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bansept · 3 years ago

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Ichihime Week | Day 3: Family

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The Kurosaki family always had little trips prepared for this or that occasion: the end of school, someone’s birthday… And of course, Masaki’s death anniversary. When the children were young, it was a thrilling idea, a way to discover a new place and imagine an exciting story. When the children grew, the mere thought of going away was disturbing, annoying. The meaning of moving to a place with the family got lost in cries of boredom and arguments, but Isshin never gave up.

Yuzu and Karin were still there, in his house, and officially speaking, still “had” to obey his commands, canceling plans they might have with their friends. One day, one of the twins had muttered the word “dictatorship”, and he had cried, whimpering at how ungrateful his daughters were to him. They still came, frowning a little bit, but a smile never too far behind.

Ichigo had been too busy to go on a family trip. First, with the Dojo: who knew a place that was not so visited could be lively at the exact time his presence was required to have fun? The kids and teenagers were far too inclined in asking him to show them moves for him to refuse. A paycheck was a paycheck. Second, Orihime herself was atrociously busy. Being the main confectioner, she oversaw most of the confection of chocolate delights in the bakery. Giving orders was a full-time job, and even if her love for her work brought her happiness, she was as exhausted as her husband.

The third was Kazui. Or mostly, the presence and necessity to oversee a young child, the infant going to a nanny when his parents could not attend to his needs. Moody because of his teething, Kazui was a small little ball of smile, and the next minute, a crying angry puddle of anger. As peaceful and adorable as he could be, he was still so young, so dependable of his parents that taking him anywhere outside of the environments he knew was a big no-no.

“Ichigo, can you please go and get him?” Orihime mumbled, one hand raised to her husband’s shoulder, pushing him slightly to make him understand with subtility that she would not move a muscle herself.

Ichigo, eyes half open and short hair sticking out in a comical manner, groaned a response stuck between a ‘yes’ and ‘you’re next’ before getting up tiredly to retrieve his crying son.

Somehow, and after a good year of no traveling in family, Orihime had suggested a family day here, in their house. To catch up, to brag about how Kazui was able to carry his head by himself and how close he was to sit steadily. Yuzu and Karin could see their brother and nephew, and Isshin could discuss with his daughter-in-law. Strangely enough, the idea was immediately accepted when it was Orihime that talked it out. And so now, the two young parents would prepare their small home for the rest.

Ichigo came back into the room, Kazui sniffling in his arms, little hands gripping his father’s shirt. The man was shushing him, rocking the boy slowly and repeating everything was alright.

“You’re hurting? I’m sorry baby… It should stop soon… Didn’t the doc say it lasted like, 8 days for a crisis? It’s been 6 days…” Ichigo asked, finger going to his son’s mouth so he could massage his gums, anything for the pain to be lessened.

“Maybe he’s hungry too… Here, give him to me.” Orihime answered, sitting up against the bed and opening her arms. Ichigo carefully placed the infant in her embrace, giving him a light peck on the forehead. Kazui shuffled a little but smiled when he saw his mother.

Orihime made some funny gurgles, talking to her boy with a high voice, trying to get him in a better mood until he got something to eat. Ichigo watched the scene with a smile and stretched his back, sighing.

“Should get things ready before the horde arrives.” Ichigo joked, walking to the bathroom near their room to get some water on his face. That should help wake him up.

He heard the funny noise die down as Orihime breastfed their son. Ichigo didn’t need to be next to them to know she was smiling down at him tenderly, and Kazui was certainly looking up at her with the same brown eyes filled with amazement. At least they were in calm waters for now…

By the time it was 9:30, Kazui was set to stay in the living room and play with Ichigo in his cute outfit. Orihime and Ichigo themselves were ready, preparing their small house for the arrival of his family, but nothing too fancy. In Ichigo’s opinion, they didn’t need to have balloons floating around, or a cake ready when it was still morning.

“And right at this moment, that giant ice cream cone yelled at me to run far from the bean paste, but I just couldn’t! How can you choose between two of your favorite things?” Orihime asked, hands on her hips, eyes wide as saucers, clearly expecting an answer from her husband, who definitely knew she had to stop eating sweets before going to sleep.

“Um… Yeah, but that bean paste was clearly trying to eat you… So I’d say, you listen to ice cream.” It was silly to answer her about her own very silly dreams while holding Kazui up so he could experiment walking. But that kind of silly was always welcomed.

Orihime shook her head with a pout, but was interrupted by the sound of someone pressing the doorbell. She got up from her seat, fixing her dress slightly before opening the door with a big smile.

“Yuzu! Karin! Hi!” She hugged them both preciously, the twins greeting her in response. Stepping back, she looked around to see Isshin wasn’t behind them, and frowned, worried.

“Don’t worry about dad, he’ll arrive quickly. We were just ahead so he could work on another file before coming.” Karin explained, waving a hand as her sister cooed at the interesting picture of Ichigo holding Kazui by his hands, the little boy not knowing what to do with the two jelly legs he possessed.

“Ichi! Aw, let me get a picture!”

“Yuzu stop! No! Not a picture come on!”

Karin placed a bag near the door, observing with a satisfied smile her brother being taken advantage of, unable to escape or fight the will of his own sister and his wife.

“Are… No, I can’t hold him… I’ll drop him!”

“No, you won’t. Come on, he’s your nephew, you gotta hold him once in your life.”

Karin frowned, Yuzu prepared her phone for yet another picture and Orihime held up Kazui to Karin, reassuring her that he wouldn’t end up on the floor. The baby seemed to not mind, appreciating any hands that carried him, knowing none would harm him. Ichigo was like an eagle, not even blinking while he stared at his sister, the black-haired girl grumbling a little at how she was forced. But really, she wasn’t.

“Is… Like that, okay? Is that good?” She asked, infant stuck in her arms, and Orihime nodded.

“Yes, just like that. See? It wasn’t too complicated.”

“Yeah… But I didn’t expect him to be so… Heavy? No, not heavy… But he’s not as light as I thought he’d be.”

“He’s growing. Of course he’ll be heavier than at his birth.” Ichigo remarked, snickering at the grimace Karin sent him.

Orihime smiled brightly at the two bickering siblings. Ichigo used to not joke around with his sisters, too busy mopping his anger and pain in his corner, but now, he was having a great time annoying the twins. She guessed it was something older brothers did.

Isshin opened the door loudly, singing about finally seeing his grandson and daughter-in-law again after so long, the ridiculous amount of baby gifts in his hands falling on the floor as he walked in. Now, as to why Isshin, out of all people, had a key to their house, Ichigo was not willing to say. He had chosen Yuzu to have it first, but she had lost it for a good day, and the panic it brought was a cold shower to everyone, to the point Karin mentioned Isshin as the best key keeper out of the three of them.

Which, of course, was true. Since he was an adult and all. But he was still Isshin. Loud, impulsive and horribly annoying Isshin.

“How is he?? Aw, look at him in his cute little clothes! Oh yes, you look just like your dada when he was your age Kazui! Although, thank God you have your mama’s smile!” He cooed at the baby, who of course didn’t understand a single word, but the mere expression and intonation pulled his smile up, showing just a few teeth. Isshin gasped and tickled the baby’s tummy. “Oh, yes, you already have such cute little gums!”

Orihime laughed at the voice Isshin always took whenever Kazui was around, and freed him from the many plushies he had gathered in his arms.

“Oh, thank you, Orihime. So, is everything doing alright for you three?” He questioned, straightening up and looking at the woman. Of course, as a doctor, he’d ask this question with real interest.

“Yes, we’re all fine. Kazui is still having a bit of a crisis from time to time, but we manage to handle it well. And Ichigo is getting better and better at handling Kazui.” She smiled, whispering the last part in a conspiratorial tone. Her husband heard her, and with a blush, frowned in her general direction.

Isshin grinned at the exchange, but didn’t tease his son further. It was strange how one day he was grumpy, and the next, he and Orihime walked into his house to tell him they were dating. From that moment, his son was like a stranger: offering help to do this or that house chores, hesitantly discussing with his family, feeling happy and calm around them… And now that he was a father, he hardly ever yelled at Isshin anymore. Of course, he was still mad at him for being the silly old man he always had been, but Ichigo seemed to be mindful of what his own son was going to grow up to.

By the time Kazui was hungry again, Orihime excused herself as she picked the infant and walked back to her room, giving Isshin the opportunity to talk with Ichigo.

“So… How are you handling all of that?”

Ichigo raised his head from the table, placing another plate on the surface and shrugging his shoulders.

“Well… We’re happy. I think that’s what matters. Orihime and I are working, so it’s a good thing, even if we wish we could be around Kazui more. And Kazui is growing up…” He turned silent after that, the timid smile he had on his face stilling.

Isshin tapped his back lightly.

“You’re doing a good job Ichigo. Although you became a father early, you’re doing your best for him and for your wife. Honestly, you can be proud of yourself.”

The orange-haired man shook his head with amusement, gazing at his goat chinned father.

“I tell myself that. But soon he’ll be able to stand on his own, or even talk… And we’ll have to teach him everything about this crazy world of ours… Things about Shinigamis and Hollows, Arrancars even, so that he doesn’t make the same mistakes I did.”

Isshin looked around the room to his daughters, watching as they discussed on which fluffy plushy was the cutest.

“Your sisters only knew after a good while. But don’t worry about that. Kazui will have a lot of people to teach him, and all these people will keep him safe. Plus… I’m pretty sure he will be safe with the amazing parents he has.”

Ichigo’s eyes opened wide, tenderness and surprise taking the lead in his mixed emotions. Isshin was right : Orihime and he were not alone in this. People from Karakura, the Soul Society and the others stuck between the two would help them keep their child safe. Keep him from being hurt. That simple but truthful knowledge made him gasp for air, relaxed and thankful.

