Chapter 3: The Unknown

Ichigo Kurosaki had just finished serving his last customer for the day, handing the young lady a small pouch and a folded piece of paper.

"Now remember, this isn't a love spell. Taking away someone's free will is not okay. That – " he pointed to the pouch, " – is a small spell that will only open up his mind to the possibility of whatever it is you ask. But, he will still have free will. If he already had some feelings for you, this will make it easier for him to act upon them. If he doesn't, nothing will change. Do you understand?"

The lady nodded happily. "Yes I do. Thank you so much!" Ichigo watched her walk away and hoped the best for her. He moved away from the counter to the front of his quaint little shop to bring down the glass window, which served as a roof when the shop was open, and locked it in place where it fit within the wall. The counter could be accessed from the outside, so customers didn't have to come into the shop if they already knew what it was that they wanted. Once the window was in place, he went back inside and tidied up the shop, making sure things were neat and in the correct place before counting the money he had received for the day. It wasn't much, but it was enough for the rent and for food. That's all he needed anyway. He usually foraged for the flora and other items he needed and traded for those harder to come by such as certain crystals and spices among other things. Once Ichigo locked away the money, he closed the shutters on all the windows then left the shop, locking the door on his way out.

Everyday, after closing up for the day, Ichigo would go on a walk outside of the city to get away from the loudness, away from the hustle and bustle that always seemed to cling to the city. Some days he would take this time to collect more items for his shop, or to replenish his stock, but today he didn't need to. Finally through the city gate and out of the town, the atmosphere was already quieter. It was a breath of fresh air and it only got better the further away he walked. After a few minutes Ichigo found the little creek he liked frequent and laid down in the soft grass of the bank. Before long, he had fallen into a peaceful sleep, the running of the creek lulling him further.

A thrum in the air startled Ichigo awake an hour later. He bolted upright, heart thumping in his chest and held still with baited breath, trying to sense the disturbance. He felt it again, this time the hum lingered, seeming to seep into his body, causing faint aches, akin to growing pains. Ichigo was very curious. He had only felt something like this only a few times, but never quite knew the source. It never caused his body ache which made this situation more unique. The disturbance was definitely stronger than the others, which had him believe that maybe whatever was creating the disturbance was closer to the Kingdom. That thought didn't sit well with him, although curiosity won out which pushed him to find the cause. Slowly and carefully Ichigo made his way through trees and brush, following the hum of the disturbance, feeling it get stronger and stronger. The moon was full and above the horizon before Ichigo found anything, but then there was an awful, inhuman shriek that made his skin feel like knives were dancing over it, made his teeth clench in pain as if he was chewing through metal, his toes curled and his bones ached something fierce. He was shocked at what he was feeling, it was painful and caused full body shudders at the awful sensations. It took him a moment to get his mind together to perform a simple shielding spell, but once it was cast a huge wave of relief washed over him. After a second shriek, Ichigo decided to dampen his hearing. Although the pain it caused had no effect, the sound was still hard to bear. Relying on his sight and the disturbance he trekked onwards. Soon a trembling in the ground caused him to stop a moment, looking around to ensure he was still alone. With nothing happening after a few silent moments he pressed on. Finally he found the source. It was human-like in figure, though it was hard to make out as the trees filtered the moonlight. It looked wrong. It didn't stand tall, more hunched and lopsided, but seemed to have range of motion. Now that Ichigo was closer, he could now hear the gasping, rasping breaths that crawled from its gaping mouth, and noticed that the tremors in the ground matched each step the thing took. Every movement had shivers run down Ichigo's spine, not from any real pain it caused, but how painful it sounded from the creaking and popping emitting from its body. Ichigo didn't dare get any closer. He didn't know what this thing was nor was he keen to find out what other pleasantries it could inflict on his body. He did decide, however, to study the creature a little longer, to gain information that could be useful in the future and useful to the King. If there are more of them, then it's just a matter of time before they reach the city gates. Luckily the shrieks had ceased and the creature continued to meander about, seemingly without purpose. After a few minutes of the same thing, Ichigo decided to head back when the creature whipped his head around to face his direction and let out another horrifying shriek. His heart raced as adrenaline coursed through his body. He thought he'd been relatively quiet, though now he was berating himself for not using a spell to ensure he was soundless. He was normally ready with such precautions, however, the disturbance had intrigued him as he hadn't felt anything that close to the Kingdom before or even seen what caused it and had tracked the creature down impulsively. He was ready to try his luck at running away when something jumped from the shadows to the right of him and attacked the creature. At first he thought it was another creature, but then he realised that it had been stealthily quiet while the other was constantly making noise. He watched in fascination as the new human-like being wrestled with the other, each landing blows and inflicting awful wounds. There was a shine of silver, a thunk like an axe hitting a tree and then the sound of something heavy dropping to the forest ground. It didn't take long to realise that the silent newcomer had bested the creature… by decapitation. Ichigo was astounded, although the feeling was fleeting as he decided he didn't want to fall victim to the new being. He took a step back and saw it focus its attention in his direction. He steeled himself for a fight he didn't want, but nothing came. The trees swayed in the breeze to allow more moonlight to filter through the canopy and what he saw of the being was that it was horrifically wounded, blood sluggishly seeping from the injuries, a gaunt and sickly grey complexion with sunken eyes and bloodstained blue hair. Ichigo didn't know what to do except stand and stare, but the spell was broken when its eyes rolled back and it crumpled to the ground. It didn't move and after waiting in silence to ensure it was still unconscious, or dead, Ichigo made a dart back towards the town. Ensuring he hadn't been followed, Ichigo stopped a great distance away from where the attack took place, closed his eyes and calmed himself down, then let his power fill him.

