I DON'T OWN BLEACH
Beta work by Kaiken Collison, Thank you!
Burn
"Don't look, don't look the shadows breathe...
Whispering me away from you..."
Chapter 2; Five Days
Ichigo took time to clean the house before gathering up the clean laundry and few supplies she needs to take to the Shoten. Her classes ended early today so she spent a few hours at the Kurosaki clinic tidying up and staring at the strange emptiness. The only sound in the vast space is the ticking of her mom's old fashioned cuckoo clock, chirping out the time every half hour to the vacant house. She left it as if they could walk right in like nothing ever happened, everything remaining unpacked, waiting to be used again by her precious family. "Home..."
Taking a last look at her old bedroom she sighs, noticing the small stuffed lion sitting motionless on her pillow. "Even you couldn't handle the change." Kon went to Soul Societyto be with his Nee-san. Rukia put him in a Deluxe Chappy bunny and Ichigo hasn't heard from the troublesome Mod-Soul since. She manages a smile despite the tears streaking down her face. Swiping at the thin drops with her hand, the door quietly clicks shut and she continues to walk, leaving behind the ticking of her mother's clock.
Itachi Uchiha spent most of his day getting acquainted with the people and the strangeness of this new place. Deciding to make the most of it until his eyes are fixed by this 'Inoue' person, he memorizes the shops many rooms then stays mostly quiet, listening to the group of people interact with each other like a family.
"Oh, Itachi-san, something on your mind?" Urahara pops up behind the dark haired man with his fan covering his knowing grin.
"The strawberry woman is walking this way. Her pace is slow like she is weighed down by many things."
"Eh?" Kisuke looks around, pretending to not notice her reiatsu. "I don't see her?"
"She is six blocks northwest." Itachi points toward her unmistakable light blue chakra traveling extremely slow. "Surely you can sense her... reiryoku as you call it here."
"Indeed." Stepping next to the newcomer, his eyes slide to look upon the man's pale expressionless face. "He senses her even when she is in her human body?" Urahara can sense the reiryoku building in him. Itachi's power is even flowing in his veins. Chakra and reiryoku seem to be similar. He is a curious thing, and Kisuke wants to see the man at full power. "Kurosaki-san, draws many things into her heart."
"I meant her arms are full."
"Oh... Why don't you go help her?" Kisuke smiles behind his fan, his blue eyes glinting mischievously. "I think you're capable of finding her, considering how quick you learned to find your way around the shop."
"I sense her reiryoku clearly." Itachi takes a step forward, his dull eyes cracking open just a sliver to check if he can see anything. "Just a faint blur." He wondered why he could see Urahara and Ichigo's chakras so easily considering he is practically blind. His Sharingan is still actively feeding him information despite his blindness. Or is it that these two people have higher amounts of chakra storing inside them?
"Very few of us are allowed to lighten her burdens." Kisuke says, with a hint of sadness in his voice. No matter how much he asks, Ichigo always pushes him just far enough away for it to be painful. Watching Itachi walk up the street toward Ichigo, he prays a silent wish that maybe she will open up to the young man. "She excels at making friends. Maybe Itachi's observant nature will be soothing to her restlessness."
Ichigo stops walking to sit near the river bank for a few moments. Leaning on the basket of clothes and supplies she tilts her head up to the skyline. Her orange bangs lift in the slight, cooling breeze. "Fall will be here soon." Sunset in Karakura is always so beautiful to her, even if she is a few feet from the place where her mother died it's a pleasant place for her. She knows Karin and Yuzu will be wondering where she is. Standing up for a stretch her eyes glimpse up the hill at the dark-haired man standing solitary against the golden skyline. Picking up her book bag, she slings it over her shoulder, and then lifts up her basket to walk up the hill. "Karasu-san, you walked all the way here alone?"
"I have eyes that see enough to find you." He replies with confidence, his mind busy with the slight rippling of her chakra dancing around her body like a ribbon. "I was asked to help carry your belongings." Itachi outstretches a hand in her direction.
"Oh, thank you." Unwilling to be rude to him, she puts her basket on the ground and tugs her back pack from her shoulder. "How about my back pack? That way you can keep your hands free." she says, thinking he might need his hands to touch her shoulder on the way to the store, like some blind people do in the movies. He nods and Ichigo steps behind him to slide the back pack up his shoulders. Her brown eyes taking in the man as he flicks his pony tail over his shoulder.
He stands just an inch taller than her with long jet black hair, his bangs parting at the center hugging his slightly heart shaped face. "You look much better today." Ichigo cringes inside, saying something unnecessary, stepping in front of him, she snaps the front strap of the back pack to his chest "He's blind, you can look at his face! But don't sound stupid! Don't sound stupid!" The bath he had earlier and the change of clothes did wonders for his appearance. With his long black hair pulled back into a small tie he looks younger than Ichigo originally thought.
