July 16, 8 years ago.

"Ichigoooooooooo wake up!" Dad. Oh god. The old man kicked the room door open.

"Shit! I'm already up goat-face! Get the hell out of my room!" Ichigo deftly avoided the goat-face's attempts to jump him on the bed. Expertly rolling on the floor, he faced the invader.

Ichigo just knee-kicked his dad in the face. He didn't care anymore if he accidentally broke his dad's nose. It's fucking Friday. There was no way in hell he would entertain his dad on a Friday.

Walking down the stairs, he could hear dad waking up the twins. Both of them crying simultaneously. Idiot.

"Hey mom," Ichigo walked behind the orange haired woman as she flipped the pancakes and pecked her cheek.

"Good morning, Ichigo. Sit down for breakfast. I made miso soup and pancakes." She gestured to the dining table with the spatula.

"You can choose which."

Miso soup and rice for dad and mom and pancakes for the twins. Always the ever-pleasing mother.

"I'll take toast." He said cheerily. He could see his mom shake her head while she laughed.

"I knew you were going to say that. Here." She took the toast from the mini-oven with her bare hands.

He grabbed the toast from her hands and pecked her again on the forehead. It was already a long time that he outgrew his mother. She could only sigh at how her children were growing so fast. He was already 16 and already growing body hair and odour. She missed the small cheeky child who always hugged her legs to eat.

She hear the door open. Snapping out of her reverie,

"Have a safe trip! Be careful!"

Ichigo made sure to scream goodbye to his dad on the second floor before running to meet Renji who was waiting outside.

July 17.
8 years ago.

"Come on mom! Hurry up! It's pouring so hard!"

"Go on first, I'll catch up!"

He was carrying 5 full bags of groceries towards the car. His arms were going to fall off. He brisk-walked in front of his mom who was still putting the money in her purse. A few minutes ago, it was drizzling. Now, it was practically pouring. Both of them didn't expect it. Who would have known it would rain so suddenly? Quickly soaked, all the more Ichigo ran forward to put the groceries back and finally head home.

"Ichigo wait! I think I left a bag in the store!" He heard his mom yelling a few feet back.

"Moooooommm, come on!"

He turned with all the bags still in hand. Exasperated and soaked wet. He could only faintly hear her as she was too far back. He had already crossed the one-way road to get to the car park. He rushed forward. He heard something.

He turned not expecting to see the scene before him. There was another man assaulting his mother.

"Ichigo!" His mother was fending off a man. The man's arm wrapped around her waist. Her fists aimed at the attacker's face and her purse long forgotten on the ground.

Motherfucker. "Get off! Get off my mum!"

Dropping the bags, Ichigo ran and tackled the man to the ground. He had to protect. He ran across the road again, not giving a shit if a car had passed and knocked him down. The momentum pushed them away from his mother. Ichigo couldn't think straight, he grabbed the man and punched him hard in the face. The man stumbled back and fell to the ground. Turning his head, Ichigo saw his mother with bloodied hands holding her side tightly.

Mom? He crouched beside her. Seeing the handle of the knife protruding from her abdomen. Her yellow dress and cardigan gradually turning red. Helplessly, he looked at his mother. Still conscious, she looked up at her teenage son. Vision blurry; she tried to make out the features of her beloved son. She brought her fingers up and saw the red. She looked down slightly at the source of her pain. The cut was deep. Too deep. And there was so much red.

Reaching out her hand to caress Ichigo's face, trying to wipe the tears off his face. The rain still pouring.

"Ichigo, I'll be okay. I'm fine. I just need to rest, baby." He could only weep as he saw his mother.

"I'll be back home soon, okay. I'll cook your favourite pumpkin pie for the twins and your pa."

He can't stop crying. When she touched his face, he put his hand over hers. Her soft palm on his face, turning colder as time passed. He didn't dare look down her body. Afraid of the red staining her dress. He gripped her body close to his body.

Click.

"ICHIGO!"

Bang.

Everything happened so fast.

His mother was hugging him. Her arms around his shoulders. He rested his head on her shoulder, deep in the comforting tresses. His arms around the torso of the woman who gave birth to him. Her beautiful scent in his nose. He hugged his mother comfortingly. Thunder struck. He opened his eyes. Arms still around his mother.

"Mom?" he called his mother. She wasn't hugging him anymore. She was slumped on him with her arms loosely around his shoulders. Her full weight bearing down on him like reality. The rain still pouring, her hair no longer dry and fluffy. It was wet and tangled. Both their heads were dark orange, the light colour dimmed by water.

"Ma?" he croaked. Shaking her as she didn't respond. Her body slumped on him. He heard loud footsteps running away, the last of his concerns. Ma? He slowly turned her head to him. Her eyes closed, no heavy breathing from her mouth like before. Glancing down, blood everywhere. He glanced down her back, a bullet. The skin fluttered open around the bullet like a red flower.

"Ma?" he shook her. "Ma... Come on, wake up..." he lied her body on the pavement gently. Her head on his lap.

The rain pouring down washing the flowing blood away.

"MA?! Ma!" He shook her again. Please. No. The tears flowing down his face. He screamed at her. Waiting for her to open her eyes.

Suddenly, an accident happened across them. There was a truck who ran over someone. The body wedged under the wheel of the truck. The victim's head in an odd direction as the corpse laid there. Blood everywhere. More blood and the truck driver ran out of the vehicle. The man's face shocked and in panic. The victim was his mother's murderer.

At the road where he separated from his mother. He couldn't care less about the accident.

Only his mother was on his mind.

"Please don't do this mum" he screamed at her lifeless body.

"Maa! Maa! Wake up! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he yelled in the sky. He tried to apologise to someone up there. Someone, anyone please. Praying to anyone up there to save his mother. "Any god up there, please!"

He didn't deserve this.

His mother didn't deserve this.

His father. The twins. No one.

Take my life, not hers.

"Help! Please someone help! Help my mother! PLEASE!" her yellow dress now red. Both of them on the ground, the rain never ending. He hugged her close to him. He couldn't feel any pain physically. He couldn't feel.

Please.

Please.

Wake up.

Author's note: yeah... so I'm getting this part extremely different from the canon. I made changes such that Masaki died when Ichi was still a teenager, specifically 16 y.o, and in the current story he is 24 ( he ran away from home at 18). The twins are 5 at that time so they are 13 now. I think that Ichi would feel the heaviest pain when he saw his mother die at an age where he could have actually done something rather than at 9 years old. Also, the emotions felt would definitely would affect him in the future. Its more dramatic this way and I do enjoy writing a pained Ichigo... -.-

For those who are still confused about the plotline~ So Masaki here got stabbed in the stomach but was still alive and then got shot to protect Ichigo which was the killing blow. Oh and the car crash actually killed the assailant A.K.A heaven's retribution. But it'll affect Ichigo in the future.

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