Kamoshida looked at the orange-haired teen with a feeling he hadn't felt in a while.
Fear.
The Shadow of a demented man who thought a place of learning was his castle felt fear at the being standing in front of him.
And the demon behind him didn't help the feeling.
Ichigo heaved a few labored breaths, as if he had discovered a muscle for the first time and had used it strenuously.
But it felt good.
The rush of power, the feeling of being in control of his own path again.
He grinned.
Ichigo glared at the floating pumpkins in front of him and placed the familiar mask on his face again. The yellow of his eyes seemed to brighten as he did so. The former Shinigami did was he had done his entire tenure of being involved with the supernatural, and that was go with the flow of battle. Follow his instincts.
Then the teen pointed.
"Zangetsu...devour them."
The Persona growled again before it exploded in movement while Ichigo moved as well, noticing a new addition in his left hand. That was the sword that was gifted to him by Kisuke before he left for Tokyo.
The sword wasn't anything special. A rather bland katana with a square hilt guard and green colored hilt. But it was a gift from his teacher, so he would use it.
That did raise the question of how it came here from his shoten, still being kept in the box that had been given to him in.
A question for another time, he supposed.
Zangetsu ducked under a blast of fire from the Jack O' Lantern and quickly bifurcated the being before making an inhaling sound. The Persona sucked in the essence of the Shadow in a moment's notice, letting loose a low growl before turning to the other.
Ichigo was already on top of the other, swinging downward with his sword, hitting the floating pumpkin in the chest. The teen jumped back towards the wall, pointing towards the shadow again.
"Zangetsu, Cleave!" He announced.
The Persona who had rejoined his user cleaved downward with one of his arms, hitting the shadow once more making it dissipate in a cloud.
Ichigo let loose a breath, feeling slightly weaker from using Zangetsu, unlike how he had been used before. Then again, this was a completely different usage of his partner than he had engaged in previously, so he would save the question until he could answer it himself.
Ann and Ryuji were against the opposite wall having watched the encounter unfold before the looked around. All of the previous guards were gone save the two that Ichigo had made disappear. They began to stand as Ichigo walked over Kamoshida.
If the 'King' was afraid before, he was absolutely terrified now. His guards were dealt with as if they were child's play, and now that monster was coming for him!
Zangetsu dissipated in a cloud of blue smoke as Ichigo walked over to Kamoshida, kneeling down so he could grab him by the collar of his cloak.
Ichigo used his other hand to move his mask letting Kamoshida see his black and golden eyes in all of their glory before the teen unleashed a vicious headbutt to his nose.
Kamoshida screamed in pain as Ichigo dropped him as Ann and Ryuji ran over, their bags in hand.
"Dude...what the hell was that?!" Ryuji yelled while Ann was still looking slightly out of it. "And why do you look like that!"
Ichigo wished he could answer those questions, really, opting to look around and spying the keys the guards had used earlier to unlock the cell of the ground.
"I don't know, but I do know we can get out of here now," Ichigo spoke gruffly as he looked at the bewildered yet subdued Ann. Ichigo felt rage boil inside of him again and picked up the keys.
The orange-haired teen paced over to Kamoshida again and kicked him in the stomach making the man go into a coughing fit. "Hey, piece of shit," Ichigo said, kneeling. He grabbed Kamoshida's hair and glared deeply at him.
"If you think about touching that Shiho girl, or even look in Ann's general direction, I will make sure you never will again," he finished with a deep growl, voice distorting slightly.
Kamoshida, of which had tears in his eyes mumbled many incoherent sentences in confirmation.
Ichigo dropped him again and walked to the entrance of the cell. Ryuji looked on in worry while Ann didn't look at the two.
The former Shinigami locked the cell behind him and threw away the keys into the flowing water below them.
They seemed to be in some sort of underground tunnel, or maybe a prison of some sorts. There were cages hanging from the roof from chains and there were a few more cells to his left.
Ryuji rubbed his hair. "Man, this place is depressing as hell," he mumbled while Ichigo silently agreed. "Also, I gotta say the look, looks sick," he complimented with a small grin and thumbs up.
