Ichigo stared up at those feline, amber eyes and couldn’t help but feel the string of warm nostalgia that flitted through his chest. The last time he had seen her had been under the pale moon, when they had spent half the night talking away about each other.
Briefly, his eyes flickered over to his open window and the curtain fluttering in the – she must have jumped in. And wasn’t this a familiar and welcome moment? Back in during those soul-crushingly human years, Yoruichi had frequently come to him in cat form, hopping through his window and as she berated his brooding teenage self into doing odd errands for her. Which were, of course, ultimately for his own sake.
And how often had he left the window open, hoping she would jump inside randomly? She had been his lone solace in those lonely days.
His chest rumbled with silent laughter as he thought back with a hint of self-deprecation. His teenage self and his current self were so different, it was honestly remarkable how much his life had changed in just a few short years.
Yoruichi then reached out with a paw and lightly swatted his chin.
“What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?”
He let out another laugh, this time out loud, and said, “No, sorry, I was just reminiscing. How did you know I was back?”
Yoruichi sat back on his chest and idly licked her paw, saying, “Kisuke has all sorts of devices set up to let him know when you’re back in the human world. I’m surprised he didn’t come barging here himself last night.”
Ichigo rolled his eyes. A part of him wondered if Hat-n-Clogs would send another of those gaudy fake blood messages again. The man and his endless sense of theatrics did grate on his nerves.
“So, what brings you by?” He asked, a slight smile forming on the edge of his lips.
Yoruichi paused in her paw-licking and gave him a flat stare, well, as flat as a cat could manage. “What? I can’t come and check up on my favorite one-time protégé? Especially after he refuses to call or text, despite the many years I spent pulling his head out of his melancholic ass?”
Ichigo held back a flinch. “Err, sorry…”
She let out a small purr of discontent but went back to grooming herself.
“But that brings the question, what are you doing back in Karakura?” She asked.
Ichigo shrugged lightly. “I promised to spend time with Yuzu and Karin. I, uh, kind of realized how much of an ass I was being to them the last time I was here. It’s not fair that I became so engrossed in my new life and started ignoring my family.” At Yoruichi’s pointed look, he added, “And friends.”
“Hmm,” she said with a low hum. “At least you’re self-aware. Which is miles ahead of where you used to be.” Her gaze then turned shrewd. “But there’s no way a brick-for-brains like you came to that conclusion on your own – I know a woman’s touch when I see one. Those two ladies of yours?”
He blinked at her and scratched his head nervously. “Yeah… they don’t hold back in letting me know when I’m being stupid.”
And it was true. Tiamat had been a consistent anchoring presence as he continued to fall deeper and deeper into the supernatural world, and Yasaka remained a soft, but firm reminder when the mantles he wore overtook his persona. He really would be lost without them. And not just them, Grayfia-nee too. Lucifer’s Bride had been his staunchest guide in the chaos that was the Devil Empire.
A man’s life really was so much easier when he had strong and sensible women to steer him right.
Yoruichi then turned around and presented her backside, and habitually Ichigo reached out and began running his fingers through her silken, soft black fur.
“That’s good,” she said. “I was worried that you’d go and fill your head with dumb fluff without me around. Mind you, not that there was much in your head to begin with.”
He let out an amused snort. “Yeah, okay. Says the one who’s spent the last century holed up with Urahara.”
“Kisuke may be an idiot who’s lost in his own head, but he isn’t prone to falling into a brooding melancholy.”
He immediately frowned and protested. “I don’t brood!”
She cast a very judgmental look over her shoulder – and why were cats so good at looking judgmental anyway? “Ichigo, please. You’re the King of Brooding. And while we’re on the subject, what’s eating away at you currently?”
He gave her a strange look. “What makes you think there’s something eating away at me?”
Yoruichi rolled her eyes. “Because before I jumped in, you had your ‘Overthinking-Everything-Is-My-Responsibility face on. You know, you were brooding.”
He opened his mouth to counter but quickly shut it… because she was right. He had been consumed in thought with his worries for the future. But that wasn’t brooding! He was just being prudent!
Ichigo reached up and scratched the top of her head and said, “Well, dad and I were actually planning on dropping by tonight. There’s a lot I want to tell you all. And I mean a lot.”
Yoruichi turned around and fixed him a piercing stare. Beyond the animal’s eyes, Ichigo could well see the weight of a Noble Princess and a Captain who essentially led and commanded the Black Ops of Soul Society. All that experience and knowledge peered directly into his own eyes.
