Chapter 2: I'm Gonna Cast a Spell on You

AN: Due to the advice of one of my betas, Primordial Vortex, I've changed the formatting for thoughts/speech

"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Zanpakutō"
"Hollows/Vizard"

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"Kurosaki-kun, stay behind. You'll be assisting me in putting away the equipment," Nemu's voice called as the bell rang. Gym class had consisted of a ridiculously intense game of dodgeball, in which more than one student needed to be carried off the field. Having lasted almost the entire game, Ichigo was honestly torn on whether he wanted to interrogate the Shinigami woman or get a hot relaxing shower before going home. However, it seemed the choice was taken out of his hands. As the rest of his classmates limped back into the locker rooms, cradling various bruised body parts, Ichigo helped their "teacher" gather up all the rubber balls and put them back in their bag. It was only after pair entered the equipment shed that Nemu spoke again. As Ichigo placed the bag on the floor, Nemu closed and locked the door behind them before speaking, "You have questions."

Unable to help himself, Ichigo's frustrations and disbelief boiled over, "Of course I have questions! You flipped my entire worldview upside-down, turned me into some weird magical girl knockoff, and then disappear after somehow making my family believe a car of all things wrecked our house! And now, rather than going back to your Soul Society, you're in my school, teaching gym class!"

"Your previous worldview was incomplete, if not outright false. If anything, I would think you'd be comforted by knowing there is indeed a life beyond your current one," Nemu replied plainly.

Before she could continue, Ichigo cut in irritably, "Giant, soul eating monsters."

"Fair, I suppose." Nemu gave a small nod in response, acknowledging his point, before continuing, "You are not a 'magical girl knockoff', but a Substitute Shinigami. While your powers should have lasted only a few hours before fading away, there was a complication. I had intended to infuse you with only 53.07% of my powers. Instead, you somehow took almost all of it; 99.38%. This left me with less power than a freshly graduated recruit. Ordinarily, I could use one of the distress beacons placed within my body to call for reinforcements. However, it seems they were damaged in our battle against the Huge Hollow and I currently lack the tools to repair them. With my reserves exhausted and my beacons broken, I will require at least a month to recover enough to open a Senkaimon and return to Soul Society. Until that time, you will have to fulfill my duties. As for why I'm here specifically, an… acquaintance by the name of Urahara Kisuke provided me with a Gigai so I can interact with ordinary humans and placed me here so I would have easier access to you. And as I'm sure you will be asking, a Gigai is an artificial body designed to hold a Shinigami's soul so we can interact with your world."

Not wanting to get caught up in some kind of supernatural war against soul devouring monsters, Ichigo naturally protested, "I only got involved to save my family! I'm not interested in being some kind of ghost Kamen Rider."

Tilting her head to the side, the Shinigami crushed his protests with a single sentence, "Then thousands will be consumed." Ignoring the strawberry's exclamation of surprise, she elaborated, "Karakura is unnaturally rich in both Reishi and Reiryoku, both of which will naturally draw Hollows here. Once they realize the city is unguarded, more will swarm to this location, seeking to devour every soul they can. Without a guardian to prevent such an outcome, Karakura will be reduced to a sepulcher within seven weeks. Or you can cleanse a Hollow or two daily for the next month."

Seeing no recourse, Ichigo reluctantly conceded, his hands clenched into fists of frustration, "Fine." He hissed out in unhappiness, "But don't expect me to be happy about it. Plus, I still have a life of my own."

"For the foreseeable future, no, you don't. If it helps, think of this as an exchange; your family lives and you takeover my duties until I can perform them myself." Pushing herself off the wall, Nemu unlocked and opened the door. Pausing in the doorway, the woman paused and gave a few parting words, "Meet me by the Sukari Building tomorrow after breakfast. There, I'll be training you in how to be a proper Shinigami."

"Wait," Ichigo called after her, "You didn't answer all my questions!" But she was already gone. In a huff, Ichigo walked left the equipment shed to get changed and head home. As he finished putting on his street shoes, the teenager pondered out loud, "Wonder what she did with Kagine-sensei."

