Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I Don't Own Bleach

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He was royally pissed. Of all the shinigami they could have chosen for patrol duty, it had to be him, and in such a boring town, Karakuracho. As he sat on the roof of one of the human made structures, wind billowing through his shihakusho and definitive orange hair, Kurosaki Ichigo watched how humans carried out their daily lives.

It wasn't much different from back in Soul Society, although back home people had more respect and pride. Not to mention they were a whole lot friendlier to each other than how some of the humans behaved here. The one thing he noticed about humans was that they were greedy. They were always trying to get one up on the other, trying to outsmart each other all in the name of money. It seemed everyone had a hidden agenda. It was hard to find a pure soul, either man or woman. It was only the children that were innocent…

Ukitake taicho had once told him that things were different in the past in the living world. Humans lived similar lives to that of the shinigami but as time progressed and with technology evolving, lifestyles changed and so did personalities and upbringing.

It sickened him how they treated each other with disregard. 'Thanks', 'Please' and 'Sorry', were words that hardly featured in their vocabulary. Though occasionally he would find kind hearts, and it was usually the elderly who would show kindness, just to get it thrown back in their faces by the brats of the present generation.

Soul Society could be a crazy place at times and he couldn't deny the fact that they had their share of ruthless people, especially in the outer districts, Rukongai being number one. He should know, seeing as it was his home district. After losing his parents and two sisters to some rampant hollow, growing up in a place like that alone, taught him a lot of things. How to fight, for starters. Hanging on to the scraps of food that would get you through the day was tough, especially being alone…

He spent a lot of time in solitude, too many years actually, that when he found a decent person to talk to, he couldn't form the correct words or he always said the wrong things, always to brash; he was socially inept. His demeanor and sour face would always put people off and he got teased about it by the other boys around Rukongai, saying he'd never find a woman with that scary face.

He didn't care in the least. He was happy alone and he never needed anyone before.

Although, at some stage in his life, he had reached a certain point in his life, where he searched for something more. He felt as if something was calling out to him and that's when he decided to become a shinigami.

Getting into the academy was fun, well he loved the fighting part about it all. The rest sucked. No one would approach him and even if they did, he had to just glare at them and they would turn the other way.

Meeting Rukia and Renji had been a feat on its own. He grinned at the fight he had gotten in with the both of them on their first meeting. He couldn't even remember what they were fighting over but it must have been Rukia's big mouth that caused the fight. He had underestimated Rukia due to her size, he realised he was very wrong a little too late. She had pummeled him and that bastard Renji had sat back and laughed. Though afterwards, she had felt sorry for him, and got Renji to drag him to one of the places they hung out on breaks.

After that, they were inseparable, always protecting each other and looking out for one another, not to mention fighting and arguing with each other most times. It was an ok life, though that damn Byakuya had to come and intervene, taking Rukia away, adopting her into his family with some vague reason. Though, he and Renji were saddened at first, they understood it was for the best. She could have a better life that way and more privileges even though her 'brother' looked down on him and Renji.

They went on with their mundane but disruptive lives and eventually they qualified. He became a 5th seat in Squad 5 and Renji the 6th Seat of the 11th Squad. Rukia belonged to the 13th Squad but wasn't seated, apparently that had something to do with her 'brother', Byakuya.

Ichigo was quite strong, everyone knew that his reiatsu was hard to tame, it was shown in his Zanpakuto that was always in shikai form. That was one of the main reasons he was seated so early in his 'career' as a Shinigami. Though there was one thing he didn't like about his life as a Shinigami… and that was being under the leadership of Aizen Sousuke. He couldn't place it but even though the man was his squad leader and everyone loved him, he couldn't see eye-to-eye with him.

He always got this weird vibe from him that he couldn't explain. When he had mentioned it to Rukia and Renji, he had gotten sounded just for bringing up such an insane observation. If he even whispered a word to Momo, he knew he would be dead. His lieutenant followed the man as if he were Kami himself…

That's one thing he could never figure out. Everyone within their respective divisions, especially the fukataicho's, praised their taicho's as if they were God's. They followed them blindly and never doubted them. He wished he could be one of them but it wasn't in his nature or maybe it was also due to the fact that he didn't trust his own taicho.

He had a feeling someone must have gotten wind off his unsettled feelings, or it could be due to him always saying what was on his mind, well it all led to this moment in time… the reason he was sitting here watching the normally mundane lives of humans.

