Ichigo Kurosaki (Bleach) - Oneshot
“So you understand, you’re like us. Those hollows, they’ll keep coming. You need to be ready.”
Any normal person would take such news a bit badly. After all, Ichigo, Rukia and Sado had just saved you from getting squashed by a beast with a white mask. Now standing on a twenty story building, you stare at them.
“So you’re saying…I can do the things that you do?”
Rukia nodded, fully expecting your hesitance.
“You’re not a soul reaper, but I felt your spiritual pressure. You have the necessary abilities. You can do anything you put your mind to.”
You lowered your head, and Ichigo took a step forward at your silence.
“This is….AWESOME!!!!”
They all flinched at your outburst, and Ichigo’s face went blank, right before he started yelling.
“W-What kind of reaction is that!”
When you lifted your head, you were grinning twice as wide, and Rukia and Sado seemed unsure of how to proceed further.
“Is it possible she’s in shock?” Rukia questioned.
Ichigo sighed, placing his palm over his face.
“You said I could do anything right?”
Rukia’s brows furrowed at the overly excited look on your face.
“Y-Yes. Essentially.”
“Works for me!!”
Ichigo gaped when you went sprinting over to the edge of the building.
“Geronimo!!!!”
When you jumped off the edge they all panicked.
“(Y/N)!!!”
Ichigo dashed off after to help you, but the minute he made it to the edge, he heard your laughter, right before you went shooting back up into the sky at an alarming speed.
All they could truly do is stare. You were making various circles and turns in the air right over them. Ichigo would have continued lecturing you, but the purely elated look on your face as you soared through the sky, he couldn’t get himself to do much but admire it.
Admire you.
Maybe that’s when he knew that looking after you would be a task. Maybe if you’d been the least bit afraid, or cautious he would have felt more reassured. But with everything that was dished at you, you dove in head first.
The first training session with Kisuke, Ichigo had offered to help you, just to ensure you didn’t get hurt. He intended to take it easy, but you’d run right at him, and when he moved to avoid the blow, your hand connected with a boulder and the structure shattered. You of course hadn’t predicted it either and ended up crashing right into the rubble.
When the dust cleared, he wasn’t sure what he would see, but you were stumbling to your feet with the biggest smile despite the bruises now on your face. He meant to tell you to take it easy, but you just kept coming at him.
The both of you had ended up training for over an hour before your body finally gave out. Even when you were on the verge of passing out, you still smiled.
Kisuke looked altogether ecstatic. You were probably the first person he trained that didn’t feel the need to question all of his instructions.
As any sane person should.
“You want me to fight the girl?”
Ururu was shifting in place, and Kisuke nodded.
“Yes. You seem very able, Ururu would be a great test.”
Ichigo felt a bit relieved. Surely you wouldn’t just accept that explanation.
“Sounds good to me!”
“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN IT SOUNDS GOOD!!”
Ichigo was fuming at your clear lack of common sense, and you just grinned, rushing at Ururu who really was tougher than she looked.
You got one solid hit in, and just like that, you’d turned into a rag doll. You had been body slammed a total of six times before Kisuke called it off. Ururu was slightly injured herself, but it’s clear you’d take the brunt of the attacks.
Ichigo stepped over to your fallen form, and when you saw his shadow cast over you, you just gave him a thumbs up, still wearing a smile.
Letting out a heavy sigh, he held out a hand and you took it gratefully as he pulled you off the floor.
Your shenanigans continued.
It would be a lie to say he didn’t enjoy the company. There were times you would show up when there were hollow disturbances in the area. The first time, there were just three of them. He’d fought much worse, but they were faster than expected. So a few of his attacks had not landed the way he hoped.
He was ready to release his shikai when he saw the back of your hoodie. You were quick, thanks to Kisuke’s training of course. With one firm kick, you’d manage to catch one of them off guard, and the distraction gave him an opening to strike the other two. With one swift swipe of his blade, they were gone.
So was the one you’d harshly kicked.
When they dissipated, you were right back at his side in the air, wearing the happiest expression.
For a moment, he’s just found himself taking in how effortlessly happy you were. Not just when you were training, or talking, or even fighting. There was just something bright about the way you were that he wasn’t always exposed to.
A light he hadn’t realized he appreciated until then.
It was strangely….nice.
Maybe there was more to it, more to you. He was looking forward to figuring it out.
“So this is the Soul Society! This is so cool, and all of you wear such cool robes too! Awesome!”
You were pulling and tugging at Ukitake’s captain’s cloak and Ichigo just took a seat with Rukia, clearly expecting the reaction. Ukitake merely smiled, Shunsui next to him grinning when you moved over to inspect his coat.
“Quite a lively one you brought Ichigo.” Shunsui commented.
“I don’t know her,”
Ichigo said, turning his head.
You just laughed, taking a seat.
“This is amazing. You guys are incredible. All this time you’ve been protecting us from hollows. Arigatou!”
You bowed, and they looked a bit surprised at the gesture. When you straightened, the smile you wore emitted a light that brightened up the atmosphere. They all seemed taken for a moment.
Then you just went on talking.
“So I heard there’s a fox soul reaper, where is he? I wanna meet him!”
You were practically bouncing off the walls, and it became clear that your energy would not die out until you were able to meet said reaper.
