Recessional

Inspired by "Recessional" by Vienna Teng. Although I used some lyrics in the story I do not own any part of the song or any aspect of bleach (which sucks I'll have you know D: )

Yay for 2nd person (Boo.....)

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"What a day…"

Ichigo sighed, running a hand through his vibrant hair as he made his way down the empty street. It was a rare thing for a Karakura street to be this way, but seeing as it led to the cemetery not many come up this way.

He needed to go see his mother. Today was just ihell/i and he found that he had a desperate need for the cool comfort of his mother's grave marker. Everyone just seemed like they needed something from him every second to the point of where he hadn't sat down all day, literally. Ichigo, do this. Ichigo, help me with that. Ichigo, quick, a hollow! Ichigo, Ichigo, Ichigo… Of course he couldn't say no to any of them either, he just wasn't like that. He couldn't stand not helping others when they obviously needed him for something. The strawberry sighed.

What a pain…

He entered the cemetery and made his way down the rows in thought, his feet already having memorized the route to the marker. It didn't take long to reach his destination, but hadn't realized it in his thinking.

"Oh, Ichigo."

Ichigo blinked, breaking out of his thoughts and looking down towards t he bottom of his mother's grave. Crouching there was a small form clad in a long sleeve turtle neck black shirt with a long, flowy white skirt and flat heeled boots looking back at him.(1) You stared up at him surprised for a moment before smiling from your crouched position and giving the strawberry a little wave. "Hey."

Ichigo looked around for a moment before looking back. "Uh, hey." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "So, uh, what are you doing here?" Crap, he didn't want anyone to know that he was coming here. If his dad found out about this he'd never hear the end of it.

He seemed surprised and a little nervous to see you. You just smiled, knowing the exact reason why. Ichigo has been running around all day for everyone, so he's obviously just looking for some peace and comfort from a visit to the grave. The nervous part was just because he didn't want anyone to know about him coming. His dad gets a kick out of Ichigo running off to his dead mother for peace. So to give him the break you know he really needs, you just turn back to smile at the grave.

"It's so beautiful here, you know? I just wanted to share it with her," you explained resting your elbows on your knees and your chin in your palms. Masaki always loved this kind of weather. She even told you that all those years ago when you would go over with your mother to visit the Kurosaki's. Your mother and Masaki were very close friends so you knew Ichigo and watched out for Yuzu and Karin since you were very young. You giggled and looked back up at him. "But don't worry, I'm not gonna tell your dad!"

Ichigo felt himself relax at your reassurance. "Thanks." You smiled and stood up, dusting your skirt off with your hands.

"No problem," you replied smiling brightly. Ichigo felt his chest constrict as you met his gaze. He felt as if you were looking at him straight to center and it left no room at all for any other thought. You blinked and titled your head slightly as Ichigo seemed to drift off into space. You waited a moment before taking a step closer and waving a hand in front of his face. He instantly broke out of it and looked down at you in confusion.

"You shouldn't space out like that, silly! Although, it wouldn't be exactly horrible if your face froze in such a cute way," you teased. Ichigo's cheeks instantly flared up as he glared down at you. You giggled and took a step back. He is always so fun to tease.

"I wasn't spacing out! I was just…just looking at the flowers you brought my mom!" he declared, pointing at the vase at the bottom of the grave. You giggled and gave a nod.

"Whatever you say Ichi."

Ichigo sighed and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and looked away to his left slightly. Man, he really needed to cut that out. He knew that he didn't want to worry about this stuff. Besides it was Amelia. The girl he known since birth, practically his best friend if had to really say it. Sweet, caring, honest, understanding, Amelia…..Ichigo scowled at the closest object as he felt an overpowering desire to beat something. What the hell? Where did that come from?

"You're doing it again…"

Ichigo's gaze drifted back to yours as you began to chuckle. After a moment you managed to stop and smile up at him again. Who knew that Ichigo was such a space cadet? Involuntarily (not really), your mind managed to create the picture of a strawberry with a space helmet on drifting out in the middle of space with one of those crudely drawn on smiles showing through the helmet. Ichigo watched as you slapped a hand over your mouth a giggles began to rack your body. The hand didn't really help since you ended up leaning against the nearest marker for support anyways.

Ichigo's blush flared up again as he glared at you trembling form. Since it was obvious that you weren't going to calm down anytime soon, he took the time to walk over and stand before his mother's grave. After standing there silently for a moment, he realized that he couldn't think of anything to say. Hadn't he come here to just blab away? He sighed and crossed his arms when he realized that your presence already did that for him. At the thought he could picture his mom smiling brightly at this fact. Were she alive she would have more than likely tease him about it too…

Ichigo blinked as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked over to see you crouching down before the grave beside him. You smiled and hugged your knees to your chest loosely.

"Hey pretty lady. I actually forgot what I was saying before Ichi showed up, so I guess I'll just save it for another time," you started with a giggle. "I know he's not gonna admit it, but today he was super swamped, like nobody would leave him alone. You know how he is, he won't say no to anyone if they need help. I feel horrible for him really, he looks exhausted honestly. His hair is all messed up and everything."