Out of the blue Momo had called him and let him know that he would be the Shinigami to watch over Karakuracho. He was dumbfounded at first. Everyone knew he was excessively strong and that he would work his way up the ranks in no time, he just couldn't understand why he was being given a job that should be left to the bottom-enders… And then he eventually realised it when he noticed Momo's disposition towards him. She wasn't her friendly self and she had had this irritated look on her face which wasn't like her.

So he asked her about it, although he knew gossip must have spread about his dislike of their taicho. She had been angry and plainly said that it was better if he was away for a while so he couldn't spread any poisonous thoughts around, regarding 'Aizen-taicho'. He was shocked to see her that way. Momo was his friend, ever since he was placed in the 5th division. She was sweet and kind and would never lash out at her friends unnecessarily and she was the only one in the division that didn't shy away from his moody disposition.

This made him despise his taicho even more. He had her wrapped around his finger and she was blind to all else, so was everybody else. Well he would find out what his taicho was hiding, one day his game would be up. He had a gut feeling about it.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a screech of tires and a loud honk from a car. He whipped his head to watch the scene below him, a car skidding to a halt as a young woman ran off from the pavement to grab the little girl who had wandered on the road, in line of the car. The woman fell heavily on her side, bearing the brunt of the fall and cradling the little girl so she wouldn't get hurt. Her long auburn hair, a strange colour for a human woman, fell around the two like a blanket. He jumped down from his position to take a closer look.

He watched as the woman slowly got off the ground, still holding the little girl in her arms as she sobbed heavily. She soothed the girl by rubbing her back and whispering soft words in her ear. Though, the scene was interrupted as the driver of the car got off and started yelling at the little girl's savior.

"You stupid bitch! Can't you look after your kid! That little brat nearly damaged my car! Do you know how expensive this car is? Way more than the two of your lives put together!" The angry man bellowed.

Ichigo was seething and wanted to punch him in the face for his horrible words. The man didn't even care if the mother and daughter were okay, all he was worried about was his damn car! This is what disgusted him, humans like this man. And what made him more irritated was that the mother kept apologizing to him and trying to say something but the man wouldn't allow her as he yelled continuously.

At this point there was a crowd gathering and as he looked to the side, he noticed another woman push thought the crowd and barrel her way towards the young woman and the little girl. The woman was almost hysterical as he watched her run forward screaming out a name and snatching the girl from the auburn-haired woman.

"Kaoru-chan!" she yelled, squeezing the girl to her body.

The little girl broke out into tears, "Okaasan! Okaasan!"

Ichigo's eyes widened. So the auburn-haired woman was not the young girl's mother… Maybe that's what she must have been trying to tell that pig-headed driver.

He snapped his head at the mother of the girl and watched as she yelled at the auburn-haired woman, not even realising what just happen.

"Get your filthy hands off my daughter! Where the hell were you taking her! I should call the police!"

"Gomen! I swear I wasn't taking her anywhere, she ran on the road and-"

The young woman tried to explain but the mother cut her off.

"Save it! I don't want to hear it!"

The grey-eyed woman bowed her head in shame and Ichigo was baffled that she wasn't defending herself.

The mother looked towards the car and the angry driver and quickly added, "I'll let it slide this time. Freak." And with that, he watched as the mother of the girl held on to her daughter and made her way through the crowd quickly without so much of a 'thanks' for the woman that just saved her child. Most probably she realised her kid had run onto the street and she had just yelled at the poor woman for nothing, being too embarrassed, she ran off as if she was right.

He noticed the young woman flinch at the last comment but still kept her head bowed.

The driver who now realised that he had been yelling at the wrong woman, jumped back in his car without apologizing for his mistake and drove off hastily, almost knocking over the young woman, who squeaked and jumped out off the way. At this point in time the crowd that had gathered started to dissipate, not one of them even offering to help the auburn-haired woman.

He watched as she bowed her head and sighed and slowly made her way to her bag that lay on the road. That's when he noticed that she limped slightly and there was a small grimace on her face. He knew she had been hurt because of the fall. She picked up her bag and dusted it off, placing it on her shoulder and began walking, or more like limping, down the road.

Ichigo was extremely curious… This woman just jumped out onto the street to save someone else's child at the cost of her own body. She refused to retort back at the man who yelled at her, only apologizing to him when it wasn't her fault and she had quietly not said a thing at the harsh words of the child's mother, only bowing her head as if she were in the wrong.

