Cries of the Dead, a bleach fanfic

So, I originally planned "Cries of the Dead" to be a full length Bleach story, but I decided to make it a oneshot instead.

Sorry about the confusion...

-Sadly enough, I do not own Bleach or any of its characters-

I sat on my rooftop for almost an hour, thinking about everything I've been through. A teenager's life shouldn't be as complicated as mine is. Especially when you're sixteen going on seventeen. But these past couple years have been good to me, I guess. I've grown even closer to the people I knew before, and I've even made new friends. New friends, new rivals, new everything.

The moon seemed to shine brighter than when I first got out here as I reflected on the thought of having so many friends. The stars began to shine like the moon in response to my thoughts as well. If every night could be like this, my life would be a lot nicer. Every other night, there have been hollows coming out of nowhere like crazy.

Speaking, or thinking rather, of hollows, why haven't I seen any tonight? As a matter of fact, I haven't seen any all this week. I looked at my watch and let out a small whistle. It was almost one in the morning, and I still don't feel tired. I might as well go and patrol the town while I'm wide awake.

I climbed into my open window and landed softly on the bed. If I just lie down when I turn into a soul reaper, my body will be lying there and I won't wake Renji. The redheaded mooch has been staying here for almost a month, now. My family is okay with him being here, I guess. He's pretty good at making Yuzu cry. He told her he was house broken and that he didn't have anywhere else to go. Oh, and don't forget, I'm "the only friend he has."

Bullshit.

My dad didn't really like the idea of "gaining another son" and, for once, I agreed with him. Ikkaku and Yumichika had nowhere to go, but they left anyway. He could've gone with them. Whatever. As long as he doesn't get in my way, everything's fine. I sighed at the lump of blankets on the floor that was Renji and grabbed the gray badge from the drawer of my nightstand.

I clutched the metal object for just a second, and my body and soul were separated. When I jumped off my bed (in a cool way that only soul reapers can manage), my body shook and rolled right off the bed and onto the floor. "Damn it…," I cursed, looking down at my lifeless body. I grabbed my own arm and attempted to pull myself up, when Renji rolled over and grabbed my waist.

Thankfully, he wasn't awake. I did find it a little strange that he was pretty much holding me down while he was sleeping. No matter how hard I pulled, without hurting my body, mind you, he seemed to be strong enough to keep me pinned to the floor. I glared, realizing there was no way to free myself from his grip, and turned back to the window. "Whatever you're dreaming about," I said to the slumbering Renji, noting the small smile playing across his lips, "I do not want to hear about it when you get up."

I made my way through the window and began my search over the town. If there hasn't been a hollow in a week, then there's going to be a weeks worth of hollows all in one night. If my soul is as good as people say it is, then there shouldn't be any trouble trying to draw these things out. The farther I got from my house, the colder the air seemed to get. I got a full three miles from my house when I started to pick up on some spiritual pressure.

It wasn't anything major; just an everyday hollow.

But, even if it is something this small, will I still be haunted by the hollow inside of me in this battle? A small girl, probably about three or four years old, ran out of the central park and straight into me. Her short black hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail and she wore a bright green dress. The chain coming from her chest was short, and was shining like the tears that stained her cheeks.

She was probably scared to death (no pun intended) of the hollow that was chasing her. All kids' souls are. Then I got to thinking; why are there so many children's souls wandering in Karakura Town?

"Don't worry," I said, reaching for Zangetsu, "I won't let it hurt you."

A pretty decent sized hollow rounded the corner not long after I had moved in front of the girl to protect her. It's mask looked like the head of a bull, large horns retreating from the top of the pale mask and a ring in its nose, but the rest of it looked like some kind of messed up dinosaur.

I snarled and gripped Zangetsu tightly, pulling him from the sheath of cloth on my back, and pointed toward the hollow. "I'm sick and tired of you hollow assholes coming in and destroying this town!" I spat, grasping my forearm. "I'm going to kick your ass all the way back to hell!"

The hollow began to crouch down to the ground like it was going to leap up and try an aerial attack. It began to growl, but it never actually moved, not even an inch. Suddenly, a shriek so unrealistic and horrible ripped through the air, piercing my ears harshly. I've never heard a sound so awful before; it was almost like someone was scratching metal against a chalkboard right next to both ears, and magnifying the sound by ten or twenty times.

