Ichigo & Rukia
Ghosts always made Ichigo's hair stand on end.
He'd been able to see them for as long as he could remember, but he never got used to their lack of dæmon or the isolation that seemed to be a feature of their existence. Most of them wore vacant, pained expressions and wandered in a daze, clutching the chains in their chests and barely noticing the people around them. There was no way to mistake a deceased spirit for a living person; beyond the obvious physical differences, the lack of dæmon made them seem…incomplete. Insubstantial and absent in a way that had nothing to do with their lack of body.
That's why, when the girl in black stepped through his window, he didn't even consider the possibility that she was dead.
Ichigo eyed the intruder in stunned silence from his position on the bed, feeling Hikari (curled up on his chest) tense up and begin to growl deep in her throat. When the girl…who was wielding a sword… jumped to the floor, he snapped back to reality and shot upright, dislodging his dæmon with an annoyed yowl. He'd seen that sword in action earlier and did NOT want to get in its way.
"Who the HELL are you?!"
He waited, muscles tense, for her to turn to him and… do…nothing…?
She completely ignored him, walking around his room with absolutely no regard for its occupant. As the silence stretched from anticipatory to surreal, Ichigo exchanged a confused look with Hikari.
The leopard cat scowled, lashing her tail, and padded towards the intruder's rabbit dæmon (who was, like his person, ignoring Hikari). Ichigo kept one eye the girl's sword and the other on the animals, ready to interfere if something went wrong.
"Oi, what the hell do you think you're doing?"
The rabbit looked through her, ears twitching and nose working but somehow missing the predator standing less than a foot away.
"Hey. HEY!" She hissed, getting right in his face and baring her teeth. "What are you-?"
He hopped right past her and sniffed at the space beneath the door.
Hikari stopped moving, too surprised to maintain her anger. For a moment, she simply blinked and exchanged baffled glances with Ichigo. He took that as his cue to try with the girl, but all attempts to confront her were equally futile.
In the interests of keeping Ichigo safe from the intruder's sword, Hikari decided to make the next move.
She raised one paw, claws safely sheathed, and smacked the rabbit on his rump, jolting him forward and 'accidentally' smashing his face into the door he was sniffing.
Wataru yelped, falling back and shaking his head, then leapt straight up, whirling around and landing face to face with his attacker.
"Who…what…!?"
Hikari smiled, baring way too many teeth for the other animal's comfort.
In the background, Ichigo finally (violently) caught Rukia's attention, but the two dæmons kept their eyes locked on each other.
Ichigo's Dæmon
Species: Asian Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis)
Name: Hikari (Radiance/Light)
Rukia's Dæmon
Species: Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus)
Name: Wataru (Navigation)