Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

Shadow Ataraxia

Chapter One

Petrichor

'Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.' - "The Art of Happiness" by Dalai Lama

"Kaa-san? What are those things?"

The small boy with a shock of orange hair pointed upwards, at the darkening sky, his large honey brown eyes fixated on the heavens above. He did not turn to look at his mother, but leaned into her pink sweater.

His mother - a beautiful woman with caramel locks and the same honey eyes - smiled at her young son, "What things are you talking about Ichigo?"

Ichigo pouted a bit, but didn't tear his eyes from the sky.

"The bright stuff," he said, gazing at the holes in the curtains of the sky, giving the humans a glimpse at what lay beyond.

"Do you mean the stars?" his mother questioned, a laugh in her voice.

"Stars?" Ichigo grasped her hand tightly.

"Uh-huh. They're called stars."

Ichigo frowned, which looked unnatural on his young, plump face, "What do they do?"

"Well," Masaki kneeled down next to her son, "The stars are very special."

"Special?"

"Yes. The stars bring light to the darkness to guide us, so we can always find our way home," she brought Ichigo to her chest, resting her chin upon his spiky orange head.

"So we can always find our way home? So… they aren't holes?" Ichigo looked skeptical.

His mother laughed, and turned her son around to face her. She ruffled his hair, "No, they aren't holes, they're big balls of fire."

"Fire?! Hey Kaa-san, can I have one?"

"No Ichigo, you'll burn yourself! Besides, you can't touch them, they're far, far above us."

The orange-haired boy scowled this time, "They aren't beyond my reach! I can touch them!"

"Ichi-"

"I'll reach them, Kaa-san, but don't worry. I'll bring one back for you too!" Ichigo then grinned, his face lighting up with newfound resolve. He would get a star.

The beautiful woman looked shocked by her son's loud promise for a moment, before smiling wistfully. "Okay Ichigo, but promise me you won't burn yourself."

The boy's grin didn't fade as his mother stood up, and took her hand, "I won't! I promise!"

Masaki shook her head with a smile, and lead her son back into the night.

Karakura Town was as lively as an old dog, with only the rare car passing the mother and son as they made their way home. Though Karakura wasn't free of Yakuza, the gang preferred to slink in alleyways and lick their wounds instead of assaulting random passerby. All was quiet save the sirens in the distance.

Ichigo was very careful not the step on any cracks as they walked, resorting to odd acrobatic feats when simply jumping didn't do the job. His mother sighed when the tiny child weaved through a few garbage cans to bypass a cluster of particularly menacing cracks.

After a few blocks the two caught sight of a modest two-story house, with a sign advertising it as the 'Kurosaki Clinic'. Ichigo began to pull his much taller mother to their home, excited for no other reason than he was a child.

"We're home!" Ichigo yelled the second they entered the Kurosaki Clinic. He kicked off his shoes before bolting off towards the kitchen, leaving a chuckling mother by the door.

Once he caught sight of his father, Ichigo barreled into him, making him lurch. His father was a tall, friendly-looking man, with dark hair and eyes. Isshin stopped stirring the pot on the stove and immediately laughed, hugging his eldest back.

"Hey there Ichigo! You're back from karate, I see."

"Where are Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan, Tou-san?" Ichigo asked, looking up without letting go of his father.

Isshin Kurosaki rolled his eyes at his son's muffled voice, and gently tore away from Ichigo's strong grip, "They're in the sitting room wi-"

Ichigo was gone before Isshin could finish his sentence. The tiny boy ran to the sitting room, going right past Masaki.

The television was on, playing a nonsensical show about talking animals and furniture. On the ground was his youngest sister Yuzu -a young girl with their mother's caramel hair and father's brown eyes- and her twin Karin, who looked like a miniature Isshin, minus the 5 0'clock shadow. They were working on some sort of building block structure, that looked kinda like a castle, with large turrets surrounding the main structure and a series of platforms.

"This part is supposed to float!" Karin complained, messing with the main structure, which was cylindrical, with a cone at the top.

"We can't make it float, Karin-chan," Yuzu pointed out, happily working on the buildings under their castle.

"But it's supposed to!"

Sitting on the couch behind them was their elderly neighbor with pure white hair in a loose bun and almost-violet eyes. Nanami Hasegawa watched the bickering five-year-olds with wise eyes, hands folded in her lap.

