At the Kurosaki Household. . .

Despite the horrors they had both witnessed outside, Miki was keeping herself remarkably well-composed. Mostly because Kazui's arm was bleeding in a chair, and his hand felt like a car had run over it, and she was running around looking for stuff to help him. Kazui wasn't sure how he wasn't in more pain. It was most likely the adrenaline, but he hoped it was because he was just so badass as a Soul Reaper-in-training. Either way his arm just felt numb.

"Hey Miki, do you still wanna watch that movie?" Kazui blinked at his own words. Maybe he was just so loopy and exhausted from the nights events that he didn't notice the pain. He felt more numb than anything.

Miki zipped out of sight, and then zipped back in, trailing water from her clothes.

"What?" Miki squeaked. "No! You're bleeding and that monster is still out there!"

"We're safe in here," Kazui groaned, clutching his arm. "Hollows can't attack the house."

"How? Do your mom and dad know magic? Aha! Found a towel!"

Before Kazui knew what was happening, Miki had gently wrapped the towel around his arm.

"How did. . . But trust me, we're safe in here."

"Where's a phone? We should call the police."

"Miki we'll be safe in here, I promise. At least until Mom and Dad get here."

As if on cue, the front door opened. Kazui lost track of how long his parents stood there.

"Kazui! We're home! Are you and Miki having oh my god!"

"Where's my. . . You're bleeding." Kazui and Miki looked up to see Mom, Dad, and Aunt Karin all standing in the doorway. They were all holding their medical bags, and all looked at him with wide eyes. Mom was the first to react, moving to Kazui's side in a flash.

"Kazui, are you okay?" Kazui nodded. Mom looked unconvinced.

"I got a cut on my arm, and my hand feels weird." Kazui indicated the towel, which his mom began to undo. Meanwhile, Dad and Karin pulled out kits and supplies and put them on the kitchen table. Dad moved with a speed Kazui had never seen from him before.

"Karin, rubbing alcohol, stitching thread, and gauze."

"Already got 'em."

"Ichigo, look at this." Mom said. Kazui's cut from his shoulder to just above his wrist was visible for everyone to see. Mom rested a reassuring hand on Kazui's shoulder. He was beginning to feel the nights events start to sink in, and he was happy to have Mom with him now. Dad was with him too, examining the cut.

"Hmm. Alright. Not jagged, good. Not too deep of a cut. There's a lot of blood, but it looks worse than it is. Did you fall in anything dirty Kazui? A giant puddle maybe?" Dad's eyes met Kazui's, and Kazui looked away. The most he could manage was a nod. Dad grunted in confirmation. Him and Aunt Karin got to work. First Aunt Karin cut off what remained of his sleeve and tossed away the fabric. Then they got to cleaning the wound. Mom kept his arm steady and reassured Kazui throughout.

"It's okay. It just stings a little bit right now. Just breathe."

"I'm sorry Mom. Sorry Dad. This is all my fault."

"Don't worry about that." Dad said, leaving Kazui confused. Wasn't he mad? Kazui had broken the one rule Dad had given him, and put another person in danger because of his decisions. Dad had hidden his soul candy but wasn't angry at him for something like this? Kazui had many questions, but Dad was focused on his arm.

"Karin, I can handle this myself, check on Miki. Miki, Karin's a good nurse."

Aunt Karin was already at Miki's side with a dry towel. "Hey there. Need some orange juice?"

"Yes please Ms Kurosaki."

"Ms? I like you already. Alright, OJ coming right up."
Dad kept cleaning the wound. "Just relax Kazui, breathe. We can talk about this later."

Mom cracked her fingers and looked over where Miki was.

"Okay, she's lost a line of sight on us Ichigo."

"Do it."

Mom whispered. "Sōten Kisshun." Out popped three of her little spirits to form the glowing triangle of her healing magic. Kazui felt a warm sensation fill his arm and rush through the rest of his body. The stinging of the arm faded away, as did the throbbing around the cut. Before he even registered it, his arm was completely healed. Mom's spirits retreated into her hairpins just as Miki came back to them.

