Strange World

Ichigo Kurosaki was a curious boy, if one could even call him that. With his iconic orange hair and his strange ragtag group of friends that never seemed to fit in anywhere but with each other. With the way he seemed to float in his own mind during class or how he would suddenly stand and rush out of the classroom. Ichigo Kurosaki was a boy with a secret. A boy living in a hidden world invisible to most, but nevertheless there.

And she was part of that world. Sometimes watching, saddened blue eyes staring into that classroom window looking for a glimpse of that strange, strange boy.

It was probably because she knew he could see them. That he could help the lost and wondering souls. And maybe just perhaps because he reminded her of herself, living a double life which seemed so much more exhilarating. Because when he was a Shinigami, he was so sure of himself and the fact that he was making a difference. He was a different person, powerful and resolute.

And for some reason, the Kami had decided to make their paths collide.

It had happened some time ago, although how long ago she no longer knew. Time had become obsolete to her, it came and it went but she remained unchanging. She could neither pass on nor live in the world of the living. She was a ghost, watching the everyday lives of normal people and waiting. Waiting for what seemed like an eternity.

And then one day, he appeared. From the masses of dark, clichéd people emerged this bright and lively young man. She saw him at a park, saving a child from a hollow.

Now, she had seen Shinigami before, yet none quite like this one. None that were alive. Perhaps they were opposites then. Him pretending to belong to the dead as she pretended to belong to the living. It was a bitter irony, but it perked her interest in this seemingly average high school student. And how wrong she was. He was nothing average.

Kagome Higurashi had died five hundred years ago. Although, it wasn't in the final battle against Naraku. No, it was to an illness that spread through the village. After defeating one of the most powerful half-demons and saving the world from his destruction, the Shikon Miko was bested by a simple human illness.

A sickness which had seemingly spread through half of the village overnight and which she and Kaede tried so hard to remedy without success. Day and night, she had worked healing the sick and weak only to end up one of them. Her powers drained and her body tired, she succumbed to the warmth of death. Or so she had thought.

Instead if nothingness, she found that she became a wandering soul. Watching the lives of her past friends, watching them mourn her and move on. Seeing the development of Japan to the technological hub it became and walking through centuries of history. Through the battle and wars, she watched the strongest of men shape the country.

She watched the development of the Shinigami. As their numbers grew to fight the ever present hollows of souls so much like her own. She saw them grow into the power they are today. Yet, after so long wandering, she did not know anything else. She felt she could not go to the Shinigami realm, and so she stayed here, hidden from Shinigami under their radar. Waiting for the day five hundred years in the future where she may glance her family once more. Where she could say farewell once and for all.

And then, a hundred years ago she met a girl who could see her. She kept Kagome company sometimes, listened to her stories and her tales. The little girl soaked in the knowledge that Kagome passed on, her own eager pupil. But she, like the rest of them, grew old and passed. This girl retaught Kagome what it felt to be so lonely. She had become sufficient at being alone, yet with this brief friendship, there was a whole new emptiness.

And with this emptiness, Kagome had found Ichigo. She had never more than glimpsed at him, but somehow it was enough. Hidden in the shadows she knew so well, she would see him sometimes. Running errands, going to school, hanging out with friends, slaying hollows. And she longed to talk to someone again. But she would not be sent to the Shinigami realm, it was not time yet.

Ichigo had felt weird for a while. It had started as a brief feeling of a presence that would come and go, elusive enough to make him question if he had even felt it at all. But it was there, quiet and heavy, a sadness that was unmistakable. He felt it more sometimes, but then it would be gone. Sometimes he thought he was crazy in general for even thinking someone was there. Until she slipped up once and he caught a look at her, if only for a brief second before she was gone again.

He saw her long black hair, her petite frame and her piercing blue eyes. And he knew she needed to pass on. So he waited until he felt her presence again.

It happened at night, after he had woken to hunt down a hollow running around the streets. After slicing the mask in two, he waited under the street light, gathering his breath before he did it. He called her out.

