Hello folks. I have decided to revamp this story a bit, since it's ANCIENT... I will also be adding a character name; I hope all my old readers (if you're still there) are okay with that. I'll continue with the majority of the story being in your character's main POV, but this will be a bit more of an OC's story.

And without further ado, here we go:

~Believe~

The sunlight beamed down to the dry earth, basking it in its rich glow. The luminosity danced over a young face; your eyelids gently fluttered from the sunlight's contact with your bright pools. You groaned slightly, blocking the sun out of your eyes with a dainty hand. Gently sighing, eventually surrendering yourself to the shade of a tree that was growing in the school's courtyard. You leaned against it for a moment, staring off in the direction of one of the classroom windows with anguish. With a quick stretch and a long, dragged out yawn, you drifted off into thought to think of your plans for the afternoon.

You had been preparing for this day, for quite some time; you went as far as asking your grandfather for time off from your usual shrine duties as a Miko. You had promised that you would gain the courage to talk to your friend, who had seemed much too busy for you lately. He was always slipping out with that transfer student, Rukia. The others told you that they were secretly dating, but you had known better. Of course you also knew that most young female's enjoyed the daily gossip and they were just another victim of such stories.

But you had seen it a few times. At first, you would only tell yourself that you were crazy; imagining it. It had to be that, what else could it possibly be? Even if you were a Miko, and things such as spirits were a common sight to you; this was difficult to believe. However, as time went on, it happened more frequently. You heard those awful, ear-splitting screams that tore through the tranquillity of the night. Those unholy screeches would haunt you forever and follow you to your nightmares.

However, that was not nearly as mystifying as what else you had discovered. Maybe they hadn't sensed your presence; maybe they were too busy fighting those… those monsters. You now knew it was real, and could not deny that fact anymore. There was no doubt about it.

Kurosaki Ichigo was a Shinigami.

The robes, the sword, all of it; it seemed to come together accordingly. Why was he a Shinigami? You worried for his safety as the monsters you would see him fight were huge, terrifying… Powerful. Moreover, it wasn't only him; Inoue Orihime, Ishida Uryuu, Yasutora Sado… They all seemed to have some special ability and connection with him as well. And you, well... you didn't have any special skill.

You reminisced of the times long past and your childhood memories; those days when Ichigo and his family would often visit the Shinto. That is where you had first become friends with him. It was about a year or so after his mother had passed away, and his younger sisters, Karin and Yuzu, would constantly cling to him. He was a depressed little boy, but within all understanding.

But life was different now and the both of you had grown up. Your lives were on completely different courses. However, that does not mean you would simply give up on your friendship. Oh no, you still had some fight in ya! It was your desire to help somehow.

You shook your head wearily to break the chain of thoughts. If you didn't do it today, you would continue to put it off. You dragged yourself from the comfort of the tree covering, and staggered towards the school.

When you entered into the classroom, there were only a few students still inside. You scanned the room for Ichigo, but didn't see him anywhere. He wouldn't be one to so easily miss, with his bright orange hair and all.

"Hey, did you guys see Ichigo?" You asked the remaining students, who looked at you briefly.

"He just left with a bunch of weird looking people." One spoke up, sounding distracted, plucking away on the digits of a cell phone.

"Weird looking people?" You asked, as it obviously had peaked your interest.

Keigo had snuck up behind you, placing his hands on your shoulders and began shouting dramatically.

"Yes! There was a blond girl with huuuuuge… which looked very scandalous in her uniform top!" He giggled perversely, causing you to roll your eyes at his antics, "Then there was a cocky bald dude, with a wooden sword, a pretty boy with a bob-cut, a redhead with crazy tattoos, and a silver haired midget!" You raised your eyebrows when he finished his description. It was quite the colourful group of people, you thought to yourself. Maybe Keigo was only making up stories, trying to cover for Ichigo, or something.

"Thanks, Keigo. I'll see if I can catch up with him." You nodded, deciding to believe his story.

"No problem, Yoko!" He called out happily, as you turned to leave the classroom.

