Instinctively, his hand moved to fiddle with a lock of his orange hair. He had let it grow out and it was now shoulder length and messily fell over his eyes. With a shake of his head, he flicked his bangs away and looked deep into the reflection of his eyes. An unfathomable depth in his brown irises fully exhibited the burden of his now powerless soul.
Walking out his apartment, he locked the door and made his way down the dorms and went out into the light of the now setting sun. A despondency washed over him as he remembered the similar colors that preceded the death of his mother.
A sudden pain tore its way through Ichigo and he clutched his chest tightly.
For the last past few months, he'd been experiencing a chronic pain through his body. It wasn't serious as it only lasted a few minutes and quickly away but, lately, it had been coming up more frequently.
As Ichigo resumed walking, he quickened his pace as he didn't want to linger out in the dark for too long. Knowing what he did, he had no desire to run into a hollow that he had no chance to defend himself against. Granted, he doubted he was in true danger as the paranoid bunch that the Soul Society were would leave him without supervision. No doubt, they would be keeping a keen eye on him if he ever presented even a kindling of his old power. Urahara said that it was perhaps a blessing that he lost his powers as Central Room 46 would never have allowed him free reign after his victory over Aizen. However, despite all this, Ichigo wasn't about to walk into any form of danger as vulnerable as he was currently.
Luckily, the coffee shop wasn't too from the dorms as it was built on campus to cater to the needs of the numerous college students. Within a few minutes he arrived at his destination and took a place in the line. The line was somewhat long as it was a popular destination for all the students so he passed the time by absently tapping his foot while formulating guitar licks in his mind. The one thing that really distracted Ichigo from his lost abilities, aside from the mountain loads of homework, was his music.
As the number of people in front of him dwindled, Ichigo finally arrived at the counter. "Ah! Kurosaki-san! Are you getting the usual?" Ichigo blinked in surprise at the man behind the cash register before smiling cordially. "Yeah, that'll be all, Hanabusa-san." Hanabusa was a relatively young man and owned the coffee shop and, because Ichigo always stopped by in the morning just as the shop opened, he grew familiar with him. Once Hanabusa punched in the numbers, Ichigo gave the man his debt card.
"Thank you for your business," the man said with smile as he swiped Ichigo's card and handed it back to him along with a receipt.
Ichigo walked over to the other side of the counter and waited with a few other people for his order. After a minute or so passed, he finally picked up his cup of steaming coffee. Once he put in a hefty amount of sugar into his hot beverage, Ichigo found himself a seat.
Due to the hour, most people were simply grabbing their orders and returning to their homes so Ichigo had no trouble finding a spot to seat himself. He observed the various busy bodies as they came and went while slowly taking sips from his coffee.
He looked out the window and noted that the sun had finally set and night had completely blanketed the sky. A momentary frown crossed his face as he felt something stir within him. However, he swiftly dismissed the sensation as he didn't want to go down that path.
The first few months of life after the loss of his power were filled with half hopes and dashed dreams. Every time he felt something was off or he felt strange, it was actually a desperate longing for his power to return. It was a difficult time for him but, he learned to finally let go of everything.
As he continued to drink away and revel in the scalding liquid that burned its way down his throat, Ichigo's mind turned towards his younger sisters. The twins would both be at home now after a day in middle school. Kairin, for all her brashness, was a puddle of goo when it came to her older brother. He knew how much she looked up to him and, undoubtedly, his absence was weighing heavily on her mind. Poor Yuzu was probably feeling the brunt of the sisters' guilt. She was never anything but gentle and compassionate.
Taking a long draw from the plastic cup, Ichigo drained the entirety of its contents. However, another spasm of pain ripped its way through him and he was forced to sit back down. With a grunt, he inhaled sharply as the pain faded and echoed away.
Tensing his muscles, he made to get up again but this time, he was stopped by a vile chill that crept up and down his spine. A feeling of cold dread made itself known in the pit of his stomach.
He immediately stopped and looked around. Ichigo's eyes narrowed as he realized that he wasn't the only one to suddenly shudder. He felt a dull throb in his chest as his mind began to race.
'A hollow? But that's impossible…I know I don't have any spiritual awareness.'
Despite losing his powers over three years ago, Ichigo would have instantly noticed if even an iota of his old strength returned. So what was it that had set everyone in the shop on edge?
As if to answer his question, the door to the shop swung open and in strode a figure that instantaneously captured the attention of every single person in the room. He was tall, as tall as Ichigo and had a haunting, otherworldly grace to him. But, the one thing that seized Ichigo's attention was his hair. Long flowing hair that was the same color of freshly shed blood.