Okay well...guess what?
I've decided to kill this two week thing...for two reasons: 1! Because you guys complain about it so much and it kills me inside to upset my loyal munchkins! My poor munchkins...so deprived...have some cabbage!
Secondly, I really have been so stuck on writing more for this story. This is the last completed chapter I have in storage for you guys. I haven't been able to write this story as much NOT because I've lost interest, but because I've got my real book to worry about, my baby cousin who's living with us is having her 1st birthday this Saturday! (Happy birthday my little Angel!) and because...wait for it...I GOT A JOB!
Let's leave it at that shall we?
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters associated with the Anime/Manga. They belong to Tite Kubo. Please support the official release!
His mother had always been such a loving woman; always giving and never taking. She never cared for herself when it came to her family, for only when her family was happy was she happy. That smile that always lit up her face was something he aspired to maintain no matter what. For he loved his mother, so dearly, as did the rest of his family. His sisters were attached to her hips, his father never as joyful unless she laughed at his antics. And he could never survive without her loving embrace.
"Come on, Ichigo!" His mother called out to him as they trotted along the forest path. His father was somewhere further ahead, lugging along all the luggage to impress the Kurosaki mother. She giggled at his odd behavior, to which the fifteen year old rolled his eyes. They were like children sometimes, so in love despite their aging. It made him happy that he was lucky enough to have such parents, no matter how much of an idiot his father was.
They were hiking up a long slope through the woods, the sky darkening overhead. He sighed as the crisp smell of fall was upon them. It was a nice evening, and he was glad he had come along.
It was just the three of them, for the girls had stayed over at a friend's house. Yuzu was afraid of going camping, and Karin didn't want to be trapped alongside her father for longer than necessary. He had been the same, but his mother had convinced him with a light scolding that he ought to be nicer to his idiot father.
She should talk to him about attacking me every time I walk through the door... He had thought, letting the smell of the woods fill his nose one more time before trudging up the small incline after his parents, who were lightly bickering over his father's insistence that he carry all the bags. He and his mother only carried their own personal belongings, while his father carried the food and water, the tent, the maps and equipment. His mother tried to reason with him, tell him his back would give under the weight, but the man was stubborn, and refused to accept his old age.
"Don't cry to me when we have to carry you home." His mother said, shaking her head. They continued on, his father boasting about himself incessantly and his mother only nodding with a slight smile gracing her features.
Everything about his mother had been beautiful, right down to her core.
The Kurosaki family could not live without her.
But, unfortunately...
That night...
The Kurosaki's would never get to see her beauty ever again.
–
Days since incident: 0.
The world came in a weak contrast; blurred edges around moving shapes filling his vision as his own voice carried off in a groan. He felt a chill run over his skin, shivers racing down his aching body as he lay on something cold and uncomfortable and wet.
"Ugh..." Ichigo stared listlessly into the open space above him, his mind reeling as he tried to compose himself and figure out where on earth he was right now. He tried to move his fingers, testing out his motor functions as the digits twitched. He lifted his hand, the action feeling somber and tedious, and stared at the crust of dirt and mud caking under his fingernails. He frowned, another chill running over him as the wind began to pick up.
What time was it? What day was it? His amber eyes darted around the sky, noting how the clouds hung around like vultures over a dying animal. He snorted, trying to force himself up to a sitting position.
"Here," Ichigo gave a start as something hit the ground next to his head, the sound reverberating inside of his skull. He hissed in a breath, turning and looking at the black duffel bag he always used for his camping trips.
He looked up to the person who had thrown the bag at him. His vision was still obscured, so it took him a few extra seconds to register who it was that had just thrown the bag at him.
"S-Senna?" He choked, seeing the purple haired girl standing not too far away with her arms crossed. He forced himself with all of his might to stand and cover his dignity, his legs wobbling under the weight of his body. He nearly tumbled, but leaned against a tree to keep himself up.
"Woah, be careful." She said, stepping towards him with her arms out in case he fell. He stared at her in horror, his mind rushing with panicked thoughts. Why was she here? How did she find him? What was happening? He groaned, his head throbbing.
"Shit!" He cursed, holding his head in his hand. Everything hurt, terribly. He had stood too fast, and now the blood was rushing into his already abused skull. He almost wanted to cry from the pain.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" She asked him, her eyes soft and knowing. He looked up at her, and frowned deeply.
"What?" He rasped.
