Hi there! I'm honestly surprised. I hadn't expected to get 100+ views in a mere day. From the reviews, I'm going to assume I'm doing an okay job! I'll be introducing Mr. Pineapple in this chapter. You Bleach fans should know who I'm talking about. :P Anyways, keep up the reviews!

Smiling, Rukia held out her hand towards Ichigo. "Well then. How about coming along with me? I wander around myself, and two is better then one!"

Thinking for a moment, Ichigo smiled, and took her hand. And thus a new friendship was born.

Chapter 2: A New Day, A New Group

A few days had gone past. Ichigo and Rukia continued to wander district 78. They never stopped in one place, they never had a reason too. It was normal for them to do it alone, but now they both had a friend to do it with. They both had the same opinion on the matter. It made it easier to live. While wandering, they helped the other kids around the district as much as they could. Whether it was helping fix something for them, or fighting off a group of grown-ups to protect them. Eventually, they became known as the Inuzuri Duo. Rukia was the talker, the thinker, and Ichigo was to doer. They had quite a few close saves now and then, but most of the time when anyone saw them they ran. Kids grew to love them, adults grew to hate them. That was the story that the red headed boy had heard. That was the story he told his friends. Renji had lived in Inuzuri for a long time. He had gathered together his little group, and together they survived the best they could. They had all marveled at how two souls, two children, were able to have such an impact on the district. Renji viewed them as his idols. That, of course, got them into trouble on a few occasions as he and his group tried to mimic their feats. That's what got them into the situation they were in right now. 'What's wrong with this guy? Why won't he just stop chasing us?' Renji wondered as the particularly angry individual chasing them continued to shout "Hey!" over and over and over again. The reason the man was chasing them was because the group had practically destroyed his make-shift shop in order to get water and other supplies to the children of the district. As you can imagine, that didn't go over well.

"He's gonna catch us!" Renji heard one of his friends say. It was Marumaru Futotta[1], the biggest of the group. He was slowing down, rapidly. 'Think fast, Renji!' the boy thought. Up ahead, he saw an alley that he thought would take him through to the other street. "Quickly! Through there!" he shouted, and his friends quickly ran into the alley. Unfortunately, Renji's plan had a small flaw in it. The alley was a dead end. "Come on! Quick! Turn around! Back to the street!" he shouted. But it was too late. The enraged man was already blocking the exit, stick in his hand. He beat it softly against his other hand, obviously intimidating them before the actual beating happened. "I've got you now, you little twerps." the man said menacingly. As the red-head saw his friends backing into the corner of the alley in fear, Renji knew he was the only one who could face the man. He knew he wouldn't survive, but if anything it was to let his friends escape. Stepping in front of the man, raising his fists in a defensive stance, Renji shouted, "Come on! Bring it!" He tried to sound brave, but fear was evident, both on his face and in his voice. The man stopped for a moment, confused. He then smiled menacingly again. "You want to die, eh? Alright then, that makes my job easier!" He shouted before lunging at Renji, ready to beat him to death. It was then that he noticed he was falling.

He didn't know how he had missed it. Someone suddenly appeared in front of him and did a sliding kick, causing him to lose his balance. On his way down, he noticed someone else standing in front of him. Then, everything went black as his face was slammed into the ground.

Ichigo, being the one who had smashed the mans face into the ground, smirked. "That's what you deserve, you bully."

Standing up, Rukia nodded, then began running out of the alley before shouting at Renji and his group, "Follow me!" She disappeared into the street.

Rubbing the back of his head, Ichigo sighed, muttering, "Always in a hurry." He then turned to Renji and his group, who were, for the lack of a better word, speechless. He nodded his head and motioned with his hand for them to follow, before walking to the end of the alley.

'O-Orange hair…? N-No way. It can't be them, can it?' Renji thought, his jaw still practically touching the floor.

Stopping, the orange haired boy turned back, saying, "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" in a playful manner.

Recomposing himself, Renji looked away embarrassed, saying, "N-No. We're right behind you!"

Smiling, Ichigo nodded and took off, followed closely by Renji and his group.

