Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ This Same Sky ❯ A Mysterious Letter ( Chapter 1 )

This Same Sky

 

I guess my mother spoiled me-

I'm a headstrong boy. I want every instant

to be as lovely as crayons.

 

I'd like to draw-on chaste white paper-

a clumsy freedom, eyes that never wept,

a piece of sky, a feather, a leaf,

a pale green evening, and an apple.

 

--

 

Chapter I - A Mysterious Letter

 

Little pink bunnies… Fat ones… They seemed to be hovering in front of him, trying to tell him something. Sure enough, one of them opened their mouth, only to emit a strange beeping noise. Vaguely he wondered if bunny-speech was very vulgar and needed to be censored or something. However, the beeping did not stop; in fact, it started to grow louder as the seconds ticked by. Ichigo's eyebrow twitched.

 

WHAM! Ichigo slowly crept out of bed, glaring at the now slightly dented alarm clock sitting innocently on his beside-table.

 

“Useless piece of junk…” he muttered angrily, glaring at the offensive object. After a few seconds he turned away, and started to get dressed, satisfied that the clock had been fully intimidated. As he rummaged around in his dresser looking for a clean t-shirt he thought about the dream he had been having when the clock had so rudely interrupted him. It had started out normal enough, but as it continued it had spun into a complicated whirlwind of Hollow plushies, mayonnaise, and creatures that came straight out one of Rukia's weird drawings.

 

Ichigo wondered how Rukia was doing in the Soul Society. The last time he had been there was when he had fought the leader of the Bount. Rukia had seemed fine then, but he still sort of missed seeing her in the normal world. More than once he had turned around to talk with her, only for no one to be there. He had been feeling her absence more now then ever, it was the end of summer vacation, and currently he had a lot of time to himself.

 

Glancing in the mirror quickly, Ichigo took in his appearance. Short, spiky orange hair, in a shade so bright it could almost be considered obscene, and a pair of almond shaped brown eyes. He was on the taller side, around 5' 9”, with a well-toned body. He was muscular, but not too so, with a bit of leanness that gave an almost graceful touch. Clothed in a plain green t-shirt and a pair of loose jeans he looked like an ordinary high school student, not a deadly warrior who could defeat a giant soul-sucking monster with a single sword stroke. The spoken teen fingered the small keychain that certified him as a substitute soul reaper.

 

The last bit of summer vacation had been pretty uneventful; Ichigo had only had to defeat a couple Hollows, weak ones at that. In fact, Ichigo was feeling a bit isolated at the moment. Rukia was in the Soul Society, Chad was on a foreign-exchange summer trip in America, Orihime was at camp and Ishida was going on some weird tour of old buildings in Hokkaido. That guy has the strangest tastes, thought Ichigo as he sweatdropped mentally.

 

With no one to hang out with, Ichigo had had a lot of time to himself these past few weeks. Karin was pretty busy playing soccer and goofing off, Yuzu had hardly any time to spare with a household to run, and Ichigo's dad…. Well, Ichigo defiantly did not want to spend anymore time with him then he had to (Ichigo twitched at the thought). Actually he had been spending a bunch of time at Urahara's shop recently. He had been helping out a couple hours a day by sorting newly shipped-in merchandise for the exchange of some free training.

 

Pulling on a pair of socks, Ichigo slowly made his way downstairs for breakfast. His father sat at the table, while Yuzu dished up individual helpings of rice and miso soup.

 

“Yo,” greeted Ichigo casually, pulling up a chair.

 

“GOOD MORNING ICHIGOOO!” shouted his dad enthusiastically, encasing his apathetic son in a crushing bear hug. As usual he was wearing a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt along with his white doctor's coat.

 

“Aa…” grunted the orange-haired teen, wrenching his way out of his father's rib-cracking embrace.

 

“Here's your breakfast Ichigo! Rice and a fried egg alright?”

 

Ichigo glanced up at his smiling sister. Yuzu looked very cute as usual; her brownish-blond hair was pulled out of her eyes by two pretty red barrettes shaped like dragonflies. It was amazing how she managed to take care of the house and do good in school was beyond him, Ichigo was sure she would become a beautiful woman when she grew up.

 

“Yep, thanks Yuzu,” said Ichigo, flashing a rare smile, “itadakimasu!”

 

“No problem, oh thanks for getting the mail Karin!”

 

Karin grunted and walked up to the table, her dark hair tucked under a red baseball cap like normal. She was rifling through what looked like to be a mass of bills and magazines advertising the usual junk.

 

“Anything good?” asked Ichigo out of habit. He took a BIG bite of fried egg, yum! Yuzu's eggs were always good…

 

“Not really… Wait! There's something for you Ichigo,” she looked quizzically at the official-looking letter before handing it over to her brother.

