Agent of the Shinigami Arc - Bleach Retold Chapter 3: All Hanshin Kyojin, a bleach fanfic

Well, it appears everyone's in favour in keeping Renji and Byakuya the same so as your subservient fanfic writer I shall respect your wishes and leave 'em be. I also like to give a big thankies Yuria-chu from deviantart for allowing me to his pic for my cover to the story. It gives you all a good idea what my Fem!Ichi and Male!Ruki look like.

Link:

http:./. yuria-chu. devianart gallery/12445487?offset=72#/art/RuIchi-GB-167646655?_sid=4ee2f36d

(Remove the fullstops)

GreedTheSelfless:Yes, I've decided to the pairing IchixRuki absolutely I love how their relationship develops. Their romance will develop slowly since they only know each other for a month, since its more realistic than immediately falling in love. There'll be some fluff with Orioji but nothing serious.

Kleny GingerHead:Yes I can imagine Renji getting like that with Fem!Ichigo lol. Do I know what Yaoi is? Yes. Do I like it? Nope. I stay away from reading them since I'm, well, a guy and not into that kind of thing but I don't disrespect those who like it. What right do I have to badmouth them? 'To each their own' I say. If you don't like certain stories then just don't read it, its not difficult. But to answer your question I think Ichigo would be Uke, submissive one, but that depends on who he's paired with.

There will be other guy characters who are attracted to her (such as Keigo and Male!Ori) some moreso than others but as you say Ichigo's heart will belong to Male!Ruki. I hope to write out the whole series if allowed, in seperate arcs because... why the hell not? But it'll probably be something like two evey month if I have time. Even if I'm flamed and bitched at by haters, I will ignore them for the sake of my hopeful readers so don't worry, man.

Anyways, here's chap 3.

The next day…

It was quite early the morning, just before school starts. Very few students were about at this time, most were either in bed or having breakfast.

Gangnam Style~

One of the few just came out of the groceries store carrying many bags of candy and other essentials. He was typically this cheerful after coming out of the store with sugary treats. The schoolboy continued to sing and dance his way to school from the store, completely oblivious to the many bystanders staring at him. Soon he came across the local park where he noticed a familiar orange-haired schoolgirl.

"Huh, Kurosaki-chan?"

xxxx

At, the park…

I'm tired of being what you want me to be ~

Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface ~

Don't know what you're expecting of me ~

Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes ~

(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow) ~

Every step that I take is another mistake to you ~

(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow) ~

I've become so num- ~

"JEEZ, WILL QUIT SINGING, ALREADY?!" the fighter girl screamed, in displeasure.

"What is your problem, Ichigo? I'm learning the modern dialect of this world from this music… plus-this-song-is-awesome" Rukio replied.

It was an hour before school started, so Rukio decided to train Ichigo by getting her to hit 100 pepper-filled balls that a pitcher machine would throw at her and she'd have to hit them with a stick they found lying around (which she thought was stupid). The problem was Ichigo let the Death God borrowing her I-pod to listen to music in hopes of learning modern language. At first she found it amusing listening to him sing to many different songs from Nickleback's 'How you Remind Me' to Rick Roll's 'Never Gonna Give You Up'… but now he was so focused on singing every song he seemed to had forgotten why he originally asked for it or why they were even in the park for that matter. As much as Ichigo liked hearing him sing (though she would never admit it), she didn't like going to school early while giving some bullshit excuse to her family.

"Okay" Rukio held up two of balls both with a hand-looking thing and a cutesy, smiley cat face drawn on in marker. One was labelled 'hand' and the other 'head'. "From what I saw from watching you earlier, you can handle your Zanpakuto well enough; despite its size but due to your inexperience you lack efficiency."

"Well, I wasn't really trying…" Ichigo hid an amused smirk behind her hand as she listened to the midget.

"Experienced Shinigami need only one blow to kill a Hollow" Rukio shook the ball labelled 'head'. "The head is a Hollow's weak spot; one good whack will split it open. Enough damage to the rest of the Hollow will defeat it but it's much simpler going for the head."

Ichigo nodded slowly; knowing an opponent's weak point was a major advantage. "Hmm, okay… only go for the head in emergencies, then."

The disempowered Shinigami mirrored the nod for a moment, before he dropped the balls. "Are you even taking this seriously?" he demanded.

