Fade to Black: I'm Still Here!
Chapter 3
Ichigo arrived back home with a dismal mindset. Senna- she'd died in his arms, giving her life for his own and given a few moments of peace for her amazing deed. Moments she chose to spend with him. The only thing keeping him optimistic in the slightest was the fact that he'd seen her tonight- remembered her tonight. He opened the front door on Rukia and his sisters eating dinner, which was an uneasy moment in and of itself. Rukia immediately invited him to come sit down with the motion of her head, forgetting that Karin and Isshin could see his Shinigami form. Ichigo had forgotten he wasn't supposed to be out of his body, but didn't care. It was worth it, knowing all this had happened. Ichigo shook his head as he passed by, heading upstairs. Kon had finished Ichigo's dinner and followed him upstairs, ready to switch back into his small plushy body that he was much more accustomed to anyhow.
Ichigo switched back with Kon without so much as a word, and the small plushy hopped onto Ichigo's bed. "You seem kinda somber, Ichigo." Kon noted, laying his head back, exhausted from the long day of being Ichigo.
"…Keep a secret?" Ichigo inquired, taking off his worn shoes and just cleaning up in general. He wanted to tell someone about this, and who better than the one person he could make shut up whenever he wanted?
"You can count on me!" Kon assured, his eyes deadlock serious, mouth slightly agape. He wanted to know this secret—it was in his nature to be nosy.
"I just met a girl—"
"Was she hot?" Kon suddenly interrupted.
"…I met a girl I haven't seen since last fall…" He smiled a bit to himself, ignoring the question, "And… she was dead, last fall." Ichigo explained, hoping that Kon would catch on.
"Dead? So now she's a soul now? How is that good? Was she hot?" Kon continued his rant of meaningless questions.
"…I don't know what she is." Ichigo confessed. "But I know I can remember her now." He clutched the red ribbon that he hadn't let go of since the start of the day.
"You forgot her? WAS SHE SEXY?" Kon finally screamed, attracting Rukia's attention from downstairs.
"…Shut up." Ichigo demanded, throwing one of his old shirts at him. "And you knew her too. Senna." He said the name slowly, trying to bring back the memories in Kon as well. "She's got pretty purple hair and these really nice orange eyes…" He described for Kon, who was drooling.
"What's she like in—"
Ichigo threw a pillow at him mercilessly. "You really are a piece of work, you know that?" He complained. "She… she needs me to do something. I forgot her until yesterday, when I fell of the roof of the school."
"…sounds fishy." Kon argued, tossing the pillow off of himself with a grand plushy force. "You didn't remember her until you fell off a roof?"
"…I know it sounds weird." Ichigo admitted, turning to Kon with a smile that he'd only seen once, when he's saved Rukia-Ichigo was actually happy. "But I really did know her. She gave herself up for me, somehow… and I know where she's buried!" Ichigo recollected.
"… you're acting weird!" Kon announced. "And if she's buried, she's dead!"
"She's not!" Ichigo counteracted. "I saw her today! We talked!"
"Yeah. Well, I see a coupla flaws in your logic there. When the heck did you meet her, and how long did you two know eachother? Because I've never heard of her!" Kon replied, trying to defend the fact that Ichigo might just be imagining this, or lying.
"It was last fall! She's a Shinigami!" Ichigo informed him, realizing the fact for himself. "She was a Shinigami." He repeated, going over the truth in his mind.
"You're wacko." Kon decided, going into the closet. "If Nee-san asks, I'm not in the closet…" He said with a sly face. "Enjoy chasing after this dream girl of yours."
"…" Ichigo glared at him as he closed the door before laying down on his bed, staring at the blank celing. "Blanks… evolving…" He pictured it in his mind- they white cloaked beings with red 'heads' and claws. What could they evolve to? Sure, they might've had potential, but it was such a short time… here. Maybe time moved differently there? That's why he and Senna, when they spoke to eachother, seemed to alter time? The two speeds coming to a consensus? Rukia opened the door a few moments later, having just finished dinner, and elbowed Ichigo in his stomach.
"Ichigo! You told me you were going to tell me next time you went Hollow Hunting! Did you lie to me!"
