Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. Tite Kubo does :3
Alright. This is.. believe it or not.. my first fanfic. Yes, I am excited too see if I get any review or comments, but this is a short chapter. I'm a seventh grader for crying out loud xD Cut me some slack eh? Uhm, this takes place after the Winter War. So obviously Aizen is dead. I also wanted to see how things turn out for this chapter, as I said, that's why it's short. So, I hope enjoy, IchiRuki for life~!
Chapter 1: On The Brink of Despair~
It's been two years.. since he's last seen her face..
'If I knew it was gonna be this bad.. this painful.. I wouldn't have used that last attack' The orange haired teen thought to himself. He knew nothing could make him feel better. She was his center, and he revolved around her. Everything... was fading from his grasp.
Memories of defeating Aizen kept haunting his mind.. even after two years. And then, he would think of Rukia, and the times they both spent together. Those last words they exchanged. It was the last thing he wanted to think about at the moment.
"Ugh.. maybe it's just hormones.." the young teen tried to re-assure himself. But he quickly answered his question. Hormones wouldn't make him feel like he was dying inside.
He sat up on his bed, pulling his hands over his face, letting out a muffled sigh. Then, there was a knock on his door.
"Ichi-nii?" a sweet but small voice came from the other side of the door. He let his hands fall from his face. "Yes, Yuzu-Chan?" He asked, looking at the door. "D-Dinner's ready.." she replied softly.
Yuzu was very concerned for her brother. He just.. wasn't the same Ichigo anymore. He wasn't the cranky.. energetic brother she used to know. He was either.. Silent.. or pissed off. He was wearing a mask. The same one from when his mother died.
"I'll eat later.." Ichigo said, pulling himself together. "I'm not hungry."
Outside of the door, Yuzu sighed. It pained her to see her brother like this. "Okay.." She replied, struggling to keep her voice alive.
Beside Yuzu being a bit sad, and missing her 'Older sibling' Rukia, Karin was a bit frustrated.
She was mad at how Rukia just simply left, without letting them know. Couldn't she at least stop by in a gigai once in a while? "Pfft.. of course not. She's to busy with her job.." Karin scoffed quietly.
Ichigo and Rukia were the best of friends. Ichigo was happy with her there. They were like glue and paper for god's sake. You need just the right amount of glue, to stick to the paper. And Rukia was the perfect amount. Ichigo damn well didn't mind her following him around. Why? Because they were that close.
Karin forced herself to stop thinking about those thoughts as soon as Yuzu came downstairs.
Sitting at the table across from her sister, Yuzu shook her head, placing a frown upon her face.
"I wish we could cheer him up. He's just.. not the same anymore.." she sighed. "Ichi-nii needs to snap out of it. If Rukia doesn't come back soon, He'll-" The doorbell rang.
"I got it!" Yuzu announced, so no one would beat her to the door. She got up, sliding her chair in, and ran to the door. "..snap" Karin finished her sisters words.
She peered up from the table to see a certain strawberry blonde. "Oh! Yuzu! How nice it is to see you. Uhm.. is.. Kurosaki-kun here?" the voice was very pitched and cheerful.
"Uh, yeah. Come on in." Yuzu replied softly.
"Ah! I brought some broccoli bread with chocolate covered fish! Wanna share?"
'Oi.. might as well get it over with..' Ichigo thought.
Walking downstairs, he caught a glimpse of the girls talking. "Yo.. Inoue-san." He got to the last step, walking over to the table in the living room where they were.
"Kurosaki-kun, would you mind helping me with this problem please?" Inoue asked sweetly.
No answer.
"Kurosaki-kun?"
Still no answer.
"Yo Ichigo! Orihime asked you to help her! Can't you at least be a gentleman and listen for once!" Tatsuki scolded the boy.
He had been at it again today. His mind wandering of in it's troubled thoughts. He had been thinking about how life would be if he didn't use that last attack.
"Ah.. sorry. Uh, you needed something?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Kurosaki-kun. Are you.. feeling okay today?" Inoue asked, a worried look consuming her.
"Uh.. yeah. I just didn't get enough sleep last night, that's all."
