Disclaimer: Please look up this word in the wonderful Wikipedia, it will help you understand why many people write this before their stories. This will also be the first and last time I write this in the entire story.

Author's Note: As promised, this is the re-written version of Rabbit Ears and Shiny Teeth.

Rabbit Ears and Shiny Teeth: Chapter One

It was just another day in the Black Order. Lenalee and Allen walked down to the cafeteria together, discussing the message Komui had sent to them that morning:

"Lenalee, Allen, Kanda, Lavi, please meet me at my office right after you finish your breakfast. Do not take too long, this is urgent.

–Komui."

They turned around the corner and Allen nearly banged into Kanda, who was standing with Lavi on opposite sides of the corridor. Earning himself a death glare from the samurai, he smiled awkwardly and edged away. There was no sound at all for a few minutes before Kanda finally broke the silence. "Moyashi, what are you doing here? You're not going to be in time for Komui's meeting if you dawdle."

Allen flushed scarlet and looked at Lenalee, who nodded cheerfully. "Let's go, Allen-kun!"

The duo headed towards the cafeteria, which was just a few doors down. Lavi smiled as he looked at the disappearing figures of Lenalee and Allen. "Allen sure gets along well with Lenalee, don't you think, Yu-chan?"

"Che. Like I care. The beansprout is just a good-for-nothing crybaby." Kanda smirked, his hand on the hilt of Mugen.

"…Ah."

The sun was setting over the horizon as Hitsugaya sat on the railing where he always went whenever there were troubles… not that he would actually tell you that anything was bothering him. The wind blew on his face as his fingers flew over the small phone he was holding. The Hollows were actually taking a break from terrorizing Karakura Town, and there was basically nothing to do, which worried him.

There was silence in Ichigo's room. Ichigo was studying for his history test, while Rukia was sprawled on the floor, reading her Chappy manga and doodling away on a piece of paper at the same time.

For a while, there was only the sound of breathing and Rukia's pen scratching on the paper.

That is, until there was a spike in reiatsu.

Hitsugaya and Rukia looked up simultaneously, both of them feeling the sudden surge. Hitsugaya looked at the Hollow detector. There was no sound coming from it; no sign that there was any Hollow in the proximity. Then the screaming began. He looked up, startled. These were certainly not normal Hollows –if they were even Hollows in the first place.

Back at the Black Order, Allen wolfed down the last bites of his breakfast just as the bell rang, signaling the end of breakfast. Lenalee stood up, ignoring the curious glances from the various Finders moving off to report for work. The two Exorcists sped towards Komui's office at top speed, where they found Lavi and Kanda standing by the door, which Kanda had just yanked open. They walked into the small room, noting that papers were strewn all over the floor. Some of the books in the bookcases lining the walls looked like they had been hastily yanked out and stuffed back, because some of them were on the verge of falling out.

Gingerly picking their way through the room, they finally made it to where Komui was sitting. For once he was awake, and his normally carefree face looked worried.

"Nii-san, what happened?" Lenalee asked.

"Ah, hi guys. I have… well… a mission for you. I know it's really unfair that the day after you come back you have to go out on a mission again, but I can't help it. We have discovered Akuma movement in Karakura Town, and Exorcists are urgently needed. It is also possible that there is Innocence hidden somewhere in the town, causing the Millenium Earl to make his move. Therefore I urge you to quickly find out why they are attacking this town…" Komui's voice trailed off.

Allen nodded, his mouth set in a line. Kanda had shown no expression during Komui's briefing, while Lavi and Lenalee were both preoccupied with their thoughts.

"Komui-san, then I suppose we will go off now? The faster we go there, the earlier we can come back." Allen said cheerfully, his voice carefully masking the whirlwind of emotions that were currently rushing like a wave in his mind.

Komui nodded wearily. "Take care, Allen-kun."

Allen smiled, before walking with the others out of the door. Once they were out of sight, Komui sighed. "What is the Earl thinking…?"

