A Hollow Crown

16 - Giant, Strawberry, Fallen Angels

"There are no stones at my disposal

There's no God to award me a crown

But I am always swinging at

Somebody I can't knock down"

— Take Me To War, The Crane Wives

It was supposed to be a walk home from school, nothing more and nothing less. Ichigo's eyes jumped from alley to alley, keeping watch for anything or anyone that could give him trouble. For most folks, Karakura was a generally safe town. You'd hear the occasional talk of theft or robbery, even a bit of yakuza gossip every now and then, but nothing major.

It was a safe town... Unless you were Ichigo Kurosaki. And all because of his hair. Not his name, not his dad being single, but the fact he had orange hair.

"Why don't ya just grow out that shitty carrot color?!" It was natural, dumbasses!

"It's a gift from his mother!" Shot a snarky voice from behind him, the one holding Ichigo's arms back as another thug took a swing at him. They were just some no-name punks, Ichigo not even knowing who they were. If his hair was another color, black like Kaien's, then he'd wonder if he had done something to upset them.

But Ichigo's hair was orange like a flame, and Karakura had an infestation of moths.

Another fist swung at him, another snarky comment. Another fist, another comment. Another—

"W-woah, that guy's a giant! Run!" One of them squealed out, Ichigo hearing the telltale sounds of fighting and footsteps indicating someone was running. The guy holding him back let him go, likely to save his own skin. Ichigo fell, landing butt-first on the concrete. Yep, that was gonna leave a bruise; as if Ichigo didn't have enough bruises already. He put a palm on the concrete, trying to stand up. His savior offered him a hand, which Ichigo gladly took.

He took a glance at the stranger's name, noting the kanji. Chad? Bit of a weird name to most, but when you get checkups from someone named Syazelapporo Granz you get used to that sort of thing. And it was a strange face to a strange name: dark skin, messy hair covering his eyes, and a tall, bulky frame. Was that the same uniform as the school Ichigo went to?

"Thanks for the save, Chad."

"My name is Yasutora Sado."

"Chad sounds cooler." Though Ichigo wouldn't lie that Chad's name was cool on its own, given a part of it meant 'tiger'. Meanwhile, everyone thought Ichigo's name was typically a point of mocking for some. Whatever, it wasn't his fault most people went with the katakana reading of his name.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."

One thing his abuelo had taught Yasutora was the importance in using his strength for others, not against them. It was something he lived by, never raising his fists unless in defense of another. And that was how he met Ichigo, someone who was being ganged up on and not being given the smallest chance to fight back. Strangely, though, he wasn't afraid being ganged up on, instead sporting a large and somewhat unsettling grin. Was it a taunt, or was he riding the thrill of adrenaline?

Yasutora didn't know, but all he needed to know was that there was someone who he needed to raise his fists for. The both of them looked a bit on the strange side of things in comparison to most of the people in Karakura, Yasutora with tan skin and a tall and bulky frame while Ichigo's only notable feature was his orange hair.

"Where are you from?" Ichigo, despite having been beaten within an inch of his life, acted as if everything was fine. He was smiling, walking as if he hadn't just been ganged up on.