we ever find out how hard Lal Mirch smacks the Sawada Idiot? Where is Skull in all this? So curious! Anyway! Love your fic! Even when you're dragging me kicking and screaming into new fandoms:D

I’m not getting any Skull-writing-motivation atm, and Iemitsu is always a headache to write, even when he’s getting rightfully smacked. So I’ll just do a very short blurb of Fon&Tsuna interactions.

OMFG TUMBLR WHY DID YOU GET RID OF HORIZONTAL LINES-

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-0-

The first time Fon witnesses it, he’s torn between a morbid sort of fascination and a revolted sense of trepidation.

“You don’t have to be here,” Tsuna tells him, not for the first time, as Viper goes to check them in and Reborn leaves to make sure there’s no one with so much as an unpaid parking ticket to their name within five miles of the hotel they’ll be staying in.

It still surprises Fon, a little, even after two months in their company, which is actually one month more than they’ve ever willingly spent with each other. But even back before they realized the kind of woman Luce really was, not even Reborn was as protective of her as he is of Tsuna. Or maybe it’s just a different kind of protective. Where there was always a respectful distance between themselves and Luce, no matter how kindly she treated them, there’s none of that between Reborn - and Viper - and Tsuna.

That’s not to say they don’t respect him of course– in a rare moment of quiet honesty when Tsuna had fallen ill - again - with a mild fever, Viper had confessed to Fon that their new Sky was a kind of strong that still utterly baffled them as much as it was worthy of their admiration as well. And Reborn hadn’t slept a wink until Tsuna got better.

But Tsuna lets them close in a way Luce never could’ve, guards their health and wellbeing in a way Luce never had, and in return, it’s easy to see how Reborn and Viper consider him beloved and friend and Sky and boss, in exactly that order too.

Devotion. That was what they lacked when it came to Luce. That was what Luce could never quite earn from them, even before they learned the terrible truth, even from Reborn. She had gathered them and charmed them and earned their trust, but she had never been able to inspire the steadfast instinctual dedication that both Reborn and Viper show Tsuna these days, so in tune with the boy that even the way they move somehow seems in tune with each other, like… well, exactly like elements woven in with their sky.

And maybe that’s why Fon assures, also not for the first time, “I understand, Tsunayoshi-kun, but so long as you do not object, I would like to stay.”

He’s self-aware enough to know where this is going, that it’s only a matter of time for him too– one of these days, he’ll have enough courage to offer his own Flames as well, it’s on the tip of his tongue already, and even the echo of remembered agony and instinctual fear isn’t going to stop him.

And considering it’s only been a little over two months since he first met Tsunayoshi, well, even Luce hadn’t tamed them all as quickly.

(Fon worries about that sometimes. It’s not natural, is it? To care about someone so fiercely, so fast. But it actually helps that Tsunayoshi’s fought him just about every step of the way; he’s a Sky who so obviously cares, and so even if it makes Fon a little uneasy, he’s also equally determined to return that care. He can’t be a Storm to a Sky - doesn’t deserve to be a Storm to a Sky, especially this Sky - if the bond between them doesn’t go both ways.)

It’s… not as terrible as Fon thought it would be, once they’re shut away in the top-floor suite and Tsuna’s lips are dyed with yellow and indigo. He looks healthier in this moment than Fon has ever seen him, cheeks less hollow, bones less brittle, skin flushed with a healthier colour. Fon pays close attention to the entire process despite some part of him screaming at him to back out of the room, and so he also notices the way neither Reborn nor Viper show any signs of hesitation or pain when they draw out their own Flames and feed them to Tsuna.

“You should eat a bit more,” Viper huffs, shoving more indigo fire at their Sky when he tries to protest. “If you insist on going days without a proper meal, at least eat your fill when we do this.”

Reborn just stares Tsuna down until the boy sighs and accepts more of the handfuls of Flames the hitman is holding out.

Later, when it’s Fon’s turn to walk Tsuna to school (they’ve worked out a schedule, just to give each of them a bit of time alone with their Sky, although it took almost two months before Reborn and Viper - with Tsuna insisting - grudgingly agreed to add Fon to the rotation), he remarks, “It does not seem to hurt them, or otherwise affect them negatively.”

Tsuna doesn’t bother playing dumb. Everything about him droops for a moment instead. “…Maybe not. I mean it definitely did at first, and I don’t know if it’s just because they’ve gotten used to it, they said it wasn’t that and I don’t think they were lying to make me feel better but…”

He shakes his head and glances away, and for a moment, it doesn’t seem like he’ll continue his train of thought. But Fon waits patiently and is rewarded a few minutes later by a near-inaudible, “I just don’t like it. They’re literally sustaining me with their souls. And all I do is… take that from them. But what do I give them?”

Ah. So that’s the crux of the problem.

Well, Fon supposes it’s not so much of a surprise, for this boy. It’s a good thing then, that Fon knows the answer already.

“You give them a home,” He says, steadily, honestly, and something in his chest floods with a warmth that tethers him to the Sky beside him. Judging by the way Tsuna’s eyes widen and his hand jumps to his chest, Fon’s not the only one who can feel the creation of their bond.

“You give us a home,” He continues. “A place to belong, something to hold us together when we would otherwise be adrift in the world. Perhaps that does not sound especially important to you, but for us who have lived for decades with no one to care about and no one who might care about us, a Sky like you is… everything.”

Tsuna does not reply for a long moment. They’re entering through the school gates when he finally speaks again, and even then, it’s a succinct answer, less question and more dawning realization. “You guys were alone. And lonely.”

Fon smiles wryly and thinks of how even with every alarm bell ringing in his head, he still hopped on the first flight to Japan after hearing about a Sky who might actually be a proper Sky. Thinks too of how Reborn approached first even though he’d arguably been burned worst, and Viper who had long decided that trust was for fools and yet had still so desperately wanted someone to be worthy of their trust.

“We were,” Fon admits in a way he knows Reborn and Viper - even to Tsuna - would be hard-pressed to do. “And sometimes, being alone is the worst thing anyone can experience.”