But then she opened her mouth in a wide yawn.
“Sounds heavy,” she said absently.
He let out a low chuckle. “It is.”
“But then, why wait until tonight? If it’s important, you and Isshin could have swung by already?”
“Well, it’s not that imperative. But I promised I’d take Yuzu and Karin to the beach. Actually, I promised them quite a while ago.”
She tilted her head. “Playing the dutiful big brother, I see. That’s good, the three of you should have some quality time together.”
Ichigo hesitated for a moment, a hint of warning coloring his mind. In fact, he was almost tempted to divine the future because he felt what came next may land him in great trouble. Nevertheless, with a nervous roll of the jaw, he said, “Actually, it won’t be just the three of us.”
She gave him a curious look. “Isshin tagging along?”
“…ah, no. I didn’t come back alone, Tiamat is with me. She’s going with us.”
Yoruichi went perfectly still, observing him keenly even as her expression – and he had become quite good at reading feline facial expressions over the years – stayed neutral. “Is that so?”
And she looked away from him and towards his bedroom door, towards the rest of the house.
“Funny. I don’t sense a fifth person in the house. Just the usual Kurosaki bunch.”
His eyes flitted to the open window and the sky beyond for half a second before he said smoothly, “She stepped out for a bit.”
“I see…” Yoruichi slowly turned back towards him, and a moment of heavy silence passed where neither said anything, but then those yellow eyes gained a mischievous and teasing glint and Yoruichi put both her paws on his mouth. “Well, well, look at you. Engineering a moment where your sisters and your girlfriend spend some time together in a fun environment. Trying to get them acquainted and familiar with one another? Am I sensing commitment in your future, kiddo?”
Yes.
“No,” he said with a scowl. “I’m not engineering anything. Just trying to keep a promise and have some fun in the process.”
And how did a cat manage to look so smug?
“Fun you say? What kind of fun does a Devil have with his girlfriend at the sea?”
Ichigo let out a snort, easily pushing back at her suggestive tone. “All sorts of fun. In the water, out of the water. You know… or maybe you don’t. Can’t imagine what kind of fun you’ve had being locked away for a century with Hat-n-Clogs.”
She stared down at him for a second before letting out a deep, guttural purr. “Oh, you’re so much more entertaining now than when you were in high school. I really do need to send flowers to that girl of yours. Both of them.”
Ichigo rolled his eyes at the blatant impish delight in her eyes.
“How is that going for you, by the way? I can’t believe that uptight teenage boy grew up to be a total player.”
“It’s going perfectly fine, thanks,” he said dryly.
“Do you,” and her tail waggled back and forth as she gave him a sly look, “get up to any group activities? A little ménage à trois when the night is just right?”
Ichigo gave her a flat look. Why are all the women – those he wasn’t sleeping with at least – so interested in his sex life? Did they have nothing else to talk about?
“You’re such a gossip,” he responded. “But if you must know, yes.”
She froze for a moment, looking at him disbelievingly. “Wait, seriously?”
“Uh-huh.”
She blinked twice before her small black frame shook in laughter. “You couldn’t even manage to make eye contact with me when I was naked, and now you’re having full-blown threesomes? I think Hell just froze over.”
He scowled at her words as memories of those three days beneath Sōkyoku Hill came flooding back to him. He had been fifteen then - he had never so much as hugged a woman let alone seen one fully naked! What did she expect from a fifteen-year-old!
“What can I say? I’m just that good in bed now,” he said with a casual shrug.
“Sure, whatever you say, kiddo.”
It had been an arrogant and even crude thing to say, but every so often, that hint of Demonic influence colored his judgement, leaking past his usual iron wall of self-control and discipline. The shadow hungered, it took whims and wants and churned them into broiling need. And, for whatever reason, it came so easy around Yoruichi. Perhaps it was the familiarity he associated with her in his memories, that human familiarity.
Those lingering remnants of his once human soul reacting to the presence of the woman he had once yearned for with his human heart.
And yet… he found himself thinking back to that night on the roof, when they had been under the full splendor of the night sky.
Want. Take. Have.
The mantra of all Devils; the inherent selfishness that came as easily to their species as breathing. And nobody was weaker to temptation than Satan.
At least, that’s how the story was supposed to go…
Nonetheless, Ichigo raised a single eyebrow in response, falling into a familiar rhythm, back when he walked home from school and would trade barbs with the black cat walking the edge of walls and fences.
“What? Don’t believe me? I can prove it.”