Unfortunately, you had just missed him. As it were to be expected, nothing ever seems to go according to plan. After searching the entire school without a trace of Ichigo, you decided it was a safe bet he would be at his house. If he wasn't, you could wait there for him, as he shouldn't be out too late, unless he had to fight the monsters.

Luckily Ichigo didn't live too far away from the school-A short walk from the school had gotten you to your destination so you could finally confront him. You made your way up to the side door of the Kurosaki residence, instead of the clinic entrance. Your hands were stiffly placed by your side, nervously clenched into fists. There's no way you could let yourself chicken out now, you were already here. You took a deep breath to attempt to calm your now jumping nerves.

It's not as if you really had planned what you wanted to say, in the first place. If worst came to worst, you could just play it off as a surprise visit, only if you couldn't muster the courage. At least that's what you would tell yourself to try to boost your confidence.

You slowly lifted your hand, retracting slightly in hesitation. Your body seemed to move on its own, and placed several firm knocks against the wood. No turning back now!

A few minutes went by before the doorknob began to turn. Tiny pellets of sweat were beginning to form on your forehead as you saw the metallic object spin around.

What am I so nervous for? We're friends, he has to understand! You mentally encouraged yourself.

A little girl with bright hair which was pulled back slightly with a strawberry pin poked her head out the door, immediately smiling upon seeing the visitor.

"Yoko!" She burst out, tackling you into a brisk hug. You returned the hug, sliding a hand through the younger girls light coloured locks.

"Hello, Yuzu. It's been awhile, huh?" You spoke, trying to keep your voice from cracking as her face as buried into you.

Yuzu released you from the hug, giving you a dimpled smile, "It has. I've missed you so much." She opened the door wider, giving you a full view of the inside of her home, "Come in! I'm sure everyone else wants to see you." Yuzu jumped around childishly, asking an onslaught of questions consisting of 'How have you been?', 'What have you been doing?', 'Why didn't you come visit more often?', and so on.

"Yokooooo~!" A shrill call resounded through the hall as the two of you made your way to the kitchen. Kurosaki Isshin had come flying - Literally - towards you, arms wide open. Strings of what one would presume to be tears spilling from his eyes and flowing out behind him. Before he was able to make it to you, he was stopped by a swift kick to the face from Yuzu's hoyden sister, Karin. Halting him completely as he fell to the floor and nearly breaking his face upon impact.

"Yo." Karin greeted, lifting her eyes towards you from underneath her red cap. You struggled to stifle a laugh that dared to escape at the family's antics.

"Hello Karin, hello Mr. Kurosaki," you broke into a smile, drifting to and from your happy memories of the family.

Isshin raised himself from the floor, clutching his nose tightly.

"Oh, Masaki! Our daughters are so mean to me!" He whined, but quickly recomposed himself by dusting his pants, "Well, if it isn't Yoko. You've been a stranger to us for the past while."

You bowed in response, with the utmost respect, "I'm sorry! It's just that I have been so busy! I haven't had the time to-" Isshin placed a hand on the top of your head, causing you to break your sentence. He ruffled your hair slightly to your dismay, not wanting to get your hair to get messed up.

"Of course we understand! Right, Yuzu?" His deep voice resounding loudly, as he turned to Yuzu, she nodded in response to her father's comments. "What can you expect from a teenage girl? I'm sure your adolescent hormones and curiosity has got you busy with all the boys!"

Karin sighed, waving off her father, "I hope you remember not to take his comments seriously."

You smiled, feeling so welcome and at home with them. The nostalgic atmosphere made you nearly forget the main reason you came here in the first place.

"Oh yeah. Is Ichigo around?" The feeling of nervousness once again flooded your body, your knees daring to buckle.

"He's upstairs. Go right up!" Yuzu grabbed your hand, and began dragging you up the stairs. The two of you came to a door with a familiar '15' sign nailed to it. She stopped in front of it, and turned to look up at you with her eyes beaming with curiosity. Then without another second to spare, she barged into the room without even knocking.

"Brother, you have someone here to see you!" Yuzu announced, pushing you with her elbow slightly, to get you to step into the room. Ichigo's eyes widened slightly when they landed on his guest. You instantly scratched the back of your neck, looking away from him. Your stomach knotted, and you quickly began searching your brain for something to say.

