Disclaimer and A/N:
I own nothing. Everything but the plot twists I've added belong to the mastermind that is Tite Kubo. If I owned Bleach, Ichiruki would have happened LONG ago. None of this is for profit, it's just for fun and to improve my writing skills.
PLEASE REVIEW so that each succeeding chapter is better than the previous :-) This will be an Ichiruki fic with a probable side pairing of Hitsukarin or hitsuhina (maybe). If I do other pairings, it will most likely be orihime/ishida and chad/tatsuki but I'm not entirely sure yet. If you like a pairing and want to see it in the story message me or put it in a review and I'll see if I can squeeze it in! (-:
P.S. If anyone watches the show Supernatural, Gundam Seed/ GSD, Degrassi, or the Vampire Diaries, check out my other fics!
For this story:
There are a few things I'm changing. One, Keigo and Tatsuki know absolutely nothing about Shinigami (anything they suspected, etc was erased from their minds with a memory modifier). Also, Karin and Yuzu are freshmen in high school (i.e. they are only three years younger than Ichigo). It won't make sense as to why I changed their age until later. Trust me, if I kept them the age they are now, it would be entirely too uncomfortable for me to write what happens to them later!
Also:
This means either a memory or something being emphasized when it's spoken
'This is a thought'
Now, on with the story :D
(five reviews and I'll upload the next chapter!)
Also, the first few chapters are more to introduce the character's current state of mind and situation. The plot will rear its head soon though, don't worry ! ;-)
There may be
an 'US' in 'TRUST'
But
there is also
an 'END' in 'FRIEND'
Chapter 1: Aftermath
16 months later
It's a bit off-putting, isn't it? The things that one begins to notice when they take the time to look around.
Ichigo Kurosaki had trudged along the same path to and from his high school everyday for the past four years; yet, he had never noticed the small flower shop at the corner of the street adjacent the river.
Then again, he supposed that one could notice a lot of things when they weren't distracted by certain dark-haired…others.
Prior to meeting Ruk…before Ichigo had become a substitute shinigami, he had lived with a guilt whose heavy burden had forced his head down while he walked. When he had finally awakened his powers, and the guilt receded (somewhat), he had been too busy staring at Ruki…he had been to busy looking out for hollows to notice any circumferential stores along the street.
Thus, he reasoned it was perfectly logical that he would not have noticed the quaint little "Bay's Blooms" until a walk back home during the middle of his senior year.
Checking his watch, he realized that he still had a few minutes until Yuzu expected him to be home for dinner. Despite being completely exhausted from soccer practice, he found himself venturing into the old store. He absentmindedly wondered if she liked flowers—
'No. Stop.'
He shook his head and tried to clear his mind of those dangerous thoughts. He had tried so hard to forget her after their last meeting, to erase his mind of all traces of her completelyand permanently.
In an attempt to do so, he had dove into his studies. Advanced functions and chemistry were sufficient distractions from his treacherous desire. Consequently, his marks were better than ever. At this point, he was right below Ishida in class rankings (a feat that his father praised but Keigo cried about daily).
Ichigo's grip on his bag tightened considerably upon thinking about Keigo. That dark-haired boy had strongly tested Ichigo's newly found patience early today.
"Hey! Hey Ichigo! Would you answer me already! Man, you've been in a fouler mood than ever this past year!" Keigo looked down to the desk he was standing in front of to see that Ichigo was still writing in his notebook and ostensibly paying zero attention to his friend's ramblings.
Tatsuki—who was nearby talking to Orihime—had overheard Keigo's spiel, and was fast to (surprisingly) support him. "And that's when you even show any emotions at all Ichigo." She joined Keigo in front of Ichigo's desk and gazed at her old friend with worried eyes. She continued in a lower voice, "You've been acting like a robot and more people than just Keigo and I have noticed. I know that Karin and Yuzu are worried about how much you've changed."
An unfazed Ichigo just continued writing in his notebook whilst sitting in his desk and chose to ignore the concerns of his friends. Despite his outward calm, in his head, he was fervently hoping class would start soon. He was also making numerous mental notes to never come early to class again. Dealing with everyone here…it was just too freaking tiring.
While Ichigo remained in his thoughts, Keigo suddenly looked as if he had made a brilliant discovery. Unfortunately, to the horror and trepidation of the three war veterans sitting behind the orange-haired boy, Keigo spoke his thoughts.
"You know what! This is all began when Rukia-chan left. Yup! That's it! You miss her don't you! Oh Ichigo that's so sweet! Say, when is she getting back from her trip?"
Ichigo abruptly stopped writing.
The three veterans that were sitting in their desks, watching Keigo and Tatsuki confront Ichigo, froze in apprehension. The Quincy's eyes met the giant's, unsure and more than a little concerned of what form the ex-shinigami's reaction would take.
"She told you she was leaving on a 'trip'?" He looked up at Keigo before returning his gaze to his (long ago completed) homework and sneered. "Well, I guess she always could be a cruel bitch when she wanted to be…"
Orihime gasped at his words and Ishida mentally groaned, 'This is going to be bad.'
Chad was (uncharacteristically) the first to speak. His words escaped as a futile attempt to stop his friend from doing something the giant knew Ichigo would regret later, "Ichigo—"
Ichigo ignored his long time friend and continued talking. However, it seemed as if the morose teen was no longer just talking to Keigo.
"A 'trip' means that she'll return…that she'll come back. She's intentionally making you wait, making you pine for her…while she's laughing at your sheer stupidity for even entertaining the thought that she cared enough about you to return. She's laughing at the fact that you're blind to what was really going on. But, you want to know what makes her convulse in fucking laughter? The fact that you think that she cared about you at all." Despite the passionate words, the redhead had managed to keep a scarily un-Ichigo-like neutral tone throughout the entire discourse.