She gave him an unimpressed look before jumping off his chest and landing silently on his desk. “Someone’s grown up to be a horrible flirt.”
“Evidence to the contrary, I am a great flirt.”
And even as the words came out of his mouth, he found himself self-reflecting and he closed his eyes. He was flirting, quite a bit too. And it was all so habitual to him, so easy. Especially with her.
Did he feel guilty? Perhaps a touch. But again, some emotions were more muted now than they used to be. At times, it was difficult walking the balance of his former human psyche as it slipped deeper and deeper into the one of his new-found species.
But he took a deep breath, pushing down those base instincts and desires. That was the thing the new Sins took more seriously than anything. While all Demons craved control, Ichigo and the other Crown Princes demanded control over themselves more than anything. Because they refused to be like their predecessors, mindless slaves to their own passions and desires.
“You still keep your old clothes in your closet?”
His eyes snapped open and looked at Yoruichi with some confusion. “Yeah…” he said hesitantly. “Stuff I left behind years ago, nothing I would wear now. Why?”
In answer, she leapt into the air, her form glowing a bright white light as she became tall and lithe, dark and violet hair falling heavy across her. And she stood there in her true form… completely and utterly nude.
Ichigo rolled his jaw, even as he raised a single eyebrow and allowed his eyes to rake over her near perfect form.
She threw a roguish and knowing grin over her shoulder before sliding his closet open and bending over to search through old clothes. Ichigo let out a snort at her blatant provocation. It would be so damn easy to reach out and grab her. To pin her down and take her.
But no.
He had control.
And, more than that, he had Yasaka and Tiamat to think of. He could easily sense them both - one seated upon a gilded throne at the heart of mystic Kyoto and the other soaring over the seas touching the southern coasts of Japan. Both miles and miles away, yet for him, it was half-a-step’s worth of travel.
Even now, he could reach through space and pull them into his arms. Just as easily as he could Yoruichi. But if he ever decided to take that step, if he ever truly gave in to temptations, he had enough respect for both of them to have a serious conversation first. Probably several.
Ichigo was self-aware enough to admit he was no paragon of virtue. His eyes wandered, his thoughts could linger on other women. And that’s just how he was, how his species existed. He would not make excuses for it nor would he hide it.
As he sat up on his bed, Ichigo had to keep himself from chuckling out loud. It was always an interesting experience for him, these moments where he juxtaposed old human sentiments with Devilish irreverence.
But nonetheless, he really should stop with the flirting. Any more than this, and there was a good chance Tiamat would get angry and conjure up a storm, ruining their plans for the beach. And, as much as he enjoyed her jealous and possessive streak, it wasn’t worth ruining Yuzu and Karin’s day. Not when they had been looking forward to this trip for weeks now.
“Oh sinnerman,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head in amusement.
Not to mention, that not so small chance Tiamat may try to kill Yoruichi. That would be an utter nightmare to deal with.
“You say something?”
His eyes went back to Yoruichi; she had donned a pair of his old sweatpants and a large orange T-shirt. And despite being his old clothes from his younger years, they still utterly dwarfed her small frame.
“You look ridiculous,” he said, eyes shining with mirth.
She tied the drawstrings of the sweatpants as tight as possible even as she stuck her tongue out at him but otherwise ignored his teasing.
However, Yoruichi’s expression then turned serious, and she put a hand to her hip, fixing him with a stern gaze. “Any chance that whatever you want to talk about has anything to do with all the shenanigans going on in Soul Society?”
Ichigo nodded grimly. “Partly, and other things as well. How are things on the other side, by the way?”
“Strange to say the least. Kisuke filled you in on what was going on with the ambient Resihi?”
“He did, but that was a few months ago. Admittedly, I haven’t been paying much attention to the afterlife these days. Oh, but I did encounter a Shinigami last week.”
She looked at him with some mild surprise. “Really? Who on earth showed up in your neck of the woods?”
He let out a small laugh. “Cute choice of words. But it was someone from Squad Zero. I think she said her name was Senjumaru.”
Both of Yoruichi’s brows shot into her hairline. “Squad Zero?! You met a Divine General of Squad Zero?!”
He snorted. “Imagine my surprise. I didn’t even know there was a Squad Zero. Seriously, would it have killed you or Hat-n-Clogs to at least give me a basic rundown on how Soul Society worked? The older I get the more genuinely astonished I am none of us were flat-out murdered when we went to rescue Rukia. We were so in over our heads.”
