I kept hitting "w" instead of "q," making it seem like Ichigo thought with a speech impediment. Er, thought impediment? It was funny. Thought it might make you laugh if you imagine it while you read, so I put this up here.
Disclaimer: The characters and everything from Bleach isn't mine and all credits should go to Tite Kubo. The only thing I own is the plot, though the story will follow the anime. That said, the connection may grow blurry at times due to the plot I am inserting.
A Protector
I combed my hands through my hair slowly, inhaling the resulting fragrance of my shampoo and conditioner deeply. The long orange strands had attained a silky quality that I was rather proud of. I had decided, at one point or another, that if I was gonna be a girl, I was gonna at least do it well. Meaning that I was going to have fun with it.
Also, Rukia had insulted my hair and flaunted her fluffy locks in my face. I hate to say it, but I completely took the bait. Sadly, it is easier to urge others not to give in to comments like that than resist yourself. I would be ashamed, too, if I hadn't gotten any results for it. Thankfully, I at least was able to do that much.
A week had passed since the hollow incident with Inoue, and I was settling in bit by bit to my new role. Getting rid of hollows was easier, mentally and physically speaking, and I now had a sort of system in which to do it. Rukia basically gave me a lesson on strategies and planning and being prepared for anything and all that junk. She seemed like such a quiet and nice person at school, but that shortie knew how to argue. My group of friends expanded to include Inoue and Tatsuki more closely. Lunch time was the only time we really all gathered together, but even without me as the connector, I could tell they got along just fine. It was nice to know things wouldn't be awkward if a hollow came along at lunch time. However, it was sort of awkward for me.
When you are two genders - in my case, you were one and then you suddenly unwillingly changed - everybody will see you as the gender they prefer you to be, or make girl stereotypes about having to protect you. Obviously, no one was going to treat me exactly the same as before, but irritatingly enough it seemed like most people had decided to treat me like a full-on girl. Take Keigo, for instance. Normally, his blinding smiles and dramatic pouts were reserved for the female population. However, now that I am apparently part of that population, he has turned it on me. So I kick him, like I normally do when he does things like that. Except now I have a skirt, but I'm not used to kicking in a way that doesn't reveal anything, and so everyone in that direction sees! It's so aggravating! I need to get Tatsuki to teach me sometime soon. And all of this isn't even mentioning Chad, who literally acts like my guardian now. I feel like I lost my best friend, it's not fair... When I find what power made me female, it will pay dearly.
I looked indecisively at what Karakura High's canteen offered. My mind was currently evenly split between yakisoba bread and melonpan. Behind me the line grew as I could only comb my slim hands through my hair thoughtfully. It was a soothing kind of movement, as much as actually brushing can be; I found that out on Sunday when I had a real free day (minus the occasional hollow, of course). Chad's figure somewhat towered over me - I think I actually shrunk during the transformation, though I was still tall - as evidenced by the shadow that added on to mine. He looked at the two choices in my hand and appeared to be contemplating something while I continued to wallow in my indecisiveness. "Just get both," he finally concluded aloud.
I squinted in response, making one last-ditch effort to pick one before I did just that. The gods of canteen food had nothing particular to say to me, apparently not caring either way, so I nodded and rested both on the counter, punching in my number. I distinctly heard a sigh of relief chorus through the line as I left and I whipped around to glare. I'm pretty sure I wasn't there that long...
"Thanks Chad," I said appreciatively. Usually I was a very firm type of person, and this recent bout of indecisiveness had taken me by surprise. It had me slightly worried that the transformation had somewhat altered my personality.
Chad just nodded and patted me on the back like he usually did. He wasn't a very talkative fellow, nor I, so we understood each other pretty well. At least, I thought we did until me being a girl changed a few things between us. So annoying! His curly brown hair sort of hid his eyes, but I could still read the familiar emotions with ease. He was seeing me as some little thing to protect. It was the way he looked at all of the girls and scrawny guys we saved from groups that ganged up on them, something we used to do a whole lot more but haven't as much since high school. I wanted to growl at him that I was still the same person, but I knew it was probably because Chad knew how disgruntled I had been upon the transformation. So I just did my best to smile at him and act like I wasn't bothered by it.
