Disclaimer: Bleach will never be mine.
July 5, 1998
10:21 A.M.
A pair of weak legs wobbled around the white room with difficulty.
"Ichigo, are you sure you can already move around? The doctor said that any overexertion and you'll collapse again."
"I don't want to miss anymore of school. It's already July and I was supposed to start at the 9th of June." the nine and a half year-old answered, gradually straightening his legs and eventually he succeeded, being able to walk without his legs making a sudden movement that could make him trip or bend his knees out of reflex.
Just before Ichigo could walk out, the doctor assigned to take care of him walked in with a pair of metal objects that seemed to me meant for the orange head's legs.
"He'll be released this evening. For now, I'll have to put these on him. They'll support his legs as he walks, and the metal's kind of light but strong so you don't have to worry about him walking too slow or too stiff. In a year tops, he can be able to walk normally without any help. But about his lung, he's still going to have to go here twice a week."
His mother agreed, and the boy felt a little relieved.
Now he could go to school, but he had to catch up with all the lessons of the one month that he missed and go back to the hospital for medication of his pneumothorax, and that was the bad part.
3:54 P.M.
"What are you reading this time?" The nurse asked, peeking at the book that he was holding.
"Pet Sematary by Stephen King. I'm at the middle now, and all I can say is that the dad's too stupid." he answered Orihime Inoue, who had the same hair color as him but of a stronger shade.
"You should understand his pain though. Losing his son just like that..." he looked at Inoue after saying that, implying that she read it too. "You like horror stories too?"
"They're interesting, and I'm not the easily-gets-scared type of person so horror is fine for me." she replied with a sweet smile. Then she looked at her left, where three students wearing uniforms with the same school symbol were waiting.
The boy at the middle has raven hair and midnight blue eyes accompanied with rectangular glasses, the girl at the right has dark brown hair tied in a bun and the boy at the left has spiky white hair and teal eyes.
"It seems they want to talk to you, so I'll leave the four of you alone." With a wave of a hand, she left and a moment of silence passed before the boy wearing glasses spoke up.
"You're name is Ichigo Kurosaki, right?"
A nod was his reply and he continued. "We're students from Grade 3: Section 2, which is the class you're assigned in. I'm Uryuu Ishida." When his hand gestured for the girl to go next, she introduced herself. "I'm Momo Hinamori. Nice to meet you." Then his hand moved to the boy on his right. "And this is -" The silverette cut him off by saying his own name. "I'm Toshiro Hitsugaya."
Five seconds passed without anyone saying anything, then this time it was Ichigo who broke the silence. "So... why are you here?"
"Oh, right. Well, both me and Hinamori are class officers, and Hitsugaya is the head of countermeasures. We're here as the representatives of our class."
"What do you mean 'countermeasures'?"
They didn't answer his question. Instead, they asked him a new question.
"You're a transferee, right?" Hitsugaya stated.
"We heard that you were supposed to attend school with us on the first day of school but you couldn't because your condition worsened, so in behalf of the whole class the three of us came here to visit you." Hinamori explained as she held out a bouquet of pinkish roses. "These are from all of us."
He accepted the flowers, and then they asked another set of questions.
"If I remember correctly, you're from Hachijou and attended a private school?" she asked. He nodded. "What's you're reason for transferring here to Karakura?"
"My dad was offered a job here and he accepted, so all of my family had to come with him here."
The look on her eyes started to become strange and mysterious. And what came next was a question that was odd for an officer to ask a transferee. "Is this your first time living here, in Karakura?"
"Yeah."
She seemed surprised by the answer. "I thought that you lived here some time before."
"There were times that I have been here, but I never actually lived here." he answered, then another strange question was asked. "Exactly how long are your visits here?" asked Hitsugaya with a serious look.
"I'm not sure. I was very young when we would come here so maybe I was here for just a short while. But I don't remember much."
He was starting to get confused. The looks in their eyes were the same that it was becoming suspicious, and both Hitsugaya and Hinamori turned to Ishida who carried a brown envelope with him. He proceeded to give it to him. When Ichigo opened it, he saw a stack of paper containing lessons of different subjects.
