Author's Note: How're you enjoying the story so far? I've decided to follow the manga, so no filler arcs!
Chapter 2: This is Why I Hate Cemeteries
"Ichigo, wait up," Shigeru yelled as she caught up with the boy.
Ichigo slowed down to a stop waiting for the girl as she bounced over to him.
"Good Morning," she huffed.
He beamed at her, "Hey, Shigeru!"
"...That's odd of him," she thought as they walked.
The two had grown close over the last couple weeks. Shigeru frequently had dinner with the Kurosaki's, which was always great...even if Isshin was insistent on making her his newest daughter. The twin enjoyed her company as well. She'd help Yuzu with the cooking and cleaning, and would help Karin with some of her drills. Ichigo seemed to still be a little awkward around her because of the whole kissing fiasco, but she's ensured him multiple times that it was fine. They'd hunt hollows together during the night with Rukia, who she could tell was getting weaker.
As the two entered the classroom Keigo jumped toward Shigeru for a hug, "Shi~ge~ru!"
Her foot planted in his face on reflex. She blinked as he crumbled to the floor, "Oh, good morning Keigo. I didn't see you there."
"Why're you so cruel," the hyperactive teen groaned.
She shrugged her shoulders before greeting everyone else as she prepared her things for class. After the incident with Kon, as she predicted, the girls in the class had a field day. Both she and Ichigo were bombarded with questions. She ensured them all that she was not interested in Ichigo like that. They were just friends. Shigure even pulled Orihime to the side to personally tell her that she would never see the other teen in a romantic light, if anything they were siblings at this point. Orihime was so flustered as she tried and failed to deny her attraction to the other orange haired teen.
Tatsuki took her seat and faced Shigeru, "Have you considered joining the Karate club?"
"Not really because I have a part-time job after school, and I'm taking mixed-martial-arts classes," Shigure shrugged.
Tatsuki sighed, "Bummer! I'd love to spar with you. Those chumps in the club could use the practice."
The brown haired girl considered it. It would be fun to have actual sparring partners to keep her skills from getting rusty. Ichigo would never spar with her because he thought he'd be able to actually harm her, which earned him a bruising punch to the gut. He didn't know that she had unnatural strength and taught herself how to use her reiatsu to amplify it even further.
She smiled, "How about this, whenever you need someone as a stand-in or for demonstrations I'll clear up my schedule. Does that sound good to you?"
"That would be great! I'll tell the instructor. He's been trying to use me to recruit you for weeks now," Tatsuki grinned as she placed her hands behind her head.
Classes were going by surprisingly quick. Shigeru barely took notes in most classes with math being an exception. It wasn't that she was bad at it; she just hated it and got easily frustrated. Everyone was shocked, even the instructor, when she read a passage perfectly for English. It was her native language in her original universe so that made sense. She tapped her pencil gently on her desk. She glanced out the windows, staring at the clear blue skies.
She hummed, "Not even a cloud in sight…"
She glanced over to Ichigo who seemed to be doing the same thing. Just gazing out the window, but he seemed more melancholy than usual even though he appeared cheerier than usual to his classmates. She pulled her phone out of her desk and looked at the date.
"Oh...it's that time," she glanced back at the boy sadly.
Michiru ran into the class during break, "Tatsuki, you have art right? Did you do your "Future Self" project?"
"Yeah, why," she shrugged.
"Let me see! I'm not confident in mine," Michiru asked shyly.
Tatsuki pulled out a sketch of her holding a championship belt in a ring surrounded by lights, cameras, and her opponent defeated at her feet.
"Wow...How about you, Orihime," Michiru asked.
Orihime rummaged through her bag, "Wait a minute, I'm actually secretly proud of it!"
She unrolled her drawing revealing her as a robot? Shigeru giggled at the girls imagination.
Orihime went on an excited rant about all of the modifications and destructive power of future robot Orihime would have.
"Do you want detention again," Tatsuki yelled at the excited girl.
Michiru yelled, "Orihime! This wasn't how the assignment was supposed to go!"
The group turned to Shigeru expectedly. She laughed nervously.
"Um, mine isn't any better…"
Shigeru unrolled her drawing and laughed nervously.
Tatsuki's mouth dropped.
Michiru sweatdropped.
Orihime's eyes sparkled.
On the paper was an almost photo accurate drawing of Shigeru sitting on a throne made of skulls. A black bone encrusted crown on her head. She was dressed in a white and gold low cut long sleeve dress with her signature toothy grin across her face.
"Shigeru, this is amazing," Orihime gushed.
