Arigatou
Authors Note: I felt like making fun of Ichigo's 'innocence'. In no way do I mean to imply that virginity is bad, or is anything to make fun of.
Ichigo Kurosaki had grown used to strange happenings in the last year. It seemed that oddities followed him everywhere. Hollows in the city, soul reapers in his classroom, visards following him, dad attacking him at all hours. What a weird life he led. He was happy to have it though. The craziness was just the price he paid, in exchange for knowing he could protect those he cared for most. Though it got out of control from time to time, he was content with it, and accepted his daily doses of strange when they came. Today, he had a feeling that his dose of weird would be a double. On his way home from school, he spotted a little girl in a pink skirt. She looked rather shy, but happy to see him. Her pigtails bobbed slightly when she approached him.
"Hello, Ichigo." She said timidly. He smiled, and patted her on the head. She reminded him a bit of his own sisters. She had Yuzu's personality, but Karin's appearance, and fighting skill.
"Hey, Ururu. What are you doing way over here?" He smiled kindly at her.
"Sorry to bother you, Ichigo. But Mr. Urahara asked me to bring you to the shop."
"I figured as much." He sighed. "Alright, Ururu. What's old hat and clogs want this time? " He pondered. He changed his direction, and followed her, knowing that whatever old hat and clogs wanted was bound to add another oddity to his life.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
The Urahara shop had its usual air of mystery about it. The building seemed to stand alone in Karakura town. As if it were separate from the rest of the living world. Just like its proprietor, its face was shrouded in shadow. Ichigo followed Ururu inside, and took a seat at the table. She went to get her employer, while he sat waiting. He crossed his arms over his chest and thought. What could it be this time? He didnt get long to think, before Mr. Hat and clogs himself entered,with his usual garb, and carefree attitude in tow. Ururu followed in behind him, with a tea pot dangling from one hand, and a small tray in the other. The old man took a seat across from the brooding youth he'd come to know, a smile on his lips as usual.
"Well hey there, Ichigo. Long time no see."
"Yeah, it's been a good two weeks since anything has tried to kill me, or destroy the city." he snorted. "So, let's get right to it. Who, or what, do I need to find, save, kill, destroy, or beat up?"
Urahara opened his fan,covering his mocking smile. He began pouring cups of tea for himself, and his guest.
"Wow, rather presumptuous, aren't we Ichigo? You do realize that you aren't the only person that I ever go to for help. I myself am quite capable of handling a lot of the trouble that arises."
"Then, why don't you do it yourself then?" He frowned over his cup of tea.
"Because, I don't want to." Urahara answered. "At any rate, today, I don't need anything from you, Ichigo."
"Then, what did you call me for?" He asked, still suspicious. He knew that the exiled soul reaper had a habit of omitting details, and dancing around issues.
"Well, actually. I wanted to give you a present." The shock almost made Ichigo choke on his tea.
"Huh?" the exasperated youth mamaged.
"Well, on behalf of the soul society, of course. Since you have helped us quite a bit in the past, without being asked, and at times when you were told specifically not to interfere, I felt you deserved something." He reached into his pocket,and retrieved a small box. It fit in the palm of his hand, and had a hinged lid. It was made of a white, velveteen material, with a black ribbon, tied in a bow, wrapped around it. Ichigo recognized it on sight: it was an engagement ring box.
He felt his eyebrow twitch, as he looked from the box, to the old man, and back.
"What the hell is that supposed to be?" He pointed at it, struggling to keep his hand from shaking in fury.
"Your present, Ichigo." Urahara stated, before dropping the box in the boy's hand. He stood up, and left the table, much to the boy's protest. "And no, it's not an engagement ring. Sure, I like you, but not that much. I just put it in there to ensure that it didn't get damaged on your way home."
"Well then, what the hell is it?" He yelled, holding the box gingerly. The old man covered his smile with his fan, again.
"You'll know soon enough... Don't open it until you get home, though." Urahara left him alone in the tea room, probably to return to his nap. Ichigo looked at the box, curiously. What on earth could this box contain?
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.
Ichigo sat in his bedroom, in his pajamas, looking at the little white box. He'd gotten home at dinner time, and had not had time to open it yet. Truthfully, he was a little afraid to. Knowing Urahara, it could be anything.
