UPDATED 2/16/17

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April Marciano
Hayate The Soul Reaper (Now Rowe Mason?)
CaitlinMG
Bookgal7
hp1piececraziness
Valerie Michaelis
elisa . smith
Blackenflames
Fox Kit Princess
RandomCitizen
Palewen Night
Kitty-Wolf-Chan
Rinoreiri


AWAKE
Arc 1-7

"Run Ichigo!" I yelled as he managed to kick the other kid in the shin. He let out a grand laugh and sped off. I stayed in front of him, flying backwards to keep track of our pursuers.

"I didn't think you'd have very many bullies in this town," I grit my teeth in annoyance.

"It keeps...life...interesting!" He said between breaths. He was able to muster up a bout of laughter. "Doesn't this bring back such fond memories?"

"Yeah, but that old guy barely had any stamina! You better think of something quick, they're catching up!"

Ichigo 'humphed' as we ducked into an alley. He hid under a thrown-away mattress that sat atop of two trash cans. I stayed out in the open to give an early warning should those boys have grown half a brain and decided to look here.

"So far so good," I called out as they ran straight through me. They ran a couple more yards before stopping and looking around.

"Hey! Where'd he go?" The bigger one asked, scratching his head. He seemed to have a bad hair day with stringy brown locks and a narrowed face.

"I don't know, Boss, maybe he went...uh, this way!" his crony shouted, pointing down the road.

"Okay Ichigo, you're almost in the cl-"

Said boy sprinted out of the alley and ran the opposite direction with a large grin. "Ha!" he shouted.

"Wha-ICHIGO! I DIDN'T SAY TO COME OUT YET!" I groaned and glided on after him.

"There he is!"

I caught up with Ichigo by flight and scowled. "You idiot! I didn't give you the clear to get out of hiding!"

"I'm tired of hiding! If they wanna fight me then they'll get it!"

If this scene were animated, a large sweatdrop would drop down the side of my head. Then why the heck are you still running?

He turned down another alley, then another before I looked back and noticed the boys were gone.

"Okay, they're gone!"

Panting, Ichigo slouched against the alley wall to catch his breath.

"You know, just because you're turning eleven in a few months, doesn't mean you need to get cocky" I scolded. Ichigo wiped the bit of blood dripping down his lip with a smirk.

"Che, like those guys could beat me down so easily."

"That's exactly what I'm saying! You can't possibly think fighting four boys a whole grade above you was a smart idea. What did I miss when I left you for five minutes? Has your father taught you nothing?"

He glared at me. "They insulted my mother, you expect me to take that?"

I sighed and rubbed my head. "I get it, Ichigo. But did you have to kick the big guy where the sun don't shine and then proceed to break his brother's nose? Isn't there a rule in your dojo about picking fights?"

"He started it!" he huffed. I gave him a look before shaking my head with another sigh. :One of these days, I'm just gonna stop running, and I don't care what you have to say about it!"

"Ichigo," I rubbed my temple, feeling an imaginary headache start to form.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a familiar voice sneered. Ichigo and I turned the way we came to see two boys from the earlier group closing in on us. I was about to tell Ichigo to bolt when we heard laughter behind us.

"Trapped like rats now," the leader bellowed.

"What are we gonna do with'em Boss? This here's a crazy one, we heard him talking to himself."

The leader smirked as Ichigo got into a ready stance. "You're that weird kid people have been talkin' about, aren't'cha?

I grumbled, feeling more annoyance than fear. "These kids are like, twelve. You know when I was their age I was playing with Pokèmon cards!"

"You've got to get over this age thing," Ichigo said with a roll of his eyes.

I bit my lip, feeling utterly useless. But there was no use dwelling on that feeling now. The only thing I could do was be Ichigo's eyes. I stood against his back, watching the two boys carefully.

"Four against one? You coward, that's hardly fair." Ichigo snickered. "You should've made more friends, then you would've stood a chance."

I let out another growl-like sigh. "Stop adding fuel to the fire."

