A/N: I still don't own anything all rights go to the respective owners.
"Merger! You can't be serious Higa!" a short balding man erupted as he stood up and slammed his hands on the table.
"I am completely serious." His voice was even and collected. Years of dealing with this group of assholes had made him immune to their constant disrespect. "As the majority shareholder there is nothing you can do to stop me."
Taking in their stunned and in a few cases infuriated appearances, he smirked while walking around the table. He could only describe the feel as complete victory, these nine men had made his a life a living hell ever since he took over the company.
"Like hell there isn't we will fill injunction after injunction until this deal falls apart!" The same bald man spat. He hated the heir apparent, it was his turn to lead the company after the Higa's untimely demise. That was until a snot nosed upstart took the reins.
"I'm not sure why you're against this proposal, you stand to make a lot of money off of this deal." He stated calmly as he stopped at the head of the table. Turning on his laptop he turned it towards the members when a picture of Minaka popped up on the screen.
"Greetings gentlemen." Minaka stated in a cheery tone. Looking at their faces he could see the shock and anger at the very idea.
"This is blasphemy, your parents must be rolling in their graves right now!" a tall thin man shouted.
"Higa-san, this is exactly why I don't have board members at M.B.I." Minaka chuckled out, "After the merger Higa-san has convinced me that having some of you around wouldn't be a terrible idea. It would be in a limited capacity of course."
"Like I said this deal will never go through as long as I have something to say about it!" Another roared in displeasure, he already knew that a merger of this size would render most of them obsolete, Minaka pretty much confirmed that with his last statement. Seeing the white haired man frown made a cocky smirk appear on his face.
"Well that's not the kind of attitude we need in the future." Minaka stated eerily, "Karasuba would you come in please."
All eyes in the boardroom turned to the door as it cracked open. Several stared slightly confused at the very attractive woman that entered, while others put on a show of false bravado.
"This is boring Minaka, I have other things that require my attention." She spoke in a clearly annoyed voice. Putting her hands in her pockets, she let the handle of her sword be seen by all present.
"Ha, what's this supposed to be some kind of intimidation?" A man slightly older than Higa himself jeered. He fell silent a moment later when his arm fell away from his body, the gray haired woman moved faster than any of them could follow. Holding a hand to his mouth she muffled his screams of pain as she held him against the wall.
"Shh shh, a big strong man like you shouldn't make those pathetic noises." She cooed with a touch of cruelty in her voice. Her sword gleamed in the light as she slowly pushed it through his chest, her smile widening the more he squirmed.
"What madness is this Higa?!"
"We'll make sure you see a jail cell for this!"
"Quiet! You old fat bastards! For too long you have leeched off the company my family created, like Minaka-san said, only some of you will be around after the merger." He snarled back coldly, while this wasn't the exact route he wanted to take, it did give him the feeling of power that had always eluded him. Taking his seat he smiled contently as several of them made a break for the only exit.
'Maybe losing Kakizaki has made me a touch insane.' He thought briefly as he watched Karasuba dismantle the men in front of him. His lips twisted in distaste when blood sprayed against the window.
"Such a mess, I hope you have a cleanup crew that can take care of this." He stated sticking his feet up on the table, as he lulled his head to the side and addressed the monitor.
"Of course of course, and they do a fine job if I do say so myself. A nice plane crash should cover this up nicely." Minaka assured. 'Note to self don't piss off Karasuba.'
"That's enough Karasuba-san." Higa stated as he eyed the four men that had the good sense to stay seated at the table. He locked eyes with one of the oldest members.
"I'm too old to make a run for it and honestly I would rather die than work for a disgrace like you." He said while blowing out a shaky breath. He didn't need to turn his head to know that the vicious woman was behind him, defiantly he kept his eyes locked with Higa before everything went dark.
"That's unfortunate I was looking forward to keeping him on." He said dismissively as he watched the man's head tumble from his shoulders.
