Chapter Text
Ichigo Kurosaki, former Substitute Soul Reaper, was on a train heading to Tokyo. Orihime, Chad, and Uryu opposed his decision to leave Karakura for the school year. Hell, even Katsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro weren’t to hot on the idea. The only ones who agreed with his decision were his dad and his little sisters. It’s not like he’d be gone forever, just for the year while he gets out of the funk he’s in.
“Just a nice, calm year in Tokyo. No Hollows or Soul Reapers to completely uproot my life and change it forever,” Ichigo thought as he pulled out his phone. “I think I’m staying with some doctor in Yongen-Jaya. Says here that I should meet up with her at the clinic she runs.”
As the train came to a halt, Ichigo put his phone away in his pocket and stood up. He walked off the train and into the station as he looked around for a map so he could find the train he needed to go to Yongen-Jaya.
A teen with shaggy black hair and glasses stood next to him, scrutinizing the map in front of him just as much as he was.
“Where are you heading?” Ichigo asked, causing the other teen to flinch. He seemed to be the same age as Ichigo.
The teen stammered, “U-uh, Yongen-Jaya.”
Ichigo hummed. “What a coincidence,” he said, “so am I.”
“Do you live here?” the teen asked, which made Ichigo shake his head.
“Nah, I’m new too. You’d think that a place made for getting people places wouldn’t be such a pain in the ass to traverse,” he said. “C’mon, I think our train is…” Ichigo pointed at a spot on the map, “right here!”
Ichigo and the teen walked to the platform where their train was to arrive.
While he waited, Ichigo asked, “What’s your name?”
“Amamiya Ren,” the teen answered.
Ichigo nodded. “Okay, Amamiya. My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. I’m from Karakura.”
“I’m from Inaba.”
Ichigo tilted his head. “You mean that town all those freaky ass murders and kidnappings took place?”
Ren nodded his head uncomfortably before he answered, “That would be the one.”
Their train arrived and they boarded it.
Once they arrived in Yongen, Ren and Ichigo parted ways. Ichigo looked at his phone for directions to the clinic. While he looked for the maps app, he spotted an app he didn’t recognize. It had a strange icon– a red background with the black making an eye.
“Did Urahara manage to sneak this on my phone while I wasn’t looking?” Ichigo thought as he stared at the app. “Might as well leave it alone, he probably made it so I couldn’t delete it or something.”
Ichigo opened the maps app and typed in the address his father gave him before he left for Tokyo. He followed the app's directions and ended up in front of a building with a sign that said, “Tae Takemi’s Clinic.”
Ichigo walked into the front office and was greeted by a woman in a bob cut and white coat.
“Welcome to my clinic. What do you need?” the woman asked.
“My old man told me this is where I was staying for the year,” Ichigo said.
“Oh, you’re Isshin’s kid,” the woman said. “You’re earlier than I expected. My name is Tae Takemi, but I’m sure your dad already told you about me.”
“So, Takemi, how’d that shitty old man manage to rope you into taking care of his kid for a year?” Ichigo asked.
“Let’s just say I owed him a favor and that he promised that I’d have a helping hand since you have experience working at a pharmacy.”
Ichigo sighed. “Of course he did.”
Tae beckoned Ichigo to follow her. He followed her outside of the clinic and up some stairs. Tae had a two-bedroom apartment above her clinic. Her living room had a couch and a TV, and the walls were covered in posters of some bands that Ichigo recognized. A corridor at the far end of the room had two bedroom doors facing each other.
“You’ll be staying in the guest bedroom,” Tae said as she pointed at the bedroom on the left, “There’s only one bathroom here, so we’re going to act like adults and wait for the other person to be done instead of shouting at them to hurry up, understand?” Ichigo nodded his head. “Good, now I don’t expect you to work at the clinic on school days, but–”
Ichigo cut her off, “Work?”
“That’s what Isshin promised me when I agreed to take you in for the year,” Takemi stated. “As I was saying, I don’t expect you to work on school days, but I do expect you to work at least six hours on Sundays. Don’t worry, I’ll pay you an hourly rate of one thousand yen for any work you do. That or you can agree to be my guinea pig for the medicine I develop.”
Ichigo sighed. “I’m gonna kick that shitty old man’s ass once I get home,” he muttered before sighing. “That’s fine. Anything else?”