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Elsewhere, a muscular Japanese man woke up on the hard ground. Groaning as he slowly stood up, Kagine wiped a hand across his face as he tried to determine what happened to him. "Ugh. Haven't felt like this hungover since New Year's. What did I do last night? And for that matter, where am I?" Looking around, Kagine saw that he was just outside of a small city, though clearly not Karakura. For one thing, the people he could see weren't Asian. Not to mention, it was considerably chillier than he was used to for this time of year. As he spun in place, the man noticed there was a sign not too far away, though it was facing away from him. Walking around to the front, all hopes of the sign telling him anything useful were dashed once he saw the writing upon it. While he didn't recognize the language, it definitely wasn't Japanese: "Välkommen till Falun. Befolkning: 54,994."

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"GOOOOOD MOOORRRRNING, ICHIGOOOOO!" His father's shout woke up Ichigo faster than a shot of adrenaline, causing him to shoot up out of bed as Isshin burst through the door. The older man was already airborne, hurtling feet-first towards his eldest child. In a long-practiced maneuver, Ichigo opened his window with one hand whilst grabbing his father's ankle with the other, quickly turning to throw him right out the window and into the street below. At this point, the whole scenario was so routine, he could probably do it in his sleep if Isshin didn't see fit to yell loud enough to wake the whole neighborhood each time. Sadly, that wasn't even hyperbole; Tatsuki once complained about the noise on their way to school.

As the teenager was ruminating on his father's ludicrous antics, Ichigo heard something that was very much not routine. "Good morning, Kurosaki-san. It surprises me that you're allowed to retaliate against your father." Turning quickly at the unexpected voice, Ichigo saw Nemu exiting his closet as though it was normal to sleep in there.

"What are you doing in my closet?!" Ichigo loudly questioned in bewilderment. After a moment, his brain caught up with exactly what he was looking at and he quickly turned around. His face was red enough to resemble his (incorrect and unwanted) namesake and he most definitely did not squeak when he said, "And what the hell are you wearing!?"

Nemu looked down in mild confusion at her sleepwear before responding, "Urahara-san stated I needed pajamas and insisted this would be ideal to wear." The young woman stood there clad only in an almost completely transparent lavender nightie, the entirety of her body on display. Combined with her tussled hair, she looked like a model from one of those websites Ichigo pretended he didn't visit.

"J-just put something else on already!" Ichigo sputtered, still adamantly looking in the exact opposite direction of the Shinigami. Though as he heard her dressing, Ichigo registered what Nemu had first said and turned back to ask, "'Allowed to retaliate'? What do you- GAH!" Having looked too soon, Ichigo got an eyeful of Nemu's long, pale legs and pert posterior before he fell backwards due to a combination of shock and the force of his own bloody nose. Once she was dressed properly, this time in a white sports bra and purple tennis skirt, Nemu reminded Ichigo about their meeting, before exiting through the window.

-]|[-

As the pair arrived at the ruins of the old Sukari Building, Ichigo pondered why Nemu told him to "meet her" there if she was just going to travel with him the entire way. Idly he wondered if she simply didn't know how to get there. Regardless, the moment they got too close to the structure, a howl filled the air as a spirit appeared. Unlike other souls Ichigo had encountered in his life, this one had a small hole starting to form in his chest. Furthermore, an immensely long chain wrapped around his body several times to bind him to the abandoned hospital. While Ichigo started in surprise, Nemu merely observed the spirit in detached curiosity. "How strange. I did not expect to find a Demi-Hollow."

"A Demi-Hollow? What the hell is a Demi-Hollow?" Ichigo questioned the shorter woman, trying to ignore the spirit's extremely colorful shouting as he ranted at them to stay away from "his inheritance". Unfortunately, ignoring him seemed to only make the spirit louder.

