Disclaimer: …. Ok, I don't wanna say this for every chapter so I'll just say I have never owned Bleach or its characters (and I never will T_T)


"Why does someone out here have a sword?" Rukia asked, not wanting to lower her guard but finding it ridiculous to be wary of someone who was clearly unconscious.

Renji was also cautious since they couldn't be sure if this was a trap of some kind. "Maybe he found it somewhere… or it's just an ordinary sword" he suggested although he clearly didn't believe his own words.

Rukia shook her head and replied, "Not possible. No ordinary sword looks like that."

The sword at first glance didn't seem very special at all, just a black blade with a black hilt but on closer inspection, there was a strip of white that ran from the tip down the sharp edge. Also attached to the hilt was a pure white ribbon, the two pure whites stark contrasts to the black theme the sword more or less appeared to have.

Renji nodded in agreement as he shifted restlessly. He couldn't explain why he felt anxious but it just felt like they were somehow being watched even though there wasn't any unfamiliar reiatsu nearby. He briefly entertained the thoughts that they were under an illusion or that it was the kid but dismissed both since they were highly unlikely.

The illusion didn't make sense since Aizen would have nothing to gain from tricking the two of them and the idea that the kid was watching them was ridiculous since he was quite obviously unconscious.

Deciding to ignore the feeling for now, he asked Rukia, "What do we do? Should we send a hell butterfly now and report this or bring this guy to fourth division and then report?"

Rukia frowned and thought over it before replying, "Let's take him back. I don't think he'd be able to do any harm even if he was an enemy since he doesn't have any reiatsu." Renji grunted in agreement and he hefted the limp body up before the two began hurrying back, both unaware that said limp body had tensed ever so slightly.


Preparations were being made to send out search parties in Seireitei and there was a feeling of curiosity and eagerness at the prospect of having a potentially powerful ally but before any could be deployed, Isane's voice resounded in the air as she used Bakudou 58: Kakushi Tsuijaku.

"Attention everyone! The target has been found and is currently resting in fourth division. Do not send out the search parties. Captains, please report to the fourth division for an impromptu meeting. I repeat, the target has been found. Captains, please report to fourth division for a meeting."

There was a buzz of confusion and slight disappointment from the shinigamis as their captains were once again summoned for a meeting despite having only just recently left the first one. They had been hoping to be the ones to find the objective if only to brag about it to their friends.

The captains themselves were perplexed since they hadn't sent anybody out to search yet although Ukitake had a sneaking suspicion about who had found the missing Kurosaki Ichigo since there were only two shinigamis scouting Rukongai at the time.

Swiftly entering the fourth division, a familiar feeling of tranquility swept through them since Unohana's calming reiatsu coated the walls as a way to help soothe any patients coming in that were in pain.

Healers hurried to get out of there way as they strode down the hallways towards the room Unohana had set up as a 'special' patient room. It was a place for the kid to rest peacefully and it ensured privacy, a perfect place to hold an emergency meeting without any interruptions.

When the captains arrived, they were slightly surprised to see Urahara Kisuke and Shihoin Yoruichi already there looking quite comfortable but completely out of place with their clothes.

"Y-Yoruichi-sama!" The usually stoic Soi-fon looked like a lost puppy that finally found its master again the second she spotted the beautiful bronze-skinned woman.

After Aizen's betrayal, the two assassins had talked briefly and had reconciled once Soi-fon revealed her true reason for harboring bitter feelings for her former lady and Yoruichi explained why she hadn't taken Soi-fon with her when she left. Soi-fon had then developed her worship for her predecessor again and thus, here they were on friendly terms once more.

"Yo Soi-fon, Byakubo!" the cat woman said, a mischievous grin gracing her face when she say Byakuya stiffen ever so slightly at the hated childhood nickname.

"Refrain from calling me that ridiculous name" Byakuya ordered, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly in vexation when it looked like Yoruichi was about to call him something degrading again. Ukitake quickly played peacemaker as he said warmly, "It's good to see both of you again in a more... peaceful situation."

Urahara and Yoruichi smiled and nodded in agreement before greeting the other captains and introducing themselves formally. Once that was done, they settled into business.