"Um, Mr. Kurosaki," Miki spoke up, drawing all the eyes in the room to her. "I saw everything." Miki quickly told them everything that had happened. Kazui sat in shame as the story came out. How she had never had candy or sweets before, how Kazui had decided to mount an expedition to a corner store, and how they had been caught in the rain and chased by a Hollow shaped like a bat with a thousand white teeth. She also said how the Hollow had been killed by a giant blue arrow the size of a car, but that part was quickly glossed over.

"It's all my fault. Kazui was just trying to be nice to me. I'm sorry I put him in danger!"

"You don't have to apologize Miki." Mom said. "It was an accident. We don't blame you."

"Nope," Dad said. "Here, come sit down." Miki approached, holding a glass of orange juice. She sat next to Dad, who was tossing out the disinfectant wipes. Kazui waited for Mom to start healing him, but she looked at Miki.

"Woah your arm is fixed? You must be an amazing doctor Mr. Kurosaki."

"I do my best. Now, do you know what you have Miki? Or what you saw?"

"I don't know. It's weird. I've been able to see things for a while. I can see people walking around sometimes, but they look weird, like I can see through them. Some have blood on them, but they aren't scary. Some even smile and wave at me. And that monster, it looked so real. Am I cursed?"

Dad and Mom looked at each other.

"Sweetie, this wound is all clean, but Kazui needs a hot shower," Mom said.

"Agreed. Kazui, go with your mom."

"Dad?"

"She can take care of your arm from here. I'm going to stay with Miki."

"Do we, do we still get to watch a horror movie?" It was unlikely, but Kazui could hope.

Dad shook his head. "Me and your mother are declaring curfew time. Both of you need to get ready for bed. It's been a long and stressful night for the both of you. We can all talk more in the morning. Understand?"
"Yes Dad."

"Okay," Dad tousled his hair. "now go get cleaned up." Mom was already helping Kazui to his feet as Dad turned his attention to Miki. He looked behind him to see Dad helping sit her down at the table. He could see a look in Dad's eyes. He looked tired.

"How are you feeling?" Mom asked. Kazui returned his attention to her as they entered the bathroom.

"Sad. Ashamed. Cold. Hungry." he muttered. Mom pulled up a chair and closed the door. She sat down while he stood, still holding his arm. It still hurt, but it wasn't nearly as bad as he felt. Kazui tried not to look Mom in the eye, but he couldn't resist her power.

Her eyes just made him break down as the night finally took hold of him. He started crying, and he couldn't stop.

"I'm sorry Mom. It's all my fault." Kazui wiped his nose, then felt Mom's arms wrap around him. She lifted him up and set him down on her lap. He hugged her back and cried.

"It's all my fault Mom." he repeated. Mom gently shushed him.

"Shh. It's not your fault."

"I didn't do as you and Dad said. I ran outside, with Miki! I didn't listen. I was mad, and I wanted to do something nice for Miki because we didn't have any candy and she hadn't had any before and I thought we could get some before you and Dad got back and it's my fault she was in danger!"

"It's not your fault." Mom's words quieted Kazui's crying a bit, but tears still flowed.

"We're not mad at you. We're both happy you're back home, safe with us. Just let it out, have a good cry. I'm right here with you. Okay? You're safe here with Mom and Dad. Just let it out."

"Okay."

So Kazui let himself cry. He didn't restrain himself or try to explain his actions. He just let himself cry while Mom stroked his hair and hummed to him. It was a lullaby, and hearing it made it easier for Kazui to just have a good cry with his Mom keeping him company.

"I have a treat for you and Miki later. Do you want ice cream?"

"Yes please. . ."


Back in the Kitchen. . .

Ichigo had left himself in a funny position. By letting Orihime take care of Kazui's wound, he had left himself with a little girl who wanted answers on things she may not want to know. Things she was far too young to know. . .