He ignored me, of course, and the first guy - one of mine - attacked.

"Move!"

He turned, allowing his movements to slice through my side and deliver a swift kick to the kid's stomach. Regaining his footing, Ichigo then jolted to the side to avoid the weak punch of a second attacker.

Experience tilted the scales into Ichigo's favor. He acted and then reacted, and soon enough one kid was down, then two.

Ichigo wasn't invincible though, and occasionally mistepped or miscalculated the speed of his opponent. It was a bad habit Tatsuki would often lecture him for, and earned him a couple of bruises to ribs.

All that was left was the leader on one side and another burley kid on the other.

"You got yourself into trouble again?" A voice called out.

The leader turned, and I nearly sighed in relief.

"Who the hell are you?"

Standing in all her glory, and like the true anime this world was, with a white heavenly glow sprouting from behind her, was Tatsuki.

She was had shot up a couple inches within the last two or so years. Her purple-blue hair grew out and I was willing to bet she was going to get it cut soon. On her face was a large grin, one that said she had won the fight before it even began.

"Oh thank god," I sighed in relief.

"Sure, you panic when I have to fight but as soon as she comes in you calm down?" Ichigo scowled at me and I quickly waved my hands in my defense.

"I had the utmost confidence in you!"

"Yeah, right," he muttered.

Tatsuki ran straight towards the leader, jumping into the air to greet him with a swift kick in the face. She joined Ichigo's side after landing, giving a similar stance to him and smirking.

"Bitten off a little more than you can chew, haven't you?"

"Shut up! I was doing fine!" he replied stubbornly. Tatsuki merely huffed.

"Yeah, right. Totally explains why you're nearly keeling over in pain. Got you in the stomach, didn't they?"

The boy refused to acknowledge the snub, but Tatsuki didn't mind. With a fire in her eyes, she attacked once more.

I groaned in irritation as I backed against the wall. I had done everything I could. And now, I wait. "Dear lord, if I manage to go through the day without an undead heart attack, I'll never complain about food again."

~AWAKE~

"I'm in Japan. I'm in Japan and I don't get to eat sushi. Such blasphemy."

"Ow! ow-ow-ow, that hurts!" Ichigo growled. He glared at me. "Sushi? Your whining about sushi right now?"

"Oh, stop being such a baby!" Yuzu scolded as she dabbed his split lip with a cotton ball soaked in disinfectant. "That's what you get for getting into fights again."

"I'm so proud of you, son! Single-handedly taking down four huge bullies!"

"Single-handedly? He had help." Karin rolled her eyes, sitting on the clinic bed next to Ichigo.

"I could've handled it!" he whined. Yuzu let out a huff, packed up the first aid kit and turned to leave. She stepped to the side, as if to avoid walking through me and muttered incoherently to herself.

Tatsuki laughed. "They were barely a foot taller than you. With how off you were, I'm surprised you walked away with just a few scrapes and bruises."

Ichigo angrily huffed and stuck his tongue out at her. She returned the gesture, pulling down one eye with her finger.

I rolled my eyes. I'm not the only one who will never grow up.

~Time Skip~

The bell rang as Ichigo walked into the flower shop.

"Ooh, I love flowers!" I squealed before flying around the shop to get a better look. Ichigo smiled solemnly before walking up to the stand holding different arrangements of bouquets.

I landed by his side as he counted the coins in his pocket. "Do you have enough for these? They're all a little expensive."

He shrugged and walked around to the single flowers. "I think one will do. My mom was never one for really flashy things."

Would explain the poster your father has of her on the wall, I thought sarcastically. I understood that a shrine to a departed loved one was a culture thing here, but even I know that was overkill.

"They have dragon lilies!" I glided over to the purple flowers and pretended to take a whiff of their scent. It's the memory that counts, right?

Ichigo casually walked beside me and leaned down, pretending to take a closer look at the lilies. "You like dragon lilies?" he asked. The cashier looked up from the magazine she was reading, giving the boy an odd look. We both ignored her.

