()()(Previously)()()
"Well, Bell. I'm going to go and 'Plead' with that scary Loki." Ichigo said, Groaning as he stood up.
Bell recoiled in anxiety. Welf noticed and laughed. "w-Wait!" Bell managed to croak out before noticing that Ichigo was no longer present. How the hell did he move so fast?
Acero left the room, presumably to go check on Mirba's condition. Lili and Welf got into an arguement about what Ichigo's going to do about Ais, whether he's going to turn her away, or if He's going to let her help.
Bell just sat in an anxious silence as Ren finished tallying the numbers.
"He's not going to like her, Is he?" Bell suddenly asked out to nobody in particular.
()()(The next day.)()()
"No." The stone voice of Ais reverberated around the room.
"But Ais, let me just this oncee?" Loki said, cradling her red stinging hand.
"No."
"Please?"
"...No. Stop asking."
"awh"
Loki hung her head down in resignation. Her objective? To grope her favorite human's rear. Status? Failed, and with injury.
"Loki, you'd think of how many times she's said no you'd stop trying." Riveria said, Looking up from her reports and recruitment files.
Loki looked at the elven woman with a sheepish look in her eyes. Nearly everyday for the past couple years Loki has tried to get intimate with the Sword maiden with nonexistent success. True to Riveria's words, anyone would take a look at Loki and think her to be Insane or Obsessed. But Loki wasn't one to ever give up. She was the goddess of trickery, she absolutely could not fail...But the sword maiden wasn't named that without reason.
"Whatever." Loki said with a sigh. But her eyes regained life and with a cat-like grin, she asks "So...what's with that whole Ichigo fiasco? You came back pretty bloody..."
Riveria took a second to remember the entire night, and visibly paled once she did.
(Flashback, last night.)
Riveria, after stablizing the woman, and going home to change, Riveria called apon the earth sprites to give her directions for her target, and nearly every sprite was fearful at the mention of Ichigo. Riveria thanked the small spirits, and headed off towards the directions that the sprites said the man would be...and what she found looked like the aftermath of a war between explosive titans of old, but it didn't make any sense. There were colossal lacerations to the earth that looked perfect in size and texture. Like someone had cut it with a gigantic knife.
Flying further, Riveria crept over a battered and scarred hillside, and spotted Ichigo. His aura was dark and very oppressive, as was his visiage. Clad in a cloak of red and black flames, Ichigo screamed in absolute fury. His dual toned voice cascaded throughout the landscape like an ocean.
Riveria was pinned to the ground with the sheer pressure the man was exuding.
Her fear had increased a hundred fold once the man screamed out something she couldn't understand, and thrust out a finger.
In pain from the rocks digging into her abdomen, she winced and tears stung the corners of her eyes, but it only got worse as a bright ball of crimson energy pooled infront of the death god's finger, before shooting out like a beam of light. utterly destroying anything in it's path.
The pressure let up suddenly, as Riveria looked up at the man, with the world's worst migrane assaulting her head.
Her heart almost stopped once she heard the earth sprites cry out in anguish and in pain when an explosion nearing the height of babel, and with the width of many mountains reared it's ugly head to the world, painting the sky and earth in the color of blood.
Death.
That was his namesake, wasn't it? The god of Death, Ichigo.
Riveria understood that, to cross him in the way that Apollo had, it would mean annihilation.
Ichigo disappeared yet again, and she was left to see the horror of his wrath in full view by her lonesome.
Riveria couldn't move, she didn't want to. Fear that he may have seen her had paralyzed her, with her only comforts being the sprites surrounding her in support.
Unconsciously crying in the grass for nearly an hour as the explosion cloud halved in size, the woman had gathered her strength and steeled herself to face the world again.
It took a while, but she finally arrived back at the Twilight manor and shut herself off in her room for the rest of the night. All the while her spirits and sprites and works of elven origin had cast calming spells on the woman as she wrestled with sleep.
(End flashback)
With a shaky breath, she said.
"Nothing...unusual happened...Ichigo's captain was injured and I healed her...Nothing..More."
Ais and Loki shared a look full of confusion, mainly Loki... Riveria was always one to speak confidently, and without error or difficulty. To see her this visibly shaken...Something horrifying must have happened.
"Really? I don't believe you." Loki said, leaning closer in her seat.
"It's the truth.." Riveria coughed into her hand and cleared her throat. It was clear to see that she had just erected a wall that spoke "don't ask any more questions". This was an anomaly. Such a rarity that it could almost be said as mythical.
"I see.." Loki said, still skeptical, but deciding that she wouldn't press the Nine Hell for anything else.
"Regardless...I don't want to be around them anymore." Riveria said finally, before returning to her papers.
'Just what did she see that shook her so badly?!' Loki thought to herself.
"That's alright. You don't need to be anyway." Loki said, trying to console her child.
*Knock Knock*
Loki jumped in fright, and her head spun around to face her windows, and nearly choked in surprise.
Ichigo stood on air right outside the window, and with an amused expression.
Ais narrowed her gaze to focus on the god outside the window, and noticed he was unarmed.
'let me innnn' Ichigo amusedly cried out, and even pounded the window with his hands in mock desperation.
With a huff, Loki slammed open the windows and grabbed the man before throwing him inside of the room.
Ichigo took it all in stride though, and with superb reactions, he landed on his feet.
He looked around and chucked at the anger Loki was throwing his way.
"The hell do you want? Hitting my damn window like that!" Loki fumed
"Just wanted to talk...and to say than-" Ichigo said, with crossed arms.
"Use the front FUCKING door! It's there for a reason! UGH!" Loki shouted, interrupting the man before sitting down.
Ichigo raised an eyebrow
"Right...Who pissed in your breakfast."
"She's hungover." The deadpan voice of Ais told Ichigo.
"Oh. Fair enough. I came to talk and to thank Rivera." Ichigo said with his trademark scowl, though it was lessened to a degree.
Riveria perked up at hearing the way he botched her name pronounciation.
"RI-VER-EE-AH" Loki said, stressing the vowels of Riveria's name.
"...Yeah. I came to thank her for saving my captain."
"Oh?" Riveria finally spoke up.
"Yeah. It's true, she's fine and dandy now...Though we need to pick up an eyepatch...Other than that, she's fine as could be." Ichigo said, choosing to sit on the arm of the couch he was standing in front of.
"Really? That's good news." Loki said. "Though, the amount of blood on Riveria's clothes could possibly say otherwise. But, if you say she's alright, then I'm inclined to believe you.."
"Yeah...Anyways. Your payment." Loki's eyebrow raised in anticipation, and Riveria was still on edge.
"Y-yes?" The Elf stuttered.
"Your payment is...One favor." Ichigo said. Loki's smile was ear to ear, and Ais didn't know what to make of it. Riveria was slightly elated, but still uneasy, though.
"HOWEVER!" Ichigo stated loudly, "I refuse any requests that would do harm in any way to my friends. Should you ask me to do anything like that, then it's the end of our relations. Got it?" Ichigo warned with a finger, and Riveria paled yet again as the memory of Ichigo causing absolute destruction because of what happened to his friends surfaced.
