AN: Hey guys. Welcome to the first chapter of my very first fanfic. For the few people who saw this when it was first uploaded, the text turned into a jumbled mess. I reuploaded the first chapter, so hopefully the problem is fixed. Anyway, this fic started as a way to practice my writing and I fell in love with the story. Hope you guys enjoy.

Chapter 1: The Fall of Beacon and the Substitute Soul Reaper

Pyrrha Nikos never thought it would end like this. The once undefeated champion of Mistral now sat at the mercy of her opponent, Cinder Fall. She had fought countless battles, earned the title of "The Invincible Girl", had made truly wonderful friendships, and had even been chosen to become the next Fall Maiden and inherit untold power. But that had all been stripped away in one fateful night.

It started during the final round of the Vytal Tournament. Her first opponent was Penny, a friendly-looking girl whom was secretly a robot. She hadn't known Penny that well, but she held no ill will towards the girl. However, she had been tricked into using her powers over magnetism to literally rip Penny to pieces. That was just the beginning. After that, the creatures of Grimm had attacked the city of Vale without warning, forcing her into a fight for her life. After leaving the arena and making it back to Beacon, she was greeted by Professor Ozpin, and followed him along with Jaune, her partner that she harbored secret affections for.

She had followed Ozpin to the vault underneath Beacon to attempt to have her inherit the Fall Maiden's powers, but that hope was dashed when Cinder Fall, the Maiden's assailant and possessor of half her power, fired an arrow straight into the Maiden's heart, killing her and stealing the rest of the power for herself. Pyrrha and Jaune escaped the vault, but Ozpin was nowhere to be seen. The pair had seen Cinder ascend Beacon Tower, and Pyrrha sent Jaune on his way in a rocket-propelled locker, but not before giving him a parting kiss. She then made her way up the tower to confront Cinder and face her destiny.

She had fought well, but in the end, the new Fall Maiden proved too powerful for the Invincible Girl. And so Pyrrha sat, an arrow having pierced her ankle, watching as Cinder slowly walked towards her.

"It's unfortunate you were promised a power that was never truly yours," Cinder said to the red-haired warrior.

That's rich coming from the one who stole the Maiden's powers in the first place, thought Pyrrha.

Cinder reached down and lifted Pyrrha's head, forcing her to look the Maiden in the eyes. "But take comfort in knowing that I will use it in ways you could never have imagined."

Pyrrha sat up straight, a defiant look in her eyes.

"Do you believe in destiny?" she asked.

"Yes," replied Cinder, standing up and reforming her bow in her hands. She manifested an arrow, nocked it and took aim right at Pyrrha's chest. Pyrrha leaned back, resigned to her fate.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement. She looked to the source, and saw her friend Ruby Rose, who had just climbed up the tower, presumably to help her.

Before Pyrrha could react to Ruby's presence, she felt a sharp, immense pain as Cinder let the arrow loose, piercing her straight in her heart. Pyrrha let out a few gasps for breath, looking at the stunned expression on Ruby's face and the cold, emotionless one on Cinder's. And instantly, she felt regret. And then, nothing.

Blake Belladonna was not faring much better. She was laying on the ground at the feet of her former partner, Adam Taurus. He had led the White Fang in their attack on Beacon, and now he was coming for her. She had left him during a mission a while ago, and he had devoted all of his resources to tracking her down. And now he was here. Right in front of her. She had nowhere to run.

"This could have been our day!" Adam yelled at the black-haired cat Faunus. "Can't you see that?!"

"I never wanted this!" Blake replied, slowly starting to sit up. "I wanted equality! I wanted peace!" She raised her weapon, Gambol Shroud, and fired a few shots at Adam, which he blocked with his bright red katana, Wilt.

"What you want is impossible!" he yelled back, before sheathing his sword and backhanding her, knocking her back onto the floor.

"But I understand," he said, suddenly much more calm. "Because all I want is you, Blake."

Blake attempted to raise her weapon once again, but a swift kick from Adam sent it across the room.

"And as I set upon this world and deliver the justice mankind so greatly deserves, I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love," he said, kneeling down above her.

