It a somehow sequel to 'Snowflakes'
I do not own Bleach!
The Unknown Child
In the Kurosaki household, the family there lives peacefully. Everything changes when Ichigo's mother died, and one day, Ichigo received another shock of his life. Ichigo is in his last year of middle school; one day, when he came home from school, he saw a police car in front of his house and hurriedly came home.
"Yuzu! Karin! What happened?" Ichigo went to the living room and was greeted with his younger sisters dashing into his arms, crying.
"Yuzu, Karin, what's wrong?" Ichigo asked, trying to calm them down. Ichigo then lifted his head and saw his usually eccentric father looking at him with apologetic eyes.
"Dad?" Ichigo then saw two policemen standing behind his father, watching something on the sofa. When Ichigo diverted his eyes towards the sofa, his eyes quickly widened as he quickly went over to knelt beside the figure of his young baby cousin, unconscious.
"Yuki! Yuki!" Ichigo said, shaking the younger's body getting no response. Ichigo quickly whipped his head towards his father, eyes desperate. A hand then was placed on Ichigo's shoulder as he saw the policemen looking at him with apologetic eyes similar to his father's.
"I am very sorry, young man… this cousin of yours… she lost her parents…" Ichigo's eyes quickly widened as he finally noticed the cuts and bruises on his cousin's body.
"W-What happened to her? What happened to her parents?"
"It seemed that they were attacked by something we don't know. We found her unconscious under the tree inside the park. We found her parents body lying beside her, it seemed that her life was spared. She was lucky… but we couldn't save her parents, their body was too wounded." Then Ichigo's bangs shadowed his eyes as he watched the still unconscious figure of his baby cousin.
"Takuya ji-san and Miyuki ba-san… Yuki loved her parents so much…"
"We are very sorry… but this young girl hasn't awaken ever since we found her, we were worried this would cause her trauma…"
"We'll take care of her, don't worry." Isshin said as the policemen nodded.
"Very well, we will take our leave." The policemen said as Isshin left to escort them outside. Yuzu and Karin then walked towards Ichigo, Yuzu is still crying while Karin's usual brave eyes are now filled with tears.
"Onii-chan, will Yuki-chan be okay…?" Yuzu asked her brother.
"Will she wake up soon…? She'll stay with us now, right?" Karin asked, voice unusually broken.
"Don't worry, we'll take good care of her. We'll always be there for her, we'll support her, okay?" Ichigo asked with his sisters nodding in agreement. Ichigo then brushed Yuki's bangs away from her eyes and rubbed her face softly.
"You'll be okay Yuki… you'll be okay."
/
It was a day later, that Yuki finally opened her eyes. Ichigo and his family were very glad to see her opening her eyes, but they saw something very different in the usually bubbly young girl they know. Ichigo noticed her eyes are unusually empty and dark to the usual bright and sparkling pair of blue eyes.
"Yuki…"
"Mommy… daddy… a monster… a big monster wanted to eat me, but mommy and daddy protected me…" Yuki said, her voice breaking as her eyes started to fill with tears. Ichigo quickly understand as of what Yuki said to be a monster, as he knew that his young cousin could see ghosts like he does, except when he tries to shoo them all away, she would usually talk to them secretly in her room; and he knew her parents could too.
"You'll be okay Yuki… you'll be safe here, no one will hurt you…" Ichigo said, pulling the now crying Yuki into his embrace as his sisters joined him to comfort the younger who kept on crying her hearts out. After a few moments of Yuki crying, she finally tires herself out and fell into slumber once more.
"Ichi nii, will Yuki be okay now?"
"I don't know Karin… I don't know… let's just hope for the best."
/
Months have passed; others have forgot the incident, except for the Kurosaki family. They had been very worried about the now youngest family member, since the girl would always seem to avoid the said park or seemed to be scared of everything if she is left alone. Yuki wouldn't leave Isshin's side when Yuzu, Karin and Ichigo went to school. Yuzu and Karin had been helping Yuki study at home, since her condition doesn't seem to let her go outside and interact with others. Ichigo knew how painful it is to lose someone they hold dear, but he still has his family, that's why he's determined to break Yuki out of her shell one step at a time, telling her that she still has him and his family to take care of her.
"Yuki?" Ichigo said, entering the living room, seeing Yuki sat by herself on the sofa, watching the sky and the clouds.
"Ichi nii-chan…"
"You okay?" Ichigo asked, sitting down next to the black-haired girl.
"I'm okay… just a bit scared…"
"Nightmares again?"
"Kind of… they just came back again… I know mommy and daddy wouldn't want me to be like this, but it's just… I'm scared… what if I met those things again?" Yuki said, resting her head on her knees. Ichigo then patted Yuki's head.
"Don't worry, you'll be safe here. Those things wouldn't dare to come near you, not when I'm here. Don't worry, I'll protect you; you don't have to be scared."
"I want to go outside… but it'll just hurt more…" Yuki said, tears building up in her eyes as Ichigo pulled her close.
"Don't worry… Ichi nii is here for you…"
"I'm sorry Ichi nii… I'm sorry…" Yuki said, burying her face in Ichigo's uniform.
"You don't have to be sorry… I know how you feel. Just try, okay?" Ichigo said, pinching Yuki's cheeks.
"Okay… I'll try…"
/
Day turned into months, months turned into years. Little by little Yuki started to turn back into her old-self. Yuzu and Karin were glad and started taking her out for strolls, Ichigo was glad that she started to open up, but he couldn't help but felt something bad is going to happen.
