I apologize for taking so long to write this chapter. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this story, review, favorite, or follow!

My Nakama

Chapter Two: Cleaning Up

Upon waking up, Itachi looked around and could not prevent the sigh that escaped him. The fight from earlier had miraculously left the street the human boy lived on unscathed. His clinic-house, however, was not as lucky. More than half of the wall facing the front had been destroy, leaving a gaping hole to the inside. He silently mused that he knew where the kitchen was if he or Rukia got hungry.

Going off the dark colored sky, it seemed only a few hours had passed since the Hollow had been defeated. He could not see any warm colors to indicate that the sun would be rising any time soon. Good, plenty of time to clean up. Reaching over, Itachi nudged Rukia's shoulder and said, "Rukia, wake up. We need to move the humans back into their home and preform a Memory Replacement on them." After not receiving any signs of his short friend waking up, he did what he usually would. He flicked her nose.

When hearing a grunt and a grumble of "I really hate you right now," he knew that the other would soon be awake. Scanning the street once more, he was able to locate all of the family members that resided in the now destroyed residence. After starting to get back in his feet, he felt his shoulder give out sharp throbs. Looking down at his shoulder, he made a quick mental notes to have it looked at when he saw a bit of his clavicle bent at an odd angle. At least the wound had stopped bleeding. However, he noticed the whenever he moved his arm too far in a certain way, the extremity screamed in painful defiance. He would just have to deal with it until it could be fixed.

Strangely enough, the injury from earlier made his white robe look like a blank canvas with red paint spattered on it.

Noticing that the young Kuchiki was up as well, he indicated towards the one girl with a straight, black bob cut. Nodding, Rukia walked over to the girl – Karin, that is what Ichigo had called her – and lifted her on her back to move back into the house. After glancing at the stairs, Rukia blew the thick piece of hair out of her face in annoyance; she would have to carry the girl all the way up.

Walking over to the teen that had passed out, Itachi hefted Ichigo onto his back, careful of his shoulder, and made his way into the house. As the two made their way up the stairs, Rukia curiously questioned, "Why can't houses just be single-storied here in the World of the Living?"

"So they can save room for other things," was the only response she received.

Itachi opened the boy's door and made a beeline for the bed to drop off the unconscious teen. Noticing that Ichigo's uniform had gotten ruined in the fight, the older male changed him into what he found the soonest: a white long sleeved shirt and jeans. Changing another male was nothing new to him; after all, he had done so for his partner many times in the past. He had even done it once for that impatient redhead. After the teen was dressed, Itachi walked out of the room and closed the door.

When he saw the other sister – Yuzu, he vaguely remembered – still on the ground, he went over to her and picked her up. Walking up to Rukia, he gestured towards the adult who was slumped against an open door. The only conscious female wondered how they had missed the lone adult in the house. Both Soul Reaper set the sisters down next to the man, and Rukia searched for her Memory Replacer within her inner robe. How she seemed to fit everything in there was a question Itachi had wondered for years.

Itachi just shook his head as Rukia gave the family a "new" memory. The Replacer looked like one of the lighters humans use to smoke with the exception of the small chicken head with a top hat connected to it via spring. "I wonder what 'memory' they'll get when they wake up. Maybe we'll get to see if we're lucky enough." Rukia mused as the duo made their way out of the home.

There was still no sign of the sun rising soon as they left the Kurosaki residence.

So many questions were racing around throughout Rukia's mind as the she and Itachi walked to a store a ways away. She couldn't seem to gather her thoughts on one subject long enough to make sense of them. As the questions bouncing around in her head changed, her facial expressions did, too.

While turning his head to raise an eyebrow at her, Itachi bluntly said, "You should say whatever is on your mind. Are you starting to have a seizure or something?"

Looking away from the lieutenant, the girl in question grumbled, and Itachi was left wondering. After a few more seconds, he got his answer. "No, not a seizure. Why did you have so much trouble with the Hollows in the last few days?"

The weasel looked straight again as he contemplated on how to tell her. "Remember how I had once told you that my eyes suffered from a lot of damage when I was alive?" When he heard an "Of course" from the smaller, he stated, "I recently had Captain Unohana do treatment to help fix them. Before I had died, I put a lot of strain on them, and the straining eventually led my vision eroding. When we – I came to the Soul Society, I was almost completely blind; I was only able to see some colors and blurry shapes. However, the after effects of the treatment have left me weaker than I thought. My reflexes and stamina have been reduced, and my vision will still be blurry for a few days longer."

As the young Kuchiki took a moment to process the information, she quietly asked him, "What's the treatment like? What do you do so your eyes can go back to how they were?"

