Notes in the Air

A Bleach Chad x Reader Story

This piece is a birthday present for my dear friend who loves Chad a lot! I hope she enjoys it

Your feet brought you along a dusty old street amongst the strange Japanese town with a grace unequalled by other young women walking the same way. You were not a native of Japan and certainly did not look it, but thankfully in this place you did not stick out like a sore thumb and you could not only read kanji but speak Japanese very well. A lot of your youth had been spent in Tokyo when your father had gone there for business and you and your mother had been dragged along, but now going to work as a nurse in a Japanese town just seemed so strange… especially when you were constantly feeling watched.

On your way to the apartment you’d rented, you paused when you heard the gentle strumming of a Spanish guitar. The notes seemed to float towards you on the air, luring you forward to investigate the stranger that was creating such beauty. The tune you had never heard before, but you certainly were enjoying it and could not help yourself but follow it around the corner of the street where a large figure sat. As calmly and quietly as if in utter concentration the young man sat with his back to the wall and a stay dog sitting patiently in front of him with a wagging tail and lolling tongue. People were walking past giggling at him, thinking him odd in a very amusing and harmless way… eccentric perhaps. But you couldn’t believe what you were seeing.

Your eyes widened as you became fixated on this curious individual with his dark brown hair and curiously tanned skin. You knew straight away that he was not fully Japanese, that he was in fact Hispanic… another foreigner like yourself! Embarrassed by the excitement of seeing another ‘alien’ amongst these people that were so kind to you, your cheeks flushed red and you felt a hiccup rise with the slight irritation. But you could see the heavy build and musculature of this young man and it excited you.

Well, it would excite any woman who’d been dying to meat a Hot Mexican through most of her teen years… but figuring out how to approach him was difficult. You wanted to talk to another person that was different, to someone who obviously knew how to enchant with his music. To be honest, you were feeling quite lonely and the chance to meet and greet with this stranger was too great a thing to loose. So you eyed the situation carefully and that fluffy white and brown dog caught your eyes – that was how to break the ice.

“Hello there boy, are you enjoying the music like everyone else?” You chuckle as you lean down to let the dog sniff at your hand. Immediately the animal ignored the music for the interesting smells upon your fingers and began to snuff away excitedly. He even stood up and paced around you for a moment before sitting at your feet, leaning into your side and whining for a cuddle. You smiled and began to rub the thick ruff of fur at the dog’s neck, watching it stick out its tongue in a pathetically adorable way. You noticed, as the dog accepted your strokes, that the musician had stopped and so you looked toward him nervously. “I’m sorry, is this dog yours?”

“No.” There was a grunt and a gentle shake of the rich dark-brown hair. The sound of his voice was so deep and resonating you could feel it humming through the floor and up your body. The dog paused for a second, turned toward him and whined vividly. You patted its head then blushed gently as you felt the need to ask more. Goodness, this was not like you to be so shy around such a handsome fellow.

“Well, he’s certainly attached to you. Oh, your music is absolutely beautiful; it reminds me of the kind I heard when I visited Mexico last autumn. Have you been there?” When the gentleman paused and turned toward you curiously, you felt unusually cautious. Spotting the golden coin at his neck you recognised the emblem of the snake within the talons of an eagle; a Mexican coin indeed! You also spotted the edge of his face where his hair fell somewhat short and an eye was visible to you. It was fiery and deep, hinting of strength.

Suddenly the man put his guitar up and aside, the dog stepped to the equipment and laid over it protectively. For a moment you were able to take in the full height of this young gentleman and shudder in surprise at it. Never had you met a man so tall he could blot out the sun in the sky! But you quickly smiled warmly as he stepped toward you and stretched out one large hand.

“I’m nicknamed Chad.” He muttered, somewhat despondently as if recalling the irritating occasion in which he was given the name. You carefully placed your hand in his to shake it, flushing with heat at the sensation of such delicate but strong digits hooking about you. There was a natural protectiveness to them and for a moment you were unsure how to respond to this gentle greeting. But though you had assumed it would be a shake, Chad gently lifted your soft hands to his mouth and pressed his large burning but soft lips over your knuckles. You blushed visibly; it had been a long time since such a handsome being had kissed your hand!

“I’m _____...” You began, but then suddenly there was a noise in the air that made you curious again. Chad seemed to react to it as well, but he seemed scared or angry. A beautiful new music was drawing you toward a lonely road where the shadows seemed to draw in and you could do nothing but move. There was no way you could stop and explain the motions of your legs or how suddenly you had just changed, like a zombie you were being drawn to the noise and even the loud barking of the dog did not pull your attention.

Walking purposefully, it seemed, you follow the sound as if to a siren and your eyes widened with dread. Up ahead you could see something like a horribly shaped shadow or just displaced space within the air. You felt very afraid and yet the music that was beautiful and twisted in your mind drew you on. A voice began to speak too though its words were unclear; the voice was threatening though… like the maliciously seductive chimes of a banker or loan shark trying to trick you. When the word ‘soul’ entered your mind, strength regained you for a moment and you froze on the spot. You shook your head to remove the voice and knock the music out of your ears, but there would be no escape from it!

“Come to me juicy soul… I won’t hurt you!” The voice chuckled from the distortion in the air and you felt the energy drain out of you. Dizziness filled your body and for a brief moment you could swear that some great beast’s pincers were surrounding your body. From behind you came a deep growl and something like a ball of energy rushed past you and smacked the air. For a moment you could see something like a crab with a human skull sitting calmly upon its back… I terrified you and straight away you pivoted and ran.

Running on you heard noises like a tough battle going on before the singing faded completely and you had returned to the spot where the dog sat. The animal ran at you with a soft whine, leaping up onto its hind legs to lick and nuzzle you with sorrowful whines and pitying whimpers. Stroking the animal was reassuring and then something popped into your mind. What else had you seen? You’d seen that Chad fellow with some strange device over his right arm smashing into the beast….

Chad had saved you.

Heavy footfalls reached your ears and you spun around neatly to see the figure of Chad stomping calmly back to his guitar. It looked as though he might walk straight through you for a moment, but when he paused you could not control your thanks. You launched from the ground into his chest and were luck to catch your hands on his shoulders and push yourself upward. Automatically his great muscled arms wrapped around you, to protect you, but your lips caught his as you had hoped and for a moment you remained locked in a kiss with him holding you up. He kept you there for a while, enjoying the sensation of your soft pert lips against his. Then he set you down and gently took your hand in his.

“Come with me… I’ll take you somewhere safe.”