"Hi Oba-san!" Ichigo ran up to hug Nanami, who startled a bit as she was caught in a crushing grip.

"Ichigo-kun!" the elderly woman hugged the boy back, "It's good to see you. How's my little karateka?"

Ichigo made a face, "I still can't beat Tatsuki-chan! She's too strong!"

"Now, now," Nanami pulled back, "No one is too strong to beat, Ichigo-kun. It's a matter of skill and experience, yes, but a fight not only judges those two things. A fight tests the strength of your resolve, sense of purpose, and courage. If you can master those last three Ichigo-kun, nothing is beyond your reach. Given time, everything is attainable."

It was clear that Nanami's wise words had gone right through Ichigo, but it didn't matter. He would understand with time.

"Onii-chan!" Yuzu stood up, and promptly tackled her older brother. Ichigo cried out and fell off the couch, taking his giggling sister along with him. Nanami sighed.

"Onii-chan!"

"Get offa me!"

"Onii-chan, did you have fun? Did you beat Tatsuki-chan?"

"Yuzu-chan, Get off!"

Yuzu finally complied to her brother's wishes, and Ichigo sighed in relief.

"Onii-chan, Yuzu-chan, don't you think this should float?" Karin inquired from a safe distance away, pointing at the cylindrical stacked building blocks.

"Huh?" the orange-haired boy assessed the structure, then frowned, "Yeah. Why isn't it?"

"Blocks can't float, Ichigo-kun," Nanami put in her two cents.

"It's supposed to float, though."

"Hey, Onii-chan?!" Yuzu asked suddenly, drawing her brother's attention.

"Yeah?"

"Can you make a fort with us tomorrow?"

"Sure, Yuzu-chan-"

"Kids, Nanami-san, dinner's ready!" Masaki's voice came from the kitchen, making all three children bolt out of the room.

"Oh, why do children feel the need to run so much?" the elderly woman huffed, hauling herself up.

The dining table was brimming with delicious and pungent food. Noodles, curry, cherries and steamed vegetables elicited the children's watering mouths. Before Isshin or Masaki could stop them, the three began to inhale their food. Nanami shook her head and joined the table.

The five Kurosakis and friend dug in, chopsticks clacking and only Nanami and Masaki stopping to properly digest their food.

"-and he said he was bitten by a tiger! He was bitten by a cat, a cat!" Isshin roared in laughter, his children following suit. Masaki giggled and shook her head.

"I don't think there are any tigers in Karakura Town," Masaki said.

"Nope! We don't even have a zoo!"

"Hey, Tou-san! What do tigers look like?" Karin asked, a stray noodle falling out of her mouth. Masaki reached over and wiped the sauce on her chin off with a napkin.

"Well, they do kinda look like big cats, except with orange and black stripes and big, pointy teeth!" Isshin mimed giant teeth rather violently, making Yuzu duck behind her older brother's seat, and both Karin and Ichigo to flinched back.

Before their mother could reprimand their father, Nanami patted Yuzu and asked, "Have you three ever been to a zoo?"

The children shook their heads, Karin looking especially intrigued.

"Well, if you ever have time off from school, and if you have permission, I can drive you three to Tokyo to see the zoo."

The idea was an instant hit, with Ichigo and Yuzu accepting and Karin downright whooping for joy.

"Kaa-san?" Ichigo said.

"Yes, only if it's not on a school day."

They cheered and returned attention to their food. The adults discussed recent medical discoveries, and everything was good.

Nanami left later on, hugging each child and returning home. The twins -rubbing their eyes and whining- were put to bed. Soon, it was Ichigo's turn.

Ichigo's room was disorganized, with scribbled-on papers, books, and random debris covering the ground. Through the window over the bed was Karakura Town, a sea of lights and peaceful homes. The bright-haired child sagged into his bed, a yawn on his lips.

"Goodnight little protector," Masaki whispered as she kissed her son's forehead. He grinned sleepily up at his mother, honey brown eyes adoring. Isshin, after Masaki, brushed the spiky hair from his son's face with loving smile. The moonlight filtering in through the window made the entire room be bathed in silver light.

"Sleep well, son."

They began to walk out, but turned back to gaze at their young child when he spoke.

