Riku sat on the roof of his school, staring at the sky.
It was bright and blue, mixed with purple and pink and orange. The white clouds passed by silently, having no true shape.
According to the mangas he read, main characters tend to do this a lot.
Then again, they could've just copied off him.
He never believed himself to be a main character, or even involved in a story.
No matter how much he reads, he'll never understand the concept of 'main character'. It's usually some angsty teen, an immature child, or an adult who doesn't know what to do with their life.
But there's always a lesson to be learned.
He smiled, thinking of the last book he read...
His phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. A guitar riff played before he answered, frowning at the caller I.D.
"What?"
"Don't 'What?' me!"
"...What is it?" He asked, hearing her sigh.
"Wanna go to the library?"
He didn't answer, and looked towards his left. There was a Hollow nearby.
"...I have detention."
"I meant after, but if you answered your phone, it means you ditched, didn't you?" She asked. "Why did you even break the school window?!"
He thought back to the Hollow that attacked him this morning.
"It was by accident."
"Accident or not, you're in big trouble! Make sure you apologize to the teacher!"
"Fine." He said, hanging up.
He looked back to the building on his left, sensing a strange reiatsu coming from that area.
He decided to investigate, hopping along the rooftops and dialing his boss' number.
"...what's going on?"
Riku stopped when he approached the building, confused at the person attacking the Hollow.
The Hollows presence was almost buried beneath their reiatsu, and it was losing, even if it were almost the size of Tokyo Tower. There were red marking on it, and it almost looked possessed.
"There's a Soul Reaper taking care of a huge Hollow."
"Well, that is their job, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but I think he's a human... And the hollow looks like a demon from a storybook he's fighting."
"...sounds like a party. Do me a favor: Attack him, estimate his strengths. Report back to me later."
"Is there a reason for this?" Riku asked.
"I'm curious to know what they can do against you. And if you don't, you're fired."
"Curiousity killed the cat."
"And satisfaction brought it back. And bring back some milk." He said before hanging up.
As the Hollow started to fade away, he decided it was time to make an entrance.
Ichigo felt a strange, empty feeling approach, and jumped out of the way.
There was a strike of lightening landing before them.
Riku landed behind the Soul Reaper, swinging his sword over his shoulder.
Ichigo jumped away, an eerie presence coming from behind him.
He was short, and looked like a middle schooler. But he wasn't human...his aura was a dead giveaway.
"...Who are you?" Ichigo asked.
Riku turned to Ichigo, sword raised before flying towards him.
Ichigo ran forward, their swords clashing.
"What's your problem, kid?!" He yelled, before static flew around them.
Ichigo stared, confused as Riku kicked him.
"You brat!" He yelled, swinging his sword.
Rukia watched, trying to understand what was happening.
"You gonna explain why you're attacking or not?!" He yelled.
More static waves came, Ichigo blocking them.
"That's it! I'm gonna-"
Another Hollow appeared, and they both glared at it.
They shared eye contact, before swinging their swords, aiming for the Hollow.
Once dissolved, Ichigo turned to him.
"...Who are you?" Rukia asked.
Riku didn't answer, his sword disappearing.
Ichigo kicked him in the face, causing him to fall to the floor.
Riku gave him a blank, irritated look before static fell to the floor, giving them distance before he got up and ran off, jumping along the rooftops.
"Get back here!" Rukia yelled, about to chase him before his energy disappeared.
"What was that..?" He asked.
"I don't know..." She breathed out. "But you've gotta be kidding me! A kid is what it takes to take you down, Ichigo!?" Rukia asked as Ichigo stood up quickly, pointing a finger in her face.
"At least I didn't let him get away!"
"I don't have my Soul Reaper powers, thanks to you!"
"Whatever! ...I think he goes to Mashiba Middle School. His uniform looked familiar." He mumbled.
"Why did he even attack us, not to mention he didn't have any reiatsu. Just a weird aura..." She said, placing a hand on her chin.
"I noticed... Do we wait until he attacks again?" Ichigo asked.
"No way! We're gonna find him first and sort this out." Rukia said, folding his arms.
×××××
Riku made it home, a bag of milk in his hand as he knocked.
Tessai answered, his onyx eyes locking onto the milk.
He walked inside, taking off his shoes.
"I take it went well?" Urahara asked, appearing from the back.
"They're strong." He mumbled.
"Details, Riku!" He smiled.
Riku sighed, before he explained the fight.
"I see... Sounds like you handled yourself pretty good. Well, I'll see you at work tomorrow-Oh, that girl you liked stopped by! She was looking for yo-"
"Good night, Urahara-san." He mumbled, heading into his room.
××××××
"Why did you send Riku to attack Ichigo?" Tessai asked, confused.
"It's the perfect way for them to meet, don't you think?"
Tessai sighed. "A formal meeting isn't very exciting for you, is it?"
"Not really." Urahara admitted.
YOU ARE READING
Better Off Alone Book 1
Fanfiction"Weapons are made to destroy, protect, win, or all of the above. But you were created to give...and never receive." Riku Murakami was a bit strange. He was a middle schooler with a high average. But he never spoke to anyone, and always disappeared d...
