Chapter Text
Ichigo woke to the smell of smoke. Great. Just great. An obnoxious beeping of a smoke alarm echoed from the floor below, followed by a shrill voice yelling. Ichigo pulled himself out of his twin sized bed, his pajama top hanging loosely off of his shoulder. He brushed his fluffy orange hair out of his eyes before sliding into his slippers and padding out of the room. When he opened his door, the smell of smoke intensified, but not to the point of suffocation. At least, not yet.
He trotted down the wooden flight of stairs, the wall along the side of them decorated with smiling family photos. Crashes and banging noises sounded from the kitchen around the corner. Of course. Of course he burned something again. Ichigo strolled around the corner to find the scene of the crime.
A large flame sprouted from a pan on the stove, the chard remains of what could be eggs stuck to the sides. Ichigo’s father was running around the kitchen like a chicken with its head chopped off, a burning kitchen towel in his hands. That’s where the shrill screaming was coming from. Ichigo’s eight year old sisters however, were sitting at the kitchen table like perfect little angels while their dear father attempted to pour water on a grease fire.
Ichigo sighed. It was way too early for this bullshit. He stomped over to the stove and turned off the burner before slamming a pot lid down on top of the pan.
“You don’t pour water on a grease fire.” Ichigo said, voice still drowsy. “I’ve told you this before.”
Ichigo’s father, Isshin, rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I forgot.”
“Obviously!” Ichigo snapped.
Isshin pulled Ichigo into a headlock and tousled Ichigo’s already messy orange hair. “Good thing we have Big Brother Ichi to save us all!” He yelled. Ichigo squirmed out of the headlock, grumbling. Ichigo’s sisters, Yuzu and Karin, ran up to him and hugged him when he was free of his father’s grasp. Ichigo returned the embrace.
Yuzu and Karin lead Ichigo to the living room, leaving Isshin to clean up the mess. Ichigo plops down on the couch between the two. He looked at the colorful TV show for a moment before his face went sour. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Karin and Yuzu gave him their signature shit eating grins before crossing their arms over their chests, fingers spread, and yelling “Bohahaha!”
As if some entity was out to make Ichigo have the worst morning imaginable, the TV happened to be playing the twin’s (and his father’s) favorite show: Casual Soul Realm Assault Trip (real child friendly name- should the girls be watching this?) starring none other than TV’s biggest fraud, one Don Kanonji. The fakest of the fake magicians.
“Turn it off!” Ichigo whined before lunging for the remote. Before he could cross the couch, Isshin already held the remote in his hand.
“Have some whimsey in your life, Ichigo! Are you against fun or something?” Isshin smiled as he dangled the remote over Ichigo’s head. Ichigo sprang up from the couch, jumping at the remote.
“Magic isn’t real!” Ichigo yelled, grabbing his father’s hand, trying to wrestle the remote out of his grip. The girls watched them tousle, more entertained by them than their show. “The whole show is so fake that it’s painful!” He complained before jumping onto Isshin’s back, trying to maneuver him to the ground.
“And how would you know, Ichigo? Are you a wizard?” Isshin said, grinning as he let himself get pulled backward, but angling himself to land on top of his eleven year old son. Ichigo let out a small oof at being trapped under his father’s weight.
“No, because they don’t exist!” Ichigo grunted out, freeing himself from under his father.
“And how are you so sure?” Isshin said.
Ichigo sputtered, “W-well because they don’t!”
“Can you prove it?” Isshin said, teasing as he went for a single leg take down on Ichigo, who yelped as he hit the carpet.
“W-well,” Ichigo started.
“There’s your answer!” Isshin cheered. “You can’t disprove their existence, so therefore, they could exist.”
“A lack of evidence is not evidence!” Ichigo yelled, voice muffled.
Isshin smiled. “We’ll see about that,” He whispered softly, to himself. Ichigo was too busy trying to free himself to even hear it.
Isshin stood up and cracked his back. “These old bones don’t like the floor as much as they used to.”
“Then those old bones should stop tackling me to it!” Ichigo spit back. Isshin, victorious in their little battle, placed the remote in the cabinet above the TV, ensuring Ichigo couldn’t get to it and change the channel.
Ichigo grumbled.
“I’ll finish making breakfast, actual breakfast, and then you can go out and run some errands for me.”
“Why can’t you run them, old man!?” Ichigo yelled, still pouting on the floor.
“Because I, the responsible adult,” Ichigo snorted. Isshin ignored it. “Have to take Karin to soccer practice and Yuzu to ballet.”
An acceptable excuse for Ichigo. He looked back at the TV screen. As usual, Don Kanonji was reciting his normal bullshit on camera, his irritating face seemingly gazing at Ichigo through the TV screen. He doesn’t want to see that ugly, annoying face.
