Chapter Two: Doors Opened, Doors Closed
Their group decided their lunch spot that first lunch period in high school. Ichigo, Chad, Orihime, Tatsuki, and Yoruichi chose a lovely, grassy spot underneath a tree near the baseball diamond. They all sat in a circle and took out the bento lunches provided for them by the school.
"So. Orihime. Tell us about yourself," said Yoruichi unexpectedly, and Orihime's eyes widened.
"Oh. M-me?" she said uncertainly.
"Yeah. Family. What's it like?" Yoruichi asked bluntly.
"Aren't you supposed to be interviewing me?" Ichigo muttered wryly.
"I'm being friendly. Shut up," Yoruichi muttered back.
"Well… I was raised by my older brother. He died a couple of years ago. That's why I wear these pins in my hair. See?" She pointed at some glittering star pins in her long caramel colored hair. "They were a gift from him, so they're what I use to remember him by." She smiled softly.
Ichigo frowned. "What happened?" he asked. "How did he die?"
"Sora? Oh…" Orihime looked down. "Car accident," she said softly. "He was hit by a car."
Ichigo's eyes widened and a little bit of color drained from his face. "I thought you looked familiar. You're the girl from that day," he realized.
"I wasn't sure if you'd remember," said Orihime, smiling sadly. "Your hair… it's distinctive. That's how I knew it was you.
"My brother died at Ichigo's father's at-home hospital. It was right around the corner from my brother's accident. They were trying to transfer him to Karakura General, but he died. Ichigo answered the door and got me help, and he waited all day with me to see if my brother would make it. Later, when I was crying and begging Onii-chan not to leave… Ichigo comforted me." Orihime smiled.
"Oh, it was… You're welcome," said Ichigo, serious. Yoruichi could tell he'd started to say 'it was nothing' but he'd changed his mind. Smart kid. That also explained Inoue Orihime's immediate crush.
"Wow. I didn't know Ichigo could be so sensitive," said Tatsuki in surprise. Then she smiled. "Well. I guess I did. I have known him for a really long time. We both got into karate when we were four."
"I met Tatsuki in middle school because she saved me from bullies!" said Orihime brightly, and Ichigo's face darkened. So did Chad's.
"Yeah," said Tatsuki fondly. "The poor girl had it bad. I jumped in while they were picking on her, black belt in karate and all, and I've been protecting her ever since." Both girls seemed oblivious to the sudden anger inside both boys. "What about you two?" She turned to Chad and Ichigo, who paused in surprise. "What's your story?"
"Ichigo saved me in a gang fight," said Chad.
"Only because he saved me from one first," said Ichigo. "We ended up starting to back each other up in fights, fighting together. We both had it hard - he's half Mexican and I don't look traditional Japanese - but we were both really good fighters. We're also both better at fighting for other people than for ourselves, so we could help each other just by being there."
"Eventually we just decided to back each other up in fights always," said Chad quietly, shrugging. "Ichigo even gave me my nickname."
"It was a quick jump from there to friends," said Ichigo. "Now we have a… 'reputation,' I guess." He put air quotes around the words. "Like that Ooshima dick thought we did. At least one of our teachers doesn't think that way. Anyway, to be honest, I don't really give a fuck. I don't start fights without provocation, so people can think whatever they'd like."
"Speaking of fights, I'm starting karate club," Tatsuki announced.
"Handicrafts club and art club," said Orihime, putting up her hand and beaming.
"I have a band. Kind of takes up all my free time," Chad admitted.
"What do you play?" Yoruichi asked, interested.
"Bass," said Chad, nodding.
"He looks the part. Has a tattoo and everything," said Ichigo, amused. "Secretly, though, he's actually super into cute, fluffy animals. Volunteers at a shelter."
"Well, yeah," said Chad, as if this should be obvious. "Cute, fluffy animals are amazing."
"Aww, I get that. I have extra hobbies, too. I love comedy shows," said Orihime, smiling.
"She's also a daydreamer and a weirdass cook," Tatsuki announced. "I'm the tough girl because she's a clumsy space cadet."
"Hey! That's not very nice!" said Orihime, frowning. "What about you, Ichigo and Yoruichi?" she added eagerly, turning to them.
"Eh. I don't really do the whole after-school thing," said Ichigo, scowling down at his lunch.
