𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙰𝙻𝙻 𝙸 𝙻𝙾𝚅'𝙳, 𝙸 𝙻𝙾𝚅'𝙳 𝙰𝙻𝙾𝙽𝙴.

— Edgar Allan Poe

"Alone"

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Odd little thing life was. One moment, a bright and horrifically wonderful day of sun and cheer; the next, a dreadful day of mourning and sublime storms to run and chase and howl with.

Odd little thing life was. Loved and cherished by those who wish to live; then hated by the very same who falsely accuse death of their misfortune and misconstrue the fact that it is life that brings misfortune to itself and to themselves, not the beauty of death.

Life's eternal manipulation is quite admirable and such a joy to witness! To watch it all from the romance of oblivion and the embrace of death, a magnificent form of entertainment.

Unfortunately, not many see what life truly was. Not many realize that death is the comfort of a mother, the devotion of a lover, the salvation of one's own person. The fact that people don't have eyes like Ichigo is something that Kurosaki Ichigo laments over constantly. Gold, yet many confuse it to be tawny brown in the light. Such a pity!

Only Ichigo's family has the same eyes. Blood confused with velvet brown. Oblivion confused with black. Rose gold confused with copper. Obsidian confused with dark grey.

It was terrific, but still so amazing to watch those same eyes love death like Ichigo does. And terrific in its old definition and the only definition Ichigo knows; causing terror. A beautiful emotion, terror is. It's known to cause literal death! Oh, how envy crawls through Ichigo's veins for those killed by terror...

Well, it isn't all lost. After all, there's another family just like Ichigo's. The family that took Kurosaki in like they were always a part of it. It made sense. Dark Places came from the Earth, so Kurosaki being taken in by Addams was never a surprise. It was more of a surprise that it took so long honestly.

Of course to even create Dark Places against the Earth, one must have Fire. It hasn't happened yet, but Ichigo is quite excited for the day that Shiba is brought in with the Ritual. All in due time. Ichigo has more important things to do at the moment... like dealing with the reaper that had trespassed the sacred territory Kurosaki has claimed and protected for centuries!

Odd little thing life was. One second of eternity, it held a routine that was impossible to change; the next era, it explodes and destroys itself with a single abhorrently magnanimous second of rebirth. Odd little thing life was.

»«»«»«»«»«

Ichigo tends to the vines of the gloriosa superba that had long since invaded his room through most of the kĹŤshi-mado panels. It creeped up the wall and hung down from the ceiling with its clawed petals of flames. It brought a hellish color in an otherwise dead bedroom. The only splash of color Ichigo needed.

A hum leaves pale lips as Ichigo quietly snips away all of the dead leaves and wilted flowers, letting them rain down against the ancient wood floors; carefully avoided as they were needed for many crowns and bouquets. The only working kĹŤshi-mado was slid open, letting in a warm breeze and the soft light of the full moon.

One of the trailing vines wraps around two fingers, making Ichigo pause. With a head tilt, long talons painted black twirl around the vine and lightly scrape against a lily petal.

"Are you sure? People tend to avoid the estate," Ichigo asks softly, voice obscure and mysterious like a bonfire in the middle of a deep night fog.

The barest of weight makes the wood creak loudly from behind. A soft smile appears before Ichigo turns towards the noise. A breeze blows past scarlet orange hair, carrying a lone black swallowtail with it.

Ichigo watches it land on the fire lily beckoning it before glancing back at the opened kĹŤshi-mado. A strange figure, appearing oh so young yet surrounded by such an old and frosty presence, brought a new flare of interest with the trespass.

Violet eyes glanced around, filled with ice and snow as if solanum xanti had been plucked and left beneath a frozen lake. Pale skin shone underneath the pallid moonlight and brought out an ebony glare from raven locks. Black fabric draped across a small body, taking the form of a kosode and hakama pants, tied by a pure white belt, with a katana strapped to the left hip.

"It is near..." A soft voice speaks from pale lips, holding deadly elegance and a fierce snowstorm behind its tone.

"You are a reaper," Ichigo states in realization. The reaper doesn't make any notion about hearing Ichigo, glancing around the room.

"Reaper, why are you trespassing on my territory?" Ichigo asks, oh so curious and just the slightest bit choleric. The most sacred of Kurosaki territory does not like uninvited trespassers all that much. And Ichigo devoted the night to the little beauties invading the bedroom, and burying bodies wastes away the time.