"Yes, I have you to thank for that."
"I was gonna be awake all night anyway." Ichigo pats him on the shoulder a little too roughly. She makes a face at her hand snatching it away. They walk for a few blocks, Ichigo fussing over him as the crossing light turns colors. "Oh, hurry a bit. The sound means the light is changing."
He figured that out on the way, but says nothing as she continues to tell him about the town. His impression is the area is slightly more modern than the place he is from. These people seem to live at odds with the land around them, yet something isn't quite right about this place. It has its own pulse of chakra humming below the loud clamor of the people living on it. If he didn't know better he would say that Ichigo is breathing in the stored chakra of Karakura Town, but how could the town have such a thing? Or is it the other way around? He stops walking for a second, focusing on her shadowy form next to him. "She is expelling chakra into the town?" Shaking his head he doubts that is possible. Judging by the amount stored in the land she would have had to be leaking it uncontrollably for years.
"Karasu-san?" Ichigo tilts her head at him, wondering what made him stop walking. "Something wrong?"
"Itachi..." He says, turning his head toward her. "my name is Itachi and nothing is wrong."
"Itachi, eh? I kinda liked calling you Karasu." Ichigo struggles for something to talk about with the reserved man walking next to her. "Oh I know!" She snaps her fingers with a grin. "Is there anyone we could call to let them know you are alright? Like family?"
"There is..." His mind swims with the image of his little brother Sasuke. Big dark eyes looking at Itachi with horror as they stand in their family home, the floor drenched with their parents' blood.
"Foolish little brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me. And yet survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life."
No, Sasuke wouldn't miss him. Itachi encouraged Sasuke's hatred, counted on it so he could accomplish his goal. "There is no one who would be concerned over me." It wasn't for nothing though. Itachi did what he set out to do, and that was to protect his little brother, even if it was from Sasuke's own misguided truth. "Not really."
"There is someone, and he is at odds with them right now." Ichigo turns the corner leading to the shoten, giving her sisters a wave as they help clear the yard of trash that had been carried over from the streets. "Itachi... I did not mean to pry." She looks at her feet for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "We all have our issues here, and for the most part we avoid talking about them as much as possible." Setting her basket on the ground, she puts an arm on his shoulder. "Whatever your problems are, they belong to you. I won't judge you or offer any advice, but I will be your friend." Giving him a reassuring pat, Ichigo walks over to her sisters to help them sweep the side walk.
"She gives her friendship that easily?" Itachi says in a low voice sensing Urahara popping up behind him.
"Indeed, it's like breathing to her." Kisuke fans himself from the summer heat, gazing at his yard filled with laughing females. "Has Kurosaki-san impressed you?" Urahara knows he is pushing Itachi to be interested in Ichigo. Urahara is aware of the coming crisis, and Ichigo will need another ally. After the conversation they had earlier today, the shop owner could see a use for Itachi in the days to come.
"Perhaps... I have never been one to make friends." Itachi walks toward the shoten door as the girls file inside discussing what to make for dinner. "Ichigo Kurosaki is a bit intimidating."
"The really frightening thing about her..." The shop owner glances at Itachi from behind his wide brimmed hat. "She protects her friends by spilling her own blood, freely and without remorse." Flicking his fan shut his mouth widens into a sly grin. "Now you, Itachi Uchiha are one of her friends." He knows he is laying it on a bit thick, but he doesn't have the luxury of waiting too long for Itachi to get attached to her. Kisuke is walking a fine line on this mission, and one more ally is vital. One who can go where he cannot without a trace of reiatsu... the only question left is will Ichigo finally allow herself to become romantically involved with someone?
~/~
Ichigo opens her bathrobe, dropping it to the floor as she runs a towel over her body one last time before dressing. Her wet orange hair is a messy, dripping mess that she carelessly flings up in a clip without brushing. The thoughts in her head pound louder than the exhaustion creeping up her spine from lack of sleep. "I'm so tired."
"When do you sleep Ichigo?"
"Eeek!" She looks around for something to cover herself. "I'm naked, naked, naked, NAKED!"
"W-What is it?" Itachi takes a step toward her direction, holding out a hand.
"I-I'm..." Biting down on her lower lip she resists telling him she is naked. "It's nothing." He is blind it shouldn't matter right? It's still strange being in a room with a man... naked. "Kinda unfair I'm giving him a show and he can't enjoy it. Hahaha!" Ichigo picks her robe off the floor just as Urahara pops through the door.
"Kurosa-" Urahara looks at her then Itachi standing with his hand reaching out to her. "ki-san?" Instantly his fan comes popping out. "Did I-"
"Not another word." Ichigo slides a finger across her throat, threatening Kisuke with sudden painful death. Her brow furrows together tightly, her upper lip curling in anger as the blonde shop owner's face turns bright pink. "Is there something you need Urahara-san?" Ichigo's voice comes out slow, but deadly serious laced with a fury she hasn't expressed before. Her fingers clinch into the fluffy white robe covering the front of her body. "Well?"