Tsuna nods a little as he changes his shoes. “Yeah. Yeah it is.”

-0-

After that, Tsuna is still firm about only eating their Flames once every few days, but he eases up on the protests, and when Fon offers his own Flames up the next time, Tsuna grimaces but also nods slowly without arguing. Reborn and Viper both give Fon suspicious side-eyes but since this works in their favour too, neither of them bring it up.

On his part, Fon feels the same instinctual fear swell up inside him, but he looks at Tsuna, his Sky, and his resolve is infinitely stronger. The core of his Storm Flames flare bright and fierce, and when Fon gathers a piece of it and breaks it off from the rest, there is only a brief spark of pain, like a hard pinch, and then he’s breathing easy again, and his hands burn with the wild pulse of his life-fire.

When Tsuna accepts it with reverent hands, and the red twines with Reborn’s yellow and Viper’s indigo as their Sky eats, something in Fon sits back, satisfied, and the newly forged Guardian bond inside him strengthens.

-0-

The very next morning, Fon wakes to a crash and Reborn very uncharacteristically shouting, “What the fuck-”

Fon’s barging into Tsuna’s room with a Viper who hasn’t even remembered to grab their cloak on his heels before it actually registers, and even then, it’s only because - for the first time since he was still a student at his first master’s dojo - he literally trips over his own feet.

He sits up and stares. Viper’s deathly silent behind him, and even Reborn’s fallen quiet from where he’s half-leaning against the nightstand. His hammock is ripped down the middle and hangs limply from the ceiling. Tsuna stares at all three of them from his bed, wide-eyed and stunned.

Fon looks at Reborn, whose ass is on the floor but whose head levels with the bedside table. He twists to look at Viper, who’s forgotten to float and is standing and... now seems to be about Tsuna’s height.

And then he looks down at himself, at hands that are no longer the tiny ones of his toddler self, at longer limbs that feel clumsily awkward and a heavier body that takes up more space than he’s used to. He’s nowhere near the size of his adult self, but he’s definitely now almost three times the size he was when he went to bed last night.

Reborn had the right of it.

What the fuck.

[zibeth-a]

You know your semester’s goin’ great when it’s midnight and you’re drinking tea out of a literal jug whilst attempting to put together a speech outline for your 9 AM and you’re running on fumes and pure spite. I honestly can’t tell whether I’m still a functioning human being or not at this point, but at least I’m breathing? If I remember this tomorrow, I might post some doodles that I’ve been doing during my lectures sometime???

[cheshiresense]

in the ura + ichi time travel au kaien was (understandably) concerned that ichigo suddenly started hanging out with kisuke. what would kaien's opinion of ichigo and aizen hanging out be, though? since aizen was a generally well liked person back then and all that. would kaien see aizen as a good influence on ichigo or do you think he would be more reserved about it?

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…I accidentally shoehorned Shinji into this whoops.

Anyway, you mean in the Aizen&Ichigo time travel verse right? Hmm well I know I dropped several hints in SP of Kaien (and a few others) knowing that there was something not-good up with Aizen, but canonically speaking, literally nobody except Shinji ever suspected him, so I think in this verse, I’m going to go with Kaien being one of the many who think that Aizen is just a reliable Shinigami and a generally upstanding guy. He doesn’t hero-worship him like the younger/lower-ranking Shinigami but he respects Aizen as a fellow lieutenant and the Fifth was really lucky to manage nabbing him for their squad.

So here, Kaien couldn’t prevent Ichigo from joining the Twelfth under that Very Suspicious Character Urahara (and he soon learns the impossibility that is trying to prevent Ichigo from doing anything he sets his mind to), so he’s relieved when word gets around that even after graduation, Ichigo still spends time with that Fifth Division lieutenant/part-time teacher because it means he has some regular Good Influence in his life. The Soul King knows Ichigo doesn’t spend much time with anyone else, doesn’t seem to have any close friends from his year in the Academy either or even just squadmates he can grab drinks with, so Kaien’s glad his cousin has at least one person he seems to like enough to hang out with, even if a friendship between a fresh graduate and a lieutenant is rather odd. Aizen doesn’t seem to mind either, which is also a bit of a shock because for all that the man has a reputation for helping students and subordinates alike, Kaien’s never heard of him spending time outside of work and teaching spars and classes with one. And as far as Kaien knows, he doesn’t think Aizen has any friends he hangs out with either. He’s polite and relatively friendly when he speaks to any of his colleagues, but it’s always work work work for that man. Kaien doesn’t know how he does it.

Still, he appreciates the time Aizen is taking out of his schedule these days to meet up with Ichigo for meals. On occasion, they can even be seen walking together back to their respective divisions. It’s odd, but it’s also pretty clear they’re friends, and so of course, when New Year’s swings around, Kaien wastes no time extending an invitation to Aizen as well to attend the Shibas’ annual celebrations.

He’s not surprised when Aizen - politely - turns him down. He seems that kind of guy. So Kaien moves on to Plan B - he goes to Ichigo, expounds on the elaborate festivities that will be taking place at the party, waxes poetic about how disappointed everyone will be if Ichigo can’t come, and then drops an offhand mention of how he’d tried to invite Ichigo’s friend Aizen too just so Ichigo would have someone he knew with him, not to mention Aizen doesn’t seem to have anyone to celebrate with anyway, but the lieutenant had turned him down.

Ichigo is fuming and scowling and looks about two seconds away from depriving the Thirteenth of their lieutenant, and Kaien very carefully does not show his glee as Ichigo shouts, “We’re not friends!”, looking appalled for some reason, before storming off, and Kaien can feel his reiatsu signature heading directly for the Fifth Division compound.

Mission accomplished.

(“And I should attend this function with you because…?” Aizen enquires, raising a delicately skeptical eyebrow.

Ichigo glowers at everything. “Well I’m not going alone. Kaien said they’re gonna be partying all night. I’m not suffering through that on my own!”

“Then turn the invitation down.”

“I can’t do that! Kuukaku apparently already told everyone I’ll be going, and Kaien said the kids are all looking forward to meeting me properly!”

