Hopefully this will turn out better. There's not going to be any major changes. The only changes will be concerning Ichigo and his interaction with other normal humans.
Oh, just to let you know, Ichigo is not carrying Zangetsu with him. Their stuff is in the bus, which was supposed to take them directly to the hotel.
I MUST SAY… this chapter is far better than my previous one. The entire last half was redone.
The bus soon emerged from the tunnel and entered the human world. Immediately they were bombarded by the bright yellow sun that floated over them high in the sky. As the group took in the scene change, they saw many people loitering about. Men, women, kids with popsicles all walked around peacefully. Tsukune couldn't believe it; he was back in the human world.
"I'm baaaack!" Tsukune joyously declared as he jumped up from his seat, "I really did make it back to the human world in one piece!"
Mizore chuckled a bit when Tsukune pasted his face against the window. His eyes were wide almost to the point of popping out their sockets. His eyes lit up when he saw a city a distance away and wondered if that's where they were going.
But his dreams were crushed when the bus suddenly took a left turn past a sign that read 'no trespassing.'
"Huh?" Kurumu spoke up, confused, "Maybe it's just my imagination, but didn't that sign say no trespassing?"
"It does seem like we're going further into the mountains." Yukari agreed.
All students turned around when the bus driver began laughing. It wasn't just a normal laugh either. It was a laugh that said he knew what was going on and wasn't going to tell them.
They all gulped as the bus driver suddenly pulled into a secluded area.
---
"Wow! Where are we?" Kurumu asked excitedly, "A sunflower garden?"
"It's beautiful!" Moka remarked excitedly as well, "Is this where we're staying? I had no idea there were such places in the human world too!"
Everyone took in the sight before them. It was like an endless ocean as the wind swept across the field, making the sunflowers sway to and fro. The whisper of the wind was soothing to the mind and it seemed to have a melodic rhythm to it.
"…." Nekonome stared at the area they were in before turning to face the bus driver. "Huh? This is a totally different spot than where we had planned isn't it?"
Ichigo managed to overhear this and turned around to face his sensei. "What do you mean not the right spot?" Ichigo asked as he approached them. He wasn't beginning to like where this was going.
But the bus driver was the one to speak up as he said, "Well, I thought we should try stopping by this stop for a bit. Currently this is quite a well known spot in the human world."
"Well known for the sunflowers?" Ichigo asked.
The bus driver gave a bone-chilling smile. "Negative. It's well known for being a mysterious spot where one person after another has been spirited away."
Needless to say, Ichigo felt like facevaulting. He didn't know why he even bothered hoping for normal days anymore. They would never come.
"Don't you think that in this day and age that spiriting away is quite poetic?" The mysterious bus driver asked.
"Not really…" Ichigo said as his eyebrow twitched rather violently. The bus driver just smiled before he handed Ichigo a newspaper.
"You'd best read the local newspaper for details." He said as Ichigo took the newspaper and sifted through it, "Well, you guys had better be plenty careful not to get spirited away too."
Ichigo had the sneaking suspicion that something was about to go horribly wrong.
"Well Nekonome-sensei, why don't we go out to eat? I'll treat you to some yummy fish."
Ah… there was that horribly wrong thing. And before Ichigo could do anything to stop them, the bus driver and their sensei had left them behind. Ichigo and the others could only look on as they realized their stuff and Zangetsu were left on the bus….
---
"Waahh! They left us behind! What're we going to do now? I don't like this! I wanna go home now!" Little Yukari cried out as she waved her hands about. This only served to irritate and already irritated Kurono Kurumu.
"What are you talking about! We just got here! If you don't stop complaining, I'll really give you something to cry about!" Kurumu threatened.
Mizore leaned in towards Tsukune. "That's definitely not going to score any brownie points with Ichigo is it?"
Tsukune shook his head. "I don't think so. Did you see how large the tic on her forehead was?"
