Scritch-scratch scritch-scratch. Coal-black grains of lead sparked off the pencil tip as Ichigo scribbled across the blank page. As he finished adding a french mustache to his teacher’s face, Ichigo suddenly realized the constant drone of his teacher had disappeared.
He looked up. The man had frozen by the window, speechless with surprise, but then he realized he had managed to capture the attention of his students and thus tapped the chalkboard with an air of self-importance.
“Hey, pay attention class! So as I have been lecturing on this book since the beginning of class, can anyone tell me who wrote Kokoro?”
Screeeeeeech!! The noise ripped through the air and everyone jerked their heads around to stare at Ichigo, who had popped out of his seat. As he looked out the window, a deep shock vibrated in his dark, wide eyes.
“Mr. Kurosaki! Class is in session! Please refrain visiting-”
Ichigo ran out of the room without another word and his classmates immediately rushed to the window, but no one was there.
“Who did Ichigo see? It can’t be..?” Tatsuki said as she turned away from the window to see the tall silhouette disappear down the hall.
“SIT DOWN!” roared the teacher, recovering from the shock of being ignored by a student (Tatsuki thought it was strange he was still shocked, since Ichigo had already done so more than a dozen times...).
“The. Author. Of. Kokoro.” He said through clenched teeth. Tatsuki raised her hand lazily.
“Yes?” he barked at her.
“The answer’s on the board, Mr. Saki.” As the teacher turned around, the class giggled as he frantically erased the author’s name. Turning around, the teacher exhaled noisily, appearing quite frazzled.
Tatsuki raised her hand again. The teacher eyed her suspiciously.
“Yes?”
“Natsume Soseki wrote Kokoro. Also, the answer’s still on the board...”
Mr. Saki gave one glance at the board and sighed, rubbing his temples.
“...class dismissed...”
--
Ishida was staring at the ceiling of his classroom, supremely concentrated on the green wad of gum jammed between two ceiling tiles when the rapid steps of a student rushed by his room. A familiar reiatsu washed over Ishida and he immediately sat up.
Ichigo?
“Uryu-san! What is the product of N2 + H2?” Uryu sighed.
“NH3, common name ammonia. The chemical is used in fertilizer and the aforementioned reaction does not naturally occur,”
“Because?” Ms. Koichi tapped his desk impatiently.
“Requirements of large activation energy, high pressure, and a catalyst.”
“Correct. You may now resume day-dreaming, Uryu-san,” The class chuckled and ignoring the jibe, Ishida slipped out his phone.
To: Inoue
did you see kurosaki run by your class?
Confirm Send?
He clicked the yes in the dialog box. A moment later in the next room, Like A G6 suddenly blasted in the air.
“EEEEEKKKK!!!!! SORRY!!” a girl shrieked. Ishida inhaled sharply and slapped his forehead with his palm.
“Don’t you put your phone on silent during school?” he whispered exasperatedly in an undertone, “That’s just like you Inoue-san!”
The moment he finished, Ishida’s own cell broadcasted Beethoven’s 5th symphony. Oh, fuck. Ishida’s face flushed a bright red and he immediately stuffed the phone in his bag. The teacher flashed a smile while the class held back their giggles.
“So I assume the girl in the next room just now was your girlfriend?”
Ishida slid down in his seat.
“Coincidence, Ms. Koichi...pure coincidence.”
--
His hand reached out and grasping the cold handle, Ichigo yanked the door open. Light poured in and momentarily blinded, Ichigo jerked to a stop, holding a hand up.
Suddenly, a soft breeze tickled his face and as his eyes adjusted to the light, the silhouette of a girl stood in front of him. The shadows faded and a soft, narrow chin, familiar violet eyes, and a fond half-smile half-smirk reached Ichigo’s eyes.
“Rukia...”
“Ichigo. Surprised?” Rukia smiled gently, and the warmth of the sun radiated through Ichigo as he stared at the girl in front of him.
He smiled back.
“You baka...what took you so long?”
--
His friends’ laughter echoed in his ears as Ichigo pushed open the door and they walked out of the diner. Chad, famous for his usually expressionless face, was smiling slightly. Ichigo couldn’t resist an elbow nudge and knowing grin at his longtime best friend.
“Being social is good, eh?” Chad’s smile immediately reformed into a straight line and Ichigo hurriedly held his hands up as if to say, Just kidding!
“Eh?” Rukia suddenly said as her phone beeped. The group of friends stopped as her eyebrows knit together in thought.
“What’s it say, Rukia?” Ichigo prompted at last. Rukia paled and shakily put her phone away.
“It says...Soul Society is under attack, and I need to go back - now!”
“What?!”
At a loss for words, Rukia trembled and broke into run.
“Rukia! Wait!” Ichigo yelled as he chased after her.
“Rukia-chan, let us help!” Inoue cried. Ishida and Chad exchanged glances and nodded.
