Ace practiced some more with his fire, and it was going well, and he didn't have another sleep attack. Ichigo walked up to him, and stuck his hand in the fire. Ace was angry, but they watched in silence as Ichigo's fist caught on fire, but it didn't burn at all. Pulled his hand out, he saw it was fine.
The other was not happy with that and kicked his shin. "Don't do that again, asshole. What if it burnt you?!"
"It didn't," Ichigo replied rubbing his leg. "If you couldn't burn some furniture, why would you burn a friend?" Ace huffed, and the flames disappeared. It was just as they went out that Yuzu opened the curtains, and called them in to ask what both wanted for dinner. Ace couldn't help but smile at Isshin and the girls'.
If he was staying with them, did that mean he would be family, too? It would be nice, to have a family. If he never remembered his original family, though. And if he did, he'd always stay in touch with them all. Karin said she wanted the pasta dish that Ace had taught Yuzu to make. The oldest teen would not be surprised if she pursued a cooking career since she was so natural and adept at it. Though she appreciated the help.
"That'll take a bit, you'd have to wait," Yuzu said. The others were fine with waiting, and Ace got to work beside her as they worked on one of the most challenging of the recipes Ace gave them. It took half an hour for it to be done. The most time consuming part was mostly cutting everything up, including all the spices and vegetables.
It was finished and served. It was nice, that they liked his food. Every single time they ate one of the dishes Ace had written in the cookbook, it made Ace feel proud, even if he had no idea where he learned those things. It sure was nice he could remember silly things like that but not much else.
After dinner, when Yuzu was working on a dessert, Ichigo asked about the bunk bed. "After all, he can't just keep sleeping on the couch," he said. Isshin gave him an expression of approval anyone could have missed unless they were looking.
"Does this mean he's staying awhile?" Karin asked, sounding cautiously happy about it, maybe not wanting to get disappointed. Isshin nodded. As long as he wanted to. Ace smiled at the table where his chair was at. Yuzu beamed at the news, and they both looked to Ace with a smile.
"I'll stay. If my memories come back, then I'll just have to choose my past life or my current life. But if would be fucking nice to know things I should know," he sighed wistfully. "Even if learning about new things is interesting, it's inconvenient. I'll still get a job to help out, since I'm not going to school or anything."
"Can you be our brother?"
"I've only been here three weeks," Ace said in surprise.
"So? What's that got to do with anything?" Karin asked, Yuzu nodding in agreement. Ace was touched, and the other two men didn't protest. Ace shrugged, and said "I guess" nonchalantly, though it was clear to everyone he was happy about it all. He hoped he wasn't kicked out if they accidentally learned about his fire.
The metal hands was much less alarming, though still very shocking. They had dessert, and Isshin promised to take Ace to the store the next day and pick out some clothes and sheets for what would be his new bed. A real bed would be pretty nice. He thought he and Ichigo wouldn't be bad room mates, they got along.
Both of them had their limits about wanting to be around others, had introverted sides, so it wouldn't be a big deal if they were just both silent in there, reading or Ichigo doing homework. Ace was good at pretending not to be around. He had hope things would work out. In the morning, he had a hallucination when Isshin woke him to go to the store, the day one of those where the clinic was closed.
Ace started to breathe fast and look to the left of Isshin. "There's nothing there, it's a hallucination," the man said calmly, placatingly. Ace shut his eyes and slowly calmed down, letting out deep breaths. Ace sat up, and rubbed his face with his hands. "Can I ask what you see?"
He didn't hold back, and was honest with his description. "It's almost always a large man, he has some sort of... military outfit on and a vindictive face. And his body is leaking lava all over the place. It's stupid, but it terrifies me," he said, going into detail. Even Ichigo didn't know about it, as Ace thought it shouldn't be something so scary. It was no beheaded monster creature. But it still scared him.
"But the hallucinations are still there despite the pills?"
"Yeah, but I'm having less sleep attacks. Only two or three a day instead of ten," Ace said, happy with this. "And it's easier sleeping and staying asleep."
