Chapter 1: Death and the Strawberry

"Brat, what's yer name?" "Kurosaki Ichigo." "… Strawberry-chan?" What if instead of Rukia, Ichigo met Hirako Shinji? Adventure, hilarity and chaos ensue!

Rated T for some foul language

It ain't my business, just continue walking. Someone else will be here soon.

The shrill screams reverberated through his ears and entire being, causing him to come to an abrupt stop.

"Help! Anybody please! Karin-chan is-" A girl's desperate plea for help rang out, but faded too quickly in the dead night. Not a single movement, not a single soul stirred. They were doomed.

Shinji clenched his fists, shutting his eyes tightly, as though wanting to drown out the cacophony. He willed himself to continue moving, but his legs just refused to listen, as if glued to the spot.

Where the fuck are the Shinigamis when you need them?!

Suddenly, the walls of the house exploded outwards, spraying debris everywhere. Instinctively, Shinji neatly sidestepped the flying rubble. A massive Hollow emerged from within the house, giving an unnatural howl, chilling Shinji's bones. The Hollow brandished 2 unconscious girls, a dark-haired girl and a brown, caramel haired girl. The former in particular was in critical condition, with crimson blood oozing down an open wound on her head, staining her clothes.

"You fucker! Get your filthy hands off my sisters!" A lean-built teenager dashed out from within the house, cursing and angrily swinging a chair at the Hollow.

If it weren't for the fact that there were lives in danger, Shinji would have been laughed until his sides split at the sight of the human flailing the chair at the Hollow to no avail. However, all Shinji did was to give a grim smile. A human could never hope to best a Hollow. Their fates were sealed.

All of a sudden, the Hollow, bored of the boy's antics, lurched towards the orange-haired teenager, opening its mouth as if wanting to consume the teenager whole.

"Run ya idiot!" The words tumbled out before Shinji even processed what was happening

He gaped, watching at the scene unfold in slow motion. To his surprise, the teen stood his ground, staring unflinchingly at the macabre being moving towards him. Shinji noticed however, the shaking of his hands and the frightened eyes, betraying his tough exterior.

Shinji could not remember exactly what happened next.

One moment he was rooted to the ground and the next moment he was in front of the Hollow, having pushed the boy backwards. He fumbled for his sword but it was too late.

Shit.

The hollow bit his shoulder, taking a sizeable chunk off Shinji's shoulder. Shinji winced in pain as he doubled over, panting, trying to stem the flow of the blood by holding his injured shoulder, or what was left of it. The Hollow reared up, preparing to take a swipe at Shinji, but before it could manage to, Shinji nimbly shunpo-ed away, ending up beside the teenager.

"Hadou 33, Sokatsui!" Shinji held out his hands, facing his palms towards the Hollow. A light-blue orb, pulsing with energy emerged from his hands, shooting towards the Hollow. The Hollow howled in pain as the orb exploded in its face. Temporarily blinded, it walked in circles, trashing around randomly.

Shinji collapsed from the exhaustion from the expenditure of energy and his wound. Somehow, it seemed like his strength was being sapped away. He tried to stand, but was instead hit by waves of nausea, and his vision blurred.

What the-? This ain't normal...

Shinji gave himself a few moments to compose himself before calmly assessing his situation. The Hollow was still in confusion but that would only buy them at best, a few minutes. In his current condition, it was dangerous to be handling his sword, especially with his balance being off and his muddled mind. It was possible though to take it down, however, he could not guarantee the safety of the two girls that the Hollow was holding.

"Hey! Do that fancy hadouken thing again!" The orange-haired teen shouted at him, frantically pointing at the Hollow.

Shinji stared blankly at the teen. How could he see his Hadou? And now that he thought about it, it seemed like he could see the Hollow too. Shinji closed his eyes and tried his best to concentrate, blocking out the hammering headache and Ichigo's frantic yells. In a few seconds, he found what was looking for. Massive reserves of reiatsu, who the heck is this guy?

