After too long of just sitting in front of the TV, still watching shows with little context as he wasn't touching the remote, he decided he'd workout in the backyard. It was small, but big enough to exercise. He was able to know instantly what his body could and couldn't handle. He did push ups, hundreds of them, putting a heavy potted plant on his back for a weight.
All three kids had come back while he was working out, the second hour. It felt great! By then, he was doing hand stand push ups with the potted plant between both feet above him. Karin slid open the back door, and Ace was panting and dripping sweat. But his arms didn't shake. "Holy crap, what the heck?"
He looked to the side, and used his core to slowly lower his legs and set the potted plant down. He sat down, leaning back on his hands, and caught his breath. "How long have you been working out?" she demanded, seeing just how wet he was with sweat. It didn't evaporate this time. He kind of wished it had.
"Two hours," he said, catching his breath back quickly. Ichigo saw his workout with his brows raised.
"You know exercising hard for two hours is probably not good for your health, right?" he asked, with a single raised brow. Ace said he felt fine. He was thrown a towel and wiped the sweat away before returning the potted plant to the place it had been before the work out, and went inside.
He had a protein shake, which was nice that they had them. The flavor was terrible, and Karin passed him chocolate syrup that he squirted into the bottle and shook it up. "That flavor is horrible," Yuzu said in distaste.
"Kind of, yeah," Ace agreed. "Hey, do you need to go shopping? Isshin told me I shouldn't look for work until the stupid narcolepsy is under control, and shopping with you as an escort would be helpful."
Yuzu looked at a little pad of paper on the refrigerator. "I could go today, but I have homework. Can you go out in public, though? You won't fall asleep?"
"Nah, I never fall asleep in public. Well, it's happened I think when I eat out, but not during any other time," Ace said, waving his hand off to dismiss the worry. So, he spent the rest of the day helping with the laundry and cleaning, the least he could do for now. Truthfully, he was worried to get a job and risk being an idiot and getting fired. It would be so embarrassing.
There was a new presence back, and it was right behind Ichigo, who looked annoyed and his eye ketch twitching until he finally shouted at whatever Ace knew was there. "It really is there!" Ace said, pointing obnoxiously. The three kids looked wary before Karin sighed and explained that Ichigo could see ghosts and the others could sense them. "You can too, right?"
"Yeah, I thought it was crazy. But are you guys ghosts, too? I mean, stupid quiestion, but it kind of feels the same as the ghost stuff," Ace said. Clearly this was not what they felt, and shook their heads. "Oh, okay, nevermind then."
"You can really like, sense us? Can you prove it?" Karin asked, smirking. Ace shrugged. "Hmm. wait here. I'll be upstairs, and you see if you can tell where I am."
"You're totally setting me up to look like an idiot." She just said "maybe". Ace sighed, and closed his eyes. "I think on top of the washing machine. Or the dryer, I can't tell." Yuzu went up to check and both sisters came down looking surprised.
Ichigo asked if it had been correct. "Yeah, I was on the washing machine. You're weird." Ace sighed.
"Thanks. That makes me feel great," Ace said in slight annoyance. He wouldn't speak of the steaming thing. That was just too weird. Karin laughed, and it was odd how open they seemed to be with him. Maybe he did come across as a good person. Very honest and blunt, able to recognize his faults, wanting to be helpful in any way. Those were traits of good people, right?
But he couldn't be too good if he forgot about his family. It made him feel guilty, but he didn't show it. He flopped onto the couch, kind of tired from the workout, but not enough to take a real nap. Ichigo went to his room, and Yuzu and Karin worked on "homework" at the dining room table. He wasn't sure what he should do now, so he picked up a newspaper and read it. Many things made no sense, but he felt he was proactive about learning everything he didn't know. An encyclopedia would be more helpful, though. But beggars can't be choosers.
At dinner, Ace offered to help Yuzu out. "Do you know any good recipes?"
"There's one I really like, but I don't want to waste food." She offered for him to make a small sample and she could taste test it. "Alright. I'll see if you have the ingredients," he said, happy to help and hoping she liked it. He looked in the fridge and kitchen cupboards, surprising they had all the ingredients.
Since the serving size he usually made was five, he did the calculations on the amount of ingredients on a piece of paper, glad he actually did know math, even if this was pretty rudimentary.
