Ichigo took one long look at Karakura. This would be his last day in his hometown for an entire year. After Aizen's defeat and the loss of his powers, Ichigo had been feeling a restlessness for over a month now.
Isshin at least felt sympathetic, and he gave his son full permission to live on his own until he could get his thoughts together and come home. His only request was that he take Kon with him. Ichigo agreed, since he didn't want that plushy anywhere near his still-developing younger sisters. Kami knows what that pervert might try if he left him alone.
Taking a deep breath, Ichigo stepped onto the bus to another town.
Ichigo's first item on his agenda was his new apartment. It was right across from the first district. The next thing was food and supplies. The apartment came fully furnished, which was a relief. Kon decided to check out the new satellite TV Ichigo had sprung for...mostly to keep Kon occupied.
Once he fully got settled in, he called his dad and gave him the number. Karin and Yuzu had been unhappy when they learned of his decision, but he had promised to call them every night.
A week after coming to the new town, Ichigo finally found a job. The school he went to allowed jobs, so long as they kept their studies up.
It was on his way home from the odd job he had found that he spotted something that bothered him. Someone wearing what appeared to be rather old clothing was being chased by something running on all fours. Ichigo didn't think twice as he went to help the man.
Just as the man was about to be overtaken, Ichigo grabbed his arm and pulled him behind the trees. He didn't look twice at the ears or the markings on his face.
"What are...?"
"Shh! Do you want to get caught by them?" he hissed.
The man stayed silent and the people ran past them.
"Thanks..."
"No problem. Do you have somewhere safe to hide?"
The man nodded.
He tried to move, but all the running and fear had caught up with him, now that he had a chance to rest. He could barely move.
Ichigo could see that, and he wasn't about to leave him alone on the road, even if he didn't really look human. After nearly two years of dealing with shinigami and hollows, nothing like this fazed him anymore. He leaned down and said "Get on. I can't in good conscience leave a helpless person on the side of the road with someone chasing them. The man protested a bit, but reluctantly got onto Ichigo's back.
Ichigo followed his directions, occasionally bolting whenever he sensed the presence of the creatures that had been chasing the man.
He found himself lead to an old fashioned house.
"Ryotaneko!" said a man wearing an odd scarf.
Ichigo carefully helped him down, and Ryotaneko got down. He was able to stand thanks to the rest, and was quickly ushered into the house.
Ichigo found himself brought before the home owner, who had the oddest head he had ever seen. Because of his ease with the sights around him, he saw a lot more than most human did. The man from before, for example, had no neck to speak of.
"Thank you for bringing Ryota-kun here. We weren't aware the situation was so serious in the First district. Though I am curious as to why you aren't freaking out at the sight of so many yokai."
"I've seen weirder. Worked with them too. Neckless men and spirits aren't nearly as scary when you've fought alongside a large wolf that can speak and use a sword," said Ichigo.
That got the old man to laugh.
"True! What's your name lad?"
"Kurosaki Ichigo."
"Well Ichigo-kun, feel free to come by anytime! Anyone who doesn't look twice at a yokai is alright in my book! It would also be nice for Rikuo to know some humans who don't mind yokai," laughed the old man.
Ichigo grinned. For an old demon, he was alright. He was much easier to talk to than Yamamoto, that was for damn sure.
The next day, Ichigo paused by the Nura syndicate to ask how Ryota was doing. He had surprised quite a few because as a human, he actually cared. Ichigo had no idea that at the same time Karasu Tengu had sent one of his sons to investigate him. Apparently he didn't know what to think of a human who was so at ease with yokai.
So imagine that old bird's surprise to see a talking stuffed animal yelling at his son! One that knew Ichigo and lived with him!
Because Ichigo was so concerned about Ryota, he was able to find out that they were launching an assault on First Street to get rid of the intruders. It was his day off.
"What can a human do against yokai?" snorted Karasu. Ichigo felt odd, but he didn't have any real power from what he could tell.
"Give me a sword and I'll show you," said Ichigo.