We walked up to the roof after entering the main building, to where our group usually ate. Me and him were normally a little bit later because we got lunch at the canteen, but everyone else brought bentos. Surprisingly, Rukia managed to get one as well ever since she had been found out at my house. She got along really well with Yuzu and Karin, even sleeping in their room now. Actually, the whole thing had been pretty funny...
I stuck my head out the door to check the hallway, orange hair falling over my shoulder. The coast was clear, so I signaled Rukia, who was a foot behind me. "Let's go," I whisper-commanded. The ravenette nodded in response and we ran in a military fashion to the corner hiding the stairway. I peered around and saw no one, so I made a 'come' gesture and quietly shuffled down as she followed my lead. The goal was to get food from the kitchen and clothes from the laundry room, saving up for a period of time, because my shinigami friend required more than one set of casual clothes and had discovered that gigais - whatever those were - actually needed sustenance. I ducked around the corner at the bottom and motioned for her to follow. It was also good stealth experience, according to her.
The kitchen was most likely to be occupied, so we would check it first and go for the clothes if someone was there. Actually, that was my plan, but Rukia thought we should split up. I had practically forced her to agree to mine before we left, though, so I figured we should be okay. If worst came to worst I could say she was my friend from school. It helped that we were both still in our uniforms. I stopped right before the entrance to the kitchen and strained to see past the wooden frame without alerting anyone that might be inside to my presence. Normally I was a rather blunt person, so I was completely unused to all of this sneaking around. I made a signal that it was safe and quickly walked in, heading directly for the fridge. From here the plan was for me to grab and hold the food, and then we would go to the laundry room and Rukia would grab the clothes she wanted. Once I had what I deemed to be enough to the point where any more would go bad before consumption, I swiveled to lead the black-haired shinigami to the next destination. Only to find she wasn't there.
A scream that nearly stopped my heart sounded, and I immediately dropped everything to rush to the source. What I found astounded me in that I had expected some terrible thing to have happened, and it hadn't. Rather than seeing a catastrophe of some sort when I rushed with the laundry room, I saw Yuzu clasping hands with Rukia, squealing in what appeared to be utter delight. Rukia, on the other hand, was a mix of guilt and excitement. A sigh released itself from my still open mouth before I closed it and waited for the pair to notice me.
"Ichigo brought a girl home!" Yuzu shouted joyfully, causing my jaw to drop once more.
"I did no such thing," I said defensively. "She came of her own accord and I couldn't get rid of her."
Apparently, no one cared what I had to say as the family ended up celebrating, sans me. Then it came to be night and they realized that Rukia had no plan on 'going home.' I just tossed my long, orange hair and let her figure out her excuse by herself. She ended up getting teary-eyed and saying that she had no where to go so I had offered her my house as a place to stay.
"Ichigo is such a good friend," Rukia sniffled in finishing. I nearly groaned at the teary eyes Yuzu and Goat-face were displaying, as if they were truly moved.
So, yeah. We got found out because Rukia strayed from the plan. This is why I don't make plans; no one ever thinks it will work better than their own so no one follows it but me.
Chad and I sat in the open space that had been left for us in the circle our friends made, and I promptly dodged a hurtling Keigo by leaning into Chad. "Sorry," I apologized for my intrusion of space as I straightened out my posture. I noticed a few weird glances my way but thought nothing of it.
We all talked - me and Chad not so much as the others - as we ate, and towards the end of the lunch period Chad introduced us to his new pet bird. It was a handsome white parakeet in a somewhat rusted cage that I really wondered how I hadn't seen before. Looking more closely at Chad, I also noticed that he had a few bandages peeking into visibility. I must have been really out of it not to notice that; I usually have this habit of checking my big friend over for injury, but I guess his whole "protect the girl" act put me off more than I thought.
"What's with the bandages?" I asked, concern and a lighter scolding tone leaking into my voice. I didn't quite approve of how often he put himself into situations where he would most likely get hurt.
"A steel beam fell on me last night, and a motorcycle ran into me this morning," he explained simply. I shook my head in fond exasperation; this teen was made of something else. Only Chad could make injuries that could put grown men in a hospital seem minor.
"Take better care of yourself," I reprimanded him firmly, whacking his arm.