"Not really." I said, trying to remember why I felt a sting of distaste for the flower all of a sudden. "I guess I'm not a big fan of the color purple? But Reed loves them."

"Your sister?"

I smiled sadly. "Yeah."

He looked at me for a moment, just long enough for me to give him a questioning look before he walked away, examining the various arrangements.

"What flowers do you like?"

"Daisies." I said immediately. "Babies breath, daffodils, - I used to love orchids before discovering I was deathly allergic to them." I grimace. "That was not a fun day."

I glided towards the small bouquet of daisies by the window. They were white and slightly wilted, but still incredibly beautiful to me. I pretended to caress the petals under my fingers and tilted my head. "But daisies...I don't know why. I guess I love their simplicity."

He stepped next to me, mimicking my actions before plucking it out of the green bucket holding the flowers. "They're nice, I guess." He muttered, twirling the stem between his fingers. I nodded in agreement.

He turned, still holding the flower.

"You're getting that for your mom?" I asked. I noticed he had another flower, a lily, in his other hand as he walked back to the cash register.

"It's not for my mom," he said. He paid for the plants as I gave a curious look he paid no attention to.

"Thank you!" the cashier said, smiling with more force than necessary. "Come again!"

~AWAKE~

Ichigo held the daisy out for me.

Confused, I looked back and brushed my fingers along the stem.

"I got it for you." His eyes tilted off to the side, the apple of his cheeks flushing a faint pink.

"For me?"

With a shaky hand, he scratched the side of his head, still avoiding eye contact. "Look, I never really got to thank you for...for always being there for me."

"Well, I kind of can't help that," I laughed.

He shrugged. "I wanted you to have this, as a sort of thank you. It's been almost two years since the day we met, right?"

I grinned and nodded. "Yeah, just about."

He waited as he held out the daisy. I rose my eyebrows and ran my fingers down the stem again.

"I kind of...I can't grab it."

He shook his head and laughed. "Oh, right." Setting it into the vase with his mother's flower, Ichigo sat into his desk and ran his thumb over one of the lily's petals.

"You looking forward to waking up early and climbing the big hill tomorrow?" I teased. Ichigo leaned back into the chair with his hands behind his head.

"Che, yeah right."

"You're dreading it are you?"

"No."

"Don't lie to me."

He scrunched up is nose. "Okay, maybe a little . . ."

"That's what I thought."

~Time Skip~

"Picking a fight on your birthday! Your birthday!"

"In my defense I didn't start it this time!" Ichigo yelled at me from the top of the fire escape he was currently hiding in.

"Oh, yeah, sure you didn't. Telling a high-schooler he has a boiler for a face and meat for brains isn't picking a fight to you? Followed by an ever so sweet kick in the groin?"

I sat next to him as the teenager ran below us. Ichigo smirked. "He was defiling the memorial someone made for that boy who died last year. What else was I supposed to do? He's gone now, stop freaking out."

"I can't freak out, remember? Besides, I'm more worried that if we don't get to your house by five then -" I slammed my hands over my mouth, one after the other, as Ichigo gave me a look.

"If we don't get back by five then what?" he asked, an evil glint in his eye.

"Nothing!" I said quickly. "Your dad just might get mad."

"There's a surprise party waiting at the house for me, isn't there?"

I rolled my eyes. "Pfft, no way! We all know you hate surprise parties."

He stared at me, his eyes narrowing. "You're a really bad liar, Angel."

"Oh, come on!" I whined, hitting the metal stairs. "Karin actually cleaned the entire house while Yuzu worked so hard on your cake! For six-year-olds, they've done a really great job!"

"Okay, okay." He said with a wave of his hand. "I'll pretend to be surprised and happy about it. There better be ice cream too."

I sighed.

Ichigo smirked before looking around. Seeing the area deserted, he swung down the rails and landed on his feet. "Okay, the coast seems to be clear."

"It's not," I deadpanned, seeing the teenager with a new group of friends running this way.

"Whoops." He laughed.

"You're going to be the second death of me, Ichigo! The second DEATH!"