"A Demi-Hollow is a soul that is in the process of turning into a Hollow on its own. Most examples are souls who refuse to move on to the afterlife due to strong bonds towards a person or location. This particular one should have approximately another five months until it turns fully, judging by the state of its hole," Nemu clinically explained, all while observing the ghost like a mildly interesting specimen. After a moment, she donned a red glove as she turned towards Ichigo. "Regardless, this is an opportunity for you to learn about a Shinigami's primary duty and perform a Konsō."

Turning towards the Shinigami, Ichigo replied, "Hm? A Konsō?" Instead of an answer, all he received has an open hand grabbing his face and slamming the back of his head to the ground hard enough to make his vision swim. "Gah! What the fuck was-" Ichigo found himself trailing off as he stared at his own body in Nemu's hands while she carefully set it down, leaning it against one of the building's walls. Looking back down at himself, Ichigo saw he was once more a Shinigami.

"This is a Gokon Tekkō; a device for removing Shinigami from their Gigai. But that's not important right now." At her urging, Ichigo moved towards the Demi-Hollow as she explained how to perform a Konsō, "Take your Zanpakutō and channel a small amount of your Reiryoku into its hilt then-"

But Ichigo interrupted her explanation, "Channel it how?"

Nemu gave him a look that suggested she would be facepalming if she were a more emotive person. With an almost inaudible sigh, Nemu soldiered on, "Picture a river within your body, flowing throughout every extremity and back again. Grasp a small fraction of that river and direct it towards the hilt of your Zanpakutō." After several seconds, the hilt of Ichigo's comically oversized katana flared up like the sun. "I suppose that will suffice for the moment. Now, tap the hilt of your Zanpakutō to the soul's forehead." Following her instructions, Ichigo moved to perform the Konsō, only to stumble on a small rock. Rather than a light tap, Ichigo smacked his Zanpakutō's hilt into the spirit's forehead.

"What the hell was that for?! You trying to start some- oh fuck! OH, HOLY FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!" With a final shout, the soul sank into a blue pool of light in the ground, leaving behind only a Hell Butterfly that quickly flapped away.

After a moment, Nemu spoke up once more, "Sufficient, if extremely inefficient. For now, we will see if you have any aptitude for Kidō whilst I explain more about the Shinigami and their duties. Kidō is divided into three main categories: Hadō which is composed of offensive spells. Bakudō which are utility spells such as bindings and barriers. Finally, Kaidō is used for healing." Looking around, Nemu spotted an old concrete divider that would do for their purposes. "Stand ten meters from that divider. It will serve as a target for Hadō practice." Once Ichigo had done as she instructed, the Shinigami continued, "Now, we will start with the weakest Hadō first. Hadō #1, Sho. In order to cast it, focus a portion of your Reiryoku into the tip of your finger. Then state, "Hadō #1, Sho" while focusing on launching your Reiryoku from your finger and towards your target. Should you succeed, an invisible force will knock your target backwards. While mostly used as an introduction to the destructive branch of Kidō, it is nonetheless a useful spell in the hands of a skilled practitioner."

Once more taking several seconds to channel his power correctly, Ichigo pointed at the concrete divider and attempted to perform the Kidō as instructed. "Hadō #1, Sho!" Rather than an invisible burst of energy, a smoky explosion went off at the tip of the teenager's finger, shocking him and knocking him on his ass.

Sighing once more, Nemu spoke up, "Not entirely unexpected. Perhaps you would do better with a different Hadō to start. Unlike Sho, most higher levelHadō have an incantation to be chanted when casting them. Such incantations act as both enhancements to empower Kidō further and mnemonics to help properly shape your Reiryoku. This next Hadō is number 31, Shakkahō. Before you attempt to cast it, I want you to repeat its incantation until you get it exactly correct three times in a row. Between incantations, you are to point your hands towards your target and concentrate your Reiryoku into them while imagining your power burning like a fire. During that time, I will be explaining further details about Shinigami and their duties."

"First I'm a magical girl and now I'm firing off ki blasts like I'm in Dragonball Z," Ichigo muttered to himself.

