Thank you to all who reviewed the first chapter ^_^ I'm so happy that you all liked it and will continue to read on ;) But anyways, more explanations:
So because there is no electricity, time is told based on these huge things in all cities and towns called a Time Tower. These things are wired to work in unison and with all the other Time Towers within their time zone. And each zone is timed to work so it is in sync with all the other zones with Time Towers in the rest of this world. They all work in the same system. They have two large bells (think Hunchback of Nostradamus) that will ring every hour. There is a higher pitched bell and a lower pitched bell. The higher pitched one rings in the hours in the morning, while the lower pitched will ring in the afternoon. So 'am' is high and 'pm' would be low. Then midnight and noon are signaled by the two bells ring together once.
Now this doesn't mean there are no watches and stuff. Because there are, but remember that they are analog not digital ;) But the Time Towers are magically set to be in time with each other and so therefore are the ultimate sources of time.
Chapter 2
Well they can take, take, take the kids from the summer
But they'll never, never, never take the summer from me
It was the very first time that I lost my mind for a week
We pulled into port around lunch time, my stomach was growling, and I was tired from the days at sea. I had just turned five the day before. There were candles, cake, and my father was even able to get the captain to come down to the passenger's dinning to wish me a happy birthday. He had tilted his hat and introduced himself as Captain Juushiro Ukitake, captain of one of the best naval ships in all of Seireitei. And as exciting as that was, the feeling was overridden for my eagerness to see Rukia and Renji again.
I had never forgotten them. In fact, just impress them and prove them wrong, every day I had practiced in front of a mirror the secret signs they had taught me. I deemed myself now a professional; I could even write my own book on it, even if I was five.
I wanted to tell them about the things that had happened in my life since I had last seen them. (One being the birth of my twin baby sisters, Yuzu and Karin) All year, I had tried to keep the memories of the best moments so as not to bore them, but I had a hard time remembering them as my feet hit creaking wood of the docks.
When we got to the house, I did all I could to help my dad unload our trunks from the cart. The year before, it was my father, my mother, and me taking everything out, but with Karin and Yuzu in her arms, my dad and I were on our own. After the first trunk was lifted off, I was exhausted, though I would never tell my father that. I forged on. My mother stayed behind a bit to give the cart driver his payment, and stayed outside till he rounded the corner and disappeared.
Our house resonated when the time tower stroked its low tone bell three times, indicating that it was three in the afternoon. For a moment, I had forgotten the whole reason I was so eager to be here in the first place. From the top floor of our house, I ran down and pulled on my shoes. It didn't matter that my left was on my right, and my right on my left.
"What's the hurry Ichigo?" my mother asked while trying to hush a crying Yuzu.
"I-I just really want to play outside i-is all…" I responded while opening the back door.
I rushed out when it opened and was only able to hear my mother shout out to me to be back before dark, and the door slammed shut.
I ran up and down the houses, looking for any sign that I was coming close to the pear tree in the small clearing. Unfortunately for me, I hadn't really thought that I would ever forget my way around. In my mind, I only imagined all the amazing things Renji said we would do when I came back. But it wasn't long before my biggest worry was that I was going to be lost in the labyrinth of houses.
I searched up and down the rows of homes, trying to see if any of them registered in my memories of a year ago. Of course, none of them did.
"Ichigo!"
My head lifted at the sound of my name being called. I looked around but saw no one.
"Ichigo!"
And there it happened again! I was now beginning to think that I was hearing the wind calling out to me.
"You're not doing it right baka, Ichigo!"
The voice was different this time around, more high pitched and girlish.
"Over here Ichigo! Over here! Follow my voice!"
And I did. The two voices kept shouting out my name and telling me to follow them. Soon enough, I came across the pear tree. It looked as though it had grown even more since I had seen it last, and standing atop it was Rukia and Renji.
"Took you long enough," Renji called down.
Rukia though, wasted no time for greetings and jumped down. It must have been three or four meters the tree, and to a small and tiny four year old like Rukia would only be twice as long of a drop. And yet she did not wince or grunt when landing smoothly on her feet. Standing, she placed a hand on her hip and looked at me sternly before walking over to me and shoving a paper in my hand. She then pointed to me, stacked her fist twice, and then made an 'X' over her heart. She placed a hand on hip, still a strange serious face plastered on.
