The Stormlight Archive: Secret History

For Guard: Are you planning on doing anything from Ichigo's POV, a scene or anything? Yoru-nee's reaction to what Kisuke did to Aizen? Does Kisuke get a medal or reward for LITERALLY tearing Aizen apart?

Hmm, well I did a bit of Ichi POV in the snippet before this one (an age and a half ago) even tho it was mostly Yoru talking. Yoru really just takes the whole Kisuke with bankai in stride, she knows Ichigo won’t stand for it if she tries to shanghai him into anything he doesn’t want, and she’s clan head enough to want to keep a Shihouin resource within the clan. And Kisuke’s not really one for medals/rewards (and honestly when is the Gotei/government ever prone to giving out rewards for services rendered), he’d much rather keep his abilities under wraps. But here’s a little something of Ichi and Kisuke discussing some of the fallout.

Edit: Uhhh the discussion devolved into really pointless UraIchi fluff sorry?

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everytime tim pisses off jason jason's like "first you steal my fucking job, now this?!" and tim goes "i didn't STEAL robin, you were DEAD and the position needed to be FILLED." and then jason says "but when i stopped being dead you didn't give it BACK. when an office worker gets a replacement so they can go on maternity leave the replacement is supposed to FUCK OFF once the maternity leave ENDS." and tim argues "YOU WEREN'T ON FUCKING MATERNITY LEAVE JASON" and jason screams back equally loud "WELL I DISAPPEARED FOR AROUND NINE MONTHS AND THEN SHOWED BACK UP WITH DAMIAN WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!" and then tim leaping strikes him off a 6 story building

Have a Bleach extended-winter-war time-travel-fix-it idea. In this AU Kaien's death happened before the whole turn-back-the-pendulum arc. (Yes, another Bleach time-travel AU, I know, shut up.)

As Ichigo and Kisuke are planning to go back to the past, Kisuke makes sure to emphasize to Ichigo that they have to protect Shiba Kaien. Apparently, it's of the utmost importance.

Ichigo doesn't know exactly how Kaien's continued well-being plays into saving the future. Kisuke never really explains it, or gives him a straight answer when he asks. But Ichigo knows that the Shiba Clan-Head carried a great deal of political power, and Ichigo also knows that Kaien -- according to Kukaku and Rukia -- was highly competent, incredibly noble, and fundamentally kind. It's not exactly unintuitive that a person like that could be important to bringing down Aizen.

So Ichigo listens, when Kisuke tells him to protect Shiba Kaien. He memorizes how Kaien died in the original timeline. He's attentive as Kisuke reiterates for the thousandth time that Aizen will keep trying to assassinate Kaien until he succeeds. He takes notes when Kisuke hypothesizes about what Aizen's various assassination attempts might look like -- poison during a meal, hired assassins at night, an ambush during a mission.

Ichigo ingrains the assignment into his core: protect Shiba Kaien, because if Kaien falls, the mission fails.

So when Kisuke slips a paralytic into Ichigo's tea and places Ichigo in the middle of the time-travel kido array and drains the entirety of his own spiritual energy to activate the array, a sacrifice that Ichigo never would have agreed to--

Well. The first thing Ichigo does when he arrives back in the past, numb and alone and only able to function by focusing on the duty that is his purpose -- is track down Shiba Kaien.

After all, if Ichigo is going to kill Aizen -- and he is, no matter what it takes -- he needs to keep Kaien alive.

Ichigo goes straight to the Shiba family grounds. In true Shiba fashion, they accept him immediately as family. They tend to his wounds and give him a meal and welcome him home. They let him get away with his weak excuses and explanations, and they defend his presence to the rest of Soul Society.

Kaien, in accordance with everything Ichigo has heard about the man, personally takes the newest addition to the family under his wing.

Ichigo's plans to deal with Aizen take shape around his need to keep an eye on Kaien.

Ichigo, instead of running as far and fast as he can from the Shiba clan, accepts the offer to live in the Shiba compound. He gets to know every clan member and retainer, subtly vetting for traitors. He sleeps in a room near Kaien's, allowing him to both guard against assassins at night and place warding runes around Kaien's door without having to worry about being caught somewhere he has no business being.

