Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Tribal Wars ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Title; Tribal Wars
Author; Spandexboy
Rating; R (blood, gore and later limes and lemons)
Parings; Itchigo x Renji (as far as I know now, more will probably come)
Disclaimer; Don’t own Bleach, don’t own the world of Tribe 8, I just borrow it all for my own twisted amusement, and hopefully for your amusement as well.
AN; My first Bleach fic… tell me what you think…AU setting. Oh and I will be using Chado when people talk to/about Chad, and Sado otherwise since he is named Sado, but people only call him Chado… if that made sense…



Tribal Wars, chapter 1.


The rough rope were cutting into Itchigo’s wrists and upper arms, but the orange haired boy hardly noticed. His thoughts were far away as he tried to figure out how this could have happened. How he could have landed him self in this situation, he’d been so careful as well, and still they’d come for him, it didn’t add up at all…

“Itchigo!” Rei’s voice was low and urgent as he pulled Itchigo around the corner. Itchigo slid on a patch of ice and grabbed hold of the older boys armoured shoulder to keep him self from falling, but Rei’s strong arms had held him steady. “Ssshhh, keep still man.” Rei hissed softly as he looked around the corner and out on the fortifications. After having made sure no one had heard the slight ruckus, the blue-eyed teen turned to look at Itchigo. “She’s after you ya’ know. Ya can’t keep dodging her like this forever.” Rei whispered softly. Itchigo bit his lip and clutched his best friend’s gloved and armoured hand and Rei’s ice blue eyes softened as he squeezed Itchigo’s hand back. “I can’t help it Rei, I can’t do it like you guys can, I just can’t…”

Itchigo bit his lip in anger, surely all this couldn’t be just because he couldn’t bed his commander. He knew that the woman was insanely obsessed with getting him into bed, but the female body just didn’t do anything for him, never had and they all knew that. That was probably why she had been so obsessed with bedding him, but still… Besides even if she had wanted to punish him for it, she couldn’t have been able to go this far as she would have been forced to reveal what she did with her subordinates during the nighttime. And Itchigo was certain that her practise weren’t accepted by the other officers, they were already wondering why she wouldn’t accept females into her squad.

“Rei?” Itchigo chanced a glance over at his best friend who was crouched next to him on the rooftop. He could see Rei silhouetted against the dim lights from the ruined city below them, his five-foot long braid whipping in the chill wind like a snake. “Don’t think Itchi, it’s our job.” Rei muttered back, giving Itchigo’s hand a quick squeeze. “Aa, I know.” Itchigo replied softly as a frown crept over his brow. Fucking judges making them do their dirty work…

That hadn’t been the first time that Itchigo had felt that the work his squad had been assigned to do had been wrong. It was true that the Joanites were the police force and the warriors against whatever threat there was, but still, he couldn’t see the point in slaughter or unnecessary violence. Not when it could be solved differently.

Itchigo knew he were on thin ice, it felt like he’d been balancing on a knives edge for years. Silently he slipped out of Rei’s room and towards his own. He didn’t have much time, he could feel the ice under his feet cracking and he probably should have left some months ago, but he hadn’t wanted to leave Rei alone. But now he had no choice, either he left now or he would risk dragging Rei down with him. And that weren’t an option. Silently he closed the door behind him and ran his eyes over the small place. At that very instance Itchigo’s blood froze. His weapons and armour where gone! Just as he realised that the ice had cracked under him, several heavy armoured people walked in behind him and something heavy crashed against his head and he lost consciousness.

Itchigo had no idea how long it was since he’d been arrested, nor if they’d taken Rei as well. He had no idea where he was, but he knew he weren’t home anymore. He’d been transported in a wagon along with someone else, but he didn’t know whom or how many, as he’d been tied down with his hands behind his back and a hood pulled over his head. All he knew was that he was naked and hungry.

Suddenly the hood was pulled off and Itchigo blinked to clear his vision. It was dark and before him stood Joan her self. She was all the thought she’d ever be, tall, muscular and silent. Tattoos caressed her pale moon lit skin in intricate patterns, burn patterns showed her pride in pain and piercings gleamed coldly. Bitterness crept into Itchigo’s brown eyes and he raised his chin defiantly. He would not let this woman have the better of him, even if she was his fathima and one of the goddess’ own. Joan bent down just enough to place her hand over Itchigo’s heart and Itchigo felt as if he where being torn in two. The pain was immense, he’d never in his 19years felt anything like it, it consumed him and it cost him everything he had not to scream in pain. Dimly he heard a voice behind the pain reading his and the others sentences and for their crimes against the tribes and their fathimas they would be without their tribe and now and forever Fallen ones.

The pain ended just as suddenly as it had come and Itchigo fell forward, coughing and gasping for air. His muscles twitched painfully and the rope around his wrists and upper arms where the only thing that kept him from falling face first into the ground. A warm breeze made the trees around them rustle and served to remind Itchigo that he needed to pull him self-together. The hilltop where deserted, except for him and the ones he where tied together with. Someone behind him where crying silently, he could only hear the occasional sniffle and sob and as he tried to turn and look at the others a movement in the trees caught his eye. There were something in the woods to the north that made the trees shake and tremble and a cold feeling spread through Itchigo’s senses.