"Y-yes..Of course." Riveria said, unable to meet the eye of the man.
"Okay. Well, onto the next topic. Loki." Ichigo said, diverting his attention to the godess.
"Hm?" Loki said with an uneasy disposition. She really didn't like the way Riveria was acting around Ichigo, and with an angry mind, she wanted to know why.
"I wanted to say thank you for taking in my Familia when they were in need." Ichigo said with a slight bow.
This cought the goddess off guard. One second he was exuding an aura of authority, the next, extending a warm hand of gratitude.
"Eh? I uh just...Didn't want to hear anymore loud noises outside" Loki said, waving her hands frantically in the air.
Ichigo smiled slightly, and chuckled.
"Sure."
"Dont be mistaken, I didn't do it because I like you or your familia or anything, I just was tired of the stupid sounds outside!" Loki said, while her face gained a warm pink complexion.
"Oh?" Ais said, feeling a little mischevious. "That's not what you said yesterday...Wasn't it something like..'It's not right, what apollo's doing isn't fair.' Or...something like that..." Ais said, slightly mimicking her goddess.
Loki was mortified, and Riveria regained her smile.
"A-Ais! H-H-HOW DARE YOU! THIS IS BETRAYAL" Loki shouted, Burying her face in her hands in shame.
Ichigo looked at the blonde who was sitting crosslegged on the couch to his left, and said
"You're Ais?"
"Yes." Was all she said.
"How did you forget her? You kicked her ass the day you met her!" Loki growled out.
Ignoring the woman, he asks "...Say, wanna come and train Bell? I'll pay you if you want"
"W-wait, what?!" Loki said, breaking out of her shameful state. "There's no way that MY AIS is gonna help that shrimp's kiddo! Nuh-Uh! No way!"
Ichigo turned towards the goddess with a slightly bummed look, and staired at her in the eyes for a second. The woman's breath hitched as something in her chest felt odd.
"Please?" Ichigo asked with as much charisma he can muster.
Loki was dumbstruck, She couldn't formulate any coherent sentences in her mind. Her pinkish complexion turned from pink to bright crimson. If Ichigo strained his eyes, he could probably see steam coming from her ears.
"Y-y...E...I dont...Uh...Ask...Ask her.." Loki said, shakily sitting down and re-covering her face with her hands.
Ichigo wanted nothing more to burst out laughing, and to make fun of her expression, but he held it down for the sake of his objective.
"I see. Thank you, Loki." Ichigo said, as smooth as could be.
"So..Ais, Do you want to train Bell?" Ichigo said, a little less smooth.
"...I'd love to." She said, putting a faint smile.
Ichigo nearly jumped in success, But that would throw off the room's atmosphere in a negative fashion.
"Sweet. I'll leave you and bell to figure out the planning, But the location of the training will be either here or Behind my mansion. I've got a pretty great training area there."
"Is that so? Then I'll start tomorrow." Ais said finally.
"Tomorrow is great. Anyway, That's all I came for. Ais, Loki, Riveria." Ichigo nodded before flickering out of existence with Flash step back through the window he came from.
The room fell into an awkward silence, as Loki still had her face in her hands with a small stream of blood dropping onto her desk.
"Oh dear.." A masculine voice rang out from the corner of the room. "What in the world was that?" The voice of Finn asked amusedly.
Oh, he was forsure gonna make fun of Loki for this.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(
(Several hours later, Evening.)
The smell of cinnamon wafted into Ichigo's nose the minute he stepped back inside of his home, and immediately his thoughts turned to Mirba.
"Welcome home, Lord Ichigo." Acero said, as he walked by, A brown book titled 'The updated Ways of the trade' in hand.
"Hey." Ichigo said, as he walked down the hallway to reach the kitchen.
The house seemed to be lively, as the man could hear the bickering between Hestia and Liliruca upstairs over who gets to brush Bell's hair. A couple days ago when there was just Ichigo's familia, it was a peaceful kind of quiet that warranted no worry. However, Ichigo was grateful for the newfound sense of vibrancy and life that the Hestia Familia brought with them.
Ichigo was brought out of his thoughts when he entered the kitchen to see Mirba stirring something in a pot, while talking to Welf.
"O-Oh, Hey, Ichigo-sama! Welcome back" Welf awkwardly said as he shuffled a little further away from Mirba.
Ichigo raised an eyebrow, but thought nothing of it. "Oh, Lord Ichigo?" Mirba said, Spinning around with a beaming smile to see her Patron god.
Ichigo's anger disappeared as a sense of relief and relaxation entered his mind when Mirba nearly tackled him to give him a bone-crushing hug.
"-aahh...Some...things...never change..." Ichigo struggled out, as his thoughts turned towards a certain arrancar woman and her...most pleasing hugs.
Wrapping his arms around the woman, Ichigo said "I'm glad you're alright...Does anything..Hurt?"
Mirba stopped rubbing her uninjured cheek on Ichigo's chest, and said "Yeah, Im just peachy! Though, I now have a score to settle...I'm just fine." Mirba said, looking Ichigo in the eye, stressing the fact that she's fine.
Ichigo could see that her once green eye was now a vibrant and pulsing dark pink color.
"...Yeah. I know what you mean." Ichigo said, Remembering how pissed off he was yesterday.
Mirba broke the hug and returned to the cinnamon smelling concoction in the pot, and said "Well, In any case. I know that you've decided to put me out onto the bench for the war game, and I don't blame you...Though, I just Wish that you'd atleast let me go and...participate in some way..." Mirba alluded.
"I need to know for sure that you're alright. If you want, you could duel anyone you want in the training ground so I can see if you're fit for duty.." Ichigo said, caving slightly to her tone.
"...O-kaayy" the Honey-blonde chirped as she turned the stove off and set the pot aside.
"How's tonight sound?" She said lowly.
"Tonight?"
"Yes, tonight. I want to show you just how ready to fight I am. And by show you, I literally mean I'm going to duel you." Mirba said as she leaned on the counter and smiled at Ichigo.
Her smile resembled a very pissed off Unohana.
"Gotcha.." Ichigo said sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.
"In any case...You've arrived just in time! I made us dessert! Outside, Ren's cooking up some Venison steaks from some deer he found this morning." Mirba said passively.
'..She's angry. Very angry.' Ichigo thought to himself.
It didn't take long until Ren came through the door with a large tray of cooked meats, and the entire population of the house gathered for dinnertime.
"Well, Ichigo-sama. Will you be the first one to take a bite?" Ren called out, fork in hand.
Ichigo looked up from the appetizing meal infront of him, and said "Hm? How come?"
"You're the lord of this home, So it's only fitting." Acero said from Ichigo's left.
"ah...Uh. Yeah." Ichigo cut a small piece of the meat and said "Cheers...To a speedy recovery and to the prelude of a victorious war."
That seemed to raise the spirits of the table as they all called out "Cheers!" and began to eat.
Ichigo put half of his portion of meat back onto the tray, and got a rather hearty portion of the salad that Mirba created.