"Oh…" Orihime faded slightly, self conscious. Ichigo didn't seem to notice, the oblivious dipshit.
"I'm a transfer from another city! And my hobby is to find him hobbies!" said Yoruichi, grabbing Ichigo by the shoulders and rubbing his head in a half-headlock, grinning. "He's my project partner, so he's my new official project!"
"Great," Ichigo muttered. "Let go of me!" He pulled himself out of the headlock with surprising ease, looking rather ruffled and offended.
Tatsuki laughed. "Helping other people," Orihime smiled at Yoruichi. "Taking over their lives. I like it."
"That's me. Ever helpful," said Yoruichi wryly, munching away at her food. It actually wasn't so bad, and high school was more interesting than she'd thought it would be.
Yoruichi made the walk home with Ichigo toward his house to start her more intense research into his life.
"When do I get to research you?" Ichigo complained.
"I'll cut you a deal. After I make my first major headway on you, you can make your first major headway on me," said Yoruichi. "We already have all the same friends and know how we all got together, a little bit about each of them, so that doesn't count. Why don't we start with homes and families?"
"Okay," said Ichigo slowly. "Yeah, that might work. I'll warn you ahead of time, though: my family's weird."
Ichigo's house was a compact two-story building on a quiet suburban street. A sign reading "Kurosaki Clinic" hung above the lower story.
"That's your father's hospital?" said Yoruichi, interested.
"Yeah. He's a doctor and mortician," said Ichigo. "We live behind and above the hospital."
"Do you ever help out there?"
"No," said Ichigo. "Not really. My sisters do, but my Dad doesn't like me helping. I think it's because I'm a dude."
"Have you ever asked him if you can help?" said Yoruichi, frowning.
"No," Ichigo admitted. "I just… I don't know. I'm great at beating people up. I don't know how good I'd be at fixing them."
"Do you look down on people who do?"
"No. Actually, it's a cool thing to do. I'm probably going to have to eventually follow in my father's footsteps anyway," said Ichigo. "Eldest son and all."
Yoruichi was frowning. So he had no distinct hobbies, he hadn't even joined any fight clubs, he seemed oblivious to sex and romance, he had weird assumptions about gender, and he didn't even help his father in the business he claimed unenthusiastically to be taking over someday.
But his reiatsu was strong. Incredibly so. That wasn't the problem.
… Let's see what his family dynamic was like, Yoruichi decided, troubled. She'd said family first. So she would focus first on his father's business and anything else family-wise that cropped up.
Assuming she decided to help him, that was.
They went around the building and entered through the back door. "I'm home," Ichigo called, sliding off his shoes and entering. Yoruichi followed him into the house, slipping off her own shoes. The house was open and airy, with white archways and lots of polished, light-colored wood. The whole kitchen and living room area was one massive room with no doors. One of the first things Yoruichi noticed was a massive memorial shrine to Masaki on one wall.
So Urahara was right. His mother had passed.
"SON OF MINE! HOW WAS YOUR FIRST DAY IN -?!"
Isshin had bounded forward, in a white doctor's coat, but he saw Yoruichi and stopped, his eyes widening.
"Uh, Dad, this is Yoruichi," said Ichigo. "She's a transfer. We've been assigned this dumb partner project for homeroom where we have to get to know each other really well and… well… she's my partner. So she's here to meet my family." He shrugged.
Two little girls stepped forward. "Hello. It's nice to meet you," said a girl with a bob of cinnamon brown hair, smiling sweetly.
"Yo. Nice to see my brother finally making headway with some chicks," said a girl with short black hair and sharp, pale features sarcastically, waving a two-fingered salute.
"These are my younger twin sisters, Karin and Yuzu. They're both in their last year of elementary school." They had strong reiatsu as well, though not as strong as their brother's. "The black-haired one is Karin and the brown-haired one is Yuzu."
"Hmm… Karin is right…" Isshin had recovered and was rubbing his black-stubbled, square-jawed chin, mock serious. He hadn't changed, still a massive, barrel-chested man with a deep, booming voice and too much energy. "YOU ARE FINALLY MAKING IT WITH WOMEN, MY SON! YOU CANNOT HIDE IT FROM ME!"
Isshin went for a massive bear-hug and Ichigo play-punched him to the ground, looking irritated.