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"Thus, any soul that is considered to have committed grievous sins in life will be sent to Hell, even after a Shinigami purifies them," As the young woman finished up her current lesson, she paid careful attention to Ichigo's chanting. "That's enough. Now, utilize the chant in full before stating the Hadō's number and name as you attempt to cast."

Ready to finally make a second attempt at using Kidō, having tripped over his tongue multiple times trying to get the incantation right, Ichigo shook out his arms a bit before starting his chant. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hadō #31, Shakkahō!" Thankfully, this time his attempted Hadō didn't explode in his face. Instead a powerful gust of cold wind tore through the area, knocking over his human body and blowing up Nemu's skirt, giving Ichigo his second eyeful of the day.

Idly fixing her clothing, Nemu moved to check the condition of Ichigo's body as well. "While it didn't backfire, it would seem you possess functionally no talent for Hadō. It would be best if we moved on to seeing if the same will hold true for Bakudō."

"Am I just overpowering them? I know the amount I used for that Konsō can't have been normal! It was sparking! Could I try a higher-level one?" Though he wouldn't admit it, Ichigo kind of wanted to learn Hadō just so he could pretend to fire off Kamehamehas, much like any teenage boy.

Shaking her head, Nemu disabused him of the idea, "High-level Kidō require both power and control. Simply throwing massive amounts of power around will result in barely functioning Kidō at best. More probable is accomplishing nothing but wasting your Reiryoku. Most probable is it exploding in your face and grievously injuring you. Once again, we will be starting with the weakest. Bakudō #1, Sai. As this Bakudō requires your target have limbs in order to work, you will be casting on me rather than the divider."

Thinking of his previous failures, Ichigo couldn't help but question the wisdom of him casting Kidō upon her for training. "Are you sure? What if it explodes again? Or summons giant lizards or something?"

"It will be fine," Nemu insisted. "This time, you're to concentrate your power into the first two fingers of one hand and then perform a swipe to the side. Your mental picture should be of my arms being bound behind my back."

Deciding to trust her judgment, Ichigo did as she bade him. This time, he felt like he might actually pull it off successfully. "Bakudō #1, Sai!" Immediately, Nemu's arms and legs snapped behind her back, bound by invisible shackles. She promptly fell to the ground face first, hog tied by seemingly nothing. "Oh shit!" The strawberry exclaimed in shock. Running over to quickly, Ichigo got down to check on the fallen woman. Turning her over, he quickly determined she was a certainly dirty, but not actually injured.

"We'll call that one a success, Kurosaki-san. Now, if you'd release me, we can start on the next Bakudō," Nemu's normally near emotionless voice contained a tinge of irritation. Clearly, she was not happy with Ichigo's efforts so far. Before he could ask, she answered his next question, "Cancel the Kidō by refocusing your Reiryoku into your fingers and willing it to cease." Following her instructions, he released the Shinigami from her bonds, allowing her to stand and rub at her wrists and ankles. "This shall be our final Kidō today, Bakudō #9 Hōrin. As with Shakkahō, this Bakudō has an incantation that aids in its casting. "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat!" As before, you are to repeat the incantation until you can recite it perfectly."

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"As such, you can only be certain a Hollow has been truly purified if you have destroyed their mask. Otherwise, there's a chance they will recover and attack once more. Now then, Hōrin is designed to bind an opponent in a rope made of Reiryoku and allow you to then move them about as though the rope were a solid object. As always, focus your power into your hands first. This time, you are to imagine the rope launching from your palm towards your target while remaining bound to you. Attempt to cast the Bakudō on the concrete divider."

Taking a breath, Ichigo prepared himself as he hoped he would actually pull off at least one Kidō correctly today. "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat! Bakudō #9, Hōrin!" To the surprise of both, the Kidō worked flawlessly, a glowing yellow rope of Reiryoku flowing from Ichigo's palm to wrap around the divider.