"Been a long time since I came here, huh Ichigo?" was the only thing you were able to conjure up, and you had said it more superficially than you intended.

Ichigo mocked your previous movements, "yeah."

Yuzu took the awkwardness as her cue to quietly leave, and closed the door behind her. You fumbled your thumbs together, restlessly, looking at the bandages that were wrapped around his head, and the ones slapped onto his cheek, "Actually, I came here because I wanted to talk to you about something…" You got straight to the point, figuring small talk would only elude you further from bringing it up.

Seeing the bandages only made you worry more, you didn't want to see him get hurt.

"Should I leave?" A female voice spouted out, grabbing your attention. Rukia was standing in the far corner of the room, leaning against the closet door; you hadn't even noticed her presence. You thought about what you wanted for a moment, but quickly made up your mind.

"No, there isn't a reason for you to leave," you paused briefly, inhaling before continuing, "It kind of involves you too."

Ichigo and Rukia looked at each other in surprise, wondering what on earth you had to say.

"Oh?" Rukia lifted herself from her lethargic position, seeming inquisitive. She watched your shoulders slump a little, as you traced the floorboards of the bedroom with your eyes.

"Well, I…" you began, unsure of where to start, "I guess, I noticed it gradually." you glanced towards Ichigo; not knowing quite how to put it into words.

"Noticed what?" He said, acting dumbfounded and avoiding eye contact with you as much as he could.

"At first, I thought it was just me, when Rukia suddenly transferred to the school in the middle of the semester. You started to avoid me." Rukia eyed Ichigo nervously, hoping that you had not gotten the wrong idea, "But then I saw you and Tatsuki were drifting. And not only with you. Orihime too."

"Hey, it wasn't intentional. I've just been busy. You should understand that more than anyone." Ichigo defended himself. You understood what he was getting at, being a Miko really cut into your social time. You were busy quite often, since after school you would have to regularly work as a Shrine Maiden for the Shinto. Your grandfather had such little help as it was.

"That's not really it, Ichigo. I know what you are." You closed your eyes, hoping he wouldn't react badly or get angry.

Ichigo stumbled backwards apprehensively. Not sure what to expect with what you said. You opened your eyes and bore into his, "You're a Shinigami... aren't you?"

In response he closed his mouth in a clumsy motion, his eyebrows stretching towards his hairline as he turned to look at Rukia in surprise, "W-wh-what? You can't be serious. What kind of silly thing is that? A Shinigami... Sounds like something from an Anime or something. Maybe you're watching too much TV!" He laughed nervously, trying to cover up the truth. You could see the growing discomfort all over Ichigo's face.

"I've seen you and Rukia, both. I-I won't tell anyone." You tried to calm the rising tension, "I understand why you're distancing yourself. But I worry about you… I want to help."

"So, what can you do to help? You're only a human." Rukia blatantly stated, in a strict tone. You felt a twinge of hurt in your heart. Though, what Rukia said was probably true. The ability to see them was not enough to defeat them.

Ichigo's arm's flailed madly as the words left Rukia's mouth, "Rukia! What are you talking about?"

She scoffed, "Ichigo, drop the act. She already knew, clearly. She's seen us, what else could we do to prevent her from knowing? I could use the memory modifier but she would just see us again."

"We could be more careful! Yeah, that's it! You can replace her memory, and she can forget all about this. So we will just be more careful to keep her from seeing us next time!" Ichigo attempted to think of a solution. You dropped your head towards your feet: sadness filled you knowing that he could not just accept that you had known about him.

"I've seen… the monsters too…"

"And she will keep seeing them. She has a decent Reiatsu for a human. They will probably target her." Rukia crossed her arms, and returning to her leaning position against Ichigo's closet. You were surprised that Rukia had seemed to take your side, more than Ichigo's, especially since you had barely known each other; and at times, you had been jealous of her. Ichigo scratched the back of his neck, awkwardly; his expression was painted in a way that obviously showed he was not in favour of what Rukia had suggested.

