A/N: This chapter's a little late due to my having finals all last week. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Post Life

Yelling in alarm, Ichigo sat up. He looked down, examining the bolt affixing the chain to his chest. It wasn't on top of his uniform, as he had first believed, but rather the bolt went through his shirt and into his chest. The chain was a part of him. He could feel it. Not like he could feel his skin or feel his limbs though. It felt more like an organ, although what function it had Ichigo couldn't even begin to fathom.

Ichigo stood up, pacing back and forth; running his hands through his bright colored hair.

This can't be happening, this can't be happening! I cannot be dead! I'm only fifteen! How can I…that monster! The…hollow! It must've…killed me. Then…what happened to Yuzu and Karin?!

Ichigo put aside his concern over his condition and took off at a run towards his house. As the houses flitted past him, Ichigo noticed something strange. The houses weren't going past him at the right speed. They were flying by him far quicker than they should be.

Am I…faster?

Despite his urgency, Ichigo couldn't help but marvel at his newfound agility. Within two minutes, he had arrived back at his house. To his surprise, the massive hole in the kitchen wall had already been boarded up. It was done quite poorly, actually; no doubt his father's handiwork. Comforted that at least one of his family members was still alive, Ichigo slipped inside the house.

Ichigo crept as quietly as he could to the main living area. Although he knew his dad couldn't see spirits, Ichigo was pretty sure Karin would be able to see him, if she was still alive, and he didn't want to startle them by rushing in and shocking them with his ghostly status. Poking his head around the entranceway, Ichigo looked into the kitchen.

His father was sitting at the table, his shoulders drooping. A phone pressed to his ear, he spoke in an unusually somber voice, "…very unfortunate. Yes, arrangements are being made. I've sent the girls to school as normal, though they're very upset to have lost their brother like this. You think you can protect them forever, but…Yes. Arigato."

Isshin hung up the phone. Sighing, he glanced over at the ridiculous poster of his deceased wife, "I failed him Masaki. I couldn't keep him safe…" Breaking off, he buried his head in his hands.

Ichigo stood rooted in the doorway, his mouth hanging open. He didn't think anything could've dampened his father's near-perpetual goofy attitude. The only other times he'd ever seen his dad this upset were at his mother's funeral and on the anniversary of her death.

I don't suppose it's easy for them, me dying on a date so close to Kaasan's.

"Oyaji," Ichigo said aloud, "I know you can't hear me, but you should know that you didn't fail me or Kaasan! I…my death was my own fault! And Kaasan's…well, that was my fault too."

"Ah!" his father shouted suddenly, striking a pose, and causing Ichigo to jump, "Don't blame yourself! It's not your fault. What's done is done!"

Ichigo smiled slightly. His dad would be fine. And as reluctant as he was to take his dad's bizarre form of self-motivation to heart, Ichigo knew there was truth in his words. He couldn't let guilt follow him into the next world. He should be thankful, really. Thanks to that shinigami girl, his family had survived.

Resolved against getting caught up in self-doubt, for the moment, Ichigo glanced around the room, frowning. Now what? I'm dead...what do I do now? Should I just stay here? Ichigo wondered.

Ichigo shook his head, turning towards the door. He didn't like the prospect of haunting his own house for the rest of his afterlife.

I wonder what everyone at school is up to…

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Isshin watched his son out of the corner of his eye as the teenaged spirit left the house.

"Don't worry, Ichigo," he said softly, crossing his arms, "Everything will be alright."

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Ichigo felt odd being ignored by everyone on the street. He was used to people giving him weird looks because of his hair. Having people look right through him wasn't something he was familiar with.

Ichigo took his time walking, as he no longer had to worry about being late to class. As he walked, he examined the chain links hanging down off his chest. Upon close inspection, Ichigo discovered there were 15 such links, including the one that seemed to go into his torso.

Huh…I guess the chains are as long as your age.

Looking up from his discovery, Ichigo found himself standing in front of his former school.

Making his way through the halls was even stranger than on the street, given that he recognized a lot of people. Being ignored by that Ooshima bastard in particular was quite odd. The jerk had always thought Ichigo was copying his hair style, despite his insistence that it was his natural color. Well, at least I won't have deal with jerks like him anymore.

As he turned the corner to enter his classroom, he was startled as a voice rang out, calling:

"Kurosaki-kun!"

"Inoue?!" Ichigo yelped, feeling as though he'd been scared into a second death.

Can she see me??

"Why Kurosaki-kun? Why?" Inoue Orihime continued, "Why haven't you come to class yet?"

Ichigo followed the sound of her voice. Orihime was sitting at her desk, talking to Arisawa Tatsuki, her best friend. Orihime hadn't seen him; she was just discussing his mysterious absence.

"He won't be coming to class today," Kojima Mizuiro spoke up, lowering his headphones, "Ichigo, that is."

