Chapter 2 – The Introduction

I fell from its clutches, but as I looked up, my body was falling to the ground, strangely still in one piece. I looked back up to see the thing dissolving into the air. My eyes widened as I focused back on the ground to see my classmate, Ichigo Kurosaki, putting a sword as long as his body away. I stared in shock as he turned round to set his gaze on me, his eyes widening. As he approached me, his outfitting became clearer. He wore a black shihakusho tied with a white sash, a sword with something that looked like a bandage tied around it. He came up to me, and held out a hand, as I lightly took it, he spoke in a confused tone,

"You're a Shinigami, too?" he questioned. My eyes widened as I looked down at my attire, to find it matched his. I looked around my body to find a long sword attached to my back with black ribbon. As I craned my neck to take a closer look, I saw that the top of the sword was shaped into a star, and just below it, a black ribbon was tied around it, flowing in the breeze. I looked back at him, then to my body, which was still lying on the floor,

"I-I dunno... am I?" things were running round in my head. I had no idea what was going on. Was I dead? I didn't know. I decided to put my thoughts into words,

"A....Are we dead?" I asked. Ichigo shook his head,

"No, we're not. By the way, your name's Kishiko, right? From my class?" I nodded,

"Thought so. Anyway, let's get back into our bodies, and we can talk." I looked at my body, and back at him,

"Umm... how do I do that?" I asked, totally confused. He held up a finger, muttered 'one second' and cupped his hands around his mouth,

"Hey, Kon! Get over here!!" he yelled. Surprisingly, nobody turned around to look at him. After a few seconds, somebody who looked exactly like Ichigo approached. Ichigo turned back to me,

"You just fuse yourself back with your body, or basically just step back into it, like this." He turned back around and went behind 'Kon', fitting the shape of his body, and stepped into it. A few seconds later, he was himself again, as he coughed up a small green pill. I grimaced,

"Will I do that?" I asked. Ichigo shook his head,

"No, that's just Kon. Just do what I did, and you'll do fine," he spoke. I nodded, and walked towards my body. I picked it up and mimicked its shape. Before I knew it, I was standing back up, back in my school uniform, stretching my stiff joints. I picked up my bag and the items that had fallen out of it. Ichigo bent down to help me, and handed me the items. I thanked him as he nodded,

"Names, Ichigo Kurosaki, I s'pose you already know, but may as well." I smiled at him,

"Kishiko Ishikawa. I s'pose you already know. I've been school loser of the year, three years running." I laughed as we started walking out of the park. He looked at me and raised an eyebrow,

"Well, that's what the yearbook says. I don't think you're a loser," he started, "Anybody with spiritual pressure that enormous and the strength to survive what just happens, there's no way you can be a loser!" he smiled slightly, and I smiled back,

"Thanks. So, I guess this means we're sort of... friends, now?" I asked. Ichigo's smile grew,

"Yeah, well, since we're both Shinigami, we wouldn't be able to escape each other either way. So, you have no idea how you became a Shinigami?" I shook my head,

"No, I've been able to see spirits for a long time, but this is the first time something like this has happened to me, like with seeing that thing and becoming a Shinigami and all." Ichigo made an 'mm-hmm' sound as we continued walking. After a few minutes of walking in a silence that was not awkward, but peaceful, we came to the corner of my street,

"Well, this is my stop," I spoke in tone that held a tint of sadness. Ichigo nodded and looked down the road,

"So, do you live with your dad?" I shook my head,

"Oh, so you live with your mom?" his eyes widened as I shook my head again,

"No, my Dad died on June 17th, when I was 9, and after that, Mom pretty much fell apart, so she took off, leaving me to wake up one morning to a note telling me she's gone to America. Stupid, she was never a good mother to me," I sighed. His eyes widened,

"Yo-your Dad died on June 17th, when you were nine?" he seemed like he was struggling with something, but I'd figure he'd tell me soon enough,

"Yeah, down by the river, I was there..." I lowered my head in sadness and shame. Ichigo grabbed my shoulders as I looked up at him,

"Y...Your father may have been killed by a hollow," he muttered the last word quietly, but with more hatred than all the other words. I was momentarily confused,

"What's a hollow?" I asked. He was quick to reply,

"That thing you just saw there. They feed off living souls and souls of the departed. My mother was killed by a hollow on the same day, same year, same place. He may have been killed by a Grand Fisher," he was shaking slightly, but I became frustrated, and shook his hands off my shoulders,

"That's ridiculous! I told you, that's the first time I've seen one of those things! How can he have possibly been killed by a hollow? It was all my fault!" I took off down the pavement, and the last thing I heard from him before the distance between us was too far was, 'That's what I'd told myself all my life, too....'

~*~*~

I draped myself lazily over the sofa, a cup of hot chocolate steaming on a placemat on the coffee table. I switched on the TV, but I wasn't exactly concentrating on it.

"Could be have possibly been killed by a hollow?" I questioned myself out loud, though I had no idea. I was starting to doubt my theory that it was the first time I'd had an encounter with a hollow. I was brought out of my thoughts when the phone had rung, and after letting it ring for more than enough time, I picked myself up and walked over by the phone, picking up,

"Hello?" I muttered in a cold tone, that although wasn't intended, was how I felt like speaking to people,

"Ah~, hello? Is this the Ishikawa residence?" a male tone that sounded slightly musical passed through the phone and into my ear, I made a gruff noise of approval,

"Ah, yes, well~, if you want to know what happened to your Dad six years ago, I know what happened!" I gasped as I dropped the phone. It hung off the cord as I struggled to come to terms with what he'd said. After a few seconds I came back to the world to hear his voice through the phone,

"Hello? Hello? Miss Ishikawa?" I picked up the phone quickly and pressed it back to my ear,

"Y-yes, sorry. Where can I meet you?" my voice was shaky, and the phone was unsteady in my hand. I gripped it with both of my hands to maintain a better hold on it. After a few minutes, his voice re-emerged,

"If you could come to the Urahara Shoten at 12am midnight, then that would be great~," I grabbed the piece of paper next to me, and the pen that lay on top of it,

"Okay, what address is that?"

TBC.

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Sorry for the crappy chapter, the story will improve as it develops x]

Sadly, the next chapter will just be explanations. So if you don't know much about Bleach, lucky you!

POLL: Since in my written story I do a Bleach/Vampire Knight crossover [Only Zero && Kaname are involved], should I add that into my plot in this one? Please put it in your reviews ! ;3

Since I've written up the next few chapters, next chapter, I'll start doing little 'Previews' for the chapters :]