Hello, all! This is my second plot bunny I've ever tried to actually write, so please encourage me. Stroke my ego! Review!

For those who have read my Sorta Cinderella: XxxNote Chronicles Style story, I'm going to be updating that soon as well. I've just been so annoyingly busy lately…augh!

Anyway, I am a yaoi fan girl. Therefore, there will be yaoi. This isn't going to be an IchiNel fic…though that is one of the few hetero couples I actually like. I'm thinking Grimmichi, just cuz. Don't judge! It's in my head, I know what I'm doing.

So, please read and review my bleached-out Peter Pan…

…and no, I don't own Peter Pan or Bleach. Disclaimers are so stupid. Isn't it obvious?

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I'm not sure if you readers have noticed this, but all fairy tales seem to start the same way. Once upon a time…such a phrase never gets old, does it? Well, it is seemingly the proper way to start things off, as this is very much like the fairy tales we have all been told as children, but not quite a fairy tale in itself, so perhaps I should rethink my opening…umm…a midnight dreary? Yes, that would work wonderfully.

Once upon a midnight dreary, there was a small family of four resting rather fitfully, for it was a very dreary midnight, indeed. Thunder was crashing, lightning was flashing, and hail as round as quarters were raining down from the heavens onto the metal roof of the two-story house in which our dear Kurosakis' were occupying.

Now, the Kurosakis' were a fairly average family, in their own right. A rather comedic man in his late thirties, Isshin Kurosaki was a well-trusted family doctor. He had a knack for cheering up the sickest of patients, and could make a dying man crack a smile at the most horrid of jokes. And believe you me, he could tell some pretty awful jokes. He certainly wasn't the most mature man in the world, if his monster poster of his deceased wife, Misaki, was anything to go by. One would think having someone like him for a father would be awesome. His children might disagree.

Yuzu Kurosaki, a slightly meek girl of eight years, voluntarily took up the role of housekeeper as soon as she was old enough to hold a mop. It was quite easy for her to do this, as she was home schooled. Her entire world seemed to revolve around her family. So very sweet, the blonde loved helping her father by taking care of the house almost as much as she loved her extensive (and strange) doll collection. Yuzu seemed to be the very essence of a good daughter.

Karin, however, did not seem so sweet. Yuzu's twin in age only, she was very much a tomboy. She went to school, did her work, and hung out with the boys the rest of the day. Of course, that did not mean that she herself wasn't a good child. Anyone who witnessed her reaction to a bullying could attest to that. This dark haired eight-year-old was an incredible soccer player, so, naturally, she was rather good at kicking, and found strength in herself whenever someone weaker than her was hurting. So, Karin was also a good daughter, though a bit rough around the edges.

Then there was Ichigo.

Ichigo Kurosaki, age fifteen. An average high school student, who happened to have a father who lacked something in the brain department, no mother, and two little sisters that meant the world to him.

To his utmost chagrin, he was the only one of the Kurosaki children to inherit his mother's appearance (save, perhaps, Yuzu's eyes). He had strawberry blonde hair, almost orange, set in spikes atop his head. He wasn't very tall at all, though he was narrow, a bit willowy, and very strong. He had learned karate when he was younger than his sisters.

Ichigo's eyes were of a light chocolate color, so light that they seemed orangeish at times, and looked warm, both sweet and kind. Yes, he was rather lovely in appearance…or would have been if not for the permanent scowl upon his brow…

Like Karin, he couldn't stand seeing someone hurting, and had an incredible determination about him to keep his loved ones safe and happy, though he'd never say it out loud, and he would most probably throttle yours truly for calling him sweet. I thank God for pen names every day.

Anyway, the point is, despite Ichigo's nearly permanent scowl and attempts at seeming cool and manly, he was a very sweet person, arguably more sweet than Yuzu. I cannot quite explain to you how this might be. I can only tell you his and his sisters' story, and hope it speaks for itself-a story I seem to have trailed off of. Do pardon, please.

This very dreadful night in which only the irrepressible Isshin could find solace in dreams is a fine example of what I wish to convey. To begin our story, let us intrude upon the young Kurosaki twins.

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Stupid thunder.

Creak!

Stupid lightning.

Groan…

Stupid noisy rain.

"Sigh…"

So this is what Hell is like.

CREAK…!

I've had it!

"Yuzu! Will you just be quiet and go to sleep, already?!"

"Sorry, Karin! I just can't seem to get comfortable!"