"And then there were three. Would anyone else like to make their complaints known?" Minaka questioned, seeing their pale face shake their heads no he continued, "Well now that that unpleasantness is behind us let's get down to business."
-Izumo Inn-
She hummed a small tune to herself as she gracefully made her way through the halls of the Inn. She would readily admit that she found the scene at lunch amusing, one of the world's most powerful beings brought down by a meal made by his girlfriend. Carefully balancing a cup of tea on a saucer she made her way up the stairs. She shook her head as a large commotion reached her ears from the end of the hall. Placing her back against the wall she waited.
"1…2…3." She calmly counted, right on queue the door at the end of the hall was thrown open, her eyebrow twitched when she seen the nurses outfits they were wearing.
"He needs a sponge bath stat!" Uzume shouted with a determined voice.
"I'll get the water!" Yukari cheered, wearing her own costume that she found in Uzume's closet.
"Yukari-chan you can't help us!" Orihime cried out chasing after her, she didn't know exactly where this weird girl came from, but her apparent affection for her ashikabi was grating at her nerves.
"Don't worry about the small details, the patient is what's important right now." She called back never breaking stride. She just casually stopped by to see if he was okay, after all he was nearly green by the end of the meal. When she seen them playing doctor it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
"Don't think we're letting you touch him, you damn harpy!" Uzume roared following them down the hall.
With a smile appearing back on her face she slipped through the bedroom door.
"Well they sure are energetic." She said with a certain amount of amusement coloring her voice. Receiving a groan from under the mass of blankets in the middle of the futon she chuckled. "I have something for you."
"Please say you came to exact your revenge, I beg you to make it quick." He moaned in obvious discomfort, it felt like he had a white hot ball of lead in his gut. Hearing her tinkling laughter he pulled the blanket off his face and slowly sat up. His face had taken on a greenish hue, he wasn't really sure how he could be sweating so profusely and be freezing at the same time, but he was.
"You certainly are a pitiful sight." She laughed outright, it was amazing the few times she had seen his warrior side, but seeing him vulnerable was interesting.
"I thought I told you to make it quick." He said as he swallowed several times to keep himself from chucking on the bed. Noticing the cup of tea in her hands he looked at her with a questioning gaze.
"Pfft, getting such an easy win over you wouldn't be satisfying. Do you think you can drink this?" she asked holding the tea up to him. Seeing him nod she handed it over to him, she sat there with a small smile as he brought it up to his lips. When he started drinking it she gently put her fingers on the bottom of the cup, slowly tipping it up further, "Drink it all Ichigo, it will help I promise."
He was glad that the tea was warm and not scalding hot as he chugged it down. Draining the last drop he brought the cup down before taking a shaky breath. He felt it coating his stomach, he let out a loud belch before covering his mouth with his hand.
"Shit, sorry Miya." He apologized, he really didn't mean to burp in her face.
"It's alright, it's just a sign that the tea is doing its job." She smiled, she didn't realize she did it before her hand reached out and brushed his damp bangs out of his face. Pulling her hand back quickly she turned her head when her face heated up slightly. She was relieved when he didn't make a big deal out of it.
"That tea was really good, what kind was it?" he asked curiously, usually he wasn't one to let people randomly touch him, but the intimate gesture from her didn't bother him.
"It's my own special recipe for food poisoning." She answered back, thankful that things didn't turn awkward after her indiscretion.
"I'm not sure why you would know how to make that, from what I've seen you're an excellent cook." He complimented as he closed his eyes, he could already feel his fever breaking. Hearing her laugh softly he cracked an eye open, seeing the distant stare she was directing at a spot to the left side of his head, he studied her intently. She was obviously remembering something.
"I used to make Takehito sick quite often when we were first together. If I had to rank my cooking it was a few notches behind Orihime-chan's." She let out a soft sigh, "His best friend eventually started teaching me, before I accidently killed him, and he's also the one who showed me how to make the tea."