 

“Huh?” mumbled Ichigo through a mouthful of egg, little bits of the white stuck around his face. His family snorted simultaneously; with his stuffed cheeks he resembled a chipmunk with an orange wig. (A/N: Snickers at mental image..) Swallowing, the teen took the letter, gazing at the unfamiliar handwriting that listed his address.

 

Kurosaki Ichigo-sama*

1101 Happy Lane

Ikehara

29780

 

 

There was no return address.

 

The envelope was made of a thick, slightly yellow paper that was unfamiliar to Ichigo. It also emitted an unusual, but not unpleasant odor (a combination of ink and green tea perhaps?). Upon the seal was a stamp, a stamp which Ichigo was rather familiar with; the symbol that was used to represent the Soul Society **.

 

I want to draw a future I've never seen-

nor ever can-though I'm sure she will be beautiful.

I'll draw her in an autumn coat the color of candle flame,

and maple leaves, and all the hearts that ever loved her.

I'll draw her a wedding, an early-morning garden party,

swathed in candy-wrappers decked with winter scenes.

 

“Who's it from?” asked Karin curiously.

 

“Ah, a friend of mine,” replied Ichigo, thinking fast, “they're on vacation and wanted to keep in touch.”

 

“Hum,” muttered Karin, slouching back in her chair, a rather bored expression on her face.

 

“I'm finished, thanks for breakfast Yuzu, I'll be upstairs.”

 

He gave his dishes to his sister, pushed in his chair, and started making his way to his bedroom, eager to read the letter. As he turned his back to his family he was oblivious to them gazing concernedly at his back.

 

Finally I'd like to draw myself in one corner-

a panda, huddled in a dark Victorian forest,

hunkering in the quiet branches, homeless, lost,

not even a heart left behind me, far away,

only teeming dreams of berries

and great, wide eyes.

 

Glad that he was in his room and free from the prying eyes of his family, Ichigo immediately sat at his desk and ripped the envelope open. His fingers trembled slightly as he pulled out the neatly folded paper from within. Unfolding it carefully, he began to read:

 

 

Dear Kurosaki-san,

 

We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected for an exchange student program at the University of Soul and Spirit. The arrangements with your current school have already been made; we at the U.S.S. would be honored if you joined us for a year in our unique curriculum. Room and board will be provided free, as well as the payments for materials and uniforms…

 

Ichigo scanned the rest of the letter, feeling thoroughly confused, an exchange student program? Why him? And why was the Soul Society logo on the envelope?

 

Suddenly an extra piece of paper that Ichigo had not noticed fluttered out from the folds of the bigger letter. It fell on his idle hand, brushing the skin like the wings of a butterfly.

 

The orange-haired teen jumped slightly, and seeing the document, he picked it up and began to scan the page:

 

Kurosaki-san:

 

The other letter is for show, give it to your parent or guardian to see, the real situation is as follows: After a meeting of the captains and the Council, it has been decided that you shall be moved from the physical world into the Soul Society were you will be looked after.

 

It has been determined that ex-captains Aizen Sousuke and Ichimaru Gin are after you and your powers, so for your and your family's safety it has been determined that you must come to the Soul Society as soon as possible. You will be picked up on the 29th of August precisely at 8 PM in the back of Urahara's shop. Please only bring your absolute necessities.

 

Sincerely,

 

Mizushi Ryousuke, High Secretary

 

The piece of paper slid from Ichigo's grip as soon as he finished reading. He gazed unseeingly at the white ceiling, his brown eyes out of focus.

 

He was going back, to the Soul Society. He'd see everyone Rukia, maybe even Byakuya, and … Renji…

 

Renji.

 

Ichigo's eyes slid shut, he grimaced slightly, there was no way he could get out of this one.

 

This pining's pointless.

I haven't any crayons,

any breathless moments.

All I have are fingers and pain.

 

I think I'll tear the paper to bits

and let them drift away,

hunting for butterflies.

 

To Be Continued -

 

* Normally people use -sama when addressing letters.

** I really can't remember if the Soul Society has a logo, well now they do.

 

~ Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Kubo Tite does of course. There were pieces of he poem “A Headstrong Boy” by Gu Cheng in this story, it was translated by Donald Finkel.

 

Itadakimasu: Japanese for “thanks for the food”.

 

A/N Drabble: Forgive me about the timeline, I need for this to start in the summer, so the whole Bount thing happened earlier, this fic will probably be AU because of that. BTW: no actual lemons in this story, sorry, but there will be mentions of `em, and LOTS of making out XD WOOT!!

 

Why is Ichigo thinking of Renji? Especially when this is a ByakuIchigo fanfic? You shall see soon ;)! Muhahaha, I am so evil… I hope to get the next update up soon!