And it did, for him, seeing that person who called herself as a shinigami is a nightmare. Especially after he saw that a shinigami's job is to defeat those monsters they called 'Hollow'. And he had ignorantly become the substitute shinigami as well, Ichigo could feel Yuki staring at him. He knew she could feel something different about him, especially after she met with Rukia. What's worse, is that Yuki started to distance herself again, making Yuzu and Karin worried once again. To Ichigo, Yuki seemed to remember something his young cousin doesn't want to remember and seemed to always lose color of her face whenever she saw Rukia.
"Hey, Ichigo." Ichigo saw Tatsuki calling after him when he walked out from school.
"What's up, Tatsuki?"
"About Yuki… is she alright? She looks terrified… did something happen?" Tatsuki said worriedly. Yuki had liked Tatsuki ever since Ichigo introduced her and Tatsuki had always keep an eye on his younger cousin just like how he's keeping an eye on Orihime.
"I… don't know…"
"Yuki wouldn't even tell me anything… she's very terrified, I can see that. It's like… she remembering the events where her parents were killed… I would usually saw her staring at the park she used to ran away from…" Ichigo quickly turned towards Tatsuki, especially when she said that Yuki had been staring at the park where the policemen had found her and her parents' bodies lying near her.
"Do you know something about this, Ichigo?"
"… No, I don't…"
"You should try talking to her… she might tell you something… maybe that something is what's been bothering her, especially since that exchange student came…" Tatsuki said, fisting her hand. Tatsuki seemed to notice Yuki's change of personality ever since Rukia arrived, Ichigo thought.
"I'll… talk to her…" Ichigo said, walking away from Tatsuki. When Ichigo came back, suddenly Yuzu and Karin rushed inside, pushing a patient's bed. Ichigo's eyes quickly widened when he saw his friend 'Chad' Sado, with a big mark on his back. Ichigo heard someone whimpering and saw Yuki looking terrified near the stairs.
"Yuki! Is something wrong? Did you hurt yourself?" Ichigo said as Yuki quickly shook her head and pointed towards the way Yuzu and Karin just passed through.
"T-That was… the quiet, big and tall onii-chan, right? He's your friend right, Ichi nii-chan?"
"Yes, that's Chad… you've met him before…"
"There was something bad on his back… it was those monsters… and that bird he brought with him is cursed… I'm scared…" Yuki said, trembling.
"You go to your room, okay? You'll be safe, I can assure you that, no one will hurt you, I promise." Ichigo said.
"B-But… that onii-chan is hurt… he could die…" Ichigo's eyes widened, staring suspiciously at Yuki.
"How did you know, Yuki…?"
"I-I've heard rumours… they said the bird's previous owners died brutally… I'm scared that onii-chan might die like mommy and daddy…" the girl said, holding onto Ichigo's shirt. Ichigo then knelt down and patted Yuki's head.
"Don't worry… you stay safe, okay? I'll talk to Chad when he wakes up."
"Okay…" Yuki said as Ichigo walked away. Yuki then looked at the blue and pink pendant hanging on her neck and held it tight.
"Daddy and mommy… I'm scared… what should I do?" Yuki said.
/
One night, Yuki were running home because it was raining heavily. Yuki held onto her jacket tightly since the cold was seeping into her skin before she heard someone yelling. Yuki then slowly walked towards the source of the yells worriedly, since it wasn't far from the Kurosaki clinic and the rain suddenly stopped. Yuki peeked from behind the wall and her eyes quickly widened, seeing Ichigo on the ground with the tip of a sword in front of his face. Yuki tilted her head upwards and saw Rukia standing on the wall, yelling for Ichigo to stop and for the red-haired man to pull his sword back. Yuki saw two men standing in front of Ichigo, one with blazing red hair and one with long black hair. Yuki saw her cousin struggling to get up and the red haired man was about to thrust his sword once again and she quickly ran to defend him without thinking, glaring away at the man's face.
"Stay away from Ichi nii-chan!" The tattooed man's eyes quickly widened as she felt the black-haired man watching her.
"Yuki! Run away! It's dangerous! You'll get killed!"
"I won't let anyone like you hurt Ichi nii-chan or Rukia nee-chan! I won't allow it!" Yuki yelled.
"Why you little…!" Yuki shut her eyes when she saw the tattooed man lifting his sword and was waiting for pain when she felt nothing. She opened her blue eyes and saw another pair of blue eyes staring into hers.
"Yuki."
"H-How did you know m-my name…?" Yuki said before her eyes widened, remembering someone with the same blue eyes from the day when her parents died.
"Y-You're that person… t-that person when mommy and daddy died… after the monster went away…" Ichigo's eyes quickly widened as he struggled to stand.
"Yuki! Run! It's too dangerous for you to be here!" Ichigo said before Yuki suddenly fell on her knees, her head hung low.
"Yuki!" Rukia yelled when she saw Yuki's eyes turned blank as she fell to the ground. Then Ichigo saw Byakuya lifting Yuki's limp form in his arms and walked away.
"Yuki! Give her back! Yuki! YUKI!" Ichigo yelled, reaching his hand towards his not responding young cousin. Rukia could only look at Ichigo's desperate eyes in pity before Renji led her towards a gate.
"YUKI!RUKIA!"
Well... read and review everyone!