I looked down at the paper, seeing the drawing that I had drawn a year ago. My messy images of myself, and a little blob with an arrow saying 'Karin' scribbled across. Then I noticed that there were alterations, after 'Karin' there was chicken scratch hand writing with it reading 'or Yuzu'. I only laughed and pressed my index finger on my chin, meaning 'thank you'.
Finally, her odd serious expression dropped as she gave a wide and toothy grin before giving me a punch to my arm.
"Itai," I yelped.
"You're late," she chuckled, "We waited a long time."
Finally seeing her voice move with her lips, the first thing I noticed was the fact that she no longer had her lazy tongue. The second thing I noticed was that she still wore no shoes. The third thing was that she looked different, I wasn't sure what was different, and she just was.
"I wrote the 'or Yuzu' part just so you know," Renji called out as he climbed down the tree trunk, "she just begged me to do so."
As I should have assumed since Rukia could not read, much less write, to save her life. Renji made his way over to Rukia and me and gave me a large smile. He too, like me, had grown a bit in the last year. His hair was no exception. It was now long enough that it needed to be held back with a leather thong.
"You looked really lost Ichigo," Renji mentioned.
"Well, I don't live here," I told him, "So of course I'm lost."
I gave a sheepish grin and turned my head away as I rubbed the back of my neck. My mother would say that every time I did that, it reminded her of my father, because it was also a habit of his.
"How long are you staying?" Rukia asked innocently.
I took a moment to think. "Five days after today," I said.
"Then in the next Five days," Rukia happily skipped away from us, "Renji and I will be showing you around Seireitei, so that you'll know it as good as us!"
She grabbed my shirt and pulled me to the tree. She then began to climb, Renji following suit, I then trialed close behind the two. When we got to the top, there were a few pears hanging ripe and ready. Renji picked few, one for each of us. "These are really good," he told me, holding it out with an inviting hand.
I took it from him but didn't eat any. I watched as Rukia and Renji bit into their pears, the juice dripping down their chins. Rukia smiled happily and sat with both legs straddling the branch we were all perched on.
"Yummy," I said when I finally had my first bite. It was sweet and soft. The juice trickled from lips, over my chin, and down my neck. I could feel it stick but could care less.
"The tree has been growing a lot of these lately," Renji explained, "They're good aren't they."
I nodded my head and took another bite.
Rukia had already finished hers and threw the leftover deed and stem to the ground and rubbed the juiced from her face with her arm. She grinned at me and gave me a thumb up.
"So," she swung her legs back and forth, "What do you want to see first?"
Rukia stared at me so intently that I felt as though her stare alone could knock me right off that tree branch. "W-well," I said shakily, "I sort of want to see the cool places."
And with that, Rukia easily slid off of the branch we were on and fell lightly on her feet. "Come on guys!" she called up to us, "I know a great place to go to!"
She waited patiently as Renji and I had to slowly climb down the tree. But as soon as our feet touched the roots, she grabbed both of our hands and made a bolt, dragging both of us behind her. When we finally caught our footing, she let go and we ran behind her. She was definitely much faster than the both of us as she easily ran up and down the alley ways and streets. Often times, she would almost hit a passing pedestrian but would be quick and twist or dodge out of the way just in time for the person to mumble about 'stupid kids'.
Just as I was about to trip and fall from pure exhaustion, Rukia came to an abrupt stop. We had come to a very crowded yet, cool rock buildings. It was an old pass way whose buildings seemed to no longer be used. The crumbling walls had all fallen one on the other, but were all supporting each other. The windows faced down to the ground as climbing ropes hung loosely from bent and broken ledges.
And as if it were not something so strangely weird yet wonderful, the citizens seemed to pass it by. None took a second glance at the crumbling buildings and none even took notice to the person standing next to them much less the staring children.
"Is this cool enough for you?" Renji asked.
I was too awe struck to even respond.
"Over here!"
Renji and I both looked to the side to find that Rukia and found a passage to one of the crumbling buildings. She waved her hand back and forth till Renji and I had made it over to her. She laughed and ran off again, making it a wild goose chase for us. She ran around the ground floor, dodging and jumping over ruble yelling "Tag! Tag!" as she ran.
