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Bleach: Home of the Hidden Ancients - Chapter 1 (Fan Fiction)

Chapter 1: Hollows and School Bags

“Why do we always end up being hollow bait!” the dark haired girl yelled across at the masked creature on the sidewalk. The creature screeched back in return and charged at the two scrawny middle schoolers. A strawberry blonde girl with pigtails laid sprawled on the ground with grazed knees. The hollow seemed to smile and swerved its charge in her direction. But to its surprise the other girl did exactly the same thing and sprinted at itself with the expression you’d find if a rhino had eyebrows.

 “STOP MESSING WITH US OR YOU’LL GET HURT!” She screamed as she continued to whack it over the head with a (suspiciously heavy) school bag. The hollow began to whine and swat at the girl like she was an agile, oversized fly. It’s slow and swings too widely; the dark haired girl mused whilst thwacking its hind legs. It’s small though and tries to swing me away from the painted circle on its face.

“Found it,” she muttered.

 Left dodge, right feint, defend up and…

“GOAL!” she shouted victoriously as she leapt up and kicked the hollow’s mask into three shards. It flinched. Then it fell backward with a satisfying thud on the concrete. Basic gaming knowledge, she reminded herself with a smirk.

 Karin Kurosaki puffed out the adrenaline buzzing through her. She didn’t even remember there was someone behind her.

“Karin… what was… that,” came a small voice from the street curb.

Karin whirled around to see her. She had gravel on her face and her blue eyes were bright and worried, staring up at her. Karin walked over to her sister and put on the most comforting smile she could muster.

“It’s okay Yuzu,” she assured then held out a tablet. “Have one of these. It’ll help with the headache.”

Yuzu lifted a delicate hand to pick up the medicine. She gave it a dazed glare then look backed to Karin. She nodded in reply. Yuzu tilted back her head and swallowed.

“1, 2, 3…” Karin begun.

Yuzu shook her head. “why are you-“

She fell abruptly back into Karin’s arms limp and dopey.

“…7, 8, 9…” she continued.

Yuzu jolted upright clinging onto Karin’s shirt.

“Whoa!” she cried. Karin steadied her and chuckled nervously.

“You had a bit of a fall there Yuzu! Had me pretty worried.”

Yuzu looked down at her grazed knee in confusion.

“Yeah… I must’ve,” she mumbled to herself.

Karin wrapped an arm around her back and let Yuzu lean on her.

“Well we better get going or else Dad’s probably gonna set fire to the house or something worse.”

“Good idea.”

The sisters walked back home leaving a car-sized creature lying on the street for a figure clad in black to find. I’m doing your job for you now Ichigo; substitute for the substitute, Karin thought bitterly. But she couldn’t keep the longing to see her older brother again, out of her head for very long. If it weren’t for Mister Urahara and his supplies or Tatsuki and her training… Karin inwardly cringed at the thought.

 Soon there was going to come a time when she needed more than a decent kick and a memory pill. When that day came she knew she needed to be ready. Mister Urahara had protested against the idea she suggested and if Ichigo found out that she had even thought about it he would’ve thrown one of his “it’s dangerous” tantrums. But as Karin looked at her sister’s grazed knees she realised just how lucky they had been with the hollows.

 It was only grazes this time but what about the next time? Head traumas and loss of limb were definitely on the cards and heck, even death. Karin didn’t think that their already broken family would hold together much longer if anything happened to Yuzu or admittedly even Goat-Face. She needed that power to protect. She needed to become a soul reaper.

Bleach: Home of the Hidden Ancients - Chapter 2 (Fan Fiction)

Chapter 2: The Strangeness of a Calm Home Life

As Karin walked through the clinic doors, she reflexively blocked a sideways kick from the idiot she seemed to call a “father”. He flopped forcefully backwards, landing next to a large picture of her mother’s face. He winced as his head hit the wall then put on his signature goofy smile and thrust forward two thumbs up.

 “YOU ARE DOING WELL MY YOUNG DAUGHTER! BOTH RELFLEX AND MUSCLE!” he squealed.

As he looked at Yuzu his smile washed off into an overdramatic pout.

“MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER! WHAT HAPPENED?! DON’T WORRY DADDY WILL COME TO YOUR AID!” He begun to race towards her but Yuzu held up a calm hand.

“It’s just a graze Dad, nothing to worry about.”

Ishin stopped in his tracks and his shoulders slumped.

“Aww you two are no fun when Ichigo’s not around. You have to act all serious and mature…” he grumbled. “I’ll clean it up and get you a Band-Aid then,” he added more softly.

