Title:
Your Smile Brightens the Dark
Author: Paï
Word
Count: 1,391
Pairings: Ichigo/Ishida
Rating:
K? Again? Nyaha!
Status: Incomplete (4/?)
Warnings:
A lot!! First, it's my first fic, English is not my native language,
and no angst this time, I think... so erm...memory problems???
XD
Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, it would have been a yaoi
manga! XDDD
PART FOUR: Who am I without you?
"Ishida? ISHIDAAAAAA"
Kuro…saki?
"Ishida-kun, wake up!"
Why is he shaking me?
Finally opening my eyes, I see a little boy standing next to me.
"Hello Ishida-kun! Come down! Breakfast is ready! Mum and Dad are waiting for you!" he says happily before running away.
"Mum? Dad?" I whisper. Those words… It seems I haven't said them for a really long time. Who is this little boy? And above all… where am I?
My head is hurting like hell… I try to stand up, one hand on my forehead. I decide to follow his little voice until I arrive in the dinning-room, where I find him sitting at a round table with a man and a woman.
"Good morning, Ishida-san!" says the woman. "I'm Kosumo! This is Hitsugi, my husband, and that little boy who woke you up is Mizuki! Yesterday, we were assigned to be your new family. Welcome!"
"Erm… Hello… I…er… what? Where… where am I?" I'm really confused. My 'new family'? Why is that?
"Oh! You don't remember anything?" she asks.
This confuses me further more. "Erm… No… Sorry…" I answer, frowning.
She looks at her husband. "It's unusual, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is." He frowns too, he seems to be thinking. "Where do you come from?" he finally asks me.
"From – … I… I don't know" I answer weakly. I can't remember anything. What happened to me?
"I see. Yes, it's rare but it happens sometimes. Maybe you had some regrets before dying, or your death is linked to a Hollow… A Hollow is –"
"Yeah, I know what a Hollow is… But what did you –"
"You know what a Hollow is?" Kosumo cuts me off, wide-eyed.
"Of course! Shouldn't I?" A Hollow. Pain. Bright orange hair. A smile. A name. What are those images? Who is this guy? Who is Kurosaki?
"No, you shouldn't." Hitsugi says, pulling me from my
reverie. "Living people who see them are quite rare, but those who
know what they are are more than rare! Do you… Do you know what it
is here?"
"No, I –" I begin. I remember him saying I'm
dead. It's hard to believe but it would make sense, don't ask me
why. And then it strikes me. "Soul Society?" I try.
"That's amazing!" Kosumo says. "How do you know that? Everyone here hadn't even heard of that place before!"
"I… I already came here…" I suddenly remember.
"Stop there!" Kosumo said. "First, please come and seat with us!"
I hadn't realised I hadn't move from the entrance of the dinning-room since they talked to me.
"Who are you?" Hitsugi asks as I sit in front of Mizuki.
"I'm… a Quincy," I try. I know that name.
"Wow!" the three of them exclaimed.
"Are you really?" Kosumo asks.
"Erm… Yes… I think."
"Can you show us?" Mizuki cheered.
"No… I'm sorry… I… I don't even know what a Quincy is… But I know I'm one."
"Okay, so that makes sense, I was right," Hitsugi adds. "Your death is linked to a Hollow, that's why you lost parts of you memory. But someone might have saved you from it before it ate your soul. Well, in fact only a Shinigami could have done that."
That image again: bright orange hair, and a wonderful smile. I smile at that, and though I don't know why, I feel something strange in my stomach. I should be hungry.
"Kurosaki," I hear myself whispering.
"Who is Kurosaki?" Kosumo asks.
I shake my head, causing the pain to return. "I don't know," I say, wincing from the headache.
"Eat, my poor Ishida-kun, you should be really hungry, as you have a lot of spiritual powers."
"Thank you, Kosumo-san. I'm hungry. But… I lost my powers…"
"That's interesting," Hitsugi says. "Please, tell me what you remember now."
