“So,” Tatsuki said into one of the hiccupping silences, her tone dry and surprised. “Ichigo and the shinigami? I thought the idiot was girl-blind. Or maybe gay.”
“Certainly not that,” Loki said wryly. “Tatsuki. What shapes can you take?”
“Dragon.” Duh, said her tone. Though there was just a little frown along with it. Tatsuki might not have much of a feel for magic besides levin-bolts and an incredible flair for hearing youkai whispers, but she sat in on magic lessons with the rest of them. In part because her dragon was one of the few forms sure to be still standing after Ichigo tried a levin-bolt. She knew this must be important.
“And you, deshi?” Loki raised an eyebrow.
“Nothing really big or small yet,” Orihime managed, wiping away tears. “But… whatever I need to be.”
“Almost,” Loki murmured. “And what is Ichigo?”
“He’s a… a wolf….” Orihime paled.
Tatsuki glanced between the two of them. Fixed on him. “Wait a minute. We take youkai forms. We don’t-” She cut herself off, as Orihime shook her head, fresh tears running down her face. “Orihime?”
“It’s not fair!” the sorceress wailed.
“No. And part of that is my fault,” Loki admitted. Glanced at Tatsuki, who looked very much as if she wished to punch someone. Who knows? By the end of the day, it may be me. “Has Ichigo ever told you how he became Fenris?”
Tatsuki was gaping at him. “You’re serious. Ichigo – he doesn’t just take a form, he….”
“Yes,” Loki nodded. “Ichigo is not good at shapeshifting. Not at all.” He sighed. “But when he was thirteen, he did manage it. And I, thinking only how to ensure that he would finally learn this, locked him in that form. Until the first rays of dawn.” He winced. “And then Ichigo spent the next week in the Otherworld, hiding from every sunrise.”
“Um. Why?” Tatsuki looked the question at them both.
Wincing, Orihime looked away.
“A youkai is safe in the Otherworld,” Loki informed her. “They are part of its power. They can drink its waters, eat its food, and still enter our world untouched. A human? One bite, and they are bound. Never eat or drink in the Otherworld.” He paused. “Unless, and only unless, you take it from the hand of a youkai you are already bound to. The power will still bind you to them. But you will remain human.” He laughed once, not at all cheerful. “I assure you, Yuzu and Karin are very human.”
Crossover Queen's Creative Chaos 
Urk. Human getting bound to inhuman world stories never go well for anyone. Although I do wonder if it was Ichigo who didn’t want to shift back initially (which ended up backfiring on him) or something else that Loki (accidentally) created not wanting to be forced out of Ichigo before he got permanently stuck in him.
And the last line makes me think Ichigo had to make a bad bargain for them to stay as normal as then are…
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Long story short, there was a kitsune and a Sorcerer Supreme involved. Loki’s revenge on the sorcerer has made Strange wary of setting foot in Japan to this day.
It wasn’t the worst possible bargain Ichigo could have made. But it made things dicey for a while. They pretty much did solve the situation – Ichigo’s in no danger unless something extreme happens – but the past couple of years have seen everything from a nekomata to a beto-beto hiding behind the guy from various nasties.
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A kitsune…
Hello, Japanese lower powered cousin to Coyote! Interesting noodle cart you’ve got there. All the easier to dish out Noodle Incidents with, I’d bet. And moving into Katakura must have cut down your commute considerably!
Excuse me while I flee to a safe bunker with popcorn in hand.
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*G* Popcorn is awesome!
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So, a mix between wolf instinct wanting a hunting partner, and a fear of binding a human to him should he try to share all parts of himself? Or being responsible if they become youkai, or get bound to another youkai.
And Rukia is a spirit, and so exempt. I think? Am I missing anything else? I really feel like I am…
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But as a youkai Ichigo probably has to fight his instincts everyday, wanting to change or bind his friends and family. And then Rukia comes along, she bleeds and nearly dies for his family, she gives him strength to fight for them all. And she isn’t going to die of old age. Instinct can override the brain, at least that’s what I take from this. But, as I am only a fellow fan and not the author, I’m just speculating.
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Loki and Ichigo’s own stubbornness helped them squash the nastier youkai tendencies; Ichigo is a human who is a youkai part of the time, not a youkai who takes a human form.
“Someone was willing to die to protect my family, I want to protect them in turn” is a very human feeling, IMHO. And “I want to protect someone” can lead into “I respect them,” and respect is a good ground for affection. 🙂
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It’s partly wanting a hunting partner, yes. But don’t underestimate a good old-fashioned human, “oh, good, someone who doesn’t mind it much if I make with the Applied Violence”.
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Well, there was bound to a few missteps and mistakes in this process . . . And it just plain wouldn’t be Ichigo is something didn’t go pear-shaped on him at least once. There is, after all, a reason keeping Ichigo in one piece and reasonably sane is a full time job.
Across the mulitverse, Ja’far raises a toast with a commiserating “I feel your pain” before realizing that Simon [Sinbad] has been out of sight for longer than he likes and/or too quiet and something is to-*crash, roar, oops* “Damnit! Can’t you stay out of trouble for five seconds?!”
I think he might right about Tatsuki punching him. Or at least threatening to if he ever does something like that again (He won’t – Loki only needs to learn lessons like that once.)
I’m pretty sure that Zangetsu did punch him – after he was certain his partner was safe, or at least safe enough for Zangetsu to pop over to Loki’s soul and give him what for.
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*Nods!*
Sinbad – in any incarnation – and Ichigo in the same place would be enough chaos to give large sections of the universe a nervous breakdown. Eep.
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Yep . . .
Throw in Alibaba – in any incarnation – and the consensus from anyone who knows any one of them and can recognize the signs of being trouble-magnets in the unfamiliar one (s) is “We are all doomed. Doomed, I tell you!”
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Next we see the explosions wiping places off the map. Oo dear.
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Next we see the explosions wiping places off the map. Oo dear.
Which our merry band of trouble-makers will swear completely deserve it . . . which knowing them, they probably do . . . but
“You can’t solve every problem with fire and explosions!”
“You can’t?”
“Why not?”
“But it works so well!”
“No.”
“But-”
“No.”
“You’re no fun.”
“Party pooper.”
“Killjoy.”
“Maybe he’d be less of one if you three had remembered to share. The rest of us like kicking bad guy behind too!”
“This is you not helping.”
“Sorry about that, we’ll remember that for next time,”
“There’s not next time!”
“Awww!”
“Why not?”
“There is always more jerks.”
*sigh*
(I’ll leave it to the audience to decide who was speaking where.)
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