The theatre was empty, save for two souls that adorned the center stage. One was a boy of fifteen years with crisp brown hair and dark skin, his eyes were closed with a look of pure calm on his face. Draped across his shoulders was the other. A woman, taller than most, with long snow white hair and jade colored eyes. Her tanned peach skin seemed to emanate a glow of a heavenly sort. Her plump lips seemed glostened and alluring, intoxicating, to even the most prude like individuals. Her body pressed against his back, her arms enveloping him, her hands resting near the center of his torso. The violet colored silk of her kimono draped over his sides. Her cheek nuzzled his own as her head was raised for her mouth to reach his ear, the cool air rushed past it as she took in a breath.
"Good morning, Keigo-kun." She purred, her warm breath against his ear sending a blissful chill through him, "I'm glad you could stop by to visit me. I've been dreadfully lonely you know."
The brunette shinigami could 'hear' the pout forming, her hold over him growing stronger, her hug bringing him deeper. He'd been in this position before, numerous times even. But it felt...different, this time. As though something had changed.
Her teeth nibbled on the lobe of his ear, one of her hands remained over his heart while the other slowly descended to rest upon his thigh. Somewhere deep within his conscious he cursed the baggy nature of his shinigami robes, though he was much too out of it to say anything in that moment. He felt something bubble up his throat and as his lips parted he realized it was a moan. A warm sensation filled his face, and he could tell he was absolutely red in that moment. Her soft chuckling confirmed this, the stool he had been sitting upon vanished, and he was pushed onto his back. Someone was straddling him, hundreds of snow white strings came in from the darkness and ensnared him. He couldn't find it in himself to care. Her hands pressed against his chest as her head dipped down, his eyes were closed but he could still 'see' all this happening, like he was just some spectator, watching a show…
Her lips pressed against his forehead, her hair flowing in a strong breeze that filled the hall they squatted within. The hundreds of strings binding him seemed to grow tighter, and from the darkness came another force, one that commanded him to act. His hands came up and locked around her wrist, she gasped in surprise, though she was simply acting through the motions, not truly surprised in the least. He pushed up getting her off of him, before coming over her like a wild beast would its prey. His eyes still closed with a calm look on his face. His hands moved with each stroke of the strings. First he pushed the strands from her faces, using one arm to keep hers bound above her head, the other went to her kimono. His fingers tracing the line of the rightmost fold, the soft silk warm to the touch and tatilyzingly thin. No longer content with carefully tracing the fabric his hand clenched around the fabric and pulled it away, the thin sapphire colored sash at her waist tearing and coming loose from the force, as the strings commanded him to disrobe her the blue sash floated through the air, freely, without a care, before falling upon the shoulder of a silent observer. His eyes were wide open, with clear distaste in them. His body was shrouded by the garbs of a kuroko kabuki, the only part of his visible, were his trembling, disgust ridden, brown eyes.
Back atop the stage, the disrobing had been partially completed, the fair skinned spirit had been exposed, if only her torso, and had turned her head away in shame as her body was fondled. Her clenched eyes quivered and finally she called out.
"Help! Help! Won't some chivalrous soul come and help!" She screamed, nearly sounding genuine in her pleas for rescue.
The frozen spectator sunk deeper into his velvet seat, his blood running cold at the horrors he was witnessing. Her pleading voice had filled the theater whole and her struggling too seemed genuine, until a loud smack filled the empty space within their hall.
A red mark was quickly forming on her face, the brunette shinigami atop the stage had dragged his hand roughly across her cheek. The pulsing red flesh burned for a second, and stung for many moments afterward. The rough and calloused hands of her molester returned to her breast, and she kept her teeth clenched as to keep from crying out again, lest she be struck once more. No, she could no longer call for a savior, so she peered, she raised her head and peered longingly into the darkness around her, for a hero...for her hero.
After endless minutes of rough handling he stopped, and placed two fingers upon her forehead, his closed eyes and calm face portraying none of his intentions. His two fingers moved down her body in a straight line, down her face, down her neck, between her breast, down her abdomen, and stopped at her waistline. Not of their own however. His calm face, and closed eyes, turned to face whoever had interrupted his fun. It was...someone, a boy most likely given the broad shoulders and overall body shape. He wore a kuroko kabuki, as was usually the case with those kinds of outfits, only his brown eyes were exposed. And they were filled with fury, his grip only seemed to tightened with each passing second, until finally he calm faced shinigami was pulled off and away from the spirit he had been so relentlessly molesting.