"Of course I am" Ichigo replied. "Not taking a fight seriously is asking to get your ass kicked and I'm a sore loser" she shrugged. "But there's no point in going straight after an opponent's weak spot. You don't get stronger that way and if that strike ends up not enough for some reason, you're up a creek without a paddle."

Rukio reached to pick up the balls and put them down in the pitcher. "There's no Hollow that could survive having its head sliced open."

"So there's no Hollow that can comprehend the concept of 'dodging'?" When a moment passed without a reply, Ichigo started shaking her hips. "Besides, if you're going to end a fight in one blow, what's the point in fighting at all? It's no fun."

Rukio stopped dead on the sidewalk, staring at the orange-head like she was one of Orioji's attempts at cooking. Closing his eyes, he muttered something Ichigo only caught snatches of.

"What an idiot… just like the Eleventh Division" Figuring it was probably something she'd find out after she died; Ichigo didn't let it bother her.

xxxx

Across the road…

"Hey, Kurosaki-chan! Kurosaki-chan! Over here! It's me!" the auburn haired boy cried out.

Orioji still had his earphones blaring in his ears so he couldn't hear anything. He was so focused on getting Ichigo's attention that as he ran across the road, he was completely unaware of the danger speeding in his direction.

xxxx

Back, to the park…

"No! No! No! You're only supposed to hit the ones labelled as 'heads', you idiot" Rukio explained, as he threw a soda can at her.

"Oh c'mon! I can't tell them apart from the ones labelled as 'hand' when they're travelling a hundred fucking miles per hour at me, they all look the same!" Ichigo argued. "If the 'bad balls' were a different colour that'd be different!"

"Listen. The purpose of this training is to increase your accuracy with your swordsmanship."

"But I've been killing 'em just fine so far" she retorted. "Why do I have to do this?"

"Fool, you haven't defeated a Hollow in one hit, yet" he pointed out. "Besides you just go in charging head-on. A sneak attack is one of the basics of defeating them."

Ichigo tsked at this. "Attacking from behind is a dirty tactic" she protested, while popping her hips, again (why does she keep doing that?).

This caused Rukio to frown at her. "Fighting a Hollow isn't the same as fighting a Human. If you fight one as if it were Human, you will end up with unnecessary injuries that could've been avoided… or even dead."

Sccccccccrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeecccchhh! "GAH!"

"Huh? What was that?"

xxxx

Outside, the park…

The two raced out of the park to find the orange-haired schoolboy lying sprawled over the side of the road. The contents of his bag were spilled out over the street and he, to the concern of the schoolgirl, was bleeding from his left arm.

"Inoue-kun! Did you get hit by that car?" the schoolgirl asked with concern, as she and Rukio helped him up.

The ginger slowly managed to pull himself up to his feet. "Maybe."

"What do you mean 'maybe'? You're bleeding! Are you gonna be alright?"

"Don't worry it's not that bad, I'm fine" he smiled.

"Hang on a 'sec… where did that car go?" asked Rukio.

"Huh? Oh, I guess it drove away" he explained light-heartedly, while scratching the back of his head.

"Inoue-kun! You should be more serious about these kinds of things!" the fighter girl scolded, before cracking her knuckles. "Did you at least see the bastard's licence plate?"

"No, no, no! I didn't and please let's not make a bigger deal than it already is!" the tall boy waved his hands frantically. "Besides it was my fault for looking, anyway!"

Ichigo thought about it for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Well, as long as you're okay but we gotta fix that arm of yours."

The trio moved over to the park bench where Ichigo wrapped some bandages on her fellow classmate's arm. It took a while due to Orioji's whining about how much it hurt, it took even longer to stop him crying all the way through. During this time, the former reaper couldn't feel a bit tense with how friendly Ichigo was to the other boy.

It was at this point Orioji then noticed the small raven-haired boy next to Ichigo. "Oh you must be Rukio-kun."

"Yes I am. Now, just who are you?" he crossed his arms, while frowning at him.

"Oi, that's Orioji. You know, he's in the same class as us" Ichigo whispered, a little offended by how rudely the Shinigami was to her friend. "Don't you remember?"

Oh he's just Ichigo's friend. Guess Rukio acting all defensive for no reason.

"Oh, of course, my dearest apologises. How are you, Orioji-kun?" the midget greeted, with a gentlemen's bow.

First, he was rude to Orioji, now he greeting him like a real prince, much to the irritation of the fighter girl.

"Oh I'm fine, thank you for asking, Kuchiki-san" and now he too was imitating Rukio by giving the same curtsy also to Ichigo's annoyance as a tick mark appeared.

