Chapter 1

"Oi, Ichigo!" A tall, orange haired teenager turned around at the sound of his name. The voice belonged to his friend, Tatsuki. Tatsuki tackled into him. "Wanna go get something to eat after school?" Tatsuki gave him a sly grin. "Orihime will be there." Ichigo rolled his eyes at that last comment. For some reason, Tatsuki was obsessed with the idea of him and her best friend, Orihime, being an item. Ichigo didn't think he would ever understand why. It wasn't like Orihime had a blatant crush on him or anything.

"Sorry, Tatsuki," Ichigo said, "I have plans already." When Tatsuki gave him a skeptical look, Ichigo quickly added, "I'm visiting my mother's grave." His mother had recently died of unknown causes. Ichigo visited her grave often, but today he wasn't planning on visiting her grave. Ichigo was different from most teenagers. It wasn't just his oddly colored hair, Ichigo had the ability to see and communicate with ghosts. When most people think of ghosts, they think of scary spirits whose goals were to haunt people. The ghosts Ichigo met, on the other hand, were spirits of cute children who just ran around all day. Ichigo befriended some of the ghosts and today, Ichigo intended to visit one of them.

"Oh. O.K." Tatsuki looked disappointed. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow Ichigo!" She ran off just as the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day.

Ichigo walked up to the streetlight where his ghost friend, Sei, died. He expected to see Sei happily waiting for him. Instead, he saw a group of delinquents spray painting profanity all over the place. Sei stood in the middle of them, with tears forming in his eyes. Ichigo felt anger rise up in him. "Hey, stop what you're doing! It's against the law to vandalize."

"Who the hell friggin' cares?" One of the delinquents sneered.

"I do, and so do a lot of people."

"Shut up faggot! Or else we'll make you!"

At that moment, all of the guys charged at Ichigo. Unfortunately for them, Ichigo's dad taught Ichigo how to fight properly. He beat all of them up in less than a minute. As the gang ran away, Ichigo turned to Sei. "Are you OK, Sei?"

Sei beamed. "Arigato, Ichigo. Now let's clean this place up." Their time together was pretty quiet for the most part. Sei wasn't the one to talk much. Ichigo had almost forgotten Sei was there until he said, "You know, Ichigo, I sense something dark walking around at night."

"Oh? Do you know what it is?"

"No. I mean, it's some sort of spirit, but nothing like I've seen before. It seems… evil. Be careful, Ichigo."

Ichigo nodded. He intended on finding what was scaring Sei. Whatever it was, it had to be bad news.

That night, Ichigo snuck out of his house. Karakura Town seemed peaceful. The streetlights were lit, everyone was sleeping, and nothing threatening could be seen. For a moment, Ichigo wondered whether there really was an evil spirit. Pushing his doubts away, Ichigo walked around. He stopped at an alley. Ichigo sensed a supernatural presence. No doubt, there was something hidden in that alley. Slowly, he walked through it. A small breeze rolled by and it felt… ominous. A metal object, probably a trash can, fell down. Suddenly, Ichigo heard voices.

"Why the HELL is this human still here? Aren't humans afraid of shit like this?"

"Shut up, Renji! This human's amount of spiritual pressure is surprisingly high. He may hear us."

"I know! That's why I'm trying to scare him off, but he won't budge! Should I just knock him out?"

"No you should NOT! Humans are weak creatures. You might kill him!"

"Or I could just beat the crap out of you two!" Ichigo snapped. No one said anything. Instead, one of them stepped out of the shadows. It was a girl around his age. She was very short, not even 5 feet tall, but she was very pretty. She wore a black kimono, had shiny black hair and intelligent, violet eyes that mesmerized Ichigo. Her companion stepped out as well. He had long red hair tied back in a ponytail that resembled a pineapple and black tattoos on his face. He also wore a kimono. Pineapple's eyes shot daggers at him. "Don't underestimate us, human, YOU will be the one getting the crap beaten out if you don't shut up!"

"Why do you keep calling me 'human'? You two are humans, too!"

"You can see us." It was the girl who spoke. Ichigo looked down at her. She looked surprised. "Of course I can see you," Ichigo retorted, "I'm not blind!"

"Silence, human! You shouldn't be able to even know we're here!"

"And why is that?"

"Because we aren't human." Ichigo did not know what to say to that. Not human? What the hell is she saying? The girl continued. "We are Soul Reapers. Our job is to pass judgment onto spirits. If they are good, we will perform konso on them and they will be sent to our home, the Soul Society. However, if they are evil spirits, called Hollows, they are to be destroyed." The girl took out a sword. "There are a few Hollows in this area. Usually, I can take them down by myself, but these Hollows are surprisingly strong. That's why I have Renji with me."