"It was the size of Tokyo I'd imagine." Mizore nodded, "How many points does she have currently?"
Tsukune pulled out the notebook from his pocket and looked through the pages. "Well, she's still in the positive by at least 4 points."
"Well, that's good to hear." Mizore said before blinking, "Since when did you start carrying a notebook?"
"I have no idea." Tsukune replied in resignation.
Mizore gave her boyfriend a curious look before turning her attention back to the group. She just barely managed to catch the end of Ichigo's sentence.
"…don't know, but I thought I saw something move in the flowers."
"What!" Kurumu yelled before a strange roar came from the flowers.
"This doesn't happen to be a friend of yours does it?" Ichigo asked Moka, who simply shook her head.
"For now we should get away from this field," Moka said as she looked around, "There's a cabin over there! Let's go!"
---
The group arrived at the cabin, all panting slightly. This confused Ichigo since he had been in fights with some of the members. Why would they be out of breath so quickly? It had only been a 100 yard dash at the most. As he thought about it, he came to the conclusion that it was because there wasn't enough spirit particles in the human world. As for Tsukune, he was just plain out of shape.
"What was that! We're in the human world right? Don't you think that was weird?" A bewildered Tsukune asked.
Moka took on a serious look before she replied, "Spirited away… I wonder what's been going on here. What's written in the newspaper the bus driver gave us? We need to find out what kind of place this is…"
Deftly Ichigo pulled out the newspaper before he began to read it, "It says here that…"
---
"In Okabanachou in Fujimi city 18 sightseers have disappeared one after another." The radio announcer spoke as the two people in the car listened, "There has always been a legend that a witch lives on a hill in that very area. For that reason there have been rumors that these incidences are the work of a witch!"
"People with interests in the occult have also started to visit the area…"
"Ahaha sempai, they're talking about us!" The girl with the map spoke up.
"Heh, well Youko, you really do love the occult." The sempai smiled as they reached a familiar landmark, "Look, we're almost at witch hill!"
"This is going to be great!" Youko enthused, "I hear that it's a beautiful place with a bunch of sunflowers in bloom. Because of the construction they're all going to be cut down soon, so we have to go see them while we still can."
---
Mizore leaned in towards Tsukune and whispered, "I'm surprised Ichigo hasn't gotten aroused with all the girls pressing against him like that."
Tsukune nodded. "I agree, but you can tell it's affecting him."
"How so?" Mizore asked.
"Look at his ears." Tsukune said as Mizore did so.
"Oh… they're a bright red aren't they?"
"Yup." Tsukune said, "Should I write this down?"
Mizore nodded. "You might as well." She said as she rolled her lollipop to the other side of her mouth.
Tsukune did so, giving in to his fate of being a sports announcer for Ichigo's life. When he finished writing, he was startled when Kurumu and Yukari began fighting each other. He simply sweatdropped at their actions, not bothering to figure out how this had started. So he looked over to Ichigo and asked what they had found out.
Ichigo sighed as he began explaining to the group, "I think Nekonome-sensei wants us to figure out the mystery behind the spiriting away. Otherwise why would we be here?"
"I agree with Ichigo," Moka said, "It's supposed to be a camp for the newspaper club after all. This is probably what we're supposed to do."
"NOO!" All heads turned to Yukari, who had yelled out, "It's too dangerous! This is the human world; even my tarot cards say this vacation is ill-fated!"
That had done it. She didn't care whether Ichigo was there or not, but she was tired of hearing the young witch complaining. "I've had enough of you Yukari-chan." Kurumu spoke in a deadly serious tone, "Tarot cards are worthless anyway! And you've been complaining all day! You're such a wimp! How long are you going to try to hide under your bed?"
She straightened her back, her hands on her hips as she said in an authoritative voice, "You really are just a baby. If you're so worried then why don't you just go home by yourself!"
Mizore leaned in towards Tsukune, but Tsukune instead brought up a hand and shook his head. "Now's not the time Mizore-chan."