Chad shook his head. "I was protecting him," he said, pointing to the caged bird. Alarm bells went off in my head. If this bird was the cause of these accidents... I remembered the parakeet's introduction for a moment. The bird had seemed entirely too smart with completely fluent and put-together sentences. It also felt strange, like it was some kind of spirit (I was better at differentiating the living from the not since Rukia had made me learn). Yuichi could be a cursed spirit... I would have to ask Rukia what she thought later. I didn't know if spirits could inhabit animals.
"Then don't let him get into those kinds of situations," I berated Chad nonetheless. He needed to get it through his thick skull that he wasn't impervious to harm before he really got hurt.
Suddenly Keigo burst into dramatic tears, nearly making me jump. "What the heck?!" I shouted at him. He jumped at me for the second time that lunch period and I dodged again, leaning away from Chad this time and thus into Rukia. I didn't bother apologizing, figuring I wouldn't need to.
"Ichigo cares more for Sado-kun!" the 'distraught' boy cried.
I blinked. I tried to process what he had said. I blinked again. Everyone else seemed to think this mildly amusing. "...What?" I finally questioned in confusion. I honestly had no idea where Keigo's abrupt conclusion had come from or what it meant. I looked around, asking with my eyes what the brown-haired teen was getting at. Orihime was smiling happily - meaning she was probably in on it - but she didn't say anything. Tatsuki was snickering quietly behind a hand at me, Keigo, Chad, or a combination of the three, but she didn't say anything either. Mizuiro was smiling much like Orihime. Rukia wasn't even bothering to hide her laughter - why did it seem like she was always laughing at me for something or another? - and was definitely not going to answer. I turned helplessly to Chad, looking for a sign that he knew and would tell me. He only shrugged at my questioning look, leaving me only one choice. I stood and socked Keigo in the face, sending him flying. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?!" I yelled threateningly at him. He couldn't answer because I had inadvertently knocked him out. "Dang it!" I cursed and stomped off childishly.
More laughter sounded behind me and I moodily ignored them. It had been a simple question! Honestly, I mentally huffed. Seeing as how the roof was already occupied by idiots, I wandered down to the school's courtyard, plopping down under a nice tree. I had cooled off somewhat by the time the bell ending lunch rang, but still not enough to speak to my friends, so I spent the rest of the school day ignoring them. I almost forgave Chad, because he hadn't meant any harm - he hadn't understood either - but then I remembered how he was treating me when he asked me if I was okay - something he had never before made a habit of doing; we spoke through expressions and micro-gestures. Then I was irritated with him again so I ignored him too.
After school I talked to Rukia minimally - she had been the worst offender, but I was starting to get used to her annoying mannerisms - so that she could teach some more Soul Reaper stuff while I fought a Hollow. Apparently she figured I learned best on the go, so she would teach me that stuff during fights more often then not. Right now I was reluctantly talking a bit more in depth with her about Chad's new pet bird.
"It felt like a spirit," I commented simply, keeping my word count as low as possible. I was still a little bit mad, and the only way I knew how to get back at her at this point in time was either call her "midget" - which would essentially be worth it but would also earn pain - or ignore her - which resulted in much less hurt. "Is that possible?" I asked for confirmation on my thoughts.
Rukia put her chin in her left hand, the other resting on her left elbow, as she considered it. "It is not usual," she said slowly, "but it is possible..."
"Do ya think it's cursed?" I may not have been overly pleased with Chad at the moment, but I wasn't about to leave him alone with a cursed bird. I still remembered our promise to help each other if the other needed help. A cursed parakeet definitely fell under the promise.
"Cursed?" Rukia shook her head in the negative, her black hair shaking a little as well. "A Plus can't be cursed like a human can be." She obviously had an idea about it, but she didn't say anything else. I mentally sighed, wishing she would be more forthcoming when the situation called for it.
"So what else could it be?" I demanded impatiently.
The short Shinigami's eyes flickered up to me as we walked along the path to my home before returning to directly ahead. "A Hollow," she answered tightly.
