"Will someone tell me why we're here instead of my house?" Ichigo asked as he, Rukia, Sakura, and Rinne sat inside one of the sheds on the high school grounds that no one ever went to. Ichigo was still in a black outfit while Rukia was devoid of her own, wearing simple white funeral robes used on corpses instead.
"Because your house was damaged by the Hollow and I had to call up Soul Society Damage Control to make repairs quickly without them spotting either you or me." Rukia told him bluntly.
"Did anyone understand that? I can't be the only one who didn't." Ichigo asked.
"I got the gist of it." Rinne answered. Sakura however shook her head.
"Alright, let me explain it this way. Would be easier with diagrams, but there's no paper here." Rukia started. "I'm a shinigami, I have to take care of dangerous spirits like Hollows all the time. Sometimes Hollows leave physical evidence of their presence in the world, like the damage to your house. When that happens, I'm supposed to call up a team of shinigami specifically suited to undo the damage before any human notices it. This is why you don't hear of spontaneous property damage all the time. Though sometimes the crew does show up too late. Tonight is not one of those times."
"Alright that I understood. Now why couldn't they see us?"
"Simple. I gave you my power. Too much, but still an amount. This is not allowed, and if the situation hadn't been desperate I wouldn't have done it. But it was done, and if anyone from Soul Society found out, we'd both be executed."
"Why?" Sakura asked.
"Because it's illegal. That's usually when people are executed, after they commit a large scale crime." Rukia explained as if it were quite obvious.
"But why is it illegal?" Sakura asked to gain clarity.
"If it wasn't, it could happen all the time. And that would be a bad thing. People are not supposed to have shinigami powers, so to keep them from getting them it's illegal to give living people such power."
"If it's not supposed to happen, how do you know how to do it?" Sakura asked.
Ichigo blinked. "Yeah, how do you know?"
"We're taught so we know what not to do. You know how to rob a bank, but it's illegal right?" Rukia asked back.
"Point taken. And I take it you weren't taught how to undo it. That would only make shinigami think they can cover up their tracks." Sakura remarked.
"You're right about that. I don't know how to take my powers back and I don't know who to ask to do the job. I think for the time all we can do is wait for them to wear off for him and return to me." Rukia suggested.
"Does it work that way?" Ichigo asked.
"How should I know?" Rukai asked back, then looked to Rinne. "And don't you go turning me in. Had you been competent it never would have happened in the first place."
"Like I'm going to ever get a chance to talk to an official shinigami. Not on my salary." Rinne said in a bad mood.
"Salary? You're paid to get rid of ghosts?" Ichigo asked.
"What, you think we do it pro bono?" Rinne asked back.
Ichigo ignored that and looked at Sakura. "And what about you Sakura? I've known you for as long as I've known Orihime, and you apparently can see ghosts?"
Sakura gave a slightly upset and annoyed look at the orange-haired teen. "Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black Ichigo? You apparently kept the same secret."
Ichigo had the decency to not look proud of himself. "Alright then. And what exactly is Rinne supposed to be? I doubt any ordinary shinigami would attend a human high school."
"True. I can't imagine why any would." Rinne commented. "I'm half human. My father was the same. I think you could be too."
"And you've known this about yourself for how long?" Ichigo tested.
"Since I was a kid." Rinne answered.
"Then I'm probably not. I've been able to see ghosts as long as I can remember, but I've never even seen a shinigami or Hollow until tonight and never had reason to believe either existed. And my old man can't even see ghosts."
"So how can you see ghosts?" Sakura asked.
"How can you?" Ichigo asked back.
"I'm kind of weakened and unable to get back home, but no let's talk about this since it's clearly so much more important." Rukia stated sarcastically.
"Well there's nothing we can really do about you now is there? I'm sorry if that sounds rude but honestly what can we do to solve your problem?" Rinne asked. "I don't know how to return your powers, or where you can go or hide until they do. Does anyone here?"
No one was able to give an answer.
"But we can't just say she's on her own. If she were a spirit what would you do?" Sakura asked her redhead classmate.
"This is different. Allowing her to get back to the other side would put her in more danger than letting her stay would. As long as she doesn't draw attention to herself she'd be able to hide from the shinigami authorities. As for her surviving, it's hard enough for me and Rokumon to live on our income."
