Bleach, Fruits Basket 1. Chapter 1

Brand spakin new story folks. I have had this chapter done for a while when I suddenly wanted to read Bleach/Fruits Basket crossovers and got an idea for my own story. I got the specific idea from reading Anna Mae 2243's story Orange so there might be a few similarities but not many. My brain took an idea I had while reading Orange and ran off with it at full speed.

I will say this now, THIS WILL BE SLASH so if you don't like that kind of stuff don't bother reading. I hate flamers most of all and I put it in the summary so you know what you're getting into. This will be Ichigo/Kyo because of the simple reason that I CAN. My story, my pairings.

This story will hopefully be written along the Fruits Basket time line, though it's been years since I read Fruits Basket and I might need to go back and recap. I might jump around the story line and skim over certain events to make the time pass better. I'm going to go over every single little event in the manga because it's tedious and I don't have to. And like you can see in the first paragraph this is set after the Fullbringer arc in the Bleach timeline, so none of the new stuff.

Since this will be Ichigo/Kyo there will be no Kyo/Tohru except for maybe some friendship, and Ichigo/Tohru friendship as well.

I plan on keeping mostly to the regular storyline until I hit a certain point, during which I'll start making changes and you'll understand where the title comes from. Not giving out any spoilers yet, though you can PM me or review if you think you know what I have planned.

Let's get this started then, I don't own Bleach or Fruits Basket! Heck I didn't find Fruits Basket till I was in 6th grade so there's no way that could happen and I found Bleach several years after that.

Enjoy!

* * *

Ichigo sighed as he stood from unpacking the last box in his new room. He looked around his bedroom with a tired sigh, liking the new arrangement of dark stained furniture on the freshly painted black and red walls.

Isshin had decided to move their family after the Fullbringer incident, saying it was too dangerous in Karakura and he didn't want his daughters exposed to so much danger. So they moved to a town many miles away and Isshin enrolled his three children in the local high and junior high schools. They had moved in on a Friday, causing the Kurosaki children to miss school, so that they could have enough time to unpack and get their bearings before the next week would begin. Isshin got a job at the local hospital, which he complained was too far away, even if it was only a half hour or so by car.

Ichigo had been officially assigned as the resident shinigami at the new town, called District 56, by the Soutaicho but told that they would be in contact if there were any more problems like Aizen. He had been told that there had been reports of humans with odd energy signatures, not reiatsu, but some other force, centered in a housing compound in a reserved area of town. He had strongly refused when Kurotsuchi requested for him bringing one of these individuals to Sereitei for him to 'study', and was supported by the majority of the captains. He was looking forward to being in the new town because of its much lower reishi environment, which meant less Hollows. Apparently the ones in the area were less dangerous so he would be able to get away with leaving them alone until he had a break at school.

He didn't like leaving his home of sixteen years and all his friends, but couldn't deny his father's argument. Karakura really was too dangerous for Karin and Yuzu and he didn't want them in harm's way, there had been too many close calls before. He was sure this town was going to be better.

He left his room and closed the door behind him, freshly painted red 15 in a pentagon shaped like his substitute-shinigami badge on it. He dodged his father's kick aimed at his head and looked around the kitchen, ignoring his father's cries to the wall size poster of Ichigo's mother (he hadn't wasted any time putting that up). It wasn't that different than their old kitchen, slightly larger, which Yuzu loved, and had more floor and counter space. The appliances were very clean, if not brand new, and higher quality than those at their old house. Isshin might have bought the house just because of Yuzu, or, since there was a large grassy backyard, for Karin. Ichigo didn't care, he liked their new home, he never needed very much space but appreciated his larger room. The town was nice, the people were friendly, and there were fewer guys that had issues with his hair color which was appreciated.

He grabbed his wallet and cell phone as he pocketed his set of keys with his shinigami badge attached and headed out. He walked around the town for a few hours, getting a feeling for the place, making notes of where the good stores and restaurants were and where places he could spend time were. He rather liked the town; it was not as busy as Karakura, more laid back. It was also more heavily wooded, which he loved, since he liked animals. He decided to explore the forest at some point soon to see if there were any good places for him to train, since this town didn't have a semi-crazy ex-captain with a huge underground space for him to use.

He spent a while walking around his new school, which was only a five or ten minute walk from his new house. It was a nice school, nicer than his old one and larger, though not so much that he wouldn't be able to find his way around.

When the sun started to set he headed home, hearing the sound of a ball being kicked as he approached his house. He smiled to himself; Karin hadn't wasted any time in getting her soccer ball out and was kicking it at the goal in their backyard.

"Yo, Karin," He greeted as he closed the gate to the backyard.

"Hey Ichi-nii," His tough little sister greeted back. Her brother had been gone for a few hours but she hadn't seen him since lunch since they had all been busy unpacking and making the new house feel like home.

"You wanna check out the park after dinner? I saw it has a full sized soccer field, some kids your age were playing a game earlier, you might join them sometime." He grinned as she sighed in mock resignation, he knew she was looking forward to playing the sport with more than just herself or him.

"I guess. Though I bet no one'll be as good as I am," Ichigo knew she wasn't being cocky; his sister was seriously good at soccer.

Her older brother chuckled as he heard Yuzu call them in for dinner, "Good, I'm pretty sure they go to your school. You can meet some other players tomorrow."