"Right then, I don't want to worry anyone but I do believe we have a small problem~" Urahara did not look the least bit worried at this 'small problem' which only had the others feeling quite concerned.

He cheerfully brushed aside their worried expressions and announced,

"It appears that for reasons unknown, my poor former student does not have any reiatsu at the moment!"

Silence.

"I'm sorry Urahara–san, I think we misheard you," Ukitake said, "I could have sworn you just said that the boy who could help us win this war currently does not have any reiatsu."

"Actually, that's exactly what I said~ Oh, and it appears that he won't wake up for some unexplainable reasons…"

More silence and the annoyed expressions in some of their eyes clearly showed their desire to draw their weapons and put an end to the very infuriating man.

"Hold on a sec guys and calm down" Yoruichi said in a placating manner, "We can still figure this out."

Ignoring the skeptical looks she was receiving, she turned to the prone body lying on the bed and said, "Yo, I know Ichigo's out like a light but you should still be able to talk through his body. You're already in control and listenin' ain't ya?"

To the captains' surprise, the body shifted and started sitting up almost immediately as a voice mumbled something very lowly, "…"

Urahara beamed and said, "I apologize, we didn't quite catch that." The words got louder as the teen's head snapped up, pure gold eyes surrounded by pools of black narrowed in anger as he snarled in an odd, watery distorted voice, "I'm gonna fuckin' kill you ya stupid sketchy bastard!"

Those eyes were most definitely not the ones in the image Urahara had shown them.

And now, reiatsu could clearly be felt and swords were drawn when it became very apparent that it was the tainted one of a hollow.

"Urahara Kisuke, explain." The soutaicho said in a rather dangerous tone.

"Oh dear, this is why I said to wait until after I told them about this before calling him out Yoruichi-san." Said woman shrugged carelessly and replied, "They'd still be pissed either way Kisuke, might as well show first then tell."

The exiled shinigami sighed before saying, "Well no use crying over spilled milk. You calm down, you're already agitating the shinigamis," he directed this towards the fuming hollow as he then returned his attention to the captains, "And the rest of you, please sheath your weapons, he won't attack unless you threaten his vessel."

Toushiro asked warily, "Is that wise? It still has a weapon of its own. And what do you mean by vessel?"

Urahara flapped his fan open and replied, "I can't do anything about the sword. It's fine, he won't do anything that will put his body at risk. You're more than welcome to try to get him to drop his sword I suppose, but that will only lead to fighting and bloodshed. And by vessel I mean the body he's currently using. Hold off any further questions about that since he is not exactly what some of you are thinking."

Weapons were reluctantly put away but tension crackled in the air since it was quite clear from the perfectly controlled reiatsu that the hollow was both smart and quite possibly strong. It was hardly reassuring that it was still in possession of a weapon.

Ignoring the tense atmosphere, Urahara brightly said, "Now then, introductions. Captains, meet the body of Kurosaki Ichigo and the one currently in control of said body, Shiro-san."

"Shirosaki."

Urahara blinked as the hollow fixed him with a deadly glare and snapped, "Th' name's Shirosaki. Only aibou's allowed ta call me Shiro."

"Ah, pardon me then Shirosaki-san. Back to what I was saying, Shirosaki-san is a hollow as I'm sure you all can see however he's a bit different from the ones you all are used to."

"What are you talking about? He's clearly just another hollow albeit a surprisingly intelligent one" Kurotsuchi scoffed.

A blur of orange and a bit of black.

Before anyone could react or even blink, a sword tip was pressed to Kurotsuchi's neck, a mere hair's breath away from drawing blood.

"Watch yer tongue shinigami, I ain't 'just another hollow.' I'm the king's horse and I'm much stronger than any of those pussies in Hueco Mundo. Remember that or I'll kick yer ass."

The other captains had been about to draw their weapons again when he let his sword tip drop voluntarily as he walked back to the bed and flopped down onto it. "Oh, an' if ya think hollows are generally stupid, then yer pretty retarded yerself. Only the weak ones are dumb, the stronger ones are a heck of a lot smarter."

Kurotsuchi looked ready to murder someone but was interrupted by Urahara as he asked, "Shirosaki-san, can you explain why Kurosaki-kun doesn't have any reiatsu?"