"Nice right hook!" said Isshin, holding up a thumbs-up from the ground. Yup. They were definitely Shiba.
"Stop being weird," said Ichigo flatly. "She's just a friend."
"He is now in a big friends group that has three girls, including me," said Yoruichi slyly, playful. She grinned when Ichigo glared at her.
"Wow, Ichi-nii, getting in with the girls," said Karin, nodding and smirking.
"I always knew you could do it, Onii-chan!" said Yuzu with stars in her eyes.
Ichigo sighed. "Thanks," he said wearily, apparently finally deciding to just go along with it.
"Well, since she's getting to know you, why don't I show her the hospital? Come with me, beautiful Yoruichi!"
As Isshin dragged Yoruichi out of the room, Ichigo called after them in panic, "Wait, Dad! Yoruichi, sorry! If he tries anything weird, punch him!"
Isshin found them a private place in the tiny white sterile hospital and slammed Yoruichi up against a wall. "What the hell are you doing here?" he said in a deadly voice, becoming a serious former Captain again.
"Wow, taking advantage of an innocent high school girl -!" Yoruichi began, grinning.
"Cut the shit, Yoruichi," said Isshin flatly. "What's going on? Are all his new friends members of Urahara's gang?"
"No, relax. It's just me," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm the only one infiltrating. And let go of me. It's not like I'm running away."
Isshin cautiously let her go, never taking his eyes off her.
"Look, you can't hide him forever, Isshin. Reiatsu comes off that boy in waves. We think Aizen might be making a move against him in about five and a half months, and believe it or not, I'm actually trying to help and make sure the kid's emotionally ready."
"And you're telling me this has nothing to do with the fact that none of you got to know those kids?" said Isshin skeptically.
"Alright… we are curious. And I do want to help on a more personal level," Yoruichi admitted. "But I promise. Nothing about Shinigami or Hollows. Nothing abnormal. No secrets revealed. I'm just going to be a friend. Okay?"
"... I'd still like to have gotten a little heads up," said Isshin. "But okay." He sighed and ran a hand through his short black hair. "The way I am right now, it's not like I can stop you," he admitted wearily.
Yoruichi actually felt kind of sorry for him. He couldn't protect his kids the way a noble Captains should, his powers over death had been sealed, and his wife had passed. Isshin didn't exactly have it easy.
"Okay," she said. "Let's go back. Put that act back on."
They walked back out into the family room to Isshin's three kids. "Wow, that was amazing," said Yoruichi enthusiastically, smiling uncomfortably.
"I showed her all the fascinating details of the MRI machines!" said Isshin with dorky, over-enthusiastic eagerness.
"Great," said Ichigo quickly. "We're going up to my room now." He started to drag Yoruichi toward the staircase.
"Your boyish testosterone and hormones are definitely thriving!" Isshin called after them. Yoruichi smirked.
"Damnit, Dad!" said Ichigo, his face as red as a tomato. "Shut up!" They got to his bedroom, which had a fifteen pendant hung on the outside; they went in and he slammed the door shut.
The room was… bare. A bed, a desk, a few end tables, a closet, a window, and not much else. Eerily neat and clean. Yoruichi walked around curiously, looking in the open closet. Lots of tight, punk-like tees and jeans. It had potential, but the kid could use a wardrobe update. It didn't even look like anyone lived in his room.
"Sorry about him," Ichigo sighed, setting down his book-bag on his desk chair. "I told you, my family's weird. Please tell me you at least got something you could use?"
"I did," said Yoruichi, smiling. "I'm learning a lot. Hey… what about your Mom?" she added curiously.
Everything about Ichigo, including his expression, completely froze.
"I'm sorry," said Yoruichi, genuinely uneasy and sympathetic. "I saw the memorial. I just… if I'm going to learn about you, I had to ask. You know?"
"She died," said Ichigo shortly, turning away so his back was to Yoruichi. Door firmly closed.
"... How?" Yoruichi asked cautiously, her voice softer. "I'm guessing it wasn't good."
"... I don't think you can put this in your report," said Ichigo quietly. She still couldn't see his face. "But I killed her."
"I highly doubt that," said Yoruichi reasonably. "You'd be in juvenile detention."
Ichigo turned to her furiously. "This conversation is over," he said fiercely, and he moved past her. "Yuzu's making dinner; you can stay if you'd like." He brushed past her. Yoruichi was left standing there, feeling… oddly cold.