"He probably ate every bite like I did." He chuckled, he didn't know Takehito very well, but he seemed like the type of guy to put his own health at stake to make sure he didn't hurt Miya's feelings.
"Yes he did, and every time he would end up in a bed just like you are now. I think I should start working with your sekirei on their cooking skills, I doubt Uzume could do any better." She smiled warmly at the thankfully face staring back at her, she figured it was the least she could do since she was reaching Minato's sekirei how to fight. Hearing footsteps thundering down the hall, she figured her time with Ichigo was done. Grabbing the cup from his hands she gently ruffled his hair when she stood up.
"Try to get some rest, and please try to behave yourself."
"Thanks Miya." He replied giving her a grateful smile. He watched as she disappeared out the door, he could feel something inside shift slightly.
His mouth dropped open when three people barged into his room. He couldn't help the blush that made its way to his face when he took in their costumes. Sure he had seen them naked before, but seeing them in cosplay was totally different. The way the thigh high white stockings hugged their legs, coupled with swell of their asses being revealed by the too short skirts had his imagination running amok. He tried to stop them when he seen them playing tug of war with a large dish of water.
"Let go Yukari-chan." Orihime ordered as she tried to tug the dish out of the other girls grip.
"You let go, why should you two get to have all the fun?" She shot back, as tugged back. Honestly these two were being ridiculous, it was just a sponge bath.
"Because he's our boyfriend and we're not sharing!" Uzume yelled as she ripped the dish away from them. Looking at the others stunned faces she looked at the pan and noticed that it was empty. Looking over her shoulder she tried not to snicker while Ichigo was glowering at them while soaking wet.
"See, because you're so stingy you ruined everything." Yukari huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"All of you out, now." He said quietly, there was a steely quality in his voice that made their spines go ram-rod straight. He watched as Uzume and Yukari walked out still arguing with each other. He watched as Orihime hesitated before shutting the door behind the other two once they left. His demeanor softened when she started walking tentatively towards him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sick." She said quietly as she knelt net to the futon. She heard him release a tired sigh before his hand landed on hers.
"You don't have to apologize, you were just trying to do something nice." He reassured as he pulled her down to him. "See I'm already starting to feel better."
"Gah, Ichi-kun you're all wet." She replied in mild protest.
"And who's fault would that be?" he deadpanned.
"Yukari-chan's." she answered back with a nod of her head. She started giggling when he started tickling here sides.
"Uh-huh and you had nothing to do with it?" he asked rhetorically. He came to the conclusion that it was impossible to be in a bad mood around his sekirei. Even though their antics annoyed him at times, he couldn't imagine not having them.
"Nope, all her fault." She smiled as she leaned down letting her hair cascade around his face.
Their moment was broken when the door slide back open.
"I clearly remember saying to behave." Miya said sweetly, "Since you seem to have made a full recover, you can come with me while I run errands."
"Why?" he asked in slight confusion, she never asked him to do anything before.
"For one, when I was chasing you earlier it was obvious you don't know the layout of the city." She replied before the Hannya mask appeared behind her. "And two, I don't trust you alone with your sekirei when I'm not around."
He shook his head in exasperation, he couldn't exactly blame her for the lack of faith.
'First thing on the agenda, find a new home.' He thought as he got up before grabbing a towel from earlier and drying himself off. Throwing on a clean t-shirt he gave Orihime a quick peck on the lips before following Miya out of the room. Seeing Miya glaring at him out of the corner of his eyes he stated.
"A kiss isn't breaking the rules, you dictator."
"It is in my opini…" she stopped when he gave Uzume a quick kiss when they walked by her.
"Miya's forcing me to go on errands with her, try not to burn the house down while I'm gone." He said as he chuckled slightly he could feel the land lady's intense stare on his back. Turning back to her he asked innocently, "Ready to go?"
