Thank you for those who have supported this project so far! Gosh, with Kubo falling with pneumonia, I just had to get this up for whatever guilty reasons I had.
More explanations! So I think it has to be made aware of the idea that this story is narrated by present Ichigo. So all of this is present Ichigo looking back on his childhood and such. Which is why the vocabulary, perspective, and observations seem more mature than they would coming from a normal ten year old. How old Ichigo is in present time… well, I won't tell you just yet. But this is the third to last chapter and I'm still hoping to get this whole "Fall from Innocence" thing down. Though I'm actually hoping to give it more of a "Rise from Innocence" rather than a "Fall" because falling sounds much more tragic. Ironic how we refer to something like Love as falling, really it just is very tragic.
But again, pay attention to the lyrics, they are getting (I think) more and more important as far as foreshadowing and insight to characters go! Though now that most of the main explaining about back history and culture are explained, I think that you can now enjoy the story a little more since it is picking up pace here ^^
Chapter 4
Your voice, was the soundtrack of my summer
Do you know you're unlike any other?
You'll always be my thunder
On the summer of my tenth birthday, my parents had actually asked me if I wanted to do something different for my birthday. They asked me if I wanted to spend it at home on Karakura instead and play with my friends from school. I promptly refused them.
"Why can't we go to Seireitei like we always do?" I asked them just a couple of days before we usually left.
My mother had given me a very skeptical look. Her eyes were turning lucid like they always did when she was thinking of a way to lie to me. Tilting my head to the side, I gave her wide eyes in hopes of that persuading her. She in turn looked slightly away.
"Would that make you happy Ichigo?" She asked me softly.
"Yes," I responded just as meek.
I remember her as she sighed and stood to her feet. Walking over to my father, her arms swayed like willow branches and her finger snapped against the belt on her dress. She bent over to whisper in my father's ear. I recall his serious face; much more serious than he usually ever was. When my mother stood straight again, his face shifted into something like sadness. But I couldn't be too sure, it was gone in a blink of my eye.
"Alright son," he started, "We'll go again this year." Then he turned to face my mother just as my lips were turning up into a smile. "Masaki, I'll go and talk to Kisuke about getting us a boat by the end of this week. Why don't you go and pack the children's things?"
"Kisuke?" My mother questioned. "Why would you not ask one of the fishermen?"
As curious as I was to listen to my father's response, at that moment, nothing interested me more than running to my room and writing a letter to Rukia and Renji. We had been writing back and forth all year. Just as I was about to start my second trimester after summer holidays, I received my first letter from Seireitei. At first, I thought that it was a letter for my father and the post man was just trying joke around with me. Before the letter, the post man used to yell out my name, "Kurosaki-san!" in order to catch my attention. Then he would usually smile, laugh, then tell me that he would have a letter from Seireitei for my father. Because the postal building was just on my way to and from the elementary school, this had become a reaccuring pattern almost once a month. But this time it was not "Kurosaki-san" like he always did but a "Kurosaki-kun."
"It is odd," he said to me, "I have a letter specifically for you."
The contents of the letter weren't particurally very important, just bad handwriting of them being excited to write their first letter with a horrible drawing of something in the bottom right corner. But the chicken scratch and terrible sketches and almost uncomprehesible grammar were just as good as any god's secret. I read and kept each one like my mother kept her gold ring.
But I always knew the difference between the parts Renji wrote, and the parts that Rukia wrote. It wasn't just that Renji would always write first, though he always did. It also wasn't that his grammar and penmanship was much neater. What always let me know that Rukia was writing was because in Rukia's portion, it was always written in code.
The first lette I had recieved from Seireitei, I had looked at it and found that it made no sense at all. I knew that Rukia couldn't read, nor could she possibly write, but Renji seemed like he could. So looking at the jumble of sprawled words just seemed to be carelessly placed on the page, I couldn't help but cock my head thinking it was all some sort of joke. But slowly, as I stared at it closer and closer over the course of a week, I realized that everything had been written backwards.
As annoying as it could be that she did that, I never said anything about it. In fact, after getting a few of her letters over the course of many months, by the end of the third trimester I was actually really good at solving word puzzles.
But in the break between the new year and end of my fifth year, I found that Rukia's birthday was in the early stage of January and that in Seireitei, they had had their largest snow fall in history. When I asked her to describe it to me, she wrote in her usual codes; between each syllabol pf her words were 'shi' or 'ro' between them.
