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The Haunted Palace	By : SunsetStarlight Category: Bleach > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 1281 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or its characters. I do not make any profit from this story.

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"IIICHIIGOOO!"
Ichigo nonchalantly slammed his fist into his crazy old mans face. Isshin fell to the floor, unconscious.
"Stupid chichi."
Ichigo looked over at his little sister, Karin. She had black hair like their idiot father and Ichigo's trademark glower. Karin sat at the kitchen table, eating an apple and reading a sports magazine.
"Where's Yuzu?" Ichigo asked as he hung his jacket on the coat rack. Karin didn't bother looking up.
"She said something about getting a good look at the strange man in the clinic."
'What?' Ichigo thought as he stepped out of his boots. 'She's alone in a room with a strange man?' He was in the clinic next door so fast that he didn't get to see Karin's deepening scowl.
Yuzu was pulling a blanket over an unconscious man with vivid red hair. Yuzu was wearing a little nurses outfit, her light brown hair was tucked under her cap as she hummed an old children's song their mother used to sing.
"Yuzu." Ichigo said.
Yuzu stopped humming and turned around with a bright smile.
"Ichi-nii." she whispered. "I'm glad you're alright. I was worried."
Ichigo sighed and sat down in the chair at the foot of the bed.
"I'm sorry for making you worry, Yuzu." He glanced more closely at the man. He looked to be in his early twenties with tan skin and tribal tattoos on his neck and face. The rest of his body was under the blanket. "Who is this guy anyway?"
"Chichi found him slumped over on the doorstep. He was badly injured, but chichi fixed him up. He hasn't woken up yet."
"No I.D.?"
Yuzu shook her head sadly. "Don't know. Maybe chichi knows." she perked up. "Can you look after him while I start dinner?"
"Sure, Yuzu, what are ya makin'?"
She beamed. "It's a surprise."
Yuzu began to hum to herself again as she left the room. Ichigo watched the stranger sleep, deep even breaths becoming louder and louder in his ears. Before he knew it, he was asleep.
A wavering, watery voice whispered to him. All around him was darkness and freezing cold. It was the nightmare again.
"King." the voice said. "I'm gonna kill ya. Then I'll be the only one."
"Who are you?" Ichigo yelled.
"You're a weakling. Those monsters killed ya moms, whatcha gonna do about it? Brood? Play the boy who thinks he's tough?" The voice cackled. "You're a sheep, Ichigo. The only difference between you and the rest of the sheep is that you have your eyes open. That only means you can feel true fear at the sight of what's gonna eat ya."
The voice cackled again, high and insane.
"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up!" Ichigo screamed, turning in endless circles trying to see something, anything in the darkness. He regretted it. Just as he regretted it every time he was tortured with this nightmare. Glowing yellow iris's against black appeared right in front of his face. Pale silvery white hair spiked around a face with white skin stretched over it. A face that was identical to his. White lips stretched almost too wide into an insane grin, showing the black insides of it's mouth.
"You may have forgot about me, King. But I'll never forget about you."
Ichigo woke up screaming. He stood and picked up the chair to throw it, but was stopped mid-swing by strong, tan, black inked hands. Ichigo looked up into the stranger's burgundy eyes. There was anger, concern, and pain in them. He glanced down a muscled chest, that yes indeed a canvas for more tattoos, to see all the bandages wrapped around the man's middle. White hospital pants hung low on his hips and the thin material hid nothing but the color of his skin. Ichigo dropped his hands as if burned. The man set the chair down.
"Wanna tell me what happened?" the man asked while sitting on the edge of the bed. Ichigo sighed harshly and ran his hands over his hair.
"Look, I'm sorry man, but it's got nothing to do with you. Were you hurt?'
The man smirked and scratched his head.
"Nah. I didn't reopen anything. Still sore though." He sat his hand on his lap. "What's your name, kid?"
Ichigo leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest with an even deeper frown.
"Don't call me, kid, old man. And my name is Kurosaki Ichigo."
The former disgruntled look on the man's face at being called an old man now morphed into shining eyes and a wide grin. Ichigo was now used to this reaction from assholes everywhere. Doesn't mean he liked it.