I mean, it's some sort of spirit, but nothing like I've seen before. It seems… evil. Sei's words rang through Ichigo's head. Sei wasn't kidding. There actually are evil spirits in Karakura. "Is there anything I could do to help?" Ichigo asked.

The pineapple, Renji, laughed. "Just because you can see us doesn't mean you have the power to take down a Hollow!" He took out his own sword. It was so big, Ichigo wondered how he hadn't noticed it before.

Something howled in the distance.

Renji smirked. "Looks like we found our first Hollow. Let's go, Rukia!" The two Soul Reapers disappeared.

Rukia. Ichigo barely knew her, yet somehow her name fit her perfectly. He shook the thought away. Against his better judgment, Ichigo ran out of the alley and followed the sound of the howling.

"Juhaku!" Rukia stabbed the ground with her zanpakuto. A trail of ice stretched out to the base of the bone masked demon and began to freeze its entire body. The Hollow cried in rage and broke free of the ice.

"Howl, Zabimaru!" Renji's zanpakuto extended and Renji whipped the Hollow. The Hollow knocked the zanpakuto away and lashed out at Renji. Renji leaped back, but not before getting his chest grazed by the Hollow's claws. Renji gasped and blood spewed out of the wound.

"Renji!" Rukia called out. Renji gave his friend thumbs up to indicate that he was all right. Rukia turned back to the Hollow and dodged an attack from it. Why isn't this Hollow weak like the others? Rukia wondered. Rukia held her zanpakuto upside-down. "Some no mai, Tsukishiro!" The blade glowed and Rukia slashed at her target. She drew a circle with her zanpakuto and attempted to freeze the Hollow again. The Hollow dodged her attack, but shrieked in pain when Renji whipped it again with his zanpakuto. The Hollow spat fire at them. Since when were Hollows able to do that? Rukia jumped out of harm's way. Before Rukia could launch another attack, a familiar voice shouted, "THAT'S what a Hollow looks like?" Rukia whirled around and was shocked to see the human boy standing right in front of her. Anger swelled up in her. "Baka! What were you thinking? You are defenseless against this Hollow, ANY Hollow! Go home before you get yourself seriously hurt or even killed!"

The boy opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by Renji's voice, "WATCH OUT!" The Hollow lashed out at the boy. Without thinking, Rukia jumped in front of the boy. She coughed out blood as the Hollow's arm impaled her.

"RUKIA!" Both Renji and the boy cried.

How does he know my name? Rukia had evidently forgotten that Renji had said her name in front of him. Her vision blurred. Rukia could make out Renji's body. He was still fighting the Hollow.

A flash of orange appeared in front of her. Rukia felt arms lift her up a little. "Rukia, are you OK? Say something! Shit… this is all my fault. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" It was the boy.

Rukia coughed. "What is your name?" She coughed up more blood.

The boy ripped his sleeve and wrapped it around her wound. "Kurosaki, Ichigo. Look, I know saying sorry isn't good enough of an apology, but again I'm really sorry for getting you hurt. Why did you jump in front of me anyway?" Rukia didn't answer his question. Instead, a crazy idea popped in her head. She was in no condition to help Renji. This human, Ichigo, had the power to see them, to see Hollows. Maybe if she gave him some of her powers, Ichigo could become a Soul Reaper and help Renji. Rukia knew it was against the law, but what other choice did she have? Leave Renji alone to fight the Hollow and Ichigo powerless against them? The Hollow attacked Ichigo because of the spiritual pressure he possessed. Ichigo NEEDED powers. "Ichigo," Rukia said, "I can't let Renji fight the Hollow by himself. How would you like to become a Soul Reaper?" Ichigo's eyes widened. "What the—how could I become a Soul Reaper?"

"I can transfer some of my powers to you."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Just because I get some powers doesn't mean I can fight this Hollow whatchamacallit."

"I… have faith in you. If you can't, then I don't know who can. Renji will never admit it, but he needs help fighting this Hollow." As if to prove her point, the Hollow bitch slapped Renji and sent him crashing into a tree. "This town needs someone to protect it. Will you accept my powers?"

Ichigo thought about it for a moment. He wasn't sure if he wanted to become a Soul Reaper, but Rukia had a point. Karakura needed someone to protect it. Clearly, Renji couldn't do it by himself. "OK. I'll become a Soul Reaper," He said.

