I needed something to cheer me up lately and I've had this idea messing with me every chance it got for a while now, so here is... something. The plot still eludes me at this point but I do have a basic idea of what I'm doing.
Summary(Kind of): Basically, Ichigo's known about shinigami, Hollows, and even his own heritage ever since his mother died. His father couldn't support the four of them by himself no matter how hard he tried and ended up sending Ichigo to Kisuke Urahara for him to raise. Urahara not being much of a parental figure in turn sent a nine year old Ichigo to be raised by his good friend Sosuke Aizen. Ichigo was quickly accepted into the makeshift family of Arrancar and shinigami.
Like I said, mostly stumped for an actual plot. This will probably turn into a collection set in the same universe so I'm open to plot ideas from anyone who actually decides to read this.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of it's characters. sigh~ if only...
A small, black haired woman of just over 4'8" walked swiftly into a near empty classroom. It was undeniable that she was horribly early, much more so than usual, but then again, she usually wasn't free of a certain redheaded burden. Besides, there was absolutely no doubt in her mind that everyone of importance was already gathered and present. True to her assumption, seated together in a corner by the window was a small group of high school students that by all rights shouldn't have been sitting together making amiable conversation while waiting for the last member of said group.
Quickly taking her seat near the middle of the desk cluster, she suddenly grew more excited until her patients couldn't stand to wait any longer. Looking around her at her mismatched assembly of friends, she death glared them into a nigh instantaneous silence. There was just something about that look that could turn even the most fearless of men into cowering wimps.
The rather loud clearing of a throat dispelled the awkward silence that had fallen in place of the quiet conversation. All eyes turned to the origin of said noise and waited expectantly to here the redhead out.
"So, Rukia, anything interesting come up?" The way he said it did nothing to hide how rightfully nervous he was. Rukia Kuchiki was not a woman to be messed with.
Thankfully for him, it seemed to be the right question, if Rukia's pleased smile was anything to go by. "Why yes, Renji, something interesting did come up." After that she abandoned all semblance of formality in her speech, the excitement built up from keeping the news in boiling over. "We're getting a new student today," she nearly squeaked out.
In most schools that kind of news would have been common knowledge and nothing unique. However, Karakura High was not most schools and for whatever reason rarely saw a new face in any of higher years. That being the case, a new student was sure to incite some interest especially since he was arriving after classes had already started.
For a fleeting moment, doubt washed through the mind of one of the more distant members of the group. Uryu Ishida had been the last to officially join this circle of friends and even then he was still careful to keep his distance, and such as that was, he almost didn't believe Rukia's claim. All thoughts of disbelief vanished however, at the thought of the small raven's accuracy in the field of rumors. She seemed to have a particular talent at picking out what was true from what was false, even among things as fiction based as rumors. The others around had all known Rukia long enough to have belief in her words become almost instinct. When it came to finding and sharing the truth, she was never wrong.
Looking around at the mixture of stoic and stunned expressions, Rukia felt a certain amount of satisfaction. No matter how hard she looked, there was not even a hint of disbelief in any of their eyes, meaning she'd succeeded in creating a certain credibility for herself. While they were all processing the rare news of a new face, a random thought passed through her now less excited mind. Renji had gotten to school before her. Usually he slept until the last minute, impossible to wake up unless a certain level of urgency was present. It usually took one of the bizarre and sometimes painful looking devices of Kisuke Urahara, the man the two were staying with, to wake the redhead up. She had fortunately managed to convince Yasutora Sado, Chad for short, to let Renji stay at his place the night before.
Now, she was wondering how the large, silent, Mexican had gotten the redheaded pineapple up so early, not even Kisuke's heinous inventions were capable of that. At least, not the ones she'd seen. Considering that, Rukia wasn't sure she really wanted to know.
The raven was snapped out of her musings soon after by the first to finish processing the information. A girl of average height and hair a burnt orange color asked from between Chad and Uryu, "Is the new student going to be in our class?"
"Yes Orihime, he's going to be in our class," Rukia replied, a little giddy at being one of the first to meet the new student.
"Wait, he? Just how much do you know about this guy?" Uryu questioned, pushing up his glasses a bit in slight annoyance.
The short raven grew a sly smirk, immediately putting all of the gathered on edge and sending shivers down the backs of students that were slowly beginning to trickle in. "That, Quincy-boy, is for me to know and you to find out."
