Ch. 14 Unexpected Guest

Class started and everyone went back to their seats.

"Ok class. Settle down. As you know. Tests will start happening more frequently. Make sure you are preparing appropriately…..Is that a stuffed animal?" Misato had tried being serious but got distracted. Why did Jotaro have a stuffed animal? And a cat at that. Did something happen to his black cat?

"Whatever, back to the topic of-" She went back to her carefree but serious behavior. Jotaro was a unique student that kept her on her toes.

School went on as per usual.

After school Jotaro put the plushie in his bag with it sticking out slightly. As Ichigo was about to leave he stopped him. "Ichigo"

This made Ichigo turn around. "I need to talk to you. Privately"

"Sure man!" Ichigo still had that tense smile. "I'll see you guys later!" He said goodby to Chad and the pervert duo.

Jotaro led Ichigo to the side of the school.

"If your going to confess ill have to say sorry. But I'm straight" Ichigo was joking around.

Jotaro had punched him in the jaw faster than Ichigo could blink. Ichigo fell back onto the ground. "Dude! It was a joke!" Ichigo held his jaw as he sat up.

"It wasn't funny" Jotaro put his hand back in his pocket.

Ichigo stood up and rubbed his jaw. "Well, what did you want to talk about privately?"

"Tomorrow" Jotaro said. This causes Ichigo to get serious. "I want to go with your family to Masaki's grave. I'm asking you before your family"

"Oh" Ichigo closed his eyes. "Honestly. You and you're mom were practically family back then. My mom and your mom acted like long lost sisters. I think….it's alright if you come. My mom would hate me if I didn't let you come" Ichigo gave a small sad smile.

Jotaro punched him again. This causes Ichigo to get laid back down. "Dude!" Ichigo glared up at Jotaro.

"Shut the fuck up!" Jotaro walked over to Ichigo. "Your mom would never hate you. No matter what you did. So knock that shit off"

Ichigo sat up and put his arms on his knees and looked at the ground, hanging his head.

"You can tell me not to go with you guys. I won't take it the wrong way. I can go on my own separately" Jotaro holds out his right hand to help Ichigo onto his feet.

"Do you know where it is?" Ichigo looks up at his childhood friend. It wasn't the delinquent anymore.

"Yeah. I don't think I could ever forget"

Ichigo took his hand, Jotaro pulled him up onto his feet. "That was way too easy for you to lift me. I felt like I was about to go flying"

Ichigo stood up after nearly being lifted off the ground.

"These muscles aren't for show" Jotaro put his hand back in his pocket.

"Why don't you come over. We will be planing tomorrow. I'm sure that you'll be allowed to tag along. Yuzu and Karin would probably really like that" Ichigo lightly tapped Jotaro's shoulder with his fist.

"Alright"

Jotaro and Ichigo walk to the Kurosaki Clinic. Jotaro had let his mom know he was going to the Kurosaki's. She told him to have fun and say hi for her.

Ichigo walked into the house and saw Yuzu and Karin sitting at the table across from each other.

Isshin was reading the newspaper on the couch.

"I'm home" Ichigo said.

"Hey bro!" Yuzu cheerfully said.

"Yo Ichi" Karin didn't look away from her phone.

"And Jotaro's here"

"Jotaro!" Yuzu shot from her seat to Jotaro and armored her best tackle. She gave him a tight hug.

"What's up Jotaro?" Karin walked over to him.

"Hello Yuzu, Karin" Jotaro was behind Ichigo and they completely ignored Ichigo.

"How are you doing Jotaro? I heard you're keeping your mom company more lately. Good decision" Isshin put the newspaper down.

"Isshin" Jotaro gave a nod as greeting.

"What are you doing over?" Isshin got up from the couch and walked over. Jotaro noticed his hair was different today.

"I was going to ask if I can go with you guys tomorrow to Masaki's grave"

Yuzu let go of Jotaro and had her smile still on her face. She went and stood next to Karin.

"Girls, you ok with that?" Isshin asked. He knew they were, but asked anyway.

"Yeah!" "It's alright in my books" Yuzu and Karin responded.

"Great! You are welcome to go with us. You are practically family anyways! Glad to have you back Jotaro, I'm sure Masaki would love to know that you came with us. Your mom is busy tomorrow so she won't be going with us like usual" Isshin rubs his chin that has a slight beard growing. "Now let's get down to planning for tomorrow!"

The scene cuts to Isshin standing in front of the table. Ichigo is sitting at the head of the table opposite of Isshin. Yuzu and Karin are sitting opposite of each other. And Jotaro is leaning against the wall to Ichigo's right and Isshins left. The big poster of a smiling Masaki is also hanging on the wall.

Isshin faces them and gets to business. He's wearing a pink dress shirt with frills. The top button of the shirt is undone, revealing the beginnings his collarbones.

"Dadadada! Now then!" Isshin had his hands on his hips but then pointed his right hand to the sky, or ceiling in this case. "I'd like to begin the meeting to decide the jobs for tomorrow"

He holds his pose and then looks at the table. "Well more like, Dad is the real meeting Chairman… so I have complete authority to decide!"

