Ichigo yawned and stretched as he woke, taking a moment to simply borrow down in the comfortable warmth surrounding him. The pillow and comforter was so fluffy and smelled nice enough that for a moment he was about to go back to sleep. 'Better than normal.' He thought and then he tried to figure out why.

Hastily sitting up Ichigo stared at the wall opposite him. That was definitely not his wall, and he was definitely not in his own bed. It was to comfy and not so short that his feet were hanging out as it should have been. The memories from yesterday was a bit fuzzy still, but it was clearing as Ichigo drew up his knees and rested his head in his hands. 'Right, I was at the riverbank again… and then Harry found me.' Ichigo was caught up thinking about the night before but after a few moments he felt something moving to settle by his hip. Looking down he saw a ball of fluffy fur. 'A… cat?' Fukurō if Ichigo remembered correctly, he watched as the animal buried further into its ball-like state. Slowly Ichigo stretched out a finger to stroke soft fur and as the cat shifted into the touch and began purring a small crocked smile found its way to Ichigo's lips as he lost himself in thought.

After a time, a minute or several Ichigo couldn't tell, the cat uncurled a bit and rolled onto its back before stretching and getting up. Observing the cat move around for a moment Ichigo slowly stretched out a hand to it. It stilled and cautiously sniffed his fingers, then nudged his fingers and pushed into his hand as if asking for mote petting.

Giving in Ichigo did as bid and even scratch it under its chin. Then it moved away stretching once more before jumping down from the bed, making nary a sound, and looking back at him before leaving through the slightly ajar door.

Stretching a little himself, Ichigo got up from the bed, shivering a little as he reluctantly left the comfortable heat behind. Almost stumbling Ichigo looked down and blushed. He was fully dressed, true, but not in his own clothes.

He had on a pair of dark gray loose-fitting pants and a soft blue colored t-shirt too large for his frame. Looking around Ichigo couldn't find his own clothes, but he found a pair of soft slippers – a number or so too big, but still better than walking around barefoot. Deeming himself dressed enough to make his way out of here Ichigo walked to the door. Pushing it open further on silent hinges and sticking his head out to observe the hallway outside the room.

The hallway wasn't all that big. In one end there were a staircase as in the other end there was what looked like the doors to another bedroom and opposite it another room with the door closed. The bedroom door was open about halfway as if the occupant hadn't bothered to close it fully. The corridor had four doors in total. One Ichigo now closed behind himself and two in the end to his right. Passing the fourth door, the one to his left, Ichigo walked down the stairs.

Memories from last night leading him, Ichigo soon located the kitchen and a heavenly scent made itself known. Pausing in the doorway he saw the man from last night, Harry, standing by the stove. In an uncommon bout of uncertainty Ichigo hesitated, not sure if he wanted to let the man continue or if he wanted to try leaving before getting noticed… but he didn't know where his own clothes were… and he didn't really know where he was or how to get home either.

Letting out a small sigh Ichigo squared his shoulders and prepared to face the inevitable. Raising a hand he knocked thrice on the doorframe, causing the man to turn. Upon seeing Ichigo he smiled.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah. Um, thank you for letting me stay, but…"

"But nothing. I was happy to let you. Now breakfast is ready and I think your clothes should be dry as well."

Gingerly Ichigo sat down at the table already laden with food. Feeling a bit like a child as he was served breakfast in clothing too large for his frame. Harry was doing something at the counter and humming something under his breath as he handled a knife with skilled hands. Uncomfortably Ichigo served himself some cereal and milk, jolting when something touched his leg.

Looking down black fur greeted him and a purr was elected as his hand stroked the cat.

"She's asking for milk." The offhand comment threw Ichigo for a bit as he stilled and looked at his host.

"Sorry?" The man turned with a somewhat amused expression.

"Milk. She's a glutton for it so she won't stop bothering people for it until someone gives in." a fond smile made its way to Harry's face. "She really doesn't give up on anything." Despite his words however the young man had already collected a small bowl. Filling it with milk he then proceeded to place it on the ground where the cat pounced on it at once.

