Chapter One: Unlucky Mondays

Liz yawned as she stepped onto the pavement from her house's lawn. It was 6:30 AM on Monday morning. Oh, how she hated Mondays. It seemed to be her unlucky day. Her little brother, Darian, was asleep. The lucky boy didn't have school that day. She sighed and started walking down the street. She had quite awhile till school began. She took her time, greeting the people she knew along the way. As she reached the high school, she paused outside the gates. What was…? A crash and a scream, then all of the windows of the school shattered. Liz looked through the shards as they caught the light of the morning sun, to see a young boy falling. The boy was transparent, so he was obviously a spirit. She didn't know what had happened, but immediately threw her bag aside and sprinted towards him. Just as he was nearing the ground, she leapt up and caught him in her arms. She flipped over and landed neatly on her feet, the boy clinging to her neck. She kneeled down so the boy was between her legs, sobbing into her shirt.

"M-mommy's gonna get me! Please! Don't let her get me!" Liz's eyes softened and she stroked his light brown hair.

"It's all right. Mommy won't get ya now." The boy began to cry harder as she looked around for the Hollow. Jeez, what have I got myself into now? She heard a Hollow's scream and quickly dodged a clawed hand that clawed a hole where they had been. She clutched the boy to her chest and flipped midair, dodging its tail. She landed on top of the gate and froze when she finally had a full view of the Hollow. Ah, shit. It was massive. The lower half of the body was on one end of the roof, while the upper part of its body hung off the roof, reaching towards her. It looked like a messed up mutation of Godzilla. The boy whimpered and shrunk further into her arms. Liz closed her eyes. This is way over my head. What do I do? She opened her eyes as she heard the Hollow's claws screech against the cement building. She glanced at the boy. He had a death grip on her neck and his eyes were squeezed shut.

"What's you're name, kid?" The boy glanced up at her.

"I-it's…Jayden." She looked at the Hollow. Its forked tongue was raking the air trying to find their scent. It seemed to have no eyes, so she had some time.

"Listen, I need ya to do something for me, 'kay?" He hesitantly nodded.

"Good. I need ya to climb up onto my back. I need to beat this thing and I can't when I have to carry ya."

"O-okay." The boy moved onto her back, wrapping his legs around her ribcage (he was really little). Liz exhaled. She wrapped her arms around herself. She focused all her reiatsu into her hands and feet. An involuntary growl began deep within her throat. Silver claws sprouted from her knuckles, the ends dripping with her own blood. They had black Celtic runes carved on them that glowed with her reiatsu. Blades pierced through her knees and elbows as well. Her eyes clouded over, turning ebony. Her fans sharpened and she bared her teeth at the hollow. It swiveled its head towards her and roared again.

"Foolish mortal! Give me back my…" The Hollow crouched against the building creating cracks and fissures in the walls.

"SON!" She leapt at them, mouth gaping open with giant fangs. Liz quickly jumped into the air, narrowly escaping the Hollow's attack. She tucked her legs in and rolled as she hit the ground. She flipped up using her legs to propel herself. The Hollow's tail came at her, covered in spikes. She quickly jumped back, glancing at the boy. He's still slowing me down. Plan B time. She back flipped over the gate and landed in the parking lot. She laid the boy under a van behind her. The Hollow landed in a crater on the other side of the lot.

"Whatever ya do, stay under the car. I'll take care of her for ya." Liz stood and walked in between a line of cars. Her heels clicked against the cement, drawing the thing's attention. She cleaned her claws off on her jeans and slowly brought them all back into her body. The runes appeared on her fingers and she smirked. They continued up her neck beneath her uniform. They spiraled up her neck, torso and legs, glowing a soft black beneath her clothes. She stretched her legs and cracked her knuckles as the markings covered the left side of her face.

"I'm over here…ya old hag." The Hollow screamed in rage and charged at her. Liz moved at the last second, latching onto its claws. The monster screamed as its claws were snapped off. Claws that had shredded steel, broken like twigs. The Hollow held its injured hand to its chest.

"HOW?! How can a mortal girl do this to me?!" It froze as it felt a grip on its tail. It looked down to see Liz holding the tail.

"Simple really. Just like this." With that said, she folded the monster's tail completely in half with a sickening crack. The monster threw its head back and screamed so loud, she wondered if she'd have to fight reinforcements soon.

"YOU BITCH!" Liz winked at her, the pointed end of the tail in her hand.