“One other thing.” Tae pointed at the kitchen, which sat next to the corridor. “You can use the kitchen just as long as you clean up after yourself.” Tae handed him a key, “Here’s a key to the apartment. I’ll let you get settled now and check up on you in an hour or so.”
“Thanks,” Ichigo said as he put the key in his pocket.
Tae left the apartment and Ichigo went into his room. It was barren aside from a bed, dresser, and desk. It was very similar to the size of his room back home, only the closet wasn’t as big.
“At least I won’t have to worry about any pint-sized Soul Reapers living in there this time,” Ichigo thought as he began to throw his clothes into the dresser.
As he unpacked, Ichigo paused to stare at the Substitute Soul Reaper badge. The thing was practically useless now. He had no Soul Reaper powers to call upon but couldn’t help but shove it into his pocket.
Once Ichigo finished unpacking, he began to feel a little peckish, so he looked for places where he could grab a bite on his phone.
“Hmm. There’s this cafe just down the street called LeBlanc,” Ichigo said as he pocketed his phone.
Ichigo exited the apartment and found his way to Leblanc.
“Welcome, what would you like?” The middle-aged man behind the bar asked.
Ichigo stared at the menu as he hummed. “How about the LeBlanc Special.”
The man nodded. “I’ll get your coffee and curry for you then.”
Ichigo stifled a laugh. “Pfft! Coffee and curry? What kinda combo is that, old man?”
“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it,” he said before mumbling. “I swear, between you and the kid upstairs, you young people have no manners.
Ichigo sat in one of the booths and waited for the man to bring him his food and coffee. The man placed a plate of curry and a cup of coffee in front of Ichigo. “Enjoy.”
Ichigo dug in. “Holy shit, old man. This curry is the best,” Ichigo said before he sipped his coffee.
The man sighed. “My name’s not “old man.” It’s Sojiro Sakura. But most people call me Boss.”
Ichigo nodded, “Well, thanks for the food, Boss.” Ichigo said, finished with his meal already. “How much do I owe you?” Ichigo asked as he pulled out his wallet.
Sojiro shook his head as he waved him away, “Nothing, first order’s on the house.”
“Well, thanks, Boss. Definitely coming here again.” Ichigo said before he left the cafe and went back to Tae’s apartment.
Ichigo didn't like his new principal. Kobayakawa was probably as slimy as Ichigo thought since the entire time he talked he only talked about how much of a great addition to their student body, despite his delinquent appearance because he had one of the highest grades in his grade last year.
“Although, we will not tolerate those long bouts of unexcused absences that you were known for last year, understand?” Kobayakawa said.
Ichigo rolled his eyes. “Understood.” Not like he would have a reason to miss class like that again.
“If that’s all you have to say then I think we’re done here,” Tae said. “I have a clinic to run if you don’t mind.”
“Alright. See you tomorrow, Kurosaki-kun,” Sadayo Kawakami, Ichigo’s homeroom teacher said before sighing wearily, thinking that nobody but herself heard it.
Tae didn’t own a car, so they took the train back to the apartment.
Just his luck. First day of school and it rains. And of course, Ichigo forgot to check the forecast to see if it would rain while he was on his way to school and didn’t bring an umbrella.
“Fucking clear skies when I leave the apartment and when I get off the train it’s fucking pouring,” Ichigo muttered as he ran for the school while covering his head with his book bag.
Ichigo slowed to a stop once he noticed a blonde girl standing on the sidewalk under the lip of a building, safe from the rain. Ichigo joined her under the lip as she squeezed the water out of one of her pigtails. The girl wore a female uniform for Shujin Academy but wore a zip-up hoodie under the blazer of her uniform.
“Shitty day to forget an umbrella, huh?” Ichigo asked as he shook the water off of his book bag.
The girl turned to him and laughed. “Yeah, I guess,” she said before she gave him an inquisitive look. “I don’t recognize you, are you a transfer student?”
“How can you tell?” Ichigo asked.
“I think I’d know if someone with bright orange hair went to school,” the girl said. “I’d be careful, Shujin students like to gossip.”
Ichigo shrugged, “Eh, who gives a fuck what they think?”
Another person ran up to them, “Amamiya?” Ichigo asked, recognizing the boy from the station and his uniform, “You’re going to Shujin too?”
Ren nodded.
