*Blinks* Holy shit 11 reviews in one chapter? What is even happening?

Update: ヽ(´▽`)ノ It's a celebration! We have our first contructively negative comment! That's a good thing, right? It means my story is worth not completely scrapping!

Dear 'Ok got IT', here's my reply. Yes, it's stupid. Yes, she may be a bit bonkers. Yes, it's sad. But that's the point. It's called and 'Undertale Effect' because you don't see characters as real, thus easily get rid of monsters left and right. Even if the siblings broke the set storyline of Bleach, she still considers them characters. Why? Because essentially, they are, even to us. Everything you stated was basically the point. And maybe it is unrealistic, but look at Aizen. He's basically a guy who went AWOL because he was too smart. JM? Well, she has a basic grasp of most likely possible future events for the next... two or three years. She's more or less been kidnapped away from everything she knew and then stuck in a world that doesn't acknowledge what she's lost and may as well murder her if they know.

You did say that I'd probably ignore your thing, but... It's, uh, really hard to find guests to PM. *shrug* Anyways, here's a much-delayed chapter in Nobody Lives Here Anymore!


"Hello, little lady. How are you doing?" The worn shopkeeper greets her as she browses the store, hunting through the aisles for chocolates.

"I'm just fine, you?"

The old man grins at her, crooked teeth short and bitten down over years. "Oh, the usual! We've gotten a few new shipments from the farm a few days ago, so we're all restocked! I saved a few of these sweets, I thought you'd like them!"

Pausing her search, Jeanmarie's face turns upward with a grin and she bounds forward, eager at the thought. Bless the old man, he really did mean well towards the residents. "Really? What are they?" She smiled, already knowing the answer. They'd had this conversation many, many times now, after all. It had a few variations, but it was always the same line.

"Hershey's!" The English words rolled awkwardly off the elder's tongue, but even that was enough to make her face split in two with the force of the toothy grin. "I don't know why you like these American sweets so much, but I'm glad you enjoy them! They hardly ever sell, I was sure I'd have to discontinue their marketing."

"I'm really glad you didn't!"

"Me too, little lady, me too." He watches, bemused by the other's exaggerated joy, the extra bounce in their step as they leave.

It's only a few streets down that Jeanmarie wonders how much of that was scripted.

"Nori! Tell that brother of yours to come down to get a haircut soon! It's been a while and I'm sure his scruffy mane is worse. Heck, if he promises to actually take care of that mangy mess, I'll cut it for free!" The matronly woman grumbles, yelling across the street. "Honestly, that boy… hair color is a pain, and that tangled knot on his face doesn't help presentation."

She waves nonchalantly, easy grin on her face as she savors the sweetness that she's carefully eating, trying to preserve it to last. "Don't worry, miss, I will!"

If only she still had a brother to say that to. If only she could feign confusion, ignore it. If only.

Jeanmarie is still trudging along the street when a gang sweeps by, forcing her to flatten herself against a wall. A second later, Ichigo barrels down yelling to get the hell back here, not even noticing her. As she stares down the road, she belatedly remembers the hair appointments. Sighing, she rolls her eyes at the stupidity and resolves to remind the idiot about it later. "Honestly, that… "

She pauses. Swallowing her words, she shakes her head and turns back down to the direction she was heading. Ichigo and Karin and Yuzu could wait. This was one of her lazy days, that was for sure. God knows she needed one, after dealing with all the ghostly business every minute.

Brat. That's what I called my brother all the time, right? I've never called someone else by the stupid tease. Just him. Never someone else.

"Strawberries! Fresh strawberries, sold right here! Newly picked, ready to eat! Try a sample!"

Jeanmarie winces as she shoves through the crowd apologetically, fighting her way towards the stall. Free day, my ass. It was loud, much too warm, and very crowded, bodies everywhere and always moving the wrong direction from which she wanted to be going. In short, it was really annoying. Still, after much harassed pushing and pulling and struggling, she manages to pull away from the main throng, stumbling to a stop at the sellers.

The stranger smiles at her, pushing a red fruit into her hand, and she can't refuse. Sighing, she pushes the small edible into her mouth, white staining pink as the skin gives away under her teeth. The slightly sun-warmed fruit is juicy, ripe, and sweet, a truly high-quality product in this small farmer's market. She smiles, knowing she's definitely found a good deal for these. "I'll just have a few cartons, please!" Pulling out her wallet, she carefully counts out the labelled price.

A little expensive for strawberries, but they were good enough that she deemed the exchange worth it. "Thank you for coming!" They waved her off happily, and Jeanmarie manages to pass a smile before being shoved back into the wave of people.