"Try some bread? I made it not too long ago so it should still be warm." With another small friendly smile to Ichigo Harry turned and continued working at the counter. Glad for the man letting Ichigo gather his bearings, Ichigo reached for the bread and prepared himself a slice. Buttering the slice Ichigo hesitated momentarily, the chided himself. If the man, Harry had wanted to harm him he would have already done so, he could have drugged Ichigo last night and he would have been to out of it to notice.

The bread tasted divine, nuts and raisins were baked into the fluffy white mass and the warmth left from the oven had caused the butter to melt ever so slightly. Letting out a hum of approval Ichigo opened his eyes. Continuing to eat Ichigo was soon joined at the table by his host who struck up a pleasant conversation, drawing the last of the tension from Ichigo's frame.

"By the way, do you have anything you need to do today?" Ichigo looked up in askance from the cat that was purring under his scratching fingers. "It's Wednesday," Harry clarified. "do you have school or work or something?"

'School. Shit.' Ichigo threw himself out of the chair, panic making his movements clumsier than normal. 'Dad's going to kill me. Karin is going to kill me. Fuck! Everyone's probably losing their minds now.'

"Calm down Ichigo-san, I've got a car. We can get your things and be on the way in no-time. Go brush your teeth and I'll get your clothes. There's an unused toothbrush on the shelf in the bathroom across the room you slept in. Ok?" Ichigo nodded and scrambled up the stairs and soon he was ready to go. The two of them walked out and Harry locked the door before showing Ichigo to a sleep black car.

Arriving at the Kurosaki clinic Ichigo burst into the house, his dad Isshin came through the door from the clinic, stopping in the middle of the hallway. Upon seeing Ichigo the man tried to ask him where he had been. Tried being the operate word.

"Ichigo! Where have you…" And that was as far as he got as he was interrupted by Ichigo kicking him out of the way.

"No time old man, I'm late." Grabbing his bag from his room Ichigo paused to see if there was anything else he needed. Deciding that there wasn't he ran down the stairs, Isshin trying to grab on to Ichigo only to be flung over the others shoulder. Martial arts really were useful sometimes.

Leaving the house again, internal clock saying it had only taken a few minutes, Ichigo entered he car again. Sinking into the seat.

"So where to now?" Harry asked with a smile, looking out the window Ichigo tried to keep his blush at bay.

"Karakura high. Um, please." He added sheepishly.

"Will do Ichigo-san." The smile might have widened just a millimeter in humor, but that could have been Ichigo's own imagination. Embarrassed Ichigo turned his gaze out the window, watching as the world outside rushed passed in a blur of colors.

Suddenly music began pouring in the car and Ichigo couldn't help his surprised flinch. Glancing back at the man driving Ichigo met green eyes for a moment before looking away again.

"Sorry. Should probably have asked." The man's smile had turned a bit rueful as he continued to concentrate on the road. "It's a habit of mine to listen to music while driving, if you dislike it I can turn it off or we could listen to something else. Afraid we will have to resort to the radio then however as all the CD's you'll find in this car is somewhat similar." Ichigo cast his gaze to the radio, still embarrassed.

"No. Don't. I… I suppose I just wasn't expecting it, but I don't mind." The music was surprisingly good, electric guitar and drums included. There was something about the beat of the song making it surprisingly catchy and Ichigo found that he hadn't lied when he said he didn't mind.

"What band is it, I'm not familiar with it, but…?" Ichigo trailed of, suddenly feeling much younger.

"They're called Ora Noctis which I think is supposed to mean edge of night, the song itself is called Pater Fortuna. It's supposed to portray the the story of a man falling in love with the Lady of luck and eventually manages to woo her, giving up his mortality to aid and stay with her."

"You know the language?" 'Who knew Latin nowadays?' Harry nodded, eyes still on the road.