"You two are so slow!" She taunted us from the top of a column.
"How did she get up there?" I huffed, holding my weight over my knees.
I could see that Renji too was tired and leaning on the column. "I don't know…" He looked up at Rukia who was giggling and laughing down at us as though she weren't tired at all. "Rukia," Renji called out to her, "we give up so come back down! Buta-sama is going to kill me if I bring you back with another broken arm."
"You are no fun," Rukia pouted but reluctantly slid down from her spot on the column, "Fine, but we should play tag again tomorrow!"
The sun was setting in the distance and Rukia and Renji looked over their shoulder to watch it as the light shined through one of the lopsided windows.
"We should be going back now," Renji said softly, "We'll take you back Ichigo."
Rukia lead the way back to the small clearing, making sure to tell me exactly where we were every step of the way. She pointed out the local postal office, a store (the one where they sold candy), the main street (which was being patrolled by many men in uniforms), and a plaza with a large fountain in the middle.
"Come here tomorrow," Rukia shouted as she and Renji walked off in the direction we had come. They walked me to the pear tree as promised but soon told me they had to leave. I waved goodbye to them and assured her that I would come back as noon the next day.
I slowly walked back to my house, doing my best not to get lost again. I made it back into my own home as soon as the sixth low bell rang through the city. There my mother was standing in the kitchen cooking something. The pot on the stove smelled delicious.
"Welcome back Ichigo," my mother said and gave me a smile, "Where did you go off and play to?"
"A pear tree," I said walking over to a crib that held both Karin and Yuzu. Karin's arm was draped over Yuzu's body almost protectively. I smiled and remembered the picture that was folded in my pocket. I took it out and placed it at their feet.
My mother walked over and peered over my shoulder. "What's this?" she asked as she took it out of the crib. She unfolded it and I watched as a smile crept onto her face. "When did you draw this Ichigo?"
"A-a while ago," I told her.
She laughed and ruffled my hair. "It's cute Ichigo." And she put it back into the crib at the twin's feet.
The day after, the sound of my feet against the rubble of the ground filled my ears. Rukia and Renji led me, again, to that old pass way. The buildings were leaning at odd angles and the debris that littered the floor towered as tall as or taller than me. Renji, who already had about five centimeters on me, had chucked off building that was towering over him. Rukia was not much shorter than I, but it still amazed me how she was able to maneuver herself around this area so easily.
We'd play hide-and-seek tag here in this concrete jungle. Because I was new, Rukia said that Renji and I would be the first to hide. She told me that Renji was a very good hider and that he would help me to find a great hiding spot. But she didn't forget to add that she would have no trouble finding me either way.
Rukia turned herself so that she was facing a large boulder that was covered in black ash. "One…two…three…"
She continued to count as Renji pulled at my arm to guide me to a spot to hide.
"Fifteen…sixteen…seventeen…"
I looked back at Rukia who still stood there counting. I swear she had skipped over eight and twelve. Renji tugged me to keep me going. Rukia was only going to count to twenty-five. I had argued that that wasn't enough time to hide, but she argued back that she couldn't count any higher than that.
"Twenty-three… Twenty-five! Here I come!" She shouted.
Renji and I were crouched between a moon shaped rock and a crumbling wall. We pressed our backs to the rock as we heard Rukia's bare feet patter against the gravel floor. When I saw her shadow being projected on the wall my heart never at that moment felt so scared, and excited. The sweat on my neck was a mixture from the summer heat and the suspense that was building. For a moment it was absolutely silent when her head popped in from above us, the grin of triumph on her face could have lit the room into flames.
"Run!" Renji pushed me to move. I stumbled on my feet but caught my footing as we climbed over some ruins, Rukia following close behind us.
"If we split up she can't catch both of us. You go that way and I'll go this way," I shouted over to him. He nodded his head and screamed out for us to split.
I went in my direction and he went off in his and for a moment, Rukia slowed in confusion. She looked to both of us who were laughing as we ran away from her. She turned on her toes and began running in my direction, perhaps because she thought I was easy picking. I did my best to climb over a broken wall, my legs shuffling themselves over the brick. I barely made it to the top in time for Rukia to run into the wall. Seeing her face puff up in embarrassment was so funny that I threw my head back in laughter.