He smiled when she abruptly turned on her heel and walked down the hall. Following her through the front door he was a few paces behind her before quickening his steps to match hers. He walked next to her for a few minutes in silence, he had his hands behind his head as he let the warm sun shine on his face. Deciding that he had enough of the quiet he lowered his arms before bumping her shoulder with his.
"If I knew it was going to make you this mad I wouldn't have kissed them bye." He said in an apologetic tone.
"I'm not mad." She said through a sigh. "I actually find it rather sweet how affectionate you are with them."
"Then what is it?" He asked stepping in front of her.
"It's nothing." She replied shortly before stepping around him. Today was the anniversary of Takehito's death, with everything that had happened earlier it nearly slipped her mind. That realization nearly broke her heart. She was thankful when he didn't try to pry any further and resumed his spot next to her at a casual pace.
He was curious of course, but he knew enough to not dig into someone's personal business. If she wanted to tell him, he would listen, if she didn't then it was no big deal. He smiled when he seen a group of children playing in a park that they passed by. The simple carefree atmosphere around them made him feel a bit lighter. He turned to Miya and seen her studying him.
"What?" he asked stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"You have a nice smile." She noted before she turned her head forward and kept walking. She didn't know why he was smiling, but she would like to see it more than his scowling.
"Thanks." He replied awkwardly he really wasn't used to receiving compliments. "Where are we going exactly?"
"To the cemetery." She answered softly, usually she made this trip on her own. Today for some reason she needed the company, and she doubted anyone beside Ichigo would do. She was surprised when he gave her a look of understanding, instead of questioning her.
He really didn't know how to feel about that revelation, he knew why she would be going to the cemetery, but wasn't sure why he was accompanying her. Seeing the entrance up ahead, his thoughts strayed to when he met her husband in the Rukongai. Absently he held the gate open for her, the small 'thank you' she gave him almost didn't register with him. He stopped at the end of one of the rows, when she began to walk down one, he didn't want to intrude on her conversation after all. He had made up his mind before she even finished her conversation.
"Do you want to see him?" he asked softly when she walked up to him.
"W-what?" she asked, he couldn't have possibly said what she thought he said. She noticed that he wouldn't meet her eyes. Walking forward she grabbed his shirt to get him to look at her, when he did she asked, "What did you just say!?"
"I can take you to see him." He said as he gently removed her hands from his shirt. He seen several emotions flash in her eyes. Hope, longing and consequently anger.
"Why would you wait to tell me this!?" she asked her tone had a slight bit of betrayal in it.
"It was only recently that I found him Miya and I wasn't sure how to bring the subject up." He answered honestly. He began to walk further into the cemetery, away from the prying eyes of the few visitors that were honoring the dead. He stopped when he was sure that they were alone, raising his arm up he tore open a garganta.
She stared slack jawed at the gaping black hole in front of her and Ichigo as his clothes shifted into his Shinigami attire. She knew that he was a Shinigami, but the true implications of that never really sank in until now. Seeing him extend his hand to her she took it hesitantly before he dragged her into the garganta. The howl of the abyss made her nerves stand on end, even for an extraterrestrial being like her this was insane. She was glad that his pace was normal and that he wasn't using his high speed technique. Her breathing quickened when she could see the end of the tunnel up ahead. She was getting nervous, there were so many things that she wanted to say to her husband and now she was going to get the chance. Softly landing in a grassy field when they exited the garganta, she looked around in wonder. She could feel the reishi saturated atmosphere and immediately knew that she was no longer in the living world.
"It's not as majestic as I imagined it would be." She stated honestly while looking around and seeing a small village in the distance.
"This is one of the outer districts, the closer you get to where the Shingami live the nicer it is." He replied back trying to get his bearings. He knew he needed to be in the west seventieth and he figured he was close, his garganta usually was a lot more reliable than Kisuke's damn senkimon.
