~FIREFLY KNIGHTS~

Bleach Copyright Tite Kubo

Firefly Knights Copyright Illand Girl

'For those that need a Guardian.'


Chapter 3: Gentle


Isshin took all of five seconds to size up what happened, before demanding to sit down and talk with me. I apologized, saying I didn't have any furniture except for the mattress in the corner of my small apartment.

"Obviously I'm not leaving without an explanation." Isshin said while making some tea. I didn't say anything, embarrassed that he was here and could see exactly what had become of my life. I sat quietly until he came over with some oolong tea. I smiled, taking the warm cup. It brought life to my trembling fingers as I held the mug closely to sniff it. I liked oolong tea, and it was considered good for you.

"Well, I guess I should start with after we moved," I shifted to get more comfortable.

"My Mom and I had settled in on our own. She started working and I started in the academy. But then she started dating this guy, I didn't think too much about it at the time, but he insisted we move in with him practically right away. I didn't like it, but he lived closer to my school and Mom's work. We did end up moving in, and within a week I hated it. He changed right away. It started small, he'd start petty arguments, try to gaslight my mother into thinking she was the problem. The worst part was she kept falling for the same tricks. I asked my mother several times to leave him, but she wouldn't."

I cleared my throat, taking another long sip of my tea.

"He….. He was very violent when he got drunk. He said things... and did things… And I told Mom it was either him or me…. And she chose him….."

I took another sip of tea to swallow down my sorrows, sighing at the content of the warm liquid sliding down my throat. I threw the thoughts of my mother and him into the back of my mind, refusing to allow them to resurface as I focused on the facts that I had to share.

"So I moved out. I had some money from part time jobs that I had been saving, but I've used most of it on this flat. They wanted a full year's rent upfront, so I couldn't afford the extra utilities. But once summer comes, and I can work more I can afford the living costs again." I explained, taking another sip of tea. It tasted lovely. Isshin was quiet as he sat on the floor across from me. It was unusual to see him look so stern and serious, after all I was used to him bouncing around and looking quite happy. He really put on a show for his kids as well.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to get a little bit of help." Isshin said, further muttering to himself while he stood up and looked around. I quirked a brow, confused as to what he meant until he turned back to me.

"Naomi, why don't you come with me for the night? Ah, don't argue please. I'm not saying you can't live here, but you're sick, and if you can't afford the heating bill, then you can't be here alone right now." Isshin said, offering me a hand up. I stared at him for a moment, before taking it graciously.


"Hello my children! There's been an issue! Our beloved Naomi has fallen ill! She needs proper care and will be staying here tonight!" Isshin shouted into the house as well stepped through the door. He'd wrapped me in my ratty coat, and his own, along with a scarf and gloves. I felt like a penguin when I walked, but it was undeniably warm. Isshin held my shoulder all the way to his house too, to make sure I didn't fall from ice or dizziness.

My face turned red when I realized all three of his kids were sitting at the table eating dinner. Ichigo looked up at me, his brow furrowing. Yuzu jumped up and pulled me in further once my shoes were off.

"Okay! Sounds like you need Yuzu's special charm! Come on Naomi! I'll get your bath ready for you! You sit right here and enjoy some delicious soup! Now, where did I put those herbs.?" Yuzu pranced off, looking every bit a mother hen and I expected. She seemed proud of herself too after plopping me into her original seat and giving me a fresh bowl of soup. I made to protest; this was way too much that they were doing.

"Thank you, but…. I can just curl up on the sofa, if that's okay?" I asked, trying to follow Yuzu with my eyes as she left down the hall. She ignored me though, and Isshin was nowhere to be seen.

"I wouldn't bother trying," Ichigo explained. I looked over to him, and he just continued to eat without glancing up. "Once Yuzu gets something in her head it's best just to go along with it. Besides, I doubt you're up to the fight right now. So just let them take care of you."

I wanted to argue, but he was right. I was barely sitting upright from all the walking from earlier, and honestly, a bath sounded heavenly.

"Okay," was all I managed to get out before I started on my own bowl. Slowly, I got about a third of it down before calling it quits. Ichigo snickered at me.

"Well now I know you're sick, you eat like an ox when you're hungry." He jeered, and I reached across to poke his side. I turned to Karin, who sat across from me, staring at us both. She looked at me, then looked back to her food without saying anything.

"Naomi! Your bath's ready!" Yuzu called as she walked down the hallway towards me, holding a set of clothes with her. I stood up, took them from her and muttered a thank you. She beamed, ushering me down the hall.

"I wasn't sure if you would fit my clothes since you're taller than me and Karin, so here's a shirt of Ichigo's and some shorts." Yuzu explained, handing the bundle to me. I could hear Ichigo protest, but just stuck my tongue out at him before walking down the hall to the bathroom.

My bath was glorious, with several herbs and oils put in to help with my flu. It cleared up my sinuses significantly, and I stayed in there for almost an hour, just melting in the heat of the bath. I did finally get out though, acknowledging that staying in someone else's bathroom for so long wasn't very polite. Especially since it was the only one in the house.

Ichigo's shirt was nearly a dress on me, and Yuzu had given me her pajama shorts, which just peaked out from the bottom of the shirt. It was very comfortable though, and I was immediately grateful not to be put back into my gross clothing.

Yuzu presented me with a mattress to sleep on in her room, a hot water bottle for my stomach, and a cold compress for my head. Flu meds, and the assurance that I wasn't overstepping my stay was also provided. I once again thanked her before slipping off to sleep.


I must've slept well into the next day, since when I woke up Yuzu wasn't there, and the room was silent. When I went downstairs, I saw Karin making some soup. She noticed me when I walked in looking like a sleepy badger.

