Everything, always; it all starts with the rain. This is no different, and it certainly won't ever be the same.
Kurosaki Ichigo. First Protector; one who protects. The eldest son of Kurosaki Masaki and Kurosaki Isshin. Older brother of twin sisters; Kurosaki Yuzu and Kurosaki Karin. None of this changes. Or maybe, it does in ways that cannot be seen.
Ichigo takes after his mother; in appearance and in personality. Kind, sweet, protective, and oh so stubborn, just like Masaki. Sensitive and observant, and always lending a helping hand to spirits and humans alike.
This is how Masaki raises her son and her daughters. Spoiled with love and kindness and taught to be kind, yet aware that kindness can be taken away when greedily taken. So very unlike her childhood in a skeletal home of the once great Kurosaki Clan and later in the frigid Ishida household under Ishida Izumi's ruthless tutelage.
A child should be loved and cared for, spoiled with gifts and joy and be given the world. This is how Masaki runs her household, because children are precious and should never be unhappy.
Ichigo, through observing and listening, follows this rule almost instinctually. His baby sisters should always be happy and protected, for they are precious. Tatsuki should always be happy and protected, for she is precious. Everyone should be happy and protected, for they are all precious to him.
This is how this entire change of events start. With the protective—and somewhat possessive—instinct of a six year old boy, and a dragon.
He kind of regrets declaring he'd walk home by himself today. Not because he was scared or anything! But, the rain, it was just so much! Ichigo could barely see anything just a few feet in front of himself!
It was cold too, and the raincoat he made sure to remember to put on didn't help, at all! Dad is kind of stupid for thinking it would keep him warm. Hmph!
Ichigo scrubs at his wet face in an useless attempt to wipe away the rain with his equally wet hands. He tugs at the sleeves of his raincoat and picks up his running. He sees the bridge, barely, which means he's almost home!
A bright smile grows on his face at the thought of finally getting out of the cold rain. Next time he walks home by himself, he's definitely paying attention to the weather.
CRACK—BOOM!!!!
Ichigo cries out at the deafening clap of thunder, slapping his hands over his ears. His ears ring as he breathes heavily before glaring up at the sky. Stupid rain.
He starts to run, having stumbled to a stop from the thunder, and is just about to run across the bridge when he hears something.
Ichigo slides to a stop and almost falls backwards on his butt before he reaches out and grabs the bridge railing. He carefully rights himself before his head snaps up when he hears something again. Or he thinks he hears something...
"Hello?" Ichigo calls out loudly over the pouring rain. He glances around while squinting his eyes, trying to see anything besides faint streetlights and foggy rain.
Something wails loudly right before thunder booms again, thankfully at a further distance. The lightning gives the area a bit more light as Ichigo leans over the railing.
It came from under the bridge! Ichigo runs off the bridge and uses the railing to spin around, sliding down the riverbank. His feet slip over the muddy ground, but he's careful to keep his balance. Mom hates him being anywhere near the riverbank, even when it isn't raining, so he has to be careful!
"Hello?! Are you hurt?" Ichigo calls out while he uses the bridge arch as leverage to lean forward. Ichigo stops and blinks as another wail reverberates across the cement and rapid water.
There, in the river and barely hanging on to the riverbank so it wouldn't get swept away... and despite it being dark and foggy, Ichigo could clearly see what was crying for help. It... looked like a lizard? But, it wasn't a lizard. Maybe?
It was almost snake-like, maybe around two feet long, with pale-colored scales and white whiskers on its face. It looked like the dragons from the pictures and drawings Ichigo sees during festivals, or when he and his sisters are taken to one of the temples. But—it's probably the darkness... dragons don't exist...
Ichigo is snapped out of his thoughts when slitted opal eyes stare into his gold eyes. Ichigo instinctively steps forward, almost slipping into the river. It needs help!
"H-hold on! I'll help you!"
The not-lizard wails—pitched higher and even more terrible sounding than the other ones—one last time before a sudden forceful drag of the river makes it lose its hold in the riverbank.
Ichigo gasps loudly and leaps forward with wide eyes when the not-lizard is immediately pulled below the surface. His hand is outstretched and half of his body is past the riverbank.