Tatsuki ran a hand down her face, "They're both getting detention…"
"I don't think I'm going to show my drawing," Michiru grumbled.
Tatsuki jumped up giving Shigeru a noggy, "What is this supposed to be?!"
"Ow! Ow! You're messing up my hair," Shigeru whined at the girl's assault.
Orihime chimed in, "I think Shigeru wants to rule the world in the future as a beautiful queen!"
"That's right!"
"Idiot! Pick something realistic!"
"But we're all queens, Tatsuki. Owwww! Tatsuki, stop!"
Tatsuki finally removed her fist from a disheveled Shigeru, who reached into her bag to grab her brush. As she worked through the tangles, Ichigo silently walked into the class.
Orihime bounced over to him, "Good morning, Ichigo!"
"Oh, hey! Good Morning, Orihime," he beamed back at the girl.
She paused. Worry taking over her features as she watched Ichigo head over to the guys.
"Wow, he's in a good mood today," Michiru inquired as her gaze followed the normal scowling boy.
Orihime frowned, "He seems tense…"
"What do you mean? That's the first time I've ever seen Ichigo smile like that," Michiru asked.
Shigeru silently continued to brush her hair as she glanced at Ichigo then back to Tatsuki as she stood up from her seat.
"What's today's date," the girl asked.
Michiru looked down to her digital watch, "It's the 16th. Why?"
Tatsuki turned away from the girl, "Orihime, you're amazing. It took me three years to realize "that." If you have any urgent business with Ichigo you'd better settle it today."
"Huh, why," Orihime asked.
Shigeru caught the sadden expression that graced Tatsuki's face. Her eyes held so much pain for her friend.
"Because he won't be coming to school tomorrow," she said in a faraway voice.
Shigeru glanced over to Rukia, who was eavesdropping on the conversation. They made eye contact before Rukia looked back down to the book she was studying from.
Shigeru just continued to brush her long brown hair despite the fact that all of the snags were already gone.
Later that day, Tatsuki asked Shigeru to stop by the dojo to introduce herself to the karate club. She agreed. When the final bell rang she pulled Ichigo to the side.
"I'll be coming over for dinner as soon as I'm done with the karate club. Tell Yuzu to wait for me. I'm helping with dinner," she told him.
Ichigo smiled back at her, "Sure thing!"
Before he could walk away she grabbed his wrist. He turned to face the shorter teen, confused about the serious look in her eyes.
"W-What is it, Shigeru," he asked trying to keep a bright smile on his face.
Shigeru stared into his eyes that didn't reflect the smile on his face, "It wasn't your fault."
He froze.
She released his wrist and continued, "You're far too young to be blaming yourself for something completely out of your control."
She turned away from him, "You have to learn how to move forward, Ichigo."
Shigeru went to go grab her bag before hopping over to the waiting Tatsuki. As they left the room she glanced back at the still frozen Ichigo before facing forward. As the two made their way to the dojo Tatsuki warned her that the guys might not take her seriously.
"Is that so? Well I'll have to make sure they never do that again," she smiled maliciously as she cracked her knuckles.
Tatsuki seemed a little nervous seeing the mad gleam in her eyes, "I feel sorry for the guys already."
When they got to the dojo the first thing that Shigeru noticed was how beefy the karate club members were. She assumed the beefier the older they were. One of the boys walked up to the two girls. He was decent looking, tall with slightly tanned skin. His dark shaggy hair was pulled in a low ponytail. His large pecks peeking out of his robes.
"Hey, Tatsuki who's your friend," he asked as he stopped a couple feet away from them.
He looked Shigeru up as the boy basically undressed her with his eyes. She ignored that.
Tatsuki, however, didn't like it one bit and glared at the boy, "Miki, this is Shigeru. She's going to be helping with practices."
Miki and a few of the other guys scoffed and laughed at that. Shigeru smirked crossing her arms over her chest.
"Oh, I'm going to enjoy destroying them," her eyes shimmered with mischief.
"How is this pipsqueak here supposed to help us with practice," Miki laughed.
"I'm average height for a girl," Shigeru pouted.
Tatsuki snapped, "If I remember correctly I handed your ass to you just yesterday, and I'm smaller than her! Seriously, get over yourself! You're not even that talented!"
"Watch it, Arisawa! We all know you're a freak of nature that's the only reason you can even keep up with us," Miki snapped back.
Before Shigeru could interject the room was silenced by the claps of the instructor. She couldn't remember which subject he taught.
"That's enough Tatsuki and Miki," he frowned standing between the bickering students.
"Sorry, Sir," they both bowed.
He sighed, "Tatsuki go get changed, and Miki head toward the mat. You'll be sparring first."
