Ichigo has seen Hollows before. Ever since she was nine years old, she could see them. She only knew them as evil spirits, mostly because no one would tell her what they were other than that they were a type of spirit.
After her mother's death, Ichigo made sure to ingrain the difference between a normal spirit and a Hollow in her mind. From physical appearance to voice to presence.
Karin started seeing spirits when she turned seven. Yuzu was able to sense them and see an outline at nine. Ichigo didn't take any chances and made sure to teach the twins the difference.
"Let go of my sister, you ugly bitch!" Ichigo shouts in fury as she sprints towards the Hollow that had invaded her home.
"Ichi-nē!" Yuzu cries out in pain and worry when Ichigo is slapped to the side. Ichigo barely has time to block her face, an open palm pointed at the wall she was quickly hurtling towards.
"Affligo*!" A silver glow streaks across the wall with spiderweb cracks before Ichigo slams into the wall. It falls underneath her like glass, only causing cuts all across her side and arms.
"Onēchan! Molliare*!" Yuzu calls out and throws out her hand. Blood bursts out from sudden cracks along her fingers, but manages to make Ichigo come to a cushioned stop. Ichigo grunts as she drops to the ground like a ragdoll, landing on the street.
"Thank you, Yuzu..." Ichigo slowly stands up from the street, glancing over the clean and sharp cuts across her arms.
"Stay away from Onēchan, you monster!" Yuzu shouts loudly, grabbing the wrist of her injured hand in a desperate grip. "Stupefy*!"
"Yuzu! Don't!" Ichigo rushes back towards her house. The Hollow roars loudly and turns its back on Ichigo and the hole it had created when throwing her. Yuzu screams again when the Hollow grabs her.
Ichigo holds out both hands with a sneer. "Carpe Retractum*!"
A rope of light explodes out of her palms and quickly wraps around the torso of the Hollow. It roars in fury as it is forcefully flown back towards Ichigo.
"Like Hell I'd let you harm my sisters!" Ichigo snarls as the Hollow gets closer. She growls under her breath when the Hollow forces itself to a stop, dragging its feet through the front yard. Ichigo notices its arm had been cut off before it suddenly disappears through a weird portal.
"Where in the Eight Veils did it go?" Ichigo shakes off her thoughts and sprints towards where Yuzu was laying on the destroyed yard.
"Yuzu? Yuzu!" Ichigo gently tries to shake Yuzu awake before she checks for her pulse.
"You fool! What were you thinking, going after that Hollow?! You can't defeat it!" The Shinigami scolds in a harsh iciness. Ichigo sneers at the spirit before focusing back on her little sister.
"It went after my family! I would've found a way to defeat it!" The magic inside of her goes haywire in panic and anger, attempting to escape.
Ichigo instinctively beats it down, the grass below her getting singed from the little amount of magic that managed to escape. Everything was happening too fast and she didn't want another problem added to the clusterfuck.
"No, you wouldn't have! You would have just risen the number of victims by one," The Shinigami states angrily, glaring down at the orange haired teenager.
Ichigo grits her teeth and meets the glare with one of her own. "Why did it even go after my family? Why couldn't you find it and be done with it?"
"Like I said before, something was hindering my senses. Hollows follow after strong traces of reiatsu. I had not realized until I had opened your door that your reiatsu was the one luring the Hollow here. I should have realized something was amiss when I couldn't sense much from inside your room," The Shinigami explains, mostly talking to herself.
The statement makes Ichigo's blood freeze over. Her breath leaves her in a stuttered gasp. All of her anger and rage is smothered away by icy terror and guilt.
"My... the Hollow–it was after me?" Ichigo claws at the grass, trying to ground herself. "By the Hallows, it was my fault..."
"Wait, I never meant that–" Ichigo watches with wide eyes as the Hollow suddenly appears in front of the Shinigami. She reaches out her hand as the Hollow raises its hand.
"BOMBARDA*!" The Hollow slaps the Shinigami to the side right before it's blown backwards by an explosion. It hits a streetlight before it drags through the street. Ichigo glances down at Yuzu before she stumbles towards where the Shinigami had been thrown.