Later that day

As the group entered the hut, they noticed that it was particularly full of souls. Young souls, at that. They all looked miserable. They wanted attention, they wanted someone to call "dad" or "mom". But they had yet to find a family. That's what brought them all together here. Renji had hoped that the supplies that they had "borrowed" from the guy would be used to help these kids, but in their fear they had dropped them all. 'So much for that plan.' Renji thought. As he looked at the two newest additions to the hut, Renji came to the realization that those two were Rukia and Ichigo. The two that were constantly on the lips of everyone in the 78th district. His idols. Zipping over to them anime style, he immediately grabbed Ichigo's hand and shook it. "I can't believe I finally got to meet you two! This is great! I never thought I'd be able to see you two in the flesh!" Ichigo smiled slightly, while Rukia had a slightly shocked look on her face.

"The pleasure is ours." Ichigo said calmly, "It's always a pleasure to meet people who think the same as us." Looking over and Rukia, he saw her nod in agreement, something he knew she would do. The time they had spent together had given them a feel for what the other thought. That was one of the many reasons their team-work was legendary.

Smiling widely, Renji handed each of them a pouch containing a candy. "Here! I'm sure you're probably hungry!"

Lifting one eyebrow curiously, Rukia asked, "What is it?"

"What? You've never had confetti?" Renji asked in disbelief. "Go on! Try it! It's extremely sweat!"

"Okay." Rukia muttered before she took a piece, and Ichigo quickly did the same. "W-Wow! It tastes great!" She exclaimed, as Ichigo nodded in agreement. Just then, everyone heard a small boy screaming, "Let go! That's mine!" As everyone looked over, they saw the younger soul was holding onto a pouch that an older soul, probably a teenager, was apparently trying to steal from it.

Frowning, Ichigo muttered to Rukia, "This might get serious." To this, Rukia nodded. Suddenly, the pouch broke open and it's contents were spilled all over the place. The young soul began crying, and the older one spoke, "What's with you? Unlike me, you don't have a shred of spirit power! So long as you have water, you won't get hungry!" Scowling, Ichigo said calmly, "You wanna go?"

Nodding, Rukia began walking towards the teenaged soul, while Ichigo took the pouch of confetti to the younger one. "Oi!" Rukia shouted, grabbing the older souls shoulder. While the soul was bigger then Rukia, Ichigo knew she'd be fine. "We don't get hungry!" She shouted, to which the soul responded, "What's with you, you newbie?" He turned around and tried to punch Rukia, but she ducked down and twirl kicked his feet from under him, causing him to slam into the ground hard. "We may not get hungry, but we can smell, and we can taste!" The crowd was shouting, cheering Rukia on. But she didn't care. "We all share the enjoyment! Don't go acting like the scumbag grownups!" She demanded. At this, the children in the hut calmed down, finally realizing what was really going on. "Got it?" Rukia asked, to which the teen nodded in affirmation.

While this was going on, Ichigo had gone over to the younger soul, and offered him the confetti. When the boy hesitated, Ichigo smiled calmly and said, "It's alright, take it!" After he had done so, Rukia started heading out the hut, and Ichigo soon followed.

Being amazed at seeing his idols in action, Renji hadn't registered that they had left the tent. When he finally did, and ran out to find them, they were no where in sight. After looking around for a bit, he suddenly heard a voice. "Hey, Renji!" He turned around to see Rukia up on a branch of a nearby tree, with Ichigo leaning up against the trunk with his arms folded.

"You need something, Renji?" Ichigo asked with a smile.

"Uh, n-no. I was just wondering where you guys went that's all." Renji said quickly.

"Oh. Well, we're right here." Ichigo responded casually.

"I-I know that!" Renji yelled with a humorous look on his face.

Laughing, Rukia said "You're a strange one!" To which Ichigo chuckled as well.

"H-Hey! I'm not the strange one! You guys are the strange ones!" Renji yelled, which only made Rukia laugh harder. "Hey! Quit laughing you guys! Come on!"