The room got quiet and everyone could see the dejected look on Yukari's face. Her little body trembled as she whispered, "Wh-Why you…"
Then she raised her head and spoke up in a loud voice, "Don't be so stupid! I'm not afraid of anything!"
"Wait! Yukari-chan! Where are you going?" Moka spoke with concern as the young witch got up and slammed the door behind her, leaving the group behind.
Moka then turned to Kurumu. "Come on! That was going too far, Yukari-chan is running up the mountain!" Moka chastised Kurumu, "We've got to follow her."
"Yea, we have to follow her." Ichigo agreed before he turned to Kurumu and asked, "Do you need help?"
"Nah.. I'm fine..." She replied as she pulled the tarot card from her forehead that Yukari had thrown just before leaving, "Good thing I don't have much brains."
Ichigo and the rest of the group sweatdropped at that.
---
Yukari ran until she couldn't run anymore. Thoughts ran wildly through her head, memories of when she was younger surged. She sat down on the floor in a pile of fallen trees. She brought her knees to her chest as she thought about how no one paid attention to how she felt. She had been brought up to view humans as enemies, but ever since she'd met Ichigo that had all changed. She didn't know what to think anymore.
Suddenly, a loud piercing noise filled that air as Yukari turned to find out where it was coming from. "A-A scream?" She asked herself as her legs began moving towards the noise, "Could they be in danger?"
Soon she found herself sprinting, trying to find the location of the scream. Hearing some voices somewhere in the distance, she decided to follow them.
"Wh-What's with this sunflower garden?" Youko screamed as she struggled against the flowers which were trying to swallow up her sempai. "This can't be happening! Someone help!"
Finally Yukari arrived to the scene, but she froze when she saw who it was that screamed. "An unknown… human" Yukari thought to herself before she heard the girl ask, "Who are you? A-Are you a witch?!"
The way she had said those words brought a cold indifference to her heart as she spun on her heels and began to walk away. "My mistake! I thought someone else was in danger! I wouldn't have bothered to come if I had known it was some human stranger." She said in a chilly tone.
"W-Wait! Help me! She's going to be eaten!" Youko begged to the retreating witch, "My Sempai! My Sempai is going to be eaten by these sunflowers!"
"…What?" Yukari asked as she turned around and inspected the scene more closely.
"It's my fault! I was the one who said she should come to this 'Witch Hill' as a test of courage… and because of me, my sempai was suddenly attacked by the sunflowers!" Tears were forming at the edge of the girl's eyes as she struggled to keep her sempai from being eaten.
"Wh-What is this…" Yukari thought as she looked on in horror. 'Is that a plant!? A plant feeding on a human? Could this be… a type of magic plant…?"
Suddenly, a growling voice came from one of the 'plants' as it said, "F…oood…"
Then it turned to Yukari and opened a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. It used its vines as limbs as it stalked towards Yukari, hungrily growling, "Food…"
It lifted itself high into the air by using its stem. It roared as it lunged at Yukari who barely managed to miss being eaten. "Kyaaa!" She screamed as she was thrown backwards from the impact. But even as she lay there stunned, she began connecting the dots.
"C-Could this be… what's been causing all those people to be spirited away?" She thought as surprise and shock filled her, "All those people who disappeared were eaten by this?!"
But she had no more time to think as she saw the monster ready itself for another attack. Thinking quickly she pulled out some of her tarot cards, holding 10 in one hand. With resolution, she yelled, "I'm not going to let myself be eaten by this thing!" as she threw her magic-induced tarot cards at the monster plant.
The tarots hit their mark and embedded themselves into the plant. She was glad that her plan seemed to be working and was about to make her finishing move when she was suddenly hoisted up into the air by her legs. The plant monster had managed to catch her just before she had made her move!
---
"There, I knew I heard someone over there!" Moka said as she pointed somewhere behind her, "It sounded like a scream!"