"Blake!" a distant voice called. Looking for the source of the voice, both Adam and Blake spotted Yang Xiao Long, Blake's partner at Beacon.

"Blake!" Yang called again. "Where are you?!"

No, Blake thought. Yang shouldn't be here.

Adam had noticed how concerned Blake had suddenly grown for the blond girl.

"Starting with her," he said, standing up and drawing his sword. He then stabbed Blake right in the stomach, forcing a scream to escape her lips. The scream caught Yang's attention, which is exactly what Adam wanted. He removed the sword from Blake's abdomen, turning towards Yang and sheathing his sword.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" the blond screamed, activating her Semblance, her normally lilac eyes turning a vibrant shade of crimson, her hair glowing.

"No," Blake weakly attempted to convince her partner not to attack. "Please."

With a scream, Yang charged straight at Adam, who in one quick motion, drew his sword and delivered a lightning-fast slash. Blake could only watch in horror as Yang's form fell in two pieces, severed at the waist, sending blood spraying all over the room.

Blake's worst fears had been realized. Her best friend, her partner, now lay dead at her feet. And it was all her fault.

"You're a monster," she said quietly to Adam, tears streaming down her face. "YOU'RE A MONSTER!"

Adam looked down at her, his expression impossible to read behind his mask. "Only because the humans made me one."

"No," she said. "Only because you chose to be one."

Adam looked down, seemingly saddened by her words. "Why must you hurt me, Blake?" he asked, raising his sword once again.

Blake did not even attempt to resist. She was tired of all the fighting, tired of running, tired of people she cared about getting hurt because of her own cursed past. If her death would prevent all of that, then she welcomed it. And so it was with a calm reservation that she allowed Adam to follow through in his attack, his blood-red sword slicing her flesh from her right shoulder to her left hip, covering his body in her blood. It was immensely painful, but only for a few seconds. And then it all went black.

"You got a death wish, pal?"

The question was directed at Ichigo Kurosaki, a high school student at Karakura High School. Ichigo stood tall, still wearing the all grey uniform of his school, nonchalantly scratching the side of his head, messing up his mop of bright orange hair. The one who asked the question was a thug with a thin mustache and a beanie, wearing camo pants, a shirt with the Canadian flag printed on the front, and black combat boots.

"Nobody jumps one of my boys for no good reason and lives to tell about it," the thug continued. The "boy" in question lay on a heap on the ground, presumably having been knocked there by Ichigo.

"Hm," mumbled Ichigo, still scratching his head.

"That's all you have to say?!" The thug shouted, attempting to throw a punch, only to be met with Ichigo's foot connecting with his cheek. The thug fell over, and Ichigo began stomping on his back while he was down. The other three thugs simply watched, not being able to decide on whether or not they should help their friend. Once Ichigo was convinced the thug was thoroughly unconscious, he looked up to address the other thugs.

These guys are really starting to piss me off, he thought to himself.

"Now listen up, you pond scum!" He yelled at the other thugs. "Do you see that right there?" He pointed at a small vase of flowers that was laying sideways on the sidewalk.

"I got a couple questions for you. First up: What do you think that is? You, the one in the middle- answer!"

"Who, me?" The thug in question pointed to himself, before looking at the vase. "Uh, I guess somebody left those flowers for some kid who got killed here."

"Correct!" Ichigo yelled, as he delivered a kick to the thug that answered him.

One down.

"Now for question 2. That vase over there: Why is it lying on its side?"

One of the thugs answered. "I guess one of us knocked it over when we were skateboarding."

This prompted Ichigo to kick both remaining thugs, sending them flying backwards. "You guys catch on fast," he said. He looked down at the thugs with pure, unbridled fury in his gaze. "Now go over there and apologize, or next time the flowers will be for you!" He screamed at the thugs, causing them to scream in terror and run off, apologizing all the way.

"There," he said. "That oughta keep them from showing their ugly faces around here. Sorry about that." He turned around to acknowledge a new presence. Floating above the flowers was a little girl with brown hair done up in pigtails. She was wearing white shorts and a red-and-white striped tee shirt. She also had a short chain sticking out of her chest. "I'll pick you up some new flowers tomorrow," Ichigo said to the little girl.