Keigo looked completely dumbfounded at his friend's bitter speech but was saved from having to formulate a response when Ochi-sensei walked into the room and demanded that the class settle down and that Asano got back in his seat 'before she stuck him in detention for the remainder of his high school career'.
All the while, Tatsuki was staring in confusion at the pitying looks sent towards Ichigo by Orihime and Chad, and the angered countenance of Ishida. As class started, she was left wondering, yet again, what it was that all of her friends seemed to be keeping from her.
Ichigo remained in his desk for a good three minutes before leaving the classroom. He gave Ochi-sensei some perfunctory excuse about food poisoning before letting the door slam behind him.
After spending last period in the library in order to avoid the prying of his so-called friends, Ichigo went to soccer practice (yet another pitiful attempt at a distraction), and was now on his way home.
Well, more accurately, he was first making a quick detour at the flower place.
Upon entering the shop, he noticed a short elderly lady attempting to water a plant that was a good foot too high for her. Seeing her distress, Ichigo sighed softly and went to assist her, worried that if he left her to her own devices she would fall off her stool.
He recognized the fact that he had 'changed' (as Tatsuki has put it) over the past 16 months. He had become politer, colder, pushed some people away, and had essentially become a prick so grand that even Kuchiki Byakuya would approve. Ichigo scoffed at the errant thought. He abhorred the idea of being anything like the aforementioned stoic stick in the mud.
He was saved from his thoughts by the soft voice of the shop's matron expressing her gratitude at his assistance.
"Why thank you young man! My grandson always seems to forget our slight height difference when he hangs some of my flowers!" Her laugh lines came to life as she recounted the antics of her grandson and Ichigo was a bit surprised that she didn't immediately start ignoring him when she turned to see his "rebellious" hair.
Taking his stunned silence as a cue to continue talking, the gray-haired woman started padding about the shop.
"You know it really is hard to find youth that respect their elders these da…"
Ichigo unconsciously tuned out her friendly voice as he began to look around at the variety of colours adorning the shop.
His eyes found bright blues and yellows, vibrant pinks and reds, as well as some stray purples and whites. As his gaze wandered further, he spotted an anomaly in the corner. Walking up to it, he bent down and stared at the plant's strange colouring. The petals looked ruined—as if they were once a pristine white, but as they attempted to grow outwards, their edges had become tainted with a deep red. There was a horrific aspect to them that disturbed Ichigo deeply.
He was so engrossed in the strange design of the flower's numerous petals, that he hadn't noticed the elderly woman waddling up behind him. Thus, he was slightly startled when she started speaking from just behind him.
"It is said that we are attracted to the flowers that most remind us of ourselves. You know, each and every flower has a meaning: a story behind it. Likewise, they all have the power to convey messages, and give us a way to share those messages to others without taking the risk of speaking ourselves." Interested in her words, Ichigo turned to face the old woman. "…When you think about it, flowers are the safest way to go. If the recipient doesn't reciprocate your sentiments, you can always claim ignorance. You can always pretend that you didn't know what the flower you had given meant."
"What's the meaning behind this one?" He asked curiously, pointing to the bloom with the wild nature, the one that had somehow called him over from the other end of the shop.
Her eyes saddened in response and Ichigo immediately regretted asking. He could already tell he wasn't going to like her answer. Ignorant of his change in thoughts, the elderly woman replied in earnest. "Oh, you've picked out a tragic one haven't you…it's a stripped carnation. Unlike its bright brothers and shimmering sisters, it carries with it a sad story…"
The woman seemed to be caught up in her thoughts, but Ichigo was too preoccupied with his own to notice her rather long pause.
"…It shares a message of rejection. It whispers of a love, although strong, being severed painfully before it could flourish into the maasterpeice it would have grown to become. It is a refusal. It tells its recipient 'No'; it cries, 'sorry I can not be with you…"
Ichigo was slightly angered and disappointed at the flower's meaning and hastily turned to examine the other ones.
"…but I wish I could."
Ichigo's breath hitched as she finished her response. Eerily disturbed, he quickly pointed to a random assortment far, far away from the stripped carnation's sharp teeth, and asked to purchase it.
The elderly woman smiled sadly at the boy, and said that this purchase "was on her", as long as he promised to visit her once in a while.
"It's so hard to find youth who are interested in their stories" she had reasoned.
Ichigo thanked her for her generosity and walked out of the shop as fast as he could. His mind was a mess.
'Fuck her. She will never leave. She'll always hover around me. She'll always be everywhere I look, everywhere I go, and she knows it.'
In anger, he threw the flowers harshly into the river adjacent the street.
With empty eyes, he watched as the vivid colours of the petals were consumed by the cold fingers of the dark water.
'That sick, twisted bitch.'
End of Chapter 1
A/N: Sorry for the short first two chaps, the next ones will be longer! I just needed to set the mood and describe some of what's been going on.
Review with any ideas, comments, questions, concerns, spelling mistakes !
Also, tell me in a review if you guys would rather see hitsuhina or hitsukarin later on!
If I get five reviews, I'll post the next chapter!
Coming soon! :
The resoluteness in his eyes scared Ichigo. With that maniacal gleam still glowing off the being's twisted smirk, Ichigo watched in apprehension as the negative version of himself spoke. "King, I'm getting stronger. Soon, it'll be me sitting atop the throne. And when I do, you will never get it back…"