"These are the copies of the lessons that you missed since June. I hope it helps a lot."
"Thanks. I'll start going to school tomorrow, so it won't be long until I'll see the rest of you." he said with gratitude and relief, now catching up wouldn't have to be difficult. But the fact they were acting strange towards him didn't change.
"Kurosaki?" Ishida called.
"Yes?"
Ishida tried to say something, but had difficulty as he started to look worried. Not worried about him. Worried about something else that Ichigo doesn't know. "Um... well..."
Hitsugaya decided to speak up for him. "Kurosaki... eh... is it okay if we could call you by your first name?"
"Sure." In return, he held out his hand to Ichigo. "We'll do our best to guide you well in your time here, Ichigo." he said with a soft smile. As both shook hands, Ichigo was unaware of the anxious expressions on Ishida and Hinamori's faces.
"We'll ask this again, Ichigo. Are you sure that you have never lived here?"
"I guess not."
8:05 P.M.
After receiving a text that his parents are waiting outside the hospital, he walked to the elevator and ran in just before the doors closed. Looking at the buttons, the elevator seemed to be going for a floor that he didn't press and only then did he notice someone was behind him.
It was a boy his age with jet black hair, albino skin, and emerald green eyes. His lips were as pale as his skin, and what made his face stand out were the green, tear-like tattoos going below his eyes, and speaking about the eyes his left eye was covered in an eye patch. He could see one pale hand carry a strange-looking doll.
He also noticed, that the boy was wearing the same uniform the three from this afternoon wore. As they descended floor by floor, neither made a sound until the light reached the 4th floor button.
"You're from Karakura High?"
The boy made one small nod, looking blank and so emotionless that it was even eerier than the looks that those three gave saw the light going to the 2nd basement floor button. "Why are you going to the 2nd basement? Isn't that the..."
"I have to give something. She's waiting there. My cousin's waiting for me." Not just his expression or the look in his eyes, the voice was also monotone.
While he was busy noticing that, the door opened and he slowly walked outside, slowly disappearing into the darkness but Ichigo peered his head out the doors and called out for him, making him stop walking.
"Wait! What's your name?"
There was no answer for a while. The lights were slightly blinking, and the machines nearby where whirring to make an odd sound.
And then, the boy said his name.
"Ulquiorra Schiffer." And just after that, he faded away and Ichigo could only look at the darkness in which he vanished into for a short while as the machines whirred even louder. Then he saw the sign hanging up in the ceiling.
Mechanical Room - Boiler Room
Morgue
July 6, 1998
7:22 A.M.
As the wind blew through the flowers in their yard, Ichigo woke up from his alarm clock and prepared himself for school. When he was in front of the building, he remembered what his mother told him this morning before he left.
"This is your first time in a public school, Ichigo. So I'll have to tell you a few tips since I studied here when I was your age. First is to always uphold the class rules no matter what. Second is to prioritize being in a group rather than individuality. Then the third is to..."
He went back to reality when his name was called. In front of the entrance door, he saw two people. One was a man with brown hair and eyes and the other is a woman with black hair braided down to her waist.
He ran to them and they introduced themselves.
"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. I'm the transferee assigned to Grade 3: Section 2."
"I'm the teacher of the same class, Sousuke Aizen. This is Retsu Unohana, the assistant teacher. Now shall we?" The three went inside and through the hallway. Ichigo was behind the two teachers.
"I hope that you would do good with the other students. You can talk to me if you have any problems whatsoever. You can also talk to Unohana, of course." Aizen explained calmly. "Sure. Thanks."
Unohana turned to him as they continued walking. "I hope you have fun." He smiled as a reply.
7:35 A.M.
With his name written on the middle as the date was written at the right edge of the board, he looked at the class which said nothing and looked as odd as Hitsugaya, Ishida and Hinamori looked yesterday when they visited him.
It was a little unnerving for Ichigo for the atmosphere was so unnatural and almost ghostly.
"I came here for my father was given a job in this town. It's nice to meet you." He had to sound as normal as he could.