 It was an unusual sight for the Goat Face to act responsibly (or at least responsibly according to the rest of society). Since Ichigo had left for some trip, her father acted less like the idiot and more like… well more like Ichigo she guessed; more gruff and serious. It was probably his little way of missing him. She wasn’t exactly sure whether she liked the change or not but she knew that all of them really did miss his presence.

 While Ishin put the Band-Aid on Yuzu’s knee, Karin dumped her bag just outside the door and headed up to her and Yuzu’s room. She was almost sure she was going to miss out dinner. Fighting the hollow had really taken it out of her. Playing soccer is one thing. Playing for your life is another. She turned and collapsed into the soft cardboard like mattress. Even with the occasional hollow attack, things had been pretty calm without Ichigo around. Her Dad was less hyped all the time, Yuzu stopped the ongoing jokes and Karin even found herself trying to get her Dad to fight her even more in an attempt to keep Ichigo’s presence around them.

 But it was really a pale imitation compared to what the Kurosaki household was like with Ichigo around.

 Karin pulled her legs into her stomach and winced as an aching pain shot up her thigh.

“Must’ve strained it,” she muttered to herself. That was the first time in months she had gotten muscle aches. She laughed to herself a bit. Fighting the hollows was actually upping her gameplay for both soccer and video games. It was making her mind and body, work to get the goal. And she kind of liked that in some weird way. She was using her talents for seeing ghosts (no matter how much she denied they existed) to help fight the good fight.

 She sunk her head lower into the pillows and her eyes drifted shut. Tomorrow, she thought. I’ll do it tomorrow. For now just rest…

 With that her eyes sealed shut and all other thoughts aside from sleep escaped her heavy mind.

Bleach: Home of the Hidden Ancients - Chapter 3 (Fan Fiction)

Chapter 3: To Teach Or Not To Teach…

Karin went through her mental checklist for the fifth and final time standing just around the corner from Mr Urahara’s shop:

-Kick goat face- check

-Tell Yuzu that she’s off to play soccer- check

-Run through arguments for becoming a soul reaper- triple check

-Run through arguments that might be had with Ichigo after becoming a soul reaper- afraid to consider

 She took a deep breath. That’s usually what you’re supposed to do when you’re nervous, right? Karin found out that the more “deep” breaths she took the more awkward and annoyed she got with herself. So scrapping that idea, she turned the corner and strode up to the shop. Surprisingly the courtyard was quiet. Ururu stood obediently sweeping the courtyard but Jinta was nowhere to be seen. Well at least she didn’t have to worry about that bonehead screaming in her ear. He was probably off playing actual baseball somewhere.

“Hey Ururu!” Karin called out. Ururu flinched then glanced at her

“Oh… hello Ms Kurosaki…” She mumbled nervously.

Karin sighed. It was always “Ms Kurosaki” with her.

“You know it’s fine to call me Karin?” she said walking into the shade of the shop’s eves.

Ururu gave a small smile in return and answered, “I know that… So what can we do for you Ms Karin?”

Okay, she thought. This is it.

“I need to speak to Mr Urahara,” she commanded.

“Um… I’ll just go around to see if he’s awake…” Ururu muttered as she quickly whisked away to the back of the store.

“He better be,” Karin quietly threatened.

Eventually the curtains opened again to reveal the hat and clogs man, himself.

“Good morning Ms Kurosaki. What can I do for you today?” He asked lazily. A polite smirk framed his face and his hid eyes under the shade of the hat. He waltzed over to a chair in a cramped corner and kicked back in it.

Karin stepped forward with a sense of purpose. Her composure was firm and unrelenting: shoulders back, feet hip width apart and furrowed eyebrows. She may only have looked like a scrawny middle school girl but her aura (if you would call it that) sent out the message of “I know what I want and I want it now”.

 “You know what I’m here for Urahara. I need to become a-“

“We talked about this already and the answer’s still no. I’m sorry but there won’t be any further discussion on the topic,” he interrupted bluntly, hoping to drain her confidence. But Karin was only fuelled more by his rude interruption.

“No discussion. Just decisions. And I have decided I want to become a soul reaper. Teach me and make it quick or I’ll find out how on my own,” she supplied.

Urahara just sighed tiredly. He didn’t exactly want to commute with anyone or anything until at least 11 o’clock in the morning. Anytime before that he was classified as ‘unfit to work’.

“Look, you’re just too young and inexperienced to become a soul reaper. Anyway there are probably heaps of rules and regulations against informal soul reaper training in the Soul Society…” he gave as his decent sounding answer.

