Disclaimer: I do not own anything of familiarity. Nor do I own Jujutsu Kaisen or Bleach.
Warning(s): AU. Genderswapping. Blood. Violence. Mentions of gore, possible mutilations (they are fighting curses after all.). Swearing. Possible eventual smut. Fluff. Attempt at humor. Possible instances of OOCness.
A/N: I'm finally back! Sorry for the delay and all, but well anyone keeping up with the manga and anime is probably already aware we are in the Shibuya arc anime-wise, and given what's happen in the manga of JJK, the emotional whiplash has made it rather difficult to write on top of some personal stuff.
Arrival
Ichigo studied the strange little creature that clung to the back of the russet-skinned person walking ahead of her. She watched the green-skinned thing tremble, heard it whine and whimper, as it twitched in place. It didn't have legs, possessing more of a slug's body with arms instead.
If it weren't for the lack of a white mask, Ichigo may have guessed it to be some strange form of Hollow, but-
"Curses?"
"Yes, though the correct term is Cursed Spirits."
Ichigo paused in the midst of packing, to turn towards her raven-haired friend with a look of confusion, the corners of her mouth twitching down into a frown. "Never heard of 'em. Are they like a Hollow?"
"No, not quite. Hollows are far more dangerous, hence why they are typically hunted by Soul Reapers," Rukia supplied vaguely, in Ichigo's opinion anyway, bringing out her dumb little sketchpad and making her irritation spike another notch.
"In the simplest terms, Cursed Spirits are a race of spiritual beings manifested from what is known as cursed energy, resulting from the negative emotions that flow out of a human. They are primarily handled by Jujutsu Sorcerers." Ichigo's left brow began to twitch, being presented with yet another crudely drawn image of something labeled as a Cursed Spirit and another little tag-along image labelled as a Hollow. "There is no need to perform a konso when handling a cursed spirit, nor is there a mask that forms."
"So…They're like Hollows, but not quite, got it," came Ichigo's flippant response, earning her a very unamused smack from Rukia.
"There's more to it than that, so pay attention!" Rukia snapped while pulling on the orangette's ear, making the taller girl groan.
"This is serious Ichigo, you need to know certain things before leaving. Otherwise, you-know-who will insist on going with you, and we both know you don't want that," Rukia said tactfully, heaving a sigh after releasing the other girl. "After that business with Yhwach, the Soul King–"
"Rukia." Rukia's jaw snapped shut, hearing the firmer tone from Ichigo now. "I already know all that, about the Soul Society and stuff, so you don't need to worry. Just…think of this as a vacation, a needed distraction. For me, that is."
Rukia was silent. The soul reaper's face gave way to a momentary wince, a crack in the otherwise impassive facade she wore.
"...Ichigo."
–Either way, Ichigo figured it wasn't her problem. So long as it didn't cause trouble, so long as none of these 'Curses' tried to hurt anyone when she's around, she'd be fine ignoring them. As Rukia warned her beforehand, should a fight break out, Jujutsu sorcerers would show, and they would get suspicious and ask questions if she acted. Ichigo didn't want that. She didn't need something like that hanging over her head.
All Ichigo wanted was some semblance of peace, of normality, for however brief a time. She needed time to rest and be alone. Thankful when Renji and Rangiku left to return to the Soul Society after the train ride over.
"Ichigo. You have become strong. I have had the pleasure of standing by your side all this time, watching you grow. What greater happiness can there be? I am satisfied."
Ichigo needed time to mend.
"5,000 yen a month, that was the deal worked out with your friend."
Ichigo zoned back in just in time to catch the tail end of the landlord's words, eyes sweeping over the surprisingly spacious, well-kept living room. Much as she hated to admit it, it was probably nicer than anything she would've managed to find on her own… Especially if she had to account for a plus one.
"Normally, the price for new tenants is at least 50,000, but uh, that friend mentioned how you were operating under a kind of 'apprenticeship' or something."
Ichigo had half a mind to let out a derisive snort at the wording used, as well as how both accurate and inaccurate it truly was.
"Said how, because of your unique situation, he would pay a higher deposit and all that. Gotta say," the landlord continued, sounding more perplexed than anything else, "must be one hell of a company you work for, to be able to shell out that kind of money on its employees. And you're still so damn young too."
"Uh yeah, they specialize in uh, health and stuff. You know, the mental, emotional kind," Ichigo offered up lamely, not really knowing what to say in these sorts of situations to begin with, plus she kind of just wanted to start unpacking. She still needed to find the hospital, grocery store, and certain other things before it got dark out. "They're kind of overly protective of things though."
