Hello and welcome to chapter 2 of The Strawberry and the Chrysanthemum. Last time, Ichigo's life started off exactly the same as it did at the start of the first chapter of the manga and at the start of the first episode of the anime. The only difference was that Ichigo was introduced to Rangiku instead of Rukia and her power loss was only half as sevear as Rukia's. I felt that, since Rangiku was, at this point in the Bleach manga and anime, more powerful than Rukia (since she's a lieutenant), she didn't need to give Ichigo as much of her powers as Rukia did so the power loss wasn't as bad. Now let's see how Rangiku will interact with everyone in the world of the living in contrast to Rukia.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
Chapter 2
The Soul Reaper's Work
In the World of the Living the morning after the fateful battle against Fishbone D, Ichigo was sleeping in his bed. He seemed to be enjoying the feeling of his pillow, which seemed to be cushier than usual. Suddenly he woke up in revelation as he realized that it was too cushy to be a mere pillow. Upon opening his eyes, he saw that it wasn't his pillow he was snuggling in, it was a rather large cleavage and he found out whose it was upon looking up.
"Good morning, Ichigo," Rangiku smiled teasingly.
Ichigo's face turned red as he frantically jumped out of his bed, doing his best not to get a nosebleed. Rangiku was now wearing standard cloths from the World of the Living.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED," Ichigo questioned.
"I needed a place to rest up and heal after last night's battle," Rangiku told him. "I considered your closet, but there was no way I would fit in there so I chose to sleep with you in your bed instead."
Rangiku then got to Ichigo's level and suggestively said, "Besides, you looked like you were enjoying the feel of my boobs back there, Ichigo. Do you have a secret fetish for well-endowed girls like me?"
Before Ichigo could say anything, he detected something, or rather someone, coming in with an unusual way to wake up someone.
"GOOD MORNING ICHIGO…!"
Acting fast, Ichigo pushed Rangiku out of the way and pinned down the incoming person, who just so happened to be his father, Isshin Kurosaki.
"Are you nuts," Ichigo questioned. "What kind of sick twisted freak attacks his own son while he's just lying their sleeping?!"
"You are getting good," Isshin told Ichigo, ignoring his question. "It looks like there's nothing left for me to teach you, my son."
"Hey, what's the big idea," Rangiku complained upon getting back up.
"Just dealing with my freak of a father," Ichigo answered. "He does this all the time for some reason."
Isshin then removed Ichigo's hand and told him, "Hey I'll have you know that…"
But then Isshin saw Rangiku, "Huh…?"
And Rangiku noticed Isshin, "Huh…?"
In that moment, the two recognized eachother.
"Rangiku," Isshin gasped.
"Captain Shiba," Rangiku gasped.
There was a moment of silence
"WWWWHHHHAAAA…!"
"Wait a minute, you guys know each other," Ichigo gasped.
"Huddle," Rangiku huddled with Isshin. "Captain, I can't believe you're still alive."
"Yeah, and I didn't expect you to show up anytime soon," Isshin told her. "This is an unexpected surprise, and you're looking as hot as ever."
"I'm flattered, Captain," Rangiku blushed. "But does your son know about who you were beforehand?"
"No, and for now at least, I'd prefer to keep it that way," Isshin told her.
"He's going to want answers sooner or later," Rangiku explained. "I just hope you know what you're doing."
"Excuse me," Ichigo called out. "How do you two know each other?"
"It's a long story," Rangiku told him.
"Yeah, but one I'm not sure I'm ready to tell you," Isshin explained. "For now, all I'll say that Rangiku and I…"
But Ichigo put it all together and said, "You were a Soul Reaper, weren't you?"
Isshin and Rangiku went pail for a moment.
"Last night, I met Rangiku and she revealed to me that she told me that she was a Soul Reaper," Ichigo explained. "And just now, Rangiku called you Captain Shiba. So I'm guessing that you were a Soul Reaper and somehow became a human sometime after meeting Mom."
Isshin smiled. "I have to hand it to you, Ichigo, you're a smart kid. But can you keep that a secret?"
Isshin then whispered to his son, "You see, if the Soul Society finds out about my being here, who knows what'll happen."
