Chapter 2 - Part 2 " Annoying brat(s)... "

....Ichigo stared at the woman, his mind reeling from her words. A Substitute Shinigami... before him?It made sense, he supposed. After all, the badge - which was worn by time and scratches already - had existed before he decided to join and help Soul Society. But to actually hear it—that another Substitute Shinigami existed—was something entirely different.' But how can I be sure she's telling the truth? ' he wondered. ' She could be lying... but why? It's such a strange, unbelievable thing to fabricate.' And yet... why haven't I heard of another Substitute Shinigami before? ' The idea gnawed at him, before he remembered what happened when he first encountered Renji and Byakuya made him already come up with a likely theory ' And knowing how Central 46 operates... did they just kil— '" What ? " Too bad that while his mind was still working trying to make sense of what he had heard, his mouth acted without his brain's input.This seemed to amuse the woman—Kyra Ginelle—, who saw the gobsmacked look on the boy's - ' Kurosaki Ichigo, seriously who names their child after food ' - face.The sight of his bewildered expression brought an unexpected smirk to her lips. It had been a while since she'd interacted with someone so young.... who didn't annoy her of course... well yet at least." What ? You didn't hear me ? I said my name is Kyra Ginelle " She said with her still present smirk which grew larger seeing him get a tick mark on his head.' But still, if he really is a substitute shinigami if that badge of his was any indication, we could interrogate him into us with what was happening with this town and more importantly Soul Society without Soul Society being aware and hounding on my ass. ' Kyra though, not wanting to appear on Soul Society radar.'Too bad that Tsukishima is in Germany, otherwise, this would have been so much easier with him here. ' Kyra thought before, she quickly grabbed her broadsword - making Ichigo tense on the floor -, as she turned sharply, her instincts flaring at a sudden release of Reiatsu. But just as quickly, she relaxed, her ears catching the familiar clicking of buttons on a console from behind the closed door."Fucking bastard couldn't even bother sending a warning," Kyra muttered under her breath before turning back to Ichigo, who still sat on the floor, confusion evident in his eyes. "Stay right there, Strawberry. Don't even think about moving, or your head'll be off your shoulders."She ignored his grumbled protest about being called a strawberry, noting that his Reiatsu hadn't fluctuated. "Fucking bastard couldn't even bother sending a warning," Kyra muttered under her breath before turning back to Ichigo, who still sat on the floor, confusion evident in his eyes. "Stay right there, Strawberry. Don't even think about moving, or your head'll be off your shoulders."She ignored his grumbled protest about being called a strawberry, as she noted that she hadn't felt Reiatsu hadn't fluctuate from his direction, ' At least he's smart enough to listen and not try something stupid. ' she thought. ' Most Shinigami I've dealt with are far too arrogant for their own good. '' Hopefully, he will be just as easy answering our questions... Still too think that they would allow more Substitute Shinigami. I wouldn't have thought they would follow Devil's example, especially with what I - ' * KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK *Seems like the person on the other end of the door didn't appreciate her not opening the door as he kicked the door, Kyra scowled. ' Probably couldn't be bothered to put down his console, ' she muttered irritably as she opened it."You know, you could've opened the door a bit sooner," came the casual remark from a boy—?—as he strolled past her, eyes glued to a PSP, barely sparing her a glance. He paused mid-step, however, glancing down at the teenager sitting on the floor.......Ichigo found himself staring at the boy. He had striking green eyes with spiky blonde bangs covering one of his eyes. His attire was sharp and expensive-looking—a black coat, white cravat, white gloves, dark pants, and polished boots—an ensemble that screamed aristocratic flair."Huh," the boy muttered, sparing Ichigo a brief, disinterested look before resuming his game." So what's with him" He asked, jerking his head slightly in Ichigo's direction without bothering to look up.Kyra walked closer to Ichigo her annoyed look becoming more neutral before it cracked into a small smile." You know when I said to stay right there, I didn't mean you had to lay there, You can get up if you want " was Kyra's reply.Ichigo shot her an irritated look before slowly getting up to his knees, then standing fully, all the while warily eyeing her sword....Silence settled over the room aside from the clicks of buttons, with Ichigo feeling increasingly uncomfortable. He was