Oh. That would be bad. "Um," I started anxiously. "Wouldn't the Hollow thingie go off, then?" A ball of dread was starting to form in my stomach. A familiar beeping noise sounded. The dread clenched like an iron fist. Worry filled my being. There was practically no doubt that Chad would be involved with this.
"Let's go," Rukia voiced, though she didn't need to. I would have gone no matter what at the moment.
She led the way, but that position was a near thing as I pressed up as close to being in front as I could while being able to follow Rukia. Only my excellent self-control kept me from out-right panicking.
By the time we reached the supposed location of the Hollow, it was already gone. There was, however, a rather large crash site. Ambulance sirens went off in the near distance, jerking me from my empty stare at the scene. Thankful that Rukia hadn't pushed me out of my body yet, I rushed over to help in any way I could. Having a father that owns a clinic is useful in these situations; it gave me experience and a certain amount of credibility during events like this. The ambulances drew ever closer.
Miraculously enough - the crash had been huge; there should have been tons of injuries and even deaths - no one had died and only one person had been wounded. That person had been in the very center of the chaos. Guess who it was. Go on, guess. It had been Chad! I told him to be careful. Why couldn't he just have a little bit of self-preservation mixed in with all of that 'save people' stuff?
I sighed worriedly. With as many injuries as Chad managed to accumulate - he apparently decided to try and protect all of the drivers by slowing the cars down with his hands as much as he could - he would have to stay overnight wherever he was put. Considering that a Hollow had it in for Chad's birdie - which he probably already knew and would therefore hold on to the cage and bird - staying at Karakura Hospital was out of the question. When the ambulance arrived I instructed the driver to head towards Kurosaki Clinic, sitting in the back with Chad and Rukia. I also pulled out my cell phone and informed my dad of the incoming patient and his injuries. Thus it was that Chad was taken to a pre-prepared room when the ambulance arrived.
Rukia made me come up with a strategic plan while we waited for Chad to wake up, though now that he was under a few pain relief pills that was less likely to be happening anytime soon. But what exactly counts as a "strategic plan" where one Hollow or more were specifically targeting a soul? The most obvious course of action I saw was to just stay with Chad the whole time, or convince him to let me hang on to the bird for a while. Of course, Rukia and I didn't see eye to eye - haha, literally and figuratively - on what to do. She still thought I needed the practice though, so she was probably just going to keep me at it until I came up with a plan relatively mirroring the one she definitely already had. I wish she wouldn't be so difficult.
"Welllllllllll..." I started yet again, trying to trick my brain into coming up with a different plan. "Ummmmmm... Nope, I still can't think of anything else that would be even slightly possible." Well, the midget couldn't blame me, it's not like I knew the inner workings of Hollows. They may have been people once, but it was pretty clear there was a different thought process going on there. Kind of like... a different culture... I guess.
"Try again," Rukia refused my excuse.
"I got nothin'," I groused. I squinted my eyes and stuck my tongue out at her childishly, slouching over my legs, elbows on my knees and chin in my hands. We were both sitting on the white-sheeted beds opposite of each other in the clinic, waiting not-so-patiently for Chad to wake up so we could talk to him - not to actually tell him what was going on, of course, because Rukia maintained that we could not bring normal humans into the... Shinigami world, I guess. No, we were just going to come straight in and ask for his bird that he would not give, knowing him. Chad was protective by nature, which was one of the reasons I wasn't holding an eternal grudge against him for seeing me as a little girl to protect (just because he was taller than me didn't mean I was little! he was taller than everyone!). But back to the main topic.
Rukia shook her head, giving a pointed glare that I returned sullenly. "Again," she commanded.
I was about to make another impossible "maybe we could" plan when someone interrupted by entering the long room. I was extremely grateful to this person, but I wondered if a worse fate was in store and this was my dad as I turned to look. My thanks rose when it turned out to be Karin.
"Hey," she said casually in greeting. Her gaze flickered along the length of the room, and then a barely noticeable frown of confusion made its way onto her face. "Where's your friend?" Karin asked, not knowing the impact that question would hold.
The ball of dread came roaring back with a vengeance. I jumped off the bed I had been on, checking each mattress individually while an uncomfortable semi-panic grew. Karin had been right; Chad was nowhere to be seen. And there was a very familiar beeping sound filling the room.