"Fine," Ichigo agreed. "But what do we tell Yuzu and Karin?"
Just then, Ichigo remembered, "Oh wait a minute, what about Yuzu and Karin's injuries from last night?"
Moments later, everyone was outside looking at where the hole was. But just to keep certain details a secret, Isshin gave the girls a made up story.
"It's a miracle," Isshin told them. "A truck plows right into our house and none of us gets so much as a single scratch."
"What's more miraculous is the fact that none of us woke up when it happened," Karin pointed out.
"I tried to steer the truck away, but it didn't stop," Rangiku backed up Isshin.
"Rangiku, how do you know our father," Yuzu asked.
"Your old man used to be my teacher when I was younger," Rangiku half-lied. "It's a long story. Anyway, Ichigo and I have to get to school."
"Well if that's the case, why don't you stay and have breakfast with us," Yuzu offered.
Sometime later, Ichigo and Rangiku were walking towards Karakura High School. They were both wearing Karakura High School uniforms, but the way Rangiku was wearing hers left little to the imagination. She wore hers with several buttons undone so that she can reveal her ample bosom as she did with her Soul Reaper uniform and Ichigo swore he was not eying it as it bounced about with every step she took.
"Why are you wearing your uniform like that," Ichigo complained.
"What's the big deal," Rangiku questioned. "I actually kinda like the way I'm wearing my uniform."
"Yeah right," Ichigo countered. "You only like it that way because it shows off your bosom."
"What's the matter with showing off my bosom," Rangiku questioned before teasing him. "You don't have a fetish for my bosom, do you?"
"That's got nothing to do with it," Ichigo denied.
But Rangiku could see right through him. "He totally has a fetish for my figure. Teasing him will be fun, but I'd better be serious with him as well. He's still leaking his spirit energy and it's only a matter of time before more Hollows come looking for him. If he doesn't learn how to control his spirit energy fast, he and everyone he cares about will be in great danger and I won't always be around to protect them."
Later at Karakura High School, two girls were walking to class together.
One had brown eyes and long, waist-length, burnt orange hair. Her most noticeable physical trait is her slender yet curvaceous figure for a teenager, especially in terms of her large breasts. The other had short black spikey hair and brown eyes, and a very lean frame.
"Orihime, did you bring lunch today," said the black-haired girl to the orange-haired girl.
"Mhm, leftover taiyaki-style ramen with wasabi and honey," Orihime answered. "Would you like some Tatsuki?"
But the thought of such a combination didn't sound too appetizing to Tatsuki and she politely turned down the offer. Orihime insisted that it was good, but she was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Ichigo as they literally bumped into one another.
"Oh it's you, hey Orihime," Ichigo greeted indifferently.
"Oh no, I'm sorry," Orihime apologized frantically.
But Tatsuki didn't like this and berated Ichigo for his actions. "Ichigo, you knock her down and that's all you can say? What the hell's wrong with you?"
"Sorry about that," Ichigo replied. "Are you going to be alright?"
Orihime reassured him that she was, but when Ichigo offered to help her up, Orihime was startled by his expression and got to her feet on her own before frantically claiming she had volleyball to attend. As Orihime ran off, Tatsuki called after her while Ichigo wondered what her deal was.
"What could it be," Tatsuki teased. "Maybe it was your ugly mug."
Tatsuki then got serious and asked, "By the way, why are you so late? I mean, it's time for lunch already."
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Ichigo told Tatsuki. "I'll tell you later."
Ichigo then left for class.
At about the same time, Rangiku was on the roof of the campus, using what appeared to be a cellphone for something.
"No sign of the Grand Fisher here either," Rangiku sighed. "And Ichigo's spirit energy is still jamming my senses while I'm around him, so I won't be able to sense him. Oh well, I guess I'd better make myself known."
Rangiku then left the roof and made her way to class.
In Ichigo's classroom, Ichigo sat with two of his classmates, Keigo Asano and Mizuiro Kojima. Keigo had medium-long brown hair, brown eyes and a slim figure, while Mizuiro had short black hair and green eyes, parted down the middle with a stray bang in his face and the tips fanning out. Standing beside them was a really tall guy named Yasutora Sado, aka Chad, who was another one of Ichigo's classmates.
