Disclaimer: This is the last time I'm saying this. From now on refer to past chapters. I do not own Bleach. Why could you possibly think I do?
A/N: This chapter…. isn't the best, in my opinion. It's been sitting in my notebook for a while, but I haven't felt like actually typing it, so sorry for the delay.
I was typing this chapter, and I realized that I swear a lot lately when I write. I don't actually swear in real life… so…I know that was pointless, but ah well. Now you know something about me. : -D
Also, I would like to give a huge thank you to Stand Alone Origin, for her continued assistance in just about everything I write. She is a very good author, and you should all go check out her work. I also want to thank my little brother, who always, if grudgingly, listens to the first drafts of all my stories, those I post and those I don't, adding his two cents here and there. So thanks to you both!! Now, enjoy the chapter, and please review.
Chapter 3: Of Notes and Attempted Explanations
Uryuu, Rukia, and Orihime kept shouting glances at the door, all thinking a near identical thought, which Uryuu finally decided to voice out loud. "Where is he?" he exclaimed.
"Who?" came a voice behind them. "Me?"
They turned around. Ichigo was standing there, looking tired with bloodshot eyes, but, for the most part, unharmed.
"When did you get here?" Rukia demanded.
"'Been here," he muttered, taking his seat. "'Was waitin' for you guys to actually say something."
"Ass," Rukia growled. "And Strawberry, your eyes look like shit," she told him. "Someone's gonna think you're hung-over."
He gave her an annoyed look. "Shut it, midget. If you knew how I slept last night…and how shitty I feel right now…" he trailed off with a sigh. "I had another freaking weird-ass dream. I was fighting some guy with a green and white hat, and my sword was broken."
Uryuu frowned, and pushed his glasses further up on the bridge of his nose. "And the relevancy of this is…?"
"I woke up more tired than I was when I went to bed!" Ichigo said loudly.
Orihime patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay, Kurosaki-kun," she told him. "I had dreams about pineapples and strawberries with swords."
They laughed. "I can see where the strawberries come in, but not the pineapples," Rukia chuckled.
She smiled and shrugged. Ishida finally decided to ask the question that was on everybody's mind. "What happened last night, Kurosaki?"
Ichigo shrugged. "I don't know. One minute I was shouting at the arrancar and then I was-"
"Arrancar?" Rukia asked.
"The monster from last night."
"And you know this…how?"
"Let me finish the story damn it!" he shouted. The class, which had been filling in slowly, stared at him. He rolled his eyes and continued, albeit, quieter. "Anyway, one minute I was yelling at the arrancar, and the next I was standing in front of this scary-ass, white dude that lives in my head, and this other weird guy wearing glasses, that also lives in my head. They offered to help me if I could trust them, and I-"
"They live in your head?" Ishida asked in surprise. "And you agreed to let them help?"
"Yes, they live in my head, and yes, I agreed to let them help." He rolled his eyes. "I knew I could trust them somehow. Anyway, I told them I did, and when I opened my eyes…. well you saw what happened. I sliced the arrancar's back, caught Rukia, cut off its arm, and it disappeared."
Orihime frowned. "Why were you wearing a mask, though, Kurosaki-kun?"
"Couldn't tell ya-"
"WHAT THE HELL! STRAWBERRY?"
The group of seven Shinigami entered the school in a rather miserable mood. No one was really happy coming back to Karakura. On might think that Tatsuki or Chad might be happy returning to their old stomping ground, but the memories it held were not exactly pleasant. Sometimes it hurt to be reminded of old friends lost.
They wandered around the school for about five minutes, trying to find their way to class. It took Tatsuki asking a random student directions before they finally discovered they were on the wrong floor.
As they went towards the proper classroom, Tatsuki had a strange feeling in her stomach. It was as if something very important was about to happen.
She discovered what that something was the minute they stepped through the door. Seated in the second to last row, were four people she had never expected to see again. Her husband voiced the very thought that was going through her head.
"WHAT THE HELL! STRAWBERRY?"
Without a doubt, those seated were Kurosaki Ichigo, Ishida Uryuu, Kuchiki Rukia and Inoue Orihime.
She watched as Ichigo's head fell against the desk, with a groan. She heard Matsumoto's startled gasp from behind her, as the Vice-Captain finally managed to see the group of their old friends. Tatsuki was unable to resist running over to her oldest two friends and their companions.
"Orihime, Ichigo, Rukia, Ishida!" she said, excited. "I can't believe you're alive. How are you guys alive?" It took all of her self-control to not kick Ichigo in the face, while hugging him and Orihime simultaneously.
At the strange shout, Ichigo and his friends had looked up at the door, and saw the strangest group of seven students they had ever seen, and he let his head fall to the desk with a groan.
In the front was the only normal looking one, a dark haired girl, who stood next to a tall redhead with strange, freaky looking tattoos. Behind them stood a tall, white haired boy, and next to him stood a blond girl who's chest rivaled even that of Orihime's. An extremely tall, older, Mexican-looking boy stood behind them. And behind of him stood a boy with an Afro and a baldheaded boy.
The dark haired, normal looking girl ran over to them, looking excited. "Orihime, Ichigo, Rukia, Ishida!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe you're alive. How are you guys alive?"
Rukia frowned at her. "Do we know you?" she asked, and then she turned to Ichigo and poked him in the back of the head. "Do we know them?" she repeated.
Ichigo didn't even look at her. "Why're you askin' me, midget?" he said from under his arms.
"Because you've had all the answers lately. Strawberry," she retorted.