Aizen’s other eyebrow joins his first, and he could not look more judgemental if he tried. “That still does not explain why I have to go. The fact that you are a pushover for small children is entirely your own fault.”

Ichigo reminds himself that he cannot actually reach across the table and strangle the bastard, no matter how much he wants to. He tries changing tactics instead. “Come on, it’s not like you have anything to do anyway-”

“On the contrary, I have a new book I wish to-”

“-and Kaien told me he invited you too so obviously you’ll also be expected to show up, and I’m not gonna quit badgering you about it until you agree!”

Aizen’s brow crinkles ever so slightly at the mention of Kaien. “Hm, well-played,” He murmurs, but before Ichigo can ask what he means, he continues smoothly, “I have already turned him down, so your argument is invalid. No one will be expecting me, and even if they will be, unlike you,” He beams like the super creepy virtuous Shinigami almost everyone thinks he is, which never fails to make Ichigo cringe. “I do not care in the slightest.”

Ichigo twitches before crossing his arms so that he’s less tempted to do something rash. “Well too bad! You still owe me for being evil and stalker-y, so suck it up and pick out a nice outfit because you’re going even if I have to drag you there!”

Aizen sighs long-sufferingly. “Exactly how long do you plan on trying to hold that over my head, Ichigo-kun?”

“Forever,” Ichigo retorts. “Now are you coming or are we gonna throw down over this?”

Aizen levels a flat look on him. Ichigo glares back. The two of them remain in stubborn silence for several minutes, and eventually it’s Ichigo who cracks because Aizen is a heartless monster with unrepentant stalker tendencies.

“Fine,” Ichigo huffs. “How ‘bout I show you a reishi trick I figured out recently?” Something like interest sparks in Aizen’s eyes. So predicable. “I’ve been experimenting. It’s not something I ever saw Yhwach or any of his minions do, or even Ishida or his dad, so it’s probably not something you know. But only if you come with me to the party. I’ll show you afterewards.”

Aizen watches him for a moment longer before a smirk curls at one corner of his mouth. “You’re learning.” Then he sighs, way too dramatically in Ichigo’s opinion. “Very well, but if it is something I already know, then you’ll owe me three months of manual labour in the form of paperwork. Agreed?”

Ichigo makes a face. “What? No way! One month at most.”

“Two.”

“One and one week and no more, asshole. I swear to god I am not above kicking your extortioning ass across Seireitei if you try to up that! Besides, I’m pretty sure you don’t know what I’ll be showing you anyway so it’s a pointless bargain.”

Aizen looks amused now. “Then it should hardly matter.”

Ichigo scowls. “It’s the principle of the matter. Well?”

Aizen inclines his head. “I agree to these terms. What time is this celebration?”

Ichigo grins, triumphant.)

Kaien cackles like a supervillain when he gets - very grudging - confirmation that both Ichigo and Aizen would be attending the New Year celebrations at the Shiba compound.

Fast forward a few weeks and Shinji narrowly avoids spraying tea all over Ukitake when Kaien strides back in to the dining hall and announces his cousin and Aizen Sousuke’s presence, both of whom enter behind the clan head, one with a scowl, the other with a cordial smile. They get seated between Kaien and Kuukaku, across from Shinji, Kyouraku, and Ukitake, and for a moment, Shinji’s gaze meet his lieutenant’s.

“Good evening, Taichou,” Aizen greets him, mild as milk, but even though his expression is perfectly calm, there’s something about it anyway that makes Shinji think he’s probably laughing on the inside.

“Sou-chan, what a surprise,” Shinji sighs and goes about refilling his cup. He needs way more sake than what’s on the table to survive the rest of this night.

They don’t really talk for the rest of the party. They’ve never really had casual conversations before. Even Shinji’s regular teasing when it comes to Aizen is at least partly to try and get a rise out of his frustratingly secretive lieutenant. And as long as Shinji’s known him, Aizen’s never really been one for celebrations. He attends captain/lieutenant functions when it’s required of him, and even then he only stays just long enough that it wouldn’t be rude when he excuses himself. He never goes out for drinks or meals, and he definitely never goes out with anyone just for fun.

Until Shiba Ichigo of course. Shinji still doesn’t know how those two work.

But, he soon realizes, the party is a perfect excuse to subtly observe them in a public setting, and that brightens his mood exponentially.

And what he observes…

It’s… odd, their interactions, which Shinji already knew from glimpses of them at the Fifth. But that was a work setting, and this isn’t, and that apparently makes a lot of difference. Or maybe it’s just that they’ve gotten closer since the last time Shinji saw them.

Even at the more casual captain/lieutenant get-togethers, Shinji recalls, Aizen stayed on the sidelines, in the background. He spoke when spoken to, and he kept any conversation going effortlessly, never dominating and always making the other party feel like he was interested in whatever topic they’d struck up even though Shinji is certain that couldn’t be farther from the truth. But he never really engaged other people of his own volition, and no matter how polite, it always felt - at least to Shinji - that he couldn’t wait to leave and get away from the annoyances that kept him from attending to whatever it was he was doing behind Shinji’s back.

He doesn’t do that here, doesn’t stay on the outside. Or rather, Ichigo won’t let him. When Kaien drags Ichigo into a conversation, Ichigo drags Aizen right along wtih him, and that wouldn’t be so jarring, but then some of the younger Shiba children shyly sidle up and ask to play tag with their newest cousin, and Ichigo folds like wet paper and agrees, but he also invites Aizen, who protests and is promptly ignored, and Shinji is treated to the mind-boggling sight of Aizen awkwardly - as awkward as Shinji’s ever seen him - playing tag with a bunch of children.

Surely he’s woken up in a parallel universe without realizing earlier?

Then there’s the fireworks display, and Ichigo drags Aizen off to show him how to set off a bunch of them. There’s desserts passed around, and Ichigo looks positively mournful when he’s too slow to get any of the kagami mochi before they’re all gone. Shinji almost chokes on his own taiyaki when Aizen visibly smirks at Ichigo, even taunting the kid with his own dessert, but after a round of mocking and scowl-pouting, the man also sighs before shoving his own plate of mochi at Ichigo and snags Ichigo’s leftover dango instead. Ichigo immediately brightens, and although his scowl never leaves his face, he somehow looks years younger with how ridiculously happy he is about a simple dessert.