"I don't think we can resolve something this complicated tonight." Sakura started. "Let's call it a night and get back to this tomorrow after school. Until then, Rukia how about you..." She paused for a bit. "Actually I don't know where you should stay the night."
"Given how this boy has my powers, it wouldn't be a good idea for me to be too far from him in case that affects their return to me." Rukia suggested, pointing her thumb at Ichigo.
"What? You can't stay in my house."
"Oh please, if you're afraid of me being noticed it won't happen. I may be devoid of power but normal living people still can't see me."
"But I'm not the only one in my house who can see ghosts." Ichigo stated.
"Didn't your sister claim she didn't accept ghosts as real? Why would she point out Rukia?" Rinne asked.
"What about with you for the night? You're both shinigami." Ichigo asked, changing the subject.
"I live in a one-room shed. And thanks to Sakura not much longer." Rinne answered.
"Besides, he's a boy and she's a girl. You going to make them share a room like that?" Sakura asked.
"Then why not you if no one can see her?"
"Gee, thanks for making me feel wanted." Rukia bitterly commented.
"Ugh, what a night." Ichigo said while heading to school the next morning. The discussion never truly got resolved, but it appeared Rukia was staying at his place by default.
"Good morning Ichigo-kun." A girl with a bubbly personality named Orihime Inoue greeted, coming up to the tired boy from behind with a grin and wave, running to get next to him. Orihime was one of the few people Ichigo felt he could connect to, given how they both had naturally orange hair despite being Japanese. Hers was more of a burnt shade while his was more of a strawberry orange shadow, but it made them both stand out. Orihime was also well known for being the most developed girl in school, something that earned her a lot of unwanted attention from horny boys and girls alike, but luckily he and their mutual friends were always there to defend her.
"Oh, hi Orihime." He greeted, glad to see a trusted face.
"You look tired. Didn't you get enough sleep last night?" She asked, matching his pace as they continued to school.
"Not really. A truck damaged my house really good last night, so for the next few days my family's going to be in a hotel until it's fixed." He said, lying about the cause of the damage but not the aftermath.
"Oh my gosh, no one got hurt did they?" Orihime asked, hand covering her mouth.
"My sisters got a few cuts and some headaches, but they're better now. They're taking the day off from school, but as you can see I'm still good enough to go."
Orihime relaxed and smiled. "I'm glad. That you and your sisters are okay I mean."
"Thanks. I don't know what I'd do if they got really hurt." Ichigo thought. "Say, Orihime, not to change the subject or anything, but have you ever noticed anything unusual about Sakura?"
"Sakura? Why do you ask?" Orihime asked, confused by this new topic.
"Have you ever seen her say or do something that looked out of place?" He asked, trying not to sound prying.
Orihime paused to think about it. "Nothing really. Sometimes she seems to look off in random directions staring at nothing, but I'm sure she's just prone to daydreaming like I am. Why? Did something happen between the two of you?"
"No, nothing really. I was just wondering." Ichigo said, trying to avoid giving away the braided girl's secret in case Orihime didn't know it. Odds were she didn't. "She's been spending a lot of time around Rinne hasn't she?"
The buxom girl nodded. "Yeah, I wonder if she likes him. Or feels bad for him. I've heard some people say he's in a real bad place in his life."
"I just found out I'm related to him." Ichigo added.
Orihime blinked. "He is?"
"Apparently he's a cousin on my father's side. So once our house is repaired he's going to be moving in."
"That's good."
"Hello Orihime!" The enthusiastic voice of a classmate of theirs called Chizuru Honsho said as she embraced the orange-haired girl from behind, clearly trying to cup the girl's generous breasts in the process. She was one of those that Orihime's friends didn't like getting too friendly with the girl, but if nothing else Chizuru was actually the most harmless of those that tried.
"Dammit Chizuru! You're a sexual harassment suit waiting to happen you know that?" Ichigo almost yelled, wishing Tatsuki was there because he had a problem with attacking girls.
Chizuru gave the boy a bland look, like looking at him was a chore she wished someone else would do in her place. "It's only sexual harassment when a boy does it to a girl. When it's a girl with another girl, it's just being friendly."
