A/N: Hello!! hehe! okay, so this is my very first fanfic ever in my whole entire life!! Isn't that great? I'm so excited!! Okay but anyways… so as much as I wanted to make this an IchiRuki it just wouldn't come to me, but I promise that I will write one someday! (I already have an idea! The problem is putting it on paper… ^_^ )….. Right so anyways this is an IchixOC… this chapter is pretty long and I'm not really sure it's even necessary… (Ichi won't come in until the next chapter…) although I would thank you all if you read it and gave me some feed back!! Like I said this is my first fanfic ever so please be gentle with me ^_^ … those of you who don't feel like reading all this can find a relatively short summary at the bottom!
Okay!! Onward to victory my little fanfic!! Oh and by the way this is gonna be somewhat OOC (or maybe a lot OOC) and somewhat AU… and please ignore any inconsistencies, its all for the good of the fic… okay so enjoy the story!!
Disclaimer: unlike other people I do own bleach, my whites have never been whiter!! …but I don't own Tite Kubo's Bleach… feel free to rub it in! ^_^ the only thing/character I own is Karime!! (not to be associated in any way shape or form to Orihime please, their sound-alike names are merely an unfortunate coincidence) Oh and by the way, you might recognize some things/lines/plot, whatnot from other places/movies/or other fics… I really don't mean to steal any ideas its just that some things just stick you know? and sometimes people will write your ideas before you do… what can I say, great minds think alike. So everything that's not mine belongs to its rightful owner! (if I remember where I got it I'll put it up otherwise this is the disclaimer…)
Description of Karime: Chad's adopted cousin, mid-back length, wavy, brown hair (kinda like Chad's); 5'2ft; athletic body (I'm thinking curvy-ish, like nice legs [she plays soccer], nice a** [anime girls don't seem to have a butt at all so I made Karime to have a nice, toned one], boobs bigger than Rukia's, smaller than Orihime [think somewhere in between], oval face, full lips, black eyes [you can't tell the pupil from the iris, pitch black eyes], light caramel skin. All in all, a pretty girl with an exotic-ish beauty. Nice girl, hard life, brilliant smile.
… 'kay! Now seriously on with the story!! ^_^
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Chapter 1:
-*-FLASHBACK-*-
"no… No…. NO!… so much blood, so much yelling, what is this? Where am I? why is this happening again?" Karime found herself, for the millionth time, in a desert. It was pitch black, but she could feel sand under her feet, and a scorching sun bearing down on her. She heard war cries, familiar voices crying out for her help. She needed to see, she needed to help them.
"Why the hell can't I see anything?!" she cried out, a sense of impotence rushing over her "what's going on?"
"…Karime…" *that sing song voice, I know it, I hate it.*
"Do you hear them Karime? They're dying, you led them to their deaths, how does it feel to know that their blood is on your hands?" Karime struggled to respond, but she couldn't make a sounds, her body was stiff and wouldn't move. She tried to yell to scream but her voice caught in her throat painfully. The sing song voice started laughing. *no…no…*
"Gah!" Karime woke up gasping for air, her skin felt clammy and she was covered in sweat. *Damn… it was that dream again* she sighed, *that stupid dream,* she snorted, *…stupid maybe but it's the story of my life…* A painful lump emerged in her throat at the thought.
She was on a train heading towards Karakura Town where she would get picked up by Chad. She was to live in Japan with Chad for a while, at least until she became old enough to get her own place and live on her own. She looked out the window as tears came to her eyes, and recalled why she was here in the first place.
-*- FLASHBACK -*-
In the emergency room of a hospital somewhere in Mexico City.
"…no… Karime…" called a weak voice.
"She's not here abuelo," replied Karime's 'aunt' Sophia "Karime is packing her things; she's finally shown some shame and decided to leave us in peace." Karime bit her lip, even though 'aunt' Sophia was talking to her abuelo, she was glaring at Karime. Karime knew that the words spoken were directed at her and not her abuelo.
