P.O.V.

Prologue - Part II

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its characters.


I know what's going through your head. You take one look at me as I walk past you down the street, and say to yourself, "that's just an ordinary (albeit ruggedly handsome) guy". But rest assured-

You couldn't be further from the truth.

My name is Keigo Asano, and I can see dead people. Yes ladies, I am just that cool. And furthermore-

"Why would girls be impressed that you can see ghosts?" asked my buddy Mizuiro, interrupting my silent thoughts, which I guess hadn't been all that silent. "Don't you think that would freak them out? And who exactly are you talking to? There's no one here but us."

I threw him the evil eye, but of course Mizuiro wasn't paying me any attention, carefully watching the oncoming traffic as we crossed an intersection on our way to school. I waited until we had reached the other side before I jabbed him in the shoulder. "Idiot, I was practicing. If you really are my friend, you might try being a little supportive!"

Mizu rubbed his arm and rolled his eyes at me. "If you want to impress the girls, just tell them you're Ichigo's friend." It was true. For some reason, all the hot girls seemed to be interested in Ichigo.

"Gah, I just don't get what they all see in him," I grumbled. Then I thought of something that cheered me up a little. "Heh, now that he's possessed by that perverted stuffed animal, he's gonna have quite a different reputation."

Mizu gave me a disapproving stare. "No thanks to you for encouraging that behavior. Didn't Urahara-san ask us to keep an eye on him and help our friends?"

"Hey, it's not like we're doing anything wrong! I mean, no one actually caught us sneaking into the girls' locker room or peeking through that bathroom window. Those were mostly Cone's idea, anyway. I just went along to keep an eye on him."

"Riiiight."

"Besides, you're one to talk! You seem to be going out with a new girl every week. Where do you find these chicks?"

Mizuiro shrugged. Before I could interrogate him further, a flock of beautiful females suddenly turned the corner ahead of us. I couldn't believe my eyes--this was my big break! What was I going to say? Should I really add in that bit about knowing Ichigo?

"Oh hey, it's Mizuiro-kun! Hi Mizo!" one of the ladies cried out, jumping up and down and waving cutely. My heart sank, and I turned my icy glare onto my so-called friend. At least he had the decency to look embarrassed, especially when the rest of the girls all turned around and squealed in delight when they recognized him.

"Nice to see you again, ladies!" he waved back to them. "I'm sorry I can't stop to chat, but we're already late to school!"

They 'awwed' in disappointment--or maybe because they thought it was adorable that two boys like us were still walking to school. I ducked my head and walked a little faster. Damn that Mizuiru, making me look bad.

"Maybe I should just tell girls I'm your friend," I muttered through gritted teeth when he had finally caught up to me.

I mean honestly, what does Mizuiro have that I don't?

***

I know what fear gnaws at you in the dark hours of the night. I know what hopes you cling to when you're all alone and wonder if there's still a reason to go on. Ladies, let me comfort your fluttering hearts and reassure you, that yes...

I am still single.

How could this be, you ask? Am I not Keigo the Fearless, bodyguard to the mighty Ichigo Kurasaki--slayer of demons? Why yes, yes I am. And furthermore-

"Furthermore, you are an idiot, Keigo," said Tatsuki, coming up from behind and nearly giving me a heart attack. "You're supposed to be watching Kon, not hitting on your invisible girlfriends." Ouch, that stung.

"I'll have you know I am watching Cone," I told her smugly, leaning against the classroom door. "He's in this room right now, talking to some upperclassmen."

Tatsuki poked her head inside, then growled and jerked me roughly by the collar so that I caught what she had seen.

There was Ichigo--or his body, anyway--resting his head on not one but two plushy female laps, while three more girls leaned over him and listened attentively to whatever he was saying. I felt horribly betrayed, but the fury on my face wasn't anything close to Tatsuki's. She stormed inside, knocked over any seats, backpacks or students between her and that orange-headed fool.

"If you like these legs, you should see my- oh, hey Tatsuki. What's wro-owowowow!"

Tatsuki had grabbed Ichigo's body by the ear and was now dragging him out of the room. "You won't finish that sentence if you value your life!" she hissed.

"Whaa-? All I was gonna say was that if they liked my legs, they should come watch me kick the ball in soccer practice! Honest! Tatsuki, that really hurts. Please stop? Keigo, tell her to STOP!"

I leaned over to the ear that wasn't in the process of being ripped off his scalp, and angrily whispered back, "You greedy bastard, you were supposed to leave some for me, not take them all for yourself!"

"Hey, it's not my fault the girls love me," he replied innocently, then continued to cry out pitifully as Tatsuki led him away. I threw a hopeful glance back in the classroom.

"Keigo, are you coming?"

Not wishing to undergo similar torture, I reluctantly followed, throwing one last wistful look at the girls inside.

Man, how could fate be so cruel?

As I caught up with Tatsuki and Cone, Mizuiro joined us from an intersecting hallway.

"Hey guys. Hey Kon."

Cone moaned and flapped an arm up weakly in what might have been a greeting.

We never used to walk home together, but this had become sort of a routine ever since the real Ichigo and the others had left. Urahara-san wanted us with Cone any time he left Ichigo's house. Tatsuki figured it was to keep him out of trouble and protect Ichigo's reputation. I thought it might be because Cone was a spirit and could attract more of those demon creatures, and that he might need our protection. Of course, Mizuiro had point out the fact that none of us had any powers, and if anything, we might need that ex-stuffed animal to save us. That idea didn't sit too well with Tatsuki, though even I had to admit that Mizo was probably right.

