Ichigo slowly regained consciousness, wincing as he opened his eyes. Groaning in a mixture of annoyance, confusion, and pain, he sat up and ran a hand through his vibrant orange hair, glancing down absently at the plain black yukata he wore. A pang of recognition hit him, but he ignored it. Looking around, he took in the small, grassy clearing he had woken up in. Patches of small white flowers dotted the clearing around him, insects buzzed almost lazily as they flew through the air, and shafts of sunlight lit up the shady clearing, breaking through the foliage sporadically. A blue sky was visible through the canopy above him, leaves swaying softly in the breeze. However, despite the beauty of the area, it was not peaceful. The sounds of life echoed in the air. Children screaming, people shouting, the echoing sound of footsteps and cart wheels.
"What the fuck?" Ichigo wondered aloud, eyes narrowed in pain as his headache made itself known. Frowning in confusion, he stood up and made his way across the clearing towards the chaos, stumbling slightly as a wave of vertigo hit. He made it out of the clearing and followed the shouts as he navigated his way out of the forest, eyes alert. Ichigo saw light between the trees ahead, and quickened his pace, anxious to find out where the hell he was.
Breaking the tree line, Ichigo froze. Before him was a city, if you could even call it that, absolutely crowded with people. Dirt-caked children wove their way through the crowd, appearing and disappearing with ease. Adults chattered senselessly, seemingly unaware of the hustle and bustle of the packed streets, and merchants screamed their wares at passers-by, their ragged yukata hanging loosely from their sickly frames. The dull, lifeless look in their eyes chilled Ichigo in ways he couldn't describe.
Ichigo, lost in thought, didn't notice when a group of children rushed past, only to pause and stare back at the orange-haired boy blankly. After a moment, a tall black haired boy stepped forward, placing a hand cautiously on Ichigo's shoulder. Ichigo, in response, tensed instinctively and was about to attack whatever had grabbed him when he locked eyes with the obsidian gaze of the other boy. Ichigo shrugged the hand off but continued to stare questioningly.
"Hey, you alright?" The boy asked, allowing Ichigo to shrug his hand off. Ichigo analyzed him cautiously for a moment before frowning.
"Not really." He said slowly, allowing his gaze to wander over the slum again. "Where the hell am I?" The other boy's eyes widened in understanding before he glanced around absently himself.
"Ah, I see. You're new here, aren't you?" He asked, though it was more of an observation. Ichigo nodded in response anyway. Sighing, the black-haired boy ran a hand through his tangled locks before nodding purposefully to himself.
"Well, let me introduce myself. Shin Nakamura, pleased to meet'cha." He said, holding out a hand to the orange haired boy before him. Ichigo scowled in response but shook his hand anyway.
"Kurosaki. Ichigo Kurosaki." Shin nodded in response before continuing.
"Anyway Ichigo, I'm not gonna sugarcoat shit for you. You're dead." Shin said bluntly. Ichigo stared at him blankly for a moment before the words caught up with him.
"I'm what!? Dead? How the fuck can I be dead if I'm standing here, clearly breathing?" Ichigo asked disbelievingly. Shin sighed sympathetically before answering.
"I know this'll be hard to believe, but you're in soul society. It's the destination for just about everyone who dies, besides Hell of course. Though this may as well be Hell. You're in the 78th district, Inuzuri. Which means you're one of the unluckiest sons of bitches I've ever met, considering this is one of the worst districts." Shin finished, frowning slightly. Ichigo stared back at him impassively.
"...I see." Ichigo said after a moment, sighing in annoyance. "Well thanks for the fore-warning. Anything else I should know?"
Shin hesitated for a moment. However, memories of his first few months here, terrified and alone, solidified his resolve to help the kid before him as much as possible.
He'd need it.
"Well, there are a few things." He began, motioning Ichigo to follow him. Ichigo did so warily. Shin sent the rest of his little group, who had been standing a ways away, on their way before leading Ichigo further into the woods. After a few minutes they stopped in the clearing Ichigo had woken up in, where Shin promptly turned and took a seat on the ground, motioning for Ichigo to do the same. When he remained standing Shin sighed, but nodded.