"Love ya too, hun." She jumped and kicked the Hollow squarely in the head. It fell onto its back and lay there screaming in pain. Liz was still in the air and landed on the Hollow, driving the tip of the tail through its mask. The mask shattered and a pair of huge black gates opened behind them. Liz quickly jumped out of the way as a huge black knife pierced the Hollow. She walked away from the gates quickly, not wanting to be pulled in. She found the boy as the gates shattered. He had moved away from the fight and lay on his side, clutching his legs to his chest. She moved so her face was directly in line with his, and motioned for him to come out. He only shook his head and pulled himself into a tighter ball. Liz frowned.

"You're mom's gone, darlin'. There's nothin' to be afraid of." The boy just shook his head again. Liz stood and looked at the van, crossing her arms over her chest. I could move it, but the boy's been through too much. Abandoning the idea of using force, she looked around. What could he be afraid of? Her head throbbed dully as she realized her markings were still in effect. She closed her eyes and slowly pulled her reiatsu into herself. As soon as she finished her legs began to shake and she had to lean against the van. The markings melted into her wrists, leaving horrible scars. My two favorite side-effects. She quickly took some bandages out of her pocket and wrapped her wrists. She leaned down to try to get the boy out. She blinked as she realized there was no one under the van. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him run through the gates. She quickly sprinted towards him. She leapt over a truck and pulled herself over the gate. She saw his disappearing form through the shattered windows of the school. She gave a feral growl and leapt to the ground, running to the building wall. She put her feet in one window sill and reached for the next with her hands. Third floor, two rows of window per floor. Yippee. Her hands were slick with blood by the time she got to the third floor window. She plucked long shards of glass from her hands as she realized what room she was in.

This is my classroom….OH SHIT! SCHOOL! She panicked as she realized that the early bird students would be arriving soon. I have to wrap this up! She jumped into the hall and bounced off the wall, landing on all fours. She managed to calm her heartbeat and closed her eyes in concentration. She swiveled her head in all directions trying to pick up the sound of his footsteps. She froze as she heard his fervent whispers. He's…in the janitor's closet? She crawled noiselessly on all fours to the small closet. She kneeled and slowly turned the knob. The whispering stopped as the door swung inwards. The boy sat with his back to her, his arms wrapped around him.

"Why were ya runnin', kid? Gave me a fright." Liz stretched out a hand and rested it on his shoulder. The boy tensed.

"Sorry, but it wasn't safe…" Liz withdrew her hand and sat on the floor, leaning against the door frame. She sighed and ran a hand through her honey locks. Jayden bent his head down and almost seemed to smirk.

"…for you…" Liz snapped her head back to him. She just barely saw the clawed hand pierce through her torso and into the wall behind her. She dangled from its arm like a human shish kabob. She felt, and heard, her blood drip down onto the floor. Her eyes began to fade as she saw the Hollow remove its body from the boy like a snake sheds its skin. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a orange and black blur coming towards them. She closed her eyes and smiled as she felt something slice through the arm. She landed in soft, warm arms. She opened her eyes and saw Ichigo's worried face. She barely heard him yell her name as she slowly closed her eyes. Don't worry. This cat's still on her third life.

Liz kept her eyes closed as her body accustomed to the familiar pain of revival. Once all the popping and cracking had finished she slowly opened her eyes. She sat up and glanced around. Where the hell am I? She was laying on Ichigo's bed in his room. She moved to get out of the bed when she realized that Ichigo had his head resting on her ribcage. She stroked his hair for a moment reflecting on the time before unconsciousness. Its always Monday when this shit happens…. She sighed and quickly checked her body for remaining injuries and scars. The slits on her knuckles had healed without scars, same as her elbows. She couldn't see her knees, but she suspected they were fine. She ran a hand across her stomach and felt nothing but smooth skin. Although, she found three or four stitches around her tailbone. She smiled softly. I guess Ichigo to me to Isshin when he found me. Smart kid. She always went to Isshin to fix her Hollow injuries, as she didn't want to deal with the regular hospitals wild accusations of what she had been doing. She was also friends with Kisuke Urahara, a close friend of Isshin's. They had taught her the basics of hand to hand combat when she was young.

She knew of his past shinigami life, and how he hided it from his family. She also knew that Ichigo had become a substitute shinigami, and talked to Rukia about it a few times. She might have been away from the Soul Society for some time, but she knew a noble when she saw one. Rukia had filled in the gaps of her memory on the Seretei and kept her up to date on the current situation. She was glad that she was getting a break from all the Hollows. Before, she had been the only one out fighting them. She was brought out of her thoughts when Ichigo opened his eyes. She kept stroking his hair and smiled.

"Good morning. Or…is it evening?" Ichigo looked like a kid surprised with and early birthday present. He literally tackled her to the ground with a hug that cracked her back. She laughed outright when Ichigo sneezed.