When he opened his eyes he was back in his shop. Double checking the windows and the door to ensure they were still all closed and locked, he finally let himself relax and climbed the stairs hidden at the back. The second floor was where Ichigo lived. To the right of the stairs was the door to his bedroom and to the left was the living space and kitchen, with a small bathroom tucked in the back. Even after what he witnessed, Ichigo wasn't tired. He was interested in both of those creatures, however, he had never come across either. There were a multitude of races and species that lived in and out of the Kingdom. At least, within the Kingdom walls, everyone knew about and co-existed with the other races and species. Ichigo wasn't as naïve as to think that those were all the creatures in the world, but for something as dangerous as what he witnessed, he would have liked to think that someone had to have come across it at some point in time and would have warned those around them. The fact that he had no knowledge of those beings, nor had any conversation about similar creatures, led him to believe that not many people, if any at all, within the Kingdom knew of their existence. He walked to his quaint kitchen to make a cup of tea then set it down on the rectangular table that was in front of his sitting bench in the middle of the living space. He walked over to his book shelf that stood off to the left side and perused his collection. He picked a couple, one book on mythical creatures and another on old magic. He had read them a few times before, however, with this new knowledge, he thought that he might be able to see similarities or somehow understand what those beings were and how they came about. He didn't get his hopes up, but unable to wind down, researching was his best option. Sitting down on the bench, tea in hand, he opened up the book on mythological creatures.

The next day was as usual as any other. Ichigo ate and dressed, opened up his shop and ensured everything was in its place. The day progressed with a slow but steady flow of customers who wanted things from ginger tea for nausea to Selenite crystals for use in meditations and the opening of the third eye. It was his last customer that surprised him. She was a beautiful Dryad with smooth, tan skin, had ropes of auburn hair reaching the middle of her back with vines and flowers artfully arranged through it. Her outfit was made from leaves, moss, bark and vines, all moulded to fit her perfectly. Being a Dryad, she was able to communicate with the trees and other flora around her and had power over them, so asking permission to use their resources to create clothing wasn't a stretch of her power. The bark was used as foot wear, coming up to the knee, some dark green and brown leaves weaved with tan vines made up her skirt which fell to her knees and her top was created with moss and leaves. Moss covered one shoulder with a pleasing arrangement of small branches and twigs upon it while the other shoulder was bare. When she approached the counter Ichigo could see a furrow upon her brow, a slight downturn of her lips and worry in her eyes.

"Good evening. What can I do you for?" Ichigo asked with a smile that was only a pleasantry for the customers. The night prior was still lingering in the back of his mind.

"Do you have something for protection? Preferably a strong one and that lasts a while?" Ichigo looked at her thoughtfully. She seemed on edge, eyes occasionally darting around as if scanning the surroundings.

"I think I have something. Why don't you come inside? My name is Ichigo by the way." Ichigo moved towards the door and waved her through.

"I'm Aralia. Nice to meet you." Ichigo guided her to sit at a chair he had towards the back of the shop near the fireplace he used in the winter. Once she was comfortable, he crouched to be at her eye level. "Are you in any trouble? I don't mean to pry but you look a little worried. That and you asked for powerful protection. I don't generally need to know what customers need it for, but given the information, I'm able to tailor the spell or charm to what you need." Aralia smiled a small smile of thanks then heaved a sigh.

" Thank you for asking, but I'm not in any immediate danger," she paused, looking for the right words. "You might not understand," she said finally, her eyes downcast. This time the smile that crossed Ichigo's lips was genuine.

"Hey," he said softly, gaining her attention, "I may not be a Dryad, but us Witches feel things too. I might be able to help. I want to help." Her body relaxed a little, sinking more into the chair and nodded her head.