"Shinigami, are you okay?" Ichigo asks worriedly carefully lifting the spirit away from the wall she had crashed into. The Shinigami coughs wetly before giving the female teenager a glare.
"Wha-what did you do? How did you do that?"
Ichigo bites her cheek as she glances back at the Hollow. "Now's not the time to ask. Are you okay?"
"I am alive, but not for long. I am in no condition to fight this Hollow anymore, and you are only human." The Shinigami coughs again, blood dripping from her mouth. "We have to hurry. It may not work, but there is a way to defeat the Hollow."
The Hollow roars once more, stepping out of the rubble of the street. Ichigo glances at it once more before focusing on the spirit.
"What do I need to do?" Ichigo asks with her fists pressed against the concrete. The Shinigami grabs the hilt of her sword and unsheathes it. She points it towards Ichigo with a hard look.
"It'll take too long to explain, but you must thrust my zanpakutō into your own chest. You probably won't survive, but it's our only chance," The Shinigami speaks as the Hollow turns towards the two females.
Ichigo stares down at the blade, her magic fighting to protect her away from it. She nods her head and places her hands over the Shinigami's.
"If it's a chance, then do it, Shinigami." Ichigo forces herself to calm, pretending she wasn't about to stab herself with a sword. It probably won't kill her. Hopefully.
"The name isn't Shinigami," The spirit gives the orange haired teenager a smirk, "it is Kuchiki Rukia."
Ichigo blinks before smirking herself. "Nice to meet you. The name's Kurosaki Ichigo, and hopefully this won't be the last time we see each other."
"Yes. See you soon," Rukia states before both females shove the sword. Ichigo feels a sharp pain in the middle of her chest and back, her breath stuttering out of her throat.
An eruption of lightning and bright flashes explodes out of Ichigo. Her magic sings in excitement and bloodlust as her world goes black.
"I am impressed, My Sacred. You will be rewarded for your patience." A frostbitten kiss caresses Ichigo's forehead before a hand gently pushes her Back. "Now please, help my children, My Sacred, and be their Blessed Savior."
Ichigo awakes standing in a spacious bedroom, unfamiliar and cold. She immediately gazes at the only source of light and feels her mouth sneer at what she sees.
Iron bars nailed to the window, a locked birdcage sitting on top of the windowsill, the beautiful snowy white owl despaired and angered for being caged.
Someone speaks a language Ichigo is vaguely familiar with. English.
She turns her head and sees an obscured boy talking to the owl. She sneers even more with a narrowed gaze. He's too skinny.
The boy speaks again, making the owl flutter in her cage, cooing at him. She was trying to comfort the boy.
Ichigo focuses back on the boy and takes a step closer. She steps on some piece of paper, making the boy startle.
Her breath leaves her as she stares into his emerald eyes. She reels back at the feeling that suddenly punches her.
"...ther..." A voice whispers in the air between them. "...rothe..."
Ichigo opens her mouth to speak. "Otō–"
"Onēchan? Onēchan!" Ichigo is startled awake by the hushed whispers. She blinks away her sleep and glances over to the side of her bed.
"Yuzu? Karin? What's wro–" The twins quickly shush her, both glancing back at Ichigo's open door.
"What's wrong?" Ichigo asks again, keeping her voice low.
Yuzu practices her wand movements with her hands. "What happened last night? Did a truck really slam through our house?"
"What are you talking–" Ichigo sits up as the memories slam into her "–by the Hallows, are you two alright? Are you injured?"
"We're fine, Ichi-nē. We woke up and the memories of last night are wrong. We don't know what happened. Did someone intrude on our home?" Karin asks with an angry scowl, but her finger tapping of an imaginary rhythm makes Ichigo know otherwise.
"I didn't obliviate* you. I... one of those evil spirits attacked our home. I had to help a spirit in defeating it... is it only last night's memories that were altered?" Ichigo asks quietly, glancing between her younger sisters. Yuzu frowns slightly and shakes her head.
"It wasn't obliviate. Something else altered our memories. I don't–I can't seem to remember, but I know a truck didn't crash through our house," Yuzu states as she looks up with worried eyes.
Ichigo sighs before reaching over and pulling her sisters into a hug. She kisses both of their foreheads and leans back to gaze down at them.