But she quickly waved him off. “Oh please, you walk into danger like you get paid to. But that’s not important! If Squad Zero showed up… dammit, Kisuke’s suspicions are right, aren’t they? Something happened to the Soul King.”
Ichigo gave a single, deft nod in answer.
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and gave him an expectant look. “Well? Spill it!”
“Like I said, I’ll tell you and everyone else tonight when I stop by the shop. I don’t want to give the same speech twice.”
“Are you kidding me?” She exclaimed incredulously. “You can just drop this on me and then tell me to wait the entire day!”
He shrugged helplessly. “It’s a very long talk and I don’t feel like giving it twice.”
She stared at him silently for two full seconds before crossing her arms and glaring heatedly at him. “You know I’m going to get you back for this?”
About to dare her to try it, Ichigo shut his mouth as his senses immediately picked up Tiamat materializing just outside of his door. Yoruichi simultaneously turned in the same direction, also sensing the Dragon King’s presence.
Yet… why didn’t she just teleport directly into the room, why outside of his door. There was no possible way she was trying to be polite and knock on the door. Not in a million years would his Tiamat ever care for social niceties.
And to prove his point, the door slammed open and the air filled with the scent of the sea. Tiamat strode in, her sapphire eyes cold and serpentine slit, as she was draped in a flowing white dress that only highlighted the sheen and softness of her dark skin. Ichigo idly noted the black half-moons patterened along the hem of her dress. But more than that, there was a severity in her aura, and in her steps as she haughtily stepped past Yoruichi without a glance or word of acknowledgement.
Ichigo had to withhold a sigh; he didn’t need to share a mind with her to know she was purposefully making a dramatic entrance to send a bold message.
And in fluid motion, the Dragon King put a hand on his shoulder, pushed him down and stole his lips. It wasn’t a chaste one either – Tiamat’s lips moved ferociously, with deep want and hunger. She forced her tongue past his lips even as her fingers threaded tightly through his hair and yanked him deeper into her kiss.
But Ichigo responded just as enthusiastically, tightly locking his hands on the back of her thin waist and holding her firmly against his own body.
He felt the guttural growls in her throat as they kissed passionately and finally, with much effort, Ichigo managed to pull away, smiling wildly.
“We have company,” he murmured as he touched his forehead against hers.
Tiamat’s chest rumbled with a low snarl. “She can watch.”
And she took his lips once more.
Tiamat’s mouth was relentless, devouring his with raw hunger. Her tongue tangled with his in a deep, wet kiss as she threw over a leg and straddled him, grinding her hips down with shameless need. One of her hands fisted tightly in his orange hair, yanking him closer, while the other slid under his shirt, nails dragging across the hard planes of his chest and abdomen.
And still keenly aware of their audience, Ichigo couldn’t help but think that all of this was not for his benefit.
Briefly pulling away, which led to Tiamat nibbling across his jaw, Ichigo spoke directly into her mind. ‘Are you angry with me?’
Tiamat did not cease her kisses and love-bites, though he did notice her eyes jump up to meet his. ‘Should I be?’
The direct challenge and, dare he say, hint of teasing in her voice made him pause for a brief second. It was a trap, and he had invited it upon himself. Nonetheless…
‘Yes,’ Ichigo said into their mindscape. ‘In your place, I’d be jealous as Hell if you flirted so blatantly with another man.’
And even as he said the words, his own hands roamed greedily. He gripped the curve of her waist, then slid lower to squeeze her full ass, pulling her tighter against him. His fingers slipped beneath the hem of her white dress, tracing the smooth, warm skin of her thighs and hips as their kiss grew more and more desperate.
Tiamat purred against his lips, biting down gently before soothing it with her tongue, completely ignoring the rest of the world.
‘Perhaps I should?’
And instantly Wrath roared from within the confines of his soul, volcanic and covetous, and Ichigo’s eyes bled red with demonic fervor.
‘I’d burn him alive,’ he seethed, even as deranged laughter lit his eyes.
Tiamat pulled back, that same animalistic want and savage delight dancing mad in her eyes. Her dark, velvety laughter echoed in his mind and Ichigo felt his lingering humanity drown away under her mesmerizing gaze.
“Uhh…”
And it was that familiar and nostalgic voice that snapped him back into the moment and away from the possessive, monstrous love of his. Ichigo reached up with one hand and pulled Tiamat from the back of her neck down onto his chest.
“Breathe for me, Tiamat,” he whispered in her ear. And so she did.