"Anyways, Uh, Thank you all for being here. I know that recent events might have put you all down quite a bit, but don't worry. I will make damn sure that there's no way in hell that this sort of thing is ever happening ever again. I swear to it." Ichigo said, as everyone nodded their heads a bit.
Even Mirba, with her intense anger, had a small smile on.
"Anyways...Bell!" Ichigo called out, Unnecessarily loud.
Bell jumped in his seat, and almost choked on his food. Coughing a bit, He looked at Ichigo and said
"Lord Ichigo! You scared me half to death! AH...so..What is it?" Bell said, kind of annoyed.
"Guess what."
"W-what?"
"Ais is coming over" Ichigo said with a grin.
Bell's face lit up like a match.
"No way...You got permission from Loki?" Hestia said, after swallowing her food.
"Yes I did. It was surprisingly easy too. I dunno why you guys made it a big deal." Ichigo said, forgetting just how posessive Loki was towards The Sword Princess.
"...W-When?" Bell stammered out, looking left and right trying to see out the windows to figure out if Ais is indeed coming over.
"Tomorrow, dummy" Ichigo said, Eating the salad he put on his plate...Wow what kind of seasonings did Mirba use? It tasted fantastic!
Welf ruffled Bell's hair and said "Wow, You're finally bringing a girl home for once huh"
"W-whaat?" Bell cried out in embarrasment.
Mirba and Lili shared a giggle, and the rest followed suit.
The sounds of elated chattering filled the dining room and for a brief moment, all was well. Nothing amiss, nothing wrong.
And it would be like that for some time.
"Lord Ichigo...I'm ready." Mirba said, striding into the kitchen where Ichigo and Lili were washing the dishes.
"I see. Lili, can you take over?" Ichigo said
"Yeah yeah, Let the short one do the work. I get it." Lili pouted.
"I'll take you and bell for treats at the hostess later"
"Why, yes you can leave this to me!" Liliruca said with vigor.
"That's good. I'll be back"
"You better! We're all going out for drinks and then we're gonna go and spend the night at Hephaestus's 'house' and I dont wanna be left behind!" Lili chided
Ichigo chuckled at the pallum woman, and continued to walk outside.
Mirba was already outside doing stretches, and Acero was prepairing something with the way his hands were glowing.
Ichigo stepped into the training area with a yawn, and grabbed his Zanpakuto.
"Alright. Mirba, Lord Ichigo, I'm going to surround this area in a field of energy that bends the light around us. We'll be invisible to any onlookers so long as they dont cast magic that creats bright light." Acero said and then stabbed the ground with his hand as a wave of dark red energy passed through a 100foot radius and turned invisible.
(Battle theme- Bipolar Nightmare, Nier automata.)
"If you are ready..."
"I'm ready...Lord Ichigo...Please, Don't hold back. Be serious." Mirba said, Tucking her hair under her white and pink eyepatch.
"Alright. Ready." Ichigo said, Bringing Zangetsu up to the ready.
"Begin." Acero said, as he jolted backwards to spectate the fight.
At once, Mirba dashed forward with a jolt of energy, and slashed at Ichigo.
Ichigo parried it with a counter of his own, following her momentum, to which Mirba spun around mid-air and kicked Ichigo with immense strength that threw him fourty feet away from her.
Ichigo was stunned from the pure amount of seriousness she exuded.
Ichigo's awareness was suddenly brought to 100% as he took Mirba more seriously.
The Shinigami landed back onto his feet and flipped backwards to stab Zangetsu into the ground to slow his momentum.
Ichigo quickly rolled right in order to dodge the flamboyant sword careening towards his head, and as he was rolling, suddenly, Mirba changed the course of her attack mid thrust, and swiped downwards at Ichigo.
'Wow, She's a really great fighter! At least 4th seat level...If that's correct' Ichigo assessed.
Ichigo brought up Zangetsu to block, as he brought up his other hand and simply flicked Mirba's chestplate.
She was sent flying about fifteen feet, but landed upright nevertheless.
"Damn it!" Mirba silently cursed, as her armor now had an indent of Ichigo's finger. "{Stallius!}" Mirba called out and suddenly, she moved a whole lot faster.
To a normal person, Mirba's swings and strikes were nothing but a blur of movement, but to Ichigo, it was normal..even slow to him. Of course, Ichigo would never discredit her efforts by saying they weren't good enough.
Ichigo was genuinely impressed. Not once had he been pushed around like this...well, maybe when Ais and Ottar teamed up on him, he did try just a tad, but he couldn't help but feel his heart swell with pride to see such progress from one of his friends. The same way he felt when he saw how strong Chad, Orihime and Uryu had become in such a small amount of time.
Ichigo began to engage Mirba in his version of swordplay, Zanjutsu. He had mastered it to an extent with his constant training with his spirits and out on his...newly obliterated personal training grounds on the Verita mountain range.
She faired well, but he began to pressure her more and more, but he noticed that with each unsuccessful blow she would throw, she would get more and more irritated. It had gotten to a point to where here eye had begun glowing like a small light.
Ichigo used flash step to appear behind her and gave her a brist slap to her backplate, sending her forward offbalance, but instead of falling, she simply twisted around and used her leverage to do a handspring backwards to land and jolt at Ichigo once more.
Ichigo was perplexed, she fought as an elegant beast, one who's every movement was with purpose, and every strike, Ichigo could feel her intent and power.
She was the Pride of the Ichigo Familia.
The pair fought for nearly an hour before Ichigo began to just block her attacks and instead of capitalizing on her many...many openings, He decided to just dodge and block. Dodge and block. rinse and repeat. The few attacks he did give here cost her dignity as they were often made to make her offbalance or fall on her rear. She hated being pushed down and well...Pushed in general.
Slowly but surely, Mirba was becoming more and more angry at the lack of effort Ichigo seemed to be giving, and began to wonder if Ichigo was taking her seriously.
"Tch" Mirba scoffed, as she threw her sword at Ichigo like a spear, and then as he dodged, she slid next to him and sprung at him feet first.
Again, he used that annoying teleportation move that he always did, and reappeared somewhere close.
'Damn It! Just stay still!' she thought in anger
Regaining her sword, she gave it a quick check, to see that the sword itself had a few chips in a couple places, and was very faintly warped to the left.
Re-focusing on Ichigo, She noted that he was just standing there, waiting for her to attack.
He didn't think she was ready? He didn't think that she was Fit to go and do battle? She'd show him, that no matter the cost, she was ready and fit for duty.
She made another mad dash at the man, and this time, Instead of outright attacking, she fainted a strike to the left, and when Ichigo moved to block, she quickly retracted and made to strike his opening on the right side.
Success! The blade connected and she slashed down his torso.
But...Something she didn't expect happened.
His robes were sliced, yes, But the muscular skin underneath was flawless. Not a laceration like she'd intended. Not even a scratch.
Just bare skin.
He must have blocked last second, and then made it look like he didn't move...
The woman jumped back a couple feet and raised her sword. If he wouldn't give effort, then maybe she'd force him to.