Ichigo finally looked down at what Ryuji had been mentioning and blinked a few times.
He had bandages around his torso, going from his hips up to his chest and going around his back. He wore a shihakusho that reminded of him when he was in his Bankai, though it was a little more open than he remembered. It had a deep V and was only joined in the center showing off his bandaged and fit abdomen. The rest splayed out to his sides and ended at his ankles with tattered ends and red tips.
The pants, though, were new. They were black jeans with golden accents, the cuffs tucked into black combat boots. He grinned a little at the belt buckle. It was the substitute badge but black and silver in color.
Things were getting more and more odd by the second, but that would have to be addressed later. Ann was looking a little worse for wear, after all.
Ichigo walked over to Ann and put a hand on her shoulder gently. The girl made to move away, but opted to look into Ichigo's discolored eyes. His smile, though, made her feel a bit better and less intimidated by them. "Hey, let's get out of here so you can get far away from that fuck, yeah? I'm sure the bloody nose will make you laugh later," he offered which made Ann smile a bit.
A second passed before she hugged him suddenly. "Thank you..." she whispered while Ryuji grinned, happy his friend was alright.
Ichigo blinked a few time before he pat her on the back awkwardly. "Yeah, no problem. Let's get out of here now, yeah?" he said while she back away, offering a reassuring smile.
The orange-haired teen looked back in the cell to see Kamoshida still laying on the ground and huffed before turning away and jogging up the ramp with Ann and Ryuji following.
He walked up to the gate and pushed on it, scowling as it seemed locked. "Probably shouldn't have thrown away those keys," he muttered.
"I was going to do it anyways, so it's fine. How do we get out, now?" Ryuji asked, looking around.
Ann was looking around as well and saw a few cages in the water that led to the other side of the miniature river with an open door to the left. "I think we can get across there," she pointed making Ichigo and Ryuji look to where she was gesturing.
Ichigo nodded. "Good idea. Hope you guys can jump," he said before leaping across the cages in only a few bounds to the other side.
Ryuji and Ann made it across a tad slower than he did but succeeded nonetheless.
Ichigo walked out of the door to see more cells and cages littering the underground cavern. There was a bridge that they could cross and another closed door down the way.
The former Shinigami scanned the room and shrugged lightly, going across the bridge. There weren't any guards around, thankfully. He figured they hadn't realized their 'King' wasn't back yet so they hadn't come searching for him.
The three made their way down the cells, inspecting them as they passed.
"What could all these cells be for?" Ann asked quietly, still gripping her bag.
"I dunno. If it's anything like what happened to us, can't be good," Ryuji responded while Ichigo silently agreed.
They eventually came to a stop at another closed door. "Fuck. How do we get out of this place?" Ichigo sighed, looking around for any more cages to jump on to get across the river.
"Hey, over here," he heard Ryuji's voice to his right.
Ichigo and Ann turned to see the male blonde in an open cell pointing to a hole in the wall of it.
"I think it gets out on the other side," the boy announced while Ichigo and Ann walked over.
"It's so dirty in there..." Ann mumbled while Ryuji chuckled.
"No time like the present," Ichigo retorted as he knelt down and began to crawl into the hole in the side of the cell. Sure enough, there was an exit on the other side.
"Ryuji if you look up I'm kicking you in the face!" Ann shouted from behind him making Ichigo groan as he came out the other side, noticing the unlocked cell he now stood in.
"It's pitch black in here, how do you expect me to see anything?! Plus, not really much to look at," he mumbled the last part.
Ichigo groaned louder as the two came out behind him, Ann fuming as Ryuji just laughed.
"If you guys are done flirting, I'd like to leave," Ichigo announced making Ryuji stutter and for Ann to flip her hair.
"He wishes," she said neutrally with Ryuji deflating.
The orange-haired teen shook his head.
They emerged from the cell they were in and were sure enough on the other side of the large gate in the center of the flowing water as well as the two locked doors. There was another draw bridge in front of them with more cells. There was another large gate at the end of the room with a door on the other side of the bridge.