"I didn't want us out in the open when I'm explaining all this. Being distracted and vulnerable aound here gets you killed. Or worse." He explained absently as he gathered his thoughts. Ichigo nodded silently, waiting for Shin to continue.
"Well first of all, I'll tell you a little bit about soul society. I don't know much, and it may not be completely accurate, but it's kept me alive." He added. "There are 80 districts in Rukongai. They get worse and worse the closer you get to the final district, but they also get less restricted. So district one, which is closest to the Seretei, is the richest, cleanest district. They have little to no crime, and many nobles and upper class families live around there. However, they also have tighter security, more laws, and the like. District eighty, of course is the most rundown, crime infested, and dangerous district in all of Soul Society. However, they have practically no laws, so even though it's beyond dangerous, you get away with a lot more. Between those two, the other seventy-eight districts get steadily worse." Shin paused, allowing Ichigo a moment to absorb all the information so far. Ichigo nodded readily to show he was keeping up and Shin continued.
"Seretei, which I mentioned before, is where the Shinigami, or soul reapers, live. Shinigami are the people who protect the world of the living and the souls of humans from hollows, which are monsters that eat human souls. There are rumors that hollows are actually other human souls that the shinigami didn't save in time, but I don't know for sure, so don't take my word for it. Anyway, shinigami are the ones who patrol the districts and take care of any criminals or hollow that they come across. At least, they're supposed to do that. You rarely get shinigami past district forty. A lot of the weaker shinigami are to scared to go further, so we're usually on our own in that area. Shinigami are people with spiritual pressure, and the power to fight hollows. The carry swords and are dressed in black, so you should be able to recognize them if you see them." He paused again, watching as Ichigo frowned absently in confusion, lost in thought. Shin waited until Ichigo nodded, expression carefully blank. Shin shrugged it off and continued.
"Hollows are monsters with white masks and holes in their chests. You'll know it when you see it, trust me. They are to be avoided at all costs. Come to think of it, you probably wanna avoid any shinigami you see too. Any shinigami with the balls to come this far is usually not someone you want to befriend, and almost certainly not here for wholesome reasons. Other than that, you just have to do what it takes to survive here. There are a lot of thieves and rapists, general scum of society. The adults around here have no qualms about killing someone, especially a kid. And if you need anything, whether it be water, clothes, money, or even if you wanna try some food, odds are you'll have to take it. So learn to defend yourself kid, or you won't last three days." Shin advised, standing up. He glanced at the sky, shocked to see it darkening rapidly. He looked back towards the scowling boy before him. He looked like he was about twelve, maybe thirteen. Shin prayed he'd last. He was rather fond of the brat already.
"Anyway, I gotta get going. The others are gonna wonder where the fuck I disappeared to, and I've already told you all I know anyway." Shin said, brushing off his dull blue yukata. Ichigo nodded in acknowledgement.
"Thanks for all the help." He said simply. Shin stared at him for a moment, eyes searching, before dropping his gaze.
"You got a place to stay tonight?" Shin asked after a moment, frowning when Ichigo shrugged absently. Before he could comment Ichigo held up his hand.
"I'll be fine. Honest. Thank you for all your help, like I said. It was more than appreciated. But I can't impose on you, and frankly, I'm not good with other people." He said, flashing a small, sincere smile at a thoroughly shocked Shin. "See you around?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the tree behind him, head tilted towards Shin questioningly, who nodded after a moment.
"Yeah, I'll see you around, Ichigo." He said, turning to walk out of the clearing. However, he stopped when he reached the tree line to stare back at the boy, an unexplainable mixture of curiosity and protectiveness welled up inside him.
"Ichigo?" He asked, waiting for the slight tilt of his head to show the boy was listening. "How much do you remember from your human life?" He asked cautiously. Ichigo froze, expression blank and far away before turning his head away, bangs falling to hide his face.
"Besides my name, nothing." Ichigo said simply, his voice devoid of feeling. Shin shivered at that before nodding sympathetically and continuing out of the clearing.