Led by pure instinct, Rukia and Ichigo slowly made their way across the town to where the reiatsu was coming from. Finally reaching it, they stopped out of amazement and bewilderment. "Wh-What is that?"

The monster turned around and looked at them straight in the eye.

"It can see us?"

Hitsugaya reached the scene moments after Ichigo asked the question. He had been a tad smarter and had brought the other shinigami with him. Confusion was evident on all of their faces.

"This monster… it isn't a Hollow. It's a… what is that thing?" Ikkaku stared, lost for words.

"It's an Akuma…" Hitsugaya muttered, eyes narrowed. The last word he spoke so softly that Ichigo had to strain to hear it.

"Akuma? Wha-?" Ichigo was cut off by a laugh. The monster raised its black claws which were dripping with blood.

It sneered. "I am an Akuma! I am a monster born from dark matter. I serve no-one, only the great Millenium Earl and Aizen-sama! I am an Akuma and I love to kill." It flicked its claws and pointed straight at the shinigami, who drew their swords.

The Exorcists leapt off the train and onto the train platform. Allen's eye activated the moment he landed. Blinking in confusion, he looked out over the entire town. The train platform was situated in the middle of the town, making it easy for him to look for the Akuma. Its red tortured soul was a stark contrast to the white buildings around it.

"…Allen?" Lavi asked worriedly, jostling Allen out of his thoughts.

"Akuma." Allen said simply, earning himself the attention of his comrades. "East, in the middle of the town. We have to lure it into a more desolate place. Even though it's late, this town is still very much awake."

They nodded and began heading towards the Akuma, Allen leading them as they ran at top speed.

The shinigami and Akuma were caught in a fight. Rukia and Renji had released their shikai and were trying in vain to lure the monster away from the town. The Akuma laughed evilly.

"It's all in vain! You can't make me die so easily! Only Innocence can kill me and you bits of trash don't wield that stinking jewel, so you will never be able to finish me off!"

"But we can." A voice spoke from the shadows. Allen walked out of the dark alleyway he had led Kanda and Lavi through. Lenalee was keeping a lookout from the top of the building for any surprise attacks.

"Ooh! Exorcists! I never knew I would get to meet one up close! Sorry, but either way you're gonna die." The Akuma's voice now had a tinge of amusement, as if it had found some delicious prey.

It lunged forward where the Exorcists were standing. The sidewalk split into three pieces, but there was no sign of them. The shinigami blinked.

Kanda finally showed himself, standing on top of a neighbouring building. They had agreed beforehand that if they were attacked, it was either lure to the top or into the forest. Kanda had been too far from the forest to lure the Akuma in there, and took the other way- to the top. Seeing the appearance of the samurai Exorcist, the Akuma leapt into the air, chasing after him. It did not expect a kick in the side from Lenalee to send him flying backwards.

Before it reached the bottom though, Kanda was there, impaling the Akuma on his sword.

Allen's eye deactivated and Lavi came out of where he had been standing. "Yu, you didn't leave anything for me!"

"Che. Did you think it was going to be so hard to kill? It wasn't even a Level Three, it was a Level Two!" Kanda snorted, obviously not amused.

Ichigo looked at the shinigami behind him. "Oy, Toushirou. Is it okay if we go?"

"It's Hitsugaya-taichou. I think they have good intentions, but keep your swords ready for an attack. That swordsman looks quite powerful, so be on your guard. Don't say anything unnecessary, you hear me?"

"Hai!" the shinigami echoed in unison.

Lavi looked up at the figures approaching them, their faces shadowed. Automatically reaching for his hammer, he was stopped by Allen. "Wait. Let's see what they want to do first."

Lavi was taken aback, but he nodded quickly, his hand falling to the side. The shinigami revealed themselves, grim looks on their faces. Their leader was the only one wearing a white haori, Lenalee noted. That would most probably mean that he was ranked the highest among them.