It was true. No matter what they did, neither of the two could manage to fall asleep. Yuzu couldn't nod off with the crashing thunder, and Karin couldn't sleep for Yuzu's noise. She tried everything to get her sister to calm down, from actually going into the kitchen, an area that Karin should forever be banned from, to fetch her warm milk, to finding her favorite doll to cuddle with. As much as Yuzu loved her stuffed lion, he wasn't enough to comfort her into dreamland. Now it was nearing the midnight hour, and Karin was no closer to sleep than when she started.

"Ya know, I've about decided that it's useless."

"What's useless, Karin?"

"This." She threw her arms about the room, looking as if the answer were completely obvious. "We're not going to get any sleep, so we may as well go do something a little more productive."

"Like what?" Yuzu frowned.

"Like harass Brother Dear and see if we can't milk a good story out of him," She responded with an imp-like smirk on her face.

"Ooh! We haven't done that in forever! Let's go, let's go!" The blonde's face lit up with the promise of something to do.

"Alright, but we'll have to be quiet. You know how Dad gets."

Yuzu nodded. She knew very well how her dad got. He was either overly sensitive or overly dramatic; her young mind couldn't process which, but he had seemed awfully hurt the last time he had woken up to find that his children were up late and having fun without him. He cried fat tears and everything. Yuzu felt very guilty, still. Karin and Ichigo felt like gagging at his over dramatized theatrics, knowing he wasn't sad in the least. Nevertheless, the sisters were pretty sure they had nothing to worry about. Their noise couldn't possibly wake him up if he could sleep so peacefully with the thunder as loud as it was. Still, they were sure to be as quiet as possible as they crept up the stairs to the second floor, Yuzu's hand covering where Bartholomew's mouth was, as if the stuffed lion could yell and give them away. There was no sense trying to think logically where Isshin Kurosaki was concerned.

They paused when they came across the bedroom door that had "Stupid People Will Be Eaten" written on it with a picture of Godzilla drawn in crayon. Karin looked upon her own handiwork with pride for a second before quietly twisting the doorknob.

Though the twins were very good girls, not to mention diverse, they both shared a similar mischievous side not many would suspect them of possessing. For example, they both enjoyed the art of sneaking up on their unsuspecting brother and pouncing on him just to see his facial expression.

That was exactly what they had in mind as they gave twin smirks to each other and began tiptoeing into the tidy room. They held their breath, slowly putting one foot in front of the other, holding hands as they made their way across to the right side of Ichigo's bed. As if the same person, Yuzu and Karin let out the breath they were holding and took in another pint of oxygen, readying themselves for the pounce, which they were just about-

-"Don't even think about it."

The twins visibly deflated.

"Why'd you have to go and ruin our fun?" Karin grumbled.

"Because I was the victim, maybe?" Ichigo sat up in his bed, turning his honey-like eyes on the two intruders before him. "Can I ask why you're sneaking into my room this late at night? You two do realize it's midnight, right?"

"Ichigooo…" Yuzu whined. "We can't sleep!"

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Tell us a bedtime story!"

At this, Ichigo's scowl deepened. "Aren't you a bit old for bedtime stories?"

"I'm only eight!" Yuzu's lower lip proceeded to jut out in her indignation. Ichigo sighed and looked over to Karin, silently asking if she had the same wish. She did.

"You may as well, Ichigo. It's not like you're getting any sleep either."

"Fine…" He said, patting the bedding next to him, which his sisters took as indication to sit and listen. "Okay, which one do you want to hear? And it'd better not be Jack and the Beanstalk again! It's too scary and you'll never go to sleep." And it was scary. Every story Ichigo told, he couldn't help but add his own personal twists, twists that changed every time he told them, so the story was never predictable. Yuzu didn't take too well to Jack being a cannibal…

They eventually decided on The Boy Who Cried Wolf, so Ichigo dutifully began weaving an incredible tale about the bandit's young nephew who continually rang false alarms during their thieving ventures. As he began the story, speaking loudly to be heard over the thunder, his sisters moved close to him, showing their devoted attention. Perhaps if their attention had not been so devoted, they would have noticed the small creature that flew to Ichigo's window, using the roof jutting out to escape the raging storm. However, none of the children did notice it, so let's forget the what-ifs.

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"The boy's eyes widened, panic settling in. For before him truly was a bandit's worst nightmare."

Yuzu leaned in, eager to hear the climax to her brother's story. Karin wanted to do the same, but stopped herself in the nick of time. It wouldn't do for the cool one to be so easily engrossed into some silly fairy tale.

"Before him stood One Eyed John, the best shot in the West, and the most despicable constable there ever was."

Naturally, the gun got Karin. She joined her sister in leaning towards Ichigo.

