Prologue
"Shiro-nii-san?" Eight year old Ichigo Kurosaki asked quietly as he entered his older brother's room.
Fifteen years old Shiro woke up immediately after he heard his baby brother's shaky voice. Shiro always doted on his little brother. He'll be damned if he wasn't the one to comfort his little Ichi when he has a nightmare.
"What is it Ichi?" Shiro asked his little brother with a sleepy smile on his face. He didn't even bother stopping Ichigo as he dragged him out of his bed into the closet.
Shiro sat on the floor of the closet and Ichigo sat on his lap, head hiding on his brother's chest.
Shiro smiled fondly at the small mass of orange hair on the little boy that was clutching unto him like his life depended on him. "Now Ichi what happened?" Shiro asked softly, rubbing Ichigo's back in a comforting, and almost motherly manner. He played with the small blotch of white hair hiding at the back of Ichigo's hair. Shiro especially loved that bit about his brother, made him feel like Ichigo was carrying a bit of him everywhere considering his hair was fully white.
"I-I had a nightmare. Mum went crazy and ate all the chocolate and they both only cared for our new sisters...they left us. Me and you. Th-there was so much pain and hate. I couldn't take that." Ichigo looked like he was on the verge of tears but he stopped himself because he was a big boy, big boys don't cry.
Shiro smiled sadly. He hated seeing the little boy like this.
"Ichigo. You know that's never going to happen. We're all always going to be he-" Before Shiro could finish his sentence he heard some kind of disturbance from downstairs. It sounded like things were being thrown around.
He heard someone enter his room and suddenly his instincts were on high alert. The closet was opened slightly and before Shiro could attack the assailant he stopped to notice it was the panicked stricken face of their heavily pregnant mother. Shiro hid Ichigo's face in his chest when he noticed the blood all over her. "G-good he...he hasn't found you two yet." Misaki whispered, her voice shaking with fear or shock, Shiro didn't know, all he knew was that he was scared. Not for himself but for his family.
"W-what's going on mum?" Ichigo asked tying to get out of Shiro's hold but his brother held on tight. The shuffling from heavy steps kept getting louder. Closer. They were boots, Ichigo and Shiro noticed.
Misaki suddenly hugged her sons with shaking arms. "Stay quiet. The both of you. Shiro, protect your brother no matter what."Misaki said, her voice full of tears.
"Mum?" Shiro and Ichigo asked at the same time, Ichigo finally able to look at his mum. His eyes widened at the sight of his mother, crying but smiling at them the way she usually did but covered in blood. He felt everything freeze over when he heard a gun shot, then another.
"Where's goat face?" Ichigo asked, for an eight year old he was plenty smart, he could tell what was going on. Shiro seemed to have gone into survival mode. He covered Ichigo's mouth and pulled him back into the closet. The many clothes and coats were easily hiding the both of them.
Misaki smiled again, tears still falling from her eyes. "I love you both." She said before closing the closet, though a bit of it was open. Shiro was too busy keeping both of them alive to look at what was happening outside the closet but Ichigo had frozen up, as if time had stilled, both his eyes looking through that small open space, he saw everything, like it was all some kind of movie.
The man, he looked deranged. Shaggy hair, dirty and greasy just like his beard. He held a gun in a shaky hand as he looked at Misaki with a rabid look in his eyes.
"You killed her! You both killed her!" the man yelled madly, drool dripping from his lips. "Sir please! Please calm down! There was nothing we could do! She was already dying! You brought us to her too late! We're sorry!" Masaki tried reasoning with the man even though she knew he wasn't hearing her. Time, she was buying time.
"SHUT UP WHORE!" He yelled as he punched her on the face making her fall on the ground. She took the hits that came without making a sound, praying every god she could think of that he doesn't find her boys. From he bleeding in between her legs she knew she had already lost her little girls. I'm sorry Yuzu and Karen. I couldn't protect you.
When the man stopped abusing Masaki, she had already passed out from all the pain, grief and despair. There was still this peaceful look on her face though, at least she was able to protect those two.
"DIE YOU FILTHY SHIT!" The man yelled before he shot her three times in the head, after that he threw the gun away, it was right in front of the closet, and Shiro couldn't stop staring at the spot where it landed.
The murderer had a wide and manic grin stretched on his face. "I did it Fumiko. I got your revenge. You can come back to me now right? Please? Please come back!" the man said to himself, his eyes looking all over the place.
Ichigo just stared. It was all he could do. He stared at the unseeing eyes of his usually angelic mother. She looked so...scary. "M-mummy..." Ichigo whispered and Shiro cursed under his breath because the man heard it.
The murderer's head immediately shot up to the closet. "Th-there's someone in there Fumiko. We should kill them." The man said laughing crazily.
At the word kill Shiro's anger finally set in. He pushed Ichigo into the back of the closet, quickly got out of the closet, grabbed the gun and pointed it at the man. Shiro's hands weren't even shaking, his only thought was to protect his little brother. No matter what.