"You better look up the law again groper." Tatsuki Arisawa, another friend of Ichigo and Orihime, said while grabbing Chizuru and prying her off the other girl. Tatsuki had short spiked black hair and a lithe frame that was surprisingly stronger than it looked. She was often called Orihime's opposite in both appearance and behavior, yet the two were best friends. And she knew Ichigo thanks to them both learning some martial arts when younger, though she made it a longterm hobby whereas he did not.
Hey!" Chizuru objected, trying to grasp back onto her prey. Only to have Tatsuki practically fling her away. "You can't keep us apart forever."
"This would be a lot easier you know if you stopped enabling that girl Orihime." Tatsuki said to her friend.
"I'm sure it's just a phase Chizuru is going through." Orihime defended.
"That's just what I'm talking about."
"Hey look." Orihime said, pointing ahead. The others with her looked, and saw Sakura walking to school with Rinne next to her, the two talking and unaware of what was around them. "I guess I was right Ichigo, she might like him after all."
"I dunno. We've known Sakura for years and she's never shown any interest in dating anyone. Almost like she has no sex drive of any kind." Tatsuki commented.
"Oh, and you do?" Ichigo asked, resulting in a frown from his oldest female friend.
"You'd be surprised at how perverted Tatsuki can get when it's just us talking." Orihime said to the strawberry blonde boy, oblivious to Tatsuki's growing embarrassment, who swiftly put her hand over Orihime's mouth.
"That's enough for now. Let's get to class before Ichigo makes us late."
"Hey!" He argued, only to see Tatsuki rush ahead dragging Orihime with her. He chose not to rush at them, and instead tried to catch up with Sakura and Rinne. "Hey, you two."
Both teens turned and looked at him. "Oh, good morning Ichigo." Sakura greeted, while Rinne just nodded.
"Can we talk about everything at some point?" He asked, really wanting to understand the backstory of these two. This way he wouldn't feel so different than everyone else, but last night only so much could be said and he felt he might as well have been told nothing.
"It will have to wait until we both have free time. Rinne often has to do some work after school, and it's easier for him when I help, so we can't promise any time soon we'll be available to just chat." Sakura replied. "But maybe at lunch we can try."
"Alright." Ichigo said.
'Well that didn't go as planned.' Sakura thought a few hours later.
"Your stomach hurts?" The school nurse asked a groaning and crouched Orihime minutes before the lunch break would end. "What did you eat?"
"Some takoyaki I sweetened with red bean paste and mayonnaise-dipped celery sticks."
The nurse looked revolted while Sakura, the one who helped Orihime get to the nurse, looked like this was gross but nothing out of the ordinary for her. "Orihime has a rather unique set of tastebuds."
"I can see." The nurse said. "I can give you something to settle your stomach, but I recommend less experimenting with your food like that. Some ingredients don't go well mixed together."
"I'll be more careful next time." Orihime said.
A strange new sound, like something rusty being opened, drew Sakura's attention for a moment. 'What was that?' Then she heard approaching footsteps that sounded more forced than natural, like a person who had a hard time walking, come to a silent stop outside the office. Next, she saw a man dressed in very old fashioned and broken armor walk thru the wall, with three broken arrows sticking out of his upper back.
'The ghost of a fallen warrior?' Sakura asked.
The ghost ignored her and went to one of the areas closed off by a curtain, where a student was probably recovering from exhaustion.
"Oh, there's a second-year girl resting in there." The nurse told Sakura, noticing the braided girl looking at the curtain. Groans could be heard now. "Maybe she's in pain?" She got up and opened the curtain. "Are you hurt, Himekawa?"
Sakura could see the warrior ghost seated at the head of the bed above the resting girl, holding a sake tray to her mouth. "Drink up now Princess." He said to her, like a doctor offering medicine only said like a lover instead. She didn't seem to like the offering, and groaned as if trying to ward off the spirit.
"Himekawa?" The nurse asked, lightly shaking the girl's shoulder and waking her up. As her eyes fluttered open, the spirit disappeared with a sad look on its face.
"Uhh... that dream again." Himekawa moaned as she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
"What do you mean 'that dream again'?" Sakura couldn't help asking, even if it was rude to pry into a stranger's privacy like that.
