Episode 1: Seeking and Meeting

I looked out over the city I would be stationed in for the next few weeks and recalled my orders, passed down through my captain, a good and honorable man by the name of Jushiro Ukitake. There was some kind of anomaly, a slight decrease in spirit energy in the town and it was my task to get to the bottom of it. Slight variations in the balance did happen occasionally, but when the gap is so quickly filled with corrupted souls, something we call hollows, it is something that needed to be looked into. Especially when those hollows didn't effect the amounts of souls passing on as they normally do. Sure enough the town felt strange, a weird vibe permeated the might air, as if the reishi was unstable somehow. That was most assuredly something unusual for the human world, or so I had been taught.

As a reaper of souls it was my duty to deal with not only stray spirits, but to protect the balance of both the living world and the afterlife. As I stood atop one of the poles that held up the web of power lines that spanned the city, I briefly pondered the human perspective on soul reapers like myself. It was astonishing that despite not being able to see or know of us, humans still had legends about us, calling us Grim Reapers or shinigami. I still laugh at that name to this day. Death gods huh? Well you stand in awe of what you cannot see and worship what you cannot explain.

My name is Rukia Kuchiki. If you expect some old man with a scythe or some dark and towering god-like being, I'm afraid you'd be a bit disappointed. In retrospect, few non-reapers have ever taken me seriously at first due to my appearance. Now that I'm a bit more more mature, I'm willing to admit that I have always been short, at the time looking more like a small teenager than a being that was nearly two centuries old. My hair as dark as night and kept short for efficiency, though I'd been told before that the style suits the slightly round shape of my face and that it made my rare smiles look all the better. I've also been told I'm attractive, but had never been called beautiful and wouldn't escape the title of "cute but overly serious" for quite a while. After all, soul reapers age very slowly, and slower as they got older and gained more spiritual power. The leader of all the soul reaper captains was ancient, vastly strong, and had not aged a day in so long that at least two of the three other oldest captains – who were each at least one thousand years old – had no idea of what he was like when he was young. They hadn't even heard stories of it as you normally would from a senior's peers in one's youth.

Suddenly, I detected something faint that jarred me from my thoughts, and then something else that felt a lot more powerful. A hollow had appeared in the living world, and I paused to try and discern it's intent, and possibly what that weird other sensation was. As I stood there and focused on the hollow, I sensed it move erratically, no souls grabbing its attention thankfully. It seemed to be wandering aimlessly through the city, unable to find whatever it wanted, before it departed to the space between worlds and both sensations vanished from my senses. The hollow probably had left to its world to regroup, but the other thing was an enigma. It didn't feel like a normal soul or a hollow, and hadn't tried to devour normal souls or go anywhere. It had only been detectable for the brief time the hollow was around. I sighed, realizing I'd have a hard time finding whatever it was without being able to detect it.

(A/N: I'm not going to bother repeating the events of episode one of the show here, At this point we cut to Ichigo dealing with the punks the next evening and the events follow that episode exactly, with Ichigo getting Rukia's powers and everything. The rest of this chapter picks up during the second episode)

Yoruichi's Perspective

The morning sun woke me from my sleep as it bathed me in its golden rays and warmed my fur. My stomach growled and I sighed at the sound. Normally, by conserving my spiritual power and staying in my cat form, I can avoiding needing to eat for incredibly long periods of time. However, my limit for that had seemingly been reached. Bounding towards a nearby fence and jumping onto it – with grace that would impress even other felines, I then studied the area around the abandoned lot I'd been sleeping in.

Based on the amount of activity on the roads, I'd actually slept a bit longer than I intended. There were already high school students on their way to school. It wasn't a problem though, I could just stay awake longer to compensate. The good thing about being a cat is you can operate fine at whatever time of day and still have good eyesight. I'd need it. Whatever was causing the unsettled atmosphere in the city seemed invisible to my spiritual senses, an amazing feat indeed. Anything alive, once alive, or from a spirit world should be detectable yet this thing was not in the least.

