Disclaimer: I do not own any of Bleach nor its characters. And to add, this is an AU but I hope you like the story.
"I'm home." Ichigo dropped her sneakers on the doorstep and entered the house, expecting a big hug from her five-year old twin sisters, Yuzu and Karin. "Hello you two. You miss me already?" They nodded and let go of her long legs, running to the living room where their dad is watching TV with a nice cup of coffee. "You're late by five minutes, Ichigo." Isshin said while looking at the screen. "Sorry. I was at someone's house for a drink a while ago." Ichigo explained, fixing her hair. "Oh, you have a new friend?"
"In that way, yeah. She is pretty nice. Her name is Neliel and, I'm not talking behind someone's back here, but her brother is sort of what you can call a drunk and he had blue hair. Wow, there are other people who have odd hair colors like me." Isshin dropped his coffee on the floor after hearing what Ichigo said, the cup shattering into pieces and the hot liquid spilling all over.
Ichigo quickly grabbed a small broom and dust pan and removed the pieces from the floor, then a dry rag to wipe off the coffee. "What just happened Dad? You suddenly dropped the cup after I talked. Something happened? Dad?" Her father was wordless, knowing who exactly were the people that she mentioned. Now she met them, and he couldn't believe it. Since Ichigo was alive again, he never told her about Grimmjow or Nel. He couldn't stand to see Ichigo feel hurt if she remembers them, that was why he never told the two siblings about her.
"Hey, Dad? Are you spaced out?" Ichigo asked waving her hand in front of him. "Sorry about that Ichigo. I suddenly got lost in thought and before I knew it I dropped it." Ichigo sighed and crossed her arms, "Well, whatever. I'll go make dinner." She left the living room and went for the kitchen.
While stirring the boiling soup, her phone vibrated in her pocket and she picked it up with one hand and saw a message, coming from Nel. She looked at the message and read it all the while cooking the soup. "Ichigo, is it okay if you can go to my house again this weekend? The first visit seemed sort of awkward and I would like to make it up to you." She shut her phone and put it back in her pocket, thinking. "First visits are always awkward. But visiting her a second time wouldn't hurt."
When she finished dinner with her family, she tucked her younger sisters into their beds first before going to her own bed. She tried and tried to sleep, but to no success. She rolled around to the right, sighing while scratching her head. She couldn't get Nel off her mind, nor her blue-haired older brother that looked like an untamed but beautiful beast. No matter how much she tried to get it off the head, she couldn't help but feel that they met before. After almost two hours of insomnia she finally fell asleep by tiring her eyes from looking at the crescent moon.
When the weekend came, Ichigo was already in front of Nel's house by nine o'clock in the morning, wearing a white shirt and thigh-length shorts with a red cardigan over it. She also wore black knee-length boots. Nel quickly opened the small gate and smiled sweetly towards Ichigo, who smiled back at her. Nel led her inside to the living room and they sat on the couch. "So, you saw my brother right?" Ichigo nodded and raised an eyebrow, having no idea what is the main topic about.
"Well, I would want to tell you about him. He became all run down because of an incident." Ichigo nods as she slowly sips the coffee that she bought from a pastry shop. "He lost someone in an accident, who was his boyfriend." The word boyfriend was no more but a whisper, though the orange head could hear her pretty well. "You don't seem surprised that my brother's a homo."
"So what if he's interested in the same sex. Don't worry I'm not choosy or picky, and I'm not a homophobic. It's all okay with me and it's no big deal." She shrugged, taking another sip. Nel sighed and continued, "Like I said, my brother lost his boyfriend in an accident and that is why he is upset and a drunk. And, I try to comfort him but it's always futile. He never went outside even once because he fears that the world is against him."
"I understand how he feels. I don't remember much of my past, though I do remember losing my mom to a psychopath and it's depressing that I tried to run away from home because I was guilty."
"Well that's it. That's why I called you here. Sorry if I was being a whiner." Ichigo shook her head, "You're not being a whiner. If I were you I would do the same thing that you just did: tell a friend about it." Nel put up a hand signaling 'Wait' when her phone rang, someone calling. She widened her eyes and saw that the number came from Ichigo's father.
"Hey Ichigo, I have an important call that I should take. Can you wait for a moment?" Ichigo nodded and grabbed her PlayStation Portable, turning it on and playing a game. Nel left the living room, going to the other room where she surely won't be heard. "Mr. Kurosaki, why are you calling me at this hour? This is about Ichigo, right?" For the whole conversation that lasted about ten minutes, Nel was shocked though understood everything completely.
"Okay then. I'll be hanging up now." As soon as she said that she hung up and went to Grimmjow, who was awake and started drinking alcohol, with fourteen more bottles waiting to be consumed. "Hey Grimmjow-nii. Before you drink I have to talk to you." She was dead serious and Grimmjow knew that, so he put the bottle aside. "About?" Nel breathed in first. "It's about Ichigo."
Hotaru: Well as a note, I made Ichigo's sisters only five years old instead of thirteen because it seems to fit more into this story. By the way, there is a poll in my profile and I was hoping if I could get your votes. I hope the chapter didn't suck and please review!