Disclaimers: I don't own Bleach. I only own my characters.
Bleach © Tite Kubo
Kokuou Kyuusho © iSPAZZMACHiiN3
Bold is English.
Italics are used to emphasize something, or signify a flash back or lyrics to a song.
"Blah." Those quotes are used for talking.
'Blah.' Those are used for thing.
A/N: I've decided to make a new story; Hitsugaya Tōshirō ftw 3 This story follows the plot of the actual anime. I heard that a good character is usually a character that actually develops and grows throughout the story, so I'll be trying that out :D This starts out in Ichigo's pov, until I full introduce the main character. Oh, and cause this follows the plot of the actual anime, Tōshirō doesn't come until he needs to. Until then, have fun learning about the OC. This chapter builds up the back rounds, how people gain their powers, etc etc. By the end of this very long chapter, it should reach up to where the story action begins (: ( aka summer vacation ) If anyone would like to comment on how this is, please do. (: I wouldn't want to write a crap ass story, now do I?
K o k u o u K y u u s h o
Chapter One : The beginning
Cherry blossoms fluttered around with the wind. No sound was made as the pink petals brushed against the windows, Ichigo continued to scan the school grounds outside the window as the Misato, the teacher, droned on. Most of the things she said revolved around class safety rules, how the school year should be, and any other things teachers were suppose to say.
"Excuse me, student with the orange hair." Ichigo scowled hearing the hair comment and looked up to Misato, who in return sweat dropped and nervously smiled.
"Please introduce yourself." Ichigo hated first days; mainly because you were required to introduce yourself and mention some things about yourself. Scowling deeper, he stood up and scanned the classroom with his sharp brown eyes. He's eyes landed on some of his old friends from junior high, but he quickly ignored that as the class waited for him to introduce himself.
"Kurosaki Ichigo, I'm fifteen years old and my family runs a clinic." Ichigo sat down as students stared at him; paying no attention to the next student that introduced himself. He leaned onto his palm and looked outside as the class flew by. Though; not without students already gossiping about him.
"Did you see his hair?"
"It must be bleached."
"He's so scary looking, why does he always scowl?"
"Look at the punk, trying to stand out with his hair." Ichigo growled and snapped his head to the source of the voice as the bell rang. Students quickly tried to pack their stuff and got up to leave as Misato called out,
"Okay students, come back tomorrow completely prepared. Remember, this is class 1-3!" Ichigo let his scowl drop and got up as well, he grabbed his things and towards the door, until he tripped.
"What the hell?!" Ichigo quickly dropped his things and grabbed whatever he almost tripped over. He let go of what he caught and stepped back in surprise to see a small girl, who he recognized as Fuzawaka Mieko. A scowl was present on her face as she stared at him with her blue eyes,
"My bad, Fuzawaka." Mieko said nothing as she grabbed her fallen books and walked away, Ichigo stared at her very short figure; he determined it to be around 4'2 or 4'3.
'I honestly can't tell, my 5'9 height doesn't really help at all either.' He grabbed his own fallen objects and quickly walked out after her, many whispers were heard. He couldn't help but notice the stares that were mainly directed to him and Mieko. Ichigo quickly exited the school and started his path to go home.
- & -
The sky was a light orange color as he walked down the streets; his thoughts still lingered on Fuzawaka Mieko. He remembered his first encounter with her,
"Hey! Aren't you in the wrong school? This is for junior high students, not some elementary student!" A group of juniors boys crowded Mieko, she said nothing and stared at them impassively. The leader of the group scowled,
"Don't look at us like that! You think you're so much better than us just cause you skipped a few years of school?!" Mieko said nothing and tried to walk pass them.
Before anything else could be said, Mieko's grey book bag was thrown in the air; along with the things in it, as she fell to the floor. The boys began to crowd her as the leader smirked,
"Let's teach Fuzawaka a lesson on how to never disrespect her senpais." The boys nodded and began to kick her as she layed on the floor. Mieko winced at most of the hits but tried her best to say nothing, cause she knew that would only satisfy them more. Suddenly the leader was pushed and arms were spread in front of her; almost as a way of protecting her. Mieko laid on the floor; bruised and bleeding.
"Stop!" Mieko looked up at the source of the voice to see a orange haired girl stand in front of her, judging from the back of the girl's uniform, she was also from Mashibi junior high as well.
"This isn't how you treat anyone! Especially if they're younger than you!" Mieko looked up to see Inoue Orihime, one of the girls in her class that didn't bully her. The boys scowled,
"Shut up! This is none of your business!" Orihime stood firm; arms still spread out.
"I don't care! It'll be my business if I see someone hurting the innocent!" One of the boys stepped up and punched his fist.
"Fine, we'll just teach you a lesson too!" The boys stepped up to punch her,
"Orihime!" The boys stepped back as one of them were punched start across the face. Orihime looked at Tatsuki in surprise,
"Tatsuki-chan!" Tatsuki quickly glared at the group of boys,
"Get out of my sight before I kick your asses!" The boys stepped to attack Tatsuki,
"Oi, what the hell do you think you're doing beating up girls?!" Everyone turned to look at Ichigo.
"Damn, people are crawling out like cockroaches here!" The leader pointed at Ichigo,
"Get that punk!" The group of boys ran to Ichigo, Ichigo kept a scowl on his face and kicked one of the boys in the face, while dodging a punch. Tatsuki quickly joined the fight and the boys fled off after their humiliating defeat.
"We'll get you, Fuzawaka!" Ichigo turned to Orihime,
"Inoue, you okay?" Orihime nodded and turned around to face Mieko. She widened her eyes in surprise to see her picking up her books, and getting up. Her long black hair was all messed up and dirty; along with her uniform. Her pale skin was bruised and had scratch marks that bled a little bit. Orihime rushed to the girl,
"Are you okay?!" Tatsuki and Ichigo walked up after Orihime, who was trying to check if the girl was okay.