It had been smart to get Kazui and Orihime out of sight, however. It allowed her to use her healing on their son out of the sight of anyone who might be freaked out at the sight of a giant glowing triangle that could bring someone back from the dead. Miki had experienced enough madness tonight. There was no need to confuse her even further with something like that. That, and humans generally weren't supposed to know about Hollows and Soul Reapers.

It was a hard thought to consider. . . It might be better for Miki to have a new memory.

"You alright there?" Karin asked. She was drying Miki's hair.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good. Say, Karin, can you run an. . . Errand for me?"

"Sure? What do you need? Oh, do you need something to drink?"

"No. Definitely not. Could you go and check on my car? I want to be sure it's alright."

Karin looked at him like he had grown an extra head. The car was in the garage. They both knew that. Ichigo had been polishing it earlier today while whispering sweet nothings. Thankfully, it didn't take long for Karin to pick up the signals Ichigo was sending her.

"Alright. I can do that. Miki, do you have pajamas?"
"I do. They're not very warm. . ." The poor girl looked embarrassed. Karin looked on in thought, then smiled. Like a bolt of lightning, she slipped out of the room and left Ichigo and Miki in their collective silence. Miki looked slightly afraid of him. Maybe it was the hair.
Then again, maybe it was the lack of anything that Ichigo could say. Where was he supposed to start with something like this? Kazui had been so easy to tell. He had been able to see spirits since he was a baby. It had been easier for him to accept all of this. But Miki? Ichigo didn't know her. He didn't know how she'd react to this. He could guess, but he could also be completely wrong. He was confident in his guessing, but even still there was doubt. And all this thinking was just making the silence even more awkward between them.

Ichigo shrugged. "Sisters, right?"

"I don't know Mr. Kurosaki. I don't have siblings. . ."

"Oh. Well, believe me, you're saving yourself a lot of trouble. Siblings are crazy."

Another moment of silence passed between them. Ichigo almost wished he could wipe his own memory of the night. He couldn't imagine how uncomfortable he was making Miki. She would think Kazui's Dad was weird, and that he was weird too. Then word would get out that Kazui's entire family was weird. He'd be a social outcast, a delinquent at school!
A drink was beginning to sound delicious to Ichigo at this point.

"I'm back!" Karin cried out. She zipped back into the room with a blue hoodie.

"Isn't that Yuzu's?" Ichigo could swear she wore it in middle school.

"Yup! Miki, this things a little big, but it'll keep you warm tonight. Go get changed, you can use my room." Karin handed the hoodie to Miki, who beamed in gratitude. Then she seemed to imitate Karin's speed and ran down the hall, duffel bag in hand so she could change. Ichigo wasn't sure if her speed came from an eagerness to wear the hoodie, or to get away from him.

"I'm not glaring, am I?" he asked Karin. She only shrugged. "Cool. Look, I need you to scan the town. Anything you find that might indicate more Hollows around, or signs of an escape. Anything."
"On it."

"And before you say, wait what? That was quick. I thought you wanted a beer run."

"I do, but I want to make sure there's nothing else out there. If you think we need to make sure everything's safe, I'll take care of it."

Ichigo smiled. "Thank you." Karin smiled back at him. Then she pulled him into a hug.

"Where did this come from?" Ichigo joked. But Karin kept hugging him. Ichigo decided to just enjoy this rare moment, and hugged his baby sister. She was in her twenties, but she was still a baby sister to him.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said.

"You too." Ichigo tightened the hug, making Karin squeak.

"Why?" she wheezed. "Why do you respond to my love with pain?"

"Because I love my baby sister, that's why."
"You take that back!" Karin hissed.

"What? That I love you?"

"No! You just called me your baby sister! You know I hate that! I can't breath. Release me!"

"Never! Oh alright fine. Just a few more seconds. Three. . . Two. . . One. . . And done."

With that, Karin made a swift exit. But before she left, she turned to look at Ichigo with a look that he hadn't seen in years. It was a more distressing sight than anything he had seen tonight.

"Ichigo, what happened tonight, with the rain, I just want to you to know something."

"Please, don't." he almost whispered.

"I'm here to talk whenever you need it, okay?"