"…No!" Ichigo coughed, sitting up rapidly. "God, do you have to be so overbearing?" he complained, glaring at her. "I wasn't hunting Hollows!"
"Then what were you doing all day? Sitting and staring into space? That's what you've been doing!"
"Look, Rukia, I'm looking for someone!" Ichigo attempted to explain to her. "You probably don't remember her, heck, I hardly do—but she means a lot."
"…" Rukia sat there for a second, "What's her name…?"
"Senna." Ichigo said proudly, happy that he could still say it freely with the knowledge of what the meaning behind the name was.
"… is she… pretty…?" Rukia asked, seeming like she could care less.
"…I guess?" Ichigo replied, unsure of what she was getting at. "You knew her—" He remembered suddenly- Rukia demanding something from Senna, and Ichigo moving to protect her. "…. You didn't really know her, but you saw her." Ichigo corrected himself.
"Oh really?"
"Yeah! Last fall, Senna and I… she stayed here…" Ichigo continued, recollecting more and more. "And then… the… those guys! Remember them? They took her away!"
"…No, Ichigo." She said softly. "Get some sleep."
"No! Rukia, do you remember? How can you not remember?" he asked her, forgetting that he hadn't remembered a day before either. He was starting to feel like the crazy one, however.
"The Memory Rosary is to be handed over to Soul Society."
Ichigo moved in front of Senna, "She's not a thing. She's a person."
"She is nothing but memories of many lost souls, using a Zanpaktou that was never meant to be used by that hand."
"Shut up! That's her Zanpaktou now, and this is SENNA! You cant just take her like she was an item!"
"It is the will of Soul Society, Ichigo." Rukia said, standing amongst the others.
"You tried to take her, too!" Ichigo exclaimed. "She was the Memory Rosary!"
"…Memory Rosary?" Rukia pondered the word briefly. It had come up during her days at the Academy, but no known record of a shinigami encounter with such a being existed. "Are you saying you met a Memory Rosary?"
"The Memory Rosary! She's not a necklace." Ichigo corrected, feeling Déjà vu. "Those guys took her away…" He remembered the 'Dark Ones.'
"Get some sleep." She ordered again, going into the closet. He must've really hit his head that day.
Ichigo watched her go into the closet, happy that he hadn't told her about Kon. A reward for the Plushy's silence and a punishment for Rukia because she was being like… like an overbearing parent.
Ichigo waited patiently until a muffled scream was heard, followed by a series of loud thuds that resulted in Kon being thrown out of the closet by a Rukia that was covering herself up with a shirt, "KEEP OUT OF HERE!"
Kon seemed pleased, however, and winked at Ichigo, who just closed his eyes in reply. Nothing more that he could do tonight, but tomorrow…
Day 3
Ichigo woke up again at 4 in the morning, having forgotten to turn off the alarm he'd set the previous day. He grumbled as he banged the thing until it shut up. "Sleepy." He told it, not rationally thinking about it as something other than a wristwatch. He grumpily sat upright, his orange hair flipping this way and that sloppily. He looked out the window and saw the sun, barely peaking over the horizon line. "And there's the sun." He muttered, stretching his arms out. No chance of him getting back to sleep now.
He might as well look around for the place Senna had mentioned- where they'd met. Things were popping up every other minute, so he didn't doubt that if he went out for a walk, something would lead him to his destination. She seemed to have run into a bit of trouble, too.
He got up, took a quick, quiet shower, and got dressed. It was actually calm being in his house at this early hour, without Isshin or his sisters disturbing the silence. Ichigo exited the house, taking a right just because he felt like it.
He continued on is way for a while, passing over the Karakura bridge. As soon as he reached the center, he remembered a brief scene of himself going into a portal on the water's surface. Strange how he saw it from an out of body perspective—he wouldn't have remembered it from a way he didn't see it.
After it passed, Ichigo continued on his way, head throbbing slightly. Everything from last fall… it was a blue before. Now Senna was there, in the place, her entire episode- The Dark Ones who took her to the Valley of Screams, Soul Society wanting to take her away because she was the Memory Rosary… After about 45 minutes of walking straight, he took a left, which landed him somewhere near the main business district of the outer rings of the city. There was an intersection with a few pedestrians on it, going this way and that. He took another right, going into a completely concrete section, a few flowerbeds here and there, a shop or two on the corner.