Whatever it was, I'd have to find it quickly. Such a disturbance would draw soul reapers to where my friend Kisuke, not to mention Tessai, had gone into hiding and set up shop. Even though most reapers used him as a means of getting supplies faster, he was still the only route they had to finding the ex-reapers that the Soul Society had actually marked for death. As goofy as Kisuke was, he wouldn't bat an eye about dying before betraying his friends. Especially considering the circumstances.

"Kisuke, you fool, did you make this thing?" I thought to myself, then dismissed the theory, "No, you're thick, but not that thick."

I pondered stopping by his store and quickly decided against it. There was a soul reaper in town already, I could sense him clear as day. Even though that meant he wasn't part of the Punishment Force or of captain level there was still no need to draw too much attention. There was no telling if that reaper was good enough to tell who I was or not or what he would do if he discovered us. Not that I was afraid to fight anybody. Even after not fighting for a a century I was still the former commander of the very Punishment Force I was glad had not come. It would be a cold day in hell before I would loose to any single reaper.

I extended my spiritual senses, trying for a broad sweep of the area and noted several tiny spiritual pressures nearby, stray cats, like me I guess. Try as I might, it was like it had been every night since I came. I couldn't find the source of the problem. Perhaps hunger was weakening me more than I thought it was?

A tall human male, clearly foreign but dressed in the uniform of the local high school, walked down the street as professionally as a salary man off to work. He stuck out not only for being foreign, but his general appearance. In fact, he stuck out so much I was surprised I'd not noticed him sooner. A old fashioned beard slightly longer than stubble was on his face and his blond hair made it hard to tell from a distance the his head wasn't totally shaved bare. I'd seen a good many Caucasians in my life, but his build was different than the normal, somehow more animalistic but only slightly. I could instantly tell he could fight pretty well. His face, cold and expressionless, was completely unreadable. His eyes were were a different story, being a piercing gray color that seemed deep with sorrow and lacking focus. As much as he stuck out in Japan, it was clear he'd stick out anywhere he went. He was an isolated observer type, I'd seen a few of those in my time as well.

The nearby cats scattered to various hiding places, only the bare minimum of their faces visible so they could observe the passerby. It was then that something strange happened, something mildly unnerving, but not bad. His eyes changed, gaining focus, as his expressionless gaze searched the nearby foliage, as if he knew where they were. The suddenness and extent of the change in those eyes was jarring. They were so much more expressive than most. They seemed so deep and emotional that you could write a short story about them. So expressive that even though his face hadn't changed expression it seemed to be softer and kinder. He smiled ever so slightly, but the feel of it was so different than other smiles. He was barely smiling at all, but he seemed to almost give off a gentle aura of smile.

The teen knelt down, the strays all backing up a little but seeming to relax a great deal. He took out a bento form his bag and opened it. He set it before standing again, his expression returning to not being any expression. It was at that moment he happened to spot me there on the fence and those eyes of his betrayed something I could not identify. Confusion? Recognition? Amusement? It wasn't the same thing he'd had on his face when acknowledging the other cats. Looking straight into those eyes of his they seemed to become sharper, his focus keening as he studied me. It bore into my very being. I wanted to get a chill up my spine but my sub-conscious wasn't sure of whether to be afraid or comfortable with that look he was giving me. It was as if he was seeing everything about me, even things I didn't what to be seen. His intentions in such a look were unknowable, but I didn't feel any danger.

I'd only met one other man with a gaze that penetrating and that was Gin Ichimaru, but Gin's look was totally different. Ichimaru seemed to wrap you in coils like a snake, finding the most sensitive area and looming over it with fangs that dripped with venom. As I gazed into the cutting eyes of the foreigner, it felt more like someone reaching an open hand towards that weakness. You might think such a gesture would be less unnerving, and it is, but remember what a single hand is able to do. Hands can comfort and welcome, or just as easily destroy and reject.

