Chapter Four: Meetings and Departures

Ichigo found his experience traveling with one Kiyone Kotetsu, hell; for a lack for a better term.

He didn't know what bothered him more, her childish tantrums towards his slow pace or her talking in her sleep. That and the fact that the two of them could not hold a decent conversation without it leading off into a brawl with words; the travel had surely left a lot to be desired.

Ichigo found it amazing that he got any sleep at all on the trip.

"Tell me, Strawberry, do you think you'll be able to get away being this slow when you enter the Soul Reaper Academy? Well guess what? You won't!"

It was a hot afternoon and rather unforgivable. Both of them had run out of Ryo to take the usual methods of transportation. Due mostly to the fact that Kiyone seemed to have a penchant for whatever designer, elbow-length, gloves she could spot in whatever part of the Kichigai district they were in. This led to her being broke and Ichigo having to use everything he had to pay for their lodge stays and for food. Soon, they were left with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

"I mean, if I knew you were going to be thisslow, I would have brought along a Captain to shun-po us-"

"SHUT UP, DAMMIT!" Ichigo shouted, glaring at her with all intensity.

"What?! What did you say to me, rust-head?!" Kiyone shouted back, glaring right back at him while standing on her tip-toes to try to get in his face.

"You heard me, pip-squeak!" Ichigo responded, bending over to be close to her face.

Minutes seemed to waste away as they continued their "glare-off".

"Man, you two are sure loud, aren't you?" Said a voice behind them.

"Well, what do you expect from two who behave so ugly?" Said another.

"WHO ASKED YOU?!" Ichigo and Kiyone shouted in unison as they turned their heads in the direction of the voices.

However, Ichigo's glare turned into a frown as he observed the two figures in front of him. One was bald and his head shimmered in the afternoon's sunlight. He had weird red markings on the corners of his eyes and held a zanpaktou in its sheath on his shoulder. He wore a very predatory-like grin on his face as he seemed to be eyeing Ichigo with interest, as if sizing him up. His partner was even more peculiar as he had weird multi-colored strands or, eyelashes, coming out from the corner of his eye and had a bizarre orange wrist guard attached to a neck-warmer by a strand by the same color.

It was obvious, despite their eccentric appearance, that the two of them were Soul Reapers.

Ichigo looked over both of them oddly before turning to Kiyone for introduction or an explanation for their meeting them. However, it seemed Kiyone was in no mood to explain Ichigo anything as she was openly glaring at the two while visibly, and loudly; grinding her teeth.

"Hey, Ikkaku, haven't we seen this puny girl before?" The colorful-eyebrows guy asked.

Ikkaku chuckled as he approached Ichigo and Kiyone slowly, like a viper slithering through a hedge grove.

"Yeah….I think we have. I think she's part of that sorry excuse for a division, second only to the fourth division, the thirteenth division."

Kiyone growled loudly, her left hand slowly going for the hilt of her own zanpaktou.

"Oh, I remember now. You're right; they are a pretty sad bunch, indeed. Captain's hanging by a thread's breath, their lieutenant killed by a mere hollow; yeah, they're a downright pitiful and ugly division. Truly, they could have been better if only they had been born beautiful." He states as he runs his fingers through his hair, making an effeminate pose.

Ichigo blinked at the pair of them.

"What the hell are you two freaks, anyways? Is the circus in town, or what?" He then turned to Kiyone and gestured with his head in their direction. "Yo, Kotetsu, who are these two bozos?"

Ikkaku turned his head to the person he hadn't really considered as a tick-mark appeared above his head towards the name he had called them. However, this mark disappeared as his face contorted into a confused frown as he observed the person before him. While, despite his hair color, there was nothing particularly remarkable about him, but, on closer observation; Ikkaku could see that the boy was stout, built for strenuous activity and seemed to hold himself as a person whose seen his share of brawls. Also, there was his reiatsu, which surprised Ikkaku as it was so stagnant and overpowering; it amazed him that he failed to detect it when coming into the pairs' vicinity.

Ikkaku looked to his partner, Yumichika, to see if he was feeling the same as himself. A quick nod showed that he did.

"They're nobodies, Kurosaki. Just a couple of hot-headed grunts from the Eleventh Division. Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa." She scowled at them.

Ikkaku chuckled, "Well, that's pretty brave of you to call the best fighting squad of the Gotei's best fighters "hot heads". Other than your captain and your deceased lieutenant, none of you could even come up to par with any of us."

Kiyone snorted. "Whatever, now, if you don't mind, we need to be headed back to the Seireitei." Just as she was making her way to go past them, Ikkaku stepped in front and blocked their path with his sheathed sword.

"Now, now, let's not be hasty." He then turned to Ichigo who was looking confounded as to the look he was being given by Ikkaku.

"You. What's your name?"

Ichigo sighed. "It's Ichigo, Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ikkaku smirked, "Ichigo, huh? I take it that this brat's taking you to the Seireitei to be enlisted into the Soul Reaper Academy, am I right?"

Ichigo nodded in the affirmative.

Ikkaku nodded as well. "Well then, Ichigo, pint-size" he grinned at Kiyone who looked menacingly at him. "You two take care now." With that he nodded to Yumichika and the two of them disappeared in a blur.

Once they had gone, Ichigo sighed as he scratched the back of his head.

"Tell me, are all the Soul Reapers as bizarre as those two clowns are?"

Kiyone sighed. "It varies."

The two of them, then, continued their journey onward and soon reached the western gate to the Seireitei.

Stepping in and on through, Ichigo looked around and marveled at how everything looked on the inside. It was a big understatement on how lavish it was compared to the impoverished look to the rest of the Soul Society on the outside.

Kiyone continued to lead him through various streets, populated by many groups of Soul Reapers.

Ichigo, for the most part, took in every sight and tried cataloguing it for future reference as he knew this place was soon going to be his life and future.

After going through more and more areas, they soon stopped in front of a massive three-storied building that stretched many miles in both directions.

"Well, this is it." Kiyone said. She then dug into he pocket and produced a scroll and handed it to Ichigo. "Here's your letter of introduction as well as your permission to attend by my Captain, Jushiro Ukitake."

Ichigo looked at the scroll in his hand and then nodded to Kiyone.

"Take care, Kurosaki, and good luck." She then made to turn and leave but was stopped by Ichigo's voice.

"Will we ever see each other again?"

Kiyone turned back and looked at Ichigo, his back turned to her, in confusion. She then thought for a moment and then shrugged.

"Can'ty promise anything, Ichigo. Maybe."

Ichigo nodded. "It's just that, it'd be nice to know at least one person here. Not that I need a puny brat like you around me all the time." He turned around and smirked at her.

Kiyone smirked as well. "I think I can live without seeing your rust-colored head all the time. Not to mention your smell."

Ichigo chuckled, "Well then, see you later, Kotetsu Kiyone." He then waived at her before turning and proceeding into the building. Leaving Kiyone watching his retreating figure.

Kiyone stood in silence, watching not only Ichigo but a pale image of the form of her former lieutenant retreating into the building alongside him.

'Why?'

To becontinued…..

A/N: Sorry for the length of this chapter, as well as the mundane events that are in it. This was actually meant to be apart of a larger expantion of the previous chapter. Unfortuately, I wasn't able to have it put in for some odd reason. Oh well, win some, lose some. Please review, regardless.

Q-n-P