"Lord Ichigo...As I recall...I said to take this serious." Mirba said.
Ichigo raised his sword, and said "Yes, I kn-"
"Then why aren't you?"
"I-"
"Why are you looking down on me? Why don't you give me back the same effort I'm giving you?!" Mirba shouted that last part out.
"..." Ichigo scowled. He knew she would say something like this, But He didn't know what to do.
With a single swipe from his sword, She and half of Orario would cease to exist. The lightest of flicks dented her Hephaestus made armor and knocked her out of breath.
Ichigo was genuinely trying not to Kill Mirba in this sparring session.
"Now you're not even going to give me the satisfaction of a response?" Mirba yelled, as her grip tightened until her knuckles were white.
Her presence exploded to life in a torrent of spiritual pressure, while weak, was still quite strong for someone of this world.
Ichigo was put off by the hollow feel of it, but was set at ease to see that Mirba hadn't grown a mask. But...the sclera of her eye was black, and her Iris was pink.
Ichigo felt angry at himself. This world he was thrust into was too...Underpowered of a realm for him. He could destroy anything he touched if he stopped caring about it.
Mirba's face and arms lit up in literal dark-pink fire that spread to her sword, as she charged at Ichigo with speed she hadn't shown before.
It was still really slow to Ichigo.
Ichigo blocked and parried swing after swing, as Mirba sent a flurry strikes and slashes at her lord in wrathful fervor.
"RAHHHH!" Mirba shouted, as she punched Ichigo in the forehead after using her sword as a distraction to get an opening.
She nearly cradled her now bruising hand, but opted to continue to fight and disregard the pain.
"Why! Wont! You! Hit! ME!" Mirba said, thrusting her sword with each word, as tears poured out of her eyes and joined the fire.
Sliding under Ichigo, Mirba grabbed his leg, and threw him across the field and into the ground.
He wasn't heavy like she thought he would be, but he certainly wasn't light, nor easy to throw.
Ichigo whistled in amazement. He didn't know she had this much strength to her.
Quite frankly, he didn't expect it either. She was a level three, about the same strength as a 8-6th seat officer in the shinigami world, Ichigo would reckon.
But it had to end soon.
Hitting her back may not be what she needs at the moment, But for the sake of her feelings, Ichigo would have to fulfill her request.
Ichigo ducked under a horizontal swing, and jabbed the hilt of his sword into her abdomen, sending her off a couple feet while making her cough out saliva.
Shaking, she took a knee and gathered her breath, which was promptly used in the quietest sob in the world.
When Mirba stood up, Ichigo saw the sheer pain, anger, and humiliation that was etched on her face..
"w-...why did I let my guard down..." Mirba said to nobody in particular.
Ichigo's own expression was full of comfort and support as he strided over to the crying girl.
"I..Lost my goddamn eye because of it...I'm..I'm useless now, I can't even l-lead my goddamn familia!" Mirba said, as she lifted an armored arm to her eye and on instinct, wiped both cheeks thinking that both were wet, and upon being reminded that she only has one eye now, she was sent into a silent wail.
Suddenly, she was enveloped in a warm hug as her voice came back to her in a hearty cry. And cry she did, into the chest of her god.
The fires on her face and arms died out as she dropped her sword and returned the hug in its crushing entirety.
"w-why am I so weak.." Mirba wimpered out
"You're far from weak, Mirba. You have the determination and willpower of a warrior. Your heart is strong, so that makes you strong." Ichigo said as she continued to weep silently into his chest.
He stroked her hair as she continued to cry.
They stood like this, Ichigo muttering encouragement into her ears while she calmed down.
Mirba seemed to stop crying, and chuckled slightly after sniffling.
"You know...You never really seem to miss Depth Perception until it's gone..."
"ah. Well, now you're a more capable fighter than me. It takes sheer skill to accurately swing a sword without depth perception..." Ichigo said, unsure if that fact is true or not...But hey if it helps then it helps.
"Yeah whatever.." Mirba said.
"...You got snot on me again...Didn't you.." Ichigo muttered.
"...Sorry." She said sheepishly
Ichigo sighed, and said "Okay well, Don't make it a habit.."
"I'll try" was all she said, as they broke the long hug.
Ichigo turned to Acero who was simply watching the exchange and took it all in stride.
"I figure that this duel is over?" Acero asked, and gained the nods from both Ichigo and Mirba.
"Sorry it took so long, Ace!" Mirba called out to the elven man.
Acero shook his head and said "No, It's alright. Don't worry about it, it was quite educational for me. I've concluded that you'll be able to best levels 3 and 4 with little effort. So long as you don't lose your mind in the process."
Mirba looked at Acero with confusion and she said
"Truely?"
"Indeed. The force of your attacks, The air sprites told me that they would easily pierce armor not made by lady hephaestus with ease. The earth sprites told me that your power when moving is sufficient to outmaneuver many adventurers they've encountered without effort."
Mirba gaped at this information and Ichigo raised his eyebrow in wonder.
"Damn, see? You're not weak. Not even close. And it's even better that Monsters dont wear armor, huh?" Ichigo said, nodding to Acero.
"...Thank you both.." Mirba said with a small smile and a sniffle.
Ichigo looked down to see the damage Mirba had done...and aside the large cut in Ichigo's shihakusho...and the small spot of snot, There was nothing wrong.
"Well, Let's get back inside...I still gotta see what Lili's done with the dishes.
"Lead the way?" Mirba said, back to her usually soft side.
Acero let his technique fade away, and followed the pair inside the mansion.
Once inside, The trio split up into their seperate paths. Ichigo to scold Liliruca for not being done with the literal three plates left.
Acero, Ren and Mirba would join Bell, Welf and now Liliruca on their way to the Hostess of fertility for drinks, before stopping at Hephaestus's place.
Once all was said and done, the house returned to it's usual silence as only Ichigo was in the house.
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
(Time: 12:34)
(Theme: Faron woods- Zelda Twilight Princess)
Ichigo awoke about an hour into sleeping to get a glass of water.
The shinigami walked the cold, dark, and barren hallways until he reached the kitchen. There, he groped the walls for the lightswitch...but there was none. Not in this world atleast. The monster crystal powered light fixtures had switches on the mechanism itself, so you had to manually go and turn on every light. Unless Ichigo payed for the centralized route style mechanism, This is what will have to suffice for the moment.
Bleary eyed, Ichigo felt the light fixture, and turned it on. A warm caramel light shown itself and illuminated the dark kitchen, and Ichigo was able to reach for the glass he wanted.
This world was catapulted from the iron age into semi-modernity with the invention of Monster crystal utilities. All that was left to do was to invent automobiles and radio.
Ichigo filled the glass with water, and began to drink it earnestly. Usually, He'd never awake for something like water but it seemed tonight was different.
Though, there was something else. Something wrong.
There was someone else here. Someone who's reiatsu felt violent but calm at the same time.
They were in the mansion, In the hallway stairing at Ichigo.
