A/N: I don't how to categorize this story. OC or Self-insert.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or anything related to Bleach. I only own my OC and other original characters.

Warning: Violence, OOC, OCs, written in first person, some AU, harem, and probably some Mary-Sue. Try reading it before judging it.

Please leave no flames.

It was said that a person's life flashed in his or her eyes before death. That didn't happen to me.

I just remember walking down the same street as I usually did, except it was during the nighttime instead of day, to get home. I wasn't looking behind me as I was too busy looking straight ahead, passing the other homes to get to a white house with a white picket fence while rock music was blaring loudly from my earbuds. Suddenly, I felt a large hand clamped down hard against my mouth and a muscled arm pulled me against a hard chest, causing the earbuds to fall out my ears. Then, the hand let me go and by reflex I gulped a large amount of air into my lungs to let out an ear-piercing scream when something cold tore at my only exposed skin.

Something warm trickled down my neck, soaking my black jacket and the white shirt underneath.

I collapsed on the sidewalk, choking. A streetlight was my only source of light as a blurry shadow loomed over me. Silver flashed at me from the figure's hand.

Then, my breathing stopped and everything else went dark.

I didn't know how long I stayed in the dark but it was all I knew. It was my only solace until one day I was blinded by light.

OoO

My father, Hisashi Kaya, drove me to what was going to be our new home, Karakura Town. Honestly, I never heard of a such a city in Japan. Most of the time, we lived in the major cities such as Tokyo or Kyoto but with dad's constant moving around for his building contractor jobs, we never stayed in one place long enough to call it home. Karakura Town was going to be another one of those cities.

In fact, who knew how many places I was going to stay.

It was unlike my previous life when I had only one place to call home, but that was a whole different matter.

"Aiko," my father called to me a million times. "You're going to like your new home."

There, he goes, calling another place home, I mentally thought. I've been told I looked a lot like my father with midnight hair, wide gray eyes, a small nose and thin lips. The main differences between us were he wore glasses, I didn't and he was quite a cheerful person while I tended to be serious.

I didn't know much about my mother. Dad told me she was loving, beautiful, and intelligent. Any more descriptions about her left him in tears.

"You're going to attend a new school and make new friends," he said while keeping his eyes on the road. "Oh, and you should see the new house I picked. It's a two-story house. Your room will be in the top front. You even get your own bathroom."

"Yipee," I tried to sound cheerful but I failed miserably at it.

"Come on," he said, fleetingly taking his eyes off the road to look at me. "Give the place a chance. You might like it."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "You said that about the other places we stayed at and dad, keep your eyes on the road."

"Oh yeah," he said, turning his attention to what laid out in front of him, then he went back to answering my earlier reply. "I know I said that about the other residences but I have a strong feeling you're going like it here."

I only shook my head at him before I turned to stare out the passenger window. The constant swirl of buildings, houses and stores hurt my eyes that I settled for leaning back against my seat while closing my eyes.

When the car came to a halt, I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder. Instantly, my eyes shot open and I hastily shifted away from the person.

"Honey?" he called me. I blinked my eyes a couple of times before realizing I was still in one piece. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I lied. Apparently, fifteen years of my life passed and I was still jumpy about a simple touch.

Dad didn't look convinced so I strained myself to smile for him.

He was about to open his mouth when he shook his head. One good thing about him, he didn't question me about anything when I was uncomfortable. He would usually let it go and broach the subject when I was ready to talk about it.

Hisashi opened his door, leaving me alone to gain some sense of composure. When I felt calm, I opened the car door, ready to face a new world. The structure was just as he said. It was a two-story faded gray building. There was a rusted metal fence in dire need of a paint job that enclosed a front yard. By the main door, there were three stairs. At the side of the door was a shiny black new mailbox. The sun was peering from the back of the house that I had to shield my face with a hand.

"If you look above the door, those windows are your bedroom windows," he said proudly. "What do you think of our new place?"

