Ichigo's Dimension: A Starry Sky

I never knew travelling dimensions can be so draining. But I also never knew that art classes could be more draining. I think I was supposed to be reciting an answer to my teacher, but unfortunately I kicked the other 'me' out of my body and replaced it with my consciousness. I'm clutching a book but how can I find the answer when I don't even know the question. Right now, I have no idea what to say.

'Crap, crap, crap. What do I say?!' Students are staring at me, and the teacher is tapping impatiently at the black board. I look around to see anyone or anything familiar but all I can be sure of is that this isn't Soul Society. I must have look like a deer in headlights when realization dawned on me that instead of me holding a flask, I'm clutching a book.

Just when I was gonna run away to find the flask immediately, a familiar voice gave me the answer I needed to say, "It's Vincent Van Gogh."

I look at the familiar bright orange hair and warm brown eyes. I almost cried when I saw him, saw someone familiar; a friend. I told the answer to the whole class without breaking eye contact with Ichigo. He looked worried, "You're spacing out. Are you okay?"

I sat in my chair. 'This must be Karakura Town,' but I noticed the uniforms we're wearing, it doesn't look similar to what I saw Ichigo and the others were wearing back in the real Human World. Instead of a gray tone, this uniform is colored black. I'm wearing what humans would usually wear when they go to school, and I find it uncomfortable.

Ichigo nudges me gently with his elbow, "Hey."

"Oh! Ye- Yeah I'm fine." I mumbled so that the teacher won't hear us. He looked closely at my face to see if I was lying. 'Oh god, I think I'm blushing.' Inch by inch, I slowly withdraw my face away from his intense gaze. I mentally slap myself for blushing; I shouldn't do that.

"I'm here if you need anything." He said. I sighed, thankful.

I don't know how I got through this whole day. There's a class here they called "algebra", for all I can understand was that you have to solve something. The teacher kept barking formulas that I was sure only a genius would understand. There were square roots and such, but how can a square have root? Then there's gym class which they made me play this game they call "volleyball"; I observed the others play first before I joined them. I was so bad at receiving the ball that the gym teacher asked me if I was even using my eyes when playing.

Then there was this problem with the missing flask; first dimension and it's already gone. I spent my whole lunch break looking for it inside the school, never bothering to eat (even though there's a sandwich in my bag). It wasn't there; I checked the bathrooms and labs but it wasn't there, not even on my desk.

It's already dismissal, the students were already heading out to go home or to their clubs. A frown settled on my face as I think of a way to move out from this dimension, but without the flask, it's impossible. I stare on the window, my reflection also stares at me but I also noticed the figure standing behind me.

"You've been avoiding me. Is there something wrong? You're acting strange today." Ichigo had his bag on his other hand while the other was on his pocket. He waited patiently for me to respond but when I didn't answer, he sighed.

Instead I asked him, "Aren't you supposed to go home?" It was a safe question, one that isn't suspicious so that he won't further think that I'm acting strange. He doesn't need to know that the 'Ria' he knew is now different.

He looked surprised, no, hurt? Did I said something wrong? "You were supposed to teach me how to draw properly, Ria. Did you forgot about it?"

Well I have no idea I was supposed to teach him art. I say my apologies to him genuinely because I have no idea what else to say to him. I told him I was preoccupied by my thoughts; that I was trying to figure out where to find something very important.

Instead of being angry at me for forgetting, he offered me some help. Even in this dimension, Ichigo always took the time to help others; I don't think it will ever change. I smile at this small gesture, I would have to postpone looking for the flask for a minute. I remembered all the things he did for me and Soul Society, this might be a way for me to thank him.

"No need, Ichigo. You need me to teach you how to draw, right? Then I'll teach you." He was my friend, of course I'll help him. Art is just a breeze for me. I playfully punched him on the shoulder, "Besides, it'll be horror if teacher found out your style of drawing."

Ichigo blushed and grunted, "That's why you're the only one who knows about this. And don't go telling everyone that my drawing sucks." Silently he added, "The only one."

I laughed at his honesty. He can be cute when he's like this, Rukia would tease him if she were here. He stared at me as my laugh died down, his eyes hide something I couldn't pinpoint but it made his brown eyes much warmer than before. He smiled, "You're really something."

Something in his voice made my heart stir. I calmed myself down, 'He said that in a friendly way, Ria. Get a grip. He's your friend.' I was unable to look away from his eyes, I can feel the heat on my cheeks. A group of girls noticed us as they passed by. I heard them muttering, "Kurosaki-san and Ria-san are so cute together!"

The other girl squealed, "She's so lucky! I wish I was her!"