Though, Ichigo wasn't worried. His hierro had enough strength to withstand a nuke maybe...But that was just an exaggeration.
Maybe...
Ichigo sat the glass down and sighed.
"I know you're here, and if you dont want to have any broken bones, I suggest you show yourself." Ichigo calmly said, as he turned around and glared at the darkness.
"Ohoho...How smart...What gave...me away?"
A robed man walked into view, he was built like an ox, and his jet-black hair fell out of the hood like waterfalls. There were two glowing cyan dots in his shadowed face.
"I dunno...You sure do stink. That's for sure." Ichigo said, as he leaned on the counter unamused.
"...Do you...know why...I'm here...standing before you?" The man rasped out with what looked to be a smile.
Ichigo raised an eyebrow.
"Nah, can't say I do. Enlighten me."
"There are...Some who...Think you're...a Nuisance...a bother...un-needed" He said, before reaching into his robe and pulling out a jagged dagger. "I've already...thrown my existance...away...I do not...care what...happens to me...But as long...as I live...I can enjoy...all that Valis..."
Ichigo figures that he must be talking about how gods punish those who kill them by sending them to that god's version of the underworld.
"Hm. Is that so-" Ichigo was interrupted with perhaps the most infuriating sentance anyone could have ever spoken to him.
"And maybe...enjoy that sexy...blondie when...she comes...back...hehehaha"
Ichigo's grip on the counter intensified for a split second, but the damage was done as there was now a handprint indented into the granite.
"Right. Here's what's going to happen. I was thinking of letting you go, or maybe turning you over to the guild...But now you've obtained my attention." Ichigo started with a growl, his hair was slightly raising by Ichigo's undetectable ambient reiatsu, and it looked like he was underwater. The assassin's smile grew from ear to ear, exposing his...pearly white teeth? Odd for someone like him.
(Play, Lower Norfair orchestration- The noble demon)
"And now that you have that...I'm going to rip all of the information out of you, one. tooth. at. a. time." Ichigo said, black entering the whites of his eyes.
'Control yourself! Ichigo!' the voice of Old man Zangetsu rung out from inside Ichigo's mind.
'But!-'
'No! Think rationally. Remember last time you failed to do so? You're in a city. you must be better.'
'...Fine.'
Ichigo closed his eyes and breathed a heavy sigh outwards.
"Atleast...That's what I'm going to do, if you don't get the hell out of here, and never come back." Ichigo said, opening his eyes to reveal that the assassin was gone.
To the assassin, he was moving at untouchable speed, but to Ichigo...He was practically walking.
Now, at this hightened sense of perception, Ichigo made two choices for himself.
1. Shunpo to the left and intercept him using the Face-To-Foot style, or
2. Take the hit like a little bitch and feign weakness.
'Guess im going for 2...' Ichigo said internally as he was sent through the wall with a kick from the assassin.
"Ohoho...All talk...no bite...Aint'cha?" the assassin cackled out.
'...wow. that barely tickled...' was Ichigo's mindset...Damn was everything on this planet this boring?
Ichigo lay on his back in a small crater, once again enjoying the cool and soft sensations that a body formed crater would bring.
Again, Ichigo didn't understand how a man that size could move that silent.
"Aww...did I...break you...already?"
The assassin blurred into existance next to Ichigo and slashed with the cruel looking weapon.
This would normally have dulled the blade, but a new scratch adorned Ichigo's face and blood flowed down his cheek.
"You gods...always get...too confident..."
"Shut up!" Ichigo said, as he ran around his yard, dodging and failing to avoid strikes and stabs from the assassin's blade.
The Death god's body was adorned with cuts and stab wounds, many were leaking blood like faucets. wherever Ichigo stepped, a small puddle of blood would shortly form.
"Well, Damn...You didn't put...up as much...of a...fight as...I thought...you woulda..."
"I..." Ichigo
Ichigo chose not to answer the man, as he staired at the rather large hole in the kitchen side of the mansion and wondered how much it would cost to repair...
Ichigo chuckled and that elicited a response from the assassin.
"What's so...funny..."
"Nothing really. Tell me...How often do you do this?" Ichigo asked, shaking from blood loss.
"Hmmm...Let me think..." The man paused, and put a pale white hand to his exposed chin in thought.
"often. Remember...the Hera familia? And the...Benzaiten Familia...and the...many others...I don't care...to remember..."
He then broke out into a fit of laughter, and resumed his stride towards Ichigo.
"I also had fun...with some of their...female members...before...disposal..."
Ichigo nodded, understanding what must be done.
"..."
"Now it's time...To DIE!" Assassin charged at a struggling Ichigo, and plunged his knife deep into his stomach.
Ichigo let out a cry of agony, as he gripped the assassin's arm, and flailed his other hand out towards the assassin's hood, pulling it down to get a look at the man's face.
He had a scar running along his face dipping into his milky white eyes, The man was blind. His hair was parted to the side, and his skin clear from blemishes.
Ichigo staired at the man's 'eyes' as life faded from his own...
The shinigami slumped down but his grip on the man's arm stayed true.
"Bye bye...hahaha...hmm Rigor Mortis..." The man said, as he began to slice off Ichigo's hand with his second knife...Or well, He tried to anyway.
"Huh?" The assassin was confused
The dead man's grip intensified as the bones in the assassin's arm groaned in protest.
"Gah! What the hell?!"
"It looks like your way of talking was just a face." the 'dead' man said.
Looking at Ichigo's 'lifeless' body, to see every stab, every scratch began to stitch itself shut with immense speed, his eyes widened in horror.
"Did you even do research...Any at all.." The assassin let out another cry of pain, as he was forced to let go of the knife in his chest. "What aspect of existence...do I govern..." Ichigo said, as he snapped his head up to stare at the scared expression of the assassin.
"Pathetic Idiots like you cant kill me." Ichigo said confidently, as he stood back up, still holding the assassin's knife arm.
Intensifying the grip once more, a cracking and squelching sound emitted from the assassin's arm, and the man screamed for dear life.
Ichigo had pulverized the assassin's arm until it resembled a rope of beef jerky.
A golden light shined from Ichigo's eyes, as skeletal armor wrapped his body in it's hell-ish protection.
"What...Is this!" The assassin shrieked out in horror.
"For the crimes against the gods, and against humanity that you have committed...I sentence you to an eternity in hell." Ichigo said.
The assassin's eyes widened, as he said "You're bluffing! I haven't died yet!"
"Eien no Horobi."
At once, the sky turned a deep shade of purple, and a myriad of hook-bladed chains fell from the heavens, and phased through the assassin's body, seperating the soul from the husk. For the first time in this world, Ichigo has seen a Plus soul. A damned one, But a plus nonetheless.
That brought a new theory to mind.
The assassin's body fell forward, lifeless, as the screaming and now chained soul of the assassin was lifted into the air by his limbs.
A vortex of air swirled around the field, and centralized behind the bound soul, and finally, gigantic blood red gates of hell appeared. Their signature dual-skeleton decorations were this time animate and reached out towards the screaming and pleading sinner.
