I don't own Bleach. Would love to, but I don't.

"Can you hear me… my dear invaders?"

She shot up, hand resting on her chest as panted. Glancing down, she saw that for once, the half of the bed next to her was completely empty. Standing, she slid open the door of the bedroom and walked through the halls and into the kitchen, still wearing her flannel pajamas.

"Rukia-chan! We were just about to eat!"

Rukia blinked, rubbing her eyes as she sat next to Urahara. "All right."

"Rukia?"

Rukia looked over at where Renji sat, across from her. "Huh?"

"You feelin' all right? You look pale." He spoke, looking at her over his morning coffee.

"Yeah, I'm just tired." Rukia replied. "I just didn't sleep so well last night."

Renji looked as though he might say something else, but a sudden, booming voice interrupted him.

"Breakfast!" Tessai spoke, setting Renji and Rukia's plates down as Ururu set Urahara's down. "Oh, good morning, Kuchiki-san!"

"Good morning, Tessai. Breakfast looks good."

Rukia could have sworn Tessai was sparkling as he and Ururu again exited the room, before shrugging and beginning to eat. "Is Jinta still sleeping?"

"No, he went to go fetch Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan." Urahara spoke, looking over at her. "Are you going out somewhere today?"

Rukia paused, chewing thoughtfully on her omelet before swallowing and nodding. "…Yeah."

She got dressed after breakfast and was ready to leave just as the three children arrived.

"Hi, Rukia." Yuzu spoke upon seeing her with a tentative smile on her face.

"Oh, hey there, Yuzu-chan." Rukia smiled as well. "Is Isshin-san in?"

"Goat-Face? He was drinking tea with your brother when we left." Karin piped up.

Rukia nodded in thanks, then slipped out of the Shoten.

Upon arrival at the Kurosaki household, Rukia knocked on the door.

"Come in, Rukia-chan!" A sing-song voice spoke.

It took Rukia a moment to realize that Isshin could sense reiatsu, but upon doing so, she opened up the door and walked in, moving through the house until she entered the kitchen. Upon seeing Isshin and her brother, she raised an eyebrow slightly. "Um…"

"Hi, Rukia-chan!" Isshin grinned, waving.

"Hello, Rukia."

"Umm, Nii-sama, I have one question." Rukia spoke, blinking. "...What are you doing?"

"Killing Kurosaki."

"...Ah." She looked at Byakuya, holding Isshin up by the throat. "I see."

"Wait, aren't you going to say anything in my defense, Rukia-chan?!"

"Depends. What did you do exactly?"

"Well..."

"He was inappropriate." Was all Byakuya said, before dropping the older man flat on his butt.

"...Okay. So nothing new?" Rukia asked, as she sat at the table, causing Ishhin to burst into tears.

"Rukia-chan, you're so mean to me!" He wailed, jumping towards his large picture of Masaki. "Masaki, why is it that everyone is so mean to me? Am I not cool enough?!"

"Is that even fitting for one of your stature?" Byakuya asked, as he sat at the table as well, watching Isshin with a raised eyebrow.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well Kurosaki-san, you are captain-class...And you are crying to a picture..."

"But she's my wifey!"

"It's larger than life size." Byakuya added.

"Masaki was larger than life!"

Both fell silent, and Isshin must have thought they agreed, because he grinned and spoke. "Now, let's have a bit of sake!"

"...It's 9 am..."

"Sake tastes better in the morning!" Isshin replied, getting out a jug of sake and 3 cups.

Rukia glanced at her brother, shrugged, and took one of the cups. Byakuya took one as well, and Isshin's face became stoic as he raised his cup. "To friends we've lost, and friends we've gained."

Rukia and Byakuya both nodded, raising their own cups. "To friends." They spoke, and all three took a drink.

"Ah! I told you sake tastes better in the morning!" Isshin spoke, setting his now empty cup down. "By the way, Byakuya, when's Yoruichi coming over?"

