While 'Roy's Beginning is on hiatus, I decided to submit this little piece of my new story. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

"Ichigo Kurosaki, please report to the vice principal's office immediately," A voice boomed out over the intercom. The student mentioned rose from his seat and walked out of the classroom towards the office.

Ichigo was basically your average student. His unruly mop of dirty orange hair didn't exactly draw too much attention. He was slim, but he had a toned, muscular body, signaling that he had seen his fair share of fights. On his face, he wore a seemingly permanent scowl, as though his life had done nothing but handed him shit. Of course, he wasn't exactly "normal," so to speak. He kept the veil of a schoolboy in order to keep his true duty a secret. Ichigo Kurosaki, a resident of Karakura Town, was actually a Shinigami.

Technically speaking, Ichigo was a substitute Shinigami. When he met Rukia Kuchiki, she transferred her Shinigami abilities to Ichigo in order to help him save his family from a powerful Hollow. Since then, Ichigo has worked alongside Rukia to keep the world of the living safe from the Hollows. He went through a lot during his "career:" saving Rukia from execution, fighting against the Bounts, becoming a Vizard, and even fighting against a nearly invincible Sosuke Aizen during the Winter War.

Within a few minutes, Ichigo was standing outside the door of the vice-principal's office. Letting out a breath, he knocked on the door and heard a voice from the other side call out, "Come in." Hesitantly, Ichigo opened the door and came face-to-face with the vice-principal of Karakura High.

The vice-principal was a muscular man, just enough for people to mistake him for a professional wrestler. He had light tan skin, signaling his foreign nature. His hair was light brown and slicked back, reminding Ichigo of Aizen for a second. On his face was a light goatee that was still easily noticeable. His dark brown eyes were nearly masked by a small pair of eyeglasses.

Ichigo nervously asked, "Umm…you wanted to see me, Mr. Hidalgo?" The man in question looked up and gave a warm smile to the red-headed teen. "Ah, yes," he answered. "Come in, Ichigo. Take a seat."

As Ichigo took a seat in front of the vice-principal's desk, Mr. Hidalgo started, "It has come to my attention that you have been missing school for about a month." Ichigo froze up; he was training to control his Hollow powers with the Vizards, or the Masked Warriors. "Of course, you came back, which is good," he continued. His expression then grew stern as he added, "But shortly after you returned, you vanished again for a few days. What have you been doing during the times you were absent?"

Ichigo was at a loss for words. He couldn't tell his vice-principal that he was a shinigami. If he did, the vice-principal would probably lock him up in an insane asylum. Scratching the back of his head, he lied through his teeth, "I went…out of town…for a family emergency." Mr. Hidalgo seemed to be buying it so far, so Ichigo continued, "The second trip was…something short notice." He prayed that his vice-principal would take the story.

Mr. Hidalgo looked pensive for a second. 'He's been away so long just for family troubles,' he thought. Leaning back in his chair, he told Ichigo, "You're free to go, then."

Ichigo blinked and asked, "You're letting me off the hook just like that?" Smirking, the vice-principal explained, "I have a feeling that you're lying, but if you were, it was the best damn lie I've ever heard." Ichigo blinked again as Mr. Hidalgo continued, "Some kid came in here one time and told me that he missed a week of school because he was nursing a supermodel back to health after a car crash." He couldn't help but let out a laugh. 'Must've been Keigo,' Ichigo thought, deadpanned. As the vice-principal composed himself, he told Ichigo, "Now get back to class before I change my mind." Smiling, Ichigo stood up and walked out of the office.

Walking back to classroom, Ichigo thought, "He has to be the coolest guy around. Too bad he's not the actual principal." Suddenly, a skull-shaped badge on his belt loop began beeping. His smirk was replaced with a serious scowl. "A Hollow," he thought. With no other thought, he pulled the badge off his loop and pressed it against his chest.

Soon, his body dropped to the floor as another Ichigo faced away from the husk. He was dressed in a black kimono and had a large, bandage-wrapped sword strapped to his back. Hiding his gigai in a supply closet, he raced out of the school and towards the Hollow.

Meanwhile, in the vice-principal's office, Mr. Hidalgo, better known as Raphael, was looking out through his office window. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a black blur running out through the gate. Raphael turned his attention to it and nearly spit out the coffee he was drinking. Running from the school was someone with a familiar mop of orange hair.

"Ichigo?"

There ya go. Don't forget to review.