"Good. I'll up the dosage if needed. You're on a very low dose." Ace nodded, and got dressed in his original, clean cargo shorts and a tank top. His fancy dagger was resting on the fireplace, never really used but not concerning. If Ace were to stab one of them, a kitchen knife would be much more effective. Ace didn't know what he'd ever used it for, really.
After he was dressed, they got in the car. Ace didn't go in it much since he didn't really have anywhere to go, and drove to a department store. Isshin just let him wander for a bit, looking at interesting objects, asking what they were. He was goofy and weird sometimes, but he was also patient when he needed to be.
Eventually, Ace stopped wandering, and they went to look for a bunk bed frame. There were many to choose from, and Ace chose one that was simple wood, but the top bunk had fairly high railings in case Ace fell over the side. He didn't want to get hurt. It had a wooden ladder to get up.
The top bunk was fairly high, enough so Ichigo could sit up fully in bed, and Ace could, too. It wouldn't fit in the car, so the store would deliver it and help them get it upstairs, which was pretty convenient. The twin mattress was comfortable, and he chose red sheets. A dark red, nothing offending.
He got more clothes, not hand me downs, not that Ace ever complained about it. He was happy about it all, and they drove back to the house, stopping at Starbucks. "Thanks for letting me stay. It means a lot," Ace said out of the blue. Well, not to him, he'd been wanting to thank him all day.
"You a good kid, Ace. More responsible and respectful than my biological brat of a son!" but he laughed, meaning no ill will to Ichigo. "My wife would have liked you very much." Ace smiled, and drank his black tea. They made it to the house at the time the van with the furniture in it did. Ace and Isshin were the ones to easily remove Ichigo's old bed frame, and set the mattress to the wall, out of the way.
The bed frame was carefully brought up the slightly narrow stairs and set against the wall with the window. The mattress was lifted up and Ichigo's original mattress was put back in the bottom bunk. Ace put his clothes in the closet, hanging them up nicely. He smiled up at his new bedroom.
He hoped they never regretted taking him in. He couldn't bring himself to say anything about the fire. He'd control it, no matter what. And if it hadn't burnt his friend's hand, then he felt he could control it. He'd burnt that stick, but not the furniture or his friend. He didn't feel he'd burn the house down, which was a relief.
When Ichigo came back, he had his best friend with him, Chad. He was dark skinned and had longer wavy hair, covering one side of his face. He was tall, easily four inches taller than Ace. He was also beefy, just a big guy in general. Were all 15 year olds this fucking huge? But he was quiet. There wasn't much to get to know about Ace, as he had no real history to talk about.
But they got along as much as you could when the other teen barely talked. Very quiet and calm. "Ichigo has talked about you at school."
"Oi, don't," Ichigo snapped. Ace was sitting in his top bunk.
"Oh, what does he say?"
"'Better not fuck with us, my friend'll whoop your ass a second time once I'm through with you'."
"Hah, well at least my strength is recognized," Ace said lightly. "Though I only beat people up one time, and it was self defense. Though maybe I beat people up in the past. After all, how would I get good at it with no practice?" he mused conversationally. Even though he was two years older than Chad, it did not look that way. "By the way, how the hell are you so tall? I though Ichigo was tall for his age."
"It runs in my family," was all Ace got in response. Well, there was nothing wrong with a quiet friend. Then he asked, "Do you really not go to school?" It was an awkward subject for Ace. He was embarrassed he felt he'd never gone to school. He didn't know jack shit about Japan's history that he'd learn in school.
But Ace nodded. "I'll catch up and pass before college. Kind of a cheat. I've never been to school. I don't think," Ace said honestly.
"He's a moron but he's not stupid," Ichigo said.
"Gee, thanks."
"You're welcome."
Chad left since it was a school night. The first night of sleeping in the same room came, and since Ace didn't snore when sleeping in bed and not during attacks, and though Ichigo seemed to talk in his sleep, Ace easily tuned it out. But he'd heard Ichigo say something about "stupid bunnies", but couldn't make out anything else.