It was that promise of kindness but the potential for pain, the unknowable intentions, that made it hard to know how to react to him. The exposing of a weakness is something you innately fear with every fiber of yourself. However deep down every soul wants someone to understand that dark point in them, accept it, and tell them it will be okay. Indeed, in a sense, this man was far more dangerous than Ichimaru. While both appeared to have a knack for reading people, Ichimaru made you want to fight while the strange American made you want to accept it. I would have probably trembled if I didn't want so badly to smile instead.

After all, as cutting and intense as his eyes were, there was no maliciousness in them. He bent back over, picked up a compartment out of the lunch box, and brought it over, holding it up to me with a warm smile as the expression in his eyes changed again to something soft and friendly. It was the expression you would have when seeing a dear friend, "Here."

I looked at him quizzically as a cat would and smelled the offered food. He'd brought me the meat from the bento, which was kept separate from the rest on most occasions. It was gently seasoned with herbs and spices, western style but with some Japanese influence. It occurred to me he probably made it himself in such case.

The combinations of flavors as I dug in seemed to cascade over my tongue. It was good! Not a master chef by any means and I'd had better, but the kid had serious potential to be a pro at cooking. It had something only food from those with talent for it truly had. The taste wasn't just taste, it was like an expression. An imperfect expression with a lot of room for improvement, but eating that meat was quite an experience none the less. If you don't understand, go eat somewhere where you can see the chef smiling as he works. You'll find such food there. In summary, that was good eating.

He waited until I'd had my fill and then took it away, scratching my neck right near the jaw and then a bit near the ear. It felt damn nice... damn nice. He knew cats well, and liked them a lot apparently. His kind and tender act assured me I'd just been being paranoid. The person was so nice after all, hardly someone to feel any aversion to. He probably just thought I was strange for not hiding like the other strays. I'd been studying him pretty intently too, something cats only did to prey or predators. I hadn't looked at him like he was either, so naturally a cat lover would be perplexed and look at me strangely.

He set the leftovers from my meal back in the box and waved to me as he left, "See you some other time, old timer."

Huh? Old timer? But my cat form was very young looking. What the hell...? He knew I was older than I seemed? My senses sharpened, but as he rounded the corner and left my sight he might as while have not even been on the same planet anymore. It made no sense. Every human, living or dead, hollow or plus, has at least a tiny amount of spiritual pressure that an expert like myself could sense at that range.

But I couldn't detect the boy at all. I'd probably found it, the source of the anomaly. A boy with intense eyes that loved animals enough to give them his lunch, affecting the balance of spiritual pressure in an entire city? I sighed at gave chase, careful to stay unseen at the tops of buildings. Things were going to be complicated, I was experienced enough to tell that much.

Rukia's Perspective

I yawned a bit as I made my way to the school I'd be attending, still tired from a long night of, among other things, kicking myself mentally for messing up the slaying of a hollow so badly that I had to give all my powers to a hot-headed high school boy to save not only his life and my own, but his entire family as well. At least I seemed to have found a hint as to what might be causing the disruption the the reishi of the city. However, there was a piece missing. It was clear that Ichigo Kurosaki's huge spirit energy level was helping to cause the problem. After all, huge concentrations of power like that tend to do weird things to the world of the living. Unfortunately, there was no way he was the only part of the anomaly. Ichigo had no means of affecting the flow of spirits into the Soul Society, at least not until taking my powers, and having a lot of spiritual energy would simply make the area have more hollows than normal. High spiritual power wouldn't cause it to go up and down.

Stretching, I cursed the gigai I was stuck in for the time being. Having to pose as a student so I could watch over Ichigo was a pain and the fact that I wasn't used to the stiffness and awkwardness of an artificial body compounded that fact. Something told me my substitute wouldn't appreciate my efforts either. Speaking of Ichigo, I'd have to take him aside and give him the primer for soul reaping and make sure he understood his duties, even though they were only temporary. Thankfully, however, I had time to settle in and prepare since he still had to deal with the aftermath of the hollow attack on his home the previous night. There were some things that modifying the memories of his family and healing their injuries didn't fix, mainly the damage to the house and all the debris.

