colour of oblivion

Chapter 3 : Iron Works

A/N  hey peeps this is my next chapter, hey just remember this is the wonderful work of the person I named in chapter 1. Enjoy it only gets better.

Ichigo Kurosaki got up a bit late that morning, despite the fact that he had been intent on going to the smithy to temper his blade a few final times.

Now that it was midmorning, he'd have little time for personal interests, Rukia included in that category, as he'd have plenty of requests to fill: farming tools, kitchen knives, spears, hunting equipment and the like.

In another part of the house he could hear his sisters and father, rushing about in the room that had been reserved solely for physician's work.

The spiky haired boy made a face at that thought; he really was useless when it came to patching people up… he excelled in dealing damage, not reversing it.

He hurriedly pulled on his tan kosode and a pair of trousers, stepping into his sandals and hastily out the door, calling a farewell to his family, which he heard faintly echoed by Karin as the door shut behind him.

He had only made it a few paces down the stone paved path, however, when a voice halted him in his tracks."Kurosaki!"Thinking it was the scribe, Ishida,

Ichigo turned with sigh, preparing to snap at the assailant and go about his work, but instead he found himself face to face with Tatsuki, his childhood friend.

"Tatsuki?" he cried in surprise, backing up a bit as he found himself nose to nose with the girl, "You usually don't come over here, what's up?"

"Did Orihime come home last night?" the black haired girl asked with mild panic, her usually untamed black hair more wild than usual.

Orihime lived in the house next door to the Kurosaki family, so they had become her unofficial caretakers, helping her with cooking and cleaning when she needed it

.Ichigo scratched his head thoughtfully, eyebrows furrowing lower than his typical frown."Well…. Now that you mention it, no…" he said with realization dawning on his features,

"We figured that she had stayed with you, but… when was the last time you saw her?"Tatsuki looked extremely worried. She clutched at the sleeve of her kimono and stared at the boy in front of he.

"Last night, when she walked home by herself, that fool!" Her voice was harsh, but Ichigo knew that she was worried. Very,very worried.

"Who's a fool?"The pair turned to see a bruised, disheveled Orihime stumble out of the bushes with only one sandal.

Though she had a cut on her knee and scrapes on her hand, she sounded as if she had done nothing more than go for an evening stroll."Orihime!" Tatsuki shouted,

jumping the rickety wooden railing that guarded the cobbled steps to Ichigo's house. The red head in question smiled and opened her mouth to speak, only to cry out when Tatsuki smacked her upside the head

."Ow!""Do you have any idea how worried I was?"Ichigo came around the railing, rather than jumping it, for fear that as weak as the wood was that it would break under his weight.

"Were you lost in there all night?" he asked. Orihime flushed as she heard his voice, and she was glad that her face was covered in cloth and dirt to hide it.

"Oh, I got lost, but there was a house with a nice man inside, and we had rice, but he couldn't eat because I used his only pair of chopsticks, and…." Orihime stopped babbling and checked herself for a moment. Talking to Ichigo always made her sound like an idiot.

Clearing her throat with embarrassment she said, "As you can see, I made it through the night alright.""A man?" Ichigo wondered as Tatsuki wiped dirt of Orihime's face in a very motherly action,