Bloody Mai
I don't own Bleach.
This Fanfiction will follow both the anime and the manga. Some of the filler arcs will be left out.
Chapter 1
Ever since I could remember I've been able to see ghost; the lingering spirits of those who have died, and have yet to leave this earth. When I was little my grandmother, the only family I had, would tell me stories about when she was little and saw ghosts too; I used to love those stories and I used to love ghosts. That is until my grandmother died and left me along in this world. She was the only thing I had and she taught me everything I needed to know to survive, including how to use my special abilities.
I have the ability to control my blood, to harden it and make it into weapons. My grandmother told me that I was special and that my father had the same powers too, until he killed my mother and himself. My father's powers drove him crazy, to the edge of insanity, and my mother… my mother loved him and thought that she could help him, but she paid for it with her life. I never knew them but my grandmother told me that they were where my intense beauty came from; that I had my father's light blue hair and my mother's gold eyes.
Grandmother died when I was seven years old, after that I lived on the streets for a year; that is until I met the boy with orange hair, Ichigo Kurosaki. When I met Ichigo he was picking a fight with some thugs for hurting a helpless little dog; it was quite a funny sight. Ichigo, who was less than half their size, was standing up against a group of three guys who were all large and very intimidating. I was surprised when the little boy attacked them and did some damage before being kicked to the ground. For some reason when I saw them standing over him, ready to hurt him I was filled to the brim with rage. Before they could do anything to him I started throwing rocks and they came after me, but I quickly ran and lost them, before running back to the orange haired boy to make sure he was okay.
After that day I was taken in by Ichigo's family and the two of us spent every day together, we were inseparable, especially when both of us found out the other one could see ghosts, and he found out about my abilities. We did everything together; taking karate together and beating up anyone who made fun of the other. Ichigo became my honorary brother and I his honorary sister. I started to call his mother, mom a few months before she died, and I thought of his little sisters Yuzu and Karin as my own, and I eventually started calling his Father, Dad.
Besides my abilities ever since I moved in with Ichigo's family my life had been relatively normal; who knew it was going to change so soon.
As the sun set I watched from on top of a very tall fence as Ichigo faced off against some punks. One of them had been knocked out already, while three others stood around him and another was yelling at Ichigo, who was just standing there.
"What the hell's wrong with you? You got a death wish? No one jumps one of my men and gets away with their life. Say something punk." The punk yelled at Ichigo, who stayed silent. He then attempted to punch Ichigo only to get kicked square in the face.
"Little Yama's down we gotta do somethin'." One of three men yelled.
"No way am I getting involved." One of the others replied.
"Now listen up you punks." Ichigo yelled. He then pointed to a tall telephone pole were a small vase, with a white flower in it, had fallen over. "Do you see that!? First question, what do you think that is? You the one in the middle speak."
"W-what you talking to me?" The middle one of the three men stuttered nervously, pointing to himself. "I guess s-someone put them there for some k-kid that died."
"Correct!" Ichigo yelled while kicking the man in the face. "Now the next question. That vase over there, why is it laying on its side?"
"I guess one of us knocked it over on its side, w-while skating by." One of the other men nodded nervously along with the other. "We didn't…" He started only to be cut off by Ichigo when he kicked them both in the face.
"Good job your all not completely morons. Now go and apologize or the next flowers there will be for you." Ichigo threatened causing the men to scream out and run away, yelling sorry over and over again in fear.
"Good that ought to keep them away for a while. Sorry about all that." He said turning around towards the fallen vase. I watched as the translucent form of a girl with a large chain hanging from her chest came out from behind the pole. "I'll bring you by some new ones tomorrow, alright."
"Thank you, I appreciate it. Now I'll finally be able to rest peacefully." She said quietly, hiding behind the telephone pole.
"No problem it's the least I could do." Ichigo said while picking up the fallen vase. "After all you deserve to rest I peace." He said before walking away and turning a corner. I quickly dashed along the wall before stopping, sitting on the wall and yelling.
"Hey Ichigo-chan!" Shouting this caused him to stop and look up at me.
"Hey Mai. Why weren't you in school?" He asked.
"I didn't want to go. I don't really need school Ichi-chan." I smirked at Ichigo before jumping off of the extremely tall wall, and landing flat on my feet. "Besides they don't let me wear this to school." I said, gesturing towards my outfit. My light blue hair reached my knees and was help up by a black ponytail, with spiky bangs that fell into my eyes. I was tall with a large chest, and was wearing a tight black leather jacket that reached my mid stomach, with a skin tight red tank top on underneath that showed off a sliver of my stomach; also I had on a short black skirt with chains hanging from it, black combat boots and a red chocker with a black cross falling from it.