He shrugged inwardly and the trio made their way over the bridge. They passed more cells and went down a small ramp to find a few barrels and crates.
"There's more guards over there!" Ann whispered harshly as the three ducked behind the crates.
Two guards came from the archway on the other side of the river and began to run the way they had just came from.
Good timing, I guess. They must've finally realized the bastard is missing, he thought as he waited a few more seconds to see if more guards came.
When none did, he rose and walked to the door behind them. Ryuji burst open the door and Ichigo sighed loudly.
"You trying to tell the whole place we're here?" Ichigo scowled while Ryuji mumbled an apology.
Ann was already in front of them going up some stairs. "C'mon! Let's get the hell out of here, slowpokes!" she spoke while Ichigo and Ryuji looked at each other before following the determined girl.
They reached the top of the stairs to find another door.
"This has gotta be the way out, right?" Ryuji asked while Ichigo shrugged.
"Probably not, but we'll find out," he responded, opened the door slowly.
They three were greeted with the sight of more and more cells with cages hanging from the ceiling. There was the never ending river that flowed in this place separating a raised drawbridge from the other side of the room.
They began to walk only for Ann to gasp, pointing towards two of the cages. "There's people in there!" she shouted, going to the edge.
"What the hell, man..." Ryuji said exasperatedly.
"What kind of sick fuck would do this? These are just students," Ichigo muttered as he saw the Shujin uniform. The people were unresponsive having something he couldn't quite make out on their heads.
"I know, this is seriously fucked, man..." Ryuji groused.
"We still need to leave, I can't even get them to talk to me. It's like they don't know we're here," Ann added which made Ichigo huff but nod as the three of them moved on to the drawbridge that was there.
There was a strange statue in front of it that resembled Kamoshida with a grin on his face. Ichigo rubbed his hair as he inspected it.
"What the hell is this thing?" He asked as he put his hand on it, seeing if there was some time of switch that would lower the bridge.
"Egotistical bastard..." Ann mumbled which made Ichigo nod in agreement.
"How do we get across this thing?" Ryuji ran a hand through his hair before a higher pitched voice was heard.
"Hey...! Over here!" The three heard which made them look over to a nearby cell.
"Is one of the people in here trying to talk to us?" Ann asked as she walked slowly towards the sound of the voice.
"This is beyond weird. Those guys wouldn't talk to us, but now some do?" Ryuji asked while he and Ichigo followed Ann.
They arrived at the end of the walkway and looked inside the cell, or rather who was inside the cell.
"W-What is that?! Some kind of monster cat?" Ann shrieked jumping back.
"I'm not a cat, I'm a person!" the small being retorted. It came to Ichigo's mid calf and strongly resembled a cat given the ears and mouth. It had a big head with soft features with large, blue eyes. It had two cat ears sitting on top of its head with smaller body. It wore a yellow scarf and some sort of suit.
"Orange hair and two blondies! Let me out!" it yelled, shaking on the cell door. "You aren't soldiers, so let me out, please!" it pleaded while Ichigo squatted down. "The keys are right there!" it pleaded, pointing an arm to the wall beside the cell.
"Oi, we're trying to get out, too. And you look like a monster in here, too," Ryuji told the cat making it look down.
"Hey," Ichigo started. "How'd you get in the cell? If you were a monster like these other things, you'd be out and about, too, right?" he asked which made the cat nod.
"Yes, you're smart! I was captured trying to explore around here," it said making Ichigo nod.
"It may be trying to trick us..." Ann mumbled making the orange-haired teen think for a moment.
"You know the way out of here?" Ichigo asked and received a vigorous set of nods from the cat.
"Yes, I do. If you let me out I'll show you the way out of the palace," he said making Ichigo raise a brow.
This is a castle, maybe it just misused the word... he thought.
Ichigo stood. "Ryuji, get the key. We'll see if he's telling the truth," he said making Ryuji huff.
"He better be or I'm punting him in the river," Ryuji mumbled as he grabbed the keys from Ann who had retrieved them to unlock the cell.