"Thank you for helping me," The girl said to him. "Maybe now, I can finally rest in peace."

"It was nothing," he said, bending down to put the vase back where it belonged. "It's the least I could do. After all, you deserve to rest peacefully." With that, he turned around and walked away, waving goodbye to the girl as he left.

For as long as Ichigo could remember, he possessed a special ability. Unlike most people, he could see the souls of the dead. He figured it had something to do with his family being entrusted with the lives of the living, as the Kurosaki's owned a medical clinic in town. He didn't really mind helping the spirits out, but it always made Ichigo feel separate from his peers. This wasn't exactly something he could just tell any of his friends about. They'd think he was crazy. So the secret stayed with his family. His younger sister Karin could also see spirits, much to her chagrin, but his father and other sister Yuzu couldn't.

Ichigo was approaching his house, located behind the Kurosaki clinic. That little scuffle with the thugs earlier had delayed him, so it was already dark by the time he got home. He was in for it now.

"I'm home," Ichigo said as he walked through the door, only to be met by a roundhouse kick to the face, courtesy of his father, Isshin, knocking him to the ground.

"You let your guard down," said Isshin mockingly, standing over Ichigo with his hands on his hips. He was wearing a yellow shirt with red floral print, grey slacks, and his long white doctor's coat. He had short black hair and stubble along his chin. "Always stay alert when you enter a room and you're late for dinner. AGAIN!"

"Oh, come on!" Ichigo shouted back at his father, getting right up in his face. "Is that any way to welcome your own son after he just risked his life to help a spirit find peace?!"

"Oh, so it's the ghost's fault now, is it?! I suppose a ghost forgot to clean your room, too? When are you gonna show some discipline?! I know you can see ghosts and I can't, but I'm still in charge here!" He threw a punch at Ichigo, which was returned by his son, and before long, the two of them were locked in combat, each seriously trying to hurt the other, while Ichigo's sisters, Yuzu and Karin sat at the dinner table. Yuzu was watching the two of them fight, a concerned look in her eyes, while Karin just continued eating her rice, not a care in the world.

"Hey," Yuzu called to the pair. She had shoulder-length light brown hair, with the left side held out of her face with a strawberry-shaped hair pin. She was wearing a yellow hooded sweatshirt and black pants under a long white apron. "Stop fighting, you two. Come over here and eat your dinner."

"Let them fight," Karin said nonchalantly to her twin sister. She had black hair that stopped just short of touching her shoulders, and was wearing a blue tee shirt with short black sleeves, and black shorts. "More rice for me." She lifted her bowl to Yuzu, indicating that she did in fact want more rice.

"That's not very nice, Karin," Yuzu replied.

Ichigo landed a punch to the middle of his father's face, sending him rolling backwards into the wall on the opposite side of the room. "You know, Dad," he yelled, pointing angrily at his father. "For any normal, healthy high school kid, a 7 o'clock curfew is totally uncool!"

"Ichigo," Karin said to him, not looking up from her dinner. "Speaking of uncool, you have a visitor."

Ichigo looked over his shoulder, seeing a spirit floating behind him. The spirit belonged to a middle-aged man, with a white dress shirt and black tie, his legs being replaced by a wispy tail. Just like the little girl, he had a chain sticking out of his chest.

Ichigo looked at the spirit annoyed. "How long have you been there?" He asked. "Take a hike, will you?" He swung his hands out, attempting to swat the spirit out of the air, but it flew around him, dodging his swipes. "You damn pest."

"You dropped your guard again!" His dad shouted suddenly, delivering a kick that took out Ichigo's legs. Ichigo recovered quickly and threw one final punch to Isshin's face. With a grunt, his father finally collapsed on the ground, completely defeated. "Good job, my son," he said through clenched teeth. "No charge for the lesson."

"Damn goat-chin," said Ichigo. "Never mind dinner. I'm going to my room."

"Wait, Ichigo!" Yuzu called, but Ichigo didn't want to listen.

"Way to go," Karin said, looking at their father. "You really have a way with kids."

"Me?" Isshin stood up, looking genuinely offended. "What did I do?"