"…no… she can't… leave… not… alone… Karime…" said abuelo in a choked voice, talking in his state wasn't good, he was in a very bad state, the operating room was being prepared for him, he was badly hurt and was going to have emergency surgery.
"She's not going alone, Chad has agreed to take her in Japan, but you mustn't think about her you're hurt." Just then four nurses came into the room, everything was ready for the operation, they were taking him away. Karime looked on helplessly, her heart clenched at seeing her abuelo in this state, and it was all her fault. Karime didn't even get the chance to say goodbye, he was whisked out of the room so quickly. Just then 'aunt' Sophia rounded on Karime.
"Youstay away from him! Look at what you've done! He's dying because of you! And he's not the only one, how many people have you hurt?! Don't you have any shame?! You're cursed! Cursed! Get out! We don't want you anywhere near us! All of your things are already packed and waiting in the car, 'uncle' Tomas will take you to the airport immediately, you leave on the first flight to Tokyo." Karime was taken aback.
"what…now? But abuelo just went into surgery I can't leave until he comes out and I know he's alright!" she replied.
"Are you stupid, deaf, or both? didn't you just hear anything I said? Or will you not be satisfied until he dies? You did this to him! The sooner you get away from him, from us, the better. Chad has agreed to take you, just be grateful you'll be with family rather than out on the street!" 'aunt' Sophia' was right, the sooner she left the sooner they would all be out of danger.
"…my things?" Karime asked in a near whisper.
"I had all your things packed, down to the last sock, I don't want anything of yours anywhere near us! But if you hid something somewhere tell me now so I can get someone to go get it. I don't want any of your cursed things near!"
"…no, there's nothing." Karime replied meekly.
"good , now leave, your flight leaves in an hour." 'aunt' Sophia turned and left leaving Karime alone in the room.
Tears slide down Karime's face, that's when she realized with a start that they were the first tears she had shed since this whole thing started 18 hours ago. She was grateful that the part of the train she was in was alone and that it was near midnight, that way no one would see her crying. She wasn't one for crying in public. Karime didn't know what to do, she was to live with Chad indefinitely in this new country. *damn… at least I know the language* abuelo had been adamant that she learn Japanese since it was part of their heritage, and he hadn't wanted their roots forgotten even if he himself was Mexican and they lived in Mexico. *abuelo… our roots* Karime shook her head *none of this is really mine.*
-*- FLASHBACK -*-
"You ungrateful brat! Abuelo takes you off of the streets and this is how you repay him?! He should have left you on the streets with the rest of the street filth! You don't belong in an honorable and good family like ours!"
*I was so little* Karime thought, *I was just happy that someone noticed me, and when he offered me a home, a family, I couldn't say no, I was just a child, all I wanted was to be loved* Karime's thoughts were interrupted, the train was stopping, they had finally arrived in Karakura Town.
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Karime descended from the train and the first thing she saw was the huge body of her cousin, yeah she had been adopted, but Chad had always treated her like a real cousin, out of all his family she's the only one he liked and trusted and vice versa, besides their abuelo that is. Karime paused for the second it took for him to recognize her and then continued towards him, enveloping him in a surprisingly strong hug. Chad was the only one she knew she could rely on, the only one who didn't blame or judge her. Chad hugged her back wordlessly. He knew what she was feeling, he recalled when his abuelo had been attacked because of him, he recalled the guilt and understood her.
"Abuelo is out of surgery now…he's doing well..." he said when they had separated and gone in search of her luggage.
"thank you Chad," she replied, finally relieved now that her abuelo was out of surgery and apparently out of danger. Chad, however, knowing her very well, noticed that she still felt guilty, he didn't like what his family had said to her or how they treated her and in an effort to comfort her and bring a smile back to her face he said,
"…it wasn't your fault…you can stay with me however long you want…"
"thank you." Karime replied once again. There wasn't need for explanations right now, Chad already knew everything that had happened, and the fact that he still accepted her with open arms meant the world to her, she smiled at Chad, it was a very faint and sad smile but it was a smile nonetheless.