She elbowed him in the hip as she passed him into the back door, "As long as you don't get into any fights at school I don't see me having any problems."

Ichigo just huffed, "You know I never started any of those! They weren't my fault!"

Yuzu stopped their bickering by setting dinner on the table as they sat. The whole family dug in happily until Isshin started teasing Ichigo about fighting, which just started the one-sided yelling match again, making the youngest Kurosaki sigh in defeat, nothing could change their family, not even a move.

* * *

Ichigo smiled a bit at his reflection in the floor length mirror in his room. He liked this new school's uniform, long sleeved dark grey collared shirt, grey slacks, and a white tie. He had the tie as loose as possible while still being tied, and the first few buttons of his shirt undone. The uniform fit well, cut close to his body without restricting his movement. Grabbing his school bag, he made his way downstairs to eat before he headed off to school.

Yuzu chirped a merry, "Morning Ichi-nii!" when she saw him, making him nod and smile back. He had gotten up early so that he would have plenty of time to eat and get to school on time. He gave his youngest sister the compliment she wanted when she did a twirl, showing off her new uniform. She smiled brightly at him as he stood to leave, shoving his phone, wallet, and keys into his bag before heading for school.

The weather was nice out, not too cold and not too warm. He enjoyed his walk to school, though he did pause near the school gates to watch an orange haired boy yelling at a grey haired boy about something while a long brown haired girl looked frantically between them before the orange one's shoulders slumped and the group of them made their way inside.

He ignored the looks he was getting from the other students and just made his way to the Principal's office to get his schedule. It didn't take long before he had his new schedule in hand and his new homeroom teacher was leading him towards the classroom. He waited outside while the teacher quieted the class and introduced him to them, writing his name on the board while he walked up to the desk, "Class we have a new student joining us. This is Kurosaki Ichigo from Karakura Town. He's just moved to the area so help him if he needs it."

Ichigo swept over the class with his eyes, noting that more than a few girls and even some guys were looking at him with hearts in their eyes, he wasn't really expecting that. "Yo, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo like Sensei said. I just moved here a couple of days ago. Hope we get along well." His usual scowl didn't leave his face once as he stared out at them, which strangely enough, seemed to make the students staring at him even more excited.

The teacher pointed a seat out to him in the back row and he made his way there, enjoying the fact that it was next to the window. He ignored the whispers as he passed his new classmates;

"Damn look at the muscle on him!"

"So hot!"

"Is his hair dyed?"

"No way that's his natural hair color."

"He looks like he wants to punch someone, is he a delinquent?"

"His hair is _orange_, I hear class 3's got a new student with orange hair, I wonder if they're related…?"

He dropped into his seat with a sigh, setting his bag down and staring out the window immediately. _Should have known I wouldn't be able to go to school quietly. Having orange hair does that to you._

Luckily his classmates left him alone for the most part during class, lunch was a whole other matter.

He was _swarmed_ with students once the lunch bell rang, making him reel back in surprise at the sudden-ness of it.

"Is that your natural hair color?"

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Where did you go before here?"

"When's your birthday?"

"Are you a delinquent?"

"Are you related to Sohma Kyo? Your hair color is the same."

His scowl deepened without conscious thought as he tried to process all the different questions being thrown at him. "Yes this is my natural hair color. No I do not have a girlfriend, nor am I interested in getting one. I lived in Karakura Town before moving here. My birthday is none of your business. No I am not a delinquent, people just tend to pick fights with me. I'm not related to anyone named Sohma, I don't even know who that is."

He was saved from further questions when his classmates spotted someone running out of the school. The person was most likely from their year and had hair a few shades darker than Ichigo.

_Well he seems frantic. Wonder what that's about._ Not one to look a gifted horse in the mouth Ichigo took advantage of his classmates' attention being diverted and fled to eat his lunch elsewhere.

Ichigo was enjoying his lunch, seated in a tall tree, when he heard loud voices. Peering down through the branches he saw the three students he'd seen arguing earlier and recognized the orange haired one as the boy who'd fled during the beginning of lunch. He couldn't quite hear what was being said and was about to turn back to his lunch when he saw the girl fall into the orange haired boy, just for him to disappear in a puff of smoke.

_Well alright then, _Ichigo thought staring down at the angry orange cat sitting where the boy had been, _that's new._ He continued watching and sent out his spirit senses, noticing that both boys, or one boy and one cat as the case was now, had unusual spirit presences. They weren't spiritually aware per-se, but it was not the presence of a normal human. _Something's different about them._ He smirked to himself as the cat-boy turned back human and stomped off, once he had pulled his clothing on that is.

Ichigo had to restrain his snickers until the trio was out of sight and dropped from the tree. He leant back against the tree as support as he pulled himself together, which was difficult thanks to the look on the cat-boy's face when he stormed off in a huff, he's practically been pouting.

He sauntered back to his class with a small smirk on his lips, ignoring the looks on the faces of his fellow students as he passed them. He'd managed to find two of the sources of the unusual readings on his first day at the job; this was going to be interesting.

* * *

And there we have the first chapter. What'cha think? Good? Bad? Needs work?

Tell me what you thought (not you flamers. I will just ignore any hate reviews so don't waste your time) and I'll try to update soon. I have a bit of the next chapter done from a few weeks ago when I first started writing but I'll try to work on it some more.