The strings attached to his limbs quivered before pulling him back and into the air, above them, high above the stage, his body was fixed rigidly into a crucifixion. His face remained calm, even as blue flames raced down the threads and engulfed his body wholly, leaving only the smouldering shape of what could once be described as a man.
The kuroko took in a breath and moved to turn to face his charge, when the blade of an ornate tanto pierced the black fabric of his clothing, and sunk into his stomach. A coursing, burning pain traveled through him, as his knees failed to keep upright, he crumbled to stage floor, where the topless spirit still sat.
As the blood seeped through the wound, staining not just him, but also the boards of the stage, she leaned in. Her lips pressing against his ear, were she tiredly whispered into his ear…
"Hesitation in the face of atrocities is hideous." She hissed.
[BLEACH THY SOUL]
A loud beeping pulled Keigo from his slumbering. His face had a sheen of cold sweat upon it, and his eyes were bloodshot. His stomach felt uneasy, and his body felt like it had just been through the wringer. He pulled at the deep purple blanket covering him, only to begin to shiver. His body was wracked as a hacking cough came past his lips. He leaned his head over the edge over the bed, were he just so happen to have a waste bin, and continued to cough until he hacked up a wad of phlegm and blood.
His door swung open, his sister stood there, in her high school uniform. She went to Karakura Academy for Girls. She got in on her scores alone, and the fact that their mother was a corporate C.E.O probably didn't hurt.
Anyway, the brown haired girl could the spawn of satan on her best days...but when it came to her little brother getting sick?
Her bag fell from her hands as she ran down the hall toward the bathroom. In what could have been an instant, seriously! Keigo thought for a second that his sister has used the flash step!, she pushed him onto his back and jammed a thermometer into his mouth. A bandana tied around her face, and her phoned pressed against her ear. Keigo wondered who she was calling?
"Ichigo? Yeah, it's me Mizuho. Listen Keigo has a fever of-" she removed the measuring device from his mouth and blanched, "thirty-nine point four!"
Keigo heard some scoffing, and chalked it up to Ichigo not caring and telling her something obvious.
"Well of course he's staying home you moron! Listen, when you get to school tell your homeroom teacher for me, thanks!"
She looked down at her sick brother, and as Keigo looked up at his caring sister...he could see the violet aura of the purest evil rising up behind her. She punched her fist into her open palm and cracked her knuckles.
"Time to battle a bug…"
Keigo silently cried to himself and asked why it had to be him!
[BLEACH THY SOUL]
Ichigo hung up the phone and set it back on the counter of the kitchen within Urahara's shop.
"Who was that Ichigo?" asked a half-awake blond as he dusted off his hat.
"It was Mizuho. Something about Keigo gettin' sick and to tell Ochi Misato-sensei that he'll be absent."
"Did you just say her full name?" Urahara asked, slightly confused by the act.
"Huh? I guess I did…" Ichigo paused, unable to decide why he did such a thing.
They both shared a look before stupid grins split their faces, Ichigo leaned back as he let his laugh shake him completely, while Kisuke covered his laugh with the trusty fan he always had and shuffled in a very controlled way. The two of them remained this way for nearly a solid minutes until a black haired girl with Violet eyes stepped into the room.
"Huh? What's so funny?"
Both men turned to see Rukia in a pair of beige colored pajamas. She had taken residence in the Urahara shop for the time being, though in which room they had no clue as they hadn't found her sleeping. Though it was easy to lose track of people in the 'dorm wing' of the blonds shop. That particular pocket dimension seemed to stretch further than the dessert training room. Ichigo pondered where exactly Tatsuki had gone, seeing as she hadn't been present for breakfast, and her physical body was absent too. He shrugged as he realized he didn't really care. He blinked a few times and realized the other two in the room were still talking, he nearly blanched, this had become a regular thing with him and getting lost in thought was simply to easy. His eyes shifted between the conversing duo, his ears still only picking up a high pitched ringing as he ignored the words. Without much of a guilty thought he began considering using shunpo to evacuate, maybe go and find Yoruichi or her pet cat that always followed him around, get a nice sparring match going. Skip class. If not, he could probably find some thugs...or maybe Sado was around…
"Ichigo!" Urahara clapped his hands before the teens face, and received the cross eyes attention of the boy who had been pulled from his day planning, "Me and Tessai are going to pick up supplies with Jinta and Ururu. Since Yoruichi has decided to make herself scarce, that leaves only one person I can trust Rukia to…"
Ichigo rose both brows in surprise. From what he had been told by Keigo Rukia and Hat-and-clogs, were thick as thieves, and the fact that the blond was considering him capable to watch over her was telling of how far they'd come in their relationship.