A car pulls up to them and the window rolls down, revealing a man with a ridiculously large chin and curly hair, “Good morning. Do you want me to give you a ride to school? You’re going to be late.”
“No way,” Ichigo thought, “There’s no way I’m getting in this weirdo’s car.”
The girl gave Ren and Ichigo unsure looks. “Um, sure. Thanks,” she said before taking a step toward the car.
Ichigo grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks as he stared into the man’s eyes, mustering up as much Reiatsu as he could to make him back off and drive away.
The man’s eyes widen in fear. He didn’t know why, but he felt like if he stayed here, he would die, “Eep,” he squeaked before rolling his window and driving away.
Ichigo let go of the girl’s arm and she took a step back from the curb.
Another teen ran up to them. “Dammit! Screw that pervy teacher!” the blond boy shouted as came to a stop.
Pervy teacher? Ren asked.
The blond teen turns around to face the other three, “Huh? Ann? What are ya doin’ with these guys?”
Ichigo pointed his thumb at Ann, “This dumbass was about to get in that “Pervy Teacher’s” car,” he said.
“Hey!” Ann shouted indignantly.
Ichigo ignored her. “So I stopped her and scared him off.”
The blond teen’s eyes went wide in surprise. “You managed to scare Kamoshida off?”
“Who’s Kamoshida?” Ren asked.
“Yeah, is he like a teacher at Shujin?” Ichigo asked. “If so, that’s kinda freaky.”
“No shit,” the blond teen said. “Wait a minute, don’t you two go to Shujin?” he asked pointing at Ren and Ichigo. “How do you not know who Kamoshida is? He’s like the king of the castle!”
“King of the castle?” Ren asked.
“Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?” Ichigo asked.
The blond teen spotted the second-year pins on Ren and Ichigo’s blazers, which made him say, “Second-years, huh? You guys are in the same grade as me and Ann then. Never seen you before though.” He took a moment to look at Ren and Ichigo’s faces. “Oh, you guys are transfer students.”
As the blond teen spoke to Ren and Ichigo, introducing himself as Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann took a moment to hold her hand out in the rain. The rain seemed to have calmed down and she pulled her hand back and smiled. “Looks like the rain’s calmed down, let’s hurry before we’re late.”
They all suddenly clutch their heads due to a spontaneous headache.
“Agh, what the fuck was that?” Ichigo asked.
“Ugh, my head… I just wanna go home,” Ryuji groaned.
Putting the headache behind them, Ren and Ichigo let Ann and Ryuji lead them to Shujin.
Ichigo could feel that something was off as they took Ryuji’s shortcut down the alley. He knew something was wrong for sure when he saw a towering castle sitting where Shujin should be.
“What the eff? Is that a castle?” Ryuji shouted as he stared at the castle.
Ryuji looked behind him to check if he had gone the wrong way.
“Where is the school?” Ann asked.
Deciding not to question it, they walked into the castle through the front door.
“I could’ve sworn this place was a school when I came here yesterday,” Ichigo said as he looked at the castle around him.
“Did we make a wrong turn?” Ren asked.
“This should be the school, right Ann?” Ryuji asked, which made Ann nod her head. Ryuji pulled out his phone, “No bars? Where the hell did we end up?”
Ichigo didn’t like this place. Even without his Soul Reaper powers, Ichigo could feel the strange Reiryoku that this castle exuded. It felt slimy, violating.
“You guys saw the sign for the school outside of the palace, right?” Ann asked.
Ichigo and Ren nodded as a suit of armor walked up to them.
“Whoa, dude!” Ryuji shouted, startled by the armor’s sudden appearance. “Dude, don’t scare me like that.” He walked up to the suit of armor, tapping the metal with his knuckle, making a klang sound. “Nice costume.”
“I don’t think that’s a—“ Ichigo was cut off when he was knocked out by a shadow hitting the back of his neck with the hilt of its sword.
Ichigo woke up on the dirty floor of a dungeon cell. How long has he been asleep here? He didn’t know. Ichigo began to look around the cell, looking for inconsistencies, something that would let him break out of there.
“You know you have the power to break out of here.”
Ichigo’s eyes went wide at hearing the familiar voice inside of his head, “How are you here?” he asked. “I thought you disappeared with my powers.”
“Foolish child… I am thou and thou art I. The only way I disappear is if you do.”