Ichigo then slowly turned his neck, his wild and passionate gaze falling on a bewildered looking Yoruichi, who stared back with wide and uncertain eyes. And he couldn’t help but wonder, as he took in that touch of apprehension in his old friend’s face… just how inhuman did he look right now?
Chuckling lowly to himself, Ichigo craned his neck and asked, “Want to come to the beach with us?”
=======
Even as the bulk of his consciousness was currently in Karakura, even as a fragment was seated in Infernity and governed the realm, another sliver of Ichigo’s mind slipped through the folds of dimensions and arrived in Yfel, the dark world where the Parliament of Hell gathered. And far above the lightless tower, there floated the dais of the Crown Princes, where their seven thrones were arranged in the endless black.
Ichigo manifested on his Throne, the emblem of the Sin of Wrath blazing to life in fiery oranges and yellow behind his head.
He took in unneeded breath and slowly turned his head, meeting the very amused green eyes of Sirzechs.
“Brat,” his former king greeted.
“Asshat,” Ichigo responded in kind.
Sirzechs then leaned back and folded his hands in his lap, tilting his head curiously. “Shouldn’t you be off in the mortal world? Cavorting with the psychopomps of your past?”
“That’s for later in the evening,” Ichigo said as he brushed strands of his long hair out of his eyes. ‘I’m just about to leave home, taking Yuzu and Karin to the beach.”
Sirzechs immediately scowled and even pointed an accusatory finger in his direction. “For shame! Have I taught you nothing? How dare you not give your little sisters your full undivided attention? You’re a failure as an older brother!”
Indignation flared across Ichigo’s face instantly. “Huh?! Hello?! Are you fucking with me!? You’re the one who screwed up so bad that I had to be the one to take guardianship over your little sister!”
“Gah!” Sirzechs instantly put a hand over his heart and flinched.
“And while we’re on the subject,” Ichigo ground out, “when was the last time you took Rias anywhere!”
“Argh!” Sirzechs spasmed so violently another observer would have thought that Ichigo had physically struck him.
“Y-you! You dare question my integrity as an older brother?” Sirzechs asked shakily.
“What integrity?” Ichigo asked venomously.
And with that, Sirzechs slumped over in his chair defeated.
But Ichigo rolled his eyes and then said, “Anyways, there was something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Sirzechs immediately righted, his aura of despair dissipating as he sat there smiling politely once more. “Well, I assumed as much. So, what sage advice do you seek, my young protégé?”
Ichigo rolled his eyes in exasperation, but he didn’t argue the point. For all his nonsensical antics, Sirzechs was one of the most knowledgeable and capable beings he knew.
“I recently made a new friend,” he admitted.
“Oh?” And Sirzechs gave him a curious yet mischievous look. “That must have been exceptionally hard with someone of your gruff personality.”
Ichigo reflexively responded by giving him a middle-finger, nevertheless, he continued on and said, “I met Set of the Ennead.”
And it was in the way Sirzechs went still, the way the color in his eyes seemed to harden, that allowed the illusion of the playful but well-meaning fool to melt away.
“I see,” Lucifer said even as he leaned back into his throne and the shadows crept over his mien. But none of it even registered with Ichigo. Afterall, he was one of the too few who regularly saw past the flesh and recognized the alien crimson violence that swarmed beneath the skin.
“Set talked to me about myths. More importantly, how myths change, even as they repeat.”
Sirzechs fell silent, and with him all of Yfel too. Not an iota of the entire dimension moved as the two Demon Lords stared at each other in perfect stillness. But that’s how it was always supposed to be. The Realm reflected the Ruler. And the Empire was theirs - everything that it touched was a reflection of the Crown Princes themselves, even the people and their day-to-day lives. They all lived and breathed from the collective Wills of the Sins.
“Apotheosis,” Sirzechs said, gingerly folding it before the shadows over his face. “What do you think of it, Ichigo?”
“The Fourth Dimension, to step outside of Time,” he answered automatically.
“Yes, but what of the process? One you’ve already begun. What do you think it entails?”
Ichigo frowned and looked down, considering the words carefully. He had first began studying the depth of chronomancy when he was initially exposed to the Ophis for the first time. With the books Sirzechs provided and with guidance from Tiamat herself, he had inched forward in manipulating and utilizing time.
But making use of something and existing outside of it were two different things.
Ironically, it wasn’t until he had been struck down by Tsukiyomi that had begun accumulating latent divine energies, filling his soul with those golden strands. But even then, having divine energy and being divine were not the same. He had come to understand that all too well.
So what did it mean to apotheosize?
