Hey again! Anyone read the latest manga chapter (420)? Holy cow! That's all I can say. That and this story diverges from canon at that point. XD
Disclaimer: Bleach and its characters aren't mine. Just this story.
Pairings: IchiRuki, others thrown in for fun.
Warning: Some violence and language in this chapter.
Shades of Orange
It was a rather typical early morning in a Rukongai district; noisy. This was a problem for anyone trying to sleep at the inn. Thirty-fourth wasn't an excessively poor place but the buildings were weak, thin walls doing little more than keeping outside weather out.
Rukia was beginning to wake up from all the commotion outside. She woke up and groaned. No, not happening. She grumpily folded the pillow over her uncovered ear and tried to go back to sleep.
Rukia was startled fully awake as something went flying through the wall of her room. She sat up and fought to untangle her legs from her blanket. She freed her legs quickly enough and stood, snatched her Zanpakuto.
As she stared at what, or rather, who had burst through the wall recognition dawned on her. She lowered her recently unsheathed katana in disbelief. The black haired Shinigami instantly knew who it was when she saw their hair.
She had three markers that exact shade of orange, two of which were dried up. The third one was probably well on its way to joining the other two. She promised herself not to buy another one after it ran out. She'd already broken that promise twice before. No one but herself knew that Rukia had pages and pages of rabbit-like drawings with spiky orange hair in her sketchbook.
The body groaned and rubbed the back of his head. "Damn that Kita," a familiar voice growled. Rukia's lips twitched upwards into a brief smile that faded quickly. How long had it been since she heard that voice? A month, maybe two…. No one in Soul Society had known where Ichigo's soul had gone once he'd died; there were just too many districts in Rukongai to tell and the Shinigami didn't have time to search them for him.
Or rather, they couldn't search for him. He'd died as a regular soul, drained of all his reiryoku, and so had arrived with little or none.
The teen with orange hair stood up slowly and blinked in surprise when he noticed Rukia watching him. He noted the katana held loosely in her hand and her outfit. His scowl deepened.
"Oi, Shinigami, you should get out of here quickly," he said in warning. He dismissed the slight look of shock his words earned before heading towards the gaping hole in the inn.
Rukia's blood boiled in anger. They don't see each other for a little over a month and that's what he had to say to her? She took a deep breath and sheathed her katana slowly.
The next thing Ichigo knew was the pleasure of a flying kick to the side of his head. "You dumbass! What the hell is that supposed to mean!"
The highly offended look on Ichigo's face when he stood up almost brought a smile to Rukia's face again. Still, she wouldn't smile in the middle of their bickering. It simply wasn't done.
"It means your kind aren't welcome here, brat!" Ichigo snapped in response. Shinigami are arrogant. While they lounge about their precious Seireitei, us regular people in Rukongai suffered. He didn't hate them but he didn't particularly like them either.
Rukia blinked. Her kind…? "You don't -" The Shinigami had to swallow past the lump suddenly in her throat. "Don't what? Don't mean it? Believe me, I mean it," Ichigo said, peering at her curiously.
The sword-bearing young man tilted his head and looked at the violet eyes of the child-like woman in front of him. Pain flashed briefly in her eyes before they grew cold. "Nothing. Why did you crash into my room?"
"Huh? Oh, shit!" Ichigo ran out of the room without gracing Rukia with an answer. With a mix of curiosity and annoyance she followed him out at a slower pace. Her reaction was to raise a delicate brow when she saw all the fighting.
It was like an all out mini-war. She was unsure what to make of it. A hand on her shoulder made her jump move away. She grasped the hilt of her sword as she turned to face the person who had touched her.
"Easy! I mean no harm. A good girl like you should come inside and wait for them to stop fighting," the middle-aged innkeeper's wife said.
"What is all this?" Rukia asked instead.
"Gang war. Started about a month ago when that orange-haired kid arrived," the woman replied, gesturing towards Ichigo. He was occupied with another man who looked older. Rukia frowned and was about to ask for more information when the woman continued.
"The one he's fighting is Kita Sora-sama. He was the self-proclaimed ruler here until that young man showed up and challenged him to a fight. Probably didn't like Kita-sama bossing him around.
"When he beat Kita-sama some of Kita-sama's men defected and started following orange top around and -" she was interrupted by Rukia asking, "How come you don't call him by name?"
"Well see, that's the funny thing. Kid doesn't know his own name. His followers just call him 'Boss.'" The innkeeper's wife shook her head sadly.
He doesn't remember, Rukia concluded mentally. He doesn't remember anything. Not his own name, his old life, me….
Rukia wasn't dumb. Urahara hadn't sent her to Thirty-fourth just for bread. He hadn't lost his uncanny ability to know things that others didn't. He knew Ichigo was there and he'd sent her to…to what exactly?