The pissed expression returned as Shiro growled, "It's sealed."

"I beg your pardon?"

"It's friggin' sealed ya deaf bastard! Ya see this?" he swung the sword up viciously. Urahara blinked and asked, "I've been wondering about that actually. Is that… Zangetsu?" When he received an unhappy grunt of confirmation, he said, "If I remember correctly, isn't he supposed to look… bigger?"

Shiro snorted and snapped, "No shit Sherlock. This," he brandished the sword again, "is the stupid old man's unreleased form. It's also where all of aibou's reiatsu is. I don't know how the fuck to get it back into shikai since fer some stupid reason, I can't do it. If I change it to th' one I use," the sword's appearance changed suddenly so that the black and white parts were reversed, "I can release it but it'll only be my reiatsu. Aibou's is still, fer some stupid reason, locked inside it. I think he has to release it himself but he won't fuckin' wake up an' it's pissin' me off."

"Zangetsu won't say anything?" Shiro scoffed and replied, "Th' only thing he's saying is that "everything will work out in due time" the senile, riddle-happy old fart. If I lend aibou my reiatsu, then he might be able ta wake up briefly but that's pushin' it since he might lose control an' accidentally kill somebody."

Urahara sighed and said, "Can't do anything about this right now I suppose. Well anyway, let me explain something." This was directed to the captains.

"Kurosaki Ichigo is not possessed by a hollow nor is he what can be classified as what many of you know as a vaizard. He used to be but as he is now, I'm not entirely sure what he and Shirosaki-san can be labeled as."

While Shiro growled a bit at the"labeling" part, Kyouraku asked, "And what exactly is so different about the kid that separates him from a vaizard?"

A flap of the fan.

"Shirosaki-san has the ability to form and maintain his own material body provided Kurosaki-kun permits him to. So in essence, the two are separate entities occupying the same body rather than being two parts of one soul like a vaizard. I suppose it could be a form of possession but since it is done with the consent of the body's rightful owner, that's not quite accurate either. In short, they are a living, walking contradiction."


A/N: I love Shiro, he's so much fun to write X3 Anyway, the confusion grows! In the next chappie, we'll be seeing Karin and Yuzu and earing a bit of their story~ Hopefully, that'll clear up any questions about why they're already in the tenth division despite the rather short time crunch between when they died and when they became shinigamis. Anyway, since I love doing these things, I'll include them in this story too, Deleted Scenes!


Deleted Scenes

Are You Listening?

"Hold on a sec guys and calm down," Yoruichi said in a placating manner, "We can still figure this out."

Ignoring the skeptical looks she was receiving, she turned to the prone body lying on the bed and said, "Yo, I know Ichigo's out like a light but you should still be able to talk through his body. You're already in control and listenin' ain't ya?"

There was silence as they all looked at the body in anticipation.

Nothing.

Yoruichi frowned slightly and called, "Oi, Shiro, you there?"

Still no response.

Urahara had a sneaking suspicion so he walked over and carefully listened to the body's breathing.

"Oh dear, I do believe we took too long chatting. It appears he's fallen asleep."

Emergencies and Lunch

Shiro snorted and snapped, "No shit Sherlock. This," he brandished the sword again, "is the stupid old man's unreleased form. It's also where all of aibou's reiatsu is. I don't-"

Your mind's in disturbia, it's like the darkness is light
Disturbia, am I scaring you tonight?
Disturbia, ain't used to what you like
Disturbia, Disturbia

"Goddammit!" Shiro cursed as he whipped out his phone and flipped it open, "WHAT? I'm in the middle of somethin' here!"

"Hi Shiro-nii, I was just wondering if you and Ichi-nii remembered the lunches I made for you guys" Yuzu's sweet voice said through the speaker.

Shiro smacked his forehead with his hand before speaking in a carefully neutral tone so he wouldn't upset her, "Yuzu, did Ichi not say that you weren't supposed ta call this number unless there was an emergency?" The others could hear Yuzu's upset voice say something as Shiro hastily replied, "I know lunch is important an' all but it's not qualified as an emer-"

Sniffle

"Fuck, Ichi's gonna be pissed."