“So what? You promising to give me back my powers just like that?” Ichigo asked, which made the voice chuckle.
“We seem to have found ourselves in a situation unlike any we’ve been in. Special circumstances allow for the return of your powers. You need only to tear off the mask that you hide behind and speak my name.”
Ichigo felt his face, a mask that covered the upper left side of his face. He gripped the mask and ripped it off as he shouted, “Zangetsu!” making a bloody mess of the floor below him. The resulting blue flames burnt away the blood. Ichigo’s clothes were familiar, it was his Shihakusho from when he was still a Substitute Soul Reaper. Zangetsu itself had manifested behind Ichigo, the old man now hanging behind him like a stand from Jojo.
He felt a familiar weight on his back, his Zanpakuto, Zangetsu in its Shikai form. And on his face rested the same hollow mask that plagued him for most of his time as a Soul Reaper, now a source of comfort since he felt Zangetsu residing in well, Zangetsu and the mask.
Ichigo drew Zangetsu from his back and cut down the bars.
A guard noticed Ichigo escaping from his cell, “Hey!” it shouted, “What are you doing?”
“A hollow?” Ichigo said, wondering what a hollow was doing here. Ichigo attacks the Hollow with Zangetsu and the guard explodes into a Kelpie and Pixie, further confusing Ichigo. Hollows never exploded into a weird floating horse and a fairy. “Do you have any idea what is going on here, Zangetsu?”
“This place is strange, I know just as much as you do, I’m afraid.”
Ichigo sighed, cutting down the Pixie and Kelpie regardless. Once his enemies dissipated, Ichigo wandered around the dungeon and eventually bumped into Ren, Ryuji, and a weird cat thing.
Ichigo looked Ren up and down before giving him a weird look. “Amamiya… What are you wearing?”
“Your outfit isn’t exactly normal either, Kurosaki-san,” Ren said.
“Is Ann with you?” Ryuji asked, causing Ichigo to shake his head.
A group of guards turned the corner and began walking toward them. The weird cat thing is the first to notice them. “Guys! Guards!” it called out, causing the others to duck behind crates sitting on the path.
“Can you believe that those stupid intruders tried to break in through the front door?” one of the guards laughed.
“Those that oppose King Kamoshida aren’t that bright in the first place,” another guard said. “Though, it was strange that Princess Takamaki was with those intruders.”
“Maybe she was luring them in?”
The other guard shook its… head. Helmet? Before he said, “You kidding? That blonde bimbo’s nowhere near that smart. I bet she just wandered into the intruders and got caught in the crossfire when we caught them.”
Ryuji scowled. “Takamaki? Those guys are talkin’ ‘bout Ann!” he whispered.
“Well, we returned her to her rightful place when we captured those intruders so all should be well now.”
The guards turned around just before they reached the crates the thieves were hiding behind.
Once the guards were out of sight, Ichigo, Ren, Ryuji, and the weird cat thing came out of their hiding spots.
“Those bastards,” Ryuji growled. “Talkin’ about Ann like she’s some… ugh!” he shouted in frustration.
“Keep it down!” the weird cat thing shouted, being just as loud as Ryuji. “You guys can’t stay here.” it pointed at Ren. “Fluffy hair over here can hardly control his persona at the moment.” it then pointed at Ryuji, “and you don’t even have a persona. I’ll lead you guys out of here and find your friend afterward,”
“Hold on, what even are you?” Ichigo asked, the question gnawing at the back of his mind ever since he bumped into them.
“I am Morgana, the greatest Phantom Thief to ever live!” Morgana declared.
“So are you like a cat or–”
Morgana cut Ichigo off and shouted, “I am not a cat! I’m an honest-to-God human!”
“Not a cat, got it,” Ichigo said.
“Y’know, you’re not as freaked out about him as I thought you’d be,” Ryuji said.
Ichigo shrugged. “I’ve seen weirder,” he said, leaving the others to wonder what Ichigo saw that was stranger than a talking monster cat. “I’ll come with you, Morgana.”
“What?” Morgana asked, “But… I mean, I guess you seem to have more control over your persona than fluffy hair… Alright, you can come with me carrot-top.”
A tick appeared on Ichigo’s forehead as Ryuji snickered at the nickname, “Carrot-top?” he asked, a rage of a thousand fires hiding under his tone. “My name’s Kurosaki Ichigo, dammit!”