In the morning, as Ace woke up early, accustomed to the others' times to eat and then go to school, Ace said, "Did you dream about fluffy bunnies last night?"
"What the hell are you talking about? Oi, do not bring up my sleep talking!" Ichigo said, catching on to why Ace would ask such a thing. "And don't tell anyone else!" Ace just laughed about it, and Ichigo's eye twitched. He left to brush his teeth, and help with breakfast is Yuzu needed it. Ace worked on mixing all the ingredients for the omelets while she did the sausages.
Breakfast was served, and Ace did wish he could go to school. But he was very embarrassed with not having any formal education. It made him feel like an idiot, even if he wasn't actually stupid. The only things he was really stupid acting about was not knowing what some everyday objects were. Though he was much better about household things anyone should know.
When they went to school, Ace went on a walk. He sensed those around him easily, but paused when he felt invisible ones come. The ghosts he couldn't see. He stared hard, trying to open his other senses, as the sixth one really did feel like a sense. It wasn't done on purpose and he was unable to get it to go away fully. He just got used to it very quickly.
He saw it, a white blur. Ichigo could see them in detail, but a white blur was good enough. When he stopped focusing, it went away. He walked to the park and then climbed a tree, resting against the trunk. He sighed, and leaned his head against the tree. He wondered… did his first family hate him for forgetting and leaving? Did they miss him, were they looking for him? He didn't know, and that fact made him feel guilty.
It was true he was happy living in the Kurosaki house, even if he kept his original full name, but he just wished he could remember, not feel like the first seventeen years of his life were wasted, forgotten for good. It left him conflicted in a way. What if he wanted to live with them instead, and what if they expected him to?
Looking down at his scarred and damaged hands, he really had no idea how they happened. What caused him much injuries? He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He ended up drifting to sleep, and it was evening before he woke up, and then fell out of the tree, slamming into the branches below.
He landed with a grunt, but found he wasn't… in pain. Looking up, he'd fallen from at least a two story building. But he'd already had that happen and he was fine! Looking around, he found a very sharp stick. Walking out of view from anyone, he slowly punctured his skin with the stick. But little flames showed up instead of blood. He pushed the stick deeper and deeper, unhurt, until it was entirely through his arm.
He yanked it out, but there wasn't a single mark there. Then… how the hell did he get all of those nasty scars? Had he always been able to use fire? And was his body able to turn into fire if it couldn't be penetrated by sharp objects or hurt from heavy blows? His hands shook and he ran back to the house, to his current home. He wasn't out of breath by the time he arrived, and went upstairs, finding his friend doing homework.
"I have new developments," he stated.
"Great."
"It could actually be good," Ace said. He ran back downstairs and got his dagger before zooming back up. Ichigo saw him draw his dagger, and shouted at him to stop before he impald his leg. The younger teen was about to get angry before Ace pulled it out with a flurry of flames, before the skin reformed, perfectly fine.
Ichigo blinked a few times in shock. "I… guess that is good," he said. Ace also added he'd fallen out of the tree, and was fine. And he had been after falling off their roof, too. "What else is going to show up?" he sighed, putting his hand to his head. Ace shrugged, but was at least happy it could be something helpful. "Don't count on that and go hurting yourself."
"Is someone worried? When he comes home with scratches all the time?" Ace mocked.
"Excuse me for worrying about a friend," the orange head said sarcastically. Dinner was soon ready, and then Ace went to the couch to watch the TV show he got hooked on and watched every time it came out. Ichigo mocked him about it. "17 years old and hooked on anime."
"Hey, it's not some magic adventure girls or romance," he said defensively. "It's literally about a sociopath killing people as 'justice' through a notebook."
"Sounds boring."
"I'd write your name in my notebook."
"Sure, I believe that completely." Then Ace was left to enjoy his show. When it was over, he went back upstairs to get ready for bed, since it was pretty late. Ichigo was reading, something he usually did before going to bed on the weekend. Like a way to wind down from the day. Ace had a sketch book he drew in, hoping that some part of him remembered and he'd find he made a drawing that told him anything about his missing memories.
