Opening I.

**Asterisk**

Miageta yozora no hoshi tachi no hikari
Miageta yozora no hoshi tachi no hikari

Hitotsu futatsu kane no ne wa hibiku

Kokoro no naka he to hiroku fukaku
Monogatari no you na hoshi no shizuku
Sono naka ni hosoi senro wo kizuku
Jikan to tomo ni jidai wa ugoku
Nagareru hoshi wa shizuka ni ugoku
Me wo tojite mimi wo sumaseba
G.O.O.D. BYE

Hanate hikari makezu ni shikkari

Ima tokihanate dareka ni todoku made
eikou no hikari wa kono mukou ni
KIMItachi to tsukutteku SUTORI

Miageta yozora no hoshi tachi no hikari

Inishie no omoi negai ga jidai
Koe iroaseru
KOTO naku todoku
KIRARI hitomi ni utsuru dareka no sakebi
Kaze ni omoi wo tsuki ni negai wo
Chikara aru kagiri ikitekunda kyou mo
Miageta yozora no hoshi tachi no hikari
Inishie no omoi negai ga jidai
Koe iroaseru
KOTO naku todoku
Bokura no omoi mo itsuka
Dareka no mune ni

Hikari tsuzukeyou ano hoshi no you ni!

Blue Butterflies & Violet Smoke

III.

" The moon cannot hide behind the clouds of smoke,

for its moonlight gives a startling truth..."

Amber eyes slowly revealed themselves open, when the familiar sight of sunlight peeked through his forest green curtains. A heavy hand fell onto his arm, quickly silencing it before it dared to ring and put a damper on his good mood. This morning felt different to the orange haired teen as he laid content in his bed, the faint scent of Noel lingering on his pillow tickling his nose. The barest of smiles touched his usual frowning mouth, and instantly, he knew who was responsible for it. Reaching up towards his face, his fingertips ghosted over the skin of his mouth… his eyes briefly closing as he recalled the softness of her lips against his.

Slowly sitting up from his bed, his mind ran rampant with thoughts of his best friend… but, those were no longer the right words to describe Nihashi Noel to him.

She was more than that.

Ichigo could not remember a time when he had slept so soundly after the death of his mother, but last night was different… everything was changing, and deep down, he knew there was no going back.

Lifting himself out of bed, Ichigo accomplished his daily hygiene routine of brushing his teeth and having a quick shower before he got ready for school.

Raking a hand through his damp orange hair, he bounded downstairs with his school in hand. Ichigo was dressed in the standard boys uniform, however, he purposely left his collar unbuttoned for his own comfort, preferring for a more laid-back look than his school would have liked, but he did not care.

The smell of pancakes and bacon wafted through his nostrils, which meant he was the last one to wake up. Again. Despite being earlier than his own alarm, Ichigo still hadn't managed to wake up earlier than his own family.

In the kitchen, Yuzu stood over the stove, eyeing the pancake with such focus, it would make an archer envious, whilst Karin was flipping through the channels of their living room television set. However, his dad was nowhere in sight. Ichigo figured he must've been busy with patients at the clinic.

At least, he's not here to annoy the hell outta me- Ichigo thought as he picked up a piece of bacon from his plate, and began munching on the end of it. He paused in mid-chew when he heard the sound of the doorbell go off. Yuzu and Karin glanced at the doorway curiously at who could be at their door entirely too early in the morning.

"Don't worry, I'll go check it out." Ichigo assured them, finishing his bacon as he jogged towards the door.

With his signature scowl locked in place, Ichigo swung the door open, only to be greeted by the sight that made his heart thundered inside his chest.

"Noel…" he gaped at her from the doorway.

"... Ichigo." she softly greeted, trying to ignore the pretty hue of pink filling her cheeks. Noel's beautiful blue eyes twinkled up at him as she stood in his doorway, wearing that ridiculously short uniform skirt he both loved and despised. Her hands fiddled with the straps of her school bag as she rocked back and forth on the heels of her black shoes.

After a few moments of staring, Noel sucked in her bottom lip, chewing on the flesh that Ichigo's own mouth had the pleasure of feeling only the night before. "... I know, it's unusual to see me so early, but can I come inside?" Noel tried to tease him, but even she could tell that the air around them had changed… there was no going back, after last night.

