Disclaimer: No ownage except of the things not already owned
Warning: Showers XD
Note #1: Okay - it is freaking HARD to write from Shiro's POV XD You have to realize that he's been in a lab all his life and he only knows a few real human interactions and things like that, so it's kinda hard to designate what he knows and what he doesn't know. But I attempted. A for Effort, right?
Note #2: If you go to Wikipedia and look up "black eyed children," you will find that article (as some of you probably already did). I copied that and changed one date. Why? Well, you'll just have to wait and find out.
Note #3: Thank you Chinksta and Phoenix Reviver for pointing out my screw-up with the dates n.n;; It's supposed to be around October of '07 or so, so the boys are fifteen.

Snow Berry
–4–
Black Eyed Kid

The first time I wake up, I'm curled up against Ichigo's side and he's got his arm around me. It's the only thing familiar that registers – I have no idea where we are. Ganju's house, probably, since that's where we were headed when I passed out. I only remember being shoved – it wasn't a hard shove or anything – but there's a blur and then there's a gunshot and I remember seeing my hands around Ichigo's neck before I passed out.

I close my eyes again. My aggressive outbursts are pretty well documented. Mayuri made sure he knew every single thing that set them off. I frown and bury myself closer to Ichigo. Thinking about that crazy bastard just makes me want to kill something. Ichigo's warmth seems to counteract that urge though, like it did when he pulled me from those thugs. That's good. I really don't want to snap on him again. I figure I should at least explain it to him, if not apologize, but then I think he must not be too mad at me if he made the effort to carry me the rest of the way to Ganju's house and then share a bed with me.

I smile and let myself go back to sleep.

When I wake up again, Ichigo's gone and I smell something I think is food. I yawn quietly and push myself up so I'm sitting. Ichigo's sitting in front of a computer with bulky headphones around his neck that are connected to an old radio.

He looks over his shoulder at me and smiles. "Morning, sleepy-head," he says.

"What're you doing?" I ask. Computers aren't necessarily bringers of good omens for me.

"Come here and look at this," he replies, turning back to the screen.

I get up and go over to stand next to him. "What is it?"

"Hana – Doctor Yamada said I should look this up if I wanted to know why he was kinda thrown off guard by your eyes," he explains, scrolling to the top.

"Black Eyed Kids?" I read from the header.

"Just read it," he says. I can tell he's amused, so I start reading.

Black Eyed Kids (sometimes called Black Eyed Children or BEK) are said to be children with eyes that are solid black, with no differentiation between sclera, pupil or iris. Those who report encounters with them often feel that the children were somehow supernatural and very dangerous. The first known sighting was recounted in a 2004 usenet posting by journalist Brian Bethel.

"What the…" I frown.

"Keep reading," is all Ichigo says.

Origin In his initial post, Brian Bethel reported of a meeting with two unusually confident and eloquent children who attempted to talk him into giving them a ride in his car. Bethel said in his post that he nearly opened the door to admit the children, even though he found them vaguely unsettling, until he realized that their eyes were completely black, with no iris or sclera. He reports that, as soon as he realized this, the children became angry and insistent, and he drove away quickly. His posting implies that the children may have been using some form of low-level mind control to induce him to open the car door.

"Mind control? What the hell?" I have to laugh – this Brian guy sounds like a paranoid nut.

Other Reports Since Bethel's original post, there have been other reports of similar experiences in other parts of the country. These accounts are similar to Bethel's in that they generally involve the children's request that the person let them inside their car or house, frequently using an excuse such as "I need to get home to my mother" or something that implies the child is in need of assistance.

Characteristics Experiences involving the Black Eyed Children generally do not explain the cause of the children's eye color (not to be confused with Aniridia which is the lack of iris; Black Eyed Children have no sclera or white either) or the origins of the children themselves. Some imply they could be ghosts or demons, specifically vampires: the encounters frequently emphasize that the children must be admitted or invited into the house or car in question, and in this way are reminiscent of some vampire legends.

"So Yamada thought I was one of these kids?" I finally ask. I'm a little happy that I'm not the only person with abnormal eyes, but to have that be connected to something like this…

"I guess, but your eyes are different."

"And if I had some form of mind control, I'd've used it by now," I say, snorting.

Ichigo chuckles. "This guy – Brian – he says that if you let these kids in, you'll die."

"Tch. I wish I was a Black Eyed Kid, then."