"Pretend nothing is out of the ordinary. I'll figure it out."
"Okay, Onēchan," Karin and Yuzu speak at the same time, hugging the orange haired teenager once more. Ichigo smiles and hugs them back, holding onto them tightly.
"Tell Oyaji that I had something to do at the school before it started," Ichigo says quietly before she swings her legs over the side of her bed. The twins nod their heads and walk out of the room silently, closing the door behind them.
"What could have altered their memories? Is there a memory spell I don't know about? Or do the Shinigami have a spell that can alter memories? Why would the Shinigami alter Yuzu's and Karin's memories?" Ichigo stands up with a growing scowl. Why weren't her own memories altered? Was she the only one allowed to know what happened?
She sighs heavily and opens her closet. She rifles through it all and chooses a random outfit to put on. She might not get all the answers she needs or wants, but there was a shop hidden in the shadowed alleys of Karakura Town that could help her.
"I didn't want to go back anytime soon." Ichigo sweatdrops as she thinks of Yuzu and Karin. "If they find out, they'll jinx me to the Veils and Back."
Ichigo shakes off her slight apprehension and focuses back on getting dressed. They'll forgive her, if she doesn't get caught and keeps a low profile.
A young adult sighs quietly and idly turns a page of the weathered book they hold. Another day of no customers worth their time, and another day of turning away muyo when they clearly aren't interesting or open-minded enough to learn about what their boring society thinks is magic.
Isoyama Yo sighs again and reads the same line once more. Such a boring day again...
"Welcome to the Emporium of Unnatural Oddities and Wonders. Feel free to look around, and if you need any help, don't be afraid to call," Yo drones out without looking up from their book. They glance up when they don't hear anything and freeze when they see who stood at the door.
A female, appearing around 15 years old stood in the doorway, keeping the door open as she looked around.
Her hair was the oddest, most beautiful shade of sunset orange that glowed in warmth beneath the morning sunlight. It was hastily pulled into a ponytail, its chaotic waves falling down the female's back and ending right above her hips.
Her eyes were a deep chocolate brown with hidden golden hues. They held a certain ferociously stubborn determination that made Yo wonder if the female has made the impossible possible with just a single look.
The female finishes looking around before focusing her gaze on Yo. "I'm looking for anything to deal with memory alteration."
"This emporium is not allowed to carry anything about memory alterations." Yo rests their head in the palm of their hand. "May I inquire why you need to know?"
"Nothing illegal, for this. I'm honestly just looking for information," The female states with a smirk. Yo hums with a smile of their own and stands up.
"Well then! We used to have the information near the back of the store. You'll just have to look for the photograph album and you'll be in the right section," Yo answers brightly. The female smiles and gives them a nod of thanks.
"I'll try not to be long."
Yo watches the female disappear into the shelves of magical items. They tilt their head and lean over the counter again.
"She looks like a muyo, but she talks like a witch. Is she muyodōkei*?" Yo turns another page of their book, itching to learn about this unknown person. "Only muyodōkei really know about this emporium. Or those hiding from the Ministry of Magic."
Time passes quickly and the female returns from the shelves after two hours with her arms filled with books of all kinds. A frown was on her face, more like a casual expression than a true frown, as she places the books on top of the counter.
"Find what you're looking for, Miss?" Yo asks as they ring up the books. They skim each title, resisting the urge to raise an eyebrow.
Advanced Runes of Protection and Support, The Odd Ways of Other Travel, Supernatural Beings and Their Dangers 4th Ed., Astral Projection for Beginners and Idiots, Memory and the Dangers of Alteration, and Life After Death: The Unknown Horror.
"It's a start," The teenager states with a small smile.
Yo hums and holds out their palm. "3 Tengoku* and 5 Tendō*. May I have the name of this wonderful customer?"
The female smiles as they take out a muyo wallet from her bag. She takes out the appropriate amount and places it in Yo's hand before she starts to put the books inside her bag.
"Not now." She gives Yo a smile before adjusting her bag. "Have a nice day."
Yo watches her leave, staying silent. Their crimson eyes glint in the light, impatiently curious about the teenager. Not now... then there is still a chance to learn.