You could not see the streets at all! The pear tree, without its leaves, looked as though it were holding a large white could. The snow reached up to my neck in some parts of the city, especially near the time tower. Think of the ocean, and that it is soft, cold, and sweet feeling. You should see it Ichi-kun... you'd love it.
Her words always confused me, the ocean white and sweet feeling? Could sweet be a feeling? But it was Rukia, and in the years I had known her, she always had this other way of seeing things, an almost innocent way. At the time though, I never knew how much life seemed to dislike this kind of innocence.
Walking off of the dock felt so different. This time, we did not take the usual fishing boat to Hokutan, nor did we embark on the usual passanger ship that brings those to Seireitei ports. Instead, we had taken a much longer route going in and around the outer Seishin islands. Unlike our islands, they were much hillier and humid as apposed to the relatively flat, dry heat of Karakura. But there was no large dinner or party or meeting of the captain on this boat. Though once we docked, it didn't really seem to matter.
All that mattered was that we were finally at port and that I needed to find Rukia and Renji as soon as I could. I was already two days late due to such round about sailing. So as once I was able to carry our trunk into the main living room, I made a direct headway to the door.
"Ichi-nii!" Karin pouted and grabbed onto my sleeve. The twins were already five and had eyes that were already filling with curiosity. But I never took them with me to my adventures with Rukia and Renji. Actually, as far as my family were concerned, they had never heard of such names as "Renji" or "Rukia".
"What is it Karin?" I asked trying to move out of her grip.
"Where are you going?" She asked me with wide eyes. They were that natural black, like my father's. Yuzu looked much too much like my mother.
"Out..." I told her carefully.
She didn't let go of my arm. "Can I come with you?"
In the three or so years that the twins could walk and talk, never had they asked where I went during our days in Seireitei. I was taken aback and hesitant. There was a part of me that wanted to bring her along, flaunt to her how cool her big brother was knowing such cool people. Karin would have especially liked Rukia, oh how she woukd have loved Rukia. But then there was that part of me who wanted to keep what I did a secret. I realize what a mistake it was to take her for granted.
"Karin," my mother called out to my sister, "What are you up to?"
"Ichi-nii is going out!" she pointed a finger at me. "Karin wants to go too!"
"Ichigo wants to go out..." my mother looked at me as she repeated Karin's words. "Karin, why don't you come and stay by mommy." Then looking at me, she gave me a wary smile along with her tiger stare. "And you too Ichigo, I don't want you two to be wandering the streets alone."
My mouth dropped.
"M-mom!" I stuttered. "W-why c-can't I go out?"
Her eyes widened in shock. She and I had not expected that I would question her decission no matter how weak the attempt was. There was a moment of pause where even Karin looked uncomfortable. She fidgeted under my mother's indirect gaze and eventually let go of her hold on my sleeve.
"Ichigo," my mother said slowly and firmly, "I do not want either of you, or Yuzu, to go anywhere we cannot see you. This includes going out to play on your own."
She gave me another one of her tiger stares, this time without the smile. That was when I knew that her reasons were absolute and that she would not allow me anywhere out of her sight. Taking in a deep breath, she bent down and put a hand on my shoulder, grabbing Karin's hand in the process.
"I know that you might not feel that its not fair," she started slowly, "But right now, Seireitei is not a place I want you roaming on your own. I know that you've been doing this for a long time, but many things can change in a year. So please Ichigo." She paused and made sure I was staring her straight in the eyes. "I need you to stay by Mommy's side okay?"
All I could do was glance at the door, look back as she pleaded one last time, and nodded my head reluctantly. When I did, her face seemed to relax and her eyes fluttered. She leaned in and gave me a hug, like one she would give Karin or Yuzu when they fell and cried. But I wasn't crying, just frowning. Though she never saw - because I rid myself of it when she pulled away - and I'm glad that she never saw my frowning face.
The next few days were speant, just as she said, by her side. We never left the house without either of my parents a step behind us. Every time that my father would go out on his trips to the Seireitei main city hospital, my mother would hold all of our hands in the waiting room till he came back.
If we weren't at the hospital, then we were at the house. She'd just have us sitting in the living room or in the kitchen playing with whatever games we had lying about.
"Mommy, Ichigo is sighing again." Yuzu said. She had insisted that the two of us play bakgamon together on the porch.
