OCs (c) Me

Bleach (c) Kubo Tite

The Bleached Chronicles

Chapter 2

It had been a few days since Chihiro transferred to Karakura high, and she had begun to enjoy the school because she was starting to make friends. The boy she met the first day, Shinji Hirako, had yet to turn up but she was sure he was going to show up one of these days.

"Hm…something seems…off." Chihiro mused as she walked Hiro to school. Early this morning, Chihiro's parents had to leave early for work, leaving her to take her younger sister to school by foot. Thankfully, Hiro's elementary school was nearby Chihiro's high school, so it wasn't a hassle to escort her. Hiro looked at her sister questionably before Chihiro smiled down at her.

"Hiro, could you meet me outside of my school when you get out? We're going to see a family friend, and I don't want you walking home alone. Again." she asked, smiling. Hiro nodded before they stopped outside her school, seeing the other children as they ran and played games before school started. Hiro smiled and waved before she ran into the school, meeting a few of the kids along the way as they followed after her. Chihiro smiled as she stood there for a moment, watching the children, before heading to her school.

-Later-

After a strange introduction from Shinji Hirako, Ichigo had fled from the classroom again. This caused yet another stir amongst the students, but Chihiro paid no mind to it. Even though it was strange, she shouldn't butt in to other's business. Orihime was currently talking about him as the two sat together at study hour, before Chihiro realized something.

"Orihime-chan… do you like Ichigo-san?" she asked seriously, staring at Orihime as the girl's face began to darken in color. Immediately Orihime blushed bright red as she began to get frantic, waving her arms sporadically.

"W-why would you ask that?" she asked, alarmed. Chihiro giggled in amusement as she leaned in, keeping her voice low so others wouldn't hear.

"Because the way you talk about him, it seems that you admire him and you like talking about him. I just get the feeling that he's someone important to you. So, do you?" Orihime was silent before looking down, nodding sheepishly. Chihiro smiled fondly at the girl.

"He's a lucky boy. Hopefully he realizes your feelings for him." she mumbled softly, causing Orihime to look up at her in surprise. She nodded in agreement before smiling.

"Chihiro-chan, have you ever liked somebody?" she asked. Chihiro nodded, but her face remained calm and passive.

"Well, yes. But they were only small crushes, so they didn't turn into strong feelings." she answered sadly. Orihime nodded sympathetically, feeling bad for the girl. Ever since the first day, she liked having Chihiro around and being able to talk and have fun with the girl. She never judged her on her body or face like the other girls, but then again that's how she was. Orihime reached over and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find someone." she said softly, smiling. Chihiro nodded before she started to braid Orihime's hair, causing her to laugh as she did the same with Chihiro's. That is… until Chizuru came over and started to harass them into going out with her because they were so cute, ending with Tatsuki sending her flying with a swift kick to the face.

-Later, that evening-

"Darn! I was supposed to see him today…but the shop was closed…" Chihiro sighed sadly as she lay in bed. After getting Hiro, the two walked over to where Kisuke Urahara apparently lived, only to find a shop with a "closed" sign posted in the window. Giving up, the two headed back home and Chihiro found herself bored after doing her homework. Suddenly, a spike of strange reiastu coursed through the air, causing her to gasp as she sat up. She looked at the window, knowing exactly what had caused the spike in reiastu.

"It's a hollow! We have to get it!" Rae cried as she flew onto her shoulder, glaring at the window with distaste. Chihiro nodded as she got out of bed; it had been her great-grandfather's final wish before he passed on, and that was to protect souls from Hollows.

"Okay. Just let me get out of the house first." she whispered as she walked across the room, turning off the lights and cloaking the bedroom in complete darkness. She looked around before turning to her wall, where a sword sat in a stand. She was silent for a moment before looking at Mae, Rae, and Tae, her eyes hard.

"Take Hoshiookami and wait for me outside. I'll be there soon." she instructed, pushing the window open to give them access outside. The trio nodded, taking the sword and flying outside as she closed the window with a soft 'click'. With that, she quickly took off down the stairs.