"So he's basically been living his afterlife in poverty?" She asked sadly, she looked up when she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"It may not be as nice as the lower districts, but the people out here enjoy more freedom. Even though it can be a challenging life the people in the outer districts are generally happy." He reassured, it was true enough in his opinion. Through his travels in the Rukongai he noticed that people always found a way to be happy no matter what difficulties they faced.
She followed him down a small dirt path that lead to the village, she had to admit that it was kind of relaxing. She's only ever known Kamikura Island and the city, everywhere she looked was wide open plains of rolling hills and forests, there was no smell of industrial pollution only the gentle smell of wildflowers on the breeze. When they finally made it into the village she noticed everyone staring at them. She was caught off guard when a young girl with red hair came rushing at them with a giant smile on her face.
"Kurosaki-san!" she cheered as she gave him a giant hug.
"Hey." He replied returning the gesture, he recognized her as one of the girls he saved. "You never did give me your name."
"My names Kaya." She beamed up at him. "I didn't think you would be back here after 'you know what' happened."
He chuckled as she started to skip beside them while holding his hand, he was glad that she was still trying to keep his secret.
"Is the doctor around by any chance?" he asked as he gently tugged her hand to get her to stop.
"He should be in the new medical building." She answered before she started to lead them to it. She frowned when someone called out to her.
"Kaya, please don't bother the Shinigami." A large man called as he ambled towards them.
"I wasn't bothering them I promise." She pouted.
"She was showing me to where Asama-san is." Ichigo confirmed as the man came to a stop in front of him.
"Well I'll be damned if it isn't the Shadow of the west 70th." The man chuckled out, taking in Ichigo's confused expression he elaborated. "After you swooped in and saved the day last time you were here, you disappeared just as quickly. So some of the people dubbed you the Shadow. The names Kentaro, I'm glad I finally get a chance to thank you properly for what you did."
"Great, just what I need another nickname." He chuckled eliciting a hearty laugh from the man next to him and a soft giggle from Miya. He whistled when they walked up to the new medical building. "You guys got this rebuilt fast."
"It wasn't us, several Shinigami in ninja get-ups built it in a day." The man smiled, "They said they were friends of yours."
"I'll have to thank my Taicho when I see her again." He answered back before saying goodbyes to the pair.
Placing his hand on Miya's lower back he guided her towards the door, he could feel her tension. Reaching up he knocked on the door before taking a step back. He wasn't shocked when the blonde nurse from before answered the door. What she said next definitely made his eyes widen.
"Honey someone's here to see you." She called into the back, where the familiar form of Takehito appeared carrying a tray of supplies.
"Miya?" he asked surprised as the tray fell out of his grip and clattered to the floor, when he found himself in a tight embrace.
"What's going on?" The young nurse asked before she felt a gentle grip on her wrist. She looked at the Shinigami leading her out of the clinic bewildered.
"I think it would be best if we gave them some time to talk." Ichigo answered when the where a few hundred feet away.
"Who was that woman hugging my husband?!" she demanded. Seeing the orange haired man face palm and mumble an 'Of fuckin course.' She asked again, "who was she?"
"You have to be shitting me." He cursed to the sky, even when he tried to do something nice it blew up in his face. Feeling the young blond tug on his sleeve he turned back to her, "That was his wife from the living world. One of you couldn't have mentioned that you two were married the last time I was here?"
"W-wife!" she stared wide eyed before heading back towards the clinic, only to be stopped again. "Please move Kurosaki-san."
"Just hear me out before you go back there okay?" he asked holding up his hands in a placating manner, seeing her tap her foot in agitation he continued. "Yes she was his wife when he was still alive and if I had known he was remarried I wouldn't have brought her here. Well I probably still would have, but it wouldn't have been a surprise like this. She's still alive and she wanted to say a proper goodbye."
Seeing the girl still in front of him and give him a calculating gaze she asked, "Why would you go to all this trouble, I didn't think Shinigami were supposed to interfere with the living world like this."