Senna flipped above his head in a graceful fashion, using her mastery of wind to propel her over the Blanks below. She began to release her Zanpaktou, but Ichigo stopped her,
"Hey, what do you think you're doing!"
She ignored him and proceeded to try to release her sword. After a wonderful display of her abilities, she seemingly disappeared.
"Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes! I got them!" Ichigo turned around, his Zanpaktou drawn, only to see an energetic girl dancing, celebrating her victory over the mysterious beings.
"Hey!" He complained, trying to catch her before she got away.
Where they'd first met. Right here, on this corner. Senna the Shinigami, the Memory Rosary, one of his best friends.
"You know my name, then? Where I'm from?" said a voice from behind him. Ichigo turned around to see a battered Senna looking back, smiling weakly. She had a large, deep gash on her shoulder.
"Senna… what happened to you?" He asked, the recognition evident, the worry real, walking over to analyze the cuts. She laughed a bit,
"It's nothing."
"Yeah, right." He grumbled back, putting his hand on her shoulder. She was solid—
"Ichigo… thanks so much." Senna smiled at him, relief evident on her face. "You remembered me. You brought me back."
"That's absolutely great—what happened?" he continued to pursue the issue at hand, to worried to be happy about her sudden descent to reality.
"Everything so slow…" She said, looking up, "And swirly…"
"You've lost a lot of blood, baka!" Ichigo complained, tossing her over his soulder. "You're absolutely crazy, you know that?" he accused, smiling in a light way.
"Maybe." She said, readjusting herself so he was giving her a piggyback. "But I'm finally back, Ichigo. I got away from the Blanks because when you remembered my Zanpaktou, I got Mirakumaru back and I could fight them off."
"What happened to you?" he asked, going up to a higher place to get a better viewpoint. Urahara's was somewhere around here. "You're bleeding bloody murder and you say that you lost your Zanpaktou?"
"When I left… when we promised to see each other again, I was transported to the Valley of Screams again, free to roam around… but I lost everything, Ichigo." She explained, closing her eyes tightly and grabbing him tighter, "I couldn't remember my name… where I was… I just knew 'Ichigo Kurosaki.'." She explained, "And I had a red ribbon. I sent it through a portal one day, trying to find you so I could find out more about myself."
"And I did." He said smugly, locating Urahara's shop. "We'll get you all fixed up and maybe get you a Gigai."
"Our memories are linked, Ichigo—when you learned about me, I remembered myself." Senna informed him, smiling happily, trying to maintain her consciousness.
Ichigo smiled—he'd protected her.
They got to the porch of Urahara, who was waiting for them, quite unprepared. "Ichigo?" the shopkeeper inquired, looking at what he was lugging on his back. "Who's that?"
"She's hurt. I need you to fix her up and get her a Gigai." Ichigo commanded, not letting her slip from his back. Urahara didn't ask any more questions before letting him in.
"She's a Shinigami." Ichigo fabricated the truth to be the whole story, "Got hurt fighting off a hollow."
"What's her name?" Urahara asked, analyzing the wound quickly before going to work.
"Senna."
"Senna what?"
"…Senna Memori." He decided on, trying to find any way to make this work. (Senna Memori: A Collection of Memories)
"I see." Urahara muttered, taking some measurements. "She'll be fine by noon. I'll start making her Gigai." He promised, not prodding further. Ichigo was truly a kind soul, having rescued a lower ranked Shinigami like that.
"I don't know if she'll need one, actually." Ichigo remembered how she seemed to fabricate her body out of wind and leaves. "Wait until she wakes up."
"If you say so…" Urahara yawned. "Do I know her?"
"I don't know. Do you?" Ichigo asked. It was a question that only the person asking it could answer.
"I don't know, do I?" Urahara replied smartly, tired as he was. "You can go home if you want."
"…no thanks. I'm staying with her." Ichigo said, trying to make it sound as if it was usual.
