Trauma

Karakura Town is engulfed by the darkness of night. Usually, people spend the night partying or sleeping. Maybe even doing homework or watching a sports game, but tonight isn't a night for fun and games. Well, at least there isn't time for fun and games for the Hono family. The patriarch of the family speeds down the streets of the town, rushing to get to the hospital. He disregards the safety of his son sitting in the back.

"Slow down, daddy," said Kuroi.

"I'll slow down when we get to the hospital. There's no time to slow down," said Aoi.

Aoi continues to speed down the streets until he reaches the hospital. He hits the brakes once he reaches the hospital. Kuroi and Aoi exit the vehicle and run into the hospital.

"Wait, sir! You need to check in!" exclaimed the security guard.

"There's no time for that!" exclaimed Aoi.

Kuroi and Aoi continue to run through the hospital. They run up a few flights of stairs until they reach the fourth floor. They run down the hallway until they reach room 416. They enter it and see a sickly woman lying on a bed. She turns her head and sees her husband and son standing in the room.

"Why are you two here?" asked Yumi.

"We came to make sure you're alright. The doctor called me and we rushed down here," said Aoi.

"I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about," said Yumi.

"You haven't been home in a month. We missed you, mommy," said Aoi.

"I missed you, too, my son," said Yumi.

"Well, I will go talk to the doctor. I need to know what's going on," said Aoi.

"Go ahead. I want to talk to my son," said Yumi.

Aoi walks out of the hospital room. Kuroi walks over and sits on the seat next to her mother's bed.

"You've gotten bigger," said Yumi.

"Daddy has been forcing me to eat more than usual. I don't know why," said Kuroi.

"I guess he doesn't want you to become too skinny like me," said Yumi.

"Your case is special. It's natural," said Kuroi.

"Do you think that I won't win this war?" asked Yumi.

"Huh?" asked Kuroi.

"My family looks down on people who die from diseases and sicknesses. I can kind of understand why they think this. Hundreds of years ago, my family were samurais. Our clan was very famous and powerful. My father and his father and my ancestors believed that you were weak if you weren't killed in action. That belief is pretty ironic because my father and grandfather died of natural causes," said Yumi.

"Why are you telling me this?" asked Kuroi.

"I won't let this disease kill me. If I die, I want to be killed by a powerful warrior. That's the way that I want to die," said Yumi.

"What if you do die? What will happen next?" asked Kuroi.

"Something like a sickness won't kill me. I have trained too hard to go down like a weakling," said Yumi.

"You trained? You don't seem like someone who trains intensely," said Kuroi.

"I train in secret," said Yumi.

"Should I train, too?" asked Kuroi.

"Not yet. You're young and naive. You need to grow if you want to become someone strong," said Yumi.

"How long will that be?" asked Kuroi.

"I don't know, but you're very intelligent. It probably won't be long," said Yumi.

"Why do you have so much faith in me?" asked Kuroi.

"I've been living and taking care of you for eight years now. I know that you work very hard. You work harder in everything. You work harder than Ichigo, Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro, and everyone else. You have a lot of potential that you have to tap in. I believe that you can be great," said Yumi.

"Do you believe that?" asked Kuroi.

"Of course I do. Why would I lie to you?' said Yumi.

Kuroi and Yumi smile at each other. They continue to smile at each other until Yumi starts to cough.

"What's wrong?" asked Kuroi.

"Nothing. My throat is just dry," said Yumi.

Yumi grabs a plastic cup from the table next to her.

"Can you fill this cup with water from the water fountain? I'm thirsty," said Yumi.

"Ok," said Kuroi.

Kuroi grabs the plastic cup and walks out of the room. He walks to the water fountain and turns it on. As the water jumps into the cup, he looks at his mother's hospital room from the edge of his eye. A few seconds pass before a beam of light hits his mother and her heart monitor starts to beep rapidly. Kuroi instantly runs back into the hospital room.

"Mommy, are you ok?" asked Kuroi.

She doesn't respond. Kuroi runs out of the room and looks for his father, but his father is looking for him. They practically run into each other in the hallway.

