Strawberry Protector

Chapter 5: Milestone

The loud bell ringing sounded the end of the school day and Ichigo was quick to gather his things. Despite his monstrous friend claiming to be fine just that morning, he was still anxious to be back in the company of the spirit. Although it was more he want to make sure his friend was still in one piece. So he tossed his backpack over his shoulder and quickly made for the door. The boy knew that once he was outside the hollow would find him. His innocent mind didn't want to think about the possibility of losing Shiro even though they had only known each other for a few weeks.

Soon enough the orange haired child stepped out of the building and began to head in the general direction that led home. His gaze would constantly shift around to look at his surroundings and anyone watching could tell he was searching for something. And unfortunately in his distracted state of mind he ended up walking into the last pair he wanted to deal with at that moment.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Inquired the larger bully from the day before with a tone of voice that held more anger and hatred than the usual taunting manner that Ichigo was familiar with. Apparently he and his friend were not happy about what happened during their last encounter.

Immediately the orange haired boy turned to head the other way but was immediately blocked by the second bully. "Going somewhere? I don't think so." The other student sneered with the same heated expression.

Almost immediately Ichigo realized his confidence from the last standoff with this pair was due to the presence of his guardian and friend. But at the moment he was on his own with no white form anywhere within the vicinity that he could spot. He didn't know what to say to the pair that wouldn't escalate the situation worse than it already was. It was clear they were mad at him and wanted some payback. Instinctively he stepped away from both of them and only ended up with his back against the wall.

The pair seemed to realize that they had the advantage over their target as a slight bit of confidence began to leak into their expressions. Then they began to close in, one of them cracking their knuckles in preparation.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" But they never had a chance to lay a hand on Ichigo as a black haired female came darting from seemingly out of nowhere. In the blink of an eye, confidence and anger switched over to panic as the bullies took off running with partial yelps of fear. The girl skidded to a halt beside the orange haired child while shaking a fist at the retreating forms. "Yeah, you better run! Jerks..."

When she turned her gaze to Ichigo, her angry expression switched over to that of concern. "Are you okay Ichigo?"

Immediately he glanced away from her and to the ground but nodded his head slightly as he responded. "Ah... Thanks Tatsuki..."

"Anytime. Uh... Hey... You want me to walk home with you?" This question was obviously voiced with quite a bit of hesitation as if Tatsuki was afraid that he might break out into tears at any moment.

To her surprise no tears came and instead he shook his head and adjusted the strap of his bag. "No thanks... I'll be all right." Was all that Ichigo said in response as he began walking again, his gaze downward. The child could feel his female friend watching him until he finally turned a corner and was out of sight.

"She seems like a fiery one." Came the abrupt echo like voice from somewhere little above him and to the side, causing him to jump slightly.

Relief immediately filled the orange haired child as his gaze landed upon the lizardlike hollow. It took him another moment to realize that Shiro had spoken in regards to his human friend. "That's Tatsuki. She's protected me from bullies more times than I can count." As he explained this, Ichigo's gaze once again shifted to the ground.

"Oh? She got a crush on ya? Or is it the other way around?" Shiro couldn't help but tease lightly but upon receiving nothing more than an irritated huff in response he couldn't help but frowned beneath his mask. "What's wrong?"

"I couldn't face those bullies by myself... I was always saved by someone else before we met... And the only reason I was able to do anything yesterday was because you were there..." As the boys spoke, his voice only got softer and softer as he continued to stare at the sidewalk in front of him.

Tongue clicking in slight annoyance, the hollow drop down in front of the kid which stopped Ichigo in his tracks. He gave Shiro a confused look but the hollow began speaking before a question could be asked. "Nobody become strong overnight. And no one finds courage or confidence in an instant. It must be built up over time and sometimes with the help of another. But one thin' ya must never do is ta let yerself be discouraged because in the end only ya can change ya. If ya don't have the will ta change... The instinct ta grow stronger... Then ya'll never move forward." He had kept his gaze locked on to Ichigo's the entire time he spoke, so he could not miss the fire that lit up in the child's eyes. Just like the night he declared that he was going to get stronger.

"Shiro..? Is it all right if we train today?"

"Of course." Came the white spirit's answer which was followed by a slight chuckle as he hopped back up onto the wall. "But not here, obviously. And maybe ya can tell me more about this Tatsuki." And with the pair made their way to the river bank once again since they had no better place to go.

Along the way, Ichigo told his spirit friend about his human one and how they both took karate lessons together. The hollow also learned that he never won a single match against her and this caused Shiro to realize where his lack of confidence stemmed from. So Shiro decided to have the kid practice his karate moves, even though he knew very little about it himself. His goal was to help build up Ichigo's confidence by inspiring him to win a match against this girl that seemed to have become a symbol of strength in the boy's eyes, whether he knew it or not. If the orange haired child could pass that milestone then he was sure that Ichigo would finally start making the progress he so desperately wanted to.

Roughly three weeks later found the unusual pair of friends outside of the dojo that Ichigo would go to for practice. A good portion of the child's free time had been spent with the hollow making him use what karate he did know on the corrupted soul. And now Shiro had encouraged his charge to test his skills against his human friend with the explanation that it was to see how far his skills had come along.

Upon entering the dojo, Shiro immediately hopped up into the rafters to be out of the way but still in view. He watched the boy go off somewhere else into the building then come back wearing his karate uniform. The hollow moved along the rafters on all fours until he was positioned more above the orange head of hair as his charge moved over to the girl in question.

Listening in on their conversation, which was simply Ichigo requesting a match, it was obvious to the white spirit that she startled but didn't decline. And soon the pair were moving over to the mat to have their match, the hollow staying close the entire time. He watched as the children bowed to one another before taking fighting stance is. Then the match began and Shiro quickly understood why the kid would seem so discouraged from time to time, Tatsuki was a little powerhouse.

However the hollow knew that Ichigo was no pushover either as he had learned this over the course of their training. Soon enough the match was over and the winner was none other than the orange haired boy, much to the surprise of his human friend. The lizardlike hollow had hoped his presence would help give Ichigo the confidence boost he needed to come up on top. Whether or not this was the case, he didn't know nor did he care. The end result was what he had hoped for and he could already see the minor change in behavior from his charge.

Ichigo had finally passed a very critical milestone in his quest to get stronger. He had defeated someone that was previously undefeatable in his mind and now the chance for real growth was available to him. Although the child didn't quite know that but his hollow friend certainly understood and would capitalize on the newfound confidence. Perhaps he would make a proper fighter out of this kid after all.

That's it for this chapter and sorry it's a little shorter, seemed like a good spot to end it. But now I'm really going to be getting into random scenes from random points in time, in chronological order of course. And yes, this means that Ichigo is going to start growing up now. Until next time. R&R.