...Chapter One: Who Said Chivalry Is Dead?...
Ichigo felt more than a little guilty for looking through the flash drive. At least there wasn't anything dirty on it. The majority of the content stored on it was pictures of flowers, landscapes, and people with feathered wings. The rest of it was videos of the woman he had met ( whose name he hadn't asked for) and a group of people her age goofing off, debating world issues, and playing various instruments or dancing. There was about twenty college-age kids who came and went depending on the video, and all were pretty good at some instrument or style of dance. The woman, who Ichigo had dubbed Aka-chan*, excelled at some style of hip-hop and played dubstep on a violin, of all things.
In the middle of watching a video of Aka-chan talking to a tall blonde man while playing with a silver kitten, Ichigo yawned hard enough to make his jaw pop. He looked over to the digital clock next to his bed and cringed slightly when he saw it read 11:23 pm. Rukia and his sisters had no doubt gone to bed almost two hours ago and his dad would be finishing up the paperwork from the day, and he was making a racket, keeping them from sleep. Aw, just great. Aren't I the best big brother ever? he thought sarcastically. At least it's Saturday tomorrow.
He was about to close down the laptop when he paused, then pulled a stack of blank CD's over to him. Placing one into the empty disk tray and pushing the tray back into the computer, he went through the process of copying everything off the flash drive, then burning them to the CD. The computer gave him an estimated time for the process, and he groaned internally at it. Four hours.
Screw it. He left the computer open, turned off his desk lamp, and crawled under the sheets, the soft whirring of the laptop fan quickly lulling him to sleep.
Ichigo woke the next morning to the sound of... birds chirping? And sunlight? He sat up, pillow falling off his face as he did. He looked around his room, even getting out of bed to check under it, trying to find if his dad was hiding under something. For once, he wasn't, and had let his son sleep in on a weekend. Ichigo knew something wasn't right. Quirking an eyebrow, he stood to see the computer was on a screensaver, which was a slideshow of old family photos, some with his mother and some without. Some were those creepy professional photos, and some were genuine snapshots into the families life.
Ichigo moved the mouse to check on the disk-burning, and seeing it was done, ejected both the new DVD and flash drive. He quickly dressed for the day in his favorite Nice Vibe tee-shirt, a flannel over-shirt, and well-loved jeans. He slipped the DVD into a clear case, pocketed the flash drive, and put his dad's laptop into a messenger bag. He grabbed an older pair of sneakers from his closet, since the ones he'd put on the stoop were no doubt still wet. And there's nothing worse than wet sneakers. He carried them in his left hand and slung the bag over his shoulder before firmly shutting his bedroom door. He thundered down the stairs, knowing everyone else was already awake. He met Yuzu in the kitchen reheating a plate of food. "Hey, where's Dad?"
"He had to go in for work early today, some minor car accident from one of the older side streets flooding. He said to wake you, but I decided to let you sleep in, you were up pretty late."
"Yeah, sorry 'bout that." he said bashfully. "Did I keep you three up?"
"No, I saw your light on when I got up to use the restroom." Yuzu said as she set the now steaming food on the table with chopsticks and a spoon. Rice, nori, natto and miso soup, his favorite breakfast. "Karin and Rukia were out by 9:30."
Ichigo paused with a bite of natto halfway to his mouth, "Oh, yeah, where are those two?"
"They left just before you got up, said they were going to Urahara's."
He nodded, not saying anything else until he had finished the last drop of soup. "Hah," he sighed, "Well, guess I'll head out, too. You comin' with, Yuzu?"
She looked up from the dishes in the sink, "Not this time, Ichi-nii. I figured I'd do the laundry before the rain comes back."
Ichigo shrugged, picking up the bag from where it rested against the table leg, "Well, alright. Just don't overwork yourself." he said as he walked to the front door.
"I won't!" she replied as he stepped into his shoes. The sound of his chuckle was masked by the click of the latch sliding back into place.
The walk to Urahara's was much more pleasant without rain. The streets were busy with late morning traffic, and people walking in small groups past in both directions, some casting him wary glances for his brightly-colored hair and Western clothes, but most ignored him in favor of their friends or phones.