The gates flew open and a simplistic sword held by a Kushanada, pierced the man's head, rendering the body lifeless as it broke down into reishi and flew into the damned dimension.
The sword and arm went back into the dimension, as the gates stayed open a while longer. A single Kushanada peered it's head out of the gate, it's golden-yellow eyes bounced in their sockets before snapping to Ichigo.
Ichigo gulped, but nevertheless kept his cool.
The Kushanada bowed it's head, and it's presence returned to Hell.
"Eien no tenbatsu" was all Ichigo said for the gates to close, and once closed, the Shinigami turned around as the armor of the Kushanada disbersed and returned to his soul.
"all of that...for a glass of water." Ichigo said while looking down at the corpse infront of him.
He figured that he should do some investigating, and started to empty the mans pockets.
"Hm, Keys...Pictures...valis and a letter." Ichigo muttered as he turned the man over.
Extra weapons, armor, and even a bag of potions and poisons.
Ichigo took the potions and poisons and the possessions of the assassin and then walked back into the mansion through the wreckage.
'you really didn't have to do that, you know.' Suki spoke
Ichigo rolled his eyes and said 'Of course I did. You heard him, he's killed and violated multiple gods and their familias. Plus he's an assassin. I hate those sneaky bastards.'
'...True. But I was talking about faking your death. You really had no need to play him that hard.' Suki giggled
'...Hey, it seemed like a good idea to get some measure of pay back. Who knows how many people have died with fear in their hearts.'
'As always, you're right...hehe. Anyways, I've noticed something. You killed that man, and turned his soul into a plus soul.'
'Yeah, I saw. That makes me wonder...If I kill people in this world, will my power convert their soul to one that's compatable with our realm?'
'I...Regrettably, I do not know. I'll try and find out though. So in the mean time, please continue to kill and gather more data, hmm?' Suki sung out in sing-song.
Ichigo flinched and said 'No, I do not think I'm going to be killing anyone anytime soon.'
Suki giggled and disappeared to his inner world.
Ichigo walked into his study, and closed the door.
Walking to his desk, he layed down the loot he obtained from the dirty vermin he's disposed of just moments prior.
First thing he needed to do is find a orario's locksmith, and have them examine the key to determine what it goes to. Next, he layed out five pictures, and each disgusted the man to no end.
They seemed to be pictures taken with a Monster crystal powered camera...or atleast magic that can produce true-to-life still images.
The pictures were taken when the females of the mansion would bathe. Needless to say, The assassin was able to come in and out of the mansion with ease and hide. Makes more sense on how he was able to appear before Ichigo with no sound.
The assassin felt a tad weaker than Ottar...and a tad stronger than Ais. Whoever this guy was, it makes sense how he put an end to several familias.
The letter was next.
Opening the letter it read as follows:
"Fiend of Orario, Barracsuda, Your expertise is required once more. A god by the name of Ichigo is stirring up things he has no right to. His presence puts the very things I have been working to create in danger. He is a problem that must be dealt with, I assume you understand what must be done. I give you this bag of 7.k Valis, and a redeemable card for 900k more, As-per-usual.
Do not contact me when you're done.
-Sun Archer." At the bottom was a seal with a bow with a drawn arrow...
Ichigo's eyes squinted at 'Sun archer'.
'Could Apollo be any more obvious?'
Well atleast he knows who put the hit out on him.
Ichigo set down the letter began re-examining the photos, He noticed that three were of Mirba, the next three were of Lili and Hestia. The ones with Mirba...seemed to be more crinkled than the rest.
'Old man, can that healing ability set things on fire?' Ichigo asked.
'Indeed.'
Ichigo wasted no time in incinerating the undignified and blasphemous photos, and scooting the ashes to a trash can underneath the desk.
Perhaps it was an underground organization, that Apollo was apart of?
There was also a possibility that the letter was forged. Apollo might be innocent...Of this atleast.
All will reveal itself when Ichigo finds whatever that key opens...He hoped.
"Well..Shit." Ichigo sighed out in frustration. How could his own house be breached so easily? How could he go undetected for so long?
Ichigo heard pounding at the front door, and quickly he stashed the potions, key and one knife into a locked drawer.
THe shinigami used flash-step and arrived to the front door. Opening it, revealed a party of adventurers with worried looks on their faces.
Apon seeing Ichigo's tattered and bloody clothing, Their eyes widened in disbelief at Ichigo's seemingly unharmed body.
"Ichigo-sama! Are you alright? There was an explosion here! What happened?" The leader seemed to say.
"Hm? Explosion?"
"Yes! Didn't you see that bright light and all that wind and smoke?"
Bright light, wind and smoke? The Hell gate?
"Ah..Yeah, I did...Say by chance did you happen to see a gate with...skeletons on it?"
"Gates with skeletons?" The man looked perplexed, then he looked behind him to see his party shake their heads confusedly.
"AH..uh Nevermind then. Anyways, yeah. I was attacked and ended up surviving somehow...But the assassin didn't." Ichigo said, Leaning on the doorframe.
It seemed to be nearly dawn, and these adventurers looked like a late-night response team for such events.
"I see. Lead us to where the body is, and we'll take it. Also, If you've taken anything from his person then I'd respectfully ask you to return them." The man said, motioning for two adventurers to go around back to the back yard of the mansion.
"He had nothing of value, but here's his knife." Ichigo nodded and tossed a sheathed knife towards the adventurer, who cought it and nodded.
"Come in."
With a motion of his hand, Ichigo called in the party of six to come into his home. They briskly followed the god to the scene of the crime.
"Here's where he sent me through the wall." Ichigo said, pointing to the hole in the house.
The adventurers gaped and gave Ichigo's body a doubletake.
"What?" Ichigo asked, crossing his arms.
"N-nothing...But these counters look like they're made from granite...and these cabinets...feel like hardwood. sir, by all means, you should be very very hurt right now."
Ichigo chuckled at that, and then pointed at the crater that looked like an imprint of a man, and once the group saw that, they were floored with disbelief.
"I've taken on the best this city has to offer. 'Aint no way some grubby hidey-hole lover is gonna do much else." Ichigo said
"But...the blood?" One adventurer, who looked like an archer, pointed out at all of the drying blood pools and splatters littering the ground.
"Yeah, well so what? Even I get a bloody nose sometimes?" Ichigo chided.
That drew chuckles and laughs from those in earshot of Ichigo's joke.
That seemed to put the adventurers at ease.
"Hey, Jorda. This is the man we've been looking for." said the adventurer who picked up the body.
Every adventurer snapped their head and their attentions toward the body.
"Really?" They all walked towards the assassin.
"Yes, His teeth, fingerprints, magical aura, and his DNA structure fit." The man said, putting away a small book titled 'Identity of the god killer'
Strangely enough, Every adventurer had this book attached to their hip.
Slowly, they all turned their heads towards Ichigo, and paled.
"What happened?" was what they asked.
"Hm? I burned some trash. What do you want?" Ichigo said with a huff.
