Title: Princess Strawberry

Universe: Bleach

Disclaimer: Bleach is owned by Kubo Tite-sama. I only own a copy of all the English volumes (1-40).

Summary: After storming the Seireitei and stopping a false execution, Ichigo recovers and goes home to a semi-normal life once more. But with the War with Aizen approaching and a new group hounding for her to be recruited within their ranks, a normal life is not on the list of things that will happen in the carrot-top's future. Not even the fact that her father was the captain of the Royal Guard and her mother was the Rei-Hime. What's a Princess Strawberry to do?

Relationships: Slash– Byakuya/fem!Ichigo, Grimmjow/Ichigo, Renji/Rukia, Uryū/Orihime, Ulquiorra/Orihime; One-sided– Aizen/Ichigo, Shirosaki/Ichigo

Warnings: It's a female Ichigo slash, what do you think? The most-common thing a Bleach fanfiction writer hates most: menstrual cycle. Don't know what that is? Girls, you'll find out soon if you haven't had it already. Boys, I pity you when you have a girlfriend and it's that time.

Author's Note: Yes. This is the revised version of 'Saving the Berry'! Finally, right? But, being in High School put a damper on my writing, so I could only write on the weekends, assuming I didn't have any projects to do first, my friends didn't want to hang out, my guy friends weren't calling me every few seconds to check up on me; you get the point, right? Well, since it's summer, I thought I'd get a move on and start posting while I have the chance! So, yeah. Onwards to the newly revised story! Complete with an actual plot! Go me!


0. Gense Again

Ichigo's eyes fluttered open, and quickly shut at the amount of light within the room. A low groan followed soon after, and the orangette raised an arm to lay over her eyes. The smell of disinfectant burned at the inside of her nose; she ignored it, however, since she was used to the scent because her house was connected to a clinic.

She huffed in irritation and slowly opened her eyes, mindful of the bright light bouncing off the white walls, and looked around at her designated room in the Yon-bantai. An empty chair in the corner, obviously unused thus far. The bed she was laying in. The pure white, clean walls. Wooden floors. And absolutely devoid of any other presence besides her own. She was alone.

She hated being alone.

Pushing herself up, she winced at the pain she felt within her midriff. She shifted and sighed in relief when the pain lessened, and stood up shakily. Bracing herself against the wall, she made her way over to the door, ignoring the way her legs wobbled with every step. On the other side of the door was people, which meant the loneliness she felt at the moment would go away soon.

Just as she reached the sliding paper door, it opened and her knees buckled out from under her, and bandage covered arms steadied her. The white yukata she clutched in her hands told her the one holding her was also a temporary resident of the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho* after those captains abandoned the Seireitei. She looked up to thank the one keeping her upright, and gasped.

Kuchiki Byakuya, the Roku-bantai Taichō and 28th head of the Kuchiki Family, stood tall like the noble he was. His sleek, black hair fell across his face neatly without the help of his kenseikan. His scarf was also missing, and he had bandages all over. Wrapped around his head, around his arms, and, without a doubt, underneath his clothing as well.

He was the one to break the silence between them. "Kurosaki Ichigo," he started, looking down at the girl clutching at his clothes coldly, "You should not be up, stupid girl." She gulped and moved to pull away, skin rapidly paling as the pain in her abdomen came back with a vengeance. Unconsciously, she grasped at the cloth covering the source of her discomfort, something Byakuya quickly took note of.

With a sigh, he gently lead the teenager back to the bed. In all honesty, after seeing the girl bleeding out nearly bisected on Sōkyoku Hill, he didn't think the girl would ever walk again. But, then again, the girl's friend – Inoue, if he remembered correctly (which he always did, but that's besides the point) – had some kind of mysterious power.

The orangette collapsed onto the bed gracelessly, taking deep breaths to get past the worst of her pain. With a groan, she opened her eyes – when had she closed them in the first place? – and stared at the Kuchiki noble. "How's Rukia?" she asked, wincing at a terrible wave of pain. Byakuya pulled over the chair and sat down, his posture straight even in the uncomfortable-looking chair. His right arm clutched at his left side, and it took her a few, slow moments to realize it was an unconscious movement in a flashback to when he first got the injury. She knew firsthand the amount of power behind Ichimaru Gin's Zanpakutō, Shinsō. She couldn't imagine having that power pierce through skin and muscle and other important organs within the body. And this man had saved his sister from such a fate.

