Tatsuki always used to wonder what Ichigo was doing. She would see him walking alone, sometimes with flowers in his hand or bad, and stop at some random place and then appear to talk to thin air. She never was close enough to hear what was said, it really was none of her business, so she never followed and eavesdropped. If it had been anyone but Ichigo, she would have suspected he was slightly insane.
But she knew Ichigo, she knew he was as stable minded as she was. Not that that was worth much, but still. So he must be seeing something. At the time she didn't believe in ghosts, sprits and the like, so she never imagined that he was talking to what was known to the shinigami world as a plus. A spirit that was not a hollow, and so far was in no danger of becoming one.
She would see him in various places, and the times that he brought flowers, he would leave them there.
Sometimes she would lie in bed wondering what he was up to. But she would never let the situation become more than simple curiosity, easy to control and resist.
But after the attack of the hollow that eventually was revealed to her as Orihime's older brother Sora, she started to see spirits as well. Mostly they were just annoying spirits hanging around her for some strange reason, talking about making out, or just plain teasing her. She hated those annoying ghosts and tried very hard to not say anything to them, since she knew that most people wouldn't be able to see who she was talking to and would have her committed.
Then she really started thinking about it, was that what Ichigo had been doing for all those years? Had he been conversing with ghosts and comforting them? That would be like Ichigo, even though he acted gruff and mean sometimes, he would always be nice to those who truly deserved it.
She had looked up the spots that she remembered seeing Ichigo and noticed that there was always a previous death around the areas that he would visit on occasion. She'd once even saw him beat a few skaters for knocking over a vase of flowers. So that must have been the reason for that, they had knocked over the vase that was left for a wandering spirit there.
They must have appreciated the gesture and so he kept coming till that spirit wasn't there anymore. Either they were seen by a shinigami, crossed over by themselves, or turned into hollows. But she rather doubted the last one happened very much. From what she understood, pluses turned into hollows when they became depressed, angry, or some other negative feeling. And who would feel those feelings if they knew someone cared about them, visited them, and even brought flowers from time to time?
She wouldn't be surprised if he had prevented several souls from becoming hollows from doing that.
Then she realized something, she knew he hadn't been doing that for quite a while now. While he was a shinigami, he really didn't have time to go and have a quiet moment with a ghost. And if he did, he would have just performed a konso on them. And now, not only did he not have his shinigami powers; he didn't have any reiatsu at all. So he couldn't even feel them around like his sister Yuzu could. So he still wouldn't be able to visit with those lost souls anymore, or even see them.
If there were any still around that he had visited, they must be really sad and lonely. They probably thought that he had forgotten and abandoned them. Feeling those feelings, they might turn into hollows faster.
She realized that even though the job may seem tedious and unimportant, it might actually save not only the souls that turn into hollows, but the souls that the hollows would eat once they turned. She wondered if there was an increase of hollows since Ichigo stopped going to the souls. She wouldn't be surprised.
The next day after her training in the dojo she recently started teaching at; she went to a flower store and bought a few flowers. She had decided the night before that she was going to take over one of the duties Ichigo had taken upon himself that he wasn't able to do anymore. She wasn't able to help fight the hollows like shinigami could, but this at least she could do.
She had already found a few spirits and talked with them, there was a grandfather in a park that at first was rather grumpy and reluctant to talk to her. But after a small amount of talking to her, he seemed to lighten up a little and she had hopes that the next time she was able to visit him, that he would be a little more welcoming. She even talked to some punk like teen that was the kind that liked to put on a tough act. When she first started talking to him he tried to intimidate her by talking about what he was going to do to her, then her temper took over and she forgot that he was just a simple spirit and started yelling at him like she would a regular human. It surprised him so much that a girl would talk to him like that that he just stared at him gaping a little. After that they started getting along rather well and began a small friendship.
She only had one more flower left but wasn't finding anymore spirits, and it was starting to get dark so she was on her way home when she heard someone call her name. She turned around and saw Ichigo waving at her a block away. She stopped and waited for him as he walked fast to catch up to her.
"Hey Tatsuki, what are you doing out so late. It's getting dark and it's dangerous for a girl to be out at night."
She settled a mild glare at him and rested one fist on her hip, "I'm more than capable of taking care of myself, as you should well know personally."
He gulped a little, "Well what are you doing out so late?" He looked down and saw the flower in her hand, "Are you visiting a grave?"
She also looked down at the flower in her hand, "Well, kinda. I remember seeing you talking to yourself before you became a shinigami, and realized that you weren't talking to yourself, but to spirits. It came to me that those spirits might be lonely now that you're not able to talk to them anymore. And if they were lonely, they have a higher risk of becoming hollows. I figured this is a way I'd be able to help, even if it isn't fighting the hollows."
She looked up at his face then and found an odd expression on his face, a kind of combination of shock, tenderness, and sadness. He then smiled slightly then said, "Thank you Tatsuki, I've felt really bad about not being able to talk to those souls, they probably think I've been ignoring them, or that I've abandoned them."
He then seemed to have an idea, "Hey, do you have time for one more visit?"
"Yeah, sure Ichigo. Do you have someone in particular you're thinking of?"
"Yes, there is one soul I would really like to talk to. And you can help me."
He then turned and started walking; she jogged to catch up to him then started walking beside him. They walked in a comfortable silence, each glad that they are able to do something for each other.
