I don't own Bleach

A Different Path

Chapter: One a Familiar Person

Ichigo and friends have just returned from soul society and everything is almost back to normal. The summer vacation was over and so school was just tomorrow and Kurosaki Ichigo was now going to bed waiting for the new school year to begin.

It was early in the mourning around 6:30 when Ichigo woke up and made his way into the bathroom to take a shower. When he came out, he went to his room and got dressed to see Kon squirming up his window.

"Hey Kon, where were you last night, it was very quiet." Ichigo asked looking at the small plushie making his way up the window.

"Ichigo, when are you going to let me back into your body?" Kon said while jumping from the windowsill to the bed.

"I don't know, probably when I need you." Ichigo said turning his attention back to buttoning his uniform.

"And how long will that be, I want to go outside again and have some fun with girls." Kon said with a perverted smile on his face.

Ichigo knew that whenever Kon was inside his body, he always ended up making the 6 o clock news like for one time someone was caught peeking inside the women bathhouse in a spa once or some idiot pulling up skirts and running. Ichigo was really thinking could he get a trade in gikon mod souls for his body someone who could replace Kon.

Kon almost knew what Ichigo was thinking about and he had a statement for his defense.

"Okay I know whenever I'm in your body I always end up getting chased around by the police, but this time I promise to be a good boy." Kon said with a false sweet, innocent face.

Ichigo knew better and so he said, " No."

With that done, Ichigo stood up and walked out the room shut the door after him leaving Kon to himself.

"Dawn it, I'm still going to be trapped here huh?" Kon asked himself sobbing about being alone and how he missed his Rukia-nee san.

Back downstairs, Ichigo walked down the stairs to see his sisters at the table eating breakfast.

"Oni-chan, here's some breakfast." His sister Yuzu said pointing to Ichigo plate.

"Thank you Yuzu, hey where's dad?" Ichigo asked scanning the table and surrounding area for his father.

"He left early, but will be back around 5:00," Karin said not taking her eyes from the television program.

"Man," Ichigo thought, he really wanted to give his mothers charm back.

Ichigo stood grabbing a piece of toast and walked out the door making his way to school.

It was pretty routine life for Ichigo coming back from saving Rukia, all there was to it were the frequent appearances of some low-level hollows who were no match for him. The only threat that Ichigo was facing was the hollow that lived within his soul. Ichigo saw that the hollow was really starting to get stronger and urge for control was really taking a strain on him.

"Come on Ichigo you really should stop trying to shun me out." Ichigo stopped, he knew who this voice belonged to and he really wasn't in the mood to deal with it. Ichigo put his hand across his face and thought.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" Ichigo said with pure irritation on his face.

"Come on you know I can't do that," said the hollow.

Ichigo felt his hold was slipping on the hollow and he was desperate. He needed help. But the question was who was there to ask. He already tried Urahara, who couldn't help him, and he couldn't ask the soul society for help. He thought maybe he should just leave it to himself. He began to walk again remembering his fight with Byakuya and how his hollow proved he was strong, by pulling the sword lodged inside his foot to and using a black Getsuga Tenshou. He then thought of what Aizen had told him about the limitations of a shinigami and how you could break those limitations by only turning into a hollow. Ichigo began to think maybe if he could figure out how to use his hollow, maybe he could help stop Aizen.

"Is that what your thinking about Ichigo." His hollow said from within. "There's no way I will work with you. I have no intention to serve someone who's weaker then me."

Ichigo knew that this thought was as it was in his head a dream that he thought was only possible in a dream. Ichigo discouraged the thought and made his way to school.

He entered the classroom to see Inoue, Chad, and Ishida all talking with each other. To Ichigo this was pretty normal for him but to almost everybody in the class this was a bizarre combination. Almost everybody was staring at the four individuals talking to themselves wondering what these guys could have in common. That when Tatsuki walked up to Ichigo.

"Hey Ichigo I haven't seen you all summer, where have you been?" Tatsuki asked the substitute shinigami.

"Oh I was on a trip somewhere else, how was your summer?" Ichigo asked.

"Pretty fair." Tatsuki said, then she looked down and noticed something strange.

"Hey Ichigo where'd you get that from?" Ichigo looked down and pulled the little charm that was stuck to his shirt no thanks to his dad.

"Oh this it's a charm that my dad put on me." Said Ichigo. Tatsuki knew that who only could have put a charm like that on her friend.

"I know that," she said, " I meant the one with the skull." That's when Ichigo looked down at his shinigami license and said " Oh this is a," he began but stopped looking surprised then asked, "Tatsuki you can see this?"

Tatsuki was taken back by the question and answered, "What of course I can see it why not?" Ichigo was going to say something when his teacher came in and instructed the class to sit down to start class. She took row and noticed that certain students were missing but paid no mind to them for a new student was to be joining the today.