"Oh, you're awake. I was just about to check on you. Dad said to make sure you get more meds and eat something." Karin explained, putting the soup down at the table. I waddled over, taking a seat. "How are you feeling by the way?"

"Much better, thank you. You're all being so kind." I said, taking a sip and enjoying the fact that I felt hungry again. Karin came over with more meds and a glass of water. I thanked her, taking the meds and water quickly.

"Dad told us you needed a hand, so….." Karin trailed off. I looked up to her and saw she was staring down at me. There was a moment of silence before she shook her head. "Never mind, none of my business."

She meandered off, and I finished my soup in peace. It was delicious, and afterwards I returned to bed for a quick nap. It was quick, as Yuzu was waking me a few hours later. I felt a lot better now and it was easy to rise from the mattress.

"Great! You need to come out! Dad said he wants to show you something!" Yuzu said while grabbing my hand and pulling me from her room. I yawned, walking with the girl as she pulled me to the front door. Ichigo was there too, along with Isshin.

"There's our pride and joy! How's Naomi feeling?" Isshin asked. A smile slipped onto my lips as I bowed slightly.

"Much better, thank you again for allowing me to stay here. Mr Kurosaki." Isshin was in tears in seconds, back to his usual theatrics I see.

"Look at this! Why don't any of you treat me this well?! Naomi you can stay over anytime! Ichigo can sleep on the roof! He's so ungrateful to me!" I giggled at the father son duo as a fight broke out. It stopped mid swing though, as Isshin ducked out and looked to me, sending Ichigo flying into a wall.

"That's right! Naomi, we've got a present for you! So come! Come!" Isshin urged, trying to yank me out the door. Ichigo pulled me back though, knocking his dad on the head in the process.

"Idiot! She's not even dressed yet!" Ichigo's shouts reverberated in his chest as I leaned back against him. I looked up at him, seeing him from underneath his jaw. He looked down at me, and for a second just stared. Then it seemed to dawn on him that he was holding me in place before righting me and letting go. He spoke again in a much softer voice. "You better hurry up before he tries dragging you out again."

I smiled while giving a soft "kay," and made my way back to Yuzu. She too seemed to have forgotten that I needed to be dressed, before handing me my clothes from yesterday and shooing me to change quickly. Wonder what all the excitement is about? Still, I hustled along and made my way back to the door, Karin handed me my ratty coat, and Yuzu proceeded to bundle me in a scarf, gloves, and a hat. I had to laugh a little, for little kids they sure were sweet.

"Alright! Everyone get ready!" Isshin shouted, practically skipping out the door. I had to laugh at the excitement on Isshin and Yuzu's faces as they ran in front of everyone. Karin was in the middle while Ichigo and I brought up the rear. He would periodically look at me, and at some point, I guess I cottoned on to it. When I looked up to him, he looked caught.

"What is it?" I asked, watching him scowl and look away. He struggled to say anything for a moment.

"Why didn't you say anything?" He asked eventually. I looked ahead, not sure I actually wanted to answer that. But Ichigo wasn't budging, so I caved.

"I didn't know what to say." I confessed. Ichigo scoffed at that, thwacking me on the back of my head. I squeaked, rubbing the spot and glaring at him. "What was that for?!"

"Idiot, next time you pick up the phone and call. Simple as that." Ichigo said as though it were so obvious. I stopped walking, and it took him a moment to realize I had stopped. He turned back to me, and I just stood there staring at him. Sometimes I would forget just how genuine of a person Ichigo could be. He helped people because he wanted to, because he thought it was the right thing to do. He didn't do it because somebody was making him, because he saw any merit to it. Ichigo would get the crap beaten out of himself just to stop a bully from pulling my hair before. All in all, he was just a good person. And three years shouldn't have made me forget that, but somehow it had.

This person, this good person, was my best friend.

"What? Stop looking at me like that, it's creepy." Ichigo side-eyed me, but I just smiled.

"Okay." He dropped the look, and I walked up to him. We carried on in silence, but I couldn't help but smile. It was nice to be surrounded by good people.

It had been too long.

After about ten minutes more of walking and I realized, we were walking to my apartment. Strange, why would they want to show me something there?

I got my answer when Isshin revealed the key he'd taken from me, and the door was opened with a grand flourish.

Inside the room had been changed around. For one, I had a bed frame and a nightstand. There was a small kotatsu set up, and a lot more appliances in the kitchen. A new heater, a big one, sat right beside my bed.

"It's all I could grab on such short notice, but it should help you out with staying warm. Oh! I almost forgot! Yuzu bought you some more food, you're way too thin to just be eating leftovers every night Noami. So what do you think?" Isshin asked as I walked into my flat. My fingers brushed over the heater numbly. "Oh, that heater can heat our house, so we figured it was good enough for this place, but if you want there is one bigger."

"Thank you." I turned back to the Kurosaki's, all standing by the door, and felt like my heart was going to burst. Nobody had done something like this for me in a long time. Nobody had helped me in so long…. I forgot what it felt like to genuinely be grateful for something to help me.

Yuzu stepped forward first.

"Oh Nao-chan! You don't have to cry!" She hugged me, and it was only then that I felt the tears rolling down my face. I quickly wiped at them, hearing Isshin come over and hug me as well. I looked up and saw Karin roll her eyes before coming to stand by me as well. Ichigo stayed by the door, but when I looked at him, he had that same gentle smile I remembered him having as a kid. The one that reached his eyes and lit up his whole face.

"Thank you….."


Chapter edited: March 9/2024

Tumblr: Plznomonkeys

Thanks for reading.

Cheers.

Iland Girl