"With who, sir," the teen furrowed his brows.
The instruction cocked his head in Shigeru's direction, "With her. You wanted to prove yourself right?"
The teen tried to speak but was cut off by the man who turned toward the other members, "That goes for all of you. Each one of you will be sparring against Ms. Kuroi today. I've warned you all about that sexist crap when Tatsuki joined the club, and she's our golden star."
Shigeru raised a brow, "This guy is cool. I like him."
The instructor turned to her, "Would you mind putting these idiot students of mine in their place, Ms. Kuroi."
The boys in the dojo looked at Shigeru nervously as she returned their looks of anxiousness with a demonic grin.
"It would be my pleasure," her eyes gleamed with animalistic glee.
"She's a demon!" they all screamed internally regretting their behavior moments earlier.
An hour and a half later…
"I'm finished," Shigeru smiled as she clapped dust off her hands.
Tatsuki whistled as she placed her hands on her hips.
The instructor nodded his head pleased.
The bodies of the Karate Club members were sprawled out across the floor, a couple dangling through the open windows, embedded in the wall, and so forth.
Shigeru ran a hand through her hair, "Well I'd say that this was a successful lesson. So what did we learn today?"
"Sex has nothing to do with talent," the boys groaned in pain.
Shigeru grinned, "Good, good. The lesson was properly received."
She looked at the clock on the wall. If she left right then, she'd make it in time to help Yuzu cook dinner. She stepped on the bodies of the fallen as she went to grab her things.
"I'll see you around, Tatsuki. I gotta run," Shigeru called over her shoulder as she ran off.
As she approached the front gate she heard someone call her name. She turned to see Tatsuki running her way.
"Are you going to Ichigo's," she huffed.
Shigeru nodded, "I'm helping Yuzu with dinner tonight. Why?"
"Has...has Ichigo talked to you about his mom," Tatsuki asked quietly.
Shigeru frowned now fully facing the girl, "No, but the twins have talked to me about her. Tomorrow's the anniversary of her death, right?"
Tatsuki refused to look up from her feet, "I know it's wrong to ask you this because you're new here…"
Shigeru placed a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder. Tatsuki finally looked into Shigeru's brown eyes, "What do you want me to do?"
"Can you keep an eye on him for a couple days," she asked.
Shigeru nodded, "Sure, I can do that."
"Thank you."
"Why me?"
"Huh," Tatsuki blinked.
"Why'd you ask me? Why not Chad or Keigo," Shigeru asked genuinely curious.
A small smile appeared on the girl's face, "You make him smile, I mean, really smile. He seems more comfortable around you than the rest of us lately."
As Shigeru walked to the Kurosaki residence she thought over what Tatsuki told her. She didn't think that Ichigo seemed that much different from when she first arrived. Ichigo was easy-going around her, but they did argue over a lot as well, mainly about Ichigo's hero complex. She would also tell him to actually listen to Rukia. He'd just straight up ignore her and fly head first into fights without even analyzing the situation. Then again they did laugh over things like Rukia's crappy drawings. He'd help her with math homework, and she'd help him with things she didn't get either. She was starting to consider the teen the little brother she never wanted.
She stopped herself from knocking on the front door, "I'll help Ichigo as much as I can. I'll help everyone here when the time comes."
Isshin swung the door open and suddenly pulled the girl into a bear hug.
"Gyah!"
Isshin rubbed his stubble chin against her cheek, "I was getting worried about my eldest daughter! What took you so long to get home?"
"Helping Karate Club," she laughed as his stubble tickled her.
Yuzu ran to the entrance and smiled, "Shigeru! I just finished prepping the ingredients. I'm ready when you are."
"I'll be there in a minute," she laughed, "sorry about this Mr. Kurosaki!"
She thrust her palm against his chin sending the father falling away from her. He grabbed his chin tears streaming down his eyes.
"You got me good, Shigeru dear," he launched a kick toward the teen as she slipped out of her school shoes.
She grabbed his attacking leg, spinning in a circle before tossing him into the living room couch.
Karin punched him in the face, "Settle down!"
Isshin ran to the giant photo of the kids mother and cried, "Masaki! Our daughters are bullying me again!"
Shigeru stared at the photo of Masaki Kurosaki. She was beautiful. Flowing orange curls and a bright smile. By the way the Kurosaki's acted, she must have been a great mother while she was alive. Thinking about mothers started to cause a tightness in her chest. She shook away the feeling.
She beamed at Yuzu, "Let's get started."