He joins the Court Guard in the 13th division instead of the 5th, because the only real way to protect Kaien on a mission is to be there with him. Ichigo knows that if there's an ambush, or if the mission details have been tampered with, he'll be more than enough fire power to get Kaien out of it. And it's easy to always get paired with Kaien; Kaien -- reliably taking every opportunity to hover around Ichigo that he's offered -- does most of the work, leveraging his status as lieutenant and Ichigo's combat ability to keep them together.

Ichigo finds himself frequently taking meals with Kaien and Kaien's friends. Kaien always invites Ichigo, and Ichigo accepts so he can subtly check the food for poison.

(Ichigo does not tell Kaien about Aizen. Ichigo is still unsure what Kaien's role is in the whole fight, and in the meantime, telling him about Aizen is a sure way to get him killed.)

Things heat up. Ichigo prevents both Miyako and Kaien's death, killing Metastacia before it can hurt anyone. Ichigo's shadow war against Aizen gets more intense. Ichigo sneaks out regularly to dismantle Aizen's illusions, destroy his labs, and attack his network of power, slowly weakening him.

Ichigo waits for the assassination attempts against Kaien, but they don't come, even several weeks after Metastacia fails. Ichigo takes it as a sign that he's got Aizen distracted.

Things continue for a while. Ichigo falls into a strange routine.

(And Ichigo tries not to break, seeing so many of his loved ones alive and unknowing of him. It is agony, to be around Shunsui, who is not his mentor, and the Visored, who are neither visored nor pack.

But the worst is when Captains Urahara and Shihouin catch on to his war against Aizen. He finds himself working with them as allies.

Allies. Mere allies, instead of --

Well. Not that it matters anymore.

All that matters is his duty.)

Time passes. Aizen weakens. There are no attempts on Kaien's life yet.

And then Aizen's web has unraveled enough for Ichigo to attack.

It's a long battle. It's a bloody battle. It's a very public battle.

Ichigo wins.

And it's only after it's all over -- after Aizen's crimes are revealed and Soul Society is at peace and the future is saved; after Ichigo finds himself still alive and adrift, with nothing left obligating him to keep going and everything telling him to give up; as Kaien refuses to leave Ichigo alone and escorts him to regular appointments with Unohana and forces him to talk about the truth of his past --

It's only then that it clicks.

Ichigo is whispering secrets about the future into Kaien's chest, Kaien's arms wrapped tight around him, when Ichigo confesses that he messed up, that he put the Shiba clan in unnecessary danger. Ichigo tells Kaien about his death in the original timeline. He talks about how Kisuke told him that in this timeline, Aizen would try and kill Kaien again if the first attempt failed. Ichigo promises desperately that he never would have sought out the family -- would have kept the danger far, far away from them -- if he hadn't thought he had to watch Kaien's movements so closely.

And Ichigo admits that Aizen never actually tried again. Ichigo admits that he and Kisuke miscalculated, that Ichigo brought danger to the Shiba's doorstep for nothing.

It happens like this:

First, the words leave his lips, "Kisuke" and "miscalculated" in the same sentence. Hearing himself say it lays bare the absurdity of its premise.

Then, Kaien draws away slightly, to look Ichigo in the eyes. Ichigo sees, plain on Kaien's face, a terrible, damning gratefulness.

Then, Kaien says -- fierce and defiant in the face of what could have been -- "I am so glad you came home."

And it clicks. At last, Kisuke's final manipulation reveals itself to Ichigo's eyes.

The emotions flash through him: the sting of betrayal; a flavor of love that bursts across his tastebuds as hurt; a familiar brand of exasperation that, a split second later, has his knees giving out under the weight of old pain made fresh.

Kaien catches Ichigo before he hits the ground and holds him as he shatters. And Ichigo can barely breathe through the knowledge that Kisuke would have been so smug to see them.

A sob rips itself from Ichigo's chest, and it's followed by another, and another.