"You look like you're hurting." She said suddenly, moving closer. He flinched, holding up his hand for her to stop.
"Don't come closer," He said. "Just...stay away..."
Senna furrowed her brows. "What happened to you last night?" She asked.
"I'm trying to remember..." He said.
Ichigo's memory was still a haze. He remembered being at the club with Rukia, he remembered dancing...it was coming back to him...slowly... "Ugh!" He yelled out, slamming his fist into the bark of tree behind him. Why did this have to happen to him? Of all people?
"You don't remember, huh?" She sounded somber, as if disappointed. He glanced back up at her, watching as she shook her head and smiled sadly at him.
"What are you doing here?"
She pointed to the bag laying on the ground. "I brought that for you. Figured you'd need it." She shrugged. "I was able to scavenge the items that had been in your pockets last night. They were all over the ground by your ripped clothes. They're in there as well."
He stared at the bag for a second, and frowned again. "How did you find me...?" Ichigo asked, his mind still fuzzy. A headache was splitting his skull in two, making it hard to really concentrate on thinking.
Senna shrugged. "I followed your scent." She said.
His eyes widened. "What did you say?"
"I followed your scent," She repeated, taking a step closer to him. He stared at her, shocked and confused.
"How-?"
"I knew it the second I caught your smell." She suddenly stated, smiling at him lightly. "I knew that we were alike as soon as I walked into that store. I knew it. Your scent was so wild...so feral. And when we touched hands..." She trailed off, and Ichigo was brought back to that bolt he had gotten when they shook hands that first night.
"W-what...what are you talking about, Senna?" His voice shook. "How did you find me here? How did you know I would need that bag? What is going on?"
"C'mon," She chuckled, shaking her head. "You can't tell me you didn't notice, that you couldn't smell it on me."
"Smell what?" He ground out. He was losing patience, his chest heaving as his breath became more erratic.
"You didn't know?" Her smiled was replaced by a frown, her eyebrows knitting together.
"No! I don't even know what you're talking about!" He shouted, groaning as his head throbbed even more now.
"Ichigo," Senna walked up to him, placing her hands on his shoulders. He flinched, but she kept a firm hold on him. "We're alike. We have the same condition. We're both werewolves!"
Ichigo stared at her in mute shock. "Were...wolves..." He echoed, his tongue sour. He clenched his fists as his eyes widened. "You're..."
"Yes," She insisted, gripping his shoulders tightly. "I'm a werewolf too, Kurosaki Ichigo. Just like you."
Ichigo felt a shudder run over his neck. "You're a werewolf..."
"Yes, Ichigo. Can you understand me?" She stared into his face, studying him. She inspected his face, trying to discover what was wrong. "Are you still messed up from the Change?"
"Get away from me." Ichigo said, grabbing her wrists and yanking them off of him.
"Ichigo?" She said, confused. She pulled back, her hands curling into little balls. "What's-"
"Stay away from me!" He yelled. He quickly turned and made a dash in the opposite direction of the purple haired woman.
"Wait!" Senna called after him, snatching up the bag and giving chase. "Come back! You don't have to be afraid!"
Ichigo didn't listen, and forced his sore body to wind around trees and jump over bushes. The air was chilly, his naked body being smacked unforgivably by the wind as he sped past, but he persevered and pumped his legs through the woods in an attempt to escape the other monster chasing him.
"Ichigo!" Senna was catching up quickly, her body more spry than his own abused one. She lunged and tackled him, throwing her weight against him and sending him forward onto the ground with a painful thud. He yelped, feeling his naked body being poked and scratched by sticks and rocks that dug into the dirt, slight jabs all along his torso sending pain through him. "Please, just listen to me!"
"Why should I?" He yelled. "I don't want to associate with anyone like you!"
"Just calm down!" She placed her knee down between his shoulders to keep him on the ground. He wiggled and squired, trying to break free and make another run for his apartment. He wanted to hide in the sanctity that was his home- or at least as close to home as he could get- and just shower and sleep under the warmth of his blankets for the rest of the year.
"Get off of me!" He wailed, fighting against her, but his limbs were practically useless now. Every ounce of strength he usually had was sapped out of him from the strenuousness of the night before. He felt so weak, so frail in this state that it made him want to scream.
"Please..." Senna begged of him. "We're the same...aren't you interested at all to know what I do of our condition?" She offered.
