Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Done for a Facebook group.
Summary: The mysterious brew made by Chad during a study session entices the Kurosaki twins to take a sip.
Yuzu's First Coffee
Early evening in Karakura Town. The Kurosaki Clinic was getting some students from the high school in a gathering. Not aware about some of Ichigo's classmates joining him and Rukia, Yuzu was busy making dinner using the rice boiler a stir frying vegetables. No meat? Wait...she's grilling fish on the stove. Grilling to a caramelized brown, the fish looked ready to take trips down to the stomachs of who would eat them. At that moment a kettle was guided to the stove and the burner turned on. Yuzu looked over where Chad gather supplies for the kettle, including a glass French Press coffee pot. The size difference between Chad and Yuzu was so lopsided, it wasn't even funny. "Sorry, Yuzu," he muttered, the soft voice within the giant of a body. "Study session tonight. Ichigo offered us the clinic." Yuzu wasn't really expecting company over so this was interesting timing.
"Ichigo didn't tell us about any study sessions," she complained. Chad had an explanation for it.
"Other classmates from our home room wanted to join and see how we prepare for exams. It was short notice and I do apologize." Now Yuzu wondered about dinner. If classmates came here, she'll need more fish cooked...and she's in short supply.
"Oh no! I don't have enough fish!" Chad had an answer to ease her.
"Taken care of. We brought snacks over if it makes it easier on you." Thoughtful. Chad opened the pot and dumped coffee grounds at the bottom. Yuzu looked on in curiosity.
"What is that?" The kettle whistled, the water boiled hot for the addition to the grounds. The water mixed with grounds and created a brown liquid. Chad used the plunger to mix the water and grounds.
"It's coffee. We drink it to keep ourselves alert." Yuzu could wonder how coffee keeps him and Ichigo up for studying. Karin entered the kitchen with astonishment on her face.
"Hey, Yuzu!" she called. "Did you see who's here? Orihime, Rukia..." Seeing Chad had Karin believing Yuzu got the memo. "Hey, Chad. I guess you came here to give friends more space, huh?" Chad nodded to Karin's question.
"My apartment didn't have the room available." Understanding, Karin acknowledged the reasoning with the overcrowding. Chad lifted the pot, getting a good whiff of the brew. "It's ready." He snagged a tray and loaded ceramic cups on it. In the dining room, several of Ichigo's classmates hit the books. Math, geography, English, science...the class came for learning treatment. Tatsuki and Rukia worked on some English, Ichigo and Uryū caught up on some Geography while Orihime struggled with some math as Chad came to the group with the coffee and cups, just to name a few. Mizuiro glanced over Orihime's paper, unsure about the answers to some of the problems.
"How did you come up with that?" he questioned her answers. A moment startled, she smiled at Mizuiro.
"I'm just guessing," she admitted. "Funny since around 75% of the time they're right." It left around ¼ wrong. Mizuiro thought about giving the redhead pointers.
"Here, you can get more right with this method. Sometimes, it's better to break the equation down with simple steps. Trust me, I've told Keigo several times and almost half the time, he's off in dreamland." Seeing the coffee, Ichigo snagged a cup and some sugar on the table. A few others helped themselves to the cups and coffee.
"Thanks, Chad," Rukia complimented. Yuzu and Karin watched on as the teens washed down potato chips, pretzels and Pocky sticks with this coffee. Forget studying. A female classmate tapped Uryū on the shoulder for some help. Uryū turned to the tap, Mahana in his face.
"Hey, are these the correct elements?" she asked for help before he could score a sip.
"Let me see," he requested her answers which she obliged. A quick glance and a nod later... "You're missing potassium. Almost got it all." Mahana giggled at his compliment.
"Thanks!" While the class worked on homework, Karin and Yuzu wondered what coffee tasted like. Was it really worth the hype Chad brought over? Some weren't taking the strange brew. Ichigo was...and so was Rukia...and Chad and Uryū as well. One cup remained. Karin took the last cup and filled enough for a sample.
"I don't get it," she grumbled. "What's so special about coffee? Wouldn't soda work better?" Big brother would defend the choice.
"Coffee is more potent than soda and has been around longer," he taught. "It's got a bold flavor and sometimes can be too intense for first-timers. That's why they put milk and sweetener in it to loosen the intensity." A rich history from such a simple drink.
"Guess coffee's more than meets the tongue, huh?" Not willing to wait, Karin swigged the coffee down her throat. She waited for something to happen. "Not bad..." Yuzu and Chad were a little stunned that Karin didn't react to the coffee's intensity. Then again, it was a sample so it might have limited the punch coffee could deliver. Ichigo was impressed too but not as much as some might expect.