Isshin said this with a very serious face. He was acting the same as Jotaro remembered him to. Jotaro closes his eyes and remembers how Isshin would sometimes take charge of Ichigo and his playtimes together and do various activities. They were fun and random. Sometimes Masaki had to step in and drag him away. He always brought this vibe of a manchild when he wanted to. Jotaro rarely saw him when he was serious. But there were times when someone would be brought to the clinic in a rush and he got serious. He was actually kinda cool when it came down to it.

Karin stands up and slams the table with her hands. She wasn't too pleased with her dad taking charge as the monarch or dictator of the meeting. "What!? What's up with that?! That's not how a meeting works!" She confronts her dad.

Isshin brings his right hand that was pointing at the ceiling down and points it at Karin as he steps forward with his right foot striking another pose. "Hey! Raise your hand to speak, Chief of Staff!" Isshin seriously says.

Karin points at her head with her right hand. Her irritated expression now replaced with a cute and surprised/happy expression. "Ch-Chief of Staff?". Karin really liked the sound of that. 'Not bad actually' she thought. She has an aura of flowers around her as her mood has been lifted.

Isshin then brings his feet together with a 'click' and straightens his posture. His left hand still on his hip he moves his right hand over to point at Yuzu. "Yuzu will be Lunch Staff as usual" Isshin speaks in a normal volume.

Yuzu salutes to her dad as she stays sitting in her seat. "Roger!". Her eyebrows bend slightly to show that she will take her position seriously.

Isshin points over to Jotaro who was watching from the wall behind Ichigo. "Jotaro, you will put those muscles of yours to work and carry the bags!" Isshin moves his left arm and flexes his bicep as he talks loudly once again.

"Aye aye captain" Jotaro moves his index and middle finger to his brow as he salutes then flicks his wrist so his 2 fingers are pointing at the ceiling. (I have no idea what it's called or if I accurately described it properly)

Isshin points at Ichigo. "And lastly Ichigo will...what can Ichigo do?" Isshin rubs chin as he thinks.

"I'll go get the things we need for tomorrow" Ichigo says as he relaxes in the chair.

"Oh!" Isshin snaps his fingers. "Ichigo can be the Errand Boy!" Isshin seems ver proud of himself.

Now it's Ichigo's turn to stand up. "Oy! There's gotta be a better official name than 'Errand Boy'!"

"Nope! Chairman, better known as Dad, has already stated it!" Isshin puts his hands on his hips and stands proudly. He walks around the table to Ichigo's side. "More importantly, Dad cut his hair. Whaddya think?" He stops beside Ichigo and Karin.

Ichigo sits back down and smiles at the scene of Karin and his dad going back and forward.

"We! Stay away!" Karin says trying to escap her dads hair.

Isshin had moved his hair into Karin's face so she could get a better look.

"Don't say that, take a good look" He gets closer to his daughter.

"Quit it!" Karin tries again to back away from the spiky hair that stands straight up.

Jotaro watches the happy family. Then Jotaro and Ichigo sense a Hollow in town.

Ichigo stands up abruptly startling his dad and sisters.

"What's wrong Ichigo?" Yuzu asks.

Ichigo was about to say something when Jotaro moved away from the wall. "He probably just remembered that I have to leave"

Ichigo looks at Jotaro and understands that Jotaro will take care of the Hollow. "Yeah" Ichigo moves towards the door to walk him out.

"I'll be here early tomorrow morning" Jotaro grabs his bag from the wall and follows Ichigo.

"Oh, bye Jotaro" Karin says and waves him off.

"See you tomorrow!" Yuzu says.

"Tell Saiko that we said 'Yo!' will you?" Isshin struck a weird pose as he said goodbye.

"I'll pass the message" Jotaro sends a single wave without turning around and shuts the door behind him.

Now it's Ichigo and Jotaro alone.

"You got this one?" Ichigo asks. He knew Jotaro had apparently been slaying Hollows for a while. He just hadn't seen him in action.

"Easily" Jotaro puts his shoes on. "Let me know when tomorrow morning"

Jotaro takes the mod soul from the plushie and tosses it into his mouth and swallows it. He gets ejected from his body and appears in his soul reaper form.

He cracks his neck. "I've gotta blow some steam off anyway. Watching you struggle is frustrating"

"It's not like it's easy!" Ichigo defends himself.

"Not easy for you" Jotaro opens the door. "It's rare for me to get challenged"

Jotaro uses Shunpo and disappears in a blur.

Ichigo looks to Kai in Jotaro's body. "You Kai?"

"What's it to ya?" Kai roughly says.

"Kon won't shut up about the other mod soul. And we're you in that plushie the entire day?" Ichigo points to the cat in the bag.

"Guess the cats out of the bag" Kai takes the cat out. "Yeah, it's better than being a pill all the time" Kai says with no emotion. That's just how he talks normally.

"Is Jotaro really that strong?" Ichigo has to ask.