Setting Karin down on the ground, my mother pushed her towards the two of us. "Karin, go and play with your sister." Then coming over, she waved over at me. "Why are you sighing honey," My mother asked me.
I didn't answer, only shrugged my shoulders.
Sighing herself, my mother got down onto her knees. Posissioning herself so that she felt comfortable in front of me, she gave me a sympatheric stare.
"Ichigo," she said, "I have something for you." waving her hands in an indication that she wanted me to follow her, she pushed herself up and headed up the stairs.
I followed behind her dutifully, thinking of how different the wave of a hand was different than the direct hand hold that Rukia would do. aleading me up the stairs she went into her and my father's room. The seafoam blue was so nostalgic to the Karakura Island that I almost felt like I was back in that dry heat.
"Ichigo, come here," my mother said as she sat on her bed. "I want to give you something."
Slowly, I walked over to her. She smiled and put her hands under my arms and picked me up to place me just beside her on the bed. Reaching over to the bureau she opened one of the drawers and pulled out a little velvet bag.
It was a bright red bag with a picture of gold rays shooting out in brilliant shining threads. There were little specks of blue glimmers that surrounded the gold threads and all lead to the red drawstrings at the top. Gently pulling the velvet open, my mother held the bag in front of me.
"Your father wanted me to give this to you on your eightteenth birthday," she said handing the open bag to me, "but we had a long discussion, and we've decided to give it to you eight years early."
"Why?" I asked her curiously.
She didn't answer immediately. "Because I think you need it sooner than we thought. Go ahead, open it."
Looking at the red drawstrings, he sighed and pulled them open. Tipping the velvet bag so that its contents fell into my tiny palm – which I had insisted at the time were large. Out slid a charm on a leather thong. A two ring sun. The outer and larger ring a bronzy-gold and the center was silvery-white. It was the symbol of my mother's family, The Furui. They were practically one of the oldest families in our little island of Karakura stretching back at least twenty generations. It didn't make my mother island royalty or anything, just very well known. My mother smiled at it and gently took it from my hands.
"This has been in my family for years Ichigo," She looked at it, musing to herself. "It's been used for years in my family as protection. I'm not sure how well it works since that was all just superstition but," She paused and looked at me with that same smile on her face. Reaching over she carefully pulled it over my head and let it hand loosely around my neck. "But I think that if anything it'll put me at ease if you had it."
I looked down at the charm as it swung along my chest. It looked so strange, like it didn't fit on me.
"So what does it mean?" I asked my mom unconsciously.
She didn't answer right away, most likely shocked by me asking in the first place.
"It means that you'll be protected from whatever you are most afraid of. It will supposedly keep you safe," She told me. "That was what my father had told me more or less. Just keep it with you, and then I'll feel a little better."
I nodded my head and just held the charm up to my face, scrutinizing it. "Does this mean I can go outside now?"
My mom's mouth opened and then closed as she bit her bottom lip.
"Your father wouldn't approve but…" She lowered her head. "But I suppose I can't keep you locked up here in this house all summer now can I? Just be careful alright Ichigo?"
She didn't need to say more. I was already jumping on my feet and running down the stairs. I turned around the corner and into the living room where I forcefully unlocked the door. I shouted one last time to my mother that I was leaving and said one simple goodbye to Karin and Yuzu. I didn't wait for a response and just left, closing the door hastily behind me.
I ran and ran and ran as fast as I could towards the pear tree. Occasionally I'd stumble on my own feet or trip over some rock, but I'd always clumsily regain my footing and kept running. By the time I got the tree I had already gained a couple of scrapes on my knee. I remember thinking that the charm my mother had given me must have been a hoax of some sort because surely I couldn't be as klutzy as I just was. But I shrugged off the feeling and got closer to the tree only to find that it was barren. Neither Rukia nor Renji were anywhere to be seen.
I ran around the tree, climbed it, and raised my head above the canopy. I couldn't see them and my heart was racing. I panicked. Where on earth could they be?
Climbing back down, the Time Tower's low bell rang four chimes. I waited till it rang five and that was when I realized that they weren't coming. I knew that they were not coming. But it wasn't until I could see that it was half past the six that my body moved on its own. I walked onto the main street where there were people just vicariously walking around in their business suits and briefcases, heading home after a long day's work. I shoved passed business men, wondering women, and tramping children. I ignored the men that would yell and curse at me, and I didn't stop for the women who would give me a concerned look and asked me where my parents were. Picking up my pace, I looked around myself only to land my eyes on the postal office.
