We're The Same

Prologue

Summary: AU. Ichigo is off to college. However, his life is permanently altered when he meets a certain petite, raven-haired Nekojin named Rukia. IchiRuki

Disclaimer: I own no right to Bleach or Nekojin. Although, I praise the creators as geniuses.

Author Note: A special thanks goes out to my good friend and fellow writer, Vi0letButterfly! This story is dedicated to you for helping to get my work posted for everyone to see! You're the best! XD

"No one's better than anyone else, Ichigo."

Ichigo Kurosaki's mother had told him since he was very young that no matter how different someone else was, it was wrong to judge them for it. A lesson Ichigo would learn to embody after his mother's passing.

Ichigo lived in a world that had difficulty accepting others for what they were. For example, his natural orange hair had earned him more trouble than he'd ever wanted. Fights, ambushes, insults…they were his daily routine.

Despite all this, Ichigo held fast to the lesson his mother had taught him, especially when it came to others. Standing up to thugs and miscreants became a staple for him. His name did after all mean –The One Who Protects.

Ichigo was raised in Karakura Town; a well-sized city that was home to a variety of different people and races.

Among these races were the Nekojin. The only separation between human and Nekojin were, of course; the cat ears and tail, along with many feline habits.

To most of the world, Nekojin were a lower class of beings. Mainly because humans were the dominate species while the Nekojin were slight in number.

To Ichigo…that was bullshit. True, he'd never really met a Nekojin before but he'd certainly heard the rumors: Nekojin were adorable but ruthless, seemingly innocent but corrupt, and certainly not equal to that of humans.

However, Ichigo decided to withhold on judgment until he actually met one. It sickened him that so many people had such horrible things to say about the Nekojin when they didn't really know anything about them. Ichigo could sympathize, he may have been human but his orange locks made him stand out just as much as a pair of feline ears.

Unfortunately, many did not share his views. Prejudice against the Nekojin was well-known but hardly ever spoken off. Nekojin had the same rights as humans in every way but that didn't stop humans from hating them.

This is the world that Ichigo was born into; a world that had little respect for the differences of others. For the most part, it didn't affect him. The high school he graduated from had no Nekojin. So when he moved to Tokyo to attend college it was the culture shock of a lifetime.

Although Tokyo had a reputation of mistreatment of Nekojin, Ichigo was surprised at the number of them he found when he'd arrived.

Even on his college campus he saw them walking around, talking with friends, and generally living life just like any other normal college kid. Although they were few and far between.

It wasn't until this point that Ichigo realized how interesting the Nekojin actually were. And, for better or worse, he was about to head into the thick of it.

To Be Continued…

Welcome Readers! Hope you all are enjoying the exposition. Remember, it's needed.

I will be updating two chapters of this story every week on Wednesday until it is completed. Tune in each week for new materials. This is my first IchiRuki fic and I'm proud of it!

Please Review and Thank You for reading!