When we were about halfway to Ichigo and Tatsuki's neighborhood, we heard a really loud howling noise echo through the streets. Since we were used to this sort of thing by now, the four of us automatically flattened ourselves against the wall of the nearest building. Mizuiro and Tatsuki had been in the middle of some argument that I wasn't bothering to listen to, and they continued at it despite the rattling of the windows and the blaring sounds of car alarms going off as the ground shook. People were scrambling out of buildings and shouting about earthquakes. The four of us must have really stood out, looking so calm and completely ignoring the chaos around us. Well, we weren't exactly ignoring everything; I think it's fair to say we were all paying very close attention to how loud the monster's screams were getting, although no one else would have been able to hear them.

I glanced over at Cone, who was staring at Ichigo's watch and counting down the seconds.

There was a blur of movement and a trail of dust as four youngsters raced down the street. Ichigo's twin sisters paused a moment to wave at us, while Urahara-san's two underage employees ran past carrying a missile launcher and large iron bat. The famous spirit medium Don Kanonji was only a few steps behind them, waving his stick around and shouting encouragement.

"Man am I glad they don't recognize me in this body," sighed Cone in relief after they were gone. "I hated being dragged along to their crazy battles."

We continued on our way, not really paying attention to the demon's howls of pain as it was slowly but surely being defeated. Tatsuki threw a thoughtful glance in the direction the noise was coming from, but even she had long ago accepted that those kids knew how to take care of themselves. We also passed Afro-dude, one of those men-in-black who are supposed to protect our town. He looked like he had been about to go investigate the demon, but when he saw the kids run by, he just sat right back down, looking dejected.

Yeah, it's a little sad that ten year-olds are protecting us from the big-bad monsters, but what can you do?

"What in the-" said Tatsuki suddenly, stopping in her tracks. Whatever it was, Cone seemed to sense it too, and turned on his heels and took off running, screaming something about stuffed animals.

Mizo and I exchanged confused glances, but when we saw Tatsuki bolt in the opposite direction Cone had gone, we immediately raced after her.

"Hey...Tatsuki...mind...telling us...what's... going on?" I panted between breaths. Damn that girl runs fast.

"Don't you sense it?" she growled. "Ichigo's back."

Mizuiro nodded as if he could, though I still didn't feel a thing. Most likely the two of them were pulling my leg, trying to see if I would fall for their little joke. But then why did Tatsuki look so worried? As she led us through the doors of Karakura Hospital, I began having a bad feeling.

"What's wrong?" I finally asked her as she raced up the steps, since Tatsuki apparently thought it'd be faster than waiting for the elevator. Rather than answer, she burst through the door leading to the sixth floor and motioned for us to follow.

She headed straight for one of the patient rooms. Any second, I expected one of the nurses or doctors to demand to know what three teenagers were doing running through the hospital, but no one stopped us. There was a gray-haired guard stationed in front of the door Tatsuki was heading for, however. He got up out of his seat when he noticed her racing towards him, but Tatsuki was too fast and wriggled past him, throwing the door wide open.

Ichigo, Chad and Uryuu lay stretched out on three hospital beds inside, their bodies covered in bandages with an assortment of tubes and wires poking out from beneath the sheets. Ichigo was the only one who reacted to the sound of Tatsuki's entrance, sitting up in bed with a haunted look in his eyes.

"Ichigo, where's Orihime?!" she demanded, her arm now restrained by the man at the door. Mizo and I looked at each other helplessly, wondering if we should try to intervene before that crazy girl did something that could get us arrested.

"It's okay Mr. Ishida, these are friends," said Ichigo wearily. The guard narrowed his eyes at Tatsuki, then released her.

"Ishida? Are you and Uryuu-" started Mizuiro, but he never finished his question. What Ichigo said next had us all stunned.

"We tried, Tatsuki. We fought so hard, and we...we just weren't fast enough." Ichigo's face twisted into a mask of pain and fury, and he quickly turned it away from us.

"Orihime is dead."

***

I know what you're thinking. How can Orihime be dead? How can the hero have failed to rescue his princess? What kind of crappy ending is this?

"Keigo, do you even notice when you're talking out loud, or are you trying to be annoying on purpose?"

Ichigo was sitting next to me on the school roof at lunch, staring off into the distance as if he was pretending not to have actually spoken to me. He's always trying to look cool, damn him. Why can't I ever look that cool?

"You have to give him credit though, his stories are entertaining," grinned Mizuiro. Good ol' Mizuiro. He always has my back.

"Maybe we should talk about something else," said Chad in his usual soft rumble. He had been watching Ichigo closely, and must have picked up on some signal the rest of us missed. All I noticed was Ichigo scowling, and come on, when is he not scowling? At least Cone had a sense of humor.

I decided it was safer just to follow Chad's suggestion, even though I couldn't see what the big deal was. After all, the story did have a happy ending. A week after their return, some weird green-haired woman had fetched Ichigo and taken him to another dimension, and when he came back, he had Orihime with him. Whatever had happened over there, neither Ichigo nor Orihime had ever wanted to talk about it. But come on, everyone was safe again. Things were going to be all right from now on.

... Right?

A.N.: Yes, I know how to spell Kon. Keigo just never understood the meaning behind the word, and assumed it was spelled the way it sounds. Anyway, this ends the Prologue part of the story. Each chapter will be told in a different style and from a different point of view, hence the title. I just felt like trying something new.