With that, all questions died in mind as everyone silently agreed they were safer learning about this new student elsewhere. Uryu didn't even sniff in indignation at the utterance of 'Quincy-boy', too preoccupied with wanting to stay the hell away from Rukia and her evil intentions.
The classroom fell into a comfortable silence, the low thrum of conversation constantly in the background. After some time, the bell to start class wasn't to far off and the teacher, Ochi-sensei, was still noticeably missing. There were, of course, mountains of rumors that had already started as to why that could be, ranging from something as simple as there was a substitute who had gotten lost to as conspiratorial as Ochi-sensei being part of a secret terrorist organization plotting the downfall of Japan and was absent because she was drawing up new conquest plans. Who knows, scary stuff happens to high school kids.
Only Rukia and those few others she had told had even the semblance of an idea. Obviously she was occupied with something about the new student and it filled Rukia with a slight sense of smug satisfaction that she was the first student to know of the news. Right on time, the bell rung and in walked Ochi-sensei, followed by the new student.
Now, a new student was enough to cause gasps of shock to fly past the lips of unsuspecting students, so just take a moment to imagine what might have happened when a tall guy, around 5'9", walked in with a lithe yet strong build and spiky orange hair. Instant fangirl squeals were heard around the classroom, only serving to give some of the more aggressive guys a reason to pick on him, besides the hair of course. But none of that was really of any consequence or even given any thought at all. What immediately caught the attention of every spiritually aware being in the room was a profound sense of something wrong. Something was off, and while one would peg it on the new presence in the room, there was absolutely no proof that it had anything to do with him.
This feeling was distinctly Hollow, but then again not exactly. First of all, it was coming from all around and it simply wasn't possible for it to be pinpointed on the boy standing at the front of the room. Secondly, even if he was a Hollow, why wasn't he a mindless, soul-eating monster? And how did he get his hands on a gigai? Assuming he really was a Hollow. There was nothing to indicate that there was even such a being within miles of the school except the strange feeling coming from an unknown origin.
Ochi-sensei quickly introduced him as Ichigo Kurosaki and sent him to sit in the only empty seat behind Uryu and to the left of some kid called Keigo. As soon as he sat down, all traces of that disturbing reiatsu disappeared. Those that had been aware of it instantly relaxed, relieved that whatever had been causing it was gone or at least didn't mean any immediate harm.
Classes passed quietly enough. Ichigo was quiet throughout and didn't say much, but that was more than likely because he spent all the time he could have been talking observing others' behavior and reactions to certain things. He called out a few times in the beginning, earning him a few harsh glares from Ochi-sensei, but quickly learned through his observations that he was supposed to raise his hand first then wait to be called on. Throughout the day, it became more and more obvious Ichigo had no idea what was going on. That either meant the school he'd come from had completely different workings, or he'd never been to school before. The latter option seemed almost ridiculous, but how else was his complete lack of social knowledge explainable? Ichigo did seem to be a fast learner though and quickly picked up on the basic rules and expectations.
By the time lunch rolled around Ichigo had mostly gotten settled into his new school and Rukia and Orihime were practically trampling people in their quest to invite Ichigo into their lunch group. At first Renji and Uryu objected, but were forced to accept between Chad's tie breaking vote, Orihime's enthusiasm, and Rukia's thre— logic.
When the two made it to where the orangette was shrugging his bag over his shoulder, Orihime was fidgeting and blushing too much to form even a single coherent sentence. Wow, only a day and already Orihime's developed a crush. That left it up to Rukia to ask.
"Hey, Ichigo, right?" she asked, though she already knew the answer was yes.
He nodded in confirmation, waiting patiently for her to continue.
"Wanna come eat lunch with us?"
The orangette seemed to think about it for a bit, taking the pause to shift slightly in nervous habit until finally, "Yeah, sure."
Rukia beamed at him, pleased with his answer, she didn't having anything to blackmail him with yet, she'd have to work on that. Orihime only seemed to get worse at his acceptance, stuttering violently trying to but words to a feeling she couldn't describe until she all but passed out.
"Hey, is your friend okay?" Ichigo asked concernedly, looking at Orihime's bright red face and nigh hyperventilating breaths.
"Oh she's fine," Rukia's reply held no concern at all as she steered Orihime toward the rest of their friends, Ichigo trailing behind her, still concerned about the girl's wellbeing.