Once they had retrieved Karime's luggage they hopped in a cab and rode to Chad's apartment. Chad lived alone in a one level, two bedroom apartment, as soon as you walked in you were in the living room with the kitchen and dining room to the right, there was a hallway across from the door that lead to the bathroom and both bedrooms, although the apartment wasn't big, it was still roomy. His apartment was also surprisingly neat for a teenaged guy, it was decorated simply with a nice mix of Mexican and Japanese things, and it was very 'earthy,' Chad liked nature and unlike other modern styles Chad's apartment was very Zen like in it décor. Karime immediately felt at home. She would be living here now, going to school and working. *oh yea, that's right!*
"Chad, when does school start? I'm gonna have to register soon…and get a job to help you out with expenses…we can't both live of your band." she joked. Chad nodded and smiled.
"We're on break at school, we won't start 'till next week, and I heard that there's an opening as a coach for an elementary school soccer team…" Karime's eyes brightened at the job option, soccer was her passion, among other things, she had been captain of her high school team back in Mexico and her team had gained fame for winning a few important titles, being a coach would be fun.
"Is the school nearby? When do they start? Where can I apply?" she barraged Chad with a million questions.
"The school is a couple blocks away, I'll take you tomorrow." Chad then lead her to her room, it was simple with a bed, desk, closet, and a bureau with a large mirror, it was perfect for now, with time she would add her own spunk to it. Once they had lugged her bags inside Chad bid her goodnight and left to his own room. Karime left unpacking for the next day and without even bothering to change, fell onto the bed and into a dreamless sleep.
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*mmm…food…so hungry…need food…* thought a very tired Karime, she was barely waking up to the delicious smell of food and the warm rays of sunlight coming through her window. She slowly opened her eyes, immediately noting her surroundings, ever since Chad had told her that abuelo was going to be fine she had felt a huge weight lift off of her, it was like she could breath now and go on with her life even thought the guilt would never leave her. She knew that the last thing her abuelo would want is to have her stuck in guilt and sorrow. Karime decided right then that she would make the best out of her situation, otherwise her abuelo would worry needlessly and her 'family' would think they finally broke her. Karime would try to be happy here, with that thought she got up and walked into the kitchen where Chad was starting to eat his breakfast.
"Hey," she took in a deep breath, "it smells really good!" Chad simply nodded and proceeded to eat his breakfast. Karime served herself a plate and sat down across from Chad eating and observing her new surroundings. Once she'd had her fill of food she spoke up.
"You know, for a guy, your place is pretty nice…I'm kinda impressed." she smiled. Chad smiled back and nodded as he continued to shovel food into his mouth.
"Ok, so I'm gonna go clean up and settle in…its Sunday, so that means you have practice with the guys right?" she inquired, Karime knew all about Chad's band. Chad nodded once again.
"So when and where do you and the guys usually get together to play?"
"…5…here…" Chad spoke between mouthfuls, it actually astonished Karime how much he could eat, *but he is a big guy…*
"okay great, do you think we can drop by the elementary school really quick though? I'm really interested in the coaching job!" again Chad nodded, Karime smiled and turned to walk back to her room.
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*ugh… why does unpacking have to be such a pain?* Karime thought. She had showered, put her hair up in a high ponytail and changed into tennis shoes, jeans and a green t-shirt, she had managed to unpack and get herself completely settled in, in a record time of 4 hours! Karime sighed deeply a fell back onto her bed. Karime was a pretty girl, she had long wavy brown hair, much like Chad's, that fell to about mid-back, her hair framed a pretty oval face that held a straight nose, full lips and black eyes, Karime's eyes were so black that you couldn't tell the pupil from the iris, it seemed as if you were looking into a dark abyss. Karime, was around 5'2 and being an athlete had a toned body, with gentle, smooth curves; her skin was a light caramel color giving her an exotic look. Karime layed on her bed staring at the ceiling *okay, enough resting I got a job to claim!* with a smile Karime jumped off the bed and went to get Chad. They had about an hour before his band practice.