Saccharine taste, because Mom always complained about how Americans strawberries were too sour and bitter, not sickly sweet like now, while she nodded along pretending she could remember what the red fruits tasted like when they were grown in Asia.

"Hey, Nori!" Brown hair flashes at the edge of her vision and suddenly, black eyes are staring up at her, wide and happy. "How're you doing? I haven't seen you since forever!"

Okiku Matsumara had hardly changed since they had met. Happy and childish, they were loud and constantly talked at Jeanmarie, laughing and joking every minute of her life. She never didn't smile, and was one of the few people that constantly bugged her. "I'm good. You?"

Okiku flashed a toothy, blinding, smile. "Me? I've been great! Schools been awesome, the weather's been great, and I even have a special meetup I'm planning…"

She nodded along. Usually, they'd chatter for a while, see something else that caught their attention, and leave. They always did. It was practically their set conversation with anyone.

"...And I saw a really pretty butterfly yesterday! You know, the really, really rare ones that nobody else really sees around! How lucky do you think that is?"

"Hm? It sounds cool. What did it look like?"

"Oh! It was kinda yellow, but pale yellow, with black veins and…"

Sometimes, Jeanmarie thought, loneliness was less the feeling of being alone by yourself, and more of being able to stand in a crowd and never really talk to anyone. Who knew?

(If only Charlotte and Lily were here… I miss them...)

All in all, this was a good day, she reflected, slipping the key into the lock and trudging in, arms filled with small trinkets she had found at the markets. It was nice, successful, peaceful. Anything you would ask for in a nice, average day of life. No fights, no chaos, nothing to disrupt the serenity of everyday schedules.

All in all, she wished with every part of her heart that she could forget.

(There's rarely anything more painful than the act of remembrance.)


She spent a lot of her time with secret part-time jobs. Especially now, that her charge was out and looking for her. Scowling, she recalled the day after the funeral breakdown Isshin had broken the news.

"I think we should find a counselor, he said. Yeah, right. More like a shrink." Jeanmarie muttered to herself, picking up a wailing toddler. Hoisting them onto her hip, she absentmindedly searched for a feeder with her free hand. "Ah, stop crying, you little baby, please? For your caretaker?" She gave a feeble smile at the infant, finally managing to grab it's bottle and sticking it in the kid's mouth.

As the baby started suckling away, her phone started shaking violently. Frown returning, she pulled it out and pulled a face at the call number. "How angry do you think he'll be if I don't pick up?" Jeanmarie asked the child, still balanced on her hip.

The child blinked at her, and sucked on his bottle. Giving an exasperated groan, she turned it on, wedged it between her ear and her shoulder, and prepared for the whipping she was going to get via a phone call.

"Kurosaki Nori. Tell me where you are right now or so help me god." The voice was low, dark, and furious, and Jeanmarie flinched against her own will.

"Father." She muttered petulantly, placing the now-less-snotty bundle in the crib. Father, not Dad. I only have one Dad. He's not a doctor, he's not a smoker, he only has two kids. I want him back. Clenching her teeth tightly at the surfacing thought, she shoved it away to refocus on the voice muttering angrily in her ear.

"Nori, what in the world were you thinking? We're doing this because we're worried about you, and you run off somewhere without telling us where you've went? Ichigo was looking for you all day! Where did you even go?"

Opening her mouth, she readied herself to reply when another small child walked in, clenching crumpled flowers in a sweaty hand. "Marie-nee! Look! Look! I found these pretty flowers! Aren't they beautiful?"

"Yes, they're very pretty, Konami darling, won't you please put them in the vase? I'm busy." She gave a half smile, gesturing to the call. The said girl gave a silent Oh and obediently trotted away, bless her. Sighing in relief, because it wasn't one of the loud days where every baby in the house seemed to wail at once, Jeanmarie turned her attention back to the conversation. "Look, I don't want to go to the shrink, Father, and I'm busy. I have a job and I'm not telling you where, since you're going to get Ichigo to drag me back. You can chew me out later, alright?"

"Nori, what are you even doing? Was that a child? Are you babysitting for someone?"

Why do you care? You're not my father, anyways.

"Yeah, something like that. Part-time job. Oh, look like a kid's crying, gotta go, bye."

Just a stupid, stupid painting.

"Nor-" Beep. Sighing, she clicked it off. Maybe she could stay over at someone else's house.

A rustle near the doorway alerted her of another presence. "Family troubles?" the voice inquired, sounding mildly concerned. (Oh, they had no idea.)

