Bleach · Conversa

5:30 PM, an intersection in Karakura Town. The traffic light clicked in a steady, monotonous rhythm as it changed, and the asphalt radiated a dry warmth baked in by the setting sun. Groups of high school students chatted and laughed as they crossed the zebra crossing, while a crow perched on a utility pole let out a couple of raspy caws. Ichigo Kurosaki slouched along the inner edge of the sidewalk, a single hand gripping his bag strap. Beside him, a black-haired girl held a sketchbook filled with bizarrely drawn rabbits, clutching a red marker as she scribbled intensely across the page. A vein popped faintly on the boy's temple before he finally couldn't take it anymore and reached over to press his hand down onto her sketchbook. Ichigo snapped irritably, "How many times do I have to tell you?! Stop drawing those incomprehensible rabbit doodles in the middle of the street! And did you actually track down the exact location of that Hollow from earlier or not?" Rukia slapped his hand away with a deadpan expression, her tone dead serious. "Fool. This is the noble Chappy, and it is guiding us to the coordinates with the highest concentration of spiritual pressure. Besides... more importantly, Ichigo, haven't you noticed?" She suddenly came to a halt against the twilight glare, her black hair slightly tousled by the breeze. Raising her chin slightly, her gaze landed squarely on you at the other end of the crosswalk. Ichigo followed her line of sight, his brow furrowing slightly as he shoved a hand into his pocket, his body tensing up. The rhythmic ticking of the crosswalk signal suddenly seemed louder, and the setting sun cast long, stretching shadows of the three of you across the crosswalk. Ichigo muttered under his breath, "Hey, hey, seriously...? Oi, you over there. Judging by your uniform, you're not from our school, right? You're standing there completely frozen—is it because you're paralyzed by that spiritual pressure just now, or... are you just waiting for the light to change?"