Review please! I like them! Especially suggestions! And they motivate me to write more quickly!


	2. Chapter 2

I'm shocked at the feedback this story is getting. Especially for only having posted one chapter. I'll write it off as there not being a lot of stories in this category and you all just needing something new.

So yeah. Second chapter done. Shocker huh? I actually had most of this written out a couple of days ago, I guess I just thought I needed to look over it and add/take out things before I put it up. It'd up now and I think I have ideas for next chapter.

Oh my cheese people I planned to write this in a mostly-similar timeline as the Fruits Basket manga and went to see where I'm at now, but I'm only at chapter 10 next chapter! It sucks! This is going to take forever! Well I do plan on skimming through some things so I can pass the time better that way but still.

So, finally get the start of some IchiKyo this chapter! Huzzah! More an initial of Ichigo in Kyo, and Kyo reacting. In my opinion I think Ichigo is Bi at the least and possibly even solely gay(have you SEEN what he wears? His pants are WAY too tight for a straight guy) and I think Kyo is Bi at most. For those of you who are against my 'tearing apart' Kyo and Tohru, I'm making the romance happen BEFORE Kyo or Tohru even THINK about the other that way. So meh. I do what I want.

So yeah. Some start of romance in this chapter and Ichigo meets(sees) some more 'victims' of the Zodiac curse. He'll meet more later.

I don't care if I got the events mixed up! I haven't read Fruits Basket in over 4 years and am only going back to look over for things I can use or need to put in. Help me out if you wish, or not.

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING. If I owned Bleach there would be gay sex and if I owned Fruits Basket? I'd be rich? And Akito would probably die, I hated her so much.

* * *

Ichigo had been taking a walk after dinner in the more populated area of the town when he caught sight of dark grey and long brown hair, he stepped aside as two drunk older men tottered into the familiar long brown haired girl, shoving her into the pretty boy with unnatural grey hair. He backed up and stepped into an alley as the boy disappeared in a cloud of smoke, a rat left in his place surrounded by his clothing.

Ichigo had known he was one of the humans with strange reiatsu and so wasn't surpised by the change, though he was curious as to why the girl wasn't shocked. She just apologized and scooped up the discarded clothing and started walking besides the rat down the street, talking softly.

Ichigo made sure there was sufficient space between them and started following, listening with his sharpened senses as the pair talked.

He followed them for a while, up until the boy changed back and the girl whipped away from the naked boy. He turned the opposite direction they were headed and quickened his pace to write down what he had heard for his report, ignoring the rain even when he was soaked to the skin. _So they're the victims of some sort of curse, one that affects his family. He isn't normal and was kept separate for a period of time, because he turns into an animal? Those affected are called the Zodiac, maybe the members all turn into an animal of the Zodiac, but then why was the orange haired boy a cat… unless the curse is based on that legend… the Cat is not part of the Zodiac but related to them._ He hurried his steps to write down all he had learned and guessed before he forgot it all.

_I should try and make contact, to get more information before I send my report…_ With that decided he headed home for a hot shower and a writing session with a notebook.

* * *

Ichigo was rather enjoying his new post, which was infinitely less inhabited with Hollows than Karakura. Dealing with his new classmates was annoying but he dealt with them as he did everyone else, with a scowl and silence. It was working pretty well for him so far.

He hadn't seen much of the boys with unusual presences, mainly because they were in another class, but he had run into the girl who had been with them. Honda Tohru was her name; she was a sweet girl, almost too sweet. She reminded him of Yuzu, which was ironic because it was because of Yuzu he first spoke to her.

* * *

He had been sent to the grocery store to pick up some things for dinner when he had literally run into her. Well, more like _she_ ran into _him_. She had been moving rather quickly around a corner and they collided, he didn't even tilt back from the force, but she had been sent to the floor, practically bouncing off him. "Are you alright?" He leant down a bit to help her to her feet while she stuttered apologies.

"I-i-i-i-I'm so sorry! It was all my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going!" She burst out finally, only to be waved down.

"No harm done. Are you alright though? You fell down pretty hard." He gave her a small smile, which made her flush a bit; she clearly wasn't used to getting attention from boys.

"I'm fine! I'm very sturdy!" Ichigo sweat-dropped, that was an odd way to describe yourself.

"Alright then…" they got to discussing dinner plans, Ichigo learned Tohru was apparently a housekeeper of sorts, even though she was only a high school student.

When they parted ways Ichigo gave her a little wave, telling her he'd see her at school, they had a marathon where all the classes of the same year ran together, there was also the school festival coming up soon so he figured he's see her there.

Yuzu beamed at him once he gave her the ingredients she asked for, mildly scolding him for taking so long. She forgave him when he told her he ran into someone from his school, asking instead about "his new friend" he told her what he could, then went to the backyard to play soccer with Karin. She told him about how none of the kids at her new school could play soccer as well as her, and griped about "having to teach them everything". Ichigo chuckled at her, knowing full well Karin liked to teach others about the sport she loved. Dinner was a quiet thing, minus the usual outbursts from Isshin, which everyone ignored as usual.

* * *

The next morning at school was a flurry of activity, students rushing around last minute to prepare for the festival, Ichigo was just glad he got away with not having to do anything other than build the booth where his class was going to be selling sugar candy and doing a portion of the heavy lifting.