Ichigo's older cousin holds him, in the home of their family, through it all.

_________

THE END except not really.

This must immediately be followed by a whole arc where Kaien, much to his own dismay, finds himself trying to hook Urahara up with his little cousin.

After all, Future-Urahara sent Ichigo to the Shiba clan. Future-Urahara tricked his little cousin into bypassing his own self-destructive tendencies to seek out family and love and support. Clearly, Urahara would actually be good for Ichigo.

And, you know, Ichigo clearly loves Younger-Urahara, judging by Ichigo's whole... well, everything, whenever the two interact.

(This whole matchmaking endeavor is made easier by the fact that 1) Kisuke is already infatuated, fascinated, and not a tiny-bit madly in love, and 2) Yoruichi is also, from the other end, trying to set Kisuke up with Ichigo.

This whole endeavor is made more difficult by the fact that 1) Ichigo is in denial that he loves this younger Kisuke since he never thought this younger Kisuke could also fall in love with him, 2) Kisuke is in denial that he loves Ichigo because that is a Shiba and he himself is a creepy low-born ex-assassin mad-scientist, and 3) neither Ichigo nor Kisuke know what it looks like when someone is interested in them.)

Poor Kaien. He succeeds eventually, but not before witnessing truly legendary social ineptitude.

Stucky & bed sharing. Especially when it's randomly casual. Like oh not enough beds? No prob we can share. Or fuck that was an exhausting mission I need a nap shove over. Just. My heart bursts.

This goes along well with that trope of “we’re totally a couple but we don’t know we’re a couple” that I absolutely fucking love tbh.

They share all the beds. All of them. They sleep together, nap together - in fact, I daresay they don’t get in a good sleep unless they’re together. 

And they know all of each other’s worst sleeping habits.

If Steve sleeps on Bucky’s left side, he kicks during the night. Steve is the worst cover hog of all time but he makes up for it by also being a human octopus. 

Bucky cannot even begin to tell you how many mornings he’s woken up trapped by the limbs of Steven Grant Rogers. No matter how they fall asleep, no matter if they’re not even touching when they fall asleep, when he wakes up, Steve is plastered right to him.

His life is so hard.

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ichigo grows up beautiful. of course, kisuke doesn't see it for himself, careful to stay away after aizen. after isshin's request that his son be allowed to finish growing up in peace. but chad and orihime still drop by, and while they're only in the periphery of ichigo's life, they have the added advantage of having contacts who've remained close with the ex-substitute soul reaper.

so they've seen photographs - arisawa tatsuki and ichigo smiling towards the camera. a red-haired girl wearing glasses with her arm linked with ichigo's, sticking her tongue out at someone off frame. a group photo that includes ichigo, arisawa and the red head alongside a mousy brunette and a leggy, dark haired girl, as well as the two boys ichigo had always hung out with, standing in front of a giant waterfall.

in all of them ichigo shines like a tiny sun, blinding and beautiful.

so maybe it shouldn't have come as a shock when orihime comes by one day, worried about a man she sees following ichigo. soul society never did send anyone more competent to karakura after ichigo was... unable to continue with his duties. kisuke has had to konso a lot of spirits since then.

what does come as a shock is realising that the man following ichigo isn't a spirit, attracted by the gentle light of ichigo's soul. it's a man, attracted by something more physical, and with much darker intentions.

and ichigo is strong - if the man ever tried anything, kisuke is sure ichigo could send this man to the hospital with no problem -

but something protective and urgent burns inside the body kisuke had painstakingly built himself, seeing the vile things the man wants to do to ichigo. the man's soul is dark and festering, and kisuke doesn't want it near ichigo, even if it's just to kick the living daylights out of him.

and it's different to kill a living being. messier. heavier. the blood and viscera more than just a symbol of spiritual destruction.

but the way kisuke shrugs it off feels the same.

he breathes out, is almost done arranging himself back into friendly shop keeper when a voice calls out -

"i could've handled him, you know."

he smiles. "you would deny me the chance to save a damsel in distress? how cruel of you, kurosaki-kun."

then kisuke turns around to bask in the sun.

hey omg i love your blog! I read that bed-sharing-octopus-Steve and now I wonder if there are days when Bucky is the octopus (octobuck?? lol) and Steve gets annoyed at him (like, "bucky ffs i cant move an i really need to get out of the bed NOW") o\

Aw, thank you, bb :D

Now, Bucky isn’t an octopus when he sleeps, no. That is all Steve. Sleepy Steve is a snuggly little octopus that just wants cuddles. All the cuddles.