In something called 'homeroom' – which was apparently the first class of the day, during which attendance was taken – the teacher stood me up in front of the class and introduced me, "Class, we have another transfer student, this one from an adjacent prefecture. Make sure you give her a warm welcome and treat her well." he turned to me, "Go ahead and introduce yourself Ms. Kuchiki."

I admit to feeling a bit embarrassed. There were a lot of boys staring at me and grinning and I wasn't sure why at the time. I guess I was so stuck in the frame of mind that they were all much younger than me that I didn't realize I actually looked within an age they could date, "How do you do?" I said in the cutest voice I could muster while trying to look as friendly as I could. I even curtsied, but only slightly, my thinking being that a full on one would seem too much, "I'm Rukia Kuchiki, please take good care of me." There, a typical Japanese greeting. Surely that was right. The girls were looking at me strangely but it seemed more curious than anything. Most of the boys were acting oddly excited.

The teacher smiled, "Okay, let's see, take the empty set behind William Marks."

Odd... that was a foreign name. I could see a really huge person that didn't seem at all like a high school student, but he was half-Spanish or Mexican, not the typical nationality to be named William or have the last name of Marks. There was no free seat behind him either.

"Right there." the teacher said, pointing.

I followed the gesture to an empty seat behind an American I'd somehow overlooked. Strange, he was taller than anyone else in the room by nearly a full head – except the Mexican boy, who was by far the largest being in the room. He even had a shaved head and short facial hair. How had I missed him? I smiled and nodded to the teacher and walked over, meeting the American's cold gray eyes, which turned out to be a mistake as I nearly stopped and froze right there.

He was looking at me with no expression, but his eyes were so intent and penetrating I almost shook out of my gigai. My mind raced. His expression was so cutting I was sure that somehow he knew what I really was. I was relieved when he went back to the sketchbook on his desk, flipping to a new page and starting on something else. That look had reminded me of a man in the Soul Society I didn't care for one bit. It was the kind of look that saw everything, worn only by the kind of person that could get inside your head and rip you to pieces. Unnerving yes, but he didn't really seem anywhere near as intimidating as Captain Ichimaru. But then again that made sense, Marks was just a human after all, Captain Ichimaru was a demonic snake taking on the shape of a man. At least that had always been my impression.

It wasn't until lunchtime that I saw Ichigo arriving. My luck had apparently improved since the night before as I saw him in time to make sure he didn't spot me. I wanted to make the first approach and try to minimize any scene he would make, so I made myself blend into the background and wrote a warning for him on my hand. As pure coincidence would have it, his seat was the one next to mine. I watched and observed him from my spot in the background, waiting for the right time to approach. I'd have to time it right as he was chatting with a small group of friends, including the huge Mexican teen whose name I learned was Chad.

I glanced around as I waited and spotted that strange American standing near a pair of girls, one athletic-looking with short and wild hair and the other being overly bubbly with orange hair and even easier to notice breasts.

He seemed more interested in the athletic one though, barely even looking at the busty one as he talked, "So, you won the regional tournament. Just what I expected from you, Tatsuki."

"Yeah, your senpai dominated!" she grinned, flexing a muscle, "Couldn't exactly lose after beating you so badly last week, you'd get even more mopey."

"I'm not mopey. I just have a very neutral expression by default. Like Ichigo looks grumpy all the time even when he isn't."

'Tatsuki' and the bubbly girl took out there lunches and got ready, the sporty girl looking at Marks and frowning, "You forgot your lunch again didn't you?"

"Something like that." he scratched the back of his head and grinned awkwardly in embarrassment.

Bubbly girl spoke up with a huger grin than any I had ever seen, "You can share some of mine! I brought peanut butter fish fry today."

"Peanut butter and fish?" Tatsuki made a face, "How can you eat that stuff. You have the strangest taste, Orihime."

The girl named Orihime served up half of the weird combination on the lid of the container it had been in, "Markun doesn't seem to think so."

"That perplexes me even more. I know that stereotype about Americans liking cheese on everything, but this is just weird." Tatsuki shook her head, "I don't see how you eat like that either, Will."