“I hate to break up this party,” Itchigo growled as he struggled against his bindings. “But if we don’t get out of here someone will use our bones as toothpicks in the very near future.” He could hear several gasps as the others too noticed the danger and he where pulled backwards as someone else pulled on their bindings. K’so, we’re tied together, Itchigo thought. That was not good, it meant that breaking the ties would be more difficult. If only Rei had been here, then he could have used the blades that where tied to the end of his braid, but if Rei had been here, Itchigo knew he wouldn’t ever forgive him self. A howl filled the night sky, a terrible howl that turned the sweat on their bodies to ice and Itchigo knew that they didn’t have much time left. He gathered all of his strength and pulled against the bonds. His muscles swelled, blood trickled out from under the ties and it felt like his wrists where going to break. Suddenly the bonds snapped and Itchigo fell forward panting heavily. He hardly noticed when he was lifted to his feet until something cold and wet hit his face.

“Get up, all of ya!” A dark voice growled and Itchigo realised that they where surrounded by seven other people, all holding weapons at the ready. “Git goin’ Mar! Get ‘em to safety!” The dark voice cried out again and Itchigo saw that it belonged to a huge guy that where wielding a gigantic battle-axe with frightening ease. Some one pushed him forwards before grabbing on to his bleeding wrist and pulled him along into the woods to the south.

“Keep runnin’, keep up!” A female voice behind Itchigo yelled and it were followed by a yelp as if someone had been picked up and thrown over a shoulder. They all ran as fast as they could, their guide had let go of Itchigo’s wrist and where running in the lead. Itchigo had lost their direction as soon as they ran into the woods but they just kept on running. In the beginning they had heard the battle but then as they ran deeper into the woods it got quiet and all now all that could be heard was their laboured breath and when someone stepped on a dry twig.

Suddenly their guide stopped and turned towards them. “Behind those trees..” he pointed behind him self. “lies Bazar. You need to get through it and over the bridge. Don’t worry about the watch, we’ve fixed it, just don’t stop until you’ve reached the other side. Once there, don’t follow the lighted path, stick to the dark one. Got it?!” he gave them all a hard look before he nodded and then he and the female disappeared the same way they had come.

Itchigo swallowed, he didn’t know if he where to trust those strangers, they were Fallen, but then again so were he now and they had saved their lives. He could feel a headache coming up and it would only be worse if he kept chasing his own thoughts like this. It was no good, he had to trust that they’d fixed the watch, or else saving them would have been pointless and they’d only be killed on the bridge instead. Carefully he started walking and he tried to ignore the looks he got from the eyes that where hidden behind the helmets of those guards. He’d served his time on this bridge, but he had never been present when new Fallens had walked over the bridge to get to Hom, the small island that the Fallens were banished to. He could only imagine how it was like to see one of your own tribe walking naked over the bridge, doomed. Banished from the tribe, cast out and abandoned by the fathima, weak as a new born kitten and fumbling in the dark. Anger surged through him at the thought and he could feel how his hatred for the Judges grew and settled in his heart. It was the Tera’ Sheba tribe, the judges, who where responsible for his downfall, it was because of them he’d become a fallen. Because of their power plays and obsession for the law and the loopholes they so freely exploited that had made him silently question the fathimas and their workings. Itchigo still didn’t understand how they had found him out, but he wowed that he’d never again would be used like he had been as a Blade of Joan.

Questioning the fathimas and their workings where a dangerous game and Itchigo knew he had lost, at least as far as the fathimas where concerned. The fathimas where of the goddess’ her self, she had sent them to the work camps when the world had been ruled by the alien Zi’bre. She had send each camp a child, a child that held an aspect of her self and together the eight aspects gathered the humans and rallied them to war. A war that ended with the Zi’bre being driven to the far north and the Zi’bre lord that held the world under his will were killed by Joshua the Ravager. Joshua him self where killed by the Zi’bre lord and Joan had carried her twin brother out of the Zi’bre stronghold. Itchigo clenched his teeth as he thought about how the fathimas now treated Joshua’s memory. They insisted that Joshua’s tribe no longer existed and that there now only existed seven tribes, not eight. But Mary, one of the fathimas had died not long after the liberation, and she had been born anew in Agnes the Child. Why hadn’t Joshua been born again if the goddess clearly wanted her aspects amongst the humans to guide them? It was beyond Itchigo’s understanding and his headache just grew stronger.

The gate of the banished towered above them and Itchigo felt scared for the first time since he got arrested. Going through the open gate meant that it all would be true, that he really had been banished and the life he’d had up until now would cease to exist. It was terrifying to know that your family and friends no longer would be there for you, and if they saw you they would just ignore you as if you were a total stranger. No, it would be worse, a stranger they would talk to, as a Fallen they wouldn’t even do that, they’d just give you blank looks and ignore you.

“Mooouuu, what we got here then? New born's, ne?” A tall guy in just a loincloth and roman leather sandals came walking up from the road they’d just come from. The early morning light shone on a steel pole he carried over his right shoulder and a couple of fish hung in a steel wire from the end of it. Delicate and artistic tattoos where strategically placed on his skin and contrasted with the heavy rings in his nipples. Brightly coloured bird feathers where somehow attached to his left eyebrow and eyelashes and raven black hair framed the beautiful face. “Come now, no need to be shy and embarrassed. We were all new born’s once. I am Yumichika Ayasegawa, and I am a Guide. The pleasure is all mine.” The Guide all but purred the last part as he looked over the group.