"I suppose your right." Ichigo responded.
"Ichigo is that ghost alright." I mumbled as I hooked arms with Ichigo and pulled him along.
"I'm pretty sure she is. Why are you asking, I thought you didn't care about ghosts, Mai?" Ichigo said smugly, which made me elbow him in the side.
"I don't, it's why I try not to walk to and from school with you. It's like there drawn to you. While you help them, I just try to ignore them." I huffed, raising a hand to move my bangs. "I wish they would all just go away."
"Agreed, I want them to just stop. After all I've been able to see them ever since I was little." Ichigo mumbled.
"Same here." I agreed. As we continued to walk the sky soon became dark and the sun completely set, making the street lights turn on. We eventually ended up in front of the small medical center where we lived, and walked through the small gate near it.
Ichigo was the first to walk into a small room, followed by me. "Hey we're home." He said but was stopped when all of a sudden a man wearing a lab coat came and kicked Ichigo in the face, sending him flying towards the ground.
"You let your guard down." The man yelled. "Always stay alert when you enter a room, especially when you're late for dinner again."
"You've got to be kidding, is that anyway to welcome your own son after he just stopped to help a spirit find peace?" Ichigo yelled into his father's face.
"Oh so it's the ghosts fault now is it also their fault that you left your room a mess. When are you going to show some responsibility?" Ichigo's dad yelled back as the two started punching each other over and over again.
"What about Mai she was late too, why aren't you beating on her?" Ichigo yelled through the punches.
"I could never attack my sweet honorary daughter and I bet it's your fault she's late. You've always been a bad influence on her." Dad yelled putting Ichigo in a head lock.
"Thanks daddy." I smiled at them before sticking my tongue out at Ichigo and walking to the table, to sit beside Karin, Ichigo's little sister.
"Hey." I mumbled only to get a small "hey" back.
"Hey stop the fighting you two." Yuzu, Ichigo's other sister, said from across me. "Come over here and eat your dinner.
"Let them fight, it just means more rice for me." Karin mumbled holding out her bowl.
"Me too." I said before turning around in my chair and looking at the ongoing fight. At that moment Ichigo slammed his father across the room and into the wall.
"I got to tell you dad for any normal high school kid a seven o'clock curfew is totally uncool." Ichigo yelled.
"Uh Ichi-chan. Another one followed you home." Mai grumbled at the same time Karin mumbled.
"Ichigo you got a new one." Ichigo at that moment finally realized that a male ghost was floating above him.
"How long have you been there? Back off." Ichigo grumbled swatting at the spirit. "Damn pest take a hike."
"Poor Ichigo it's either Dad or ghosts, he's always surrounded by annoying things." I mumbled staring at Ichigo, before turning to my rice and digging in.
"I think he's kind of lucky to be able to see ghost. I sort of sense then sometimes but that's it." Yuzu said.
"I don't see what the big deal is. I don't even believe in spirits." Karin grumbled.
"But Karin you can see ghost too. How can you not believe in something that you can see?" Yuzu questioned.
"I'm in permanent denial; just seeing them doesn't make me believe in them." Karin said.
"That's just cold Karin." I said through a mouthful of rice.
"You just ignore them how is that any different." Karin mumbled at me. I opened my mouth to respond but I couldn't think of a good come back.
"I got nothing." I admitted before setting down my rich bowl and taking it to the sink. I then shuffled around the kitchen grabbing a bag of potato chip, a box of cookies, a couple chocolate bars, a big bag of gummy worms and a mint ice cream box. As I walked back to the table, carrying the pile of food in my arms, I heard Ichigo talking.
"Forget it, I'm going to bed." He said before walking up the stairs.
"Bro!" Yuzu yelled.
"Forget it; this is all your fault Dad." Karin said down to dad, who was flat out on the floor with a red fist mark on her face.
"Why!?" Dad exclaimed jumping up from the floor.
"Maybe because you're always beating on him." I grumbled, mostly focused on trying to keep the food from falling to the floor.
"Why are you so cruel?" Dad sobbed.
"He's been having a hard time lately." Yuzu said.
"Yeah, he's been seeing more and more ghosts lately." I explained.
"Now that you mention it he did say that a while ago." Karin said.
"What?! He tells you three that kind of thing? He didn't tell me…" Dad sobbed.
"Of course, why would he tell you types of things? Especially when you're a middle aged man who acts like a spoiled and whinny little child. Also he told me because even if he did try and hide it, I would know something was up with him." I deadpanned, staring at him with a blank face, while Yuzu and Karin nodded in agreement.
"She's right dad." Karin said, glaring at him slightly.