Yuzu and Shigeru finished making dinner in no time. Yuzu called for Ichigo to come down to eat, while Karin and Shigeru set the table. Isshin, Karin, and Shigeru took their seats. Yuzu started serving when Ichigo finally dragged himself downstairs.
As they ate the girl told the adults about their day. Shigeru went on about whipping the Karate Club into shape. Isshin mentioned some funny patients that stopped by the clinic. One being a hilarious tale of a man who got his hands super glued to a vase and a hammer. Ichigo stayed relatively quiet the whole time.
Yuzu turned to Shigeru and asked, "Shigeru, what do your parents do?"
Shigeru paused and smiled, "They...they were teachers."
"Were," Karin questioned quietly.
Ichigo turned to face the girl next to him staring at her intently.
"They died in a car accident last year. My aunt took me in, but I didn't want to be a bother," she shrugged with a small smile.
Yuzu started to tear up, "I'm sorry for asking, Shigeru. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."
The teen patted the sweet girl on the head and chuckled, "It's fine! I'm not as sad as I used to be. They wouldn't have wanted me to stay sad forever."
Isshin leaned over the table to pat Shigeru on the head, "Well said…"
"Plus, I've got you guys now. Family can come from anywhere," she beamed at the Kurosaki family, "if that's alright?"
Karin smiled, "Of course it is. You've been practically adopted by Dad anyway."
At that Isshin jumped over to Shigeru pulling her into a bear hug, "Precisely, my beautiful eldest daughter!"
"Not again," she groaned.
Once they were finished eating Shigeru took care of cleaning up. When she finished cleaning she announced that she should head out, but Isshin insisted that she stay for their family meeting. They were planning to visit Masaki's grave tomorrow, and Isshin extended an invitation to her.
She was slightly thrown off by this, "Are you sure it's okay for me to go? I mean this seems, like, pretty personal… I don't want to intrude."
"Nonsense, it'll be fine," Isshin waved her off, "I'm sure Masaki would be glad to see that her grumpy son has a new kind friend."
"I don't know about this…"
"It's fine."
She turned to see Ichigo smiling. Not that fake smile he's been wearing all day. An actual smile.
Ichigo stood up, "It's alright for you to tag along, Shigeru. Now go grab some clothes from your place and come back. We usually go early."
He left to go to his room.
"But where will I sleep," she blinked.
Yuzu smiled, "Our room has plenty of space!"
Shigeru sighed, "Okay…"
The next day
"Too much sun," the brown skinned girl groaned.
Shigeru was not one for extreme heat.
She lifted her black dad cap from over her ponytail to wipe the sweat from her brow. She wore a white, form fitting, sleeveless shirt, purple leggings, and black running shoes. A fanny pack secured around her waist that had her phone and soul candy she got from Kisuke just encase, and it was better than leaving her soulless body lying around every time a hollow appeared.
Yuzu and Karin were leading the group, Isshin in the middle, and she walked alongside Ichigo in the back a few seconds away from making the boy carry her.
"This hill is so tough," Yuzu frowned.
Isshin started cheering for his daughter. Running up the hill on his hands suddenly. All of the man's shenanigans ended with Karin kicking him straight down the hill.
Shigeru was too hot to be amused. She whined, "They have way too much energy...it's too hot for all that!"
"You're more whiny than usual," Ichigo smirked at the girl.
"I don't whine!"
"Doing a hell of a lot of it right now!"
"Carry me and I'll stop."
"Not a chance," he grinned.
She pouted, "You angsty cheeto!"
"Was that joke about my hair," he put the girl into a headlock.
She whined, "Take it how you want to!"
He looked up toward the sky and solemnly muttered, "It is pretty hot today. Even though it's the same 17th...it's so different."
Shigeru was going to say something when she heard Karin, "There's someone up there…"
Ichigo and Shigeru went pale when they saw Rukia waving in their direction.
"Why is she waving at us," Yuzu asked.
The two teens started to panic. Ichigo frantically made up an excuse, "She's a girl I went to middle school with. I'm going to go catch up with her! Let me introduce her to you Shigeru!"
"Wha―"
Ichigo tossed Shigeru over his shoulder, ran to Rukia snatched her up by the arm, and ran off.
"Heh," Karin laughed.
"What do you mean by "heh", Karin," Yuzu turned to her twin.
Karin smiled, "Mean's our Ichigo is growing up!"
With the Idiot-Shinigami-Trio
"Why did you follow us here," Ichigo yelled.
Rukia crossed her arms, "You fool. What would you have done if a hollow appeared and I'm not nearby?"
"I keep my glove on me at all time," Shigeru said as she lifted her chin off of Ichigo's shoulder. She'd managed to adjust her body to piggy-backed him.
