~FIREFLY KNIGHTS~
Bleach Copyright Tite Kubo
Firefly Knights Copyright Illand Girl
'For those that need a Guardian.'
Chapter 7: Unravelling
"Wow! You got second in the class Naomi?" Tatsuki grinned at me. I shrugged, feeling a bit sheepish.
"I mean, I got in on scholarship to a private academy. At least this proves it wasn't a fluke." I teased, my nose filling with the scent of chocolate and summer as Ichigo stepped up behind me. He glanced over my head at the class scores, muttering something to himself. I looked up at him, noticing the underside of his jaw before he looked down at me. He raised a brow.
"What is it?" He asked, but I just smirked.
"Well, now you know why I finish my homework so quickly, but you're awfully low for how much studying we do." I said, pointing to his name at the 23rd spot. He scoffed.
"Hey c'mon! I do pretty good considering-" he faltered, "-considering how much stuff I've got going on."
I frowned, looking away from him. I seemed to be the only one to catch it as Keigo went on a rant about how uncool it was to be smart. Reading a few more names, I noticed Orihime wasn't very far behind me in grades, being 3rd place. I grinned at her and congratulated her on that. She beamed, her cheeks turning red.
"Oh thank you!" She looked sheepish, especially when another classmate pouted.
"Orihime has boobs and brains, how do you compete with that?" She cried as Orihime looked embarrassed. I laughed.
"Makes her a real catch, eh?" I teased, and Orihime turned even more red before giggling with me and Tatsuki.
Ichigo sighed loudly as Mizuiro and Keigo ran off. I glanced at him, snickering. He glowered at me.
"Got something to say?" He asked. I just grinned before reaching up to ruffle his hair.
"Just think it's so cute how hard you try to study just because of this mug of yours." He slapped my hand away, glaring.
"Cut it out! If I get enough problems because of my hair, I doubt you'd let me live it down if I was an academic loser too." He muttered. I nodded vigorously.
"Nope! I'd never let you forget!" I teased, smirking at him. He rolled his eyes.
Our conversation in the group devolved to casual talk from there, when I thought of something I wanted to ask Ichigo. His birthday was tomorrow, and I had already bought a gift for him, but a new chocolate shop had opened in Karakura and I was curious if he'd like to check it out as a treat.
"Oh yeah, Ichigo, I wanted to ask you about your birthday." I said, gaining his attention. He looked surprised as he stared down at me.
"Huh? What about it?" He turned his body to face me, looking curious. I smiled softly, wringing my hands behind my back as I glanced down at his feet.
"I was just wondering if- well, did you want to-" I couldn't finish my sentence though, as Rukia Kuchiki came flying from nowhere and grabbed Ichigo's hand.
"Ichigo, I need you, right now!" she said, yanking him along. Ichigo didn't even resist. Instead, he threw a "talk to you later!" over his shoulder and left. I stared at them until they were out of sight and continued to stare at him for a while longer. I felt a sharp pang at the realization that he didn't even wait to hear what I was saying, and part of me had the horrendous thought that maybe Ichigo and Rukia were a thing, and I was just making up weird monsters in my head to justify them interacting at all. And another pang hit me when I realized that probably meant Ichigo and I were no longer best friends.
Clearly not if I was that easily replaceable.
"Damn, that was cold," Tatsuki said. "Were you about to ask him out Naomi?"
"Just fuck it." I muttered, turning and walking in the opposite direction.
Fuck Rukia.
Fuck Ichigo.
Fuck everything.
"Hey I'm sure Ichigo didn't mean anything by that. If anything I wonder if Rukia is making him-" I cut Tatsuki off.
"I don't care, it doesn't matter."
It really didn't.
I huffed and pouted for the rest of class, and when Ichigo didn't return during school hours, I decided to walk home on my own instead of waiting like a lost puppy for him.
"Stupid Ichigo." I muttered, mad for no reason other than I felt replaced by a guy I had essentially abandoned for three years. I pouted, frowning as I glared at the sidewalk.
"You're Naomi Sakurai, correct?"
I paused, looking around before finding someone in my high school uniform. He was leaning against the wall looking casual as he adjusted his glasses.
"Uryuu Ishida, right?" I asked, turning to face him. My frown was still on my face due to my mood, but he didn't seem to mind.
"I have to say, it's remarkable how much you tolerate from Kurosaki," he said it so bluntly that it caught me off guard. "I haven't seen such blind faith put into a person before. I would be careful about that; it might get you seriously hurt one day."
I scowled, immediately not liking the guy at all.