The TV channel changed. Ichigo looked away. Success! He doesn’t need a remote to mess with the TV anymore. He figured out how to look at the TV really hard and change it a few months ago. Now it was easy. His sisters whined in complaint.
“Dad, the TV is acting up again!” Karin called, annoyed.
“Must be the dish again!” Isshin called from the kitchen. “I need to look at getting a new one. The TV has been going nuts lately.” He said.
That wasn’t the only odd thing Ichigo had figured out how to do over the last couple of years. He could also turn off the air conditioning by looking at it, open and shut doors without touching them, and he once made a paper airplane fly off of his desk and around the room without him even throwing it. He’s not crazy. He swears! Just…weird things happen when he’s around. That’s all.
Isshin walked over to Ichigo and handed him a slip of paper with a list of items on it. “For your errands.” He said.
Ichigo looked over the list. “But these are all candies!?” He yelled.
“Exactly.” Isshin winked. “Go to Urahara Shoten. They have the best imported candy.”
“But the guy that runs it is so weird!” Ichigo complained.
“Be nice, Ichigo.” Isshin started. “Ki- Mr. Urahara and I were schoolmates back in the day. He’s a little odd, but he’s a good guy. Now run along, I have to take the girls to their things.”
Ichigo gave another huff before walking back up the stairs and getting dressed. He attempted to brush his wild orange hair, but it never settled, sticking up all over the place. He grabbed a bag and walked out the door calling a quick, “Bye.” to his family.
Ichigo shut the door behind him before looking up. Perched on his mailbox stood a giant grey owl. Ichigo slowly opened the door, afraid to scare the bird away. “Karin! Yuzu! Look at the mailbox!” He whisper-yelled to his sisters. He could hear the patter of their socked feet as they ran to the window. He could hear them ooh and ahh at the big bird. The bird took one look at them and opened its wings, soaring up to the clouds.
Ichigo gently shut the door again, shouldering his bag. The walk to Urahara Shoten was a short one, it was only a few blocks away. The early morning air was crisp despite it being the beginning of August. Cars passed him by on the street, birds chirped, the wind blew by. After a quick fifteen minute walk, the large wooden doors of Urahara Shoten stood tall. In front of it were two kids who looked to be around Karin and Yuzu’s age. The boy had shocking red hair (a bold statement coming from a ginger) and always had a loud and mean disposition. Ichigo believed that if he and Karin met, they would be either the bestest of friends or mortal enemies. No in between. His name was Jinta, Ichigo was pretty sure. He had said hello the last time Ichigo’s father made him go on a candy run. The girl was smaller and very timid. She always allowed Jinta to walk all over her. She had long black pigtails that reached to her waist. But as shy as the girl seemed to be, she could be truly terrifying, like that one time she came out Ichigo with a baseball bat when she thought he was breaking in (he WAS NOT he would like to clarify. His dad just sent him on a candy run at the ungodly hour of six in the morning and he had to wait at the door for two hours before it opened, thank you very much.) Her name was Ururu.
He wasn’t exactly sure what the relation of those two kids were to Urahara nor why they were always around the shop. He thought they could be his children, but he had never seen Urahara with a woman before. Not that he’s saying that Urahara had to have a wife or a girlfriend to have kids- Ichigo is a very accepting guy. Plus, he doesn’t have a mom himself. Not any more at least…
The other inhabitant of the shop aside from Urahara himself was a hulking man named Tessei. Tessei, despite his large build, had a very kind and quiet disposition. He had always helped Ichigo pick things off the top shelf when he couldn’t reach. Ichigo truly could not say anything negative about the man. Hell, Ichigo might go as far to say that he was his favorite person at the shop.
And that leaves…Urahara himself. Urahara was an eccentric man to say the least. Down right nuts to say the most, but Ichigo doesn’t believe he is qualified to make that distinction. Urahara had never been mean to Ichigo, hell, it was the opposite. Urahara was sickeningly sweet to Ichigo. Not in a creepy way that lands people on To Catch a Predator, but in a weird way nonetheless. Urahara is a difficult man to describe. If Ichigo had to give three words to describe him, he would say eccentric, cryptic, and smart. Now, Ichigo is well aware that he can be a bit dense in the understanding people area, but he gets the feeling that Urahara always knows more than what he says in conversations with Ichigo. Something about the way he speaks, the looks he gives Ichigo, how he always seems to pop up everywhere Ichigo is, the way he…lurks. It has always just seemed so odd to Ichigo. Like he is missing a vital part of a conversation, like only being able to understand the last word in a sentence. You may understand the general direction of the conversation, but any details that may have existed are murky or just not there at all.