"Later on."

"Which reminds me; I should get back." Rukia spoke, drinking the rest of her own sake.

"Stay a while, Rukia-chan!" Isshin spoke, standing as well.

"No, I really do have to-"

"ARRANCAR! ARRANCAR! ARRANCAR!"

Rukia and Byakuya reached quickly for their pockets, pulling out two identical objects that looked similar to iPods. Looking down, Rukia bit her lip, seeing only one arrancar on the screen.

"It's nearby. I'll go get it." Rukia spoke, standing and reaching into her pocket for a soul candy.

"Are you sure?" Byakuya asked, watching as she popped the candy into her mouth, coming out of her gigai.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem." The Shinigami garbed Rukia turned to her Chappy counterpart. "Stay here."

"Yup!"

Rukia turned to glance back at her brother, and smiled lightly. "I'll be fine, Nii-sama."

Byakuya merely nodded, and she was gone.

Moving quickly through the city, Rukia looked down at the iPod-like sensing device, seeing she was getting closer...closer...and she was there! Stopping to look around, she couldn't see the arrancar anywhere nearby.

"Ooh, a Shinigami...Haven't tasted one of you in a while..." A voice echoed through the deserted streets she was in, in a menacing, deep tone of voice.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked around, tucking the sensor into a pocket. "Come out! Where are you?"

"Everywhere..." The arrancar replied, then laughed. "But don't worry, girl; you won't feel a thing!"

Seeing movement off to her right, Rukia flash-stepped towards it, slashing with Sode no Shirayuki as she went. The arrancar revealed itself laughingly, its white outfit seeming to glow in the sunlight. Gripping the blade of Rukia's sword in his hand, he grinned.

"Or maybe you will feel something!" He spoke, with the kind of grin that made Rukia's heart jump to her throat.

"You're the only one that'll be feeling something." She spoke, pointing a finger at his chest. "Hadou no you; Byakurai!"

The arrancar's eyes widened, and he jumped away, letting go of Sode no Shirayuki as he went, causing Rukia to smirk lightly as she held her sword out. "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" The blade turned white, and a ribbon dangled from the hilt.

"Some no Mai, Tsuki Shiro!" She spoke, and a circle of ice formed under the arrancar, causing him to jump up and away again, just before the ice shot up and would have engulfed him.

"Interesting release, there..." The arrancar spoke, placing a hand on his zanpakuto. "...Girl."

Rukia's eyes narrowed as he drew his zanpakuto, and she moved forward, but he beat her to it.

"Absorb her...Adimo!" He spoke, and the zanpakuto he had withdrawn seemed to shimmer before disappearing, and reforming around him as a large white pair of what looked like wings of bone on his back.

Rukia stopped in her tracks, staring in disbelief at the sheer vastness of the release, gripping Sode no Shirayuki tighter in her hand. "What spiritual pressure..." She murmured, eyes wide.

"Come at me, girl, and find out just how powerful it is." He spoke, grinning still and holding a hand out, extending his pointer finger and bending it twice.

Eyes narrowing, Rukia flash stepped behind him, slashing at his back. The arrancar turned and blocked with a guard on his wrist that was made of bone.

"My name isn't 'girl.' It's Kuchiki Rukia." Rukia spoke, pushing against his arm.

"Then I will tell you mine, as the last you will ever hear. I am Sumer Sulumor...Eighth Espada." He spoke, and knocked her away with ease.

Rukia flew into the air, stopping eventually, her sword still in blocking position. "Espada, huh?" She asked, biting her lip.

"Correct. And we are much more powerful than those before the fall of Seireitei." Sumer spoke from behind her.

Rukia turned quickly, slashing at his chest. Grinning even wider, Sumer grabbed the sword again, impaling himself on it. Rukia gasped.

"I will tell you something now. My special ability is to absorb an enemy's reiatsu through their zanpakuto, until they're sucked dry." He spoke, watching her.