Ace fell asleep pretty early, always doing so on emotionally stressful days. He did wake up to Ichigo yelling, and grumbled for him to shut up. "Whose this?" Ace asked with a yawn, looking at the girl in a whole black outfit. Like fancy robes. Those socked sandals looked pretty uncomfortable. That was the first thing he noticed. Then he saw the sword. "Are you cosplaying or something?"
"You can both see me?" she asked in shock. "And you kicked me…"
"Nice, Ichigo."
"Shut up, she's an intruder! She came out of the freaking wall from a butterfly!" Ace blinked a few times, before holding in a laugh. "I swear on everyone's lives that's the truth." Ace then believed him. "Who are you?!"
"Normal men cannot see me. I am a shinigami."
"You look nothing like Ryuk," Ace commented.
"That's an anime, dumbass! Shinigami's don't exist," Ichigo said, much less cool headed than Ace.
"Are you sure? Hey, where'd you come from, lady?" Ace asked. "Did you really come through the wall? Why are you here? Aren't you trespassing?" She seemed lost on how to react to the both of them. Their very different attitudes about this.
"I came from Soul Society, which is akin to heaven to you-"
"So you're an angel, then?"
"No! I'm a shinigami. My duty is to kill evil spirits that come to the human world as well as send lost souls to the afterlife. I came here because I sensed the evil spirit near here." Ace shared a glance with Ichigo, and both asked if she was good at her job if she barged into their house looking for an evil spirit that wasn't there. She grew extremely annoyed with them and did some sort of spell to stop the from moving. Ace ended up falling off his bed with a grunt. "Shut up and listen to me."
"Hey, let us go!" Ichigo shouted. Ace focused on breaking his binds, and tried to discretely burn them away. It didn't work, and Ichigo was seeing his attempts. He covered his arms in that metal, and pulled, ripping apart the spell. He put his hands on his knees, panting. That was tiring.
The shinigami looked so confused by Ace. "I'm not so normal either. What were you saying about the evil spirits?" It was clear she had some sort of power if she came through the wall from a butterfly, and cast a spell on them. Ichigo ordered him to undo his binding. Ace attempted, but it didn't work, it wasn't breaking.
"Let me outta this!" Ichigo said furiously.
She ignored him, and explained more about the monsters called "hollows". It was actually pretty disturbing to hear about. There were some blood thirsty monsters that consumed dead or living souls in a parallel world around them. Were there a lot around? Ace was sitting on Ichigo's bed. "Our main duty is to let souls pass to soul society through a soul burial." She took her sword out and showed the bottom of the hilt, which had what looked like a stamp on it.
Suddenly Ace saw the white blur, and she stabbed it, which shocked him. Didn't she just say she rescues souls?! Ace could not see or hear what it said in detail, but Ichigo could, and was watching closely. "Do not fear, the place you are heading to is not hell. It's a soul society, a peaceful place where you can now rest." Her voice was much softer than how she'd been acting so far.
"What happened?" Ace asked. "It's all blurry."
"He exploded in a white light, and now he's gone," Ichigo said in a surprised voice. "You can see them, now?" Ace nodded. Ichigo was still on the floor and confined. "So why are you around here if a damn hollow is wandering around?! Go do your job, little girl!" Ichigo shouted. Ace nodded in agreement to his words. The shinigami took a pen and drew a mustache on his face.
"I may look this way but I've lived ten times longer than you, little boy," she snapped. He got mad about being drawn on. "But I don't know why I can't find it. I don't sense its presence. It is as if a great power is hindering my senses."
"There's something huge coming this way," Ace stated. Ichigo tensed, and shouted that he'd heard a loud call just then. But the shinigami couldn't sense it. Ace could with his sixth sense but Ichigo had heard it before she did.