Kurumu walked far behind the group. She could hear how they were all concerned over the young witch and she couldn't help but feel guilty. If Yukari was in danger, it would be all her fault that she was.
"Yukari-chan…" She thought as the guilt accumulated insider her chest, "Maybe I went too far…"
She moved away from her thoughts as she looked at everyone else who was busy searching for Yukari. She tightened her first as she too joined in on the search.
---
"Someone save me…" Yukari begged within her mind, "Save me… someone save me…"
"Wimp. You really are just a baby…" The memory of Kurumu's words somehow snapped her out of her pitiful trance. Just in time too since the jaws of the plant were about to dig into her flesh.
A surge of power filled her as she lifted up her wand. She called upon a tarot card which obeyed her call and cleanly sliced the top jaw of the plant that was about to eat her. Deftly she escaped and landed on the ground.
"I can't believe I'd have to go think of someone like her at a time like this." Yukari said in a serious tone, "I can't stand it. I'm not going to let her make fun of me again."
Her eyes now held a look of determination as she looked at the roaring plant monsters. They didn't seem to like the fact that she had sliced one of their comrades in half. But she was prepared and their roar did not terrify her anymore. She stood her ground as they lunged at her with open mouths.
"Hey, what are you doing? Watch out!" Youko warned the younger girl who was about to be eaten.
But her worry was in vain as multiple tarots were shot out and cleanly sliced the other plant monsters in half as well. "The reason my attack didn't work before was because I didn't put enough power into it. If I harness the full magic of this spell I can increase the attack force. I can win!"
She felt all the magic from her body drain from her as she placed the power into the attack. Tarot cards flew everywhere, cutting down any plant monster that reared its ugly head. In less than a minute there was nothing but corpses of the plant monsters littering the ground. Yukari suddenly felt weak in the knees as her eyesight became blurry. But she smiled as she fell backwards.
"…There, see? I am a genius after all." Was her last thought before darkness took her.
---
"Waahh… what is this? Plant monsters" Kurumu said as she surveyed the chaos, "Did Yukari-chan beat them all up? Wow…"
"Never mind that, where's Yukari?" Ichigo spoke up.
"Found her!" Yelled Tsukune as he ushered everyone to where he was. Relieved sighs escaped the group as Tsukune cradled Yukari in his arms. She was alive and was breathing normally save for a little sweat that dripped down the side of her face.
Two girls suddenly came up to the newspaper club and thanked them. "Is she with you? We'd like to thank witch-san for saving our lives! If it hadn't been for her, sempai and I would've been eaten by those plant monsters!"
Ichigo was about to reply, but noticed something. They were looking straight through him at Moka. But for the moment, it seemed no one else noticed that Ichigo was invisible to the normal humans. He would keep that on the down low for the moment. He didn't want to start up any questions at the moment. He backed away, and moved slightly next to Kurumu so that she was in their line of sight. If he had stayed in front of Kurumu and the humans had asked Kurumu a question, the newspaper group would've noticed that the humans seemed to be looking through him instead of at him.
The whole group minus Kurumu and Ichigo turned to look at the young witch in awe and surprise. Kurumu had distanced herself away from the group and was standing on a patch of sunflowers that hadn't been turned into monsters. A small smile played on her lips as she thought, "She really did beat them. I guess she is the type that hates losing after all."
Then she spotted Yukari's hat hidden somewhere beneath a pile of debris. She got up and went over to pick it up. She held it in her hands a bit, thinking of how Yukari had defeated those monsters. Slowly, she turned around and walked back to the group.
"You're not weak at all Yukari-chan." She spoke in a proud voice as she placed the hat on Yukari, "I'm sorry for saying those awful things to you before."
Everyone, even Ichigo despite his current worry, gave a small smile at the touching scene before them. Mizore also gave the scene and additional thumbs up as Tsukune jotted down some notes. While all this was happening, Ichigo looked around him as he began to wonder what was up with this mountain. They were supposed to be in the human world, yet there were monsters attacking them here as well. Just what exactly was going on?