"Okay. I will try to explain it well." She then recounted what she felt the night before, through the network of roots and trees outside the Kingdom. She explained that when noon became evening, she felt the disgust, pain and wrongness that the plants had felt. The feelings being passed through from tree to bush, vine to flower and finally to her. There was a sickness, a roiling from the earth that caused a nauseous feeling throughout the Dryad community. She explained that the vegetation couldn't even convey what it was that was causing all the unease. There was just an unending, fear filled need to get away. Then there was a sense of hope. Not too long after, the unease, the nausea, the wrongness and the pain disappeared and a sagging relief took its place. "I have never experienced anything like this and neither have any of the others. No one wants to come forward to tell the King. They think that he will ignore our worries, brush them aside and tell us that we are safe. They may be right, but we know what we felt. No one is even looking for protection from such a thing either. They want to pretend that it never happened at all." Ichigo had no doubt that what she was saying was connected to what he experienced the same night. He didn't believe in coincidences. He did his best to ensure her that he understood, adding his own tale on what he had seen. Aralia now looked scared, brows coming together, an inwards curl of her body and a sheen of unshed tears in her eyes.

"I didn't share this with you to scare you. I wanted to show you that you are right to want to go to the King. However, I also think he will brush off any warning about some previously unknown dangerous creatures. I honestly think that he believes nothing can pose a threat to him because he has a strong Sorcerer as his advisor. But, what we can do is make that protection. I will do what I can to make it strong." Ichigo allowed her to stay within the shop while he made the protection. Before he started he closed up the shop, made her a cup of tea and gave her a book of her choice to read. He then grabbed the items he needed from the shelves and made his way upstairs to his kitchen where he got to work. He had decided to make eight wearable amulets, one for each of the Dryads in the community and one amulet to hang at Aralia's door to her house, to protect from outsiders sensing their presence. Regardless of the amount of power and energy that was required to create all of the amulets, Ichigo found himself excited. He hadn't been able to exercise this much power in a long time. It was like stretching your legs after being sat for too long. It felt great. He was precautious though. Intense magic use wouldn't go unnoticed, so before he began he cast a ward around his home, shielding his magic from the outside world.

A few hours later the moon was on the horizon and Ichigo was finished. He was delightfully tired, similar to the feeling of a good run, and felt light. He packed up the amulets in a paper bag and went downstairs to present them to Aralia. He found her curled up in the chair, asleep. He got down to her level and tried to gently wake her up. She flushed and apologised when she realised she had been asleep, but he reassured her and handed over the paper bag.

"There are 9 amulets here. The big one is for your house. You hang it on the inside of your door and it will protect you and your family from being noticed. The other 8 are to wear. One is for you and the rest are for the others. They should last around three months, but you are more than welcome to come back to get them recharged." She protested that she couldn't possibly afford all nine amulets and recharging on top, but Ichigio insisted that it was free of charge. "After what I saw last night, I want to make sure that everyone is safe. Even if this is all I can do." Aralia gratefully accepted the amulets and welcomed the offer to be walked home. Ichigo was nearing his house when he felt a subtle presence. It gave him a pause but he continued on. It was only after walking inside that he realised that he had felt the presence before. Mulling it over a little while longer, he was able to recall what it was. He was in disbelief, but he didn't feel that he was in any danger. So he walked to the front door and opened it. He looked left and right ensuring that no one else was around then softly called out."You are welcome here, however, once you pass the threshold you are promising to not cause any harm to anyone within. I will leave the door open, but I expect you to close it. Make yourself comfortable down here and I will keep to myself upstairs. You are safe here." With that all said and done, Ichigo climbed the stairs and decided to shower. When he was clean and in his sleeping clothes, he made tea and sat down with the books from yesterday that were left on the table. He occasionally heard a shuffling from down below, but other than that his guest was quiet.

Ichigo awoke to a panting and grunting sound. He sat up slowly, peeling the page of the book from his cheek and shook out his arms as they had fallen numb where he slept on them at the table. Blearily he looked around and saw a shadowed figure at the top of the stairs. There was a spark of adrenaline which blew away the last cobwebs of sleep, but the spike was short lived as he remembered that he invited this being into his home. It was leaning against the wall, as if it lacked energy and its breathing sounded as if it had been running, or as if climbing the stairs was a great feat. Ichigo didn't want to spook it, so he stayed where he was. "Hello. My name is Ichigo. Are you okay?" The being shifted and stook a few steps forward into the candle light. Even though he knew this being was the one he invited into his house, actually seeing him was still shocking. The dull blue hair, still blood stained and limp, his pallor still sickly grey, cheeks and eyes sunken. With a voice that was raspy, course and sounded painful to use, the being opened its mouth, "Can you help me?"

Notes:

Thank you everyone who likes this story. This will probably be the sole work I'll be concentrating on for a while. If this site goes down, I do have this and other works on AO3.
I would also like to mention that I have opened up a : Taurie Lucas where you can chat with me and other patrons (when I get them haha) There will be more, I just need to learn more about the site.

The formatting is still a problem, I'm sorry.