"Are you okay Fuzawaka-san? Do you need to go to the clinic? I'm sure Kurosaki-kun wouldn't min-"
"I'm fine." The cold voice of Mieko was heard as she stood up and walked off. Ichigo scowled,
"Don't just walk off without saying thank you! We just saved your ass and you're just walking away, you ungrateful little brat!" Mieko continued to walk away, ignoring Ichigo who stepped up to run after her,
"Kurosaki-kun, it's okay, really." Ichigo turned to Orihime,
"Tch, who is that little brat anyways?"
"That's Fuzawaka Mieko, she's in my class." Ichigo stared at her,
"She's only a kid!" Orhime nodded her head,
"She's three years younger than us, but she skipped some years." Tatsuki walked up to Orihime,
"Come on Orihime, I'll walk you home." Orihime nodded as she turned to Ichigo,
"She's always quiet in class, but always bullied. I wanna help her, but she's so distant-"
"Come on, Orihime! I think we could stop for ice cream on the way." Orihime straighed up,
"Coming! Bye Kurosaki-kun." Ichigo stared as Orihime walked off with Tatsuki.
"Hey you! The punk with the orange hair!" Ichigo directed his gaze to see a group of older men,
"What the hell do you want?" One of the guys scowled and stepped up,
"That isn't any way to talk to an adult! Here, let me teach you how-" The guy came running at Ichigo; who in return dodged and kicked the man.
"Out of the way." One of the man stepped up,
"You want us to move out of the way?!" Ichigo just stared at him bored, the man scowled.
"Say something!" He went to punch Ichigo, who once again just dodged and kicked him out of the way. The rest of the men stared in fear as Ichigo continued to kick the man.
"Shut up! Look at that?" Ichigo pointed to a broken flower vase,
"What the hell is that?" The guy in the middle stepped back,
"Uh, a tribute for the kid that recently died-"
"Damn right!" Ichigo kicked the man down.
"So why is the vase broken?" Ichigo glared at them as they stammered,
"Well, we were skateboarding-" The last two boys fell back as Ichigo kicked them,.
"I'll make it so people will have to lay flowers for you too if you dare to do it again!" The guys stepped back in fear and ran off. Ichigo turned back to where the vase lied,
"I'll bring some flowers to you tomorrow." A transperant figure of a girl appeared and nodded with a grateful smile,
"Now I can rest peacefully, O-nii-chan."
"It's nothing, hurry up and go to heaven." Ichigo turned around and continued his path back home as the little girl vanished.
- & -
"You're late! Our dinner always starts at seven." A man; tan skin and black hair, kicked Ichigo across the face as he entered. Ichigo scowled and got up,
"Damn you, is that how you greet your son who just helped a ghost!?"
"Only punishment awaits those who disrupt our family time, no matter what the reason is!" The two glared at each other and began a fist fight,
"Are you bragging that only you can touch and feel ghost?!" Ichigo dodged a punch,
"I didn't ask for this power!" Two elementary girls sat at a table eating dinner as the fight went on, one girl; black short hair, wearing shorts and a shirt, was just eating as though nothing was unusual. While the other one; light brown hair, wearing a sweater and an apron, stared at the two with worried eyes.
"Stop it you too!"
"Let them be, Yuzu. More please." The black haired girl held out her rice bowl to Yuzu,
"But Karin-chan-" Ichigo punched his father to the wall,
"First of all, making a high school student come home at seven every night is-"
"Ichi, you've already got a friend over." Karin kept her eyes closed as she ate. A transparent business man appeared next to Ichigo,
"What the-!? I exorcise but they keeping coming!" Ichigo stared at the man wide eyed and tried to punch him. Karin put down her bowl,
"Thanks for the food, Ichi has it rough being hi-spec." Karin looked at Ichigo with a bored expression, while Yuzu smiled admirably.
"I'm kind of jealous, sensing the presence isn't as special as seeing them." Karin looked at her twin sister with the corner of her eye,
"I don't believe in that ghost crap."
"What? You can see them too, can't you? Dad is the only one who can't see them." Yuzu stared at Karin in shock, who turned around and stared blankly at her.
"If you don't believe, it's like they never existed."
"Forget it, I'm going to bed." Ichigo turned around and left to his room. He put down his bag and laid down on his blue bed.
_________________
"I'm home." Mieko stepped inside her rather large house,
"Welcom- Oh my. Let's get you fixed up, Mieko." An old man; wrinkled and white haired, gestured Mieko inside a white room, she sat down on the white bed and looked out the window as the man cleaned her wounds.
"What happened this time, Mieko?" Silence filled the room as he continued to bandage her scratches.
"Nothing, Hokusai. " Rishou nodded and finished aiding her.
"I'm done, Mieko." Mieko nodded and stood up; grabbing her things.
"It's already seven, right? Dinner should be done, you could stay." Mieko walked away as Rishou stared at her; a wrinkled smiled was present on his face, knowing that was her way of saying thank you.
________________
Ichigo was walking to school like every other morning, but first he wanted to stop where the little girl's tribution. That was, until many screams were heard, he ran towards were the explosion as others ran the opposite way. A centipede-like monster crawled out from the side of the building. The same little girl from the day before came out running,
"O-nii-chan! Run!" Ichigo looked at her in surprise but ran after her with the monster following after them,
"What is that?" The girl let out a yelp as she tripped and fell to the floor, Ichigo turned around to her.
"Hurry!" The monster stood a few feet in front of them, Ichigo widened his eyes in surprise as a black butterfly flew by. Suddenly, a girl in a black shihakushō; with black hair that had a stray bang between her eyes, flew in front of the monster and killed it. Ichigo stared at her as she looked back with her dark violet eyes and walked off; the area seemed to have cleared up and no traces of the monster was left.
- & -
Mieko walked out of school around lunch time, now she was strolling around the streets of Karakura, slightly glad that not many people were outside since they were either at work, home, or still in school.
'What's the point of me going to school anyways? I already knew the things they were going to teach...' Mieko stuffed her hands in the pockets of her grey uniform as she passed by an ally way. Suddenly, a large explosion occurred, a bug like monster was revealed out of the dust as a small girl ran past her. Mieko widened her eyes in surprise and ran also, the monster trailing behind them. A large tentacle slammed across Mieko as she ran next to the girl,
"Split up! I'll make sure it doesn't go after you!" The little girl nodded with wide eyes and ran off to the left, Mieko ran straight for while then took a right.