Apparently the girls called him different things. Markun was probably a combination of his last name and the -kun honorific. Informal formality? This 'Orihime' was full of strange mixes.

Brushing the unneeded information aside I walked over to Ichigo, "Excuse me. You're Ichigo Kurosaki right? I'll be sitting next to you in class from now on. My name is Rukia."

Ichigo turned, then shot to his feet in shock, "What? YOU!"

Chad seemed confused, "What's up, Ichigo? Do you two know each other?"

If I hadn't been so pre-occupied with Ichigo, I would have probably noticed the American's cutting gaze snap over to study Ichigo's reaction. But I didn't, "Of course not, we've just met. Isn't that right, Kurosaki-kun?"

"Um...right."

One of his other friends spoke up with an excited grin, "Rukia's a brand new transfer student."

Another smiling face, "Nice to meet ya!"

I smiled and was about to show Ichigo the message under the guise of a handshake when I was startled from behind, "Yeah, nice to meet you."

I jumped and turned around to see the American standing behind me. When had he gotten there? He was supposed to be eating with those two girls! One of Ichigo's friends, the most energetic-seeming, chuckled, "Man, Billy you should really stop doing that to people. You'll kill someone one of these days."

The other one I didn't know spoke up, "Don't mind him, he's just freakishly quiet and really intense. I don't see how he and Chad are so sneaky and so big at the same time."

Billy smiled slightly, though his eyes were as intense as they were before, as if he were trying to see into my soul, "Sorry, I can't help it. I'm William Marks by the way, exchange student from the United States. Some call me Billy, some Will, and Orihime kinda nicknamed me Markun, so take your pick. I'm not the formal type." His words were friendly but his eyes seemed to be accusing me of lying. I wasn't sure if it was more unsettling that he seemed to see right through me, or that I couldn't read him myself. Was he nice or scary? Why was a human unsettling me so much?

He offered a hand shake, thankfully not so I would have to shake with my message hand. Ichigo was still tense and looking confused so a quickly went to shake his hand and showed him the message, "Make a scene and I'll kill you." I was certain Billy had not seen it.

The American reached out and flicked the distracted teen on the forehead, snapping him out of his frozen state, "Hey, Kurosaki-kun, you act like you've bumped into a psychotic ex-girlfriend or something."

"Ow. Of course not don't be stupid." was the reply. Ichigo was keeping calm, probably waiting until he had the chance to pull me aside and confront me.

"Well, pleasantries aside, I'm going to pass on lunch with you guys today." Marks stated simply, getting to the business he'd probably come over for.

Excitable friend laughed, "Forget your lunch again?"

"Something like that. Orihime offered to share hers again."

Excitable friend smiled, "I think you just use that as an excuse to get near your precious 'Tatsuki-senpai'. I mean, you talk to her twice as much as any of us."

Billy wasn't amused, but he smiled and went a little red with embarrassment. My uneasiness seemed to lift. He was normal after all, "Hey that's none of your business, Keigo. And I mean both my love life and my fighting ability."

"Ah so you admit it!"

"I do not."

The goofy teen wouldn't listen, "The burning passion for the rough and tough tomboy. The unattainable one, the-"

"Shut up." other friend said with an amused grin that didn't match his tone. It spoke volumes, the he was trying to covertly tell 'Keigo' that he wasn't being funny.

"Well anyway," Keigo frowned, then was right back to whimsy, "I never understood your crush, most pine after the luscious Orihime. I mean those-"

Marks frowned, "Watch it, Keigo. You're in mixed company."

Keigo had apparently forgotten I was there, "Oh! Sorry, Rukia! I kinda got carried away. You probably feel left out!"

"Oh no! I said, grinning with fake embarrassment, "It's fine. Conversations go where they will."

"But its my fault, taking all the attention. Tell us about yourself."

"Oh, I'm not that interesting."

"Sure you are. Everyone's interesting." Marks noted and smiled, those piercing eyes of his on me again, "Well, except Keigo, he's just annoying."

