A New Course

Author's note: This first chapter takes place during the first episode/chapter of Bleach. I decided to skip everything that comes before, since nobody wants to see a rehash of the same old thing! Special thanks to lord of the land of fire, your advice really helped.

Disclaimer: I'm only going to say this once! I do not own Bleach. It's owned by Kubo Tite, who is definitely not me.

Chapter 1: Strawberry Death

Kurosaki Ichigo had not felt this helpless since his mother died. Staring horrified at the still body of his sister, Yuzu, outside his room and listening to the unearthly howls of that thing downstairs; Ichigo's already spiky orange hairs stood straighter and cold sweat began forming on his neck as the dread of his situation crept in on him. Stuck on the floor of his room, with his hands tied behind his back, by means of what he could only describe as "Shinigami magic," was not where Ichigo wanted to be when his family was in danger.

"Do not worry," the black haired shinigami girl said, in an attempt to comfort him, "she is just unconscious." With that, she hurried down the stairs towards whatever it was that was shaking the walls with its eerie screeching.

Although relieved that Yuzu was still alive, Ichigo refused to sit idly on the floor of his room while the rest of his family's lives were threatened. "Kuso!" he muttered, pushing himself up with his head and running headlong down the stairs. Tripping halfway down, Ichigo's face rapidly met the floor.

"Stay back!" the shinigami warned, her sword drawn and pointed at the white-faced monster crushing the life out of Karin.

"Kuso! Karin!" Ichigo repeated, as he shakily made his way to his feet. He thought he might've heard the shinigami say something, but he was too focused on not falling down again to care.

"You're in my way," the raven haired spirit girl snapped, "Get back!"

"Shut UP!" Ichigo barked, gritting his teeth. Karin needs me! And Oyaji, where are you? Never mind him, focus on Karin! Determined now, Ichigo focused all his will on breaking the seemingly magnetic hold his forearms had on one another.

Seeing his efforts, the shinigami cried, "Stop! It could never be broken by human strength. If you force it, your soul will…"

But Ichigo could barely hear her, for the pain from separating his arms had become so intense that he was yelling at the top of his lungs. Finally, with a burst of energy, he wrenched his arms away from each other. Ichigo caught a glimpse of the ethereal, sword-wielding girl's stunned face as he ran forward; grabbing a nearby crutch and charging the giant with his sister in its clutches.

With a swipe of its oversized hand, the hollow knocked Ichigo across the street, knocking the breath from his already sore lungs.

"Karin!" Ichigo shouted as he sat up, nursing his sore ribs. It was then that the hollow spoke, its voice as echoing and empty as its name implied.

"I found you," it whispered, bringing its tremendous fist down to retrieve the reiatsu-filled morsel in front of it. Adrenaline pumping, Ichigo dived out of the way as the empty soul's hand crushed the concrete where he'd been sitting into rubble.

At the same moment, the heretofore idle shinigami made her move, slicing deep into the hollow's forearm, causing it to drop Karin. Acting quickly, Ichigo slid underneath his falling sibling, catching her limp body before she impacted the asphalt. The hollow, shrieking in pain, leapt away into the night, gripping its injured arm.

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Kuchiki Rukia was not having a good night. She had already killed two hollows that day, and now she was faced with one stronger than any she had fought in quite some time. Doing so while protecting this strange, orange haired youth, and his family, was not going to be easy. It wasn't helping that the boy's mysterious reiatsu was making it difficult for her to concentrate on the task at hand.

How did he break my bakudō? His reiatsu is strong, but he shouldn't have been able to focus it like that…

"Karin! Oi!" The guy's voice broke her thoughts, bringing Rukia back to harsh reality: that hollow was no doubt circling them, looking for an opportunity.

"Don't panic," Rukia said, "your sisters' souls weren't eaten by the hollow."

"Really?" the orange kid exclaimed, sounding relieved.