Ichigo couldn't find the words to respond to her, so Karin mercifully took that as her cue to leave without another word.

Like that, Ichigo was left alone with his thoughts. They inevitably shifted towards the nights events. There were important aspects like the mystery of how the enemy had cast such a fog to hide their presence, and what kind of rogue Arrancar had been running around with such potent concealment abilities, or why so much effort had been dedicated to avenging just one Adjuchas lieutenant. If they were lucky, this night was the last time they'd hear from that group.

But luck was rarely on their side, and Ichigo was not about to let himself get complacent over tonight. Something was moving against them and he needed information. No matter what barriers were erected against him or what regulations bound his hands, he'd break them all if it meant his family's safety. That of course raised another problem; his family. Or more specifically, his son.

"Mr Kurosaki?"

Miki's meek voice snapped Ichigo back to reality, where he had a child's well-being to address. Everything else could wait until after he made sure Miki was alright. Well, she would never be truly fine after tonight. That was his failure, and he would remember it, but he could still mitigate the damage. He bode Miki come sit with him.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Sleepy. And scared. And confused. Mr Kurosaki, what's going on?"

Ichigo sighed. "That's something I'm trying to figure out, just wish I had the answers."

"Sorry?" Miki asked. Ichigo almost slapped himself.

"Sorry, long night. You'll need to be more specific.

"What's happening in the town? Why can I see these monsters? Am I cursed?"

All of these were questions Ichigo had asked himself when he was a kid. But he had had the output of bully's faces to work out some of that pent up emotion that came with being a teen. But Miki was far younger, too young for this. Where to start?

Addressing her questions was a good place to start, obviously. The impalement, dismemberment, blood loss, and regeneration from all three had exhausted him to the point of forgetting how to continue a conversation.

"It's not weird, and you are not cursed. You see Miki, you have a very special gift. You know how we're told about spirits and ghosts when we're kids?" Miki nodded in response. "Well, some of those things are real. Ghosts sometimes walk around us. You're one of the very few who is spiritually aware, who can see and, if you want, interact with them. You have a gift, not a curse."

Miki's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"Ghosts are real?" she whispered, though whether it was out of fear or excitement was hard for anyone else in the room to tell. Kazui was too distracted by her eyes to remember the pain he was in.

"Basically," Dad said. "Most of them are just the ghosts of normal people who've. . . Passed away. They may linger with us for a while, and believe me when I say that most of them are perfectly harmless. They may stick around to watch over someone they loved, like a family member, or a friend, or a dog. Sometimes they stick around to a certain place, a town, a house, and so on."

"What's out there? Are any of the spirits evil Mr Kurosaki? Is there a real Sadako?" she squeaked, definitely in fear.

"I can safely say there are no ghosts like Sadako or Kayako out there. There is no real life "The Ring," nor is there a real life "The Grudge." Nobody needs to be worried about cursed cassette tapes or haunted houses. Well, some houses can be haunted, but the worst you'd get from an actual ghost is silent judgment and passive-aggressive comments. No ghosts are coming to hurt either of you."

"That's good. But, if that wasn't a ghost, what was that thing?" Miki asked, and there came the difficult part of everything. Monsters were real for Miki now, and they would try to kill children.

"That was an evil spirit. A Hollow. Most spirits are nice, or just quiet, but a few are nasty."

"It said it wanted to eat us. . . Are they demons?"

It was tough question. But it was best answered by a white lie.

Ichigo had spent a fair bit of time thinking how Hollows might've been the inspiration for demons and the implications thereof that humanity's development had been influenced by Hollows and Soul Reapers. Technically demons were their own species, if one could place a label on them. Hollows, Soul Reapers, and Humans were all components in the great cycle of spirits. Hollows didn't fall under the same kind of role as demons. They didn't corrupt people, just ate them.

"No. They're human spirits overcome by negative emotions. Some spirits linger for too long and they get mad, or sad, and become things like that you saw. But the odds of you running into another one like that are very, very small."