The young man nodded, throat a bit too tight for him to talk in his usual confident tone. Orihime walked back in, Kazui looking sated and in a good mood as his mother placed him in Yuzu’s eager arms.

“You know… I, guess it’s strange for everyone to see me like that… Not yelling at you for goofing around. But Orihime told me she felt that this excitement I almost resented a few years back, this closeness with family members, she thought it was the right way to be wife the family you loved. She wants Kazui to grow up surrounded with love and joy, and I want that too for him.” He scratched the back of his neck, eyes on his sisters then on Orihime. “I still think you’re a silly old man that makes way too much noise. But… I’m happy you’re Kazui’s grandfather, and my father.”

It was Isshin’s turn to have his eyes become the size of tennis balls, tears rushing up. He needed to hold it down, to not explode with joy, to not ruin the moment by hugging his son that had more or less told him he loved him, after so long. So, instead, he ruffled his son’s new short hair.

“It’s my greatest pride to be part of this beautiful family.”

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Aaaaaaand day 3!

More than 2100 words, I like that hehe

I thought about writing Kazui to be taller so he could be asking this or that question or be a cute lil cutie pie, but since I visited a family member who recently had a child, heh, I was more inspired in writing an infant.

Don't hesitate to review this, and see you tomorrow for day 4!

#bleach #ichihime #ihweek2021 #ichigo kurosaki #orihime kurosaki #kazui kurosaki #ichigo x orihime #papa ichigo #mama orihime

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gunnerpalace · 6 years ago

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Hyperchlorate: How I’d Rewrite Bleach (Part I)

Okay, this is it, kids. This is gonna be—as best as I’m able to manage—the ultimate synthesis of all my scattered discourse on Bleach, combined with a condensation of what I’d do about it all. Buckle up, because these posts are going to be long, and I’m not putting it behind a spoiler. I’d apologize for destroying your dashboard, but I put in the work.

WHAT’S UP WITH THE NAME?

What's referred to as (liquid) bleach is usually a solution of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) in water. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is usually added to slow the decomposition of bleach into sodium chlorate (NaClO3), and sodium chloride (NaCl)—that is to say, common salt. (How appropriate!)

Sodium perchlorate (NaClO4) is a perchlorate salt which is very closely related to the above and, when treated hydrochloric acid (HCl), makes perchloric acid (HClO4) and common salt. The former is very nasty in and of itself and is mostly used to make other, worse things.

In the context of chemistry, the prefix hypo- means one less oxygen atom than something suffixed -ite, while the prefix per- means one more oxygen than something suffixed -ate. (See here for a chart if you want.) The prefix hyper- isn't used in chemistry, but I think it sounds better.

tl;dr: It's a weird chemistry not-joke used as a code name for this project.

WHAT’S THE PITCH?

The short version of the pitch is: Most people who liked Bleach as a thing liked the initial Karakura and Soul Society arcs, and interest gradually dropped off after that.

Therefore, if you wanted to rewrite Bleach, you’d want to focus on that time period and expand on it and develop it further. You would also want to rework whatever came after, and more thoroughly integrate it with that time period in tone, focus, and perspective.

To do that, you first need to understand how it was structured and what made it work in the first place.

OKAY, WHAT’S THE LONGER VERSION?

The longer version of the pitch is: Bleach was supposedly a shōnen. One of the Big Three shōnen, in fact (in Western thinking). But understanding Bleach and why it worked (and why it fell apart) requires debunking that idea.

You see, the thing is that Bleach was never particularly good at being a shōnen, at least as most people think of such a thing. When people think of shōnen, they tend to think of four (4) things: 1. A Certain Kind of Protagonist, 2. Worldbuilding, 3. Plot, and 4. Fights. Bleach doesn’t really fit the pattern when it comes to these elements. I’ve been over these before, to a certain extent (many times), but I’ll reiterate them here:

A Certain Kind of Protagonist: Goku. Luffy. Naruto. Natsu. Kenshin. Yusuke. I don’t have to name their anime or manga; you already know who they are and what they’re from. Ichigo is certainly a kind of protagonist, but as Sera (@hashtagartistlife) once pointed out, he’s very different from what one normally thinks of when they consider the genre. Ichigo is a punk with a heart of gold (a la Yusuke) but he lacks the inner drive and confidence of all those other protagonists. He is, in fact depressive at the start of the series; he’s at best listless and nihilistic, and at worst suicidal. He’s something of an outcast loner with a tsundere personality he developed as a kind of mental armor. He’s deliberately mediocre at and unengaged with things. That changes (and the story starts) when Rukia enters his life and gives him the ability to act on his desires to do good and protect people. In other words: his confidence comes from outside of himself. Indeed, it’s a recurring plot-point that the longer he’s separated from Rukia, the more his confidence wavers. In addition to all the other things that were noted as marking him out, this one is crucial, because the average shōnen protagonist is possessed of unwavering confidence. Having Ichigo’s confidence (and his animating ethos) externalized to Rukia essentially splits the traditional protagonist role in two. (Indeed, you could readily say Ichigo and Rukia are deuteragonists, despite the story focusing on Ichigo—he eclipses her visually, but her gravity is unmistakably present and dominant.) This by itself tells you that you are dealing with a different kind of story than usual. This fits in with one of the reasons people tend to like Bleach, specifically the first.

Worldbuilding: Few shōnen rival Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings in sophistication and detail, but they usually have well-developed worlds where whatever is going on substantiates—and ideally enhances—the plot and the journey of the protagonist. Think of the world of One Piece, which is excellent at this, or those of Naruto or Fairy Tale, which still sufficiently sell that there is a living, breathing setting in which the story is taking place. Bleach is something more like Plato’s Allegory of the Cave: it holds up on its own if you accept its premises at face value, but if you start to investigate more carefully, things stop really making all that much sense. My own personal go-to example is the identity of the two unrevealed Great Noble Houses which presumably wielded power in Central 46. (I don’t consider Can’t Fear Your Own World a satisfactory answer for this, or other questions, and notably it has only revealed one of them.) Another example is the history of the Great Noble Houses, or Soul Society in general, or the Soul King. All of these (and much more) were things that were shoved into data books or follow-on novels, if they were ever addressed at all. The more one inspects the worldbuilding of Bleach, the more it feels like it’s flat or significant sections of it were missing—like it’s a movie set instead of an actual place. Most fiction strives to present, as much as possible, a kind of simulated world that you could imagine existing. Bleach, perversely, rather brazenly gives us a set of stages with clearly defined borders instead. This ties into the third and fifth reason people tend to like Bleach.

Plot: In academic circles, you will be told that what distinguishes literary fiction from genre fiction is the former is about characters (i.e., how events impact them), and the latter is about plot (i.e., what happens). For example, White Noise by Don DeLillo is not about “The Airborne Toxic Event,” it is about what that catalyzes in the protagonist’s life. Something like One Piece is very much a genre story about adventure. Things happen to the characters, sure, but they don’t really change all that much over time. They’re all following their dreams, and those dreams are (for the protagonists) often immutable. Bleach doesn’t really follow that structure. Ichigo and Rukia have an ethical viewpoint, but they’re not really on a journey to implement it. Things largely just kind of happen to them. In this regard, Bleach is much more like a literary work than a genre one. It also features, as Sera pointed out in an earlier post, a depiction of Joseph Campbell’s monomyth within the Karakura and Soul Society arcs: we see Ichigo and Rukia go through the process of “becoming a hero.” Protagonists like Luffy or Goku already are the heroes, it’s just that nobody else knows it yet. The plots that unfold are thus very different. Furthermore, Bleach is also often a symbolic work. For example, the Karakura II, Hueco Mundo and Fake Karakura arcs are a sort of inverse deconstruction of the earlier Karakura and Soul Society arcs; they function as an anti-monomyth and refutation of it (think of it as being like “how a hero can fail”), a la how Bloodborne subverts the monomyth to incorporate Lovecraftian mythos: they are designed to cast down the achievements of the protagonists and demoralize the reader, rather than being triumphant and uplifting. Bleach also frequently prioritizes thematic elements over verisimilitude. One example is the association of romance with death (Isshin and Masaki, Ryuuken and Kanae, Kaien and Miyako, Rangiku and Gin, and so on). Another is loneliness (no one ever seems to really hang out or have many friendships), especially when it comes to parents (Isshin and Ryūken have strained relationships with Ichigo and Uryū, Ikumi is a single mother, Chad parents are dead, Orihime’s were reverse-abandoned, Keigo and Mizuiro’s are absent, Tatsuki’s are never seen, and so on). Bleach absolutely prioritizes characters and themes over traditional plot or plausibility—that is to say, how things feel is often much more important than how exciting or realistic they are, which ties into the second and third reasons people like Bleach.

Fights: Bleach’s fights tend to suck. There are some exceptions, sure, but the power of those exceptions usually stems from the emotional content and personal nature of them. Something like Ichigo vs. Byakuya, Uryū vs. Mayuri, or Rukia vs. Aaroniero (to name a later example) are very emotionally charged fights. That said, even fights that aren’t particularly interesting, like Ikkaku vs. Edrad, tend to be more about showing us aspects of the characters’ personalities more so than about the fight itself. In fiction, one is encouraged to show rather than tell, and more extreme situations (which violent confrontations are one example of) allow one to show deeper and more extreme aspects of a character than slice-of-life situations usually do. This is what Bleach’s fights are often in service of. This is evident from how uninteresting the average Bleach fight is. There’s a lot of sword-pressing, a lot of ineffectual diagonal slashes, a lot of appearing behind someone to their surprise, a lot of losing an arm as a serious injury, a lot of no-selling attacks, and whoever reveals how their powers work first usually loses. The fighting quickly boils down to shikai and bankai, or their equivalents, with the other aspects of fighting, like kidō (and the rest of zankensoki) being discarded except when they reflect some matter of character (for example, Byakuya or Uryū’s more analytical and technical approach to things). Combat in Bleach isn’t about a robust combat system or consistency, nor is it about what looks cool—it is about what shows off the character in question. This is unusual for a shōnen and ties directly into the second reason people like Bleach.