"Ichigo is kind of having a rough time right now," Yuzu answered.

"Yeah," said Karin. "He said he's seeing more spirits lately than ever before.

"What?!" Isshin asked, surprised. "Why would he talk about these things with you two instead of coming to his own dad? That doesn't make any sense."

"Sure it does," Karin responded. "You're over forty, but you have the maturity of a pre-schooler, Dad."

Isshin stumbled over to a giant poster on the wall, depicting Masaki Kurosaki, Isshin's wife and Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu's mother.

"Oh, my dear wife!" He yelled, clutching at the poster dramatically. "Maybe it's because they're hitting puberty, but our daughters are being so cold to me! What do I do? What do I do?!"

"You can start by taking down that poster," Karin deadpaned.

The next morning, Ichigo walked into the living room, his school uniform already on. It was a pair of grey slacks and a grey blazer, and he wore a blue tee shirt underneath it. The T.V. was on and the news was playing, but he didn't really pay it any mind. Yuzu and Karin were already eating breakfast.

"Hey," he said to his sisters groggily.

"Good morning, Ichigo," Yuzu greeted cheerfully.

"Morning," he replied. He looked around, and saw it was just them. "Where's dad?" he asked.

"Early meeting," Karin replied. "Said he'd be late tonight, too."

"Again?"

Ichigo finally turned to look at the T.V. to see what was on the morning news, and was surprised that they were reporting about an explosion in town. And he recognized where it was.

"Something bad happen?" Yuzu asked.

"That's near here," Ichigo realized. How did we not hear it?

Ichigo was walking through town on his way to school, passing through the spot the news was showing. Sure enough, there was police tape everywhere, and it looked like a bomb had gone off, with police and fire fighters everywhere. He made sure to stop by the place where he met the girl yesterday, having stopped to buy her some new flowers. He was nothing if not a man of his word. Oddly enough, the girl was nowhere to be found.

"Hello?" he called, looking for the girl. Suddenly, he heard a loud roar. He ran towards the source, only to round a corner and watch a building explode a block away from him, sending everybody around him into a panic. Against his better judgement, he ran towards the source of the explosion, and was greeted by the weirdest thing he had ever seen.

Standing in front of him was a giant monster. It had the body of some kind of insect, and its arms were long bladed appendages, similar to a praying mantis. It was also wearing a white mask that looked like it was made out of bone, and had a large gaping hole in the center of its body.

He heard a voice call out, "Help me!"

Looking down, he saw the spirit girl from yesterday running from the monster in terror.

"Run!" he said to her, leading her away. "Hurry!" The monster had turned towards them and begun to chase them.

"What is that thing?" the girl asked.

"I don't know," Ichigo replied. "Just keep running!"

Suddenly, the girl tripped and fell over. Ichigo ran back over to help her up, and noticed that the monster had almost caught up to them. He looked up in shock, when a black butterfly flew into his line of sight, only to be replaced by a figure. She was a young woman, wearing black robes, with black hair reaching down past her shoulders, and a single strand falling in front of her face. The most striking thing about her, though, was the katana in her hands. The unknown girl swung her sword, slashing the monster across the face before landing and assuming a battle stance. The warrior leapt high into the air, raising her sword above her head before bringing it down in a vicious strike, cutting the monster in half, its form dissolving into black particles.

The girl calmly landed, sheathed her sword without a word, and walked away. Ichigo lost sight of her when a crowd began to form, curious to see what happened.

What the hell was that?

Later that night, Ichigo was lying awake in his bed, trying to make heads or tails of what happened earlier. Who was that girl? What was that monster? How did she kill it? He was laying there, deep in thought, when he saw the black butterfly form earlier fly through his window. Suddenly, he saw the mysterious girl standing on his desk next to his bed. He was able to get a good look at her now, and realized how young she must be. She was a good foot shorter than him, and looked like she was about his age, if not even younger. He sat up and just gaped at her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He asked her. She didn't respond. She just stood there, looking like she was thinking about something, before reaching down to grab her sword, which was sheathed at her waist.