Ichigo sighed and took a step inside the shop after waving hello to Jinta and Ururu. He may not have been the biggest fan of the kids, but his mother raised him to be a gentleman. He hoped the cat was here at least. Every once in a while, especially during the summers, a large black cat hung around the shop. His name, Urahara had told him a few years ago, was Yoruichi. Ichigo looked around the shop, scanning the floors for the familiar feline. A bowl of milk was set in the corner, evidence for Yoruichi being around the shop this summer.
“Ahh, Ichigo, my friend!” The loud voice of Urahara filled the wooden shop, bouncing around the isles of candies.
Ichigo forced himself to make a polite smile. “Mr. Urahara. Good morning.”
“What can I help you with today?” Urahara said from his spot at the counter. He wasn’t sitting behind the counter like a normal guy, oh no. He was sitting on the counter with Yoruichi perched on his lap. He held a long stick with feathers at the tip, dangling them above Yoruichi’s head, causing the cat to paw at them.
“Just here for my dad’s normal stuff.” Ichigo said, resigned. He approached the counter. Yoruichi jumped off of Urahara’s lap and walked over to him. Ichigo kneeled down on the floor to lightly pet him on the head. He purred and nuzzled against Ichigo’s hand. Ichigo spent a moment petting the cat while Urahara busied himself with fetching the candies.
“That will be $10.99.” Urahara said with a smirk.
Ichigo grimaced. “Scammer.” He mumbled under his breath.
“What was that?” Urahara said in a teasing tone. “These old ears don’t pick up mumbles like they used to.”
“It was nothing.” Ichigo sighed, forking the cash over to the man. The register closed with a soft clink. Ichigo bent down again to pet that cat for another minute. The cat is the only reason he agrees to do these candy runs anymore.
“And Ichigo?” Urahara called, having already entered the storage room in the back. Ichigo gave a non committal hum.
“Do you like owls?”
Ichigo stopped petting Yoruichi in surprise. “Yeah? Why does that matter?”
“They are peculiar creatures. I myself enjoy the company of them. They carry much more than just feathers, you know. Sometimes one needs to look beyond the believed to see the truth.”
“...What?” Ichigo said, eyes narrowed. This was not new to him. Mr. Urahara always seemed to leave him with cryptic messages whenever he came to the shop. That’s half the reason he didn’t like coming here. Urahara never elaborated on his messages, no matter how much Ichigo tried to question him on them. He always managed to steer the conversation somewhere else and leave him with ANOTHER message.
“If an owl ever comes knocking, be sure to give it some water.”
Ichigo sighed. WHY did he ask? He has LEARNED not to question Urahara’s “advice” years ago, lest he leave the exchange even more confused than before. DAMN IT.
Urahara disappeared into the storage room again, Yoruichi padding after him. Ichigo got up and huffed, grabbing his bag of over-priced candy.
Ichigo walked out of the shop, witnessing Jinta and Ururu wrestling over a soccer ball. He dodged the kids, almost getting brained by said soccer ball, and set off on his journey home.
Ichigo took out the bag of candies from his pocket. He opened it up, making sure Urahara didn’t scam them out of candy. All the usual candies seemed to be in the back. Ichigo went to tuck the bag into his pocket again, when a strange glimmer caught his eye from the bottom of the bag. He fished around until he found something hard and smooth at the bottom. He pulled out a handful of strange…coins? They didn’t look like any currency he was familiar with. In his hand he held five large gold coins, six slightly smaller silvers, and a handful of small bronze ones.
“What the hell?” Ichigo said. He stopped in his spot on the sidewalk. He debated turning around and going back to the shop to question Urahara about the coins. But he just got out of there. He didn’t want to listen to yet another of Urahara’s cryptic monologues for the second time today. He’ll return them tomorrow. Yeah. Tomorrow. Definitely.
He slipped the coins into his pocket without putting them back into the bag. He didn’t need his father to nag him about returning the coins immediately. He’ll just return them tomorrow. Maybe after a quick Google Search so he can find out where they are from. If they were cool, maybe he would show them to Keigo or Chad. Definitely Chad, he was always wearing a mexican peso around his neck, so maybe he would like other foreign coins.
He arrived at his house in the suburbs. It was a small house, but large enough for the three of them, and it was right next to the outpatient clinic his dad ran. He pulled the mail out of the mailbox and slowly went through it while walking through the door. Bills, a magazine, a letter from Ichigo’s school….He should probably hide that one. He didn’t have the best track record with other students. Whenever his school wrote home, it always spelled trouble.