I’ve talked a lot about why Bleach is liked, and it’s now prudent to get into that. In my opinion, the reasons that early Bleach was well-liked and well-received can be boiled down to five (5) things: 1. Deuteragonists, 2. Character Designs, 3. Mystery, 4. Contrast, and 5. Urban Fantasy Setting. I’ve been over most of these before, but they also bear repeating.

Deuteragonists: I have explored this concept in quite some detail (see: 1, 2, 3) before, so I’m not going to go too deeply into its mechanics here. The most obvious selling point here is that splitting the role of the protagonist into two mutually supporting halves that are fallible in their own ways is A. relatively unique, and B. humanizing. Ichigo and Rukia are by no means either the first example of this (consider Sherlock Holmes and John Watson) or the last (I've not seen Psycho-Pass, but Shinya Kogami and Akane Tsunemori seem to have much the same relationship), but I am unaware of any (supposed) shōnen prior to Bleach that attempted it. (That’s not to say that it doesn’t exist, but rather, that its obscurity if it does simply reinforces the point.) That made it unique for its time. That Rukia is a (competent and independent, but still vulnerable and feminine) woman only makes it even more unique, especially given the medium and how women tend to be treated within it. It also allowed for both Ichigo and Rukia to have problems as characters, and to largely grow beyond those problems over the course of the series, rather than there being yet another immutable and unchanging rock of a protagonist like so many other shōnen feature. When coupled with their interpersonal banter and dynamics, they formed a major draw together simply because their sharing of the role was so unusual and well-executed.

Character Designs: Bleach suffers from a dizzying overabundance of characters. Many of them are only present for a few chapters, at most, and yet even characters who appeared very briefly have any number of adherents out there among the readership or viewership. Consider characters like Starrk, Bambietta, or Bazz B., who have little to no establishment, and little panel time relative to the series, but who nonetheless gained resolute fans. Sometimes they have backstories shoehorned in to help sell them (as in the case of Starrk and Bazz B.; the most hilarious example is probably Giriko being given a flashback several chapters after he was already dead), but often they succeeded without them. They also often succeed despite their personalities largely being remixes of existing characters. How? Because of their character design and attitudes. Bleach was enormously successful in delivering characters that appealed to somebody, even at almost only a glance. The characters almost radiate a sense of mie purely through their designs. This sort of visual imminence routinely overcame all other character shortfalls.

Mystery: The anime of Bleach began airing on October 5, 2004. Coincidentally, Lost started airing on September 22, 2004. They began at almost exactly the same time. What does one have to do with the other? Nothing, except for the fact that they both relied heavily on mystery and both capitalized on it (in different markets) at almost exactly the same time. The bulk of Bleach is predicated on inculcating a sense of mystery. This is why basic facts that would often be mentioned in passing are kept tightly wrapped secrets until the end of the series and beyond. (Token examples, great and small: Who are the other two Great Noble Houses? Where’s Yoruichi’s zanpakutō and why can she turn into a cat? What’s the deal with the Soul King? Why is there a fox-man like Sajin around, and is he a yōkai or what? What was the Final Getsuga Tenshō?) Even things that were resolved, like Ichigo’s parentage, what was going on with his “inner Hollow” and zanpakutō, and so on, were kicked down the road as long as possible to create an air of mystery. The most obvious manifestation of this was all the guessing about the bankai of various characters that the series egged on. This sense of mystery and a desire for closure kept quite a lot of people invested when their patience for the rest of the series ran out.

Contrast: While lots of anime and manga frequently leaven their drama with comedy, or vice-versa, Bleach was unique for the means in which it did so. It’s worthwhile to draw a contrast with something very close to its opposite: Gintama. Gintama is particularly notable because of its odd mix of different elements; it has a fantastical alternate history setting and can go from irreverent comedy (running the gamut from pop-culture puns to crude toilet humor) to deadly serious drama in just a few pages. However, Gintama’s default mode is comedy. Bleach is a relatively grounded secret history with a default mode that is dramatic. In this regard, they are equal but opposite. Early Bleach was a very dark and grim, almost Lovecraftian setting, and often had elements of horror or was just plain gross, but was lightened up through the way in which it approached that and its frequent inclusion of humor. This contrast is also heightened by the relative lack of fighting in the early manga; when fighting does occur, it’s all the more notable because the focus is largely upon slice-of-life elements. As the series progressed, this element of contrast was lost as it became relentlessly serious (in the process, becoming desensitized to its own sense of horror, great or small) and tried to become a battle manga.

Urban Fantasy Setting: Although Bleach ultimately goes on to visit rather fantastical places, it started out in a very grounded and realistic fashion. The sleepy (fictional) suburb of Karakura in Western Tokyo is just the right mix of urban and rural to be relatable to almost anyone. Simply by virtue of being based on a real area (the region around Tama), Karakura feels lived-in and well-developed, despite the fact that we see very little of it. (This is especially true compared to Soul Society [be it the Seireitei or Rukongai] or Hueco Mundo, both of which are very sterile and fantastical in a bad way [especially since the former is really just a stylized representation of the Heian period in Japan]. There is a very old parody of DBZ featuring the line "We need to go to some place that's completely desolate and... that would never be in real life at all, and it's huge, and it's a bajillion miles wide and it's nowhere to be found on earth—but it's right over there!" and that accurately describes both Soul Society and Hueco Mundo. I’ll get into this more in the next post.) The initial focus on day-to-day high school life also gave it a solid grounding for the age bracket of its intended audience. In this capacity, it exactly nailed the setting of teen-focused urban fantasy. The interesting thing is it did so before a lot of the most prominent novels in that genre were written. In other words, Bleach was a market-leader in urban fantasy for teens, and beat many of its peers to the punch. Just as deuteragonists were a major selling point out of their sheer novelty, so was the setting.

As an aside at this junction, I’d like to direct your attention to something from the Wikipedia page on urban fantasy, regarding the distinction between urban fantasy and supernatural romance:

The two share 90% of their genre DNA. However, the main differences are this: Urban fantasy focuses on an issue outside of a romantic relationship between two characters. Paranormal romance focuses on a romantic relationship between two characters and how outside forces affect that relationship. The best litmus test to determine if a story is urban fantasy or paranormal romance is to ask the following question: 'If the romance between Character A and Character B were removed, would the plot still stand as a viable storyline?' If the answer is 'yes,' chances are good it's urban fantasy. If the answer is 'no,' it's most likely paranormal romance.

Now, whether you think the relationship between Ichigo and Rukia is romantic or not, I would note two things. The first is that if their relationship was removed, the plot would not “still stand as a viable storyline.” The second is that the events of the Karakura and Soul Society arcs are very much about “how outside forces affect [their] relationship.” (As were all subsequent events involving them, really.) In short, I would argue that it’s impossible to suggest that early Bleach doesn’t sit somewhere that very closely approximates paranormal romance, if not being one outright. In this regard, Sera’s assertion that Bleach is a shōjo is a lot closer to the mark than you might think, as is my own that it was on the path to becoming either a battle shōjo or a couple shōnen.

HOLY SHIT, GIVE ME AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY SO FAR?

To summarize, Bleach started off as a pseudo-paranormal romance (if not an actual one) that succeeded on the basis of being—on the one hand—grounded, characterful, and novel, while—on the other—also being mysterious, emotive, and meaningful. Bleach was, at the start, not necessarily trying to sell itself as an unbiased account of “things that happened in this fictional world,” or create an expansive universe. It was instead a rather intimate story set in a particular place, focusing very much on its characters and on conjuring up emotions.

Even when it went to Soul Society, you might still just as easily think it as something like an off-beat Kabuki play rather than a traditional shōnen. (Perhaps making it not so surprising that it was so easily adapted into a musical play.)

I feel that Bleach is also notable for embracing the aesthetic principles of Japanese art and culture that other traditional shōnen usually do not heavily emphasize; it features elements of not just Kawaii (of course), but Jo-ha-kyū, Geidō, Miyabi, Iki, Ensō, Shibui, Yūgen, and Wabi-sabi. (Indeed, I would say that an over-attachment to those last four is a major component of why it ultimately failed.) This also gave it a unique flair.

I think it was ultimately so successful to begin with because it was a unique melange of elements.

BUT I LIKED BLEACH BECAUSE OF SOME PARTICULAR THING YOU DISMISSED AS ANCILLARY!

There’s no accounting for taste. I’m just telling you what Bleach’s focus was and why it was initially exciting and good at what it did.

OKAY, FINE, WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH REWRITING IT?

Like I said, I think it’s important to first understand what worked and why. Then, it’s important to understand why things went wrong. (And boy, did things go wrong...) Only then can you reasonably propose solutions to fix things.

Next time, we’ll go into what went wrong, which involves a mixture of poor planning, shifting priorities, inflexibility, overindulgence, and hubris. But for that story, you’ll have to stay tuned for Part II!

