Author Note: I do not own Bleach or its characters. I do own Katarina and the storyline. Here is chapter two and I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please Review!

Chapter 2

Listening to the teacher's lecture, I was distracted by a sudden feeling of pressure surrounding me. Looking out the window, I saw Ichigo running across the yard back to the school in a black shihakushō. Silently gasping in surprise, a girl with auburn hair turned in my direction. I met her gaze a brief moment before turning away.

Ichigo returned to the classroom as if nothing happened. When he sat down in front of me, I could feel something was off and not normal about him. It intrigued me tremendously. I was beginning to think my dream wasn't a dream at all; but once again, a glimpse of the future.

I cursed at myself for having this ability and tried the best I could to write notes down in my notebook; but I was too sidetracked by questions. When the bell rung for lunch, I didn't even notice. "Kat" Ichigo called.

"Huh?" I replied shaking my head from the zone I'd been in.

"Are you coming?"

"Uh…yeah"

I picked up my bag and walked across the room to catch up to him. The feeling of pressure was gone; but I still had a nagging feeling that something wasn't right. The sun was bright and warm; it felt great against my bear arms. Ichigo sat down against a tree and the way the sun shone through the leaves made him look pretty damn handsome.

Heat crept to my cheeks and I suppressed it down to take a step closer to him. He looked up at me with those soft brown eyes and my resolved damn near crumbled on the spot. I heard footsteps approaching us from the right side.

"Ichigo are you going to introduce the new girl to us?" a woman's voice called.

"Yeah… Kat, this is Tatsuki Arisawa and the girl beside her is Orihime Inoue" he introduced.

Tatsuki had short spiky black hair and pretty tomboyish even if she was wearing a skirt. Orihime was the girl I saw in class with auburn hair and slate grey eyes. Both girls greeted me warmly and it was a huge difference than back home.

"Do you want to have lunch with us?" Orihime asked.

"Sure" I replied with a smile.

As I walked with the girls, I could feel Ichigo watching me. Was he curious about me as much as I was curious about him? Did he know that I saw him earlier? "So where are you from Katarina?" Tatsuki asked taking a bite from her salad.

"New York City, New York" I replied.

"Wait! You're from America?" Orihime squealed.

"Yes"

"You don't really look American; besides your name, I never would have guessed" Tatsuki commented.

I was surprised they noticed. Most would have casted me out as being a half-breed of nationality; but they didn't seem to care at all. "My mother was American; but my father was Japanese and I take after my father a lot in looks"

"Makes sense"

The bell rung to return to class and I slowly gathered my bag, throwing away my empty lunch bag. The rest of the day, I tried to concentrate on what I was supposed to be learning; but my mind wandered elsewhere, to things I shouldn't be thinking about.

"Kat, are you ready?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah…" I replied.

I never met his gaze and I simply walked passed him. On the way home, I tried to focus on other things other than my dream. "Did something happen today? You seem upset" Ichigo asked. Instantly, I stopped walking.

"I've just been thinking about the dream I had last night"

"Dreams really shouldn't bother you"

"Can I trust you with something?"

I turned to look at him. His eyes were wider than usual, like I surprised him with the question. He nodded his head instead of answering with a yes or no. "For as long as I can remember, my dreams have always been glimpses of the future. My parents think I'm cursed so they sent me here, hoping that they would go away on their own; but I know they won't. I saw something in my dream last night"

"Do…do you see spirits to?" he asked cautiously.

"If you're asking me if I saw you today dressed in a black shihakushō, then yes"

His eyes grew even wider, shocked that I admitted it at all. I knew he wasn't going to say anything else; so I continued on and never bothered to go home. I was too concerned and I needed to get used to being on my own; because once Ichigo told his father about me, I'd be cast out.

Before long the sun had set and I was in the middle of town. This place seemed awfully familiar to me and that's when I realized this was the same place as where my dream took place. I snapped my head up to look at the tallest building's roof; but there was no one there. Disappointment enveloped me from within; so I decided to turn around and go back to the house.

A loud screeching howl echoed from above me and I realized that the dream was playing out without the man on the rooftop. Looking up, I saw the creature come out of the sky. It had bat-like wings and dark brown in color. A white stone-like mask covered its face.

If that man wasn't around, I knew I wasn't going to be saved; so I turned to run. The growls grew closer and closer as my legs ran as fast as they could down the street. The hot breath coming out of its mouth touched my bear arms and made me sick to my stomach.

"You can't run forever" it called.

"What the hell are you?" I whispered.

The beast flew over my head, knocking me to the pavement. My knees and palms were scrapped, warm blood trickled down from the wounds. It licked its stone lips, readying itself to pounce on me as prey. I scrambled backward on my butt; but he swooped in for the kill and I shut my eyes tight, waiting for the pain.

All I could hear was a clash of metal. I opened my eyes to see the man from my dream. The same long crimson red hair pulled up in a high ponytail with a white headband tied around his forehead. He held back the creatures attack with a sword. Scrambling to my feet, I felt the blood roll down my legs and a sense of pressure around me.

"Stand back" he ordered.

I did as I was told and watched him leap into the air. He slashed down through the center of the beast's head. The dust began to fade away and he turned to look at me. The dream didn't do this man justice.

In person, his face was beyond handsome that it could be considered a god to the girls back home. The way his hair fell into his brown eyes made my heart race and my mouth dry. I noticed he had a lot of the tribal tattoos, not just the ones I saw in my dream.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

I knew the scene fairly well. I had replayed it inside my head many times over. "Yes, I'm fine" I replied hiding the fact that I was nervous. Taking a step closer, he examined my injuries closely. His very male scent waved under my nose causing butterflies to flutter in my stomach.