"...so could you show her the way to your school, and let Tatsuki know i'm counting on her?" Urahara deadpanned as Ichigo felt the smile that formed on his face melt away.
The ginger haired teen almost didn't realize his hand was moving until he had gave the bastard in the hat the meanest uppercut he could, his face set in a absolute scowl he turned and shoved both hands into his pockets.
"Like I give a damn! Take er' yer damn self!" He huffed, as he made his way out the shop.
Rukia ran over to the spot where the blond man had landed, and removed a light blue, Chappy the Rabbit, hanky and began to dab his cheek. They both instantly noticed she was lightly dabbing the side that had no blood to speak of on it.
"Umm...Rukia?"
"It's a first edition…" She stated, still dabbing his cheek, as if that meant something more to the blond.
"But. I'm bleeding!"
"First. Edition."
Kisuke silently cried to himself as the violet eyed girl smiled, and stood, gently folding and putting the rag away. Now with her precious treasure put away she huffed and placed both hands on her hips.
"What his problem?"
"Who? Ichigo? No, he doesn't have a problem, that's just his way of showing affection."
"If that's how he shows affection, how does he show anger?"
"Usually a slow and painful death." Urahara said without missing a beat. Rukia could feel the comically large drop of sweat roll down her temple.
"And...you want me...to spend the day...with him?"
"That is correct. Yes."
"Why?"
"Because, Tatsuki and you now have a special bond that'll make you two hornier than doped up rabbits. And Ichigo my second strongest deciple, he can keep you safe from anything lowers than an A-class hollow."
Rukia sputtered. Hearing that a Shinigami of only five odd years could take on A-class hollows was, stupefying. She recalled having members of her squadron who couldn't handle C-class or even D-class hollows. She really had to wonder just who is this kid...but then a thought occurred.
"Wait, you said second strongest. Does that make Keigo even stronger?"
"Huh? No, what gave you that idea?" He asked, now sitting up against the wall.
"You only have the two students." She replied instantly.
"Rukia. I'm an ex-captain, I had a squad a thousand strong, i've been in the living world for decades now. Since arriving here I've trained at least twelve people. Granted seven of them are dead, but thats twelve people, just in the human world."
Rukia nodded along, before realizing how incriminating this was, so she got up and ran out after the orange haired boy with the mood problem. But before she left she had to make sure of just one thing.
"Your comment about rabbits in heat relating to me and Tatsuki...you were kidding correct?"
The blond shrugged and made a fifty-fifty gesture with his hand, a small stream of blood still pouring from his head.
[BLEACH THY SOUL]
His blade met the bony white mask of the bird hollow and with a mix of a roar and a shriek, it split apart and turn to ash. The shinigami who had done the deed floated down from his place high in the air onto the mulch field of the playground, his full attention back on the grown man whimpering under the seesaw.
"It's dead, you can come out now." Ichigo said approaching the still cowering man.
"No!" The balding man definitely screamed, "Only a demon could've killed that monster, and I won't get dragged the hell, I'm too smart for it!"
Ichigo being the saintly figure that he was, reached under the childrens device for fun and ripped the man from his hiding place before slamming the pommel, or cap, of his hilt into the man's forehead. The souls eyes bugged for a second, and he swore from the pain, soon a soft panic enveloped him as he realized he was disappearing.
"Ah! Monster! I knew you were one!" He screamed till his last breath was carried away on the wind.
Ichigo sighed and sheathed his sword before walking back toward his body. Which just so happened to be resting on a bench next to Rukia, who had been quietly watching his display.
"Your very...brutish. Have you tried a more calm and soothing approach when performing konso's?"
Ichigo let the electrical energy dance over his skin as he was sucked back into his body. Ignoring the shudder that ran up his back every time he did that, he gave Rukia a look.
"You say something? It's hard to hear you from down there short stuff."
He walked away, a fuming Death God behind him, the fact she was muttering all kinds of obscenities that would make whores, scoundrels, and general scum of the earth blush and look away in shame, went unnoticed by the target of her newly burning hatred. Ichigo also didn't notice that one of his 'friends' otherwise known to the world as, the sex fiend of Karakura, Kojima Mizuiro, snapping a picture of him while he was 'seemingly' asleep on a bench in the park with Rukia so close to him.