Walking in, it was much cooler inside than out. The humidity seemed to not have touched to the insides of the postal office. The post man working in the back of the marble counter was leaning lazily on her hands, not seeming to notice me at all. My chin was able to touch the edge and I knocked it twice to catch his attention.
The post man must have been half asleep since he seemed startled to see me there, or maybe he was startled to see a ten year old boy waiting for his services.
"Excuse me sir," I started politely.
"Ah?" The man sat up straighter, he looked sleepy and somewhat nervous to see me. He was on the shorter side of heights, and looked relatively young – perhaps only two or three years older than me. "Can I help you Gesuto-san?"
"Did a girl with black hair and dark blue-ish purple eyes come here recently?" I asked him.
I wasn't sure why I had asked him specifically. In this big of a city, they were sure to have multiple post men, unlike Karakura who only had one or two at most, but I supposed it was a better shot than any.
"You mean Rukia-chan? Are you a friend of Rukia-chan's?" So he did know Rukia.
I nodded my head.
"Oh, so you are her friend?" He leaned back smiled at me. "Well that's good, how may I help you?"
I lifted my arms to rest on the counter, feeling a little more at ease here.
"I'm looking for seventy-eighth district. Could you point me to the way?"
When I requested that, the boys face changed to something dark. "Where are your parents Gesuto-san?" This time, "Gesuto" did not sound very hospitable.
"They're at home…" I said slowly and carefully, not liking the look on the guy's face. Had he thought that I was a run away? If he knew Rukia, shouldn't he have known that she lived in the seventy-eighth district?
"You should probably go home Gesuto-san."
"But I need to find Rukia!" I told him.
"You should go home Gesuto-san." He repeated softer this time, his eyes lowered to the ground. "It isn't safe for you to go to the seventy-eighth district."
"But I need to-,"
"I'll tell her you came by," He lifted up his face and smiled this time, only it seemed forced, maybe a little sad too. "Now head home Gesuto-san."
"Huh?"
The sixth low bell rang through the city like a warning call.
"Go back home now, Seireitei streets are no place for anyone at night." He looked away and mumbled, "Not anymore at least."
I gave him a skeptical look but backed out slowly of the postal office.
"You promise to tell her I was looking for her?"
"I promise."
"Tell her at the pear tree at noon tomorrow."
"I will."
"Don't forget."
"I won't. Now go."
And with much reluctance and a wary trust in the young postal man… or boy… I left and ran through the streets again, this time with disappointment, back my home. I felt disheartened and utterly disappointed. Every summer, I felt refreshed, new, and leaving with a different perspective on the world. At that time, I hadn't realized it yet, but Rukia had been changing me in ways that it took me years to really comprehend. But with me leaving the next day, I was upset. I was running with tears in my eyes.
"Ichigo," my mother shouted. I was muddy and wet by the time I reached home. It had started raining half way back. The streets were soaking as the unusually warm drops began to hit the pavement. It had done well to hide my tears, but it didn't do well to hide the scrapes on my knees.
"What happened?" She leaned in closer to me and started wiping me with a towel. My chest hurt, it hurt so badly. I remember thinking that it seemed like I was going to cry again in front of my mother. I wouldn't do that to her, so I kept in my tears.
"What happened to Onii-chan?" Yuzu had come running up to me, holding up her arms in some sort of greeting.
"Nothing Yuzu," My mother said,, "Go back and play with Karin."
I gave my mother a grateful nod as I watched Yuzu huff before walking back other into the living room to play. Then quickly, she took me into a warm embrace and that was when she let me know I could start crying. They were silent, and I didn't wail like I usual did, but the tears just came out.
"Don't worry honey," My mother cooed, "Their only scrapes. They'll heal."
I'd never be able to tell her that it was over not seeing Rukia or Renji, so I'd just let her think that the scrapes hurt much more than the pain that was suffocating my chest.
The next day, I woke up around the time the seventh high bell rang. I could already smell breakfast from my room and so I rushed down stairs, my feet clumsily slid on the steps.
"Whoa Ichigo," My dad laughed, "Don't hurt yourself."