"Who…are you?" I asked.

"I'll take it from here, Renji" Ichigo's voice interrupted.

"Why the hell did it take you so long?" Renji asked.

I turned to see Ichigo standing there in the same black shihakushō as Renji. The only difference was that Ichigo held a large sword on his back, while Renji's smaller sword was at his side. Renji took out the blade and lifted it up so the hilt bottom was facing my forehead.

"Well it's time to perform a Konsō" Renji stated.

"Konsō?" I asked.

"Better take another look Renji, that girl isn't a soul dumbass" Ichigo insulted.

Renji took a look at my chest and I blushed as his eyes lingered. He looked back up at Ichigo. "Who is she then; she's not like Orihime and Chad, is she?" he asked. I was confused. What did Orihime and Chad have to do with what happened?

"Her parents sent her to my dad. She's from America, I guess"

"Why are you talking about me like I'm not even here?" I yelled.

My eyes narrowed in anger when both men looked at me. I clenched my scraped palms into fists at my sides, not caring about the pain that surged up my arms. Ichigo's eyes softened when he met my confused expression. "Katarina…" he whispered.

"So that's your name?" Renji asked.

"Yes; but you can call me Kat if you want" I replied.

"I'm the Lieutenant of Squad Six, Renji Abarai"

"Huh?"

"Quit confusing her! She doesn't know anything about you guys"

Renji looked at me again. The curiosity etched his gorgeous features. "Tell me please, maybe it will shed some light on some things about myself" I pleaded. He looked at Ichigo for a confirmation.

"Alright; but we need to go home. Yuzu had been worried about you" Ichigo replied.

"She lives with you!" Renji yelled.

"Oh shut up, get your mind out of the gutter"

"I'm still here!" I yelled.

Renji and Ichigo leapt up into his bedroom window as I unlocked the front door. I walked through and saw Isshin watching TV in the living room. He never budged from his spot; but his eyes did shift to see me and then returned to the show.

I walked upstairs and the twins' room door was shut. I figured that they must be asleep; I'd have to be quiet when I go in later. Ichigo opened the door of his room and I stepped inside. His scent was all through the space and it was intoxicating my senses. The bed was up against the wall by his window and there was a desk beside it.

Renji sat on the floor with his back against the bed. Ichigo reached into the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a first-aid kit. I snatched the box out of his hand, opening it up quickly. Pulling out antibacterial ointment and gauze, I started to apply the clear gel onto the wounds on my knees.

"Where to start?" Ichigo asked himself.

"Start at the beginning moron" Renji commented.

"Shut up, dumbass; I know"

I wrapped my knees with the gauze and looked up, waiting for him to explain everything to me. Renji looked at me, straight into my eyes. "I'm a Soul Reaper. We are the guardians of souls. Ichigo is a substitute Soul Reaper" he stated. I looked over at Ichigo for confirmation that it was the truth.

"A couple months ago, a Soul Reaper came to this town and she saved my life by giving me her powers as a Soul Reaper"

"What was that creature that attacked me?"

"They are called hollows. They are souls that lose their hearts after their soul-chain breaks"

I thought about it a moment and I realized that it made more sense than I would admit. Ichigo saw me fumbling with the bandages on my palms and slid down to the floor in front of me. "Here, let me…" he offered. His soft hands took a hold of my palms and moved them face up.

"What about you Renji? You said you are a Lieutenant, what does that mean?" I asked.

The cool gel eased the burning in the wounds on my palms; but it was difficult to ignore Ichigo soft hands on mine, wrapping them in bandages. "The place souls go to after they pass on is called The Soul Society and inside that is where the Soul Reapers live. It's called the Sereitei and we are divided into thirteen squads, each lead by a Captain and then followed by a Lieutenant" Renji explained.

"Wow…" I whispered impressed by his rank.

I was familiar with military ranks thanks to my father; but this man was second in command of an entire squad of soldiers. Unfortunately, none of this explained my dreams or why I could see souls, hollows, and Soul Reapers. I pulled my hands away from Ichigo's grasp and shifted my body away from him. "Thank you for tell me all of this and I promise I won't say anything to anyone; but it doesn't help me at all" I stated.

"What do you mean?" Renji asked.

"She has dreams that glimpses of the future" Ichigo replied.

"Hmm"

"Do you think you could go back to the Soul Society and ask around for information about her ability?"

"I guess I could"

I stood up and walked over to Renji's much taller frame. "Thank you for saving me tonight" I said and his smile returned to his lips.

"You're welcome. I'll look into your ability"

"Thank you so much"

With that said, he leapt out the window. I turned to look at Ichigo once again, then realized that I was alone with him in his bedroom. "I should probably go to bed. Thank you for telling me this, Ichigo" I said softly.

"You're welcome. Goodnight Katarina"

"How come you hardly ever use Kat?"

He looked at me like he just got caught stealing candy from a candy store. I could see his mind racing through the look in his eyes. "I like Katarina better; it's prettier than Kat is. That name suits you better" he admitted.

My heart pounded against my chest at his words. Never have I heard someone say that to me about my name; not even my parents. I was starting to like him and that was clearly a bad thing, considering my living situation. I couldn't find words to say to him. All I could do was smile and walk quietly out of his room and cross the hall to the room I slept in.

I tossed and turned for at least another hour, trying to get my body to settle down; but eventually sleep took over and I was thankful that there were no dreams at all, not even the normal kind.