1 Ichiro I - The Boy That Saw Ghosts

Ichiro was around 10 years old the first time he saw a Hollow.

It looked like something out of a movie, a grotesque distortion of its former self. The spider hollow had stood 11 and a half feet tall, towering over his measly 4 foot frame. Ichiro couldn't believe none of the bystanders had noticed the human-faced spider hanging from the side of a building, but everyone just laughed when he pointed towards it.

It wasn't long before he watched that very same hollow eat a man's soul right in front of him

It was truly terrifying, the first time Ichiro had truly felt the fear of death prevalent in humankind.

The hollow had swung a claw in his direction, inches separated his claw from Ichiro's neck. He avoided spirits and hollows ever since, trying his best to pretend like they weren't there.

2 years after, and Ichiro was doing his best to avoid a frying pan swung by a very cross matron.

"Why would you choose today of all days to sleep in, boy? It's the first day of junior high for fuck's sake!". Ichiro blanched at the scathing words, lifting his shoulders in an unconvincing shrug.

The matron sighed in disappointment. "Please just get dressed in your nicest clothing and get downstairs, I am going to have to drive you because you missed the bus".

She shook her head and left Ichiro's room, leaving him to get ready by himself. Ichiro yawned and tried to force himself out of bed, only to slam his head into the top bunk.

"Ugh...". He fell back down, rubbing his forehead in silent agony. Rustling was heard above him, and an older kid with dark brown hair and a lanky disposition hung himself upside down from the top bunk, looking at Ichiro with tired eyes.

"Could you keep it down? I'm trying to sleep here". The tired kid hoisted himself back onto his bunk and fell onto it with a thud.

"Just cause you have school doesn't mean you have to wake us up with you, I've got to enjoy sleeping in while I can" he added.

Ichiro stealthily flipped him the bird and rolled out of his bed and collapsing on the floor. He slowly pushed himself to his feet and stumbled towards the closet and fumbled around with the buttons on one of the orphanages old school uniforms consisting of a collared white undershirt and a grey vest.

After a few minutes, Ichiro was finally awake enough to put his socks on properly and start down the stairs.

'Oh, I forgot' Ichiro turned back and creaked open the door and snuck in right next to the dark brown haired boy's bunk.

"Wake the fuck up, Haruto!". Ichiro ran out of the room and down the stairs, avoiding Haruto's wrath.

The bottom floor of the orphanage was a bare space, with a few tables and chairs for the kids and a kitchen in the back along with a bathroom. Ichiro scanned the room for his ride to school only to be met with a breakfast bar to the face, courtesy of the orphanages matron.

"Outside. Now." The matron grumbled out.

Ichiro gave her a nervous glance before slipping into his shoes and flying out of the door, intent on not angering her further. The matron may have been old, but time hadn't made her any less menacing.

Ichiro slid in the backseat of the matron's Honda Civic, not wanting to risk sitting next to her while she was in a bad mood. The drive was silent, providing plenty of time for Ichiro to theorize about junior high.

'Clubs, parties and freedom?' Ichiro nodded to himself in satisfaction and leaned back in his seat, eagerly awaiting his arrival.

Out of his left eye, the school came into view. It was about as boring as one would expect, two stories and 3 separate rectangular buildings, all the same size and shape.

He hopped out of the Honda, planting his feet on the pavement and letting out a yawn.

'Who thought it was a good idea to have school start at 7:40 AM?'

'An asshat, that's who'.

There weren't too many kids walking in, but that was likely because he was 10 minutes late to his first class.

The inside of the school was plain, with shiny tile floors and lockers lining the hallways. Taking his pack to his locker wouldn't be worth it, so he left it on as he walked into his first class, Geometry.

Ichiro was ahead a year in math, and had the chance to go ahead 2 years but chose not to because he didn't want to be the only underclassmen in the class. He had an affinity for the planning and execution involved with more complex math problems, and thought it was actually pretty fun.

The teacher turned to look at him as he entered the class, and he could feel the eyes of his classmates drift onto him. The teacher gave him an amused look and pointed towards an empty chair.

"Are you going to just stand there?" A few chuckles broke out, but Ichiro just walked to his desk, ignoring the jab. His school was co-ed, so there was an assortment of boys and girls in the class with him.

A window on the side of the room gave a nice view towards downtown, with the few skyscrapers present in Karakura town on full display for the students to look at.

The teacher was introducing himself and the class, no doubt making horrible jokes as well. But Ichiro couldn't even pay attention, not because he was a bad student or incapable of it, but because of the crushing pressure that descended upon the town.

Something was off. Wayyy the fuck off.

A beam of light shot up from the ground, tearing a hole in to the sky. The pressure returned twofold, and Ichiro was shaking in fear and anticipation. A face peeked out, a large, ugly skeletal face peeked out from the hole in the FUCKING SKY.

Hollow. A massive one.

But it wasn't the source of the pressure, a smaller hollow whose outline could barely be made out from his spot at the window was the clear source of the pressure he felt.

"Are you daydreaming already, kid?" The teacher teased. Ichiro pushed up out of his seat, and walked towards the door.

'Fuck, Fuck, FUCK' Ichiro raved. There just wasn't enough time left to plan and strategize.

The intent was hostile, and the power was great enough to level the city if the monster wasn't distracted.

"Wait.. I'm sorry kid, I didn't mean to make you mad" The teacher said, even sounding sincere in his misguided apology.

"I've got to go, not your fault".

With that, Ichiro turned the corner in a full sprint, running as if it wasn't towards the thing he feared so.