"Shit!" Ichigo cursed, opening the door wider, "Sorry, yeah, come in…" he watched her slip under his arm, eagerly making herself at home.

His heart lurched inside his chest, and immediately, Ichigo blamed the intensity of the kiss. Not because he regretted it, no, but because it was the only thing he could seem to think about, now that he had finally a taste and she stood only a few feet away from him. 'I need to calm down…' Ichigo mentally chastised himself.

Noel released a small sigh of relief, feeling right at home when she entered the Kurosaki residence. Her lips curved into an easy smile when she caught sight of Yuzu and Karin, greeting them both with a good morning before she kindly rejected Yuzu's offer of a homemade breakfast, having already eaten a bowl of cereal before she left her own house.

The sight of Karin flipping through the TV channels amused her for a short time, before Noel noticed the lack of Isshin's presence when she entered the kitchen. "Where's your dad?" she looked at Ichigo, unused to the quiet state of Kurosaki Residence.

Ichigo had followed her, taking a quick bite of his toast. "He left for the clinic earlier, probably busy with some regular patients." Ichigo supplied, his amber gaze fixed curiously on her. "Are you feeling sick or something? Do you need to see him? Is that why you're here so early-" he suddenly shook his head, "I mean, not that, you would only come here if something was wrong, but if something is wrong… well, you know you're welcomed here anytime-" Ichigo scratched the back of his head, trying to ignore the awkwardness of the moment.

The faintest sound of giggles reached Noel's ears when she witnessed Ichigo rambling, a sight she would treasure for the rest of her life.

Karin barely held in the snort and Yuzu was too much of a giggler to be quiet, especially when they have never seen their scowly big brother act like such a… teenager. It was incredibly weird to see Ichigo stand there so awkwardly, without his usual scowl on his face, this early in the morning.

What kind of powers did Noel possess, to make their brother act like this?

"I'm fine, Ichi!" Noel quickly moved to assure him, "I can't believe I woke up this early too, but, um…" she trailed off with a brilliant flush filling her cheeks, "... I couldn't wait to see you." Noel revealed with a soft whisper.

Her admittance nearly made Ichigo's own face turn red. Somehow, hearing those words gave him hope, that she too, would acknowledge the change between them and their relationship.

"Yeah…" Ichigo's mouth twisted into the barest of smiles, "... I couldn't wait, either."

They may have been only a few words, but to Noel, it meant the world and more as a beautiful smile lit her face.

If she didn't stop looking at him like that, Ichigo was sure he would not be able to keep his hands to himself, not when he knew how her lips felt against his own…

It was Karin, who broke the tension filled bubble around them, when she cleared her throat, her gaze remaining bored, but… if Noel knew better, she could detect a certain spark of happiness within her dark eyes. "If you're done with… whatever this is, I'd like to not barf out my breakfast-"

"... Karin, leave them be!" Yuzu gently interrupted her twin with a hiss, "They were being cute!"

"Wait, Karin, could you please leave this channel on for a second?" Noel became distracted by the sound of the news reporter on the TV screen, who stood just on the outside of Karakura Station, with the bustling citizens of Karakura behind her. "Witnesses have reported, hearing a loud crash and feeling the ground shake beneath them. The entire area has been closed off, affecting transportation for the citizens-"

Yuzu looked concerned as she held her spatula, "Something bad happening?"

Ichigo crossed his arms, his brows drawn together in a slight scowl, "That's near here."

Noel nodded, recalling all the times Ichigo and her passed by Karakura Station on their walks home from school.

Speaking of school… Noel's azure eyes darted to watch on her wrist, gasping at the sight of the time. "Ichigo!" she reached for his hand, pulling him towards the doorway, "We have to get going before we're late again! Come on!" Noel desperately tried to ignore the cheeky looks Karin and Yuzu had sent, but the blush on rosy cheeks gave her away.

Heading out the door with Noel, Ichigo lifted his school bag over his shoulders, while taking Noel's bag with his free hand. No matter how many times she insisted on carrying her own bag, Ichigo would not budge, simply taking it with an expectant look on his face.

A look Noel knew she could not deny.

On the inside, the raven haired teen was anything but her usual soft composed self. Thoughts of last night played on an endless loop in her mind, she found it difficult to sleep or think about anything else, once she discovered the firmness of Ichigo's lips. Her head was often in the clouds, but never like this, never to the point where she constantly found herself staring at her best friend's lips.