 “Since when do you follow rules? Ichigo was only about two years older than me when he became a soul reaper! And besides, I already fend off hollows with my school bag. If I had training I could actually take care of all of it and cleanse them instead of just giving them a bad hair day. Wouldn’t that help the Soul Society?” She fired back. Urahara was slightly impressed despite himself. She had thought this out well.

“Ichigo was a special case and he was in dire circumstances so you can’t compare your scenario to his,” He countered.

 Karin huffed knowing that some of the stuff he said was true.

“I am in dire circumstances. Just yesterday Yuzu and I were attacked. We were lucky enough to get away with just a graze. But you of all people should know the damage that can be done.”

“That’s why Ichigo became a soul reaper in the first place; to protect the two of you. You can’t just throw his dedication to you guys away like that,” Urahara said. He knew he had almost won when he saw Karin’s face. She stared at her feet with guilt. Hopefully that was enough to knock her out of the argument. But as she looked back up, her eyes had hardened. They were bitter.

 “Ichigo is barely ever here. Sure we all understand why and we still love him but that doesn’t stop us from being hollow bait. His circle of protection has increased. But I need to protect Yuzu and myself. That’s how I’ll protect him… from himself. If we were hurt while he was away you know who he’d blame,” Karin looked at Mr Urahara sternly. “That’s not going to happen. Not if I can do something about it. I want to use my spiritual powers, I want to protect others and I won’t let my family be broken any more than it has been.”

 Mr Urahara stayed silent absorbing everything he had heard. Then he muttered something almost inaudible.

“Is this what you want or what Ichigo wants?”

Karin replied clearly, “I want it.”

Finally he sighed then laughed.

“Oh damn, if Ichigo ever finds out about this I’m going to get cut up into little pieces…”

Karin relaxed her shoulders then replied, “well let’s hope he’ll never have to find out.”

Bleach: Home of the Hidden Ancients - Chapter 4 (Fan Fiction)

Chapter 4: Day 1 - Training Begins and Ends

Karin wasn’t sure what Mr Urahara had in store for her training. But she certainly didn’t think that dying had anything to do with it. He was only up to step two in the training and as soon as she blinked half a blade was protruding from her stomach. Feverishly warm blood steadily streamed out of the wound. That was the first thing she felt; the sticky red liquid. Then it was the pain jolting up her spine, before she crumpled to the ground. She lay there a while starting to comprehend what her new teacher had done.

 “W-why with the blade a-and the…” She barely whispered. It was a pathetic attempt and if she had enough energy she would feel embarrassed.

 “I told you before. This part of the training is the most crucial. Your brother did it a little differently but as you know he was a special case. When your body starts giving up you should be able to find a place between your mind in this world and your mind in the spirit world. Find your powers there,” He answered with such a casual tone you would’ve thought he was ordering take-away.

 Karin tried to move her head to look up at him. As soon as she met his eyes she gave him a bitter glare. “I don’t find them… I die,” she guessed.

 Mr Urahara crouched down to her level.

“Oh it’s not just you who will die. My life depends on your success as well Ms Kurosaki.” She was about to argue when she stopped herself, mouth agape. If I die here because of this then… “Yes Karin. Your brother is a smart and easy to anger boy. If you’re found killed, soon after he, your family and his friends will seek out my head. So I wish you good luck. You and I both need it.” He tipped his hat to her and walked off to his chair and book.

 I wish we were back at step one, Karin thought dryly. At least that involved less pain and a better chance of survival. Dodging a little girl’s superhuman punches seemed like a simple enough goal. Now she had no idea what she had to do. She wondered what Mr Urahara had meant about Ichigo being a “special case”. Maybe he needed the beginners level because he was such a hothead. But then again ,Mr Urahara had just described him as ‘smart’.

 Maybe Karin had to be a bit more flexible with her views of Ichigo. Besides he’d kept his Soul Reaper secret for quite a while… and he had somehow managed to survive his training. So I have to be open minded and sharp in this step, she deducted. Learn from others trials’…

 Karin was pulled away from her thoughts by a new pain forming in her chest. She inched her head to look down at herself. See through chains were forming near her heart. Her muscles ran ahead of her mind process and she painfully rolled over to see her body in the corner of the rocky landscape. The chains were becoming less solid near her real body. She looked back and forth with panic. Her sight began to blur, her limbs felt heavy and the pain from the stab wound had gone numb.

 “Looks like it’s happening,” Mr Urahara commented from his chair. “Make sure you find them okay? I’d like to live a couple of decades longer.”

 His voice echoed to behind her eyelids. Her mind fell out of consciousness and death hung in the air, ready to claim it’s next soul.