The cat stretched as it came out of the cell, something similar to a smile on its face as it skipped out. "Ah, I'm free! Thanks, I appreciate it!" it said while Ichigo rolled his eyes.
"You know the way out of here?" Ichigo asked, pushing aside his mask.
The cat nodded. "Of course I do. What do you take me for, a liar?"
"No, I take you for a cat..." Ryuji mumbled making Ann chuckle.
The cat rounded on Ryuji faster than the boy could react. "I am NOT a cat!" the not cat retorted angrily making Ichigo facepalm. "I'm an honest to god human!"
"Alright then, Mr. Not Cat," Ichigo started as he pointed to the bridge again. "Any idea how to use that thing?" he asked.
"It's Morgana, orange-hair," the now name Morgana returned as he hopped over to the statue by the bridge. Ichigo scowled lightly, biting back a scathing retort.
"I'm Ichigo, then," the former Shinigami returned as the group walked to the bridge with Morgana.
"I'm Ann, and this is Ryuji, Morgana-san," the only girl of the group offered making Morgana pause, looking at Ann with love struck eyes. Ryuji blinked a few times looking at the grinning Morgana.
"Ah, she's so pretty! Do not fret, my lady!" He said, pulling out a sword and pointing it to the sky. "I shall defend you from these evil shadows lurking in this Palace!"
Ann sweatdropped at the cat while more questions popped into Ichigo's head.
There's that word again...and what's a shadow? A hollow? Or those monsters I fought?
He shook his head as the cat jumped to the statue and pulled down its jaw. The gears turned and sure enough, the drawbridge lowered slowly allowing for the group to cross.
"Oi, not cat," Ichigo said as they walked over.
"Yes, orange-hair?" Morgana asked, laughing lightly at what Ichigo called him. At least it wasn't cat.
"Whats a Palace? Do you mean this castle?" Ichigo asked making Morgana shake his head.
"Palaces are the catch-all term for the manifested, distorted desires of someone's heart here in the metaverse," Morgana replied as the group of four made it the other side.
Ichigo 'hmm'ed' to himself as they rounded the corner and turned left, putting that information away for later use. But another thing that worried him was the distinct lack of guards. This was a castle, and it seemed relatively unguarded...
"...Stop staring at me," Morgana spoke as he looked back at Ryuji who chuckled nervously.
Ann trailed behind Ichigo and Morgana with Ryuji beside her. She had many questions and didn't really understand what Morgana was talking about. But Ichigo seemed rather sure of himself now that he had that weird outfit on. She felt a bit safer but this place seemed dangerous and that bastard Kamoshida...
Ann clenched her fist, promising herself she'd never be put in that position again. She couldn't be weak...
Ryuji looked over to Ann seeing as how she was unnaturally quiet and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze and reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, Ann. Ichigo and the cat will watch out for us," he grinned which made her nod.
"Y-Yeah," she mumbled, assured by his words.
"Hold it!" Morgana called out as the four moved behind some boxes.
Ichigo looked ahead to see a pair of guards in front of a door. "More guards," he scowled. He wasn't surprised, seeing as how they hadn't seen many since the ones earlier at the drawbridge.
"Alright, orange-hair, you seem like you know how to fight, especially since you've manifested your Persona. What do you say we team up and put those shadows down?" Morgana grinned.
Ichigo nodded. "Right. Ann, Ryuji, stay back while we deal with these two," he said while the guards moved towards them.
"Now or never!" Morgana announced before jumping over the boxes while Ichigo moved around them.
The not cat grinned. "Come, Zorro!" he yelled as blue flames engulfed his small form.
Ichigo could only describe what came from the flames as a large figure with a buff torso and hulking arms with smaller legs. He wielded a fencing sword a slashed downward.
The shadows now seeing a threat dissolved in black sludge before a familiar floating pumpkin was made known along with a rather provocative looking pink-skinned thing with horns.
"Is that a fucking strap-on?" Ichigo groaned, looking at the horn between its legs.
"Don't sweat the small things, orange-hair! Call out your Persona!" Morgana yelled while Ichigo nodded, moving his mask to the side of his face.