"She is fine." the man intoned, removing his hand from his side. "She is back in her room here in the Yon-bantai Healing Station." Ichigo blinked and pushed herself up, grimacing in pain. "What are you doing?" The orangette ignored his question and stood up from the bed once more, scowling her usual scowl. "Kurosaki Ichigo, you are a stupid, foolish girl if you think you can get to the door once more in your condition." With the challenge in mind, Ichigo stood up taller, ignored the quivering of her still recovering body, and marched over to the door like nothing was wrong.

Byakuya no longer sat in the chair, instead standing next to it to watch the strong-willed woman walk across the room, touch the door and smirk back at him, and then crumble to the floor once more. He sighed and walked over to the girl, and picked her up off the floor. His eyes widened slightly at how light she was, and how picking her up hadn't caused him any pain like he had expected. But, three days spent unconscious without food will do that to a person.

Her eyes were closed and her hands gripped his shoulders gently. "You are still recovering, stupid girl." the noble sighed, exasperated, as he walked back over to the bed and carefully placed the girl down on the bed. Her hand slipped to his wrist, and clutched at his hand none-too-gently, forcing him to stay. Her eyes opened a fraction, and she smiled when she saw him take a seat once more. With that, her eyes slipped close once more and she slipped back into the warm darkness called sleep.

At least she wasn't alone anymore.


It took four days before Unohana-Taichō signed the release forms for the carrot-top to leave the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho. With nothing to do, she wandered around the Seireitei with no destination in mind. Eventually, she found herself in front of the Jūichi-bantai, just as one of the squad members got thrown from the indoor training room.

She heard Ikkaku screaming at the squad members, and she snickered, climbing into the room via the large hole the squad member had made and called out to the bald-headed man. "How lame." she snorted, looking around at the terrified faces of the Jūichi-bantai members. "Hey Ikkaku! Do you know where I can find Yumichika?"

Ikkaku looked over at her in surprise, blinking a bit before responding. "He's off somewhere." Then, he got a suspicious look in his eyes. "Why?"

Ichigo shrugged and tugged at the ends of her orange hair that reached her upper back even though the stands were tied up. "Besides my sister, he's the only one I know who has enough experience with hair, and I need this mop brushed out." At the mention of brushing hair, the feather-wearing raven appeared out of nowhere, pulling off the ribbon holding her hair up.

"You want me to deal with such an ugly mess of hair?" the man scoffed, spinning the teenager around. "Why would I ever want to?"

Ichigo hid a smirk behind her usual scowl and started to mess with her hair. "Well, if you think you can't turn this mess into something beautiful, tell me next time so I don't get my hopes up." With a sigh, she turned back around and pretended to leave, smirking at Ikkaku when the feminine male called out for her to wait.

"My expertise can tackle any ugly mess. I'll show you, Kurosaki Ichigo! I will turn that mess you can hair into a true beauty worthy of my sight!" Ikkaku shook his head as the girl was dragged away. She was a goner in the face of 'Beautician Yumi'.

Just then, Kenpachi opened the door as Yumichika pulled Ichigo away. "Yo, Ichigo!" The orangette looked up at the monster of a man and blinked, throwing out a quick,

"Hey Kenpachi!" before she was pulled around the corner. Kenpachi blinked and Yachiru giggled, waving at the spot Ichigo disappeared behind.

"What was that about?" The Jūichi-bantai Taichō asked his third seat. Ikkaku shook his head sadly.

"You don't want to know."


Ichigo winced as Yumichika ran the tight comb through her hair one last time and rolled the last curler all the way up to her scalp. She sighed in relief for the brief reprieve of pain. Each time she complained, Yumichika chided her by saying, "Beauty comes at the price of pain."

