baroqueworks | brass pt 3

Brass
Series: Bleach
Characters: Ikkaku/Tatsuki; lots of others
notes

It was lunchtime.

It didn't feel like lunchtime, what with the morning they just had, but Ikkaku was hungry and it was lunchtime. It was also a Sunday, so no one was on the roof eating their lunch while Yumichika picked the shrapnel (that hadn't, annoyingly, dissolved with the Hollow) out of Tatsuki's leg. Ikkaku kept watch. After a while, Yumichika shouted across the roof, "I think I got it all, but I can't be sure. Take a look?"

Ikkaku thought about remindng Yumichika that he understood only the basest concepts of first aid beyond 'stop the bleeding and get to a healer', but humored him anyway. Yumichika had cleaned up the wound, and Ikkaku popped the bottom out of Hoozukimaru's hilt to start applying the ointment. If nothing else, they could stop the bleeding until they could get her to an actual doctor or something.

Ikkaku had suggested leaving Tatsuki somewhere close to the Kurosaki clinic to wake up and limp there herself or something. It would've been a lot less suspicious than two soul reapers showing up, but Yumichika complained that she could just wake up and start talking about what had happened and blow their cover to a complete stranger so he relented. They ran into Kurosaki Karin in her soccer clothes outside the clinic and she gave them a long, bored look before turning around and heading back inside her house, motioning for them to follow.

"The clinic isn't open on Sundays and my dad's helping out at the hospital. Is Tatsuki-chan okay?"

"Just tired."

Karin waved toward a couch and ducked into a closet for a first-aid kit. "Put her down there. You guys are soul reapers?"

Yumichika and Ikkaku exchanged a quick look. They'd been pretty lucky on the way since they had avoided running into any normal people, but it figured that Ichigo's little sister would be able to tell at a glance. The uniforms probably didn't help, either.

"Yeah."

Karin started on Tatsuki's leg, wiping off the styptic ointment and going at it with antiseptic and bandages. "So you know Ichi-nii and everything?"

Ikkaku nodded once, and inched towards the door. Yumichika mentioned offhandedly that they had to get going -- had to do their jobs, after all -- and to take good care of Tatsuki-chan, alright?

Yumichika dragged Ikkaku into a sports store after they finished patrol and picked up their artificial bodies. "Karin-chan was wearing a soccer uniform, right? We should get her something she can use."

Ikkaku spent some time playing with weights while Yumichika retrieved a soccer ball from another aisle. "Kids lose balls all the time, right?"

"Prob'ly don't last long for serious players, either."

"The ball it is!"

The next morning, Tatsuki woke up in Ichigo's bed. Awkwardly enough.

To Kurosakis Isshin and Yuzu hovering outside the door. Ichigo himself (well, not-Ichigo) had already headed off to school but she assumed he had crashed on the floor.

She grinned at them on the way down to the kitchen and joined Karin at the table for breakfast. Tatsuki had done this enough to know that Ichigo's dad had called her parents and let them know she was staying over last night and that Yuzu would have made an extra helping of breakfast for her. She used to help with the dishes afterwards, take out the trash and walk to school with Ichigo. That was before she'd met Orihime and before he met Keigo and Mizuiro and Chad, back when she still knew him best.

"You remember anything?" Karin muttered around a mouthful of rice and soup, and Tatsuki had time to nod and mouth a thanks just before Isshin and Yuzu crashed into the kitchen. Tatsuki finished quickly, thanked them and rushed off to school.

She didn't expect to see any of Ichigo's weird friends when she arrived (about twenty minutes late, as she had to rush home to shower and change before class) and didn't. The day passed quickly, and at the end of it (after karate club, after dinner and just before the sun had set) Tatsuki took Karin and Yuzu out for ice cream and snacks. They talked mostly about Ichigo; Karin wanted to hear about all the times Tatsuki made him cry (and there were a couple of those) and Yuzu scolded them both for being so mean.

Yumichika and Ikkaku spent the day patrolling with Matsumoto and Captain Hitsugaya. Karakura was, after all, a big town with a steadily increasing Hollow population that couldn't be kept in check by the lone substitue soul reaper assigned to the job. Captain Hitsugaya had decided to switch off the teams, taking off with Yumichika for the northern area while Ikkaku and Matsumoto took the south side. He'd said it was to balance their ranks and strengths, but they all knew he just wanted some variety. And Yumichika was easier to deal with than Matsumoto.

The exchange ended up working out better than any of them expected. Matsumoto almost thought about suggesting they switch up the teams more often -- patrol with Ikkaku meant that he hogged all the fights and she got to stand around and relax -- but decided against it; Yumichika could be such a girl about these things.

The next time Ikkaku and Yumichika decided to show up at Karakura to harass Ichigo, Tatsuki cornered them behind the school before they could head to the roof for lunch (or ditch the rest of the day). Yumichika, naturally, talked his way out of it and left a deer-in-headlights Ikkaku backed up against the brick wall of the school, calmly trying to explain that he couldn't explain now but she'd find out once the people behind the whole operation saw fit to inform her. Or gave him permission to do so.

Ikkaku knew for a fact that without a weapon, his gigai had no chance against Arisawa Tatsuki in a state that had some striking similarities to a bloodthirsty fucking demon. She let the issue go after he told her she shouldn't get involved and he'd get in trouble for telling her, but then changed the subject to demanding a rematch.