'Am I missing something?' Ichigo seemed to hear them too, his eyes strayed to the side and he seemed to blush even more. His scowl returned; he was closing and opening his mouth to say something but nothing comes. He grabbed me suddenly, dragging me to the art room. My heart's racing; I told myself it's all a joke.

I'm very thankful that he offered to take me home because I have no clue where I lived. I try to remember the directions so I wouldn't have any problem retracing my steps back to school tomorrow. We kept talking on the way home, not about school (thank god) but about ourselves. We shared memories (I was careful what to share to him) then we'll laugh about it or tease each other. There were times when our hands would brush but I never gave meaning to any of it, but Ichigo would suddenly get quite and would whisper something I can't clearly understand.

'He's very different here in this dimension. He's friendlier here, I think.'

"We're here." Ichigo said (more like to himself). I stopped in front of the gate of 'my' house, thanking him for taking me home. Above us, the sky was a mixture of orange and dark blue; seeing the color blue reminded me that I have to find the flask as soon as possible. But where should I start?

Ichigo made no desire to move from his spot; I'm patiently waiting for him to say something seeing as he's face is full of concentration. I called out his name gently, quietly but I don't think he heard that. I repeated it, this time louder. He didn't respond; he's so absorb in his thoughts. I drew closer to him to see if anything's wrong. 'Maybe I should surprise him to snap him out of it!'

But I was the one who got surprised.

He grabbed my arm, making me yelp in surprise, and he enclosed me in a tight hug like he was afraid I'd disappear. I don't know what to do, my arms resting stiffly at his sides but I don't dare touch him. I can feel his heart beating erratically in his chest, mine's doing the same. His breath is tickling my ears. I want to pull away; this is so wrong in many levels but the embrace he had me in won't let me do so.

Streetlights illuminated the street; I don't hear anything except the beating of Ichigo's heart and his breathing. It felt like forever before he spoke up, "I'm sorry. I just… I just don't want to let you go yet."

I must be getting delirious because I'm starting to hear things. "Wha- What?" What if the reason why he's so different here is not because he became friendlier but because he's…?

'NO! Stop thinking about that!'

Ichigo's voice brought me out of my thoughts, "Ria, I know I've said it before and I won't get tired of saying it again," he softly released me from his embrace. He stared straight into my eyes as he said the next words that took my breath away.

"I like you."

I'm so distracted, I kept on bumping on my furnitures, I forgot to switch off the faucet, I used a fork instead of a spoon for soup, etc. I don't even wanna start talking about how many times I crashed my pinky toe to the door. I even momentarily forgot about searching the house for my flask. I need to get my head together, I know. But I keep on going back to what Ichigo said.

"I like you."

But I know he doesn't. He likes the 'me' in this dimension, not the real me from the real world. I shouldn't feel so elated because I'm not the one that should be receiving his love from this place. Back in the original world, we're close friends. He's always there when I need help, even if he doesn't know what to do, he'd still try.

I never expected that our relationship here in another dimension would be taken to the next level.

I was rummaging mindlessly in what's supposed to be 'my' neatly drawer (but I destroyed its order) when my fingers touched some kind of jewelry. I pulled on it, only to find out that it was connected to some notebook labeled, "My Diary: For my eyes only". It was a phone strap, but it's attached to the spring of the notebook so it serves as a bookmark. I opened the pages and all the photos scattered along the floor.

One photo caught my eye.

It was me and Ichigo on what I believe is the school rooftop. The sunset was behind us creating a shadowy effect on our faces. Ichigo's hair seemed more orange because of the light while mine turned brownish. The both of us were smiling; my head leaning on his shoulder whilst Ichigo was looking away from the camera staring at me with such emotions. I flip the photo, there's a note on the back, "We'll watch the sky again, but next time, it'll be a starry sky."

I read some of the entries in the diary, most of it are records of my daily school life but some are about Ichigo. How I would always look at him during classes, how his brows would deepen when he's deep in his thoughts, where his favorite place in school is located, and how he confessed. I read that part in the diary over and over again but I just can't seem to sink that in.

It was the only entry in the diary with so much detail.

I never expected Ichigo to feel the same way. Going to the rooftop was part of our routine every Friday to watch the sun set on the horizon. But today was different, he seem to fluster too much today; I asked him what's wrong. He was blushing and he let out a loud exhale before handing me a pair of blue earrings; it's very beautiful, it shined brightly as it reflected the setting sun. I smiled, telling him he doesn't have to do such things; I kept searching my bag for something to give to him as thanks. He told me that my presence was enough; I looked at him confused, I wasn't used to hearing him talk like this. He took my hands into his own large ones, it was such a gentle gesture that I can't help but blush. He said my name with so much love it made me want to melt. He likes me he said, and I chuckled at his cuteness. He laughed as well, murmuring sweet things to me. We made a promise at the setting sun to remember this day. Every month, we would watch the starry sky. Just the two of us. Under a starry sky.