"Oh mother!" Dad said while running over to that large picture that he had of his wife on the wall and collapsed against it. "Lately, maybe because of puberty, our daughters are being so mean! And our honorary daughter Mai is being so mean, our son is rubbing off on her too much! What do I do?!" He sobbed against the picture.
"How about you try growing up?" I yelled, kicking him in the back of the head, before turning to the twins. "I'm going upstairs good night. And Karin take care of him for me would you." I said before walking up the stairs. As I tried to balance the food in my arms, I kicked on Ichigo's bedroom door and talked through it.
"Ichigo. Let me in." I leaned against the door trying to hear inside, and heard the shuffling of the feet before the door suddenly opened and I fell to the floor. I let out a yelp as I hit the floor hard and let out several more when I was pelted by food.
"You ok." Ichigo said from above me. I opened my eyes and was greeted with Ichigo standing above me and looking at me from inside his darkened room.
"Of course." I said sarcastically. "Help me up." At that point Ichigo bent down and grabbed me underneath my arms before lifting me over the fallen food and setting me down inside his room. We both bent down and quickly gathered up the food before carrying the pile over to the bed. Then we both sat across from each other and began our nightly tradition of eating junk and talking. As we ate in silence, we both leaned against the wall and started pigging out.
"You know what I don't get." Ichigo mumbled through a mouth full chips. "Is how you can eat so much and not be fat?"
"It's a gift." I said swallowing a mouth full of ice cream and biting into a gummy worm, before lifting my foot up and pushing Ichigo's shoulder with it. "Unfortunately you don't have the same gift, tubby." I laughed poking him in the side of the stomach with my toes. He in return glared at me and pushed me over, but he pushed too hard causing me to fall off the bed with a yelp. I heard him laugh loudly from on top of the bed before I crawled to the side of the bed, grabbed a cookie and threw it at him.
"It's not funny!" I laughed before getting back onto the bed and finishing the rest of the ice cream. "I'm full, time for bed." I mumbled as I stretched, before helping Ichigo cleanup our mess. "I'm sleeping in here no complaints." I said before grabbing one of his pillows and stuffing my face in it, while laying down on the bed. Just as Ichigo started to argue, I passed out and fell into darkness.
No P.O.V
In Ichigo's darkened room, on the bed, slept Mai and Ichigo; Ichigo's head was at the top of the bed and Mai's at the end. As Mai slept, her head moving back and forth and sweat covering her body, she mumbled incoherently.
Images flashed past in her head, as she had a nightmare, each of them going by so fast she could barely make them out. The first image was of a black haired girl carrying a sword, as a black butterfly flew around her, the next was of a black cat looking up at a man wearing clogs and a hat. Another image was of Ichigo laying a puddle of blood, and the next was of a glowing blue bow made of energy. The last two images were of two men, one with red spiky hair and another with black hair; each wearing the same clothing. Finally the images stopped and a scene played out, the scene was of Mai standing frozen in fear with a blood sword in her hand, as Karin lay on the ground behind her and a large shadowed monster stood in front of her; ready to attack.
Mai shot up in bed shaking and sweating profusely, taking deep breaths with her hand over her heart trying to calm herself. She looked around the room before reaching out to wake Ichigo, but stopped suddenly and retracting her hand. With a sigh she climbed over Ichigo, trying not to wake him up, before walking over to the desk and checking the time on the clock; which read 6:10. She then reached up and took her hair out of its ponytail, before taking off her leather jacket. She then proceeded to walk to the bathroom and turn the shower on; the heat was on full blast making the room fill with smoke. Then she took off the rest of her clothes and stepped under the water, the scolding water making her skin turn pink. She stood there for a moment, and moved her wet hair out of her face before reaching up and touching the cross that was still hanging from her neck; as she did this she remembered the day her grandmother gave it to her.
"Mai it is important that you never take this off for more than a few minutes. Keep this safe no matter what, never let it our of your sight." Her grandmother's voice echoed in her head.
"But why grandma?" a young Mai asked
"Because it will protect you from the monsters, my little may flower."
The monster that her grandmother told her about stopped showing up that day, though the memories of the monsters still remained in her head. She still remembered them clear as day; large creatures with masks that would let out fearful roars and attack her numerous amounts of time, trying to kill her. They were scary for Mai but her grandmother always fought them off with a blue glowing bow and arrows made of energy. Whenever Mai asked about the powers her grandmother just smiled and told her she would know in the future. Mai's eyes widened when she realized that the same bow and arrow that her grandmother would use, was the same as one of the images in her dream.
"Well that explains what that one image was but what about the others. These dreams happen all the time but they never make any sense." Mai thought. "I just want them to stop."