He wandered among the stalls, not looking for anything in particular but then felt something, two more strange reiatsu readings. He made his way towards them, just to see the grey haired boy, the Rat, get jumped on by a little blond boy. _A foreigner?_ _And was that a _dress_?_

The orange haired boy with the brown haired girl seemed to recognize him and turned to greet a tall black haired man who seemed to be with the little boy. The feeling was coming from them; _they must be members of the Zodiac as well._

Ichigo continued to watch, smothering a snicker when the orange haired boy gave the blonde boy a noogie for bothering him. The half German boy seemed to have the attention span of a squirrel, immediately turning to the girl and leaping into her arms to disappear into smoke. _Are these people nuts? Changing in front of people?_

The orange haired boy seemed to agree with him, gaping at the pale yellow and brown rabbit sitting on the girl's lap while she just looked shell shocked.

Ichigo turned to the sound of squealing, seeing the grey haired boy making a fake dramatic pose before shooting a look at the orange haired boy, telling them to escape while they had a chance. Once the pair was out of the auditorium with the rabbit in hand, the grey boy looked resigned with the girls now swarming him. The black haired man following them silently. Ichigo stayed put long enough to see the grey haired boy make his escape and followed him.

He could hear the bickering through the wall, vacating his post at the door when the black haired man left, camera in hand and a fuming orangette racing after him yelling. He was still in ear shot and so heard the warning for the girl to not be alone with Hatori, the black haired man Ichigo guessed since the boy looked truly harmless. Ichigo left silently, wondering just why the grey haired boy deemed the black haired man a possible danger, none of the Zodiac seemed to have very strong reiatsu as far as he could tell, something was probably different about this Hatori man, Ichigo would have to investigate it later.

* * *

School was noisy, students either excited or despairing about the marathon. Ichigo didn't care one way or another; he was confident in his stamina and would most likely finish first. He had always been athletic, becoming a shinigami only made him more so. He figured he'd join a sports team or two, since he wasn't going to be nearly as busy with his shinigami duties as he had before.

Ichigo stood with the rest of his class as he waited for the girls to start first, the boys set to start five minutes or so after them. He glanced over to see the orange haired boy yelling something at the grey haired boy while Tohru stood a bit away from them, looking worried.

He walked over, ignoring the stares of a fair number of the students around him, greeting the girl warmly, "hey Tohru. Long time no see eh?"

She spun around to face him, a bright smile on her face, not noticing that her two male friends had turned as well and were sizing up the newcomer, "Ah Kurosaki-kun! Nice to see you again!"

Ichigo chuckled a bit at the girl's enthusiasm, immediately responding, "Enough with the formality! Call me Ichigo, you know I dislike titles. How many times do I have to say it? I don't like being formal."

She giggled, making the boys behind her even more focused on the taller boy, "Okay, okay. Ichigo-kun then?" He nodded with a smirk, "How are you?"

"About to get this dumb marathon over with. We can leave when we finish so I'm gonna run through it so I can go home." He ignored the boys still eying him, knowing full well what they were watching him for. The grey haired boy was obviously protective of Tohru, not like that of a boyfriend though… The orange haired one looked put out from being ignored, and was staring at Ichigo with a challenge in his eyes.

Ichigo knew what they were seeing, six something feet tall of solid muscle, pale orange hair sticking up in spikes, chocolate brown eyes under thin brows and a sharp boned, yet undeniably handsome, face. He was wearing a black long sleeved shirt with a red fifteen on the left breast and red shorts. His shirt clung to his muscular torso, almost skin tight, and outlined all his built muscles. He had worn the long sleeve to try and hide some of the scars from his 'other job' but there were still some that could be seen from under his knee-length shorts. They were pale and faded, nothing too new to notice unless they were specifically searched for, but were still there. He hadn't gotten Inoue to heal his old scars before he left because he hadn't thought of it, but now he was regretting it a bit, not that he was ashamed of his scars, he just didn't want to deal with people's reactions to seeing them.

"Who the heck are you?" The other orange haired boy finally burst out, sick of being ignored.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at him, not impressed with his attempt at bravado, "Kurosaki Ichigo. Transfer student. Judging from your hair I'm guessing you're Sohma Kyo, the other transfer. Nice to meet you." Ichigo already knew far more than most about his fellow ginger but he wasn't about to let him know that.

Kyo's eyes widened, apparently not expecting the taller ginger to know who he was, though the taller didn't actually seem to care but bristled when the newly introduced boy's eyes roamed over him just to settle in a small smirk, "What?"

Ichigo chuckled once, his voice a deep baritone, he definitely lived up to the stereotype of redheads being feisty, "You're pretty fiery aren't you?" His smirk widened when the darker ginger immediately flushed and his fists clenched. He turned back to Tohru, once again ignoring the boy, "Well I need to go, the run is starting soon, I need to stretch."

* * *

He walked over to an open place and began limbering up, knowing he wouldn't strain anything just from a little run but figuring it was a good way to be nearby to listen in without being obvious. He watched from the corner of his eyes as a girl with long braided black hair and matching fingernails talked to Tohru, they looked like friends. Ichigo knew the girl was one of Tohru's best friends and the rumored 'witch', able to send out what the gossipers in his class called 'waves'. The girls disliked her for protecting Tohru when they thought the sweet girl was trying to 'steal' the grey haired boy from them, which seemed odd to Ichigo since the boy showed no interest in dating.