The reaper continues to ignore–or more likely not paying attention–to Ichigo. A freckled face is split by a wide grin, sharp teeth of a canine gleaming in the soft moonlight. Ghostly footsteps barely cause the wood boards to creak as Ichigo walks up to the trespasser. A hand is thrust into the reaper's face before two fingers snap twice in quick succession, causing the otherworldly spirit to stumble back.

Ichigo giggles at the sudden cry that leaves the reaper's lips, quickly covering it up with another hand. The raised hand turns to face its palm up towards the ceiling and the fingers uncurl, one talon pointing towards the reaper.

"Will you pay attention to me now, reaper?"

"Y-you can see me?! I–I mean to say... why did you snap at me?" The reaper exclaims as if it was unheard of to be seen by one living amongst the... well, living.

"There wasn't much else I could do to obtain your attention, unless you prefer singed clothes?" Ichigo's hands are lowered as the black swallowtail is carried into sight.

Ichigo hums and gently scrapes talons against the vine that holds up the butterfly. "Thank you, darling. This hell butterfly, are you hunting a Hollow?"

"You–you know what a Hollow is? Wait, you called me a reaper... you know about Shinigami?! But–but you're human!" Everything seems to come into realization for the reaper, making Ichigo laugh once more.

"Somewhat human, reaper. My father... he was once, and sometimes still is, a Shinigami. Even then, my family has always been... loving to death and the beings that bring it or live in its realm." Ichigo lifts a talon towards the hell butterfly, letting it crawl onto the black painted nail.

"I... y-yes." The reaper straightens up and the cold mask is slid back on. "Unfortunately, I can't sense it anymore. Have you heard anything?"

A head is tilted as if hearing something from outside of reality. Ichigo hums as gold eyes grow hazy in thoughts elsewhere.

"Odd... I've made sure the Kurosaki territory has been appropriately protected from all kinds of those annoying creatures... no, reaper. I haven't heard any howls or cries of a Hollow," Ichigo eventually answers, snapping back to reality to give the Shinigami a smile. The butterfly slowly disappears, going unnoticed by the two people in the room; the reaper finally noticing the plant and Ichigo being focused on said reaper.

"And I do apologize. It's probably me causing your sudden inability to track the Hollow. Controlling my reiatsu seems to be a skill that alludes me at almost every step," Ichigo continues sincerely before the vines of the gloriosa superba trails away to where it usually rests.

The reaper stares at the plant, watching it move of its own volition. Pale skin turns pallid as violet eyes glance back at Ichigo with a finger pointed at the vines.

"Did that–did that plant just move by itself?"

"Oh, my sister's darling hates to be confined outside. I'm its favorite, much to her dismay! Don't pay any mind to it... it likes to play with guests. We get so very few, you see," Ichigo states with a giggle. Gold eyes watch with mirth as the reaper attempts to make sense of the sentient plant.

"May I have your name, reaper?" Ichigo continues with a head tilt. "While I may not appreciate trespassers on my territory... I still always try to be hospitable."

"O-oh! I am Kuchiki Rukia of the 13th Division." The reaper, Rukia, gives a slight bow towards Ichigo. The teenager just laughs with a shake of a head.

"Kuchiki, hm? One of the Four Great Noble Clans..." Ichigo trails off in distracted thought. Shame Oyaji's secret couldn't be revealed this soon... the family agreed to reveal it when it was most amusing.

"My name is Kurosaki Ichigo... The current guardian of Karakura Town and protector of the Kurosaki Shrine here on my territory. Nice to meet you, Rukia-dono." Ichigo gives the reaper a much deeper bow, slow with grace and practice.

Rukia's face flushing bright red is missed by the scarlet haired teenager. "N-no need to call me that! I... I am simply Rukia. I need no titles."

"Forgive me, Rukia. It's simply a habit of mine." Ichigo straightens back up before lifting a hand towards the bedroom shoji doors. "Let us head to the kitchens. Yuzu always has a pot of tea ready at all times. Ah... but I'll still need to brew new tea for you..."

"Th-thank you, Ichigo! But... you don't need to brew any tea for me. I'll drink what you have now," Rukia states sincerely, making an amused smile form on Ichigo's face.

"Trust me, Rukia. It's best that I brew you some new tea." My sisters always preferred teas brewed with blood.

The second half of Ichigo's statement is left in unspoken thoughts. Guests really were so rare nowadays... Ichigo doesn't want to scare this one off too soon.