"Hey!" Keigo protested.

"I'm kidding." he lied, "Anyway, what's yourstory. You come from money?"

"Hm?" How would he know that I was from a noble house in the Souls Society?

The teen clarified, "Your perfume. I've been around a lot of girls and never smelled that. Oh wait, that sounds creepy..."

I smiled. Inside my head though I was analyzing everything the strange man was saying. What was he saying? I wasn't wearing perfume at all. "It's fine, and thank you for the compliment, as strange as it came out. I do come from a fairly well off family, but I really don't live all that extravagantly myself."

Keigo seemed annoyed, "Hey, back it up man, you can't hog her to yourself. You've got Tatsuki."

"I'm doing no such thing.... and no I don't." back to me, "Nice meeting you anyway, I've gotta go."

I excused myself and observed the activity from afar. He turned to Chad and confirmed plans he and the huge teen had made to meet somewhere after he got out of karate club. Apparently he hadn't heard about the 'truck slamming into Ichigo's house' and invited him along. Of course the offer was refused and Ichigo turned down Marks' offer to help clean almost before telling him the reason he couldn't come. It seemed the three of them were closer to each other than the rest, Marks and Chad making up what could be called Ichigo's 'inner circle'. Even social groups in the Soul Society had those.

It was normal high school stuff. Marks seemed perfectly normal really. He didn't press the issue I'd suspected he had with me. The teen just went back to the girls to eat with them after getting done with his business and Ichigo's group went off somewhere else to eat. I would have followed, but I dare not bring too much attention to myself on the first day. After all, I'd have to be there a while.

Yoruichi's Perspective

I'd risked that visit to Kisuke's shop after losing track of the American in the high school. With no means of detecting him other than my mundane senses, and the guy's uncanny knack for being easy to overlook, I couldn't possibly pin point him in the middle of so many other souls. Before I left however, I did discover another bit of interesting information that I ended up asking Kisuke about.

There was a female soul reaper in the school, barely detectable and even then only at close range. She'd lost her strength apparently and was recovering from whatever had caused it in a gigai that I recognized as one of Kisuke's. She wasn't the soul reaper I'd sensed from far away, that was certain. The reaper I had sensed before had far higher spirit energy.

Regardless, even powerless, she was in the same school as that boy who seemed to be the anomaly. While this could mean they would be leaving sooner, I didn't want them jumping the gun and killing him. The Soul Society tended to be a bit short-sighted. Actually that's not quite right. It was more that they were far-sighted, so much so that they had trouble seeing what was directly in front of them. Even though this person was a nice guy, not a visible speck of bad intentions in him, all they would probably see is that he was causing a problem.

So it was with a good amount of speed that I returned to find the strange human when school was about to end. Kisuke had no idea about the strange person, asking me to report anything I found out so he could try and figure it out. Concerning the female reaper, Rukia Kuchiki had given her powers to a young boy who could see spirits named Ichigo Kurosaki. Kisuke was taking full advantage of the situation of course and was watching the pair very closely.

I spotted the very two people in question walking out of the school together. They were completely unaware that the American was following them, but I managed to see him. Whatever his reasons, the American was keeping to corners and alleys, doing a very good job of looking casual about it. Perhaps he'd come to suspect something, perhaps he was going to attack the two reapers. I wasn't sure, but I kept my eyes fixed on the situation.

Ichigo turned and confronted Rukia as the two of them arrived at a side street few people would be at during that time of the day, "Alright, you freaky little nut job, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Oh, the hot-blooded type? This could be entertaining given Kuchiki's personality.

"Oh, how scary, you big brute!" she replied with a mischievous grin, enjoying the chance to tease, "Jeepers! You aren't gonna hurt me are you?"

I knew it! By sheer chance she'd been forced to rely on a human that would turn their partnership into a comedy duo. I had to wonder who would end up being the straight man and who would be the fool in the long run. The really good duos could change back and forth depending on topic.

Ichigo was far from amused, "First of all, you can knock it off with that goody two-shoes act alright?"