"What's so funny!" she yelled up at me.
I was just laughing, that is till I lost my balance and fell back. I gasped, or maybe it was Rukia gasping, and tried to grab onto the top of the wall but my fingers just grazed the edge. I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact. But just then, I felt someone grab my hand and the falling stopped.
When I opened my eyes, I saw that Rukia was using all of her strength to hold me up. How had she gotten up the wall so fast?
"Are you alright?" Her voice was straining from the effort.
I only nodded at my amazement. In my head, I could only think of how cool she looked with her face red and eyes closed, concentrating on keeping our weights balanced. And in the midst of my wonder, I felt something in my throat, something weird. I tried to hold it in, but then it just came out. A booming laughter that echoed through the entire pass way.
Rukia popped an eye open, and stared at my grinning face, with tears streaking down my cheeks. She was just looking at me quizzically, most likely thinking what sort of idiot would laugh in this situation. But soon, she joined in with my laughter.
"You caught me," I choked.
She didn't respond but only gasped as the wall crumbled a bit. She slipped and then we both were both falling. I tried to reach out and grab onto Rukia, maybe hoping to reassure her, or maybe just to reassure just me.
When we landed on the floor, it was a much lighter landing than I thought it would be. But only because when I looked under me, I saw Renji had caught Rukia, and apparently I landed on them both. I apologized sheepishly and they groaned that they forgave me.
"You really have a hard hip Ichigo," Renji commented as Rukia climbed off of him.
Rukia, on the other hand, was rubbing her lower back, the place that my elbows had hit her. I felt my face flush with guilt and I repeated my apologies. She continued to rub, but didn't make any indication that she was going to accept my meek request for forgiveness, she only leaned back and started to laugh. I just looked at her and realized that this was her way of showing me that she didn't mind. And so I started laughing along with her, and it didn't take long for Renji to join in as well.
It was a miracle that none of us had anything more than just a small cut or bruise. Since we were lacking broken bones, Rukia deemed it that we could continue to play. That is till the time tower struck, telling that it was six.
"I'm so happy that you guys saved me like that," I admitted to them as we made our way back to the pear tree.
"Of course we'd save you," Renji said, "I mean we're friends, and friends save each other when we need saving."
Rukia nodded in agreement. "Yup, but it was so funny," she said, "You were so scared you were crying!"
When she doubled over in laughter, I felt heat rush to my ears and my cheeks. "I-I wasn't crying," I tried to defend myself, "I-I w-was just…"
"Uh huh," Rukia nodded in disbelief.
"It's okay to be scared," Renji tried to comfort me, "I mean, Rukia is afraid of The Fall. You know, when the leaves of the trees all turn yellow and red, then fall to the ground. It rains then too, a lot."
'The Fall' as they called it sounded weird to my five year old ears; I didn't understand it at first. But then I realized that that was what they called autumn. At that time, I hadn't known what was so scary about a season in the year. To me, it seemed ridiculous that someone, especially Rukia since she seemed to be fearless, would be scared of a specific time in the year.
When we reached the roots of the pear tree, I told them both that I would be back the next day at the same time as that day. They nodded and we went separate ways. I reached home and opened the back door where my mom was sitting at the table with a glass of cold ice tea. She smiled and pushed a glass towards me.
"You look worn," she said, "Did you have an awesome adventure?"
Thinking back on the events of the day, to tell her that I had an awesome adventure didn't seem like it was the right words. So I just shook my head and chose my own description of what it was that happened, "I think I might have died!"
It must have been funny because she laughed and patted my head affectionately.
"Where are we going?" I asked Renji and Rukia as they both dragged me in a different direction than the pass way. This time, it seemed like we were heading even deeper into the city streets. It became even more crowded than by the pass way really fast. Soon, instead of dodging people walking, it was more like we were squeezing into any opening there was possible.
"To the Time Tower," Rukia responded as though it were the most obvious thing.
"T-the Time Tower?" Ichigo asked, unsure. "Are we even aloud there?"