"We're not." He sighed, it was a good thing that he wasn't an actual full-fledged Shinigami or his list of crimes would be monumental. "Miya is a close friend of mine and I was just trying to give her some closure."
"I really don't want to leave her alone with my husband." She stated emphasizing the point of who he belonged to. "But for everything that you have done for us I guess I can do you this favor."
"Thank you…" he trailed off, he really didn't talk to anyone before he left last time. He didn't even get anyone's name besides Takehito.
"Michiko." She supplied for him with a smile.
He wasn't sure how long he had been walking around with Michiko for, but it must have been a few hours since the sun was starting to set. They talked casually as they strolled around the village, every once in a while he stopped to talk to some of the people in the shopping district. He could tell that Michiko was becoming impatient the longer they left the two alone. Taking her not so subtle cues he began to make his way back towards the clinic. He was surprised to see Takehito sitting by himself on the front stoop.
"Everything alright." Ichigo asked as he approached.
"Really wish you would have let me know first, even though I do appreciate what you did." Takehito stated as he stood up.
"Yeah, this kind of blew up in my face." He groaned as he scrubbed a hand over his face. Hearing the other man chuckle he looked at him.
"It didn't go that bad honestly, well after she found out I remarried I thought she was going to kill me again."
"Really wish you would have told me that last time we talked. I have a feeling that she might try and kill me also." Ichigo responded before he started to walk away.
"Can you do me a favor?" He asked
"If it's bringing anyone to the afterlife the answer is no." he chuckled.
"Just look after her okay." He wasn't dumb, even though Miya was hurt that he remarried, he got the feeling that she had moved on also. She asked more questions about the man standing in front of him than anything else, and if she wasn't asking questions she was telling stories about him. He wasn't sure if either one of them had truly realized it yet or not.
"She doesn't need me to do that, but I will anyway." He said over his shoulder before raising a hand in farewell.
Closing his eyes he let out his senses to locate where she wandered off to. After a couple seconds he had a lock on her position, he decided to walk instead of shunpo to give her a little time to cool down if she was mad. Cresting the top of a hill fifteen minutes later he seen her sitting watching the sun go down over the horizon. Carefully he walked up beside her, he was thankful that she wasn't armed at the moment.
"You don't have to be so cautious, I'm not mad." She said as she gave him a soft smile.
Quietly he sat down next to her, he noticed the tear stains on her cheeks that she attempted to wipe away. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders when she leaned into him.
"Do you think we can stay here tonight? I'm not really ready to go back yet." She whispered as she laid her head on his shoulder.
"Whatever you want Miya." He answered as he laid his cheek on top of her head. He felt something inside shift a little more.
-Hours earlier Shinto Teito-
Benitsubasa watched the pair as they left the Inn. She made sure to stay far enough behind them that she wasn't noticed. She wasn't sure what Minaka's plan was, but she knew that these two had to be away from the Inn for it to work. She followed them through the streets until they came to a cemetery, she hide behind some trees, but couldn't make out what they were saying. Her eyes widened when she seen the orange haired monkey tear open a portal before they both vanished. Fumbling with shaky fingers she reached for her phone.
"Hello, do you have some good news for me Benitsubasa." Minaka asked in his cheery voice, he had been expecting a call from his little spy.
"I-I don't know where they went but they are definitely gone." She answered back a bit shakily.
"Excellent, we will meet you at the park in the north side of town in a few minutes." He replied before hanging up the phone.
Standing up out of his seat he threw his hands in the air, he's been waiting for this chance. Pulling out his cellphone he dialed Higa.
"Hello." Higa answered in a terse voice.
"Bring your sekirei to the park in the north as soon as you can." He ordered, he had no time to be polite.
"May I ask why?" he rebutted.
"It's time to take something back that belongs to M.B.I. and finally gain some measure of control over Kurosaki." He replied with a little malice leaking into his voice.
A/N: thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed the chapter.