She shook her head placatingly. "No, nothing like that. Go play with your friends, Teika." Ushering the 12 year old out of the room, Jeanmarie conveniently forgot her phone under the couch.

"You're lying!" Teika pulled out of her grip, staring directly into her eyes with a new kind of look. "You always help us, so you gotta tell us the truth! That way we can help, too!"

Rolling her eyes, she pushed him out the door and into the playground. "That's very nice, Teika." Ignoring his protests, she casually shoved him out the door and closed it firmly, indicating the end of the conversation. Annoying. Why bother caring for them, anyways? Something raged inside her head, but it was small, so she ignored it. It wasn't too bad, working at the orphanage, even for minimum wage.

It stopped the reminders in its tracks, for the most part. The startling difference to everyday life had been a shock, forcing her to really try to get through the day for the first time in years.

And the kids, they didn't question her, had never heard of her, didn't insist on calling her 'Nori'. No, for once in this pitiful life, she was Jeanmarie again, like she had always been, and she-

Loved it? No. She didn't just love it. It was like something had been taken away from her, and she was jubilant that it had. It made her chest pound with happiness every time anyone called for her with that name, made her face split in two to hear the butchered pronunciation. This, came the bright thought, This lack of dysphoria, it gives me wings.

Love it? That was the understatement of the universe.

The kids, the orphans, they seemed to her hear better than anyone else had. The ones who had been left behind, voluntarily or not, the ones who knew the pain of being forgotten, the 'throw away children'. They seemed to feel it just a bit more, and she was glad. It was only pure luck that she had ever gotten this job. Orphanages were pitifully funded in Japan, it seemed, and it was desperate for workers, even ones still in high school. ...Feel? Hear? It's only ink. Ink doesn't have a conscience.

The first time the cash had passed hands, she had smiled.

It was her ticket out of here, after all.

And now, she only had a few more days to go. Just a few more days, and she could be free. Free of reminders, free of mockery, free of her lying reflection.

Miss them?

Ha.

What a joke.

(She would. She hates herself for it.)

"Kurosaki! Come help with lunch!"

"Coming!"

The work continued far into the night, and she got home only a few hours before twilight struck. Biting on her thumbnail nervously, she took a deep breath and placed her hand on the cold doorknob. With a slight turn and a small creak, Jeanmarie slipped into the gap, shivering at the temperature change. Gently tugging off her shoes in the darkness and slipping forward, her toes tip-tapped silently as she made her way through the dark house. Feeling her way into the dark living room, she gave a heaving sigh and relaxed as the emptiness became apparent. Carefully unloading her bag and pulling her hair free from its bun, she reached back to lean on the counter.

"Welcome home."

A strangled Holy fuck! escaped her mouth as the lights flicked on, revealing a very, very unhappy Isshin. Starting violently, she missed the edge of the table, crashing onto the floor. Jeanmarie scrambled back, hissing as she tried not to jump up and down at the blossoming agony where her side had been stabbed by the corner. As she spun around with a limp, half-hunched over in an attempt to ease the pain, she almost screamed in shock at the stranger lurking behind her guardian figure, instead biting down on her lip harder.

"Ah, no need to be so scared of little old me!" The figure stepped forward, making her eyes swivel over to stare at the striped hat. "It's been a long time, Nori-chan."

Urahara Kisuke.

Genius, abandoned shinigami, side player. One of the stronger ones, owning powers that she-couldn't-remember but had a lot of death. Worked in a 'candy' store with a big guy and two small kids. Yoruichi hung out with him a lot. Put the stone into Rukia.

"... Mr. Kisuke." Jeanmarie slowly, quietly acknowledged, throbbing in her side suddenly feeling insignificant to the sound of her heart in her ears. (He knows, we're going to die again, I'm scaredscaredscared) The shinigami were thousands of years old, and she didn't doubt he already knew everything there was about her. Urahara Kisuke was a genius, and a real one, not a faker like herself.

"You remember me, it's really been awhile!"

Oh, I'm so fucking dead - Even I probably don't know how badly screwed I am.

Apparently not noticing her small panic attack in the corner, Isshin continued. "Now, he was worried and agreed to be your counselor for a few days, until you ran off." He glanced to the other, as if some secret could be passed through sight alone. "He said he'd wait until you got back, so I'll let you two talk it out now, before you run away again." He gave a disapproving glare towards her.

"But-"

"Nori." swallowing fearfully, she steeled her face and nodded, almost petulant but not quite. With the confirmation, the black-haired almost-shinigami rose and left silently, almost uncharacteristic to her usual screeching. Jeanmarie just watched despairingly as the door closed behind him, her only hope of escape probably disappearing.