It was possible Urahara wanted her to bring Ichigo back with her. That unbelievably comforting reiatsu she'd grown so accustomed to feeling whenever she went to the Real World was oozing out of Ichigo once again. He could become a Shinigami again. Was that what Ichigo wanted, though? Rukongai was a simpler life than the life of a true Shinigami.
"Oi, Shinigami! Watch out!" Rukia blinked in surprise at Ichigo's voice as the man he'd been fighting came running at her. She drew her sword to block Kita's expertly.
"Shinigami scum! Die!" The man yelled at her, recklessly swinging his sword at her. He was shorter than Ichigo, with brilliant blue eyes and dirty blonde hair. She said nothing in response to his comment.
Even if attacked first, a Shinigami should never kill a soul they have not been ordered to kill. So instead, Rukia focused on making him unable to fight. "Way of Binding, number one, Sai!"
Kita Sora dropped onto the ground with his arms locked behind his back. He was screaming profanities up at her but she ignored him for the most part as Ichigo approached.
"I told ya that your kind aren't welcome here," the orange haired teen commented. His voice was a little friendlier. Rukia assumed it was because she'd just disabled his enemy.
Ichigo looked down at Kita and sighed, using a foot to roll the man onto his side. "Shut up already," he said with a sigh. "You got your ass beat by a little girl, Sora."
It was nostalgic, being thought of as a little girl. That didn't mean she'd accept being called one though. "I'm not a little girl," Rukia corrected. A hint of her amusement at the situation must have made it into her voice because Ichigo's scowl lightened a bit.
His expression darkened again as Kita spoke up. "Screw you, asshole. As soon as this little bitch lets me go I'm gonna fucking kill ya!"
Rukia noticed that Kita Sora wasn't unattractive. If not for his horrible attitude she would have even go so far as to say he could be charming. "That's not much incentive for me let you go," she pointed out dryly.
"Shut up! Stupid little Shini- mmph!" Kita's reply was cut off by a gag being tied around his mouth by a member of Ichigo's gang.
"Thanks Hideaki," Ichigo said with a sigh. "Your mouth is too big for your own good Sora."
The orange-haired teen turned to examine Rukia. "That trick of yours is handy, kid."
"I told you, I'm not a kid." That time her irritation must have shown through because Ichigo raised a hand to the back of his head slightly nervously. He asked, "Well then, what's your name?"
"Kuchiki Rukia," she responded. She paused as she considered what she was about to say. "Would you mind coming with me for a moment?"
She disliked having to use such formality with Ichigo but since he was missing his memory it was hardly appropriate to drag him off by the front of his shirt. He looked at her in confusion before seeing what the other gang members were up to. Most were watching the leaders and the Shinigami. A few others were still fighting but Ichigo didn't think it was anything he ought to concern himself with. He shrugged and Rukia led them away from the battle.
As she walked ahead of Ichigo, Rukia fought to keep up the calm façade. She both knew and didn't know the man she was with. Under the surface she was deeply troubled by his lack of memory. It isn't uncommon for a regular soul to forget most of their past life…but to go so far as to forget their name? She'd never heard of it before. How had no memories changed the Ichigo she knew?
"- ukia. Rukia! Are ya listenin'?" Ichigo asked, voice just below yelling.
"Huh? Yes, what?" Rukia replied, startled slightly as the orange-haired teen grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. He towered above her as usual.
"We've walked far enough. Start talkin' or I'm going back," he told her seriously.
In that moment Rukia knew she didn't want to let Ichigo go just like that. He was one of her closest friends, memories or not. If he doesn't remember his old ones then we'll just make new ones.
The black-haired Shinigami looked up at him with determination and said, "Become a Shinigami."
"Come again?"
"You have a lot of reiatsu and you seem pretty strong. Seireitei could use you." Not like they haven't already used you… Rukia thought sadly, and look how that ended up.
Ichigo stared at the petite woman before huffing softly. "No thanks."
"But you have to!" Rukia exclaimed in alarm. Why am I so surprised? He didn't want to be a Shinigami in the Real World either.
Why?" Ichigo was genuinely curious why he just had to be a Shinigami.
"Because…." It was a good question. One she wasn't sure she had an answer to that would satisfy him. What could possibly make Ichigo, this Ichigo, become a Shinigami? Then she had an idea. "Because if you don't you may end up hurting people with your reiatsu."
That certainly got Ichigo's attention. His eyebrows rose in surprise and he looked into Rukia's violet eyes to see if she was lying. As far as he could tell she wasn't but…there was something more to it than that. He opened his mouth to say something but she spoke again, cutting him off before he could say anything.
"You think about it. I have to go pay for my room." With that, Rukia disappeared.
No…she didn't disappear. That's not physically possible. High speed movement? Ichigo figured mentally. At any rate, what do I do?
The orange-haired teen wandered back towards the inn slowly. While he walked he considered what he should do. By the time he got to the inn he had made his decision. He walked in to see Rukia waiting for him. She didn't say anything so he took a deep breath and gave her his answer.
"Fine. I'll become a Shinigami."