Rukia paused, "Oh yeah, you do have one of the gloves too."
Ichigo yelled, "All that for hollows. Can't you be more covert about it?"
"Sorry about that," Rukia blinked.
Ichigo blinked, "Are you angry?"
"No. I'm not angry. Killed…," Rukia crossed her arms.
"What?"
"That's what you told me. That your mother was killed," she continued.
Shigeru jumped off of Ichigo's shoulders, "Oh boy…"
Ichigo placed his hands in his pockets, "I didn't say that, so drop it."
"Who killed her," the shinigami pressed.
Ichigo frowned, "Just drop it, Rukia."
"You said that you've been seeing spirits for as long as you could remember. If that's so, then answer this question for me," she continued.
Shigeru stepped forward and warningly said, "Rukia…"
"Wasn't the thing that killed your mother... a hollow," she finished.
Ichigo froze.
"Dammit, Rukia," Shigeru shook her head.
Rukia quickly tried to reason, "Just think about it! You've been seeing spirits for as long as you can remember, so if your reiatsu was that high a hollow could have targeted you…"
Ichigo's frown deepened.
"And mistaked your mother for―"
"Shut the hell up," he bellowed.
Rukia flinched back.
"Everything to you is "hollow this", "hollow that", that's not what happened! She wasn't killed by some stupid hollow!," he yelled, taking a step toward the shorter teen.
Shigeru grabbed him by the elbow in case he really lost his temper.
"I was only trying to help," Rukia argued.
Ichigo glared at the shinigami, "You don't even know the pain I've had to deal with every day of my life."
He shook off Shigeru's hand and walked off, "Next time, keep your theories to yourself. I killed her."
He ran off leaving the two girls alone.
Rukia couldn't look Shigeru in the eyes, "I...I was really trying to help."
"It was still insensitive, Rukia. We're human. Sometimes we can't process traumatic emotions," Shigeru sighed walking off in the direction the boy ran off to.
She turned to face the smaller woman, "You're lucky, Rukia. If I were him I would have punched you."
Shigeru left the woman to think about her actions.
She closed her eyes to sense where the teen went. Ichigo was standing stationary, she assumed by his mother's grave. Isshin was further down hill by someone with almost non-existent spiritual pressure. The twins were together, but Karin was heading off toward...a hollow.
"Shit, it's Grand Fisher," she hissed.
She fished the soul candy out of her bag before popping one in her mouth. She emerged from her body. She turned to the gikon in her body.
"Keep my body safe and out of sight," she ordered.
It nodded before jumping into the trees to hide.
Shigeru launched herself in the air flying toward the twins. She heard a scream and picked up the pace. She followed Karin's panicked reiatsu. Her eyes widened as she saw Yuzu suspended in the air by the furry hollow's elongated tongue. Karin was being crushed by his webbed foot. Shigeru could no longer bottle up her rage.
"Get your furry ass away from them," she yelled.
She used her reiatsu to enhance her legs as she dove down. Just before her foot connected with the giant hollow, Ichigo swooped in to slice the tongue strangling the younger twin. Catching her in the air before landing to the ground. Shigeru continued her assault kicking the large body off of Karin. Grand Fisher went flying with it's child-like lure before skidding to a stop.
"Shinigami's," it hissed.
Shigeru lifted the black haired girl, "Karin! Are you okay?!"
Karin had already passed out. She patted the small girl on her head as she pulled her close, lifting her into her arms.
Ichigo glared at the child-like lure still believing that it was an actual spirit of a young girl.
"What's going on here?! You're the one from six years ago by the river! Why're you hanging out with a damn hollow," the boy yelled as he placed Yuzu down against a grave.
The girl, or rather, Grand Fisher replied, "Six years ago...I don't remember that far back."
Shigeru placed Karin by her sister. She pulled her blades from their sheaths.
"Oh, I see...you've seen me before," the hollow mused.
Ichigo yelled, "That's right! Now what is this? Are you this hollow's crony? Or being controlled"
It gazed at Ichigo coldly, "Both are wrong, boy."
"Ichigo, get back," Shigeru shouted as she appeared above the hollow's head.
It dashed off at the last moment narrowly avoiding her blades. She grit her teeth in frustration. She jumped back over to Ichigo's side.
She glanced at the boy, "I'm sorry to break this to you, but that is a hollow."
"What? That can't be," Ichigo glared back at the creature, "What the hell are you?!"
Grand Fisher chuckled darkly, "You saw me and survived...you're a lucky man."
The lure turned inside out reattaching itself to the main body of the gorilla-like hollow.
