"Hey, Kurosaki, ar-"
"Its Ichigo."
"What?"
Ichigo peered down at the shingami captain walking beside him.
"It's Ichigo. Stop calling me 'Kurosaki', will you? You're not in Soul Society anymore."
Soifon seemed slightly taken aback.
"Ichigo…" she mulled over the word in her mouth before smirking. "Cute name."
Ichigo ignored her jab.
Today's morning is definitely a break away from his normal routine. After his usual wake up call out of bed (Isshin drop kicked him in the stomach), Ichigo decided that he has at least earned himself a break from school, and agreed to show Soifon around the town. To his immediate surprise, the captain, while showing keen interest, has little to no knowledge whatsoever on human practice or technology; Ichigo observed curiously as Soifon watched a boy playing with a controller car in silent amazement. As much as he hate to admit it, taking a break like this once in awhile is really not a bad idea.
After spending most of the morning wondering around, the pair decided to grab something to eat, as it's almost noon. They were on their way towards the nearest convenient store when Soifon piped up a question that has already been asked at least two times earlier that morning.
"Ichigo, are you sure skipping school is a good idea?"
Evidently, the idea of skipping out on one's 'duty' didn't appeal to her. She continued with a stern voice. "Knowledge is something that is heavily looked upon in this world, is it not?"
Ichigo snorted. "How many times do I have to tell you, its fine. Seriously, do I look like a punk to you?"
Soifon wanted to say yes, but decided against it.
"Anyway, after we eat we'll have to get you something new to wear. I don't think you can get around in those."
Earlier today, Ichigo managed to find some leftover clothing that once belonged to his mother, and frankly, they were a tad too big for the slim captain; the blouse hung loosely over her shoulders like a cloak while the end of her jeans tugged harshly on the floor.
The two of them paced silently for a while. Ichigo then felt a little tug on his shoulder. He looked down.
"What?"
Soifon had a scowl on her face. Something's definitely bothering her.
"Why are they all staring me?" She demanded silently, sounding deeply annoyed.
Ichigo looked around. Sure enough, the people around them are gazing at the pair with curious looks, or specifically, at Soifon. Ichigo didn't blame them.
"It's probably you hair," Ichigo suggested. Personally, he thought that the two extended locks of hair looked quite nice on her. Its definitely one of the features that made her stand out , that and the way she carried herself. Whether its walking, sitting or just simply standing there, her form is always rigid and composed, chin always lifted with dignity. Its the kind of presence that makes you more conscious of yourself, the kind that makes you want to stand straighter when she's near, and apparently, its something that's hard to miss.
"Or maybe you should try relaxing a bit," Ichigo coached further "you know, sway a little."
"Sway a little?" Soifon repeated, arching a brow.
"Yeah, sway, kind of like…" Ichigo scanned his surroundings before pointing at a middle aged woman walking on the other side of the street, whose arms moved back and forth like a pendulum, hips swaying dramatically.
"…kind of like that..." Ichigo finished, now sounding unsure of himself.
Soifon took one glance before turning away in disgust.
"No way in hell." She refused flatly. She'd rather cut her hair.
"Well, if you want people to stop staring at you all da-"
Ichigo never finished his sentence however, as a high-pitched screech domed over his voice.
"HOLLOW! HOLLOW! HOLLOW!"
Soifon and Ichigo jumped.
Franticly, Ichigo fumbled through his lower pocked in search for the screeching badge. Finding it, he wrenched it out of his pocket and held it an arm length from himself to keep the blatant scream from blowing out his eardrums.
"I swear this thing's broken." Ichigo muttered after the noise died down.
Soifon shot a disapproving look at the wooden seal before walking off. "Go ahead, I'll keep myself occupied for the time being."
Ichigo watched her as she walked away. Feeling strangely uneasy leaving the injured captain by herself, Ichigo fumbled through his pockets for the second time, this time retrieving a gleaming green pallet the size of a gumball. Tossing it into his mouth, he immediately felt a repulsing force that pushed him out of his body.
"Kon, take care of her while I'm gone."
Kon scowled, but jogged after Soifon anyway. From a distance, Ichigo picked up his pestering voice. "Hey there! I'm Kon! Nice to meet you! Whats your name?"
Ichigo smirked as he saw Soifon frantically trying to create as much distance from Kon as possible. Heh, tough luck Soifon
Feeling slightly better, Ichigo sped off in search for the Hollow.
He found them at a park.
There is a boy, around seven in age, running frantically to nowhere in particular. His chestnut hair is dampened from exertion, pants torn and knees scraped.
Behind him, two Hollows chased. One of them, easily the size of a bus, slithered across the field like a snake, a five feet tongue flapping sickeningly behind him. Its equally large companion, who greatly resembled a spider, crawled wildly after the boy, not wanting to miss the taste of fresh soul.
Ichigo managed to dive in just in time to sweep the boy off the floor before the pair of Hollows fell on him. Holding the boy firmly in his arms, Ichigo quickly jumped back to create some distance.
"Hey, you alright kid?"
The little boy has his eyes shut, his whole body is trembling with dreaded anticipation. Slowly, he regained his composure and looked up at Ichigo.
"Y-yes, thank you mister." He stammered.
Ichigo turned around to face the two giants. "Get back a little, it might get dangerous."
The boy nodded nervously before scurrying off, hiding behind a bench.
The snake-like Hollow gave out a savage roar, evidently not happy that his prey has been taken from him. It lowered its sunken face and opened its jaw to an almost unnatural degree, shooting his tongue out at Ichigo like a whip.