"Ah!" Ichigo shouted, backing up as far away from her as he could. "Put that thing away! You're not slicing me up!" The girl continued to ignore him, jumping off the desk and standing in the middle of his bedroom, hand still on her sword, which she had yet to draw. "Hey!" He said, trying to get her to stop ignoring him.

"It's getting closer," the girl said out loud to herself. "I can feel it." Her thoughts were interrupted by Ichigo's foot being planted in her back, knocking her on her stomach.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Ichigo demanded, as she crashed to the ground. "If you think you're a burglar, you really suck at it. Let me give you some advice: don't talk to yourself when you're trying to sneak into someone's house."

"You kicked me," the girl said incredulously. "But how? I can't be seen by ordinary humans. You can see me?"

"Considering that was my foot I just planted in your ass, I'd say yeah, I can see you," Ichigo answered.

"You were the one I saw in town earlier," the girl said, finally standing up. "I remember."

"Nothing gets by you, does it?"

The girl reached up and started poking his face. "That's strange," she said. "You look normal, but you must be defective somehow."

"I'll show you defective," Ichigo said, thoroughly irritated by the weird girl in front of him. What is wrong with her? She breaks into my house, talks to herself, and then insults me? He raised his leg to kick her again, but she flipped over him, using his head as a footstool to jump behind him, knocking him to the floor in the process. "Who are you?" He asked again.

"You want to know?" The girl asked. "Then I'll tell you. I'm a Soul Reaper."

"Alright," Ichigo said, after hearing the girl's explanation. "Let me see if I got this right. You're something called a Soul Reaper."

"Mmhm," the girl nodded.

"And you're telling me that you were sent here on a mission by something called the Soul Society."

"Mm."

"To deal with demons like the one we saw today."

"Mmhm."

"Which was chasing after that girl's soul."

"Mhm."

"That all sounds perfectly believable to me. ALONG WITH FLYING PIGS AND THE TOOTH FAIRY!"

"How dare you?" The girl asked. "Why wouldn't you believe in Soul Reapers when you just admitted you can see spirits?"

"Sure, but I've never heard of any Soul Reapers before. And frankly, your whole story just sounds crazy. I don't believe in anything I can't see."

"Well, you see me, don't you?" the girl asked, standing up.

"That's true," he said. "And you're definitely not human. But why don't you go play your little Soul Reaper games somewhere else? Okay, you little brat?" At that, he condescendingly put his hand on top of her head, as if he was reprimanding a child. "Now run along."

"I'm a brat, huh?" The girl said, audibly pissed off. She reached out her right arm, placing two fingers to Ichigo's chest. "Bakudo number 1: Sai!" She shouted.

Suddenly, Ichigo felt an invisible force wrench his arms behind his back and pull him to the floor. "What the hell? I can't move! What did you do to me?" He demanded of the girl.

"I paralyzed you. I used what we Soul Reapers call a kido on you. It's an incantation only we Soul Reapers can cast." She looked down at him with a mocking smirk on her face. "It's useless to struggle. You're just wasting your energy. I may look young to you, but I've already lived nearly 10 human lifetimes. I would kill you right now for your insults if it were not against my orders. So you, 'little brat', be grateful."

"You've got nerve," Ichigo said defiantly.

"And now," the girl said, drawing her sword.

What the hell? Ichigo thought. I thought she said she wasn't going to kill me!

The Soul Reaper raised her sword above her head, and brought it down. Ichigo closed his eyes, preparing himself to be sliced in two. To his surprise, the attack never came. Instead, he looked to his right and saw the pommel of the girl's sword pressed up against the forehead of the ghost of the middle-aged man from yesterday.

"No," the spirit begged. "Please don't. I don't want to be sent to the underworld."

"You needn't worry," the Soul Reaper said to the spirit, smiling pleasantly. "Because you are bound for a better place- The Soul Society. There, your soul will be at peace." She removed her sword from his forehead, and it started to glow. The spirit's face changed from one of fear to one of contentment, as he vanished into a glowing blue light that had appeared underneath him.

"Where'd he go?" Ichigo asked the Soul Reaper. "What did you do to him?"