"Enough to get by, not all of their stories are in Latin, they use Italian, Japanese and Dutch as well. They are actually going to have a show in town in two months and I've decided to go." The man cast a look at Ichigo before letting it sweep back to the road. "Got no one to go with though. Anyways, it looks like we're here." Ichigo cast a look out the window, and to his surprise he saw that the man was right. Unbuckling his belt Ichigo was just about to get out when a piece of paper was extended to him.

"My number and address, if you ever need someone to talk to." Accepting the note Ichigo nodded, unsure about it but taking it anyway.

"Thanks."

"No problem." And the man sent Ichigo a last smile before leaving, Ichigo who didn't know what to think looked on until the car disappeared in the morning traffic. Then he shouldered his bag and entered the school.

"Kurosaki! You're late!" Ichida's attention snapped to the door at the teacher's exclamation, the head of strawberry-blond hair ducking down for a moment as the boy apologized. Ichida had a hard time keeping his expression from showing his relief that the idiot was ok. The others weren't as good at it or just didn't bother to hide the way they calmed down once Kurosaki entered the room. Taking in the small change in the other boy's eyes and posture Ichida refocused on the teacher. He? Worried? Never. 'At least the idiot relaxed from whatever he did.'

Ichigo arrived to class about two hours late, the teacher obviously didn't like that, yet as she was in the middle of a lecture couldn't do anything about it. Dropping down in his seat he nodded to Chad and ignored Tatsuki as she glared holes into his back, the day would be a long one full of explanations and "concerned friends", if he could still call them friends that is. They didn't tell him if they got hurt, didn't ask what he thought as if his only point in hanging around them had been his strength. He wasn't dumb! Yes! He understood that they didn't want to "bother" him, as they had said. But he didn't think that broken arms fell under the category "bother".

The lesson was a fairly boring one, and as Ichigo had been late it was soon over. There was a ten minute respite between it and the next class that Ichigo didn't look forward to. The moment class let out he would be accosted by his "friends" who would want to know where he had been. Still thought class dragged on and Ichigo tried to focus on the material instead of what would happen no matter what he did.

Still half an hour is only half an hour, meaning it would pass sooner or later without care whether you counted the seconds or not. So the bell rung, and as most of the class left the classroom Ichigo was left with Ichida, Orihime and Chad.

"Ano, Kurosaki-kun, why were you late this morning?" Orihime asked once it became obvious that none of the others would ask. Gathering his things Ichigo answered her.

"I slept in, my alarm didn't wake me." He looked up. 'It's not a lie, I wasn't home so it couldn't wake me.' "Why?" Orihime wavered momentarily as he looked at her.

"I. eto. I suppose I got worried." Her face lit up in a light blush even as she fumbled with her hands. Ichigo shook his head and exchanged a look with Chad.

"No need for that, I can take care of myself you know."

"But Kurosaki-kun! What if a hollow had…" She looked away guiltily and Ichigo forced a smile to his face.

"Yeah. But they wouldn't have a reason to come after me." 'Not anymore' But he didn't add the last bit, Orihime already seemed to regret bringing up the subject. "Now come on, we need to get to class." He turned away before she had a chance of turning the subject around again. Then he asked about her thought on the last lesson, keeping attention on that instead. However as he sat down he saw her shake her head at the others in answer to some unasked question. Ishida nodded sharply, seems Ichigo knew who was going to ask questions next. 'This is going to be a long day.' He thought, before focusing on the teacher. Lunch was going to be hell, Ichigo just knew it.

Throwing his bag into a corner of his room Ichigo planted his face into the pillow. The day had been one long line of inquisitions. He had given the same answer over and over and still no one seemed to believe him. 'Is it really that hard to believe someone overslept?' But maybe it was because they were teenagers and wanted something more interesting to happen.

Sometimes Ichigo felt like he didn't fit in anymore. As if his friends were much younger, before the war against Aizen it hadn't been so bad yet nowadays it was so much more palpable.

Losing his mother had forced him to grow up a bit and fighting in the war had made it worse. Yeah, that far he had still had Ichida, Orihime and Chad. Then he had lost his powers and even those had begun keeping him at a distance. 'Why?' he asked himself. It wasn't as if he was defense less, it wasn't as if keeping him away made him happier. Sure he might me safer, and even that was questionable, but he sure as hell didn't prefer it.