And when even Aizen looks like he can’t take anymore socializing after the twelfth time someone accosts him for chitchat, Ichigo whisks him off somewhere, and Shinji doesn’t see them again until he catches their silhouettes on the roof as the night sky lights up with Kuukaku’s personal fireworks finale.

It’s… odd. Shinji can’t really find any other word for it, and by the time he takes his leave, the interactions he’s seen weigh on him more than he’s comfortable with.

These days, it feels like the Aizen Sousuke he’s always known was a completely different man from this one. Then of course, when he’s not interacting with Ichigo, he’s exactly like the man Shinji’s always known - polite and friendly and so utterly fake that it makes Shinji wonder if his colleagues are all brain-dead for not noticing.

Aizen looks at the world like he’s above it all, or maybe like he’s simply indifferent to everything, Shinigami and the Gotei and Soul Society alike.

But he looks at Ichigo like he’s actually seeing a person, and that perhaps is the biggest reason why Shinji cannot reconcile the two versions of his lieutenant.

He’s never known Aizen Sousuke to care about anyone. And Shinji’s not certain what to do about it now that he does.

Unbeknownst to Shinji, Kaien observes them too, and unlike Shinji, he likes what he sees. It’s odd, yes - Shinigami fresh out of school and even just lower-ranked ones in general simply don’t interact with their higher-ups in so familiar a manner. But Ichigo’s always been odd all on his own, and they’re not even part of the same division so nobody can call favouritism anyway, and so long as Ichigo’s fine with it, that’s all Kaien cares about.

He sees everything Shinji does tonight, and it lifts a weight from his shoulders. He’d been worried about his long-lost cousin, uncomfortable amongst family, and too strong to make friends easily at the Academy. Depending on Urahara to look out for his newest subordinate is laughable at best, and Kaien knows better than anyone that Shibas aren’t meant to be isolated. Ichigo’s introverted and a private person in general, but he’s not so different when it comes down to it. At the very least, he doesn’t seem as stressed compared to the first several months he first came into Kaien’s life, and Kaien doesn’t think he’s wrong when he contributes part of that to the Fifth Division lieutenant.

And Aizen too… well, it’s harder to tell with him. But he treats Ichigo like a friend, occasionally indulgent in a way that’s actually not unlike the way Kaien would treat a younger sibling himself, and that’s something Kaien’s never seen Aizen do with anyone else. Sure, he indulges students when they want his attention, and lower-ranked Shinigami when they want his advice, but there’s always a line in the sand with them, one he never toes. He makes himself approachable and likeable with them, and half of them go away nursing crushes.

He’s not like that with Ichigo. He doesn’t make himself anything, as far as Kaien can see. No gentle smiles anywhere. Mostly just smirks that borderline nasty, but flashes of exasperated fondness too. He’s just himself, and Ichigo takes it in stride, and maybe that’s why they’re friends.

It’s odd. But Kaien can’t complain when Ichigo’s happier these days, and he makes a mental note himself to catch Aizen later and tell him he’s welcome back to the Shiba compound anytime.

[cheshiresense]

Hey, speaking of the Aizen/Ichigo time travel notfic, I just want to say I really love the way y ou write Aizen when he isn't just the villain. Like I don't even know why Im surprised, it's /you/, your characterization is always amazing. Do you think you can write a few more snippets or hcs with him and Ichigo? Maybe some interactions or convesations between them? No pressure ofc, thank you for everything youv'e already blessed us with!

Lol thank you! That’s good to hear, I always find flat characters painful to read so I do my best to round them out whenever I can. Aizen was a new one for me, this is the first time I’ve explored his character beyond - as you say - just the villain of the story that’s been defeated or needs defeating.

Here’s two more short scenes in this ’verse. I actually really like this AU, which surprises me because before this, I didn’t have any interest in writing Aizen at all.

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[Dinner]

Sousuke generously reserves a table for two at the sushi restaurant a block down from the Academy. He only has to wait ten minutes before Ichigo slouches into the seat opposite his, looking like every student who’s ever pulled three all-nighters in a row rushing for exams.

Sousuke arches an eyebrow. “I did not think the course load you are taking would be difficult for you.”

Ichigo shoots a glare at him but doesn’t seem to have the energy to hold it for longer than a few seconds before he’s slumping again and reaching for the menu instead.

“The course load is fine,” Ichigo tells him irritably. “But one of my teachers used to be Thirteenth Division and has some stupid grudge against Kaien because Ukitake-san passed him over for lieutenant even though he had a longer tenure than Kaien or something. So he’s taking it out on me by giving me extra assignments out of the blue every week. Says I’ll fail his class if I don’t do them.” He waves a dismissive hand. “I kinda wanna call his bluff, but it’s whatever, I just wanna graduate as soon as possible, and I can deal with a case of asshole. It was just a little tougher lately cuz of midterms but today was my last one anyway.”

Sousuke studies him for a careful moment. “You could mention it to your cousin. I am sure Shiba Kaien would jump to your defense, especially when he is involved.”

“Yeah, and that’s exactly why I’m not gonna tell him,” Ichigo scowls. “He’ll go charging in and kick up a huge fuss and definitely go overboard defending my honour or some shit. He’ll probably get Hisakawa fired, which I don’t really care about, but he’ll also draw a crapload of attention, and I don’t want anybody tossing words like nepotism and favouritism around. You told me yourself the Twelfth doesn’t seem to have many big clan members, and it’s not exactly a shock that Kisuke chooses people for his Division according to their intelligence. I don’t want him thinking I’m coasting by on my clan’s reputation or something, and that’s exactly what will happen  if I get Kaien to step in for me for every little thing.” He pointedly sticks his menu up between them. “Now can we order already? I literally haven’t eaten anything but instant ramen in a week. I’m getting everything here since you’re paying.”