The dark haired boy quickly turned to return to class, completely forgetting about the date he had ditched for.
"Oi! Strawberry!" Rukia called out, the grumbling sounds of affirmation coming from Ichigo told her everything she wanted to know, "shouldn't we be in school?"
Ichigo stopped and turned at the waist, his face a hard scowl as he pointed to a large gray building dotting the horizon.
"That's Karakura high, were Tatsuki is. Go bug her." He dismissively said with an uncaring wave.
Rukia huffed and ran up to him, her hands wrapping around his forearm, "You can't cut school! People will think your a delinquent!" She tried to argue, only to pause when he began to laugh.
"Too little, too late. You wanna see delinquency? Follow me!"
She would have said no, and then demanded he go to class, but she doubted she'd be very interested in her power holders academic environment, plus this was the first time her orange haired guide had looked happy all day. And she meant calm relaxed happy, not the feral deranged kind he had been displaying while hacking away the hollow.
Little did she know, that her day would be composed of watching Ichigo beat the crap out of fifteen school thugs. Multiple times. In fact she dare say that watching senseless violence was starting to bore her. With a tired huff she turned away with crossed arms as Ichigo made short work of the groups, no longer caring what the boy did to the foolish humans that thought themselves strong.
She squeaked, a very commanding and not at all high pitched sound, when Ichigo tapped her shoulder and she hadn't felt him coming up behind her. When she turned he forced a toasted waffle cone, with some kind of frozen cream into her hands. She stared at it expectantly, before looking up and seeing Ichigo biting into the frosty pink colored cream on his cone. She looked at the plain looking white color of her own. She was jealous. But she bit that, as well as the frozen cream, and nearly spit both out as the freezing texture touched the insides of her mouth.
Ichigo snickered beside her, "What's the matter? Ice Cream too cold?"
Rukia glared up at him, and how easily he was eating his own 'ice cream' before turning her glare on the cool confectionery in her hand. She finished eating it, and the cone in record time...only to crouch to the floor as her head started to ache.
"Brain freeze too? Man, you sure know how to handle your cold goods." Ichigo taunted before seeing her hand and face. Her hands was stained with blotches of melting vanilla ice cream, and spots of it surrounded her lips. His fingers twitched at his sides, as a couple walked by them, his acute hearing picking up something about their 'compromising stance' and he quickly saw that, in fact, her head was just below his belt.
He produced several napkins and quickly cleaned her face until it shined. A completely different couple walked by and cooed at his act.
Standing to his fool height, feeling so light that a gentle breeze could send him tumbling, he began walking to Karakura High.
"Ichigo? Where are you going now?" She asked, only slightly worried that the boy seemed to have lost all of his conviction to avoid class.
"School...I need a nap…"
[BLEACH THY SOUL]
He pulled down on the plastic head guard. Now with his face moderately protected from round houses, and the like, he stepped onto the mat ready to meet his opponent. He began throwing practice punched, and before long out walked a dark haired girl, she wore the exact same set of clothes and body protection as him, but she looked mildly hesitant to actually throw the punch.
He heard someone say something and she began closing the gap between them, still looking hesitant, so he took the initiative and dove in, punches going left, right, and center. She got into his zone and grabbed the folds of his gi before flipping him, FLIPPING. HIM., onto his back, where she then placed his in an arm bar.
After a moment's pause, he realized he wasn't breaking out of this, and that he was serious pain. His gloved hand slammed furiously against the mat, the fact that he tapped out instead of letting the bitch break his arm so he could then lay into her made him sick.
He got up and was about to really give the girl a go, but his whole body froze when he felt a nearly forgotten presence. A presence that radiated warmth like a personal sun had appeared, and he dared not turn to face it. His chest ached at the thought of it.
But one could one peak really hurt?
He turned and saw her, Misaki. His mother. Standing by the door to his dojo. He ran into her embrace, and squeezed her tightly, like if he let go, it would all fade away.
"Ichigo? Are you okay?" She asked, her hand rubbing soothing circles in his back,
He buried his face deeper into her stomach, "Perfect. I'm perfect…"
She giggled and lifted him up into the air, "Yes. You are my perfect little strawberry." She giggled again and tickled his tummy.