-Outside-

"So which point should we go for? I think the strongest, because it would cause more destruction if we don't stop it." Tae asked as the four raced down the deserted streets, trying to decide which source of reiastu to go after first. There were two hollows that they could identify, but one of them was stronger and its reiastu slightly different. Chihiro was silent before changing her course.

"You're right. We have to stop it first, then we'll go after the other one." she answered as she ran, the Tres Ae nodding in agreement as they flew beside her. Suddenly, a familiar orange-haired boy jumped from one of the rooftops to another, causing her to stop and stare at the roof with wide eyes.

"Ichigo-san?" she gasped, rubbing her eyes before looking again. She watched as he continued to jump from roof to roof, looking as if he were running from something. At that moment, a large human-like hollow appeared, chasing after him as it roared with rage.

"Ichigo-san! Get out of there!" she called, trying to get the boy's attention. The boy looked down at her in confusion before the large hollow grabbed him, slamming him into the concrete as the boy cried out in pain. She looked at him in horror, fearing the worst.

"Ichigo-san!" she cried before running in, drawing her blade as she did so. But right before the large hollow had a chance to slam its hand into him again, a light shot out and protected him. She stopped and looked closely, it was a protective charm. Ichigo stared at the charm in disbelief, unsure on why or how it was able to protect him from the hollow.

"Well…I told you." a voice spoke up, causing the two to gasp in surprise. They turned to see a middle-aged man dressed in a shihakusho, his black hair spiked slightly as he stared at them.

"When you got back from the trip I told you…to always keep that with you." the man continued, his gaze and attention focused solely on Ichigo as the boy stared back at him in surprise. The hollow was also confused as it stared at him.

"What?"

"Look, Mr. Hollow…Ichigo's a little busy right now. But maybe I can take his place. How 'bout you play with me instead?" the man asked as he turned his attention to the monster. The hollow looked at him in confusion, not sure on what to make of this man.

"Who…are you?" it demanded angrily. He smiled as he scratched the back of his head.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself. The name's Kurosaki…Isshin Kurosaki." he answered. Chihiro looked at him. "Isshin…Kurosaki? Is he…Ichigo-san's father?" Chihiro thought as she watched the hollow stare at the man with wide eyes.

"Kurosaki, eh? Then you're Ichigo Kurosaki's-"

"Father." he answered, a little smug of the fact. Chihiro gulped, she was right. This was Ichigo's-

"Psst! Chihiro! We have to hide, this man is really strong!" Mae whispered as she tugged on a strand of her hair. Chihiro looked at her and nodded, even though she had to fight the hollow, this man seemed to be a shinigami, thus making him more qualified to finish the job. But she still had to watch.

"Okay." Chihiro whispered back before running into a nearby alleyway, making sure that no one saw her. Peeking her head around the corner, she watched as the hollow, or rather, the arrancar as it called itself, fight Isshin and quickly die by his hand and the man cut him down like he was nothing more than a piece of meat. She looked at the boy, or Kon as Isshin called him, in confusion.

"I'm sure it was Ichigo-san. There's not another person who looks like him!" she whispered to them, making them nod in agreement. Suddenly a hand on her shoulder startled her and caused her to scream, loudly.

"Whoa! Calm down miss, I'm not here to hurt you." the voice said calmly, trying to calm her down. She quickly turned to see the man in the striped hat she saw the other day, Kisuke Urahara.

"Kisuke Urahara?" she squeaked in surprise. He raised an eyebrow, she knew his name?

"So, you know my name? Hm…how odd. Considering we've never met." he chuckled, holding a fan in front of his face. Suddenly, Rae shot in front of Chihiro's face and growled menacingly, not liking this man one bit.

"You touch her again and your hand is as good as gone, asshole." she growled, baring her incisors as they gleamed in the moonlight. Kisuke smiled nervously as he held his fan in front of his face.

"I wouldn't dream of it, dragon-san. But first, let me deal with this before I talk to you." he replied before walking towards the elder Kurosaki. She followed him from behind and watched them for a moment before focusing on Kon.