I inhaled sharply, trying to stifle a scream, and grabbed at my ears. This is no ordinary hollow. Its spiritual pressure was becoming stronger by the second. It was almost like the spiritual pressure of an Arrancar, it was so strong. I had only picked up on a trace of it before…was that because it was trying to lure me in?

The pain was almost unbearable.

I fell to my knees, screaming in pain, when I felt a warm liquid pour into my palm and make its way down my arm. It began to drip off of my arm and onto the ground because there was so much of it. The color of the dark red river that ran down my arm was suffocating; just the sight of it made me sick. I've had times where I bled worse than this before; the part that's scaring me is the fact that it's coming from my ears.

As far as I know, it isn't good to bleed this much, or at all, from your ears.

The sound was so incredible, I was bleeding from my ears and all the way down my arm, until it hit the ground and ran down the slope of the road. I have to get a hold on Zangetsu, and everything will be ok. If I run this bastard through, I can go back home and get some fucking help.

"Get the hell outta my town!" I shouted, grabbing Zangetsu. I grabbed my forearm again, gathered all the strength I could muster, and shouted, "Bankai!"

I became surrounded in so much spiritual pressure, I became afraid that I was going to attract even more hollows to this spot. I swallowed hard and gripped Zangetsu tightly. I just need to get rid of this one, damn it! It's ridiculous for me to even call myself a substitute soul reaper. I have to use my bankai to get rid of one fucking hollow, for Christ's sake.

The hollows screeching stopped for just a moment, but then it started up again. It wants to wear me down so I'll be easier to kill. I couldn't help but smirk. "You think you're going to be able to wear me down, huh?" I asked it, raising Zangetsu. "Let's just see how well you do with that tactic, you bastard!"

I can move with incredible speed thanks to my bankai, so taking this thing down will be even easier now. I just have to use the "slash-and-pray method." The slash-and-pray method is pretty much just slashing it and hoping that it kills it. In this case, It's the method that involves slashing, killing, and hoping that no other hollows come.

"That's right, Ichigo, use your bankai. Release me!"

I choked up, while being dangerously close to the hollow, and was struck by its horns. I coughed, releasing an unhealthy amount of blood into the air, and rolled back into the brick wall behind me, screaming the whole way down.

When I got up, I examined the newly formed hole in my shoulder. "Damn it all," I cussed, clutching Zangetsu tightly. I don't want to reverse the bankai, but I don't want to let him out, either. If he takes control, it'll be all over.

The hollow screeched again, and turned its attention back to the soul of the little girl. She had been trying to get away from this whole fight since it started, but hadn't gotten anywhere. It flexed and, in one swift motion, devoured the girls' soul with a satisfied hiss.

I couldn't move at all; I was frozen to the spot where I stood. I just witnessed a soul I was supposed to help to move on, get devoured by some crazy, fucked up son of a bitch. I couldn't help her like I promised. Just like I couldn't help Orihime or Rukia when I promised I'd…I promised I'd be there for them. For all of them.

All of this is Ogihci's fault, damn it! If he wasn't a part of me...I swear, I'd be able to get stronger. I'd be able to save everyone I made a promise too. I'd be able to defeat those stronger than me. But I can't because of him, that sick bastard!

"You're so convinced that I'm the reason behind your faults, Ichigo. Why is that so? Haven't you ever realized that we are technically the same person?" I heard Ogihci whisper. His words hit me like a knife to the chest, but there's nothing I can do about it. "Don't worry; you'll realize that it's really your fault when you lose someone special. Like Karin. Or Yuzu."

Ogichi's laughter polluted my mind as I stood helplessly in the middle of the road. I stared down at Zangetsu after a while, asking myself whether or not I should just die right here. It would be so much easier if I were dead. One clean thrust could end the hollows, end Ogihci, and end the suffering of the people I care about. They can't be hurt by me if I'm gone.

I lifted Zangetsu cautiously. If I was going to do this, it had to be now. It'd have to be quick, though, so it didn't hurt. "Ichigo," a man called, "that's probably not the best way to die, you know."