---
Deep in the mountain and isolated from human taint, two figures conversed in a hidden cabin.
"A witch… on my hill…" The figure that was clearly touched by age's hand questioned her apprentice.
"Yes, O-Yukata-sama." The apprentice said as she inclined her head in respect, "Despite her youth, she possess quite strong magic. The witch completely destroyed the magic plants we entrusted to guard our priceless sunflower garden.
The elderly figure gave a weak and tired smile beneath her hooded face. "Well well… How many years has it been since I last met a real witch… We must welcome her. The young witch… we are of the same blood."
---
"Boy it's hot." Moka complained.
"The human world does have seasons unlike Youkai Academy." Ichigo replied, earning a smile from the pink-haired vampire.
"Yea, that's true." She agreed.
"So how is she?" Ichigo asked as he placed the bucket filled with water next to Moka.
"She hasn't woken up yet." She replied, "She's doesn't have any serious injuries, but she's exhausted from using too much of her power during the battle."
Ichigo inclined his head as he thought about Yukari for a moment. The girl had risked her life to protect some strangers. In truth he'd never thought Yukari could pull of something like this. It wasn't because he didn't have faith in her; he'd just never seen her fight. She had truly amazed him. Now, here she was resting in Moka's arms as the group sat beneath a large tree that provided enough shade for all of them. Even though he was thinking this, he was all thinking of his situation. He was hoping the people Yukari had saved wouldn't come back. He got nervous just thinking about the trouble it could cause.
"I wonder if she's okay?" Kurumu asked from the adjacent side of the tree. Moka and Ichigo turned to face her.
"I was surprised at first, I didn't know she had such a power to defeat these monsters." She began, "but if she's so strong, why is she so scared of the human world?"
Kurumu gave a small smile as she continued, "I guess there are many things we don't know about Yukari-chan. That includes witches, since they're the hybrid of human and ayashi."
"Umm… how is Yukari-chan doing?" Youko asked as she reached the tree where the newspaper club was resting, "Is she awake yet?"
Ichigo's panic returned to him. But as he thought about it, why did he have to keep it a secret? Oh right, they'd want explanations and Ichigo didn't feel like dishing them out.
"Oh… not yet." Moka replied, noticing it was the people whom Yukari had rescued earlier. No one noticed Ichigo stiffen a little as Youko's eyes wandered around, looking at each member of the group minus him.
Youko then leaned down, bending her knees as she took a good look at Yukari before saying, "So, Yukari-chan is the witch that lives around this area right?"
Ichigo was about to reply, but he caught himself. If he replied and didn't get an answer back, Moka would wonder why the girl didn't respond to him. This vacation was quickly becoming more trouble than it was worth.
Thankfully Moka spoke up as she replied, "No, she's not. We're just here on a research project."
Youko's eyes widened at the news. "So I was wrong?"
Youko scratched her head as a puzzled look played on her face. "I was wondering because… this area holds a legend that a witch lives here." She began to explain, "Especially in that ranch, we call it "Witch's Ranch" because there is a rumor that a witch lives there."
"But recently, there was a decision to build a new factory around this area. Since then, there have been people missing. That's why people have been scared; they think that these missing people are the factory managers that angered the witch and met the 'Divine Punisher'"
"You guys don't have any proof, so please do not randomly blame witches." Everyone turned to see Yukari struggling to get up, "Humans can never understand witches."
"Yukari-chan!" Many people exclaimed at once as the witch got up to her feet. One Kurono Kurumu was especially excited.
"Thank goodness you're awake! How are you feeling?" She asked with concern. But she was simply ignored by Yukari who turned a cold shoulder towards her."
"Oh ya… I remember, Yukari-chan and I just had a fight." Kurumu thought in dismay. "Well, anyway… if this area is so dangerous, we should probably leave as soon as possible." Kurumu suggested.