"Um…why do you look like Ichigo-san?" she asked him, causing him to snap out of his daze at her voice. He looked at her in confusion, eyebrow raised. He stared at her for a few moments, before crossing his arms.

"You were stupid, girl. You could've gotten killed!" he cried, raising his arms in emphasis. She shook her head, annoyed that he was making an attempt to avoid her question.

"Don't avoid my question, Kon-san. Who are you?" she asked again, this time more serious. He was silent before she felt a hand on her shoulder again. Rae growled over her shoulder as she glared at the hand's owner, Mae and Tae doing the same.

"That sword, it's a zanpakuto. And you're human. Who are you?" she turned to see Isshin and Urahara as the two men eyed her suspiciously. Tae poked her head out from behind her, before flying over to the two men as she began her explanation.

"Yes, it's a zanpakuto. But… her powers are inherited, she isn't a real shinigami. Her great-grandfather was an ex-shinigami who married a human, so that's how she got her zanpakuto. After he died, he asked us to come find Kisuke Urahara, because it seems that Chihiro's powers are weakening and we don't know why." Tae explained as she stared at the two men. Both men were silent for a few moments as they stared at her, then nodded before Kisuke turned to Kon.

"Let's keep this whole incident our little secret, okay?" he asked nicely, moving his fan in front of his face again. Kon nodded frantically as he got to his feet, and looked at Chihiro once more before both he and Isshin left, leaving Chihiro and Urahara alone. He then turned to her.

"Let's discuss this at my shop, okay?" he asked nicely. She nodded and she followed him as he led the way, holding her sword tightly as the Tres Ae clung to her head and shoulders.

-Later-

"So…you say you can't control reishi? Hm, that is a bit of a problem…" Urahara spoke as he handed Chihiro some tea. They had been there for some time as Chihiro explained her past and why she was seeking his help, with him listening intently all the while. Chihiro nodded as she took a sip of her tea.

"Yes, and I fear that it will get worse. The only things that aren't affected are my reiastu and control over my zanpakuto, but… what if this keeps going? They might get affected later on, and I want to try and stop that." Chihiro explained, her expression worried as she stared at the man. Urahara nodded solemnly before turning to his companion, Yoruichi Shihoin. She had introduced herself when Chihiro first came into the shop, and listened as the girl told her story. She gave him a hard stare, before he looked back at the young girl.

"Well, it looks like that the reason your powers are becoming weaker is because the blood is weaker. I fear that there is nothing I can do about that." he explained, causing Chihiro's expression to falter. Chihiro nodded sadly before standing up.

"I see…thank you for your help, Urahara-san. Have a nice evening." she said gratefully as she turned, leaving the room with the Tres Ae glaring back at him. Urahara watched her go before turning to Yoruichi.

"This is interesting. Hopefully, the soul society doesn't find out about her. Or Aizen for that matter. Who knows what would happen if they truly found out what had become of Akira Kururugi." he mused, waving his fan in front of his face. She nodded grimly, nothing but messy issues would turn up because of the ex-shinigami's past with all of them.

"Hopefully."

-Chihiro-

"Sigh…I knew it would've been pointless. He's a shop owner, not a scientist." Chihiro sighed as she walked home, dejected. She looked at the sword tied to her back, concealed in cloth as it vibrated slightly.

"Do not worry, Milady. I'm sure we'll find some way to get your shinigami powers under control so that they cease weakening any further." her sword spoke, trying to ease her master's fears. She looked down and sighed.

"But Hoshiookami, I don't want to lose you, so I have to find a way to stop this and soon." Chihiro sighed sadly. She looked up at the sky, watching as the stars twinkles and the moon cast its pale light onto the dark streets of Karakura. She could feel something strange in the air, as if something were coming.

"Something's coming, tomorrow. I know it, I can feel it. And it won't be good." she whispered to herself, a feeling of dread welling inside her chest. Then she shook her head and walked home, tired after everything that happened today.

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