#Bleach #Hyperchlorate #Meta #Analysis

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darisu-chan · 8 years ago

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The Price of Love

Author’s Note: So, this is my entry for the IRBB. To be honest, I didn’t originally have this idea for this event. Years ago, back in 2012, I had an idea for a one shot titled “Of Family Duties and the Heart.” I didn’t finish it at the time for lack of time. That one-shot later became a multichapter fanfic called “Breaking the Habit”, which, again, was never finished. Years passed, the Bleach ending came, and I didn’t think I could keep writing IR after that. But this fandom inspired me, and after this event was created, I thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to finally complete this fanfic. The original idea was to write a one-shot, because I thought I qouldn’t have the time to write, but as it turned out, I ended up writing over 60 pages, and had to split the whole thing in 5 parts. You can read parts 2, 3, 4, and 5 on the links. You can also read it on FF. It’s been an honor participating in this event, along with my partner, the amazing Pamianime, of whom I’ve been a fan for years. I hope you enjoy this fanfic as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Summary: The first time Kurosaki Ichigo sees Kuchiki Rukia, it’s at her engagement party.

Genre: Romance/Drama

Rating: M

Warning: Adultery

Prelude

For fifteen years, Kurosaki Ichigo had lived a relatively normal life. He was born in Karakura, a small town near Tokyo, where life was ever calm. It was an ideal place to raise a family. There were good public schools, and the crime rates were pretty low, except for the occasional hooligan. People in Karakura most certainly ended up following their parents’ footsteps, working in the same field, getting married, and then having children of their own in a never-ending cycle. Play. Pause. Repeat. The point was nothing of circumstance ever happened there. Not that Ichigo had ever complained in that aspect. All was well in Karakura Town.

Ichigo lived in a nice home in downtown Karakura along with his family like everyone else. However, his life could be said to be out of ordinary in three different aspects: 1) his house doubled as his father’s clinic ─although that in itself wasn’t that surprising, many people kept their businesses in the same place as their homes─; 2) his mother had passed away when he was very young, and hence his crazy father had had to raise him along with his sisters all by himself; and 3), and perhaps the thing that defined him the most, he had been born with orange hair. His mother’s genes had given him hair with such a shade of orange that it looked like it had been dyed. This had caused him to be singled out as a hooligan from a young age, and had made him get into far too many fights. Yet, that feature was dear to him, and he decided early on to never dye his hair black. After all, his mother had loved his hair.

As for family life goes, it has been said already Ichigo’s mother, Masaki, had passed away. The event took place when he had been nine years old. He had never quite forgotten that rainy day in which his mother’s life was lost forever. His father, Kurosaki Isshin, had attempted ever since to fill the space left by his mother in his own way, which included a lot of crazy antics, and what Isshin had dubbed as “tough love.” This, of course, tended to make Ichigo lose his temper often, which normally ended up with Isshin and Ichigo fighting on the floor. He was lucky that he wasn’t an only child, though. His twin sisters, Karin and Yuzu, were there to share the pain that came with having such a crazy father. Karin was more similar to Ichigo. She was as sarcastic and temperamental as her older brother, and they often complained about their father together. Yuzu, though, was like an angel. The girl resembled their mother the most, and had taken upon herself to help with housework, such as cooking for her family. Although, it wasn’t unheard of if she also scolded her father for his unorthodox antics. The three siblings were as close as any siblings could be, and they seldom fought between themselves. Ichigo loved his sisters, and they loved him back. Their father was a goof, but a lovable goof nonetheless. And although they all missed Masaki, they lived happily in their little house.

But it needs to be said that things didn’t remain the same.

Ichigo was fifteen years old, and he had just started attending high school, when he noticed that his father had started acting weird. His father was always a strange fellow, there was no doubt about it, but his actions were different than they normally were. Isshin looked serious and almost jumpy every time the doorbell rang, as if he had been expecting someone to suddenly come in and murder his family. The three siblings, naturally, had noticed his sudden change in behavior right away, and had sat down to discuss it.

“Do you think dad has finally gone cuckoo?” Karin asked one afternoon in which their father had been busy in his clinic, and thus, was unable to hear them.

“Karin-chan!” Yuzu exclaimed. “Don’t talk about dad like that!” The girl scolded her twin. Yuzu had always been the most polite member of the Kurosaki family, and often berated her siblings when they acted rude towards other people.

“I’m sorry, Yuzu, but you’ve got to admit dad’s been acting very weird lately.” Karin replied calmly.

“I know, but you can’t say things like that! He’s a little weird, but he’s not crazy!” The girl said, defending her father.

“Whatever. But it still worries me.” Karin crossed her arms, and then turned to look at her brother. “Ichi-nii, what do you think?”

Ichigo looked deep in thought. “There’s certainly something bothering him.” He answered after a few seconds of silence. “And it definitely has to do with that letter he received last week.”

The twins nodded and all three siblings shared a worried look.

Last Friday had been a day like any other. Yuzu had cooked Ichigo his favorite meal, for he had been a little stressed out about his oncoming exams. Karin had set the table, while their father complained about the fact the sisters were being so nice to Ichigo, who didn’t deserve it, and were never nice to their own father. Tired of listening to his jabbering, Ichigo had knocked him out cold with a punch to his face. However, Isshin had soon retaliated, and father and son had ended up fighting on the floor in a tangle of limbs. The fight ended when Karin decided to throw a dish on Isshin’s head.

“Dad, stop making a mess in the kitchen!” Yuzu had scolded him, and that had been the last straw for Isshin.

The head of the family had cried out, and ran towards the poster of his deceased wife, which he had hung on the wall. “Masaki! Our children are being mean to their own father! Oh, Masaki! I try so hard to give them everything in the world, and this is how they repay me! I’m sure it’s our delinquent son’s fault! Oh, Masaki! I have failed you!”

The three siblings watched their father, sweat-dropping in the background. As the eldest Kurosaki had finished his mournful speech, they heard the doorbell ringing.

“Dad, stop being so embarrassing and go see who’s at the door!” Karin yelled.

“Alright, my precious daughter! Don’t you worry, daddy will see to it!”

The man happily walked towards the door, but he paused when he peered to see who was out. He hesitated, but opened the door anyway. “Yes?” He asked tentatively as he watched the person outside, who remained unseen by his children. “For you.” A gruff voice could be heard. Isshin, then, received a white envelope. The intruder left when Isshin had the envelope in his hands. The father closed the door gently, and then put the envelope inside his doctor’s coat. “Well, Yuzu, is dinner ready?” He asked and smiled at the three of them, but they all knew their father was faking it. The hand that had held the envelope shook hard all throughout dinner.

That was just the first of a series of strange behavior exhibited by the patriarch. During dinner, they had all inquired who had been at the door, and what that letter was about, but Isshin refused to tell them anything, and vehemently denied the letter had any importance, dubbing it as “junk mail.”

“Dad, you can’t seriously expect us to believe there’s nothing amiss about that letter.” Ichigo complained, and scowled at his father.

“As I’ve said before, it’s nothing but junk mail. Those letters banks sometimes send with promos and the like.”

The fifteen year old boy raised his eyebrow disbelievingly. “That sure didn’t seem to me as your average mail. And that sure as hell wasn’t the mailman.”

Somehow, those words had ticked a nerve in Isshin. “Stop questioning me!” The father snapped. “My mail is none of your business, Ichigo! Now, keep quiet and finish your dinner!”

The dinner table had gone quite after that outburst. They all looked shocked at their father, but no one was more shocked than Ichigo. No matter how sarcastic he tended to be, Isshin had never shouted at him like that, not even when he came home covered in mud and bruises from the several fights he often found himself caught into.

“Excuse me.” Isshin said, and, just as suddenly, stood up and went to his room. The siblings hadn’t seen him until the next day, but his uncharacteristic mood remained. All throughout the week he had been irrationally pissed off, and had even snapped when Yuzu had suggested if there was something he wanted to talk about. Of course, telling Ichigo to shut up was one thing, but speaking so angrily towards Yuzu was unheard of. It sent the girl to tears, and caused her siblings to become mad as well.

“What the hell, dad?!” Ichigo screamed. In the background, Karin had immediately hugged her twin, as she glared at their dad. “Did you really need to shout at Yuzu?!”

Isshin seemed at a loss of words. “Ah… I… I’m sorry, Yuzu.” He said, evidently ashamed of himself.

“It… it’s okay.” Yuzu answered between hiccups.

“No, it’s not okay! We know you’re angry, but you don’t have to take it out on us! We don’t know what the hell’s going on, so the least you can do is either explain us, or keep your mood to yourself!”

“Onii-chan…” Yuzu quivered behind him, but the teenager was still shaking from his anger-fueled speech.

“Ichigo is right. I’m really sorry Yuzu, Karin, Ichigo. It won’t happen again.” With that he left the room.

This event had prompted the siblings to discuss the issue at hand the very moment their father had been busy and unable to hear them.

“I’m really worried about dad… Do you think the letter actually came from the bank?” Yuzu asked them after a few moments of silence.

Truth be told, Ichigo had immediately thought his father had received a letter of eviction, or something related. However, that didn’t make sense. It was true that Kurosaki Isshin seemed an immature person at first glance, but that wasn’t the reality. Isshin was responsible, and Ichigo was sure that their house had been paid off before he was even born. Although the business wasn’t exactly thriving, Isshin always made ends meet somehow. They had never wanted for anything. And Ichigo was sure there was no way Isshin would do something that would endanger his family. But what if his father was actually indebted? Would they need to move? Would they need to sell most of their belongings? If that were the case, Ichigo would even start working part-time. He’d help his family too, no matter what. But he needed to know. They needed to know.

But that wasn’t something that should worry his eleven year old sisters.

“Don’t worry, Yuzu.” Ichigo smiled, and tenderly caressed his sister’s head. “I’m sure dad will be back to normal soon enough.”

“I hope it’s sooner rather than later, Ichi-nii. I don’t know how long we’ll be able to stand this situation.”

“Karin…” Ichigo sighed.

“I wish things went back to normal.” Karin continued, as she hugged her knees.