He prepared the ingredients, measuring them all. He wouldn't have the sticky rice made because they all knew how that tasted, clearly. Ace made the ground beef dish, mixing everything into the sauce after draining the wet, gross leftovers from cooking beef into the sink, and then mixed in the sauce. It really was a single serving and took very little amounts of the food included.
She let it cool for a bit before taking a bite of it. Ace watched her face carefully, hoping he didn't just prepare a shit dish. "Wow! That tastes really good!" Ace smiled in relief. "You have to give me the recipe. You did it all from experience?"
"Yeah. I assume I've made it a lot. It's nice to remember some things, even if they're insignificant. Wanna make a bigger batch?" She gladly agreed, and Ace measured out the proper amount for a serving of five, which was what they needed. There would be little to no leftovers, though.
He instructed Yuzu on what to do and in what order. She seemed a natural in the kitchen, and it was clear she must do all of the cooking. He taste tested it, but she worried when he put the burning spoon into his mouth. It didn't hurt, though. It was weird, but he was glad she didn't dwell on it.
"I think we need a little more brown sugar," Ace said. She measured out just a bit more, and put it inside. Mixing it up, he took a small spoonful again. He smiled; it tasted correct. "I usually put it over sticky rice," he added, but the rice cooker had already started. They could have had it as a side, so that was why it was being cooked.
Once the others came to the table, Yuzu served them, putting the meat and sauce over the rice. Ace mixed his up in a bowl. The other three had never had this dish, and the brown haired girl said it was a recipe from Ace. They took their first bites, and they clearly thought it was good. He felt some amount of pride for helping out in a way only he could.
"I didn't peg you as someone skilled in the kitchen," Ichigo said. Ace shrugged, not knowing if he was actually good or just had the recipe memorized. But they were happy with the food, and Ace felt fulfilled the rest of the night, glad to be of use and not just a plain freeloader all the time, watching TV.
-x-
Ace held Ichigo's ankles to a handstand form, as he attempted an assisted handstand push up. "Elbows more tucked in. Not facing outwards," Ace instructed. "I'm gonna let go."
"Okay." Ace released his ankles, and Ichigo promptly fell over, hitting the wood floor with an "oof!". "Shit."
"You should start out easier. Jumping into this will probably only lead to failure," Ace said. "Do three hundred push ups with me sitting on your back." Ichigo looked at him like he was an idiot, but saw Ace was being serious. It didn't seem like the orange head liked failing or not living up to expectations, so Ace sat on his back as he did the push ups.
He got to 120 before he couldn't do any more. "Good start," Ace said honestly. Ichigo was laying on his stomach, panting. He wasn't out of shape, he was actually in great shape for being fifteen. Of course Ace was only two years older, but he must have been working out for a very long time, maybe even since his childhood.
-x-
"I'm bored," Ace complained, bouncing a ball against Ichigo's bedroom wall. He didn't seem distracted by it at all.
"All you do is eat, sleep and workout. It's not exactly surprising."
"Stupid narcolepsy."
"Yuzu probably wants you as a house wife, and doesn't want you to go get a job," he said seriously. "She's super attached. And amused when you were in awe of cube watermelons. They're sold everywhere."
"Shut up, they're awesome," Ace grumbled, and Ichigo smiled in amusement. "Are you still getting into fights?" Ace asked. "Mr. Grumpy Grump."
"I told you to stop calling me that!"
"Then get rid of your resting bitch face," Ace joked. Ichigo made an annoyed sound, but confirmed he was still getting into fights. "Naughty boy."
"Get out if you're just going to be annoying." Ace stopped teasing, and kept bouncing the ball. It had been two weeks of staying with them, and unfortunately, Ace's narcolepsy medicine caused him to have night terrors and nausea. So they were stopped when it was clear Ace was suffering side affects when he woke everyone up from screaming from the couch in his sleep.
It had been very embarrassing, and he never talked about it. It was just him, burning to death while he had daggers and swords protruding from his body. He had looked at the scars on his chest, and was relieved to see none of them lined up with his dream, so hopefully it hadn't been a memory. Plus, he didn't have a single burn scar.
