Falling Sakura
Chapter 1: From the sky
Kurosaki Karin crossed her arms and glared at her idiotic older brother who seemed to be in a world of his own. He was rummaging around his room packing his things into a bag, muttering about not wanting to be late for some 'taicho coronation' ceremony. In fact he was so engrossed he did not realize that his younger sister had been listening to his every word for at least 10 minutes. Finally, Karin decided to wake him out of his trance,"Ichi-nii, what are you packing for? What's this 'taicho coronation' ceremony?"
Ichigo finally lifted his head. "K..Karin, what are you doing here?" He quickly hid his bag behind his back. "Shouldn't you be playing football with your friends?" "Ichi-nii, it's already night time and stop trying to change the topic. I heard everything. What's this shinigami taicho coronation ceremony?" Ichigo chuckled awkwardly "It's nothing Karin. Go get some sleep. It's late." "Demo—…" Karin was about to protest but the look from her brother said everything. She wasn't getting any answers from him. But she knew he was going somewhere due to his duties as a shinigami.
She remembered the time when those monsters-hollows or arrancar as Ichigo had called them tried to destroy Karakura Town. She had seen Ichigo battle them while a replacement acted as her brother at home. She had not made a sound when she knew that as she did not want to scare Yuzu. However, she felt helpless as she watched Ichigo and could only stay with Yuzu and her father, making sure they were fine while Ichigo struggled to protect them. Too many times had Ichigo carried the burden of protecting the family on his own and risked his own life. This time, she had enough and wanted to help Ichigo though she knew he would not agree. Thus, she decided to follow him when he left.
Around midnight, while Yuzu and her father slept peacefully away, Karin lay wide awake waiting for Ichigo to make his move. She played close attention to the sounds coming from Ichigo's room, getting ready to move if she heard the window being opened. Finally, around one in the morning, Ichigo made his move. Karin immediately got out of bed and looked out the window, seeing Ichigo running towards the street in his shinigami uniform with a huge sword that looked like a kitchen knife strapped to his back. She picked up her rucksack with the things she needed and jumped out the window.
Karin stayed a distance behind Ichigo and followed him. After running for a while, he arrived at a rundown looking shop called the Urahara store. She followed him into the shop and hid behind a shelf, observing Ichigo. "Ahhh, Kurosaki-kun. Here you are. You were almost late you know?" A creepy looking man who was holding a fan and wore a striped hat chuckled at Ichigo. "Yea, yea. But I'm here now right. Open the gate for me. I'm going to Soul Society now." "Hai, hai!" A doorway appeared and Ichigo stepped in.
As soon as Ichigo disappeared, Karin jumped out from behind the shelf and followed him through the gate, surprising the creepy man. "Gomen, I'm going after Ichi-nii!" she told the man as she entered the gate as well. She ran through a weird tunnel which had some disgusting gloopy stuff chasing after her and saw Ichigo disappear through a glowing doorway. Using a final burst of energy, Karin ran through the doorway. Suddenly she realized that the doorway led to a huge city and that she was freefalling from the sky. "Ichi-niiiiiiiiii!" she screamed as she fell towards the city below.
Meanwhile, Ichigo had shunpo-ed to Seireitei. He sneezed and wondered if he had caught a cold. As he entered the building, all the other taichos turned to look at him. Yamamoto soutaicho started the taicho's meeting by announcing that Ichigo would take the responsibilities as the 5th squard taicho as of immediately. The taichos started whispering among themselves and he saw some of them shake their head. However, Yamamoto soutaicho silenced them and spoke to Ichigo, "Ichigo Kurosaki, I know that you have the capability to oversee the 5th squad and take over traitor Aizen Sousuke's squad and make it even better. Do you agree to be taicho, Kurosaki?"
Ichigo tensed slightly, a frown appearing on his Yamamoto soutaicho had given him a week to consider, he wondered if he made the right choice. He thought for a second more before finally nodding his head. "Now, since Kurosaki has agreed to take the role of 5th squad captain, how many of you agree to this arrangement?" Yamamoto soutaicho directed his attention to the rest of the taichos. Out of the captains, more than half of them raised their hands in agreement, of which were Hitsugaya taicho, Ukitake taicho and surprisingly, Byakuya taicho. "Very well, from now onwards, Kurosaki Ichigo shall be the taicho of the 5th squad immediately. The formal coronation ceremony shall commence next month but of now, he shall take position immediately." As the taichos filed out of the room, Ukitake taicho smiled and pat Ichigo on the back and congratulated him for his new position.
Kurosaki Karin on the other hand was falling from the sky and towards the city. She was slowed down momentarily when she broke through what seemed to be a barrier but then sped up again. Luckily, her fall was broken by a bush and her strong spirit pressure took the brunt of the impact, leaving her slightly bruised and grazed but with no serious injuries. She slowly got to her feet, wincing a little in pain. After a quick assessment of her injuries, she hitched her rucksack higher and looked around. She seemed to be some sort of garden. Just then, she heard the sounds of people's footsteps and quickly threw her bag over the tall wall before climbing over.
The whole area seemed to be a maze as the streets crisscrossed with each other. The buildings were traditional Japanese style with tiled roofs. An alarm had sounded earlier as she broke the barrier and now she spied numerous people in shinigami uniforms and wielding katanas. They must be after her. Looking around quickly, she spied a large estate not too far in front with thick vegetation which would provide her with cover. She dodged into a dark corner as a group of shinigami ran past her amid the chatter of "Ryoka" and "Catch the intruder". Stealthily, she arrived at the estate.
Landing on the ground as she flipped the wall, Karin knelt down, observing the estate. The residence was a huge traditional Japanese styled house complete with fusuma doors and tatami flooring. There was a koi pond not far from the house which was flanked by sakura trees which had yet to bloom. The area seemed empty enough to Karin and thus she decided to stay hidden in the bushes while she tried to contact Ichigo. She picked up her phone and wondered if there was reception in the area. Surprisingly, a dial tone sounded and she prayed for Ichigo to answer the phone.
"Moshimoshi?" Someone answered the call. "Moshimoshi? Ichi-nii? Karin speaking…. Ano…where are you now Ichi-nii? I need some help here." "Whats wrong Karin? Did someone bully you?" "Iie nothing of that sort but I sorta followed you through that gate and now I'm lost in someone's garden and there seems to be people coming after me." And there was silence. It seemed that Ichigo was too shocked for words. "Gomen Ichi-nii… I just wanted to see where you were going…." She explained. After a long pause, Ichigo replied, "Karin, stay where you are. I'm coming to get you now. Could you describe the surroundings for me?" "Ehto… it looks like someone's residence. There's a Japanese styled house and a garden outside. The garden has a koi pond and sakura trees." There was silence on the line again. "Karin you baka…. Why did you go there of all places?" Ichigo sighed. "Try not to get killed before I arrive and stall for time." "Eh?" "Damn Byakuya…" Ichigo grumbled in the distance.
After she hung up the call, there was silence in the garden other than the occasional bird calls. Footsteps sounded from the house and Karin's head snapped up. A tall man with long black hair which was held up with some weird hair accessory appeared. He was wearing a black hakama with a white haori which had the number 6 on the back. A katana was strapped to his waist and he moved with grace. His aura was one of a leader, or a high ranking officer or even a noble. Suddenly, his eyes flicked to the bush which Karin was hidden behind. All Karin saw was the narrowing of his eyes and his hand which flicked toward his katana before she felt a cold piece of metal against her throat. Karin looked into the ice cold eyes of rokubantai taicho Kuchiki Byakuya.