A/N: Hello all, in case you were wondering... No, of COURSE I would not forget you on Valentine's Day! So as a present (I suppose) here is the beginning of a new story (which I will be working on periodically). It is a crossover between Bleach and the video game Fatal Frame 2. I'm not sure how many Bleach fans will have played it, but you should try it out (it's SO good). I'll try to put in all the back story needed to understand Fatal Frame, but as the story progresses if things get so confusing you just want to pull your hair out, let me know.
As this is just the beginning of a story it is probably not the romance you were hoping for on Valentine's, but this was all I could think of to write up. I appreciate you taking your time to read it, and hope you enjoy it.
This fic is rated T because there may occasionally be slight language and also for some instances of horror.
(For those of you who actually DO know about Fatal Frame or want information on Aokigahara Forest, there will be additional notes after this chapter for your consideration.)
"Remind me again why we're doing this?" Ichigo growled as he glanced from the window back to Rukia's face peering over the back of the seat in front of him.
"Orders from Soul Society. Renji and I were drawn for the assignment this year."
"Rukia was the one who drew the names, actually," Renji moaned in the seat next to her. "She has awful luck with drawings."
"Quiet you!" she said turning sharply towards him, "You're not helping any by sitting there whining like a baby."
Renji was actually taking up two seats in the van they were riding in; his soul form next to Rukia in the middle seat and his gigai slumped in the seat belt in the front next to Uehara. Mayuri had wanted to experiment with different kinds of gigai and gave Renji one with motion sickness. When it got bad enough Renji had fled his gigai, but he was still feeling the after effects.
"I don't mean what are you and Renji doing," Ichigo cut in wanting to avoid the inevitable squabble that was coming between the two, "I mean why do I have to come along?"
"You're a substitute shinigami aren't you?" Rukia turned back to him with a sour look on her face. "Then do your job."
"Ok, but then why did she have to come?" Ichigo motioned to the orange haired girl sleeping next to him, leaning against the window and drooling. They left early because the drive was going to be a long one so it was still dark when they first set out. For a while she talked to help keep Uehara awake, but eventually the others had fallen asleep to Orihime's voice, Ichigo included. He awoke later to a noise that was somewhere between a snort and a giggle. He was a little confused, his pillow was a bit harder than usual but it smelled really good. And why did he have such a cramp in his neck? His confusion grew when he opened his eyes and noticed that Rukia had been aiming her cell phone at him. And that was the inopportune moment when he realized the warmth next to him was his sleeping friend. He turned beet red as he tried to simultaneously shove her gently off and retrieve the phone from Rukia, who said "Oops," rather mockingly and passed it to Renji who said "Oops," rather miserably and passed it to Uehara who grabbed it openly and slipped it in his pocket as he finished up with, "Ara, it's fallen into my pocket and I can't get it out because I'm busy driving." And both the phone and the smug look on Uehara's face still remained there.
"We're going to Aokigahara Forest to hunt all the hollows out," Rukia said with a frown. "But the reason that there are so many in the first place is because of all the suicides. So what if we stumble across someone who is still alive and needs first aid? I could do it but I might be too busy with hollows. Or they might be beyond my ability to heal. I know first aid but it's not as if I'm in the fourth squad."
Ichigo wanted to object but he couldn't think of an argument to put up against that. Besides, Orihime had already been in the van and ready for a road trip when they'd come to pick him up.
"If there's going to be a lot of hollows-"
"She'll be fine," Rukia faced forward in her seat again. "Orihime's pretty diligent about training. I would know, I've trained with her before."
"Yeah," Ichigo shifted in his seat uncomfortably as his hand accidentally brushed against Orihime's on the seat, "About that, why didn't you tell me..."
"We're here!" Uehara called from the front seat. The van slowed to a stop at an odd angle and spanned three parking spaces. Uehara admitted that it had been a while since he last had to drive. Renji fiddled to get his seat belt off. He hadn't really needed it while he was in spirit form any way. Rukia turned to smack Ichigo with her glove and then Rukia tapped herself and emerged neatly from her gigai. She was almost able to stand up properly even though the ceiling to the van was low. Orihime snorted and shifted in her sleep.
"Oi, wake up Inoue," Ichigo reached over the seat to grab his bag gingerly so that he wouldn't hit her with it.
Orihime mumbled and sat up. "Did the bunny land the helicopter safely?"
Rukia immediately turned at the word bunny and looked deep in thought. "Yes," she answered. "It would have, wouldn't it?"
Orihime nodded and stretched and blinked herself awake. And then she did what she always did when she saw Ichigo; she smiled. Ichigo's face relaxed into what might have been a smile if he weren't so irritated at the whole situation.
"How much time do you think you'll need? The average is three days and two nights, I think all four of you should be able to take care of it by then." Uehara sounded lighthearted about it, probably because he was no longer part of Soul Society and never had to do pain-in-the-butt missions like this any more.
"We could get it done faster if this forest weren't so friggin' huge," Renji muttered. He glanced at the forest with a look of distaste and grabbed a bag out of the back.
"Or if some of us could sense reiatsu better," Rukia glanced meaningfully at Renji and Ichigo.
"They call it The Sea of Trees," Orihime looked at the forest too, but with an expression markedly different than Renji's. "It's beautiful. Well. I mean, it would be beautiful... except for what happens here..." Her face fell a little.
"That's what you're here for," Rukia gave Orihime a look that was partially serious and partially comforting. "To save those that can be saved."
"Right. I'll do my best."
"Alright you all seem to be ready then. Don't forget your camping gear!" Uehara called cheerfully from the front seat.
"Can't we just come back and sleep in the van at night?" Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.
"Nonsense, you'll get more ground covered if you don't have to come back every night. And around here night is probably the time when you'll find most of your hollows any way. Besides, I won't even be here to pick you up until the mission is complete."
"Uehara-san is leaving us here?" Orihime asked with a slight downturn of her mouth.
Ichigo creased his brows even more than usual. "Why?"
"You'll be going in your spirit forms and I'll be keeping your bodies with me. I can't very well sit in a van by the suicide forest with the bodies of three young people, now can I? I'll be going to a hotel."
"You better not do anything weird with my body," Ichigo muttered.
"Oh, quit whining about your gigai and get out here," Renji yanked on Ichigo's uniform from the van door.
"It's not a gigai, it's my body! Hey!"
The two tumbled out into the parking lot and Rukia glanced casually over them and she stepped out of the van gracefully.
"Thank you for the ride, Uehara-san!" Orihime said while grunting to lift her bag out of the trunk. "Take care!"
"You too, Inoue-san," he replied. "Be careful. This forest really is huge. Even though there's a purge of it every year I wouldn't be surprised if there's places that even the shinigami haven't found.
Orihime nodded and waved. Uehara watched as the door was shut and the group of four walked towards the woods and began to squabble amongst themselves. He turned his attention back to the three empty bodies in the car and sighed. It was going to be a long weekend.
Attention my dear Fatal Frame-ers (and all those who decide to keep reading): Fatal Frame 2 takes place in All God's Village (of course), which is in a forest that is scheduled to be dammed (as in, yes, the water kind... although it is also damned...). Aokigahara Forest is a real forest at the base of Mount Fuji and is probably not the forest in which the game takes place. BUT, it is a creepy forest in Japan and is also HUGE, so huge that unfortunately bodies are discovered there weekly. For more information on Aokigahara Forest, google it or look it up on wiki. What I said in the story earlier is true, it is a hugely popular place for suicides. I mean no disrespect to the dead or any who have lost anyone in this forest. It just seemed like a logical place for the story to happen. Thanks.