"Hey Ichigo, I heard a truck crashed into your house last night, dude," said Keigo.
"Yeah pretty much," Ichigo confirmed.
"So did you clean it all up yet," Mizuiro asked.
"What are you kidding," Ichigo asked. "It's going to take forever."
"Need any help," said Chad.
Ichigo turned towards Chad. He had dark skin, pronounced cheek-bones, wavy brown hair, brown eyes, and a muscular build.
"That's okay," Ichigo told him.
"Yeah Chad," said Keigo. "I mean, you could end up bringing the whole house down, you know?"
Ichigo changed the subject. "Hey, what have we got next?"
"Language lab," said Keigo.
Suddenly a certain someone came up to them. "Well that's fascinating, and I hope we learn new plenty of new languages."
Ichigo recognized that voice and turned in shock. There was Rangiku standing behind him. While she mentioned that she would be in the school, it still boggled Ichigo that she was taking part as one of his classmates.
"Hey there Ichigo," Rangiku greeted.
"Ga, Rangiku," Ichigo gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious," Rangiku teased. "I'm your new classmate and I'll be sitting next to you from now on."
"Hey Ichigo, do you know her," Mizuiro asked.
"Yeah, she's an old student of my dad," Ichigo told him. "She came here yesterday in hopes of transferring to this school. Although she neglected to tell me that she was taking part in our class."
"Hey, Ichigo," Rangiku got Ichigo's attention. "If you tell anyone about my actual age, I'll kill you."
Ichigo was fearful of Rangiku's intimidating face and agreed to her terms.
"Good, now I'm hoping we'll have some fun here," Rangiku showed a sweet face.
But Keigo's attention was on something else. While Rangiku was talking, Keigo took notice of Rangiku's cleavage and was entranced. He then jumped at her while shouting, "LET ME ADJUST THOSE SHIRT BUTTONS FOR YOU…!"
But just as he was about to touch Rangiku, she stopped him at the last minute by knocking him away with her fist, sending him flying into the chalkboard. Luckily, the board wasn't damaged, but Keigo slumped to the ground with a bruise on his face.
"She's strong," Chad noted.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Ichigo noted.
Later that day, Ichigo and Rangiku relocated outside of the building.
"Alright, are you going to tell me why you're still here," Ichigo questioned. "Weren't you supposed to go back to your Soul Society or whatever it was?"
"You wait until now to ask me that," Rangiku teased. "You could have asked me back when we were walking to school."
"Just answer the question," Ichigo demanded.
"I can't, not yet," Rangiku answered. "I came here on a mission and I can't go back until it's finished."
"What do you mean," Ichigo asked.
"There's a very dangerous Hollow out there that has evaded Soul Reapers for more than 50 years and I was sent to hunt him down and kill him," Rangiku told him. "More importantly, you're still leaking out your spirit energy and if you continue to do so, you'll just be luring more and more Hollows towards you."
This news got Ichigo's attention.
"Why do you think I couldn't sense that Hollow last night," Rangiku told him. "It's because your leaking spirit energy was jamming my senses."
Ichigo was horrified upon hearing this. "So, you couldn't hear that Hollow coming last night… because of me…?"
"Ah, no need to worry Ichigo, it all worked out in the end," Rangiku told him in her carefree way. "Besides, there is one way for you to learn how to control your spirit energy."
"What would that be," Ichigo asked.
Rangiku then got serious again. "You must learn the ways of the Soul Reaper."
Ichigo was dumbfounded.
"Also last night, I lost almost half of my Soul Reaper powers," Rangiku explained. "I'm afraid half of them were absorbed into you, Ichigo. Thanks to you, for the time being, I'm stuck in this Gigai form."
"What do you mean by Gigai," Ichigo questioned.
"A Gigai is a temporary body that serves as vestal in an emergency," Rangiku explained while pointing to her chest. "Basically, if a Soul Reaper is drastically weakened, they reside inside of a Gigai until their powers come back."
"Oh now I get it," said Ichigo. "So that's why the others were able to see you before then, right?"