“Oh I am, am I?” Sousuke enquires dryly.

“I’m poor, deal with it.”

“I am fairly certain your clan would shower you with money if you mention that you need it,” Sousuke points out. “And nobody else would even know if you are so concerned about reputation.”

Ichigo grimaces even as he glances around to catch the waiter’s eye. “Kaien’s already giving me a stipend every month cuz I’m family but I wanna save that for an apartment when I graduate. Besides, I don’t like asking people for money.”

Sousuke gives him a flatly droll look. “And yet.”

Ichigo meets his gaze without hesitation, a smirk curling at his lips, one that teeters between gruff amusement and a reckless sort of mockery. “Consider it payment for creeping on me when I was a kid and then dragging me into a war. You almost killed me multiple times; sushi’s the least you owe me, bastard.”

They pause for a minute to place their respective orders, and neither of them speaks until the waiter is out of earshot again.

“I wonder,” Sousuke murmurs, eyeing Ichigo thoughtfully. “If you blame Urahara Kisuke for ‘dragging you into a war’ as much as you blame me.”

Ichigo snaps his chopsticks and then jabs them at him. “Kisuke apologized. You didn’t.”

“And I never will,” Sousuke agrees, because he won’t, not with any kind of sincerity, and he’s noticed that Ichigo has a knack for picking out that sort of thing. Sousuke isn’t sorry. Perhaps his ambitions and plans gave the boy very little choice in the matter, but at the end of the day, it was still Kurosaki Ichigo who chose to fight instead of bow or run away, and Sousuke can respect him enough as a former formidable enemy to give credit where it’s due.

Ichigo made his choices, just as Sousuke made his own, and they’ll both live with them just the same, good and bad.

“No,” Ichigo acknowledges easily, and Sousuke knows no one else who can say that in this situation with no anger or bitterness, just a resigned sort of acceptance as if he made his peace with this truth a long time ago. Instead, he only points his chopsticks at Sousuke again. “But that’s why you have to pay for my sushi and Kisuke doesn’t.”

Sousuke watches him for a moment longer and idly wonders if he’ll ever understand the kind of person Kurosaki Ichigo is. One day, perhaps, but at least in the meantime, he won’t be bored.

He inclines his head just as the first of their dishes arrive.

“As you say,” He acquiesces, and Ichigo flashes a grin like he’s won something important. Oddly enough, it amuses Sousuke more than anything else. But there are worse things than amusement, and for now, he lets it be.

Well, he lets that be anyway. Ichigo is a… puzzle that Sousuke probably won’t tire of putting together for a good while yet, and that suits him just fine.

On the other hand…

He steps quietly into the classroom, shutting the door behind him. The click makes the man sitting behind the desk at the front look up. “Aizen-fukutaichou? This is… unexpected. Did we have a meeting I forgot about?”

Hisakawa’s confusion is understandable. As far as Sousuke can remember, in both timelines, he’s never spoken to the other Shinigami. Hisakawa was insignificant before - sub-par intellect and mediocre strength, not good for anything but canon fodder, which Aizen had plenty of Hollows for - and he’s just as insignificant now. It’s just that he’s also making a nuisance of himself this time around, which is unfortunate for him.

“Hisakawa-sensei,” Sousuke greets with a pleasant smile as he approaches. “We do not, as far as I am aware. I simply wished to speak to you about one of our mutual students.”

“Oh, well, of course,” Hisakawa frowns quizzically. “Which student are you talking about? Is it a schedule conflict? Those should’ve been ironed out months ago though.”

Sousuke supposes the man gets points for touching on the only problem a student attending both their classes could have. Hisakawa teaches history - a core class - while Sousuke only teaches calligraphy as an elective. They don’t have much else in common.

Then again, if schedule conflicts were ironed out months ago, it obviously can’t be that, and there’s no point bringing it up. Sousuke takes it back. Hisakawa is still just as much of a waste of space as Sousuke has always believed him to be. Honestly, the hiring standards these days. If this was Shiba Kaien’s competition for the lieutenant seat, no wonder Ukitake refused to fill the position with anyone else even if it meant waiting a decade for the Shiba Clan Head to accept.

“No, it is nothing of that sort,” Sousuke agrees. “But it has come to my attention that Shiba Ichigo-kun has been receiving quite a number of… extracurricular assignments from you.”

Hisakawa immediately bristles, and a sneer slashes itself across his face. “Oh, he’s been complaining, has he?”

“He has mentioned it to me,” Sousuke says mildly.

Hisakawa snorts. “I wasn’t aware Shibas even knew calligraphy existed,” He mutters snidely before saying, louder and more patronizing, “You shouldn’t listen to him, Aizen-fukutaichou. You know how Shibas can be, they’re always exaggerating. I’m not giving Shiba more work than he needs. His history marks could use some work, and I’m trying to help. I hear he wants to graduate in a year, and he can’t do that if he fails a core class.”

Sousuke hums a considering note. “He is in danger of failing? How strange. Shiba-kun takes after his cousin, does he not? Another prodigy.”

Hisakawa’s sneer only grows more pronounced. “They give that title to any clan kid these days, it doesn’t mean anything. Trust me, Shiba’s history marks alone will probably see him here next year, especially if he’s going around whining about not getting special treatment.”

Sousuke raises an eyebrow. “I admit, I am rather surprised by that. You see, I have read some of Shiba-kun’s history papers.” He hasn’t had much of a choice. For whatever reason, Ichigo likes working in his office, and he has the strangest tendency to paper his work all over the floor. And paperwork gets boring, and Ichigo’s thought process can be… interesting, even on the most mundane topics. “I am no expert on the subject of course, but from what I could tell, his work is always thoroughly researched and well-written. Perhaps you should take another look.”

Hisakawa’s face turns steadily red, and he pushes to his feet even as he accuses, “So you think just because he has a clan backing him, he should get special treatment too! I thought better of you, Aizen-fukutaichou.”