About 30 minutes later Mai stepped out of the bathroom, freshly showered, before walking to her room and emerging an hour later dressed; wearing her school uniform which was a grey skirt, a white shirt with red bow tie, and a grey blazer; her shoes were tall black boots. She slowly walked down the stairs before entering the kitchen where Yuzu, Karin and Isshin were sitting eating breakfast.
"Good morning." Mai mumbled as she walked through the room and towards the kitchen; but was stopped when Isshin skidded in front of her.
"You weren't I your room at al last night when I checked on you every hour!" Isshin yelled at her.
"I fell asleep in Ichigo's room." Mai grumbled, still walking, before stopping suddenly and turning towards Isshin. "Why were you checking on me every hour you creep!" she exclaimed before kicking him across the room into a wall. Across from Mai Isshin had fallen against the wall with his head on the ground and a dazed look in his eye; before he fell onto the ground. Mai continued towards the kitchen, not even phased, before opening the fridge, taking out the milk and filling a glass with it. Behind her Isshin had finally snapped out of his daze and was about to confront her again, but stopped when he looked at his watch.
"Damn I forgot I had a meeting. I won't be back tonight. Goodbye, my beautiful daughters." He yelled rushing out of the door.
"When is he going to grow up? Geez." Mai grumbled to herself before sitting at the table next to Karin. Yuzu then got up and turned on the TV before walking to the kitchen. As the news came on Mai watched intently at the latest story. The TV showed a whole pile of people standing around a building that had smoke surrounding it.
"The scene is one block past Kamakura Station Blvd and according to nearby residents at around 7:30am, with a large shaking of the ground, the faces of several buildings exploded. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, but…" The news reporter said.
Mai was snapped out of her intent focus when Ichigo walked into the room and spoke to Yuzu.
"Hey Bro." Yuzu said
"Morning where's pop?" Ichigo asked grabbing a piece of toast from the toaster.
"He said something about a meeting and not being home sometime later… I wasn't really paying attention to him." Mai grumbled finishing off her drink, before turning back to the TV.
"Currently, forensics and explosive experts have arrived and are investigating the cause." The news reporter said.
"What's wrong?" Yuzu asked Ichigo.
"That's near here." He said before turning to Mai. "So you're actually coming to school today?"
"Yeah, it's better than doing nothing all day." Mai mumbled before standing up and grabbing her black school bag off the counter. "Let's go."
Mai's POV
Several minutes later me and Ichigo were walking down the street, on our way to school, and passed an alleyway which had police tape cutting it the alley off. I looked down at the yellow flowers sticking from his bag and sighed, "Do you think you could make it quick with those flowers, I don't want the ghost knowing I can see her and then end up having ghosts follow me around again."
"You don't need to worry about them following you around again. You made your point really clear last time you got sick of them." Ichigo said to me.
"Yeah, Yeah. Where is the girl anyway?" I mumbled looking at the corner which the ghost had been standing yesterday.
"I don't kn…" Ichigo started before he stopped suddenly when a loud scream and a roar like sound rang out. He looked down the street for a second before rushing of yelling, "Let's go." at me.
I didn't follow him though, as the roaring sound made me freeze in fear. My knees trembled as I felt a strange feeling wash over me, mixed with the sound of that roar… I couldn't move. Quickly my body shook as I fell to the ground on my knees, as another roar rang out I gasped as my left arm felt as if it had just burst into flames. I grabbed my arm and squeezed my eyes, trying to block out the pain to no avail. Slowly the edge of my vision started to turn black and the view of the street started to blur and shake, before I fell to my side and slid into unconsciousness.
"Mai, Mai. MAI!" a voice shouted through the darkness. The loud echo of Ichigo's voice banged around in my head as my eyes flickered open, flooding my vision with sunlight as I stared into the sky. I rolled to my side before slowly pushing myself up, with Ichigo's hand on my back.
"What happened?" I groaned as I clutched my head in pain and bent forward, trying to catch my breath.
"I don't know. When I got back here you were unconscious. Are you okay, Mai?" Ichigo asked me, concern lacing his voice.
"Yeah I'm fine." I murmured hesitantly. "Let's go." I said as I tried to climb to my feet, but my legs buckled beneath me and I started to fall to the ground, only to be stopped by Ichigo, who grabbed me around the waist.
"No, we're going home. You need to lay down, you can barely stand." Ichigo demanded as he turned around and bent down, making me fall on his back. He then stood up and placed his hands on my legs, lifting me as I threw my arms around his neck, to stop myself from falling.
"What are you doing? Let's just go to school." I mumbled.
"No you can't even stand, we're going home." Ichigo said as he started walking forward, I was about to argue even more, but I just fell limp and face planted into his back, as the last of my energy left my body.