Himekawa paused to yawn. "Well, you may not believe this, but recently I've been having a recurring dream. Every time, a guy who looks like he died in an ancient war comes to me and offers me sake. It feels so real that it makes me afraid to sleep. I passed out in class before lunch because of it."
"I see." Sakura said.
"Why not try getting help from the instrument shelter?" Orihime offered.
"Huh?" Himekawa asked.
"There's this old thing in the schoolyard. I hear that if you're having spiritual problems you go to it and leave a written request for help along with a donation of money or food and in no time the problem's gone. So if something's haunting your dreams it's worth a try."
'Thank you Orihime for making that offer. I'm not sure I could have said it as sincerely as you just did.' Sakura thought, already intending to see if Rinne could do something about this ghost.
Himekawa naturally looked skeptical. "Have you ever tried it?"
"Yeah, once. I got this nasty phone call a week ago that kept calling me every day at the same time. I went to the instrument shelter and I haven't gotten a call like that again. And no it wasn't a prank caller, this call apparently harassed anyone who had my phone number before me for years without being traced by the phone companies."
Himekawa looked uncertain. "Show me this instrument shelter."
"After school, you girls still have class and you Himekawa need more rest. Right now you're struggling to keep your eyes open." The nurse spoke up.
"Alright, we'll meet up with you here after school to show you Himekawa." Sakura said. 'Ichigo will still have to wait I guess.'
After school, Ichigo saw Sakura head out with Orihime accompanying her and Rinne heading a different direction. Tatsuki didn't seem to think anything of it and went on her way, but he decided to follow.
Sakura and Orihime went to the nurses office where a girl he didn't recognize was waiting for them. She acknowledged them without him hearing it and went with them to the schoolyard out back. Karakura High hadn't had any remodeling for more than a decade, and at the back were some old sheds and a small place to put small things overnight. The three girls came to a stop by it, and Ichigo was able to see that they were telling the new girl about it.
'Why would they be doing that?' He asked, still not close enough to hear them.
"What are you doing?" Rukia asked from behind him, startling him.
"What are you doing?" He asked, seeing her still wearing her white kimono.
"I haven't been able to find anything yet to help me in this town. Honestly, I can't really find anything. When I was assigned Karakura as a station my only concern was mapping out frequent Hollow appearance locations, not the actual infrastructure of the town."
"And no one can see you right?" He asked.
She nodded once. "Not unless I were to get a gigai or a underworld outfit. Though Karakura has a high level of localized reishi, so now that I think about it there's a good risk that you aren't the only sighted person in this town."
"What?" He asked, attention focused on her instead of the three girls, so he couldn't see Rinne standing around wearing his white haori.
"It's a strange phenomenon in this world. Places that would be considered reishi hot spots tend to influence living people that live there. We in Soul Society consider Karakura to be one of such areas in Japan, so there's no reason to believe I can never be spotted in my current state by someone other than you or that girl."
Ichigo said nothing, remembering to look back at the girls, except now the three of them were walking away while Rinne was checking on what they left at the instrument shelter. Ichigo went up to the redhead. "What are you doing?" He asked, and Rukia listened from right behind him.
"This is how I get my income for living since Soul Society's pay is crap even if you're not in debt." He answered, not taking his eyes off the paper in his hands.
"Well you're not wrong." Rukia thought out loud. "With so many ghosts and Hollows around they don't even bother paying us for eliminating some of them. Only the ones that they consider real threats."
Rinne nodded. "Hello, my name is Kaori Himekawa, of Class 2-1. I have been having frightening dreams since last month." He said, reading the request out loud. "Ever since a field trip to Kyoto. The ghost of a fallen warrior appears to me every time I go to sleep, day or night, and offers me sake for reasons I do not understand, calling me his princess. The dreams haven't stopped since I returned from Kyoto and they're driving me crazy."
"Sounds like a lingering Whole who latched onto her in Kyoto and she's brought it back with her." Rukia commented. "Not uncommon, since a Whole that's attached to a person is less likely to turn into a Hollow unless forced."
"Maybe it's confused, since it thinks a girl here is a princess from the Feudal Era." Ichigo added.
"Setting the ghost straight should help the girl of her problems, though a ghost with unfinished business is difficult to konso." Rinne said.
"Konso?" Ichigo asked.