They walked for a few blocks then Tatsuki saw where they were headed, "Oh, I know where we're going now. That is the corner that you beat some stupid skaters for knocking over a vase of flowers."
He seemed surprised, "Yeah, I didn't know you saw me do that."
"I've seen you a couple times apparently talking to the air. So it wasn't hard to figure out what had gone on there."
"Is there a spirit of a little girl with brown hair in pig tails and a red and white striped shirt?"
Tatsuki looked toward the corner and at first thought that she would disappoint her friend because she didn't see the little girl. But then she spotted her trying to hide behind a pole that was on the corner. "Yes, there is. You want to talk to her?"
He didn't respond and just started walking towards the corner and she hurried to catch up to him.
At first the girl seemed to be scared of them but then she got a good look at Ichigo, "Oh, it's you. I was beginning to think that you'd forgotten about me." She paused, obviously expecting him to answer her but then noticed Tatsuki. "You brought a friend?" She looked up at Ichigo expectantly.
By then they had reached the girl and she looked at Ichigo confused until Tatsuki squatted in front of her so she could look at the girl in the eyes.
"Hi there, my name is Tatsuki." She paused, not sure on how to tell the little girl that her friend could no longer see her.
"You were able to talk to her Tatsuki?"
Both the females looked up at him, and then the girl seemed to catch on. "Onii-chan, can you hear me?" She looked fearfully at him.
"I'm sorry, no he can't hear you anymore, he can't even see you now."
The little girl's eyes teared up, "But onii-chan…"
"But, he asked me to come with him tonight so that you can talk to him through me."
She looked up at Ichigo expectantly, Ichigo looked sadly at her, "I'm really sorry I haven't been able to come and see you for a long time. At first I had been busy, then I just plain couldn't anymore."
While he had been speaking to her, the girl had been watching him; the tears ran down her cheeks as she said, "It's ok onii-chan. I understand now." Tatsuki repeated everything she said.
"Maybe you do, but I'm sure you were lonely, and felt abandoned, and I'm sorry that I'm the cause of that pain. But my friend here obviously can see and speak to you. Maybe we can convince her to visit you."
Both of them look at Tatsuki as she looked up at him surprised. When he asked her for her help in talking to the spirit, that was surprising enough. Ichigo never asked for help, must think it's a sign of weakness or something like that. In some cases that would be right, but she knew there was absolutely no way for him to do this one on his own so she gladly helped him. But what surprised her this time was that he even had to ask that one. Obviously since she had visited others she would be willing to visit just one more.
Well she would have a talk with him later about that. For now, she smiled at the little and gently ruffled the girl's hair. At least that is what would have happened if the girl was alive. She could feel the girl's reiatsu on her hand, but the hair itself didn't move.
"Of course, I'll come to visit you. In fact, here is something for you now." She took the last flower that she carried and set it on the ground. There was no vase here anymore, but she didn't want to leave the girl with nothing, so this would have to do for now.
"Later, I'll bring you a vase to put some flowers in. What is your favorite flower?"
The girl looked up at her in surprise, evidently Ichigo never asked her that one before, then she smiled at Tatsuki, "My favorite is the Purple Carnation."
Tatsuki chuckled to herself, "Obviously you're going to be an interesting person to know. I'll see about bringing a few to you sometime."
She stood up, "But unfortunately it is getting late, and my parents are going to be worried about me. I'll come see you later, alright?"
"Alright onee-chan, thank you. I feel better already," she smiled happily up at Tatsuki then looked at Ichigo. "Thank you for worrying about me, and thank you for all the times you've come and defended me. I'm sure I would have been eaten long ago if it wasn't for you. And thank you for bringing a new friend, goodbye. I look forward to the time that we are both able to cross over so that we can speak again."
Tatsuki tearfully repeated the girl's words and Ichigo's mouth widened to a sad grin, "I do too, take care."
With that, both Ichigo and Tatsuki started walking away waving at her as she waved happily back at them.
Ichigo walked her home then, they didn't talk much, but he did ask what the child's favorite flower was and admitted that he never really thought to ask any spirit that.
As Tatsuki stood in her doorway, she waved at Ichigo's back as he walked away towards his own home just two houses down. Then she went inside, talked to her parents, and then went to her room. She fell on her bed facing the ceiling thinking.
She's always liked to help others if they deserved it, but she had never felt this happy before. She was really glad she had chosen to do this, and couldn't wait to do it again when she could.
A/N: Wow, this was fun. I love that I got the idea for this one. Tatsuki is very special to me and I believe she deserves more love then she actually gets. I've even talked to a lot of people who say they agree with me, but I still don't see a lot of art or fanfics of her. Anyways, this was not a pairing really, in this story, they're just friends. The reason Tatsuki chuckled at the girl's favorite flower is because the Purprle Carnations symbolize unpredictability, spontaneity and capriciousness. They send out a message of power and luxury. Purple is known to be associated with spiritual fulfillment as it stimulates peace of mind. Therefore, purple carnations are often used for ceremonial arrangements. And I thought that would be rather appropriate for this story. And I know that it kinda seems that Tatsuki is a little OOC at the end, but to me she really is a kind compasionate soul who just doesn't show it when she's around others. Especially if they don't deserve that kindness from her. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this.