"Yeah, but this man's been wanted by the city guard and by the guild for several counts of rape, treason, man-slaughter, and atleast six counts of Deicide. He would have been doomed to the underworld apon death anyway, so it doesn't really matter what we would have done...but still..."
"..."
"Thank you, Ichigo sama!" They all bowed and said in unison.
Ichigo looked away.
"That was just a small measure of justice that I could have given..." Ichigo said humbly 'while staying true to my morals..'
"Orario is in your debt! By taking out that rogue level 6, you've made the city safer!"
Ichigo waved off the man's thanks as he just continued to rave on and on about how much of a savior Ichigo was.
Apparently the 'god killer' was a very despised man...But was kept around based on convenience.
"Well, We'll be off. I'll send word to the guild about what you've done, and I'm pretty confident that they'll fix your manor up in no-time!" The leader said, as he and his group waltzed off with a jovial spring in their step.
Surely, there were posters about the man that Ichigo could have walked by? Maybe he didnt notice these things yet...It was possible that during Ichigo's slow exposition into the city, he may have missed a thing or two...Like the subtle side-eye glances he'd receive.
Clearly there was someone who wanted him out of the equation. Now that brings the task of identifying the person(s) and bringing them to justice. That was all Ichigo was sure of. But now...That assassin is rotting in Ichigo's hell-realm, and justice is served. Hopefully that would help the murdered gods and adventurers sleep in peace now.
Ichigo sighed, as he finished the glass of water he abruptly put down on the counter, before being spartan kicked through several layers of expensive furnishing.
'...damn..*Yawn*...Was I always this tired?' Ichigo asked himself as he slugged his way through the halls, and after changing into a fresh set of clothing, finally he slid back into his covers to finally catch up on sleep.
His eyelids felt like iron weights, as he fell into the warm-sweet embrace of a well deserved sleep.
()()()()()()()()()()
(3:34)
"You had NO right to get that drunk!" Mirba said, still assisting Ren on their walk. Bell, Hestia, Lili, Hephaestus and Acero agreed with the sentiment.
Ren's head was still swirling, as the man's breath stunk of soma.
"Yeahbuh...Noway...I'm not drumk"
"yeah yeah, drunkie.." Mirba chastised as she sighed.
She was barely getting the hand of walking with a major blindside, so it made sense that she'd stub her feet on random things every once in a while.
But, that's why she vowed never to take off her armored boots while up and about.
"So...Hestia.." Hephaestus whispered to her best friend.
Hephaestus was on leave currently, as her orders were complete. The next set of orders would not arrive for some days. This was an oddity, as she always had work on her plate. Though...The millions of valis was never anything to pout over...
Hestia perked up at her name being whispered.
"Yes?" She whispered back
The duo slowed down to let the rest go on ahead.
"Is Ichigo mad at me?"
Hestia's head turned slightly, and then shook her head in the negative.
"No" She started, "I don't think so. Not at you anyway."
Hephaestus remembered the hurt look Ichigo gave her when she recoiled at his hollowfied state.
"He...Uh, Transformed, and I did not take it in stride.." Hephaestus said ashamed.
"Did you outright bolt from him in horror?" Hestia said, Walking with her arms crossed.
"No, But, It might as well have been the same thing..."
"I don't think Ichigo's the type of guy to keep something like that around his mind.
"You sure?"
"Pretty sure. Just apologize if you think it's that big of a deal." Hestia said, nonchalantly.
"Well...We're almost here." Hephaestus said, looking at the mansion in the near distance.
"Yeah...Say, is there something off about the place?" Hestia said, putting a hand over her eyes to...see better? Its nighttime and not bright..There was no practical application to what she was doing.
"Ichigo's in danger!" Mirba shouts at the group.
This accelerated the group's heartbeat by a vast margin, and they all start sprinting.
Ren was...Trying to run, but kept falling over, Welf hoisted the man over his shoulder, and tailed the rest of the familia.
"I-Ichi!" Hephaestus said, as she began to fall into a dead sprint, passing the familia, and appearing at the gates.
Her divine aura was slightly activated, as she kicked open the front door, that was locked with a deadbolt.
The woman quickly searched the house, and found Ichigo nowhere. She then reappeared at the front door and then looked to the right into the kitchen, and saw the signs of destruction and drops of blood.
Her skin grew cold, as her eye widened in fear.
She remembered where Ichigo's room was, and made a beeline to it and rushed inside as the rest of the familia entered the mansion.
All having similar reactions, and Mirba ordering Welf and Lili to check the perimeter, while they cleared the house. a series of 'Clear''s later, They made it to the second floor that was also clear.
They all opened the master bedroom's door, and in it they saw Hephaestus cradling Ichigo's face into her chest as she was borderline breaking down into tears.
"He's alright.." She said to the group, as they all breathed out in ease.
They decided to leave the pair to their privacy, and left the room to go deal with the damages to the house.
"Fi...Everything's alright." Hestia whispers, as to not wake Ichigo up.
"Yeah, I know" She says, as she sniffled in relief.
Hestia gave her best friend a reassuring pat on the back, as she closed the door.
()()()()()()()()()()
(05:30 morning)
...
Fire, Everywhere. As far as the eye can see... Everything was rubble. Blood stained the streets of Orario, as babel itself was nearly toppled, had it been attacked once more.
Every now and then, a pillar of golden light would pierce the smokey air and alert all who temporarily survived to the departure of another god...
Rivers of fresh blood and bits of flesh washed down the streets and pooled into the Orario reservoir forever poisoning the lake with the presence of death and disease.
A single beast was the cause...Bringer of havoc, of vengeance, wherever it went, destruction always followed.
Draconic, was the beast's visage. It's midnight-black scales absorbed all light, turning the beast into a shadow figure with a single piercing crimson eye.
"You will all pay for what you've done..." The dragon hisses out, as it begins to roar and spew forth dark flames from it's gaping maw.
Then...Everything went to black. Everything that has just happened, was returned to nothing...
Ichigo's eyes snapped open, and suddenly, shut again.
The light from the sun stings his bleary eyes.
"ugh...what the hell was that.." Ichigo says, sitting up.
"I don't know, but from the way you were breathing it sounded like a nightmare." A sweet voice said from his side.
Ichigo turned his head to the left, and there Hephaestus was. Sitting on one of his chairs while reading a book titled 'Adventures of the crimson death'
"I...Take it, Everyone's back?" Ichigo says.
Hephaestus smirks, and says "Yes...after drinking my entire stock of soma. You owe me 344k Valis."
Ichigo sighed, and rolled his eyes.
"I see. Whatever...What do you need with all of that alcohol?" Ichigo muttered that last part.
She scoffed, and went back to her book.
"Welf has...Joined Hestia's familia." Hephaestus sighed.
"Is that so? And you're fine with this?" He asked
"Yes, He will go farther with her, than with me. And that's alright.
"I see. Well, If it makes him happy then he should go for it." Ichigo said.
Ichigo layed back down with a huff, and then looked at Hephaestus again.
"I've never notice before...But what is up with you and waking me up recently?"
Her face flushed red, but she kept her composure and said
"Well, is it an issue?" She retorts half-heartedly.