Ichigo was curious about Hanajima and her so called abilities, she had slightly more reiatsu than most humans and might even be able to sense a bit of reiatsu which is what she most likely classified 'waves' and Ichigo was wondering if she would be able to pick up on his.

The girls took off and Ichigo was left with the boys, waiting for their turn. He watched Kyo and the grey haired boy bicker, one sided mainly on Kyo's side while the grey haired boy coughed lightly.

* * *

Finally it was the boys' turn and they all lined up at the starting point. Ichigo stood easily, limbs loose and ready for instant action, it was one of his fighting stances but he managed to smother the instincts that came with the posture, he didn't need to attack anyone who got too close or moved too suddenly.

A whistle was blown and Ichigo was off like a shot, sprinting away from the group of boys who stared slack-jawed as the tall boy gained a massive lead in seconds. Then Kyo and Yuki sprinted after him once they shook off their shock, running full speed after the boy quickly disappearing from view.

* * *

Kyo felt conflicted as to who he should be challenging, the tall ginger who was already gone or Yuki, who was keeping pace with him. He finally discarded the other transfer and focused on beating his rival, the new kid wasn't that great, he'd probably run out of steam soon and then he would overtake him.

* * *

Ichgio was perfectly relaxed as he ran, his long legs devouring the ground he passed over, not using any of his reiatsu amplified strength but still far faster than most humans. He knew Kyo and the Rat were racing each other and that they had no chance in beating him. Even if they did get a head start on him, which they didn't, Ichigo was far faster than any high school student and could keep this pace for hours if not days. Fighting in a war left him with monumental stamina, even without tapping into his reiatsu.

He sent out his senses to see how far behind the Zodiac boys were and was startled when he noticed another reading like the Cat and the Rat. He looked ahead and spotted Tohru talking to someone with white and black hair. Ichigo's initial thought was an old man, but then his keen eyes realized the person was a boy, maybe a few years younger than he was. He looked in Ichigo's direction and stood, crossing the path and tying something to a telephone pole before moving back to his previous spot. He pulled what Ichigo realized was a string tight as Ichigo was within yards, attempting to trip him, realizing too late that Ichigo wasn't who he thought he was.

Ichigo solved the boy's problem by leaping the trip-wire easily and continuing on, figuring he'd find out who the boy was later, he had a marathon to win.

* * *

As he was nearing the end of the run he could sense Kyo and the grey haired boy stop where the white and black haired boy and Tohru were. Ichigo snickered to himself at how sudden Kyo stopped just after he had gotten ahead of the Rat, the tripwire must have done its job. Kyo's and the stranger's reiatsu flared for a few minutes before it settled a bit before it turned away from the race path and left the area, heading for town.

Ichigo was mildly puzzled at this but put it out of his mind and focused on the run, racing past a fair number of the girls despite their five minute lead on the boys. They gaped at him as he surged past them and over the finish line, seeing a shell-shocked look on the gym teacher's face as the man looked down at his stopwatch before looking back at Ichigo.

Ichigo admitted to himself that he was curious about his time, it had been a while since he'd done a timed run and he wondered how much faster he was. Instead of approaching the teacher he walked to the locker rooms to get changed and head home, he had some people to investigate.

* * *

There done. I don't really have anything to say right now.

Oh wait! Next chapter is Tohru's visit to the main Sohma house. Which I plan on having Ichigo 'notice' and follow her. I may or may not have Ichigo see Akito, or vice versa. I'm thinking about it. Do you think Akito should notice him, and if so, notice anything odd/off about him(other than he's intruding)? Ichigo will most likely only notice she's female for one, and has a similar but different reiatsu than the Zodiac. Do you think Akito should be curious about him? Or even notice him at all? Or if Kureno should see Ichigo and react? How would you think Kureno would react? Should I have Ichigo run into Kureno on his way to watch Tohru? Should they talk? Should Ichigo let it slip that he knows Akito is female? And should Kureno tell Akito about Ichigo?

Tell me what you think. I enjoy having other people's opinions on things. Though writing out all those questions gives me more ideas and thoughts for the story. But I will take other people's thoughts and suggestions into mind even if I have something already written.

Reviews and suggestions please! They really are the main thing that get me to update faster. Chiao.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm back! For now. I randomly got really pissed at not having anything new to read and that turned into a desire to write more of a story so I chose this one, since I felt like doing Bleach and wasn't in the mood for working on one of my other crossovers. Plus I haven't updated this in a while so I thought I should give all you loyal readers some new material.**

**Not sure when I'll have the next chapter done, sooner than the time it took me to update this chapter. I really had no ideas for this story, I wasn't not updating just to torment you all, I'm genuinely sorry.**

**Anyway! Chapter time! Hope you like it. It's my first time writing Uotani and Hanajima so I hope I did okay. And hopefully after next chapter it'll be mostly in chronological order Fruits Basket wise. I own nothing other than my unreliable weird ass soul.  
**

* * *

Ichigo was taking a nice walk outside on his way to pick up groceries once again for Yuzu when he noticed the familiar figure of Tohru Honda. He wondered why she was in this part of town, since it was a ways from the supermarket and, he assumed, where she lived. Ichigo himself had not explored this area since it held the more condensed strange reiatsus than those of Kyo and the Rat. He had been meaning to check it out and decided now was as good a time as any.