The Soul Reaper sheathed her sword. "I sent his spirit to the Soul Society," she answered. "It's one of the main responsibilities of a Soul Reaper. You people usually call it 'passing on'. Now I'll explain why I'm here. And I'll use small words so even you can understand it."

She reached into her robe and pulled out what appeared to be a sketch pad. When she showed it to Ichigo, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. It looked a kindergartener had drawn those pictures. He saw what looked to be a bunny surrounded by hearts with the word "wholes" written underneath it, and what he assumed was a bear face surrounded by lightning bolts with the word "hollows" written underneath it.

Is she sure she isn't a child? Ichigo thought.

"There are two types of spirits in this world," she began. "The first kind are the normal spirits called 'wholes'. The ghosts you usually see are this kind. The second kind are evil spirits known as Hollows. The Hollows attack people, living or dead, in order to devour their souls. Any questions so far?"

"Yeah, why do your drawings suck so much?"

The Soul Reaper took advantage of Ichigo's paralysis to draw a curly mustache on his face.

"Hey!" He yelled at her, trying to struggle. "You'll pay for that!"

"Let's continue with our lesson, monsieur," said the Soul Reaper, clearly proud of her little prank and annoyed by Ichigo's insult of her drawing skills. "Soul Reapers have two main missions. First, to lead Wholes to the Soul Society through Konso, as I just did. Second, to exorcise Hollows wherever we find them."

"That Hollow with the bug body earlier," Ichigo began. "Why was it chasing that girl?"

"I don't know," the Soul Reaper answered. "We still don't fully understand what motivates the Hollows."

Suddenly, Ichigo heard a loud explosion and a roar. What was that?! He thought.

"One thing we do know," the Soul Reaper continued. "There's still a second Hollow prowling around somewhere nearby."

"Then what the hell are you waiting for? Go out and kill it."

"I would, but I can't seem to detect its location," the Soul Reaper said, looking down, clearly disappointed in herself. "Usually, I have no trouble finding a Hollow that's close by. But here, it's like my senses are being jammed by some powerful force.

"What are you, deaf?" Ichigo asked her, having no clue what she was rambling about. "There's something huge howling out there. That sound has to be a Hollow."

"Something howling?" The Soul Reaper asked, looking to Ichigo. "What do you mean?" Suddenly her eyes went wide with shock, finally hearing the Hollow. She stands up, reaching for her sword. "Now I hear it. Definitely a Hollow."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you."

There was a crashing sound, and Ichigo heard a girl's voice calling for help.

"That's Yuzu!" Ichigo realized, beginning to panic. His sister was clearly in some kind of trouble, and he couldn't do anything about it, still stuck by the paralysis spell the Soul Reaper cast on him. The Soul Reaper ran out of the bedroom, leaving Ichigo behind.

"Hey, wait!" He called after the Soul Reaper. "Untie me!"

The Soul Reaper stopped just after crossing the threshold into the hallway, the air suddenly feeling very heavy. This spiritual pressure is among the strongest I've ever felt, she thought. How could I have not sensed it earlier?

"Ichigo?" a girl's voice weakly called. The Soul Reaper turned and saw a young girl with light brown hair stumble down the hallway before collapsing in front of Ichigo's bedroom door.

"Yuzu!" Ichigo called, his panic only getting worse. "What happened?"

"Ichigo," Yuzu said, getting weaker by the minute. "Karin's been…" Ichigo's eyes grew wide. "Ichigo, you've got to save her." Yuzu tried to reach out to Ichigo, but fell unconscious.

"Hey!" Ichigo called out to the Soul Reaper, who was bending down to make sure Yuzu was still alive. "You've got to let me go!" He continued to struggle in his magical bonds. A scream rang out from outside, causing the Soul Reaper to get up and run down the hall and down the stairs.

"Hey!" Ichigo called again, but the Soul Reaper was already gone. "Gotta break free," he said, using all of his might to try to stand up.

The Soul Reaper had made it to the bottom of the stairs and was standing in front of a huge hole in the side of the house, staring right at a Hollow. This one was more humanoid than the last one, looking almost like a fishman. It stood at around two stories tall, and in its hand was a black-haired girl.