"What happened to your mother?" asked Aoi.

"I don't know. A beam of light hit her and she stopped responding," said Kuroi.

Aoi runs past his son and rushes into his wife's hospital room.

"Yumi!" exclaimed Aoi.

In the present day, Kuroi feels a stuffed animal hopping on his stomach and opens his eyes.

"What the hell are you doing, Meinu?" asked Kuroi.

"It's time to get up," said Meinu.

"I have an alarm, so get off of me," said Kuroi.

"What if I don't want-," said Meinu.

Kuroi grabs Meinu and throws him to the other side of the room.

He slowly gets out of bed and walks to his calendar. He stares at the date.

"I always have that dream this time of year, but why though? What was that beam of light and how did it kill mom? Maybe dad will finally tell me one day. I'm not feeling like going to the graveyard tomorrow," thought Kuroi.

"What are you staring at?" asked Meinu.

"Mind your own business," said Kuroi.

"Why are you getting mad at me? I was just asking what's wrong," said Meinu.

"I'll tell you later. Watch the house for me," said Kuroi.

"How am I supposed to protect a house from robbers while I'm stuck in a stuffed animal?" asked Meinu.

"Figure it out," said Kuroi.

An hour passes. Kuroi walks into his classroom, but he is doing something abnormal. He has a smile on his face.

"Good morning, Kuroi!" exclaimed Orihime.

Kuroi turns his head and looks at Orihime.

"Morning, Orihime!" exclaimed Kuroi.

Orihime stops waving and her smile disappears once she notices her friend acting weird.

"Why is Kuroi acting so weird?" asked Orihime.

"He'll be taking tomorrow off," said Tatsuki.

"Why?" asked Orihime.

"Tomorrow marks the eighth anniversary of his mother's death," said Tatsuki.

"His mother died?" asked Orihime.

"Yeah. How did you not know that?" said Tatsuki.

"He never told me," said Orihime.

"I'm not surprised. He likes to keep all of those emotions bottled up inside. The only reason he told me was that I beat him in a spar before. I advise you not to talk about it with him. He won't tell you anything," said Tatsuki.

Orihime takes one more glance at Kuroi.

"Poor Kuroi," thought Orihime.

A day passes. Kuroi slowly walks through the graveyard, searching for his mother's grave. He thinks about all of the fond memories that he shared with his mother before her unknown demise. He finally finds it and sits in front of it. He takes a deep breath and starts to speak.

"Hi, mom. We haven't talked in a year, but we should talk more. You're a good listener. You're dead, so it wouldn't make sense for you not to be a good listener. If you weren't, I would probably have to kill you myself. This is awkward, but I'm doing well. I'm taking my soul reaper job more seriously and I'm becoming stronger just like you wanted me to. I know that you're proud, but I still make giant mistakes. I let my spirit friend get eaten by a Hollow, but I don't know if she's dead or not. She appears in my dreams sometimes and I'm the only one who can see her. I may be going insane, but I may also be perfectly sane. I just don't know. I've made a new friend. She's cool, but she's hands-on and annoying at times. You would like her. You two act similarly. Plus, Ichigo became a soul reaper. I'm training to make him stronger. His training is going well, but he complains a lot. Dad's fine. He spends more time in the Soul Society though, but he comes home sometimes. He misses you a lot. We all miss you. I hope that you're doing well. I'll talk to you later," said Kuroi.

Kuroi stands up and places a couple roses that he has held in his hand on the grave. He turns around and sees Rukia standing behind him.

"Why are you here? I don't remember inviting you," said Kuroi.

"How did she die?" asked Rukia.

"Why are you asking?" asked Kuroi.

"I just wanted to know," said Rukia.

"I don't usually tell people this, but I guess I trust you. She was diagnosed with cancer when I was seven. She fought long and hard until the night she died. I remember seeing a bright beam of light hit her before she died. I don't know what that light was, but I know that it killed my mother. Do you know what it is?" said Kuroi.

"Sorry, but I don't have a clue," said Rukia.

"It's alright. I've gotten over it years ago," said Kuroi.