Throughout the trip, my father had treated this as though it were like any other summer. It was like he ignored the oddness of the boat we had taken, or the dullness of my having to stay by my mother's side all the time. It was as though he tried too hard to turn a blind eye to the strangeness of our situation. It made me mad, though I suppose I didn't understand why he did it and that was what made my upset.
"Ichigo," My mother said softly, "Go sit down and I'll have your breakfast in just a moment."
I nodded my head and took my seat quietly at the table. I looked outside and it looked like the rain hadn't stopped. In Karakura, long rains were considered bad omens. But I guess that was only because in Karakura, if it rained, it rained for no longer than maybe an hour and then it was gone. Here, I wasn't sure what two day long rains meant, but I didn't like the feeling it gave me.
Suddenly, a spring of light shot through the house followed shortly by a loud, crashing BOOM!
"Would you listen to that thunder," my mother hissed. "I don't know what to make of it."
I grimaced. If it was raining this hard, would Rukia come out? What if the post boy hadn't told her about me? I shook my head, it was best not the think of those things.
"Ichigo, don't be eating your food so sloppily," my mother reprimanded.
I looked down at my half eaten bowl and realized I hadn't really been putting it into my mouth. I was just shoveling it in so that it was to fall out again. My mind wasn't working and to be honest, I can't truly remember what had been going through my mind at that time. But the slow cooked egg just sitting on top of my rice didn't look quite as appetizing as it did the days before. Sighing, I shoved the rest of my breakfast into my mouth and swallowed hard.
"Ichigo!"
"Sorry," I apologized weakly.
My parents eye each other, and my father put a hand on his chin. Like his obsessive habit of rubbing the base of his neck when he was nervous – something that I had unfortunately inherited – touching his chin was also a sign of his uncertainty when he thought.
Yuzu and Karin never really joined us this early for breakfast. The twins had always been late and heavy sleepers. But with my early morning practices for martial arts, I had gotten used to disciplining myself into waking up early. Though Karin had been showing a growing interest in Karakura football, she still only had to wake up at nine at the earliest to watch the morning matches the older girls would play.
"Ichigo." My dad placed a hand on my shoulder and rubbed them. "Is there something desperately on your mind?"
"No," I lied.
"I'm sorry you couldn't spend as much time out side as you had hoped," He told me, "But Seireitei right now… it isn't good for you to be out alone right now."
My mother had obviously not told him about letting me out the day before, and I was grateful. But my mother was obviously very skittish. She shifted on her feet and nervously set two bowls down at the table.
"Now Isshin," my mother called. "Why don't you sit and eat."
"Right, right," My father rubbed the back of his neck and took a seat.
The rain outside continued to poor, and a thunderstorm would not be anything without its thunder. And though I wasn't too used to the lightning and loud noises coming from the clouds, It wasn't all too bad.
"It really is roaring outside," My father commented.
"Kaa-san!" Yuzu and Karin both said together as they came running down the stairs. Still in their nightgowns I could tell that the thunder had woken them up.
"What is it girls? Did the booming noises scare you?" She cooed in their ears.
They were nodding as they buried their faces deeper into my mother's chest. She smiled gently at them and smoothed out their hair. There was another flash and loud noise.
"Kia!" The two screamed and jumped into my mother's lap.
She laughed and held them in tighter, continuing to stroke their hair and rub their backs. She shushed them and rocked back and forth.
"Don't be afraid of the thunder girls," She told them. Though I could only think that they were hardly listening. "The thunder is not trying to be scary."
"Yes it is!" Karin protested.
Thunder roared.
"Kia!"
"You know the light that comes before the thunder girls?" my mother continued her rocking. "Those are all the lost dreams of people here on our world. And when the thunder strikes, it is calling back all of those dreams to the sky, so that people here have something to look up to."
My mother's little speech did little to calm their nerves, but I was listening to. And to me, it sounded so much like something Rukia would say to me. I smiled, and looked down at the sun charm. My mother continued her rocking, and the girl continued their crying, but in just little sniffles. She bent over, and kissed each of them on the top of their heads, and it seemed to quiet them.
When the eleventh bell rang out through the city, I twisted and turned. I would wait till the twelfth bell. That was what I had told myself. Because that was when my parents would be at their most aloof and I would be able to slip away without them noticing. So I continued to wait, and the rain continued to pour.
My parents were slowly bringing things back down in the chest and doing their checks and double checks, making sure we were bringing everything back. And every time they would bend down or turn their attention to either my sisters or the chest, they would be too busy to notice as I slowly inched my way closer to the back door.