Already, I felt like I was in a new prison but I didn't voice my opinion. I simply shrugged my shoulders and passed him while making my way upstairs.

"The key, dad." I held out my hand to him, palm-up, fingers straightened. He pulled it out of his pocket and dropped the keys into my hand.

"Thanks." I opened a storm door to get to the main door. Once, I unlocked it, we both made our way into our new temporary residence. There was a stairwell by the front door that led to the second floor. I could see the hallway followed by two open doorways. The hall curved to a point I couldn't see, which I could imagine was my bedroom.

"Those two rooms will be mine," he pointed out as he stopped to stand beside me. "One will be my office and the other is my bedroom. The other door to your left as you make the turn in the hall is your bedroom."

Quickly, he gave me a tour of the rest of the house. I was astonished to see how spacious it was inside compared to how it looked outside. We had a decent size living room with caramel painted walls, and an open dining room that led to the kitchen painted in a pale yellow. At least we didn't have to repaint the walls. In the back of the house was an extra bathroom for guests. The new house had a better layout than the other places we stayed in.

"Now, what do you think?" Hisashi asked me. He must have seen some type of expression he enjoyed on my face because he was beaming.

To play it cool, I shrugged my shoulders again.

"Aw, I know you like this house, already." He bumped my arm with his elbow. "I can see you're warming up to it." He was wagging his dark eyebrows.

"Dad," I said. Sometimes, I had to wonder who was the grown up and who was the child.

"Aww, don't take away my fun." Since it was just the two of us and I hit my teenage years, my dad and I didn't have the same type of fun like we used to. I liked to think those days were over. Besides, people grew up after a certain point, especially when they had a lot of mental issues. And I had a lot of them.

"Dad, we're going to unpack what we can and then I'm going to figure out what we can have for dinner."

"Alright," he agreed.

We spend the rest of the afternoon unloading the car with boxes of stuff we packed from our old residence. The rest of the items and furniture was going to arrive by truck tomorrow evening. I took all my stuff upstairs in my bedroom. As I put down the boxes, I took the chance to inspect my room. The floor was wooden and creaked under my weight in certain areas. The walls were painted in a light blue. The windows had shutters. Beyond the shutters, was a cream house that looked to be a privately owned medical place. There was a niggling feeling in the back of my mind but I waved a hand over my face.

There was no way I knew the house from across the street. It was already weird that I could distantly recall a past life.

I fished for items the different boxes contained. There wasn't much unpacking for me to since we didn't have furniture as yet. I spread out a sleeping bag, a flashlight and some books for me to read.

As I sat on the sleeping bag, I felt relieved to be alone. I didn't have to smile, to struggle to talk to anyone or listen to what they had to say. I was left alone with my thoughts and only one thought frightened me.

Karakura High School wasn't that far from home. Either I could take a bus or walk there. Most likely, I would walk there. It was suppose to be an average high school with about seven hundred students. The school had a number of clubs from soccer to baseball and kendo. Apparently, Karakura High School was famous for having a strong karate team or so I researched on the internet. I wasn't interested in any activities. I was never good at playing sports. My petite frame, being five feet didn't give me any advantages on the field. I considered myself to be more of a bookworm. I preferred to read books or research new information of interest anytime.

Inhaling a deep breath, I decided to check out the bathroom. Once I reached the other door that adjoined to it, I noticed how small the bathroom was. It took five footsteps in to reach the shower stall. On my left was a small sink with a mirror medicine cabinet. There was a small round window at the top of the wall that had a blurred window pane. It distorted some tree branches outside. I didn't need to put on the light since there was enough sunlight from the window for the bathroom to be visible.

I halted by the mirror, turning to face one of my worst nightmares. Transiently, I found myself staring at my reflection from a mirror to be strange because instead of seeing a human flesh girl staring right back at me, I saw an anime version with an oval shaped face, partially covered with raven bangs, large round pale eyes, a pert nose and thin pink lips. I had long raven hair that fell over my shoulders and back, which greatly contrasted to the whiteness of my skin.