"...if you say so..." Rukia trails off with uncertainty before walking towards the bedroom door. Ichigo nods towards the reaper and trails behind with ghostly footsteps.

»«»«»«»«»«

Odd behaviors, odd contraptions and inventions, as well as odd speech was something Kuchiki Rukia expected when she was assigned this mission into the human world. As a simple mission, everything would go smoothly with an occasional bump or miscommunication with humans themselves.

Meeting Kurosaki Ichigo threw out all expectations or any possibilities of a smooth and easy mission right into the Dangai to never be found again. The... teenager was the oddest and strangest person Rukia has ever, and probably will ever, meet.

She couldn't even really believe Ichigo was a human, even if the stranger had said somewhat. But, that just meant Ichigo was odd and strange. Oh, this was all so confusing for Rukia. The teenager even looked strange–well, not strange... just different.

Brown eyes that eerily looked more like liquid gold, slanted and fox-like and incredibly unnerving when they stared into her own eyes, especially with their slitted pupils. A sharp face and a mischievous smile, revealing sharp teeth of a canine. Deathly pale skin covered in freckles like they were stars taken from the sky itself. Scarlet hair that almost looked like the very sun was setting right in front of her, falling in chaotic waves and tied back to fall below a silver choker where an amethyst sun and moon pendant rested in the center.

Rukia messes with the black porcelain tea cup in her hands. The tea was delicious, but she couldn't stop glancing over at the tea in Ichigo's cup, a little bit unnerved by the thick red liquid. She almost believed it to be blood, but she quickly shut that instinctual thought down.

"You're quite fidgety. Is the tea alright? I do apologize. I haven't been able to go shopping for more options," Ichigo starts up the conversation before the silence could drag on any longer.

Rukia startles at the sudden conversation, barely containing her flinch at how obscure and... enigmatic the voice sounded. It was... hard to explain, and hard to think about.

"A-ah, no. It's alright–it's great actually! I was just..." Rukia worries her bottom lip, unsure if she should even speak her curiosity. "You–I can't tell what you–are you–I don't wish to offend you, at all, but... are you a boy or a girl? Or just a-a person?"

Ichigo hums at the question, smiling brightly in amusement. A laugh leaves their lips before they lift their teacup to take a sip.

"Right now, I am both. But, sometimes I'll be one or the other, and I can be neither," Ichigo takes pity on the Shinigami and answers the question. Rukia sighs as her shoulders sag in her relief.

"...and you? You are...?" Ichigo slowly trails off, setting his teacup down. Rukia blinks at the question, a bit more than confused as to why they asked, before she smiles.

"I'm a woman, but if you refer to me as simply a person, I wouldn't be offended in the slightest," She answers simply. When Ichigo beams at the answer, Rukia has to swallow back the suddenness of her blush.

"Wonderful! I do apologize for the odd question. I'm a bit... incapable of the ability to differentiate people's appearances from one another. Some people get offended when I ask," Ichigo explains with a small blush of their own.

Rukia feels a twinge of... anger from inside herself. It leaves before she could truly realize or understand why it was there.

"You said–your father... he was a Shinigami, or he still is? Either way–you... you are shinketsu?" Rukia starts to fully process all that has happened in the past five minutes alone.

Shit... she just glossed over the fact that this person, this human–somewhat human being–was a shinketsu. A living, breathing shinketsu. The teenager wasn't necessarily a natural-born shinketsu by a technicality, but being some percentage of a human... it was technical enough.

"Yes, but it would be appreciated by everyone that you keep that quiet... for now. Oyaji loves to be dramatic, and I can't deny that I also wish to see how it all plays out," Ichigo answers before holding up a finger in front of their smile.

Rukia blinks at the answer, her brain still trying to reboot. "You... you are a shinketsu... in the Living World. There hasn't–there hasn't been one in centuries!"

"Oh? That doesn't sound quite right..." Ichigo trails off with a hum, more amused than surprised by Rukia's reaction.

"Doesn't sound right?! What the hell do you me–"

A bloodcurdling howl interrupts Rukia. It was their only warning before something impacts into the manor. Rukia instinctively covers her face as she's flown forward by the explosion of force. She barely has time to realize that it was a Hollow attacking and that she's about to be thrown through a literal building before something soft and warm wraps around her torso.

"What–what–" The thing around her waist pulls tight and forces the oxygen out of her lungs as it pulls her towards something deathly cold. A bone chilling growl reverberates inside her mind before a more animalistic one bounces off the walls of the kitchen.