"Class, make sure to make him feel welcome here and please treat him nicely. I hope we all can work together and do well so that you can all graduate by March next year." Aizen said, noticing the tense aura Ichigo was emitting from the atmosphere.
"You can take that seat over there." Going to the right area near the back, he took his seat. The class remained silent and strange, but he focused on the seat at the far back and beside the window, where Ulquiorra was, looking out with a lost look.
8:43 A.M.
As he was the new one in the class, the other students gathered around him and this time they asked him normal questions.
"So, you're okay now? You don't feel tired or anything?" A girl with hair that's spiked all over (Tatsuki) asked. "I'm okay. But I can't attend to any strenuous activities, since I have to watch out for my condition."
"Well at least you already recovered. By the way, how do you compare this town to Hachijou?" asked another girl with dark pink hair tied in twin tails (Riruka). "Both are not that different."
"I wonder what it's like there in Hachijou. Lately, Karakura is starting to go low. There's no more big news and the like." she replied with a soft pout. "I got to agree with her. There's nothing here that's interesting anymore." a boy with short and spiky red hair and amber eyes (Renji) added.
"It doesn't matter. I like living in towns that are peaceful and without much happening for it makes it safer to live in."
"That's true in a way." commented a blonde boy with green eyes (Yukio).
"So exactly what job did your papa get?" questioned a petite girl with light pink hair and eyes (Yachiru) while devouring a lollipop. "He's a doctor, and he'll start working in the hospital by next Monday."
"You attended a private school too back in Hachijou?" asked a boy with bob cut black hair and violet eyes (Rukia). "You know about that?"
"Everybody knows. Both Aizen and Unohana told us that." Hinamori answered. Ichigo's gaze started to wander towards the seat where Ulquiorra sat, and the table looked so old and full of scratches.
They noticed him looking somewhere else. "Ichigo, is something bothering you?" Ishida asked. "It's nothing. By the way, is Toshiro absent today?" Ichigo asked, remembering that one seat was vacant. Ishida nodded and gave a stern look at Renji, as if telling him to do something.
"Say Ichigo, you want us to give you a tour around the school? You're gonna have to get familiar with the place." Renji immediately said after catching Ishida's stare. "Well sure and thanks for the offer."
The ones who weren't talking to him gave Ichigo an analyzing look, but Ichigo was too busy with his newly-made friends to notice that.
1:12 P.M.
It was time for PE. Everybody was jogging and jumping over obstacles, but Ichigo just sat in a bench and watched them have fun. Of course, he is not allowed to engage himself in those activities for the sake of his health.
Beside him sat another boy with the same white hair as Hitsugaya but it's straight, long and tied in a low ponytail (Ukitake).
"I wonder what it feels like to run." he commented, almost sadly. "When I was still young, I could run and it feels as if you're free. Right now my legs are weak that I can only walk but not run. And along with my lung, I can't run yet until I fully recover from it."
"I'm glad that you at least got to know what it feels like. I wish that at least for once I could run with all I have."
"You have a heart condition since birth, which is why you never attend to any PE. activities or played any sports, right?" Ichigo asked and Ukitake nodded just before the latter winced from chest pain. "I'll go to the clinic and take a rest. Don't worry, it happens all the time so I can go there by myself."
Ichigo watched his fellow classmate leave, then Hinamori called to him. "Ichigo, where did Ukitake go?"
"To the clinic for rest."
"I see..." Ichigo looked down at her legs, where in one ankle was covered in bandages. "Oh, I sprained my ankle this morning." she explained and sat down with him, watching the others pant and take a rest from all the exercising.
"You see Ichigo..." Hinamori spoke up after a while. "Our class doesn't share PE with the other classes. You noticed the other sections do PE together this morning, right?"
"Yeah. But why?"
"That's just how it is." she answered, and turned her head to him. "By the way, you had lunch with Ishida, Abarai and the others during lunch time. Did they tell you anything?"