"Good luck, Ichigo."
Ichigo watched as Shin disappeared through the trees before allowing himself to slide to the ground, back braced against the tree behind him as he winced in agony, knees drawn to his chest, his hands gripping the sides of his head fiercely in a desperate attempt to ward off the agony of his headache, which had grown more and more unbearable as Shin's explanation dragged on. Waves of pain wracked his head, each burst of agony bringing images, sounds, voices. Fuzzy though they were, Ichigo couldn't help but feel they were important. But he couldn't focus on the information as the pain worsened, shooting through his body like he'd been stabbed. With a soft cry of agony, Ichigo finally succumbed to the pain, allowing the darkness to drag him under as he sank into sweet unconsciousness.
"Ichigo."
Ichigo woke, dazed, at the sound of the voice. He sat up, glancing at his surroundings as he did so, and tensing defensively as he realized that he had no clue where he was. It was obviously not Inuzuri. Hell, he didn't even think it was Soul Society. All he could see where sky scrapers, stretching endlessly towards the sky. Glancing down, he realized he couldn't even see the ground.
And then he realized he was sitting on one of the sky scrapers. Sideways.
"What the fuck!? Where the hell am I now!?" Ichigo shouted aloud, flattening himself against the building he was currently seated on, praying he didn't fall to his death, cursing whatever nut job had brought him here.
"Ichigo. Welcome back. It's been a long time."
Ichigo snapped his head around to look for the source of the voice, and instantly locked onto an old man, black cloak billowing out behind him despite the obvious lack of wind, standing oh-so-nonchalantly on a godforsaken flagpole.
"...The fuck? Where am I? Who the hell are you? And how is it that you haven't, oh, I don't know, fallen to your death!?" Ichigo practically shouted at the end. The old man stared blankly back at Ichigo, a tinge of amusement flashing through his eyes before stepping nimbly off the flagpole and practically gliding to Ichigo's side.
"On the contrary, why are you laying down?" He asked, staring impassively at the orange haired boy. Ichigo frowned before sitting up cautiously and, after realizing he wouldn't fall to his death, stood.
"Okay... That's totally normal." He said sarcastically before locking eyes with the old man before him.
"So, who exactly are you? And where the hell am I already?" He asked impatiently, arms crossed over his chest.
"...You don't know who I am?" The old man asked unhappily, staring unblinkingly at the boy before him.
"Well if I knew, I wouldn't be askin' now would I?" Ichigo snarked, scowling in annoyance. The old man sighed in exasperation.
"My name is Zan****u." He said, waiting for Ichigo's reaction. And he did not disappoint.
"What? I couldn't hear you." He said, confusion clear in his eyes. The older man nodded in acceptance, sorrow clear in his eyes.
"You're still not ready. Train hard, Ichigo, and soon, you will be able to hear my name once more." He said simply. Before he could say anything else, the world around him and the old man faded to black.
Ichigo's eyes snapped open, scanning the darkened clearing in confusion. Silence rang heavy in the air, broken only by the occasional shout and distant music. Groaning softly, he uncurled from his position against the tree, wincing as his stiff muscles ached in protest. Standing up, he walked deeper into the forest, walking carefully down the soft incline when he stumbled upon a small stream just beyond the clearing. Realizing how thirsty he was, he drank his fill before settling against the grassy slope behind him, exhaustion dragging at his limbs. His eyes fluttered closed, breathing a soft sigh as he sank into a surprisingly restful sleep. However, before he slipped back into unconsciousness, a nagging thought crossed his mind once more.
'Just who was that guy?'
Woohoo! So we're finally in Soul Society. Sorry if the chapter wasn't very exciting. I needed a chance to bridge his departure from the world of the living with his arrival in Soul Society, and a chance for Ichigo to learn about where he was before I could really jump start his time in Inuzuri. I hope it wasn't too disappointing. I should update again either by the end of the day or tomorrow.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to read and review. And to those who have voted in the poll so far (or messaged me their thoughts). Last I checked there was a tie, so if you haven't already, please go vote! :)