It was at that point Rukio noticed a big, red mark on Orioji's leg, it looked pretty bad, certainly worse than the other injury.

"Hey, how did you get that bruise on your leg?" he asked. "Was it there before?"

"Huh, oh no it just got there" he told. "It must have been from the car that ran into me."

"Sheesh, doesn't it hurt?" the red-haired girl raised an eyebrow.

Orioji just stood there blinking at them for a few seconds… a little longer… and a little longer… until.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow! It hurts! It hurts! It really, really hurts!" and just like that he was reduced to a crying Chibi form of himself rolling on the ground.

Really it took him 10 minutes to realise his leg hurts? Soon enough Ichigo patched up his leg, too, with the last of the bandages.

"Do you want to come to school with us, Inoue?" Ichigo asked.

"Huh, you don't mind?"

"Sure, right Rukio?"

This got the dark-haired boy's attention. "Huh? I suppose so."

"Yippee!"

He then grabbed his two new friends and raced down the road towards. For a guy with an injured leg… he sure could run fast.

xxxx

After school…

"Seriously, what the hell is your problem with Orioji?!"

"Hey! Don't talk to your superior with such disrespect!" he outraged.

"Superior! Last time I checked I had the Shinigami powers" she responded, while shaking her hips. "So why am I your lapdog?"

"Arf!"

"What the-?"

"Arf! Arf!"

"Don't yo-!"

"Arf! Arf! Arf!"

"Cut that o-!"

"Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf!"

"I hate you so much" she heaved a sigh, to Rukio's amusement.

Ever since Rukio met Orioji he had acting jealous little brat at the mention at her friend's name. Ichigo didn't know how much craziness she could take…

"KUROSAKI-CHAN! KUCHIKI-SAN! HI!"

…And just like that Orioji appeared behind the two, startling them with a loud greeting.

"Holy hell! Where the crap did you come from?!" Ichigo asked, still shook up.

"What are you doing here, Orioji-kun?" Rukio asked, equally surprised.

"Oh, I was just passing through while shopping for dinner" he said, carrying many bags food and other essentials. It appeared Orioji just came out of the groceries store. He was naturally this cheerful after coming out of the store with enough experimental food to feed a small army. "By the way I couldn't help but hear you two talking."

Oh crap. How much did he hear? Does he know about her having Shinigami powers?

"I think resemble a dog, too! Arf! Arf!" he smiled gleefully, to their confusion. So he only heard parts of their chat. "What kind of animal do you think you most resemble, Rukio?"

"He'd be a parrot" Ichigo said, flatly for him. "You know. Like that one my neighbour used to have. It was small, dark, hovers around you annoyingly and spews a load of gibberish that even he doesn't understand."

After hearing this remark a tick appeared on the midget's temple. "How dare you! Why would compare to such a foul creature?!"

"Why not? It's like saying the sky is blue" she shrugged. "Plus your stupid hairdo reminds me of that bothersome, little thing. I'm kinda glad that cat gobbled it up."

"Oh really…" Rukio strained a smile. "Then, I guess you don't really mind if I associated you with a giraffe."

"What? How so?"

"Well apart from the fact you're so tall that it's a miracle that you can me from up there, you use your long legs to kick around anyone you don't like" he smirked, crossing his arms. "Not to mention, you sleep while standing up half the time."

"Oi! I don't sleep standing up… that often" the orangette retorted, blushingly.

"Not only that, your head is filled with mostly soft muscle and thick bone leaving little room for a brain" he grinned… until he found himself in a headlock.

"I'll show you what a brainless giraffe can do!" she screamed, while pinching his cheeks.

Thus, the pair got into a comical Chibi fight, pulling each other's cheeks and throwing general insults at each other about their respective heights. While this was going on, Orioji just stared at confused with whole thing before chuckling.

"You two sure are funny together. Like the 'All Hanshin Kyojin' comedians" he chirped, completely oblivious to their irritated looks to him. "Oh, I almost forgot, would you two like to come over for tea this evening with Tatsuki?"

"Uh sure, I mean I've got nothing else to do" she scratched her head and looked over to the raven-haired boy, who let out a sigh.

"I guess so" he said, to the taller boy's delight. It would be a good opportunity to

"By the way, shouldn't you go see a doctor about that leg?" Ichigo asked, with concern.

"I walk it off but if it hasn't gotten any better by tomorrow I'll go to the hospital for a check-up" the redhead smiled.