"Hey Tou-san? Wanna know what?" Ichigo asked softly.

"What, son?"

"I'm gonna touch the stars."

Isshin grinned. "You better bring me back a star."

"Okay," he yawned sleepily, drifting off, "I'll bring one back for you, and Kaa-san, and Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan and Oba-san and Tatsuki-chan…"

Ichigo fell asleep in the silver light, leaving his mother and father to watch over him.

Ichigo pouted as he kicked at the water drifting past his feet. His toes tingled in the cold water, turning slightly red. The day was a humid one, especially for early June; the sun was blinding Ichigo, even more so when it bounced up off the water.

Ichigo was upset, he had lost yet another match against his best friend, Tatsuki Arisawa. No matter how hard he tried to punch and kick her, the fight always ended with him on the floor in tears and Tatsuki trying in vain to cheer him up. He didn't like that at all, but he couldn't resent Tatsuki, she was too nice for Ichigo to resent.

But it still irked Ichigo that he couldn't manage to beat her even once. His mother said that karate isn't about beating people, that it was about learning new things and having fun. Though the bright-haired boy was a bit skeptical, he took his Kaa-san's words to heart and worked more on learning and having fun than anything else. But still, he was bothered.

The boy startled as he suddenly found himself not touching the ground, suspended in air. There was a pressure around his neck, his shirt fighting against him. Ichigo cried out and flailed, beating his tiny fists.

"Ha, whatcha doin', midget?" A blond boy leered at the much smaller child, his strong hand lifting Ichigo by the back of his shirt.

"You all sad 'cause of how stupid you are?" Another boy with acne growing on his forehead and a grin added.

"L-let me go, meanies!" Ichigo struggled against the strong hold on his shirt, but to no avail.

"We asked you a question," the blond kid shook the younger child, not letting any flailing arms or legs touch him.

"Yeah," the third and final boy said, standing far back from his supposed friends, pale eyes drooping with reluctance.

"Let me go! I didn't do anything!" Ichigo yelled, not being in the state of mind to deal with their demands.

"Stop your struggling, brat! Or we'll have to teach you a lesson!"

"C'mon kid, that all you got? You're as weak as you look."

"Um, guys?"

"Let me go!"

"Shut up, kid!"

"Give 'em a black eye, Hiko, that'll teach him!"

"Guys!"

"Wha-"

Before Hiko could finish his question, his head snapped to the side painfully, dropping Ichigo in the process. The orange-haired child fell on his bottom, and stared up in wonder and Tatsuki's fist connected with Hiko's face a second time.

"Get away from him!" The dark-eyed girl yelled, brandishing a fist in the older boy's face.

"Why'd you punch me?! I'll show you a lesson, mite," before Hiko could attempt anything, the droopy-eyed boy put a hand on his forearm, shaking his head violently.

"No no no, we can't hit girls, Ienari-san!" he said.

"Pah, this thing is a girl?" the acne-covered boy snickered. He stopped and squeaked when Tatsuki's foot kicked him between the legs.

"Oi!" Hiko made a grab for the girl's shirt but Tatsuki twisted away, stepping on the fallen child's chest in the process, prompting another cry of pain, "You little-"

"Ienari-san, we should go!" The third boy pleaded, shooting a look at the girl that currently stood proudly with her back to Ichigo.

"I'm not gonna run away from a little brat!"

"Help… me…" the fallen boy groaned.

"T-tatsuki-chan…" Ichigo breathed, big honey-colored eyes wide as he looked up at his savior.

Tatsuki twirled around angrily to face her best friend, annoyance etched on her face.

"How many times do I need to tell you, don't call me that! I'm not a little girl, you can just call me Tatsuki!"

Ichigo either was too stunned to comprehend or simply ignored her words, just staring up at her with his rapidly tearing eyes.

"No! I am done with the waterworks, Ichigo!"

"B-but you saved me Tatsuki-chan…" he blubbered.

"Will you cut that out?"

Ichigo opened his mouth to say something, but the words were lost when the blond child was suddenly right behind Tatsuki, a fist raised.

"Tatsuki-chan!"

His fist was about to connect with the female nine-year-old's head, when the older boy's hand was stopped by an unmoving force.