"Well done. While I had not intended to go so far, try to fire a second rope from your opposite palm at another target, this time without the incantation." With a frown of concentration on his face, Ichigo moved his hands apart and pointed his left hand at Nemu. From his hand burst forth another rope which quickly wound itself around her torso, binding her arms to her sides. "Exceptional work. And most unusual. To fail utterly at Hadō and the weakest of Bakudō yet cast one of a higher level flawlessly on the first cast." For once, Nemu's voice wasn't flat nor tinged with annoyance. Instead, she sounded like a scientist recording unexpected experiment results. Ichigo wasn't entirely sure if it was an improvement or somehow creepier than her usual monotone. "We will return here twice a week to practice when you're not purifying Hollows or performing Konsō. Such training will be important if you're to successfully cleanse more powerful Hollows."

"Even stronger than that one the other night?" While he tried to sound merely inquisitive, Ichigo's voice betrayed his worry. The violet haired woman had nearly died fighting that monster, even if it'd seem awfully weak once he was empowered.

Nemu's response was as swift as it was blunt, "Unlikely. That Hollow was far past your current ability under normal circumstances."

"Hey! What do you mean "past my current ability"?! I squashed that thing like a bug!" Ichigo's worry promptly evaporated in the face of his indignation.

Once more, he was shut down matter-of-factly, "Correct. But only because it bit me. My real body is filled with numerous chemicals, drugs, and poisons. The Huge Hollow ingested multiple samples when it tried to consume me. Unless it possessed potent regenerative abilities, it would have died on its own shortly after regardless of your actions."

"Your body is what?! Why are Shinigami filled with poison!?" Came Ichigo's shouted exclamation, "Wait! Is my body filled with poison now too?!"

As Ichigo panicked, Nemu pinched the bridge of her nose. 'It's like dealing with a fresh recruit from the 11th Division.' Deciding to cut him off before he got even more worked up, Nemu explained, "Shinigami are not filled with poison. I am filled with poison as part of my unique physiology. Most Shinigami are either recruited from souls in the various Rukongai districts that have sufficient amounts of Reiryoku or, more rarely, are born to one of the noble houses-"

At this, Ichigo interrupted her explanation, thoroughly confused by what the woman had just said, "Wait, people can be born in Soul Society? But, aren't they dead by definition? How does that even work?"

"Irrelevant," Nemu's tone brooked no argument. "On the other hand, I was created by my father and Captain of the 12th Division: Kurotsuchi Mayuri. I am his seventh attempt to create an artificial entity that qualifies as a true soul. As the only one capable of manifesting my own Zanpakutō, I was spared vivisection unlike my predecessors. Though my duties include being used as an experimental subject for tests too important to leave to those who might perish before useful information can be extracted, my main purpose is to act as a research assistant." As she spoke, Ichigo's face first paled, then tinged with green as he imagined what kind of experiments a man willing to vivisect people would perform. "The various chemicals and poisons stored within my body are a result of those experiments. Mayuri-sama was always quite careful to insure they wouldn't be fatal for me and first tested on other subjects. He regularly reminded me of how much time and effort it would take to build another daughter."

At this point, Ichigo stopped her from speaking further. Placing both hands on her shoulders, Ichigo looked Nemu in the eyes as he growled, "No!" Nemu's eyes widened minutely. Ichigo looked apoplectic, "That... monster could never be called a father." He started to pace like a caged tiger, fists clenching and unclenching at his side, "A father doesn't experiment on his children o-or pump them full of drugs! That's not-That's not how you should treat anyone, let alone family!" he snarled out.

As Ichigo turned once again in his pacing, he saw Nemu's expression; her eyes were the widest he'd ever seen them, and she had taken a slight step back. In that instant, his fury bled out of him, leaving the strawberry drained. "I just- Look, I don't appreciate you trying to kidnap me to be used as a science experiment, but I can understand why you were doing it now. Your monster of a creator – and let me be clear, he is NOT a father – commanded it. And moreover, you didn't and don't deserve anything that monster has done to you." Running a hand through his hair tiredly, Ichigo leaned back against the old hospital's wall and said, "How about this: we continue my training or whatever you were planning then you have dinner with my family tonight. Maybe see what a normal family is like." As his father's antics flashed through his mind, Ichigo corrected himself, "Well, maybe not a normal family," he chuckled a little, "-but a real one."