"Do you need me to walk you home?" she offered.

The boy waved his arms frantically, almost comically. "Nah, it's okay, I'll be fine, really."

"Okay then, take care of yourself, man."

With that, the red-haired boy promptly left.

xxxx

Later on…

On their way back home, the duo fought five Hollows and helped eight spirits passed on. During that time, Ichigo noticed that Rukio still wasn't comfortable at the thought with spending the evening with that redhead boy. Instead, she called for Rukio to hurry up.

"So then that boy, how close are you to him?" the former reaper asked.

"Oh you mean Inoue-kun? I've known about him for about 5 years, now. His place is only a few blocks away and hangs with Tatsuki the most, so I see him around. Maybe we can get there in time to keep him from deciding to cook us dinner."

"What's wrong with Orioji's cooking?"

"Inoue-kun lives alone. No one ever taught him to cook, so he experiments; only he has an interesting taste" Ichigo winced. Talk about the pot and the kettle black… There was no need to tell the former Shinigami that Orioji was the only person who could stomach any of his cooking - sweets aside - without feeling sick. "Leeks and red bean paste, remember?"

"He lives on his own…" Grimacing at the thought of him cooking, Rukio changed the subject. "Does that mean his parents are dead?"

Ichigo scowled. They weren't but from impression she got the world would be better off if they were. "No. Although he lived with his older sister, Inoue Sara, up until about 3 years ago when she died in a car accident outside my family's clinic."

"That's terrible. Did you know her?"

Ichigo shook her head. "The day I first saw her was the day she died. As a ghost she's kinda whiny and droopy but she cared deeply for her little brother, dotting on him most of the time. I haven't seen her around in a while, actually, like 2 months. It's like she disappeared" she added to herself, missing the uneasy expression on Rukio's face.

The disempowered Shinigami didn't provide a response, in favour of looking at the ground uncomfortably. Any other time of day, in any other street, this would've led to him colliding with a dozen passers-by but in the fading dusk there was only the two of them.

Which was probably a good thing, he reckoned after a moment, considering they were carelessly talking about ghosts, Hollows and Orioji's questionable, alleged cooking.

It had been a slight surprise, coming back from killing a Hollow at lunchtime to then receive an invitation to stay the night at Orioji's place, with Rukio included. It was proof that Ichigo's friends were already on the track of what was up - less of a surprise when she remembered that Orioji was involved.

Orioji had made a habit of figuring things out when there was no logical basis for it and damned if Ichigo could understand how.

"Ichigo" Rukio had looked up from his shoes and appeared serious. "If a Hollow should appear while we're at this 'sleepover' thing, what are you going to do?"

She hadn't actually thought about it. It would seem awfully weird to an onlooker if Rukio's cell phone were to ring and the both of them disappeared. Maybe if she could find the Hollows on her own, she could excuse herself. As it was, even if she knew where they would appear, via the phone, without Rukio-radar, if it was out of sight she was useless.

"I'd say 'see you, be back later', I guess. 'I just have to use the bathroom… a couple blocks away'." Ichigo concluded frankly. Rukio palmed his face. "What?! I don't know how but I'm sure I could come with something."

Rukio sighed. "She really is stupid."

"Anyway's, why the sudden interest in Inoue-kun?"

"No reason, I was just curious" he answered. "By the way, how was your spirit perception back then?"

"Not as much as I am now. I could see them since I was 8 but I've only been able to talk with them clearly for the past 2 years" she answered.

"I see. Well then, see you later" with that told Rukio took a left turn at the crossroad.

"Hey, where are going? I never thought about until now but where have you been saying for the past few days?"

"You don't need to worry, as a veteran Shinigami, I am very resourceful even in unfamiliar locations" he said with a smug look.

I've become so numb, I can't feel you there ~

Become so tired, so much more aware ~

I'm becoming this, all I want to do ~

Is be more like me and be less like you ~

Can't you see that you're smothering me, ~

Holding too tightly, afraid to lose control?

'Cause everything that you thought I would be ~

Has fallen apart right in front of you. ~

(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)

Every step that I take is another mistake to you. ~

(Caught in the undertow, just caught in the undertow)

And every second I waste is more than I can take. ~

And with that he took his leave… singing all the way.

I've become so numb ~

xxxx

At Ichigo's home…

"Oh! So it's the Ol' 'it's the ghost's fault' excuse again, huh! How 'bout your messy room?!"