He could read the 'Sohma' nameplate from where he was standing across the street in the shadow of a tree and watched perfectly still as Tohru seemed to waver in front of the gates. _What is she doing here? And wouldn't this be where Kyo and the Rat live? Since they must be from the Sohma family? Why does she look so worried in the first place?_

He cut his musings short as the blond Rabbit boy (Momiji according to Tohru) popped up from atop the gates, inviting Tohru to come with and disappearing into the compound.

Ichigo waited a few moments until Tohru entered through the doors before he followed, leaving the groceries in the branches of the tree he had hidden beneath and using a small amount of reiatsu in a miniscule flash step to land on the gate and another to move into some trees with barely a rustle of leaves to give him away.

He watched from the tree as the boy led Tohru deeper into the grounds, flash stepping into trees to keep them in sight while staying hidden.

He Stepped onto the roof of the building when Tohru followed the Rabbit inside. He could sense the reiatsu of the black haired man who had been at the school festival and strained his senses to catch what was being said.

Ichigo startled at the comment about erasing Tohru's memory, such a thing sounding impossible, but then, so was turning into an animal with physical contact. He listened aptly as the man, Hatori, spoke of the family being cursed and dark and to stay away from them. Ichigo scoffed at the idea of simply turning into animals being dark, compared to himself it was nothing, but felt a twinge of sympathy for the man after hearing what had become of his fiancé.

He did not know who this Akito person was, but he knew he already disliked them immensely; whatever kind of person would injure one of their own over such a menial thing did not deserve such loyalty. Ichigo assumed that Akito was someone important in the family, possibly even the head, not that Ichigo cared in particular how important he was.

He stilled as he felt yet another strange reiatsu close in, this one Tohru seemed to recognize as Shigure, but how did Tohru know all these people? What did Shigure mean if Tohru left? Left where? It almost sounded as if she was living with him, but they aren't related… he'd have to look more into it at a later date.

He Stepped away as Tohru was leaving with this Shigure man, getting a closer look at him once he settled into a dense tree. Shigure was tall, around his own height, black haired, and with an easy going face that hid a more serious nature. He reminded Ichigo a bit of Kyoraku, but nowhere near as powerful or knowledgeable.

Just as he was about to leave ahead of Tohru and her escort a new reiatsu caught his attention. It was different than those of the Zodiac, more powerful with a commanding feel to it. He swung his head around as he landed on a roof opposite the source, sunk close to the tiles as a tall tree shaded him.

The source was a black haired man, likely no older than mid twenties but Ichigo wouldn't even guess he was that old. Most likely twenty two or so. He reached out with his reiatsu again and corrected himself; the person was a woman but was rather well disguised. _Why would she pose as a man? Are women looked down on in this family? Is she one of the Zodiac? No, her reiatsu's similar but different…. Who is she?_

He straightened slightly and the woman's black eyes caught his for a moment, eyes widening in slight surprise just before Ichigo shot away in a flash step, appearing to have teleported in an instant. He had work to do, and the groceries wouldn't make their way to Yuzu themselves.

* * *

He had finally gotten the chance to explore the woods nearby and he was pretty pleased, there were a couple of clearings big enough for him to do minor work outs, of course he wouldn't be able to do anything more than basic motions unless he wanted to seriously damage his surroundings so he was laying off using Zangetsu unless he could help it, but he could at least practice his rusty skills in Karate and sword motions.

He paused as he entered a clearing somewhat deeper in the woods, seeing semi-recent signs of residency; a smooth square space for a tent and a hole for a fire pit. He reached out with his reiatsu senses to see if anyone was still nearby that he might have to avoid and paused, he felt several of those Zodiac's reiatsu nearby. He sensed three familiar ones, the Rat, Kyo, and that Shigure man from the Sohma compound, but also sensed another female Zodiac presence.

He slipped into the trees using Shunpo to make cause as little notice as possible just in case and made his way closer to the reiatsus. He stopped a ways away from the medium sized house set in the middle of the woods and strained his hearing to find out who was inside.

He was surprised to hear Tohru's voice, not expecting to hear her along with the three other confirmed Zodiacs, and clearly another girl. It was hard to miss the other girl with the volume she was arguing with Kyo at, she seemed to think she was in a relationship with him and he was denying it with all his might, something that irritated Ichigo. He disliked it when people forced their feelings on others and wouldn't let them deny anything even when their feelings were not reciprocated.

He managed to get her name, Kagura, and the information that she was older than Kyo and the Rat, and that apparently Zodiacs could hug other Zodiacs without turning into animals, which interested Ichigo. _Seems like this curse is either a way to directly or indirectly force inbreeding in the family. That's got to be fun_. Ichigo had decided that he didn't much like this Kagura girl, despite never having met her or seen her even, when said girl crashed through the wall and straight into the delivery boy on the other side.

Ichigo couldn't restrain a wince for the strength of the collision even as the dark brown haired girl disappeared in a poof of smoke, only to reappear as a small boar. _So I've seen the Cat, Rat, Rabbit, Boar, and two others. Three others, _he corrected himself after remembering about the white haired boy from the marathon, though with that coloring the options for his animal were pretty limited.