"Rip and devour, Zangetsu!" he yelled, the black armored figure of Zangetsu appearing behind him.
Zangetsu growled, seeing his new meal.
"Not bad! Follow my lead, then!" Morgana yelled. "Garu!"
Zorro swiped his rapier in the direction of the Jack O' Latern unleashing a small gale of wind.
The wind surrounded the pumpkin and several small cuts appeared along its form making it fall to the ground in a daze. "If you strike an enemy's weakness, follow up with another attack."
"Promise you I'm not as much of a green-horn as you think I am, not cat," Ichigo scowled while Zorro leapt forward stabbing the pumpkin through its head making it dissolve.
"My turn," Ichigo growled as Zangetsu did as well. "Zangetsu, Eiha!" he announced while his partner extended his hand. Black and red power coalesced before it exploded outward, covering the Incubus.
It exploded and the shadow groaned but was still left standing.
Zangetsu bestially leapt forward, not needing a command to attack the weakened shadow. Ichigo's partner skewered the Incubus before he opened his mouth, absorbing it within seconds.
Morgana blinked. "Seems like your Persona has a mind of its own..." he mumbled as both Zangetsu and Zorro dematerialized in blue flames. He'd save his question of how this guy's Persona absorbed another for later...
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "He's my partner," he said while Ann and Ryuji joined them. "Don't really care for this back and forth. Gotta finish these fights quickly. Really surprised that they waited for us to attack, though..." he mumbled.
Morgana shrugged while Ryuji put an arm around Ichigo's shoulder.
"Man, that thing sure is badass! Wish I had one of 'em," Ryuji said making Ichigo roll his eyes as the four continued onward.
They came to a set of stairs. "This way leads to the main entrance!" Morgana announced. "We gotta hurry while they're busy freeing their 'king'," he added making Ichigo nod. It was smart to escape while the guards were busy elsewhere. Probably why they hadn't seen many of them.
Ann was growing a bit weary walking up the stairs while Ryuji could feel his knee ache in protest of the prolonged, hurried walking. He was glad they weren't running at least.
They eventually made their way to the top and Ichigo quietly pushed through the doors. Sure enough, they were back in the rather lavish entrance of the castle complete with the gaudy picture of Kamoshida.
There also were no guards present, so that made things a bit easier. "Last stretch," Ichigo mumbled as they jogged over to the other side, Morgana leading them.
"We're going to the way that I got in here," he explained as they walked down a hall to yet another set of doors. Ichigo pushed them open and he noticed it was a depressing looking library. Maybe an office? Honestly, he really didn't care.
Ryuji looked around. "Doesn't look like an exit to me," he groused while Morgana rolled his eyes.
"There's a vent up there," Ann said, pointing to the top of one of the bookcases. Ichigo followed her line of sight and lo and behold, an opened vent was there.
"Looks like we're crawling out of here," Ichigo said, giving Ann a hand so that she could go up first. "You coming with us?" Ichigo asked, pushing Ann up.
Morgana shook his large head. "Nah, I still got some snooping around to do. Like a phantom thief, ya know?" he grinned.
"Thief? Phantom? What are you talking about, cat?" Ryuji asked incredulously.
Ichigo groaned as he saw Morgana rearing to go with the blonde boy and promptly picked up Ryuji by the back of his shirt and threw him upward to the vent. The blonde boy let loose a yelp at being manhandled and began to crawl, figuring out that Ichigo wasn't in the mood for their bickering.
The not cat blinked at the display of strength and laughed a little as Ichigo climbed up the bookcase.
"I'll see you later, not-cat," Ichigo said, crawling into the vent.
Morgana nodded, waving him off before he heard voices. He hid in a corner and sighed. "Come back soon, orange-hair," he whispered.
….
A wave of disorientation hit Ichigo like a ton of bricks.
"Ugh, what the fuck..." he muttered as he blinked a few times, looking around. He saw Ryuji and Ann by him, looking worse than he felt.