"You don't know her, do you?"
"…" How could he reply to that? "Kind of."
"Okie dokie." Urahara shrugged, going into his bedroom. That's what Ichigo liked about ole Hat N' Clogs, never one for to many questions—unless you were his research topic.
At the Kurosaki's, 8 A.M- School Day.
Rukia awoke to the empty room, quite outraged. No note, no message, nothing. He'd just gone and left. Great way to start her day, which wasn't going to be peachy in the first place. She walked to school alone, taking Kon along just in case Ichigo decided to show his face at school that day, which, coincidently, he didn't. Inoue was absent with the stomach flu, so it was just her, Chad, and Ishida. It didn't make for the most thrilling conversation, but at least it wasn't awkward.
12:34—The Urahara Candy Shop.
"You said she'd be up by noon." Ichigo grumbled, not having slept much after getting up so early. "And she's not."
"…It's still in the 12's, Ichigo! Be patient!" The white-blond man insisted, sitting on the nearby couch. "Her reiatsu is very alien…" He observed.
"Great." Ichigo muttered, just wanting Senna to get up so they could talk. For some reason, he had a feeling that this wasn't working.
Senna was walking alone in the gray depths of the Valley of Screams, her footsteps being erased by the wind. A small pebble flew by in the air, scratching her cheek and drawing a bit of blood. She moved her hand to it, almost in a daze, and wiped it away. 'Red….' She seemed to think, having forgotten what it was called. A white mist appeared and clouded over the cut, healing it instantly. 'Blanks…' her brain trolled on, her hand falling to her side. 'Gone? …'
Ichigo snapped out of the short flashback. He hadn't been there- why had he remembered that? "This isn't working." He decided, standing up. "I'll be right back." He promised, unsure of where he was going to get what he needed. Urahara began to state his contradictories to Ichigo's statement, but Ichigo knew better. "It's not working, ok? Check for yourself."
"My healing and science are very advanced." Urahara assured, moving over to the bandage. "It should already have closed—and last time I checked, Mr. Kurosaki, you had absolutely no know how in the department of healing." He reasoned, unwinding the wrap. The wound was still as open as before.
"Told you." Ichigo muttered, not daring to mock his sensei out loud. Urahara looked at him with disbelief,
"How did you know that?"
"… I just did." Ichigo replied, trying to be as non-specific as possible. He remembered the flash back—Senna was really messed up at one point, her memories completely kaput. "…let me call Inoue." Ichigo insisted, moving over to the phone to give her a ring at school.
Unfortunately for them, Inoue had her phone off, like the good girl she was. Ichigo was annoyed—if Senna died here, he would never forgive himself. He'd be fine with that injury, but she wasn't as strong.
"…Yes I am…" Senna grumbled, sitting up a bit.
"…I didn't say anything." Ichigo debated, sitting down next to her.
"…" Senna's eyes widened, "Yes you did…"
'She must've been dreaming.' Ichigo thought to himself, "You were prob—"
"I wasn't dreaming!" She retorted.
It was Ichigo's turn to be shocked. Urahara watched in silence, unsure of what was going on. 'Senna?'
"What?" She replied, giving him a confused look, not putting any pressure on her shoulder.
"Whoa. That's freaky." Ichigo said aloud. "Are you ok, though?"
'My shoulder is killing me!' she thought, "I'm ok…" Senna promised, lying.
"…If it's killing you, then we should go get Inoue to heal it." He told her, unaware that she hadn't actually said it.
"I didn't say it was—"
"Yes, you just did!" Ichigo argued with her, oblivious to the fact that the event that had just occurred to him worked in reverse as well.
"Ichigo, Senna, I think something unusual has transpired." Urahara noted, watching the two flustered teens. "What kind of Hollow were you fighting, lovely?" he asked Senna, dawning an odd face.
"Hollow?" She asked, confused. 'I wasn't fighting any Hollows.'
'Yes you were!' Ichigo replied subconsciously, glancing at her, 'He doesn't remember you, so I had to make a cover story.' He explained silently to her.
"…Right. Sorry, slipped my mind. It was a normal Hollow." Senna told Urahara, wincing as she accidently leaned on her shoulder.