Well, there's no sense in just looking at it wondering. He thought. He pulled the ribbon off, and slowly cracked open the lid. He was slightly afraid, and ducked beneath his desk when the lid was open. When nothing exploded, or attacked him, he stood up. Inside the box, a little green ball sat atop the velveteen plush. It resembled a piece of candy. Ichigo picked it up and looked at it, before popping it into his mouth. It had a sweet, yet tangy flavor.
All that trouble to give me a skittle? He thought. Suddenly he felt himself separate from his body. He was now standing in his soul reaper form. It occurred to him then.
That must have been a soul candy he gave me...Wait, don't those have a mod soul inside them?
His question was answered immediately. His limp body sat up, on his bed. He screamed in pure confusion.
"What the? What the hell is in my body!"
It stood up and took a step towards him, before falling to its knees and bowing. A sweet, but quiet voice rang out.
"Greetings, Master Kurosaki-Sama. I am Pleasured Soul number 6409, and I am pleased to be of service." the voice stated, in a tone that resembled a military drone. Ichigo stared at his body. It was really freaking him out. This was different than when he put Kon in his body. He didn't know this mod soul.
"Uh. Don't you mean mod soul?" His body sat up on his knees, and began to explain to him.
"No sir! Mod souls are made for combat, where as Pleasured Souls are made for companionship, and personal assistance." He stared at himself for a minute.
"Right. So, you're like back up?" He asked. Ichigo's head shook.
"Not exactly, sir. As I said, sir, we are for companionship, and personal assistance, sir."
"Could you stop talking like that? That military talk is starting to annoy me." He sighed. "Well then, what the hell did Urahara give you to me for?" Ichigo took a seat on his bed, across from where the soul was crouched.
"For your personal use, master Kurosaki Sama, sir!" He paused for a moment. There was something weird about this 'pleasured soul'. Then something occurred to him.
"Wait a second, your voice. It's so... feminine." His eyebrows shot up in realization. "Holy freaking crap, you're a female!"
"Yes sir! I am a female Pleasured Soul, master Kurosaki Sama, sir!"
"Why the hell are you in my body! I'm male!" He fumed. There was a woman inside him! Rukia would never let him live it down. He watched the soul's face screw up in pure shame, before the inhabitant threw him onto the floor in a desperate bow.
"Forgive me, master Kurosaki Sama. I assumed that this body was the one you wished to use me in. Please, forgive my stupidity!" His expression lost a bit of it's intensity. He understood, it was a simple mistake.
"It's fine. Honestly, it was my fault. I should have known better than to assume anything Urahara gave me would be normal, or harmless." he saw his body, still bowed in apology. It irritated him to see himself act so subservient, even if it wasn't actually himself. He reached out, tentatively, and patted his own shoulder. The soul that inhabited his body immediately sat up. Ichigo sighed. This was going to be a weird night.
"Anyway, why don't we get to know each other? I'm Ichigo." He held out his hand. His body stared at it in shock. "What? Do you not shake hands?" He asked. His body immediately fell into another low bow.
"No sir. I wish not to offend master Kurosaki Sama, in any way... It is only that, as a Pleasured Soul, I was not ever been treated as an equal, by my previous master. And for master Kurosaki Sama to offer his hand, is an unimaginable honor."
Ichigo thought about it. He remembered what Kon had told him about mod souls. They were treated as a failed experiment, and destroyed by their creators. He could only imagine how these 'Pleasured Souls' were treated.
"I see." He stated absently. "Anyway, what's your name?"
"You have not assigned one to me yet, master Kurosaki Sama, sir."
He felt his breath stop.
"What do you mean?" He asked. "You mean, you weren't given one?" The soul shook his head.
"No sir. Unlike mod souls, Pleasured Souls were not given names by our creators." Ichigo sighed deeply. He had to ask the question, yet he knew he was about to hate the answer.
"What exactly are Pleasured Souls?"
"Well, sir... we were created the same way as the mod souls. We were to 'defective' ones, who had little or no special combat abilities. Since we were not deemed dangerous by Soul Society, and there were few of us, we were not destroyed. Instead we were given a new directive: Attending to the wants and needs of the Captains of the thirteen court guard squads.
Every time a new captain is appointed, he chooses one of us for his personal use, and chooses a gigai, which suits their tastes, in which to implant our soul candy."
"What if it turns out they picked the same gender soul?"
" Since we are not real souls, we are considered asexual. We assume whatever form our master wishes. They are allowed to keep us for as long as they like. However, since we are artificial souls, we can not be married to a soul, soul reaper, or a fellow artificial soul. We do not have any rights, and are expected to obey our masters. If we displease our masters, we can be destroyed. Since we are artificial, we do not get reincarnated as new, living souls. We stop existing."