Curiouser and curiouser. This day wasn't so boring after all.
Ichigo slowly walks through the empty halls of Karakura High School, engrossed in Memory and the Dangers of Alteration. She turns a page as another set of footsteps starts walking next to hers.
"Good morning, Mizuiro," Ichigo greets without even a glance away from her book. Kojima Mizuiro smiles and looks up at the ceiling.
"Good morning, Ichigo." He scratches his ear and gives his friend a side glance. "It was strange not seeing you in the first two periods. Something must've happened to make you skip school."
"Something did happen. Everything's mostly fine now," Ichigo agrees with the assumption. Mizuiro tenses and falters behind. Ichigo takes the moment to close her book and looks over her shoulder.
"Was it MoM? I felt your magic flare up all the way from my house," Mizuiro asks quietly, lowering his voice to the point that Ichigo could barely hear him.
"No. It was... something else. Nothing you need to worry about right now," Ichigo says as she looks down at the book cover.
"Memory alteration is a strange topic to read out of nowhere. Weren't you reading about thestrals?" Mizuiro asks with a smile. Ichigo gives him a small look before putting up her book.
"Memory alteration became a priority this morning when my sisters told me their memories were altered." Ichigo and Mizuiro enter their classroom. "Thestrals can wait."
"Third period is social studies. Oh, and we have a transfer student. She's assigned to the desk next to yours," Mizuiro changes the subject with a smile. Ichigo scowls and glances up at the desk next to hers. She blinks in surprise at the sudden presence she feels before scowling.
The Shinigami from the night before sat with a sickeningly cheerful smile in the normally empty desk. Ichigo sighs heavily and walks forward, ignoring the weird presence she feels from the Shinigami for now.
"Ichigo-hime!" Inoue Orihime, the best friend of Ichigo's childhood friend Arisawa Tatsuki, exclaims with a bright smile. Ichigo internally groans at the nickname, but gives Orihime a tired smile.
"Hello, Orihime-san," Ichigo greets as the other orange haired teenager rushes over.
"I heard from Kojima-kun that a truck had crashed into your house! Are you okay? Was it a government coverup? Did anyone else get hurt?" Orihime asks question after question, eyes wide and face slightly pale.
"Everyone's fine. No one got hurt and no one woke up, miraculously," Ichigo lies with only a small stutter. Orihime stares up at her for a few more moments before she relaxes with a bright smile.
"That's good! But was it a government coverup?" Ichigo smiles and shakes her head.
She walks past Orihime and towards her seat. "No. I don't think so."
"Ichigo-hime," Mizuiro smiles innocently at Ichigo's glare, "this is Kuchiki Rukia, the transfer student. Kuchiki-san, this is Kurosaki Ichigo, our rumored delinquent who has a fighting instinct of a war goddess."
"I've told you not to say that stuff, Mizuiro! I don't want that hanging in the air!" Ichigo hisses, grabbing Mizuiro's arm and tugging it.
"What ever are you talking about, Ichigo-hime?" Mizuiro smiles innocently and walks to his desk.
"It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Kurosaki-san! I hope we can be good friends," Rukia exclaims in a cheerful voice with an overbearing amount of sweetness added. Ichigo gives her a small glare, forcing a smile on her face.
"Nice to meet you too... Kuchiki-san." Ichigo doesn't even give the Shinigami another glance as she walks to her desk. She sits down and drops her bag beneath her seat.
"Dear me, I forgot to ask the teacher where I could get a textbook. Do you think you would be able to lend me yours?" Rukia asks as she holds out her hand. Ichigo sweatdrops at the message on the Shinigami's hand.
'Say anything and I'll kill you.'
Ichigo takes a deep breath and slowly releases it. She stands up abruptly and grabs Rukia's arm.
"Come on. I already know everything I need to know for this class today. I'll show you around," Ichigo says, not leaving any room for protest as she walks out of the classroom.
"Tell something convincing to the instructor for me!" Ichigo calls over her shoulder to Mizuiro. He gives a wave of acknowledgement, watching the two females leave with a head tilt.
"Where are you taking me, both of us all alone?" Rukia asks cheerfully, making Ichigo give her a weird look.
