Who owns Bleach? Not me.
Chapter 7: An Eel Restaurant
Ichigo's count reaches thirteen when he gets kicked in the back by Ishida.
"The hell!? What was that for!?" Ichigo lashed out,
"Why are you here?" Ishida countered with another question.
"What!? To help you, of course!"
"So it is you! Kurosaki!" The leader stated as he ran towards Ichigo and Ishida. He attempted to attack them but instead gets knocked out instantly by them.
"They came for me! Those not involved shouldn't butt in!" Ichigo argued.
"I just got involved! You're the one butting in!" Ishida countered.
"Involved in a brawl? The student council president shouldn't get involved in things like these!"
The thugs attack them but were easily repelled by both, despite having an argument.
"And you know, what else? You've been hunting Hollows frequently as of late! What if Soul Society notices?"
"It's exterminating! Not hunting! And besides, It's not like I want to! I only go because of the requests from Urahara shop! Urahara-san should be regulating things like how much I go, so there shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Did you forget that he was a fugitive from Soul Society until lately?" Ichigo said as he beats up one hooligan.
"Anyway, don't talk about that now! Send an email to my phone later!"
"I don't know your damn address! And when the hell did you get a phone!?"
"Urahara-san gave it to me when I helped out at his shop!" Ishida said as he pulled out a cellphone and showed it to Ichigo.
"Then you probably can't use it like a normal one!" Ichigo replied, obviously distrusting the phone Urahara Kisuke gave to Ishida.
"Kurosaki!" Ichigo heard a voice call out, causing him to pause for a while, before looking back.
"Long time no see… Kurosaki. You do remember me right?" The strange man said, igniting a series of awkward memories in Ichigo.
"Yokochin!" Ichigo thought. "Nope, I forgot."
"The hell! Stop lying! I almost appeared in your flashback just now! Don't give up!" Yoko-chin said as he held up Ichigo by the collar.
"I don't care. I didn't remember you in the first place. And the fact that you changed your hairstyle doesn't help either. Like hell I'd remember you, don't be conceited." Ichigo scolded him.
"Oh that's funny…" Yoko-chin released his grip on Ichigo's collar. "Right after you kicked my ass, I had to move out because my dad got transferred and now I come back after 4 years and this is what I get…?"
"I don't give a damn about your life story." Ichigo deadpanned, but suddenly Yoko-chin gets kicked in the back and sent flying. Ichigo and Ishida watched awkwardly as the thugs get beaten up by the assailant.
"Looks like you're having a blast… Ichigo-chan." A woman wearing a cap said as she stood on top of the bodies of the thugs.
"Kurosaki, she's addressing you… who is she?" Ishida asked, but was met with silence.
"… Boss…!?"Ichigo said grimly.
"What!?" Ishida exclaimed. Ichigo's boss then spoke up.
"You're always skipping work for crappy reasons. Well, I won't stand for it anymore." She said as she looked up to face Ichigo. "Now be a good boy and let me kidnap you!"
"No way!" Ichigo said as he crossed his arms. But it was futile as he was tied up and put in a van.
"Incredible… she folded up Kurosaki and carried him off in an instant. Who is she…?" Ishida stared in awe at the scene of Ichigo being kidnapped.
"What happened here?" Ishida turned around to see where the voice came from.
"Kujou-san!" Ishida said as Nozomi examined the knocked out thugs.
"Where's Ichigo?" Nozomi instantly asked.
"Kurosaki…" Ishida attempted to say after recalling the events that just transpired. "…got kidnapped."
Nozomi looked at him, more confused than surprised, "…what."
…
"Ow!" Ichigo said as he was tossed on a sofa inside the "Unagi Shop – Odd Jobs Shop". "That hurt! Take this tape off!" He demanded.
"I'll take it off if you promise not to run away!" His boss counter-demanded.
"That totally sounds like a kidnapper's line!" Ichigo retorted but stopped when the phone rang. His boss immediately picked up the phone.
"Hey, thanks for calling! This is the Unagi Shop! Cheap, Fast and Reassuring! From catsitting to missing people!" She greeted but stopped immediately. "HUH? You want two specials? We're not an eel restaurant you idiot! Huh!? Whaddaya mean I said "Unagi Shop"!? That's the name of our business, moron!"