Ichigo started out class by looking out the window to look at the sky and wondered why Tatsuki could see his shinigami badge. He remembered that Ukitake-san said that humans who weren't spiritually aware could not see this shinigami badge. He was going to ponder more about the topic but his shinigami badge went off in class.

"Riiiiinnnnngggggg" was the loud screeching sound that he and almost every spiritual aware person heard this sound and turned to Ichigo who was fidgeting in his seat.

"Kurosaki what's the matter." His teacher asked him throwing a piece of chalk at his head. Almost everybody was watching Ichigo with strange expressions on his face.

"Oh nothing," he said, " Can I go to the bathroom?" When permission was given he quickly ran out the classroom. His teacher looked out the classroom and wondered where the new student could be and that's when she noticed Inoue and Sado leaving the classroom too.

"Hey where are you two going?" She asked. Inoue and Chad both continued running and said that they both needed to use the bathroom.

Back to Ichigo, he quickly dispersed of the lower level hollow and noticed Chad and Inoue running towards him.

"Hey guys, what're you doing out of class?" He asked with confusion on his face.

"We thought that you could use some help." Inoue said and Chad nodded his head.

"Hey no worry guys, these hollows that have been coming to Karakura are very weak." Ichigo said with a smile on his face.

"Come on guys Ochii-sensei will get worried if were not in class in a few minutes." Chad said.

Ichigo and Inoue nodded and the three of them made their way back to school. Little did the three know there was another person there watching Ichigo deal with the hollow.

"Kurosaki Ichigo huh." Said Hirako Shinji.

Ichigo, Chad, and Inoue made it back to class to see their teacher walk out the class and enter with a guy they never seen before.

"Class we have a new student and his name is, uh what's your name?" Ochii-sensei asked.

"Oh my names Hirako Shinji." Shinji said grabbing a piece of chalk and writing his name backwards on the board.

"The Shin means genuine worker and Ko is spicy cod roe," said Shinji, "Hirako Shinji nice to meet ya."

"Ah interesting you spelt your name backwards." Ochii-sensei said looking at the board.

"Oh that's another interesting feature I know how to do." Shinji said also admiring his work on the board.

"Well okay then you can sit next to Kurosaki. He's the one with orange hair." Ochii-sensei said while pointing in the back row.

Shinji walked through the rows glancing at almost every pretty girl he came across with.

As for Ichigo he was in deep thought on something when Shinji walked to the seat next to him and sat down.

"Hey looks like were neighbors," Shinji began, "Why not be friends." Shinji said extending his hand to Ichigo who took to with a smile on his face.

"Oh yeah sure." Ichigo said not remembering what was going on.

School ended and Ichigo went home just like everybody else. He was in the middle of homework when he once again got an interruption from you know who.

"Ichigo, why do you try to ignore me when I'm talking to you." Said the hollow.

Dawn it Ichigo thought, he couldn't live like this anymore, that's when his shinigami badge started to ring. Ichigo grabbed the badge and pressed on Kon's face who was on the floor reading a magazine. Ichigo grabbed the small pill and put it in his mouth and he rocketed out his body to see Kon moving around.

"Kon take care of my body while I'm out." Ichigo said before he left.

Kon had already gotten the talk from Ichigo about when in his body you are to not act like anyone but himself so not perverted acts tonight. Kon was going to be a good boy.

Ichigo once again got rid of the weaker hollow in a record time to see the Afro shinigami yelling at him.

"Hey what are you doing here." Asked the Afro shinigami.

Ichigo rose up his badge and said," I'm substitute-shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo," he said to the yelling shinigami.

"Substitute-shinigami I've never heard of that," said the Afro shinigami, "I'm am an elite shinigami sent here to replace Kuchiki Rukia in watching over this town and got not information on a substitute shinigami."

Ichigo looked at his badge and said, " You aren't that useful when it comes to situations such as this." Ichigo said looking at the badge to notice someone was above him.

This mysterious figure slowly made his way down, unsheathing his zanpakuto and was standing now behind Ichigo. The figure then attacked Ichigo from behind.

Ichigo having quick reflexes blocked the incoming attack to see Hirako Shinji in front of him.

"Hirako," Ichigo started, but Shinji interrupted by saying, " You should calm yourself down, your reiatsu is now swarming the place."

Ichigo pushed Shinji back with his sword who landed gracefully on a building across Ichigo.

"Hirako who are you?" Ichigo asked confused by the sight in front of him.

"Let's see maybe this may tell you who I am." Shinji said as he placed his hand across his face. He started to materialize something but Ichigo didn't know what it was until the light disappeared. That's when Ichigo saw the hollow mask.

"Does this answer your question?" Shinji said with a smile on his face hold the mask.

All Ichigo could think about was, "Who in the hell is he?"

So give me some feedback on how you liked the first chapter. Please Review for me.