“Don’t worry, Karin-chan. We’re in this together, the three of us!” Yuzu said cheerfully, and gently patted her twin’s knee.

Karin smiled crookedly. “That’s right. We’re in the same boat.”

“And if dad keeps bothering you, I might just have to kick his ass until he spills the beans!”

“Onii-chan!” Yuzu exclaimed horrified, while Karin snickered.

“And I’ll help you with that, Ichi-nii.”

“Not you too, Karin-chan!”

The conversation seemed to lift the siblings’ spirits up, and by dinner time they were in a better mood, speaking cheerfully between themselves. However, soon things changed when Isshin entered the room. He was frowning, but his eyes seemed decided, as if he had found the resolve he had been lacking the whole past week. He took his seat at the table and coughed a little, to gain the attention of his children. “After dinner, I wish to speak to the three of you.”

This is it. The three siblings thought simultaneously, and eyed each other questioningly. The family ate dinner in silence after that. Yuzu tried to make small talk, but all of her attempts were met with reluctance. All of them were on edge, seemingly preparing for the worst. Yuzu was the only one hoping that whatever his father wanted to tell them wasn’t as bad as they were all imagining. Nevertheless, she was as worried as Karin and Ichigo.

After dinner, and once all the dishes were cleaned and stored, they sat in the living room, the siblings sitting right next to each other, and Isshin standing up. They were quiet for a few minutes, all nervous about what their father could possibly tell them. Little did they know that the information their father was about to tell them would change the course of their existence forever.

Isshin sighed, and turned his head to look at his wife’s poster. He smiled fondly at it, remembering his dear wife and how much she had meant to him, to them. Then, he turned to look at his children again, finding Masaki’s traits in each of them. He smiled gently. “Have I ever told you how your mother and I met?” He said at last.

The siblings turned to look at each other, dumbfounded. This certainly wasn’t the way they thought the conversation would start. And now that they thought about it, they found out that neither was exactly sure how their parents had met, and how they had fallen in love. They didn’t even know their mother’s maiden name, and if they had more family besides their father.

“I don’t think you’ve ever told us, dad.” Ichigo spoke.

Isshin chuckled. “No, I don’t think we ever did tell you when Masaki was still alive, and then I felt that if I were to look at the past, I wouldn’t be able to move forward for you.” He answered truthfully.

The children gulped. The wound, whether they liked it or not, was still fresh, no matter how many years had passed. Hearing about their mother was just a reminder of what it could’ve been, but never was. However, they soon realized they weren’t going to be able to escape from this, this time.

“Your mother and I met when I was in college, and she was still in high school.” Isshin started saying, catching the kids’ attention. “I was trying to find a mall or someplace where I could pass the time, but since I wasn’t from here I ended up getting lost, and I almost got mugged by this guy who looked like a gang member. I, of course, would’ve been able to beat him, if he hadn’t caught me off guard. And just when I thought he was going to stab me for being a smart ass ─much like you, Ichigo!─”

“Hey!”

“This girl wearing the local high school’s uniform appeared out of nowhere and threw her purse at the guy! I was simply amazed! She told him to leave me alone, and that she was going to call the police. The guy got angry, of course, and tried to lunge at her, but I jumped heroically and stopped him. Too bad I ended up stabbing myself, which scared the guy, who ran away before the police arrived. The girl panicked, and, I don’t know how, managed to carry me all the way to the general hospital where her uncle worked at. The man patched me up in no time, while the girl kept apologizing. I, looking rather cool I might add, told her she didn’t have anything to worry about, and that it had been my pleasure saving her from that thief. Then, she complained that it was she, in fact, who had helped me to begin with. Her cousin, who was there as well, threw quite the fit when he heard her. It was so funny!” Isshin grinned foolishly.

His children looked expectantly at him.

“That girl was your mother.” Isshin smiled nostalgically. “And from that day on, my life as I had known it, changed. There was no turning back.”

The siblings looked at each other at a loss of what to say. They didn’t know what it had to do with anything, until Karin realized an important bit of information. “Wait… you aren’t from Karakura?” All this time, they had all thought both their parents had been born in Karakura.

Isshin grew serious. “No, I’m not from here. I came to Karakura to study medicine after high school. I was in my first semester when I met your mother. She was born here, but her parents died when she was young, so she moved in with her aunt and uncle.”

“So where are you from, dad?” Yuzu asked, clearly interested.

“Well, Yuzu, this is what I wanted to talk about. My last name is not Kurosaki. That was your mother’s name, which I took when we got married.”

“So, if you’re not a Kurosaki, who are you, dad?” Ichigo asked, feeling unsettled.

Isshin paused for a second, knowing that what he was going to reveal next would change his children’s perception of him forever. “My real name is Shiba Isshin, and I used to be the Head of the Shiba Clan.”

Isshin had been born as Shiba Isshin, the eldest son of the Head of the Shiba Clan, a noble house of great importance. From his birth onwards, Isshin was destined to be the next head, and as such, his life had already been decided for him. He was to study everything, from history to politics, as well as kenjutsu and other martial arts. His grades were to always be perfect, no matter what. He attended the best schools in the country. He was meant to study law or commerce to work in the family business, and marry a lady from a noble house to produce a new heir.

“I was never the son my father would have wished to have.” Isshin continued explaining. “I never cared for social etiquette or anything of the sort. All I ever wanted was to be free. Free from all responsibility, free from my family. Growing up in a noble house is overbearing. I probably would’ve been happier had I been born the second son, but, well, I was not, and all responsibility fell on me. I often disappointed my father, and that heavily weighed on me. My younger brother, though, he seemed to be the perfect son. He was disciplined. He could learn anything he wanted within seconds. He was always serious. And although he was younger than me for a year, he was more mature than I was. The only thing against him was that he was the second son. I think he always resented me for being born first.

“When I was in high school, I started seeing my career options. Truth be told, I didn’t want to be into politics, law, business, or anything of the sort. Somehow, I found myself interested in medicine, and got into my head that I wanted to be a doctor. At first, my father didn’t want me to study medicine, but after a while he relented. His only condition was that I shouldn’t study in Tokyo. He didn’t want his friends to find out, so he sent me to a small town, which had a great medicine program. As you can imagine, that town was Karakura.

“So I came here, and during the first month of my stay, I met your mother. After feeling guilty for my injury, she offered to show me around, much to her cousin’s chagrin. We became friends rather quickly, and soon spent all of our free time together. For the first time in my life, I was happy, and I had a friend who understood. It turns out that Masaki’s uncle and aunt, or rather her aunt, wanted her to follow into her uncle’s footsteps and become a doctor, thing she didn’t want. Masaki wanted to become a lawyer, and defend the innocent. But sadly, it seemed it couldn’t be possible. I think this is why we eventually grew closer than we should have.

“And so I spent my first year studying hard, and befriending Masaki. I finally felt at home. However, things soon changed, for just before my third semester started, my father grew ill. It was cancer, but the doctors all said my father would make a speedy recovery. We all hoped he did, since we were paying the best doctors in Japan to cure him. I decided then to become the best student of my year for my father’s sake, and so I started studying more than ever. It never really occurred to me that I should also take care of the Clan’s affairs. I left that responsibility to my younger brother, who was just starting to study politics at the time.

“A year and a half passed by, and in that time I was tied with Masaki’s cousin Ryuuken as best student of the generation. Also, Masaki had convinced her family to allow her to study law. One would think we’d see each other less, but it was just the opposite. We started dating, and we were growing strong. It was in this moment, when my father passed away. No treatment had worked, and he had finally succumbed to cancer. Then, just after his death, I became Head of the Shiba Clan. Duty dictated that I should quit school and remain in Tokyo, where the clan is seated. However, I convinced the elders that I should finish my residence. They agreed, and decided that my brother would help me oversee clan matters during my absence.

“I had really hoped they’d ignore me for the time being, but of course they didn’t. Less than six months had gone by, when the elders called me to discuss my marriage. They had already engaged myself to a woman from a noble house, who was barely eighteen. I, of course, refused, which caused a great fight among the clan. I told them I was already very much in love with another woman, and that I didn’t want to marry someone I didn’t know. The clan and my brother were all furious. They claimed I was incompetent and irresponsible, and that I’d been the reason why my father had died. ‘He died from disappointment.’ That’s what my own brother told me. They also investigated your mother’s background behind my back, and said she was no fit to be my wife. That was the last straw. I told them they could either accept I had to keep on studying and would marry Masaki if I wanted, or that I would quit as Head of the clan. They didn’t accept my deal, and so I left.

“I took the money my mother had left me in a trust fund, and came to Karakura to live permanently. I used the money to pay for an apartment, my college fees, and later for a house that would also double as my own clinic. When I was 24 and Masaki was 23, and had graduated college, we got married. A year later, Ichigo was born, and the rest is history.” Isshin finished speaking after this.

The siblings took a few moments to mull over the new information they had received. Finally, Ichigo decided to speak. “I’m glad that you’ve taken the time to tell us about your past, since it was always clouded in mystery… but, why now? What happened that would make you tell us about it?”

“Ah, good question my son!” Isshin exclaimed. “You see, after I renounced my position as head, I didn’t keep in contact with my family. I knew that my brother had become head a few weeks later, and had married the girl my family wanted me to marry. Together they had three children, and all seemed well for the Shibas. But, beside that, I didn’t know anything about the clan. Yet, last week I received a letter which was delivered by one of the butlers I had known since childhood. It came from my nephew, Kaien. In it, he informed me that my brother had passed away a few months ago from a heart attack, and that he was now the Head of the Clan. He also said that now that his father was gone, he wished to mend the ties between the Clan and me. Kaien also said he wants to get to know me, and by extension the three of you. It was implied that he wants us to retake the Shiba name, and form part of the Clan again.