"But that luck has run out," it declared, "Now that you've seen me. I'll have to eat you."
Ichigo trembled slightly, "That kid was a part of it…?"
"Grand Fisher," Rukia called as her and Kon appeared.
Ichigo faced the girl as she explained what the hollow was capable of. Shigeru motioned for Kon to take the twins and hide. As the hollow mocked the group, she noticed that Ichigo was losing it. The boy lunged straight for the creature, slashing away. The hollow jumped away from his attack.
Rukia ran forward and yelled, "Ichigo, You're being careless! Calm down!"
Shigeru stayed behind. She knew that no one would end up dying from this fight, but questioned if it was really okay to watch from the sidelines. This was a fight for revenge. It was a matter of pride, but...
Grand Fisher's arm extended as the monster tried to crush Ichigo's skull. The orange haired shinigami managed to block the arm with his sword. He kicked the limb, slicing it away from his body. As Ichigo landed on his feet, the hollow was right above him fur extending in all directions, preparing to smother the boy.
"Ichigo," Rukia screamed before chanting the incantation for a spell.
Ichigo yelled, "Stop, Rukia!"
He sliced the offended fur away from this body, tossing it to the side before he created some distance between Grand and himself.
Rukia and Shigeru ran over to him.
"Stay out of this, both of you. Just go and protect Yuzu and Karin with Kon," Ichigo ordered still in a crouch.
Rukis shook her head in disbelief, "Are you kidding me? That thing has evaded shinigami for decades! You can't―"
"Shut up," he yelled, silencing the woman, "Just let me do this…This is my fight."
Shigeru placed a hand on Rukia's shoulder. She gave the girl a small reassuring smile, "Let him do this, Rukia."
Rukia turned to face Ichigo again before nodding at the taller girl. She ran back to where Kon was with the girl. Shigeru stayed with the teen out for revenge.
"Why aren't you going with her," Ichigo asked, not facing her.
Shigeru smirked, "You'll someone to help carry away your beat up body when this is over."
He nodded before going back to battle.
The two ran around the place trying to kill each other. Grand Fisher continued to use his fur to try to cocoon the boy. Ichigo slashed at the hair currently surrounding his hand, but he was losing speed as the hollow appeared behind him shooting his hair at him at a quicker rate. Shigeru was starting to memorize the hollow's attack patterns. Not quite predictable, but still very little variations in his approach. The two kept circling each other. Ichigo kept running and dodging attacks.
"What's wrong, boy? Running can't stop me! Just swinging that sword can't stop me," Fisher laughed as he sent multiple attacks the boys way.
Ichigo grit his teeth.
"Don't interfere, you said. But at this level you think you can defeat me, boy?," it cackled.
Ichigo ran at the monster head on, "Aaaah!"
"Didn't I say that that was careless," Grand Fisher mocked inches away from the teens face, "Driving at an enemies chest without a plan."
Fisher went to strike the boy's face, but Ichigo blocked it with his sword.
Shigeru's grip on her sword tightened, "Don't hesitate, idiot."
Fisher's claws extended, impaling Ichigo in the chest. Ichigo fell to the ground as the hollow retreated his claws.
"Careless, careless, with such carelessness you discarded your companions."
Ichigo struggled to get his footing.
"With such carelessness you dive at an enemies chest."
The grip on his sword tightens as blood streams from the hole in his chest.
"It is because of that carelessness you will be controlled by me, and die landing a single blow with your sword," the hollow teased.
He slashed at the hollow, "Shut up! Even if I'm torn limb from limb, I will defeat you!"
Grand Fisher squinted at the boy, "That's why you'll die."
The lure began to take the appearance of the small girl again, "You're young. Young people are easily angered."
Shigeru frowned, "Here it comes. How will you handle this, Ichigo?"
Grand Fisher encased it's head with its giant red hand.
"Through anger your heart will be shaken, with your shaken your blade will dull," the lure began to glow under the monsters hand.
He released the lure . Ichigo's eyes widened with a rage and disbelief. The lure now looked like his mother, Masaki.
"It's over, boy. You're far too young to fight me," Grand Fisher declared gleefully.
He then went on to explain to the shocked Ichigo how he's managed to kill so many shinigami over the years.
As Shigeru watched from the sidelines her blood boiling, "This creature is vile…"
Out of all the hollows and arrancars, she hated this one the most. Even more than the hollow that was a former serial killer. Grand Fisher distorted and disgraced the memories of loved ones. It was infuriating. He didn't do it for his petty amusement. She gripped her swords. Oh, how she wanted to cut the thing down, but that honor would go to someone else in due time. Someone who truly deserved vengeance. Shigeru took a deep breath and loosened the death grip she had on her blades.