“R-right,” Morgana stuttered, startled by Ichigo’s tone, “Ichigo, got it.”
Ryuji gave Ichigo and Morgana an unsure look, “Are you sure? I mean…” he sighed. “No, you’re right. We’d probably be deadweight.” Ryuji pointed his thumb at Ren who was ghastly pale. “Especially since this guy looks like he could keel over at any moment.”
Ren nodded, having faith that Ichigo and Morgana could get Ann out of this place on their own.
“Alright then, I’ll lead you guys to the exit point. Follow me.”
Morgana led the humans to the exit point, which was a vent that led to the outside of the castle. Ren and Ryuji crawled out through the vent and exited the castle.
“So, any ideas where they are holding Takamaki?” Ichigo asked.
Morgana hummed in thought. “I can vaguely sense her presence so I have an idea of where she is.”
“Let’s go then.”
Morgana led Ichigo through the castle as he followed Ann’s presence.
Eventually, they came across a guard roaming the palace. Since there was no way around the guard, Ichigo cleaved the guard in half with Zangetsu, causing it to explode into two monsters: Bicorn and Jack o’ Lantern.
“Nice ambush, Ichigo!” Morgana praised as he took out his cutlass.
Ichigo grunted in response as he hit Bicorn with Zangetsu, landing a critical hit and knocking it down.
“Nice job, you knocked it down.” Morgana praised before summoning his persona. “Now it’s my turn. Zorro!” Morgana cast a Garu spell, which sent a small tornado at Jack o’ Lantern, hitting its weakness and knocking it down. “We knocked them all down, now it’s time for an All-out Attack!”
“A what?” Ichigo asked, confused by what Morgana meant.
“Just follow my lead,” Morgana said before he and Ichigo indiscriminately attacked the shadows, killing them both.
“Nice job, Ichigo. Clearly, I made the right choice bringing you along,” Morgana said.
Ichigo and Morgana continued on their way to Ann and found a door that looked like it was fazing in and out of existence. Morgana and Ichigo enter the room at Morgana’s behest and take a breather. Ichigo remained unfazed once the room shifted into a classroom and back into its original appearance. Morgana dubbed this place a “Safe Room.”
“We aren’t that far from her now,” Morgana said as he jumped up on the table in the middle of the room.
“So what was that with the mini-tornado there? And what’s this persona thing you’ve been talking about?” Ichigo asked now that the battle was over. Morgana clearly knew a lot more about this place than he or Zangetsu did.
“Well, your persona is your will of rebellion. The Garu spell I used to knock the shadow down was one of my persona’s abilities, my persona also lets me heal myself and allies and has basic navigation abilities.” Morgana explained. “Your clothes are a representation of your image of rebellion. They protect you from the distortion that palaces emit.”
“Distortion… that must’ve been that strange Reiryoku I felt when I got here.” Ichigo thought. “Will of rebellion, huh? Makes sense, considering everything.”
“So what is this place then, exactly?” Ichigo asked.
“Well, this realm is the Metaverse: a world made from human cognition. Those enemies we just fought were shadows, they represent the many facets of humanity, good and bad. This castle is a palace, a place based on the ruler’s distorted cognition of a place in reality. A palace only forms if the ruler’s desires become too distorted.”
“So somebody thinks of Shujin Academy as a castle,” Ichigo said, thinking out loud. “Wait, those guards from back in the dungeon said “King Kamoshida.” Is this place’s ruler that pedo teacher from earlier?”
“Never thought that I’d see the day that my wielder would use his brain. I guess anything is possible.”
“Are persona’s supposed to be this chatty?” Ichigo asked, annoyed by Zangetsu’s remark.
“Sometimes, Zorro typically only speaks when I ask him a question about something, but that depends on person to person.”
“So personas vary from person to person. These things sound awfully similar to Zanpakutos,” Ichigo thought.
“Obviously. Why do you think you got your powers back? And for that matter, why would I be your persona if these things weren’t one and the same?”
“You mean?”
“Yes.”
Ichigo sighed before he shrugged. “Welp, any chance of having a normal year in Tokyo just went out of the window.”
“My apologies?” Morgana said, not knowing how to respond to that.
Ichigo shook his head. “It’s fine. Do you think I can do that wind thing too?” he asked.
“Probably not. All personas have different innate affinities and skills.”