Rukia attempts to take in a deep breath, her brain slowly becoming fuzzy. She desperately tries not to think about her uncertainty if it was the–the growl in her mind or the thing coiled tightly around her waist.

The growl and the tightness leave as suddenly as they appeared, allowing Rukia to take a deep breath. She glances around with wide eyes before her head is forced still by freezing hands. She couldn't contain her flinch even if she was expecting it.

"Are you alright?" Heavily dilated eyes stare into her own while sharp talons gently glide through her hair and scratch at her scalp, searching for any hidden injuries. She purposely doesn't glance at the scarlet tails moving behind Ichigo, nor the matching fox ears pressed flush against their head.

"Y-yes... I..." Her brain quickly restarts, mostly because she couldn't decipher how she wasn't embedded in a wall, before she whips her head towards the building. Wait–when the hell did they get outside?

"The Hollow had hid itself!" Ichigo hisses, almost like a snake but more like a fox, their lips pulled back into a snarl.

"That can't be!" Rukia faces towards the building, glaring through the broken shoji doors towards the Hollow. "When I was tracking it, it didn't have nearly enough power! It shouldn't be able to hide itself!"

"It shouldn't have been able to even step past my protections... what...?"

A scream, sounding like the cry of a baby fox, cuts through the stifling air. Ichigo immediately snarls and charges forward.

"Yuzu!"

"Ichigo, wait–shit!" Rukia chases after the teenager, reaching a hand out to grab anything to stop them from attacking the Hollow.

"Dammit! Stay back! You're only hum–partially human! You'll die if you attack it!" Rukia shouts before she manages to grab one of Ichigo's tails. She mentally apologizes as Ichigo squalls in more surprise over pain at their tail being roughly pulled.

Rukia manages to catch their glare before she races past them, a hand gripping around her zanpakutĹŤ. She unsheathes it quickly while leaping into the building. She brings it above her head before swinging down. The Hollow howls and raises its free hand, throwing it towards Rukia.

Her eyes widen before she leans back, receiving only a cut from one of the Hollow's claws on her cheek. Rukia flips in the air and lands on the ground, quickly righting her equilibrium before leaping forward. She swings up and cuts through the Hollow's arm, making the girl in its hand fall with it.

"By Inari-sama, Yuzu!" Ichigo's shriek makes Rukia's ears ring and makes her eyesight go fuzzy with colors. She groans quietly, almost collapsing on her knees before the world fades back to normal. She rapidly blinks her eyes, feeling something warm and wet bud at the edges, before she looks up.

Ichigo held a young girl in their arms, their three tails protectively wrapped around her waist, neck, and hips. Dilated eyes stared up at the Hollow still howling in pain and anger, lips pulled back into a ferocious snarl.

"Don't worry. Her soul is still inside her body. She's only unconscious," Rukia states, slowly straightening her posture. Her legs still felt weak and everything in her sight seemed slow as the world spun, but she could still fight.

"She's still hurt!" Ichigo hisses, a slight edge of something... indecipherable thrown at the Shinigami.

Rukia gently shakes her head and focuses on the Hollow. A scowl grows on her face before she pounces forward. She needs to get the Hollow away before it causes anymore damage or harm.

»«»«»«»«»«

"What could have destroyed my protections? This cretin shouldn't even have gotten anywhere close to my territory. Not without even an alarm at most," Ichigo hisses both in a literal sense and in a mental monologue sense.

Scarlet tails curl further around the small kit in trembling arms before Ichigo bolts down the hallway. A young child almost runs Ichigo right over when they both turn the same corner.

"Ichi! Ichi, what happe–Yuzu!" Kurosaki Karin cries out loudly, making Ichigo growl in frustration over this entire incident.

"Ichigo!" A booming voice is soon followed by a flamboyantly dressed adult, appearing similar to the three Kurosaki siblings, turning the corner. "What happened? What's going on?"

"A Hollow broke through the protections–my protections!" Ichigo growls before placing Yuzu in the waiting arms of Kurosaki Isshin. A gentle kiss is placed on the unconscious child's forehead before Ichigo bolts back towards where the Hollow and Rukia were fighting.

"Wait–Ichi!" Karin cries out even louder, stumbling forward to try and grab Ichigo. Isshin stops the kit by wrapping an arm around and lifting Karin up.

Ichigo doesn't look back, gold eyes glowing brightly in fury. This Hollow will die, and it won't be by Rukia's hand. It was much too strong for the Shinigami.