Then there was a moment of silence as both of my parents were thinking, and the noon bell rang, loud and clear throughout the city. I seized the moment and opened the door, closing it just as lighting and thunder shot down just a few ways away. I didn't think, my feet just moved. Soon, I found that I was running across the yards and between houses, my shoes being soaked in mud and rain water. My head was overly damp and weighed down like a heavy weight on my head. Thunder and lightning crash like symbols. But the thunder was just calling back the lost dreams, I repeated my mother's words in my head.
When I got to the tree, I didn't see anyone. And my heart deflated. I felt stupid and too hopeful, to believe that the post boy would actually tell Rukia about me. I was stupid.
"Rukia!" I screamed out.
I was about ready to cry again when…
"Ichigo!"
I looked up and there she was. Her hair had grown out a lot since the last year, but her eyes were still those wide doe eyes, deep purple with that tint of blue. She was still tall, around my height, but her face, it was in an expression I had never seen on her. She looked scared, frightened, tears running down her cheeks. Her eyes were puffy and red and nose irritated and flaming. That was possibly the scariest thing to see, that someone I had always thought so strong, was now looking so defeated. It was a horrifying realization: that realization that people are human.
"I-I thought Hanataro was lying to me," she sniffed. "I-I thought you weren't actually here."
Then the lightning flashed and the thunder roared. Rukia jumped, yelped, and flew her body back into the trunk of the tree. She was crying… she was scared of the thunder.
"Rukia," I whispered gently.
And without thinking, I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her. If she were in any other state, she would have probably have hit me. But with her so desperately weak, she clung to me and sobbed into my shoulder. It was strange, that Rukia had suddenly started acting like the nine year old that she actually was.
"I thought you were mad at us," Rukia sobbed. "I thought that we had done something wrong. I thought that you had forgotten about us."
I smoothed her hair like I had seen my mother doing to Karin and Yuzu. My lips turned into a frown as I listened to her. It hurt a little to think that she would think such things. But she continued to cry as I tried to pull her closer. She was wet too, soaking actually, and I wondered just how long she had been out here.
"I'm sorry," I apologized gently. "I-I wouldn't forget about you guys. I never will."
There was a loud crash of thunder.
"Kia!" Rukia gripped onto me tighter. Her tears were falling in a shower; she truly was terrified of this storm.
" Rukia…" I started gently, "Are you scared of-,"
BOOM!
She cried out. And I felt guilty. She was horrified of this about as much as I was terrified of loosing someone important.
"I hate the thunder," she said between sobs, "I hate the thunder. But when Hanataro came and t-told me about you l-looking for me… I had to c-come and s-see you."
There was another flash – her mouth opened – and then a crash – she screamed.
I pulled her in even closer so that she was practically sitting on me. It was strange for me to comfort her, since all these years it had been her comforting me. But now, I didn't mind holding her. Thinking that, my heart skipped. My breath hitched. My mind went numb. As the thunder continued to roll, I found myself looking down at her trembling body, and my heart ached. It hurt to see her like that.
"Rukia," I whispered to her.
She held onto me tighter, but found the power in herself to just peek up at me. Her eyes were shining bluer.
"I-Ichigo…?"
The lightning is all of the lost dreams fall down here onto the ground. The thunder is the sky's way of calling all those lost dreams back, so that we can all look up and have something to look forward to. I wanted to say this to her. I wanted to tell her how the thunder was necessary, just like she was necessary to me. But I wasn't sure if I had said that, or if I had even told her. My mind was blank. But I am sure of what happened next.
In my head, I had thought of the scenario of my mother and the twins. How she rocked them, and cooed those words into their ears. I thought of how she smoothed their hair. Then I thought of how she hushed them. She had kissed them on their heads.
I leaned over, closer to her. And I saw all the colors in her eyes: blue, purple, cyan, black, and oddly some silvery gray. Her skin was so pale and she looked at me, as though not knowing what to do for the first time in her life. I pulled only slightly away from her, just enough to feel her breath on my collar.
And I pressed my lips onto hers.
I had meant to aim for her forehead, or the top of her head. I had maybe hoped to get her cheek perhaps, but her lips… I didn't mean to kiss her there. It was a strange feeling, how my body moved on its own again. I could feel her teeth on the other end and I'm sure she could feel mine. She obviously wasn't sure what to do either, her eyes half open. I could see as her mind reeled, trying to make sense of what he was doing. But as her eyes came into full open shock, they pulled back at the same time.