"Shit!" Another deserted street, the monster gave out a cynical laugh,
"You smell like him too!" It brought its tentacle up to swipe at her.
"Yūyami ni izanae!" Mieko stepped back in surprise as a girl in a shihakushō; purple spiky hair tied with a yellow ribbon. Suddenly the monster was blown away and sliced by the tornado that was formed by the khakkara in the girls hand. Maple leafs flew around Mieko and the girl as the monster disappeared with a roar. The girl suddenly disappeared, as the maple leafs blinded Mieko's view.
"That was fun!" Mieko widened her eyes in surprise to see the girl; now changed in a light brown uniform.
"...Who are you?" The girl turned to Mieko,
"I'm Senna! Oh! I like your school ribbon. Yellow does not look good on me," Mieko only stared at Senna as she untied the yellow ribbon in her hair; who turned to Mieko.
"What's your name?" Mieko stared at her, confirming that she's a high school student as well.
"Fuzawaka Mieko." Senna giggled and grabbed both of Mieko's hands,
"Mi-chan!" Mieko widened her eyes in surprise,
"Can I have your red ribbon? We can switch if you like!" Mieko recomposed herself,
"...No." Senna frowned,
"Aww, why not? If we do, this way we'll have something to remember each other by." Mieko stared at her,
"And if I don't want to remember you?" Senna frowned deeper, until she broke out into a laugh.
"Nice joke! Come on, it's not that hard to just switch ribbons." Mieko stared at her and looked down at her ribbon. It was silent until Mieko's eyes darted back up to Senna's large orange eyes.
"...Fine." Senna jumped up and down,
"Yay!" Mieko untied her red ribbon from her uniform and handed it out to Senna, who exchanged it with a yellow ribbon. After tying the yellow ribbon on her uniform, Senna grinned widely,
"We'll have something to remember each other now!" Mieko looked up at the sky; noticing that it was a very light shade of orange.
'Time went by fast...' Senna suddenly hugged Mieko,
"Later, Mi-chan!" Senna turned to jog off, until Mieko reached her hand out and grabbed a fistful of Senna's shirt.
"Wait a minute, what was that thing you just killed?" Senna turned around,
"Hmm, I don't know. I forgot!" Mieko scowled,
"How can you for-" Senna got out of Mieko's grasp,
"I gotta go now! Thanks for the ribbon, Mi-chan!" Senna ran off with a laugh as Mieko narrowed her eyes.
- & -
Ichigo sat up with wide eyes as a black butterfly flew by, and the same girl from before showed up.
"Who the hell are you? What do you want?!" The girl grabbed the kanata that was strapped on her hip, she ignored him and scanned his room.
"It's near." Ichigo scowled and kicked up from behind,
"Don't give me that crap! Scaring me shit less and ignoring me?!" Ichigo pointed to the girl, who lied on the floor; wide eyed and confused. She turned around,
"You...can see and touch me?" Ichigo dropped his hand to his side,
"Of course I can see you-" The girl stood up in front of Ichigo; having to tilt her head up to look at his face, due to her shortness.
"You're that boy in town, earlier today. Strange, you shouldn't be able to see me." The girl grabbed Ichigo's face, Ichigo scowled and swapped her hands off. She jumped over him and pushed his back as he tried to kick her. He lied on the floor and looked up at her as she turned to him,
"I am a shinigami."
__________
Mieko sat on her window as she scanned the streets outside from her room, she clutched the yellow ribbon in her hand.
"Senna..." Mieko widened her eyes in surprise as she heard a howl.
__________
"Right, so you're a shingiami, that came her from the Soul Society to destroy evil spirits; which was also the monster that attacked the little girl from before. Yeah, I totally believe-" Ichigo stood up, flipping his table.
"No way I'll believe that crap!" The girl glared at him.
"You idiot! You can see ghost but you don't believe in shinigamis?!" Ichigo stuffed his hands in his pocket,
"I don't believe in things I can't see." The girl girl stood up,
"You see me right now."
"I can tell you're not human, but shinigami? Get out of my face, you stupid brat." Ichigo rubbed the girl's head, she scowled and put two fingers out.
"Way of Binding, no.1! Sai." She swiped her fingers across Ichigo's chest, Ichigo fell to the floor; arms crossed in the back.
"What the hell did you do!?" She smirked,
"Kidou, a noble magic that can only be used by a shinigami. Despite my appearance, I've lived nearly ten times as long as you. I would kick your ass, but I'm not forbidden to harm people I'm not ordered to. So be grateful, you stupid brat." Ichigo widened his eyes as she took out her kanata, she swung her sword down as Ichigo closed his eyes shut. Feeling nothing, Ichigo looked to see her stabbing the forehead of the ghost from yesterday with the back of her kanata.
"Don't be afraid, you're going to the soul society." A blue light appeared and he sank down to to the floor, the light disappeared and a black butterfly flutter off. Ichigo stared at her,
"What did you do?" She put her kanata away,
"You humans call it, 'going to heaven.' Another part of our job, here I'll draw it out for you. In this word, there are two types of souls, " The girl took out a drawing pad,
"Good souls are called plus," Ichigo stared in surprise at the kid-like drawing of a bunny that had red hearts surrounding it.
"Bad spirits are called hollows, they attack the living and dead; eating their souls. Any questions?" Ichigo stared at the bunny drawing of the bad spirit that had lightning bolts around it.
"Why are your drawings so bad?" The girl frowned and took out a marker; Ichigo scowled as she drew french mustache on his face,
"Anyways, us shinigami's have two jobs. Performing soul burials and purifying hollows." Ichigo shot his head up in surprise as she continued to talk,
"There's a second one around, but I can't seem to sense it. It's like somethings blocking me..." Ichigo frowned,
"What the hell are you talking about? Don't you hear that?! Isn't it the hollow!" Rukia stood up,
"No doubt, that's a hollow!" Suddenly a scream was heard, Ichigo widened his eyes.
