Pairing: Shuuhei Hisagi x Ichigo Kurosaki

Music: Just Say Yes, by Snow Patrol

Word count: ~ 1700

Rating: G

A/N: This prompt belongs fully to Love Psycho for the very lovely challenges on her profile, which ate my brain. I was planning something completely different for the 64th prompt, but after over two weeks of struggling, this is the only thing that came out. I'm sorry?

I'm done with these prompts. Wow, that's a creepy feeling.

Prompt 64: Hold

The first time they meet it is a Tuesday.

Ichigo is carrying flowers, headed for the spot where the little girl died. His schoolbag bumps heavily against his leg, loaded with books, and Ichigo already knows that he won't get home in time to keep his dad from going postal—or more postal, as the case may be. It doesn't matter.

Isshin has family, friends.

This little ghost-girl has nothing.

But when he reaches the street when she died, she isn't alone. There's a man with her, crouching down in front of her the way Ichigo does. He's no one Ichigo knows, tattooed and sporting hair just as spiky and unmanageable as Ichigo's, and wearing a strange shihakushō with the sleeves ripped off. There's a katana in his hand, held reversed so that the blade points away from the girl, and it's obvious from his body language that he's offering her a choice.

As Ichigo watches, the ghost-girl nods emphatically and smiles, and the stranger smiles back. He reaches out and presses the hilt of the sword to her forehead, and there's a brief flare of light. Ichigo looks away to save his night vision, and when he looks back, the girl is gone. The man stands alone in the street, and he's watching Ichigo with narrowed eyes.

He takes one step forward, and Ichigo tenses a little, shifting so that his weight is balanced for a fight.

Strangely, this makes the man relax. He nods to Ichigo, as though asking him to wait a moment, and sheathes his sword. One long-fingered hand removes what looks like a cell phone from his robe, and he checks it briefly before striding towards Ichigo, hands loose at his sides to show he means no harm.

"You can see me?" he asks, stopping far enough away not to be a threat, but close enough that Ichigo can see his eyes are grey and a little wary.

Wondering if this is some new kind of ghost he'll have to deal with, Ichigo nods and glances back towards where the little girl's vase of flowers sits. "Yeah, I can. What did you do with her?"

The stranger's eyes soften a little at that, and he glances down at the flowers Ichigo's carrying. "I sent her on to Soul Society. Are you family?"

Ichigo scoffs and steps past the man—the ghost? It's clear he doesn't mean any harm at the moment. "What, I have to be family to leave something for her?" He sets them down carefully, out of the direct line of sight of any more punks with skateboards, and then looks back at the other man. "What's Soul Society? Like heaven?"

The man crosses his arms over his chest and shakes his head. "It's not heaven. All good souls go there, waiting to be reincarnated. Who are you? A shinigami?"

"Just human." Ichigo sighs and looks towards the horizon, where only a sliver of sun remains. "A dead human, if I don't get back home before my dad's stupid curfew. Later." With a halfhearted wave, he shoulders his bag again and heads back down the street, not waiting for an answer.

Unexpectedly, the stranger keeps pace with him, one hand resting on his sword. "You can't just be human if you can see ghosts. Only a shinigami should have enough reiatsu for that. Have you ever—"

Ichigo cuts him off quickly, turning to face him in the middle of the deserted street. "Hey, look, I have no idea what you're talking about. Yes, I've always been able to see ghosts. Yes, I'm just human. No, I've never seen anyone like you or anything like what you just did with that girl. Any more questions?"

The man looks at Ichigo flatly, decidedly unimpressed, and re-crosses his arms. "Shuuhei Hisagi," he offers suddenly, "Lieutenant of the Gotei 13's Ninth Division, under Captain Kaname Tousen. And you are?"

"Ichigo Kurosaki," Ichigo returns warily, "and I have no idea what any of that means."

Hisagi returns one hand to his sword, looking out over Karakura as though searching for something Ichigo can't sense. He hesitates for a long moment, and then says, "Kurosaki, if you've got enough reiatsu to see me but have never encountered another shinigami, there are some things about ghosts that I think you should know—for your own safety and that of whatever family you have. Is there a place you're willing to meet tonight?"