"You'll find out soon enough. And he's still growing stronger, unlike you who is still discovering powers you have hidden within. He must find new ways to improve himself based on what he has and knows. In other words...He has to use his brain more than you, but that doesn't say much since you hardly use yours" Kai turns to walk out.

"Hey! I use my brain!"

"Only when it gets in your way. Don't try to become your own obstacle. You can go farther if you aren't tripping yourself up all the time" Kai leaves his words of wisdom as he goes towards his home.

"Whatever" Ichigo shuts the door. He then heads up the stairs and finds Rukia there.

"Well, guess we don't have to worry about this Hollow" She was wearing Yuzu's pjs still. She puts her phone into her pocket.

"Did you hear that?" Ichigo stands in his room near the window.

"Yeah. And that looked fun" Rukia moved near the closet where her bed is.

"What?" Ichigo turns to face her.

"What do you mean 'what'? That family meeting of course" Rukia has her hands on her hips and her feet are her shoulder width apart.

She changes her pose to a weird fighting one. Where she has her right arm across her body and left arm near her chest, her feet shifted to turn her body too. "Is that it Are you gonna skip school tomorrow and go on a picnic?"

Kon throws the sliding closet door to the side. "Picnic?!" He stands with his plush arm pointing at Ichigo. "Sounds goo-"

Rukia used her foot to close the door in Kon's face.

"Hey Rukia, I'm taking tomorrow off"

She stands up like normal. "What do you mean? You AND Jotaro aren't going to protect the town?" Rukia gets a bit upset. "What's gotten into you? Ever since this morni-"

"Tomorrow…" Ichigo looks at the moon. It's nearly full. Rukia realizes what tomorrow could actually be by Ichigo's tone. "Tomorrow is the day my mom died"

Ichigo closes his eyes. "No, that's wrong" He looks over at Rukia. "To be precise, it's not the day she died. It's the day she was killed"

——————

Jotaro was flash-stepping, Shunpo, through the sky above the town.

After he gets to a busy street he lands on the top of the largest building.

Jotaro tries to sense the Hollow. He doesn't remember a Hollow appearing tonight in the anime.

He senses something coming to attack him at great speeds from behind.

A red hand appears from thin air and tries to strike the left side of his head.

The red hand had large nails that were several inches long. The claws slice through Jotaro's head like butter.

Or that's what was supposed to happen. But as the slash passed through him, it was revealed to only one an after image.

The hand is frozen in place as it is confused how it's prey had managed to dodge.

Then the hand gets grabbed and pulled from wherever it was.

Jotaro appeared next to the hand and pulled it out to see just what kind of Hollow this was. It wasn't ordinary at all.

He pulled it from its residing place and saw the rest of its body.

It was humanoid. It stood at around 8 feet tall. Muscular, a little more so than Jotaro, but it's limbs looked twisted, unnaturally. It's back was slightly hunched and had spikes protruding from it. The spikes were white like the hollows mask. The mask itself wasnt anything special. It was tight to its face, and opened at the mouth. It's mouth was in a permanent wicked smile and it's nose was big. And where the cheekbones would be on a person were elevated. Making the eyes seem even more sunken in. The eyesockets were black with the eyes being glowing yellow orbs behind it. And at the top we're two giant horns. The horns were as long as the face of the mask and protruded to the sky.

"Shiiiiit" Jotaro let it's hand go as it tries to stab him with its other hand and it's tail.

"Shit indeed Shinigami" The Hollow had a very deep and raspy voice that could have belonged to the devil himself.

"Your an Adjuchas aren't you. How are you here" Jotaro grabs his Zanpakuto from his back and gets in a fighting stance. Adjuchas are an evolved form of a Hollow. They are the step before a Vato Lorde. And an Adjuchas has the power to rival a captain.

"Is that a question?" It turns it's head to the side as it's tail flicks and sways behind it. "I'm here for food"

"Food? Don't you Adjuchas eat other Hollows to not regress? Why come here to the human realm from Hueco Mundo?" Jotaro is getting prepared to fight. This thing is fast. And it wasn't even serious. And the power Jotaro can sense. It has such great power. But didnt Aizen only turn Vasto Lorde to Espadas. How can this thing be so strong and not be a Vasto Lorde yet. He hadn't met an Adjuchas before but knew that this one was abnormal. He's glad Ichigo isn't here.

"I'm a picky eater. And how can I turn down a tasty Shinigami such as yourself" Jotaro really didn't know much about anything above the general Hollows. Not in depth at least.

"Why don't you follow me. You can witness my evolution" The voice echoed through the surroundings.

Jotaro hoped that Kisuke and Yoruichi had sensed this guy and were on their way. He couldn't tell it's strength before since it was hiding away. But now that it's out in the open it was leaking Spiritual Pressure.

The Adjuchas turned around and opened a Garganta to Hueco Mundo with its bare hands.

Jotaro started using rapid Flash-Steps and created many after images. The demon-looking Adjucha looks at the after images but doesn't move from its spot

"Hōfuku-Ryoku"