I stared at the diary. Tomorrow would be Friday and exactly one month since the entry. 'Oh my god! What do I do?!' I pace back and forth on my room; I'm so nervous. I cleaned the mess I made and made sure I returned all the things back in proper order. After I did that, I frantically searched the whole house for the flask. I need to get out of here fast and let the other me to take over. But the flask is proving too hard to find; I'm losing hope on locating it. 'No, I can't lose hope. I won't be able to return if I don't have the flask. But if it comes to worst, I know they'll be able to track me.' I remembered the huge screen back in the Sō-Taichō's office, it has some kind of radar which helps Urahara track me down in different dimensions.

I'm tired, I'm in dire need of sleep but I can't stop thinking about what might happen tomorrow. As I lull myself to sleep, I remembered the smell of sunshine on Ichigo.

I almost wanted to scream when school ended. I still haven't found that damn flask anywhere; I know there's no need to rush leaving but I know that I shouldn't be the one who should celebrate their 1 month anniversary or whatever. Ichigo seemed giddy the whole day, he wasn't really looking at me but I can feel his gaze whenever I'm doing something. He must have felt my uneasiness; his hand on my back was enough to show that he's concerned with me. I kept on going all the possibilities to skip the whole day. The Ria in this dimension is clear about her feelings towards Ichigo, but-

"Ria-chan, not all 'you' in other dimensions will be similar to what you are now. Some of them might be tomboyish, girly, or just plain simple. Other versions of you might hate blue and like pink, you might like ramen here but in the other dimensions you might despise it; there's a ton of possibilities, but they will always have something in common with you. There is always a trace of 'you' in them. Don't forget that."

Urahara's voice echoed in my head. There will always be something in common between me and the 'me' here no matter what. I know what to do, I'm just afraid I might do it wrong. We both don't want others to hurt because of us. I don't want to be the cause of their pain. Right now, I don't want to disappoint Ichigo, so all I can do is do my best to be myself. I let go of the negative thoughts that's been bothering me since last night. Today is their special day, I will make sure that this day would be a day to remember.

I won't fake this. I won't.

I asked Ichigo if he could wait for a while before we went to the rooftop. He looked uncertain, debating on whether he should ask me if there's something wrong but he just let me be. I smiled thankfully to him for understanding. I stared outside again through the window; I distract myself by counting the students exiting the school, and at the same time, I count down the hours that I've taken away from the other me. When I was sure that only me and Ichigo were the only students left, I stood up, gently grabbed his arms, and lead the way to the rooftop (don't worry I know where I'm going). I did the best I could to project the feelings 'Ria' felt for him in this world.

We were walking so close together that I could practically feel the heat of his body. I inclined my head on his bicep as we are walking while he tangled his hand on mine. Every step we take closer to the rooftop makes my heart pound faster in my chest. I can feel the blush spreading across my face; I want to run away to find the flask again but there's no turning back. A rush of cold air greeted me as the door to the rooftop opened to Ichigo's push.

My lungs welcomed the breath of fresh air the open space provided. The wind brushed my hair in light movements; I can feel Ichigo's eyes on me. I heard him audibly sigh, doing the same thing I did. Night is beginning to make its way in the sky, the air started becoming chillier. I suppressed a shudder, I rubbed my arms together to keep the heat intact.

"Are you cold?"

He didn't let me answer his question, he wrapped his school blazer on my shoulders; he walked behind me and I'm once again caught in the safety of his arms. He rested his head atop of mine, he chuckled lightly when I gasped softly at his action. I didn't ran away, because if this was the real 'me', she would exactly let Ichigo do this.

I clutched his hand tightly; he hugged me tighter. I want to tell him the truth but I can't. "Ichigo, I-"

"Look up." And I did what he said. My eyes took in thousands of stars littering the night sky, all are twinkling down on us. I beamed just like a little child who got the best present in Christmas, it was breathtaking. I tried to remember this scene as best as I could so that even when I transfer to another dimension, the 'me' here would still have some recollection about their special day.

We sat down in a corner side by side; Ichigo was pointing to some constellations in the sky with pure fascination as I listened to him intently, memorizing each connections he told me. "And that bright, unblinking star right there is Venus."

"Named after the goddess of love." I added. Love.

He stuttered, "R- Right."

I remembered something I bought earlier when I passed by to some souvenir store on my way to school. I fish out my pocket, and handed Ichigo a vintage bookmark with a Shakespeare quote engrave on it. It wasn't extravagant, but I figured that, even in this dimension, he still loved Shakespeare. I explained, "I saw you staring at the poster downstairs with some Shakespeare quotes on it. I thought you might want something related to it so… I'm sorry, I know it's not much."