His nine year old self, smiled and went along with it, whatever feeling from before that had given him chills and made him feel like something ominous was looming vanished as he was held in the arms of his mother.
She spun him around once, and he seemingly enjoyed it too much, as now he was walking through the rain with her, in his overly yellow raincoat, boots, and tiny hat. She called him her little lighthouse keeper.
Ichigo let his eyes run down the grassy slope to a girl in a white summer dress with a wide hat to keep sun off her pale skin. Her vaguely green hair didn't so much as waver in the winds. Everything within him told him to look away, to keep walking, to move along, that it didn't matter. But when his hazel orbs saw the figure dive into the water, his stupid brain made him run down the slope to the edge of the water where she'd vanished. His mother calling out for him from the top of the slope.
He reached the bottom and regret filled him as a massive black tentacle shot out of the water and wrapped around his mother, a large flipper came out of the water and then after that six long necks with reptilian head and birdlike beaks came out of the water. Each neck had at least a few dozen eyes on it.
His tiny form couldn't stop shaking as another tentacle came up and wrapped around his mother. It began to constrict, slowly around her. Crushing her.
She reached out to him, "Ichigo help me!"
It snapped. His worried eyes narrowed to those of a boy who was seething with rage, a mist begun to rise from his body before it spun around him like a twister. Once gone he was back to being fifteen, and standing to his full height with his shinigami close. His face a scowl of pure disgust and hate.
"Help? I don't remember much from that night...but she never said 'help'."
The creature seemed to still, and the form of his mother began to laugh.
"Really now? Well then little boy, what will you do now?" It's distorted voice asked.
The rain vanished as Ichigo drew his sword, the world around them flipped its axis, and the canal had disappeared, now half the hollow was obscured by a building. Black flames that glowed red began to erupt around Ichigo, several cut up moons began to fill the slowly darkening sky. A deep red shadow began to burn around Ichigo as his hazel eyes became a deep gold color, the sclera of his eyes became a deep black, as a white bone mask formed on his face, red marking streaked the left side of the mask.
"What'll I do? Simple."
He pointed his sword forward and instantly a red glow traveled from the guard of the blade all along its length to the tip before a giant beam exploded outward and burned away the inky black beast that threatened him.
He turned to see his inner spirit, White- the blade who refuses to share his name, with a mask that he recalled seeing while having his ass thrashed while trying to achieve shikai. His white hand came up and pulled the mask away, his smirk all too telling. It might not have been shikai, but any power boost was welcomed at this point. His, temporarily, golden eyes looked down to notice he was turning to ash. He was already on his way out...
[BLEACH THY SOUL]
Ichigo rocketed out of his seat, which fell to the floor with a clatter, his heart pounding in his temples. He looked around, the whole class was staring back at him, with mild hesitation. He gulped as he pressed his fingers to his face. No mask.
Sighing, he picked up the chair and sat back down, offering no explanation as to what had just occurred. To his side, Tatsuki and Rukia gave each other a concerned look before returning their gaze to the instructor. Ichigo opened a notebook and jotted down the notes he'd slept through. A weird feeling in his gut after that dream…
Little did he know, that upon waking up, he had alerted his presence to a small group that called his town home…The Visored.
[BLEACH THY SOUL]
A/N: Be honest, how many of you thought I was about to throw Xcution at you...? I mean, there's no set up for them so far, aside from a comment about substitutes losing their powers but that's besides the point, anyway; chapter, stuff, dreaming, sword spirits and hollow powers. Stuff is getting built! Up! Yeah, man. Aside from those words...I believe that's it.
Review Replies
Scarease: Yeah, I was hoping to pull Ichigo away from his 'Shield To Everyone' persona and make him a little colder. Also! Naruto OC you say? It's funny, since Ichigo is a big Naruto fan in this, and I was inspired by two Naruto fics. OC's are so cool right? Have you written anything to go along with the character or just thought him up?
goku2134: 'Reread' you say! That's awesome to hear, I'm glad it was entertaining enough to read through again. Your kind words are encouraging, and so far it could be Ichiruki, honestly I'm still undecided but it may go that way depending on what happens in Soul Society. When I saw update soon I nearly posted this chapter, but seeing as I like being a chapter ahead of where you guys are, and I hadn't yet finished eleven, I couldn't really...But here it is!
Well, it's nice of you guys to leave reviews, stay awesome, till next time...
THANKS FOR READING!