The Black Cat

A Brush with Bad Luck

CRASH!

"Kyoko!"

"oops. My bad." says Kyoko sheepishly to Ichigo, trying not to step in the steadily growing puddle of soy sauce on the floor.

"Geez, that's the third thing you've broken today!" gripes Ichigo. It was the honest truth. She had already dropped a cup and knocked the glass pitcher that was going to be used for maple syrup off the table. She had been reaching for the spare bottle of maple syrup and accidentally knocked the bottle of soy sauce out of the cabinet.

"I'm really sorry!" she cried as she reached for the mop she had just put away a few minutes ago.

They were picking up the table from breakfast. Everyone was sure not to let Kyoko handle anything even remotely breakable. As she put the silverware in the sink, she suddenly stiffened, a dark look stealing over her face. Ichigo watched this with curiosity. She then spun around, her somewhat overly-cheerful expression back in place. "Hey, Mr. Kurosaki, you don't mind if I go out for a bit, do you?"

"Not at all. You're only a guest here, remember? You really don't have a curfew or anything."

"Ok, thanks! I'll be back later." she said as walked towards the door.

"I think I'll go out, too." says Ichigo.

"What are you doing?" asks Rukia as soon as Kyoko was out of earshot.

"I told you, I think she's a soul reaper. I want to tail her and see what I can find out about her."

They follow her outside. As soon as she reaches the corner of the yard, she takes off into a jog. As Ichigo starts to follow her, she turns her head to look back at him. Not paying attention to what's in front of her, her head collides painfully with a low street sign. She remains in place for a few moments before falling on her ass.

"Owww!" she moans, rubbing her forehead. "How long has that been there?"

"You okay?" asks Ichigo.

"ugh, wonderful. Why were you following me?"

"I wasn't following you!"

"Yes, you were."

"Was not! I can't help it if I have to go the same direction as you." Just then, Rukia's soul phone goes off.

"Ichigo!"

"Right." They both head off to take care of the hollows, leaving Kyoko on the ground, still rubbing her head. As they were running, Rukia' soul phone went off several more times. Hollows had begun appearing all over town.

"Man, of all the times for Chad and Uryu to be on a class trip..." grumbled Ichigo.

"Ichigo, look at this!" Some of the hollows were disappearing almost as soon as they were appearing.

"Wow. Those two are really on top of things."

After they defeated the hollows they originally went after, as well as a few others, they met up with Toshiro and Rangiku.

"You certainly weren't exaggerating when you said there were a lot of hollows." comments Toshiro.

"Did anyone else notice that some of them were disappearing really quickly?" asks Rangiku.

"Wait, I thought you werethe ones killing them?" says Ichigo.

"Not us."

Later, that night

Toshiro is getting ready for bed when his soul phone goes off again. Being that he was the nearest, he was responsible for killing them. It didn't bother him, though, because the sooner they resolved this hollow situation, the sooner he could go home. He simply did not have the time or the patience to be fooling around in the world of the living.

He arrives just in time to see one of the hollows fade out of existence. He is surprised to see another soul reaper already fighting them. A soul reaper he did not recognize. She wore a normal shihakusho, but instead of having the normal white hakama-himo*, it was purple, the same shade as her eyes, with a small, neat bow in the back, and the excess ends of the sash trailing out behind her. She was holding her own against the hollows, so Toshiro decided to hang back and watch. He was fascinated by her unique, though rather clumsy fighting cutting down yet another hollow, she finally notices his presence. She whirls around, eyes wide. "Wha- Who are you?"

Before she can say anything else, another hollow appears behind her. Caught off guard, it slashes her across her chest before she can even lift her zanpakuto. Toshiro rushes to help. He quickly kills the hollow and turns to her. She is bleeding badly. He scoops her up in his arms. "Wait. I can't take her to Urahara's." he thinks to himself. "Rukia, Rangiku, Ichigo and I are the only soul reapers that are supposed to be here. -meaning that she's probably here illegally. Either way, the fact that she has not revealed herself to us before now means she has a reason for hiding. If I take her to Urahara's, it could lead to trouble...With on other option, he takes her to the small apartment he is staying in. There, he is faced with a slight dilemma...

After resting for awhile, Kyoko woke up."Oww...Hey! Where am I? What happened?" she says hurriedly, sitting up and looking around.

"You were injured fighting those hollows." said Toshiro, walking into the light streaming in from the window, contrasting the dark room.

"Oh..." she then noticed the bandages. "I guess you're the one who bandaged me up, huh?" she was blushing.

Toshiro turns ten shades of red. "I-I-I'M SORRY BUT I HAD TO TAKE OFF THE TOP PART OF YOUR SHIHAKUSHO TO GET AT YOUR WOUNDS SO I REALLY HAD NO CHOICE BUT I SWEAR I DIDN'T ENJOY IT AT ALL!" he says in one breath.

"oh...ok." she looked almost hurt.

"W-w-wait! W-what I meant to say was...uh..." They share an awkward silence.

"...W-Well, considering you can see me, and that you know about hollows, I'm guessing you're some sort of spiritual being, right?" she says, trying to change the subject.

"I'm a soul reaper."

"Y-you're a soul reaper..." she looked wary.

"...That's right, I remember now. I saw you. ...Can I trust you?"

"Yes, of course you can." he said calmly.

"Thank you... I'm Kyoko. Kyoko Naka. What's your name?" She gets up and puts her shihakusho back on.

"My name is Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya."

"Y-YOU'RE A CAPTAIN?"

"That's right... And you're a rogue, aren't you?"

Her eyes widen. "...yes... Are you going to arrest me?"

"...No, I'm not."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't see why I should. You haven't done anything wrong."

"..." Kyoko merely stared at the floor.

"...just so you know...there are three other soul reapers here, two of them who will probably arrest you without asking questions."

She narrows her eyes, deep in thought. "Three... four including you... I thought so." She then walks towards the window. "I have a favor to ask. Please... Stay away from me."

"Why?"

"...I'm bad luck. My entire life, I've only ever brought misfortune to myself and those around me... Toshiro, you have a kind heart... I don't want to see anything bad happen to you. And if you stay around me, something bad will happen to you."

"Wait-" She leaps out of the window before he can stop her.

The End... for now.

*Hakama-himo: the normally white sash that is tied around most soul reapers' waist.