"Is that so?"
"Yes." Ichigo and Senna both said at the same time before looking away from Urahara…at the same time. This was going to be an issue. "Let's get you to Inoue." He insisted, picking her up gently and tossing her over his shoulder.
"Who's Inoue?" Senna inquired as they both ignored Urahara's attempts to get them to stay, sure he could fix all of this.
"A really great healer. You'll probably like her." Ichigo told her as they got away from the crazy shopkeeper. Once they were long out of earshot, "How did we do that?"
"I don't know." Senna replied, trying to help keep her balanced as they went along. 'I can walk, but this is great!'
"You can walk?" He asked, dropping her immediately. "No remorse for the guy carrying you, eh?" he asked as she pulled herself together.
"I was just tired!" She exclaimed, not moving her arms much. "And I like it up there!"
'Psh. Does she even know how sore my shoulder is from last night?' he thought, "So what? I like it when you're down here, so stay that way." He demanded.
"Okay. Sorry about your shoulder." She said, smiling a bit, trying to get a sympathy vote.
"I didn't say—right." He grumbled. This was going to be confusing indeed. "So… how long were you there?" he asked as they walked together, one unseen by the rest of society, the other seemingly mumbling to air.
"In the Valley?" Senna asked for clarification. Ichigo nodded and she answered, "I'm… not sure."
"Last night, I remembered something." Ichigo admitted, wanting to ask her about all of this, "You were hurt, and the Blanks healed you."
"How would you remember that?" she asked, keeping up with him quite well.
"I don't know." Ichigo shrugged, "It looks like we can hear each other now, even when we don't want to… I remembered something that happened to you…" he began to backtrack on the facts. "Oh, and welcome back." He smiled, looking down at her.
"Thank you." She replied, skipping a tad before stopping. Her shoulder was bleeding again.
"God, keep still!" Ichigo demanded, not wanting her to pass out again.
"Okie Dokie." She replied, standing perfectly still. Ichigo sighed, knowing what she wanted to do.
Ichigo arrived at Karakura high that day, right before the final bell, with Senna sitting on his shoulders. Don't ask how she managed to get up there, or why Ichigo complied, but she was on his shoulders. Ichigo waited outside the gate for everyone to come out, not wanting to have to carry Senna inside—what a trip that would be.
"I missed you a lot, Ichigo." She said, covering his eyes with her hands by accident and leaning on the top of his head.
'I can't see!'
"Sorry." She muttered, letting his head go. Ichigo looked up at her with his usual scowl on his face,
"I missed you too, as far as I can remember!" He announced, joking a bit. "…Why did I forget you in the first place?"
"I…. I don't know." She replied, eyes far off for a moment. "It's another mystery."
"You are a mystery." Ichigo accused, forcing her down so her feet touched earth again. She stood there with Ichigo, both of them awaiting the telltale bell that released the healer they needed. After Senna was all fixed up, Ichigo could really talk to her, and maybe they could go visit those places—get a better grasp on what they'd both forgotten.
'It's hot out here." That was Senna.
"It's spring. It gets much hotter in the summer." Ichigo responded, finding it weird he only had to think it.
"That cloud looks like a bunny."
"…You're just as bad as Rukia. It's just a cloud."
"Rukia?"
"…You don't remember her?"
"Nope."
Silence on both ends for a moment.
"Look, a spider." Ichigo observed the small thing crawling across the grass, the thought passing through his mind unintentionally.
"WEHRE!" Senna replied, looking around frantically. "I don't wanna step on it!"
"If we hear each other's random thoughts, this is going to be a long, long life." Ichigo grumbled, hanging his head. Senna smiled and nodded,
"You never know, though—we'll never be able to lie to each other!" She exclaimed, raising her finger to make a point. The bell rang as if she had summoned it, and Senna jumped a bit. "Oh my god! What was that?' her mind raced, having not heard the bell in so long.
"It was the school bell." Ichigo explained to her, finding her lack of memory sad. "You used to go to school when you were here before." He recollected, remembering times he'd never had, but she apparently had—with her friends and teachers.