Noel tried her best not to omit any awkwardness, but as they walked towards the end of Ichigo's street, she found it difficult to talk to him because it was… weird.

The truth about their feelings for each other were out in the air… So, what happens next? Noel hummed to herself with a small pout.

Suddenly, she felt two fingers smoothing the crease between her dark brows. Looking up with her big blue eyes, the person of her affections stared down at her with curious amber hues.

"What's wrong with you?" Ichigo questioned, almost accusingly.

"Nothing!" Noel chirped, revealing a false smile, Ichigo knew all too well. "I was just thinking, head up in the clouds-"

He snorted, "Bullshit. What's really goin' on?" Ichigo raised an orange brow at her.

Huffing out a heavy sigh that seemed to come from the deepest pits of her lungs, Noel tried walking ahead of him, but she was no match against Ichigo's long legs. "Sometimes, it's really scary how well you know me…" she mumbled, but loud enough for Ichigo to hear.

A brief chuckle sounded from his lips, a sound that would be strange to anyone else. "That's what happens when your friends with somebody for years-"

"... Oh." Noel mutely nodded, her blue eyes glimmering mischievously. "I suppose you're right… Strawberry-kun."

The name earned a loud annoyed groan from the orange haired teen. "Not this shit again… Noel, you know how much I hate that nickname-"

Spinning around to face him, she simply maintained the innocent look on her face. "... And, you know how much I love that nickname!" Noel leaned up on the tips of her toes, pressing a small kiss against his scowling face. It was meant to be in a teasing manner as she usually did, but as soon as she slowly stepped away, she knew the kiss held more meaning despite it being a simple peck on the cheek.

The dark look reflected in Ichigo's eyes would have sent anyone to flee in fear, but Noel knew better… he was in deep thought.

Memories of last night played in his own head, and suddenly, Ichigo felt the teasing air evaporate around them, being replaced by an unspoken curiosity.

"Are… are you thinking about last night?" Noel whispered with a flushed face.

Ichigo was startled from his thoughts by the sound of her voice. There was a soft pink hue touching the apples of his cheeks, staring at his beautiful best friend with restrained lust. How could he pretend? Especially, when he knew what laid beneath her white collared shirt.

Clearing his throat, Ichigo nodded. "Yeah."

Tucking a raven black strand of hair behind her ear, Noel bit her lip, leaning back and forth on the heels of her shoes. "I… I can't say I regret last night." she admitted with a sigh, "I can't pretend that certain things won't feel or be different between us-"

"... I don't want to pretend, either." Ichigo stepped forward, grasping her small hand in his much larger calloused one. "I've been driving myself nuts thinking about us and I realized something…" he trailed off, his amber brown eyes dark and unwavering. "... We can't be friends anymore. Things have changed too much between us-"

Blue eyes widened with unshed tears, his words wounding her pounding heart, it almost made her physically flinch away from him in pain. "W-what?" Noel was going over it all in her head, wondering if she read the signs wrong, but her emotional rant with herself was interrupted when she felt Ichigo tip her chin back, forcing her eyes up to his.

The sting of tears was starting to become unbearable.

"... I need you to be something more to me." Ichigo finished.

Feelings of hurt and sorrow were replaced with relief, happiness... and love, for the azure eyed girl.

"You always meant something more to me…" Noel sweetly confessed as she leaned up on the tips of her toes, those soft succulent lips of hers searching for Ichigo's eager lips.

There wasn't a time when she wasn't enamored with her orange haired best friend.

The same could be said for the boy who refused to let her go. His hands gently grasped the delicate curve of her face, pulling her closer to his chest, where Ichigo felt he could protect her best. The scent of lavender filled his nostrils, immediately Ichigo knew it to be the fragrance of her shampoo, it was a scent he found himself addicted to, ever since he first embraced Noel.

A secret, Ichigo was too embarrassed to tell her.

Slowly breaking apart, he allowed his thumb to stroke over the reddened skin of her cheeks, his amber eyes alight with a fire, only Noel could ignite within them. "Noel, I-"

"... I know." she panted out with a small smile.

His hold on her wrist never waned as they continued their walk to school, with Noel giggling behind him. It was a strange sight to see, a scowling orange-haired punk holding hands with a beautiful girl with long black hair and glimmering blue eyes. Passersby would have been concerned, if they had not seen the content look on the smaller girl's face.