"Again? Kurosaki, you had better get your schedule straight! You've been off in 'Shinigami Dream Land' all week! So what! You lost your powers. You're normal again Ichigo! No more Hollows! No more.. battles or wars! No more worrying about protecting peo-" "Protecting people is my job!" Tatsuki was cut off by Ichigo. "Well not anymore! Go home and get some rest. We'll see you later.." Tatsuki sighed.
"Uh. Bye Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue waved before Tatsuki dragged her off.
"Uh.. make yourself comfortable." Ichigo said, kicking the door shut lightly with his foot. He descended further into his room, setting a simple plate of rice balls on the floor.
Grabbing two small pillows, he placed one down on the floor on one side of the plate, and one on the other side.
"Oh! Thank you.." Inoue sat down, fiddling with the hem of the pillow.
"So, what brings you here?" Ichigo asked, taking a bite of the rice balls.
"Oh, uhm.. you looked kinda down today.. so I thought I would visit and see if everything was okay.."
"Yeah.. I'm fine. Just haven't been getting enough sleep lately.. that's all"
"Ah. Kurosaki-kun..?" Inoue looked down, her bangs casting a shadow over her face.
"Hmm..?" Ichigo looked up.
"Do you.. miss.. Kuchiki-san?" Inoue asked quietly.
Ichigo's eyes widened in shock, and with a bit of sadness. "Uh. I dunno. I mean, she's in the Soul Society. And she's probably happy and comfortable there. But I wish she would at least give me sign she's okay once in a while.." he shrugged. Rukia was Ichigo's world. Nothing could help the poor teen.
She knew it. No one could make him possibly feel better. Not his family, or friends. No one. The only thing that would make him happy was Rukia coming back. As hard as Inoue tried, she couldn't cheer the strawberry up. Rukia needed to come back soon, or else Ichigo would break.
"Oh.." Inoue whispered, looking up. "Well.. I better be getting home! My carrot bread with chocolate sauce is baking in the oven! Ah..! I hope it didn't burn!" She jumped up.
Ichigo walked Inoue downstairs, both standing in the front door. "Arigatou, Kurosaki-kun.." Inoue bowed. "Ah.. no problem. Hey, you sure you don't want me to walk you home?" he asked. "Oh, I'm positive! Thanks anyway!" She waved, walking out of the Kurosaki house, into the overcoming nightfall.
Ichigo shut the door, locking it. "What was that about..?" Karin asked, sitting at the table, looking up from her homework.
"I.. really don't know.." Ichigo sweat-dropped.
"ICHIGOOO MY BOY-OOF!-" Another one of Ishiin's attacks was dodged, causing his face to meet with the living room wall.
"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME, YOU FREAK!" Ichigo yelled at his father, who was now rubbing his nose in pain.
Getting up, Ishiin ran to the large picture of Masaki hanging on the wall. "OH MY PRECIOUS MASAKI! WHY IS ICHIGO SO MEAN TO HIS DADDY?" He whined, fake tears flowing down his cheeks. "PERHAPS.. HE'S GROWING UP!" Ishiin launched towards Ichigo with great speed, tackling him like a tiger to it's pray.
Both boys rolled around on the floor, smaking and hitting, punching and kicking eachother.
"Why must we have such stange people in this house?" Karin sighed.
"Hey.." She yelled.
Ignored.
"Hey!"
Once again, Ignored.
Karin made a face, getting annoyed. "I SAID HEY YOU DUMBASSES! SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO DO THEIR HOMEWORK IN THIS HOUSE!"
"GAH! I'M FREE YOU STUPID GOAT-FACED FREAK!" Ichigo crawled away from his father's grip. "I'M GOING UPSTAIRS!"
Ichigo made a run for it.
Once upstairs, he shut his bedroom door. "Ah..god. Can't I get any peace in this house?" Ichigo plopped down on his bed, arm and legs spread out, breathing heavilly.
Sitting up, he looked out his window, seeing the stars and moon already filling the night sky.
But something caught his eye. A shadow -covered small figure was standing on the pole outside his window. The pole Rukia always stood on.
"R..Rukia..?" His breath was caught in the middle of his throat.
Aye.. I hope you liked it. Indeed, it was short.
So, who was the person standing outside Ichigo's room? O: You'll see in the next chapter.
Eh.. I'd say two uploads every week? Depends on school.
Arigato gonzaimos, Ja. :3