Days later

The group found themselves running through the streets of Inuzuri. They had heard a rumor that one of the people of the district had managed to become a member of the shinigami. They had immediately set off to see what he was like. However, as they got closer and closer, Rukia began to feel off, something that Ichigo noticed in his friend. As she stopped to take a breather, Ichigo stopped beside her. With a concerned look, he asked her, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go!" She shouted, and they continued on. However, Ichigo continued to watch her. As they rounded a corner, they could tell they were at their destination. People crowded the streets, and there was a shiny, black rickshaw in front of one of the buildings. As Maru[2], Chibi[3], and Sukini[4] admired the rickshaw, Ichigo, Rukia, and Renji watched for the shinigami. They couldn't see him, but they could feel a feeling that couldn't be described. Rukia felt a pressure, and a pained feeling in her stomach. Ichigo felt a slight headache, and Renji felt a pressure. After awhile of waiting, they finally saw a door open, and someone shoed Maru, Chibi, and Sukini away, followed by a tall man in a black Shihakusho[5], and his sword in a brown sheath. Upon walking past the group, Rukia felt all her energy drift away. 'What the… What is this?' She tried to ask Ichigo for support, but the words wouldn't come out. However, Ichigo noticed something was wrong, and was prepared to grab her when she fell.

Renji's eyes widened, and he quickly asked, "Rukia! Are you okay? Rukia?" being concerned for his new friend.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Ichigo." she said, before standing back up. However, she felt an immense pain in her stomach, and wrapped her hand around it wincing.

Ichigo, while concerned, noticed that the shinigami had walked up to them. "Are you alright?" he asked calmly. 'This feeling.' Ichigo thought, 'It's as though I'm being overwhelmed by pressure. As though something is squeezing me. But… I don't see anything…'

"Yes. I'm fine." Rukia muttered, also feeling the same. Renji was speechless that the shinigami had talked to them.

"Might you be hungry?" the man asked, to which Rukia nodded in the negative.

"No, not hungry." she said.

The shinigami, however, merely smiled, bent down and opened his meal holder. "Becoming hungry in a place where one is not supposed to be hungry. At first, I too was perplexed." He said calmly. "You must not hesitate. Take this, and eat." he finished with a smile. Rukia and Renji gulped at the sight of the food, but Ichigo smiled, and said "Thanks."

Nodding, the shinigami stood up, and walked away.

Later that day

The group had all gone to an alley. After the event with the shinigami, Renji had gone on and on about how amazing they were. After a short while, Ichigo issued a challenge. "How about we try and create an orb? We'll see who can make the biggest."

"That sounds like fun!" Rukia said, smiling.

Renji nodded, and said confidently, "Okay! But I'm gonna win!" to which both Ichigo and Rukia laughed.

"We'll see, Renji." Ichigo said, smirking. In the alley, Renji stood in the center, trying to create an orb in his fist. Maru, Chibi, and Sukini watched. Rukia was sitting on a barrel, and Ichigo was leaning against the wall right beside her. After awhile, Renji finally managed to create a small orb. "Wow! That's amazing Renji!" Sukini shouted. Renji began laughing, thinking he was victorious. However, he heard a sound, and looked over to see Rukia with an orb twice the size of his, and Ichigo with one easily being three times the size of Rukia's. "Wow!" All Maru, Chibi, and Sukini shouted in unison. "You three should join the shinigami!

"Nah. Ichigo and I…." Rukia said, "…We'll be here forever!" Ichigo nodded in agreement, then turned to Renji.

"Right, Renji?" He asked.

"R-Right!" Renji said. After the other three let out cheers of joy, the six of them began running off to go play some random game. After Ichigo tagged Renji in the back and began running away, they all knew what game it was.

Well, here's another one. I'm kinda upset, I wanted it to be a bit more descriptive, but ah well. Sorry if it seems rushed. Anyways, same as before. Read, Review! Please…. :P

And here's the definitions!

Marumaru Futotta[1]: In the Bleach anime, on episode 32, you can see the characters. Marumaru is the fat one. Marumaru to Futotta is apparently the Japanese way of saying "Chubby".

Maru[2]: Slang for Marumaru

Chibi[3]: Japanese for Shorty. The short one in episode 32.

Sukini[4]: Skinny, the other one, with his hair over his eyes and the scar… Couldn't think of anything else.

Shihakusho[5]: Literally, "Garment of Dead Souls". The normal attire for shinigami.