"Need to dust a bit, me thinks." He glared at her playfully and pulled her to her feet. He began to feel her over, and she let him. She knew he was just checking to see if she had any injuries left. He sighed in relief and hugged her to his chest. He buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"What the heck happened to you? You almost died!" I did. She patted his head and lightly pushed on his chest to signal that she'd had enough. He reluctantly let her go.

"So…uh…why didn't you die? Not that it's a bad thing or something, but it's pretty strange." Liz sighed.

"I have… well, bluntly put I've got nine lives." His jaw hung open slightly as he tried to come up with an answer to that. He failed and closed his mouth. A few awkward moments passed until her stomach growled, and she blushed. Ichigo smirked and went to open his door.

"Come on, Yuzu's got dinner going." It's still the same day? Wow, I'm gettin' good. As she neared the bottom of the steps she paused. Ichigo looked over his shoulder.

"Something wrong?" She smirked playfully.

"Not at all, my dear strawberry." Ichigo twitched. She playfully poked him in the side as she walked past him. She squealed when he poked her back, and bolted through the kitchen door. She burst into the kitchen startling Yuzu, Karin, and Isshin. She quickly ducked as Ichigo dove for her, resulting in a face plant into the floor. She laughed and ran behind Isshin as cover. He looked behind him at her stomach and then her face. She smiled warmly and he visibly relaxed.

"Help! The big bad wolf's trying to eat me!" He chuckled. He flew into a whacked out martial arts stance and turned to face Ichigo, who just sweat dropped.

"Don't worry Princess! The wolf shalln't harm thee in thine presence!" Ichigo looked at Liz.

"You're gonna pay for this." She just giggled and waved. Isshin's foot collided with Ichigo's face and sent him flying. As she tuned out the father son 'bonding' she turned to see Karin and Yuzu looking at her worriedly.

"What?" Yuzu shuffled closer and put her arms around the older woman's waist.

"When Ichigo brought you to Daddy, he wouldn't let us in. Only he was in there, which was really weird." Liz smiled nervously.

"Don't worry, I'm fine now." Karin huffed.

"So why was there a mountain of bloody bandages coming in and out of the room?" Ichigo finally got away from his deranged father and grabbed his and his guest's food.

"C'mon Liz. There's no way we can enjoy a meal down here now." As she stood, she mouthed the words 'later' to Karin. She hesitantly nodded. Liz stepped over Isshin who winked at her and she winked back. Ichigo waited for her at the door and handed her the plate, before closing the door behind her. They walked up the stairs and into his room were a stuffed lion had opened his window, preparing his escape. Ichigo froze, eyes locked on Liz. She calmly set her food on his dresser and walked to his bed, leaning over to grab Kon's tail. She lifted him up to eye level ignoring his protests.

"Who dares touch the mighty Kon?! You shall pay for your- He stopped as his face hung in front of her chest. He probably would have had a nosebleed had he not been made of cotton at the moment.

"So you're the Mod Soul. Interesting…" Kon just nodded, transfixed by her beautiful, gorgeous…well, you get the point. Ichigo twitched and snatched him from her hands.

"YOU'RE A MILLION YEARS LATE YOU LECHER!" Kon's protests were muffled as he was shoved in a drawer. Ichigo took a calm breath and turned to see Liz sitting on his bed eating. He glanced beside him. He hadn't even felt her move to grab the plate. She looked up from her plate with a smug look on her face. He glared at her.

"How long have you known?" Liz paused to count her fingers.

"Since Rukia showed up at school." Ichigo's jaw dropped.

"That long?!" She nodded and looked around.

"Speaking of which, where is my dear friend?" He frowned.

"Good question. She'll be back soon I hope." She raised an eyebrow.

"My company that boring for ya?" He shook his head and sat beside her with his food.

"No, of course not. Its just…" She paused and saw the expression on his face. She giggled and he looked at her weird. She stood and put her now empty plate on his dresser before replying.

"Ah young love. So refreshing!" He turned three dark shades of red before nearly screaming out his protest. She clamped a hand over his mouth and shushed him. She relaxed when she didn't hear anyone coming. She started to laugh and couldn't sop. She fell off the bed onto the floor still giggling. Ichigo looked down and glared at her with full force. She clamped a hand over her mouth to stop the giggling. It didn't work.

"I'll tickle you." That shut her up and she scooted over an inch or so away from him. He sighed and laid down.

"I won't tickle you, just don't say anything, okay?" He waited for her answer and got light snoring instead. He leaned over to see that Liz had fallen asleep on the floor. Ichigo shook his head and stood, lifting her onto the bed. He tucked her under the covers and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, Liz."

So did I make Ichigo too OOC? Please tell me!

Kit-chan