AN: Took a bit longer than expected, but my muse still seems to be working in regards to this fic. So here we have the second chapter. I don't have a whole lot to say up here, but the bottom AN will be LOOONNNGGG. Just a warning. And now we can start the chapter.


Sometime later, Ichigo slowly regained consciousness. He slowly opened his eyes, surprised he was still alive. But the bigger surprise came when his vision cleared…and he saw nothing but the face of another man hovering scant inches above his own.

"GAH!" Ichigo shouted, throwing the man off and into a wall.

"Boss, he's awake!" the man shouted, quickly getting back to his feet.

Ichigo winced slightly as he pulled his shoulder wound. But looking closer at the man, he recognized him as…as…one of the workers for Hat and Clogs. Which was confirmed, as the bucket-hat wearing shop keeper entered the room.

"You shouldn't move around too much Mr. Kurosaki, you'll just pull your wounds," Kisuke Urahara said, standing next to Ichigo.

Said teen glared at the shop keeper, before sighing, "I'm guessing this is your house Hat and Clogs?"

"Correct!" Kisuke replied, snapping his fan shut.

Ichigo stared at the floor, holding his shoulder, "You saved me then?"

"Don't sound so thankful. You make it sound like I did something wrong," Kisuke said with a frown.

Ichigo continued to look at the floor, before realizing something, "Wait…Uryu was there too! Did you bring him here too?"

"No, he left. His wound bled a lot, but it wasn't serious. After I healed him, he walked off…if anything, he was more worried about you. Said that I should concentrate on healing you, because you are the only one who can save Rukia Kuchiki."

"How the hell does he expect me to save Rukia? They took her back to Soul Society…took away my powers! I can't do a thing to save her!"

"Do you really think there isn't another way to get to the Soul Society?"

"There's another way!" Ichigo shouted, turning around to look at Kisuke.

"Yes, but I will only help if you allow me to train you for ten days," Kisuke replied.

"WHAT?!" Ichigo shouted even louder, ignoring the pain in his shoulder, "But we don't know when she'll be executed…how can we just wait!"

"You really are stubborn kid," Kisuke muttered under his breath, before suddenly knocking Ichigo back and holding his cane over the teen's face.

It feels like a blade hovering over my face. The power coming off of him…it's even more than Kuchiki… Ichigo thought warily, suddenly realizing just what he was getting into.

"As you are now, you wouldn't last five seconds in the Soul Society. You got lucky in that fight with Abarai and Kuchiki. Either accept my training, or accept that you can't do anything to help Rukia," Kisuke said, getting off Ichigo and staring down at the teen.

Ichigo looked up at Kisuke, though he didn't see the shopkeeper. What he saw was Rukia entering the gate. And the sad face of her Zanpakuto. Shaking his head slightly, Ichigo's face returned to its typical scowl.

"Well when you put it that way, I don't have much choice now do I? I'll accept your training Hat and Clogs," the teenage Substitute said, a determined look on his face.

Kisuke wore a small smile, though he hid it well, "Good. Now get up and head back home. You need to spend some time with your family while you have the chance. The next few days are going to be hell for you."

Nice pep-talk… Ichigo thought sarcastically, but did as he was told.

His body protested the movement somewhat, but as Ichigo got to his feet, he found himself feeling a bit stronger than expected. He had been expecting to feel weak, what with all his powers destroyed by Byakuya Kuchiki. Ignoring the odd feeling for now though, Ichigo turned his head in time for a bottle of pills to be pushed into his face by Kisuke.

"Take these every day from now until the training. They'll help accelerate the healing process somewhat," the shop keeper explained.

Ichigo looked at the skull marked bottle dubiously, but took it anyway. Not like he had much real choice in the matter after all. After taking the bottle from Kisuke, Ichigo put a shirt on and started to walk towards the door. He turned around before opening it, and looked back at Kisuke and his worker.

"I guess I'll be seeing you later then," the teen said, before opening the door and leaving the building to head home.


The next day, Ichigo was back at school, his wounds covered by his uniform and the bottle of pills secure in his bag. He had managed to avoid Keigo and his attempts to hug him, though the quick maneuvering did strain his shoulder somewhat. Now Ichigo was sitting in his classroom, and doing his best not to stare at the seat next to him.

Instead of Rukia, there was some guy whose name didn't immediately come to mind. And what was really bugging Ichigo was that no one seemed to notice that Rukia was gone. As near as he could tell, everyone had forgotten that Rukia had ever existed.

I suppose she never belonged…here, in this world. But…everyone forgetting she was ever here…Ichigo thought, not really paying much attention to his teacher.

While he was lost in thought, his friends were giving him odd looks. Both Orihime and Chad hadn't failed to notice Rukia and Uryu for that matter, being gone. And they could tell that it was bothering Ichigo, even if they had no idea why.