Sousuke has to suppress a chuckle but amusement slips into his expression anyway, because Hisakawa’s features darken to something downright hostile. “His marks will stay the same. In fact, I might fail him just on principle! I didn’t think Shiba was a coward too, sending another teacher to beg a better grade out of me just because he can’t handle my class.”

Sousuke stares him down for a long unblinking moment, until Hisakawa is almost twitching from the tension stretched between them. Only when the man opens his mouth again, no doubt to splutter out something belligerent, does Sousuke sigh and drop a hand to his Zanpakutou.

“Well, I did try,” He muses, mostly to himself.

He draws his blade. Hisakawa stares and doesn’t even make a move for his own Zanpakutou. What a fool.

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Normally,” Sousuke explains courteously. “I would not bother stepping in on behalf of a student, especially when that student would - I dare say - be rather cross with me should he find out. But we have plans to carry out, and I will not allow something so trivial to hinder them.”

Hisakawa gawps at him. How unsightly.

“You need not worry,” Sousuke adds. “You will not remember a thing.”

Finally, Hisakawa reaches for his Zanpakutou, the first blush of alarm rising in his features. “Wait, have you gone insane, Aizen? What do you think attacking me is even going to do? I- I won’t be threatened-!”

“Shatter,” Sousuke cuts him off, smiling benignly even as his reiatsu swells around them. “Kyouka Suigetsu.”

And Hisakawa’s expression goes slack as the hynosis takes hold, slithering into the deepest recesses of his mind.

“You should be honoured,” Sousuke murmurs. “This will be some of my finest work. After all, anything less and Ichigo-kun might notice. And I would rather not be scolded again.”

(This Is A Time Skip But Also Does Tumblr Not Know How To Center Shit)

[Sight]

Sousuke glances up as a shadow passes through his window before returning to his paperwork. “Shouldn’t you be working?”

A disgruntled noise answers him. “Kis- Urahara-taichou is neck-deep in a new experiment; he’s not gonna notice I’m missing for days, never mind one afternoon.”

“And you decided to come visit me?” Sousuke can’t help but find that amusing, considering their past. “How thoughtful.”

He pauses when Ichigo doesn’t snipe something back, as is fairly standard these days. He looks up. Ichigo isn’t even looking in his direction. Instead, he’s still perched on the windowsill, and his gaze is slanted to one shadowed corner  above the bookshelf across the room.

“…Ichigo-kun?”

Ichigo blinks, then turns to him and hops down into the office. “Hey, so, I figured it out,” He says abruptly. His eyes flit around the room again, and Sousuke notices the way they dart from shadow to shadow before finally focusing on him again. “The seeing into their little shadow world thing.”

Sousuke straightens. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Ichigo lifts a hand, and pale blue light sparks off his fingertips.

Sousuke stares. How fascinating. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen any other Quincy wield reishi so casually.

“I think I can make it so you can see them too,” Ichigo continues. “I’m gonna have to… fiddle with your eyesight a bit though.”

Sousuke pins him with an assessing look before slowly reaching up to take off his glasses. “If you end up blinding me, I will stab you before you make it out of this room.”

Ichigo rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever, but I’m not gonna do that. Now hold still and close your eyes.”

It takes effort not to flinch, much to Sousuke’s irritation. But the grip he still has around his writing brush tightens anyway when cool fingers touch his eyelids.

It barely feels like anything. There’s a tingle that itches a little, but it’s there and gone within seconds, leaving only an odd chill behind, not unlike getting a cold gust of wind to the face during winter. Ichigo withdraws, and Sousuke opens his eyes.

Nothing looks different. He doesn’t actually need glasses to begin with so everything is clear. He cocks a questioning look at Ichigo, who shakes his head.

“Wait for it,” He murmurs, taking a seat on the edge of Sousuke’s desk and absently shuffling through the top file in the inbox. “They’re not always spying on everyone. But you’re a person of interest to them, you know that, so I think they check in on you pretty often.” He pauses, and his gaze slides across the room before he focuses on the file in his hands again. “Here he comes. Don’t let him see you watching him.”

Sousuke follows his brief line of sight, just in time to see a very familiar blond head bob into view in the shadow cast by the couch set against the wall. It isn’t a very big shadow, a foot high at most, so Sousuke only gets to see the face and part of his neck and a little of the high white collar of his uniform, but it’s enough.

The next second, he’s reaching for one of his books and flipping it open like that was why he looked up from his paperwork at all. But now that he can see that he’s being watched, can sense it even, and so blatantly too, the urge to simply get up and run the Quincy through for his gall is tempting. Only the knowledge that he can’t at the moment stays his hand.

Can he hear us? Sousuke scrawls on a spare piece of paper.

“No,” Ichigo mutters back. “I tested it. It’s like a soundproofed window. I mean, it is now.” He smirks triumphantly out of sight of the Quincy. “Before I figured it out, it was like one of those one-way mirrors. Now we can see them too. But we can’t hear them, and they can’t hear us. They might know how to lip-read though, so be careful anyway.”

Well, obviously. Giving the game away this early would be foolish.

Sousuke watches through his periphery as the Quincy gives them both a last cursory blank look before his head moves out of the shadow and disappears again.

“Jugram Haschwalth,” Sousuke murmurs, surveying his office before turning his attention to Ichigo. “And they can see through every shadow in Soul Society?”

“As far as I can tell, yeah,” Ichigo scowls darkly. “They’re a bunch of regular Peeping Toms.” He grins for a moment, all teeth. “You would’ve made great friends.”

Sousuke narrows a reprimanding look at him. Ichigo just grins wider, not at all repentant, but he doesn’t push further either.

“What should we do now?” He asks instead. “I’m still working on figuring out a way to get through, but at least we can see them. Do we just keep doing what we’re doing and try not to draw their attention?”

“Yes,” Sousuke decides. “But also, mark down who they look in on most, who they consider to be the biggest threats, and who they’ve overlooked but can be threats to them.” He puts his glasses back on. “How long will I be able to see them?”

Ichigo shrugs. “Eh, not sure. You’re my first guinea pig.” Sousuke sighs. At least Ichigo looks a little sheepish now. “We can do a few tests over the weekend or something when I don’t have work. I probably should get back now.”