I looked away from the mirror, remembering how long it took me to get use to watching my father's anime face. Sometimes, after waking up from a dream, I had to focus on this cartoonish world and I had to remind myself that this was now my world.

It was just weird.

Which was why I felt like I never belonged here.

I observed that I didn't get along well with people. Any relations I formed didn't last long because I was either constantly moving from place to place or I stayed indoors most of the time. Perhaps, remembering some events from my previous life prevented me from making new friends. Or maybe, I emotionally detached myself from this world. Sometimes I wondered what was my purpose for being here, in which yet I was unsure of what anime setting it was. Most likely, I was a glitch.

Moving away from the bathroom, I went back to the sleeping bag that would be my bed for tonight. I sat down on it and I took one of the books at my side. Without looking at the front cover, I opened a page and tried to read. However, my mind wasn't focused on the words. I thought more about what tomorrow might bring because after all, it was a continuation of me trying to piece a puzzle that I spent my whole life trying to put together; my reason for being in this world.

OoO

The next day felt like forever to come. I barely got a wink of sleep. I could only imagine the dark circles around my eyes and sleeping marks on my face from pressing too hard against the rough fabric of the sleeping bag.

Yes, never try sleeping on a hard-wooden creaking floor with a sleeping bag, I mentally reminded myself. Usually, it took me a couple of days to settle into a routine in a new place. But this place might be longer. For some strange reason, my senses felt like they were on edge.

I shook my head. Food in my stomach along with my pills would numb my feelings. After all, I had been on meds for as long as I could remember. Having breakfast with my dad was a quiet one since by the time I got downstairs into the kitchen, he was already dressed to go to work. There were a couple of toasts and eggs on a plate for me.

I smiled at him, impressed that he remembered to pack a set of cooking utensils in one box. He was getting better at packing what we would need for moving. I also noticed that he made groceries for him to have made breakfast.

"There's some black coffee in the coffee maker," he suggested. I liked regular coffee in the morning, and by gosh, I really needed coffee this morning.

I thanked him as I watched him bustled about in the kitchen. I helped myself to black coffee, not complaining about weakening it with milk. The stronger the coffee, the more alert I would be.

"Your meds are on the table and I should try to be back by noon. The truck should stop by with our things."

I nodded my head, glad that he took charge. Most of the time he was too busy with work than to be at home.

"Have a good day and let me know how your first day at school goes." He wagged his eyebrows before placing a copy of the keys for the front door on the table by my plate of warm food. Yep, my father was quite productive this morning.

He headed out of our new residence, leaving me alone. I pulled out a few toiletries and some clothes from the boxes in my room after I finished breakfast. Quickly, I did my morning rituals, grateful for getting use to hot water again. In my old residence, hot water was a luxury. I had only five minutes to enjoy it before it turned cold. Here, in Karakura Town, I could enjoy as much of it without having to worry about water shortages.

Maybe this place might not be so bad.

School was going to be beginning soon and I already dreaded the fact that I had to go. I wished I had postponed school for another day but being a reliable person, I told Hisashi that I would start school today. If I could, I tried my best to be a good daughter for him since I caused him so much trouble while growing up. Besides, I learned as long as I did what I had to do, I could do whatever I wanted during my free time, which was mostly reading.

Before exiting the house, I stopped into the kitchen and eyed the medicine bottles. I had yet to take them. Once I took them, the numbness would drift into my limbs making me feel lethargic. I would spend the rest of the day feeling like I was floating along the ocean waves. Again, I shook my head. I had no choice, I needed to take them, especially on my first day of school. I unscrewed the bottles and popped each pill into my mouth and swallowed them dry. I got use to taking them without water. Then, I closed them and made a beeline for my backpack. I already had notebooks and pens and whatever other accessories I would need for the day all set up. I did it at my old residence.

I put on my backpack and locked up the house. The creamy structure from across my new place was the first sight to greet me and again I felt that niggling feeling in the back of my mind. The place should be familiar. I sighed.