"You could walk with me to school," Ichigo said. "Even if you're a drop-out and can't remember anything about school in general." Ace sighed, but didn't think he'd been a drop-out. If he had gone to high school, he'd know what it was at least. But was he living under a fucking rock? Never learning about phones or cars or TVs.
It made it seem Ace had had a very sheltered life, to the extreme. And the scars made it seem he could have been possibly abused. So many scars in so many places on a seventeen year old just… it wasn't normal. But he could not confirm or dismiss the possibility of escaping an abusive home since he was unable to remember anything.
But Ace agreed to walk to school with him. He'd already memorized the neighborhood by staring at the map of it for three hours straight, and drawing it from memory on paper. When Ichigo finished his homework, Ace went downstairs and took one of the scheduled naps. He was still sleeping on the couch, and that was fine.
The next day, Ace did indeed walk with Ichigo to school. It was kind of boring on the way there, since they didn't talk, but when they got to campus, Ace was interested in the building having multiple floors and just the layout. "Have fun," Ace said.
"Good luck not being bored."
"Yeah," Ace grumbled. He watched as the gates closed so no more people could get in. It was good security, but the wall wasn't big enough to not be hopped over by a tall person. Ace turned back around, and headed back to the house, which would be empty as Isshin worked in the clinic. He could smell antiseptic from under the door sometimes when he passed the one connecting that part of the house to the one they lived in.
He walked past some clear high school kids who weren't in school. Not that Ace could complain, though he didn't look like a seventeen year old. At least, not his body. His freckles made him look young regardless of height or muscle. He walked past them until he was stopped. "Hey! You were walking with Kurosaki, weren't you?" one guy with a skateboard said.
"Yeah," Ace said, and turned to walk away. His hands were in his pockets, ignoring them. But they followed him, and one guy tried to grab his shoulder. Ace suddenly fought back, nailing each of them in the gut and kicking them in the balls before kicking their faces, throwing them a good five feet away.
Pretty shocked, he smiled, looking at his hands. He was strong. They moaned on the ground, and Ace turned to leave. "B-bastard!"
"Don't pick fights you can't win," Ace said, not even sparing them a glance. He was on a high, but also wondered where he'd learned to fight like that. And punches and kicks would not be good against knives or sharp objects. Looking at his hands, he did want to know everything he'd forgotten. Hopefully he would some day. He just hoped those memories weren't of something terrible.
When he got to the house, he had a house key, and opened the front door. He took a shower, and while he was washing, he was scrubbing his hair when suddenly his hands were hard and cold. He paused for a long moment before he slowly lowered them. His eyes widened, and he stared down at the blackish-gray, shiny and hard substance covered his hands.
He hurried out of the shower and dried off with the towel before dressing and hurrying downstairs, only he stopped outside the door to the clinic. Looking at this strange thing, he really knew he was different. While the kids were unique in seeing or sensing ghosts, he hadn't heard of their bodies steaming or his hands becoming metal gloves.
Trying to wipe them off on his shorts didn't work, washing his hands with warm and cold water did nothing. He just had to wait for them to go away, and they did, before the others made it back home. He tried to hide his concern and worry, and just isolated himself in the backyard, out of view from the sliding glass window.
Ichigo came out, and asked, "Why are you moping."
"It's nothing," he said, looking away. Ichigo clearly didn't believe him, and demanded to know what his issue was. "I don't know."
He looked even more annoyed. "I really don't know. I don't know what caused it." The younger teen's face looked more worried than sour now, and asked if everything was okay. "I'm weird."
"We've known that for awhile." Ace sent him a glare. "Really, what happened? Was it from you whooping those delinquents' asses?" Ace smiled, and was impressed with his fighting ability. But that wasn't it. "Then what is it?"
Ace crunched his eyes, and tried to bring out the black. They came out, coating his hands and forearms. Ichigo's eyebrows raised. "They feel like malleable metal. Here, feel it." Ichigo grabbed his hand, and seemed baffled, the same expression Ace wore in the mirror after showering and all.
"That's… weird." Ace nodded. He didn't make a snide remark this time. "Does it hurt?" It really didn't. It felt like nothing, his hands were normal. They weren't heavy or cold or uncomfortable. "When did it start?"
"I was washing my hair in the shower, and they changed during that. And that's not the only weird thing that happened to me. Awhile ago, after showering, the water just evaporated off of me, turned to steam and suddenly I was just completely dry." Ichigo sat down, and put his hand to his chin.