"Someone has to be calm here," she huffed.
The fake Masaki spoke, "Ichigo…"
Ichigo was starting to hyperventilate, "This isn't the place to bring my mother's form into!"
He charged forward only for the fake Masaki to cut him off. He froze as it spoke, "Don't Ichigo. Sheath the sword. Don't hurt Momma."
Because of his hesitation, Ichigo was impaled in the stomach along with the lure. Blood splattered everywhere. Grand Fisher pulled his claw from the boy distancing himself from the teen.
Ichigo stabbed his sword in the ground in order to keep his balance. He grit his teeth to fight against the pain.
"That's it! I can't watch this anymore!"
Shigeru sighed as she re-sheathed her swords. She stomped over to the boy, punching him in the head.
Ichigo fell to the ground with a thump. He shot off the ground to glare down at the girl trying to intimidate her with his height, but she couldn't take him seriously with his battered and bloodied body. He could barely even stand.
"What the hell was that for?" he asked in a deadly calm voice.
She glared back and punched him in his already injured gut. He gasped and crumbled to the ground coughing up some blood, "Stop acting like a child and focus! You need to calm down. That thing is not your mother. Now, either kill that monster or be killed by it."
The teen slowly got back on his feet to face the hollow.
"Now decide what you're going to do: live or die," Shigeru frowned, facing to hollow.
The hollow chuckled, "See? Your comrade had to jump in to save you. Out of all the shinigami I've killed you are the weakest of th-"
Ichigo's blade impaled the beast in its shoulder.
"Wha?"
A smile spread across Shigeru's face, "Atta boy!"
Ichigo glared at the monster, ""Anger dulls the blade", that's what you said, right? But you made one mistake…"
He drove the sword further into its shoulder earning a yelp from the beast.
"A dull sword is enough to defeat a bastard like you! It's over Grand Fisher," Ichigo yelled as he sliced away half his body and arm.
The monster screeched as it crawled over the ground. It's blood splattering across the landscape.
Ichigo labored breath echoed through the woods. Rain began to gently fall over them. The hollow glared up at the shinigami as it squirmed on the ground.
"Ichigo! Shigeru," Rukia yelled as she arrived.
Ichigo grinned at her as he huffed, "You're late...I've already handled it."
"You fool. You told me not to interfere," she smiled gently.
Ichigo laughed, "Yeah…"
Rukia's eyes widened, "Ichigo! Behind you!"
Grand Fisher tried to attack the boy from behind. Shigeru intercepted the claws with her blades.
" Seriously, Ichigo… the first rule of battle is literally don't turn your back on the enemy," she grunted as she sliced the claws from the hollow's body.
It screeched as the furry body entered the fake Masaki preparing to escape. Shigeru flashed behind the hollow. She buried her blades into its back and through its chest.
"You might escape, but I want you to know it was because I allowed it," she whispered into the hollows ear, "I would kill you, but this isn't my fight to finish."
She withdrew her blades allowing it to jump away. She turned to see Rukia struggling to hold the bleeding teen back. Shigeru sheathed her swords, and walked over to the two.
"How could you let him go," Ichigo yelled trying to push the smaller girl away to follow the beast.
Rukia struggled to stop the bleeding from his wounds, "Enough! Stop already! This fight is over!"
"No! Not yet! He's still not dead! I can still fight," the boy argued.
Shigeru wrapped her arms gently around the teen from behind. Calmly she said, "It's over, Ichigo. Let it go... just let it go."
The boy finally passed out. Shigeru gently placed him on the ground. She cradled his head on her lap.
"Rukia, can you heal him," she asked quietly.
Rukia nodded her head, "Yes, with his strength...our idiot won't die."
The girls chuckled to each other.
"Shigeru, thank you," Rukia said quietly as she began healing the boys wounds with kido.
The substitute shinigami just hummed as she ran her fingers through the boys hair.
Shigeru plugged her ears as Ichigo complained about the pain he was in after Rukia healed up his wounds.
"I lost...didn't I," the boy asked quietly.
Rukia sighed, "What are you talking about? He fled. No one died. You won."
"But he's still alive," he frowned, "I…"
The boy got to his feet and started to walk off.
"Ichigo," the small woman questioned.
He waved her off, "Sorry...I'll be a while."
Shigeru eyed the boy as he left. She turned to Rukia, "Just give him time alone."
Shigeru went in the opposite direction.
"Where are you going?"
"To go get my body, duh!"
"Sorry, I forget that you're human too."