He stuck around as the Rat apprehended the boy, most likely to get his memories erased, and the small boar managed to beat up on Kyo before turning back and finally leaving. Ichigo could tell the girl got on Kyo's nerves and sympathized with the shorter boy, figuring it was no wonder he had a temper, he certainly had enough things to cause it. He shot one last lingering look at his fellow ginger and shot away in a near-soundless Shunpo, headed for home.

* * *

Meeting Uotani Arisa and Hanajima Saki was interesting to say the least. He had been walking around outside during his lunch break when he had heard Tohru's voice and followed to investigate. He emerged just as Tohru was finished filling her friends in on her living conditions. _So those marks in that clearing were from her, that must have been tough._

"Ah! Ichigo-kun!" Tohru was the first to notice him approaching and her two friends immediately turned to see who it was.

Arisa was certainly curious, Tohru had talked about the newest transfer several times since she had apparently met him and it painted a glowing picture of him. Looking at the source of her review she wondered just where Tohru had gotten those ideas of a kind, honest boy from. The guy she was looking at was more like one of the delinquents she used to face when she was in the gang; he was tall and certainly good looking with an angular face. But he had obnoxiously bright orange spiky hair and a fearsome scowl. Every part of him looked like a reputable punk with his wide shoulders and strongly built frame except for his eyes. His chocolate brown eyes were soft as they looked at Tohru and gave a curious glance at Arisa and Hanajima with a clear undercurrent of brotherly protection. She remembered Tohru talking about how he apparently had twin younger sisters that he constantly worried over so he wasn't a complete bad guy but she wasn't going to decide so fast.

Saki was also feeling conflicted about the new transfer but for different reasons than her friend. She saw the obvious of course, the very strong body and scowling expression on his face showed he was strong, straight forward person, but it was what couldn't be seen that was confusing her. He had very strange waves coming from him, so much stronger than any she had ever felt before. They were very unique as well, different than a normal person and even more so than those from the Sohma boys. She could sort of get a feeling for him in his waves, strong first and foremost, but passionate and protective as well. She got a very odd sense from him, like he could take anything head on and come out on top, and that he was not one to anger. She decided she liked his vibes but she would hold her opinion until after further inspection.

Ichigo himself was feeling the pressure of their stares but wasn't feeling too worried, he figured with how protective they were of Tohru, they'd get along with him and his protective streak of all his friends. He turned away from their investigation and back to what Tohru had apparently been talking about, "So you used to get by camping alone? That must have been hard on you, I think I found the spot you had been standing, there really wasn't much around, I'm glad you live in better conditions now."

That certainly got their attention and Tohru looked to be sweating a bit, "Y-you found it? Did-did you look around very far?"

Ichigo could tell she was worried, most likely about him finding out about the Sohma's living nearby, and decided to play dumb, "Nah, it had been getting late and I had to head home. I was just exploring to look for some place to train away from home."

Uotani glanced at him curiously, "train? Train in what?" She really did hope this guy wasn't a gangster, she'd had her fill of that type already, and Tohru seemed to genuinely get along with him.

"Hm? Oh, just Karate. I used to practice it when I was younger but stopped. It helped a bit when the street gangs used to pick fights with me in Karakura because of my hair color. Assholes thought I was being presumptuous by dying it even though this is my natural hair color. The skill did help when I first started fighting but then I lost some of it when I developed more of a street brawler fighting style. I figured I'd find a spot and start practicing it again." He had a feeling Uotani was sizing him up because of his hair color and physical state and wanted to make it clear that he was no punk.

"So you're another ginger huh? Just what we need, more hot tempered punks," Uotani muttered but it was somewhat appreciative.

Instead of getting angry at the jab as she was clearly expecting, Ichigo smirked, "Someone needs to lighten up everyone else, don't they? Besides calm people are so boring, everyone needs a little fire in their life."

She burst out laughing at that, "And you and that brat Sohma are sure to be enough for every person in the school. I'll be surprised if we all live through it!" She grinned at him for that and relaxed a bit.

Saki was still undecided, the way he acted was like he could sense the stiff and hesitant waves that had been radiating off Uotani and reacted based on them, "You have strange waves, much stronger than anyone I have ever met. Can you sense them as well?"

Uotani and Tohru looked at her in surprise but Ichigo smiled at her, "It's not quite the same as you but yes, I can. I had a feeling your so called powers were real, nice to get some confirmation. I had been curious about you but hadn't had a chance to meet you so far."

Saki felt her eyes widen in surprise, she had not expected him to actually be able to, despite her question, "Truly? You can?" She knew Uotani and Tohru were even more surprised than she was, they had never thought anyone else but she had these abilities and suddenly there was another.

He nodded, grinning at the looks on their faces, "yeah I can. I'm not sure what you are sensing as 'waves' but what I feel is more of a pressure, I call it Reiatsu, 'Spirit Pressure' and I can also see things normal humans can't, like ghosts. Have you ever seen any?"

The three girls' eyes widened even more at his confession, before Uotani burst out, "Ghosts!? You're kidding me!"

