To Love Strawberry
Legalities: I don't own Bleach or To Love Ru. I don't even own the concept of combining the two together I merely own my own plot. That said, Ichigo's going to move to Sainan with his old man and this takes place after the Winter War Arc. I'll eventually have a poll for what to do with Rito, but for now on to the story, eh?
Chapter 1:Welcome to Sainan Strawberry San
Our story begins in the small town of Karakura. A place where spirits reside, and are seen by the number one substitute soul reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki. Sadly Ichigo recently lost his powers defeating a foe named Sosuke Aizen. Ichigo was originally a normal human with the ability to see spirits of the dead. However a little over a year ago he became a substitute soul reaper thanks to taking on the powers of Rukia Kuchiki. Rukia was a four foot nine inch tall soul reaper with black hair that was cut short, black eyes, and a temper. Ichigo on the other hand was a five foot eight and a half inches tall, had orange spiky hair, and had his own temper. Ichigo was a substitute soul reaper for a few months before the winter war. The winter war was where the traitorous Sosuke Aizen made the Arrancar, a group of hollows who gained Shinigami abilities, and attacked soul society trying to become the soul king.
Many were injured during the battle and most of the Arrancar were killed, however the survivors made a deal with Soul Society, the home of Shinigami. However our story doesn't focus on Soul Society and the Arrancar right now, instead it focuses on the substitute soul reaper Ichigo Kurosaki who was currently packing a bag. He looked up as his father, Isshin Kurosaki walked in. Isshin was a few inches taller than Ichigo had black hair, brown eyes, a black goatee, and was wearing a lab coat. Ichigo smiled at his old man who asked "Are you sure you want to head to Sainan, Ichigo?"
Ichigo nodded and said "Yeah I can't stand seeing the guys facing hollows without me. I need a change of scenery till either my abilities come back, or I get my head on straight." Isshin nodded and Ichigo said "You gave Yuzu and Karin my new number, right?" Isshin nodded and he said "Thanks goat chin. Anything you need before I head to the bus terminal?" Isshin thought for a bit then nodded. Ichigo asked "What is it?"
Isshin said "Hug your sisters and call your friends. They deserve to know you're leaving even if you don't think most of them will care." Ichigo nods and calls up his friends while walking downstairs to give his younger sisters Karin and Yuzu hugs. Karin and Yuzu are middle school students at Karakura Middle School, Karin is five feet tall has black hair that goes down to her shoulders, black eyes, and usually wears a soccer jersey. Yuzu on the other hand is an inch shorter than her sister, has blonde hair, brown eyes, and tends to wear dresses.
Ichigo hugs both girls who smile sadly and ask "Are you sure you have to do this Ichinii?" Ichigo nods and Karin says "Alright Ichigo, we'll keep the fort held down for you when you get back. Be sure to call regularly and don't hesitate to tell us what's going on with you." Yuzu butts in with "Don't forget about us and call every weekend. I know Sainan is not that far away but we still want to hear from you regularly."
Ichigo chuckles and hugs his sisters again saying "No problem Karin, Yuzu. I'll only be gone until I finish high school then I'll be back for college and I will be back during the holidays most likely. Anyway I gotta call Tatsuki and tell her bye, so I'll see you two for the holidays." Thy nod and bid him farewell as he calls his friend Tatsuki Arisawa, then talked for a good ten minutes before walking to the bus station with his old man, telling Tatsuki to talk to the rest of the gang for him. She agreed and they hung up saying they'd see each other over the next break. Ichigo walked through Karakura which wasn't the biggest of towns. It was a bit of a suburb with houses here and there, the high school, a mall, and Uraharra's shouten. He saw a black cat watching him from a telephone pole and waved at it. It meowed in farewell and Ichigo jogged to the bus station alongside his old man who was pretending to be out of breath.
He punched Isshin in the stomach and said "See ya goat chin." Isshin waved him off and he boarded the bus then threw his bag down next to him and listened to music on his mp3 player as the bus pulled out and started for his new town.
*************************************************Three hours later*************************************************************
Ichigo got off the bus and started for the apartment complex where he'd be staying. Sainan was a little bigger than Karakura with lots of high rises, apartment complexes, and a normal residential district. As he walked through the town he noticed himself getting looks from the local delinquents and sighed muttering "Great they're going to start some crap over my hair I have no doubt." He waved at the occasional girl or guy who seemed friendly though his scowl never left his face and finally got to the apartment about ten minutes later.