"Then shall we leave and go to the town where our motel is located? We might be able to catch up to Nekonome-sensei. We should probably tell her about THIS INCIDENT." Moka too suggested, putting a heavy emphasis on the last two words.
"Oh! Then we can probably give you guys a ride… even though there are more than five of us." Youko offered as she pointed toward her car, "We're pretty close to town."
"Really? That's great!" Kurumu quipped up, "I'd hate to have to walk all the way to the city."
Ichigo's pacing heart slowed down considerably as dread filled him. So far everything had gone smoothly up this point and now this came up. All he needed to do was make up an excuse that he wouldn't be going with them in the car. That way Youko and her sempai wouldn't have to make room for a person they couldn't see. But as he thought of an excuse, he looked at Yukari, who was standing stock still for some reason.
"What's the matter Yukari?" Ichigo asked. The young witch simply shook her head before following Moka and the others to the car. There he stopped Kurumu who was towards the car. He himself couldn't tell the group he couldn't go with them, so he would ask Kurumu to tell the others.
Before Kurumu could get into the car, he managed to grab her by the arm and pull her a distance away from the car. As he did this, he realized he didn't really have an excuse formed in his head. He was going to have to wing it.
"What's the matter Ichigo?" Kurumu asked, confused at the Shinigami's action.
Ichigo's jaw clenched as he tried hard to find an excuse. "Well, I can't go with you guys."
"Eh? Why not!" Kurumu eyes widened in surprise at the revelation.
"Umm… I have to… take care of something." Was Ichigo's excuse. This in turn made Kurumu give him a worried look.
"If something is wrong, you can tell us you know." She offered to the tense boy.
"This isn't going to end well." Ichigo thought before replying, "Nothing's wrong. It's just something personal. I'll meet up with you guys at the city."
The worried look on Kurumu's face had not disappeared. She could clearly see the worry etched onto his face and how he still hadn't let go of her arm. Whatever it was that was worrying him, she wasn't going to let him go through it alone. She faced him as she placed her hand on his, surprising the Substitute Shinigami.
"I know it may bother you Ichigo, but whatever trouble you're going through, I want to be there to help you. I'm not taking no for an answer so please, let me help." She looked deeply into his eyes, further surprising the Shinigami who blinked at the conviction in her eyes.
Inside he was struggling as to whether or not to let her come with him. He thought about it thoroughly. If he were to go by himself, Moka might say something to Youko like, "Oh, our friend Ichigo isn't coming with us." Then the girl would ask who Ichigo was. That would cause confusion to say the least since they wouldn't have seen him at all in the first place. Plus, he needed her to tell the others he wasn't going.
His head dipped down as he sighed, why did everything have to be so troubling? "Alright." He replied as he lifted his head. The response was immediate as Kurumu gave a bright smile that caused Ichigo to blush a little. She had looked… cute. Undeniably cute. Ichigo mentally shook his head.
"Alright, I'll go tell the others." Kurumu stated as she happily skipped to the car. Ichigo looked on and could not help but sigh. After all, he had become quite proficient at it.
"Oh man…" Ichigo muttered. Ichigo was wrong however. It wasn't 'oh man' he should be saying, rather, he should be saying 'oh woman.'
"Hey guys, I'm not going with you." Kurumu said to the group, an undercurrent of victory and mirth in her voice.
"Why not milk jugs?" Yukari asked, voicing everyone's unasked question.
"Ichigo asked me to help him with something personal. We'll meet you in the city. Bye!" She said before closing the door and walking away from the car.
"Wait! I'm going with them too!" Moka said as she struggled to get out of the car, but stopped at the sound of Youko's voice.
"Actually we need to get going right now, traffic hour is about to hit and we might not make it all the way to the city with this amount of gas left unless we stop at a gas station soon." She replied apologetically. Then again, it wasn't like Moka could get out of the car. In the back seat were Yukari who sat on Moka's lap and Mizore who sat on Tsukune's lap.