However, Noel's state of bliss was short-lived when she caught the sight of bright yellow tape surrounding Karakura Station and hoards of news reporters bombarding the police with questions of the incident. The brilliant blue-eyed teen did not have much time to ponder the situation, when Ichigo had begun to lead her down a familiar street.

To the same place where they met that cute little spirit!

Lifting his own bag, Ichigo began searching through it, mentally berating himself for being forgetful. "Damn it…" he uttered, looking guiltily at Noel, "... I forgot the flowers."

He knew Noel wanted to laugh, but instead, she gestured to her own bag, which Ichigo gave her immediately as she nearly tore through its zipper. Coyly smiling almost knowingly, Noel pulled out delicately wrapped flowers from her bag. "I didn't think you'd forget, but…" she revealed bright yellow sunflowers to him, "I brought these, just in case."

"Right, just in case." Ichigo playfully rolled his eyes at her, before reaching down for the vase on the side of the street. Noel carefully handed him the flowers and felt her heart alight when he placed them into the pastel colored vase.

"You think she will like them?" Noel asked, chewing her bottom lip in thought, wondering if she had picked the wrong kind of flowers or maybe the spirit would not like them.

Ichigo stood to his full height, wrapping his arm around her. "Who doesn't like sunflowers?" he shot back with a small grin.

His mother loved sunflowers.

He did not know it, but his words made her feel a huge dose of reassurance and Noel was thankful for it. Pressing a kiss against his cheek, Noel allowed Ichigo to lead her down the street, but halted in mid-step when she felt a sinister presence tingling up her spine.

The street was completely deserted and there was still no sign of the spirit from yesterday. 'Something's wrong…'

"Ichigo… do you feel that?" Noel whispered to him, fear clouding her eyes.

Standing protectively in front of her, Ichigo gave a simple nod. "Yeah… that's strange." he noted, before calling out to the spirit that no longer lingered in the street, "Hello? Anyone here-"

The two teens were startled by a loud screech filling the air, the sound ringing inside their ears with a terrifying thunder. Immediately, their feet carried them down the main roads to where the sound came from, running until the air in their lungs burned. They were met with the sight of screaming citizens of Karakura Town running amok the wreckage that littered the streets in atrocities.

Noel watched in concern when she saw a woman huddled in fear on the corner from where she and Ichigo stood, "Listen… do you hear that sound?" The older woman whispered to her companion.

He slowly shook his head, "I don't hear anything, except you-"

Another loud screech filled the air, forcing Ichigo and Noel to cover their ears in pain. "AHHHHH!" were the panicked screams that sounded from the running passersby when an invisible force crashed against the side of one of the buildings in the middle of the city center. People trampled over another to get ahead, while others huddled together, too afraid to move and praying to avoid the collision.

The crash was invisible to all, except for the eyes of… Ichigo and Noel.

Once the smoke cleared, amber eyes and azure hues were struck speechless in fear when they saw a huge scary looking shadow, with a white and purple mask hiding its hideous face, its long tongue peeking from the lips of its mask hungrily.

In a vain attempt, Ichigo tried to shield Noel from its view, but it was already too late… her eyes witnessed that vile creature.

"What the hell is that?!" Ichigo grounded out between his teeth.

Noel shook in his arms, not used to seeing something so… evil. "I-I don't know…" she felt her blood run cold at the sight of those predatorial golden eyes peering down at them. Almost as if it were toying with them, picking on who it would terrorize next.

Suddenly, Noel heard a familiar voice whisper its way into her ears. Turning her startling blue eyes to the direction of the sound, she desperately searched through the wreckage and found the spirit they helped yesterday, laying helplessly in front of the frightening creature.

Dropping her bag, Noel used this moment of distraction on Ichigo's part to run past him, towards the whimpering spirit who looked for help.

Ichigo felt his heart fall into his stomach when he saw the beautiful dark haired girl ran past him, it all happened in slow-motion, his hands too slow to stop her. "NOEL!" he shouted into the wreckage, his brown eyes vigilante and searching as Noel tried to avoid the crackling concrete beneath her feet.

Noel effectively side-stepped a piece of the crumbling building aimed towards her, picking up her pace, she ducked in an instant, out of reflex, when a huge claw-like hand made a swipe for her. Skidding to a stop, Noel held her hands to her chest, her heart thundering in disbelief.