"Ah, say no more. My cousin works for a pharmaceutical company like that as well. One of their employees let the wrong information leak and now they can't even get a job flipping burgers, I tell ya." The landlord nodded along with his own words, but Ichigo's eyes were drawn back to the Curse latched onto his back, seeing it start to wriggle and move and then crawl up his arm to the shoulder.
Tokyo might be weirder than Karakura Town after all.
/~/
"There's a new Soul King."
The words had been followed by the thickest, tensest silence Gojo Satoru had ever felt. Even the elders suddenly looked nervous, no…afraid, his mind supplied. He knew better than most that they didn't scare easily.
"A new…Soul King?" Utahime had been incredulous, understandably so. The Soul King was on a different level from any known Jujutsu Sorcerer, being above even the fabled Soul Reapers. For someone-something-like that to be replaced?
"Is that even possible?" Gojo had said, brows drawn together while he struggled with the mere concept.
On the other side of the room, certain individuals had remained quiet, ones like Nanami and Mei, even Principal Yaga had looked…apprehensive.
"W-was it Y-Yhwach?" another person had asked. The fear in the room had become palpable following the mention of the Soul king's wayward son.
'If it was Yhwach,' Gojo remembered thinking to himself blithely, 'pretty sure we're all as good as dead.'
"No. When I reached out in regards to the immense surge of spiritual pressure felt throughout all of Tokyo a few months ago, I was merely informed that what I felt, was more than likely one of the battles that brought an end to the Thousand Year War." The Elder that had been speaking had paused, a grim look on their weathered, worn-down face. "The individual I spoke to went on to inform me that amongst the casualties, Yhwach was one that fell, his side ultimately having lost the battle. And that, following his defeat, a new Soul King was recognized and crowned by their predecessor."
"Someone…defeated Yhwach!?"
Currently, Gojo was sitting sprawled on a couch in his apartment. Choosing to forgo the, at times, cumbersome blindfold in favour of more casual sunglasses, while scrolling through the stream of messages he'd gotten for the day. Most of which remained unread.
He knew there was a sizable chunk that were, for someone like him, meagre requests from the top brass to deal with some of the more powerful curses. Some were from less important associates like Utahime whom he already teased about seeking comfort following the 'scary news' and received the entirely expected spew of venomous words berating him. There were others in regards to the meeting that happened a few months prior, as more of the Jujutsu community was on edge following the news.
Gojo himself had received several warnings from the higher-ups, and even ones like Yaga.
"Don't start trouble," they repeated over a dozen times.
"We might not be able to bail you out this time," others warned him.
"If you see a Soul Reaper, under no circumstances are you to engage them, understood?" Yaga himself had even made a point of saying. Gojo had nodded along, mostly to put some of the others at ease, promising he'd behave and all that.
At the very least, hadn't he proven that he wasn't one to go out and start any unnecessary trouble? He frowned, considering, and then shrugged. Maybe they were right to be just a little paranoid.
/~/
The instinctive fear of losing what might only be a fleeting sense of happiness usually endangers one to cling on tighter to it, and as a result what's waiting at the sidelines becomes blurred and out of focus-as does the impending end of said happiness.
Ichigo bowed her head slightly before looking back up at the memorial. Hood drawn up and eyes lacking their usual fierceness, replaced instead by something more sombre and melancholic, she read over the words again.
Taking in the towering marble edifice with a strange sense of heaviness, she felt almost peaceful.
Etched onto the smooth black marble surface were the names of victims lost in the string of natural disasters that had rocked the world a year ago. Ichigo felt like it had been far longer. Standing at two stories high, the pillar was a memorial that emphasized height over width. The lower part was surrounded by flowers of every shade and season, flickering candles and burning incense.
Ichigo found herself absently wondering just how many families were torn apart that day. As her own had been, when they had lost her mother, Masaki. It had been raining on that day too.
Conflict is always such a bitter affair.
"Naturally," a voice spoke up from off to the side, making Ichigo's lips part in surprise, not expecting a response. "Whether it's man against man, or man against nature, it's easy to be overcome with a sense of bitterness, or even rage. Malice is taking the easy way out. You must look past the pain if you hope to glean anything of worth."
Ichigo blinked, not realizing she had spoken aloud. Her confusion was evident, a few strands of orange whipping in her face with how fast she turned. A small flicker of panic surging, suspecting some familiar, unwanted presence may have followed her, Ichigo almost fell into a defensive stance only to notice a distinct lack of spiritual pressure coupled with unfamiliar chestnut-brown eyes staring back at her.
She opened her mouth, trying to think of some response, before cutting that attempt short. She could see the fresh flowers by the stranger's knees, the delicate petals still spared the effects of being exposed to the elements for now.