Lightning streaks across the sky and thunder booms only half a beat after. It covers up the loud splash and a child's yelp.
It was already seven o'clock. Ichigo isn't home still. Karate ended 45 minutes ago and even though the storm was absolutely horrid, Ichigo knows the way home.
Masaki pulls the silver chain attached to her wrist, around and around, sitting peacefully in the living room. Karin and Yuzu were giggling and laughing, playing with some old dolls—some kind of hero and villain fight.
"I should have gone to pick him up the moment it started to rain..." Masaki bites her lip to refrain from placing her head in her hands. It will only make the twins worry with how observant they are.
Maybe—he must have stayed late. Yes. Probably wanted to talk with Tatsuki-chan. His very first friend, oh Masaki is so proud! She was getting worried... four years old and still not making any friends. And now, he's six and has one!
Masaki tugs on her silver chain a bit rougher. The cross dangling from it clinks at the sudden force.
Ichigo has walked home by himself before. Masaki shouldn't be so worried. She's just overthinking it! Yes! That's it!
Something sharp and sickly stabs through Masaki's stomach. She breathes out shakily and stands up, forcing a smile on her face when the twins immediately look up at her. She turns around and the smile disappears as she marches directly towards the clinic.
"Isshin?! Isshin!" Masaki calls out when she enters the clinic, just barely capable of keeping her voice calm.
Isshin is already standing, his head snapping up. Masaki feels something soften in her panicking heart at how intune the silly fool is to her, but she doesn't let it stop her mission.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Isshin asks urgently, doing away with his foolish persona at the sight of Masaki and her panic.
Masaki glances out towards the glass doors of the clinic. "It-it's been an hour. I'm going to go look for Ichigo. I-I think—something–I think something happened."
"Masaki, Ichigo knows the way home," Isshin reassures with that stupidly sweet smile of his, walking over to gently hold his wife's arms. "I'm sure he's fine. There's nothing to worry about."
"I know. I-I know... but—Isshin, something's wrong, or something–something happened. I don't know, but I'm worried," Masaki says quietly.
Isshin sighs, but continues to smile. "Alright. It is pretty harsh out there. I'll watch over our most beautiful and very sweet daughters!"
Masaki laughs quietly as her husband races out of the clinic with loud proclamations. The twins are squealing in delight not even a moment later, probably being thrown or spun in the air.
"Please be okay, Ichigo," Masaki prays silently while walking out of the clinic and towards the front door. She only takes a few steps before the door is slammed open and a blur of yellow and orange barrels into the house.
"Mom! Mom!" Ichigo shouts loudly before tripping and falling on his face.
"Ichigo!" Masaki barely reigns in her immense relief while she rushes forward. She hovers her hands over her son as he slowly sits up with a hand rubbing at his face.
"Oh my—Ichigo, you're bleeding!" Masaki cries out before she gently grabs her son's bleeding face. Blood fell down his face in watery rivulets and there was a bruise starting to form on his temple.
"You–you're soaked! What happened?!" Masaki asks, brushing away some of Ichigo's bangs back to find where the blood was coming from.
"I-I'm okay!" Ichigo grins widely before his eyes widen. "W-wait! Hold on! You have to help!"
"Ichigo?! What—" Masaki cuts herself off as her son almost rips off his raincoat and something... something wrapped around his neck is revealed.
She blinks rapidly, watching a faint shape fade in and out of her vision. She briefly catches lilac and white before she blinks again and the colors seemingly fade.
Ichigo seems to grab the thing from his neck, which soon fades back into sight much more vividly, and holds it up above his head. "He–he needs help! He's a dragon and I—he couldn't hold onto the riverbank anymore, so I went and grabbed him and–and he's still hurt!"
Masaki clicks her mouth close as her brain finally registers the animal—the creature she sees. What the actual—
"A-all... Alright. Okay." Masaki watches her son bolt directly towards the clinic, still wearing his muddy and soaked boots. She quietly laments her clean floors in a split second of hysteria before she stands up.
She turns her head and stares at dark eyes, just as wide and filled with just as much disbelief and incredulity. Was that—was that a dragon? An actual living, breathing dragon? What the—
"Mom?! Mom!" Ichigo calls out loudly, snapping his mother out of her shock. She rushes towards the clinic, Isshin not far behind with the twins still hanging off of his arms.