Renji and Rukia didn't answer. They only continued to drag me along the city streets, pushing and shoving through bodies in order to make it through. The people around us seemed to either shoot us glares or would completely ignore us, not that Rukia and Renji seemed to notice at all. Weaving her way in and out of the crowd was like second nature to her. She knew exactly which people to shove and which people to squeeze between so that we didn't get too caught up in the mess of things.
Stumbling out of a huge mass, the Time Tower looked so much larger than I could have imagined it to be. The Time Tower on Karakura wasn't nearly as tall, nor intricately built. The hard stone slabs that built its walls were smooth, only disturbed by crevices and markings that were purposefully carved into the sides. The markings wound up to the top, circling and blooming till they reached the actual clock that hung like a false moon. The large hand and the small hand were just sitting there. The black metal claws that held onto the two ceramic bells were barely visible from their position.
"What do we do now?" I asked, still looking up.
"We go inside," Renji said bluntly.
I turned my head to him, looking at him like he was crazy. "And how are we supposed to do that?"
"We follow Rukia."
As he said that, I realized that Rukia was no longer holding onto my wrist. In fact, she was nowhere near me. I frantically searched around myself, wondering exactly how I couldn't have seen her leave.
"Over here!"
Rukia was standing at one of the corners of the Time Tower, her head peaking out. She laughed and her head disappeared again. Renji took that as a cue to follow her. I only followed behind after him, still a little skeptical. Rukia was looking straight ahead, her body facing the wall. Bending down, she used her hands to feel around the markings, her stubby and chubby little four-year-old fingers traced between the carvings. Finally, she placed her whole palm against the wall and pushed. To my amazement, the portion of granite within the perimeter she had traced moved in. It slid easily and without any real effort or noise, as though it had been done a thousand times.
"How…" I was too shocked to even finish my question. That is, I didn't really even know what to ask.
"Buta-sama told us," Rukia began as she pushed the portion of wall further into the Time Tower, "that ten years ago, there was an earthquake here in Seireitei. She said that almost all of the old buildings fell, except for the Time Tower."
"And when Buta-sama told us that," Renji bent down and gestured for me to follow him in, "Rukia said that she couldn't believe that the Time Tower was the only old building that didn't fall. And I told her that I didn't believe it either. So we came here to look and find anything that said that this thing even went through that earthquake."
"And we found this hole!" Rukia shouted and I heard the echo even from outside. "Aren't you coming in Ichigo?"
I shook my head, looking around for anyone that could possibly see us. No one was here. So I tried to swallow my nervousness and headed in with them. When I got in, I realized that I had a lot more room that I thought I would. Surrounded by clockwork and copper gears, I could stand up and even reach my arms over my head. It was warm inside the clock tower, more so than outside. The air was heavy with condensation and steam.
"Follow me," Rukia commanded.
She turned on her heal and began walking forwards through a maze of machinery. She took steps up some, and down a few more till we reached a latter. The latter was rustic and looked a bit sooty but Rukia started climbing it anyways. I couldn't help but focus on her bare feet as she took each step, unable to imagine the feeling of having dirty soles.
It seemed as though we were climbing forever. It was tiring; every single clockwork looked the same as the last one we had passed. Each lever and pulley looked like we had just climbed by it. My arms were getting tired and arms sweating. I wasn't sure how long we had been climbing, but the low resonating sounds of the three o' clock bell were still echoing in my ears.
"Here we are!" Rukia shouted. We had reached a grid platform. She pulled herself onto it before helping Renji and then me up. Her hands were just as sweaty as my own. She just didn't outwardly show her fatigue.
"What do we do here?" I asked her.
She smiled at me. "We're going to play King of Tricks!"
Forcefully pulling me to my feet, she dragged both Renji and me further into the platform. This area that she took us to was much more spacious than I would have imagined. There were railings everywhere but the gears and levers weren't as close. You could move around freely and run around freely if you wanted to.
And it was much brighter due to the fact that I had just realized we were right with the actual clock. The natural sunlight from outside was shining in through the glass work, making the dingy insides turn out to look much more golden.
"Have you ever played King of Tricks?" Rukia asked me.
I shook my head, sheepishly rubbing the back of my neck. "I-I've never heard of that g-game…"
"Then we'll teach you!" Renji grinned widely. "I'll be King first!"
