Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ BLEACHed Blitzkrieg ❯ Assassination ( Chapter 3 )

Title: BLEACHed Blitzkrieg
Author(s): SanadaSayuri & Deragonmaji
Disclaimer: No money is made off this work of fiction. Bleach is not mine. If it was, I would be rich and I wouldn’t be writing this, now would I?
Summary: In a world where Kurosaki Masaki survived and is a world renowned political power, can her firstborn, Kurosaki Ichigo step up to the plate? What if he were to put his mother's teachings to use? AU
Pairing:
Note: Just another case of plotbunnies gone wild. Sorta AUish and crackish. Collab with Deragonmaji.

Chapter 3

"...The bombing is believed to be the work of terrorists not affiliated with any countries. We believe that they wish to break down the unification process, and destroy what we have worked so hard to acheive. We must stand firm in our resolve at this time, and not turn to baseless disagreements and accusations, which will ultimately lead to the end of this peace that much blood was shed for. If this happens, then we will have fallen into-urk!" The golden haired woman jerked backwards as a crimson stain spread across the front of her jacket

"Kurosaki-sama!"

The cameras swerved away from the scene...

~*~

Ichigo stepped out of the Senkaimon and was greeted by the sight of an unusually serious looking Isshin...

"Get into your body. Now. We're leaving" Isshin didn't waste time on a greeting, turning on his heel and striding to the house.

Ichigo stood in shock for a second before hurrying after his father. "Wait!! What the hell is going on??"

Isshin wheeled to look at him. "Masaki's been shot. MOVE IT!!"

Ichigo's eyes widened as he shunpoed to his body, violently pushed Kon out, leaving the soul pill to bounce against the floor, and sprinted down the steps and out the door.

Downstairs, the two Kurosakis piled into Isshin's car as he sped toward the hospital, a panicked expression making its way onto his features.

~*~

Twenty one ignored red lights, five almost pancaked pedestrians, three near car crashes, and a near miss with a semi later, the Kurosaki family car pulled into the parking lot of a run hospital.

"Now, tell me exactly what happened while I was gone?" Ichigo demanded as they passed through the doors.

"I can't say exactly what happened," Isshin responded. "You know your mother had that press conference in three days ago?"

Ichigo nodded.

"Well, apparently, there was someone in the crowd with a gun. No one is sure exactly what happened, but partway through her speech, Masaki got shot. Fortunately, Ryuuken was on his way to a medical convention several blocks down. Your mother would have bled to death otherwise."

Ichigo swallowed hard. "So, what now?"

Isshin stared hard at his son. "That's for you to answer, boy."

Ichigo blinked. "Wha- Wait... You don’t mean…?"

Isshin nodded gravely and hurried his pace down the vacant hallways.

Ichigo stared ahead grimly as he sped up to match his father. "I know I'm the only person who can shoulder her duty..."

Isshin slowed and looked directly into his son's eyes. "This will by no means be easy for you... You will be doing most of the delegation work on your own, but for everything else, you will have help and full support."

Ichigo scoffed, "When the hell have I ever expected anything to be easy?"

A small smile appeared on Isshin's face. "That's my boy. Now come on, let's go see Mom."

Ichigo took a deep breath and squared his shoulders and followed his father down the hallway and into a room. Like most other hospital rooms, it was much too white, and smelled of antiseptics and antibacterial cleaner. He saw his mother looking pale and frail against the white sheets, and suppressed the urge to shiver.

"Mom?"

Masaki's eyes opened and she turned her head to look at her son. "Ichigo..."

"Hey, mom, I'm back."

"I'm sorry I couldn't welcome you back," Masaki said sadly.

"It's ok," Ichigo said, "As long as you're ok, right dad?"

"That's right." Isshin stepped fully into the room, gently pushing Ichigo into the room as he did so. "Tell your mom what you decided."

Ichigo swallowed and said, "Mom, I've decided that while you're injured, I'll stand in for you."

Masaki blinked. "Oh, Ichigo, sweetheart, please don't put yourself through any trouble on my sake."

Ichigo grinned lopsidedly, "Don't worry, mom, I can handle this. You've been grooming me for it, haven't you? I've been well prepared."

Masaki frowned.

"Ahem..." Isshin coughed lightly into a fist. "The boy won't get into too much trouble. He'll be well looked after, by both the living and dead, and of course, you'll be coaching from the sidelines. He won't have a chance to do something stupid."

Ichigo scowled. "Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, dad."

Masaki remained unconvinced. "You still have your shinigami duties! What if a hollow or arrancar attacks?"

The two male Kurosakis shared a look.