They had went to the entrance of the school and traveled through the alley they had taken to get there and soon enough the sky turned back blue, shimmering into existence along with the crowds of Tokyo.
"W-Was that all a dream?" Ryuji groused as he held his head.
Ann shuddered, the wave of disorientation leaving her. "No, I don't think so...we all remember what happened right?" she asked slowly making Ichigo nod.
"Yeah, we're back in the spot we all met, so I'd assume so..." he responded, checking his phone.
He noticed the time before anything. "Shit...we missed first period," he said which made Ann and Ryuji blink before they both perked up as if they hadn't been feeling nausea a few seconds before.
"Shit!"
….
"Ichigo, I assumed you weren't a troublemaker, but being late on the first day. Really?" Makoto muttered as she took him into the student council room.
The orange-haired teen had shown up just as second period was starting and luckily there weren't any teachers at the gate, so it made his entrance a little less suspicious. He had apologized to his first period teacher and had offered that the messed up train schedule had made him late.
The teacher bought it, but had said he'd be calling his guarding which made Ichigo groan.
"I'm telling you, the train schedules were all fucked. I had to wait in the station for an hour before the next one came," he said, leaving Ann and Ryuji's names out of it.
Makoto pursed her lips and sighed. It was a believable excuse and highly likely given all the trouble the public transportation system was going through lately.
"I suppose that's true, giving what has been conspiring lately, but still..." she said, conflicted on him being late. She was sure she'd be hearing no end of this from the principle.
Unless...
"I think I know what to do," she said which made Ichigo blink. He thought he'd just get a berating from her with nothing coming after.
He hoped that the principle wasn't going to be involved. Fat bastard...
"You'll be traveling with me to school. That way you won't be lost and I can ensure you'll get here on time," she said which made Ichigo release a breath before he rose a brow.
"I don't even know where you live," he said, stating the obvious.
She crossed her arms. "I live on the way to the school, so you'll simply have to meet me at the station. Consider it a light punishment for being late. And I'll tell the principle I handled it. That way we both don't have to deal with him much," she explained, pulling out her phone.
"I'll give you my information so that I can message you the time and station name," Makoto added which made Ichigo nod slowly, pulling out his as well.
She paused if only for a moment, sighing lightly. The first time I give my number to a boy, with these circumstances no less, she said, cursing her ineptitude with opposite sex briefly.
Ichigo, meanwhile, was sighing in relief. This was him getting off light, so he would thank his luck for that one.
After putting her number in his phone, she pulled hers up to show him an app. "This is my chat ID," she showed him.
The orange-haired boy blinked. "Chat ID?" he questioned.
Makoto tilted her head. "You haven't heard of this app? It's pretty popular among our age group these days," she explained, showing him the name of the app.
Ichigo began to look for it on his app store. "I'm not that caught up on technology, so..." he said, slowly navigating the app store to find the app to download it.
"It's free texting pretty much," she said and he nodded. He figured it was easier than racking up a large phone bill, so he'd play along.
With the app download, he made his username. He turned his phone to her and she giggled. "Shinigam1, huh?" she laughed.
Ichigo flushed slightly, it being the first thing that came to him mind. "Spelling it correctly was taken, so..." he trailed off.
His phone gave off a sound as she added him back. "MakNii, how original," he rolled his eyes.
Makoto huffed. "I don't have time to make up silly names," she said, crossing her arms.
Ichigo shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat," he retorted. "Mind if I go eat lunch now?" he asked.
The student council president nodded. "Of course. I'll see you in the morning," she responded as he left the room without another word.
He looked around the hall, students passing him as he made his way to the cafeteria. They were all looking up at him with differing gazes. Some were trepidation, others outright fear at his stature and the supposed reputation.
"I thought you'd be in there longer than you were," a voice beside the stairs called out to him.
He looked to his left to see Ann standing there, a pensive expression on her face. Ichigo waved to her, a small smile in place. The former Shinigami was still worried for her given the events of the morning, but she seemed to be holding up well.
"Yeah, she gave me the ol' stern talking to," he chuckled.