Kuroi starts to walk away.

"Have you seen Ichigo?" asked Rukia.

"No, but he will probably be here. His family always comes here to visit his dead mom every year," said Kuroi.

"Did they die on the same day?" asked Rukia.

"Yes and at nearly the same time. I believe in coincidences, but it just doesn't add up. I'll uncover the truth one day," said Kuroi.

"I never met my mother. I just grew up with my friends in the Rukongai District," said Rukia.

"Did you hear everything that I told her?" asked Kuroi.

"I heard a small portion. That was cute," said Rukia.

"It wasn't cute. I'm just doing my duty as her son," said Kuroi.

"It was still cute," said Rukia.

"Whatever. Ichigo and his family are coming in this direction. If you want to talk to Ichigo, this would be the time to," said Kuroi.

"Thanks," said Rukia.

"I was just going to go home, but I'll stick around. If you're looking for Ichigo, it has to be about something important," said Kuroi.

"I will probably need your backup. This may be a sensitive topic for him," said Rukia.

"Ok. Let's go," said Kuroi.

Five minutes pass. Rukia and Kuroi walk on a pathway until they see Ichigo's family walking towards them.

"Look. It's Kuroi and some random girl," said Yuzu.

"Of course they're here," said Ichigo.

"You sound like you don't want them here," said Karin.

"I'll go talk to them in private. You guys can go on and visit mom," said Ichigo.

Ichigo walks towards Rukia and Kuroi.

"We need to-," said Rukia.

"I know. Let's talk somewhere private," said Ichigo.

Ichigo, Kuroi, and Rukia walk up the pathway. They walk until they find a forest and stop in the middle of the pathway.

"Why did you guys follow me?" asked Ichigo.

"I didn't follow you. I was already here talking to my mom. She may have though," said Kuroi.

"What would you do if a Hollow attacked and I wasn't here?" asked Rukia.

"If you're going to follow me, be more covert," said Ichigo.

"My bad. I wasn't aware," said Rukia.

"What are you so mad about?" asked Ichigo.

"She's not mad. She has been thinking about something," said Kuroi.

"What would that be?" asked Ichigo.

"You said that your mother was killed," said Rukia.

"I didn't say that," said Ichigo.

"Who killed her?" asked Rukia.

"I said that I didn't say that. Just forget about it," said Ichigo.

"You told me that you could see ghosts for as long as you could remember. If that's so, is it possible that your mother was killed by a Hollow?" said Rukia.

Ichigo doesn't respond.

"It's possible. You and I started to see ghosts around the same time. That Hollow that attacked the Kurosaki Clinic was after you because of your high spiritual pressure. What if your mother was killed because the Hollow was targeting you?" said Kuroi.

"You gotta be kidding me!" exclaimed Ichigo.

"Lower your voice. Do you want us to get caught?" said Kuroi.

"This isn't a joke. When it comes to you two, everything is the handiwork of a Hollow. My mother was killed by something that wasn't a Hollow," said Ichigo.

"Then, what was she killed by?" asked Rukia.

"You said that you were unconscious while she was killed. You can't know who killed her," said Kuroi.

"Why could it not had been a human?" asked Ichigo.

"My father told me that Masaki had a high amount of Spiritual Pressure. I doubt that any regular mugger or murderer could kill her," said Kuroi.

"If you were conscious, it would be easier to crack the case," said Rukia.

"I've always had my suspicions. My mother and yours died the same night at around the same time. My mom had cancer, but it doesn't make sense that yours died. She was young and healthy. Ichigo, did you see a beam of light?" said Kuroi.

"A beam of light?" asked Ichigo.

"Seconds before my mother died, she was hit by a beam of light. I don't know what it was, but it killed her," said Kuroi.

"What are you trying to say?" asked Ichigo.

"There's a chance that your mother may have been killed by this light as well," said Kuroi.

"This case may be unsolved for now, but one day, we can get to the bottom of this together," said Rukia.

Ichigo looks at something in the distance and runs past Rukia and Kuroi.

"Where are you going!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"I think that I know what killed my mother!" exclaimed Ichigo.