Ichigo ran his fingers on the words engrave on the bookmark, "Don't say that, Ria. Thank you, I'll use it. I'll treasure it." He smiled then frowned suddenly, "I'm sorry, I don't have anything to give to you." He scratched his head frustratingly.

'Déjà vu, huh.' I shook my head, "No, no need. Your presence here is enough." I mustered up the warmest smile I could ever give to him. 'Remember this. Remember all of it.'

I don't what know happened next, but all of a sudden, the stars seemed to swirl in my vision, and the next thing I knew was that Ichigo's face was close. Very close. He closed his eyes as he leaned in to kiss me. I was so stunned my eyes were wide open. The breeze wafted in his smell, and another smell that brought me out of my stupor.

He moved away a little, and looked at me with half-lidded eyes; I just stared at him, mouth agape. I was glad the night was hiding away my blush, I must have looked like a tomato.

"Ria." The way he called my name made me want to squeal. 'Oh my god. I wonder how much the real Ichigo would freak out if he knew this.'

"Y-es?" I was looking everywhere except his eyes, that was when I noticed it. Hidden in the rows of potted plants lining beside the door of the rooftop was the flask, its blue liquid gleaming in the moonlight. I restrained myself not to pounce on the object, and drink it right then and there. 'I need to get that. FAST.'

Ichigo bent over again, our foreheads touching, "Love." I gathered up the courage to look into his amber eyes. I completely lost myself in the emotions his eyes projected, "I-Ichigo?"

"I love you."

I lack the proper right to say the same words to him, but I know he's waiting for those words to come out of my lips. My eyes started to become glossy, and my vision of him started to blur. I hugged him tightly, burying my face on his chest that was now soaked with tears. He was startled as well, but before he could question further I responded back the words he wanted to hear. This'll be one of the biggest sins I'll ever commit.

"I- I love you too, Ichigo." I hope he thinks that these tears are just tears of joy. Am I lying to myself? Or do I feel the same way? 'No. I'm not in the right position to think like that.'

He wiped away the tears that escaped my eyes; I kept on telling myself that this was all just a dream, a dream that I can only wake up to if I drink that liquid in the flask. He kissed my cheeks softly, I just felt crying even more.

"Don't cry, Ria. I'm here." I saw a shooting star and made a wish, 'I wish upon I star that I won't forget who we are.'

After all the crying fiasco I did, we decided to go home before we catch a cold. I returned Ichigo's blazer to him and told him that he should wait for me downstairs, lying that I wanted to wish something under the stars (which I've already finished). I gave him a reassuring smile so that he won't look suspicious again; he gave me a parting kiss, "I'll be waiting."

Once the door closed and the sounds of his steps gradually faded, I fell down on my knees. "What have I done to myself?" 'His lips were so soft…'

As much as I wanted to bang my head on the wall, retrieving the flask comes first, and Ichigo's waiting downstairs so I can't stay much longer. I grabbed the flask, cursing it along the way, and stuffed it inside my bag. I composed myself again; I looked up at the sky hoping that if ever the Soul King was watching he'd forgive me.

Ichigo walked me home again. The moment we said our goodbyes, his eyes saddened immediately; l laughed at this. "Ichigo, you're gonna see me tomorrow. Don't look so defeated." 'No, he's not.'

"Sh- Shut up! I know that, but I still can't help it." He glanced sideways, trying to hide his blush.

"I know. I know that feeling too." He kissed my forehead, then we parted ways.

So here I am, back at 'my' room, writing all the things that happened today in 'my' diary, detailed as much as possible. I don't have any picture of it so all I can cling to is the memories I made with Ichigo. I wrote how wonderful the stars was, the gift I bought for Ichigo, the kiss and the I love yous' exchanged, and every little thing that mattered to the other me. When I was done, I placed the diary back in its drawer; I fixed everything in the house that might be out of place, made the bed, rearranged the books, then after that I sat down in my room with the flask in hand.

I left a note in the table that stated the wish I made earlier. I stared at it for a while, "Remember this Ria. Remember the chilly wind, remember the stars; every constellation, remember him; remember Ichigo. You and Ichigo. Okay?" then I nodded as if to convince myself.

I cringed at the taste of the blue liquid as I drank it. My consciousness started to fade away so I closed my eyes. The image of Ichigo's sad face earlier popped into my mind. I felt sorry for him.

"Remember me, Ichigo. The real me."

A/N: And we're done with the 1st chappie! I'd like to punch myself for being cheesy, I'm sorry. But I hope you guys liked it! Reviews are appreciated; you can give me some ideas or just correct me if there's some mistakes if you want to. Thank you! Happy Holidays XD