He sounds so sincere that Ichigo loses a bit of his defensive posture, arms relaxing to his sides. "My family?" he repeats, and when Hisagi nods grimly, he gives in with a sigh. "Wherever you want, I guess. If I can sneak out without my dad knowing."

"The park," Hisagi says quickly, as though afraid he'll change his mind. "At the playground. I'll be there at ten o'clock, as soon as I finish my patrol. It's important. And if you hear a howl, anything, come earlier. You've got enough reiatsu to make you a prime target for certain kinds of ghosts, and they're the kind who'll kill your family to get to you."

Ichigo doesn't care about danger to himself, and he wonders how Hisagi can tell that the only thing to move him would be a threat to those close to him. He stills, fingers worrying the strap of his bag, and looks at the lieutenant. "My family?" he asks flatly.

Hisagi nods, face grim. "Hollows are ghosts that haven't moved on, and they grow hungry, devour anyone with high enough reiatsu to keep themselves here. The shinigami's task is to find them and send them on to Soul Society. But if you've got as much reiatsu as it feels like you do…" He holds one hand out to Ichigo, as though feeling the heat from a fire. "I'm amazed one hasn't come for you already."

For a wild moment, Ichigo can't breathe, his head spinning with plans to leave, to get far away from any crowded areas and live in isolation like a monk. Then, with an almost audible snap, his temper reasserts itself and he clenches one hand around his book bag's strap. "How do I stop them?" he demands. "How do I send them on?"

Grey eyes study him for a long moment, an endless heartbeat, and then Hisagi nods to himself, just once. "I might know of someone who can help you learn," he offers. "He used to be a shinigami, a Captain, but he was banished. Some of the souls I've encountered in the Rukongai say that he's nearby. Give me a day and I'll find him."

"Why?" Ichigo studies this man, whom he doesn't know and who doesn't know him. He looks like a fighter, tough and probably scrappy in a brawl, which is Ichigo's favorite way to fight. But there's no reason Hisagi should be helping him, no cause for him to care. "Why are you doing this? You don't know me."

"And you don't know me." Hisagi shrugs, one hand rising to touch the 69 tattooed on his cheek. "But Hollows are monsters, and someone saved me from one when I was a kid. This is just me returning the favor when I can. Urahara will be able to do more for you. But if you meet another shinigami, you can't tell them about him. He's been banished for a reason."

Ichigo turns to look back towards the western horizon, where the sun has now completely set. Dusk is deepening, sliding towards night, and there's a strange stillness in the air, as though all the world is holding its breath.

"Let's go," he says abruptly, turning back to Hisagi. "Now. If you have any idea where he is, take me there."

Hisagi doesn't argue, just nods and leads the way into Karakura's maze of streets, although he keeps casting glances Ichigo when he thinks they won't be noticed. "Your father?" he asks after a moment. "Don't you have curfew?"

Ichigo shrugs and looks away. "I've got a phone. I can call him anytime. And my sisters are at home right now. If there's something that's going to be after me, I can't get them involved."

A sidelong glance and Hisagi smiles just a little bit, wrapping one hand around his sword's hilt with a look that speaks of remembrance and peace. "When you've got that, hold onto it," he agrees. "Family is precious, whether they're blood or not. Coming from Rukongai, that's the most important thing to know."

"Yeah." Ichigo glances into the settling darkness, towards the house he knows is warmly lit and the family he knows is waiting. He's already lost one of them because of a mistake he made, and he won't lose another. Hisagi seems to understand that in a way other people normally don't, which is strangely comforting.

And then there's also his ability to get rid of ghosts, which is always a plus.

"So this Urahara," he says, jerking his head in the vague direction they're heading. "What's he like?"

Hisagi glances over, flashing him a sharp grin. It sits oddly on his serious, somber face, but it's gorgeous, and Ichigo can't help but stare. "Oh," the shinigami says easily, though there's a wicked sparkle in his eyes. "You know. The usual, for a Twelfth Division Captain."

It doesn't sound comforting, and somehow Ichigo suspects it isn't supposed to.

They round the corner in step and come to a halt, staring at the man waiting for them. He tilts back the green-striped bucket hat he's wearing and offers a sly grin to both of them.

"Evening, boys," he says cheerily. "Looking for me?"