He was actually angry for her and it shouldn't have affected him in the least! He wondered why she would do what she did, or react the way she did. He followed her and noticed her head was bowed low and occasionally she would lift her hands to her face, swiping at it quickly. When he moved to look at her from the front, he realised she was crying…

For some strange reason his heart clenched at the site. After the kind act she had just demonstrated, she was the one that was left hurt the most… This pissed him off. He felt like finding the man and punching him until he apologized and shaking some sense into that woman for not looking after her kid better and not to mention showing some gratitude!

His head started throbbing at the foreign sensation in his mind. He grasped his head in his hands and gritted his teeth, willing the feeling to leave. He shook his head, allowing his anger to subside and continued to watch the woman.

He wondered why the woman in front of him wasn't angry, why she wasn't seething with rage at how those people treated her, or why she wasn't promising to hurt them. All he could feel coming from her right now was hurt and shame…

He was highly intrigued by her so he decided to follow her to her destination, the poor girl seemed out of it. She looked like she was trying hard to keep it together.

He watched as she made it to her apartment and with shaking hands, fished out the keys from her bag and opened the door, locking it behind her. He walked through the wall to see her drop her bag and fall in front of a shrine, a photo frame with a picture of a young, smiling, brown-haired man, at the center of the shrine.

She bowed her head and burst out crying, her back convulsing in sobs. It tore at his heart as he heard her soft words, aimed at the man in the picture.

"Oh onii-chan… It hurts so much… I tried to help the little g-girl… and tha-that man just kept yelling at m-me. I didn't mean to fall in front of his c-car… and the lady thought I was going to take her child. I would never do something like that! A-and she c-called me a f-freak…"

She quieted after revealing what the woman had called her and her crying turned into soft sobs. She lifted her head but still looked at the ground, as if she were thinking of a distant past.

"It's been a very long time since anyone called me that…" she sighed and held onto a few strands of her hair.

"Maybe I should cut it, and then maybe dye it… Then maybe I would fit in… And they would never call me that again…" she said contemplatively.

Ichigo was shocked beyond words… This human girl suffered the same troubles as him growing up. He could still remember the foul words he'd been called due to his drastic hair colour. It hurt at first, especially being by himself, but he got over it and fought back. He wasn't about to change for anyone. That was one of the main reasons he got into so many fights. He wanted to yell at her not to do something so stupid, to be happy as she is and not to give a fuck about what anybody else said but she beat him to it.

She shook her head, her long locks flying all over and determinedly said, "No! I can't! That would be dishonoring Tatsuki-chan! I promised I'd grow my hair out because she protected me and that was my vow to her."

Her expression changed slowly though after that outburst, he watched a small smile form on her face as she sniffled softly, "And anyway…onii-chan liked my hair like this…" holding a few strands in front of her.

She wiped her face and laughed. "Gosh, look at what a mess I am. If Tatsuki-chan saw me like this she'd smack me!" she giggled and then fell into a somber mood, smiling sadly at the picture. She clasped her hands and said a small prayer, then bowed low and finally got up and walked to the other room.

He was about to follow her but his communicator went off, so he left in search of the hollow, letting his thoughts of the auburn-haired woman drift for now.

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When Ichigo was done, which was a while after, due to there being more than one hollow as well as the many souls he had to perform konso on, it was quite late. He decided to patrol around, though he couldn't get the thought of the auburn-haired woman out of his head.

When he had listened in on her conversation to her deceased brother, he realised that the woman had the kindest of intentions from the beginning. She was soft hearted and almost believed it was her fault. He was shocked to find out that she shared the same experience as he did concerning their hair but that 'Tatsuki' woman she kept mentioning must have helped her because after mentioning her, her resolve was strengthened.

He smirked at that, the young woman looked like she had some spirit in her. He had watched as her face changed from desolation to determination. That was a good trait and he hoped she wouldn't let the evil of people diminish it.

He made his way to her apartment building and seeing all the lights off, perched himself on the roof, content on trying to get some sleep. He didn't know why he came back here but he wasn't going to question it. There was just something different about her that he couldn't explain…

As he drifted off, he hoped there wouldn't be any hollows interrupting his much needed sleep…

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A/N: 'Equilibrium' is almost done and this has been nagging at me for a while. If I didn't get it out, I think I was going to lose my mind…

Please let me know if I should carry on with this story, because I'm not sure if I should continue or just take it down _

Tc,

Kyra