"Hey… I've said it a thousand times already, you should really check the name." Ichigo suggested.
"What!?" His boss said after hanging up the phone. "You're telling me to change the precious name that has been passed down through generations of my family!? Not a chance!"
"That's not what I meant lady. I meant change the business name, not YOUR name."
"Either way, no chance in hell! And call me Ikumi-san, not lady!" She said as she pulled out a bunch of papers and dropped them in front of Ichigo. She then stated out a variety of odd jobs for Ichigo, with him complaining.
"Mooommmyyyy!" A child walked in.
"What's wrong Kaoru-chan?" Said Ikumi, who has now transformed into a perfect loving mother. "Hey, I told you to not go here barefooted!"
"Ah It's Kuro-baka! Why are you here?" He said, striking a nerve in Ichigo. "Hey, don't get too cozy with my mom just because she's a pretty girl!" Kaoru said before being sent away sweetly by Ikumi.
"I'm sorry, he just can't get used to you it seems." Ikumi sighed and apologized. "If you have something to say, please keep it to yourself, for his sake."
"Things I want to say… like how I'm not interested in old ladies?" Ichigo said before being hit by Ikumi. She reprimanded him while taking off the tape when someone suddenly rings at the door.
"A customer?" Ikumi said as she opened up the door. "Yes, come in…"
The customer enters the door, revealing the man who Ichigo helped earlier.
"W-welcome!" Ikumi greeted the man.
"You! You're the guy from the other day!" Ichigo instantly remembered him.
"How about some ramen?" The man offered, holding a bowl of said dish.
"No thanks, we're an eel restaurant." Ichigo once again declined the man's offer.
"The hell we are!" Ikumi commented but was ignored.
…
"Ishida-kuuuun!" Inoue called out to him, causing him and Nozomi to turn around to see Inoie running towards them. "Nozomi-san? You're here too?" Inoue asked, getting a nod as a reply.
"Inoue-san." Ishida said.
"Is it true that Kurosaki-kun got kidnapped?" Inoue questioned with a tone of concern.
"Well… it may have looked that way to bystanders…" Ishida started to explain but was interrupted when Inoue started running away. "Oi! Where are you going!?"
"To rescue Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue yelled as she ran but was quickly stopped by Ishida, who effortlessly caught up to her.
"Hold on!" Ishida said as Inoue calmed herself down. "It's all right, the person who took him was his boss!" He explained as Nozomi walked up to them.
"His boss…?" Nozomi asked.
"That's what Kurosaki said. No mistake about it!"
"It wasn't some weirdo?" Inoue questioned further.
"You could say that she was, but aren't all the people in Kurosaki's life are?" Ishida said.
Inoue finally understood the situation and laughed it off. "I guess so!"
"You said she… his boss was a girl?" Nozomi suddenly asked Ishida, who simply nodded.
"Are you worried, Nozomi-san?" Inoue asked her, who turned away with a frown.
"No, why would I? Let him have fun with his boss, I couldn't care less." Nozomi answered.
"…Nozomi-san… are you perhaps jealous? " Inoue asked, startling Nozomi and causing her to blush.
"What!? No, I'm not!" She lashed out. Inoue giggled while Ishida smiled and pushed up his glasses, further irritating Nozomi.
"But you know, I've been getting a strange feeling from Kurosaki-kun since yesterday. Have you felt anything?" Inoue admitted and asked Ishida and Nozomi.
"Nope. Nothing new. I mean Kurosaki always had an aura of strangeness." Ishida answered before turning to Nozomi. "How about you, Kujou-san?"
"N-no… I haven't."
"I see. Anyway, Inoue-san, you're carrying your bag. Does this mean you're going home?"
Inoue looked confused for a moment before looking at her watch and realizing the time. "Oh, yeah! Now I'm going to get yelled at by my boss! See you later, Ishida-kun! Nozomi-san!" She said as she ran away.
"I guess I'll be going now too. Later." Nozomi said before walking away.
Ishida watched the two girls leave before looking down at the ground in deep thought.
"Inoue-san's right. Kurosaki's supposed to have to have lost his spiritual powers, but there's been something strange clinging to him lately. And that… is definitely Reiatsu."
Second update today. I'm feeling quite inspired. Thanks for the support! I might be able to pull off a triple update today if I felt like it. Ja ne.