Ichigo could barely comprehend that. The idea of simply ceasing to exist. It sickened him, and pissed him off.
"So, you Pleasured Souls... are the Soul Society's sex slaves." He muttered harshly.
"Not at all. Slaves are real beings who are forced to do things. It is our job to attend to our masters, in any way. Not just sex."
"Bullshit." He scoffed."To be forced into being at someones beck and call, or to obey someone out of fear... That is slavery! And anyone who told you different was being an ass!" At that his body stood up, red in the face and shouting.
"I am not a slave! My master took very good care of me. How dare you insult him! You know nothing." With that, the hands of the soul covered his mouth. Ichigo's body, immediately fell into a low bow. "I am so very sorry, master Kurosaki Sama. Please, allow me to extract my soul candy and crush it for my insolence." Ichigo watched one of his body's hands slip into his mouth. It looked like the Pleasured Soul was about to gag itself in his body. He grabbed his own hand, stopping the soul.
"No one's soul is going to get crushed. And you aren't about to gag yourself in my body either." He sighed. "I don't know how your previous master treated you, but I can assure you that I'm not the same. You don't have to die because you snapped at me. Hell, if that were the case, Rukia would be long dead." He chuckled."However, I do want my body back." He held up his soul pass. "So, I'll use this to set your soul out of me. I'll find you a body in just a minute." He pressed the soul pass to his chest, and caught the little green pellet in his free hand, when it flew out. He placed it back inside the ring box, before climbing into his own body.
The moment Ichigo got inside himself, he tasted something cold. His lips tasted of mint. He shook it off, assuming it was a side effect of having a woman inhabit his body. He shuddered, wondering what this unnamed soul might have thought, or felt while she was inside of him. He began scouring his shelves for a body for the soul.
Ichigo had given most of his stuffed animals to his sisters over the years, so he didn't expect to find much. This would be easier than it was with Ririn. This soul did not have a gigai to walk around in yet.
He chooses one of us for his personal use, and chooses a gigai, which suits their tastes
The words only served to anger him. The thought of having nothing.
No body to call your own.
No say in your life.
No voice.
No rights.
Not even a name.
It made him feel a little sorry for these so called Pleasured Souls. He came across a stuffed husky dog, and decided that would work for now. It was only the size of his hand,so it would be easy to conceal.
He returned to the little box that housed the unnamed soul, and opened it. He placed the soul candy into the little dog, and sat it on the desk. A moment later, the dogs eyes blinked, and it began to move.
"Thank you, master Kuro-" He held up a palm.
"Hold it right there." He sighed. "First off, please stop calling me that. 'Master Kurosaki Sama' is far too formal, and long to bother with." He petted the soft, felt tip nose of the stuffed animal. "From now on, it's just 'Ichigo'. No sama's or masters. Got it?" The little dog bowed.
"Yes... Ichigo." He smiled softly.
"All right then. Next, there's your name." He ran a hand through his hair. "As for that... I've never been great with names and stuff, so you can pick your own."
"But master, that is -"
"What did I say about calling me that?" He teased. "Pick any name you want to go by, and that's who you'll be." The little dog pondered. "As for me, i'm going to bed. It's been a weird ass day, even by soul society standards." He turned out his light, and climbed into bed. He lifted the little dog up, and sat it beside him.
"Looks like Kon has run off again, so you can have his spot."
"Thank you, so very much, sir."
"No need to be so formal with me." He said tiredly.
"Um.. Master... I mean... Ichigo." the unnamed one said quietly after a moment.
"Yeah?" Ichigo grumbled, half asleep.
"Would it be acceptable, if I were to choose the name Rinshiro?"
"Yeah, sure. Goodnight, Rinshiro." he muttered. He rolled over, trying to get comfortable in his bed.
Why would Urahara give him something like this? Or, better yet, why would he have something so horrible? A disposable soul. It was heinous. He didn't want to think about it any longer. HE wanted the peace that sleep offered. He was just drifting, when Rinshiro whispered to him.
"Ichigo, sir?"
"Heh?"
"Am I to assume that this is the form you wish for me to serve you in?"
Ichigo reddened at the thought. What the hell was he supposed to do with a stuffed animal? He didn't want to know. He did, however, change his goal for the next day: he was going to beat the ever loing crap out of Urahara, on sight.
x.x.x.x.