"He had no idea what to do. He supposed the smart thing was to cry John, as he had falsely done two times already, but nothing would come out. He looked very much like a fish out of water. More than that, he felt like a fish out of water. He couldn't breathe."

The uninvited guest's heart felt like it was racing. What a story! The being had forgotten all about the cold rain. The thunder seemed to have faded away into nothingness. Listening to the story being spoken into existence through those tanned lips brought on a real warmth that was a comfort to the creature.

"As the legendary constable raised his infamous golden guns, the boy began frantically screaming. 'John! It's One Eyed John!' over and over again…but no one came."

"What happened next?" Karin's eyes betrayed her thoughts. Unlike Yuzu, she very much enjoyed her brother's version of Jack and the Beanstalk, and was hoping for another sick twist that would leave Yuzu with nightmares.

"One Eyed John slowly, meticulously cocked the guns and aimed directly at the watch boy's forehead. He steadied his arms, paying as much attention to the boy's screaming as the boy's partners in crime had. He pulled the trigger and-"

-KNOCK!

Well, if that didn't sound completely obnoxious. The creature gaped at it's stupidity. It was so into the story, it leaned in and knocked it's headplate right into the glass. Judging by the children's reactions, it had not been at all quiet. The creature quickly moved up towards the roof.

Ichigo ran to the window just as the visitor made it's escape. Karin, holding Yuzu still, refrained from moving from the bed. "What is it?" Karin asked.

"I…don't know." Ichigo looked at his surroundings, but there was no way anyone could have been at their window. They were on the second floor, and there were no trees a burglar could climb. He hung out the window to see if he could spot anything below him, grateful for the usually pointless roofing that stuck out just above his window, preventing him from getting soaked. There were no signs of life anywhere around them.

"I guess a bird knocked into the window. Don't worry," he added hastily. "There's nothing on the ground below, so it was fine enough to fly away."

Yuzu looked relieved, but she wasn't much in the mood for a story after that.

"Could we maybe finish this tomorrow? I think I can sleep now."

Ichigo tousled her hair, smiling at her sleepy expression. "Yeah, I'm sure you could. Go on. We can do the rest later."

Returning his smile with a grateful one of her own, she picked up Bartholomew, took Karin's hand, and went downstairs, hopefully for some much needed sleep.

Ichigo hoped they got sleep, because he wasn't so lucky. He tried to tire himself out by fixing his baseball bat's tape. It had come undone due to a friend's carelessness. Ichigo frowned. Stupid Keigo…he really needed to stop lending him his stuff. He always broke it. Finishing his task, he set the bat down next to him and crawled back under the covers, but his insomnia remained. All he could do was close his eyes and try to nod off.

He was just like this when his heart nearly stopped for the second time that night. It wasn't his imagination. He knew it wasn't. His window creaked quietly as it was raised by someone on the other side- the side with the twenty foot drop.

Being sure not to alert the intruder, Ichigo slowly reached out and grabbed the baseball bat he'd left resting against the wall next to him, pulling it under the covers. His ears perked as he heard tiny footfalls approach the side of his bed. His brow furrowed further in confusion. What was this thing? The footsteps were so light…

His hand tightened around the rewound tape as the assumedly small creature pulled at the sheets, apparently trying to climb up.

Why haven't I done anything yet? Ichigo was completely baffled by the whole situation. He'd never thought himself to be the curious type, yet here he was, letting it keep him from hindering someone who was quite possibly dangerous, not even twitching when the intruder accomplished it's goal and sat behind Ichigo on the bed.

Huh. It is small…

Ichigo was clueless as to what to do when the unwelcome visitor curled up into his back, soaked from the rain outside, sighing contentedly in a high, childish voice. At a complete loss, Ichigo simply continued to pretend to sleep.

This was how the night went on. Ichigo remained tense as a violin string, the intruder, who he now knew to be quite small, indeed, happily cuddling into him. His hand was still on the bat, but…it was kind of comfortable. Even with the dampness at his back, he found that he felt restful. Whatever it was, it was far too small to pose a threat. It was almost as if it were a toddler…

Ichigo ended up falling asleep after all.

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Hyuu! Seven pages on the prologue!

What do ya'll think? Does it sound good so far? I know Ichigo seems a little out of character (I hate using text words like OOC), but don't worry! The introduction is all over, so it should flow better from here on out. Also, I know it may seem like I over romanticized our protagonist, but that's just the way I've always seen him. I wonder if this is what they mean by rose-colored glasses…

Heh! Ichigo is Wendy Darling…how did I come up with this, anyway?

Please review! Inspire me!