"Oh. . ." The girl seemed a bit calmer knowing that. Ichigo let the silence pass as she drank her orange juice. Slow and steady, that was how best to do this. There was no getting around the fact that monsters did exist. But the next step was to give her hope.

"Fortunately a good spirit came to help you and got rid of that nasty creature."

"A good spirit? What are they called?"

"I can tell you their name later. But what is is that you and Kazui got back home safe. The Hollow is gone, there's no danger out there tonight. Do you have more questions? I'm an open book."

As it turned out there were a myriad questions Miki had to ask. Most of them concerned how spirits worked, where they might show up, what to do if she saw one, light stuff. Ichigo made sure to give her some general advice and reminded her frequently that there was nothing wrong with her.

"Do you mind if I ask where you got that idea?"

"Some kids at school. And my parents. They don't believe me."

The sad fact was that there was little cause to believe her. Unless her parents saw giant claw marks or footprints in the town, they wouldn't ever believe their daughter wasn't just making up stories.

The best he could do was reassure her that she was not cursed. Even though it had brought him a lot of suffering, Ichigo would never take back his spiritual abilities. Well, maybe a few of them.

But tonight had been long, and Miki looked tired. It was time for her to go to sleep. She happily agreed and took the bed in their guest room. At her request Ichigo went and grabbed a night light for her, the brightest they had. He would check up on her throughout the night. Sleep was impossible at this point, so he might as well make sure she was sleeping soundly.

The best thing he could do for himself was keep busy. Cleaning up was ideal for that, sorting away the medical kits and disposing of Kazui's torn sleeve. The process helped focus and calm his mind, but only slightly.

So much had happened tonight, good and bad. Joyous victory and incredible terror. He just wanted to get himself back in order. He'd won the fight and gotten one hell of a cathartic rush, but it felt hollow. Deep inside his consciousness, Zangetsu coughed for his attention.

"King...Was that a pun?"

Ichigo sighed. But he also chuckled. Not at the pun, though he was proud of it. No, it was because he had a certain person in mind tonight who he was going to have a few choice words with...

"King, you're scaring me..."


Three Days Later...

In times of peril, the defenders of Karakura Town had often run operations by the skin of their teeth. While it had worked out, not having concrete plans beforehand made things a bit stressful to say the least. With that in mind, Uryu had proposed a meeting room. It was a simple idea but a useful one; a gathering spot to share information and come up with plans. The obvious choice was Urahara's shop. It was protected, relatively unnoticeable, and had some damn snazzy technology.

The most useful at current was the holographic table, allowing them to present some very useful visual aids. Right now the group was examining the zanpakuto of Ichigo's attacker. Uryu, Orihime, Karin, Urahara, Yoruichi, and Tessai were gathered around.

Looking at it made his stomach throb slightly. But he had gotten the last laugh in the end.

"You alright?" Orihime asked him.

"Just nostalgic. Anyway I managed to regrow my hand, snap that sword in two and got a little interrogation going. He was out for revenge when Orihime and I killed his, I guess lackey is the best word we could use to describe the relationship. I got the number of his goons and then ended the conversation." Everyone in the room knew what he meant by "ended the conversation."

"So that's why I felt a bit of Quincy energy," Uryu muttered. "Twice in fact."

Ichigo was quick to fill them in on the second kill, thus rounding out their recap of the night. Ichigo noticed that throughout the talk, Urahara had been standing there in silence, just listening.

"That's some overpowered bullshit right there," Karin said. "Just one Arrancar was able to muddy our sense for spiritual pressure, turn invisible, and somehow cut through the armor made by Zero Squad? That's just ridiculous. You guys said that Aizen was able to create Arrancars with that Hogyoku thing right? Could this have been one of those experiments that just emerged?"
This time it was Urahara's turn to speak. "Possibly, but I doubt it. He kept thorough records on his Hogyoku experiments that I dug through once we captured him. Amateur encryption too... But I never saw anything like that in there. I could just be a natural Arrancar that was in league with the Espada. We do know from Harribel that some haven't been found yet."

