Author's Note
I think my muse must have a second home where there is no internet. I went for a little trip this weekend with a long car ride and no internet and got several ideas for this story. Thanks to the two, three-ish, of you who did submit ideas, I'll think about using them. For those of you who liked it, it's the return of cat Ichigo!
Anywho, chapter 16, enjoy!
I wait on the corner of the street for Tatsuki-chan to come so we can head to school together. We've been doing this since the day after she got back and as much as I love my friends from the temple, I really like walking to school with Tatsuki-chan. But she's running late today it seems and I let out a little sigh.
"Why so glum?"
I whirl around, craning my neck to try and see further down the street. That was Kurosaki-kun's voice! I keep looking but can't see him. I hear him sigh a little.
"Up here. To your left. Your other left." I look and there's a large orange cat lazing on the wall above where I've been waiting. He's looking down at me and seems a little amused, tail idly flicking against the wall. I tilt my head as I study his form.
"I think you've gotten bigger, Kurosaki-kun." He sputters at my observation, sitting up and tail lashing around.
"No I haven't! You're just seeing things." I can't help but giggle at his denials. It's not like I said he'd gotten fat or that being bigger was bad. He seems to settle down a bit, though he's not looking at me so I guess he's still a little annoyed. "And you never answered my question. What's got you sighing?"
"Oh, umm, well you see, I wait here in the mornings for Tatsuki-chan so we can walk to school together, but it seems she's running a little late today." I frown a little bit. It's not like Tatsuki-chan to be running late, that's usually me, distracted by my day dreams.
"School, huh?" And something in his tone gives me a bad feeling, but before I can try to figure out what that means, Tatsuki-chan comes running up.
"Sorry I'm late. My mom needed some help finding her keys." she pants out, leaning against the wall a bit. "Alright, let's get going."
We walk off and I notice out of the corner of my eye that Kurosaki-kun is following us. Tatsuki-chan doesn't seem to notice, but I don't really hold out hope on that, Kurosaki-kun is pretty noticeable, even as a cat. I chat happily with Tatsuki-chan like I normally do, but can't keep my eyes from flickering to him every now and then. How long does he plan on following me?
We get halfway to school before Tatsuki says anything. "So where'd you get the monster cat from?" I jump a bit at the sudden change in subject. "I mean, I noticed it when I met up with you and it's been following us this whole time. So what gives?"
"Ummm… w-well you see…" I need to think up a good excuse. I can't tell her that he's a powerful yokai that I'm friends with who has randomly decided to follow me around to day. "He's… he's a stray that comes to the temple sometimes!" I exclaim. That works. It's not exactly a lie, Kurosaki-kun has come to the temple as a cat and he comes and goes from the shrine on temple grounds. So not a lie and something I can tell Tatsuki. I can do this! "I don't know where he's from, but he's really nice. I guess he's taken a liking to me, but I'm not sure why he's following me today. Oh, and his name is Kurosaki-kun!"
"Kurosaki, huh? You know I haven't seen a speck of black on him, so why Kurosaki?" she says as she looks him over. He hops down from the wall to walk alongside us.
"I don't know, it's just his name." I say with a smile, hoping she won't question it any further. She doesn't and we go back to our usual morning talk, Kurosaki-kun trotting along beside us. Soon enough we're approaching the gates to school and he's still following us. How long does he plan to follow me? He can't come to school with me! I'll get in so much trouble for bringing a cat to school.
However, before I can worry any further, a pair of arms grab me from behind, squeezing my chest, with a crooned "Hime~~!" I stiffen, mind processing an assault and trying to pick a response from all the self-defense Tatsuki's taught me, but with a squeal the arms release me and I look to Tatsuki, expecting to see her holding whatever limb she used to knock off Chizuru-chan, who I realized had grabbed me like she always does, hanging in the air. Surprisingly, she's not. Instead she's looking down while Chizuru-chan is hopping on one leg, holding her right shin. I follow Tatsuki's gaze to see a rather annoyed looking Kurosaki-kun sitting beside me, tail flicking angrily behind him as he stares at Chizuru-chan.