in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by two strangers—one clearly willing to kill him, and possibly a Substitute Shinigami, and the other a complete unknown.....The silence stretched on for another minute, and Ichigo started to wonder if he was supposed to say or do anything, but he wasn't willing to risk getting himself killed."So, who exactly are you, Kurosaki Ichigo?" Thankfully, Kyra broke the silence, though he didn't quite understand what she was asking.She seemed to pick up on his confusion, as she let out a sigh when she saw the puzzled look on his face."Are you a Substitute Shinigami?" Kyra asked, causing the blond kid in the corner of the room to pause briefly from clicking his PSP buttons, before continuing—albeit more slowly, clearly starting to pay more atention to the situation.Ichigo nodded, but a pained look flashed across his eyes; he was no longer a Shinigami after all, not even spiritualy aware anymore."Yeah I... I was one," Ichigo's admitted, his voice heavy with anguish.. Making Kyra get a distant look in her eyes " Was huh... " before shaking it off." Anyway's... Tell us what happened here a year ago ? Novembe- " " November 1st... Right ? " Ichigo interrupted, his voice low and devoid of emotion. It carried a hollow weight, as if there was no soul left within him. That day—no, that hell—was forever etched into his mind."Can you drop the dramatic tone?" the blond kid quipped, barely glancing up from his game......"Hey, kid..." Ichigo started, his tone sharp and pointed.The blond kid let out a distracted hum, not looking up from his game. "The adults are talking."...The clicking of buttons halted abruptly as the blond turned, leveling a dry, unimpressed stare at Ichigo...." Hey Strawbery, fuck you " he shot back, unpausing his game with a deliberate flourish. Though Ichigo and Kyra could faintly hear the quiet grumbles under his breath, which—much to Kyra's amusement—brought her immense satisfaction."Pffff..." Kyra stifled a laugh that escaped before quickly composing herself. "Alright, that's enough," she said, still grinning as she waved off the tension.Suddenly, a chill ran down Ichigo's spine as the grin vanished from Kyra's face, replaced by a cold, unreadable expression." Take a seat and start talking "Ichigo obeyed, his body moving as if her words had taken over his very will. He sat down in a chair—when had that even gotten there?—and before he could process what was happening, he began speaking, the words spilling out without his conscious control."There was a war," Ichigo began, his voice steady, unaturaly so. " It was started by a former captain who betrayed the Soul Society— Sōko Aizen, who stole a powerfull object allowing her to become half hollow, aswell as evolve continiuosly without limit, I don't know why she has done this aside from her last coment about taking Soul Kings place... " Hearing that made Kyra and the gamers eyes widden considarebly and making them almost what he said next." Thankfully she was sealed before she could evolve to that stage when she was pushed by her limits and then sealed by Urahara Kisuke when she was pushed to the edge when I... When I....When I.... " at this his voice wavered, unable to complete the sentence. He never could fully accept it. No, he had accepted it, he had to accept it, thats what was needed for Mugetsu. But...But...It's... so quiet...The world... is so empty now...No...No... It's his sou-... No.... Life... His Life is so empty now... His life is so empty now." I think you broke him. " was a voice which Ichigo heard, but it did not reach him, his mind was filled with grief... filling in the silence... the void... the void because he sacrificed his powers, He sacrificed his powers. HE sacrificed his powers.It felt like the void was whispering to him, as if blaming him... But it was just himself... Blaming himself...." Kid... "" Hey kid... " " Kid ! "" Kurosaki Ichigo snap out of it ! " Was what finally, forcefully, made Ichigo come back to reality.But as his mind was forcefully yanked back... Ichigo repeated what kept echoing in his thoughts." I sacrificed my power... "......Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, making him jerk his head back. It was Kyra, her fingers lightly gripping his shoulder. He looked up and saw... pity in her eyes?"Hey kid... are—are you good?" is what Kyra asked, her tone being soft, kind... maybe it was because he was recently at his mother's grave... but it sounded... motherly even.That thought made Ichigo jerk backwards, trying to put as much distance between himself and her as possible. The chair scraped noisily across the floor as it slid back a few inches."Don't!" Ichigo screamed, before he suddenly felt a heavy pressure bearing down on him. The weight was familiar, even though he couldn't place the exact texture—he knew it well from when he went to war with Soul Society, when he fought Zaraki, when someone channels