He could have stayed out of the way when Rukia was taken back to Soul-society, he could have stayed out of the fighting in Las Notches. Fuck, he could have ditched before the fight with Aizen and the others probably wouldn't even have blamed him. It had never been about keeping safe, it had been about saving people he found important and making sure none of them died. The worst part was that he would still do it all over again to see them safe. Even if they continued to shut him out, even if it hurt to be cast aside as soon as his usefulness was worn out. 'Damn it.' Ichigo threw an arm over his eyes.

Restless he lay there for a few moments before the energy buzzing in his body forced him up again. Looking helplessly around his room Ichigo found he didn't have anything to do. Well, not exactly, he had things to do. Like homework, games or comics to read, but nothing to get rid of the excess energy. Looking out the window Ichigo shook his head. Leaving his room and putting on his shoes in the hall Ichigo called out to no one in particular.

"I'm going out!"

"Where are you going, onii-san?" Yuzu stuck her head out from the kitchen, ladle in hand and some sort of powder on her sleeves. Flour, if he had to take a guess.

"Just for a walk."

"Mm. Just be home in time for dinner!" Playfully she directed her ladle at him as if it was a weapon her eyes full of mirth. Giving a huff of laughter he nodded and headed out.

Walking down the street Ichigo still felt bitter. It was better than being home with nothing but his thoughts, yet it was worse as well. Ichigo had always been the kind of person who thought better if he did something practical. Perhaps that was why he had been such a good fighter…

'Damn it! Just a god damn explanation would help.' Wandering without a purpose Ichigo tried to get rid of the thoughts, after all, if they didn't want him around or even know what was going on he wasn't going to let thoughts of them ruin his day.

'Yeah, and why don't you pick down the moon and a few stars while you're at it?' For even if he did his best to ignore them they still insisted on knowing everything he did. 'Like today! What right do they have to interrogate me like that?!' Frankly it was pissing him of. It wasn't even the first time something like this happened, it hadn't been quite this bad before. Yet that didn't make him hopeful for the future, if it got worse than this he was going to end up hitting something!

A soft bump to his leg brought him out of his frustrated thoughts. Looking down he saw a cat pawing at his leg. A familiar cat.

"Fukurō?" The cat meowed and turned to walk a few steps before pausing and looking back at him. Bemused, and admittedly a bit curious, Ichigo began following. A few moments later he found himself in front of a door where the cat sat down and began licking a paw. Shaking his head Ichigo turned to leave only for the cat to end up in front of him, rubbing against his legs again. Shaking his head again, this time at the cat's behavior Ichigo crouched down to scratch its chin.

"Really, cat? What did you want me to come here for? Not that I'm doing anything important, but you shouldn't start leading random people around town. That's a bad habit you know." Talking to the animal for a bit, just rambling and continuing the petting session felt good. Normal. Somehow it felt like something he had missed, which was stupid, because Ichigo had never once in his life owned a cat. Nor had any of his friends for that matter. Moments passed and he could feel himself relaxing.

"Ichigo?" A voice suddenly asked from behind him. Startled Ichigo froze, making the cat let out a meow of displeasure and push its head into his hand to make him continue. Ignoring the cat however Ichigo turned around to see the man from yesterday and this morning standing there.

"Harry?"

An: So there's a second chapter. Nice! The wait is real thought. T.T I have some major problems getting into the mindset for this story, so don't expect the rate of updates to go up. Then again I do have some ideas for future chapters in store so they shouldn't be too hard writing down.

On another note: What is up with the manga?! Things are going a little far with the most recent plot-twists. Don't know if I love it or hate it. So question: would you like me to try including something from soul society as it is now, post-Aizen? Would probably be from Renji's or Rukia's point of view.

Anyway, as always: tell me what you think and I'll try updating when I have another chapter ready.

-DominaNocte

2015-12-02 03:25