Ichigo entered the house to find his dad sitting with the girls watching- god DAMN it- Don Kanonji. He huffed and threw the back of candies at his dad who caught them mid air without his eyes ever leaving the screen.
Ichigo clomped back up the stairs, taking a moment to look at the TV sized picture of his mother hanging on the side of the stairs, before continuing his walk and entering into his room, a little sign reading “15” flapping against the exterior of the door as he shut it. He sat down on his bed and pulled his phone out, ready to doomscroll the morning away. Maybe he’d see if Chad, Asano, or Mizuiro were doing anything, to see if he could escape to one of their houses. Hah, as if. Their normal meeting place always ends up being Ichigo’s room anyway.
Before he could muster up the energy to text them, a knocking came from his window. The enormous grey owl from earlier perched on the window sill, a small piece of paper tied to its leg.
“If an owl ever comes knocking, be sure to give it some water.”
God DAMN it Mr. Urahara. If Urahara always spouted nonsensical words, that would be one thing. But the man never seemed to be wrong, in the entire time Ichigo has known him. Whatever bullshit he rambled about always became relevant, without fail. The man must be clairvoyant or something.
Ichigo sighed and hesitated for a moment before sliding open his window. The owl flew into his room and dropped the letter on Ichigo’s bed, before looking at him expectantly.
“Yeah, yeah, water or whatever.” He sighed again before grabbing his water glass on his nightstand, holding it up to the owl. The owl dipped its beak in the water, taking a few sips before gracefully jumping out Ichigo’s window, flying off again. Ichigo picked up the letter. The envelope read in fancy script,
“To Mr. Ichigo Kurosaki
13 Soul Street, Karakura Town”
Ichigo gracelessly ripped the envelope open, pulling out the letter inside. The letter was on old looking thick yellow paper, with more fancy cursive writing.
The note read,
“HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Genryusai Yamamoto
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr Kurosaki,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Chojiro Sasakibe
Deputy Headmaster
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
- Three sets of plain work robes (black)
- One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
- One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
- One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)
by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic
by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory
by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration
by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions
by Arsenius Jigger]
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK
Yours sincerely,
Chojiro Sasakibe”
What? What the hell? Ichigo stared at the note, rereading it several times over. This has to be a prank, a joke. Asano or Tatsuki have to be behind this. That’s the only scenario where any of this makes any sort of reasonable sense. Sure, Ichigo can do some weird things, but that doesn’t mean he’s a wizard or whatever.
What if this is Isshin’s doing? That wouldn’t be surprising, given their quarrel about magic being real earlier. This must be some elaborate joke he crafted up to try and convince Ichigo that magic was real. Yeah. That makes sense. But Ichigo isn’t gullible enough to fall for any of that.
Ichigo pockets the letter and heads downstairs. Isshin is cleaning up the kitchen from the disaster of this morning’s breakfast.
“Real funny dad. Didn’t think you would resort to making fake letters.” Ichigo said, letter in hand.
Isshin turned around, confusion on his face. “What?” He said, cocking his head like a lost puppy. Ichigo handed him the letter and stood over his shoulder. But when Isshin opened it to read it, the ink letters began to shift and rearrange themselves. Ichigo stared, slackjawed.
“To Mr. Ichigo Kurosaki,” Isshin began reading, seemingly oblivious to the shifted letters. “You have been invited to the prestigious Hogwarts Academy for Gifted Students on a full ride scholarship, bypassing the tuition.” Isshin read more of the letter out loud. The rest of the letter consisted of descriptions of this boarding school, how it was in the highlands, and only gifted children were scouted and invited to attend.
“Ichigo, this is incredible!” Isshin shouted, fist pumping in the air. “And a full ride scholarship too!”
Ichigo grabbed the letter back. The words shifted into the school of witchcraft and wizardry again before his eyes.
“You know, I went to a boarding school when I was your age, it was the most incredible experience of my life.”
“Yeah yeah, you met mom and whatever.” Ichigo said, having heard this story repeatedly in the past, his attention still fixed on the letter.
Ichigo snatched the letter from between Ichigo’s hands, the letters rearranging themselves yet again without Isshin’s knowledge. He flipped the letter over. “It says to meet at this address in two days to meet one of the teachers.” He pointed out. Ichigo read the address and typed it into Google Maps. The address was to an alleyway.
“This has to be fake.” Ichigo pointed out. “When have I ever done anything noteworthy academics wise?”
“That’s not the only thing they look at.” Isshin reasoned. “And you are going to that address.”
“That’s to a dark alley. What if I get kidnapped?”
“You’ve been in Karate since you were five. You’ll be fine.”