Ichigo could recall her mother loving flowers, so much so she spent more than a couple weeks educating Ichigo on the different meanings behind some of her favorites. She honestly tried not to think of those days too much, but when she sees the mix of calla lilies bundled with soft pink and white carnations, a pang of hurt swells within her anyway.
"That bouquet, um…?" She clears her throat while the stranger stands, blonde strands of hair still glistening from the morning rain. "Did you, I ah…I don't mean to offend, but d-did you lose a child?" The thought that however indirectly Ichigo's fighting may have caused such grief made her blood run cold, stomach dropping in cold dread.
"Before beginning a conversation, especially one with such a sensitive topic, why don't we introduce ourselves first?" Ichigo gives another dumbfounded blink, having expected him to start yelling rather than the calmer tone he used.
"O-oh, right!" she quickly amends. "My name's Kurosaki. Ichigo Kurosaki."
"Nanami Kento, it is nice to make your acquaintance."
She didn't recognize the name, which meant he wasn't affiliated with the Soul Society in any way. And he certainly wasn't an arrancar like Nel, which was a relief. It was refreshing in a way, being greeted by a normal person in a normal way.
"Yeah, nice meeting you Nanami." She can't think of the right words, never knowing what to say. Yuzu was usually the more sensitive one for things like this.
Even so, a part of her wanted to know if she was in some way responsible for his pain.
"Regarding your earlier question, it wasn't a family member, at the very least." Nanami's words were soft over the light pitter-patter of rain now coming down on them. "She was-" He stops, brows becoming slightly more furrowed in thought like he was trying to find the right words. "She was a child who lived close by. I spoke to her several times on the commute to work. She and her parents became trapped in the fallen debris of one of the buildings. Rescuers weren't able to reach them in time."
Ichigo's face softened at the admission, watching Nanami turn and look towards the top of the memorial.
"I don't know where their names are written, but I know there was no more family aside from the three of them."
"I know it must seem strange," Nanami said quietly, making Ichigo shake her head in denial.
"No," she cut in, thoughts turning back to a different moment in time. "You're a considerate person. I think maybe they would be happy to know someone cared enough to remember them like that."
Ichigo wondered for a moment if Nanami can see the faint visage of a little girl hovering before him over the flowers he had placed, clutching a worn teddy bear and looking towards him with grateful, watery eyes.
"I think she would say 'thank you'." Ichigo said, repeating the words of the young child before she begins fading away so Nanami can hear them as well. Nanami still looked sad, but Ichigo thought there was a note of gratitude in the tight nod he gave in answer.
Ichigo barely caught the tail end comment of how he has a meeting soon before her mouth opens and words are spilling out. "Say, you wouldn't happen to know how to get to the hospital from here, would you?"
Nanami paused in his steps, considering.
"And uh, maybe the local high school?" Ichigo says, ever tactful with just a hint of sheepish laughter. "And, if it's not too much, I have yet to find the grocery store?"
Nanami stared, the look on his face eerily reminiscent of whenever Uryu had remarked on her being of the same mindset as Renji or Ikkaku.
Ichigo decided to ignore it, hoping the offer of coffee will help sway him.
/~/
"Nanami's late? How surprising."
"Must be the weather. It's like a typhoon out there."
"Hmm, well if that's true then you should be fine. I hear witches do well in high winds, you kno-"
The sound of a teacup shattering filled the room, followed by an indignant shout and several others grunts of exasperation.
"For the last time! I! AM! YOUR! SENIOR!"
Yaga and Shoko Ieiri watched their fellow sorcerers go back and forth with verbal jabs, Gojo laughing at Utahime's flailing limbs and peeved expression, and the ones holding her back 'politely' asking for Gojo's cooperation in not antagonizing her.
A wasted effort really, as Gojo merely stated he was feeling bored. Normally, it was Nanami who endured Gojo's tedious remarks and such, him or Shoko usually being the best choices. Only Shoko didn't feel like it today and now Nanami was running late.
'Nanami's never late.' Shoko pondered, idly wondering if it was some kind of omen of things to come.
She hadn't ever truly considered herself a very superstitious individual. Sure, she'd entertained the idea a few times via the occasional horoscope reading or even a series of eerie coincidences, but now? Following the defeat of Yhwach and the supposed crowning of a new Soul King, she found herself wondering- could this weather be an omen as well?
Her eyes flitted over to a nearby window, tuning out Gojo and Utahime. The last time it came down like this was when-
Shoko gave a dismissive shake of her own head, willing such thoughts away. They would do little good for her now.
As a result, she missed the fluttering black butterfly that went on by.
Still undecided on romance, I also will not give spoilers on who may or may not survive certain things. That being said I would love to continue getting your thoughts and feedback on things.
