I do not own BLEACH, Tite Kubo does.
oOo
Kurosaki Ichigo had always been able to see ghosts. He considered them to be overall harmless, if not rather annoying. The ones who realized that he could see them and followed him around, trying to pass on messages, were the worst. They never seemed to understand that he could not, and more importantly would not, do their chores fro them.
But they mostly (sometimes) ignored him and he mostly (constantly) ignored them. Plenty of other things preoccupied his life, and Ichigo would frankly prefer to be reading Shakespeare over conversing with a hapless spirit.
His sister, Karin, could see them too. Yuzu had only a faint perception of them to bother her, and his idiot father would never sense one in a million years. The Goat-chin probably wished he could though. Moron that he was, Kurosaki Isshin would likely find it intriguing to be able to see ghosts.
None of this really affected Ichigo. School and his friends soaked up all his free time, as he had a persistant wish to do well in high school and get out of Goat-chin's house as soon as possible. In fact, today he had been running late at school. That was why he was spared. That was why he failed.
It was normal to come home late sometimes, right? What wasn't normal, not at all, was the short, delicate girl in a black kimono, carrying a sword with a white ribbon on the hilt, standing in the wreckage of his home.
The girl had frozen when he approached. She stood on a hill of plywood and sheet rock, with three motionless bodies splayed spread-eagle at her feet. Ichigo's breath caught in his throat and, muscles quivering, he raced over to his family. Dropping to the ground, he frantically searched for a pulse. He prayed they were breathing, and alive, and well.
Negative.
He couldn't breathe. Desperately he checked again for the beat of life, then tried to give CPR. Nothing. Certainly, he thought, certainly if they were dead he would see their souls? Wouldn't he?
And yet their bodies stayed cold. His mind was a blurry buzz, and words floated in his head meaninglessly as his consciousness swam. This simply did not make sense. How could this possibly happen? Hadn't he gone through his quota of suffering and sorrow?
Apparently not. He stood up slowly, and looked down at his family. Bright, helpful Yuzu, who would never harm a thing. Dour Karin, who most definitely would hurt a thing in order to help those she cared about. And his father, whose zany enthusiasm Ichigo would never see again. They were all the same pale, almost grey shade. All the life had fled from them.
As he rocked back and forth on his heels, a low groaning sound came from his throat. Everything seemed slow now, time turning to syrup as he fully realized the situation. He was now the last Kurosaki, and the lag in time would never be made up for him.
The girl in the kimono reached her hand out to his shoulder, as if to comfort him. Halfway there, she stopped, indecision creeping over her face, and then the girl took her hand back. "I'm sorry," she said, and her voice was scratchy with emotion. She turned and started walking away. As if Ichigo wouldn't notice his family's murderess leaving.
"Yeah," Ichigo said. The word were strained, hate clawing its way out through his voice. "Yeah, you'd better be sorry bitch."
Incredulous, the girl in the black kimono looked at him. A shade of confusion, or panic maybe, colored her face. Ichigo didn't particularly care at the moment. "What?"
"I said, you'd better be sorry. I don't know what you did, or how you did it, but you killed my family."
Instead of appearing upset, she seemed puzzled. Shoving a lock of hair behind her ear, she said, rather dumbly, "You shouldn't be able to see me."
"It's illegal to carry unregistered weapons," Ichigo said, his brain catching on little facts. "It's way more likely that you will be arrested for murder than I will for being able to see you."
The girl dared to pace about on the site of a killing, and again she tucked her bang behind her ear. Seeing her so unconcerned made Ichigo boil over with rage. The brat didn't care that she had killed all his remaining family, people that the world held dear. She only cared that he could see her.
He took two measured steps toward her, an aura of menace radiating from him in dark waves. She held still, but her muscles tensed in preparation. For what, she didn't know. "What is your name?" Ichigo asked.
She looked up at him warily. "Kuchiki Rukia," she said slowly, quietly. As if she could sense what telling him her name would bring. Rukia's eyes were as quiet and violet as a grave. Fitting, Ichigo thought.
"Kuchiki Rukia," Ichigo said. "Are you a spirit?"
Rukia refused to meet his eyes, and said elusively, "Aren't we all?"
"Are you dead?"
At this,the blood drained from her, leaving her light-headed and giddy. Her jaw worked uselessly. It opened and closed several times before she finally replied, "Yes. Yes I am."
Ichigo leaned in close until their faces were mere inches apart. Rukia could feel the heat, smell the musty spice of his breath, his oh-so-very-human breath. Terror sparked in her eyes. No still living man should hold power over a Death God.
Yet there Ichigo stood, frightening Rukia the shinigami. Desperate, Rukia tried, "Please, you are misunderstanding the-"
Ichigo cut her off with an icy glare. He drew impossibly closer and fisted the cloth near her throat with his hand, causing her to gasp. Baring his teeth, he said a vow that sent lightening down Rukia's spine. Lightening that locked her muscles together. Because, although she had first seen this boy mere seconds -seconds that would destroy the world, her mind whispered- ago, she could feel that he had the reiatsu and willpower to back up his threat. His threat of destruction.
"Kuchiki Rukia. For my family, I will destroy your Spirit World."
oOo
So 1,000 Things jump-starts! I really liked this idea because, instead of Ichigo being the hero of the story, he's out to destroy it. He'll have either competition or help from Aizen... :)
Now, I realize that, especially with recent manga chapters, Isshin should not have been able to go down so easily, but he didn't stop the Hollow that first came to the Kurosaki's house. This is my reasoning and I'm sticking with it... (was he even there? :P)
Also, this story is very clouded by Ichigo's lack of knowledge. He believes that Rukia killed his family because she was the only when there when he appeared. He doesn't know about Hollows because so far, his spiritual education has been... lacking.
I have lots of plans for this... ^_^ Please review and tell me what you think!