"Somewhere we can talk, now stop talking like that! It's weird." Ichigo opens the door to the courtyard and leads Rukia outside. She kicks the door closed behind them before taking a left.
"Weird? How rude! I think it's pretty good for only a night of studying modern language!" Rukia states with a small pout. Ichigo releases her grip on the Shinigami's arm and turns around with her arms crossed.
"Why are you here?" Ichigo asks quietly, never too careful when in a place she hasn't checked and protected against eavesdroppers.
"I told you. My mission is to be stationed in Karakura Town–"
"I know that, Rukia. I mean, why are you here? Here in my class, at my school," The orange haired witch clarifies with a frown.
"I had intended on only giving you half of my power. You took almost all of it. I'm basically a free meal on a platter to Hollows until my powers come back. Until then, I must pretend to be Human and live in this gigai," Rukia explains with a furrowed expression and her arms crossed. Ichigo sucks in a sharp breath at the revelation.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Can I give them back?" Ichigo asks, making Rukia blink. She smiles and shakes her head.
"I don't know if you can. It's alright, Ichigo. It worked out and all of us survived the Hollow encounter," Rukia states. Ichigo frowns, but doesn't mention anything else about it.
Rukia's smile is replaced with a dramatically serious expression. "Until all of my powers return, you must become a Shinigami in my stead."
"What the hell do you mean? I don't need to do anything!" Ichigo declines almost immediately.
"When I had transferred my powers to you, you had become a Shinigami. Temporarily. I am not fit to fight and I have no way of going back to Soul Society to get a replacement for my mission. You need to take my place. There is no room to decline," Rukia clarifies with a glare. Ichigo scoffs and looks off to the side, biting the inside of her cheek.
"...it doesn't feel temporary," Ichigo mutters, mostly to herself. She thinks about the night before and what she felt sear into her very soul.
Ichigo gasps at the absolute rush of ecstasy and freedom that explodes into her veins. Her hands grip an unfamiliar but completely welcoming handle as she stumbles onto her feet.
The Hollow howls right into her ear and Ichigo snaps her head up, instinctively pulling back whatever was in her hands and swinging it forward. The Hollow screeches in pain as both of its hands are sliced in half.
The explosions of light and lightning finally fade away, only crackles of lightning left behind to surround Ichigo and the thing–the sword she held.
Her long hair was braided into two french braids and fell over her shoulders. She wore a black furisode kimono underneath a pure white hakama skirt. A grey cloak, flowing almost like a deep mist around her, fell around her, fastened around her neck.
Ichigo adjusts the grip on her sword and widens her stance with her zori sandals. In her hands was a nagamaki sword a foot taller than her own height, reaching six feet nine inches. The blade was pitch black and the hilt was the purest white Ichigo had ever seen.
A shaky breath leaves her mouth as her soul sings for Death by her hands and her magic lusts for the blood of those who have harmed her family and friends. Ichigo has never felt this centered in herself, and it was glorious.
A void she never knew existed inside of her soul was filled. Overflowing with power and temptation, love and protection. Burning with the presence of the Veils.
Ichigo takes a deep breath and relaxes her posture even more. The Hollow snarls as its hands slowly reform. Ichigo smiles and leaps forward, raising her nagamaki to her side.
"Blessed with the hymns of bloodlust and the notes of chaos. May you be what you were named." Ichigo swings the nagamaki. "Kurosaki no Ichigo, the First Protector of the Dark Destination."
"Now please, help my children, My Sacred, and be their Blessed Savior." Ichigo blinks as she recalls what She had told her to do. The orange haired teenager sighs before focusing back on Rukia.
"You'll tell me everything that has to do with the After–with Soul Society. All of it. Shinigami, the government, the normal Plus Souls, the history that you know, everything." Ichigo crosses her arms and holds up two of her fingers. "That and you have to train me. Those will be my conditions to becoming a Shinigami in your place. Do you understand?"
Rukia relaxes her posture with a sigh of relief. She nods her head and holds out her hand with a smirk.
"I understand. I'm happy that we will be working together, Ichigo," The Shinigami says cheerfully while Ichigo shakes her hand with a smirk of her own.