Ichigo himself only really noticed that Uryu was gone at the end of the day. But before he could give much thought to it, Keigo managed to get a blindfold on his face, and spin him around.

"Now, guess where the watermelon is?" Keigo asked…whereupon Ichigo hit him quite heavily over the head.

As Keigo writhed on the floor, Ichigo sighed internally. Keigo may have been a friend, but Ichigo had far more important things to do. Namely training, which he tried to leave for. But again, he was pulled to the side by a recovered Keigo, to discuss vacation plans.

Somewhat naturally, considering his state of mind, Ichigo mostly zoned out Keigo's ramblings. The only real sign he gave of paying attention was telling his friend he was too busy to participate. Ichigo did notice how everyone else turned him down too, which seemed odd. But he didn't let it bother him…Ichigo had more important things after all.

So he managed to sneak away from the group, and set off towards his house. He just needed to drop his stuff off, and then it was time to head to Kisuke's, and begin the training. He didn't let any thoughts of what Rukia being 'erased' meant enter his head, as he had to keep his determination strong. Because of that, he was actually paying enough attention to notice Orihime walking up to him.

"Orihime? What do you need?" the teen asked.

"Where is Rukia? How come everyone else has forgotten her?" Orihime asked back, shocking Ichigo, since he had believed she had forgotten too.

After explaining what had happened to Rukia, Ichigo sat next to Orihime on some steps. Both teens were silent, lost in respective thoughts. Before Orihime broke it anyway.

"So she went home? Back to where she came from?" the girl asked.

"Yeah, I'm actually surprised you remembered her. I didn't realize you could see us," Ichigo said, with a bit of a false cheer to his voice.

"But all her family and friends are in that world…it is Rukia's home. Are you really sure about what you are doing?" Orihime broke in.

"Huh?" Ichigo said eloquently.

"What happens when you bring her back? And they take her back again. Are you going to keep taking her away from them? Over and over again?" Orihime continued, showing rare maturity.

Ichigo was quite simply floored by this. The airy redhead beside him had never shown such mature insight into a situation. And it really made him question his mission. Because Rukia would have to be protected, all the time, or they would just take her back again. Or kill her outright this time.

But Orihime managed to surprise him again, "Of course, all of that doesn't matter. I know you've already made up your mind, and I'll support you however I can Ichigo!"

Ichigo regained his typical scowl, as he stood up and said, "Thank you Orihime."

And with that, he ran up the steps, heading for his home. Orihime watched him go, both worried, and happy for him. Sighing slightly, she walked to the nearest phone and typed in Chad's number.

"Chad? Yes…I made up my mind. I want to train, and help Ichigo!"


Later in the day, Ichigo arrived at Kisuke's shop. Said man was standing outside with his workers, waiting for Ichigo to arrive. Turning fully towards the teen, Kisuke looked at the younger man. He seemed recovered, but it was best to be safe.

"Are your wounds better?" Kisuke asked.

Ichigo merely pulled open his shirt, showing a set of scars, "Fully healed."

Kisuke nodded, "Good. I assume you told your father a suitable excuse?"

"I told him I'm staying at a friend's house," Ichigo replied, pulling his shirt closed.

Kisuke turned his head again, his fan covering a grin, "That is quite possibly the most cliché excuse you could have used. Well done."

"Oh shut up," Ichigo muttered, before looking at the ground…and making a choice, which he announced quite loudly, "Thank you for helping me!"

Kisuke turned around fully this time, a somewhat surprised look on his face, "What was that?"

"Nothing," Ichigo replied, a bit of red on his cheeks.

Kisuke hid his smile again, before heading into his shop. Ichigo followed him, eventually climbing down what was quite possibly the largest ladder the teen had ever seen. Of course, the ladder was the least interesting thing, considering what it lead into. There was a truly massive cavern that had to extend under at least half of Karakura, if not more.

As he reached the foot of the cavern, Ichigo heard Kisuke start to yell.

"What is this massive cavern? Who could have imagined something like it could be underneath my humble store!"

Ichigo was highly tempted to facepalm at that, "I get it…I'm suitably impressed. No need to overstate it."

"But I put so much work into this place…it isn't exactly easy you know," Kisuke 'protested'.

"And you probably broke several dozen laws," Ichigo replied dryly.

Kisuke looked ready to say more, but gave up on it. He was more interested in Ichigo anyway. The teen didn't feel like the former scientist had expected. Something was off about Ichigo's reiatsu, and Kisuke was determined to figure out exactly what.

So he stepped forward, and with no warning, hit Ichigo in the face with his cane. What he had been expecting was the orange haired teen to be propelled out of his body, with a normal soul form. What he hadn't been expecting was Ichigo to be in a Shingami uniform, with a standard sized Zanpakuto at his waist.

"What the hell was that for?!" Ichigo shouted, before realizing what he was dressed as, "What? I still have Shingami powers?"