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-*- That night -*-
Karime was excited, she had gotten the coaching job on the spot! Apparently that last coach had gotten injured and wouldn't be able to finish the season, and no one else wanted the job! She vaguely wondered why for a moment, but quickly resumed her train of though. She was to start tomorrow with regular practice. The school wasn't too far from Chad's place but she did notice that Chad's neighborhood was a bit sketchy… when she asked Chad he admitted that it was a 'bad-ish' neighborhood but that nobody messed with him because of his size and because he was a guy, he had also warned her to be careful. Karime wasn't worried though, abuelo had sent her to the best martial arts and boxing schools in Mexico City because he worried for her safety and wanted her to be able to defend herself in any situation. Karime had also gotten to meet two of Chad's band mates and had heard them play for a while. All in all it had been a good day.
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-*- The next day -*-
Karime had woken up late, she was still jet-lagged, and lounged around the house with Chad for the most part of the day, but now it was nearly 5 and she was getting ready to go to her first practice with her team. Karime packed her white cleats, a water bottle and a few power bars into a small sports bag, she was sporting gray sweats over soccer shorts and her team's green jersey, with tennis shoes, her hair in a high ponytail for practice.
Karime arrived at the soccer field 15 minutes early and was planning to warm up when she saw a young girl *probably on my team,* she thought, practicing alone. Karime called out the girl. "Hey!"
"huh?" the girl paused mid kick and turned around to face the voice.
"Are you on the team?" Karime called out while walking towards the girl.
"What's it to you?" the girl replied. Karime laughed, this girl was cute with short black hair and a pretty menacing scowl for such a little kid.
"I'm the new soccer coach, I just wanted to know if I was gonna have to kick you off the field or teach you how to kick properly." Karime joked.
"the new coach? What happened to our old one?"
"she got injured somehow and won't be able to finish the season."
"oh…" the girl frowned, then suddenly it hit her she was talking to the new coach. "My name is Kurosaki Karin, I'm left forward on the team." Karin stated. Karime smiled nodded.
"I'm your new coach Arouen Karime," both girls smiled at each other, but Karime could feel Karin sizing her up.
"Aren't you a little young to be coaching Arouen-san?" Karime's smile broadened.
"Karime is fine Karin-chan," Karime stated stressing the chan ever so slightly but enough to get under the little girl's skin, "and yea I am young, but still I'm way better than you guys, looking at your record so far…" Karime lifted her clipboard, "you guys could really use my help… I'll be sure to turn your losing streak into a winning one." Karime teased.
Karin's scowled deepened and she was about to retort when the rest of her elementary school team appeared. Karime turned around to face her new team, *huh, it's co-ed…* she thought idly. She then went to assemble her team and introduce herself.
"Hey, my name is Arouen Karime, I'm gonna be your new head coach, apparently your former coach got injured and won't be able to finish the season, so the school hired me to whip your butts into shape. Any questions?" Karime asked, pointedly ignoring, although highly amused by, the glare coming from the Kurosaki girl.
"How old are you Arouen-san?" asked a boy.
"18" replied Karime nonchalantly.
"Arouen-nee, do you have a boyfriend?" asked another.
Karime raised an eyebrow at the question, "um…no…?" she replied somewhat confused. Apparently her team was mesmerized by her; having such a young and good-looking coach and she even seemed really nice.
"Arouen-nee! Arouen-nee! Arouen-san!" they all started to yell out random questions.
"Ok, any questions about soccer and/or the team?" Karime asked, interrupting any further interrogation into her life.
"Are you even qualified to be coaching us?" asked Karin in a bored tone, the rest of her team simply gawked at her apparent rudeness. Karime chuckled lightly and responded.
"I was captain of my high school team for 3 years back home, I lead us to 3 National Championships, we won 2, I also led my team to several other important wins in regional, local, and 1 international cup. So yea, I think that makes me more than qualified." she smirked. The entire rest of the team was again openly gawking, but this time at Karime, in obvious admiration. Karin simply snorted.