Moka could only sigh in defeat as the car pulled away. And as she looked up, she could see Kurumu waving at them from the driver's rear view mirror. The day did not belong to her at all.
---
A solitary figure looked down from a tree branch as the car plus Ichigo and Kurumu disappeared from the area. "Master… those humans made a mess in our sunflower garden and just left." The figure spoke in a quiet, seething voice.
"Ruby… are you just going to let them get away like that…?" The master communicated through her wand to her disciple, "I've told you before… we, the witches, look after our tribe mates. Make sure to make her join us…"
Ruby's eyes narrowed as she replied, "But… it seems like she has companions with her."
"Hmph… they must be merely humans… if they get in your way, you may kill them. Right now… we want as many comrades as possible. In order to protect this land… WE MUST PUNISH THOSE HATED HUMANS!"
"Bring that young witch to our ranch… can you do that? My beloved disciple Ruby?"
"…I understand master." She replied before she lifted her wand over her head. She chanted a spell before her body dissolved into a black crow with a wand in its beak. Once the transformation was complete, she flew towards the city where Yukari and her friends would be heading. Trouble would brew soon thereafter.
---
"So, care to tell me what's wrong Ichigo?" Kurumu asked, the happy look on her face not having melted away yet.
Ichigo turned to look at her before returning to face forwards. Currently they were walking in the general direction of the city. Ichigo took in a deep breath of air. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all. The air was nice and crisp. Not only that, but there was an actual sun here. Unbeknownst to everyone, Ichigo loved being in the sun. Once in a while he would simply lie in the grass beneath the bright sun and absorb its warmth or even sit in a chair next to a windowsill as the sunlight filtered through. As he thought about this, Kurumu grew more worried because Ichigo hadn't replied and his ever present scowl was on his face.
"Earth to Ichigo, is everything alright up there?" Kurumu asked as she poked the side of Ichigo's head lightly with her finger.
"Ah yea, sorry. I was just thinking." Ichigo replied, wanting to leave it at that. Of course, Kurumu couldn't just leave it at that.
"Thinking about what?" She persisted. Her light heartened a bit when a small smile played against Ichigo's lips.
"As strange as it sounds, I'm thinking about the weather." He replied.
"You're right, that is strange." She smiled at him, "But I think I know why."
Ichigo turned to her and gave a curious look. "Really? Why then?"
"Well, for one, there's an actual sky and seasons here." She replied, hitting the mark directly on the head.
To say Ichigo was surprised would be an understatement. He was also a little shocked that she knew him that well truth be told. "How'd you guess?" He asked as he turned to face the girl before him.
At this question, Kurumu's heart quickened as her cheeks filled with warmth. For some strange reason, now that she had the chance to confess her love to him, she just couldn't seem to take it. She looked up into eyes that had been staring at her, awaiting an answer. Little did the boy in front of her know that his gaze was making her knees weak and tremble. Why now, when she had tricked so many boys in the past with her beauty, why now… was she so out of breath? But her heart already knew the answer.
He was her Destined One.
Ichigo blinked. It seemed Kurumu had suddenly gone mute. "Yo." Ichigo snapped his fingers in front of Kurumu's dazed eyes. Suddenly, she let out a breath as her head drooped down and steam seemed to come out of her ears. As she looked up, Ichigo took note that her eyes had been replaced by swirleys.
"Hmm… go figure." Ichigo thought as he continued walking. She'd eventually catch up he'd reasoned. His reasoning was correct as he heard her footsteps approaching. Thankfully he didn't turn around or he would've seen her breasts having a serious case of the jiggles.
"Wh-Why did you leave me behind!" Kurumu huffed as she finally caught up to him.
Ichigo simply shrugged. "It didn't look like you were coming back any time soon." He replied.
"That's mean!" Were her words as she balled her fist and 'hit' Ichigo's shoulder. Ichigo simply grinned.