“I got frightened because the past was finally catching up to me, but now it involved all of you. The moment Ichigo was born, I made a vow that I’d never let him, and later Yuzu and Karin, become tangled in the Clan’s affairs. And now it seems you becoming Shibas is actually a possibility. I’m sorry for being so distant, and acting so strange for the past week, but I’ve been trying to make a decision regarding this situation. Finally, I realized that I can’t choose for you. I think you’re old enough to choose what you want. So, I leave it in your hands. I know where I stand in regards to the Clan, but I want to know what you think.”

“Can we ask you something, dad?” Ichigo enquired.

“Anything you want.”

“What would happen if we become part of the Shiba Clan?”

“Well, then you’d all be nobles, and as such would have responsibilities. I do think the Clan would want you to study in the best schools of Tokyo, and study business or politics to form part of one of the many branches they have. They’d want you to take etiquette classes and demand you to have the best grades in your year. Maybe they’d even try to arrange marriages for you in hopes of making powerful alliances. But, perhaps due to your mother’s lineage, they wouldn’t mind you as long as you don’t involve yourselves in scandals.”

“But why would they want us back?” Karin asked.

“I’m not sure. That’s something only your cousin Kaien can tell us.”

“If we become part of the Clan, would we have to move to Tokyo?” Yuzu inquired next.

“That’d probably be the wish of the elders, but since I’m not the head anymore, there’s no rule to where the rest of the family can live as long as we go to the manor when summoned.”

“Do you want to rekindle your relationship with them?” Ichigo finally managed to ask.

“Truthfully, I don’t. But, on the other hand, I feel guilty that I was never there for my brother, you know? Kaien said in his letter that his mother died when he was a little kid, just after the birth of his youngest sibling. She died even before Masaki did. And apparently my brother had been sick for a while of various illnesses before finally dying from a heart attack. I wasn’t there when he needed me the most, and I was his older brother. I guess that if I could be there for his children, then I’d be able to do right by him, you know?”

The siblings nodded. Their father was a kind soul, after all, and learning about the death of his estranged brother most definitely had a negative effect on his spirits. It was normal that he would like to at least meet his other living relatives, his brother’s children, and have a relationship with them in the way he couldn’t with his brothers.

“Dad, can I ask you something too?” Yuzu suddenly asked.

“Of course, my dear!”

“If, say, we were to meet our cousin Kaien, ask him all of our questions about the Clan, and his intentions, and then decide if we want to belong to it, would that be alright?”

Isshin mulled over her words for a few moments. “I guess that’s the most reasonable thing to do, Yuzu. I, myself, don’t know about the state of the Clan right now, and how strict are their rules right now. Maybe they are laxer now than how they were when I was young. I think we can only know asking the head himself.”

It was then decided that they would first speak to Shiba Kaien, before making a decision. So Isshin diligently wrote to his nephew, asking him when it was appropriate for them to meet. He instantly received an answer. Kaien was enthusiastic about the prospect of not only meeting his uncle but his cousins as well. He invited all of them to lunch at a restaurant in Karakura the following Friday, and Kaien said his siblings, Kūkaku and Ganju, were also coming.

A whole week passed by, and it was time for them to meet their cousins. The Kurosaki family arrived to the restaurant, one of the few elegant ones in town, and found their cousins sitting on a table.

“Ah, you must be Uncle Isshin. I’m Kaien, nice to meet you.” The eldest of the three siblings spoke and shook hands with Isshin.

The older man nodded and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Kaien. These are my children, Ichigo, Karin and Yuzu.”

“Nice to meet you, guys!” Kaien said rather cheerfully.

Shiba Kaien was not how they had expected him to be. He was young, twenty at most, and seemed rather jovial, as opposed to the image of the strict and stuck up noble they had thought him to be.

“He looks like you, onii-chan.” Yuzu had whispered to Ichigo when Kaien had been introduced.

It was true. Kaien and Ichigo shared many similarities, their face structure was almost the same, and they even had the same body built, although Kaien, who was older than Ichigo, was also taller and had more body muscle than his teen cousin. The similarities were probably due to the fact that Kaien looked remarkably like Isshin when he had been young. The young man had long spiky black hair, tan skin, aquamarine eyes, and a gentle smile. He seemed friendly. The siblings felt like the man radiated warmth. He was also wearing rather informal clothes: dark jeans and a blue shirt with boots.

“This is Kūkaku, my younger sister.” Then he introduced the girl who accompanied him.

“Nice to meet you.” She said, and more than smiling at them, she smirked at them.

The woman was younger than Kaien but seemed older than Ichigo by a few years. She was rather tall for a girl, and had short black hair, barely reaching her neck. Her eyes were similar to her brother’s, but were greener rather than blue. She was wearing a red blouse with a deep v neckline, a white skirt with a brown belt, and sandals. But perhaps the most striking feature on the woman was the fact she had a prosthetic arm. The siblings looked at it, out of curiosity. Kūkaku noticed this. The siblings were about to apologize for being rude when she laughed.

“I lost my arm ages ago in an accident. It’s no big deal. I’m alive, which is what matters!” Kaien laughed as well, while the siblings looked at her sheepishly. They apologized, and she dismissed them. “S’okay. A lot of people are surprised when they see it, and it’s okay if you have questions. We’re family!”

“That’s right, Kūkaku!” Kaien nodded. “And this is Ganju, the youngest.” He introduced the other guy, who had quietly watched the presentations up until this point.

Ganju blushed and shook hands with Isshin. “I… I’M SHIBA GANJU, PLEASED TO MEET YOU UNCLE!” He shouted, making the other dinner guests stare at them.

“Idiot!” Kūkaku exclaimed, and hit Ganju on the head. “Keep your voice down! We’re at a restaurant!” She hissed.

The guy rubbed his head. “I’m sorry, nee-san.”

Ganju looked nothing like his siblings and at the same time he did. His appearance was brutish when compared to the natural elegance Kaien and Kūkaku possessed. His nose was prominent, as well as his chin and forehead. He was rather tall and had a well-built body. And as the siblings had come to expect from the Shiba family, he had black hair, and green eyes much like Kūkaku’s and Kaien’s. He was dressed more casually than his siblings, with jeans, a simple green shirt, and a bandana.

“Well, we better sit.” Kaien suggested after the introductions had finished, and conversation soon ensued.

The Shiba siblings were nothing like the Kurosaki siblings had expected. One wouldn’t have been able to tell they were in front of the Head of the Shiba Clan with one view. They were rowdy and funny and unapologetically incorrigible, so much that they looked more like Isshin’s own children than his stuck up brother’s. Isshin was pleasantly surprised and found himself laughing throughout the meal, his initial worries long forgotten. The siblings had soon become comfortable as well, and Karin and Kūkaku found out both liked to make fun of their brothers, and soon joined together to mess with both Ichigo and Ganju, who had become rivals at some point during the evening. Yuzu was perfectly content in observing and laughing, occasionally talking with Kaien about their siblings’ antics. They all felt as if they had known each other for ages. It felt like being at home.

They found out a lot about each other during the course of dinner. Kaien was twenty years old, and was studying to become a lawyer, although his late father had wished he had studied politics instead like he had done. Still, it was an honorable job and the clan elders were pleased. Meanwhile, Kūkaku had recently finished high school, but instead of choosing one of the clan’s pre-selected majors, she had chosen to study Chemical Engineering, decision which was fully supported by Kaien, who had already been named head of the clan by then. Ganju, who had just turned seventeen, was still in high school, and had an inexplicable fondness for pigs, even owning one named Bonnie. Their mother had died when Ganju had been but a baby, after a complication she had when delivering Ganju. As a result, they had grown close together, and the youngest ones wished to please their older brother. Another tragedy in the family struck when Kūkaku lost her arm during a firework-related accident. Although most members of the clan were horrified, the girl was strong and positive, and had decided to make the most out of her new situation. She declared herself capable of doing many things as if she still had two hands, and refused to be treated like a fragile person. The last tragedy had been their father’s death, which had brought a series of change in their lives. Kaien had soon decided that the clan rules needed to change in order for the clan to progress in the new century. Noble clans were already outdated, and their members treated like privileged snobs, who had gotten everything handed in, and thus didn’t know the meaning of hard work. Family ties were also important, and the only way to survive was to support each other, now more than ever. All of this was what had pushed Kaien to search for his estranged uncle.

Isshin had been pleased during dinner. His nephews and niece were kind and down-to-earth, admirable members of society. Honestly, they weren’t one bit like their father, and seemed to have inherited his own craziness, which probably drove the elders insane. But Isshin was hopeful things would improve soon under Kaien’s leadership.

“So Uncle, what do you think, do you want to come back to the clan?” Kaien asked during dessert, making conversation stop.

“I’m happy to have finally met the three of you, but you know my relationship with the elders is very challenging. I never became the kind of person they wanted, and I have led a very different life than I should’ve had. Coming back would be extremely difficult.” Isshin said honestly,

Kaien was not pleased to listen to this words. It wasn’t necessarily what he wanted to hear. “I assure you that they want you back, Uncle, as I do.” He said earnestly. “But I understand your situation.”

“This doesn’t mean I don’t want to have a relationship with you, Kaien. I only mean to say I don’t want to take the Shiba name back.”

At this the young man smiled. “Then I tell you what, I will take you into consideration as part of the family, meaning all of you will be invited to family events, such as birthdays and weddings. We won’t lose contact with each other again. However, I’ll make sure that the elders don’t bother you with troublesome things as duty and the like.”

The Kurosakis smiled. “That’s a great idea, Kaien.”

“Then, nii-san,” Kūkaku spoke, “you should invite them to that too.”