"Correct," Rangiku answered. "So until my powers fully return, you'll have to most of the work of a Soul Reaper."
Ichigo was dumbfounded again.
"It's only natural," Rangiku told him. "You no possess the strength of a Soul Reaper after all. Then again, I guess you could refuse and just get on with your life as if none of this ever happened. At which case, more Hollows will undoubtedly come after you, your friends, and your family, and I won't always be there to save you. But then again, what do I know. After all…"
"Hey wait a minute," Ichigo stopped her.
"Huh," Rangiku stopped.
"Let me get this straight," Ichigo started. "You're saying that I have to do most of your work while you regain your powers and that if I refuse more of those Hollows will come after me and attack my friends and family? You're not giving me much choice here…!"
"Oh am I, handsome," Rangiku smirked.
"Look lady, you might be my father's former underling and all, but my monster fighting days are over," Ichigo told her. "That was a onetime deal."
"Is that so," Rangiku questioned. "You did just fine to me last night."
Ichigo countered, "That was only because my family was in danger. But it's not like I'm ready to fight for complete strangers or anything. Sorry to disappoint you."
"You're wrong," Rangiku corrected him. "I was giving you a choice."
This caught Ichigo's attention.
"If you're not interested in performing the duties of a Soul Reaper then there might be a way for you to lose those powers," Rangiku then took out a glove with a skull mark on the back and placed it on her hand. "However, before you make your final decision, I must first show you what we Soul Reapers do. Only then can you make your decision."
Then without warning, Rangiku struck Ichigo in the face with it. Next thing Ichigo knew, he left his physical body and took on his Soul Reaper form. After Ichigo regained his composure, he looked and saw that he was out of his body once more and freaked out.
"Ah crap, what happened to my body," Ichigo gasped. "What in the world did you do to me?!"
Rangiku then took off the glove and placed it on the hand of Ichigo's body before answering, "The same thing that you're about to do to me."
Rangiku then forced Ichigo's palm to strike her chest, forcing her out of her Gigai and into her Soul Reaper form.
"What the," Ichigo gasped.
"Okay, let's get going," Rangiku instructed.
Sometime later, Ichigo and Rangiku were walking near a playground where a child had died some time ago.
"Hey, mind telling me where we're going here," Ichigo asked.
"We're getting close," Rangiku told him.
"Close to what," Ichigo questioned.
"The latest Hollow to show itself here in Karakura," Rangiku answered. "A boy died here and it's only a matter of time before the Hollow shows up and attacks him."
Before Rangiku could explain further, they heard a scream of fright. Next thing they knew, the elephant shaped slide was destroyed, and out of the dust, there was the spirit of the child Rangiku told Ichigo about. Behind him was a spider-like Hollow chasing him down as he tried to escape.
The soul called out for help and Ichigo naturally attempted to save the soul, but Rangiku stopped him for some reason.
"What are you doing," Ichigo gasped. "I've got to save that kid…!"
"But he's a complete stranger," Rangiku pointed out. "And I thought you weren't ready to fight for complete strangers."
Ichigo paused for a moment as Rangiku threw what he said earlier in his face. "So what…? I can't just sit by and let this happen…! You expect me to watch him die?!"
"If the sword fists the sheath," Rangiku told him. "You sounded like the kind of person who would do just that. Was that just you in denial?"
Rangiku then got serious. "To a Soul Reaper, all spirits are equal and getting involved simply because spirits are nearby or they need help is not how we do things. If you intend to help this child, then you have to commit yourself to save every spirit. You have to be willing to go to any length, even if it means sacrificing your own life. However, if you want your monster fighting days to end, then step aside and I'll stop that Hollow. And afterwards, you can give your powers to me the same way I gave mine to you and you'll never have to worry about fighting for complete strangers ever again."
As the Hollow gained on the child, Ichigo was left completely shocked as he realized that Rangiku really was giving him a choice. Losing his powers was what he wanted, but being given the choice to do so was intoxicating. However, perhaps on instinct, at the last minute, Ichigo went in and attacked the Hollow, severing its front legs with his sword. The Hollow roared in pain and retreated by disappearing.