He didn't have any answers. "Never heard or that happening to anyone. Maybe it has something to do with your memory loss."
"How so?"
"Well… maybe you were some experiment in a lab or some shit and you broke out and don't remember. You got all those scars, too." Ace had thought about this possibility as well, so it didn't upset him to hear that conspiracy theory. "That would explain it, even if it also doesn't explain it."
"I guess." Ichigo put his hand on Ace's forehead.
"You don't feel hot, if the water steamed off of your body, that meant your skin must have been pretty hot. And you weren't sick then, right?" Ace shook his head. "Hmm. Did you notice anything else weird?" Ace was being honest, knowing now Ichigo wouldn't dismiss or make him feel bad about it.
"Not that I know of," Ace replied. "I didn't feel sick at all, and it hasn't happened since. I've tried to replicate it, but it never worked. It just happened on accident." He than made a heavy sigh.
Ichigo didn't have any ideas on that. "Are you sure you weren't imagining it? I'm just asking, not accusing. Well, if it happens again, come show me. I won't tell anyone else."
"Yeah," Ace replied vaguely. He was pretty down the rest of the day, which was odd to the other three, not knowing what made him so sad, but he wasn't asked about it, which he was grateful for. He wouldn't explain the weird happenings.
It was that night that Ace woke up to a bright light and burning feeling. He opened his eyes and saw there was a fire! He jerked upright, about to shout for help, but realizing it was him on fire! The couch wasn't burning. He ran up the stairs, and slammed Ichigo's door open. "The hell- what th-?!"
"Shhh!" Ace said. "Where's a fire extinguisher!" he asked in a whisper.
"You're on-on fire!" Ichigo hissed. He grabbed Ace and shoved him into the shower and turned the water on, which doused the fire. They found Ace's clothes were not burnt, and his skin was fine. Ace looked at him with wide eyes, and Ichigo shared that baffled and worried expression. What the hell was wrong with him?!
They filled a bucked of water, and put it next to Ichigo after getting a futon out to sleep in his room in case he went up in flames a second time. But he didn't, though he got very little sleep. When he got up, Ichigo looked down at him. "Are you okay?"
"I caught on fire and was perfectly fine. I don't think that's 'okay'," he said, a sour bite to his voice, though his friend wasn't offended by the snappy response. "It didn't burn anything else, so that was good… the couch wasn't damaged and neither was the shower curtain or wood floor and walls."
"Do you think you're normal? Like, a normal human?" Ichigo asked sitting at his desk. He made a face and then took his school shirt off. "I'm staying home today." Ace made a small smile at the gesture of support. But Ace was no longer sure if he was even close to normal now. What was wrong with him? How did this happen? Was he really some experiment gone wrong, or gone right.
He replied, "I don't know. I know I'm not normal, fucking clearly, but I don't have any answers, and no memories came with that. I don't want to tell the others." Ichigo nodded. They would just freak, grow scared and very worried. It had been around three weeks, and Ace's new narcolepsy medication was working. He'd get a job soon. But now he was worried he'd blow up in flames in public, which would be awful.
Ichigo claims to be feeling sick and was staying home. Isshin thought this was bullshit, but after a short fight, Ichigo slamming the bedroom door, Isshin looked for Ace, who he found was in his son's room. He looked pretty depressed, and the man looked a bit worried. "I'm okay. Just had more night terrors," Ace said.
The man left them, believing his lie. The door was then locked, and Ichigo just sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Stupid old man," he grumbled. "So, what now?" he asked.
"I don't know."
"You should try to learn to control it." Ace huffed. He didn't want to risk burning the place down. "If you didn't do it on accident, in the first incident, why would you be more likely to fuck up when doing it on purpose?" Ace knew he was right. But he just wanted to ignore it and pretend it never happened.
He leaned his head back against the wall. "Fine. But nobody can see."
"I'll make sure old man won't interrupt or see. Train in the back yard. It's the most private place you're gonna get," Ichigo said bluntly. The two went downstairs and got breakfast, which was just toast that morning. Nothing special. When the girls left, and Isshin went to work, Ichigo pressed the chair to the handle to the joint clinic so Isshin couldn't get in easily.