"You'll probably hurt yourself more than me if you keep doing that." Ichigo taunted.
"Hmph! Meanie!" Kurumu crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head the other way.
Ichigo's grin widened, but for some reason he felt a strange itch on his chest. He tried scratching it, but it didn't seem to go away nor did it even seem scratchable in the first place. It was like the itch was in his heart. Go figure.
"You're going to run into a tree or something if you don't look forward you know." Ichigo stated, his grin yet to have disappeared.
Kurumu simply Hmph'd as she walked on ahead of Ichigo, intent on making him pay for being mean to her! But as she did so, she failed to see the low tree branch until it was too late. Her forehead smacked into the branch, making her stagger backwards as she cursed to stupid piece of wood!
The itch in Ichigo's heart suddenly grew and he did something unexpected. He laughed. At the sound of his laughter, Kurumu immediately wheeled around to face him having already forgotten about the pain. But by the time she had fully turned around, Ichigo had stopped laughing and simply stood there, dumbstruck.
"Did… did you just laugh Ichigo?" She asked in a genuinely surprised manner.
"Umm…" Was all Ichigo could say as the tips of his ears turned red.
"What was that!" She suddenly burst into uproarious laughter, surprising Ichigo.
"Huh?" Was Ichigo's bewildered response.
Kurumu had never once laughed that hard in her life! So intense was her laughter that tears began rolling down her cheeks and her body threatened to pass out from the lack of air reaching her lungs. And Ichigo, not only was he now thoroughly embarrassed, but he was rather annoyed as well.
"What… the hell… is so funny!" He demanded as his scowl deepened.
"It's just… too… funny! AHAH!" She continued laughing, despite Ichigo's annoyance with it. But eventually she settled down.
"S-Sorry about that… tee hee… but you're la-laugh was… hehehe." Kurumu couldn't go two words without wanting to burst out into laughter again. Thankfully Ichigo was patient… for now.
Suddenly she finally seemed to calm down as she took a breath. She wiped away her tears before finally answering Ichigo's question. "I'm going to get this out as quick as I can in case I end up laughing again."
She took a deep breath, feeling the giggles welling up in her chest again. "The reason I la-laughed so hard was because your voice sounded… sounded…"
"Sounded?" Ichigo asked, his annoyance ever growing.
"You'! AHAHAH!" Kurumu once again fell to uproarious laughter. But Ichigo managed to catch what she had said.
"I sound like an old cat laughing? What… the hell!" Ichigo was so frustrated that he actually lifted up his arms, though for what purpose he didn't know. He just felt he had to do it!
"That… was AMAZING!" Kurumu snickered, "I'll NEVER forget this moment in my entire life!"
"Ah… glad to hear it was that amusing." Ichigo spoke in a flat voice. It lacked all the mirth Kurumu's had. Then, Ichigo simply decided to turn around and head for the city and to leave behind the laughing Kurumu.
Though said person was still giggling, a little guilt made its way into her heart. Her eyes softened before she ran up to Ichigo and hugged him from behind. She felt Ichigo stiffen at the sudden affection, but he soon relaxed.
"Sorry about that, it's just that I've never heard you laugh like that before and it… well… I'm sorry." She said as she pressed her face into his back. His warmth radiated through his shirt and his scent brought her a sense of security and peace. She could very well stay like this for the entire day. But the feeling of closeness soon ended as Ichigo tensed up again.
"What's wrong Ichigo?" Kurumu asked.
"We have to go now." And before Kurumu could ask why, Ichigo had picked her up and was now carrying her underneath his arm in a not so dignified way. It looked like he was carrying a sack of potatoes rather than a person. But Kurumu couldn't protest because her voice was lost to the wind as Ichigo Shunpo'd away.
"Yukari and the others in the trouble." Was Ichigo's only thought as he pushed himself in his current state. Without Zangetsu, he couldn't attain Bankai and go faster. So the Shinigami made due with what he had and sped across the sky.