Part 1,5 because I seriously don't consider this a whole fic and part 2 is my M-rated WIP fic "Accidentally in Love". Also, making this one part 2 would throw them off with the numberings on the chapters, which I'm a bit OCD about.
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If you know you'll forget something, you hold onto it so that you won't. Every sight, every sound, every smell and every feeling that reminds you of them is a cherished treasure. In the end, this is a tragically futile effort, for every time you force the memory… a tiny part of what made that memory important slips away from you, until all you have is a caricature of the past… and meeting the thing that made this memory important will be surprisingly inaccurate with how you remember it.
Characters: (Ichigo, Hitsugaya, Karin)
Year: Soul Society Arc +73 ("Dearly Beloved Konso" +0)
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Kurosaki, K. (pt 1.5)
the Rumor Mill
"Have you heard?"
"Is it true?"
"You must be joking."
"A new soul, they say."
"An old soul, maybe? How would they otherwise dare to ask a taichou to run errands for them?"
"Impertinence."
"Why did he even do it?"
"Maybe it's Hitsugaya-taichou's love-interest."
"Shush you, gossip spreads fast."
"Are you sure this is true?"
"I heard it from our sixth seat. She may be a gossip, but she heard it directly from Matsumoto-fukutaichou."
"It's highly unlikely."
"Someone saw Hitsugaya-taichou rush off to the Real World though."
"He only stayed long enough for, say, a konso."
"Or so they say."
"Yes, I heard something similar from Hinamori-fukutaichou."
"Don't go bragging about seeing the big-shots."
"They say it's another Kurosaki."
"Ah, come on, not even you can believe that!"
Rumor spreads fast in Seireitei. The only ones who never hear are the ones who don't involve themselves in such business. Certain taichou, for example.
*
"Whoa. Kurosaki-taichou nearly blew up the building!"
"Yeah. Do you think there's anything to the rumors?"
"They started weeks ago, though; don't you think he would have acted sooner?"
"Seriously. Did you see the way he ran off toward Rukongai?"
"Yeah. Shunpo."
"So it must be something."
"Hitsugaya-taichou hasn't been acting any different than usual, though."
"No, but he's Hitsugaya-taichou."
Then again, nothing escapes a taichou forever and few things want to stand in the way of a determined Kurosaki.
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"Did you see that?"
"Was that a Shinigami?"
"He was wearing a funny overcoat; he can't have been a real Shinigami."
"He sure seemed to blur past fast enough to be dangerous, anyway."
"Why is it important anyway? He's gone already."
"Maybe he's special, who knows?"
"Heading for the outer districts like an idiot?"
"Well, wouldn't want to get involved with anything that happens around there."
In Rukongai, as in Seireitei, nothing ever really changes. This must be a harsh lesson to learn for someone who was hoping for something new.
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"Who's there?!"
"I've got a proposal for you, girl…"
"As if. Now get the hell out of here."
"We've been watching you for the last few days. You're alone."
"So?"
"This is Hellhound Gang turf. You want to live here, you go by our rules."
"Didn't you hear what happened to the last ones who tried to recruit me?"
"Yes, yes we did. So we figured persuasion might work better."
"…"
"Bring the little rat forward."
"Waah, I'm scared!"
"You bastards let the boy go now! You don't bring innocent kids into this shit."
"We're just proposing a deal, nee-san. You can come with us and everything will be fine, or you can resist and the little one gets it."
Even the inner districts of Rukongai can be dangerous at times. The outer parts… well, let's just say you want to stay invisible around there. Some would say that staying dead is preferable to living in the outer districts of Rukongai.
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"Ichi… how did you find me?"
"I'll tell you all about reiraku later. How are you feeling?"
"I'm good. I've got a headache, but otherwise fine."
"Karin… your ribs are probably broken. You've got a pretty nasty headwound, too."
"Don't worry so much. I'm glad you found me."
"Once I get you to fourth division, I'll go back and explain thoroughly to those bastards how it feels to get whacked."
"Gee, don't get so excited. It's just a few scrapes. It's a pretty rough place; they're doing it to get by, too."
Where goes the line between good and evil? What happens to the people who stay in the grey areas in between? Because, really, we're all a little bit in those grey areas, so the answer to that one is pretty important.
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reiraku – "spirit threads", everybody's got one, and Shinigami reiraku are red.