"Get out of my face, old geezer! I'll clean up my room when I goddamn wanna!"

"What did you call me?! Show me some respect!"

It was the same as yesterday. Ichigo arrived home a minute late and was 'greeted' by her father in his usual way and was clearly not happy about it.

"Does this have to happen every day?" asked Yuzu, who sat at the dining room table of the Kurosaki household.

"Just let them do what they want, Yuzu. This'll blow over soon" said the other girl, her bored look and short black hair matching with the tone of her voice.

"Sheesh! Learn to trust me, will ya!" the orangette yelled.

The redhead spun around. Ichigo huffed and she met her father in a punch, both their fists hitting each other's faces. Her dad fell to the ground with a bruised cheek, muttering on how his 'little girl' was getting stronger, before falling unconscious.

"Oi, nee-san. How was your day?"

"School's a drag. Dad's an ass. I'm 5'9 ft. I have ginger hair. You know the same ol'crap" she shrugged. "Oh I can still see dead people. Why do they come to me, anyway?!" yelled the firstborn, as she swatted her fist in the air.

"It's because you're so nice, big sister!" cheered on the sweeter little sister, Yuzu. The other sister, Karin, rolled her eyes as she returned to her rice bowl.

Ichigo groaned as she picked up her book bag.

"By the way, Onee-chan, do you know where the money in Tou-chan's wallet has gone?" Yuzu asked, as Ichigo slowly walked up the stairs.

Ichigo looked at her younger sister strangely, as she drank from her glass of apple juice before she pulled it away.

"Why would I know where his money? I wouldn't even touch half the stuff he owns" Ichigo stated simply, as she slowly opened her bedroom door, Yuzu narrowed her eyes slightly.

"That's strange. Tou-chan says he's also lost a credit card, too" Yuzu murmured, Ichigo sighed as he looked at his younger sister.

"Why are you asking me this, Yuzu? You don't seriously think I would stoop down to pickpocketing him? Go and ask Karin that sounds like something she'd do" Ichigo commented, casually.

"I heard that, nee-san!" Karin's voice shouted from downstairs, the sisters giggled before Ichigo went into her room.

When she was gone, her father sighed as he sat up on the floor Indian-style.

"I really don't know what's up with her" Isshin said to his dark-haired daughter.

"It's like this, dad. Ichigo's saying that she's seeing more ghosts lately. Remember when you said it's just a figment of her imagination? Well it's been years since that and Ichigo says that she still sees spirits. Face it, dad, something's up with her" she said. Her fraternal twin nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, she can see and talk to them, Tou-chan. She really does help them out, too. She's not lying. Maybe she would like it if you said you believed in her like you mean it" said Yuzu. Their father suddenly looked like he was going to wail and he crawled over a poster of a familiar beautiful woman with cinnamon-brown hair.

"Oh my dear Masaki! ~ How can I behave this way to my three little girls?! ~ Ichigo is a still growing lady that I can't control and the twins are at that stage of resenting me! Oh what should I do?! ~" he wailed, as he clutched the photo.

"Seriously, dad you gotta take that picture down, it's not healthy…"

xxxx

In Ichigo's room…

After another stressful day, Ichigo needed to unwind. First, took off the untied ribbon on her shirt before undoing the fastener to her skirt, letting it fall to the ground revealing her strawberry panties, before removing her socks. After stepping out of it, she unbutton her tight shirt and casted it onto her bed exposing her matching bra. Finally, the teen untied the string that held together her ponytail, letting her auburn tresses fall. So far she had killed 10 Hollows and helped 12 spirits find peace since she became a Shinigami.

Not only did she enjoy fights, Ichigo remembered those last few minutes with dazzling clarity. There had been a satisfaction in making that final cut she had never felt before… the finishing blow. It added an element of danger, the thought that the fight wasn't going to end because of a few injuries.

But Ichigo could just see her father's expression. If he ever discovered she signed up for a potentially life-threatening occupation, because it was life-threatening, he would never shut up. She had to have a different reason to give him, if he ever found out - as unlikely it was that he would, since he couldn't see ghosts.

Protection… Isshin would accept that. Karin could see ghosts with the clarity Ichigo could, even if she hadn't until a few years ago and Yuzu could see them, however, indistinctly. If Hollow attacked those with high reiatsu, it was likely that having no one to kill the Hollows in the area would endanger them.

If one of those monsters came after her family again, she would protect them to the last breath.

If she went after the Hollows… well, there was no one to protect them.