“Don’t tell me,” Itchigo groaned. “Magdalite”
“Ah, why I once were, yes.” Yumichika grinned. “And you were a Joanite, easy to tell. You Joanites pride your self with your scarification and there are few with such excellent body physique as your tribe.” Itchigo felt a slight blush colour his cheeks, but he couldn’t afford to fall for a former Magdalite’s seduction. After all it was their job so to speak. Magdalene, their fathima, stood for love, both the physical and mental and Magdalites where excellent diplomats and had an uncanny ability to read body language. They ran the best pleasure houses and they had the best tattooers, pierces and scar makers.

“Now, come kittens. I’ll take you to Junks so you can get some food and rest, I am sure you have all had a disturbing nite.” Yumichika eyed Itchigo’s bloody wrists. “We’ll get that cleaned up as well.” He smiled and ushered them all through the gates.

Junks, the name sounded familiar to Itchigo. He’d heard it while working on the bridge and as far as he knew it was a pub of some sort. That was all he knew, but if the Guide wanted to take them there it probably weren’t too bad. He’d heard a lot of strange things about the ones calling them selves for Guides and most of it wasn’t any good. But there weren’t much Itchigo could do about it other than keep his guard up and keep quiet. Besides he needed a place where he could sit down in peace and quiet and gather his thoughts. He needed to figure out what he was going to do now, how he was going to survive and get his life back together. It wouldn’t do any good if he just gave up, he weren’t going to let them think they’d won or broken him.

The city of Hom looked a lot like Bazar, but considering it once where a part of Bazar before the Zi’bre came, it kinda made sense. Now Hom was on an island as the river had over flowed and put large parts of the once proud skyscraper city under water. Now however the skyscrapers where only half as tall as they used to stand in the time forgotten and they where ribbed to the bone by scavengers. Their open skeleton stretched up to the sky like a bone heap of a beggar would reach out to the more lucky citizens. None if this bothered Itchigo as it was as he’d always known a city to be. The Zi’bre had come several hundred of years ago and enslaved the human race so long that they forgot how it used to be.

Junks weren’t any different than the rest of the buildings around it. Outside a wooden plate had been placed upon a barrel and functioned as a table and some crates stood around for chairs. A steel plate, roughly the size of the doorway stood next to it and had JUNKS written crudely on it with white paint. The main room inside where two and a half story high and only half of it had a roof of some sort, half of the wall on the left side had been knocked out and a rickety bar used the rest of it. A doorway on the wall opposite the entrance was near the bar.

“Oy, Uruhara!” Yumichika yelled sweetly as they walked through the empty bar towards the hole in the wall. A tall blonde guy with a green and white striped hat poked his head out from the hole in the wall. “No reason to yell Yumi. I’m not deaf.” Urahara grumbled.
“But I brought guests.” Yumichika smiled and pushed Itchigo through the ‘doorway’. Itchigo stumbled through with a dark glare directed at the Guide.
“I see.” Urahara nodded and pulled a dark green shirt on. The shirt matched his knee long pants and he had stilted wooden sandals on his feet. “Well, don’t just stand there, there are crates with clothes and some other stuff in the ground floor sleeping quarters. Take what ya need and come back here for breakfast and we can clue you newbees in on the ropes.” Urahara waved them away just as he glanced up and noticed Itchigo. “Oy! Joanite!” Itchigo stopped in his tracks and turned to face the bar owner. “Hai?”
“Yumi, take over the cooking,” Urahara tossed the skillet at the Guide and lay a hand on Itchigo’s shoulder. “You come with me.”
“I can’t cook!!! It does not suit me!” Yumichika’s wails followed them out of the ‘kitchen’.

Urahara lead Itchigo up the stairs to the first floor sleeping quarters. It was just as cramped as the one on the ground floor, but the beds looked a bit more comfy than the ones down stairs had looked. “Last nite I got a package by a strange guy, and the message were even stranger.” Urahara said softly as they walked over the creaking floor. “He came just before the dusk and told me that an orange haired Joanite would arrive this morning and that I was to give the package to him only.” The older man turned and looked Itchigo in the eye. “Some one is looking out for you…” he turned and lifted the mattress on the largest bed and after some shifting of the crates it rested on he handed Itchigo a large package wrapped in fur. Itchigo blinked and stared at the odd shape of it. Swallowing he slowly opened it and he could hear a gasp from Urahara. Inside the fur were a studded leather armour he easily recognised, two identical swords and a leather pouch that contained something heavy. Itchigo’s vision blurred as he looked at the items he never thought he’d see again. “What did the guy who brought it l-look like?” he asked Urahara softly, the lump in his throat growing by the second. Urahara had turned to look at the stairwell, but cast a glance over his shoulder when he heard the softly spoken question. “Tall as you, but more stocky. Hard to tell from under all the fluttering garments and I couldn’t see his face properly, he had a deep hood, but I know I’ve never seen hair that long before. Nearly as long as the guy where tall.”