"What the hell kind of talk is that?" I raised a brow. "This is the first time we've spoken and you mock me for having faith in my best friend?"
He chuckled, standing up straight and away from the wall. He was much taller than me, almost Ichigo's height.
"I do when you trust the person who did this to you." He mocked, sounding amused. I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms.
"Tell me, Ms. Sakurai," he tilted his head. "Did Ichigo ever tell you? That he was the one to ask Rukia to erase your memories?"
Well, that hadn't been what I was expecting him to say. I had expected something to the line of 'I know what's going on' or 'Rukia's a wolf in sheep's clothing' but I hadn't expected quite that remark. It must've shown on my face since Uryuu smirked again.
"I guess he didn't. So tell me, why would you put such faith in a guy who did that to you?"
"Enough."
He hesitated as I squared my shoulders and composed myself.
"I get it, you want to get under my skin because of something that's going on with Ichigo and Rukia. I get it, and honestly? Good luck." I smirked. "To start, I'm not just silently taking it. I'm royally pissed. I'm furious but I don't have any answers, so unless you're about to spell it out for me, get lost. I don't need more confusion in here."
I tapped the side of my head lightly and smirked.
"Secondly, Ichigo may make some seriously questionable life choices, and I'll probably want to smack him straight after I find out, but one thing Ichigo would never do to me is lie without a reason. So I trust Ichigo, and I trust that while I may not like his choices, I can trust that he would make that choice for me." I paused, lowering my gaze as I thought of him running off with Rukia. "Even if I'm not his closest friend, Ichigo would never abandon any of his friends."
Uryuu watched me as I spun on my heel and marched away before he could say anything else. I marched to the chocolate shop and bought a couple of chocolates I thought Ichigo would like, but on my way home I kept replaying what I said inside my head.
I did trust Ichigo, but that didn't mean I had to like it.
And Rukia... that jealousy clawed at my spine.
"Hey stop! You'll only make it worse!" He shouted, sitting on my chest. I struggled; my arms trapped under his legs. Ichigo stared down at me with wide eyes as I glared at him.
"Get off me!"
The cemetery concrete was shoved into my face as something stood on my back.
Pain.
I couldn't move, barely enough air in my lungs to scream.
So much pain.
"Get off me!"
Now Ichigo was screaming for me. It felt like he was so close to me, yet somehow his voice sounded far away.
"NAOMIIII!" His voice echoed as if travelling through water. I felt something lift me up, holding me. I felt like I was drenched in rainwater, parts of me wet while other parts were dry. I could hear something dripping, something wrapped tightly around me.
"Get off of me."
I woke in a cold sweat, shivering as my fan blew cold air on my bare skin. In my nightmare I had kicked off all the blankets and still worked up quite a sweat.
It was only five in the morning, but I couldn't settle back to bed. Then at seven I couldn't find it in myself to get ready for school either. I sat in my apartment for another hour before deciding to skip and just go for a walk. After a shower and some tea for breakfast I finally made my way out the door and into the street.
This was the first time I had ever missed school intentionally, and I didn't have a clue where to go. So I walked, not thinking about it and just let my feet carry me away as I thought. I thought about Rukia and where she fit in with everything happening. I thought about those monsters that seemed invisible but were obviously there. I thought about the fragmented memories that were in my head. Most of all, I thought about Ichigo, and a deep-rooted fear planted in my gut that he was somehow part of all this.
Ichigo...
I found myself on the stretch of river where Masaki died and stared out at it. Then I sat on the bank and stared vacantly as my mind continued to spiral.
Rukia, Ichigo, monsters, memories.
Rukia, Ichigo, monsters, memories.
Memories of monsters.
Rukia did something to Ichigo.
Memories of Ichigo fighting monsters.
Rukia did something to us.
Rukia, Ichigo, memories, monsters.
Rukia did something.
My head hurt. It felt hot to the touch. I decided that perhaps I was getting sick and needed to go home. But on my way back to my house the headache became a migraine, and my brain spiraled to the point that I soon realized I was on the pavement. The sun felt so bright that I tried to cover my eyes and block it out.
Rukia did something.
Is Rukia a monster too?
What did she do to me?
What did she do to Ichigo?
"Well, you're just a mess. Lying here in the middle of the pavement." I winced when I heard an unfamiliar voice. When I uncovered my eyes, I couldn't entirely see who was standing over me. They blocked the sun, but the only thing I could see was that they were casually fanning themselves.
"Looks like Rukia did a number on you. You're looking rougher than normal." My vision was going fuzzy on the sides. All I could see was the shadow drawing closer, his fan's wind gently covering me in a small gesture of kindness. I sighed, the burning becoming worse.