I gasped and swallowed hard, turning to face the intruder seconds later. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Well," he sighed, removing his sword from its sheath, "it looks to me like I'm saving you from your own selfish whim." He smirked a bit before turning to me. "Honestly, do you always have to think about yourself?"

I watched him closely as he used the rubber band on his wrist to tie his red hair back into its trademark pineapple style ponytail. "What are you talking about, Renji?"

He blinked and said, "Uh, hello? Is anyone in there?" He knocked on my head, like it was actually made of wood, and said, "Suicide is the most selfish way to die, dumbass. Everyone knows that! And I do believe it's a sin..." He bit his lip in thought and waited just a moment before turning back to me.

"How is it," I asked, "the most selfish way to die? I'd do it to end-"

"To end your suffering?" he asked, his tone serious. "To end...Ogihci?"

I took a deep breath and held it to prevent myself from using the last of my energy to lash out on Renji. He doesn't understand what it's like, living with something evil like Ogihci inside of him. He can't imagine, even in his wildest dreams, how much pain Ogihci can put you through with just a single word.

He snapped me out of my thoughts with a chuckle. "Don't you see, Ichigo? If you chose to end your life tonight, you'd only make the people you care about suffer more. Catch my drift? If you want to save your family trouble, than I suggest you go home and take it easy."

I let my breath escape the cage that was my lungs as my hands started to shake. Why is it so hard to breathe? My breath was coming out in small, unsteady puffs when Zangetsu clattered to the ground with a sharp plink. Renji had already taken a couple of steps forward, ready to fight the hollow that waited at the end of the street. I understand it now...sort of. I understand that Renji is the reason I can't breathe. His spiritual pressure has increased since the last time we fought. I just don't understand how it could have gotten so intense within a few months.

The hollow began to crouch down again, even lower than before, and it looked like it was going to jump again. "An aerial attack," Renji said, backing up a bit and watching the hollow carefully.

I recognized this move from earlier. It wasn't planning on an aerial attack at all, it was going to screech again. I kneeled down and grabbed Zangetsu so that I could attack it before it hurt my ears again, or Renji's for that matter. "Bastard!" I hadn't realized I started running until I heard Renji shout, "Ichigo, no, wait!"

I had already jumped into the air, Zangetsu ready to strike, when Renji ran forward, too. "Damn it, Ichigo, just wait!" the redhead shouted.

"No!" I shouted in response, "I'm not gonna let another one of these guys ruin my home town, just because they feel like it!" There's no way in hell I'm gonna let people think that a truck crashed into the wall again. I don't want anymore accidents. Not in this town. And, besides, why would I wait to strike when I've already got the perfect opportunity to kill it right now?

The hollow looked up and saw me and, before I could do anything, it moved with lightning speed out of my line of fire. It had jumped high into the air, and was planning a frontal attack on Renji. I landed where it had stood before, and turned to face Renji. I wanted to warn him that it was after him, but it was already over.

The hollow opened up its mouth and took a large, and very painful, bite at my side. I screamed and dropped Zangetsu again as it threw me behind it and into the only wall left standing.

"You thought you could get away from my hold on you," Ogihci whispered, "You thought you were so tough, eh, Ichigo? How well did that work out for you?"

The wall had collapsed beneath my weight and the strength of the throw and all I could do was lie there in the rubble. What's the point in trying to fight if all I do is get hurt? I get hurt if I reject Ogihci, and I could lose my life and become some kind of invincible monster if I let Ogihci take over. There's nothing I can do anymore.

"Ichigo!" Renji shouted, running over to where I was lying. When he arrived at my side, he smiled and lifted me up out of the dirt. "Ichigo, you okay? Do you need me to go and get Inoue-san?"

I scoffed and gave him a look of disbelief. "Since when the hell do you care about what happens to me?"

"Tch," he snorted, "I don't care about you at all. I care about the Soul Society and, without you, it's toast."

I chuckled a bit when he looked away, embarassed. "So, you're admitting to being weak, Renji? You need me to keep you safe when you fail at something?"

Renji glared and lifted me off of the ground, with almost no problem at all, and said, "No way."