Shaking her head, Noel continued to run towards the quivering spirit who immediately recognized her. Reaching toward the spirit, Noel let her hands hover the spirit's weakened state. "It's okay, I promise, I won't let it get you!" Noel tried to comfort the crying spirit, standing as tall as she could to hide her from the vision of the masked beast. "I know you're scared, but you need to run-"

A vicious roar made Noel stumble, her blue eyes widening in fear when the beast smashed the concrete below her, forcing her to tumble in front of its hungry gaze, its mouth salivating from the scent of Noel filling its flaring nostrils.

"MMM…" it moaned, licking its false mouth, in excitement.

Noel shivered in both fear and disgust at the horrid sight, but deep down, there was some sense of relief, with the beast distracted, the innocent spirit could run away from here to safety.

"This smell… MMM…" it groaned in devious excitement, "I've never smelt something so mouthwatering, so… PURE!" it nearly purred in pleasure at her, "Forget the little pungent soul! Why settle for less, when I've found something even more TASTIER!"

A scream struggled its way out of Noel's throat as she braced for the end of her life…

… but it never came.

Immediately, she felt herself being hoisted up in familiar arms. Peeking through long dark lashes, the warm color of orange filled her vision. "Are you fucking out of your mind?!" the voice yelled in anger.

All Noel could do was offer a small apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, but the spirit needed to get away!"

"That doesn't mean risking your life!" Ichigo grounded out, before his eyes flickered to the tired spirit running away, "If this keeps up, she won't make it far."

"Help me!" the spirit's tiny voice cried out.

Putting Noel down, the two teens ran towards the spirit, trying desperately to help. "Come on! Run! Hurry!" Ichigo urged her in a panic, and while she nodded, the spirit was too exhausted, she could barely keep up, and Noel wasn't lasting much longer either.

"W-what is that thing?" the spirit murmured in fear, "Why won't it leave me alone?"

"I don't know, but we have to keep going!" Noel rushed out in a tired breath, her small hand encased by Ichigo's larger hand as they ran down the streets of Karakura, but the beast never slowed in its hunt for Noel and the spirit.

"ICHIGO!" Noel screamed, pushing Ichigo from her when she saw the beast's spider-like body, use one of its legs and struck the concrete beside them. Ichigo pulled Noel with him, rolling her away from the collision.

To him, it was clear the ugly bastard was after Noel, but he would be damned before he ever allowed it to get her or the spirit for that matter, without a fight!

"Stay behind me!" Ichigo ordered Noel, who immediately nodded in agreement standing behind him as she shielded the spirit with her own body.

The two spirit-seeing teens shook where they stood, until a sight of a dark blue butterfly flitted to their gazes. 'Beautiful…' Noel thought in a brief moment of warmth, evoked by that small creature flapping its tiny wings. Yet, the butterfly would leave, replaced by a girl barely reaching four-foot-nine, wielding a thin sword, appearing seemingly almost out of thin air.

With one solid strike, time seemed to have slowed down, as the shorter girl slashed the beast with her sword. Unfair and emotionless, she stood. Clad in a black kimono which hid a somewhat boyish figure with large violet eyes and delicate cheekbones, and a mop of black hair that laid unevenly atop her forehead.

Wielding her sword once more, she landed another slash along its body, before landing gracefully on her feet. The tiny girl sheathed her sword, before staring at Noel and Ichigo with a curious yet stern look on her face, before she flashed out of sight, along with the distressed spirit.

Time assumed.

"What was that?!" a person from inside the crowd shouted in a panic, "The sidewalk is burning! Did we just experience another explosion?!"

Ichigo stood beside Noel, dumbfounded at what he had just witnessed. "What the fuck was that?" he cursed aloud.

Noel gave a simple shrug, unsure herself.

One thing she did know, this changed a lot of things about what she knew about spirits. Noel did not bother pushing Ichigo to go to school, after the ordeal they went through, she allowed Ichigo to escort her back to his place, where they both felt safe. A part of her dreaded the speech she would undoubtedly hear from their sensei about her attendance, but a spirit-eating beast was higher on her priority list than school, especially since she and Ichigo were so close to death because of it!

The busty raven haired teen had a feeling this would not be the last time she would see the woman with cold violet eyes, "I guess normal was never in the cards, huh?" Noel muttered to herself, slowly realizing that her world had changed forever.