“Zangetsu?”
“I can currently use two spells called Eiha and Tarujaka , and I can use another attack called Cleave .”
“You got any other questions?” Morgana asked.
Ichigo shook his head and said, “Yes, but for now, we should focus on saving Takamaki.”
Morgana nodded. “Right! Follow me!”
Ichigo and Morgana exit the safe room and continue their search for Ann. When they exited the room, they could hear Ann’s screaming.
“Don’t come any closer! I’m warning you!”
“That’s her! Let’s hurry!” Ichigo said.
They sprinted toward the direction of Ann’s voice, coming across a hallway leading to a door with rows of armor lining the walls.
Ichigo and Morgana barged into the room to find Ann strapped to a BDSM cross and Kamoshida staring at her lecherously. The guards in the room made a wall and blocked Morgana and Ichigo from getting past them.
“It seems that we have some uninvited guests,” Kamoshida said, “There’s more of you fools than I thought. Don’t bother trying to come closer, my guards will lob her head off if you do.”
“That’s what you think!” Ichigo thought as he tried to use Shunpo to get to Ann, but nothing happened. “What? Alright, I’ll try this then.” Ichigo tried charging his Reiatsu into Zangetsu so he could use a Getsuga Tenshou, but nothing happened. “What the hell is going on?”
“You may have gotten your powers back, but we are weaker now than when you first got your power from Rukia. You will have to relearn everything from scratch.”
“I don’t suppose that you’ll give me Bankai for free?”
“Bankai is out of your reach for now and you will not be able to take the same shortcut you did last time.”
“Dammit,” Ichigo muttered. He clenched his fists as Ann adopted a hopeless expression, squeezing her eyes shut as Kamoshida approached her with a perverted gaze.
Kamoshida taunted her about finally accepting her rightful role as his bitch. Ichigo felt sick to his stomach watching this, so he did the only thing he knew what to do in a situation like this.
“I didn’t know you were this pathetic, Takamaki,” Ichigo said nonchalantly, putting on a nonplussed demeanor and earning shocked stares from Ann and Morgana. “I knew something was up when you almost got in his car this morning, but this is worse than I thought. Are you really going to give up to this fucking pedophilic loser?”
Kamoshida turned his gaze to Ichigo as he scowled. “Loser?” he asked. “Who are you calling a loser? I am Suguru Kamoshida—“
Kamoshida’s oncoming rant was cut off by Ann, “You’re right, I am pathetic. I’ve let Kamoshida control my life for too long!” she shouted before she began to writhe in pain as she mumbled incoherently. A red cat-shaped mask covered the top half of her face as Ann snapped her hands out of their restraints. She grabbed the mask and pulled it off, blood pouring down her face as she shouted, “Carmen!”
The resulting plume of blue flames burned the shadows next to her away as Ann’s outfit changed into a red latex catsuit that had zippers going up and down her body. Ann grabbed one of the swords from the shadows that burned away before jumping up and cutting down the cognitive copy of her.
Kamoshida cowered behind one of his guards as Ann tossed her sword away. “I’m not some cheap girl you can toy around with… you scumbag,” she said.
“Bitch!” Kamoshida shot back.
“You’ve been making my life a living hell… Now it's time for me to make your life one too!” Ann pointed at Kamoshida, “I will rob you of everything!”
“How dare you! Enough of your insolence!” The shadow in red armor said before it convulsed and transformed into Belphegor.
“No, I’ve had enough of you!”
“Are you serious?” Ichigo asked, staring in disgust at the toilet demon in front of him. “How am I supposed to take him seriously?”
Morgana hit Belphegor with a Garu spell, which did a small amount of damage since the shadow neither resisted nor was weak to wind.
Ichigo took off his mask to summon Zangetsu and cast Eiha . A ball of black and red energy was sent flying at Belphegor, but before the attack could hit, a mirror appeared in front of him and sent the ball back at Ichigo, nailing him in the face.
It didn’t hurt him that much since Zangetsu resisted cursed attacks, but getting hit with his own attack still annoyed Ichigo to no end. “What the fuck was that?” he shouted.
Morgana sheepishly grinned. “It looks like this shadow repels curse attacks.”
“What is this, fucking Pokemon?” Ichigo grumbled. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’ve never seen this shadow before, and my persona can’t scan enemies for their weaknesses or resistances.”