"Ho ho! I may just take you up on that lad. But the only way you'll be able to keep up with the Night Parade is if you had a cursed blade!" laughed the old man. (Ichigo would later learn his name was Nurarihyon.)
"Curses don't bother me."
"In that case...come with me. I may have a curse blade or two lying around."
"Supreme Commander!" protested Karasu.
Ichigo followed the old man, being completely at ease with all the yokai running around. To be truthful, he had been looking for something to fill the void his soul reaper powers had left. Hanging out with youkai might be the thing to do it.
Nurarihyon took Ichigo into a room filled with all sorts of blades. Some looked fairly old, but they were all well taken care of.
"Most of these have curses, so most humans can't use them without getting hurt. I mostly collect them because I like blades, but also to keep the humans safe. There's even a Muramasa blade in here somewhere..."
Ichigo let his feet wander around. The blades looked interesting, but none of them called to him. Though he did wonder why he kept hearing snoring.
It was really annoying. Suddenly his feet took him closer to the sound, and he found a blade that looked disturbingly familiar. The snoring got louder.
"Is there anyone in here? I keep hearing someone snoring," he asked.
Nurarihyon laughed. He knew there was something special about Ichigo...only a true master of blades could hear the spirit of one that never became a youkai.
Ichigo touched the sword that looked familiar to him, and the snoring abruptly stopped.
Who's there? Another yokai eager to test their strength against my seal?
Ichigo blinked. He recognized that voice...he had fought against the owner once before. He had thought the spirit destroyed.
"Muramasa?"
Ichigo could feel the zanpakuto blink twice.
You have got to be joking. Ichigo Kurosaki?!
"I see you've found a good blade. I never expected you to find the Muramasa blade I collected. Some idiot was so afraid of it that they placed it under a weird seal. Though for some reason they also put the wielder under that seal too."
"Last time I saw this blade it had been destroyed by a rogue nobleman who only sought power. I didn't know that it had been switched..." said Ichigo.
Nurarihyon blinked.
'Muramasa, would you mind joining me? I can't hear Zangetsu anymore because I lost all my soul reaper powers, and it gets really lonely without a sword to talk to,' asked Ichigo.
Muramasa blinked.
Why not? It's better than being stuck in this storage room. At least you can actually hear my voice.
"Whisper, Muramasa."
To the surprise of the old man, the sword vanished and beside Ichigo was a very oddly dressed man.
Nurarihyon blinked.
"You are a far more interesting human than I had thought. So I take it you two are going to join the Night Parade tonight?"
Ichigo grinned.
"You better believe it. I'm not about to let some rats run amok outside my front door!"
"It's better than sleeping all day in this store room."
Ichigo ran alongside with ease next to Ryota. He was very surprised at how much the Supreme Commander liked him. The very fact that Nurarihyon allowed one of his cursed blades out of the storeroom spoke volumes.
Ichigo surprised quite a few people when he displayed how well he knew how to handle a blade. Almost like he had learned the same way the samurai of old had. Through real life or death battles...
By the end of the night, Ichigo had attracted the attention of more than just the Supreme Commander of Yokai. All Ichigo cared about was that he finally had someone to talk to during school hours that could understand him again. Though he did wonder how Zangetsu would react to the fact that the same blade that took control of him during that incident was now his daylight partner.
While Ichigo attended the local high school, having transferred from Karakura, Muramasa spent the day inside watching TV while Kon people watched.
Because Ichigo and Muramasa had helped clear out the rats, they were welcomed by the yokai of the area in places humans weren't meant to go. They didn't seem to find it odd that Ichigo could see the dead, or that by extension he could see them clear as day.
In fact, Nurarihon had a job offer for Ichigo.
Rikuo, his grandson, had often complained of the yokai guarding him sticking out like sore thumbs. So the old yokai offered to give Ichigo a job watching his grandson from within his group of friends.
Considering Rikuo and his group were about the same age as his twin sisters, and Ichigo was told that he wouldn't have to do anything more than hold off any attacks until the cavalry arrived, he agreed to it.
Luckily Rikuo's little club insured that he left the school thirty minutes after Ichigo's last class let out. Meaning he usually had plenty of time to get nearby.