"A soul funeral. When a shinigami finds a spirit who hasn't become a Hollow yet, a Whole as we call them, we can help them pass on to the other side with this little process. It helps them find their way to Soul Society or the Wheel of Samsara, depending on which they choose to go to on the other side. But a Whole that insists on staying here is difficult to konso, and at great risk of becoming a Hollow."
"Which makes me wonder why it hasn't already done so if it's been looking for this princess for several hundred years." Rinne noted, looking at the money Himekawa had offered. "Maybe this huge sum of money isn't enough to help get the job done."
"Huge sum? It's just 1000 yen. My sisters get more than that as a weekly allowance." Ichigo remarked.
Rinne could only cry tears of blood at hearing that.
"Hey Ichi-nii. Where's Rinne? I thought he'd come back with you." Yuzu said when her brother entered their temporary hotel room. It was nothing fancy, just one large room with a bathroom, tv, and two beds, but luckily Isshin had sprung for one that included a small kitchen so they wouldn't be stuck eating instant or premade meals for the next few days. Yuzu would go crazy if she had nothing to keep her hands occupied each evening.
"He said he didn't want to impose. The room's crowded enough as it is so where he is now has more room for him." Ichigo said, taking a seat in the only chair in the room. Isshin was taking a nap in the bed Ichigo was using, taking advantage of his son's absence since he had to sleep on the floor at night. Yuzu and Karin shared the second bed.
"Works for me." Karin said, channel-surfing to see what was on. "Why aren't the channels in the same order as back home? I feel like I'm lost without a map here."
"Should we go check up on him? Make sure he has a good dinner?" Yuzu asked, concerned.
"No need, he told me he's fine for the night. But maybe tomorrow that would be a good idea. Then we can find out what we likes to eat so you can be sure he gets it." Ichigo said, certain this would appeal to his caretaking sister.
"Oh, good idea." She said with a nod.
In another part of Karakura, Kaori Himekawa was sitting on her bed, losing like her neck barely had the strength to support her head.
"Ugh... I'm exhausted. But I'm scared to sleep... so sleepy."
Behind her Rinne appeared wearing his robe, accompanied by Rukia who wanted to see what this shinigami could do and his partner Rokumon the black cat.
"The ghost only appears when the client falls asleep." Rinne observed, speaking freely since he knew the human couldn't hear him. "I cannot presume to know why, but once he does we can capture him."
"But how do we konso him? Neither one of us has a zanpakuto." Rukia asked.
"We'll use the direct approach, take him directly to the other side. After finding out why he's haunting this girl to help him resolve his business." Rinne answered.
Himekawa drowsily reached for a small bottle on her nightstand. Uncapping it, she guzzled the contents then seemed to sigh in relief. "There, that will help me stay awake."
"Well that's going to make this a long night for us." Rukia bitterly remarked.
Lacking patience himself, Rinne did something he'd normally not be proud of. He chopped Himekawa in the back of her neck, which she felt even if she didn't see it, and she passed out. "There, problem solved."
"Chivalrous, isn't he?" Rukia asked Rokumon sarcastically.
Their reishi senses went off and all three saw the ghost of the warrior tred through the wall. "Princess..." He said with a smile, but it came across as something right out of a horror movie. But he paused when he saw that Himekawa wasn't alone this time, eyes resting on Rinne.
"Tell me who you are and what is your business with this girl." The redhead insisted.
The ghost only recoiled with horror. "A man at the princess's bed?" Rinne, Rukia, and Rokumon all blinked, then the ghost covered his eyes with his sleeve. "Oh Princess how could you?" He cried as he started to run away.
"Probably should have seen that coming if he was that devoted to her." Rukia stated. Rinne headed out to chase the ghost and with a sigh Rukia followed. Stripped of her power, she was still a shinigami and technically wasn't released from her job. As long as she kept up a record of dealing with ghosts, she might keep Soul Society from trying to see her in person.
The chase quickly went to the rooftops of the town, with the ghost weeping and Rinne trying to keep track of it, with Rukia trying to keep track of Rinne. Doing so was easy for her since she was still a spirit and thus not bound to gravity like living people, but she felt slower. As a result, she had to pause to catch her breath.
That was when her reishi senses detected a second and much more dangerous presence not that far from here.
'Times like this I almost wish I had just stayed in Rukon.' She bemoaned.