"Yuzu!" The girl ran off, suddenly pausing, feeling a force. She widened her eyes in surprise,
"What spirit force, I couldn't sense this?" Yuzu came running down the hallway,
"Nii-san." Yuzu fell towards the floor,
"Karin-chan, save her..." Yuzu passed out, the shinigami gasped and ran down as Ichigo struggled to stand up. Rukia took out her sword to see Karin being held by the hollow, Ichigo came crashing down the stairs.
"He's moving, under the Kidou?!" She gaped as he stood up, and stared at Karin.
"Karin!" Ichigo growled and tried to break free, the shinigami stared at him in surprise.
"It can't be broken by mere human strength." She stared as the kidou broke, Ichigo ran towards the hollow with a chair. The hollow swiped at Ichigo, dropping Karin as the shinigami cut the hollow. Ichigo caught his sister and stared up at the shinigami as the hollow disappeared.
"She wasn't eaten by him, he wants high spiritual power. And if that's the case, he wasn't after the girl. It's just a guess, but when you touched the ghost girl...well the hollows must have smelled your scent on her. They're after you." Ichigo's eyes dilated, as another hollow appeared. Ichigo stepped up,
"You're saying, people are being attacked because of me?! It's my fault?!" Ichigo ran in front of the hollow,
"You want my soul, right?" The hollow howled as it went at Ichigo, the shinigami quickly ran infront and stabbed the hollow. Blood flew in the air as hollow stepped back, Ichigo stared in surprise as the girl knelled down on the floor, blood squirting out of her.
"Shinigami!" She lied sprawled on the floor as she tried to ignore the wounds,
"Baka, human strength can not defeat hollows alone." The hollow screeched as it griped his wound,
"You want to save your family, right?" The shinigami crawled to a pole and leaned on it,
"Of course, is there any way?" She griped her kanata,
"You have to be a shinigami, thrust this soul slayer in your chest, and I'll transfer my powers to you." Ichigo stared at her,
"Give me that sword, shinigami." She looked up at him with her dark violet eyes shining,
"I'm not 'Shinigami,' I'm Kuchiki Rukia." The hollow ran towards them as Ichigo grabbed the sword,
"I'm, Kurosaki Ichigo." Rukia stabbed her sword in his chest; emitting a blue light that blinded the hollow. The arm of it flew off as Ichigo placed his large sword on his shoulders, Rukia stared in surprise.
"I only intended to give half of my powers, he took it all." Ichigo ran towards the hollow, cutting off most of it's limbs.
"Go to hell!" Ichigo slashed the hollow's mask.
_____________
A knock was heard and Mieko snapped her head towards her door,
"Come in." Rishou walked in went a plate of tea in his hand,
"Hello Mieko, how was your day?" Mieko looked down at the ribbon in her hands.
"...Interesting." Rishou smiled,
"That's nice, care for some tea and candy I brought from Urahara's shop?" Mieko nodded and walked over to the small table in her room. The two sat down and drank the hot green tea in silence,
"Saa, You parents called this morning," Mieko looked up a bit alarmed, but cast her look downwards.
"...What did they say?" Rishou took a sip from his tea,
"They're business trip will be extended for four months or five." Mieko pursed her lips in a thin line as she looked at the tea cup in her hands. Rishou gave a deep chuckle, and opened his mouth to say something. Until Mieko suddenly squeezed her tea cup, eyes wide, slightly slouching over. Rishou slightly widened his eyes but quickly regained his posture. Mieko then straighted up in surprise, snapping her head towards the window. Rishou stared at her,
"Is something the matter?" Mieko slightly scrunched her face, muttering to herself,
"...What was that force..." Rishou put his tea cup down,
"Something wrong, Mieko?" Mieko looked up,
"Betsuni, Hokusai." He nodded and stood up,
"Saa, it's getting late, isn't it? I need to be heading home for tonight, see you tomorrow Mieko. Don't stay up too late," Mieko said nothing as she looked outside the window.
_____________
Orihime walked in the hallways with Tatsuki,
"Did you bring a bento, Orihime?" Orihime smiled,
"It's fish shaped sweet bean bread and ramen, mixed with wasabi and honey!" Tatsuki nervously smiled,
"Oh, really?" Orihimi nodded,
"Yeah- Ow!" Orihime fell to the floor, book scattered as Ichigo towered over her. Tatsuki scowled,
"Ichigo! You just bumped into someone, say sorry!" Ichigo bent down and reached out his hand to Orihime,
"Oh, my bad." Orihime quickly stood up, disregarding her books, and nervously waved her hands. Scared at Ichigo's facial expression,
"No, I'm fine. I, uh, I, uhm!" Orihime stuttered, and quickly scrambled off. Ichigo stared at her confused,
"What's with her?" Tatsuki turned to Ichigo,
"That's one hell of a mean look you have, anyways. It's lunch time, why are you late?" Ichigo ran off,
"I'll tell you later."
_____________
"Ah! Ow! I'm so sorry!" Orihime tripped over someone and fell to the floor,
"Sorry! I didn't see you there." Orihime looked to see Mieko on the floor as well, Orihime stood up and reached out her hand to her. Mieko looked up at Orihime with a blank expression, and looked at her bento on the floor. Orihime stared in shock as Mieko began to pick up the fallen foods and place them in her bento, she stood up and left without a word. Orihime stared at Mieko's leaving figure with a frown,
"S-sorry, Fuzawaka-san..."
____________
Mieko looked out the window, it had been months since the incident with Senna, other than that; nothing interesting happened. Howls were occasionally heard, but it seemed as though right after, they disappeared.
"Morning, Kuchiki-san. Where were you? It's already third period." Rukia walked up to Ichigo,
"Do you have a moment?" Ichigo looked at her,
"If you have something to say, say it-" Ichigo suddenly fell to the floor.
"Oh no! Are you okay? Here, I'll take you to the nurse!" Rukia dragged Ichigo outside. Mieko looked at the scene with the corner of her eye,
"Hello, Fuzawaka-san." Mieko looked up to see Orihime.
