Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns Bleach. I don't! (Though if I did, Hisagi-sama would be MINE! XD)

Chapter 1: Konso for a Dead Strawberry

The orange-haired man sighed, staring out across the river at the deep crimson sky. He was currently seated on the bank of the river by which his mother had died. As he looked at the vibrant sunset, Ichigo's thoughts wandered back along the years to his mother's death, the catalyst for everything that had occurred in the past four years.

It was because of his mother's death that made him strive for the power to protect, to battle against unfair odds, and save those that were his friends and family. It was for his mother that he accepted Rukia's power and became a Shinigami, and he didn't regret that decision one bit.

Now four years later, Ichigo was nineteen and ready to start college. Though between becoming a Shinigami—not once, but twice, saving Rukia and Orihime, making a truce with his inner hollow, and fighting Aizen, college was going to be a breeze.

Getting up, Ichigo turned away from the river and the slowly darkening sky, heading in the general direction of his home. Lost in thought, he failed to see the incoming car until its brakes squealed loudly against the pavement of the street.

Ichigo's head shot up and his eyes widened as he saw the wildly careening car head directly toward him. His last thought before the car slammed headlong into him was 'Shit!' Then the car made contact with his body, and Ichigo flew across the street to crash into the pavement before everything went blissfully dark.

A few minutes later, when he came to, Ichigo discovered he was in his soul reaper form. He looked around and found his mangled, bloody, dead body lying crushed halfway under the car, with blood forming a dark pool around it.

Ichigo walked over to the car and bent down to drag his dead body out from under it. After hauling it to a nearby lamp post, he walked over to the car and promptly smashed the driver's window. Looking in, Ichigo saw an unconscious man with scruffy brown hair and an unshaven face smelling strongly of alcohol snoring against the wheel. "Figures," scoffed Ichigo, "Of all the possible deaths I could have had, I just had to be killed in a car crash, by a drunk driver no less."

Fuming, Ichigo hoisted his dead body over his shoulder and headed for the Urahara Shoten using shunpo. When he arrived, he noticed the lights were on and there were people arguing inside, the most discernable one being Renji.

Smirking, Ichigo lowered his body by the steps and walked into the small candy shop without knocking. He looked around the empty room, before seeing the door of an adjoining room ajar. Ichigo walked into the room and saw Renji, Rukia, Yoruichi and Urahara sitting together at a low table, drinking tea and discussing (or yelling in Renji's case) a subject unknown to him.

As soon as he entered the room, all heads swiveled in his direction. "Good evening, Kurosaki-san!" said Urahara in his sing-song voice, while whipping out his infamous fan and waving it around.

Ichigo felt a vein start throbbing in his forehead and sighed, rolling his eyes at the annoying shop-keeper. Then he let the proverbial bomb drop—"I'm dead," Ichigo stated simply.

Four pairs of eyes widened at the same time in shock, while four jaws dropped open in surprise.

Suddenly Renji shouted out with a wide smirk on his face. "So...how did the great Kurosaki Ichigo, hero of the Arrancar War, die?" "Please don't omit the details, Kurosaki-san!" added Urahara, while hiding behind his well-known fan.

Ichigo growled in annoyance and slight embarrassment. Taking a deep breath, Ichigo expelled it out all at once muttering, "."

"What's that Strawberry?" asked Rukia in her falsely sweet school voice. Ichigo scowled darkly, shot Rukia a death glare which she ignored and muttered very quickly, "I was killed in a car crash by a drunk driver." Following this statement, he glared around the room daring anyone to make a noise.

As soon as Renji's brain comprehended Ichigo's cause of death, he fell over laughing and started mocking Ichigo, who promptly hauled Renji up by the collar and slugged him in the face which then led to a fierce fist fight.

Rukia sighed at this all too familiar scene and set to breaking the two arguing Shinigamis up. Meanwhile, in the background Yoruichi was whispering excitedly to Urahara, who occasionally whispered back and nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, Yoruichi looked at Ichigo slyly. "Time for you to show us what happened!" she exclaimed. The dark-skinned women leapt up and quickly shoved Ichigo outside despite his protests, yelling after him, "Bring your body inside!" Then the feline-like woman turned to her partners-in-crime and said, "So, this is the plan..." and quietly whispered her idea.

Meanwhile Ichigo staggered out the front door and tripped over the top step and his feet, crashing to a halt next to his dead body. "Ugh," groaned Ichigo, while slowly getting up. "Why does the world hate me?" he asked to the night sky. Sighing, (again) he dragged his prone body up the steps and into the now deserted shop.

"Wait, deserted?" wondered Ichigo as he let his body fall to the floor with a dull thud. Hearing a slight shuffling sound, Ichigo looked up to see the glowing hilt of a Zanpakuto strike his forehead. The last thing he heard before slipping into a blackness as dark as Hueco Mundo's night sky was Urahara's carefree voice calling, "Bye-bye, Kurosaki-san! (insert heart here)"

A/N: You like? Please review; comments and critics are welcome! Hope I didn't make anyone too OOC...