The answer she got surprised her, "In the past, I had medication made for me. However, that isn't an open option anymore. So instead, we have just been doing healing sessions with probing Reiatsu. Captain Unohana let me come on this mission because she gave me eye drops that are supposed to help my eyes by not letting them get worse when I can't get treatment for a while. She gave me enough just for the duration of our time in the World of the Living. I was supposed to have surgery done when we got back, but…"

"But what?" Seeing the concerned look she gave him sent him an impulse to say, "It's nothing. Just wondering what it'll be like being able to see clearly again."

Dogs were heard barking from behind fences as they made their way to the shop. Some words were barely or not at all heard due to the volume of the hairy animals' noises. Looking farther down the road, Rukia spotted their destination, and took off running while yelling back, "Last one there's a rotten dango!" Itachi realized that was not the only thing she had said as he smiled softly and whispered back, "Thank you."

"I hope you heal well."

When Itachi had caught up to Rukia, he couldn't help but chuckle at their current location. In big black letters, on an equally huge white billboard, there were two words written – a name. The exterior of the building looked nothing more than a two story, semi-traditional house. There was a small storage shed on one side, and a gray vehicle on the other. While the outside looks boring, the inside could have a special hidden secret. In other words, the shop was just like its owner, Kisuke Urahara. It was not named Urahara Shop for nothing.

Once of the premises, Rukia stalked to the front door and knocked, as well as yelled, "Urahara, open up! You have business now. Hurry up! I know you're in there!" Her knocking went on for a few more seconds until the door was flung open by a tired looking man that was well over six feet. Tessai Tsukabishi. Glancing down at the cause of his sleep's interruption, Tessai motioned for them to enter and politely asked, "How may we help you, Miss Kuchiki, Lieutenant Uchiha?"

Not beating around the bush, Rukia said, "We need two Gigais ready to use by sunrise, as well as clothes for them. I would also like to place an order to have Gikongan in a few days as well."

"Of course, Miss Kuchiki. Is there anything else you would like?" the shop assistant asked, stifling a yawn.

Rukia open her mouth again to speak, but Itachi beat her to it, "No, that's all. Thank you, Mister Tessai, and I apologize for the trouble."

"So polite! Jinta could sure learn some manners from you, Lieutenant Uchiha. It's nice to see you again," a new voice sounded, "We'll get that order going. In the meantime, why don't you two get some rest? Seems like you have something important if you need these Gigais by sunrise. Come on, Tessai will show you to your rooms for tonight." Nodding his thanks to his employee, the shop owner disappeared

"This way," Tessai said as he walked down a small hallway. Once they got to the first room, Tessai indicated to Rukia, "This will be your room, Miss Kuchiki." Nodding her thanks, she walked in, and then turned to face the giant. In a quiet voice, the petite girl requested, "Please look at and heal Itachi's shoulder. I don't like the fact that he looks like he's about to drop dead any moment." The statement was a little exaggerated, but nonetheless, he did look like he was extremely exhausted.

Turning to look at her friend, she said, "Good night, Itachi." The response was the same back.

As the room closed, the two men continued their way down the hall. Barely ten seconds later had Tessai beckoning to Itachi. "Itachi," Tessai spoke as said lieutenant was closing the door, "Miss Kuchiki requested that I look at your shoulder. So, if I may?" Nodding, Itachi shed the upper part of the remaining of his shihakusho, revealing a bloody mess of a left shoulder, and sat down on the futon in the middle of the room. As he examined the shoulder, the makeshift doctor noticed that it was broken.

After placing his hands near the wounded shoulder, Tessai allowed his Kido to form. Due to being a master at the art, the man was able to various high leveled Kidos, healing included. The duration of healing Itachi's should was close to an hour and a half. The Uchiha's clavicle had snapped in two near his scapula. Healing bone takes a little while to heal, but luckily, the collarbone did not penetrate the skin. Otherwise, the healing would have taken much longer. Healing bone, as well as reproducing muscle and three layers of skin cells would have been incredibly taxing on both of the parties.

When he did as much as he could, Tessai prompted the smaller male to try moving his arm where it met his torso to see if there were any more faults on the raven. The once bloody wound was reduced to a large area of raw skin and scabs. Once Itachi gave the okay, he began to wrap the body's connecting point. Bidding the other a good night, or what was left of it, Tessai exited the room.

Itachi sighed when he heard the door click shut. Looking out the window, Itachi noticed the moon had moved closer to the ground. He turned his head to look at the clock near the side of his futon and stared at it blankly. It was one in the morning. Taking out a small bottle from his pocket, the newly healed officer read the instructions for the seventh time. One Drop Per Eye; Use Three Times A Day Until Finished. He had forgotten to take them earlier due to the obvious event that had taken place. As he tilted his head back to administer the drops, his thoughts wandered about.