In their usual rooftop lunch spot, they all ate and talked as usual but also took time to get to know Ichigo better, and in turn Ichigo found more out about them. Talking to Ichigo was weird though. All his answers were as vague as he could make them and could almost be considered lying. Almost. By the time lunch ended they found out he'd moved here from somewhere very far away, although no one had managed to pry out of him exactly where, and that his hair was, indeed, natural. Surprisingly that question came from a guy with naturally crimson hair, which in turn caused Ichigo to start a yelling match with a now thoroughly irritated pineapple. It was about to turn physical when Rukia's phone went off and Renji went running back into the building, yelling something that sounded vaguely like 'bathroom' back as an explanation.
Ichigo called after him, using coward to get the pineapple riled up. He succeeded in making Renji even angrier than he already had been, if that was even possible, but not in bringing him back. Instead Renji took all his anger out on some poor unfortunate Hollow who, even through the haze of hunger and instinct, was wishing it had never chosen to leave Hueco Mundo that particular day. The redhead hadn't even taken his zanpakuto out of its sheath until the very end. He took all his anger and frustration out on the Hollow, only using his swords cutting edge to send it to soul society when he felt calm again. I believe it's quite safe to assume that even if that spirit lost all its memories, it would always carry an unconscious fear of redheads.
Back at the school on the way back to class, Ichigo had a deep scowl plastered on his face. It was one of irritation and confusion, which stayed until he finally asked to no one in particular, "What's up with Renji? I know he didn't really have to go to the bathroom."
The group of four shared a few quick, nervous glances, silently trying to come up with an acceptable answer between them that didn't involve revealing they killed soul-eating ghost monsters for a living.
"Something private probably came up," Chad provided. His calm voice and unwavering confidence made it impossible to tell whether he was lying or not. Ichigo still didn't seem to believe him but was nice enough not to push any further. He'd only just met them, they didn't have to tell him anything and he respected their privacy.
Renji came rushing up to them not long after looking satisfied and a great deal calmer than when he had left. That gained him several surprised and suspicious looks from his friends. How had Renji calmed himself down so fast? All he'd done was purify a Hollow. Ichigo didn't even take notice, not having known Renji long enough to know something was strange about his now calm demeanor. So as the group of now six people neared their classroom the oddity was forgiven and forgotten, pushed to the back of the mind for more interesting conversation.
The rest of the day passed without incident, the number of Hollows had even been surprisingly low until inevitably the last bell of the day rang. Ichigo walked out of the school building with his new group of almost friends, he didn't know them well enough to call them real friends, feeling quite content and almost happy. He'd learned a good deal about school life but he knew he still more to learn. The orangette gave a small smile. It had been a good idea, convincing his family he needed to go to a proper school. Home schooling was fun, but sometimes his family was just a bit too them for a regular high school education.
Meeting and hanging out with Ichigo had been fun. It was nice to have a friend that didn't know about anything spirit related and Rukia was thanking whatever ever higher power there was out there for this chance she'd been given. And just as she was enjoying the relatively quiet day her phone went off. A relatively weak reiatsu appeared not too far from their location so Uryu turned down a street, manifested his bow, and killed the Hollow in a single shot. Normally he wouldn't have even bothered turning down the street, he could have hit it from where he was earlier, but it would look weird to Ichigo if he went through the motions with seemingly nothing. He continued down the street he was on, taking a different route to his home.
Rukia looked over to Ichigo; a little envious that he didn't have to worry about any of this stuff. What she saw nearly gave her a heart attack that she couldn't seem to convince herself was irrational. Ichigo had stopped walking in order to turn and stare at something. That's strange enough as it is, but he was looking right in the direction the Hollow had been in.
Calming her racing heart, Rukia asked, "Hey Ichigo, something wrong?"
"Huh?" he shook his head to regain focus before properly replying, "No, no I'm fine, I just thought I heard something; must have been my imagination."
Ichigo started walking again, to him there'd been nothing wrong, just a momentary lapse in focus. To Rukia however, something was seriously off. Her mind was racing a mile a minute and she couldn't calm down now matter what she told herself. Thoughts like 'Could he have heard the Hollow' and 'What if hanging out with us gets him involved' continued to effectively push out all attempts to ease her raging mind. In the end she pushed everything to the back of her mind along with Renji's concerned attempts to get her attention, and followed him the rest of the way back to the Urahara Shoten.
Thanks for reading and hoped you liked.
Open to reviews, criticism, and comments.