Itchigo closed his eyes against the tears as Urahara described the guy. He really didn’t need the bar owners description, he knew who it was when he first had seen the armour. The armour had been Rei’s, the one he’d use if he had to go on a recon mission in Bazar. The armour had been specially made for Rei by the Joanite armourers as a favour to Rei’s dad who was a high-ranking templar. Rei used to say that the watch plate armour restricted him too much when he had to blend in and sneak around in Bazar. The identical blades had been another clue, the two of them had bought the blades together when they joined the watch just after they had come of age some five years earlier. Now Rei had risked everything to make sure Itchigo had something to start anew with, risked everything to tell him he still cared. Itchigo clutched the armour and the blades as he silently grieved the loss of his best friend. He didn’t know how he would manage without Rei, but he knew he had to. He had a score to settle, and he wanted to be able to somehow let Rei know he would be fine. Taking a beep breath Itchigo wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and got up from his kneeling seat. He squared his shoulders and turned to walk downstairs only to find him self jumping up and down on one foot as the heavy pouch slipped from the bundle in his arms and right on top of his right foot toes. Cursing, Itchigo rubbed his bare foot and eyed the pouch darkly before he carefully sat down his foot again and picked up the evil pouch. He quickly pulled open the string and blinked as three large Joan medallions fell into his hands. How the hell Rei had gotten his hands on three medallions where beyond Itchigo’s comprehension. A fathima medallion where highly sought after and could generally get you what ever you wanted if you had the right medallion. The right medallion for a Joanite would be a Joan medallion and for a Magdalite, a Magdalene medallion and so on. They where powerful artefacts given by the fathima to those who had done great deeds in the fathima’s eyes. They could highten a person’s spirit force or Reiatsu if needed by tens, but they only worked once and after that they would only be a pretty medallion. Itchigo had before this only seen one Joan medallion and that had belonged to Rei’s dad. Biting his lower lip in the middle, he’d gotten used to that after he got his snakebite piercings, he stuffed the medallions back into the pouch just as he heard someone walking up the stairs.

“Found you some clothes to match that wonderful armour of yours.” Urahara grinned and placed a bundle on the floor by the stairwell. He also placed a pair of high, studded leather combat boots next to the bundle. “Get dressed and come get your breakfast before Yumi burns the meat too much.”

“Oh my!” Yumichika purred as he spotted Itchigo in the doorway to the kitchen area. Itchigo felt a tick starting in his left eye as the former Magdalite all but devoured him with his eyes. “Get yer filthy mind outa the gutter.” He growled and sat down next to Urahara by the table. Yumichika giggled and placed a plate with rice and a slightly burned steak in front of Itchigo. As the smell of the food reached Itchigo’s nose he realised just how hungry he was and he didn’t need Yumichika’s ‘bon appetite’ and ‘eat up’s’ to tuck in.

“Right,” Urahara smiled as he watched the new comers eat with a healthy appetite. “time to fill you in on the ropes on being a Fallen. Firstly don’t believe the crap about the fathimas having taken your soul away,” he gave them all a stern look. “’cause they haven’t. They might have taken away some of your Reiatsu abilities, but if you take time to meditate on it, you’ll discover that you’ve gained something else in stead. Fallens are in a way divided the same way as the tribes. We got four directions so to speak that we are given Reiatsu abilities from. Take Yumichika here as an example, he was a Magdalite and when he where banished Magdalene took away some of his abilities, but not all. When he came to Hom he discovered he shared a bond with some certain people who call them selves Light Bringers. That meaning Yumi had gotten Light Bringer abilities to replace the ones Magdalene took by force. The abilities differ from person to person, but they all have it from the same mystical source. I my self is a Doomsayer and you have Jackers and Herites as well. It does not matter what source you gain your new abilities from, as Fallens we are to the tribes and the others the same. To them it doesn’t matter. Secondly, the world here works pretty much as it does everywhere else, you uphold your trade deals and so forth. But you need to keep an eye out, as not everyone that are banished are banished because they questioned the fathimas. Some are really bad guys and where banished ‘cause they murdered someone or something like that. They send everyone to Hom, so watch your back. Another thing is, because when you are banished you loose all your friends and families so when people come to Hom they are encouraged to create a Cell. A Cell is a group of people who fill each-others needs for a family unit and close friends. Usually new Cells are made when new arrivals such as your self appear, but sometimes, new Cells are made ‘cause tragic events leave the Cell with only two survivors or less. But it is entirely up to each of you if you want to make a Cell or wait and see if one of the existing ones are recruiting. Other than that, you are free to stay here at Junks for as long as you wish, but I expect you to help out a bit during the evenings. Serving patrons, cooking and cleaning up in the morning.” Urahara grinned and leaned back in his rickety seat. “Any questions?”

“Yeah, I got one!” A rough voice came from the doorway. “Any food left and where’s the Mudbeer?” Itchigo blinked, at first perplexed by the term Mudbeer, then stunned by the man leaning against the wall. He was tall, had crimson red hair tied up in a high pony tail and dressed in tightly fitted black clothes. Pieces of armour where strapped to him and he had a long but slim two-handed sword strapped to his back. Just as Itchigo’s eyes started to wander over the tattooed lines of the mans muscular arms Yumichika appeared with a plate and a cup. “Here you go Renji-love.” Itchigo barely realised what happened next. There was a slight twitch in Renji’s left eye before he backhanded Yumichika out over the crumbled wall where he landed in the compost heap. “Fucking Magdalite, leave me the hell alone!” Renji all but yelled before he walked over and sat down at the table, his food and drink amazingly not spilled or spoiled.

