A/N: Will Ichigo get his powers? Maybe. Maybe not. If he does, I know where to put it. If not, well…:evil smile: something else will happen instead. If you want him to have powers that badly then convince me that it's a good idea and I'll do it ;). Complaining enough about it might convince me as well.

Disclaimer: Bleach doesn't belong to me etc.

It has been a week since Rukia transferred some of her Soul Reaper power to Karin. Karin trained her abilities that week, but not very much since killing the hollows was easy. All she really needed to know was that the best strategy to deal with them was to slice them from the back.

Ichigo had been less talkative and energetic that week. Karin attributed it to lack of sleep, since her brother was also coming home later than usual.

Karin sensed a hollow nearby. She popped a Soul Candy in her mouth to separate her soul from her body.

Getting rid of hollows was getting to be a bit boring for Karin. She didn't really want to continue doing it, but Rukia was still weak and someone needed to protect her brother. Karin killed the hollow currently in front of her in one stroke.

"Rukia," she said, for Rukia was next to her, "how long will it take for you to regain your power?"

"I don't know yet. It could take around a month or more," she lied. She couldn't regain her powers while in an artificial body.

Karin nodded.

"So you'll go back to Soul Society once you're stronger?"

"Perhaps."

Ichigo had already read every book he could find in the library about special abilities. None of them were helpful. Most of them were about telekinesis, flying, and other abilities he knew didn't exist. He also looked up "Soul Reaper" and "Hollows" on the internet…all to no avail. He spent all of his free time doing that, which is why he was tired all of the time.

He did not have the energy to concentrate in class. He managed to zone out completely during the lesson that day, although he usually paid enough attention to get good grades. Ichigo was determined not to let his precious grades that he built up go down the drain, so he asked his classmate, Ishida, for a copy of his notes.

"You were here today, so why do you need my notes?" Ishida asked.

"I fell asleep," Ichigo replied.

Ishida thought for a moment before replying.

"You will owe me a favor for this," he told Ichigo as he lent him the notes.

"By the way," Ishida said, "is the girl named Karin your sister?"

"Yeah, the one with black hair is Karin."

"I see," said Ishida. He did not push the conversation further.

*Later that night*

Ichigo was slightly dejected that he couldn't find the information he wanted. He was walking home late that night. He was only a few blocks away from his home when something bright blue whizzed past his ear from behind him. Ichigo jumped out of the way out of fright and turned around to find the source of the blue thing.

"Ishida," he said.

It was Ishida. He was wearing a white outfit. A shiny blue arrow was strung on his bow and it was directly aiming for Ichigo. Ichigo touched his ear with his finger. He saw blood.

"What are you doing?!" Ichigo asked.

"Your sister, Karin, is a Soul Reaper. I, on the other hand, am a Quincy. Soul Reapers and Quincy are mortal enemies. Since you have an even higher concentration of spiritual power than your sister, it is not a stretch to say that you are also a Soul Reaper."

"I'm not, but if that's the case then why are you trying to kill me?"

"Killing both of you would be cruel, and you're the one who owes me a favor."

"That doesn't make any sense," said Ichigo.

Ichigo regretted in that moment that he didn't concentrate on improving his martial arts skills enough over the years, or at least his running speed. He also regretted not being a Soul Reaper or at least a Quincy. He contemplated that if he at least had a hollow mask to put on, he might stand a chance against Ishida.

"Goodbye, Kurosaki," said Ishida. He shot another arrow directly towards Ichigo's stomach. Ichigo tried to block it but was unsuccessful. Ichigo stopped moving. Ishida assumed that he would die soon and walked away.

Rukia was running. She needed to get away. She had already involved Karin enough and didn't want her harmed on her behalf. She only got so far when she was suddenly attacked.

'What's going on?' Karin thought, beholding the scene. She was in her Soul Reaper form because she just fought a nearby hollow. Two men in Soul Reaper outfits had appeared and the one with red hair had attacked Rukia. Karin immediately came to the conclusion that he was ugly. His sword abilities were pretty bad compared to her own as well.

Before the ugly guy was able to divert his attention to Karin, she sneak-attacked him. She was able to inflict a huge wound on him. He was out for the count.

'Great, now I don't have to look at his face,' thought Karin.

"Who are you guys?" she asked the other enemy Soul Reaper. He was tall and had black hair.

Before he replied, a guy carrying a bag came towards them. Karin was able to place him as Ichigo's friend, Ishida. She had seen them talk a few times before.

Everything happened all at once from there. Karin attacked the black-haired enemy. Rukia told her to stop. He escaped Karin's attack. The enemy attacked Ishida, who was in the middle of attacking him with a bright blue bow-and-arrow. Ishida failed and fell to the ground in a pool of blood as Karin slashed at the enemy Soul Reaper. She inflicted a small wound on him.

"Are you the human that took Rukia's powers?" he asked her. Karin thought the answer was pretty obvious.

"Yes. Why are you attacking Rukia?" she asked.

The Soul Reaper stabbed her quickly, twice, but Karin was able to dodge slightly and received less severe wounds than she would have gotten. She put her hand to her wounds. The blood she saw made her feel a bit woozy. Karin lost strength in her legs.

"Rukia has broken a law by giving her power to a human. She needs to be punished."

Rukia then said something that Karin wasn't able to catch in her less-than-conscious state. She left through a portal, she assumed, to Soul Society. The black-haired Soul Reaper dragged the ugly one through.

A/N: Oh noes did Ichigo die?...I'm not sure yet.