Chapter Text
It had been six months since Ichigo lost his Shinigami powers. No, more than six months. But he didn't care to count the exact days. Even if he did keep count, there was nothing he could do about it.
At first, he was angry. He had felt helpless. All around him were spirits and hollows, he knew, and he could do nothing. Hell, he couldn't even see them anymore. Not only that, but he couldn't even sense spirits at all. He had spent his whole life complaining about the spirits that pestered him, but now he was cut off from that world entirely. Losing his powers was no different than a man losing his arm, except Ichigo was unable to even have phantom sensations.
Once he had come to terms with the situation, he could only leave the town's defense to those he trusted– Chad, Uryu, and Orihime– and, he supposed, Mr. Hat-n-Clogs and gang, and even his father, too. Surely they were enough to do the job. He began to focus more intensely on his studies than he had ever before as a means to occupy himself but each morning when he listened to the news, he wondered if each accident was the covered-up work of a Hollow.
By the time the semester had ended, he had climbed to rank fifteen, which was the highest his scores had ever been. Days blurred together and though Mizuiro and Keigo were pleased Ichigo had strangely more free time than before, they complained loudly that he was studying so much. Despite all efforts made on their part, Ichigo found himself drifting slightly away from Chad, Orihime, and Uryu. At school, they would still eat together, but Ichigo found he had less to talk about with them than he had before. His father gave him many lectures– after attempting to strike Ichigo in the face with a flying kick– about how he should take this opportunity to enjoy his youth to the fullest as an ordinary teenage boy, Ichigo did not have much desire to go about as if nothing was wrong.
When his father announced over breakfast this particular morning that the family was taking a surprise trip to the beach, he nearly tried to come up with an excuse to stay behind. Then, he remembered that he was no longer a protector of Karakura, and reluctantly agreed to go. He didn't feel like taking a vacation, but his sisters were both excited– even Karin, for some reason he couldn't explain– and his father had already arranged for the clinic to be closed for two weeks. He couldn't say no.
He sighed as he walked to school and decided to not think on it much. In fact, he managed to think of not much of anything at all until he blinked and became aware that he had made it to lunch without realizing it. He sat chewing his lunch quietly and listened to Orihime excitedly talking of the plans she and Tatsuki had made for the break. Chad was quiet as usual until Orihime questioned him about his own plans, which was only to work for a short time since the owner was a kind neighbor and would be understaffed. Next, Orihime questioned Uryu, whose response was as Ichigo expected– studying and attending a local sewing convention. What he hadn't said aloud was how he'd likely be poring over any of the Quincy materials his grandfather had left behind, but Uryu didn't speak of those things around outsiders like Keigo and Mizuiro.
Finally, Orihime's gaze rested on Ichigo. He felt her watching him occasionally the entire lunch period, but now he looked back at her from the corner of his eye.
"Kurosaki-kun, what are you doing for summer break?"
"Huh?" He chewed to put off a response. "My family's dragging me to the beach with them."
"The beach?!" Keigo's eyes widened and he gripped Ichigo's shoulder. "Which one?! You gotta bring us, your best friends of course!"
"Hell no!" Ichigo swatted Keigo's hand away, his brows furrowed. "It's family only! And I didn't wanna go anyway but Yuzu and Karin really wanted us to all go together."
"The beach!" Orihime clapped her hands together. "Which one? You'll have so much fun."
"Eh, I dunno." Ichigo shrugged. "I wasn't really paying attention when they said." He mumbled and scratched his cheek. "I think it was… Isonoura?"
"I-Isonoura?!" Mizuiro and Keigo repeated loudly. "Y-You're going to that resort?!"
"What the heck…" Keigo hung his head… "We're only going to Nagahama… why can't you bring us with you?"
"Everyone knows Isonoura has the hottest women there…" Mizuiro pretended to cry. "But Ichigo doesn't care about our summer fun…"
"You're damn right I don't! Get your own vacation you leeches."