"Put me down!" the girl shouted. The Soul Reaper drew her sword, preparing for battle, but was interrupted when Ichigo came tumbling down the stairs, arms still trapped behind his back.

"Stay out of this!" The Soul Reaper shouted to Ichigo.

"Damn it," he grunted, struggling onto his feet, completely flooring the Soul Reaper.

How can he be on his feet when he's under my spell?

Ichigo stumbled into her. "Fool," she said. "You'll only get in my way."

"Shut up," he growled at her. He then saw the giant Hollow with Karin in its grasp. "Karin!" He shouted, and started struggling harder than ever to break the spell.

"Stop!" The Soul Reaper yelled to him. "That kido is too strong for a human to break. If you keep trying, you'll only cause damage to your soul!"

Ichigo let out a sustained scream, and started glowing. What? The Soul Reaper thought. He's breaking the kido? But that's impossible. With one final roar, Ichigo's arms were freed. He charged forward, grabbing a folding chair to use as a weapon.

"Don't do it!" The Soul Reaper tried to stop him, knowing he was only going to get himself killed.

"Ichigo!" Karin yelled. "Get me out of here!" He charged at the Hollow, raising his folding chair, but a single punch from the Hollow's free hand knocked him down the street.

"Karin," Ichigo said weakly, trying to get up.

"I found you," the Hollow said, raising his hand to crush Ichigo. He rolled out of the way as the Soul Reaper sliced the arm holding Karin open with her sword, causing the Hollow to roar in pain and drop Karin. Ichigo ran up and caught her, as the Hollow stepped back through a portal, vanishing from sight.

"Karin!" Ichigo yelled, trying to wake her up, but she wasn't responding. "No!"

"Don't worry," the Soul Reaper said, still on her guard. "She'll be alright. The Hollow left without devouring either of your sisters' souls."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It's seeking a specific soul to eat, one with a much higher concentration of spirit energy. In fact, the Hollow earlier was looking for that soul, too, not the girl's," the Soul Reaper realized.

"But why?"

"For some reason, most of your spirit energy was hidden deep within you until now, when you needed it to save your sister. That's why I didn't sense anything unusual about you when I arrived. It also explains why the Hollows haven't come after you. The spirit energy you have bottled up inside you started to pour out when you made contact with that young girl's ghost. As a result, your soul became exposed. Those two Hollows today detected your soul through that girl, and they were using her to track you down. Which means the Hollows are really after you."

"Those things want me?" Ichigo asked, a horrified look on his face.

A portal opened, and the Hollow stepped out of it. "It's back!" The Soul Reaper said. "Get out of here!"

"No!" Ichigo said, standing up. "So that poor girl was attacked because of me?"

"That's one way to look at it."

"And now both of my sisters could wind up dead, and it's all my fault?" He remembered the scared looks on his sisters' faces, and charged at the Hollow, ignoring the Souls Reaper's attempts to stop him. He stopped before the Hollow.

"Coward!" He shouted at it. "Quit attacking others. If it's my soul you want, come and get it. Fight me one-on-one, you ugly bastard! Just leave them out of it!" The Hollow charged at him, opening its mouth wide as if it intended to swallow him whole. There was a spray of blood as Ichigo realized the Soul Reaper had gotten in front of the Hollow, taking out one of its teeth with her sword, but the rest the teeth were clamped firmly on her shoulder. The Hollow pulled back, ripping a chunk of her skin off, and the Soul Reaper fell to the ground, blood covering what was left of her shoulder.

"Soul Reaper!" Ichigo shouted.

"You are a fool," the Soul Reaper gasped. "How could you have possibly thought you were a match for a Hollow? Did you really think he would just leave if you gave him your soul? One soul is never enough for them." She started struggling to get up, but was too injured to get very far. "If you don't stop getting in my way, we're all going to die!" The Hollow was holding its mask, clearly in pain as the Soul Reaper continued trying to get up.

"I'm too injured to fight," the Soul Reaper said, resting against an electrical pole. "Do you want to save your family?"

"Of course I do," Ichigo said. "If there's a way, then tell me how." The Soul Reaper reached for her sword.