"Go take it out, now! Stop messing around here!" Ace felt it stalk closer, and then went up to the building and attacked. Ace shoved past the shinigami and ran down the stairs. He could hear an echoing sound from outside, and found Karin and Isshin bleeding and injured. It had only been seconds since both teens noticed something wrong!
Ichigo was heard shouting from above, and then ran down the stairs two at a time after Ace. Karin begged them to not go after the monster. "I'll get them to safety!" Ace called. "Where's Yuzu?!"
"She got grabbed," Karin said weakly. Ichigo shouted that he'd take care of Yuzu and to get the other two to safety. He carefully but quickly picked up Yuzu and put her in the backyard, nothing could collapse on top of her. He also easily picked up the unconscious and heavily bleeding man, and set him outside, too.
Then he ran back to see Yuzu was released. She was unconscious, and Ace grabbed her and brought her to safety, too. The hollow had a cut off arm, and Ace hurried the last of the injured to the backyard before returning and seeing Ichigo having a tough time. The shinigami had attacked it seemed, as the arm was sliced.
Ace could see the thing, but it was almost as if he was looking at it through reading glasses that he did not need. He got the jist and some details about it's face, like a mask, but it was still slightly blurred.
"Are they okay?!" Ichigo asked.
"They're unconscious!" Ace called back, not knowing how on earth he could fight this thing. It was a monster, and he was kind of scared. His fire wouldn't come out, and he had no weapon with him.
"Their souls have not been eaten. This hollow was drawn to this place from a high level of spirit energy from you," the shinigami said, looking at Ichigo, not Ace. Well, Ace didn't even know what spirit energy was. "It's target is most likely you." Ichigo looked shocked and horrified. The hollow started to advance towards Ichigo.
He asked, "Then it's my fault my family is hurt…"
"I didn't mean that!" she said, losing focus. It happened in a flash, Ace's heart pounding in his chest. She was thrown to the side, having been distracted. How was nobody else hearing them shouting? If they couldn't see the hollow, fine, but the house was damaged, holes blown in it. Surely neighbors should hear! But nobody came out.
Ichigo angrily challenged the hollow. When Ace moved to get behind it, he forced his fire out and propelled himself up, landing on its head. But it lunged towards Ichigo, ignoring Ace. Ihe shinigami stepped in and protected the younger teen, getting severely injured herself. Now both of them were distracted.
Ace climbed on its head, and then started to punch the face, but it did nothing. His arms automatically were covered in haki, and he dug his fingers into its head, pulling the face apart slowly as it screamed. Ace was screaming in determination, too, but he was roughly grabbed, and chucked far into the distance.
"Ace!" Ichigo shouted in worry. The hollow continued to advance towards him as Ace was thrown to another whole street.
"God fuck it!" Ace swore, and got up, his adrenaline racing through his body as he all out sprinted back towards the fight. There was a loud booming sound, and he ran faster. When he got there, now Ichigo was dressed in the black robe and uncomfortable sandals. He'd missed something big just now. He was holding a huge sword now, too. Ace shouted that he'd distract it, and jumped onto it's arm, squeezing with the metal arms, easily slicing the arm off. He had been unable to fully shatter the face of it, but didn't know if that would even kill it. But now it was armless. Much of the danger was over.
Ichigo was able to swing his giant sword while it was leaning down to attack Ace further, successfully distracted. "Realize this is what happens when you attack my family!" he shouted, and swung the sword down easily, slicing its head apart. Ace sighed in relief once it was gone.
"Damnit, I wanted a trophy arm!" Ace complained, still high on adrenaline. Ichigo let out a broken sounding laugh. "The hell's with the get up? Are you into cosplay, now, too?"
"I'm a shinigami, now."
"Ah, I see. Ah, everyone else!" Ace said, he and Ichigo running inside. They were all seeming to have more superficial wounds that just looked very bloody. They even woke up pretty soon. "Are you okay?" Ace asked in worry. He had hollow blood on his shirt, which was annoying.