"Well I think it's pretty good considering I learned it over night."

"Alright forget it. Just tell me what you're doing here now anyway. Weren't you supposed to be heading back to your 'Soul Society' or whatever it was?" he replied with annoyance.

She frowned, "I can't. Only soul reapers can enter the Soul Society and last night you took nearly all of my powers."

Crap, they'd gotten serious. Anyway, my amusement aside I worried about the direction the conversation was going. They didn't know that strange foreigner was listening in and were revealing everything. Not that anyone would believe him, but still.

"Well, I wouldn't know anything about that."

Annoyed, she sighed and looked o the ground, "I was in the middle of a mission you know. Now thanks to you I'm stuck in this ridiculous gigai form."

"What's a gigai?"

She point to herself, "A temporary body used used in emergencies. When a soul reaper is drastically weakened they reside inside of a gigai until their powers return."

Something dawned on Ichigo, pieces fit together, "So that explains why everyone was able to see you back there. Right?"

"Exactly." She suddenly got a determined look, "In short, until my powers return, I'm going to half to rely on you to fulfill my duties as a soul reaper."

"Huh?"

"It's only natural, you have all the powers of a soul reaper now. You have no right to refuse your-"

"No way!" the boy replied loudly, accentuating the fact by crossing his arms in front of him." There's no way in hell I'm fighting monsters like that again."

That was not the response Rukia Kuchiki had expected, "Come on, you did just fine last night."

"That was just because my family's lives were in danger. It's not like I'm ready to go fight for complete strangers or anything."

"But this is bigger than just your family!"

"Sorry to disappoint you." Ichigo turned and walked away, heading in the direction of his house.

"Guess there's no other choice then." Rukia said, glaring at him as she slipped on a red glove emblazoned with a flaming skull, "Hey."

"What?" He turned, only to see Rukia close the distance far too fast for a normal girl and send her gloved hand through his head, pushing his soul from his body.

The American looked like he was about to rush in, a concerned look on his face making it clear he was just a curious friend of Ichigo's. At first I wasn't sure if he could see Ichigo in his soul form or not, but he didn't seem to be able to. Why then was he not running to the limp body of his friend? What was with that distant look that seemed to be searching for something?

Rukia roped Ichigo to a playground and I watched as the foreigner hid nearby. I watched closely at the events that followed. It was good that I did, because something important happened. He flinched suddenly for no visible reason, grabbing the side of his head as if suddenly dizzy. An instant later I sensed a hollow enter the world of the living nearby and, more strangely, could sense him. Just before the hollow had appeared he might as well have been the bush he was hiding in. The very instant that hollow came, he was detectable. However, he didn't feel like a human, hollow, or even a reaper. I allowed myself to see the spirit ribbons that were manifestations of the energy of all things. It should have helped but it didn't. He had no ribbon. He had no spirit energy, even when could sense him. What was that feeling? Whatever it was, Rukia and Ichigo were about to be distracted before they could notice it.

As the hollow homed in on the spirit that was 'living' in the playground, I observed the strange human's reactions to the event. From his expressions, it was clear he couldn't see spirit beings, but it was very obvious that he knew they were there. Confusion at the explosion of a play area rather than fear of the appearing monster, then recognition, concern, and building fear. He could the ghost of a little boy being chased by something bad, but he didn't act. His body twitched if he wanted to, but hearing Rukia trying to goad Ichigo into committing to his duties, the foreigner backed off, perhaps sensing his friend and knowing he would do the right thing.

One hollow slaying later, I could no longer sense the foreigner. The sensation he'd emitted was gone with the creature. Kisuke would have a field day with that. Did he have a link of some kind to hollows? My eyes didn't leave him as he stared in the general direction of Ichigo performing a konso to send the boy to the Soul Society. He seemed to relax then, but didn't seem totally sure of what was going on. I couldn't tell exactly what was running through his head as he turned and left, but any sense of alarm or concern had passed. The two soul reapers had been discovered and didn't even know it. Not that it mattered, as I said no one would believe him.