"Ah…"
I don't know who said it, but it was a very good sum up of what both of us were thinking. It had felt weird. Sparks? I wasn't too certain. It felt soft, but at the same time rough and awkward. It was slimy, and kind of disgusting. But I also had this weird shiver go through my spine that was exhilarating at the same time a bit mind numbing.
Our moment of shock was put into a permanent hold, no time to process, as there was another loud boom. But this time, it wasn't the thunder that had crashed. I now say that I was there during the bombing of the Seireitei Time Tower.
"Ichigo!" My mother called in panic. She didn't ask me where I had gone or if I was hurt or okay or why I was muddy and wet. All she did was grabbed my hand and pulled me forcefully into the back of a car. She told me to stay close by and both my parents looked around themselves the whole way down to the docks. Yuzu and Karin were taking a sound nap in my father's arms.
At the docks, I saw all the chaos going around me. The people were running about, some were stopping to stare at… what? I didn't know, I didn't have time to look around myself to see.
"Isshin, get the things on quick," my mother told my dad as she took the twins from his arms. Karin was snoring lightly into my mother's shoulder. The rain had since ceased, but something else was putting my parent's on edge, and I didn't dare ask in fear of their agitation.
"Ichigo, stay here honey, by the boat." My father had commanded to me. And so I stood perfectly still as I watched my mother go up and talk to who I thought was the captain, and my father was hurrying to put our chest in with all the others.
Men and women alike were running into me, not looking where they were going. They were all looking back into the city with wide and scared eyes. Mothers were pulling their children along, mumbling words of "ignore it" or "c'mon, we have to move faster". I wanted to look too, but I was scared of what I might have found. Though I could have guessed, there was a large trail of smoke filling the sky. A fire.
"Ichigo! We found you!"
I turned, and there was Renji and Rukia.
"Niku-kun!" I said teasingly. Suddenly, the chaos didn't really seem to exist. "Hi-chan!"
Renji pouted, "Yeah, yeah… Niku-kun."
I laughed. Rukia looked like she had dried her eyes since she had encouraged me to go back to my family. She had looked quiet terrified at that time, as though she was scared of something else beside the thunder at that moment. She had looked like she wasn't telling me something. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Well, I wanted to see you," Renji said sheepishly. "And, we have something to give you."
Something to give me?
"Here," Rukia held out her hand. She was holding a stuffed animal, a lion of some sort. It was orange with a little button in the middle of it. "This is Kon."
"This is…"
"Our favorite stuffed lion." Renji told me. "We're giving him to you."
I looked down. "I can't take him."
"Yes," Rukia insisted, "You have to take him. We trust you with him. And so when you come back, we can all play with him together."
It was a gesture of their trust in me. They were showing me that they were really putting everything into me. I smiled back at them.
"Then I have something to give to you too," I told the two of them. And then I reached into my shirt and pulled out the charm. The gold and silver center shined and glimmered in the summer sun. I fingered it in my palms before pulling the leather thong over my head.
"This," I told them, "This is a necklace that means a lot. It is supposed to protect you from bad things."
Rukia took it from my hands and she looked it over. "It really is pretty…"
When she said that I couldn't help but feel a bit prideful. Especially since it was her saying it. Ah… so she really was a girl in my eyes…
Your eyes, were the brightest of all the colors
I don't ever want to ever love another
You'll always be my thunder
End Chapter 4
Yes, so in response to Masaki's family: No she is not rich. Ichigo is of normal lineage. I always kind of miss this sort of simplicity of well known family names. In small towns you can still experience this, but in big cities I don't think anymore. This idea of a family that has been somewhere for generations and so is known by the community. They aren't given any special treatment or are held up on a pedestal, but they are very well known.
And as to why Ichigo says that he was there at the bombing of the Time Tower, but he then seems aloof of what is going on at the docks, is because of this idea that he is recalling this moment in time. He knows now that it was the bombing of the Time Tower, but at the time, he was confused of what all the chaos was about :P Oh innocent Ichigo…
So do ask some questions if you have any. Sorry for the jumbled mess since half was written on my phone and the other half was written in a haste on my about to die computer. But the song is Thunder by Boys Like Girls.
Please review if you can and I'll update soon as possible!