"No joke, I've seen them all my life, apparently I was born with high spiritual awareness. I can also tell how strong a person is by their reiatsu and sometimes bits of what they're feeling if it's strong enough. Like just earlier when I talked about Karate I could tell that you were cautious Uotani and you were undecided Hanajima. And Tohru has been worried the whole time since I came by, I can tell I'm disturbing you so I'll just go."

He had just turned around to leave when he heard, "Hold on!" and turned to see that it had been Uotani to his surprise; he had expected it to be Tohru. "You don't have to leave, stay and eat with us. You're obviously a good friend of Tohru's and that's good enough for me, and Hanajima could use someone else who has weird powers."

He glanced at the two other girls to see them nodding encouragingly and returned to join them, sitting between Hanajima and Tohru, listening as Tohru finished her talk and her friends wanted to check it out.

"You want me to come with? Are you sure? Aren't you all going to do a sleep over? It's not exactly right for a guy to do a sleepover with girls is it? And are you even sure it's okay with the home owner?" He was just asking to make sure, no matter how much he could use the information he wasn't going to force an innocent girl into anything she felt uncomfortable with.

But Tohru was just nodding happily, "It'll be fine! I have a nice bed for the three of us and I'm sure we could get a futon for you on the floor. It'll be fun! And Shigure-san didn't say I couldn't bring more than Hana-chan and Uo-chan with me, plus you already know Kyo-kun and Sohma-kun from school!"

Ichigo couldn't help getting pepped up from the girl's enthusiasm and readily agreed, making plans with the girls for meeting times and addresses before lunch was over and he was left to his own devices, planning on what to look for in the Sohma residence. This would certainly be interesting.

* * *

He enjoyed the looks on Kyo and the Rat's face when they saw him arrive with the two girls as Tohru introduced them, Shigure looked especially interested in the one male friend of Tohru's.

Having Hanajima notice a dog in the doorway was a pretty effective way to distract the three Sohma's as well as making them panic. _That was too suspicious to be coincidence, maybe Shigure is the Dog of the Zodiac, I already know the identities of Kyo and the Rat so it has to be him_. Ichigo motioned the dog over as he walked away from the group, petting the dog as the others apparently talked about Shigure's being a novelist. Ichigo wasn't particularly interested so he just patted the dog while Shigure and then Tohru left, listening to Hanajima and Uotani's reasons for their loyalty to Tohru and Kyo and the Rat's defensive argument. Ichigo had to agree with both of them, to him Tohru seemed like she had been through some serious pain but pushed past it, but also didn't feel the need for material things; she was a very genuine person.

He sent the dog off with a chuckle as Tohru returned with a set of cards, apparently there was some unfinished business between Uotani and Kyo. He was quiet apart from his continued snickers at the constant yelling between Uotani and Kyo throughout the game, he wasn't that good at cards but he was much better than those two, they were apparently in competition for last place which he thought was hilarious to no end and he could even sense some amusement in Hanajima's reiatsu despite her poker face. This was fun, it was nice having some new friends who didn't know so much about him, it was like a fresh start.

* * *

He snickered at Hanajima's spot on view of Kyo and Yuki even though she didn't even know about the Zodiac. She must be getting more from those waves of hers than he gave her credit for. And of course everything bottled down to Tohru having a good living environment, with her purposely vague description of what would happen if it didn't happen; she had those boys good and scared of her.

"They have good electric waves don't they?" She turned back to him, seeking his opinion on the two for himself.

He grinned, liking that she had some trust in him if she was looking for his opinion, "Yeah, they feel good to me too. I don't think there's anything to worry about here. And if there was I have a few tricks up my sleeve that would give them something to think about for a few years….." He trailed off purposely, just as vague as Hanajima and a touch more threatening because he wasn't against using his strength in defense of others.

Hanajima nodded, content with his answer and they both turned to stare unnervingly at the boys who sweated a bit at the scrutiny.

"Don't tell me you can sense waves too!"

Ichigo snorted a chuckle at the almost desperate tone to Kyo's voice, it was gonna be fun to mess with him a bit, "No I can't," he waited just until the other ginger's shoulders had relaxed before he continued, "I just see ghosts. And sense spiritual energy." He took in their shell-shocked looks with a straight face, "Speaking of, you guys have some whacked up energy coming from you, I've noticed several people from your family are like that, is it a genetic thing? In any case, keep taking care of Tohru, or these two won't be the only ones you'll hear from, and I'm told I leave more _permanent_ reminders of mistakes, so watch your step." He smirked once more at them, said his goodbyes to Tohru and his new friends, and left. He had a report to submit.

* * *

**And done. That's a relief. I hate leaving partially finished chapters be. Unfortunately I seem to have a tendency to run out of motivation for chapters while in the middle of a chapter. It irritates me just as much as it does you.**

**I think I did okay writing Uotani and Hanajima, I really do think Ichigo would get along well with both of them, his being able to see ghosts and sense reiatsu striking a similar cord with Hanajima and his fighting past with Uotani, and his protective nature fitting well with both of them.**

**Hopefully I'll be able to update soon but I really have no ideas other than reading through FB again and writing Ichigo's POV for every chapter that strikes my fancy. So I need ideas! Yes! They're like treats for me! Give me ideas and suggestions and I will be able to update sooner! You help me I give you chapters!**

**Hope you liked it. Maverick out!**


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