"Likewise, Rukia."
A flicker of a memory passes Rukia's face before she frowns once again. "Last night, those... spells. That wasn't Demon Form. How and where did you learn those?"
Ichigo tenses and immediately releases Rukia's hand. She looks around with a keen eye before holding up her hand. She wordlessly casts a silencing spell, a faint grey shimmer appearing as a dome around them.
"I can't explain it all here, but long story short: magic, witches, and wizards exist and I'm one of them. Those spells were magic and even though you are a being the Magical World most likely doesn't even know you exist, me telling you this much is a major crime against the Statute of Secrecy," Ichigo says calmly and quietly, too paranoid to say it any louder. Wordless magic was much harder for her than wandless magic.
"That's impossible! There are no records of magic existing in the Living World. Most Shinigami barely even recognize Demon Form as magic," Rukia exclaims with a shake of her head. Ichigo gives her a small look, but doesn't say anything.
"I'll explain everything to you when we're in a safer place to tell. But before that, I need you to swear to me that you won't tell anyone, and I mean anyone, about this–about what I am unless they know about it or I've told them about it." Ichigo stares down at the disguised spirit with piercing eyes.
Rukia stares up at her with wide eyes of her own, not expecting the sheer amount of solemnity in the Human's–no, the Witch's eyes. She swallows back the sudden anxiety festering in her chest and carefully nods her head.
"I swear I won't," Rukia answers truthfully. Ichigo glances between both of her eyes before glancing a few inches to the side when the presence she had ignored comes into her Sight.
It surrounded Rukia like an icy blanket of temptingly warm shadows and mists of home and welcoming. The presence of Death.
"Even with that fake human body, I can still See..." She mutters aloud in her surprise. Ichigo breaks away from her trance and takes a step back.
"Okay. Let's get back to class." Ichigo starts to walk past Rukia, only to be stopped by a hand on her elbow.
"Hold on. There is a Hollow we need to deal with. I had just received the alert before you had come into the classroom," Rukia states as she takes out a weirdly colored fingerless glove. Ichigo blinks before frowning.
"Alright, but we need to have a talk about dealing with Hollows while I'm meant to be attending school. I won't be leaving my ranking to chance just because of some Hollows."
Hey! Hope you all like the new chapter! I apologize for not updating sooner for this story or any of my other stories. I had taken a week break from writing and then I got incredibly busy with my job.
Saturday (Feb. 20) was my only day off and I spent most of it catching up on writing, so I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and the chapters of my other stories (if you've read my other stories).
*Background Information*
(1): Affligo has many meanings in Latin, but the one I used is "I weaken".
(2): Molliare is a Canon spell in Harry Potter. It's called the Cushioning Charm. It creates a cushioning effect on the intended target.
(3): Stupefy is probably one of the most common spells read in Harry Potter, but for those who don't know, it's the Stunning Spell. It stuns the opponent.
(4): Carpe Retractum is also called the seize and pull charm. It produces a magical, retractable cord of light and is used to pull objects towards the castor, or the castor towards an object stuck in place.
(5): Bombarda is the Exploding Charm and detonates a small explosion towards the target.
(6): obliviate (as we've seen in the second book/movie of Harry Potter with Gilderoy Lockhart) erases partial memories or completely erases the memory of someone.
(7): no one (as far as I know) has created a term for witches and wizards born from two muyo (Magical Japan's word for muggles, created by the FANDOM). So, I created one. With Google Translate, and I know how sketch it is, so please forgive me for any mistranslations, I had combined the translations of "muyo" and "dōkei". Muyo (by Google translate) means "nothing" and dōkei means "blood" as in by related, affiliated.
(8): Since we no little to nothing about the Wizarding World of Japan, I created my own Wizarding Currency for them. Tengoku (Google translation: "heaven") is the equivalent of a Galleon.
(9): With my made up Japanese Wizarding currency, Tendō (Google translation: "sun, heaven, providence, destiny" being FOUR of the meanings) is the equivalent of a Sickle. The equivalent of a Knut is called a Kyūten (Google translation: "sky, heaven, palace").
I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! Bye!
WhovianWhoudini