Bucky? He’s an octopus during the day. Especially when he’s feeling particularly affectionate. If they’re watching television, if they’ve been goofing off, grappling over the remote or something, finally stopped fighting. Out of breathing and laughing.

Well, Bucky’s liable to sneak his arms under Steve’s back, lock them together, and refuse to get up.

“Alright, alright, you win,” Steve breathes out. “We can watch fucking – what was it again?”

But Bucky doesn’t answer and when Steve starts wiggling, he just holds on tighter.

“Oh, Christ,” Steve says. “C’mon, Buck. Get up. You’re heavy, you jerk –”

“Says the super soldier with super strength –”

“You’re fucking cheating, that arm is cheating –”

“Jesus, Rogers, just shut your yap and let a man have a hug.”

It lasts a lot longer than a hug but Steve can’t get up – well, maybe he could, but he doesn’t try that hard – until Bucky’s good and ready to let him.

so i was going through your uraichi tag and i came across that picture of ichigo crouched between urahara and yoruichi, and it got me thinking. what's she think of all of this?

I assume you mean in the SP!AU? Well, um.

Have I mentioned how much I hate writing Yoruichi pov

This takes place sometime after Ichigo graduates but before the convo with Kaien and Shinji.

Okay, here we go:

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Pt1. // Pt.2 // next

Hood would never want to be verified and would actively hate being verified argue with the wall

Talia: “your father is of high intelligence”

Bruce: [reading an instruction manual to the tv remote] “Damian, how do I turn the volume down?”

Talia: “he’s a fierce and resilient fighter”

Batman: [getting his ass beat by a grandma swinging her handbag] “ma’am! I am not— ma’am!”

Talia: “even your grandfather was impressed with his detective skills”

Bruce: [staring at Jason who’s covered in blood]

Jason: “I got hit by a car and had a major nose bleed”

Bruce: [shrugs] “glad you’re ok now”

Talia: “always 10 steps ahead”

Bruce: “wait I forgot to add sugar” [looks at the cake he just baked]

Talia: “he understands there’s a time and place for emotions, he won’t let it compromise him”

Bruce: [sobbing through a Disney movie]

Talia: “broken bones, gun shots, debilitating injuries, he pushes through”

Bruce: [holding a hand to his back as he walks]

Dick: “did you slip a disc again?”

Bruce: [grunts]

Talia: “he’s graceful with everything he does”

Bruce: [snorts wine out his nose at a gala]

Talia: “he has strong morals. He cannot and will not go against them”

Batman: [standing over a man that Red Hood just unalived]

Red Hood: “I’m sorry?”

Batman: “are you really, Jay?”

Talia: “your father is well respected, Damian. He’s defeated your grandfather on many occasions, he’s not an average man”

Bruce: [drinking tea]

Jason: [walking by] “fuck you, bitch”

Talia: “you’re father is a strict and disciplined man, he will not tolerate childish behavior, do you understand?”

Damian: “I understand mother, but what if I’m not what he expects? What if I’m not…”

Talia: [strokes Damian’s cheek] “don’t you worry. You’re perfect”

Bruce: “dammit Damian, who’s cat is this?”

Damian: “he’s ours now”

Bruce: “absolutely not, I told you no more animals Damian”

Damian: “but baba…” [wipes his eyes]

Bruce: “He can stay only for the night…”

Jason, stubs his toe: Damn!

Bruce: Language!

Alfred, drops a plate: Oh fucking hell!

Bruce looks horrified and Jason looks excited.

Alfred: Master Bruce, I would suggest you close your mouth before you catch flies.