His eyes scared Ichigo. His big brother's eyes looked like the eyes of an animal getting ready to kill its prey. The boy got it wrong though, yes, Shiro's eyes looked like that of an animal but it wasn't of one getting ready to kill it's prey, it was that of an Alpha protecting his cub.
The deranged killer laughed loudly at the sight of the teenager. "What are you going to do? Shoot me? Do you have the guts boy?" The man yelled, eyes dilated, drool slipping through his too wide grin.
Without even the slightest hesitation, Shiro shot the man in his kneecap. Ichigo was still in his frozen state, it all felt like one of his nightmares, the only feeling coursing through him was pure fear that tuned his body numb. He could barely hear the screams of the man through the rapid beating of his heart.
"WHAT KIND OF FUCKING KID SHOOTS A MAN WITH THAT LOOK IN HIS EYES?!" The killer yells feeling actual fear at the crazy anger in Shiro's eyes.
Shiro grinned. It was the kind of grin that sends shivers down your spine but not in the good way. The man thought that a child that just witnessed the murder of his mother should be having a breakdown not grinning like he was having the time f his life.
Shiro casually walked towards the man and when he got close enough he pressed the gun to the man's forehead. "The kinda kid that has motivation. Now let's see, you murdered my family and now you actually want to try and kill my baby brother? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! YOU THINK I'D HESITATE TO KILL SCUM LIKE YOU?! Now this is a handgun. Legal at that so I'm guessing it only has ten rounds and you've used it eight times and I shot you in the knee so that leaves-" Shiro shot him in the head, the killer's blood splashing all over his face and clothes, grin gone now. "One." Shiro finished as he threw the gun to the side.
Shiro didn't even bother to wait for the cops. He grabbed the unmoving Ichigo and carried him outside. They sat on the stairs of their house, the albino forced himself not to even look at the dead form of his father sprawled on the floor of their kitchen, blood everywhere, Shiro holding unto his unmoving brother like he was his life and at the moment he was. Shiro didn't even notice when the tears started falling from his eyes.
It was an hour later that the police got to their house and by then Ichigo had passed out.
Shiro answered their questions robotically, he found out that the killer was a former client from the clinic, apparently he abused his wife too much so she tried killing herself by cutting her wrists deeply and he rushed her to their clinic to treat her but she had lost too much blood, she had died almost immediately after they had put her on a bed and the man blamed them.
The two brothers were given half hearted sympathy by neighbours a random people their parents knew came for the funeral. Their parents were buried side by side and the twins' graves were right beside them.
It was such a cold but beautiful and sunny day, the snow was light, surprise it was snowing at all, but it made everything seem all the more beautiful, the weather practically mocked the brothers, and even after all the processions and after everyone had left and even as the sun was setting, they were both still standing in front of the graves, the brothers held each other's hand in tight grips.
"It's his birthday." Ichigo mumbled and Shiro let out a shaky breath. It was the first time Ichigo had spoken since the entire event two weeks ago.
"He would've loved the snow." Shiro said in a quiet tone. His voice had lost most of the sarcasm that was usually laced with it.
"He would've made us had snowball fights and then we'd all be frozen. Then mum would've called us in, wrapped us in blankets and given us hot chocolate, well given me and goat face. You always preferred that gross coffee stuff." Ichigo said, his tone still vacant but Shiro laughed, it sounded like he was going to cry but he still laughed.
"Now we're all alone." Ichigo said, his body shaking, but he didn't cry, couldn't.
"We've got each other, that has to be enough. Don't cry Ichigo, please don't." Shiro begged before he bent down and scooped his baby brother into a hug. Ichigo wrapped his arms around thee albino's neck tightly.
"That's the thing Shiro-nii." Ichigo said his voice sounded like steel. "I don't think I can cry anymore."
Ichigo's eyes opened slowly. He tried blinking the sleep out of his eyes so he could look up at the figure that woke him up and punch it in the face.
Though when he saw the smiling face of his older brother, his extremely long white hair in a messy ponytail, he stopped himself and just flopped back into his pillow with a loud groan.
"C'mon Ichi! Time for your first day in your new school!" Shiro said with so much enthusiasm it made Ichigo cringe.
"Do I really have to go?" Ichigo moaned like a child.
"Of course you do! Plus you've got your job at the construction site today so you still need to get out of bed!" Shiro reminded his brother sounding so bright and cheerful. Morning people.
Ichigo sighed. "Yeah. They said I've gotta be there by 4:30 and ends at like 8 or something. I'm mostly doing some heavy lifting. I'll probably be home around 8:30. Oh and on weekends it's that flower shop down the street from your office from 12:00pm to 3:00 in the noon. The more hours I work the more money I get." Ichigo explained. He was just happy he was able to get a job so quickly.
Shiro hummed, his eyebrows furrowed in worry, it brought out his strangely colored eyes all the more, his strangely black sclera and his bright yellow eyes. Mum told them that it was an occurrence that happened in their family once in a while. Shiro didn't like the idea of his baby brother working when he was so young but he knew Ichigo would do it anyways even if he asked him not to. He was stubborn like that.
"Any clubs in mind?" Shiro asked out of curiosity though he already had an idea which club Ichigo would choose.