"Oi!" he grumbled. "What's that stupid look on your face for, old man? Going senile?"
"Senile! Old man!" the stranger yelled in anger. "I'm not old, just mature. At least I'm not some wanna be punk kid with a name that means strawberry!"
Ichigo stood ramrod straight, already disliking the guy.
"It does not mean strawberry, it means number one guardian! I'll show you a punk kid! I'll go over there and beat your face in!"
"I'd like to see you try!"
"Ichi-nii!" Yuzu exclaimed.
Ichigo calmed immediately and his face softened as he looked at his little sister.
"Yes, Yuzu?"
She put on her stern face.
"You can't yell and argue with patients, Ichi-nii. He might reopen his wounds and get hurt again."
The strange man grinned at this with a sly gleam in his eyes.
"Yeah, Ichi. I might get hurt again."
Yuzu turned to him. "You should lye back down. Ichigo will bring you some dinner." she smiled at Ichigo. "Won't you Ichi-nii?"
Ichigo looked surprised.
"Uh…right, I guess."
"Thank you, Ichi-nii!"
Ichigo waved over his shoulder as he left to get the red-haired assholes dinner.
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Grimmjow stared at the ever present moon, hating the feeling of sitting still, of waiting and doing nothing. He'd wanted to help gather the Kanpeishiki as well, but he needed to keep his strength so that he could open the gargantua for them all when they got back. Nell had gone north, Starrk went south, Nnoitra went west, and Ulquiorra had gone east. Szayel was in the Human World collecting more information about Karakura Town. After the war with Aizen, they were all that he had left. Nelliel was family, Starrk figured Aizen would make him do more work, and Nnoitra was….Nnoitra. As for Ulquiorra, Grimmjow had no idea why he had stayed. There was no telling why that emotionless asshole did anything.
He pulled the braid out of his hair and let it fall over his face, shoulders, and chest. Arai. He thought of Arai. The boy he had found so long ago, but not too long. Arai who was so much like him from his smile to his attitude. The kid was even a bit more extreme than he was. Arai with the sad and abandoned expression and the glowing untamed eyes. He grinned at the memory.
Grimmjow had been walking alone, looking for any stragglers of Aizen's. His blood was still running hot and he wanted a fight. Against the curves and waves of silvery sand, he spotted a young boy lying on his side. He used his sonido technique to get to the boy and gazed at him, his feline curiosity coming to the fore.
"Oi, kid. What're ya doin' here?"
The kid's eyes opened, but didn't look at him.
"Heh. You're not human, but you're not like me either." Grimmjow kicked the boy in his side, then followed him to the dune a few feet away where he landed. "Where ya come from kid?"
Nothing.
"Ya got a name?"
Silence.
"Tch. Come from nowhere and got no name. Maybe you are in the right place. Only the twisted and abandoned souls end up here."
The boy then looked at him. His face was sad, but there was a hot glare in his eyes that Grimmjow liked. He chuckled.
"What someone shows on their faces is meaningless, kid." Grimmjow told him seriously. "The truth of a person is always in the eyes."
The kid still remained quiet. Grimmjow would never quite know what made him do what he did next.
"I'll name you Arai, for your eyes." He picked the boy up and held him under his right arm. "You belong to me now."
Arai had gone from his child, to his crazy kid brother, to his completely insane best friend. They didn't get to see each other often now. Arai did his own thing on the outskirts of Hueco Mundo. Every time Grimmjow asked for specifics, Arai would just say that he was getting stronger. Grimmjow could appreciate wanting strength and power, but who the hell did he want to kill? No one pushed themselves so hard without someone in mind. He had a feeling that Arai would be visiting soon. He always seem to know when serious shit was happening. As for Grimmjow? He'd have to do what he hated for a bit longer.
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"Renji. That's my name."
The red-head had finished his dinner and was now laying back on the bed with drowsy eyes. Ichigo watched him awhile, getting nervous with those drowsy eyes being trained on him so intensely.
"Want a picture?" he growled.
Renji's grin lit up his entire face.
"Got any naked ones?"
Ichigo blushed in anger and embarrassment.
"No, but I have my foot that I'll shove down your throat!"
The red-haired bastard smirked.