"Um... It can wait." Kisuke turns to walk out the door, dropping his hand fan near Itachi's feet with a hidden gleam in his eyes. "Nudge, nudge... hohoooo."
Itachi bends down picking up the fan, his eyebrow lifting from Urahara's lack of subtlety. "Ichigo..."
"Y-yes?" She pulls on a shirt and scrambles to slide her longs legs into her jeans as he approaches.
"I do believe Urahara-san is scheming something between us." He steps in front of her, lifting up the closed fan in the direction of her face.
"Between us?" Ichigo blinks as the small fan taps her jaw and then drops into her open hand.
Moving closer to her exotic scent two fingertips graze her the soft skin of her chin. "He is trying to get me to fall in love with you."
"What..." She takes a small step backward only to feel a hand wrap around her wrist. "Wh-wha- why?"
"That is what I would like to know." Itachi takes another step, his fingers sliding up her cheek with new found curiosity. "Ichigo, are you a beautiful woman?"
"Not really." Her cheeks feel hotter than the sun, blazing from anger and embarrassment. "I don't pay any attention to my appearance." Ichigo senses the pads on his fingertips moving lightly over her face.
"Why not?" Itachi is incredibly interested in what she looks like. He couldn't understand it. Perhaps the reason being that he can't see her face makes her all the more mysterious. "Are you avoiding attracting a man in your life?"
"I don't really want a man." She shrugs her shoulders, annoyed at his questions and his gentle caresses. "W-What are you doing?"
"I'm touching your face to get a picture of what you look like." Moving his other hand to her right cheek he feels her tremble. "Is that alright with you?" His thumb moves over her lips, his fingers around her chin.
She wants to deny him the right on impulse, but she would have to open her mouth to say no. The idea of brushing her lips against his crosses her mind. Her eyes lift to stare at his relaxed parted mouth. He isn't overly handsome, but he carries himself with a certain confidence that Ichigo is drawn too. "Why is he even curious about me? It's not my fault Urahara is trying to fix us up."
"You have this beautiful smell about you..." Leaning forward he takes a deep breath of her neck. "something with cinnamon?"
"Vanilla." She whispers, her lips rubbing the pad of his thumb. Her heart instantly drums madly in her chest. "Why can't I just say no?"
"Your fragrance contradicts your words." He takes a step back still holding onto her chin, wishing he could look at the expressions on her face.
"Pardon?"
"Ichigo Kurosaki, you do want a man in your life." Releasing her chin, he turns around heading for the door. "Otherwise you wouldn't wear such tempting scent."
"M-Maybe I just wanna smell good!" She yells, tossing a pair of pants at the closing door.
Itachi shuffles down the hallway counting the steps until reaching the bath. He takes a moment to knock before walking inside. Hearing nothing he sets down on the stool in the center of the room to undress. "What am I doing?" He sets his elbows on his knees and lean his forehead on his fingertips. "I still smell her." It's a strange thing to be consumed with Sasuke for so long then suddenly thrust into this new world where he isn't someone's brother. "I'm just Itachi here." He doesn't have to protect, he doesn't have to keep his emotions under control; he doesn't even need to watch his back. "Do I even know how to be me? If I'm not someone's big brother... who am I?" The woman is another enigma to him. What danger is she in? With all her reiryoku she doesn't seem to be helpless. Discarding his clothes he settles into the bath to ponder the woman's words.
"If I go into law enforcement I'll be making enough money to support my sisters in four years... You know Karasu-san, I want to take over my Dad's clinic but it looks like that dream is a bit unrealistic... Whatever your problems are, they belong to you. I won't judge you or offer any advice, but I will be your friend."
Words spoken to him in such warmth he can't exactly ignore her familiar personality. She is so much like him it's fascinating. Sacrificing her future to watch over her siblings, her self-denial of personal relationships... things he has faced. He has done as much for Sasuke but went about it drastically different. "I can't suppress being interested in her." Itachi leans his head against the cool side of the tub, the warm water streaming down his pale face as he listens to the wooden cane tapping the floor outside the door. "You are there Urahara Kisuke?"
"Hai."
"I am the wrong man for her."
"I ask for five days before you decide."
"You think five days is enough time for me to form a bond with Ichigo Kurosaki?" His blind eyes narrow, waiting for the answer.
"It only takes one defining moment to realize the value of winning her heart."
"Five days... Do you expect a miracle?" He rises from the water, ringing out his long black hair.
"To love Ichigo..." The blonde man tugs his hat over his eyes, satisfied with Itachi's response. "It'll only take two."
Yay chapter 2 done! Hehe But I wonder what our shop owner is up too? Thanks to all the wonderful reviewers! I hugs you all!