I'm only imagining things. I rolled my eyes before walking to school. On my way, I noticed students wore their school uniforms. The boys wore grey trousers, a white shirt and a gray blazer. The girls wore a gray blazer, a white shirt, a red bow tie and a gray short skirt. I didn't like the fact that I had to wear such a short skirt as a uniform to school if it were the uniform for Karakura High School.

The moment I got to the educational institution, I noticed how big the building was. Many of the students made their way into the classes while eyeing my choice of clothes. Since I didn't own a school uniform as yet, I decided to wear a black long sleeved shirt with faded blue boot cut jeans and black sneakers. Apparently, I was fortunate to meet a girl who was kind enough to lend me a pair of white slippers that students wore in the school building. I smiled at her and then followed her directions into the main office.

I took a deep breath before walking in. Inside, the office was brightly lit. It was small, packed with desks, rolling chairs, computers, stacks of folders, a large gray commercial carpet was centered in the room, notices and awards cluttered the walls, with a big clock ticking loudly. There was a black-haired woman wearing metal framed glasses and a white blouse sitting at the front desk. She made feel awkwardly dressed as she raised her head to look at me.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm new."

Her face brightened as her lips stretched into a friendly smile. "Oh, yes I see. You must be Aiko Kaya."

I nodded my head, feeling instantly relieved that I didn't have to do much talking.

She scanned the paperwork on her desk until she found a small paper. She handed it to me. "This is your schedule for today and I will call a student over to escort you to your class."

Again, I nodded my head. Then, she motioned for me to take a seat in one of the chairs behind an empty desk while I waited for a student to greet me. The sound of the ticking clock, typing and whispering filled the air.

Finally, what felt like an eternity, a girl with average height, black short hair, and wearing the school uniform met me. I stood up while she introduced herself to me. "Hello, I'm Tatsuki Arisawa."

Why did that name have a ring to it?

I bowed to her like she did to me. "My name is Aiko Kaya. It's nice to meet you."

The girl's face contorted into a friendly expression as I straightened up. She led me away from the office and quickly showed me the important parts of the school such as the gym, the yard, the bathrooms, some areas for the extra-curricular activities, the cafeteria, the library and some of my classes.

"Are you sure you're not missing class?" I asked her as she guided me to my on-going class.

"I'm good. Besides, I don't want to spend the next fifteen minutes zoning out. Some teachers can be a bore. And on top of that it's not every day we get a new student."

I laughed. "I know what you mean but I play the new student well since I tend to be a new student a lot."

"So you move around a lot?"

"Yeah." Instantly, I didn't add any more information. I already gave away too much and I just met this girl.

As if she got the hint, she diverted the topic. "There was another new student before you. She transferred here a couple of days ago."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yes, but coming to think about it, she knows a friend of mine." She put a hand under her chin as if in deep thought. Then, she turned to look at me. "Do you know anyone in this school?"

What a strange question to ask but I didn't voice my opinion. Instead, I shook my head.

"Sorry for being rude. I just thought that if a friend knows something, he or she will tell."

"Maybe some people keep things to themselves," I accidently blurted out and I covered my mouth.

The girl eyed me weirdly and it was my turn to apologize.

The female student waved it off. There was a moment of silence until she stopped by my class. "I wish I can wear what you're wearing. At least you can be comfortable."

"But I might be catching everyone's eyes with this attire compare to yours."

She hid her mirth behind her hand while her brown eyes sparkled. "Yeah, you're right about that."

"Honestly, I don't want to be the center of attention." Why did I confess that?

"Well, you'll be the topic of the day since you're new."

Inwardly, I groaned.

"Perhaps, if you're looking for an escape route, you can join my friend and I for lunch later."

My lips stretched into a grin. "Yeah, I'll like that. Thanks."

"Anytime. Good luck." She waved at me and then swiveled on her feet.