"Gah!" A voice barely shrieks before the Hollow seems to cut it off. Ichigo slides to a stop, watching as a small black blur shoots through the trashed living room, flying through the opposing hole in the wall and into the main garden of the Kurosaki Estate.

"Rukia-dono!" Everything flickers and spins before Ichigo grabs the Shinigami before she could hit any of the old shrines or gravestones. Talons gently press against dirty cheeks and lift Rukia's head to check for any serious injuries.

"Rukia-dono, that Hollow is too strong!" Ichigo curls around the small body of the Shinigami, glancing up when a howl pierces through the atmosphere.

"I-idiot. T-told you to just–just call me R-Rukia... don't–don't you listen?" Rukia forces out, violet eyes fluttering open to glare into gold eyes. She turns her head and spits out blood; her eyes traveling over to watch the Hollow stalk through the manor.

"I would wager that names are the least of our current problems," Ichigo's statement brings forth an unbidden laugh from Rukia, making a smile grow in satisfaction.

"...can–can you d-defeat the–the Hollow?" Rukia asks carefully as she continues to watch the Hollow stalk closer.

"Karakura Town would be Hollow-free if I had the capabilities to," Ichigo sneers before huffing in frustration, not targeted towards the Shinigami. It starts to be possible around tails five or six, and Ichigo's only just started the pyrokinesis when the third tail appeared a couple of years ago.

"Take–take my zanpakutō. Take it and thrust it–it 'nto your ch-chest." The Shinigami turns her head to stare up at the teenager, expression set in acceptance and determination.

"No. You can get executed for that! I refuse!" The statement leaves Ichigo's mouth in a low hiss. Rukia groans quietly as she forces herself to sit up, her trembling hands lifting up her zanpakutĹŤ.

"There's no 'ther–other choice! You–you're shinketsu! It'll–it'll wake up your innate powers! Not much–" Ichigo interrupts the reaper by grabbing her hands, encompassing them completely and wrapping around the hilt of the zanpakutō.

Dilated eyes stare into shocked ones before a sigh leaves Ichigo's nose. "I am incapable of controlling my reiatsu, Rukia. If I take too much, I can't give it back."

"I'll be fine. My powers 'll–will return. I swear," Rukia says calmly, raising her zanpakutō higher. Both pairs of eyes glance back at the Hollow when it howls once more. It was outside the manor.

"Okay... okay." The grip around Rukia's hand and zanpakutĹŤ tighten, talons lightly piercing into the pale skin of the woman. "If it doesn't work, I'm sure my father will have a plan."

"If this doesn't work, you'll die," Rukia points out. Ichigo laughs at the statement and grins down at the Shinigami. The Hollow screeches before it takes a leaping charge towards them.

"Oh reaper... this is easy enough to survive from. Don't you worry." A wide and feral grows on Ichigo's face. The sword is forcefully thrust into a chest immediately after, followed by a laugh and a blinding explosion of flames.

Oh, how fun it is to be stabbed by a zanpakutĹŤ! Maybe there could be another game involving one for the next family night...

Power leeches onto skin and bone, burrowing in a glorious inferno of pain and adrenaline. Something ignites and implodes, spawning a terrific supernova inside Ichigo's very own soul.

It barely feels like anything except for mind-numbing pain as Ichigo's body falls one way, the soul once inhabiting it falling the opposite. Shocks of power almost seem to physically appear traveling up tensed arms as Ichigo's awakened–and sleeping–innate powers grow exponentially.

Something sharply edged and roughly textured falls into a suddenly loose grip. Ichigo instinctively grips around it, cackling at the absolute rush of completeness finally achieved.

How can Oyaji stay sane when this was what was lost for dearest Hahaue? How has the insanity of a partial loss of a soul not taken effect?

"By Inari-sama... what a magnificent suffering to achieve this!" Ichigo laughs breathlessly, the flames finally fading.

Charred obsidian wrapped around a pale and lean body in the form of fabric, softer and finer than silk. It fell just above pristine tabi socks and zori sandals as a hakama skirt, and traveled up to below the bust line where it was tied around an obi in the color of pristine clouds. A kimono, the same charred obsidian as the hakama skirt, was neatly tucked into the obi and embroidered with a shinier black thread of onyx, shaped like flowers.

Four scarlet fox tails wrapped around Ichigo as gold eyes focus on the current problem of the night. The Hollow had been blinded by the flames, and slightly singed. It glared at Ichigo, screeching in its rage.