He stationed himself in front of the sliding glass door, the curtains closed enough to not be easily seen but open enough for Ichigo to be able to see outside and watch with a bucket of water, in case Ace needed to be doused again. So Ace sat on the grass, and imagined himself catching on fire.
The teen barely needed to try before he was up in flames. It didn't feel suffocating, even if the oxygen should be burning up in front of him and around him. He took many deep breaths, and willed it away. It dimmed, but then came back full force, raising high above his head. But it didn't light the grass or damage it. Did that mean it was harmless? Ace got a nearby stick, and grabbed it with the intention on setting it on fire to burn. It did, burning away in his fiery grip, turning into ash that landed on his bare feet. He had his shirt off to not risk this time having it ruined.
Breathing was helpful. Deep, long breaths would dim the flames, and inhales would flame up. Then he had a sleep attack, still on fire. It didn't burn the area, but Ichigo was up in no time and dumped the large bucket of water on him to douse the flames. He looked highly bothered by the whole thing.
It made sense, it looked like his friend was burning alive. But it was a step in the right direction, so hopefully he could control it soon enough. Ichigo put one of the outdoor pillows underneath Ace's head, and then headed inside, going to the clinic, moving the chair out of the way. Peeking inside, there was nobody there, and entered. Isshin was at his desk.
"Old man. I have a question."
"Oh?" Isshin asked, since Ichigo rarely went in there during working hours unless he was asked for help. "What's up?"
"Are you really gonna kick Ace out when he gets a job eventually? He has nowhere to go, and is pretty much at a first grade level in remembering anything about the world." His voice was serious, face set.
"I'm not planning to kick him out at all. He won't be a legal adult for another three years. Plus, he would be unable to even rent a place until he's that age. If I kicked him out, it would be sending a child to be homeless. I only want him to get a job so he doesn't feel useless and like a freeloader anymore." Ichigo actually smiled. "He's a good kid, everyone likes him. So far he's hard working and genuine."
"So he's staying until twenty, then?"
"As old as he needs to be to grow up enough to be capable of living on his own. Then he can leave whenever he wants. Though personally, I'm not happy about him not having a high school diploma. If he goes to college, he can substitute for high school there. We just have to hope his memories come back. If he has a family that cares for him, then he of course will go back home."
"Something tells me he won't remember anytime soon," Ichigo said honestly. His father agreed, looking sad about it. "Part of me doesn't want him to remember. About all the nasty scars he has." Then he left, feeling happy Ace wouldn't be kicked out if he can't pay rent or go to high school. He headed back outside, and saw Ace was still passed out.
Ichigo figured that Ace would actually need a bedroom if he was going to stay for awhile. They had no spare bedroom, unfortunately. And he couldn't share with the girls, of course. A bunk bed in Ichigo's room wouldn't be the big of a deal. Ace was honestly a very good friend and they got along well. Sharing a room wouldn't be that horrible an idea.
When Ace woke up, Ichigo decided to relay the information to him. It would make him feel better. When he was done explaining, Ace's eyes were red, like he was going to cry. But Ichigo saw his eyes emitting tiny amount of steam. So, he stopped any tears from falling.
It felt great for Ace, knowing he was welcome for the long term if he needed or wanted. "I hope my issues don't change that decision," Ace said. "I'll work hard to control it so nothing ever happens from it," he vowed.
"Do you want to share the room with me? A bunk bed. I mean, you sleep on the couch every night, it's cold down here and the air conditioner is deafening at night."
"I don't want to encroach." Ichigo waved it off impatiently. "I guess I'm okay with that," the older teen said with a small smile. "But I might wake you up. The hallucinations and all." He sounded embarrassed. But Ichigo had woken him up before when Ace had a hallucination, and had seen him looking terrified at something that really wasn't there.
He'd been embarrassed about that, but the other hadn't said a thing about it at all afterwards. "That's fine, I'm already a pretty heavy sleeper." Ace was smiling, truly glad he found good people, a good family, and that he was good enough for them to like his presence there. He no longer felt like an intruder because of the reactions of the others towards him.
I know that Japanese teens come of age at 18 now, but I wrote this while it was still 20. Thanks for reading. (Bleach returns Oct 10, but I don't know what streaming site.)