-----SKIPPING TO THE NEXT MORNING, NYA-----

Karin sat in the dining room with a bowl of rice and some shrimp, watching as Yuzu paced back and forth in the kitchen holding a spoon in her right hand. "Ichigo and Renji never came down for breakfast, Karin...I'm really worried." Yuzu sighed and clutched the spoon with more strength than necessary. "What if they got hurt somehow?"

Karin sighed and put down her chopsticks. "I'm sure they're fine, Yuzu. They probably just slept in or something. It is a Saturday morning, you know. Not everyone gets up at the same time."

Yuzu sighed and set the spoon down on the kitchen counter. "Can you come with me to check on them, Karin?"

Karin rolled her eyes, but got up and followed behind her sister anyway. "Can we hurry this up? I wanna finish eating before noon today."

Yuzu smiled, a sweet and casual smile, and led her sister up the small staircase. "You'll finish before noon, silly!"

They stopped in front of the wooden door at the very top of the stairs and pressed their ears against the material. Yuzu was just about to knock when she heard a small scream.

--On the other side of the door...--

"Ow!" I shouted, hitting Renji's knee. "Damn it, Renji!"

The redhead hissed and pulled on the bandages. "Stop moving around so much and it won't hurt, Ichigo! Just let me move a little bit, ok? Jesus Christ...at least we aren't still on the floor."

I sighed angrily, "We aren't on the floor anymore because it hurt my ass. Just be grateful you're on the bed. I can always kick you off, you know."

"You can't kick me off the bed." Renji said. "How are we ever gonna get this done if I'm on the floor and you're on the bed?"

--Other side again!--

"We could work something out. It's not like I really need you on the bed. You can stand up or something."

"Aww, Ichigo, its no fun standing up. My feet will start hurting like mad if I have to stand while you get the bed all to yourself, you asshole."

"Yeah, you're one to tal--Ow, damn it!"

"Don't disrespect your elders. Especially when they're towering over you."

Yuzu blushed and moved away from the door almost instantly. "I-I guess they aren't coming down for breakfast after all, huh, Karin?"

Karin swallowed and shivered. "Yeah...Well, uh, I'm just gonna go and finish my food...if I can..."

Yuzu smiled and followed behind Karin, both of them making their way down to the kitchen to finish breakfast.

--Other side again...again--

"You're almost done, alright?" Renji said, tying the end of the bandages together. "There. Does that feel better? Or do you want me to fluff your pillows and make you breakfast, too?"

"Stop it, Renji." I spat, pulling on my shirt. "You're making me sick."

A long silence filled the room, neither of us saying anything, when I looked over at the picture on my nightstand. It was a picture of me, Keigo, Rukia, Orihime, Tatsuki, Chad, and Uryu standing in front of the school, smiling like morons. Well, they were, anyway. I couldn't help but think it's my fault they all got pulled into this spiritual shit. Ok, it's Rukia's fault, mostly. But it's my fault I got the others involved.

"Hey...," I said, not looking at Renji. "Have you ever felt like...like maybe it'd just be better if you gave up and stopped trying all together? I mean, I couldn't even save that little girls' soul. How the hell am I supposed to keep everyone else safe, too?"

Renji sighed and turned to look at me, and then fell back on the bed. His gaze never left the ceiling when he said, "It's never a good thing to just give up, Ichigo. D'you know how many people would blame themselves if you just gave up and died? And, besides, there's no way you can save everyone. If one person could save millions, don't you think that there wouldn't be a single dead person? The Soul Society wouldn't even exist if that were true."

I didn't say anything, I just looked back at the picture and thought about all of them mourning, day after day, because I gave up. Orihime cries a lot as it is and, as far as I know, Rukia would probably find my soul, revive me, and kill me again. Not to mention Chad. What would happen to him if I was just gone one day?

"I guess so, but," I said, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, "I guess a lot of people would miss me if I was just gone, huh?"

"Yeah," Renji responded. "Including me."

I have no idea why his one little sentence stopped my breathing. Did he just admit to missing me if I ever left? How the hell am I supposed to respond to something like that without sounding like an asshole? I could say, "Yeah right, like you'd really miss me," but then it'd sound like I wanted him to miss me. And then, I could say, "You would miss me?" but then it'd sound like I was happy that he cared about me. Not that I'm not...I just...Wow, what the hell?

Renji turned his head to look at me, and smiled at my puzzled look. "That's a great face, Ichigo."