He realized that he would only be getting a few hours of sleep the night because he and his partner would have to go find the human teen in the morning to explain the new situation to him. Ichigo would most likely be at school for the majority of his day, so the two Soul Reapers would have to enroll in his school, too. As well as buy supplies for the classes. He also had to talk to Rukia about what would most likely happen to them when the Soul Society learned that they would not be returning on the due date. Today, Itachi had already decided as he let down his hair to sleep, was not going to be the very enjoyable.

Before he went to sleep, Itachi had the brief thought of asking Tessai to help with his eyes when the drops ran out, but that was an idea for a later date.

At four o'clock in the morning, Itachi found himself being prodded awake by his comrade. After a few more seconds of laying with his eyes closed, Itachi sat up with a tired yawn. Looking over at his partner, he noticed that she was already inside her Gigai. She must have gotten clothes from Urahara as she was dressed in a purple skirt that reached her mid-thigh and a white short-sleeved, scoop-neck shirt. Momentarily, Itachi wondered why Urahara had clothes that looked like they were for female children on hand. After greeting Rukia with a murmured "Good morning," Itachi asked her where their host was so he could get ready.

After, climbing to his feet, Itachi followed Rukia into the main room of the building. Once he could see into the room, he spotted two new faces: a boy with red and a girl with black. Vaguely, he was reminded of two friends of his. Their host must have gotten clothes from the young girl for Rukia to use. Urahara greeted him with a cheerful "Good morning" when he walked in the doorway. Doing the same back to the owner of the shop, Itachi inquired, "Is the Gigai ready to go, Kisuke?"

"Of course! I did promise after all. If you'll just follow me," Urahara said as he led the shorter man into the backroom. Leaning against a table with the Gigai that Itachi would be occupying. Walking towards the fake body, Itachi prepared for the troubles that would soon follow. Putting his legs in first made it easier for him to situate his top half in the material form body. Once completely in, Itachi stretched to make the new layer more comfortable. Turning to the table the Gigai had been leaning on, the Uchiha looked through an assortment of clothes and accessories to use for a while.

When he returned to the main room, Rukia claimed that he looked better than he had the previous night. A fact that Itachi could not help but agree with. The dark jeans made him look like he was standing straight, and the black long-sleeved, V-neck made his shoulder look like there had been nothing wrong. Out of habit he was taken a cord with three rings, and made a necklace out of it. All-in-all, Itachi looked a lot healthier and not about to kick the bucket.

After giving their thanks and gathering the little paraphernalia they had with them, the two left the Urahara Shop, and made their way to their next destination: Karakura High School. Neither of them knew what to expect from the human school. Sure, Itachi had gone to school twice and Rukia once already, but those were to learn how to attack and defend. On the bright side, during those lessons, being able to adapt was a major factor. The pair should not have too much trouble. Besides, they would only be there when a Hollow was not around. While keeping that in mind, the companions made their way to a new school.

The walk from the shop to the high school was a few miles away, and by they got there, it was half an hour past five. Somewhere along the way, they had discovered a park with a little ghost child residing in it. The ravens pressed on after giving small waves to the young boy.

"If Hollows attack, today could be the opportune moment for you to show him the ropes of being a Soul Reaper," Itachi said after looking up at the sky as he walked.

Rukia asked curiously, "Why just me? Where are you going to be?"

"Buying our school supplies," was her only answer.

Softly grumbling, she gave in, "Fine. Let's see if the kid's got it in him to really be a Soul Reaper."

Abruptly, they heard a beeping noise, and the Uchiha took his Soul Pager out of his pocket while Ruckia looked over his shoulder to see where the call was coming from. Automatically, the Kuchiki started walking in the direction of the signal. It was not too far away. They could most likely beat it on the way to school. As he kept his eyes on the dot, Itachi followed, but then suddenly told her to wait. Looking back, Rukia asked, "What's the holdup, Itachi?"

Looking down at his tracker, Itachi said, "It's gone now. Someone must have taken care of it, or it went back to Hueco Mundo." He showed the screen of the device to his partner, who, in return, said, "Until we find Ichigo Kurosaki again, I hope it was the last option." Itachi could not help but to agree with her, but he was thinking it was more the former guess.

Despite how brief, I know I felt someone when it disappeared, but there's only one person I know who feels like that. He couldn't possibly be in Karakura, could he? Itachi mentally questioned to himself. The vibe he had gotten felt devoting, worship-like, and free – if not a little lonely.

"Itachi?"

Upon hearing his name called, the man walked up to his friend. They continued on towards the school.

To be continued

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