"Ichigo…" You started, in a small voice, "We were friends… You used to be able to tell me anything."

Ichigo remained silent; things were different between you now. You had grown up, and your lives had taken different paths. It's not like Ichigo had planned on becoming a Shinigami; far from it, in fact. He only became one to save his family.

"Listen to me, Ichigo. I know about you, and Rukia. I know about the monsters. I've seen you kill them. I've seen you with ghosts."

You ranted, without really knowing what you wanted to say. On the other hand, what you wanted him to say. Maybe this was all just a waste of your time. Maybe you should not have come at all.

Ichigo rested his hands on your shoulders, which were beginning to slump severely in depression, "Listen. I'm sorry. Really, I am. But this is something I have to do."

You broke your gaze from him as the last syllable left his mouth. Staring towards your feet, you told him, "… I know."

And that was it. You turned away from him, and left his room without even as much as saying good-bye or making eye contact with him. Ichigo stood in shock for a moment, looking towards Rukia, who didn't bother to look him in the face.

"Just let her go." She told him, "its better this way. She understands that she can't help you, and won't try to get involved."

Ichigo sighed, collapsing down onto his bed, "I know, but…"

"I'm sorry, but that's just the way it has to be. You don't want her to get hurt do you?"

He turned away from her, knowing what she said was true, "You're right..."

You virtually stomped away towards your home at the Shinto Shrine. You were upset, you were humiliated; you wanted to cry, but forced yourself to keep the tears inside or at least until you had gotten home.

Regardless of everything, you still felt bad for leaving the Kurosaki residence without properly saying goodbye. Now Ichigo was a Shinigami, and you were only a human leading a simple life. Your friendship was virtually over.

You stopped dead, in the middle of the sidewalk. You bowed your head in shame, slapping your hands to your face.

Ugh! I'm so stupid! I should have never confronted him! You screamed mentally throughout your mind, in the end, nothing has changed! Now he'll probably avoid me even more!

The tears began prickling in your tear ducts, and held your breath to keep yourself from sobbing. You straightened yourself out, and took in your surroundings. You realized you were standing in front of Orihime's apartment; What luck, you hadn't been here in a very long time. You wondered if you should go talk to Orihime for support or just tell her how you feel. She would always listen, even if her advice was a little strange for the most part. At least she had meant well and actually cared. Orihime was one of the sweetest and most understanding people you had ever known. Sometimes it just helped to have someone who would listen to you, and wouldn't cast you away.

Strangely, the air seemed to become frigid, the closer you got to the door.

It was then you recognized what seemed to be a shadowy figure move on her rooftop. Stunned, you tried not to draw attention to yourself. Good thing you hadn't screamed out loud in frustration, earlier-even though you really wanted to. You snuck to the side of the building, keeping your body within close proximity to the wall, to where there was a place you could lift yourself up. Quietly, you reached for the pipe that stuck out from the building and began to climb to the top to surprise the intruder. Normally you were not so brave, but the silhouette looked somewhat… small.

Upon reaching the highest point of which you could completely conceal yourself, you peeked over inconspicuously to see a young looking boy, with silver hair. He was wearing your school's uniform, but you had not recognized him. The intruder was completely oblivious, minding his own business and staring towards the stars. Still, you thought it was kind of odd; maybe he was some kind of pervert, spying on Orihime. You could definitely see why Orihime would be a prime target for that sort of peeping.

You held your breath, and moved slowly and cautiously as you made your way to the point of no return, all the while keeping your balance; being careful not to make any noise so you wouldn't be noticed. Putting all your courage into it, you spontaneously leapt at the boy. You collided into him, and grabbed a hold of his arms. Unfortunately, you both fell back onto the ceiling creating a loud THUD noise, which would attract Orihime's attention. You awkwardly pinned him down, which didn't sit too well with the trespasser.

"What are you doing?" The boy shouted at you in irritation. A vein on his forehead becoming distinctively more prominent as his anger grew.

"I could ask you the same, you pervert!" You retorted.

"What? You are the one who pounced at me! And you can't talk while sitting on top of me. You're the pervert!" He wiggled slightly under you for emphasis.