Allen smiled politely and greeted them. "Nice to meet you, I am Allen Walker. You are…?"

Ichigo let out a deep sigh. "Substitute Shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo."

The other shinigami followed suit, all of them introducing themselves as they deemed fit. With expectant looks they looked at the Exorcists. Exchanging doubtful glances with his friends, Allen gave the shinigami their names.

"So, what did that Akuma thing mean by 'Exorcists'?" Ikkaku asked curiously.

Here Kanda took charge. "We are a group which works with the Vatican. We rid the world of Akuma, tools the Millennium Earl has created to destroy the Innocence, the substance which creates our weapons." He made the entire summary short and clear-cut, before turning to Hitsugaya. "What about you?"

"We are shinigami, Death Gods, members of the Gotei 13. Aizen Sosuke, a former captain of the Gotei 13 betrayed Seireitei, the Court of Pure Souls. After his betrayal he moved on to lead Hueco Mundo, the place where Hollows and Arrancar reside, the place where they are created. Worse still, he has kidnapped one of the ryoka who saved Kuchiki's life. We have been staying here, in various places, for the past few weeks, monitoring Hollow movement…"

Aizen's sinister face broke into a wide smile as he looked at the monitor. The Akuma the Millenium Earl had sent out had been pre-installed with a recording device, and it now appeared that he had achieved what he had laid out: he had managed to get the Exorcists and the shinigami to meet up and unite.

Of course, he was simply using the Earl as a tool to further his research of the manipulation of dead souls. He had produced arrancar with the Hougyoku, now he had found a new way to manipulate human grief to produce his own weapons. He retained his polite demeanor as he turned to look at the Earl, whose face was in its usual big grin.

"Sennenko, how long do you think the shinigami and Exorcists can work together?" he asked in a cheerful voice. Kyoka Suigetsu would have to be released later, when the Earl and his faithful underlings, the Noah, were together. Better to hypnotise all of them than hypnotise their master alone.

The Earl's face stretched into an even wider grin, if that were possible. "Ah, it won't be for long. Their personalities are so different. Allen Walker for example is the exact twin of Kurosaki Ichigo. I cannot see what Road sees in him."

Aizen's eyebrow rose up. "Road likes this Allen Walker?" he snickered.

"Yes, all day long she's talking about how to play with Walker. It appears that he is one of those who are sentimental, which is his weakness. No matter how powerful he is, if he has emotions that are easy to stir up, he is weak."

"By the way, shinigami can only be seen by those who have high reiatsu levels, or spiritual pressure. I assume that you Exorcists are able to see us even though we are not in our gigais because of the Innocence." Renji finished off the summary just as a great gust of wind blew through the dark alleyway they were sitting in.

Allen groaned. "That mission in Jalapines was exhausting enough. Are we supposed to face off against so many enemies right after that?"

There was no reply from the shinigami. Looking over at them, the Exorcists realized that they were in a big group discussion, until there was the sound of a phone ringing. Hitsugaya frowned and picked it up. "Jubantai taichou, Hitsugaya Toushirou speaking."

A muffled voice seemed to be shouting from the phone. The shinigamis' faces were all looking expectantly at Hitsugaya, waiting to see what the call was about. The captain's eyes suddenly widened and he clutched the phone tighter. "Ukitake, are you sure about this? The Akuma that we found earlier on did mention it, but it seems highly unlikely that they would join hands. If they did, what would be their purpose? Aizen has no use for the Earl, save for the Earl's ability to manipulate dead souls and human grief together to form those demons. …"

The exorcists and shinigamis' shot up simultaneously. When Ichigo tried to shout something, Rukia immediately clamped her hand over his mouth and gave him a 'say anything and die' look.

I have finished this at last :D I am not going to include Bookman and the others in this re-written version, because I figured that would be a tad too many characters. Also note that this chapter has basically combined chapters 1 through 3, so there will be a major makeover of the entire story. Don't kill me, I'm still writing for CAP.

Read and Review please!