I glared at him as he sat up on the bed and moved closer to me. "Alright, I'm officially scared of you, Renji. First you tell me you'd miss me if I died, and now you're trying to make a move on me? What's wrong with you? Do you need to mooch off me some more to feel normal? Or are you always just this weird?"

He smiled and gave me a small kiss on the lips. "I'm just trying to show you how much I'd miss you. Is that okay?"

I pushed him away and tried to wipe my mouth clean of his, probably disgustingly dirty, lips. "No! It's not okay for you to just kiss me without my permission! That's violating my personal space, you asshole!"

"Fine, whatever." The redhead sighed. "Can we just go and get some food then?"

I got up off the bed and made my way toward the door. "Get your ass up and let's go then."

When we got downstairs, Karin and Yuzu were sitting at the table, silently eating their breakfast. It's highly unusual for Yuzu to keep quiet when someone enters the room, or at all, even. She can't even keep quiet when she sleeps. If she's not snoring, she's talking to someone in her little dream land.

Renji and I sat down on the other side of the table, and Yuzu stood up. "What would you two like for breakfast?" she asked, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.

Renji smiled a bit, first at me and then over at Yuzu. "I think I'm in the mood for some eggs, bacon, pancakes, and a side of Ichigo."

"That better mean you want some fucking strawberries." I said, glaring at him. First he kisses me, and then he comes down and bosses my sister around? Damn bastard. "At least say please and thank you, Renji."

Renji waved off my words and looked over at Karin. She was staring him down since we came down the stairs, and he finally acknowleged her. "Yeah? And what is it that you want?"

"I heard strange noises early this morning." she said, focusing back on her little bowl of rice. "What exactly were you two doing all last night, might I ask?"

Yuzu turned around, waving her arms frantically, and almost dropped her spatula. "N-Now, now, Karin, it's none of our buisness what they did. They probably did...did adult st-stuff! We don't need to hear about it while we eat, okay?"

Renji chuckled and hit me playfully on the shoulder. "Dude, she thinks we had sex last night!" he whispered to me, his goofy smile stuck on his face. "This is great. Let's play it up, ok?"

I hadn't realized I started blushing until Renji whispered, "Yeah, that's good. Just keep blushing like that, and we can totally make this work!"

I glared at him again and looked away. "You're an asshole. It's not nice to treat little kids like that."

"Yeah, I know we were loud. Well, you were loud Ichigo. I don't think I've ever heard anyone scream like that." he laughed. I swear to god, I'm going to beat him so hard, he won't wake up until next fucking Sunday. "Man, it was so great. I thought we were going to make a huge mess but Ichigo is like a vaccuum! He just-" he made an obnoxious slurping noise and smiled, "-slurped it right up."

I closed my eyes as tightly as I could manage and practically made myself bleed because I bit my lip so fucking hard. One day, he's just not going to be able to wake up at all. When I opened my eyes, Karin was so wide eyed that I thought her eyes were going to fall out and roll across the table.

I swear, she wasn't even breathing.

Yuzu had dropped the frying pan on the floor, the eggs broken and dirty, and was staring at Renji like, "Oh my god I can't believe you just fucking said that when we're all trying to eat, you asshole." Which was pretty much exactly what I was going to say to him.

I can't believe he has the nerve to tell them all this when it never even happened.

Dad came downstairs next, wearing his ridiculous looking bathrobe with little pink rabbits on it, and made a face at the mess in the kitchen. "Well," he said, scratching his head, "what's, uh, goin' on down here?"

"Mr. Kurosaki," Renji said, putting his arm around me and pulling me up onto his lap. "Your son is officially gay, with me as his full time lover."

Oh, Jesus Christ. My life just took an interesting twist.

"Oh, is that so?" Dad said, nodding his head in approval. "Well then, remember, safe sex, kids."

Thanks a whole fucking lot, Dad.

So, in the end, I ended up staying with Renji (relationship/dating wise), Renji told my sisters the truth about the whole 'sex' thing, and my dad treats Renji like his actual son, and me like I'm nothing.

I guess everything is back to normal.

Well, that's pretty much it.

The title doesn't really have anything to do with the rest of the story, but oh well.

Review?

--Kisan