"That's what you think Mizuiro," Ichigo muttered, making his way over to his former seat behind the closet womanizer.

"Kojima-kun?" Orihime said, turning towards her boyish faced classmate.

"What do you mean?" Tatsuki inquired, "Oh yeah, you always come to school with Ichigo, right?"

"Yup," Mizuiro nodded, "I went by his house this morning and there was this huge hole in the side of the place. His dad was saying a truck crashed into it last night."

"A truck!?" Ichigo and Tatsuki yelled, at the same time. That isn't what happened! Ichigo thought. Did my dad lie?

"Then is he injured?! Or dead??" Tatsuki asked urgently.

"No, no! Nothing like that," Mizuiro answered, to Ichigo's astonishment, "His father said that the driver of the truck drove away after it happened and Ichigo chased after him to make him come back and pay for the damage."

"Wow…" Orihime said, her eyes wide, "Kurosaki-kun is really determined!"

"I don't know," Tatsuki frowned, "I know Ichigo doesn't stand for bullies and everything, but to go chasing after a truck…"

Mizuiro shrugged, "That's what his dad said. Besides, how else do you explain the huge hole in the side of his kitchen?"

"I suppose," Tatsuki sighed, still skeptical.

Ichigo didn't know what to make of this. If his dad had lied, then did that mean he knew about the hollow? Did Karin or Yuzu tell him? Or was he lying to Mizuiro because the truth was even more unbelievable?

"Yo," a deep voice sounded behind Ichigo, startling him, as well as everyone else seated around him.

Mizuiro recovered first, greeting their tallest friend, "Good morning, Chado-kun."

"Good morning," Chad replied. Glancing at Ichigo's apparently empty desk, he asked, "Where is Ichigo?"

Mizuiro opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Orihime.

"He's chasing after a bad guy who drove a truck into his house!"

Chad blinked, while Ichigo shook his head, sighing in exasperation.

"Mmm," Chad finally rumbled, taking his seat, "And Keigo?"

"Huh," Tatsuki said, as she and the others glanced around, "I guess he's absent today too. Personally, I could do with a little peace and qui-"

Just then, as if on cue, Asano Keigo charged into the room yelling at the top of his lungs, "Fear not fellow students! The great Asano Keigo-sama has arrived!"

Everyone in the classroom stared at him for a moment before collectively rolling their eyes and returning to what they were doing.

Keigo smiled, undeterred. Looking around, he asked the question of the hour: "Hey! Where's Ichigo?"

Ichigo, having grown tired of hearing the question, vented his frustrations by shouting, "Baka! I'm right here!" It was a hopeless gesture, he knew, but it felt good to relieve some of his irritation.

After Orihime had filled Keigo in on "Kurosaki-kun's valiant adventure," the class abruptly started with their teacher's over-the-top entrance. Ichigo wondered idly if she and Keigo could be related.

Quickly growing bored with the subject matter, Ichigo's eyes wandered to his friends. Tatsuki had her head in her hands; her palms forcing her to keep her attention forward. Orihime was staring at the corner of the blackboard with her mouth slightly ajar, but Ichigo knew her well enough to know she was taking in every word. Mizuiro had surreptitiously slipped his headphones back on and was tapping his foot quietly with the music. Keigo, meanwhile, was slouching in his desk, in an attempt to seem cool and disinterested. Chad retained his usual stoicism with an unreadable expression.

Ichigo allowed himself a rare smile at his friends' various quirks. If being dead didn't make you appreciate your friends, Ichigo didn't know what would.

The moment didn't last, unfortunately, as his attention was diverted by a disturbingly familiar shriek echoing from the courtyard outside.

Not again! Not here! Ichigo thought in a panic, as he leapt across several rows from his desk to the window.

His fears were confirmed as he looked into the courtyard below. A skeletal visage leered up from beneath him. Unlike the one from the night before, however, this hollow's body was insectoid in shape; its charcoal colored body held aloft by six spindly legs.

Gritting his teeth, Ichigo tore across the classroom. These things wanted him, not his friends. None of them were going to join him in the afterlife.

Not if I have anything to say about it.

XXXXXXXXXX

After Ichigo had departed, one of his classmates asked to be excused, pushing his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose as he did so.

XXXXXXXXXX

Exiting the school, Ichigo found himself face to face with the hollow. Acting fast, he dove between its many scuttling legs and took off running across the pavement. Making a quick u-turn, the hollow pelted after him. Ichigo was glad for his newfound agility, as it gave him a nice head start. Nevertheless, the hollow was slowly gaining on him. Taking a look over his shoulder, Ichigo flinched as the hollow's jaws opened to take a bite out of him.

Just then, a clear, metallic sound rang out, and a bright blue bolt of energy pierced the hollow's skull before Ichigo could blink. The hollow gave one last gurgling cry before its body disappeared in a haze of nothingness.