It was as if they were in a trance as they seemed to forget about what happened. Ace and Ichigo did not forget, and shared a confused and worried expression. "You guys are bleeding badly-"
"I'm a doctor, don't worry about us," he said, and they walked live zombies to the clinic. Ace turned to the hole in the wall, and wondered how that would be explained. Both of them turned back to the shinigami now in white clothing. She gave her powers to Ichigo… why? Why on earth would she do that? And how?
They walked back to her, and she stood up, though looked weak on her feet. She stared at the both of them with a troubled look. "You, Ace, what are you?"
"An unusual human," Ichigo said in slight annoyance. "Rukia-"
"I've never seen anyone who could harm a hollow bare handed! And I've never seen anyone with such a huge zanpakuto!" she said in shock. Rukia was her name, apparently. Ichigo stated that they weren't related by blood. "This is unbelievable," she murmured. They heard shouting of what sounded like pain from inside, and they both hurried back into the house. When they turned around, Rukia was gone. But it was Isshin being extra while he treated his own cut.
While they were in there, Ace asked, "You gonna put your new costume away?" Then the clothes and sword disappeared. "That sucked ass," Ace stated. Ichigo just nodded as they watched the three behave abnormally, almost like their memories were being wiped before their eyes. Well, it was good for the sisters. It would have been a traumatizing incident, so it was good they forgot.
Ace stayed up all night trying to board up the hole in the wall with the planks of wood from the backyard that wasn't really used for anything. He went to bed far after Ichigo, still in his clothes, and woke up when the other got up. Ace ended up burning his shirt since it was covered in black blood from the monster that would never come out, even after being washed by the amazing machine.
"Last night happened, right?" Ace asked.
"Yeah. Let's not say anything if they don't remember." Ace nodded. He changed into a new outfit in the bathroom, and then cautiously headed downstairs. They looked like nothing happened. Even if there were still bandages on. Ace was surprised when their recollection of events that caused the hole in the house was a reckless truck who crashed into it.
"Who patched it up?" Karin asked. Ace raised his hand.
"What about your wounds?" Ichigo asked slowly, suspiciously of their memory loss, clearly. At least it was clear to Ace. But the wounds looked worse than they were, and had been stitched up and cleaned from the doctor.
It seemed everything went back to normal, and they planned to have the wall repaired soon. The three students left for school, and Ace said he would be walking around town. A folded up map was handed to him. "Thanks. I won't get lost." Isshin looked kind of distressed in a way, but then erased the look with an easy smile.
Ace then left, wearing a hoodie in the chilly morning. He couldn't stop thinking about last night. He'd been unable to use his fire until a bit later. Maybe fear handicapped him. At least his metal fingers worked in his favor. Hewalked down the street, and opened up his sixth sense, and easily sensed another huge presence. He walked to it, hiding behind a tree.
But Ace couldn't be invisible like Rukia could be. He leaned against the tree, observing the burry shape. From a distance it was even harder to make out details. He wasn't like Rukia and could send souls to the after life. He couldn't communicate with them period. The hollow was walking towards him, and Ace moved back a bit, wondering what he should do.
What would him attacking it look like to others? There weren't many people around, so Ace ran forward, and jumped on its back. Glancing around briefly, nobody was watching. Ace dodged it's four arms, and got on its head, and slammed his metal covered fingers into its mask-like face, shattering it. He was dropped down when it disappeared.
"Hell yeah!" Ace cheered.
"Ace?! What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked from behind, in his shinigami clothes, though he'd told Ace the night before he wasn't doing that shit again. Rukia was with him and looked so shocked it almost looked kind of horrified. He looked like he'd just had an argument since his eyebrow was still twitching.
"Shouldn't you be at school?" Ace asked curiously.
"How did you find that hollow, Ace?" Rukia interrupted. Ace shrugged, saying he sensed it. "From where?"
Ace thought, trying to remember. "A couple houses down from our house. I can't send any soul to the after life, and I can't even speak with them or see very well. Ichigo, why are you here?"
"I'm roped into doing her work since she gave me all her powers." He sounded annoyed.