Rukia Kuchiki had been growing more and more suspicious of Naomi Sakurai ever since the night that she met her.
The girl was, for all intents and purposes, a relatively normal high school student. She had stellar grades, ranking second for her entire year, and a nominally good reputation. She was considered friendly and approachable, and overall had a positive outlook.
Except she could see straight through Rukia at every turn.
"What did you do to Ichigo?"
She knew. She knew without possibly knowing what happened. Without remembering, she still knew Rukia was behind it all. Rukia had long since decided that she needed to keep a closer eye on Ms. Sakurai, and it had started with fishing for information from Ichigo. But the only thing that ever became apparent was that the two were a very close-knit friendship that even three years apart had not damaged.
That, and the fact that Naomi Sakurai could see spirits. Or at least, she could once upon a time. It was difficult to get straight facts about the girl from Ichigo, as he wasn't entirely forthcoming with their friendship prior to her return. He always got that stupid wide grin whenever talking about her that had Rukia rolling her eyes at him. The only thing she could get out of him was that he and Naomi had known each other for a very long time, and that she had spent her fair share of time protecting him.
It didn't surprise Rukia in the slightest, considering the look in Sakurai's indigo eyes when she confronted Rukia behind the school the other day. The coldness, the malintent. Naomi was not joking when she squared her shoulders and looked down her nose at Rukia. And something in her entire aura shifted in those few seconds before Ichigo arrived, and for a second Rukia wondered how different that moment might've played out if Kurosaki hadn't happened upon them.
Not to mention the speed the girl moved at sometimes was a bit frightening. Yet no matter what evidence she brought to Ichigo, he ignored it. He should've cut her out of his life completely. It was obvious that his spiritual pressure was rubbing off on Naomi and having adverse effects on her. But Ichigo wouldn't listen to her no matter how hard she tried. It was obvious that bond was stronger than her control over him. And while he clearly had affections for her, he didn't show any sign of stepping away from Sakurai anytime soon.
Sakurai was only part of the reason that she made her way to Urahara's. The other was the fact that the man never answered any of her calls.
"Urahara!" She shouted from the door, and as soon as she saw the man in his striped hat she chucked her soul pager at him. It hit it's mark right in the side of his head. He winced, rubbing the sore spot and staring at the pager on the floor.
"Good morning to you too, Ms. Kuchiki." He mumbled, yawning. Rukia was pissed at his nonchalance.
"Don't give me that Urahara! I've been trying to contact you for two days now!" She scolded. Urahara mumbled under his breath, adjusted his hat, then sat in his customary position with his fan unfolded.
"Sorry, been busy dealing with a few things lately. What can I do for you?"
Despite his nonchalance, Kisuke did provide details about the quincy to Rukia and explain their history in a direct manner. However, things took a turn at her next question.
"The next thing I wanted to know... Do you know anything about a girl named Naomi Sakurai?" Rukia asked. Urahara hesitated in his fanning, answering the question for Rukia nonverbally.
"What about her?" He asked, watching her beneath the brim of his hat. Rukia crossed her arms.
"That girl... She's no ordinary human, is she?" Rukia urged, taking a few steps closer. Kisuke didn't react for a moment, then he snapped his fan shut and sighed.
"I wouldn't worry too much about that one," he pointed his fan at her as he continued. "In fact, the less you know, the better."
Rukia scoffed, insulted as she turned her body halfway away from him. However, Urahara didn't budge, staring her down without any hesitation.
"Fine." Rukia said as she excused herself and left to find Ichigo. After she left, Kisuke couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
"Those Sakurai's, always causing trouble for people." He tapped his fan on the ground twice before opening it to cover half his face again. "Though this one might turn out to be troublesome."
I jolted awake, sitting up rapidly. My head spun as I fell back with a groan before looking around my room.
Wait- my room?
Sure enough, I was lying in my own bed. My head hurt, though it was nowhere near the migraine that it was last time. My phone had a lot of missed calls and texts. Many of them were from the Kurosaki's, including Ichigo. I frowned, reading a handful of texts before deciding I really didn't want to respond. Still, to be sure a brigade didn't show up at my house I responded to Yuzu and Tatsuki and said I was alive but had a cold, so I was staying home. I then messaged Isshin and asked for the next few days off due to illness. It seemed to be the wrong move as I was immediately bombarded with messages about how I needed to be eating better and taking care of myself, but I assured everyone I was fine, then stared at Ichigo's texts again. Several of them seemed frantic, but at the end just a 'Nao talk to me, are you alright?' somehow sent me over the edge.