Out of anything, anything at all she feared might happen... this wasn't even in the fucking ballpark! What the actual fuck?!
Ichigo watches with rapt attention, his head resting on his hands while he stays leaning over the cot. Opal eyes, glittering in all kinds of different colors, stare back at him without so much as a blink.
He continues staring while his dad carefully lifts up the dragon. The dragon rumbles in dissatisfaction, but does not break his staring contest with Ichigo.
"Alright... I checked him over and there seems to be no more cuts!" His dad exclaims brightly while placing the dragon back down now that he wrapped the bandage around part of its stomach.
Ichigo smiles brightly with a gasp and reaches forward, the dragon squawking in surprise when he's pulled into a hug. "So, he's gonna be alright?! Are you sure?"
Isshin grins brightly and raises a fist into the air. "Don't doubt your father, son! I'm the best doctor there is!"
Ichigo beams with the very light of the sun before he looks down at the dragon. He had already curled around Ichigo's arm the moment he was hugged and was now resting his head against Ichigo's neck, purring quietly.
The dragon is going to be okay now. Thank goodness.
"You're gonna be okay, now!" The six year old boy exclaims while he nuzzles the dragon. The dragon chirps in response to the affectionate gesture before it twists his head upside-down when two little girls suddenly run up.
"Nīchan! Nīchan!" Yuzu holds up her hands with a grabbing motion. "Wanna see! Wanna see!"
"Yeah!" Karin backs up her sister, jumping up and down in her excitement.
Ichigo blinks before smiling down at the dragon. "Can my sisters hold you? They'll be careful! Promise!"
The dragon chirps again and slinks out of the boy's arms like a snake. He hovers around the girls before draping himself over both of the girls' shoulders. The twins squeal in delight and almost immediately start to pet him.
"So pretty! Mama! Mama! Look!" Yuzu runs over to their mother with bright eyes and holds up the dragon. "Look! He's really pretty!"
"Yes, he is a very pretty dragon!" Masaki exclaims with a smile, leaning on her knees to get closer to her children.
"You did great, helping him, Ichigo! You're a hero!" Isshin states with a ruffle to his son's hair. Ichigo leans up into the hand with a beaming grin, not noticing Masaki's harsh glare.
"But, you should not do that again, Ichigo. You could have been a lot more injured," Masaki says in a stern tone, still glaring at a now sheepish Isshin. "Isn't that right, dear?"
"A-ah—yes. Be more careful, son. You were lucky with only a cut on your forehead," Isshin quickly adds with his hands waving rapidly in front of him.
Ichigo nods his head rapidly, the small amount of tension completely passing over his head. "Okay! I will."
Masaki smiles and her glare disappears when her son turns to look at her. She nods her head in acceptance before glancing over at the twins when they squeal. They started to chase the dragon around, playing a game of impromptu tag with it.
"Let's go get a bath started, Ichigo. You're absolutely filthy from your swim," Masaki says while holding her hand out. Ichigo perks up and laughs brightly while bounding over to the auburn-haired woman to grab her hand.
"Mom! Mom! Can we keep the dragon? I wanna keep the dragon!" Ichigo asks excitedly, making both of his parents freeze. He doesn't notice, nor would he understand if he did, the emotions that flicker across both of their faces.
Both parents look at each other, silently conversing for a long moment. The twins stop their chasing to run over to their mother, grabbing onto her skirt.
"Can we?! Can we?! Mom, can we keep the dragon?" The twins ask at the same time with mounting excitement.
Masaki winces and looks at each of her children. "W-well... we–we don't necessarily have the... things we need to keep a-a dragon. And..."
"Mom, please? Pretty please?" Ichigo pleads with sad eyes. "He wouldn't be in the river if he didn't have a home! And–and he's still hurt! We can't leave him alone!"
"Now, now..." Masaki tries to calm her son down, only for her twin daughters to start staring at her with equally sad eyes.
"Mama, are we gonna leave him alone?" Yuzu asks tearfully. She sniffs loudly as her bottom lip starts to tremble.