"Honestly, don't know how to take that," she laughed.
Rukia faced the girl, "I meant that despite being in a situation similar to Ichigo your skills are better than his. You seem more shinigami than human sometimes."
Shigeru hummed as she gazed down at her zanpakuto, "More shinigami than human?"
"Have you learned it's name yet," Rukia asked looking at the swords on the girl's waist.
Shigeru shrugged her shoulders, "Not yet. I haven't tried asking yet. We've still got time for that…"
"I see…"
Rukia stared at the Shigeru's retreating form. She thought about some of Shigeru's abilities, but mainly her swords.
"Shigeru's reiatsu is about the same as Ichigo's. Actually she has a little bit more, but...I wonder why her zanpakuto are so small compared to his. It's not rare, I don't think, but something about her having dual zanpakuto that size seems special. Not to mention she knows it should have a name. I haven't even told Ichigo that. Is Kisuke giving her lessons," she inquired as she stuffed Kon back in her bag.
Shigeru found her body in the exact same spot that she'd left it. The rain flattened her hair and she was soaked to the bone. Once she entered her body she felt the chill from the rain.
She sneezed, "Ugh, I'd rather be hot than cold!"
Isshin was frantic when he saw how soaked Shigeru was from the rain and insisted she stay over to warm up. She was glad to see that the girls were safe. Karin seemed to think that everything that happened was just a dream and convinced herself that they had passed out from the heat.
Shigeru was currently sitting on the couch with Karin. The smaller girl's head was laying on Shigeru's lap. She was fighting her sleep as Shigeru gently raked her fingers through her short black hair. Shigeru flipped through the channels with her free hand.
"The bathroom is free! Shigeru, you can jump in," Yuzu called down.
Karin hugged the teen around her waist and whined, "But I was just getting comfortable!"
"C'mon! I'll come back to reclaim my new job as your pillow when I'm done, " she laughed.
Karin reluctantly rolled off of the girl and grumbled, "You'd better!"
"Bossy lil' thing aren't you," she grinned.
She made her way to the bathroom and stopped when she heard Ichigo and Rukia arguing. Shigeru grinned with an evil twinkle in her eye as she snuck over to his door. Without warning she burst in. Ichigo screamed and Rukia tried and failed to drive into his closet, slipping on Kon, falling face first instead.
"You should really lock the door or keep it down. I can hear you two arguing from the stairs," she grinned.
Ichigo pulled her further in the room and slammed his door behind her. He turned on her, "Why would you do that?"
"I thought it would be funny to scare you," she laughed.
Rukia, who now sported a growing knot on her forehead, whispered harshly, "Well it wasn't!"
Shigeru giggled as she looked around Ichigo's room. It was a lot roomier than it appeared when watching the anime.
"No wonder all the shinigami came to his room for meetings," she mused.
She went to sit on his bed. She ran her hand across the blue blanket with the white cross stretching over its entirety.
"Foreshadowing!"
Ichigo frowned, crossing his arms, "Seriously, Shigeru...you're one of the strangest girls I've met."
"Why, thank you!"
"That's not a compliment," he yelled putting her in a headlock messing up her hair.
"Not the hair!"
He grinned evilly, "It's the only thing you care about! I'll tangle it up nice and good for you!"
"Nooooooo," she whined before flipping the boy away from her.
He went crashing into his closet.
The damage was already done. She pouted as she tried to run a hand through her brown locks.
She sighed, "I'm taking over the bath for a while, plus I promised Karin I'd be her pillow."
Shigeru walked over to exit the room as she reached for the knob Ichigo got off the floor.
"Hey, Shigeru…"
She looked over her shoulder, "Hmm, Ichigo?"
"Thank you," he said scratching his cheek meekly.
She smiled brightly, "Aw! Don't go getting soft on me, Strawberry!"
"Strawberry?!"
She ran out of the room before he could tackle her. He chased after her, leaving Rukia and Kon to themselves. Rukia smiled as she listened to the thumps and bickering.
"Get back here Shigeru!"
"Papa-Isshin, Ichigo's bullying me!"
"Am not!"
"Papa-Isshin to the rescue!"
"Gah! Get away, old man!"
"Dad, Ichigo, stop! Shigeru is trying to take a bath!"
"Yeah! You Strawberry perv!"
"What did you call me?!"
Rukia giggled to herself as she heard another series of crashes and thumps, "Those two are something else."
Kon groaned, "This house is too noisy."
Authors Note: As I said earlier I'm thinking of following the events of the manga more than the anime, but it might seem like a combo of both depending on the situation of fights. Hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter will feature the great Don Kanonji!