"Do you need something, Inoue?" Orihime nervously smiled,
"It's lunch time, do you want to join us?" Mieko stared at her blankly,
"Why would I eat lunch with you?" Orihime winced, remembering how she dropped Mieko's bento. Gathering up her courage, she bent down to Mieko with a big smile.
"A healthy high school girl comes to school, specifically to eat lunch!" Mieko stared at her, saying nothing. Orihime nervously stood up,
"What do you have for lunch, Fuzawaka-san? I have bread and sweetbean paste." Suddenly a girl with red hair stepped in between the two,
"Hime! Let's eat together!" Orihime looked up in surprise,
"Oh, sure! Let me get Fuzawaka-san first!" The girl hugged Orihime,
"You're so cute! Being so friendly to everyone!" Orihime stared at Mieko, practically begging for help. Suddenly, Ichigo jumped up to the window.
"This is classroom 1-3, right?" Ichigo grinned, staring at all the girls, stopping his gaze at Orihime.
"Tell me your name, beautiful." He kissed her hand, Orihime blushed. Tatsuki grabbed him,
"What the hell are you doing, Ichigo?!" He looked at her,
"You're pretty cute too." Mieko looked outside the window, eating the food from her bento as Tatsuki picked up a chair and threw it at Ichigo; who dodged.
"That's enough!" Rukia entered the room, as Ichigo turned to run out the window. Suddenly another Ichigo popped up, in a shihakushō, Mieko dropped her chopsticks and stared at the two in surprise. Suddenly the two began fighting,
"What is he kicking?" The class stared in surprise as Ichigo began to kick the air, suddenly he kicked towards the desk. Mieko stared as the desk next to her get thrown back,
"Fuzawaka-san! Watch out!" Orihime stared at Mieko, who just stared off in space.
"It's a ghost!" Suddenly Ichigo jumped out the window. Rukia stood nearby the window,
"It...was a modified soul!" Mieko stared as the two ran off. Silence filled the classroom as everyone stood in shock of what just happened,
"What...was that?" No one answered Mizuiro as they looked at the fallen desk.
".......Inoue, my lunch consist of rice and fish." Orihime looked at Mieko is surprise as she continued to eat, looking outside the window as if nothing happened. She walked nearby Mieko's desk, hoping she could get Mieko to talk more.
"Did you see that, Fuzawaka-san?" Mieko continued to look out the window,
"How could I not?" Orihime frowned and looked outside the window as well. Tatsuki walked up towards the two,
"What's wrong, Orihime?" Orihime turned to Tatsuki,
"That...that wasn't Kurosaki-kun."
____________
Mieko sat in class, a bit surprised that no one was gossiping about how weird Ichigo was acting the other day. Taking out her sketch book, she began to drawing.
"Hey, you guys take art too right? Did you do the 'Future Me' assignment?" Tatsuki crossed her arms,
"Yeah, why?"
"Can I see yours?"
"Sure." Orihime looked around, to see if she could spot Ichigo, instead she saw Mieko; who unlike the rest of the girls in the class, wore the complete uniform. Sweater and all, socks, except her ribbon was yellow.
"What did you draw, Orihime?" Orihime grabbed her painting,
"Tada! Top speed of 380 kph, 20k C flames, and special laser eyes!" Orihime turned to Mieko,
"How about you, Fuzawaka-san? What did you draw for art?" Mieko looked at her in the corner of her eye, and looked back down at her sketch book, saying nothing. Ichigo then walked in, Orihime waved her arms.
"Good moring, Kurosaki-kun!" He turned around and smiled,
"Morning, Inoue." Everyone stared at him in surprise,
"He's such in a good mood, right? Orihime?" Orihime slightly nodded, still staring at Ichigo. Tatsuki turned to the speaker,
"What day is it today, Michiru?" Michiru looked down at her watch,
"June 16," Tatsuki nodded,
"Oh, it's this day. He only makes that face when he's completely tense. Tomorrow, he's not coming to school." Orihime stared at Tatsuki, unsure of what to do in the tense situation, she turned to Mieko.
"Ahh, Fuzawaka-san. Can I please see your drawing? You can look at mine too, if you want." Mieko said nothing, Orihime took that as a yes and cautiously walked over to her. Looking down at her sketch, she gaped.
"Wow! Fuzawaka-san, it's so pretty. But what does it mean?" Orihime scanned the picture of a bird in a cage, ready to take off flying. Mieko stopped drawing and looked outside,
"There are some things that you can't understand with merely words," Orihime stared at Mieko as she stared off into space.
_________________
The sky were painted blue with white circles called clouds as Mieko walked home,
"Wahh, Mi-chan!~" Mieko froze as she was tackled in a hug,
"...Senna." Senna let go of Mieko and stared at her face,
"...Get out of my face." Senna laughed and hugged her,
"I haven't seen you in a while. Eh? What's with the long face, Mi-chan?" Mieko said nothing, and looked to her side.
"My name is Fuzawaka Mieko, don't call me with such familarity." Senna laughed,
"Let's go get some ice cream, Mi-chan." Before Mieko could protest, Senna dragged her off.
- & -
"I'll have one scoop of strawberry ice cream, and she'd like one scoop of..." Senna looked at Mieko, who looked at the rather old ice cream man.
"Sea salt ice cream." The man nodded as Senna turned to Mieko,
"Sea salt...?"
"Here you go." The man handed them their ice cream, Senna looked at Mieko and nervously grinned,
"Sorry, I have no money on me." Mieko stared at her blankly and reached into her pocket, handing the man 500 yen.
"Let's go." Mieko walked off as the man looked up in surprise,
"Wait, you forgot-"
"Keep it." Senna looked at the ice cream man in surprise and ran after Mieko,
"Wait up, Mi-chan!" The man stared at the two surprise and called out,
"Have a nice day!"
Senna caught up to Mieko,
"Eh, you gave him 500 yen, when it only cost 200 yen. That was very nice of you, Mi-chan. It's almost, unlike you." Mieko snapped her eyes to Senna,
"Don't talk as if you know me," Senna only laughed as she licked her ice cream,
"Ahh, so mean. But why the long face, Mi-chan?" Mieko said nothing,
"Do you remember?" Senna looked at Mieko,
"Huh?" Mieko turned to Senna.
