This is the first chapter of a story I've started writing, and I'm pretty excited about this one. I love this pairing and I feel like they don't get enough love so here I am to present this to you all. This isn't beta'd so if there are mistakes, I apologize. I hope you enjoy it~

Disclaimer: I do not own bleach or the characters, I only enjoy writing fiction branched from the original plot.

Karakura town would be a normal town; one of peace, slumber, and joyous days-if not for the constant swarm of hollows. A town with as much reitsu as Karakura was rare. This detail tends to bring about many undesirable interruptions in the citizens' lives. Hollows tend to make things more difficult for humans, as well as shinigami. Shinigami have to take care of every hollow residing in the human world, and so can't stay in one spot like Kakakura. Even so, when a shinigami does visit Karakura, it seems as if the town's reitsu grows-which results in more hollows. This had been a problem, as attacks by an invisible force worried the citizens. Karakura needed a protector, and that is where a certain orange haired teen comes in.

Ichigo Kurosaki, substitute soul reaper, was at home when he felt before he heard the presence of a hollow. He was sitting in a chair across from his sister Yuzu, pretending to listen to her. The orange haired teen raised his head toward the window he sat next to, making it obvious he hadn't been paying much attention. He looked without really seeing the cars pass by or the people walking to and fro. The one thing he could notice was the almost Quincy-like color of the sky. Ichigo's chocolate eyes narrowed at the sight, and he found the sudden urge to see what was going on within his town.

The small motherly sibling before him had been rambling to her older brother about her twin Karin, who was at soccer practice. The usually calm and kind girl's face was flushed with anger as she ranted. Yuzu's voice was loud compared to her usual quietness, so anyone within the house could hear her rant. Well, they could if there had been anyone else within the house. Their father had gone for a run to the store while Kurosaki Clinic was desolate of patients. This left the substitute shinigami to bare the brunt of Yuzu's pent up anger, or at least appear to do so. Ichigo, who still had yet to move from his seat near the window, had completely blocked Yuzu out. The orange haired male's head snapped back to look at his younger sister, who hadn't even noticed Ichigo's lack of attention. Yuzu's voice finally reached Ichigo's ears once more as the substitute shinigami shifted in his chair.

"... And she won't even apologize to me!" Yuzu huffed, her face seeming to grow even redder. Ichigo could see the shiny glaze within his younger sister's eyes, the telltale sign she was about to cry. The orange haired male scratched the back of his head as an awkward silence enveloped the pair. Ichigo was usually good at consoling his sisters, but because he hadn't been paying attention, he wasn't sure how to go about comforting Yuzu. The small brunette stared at her older brother expectantly, and Ichigo's silence made the small girl realize he hadn't paid attention to her at all. Before Ichigo could say anything, Yuzu began to stomp off angrily, wiping away tears from her cheeks as she did so. As the girl began to make her way to the door, their overzealous father burst in the doorway. He still had his medic coat on over his clothes, which made him seem normal, if only for a split second. Isshin stood in a lunge position, blocking the doorway Yuzu wanted to go through.

"Daddy's homeeeee!" The middle aged man shouted, his eyes squeezed shut and a large grin on his face. Isshin was carrying a few bags with groceries, all filled with seemingly random items. Yuzu's eyes narrowed at the man standing in her way, and she waited for a moment before kicking him so hard the dark haired man doubled over in pain. Grocery items scattered the area in front of the door as Isshin dropped the bags he had had in his arms. The small brunette then continued her walk out of the house, bewildering her brother and leaving their father a weeping mess on the floor. The groceries that once inhabited the bag now lay strewn upon the floor, crowded around the middle aged man who was animatedly weeping and muttering incoherently about his daughter. Isshin crawled his way from the doorway to directly below the large poster hung on the wall of their mother.

"Oh my dear Masaki, Yuzu has now turned against me too! What is a man to do when all his children use him as punching bags?!" Isshin wailed, crying profusely as he clung to the poster. Ichigo sighed exasperatedly at his father's antics before he felt the same hollow reitsu flare up. It had been his father's own fault he didn't even notice his own daughter was in a bad mood.

Ichigo rose from the seat he had been in for about twenty to thirty minutes, he wasn't sure. He had lost track of time. Isshin quieted as Ichigo began to make his way toward the stairs, and his father observed him from behind with a rare seriousness.