“To what?” Isshin asked to which Kaien groaned.

“My engagement party.”

#ichiruki #irbb #ichiruki fanfiction #the price of love

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darisu-chan · 8 years ago

Text

The Lies We Tell Ourselves, 1

Chapter 1: The Meeting

“Each time you happen to me all over again.” ─ Edith Warton

Early May, 2001

Fifteen year old Kurosaki Ichigo was walking the streets of Karakura Town one Friday evening, when he got into trouble. It was a natural thing for him to happen. Since he had been born with a strange shade of orange hair, early on he was dubbed a hooligan, and was prone to ending up in fights he generally didn’t start. It just so happened that, as he grew older, his reputation had preceded him, and by the time he was done with junior high school he and Sado Yasutora, his best friend, were known as the fearful pair of Kurosaki and Chad. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Ichigo seldom started fights by himself, unless he thought a great injustice was being committed. Similarly, Chad only fought for two reasons: to protect Ichigo, and to protect others in need. It was a promise between the two friends, to always have each other’s backs. One would think that with this reputation, they were isolated from the rest of the students at Karakura High School, which wasn’t true in the least. Precisely because both liked to protect others, they had gained two new friends at the start of the year, Kojima Mizuiru and Asano Keigo, because they had protected them from two of their self-proclaimed “enemies.”

Well, even if Ichigo had a heart of gold, this same feature was the one that often got him into trouble, as it had so happened that fateful Friday at 7:13, when he knocked out a guy.

“What the?! You suddenly appear and kick over Yama-bro, plus you want to get us to get outta here?! What are you thinking? You wanna die? Huh?!” One of the other guys who were with “Yama” exclaimed, evidently angry that Ichigo had kicked his friend.

Ichigo, meanwhile, didn’t look the least bit affected about his own actions and the guy’s threats. “Say something, you…” The guy continued, but was interrupted by Ichigo kicking him on the face.

“Ah! Toshi-bro’s down!” Other two guys exclaimed, watching Ichigo at a safe distance.

“Don’t know what’s going on… but this is dangerous… I’ve never seen such irrational violence…” Another boy said.

“That guy’s certainly one of those… if we fight with him, we’ll be killed for sure…” Another companion stuttered, feeling frightened by Ichigo. And, as cowards as they all seemed, they had reason to feel fearful of Ichigo, because whenever he got angry, he was a force to be reckoned with.

“SHUT UP ALREADY!” Ichigo yelled as he stepped on the guy he had first kicked. “All you guys look over there!” Then, he pointed towards a vase with flowers, which had been knocked down, and was lying on the floor. “Question 1! What the hell could that be?!” He asked, seeming completely out of his mind. “Ok, you over there, the stinky looking one!” And then he pointed to one of the guys who was still standing.

“Huh? Me? Stinky looking?” The guy in question muttered before answering. “Umm… an offering to the kid who died recently…”

“Great answer!” Ichigo shouted as he kicked that guy too.

“Mit-bro! You ok, Mit-bro?!” The rest exclaimed at their fallen comrade.

“Question 2!” Ichigo continued with his interrogation. “Then why is the vase knocked over?” He asked calmly. The calm before the storm.

“That’s… that’s ‘cause we knocked it over…skateboarding?!” The rest of the gang said, each one shivering in fear of what was sure to come.

“I see.” Ichigo nodded to himself. “Then, shouldn’t you apologize to her?!” He yelled and pretended to point at something behind him. As it were, the guys thought he was seeing a ghost, and screamed in fear.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I won’t do it anymore!” They screamed and ran away.

Ichigo shook his head. Those guys were as gullible as they come. The good news was that they probably would never come to this part of town ever again, and they would probably think twice before knocking over offerings for the dead.

“Don’t worry, they won’t come back here anymore.” He said out loud, as if he were speaking to the ghost of the girl who had passed away in that very place. “I will bring you flowers next time I pass by.” He added as he gently placed the vase in its previous spot.

If one knew Kurosaki Ichigo, you would know that his actions, as strange and unorthodox as they were, were justified. Ichigo had lost his mother at a young age, which had made him quite sensitive to death and respecting those who are gone. It was no wonder, then, that he had felt the need to punish those who had been disrespectful to a dead person, a child nonetheless, whose parents were probably still grieving her passing.

After fulfilling what he thought had been his duty, Ichigo walked home. He was deep in thought, thinking about a variety of things. Firstly, about the gang of skateboarders, and if they had learned their lesson. Then his thoughts changed and he thought about the dead girl, and which type of flowers would she have liked as an offering. Then, his mind went over the homework he had to do during the weekend, and whether or not his friends and he were actually going to go to the movies the following day. He was so focused on this, that he almost didn’t notice a limousine passing by before he crossed the street. The driver beeped, and that brought him back to Earth. He blinked once, noticed that he had almost been run over by the black limo, and he got angry.

“Hey! Watch it!” he yelled, but the limousine was long gone. “Stupid rich people.” He muttered.

Ichigo didn’t like entitled people, especially those who were rich enough to help others, but never did, and lived life as if the world owe them something. That was the very impression he got from the limousine, and whoever was inside of it. Although Karakura was certainly small, and nothing of consequence ever happened there, it was close enough to Tokyo that sometimes rich people traveled across town, or stayed at some of the summer houses on the outskirts of town.

Ichigo kept walking, until he reached his house. He lived at a two-story house, which doubled as his father’s clinic. There he lived with Karin and Yuzu, his younger twin sisters, and with his father, Dr. Kurosaki. They were definitely not rich, but they lived a relatively normal life.

“Tadaima.” He announced as he crossed the house’s threshold.

“You’re late!” His father, Kurosaki Isshin, exclaimed the moment he appeared at the door, and he kicked his son’s head.

Well, it was a normal life as normal as it can be for the Kurosaki family.

“What time do you think it is, you delinquent son?!” Isshin started scolding Ichigo. “You know dinner is every night at seven!”

“You! Is that how you greet your son who just returned from doing community service?!” Ichigo yelled back.

“Silence! No matter what reason, to he who disrupts this household’s iron harmony, only a punishment of blood can be rendered!” Isshin counterattacked. “Or what, are you saying you’re suddenly better than us for doing something for the community?! I’ll have you know I do more than you! I’m a doctor, I save lives!”

“Shut up! That’s your profession! I help people because I want to!”

“Oh, stop it both of you! The food’s getting cold!” Yuzu, the younger of the twins, said. Ever since her mother’s death, she had taken upon herself to help her father with some of the chores her mother used to do, such as cooking for the family.

“Leave ‘em alone, Yuzu.” Karin, Yuzu’s sister, said. Out of the two, she was more sarcastic, and was better at ignoring their father’s antics. “Another bowl, please.”

Meanwhile, Ichigo and his father kept arguing. “First of all, the rules in this house are too strict! In what world is there a parent that sets a curfew for a healthy male high school student at 7 pm?!” Ichigo exclaimed.

“What? Are you saying you have a girlfriend, Ichigo, and that’s why you want to come home late? Hmm, I’d never thought my own son as a pervert.” Isshin said, clearly with the purpose of making Ichigo angry.

“What the hell, dad?! That’s not it!”

“So you’re gay?”

“No!”

“Ichi-nii is sure growing fast, Yuzu.” Karin commented as she finished eating.

“Karin-chan, don’t say that!” Yuzu whined. Although both sisters loved their brother, Yuzu admired Ichigo a lot, and as such, she was more attached to him than his twin.

“One of these days, he’s going to bring a girl home, Yuzu, so you better be prepared.” Karin kept on going as she munched her food.

“Who said anything about a girlfriend, Karin?!” Ichigo, who had heard the conversation, turned to yell at his sister.

“An opening!” Isshin had taken advantage of Ichigo’s distraction to pounce on him, but his son had managed to escape his grip.

“Forget it, I’m going to sleep!” Ichigo said, and then went upstairs to his room.

“Ah, onii-chan!” Yuzu said, trying to stop him, but was unsuccessful.

“Oh well, he’s gone.” Karin announced, then turned to look at her father. “It’s your fault, dad.”

“Me? Why?” The father asked.

“Onii-chan’s had a hard time lately! Since a lot of guys start fights with him, he hasn’t been able to study as much as he’d want to, and he’s worried about his upcoming exams.” Yuzu explained.

“What? He talks to you about things like that?!” Isshin exclaimed, quite surprised.

“I’ll take dinner to his room later.” Yuzu muttered to herself.

“That kid… he doesn’t tell any of his troubles…” Isshin talked to himself.

“Of course.” Karin interrupted his train of thought. “Even I wouldn’t talk about my problems to a father over forty who only has such childish communication skills.”

Her words terribly wounded Isshin, who turned to the poster of his deceased wife, which he had hung on the wall. “Masaki! These days it must be adolescence, because our daughters are awfully cold to their father… what should I do?”

“First start by taking down that ridiculous poster of mom.” Karin said and rolled her eyes.

“Hey, dad!” Yuzu suddenly exclaimed.

“What is it, my precious daughter?” Isshin turned to look at her.

“You forgot to tell onii-chan about the news!” She said with urgency. In the background, Karin face-palmed.

“Oh, that’s right! Maybe it’s not too late! Ichigo!” He started calling his son.

“He went to his room, of course it’s already too─” Karin started saying when a scream, a thud, and some yelling interrupted her.

“Late.”

The family turned to look at each other.

“Well, the cat is out of the bag, right?”

Ichigo dragged himself upstairs, while muttering. “Jeez, why’s everyone in my family like that?”

He finally reached his room, which was marked by a wooden plaque with the number “15”, and opened the door. “Huh?” Although it was dark, he managed to notice the silhouette of a person sitting on his bed. “Wha─?!”