"Do you remember what that thing you killed the first time we met?" Senna looked at Mieko's uniform,
"Hey! You kept it!" Mieko looked at her confused,
"My ribbon," Mieko looked down towards the side, slightly embarrassed. Senna grinned and hugged her,
"Aww! You do care, you do care! You act like you're so mean and cold, but you're actually so nice! Keeping my ribbon, giving extra money to that old man!" Senna began to jump up and down as Mieko snapped up at her; with a tinge of pink present on her cheeks.
"Oi! Don't act like you know me, and don't avoid the question!" Senna smiled and skipped off, twirling with her ice cream.
"Ahh, I forgot. I think it's called a hollow-thingyamabob!" Mieko narrowed her eyes,
"A what?" Senna shrugged,
"I forgot!" Mieko scowled,
"How do you for-" Senna squealed,
"Look! Wooden poles!" She ran and jumped on top of them, hopping to the next one as Mieko walked down the street.
"...What are you doing?" Senna grinned, spreading her arms out as she hopped on the short stumps.
"I, don't know. It's fun, being up high like this." Mieko looked up at the sky, noting that it was turning orange.
"I'm going home." Mieko turned to walk off,
"Wait!" Mieko stopped, Senna jumped behind her.
"I found you today because I was leaving Karakura town!" Mieko looked at her at the corner of her eyes, silent.
"So, before I left, I wanted to spend time with Mi-chan." Mieko turned around and stared at her,
"...Where to?" Senna shrugged,
"Don't know, but I do know that it won't be until a long time till I visit!" Mieko walked away,
"Eh? Mi-chan, you don't care if I leave or not?" Mieko stopped, with the wind blowing her long black hair.
"You said you'd be back to visit," Senna stepped up with a forlorn look,
"...But, not until a very long time."
"So?" Senna frowned as her eyes began to dry,
"It's like you don't even care..." Mieko heard her sniff a bit, almost sighing she turned around.
"You have that red ribbon right? Keep it safe until the next time we meet, it doesn't have to be on your hair or anything, it could be on your ankle for all I care. Just remember to return it to me the next time you visit Karakura town. We'll exchange ribbons, until then; it'll just be a promise." Senna rubbed her eyes, and ran up to hug Mieko.
"Ahh! Mi-chan! You do care!" Mieko struggled out of her grip,
"Get off of me," Senna shook her head and hugged her tighter,
"No way! This is my last day here!" Mieko stopped struggling and looked up at Senna,
"Yeah, yeah. Get going already, I have to go home for dinner." Senna let go and smiled,
"I know exactly where to put your ribbon! Bye, Mi-chan! I'll see you sometime again, I promise." She ran off waving, Mieko turned and walked home.
Mieko stood in the crowd next to Ichigo trying to see what was happening, but failed due to her short height. So all she could do was listen to the old man on stage talk,
"Bwahahaha!" The crowd followed his gesture as smoke appeared.
"Going to a commercial." Ichigo scowled,
"I hate ghost shows." Mieko looked up at Ichigo; and silently agreed with him.
'How the hell did I end up hear again?'
Misato gave the class the remaining time in class to do whatever they want, seeing as everyone finished the pop quiz faster than she expected.
"Bwahahaha!" Orihime stood in front of Mieko's desk with her arms crossed as she laughed, Mieko stared at her blankly.
"...What are you doing?" Orihime stopped and looked at her,
"Don't you know what this is?" Mieko stared at her; Orihime began to smile.
"I guess not, it's from a show! It's about spiritual things and there's a live broadcast, you should totally come with us-" Tatsuki grabbed Orihime,
"Stop bothering Fuzawaka, I'll go with you." Orihime blinked in surprise,
"B-but I want Fuzawaka-san to come! It'll be fun! Come on, Fuzawaka-san!" Mieko stared at her grey eyes that began to water, pleading her to go. Closing her book she stood up,
"As long as you stop talking so much, I'll go." Orihime widened her eyes in surprise as the school bell rang and Mieko walked out.
"All spectators, please move over to this area." The two began walking towards where ever they were suppose to go as Orihime ran up to them.
"Kurosaki-kun, sorry about yesterday, I didn't know you hate these kind of shows." Ichigo shrugged,
"Look at Mizuiro and Keigo, they know I hate these shows, but they don't care." Orihime nodded and stepped up,
"Ah!" Mieko looked up at Orihime and scowled,
"Oh! Fuzawaka-san! You came, Sorry. I didn't see you." Mieko looked away,
"...I don't see what's so special about these idiotic shows." Orihime frowned,
"You hate these kinds of show too?" Mieko nodded,
"I'm sorry, Fuzawaka-san. I wouldn't have asked if I've know." Mieko stared at her,
"It's nothing." Orihime nodded,
"But you guys both came anyways..." Mieko looked up at her,
"I keep my word." Ichigo pointed to the side,
"My little sister and dad are fans of the show." Orihime blinked,
"That's why you guys came?" Mieko said nothing as Ichigo nodded. Orihime smiled,
"You two are so nice." Ichigo blinked in surprise,
"What? It's something any normal person would do." Orihime nodded,
"Right, it's normal. Normal..." Mieko stared at Orihime,
"Hey! Orihime, I'm going without you!" Orihime looked up surprise,
"Tatsuki-chan, wait up!" Orihime turned to Mieko,
"Come with me, Fuzawaka-san. I'll try to make it fun!" She grabbed Mieko and dragged her through the crowd.
- & -
"Now then, Kan'onji-san is about to begin the exorcism." Mieko jumped up a bit to try and see what was happening, Orihime stopped cheering with the crowd and stared at Mieko.
"Ano, Fuzawaka-san...you can't see, can you?" Mieko scowled and crossed her arms,
"I-"
"I'll have to use my spirit stick!" Suddenly Kanoji stabbed the something with his stick. Hearing the screams of someone in pain made Mieko look up in surprise. Orihime stared at her nervously,
"Ano, I can give you a piggy back ride if you would like..." Mieko looked up surprise as Orihime bent down, reluctantly, she climbed on her back.