Ichigo nodded as he sat up, he ruffled his sleep messed hair, the slight patch of white that was usually hidden was sticking out now. "Yeah. Either the music or nature club, well if this school had a nature club.
Ichigo was going to Karakura Private High school. At first he wanted to go to the public school but the happy look Shiro got on his face when he fund out Ichigo got accepted for a full time scholarship into one of the top schools in Japan kinda sealed his fate. He mainly didn't want to go at first because it was filled with snobby rich kids that'll pick on him not only because of his hair but on his commoner status.
God forbid they found out about his sexual preferences.
"Well are you getting ready for school or not?" Shiro demanded changing the topic to something of importance. Ichigo whined like a child. "Do I have to?" Shiro just stared at him with a deadpan look on his face.
Shiro huffed like a disappointed mother and the thought brought a smile to Ichigo's face. "Ichigo! You're seventeen for Kami's sake! Don't be such a child!" Shiro said, hands on hips and everything.
Ichigo pouted, trying to use a different tactic against the older man. Shiro's eyes softened but his resolve stayed intact so he tried his own tactic. Guilt trip.
"Ichigo please! All I want is for you to go to college and have a good life! So please? Fo-"
"No need to finish. Damn. You always gotta play dirty." Ichigo stopped his brother as he got out of his bed and started getting ready for his new school.
Shiro grinned proudly. "Hurry up if you want breakfast!" The albino hollered as he left the room.
Ichigo sighed as he quickly put on his uniform. He'd really like some of his brother's amazing coking to start his day.
Shiro and Ichigo are currently living in a one floor house. It wasn't crappy but it wasn't luxurious either, just had a feeling of home.
Shiro got transferred by his company from Kagamino town to Karakura so Ichigo had to spend his final year in high school in a completely new environment. Oh well, we gotta do what we gotta do.
After the...incident, Shiro and Ichigo had avoided social services like the plague. At first they lived off of Shiro's friends but that obviously wasn't going to last long so Shiro and Ichigo practically lived on the streets for a while, well more like an abandoned house, but they made it work. Shiro found work in a well known auto shop and also in a grocery shop, so he was able to buy things for their makeshift home. Like food, futons, things used to cook the food, clothes, even a mini fridge. Ichigo helped with the cleaning and sometimes had to do both their homework because Shiro had to do extra shifts to get more money, this aided Ichigo in many ways and he ended up being top of his lass because he'd study his brother's grown up book as well as his. Shiro spent most of the money he earned on Ichigo so he barely ever had nice things. When he had spare money, he'd use it on Ichigo but his brother would then get some money of his own from doing odd jobs ad then spend it on his brother which usually ended with Shiro close to tears. The house was in a very bad part of town so when some thug found them Shiro and Ichigo would have to fight dirty, because of this they had to train and exercise for at least four hours a day so they could hold their own in fights. This was their way of life till Shiro turned eighteen and graduated. It was a very hard life and sometimes they'd go through weeks without much food, but they survived and they were together. That was all that mattered to them.
They still both went to school and Shiro was very, very good at forging signatures so guardian slips were always signed so no one was ever suspicious. They both stayed at their best behaviour because they couldn't afford to be separated. Immediately after Shiro graduated he got a job at Espada Inc., he started at the intern program which basically had no pay but was just training. His chances of getting picked to be an intern in the worldwide popular company were slim for he was the youngest in the entire group and at the same time he was the only one that hadn't gone to college but in the end his exceptional skill with all things machine allowed him a spot t be an intern in the Engineering department. Ichigo had been so proud of him, he even spent all his savings to take his brother for a night out of celebrations.
He owed his brother so much. The least he could do was do well in school and make him proud.
After Ichigo was ready he looked at the family picture he always kept beside his bed. There was his entire family. Ichigo was just eight and his grin was so wide because his brother decided to put his fingers in his mouth and stretch it into a wide grin which matched his own. Isshin was smiling widely as he carried his pregnant wife on his shoulders, an affectionate hand ruffling Shiro's white locks. Masaki smiled as well one hand holding Ichigo's though the other was clutching Isshin's head tightly for fear of falling off his shoulder.
"Keep moving forward. Don't look back and find your reason to smile." Ichigo whispered his usual motivational motto, just like he does everyday and so far his reason to smile has always been the happy look in his brother's eyes.
"C'mon Ichigo you'll be late!" Shiro yelled from down the stairs.
"Coming!" Ichigo yelled back before dropping the picture, grabbing his bag and his case, his iPod and big sky blue headphones then running outside the room.
The Sweet Pea flowers blooming right beside the picture.
Hey so yeah new story as requested by PandaHat97.
AU High school. I came up with this story waking up just like two days ago and it took forever to put it all together. I wrote then deleted then wrote then deleted again. I want this fic to be perfect!
This story is about Ichigo AND Shiro. So chapter scenes would probably shift from time to time but not a whole lot.
So please review what you think! I'll be posting the actual chapter 1 soon so do hurry!
Ciao from,
Grimmjowislife.