"Yeah, but even if you're not, there are still some people who're gonna freak," Ichigo says as he takes the headphones off from around his neck and gets up. "Kaien left his spare sunglasses for you so you can hide your eyes during the day." He grabs the sunglasses off of the table near the door and hands them to me. They're silver metal with blue reflective lenses. "Try 'em on," he says.

I slip them on only to take them off again and adjust the nose things. I slip them on again and they fit. "They're really dark," I say.

"That's okay – they hide your eyes. Kaien also said that because your irises are light-colored, you'd probably be more sensitive to the sun anyway."

I move the sunglasses to sit on my forehead. "So what's with the radio?"

"Oh – I'm trying to see if they've reported you missing yet. When that happens, we gotta scram 'cause Kaien's a cop and he can't be willingly housing you. He's asleep right now – he stayed up all night scanning the radio."

"Come an' eat, you two!" a woman calls from the kitchen.

Ichigo smirks and I follow him around the corner. The woman's wearing a halter-top that's just barely covering her chest and some turban-like thing on her head. Her right arm is just a stump, though she seems to get along fine without it.

"Shiro, this is Kuukaku Shiba, Kuukaku, Masshiro Shirosaki," Ichigo says

"Just Shiro," I say.

"Kuukaku owns the Shiba Fireworks Company," Ichigo says.

"Yep!" Kuukaku exclaims proudly. "Prettiest fireworks you'll ever see this side of the Mississippi."

I know what fireworks are – I learned how to read out of Mayuri's textbooks and one of them included a chapter on the chemical reactions in fireworks. I decide not to question whether the missing arm and her job are related, so I just sit down at the bar next to Ichigo.

"You're quite the humble one," Ichigo mutters in a tone I can't place. Kuukaku just lightly smacks his head before turning back to the food.

"Hope you like breakfast burritos," she says, setting the food in front of us. I've never had real food aside from the cheap things I can get at the convenience stores and such, but the burrito smells really good.

"I'll eat pretty much anything," I say. I see how Ichigo's handling the thing and I follow suit.

"So will Carrot-top here," she says with a laugh.

"Beggars can't be choosers," Ichigo replies.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, brat," she snaps.

Ichigo swallows and sticks his tongue out at her.

I just eat my burrito quietly, silently amused.

After their bickering dies down, Ichigo asks Kuukaku about trains and she goes over to the computer. Ichigo just turns around in the chair. They talk back and forth for a few minutes about fares and routes and cities and all sorts of other things I'm not paying attention to. She tells him to look at the computer so he gets up and goes over to her. They talk for another minute or so until they come back.

By this time, I've cleaned off my plate. Kuukaku notices and asks, "You want anything else? I may as well send you boys off on a full stomach, since it looks like we won't be meeting again for a while."

"I'll make it up to you, I promise," Ichigo says.

"Shut up about it, Ichigo. If Kaien thinks it's worth his badge to help you, I don't need anything else to convince me to help you." She looks at me for a moment before her hand goes to my wrist. She taps the metal bracelet. "ID?"

I nod and take it off and hand it to her. "Mayuri made me wear it after I got out the first time."

She reads it. "Alright. Ichigo, you still have your ID card?"

"Yep," Ichigo says, digging the card from his pocket. She takes that as well.

"Great – this shouldn't take long at all," she says happily. "Don't even need to take a photo – you two look almost exactly alike. A little PhotoShopping and Amtrak won't know the difference."

Ichigo smirks. "Forgot about that. He's a lot paler, though…"

"If they ask, you can just say he's sick."

"His eyes?"

"He'll keep the sunglasses on, right?"

"Yeah."

"He's overly-sensitive to light. Gives him migraines or something."

"His hair?"

"Dye it. The train doesn't leave 'til four – you'll have plenty of time to think of something."

He sighs. "Alright. If this screws up, I'm blaming you."

"It won't screw up, brat," she says. Then she looks back at me. "So're you still hungry?"

"I'm good," I say. "Thanks."

"Alright – you boys go wash up and I'll get everything ready for you."

Ichigo nods and gets off his seat and I follow him.

"Uh," I start, not sure how I should explain to him. "I don't…think I know how to do this right," I manage to mutter.

"Huh?" Ichigo looks back at me, confused. "How'd you get clean at the lab?"

"I stood in a small room with cold water spraying on me for a minute and then I'd be dried off."