"Stop that!" Ichigo ran towards them, only to be tackled by security. Rukia grabbed her glove,
"I'll turn you into a shinigami!" Mieko blinked in surprise seeing a man being chained to the floor, she winced as she heard it screech. Orihime stepped back in surprise as it roared. The chains began to break, Mieko stared as another Ichigo flew out of Ichigo. He was wearing a shihakushō and carried a sword. He ran towards Kanoji and knocked him off the spirit. The spirit exploded and disappeared,
"Mission complete!" Mieko narrowed her eyes at what just happened, the crowd began to cheer.
"Up! Ichigo!" Rukia screamed as Ichigo looked up to see a hollow forming. The hollow ran towards Kanoji, Ichigo ran and blocked.
"Kanoji's exorcism is complete!" The crowd cheered as Kanoji waved.
_________
"Do you kids realize what you done?! Everything that happened at the exorcism was taped! It was broadcast all over the country! You shamed the school!" Mieko stood with Orihime, Rukia, Tatsuki, Ichigo, Mizuiro, Keigo, and chad.
"I know why Ichigo and Kuchiki are in trouble because they were caught on tv, but Inoue-san and I shouldn't be here."
"You were there with them!" Tatsuki shrugged,
"Coincidence." No one said anything,
"Let's go, Orihime," Tatsuki walked out.
"Uhm, I don't think Fuzawaka-san should be punished either, she just happened to be there with us." Mieko looked at her in the corner of her eye, as the principle nodded.
"You three are dismissed, as for you five." Rukia began to cry,
"I'm so sorry! It's all my fault..."
"Don't cry, it wasn't your fault!" The four boys ran off, Rukia also disappeared.
- & -
Mieko stood with Orihime and Tatsuki as they looked at the ranking charts,
"Third, good job Orihime." Orihime smiled as Tatsuki rubbed her head.
"Wah, I didn't know Orihime was so smart." Tatsuki shrugged,
"It may not look like it," Ichigo stepped up,
"If we're devils for just making it on the top fifty, what's the top three ranked people then? Third, Inoue, Second Ishida...Ametatsu? Never heard of that name." Orihime looked up Ichigo,
"It's Uryuu,"
"Who?"
"He's in our class." Ichigo stepped back in surprise. Orihime looked up at the list,
"Eh?! First place, Fuzawaka Mieko." Orihime turned,
"Great job, Fu- Eh, where'd she go?" Orihime looked left and right as Ichigo pondered who that was.
"Let's go, Orihime. We have cleaning duty," Tatsuki dragged her off.
_________
"It's because you, that we have to do this."
"No, you did it too!" Tatsuki scowled,
"No way," Chizuru looked up,
"Where's Hime?" She turned to see Orihime staring off into space as Mieko continued to sweep.
"Uhm, let's quit cleaning, I wanna go home." Orihime dragged Mieko, Chizuru, and Tatsuki off.
"Sorry, I have to change." Tatsuki ran off towards the other direction. Orihime stepped up in surprise, as a hollow flew up behind them. Mieko stared at the purple blob in surprise as it talked,
"You can see me, can't you?"
"What's wrong, Hime?"
"Run away, you two!" Chizuru looked up surprise as the windows suddenly exploded. Mieko covered herself as the black darts flew around, hitting Chizuru. Chizuru stood up and grabbed Orihime,
"W-what are you doing?"
"I-It moved by itself." Mieko stepped back in surprise as the hollow laughed,
"I used some of my power, controlling the body with the seeds. Making you guys fight against yourself. Let's begin." Suddenly more students came walking forward, diving towards the too. Mieko widened her eyes,
"Inoue!" Mieko tried to get the two off eachother, Tatsuki came and punched the people around her.
"You can see it too?" Tatsuki shook her head,
"No, but I can feel where it is." Chizuru grabbed Tatsuki shoulder,
"Tatsuki-cha-" The hollow shot at Tatsuki while the other controlled students muffled Mieko and Orihime.
"Cry," Tatsuki sat up,
"Shut up!" The hollow rubbed at Tatsuki's cheek. Orihime struggled out of their grasp,
"Tatsuki-chan!" Tatsuki unwillingly kicked Orihime,
"Inoue!" Mieko struggled to move, but failed due to her petite body.
"Thank you for protecting me, Tatsuki-chan." Orihime hugged Tatsuki,
"This time, I'll protect you!" Orihime's clips began to glow as a tornado formed around her.
"I won't forgive anyone who hurts Tatsuki-chan!" Mieko stared in shock as she saw some things flew around Orihime.
"Fairies?" The things laughed,
"Funny, no we're apart of you. Your soul. We're a shield." The hollow growled,
"Call our names! Hinagiku, Baigon, Lily!" Orihime stepped back in surprise.
"Inoue! Help!" The controlled humans began to tower over Mieko, Orihime turned around.
"Fuzawaka-san! Hinagiku, Baigon, Lily!" The three fairy-like things flew off,
"Scared Tri-link shield! I reject!" Mieko gasped for air as they covered her, slowly, everything began to fade to black.
____________
Mieko shot up in bed, orange rays from the sun were warming her skin as she looked around.
"Where am I?" Rishou rushed over to her side,
"Mieko, are you okay? One of your friends, Inoue Orihime, brought you over here. You were on cleaning duty, but you slipped on a glass and hit your head." Mieko looked off to the side, touching her head.
'Is that what really happened? But...the monster...it felt so real.' Rishou let out a laugh,
"Oh my, my, my. Mieko, you have to be more careful, luckily you had a friend that brought you over here." Mieko looked up, concluding that it was a dream.
"What time is it?" Rishou stood up,
"Around lunch time, do you feel like going to school?" Mieko nodded and got up to change for school.
- & -
Mieko walked across the school field as she passed by Orihime and Tatsuki,
"Fuzawaka-chan! Where were you today? Let's eat lunch together!" Mieko turned to see Rukia with them,
"Inoue-san, may I talk to you about how I fell yesterday?" Orihime stepped back in surprise,
"Oh, sure!" Mieko nodded and walked with them to sit under a tree.