Sirzechs stood from his throne and moved to the edge of the dais, all the shadows of the world and then some being dragged in his wake. “When the Fallen Angel Lucifer made his pact with Hell, he used its infernal energies to cut his very Node of Existence, rejecting all that he was and breaking himself into the very first Demon. His shattering was so complete, that one Lucifer became many.”
“The original Crown Princes,” Ichigo said as he stood as well and moved to join Sirzechs at the edge. “They were the fragmented psyches of Lucifer that gained self-awareness and each, in turn, called to Hell, being granted the authority of one of the Seven Deadly Sins.”
Together the two of them looked down into the shifting and mutating black of Yfel, but for the two Demon Lords, they saw beyond the limits of time and space.
They saw the whole of their Empire.
Every life and breath across the Underworld and other dimensions and planes, every soul both loyal and disloyal, every finite atom and twisting shadow which was deemed theirs – all of it was put in front of their eyes.
“Seventy-Two more would join the Seven, these would become the Pillars. And those that came after would become the Extra Houses.” Sirzechs brandished a hand and the darkness beyond erupted with a fiery glow of such tremendous power that reality itself shuddered and made to slip away… and it would have, were it not the two Sins keeping it subservient in place. “And they and all their children and their children’s children, would forever more be bound to Hell.
“When the Civil War ended, I renewed Lucifer’s Pact, I fully assumed the mantle. But being of much greater Will, I remained whole. And from my own pact, Ajuka fashioned lesser, smaller emulations.”
“The Evil Pieces,” Ichigo muttered.
And that was one of the great secrets of their Empire.
Each piece carried an infinitesimally small slice of Hell within it. Twisting and corrupting any soul into that of a Demon’s offspring, a Devil. And with that, every reincarnated Soul was damned to the First Flame, without judgement or recourse. With Ajuka’s Evil Pieces, even a saint could be made a sinner. And that was the crux of the Evil Piece system, it was eternal damnation disguised as a new life of power.
Ichigo slowly turned away from the countless souls of the Empire and the remnant sparks of the First Flame within them, and his eyes fell on Sirzechs in understanding.
“Apotheosis is to cut your Node of Existence with divinity; it’s the opposite of being a Demon.”
Sirzechs nodded severely. “For a Demon to become Divine – it’s the equivalent of having to climb the ladder twice.”
“That’s why you and Ajuka have been stuck for so long,” Ichigo said as comprehension dawned on him. The two of them continued to grow more and more powerful over the centuries, to the point where the original Crown Princes were essentially children compared to them now and even many of the Divine could not compare, and yet - they had never been able to take that final step of fully stepping outside the mortal sphere into the realms of True Immortals.
Carrying Hell into the Fourth Dimension was essentially a cosmic handicap.
The myth of Lucifer led straight to Hell, not to Divinity. It was quite an uphill battle. But Set’s words implied that myths could change – because all things change.
“Do you think that Satan, that the Sins, can change? Their role in the cosmos, I mean,” Ichigo asked shrewdly.
And just like that, the shadows fell away and the fool’s mask returned. “Of course! Everything changes! Why, look at me! I’m not exactly the stereotypical, archetypal Devil, am I?”
Yes, that was very true. Sirzechs was nothing like the cartoonishly villainous monster that was evil for the sake of evil in ancient texts and grimoires. Ichigo would imagine that the original Lucifer would have had a heart attack if he knew he was now associated with Blues music and nightclubs.
“I would be a piss poor Sin of Pride if all I did was emulate another,” Sirzechs said as he waved both hands dismissively. “I am much more powerful than the original Lucifer, why in Hell would I copy him? In my eyes, he was nothing more than a child throwing a tantrum. And for all that bellyaching, what did he get? A broken and disloyal empire? A nearly extinct species? Dying in a war that accomplished nothing? What a pathetic useless piece of crap our forefather was, Ichigo. I take great relish in tearing down everything he stood for.”
For a moment he looked at Sirzechs with surprise, but then he let out a laugh that echoed through Yfel. What irony; that Lucifer and his legend would be the victims of irreverence and blasphemy.
“Yes, as dearest Grayfia would say, make everyone believe you to be the mythical Dark Lord, but ultimately, my former pawn, it is you that shall decide who and what Satan will be in the future. Cliché and naïve as it may sound, follow your heart.”
And as he heard those words, a certain clarity run within his soul. Because yes, Ichigo would be the one to define his own existence in the future. Whether it be as Satan, the next Soul King, a Divine Demon or maybe even something entirely else – whatever title or mantle he bore in the future, it would be his to dictate.