He walked to the manager's office and knocked on the door. The manager an elderly gentleman with gray hair, blue eyes, and a neatly trimmed gray beard said "Hello young man, can I help you?"
Ichigo smiled politely and said "Yeah I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. I'm supposed to move in today. My dad already paid for a year's worth of lodging and I plan on getting a job before the month is up. That said I believe you are the man I need to see about getting my apartment key."
The old man nodded and said "Ah yes Isshin's son. Yes I have your apartment key right inside please come in." Ichigo nodded and followed the old man into the office then was handed his key before he could get a good look around. He smiled at the old man and thanked him then headed up to his apartment on the third floor. As he walked up the stairs the old man called out "Watch out for Yuuki Saiba. He'll try to rope you into helping with his manga if he can. Nice man, but a bit of a procrastinator." Ichigo waved to let him know he understood then walked to his apartment and opened the door.
The inside of the apartment was about a hundred and fifty feet square in the living room alone. There was a kitchen off to the right with a sink, oven, microwave, and island. To the north was a hallway with three doors, two bedrooms and a bath. Ichigo smirked to himself thinking that he could use a nice long soak. However, first he needed to unpack and unroll his futon. He walked down the hallway to one of the bedrooms and threw his futon on the floor. The room was a little bigger than the living room at two hundred twenty five square feet, or fifteen feet long by fifteen feet wide. There was a closet, the walls were made of wood, and the floor had a tatami mat laying down.
Ichigo tossed his futon down and put his clothes in the closet then grabbed a spare pair of boxers and a t shirt for after his bath. He walked into the bathroom which was all wood paneling and flooring, with a large tub, a wash bucket, and a towel rack. He put a towel on the rack then filled the tub as he scrubbed himself down. After he was finished scrubbing he climbed into the bath and sighed in pleasure humming thoughtfully to himself. He closed his eyes as he soaked. He thought about those he'd left behind and how they'd feel if he had tried to get back into going after hollows without his powers nad muttered "That probably wouldn't go over very well. I guess it's good I got away when I could, just wish I could have said goodbye in person rather than over the phone but if Inoue had started with the water works then I'd have never been able to leave."
He sighed as he soaked for a good hour then got out and got dressed in his t shirt and boxers before heading to his room and collapsing on his futon. It had been a long day even if he hadn't really done much, the emotional turmoil was weighing down on him like never before. As he lay down he tried to enter his inner world but sadly he couldn't access it. He sighed and muttered "Damn sorry Oji san, sorry hollow, it looks like we won't be seeing each other for quite some time."
After that Ichigo fell asleep dreaming of the battles that had left him so many scars and had nearly killed him so many times, yet feeling more alive in dreams than in reality.
*************************************************The following Morning****************************************************
Ichigo woke up at his usual time of five thirty in the morning then got up and got dressed in his Sainan school uniform and jogged around the block a few times. He didn't work hard enough to break a sweat, but he did work hard enough to feel a slight burn in his muscles. At seven o' clock he started for the school. Along the way he ran into some punks picking on a teen that was wearing his school's uniform. He growled and flung his back at one's back knocking him forward and said "You jerks are going to pay for making me late by picking on some poor bastard."
They turned to him and said "Look who we have here boys, a punk carrot top who doesn't know about the ones who run this town. Should we tech him a lesson?" Ichigo smirked cracking his neck as the young man ran away holding onto what they'd been trying to steal from him. The punks bum rushed Ichigo and got a few good punches in before he grabbed two of them by the back of their heads and slammed their faces together knocking them out. He punched a third in the solar plexus knocking the wind out of him only to be punched in the ribs and wish he had Sado watching his back.
He growled and said "Ok time to get serious." The leader of the gang smirked and kicked him across the face knocking him to the ground. Ichigo knew he'd been slacking after losing his powers but there was no way he was getting his ass handed to him by some two bit punks who thought they could pick on one of his classmates. He got up and head butted the leader saying "Bastard! I'll show you what happens when you mess with the innocent in front of Kurosaki Ichigo."
The gang leader laughed and said "You're pretty tough, why don't you join the kings?" Ichigo snorted at the name they chose for themselves then knocked out a few more goons before round house kicking the leader into a wall. He stretched and popped his back as he looked at the goons.
He sighed and said "You call yourselves the kings but a true king knows when to protect and when to fight for the hell of it. Whatever." He walked around the corner and saw the kid from before looking at him with stars in his eyes. Ichigo looked the kid up and down checking him for serious injuries. The kid was about five feet five inches tall, had black hair that was spiky with blue eyes, and was as stated before wearing the Sainan uniform. Ichigo asked "You alright kid?"