"Well... they gave me a tour." Hinamori seemed surprised yet again from her answer. "That's it?" He nodded, and she looked down with a nervous expression. "I see. We have to be careful, or Hitsugaya-kun will get mad at us." She muttered, and Ichigo noticed one student aside from Hitsugaya was missing.
"Hinamori? I have been wondering... where is Ulquiorra?"
That question that she least expected. Her eyes widened in horror and shock for a moment, but her expression changed when she looked at him again.
"Huh?"
She looked clueless. Ichigo was perplexed by the look on her face. "Ulquiorra Schiffer? You know, the boy wearing an eye patch on the left eye." Though he gave her a good description of the boy, she still claimed she didn't know.
"What?"
"I didn't see him after recess." She said nothing and looked away. He looked up at the sky, and turned to the rooftop behind him where he saw a figure, and after a sharper look he knew it was Ulquiorra.
He immediately lifted himself up and since he can't run, he walked as fast as he could to the rooftop. "Ichigo, where are you going?" Hinamori called, but he ignored her as he walked flight by flight in a slow pace to not tire himself.
He finally reached the rooftop and saw Ulquiorra sitting on a lone bench, drawing on a sketch pad.
As he walked closer to the raven head, the latter paused when he noticed his presence, but continued drawing after a second's glance. "You're watching the PE class too? If you are, then why from up here?"
"There's no point in watching from up close." he replied, his hands moving the pencil all around the paper. Then he paused again and looked at Ichigo, his expression with no emotion like last night. "What about you? Should you be up here?"
He didn't answer that question.
"You remember me from the hospital last night?"
Ulquiorra blinked twice before responding. "You mean from the elevator?" Ichigo nodded. "Don't even try asking me what I'm doing there." He added, discomfort in his voice. "I won't."
The albino turned to the far distance, the wind blowing through them. "Something sad happened at that day." His eyes darted to Ichigo. "Ichigo Kurosaki, did your classmates tell you anything?"
Ichigo grew alert from that. He knew that the class was suspicious, and that question just confirmed it. They really seemed to be hiding something. "Tell me what?"
"They think that you have something to do with death. But not just any death. A horrible death that happened in this school, which is a place close to death. The class that both you and I are in, is the closest to death, more than the other classes of the third grade."
"Death..." He still didn't understand, maunly because it was like a metaphor or a hidden message, what Ulquiorra just said. "So they didn't tell you anything?" He shook his head. "Nothing at all?"
"What do you mean?"
"You'll know over time." Then, his eyes narrowed, giving Ichigo a warning in a low voice. "You should stay away from me. And you should stop talking to me as well. It's for your own good, and for the others' sake as well."
"Why?" What Ulquiorra has been saying to him, he doesn't understand but he knows it's something ominous about the school and his class. "You'll know soon enough." Ulquiorra started to leave, giving Ichigo a creepy look. "Farewell..." A small smile crossed his lips as he went downstairs, and Ichigo stayed standing on the rooftop for a while.
3:50 P.M.
"So, how's your first day?" Masaki asked while driving through the road. "It's alright..." He looked out the window. It was raining hard, but somehow it made Karakura Town feel more nostalgic for it would usually rain in Hachijou. And then, he saw Ulquiorra again, walking at the corner with a gray umbrella as his shield from the downpour.
Ichigo couldn't take his eyes off the boy though the farther he became from him. "What's wrong?" his mother asked, noticing that he is caught up in something. "Oh, it's nothing."
All throughout the drive back home, the rain refused to stop.
To be continued...
A/N: Instead of them being 14-15 and in junior year of high-school, instead they're all 9-11 in the third grade of elementary. Bleach characters in fanfictions would most of the time follow their actual ages (not that it's a bad thing), so I'd put a change for that.
I know that making their ages like that would make them too young to see horror I know, but it's not always teenagers or adults who would experience something scary. And in my defense, I don't mean any offense to the kids in real life. This is just fanfiction.
And may I ask a question to those who read/watched Another: should I follow the manga or the anime? The first episode follows the anime, but the rest of the chapters I'm not sure which adaptation of Another should I follow.
Reviews and constructive criticism are extremely welcome but please no flames.