"Ichigo." Isshin spoke quietly, catching the teens attention. Ichigo stood in place, not bothering to look back at his father. A pregnant silence enveloped the room as Isshin calculated how he should say what he wanted to say. He spoke once more before Ichigo could get impatient enough to continue ascending the stairs without hearing what he had to say.

"Be careful. Something isn't right out there." The dark haired man stated, causing Ichigo to look back. It wasn't what Isshin has wanted to say, but he was sure Ichigo understood. The teen nodded once in assurance, resolve evident within his eyes. His eyes almost seemed to shine with sheer power.

"Always am." Ichigo responded, a small smirk appearing on his face. Isshin watched the teen finish walking his way up to his room before he let a small sigh escape from his lips. The middle aged man took one look back at his late wife, his eyes going soft.

"That damn soul society can't do anything I ask, can it? He was supposed to be kept out of this." Isshin muttered darkly, pulling himself up from his seat on the floor. The father gathered up the groceries strewn across the floor and closed the front door, sitting them in their respective place in the kitchen. The man took a glance up, toward the sky he couldn't see as he felt Ichigo's reitsu distance itself from the Kurosaki household, and he sighed once more. Isshin made his way back to the clinic, flipping the closed sign over to open. Nothing like work to keep a father from worrying about his son.

—

Ichigo ran upstairs after his father was done speaking with him. The seriousness of the conversation they had worried Ichigo twice as much. He was terrible at sensing reitsu, and yet he felt a hollow's of all things. That, on top of Isshin's unusual statement, had the orange haired teen's nerves on end.

Ichigo entered his room hastily, groaning as he saw no sight of Kon anywhere. The stuffed lion was never there when he was actually needed. Ichigo rushed from his room to Yuzu's, hoping his sister had grabbed the lion some time today. As soon as he entered the room, he was attacked by the bawling stuffed lion.

"Ichigooooo! Look at me! Look what she did!" Kon wailed miserably, hugging the orange haired male's face as tight as his plush body would allow. The stuffed lion was dressed head to toe in pink lace, topped with a blonde ringlet wig stitched to his mane. Ichigo pulled the squeaky animal off his face in irritation, a scowl planted firmly on his face. Kon was oblivious as he continued to weep about his new physical appearance curtesy Yuzu Kurosaki, his small arms waving frantically to further portray his feelings. Ichigo would usually take the time to laugh at the mod soul's new look, but he was too worried and focused on the hollow presence to bother pushing Kon's buttons.

"I don't have time for your whining right now, open up." Ichigo growled, shoving his fingers into the stuffed lion's mouth. Kon gurgled a protest, but it fell on deaf ears as the teen finally gripped the mod Soul candy within the plush toy. The toy went limp in Ichigo's hands as he pulled the candy from it, and the sudden silence managed to put the substitute shinigami further on edge. He hurriedly swallowed the candy, his soul pushing out of his body as Kon woke within his. Kon looked at his new body and the original inhabiter in surprise before he grinned wickedly.

"Don't do anything stupid." Ichigo demanded without turning to look at his body, shunpoing out of the opened window within Yuzu's room. Kon watched the black clad teen disappear, huffing at the notion he of all people would do something stupid.

Ichigo's shinigami attire clung to him as he shunpoed in the direction of the hollow reitsu. As he drew nearer, he could feel a familiar reitsu in the same area. As he made his way to the battle, the sky seemed even bluer than at his own home, and as he arrived he understood why.

"Uryū!" Ichigo shouted, pulling Zangetsu from his back. The bandages surrounding the large blade unraveled and shrank as he did so, revealing a gleaming black blade. The Quincy turned long enough to glare at the substitute shinigami, his glasses reflecting the sunlight and temporarily blocking his eyes from Ichigo's view. The Quincy turned back to the enemy in front of him, pulling Ichigo's attention to the hollow as well. It was not only a hollow, but an arrancar. It had no visible number, and was completely unfamiliar to Ichigo. The orange haired shinigami was practically gaping in disbelief. He watched as Uryū and the arrancar danced around each other, sending attack after attack in each other's direction. They were almost evenly matched, which surprised Ichigo. The arrancar was fast, and the orange haired male hadn't realized Uryū had grown so much in the time they hadn't spoken.