"Yes. It's seeking souls with high spiritual power," she replied, "That hollow this afternoon…it wasn't after the girl at all…"

"What do you…"

"I don't know why," Rukia interrupted, "but your spiritual power was subdued to its lowest possible emission. I couldn't detect your true strength and neither could hollows, which is why you haven't been attacked until now. It's just a theory, but I'm guessing that your latent power was activated upon coming in contact with other spiritual energy, namely that little girl. In other words, the two most recent hollows have followed your scent on her straight to you."

"They're…after me?" the youth said, a look of horror plain on his face. He had little time to worry, however, as the sudden crunching of stonework and an unearthly howl heralded the return of the hollow.

"It's here!" Rukia warned, glancing over her shoulder, "You go-"

"NO!" the tangerine haired teenager interjected, standing with his fists clenched, "You're saying that girl was attacked because of me?!" 

"What are you getting at…" Rukia half asked, half wondered.

"It's my fault that Yuzu and Karin are almost dying?" he ranted. Angrily, the adolescent ran past Rukia, ignoring her attempt to stop him. "Yo!" the fool shouted, standing defiantly in front of the hollow, "You want my soul, right? Then come fight me for it!"

With a screech of triumph, the hollow dove for the seemingly easy meal, its jaws wide. Rukia, seeing no other option, dove in front of the monster's gaping maw, sliding her zanpakutō through the roof of its mouth. Just as her blade drove into the hollow's flesh, so too did the hollow's jaws dig into her. Rukia grit her teeth to keep from screaming, as the cursed being's incisors pulled out of her shoulders. Blood began seeping out of her wounds, but she tried to ignore it as she sliced farther up the hollow's mouth, hoping she could bisect its skull.

The hollow, who had been shrieking in pain, flailed out with its arms, dislodging Rukia and her sword. In its rage, the empty spirit backhanded Rukia hard, sending her and the boy behind her flying a dozen meters down the street. Cushioned by the tall guy beneath her, Rukia held tightly to her shoulder wounds and rolled off him. She was injured, yes, but she could still win this. The hollow would have to be close though.

"Mae," Rukia intoned, slowly spinning her zanpakutō, "Sode no Shirayuki!" As she turned the blade, its surface changed from a metallic steel to pure, shining white. Out of the guard flowed a long, graceful ribbon, nearly as long as the sword itself.

The hollow, consumed in its own misery and hatred, charged at her, intent on finally getting its meal and repairing the damage to its face with new reiatsu. As it bore down on her, the petite shinigami smiled.

"Some no mai, tsukishiro!" she yelled. A circle formed on the ground, extending around Rukia and the hollow. Rukia leapt out of the way as ice shot up from the circle, encasing the hollow in a thick coat of frost. With a final scream, the hollow was shattered into hundreds of smaller pieces. Still smiling faintly, Rukia dropped to her knees before keeling over to land on her side. Running her hand along the side of her weapon, she resealed Sode no Shirayuki. Using her elbow to drag herself along, Rukia made her way painstakingly over to the hollow's intended target. The orange haired boy looked to have been knocked unconscious. Rukia could see a bit of blood darkening his bright colored locks. He was probably concussed.

When Rukia reached out to touch his hand, her heart jumped. The hand was cold. The boy was dead.

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Author's note part 2: So what do you think? A little short, I know, but I can assure you that later chapters will be MUCH longer. Also, this is NOT an Ichigo at the shinigami academy fic. As far as I know, no one else has done this sort of thing before, so please, read on!

Japanese Translations:

Kuso- shit, damn

Oyaji- old man

Reiatsu- spiritual pressure (essentially the amount of pressure a character's spiritual aura exerts on the atmosphere. I also use it to mean how much spiritual energy someone has, although the actual term for the energy is reiryoku)

Bakudō- way of binding/binding method (a type of kidō (demon/spirit way), or shinigami spell, primarily used for binding an opponent, although there are numerous other uses, unlike its counterpart Hadō (way of destruction))

Mae, Sode no Shirayuki- Dance, Sleeve of White Snow/Sleeve's White Snow

Some no mai, tsukishiro- First Dance, White Moon