“Are you room service?” The voice, which belonged to a girl, asked.

“’Are you room service?’ my ass, idiot!” Ichigo sprang into action, and kicked down the person.

“Eh! You’re a pretty confident burglar, by ‘are you room service’ do you mean to ask if I live here or something?!” While Ichigo yelled at the person, the girl looked at him in surprise.

“Don’t you know who I am… I mean, did you just kick…?” The person, still shocked, asked.

“Huh? What the hell are you talking about? Of course I don’t know you.” Ichigo said.

Just then, his father kicked him. “Be quiet, Ichigo! Don’t make a ruckus on the second floor!”

Ichigo retaliated. “You be quiet! How can I not make a ruckus?! Look at this guy! What the hell’s going on with the security of this house?!”

And then Isshin burst out laughing. Next thing he knew, his sisters had turned on the light of his room, and he could finally see clearly the person who had entered his room unannounced. It turned out that the burglar was in reality a girl about his age or younger, who had black hair, which reached past her shoulders, white skin, and impossibly big eyes of a strange color, which was neither blue nor purple, and she was wearing a black kimono with red butterflies on it.

“Son, this girl is not a burglar. She’s Kuchiki Rukia-chan, and from now on she’s gonna live with us!” Isshin announced with a smile on his face.

“Pleased to meet you, I’m Kuchiki Rukia.” The girl said and extended a hand towards Ichigo.

“EH?!” The boy shouted, feeling disconcerted about the turn of events.

The wheels of destiny started moving, and, from that day onwards, Kurosaki Ichigo’s life was never the same.

“Long time no see, Ichigo.” Kuchiki Rukia said, while she smirked.

Ichigo gulped. “Yeah, it’s been a long while.” He said, as he stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.

“Shall we sit?” Rukia asked, as she gestured towards the table.

“Ah, yeah, we should.”

They sat in front of each other, with the bottle of sake between them. It was then that Ichigo noticed that he was severely underdressed for the occasion, only wearing a pair of jeans, a black leather jacket, and a red dress shirt underneath. He had opted for casual chic, while Rukia was sitting there, all elegant. Like always.

“Do you want sake?” She asked him politely.

Ichigo nodded. “Yes, please.”

Rukia served them sake on their cups silently, and then she gave him the cup. They each took a sip of their beverages, without speaking.

“So, how have you been?” Rukia asked him, breaking the silence that had fallen between them.

“I’m fine. Thanks for asking. And you?”

“I’m good. Thank you. How’s everything at the clinic?” She continued with the small talk, probably fearing the two would grow silent again.

“Same old, same old.” Ichigo shrugged.

“So, you still barely have clients?” Rukia said, smirking. Ichigo understood the situation. She was trying to get a rise out of him, to get him to argue with her. That was familiar ground. That was their thing. He decided to humor her.

“Oi! I’ve already told you that that’s good! It means people are healthy!” Ichigo said, scowling at the woman in front of him.

“My, my, Kurosaki-kun, you don’t need to get so angry with poor old me!” Rukia said, speaking in a very high voice, as she had often done when they were young. It still annoyed him to no end.

“Stop that! You’re so annoying!” He scoffed and crossed his arms.

Rukia giggled. “You’re still so funny when you get mad.”

“Tsk. Whatever.”

“Hey, so how is your father?” Rukia continued speaking.

“Goat chin is as crazy as always. Still finding ways to mess with me. I don’t know how he does it.” Ichigo complained, while Rukia looked amused.

“That’s good. It means he’s healthy.”

“Yeah, he is. He’s gonna bury us all!” Rukia covered her laughter with her hand.

“And your sisters?”

“Karin already moved out to her own apartment, but Yuzu is staying with dad, because she doesn’t want to leave him alone. But both are quite happy with their lives. Yuzu is working at a new restaurant which opened a few blocks from my dad’s house. I see her often. Karin’s place is a little far, but we eat together every Sunday.” Ichigo explained.

“I’m so glad they’re doing well. Still no signs of them getting married?”

“God, no!” Ichigo said a little too quickly, which caused Rukia to laugh.

“I can’t believe you’re still so overprotective of them! What will you do when they decide to get married?”

“They’re my sisters! I’ll always protect them. And whoever wants to marry them, will have to prove they’re worthy.” Ichigo crossed his arms once again, while Rukia tried to bite down her laughter. “And speaking of overly protective brothers, how’s Byakuya?”

That question sobered her up immediately. “Nii-sama is doing well too. He’s healthy, and he still works for the family company. But I think he’s getting tired of dealing with the elders.”

“So those elders are still a pain in the ass, aren’t they?”

“Yeah, they are. Probably will always be!”

Both laughed, and suddenly Ichigo felt as if they were back in time, back when they were fifteen, and carefree. As if more than a decade hadn’t passed at all between them.

“So… how are Orihime and Kazui?” Rukia asked once they had quieted down.

Ah. She had finally asked the dreaded question. Ichigo took a sip of his sake before answering. “They’re good… how are Renji and Ichika?”

Rukia sipped her cup too. “Ichika is doing great, actually. She is currently fascinated with soccer, and so I bought her this pink soccer ball, and now she practices every day after school with it. She was going to try for her school’s soccer team, but then we moved and will have to wait a little bit to try out in her new school.” She gushed about her daughter, and Ichigo could see a light shining brightly in her eyes, one he hadn’t seen in her in a long, long time.

“That’s great. I’m glad for Ichika. And how’s Renji?” Ichigo asked, noticing she hadn’t mentioned Renji at all.

The light immediately disappeared from her eyes. “Oh… he’s doing ok, I guess. Ichika is with him right now.” She mumbled.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. “You guess?” Once upon a time, he could have been able to interpret her silences, and know exactly what she meant. But not anymore. Things had changed, and although he could tell she was hiding something, he could no longer tell exactly what it was.

“Well, it��s not like we talk a lot these days.” That was definitely unexpected. Ichigo kept looking at Rukia questioningly until she caved in. She sighed, and started playing with some strands of hair that had become loose from her hairdo. “You see… Renji and I recently got divorced.”

Ichigo hadn’t counted on that. At all. “Oh… I’m sorry.” He felt stupid for forcing her to tell him such news.

“No, it’s ok, don’t be. It was a mutual decision.”

“Can I ask why you guys got divorced? Last time I saw you, you guys seemed to be doing fine.”

“It seemed like it, didn’t it?” Rukia chuckled darkly to herself. “Actually, it had been coming for a long time. We stayed together only for Ichika, but then those unresolved issues were too much, and we were hurting her. That’s why we’re not together anymore.”

Ichigo breathed heavily. “Is Ichika alright?”

“Yeah, she is. I’m taking her to therapy, though. You know, just in case. And she stays with Renji every weekend, and he calls her daily, so it’s not so bad.”

“And… are you alright?” He could only imagine what she was going through.

She smiled tiredly. “I am… or I’ll be… I’m, I’m trying to find myself again.”

“So… since you mentioned you moved, that means you don’t live in Tokyo anymore, right?” Ichigo decided to change the subject.

“Ah… no… actually, I moved to Karakura recently.” She said shyly.

That surprised Ichigo again. Rukia back in Karakura? How come he hadn’t seen her yet? “Oh. Since when?”

“Three weeks ago. I felt like I needed a fresh start, and this was the place for it. Renji moved too, to the neighboring town, so that he could be closer to Ichika.”

“Oh.” Ichigo nodded, and went to sip his cup when he noticed it was empty.

“Let me refill it.” Rukia offered, and he passed her the cup.

Ichigo observed her intently as she expertly filled both their cups. He felt that there was something that Rukia was hiding, and it definitely was not her divorce, or her moving to Karakura Town. He suddenly wondered why they were even in the bar. If she just wanted to catch up, why did she want to meet him at a bar? A coffee shop or literally anywhere else would have been better. No, there was something else going on. And he wished once again that their special communication hadn’t been lost through the years.

Stop pretending! His mind shouted at him, and he felt the impulse to scream and demand the reason for them being there, for making him leave his family to be with her, the reason why she wanted to meet him. What are you playing at?

He decided to call her, to do something which would make her look at him. “Rukia.” For the first time in a long, long time, he said her name out loud. It left his lips like the first breath of someone who is finally able to breathe. Like the breeze of the sea, as it softly blows your hair. It felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. As if he finally were at home. He could finally speak normally to her. I’m getting to the bottom of this.

This caught her attention. “Ichigo?” Rukia asked timidly.

“What are we really doing here?” He finally asked, gathering enough courage to confront her.

Rukia sighed. “When I moved to Karakura, I started working at a firm. Last week I find out some, erm, interesting information, to put it simply, and I thought you should know.” She said rather cryptically.

“Rukia, you’re not making any sense.” He told her bluntly.

“I’m sorry. It’s just this is a delicate subject.” She murmured.

“You can tell me anything, you know that.” Ichigo said softly, and Rukia looked at him wide eyed. She then smiled.

“I didn’t know we still had that kind of relationship.” She wasn’t jesting. She was being serious.

“Rukia, come on. Nothing will ever change that, ok?” He locked eyes with her for the first time that night. She nodded.

“Ichigo… there was a rumor in my office which turned out to be true. I asked my boss to confirm this information with some people he knows at the police. It seems that a wanted criminal has finally been found, and the police has enough evidence to prosecute him for one of his crimes, but are still missing witnesses and evidence for other cases that are believed he committed. They are asking for anyone with information to communicate with them and share what they know.” After saying this she paused, and turned to look at him worriedly.

Ichigo knew what she was going to say before she even said it.

“Ichigo, that criminal is Grand Fisher.”

#ichiruki fanfiction #the lies we tell ourselves

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