Rukia grabbed my hand and took me to sit by the glass, we faced Renji. He stood there thinking, pacing along the gridded floor. Then, turning at us, he pointed a finger in our direction.
"I am the King of Tricks, and you are my descendants," He said out loud. "Stand before me and show me what you can do!"
Rukia still held onto my hand as she whispered in my ear. "Now we stand up and close our eyes."
I did as she said, allowing my lids to shut.
I could still hear Renji as he paced. "Now Ichigo, I'm going to tell you to do something, and you have to try and do it better than Rukia."
"How will I know that?" I asked him, eyes still closed.
"I'll tell you." I could imagine a grin. "Stand on one leg."
I did.
"Hop on that leg."
I did that too. I could feel that Rukia was not hopping in time with me.
"Now spin-hop on one leg."
That was when I was unsure of what to do. I jumped, and did my best to spin. But landing was strange. My foot didn't land quite right and I lost my balance. I went tumbling down and fell on my butt.
"Rukia," Renji called, "you are now King!"
I opened my eyes. Rukia and Renji exchanged a look before switching spots. Renji this time stood next to me and Rukia stood in front. Renji pulled me up on my feet and helped to pat me off. "Do you know how to play now?"
I smiled at him. "Yeah, I think I do."
Rukia cleared her throat and the two of us turned out attention back to her. She had both hand at her sides, trying to look much taller than she actually was. Her head held high and chin tilted up, she spoke the hymn, "I am the King of Tricks, and you are my descendants. Stand before me and show me what you can do!"
"So Ichigo," my mom stood by the counter, both Yuzu and Karin in her arms. "Tell me what you are planning on doing today."
"I'm going out!" I told her.
My mother had rolled her eyes and smiled at me. She rocked the twins in her arms and hushed them as they made a sound that sounded like they were about to cry. "Why did I have to ask? Well, eat your breakfast and you can go out and play again. Okay? But be home early. We need to pack. We're leaving tomorrow."
I looked up. "We're leaving tomorrow? So soon?"
"So soon?" My mom laughed, waking Karin. "Sorry baby," she cooed. "Yes, so soon. We've been here for almost a week Ichigo, have you been having too much fun that you've forgotten?"
I looked down at my plate and found my half eaten egg. Yes, I had been having so much fun. The past two days I had spent playing hide and seek and The King of Tricks in the time tower. For first time, I didn't really care if I was supposed to be in there or not. I was just having a good time with Renji and Rukia.
But the news would have explained my slight absent mindedness when playing along with Rukia and Renji later that day. We were playing back at the pass way. I was it and looking for Renji and Rukia seemed to prove to be harder than I had thought. Rukia had asked me if I was alright when she was able to find and catch me so easily. I had told her about me leaving the next day and she seemed to take it much nicer than last year. With a raise of a thumb, she gave me a wicked grin.
"Then we'll just have to play as much as we can today!" She had said so enthusiastically, I was wondering if she was actually happy for me to leave. But I didn't have time to ask her for she bolted off in that instant to go and hide.
So I walked around, looking for both of them. I walked around most of the rubble and looked under fallen rocks and pieces of ceiling. The sound of my shoes against the pebbled ground sounded too loud for me. I wouldn't have been surprised if they both had moved because they knew I was coming near them.
But then I heard a scratching sound and grunt. I stopped. Thinking, I figured out where I thought I heard the noise coming from a far corner. I smirked. Then as quietly as I could, I crept over in that direction. Seeing a shadow hidden behind a large rock like thing, I gently put my hand down on the floor and crawled. Then, with careful ease I jumped out shouting, "I found you!"
But sitting there was neither Renji nor Rukia. There sitting against the large rock were a couple of older looking boys around the age of ten or so. It was hard to tell through their hooded jackets and shaded faces. They sat there, holding things in their hands that I couldn't quite see. But they looked less than pleased as one of them looked to the other who stood up. I could see that he had some sort of cut on his lip.
"Found us kid?" The boy with the cut asked, his eyes looking down at me with scorn. The other stood up next to him, lips turned down in a frown. The boy with a cut on lip scoffed. "What you doing? Playing hide and seek?"
I couldn't move. My body wouldn't move.
"What kid?" the other boy laughed. It sounded like a hyena's laugh. "You found us and now what? You wanna play with us now?"