"No!" He growled, slamming his fist into the dirt. "I don't want to know shit! All I know is that this is a damn curse and I don't fucking want it! So unless you have a cure, which I highly doubt, get the fuck off of me!"
"I can help you control it!" She said, and instantly he stopped fighting.
"What was that?"
"I've been like this for most of my life, and I can help you control it better." She explained, loosening her grip on him. "Nights like last night won't happen ever again."
Ichigo pushed her off and quickly stood, glaring at her. "Why would you want to help me?" He questioned, suspicious.
She stared him down for a second, her lips moving into a thin line as she contemplated his question. "What I want isn't important. What is important is that you need help, and I can give it to you." She said.
"That's not a good answer." He growled. "No one helps someone they just met like this without a reason." He accused.
"Ichigo-"
"Answer the damn question!" He shouted.
Senna bit her lip and backed away a step. "It's been so long since I've found someone like me...we're a rare breed, Ichigo." The look in her eyes then was sad, desperate. He eased his tense muscles and let his eyes soften, knowing her pain. "I'm so lonely...and...I thought maybe we could help each other out..."
Ichigo frowned, running his muddy fingers through his damp hair. "You think by helping me I can ease your loneliness?" He looked at her, his hands dangling at his sides. "What makes you think I'm the guy for that? Just because we have the same problem, doesn't mean I can help you."
"You can," She said, looking back up at him. "You're just as lonely...I can tell." He winced slightly at her words, for they were true. "We both can help each other. I will teach you how to control this thing, and in doing so we both won't have to be alone any longer."
Ichigo considered her words. "That's it?" He asked.
She nodded. "That's it..."
He stared her down for a second. He knew he shouldn't do it, shouldn't get involved with someone like her. She was like him; a monster. How did he know this was her true intentions? How did he not know she planned to kill him, or worse, his family?
He took in her appearance, and frowned. She didn't look much like a monster, and really, neither did he. They weren't the monsters, he realized, but the things they turned into were. Werewolves. He couldn't count her as a monster solely because she became one during the full moon, because then he himself would be counted as one. And even though he relentlessly calls himself one he knows that when it came down to it that the true beast was the thing hiding under the skin, not the one controlling the human body.
Ichigo had always imagined the one who had infected him as a disgusting, ravenous thing that didn't deserve to walk this earth. In his mind the beast had no right to exist, but at that moment he imagined it for once for what was on the other side of the coin. That monster wasn't always a monster, because it was only a beast whenever it lost control. The full moon was when he was attacked, and on that night there was no humanity, no logic or self-control. There was a person underneath all that fur and claws and teeth, so who was he to decide if Senna was a monster if really she was only one for a short time?
"What would I have to do?" He finally said after a moment's silence. Her face lit up at his words, her lips curling into a smile and her eyes shining in the light.
"In good time!" She said, that old chipper attitude he had grown to expect of her showing again. "First though, it'd mean so much to me if you got dressed. I'm getting a little uncomfortable." She giggled as Ichigo blushed and covered himself, having forgotten that he was standing completely naked in front of this girl.
She threw him the bag and he caught it and went behind a tree to dress.
–
Ichigo and Senna walked back to his apartment in relative silence. He was truly shocked to find that the usual flamboyant attitude Senna had was replaced by a somber, pensive one. She was actually withdrawn into herself rather than blurting out every thought that came to mind.
It slightly unnerved him.
When they reached his building he didn't offer for her to come up with him, and she didn't make such request. They parted, with the promise that Senna would come by again later. He watched her go until she was in the street, and then went up into his apartment to shower and rest.
His body felt as if on fire, aching at the joints and stiff in the muscles. He relished in a hot shower, his cold, bluing skin turning pinkish as the cold and dirt and mud washed away under the faucet. He sighed once he was out of the shower, standing naked in his apartment dripping wet for no reason other than to think.
Ichigo decided to skip school today, and instead opted to sleep in his bed for most of the day to let his body heal from the night before. A dreamless sleep was what he needed, and it was what he got before waking at around three in the afternoon.
He ate and watched television while he waited for work. At about four-thirty he heard Urahara opening the shop downstairs, and figured he'd go down and begin his shift early to make up for having missed work the day before.
After descending the stairs, each step bringing forth a small wince as his legs felt cramped, he walked out to the front where Urahara was opening and plugging in the register.
"Oh! Ichigo!" The old shop-keep blinked at the young teen when he appeared from behind him. "I didn't know you stayed home today." He said.