Ichigo groaned again, and looked the group over with a bloodshot eye. "I don' recognize them," he muttered.
The redhead chuckled. "Get into a drinking contest with someone, Strawberry?" he asked.
Ichigo scowled. "Shut up, Pineapple."
"Oi!" he exclaimed. "What did you call me?" he asked.
Ichigo ignored this as Orihime greeted them cheerfully. "Hello!" she said happily, "I'm Inoue Orihime, and this is Ishida Uryuu-kun. That's Kurosaki Ichigo-kun with his head in his arms, and this is Kuchiki Rukia-chan. Who're you?"
The strange group didn't have time to answer, because the teacher walked in just then. "New kids," she growled. "Take you're seats. Everyone, open your books to page 74 and read to page 90. Then do questions 1-20 on page 91. You can talk to the new students on your own time. Don't waste mine."
The Shinigami took the back row. Ikkaku didn't open his book at first. Instead he began scribbling on a blank sheet of paper. He was about to throw it at the back of Ichigo's head, but Hitsugaya, who was seated next to him, grabbed it out of his hand.
'Ichigo,' it read. 'Why are you acting like such an idiot?
-Ikkaku.'
Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. He began to write a short note to the rest of the group. 'He's an idiot himself' he thought.
He gave the paper to Ikkaku, who stared at it, confused.
'Shinigami are reincarnated without their former memories. THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHO WE ARE!
'Pass this on, I'm only writing it once.'
Ikkaku jotted something down, but dutifully passed it on. It continued down the row of Shinigami, and after a minute or so it made its way back to Hitsugaya.
'They don't remember us at all? –Ikkaku'
'Why are Orihime-chan and Quincy-kun here then? –Matsumoto'
'Why's he call me 'Pineapple' if he doesn't remember? –Renji'
'Why can't their memories come to? –Tatsuki'
'Why does Ichigo look so unbeautiful today? –Yumichika'
The Tenth Division Captain resisted the urge to pound his head against the table.
'No.
'A Quincy must be reincarnated as well, as for Inoue, I do not know.
'I don't know.
'I'm not in charge of reincarnations, I do not know.
'HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW? WE JUST GOT HERE!!!'
The note stopped being passed after that. Hitsugaya's temper had merely gotten shorter as he had gotten taller. As shocking as both occurrences were, only the very brave and very stupid attempted to test him.
Ichigo saw a note land on hi book. 'Don't you hate it when you know you're the topic of conversation? –Rukia'
Ichigo sighed as he wrote a reply. 'Get used to it,' he told her.
The class continued and ended, surprisingly without incident. Uryuu, Orihime, Rukia and Ichigo were well aware of the fact that they were being stared at by the new students throughout the course of the day, but they didn't really care. It wasn't until lunch that they finally decided to openly speak of the oddity that was the new students.
"Those new kids are weird," Rukia remarked as they sat down on the roof.
"You think?" Ichigo responded.
Ishida frowned at them. "They all look strangely familiar," he commented. "And yet, I know I haven't seen them in this lifetime."
Orihime nodded solemnly. "Especially Tatsuki-chan."
"Who?"
"The black-haired girl," Ichigo answered for her.
Rukia frowned. "None of them ever said their name."
"Oh," Orihime said. "I must've heard someone else say it then. That Renji-kun seems to have a serious grudge against you, Kurosaki-kun," she pointed out.
"Wait, the redhead?" Ichigo asked. "He didn't actually say his name, did he?"
Uryuu shook his head. "No, he didn't either."
"And yet we all know that his name is Renji?"
They nodded an affirmative.
"Are we all going crazy then?" he asked rhetorically.
"I know I'm not," Rukia answered, "But I can't say the same for you, Ichigo. Personally I think you were crazy before I even met you."
"Hey!"
Ishida attempted to ignore their bickering, as he thought. "We've all been having strange dreams lately, right?"
Orihime nodded.
"Of people we know, and yet don't, and of circumstances we've experienced, and yet haven't?"
Another nod.
"And we all felt like we knew one another when we first met, and we know the new students' names, and yet have never met them, right?"
"Yep."
"Okay. I'm just thinking out loud here, but have we considered the possibility of past lives and reincarnations?"
Rukia and Ichigo paused mid-insult. "What?" Ichigo asked.
Uryuu shrugged. "I don't know. Like I said I'm just thinking out loud here. But I mean, it is possible, isn't it?" he asked.
"Yeah I got that," Ichigo said. "What I meant was, where the hell did you pull that from?"
Ishida didn't respond. "I don't know about you guys," he started after a minute, "but I'm not quite hungry anymore. I think I'm going to go look up some things on the Internet."
He got up and started to walk away. The three friends shared a look, and followed him, which took them right past the Shinigami who were watching them leave.
End Chapter 3: Of Notes and Attempted Explanations
A/N: Yes, I know Uryuu's explanation was a bit sudden, but he is supposed to be smart. Besides he was just thinking out loud. I know that if I was experiencing strange things like that; I personally would just say "Déjà vu" and go on with life. But since when is Bleach ever simple?
I hope the reunion was all right. I tried my hardest, but I'm not sure it came out perfect.
Also that one part about a "scary-ass, white dude that lives in my head, and this other weird guy wearing glasses, that also lives in my head," comes curtsey of Stand Alone Origin, if anyone was wondering. Again, just another interesting tidbit.
Preview: Ichigo's eyes widened. "Damn it!" he shouted in surprise, pointing at the Hichigo. "I had forgotten about you."