Isshin smiled. "You needn’t worry about that."

"Yeah, we've got it covered. Dad's taking over one of the divisions, and both of us have several powerful friends. Ishida, Orihime, and can watch over Karakura, and the other shinigami will be on alert at all hours of the day. They'll react faster to a hollow or arrancar attack much better than almost anyone. Please put your faith in me, mom, and concentrate on your recovery. I'll stand in for you until you're well, and I'll even call you before and after every conference and meeting."

Masaki sighed. "I can't talk you out of this?" Ichigo shook his head and Masaki sighed. "Very well. Please be careful."

Ichigo nodded. "I won't let you down mom."

~*~

Twelve hours later, Ichigo was on a plane to In the mean time, two objects fell into

~*~

Brilliant green eyes surveyed the landscape. "Hn."

Yami beat his huge fists together, "So, where the hell are they? I can't wait to kill those goddammed shinigami!!"

"Silence. No doubt the trash has felt us. They will come."

Sandal clad feet lit softly onto the ground, heavier footsteps not long after.

Yami growled. "They better get here soon or I'll--" His words were cut off as he dodged a kick.

A hand lazily twirled a cane as its owner shuffled into the clearing. "Sorry to keep you waiting, were you here long?"

Yami stared at the newcomers as the woman flipped back into her place beside the man. "This is it? This is Karakura's great protectors? A sloppy bastard, and a black woman?" He threw his head back and laughed loudly.

Ulquiorra stared. "Be quiet you fool. They are not ordinary. However, they are trash, and will be dealt with as such."

Yoruichi cracked her knuckles. "Trash huh?"

"Not very nice, are you?" Urahara sniffed. "Well, we can't let you stay here, at any rate."

Yami blinked as the two disappeared.

Ulquiorra took a single step back as the cane descended on the place he been standing not a moment before. "Hn." He looked up as Yami went sailing past him into a tree, which shattered under the impact.

Urahara blinked. "Oh dear... You really shouldn't have said that. I think you've made her angry..."

"Angry? ANGRY??" the roar echoed across the clearing as a purple, brown, black, and orange blur followed the path of the flying arrancar. "I'm not angry.... I'M FURIOUS!!!"

Yoruichi descended on the arrancar like the hell raiser she was. Yami raised an arm in a futile attempt at blocking her nearly invisible hits. Yoruichi grabbed the upraised limb, twisted her body, and with a large heave, swung the huge Espada over her hip and into the ground.

Yami grunted as he hauled himself out of the sizable furrow in the ground his body had made. He whipped his head around, trying in vain to locate the woman who had once again disappeared. "Where the hell are you bitch!??"

"Right here!!" she said with a feral grin as she lithely threw her body down from her perch and aimed a kick at his head. Her leg was jarred violently as he managed to draw his sword and block her. Yoruichi narrowed her golden orbs and used the blade as a springboard to send herself flying back several feet.

The arrancar grinned snidely at the woman as he lowered his Zanpaktou. "Is that really all you have, Trash?" he said, dragging out the final word.

The former 2nd captain saw red. All she knew was that this..... thing, was going to die. Painfully.

---

Urahara winced at the crashing, breaking, and shattering noises exuded from the tree line. He pushed back his fear of the enraged woman and concentrated on his foe. He swept Benihime across the ground towards the arrancars feet. As he expected, the green eyed one jumped to avoid the razor sharp steel.

Ulquiorra's eyes widened a fraction as his hands were forced from his pockets to block the foot that had snapped up the kick him in the face. Urahara pushed off against the Espada's arms and flew back several feet.

"You certainly aren't a pushover, are you?" He placed a hand on the wood of his cane. "Looks like I'm going to have to stop beating around the bush... How troublesome...." Lightly, he skimmed his palm over the length of the cane. "Cry, Benihime!!" The wood warped and twisted, becoming the zanpakuto of one Urahara Kisuke.

The Espada paused.

"I see," Ulquiorra said, "That's enough, Yami. We're returning."

"What? Why?! I was just getting started!" Yami protested as he scrambled as fast as he could away from the trees.

"GET BACK HERE YOU BASTARD!!! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!!!"

Ulquiorra turned slightly to face his large counterpart, ignoring the outburst. "It is being increasingly obvious that the one Aizen-sama is interested in will not be coming. Staying here with trash will defeat the purpose of our mission."

"Dammit," Yami grouched.

The two Arrancar opened a garganta.

"We'll be back!" Yami snarled, "And I'll crush you, woman."

"I'd like to see you try," Yoruichi said.