'How… unexpected. None have shown such outrage at Mayuri-sama's actions before. Even the other Captains seem more irritated and resigned to his habits than anything.' Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Nemu nodded her head in agreement, "Very well Kurosaki-san. We shall attempt one more Bakudō before patrolling."

-]|[-

"Yuzu, Karin, I'm home! I brought that guest I mentioned!" Ichigo's voice called as he and Nemu entered the Kurosaki family home. After their… talk, Nemu had attempted to teach Ichigo Bakudō #21 Sekienton. Unlike the previous Bakudō, it didn't bind an enemy but created a smokescreen to cover your movements. 'Attempted' as once again, Ichigo couldn't come close to a satisfactory result. He only had two attempts that actually produced any results; one produced the spiritual equivalent of a cherry bomb while the other left a large red splotch on the ground as though someone had dropped an open paint can. Nemu had apparently concluded that for some reason, Ichigo's only talent with Kidō that she could see was in Binding-Type spells. She had then left him a blushing, incredulous mess when she innocently asked if he was into that 'bondage' thing she'd seen mentioned in a book. After he'd cooled down, Nemu had shown Ichigo how to properly patrol an area as large as Karakura. Besides a Hollow that was only remarkable for how weak it was, nothing occurred except a few Konsō.

"What, no love for your old man?!" Even as he shouted, Isshin flew through the air at his son, once more 'testing his reflexes.'

Not in the mood to deal with his father's antics after such an exhausting day, Ichigo merely sidestepped and let the older man crash into the wall. "Not now, Goat-chin. We've got a guest."

In an instant, Isshin was back on his feet as though the last several seconds never happened, "Oh, not just a guest but a girl! And a beautiful one at that! Is she your girlfriend?" Without giving his son the opportunity to answer, Isshin turned towards the new arrival, "Please be patient with my boy. He's a bit of a blockhead at times but he's a good boy. Why, soon I'm sure the two of you will be tying the knot and giving me grandkids! Isn't that right Masaki?" Once again, Isshin moved off before anyone could answer, this time apparently addressing the larger than life sized poster on the wall.

Taken aback – especially because while she was reasonably certain this man was Captain Shiba Isshin, he acted far more outlandish than she recalled – Nemu looked at Ichigo in askance. Ichigo merely sighed and told her, "Yeah. He's always like that. C'mon, I gotta set the table for dinner." With that, Nemu silently followed him into the kitchen and stood by as Ichigo got the necessary utensils for the meal and set them on the dining room table.

As Yuzu was bringing dinner to the table, Karin came downstairs, pausing as she spotted the new addition sitting next to her older brother. "Who's the new girl? Did Ichigo finally find someone willing to put up with his grouchiness?" She asked as she took her seat.

Ichigo quickly shot her a look before answering, "No. This is my teacher, Kurotsuchi Nemu. She's new to town and I invited her to have a homecooked meal." With that, the family ate in peace, the companionable silence broken only by the clinking of utensils and general small talk about how each other's day went.

After dinner, Ichigo snuck Nemu upstairs while his sisters were busy with some joke his father was telling. Sitting at his desk, Ichigo gestured for her to take a seat on his bed. Taking a breath, Ichigo found himself saying, "So I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that Hollows aren't going to show up when it's convenient, so you'll have to stick close by." At his pause, Nemu nodded. "Right, because why make things easy? In that case, you can have the bed. I'll set up a spare futon on the floor."

Here, Nemu disagreed, "No. If your sleep cycle suffers from sleeping on the floor, your performance as a Shinigami will be hindered to an unacceptable degree. Instead, we shall share the bed."

At this, Ichigo sputtered in shock and embarrassment. "Wh-what?! But that's completely inappropriate! We barely even know each other! And- wait. When did you have time to change? Is that my shirt?"