I scowled, wanting to throw the phone at a wall.
"Maybe don't run off with other girls and we can talk, Ichigo." I muttered, feeling hot all of a sudden. I remembered Ichigo running off with Rukia and chucked my blankets off me. It was then that I realized I hadn't changed my clothing since yesterday and frowned.
A hot shower, fresh change of clothes, and a cup of tea with toast was all I needed before I headed out the door. I might as well get something from the store to eat while I pouted, and red bean buns sounded delicious right now. I forcibly pushed any sadness from my mind while I walked, refusing to think about stupid Ichigo, or stupid Rukia, or stupid monsters, or stupid anything-
Damn.
I sighed, staring at the crosswalk as I waited for the light to turn. I crossed with everyone else, staring vacantly ahead of me.
My head hurt again, and a chill ran up my spine as I got the sensation of being watched. My chest fluttered and my heart pounded as the sensation of being stalked crept through me.
I walked faster, feeling like something was on my heels, then I jogged. I dodged through people as I bolted into a full spring into a quieter part of town. It felt like something was right at my heels the entire time as my heart hammered. I tripped up a bit and paused in my run.
Looking around, nothing was actually there, but my skin crawled, and I felt the need to move so badly. My neck was tight and sore from the nerves.
A massive pressure pushed through my chest, like my soul was being ripped from my body.
Agony spilled through me, like I was being torn apart on a molecular level, the burning sensation rising as something clawed into my very soul-
Then I felt nothing.
Urahara grumbled under his breath as he and his team worked along the road. Jinta and Ururu were having a field day taking out the lower-level hollows that Uryuu had unleashed on an unsuspecting Karakura, but Kisuke had concerns that the numbers would draw in something far greater to their midst.
He was unfortunately correct.
"Hey! That one's tiny! Look it looks like a person!" Jinta shouted, rushing ahead and pointing to one. Tessai's eyes widened as he realized what he was seeing.
"Well that's not good," Kisuke said, putting a hand on Jinta's shoulder to stop him from getting closer. "Sorry, but that one's out of your league."
Jinta looked between Urahara and the tiny hollow. The hollow wasn't facing them, but their hands were soaked in blood as it dripped slowly from their hands. Horns that reminded him of an antelope's curved back over the head. The hollow turned to stare at them as they approached, and Tessai leapt ahead to defend.
"Hold on now," Kisuke said, making the taller man pause. "Let's not try and antagonize her yet. Besides, she looks quite tired."
As if on cue, the hollow yawned loudly. When she tried to cover her mouth, she noticed her bloody hands and frowned. Through half open pale green eyes, she inspected the blood.
Then she looked to Kisuke, confused. Kisuke took that as an invitation as he moved to the front.
"Hey there, you look tired. Why don't you hop back into your body and take a good nap again?" he asked cheerily. She looked from him to the body lying not twenty feet away. She yawned again, blinking away the sleep.
"What's... happening?" She asked, trying to understand what was going on around her. "Why am I... over there?"
She looked from her body then back to Kisuke.
"Who... are you?"
Kisuke grins.
"I'm a friend, now if you get back in there I'll explain everything, sound good?" He watched with relief as she slowly nodded and ambled over to the body lying prone on the floor.
"Hey, Tessai, isn't that the girl Kisuke had to fix up yesterday?" Jinta asked Tessai, who wouldn't take his eyes off the malformed spirit.
Just as the girl in question reached her body, she paused, sniffing the air. Kisuke stiffened as something ripped open the sky beyond them. She sniffed again, before slowly walking in the direction of a massive menos grande.
Kisuke sighed, scratching his head.
"Well, at least she didn't try to kill us." He glanced at Tessai, who picked up the girl's body, and they followed the hollowfied spirit as it walked out towards the Menos.
The closer she got to them, the more Rukia could sense her. At first, Rukia thought it was the menos' spiritual pressure that felt, but then as it grew to such an immense level, she realized that no, it wasn't just the menos, but another being entirely.
"Ichigo!" She shouted, trying to warn him as he fought of a cero from the menos. But the orange haired boy couldn't hear her as he swung his blade. Menos was struck with his own cero, slicing him up some as it stepped backwards.
Ichigo shouted, pumping a fist.
"Take that! I win!" He shouted. "I win! I- I win...!" He fell face first into the ground, Uryuu couldn't help but stare as menos grande looked at them both. Seeing Ichigo collapse, it stared at him intently. Uryuu froze, feeling Ichigo's spiritual pressure skyrocketing. His zanpakuto began to beam out massive amounts of energy and started to break down. Ichigo panicked, but his body wasn't able to move. Uryuu made a move to help him, but a gust of wind from menos stepping forward again gained his attention.
