ALL WE ARE;
A re-edit of 'Sidelines'
Summary: After returning to Karakura Town, Ichigo and friends continue their lives just as they left them. However, when a new threat rises, how will Ichigo and the Soul Society deal with this? And What is with this new girl?
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, or any of their characters!
Chapter One – A rude Awakening
Ichigo Kurosaki was not your average sixteen year old male; instead, he was everything but ordinary. You see, Ichigo never received a warm good morning or a pleasant good night. His father, Isshin Kurosaki, made sure of that by the best way he knows how; violence.
In spite of that, Ichigo couldn't deny that he hadn't learnt anything from his father's ambushes; in fact, if it wasn't for these cruel training sessions, Ichigo doubted he would have ever survived the beatings he used to get when he was younger. However, this isn't why he is considered to be different; the reason as to why, is because of his title known as substitute Shinigami.
For Ichigo, living two different lives was his own personal hell. If he had known what he was getting himself into when one Rukia Kuchiki entered his life, he probably would have declined and insisted that she was off her rocket. But he didn't decline; he couldn't decline. Therefore, as a result of his actions that almost fateful night; Ichigo was continuously risking his life day in and day out, whilst cleaning up the Soul Society's mess which was originally theirs to begin with.
So when Ichigo entered the dull coloured classroom, he couldn't help but to feel slightly agitated towards the Soul Society whom had ruined his life no matter if Ichigo wanted it or not. This led to Ichigo hastily taking his seat in the middle of the classroom, whilst watching his orange haired friend, Orihime Inoue, smile towards him and saying; "Good morning, Kurosaki-Kun!"
"Morning Orihime, what's up?" Ichigo asked, whilst tilting his head slightly and smiling slightly towards his eccentric friend. "And how many more times do I have to tell you to call me Ichigo?"
Blushing slightly, Orihime chuckled; "I'm sorry, I keep forgetting. But, I was wondering if you had heard from Ruk... Ah! I'm Sorry, Kurosaki-Kun … I mean ..."
Laughing, Ichigo assured her that it was okay if she didn't feel comfortable calling him by this given name at first; however, his mood suddenly turned sour at the thought of the Soul Society, and everyone in it. "No, I haven't. Did you try asking Mr. Hat and Clogs?"
"No, I was planning on going this afternoon, but I thought I would ask you first to see if it would save me the trip!" Orihime replied, whilst placing her bag on top of the table beside Ichigo. "Though I could always do with the exercise!"
"You barely weigh a feather, Orihime... ah, would you like me to come with you?" Ichigo asked, whilst nodding towards his friend Chad, whom had just entered the classroom.
Orihime smiled gratefully; "Are you sure, Kurosaki-Kun? I wouldn't want to bother you!"
Waving her off with a wave of his hand, Ichigo gave her one last smile before turning his head in the direction of the chalk board; "I'll come with you; Maybe I will ask to do some training with Yoruichi..."
"Or you could ask her to start undressing herself in front of you, Kurosaki," A voice interrupted, which Ichigo quickly identified it as Uryu Ishida; a sewing fanatic, who had tried to kill him when they first met.
"What's wrong, Ishida? Jealous that your sewing machine can't do the same thing?" Ichigo asked, whilst wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.
Eyes widening, Ishida glared at the carrot top and ignored the faint blush which was forming on his pale cheeks; "Believe what you want, Kurosaki, but I don't have sick, perverted thoughts like you do."
Scoffing, Ichigo rolled his eyes; "No, because the sewing machine already took care of your needs."
"Oh really?" Ishida asked, whilst leaning in towards Ichigo's personal space; "Then what about your needs? Did Lady Yoruichi take care of them, too?"
Narrowing his eyes, Ichigo forcefully grabbed the front of the Quincy's shirt and pulled him down further, until Ichigo's lips was at his ears; "Nope, and who knows; I might just fancy a guy now and then..."
Pulling himself out of the smirking carrot tops grip, Ishida blushed profusely and hastily walked towards the direction of his seat; ignoring the laughter which followed. 'That sick, perverted fool! And know he wonders why I hate Shinigami's!' Ishida thought, as he grabbed his notebook from his side bag before flipping through it's pages.
"Um... Kurosaki-Kun? D-Do you think that was appropriate?" Orihime asked, whilst she took a quick glance around the classroom; "What if people heard?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Ichigo smirked and looked at Orihime; "So what?"
"But, Kurosaki-Kun!" Orihime gasped, her eyes wide as saucers; "Don't you think people might think... that you and … are doing … Ishida-kun …"
Laughing, Ichigo stole a quick glance towards the annoyed Quincy, and smiled mockingly; "Let people think what they want to think. Even if I was gay, and I'm not, I still wouldn't be flirting with needle boy over their!"
Just as Ichigo noticed Orihime about to respond, the all too familiar 'Beep, Beep, Beep!' from his Soul Reaper alarmed him of a Hollow present, and he sighed; "Sorry, Orihime. But I need to go."
Leaving the School, Ichigo hastily pressed his Soul Reaper badge against his chest and sighed heavily. Taking several steps, Ichigo found himself jumping throughout the sky; his hair blowing in every direction, whilst he continued to make sharp turns until he reached the middle of Karakura Town.
"That's odd, I can't see anything," Ichigo mumbled to himself, as he did a visual sweep of the area. "Maybe this stupid badge is … ARGH! What the hell!:
After finding himself pushed against a brick building, Ichigo winced as blood slowly begun to run down his forehead. Looking around, he spotted an oddly shaped Hollow down below, ready to pounce. Thinking fast, Ichigo manoeuvred himself from the wall, grabbed his Zanpaktou and dodged.
"So, you're the Shinigami everyone is talking about..," The Hollow snarled, his tone deep and bone rattling; "... You look like nothing but a piece of scum I eat for breakfast!"
Swinging his Zanpaktou, Ichigo managed to make a large incision on the Hollows back, before dodging the sharp claws which extracted themselves from the Hollows hand. Growling in frustration, the Hollow went to strike again, when Ichigo sliced through his right arm, and half way through his left.
"Still the piece of scum, am I?" Ichigo mocked, as he landed soundlessly on the ground; his Zanpaktou resting lazily in his hand; "Well this piece of scum is going to end your life."
That being said, Ichigo hastily jumped from the ground whilst holding Zanpaktou above his head and ramming the large blade into the Hollows skull. However, before Ichigo could plant his two feet on the smooth concrete, the hollow quickly threw one more attack which barely managed to reach Ichigo; causing the carrot top to be slammed against a local bakery; smashing the glass in the progress.
"Well ... wasn't ... that ... fun," Ichigo said dryly, as he stumbled his way out of the rubble; his forehead still bleeding, as well as a few other cuts he managed to obtain from the broken glass. "Look at this mess," Ichigo said sadly, as he watched parents searching frantically for their children, whilst a few walked around bearing injuries.
Sighing, Ichigo grabbed his Zanpaktou and placed it on his back whilst hastily changing back into his normal body; fortunately, the dust from the attack was still visible, allowing Ichigo to change forms without raising suspicion.
His last thoughts before he headed back off to School was; 'They don't even care...'
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