Looking around for his savior, Ichigo spotted a kid about his age lowering what appeared to be a bow composed of the same bluish energy as the arrow before.

"Oi, uh…" Ichigo called, "arigato!"

"You're welcome, Kurosaki-kun," the dark haired teenager said, the bow he held dissipating.

"What the…how do you know my name?" Ichigo asked, "And how can you see me?"

"Ah," the stranger replied, coming closer, "You probably didn't recognize me with this outfit on. It's me: Ishida Uryū."

Ichigo looked down at what Ishida was wearing. It looked like a priest's robe with all the crosses. "Ishida…Uryū?" Ichigo said quizzically, as Ishida nodded an affirmative, "Do I know you?"

"Yes!" Ishida nearly shouted, a vein forming on his brow, "How can you not recognize one of your own classmates?!"

"You were in my class? Are you new?" Ichigo asked, scratching his chin.

"No! I…" he broke off, rubbing his temples, "I do not want to get into an argument with you. As for how I can see you, I am something called a Quincy, which is a spiritually aware person with the power to destroy hollows."

"So…you're like a shinigami who isn't dead," Ichigo concluded.

Ishida's eyes darkened, "You know what a shinigami is?"

"Yeah," Ichigo replied, shoving his hand into his pockets, "One was defending my family from a hollow when I…died."

Ishida frowned, "Typical shinigami incompetence. He couldn't save you, am I right?"

"She tried her best," Ichigo shot back.

"I'm sure," Ishida muttered, "Listen, Kurosaki-kun. I am the last of my kind; the last Quincy. The shinigami are the reason for that."

Ichigo simply stared, not sure what to say.

"But enough about that," Ishida said, coughing slightly, "What's important now is that you stay away from here."

Ichigo looked sharply at him, "What do you mean? I can't just…"

"You can and you must," Ishida said briskly, "For the sake of our classmates: your friends. Reiatsu leaks out of you like a sieve, which is bound to attract hollows. And I can't afford to come to your rescue every time."

Ichigo scowled, "I suppose I'll have to stay away from my family too?"

"Especially your family."

"Ah well," Ichigo sighed, glancing back up at the classroom, "I suppose I'd better say goodbye then…"

Ishida merely nodded, leading the way back upstairs. Stopping outside the men's room, he said, "I'll leave you here. I have to change back into my school uniform."

Ichigo smirked at him, "So, you actually carry around that weird costume around everywhere, huh?"

"Shut up! It is a matter of Quincy pride!" Ishida defended, adjusting his glasses in irritation.

"Listen, Ishida," Ichigo said, a serious look on his face, "I just wanted to thank you. If it weren't for you, I'd be dead. Again…"

"Don't mention it," Ishida replied as opened the door to the bathroom.

"Tch," Ichigo grimaced as he walked back down the hall, "Who am I going to mention it to?"

XXXXXXXXXX

Back in the classroom, Ichigo found that he hadn't missed much. Chad still had the same expression he always did and Mizuiro continued to listen to his music player. Tatsuki was now down to using only one hand to keep her eyes facing front. Keigo had given up trying to look cool and was fiddling absentmindedly with his pencil. Orihime, meanwhile, was drawing what appeared to be a cat-person in the margins of her notes.

Laughing softly at the strange girl's imagination, Ichigo patted her shoulder unconsciously as he passed by her. Unknown to him, Orihime stopped drawing and looked around; searching for the source of whatever it was that had touched her arm.

Pausing next to Chad last, Ichigo gripped his tall friend's shoulder. "Chado," he said solemnly, "I won't be around anymore, at least, not as much. So you're going to have to protect everybody, at least until I can kick these hollows' asses as much as regular bullies. Take care, Chado."

And with that, Ichigo departed, leaving two of his friends very confused.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ichigo made his way back to the park where he'd first woken up. He would've visited Karin and Yuzu at school, but he didn't have any idea what their respective schedules were like. He'd try to catch them when school was over and he had some idea of where they'd be. And, as it was a nice day, Ichigo figured he might as well enjoy it.

Upon reaching the park, Ichigo found the softest bit of grass he could and laid down, finding solace in his peaceful surroundings. In no time at all, he was fast asleep.

The next thing he knew, Ichigo was suddenly brought back into consciousness by an unexpected weight on his chest. Opening his eyes, he found himself face to face with a pair of glasses and the largest mustache he had ever seen.

"Aaaaaaagggggghhhhhhhh!!"

"Tencho! I've found him!" Tsukabishi Tessai shouted.

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Japanese Translations:

Kaasan- mother

-kun- an honorific usually reserved for boys or young men (refers to a boy peer, or a younger boy)

Baka- stupid, idiot, moron

Tencho- manager/owner, boss