“But-”
“But you are going and you will have fun.”
Ichigo huffed, knowing that he was losing the battle.
“Fine.” He sighed.
Isshin clapped him on the back. “Maybe you need this. Start new. You’ll have a great time, I swear.”
Ichigo just sat himself on the couch and played with Yuzu’s hair.
~*~
The two days passed quickly. Ichigo spent that time playing video games with Asano and Mizuiro.
Ichigo dragged his feet into the car, sitting up front. Isshin was going to drop him off at the dark alley and then take Karin to soccer and Yuzu to ballet. Once the girls got situated in the back, Isshin shut the door and began driving to the abandoned alley.
“Is this it?” Isshin asked, parked alongside said abandoned alley,
“Yep.” Ichigo said. “This may be our final goodbye, as this appears to be a location for kidnapping.”
“Don’t be like that.” Isshin said, cuffing Ichigo over the head. Ichigo failed to dodge that one.
Ichigo climbed out of the car, his letter tucked safely in his back pocket of his jeans to just in case they needed to make sure he was actually invited to this.
Ichigo watched as his dad drove off with the girls, silently waiting, leaning against the bricks.
“Ichigo?” Ichigo snapped around at the familiar voice.
Sado “Chad” Yasutora has been one of Ichigo best friends since two years ago when he moved to Karakura from Mexico. Chad was a massive dude. Eleven years old and six feet tall, broadened shoulders, layers of muscle,Chad was an absolute beast. Ichigo and Chad often found themselves fighting alongside eachother in the schoolyard, even now that Chad says he’s a pacifist. People just like to see if they can win against him (Spoiler Alert: They can’t). Chad wore a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, and a hawaiian shirt over top of that. This shaggy brown hair fell over his eyes. The Mexican peso gleamed against his chest as it hung from its black cord.
“What are you doing here?” Ichigo asked.
“I got this really weird letter.” Chad said. “It said to meet here.”
Ichigo pulled out his own letter. “Me too.” He smiled. The alley no longer felt so dark and foreboding now that one of his best friends was here.
Chad smiled. He was a man of few words.
“Um, excuse me?” A small voice called from behind them. Ichigo and Chad turned around. Standing there was a beautiful girl their age. She had long red-brown hair, reaching the bottom of her ribs, flower clips keeping her curtain bangs from falling in her eyes. She wore a purple blouse with a long green flower skirt. “Did you guys get letters too?” She asked, her voice clear.
“Y-yeah.” Ichigo said, stuttering slightly.
She smiled. “Then I’m not crazy!” She said happily. Ichigo just nodded in confusion. “I’m Orihime Inoue.” She said.
“I’m Ichigo Kurosaki. That’s Chad.”
“I’m Sado-” Ichigo’s “Chad” and Chad’s “Sado” overlapped perfectly, but Ichigo’s voice was louder.
“Does anybody have any idea what’s going on?” Ichigo said.
“We all received letters from owls and met at this spot.” Orihime said, confidently.
“Well, yes, but why?”
“Beacuse you guys are special.” A new voice rang out, also female, but more mature. Standing in the alley where previously no one stood was a gorgeous woman. She had dark skin, purple hair, and stunning yellow irises. Something about her felt…familiar, like they had met before. But Ichigo wracked his brain and couldn’t recall ever seeing her. At her side stood a girl, maybe a year older than Ichigo, with black hair that dipped behind her shoulders, and a confident look on her face. “I’m Professor Shihoin, I’ll be one of your teachers this year.” The adult said.
“I’m Rukia Kuchiki, I’ll be a second year at Hogwarts this year.” The black haired girl introduced herself politely. “I will be your peer mentor for this trip.”
“What?” Ichigo asked again. “What is happening?”
“Time for back to school shopping, kids. That big list on the back of your letters is the supplies you need. Rukia here is going to help you guys get the supplies, seeing as you were all raised by muggles, or non magical people.”
“Hold on, you are saying we are magic?!” Ichigo yelled.
Professor Shihoin rolled her eyes. “Did you not read the letter? Yes, you are all magical.” She sounded amused. “Didn’t you ever notice that strange things happen around you.”
The awkward silence was palpable. “I can change the TV channel just by looking at it.” Ichigo blurted out.
“Sometimes little fairies come to visit me.” Orihime said.
Chad shrugged. “My Ableulo was a wizard, so I know some tricks.”
“Wait really!?” Ichigo yelled.
“Would you have believed me if I told you?” Chad asked.
“...No.” Ichigo said.
Professor Shihoin clapped. “Well now that that’s over,” She walked to the wall, pulling out a stick and tapping on some bricks. “Let’s go shopping!”