The boy with the cut blew smoke from his nose. I had seen my father do something similar before. But when my father had done it, it was something interesting and kind of cool. But when this boy did it, it scared me. His lips curled into a spine trembling smile.
"Yeah kid," the boy with the cut lip slurred. "You wanna play our games? I like this one called punching bag."
"And you know what's my favorite part of that game kid?" the hyena laughing boy leaned down to my level. His breath smelled of tobacco and gin. I held my breath, hoping my legs would move on their own. But I stood stapled in place. He laughed his hyena laugh. "I like it when little brats like you are the punching bags."
Then with a raise of his fist, he went and slammed it down. My eyes shut, and I waited for the impact. But I never felt it. I heard a thud and thought that it was my head hitting the rocky ground, but I felt no pain. Perhaps I had just died? But when I opened my eyes, there was the hyena laughing boy on the floor, looking less than please. And Rukia was at his feet, her arms gripping around his ankles.
"What the hell?" The boy with the cut lip exclaimed. His fist balled into fist and he punched Rukia in the side.
"Run Ichigo!" Rukia shouted.
"Off of me you little brat!" the hyena laughing boy shouted at Rukia and with his foot, shoved her in the stomach. She fell back and I heard as her hip harshly hit the floor. The boy with the cut lip then came up and raised his fist, about ready to deal a punch right into Rukia's face. Her eyes widened and all I was doing was watching. I kept telling my feet to move, to do something, anything. But they wouldn't budge. I could only control my eyes and I told myself that I would close them when the boy with the cut lip brought his fist down.
But just before he could, Renji had come up and kicked him in the back of the leg. I wasn't sure how hard he had kicked the older boy, but it was hard enough that he momentarily fell to the ground. Renji didn't waste a second of time before he bolted, picking Rukia up in the process.
"C'mon Ichigo!" Renji shouted at me. Grabbing my hand, he pulled me and my unmoving legs and we ran.
We continued to run. I wasn't sure how long we ran but we ran all the way back to the roots of the pear tree. I wasn't too sure of exactly how I hard I ran, or if I was just being dragged by Renji who had to support the weight of both a now crippled Rukia and a shock frozen me. But while we ran, the only thing conscious in my mind was the guilt I was feeling. Rukia had put herself on the line for my sake. Then when she needed me, all I could do was stand there and watch. I don't think ever in my five years of being alive had I ever felt so helpless. I had never felt like my name was such a lie.
So when we stopped, my breath was heaving and legs were feeling shaky and weak. Tears streamed down my face and I couldn't hold in a sob. Never had I come across a situation like that before. And I was feeling so pathetic.
"That…" Renji let go of my hand and bent over in exhaustion, "That was… close…" He heaved. Carefully setting Rukia down, he turned to me. "Are you okay Ichigo? Oh my god…"
I could hardly see him through the tears in my eyes; he was just a blurred vision.
"Oh Ichigo," Renji tried to somehow comfort me but was hesitant to even pat me on the back. "What's wrong?"
I only cried louder. But this time, I brought my hands to my face, trying to cover my eyes. I didn't want them to see me cry.
"Ichigo," Rukia said my name.
I continued to cry.
"Ichigo," she said again.
I cried louder.
"Ichigo," She tried one more time.
And I opened my mouth wider, hoping to let out a strained sob. But Then I stopped crying, suddenly occupied with a pain in my shoulder.
"There, I'll give you something to really cry about!" Rukia looked at me sternly. Then reaching into the pockets of her jeans, she pulled out a handkerchief that was light pink with the picture of a bunny in the corner. "Here, now wipe your eyes."
I looked at the kerchief for a while before hesitantly taking it from her.
She smiled at me then and I noticed the growing bruise on her biceps. I could only imagine how her stomach was holding up. But if she felt any pain at that moment, she didn't let on. When I was done drying my eyes, I handed the handkerchief back to her, only to have her not accept it back.
"You keep it for now," she told me. Then she gave me a wide grin. "I'm not saying that it is yours though. I still want it back. But right now, you need it, so I'll let you have it for now." Shakily, she stood up. "You're leaving tomorrow you said. So keep it, and give it back to me next year right?"