An idea sprouted in Shinji's head as he silently regarded the boy in front of him. He could transfer some of his powers to the boy, allowing him to temporarily become a Shinigami and hopefully, fend off the Hollow.

But transferring my powers to a mere human… It's the gutters for me if Soul Society ever finds out.

The Hollow growled, interrupting Shinji's train of thoughts. It had finally gotten back its bearings and was menacingly glaring at their direction.

Heh, what am I thinking? I'm already exiled from Soul Society, can't get worse than that.

"Hey brat, what's yer name?" Shinji weakly gasped.

"… Kurosaki Ichigo." Ichigo grudgingly replied.

"Strawberry-chan eh?" Shinji chuckled before breaking into coughs.

"…"

"Anyways, stab this sword into yerself."

"Are you crazy?!" Ichigo spat, flabbergasted.

"Probably but you ain't got much choice now heh? Ya can either become dog food or kebab. Personally though, kebabs are more delicious."

Ichigo first glanced at the sword that Shinji was offering to him with uncertainty and disbelief, then at Shinji, trying to figure out whether he was indeed a lunatic.

Shinji cast a sideward glance towards the Hollow which was already making its way towards them and sighed.

"Look, this is probably the only way ya can save yer sisters, but if yer are too much of a wuss, just run." The joking tone was replaced with a serious and urgent one as Shinji mustered all of his remaining strength to prop himself up, his grey eyes staring straight into Ichigo's.

"If I do this, can I really save my sisters?" Ichigo asked after a pause.

"… It's our best bet."

"I'd take it." Ichigo looked at the sword with resolute determination before thrusting in into his abdomen.

A bright flash of light engulfed the two, followed by a massive eruption of spiritual pressure which caused everything in their immediate vicinity to be blown backwards.

The two stared at each other in shock. Ichigo was now clad in a black kimono, wielding a massive sword while Shinji was… Still the same actually, decked out in his human clothes.

What the hell? Did he just take most of my reiatsu?! Greedy bastard. Shinji shot a glare at Ichigo who was still amazed by his sudden wardrobe change.

"Stop ogling at yer clothes and concentrate on the enemy!" he snapped impatiently.

"Bakudo 61, Rikujokoro (Six Rods of Light Prison)!" Shinji chanted, summoning six beams of light that slammed into the Hollow's midsection, firmly holding it in place, making it an easy target for Ichigo.

"GO!" Shinji urged.

Taking the cue, Ichigo ran towards the Hollow, holding his sword above his head and leapt into the air. With all his strength, he swung the blade down, neatly slicing through the Hollow's head. The Hollow gave a final unnatural scream before dissipating. As the Hollow disappeared, Ichigo caught his sisters as they fell. Panicking, he laid his sisters on the ground and hurriedly checked their pulses, before giving a relieved sigh.

Ichigo then turned his attention towards Shinji, walking back to him and then extending his hand, offering to help him up.

However, before Shinji could reach for his hand, Ichigo swayed and collapsed onto the ground.

"Great." Shinji groaned.

…

Urahara surveyed the damage. Stopping by some debris, he rummaged through his clothes, producing a device which he used to analyse the residual spiritual traces.

"As suspected, this Hollow is the handiwork of Aizen." He mumbled under his breath.

Just then, Urahara sensed two faint spiritual pulses, one very familiar while the other unknown. Unsheathing his sword, he cautiously followed a trail of blood which seemed to lead to the spiritual pulses. Turning a corner, he gasped in surprise upon seeing Shinji slumped against a lamppost with a teenage boy in Shinigami garb lying unconscious on the concrete.

"Hirako-san?!"

"Yo, Kisuke, looks like I got myself in some shit again eh?" Shinji gave a weak smile before passing out.

This story just struck me out of nowhere and it was super fun to write! Really excited to write the next chapter so stay tuned:) Reviews are very much appreciated! Thanks for reading~