"Yare, yare… how violent…"

The five children- two of which still sat on the ground- all looked at Hiko's fist in amazement, wondering exactly how a simple cane could stop his punch.

"Who are you?" Ichigo was the first to move eyes to look at the newcomer, and was immediately puzzled. Who in their right mind would wear such an ugly hat?

"Oh, I don't matter. What we should care about is why exactly Ugly-san is trying to hit Karateka-san," The man kept his cane in place, his hat shadowing his eyes.

"What do you want, old man?" Hiko growled, not removing his fist from the cane.

"Didn't I just say?"

Hiko's face went blank with puzzlement, eyebrows scrunching together. Tatsuki stepped away from the cane to stand by Ichigo, who still hadn't stood up. The two other boys stood rooted to their spots.

"Um, Hat-n-Cane-san?" the third boy said hesitantly, "We're really sorry for causing you trouble… um… we were just playing, but it got out of hand."

"Out of hand?" the man lowered his cane, eyes still veiled, "Quite."

"Look, I don't know why you're bothering with us, but this is our business," Hiko said stubbornly, crossing his arms.

"Ienari-sa-"

"Shut up, Kusumoto!"

"You should always listen to your friends," the oddly dressed man's voice had gotten noticeably darker, making a shiver run up Ichigo's spine. "Go. Now."

The three left quite quickly after that, Hiko fuming, Kusumoto running, and the acne-covered boy limping.

The man watched them leave for a long moment, and Ichigo thought he saw a flash of darkened grey, before it flitted away.

"Yare, yare… quite an adventure we've had, eh?" the man turned to face Tatsuki and Ichigo, who both stared back with awe in their eyes.

"Can you teach me to do that?" Tatsuki asked excitedly.

"Thank you," Ichigo whispered.

"No thank-yous are needed, Orange-san, and not yet Karateka-san," the man sounded amused, and tilted his hat forward.

"You two, try not to get into fights until you can handle them, hear me? And none of that," 'Hat-n-Cane-san' looked down at Ichigo, and bent down to his level.

"Huh?" Ichigo asked, bewildered.

"When someone threatens something you care about, you can't just sit quietly and wait for help. At times, you must fight."

The man stood back up and began to walk away, into the darkening day, "And next time I see you, be honest. Don't hesitate to tell me you don't like my hat."

Ichigo flushed crimson, and looked down at the ground in hot shame. Tatsuki snickered, then sat next to the boy.

"Well, I didn't like his hat, either."

The dojo was bathed in a rich orange light, the floorboards glossy and air crisp. Sounds of laughter and grunts filled the room, as white-clothed children wrestled and traded blows. Out near an open sliding door was a young bright-haired boy, who watched his opponent with nervous anticipation. Said opponent, a dark-haired girl who watched lackadaisically, waited patiently for the boy to start.

Suddenly, the boy came barreling forward, a fist raised. He roared his frustration and didn't even seem fazed when a hand shot out and caught his fist, before twisting it. The boy's face contorted, and tears sprung in his eyes.

"Tatsuki-chan… that hurts!" Ichigo whined, fidgeting.

Tatsuki let him go, before pushing him back. The boy stumbled and fell on his bottom, now was preparing to bawl.

"Ichigo, why do you cry when you can fight?" Tatsuki sighed.

'That man from yesterday told me to fight, not cry. I can't, she's too strong! Oba-san is wrong, I can't beat her!' Ichigo thought, wiping at his blooming tears. 'No, I gotta try again, for Kaa-san and Tou-san and Oba-san and Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan...'

Ichigo slowly stood back up, dropping into the position his sensei always had to enforce on him. Tatsuki must have seen something, because she sank fluidly into her own starting position.

The honey-eyed boy ran forward again, focused only on his opponent, and what a horrible mistake that would be on a real battlefield.

Tatsuki ducked under Ichigo's punch, then rammed an elbow into Ichigo's stomach. To her surprise, the boy didn't recoil and cry as per usual.

A little hand gripped her by the hair, and another shot forward and nicked her throat, before she could retreat. Tatsuki kicked Ichigo's shin hard, and the boy yelped, tumbling back to the ground.

"Jeez Ichigo, where'd you learn that?" Tatsuki inquired, rubbing her throat without an ounce of pain on her face. She looked down at her best friend curiously, excitement bubbling inside her. Ichigo had finally manned up to fight her!