Indeed, Nemu was now sitting on his bed, clad in one of his shirts. After giving her a quick once over, Ichigo realized that it was still technically better than her lingerie from that morning. At least his shirt was opaque, even if it didn't cover much. Nemu simply shrugged in response, doing interesting things to her chest, pressed against his shirt as it was, "You weren't paying attention. Also, you disapproved of my previous sleepwear, so this seemed like a viable alternative. Now come, you need your rest for tomorrow." She laid down and closed her eyes.

'This woman is going to kill me.' Ichigo mentally groaned as he skittishly lay beside her. A traitorous part of his mind piped up, 'And "disapproved" is a bit of a strong word.'

-]|[-

A week later, Ichigo had finished his training earlier than expected – partially due to Nemu having a better grasp over how to best train him – and had earned a bit of free time. At the moment, the pair of them were simply walking around, when someone called out to them, "Oi, Ichigo! Over here!" Looking over, the duo spotted Tatsuki and Orihime outside a local ice cream joint. As they walked over, Tatsuki asked, "Kurotsuchi-sensei? What're you doing here?" While the woman was a little odd during classes – particularly in that she never seemed to divide the boys and girls for anything – it didn't make any sense for her to be spending time with one of her students outside of school.

"Kurosaki-san was showing me around town, Arisawa-san," Nemu answered plainly, "What are you two doing?"

Tatsuki nodded in response; the answer did make sense. On the other hand, once or twice over the last week, she swore she'd seen their new gym teacher running around with Ichigo while the latter was dressed in black and carrying a comically oversized sword. That Orihime claimed to have seen the same thing comforted her less than it should. This was the same girl whose essay on her plans for the future involved turning into a mecha after all. "Hime and I decided to get some ice cream," Pausing for a moment, Tatsuki decided to invite them along, "You guys want to join us? It's pretty hot for this time of year lately."

Ichigo glanced at Nemu, receiving her usual expressionless gaze in return. Over the last several days, he'd determined that if she didn't express an opinion, it was because she genuinely didn't have one on a given subject. While it might be awkward, he was trying to show the woman a brighter side to life when he could. In the end, Ichigo decided to go along with it, "Sure. Sounds good." And with that, they all headed in. While Ichigo and Tatsuki ordered rather standard dishes of vanilla and chocolate respectively, Orihime showed her usual tastes in food by ordering three scoops of bitter melon, wasabi, and squid ink ice cream. Honestly, Ichigo felt a little nauseous just thinking about it. On the other hand, Nemu seemed completely lost when it came her turn to order. Eventually, Ichigo stepped in, "She'll take a strawberry cone, please."

After getting their cones, the four of them sat at a table outside, soaking up the sun as they enjoyed their frozen treats. Though after a moment, Ichigo noticed Nemu simply staring at her cone as it started to melt. "You know, if you don't want it, you don't have to eat it," He told her quietly. The purple haired woman started slightly, seemingly having forgotten about the others present. After a moment, she shook her head and tentatively mimicked the other three, reaching out to lick up some of her strawberry ice cream. The moment the tasty dessert hit her tongue, Nemu's eyes lit up in a way he'd never seen before. She quickly took to licking up every bit of ice cream she could. Now, it was Ichigo who wasn't eating. The way Nemu's eyes lit up, the soft smile gracing her lips. He'd never seen her like this before. She looked so…. pure. At that moment, the only thought that ran through his mind was, 'I want to protect that smile.'

Within Nemu's chest, something pulsed as Ichigo made his mental declaration.

-]|[-

Further AN: Thanks as always to everyone who reviews. I don't reply to them all, but I do read them all. Check out Primordial Vortex's work cuz he's awesome.

Also, I am currently writing a "test lemon". Depending on what my betas think, I will write lemons for this story (though they'll probably be kept on Ao3 cuz rules) but don't expect to see any until post Soul Society.

Lastly, kudos to anyone who knows where Kagine-sensei is and triple kudos if you can guess why I sent him there specifically.