Ichigo would be the author of his own story, his own myth.
=======
Back in the human world, they had finally managed to get themselves to the beach in what was arguably the most awkward car ride of his life. Tiamat did have quite the gift of making other people uncomfortable.
That being said, as soon as they got there, his sisters immediately put him to work.
So he stood there, in a pair of swim trunks with a loose, unzipped jacket leaving his torso and abdominals utterly bare. He then spiked the large, oversized beach umbrella deep into the sand, twisting it a few times to ensure it was steady.
“Geez, Onii-chan, you’re so slow!” Yuzu complained, dumping a stack of colorful beach towels beside him.
Ichigo rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. But as he finally managed to get the umbrella open and unfurl it, casting shade over their chosen spot, Karin appeared and unceremoniously handed him a second one.
And as soon as he took it in hand, Karin pointed back towards the parking lot with her chin. “Don’t forget the cooler.”
Ichigo let out a loud, disgruntled sigh. “How did I suddenly become the sum-total manual labor around here?”
“What kind of man are you?” Yoruichi said with her arms crossed, standing not too far away in a strikingly red bikini, her long dark hair shining as the high noon sunlight bounced off and highlighted her natural violet hues. “Gonna make all the pretty girls do the hard work?”
Though Ichigo shot her a flat look. As if she wasn’t physically strong enough to punch through a mountain, and while nowhere near in the same league, Karin was in peak athletic condition, further honed with what little spiritual training she had been given over the years. And as for Tiamat… his thought trailed off as his gaze instinctively drifted toward her.
She stood near the water’s edge, radiant under the bright sun. The white bikini clung to her dark skin, highlighting every dangerous curve, while the thin, sheer white skirt wrapped low around her hips fluttered teasingly in the sea breeze. Her long mane of white hair shimmered and moved with the tide, and those glowing sapphire eyes scanned the ocean with quiet joy.
Even after years of being together, seeing her in her natural element, the ocean itself responding to her presence and glistening like blue diamonds and teeming with a near-exhaustible abundance of life energies… it stole his breath.
She really was that damn beautiful.
“Onii-chan! Stop perving!”
He nearly jumped in his spot and fought down the blush threatening his cheeks. He had been caught red-handed by his own little sister, both of them, given the disapproving stare that Karin was sending him.
For her part, Yoruichi snorted in amusement and sent him a wink. “Can’t say I blame you,” she said at a controlled volume, “Heck, even I’m tempted to try and hit on her.”
Ichigo’s brows rose in surprise, he wasn’t aware that Yoruichi had such inclinations, but then again, it wasn’t all that surprising. When one started pushing their lifespan into multiple centuries, keeping up with social and societal norms tended to get cumbersome. At least, that’s what he observed in his years walking amongst the ancients.
By the time Ichigo had returned to their spot with the cooler in hand, Yuzu and Karin were playing and swimming in the water, and Yoruichi had lain down and made herself comfortable on the beach towels. As for Tiamat, she had gone and sunk beneath the ocean waves, diving and enjoying herself amidst the sea life.
Ichigo sat down next to Yoruichi and took out two ice-cold drinks and offered one to her. With familiar ease, they knocked the cans together before opening them and taking down the refreshing drink.
Again, he was reminded of those high school days of years past. Except they had never gone to the beach together.
“So,” and Ichigo turned to see her giving him a teasing smile as she motioned towards her scandalous swimwear, “how much trouble would I get the both of us in if I asked you to rub some sunscreen on me?”
Though he gave a not-so-subtle sweep of the eyes over her curves, nonetheless, Ichigo frowned and asked her, “Your Gigai can get sunburn?”
That seemed a little impractical to Ichigo. While he could understand trying to make the false flesh Shinigami used in the human world as life-like as possible, making them susceptible to such things was just plain unnecessary. Then again, he wouldn’t put it past the mad eccentricities of Urahara.
Yoruichi let out a small chuckle and said, “Actually, it doesn’t.” But then her eyes fell half-lidded and she let out a soft, suggestive purr. “But a girl does like getting dangerous sometimes.”
Ichigo scoffed. “There’s dangerous and then there’s suicide.”
She clicked her tongue and nudged the back of her hand softly against his leg. “You don’t think I can take your girlfriend in a fight?”
He frowned heavily as he looked down at her.
“No.”