Ichigo sat still for a long moment, orange hair shadowing his eyes. Tatsuki frowned and leaned forward, worried.

"Ichigo, are you-"

Then Ichigo began to cry big blubbery tears, face reddened and wiping furiously at his eyes. Tatsuki stared at him for a long moment, before sighing heavily.

Ichigo would never change.

"Ichigo?"

The boy immediately stiffened, sobs stopping. The boy turned to look at his beautiful mother, who stood at the entrance of the dojo. Watery eyes lit up with delight, and the child popped up and made a beeline for Masaki Kurosaki.

"Kaa-san!" Ichigo hugged her tightly, still crying a bit.

"How's my little protector?" Masaki asked, smiling softly down at her son.

"I'm great, Kaa-san! Guess what?"

"What?"

"I got Tatsuki-chan today!" he said proudly.

"You did not! You just nicked my neck. You nicked it!" Tatsuki protested, running up to the two Kurosakis.

"Nuh-uh, I got you!"

"Did not!"

"I did though!" Ichigo looked on the verge of tears again, pouting and gripping his mother's hand tighter.

"It's okay, Ichigo, Tatsuki-chan," his mother said, kneeling to their level, "Whether Ichigo 'got you' or not, what I care about is whether you two had fun. Hm?"

Ichigo and Tatsuki shared a look of complete understanding and both grinned at Masaki, though Ichigo's was rather goofy.

"Yep!"

"Good," Masaki stood back up and turned to leave, but not before smiling at Tatsuki and saying: "Goodbye, Tatsuki-chan. Have a nice evening."

"Bye Tatsuki-chan! I'll see you tomorrow, and just you wait! I have something new I'm gonna try!" Ichigo called to his best friend.

"Okay! Bye Ichigo, bye Masaki-san!"

And so they left.

The sky was dark when they exited the dojo. Black clouds drifted serenely in the late evening sky, concealing the crescent moon from sight. Rain fell hesitantly from the heavens, as if unsure of it's purpose.

The mother and son walked leisurely a few meters away from an abnormally violent canal, grass squelching under their shoes. The tiny boy hummed and skipped whilst holding his Kaa-san's hand, drinking up all that was around him with childish fervor.

The rain began to fall more consistently, light, but an annoyance.

Neither noticed the dark foreboding hanging in the air like a corpse.

The honey-eyed woman reached into her brown purse with a sigh, pulling out an umbrella. Suddenly, her head snapped up, light eyes widening. Masaki loosened her grip on her oblivious son's hand for a second.

A second was all it took.

A girl, seemingly the same age as the orange-haired child, with dark eyes and hair, stood at the very edge of the canal, which now roared like a blood-thirsty beast. The dark child turned to glance at Ichigo, before swaying, as if losing her balance.

"Get away from there!" The boy shouted, bolting off towards the dark girl.

"NO!" Masaki yelled, panic Ichigo had never heard before in her voice. The umbrella hit the wet, grassy ground as the mother tore off after her son, crying his name urgently.

The little boy heard his mother, but continued to run purposely toward the other child, the word of the man with a cane flashing through his head: 'You can't just sit quietly and wait for help'.

Ichigo stumbled as he reached the girl, but it was too late. The dark-eyed girl was falling.

He missed the smile on the girl's face.

Rain crushed the darkened canal, falling with such an intensity the boy's arms felt like they were bruising. The river raged and roared, but he didn't hear it. The only thing he heard was his mother's voice.

"-IGO, RUN AW-"

A flash of silver and he looked up. Long crescents glinted with moonlight, and time was suspended for a moment. He could see his mother in the corner of his vision, golden hair matted with rain and honey eyes wide in panic. Time returned to its normal pace and the crescents of moonlight descended like a scythe.

Pain erupted in the boy's side, and he was in air. He cried out as he hit the cruel ground, and screamed. Blood and mud and tears and rain were all the same thing…

A monster.

It was covered in dark mossy fur, which was drenched and matted. A sinisterly grinning mask glared down at him, the white bone starkly contrasting the black night. It had a giant hole in it's chest and a long cord attached to it's head. At the end of the cord was the little dark-haired child, hanging limply on the rope.

Horrible and horrible and horrible, forever.

The world went black.

To be continued...