Rating: PG-13 for language
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or it's characters. I do not own Dead Like Me or it's plot.
Notes: This is a fist draft, so don't say I didn't warn you. Any advice you can offer would be much appreciated!
And Then You Die
Chapter One
Death By Flowerpot
Chapter One
Death By Flowerpot
The text message was concise, just like the hundreds before it. But this one was different. Rather than just a name, address, and the estimated time of death this one contained a short sentence. It read, “This is your last reap, Kurotsuchi.” Those six little words meant more to him than anything else had in his after-life existence.
Glancing at the address, he was surprised to see the local high school. Was he to be replaced by a child? It didn't matter. Mayuri wouldn't remember his reap as the one who took his place. He'd remember him as his meal ticket to where ever those bright lights one sees as they “pass on” lead to. Then again, it was doubtful he'd remember his existence on Earth after he went to the light. Or would he? Mayuri had never really taken the time to wonder about it before. Now, as he changed into his attire for the day, it was all he could think about. Truth be told, ignorance of what lie ahead made him uneasy. If there was one thing he learned in life, it was that ignorance was pitiful. His life philosophy revolved around the phrase “knowledge is power”.
It doesn't matter, he told himself. I'll find out soon enough.
The simple thought almost reassured him as he walked out the door.
---
Ichigo Kurosaki was never one for romance. He'd never flirted with a girl or asked one on a date. In fact, he never remembered even so much as liking anyone. So when he began reading the love letter he'd found in his English textbook he thought for sure someone was playing a joke on him. Or perhaps the note wasn't for him. Mizuiro, a classmate and friend, was quite the little womanizer. It was much more likely that the note was meant for him, but somehow found it's way to Ichigo. Unfortunately, it wasn't signed, and the writer hadn't addressed her crush by name. Ichigo had no choice but to assume it was for him.
He sighed, irritated. Unlike Keigo, another friend who was constantly and over dramatically talking about the girls at the school, Ichigo had no desire to date. But he couldn't very well stand her up. If he did, not only would she be hurt, but she might pester him in the future. It'd be much simpler to say to her face that he was flattered, but not interested.
He skimmed the note for the location of the meeting place he'd already forgotten. He found it in the last sentence, which read, “Please meet me at the south wall of the main building, under class 2-A's window.”
Moments later the bell rang, and as he stood he stood from his chair Ichigo turned to Mizuiro and said, “I gotta go do something; I'll see you guys on the roof.” Then, without bothering to watch Mizuiro's reaction or hear his reply, Ichigo made his way out of the room.
---
Rukia sat high in the branches of a tall tree, invisible to any passerby. Urahara stood against the side of the trunk one wouldn't see when looking at the tree from a window. A light wind picked up, and she scanned what little she could make out of the school through the thick branches.
“Whats the name of his reap?” she called the the shady fellow below.
“Kurosaki.”
“Oh.” She couldn't help but fell jealous of the man she despised under any other circumstance. This was the last time he'd have to hunt down some stranger in order to take his soul before he died. And now, after watching so many other go before him, Kurotsuchi would get to go into the lights that lead to the real after life, and she would have to watch.
Still, there's a bright side to this, she reminded herself. No more Kurotsuchi.
The thought did cheer her slightly, but no sooner had it entered her mind than she'd forgotten it, for at that moment a boy with orange hair and a scowl plastered on his face walked around the corner, glancing over his shoulder for an instant as he did, his features wary. Surely that was Kurotsuchi's replacement, because there wasn't anyone else around. He seemed to be looking for someone, and didn't notice that right as he walked under one of the classroom windows a freshman on the third floor leaned against the wall, bumping into the flowerpot behind her and knocking it out the open window. She didn't even have time to tell him lookout; by the time she turned around and looked out the window he'd already been hit. Rukia winced from her perch at he went down. The pot hit the crown of his head, killing him instantly.
Bullseye.
She lowered herself from the tree gingerly until she was close enough to the ground to jump. When she looked up from the ground she saw a bright light from around the corner the Kurosaki boy had turned from. Curious as she was to see what would be Kurotsuchi's guide to the after life, she didn't bother going to check. It was probably just some sort of lab; the man was a scientist, after all.
Instead she leaned up against the trunk as Urahara went to talk to the very confused soul.