all their spiritual pressure.And with how quickly the woman turned towards the kid still playing with the console, it was clear where — who — the pressure came from.But still he continued, even trough the weight, I guess he's to stubborn." Don't... Touch... Me " Ichigo was able to gasp out, he started to feel light headed from the presure."Hmmm..." the brat hummed, a faint, mocking sound. "Impressive that you didn't pass out yet. Though with how you've been acting, I'm starting to wonder if you're just asking for death." As soon as he finished speaking, the pressure lifted, though Ichigo still felt a subtle weight on his body and mind. He couldn't tell if the kid was still exerting some pressure or if he was just experiencing the aftereffects.Kyra shook her head, putting a hand to her forehead. "Ah... fuck," she muttered.She took another look at Ichigo, noticing how pale he had become and recalling what he just said. She repeated it, " Fuck ".It's not like she enjoyed giving kids heart attacks, nor mentally breaking ones, well unless they were annoying little shits with silver hair who smiled through everythi...'Shit, just forget about them. They... No just forget it...'Is what Kyra thought as she tried to focus on more pressing matters, like preventing a kid from suffering a mental breakdown. She could deal with her own issues later... It's not like she hadn't dealt with them before...' But shit this town... this town is bringing back some bad memories... No, just have to be focused. 'Kyra took a deep breath as she looked at Ichigo noticing him flinch slightly. " Okay, okay " Kyra repeated the word as she brought her hands up, Ichigo — even with his mind still recovering— noticed how her sword was no longer in her hand, and the X-shaped cross was back on her neck." I won't touch you, but still, do you think you will be fine or do you think you need time to recover ? " as soon as she said this, she felt — and saw — the blond's eyes on the side of her head, obviously asking her what she was doing.Ichigo response to that was a blink.... then another blink, and then another.Making Kyra heave another sigh of the day ' Or is it night now, ' she thinks taking a look at a dusty window but it's hard to see with the heavy clouds and the rain falling on the glass doesn't help her determine the exact time.But if she was willing to bet, she would say that it's probably close if not well past eight.So after a little bit of debating she stares Ichigo directly in the eyes.and said one thing. " Sleep. " And Kurosaki Ichigo's response to that was to drop down into the chair completely knocked out....And after determining that he actually fallen asleep, Kyra released another sigh." Sigh... annoying brat. " "You were surprisingly light on him," her other brat responded to the situation. "Usually, we just... or well, you specifically, get them to the brink so they can tell you as much as they can before leaving them to recover on their own."To that, she could only stay quiet. She didn't know herself why she took it easy on the kid, but she had done it regardless."Eh, I want to ask him some questions personally," Kyra's voice was steady as she defended herself. "If I break him too much, he might give us the wrong information. Plus, aside from that last bit, he was practically saying it himself ' almost like he wanted someone to hear him. ' We can just continue the interrogation later."The brat just grunted. Which was a reply in itself she guessed.Still...'It's pretty uncomfortable to be sleeping like that ' She thought staring at Ichigo's prone position on the chair, she knew it from personal experience from when she was overworked and hadn't had the energy to leave her office.So she decided to at least to spare the brat that hellish pain" Yukio can you bring out one of your beds "" What is the floor not good enough for you ? Aren't you Japanese? You should be used to that, especially with your experience. " Was the now-named Yukio's retort, staring at one spectacularly dirty spot on the floor, making her gain an angry vein on her head."Yukio..." She warned in a low, tense tone, glaring at the rich brat.Seeing the warning in her eyes and not wanting to push it, Yukio reluctantly complied.Still, he couldn't resist adding, "I won't be the one making sure the brat doesn't escape while you get your beauty sleep."" ... annoying brat " she whispered " It's not for me, him being in that position won't help him with his recovery "Yukio didn't say anything for a while, making her think that he couldn't be bothered making a bed for a person he didn't know.But then a sound came out behind her making her turn around and see... one of the shitties beds she has ever seen........As she turned around she found him gone...Fucking troll.To be continued !Welp, what do you think ? Good ? Bad ?... eh probably mid.Still thanks for reading.AAAAANDDD.GOOD DAY, GOOD MORNING AND BAD NIGHT.