And it was in the sheer certainty he spoke with that made the teasing smile on Yoruichi’s lips fade. She then turned towards the sea, no doubt sensing Tiamat’s presence beneath the waves. A barely imperceptible flicker of… something, crossed through her eyes as her mouth twisted sourly.
Yoruichi then smacked his leg and gave him a sour look. “Well, gee, thanks a lot. If you weren’t such an incorrigible flirt, I may not be so disliked by your super ancient girlfriend.”
Right, because she absolutely had not been flirting back with him the entire time. But then, that had been how their relationship worked for as long as he had known her; she would consistently tease and poke reactions out of him through his teenage years. It was hardly his fault that, now that he was an adult, he prodded back.
Okay…maybe it was his fault.
“She doesn’t dislike you,” Ichigo said as he drew up his knees and kept his gaze on the ocean.
“Oh? Doesn’t seem like it, what with that display back in your room and the really awkward and silent car ride here.”
Chest rumbling with amusement, Ichigo shook his head and said, “No, that’s just how she is. She’s old, Yoruichi. So old that she’s outlived every single human civilization that’s ever existed, and most supernatural ones too. She’s older than Amaterasu.”
That got Yoruichi to stiffen and her eyes to widen slightly.
“She doesn’t spare much of her attention to anything these days because everything is just fleeting to her,” he continued. “Trust me, if she genuinely did not like you, or she held some sort of grudge against you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. You would know. She’s not big on subtlety.”
Yoruichi hummed softly in acknowledgement and let the conversation lapse into a comfortable silence. But Ichigo kept his gaze on the ocean just ahead, on the listening tide and the shimmer of sunlight dappled across the lull of calm waters. And as the sea breeze swept past him gently, wrapping his shoulders in a cool embrace, he smiled softly to himself.
He felt all the more content and happy as he heard Yuzu’s laughter and Karin’s own delight as she splashed in the tides. It was a moment long overdue, even though deep down he knew it was only for a few short hours more. Soon enough, he had to return to the crunch and carnage of war.
Ichigo then stood up and pointed to the sea with his head. “Gonna head for a dip. Want to tag along?”
Yoruichi slipped her sunglasses over her eyes and laid back down comfortably. “No, I think I’m good right here. Gonna grab a quick catnap.”
He rolled his eyes at the pun; she always seemed to have a million of them. But with a single step, Ichigo disappeared only to rematerialize next to steep rocky walls of a cove a few miles away.
And within less than a second a powerful hand grabbed him by the shoulder and slammed him against the rocky cliffs hard enough to where the stone smashed against his skin and the sea and sand shook violently.
Ichigo stared amused as a pair of draconic ocean-blue eyes glowed with sadistic light. “Did you really believe I would not have my pound of flesh, beloved?” She growled as she pressed herself against him.
He laughed low and dark as he reached out with a single finger and gently pulled her skirt apart. “Oh, we’ll see what flesh gets pounded, beloved.”
And the familiar dance for domination between Satan and his Dragon began once more.
=======
A/N: Apologies for the delay in releasing this chapter, I've had horriffically upset stomach since last night. I won't bore you with graphic details but as Issei would say, "Unholy shit."
Not much happening in terms of direct plot, but very important for character building and growth for Ichigo. I put a lot of thought into the scene with Yoruichi and Ichigo, especially the first half of the chapter.
Throughout that first half, there is a constant juxtaposition between old habits and new instincts. Ichigo openly acknowledges temptation, acknowledges his attraction to Yourichi, and even acknowledges that part of him enjoys the game. Yet every time the narrative approaches the edge of that cliff, he pulls back toward self-control. I wanted to reinforce that Ichigo is aware of what he is very aware and actively chooses what parts of himself he wishes to nurture.
Yoruichi spends a part of the scene wrapped in Ichigo's old clothes. On a literal level, it's meant to be cute and a touch sexy. On a symbolic level, she is draped in his past. She is wearing his past. Meanwhile Tiamat arrives abruptly, almost violently onto the scene, dressed entirely in white (reminicent of Ichigo's shadow-self, Zangetsu) and carries the scent of the sea and the weight of her own identity. The clothing choice is meant to juxtapose a comfortable and familiar past with a blank white future with hints of an inner darkness.
The Sirzechs' scene is the culmination of what happened with Tiamat and Yoruichi: that Ichigo will choose how he defines himself, taking both Set and Sirzechs' advice. It's his choice on how much of his past he brings within him into a future that's his to decide.
Fun chapter to write, I just wish my stomach didn't hurt so much. Enjoy your weekend friends!