"Oh!" She exclaimed, seeming to remember the rest. "Right. This is a school." Senna said, smiling. Her shoulder was beginning to heal itself, visibly decreasing in size and depth.
Rukia, Inoue, Chad, and Ishida all spotted him at the same time and came over, looking at Senna curiously. "Who's she?" Rukia asked, wondering if this could possibly be that mysterious girl that Ichigo was looking for.
"…This is Senna Memori." Ichigo introduced her. "She's a Shinigami—a hollow nicked her last night, and Urahara didn't do such a great job of healing her. Inoue, could you-"
"No problem, Kurosaki-kun." Inoue said, summoning her regenerative abilities. Senna's wound was healed within a matter of seconds, and she stretched at her full strength since she arrived.
"Arigato, Inoue!" She said, twirling once before running off to the right a bit to look at something. Ichigo was about to run after her, but Rukia stood in his way,
"You ditched today to help her?" Rukia inquired, knowing that Isshin had been straining school lately.
"Is there a problem with that?" Ichigo retorted smartly. He was pretty annoyed with her at the moment—so nosy.
"Well, you barely know the girl—you could've dropped her off at the shop and come. You know how important it is that you finish High School…"
"I thought you said that Hollows came before Homework?" Ichigo questioned her word choice, starting to get the vibe that she might be jealous. "Senna, don't touch that!" he exclaimed, seeing she was about to mess with an ant pile.
"Why not?" She asked, standing up fully and putting her hands behind her back like a guilty child.
"They'll sting you, baka!" Ichigo explained, leaving Rukia hanging there.
'They're so small—they can't hurt me!' Senna thought, contradicting Ichigo's assumption on the problem .Ichigo sighed.
"Arigato, Inoue." Ichigo stated again as Senna ran off in a random direction. "I'll be at dinner!" He exclaimed, running after her, "Tell Yuzu to set an extra place!"
"Fine." Rukia muttered. What was with him? He was acting like Senna was his responsibility. He'd also asked for another place at dinner- he couldn't possibly mean he was going to bring this girl to their house?
"Slow down!" Ichigo commanded, chasing the girl through the streets. Her hair was still down and loose, and it reminded him of the ribbon he'd been holding onto. "Senna! Wait!"
Senna was enjoying herself, not heeding his words. "Keep up, then!" She demanded, skipping. A couple moved out of her way as she tramped down the street—she seemed to have made her own Gigai again. Ichigo apologized as he ran through them also,
"I've got a present!" He told her, trying a different approach to get her to stop. She sure had a lot of energy…
"What?" she asked, appearing right in front of Ichigo and making him stumble right into her. "Hugs are nice…" She smiled as Ichigo shoved himself off of her,
"No! I've got your ribbon!" Ichigo explained, digging through his pocket while blushing a bit. "H-Here!"
Senna picked it up and tied her hair back, but the piece of fabric fell apart as she attempted to tighten it. "Aww…" She mumbled, holding the two pieces in her hand. Ichigo took one half, equally as distressed. Senna's eyes were sad, "Our memories are like that, you know—only half and half." She said, taking the ribbon and tying what was left of it around her wrist. "You keep your half, too." She ordered him as he pocketed it.
"You need something to keep your hair up." Ichigo noted, feeling she wasn't herself without the telltale ribbon in her hair.
"Then let's go get one!" Senna smiled, running off towards the plaza. Ichigo sighed and ran after the energetic Shinigami, praying he wouldn't lose track of her.
Rukia arrived at the Kurosaki home, letting Isshin know that Ichigo was bringing home a friend for dinner, not really to excited about it herself. "Is it a girl?" Isshin asked, his face turning into a grin that had been reserved for her the first few days she'd lived here.
"Yes, actually." Rukia told him, wanting to end the conversation. "I'm sure they're not going out." She assured, much to the disappointment of the wayward father.
Ichigo finally managed to capture Senna at the Plaza where they'd spent their first night together.
"What does the Memory Rosary look like?" Senna asked, sipping her soda.
"No clue." Ichigo replied, face a bit annoyed.
"Where is it?"
"No idea."