"Listen, I'm not gonna fight you again!"

"I don't want to win a fight where my opponent wasn't fighting at full strength!"

"I wasn't holdin' back!"

"I saw you take out that Hollow. Fight me again."

"That -- wouldn't really be fair."

"What?"

"You barely have any spiritual pressure. I was usin' a sword, you don't have one. If we fight, 's gotta be even."

Tatsuki let go of his shirt and crossed her arms. "Is that what happened when I beat that thing?"

"Yeah. It was."

"Then teach me how to use it all the time."

Ikkaku readjusted his collar and sized her up.

"Alright."

They met up after school, on the riverbank along the main road. Ikkaku spent most of that afternoon bombarding her with his own spiritual pressure; enough that no hollow in its right mind would dare approach and often to the point where Tatsuki nearly passed out. He started slow, letting her get used to the different levels; how to detect and locate, tracking and picking out slight variations.

She was really, really good at it.

Better than Ikkaku, and he'd been thoroughly unnerved about it until she explained to him exactly how much time she'd put into keeping track of Orihime -- all she had to do was extend the same mindset to other people, and it came naturally. Once he explained the basics of it, and had her run through them herself, he decided it was about time they moved onto the fun stuff. Tatsuki still couldn't draw on her reiatsu at will -- and as far as Ikkaku was concerned, the best way to learn to use it was to be forced into a situation where if you couldn't, you'd die.

The least destructive way to bring that out was to expose her to enough reiatsu that she had to learn to counter with her own, or pass out and have to be carried back to the Kurosaki Clinic. The only one with stupidly huge amounts of spiritual energy in the area would be Ichigo, but he wasn't around and Ikkaku figured that since she was a novice anyway, it'd all work out.

It didn't; at least, not quite. When they first started, the only effect his spiritual pressure had was to make her a little restless and agitated, regardless of the amount and concentration. He kept trying, unsuccessfully, until Yumichika showed up with some iced coffee and suggested he try working himself up first. It wasn't hard for their captain to have a threatening aura -- he was in a state of constant bloodlust. But Ikkaku always considered himself a pretty laid-back kinda guy, and he honestly didn't want to hurt Tatsuki.

He sat on the grass, legs crossed, and thoroughly relived every moment of his first fight with Kenpachi. When he opened his eyes about thirty seconds later, both Tatsuki and Yumichika were forced back a step by his initial flare of reiatsu. Tatsuki grimaced, tried to shut it out, but couldn't quite manage. Where Ikkaku's spiritual pressure had been frustrated before -- like being stuck in a bowl with smooth sides -- now it was like being crushed by rocks.

Yumichika immediately extended his own reiatsu to cover her, and then frowned. "Ikkaku. Tone it down a bit."

He toned it down, but got used to the feeling quickly enough. "Sorry. Got it now."

"Great! Now we can really get started."

By the time the sun went down, Tatsuki was sprawled, panting, on the grass with a can of ice-cold coffee pressed against her forehead. Tatsuki insisted that they meet up with her after school tomorrow (so she could properly do something in return for them) and then they walked her home.

The next afternoon, some time before classes at Karakura High ended and after the middle school had let out, Ikkaku and Yumichika stopped by the Kurosaki house to drop off the soccer ball they had gotten the other day.

Kurosaki Isshin opened the door and, with a hint of steel in his voice, asked them what was up.

Ikkaku and Yumichika were stone-silent for about two seconds, before they both bowed deeply. Ikkaku muttered So that's where Ichigo gets it under his breath while Yumichika ground out a "Captain Kurosaki," through his clenched teeth.

Isshin sighed and dragged them both inside.

"You're Zaraki Division, right? Both of you."

"Yessir."

"Relax, wouldja?"

"Sir."

Isshin scratched his chin and looked at them. "Why're you here, anyway?"

Yumichika brightened, and brandished the ball. "We wanted to drop this off for Karin-chan! She helped us out a few days ago."

"When Tatsuki slept over? What happened? I healed her up a little faster than she would've on her own, but..."

"There were some hollows by Karakura High. Arisawa got involved and Karin-chan patched her up and helped us out a bit."

Isshin smiled softly and leaned against a table. "She's a good kid. You boys wanna wait around for her to get home so you can give it to her yourselves?"

Ikkaku solemnly shook his head. "We've got an appointment. It's ah, good to see you doing well."

Even with his friendly grin, Isshin could make a polite request sound like a threat. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention this to anyone. By the way. It's a little early for Karin and Yuzu to know about Soul Society."

Yumichika chirped, "Of course. But Karin-chan already knows about hollows. And us. Ichigo's other sister doesn't, though."

"Are you sure Ichigo doesn't already know about this?"

"Does she? Damn." Isshin didn't seem all that displeased. Worried, maybe; Karin was the sort of girl that would run off and kick a hollow in the face, given the chance. "Thanks for the," he made a vague gesture in the general direction of the ball, "y'know. Come around again sometime, alright? And take care of Tatsuki. She's practically family."

"We will!"

"Got it."

Ikkaku and Yumichika bowed as they left, took off down the street and silently agreed not to talk about it for the rest of the day.

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brass pt 3

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