I would definitely be needing good luck. My hand stopped at the door as I thought about skipping this period and waiting for the next one but then I realized I didn't want to make a bad first impression. I slid the door open to have everyone's eyes pinned on me. My cheeks heated up as I stumbled on my way to the teacher standing in front of the class. Worse, he made say my name out loud. I lowered my head when he directed me to sit in the back. Tensely, I walked to my chair when in my peripheral vision, I could have sworn I saw dishevel orange hair. Normally, I was accustomed to seeing black, red and brown haired people but not a person with orange hair. I didn't have time to let my mind wander. I just sat down and drowned out the rest of the lesson.

It was during lunch break when I learned that students could eat their lunch anywhere. Instead of taking the nice girl's offer to sit with her and her friend, I decided to sit at a private place outside, which happened to be under a tree. I didn't pack lunch since my kitchen wasn't fully operational so I stuck with munching a protein bar.

And that was when I heard a strange inhuman cry shrilling the air. My hand froze, my mouth stopped on mid-bite of the chocolatey nut flavor. Again, the sound intensified and I found my hand began to tremble.

I grabbed my shaking arm with my other hand and slowly brought the appendage down to rest on my lap. Quickly, my eyes darted to the students enjoying their lunch around me. It seemed that none of them appeared fazed by the bizarre sound.

Was it my imagination?

Maybe the meds' effect was wearing off.

I opted to think it was my imagination. Gosh, I'm becoming paranoid! I went back to munching on my bar but I did it methodically instead of out of hunger. Bite. Chew. Swallow. Bite. Chew.

Another inhuman shriek and the bar slipped from my fingers to fall on the grass beneath me. My chewing stilled. Two figures: one tall and the other one short were running toward me. The small figure who was running in front, had short dark hair curled at her chin. Her eyes as dark as her hair were focused on a screen of a flip phone. Her gray short skirt swayed around her slim legs as she kept moving closer to me. The other person behind her was a tall male. His orange spiky hair was what drew my eyes. I knew some anime where the males had odd color hair but this one was hitting close to home and yet I couldn't name the person. The figures were getting closer to me, only their eyes were not seeing me. They were looking beyond me.

"We have to hurry!" the female yelled to her companion. "The creature is getting closer to the school!"

"I'm right behind you!" A masculine voice shouted back.

They dashed by me and time seemed to slow down. An orange haired guy dressed in black traditional Japanese clothing, now that I could view without the girl blocking him, followed the female. A hilt to a large sword bounced behind him with the impact of his weird sandaled feet hitting the ground. No one else glanced in their direction. Then as if the guy sensed my stare, he angled his head toward me. Our eyes met and a breath hitched in my throat. My heart pounded loudly in my ears as blood flowed faster through my veins.

There was no way my eyes or mind could be playing tricks on me. The niggling feeling returned tenth fold and suddenly everything became clear as day. I knew where I was.

I was the first one to shift my eyes away from him.

"Come on, Ichigo! We need to hurry!" the dark-haired girl called to him.

"I'm coming!" he barked. He kept sprinting after her, his interest in me waning. The monster's cry pierced the still air, making the birds flap their wings in the distance. I heard a tree crashing into the earth from somewhere behind me. This time, the students stopped enjoying their lunch as they whipped their heads towards the disturbing noise.

Instantly, they were on their feet, shuffling away from the disturbance while my limbs remained immobile. I kept a fixed stare on the patch of grass in front of me.

My hands clenched into fists until my knuckles turned white.

One, two. And three. Three pieces of the puzzle came together.

Ichigo Kurosaki. And Bleach.

A/N: Before leaving a review -or you deciding to continue to read this fanfic- I'll try to explain what I can. This fanfic is a writer's challenge to add some impossibles. Like one, Aiko has no relations with the characters from Bleach whereas self-inserts have some type of connection -or at least that's what I gather from fanfics on this site. There may be room for more than one love interest in Aiko's case, can you blame me? There are a lot of hot guys in Bleach. And possibly, she becomes a strong character -that's the main challenge. I'll try my best with writing this story.

Now, if you'll like, please leave a review. Thanks.