Ann offered a small smile at the joke but her face soon turned solemn again. "Can...we talk? On the roof?" she asked and Ichigo nodded almost immediately, already guessing what she wanted to speak about.
She turned around and began to walk up the stairs to the roof. Supposedly it was off limits, but that didn't seem to stop her as she opened the door to it.
The rain had stopped, but it was still relatively cloudy and windy out. Ichigo was thankful it had stopped raining at the very least. The accessable part of the roof was small with a few air conditioners and miscellaneous things scattered about. The orange-haired teen noticed some gardenening tools but turned his gaze to the blonde.
The girl on the roof stood there for a moment before leaning against the fence. "Thank you for this morning in that...palace," she said and Ichigo nodded again.
"Of course, I'm glad you're okay," he said, stepping towards her. Ann almost backed away but stopped herself. Ichigo noticed this and stepped back in response.
"That bastard...Kamoshida," she almost spat the name, "I saw him in the hall today, and it looked like he wanted to say something to me. I felt this...white hot anger well up, but it looked like he didn't remember anything that happened in that place," she explained.
Ichigo ran a hand through his hair. It almost seems like that Kamoshida and this one are two completely different people, he thought.
"I had to get away from him. I almost ran, but I ran into my best friend, Shiho, and she talked to me. I couldn't really tell her what happened because I didn't want to seem crazy, but she made me feel a little better about it," she said, a small quiver in her lips. "I want to be strong about this but I can't stand looking at him. I want him to go away," she said, her tone of voice carrying no room for argument.
"Hey," Ichigo said softly, "He won't touch you. Not again. I swear," he said, his eyes looking at hers. "I'll make sure of it if I have to," he told her, his deeper voice reverberating through her.
Ann finally let a few tears fall as she engulfed him in a hug, clinging to him as she let her burden go and fall to him. He accepted it fully and he slowly put his arms around her as well. He didn't know this girl that well, but he could recognize a person in a deep need of help.
He'd protect her, just as he would his friends back home.
"Thank you..." she mumbled as she let go of him and dried her tears.
Ichigo nodded just as the door to the room burst open to show another blonde.
"Oi, orange-hair! Why didn't you tell us that you were a third year?!" he groused making Ichigo roll his eyes.
"It didn't come up in conversation," he retorted making Ryuji stop mid step and blink in thought.
"Ya know...I guess it didn't," he mumbled making Ann giggle slightly. "Anyways, we thought we'd meet you up here during lunch to talk about some stuff," he continued.
Ichigo rose a brow. "About this morning?" he guessed.
Ryuji nodded as he pulled out his cell phone. "Yeah, we gotta get those people in there out! Or at least help them some way," he said while Ann shivered at the thought of going back in there.
She didn't like the idea personally, but they had to help those people in cages if they could.
Plus, if anything bad happened, Ichigo would be there to protect them, so that made her feel a little better about the ordeal.
The orange-haired teen gained a pensive look. "I'm not sure if we can get that many people out of there," he mumbled.
Ryuji shook his head. "Doesn't matter! We gotta help them, and your little battle thing can help out if we run into any more guards," he said, making Ichigo sigh.
"Sure, but tomorrow alright? Can't have a late day getting home today or I have the feeling I'll get my ass chewed," he said.
Ryuji nodded. "Alright, tomorrow. Don't ditch out on us, alright? You're coming, too, Ann, yeah?" he said.
Ichigo looked at the girl who had gained a little color to her face to see her eyes steeled, finding some resolve within herself. "Yes, we can't let that continue," she said.
"Cool! It's a plan, then. Do you have a chat ID, Ichigo, so that we can get ahold of ya?" he asked and Ichigo nodded slowly, pulling out his phone.
"...Shinigam1, huh? That's cool, I guess," Ryuji snickered.
Ichigo glared. "Not like AwesomeDude123 is any better, asshat," he mumbled.
Ann giggled as the two bickered.
Maybe it'd be alright going back in there with them after all.
….
Sorry it's late. The first half of this chapter was pretty boring to write.
Anyways, here ya go. Hopefully I can get back into the groove here.
Review pls.
Dueces.