"It will only be temporary," she began. "But you must become a Soul Reaper." She pointed her sword at Ichigo as she said this.

"What?"

"You must take my Zanpakuto and run it through the center of your being, so that I may pour my powers into you. I can't guarantee that you will live. But if it doesn't work, it won't matter." The Hollow started to walk back towards them.

"Then give me that blade, Soul Reaper," Ichigo said, a fierce determination in his voice.

"My name is Rukia," she said. "Rukia Kuchiki." Ichigo grabbed the blade with both hands as the Hollow started to run.

"And my name is Ichigo Kurosaki!" They pulled the blade through Ichigo's chest, causing an explosion of bright blue light. The Hollow recoiled from the explosion, only to discover that one of its arms had been sliced off. When the light faded, Ichigo was standing behind the Hollow, now wearing a robe identical to Rukia's. Or it would be, if Rukia's robes hadn't become white. In his hand was a gigantic sword, shaped like a katana and as tall as he was, a thick leather sheath strapped to his back. He rested the sword on his shoulder as energy started to swirl around his feet.

How could this have happened? Rukia thought. I meant to give him only half of my power, but somehow he's taken nearly all of it.

"This ends now!" Ichigo shouted to the Hollow, charging at it.

What kind of being is he? I've never seen a human with spirit energy this strong. That's what was jamming my senses before. I've never heard of a human with enough strength to break the kido on his own. And I have never seen a Soul Reaper wield such a huge Zanpakuto.

The Hollow tried to stomp on Ichigo, but he dodged it and sliced off its leg. He looked at it with pure contempt in his eyes.

"You will pay for hurting my family, you Hollow scum. Feel the wrath of my blade!" He let out a battle cry, raised his sword above his head, and brought it down, slicing the Hollow clean in half, causing it to dissolve into black particles.

"Yeah!" Ichigo celebrated his win. "How do you like that, you ugly son of a bitch?"

"Incredible," Rukia said, utterly astonished by what she had just seen. Ichigo was about to turn to say something to her, when there was a loud crash behind him.

"What the hell?!" He exclaimed.

"What now?" Rukia said.

Ichigo turned around, raising his sword at the source of the sound, not knowing what to expect. When the dust cleared, to his surprise, he saw an impact crater in the middle of the street, with three girls lying in the middle of it. They were quite frankly the oddest-looking girls he had ever seen.

The first girl had long blonde hair that reached down to her waist and lilac eyes. She was wearing a short tan jacket with short puffy sleeves that left her midriff exposed. The top of the jacket was unbuttoned, revealing a yellow crop top underneath. She was also wearing very short black shorts. She had a brown half-skirt behind her, with a longer white one underneath, brown boots, orange socks, and a purple bandana around her left leg. Completing her outfit was an orange infinity scarf. Ichigo couldn't help but notice her rather substantial bust.

The second girl had long black hair and amber eyes, with a black bow in her hair. She was wearing a white crop top with a black coat-tailed vest over it, also exposing her midriff. She was wearing white shorts, with black full-length stockings underneath them that gradually turned purple, and black heeled boots. She wore black ribbons on both arms, and a detached black sleeve on her left arm.

The third girl had long red hair tied in a ponytail, and green eyes. She had a golden circlet in her hair, and was wearing a gold and brown chest plate, and elbow-length gloves. She was wearing a very short black skirt with a red sash wrapped around it and trailing off. She wore leg armor that went halfway up her thighs, and black boots.

Curiously enough, all three of them had chains attached to their chests.

"Who the hell are you?" Ichigo asked. Okay, this was officially now the weirdest day of his life.

AN: Thank you guys for reading. This idea came about when I started reading a bunch of RWBY Crossover fics and realized that there are very few that involve RWBY characters going to a different world. Most of them involve other characters going to Remnant. So I decided to write my own.
And yes, I will be using the terminology from the English dub of the anime. It's the version I grew up with and I'm most comfortable with the terms from that version.
I will try my best to keep a schedule of uploading every Monday and Friday. So for now, the second chapter will be coming out on Monday, March 25.
Since I really want to practice my writing, feedback is very much appreciated. Thank you guys again for reading.