Rukia smiled. Even with all the blood, she looked pretty. Rukia lifted up her zanpakuto. Kami, I hope I don't regret this. "Kurosaki, Ichigo, do you vow to risk your life to carry out your duties as a Soul Reaper?"

"Yes, I do." Rukia took a deep breath and stabbed Ichigo with her zanpakuto. She closed her eyes. Before she could split her powers, she felt a hand reach into her body and forcibly pull her powers out. Huh? Rukia's eyes shot open. Ichigo was wearing a black kimono and held a zanpakuto of his own. Rukia nearly gasped. Ichigo's spiritual pressure increased drastically. In fact, it matched the pressure of a Soul Reaper captain. Once she got over her shock, Rukia's eyes lit up. "You're a Soul Reaper, Ichigo. Now go whip that Hollow's ass up!"

Ichigo grinned and jumped into battle.

Ichigo never felt so powerful. There was this sensation in him that he never felt before. It was exhilarating. Despite never having wielded a sword before, Ichigo was able to maneuver it around with ease. Ichigo slashed at the Hollow. It roared and spat fire at him, but Ichigo dodged it. Renji, the other Soul Reaper had stopped fighting. He was staring at him with a dumb look on his face. For some reason, Renji's expression satisfied Ichigo.

"Ichigo, in order to destroy it, you must cut through its head!" Rukia shouted. Ichigo was impressed with her. She was badly injured, yet Rukia was still able to speak clearly. She was a tough cookie. The Hollow roared again, and this time it charged at Renji. Quickly, Ichigo jumped on top of it and brought his sword down through its head.

The Hollow shrieked and disintegrated.

"Well done, Ichigo!" Rukia cheered.

Renji glared at Ichigo. "You didn't have to save me just now," he snapped, "I could've easily dodged that."

Ichigo stared at Renji. Renji's kimono was torn and blood was trickling out of his chest and arms. He was leaning on one leg, indicating that the other one was wounded. There was a red mark on his cheek where the Hollow smacked him.

"I'm sure you could have," Ichigo replied.

Renji bristled and glanced at Rukia. "Why the hell did you give this guy powers?"

"It looked like you needed help!"

"I'm a lieutenant, Rukia! I don't need help to kill a Hollow!"

"Tell that to your face!"

That shut Renji up.

Ichigo turned to Rukia. "Are you gonna be alright?"

Rukia nodded. "Soul Reapers recover much quicker than humans." All of a sudden, she grabbed Ichigo and thrust it into a body, a body that looked just like him. Ichigo was no longer wearing a kimono now, but the shirt and pants he was wearing before. Rukia laughed when she saw the confused look on his face. "Soul Reapers are spirits," she explained, "You won't be in your real body when you're in battle."

"What about you and Renji? Do you guys have bodies? Or are you spirits?"

"We are spirits. That's why we were surprised that you could see us."

"Who exactly are you?" Renji asked. Ichigo turned to him.

"My name is Kurosaki, Ichigo."

"We never properly introduced ourselves, Kurosaki, Ichigo. I'm Abarai, Renji." He lifted Rukia up bridal style. "This is Kuchiki, Rukia."

"I can introduce myself, ya know!" Renji smiled at her. It was just a friendly smile, but Ichigo noticed something flicker in Renji's eyes when he looked at her. "We have to go now." Rukia's voice broke Ichigo's train of thought. "Sayonara, Ichigo."

The two Soul Reapers disappeared and Ichigo wondered if he would ever see them again.

There was a cave far, far away from Karakura. If one stood in front of the cave, they would see a giant, gaping hole in the rock. The entrance of the cave resembled a mouth, prepared to swallow up anything, or anyone, who dared to walk through it. Inside the cave, there were stalactites hanging everywhere, water dripping from them like poison dripping off a rattlesnake's fangs. The cave emitted such a menacing atmosphere that it was avoided by everyone… with the exception of one person. This person sat deep in the cave with a shining crystal ball in his hands. He watched as an orange haired human became a Soul Reaper and easily take down the Hollow he created. He snickered. "So, this human thinks he can just waltz in and thwart my plans?" He threw his crystal ball down. Fortunately, it didn't break. "NO! I WILL NOT LET THIS MERE HUMAN STOP ME FROM TAKING OVER THE HUMAN AND SOUL REAPER WORLD! HE THINKS THAT WAS THE END OF THE BATTLE? NO! THE BATTLE'S JUST GETTING STARTED!"

Review please! This is my first fan fiction and I would like to know how I can improve it. Thank you! xoxo