"So, have you made your decision yet," Rangiku asked.
"Like hell I have," Ichigo answered. "I haven't decided to do squat, I saved this kid because I wanted to, do you hear me."
"Yeah I figured that would be the case," Rangiku told him.
"What about you," Ichigo questioned.
"What about me," Rangiku questioned back.
"I seem to recall you putting your life on the line to save me last night," Ichigo pointed out the battle with Fishbone D. "Tell me, were you really thinking about your duty when you rushed to help me? Of course not, that's the last thing on your mind when you save someone! At the very least, I choose…"
Just then, the Hollow reappeared and attacked Ichigo in retaliation.
"To be different," Ichigo struck the Hollow with his sword, and the Hollow disappeared, for good this time.
"You know what to do," Rangiku told him.
Ichigo then walked up to the child soul and told him, "You okay kid? If you don't want that to happen again, you better hurry up and pass on already."
Ichigo preformed a Konso on the kid and he was sent to the Soul Society.
"You don't like to admit that you care about others, do you," Rangiku teased. "You put on a tough persona that makes you look like you don't care about others, when in reality you do."
But Ichigo wasn't interested in Rangiku's tease and told her, "I'm gone."
"You want to perform the ritual of transferring your Soul Reaper powers to me," Rangiku offered.
Ichigo looked at Rangiku for a moment.
"As I mentioned earlier, you can give your powers to me the same way I gave my powers to you and you'll never have to worry about fighting monsters or for complete strangers ever again," Rangiku told him.
There was a moment of silence.
"Take your time," Rangiku told him as she made her way back to the school.
Ichigo then followed her.
Later that night, Orihime was in her house, looking at her book, perhaps writing in her diary, perhaps studying on a subject like math, language, literature, or anything else, no one could say. Outside looking at her from the air through her window was the soul of a young tall, slim man with chin-length brown hair and wearing a blue suit who looked like he was either sad or lonely. It didn't help that Orihime, for whatever reason, suddenly closed the curtains of her window, much to the soul's sadness. It only got worse when two Hollows appeared behind the soul and captured him before disappearing.
"What are you doing, stop," were the last words the soul said before being taken away.
Moments later, the soul and the Hollows that accompanied it reappeared in the home world of the Hollows, Hueco Mundo. Upon arrival, the soul was confused, asking where he was and what the Hollows were going to do to him. Then as if to answer that question, a third Hollow appeared behind him.
"You lost, little spirit," said the Hollow. "Now, let's devour his soul."
The soul looked at the Hollow and from what he could tell the Hollow resembled a giant hamster with red bird-like hands and feet and a red tentacle-like limb that hung from its forehead like the lure of an anglerfish that was vaguely Human-sized. This was Grand Fisher. Frightened at the sight of the Hollow, the soul attempted to flee, but Grand Fisher ordered the other two to attack the soul. The soul continued to flee, but it was no use and, as Grand Fisher laughed, the soul was captured and devoured by the other Hollows.
Moments later, the Hollows disappear as the soul suddenly transform into a large nāga-like Hollow with shoulder-length black hair and a skull-like mask with narrow yellow eyes. Beneath this mask lied his original Human face. The majority of his muscular body was dark brown in color, but his arms were deep red, and a black pattern resembling sawblades on a thick strip starts on the small of his back and ran down the length of his tail, the tip of which was completely black. His Hollow hole was in the center of his chest, near his collarbones.
And that was chapter 2. So yeah, as you can see, I just cut the first episode of the Bleach anime in half. It's not entirely unusual since the second Bleach anime episode probably adapted several chapters at once. So far it's mostly a slightly different cannon, but seeing that Rangiku is different from Rukia, even I don't know where this will go. By the way, for those of you who were wondering, yes Rangiku did say many of the same things that Rukia said during certain situations. However, despite that she's a free spirit, even she knows when it's time to be serious. Now the next chapter will obviously have Ichigo and Rangiku interact with Orihime. Some of you might be asking, will Ichigo actually be able to walk her home this time, or will everything go exactly as it did in the manga and anime? My only answer is, wait and see.
Chapter 3: Orihime and Sora