Belphegor Lunged at Ichigo, doing more damage to him than his reflected attack did.
“Ack!” Ichigo cried out as he flew back and instinctually flipped around to land on his feet as he skidded to a halt.
“Take this!” Ann shouted as she cast an Agi spell, firing a small ball of fire at the toilet demon.
“Gah!” Belphegor yelped as the fireball landed and knocked him down.
“Ann hit a weakness! Let’s do an All-out Attack!” Morgana shouted before he, Ichigo, and Ann attacked Belphegor relentlessly as he could do nothing to retaliate or defend himself.
Once they were done with their assault, Belphegor got back up, but now he was slumped over on the toilet and his breathing was heavier.
“He’s weak! One more attack should do it!” Morgana shouted as he healed Ichigo with a Dia spell.
Ichigo then sacrificed some of his regained health to have Zangetsu hit the shadow with a Cleave attack, killing it.
Belphegor cried out as he dissipated into black smoke. Ichigo took a deep breath and let it out as Ann collapsed to her knees due to exhaustion. He turned his head around to see if there were any more shadows.
“What the… Who are– oh, you’re the guy who stopped me from getting into Kamoshida’s car.” Ann said in realization. “I never got to thank you for that so… thanks, for stopping me and for snapping me out of whatever that was back there.”
“Props to you for getting her to awaken her persona, but I would’ve done it with a little more… tact,” Morgana said.
Ann shook her head, “No, I need to hear it, I’m never letting that bastard tell me what to do again!”
“No problem.” Ichigo said as he knelt down, “The name’s Kurosaki Ichigo, by the way.”
“Takamaki Ann, but apparently, you already knew that,” Ann laughed before she noticed her outfit, “Ugh! What am I wearing?” Ann shouted as she covered her chest with her arms.
“According to Morgana, your image of rebellion,” Ichigo said. “We got no time to explain that right now though, we’ve already spent too much time here.”
“Huh? What about Ryuji and that other guy with us?” Ann asked.
“We got them out of here already. So there’s no need to worry about that,” Ichigo said before he hoisted Ann into a Fireman’s carry.
“Hey! Put me down!” Ann shouted as she hung limply from Ichigo’s shoulder, not even able to muster the energy to struggle.
“It’s a miracle Amamiya walked back to the exit with us. And you dropped to your knees just a moment ago!” Ichigo stated. “It’ll be faster than I just carried you there.”
Ann didn’t even have the energy to argue further. “Fine.”
With that, Morgana and Ichigo made their way back to the exit. By the time they reached the vent, Ann had regained enough energy to crawl into the vent by herself and requested that Ichigo go first.
“What? I’m not a perv,” Ichigo said in protest.
“Still, what if you look up!”
Ichigo rolled his eyes. “Fine.” Ichigo turned his gaze down to Morgana, “You coming with?”
Morgana shook his head, “I still have some stuff to take care of here.”
Ichigo shrugged. “See ya, then.”
“Yeah, later,” Morgana said before Ichigo and Ann got into the vent and crawled out of the palace.
Upon seeing the dark sky when exiting the Metaverse, Ichigo panicked, checking his phone for the time, “Seven Thirty!” he shouted once he saw the time. If Tae didn’t kill him when he got home then his dad would certainly kill him when he visits in May.
Ann checked her phone and winced, “Thirty missed calls and texts from Ryuji and Shiho, each.” Ann shot both of them a quick text. To Shiho, she said that she was feeling sick so she skipped school and to Ryuji, she told him that Kurosaki got her out safely and that they would talk about it more tomorrow. She put her phone in her pocket and turned to face Ichigo, “Thanks for getting me out of there. I’m gonna go home now and sleep like the dead, see you tomorrow Kurosaki-san!”
“Want me to walk you home? It’s still dark out. And you’re still pretty out of it,” Ichigo offered.
Ann nodded and Ichigo walked her home. While they were walking, Ichigo noted that Ann had more Reiryoku than this morning which he sensed in the Metaverse, but since he could sense it out here that meant their powers persisted in reality as well. He also wondered why Ann and Ren got tired after awakening their personas but he was just fine.
“Thoughts, Old Man?”
“I am thou… remember that. But if I had to guess, those two were normal humans before today. Meanwhile, with you, your body’s already used to higher Reiryoku levels.”
