PROLOGUE
Ichigo Kurosaki looked down at the pocketwatch as he walked to school, muttering to himself.
"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late..."
If one heard him, they would think he was anxious as he was actually late for something. No, Ichigo merely repeated this as he walked, looking at the watch, as part of his own personality. He was quite on time, actually. A quirk of his, the result of what anyone would call traumatic. It was not an elegant pocket watch, by any means, but it held a special place in Ichigo's heart- it was a gift from his mother, shortly before her death. A gift that she gave him to make sure that he would never be late, never.
Not three days later, Ichigo was Late. He was Very Late for a Very Important Date.
He was Late with No Time to Say Goodbye.
So, Ichigo Kurosaki always made sure that he was never Late for a Very Important Date, and always made sure to take wisdom when he found it. His father often worried about him, as did his sisters, as Ichigo had an almost absurd fear of being late. 'Allegrophobia' the doctors called it.
Ichigo would merely ask if they were ever late. They would say no, and he would nod.
"You should never be Late to a Very Important Date." He would say, and the doctors would nod, smiling and agreeing with the teen, not understanding how important being On Time was to Ichigo, and how being Late was an absolutely dreadful occurrence.
Of course, there were those that understood the importance of Being On Time, and those that did not. Ichigo perfered not to associate with the latter, as they most often would complain about the lack of control in their own lives, and the sorrows that befell them for it.
Ichigo did not complain, as he held control over his life. After all, control stems from organization, and organization starts with Being On Time. Thus, by being On Time and Never Late, Ichigo could maintain control over his life, preventing the problems that come with Being Late from ever occuring.
Oh, certainly, there were those times where something would happen that prevented Ichigo from Being On Time to his original route- but he merely felt that it was another Rabbit Hole.
Rabbit Holes were simple things to Ichigo. They could be the option to take a new job, or being fired from one, or another event occuring. When a Rabbit Hole did occur, then Ichigo would make a decision- should he go down that Rabbit Hole, and see how far it led, or should he pass it by, Not to Be Late? Each case was different, each case easier or harder to make than the others.
If, for example, his younger sister broke a bone, then Ichigo would fall down that Rabbit Hole without hesitation- after all, he didn't want to be Late for anyone close to him. No, only being On Time would be acceptable, perhaps A Little Bit Early if he could. It was never accepted to be Far Earlier than Expected- that, in and of itself, suggested that you expected something bad to happen. With that, one could easily be Late, or Not in the Right Place at All.
He smiled as he snapped the pocket watch closed, before turning back to his walk, shouldering his bag, and tugging his hat that little bit lower on his head. Some would call him obsessed, some would call him strange. His reply, like on Being On Time, was always simple.
"We're all a Little Bit Mad."
I decided to try something different out. This seems to have hints of Stephen King in it, along with some 'deeper' thoughts- rest assured, this will become a fairly silly story as it grows, and something that I think has potential.
Ichigo is going to be far different. Yes, he is still going to be determined, but in a different fashion. He'll be sillier, closer to the characters of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'. He'll be silly, strange, but make a bizarre sense at the same time.
On that note- any ideas as to what his Zanpakto should be named, appearance, powers, etc? Say it in a review or drop me a PM if you're interested, or have an idea.
Pairings? I can see some great contrasts occuring, and I'd like some imput. Only:
No yaoi. I don't like it, I don't read it. If you do, that's fine, but I don't.
Not Rukia. I like Ichiruki, but it's hard to pull off convincingly.
Nobody under the physical appearance of 16. No Loli.
Give me a reason. I don't want to hear 'oh, Ichi/X would be adorable!'. Why. Tell me why. Like (As crackish as this one is) 'Ichigo/Unohana would be adorable because Ichigo is so insane and Unohana is so serene and calm all the time!'
The next chapters will be more optimistic, I promise. So far, Chapter One: Down the Rabbit Hole will include his relationships with living characters (Family, friends, nemesis's. You know.)