"I didn't mean to give you all of my powers, you stole it," she said in distracted frustration, still looking at Ace, seemingly unable to comprehend Ace's situation. She walked up to him, and had to reach up completely to grab his face, tilting it from side to side. Ace shooed her off. "Are you human?"
"Uh, yeah," Ace said, sounding more confused than uncertain.
"What about that fire and the black hands?"
"Is that any of your business?" Ichigo asked in annoyance, and then was punched by Rukia, who looked angry and frustrated at the situation. Ace just said he was abnormal.
"Have you had any past encountered with shinigami?"
"No. Only heard about them from an anime," Ace replied easily. "I was just frustrated I got all scared and locked up last night. Now I'm training."
"Killing hollows should not be considered 'training'. It's something very important!"
Ichigo said, "Well, he got the job done, didn't he? You shouldn't be so pissy."
"It just doesn't make any sense. Shinigamis can sense hollows, but can't absolutely pinpoint it from that kind of distance!" Ace shrugged, not really knowing what else to say, or if he needed to defend himself.
Ace asked, "You really gonna be a shinigami, now?"
"Yeah, I have a debt to pay back. But I'm not doing this because you told me to, got it?" he shot at Rukia. She was very, very short. Ace and Ichigo towered over her. "I'll save someone when I want, not when you tell me to! I'm not so generous that I'll save everyone just because I should."
The older teen agreed with this. He wouldn't save random people because someone said he should. He probably wouldn't save others, but taking down that hollow was pretty damn satisfying. He couldn't pass the spirits on to the next world. Maybe he could just give Rukia a tip on their whereabouts.
"So, what are you guys gonna do the rest of the day?" Ace asked curiously, calmly.
"I have to go back to school. She thrust my soul of of my body. It's probably just laying there. I guess I can feel the worry you have over passing out and not knowing what's going on around you," Ichigo mused. Rukia looked confused. "Ace had narcolepsy."
"Yup. It sucks ass," Ace added. "Well, have fun at school. I have some money, I'm going to get an ice cream." Ace watched Rukia force Ichigo to send the blurry ghost to soul society. It was a kid based on the way Ichigo was speaking.
After the soul was gone, the orange haired teen looked at Rukia and said, with attitude, "Can I go back to school now?" She huffed, Ichigo waved goodbye to Ace, and then headed off. How did things end up like this? Both of them being monster hunters? Though for Ichigo is had seemed like he had to, even if he disputed that. Ace just did it because it was satisfying killing them with his bare hands.
School was over pretty soon for the teen, so Ace started to walk home the long way, keeping his senses open but not actively searching for any hollows. When he got back home, Rukia was gone and Ichigo was in a bad mood. He grumbled to himself about the "damn annoying midget". "So what's happening now?" Ace asked, climbing onto his bunk.
"While her powers are weakened, I have to take over her duty. Meaning I have to skip school. Why'd you go after a hollow anyways? The things are creepy and reek."
"It was fun, I guess."
One eyebrow raised. "'Fun'?" Ace nodded. "I would not call that fun."
"It's not like I have anything else to do," Ace replied. "You're distracted all day from school. I'll finally get a job soon, but for now, there's nothing for me to do that I haven't done before." He put pajamas on and went down to help cook dinner with Yuzu. They didn't remember last night at all, it seemed. Good. But at least Ichigo did so Ace didn't feel crazy.
"Isshin, do you think I'm stable enough to get a job soon? I feel so useless, and like a free-loa-"
"Stop calling yourself a free-loader, Ace," Karin said in annoyance. Ace sighed, and turned back to the head of the house.
"You're pretty stable with the narcolepsy. I'd say you can get a job, now." Ace grinned, tired of doing nothing and wandering around all day, or being bored at home. "But part-time. As in less than twenty hours a week."
"Why?"
"Starting out with a full time job is not the best way to get introduced into the big, wide world," Isshin said. "Just be happy with the part-time job." Ace nodded, and finished his food, glad he could get out of the house and do something truly productive.