Ichigo moved swiftly to his right, allowing the projectile to speed harmlessly pass him. Bringing Zangetsu up, he sliced the extending tongue cleanly in two. The Hollow howled madly as the severed end of the tongue twitched on the floor like an eel. Not hesitating, Ichigo dashed forward and sheathed his Zanpakuto into the Hollow's skull.
There was an ear-splitting screech as the Hollow dispersed into countless fragments, disappearing into the air like dust. Ichigo turned to face the spider.
The eight-legged Hollow crawled towards Ichigo, its great body jerking horribly. Without stopping, it lunged forward in attempt to impale the shingami with its needle-like fangs.
Ichigo didn't bother dodging. He timed a horizontal slash, opening the hollow's face before its fangs reached him. With a dying scream, it disappeared like its companion.
Satisfied and remotely pleased with himself, Ichigo secured his Zanpakuto on his back before turning to face the boy, who is currently running towards him at full speed, hazel eyes shining like diamonds.
"Mister! That was awesome mister! How did you do that?"
"W-wha...?" Ichigo is slightly taken aback by the boy's sudden burst of energy.
"That was way cool mister! That monster thingy was all like blahhh" he stuck his tongue out in front of himself as if he just ate something bitter. "And then you were all like swoo-!"
"Hey! Stop that! What's with you?" Ichigo is getting irritated. "Now listen to me kid, you sho-"
"Where can I learn how to do stuff like that?"
Ichigo scratched his temple; he's never been good with kids. Sure he get along with Yuzu and Karin just fine, but dealing with a kid this energetic is just outright impossible. Kneeling down so that his face leveled his, Ichigo spoke in all seriousness.
"Listen to me kid, it's not safe for you to be here anymore. Those 'monsters' that attacked you, more of them are going to show up, and there's no doubt that they'll hunt you down. The only place for you now is Soul Society."
"S-Soul Society?" All the energy on the boy's face is drained in an instant.
"Yeah, Soul Society"
Ichigo studied the boy's face. There are definitely uncertainty and fear, like a young child caught with a broken vase. It looked so sad, so miserable that Ichigo just can't leave it alone.
"What's your name kid?"
"S-Sami, Sami Masashi."
"Sami," Ichigo started with a kind smile. "Soul Society isn't a bad place you know. It's pretty cool actually."
"I-Its not?"
"Nope, not at all. I've been there tons of time before" Ichigo placed a reassuring hand on the boy's amber hair. "Tell you what, if you really want to learn how to be a Shingami, then Soul Society is the place to start."
Sami's eyes lit up instantly. "Really? How do I get to Soul Society?"
Satisfied and chuckling, Ichigo unwrapped Zangetsu and gently taped the hilt of the blade onto the boy's forehead. Instantly, the outline of Sami's body began to glow bright green.
"You can't go to Soul Society, you can only be sent."
The boy's features began to thin, becoming transparent. His voice fading, he cried out almost desperately.
"Mister! Will I ever see you again?"
Ichigo smiled. Before he opened his mouth however, the boy faded away, leaving Ichigo alone in the silent park.
"Don't count on it kid." he murmured silently, before walking away.
He took two steps before something struck him.
Pain, unlike anything he ever experienced, rammed into his head and shot down his nerves in waves. Ichigo collapsed onto his knees.
He can hear it, through the burning sensation, a disoriented voice, his voice. It was calling out to him with a frantic craze, wanting nothing but out. Ichigo tried to push the voice aside, but it remained barbed inside his ears. His consciousnesses is slipping away, the pain is dragging him closer and closer towards the darkness that's clouding his sight.
Then, as fast as it came, the sensation vanished, leaving Ichigo panting on the floor.
Sweat rained down his face as his bones weighted him down like lead. Shaking, Ichigo sluggishly pushed himself off the floor.
'What the hell was that?"
"You lost her?" Ichigo validated in disbelief.
After spending hours looking Kon and Soifon, Ichigo finally spotted his original body sitting on a bench next to a convenient store alone. Ichigo approached only to confirm his dreaded foresight.
"H-Hey! It's not my fault ok?" Kon shot back, looking equally bitter. "How am I suppose to keep an eye on a girl who just freaken disappears out of nowhere?"
Ichigo raised a brow. He should've known better, leaving something like this to Kon; Kon is known for his ability to easily get sidetracked and distracted. Knowing that agitation isn't going to solve the problem, Ichigo took a different approach.
"Ok, seriously, tell me what happened."
And Kon was off. "Ok, so there we are, walking to the convenient store together like a normal couple. Then she stopped and sort of stared at this lady that was in front of us and BAM!" He suddenly clapped his hands together for effect, making Ichigo jump. "She was gone."
Ichigo gave him a skeptical look; his explanations made no sense whatsoever.
"Wait, start from the beginning. Who's this the lady that Soifon was looking at?"
"How should I know?" Kon snorted, crossing his arms.
"Well, what did she look like?" Ichigo pressed on.
Kon looked up thoughtfully into the sky. "Well, shes got a big chest, and her body is really…" he wiggled his hands lovingly in front himself, supposedly describing the shape of a women's waist.
"Kon!"
"Alright, alright sorry!" Kon brought a hand up to his chin. "Well, she's tall, loud, well-proportioned…"
Ichigo waited, tapping his foot.
"…Purple hair, dark skin, golden eyes…"
Ichigo stared. That kind of sounds familiar.
"…Kind of looked like a cat."
Authors Note
There I was, brushing my hair this morning when i noticed something horrifying. A white hair. I'm scared.