“Um, was that really necessary?” One of the others that had arrived with Itchigo that morning asked. She was a pretty girl with long brown hair and light brown eyes. Itchigo really hadn’t noticed her before now, nor had he really noticed the other two sitting next to her. “Hai, it was. The dude can irritate the life out of a rock.” Renji replied in between mouthfuls of food. “B-but he could be hurt!” the girl pressed on, her thin eyebrows furrowed in worry. “Nah,” Renji cast a glance in the direction of the compost heap. “He’ll be up in a few, complaining about the stench.” The girl looked slightly shocked. “I can see why.” The boy sitting next to her replied dryly. There was a soft moan coming from the compost heap and a few moments later Yumichika’s head appeared over the crumpled wall, a banana peel stuck to the side of his head.

-o-

Junks during the night were quite different to what it was during the day. During the day it was sleepy and relaxed, people came to get a bite and gossip with friends, treating the bar as a canteen as far as Itchigo could see. The nights however were a different matter. Urahara had showed them some large metal looking cases that he called his baby. When they had asked what the cases did, he’d just grinned happily and told then to wait till the evening and then they would know. Now Itchigo knew, and at first he figured that he would just have to get used to the noise. Urahara had called it music, and fair enough Itchigo found it appealing, but he couldn’t in his wildest dreams figure out how the so-called music had been made. The base beat were hard and pulsing, the rhythm fast and the volume high. It wasn’t like anything Itchigo had ever heard before, the music he was used to was made with flutes, drums and ones voice, nothing like the thing that was currently making it almost impossible to hear another person talk right next to you in the main room. The music was one thing, another thing was the amount of people who came in at dusk, the main room were packed. Itchigo had retreated to the kitchen area together with the pretty girl whom had come to Hom that morning. She was a sweet thing, a bit innocent, but she was an Evan after all. Evans where the tribe who grew just about all the food that were sold and eaten, they where the best healer and every tribe had an Evan midwife amongst then to help out at child birth. Currently she was stirring a large wooden spoon around in a huge pot made out of half an oil barrel, so that the beef stew wouldn’t burn.

“Ne, Orihime. If you don’t mind me asking, why did you get banished?” Itchigo asked as he put some more wood on the fire under the pot. He’d been wondering why she had been banished, she didn’t seem like someone who’d done anything to deserve such a thing. Orihime gave him a soft smile, but her eyes looked sad. “I didn’t want to marry the man the elders had approved for me.” She sighted. Itchigo blinked, they had thrown her out just because she didn’t want to marry someone?! “He weren’t a good man, although everyone else seemed to think that. But no one wanted to listen to me and since I had no family to protest against the elders…” she shrugged her shoulders. “So I ran away just before the wedding and when they found me they accused me of murdering him.” Itchigo choked on his Mudbeer. “Na-nani?” Orihime rushed over and patter him hard on his back until he could breathe again. “Aa, I didn’t kill him, I didn’t even know he was dead. But someone had murdered him in his sleep that night that I had ran away.” She sniffed silently as she walked back to the pot. “The worst part is, I think I know who did it. But I would rather take the punishment for her than see her banished.” Itchigo nodded, he knew how she felt, at least when it came to that part. She wanted to take the blame instead of seeing someone she loved being banished, the other girl probably had a family who would get pulled down with her and since Orihime didn’t have one she felt it had been for the best. Itchigo didn’t know much about the Evans in terms of how they governed them selves, but he knew that there was a council of elders who took all the final decisions. He knew that if two Evans wanted to get married they would have to seek that council’s approval. Why it was like that he didn’t know, and to be fair he didn’t think it was fair, if someone were in love and they were willing to devote their lives to each other then there shouldn’t be anything standing in between that. Shaking his head he downed the last of his beer and got up to get some more. He didn’t get far though as the doorway were blocked by a slightly drunk Urahara and a smaller boy with white, spiky hair.

“Orihime! Give Hitsugaya here some of that stew. And Itchigo, get the four of us some more booze.” Uruhara practically beamed as he steered the younger boy towards the table.

When Itchigo returned with the Mudbeer, he found the other three seated around the table and laughing. Or more precisely, Urahara was laughing, Orihime sweatdropped and the white haired boy seemed to ignore Urahara in favour to his food. Itchigo sat down after handing everyone their cup and watched Urahara wipe tears from his eyes.

“So Hitsugaya, where’s the rest of your Cell?” Urahara asked, suddenly serious. Hitsugaya shrugged. “They should be home soon.” Urahara’s eyes seemed to darken at that comment. “You’ve been saying that for a week now, you sure their fine?” Hitsugaya gave the older man a freezing look, but Urahara didn’t seem to back down, he just returned the cold one with a dark one of his own.

“Hitsugaya-san was an Agnite.” Orihime whispered to Itchigo. “He’s been friends with Urahara-san for a long time.” Itchigo pinched the bridge of his nose, cursing him self silently for not having recognised the younger boy before. Agnes the Child was the most chaotic fathima ever. The tribe were ruled by children between seven and seventeen and once you hit thirty you where either killed or got thrown out. From the age of eighteen you were either a Breeder or a Barren. As a breeder you were expected to give birth to three children in five years and the baby would be taken away straight after the birth to be raised by other children under the age of seven. The barren ones, in other words those who for some reason weren’t able to have children where treated like slaves by the rest of the tribe. Even though Hitsugaya looked to be no older than thirteen, Itchigo suspected that he were closer to twenty. It was common amongst the Agnites to look younger than they actually were.