"...we can—he can stay until he heals, but we can't—children, we can't keep a dragon," Masaki says, trying to hold her ground. She glances towards Isshin with wide eyes, seeking help.
Masaki blinks as she witnesses Isshin cuddling with the dragon, only for it to sneeze out a puff of fire directly onto his hair. Isshin cries out in panic and starts to smack his own head in an attempt to smother the fire.
Masaki sighs heavily. She's going to be alone for this battle.
"Children, we can't—a pet is a big responsibility... and that's with your–your normal dog... or cat. But a dragon? I don't know if we can keep it," Masaki says softly as she focuses back into her children.
She bites the inside of her cheek when tears start to gather in all three of her children's eyes. A heart-wrenching whine fills the air and Masaki reluctantly looks up, only to see the dragon laying on the cot with the saddest pair of eyes she's ever seen. Oh no.
Masaki sighs heavily and runs a hand through Ichigo's hair. "Your father and I will discuss it... but the dragon can stay until he's better."
She bites back a smile when she's hugged on all sides by her children, their shouts of gratitude louder than their father's panicked shouts. Why couldn't her children want a normal animal as a pet? Why did they decide something she didn't even know existed was the perfect pet?
"This isn't fair. This isn't fair at all," Masaki whispers with a pout. She sat on Ichigo's bed, gently running a hand through her son's hair.
Ichigo huffs quietly before leaning into the hand. The dragon—which is still going in and out of her sight—is curled up on his chest continuously purring, puffing out small amounts of smoke from his nostrils. Masaki might die from witnessing such an adorable sight.
Masaki sighs quietly with a soft smile. "I don't think I can tell him we can't keep the dragon..."
"Are you sure? I've... heard about them before, but I've never seen one. I don't think Urahara's seen one either," Isshin says, just as quietly.
Masaki stays silent for a long minute. She watches the dragon suddenly twist around like a pretzel to press his head into Ichigo's neck. It releases a deep rumble before relaxing. Oh, this is way too cute.
"...let's go see him tomorrow. He can at least help us figure out how to take care of a creature we can barely see," Masaki eventually speaks, glancing over her shoulder to give Isshin a smile.
Isshin sighs with a smile of his own and shakes his head. "You've grown just as attached."
"So did you!" Masaki pouts with a half-hearted glare before she laughs quietly. She glances back at her son and the newly acquired dragon of his.
Damn the dragon and his combined cuteness with her already adorable son. She's doomed to let him stay the moment Ichigo came home with him. And she was right, because by the time she and Isshin went to Urahara the next day, she was already creating a mental list of pet supplies meant for lizards which might help take care of a dragon.
"What an interesting development. I wouldn't think their dragons would travel so far. Are you sure it's a dragon?" Urahara Kisuke's casual comment snaps Masaki out of her thoughts.
"Yes," Masaki answers immediately with a nod of her head. "He kept... disappearing and reappearing from my sight, but I could see him. Ichigo says he could see him as clear as day."
"Really? How interesting..." Urahara trails off with a slight pause in his fanning. Oh no, he doesn't!
Masaki's eyebrow twitches before she gives him a harsh glare. "Don't you fucking dare. I understand these‒these dragons are—well, I certainly didn't think they actually existed, but you are not going to go messing with my children because of your curiosity. At least, not until they're older and can make the decision themselves. Do you understand me?"
Urahara at least has the decency to look sheepish and actually lowers his fan as a sad version of an apology. Masaki narrows her eyes before huffing loudly and turning to stare at her husband. His hair was slightly singed at the top from the dragon's sneeze last night, and his left eyebrow is completely burnt off from the dragon's successful mini tantrum when Isshin tried to tell him he couldn't go with Ichigo to school. Thankfully, Masaki hasn't received any calls about spontaneous fires, so it must have been the correct decision.
"Besides, we're going to be keeping the dragon. I'm sure there's going to be plenty of situations where we're going to need your help with him. I certainly don't know how to take care of a dragon as a pet," Masaki continues before she reaches over to grab the tea Urahara's friend had made for them all. She takes a sip and sighs quietly at the warmth seeping back into her bones. It's much too cold for an autumn day.