Ichigo immediately noticed the Quincy was slowing down in mere seconds. The orange haired male was unsure how long their battle had been going, but Ishida's stamina was worn. The dark haired male was going on the defensive as the Espada began overpowering him. Ichigo rose his zanpakuto, staring calculatedly at the enemy before releasing a large wave of getsuga tenshou at him. It barely grazed the lithe figure and simply crashed into the nearest building. It hadn't served to be very useful as an attack, but was effective in catching the enemy's attention. The arrancar turned to him, large silver eyes glaring at him. The Quincy behind him kept his bow drawn at his direction, but was panting heavily as his arms visibly shook from the tension and fatigue within his muscles. Uryū would never say so, but he was glad to see the substitute shinigami butt in to his fight. The Quincy wouldn't have lasted much longer without intervention.

The arrancar had long, silver hair, a broken white horse mouth-bit along the right side of his mouth-the remaining pieces of his previous hollow mask. The white chain of the bit connected to a halter which wrapped around a horse ear along the right side of his face. Both horse ears were a dark grey, spotted with light silver areas that blended into his hair. The arrancar stood almost as tall as Nnoitora the Quinto Espada, if not taller. Both stood at a standstill to observe one another before battle. Ichigo could tell the arrancar would be a fast opponent, and the large thorn-like whip in his hand made Ichigo realize he was at a disadvantage. His enemy was a long distance fighter.

The lithe figure disappeared from Ichigo's vision in a split second, causing the substitute shinigami to panic. He relied solely on his instinct and zangetsu's guidance as he himself was put on defensive, his shunpo not quick enough to keep up with the arrancar in Shikai.

Zangetsu...

Keep fighting Ichigo. If you concentrate you can seek his spirit ribbon out and keep up with his movements. Do not fail.

Ichigo let his eyes slip closed as he began searching for the violent and dark spirit ribbon of the arrancar circling him. He sensed it just as the silver haired hollow slashed at him with a spike covered whip. Ichigo blocked it, the grey weapon retreating back to its owner. The duo exchanged a series of attacks as the substitute Soul reaper's instinct put him back on par with the arrancar. With the advantage he once had, Ichigo's enemy was continually growing frustrated. They were dead even at the moment. Both fighters took a few steps back to observe their opponents, their breathing ragged and loud. Uryū stood off to the side rigidly, attempting to regain his composure. He was anticipating any moment of attack in his direction, even though the arrancar seemed to be more interested in Ichigo at the moment. Just as Ichigo began to charge at the tall arrancar, the intimidating presence of Byakuya Kuchiki became apparent. He was rushing into the fight with shunpou, just as Ichigo had done earlier.

"Ichigo Kuros-" The Head of the Kuchiki clan spoke, his voice faltering as the orange haired teen looked in his direction in surprise. The arrancar took the opportunity to lunge at the substitute shinigami, his whip headed directly for Ichigo's chest. The orange haired male ducked in time to miss the majority of the attack, but felt the sharp pain of one of the spikes dragging into his forehead directly above his right eyebrow.

"Kurosaki!" Byakuya and Uryū shouted in unison, their eyes wide with shock as the teen shunpoued away from the arrancar to regain his bearings. The arrancar glowed a bright blue, laughing maniacally. He grinned maliciously at the substitute shinigami, his whip curling in his hand on command.

"You're a strong soul. Even that small amount of reitsu has satisfied me for now. But I will be back soon." The arrancar stated, his voice low and gravelly-almost a growl. The high level hollow opened a gargantua and disappeared within it before any of the three could react. As the tear in the sky closed, Ichigo collapsed. The Quincy stared dumbly at his unconscious friend nearing the harsh pavement below, but the Kuchiki heir resumed his composure quickly enough to shunpo toward the orange haired teen. Uryū thought Ichigo seemed oddly...small from the height he was at as the captain of squad six caught him. When the Quincy returned his feet back to normal ground, he was as dumbfounded as the captain before him seemed to be. Ichigo was smaller than before. Much smaller than before.

"He's-he's a child." Uryū muttered, his eyes widened in astonishment. Byakuya could only nod grimly. Ichigo needed help, quickly.