Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Tales of a Broken Society ❯ Chapter 25

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Watching Ichigo move around the clinic, stretching neon green faux spider webs around, Ikkaku was curious as to why they celebrated Halloween like they did when they were Japanese. He hadn’t asked the other yet, but he was curious as to why and was just getting ready to ask when the red head to him with a raised eyebrow.

“You’ve been watching me like a hawk for 2 hours now. What is wrong?” he asked, crossing his arms and nearly tapping his foot.

“I’m curious, Ichi-chan” Ikkaku started, smirking as Ichigo scowled. “Why do you celebrate Halloween when you’re Japanese?”

“Half, sorta,” Ichigo corrected, turning around and stretching some more webbing across a wall.

“What do you mean sorta?” Ikkaku asked, scowling, watching the lean body move around as Ichigo finished with the webs.

“My mom. She was something like half Japanese and raised part of the time in America. Her parents, my grandparents, bounced between here and there. Then she became  a star, meet goat face, left that world behind and had me and the twins,” Ichigo replied, going back to the box full of decorations. “She kept the holiday traditions from that and it became a usual thing to celebrate them. The clinic has become rather popular during October since we set up a haunted house, amongst other things. Any money and canned food is also donated.

“So it’s a good excuse for a charity drive?” Ikkaku asked, eye the other as he pulled out several fake bats.

“Some what. Beyond the haunted house, we have various seminars on legends and stories about Halloween,” the substitute shinigami continued. “Stories about decorations, stuff like that.”

“Yeah,” Ikkaku hummed, one leg coming to rest on the other. “So what are you doing this year beyond decorating?”

“Well, this year I plan on telling a twist on how Jack O’ Lanterns came to be. It’s based off the ‘Stingy Jack’ stories that were told in Ireland,” Ichigo replied, placing a large fake Jack O’ Lantern down onto the table before moving to grab a few pumpkins.

“Story?” Ikkaku prodded, watching Ichigo grab a carving tool from a set and attack the top of a large pumpkin.

“It starts out with a mean, mean man named Jack. He hated how people would do three things, which were those who used his rocking chair, used his ax, mostly kids, or plucking roses from his rose bush to use to whip their horses with,” Ichigo started, pulling the top off and starting to gut it. “Well, one day, he meet this old man and felt the need to be nice to him so he took the man home and feed him while sitting him in his rocking chair. Eventually, it was discovered that the old man was St. Peter. For his good deed, Jack was given 3 wishes.

“His first one was to have his rocking chair rock who ever sat in it who wasn’t him and rock them until he told it to let them go. St. Peter gave the wish to him reluctantly. The second wish was to have his ax hit who ever used it on the head until he told it to let them go. Again, it was given but again, it was reluctantly. And his final wish was to have the rose bush pull who ever dared to pluck a rose from it and scratch them until they were let go off by him,” he continued, pausing as he finished gutting the large vegetable.

Picking up the bowl, he carried it into the kitchen, smiling at Yuzu as she cleaned another bowl of pumpkin seeds. Washing his hands and grabbing a new bowl, he went back into the living room and sat back down.

“So what happened afterwards?” Ikkaku asked, grabbing another pumpkin to open and gut, watching Ichigo rub the inside of his pumpkin with a clear liquid.

“Well, the story goes that after Peter granted the wishes, he left, leaving Jack to live his life,” the red head continued, starting to scrape at the pumpkin skin. “Every time someone used his chair, they would be grabbed a hold and held onto tight as they were shook hard and Jack laughed until he let them go. Same with the hammer, it would hit the people until he told it to let them go. And of course the rose bush would grab whoever tried to take a bloom and scratch at them until he told it to let them go.

One day, the youngest son of Satan comes to collect his soul for all of his deeds but Jack sits him in his rocking chair and gives him a glass of milk, telling him he needs to do something. The little devil agrees but when it was time to go, the chair grabbed on and refused to let him go. Jack got a promise from him that he would not come back and he would leave without his soul. After getting that promise, the little devil left,” Ichigo continued, Ikkaku snorting lightly as he scooped pumpkin guts out.

“What happened after that?” the bald shinigami asked.

“Well, the little devils big brother came. Jack told him that he had to chop a lot of wood for some people and the bigger devil told him he would do the chopping. When he was done, the ax went about its job, bashing him in the head until, once more, Jack got a promise that he would leave without his soul. Getting that promise, he told the ax to let him go and the teenage devil left without his soul. Mind you, they complained to their father,” Ichigo said, a smile curling on his lips as he snickered lightly.

Ikkaku nodded and put his first pumpkin aside before grabbing the third one, starting on that one to. “Bet daddy wasn’t happy,” Ikkaku drawled, getting a laugh from Ichigo who shook his head.

“No, far from it. In fact, he came after Jack himself. Long part short, the Devil ended up in Jacks rose bush, getting scratched and pleading to get free. Eventually, Jack once more got the promise that the devil would leave without his soul and would be free to live his life to its fullest. As soon as he did, Jack let the Devil go and the Devil went back,” Ichigo continued, putting the first Jack O’ Lantern aside and grabbing the one that Ikkaku had gutted.

“So, Jack lives his life. What happened to him when he finally died?” Ikkaku asked, scrapping at the inside of his pumpkin as Yuzu came to collect the full bowl, leaving a new one behind.

“He was turned away from Heavens gate by St. Peter for his crimes. He was then sent down to hell where he came from three doors. The first door was opened by the smallest devil, who screamed and slammed the door shut. Jack went to the second door and received the same greeting from the teenage devil before moving to the third door. The Devil was the one who opened the door and did the same thing as the other two did,” Ichigo said, smirking as he started to carve the third pumpkin that Ikkaku handed him. “Jack got pissed and pounded on the door long enough that the Devil once more opened the door. After talking with each other for a moment for where Jack should go, the Devil closed the door after saying he had a thought.

“He came back a bit later with a turnip and a glowing piece of coal in his claws. Carving into the turnip, he dropped the coal into it and handed it to Jack, telling him to go find his own Hell before once more slamming the door,” Ichigo finished, putting his carving tool down. Grabbing a tea light and lighting it up, he placed it into the pumpkin before putting the top back on and turning the vegetable around, a leering face greeting them. “And that’s how we came to have Jack O’ Lanterns.”

“Nice,” Ikkaku said, shaking his head and thinking that he might have to come and watch Ichigo tell the story with all of the details.

At least he got one question answered. Now, if he could only get the answers for the other questions so easily.

Sighing, Ikkaku eyed the sweet looking lips that were smiling at him as Ichigo tilted his head to the side.

“What now?”