But she now had her first two points of focus. Kurosaki Ichigo was definitely a work in progress, but family and home came first. So she had two things to work on: his connection to his father's work, and his mother.
Back at home that night at the Shouten, she admitted slowly to Urahara, "... Technically my job is done."
Everyone in the Shouten looked up. "... Technically?" Urahara questioned.
"His reiatsu's incredible. It's only a matter of time before Plus souls start coming to him. They might have already. It might just be a matter of time before I finally see him with one of them. If he already helps Pluses… that could be a factor in a lot of things."
"Great!" said Urahara, pleased. Then he frowned. "So what's the problem?"
"The problem, Kisuke…" said Yoruichi uneasily, "... is that reiatsu might be the only thing Kurosaki Ichigo doesn't need help with."
"Don't tell me you're coming to care for the boy," said Urahara, smirking, sharp-eyed.
"Bullshit," said Yoruichi. "This is exactly what you wanted."
"Correct!" He held up his usual fan brightly. Yoruichi glared. "Alright, alright…" he said, relenting. "You can keep on with whatever it is you're doing. I don't need to know and you don't have to tell me anything. I trust you. But I am assigning you his personal character growth. Do what you feel you have to do.
"It's important not only for maturity in fighting and everything else to come, but also because personal growth leads to spiritual growth and reiatsu and zanpakuto changes. We need him at full capacity."
"So. She'll be making him a better Shinigami?" the little pigtailed girl, Ururu, asked.
"I'll be making him a better functioning human being," Yoruichi corrected her. "Trust me. He needs that before all the bullshit hits him."
She held her goals in sight. Her first matters were dealing with Ichigo's relationship to his father's hospital and mortician business - not even to his potential future, but just to the business itself; let's make it small, manageable pieces - and to his relationship with his late mother.
Tomorrow, whether Ichigo liked it or not, she got started. And she had a feeling he wouldn't like it, so she'd better be ready.
Yoruichi followed Ichigo on his walk to school the next morning, both of them in uniforms. "Can we talk about yesterday?" she asked insistently.
"No," said Ichigo shortly, his brow furrowed in annoyance.
"You said -"
"Forget I said anything. I was being stupid," Ichigo muttered, not looking at her.
"No. You were being honest." Yoruichi whirled him around to look at her. "And that's not stupid."
"Forget it. Now I get to research you," he said, and continued the walk to school. Damn if he wasn't bull-headed. Yoruichi ran to catch up.
"No. I said I needed to make some headway," she said. "And I haven't done that until I get you feeling better about things concerning your family."
Ichigo whirled around to look at her incredulously. "You're not going to rest until I talk to you about what happened to my Mom?"
"I want to talk about your Mom. I want to talk about how you feel about death, religion, and other more credulous subjects like that. And I want to talk about your relationship with your father's business," said Yoruichi insistently.
"My father's -?! What are you, my therapist?!" Ichigo said, staring at her. "And I can tell you right now - I don't believe in any of it!"
"I'm your therapist if that's what you need me to be," said Yoruichi calmly. "And that's a non-answer, which is why you need me."
"Look - no offense, Yoruichi, I know you always want to help people with their lives - but we just met yesterday. Butt out. And if you keep on like this, we won't get anywhere with the project."
"We will if you cooperate. We have four months. I'm not giving up," said Yoruichi, folding her arms. "I'm just going to keep bothering you until I help."
"I still don't see what this has to do with the project," Ichigo growled, his teeth gritted.
"Most of it will never go in the project. I'm no snitch," said Yoruichi. "But come on, Ichigo. I'm supposed to learn about you? I have to at least know how she died. You can't expect me to learn about you but, for one thing, completely gloss over how your mother passed away. I mean… that's kind of a big event in a person's life. Especially if they were under eighteen.
"I'm not giving up," she finished.
"... Then I hope you enjoy disappointment," he said bitterly at last. He turned around and stormed toward school down the city street, Yoruichi followed insistently behind him.
"Tell me."
"No."
"Fine. I'm asking you every hour, on the hour. And I don't care how much of a bitch you think I am. Because you need to talk to someone about this, and I don't believe in sparing anybody's feelings."
"Lovely," said Ichigo darkly.