“Hitsugaya-san, why did your Cell leave without you?” Orihime asked carefully, she was dead curious about why Hitsugaya weren’t with them and why he didn’t seem to be too bothered with the fact that they should have been home by now. “Injured.” The white haired boy mumbled and swallowed the rest of his food. “I was injured and couldn’t go with them. They wanted to go with Hisagi Shyuuhei and his Wolf Pack on a raid in Zi’bre land.” Orihime gasped. “But that’s dangerous! Only the Templars of Joan are strong enough to take on such dangerous tasks. They are the only ones who can face the fears on the Seven Fingers.”

Itchigo frowned. “Um, Orihime, that’s not entirely true. Every Joanite serves his time on the Seven Fingers, even I have almost frozen my balls off on those fortifications. The Templars have their headquarters there and are trained in the Serf lands just below the wall.” Orihime blinked and sat down again from her half risen position. “Gomen…”

“Don’t worry about it Orihime.” Itchigo shrugged. “It’s a common misconception.” He gave her a smile that turned into a grin as she smiled back. “But Hitsugaya, did you say Hisagi Shyuuhei?” Hitsugaya raised and eyebrow in question. “Aa, I did. Ya know him?” Itchigo nibbled on one of his snakebite rings wondering how to word him self. “Eh, no, not personally. He’s kind of a legend on the Seven Fingers. Didn’t know he was a Fallen, the templars speak of him as he was one of their own.”

“Really?” Hitsugaya had both eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Yeah, he’s kinda famous for his raids. Whole Serfs camps and their Zi’bre lords annihilated in one nite and so forth.” Itchigo continued. “I thought he was a Lone Templar. Ya know, one of the ones who isolates them selves from others in order to better serve Joan and the crusade.” Urahara and Hitsugaya blinked. “Woooo, Shyuuhei are so going to pleased to hear that.” Urahara laughed. “Oh, and Itchigo, since you are a Jacker you prolly should talk to him when he gets back. After all, he is the leader of the Jackers.”

“Huh?” Itchigo couldn’t quite follow the turn the conversation had taken. “I’m a Jacker? What does that mean?” A cup slammed down on the table next to Itchigo, making them all jump. “Means your one mean mother when it comes to beating the carp out of stuff.” Renji grinned as he sat down. “I coulda told ya this mornin’ ya know, but ya didn’t ask. I’m a Jacker my self, and between you an’ me…” Renji leaned in close to Itchigo’s ear. “the others don’t come close in ruling the field. Light Bringers and Doomsayers all plot and talk big, but when it comes to getting down and dirty… they run like a whipped dog.” Itchigo swallowed and tried hard not to think about the hot breath against his ear, the low pitch of the voice or the shivers of pleasure that ran down his spine. But as Renji kept on talking it proved more and more difficult, his mind were slowly drowning in the gutter, happily playing with the thought of what lay beneath the tight black clothes, or how the crimson haired man would sound crying out in ecstasy.

“Ne, Renji?” Hitsugaya gave the crimson haired man a dry look. “Don’t think he’s listening to ya anymore.” He nodded towards Itchigo who had a slightly glazed look in his eyes. Renji smirked wickedly and took another drink out of his cup. The night was suddenly looking good for him, now if he could only swoon the guy into his bed. Not that that should be a problem, Renji thought satisfied as he glanced over at the orange haired new comer. The boy’s cheeks had a slight blush and his mouth was slightly open. Perfect for picking…

A loud crash from the main room tore Itchigo out of his smut fest and he blinked as he realised that the crash probably came from a chair flying into a wall. He and the others were on their feet seconds later and running towards the doorway. Just as they reached the hole in the wall, Itchigo were pushed aside and pinned against the wall by a strong tattooed arm as a large guy came flying through. He looked up the hand planted against his chest and up into Renji’s face. But Renji weren’t looking at him, he was looking into the main room and cursing softly.

“K’so, Baal sure knows when to start a fucking fight.” Renji spat before launching him self into the fray. Itchigo swore softly and looked over at Urahara. The older blonde gave him a dark look before tossing a wooden bat at him and nodded towards the main room. “Get the skinny guy with the mad eyes and black hair out of here before he and his gang tear the place apart. Don’t worry ‘bout his gang, there’s enough people who don’t want them here, but Baal ain’t easy to budge despite his looks.” Itchigo nodded and ran into the main room. He quickly spotted Renji as he flew into a table and toppled out of sight. But it had been enough as Itchigo had seen whom Renji had been fighting. He quickly dodged the people fighting around him and as he neared the guy he was aiming at he raised the bat and brought it down with full force against the guys unprotected back. The bat connected, but the pain that shot through Itchigo’s arms told him that he’d underestimated his opponent, and he had to quickly dodge a blade that came around, aimed at his head. Itchigo brought the bat up again and this time tried to hit the guy in the chest, but it was dodged at the last second as the guy jumped backwards. Itchigo swung again and slowly drove the guy towards the exit, but he had only gotten him half way there before he heard someone cry out his name and he turned just in time to see a metal plate being swung at his head. Unfortunately, Itchigo didn’t have time to dodge properly and the metal plate connected with his jaw. Itchigo’s vision blurred and he dimly registered that he landed on the floor. His jaw felt like it’d been crushed or at least unhinged, and then everything went black.