(A/N: I almost ended it right there, just to make it a cliffy. Luckily - or unluckily - I didn't)
"Shoot," I cursed under my breath. For the second time in one day, I absolutely knew that Chad was mixed up in this. "Karin, tell Goat-face I'm fetching a wayward patient," I barked. "Rukia, let's go."
Karin nodded seriously and went off to find our dad, then Rukia hopped out a window with me following close behind. The run paused only for a moment so the short Soul Reaper could push my soul out of my body, and then it resumed once more. This time, though, it seemed to drag on and on, like we would never get to where the Hollow was supposed to be. Perhaps it was because I knew it was my friend that was being attacked due to his protective tendencies. Maybe it was because I felt that this was my fault - I had been there in the room when he snuck out.
The scene we arrived to did not in any way, shape, or form make me feel better. My tall, curly-haired friend was blindly fighting against a Hollow that was a few feet taller than him while crouched much like an ape. It was a green-tinted blue, with a widely grinning mask and a long tongue lolling out from between the pointed teeth. The large creature could possibly be called a frog as well as an ape, with that hanging tongue. Worse than Chad's inability to see the creature he was fighting were the miniature frogs launched by the Hollow that exploded upon impact. Chad could take a punch, even one from a Hollow. A close-range explosion, however, I wasn't so sure about. Yuichi the parakeet was flapping about in his little cage, obviously distressed.
"Chad!" I yelled. He looked my direction, but it was clear he couldn't see me. I sighed in what might've been fond exasperation if this had not literally been a life-or-death situation; Chad had been fighting the Hollow on sound alone, it seemed. It was just like him to try and fight the thing under such discouraging odds. "Get out of the way!"
His eyes turned to Rukia, who had a... real body - or something? I never really asked how she could be seen - and thus was visible to him. "Kuchiki-san," he said in what was the closest to shouting I had ever heard from him. "Is Ichigo nearby? Can you tell him I'm fine?" If I had the time, I would have face-palmed.
"Idiot!" I shouted in frustration, running towards him and simultaneously drawing my sword. "You can't even see it!" And good to know you still consider me a guy, I added mentally in a sarcastic tone.
"Ichigo?" he questioned in confusion.
"I said move!"
I held my blade out diagonally, pointing downward, and sped up, coming behind the Hollow. It started to turn, but its movements were slow; on the other side I saw Chad finally adhere to my words and scramble away in his stoic fashion. I turned my hands so the sharp edge of my over-sized sword faced outwards, and I slashed upwards across the Hollow's broad back. I used the momentum to my advantage by twirling in midair and swinging the blade down against the Hollow's head with the added force of gravity. A crack resounded around the back street this was all happening on as the Hollow's grinning mask split. Then something unexpected happened.
The setting sun's light seemed to drain away in one particularly large spot. A set of doors started to take shape in the darkness, filling into be a crimson red. Two skeletons slowly appeared overtop the doors, both on the edge of their respective doors, facing inward. The bony hands stretched forth to grab the now-formed golden handles and pulled their respective doors open - even though that should have been impossible from a logical standpoint. But when one becomes a Shinigami, one stops being logical. A horrible keening sound filled the air, and it took me a second to realize it was actually coming from within the opening doors. The noise was like a Hollow's scream one hundredfold. In my peripheral vision I watched Chad whip his head about, searching for the source he wouldn't be able to find. Rukia was looking on calmly, her face completely emotionless, leading me to take comfort in that whatever was happening, it wasn't bad enough for Rukia to be worried. I still felt the nervous butterflies flutter their wings, though.
The Hollow added its own keen, not showing any sign of "dissolving" like defeated Hollows had so far always done. I watched in quiet, mounting horror as the frog-like Hollow was brought into the air directly in front of the opening doors. Inside, from within the burning depths that were visible, a giant blade shot out and stabbed the Hollow. The protruding blade was drawn back in, pulling the Hollow along, and the doors slammed shut before dissipating into the same black aura they emerged from. Slowly but surely the sun's light returned to the space, until it was no different from before.
"Rukia," my voice came out as a whisper. I cleared my throat. "Rukia," I started again, "what was that?" I didn't turn away from where the doors had been to check her reaction.