"Hey! I know you're there. Why don't you just come out?" He said, voice raised. From the amount of time he knew she had been following him, he was surprised she hadn't turned into a hollow already. He needed to send her to Soul Society before it was too late. "Don't be afraid, okay? I just want to help."

Kagome felt her breath catch. She felt her dead heart pump to an inaudible beat, felt the blood rush through her veins, pulsing faster and faster. He knew she was there. He knew. Frozen in place, panic spread, pouring from every pore of her body in thick waves. She couldn't get caught, she would not go to soul society. Not yet.

And then it was as if her body had made a decision before her mind had come to it. Her feet picked themselves up and her legs moved as she ran. Ran slowly before she knew what she was doing. Ran until she picked up her pace and her footsteps changed from a light echo on the street to hard, heavy steps that propelled her body forward, always forward.

She didn't know where she was running, just away from him, the orange-haired Shinigami that had captured her interest so. And she kept on running, not feeling the burning in her lungs and aches in her legs. Then again, she was dead anyway. Could she even feel? Was her heartbeat imagined? Was it a phantom reaction?

The pounding of her feet on the ground. Was that real? Was the flush in her cheeks a phantom of what once was when she was alive? And yet she kept on running. Through buildings, through people, and she knew she was dead. She could run forever if she wanted. She did not have a body to exhaust.

But as the night sky began to fade into the bright, cheery colors of sunrise, she showed. She stopped. She breathed. She needed to stay away from Ichigo Kurosaki, curiosity and loneliness be damned. She would keep her distance.

'Damn' he thought. Ichigo had pursued the wandering soul until a hollow reared its ugly, masked head and side-tracked him. Now he wouldn't be able to find her. 'Why is she always hanging around me anyway if she is just going to run?'

Aware that the sky was turning bright and he needed to get back to his body, Ichigo left with a sigh. He would need to find that girl soon before she turned hollow.

It was a week and a half until Ichigo felt even a hint of her presence, and it was quite by accident. He had been walking in the south end of town, when a light spiritual presence washed over him. But it was very much the same presence, the same spiritual feeling he got from her. And while it felt less gloomy and more present then he had ever felt before, it was undeniable that she was around somewhere.

Following the feeling to the best of his ability, he found the source to be much further than he expected. It was most concentrated around a shrine. 'That's odd' he thought, but he continued anyway, casually strolling up the numerous steps.

At the top, he found the source. She was sweeping, unaware of his presence. From what he could see of her, she looked just like his spirit stalker. Felt the same, even.

He needed to see her face. If she had those strange blue eyes, he would know it was her. Clearing his throat, he caught the oblivious girl's attention. She turned to look at the newcomer and their eyes connected. Hers were electric blue, bright as any he'd ever seen like pools of clear ocean water. And they were the eyes of his wandering soul.

Except, this girl was most definitely alive.

With a cheery smile, the very alive girl greeted him. "Good afternoon, sir. How may I help you?"

She didn't know him. Odd. It was as if it was a completely different person, this one bubbly and bright, not the gloomy weight of her spiritual counterpart. "Ahem, I—uh well I happened on your shrine by accident. Where exactly am I?" He asked, waiting to gauge her reaction.

"Oh, this the Higurashi shrine, but I'm afraid we don't have tours today. Although I can certainly show you around, if you'd like," she offered, polite as ever and so very much not what he was expecting to find when he followed the presence.

"Uh, well, uh no that's okay. I'll come back another time. I don't want to bother you," he replied, feeling awkwardly unprepared for this encounter. Chasing down a soul he was completely ready for, but interacting with this very much alive version of the soul he thought he would have to chase, not so much. "Uh, thanks, though," he needed to get out of here and figure out what was happening.

"Yes, no problem," she smiled before returning to her work cleaning. Ichigo turned and started to walk away before pausing.

"By the way, I'm Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki," he mentioned over his shoulder, fishing for a name.

She looked up pleasantly. "Nice to meet you, Kurosaki-san. I'm Kagome Higurashi."

He nodded in acknowledgment before continuing to walk away.

The last thing he heard before he was out of range was a chirpy "Have a good day and please come again."

Note: The Higurashi shrine is located in Karuakura Town for the purposes of this story.