I stared at her for a moment, processing what she had said. Then I quickly stood up to be at around the same height as her. "Why do you want me to keep it till then?" I held it my hand and examined it like some sort of plague. "It's so girly."
"Then you'll have to come back and give it to me." She winked at me. Then putting a hand over her heart, she made and 'X'. "Promise?"
I don't think I could have smiled any wider than that. I made an 'X' over my heart and put the handkerchief into my short's pocket. "Promise," I repeated.
"Rukia," Renji put a hand on her shoulder and she turned to face him. He bent down. "C'mon, we've got to get back before Buta-sama sees we're gone."
Rukia huffed. "Fine, but I can walk just- Itai!" She had fallen in trying to prove Renji wrong. She had taken a step and immediately fell onto her knees.
Renji rolled his eyes and picked Rukia up himself. Being two years older, he looked so much larger than her four-year-old body. He gave me a nod and smiled.
"You better give that handkerchief, or else I'll call you a thief!" he told me. And from his back, Rukia stuck her tongue out at me.
I laughed, a tear escaping. Wiping it away I smiled back at them. "Yeah, don't worry, I'll give it back. Promise."
Then with a wave and a salute from Renji, he and Rukia walked off in the direction they always left at. I watched as they disappeared between the houses before heading back to my own home. When I finally reached my back door, I took a deep breath and stepped into the house.
"Ichigo!" My mom said in surprise and gave me the tiger stare, "Why are you home so late. Didn't I tell you to get home earlier today?"
I sniffed and gave her an apologetic smile.
"Ichigo," when noticing my sniffle, she was immediately at my side. She had placed a hand on my back and the other on the shoulder that Rukia had punched. I did my best not to wince. "Are you alright?"
Then I felt it, that weird bubbling in my throat that just rose up. And soon enough, I was bent over in laughter. I couldn't help it, I didn't know why I felt like laughing so much. Shock perhaps?
"Mom?" I had managed to call her through my laughing fit. And she just looked at me a little worried. "Can I have martial arts classes?"
"Martial arts?" My father then decided to suddenly appear by the stares, standing in one of the oddest poses I had ever seen him pose in. His arms were akimbo and one leg held itself in air. Then in an overly dramatic fashion, he clasped his hands together. "My boy is finally trying to become a man!"
"Isshin!" my mother directed her tiger stare at him, which caused him to immediately stand straight. Turning back to me, she placed her hand back onto my beaten shoulder. "Now why would you want to do martial arts Ichigo?"
"Because," I grinned widely. The answer was easy for me. I knew it, because I don't think I had ever felt so passionate about a decision before. "If I'm going to protect those important to me, I need to know how to when they're in trouble!"
To that, my mother smiled. Patting my head lovingly, she stood back up. "Once we get back to Karakura shores I'll be sure to talk to Tatsuki's father to take you in as soon as he can."
My face lit up at that moment. "Thank you mom," I said, throwing my arms around her legs. She laughed and patted my head again. I couldn't wait till I was back in Karakura, so that I could train, so that when I came back to Seireitei, I would definitely be the one to protect Rukia.
I could remember that my last thought before boarding that boat to go home, was one that I made as a promise every year following.
Well you're a long walk from the street
And I'm dying in this summer heat
I hope like hell you're waiting
End Chapter 2
There, done! Made it before Monday ;P
Well anyways, so I can't remember if I've already mentioned it before but they wear modern clothes. The setting may be based on a sort of 1920s style, but the clothing isn't. The clothes are kind of like ours… like normal people wear. Casual. Shirts, hoodies, jeans, dresses, all are more late 90s early 2000 kind of styling. (still mean the casual kind)
And no, the boys are not actually ten and smoking and drinking. Sorry if that seemed confusing. But I sort of based Ichigo's perception on sort of my perception of people when I was that young. When I was about four to eight years old, I thought that anyone over the age of twenty-five was a teenager and anyone younger was like… a preteen or something. And so in Ichigo's mind, I had him process their age as being around ten or so, to emphasize how young and innocent he had been then.
Remember: Ichigo is now five, Renji is six, and Rukia is four ;) This chapter really took some time but I'm happy with how it turned out over all...
The song lyrics were from The Beach by All Time Low
Please review if you can and I'll update as soon as possible!