"The doors to Hell," she explained emotionlessly. "When a Hollow committed great sins during its mortal life, it gets sent to Hell upon being cleansed." It was simple. It made sense. It was somehow terrifying.
I shook my head, trying to shake off the lingering sense of horror as well. I turned to look at Chad, who was giving Rukia his equivalent of a mildly doubting expression. Rukia steadily returned his gaze for a moment before reverting to her glaringly fake persona she had taken up at school. It was... hideously cheerful, in my opinion. Not that I have anything against being cheerful, but a bubbly, excited Rukia... It's not pretty if you don't wholly agree/play along with her. Me being me, I don't. Not pretty.
Anyways, I decided to go put on my body - and doesn't that sound nice *shiver* - after performing a Konso on the parakeet while Rukia kept Chad busy. It took me a little longer than planned to find it, but otherwise I was back fairly quickly to rescue Chad. No one deserved to put up with cheerful Rukia for that long. I waved as I called out to him: "Chad!"
"Ichigo," he returned with a hint of relief.
Aw, was big ol' Chad worried 'bout wittle Ichigo? my own personal nasty voice bit out in my head.
Go away, I mentally shooed. I had decided to forgive Chad for that already. Out loud, I started shouting at him for what I was still mad about. "You freaking idiot!" I roared. "Were you trying to get yourself killed?! You couldn't even see the thing, and you don't move when I, someone who can see it tells you to 'move?'" My hands came up and started waving about to further express my anger. Chad actually took a step back, which would have been amusing if this wasn't a legitimate concern. "Chad," I said a little softer. "You used to trust me when I told you to dodge. Has my appearance changed that level of trust and respect between us?" I could see that my words sank in, so I waited quietly for an answer while looking directly into his eyes to see whether he spoke truth or not.
"You are right," he admitted after a moment. "I did let your appearance change the way I thought of you," he continued bluntly. "I am sorry, Ichigo." He didn't ask for forgiveness or anything; he wasn't the type, just as I wasn't the type to ever forgive anyone aloud. "I will try harder" was his comment instead.
"You better," I warned half-heartedly, smiling. His commitment to try was enough for me.
I had forgotten about Rukia until she decided to burst in at that moment. "Oh my gosh!" she practically squealed. "You two make such a cute couple!" she positively gushed.
A little color drained from my face and my smile faded as I tried to figure out where her comment came from. And much like with Keigo at lunch, I couldn't figure it out. "...What?" I asked in confusion for the second time that day. Rukia was too busy gushing about a perfect couple to answer. Chad had turned around after muttering that he was going home and picking up his now-normal bird.
"Will anyone ever answer me?" I grumbled darkly.
({[\|-~•~-|/]})
Boom! So... sorry for being late guys... I wish I had a legitimate excuse, but I kinda don't, I was just really lazy. Also, apologies for that really crappy, paragraph-length fighting scene. I suck at those because I don't really know what any moves are called and then I get lazy and don't want to describe everything in major detail.
So, today was my first day of school! I am a Sophomore now and that makes me happy, but man... Freshman have excuses for sucking at everything. I got lost right after the morning pep rally because I forgot we were coming from the gym and not the front of the school :( On that note, I will not be in Marching Band this year due to a medical reason that made my mom say "take a break." So I will have more free time then last year! Although there will be more homework... Oh well, thought I should give that semi-happy news (I absolutely hate not being in MB :( ) But whatever. On to KIFR!
Kurosaki Ichigo's Feelings Report (KIFR)
Girls: I don't like people in general right now.
Boys: Same thing as just before. Also, really? Don't think I'll give that easily.
Yasutora "Chad" Sado: I'm not sure how I feel about his name coming up... Chad is my friend but changing into a girl changed some stuff between us that I hope we can get back to normal. And... Chad? Me and him? Romance? Ewww... I sure hope he's not gonna act like Keigo towards me anytime soon. That would be really awkward...
Eheh... Comment and Vote? Stay tuned for more whenever I next get around to updating? Eh, at least it was a long chapter. I don't know why, but my muse likes long chapters for this fanfic. Most others I make are closer to 3k, while this is the second 5k chapter I've made. Huh. Enjoy the school year!
(I'll edit this later...)