Looking up, Ichigo saw a very rare shocked look on Kisuke Urahara's face. It was fairly obvious the other man hadn't been expecting this either. And that somewhat worried Ichigo, since Kisuke had obviously been expecting something to happen when he hit him in the face.

"Hey…Hat and Clogs? What's going on here? I thought I lost my powers?" Ichigo asked, breaking Kisuke out of his stupor.

Kiskue shook his head, "I am not entirely sure. Your wounds were placed over your Soul Sleep and Soul Chain. There is no reason you should still have powers manifested like this. Can you talk with your Zanpakuto?"

Ichigo frowned, before sending a mental message like he had once done with Shirayuki, "Hello? Anyone home?"

Instead of an immediate answer, Ichigo felt himself drawn into his inner world again. On the outside, his body collapsed like a rag-doll, though Kisuke made no move to catch it. He knew what was happening after all. But on the inside, Ichigo was in the (by now) familiar snowy cityscape.

Looking around, it seemed like there was even more snow than before, which confused him somewhat. If what Shirayuki had told him was true, then with her (in theory) gone, the snow should have left with her. Though he wasn't sure exactly what his inner world normally looked like. But he was distracted, as a familiar voice spoke behind him.

"Hello Ichigo. I imagine you are surprised I am still here?" Sode no Shirayuki said, standing higher up on the building.

Ichigo didn't even bother hiding his surprise, "That would be putting it mildly. I thought Kuchiki would have removed you from my soul. He certainly thought he did."

Shirayuki looked a bit guilty, "If his blows had struck in the right place…yes, they would have removed me from your soul. Along with either destroying your own power, or pushing it so deep in your soul it would not be reachable until you died a natural death. But…I took temporary control of small areas of your body, and managed to make Byakuya miss."

Ichigo didn't know if he should feel grateful about that, or disturbed that she was able to move his body like that. He settled on grateful, before asking another question.

"But if you are still here….after I called on your name…what happened to my Zanpakuto? And my own power?"

"That…is a hard question to answer Ichigo. I truly didn't know what would happen when I told you my name, and I'm still not sure exactly what happened. As near as I can tell, your Zanpakuto is still here. But, he is no longer the main source of your power…the nearest analogue I can think of, is that he is now your 'secondary' Zanpakuto, whereas I am your 'primary' Zanpakuto."

Ichigo gave Shirayuki an odd look, "That makes no sense at all. How can I have two Zanpakuto's at the same time?"

The female spirit shrugged slightly, "It does not make sense to me either Ichigo. What it feels like to me, is that your Zanpakuto is now a part of my soul, and my power. If I had to guess…by calling on my name, before knowing his, you tied your soul to mine. And it pushed him down to a 'secondary' position…his power still remains, but it feeds into my own. That is probably why my Shikai was different for you compared to Rukia."

Ichigo nodded, "That at least makes some sense. Do you have any idea how to…err…wake him up?"

"No I do not," Shirayuki replied with a slight shake of her head, "It is entirely possible I will remain in 'control' of your powers until I am reunited with Rukia. I would suggest that we have Urahara do what Byakuya attempted, if only to break this connection. But I do not know what it would do to your Zanpakuto, or your soul, to be forcibly broken from me like that. Our best bet, to me, is rescuing Rukia and hoping that physical contact can restore me to her."

Ichigo sighed, "I was afraid you would say that. So I guess we're partners now Sode no Shirayuki?"

"Yes we are Ichigo. I will help you save Rukia in any way I can too," Shirayuki replied, "And you do not need to use my full name when we are talking like this. Shirayuki is fine."

Ichigo nodded, "Well then Shirayuki, I guess I should get back out there and start training then."

The female Zanpakuto nodded, and Ichigo left his inner world. He would have a lot of work ahead of him, but he was never one to shirk from a challenge. Especially not when it came to protecting someone dear to him…


AN: I won't make this one in bold, since that would start hurting some readers eyes.

But the point of this AN, is to explain my reasoning in regards to the Shirayuki/Zangetsu relationship in this fic (and no, I don't mean a romance). In an attempt to make some sense of the idea of one Shingami/Reaper having two Zanpakuto's, I have adapted the original relationship between Ichigo's Hollow, and Zangetsu. In the sense that Shirayuki and Zangetsu are both serving as facets of Ichigo's powers. When one has more power, they are 'in charge' and manifest as the source of Ichigo's powers.

In the current case...by calling on Shirayuki first, Ichigo has made her 'in charge' of his Shinigami/Reaper powers. Thus, she is the manifestation of those powers, both inside and outside his soul. Whereas Zangetsu is still there, just as a 'part' of Shirayuki. Much as the one 'in charge' between Zangestu and the Hollow would be the one in control of their 'body', and the one controlling the physical form.

Does that make sense? I'm still doing the 'able to use both at the same time' thing, but that's later on. And I do hope you all enjoyed the chapter.