'Beautician Yumi', as she had been told to call him, had watered her down and scrubbed her clean of the 'hospital smell' that stuck to her skin. After that, he had waxed her body of all hair that had grown in the two weeks she had been in the Soul Society without a razor at hand, an embarrassing and painful thing she never wanted to go through ever again. Then, he had combed out and put her hair up in the curlers while he set a well condensed Shakkahō to float above her head to 'blow-dry' her hair while he did her make-up.

When he finally finished painting her face, he dispelled the Kidō and took out the curlers. He held a mirror up to show her her 'beauty' and then explained that he hadn't needed to use much make-up on her since her skin was flawless ("What kind of products do you use on your face?" he had asked, to which she replied tightly, "None.") and it was only her lack of proper care that detracted from her natural beauty.

And, finally, she was released to show off her newly-found beauty to all of the Seireitei. People were staring at her as she walked down a not-quite-crowded road. Yumichika had given her a simple yukata to wear since the Shinigami garbs she wore were ragged and over-used.

"Ichigo-chan!" she heard and turned around to see a normally clothed Orihime clutching her knees and panting as if she had run all over the Seireitei. What she said next proved that thought to be true. "I can't find Kuchiki-san anywhere in the city!" Ichigo's eyes widened and she shot towards the one person who would know where Rukia was at all times. Byakuya. And, in her thoughts, she added, 'And Renji.'


Climbing up three stories to Byakuya's room was not a smart idea. Her stomach could attest to that, as it protested the rigorous movements vehemently. She pulled herself up and over the open window sill, and when she saw red, "Renji!" spilled from her lips before she could stop it. Her newly curled hair flew forward before settling back in place.

The redhead stood and pressed his forehead against hers, screaming at her in his loud voice, unknowingly pressing Ichigo's abdomen farther into the window sill. She winced, something Renji noticed being so close to her face. "What's wrong?" he asked, not knowing that her week-old wound still hadn't healed fully, despite Orihime's healing power.

"Nothing. Do either of you know where Rukia is?" she asked, directing her attention over to Byakuya, who had chosen to stay within the confines of the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho. Renji started to freak out, when Byakuya held up his hand for silence.

"She had some personal business to attend to." the Kuchiki noble grumbled, silently angry at the fact the girl was climbing up the side of a building when she had only just gotten out of the 'hospital'.

Orihime huffed as she appeared next to the orange-haired girl. "Ichigo-chan! It's dangerous to climb up to a third story window!" Ichigo shrugged and waved to the two within the room.

"Whatever. See you Byakuya, Renji. Sorry to be a bother." and with that, she dropped down to the ground, Orihime following soon after, and started running in the direction of the West Rukongai. She had a feeling she knew where Rukia was.


When she had gotten to the Shiba household, Rukia was holding her nose with blood dripping down her face. She smiled and walked up to the midget of a girl. "Turns out they're going to be opening a gate for us tomorrow, so you should rest in preparation for tomorrow!" Rukia turned around and looked at her feet.

"About that…" She looked up guiltily, her hand coming up to rub at her head. "I've decided I'm going to stay in the Soul Society." Ichigo blinked, the breeze from the dying sun ruffling her hair and clothes. In a flash, she had her arm wrapped around the smaller girl's neck and rubbed her knuckles into the girl's head.

"I come all the way into the afterlife to save you from certain death, fight your monkey of a lover–"

Rukia's cry of, "He's not my lover!" went ignored.

"–almost get disemboweled by a hulking monster of a man, learn Bankai in two days, fight your prick of a brother to a stalemate, and nearly get bisected by a psycho who thinks he can make himself a God, only to find out you want to stay with the very same people who were so set on killing you? Granted, that white-haired Taichō and his pink-kimono wearing friend did destroy that phoenix-bird thing… But still! My point still stands!"

With a groan, Rukia elbowed the other girl in the stomach and felt the orangette let go of her. Angrily, she spun around to yell at her friend only to find the girl looking pale and clutching to her stomach. Something wasn't right. Usually when Rukia hit Ichigo, the other girl yelled at her and started up another screaming match.

"-and nearly get bisected by a psycho who thinks he can make himself a God–!"