"Nah, It's actually pretty uh...pleasant." Ichigo said, scratching his cheek.
the corners of her lips twitched upwards slightly.
"I-Is that so? Then I'll make sure to do it more often." She says, as she pretends to go back to her book.
A couple seconds pass awkwardly, then Hephaestus sighs and shuts the book.
"Ichigo. I'm sorry." Hephaestus says, as she stands up.
Ichigo's heart drops, Was there an issue?
Her head droops down and that intensifies Ichigo's anxiousness slightly.
"When you...had that mask. I didn't act as I should have. I turned my nose in shock and awe and fear and at the same time, I forgot just who was behind the mask."
Ichigo's worries lessened considerably. Yeah, when she looked at him like the most horrifying thing on the planet, it kinda hurt, but he understood that she wasn't an adventurer who sees things on par with that on the daily. So it makes sense she'd be scared of something like that.
"So, for that, I offer my deepest apologies."
Hephaestus gives a light bow.
"..Nah, It's alright." Ichigo said, sitting up again.
Hephaestus looked up, and raised an eyebrow.
"Im serious. I dont care to be honest. It was a different situation for you, I'm sure. So, it's alright. Don't worry about it okay?" Ichigo said, and crossed his arms. His scowl was nonexistent when looking at the woman.
"...I see. Thank you, Ichigo." She said, standing straight once again, but this time, her face was deeper than red.
"At least...Let me make it up to you..." She said, as she walked closer.
"Huh?" Ichigo said, raising an eyebrow.
"Shh." she said, putting a shaky finger to his lips, as she leaned closer.
Ichigo's own face burned with embarrassment, as he balled up his covers in his hands.
Was this...Was this his first...
Hephaestus put a hand on the bed, and leaned forward. She was shaky with anxiety and slight fear. But nevertheless, she continued.
"Ichigo...I've wanted to do this for a while...Won't you let me?" the goddess whispered
He already knew what was going to happen, he wasn't a dullard. To tell the complete truth, he had thought about doing the same thing, but never knew exactly the best way to go about it. Never, had he ever expected that Hephaestus would be the first to initiate this. Back home, the girls would always wait for the man to do something first.
Ichigo nodded, and gulped.
He hadn't showered! Does he smell bad? He didn't have a chance to brush his teeth! Why was he shaking? What is this sensation in his lower body...were the things running through the man's mind.
Hephaestus reached out, and put her hand on the back of Ichigo's head, and pulled him closer and closer, until her hot breath would tickle his nose.
She smelt like Metal and sugar. It was a pleasant, yet odd scent. He appreciated it however, unlike those made back home, where it would stain one's nose for the next week.
Then, she pressed her glossed lips onto his, and closed her eyes.
Ichigo could feel her heartbeat through her lips...Good. She was just as anxious as he was.
Ichigo decided it was time to take action, and moved her hair and tucked it behind her ear.
After he was done, they parted, and Hephaestus giggled slightly.
"You...are gentle." She said, expecting him to be ravenous, like every man.
"W-Well, Yeah. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable." Ichigo says, Remembering the advice Goat-Chin gave him as a younger kid.
'Remember Ichigo! When you're making out with a hot chick, take it slow! Take it fast and you'll lose her forever! Be nice, courteous, and most importantly, Be gentle. Women love a man who can be both gentle AND aggressive!'
'Thanks, goat-chin' Ichigo thought.
She was mesmerized in his gaze, her thumb was massaging the back of his head, Ichigo's hand cupped her cheek, and he said
"Can...Can we do that again?"
She giggled and smirked a little.
"Do...what..."
Ichigo's own blush deepened, and he said "Y-You know.."
"uhh...Hehe Not really, you're going to have to be more...Specific..." She said, getting closer again. This time, she sat down on the bed next to him.
Ichigo's face was now crimson, as he said
"Can I k-kiss you...again.."
Her heart stopped for a second. She never knew how adorable he could be. She had certainly got a man who knew how to be both a War machine, and a gentleman. She loved it.
"Why, Yes you can...Thank you for asking..." She said, as she leaned in again, and leaned into his hand.
This time was more intense, as she was closer.
Hephaestus seemed to be breathing harder, and rubbing her thighs together. What the significance was for that? Ichigo had no clue.
Her hand roamed from Ichigo's hair, to his back, then finally settling on his neck.
They parted for air, Mainly Hephaestus, and she said
"Wow...You're really...sloppy." and wiped her mouth with a giggle.
"I-Im Sorry!" Ichigo said, wanting to throw his covers over his head.
"No, No. Don't be. It's alright, to tell you the truth...It was my first kiss.." She said, looking away.
Ichigo's eyes widened, and he said
"Mine too."
She looked back at him, and said
"Truly? Well..That makes more sense."
Ichigo chuckled, as he felt more bold.
The Shinigami reached out and grabbed his smith, and pulled her into a warm embrace.
This surprised the goddess as she said
"Eep! What's gotten into you?"
"I'm...I dunno." Ichigo said. He really didn't know what he was doing.
She was surprised at first, But then she turned her torso, and hugged him back.
Her chest was squeezed by the embrace, but strangely it wasn't uncomfortable like it always was. She disliked hugs because her chest was sensitive, but, with Ichigo, there was no trace of sensitivity or irritation anywhere.
For the first time, she enjoyed a hug, and even better that it was with her man.
Hephaestus didn't want to leave this warmth.
"Hey, Let's go somewhere today, once I get to see what Ais is capable of." Ichigo says.
"I'd love to." Hephaestus said, as she kissed his forehead.
After hugging and kissing some more, The pair seemed to feel drowsy. It was still the morning, and both had woken up early, so it would make sense that fatigue would strike when their guards are down.
Hephaestus took off her boots, and then crawled up next to Ichigo and began cuddling him.
Ichigo's face burned. Is this what it meant to be cuddled?
The man had known this woman for quite a while, he thought, and every time he saw her, his chest beat a little less than it would before going into battle.
His cheeks slightly flushed, he would sweat a little, and his thoughts would become more erratic...But he enjoyed every second of it.
Is this...Love? Did he...Love her?
Ichigo would decide...Yes. He did. He decided that he would want nothing more than to show her off to Goat-face and say 'Now can you shut up and stop talking to Mom's poster?!'
He settled for holding this woman instead.
He turned towards her body, and layed on his side.
Her eyes were low with drowsiness. As soon as his eyes met hers, she perked up slightly, and her cheeks flushed red.
He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, and pulled her under the covers, covering them both up to their shoulders.
A while longer, and Ichigo would be asleep in the arms of his goddess.
"This should...be okay right?" She muttered, as she quickly but accurately pecked Ichigo's cheek, and then laid her head infront of his chest.
Looking at his sleeping chest, and wanting to squeal in delight, she settled to smile and close her eyes so she could replay the last thirty minutes in her head.
'so THIS is what it means to 'sleep in' Hephaestus thought to herself as she started to fall asleep, it was just a shame that her undergarments were uncomfortably soaked.
Stay tuned for part 2