"Ok then Karakura Elementary School Soccer Team…" Karime paused, "…wow…that name's really long…did your last coach really say all that all the time?" the children nodded. "…well then out with the old and in with the new…From now on I'll call us the K-EL soccer team!! Ok K-EL lets get divided into two teams and have a game so I can gauge each of your abilities and get this show on the road!" Karime shouted enthusiastically at her team, earning her a few odd looks from some people at the park and a rather annoyed look from Karin.
The practice went surprisingly smooth for elementary school kids, and Karime took notes on each student and their abilities diligently. When practice was over the sun was almost completely set and only 3 of her kids were left. Karime then saw Chad waiting patiently for her at the edge of the field, she waved at him but decided to wait for her kids' ride since they were all carpooling. Soon enough a man in a bright blue '67 mustang pulled up shouting for all his "beautiful children" to get into their "magical carriage" so they could be "transported" home. Karime wondered briefly if the man was high or drunk until she saw Karin facepalm and the other two kids laugh wildly, she shrugged and figured it was normal so she ran off to meet Chad.
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The rest of the week passed relatively quickly, Karime spent most of her time working with her team, meeting up with kids to have one-on-one practices, and trying to get them prepared for their upcoming game.
It was Sunday, tomorrow would be Karime's first day of class, she would be jumping right in to the middle of her senior year at Karakura High…Karime felt somewhat apprehensive; even though she had been a soccer star at her old high school, she had never really had friends…not that she was anti-social or anything, its just that the kids were vicious and rumors spread. *yea, rumors…* Karime snorted, she didn't blame anyone but herself for her condition. *whatever the hell that is* she thought sourly. Nonetheless, Karime continued getting ready for her first day of school. She had made up her mind to start anew here and make the best out of her situation. She had already bought her school uniform, notebooks, pencils and bag, tomorrow she would enroll. Karime finished getting ready and went to bed. But as she fell to sleep one last thought crossed her mind. *It's been so peaceful since I've gotten here… maybe I can start from scratch… maybe I can be safe here…*
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A/N: hehehe!! Yay! The first chapter is DONE! Ichigo is gonna be in the next one although things won't get romantic till later on… so this was originally meant to be a short fanfic but as it turns out, stories write themselves and now I have no idea how long this'll be. Oh well. Okay so for those of you that didn't read this chap here's the summary:
First of all I made everyone about 3 yrs older than in the series, so now they're about 18/19 yrs old, on their Senior year at Karakura High, and this all takes place a couple months after the whole saving Rukia arc (no Bounts in this fic though and Ichigo has control of his hollow). (maybe I should of put this at the beginning… oh well…)
Karime was an orphan girl (maybe 4or 5 yrs old) living on the streets in Mexico City, she was found and taken in by Chad's grandfather (abuelo) and is his adopted cousin (She's the only one in the family (besides abuelo) who gets along with Chad and vice versa) [she grew up with them and is now 18yrs old]. However, there was an accident supposedly caused by Karime in which their abuelo was severely injured and Karime was kicked out of Mexico by her 'relatives' (who never liked her in the first place). Chad took her in though and now she's living in Karakura Town with him. Karime is a soccer fan and an exceptionally good player; she became Karakura Elementary School Soccer Team's (called K-EL for short) head coach in which Karin Kurosaki plays but so far the little Kurosaki isn't too fond of her. Karime also has some weird dream in the beginning in which she can't see anything but she knows she's in a desert and she hears screams for help as well and a creepy voice talking to her. The chapter ends the night before her first day of school and Karakura High.
Kay so that's it for this chap! Thank you for reading! Now please review, tell me what you think so far, suggestions are welcome, flames not so much but if you write them I'll read them… so PLEASE review!! ^_^
~Blackcat
P.S. I'll try to update asap but I'm making this up as I go and my life's pretty busy… so sorry in advanced for late updates!! Please bear with me!!
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