"Today, I have a cake sandwhich!" Orihimi grinned and ate her cake, the group stared at her.
"How does she eat those things, and never get fat?"
"It all goes to her boobs." Mieko leaned against a tree, a bit stray from the group as they talked.
"Kuchiki-san, do you have the hots for Kurosaki-kun?" Rukia spit out her chocolate milk,
"What?"
"What's your relationship with him?" Ruka wiped her mouth,
"...What?" They looked at her in surprise,
"Kurosaki-kun, is just a friend!"
"Seriously?"
"Aww. That's too bad." Rukia noticed Mieko,
"Fuzawaka-san, do you not have anything to eat?" Mieko turned to her,
"No." Orihime turned around back with a frown,
"Aren't you hungry?" Mieko crossed her arms,
"No-" Her stomach started to growl.
"Oh, well next time. I'll create a special dish for you two, and we can eat together!" Rukia smiled,
"I'll think about it." Mieko stared at Rukia as she held out a piece of her sandwhich to her
"It's ham and cheese, I'm sure you wouldn't mind." Mieko looked away, her stomach growling. Rukia crawled over to her,
"You're hungry, so eat. You're already so skinny." Mieko looked at her and the sand which, reluctantly taking it.
"...Thank you." Rukia gave a smile as she ate. Mieko looked at Orihime,
"About how I fell yesterday..." Orihime looked up,
"I seem to have the oddest dream yesterday; there were fairies th-" The school bell rang as everyone got up, Orihime quickly left, leaving Mieko. Narrowing her eyes she walked back to class.
____________
Mieko sat on her window again; looking out at the clear dark sky. Suddenly, a force began to push her down. She felt her eyes grow wide as it became harder to breath,
"...What's...going...on?" She wheezed as her vision began to blur. Mieko closed her eyes, drooping her head against the window as the pressure went away. After that, she was knock unconscious.
___________
Ichigo stood in class, looking around for the absent people.
'Kuchiki Rukia, it's like no one remembers her.' Mieko looked around as Orihime and Tatsuki stood nearby.
"What are you doing for your summer vacation, Fuzawaka-chan?" Mieko looked up,
"Who knows." Misato grinned,
"Alright class, be back in September, okay? Alright! Dismissed!" Most of the students left, while Orihime, Tatsuki, Ichigo, Chad, Mizuiru, Keigo, Michiru, and Mieko stayed.
"Let's go to the beach!" Keigo cheered, Ichigo stood up.
"I can't go," Others agreed as they began to leave.
- & -
"Kurosaki-kun!" Ichigo turned around to see Orihime and Mieko.
"Kurosaki, we both noticed something missing today." Ichigo turned to Mieko, surprised.
"Something happened?"
"Where'd Kuchiki-san go? Why'd everyone forget...?" Ichigo widened his eyes in surprise as Mieko stepped up,
"Kuchiki, suddenly left. I didn't get to return the debt I owe for lunch the other day." Ichigo looked down, sighing.
"Kuchiki Rukia...She left." Mieko narrowed her eyes,
"That doesn't explain why everyone suddenly forgot her."
- & -
"So, Kuchiki-san; a shinigami, left back to the soul society? The place she originally came from?" Ichigo nodded, Mieko leaned against the railing as the other two sat down on the steps.
"Inoue, I didn't know you saw us." Mieko stayed silent through most of the conversation; she looked up at the sky, seeing as though it was already turning orange.
"I'm going home." Ichigo ran off as Chad ran down the steps to see Orihime.
"Inoue-san, I'm going home." Orihime turned around and nodded,
"Bye, Fuzawaka-chan. Have a great summer vacation!" Mieko walked up the steps and looked down at the black cat as she passed by it.
- & -
The sun was going down by the time Mieko was walking home on the deserted road, suddenly a loud roar was heard. Mieko froze and turned around,
"Little human, I've been straving for days. You're not much compared to shinigamis, but you'll satisfy me till my next meal." Mieko stepped back as huge bug like monster stepped in front of her, Mieko turned around and ran.
"Running? You think a human could outrun a hollow like me?!" Mieko screamed as the hollow hit her into the building. Blood trailed from forehead as the hollow stepped in front of her, it grabbed her from her waist and grinned. Bringing her towards it's mouth.
"Mieko!" A loud screech was heard as the hollow released Mieko. She fell to the ground and looked up to see someone with white hair in a shihakushō, they grunted and pushed the hollow backwards. They turned around to face Mieko,
"H-Hokusai?" The old man grinned at Mieko and flinched as he gripped his wound on his shoulder.
"Hokusai! Y-you're a s-shinigami?!" The hollow screeched as it tried to look around, but it's vision taken away when Rishou slashed it. Mieko shakily stood up in surprise as he knelled towards the floor, blood flowing profusely out of his shoulder.
"W-why!? Why did your risk yourself like that?" He gave an smile as his kanata fell to the floor,
"A shinigami rule; was to never get attached to a human. When I stayed with you when you were a kid, I couldn't help but grow attached. Your parents were always away, and so you spent more time with me. Soon, I couldn't help but think of you as one of my own." Mieko ran towards Rishou as he coughed up some blood.
"My mission here, was to find the perfect hiding spot. And now, I finally found it." Mieko gaped as her eyes began to burn, Rishou grabbed his kanata.
"That hollow, needs to be destroyed." He then flash stepped towards the hollow, slashing it's mask. Mieko winced as the hollow began to screech louder as it disappeared. Suddenly, Rishou stood in front of Mieko.
"W-what's going on, Hokusai?!" He gave a sad smile and brought his sword up, Mieko gasped as he thrust the swords towards her chest. A blinding gold light shone brightly as Mieko turned into a shinigami. Her shihakushō flowed due to the wind as her human body laid on the floor, tears trailed down her face as she stepped back in surprise.
"What!?" Hokusai then shoved Mieko back into her human body,
"The best way to keep it safe, is for you to not even remember. " Mieko looked up in surprise as Rishou clicked a button on a device, a blinding white light flashed as the last thing Mieko heard was a regretful voice,
"I'm sorry."