Karin looked indignant still. "Yeah but, that kind of power can just happen? What's next, an Arrancar with two levels of Resurrecion?"

Ichigo, Uryu, and Orihime looked between themselves. Karin slumped on the table.

"Jushiro told me about one that had a minigun cero technique," Ichigo said. And one that could cause death in...Everything apparently. Ooh, Yammy kind of had a second Resurrecion, sort of. There was also that weird doctor Espada, right Uryu."

Uryu just shuddered. "Don't remind me."

"Okay then," Karin said. "so bullshit powers aren't unheard of. I get it."

"The armor part does worry me though." Kisuke said. "I'm almost sad you killed him..."

Ichigo paused. "I'm just going to ignore that. But I'm not convinced this was just one dumbass looking for revenge. Call me paranoid but I think there's more going on. No Adjuchas would come here without knowing everything that's happened here. I think he was sent here by something or someone."

The rest of the room looked among themselves. Except Orihime.

"What makes you think that?" asked Tessai. Ichigo still envied his biceps.

"This was too damn coordinated. The Arrancar knew to separate us and get me out of the way while a Hollow targeted Kazui. It even got Karin and Orihime out of the city, and Uryu to be gone," Ichigo paused and looked between Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Tessai. "though I am surprised none of you showed up to help at any point."

Yoruichi grumbled. "That makes two of us. Regardless, I ran numerous patrols around the town for the past three days. I found nothing. Either we wiped them out completely, or the rest turn tailed and ran. We don't have much to go on besides the words of Hollows at this point."

"I'm with Ichigo on this one," Orihime said. "This was too smart. They were targeting Kazui like they knew what he meant to us and what he's capable of, even if he doesn't. Someone was watching him, watching us, and waiting for the perfect moment to strike at us. Something's going on here and we need to get information about it. I want to know who thought to target my boy so I can bury them alive."

Everyone else in the room felt a distinct chill in the air at Orihime's words delivered with such calm tone of voice. Ichigo was feeling a variety of emotions and didn't know what to say to that.

"Anyway," Uryu said, thankfully. "I must admit I share the concern now that I think about it. But there's another reason we should all be careful these next few weeks, especially you Kurosaki."

"I only disrupted the forecast a little bit."

"Not that," Uryu looked worried. Uryu. "but you killed two Hollows with Quincy arrows. We're definitely going to be getting some visitors from Soul Society soon."
"Shit," Ichigo cursed, gripping the table. He felt Orihime's hand on his, and took a breath.

"Maybe they won't do anything stupid?" Karin suggested. "Might just send Byakuya or Renji."

"If they didn't do anything stupid, Orihime and I wouldn't have had to move several counties,"

Karin looked a bit taken aback. "sorry. Not mad at you."

"You're good," Karin replied. "I don't like it either."

"We'll have to play the cards close to the chest on this one," Kisuke said. "Some of Central 46 are still looking for a reason to get at Ichigo and they might jump on this chance. Not saying it will happen. Thankfully there's cooler heads in charge at the Squads, but it's something to consider."

Yoruichi nodded. "If we use this right we can get information out of them. If they send Soi-Fon, I can play her like a fiddle if it means we can learn something about what's going on. No Adjuchas should be able to pop up in the Spirit Well without someone being alerted at least. We do have time."

"Okay then," Ichigo said. "we all know the patrol procedures. Anybody have something to add? Last minute ideas, suggestions to toss around? Brainstorm anything? No. Alright then."

The meetings usually consisted of just that. Check on patrols and change them around if people were going to be out of town. It was like working nights, only this time Ichigo and Uryu didn't have to sleep in a hospital bunk bed. Everyone was clearing out, except for three people.

Ichigo, Yoruichi, and Urahara. They stood in silence. Urahara looked on at Ichigo with his eyes unreadable as always. Yoruichi however was a whole different story. She was trying not to meet Ichigo's gaze. Not out of fear, but of guilt.

"So, Kisuke?" Ichigo said.

"Yes," Urahara replied.

"When did you plan on actually stepping in and protecting my son? After he was dead?"