--
Rukia stopped in the alley, her breaths irregular and she bent over. The thought persisted with a vengeance in her mind, and fear took over her senses. The message...was from Nii-sama. And his words sounded worried.
I have to return!
Standing up, she opened up the gates.
“RUKIA!!!!” growled a familiar orange-headed boy’s voice.
She turned around, but as she faced Ichigo, her body was pushed into the portal. Surprised, Rukia could only stare at the flash of white light as she disappeared through it.
What’s going on?
--
Ichigo paused, frozen. She was turning to face him...then suddenly she disappeared? A rustle of movement in the alley woke Ichigo’s senses.
No - she was definitely pushed!
Ichigo grabbed the copper badge in his pocket and glancing around, he quickly switched forms.
“Ah...so you are that substitute shinigami?” a silky voice prompted.
Ichigo smirked.
“So what if I am?” He whipped out Zangetsu and the white bandages loosened in the air, “Because if it’s a fight you’re looking for... you picked the wrong person!!”
Dashing forward, Ichigo slashed out at what seemed like air, but thanks to Ichigo’s learned ability to pinpoint reiatsu, he cut into the shoulder of a tall man whose face was obscured by the brim of a cowboy hat.
The man smirked and held up a hand. A bolt of blue shot out towards Ichigo. He backflipped away before the shot landed. As the blast of energy exploded against the ground, a cloud of black dust rose up and shrouded the air. Coughing, Ichigo glanced around warily.
No...he’s gone! he realized. The man’s reiatsu had begun to fade.
“Sorry boy, but I’ve got better things to do,” Ichigo looked up to see the man leaping away on the rooftops.
If he gets away, I won’t know why he pushed Rukia in. Ichigo ran down the alley, chasing the mysterious figure.
--
“Ichigo?” Rukia muttered. She felt soft hands on her body and she felt hot. A fever? What’s going on?
“Tsk tsk, still calling out for your knight in shining armor, hmm?”
“Akira! Just do your job!” scolded an older man’s voice.
“Yes, boss. She’s burning up with a fever of 120˚ F. Maybe we should call a doctor?”
“It’s fine. Make sure she doesn’t remember anything that’s happened for the past hour, or it’ll be harder to convince her,”
“Gotcha boss!”
--
Ishida finally caught up to where he last sensed Ichigo’s reiatsu. It had begun to rain and the chill sank through his clothing, numbing Ishida’s skin. Rain droplets gathered on the lenses of his glasses. Irritated, Ishida swiped them off to cleanse them with a handkerchief in his pocket. As he put his glasses back on, he saw the empty alleyway and swore.
“Ichigo!” he called out, wishing the substitute shinigami would reply. Inoue stumbled to a stop beside Ishida and kneeled, gasping for breath.
“Is Kurosaki-kun gone?”
Ishida opened his mouth and abruptly paled.
“Inoue-san...did you sense that just now?”
“Hmm? What are you talking about?” Inoue asked curiously as she attempted to gather her breath.
“I did...the strength of Ichigo’s reiatsu is very low,” Chad answered as his tall form stepped into the ally.
Inoue’s eyes widened and she gripped her fist tightly.
“Then...is he hurt?”
--
The cold wind bit into Ichigo’s skin and his body ached. It was so cold...and his body felt frozen...
A flash in his mind brought Ichigo’s thoughts to his scene. It seemingly happened in slow motion. He remembered bright floodlights blinding his vision and then an audible thud! echoed through the ceaseless pattering of rain. Then the next thing he knew, Ichigo was on his back, skin touching an icy, prickly surface. The slow beating of his heart filled his ears and Ichigo lost ability to think. There was so much red…what was it?
A shot of pain tore into his flesh, paralyzing his muscles. Ichigo groaned, curling up against the cold. The icy feeling of the raindrops on his skin seeped down to his heart and the water melted into his vision, blurring it. A small thought made its way out from the back of his mind.
Why didn’t you take me with you, Rukia?
The sound of his own heartbeat was loud and alone. Thump-thump..thump-thump..
Don’t you trust me?
“HEY! Are you okay, kid? KID!” He half-turned towards the muffled voice. The raindrops breaking against the ground seemed incredibly vivid…each droplet shattering like glass shards as it collided with the pavement.
“All right, just hold on, kid! I’m calling 911!”
“Rukia…” Ichigo choked out, blood in his mouth. Sirens wailed loudly in the air as an ambulance arrived. A pair of hands grabbed Ichigo and hoisted him onto a stretcher.
“...don’t go…please don’t leave me...”
Ichigo’s eyes sunk close...the thud of his heart had began to slow.
“...because I...”
He closed his eyes, hand resting limply on the stretcher. The medic noticed the boy had fallen unconscious and radioed in the situation urgently. As the ambulance sped away, the sky darkened and thundered, flashes of lightning streaking across the pale gray landscape.