"My, my," Urahara said as the Arrancar vanished. "Aren't I glad that Kurosaki-kun wasn't here."

~*~

Three days later, Ichigo returned to Karakura. He sighed as he ran his hand through his hair as a bodyguard grabbed his suitcase from the luggage claim area, and another bodyguard and his mother's secretary ushered him into a car. He picked up his cell phone and called Urahara Shoten.

<"Moshi moshi,"> Urahara picked up the phone.

"Urahara-san," Ichigo said, "It's Ichigo. Did anything happen while I was gone?"

<"Just an Arrancar attack, nothing too bad.">

"I'm having another meeting tomorrow morning in North Karakura near the Municipal Building at 10:00 AM, and I'll be going to another conference with several delegates in Shinjuku the day after that. So you'll take care of things until I'm free?"

<"It'll be our pleasure, Kurosaki-kun!">

"Great. Thanks."

<"You sound tired. Leave things to us and get some rest.">

"Sure thing."

Ichigo snapped his phone shut and tucked it into a pocket. "Karakura General," he said brusquely, "I want to speak with mother before we go to the office."

"As you wish, Kurosaki-dono," the driver responded.

Ichigo sighed and leaned back against the seat and glanced out the tinted windows. He didn't regret his choice, but damn if he wasn't bone weary!

~*~

Two days later, seven shinigami stepped through the Senkaimon into Karakura.

"Welcome!" Urahara chimed happily.

"Where is Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya asked, "I thought he'd be here."

"It's seven in the morning, Hitsugaya-taichou," Rukia said, "He's probably on his way to school."

"Actually," Urahara said, "He's in Shinjuku. You can find him there if you need to."

"And how will we get to this, Shinjuku?" Hitsugaya said, "We'll need our gigai as well."

"No problem!" Urahara said.

Two hours later, the shingami left Karakura with a mod-soul controlled plushy made especially for this purpose.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The shinigami followed Ichigo's reiatsu, for once grateful for the boy's seemingly nonexistent control. They found the teen getting out of a black car, a harried look on his face, his normal frown deeper than usual, dressed in a navy suit.

"Please hurry, Kurosaki-dono," A dark haired woman who looked unusually like Ise Nanao said.

"I know," the teen growled as he straightened the jacket of his business suit.

"Ichigo!" Rukia called.

Ichigo paused halfway up the stairs in front of the building and turned.

"Kurosaki-dono?" a man said.

Ichigo ignored the man, and his frown deepened further, and he made his way back down the stairs toward the Shinigami. "Listen," he said in a low, even tone, "I'm late for a conference. While it can't exactly start without me, I don't have the luxury of sticking around. I'll be done and back in Karakura by lunchtime, and I'll definitely be there for the afternoon classes. I'll talk to you then, alright?"

"Very well," Hitsugaya said, "We will see you either at school or near the Urahara Shoten."

At the top of the steps, one of the men in business suits called out, "Kurosaki-dono! Please hurry!"

Ichigo nodded to the shinigami and turned and jogged up the steps. "I apologize. Let's go,” he said to the man.

The shinigami watched as the teen and his escort vanished behind the reflective sheets of plate glass that made up the building's front doors.

"Whew," Ikkaku muttered, "Kid has a tough job."

“I wonder how much sleep he’s been getting.” Rukia wondered, “He looks tired.”

"Let's go," Hitsugaya said, turning. "You can ask him when you see him. We'll see him later anyway." and the other shinigami followed suit.

When the shinigami were three blocks away from the building, the sound of an explosion and terrified screams accompanied by the sound of roaring flames and the tinkling of broken glass met their ears. They turned as one and gaped at the ninth story of the building that Ichigo had just entered.

"Oh, no..." Matsumoto breathed as she realized that Ichigo’s reiatsu had vanished.

"Ichigo!" Renji and Rukia yelled, and made to run toward the building, only to be restrained by Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Hitsugaya.

"Stop!" Hitsugaya said, "We don't know if Kurosaki was on that level!"

"But what if he was?" Renji demanded, "You can't expect us to leave him!"

"If Kurosaki was on that level," Ikkaku said, "Then he's most likely dead, something that is very likely true, especially since I can’t sense his reiatsu anymore."

Yumichika sniffed. "What an unbeautiful way to die."

Hitsugaya gave the 11th division fifth seat an incredulous look while Rukia and Renji's features were bordering on murderous.

"Oh my gosh," Matsumoto said, drawing the attention of the others to her, "What will Kyouraku Taichou and Kurosaki Taichou say when we tell them that the building that Ichigo just went into just burst into flames?"

The silence was shocked and horrified.

-----

TBC....