“I thought you said Urahara wouldn’t notice,” Sousuke says sardonically.

“He won’t,” Ichigo confirms. “But Hiyori will. She’s yelling at the science department at the moment though, and that always takes at least an hour, so I figured I’d take the chance to come show you this-” He waves a hand in the direction of the shadow Jugram was in. “-since I finally got it down this morning.”

Sousuke glances lingeringly at him. You could have waited, he almost says, but the words don’t come in the end, and a moment later, Ichigo is halfway out the window again.

“Anyway, see ya later,” He calls back briskly. “I finally got my first paycheck yesterday so I bought groceries. If you want free dinner, swing ’round my place and I’ll feed you. And we can talk more about the Peeping Toms.”

And then he’s gone in a rush of Shunpo, leaving Sousuke to stare after him, feeling strangely wrong-footed.

But then, Ichigo has a habit of leaving him that way.

Sousuke sighs again, puts it out of his mind, and gets back to work, firmly ignoring the blond-haired spy that sidles back into his office via the shadow in one corner of the ceiling this time.

But he can’t wait until Ichigo figures out a way to get through. He’s chopping the head off of this one personally.

[cheshiresense]

I was wondering: are there any snippets or some further headcannon for the bleach-khr-fusion you shared a while back for aniseandspearmint? It's an interesting one, especially if Ichigo were to run into other flameactives and grow away from everyone.

Hmmm to be honest, I haven’t really thought much more of this one, but I can do a few headcanons for you (yes this time it really is a few, kind of). Also this just officially became a crossover instead of a fusion gdi send help.

Somehow this evolved to hints of UraIchiYoru pre-relationship.

Pinglist: @yoshifics@bewarethemandragora @runeofluna @selenedreamwalker @hypnos28 @verticallychallengedintrovert@fandommaniac2401 @lovingempress @cynthia-of-the-wallflowers @shadowsofmoonracer @pairp @warriorofbooks @charlottedabookworm @lyra689 @sheyrenawyrsabane @sora-the-empress @xadriannax @yumeniai @arrysa @lirial89-fanfiction @skysong246 @caiahat @grimreaper19 @arosethornbyanyothername @mtkiseki @kaminoko-x @nesskyru @tatarako @parklena42 @zibeth-a @aerdnanocte @timegrenades @healingmichiko @shiko-rae @soraofmelody @fandoms-make-the-world-go-round @north-peach @yannilicious @wolfsrainrules @anaissesteighart

- I imagine at least a few of his potential Guardians would have felt their potential bonds snap. Flames still aren’t something very common though, Ichigo’s the one who brought the concept to the Shinigami’s attention, and most of them still can’t even use them. So I think at least the Shinigami in SS who had the potential to become Ichigo’s Guardians would feel something, maybe a little like heartburn or a nagging sense of wrong, but they’d shake it off or ignore it, especially since Ichigo wouldn’t have had any reason to explain: “This is what happens when you Discord your Sky and this is what a broken Flame bond feels like, the stronger it was, the more it hurts when it snaps.” So none of them know, and they go on with their lives.

- And Shinji and the other Visored are friends (temporary allies, Ichigo knows now) but they’re a full Flame group by themselves and not potential candidates in Ichigo’s circle so they wouldn’t feel anything at all.

- It’s the same with Chad and Ichigo’s other human friends. They don’t know much about Flames either, they’re barely even Flame active, and they’re awkward around Ichigo because they still have everything Ichigo lost, and they don’t want to make him feel left out (they don’t realize they do that anyway). When the bonds disintegrate, there’s a sharp pain in their chests, but it becomes a background ache soon enough, nothing that would make them worry or even connect it to Ichigo, and they don’t realize until far too late that Ichigo has stopped trying to talk to them at all.

- Kisuke though, and Yoruichi to a lesser extent, they feel it, and they might not know exactly what it is, but they probably more than anyone else can recognize Ichigo by his Flames, partly because they’ve been curious enough to ask questions and learn about what Flames can do and what they can do, and partly because they’ve spent too much time around Ichigo, training him, fighting a war with him, and as a result getting to know him– too much time around him to not notice when that Flame sense they’ve been developing - that sense that knows what Ichigo’s Flames feel like by now - practically punches them in the chest when a gaping emptiness rips itself open inside them, in a part of their soul where Ichigo should be. The thing is, they never even realized there was a bond at all - however new - between them and Ichigo before it disintegrated to dust slipping through their fingers. And maybe, maybe they didn’t take Ichigo’s earlier explanations about Flame bonds and Skies and their Elements and Families quite as seriously as they should have. It sounded a touch too idealistic and fantastical, and easy to ignore in favour of the solid evidence of the power Flames can grant instead. It’s not like Flame bonds are necessary, plenty of people go without, as Ichigo told them, and that was as far as they thought they would need to know on that subject.

- So they did not expect this. Yoruichi has been busy with her clan, sorting out inheritances and heirs and all sorts of legalities now that she’s no longer a fugitive but nobody can quite decide if that means she’s the Shihouin Head again, including her. And Kisuke’s been banned from seeing Ichigo by Isshin, who insists it’s for the best that Ichigo should have a normal life again, at least until Kisuke can figure out how to give him his powers back, so Kisuke’s been working as fast as he possibly can, trying to figure out how to do exactly that. He feels more than a little guilty for turning Ichigo away whenever the boy stops by, naked hope on his face, asking to come in, just for a cup of tea, but he tells himself that it’s just a matter of time, he only needs a little more time.

- And then it happens, and Kisuke’s indigo Flames writhe with a moment of absolute agony, almost making him black out, and even when he wakes again and the pain has faded to a near unnoticeable ache, everything in him says to go to Ichigo, now.

- Yoruichi is the same, she’s in the process of getting eyestrain over paperwork that her brother has not been keeping up with as well as he should, when her purple Flames flare and lash out, taking out the far wall and then recoiling and sending her sprawling to the ground and gasping for breath, clutching at something she can no longer find. She ignores the attendants that come pouring in and instead takes off for the Human world at once.