Rukia had ended up taking you over to see the rest of the Sereitei. Ichigo was seated with Ukitake who was sipping his tea and relaxing as they watched the sky.
“Rukia told me that she was rescued from a hollow. It must have been a scary experience for her.”
Ichigo shook his head as he recalled the meeting.
“We saved her. Thought she’d be scared shitless but she jumped off a damn building right after she heard that she could do what we could.”
He rubbed his head in annoyance and Ukitake merely smiled.
“She’s a very free spirit.”
“All she does is smile. I think something is wrong with her brain.” Ichigo grumbled.
That felt like an understatement given some of the things you’d done. Maybe he was a little annoyed with himself, because he felt like he was constantly keeping an eye out to make sure you didn’t accidentally off yourself. It had only been a few months, but at least you’d picked up battle skills fairly quick, as well as flash step.
Ukitake placed his cup down.
“Sometimes the people who’ve suffered the most tend to wear the biggest smiles.”
Ukitake’s statement made him pause, and he looked back, a bit shaken at the thought. Maybe it wasn’t so much the words, but the potential truth behind it. He meant to ask for advice.
“Ichigo!!”
Your call diverted his attention, and his face went blank at the person, or people that were with you.
“Ichigo, nice of you to visit.”
That menacing energy, those fight craved eyes, it always brought trouble.
“Ichi Ichi!!”
The pink haired reaper waved.
You were holding Kenpachi’s hand as if he were a friend, and Ichigo started sweating profusely. In one swift move Kenpachi’s sword was drawn and Ichigo was backing up into the wall.
“FIGHT ME ICHIGO!!
“G-GYAH!!”
His yell echoed throughout the Seireitei.
Safe to say the trip had abruptly ended after that.
“Gomen, he said he was a good friend and Yachiru was so cute.” You gush.
He was still frowning, clearly annoyed. You had offered to have him over for dinner as an apology. So he agreed, reluctantly.
Stepping through your door, he excused himself as you slid off your shoes and he did the same. He expected to be greeted by someone, after all, it was a pretty big house. Yet, when he looked up, it was quiet. There was one only one other pair of shoes at the door, and from the size, it was clearly yours.
“You live here alone?”
“Hai. Make yourself at home.”
You were heading right for the kitchen, and he followed behind, taking in the few pictures that were hung, and the others that laid on your shelves. From the looks of it, you had a family, at least from what he could see. When he got closer, it became clear that a few of these had to have been taken a few years ago, because you looked a bit younger.
His eyes moved to your form in the kitchen, and when he stepped in, you turned.
“Hmm, is everything alright?”
You placed the veggies down, confused by his burdened look.
“Your family…”
He wasn’t sure how to approach the question, and for once, the smile on your face, it wasn’t one of elation, but sadness.
“They’re gone.”
You said it as if you’d answered the question many times before, and he expected some type of reaction, but your expression was almost comforting, as if you were trying to take the sadness off his shoulders.
“I’m fine, Ichigo. Really. I met you, Rukia and Sado. Ukitake, Shunsui, Orihime, Kiskuke and so many more. Family isn’t just the people we are related to. They’re the people that care about you, the people you care about. I’m surrounded by so many amazing people, so there’s no reason to be sad.”
You looked genuinely happy with your situation, and he just gave a slow nod.
The dinner that the both of you shared was fairly quiet. He couldn’t get his thoughts to settle, or maybe he’d just gained a deeper respect for you. When he lost his mother, a part of him had shut down. He’d hardened himself to look after his family.
Protect them.
At some point he’d forgotten how to really smile.
Regardless of what he’d lost, he still had Yuzu, Karin and Isshin, but you…you were pretty much alone and you spent every single day with the warmest smile on your face.
It was humbling.
After the meal, you ended up sitting on the top of your roof, looking at the sun that was about to set as you told him of some of the other reapers you met before you got separated from Rukia and ran into Kenpachi and Yachiru.
He could hear you rambling, but the words weren’t truly registering, and finally, he had to voice his thoughts.
“You don’t have to pretend to be strong all the time just so people won’t worry.”
It sounded like a scolding, and your ranting stopped. Ichigo was glaring at the space ahead, and you couldn’t help but find it a bit endearing. He was just worried. You’ve been around him long enough to understand his need to help everyone, from strangers, to friends, to family.
He couldn’t help himself.
“Ichigo, there’s always going to be sadness, things that we can’t control. Rather than worry about everything that can go wrong, sometimes it’s just easier to smile and have faith that life will work itself out. Don’t you think so?”
He contemplated, and the longer he thought about it, the more he had to admit that he agreed.
There were so many painful things that had happened in his life, but also really great things. He’d befriended Rukia, Ishida, even managed to make allies of everyone in the Soul Society. Through all the wars, pain, even death, he was still standing, and he still had his friends, his family.
You were relatively alone and you still powered through everyday with that ideal.
“Sometimes the people who’ve suffered the most tend to wear the biggest smiles.”
Ukitake’’s words rang in his head, and Ichigo turned to you, taking in the smile on your face. His eyes softened, and when he reached out and took your hand. Your eyes opened as you stared back at him.
“I guess you’re right.”
He was wearing a smile too, and you just let out a laugh, nodding in agreement as you both sat there, enjoying the sunset.
The silence settled for a second, and then you pointed ahead.
“Let’s go jump off that bridge!!”
“Not a chance!!”
He supposed some things would never change.