Ichigo stewed on this while he walked Ann home and even after he dropped her off and headed back to Yongen-Jaya on the train.
Before heading back to Tae’s apartment, Ichigo made a stop at LeBlanc to pick up some curry so as to hopefully make up for any trouble he caused Tae by missing his first day of school. Luckily for him, the cafe was still open.
Ichigo noticed Ren sitting in one of the booths before he greeted Sojiro, “Hey, Boss, got any curry left?”
“Hmm, It’s pretty late so I only got two helpings left.”
“That’s perfect. It’s for my guardian since I missed school today by accident.”
Sojiro noticed Ichigo’s uniform when he said he missed school and looked at Ren. “What did you do?”
Ren flinched at the accusation.
“Hey, he didn't do anything,” Ichigo defended Ren since it wasn’t his fault that they ended up in some freaky other world.
Sojiro sighed as he backed down. “Fine, if you say so,” he said, “I’ll get you your curry. Wait here.” Sojiro walked into the kitchen.
Ichigo sat in the booth Ren was sitting at. “So, how are you feeling?” he asked.
“I dunno, confused? Mainly tired, though,” Ren asked. “Did you guys get Ann out?”
“Yeah, she even managed to get one of those persona things Morgana was talking about. Had to carry her to the exit after the ensuing fight though.”
“Speaking of which, how were you not tired in the palace? You just got your persona today too, right?”
“Tread carefully. You don't want to reveal too much, not yet.”
Ichigo thought about how he wanted to answer. Should he heed Zangetsu’s advice or should he just tell Ren the truth here and now? “No, he just found out that there’s another world where you can summon manifestations of your will of rebellion like a stand. I can’t drop the proverbial nuke that is that the afterlife is real and that I spent the better part of my first year in high school wrapped up in its drama!”
“I-You’ve been through a lot today,” Ichigo said as Sojiro brought his curry out in a take-out bag. “I’ll tell you later.” Ichigo got up from the booth and grabbed his curry. “Thanks, Boss.”
“You know each other?” Sojiro asked.
Ichigo nodded. “I met him in the train station a couple of days ago and found out we were both transfer students heading to Yongen,” Ichigo said. “Surprised to see that he’s going to the same school as me too.”
Sojiro shrugged. “As long as he’s not causing you any trouble.”
“Never. Later boss.”
Ichigo left LeBlanc and walked back to Tae’s apartment. He took a deep breath as he inserted his key into the door and unlocked it. Ichigo opened the door and was met with Tae sitting on the couch, waiting for him presumably.
“Heard you missed your first day of school,” Tae said.
“Got lost.” Tae raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Really lost.”
Tae sighed. “Listen, I couldn’t care less if you go to school or not, the blame is all on you if you get kicked out of Shujin and shipped back to Karakura,” she said. “Also, just so you know, I told Isshin you went to school today, for both of our sanities.”
Ichigo sighed in relief mentally before he held up the take-out bag in his hand. “I got us some curry from LeBlanc. I don't know if you’ve been but this shit rocks.”
“No shit. Apparently some scientist friend of Boss’s engineered it to perfectly match his coffee. How’d you hear about that place?”
“Got hungry after I finished unpacking so I looked up places to eat and LeBlanc was the closest,” Ichigo said.
“And just like that, the geezer gains a new regular.”
Ichigo laughed as walked to the kitchen and set the curry down on the counter. He then grabbed two plates from the cabinet and set them down on the table. He grabbed the two paper boxes filled with rice and dumped them out on the plates, then he took the plastic containers with the curry in them and poured it out on top of the rice.
He walked back to the couch with the two plates of curry and handed one to Tae. Ichigo sat down on the couch next to her and began to eat his curry.
“Keep doing shit like this, and I think we’ll get along just fine,” Tae said before she began to eat her curry too.
After they finished eating, Ichigo went into his room and lay down in his bed with his Substitute Soul Reaper badge.
“Moment of truth,” Ichigo thought before he used the badge to separate his soul from his body, as his Shihakusho appeared along with the mask from the metaverse.
“I guess the persona abilities transfer over too,” Ichigo said as he touched his mask. He couldn't help but smile. It might not be a normal year like he wanted, but it sure as hell would be interesting.
Ichigo went back into his body, changed out of his old clothes, and went to sleep.
To Be Continued…