Renji cursed as he saw Itchigo go down. He had been the one to yell at him to look out, but the other boy hadn’t been able to dodge it fast enough. Picking up a table leg, Renji ran back towards Baal. Baal were to busy with Hitsugaya to notice Renji and when the table leg connected with his crotch he crumpled up like a house of cards. But Renji didn’t really care, he were kneeling next to the unconscious Itchigo, tying to determine the extent of the damage done. It didn’t look too good, a gash in Itchigo’s left cheek were bleeding badly and his jaw looked strange. Renji carefully picked up the younger boy and carried him out of the main room and up to the fist floor sleeping quarters. He had barely gotten half way through the main room when Orihime, the pretty girl who had arrived with Itchigo, came running towards him.

“Renji-san! Itchigo!” she seemed close to tears as she looked over the orange haired boy in Renji’s arms. But to Renji’s surprise she didn’t fall apart, but instead she got a hard look in her eyes. “Come with me.” She said, her voice tight but steady. Renji raised an eyebrow in question, but the girl didn’t notice, she just disappeared around the doorway to the ground floor sleeping quarters. Shaking his head he followed Orihime, silently hoping that she was one of the Evans who had the healing gift still intact. They were rare, since Eva tended to take away the healing gift from the ones who had it, so that they couldn’t be used in favour for the Fallens.

“Put him down here Renji-san.” Orihime said softly as she pulled some blankets off a bed in the fist floor sleeping quarter. “Then you can sit down and wait, I’ll take a look at those wounds of yours when I’m done with Itchigo.” Renji just nodded and did as she told him, he had never seen a healing before and where glad that she allowed him to stay, at least that was what he told him self.

Orihime carefully cleaned the gash on Itchigo’s left cheek, careful of not jarring the damage jaw and aggravating the wound any more than necessary. When the fight had broken out she had immediately put water on the fire to boil it and she’d grabbed a large bowl of Urahara’s drinking water. She had just gotten down from the upstairs bedroom when she spotted Renji carrying Itchigo. At first she had been shocked to see them all bloody and beaten, but she had forced her self to stay calm and focus on what needed to be done, instead of thinking about what could have happened. And now she was calmly estimating the damage done to Itchigo so that she could give him the proper treatment. After cleaning the gash she gently probed his jaw and grimaced as she could feel the bones jarring against each other. Straightening her back, she closed her eyes and placed her hands on Itchigo’s face, concentrating hard on how Itchigo had looked earlier so that she could by the force of her will mend the bones and flesh.

-o-

“Rise and shine Itchigo!!” Itchigo groaned and turned on his side, away from the annoyingly cheerful voice. He didn’t feel like getting up yet, it was nice and warm in the bed. “Oh no, we can’t have anything of that.” The cheerful voice continued and Itchigo felt a cool draft over his body as his blanket was pulled off. Creaking an eye open Itchigo saw Urahara standing next to the bed with his blanket in one hand and a wide grin on his face. “Ah, so the dead have awakened! Good, I need you to go into Bazar and get me some supplies.” Grimacing, Itchigo sat up and glared at the bar owner. “Fine, I’m up. Happy?” Urahara just chuckled and walked downstairs.

Cursing silently to him self, Itchigo ran a hand over his jaw, remembering the blow he had taken the night before. It was a bit strange he thought, his jaw felt fine, a bit sore and tender, but nothing more. Frowning about the mystery, he strapped on his boots and swords, heading downstairs. Maybe someone could tell him what had happened.

Orihime all but squealed in delight as he walked into the kitchen, making him wonder what the hell had happened. But before he could manage to open his mouth to ask her, she pushed a bowl of porridge into his hands and steered him towards the table. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!” she chirruped, pushing him into a chair.

“It’s good to see you up and alright.” Orihime smiled as she busied her self around the porridge pot. “Aa, good to see your alright.” Sado said silently. Itchigo raised an eyebrow in question as he looked at the large, muscular boy sitting in front of him. He’d learned the boy’s name yesterday afternoon, Sado had come to Hom with him and Orihime. There had been another boy too, one name Ishida, but Itchigo hadn’t seen him on his way downstairs so he guessed the guy weren’t in.

“Right. Well, Chado, could you please enlighten me? What happened last nite?” Itchigo rubbed his jaw. “I mean, I know I got hit by a metal plate, but I’m fine, so why where you all worried?”

Sado nodded and swallowed his porridge. “Your jaw broke and you got a nasty gash on you cheek as well from the plate. We were worried that Orihime hadn’t managed to mend it.” He said simply, taking another spoonful of porridge. Orihime nodded from her place by the pot, her eyes large and sad. “We were so worried.” She continued, her voice thin. “Renji-san carried you upstairs and didn’t leave until daybreak.” Itchigo’s eyebrows had almost hit his hairline and he rubbed his hand over his jaw and left cheek again.

“Ah, you’re all here!” Urahara grinned as he stepped into the kitchen. “Here’s the list Orihime, and remember what I told you about who and where you can trade.” Orihime nodded and pocketed the list the blonde gave her. “Chado, you got the bag with the trade items?” Sado nodded and lifted a sack from the floor. Urahara grinned happily, snatching Itchigo’s porridge away from under his nose. “Good, good! Now off you trot, you don’t have all day.” He said, lifting the porridge out if Itchigo’s reach as he tried to get it back, so he could finish it.