"Alright," he says, looking away. I see his ears are red and I wonder why. "I guess it doesn't matter – we won't waste the hot water this way," he adds, leading me into the bathroom. It's separated into two parts – the first part has a counter and a sink and a mirror all across the wall above it. As soon as I see my reflection I look away. The second part has a toilet and a bathtub. Ichigo goes into the second part and I follow him. Then he shuts the second door behind us and locks it. "Take off your clothes," he says. I'm almost confused for a second – he words it like a command but his tone is nothing like what I usually hear.

I understand that he's still telling me to do it, so I do as he's turning the water on. It comes out of the bottom faucet first like a waterfall until he pulls up the button-thing. Then the water comes out of the spray thing on top. It looks a lot more welcoming than the cold showers.

Ichigo tests the water before he takes his pants off. "Come on – it's warm," he says, stepping over the edge. I follow him, still a little wary of the thing. Once the water hits my skin, though, it's not so bad. It's warm and doesn't hurt. "You okay with this?" he asks as he shuts the shower door.

"Yeah," I say with a nod. He pulls me under the water and runs his hands through my hair. It feels good, so I don't ask.

"You just got hosed down and that was it, right?" he asks as he looks at the bottles on the ledge.

"Uh, I guess," I say, not exactly sure what "hosed down" really means.

"Okay," he says as he picks up a blue bottle. "Step back and close your eyes."

I follow his orders and I feel something cold on my head, followed by Ichigo's hands. "What's this?" I ask.

"Shampoo," he says as he's rubbing this stuff in my hair. I guess he thinks I don't know what that is because he adds, "It cleans your hair." I know what shampoo is, I've just never used it. I'm used to being talked to like I don't know anything, but he's not being condescending.

I grin – he's massaging my head and it feels good enough to fall asleep all over again. Until he pulls me back under the water, which isn't a bad thing, really, but he stops rubbing the shampoo in my hair.

"Tilt your head back and run your hands back through your hair so its not in your face," he instructs.

I do just that, rinsing the soapy stuff away from my eyes. When I think all the shampoo is out of my hair I move my head out of the water and open my eyes to find Ichigo scrubbing at his own head. I laugh. "Your hair's all white now, too," I say.

He smiles. "Your hair is like pure white – the soap looked gray against it," he says.

"Eh? I thought it was silver…" I say, trying to tug a piece of the short stands into my vision.

"It is when it's dry – but it's like clear white when it's wet and clean. Move," he adds.

I get out of the way of the shower and he grabs the other blue bottle from the ledge and hands it to me before he gets under the water. "It's conditioner. Just push the top open and squeeze out a little bit – size of a dime or something. You don't need a lot. Then get it on both hands and run it through your hair just straight – no scrubbing, okay?"

I do what he says and I guess I manage to get it right. He takes the bottle from me and does the same thing with his hair. Then he takes a bottle with clear-green stuff in it and pours some on this purple poof thing. Then he gets it a little wet and hands it to me. "Just scrub it all over your body – clean your skin off. Don't get it in your face, though."

I start doing that when he grabs the bottle and a pink poof and does the same thing for himself. "This is probably the best shower we're gonna get for a while."

"Where're we headed, anyway?"

"California," he says. "Here—turn around," he says, gently pushing me at the shoulder.

I turn and he starts soaping up my back. "What're you doing?"

"Helping." After he says this, he pulls me under the water again and helps me get all the soap and conditioner off.

We're almost done when Kuukaku yells at us from outside the door. "You two better not be doing anything naughty in there!"

Ichigo's face goes red and he yells back, "Get your mind out of the gutter!!"

I hear her laugh and she says, "There are some towels and bathrobes on the counter here when you guys are done."

"Thank you," he answers and I hear the first door close.

"What did she mean by 'naughty'?" I ask before thinking about how naïve I sound. I really am confused – usually Mayuri said I was being naughty when I wasn't cooperating. But the way Kuukaku said it made it sound like being naughty was something good.

"Don't worry about it," Ichigo says.

"How is her mind in a gutter?" This one really lost me – there are no gutters in the cranium, and you can't remove your brain, not to mention that it's entirely unsanitary to put a brain in a gutter…

Ichigo laughs as he shuts off the water. "It's a figure of speech – it just means that she's thinking of perverted things."

I try to process this all together. I understand the words, but not the tones. "I don't get it…"

Ichigo chuckles and messes up my hair. "I'll explain it to you some other time," he says as he shuts off the shower. "Come on." He opens the shower door and steps out. I follow him and he unlocks and opens the second bathroom door, grabs the towels and things off the counter, and comes back in the second half of the bathroom, closing the door again. "Cold out there," he says with a laugh, handing me a towel.