"So…" I begin, helping myself some baked beans. "I remember that I'm a Quincy, that I already came here, to Soul Society, with this… orange-haired boy… to save someone. That's when I lost my powers I think. Back in our world, I didn't tell him I lost them. Then I have an image of him smiling. It's…kind of… warming when I think of it… and then the image of a huge Hollow, but not a Menos Grande, and then pain, and another blurred image of the orange-haired boy smiling, but worried. And a shout. And then that name: Kurosaki Ichigo; I think it's that orange-haired boy, because when I think 'Kurosaki', I sense the same thing in my stomach as when I think of that boy smiling. And… he is a Shinigami."
"Very interesting," he repeats, looking briefly at his wife. "That Kurosaki boy should be the one that saved you, as all you remember is linked to him. But… I never saw an orange-haired Shinigami since I'm there, is he new or something?"
"He's… a substitute Shinigami," I answer.
"No! Really? He is the substitute Shinigami? My, you were one of those ryokas that came here not so long ago to save that Kuchiki girl from the Soukyoku?" the man asks, over-excited.
"Erm… Yes, I think it was something like that yeah…"
"You can trust him; he knows everything that happens within the Seireitei!" Kosumo laughed. "He really wanted to be a shinigami, but his spiritual powers aren't developed enough."
"Hmph…" Hitsugi scowled.
Seireitei… When she said that word, I had a vision. A big door? Guarded by a big Shinigami, defeated by Kurosaki. Little by little, I can remember some things… But he's right; everything I remember is related to that guy, and to that not-so-unpleasant pain in my chest.
"The West Gate," I whisper.
"What did you say?" Hitsugi asks.
"I just remembered. The West Gate! Where is it? Is it far from here?"
"No! You're really lucky, you know! It's the closest door!"
"Thank you very much for everything, Hitsugi-san, Kosumo-san, Mizuki-kun!" I say as I suddenly stand up, ready to leave. "I'll go there, I'm sure it'll wake up some other memories!"
"Ishida-san, maybe it's not wise. Most people here tend to gradually forget our past life. Thus, there's no more regrets, and it's better like this, for you can start a new life," Hitsugi says.
I can see he's really serious, and I can sense some melancholy, but… I can't leave my life behind yet.
"I'm sorry Hitsugi-san… I know… But… I can't give up yet. I'm sure you can understand, even though I don't. Still, what I understand is that I shouldn't leave it like this."
As I start heading out of the house, I hear Kosumo calling out for me.
"Ishida-kun, wait!!"
Turning around, I see her catching up with a package.
"Take this lunch with you, please! You may be hungry on your way! And… I understood that you don't know when you'll be back," she adds with a small smile.
"Kosumo-san, thank you very much," I say, gladly taking the meal. Leaving, I have that kind of sensation that tells me that I never felt like this before; nobody ever took care of me like that; like… a mother.
Smiling, I continue my way to who-knows-where, realising that I left without asking which way the gate was.
Finally, after asking the way a hundred times, I arrive in front of the huge door. And there's no guardian to be seen. Maybe he sensed that I'm not threatening to enter. But I have more flashes. That amazing fight, Kurosaki against… Jidanbou! One more name coming back! Kurosaki had really been astonishing; I remember being worried at first, when we couldn't see the fight. But then, I was captivated by the speed of Kurosaki's movements.
I smile as I touch my head where a lost stone unluckily hit me during the fight.
Wait a minute. Did I say we? Who were the others?
Two people of our age, and a talking cat. I can't remember anything else yet. I'm sure it'll come back later. I hope…
-------------------------------
At sunset, outside the Koganehara's house.
"Mizuki!"
"Yes, dad?"
"Have you found Ishida-san?" Hitsugi asks to his son.
"Yes! He's on the roof of the tower, over there, looking towards Seireitei." Mizuki answers, pointing towards the only tower visible on the left.
"What an idiot! He won't be able to see behind the wall, even at that height," the man sighed.
----------------- Following on episode 5 -----------------