The kid nodded and said "Yes I'm fine, thank you for stepping in. I'm Saruyama. Who are you?"
Ichigo smiled and said "I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, and my name means number one protector."
Saruyama blinked and said "Are you sure your name doesn't mean Strawberry, Ichigo san?" Ichigo nodded and he said "Alright. I am not one to argue with the manly hero." Ichigo blinked and he said "I wonder though, are you the one they speak of in legends, the manly action hero?"
Ichigo blinked and said "Manly action hero?" Saruyama nodded and he said "Nah I'm just your average protector. Anyway want to walk the rest of the way to the school with me."
Saruyama nodded and said "Do you think we could pick up my friend Rito along the way?" Ichigo nodded and they walked along to Rito Yuuki's house. Rito was a five foot six inch tall boy with orange hair like Ichigo., but where Ichigo's was short and spiky, Rito's hair was long and messy. Ichigo smiled at Rito and said "Hello Yuuki San, I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."
Rito smiled and said "Hello Kurosaki San, I'm Rito Yuuki. You seem to have already met my buddy Saruyama." Ichigo nodded and the three continued on their way to the school. Along the way many girls swooned over Ichigo's dashing good looks making the other two sweat drop. Ichigo ignored the looks of the girls instead getting to know his two classmates and learning more about the school. When they got to the campus the three boys split up with Rito and Saruyama heading to class while Ichigo headed to the office to get his schedule.
As Ichigo walked the school corridors he memorized the layout. The school was three stories tall, divided into first, second, and third year hallways, and the nurse's office was on the third floor. The principal's office was on the first floor along with the other faculty facilities. He knocked on the door to the staff room and was greeted by an old man with large glasses that looked like they were very swirly. He tried to get rid of his scowl but failed and said "Hello I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, the new transfer. I'm looking for my schedule so I can start the day."
The teacher said "Ah yes Ichigo san, we've heard a lot about you. When it comes to your grades only good things, but about your after school activities, please try to keep from fighting on school grounds." Ichigo nodded and said he'd try. The teacher said "Thank you. Now you're in my class so we can head there as the bell is about to ring." Ichigo nodded and stretched following the teacher and looking around as they walked. The teacher pointed out everything as they passed by it and said "Be prepared for everyone to have some sort of quirk."
Ichigo blinked and said "Quirk? What kind of quirk?" The teacher shrugged unable to explain then Ichigo said "I guess I'll see it in action." The teacher nodded and they walked to room 1 C, their classroom and the teacher walked in. He told the class they had a new student then called in Ichigo. Ichigo wrote his name on the board and said "Hello all. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. I hope we'll get along as the year progresses."
The class started asking him questions which he willingly answered until the teacher told him to take a seat. He did so gladly, sitting at the back, then looked out the window. He took notes as the teacher lectured and waited for the bell to ring.
The bell rang about an hour later, setting the time for classes, then Ichigo was mobbed by three girls one who looked shy and unsure as if she'd been dragged there by her friends and two who looked like total perverts. The one who had been dragged along had blue hair that framed her face, a moderate bust, was wearing the girl's uniform which was a white shirt, yellow vest, and green skirt,and had grey eyes. She smiled politely and said "Hello Kurosaki Kun, I'm Haruna Sairenji." The two perverts were Risa Momioka and Mio Sawada. Risa was a curvy blonde girl with blue eyes, a larger than average bust, and stood about five foot three inches tall. Mio however had her black hair in twin tails, green eyes, glasses, and a less curvy figure. They both tried to get into Ichigo's pants but he just waved them off having dealt with Yorouichi who was much worse.
Risa asked "So Ichigo, did you have a girlfriend back in Karakura Town?" He shook his head and she asked "How the heck could a hottie like you not have a girlfriend?"
Ichigo scowled and said "I was considered a bit of a delinquent by the girls and guys alike. The girls just didn't want to date me because they thought they'd be abused which is the exact opposite of the truth. I wouldn't lay a finger on a woman except in self defense and even then it would be a last resort." They nodded slowly seeing how passionate he was about that and smiled slightly hugging him and saying it was ok. He chuckled and said "I know girls it's fine." After that the three got into a discussion with him about his hobbies. He chuckled slightly and waved off most things saying he had no set hobbies other than kendo.
After that class passed by rather peacefully and Ichigo headed home. As he was leaving school Risa and Mio called out "Welcome to Sainan Strawberry San!"