"Well, what do you know? He's a guard cat. You should keep him, Orihime." Tatsuki-chan says, sounding rather impressed. "You could use the extra protection from certain individuals."
"How could you say that?!" Chizuru-chan screeches. "She doesn't need that monster cat! My sweet Hime will be perfectly safe in my ar–" She's cut off by a swift kick to the gut from Tatsuki-chan.
"That's enough out of you. Come on, Orihime. We need to get to class." I quickly scoop up Kurosaki-kun, I don't trust the way he's eyeing Chizuru-chan, and scurry after Tatsuki-chan, dropping a quick apology to Chizuru-chan.
In the shoe lockers, I put Kurosaki-kun down. "Sorry, you can't come to class with me, Kurosaki-kun. You'll just have to go wherever you do during the day." I say, nudging him towards the outside. He take a few steps before turning back to give me a slightly annoyed look before trotting off.
She can't seriously believe that I'd leave her alone that easily after taking all the time to follow her already this morning, can she? I'm bored at the Shoten. I've recovered from the strain of the Overload and there's nothing to really do there until Urahara gets the supplies I requested. Besides, I'm curious as to what school is like and I intend to find out. Room 2-3… 2-3… 2-3…
I walk to the classroom door, only to find it blocked by several girls. I clear my throat and they start a little before clearing a pathway through. I walk in and place my bag on my desk before noticing what it was that was captivating the girls earlier.
There's a very large orange cat laying across Inoue-san's desk.
Cats are not normally so large or orange. Looking ridiculously smug, on the other hand, is part of being a cat. I quickly check my theory and must hold back from groaning. Kurosaki has decided to attend class, in a very obvious way. I do a quick search and find Inoue-san heading to the classroom. With this knowledge, I theorize that Inoue-san is unaware of Kurosaki's current location. My theory is proved correct when she freezes in the doorway, staring at the smug Kurosaki covering her desk.
I can't believe my eyes. Kurosaki-kun is laying sprawled across my desk. How did he even know which classroom was mine, much less which desk? He's giving me a smug cat grin from across the room, taunting me with his knowledge of where to go even when I dismissed him. I let loose a little whine, Tatsuki-chan just laughs.
"Looks like he doesn't want to leave you alone." I give her a distressed look. Doesn't she see how much trouble I could get into for this? "Hey, don't worry. He followed you in on his own, there's not much the teachers can do about it besides taking him outside. They can't blame you for being followed by a cat." I smile some at her reassurance. She's right, they can't blame me for Kurosaki-kun's choices, I think. "Though I've gotta admit, he's one damn smart cat." She doesn't know the half of it.
I don't have time to worry any further as the bell rings, sending everyone to their seats and bringing Ochi-sensei into the room. I fret as Kurosaki-kun adjusts himself on my desk. Ochi-sensei spots him and heads for my desk. Just what kind of trouble has Kurosaki-kun gotten me into?
"What a large cat! Is he yours, Inoue-san?" she asks, scratching between his ears, causing him to begin purring. "So friendly."
"Ummm, he's no-not mine. He just f-followed me in." I squeak out.
"Hmmm. Well, as long as he doesn't cause any trouble I suppose he can stay." Ochi-sensei announces, returning to her desk. Tatsuki-chan shoots me a smug grin, rubbing in the fact she knew I wouldn't get in trouble.
Kurosaki-kun scoots over to lay on the left edge of my desk, idly flicking tail hanging off the end. I breathe a little sigh of relief, he'll let me have the use of my desk. We both turn our heads up as Ochi-sensei begins the lesson.
I suppose school is alright, though personally I find such a learning style rather boring. I much more prefer a hands-on experience. I think it makes lessons stick better, especially when you mess up. Not that my opinion really matters here considering I don't actually attend school. I think I'll leave at the lunch break, I've had enough of school, even though I very much enjoyed the absent minded petting Inoue gave me.