"Whoa…"

Just she was about to unhook her bra, Ichigo flinched as she heard a familiar voice. Slowly turned her head see the former reaper gawking at her semi-naked form. He was lying down on the shelf of her closet with a half-eaten sandwich in his hand, while wearing jeans and a denim jacket.

Rukio was quiet, watching her face turn redder than his own. More correctly, he scrambled for an excuse but the disempowered Shinigami didn't know what the right thing to say was. So he said first thing that came to mind.

"Nice undies…"

"KYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

After letting out a loud, girlish scream, she heard rushing footsteps coming up the stairs. Crap. Ichigo couldn't let her family see Rukio or it would awkward in more ways than one. Quickly, she shoved the shocked Shinigami under her bed with her barefoot before the door opened up.

"Onee-chan! Are you okay?!" the brown-haired twin cried. She blushed a bit, seeing her big sister in her underwear.

"Yuzu, c'mon! Don't to open my door without knocking!" she yelled blushing, causing the brunette to pout. "Do I always have to remind you?"

"Well excuse me for worrying about my Onee-san (!)" replied the pouty girl. "What were you screaming about, sis?"

The strawberry girl had to come up lie quickly to get rid of Yuzu.

"There was a really big spider crawling around" she fibbed. "Don't worry, I squished it. I mean if you don't believe me you can see what's left of it under my foot."

"Ewww! Gross, I don't wanna see that!" she cringed, leaving the room in fright. The orangette had used tactic since she started high-school. Works everytime.

With that problem solved, Ichigo pulled the dust covered boy out from under her bed. Giving him her most terrifying death-glare kept his attention on her face rather than her 'assets'.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do, shrimp."

xxxx

Later that night…

Ding-Dong! Ding-Dong!

"Hey Orioji! It's Tatsuki!" the girl called, outside Orioji's apartment.

KA-BANG!

Suddenly, a loud explosion shook the ground almost knocking Tatsuki to the floor, with a shout of surprise. Fearing the worst, the karate girl opened the door (now off its hinges) and rushed inside. There, she found soot-covered Orioji in the kitchen near the now-destroyed-oven. His dishes and cups smashed around him, the sink was ripped out spewing water and the walls were blackened and burnt.

"Oh, hi Tatsuki" he put on a smile, stomping on a tiny flame next to him.

"What do you mean 'Oh, hi Tatsuki'?!" she questioned. "What the blue hell happened?!"

"Erm, Er… There was an alien stuck in the pipe!" Orioji exclaimed, waving his arms. "I tried to help the poor thing get out of the sink but it spontaneously combusted an- *Bonk!* Ow! Tatsuki, why did you hit me?"

"THAT'S FOR TELLING ME SUCH RETARDED LIE!" she scolded, baring her fangs.

After getting the boy and kitchen cleaned up, Orioji explained to his friend that his faulty oven couldn't get started so he tried to use a candle he found under the floor boards to kick start it. It took Tatsuki half an hour to explain to him that DY-NA-MI-TE wasn't an Italian brand (and she had absolutely no idea what that stick of dynamite was even doing there in the first place). Now that things had calmed down and Orioji had changed into a blue shirt and beige slacks, Tatsuki decided give him some food.

"I thought I should bring some of my own food over" the tomboy answered, showing Orioji the stewed beef and potatoes she cooked herself. "I swear if I didn't do this we'd always be eating that weird stuff you make."

"Mmmm, this tastes really great!" he ate happily, before moping. "But I really wanted you to try my leek, banana, butter and bean jam soup."

And so, the two friends decided to talk about their day while waiting for their friends. Eventually, Orioji talked about his encounter with Ichigo and Rukio,

"WHAT?! THEY WERE TOGETHER!" Tatsuki screamed. That was real shocker.

"Yep" the redhead chirped. "But they were just walking home, Tatsuki. What's the big deal?" he asked as his female friend, as she crossed her arms and legs.

"Damn. I heard that Rukio guy was smooth with the ladies but I never imagined he'd be such a fast operator he'd mange to woo Ichigo" she said. "But I really don't understand why, of all girls, he would pick her" Tatsuki pondered. "I mean I think personally, when it comes down to it, she's just a cold, short-tempered brat. I just can't imagine her in any stable relationship."

"Well, she maybe rough but she's good person" Orioji answered. "Plus, she makes lots of funny faces when mad, annoyed or just plain bored. Here let me show you."