Silence reigned, broken only by her breathing, unnaturally heavy in the darkened room. Her eyes bored into the floor, unable to look up in fear of the utter monster in the room with her.

"..."

They'll kill me, they'll murder me, they'll find out. They have found out, it's just a matter of time until I die now, I don't want to die I don't I can't why can't I look up why can't I run-

I'm scared.

When people had claimed to be 'frozen by fear' before, she had not believed them. What idiot would let themselves be taken over by mere feelings? What incompetent moron would ever be stuck to the ground by a mere delusional emotion? She had snorted and turned her head high.

(What a stupid, stupid girl she had been.)

Her hands were shaking, she couldn't move, couldn't blink, just cower in her stance, shrink away in a way where she was still standing completely still. Her breathing had turned into raspy gasps long ago, cold sweat beading her forehead.

"So…"

Flinching violently enough to almost knock a glass off the counter, Jeanmarie statically lifted her head, staring almost unseeingly at her certain doom. "Y-yes?" Her voice answered, a pitifully high-pitched squeak. Somehow, she couldn't find it in her to feel ashamed, utter terror encompassing her so.

The shopkeeping character laughed, seeming to wave her reaction away with a flick of his hand. "Now, now, relax! I'm not going to eat you! Sit down, get something to drink, all that." He smiled, jovially sly, "We're probably going to be here awhile, no?"

Numbly, she nodded, and felt herself carefully pull out a chair, agonizingly slow, as if under a spell. Frozen, she sat there, straight-backed and stiff. Why hasn't he killed me yet? She wondered dimly, some traces of coherent thought still lingering under the thick layer of terror. I probably deserve it, right? Is he just toying with me?

(Even deeper still, something snarls, furious and spitting. I bet he just wants to watch us cower.)

"Since we're all seated, let's have a talk." The striped hat shades his eyes, and Jeanmarie can only watch him smile.

Across the table, one Urahara Kisuke grinned, half-amused and half-concerned by the fear and anxiety pouring out of the other in waves. I wonder how much of that is justified? He mused internally, scanning the other from under his favorite hat. The girl wasn't even trembling, really, just pale enough to be a corpse and looking so nauseous that he had half a mind to find a bucket lying around before they threw up. As he studied her closely, noting the uncannily fluctuating reiatsu flowing in the air, tilting his head slightly. The pressure, while half-hidden by Ichigo's massive presence, was still prominently different than what he had expected and raised alarms in his hatted mind.

How odd… Just how much stress is she in right now? Or is it something else?

When Yoruichi had told him something was up with the Kurosaki family's eldest, he had half expected-hoped, more like, that something small, something that didn't need to be worried about too much.

"Her levels were shifting severely," The outlaw had reported, "It's shooting from below-average to high, and back! It's like she's depleting them and regaining them in seconds." Yellow-golden eyes bore into him. "There's something wrong with her, and I don't think it's an improvement. She's also very fluent in English, more so than natural. My skills were rusty, from but what I could make out…" Yoruichi sighed.

"Not good?" He hummed.

"Not good."

His relaxed gaze sharpened, and he stiffened infinitesimally. "Aizen?"

The other shook her head. "Negative. Or at least, I hope so. That wasn't like him. His usual tactics involve getting close to his subordinates before manipulating them into his cause. The girl seemed to be extremely unstable, especially if her spiritual power's pattern said anything. She didn't seem to have any real power, other than a great capacity of reiryoku."

Urahara nodded, taking a moment to sort through the information dump. This was… actually not that unexpected. There had always been something vaguely off about the Kurosaki's, he knew, but even he didn't think they'd attract this much trouble. First the whole mess with the quincy-hollow-shinigami attack, then with Ichigo and Nori's extreme reiatsu pressure (The former's was much, much greater than the latter, thank the spirit king for that. Urahara didn't think he could handle two potential powerhouses.), then Masaki's mysteriously vague death. Now the girls. He sighed. It was like the whole family was begging for trouble. "I'll check up on them tomorrow. I'm sure Isshin would let me see if something was too badly off with his daughter, especially with Aizen's possible involvement. I'll try to poke around for information and take reading on her state of power."

"Alright. Be careful." With a sweep of a tail, the former Onmitsukidō leader was gone.


Things are coming to a serious head with this! Thanks for the huge support, everyone, and sorry for the late chapter! School's been really killing me lately, so updates might be a bit slower than usual. Ah, Urahara was so hard to write... Tell me if I did well on his character!

-IDS-

P.S. We have a little link to the basic design concept for little Jeanmarie/Nori down in my bio, tell me what you think!