When the bell rings and students start filing out of the room, I whisper a quick good-bye, hop off of Inoue's desk, and dart out of the room. I'm almost to the gates when large hands scoop me up from behind. I squirm as I'm taken away from the gate and back behind the gym, but the hands are firm and large enough that the larger size of my cat form doesn't help me.
"Please stop squirming… Yokai-san." the deep voice of my captor intones. I stop squirming, not because he asked, but because he surprised me by knowing what I am.
Once we're out of sight of others, he turns me around in his hands and I get my first look at my captor. He's very tall, but I guessed his large size from his hands. His dark brown hair hangs in a shaggy curtain, covering his eyes, making them hard to see. He has a small goatee and defined high cheek bones. Though the thing that stands out most besides his size is his darkened skin. I recognize him from the temple, he works with Inoue there sometimes. I think his name is… Chad? Yeah, I think that's it.
"So what did you want with me, Chad?"
He blinks at me. I guess he was surprised I knew his name. "My name's not Chad, it's Sado Yasutora." He calmly replies back.
"You sure?" I cock my head to the side and he stares at me blankly. "I thought Inoue said it was Chad. Sorry, I'm bad with names. You know you never answered my question."
"Mmm. You were after Inoue-san specifically. As her friend, I need to make sure she's not endangered by you." he calmly replies. "Why were you after her?"
I blink. I hadn't expected that. I kind of figured he'd be like Ishida and just demand me to go away. "She's told me about her time at school and I was curious, so I came to check it out. No harm intended. Just trying to kill some free time and learn more about her."
He stares at me for a while. I begin to feel nervous under his stare. What the hell is he looking for? Does he think if he keeps staring at me it'll change my answer? His stare is actually starting to annoy me and my tail starts to flick in annoyance.
"You're the sealed yokai she would visit."
I blink. How the hell did he know that? Inoue always visited on her own. No one has come to meet me at the old seal besides her, Yoruichi, Ishida, and Rukia. Maybe Rukia told him. "So?" I venomously ask. "How'd you know about that anyways?"
He stays silent for a while, and right when I think he's not going to answer, he does. "I noticed her leaving down the trail. Multiple times. You also spoke as if she talked to you often." he reasons. I nod my head. His silence hides his observative nature.
"You won't hurt her?" he asks in a serious tone. I bristle at that question. He dares insinuate that I would hurt her? The one person who'd shown me kindness in over one hundred years? I slightly dig my claws into his large, dark hands.
"Like hell I would hurt her." I growl out, my more beastly side barely contained. Keeping my flames in check is hard and I'm sure that some flames flickered over my skin and that I'm emitting a lot of heat. Hell, I can barely keep myself confined to my cat form. And I can't bring myself to care, that question pisses me off so bad.
He stares at me, my claws digging into his skin, growl in my throat, and tail lashing angrily. "Ok. Sorry, but I had to ask." Slightly mollified, I withdraw my claws, though I continue to glare at him while my tail continues to lash. He sets me down and I stare up at him. It ticks me off that to have to stare so far up, I'd have to stare up in my human form and I'm not exactly short.
"So you intend to protect her?" I nod. "Then be careful…" I realize that he doesn't know my name.
"Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo." He hums in acknowledgement and nods his head to me. I turn and leave, trotting out of the school gates. I head for the Shoten, wondering if Urahara has got my gear yet.
I was surprised when Kurosaki-san asked me to get some replacements for his old gear. I thought he had given up his trade after his family's death. It seems Inoue-san has revitalized him in more ways than one. I'll happily supply materials for him, people with his skills are rare and we need people with his skills.
I only hope he hasn't forgotten what he's learned, there's really no one else left to teach him
So there's the chapter and the first meeting between Ichigo and Chad. I hope you guys think I did alright with Chad. As I wrote this, I realized Chad's kind of a hard character to do outside of his friendship with Ichigo because he doesn't talk to terribly much, so because it's manga you don't get a lot of insight to his thinking process.
Please review/comment to tell me how I did.