"Oh, but I'd rather have your di-"
The door opened to reveal Karin in her pajamas, carrying a sheathed sword. She walked over to Renji and handed it to him.
"The idiot said to give you this."
Renji accepted it and placed it next to him on the bed. Karin left, but not before shaking her head at Ichigo's red and scowling face.
"What does a perverted old man need with a sword?" Ichigo sneered.
Renji's expression turned grim and he looked away.
"Nothing you would know about, kid."
"Why so serious, Renji? Are you some kind of murderer?"
Renji glared at him.
"I'm not answerin' a stupid question like that." He lapsed into silence with a thoughtful look on his face. "I like you, you're level-headed. I want you to answer me honestly, do you believe in spirits?"
Ichigo frowned and thought of the thing that ate his mother. He'd always called them monsters, but not everyone could see them, so maybe they were spirits. He wasn't sure.
"It's a possibility." he hedged.
The red-head looked skeptical, but sighed and continued.
"I belong to a tribe of people who worship a creature called the Soul King. We call ourselves Soul Reapers, and the Soul King gives us our powers. We kill monsters, Ichigo, monsters that eat humans for their souls. We call them Hollows." He watched Ichigo's face, but it was carefully blank. "Each of us has a sword that has it's own power. Mine is named Zabimaru." He chuckled sadly. "You think I'm crazy don't you?"
Ichigo nodded vigorously. "But not because you say you kill monsters." he explained. "You see, I know that monsters are real, one ate my mother."
There was a tense and awkward silence.
"I'm sorry." Renji said softly.
Ichigo shook his head. "Don't be. Why did you tell me all of that anyway?"
Renji sighed and sat up.
"It's not just coincidence that I ended up on your doorstep, Ichigo. We're planning to go to Hueco Mundo, where the Hollows live, and we need more strong fighters. I felt you, your spiritual pressure is amazing and with some training you could rival an Elder."
"But I'm not a Soul Reaper."
Renji leaned forward in earnest.
"But you are, Ichigo. It's in your blood. All we need to do is trigger it."
Ichigo's face was smoothed out into a thoughtful expression as he crossed his arms.
"And how would you do that?"
"I'd have to stab you with my sword."
Renji's face was completely serious, but Ichigo scowled anyway.
"If this is some elaborate pick up line, you perverted old man, I'll-"
"No, no, no." Renji promised while laughing. "I didn't mean it that way. Though I wouldn't say no to you."
Ichigo scoffed. "Doesn't matter. I can say no to you. And I'm not letting you stab me; with either sword."
"But don't you want to keep those monsters from doing to others what they did to your mother? It won't even hurt, Ichi. We could really use you-"
"That's right." Both of them jumped at the sound of Isshin's voice. They hadn't even heard the door open. "All you would do is use him, burn him out until he had nothing left, and then abandon him."
Renji opened his mouth to say something, but shut it quickly at the sight of Isshin's glaring eyes. Isshin turned to his son.
"Ichigo, I know how things work with them and that's why I left. All it ever is, is war and blood with them. I don't want that for you, I've never wanted that for you."
Ichigo stared at his father, brown eyes gleaming.
"You mean you're a Soul Reaper?"Isshin shook his head. "I was, but its fading. Slowly but surely. I did hunt down the Hollow that killed your mother, though."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"You didn't need to know about something that you weren't going to have anything to do with, Ichigo. I can forbid you until my lungs collapse, but I know you son, and you're going to do what you think is right regardless of what I say." He smiled. "But I'll try anyway. Please don't join them, they're just a different kind of monster."
Ichigo's mouth opened and closed for several seconds, before he just shook his head. Isshin stood and looked hard at Renji. He rose his spiritual pressure slightly, making the red-head gasp and shake on the bed.
"You tell Yamamoto that he will respect my son's decision, whatever that may be, or I will find him and I will kill him." He let his spiritual pressure dissipate. "Now get some rest, you're injured."
Moments later, Ichigo and Renji were alone once more. Ichigo in stunned silence and Renji no longer gasping, but still shaking.
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A/N: That's it for now. Sorry if the story is starting off too slow for you. Arai means wild, untamed in japanese. Hopefully the plot isn't too transparent.
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The Haunted Palace