I kept tailing him as he made his way back to school and towards the gymnasium. An athletic looking girl in karate gear was taking a break and spotted him. She complained about him being late again. She called him 'Will', he called her 'Tatsuki'. This Tatsuki person had a bit more spiritual energy than the average person, but not much. It was enough to make me think she could have the potential to be a soul reaper when she died (Whether a talented one or not was debatable). The two of them seemed pretty close, but not dating... not yet at least. The two of them seemed to mesh well enough to be a couple. Then again, compatibility didn't always equal romance.

It was strange how normal the guy was, given how abnormal he really was. Even just in the sense he was actually so totally fine with what he'd just seen and sensed. If I didn't know he knew, I'd think he didn't just find out about soul reapers.

Tatsuki's Perspective

"Hey, Will! You're late again! You'll never get anywhere without committing yourself to it."

My foreign friend seemed distracted but tossed whatever was bothering aside and looked over to where I was standing, "Waiting for me? I'm touched. I had no idea you cared."

"Oh shut up." I threw my sweaty towel at him, striking him directly in the face, "I was just taking a break."

He took the cloth away from his face laughing, again being strange. I'd done that to others for annoying me and they were grossed out. I had to wonder if I was a magnet for people who thought differently than anyone else. "But Tatsuki-senpai, you always take a break around the corner so you can be alone. You hate looking at people when you rest."

If I still had my towel I'd have thrown it at him, so instead he'd have to deal with my water bottle bouncing of his forehead, "Take that, smart guy!"

"Ow! That nearly hurt." Will chuckled, rubbing his forehead.

"Next time I'll throw harder!" I joked, sending a devilish grin his way, "Maybe it'll get you coming on time!"

"I've only been late a few times." he walked over and leaned on the wall next to me, handing my water bottle back to me, "I'm as committed as I need to be. Belts don't really matter much to me."

"Why not? Don't you wanna prove to everyone you're the strongest? There's a lot of appeal in being the best. At least to most people."

He put on a gag sage face, "Ah, young grasshopper, the truly strong do not need to show their power and the true warrior seeks to never need to lift his weapon."

"You watch too many kung-fu movies."

"Your collection is twice the size of mine."

"That's beside the point." I replied, then froze and raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Wait, you've never been to my house. How do you know how big it is?"

"You just told me. Ha-Ha-Ha!" my water bottle collided with his head again, "Ow!"

"That'll teach you." I pouted. Will could be so annoying sometimes. "And gimme my towel back."

He picked up his hand, and looked at the towel in it with mild amusement, "Oh! Didn't even realize I still had it. Here you go."

Suddenly, the coach called out, "Tatsuki, break's over! And tell that lazy bum William Marks to get in here and get changed!"

"Yes, sir!" I turned to my friend, "You heard him, come on."

He looked up as if snapping out of a daze, "Yeah..., I'll be in soon. Gimme a minute."

"What's got you so distracted?"

Will shook his head, "It's nothing. I'm just in a strange mood I guess."

"It's Orihime's cooking. You keep eating like her and you'll start thinking like her."

He laughed, "Considering her grades, that might not be bad."

"One ditsy genius is enough for me thanks." I flashed a grin and headed in, "Hurry up now so I can kick your butt again."

"Ha-ha, sure thing."

At the time I had no way to know that the series of events that would change my life forever had begun. I didn't see Will look up to a nearby roof with those knowing eyes of his and see a cat that was more than it seemed. I didn't know how his own life was about to change far more than mine would. No, in hindsight perhaps the changes had started months ago, when Will first arrived.

Next Chapter: Asking and Discovering

Preview:

The mysterious exchange student William Marks has discovered the existence of Soul Reapers, but his true nature remains unknown. Who is he? How did he come to be friends with Ichigo, Chad, and Tatsuki? What started the anomaly that has drawn the attention of the Soul Society. With hollows targeting Ichigo for his high spiritual pressure, what will happen when they get personal and Tatsuki gets caught in the crossfire? Has Yoruichi been discovered? All this and a bit more next chapter.