Consequently, the rest of their afternoon was spent with Orioji pulling embarrassing, yet hilarious, expressions that made Tatsuki's sides hurt.

xxxx

Meanwhile, at the Kurosaki's home…

"Onee-chan! Karin and I are going out to the movies, now!" Yuzu called from downstairs. "Don't forget to lock up before you go!"

"Okay! Have fun!" the eldest called from her room, hearing the door close.

After having caught the peeper known as Rukio, Ichigo learned that the boy had no money, no job and nowhere else to go. He apparently was the one who 'borrowed' money from her father's wallet to buy food and clothes and slept in her closet since the day before.

At first the redhead fervently wanted him out of her house but the raven-haired boy convinced her that allowing him to stay would be for the best. He had the means to warn her of a Hollow attack and should remain near her to let her know. Plus, she had high Spiritual Energy which would put her family in constant danger. Ichigo froze at thought of it, before sighing.

He definitely had a point there.

Reluctantly, Ichigo agreed to allow the former reaper to stay temporarily but with certain conditions. Rule 1#: Everytime he's about to come out he has to knock to let her know… to avoid another 'incident' like before. Rule 2#: He had to pay back what he owed her dad. Rule 3#: If he got caught she didn't know shit about it.

xxxx

Rukio sighed as he relaxed inside Ichigo's wardrobe, so glad he was able to smooth talk his way out of a highly-potential disaster, he was wearing a pair of blue and green PJ's which were covered in stars for some reason.

Why he had to buy such childish PJ's again, Rukio would rather not remember but at least it fitted him nicely.

He couldn't help but wonder why he acted so hostile to that Orioji boy earlier that day. He was Shinigami and he was just a mere human.

Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!

As he lied down, Rukio's pager suddenly went off.

"Huh? A hollow this late?" Rukio questioned before he opened the message; his eyes widened in shock as he caught sight of the notice.

"Shit!"

xxxx

Ichigo took off her headphones as she heard a strange beeping sound and wondered what it was before it stopped.

"Huh? What the hell?" Ichigo said as she looked around her room, she suddenly heard someone curse. Her wardrobe was suddenly flung open.

"Ichigo!" Rukio shouted, as he jumped out, Ichigo screamed in surprise.

"AHH! What the-? Rukio, what are you doing? I thought I told you to knock before you come out!" Ichigo demanded; Rukio shook his head.

"No time for that, we're not alone!" Rukio stated as he slipped the Skull Symbol glove over his hand, Ichigo protested as Rukio jumped forward and slammed his hand against her head. "And we've got orders!"

Rukio and Ichigo, now in Shinigami form, flew to the side just as a giant hand of a Hollow burst from the wall reached forward and into her room.

Ichigo watched in shocked as the Hollow pulled itself into her room and gave a loud Raaaaaawwwwwwr! Her bed creaked under its weight until it broke.

"MY BED!"

"Don't just stand there, Ichigo! Aim for its head!" Rukio warned; Ichigo blinked before she quickly drew her giant Zanpakuto, upturning the ceiling with her swing only to miss and be hit by its snake-like tail.

The Hollow swung its claws but Ichigo dodged and sliced open its arm. It recoiled in pain, before trying to take a bite out of her.

"Focus, you fool!" he called. "Remember what I told you! Don't just swing your sword around aimlessly."

"Shut up! It doesn't matter as long as can kill it."

As the creature tried to slash her, Ichigo managed to slice its mask as hard as she could as they continued to battle.

"Too shallow..." Rukio cursed, before his eyes widened as he heard something crack, Ichigo watched in shock as part of the Hollow mask crack away slightly to reveal a very familiar face to her.

"What?" Ichigo gasped in shock, the Hollow backed away in pain, screaming in a more womanly voice, before disappearing just like it had appeared from the now trashed room.

"It's getting away. Come on we've got to go after it." Rukio said; he paused when he noticed Ichigo was dumbfounded. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Something's not right… I got a look at that thing's face. That was Inoue's sister. Sara-sempai!" Ichigo exclaimed, Rukio sighed.

"Ichigo, the reason I told you to sneak up behind Hollows to cleave their head with one blow… it was not only to minimise your injuries but also to avoid seeing their original face" the reaper explained.

"What do you mean 'original faces'?" she didn't like where this was going.

"I told you all Hollows are Souls who have lost their hearts" Rukio explained; Ichigo swallowed. "They were once normal human beings."

"Y-You never told me that!" she wasn't taking it well; it was only a few moments ago she believed she enjoyed chopping them to bits. "I thought it was just some demon that escaped from hell!"