Rukia swallowed thickly. "I-Ichigo?" She lay a hand over the other girl's, feeling it tremble. "…It still hurts?" she asked, watching for any sign of agreement or not. Sunset locks shifted again with the wind, showing the well-hidden look of pain in caramel colored eyes.

Rukia was startled out of her worry for the girl when she started speaking once more. "If that's what you've decided…" Ichigo sighed, straightening up after the phantom pain dissolved, "As long as it was by your free will, I can do nothing but go back home without you." She looked to her friend as of two and a half months ago, and smiled at the smaller girl. "I guess it's a good thing that you want to stay here. To me, that means I…"

'I remember. The reason I wanted to save you so bad…'


They stood in front of the Senkaimon*, the four teenage human Ryoka and the were-cat. All the available Taichō and Fukutaichō stood in lines, watching the departure of the only Ryoka to survive. Ichigo looked back at the Taichō as the Kidō Corps started to open the giant doors. Rukia stood between her brother and his Fukutaichō, the raven-haired man out of the Yon-bantai.

The doors opened with a blinding flash of white light, and the Kidō Corps Commander started explain how they had installed a Reishi Henkan-Ki* just for the occasion. Ishida, Orihime, and Sado started towards the gate with Yoruichi in tow. The white-haired Taichō, known to Ichigo now as Ukitake Jūshirō, called out to the girl, a folded up piece of cloth in his hands.

"Ichigo-san, please wait a moment." The group ahead of the two stopped and turned at the sound of their final member's name being called. Ichigo turned to the older Shinigami, blinking confusedly at him as he handed her the cloth.

"What is it?" she asked, unfolding the cloth to find a wooden charm within. It fit into the palm of her hand comfortably, despite its pentagonal shape. Carved out of the front was a skull that looked eerily similar to a mask of a Hollow with a black 'X' behind it. She looked up to the Taichō, waiting for her answer.

"It's the Seal of Approval for Acting Shinigami. Here in the Soul Society, we have rules for when an acting Shinigami appears. If we find that they are beneficial to the Seireitei, we give them the Seal of Approval." the man explained. He set a hand on the girl's shoulder and smiled at her. "Since it is a Spiritual Item, regular humans can't see, hear, or touch it. We wouldn't want it to fall into the wrong hands."

Ichigo looked back down at the charm- excuse me, Seal of Approval. Flipping it over in her hands, she asked, "What does it do?" Something felt different as she held it, but she couldn't put her finger on the feeling. Ukitake ruffled her still-curled hair and elaborated on the subject.

"The Seal of Approval has many different uses. I suggest you keep it on your person at all times in case a situation comes up and you can't get there in time without it." Ichigo nodded, and left to say her 'Good-byes' to Rukia.


September 1, 2003.

8:23 pm

"I can't take it anymore!" Ichigo looked over at the Kaizō Konpaku* that was jumping around her room, restless. She scoffed and returned to reading her favorite Shakespearean play, 'Hamlet'. The Kaizō Konpaku continued to whine and eventually jumped onto the Shinigami-Daikō's lap. "Come on, please! I miss the feel of a woman's soft, smooth, and silky skin! I just-"

"No. Now shut up before Yuzu hears you." The Kaizō Konpaku huffed and tears started leaking from its beady, little eyes.

"Being in your body was bearable, but now you've begun to abuse my stuffed self! I could pretend I was defiling a beautiful woman while I squeezed soft, squishy breasts and pleasured the body of a lonely sixteen year old girl!" With a growl, the orange-haired girl grabbed the stuffed animal/Kaizō Konpaku.

"You better not have been doing… that when I let you use my body. I swear to god, Kon, if you were-"

"Horō! Horō!"

Ichigo groaned and grabbed the Seal. "The thing never shuts up!" With a sigh, she pressed the Seal to her chest. She reluctantly put the Kaizō Konpaku in her body and jumped out her bedroom window.


*Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho: "Station Where Running Water Joins Together To Give Aide." In other words, the Yon-bantai (4th Division) Healing Station.

*Senkaimon: The dimensional gateway which Shinigami use to enter and leave the Soul Society.

*Reishi Henkan-Ki: Spirit particle conversion machine.

*Kaizō Konpaku: Modified Souls.