You hadn't realized the position you were in, you only thought of how you could securely keep him held down so he wouldn't run away. Your face went ten different shades of red in embarrassment. You both heard the eerie creak as the front door swung open, which only made your cheeks burn more fiercely. You wouldn't want Orihime to find you in such an inarticulate disposition.

"Captain~! Are you okay?" A voice called out, which was clearly not Orihime's. Had you gotten the wrong house?

"I heard a thud. Did you fall down?" The voice seemed to be struggling to muffle a demeaning laugh.

"Yes, I'm fine." He grumbled, pushing you off him, "But there's a crazy pervert up here who randomly attacked me."

"A pervert?~" She said in a singsong voice. She seemed a bit too happy to hear about that, although you were certainly not a pervert.

The boy stood up, brushing his clothes off with his palms. He looked towards you with a scowl, and then stuffed his hands tightly into his pockets, hastily jumping down from the roof to the porch below him. All the while managing to complete that feat while his hands were unavailable to him, not seeming to worry if precarious circumstances caused him to stumble.

Another pair of footsteps could be heard rushing out of the house.

"Toushirou, what happened?"

That was Orihime's voice!

"Orihime!" You shouted, "It's me, Yoko!"

"Yoko? Where are you?" Orihime looked back and forth, not able to find where you were hiding, "Are you playing tricks on me?" She began whining.

You poked your head from above and began waving furiously, "I'm right here!"

Orihime gazed up towards you, smiling brightly, "Yoko!" She waved back ecstatically, "What are you doing up there?"

Toushirou scoffed, "She attacked me. I have no idea why."

Steam rhetorically came out your ears, "I thought you were peeping on Orihime! How was I supposed to know that some creep sitting on her house was her friend! It looked suspicious to me!"

The busty strawberry blonde standing with Orihime giggled, "Aww, poor Captain! She thinks you're a little pervert!"

"Shut up, Matsumoto!" He growled. You thought he seemed to be a very grumpy person, or maybe you just really hurt his feelings.

You climbed over the roof, letting your legs dangle a bit from the edge. You ungracefully jumped down, stumbling forward a bit before catching yourself. You were in no comparison of skill with the white haired boy.

You looked towards the three, realizing that the one they called Toushirou was actually a little bit on the short side. You were almost a head taller than he was; you smirked coyly as you looked down at him.

"What are you staring at?" He barked as he realized you were looking down upon him.

Your eyes widened realizing you had been caught, "N-nothing! I just wanted to apologize for what happened! I didn't mean to offend you."

"Hn."

"Be nice, Captain! She's trying to say sorry to you!" Matsumoto patted his shuck of hair. He shot a glare towards her that made her pull her hand away from him, quickly.

"Tch, Fine... Don't worry about it." He said crossing his arms, with the same scowl marked across his face.

You were surprised. You didn't think he would actually accept your apology, especially with the attitude he was giving off.

"Yoko!" Orihime grabbed you into a hug with one arm. Your eyes saddened upon seeing the gauze cast wrapped around your friends left arm, as well as the bandages around her forehead. It seemed Ichigo wasn't the only one getting hurt from this whole Shinigami business.

"What happened to you, Orihime?"

"Huh? Oh, this? I fell down the stairs, haha. I'm so clumsy sometimes!" She rubbed the back of her neck with her uncasted hand.

You pretended to buy it, since Orihime had guests, otherwise you would give her an earful as you knew she had actually gotten hurt from fighting the monsters, "Oh... Well, you really need to be more careful! You'll make me worry."

"Don't worry! I know I'm a klutz but I recover pretty well." She attempted to assure you, "Let's all go inside! I haven't seen you for awhile so we can catch up! I missed you!"

If only Ichigo would have said that when he saw you, instead of pushing you away. You mentally sighed behind the smile you forced for Orihime.

"I missed you too, Orihime."

And there we have chapter 1. I know something will spawn some questions, so I will just answer it now. There's a reason Hitsugaya was pounced so easily, and it will be explained later in the story. Don't worry, I didn't forget about his Reiatsu sensing abilities and whatnot. Thanks everyone for giving it a chance.