Which did he go for? Menos or Ichigo? He didn't think he could really help against menos, but he could help Ichigo. But if Menos fired off another strike...
What the hell was he supposed to do?
Before he could make a choice, another spiritual pressure could be felt. A heavy weight sat on Uryuu's shoulders as he felt the immense pressure. He fell to his knees, fighting to stay upright. Between the approaching pressure, the menos, and Ichigo's out of control spiritual pressure Uryuu felt something pop in his ear as he fell to the ground, out cold.
Ichigo felt his zanpakuto begin to break down, he yelped. Unable to move his body, he was forced to watch as the blade burned brightly and began to disintegrate in front of his eyes.
"No...! No!" He shouted, panicked. "NO!"
A foot slammed down onto the blade, and the spiritual pressure ceased. It immediately stabilized inside of Ichigo, and he could only stare at the foot before his head began to swim from the sudden stability. He tried to look up, but only saw thin legs and a skirt before he blacked out.
Rukia stared, shocked to see Naomi Sakurai standing on top of Ichigo's blade. What was more confusing was the horns on her head.
Menos roared, gaining Naomi's attention. She reached for a- was that a zanpakuto at her waist?!
"What- Just what are you?!" Rukia shouted as Naomi drew her blade. Menos fired up another Cero, but with one swing Naomi slashed through it and the menos. In the wake of her strike a huge blast of spiritual pressure blew away from her strike, creating a dust storm.
The creature crumbled, vanishing completely. It wasn't just the menos, as the ground in front of Naomi was also cut in her wake. It came dangerously close to Uryuu's passed out form, following the arc of her swing.
"Alrighty, I think play time is over, don't you?" Kisuke called, gaining Naomi's attention. Rukia shivered at green cat eyes stared her down. She'd never felt such killer intent before, but it reminded her of that day behind the school all over again.
A stare with killer intent.
Naomi narrowed her eyes at Kisuke, frowning. Kisuke pointed his fan at Ichigo.
"He's going to collapse under your spirit pressure. Do you really want that? After you went through the trouble of saving him?" Kisuke squared up with her, waiting. It took a moment, Naomi glancing at Ichigo's prone form once more, then she huffed and sheathed her sword. Tessai brought her body closer, laying it out flat, and backed away for Naomi to approach. She casually walked up and shuffled back into her body with a mild glow. The spiritual pressure immediately ceased, and Rukia could breathe easier again.
Naomi laid prone, completely still and lacking any sign of waking. Rukia could only stare, not understanding what had just happened. All she knew was that Kisuke knew exactly what was going on.
"Urahara!" Rukia shouted, now able to move thanks to Naomi retreating into her body. She stood, though she shook slightly as she did. Kisuke glanced at her from behind his fan.
"Oh right, Ms Kuchiki," he smiled elusively. "Sorry, at least she was submissive this time."
"Can the crap Urahara! Just what exactly is going on?! You knew what was happening from the start and yet you said nothing-"
"I wouldn't think too hard about it." Kisuke said calmly, stopping beside Rukia. She looked up at him, then back to Naomi. "In fact, it would be best if you didn't witness this."
Rukia turned to ask what he meant but was flashed with the memory replacement device. Rukia stared, stunned, then collapsed onto the ground. Kisuke glanced between the four passed out on the floor and sighed, fanning himself lightly. He stood above Naomi and stared as he mused.
"The lengths I go for you, Hiroshi."
Man this one was like pulling teeth! I couldn't just sit down and write, might be losing my mojo... I have written an insane amount this past few months...
Anywho, Naomi Naomi, what's up with naomi? Well, I know what is going on, any guesses as to what it is?
Thank you to my reviewers, again i cannot see any interactions with FFNET at all other than reviews, and even those dont always come through... but thank you! And to reply to Laur: K I was so annoyed that nobody thought Rukia was weird at school! I mean she just shows up and constantly grabs Ichigo despite him saying on many occassions to knock it off. I always thought that seemed weird and sus. I too also wanted someone to dislike rukia, but she seemed to universalyl liked! Though I too like her a lot and think she's one of the better attempts at female writing in the show. Glad you enjoyed your read! I'll give you a hint that Naomi smelling Ichigo is a skill of hers that she got AFTER that night at the Kurosaki's, if that gives you any hints as to what's going on then there you go!
Cinna, I would be more than just jealous, I would lowkey think we weren't friends I'd be so confused. naomi is just too trusting.
Anyway,
Cheers,
Iland Girl