Naturally Rikuo was less than pleased with the fact he had a new bodyguard.
"I told gramps before, I don't need someone to guard me! Yokai have enough trouble blending in!" said Rikuo to a bored Ichigo.
"Yeah, but I'm not yokai. I'm just a human who can see spirits. I helped this cat yokai out a while ago, and when your grandpa saw how good I was with a blade, even a cursed one, he offered me a job to keep an eye on you and your friends since I'm human. Apparently he was tired of you complaining about how badly the yokai blended in with humans," said Ichigo.
"Human? But I thought humans were afraid of yokai?"
"It helps that I've seen far scarier things than an oversized pigeon with a staff," said Ichigo flatly.
"He's a tengu."
"It doesn't matter. I'm more like that Yura girl than a demon, though Kon comes very close to one," said Ichigo.
"So you're not a yokai and you aren't afraid of demons. Why on earth would you agree to bodyguard a thirteen year old who's got demon blood?"
"You're about the same age as my twin sisters, this is the best job I could find that doesn't involve menial labor, and it means I get to stay close to the other side of the supernatural world without doing more than chaperoning a bunch of middle school kids," said Ichigo.
Which was true, Ichigo had the perfect cover by acting as chaperone for the group. Because he had two younger sisters back in Karakura, no one would think twice about his presence.
And with his fighting skills, he could hold off most demons long enough for the Nura clan to send reinforcements.
Karasu sat across from the Supreme Commander.
"Are you sure about this? Leaving the heir in the hands of a soul reaper, even one as weakened as that boy?"
"Kurosaki is an excellent bodyguard. According to him, his parents gave him the name Ichigo in order to signify his strength to protect others. Ichi for 'first' and Go for 'protector'. Unlike most of our brethren, I've been listening to the soul reaper channels. Kurosaki is a war hero who recently lost most of his power and just needs time to recover what he had."
"Better to have him on our side early on, instead of letting him get the same idiot ideas the older reapers have?" said Karasu knowingly.
Some of the more idiot soul reapers actually tried to put youkai in their silent swords. A few even succeeded!
"Exactly. Besides, Rikuo's complaints have dropped since Ichigo is more or less insuring that the kids don't get into too much trouble."
Who knew all he had to do was assign on of the more human yokai as a chaperone to keep his grandson quiet?
"You're going to a mountain retreat, with only a single man to guide you?" said Ichigo.
"Yes, and since I have a bad feeling about this, I thought I should ask if you wanted to come with us," said Rikuo. He was much friendlier once Ichigo explained that he was more or less a chaperone hired by his grandfather.
As far as he could tell, once nighttime hit, Rikuo could handle himself. Still, it wasn't like this job was any different than being paid to watch his sisters go out with their friends.
Well, aside from free room and food in that apartment inside the youkai district.
Sure, he stayed up most nights because of the noise, but it wasn't like his former job as a soul reaper didn't require late hours anyway. Plus it allowed him to have the highest marks in the class.
At least until he was able to afford those noise canceling headphones...
Yura looked at Ichigo, who was reading a book while the kids played their game.
"Why are you joining us? I thought Nura's grandfather hired you as a bodyguard?"
"I'm acting as chaperone on this little trip. It keeps your parents from asking why a bunch of twelve and thirteen year old children are going into the mountains without any real supervision. Rikuo's grandfather agreed to it, saying he didn't want to have any more grandkids too early," said Ichigo, not looking up.
"We're only twelve," said Yura.
"Yes, but there are such things as early bloomers, and it's a known fact that once a girl has their period they can have children," said Ichigo without blushing.
Yura conceded his point. Plus since Ichigo was a responsible older teen, he could be reasonably trusted to keep the kids in line. But the main reason she trusted Ichigo was because she could sense his spirit energy, and it was purely human.
She had already written to her family about him, and apparently Ichigo was the son of a famous exorcist who went after special monsters that attacked anyone with high enough spirit energy.
From what she could tell he had no training in that aspect, something she planned to broach with him in private later. No need to give out trade secrets in the open after all.