Urahara hums thoughtfully, already going back to hiding his face with his opened fan. "For now, it would be safe to assume taking care of a dragon is similar to taking care of a lizard. I'll need to check it over to make sure it's healthy, and to have a base in case anything goes wrong in the future."
"We can come by during the weekend then. The children deserve a treat and letting them pick some candy themselves will be good for them," Masaki says in a thoughtful tone. It will give the dragon time to heal and give them time to gather some supplies for him. Ooh! And she'll need to get some kind of tank for him... or would a bed be better? He isn't a snake, or a lizard... maybe she could ask? He has some level of intelligence—at least, enough for him to be able to understand and communicate with humans at a basic level.
"Why couldn't they want a dog or a cat for a first pet? I'd even take a snake!" Masaki asks rhetorically, slouching in her exasperation. Urahara hums with an amused glint in his hidden eyes and was clearly smiling despite the fact Masaki couldn't see it. Isshin suspiciously clears his throat, as if he was covering up a laugh.
"You should at least be somewhat stressed about this, dear," Masaki snaps with a small glare. "The dragon's fire breathing seems to only act up when you're near. You're going to go bald before the beginning of next year."
"It can breathe fire? Does it have any other abilities?" Urahara asks in curious excitement.
Masaki rolls her eyes with a huff. "Wait until we come back during the weekend and I'll let you know. Now, if you'll excuse us, Isshin and I have to go shopping."
"Wait, we do?" Isshin snaps his head up with a rapidly paling face, making Masaki smirk as she stands up from her seiza.
"Yes, dear. The dragon needs a bed. And toys. And we might as well replace our fire extinguisher and get some wool blankets. We also need to go by the library, so I can research what lizards eat. Then, we'll have to get different types of food so we can narrow down what the dragon eats... you are going to help me, right dear?" Masaki asks with a calm smile. Her husband does not have a choice in the matter and he better realize it now.
Isshin laughs nervously before he scrambles up from his agura. Masaki still smiles without so much as a twitch when the ex-Shinigami slams his knee into the chabudai table and almost spills all three teacups.
"O-of course! Helping you shop is one of my favorite things to do! Your wonderful and handsome husband will make sure every single thing you are wishing to buy will be held in his strong arms!" Isshin declares in faux bravado.
Masaki widens her smile with her eyes closed and her hands clasped in front of her. "Oh, I knew I could count on you, sweetheart!"
"Have fun, Kurosaki-san! And don't push your husband too hard~!" Urahara waves them goodbye with his fan and his quirky smile on his face. Masaki smiles down at him before giving him a bow.
"We'll see you this weekend. Oh! And tell Tsukabishi-san that the tea was fantastic," Masaki says politely before she starts to walk away. She misses the pointed glances Isshin and Urahara give each other, but she still notices them. How can she not when they both aren't exactly that secretive with their mysterious plans? Plans which she, unfortunately, has yet to be brought into.
Masaki shakes the somewhat spiteful thoughts out of her head. Her children's first pet comes first. Her children always come first... and she can be patient. She has a feeling she'll be brought into all these mysterious plans at some point in the future.
Everything, always; it all starts with the rain. It is what happens after the rain which changes. This will be no different; in fact, it will be the most different to what first started with the rain.
With this change, it will bring both hope and desolation. For both the right and wrong reasons. Or, maybe it will all stay the same in a warped facsimile of the events which happened after what first started with the rain.
One thing stays the same, resolute and never changing even if the starting point does. Kurosaki Ichigo is a headache for everyone involved and is completely and utterly feral. The only difference with this, is the fact he doesn't attempt or even want to hide it. Which, changes just about everything else.
Hey!!! I hope you all like the first chapter!!! I was actually really, really, really looking forward to writing out this story idea. I love Ichigo and I love dragons, so combining them is my ultimate dream.
Anyways, this one is truly going to be a canon divergence and it's going to flip everything on its fucking head to the point where I don't know what the fuck I'm gonna do with Aizen and later antagonists (plz help me. This is going to kill me, lmao. This is both funny and really fucking stressful).
I hope you all enjoy the story! AND MERRY NEW YEARS!!!!!!!! Bye.
WhovianWhoudini