When he got there, the occupants of the house were walking out the front door, joined by Chad, Orihime, his sister, and the other visiting Soul Reapers, all wearing a combination of jeans and a tee-shirt, even Rangiku.
"Er, what's goin' on?"
Renji was the first to see him, "Someone's movin' in down the street, so Urahara enlisted us to help them unpack their truck."
That was probably the nicest thing Ichigo had ever heard of Urahara doing. "Really? And it wasn't Yoruichi's idea? Or... Or Tessai's?"
The shop owner spoke up, defending himself, "Nope! Entirely my idea! Now, c'mon, we don't want to keep them waiting!" He slid past Ichigo in the opposite direction from where he came, the others following closely. Rangiku and Yoruichi offered him smiles as they walked past, the latter holding a plate of what looked to be chocolate chip cookies. At least, that's what he hoped they were. You never know with Orihime.
Shaking his head to clear it, and getting hair stuck to his eyelashes in the process, Ichigo bounded a few steps to catch up to his former mentor. "So, who made those?"
"Hmm? Oh, these?" The cat-lady pointed at the plate with her free hand, and continued after Ichigo nodded, "Your sisters and Rukia made them this morning. Nothing to worry about."
Rangiku, hearing the conversation, cut in, "Why would there be? Are you talking about Orihime's cooking? It's actually really good, you know!"
Ichigo blanched, "I'll take your word for it." Loud music could be heard from where they were, and Ichigo craned his neck in an attempt to see where it came from. He could see various cars and trucks parked at the other end of the street, all surrounding one large moving truck, which was directly in front of one of the larger and newer houses on the block. About fifteen people milled around in front, some carrying cardboard boxes, some talking, and some dancing mindlessly in the middle of the street to the K-Pop emitted from the moving truck's speakers. One man leaning against the back of it caught Ichigo's attention. It was the tall blonde that Aka-chan had been joking around with in the last video he had watched. Off the girl's flash drive. That he picked up off the street.
Yep, nothing creepy about that!
Urahara walked right up to the blonde and asked, "Hey, neighbor! Anything we could help with?"
The blonde met Urahara's eyes, contemplated something, then said, "Thanks, but it's not my place. I'm just helping my friends move in." He stood up straight, "But I'm sure they'll appreciate all the help they can get. I'm Andre, by the way."
He was cut off by a loud, female voice from the front of the house, "If none o' ya are gonna help move boxes, then at least help with lunch or just go home!" Ichigo's head snapped around at the familiar voice.
"Hey, Ver, cut them some slack!" shouted the now named Andre.
The brunet stomped down the steps and over the the new group, "I've been 'cutting them some slack' for the past hour, and not even a quarter of the boxes are inside. We need to get some work done here." Ichigo had to admit, the tall woman cut an imposing figure. She had a healthy, athletic build, like a soccer player's. She wore black combat boots, torn jeans, and a band tee-shirt, and somehow managed to make it look glamorous. She had multiple piercings in each ear, one in her nose, and wore a thin black chain wrapped several times around her throat.
"Well, you're in luck then!" 'Ver' jumped at the sound of Urahara's loud, obnoxious voice. "We live down the street from you, so we thought to come and help you get settled!"
'Ver' looked them over, "Um... All of you live down the street? In one house?"
"Oh, don't be silly! Only some of us live down the street, I just asked the others to help." She nodded mutely, clearly confused.
"Here, these are for you." Yoruichi politely held out the plate covered in saran-wrap, which 'Ver' gladly took.
"Thank you very much!" At last her eyes landed on Ichigo. "Oh. You again!"
Every eye in a fifteen foot radius turned to him. He shifted uncomfortably, "Yep. Me again. I, uh, didn't get your name yesterday?"
She smiled dazzlingly. "I'm Vera. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She held out her right hand to shake Ichigo's.
And I'ma just gonna leave it there for y'all! Please feel free to tell me what you think!
*1) Aka-chan literally translates to Little Red.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, nor do I own it's characters!