Rukia could tell he wasn't bluffing; she could feel her reiatsu being sucked out as he spoke, at a surprising rate. She moved to pull Sode no Shirayuki from his chest, but he held on with a strong grip. Thinking quickly, she spoke.

"Tsugi no Mai; Hakuren!"

Sumer only had a moment for his eyes to widen before the ice engulfed him, falling to the ground as Rukia withdrew Sode no Shirayuki. She exhaled with relief, managing to sheathe Sode no Shirayuki.

Seems he...got most of my reiatsu...after all... She thought to herself, closing her eyes as she fainted, falling forward through the air.

Urahara waited patiently below, one hand holding his hat as he looked up into the air. Renji stood nearby, looking up as well.

"Ah, here she comes." Urahara spoke, truthfully, because barely a second later Rukia fell into his outstretched arms.

"Renji, can you make sure that the arrancar is dead?" Urahara asked, turning to look at the ice, which had shattered upon hitting the ground, as he set Rukia down.

Renji glanced at Rukia's prone form, then nodded. "Yeah."

As the red haired man walked over to inspect the remains of the ice for the arrancar, Urahara placed a hand over Rukia's forehead, palm down. "Stable enough." He muttered after a moment, then placed his hand gently on top of her forehead, snaking under the bang that was always in her face, the palm still down. A green tinted reiatsu surrounded his hand, as though he was giving some of his own reiatsu to Rukia.

"Urahara-san, there are no remains there!" Renji spoke, rushing to Urahara's side. "Only the last of the ice."

"I assumed as much." Urahara replied, not looking up. After a few more moments, he withdrew his hand from Rukia's forehead. "He most likely went to report back to Aizen."

"You don't seem ta care much."

Both Urahara and Renji looked up at where Shinji stood, his hands in the pockets of his white pants.

"Ah, hello there, Hirako." Urahara spoke, as Rukia slowly opened her eyes, beginning to sit up. He helped her to sit, and hand on her back for support.

"I told ya, it's Shinji!" Shinji replied, frowning. "Get it through yer head, would ya?"

Urahara merely smiled. "Habits are hard to break, even after all this time."

"Hiyaah!"

Urahara fell to the ground as a flying kick hit him, literally, head on.

"And ya still forget me!" Hiyori shouted, standing over the fallen man. "Asshole!"

Rukia blinked, and Renji looked at Hiyori. "Who the hell're you?!"

Hiyori straightened from the crouching position she landed in, and turned to Renji, glaring. "Who the hell're you to ask?"

"Both of you, relax." Urahara spoke, sitting up and fixing his hat. "Hiyori, it's been a while since I saw you as well. How are you?" He asked, turning to the blonde girl.

"Mad!"

"Eh, maybe we should get going." Shinji spoke, jumping from his position in the air and landing gracefully a few feet away. He walked towards the group. "After all, Hiyori here has her reiatsu flaring, which ain't so smart if ya ask m-"

Another flying kick from Hiyori, and Shinji was on the ground as well.

"Ouch!"

"Callin' me stupid?!"

"What if I am?!"

"Then I'll do this!" Hiyori jumped, one of her feet aimed right at Shinji's face, but he caught her foot and pulled, causing her to fall as well. He stood, dusting himself off.

"Like I said, can we get goin' already?"

"Ha, of course, of course." Urahara helped Rukia up, and grinned. "You haven't seen my shop yet, even after all these years."

"Yeah, really. Wasn't sure if I wanted to." Shinji spoke, extending a hand to Hiyori, which she, grudgingly, took.

"Why wouldn't you?"

Shinji grinned. "When I first saw ya, I thought to myself that you were a few cans short of a six pack. Haven't taken it back, since."

Urahara grinned back. "And I won't deny it."

Tell me what you think. I want to hear about your opinions, as this will last a while if it goes as planned.