Ichigo lifts the zanpakutĹŤ that had appeared during the inferno, grabbing it with both hands. It was a sword; nearly the entire length of Ichigo's height and shaped like a khyber knife, only the white blade was just slightly more curved inwards. The hilt was simply non-existent and replaced by just the tang of the zanpakutĹŤ, wrapped in an obsidian ribbon.

"I do apologize, but I already have to deal with Rukia being a trespasser. Since I can't kill them, I'll have to kill you instead." Ichigo smiles brightly towards the Hollow, even as it charges once more.

A cloud slowly crawls below the full moon, blocking the light. Ichigo leaps into the air in a flicker of movement, raising the zanpakutĹŤ above scarlet fox ears.

Liquid gold glows in the shadow of the cloud, bringing out the unhinged nature of a stretched predatory grin. The rays of the moon peek past the cloud as it floats, the silvery light making deathly pale skin coldly shine like porcelain.

Ichigo swings down as the Hollow leaps towards him, jaw unhinged and a hand outstretched to attack. A foot barely touches the hand before Ichigo uses it to pounce forward, spinning downwards. The khyber blade slices through the mask and the head of the Hollow like melting butter, slicing through its body before following Ichigo's spinning movement.

Blood spews out like a fountain, glimmering like rubies underneath the moonlight. Some splatter onto Ichigo's face and lips, instinctively making a long tongue slip out to lick it away.

A sigh leaves Ichigo's mouth at the sudden explosion of an absolutely sapid taste of something that's completely unfamiliar. Something completely enjoyable and delectable to Ichigo.

Humans weren't something to spend time hunting just for a simple taste. Yuzu and Karin love it and have made it their choice meal. Even Oyaji can enjoy the taste when cooked properly. Ichigo is fine with the taste, but preferences lie in the choices of fish. But... this. This was something Ichigo may have to find more of.

Why hadn't the thought found its way towards Ichigo? There's an overabundance of Hollows–and Oyaji had helped the twins catch and cook a spirit even when they were the only ones who could see them at the moment.

Ichigo lands on the ground with barely a commotion towards the asphodelus sprouting across these fields. The zanpakutĹŤ is twirled in one hand before placed instinctively against the back, the obsidian ribbon having a mind of its own and wrapping around the deceptively sharp blade.

"Ichigo..." Rukia trails off, shocked and in awe of the figure before her.

Ichigo turns towards the Shinigami and smiles, unknowing of the blood staining canine teeth. "I have a feeling that our lives are about to take an interesting turn, Rukia. By chance, do you happen to know how to cook Hollow?"

"Ichigo!" Rukia forces herself to race forward as the teenager crumples to the ground, falling against the asphodelus.

The beautifully morbid flowers of the afterlife gently breeze against Ichigo's unmoving spirit, leaving warmth and gratitude in their wake. Truly, what an odd little thing life is.

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Hey! Hope you all enjoy the new story! This is going to be quite an interesting story and an interesting challenge for me.

Chapters may be a bit sporadic for now. I'm currently taking a break from writing, so please be patient!

Also, I did make kitsune eldritch, but TECHNICALLY, they already are. The definition of eldritch is "weird and sinister or ghostly". Kitsune are definitely eldritch, especially when actually reading about them.

And as supernatural creatures, if kitsune existed, I honestly don't think humans would be able to comprehend the majority of what they are. Like with most supernatural creatures.

Also, the experimental style I'm writing is going to only be in Ichigo's POV. I won't be describing the people Ichigo meets or sees based off of any kind of binary gender AND gender neutral terms and will just be describing them based off their appearance or not even describing them at all, but the things around them and what they do.

Ichigo will start to use pronouns for people to describe them when it comes up in conversation and people tell Ichigo what their pronouns are.

It is a LOT harder than it looks, but it's really cool and challenging me to write with words to describe people other than he/she/they, feminine and masculine, and boy/girl.

Sidenote: Rukia doesn't say "she/they" because I just don't really see Shinigami have a societally normal way of introducing themselves with pronouns.

Not in a "ew weird" kind of way, just a "Soul Society already has a kinda backwards society that does things completely different from the human world and this is one of those things" kind of way. Also, this is still set in the early 2000's and I don't think introducing yourself along with your pronouns was even thought of to start being societally normal yet–or had gained any popularity as it does now.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. I was born in 2003, but I'm a grandpa when it comes to social media and I'm absolutely horrible at keeping up with news.

Anyways! I hope you all like the first chapter! Bye!

WhovianWhoudini