"Ichigo…"

"H-her face was human! You told me that Hollows were monsters! I've been killing human beings! How is that okay with you?" Ichigo cried out in distress, Rukio stayed calm.

"They are not humans anymore. Hollows are fallen Souls, as I have said before. They lose their hearts and become monsters that just rely on their instinct. Whether you knew her or not doesn't matter, she must be destroyed" Rukio spoke calmly, Ichigo stayed silent feeling sick at the prospect.

"B-but how could… That's-"

"It can't be helped. We haven't got time for this" Rukio growled in irritation, Ichigo looked up at him in confusion.

"What do you mean? He's go-" Ichigo broke off as Rukio looked at her seriously.

"Didn't I just tell you that Hollow's follow their instinct? If what you said is true and that hollow was Inoue Sara then I can almost guarantee she's going to go after his living relatives" Rukio said simply, Ichigo eyes widened in horror.

"You can't mean-"

"Yes. If we don't hurry, Inoue Orioji is going to die" Rukio said simply, Ichigo didn't even need any more encouraging.

xxxx

Back, at Orioji's place…

The clock said 7:33, but Orioji knew it was 10 minutes fast, something he did as extra motivation to get to school in time. That meant it was 7:23, and Ichigo was 23 minutes late. Rukio too since Ichigo was supposed to be bringing him.

He picked up his teacup, swirling the liquid around before sipping and voiced his thoughts. "Kurosaki-chan's late."

"She and that new boy, too" Tatsuki added, setting her own cup down. She held her chin for a moment of contemplative silence before her lips twitched. "I think they must have gotten side-tracked somehow."

Orioji pouted into the warm amber liquid, feeling strangely jealous, despite being himself. Ichigo had never been late before; she had dragged a couple people in after her to excuse herself but she always showed up on time.

"They disappeared off to lunch together and Ichigo came back looking satisfied and all… That doesn't usually happen" the tomboy leaned over the tabletop, unable to stifle her grin. "The new guy looked like he'd been through the mill but Ichigo hadn't even broken a sweat."

Orioji blinked, not understanding Tatsuki's implication. "Rukio's not fit like her."

Tatsuki's forehead hit the table with a thud. "That's my point! Rukio's tiny; Ichigo could do anything to him!"

"But Kurosaki-chan doesn't like easy fights…" Bam! He set his cup down, eyeing his friend in concern. "Tatsuki, you shouldn't hit your head like that…"

The martial artist looked back up and in frenzy seized Orioji's face. "Ichigo doesn't like easy fights… but she loves beating people into submission. Rukio… would be easy to for her to beat down."

Comprehension finally dawned and he gaped like a fish. "Tatsuki! Ku-Kurosaki-chan's not like that!"

"Then, what is she like?" Tatsuki countered, grinning in a way that told Orioji that she was only half-joking. "She creamed the last guy to show interest in her."

"W-well…" Orioji bit his lip, seriously thinking through the issue. "I think… I think she wants to be beat" he nodded, satisfied with the assessment. Someone she could fight, someone she could keep fighting and getting stronger against but could never truly defeat: that's the only person Ichigo would settle for.

"You think she wants someone to beat her?" said Tatsuki, bug-eyed. "Like… like a masochist or something?"

"What? Kurosaki-chan's a masochist?" An image formed in his mind. It had Ichigo on all on fours wearing skimpy underwear, while Rukio wore a black mask and had a whip. He lashed at her while she screamed 'Kya! Kya!' But Orioji shook it off with difficulty, meeting the tomboy blank stare for blank stare. "What do you-?"

It was nearly inaudible but the sound of one of his soft plush animals hitting the floor garnered Orioji's attention. It was a small brown teddy bear he had gotten years ago from his big sister.

"Enraku?" He leapt from his seat over to the plush toy, scooping it up. "Oh dear, did you fall down?" He trailed off in dismay as she picked it up and turned it over, spotting a split in the fabric of the bear's face, between the eyes. "Enraku, speak to me… How did you get torn?"

"Torn?" Tatsuki spoke up from the table, surprised. "Did the fabric rot or something?"

"No…" Orioji felt something wet on his hand and gulped. "It's red… like blood… but how…? Enraku's bleeding?"

They also heard a loud thump a few feet away.

Aaaaaaoooooo!

And concludes another chapter feel free to review when you feel like.

Happy holidays everyone! XD