"Yeah, didn't feel well enough for school." Ichigo said, walking by Urahara and sitting down in the stool behind the counter.
Urahara watched him sit. "I can see you're a little sluggish. You too sick for work?" He asked sincerely.
"I'm fine," Ichigo replied, leaning against the counter. "I can work."
Urahara was silent for a moment, staring from under his bucket hat at his god-child. "You look like hell." He noted.
Ichigo snorted. "Glad I'm not trying to impress any girls." He quipped.
The older man gave a laugh, patting Ichigo on the back. He winced at the contact. "Don't worry my boy! Even when disheveled and pale-looking you probably could get any girl who walks through that door." He grinned widely, a playful glint in his eye.
"Sure," The young man said, dismissing his boss. "I'm going to work the register today." He said.
"Fine by me," Urahara shrugged, walking back to the front of the shop. "I believe young Sado-kun will be here shortly. He will take care of the heavy lifting."
"It's cold out. You can't sun-bathe today." Ichigo commented as he watched Urahara make to go out front.
"Oh my dear child!" Urahara sang. "I'm not going out there to sun-bathe. I have a quick errand to run. You will be fine alone for five minutes right?"
Ichigo grunted in response.
"Good!" Urahara clapped his hands. "I will be back." He said and closed the door behind him.
Ichigo shook his head at his god-father. What a buffoon he found himself thinking for the hundredth time. He checked the register as per routine and sighed as he placed his head on the counter-top to relax.
A few minutes passed before the door opened to reveal Chad walking in wearing his black jacket and matching pants. "Hey," The ogre of a teen nodded in greeting.
"Yo," Ichigo returned the nod.
"You look like hell." Chad said, his brown eyes scanning the other teen from behind his locks.
"Thanks," Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Urahara is out right now. So it's just us for a bit."
Chad nodded and walked towards the back. He opened a closet and pulled out a broom to sweep. "Are you alright?" He asked once he had removed his jacket and was sweeping the floor around the counter.
Ichigo nodded. "Yeah...just tired." He lied. In truth it felt as if his skin was about to burst from the throbbing of his muscles. "Long night."
"You were out with a girl, right?" Chad said, glancing at him.
"How did you know?" Ichigo raised a brow in question.
"Urahara."
"How the hell did he know?" Ichigo shook his head in wonder. "Is he spying on me or something?"
Chad shrugged. "I wouldn't doubt it."
"Me neither," Ichigo grunted in exasperation. That damn old man is spreading my business around. "Yes, I was out with a girl. And her friend...who is a guy." He added once he saw the way Chad was looking at him.
"So it wasn't a date?" Chad asked, curious.
"No," Ichigo said. "It wasn't. Just an outing." He sighed. "If it had been a date I would have ruined it..."
"How so?" Chad pressed.
Ichigo looked off to the side, placing his head in his palm. "Got into a fight with some assholes." He thought of the events of the night before. They had come back to him as he and Senna walked back to his apartment. The look in Rukia's eyes when she had seen him...it sent a shiver over his skin.
"I'm sorry," The boulder of a person said for a lack of anything better.
"Not your fault." Ichigo waved him off. "Not meant to date I guess." He said sadly.
"Thought it wasn't a date." Chad quipped.
"Shut up." Ichigo growled tiredly.
Chad chuckled softly, something of a rarity for the teen. Ichigo smiled lightly to himself as he watched his friend sweep up the shop.
Eh, not so happy with this chapter. Now I'm analyzing this story thanks to a hefty review from a very smart person who's left me trying to rethink everything about this story *_* There are MANY issues, such as Rukia's character and the confusingness of her and Ichigo's relationship and the such. I actually have been planning on that whole thing, but the fact I haven't implemented it yet is a bad thing and I apologize for my shitty writing.
The next few chapters will be more plot-based and will move quicker along the story rather than just sit idly by. Again, I am sorry.
Before I go...SHOUT OUT TO KUIIN! (Again...lol!) She's been feeling down lately from what I can tell and to help make her feel better everyone who reviews say something kind about her! Or else... -Knife glints in moonlight-
REVIEW!
I suck with the long ass A/N...but really quick I have revised Werewolf Rehabilitation Camp on an epic scale and you should all go check that out. I'm so very proud of that story, and I'm just a tad bit sad it's only at like 30 reviews for four chapters. Go read and...REVIEW!