Ichigo listened up until this point in silence, but then protested at the notion of him being exhausted. When you ignored him, he scowled and began to run his hands through his hair in attempt to fix the unseen mess. Did he really look that bad?

"And now he's trying to fix his hair when I was just teasing him. He doesn't look tired at all. Man Masaki, you sure raised a gullible kid." Ichigo stopped his ministrations and sent a fierce glare upon the top of your head. Your lips twitched into a crooked smile as you attempted to force back the smile. You coughed a couple times to regain your composure before looking back up at the name engraved into the marker.

"But don't worry, he'll be all right, I promise." Ichigo blinked in confusion as your expression suddenly softened. "You and I both know that even though he can handle all the hollows and everyone else, he's not so good with just himself. So, no matter what, I'll watch out for him, I promise. You just watch out for him when he's doing the sword swinging, I'll handle the rest."

The two of you stayed there in silence as the wind blew by gently. When it finished you nodded. "Right!" You stood yourself up and stretched your arms behind your head. "We'll I guess I better get going! Bye Masaki!" Ichigo looked over at you in surprise as you waved to his mother's grave before beginning to walk away.

"Hey!" You blinked and turned around.

"Hm?" you answered turning back to face him. Ichigo looked back and forth between you and the grave for several moments before sighing one again. You tilted your head slightly in confusion as he looked back at you smiling sadly. "Ichigo, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he replied, nodding. "Come on, let's go home."

You stayed motionless for a moment in concern, but shoved it to the back of your head as he began to walk ahead of you. And it wasn't really anything important, either. He just suddenly had something that he wanted to tell you, but after seeing your worried face he instantly forgot what it was.

"Thanks for the dinner Ichi, you really didn't have to do it," you said as the two of you walked back to the station. Ichigo shrugged as the two of you entered through the doors. It really didn't bother him that much. Besides, you paid the last time so it all works out. The two of you stood in line to get scan your passes and soon found yourselves on the other side of the station. Ichigo frowned as he read the blinking sign above him.

"Looks like our train got delayed. We'll have to sit here for a while," he announced. You smiled and shrugged.

"That's fine with me. What about you?" you asked.

"I don't mind," he stated, shrugging as well. Looking forward he spotted an empty bench a little ways away. "Come on." You blinked as he took hold of your hand and allowed him to drag you over to the seat. Once the two of you sat down you leaned forward slightly and began to watch as the people went by. However, after awhile (it didn't register how long) the bodies began to mix into one giant moving mass as your eyes began to grow heavy. You leaned back into the bench and tried to keep your eyes open, but you couldn't hold out for long. A few moments later, your eyes slipped shut and you drifted off to sleep.

Ichigo noticed that you've been quiet for quite some time, which is kind of a big thing for you. He was about to tease you about this when something gently fell on his shoulder. Ichigo blinked and looked over to see the reason for your lack of speaking. He made no move as he watched you sleep on his shoulder, hair falling forward; mouth all askew. He just watched silently for a moment before sliding closer so that you weren't falling off the bench.

He didn't know how long the two of you sat there waiting for your train to get there, but he didn't care either. Everything seemed to move by too quickly, almost as if nothing were real except for the warmth your sleeping body brought him. Vaguely he registered a voice coming over the PA in the ceiling overhead.

"Passengers Missing: We're looking for you."

And you dreampt through the noise, your weight against him, face pressed into the corduroy grooves. He glanced over lazily and watched as your chest lifted and fell ever so slightly. Did you really mean it, that you would watch out for him? He was sure that you did, but not in the way he was secretly hoping for. Maybe it really meant nothing. He smiled and raised a hand to gently brush stay strand of hair out of your face. You shouldn't be watching out for him when you rarely did so for yourself. You were just as bad as he was, but maybe that's why you were doing it. You were exactly the same, fighting for everyone else, but not yourself. Maybe you felt something for him that singled him out from everyone else or maybe it means absolutely nothing. He sighed and lowered his hand. Is that how he felt for you then; just a strong urge to protect and nothing else? Maybe that's it. But that doesn't explain why he's so afraid to move.

Finally, after what seemed too short of time, the train you were bound to leave on arrived. Ichigo hesitated for a moment before gently shaking you awake. You lazily opened your eyes before sitting up and looking around. After seeing that you were awake, Ichigo lead you to the train silently and then two of you sat down next to the window. After a moment you yawned, turning to smile at the strawberry.

"Sorry, I guess I was more tired than I thought. If it was bothering you, you should have woken me up, silly," you said as the car began to move. Ichigo shook his head.

"Nah, it was fine."

You shrugged. "If you say so, Ichi." You saw light fill the car as it came out above ground. You gasped in delight and turned around in your seat to watch the sun setting over the moving horizon. You smile and rest your elbows against the edge of the glass, watching as the scenery adapts a red-orange hue.

"You really like sunsets, huh?" Ichigo asked as he watched you. You looked over and nodded happily.