"Ichigo, you're so cruel! I thought we were friends!" Keigo pretended to cry on Mizuiro's shoulder.
"Isonoura? But it's so far." Tatsuki commented with a mouthful of food. "You're going all the way there?"
"I guess so. I dunno why." Ichigo shrugged. "But if it makes Yuzu and Karin happy, I got no right to complain."
"Take plenty of pictures for me, man!" Keigo leaned in closer with his eyes sparkling.
"Get me pictures of all the beautiful women!" Mizuiro nodded and leaned in as well.
"Not a chance!" Ichigo frowned. "I'm not like you guys."
"I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time." Orihime smiled at Ichigo. "Let's all do our best to make great memories this summer."
"Yeah, sure." Ichigo mumbled and quickly finished his lunch. A moment later, the bell sounded and Keigo hurriedly shoveled his food into his mouth.
"Over already?" Orihime said quietly. Tatsuki watched Orihime as she looked at Ichigo, and Tatsuki let out a sigh.
"Hey, you'll see him again once break is over." Tatsuki touched Orihime's shoulder and smiled. "Besides, we have a full itinerary of our own."
"Right…" Orihime nodded, then she posed. "I'm going to get one of everything from the food stalls!” She looked at Tatsuki. “I even found a place where we can try Shirako!”
“S-Shirako?” Tatsuki made a face and waved her hand. “I’ll pass…”
As the group headed down from the roof, Ichigo made brief eye contact with Uryu and their steps slowed. Ichigo spoke first, quietly so the others couldn’t hear.
“We’ll be out of town for two weeks… can you handle everything by yourself?”
“Hmph.” Uryu pushed up his glasses. “Are you doubting a Quincy’s abilities?”
“Hmph.” Ichigo furrowed his brows.
Uryu looked at Orihime and Chad briefly. “We can handle it.”
Ichigo nodded slightly. He didn’t like the idea of leaving, especially for so long, but there was nothing he could do to help even if he did stay behind.
The rest of the day passed quickly and without incident. At one point, Ichigo noticed Uryu excuse himself to the restroom, but he drummed his fingers against the desk knowing he was hunting a Hollow. After the last class had ended, cheering erupted around him as his classmates packed up their backpacks for the last time.
“We made it!” Orihime raised her hands over her head and stretched and was quickly pounced on by Chizuru, who Tatsuki tore away from Orihime and bickering ensued.
Ichigo’s soft sigh was drowned out by the excited chatter as everyone said their goodbyes and the teacher tried unsuccessfully to speak over the noise to remind everyone about the assignments. Ichigo stood and slung his pack over his shoulder, and Chad approached him.
“Have a good trip.”
“Yeah.” Ichigo nodded. “Good luck with that job.”
Tatsuki hit Ichigo’s arm and put her hands on her hips. “Don’t let your attitude ruin this trip for your sisters, okay?”
“As if I would.” He frowned.
“And bring back souvenirs for us, too.” Tatsuki crossed her arms. “Orihime and I are getting souvenirs for everyone, so you’d better not slack off and have nothing in return.”
“Eh? There’s no rule about having to exchange souvenirs. That’s stupid.”
“Idiot! There doesn’t have to be a rule when it’s common sense.” Tatsuki stuck out her tongue, then looked at Orihime. “Let’s not bother with a souvenir for Ichigo, then.”
“I’m going to pick out things everyone will like.” Orihime smiled and clapped her hand. “I’ve been saving money from my job, so I won’t hold back with gifts.”
“Eh? You have a part-time job?!” Tatsuki blinked. “Since when?”
“Heh.” Orihime rubbed her head. “Sometimes after school I help some seniors run errands. It’s really fun!”
Ichigo followed his friends toward the school entrance where they cleared out their lockers and said final goodbyes. When they began to leave the building, he turned to look at the school a final time. He couldn’t explain why, but he had a feeling that things would be very different when he returned.