The walk to Bazar felt strange. Itchigo had realised that he couldn’t remember much about the road, even if he had walked the same path the morning before. It felt so long ago, and he realised that it indeed were a lifetime ago. Yesterday he had been confused and hurt, today he had accepted his fate as a Fallen, going so far as to say he had gotten friends he might be able to trust. It was strange, he thought, how he could change so much in such a short amount of time. He still felt way too confused for his own good, and he still cursed the fathimas for what they had done to them, but the thought of his family and clan didn’t hurt anymore, and the future as a Fallen didn’t seem so scary anymore. The Fallens weren’t as bad as he had imagined, they were civilised as the rest, although Itchigo didn’t quite know why he had thought that they weren’t. Of course, he had only seen a small part of the community, but still he felt safer about his own safety than he had 24hrs ago.

“Oh my.” Orihime said softly and Itchigo could only agree to the statement. The market place that Urahara had told them to go to was packed with people. Vendors shouted over each other, trying to attract more customers, children wailed as they couldn’t get their parents to buy them what they wanted and generally one couldn’t hear what one was thinking. Even if the market where situated in a large place and even if it weren’t the only market in Bazar, it seemed like everyone had decided to come to this one today. Itchigo couldn’t quite decide if it was a good thing that people parted before them when they saw that they were Fallens or not. The upside of it was that they didn’t have to squeeze their way through the throng of people, the downside was that people noticed that they were Fallens. Fallens didn’t have a good standing with Tribe people, it was natural really, after all they had done something so bad that they had been kicked out, and generally people assumed that it was the worst. Itchigo smiled bitterly to him self and made sure that his blades where safely hidden under the long, sleeveless, black leather duster.

They were arguing with a vendor about the price of his rice, when Itchigo noticed three watch horsemen riding down towards the middle of the market. From his standing point, he could see that they were dragging someone behind one of the horses, but he couldn’t see it clearly. The market quickly quieted down as they noticed the enforcers and all gathered around them in a circle in order to see better. Itchigo squeezed his way through the people until he could see what was going on and still remain hidden to the watch. A young woman, naked, was bound by her hands and the rope tied to the saddle of one of the three riders. Itchigo found it strange that he couldn’t see any markings on her at all. No tattoos, no piercings or other modifications that the tribe people were so fond of, nothing.

“Hitsugaya-san!” Orihime poked Itchigo in the side and pointed across the circle. It took him a few moments to see the small white haired guy, but what he saw worried him. Hitsugaya had a frightened but determined look in his eyes and he was staring straight at the bound girl. But Itchigo weren’t given any time to ponder about why as one of the riders spoke.

“People of Bazar! This woman have by the great Judge Sakaii been found guilty in heresy and will be banished to Skyrealm!” Itchigo blinked, banished to Skyrealm? What kind of joke was that? She wasn’t Fallen, there weren’t any Fallen marks on her, and if she had been a Fallen they wouldn’t bother a Judge to sentence her, they would have just killed her. And since she weren’t a Fallen, why hadn’t they just banished her. There weren’t any point in sending her to the Skyrealm, firstly it was Zi’bre infested, secondly she would only get killed by the Zi’bre once she got there. Itchigo couldn’t for the life of him make any of it fit.

“What’s going on here?!” a powerful voice cut through the mumblings of the crowd and Itchigo saw a female Judge on her horse, making her way through the onlookers. “ARIEL!!” the young woman cried out and threw her self towards the Judge. “Ariel, you have to help me! Tell them it’s all a mistake, tell them the truth Ariel!” she was begging the Judge who looked at her without mercy. “You brought this on your self, there was no mistake.” Ariel’s voice was cold and clear and it hit the younger woman like a spear. “NOOOO!!! ARIEL! Tell them the truth!!! I beg you!”

“QUIET!” the Judge snarled and kicked the other in the chin, sending her flying towards the crowd. The crowd parted, no one wanted to risk being near the doomed girl out of fear for their own safety, but Orihime couldn’t stand by and watch anymore and she rushed to the motionless woman. She couldn’t believe someone could be so cruel, but then again she knew all too well that they could. It wasn’t until she felt the cold gaze of the Judge that she realised what she had done.

“Seize them!” Ariel yelled and pointed at the two girls. “Anymore foolish Fallens who wish to make them selves known?” People started to look around them selves and Itchigo and Sado suddenly found them selves exposed as people noticed them and moved out of the way.

Itchigo cursed silently under his breath, he had been doing so since Orihime had rushed passed him in order to help the naked girl. It had happened so fast he hadn’t been able to stop her in time, and now they had landed them selves in some deep shit. They were most likely facing execution for this, but he figured he’d at least take the bloody Judge down with him before the watch horsemen could gather their wits and kill him. There was no way he’d let them behead him and going out in a fight had always seemed to him as the right way to go. Squaring his shoulders and straightening his back, he looked the judge straight in the eyes and walked forwards.

“Didn’t you parents teach you to be polite?” Itchigo grinned at the woman, but the grin didn’t reach his eyes. “But then again, my guess is that they didn’t bother. So I won’t bother with politeness either.” He shrugged and jumped at the Judge, his hands closing around the hilts of his blades.

-tbc-