The towel's soft and warm and I bury my face in it. I hear Ichigo laugh and look up. "What's so funny?"

"Dryer-fresh towels," he says. "You like 'em, too, huh?"

I just stick my tongue out at him and start drying off my hair and body.

"So Mayuri's the creep-face jackass running tests on you?" Ichigo asks after a few minutes.

"Uhuh," I say, fumbling with the belt on the bathrobe.

Ichigo takes it from my hands and ties it for me, having already tied his own. "Sounds like a real bastard," he says. "Was it like some real professional lab? Like for a hospital or a big company or something?"

I nod. "The place I was kept was three stories underground, but I'd be brought up to some of the above-ground stories sometimes."

"You remember which building it was? Or where it was?"

I shake my head. I never paid attention to where I was.

"Do you remember anything about what it might be for?"

"Mayuri is the head of the Scientific Research and Development department. They've mentioned Gotei a few times – I think that's the real boss of everything. And I remember them saying I was a result of the Shattered Shaft Experiment. But that's it."

"Gotei sounds familiar," he says as we walk out of the bathroom. "Hey, Kuukaku?" he calls.

"Ganju's room," she answers. I follow him to her.

"Does the name 'Gotei' ring any bells?"

"Yeah," she says before she goes over to the closet and pulls out some toy thing. She comes back and shows the tag to Ichigo, which says "a Gotei product" on it. "It's a huge corporation. They deal with stuffed animals, robotics, medicine, weapons—all sorts a'shit. They also own a lot of private colleges that specialize in public affairs and law enforcement and things like that. You'll find their name on a lot of things. Them, or Rukongai – they're big competitors. Why?"

Ichigo looks at me and I shrug. "I don't know anything about this," I say.

"No, it's not that. If they're a big company, why are they experimenting on humans?" As he says this, he looks back at Kuukaku.

She frowns and looks at me, so I say, "I was in a lab and the guy running tests on me works for Gotei."

"He's part of something called the Shattered Shaft Experiment," Ichigo adds.

"Look, I don't know anything about big companies and crazy underground experiments, but stay out of it as much as you can."

"How can we do that?" Ichigo snaps. "Shiro's right in the middle of it!"

"You wanna be in the middle of it, too?" she retorts. "You're just asking to be killed!"

I'm not sure what's going on, but their yelling is affecting me – I'm starting to get angry again. I can feel it. I shut my eyes tight.

"Hey – you okay, Whitey?" I hear Kuukaku ask.

"Shiro?" Ichigo asks. I feel his hand against mine and the anger starts to subside.

I move my hand and hold his before I open my eyes and look at him. "I'm okay," I say, hoping that the expression on his face goes back to normal.

It does and he smiles at me. "Alright."

"What's with the fuss, sis?" somebody grumbles from the door. Ichigo and I turn to look. This guy's got spiky hair like Ichigo and me, but it's black and a little longer, plus he's a good three inches taller. His eyes land on me and he smiles. "Hey, glad you're awake!" he says. "Shiro, right?"

I look at Ichigo, who just says, "Shiro, Kaien. He's the guy who fired the gun last night and then carried you here."

"You were right – he does look like you," Kaien says to Ichigo. He turns back to me. "How old are you?"

"Same as Ichigo," Kuukaku answers. "July fifteenth, nineteen-ninety-two."

"Creepy," Kaien says. "It's like you two are long-lost twins separated at birth or something."

Ichigo and I look at each other and Ichigo lets go of my hand. I can tell he's a little creeped out by they suggestion. I'm just confused. I had realized before that Ichigo and I look the same, but we don't share enough to be called identical twins, and we shared too much to be called fraternal twins.

"Okay, okay, forget I said anything – geeze, Ichigo…"

Kuukaku laughs. "Poor boy – all those raging teenage hormones – of course the suggestion that they might be related is gonna freak him a bit." As she speaks, Ichigo's face goes from pink to red.

"I said get your mind out of the gutter!" he snaps.

She grins. "You are so transparent," she says.

He just glares at her.

"Uh…" I say, trying to get them away from the yelling. "Clothes?" is the first thing I come up with.

Kaien laughs. "You should be able to fit into some of my things – come on."

· - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - · - ·

Long lost twinzz!! ›o› They aren't. I'm saying that right now - they aren't related! Because I can't write incest ›.‹
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