"I don't know what it is about them; I just really like them you know? But not in the romantic way that everyone assumes, I just love the colors and how everything changes from light to dark in such a beautiful way," you said gazing out the glass again. You paused and laughed at yourself. "That didn't sound stupid at all!"(2)

"It didn't sound that stupid to me," Ichigo said turning to stare out the glass with you.

"Really? Hm…" you mused as you went back to leaning against your elbows. You smiled and watched for a few more minutes before turning back around in your seat.

"You're not gonna watch?" Ichigo questioned. You shook your head.

"I've never actually watched a full sunset yet, so I want to wait so that I can see it all, not just the end. Hm, I think I'm just going to sit down next to the river and just do it then. Yeah, that would be nice." You smiled and turned to face him. "You should come too!"

Ichigo blinked as the oddest sensation washed over him. He could exactly pin what it was but it reminded him of…relief. After a moment he smiled before giving you a single nod.

"All right."

It was already dark as the two of you walked down the empty streets to your houses. It was rather convenient that you lived only a couple houses apart, no?(3) However, unlike the wait in the station, you were far from silent. Not that he minded though. In fact, he found that he loved to hear your voice when it was meant only for him. As he walked Ichigo briefly closed his eyes and tried to picture your smiling face using only the wonderful voice that kept throwing out off-hand remarks. It really was a wonderful feeling.

But all good things have to end, right? He opened his eyes at the realization that the two of you had reached his house. The two of you stand there staring of at the 'Kurosaki Clinic' sign for a moment before you turn to him smiling.

"Thanks for today, Ichi, I thought it was nice," you said. "You really didn't have to hang around with me."

Ichigo shook his head. "It's no problem, besides, how many times have we done this already?" he asked ruffling your hair slightly. You swatted his hand away, though you looked far from annoyed. You paused for a moment before leaning forward and giving Ichigo a tight hug. Ichigo smiled, returning the embrace just as tightly. He felt his body relax and he wished that he could do this more often. You held him to you for a second longer before slowly letting go and taking a step back.

"Remember, you have that sunset to watch with me," you reminded him. Ichigo smiled and gave you a nod.

"Yeah." You nodded in return before smiling at him sadly.

"Well, anyways," you said, waving as you turned to go. "I'll see you around."

Ichigo waved as he watched you walk to the front door only two houses down. Once it closed behind you, he sighed and looked up at the sky. He didn't know exactly how long he stood out there, but eventually he looked back towards your house with a smile before heading into his own.

"ICHIGO, MY SON!"

Ichigo growled and turned to deliver a harsh kick to Isshin's chest, who happened to have made a flying dive in attempt to tackle his beloved son. Ichigo scowled as Isshin recovered from the blow faster than usual. Damn that old man!

"Ichigo…it's been almost two weeks since your date with Amelia! When are you going to confess your undying love?" his father whined, latching onto Ichigo's waist.

"For the last time, it wasn't a date!" Ichigo declared, attempting to pry the older man off. While he was trying to do so, the cell phone in his pocket began to vibrate, catching the attention of his father.

"Who could possibly be texting my lazy, disobedient son?" he asked trying to dig into the pocket for the phone. Ichigo slammed his fist into the old man's nose, causing him to cripple to the floor clutching his face.

"Well done, my son…" he mumbled as Ichigo pulled out his cell phone, panting slightly as he did so. Without a word, he flipped it open and silently read the message. Ichigo's lip twitch into a smile before it disappeared as he closed the phone. Isshin watched as Ichigo picked up his jacket and headed for the door.

"Hey, I'm going out for a bit. Just tell Yuzu to stick my plate in the microwave," he said pulling the article of clothing on. Confused as to where his son could possibly be going at the time Isshin just nodded, watching as Ichigo left the house.

Ichigo would have to apologize to Yuzu for missing dinner, but he had something to do. Ichigo paused as he looked up towards the sun to see it heading down towards to direction of the river. He smiled before breaking out into a jog down the street. He better hurry, he didn't want to miss it.

Isshin stood up off the floor as walked towards the door and leaned out to watch Ichigo jog down the street and around the corner. He shrugged before going back into the house. Just as he was about to head into the kitchen he noticed Ichigo's phone lying on the floor.

"Must have dropped it..." he mumbled picking it up. Curious, he opened it up and went to the inbox to see what had Ichigo in such a hurry. He blinked for a moment after reading it before smiling and closing the phone. As he walked upstairs to tell Yuzu of her brother's absence he placed the phone on the counter.

To: Ichigo

From: Amelia

Sunset? =3

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1. Oh my gawd, that sooooo doesn't fit there, but I really wanted to describe the outfit I had in my head. I know, I know. Shush love XD

2. Note the sarcasm =)

3. The authoress seems to think so =3

Oh mai GAWD. I don't know about you, but I think it sounds a little cheesy XD I hope I didn't screw the ending up. Anyways, I was thinking that I MIGHT make a sequel one-shot to this I I don't know if I will. –shrugs- Well, I hoped you liked it! Review pretty please O.O? 3 XD