How funny- he'd forgotten that he didn't know what she was the first time they were together. Senna was already on the second floor, browsing through the ribbons available. There was the red one she'd become so accustomed to, but next to it, there was a red one with black tips. She picked it up and showed it to Ichigo, "Look at this one!"
"Is that the one you want?" he asked, bored with her shopping already.
"…Yeah! It looks like your Bankai!" She exclaimed, tying into her hair. Ichigo took it right out as soon as she'd tied it, and gave it to the cashier.
"… for your girlfriend?" She asked. This gave Ichigo major Déjà vu, and he replied,
"…Not quite."
"Ok. That'll be 10 dollars." She announced, opening the register.
"Ten dollars?" he asked, disbelieving. He stared at Senna, who was browsing through other knick knacks—she was fascinated by one of those birds that dipped its beak into water and then rose back up. "…okay, then." Ichigo muttered, counting out 10 bills from his wallet. The cashier smiled and counted it up before nodding,
"Thank you for visiting Yang's, come again!"
"Thanks." Ichigo said quietly, not really caring. "Here." He told Senna curtly, handing her the ribbon that he'd just bought. Senna tied it into her hair again, and did another of her little twirls.
"It's wonderful!" Senna exclaimed, touching up her dark purple hair here and there, "How much do I owe you?"
'10 dollars, those rip off artists…' Ichigo thought, but then replied, "It's a gift. Welcome back."
"I'll get the 10 dollars as soon as I can!" She promised, disappearing into the crowd. Ichigo grumbled something as she got lost within the throng of people, but she soon resurfaced, standing atop one of the tables.
'Senna, that's like… illegal, idiot!' he thought to himself, not really registering that she could hear. She looked around, spotting Ichigo, and then appeared next to him.
"Sorry—everything is all… so… its so energetic!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down.
"Including you." Ichigo noted, turning around. "Let's get—where were we…?" He had lost his train of thought.
"Your house!" Senna finished for him, remembering the promise that Ichigo had made to Rukia from his viewpoint.
"Right, right." He agreed, not worrying about it. "You remember Karin and Yuzu?" Ichigo asked of her as they walked down the dim lit streets.
"…Your sisters!" Senna replied happily. "They're so nice!"
Ichigo and Senna talked about what had been going on since last fall as they strolled to the house that Ichigo presumed she'd be staying in tonight. She'd stayed on his bed last time, so he'd just take the couch downstairs like he had. They got to the door, and Isshin had been waiting for them, apparently, there to open the door and greet Ichigo's new friend-girl. "Hello, Miss!" he exclaimed as she walked in. Rukia was helping set the table along with his two younger siblings.
"Yo." Karin greeted this new girl. She seemed nice at first glance—not like Rukia—maybe this could be a good girlfriend for her brother. Yuzu smiled and set up the extra chair.
"Hello!" She smiled and messed with the flowers in the center of the table. "Ichigo, your house hasn't changed a bit!" Senna exclaimed, flopping down on the couch. Everyone stopped what they were doing and eyed Ichigo with a quizzical expression.
'Thanks a lot, Senna. We aren't supposed to know each other!'
"Oops." She said aloud. That didn't help the situation. 'Double oops.'
"Um…" Ichigo stayed silent for a second.
"Is my son finally a man?" Isshin asked loudly in his overactive way.
"NO!" Screamed Ichigo, Senna, and Rukia at the same time. Rukia was the most confused by this—Ichigo had said she was a random passerby Shinigami, and that they'd met while she was hunting Hollows.
"So you've been here before?" Rukia inquired, eager to get the details. Senna shook her head no, trying to dig herself out of the hole she'd been thrown in.
"Never." Ichigo defended her. Suddenly, a loud beep disturbed everyone at the table besides Isshin (Who could hear it, but didn't want to tip anyone off) And Yuzu, who didn't notice it. Rukia flipped open her cell phone, looking for the source.
"Pardon us." Rukia excused herself, dragging Ichigo outside, who was immediately followed by Senna.
'Saved by a Hollow.' Ichigo commented to Senna alone as they all raced out into the night.
I know a lot of stuff happened in this chapter, but it wasn't too hard to follow, right? ^.^
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