- They both track down Ichigo, and they watch him from the rooftops, out of sight but worried. Ichigo doesn’t seem that different. Sadder, quieter, but he doesn’t look hurt, and he isn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. They decide to give it a few days, see if anything happens. They’re not quite sure what happened, not sure if they should approach him out of the blue about it either– Yoruichi says yes, the direct approach has always worked best with Ichigo; Kisuke says no, it’s a delicate matter, they should observe first, maybe work out what’s going on and at least have an idea about how to fix the problem because what if it affected Ichigo too? What if it was his Flames reacting to something Kisuke and Yoruichi were doing with their Flames? They have been experimenting and training with them after all.

“Later,” Kisuke insists, and it will be another regret he’ll have to carry.

Yoruichi doesn’t speak to him for weeks, afterwards, but she also throws herself into training until she collapses from exhaustion for the first time in centuries, because she should’ve pushed even when Kisuke didn’t, and that’s on her.

- Ichigo had been planning to sit down with all his Flame potentials and go into more detail about it once the war was over and they weren’t all constantly fighting for their lives. He just hadn’t expected everybody to ignore him and push him away the moment he no longer has his Shinigami powers. It’s not like he’s powerless; his Flames still work fine, and they’ve helped him fend off Hollows and yakuza alike for years. And yet nobody seems to think he’s capable of doing anything now that he doesn’t have a sword to swing around.

- So, fine, he doesn’t need them. And with Zangetsu and Shiro’s disappearance, there had already been an ache in his chest, in his heart, in the very depths of his soul. The broken potential bonds add to that pain, but it’s nothing knew and certainly nothing he can’t handle. He does give thanks to every god he’s ever heard of that he wasn’t fucking stupid enough to actually bond with anyone– not because he thought they would desert him the moment he lost his Shinigami heritage but because he’d wanted them to be fully informed of what Flame bonds entail and maybe feel them out a bit too about how they would feel being bonded to him, literally ’til death do they part. He doesn’t think he would’ve survived them walking away if he’d let the bonds form the way they had wanted to, so at least his caution has spared him from that.

- As it is, he gets a few random fevers the first several days, his Flames fluctuating wildly without the support they’ve gotten used to having. And the first few times he summons his Flames to fend off a Hollow or a gang of thugs, they still come out the bright orange he’s always known, but there’s also a murky tint to them that worries him for a little while. He keeps an eye on them, but when they don’t get worse, he counts his blessings and resolves to live with black-tinted Sky Flames for the foreseeable future. They’ll either fix themselves or they won’t.

- Ichigo has family. His Flames are from his mother’s side, and slipped between the pages of one of the books she left him, there are documents - birth certificate, passport, an Italian citizenship, and the contact info of his relatives. His rather infamous mafia relatives, a branch of the Quincy that broke off, disavowed their “King”, and mostly forgotten by the Quincy race as a whole even as they created a new empire for themselves. He never really thought he’d actually meet any of them in person. Masaki never exactly cut ties with them, but once her non-criminal Quincy relatives got a hold of her, and then she got involved with Shinigami, it seemed… wiser to keep the criminal side of her family quiet. She’d told them about Ichigo though, and Ichigo himself has talked to them, chatting regularly on Skype, and they’d made clear that Ichigo was welcome with them anytime if he grew up and decided to embrace his heritage. Ichigo was certain - back then - that while he didn’t begrudge his relatives for their mafia ties, he would never have a reason to join them either.

- But with a dozen broken potential Flame bonds shattered at his feet, no friends, and a family that feels more like people whom he happens to share a house with with each passing day, Ichigo has all the reason in the world to go. At the very least, it will be a fresh start, and he thinks that’s exactly what he needs right now.

- At Ichigo’s request, his cousin gets his emancipation pushed through, quickly and quietly, while Ichigo packs his bags, writes a note for an empty house, and a private jet is waiting for him when he gets to the airport. When he reaches Italy hours later, a limousine, half a dozen guards, and his cousin - sly smile and assessing eyes and all - is waiting for him.

“Ichigo! Welcome to Italy!”

Ichigo gets a hug, one that startles him but he returns it awkwardly after a few seconds. His cousin pulls back, and a plastic bag is thrust under his nose instead.

“Marshmallow?” Byakuran, the young Gesso heir, offers with a smirk even as his own Sky Flames thread carefully with Ichigo’s, lending strength and soothing the tattered edges left behind by the potential bonds.

“They’re too sweet,” Ichigo grumbles but takes one anyway.

“Nonsense,” Byakuran dismisses before slinging an arm over his shoulders and dragging him off to the limo. “Marshmallows are just the perfect amount of sweet.”

They slide into the limo, the door shuts behind Ichigo, and Byakuran’s eyes promptly narrow and frost over. He doesn’t look much like Masaki at all, and nothing like Ichigo, but with his white hair and pale eyes gone dark with anger, all previous airy cheer gone and expression sharpened to something dangerous, he could’ve passed for Ishida Ryuuken’s son.

Quincy blood has always been strong.

“Now,” Ichigo’s cousin says. “You’re going to tell me who Discorded you, and then I’m going to make them very, very sorry.” He pauses a beat. “And of course, you can help me do it.”

Ichigo rolls his eyes, but he has to suppress a smile too, and something in him relaxes for the first time since half his soul was sacrificed for the war.

He’s forgotten just how much he’s always liked this side of his family.

- Back in Karakura, by the time Yoruichi snarls him into obedience and Kisuke admits defeat and they both decide once and for all to ignore Isshin’s wishes, Ichigo is long gone.

[zibeth-a]

What

I’m going over an old lyricstuck (can I even call it that if it’s not Homestuck? What does one call them then???) script/plan, and I’m so confused... I literally have just Asriel down for one line of the song? There’s nothing but Asriel.. Did past me want to draw him as a flower? A goat child? A god of hyperdeath??? Pray for me while I try to figure out what I meant.... It’s gonna be a long night.... ;_;

[zibeth-a]

.