"You take after dad more than Yuzu and me so I wouldn't be too surprised about you having some liking to coffee." Karin huffed in the thought about her energy on par with Isshin.
"I always wondered why your father was so energetic in kicking your butt everyday, Ichigo," Orihime bubbly awed. "How much coffee does he drink in the morning? Four cups? Five? I mean, he's so full of energy for someone of his age and responsibility." Ichigo chuckled with that inquiry.
"Nah, even one cup would have him bouncing off the walls more than he is already," he corrected. "I would need more coffee in the morning the way he keeps attacking me." Not even Tatsuki could believe Ichigo's father being so hyperactive without coffee.
"He's like that naturally?" she gulped. "I'm more fearful for you than I am about him." Rukia huffed a chuckle like it's nothing.
"I'm surprised that he hasn't used his momentum to crash through my bed," she offered some more insight. Yuzu borrowed the cup from Karin while Ichigo mulled in the thought that Isshin would one day wake up to catch him and her under the same mattress, regardless of the reasoning. Like Karin, she poured a sample in the cup. A deep breath and ingestion, Yuzu slammed the coffee down the gullet. At first, she seemed okay.
"It's...actually pretty good," she praised. That won't last long. That's when she felt her insides reacting to the strong brew. Her muscles tensed up and loosened the cup to fall on the floor. The sound of the cup had the rest turn to a frightening sight: coffee ran down from her mouth and her eyes became dilated. Her view changed dramatically. What was before so vibrant with color turned to a grotesque black and white where she saw ghosts flying around. Some of the ghosts appeared more frightening than Hollows, almost like they were Arrancarr. 'Are those...ghosts?' Back peddling, Yuzu began sweating profusely. Her eyes acted like earmuffs, she couldn't hear her brother or sister or his classmates calling her name. One spirit came charging in at Yuzu who screamed in fear. Chad snagged the tiny blond, shielding her from the evil specters. Chad's embrace broke the trance she fell in. The class huddled around the little girl, even Ichigo and Karin. Yuzu twitched unnervingly. Whatever she saw, it scared her out of her mind.
"Yuzu!" everyone called out in a disorganized way. Finally she wailed tears. Chad hugged Yuzu gently and petted her hair to help comfort her that she's got company.
"It's okay, little girl," he murmured. "You're safe." Karin wondered what triggered that outburst. Ichigo had a clue staring down the pipe: the coffee. Chad carried Yuzu to her room and laid her down, Tatsuki, Karin and Orihime watching on from the doorway and Ichigo by the first two. Yuzu was fast asleep. "I didn't know coffee could trigger...whatever the hell that outburst was all about. She muttered scary spirits." A clue Ichigo offered to explain but Chad had to question. "Doesn't the Kurosaki clan have the ability to sense spiritual anomalies like you?"
"Yeah," Ichigo confirmed. "Though for the most part, it's honed by some life-altering event like when Mom was killed by Fisher. It's how I was able to sense spirits." Learning from the past and what just occurred, Ichigo had a hypothesis about how Yuzu could see the spirits. "I think the caffeine from the coffee jump-started that spiritual sense we thought Karin inherited more than Yuzu." Dormant senses unlocked by Columbia coffee beans? Weirder moments have happened within that quirky family. Chad had an offer.
"If it's okay, I can keep an eye on Yuzu. It's my fault for letting her and Karin sip the coffee without pondering consequences." Ichigo knew Chad well and believed the incident wasn't what he wanted to play out.
"Sure." He left the room and commanded the girls to leave to give Yuzu peace of whatever mind remained. Chad didn't need to see Ichigo depart and put a hand on her head. That hand was as big as her head.
"It's scary to see spirits for the first time. Soon, you'll see that some will ask for your help. Ichigo, Rukia...myself included...we help these lost souls crossover to the beyond." He bowed his head, a prayer on his mind. "Padre celestial,pedirle ayuda a este Niño en su madurez y valentía. No podemos estar aquí para ayudarla en su momento de necesidad. Rezo por su ayuda y comprensión acerca de quién es y qué puede hacer para superar sus miedos." A prayer in Spanish. A touching remorse for the gentle giant. "Amén..." Sometimes fear strikes when you least expect it. In this case, fear was a jump of java and awakening an ability of someone who wasn't ready to embrace it. Never fear, Yuzu. Chad's here to help on the way.