Just another day.

DISCLAIMER

BLEACH belongs exclusively to Kubo Tite, and whoever is responsible for distributing the anime and/or manga. I don't own it; I'm just a fan with no job or money.

This is just random, something I wrote to kill time. CONTINUATION!!! This is set right after the previous chapter, so no spoilers. Ichigo gets home and goes straight to bed. Isshin inquires…

Rated for Language. I mean, it's Ichigo for crissakes!

AN: Italics is thought-type stuff. Like Ichigo's Hollow or Zangetsu talking to Ichigo in his head. Or Ichigo talking to them.

-"Yuzu, Karin. I'm home."

-"GOOD EVEEENIIING, ICHIIIGO!" Ichigo saw his father coming and, sidestepping nimbly, slammed his left elbow in between Isshin Kurosaki's shoulder blades. The old man was up the next instant anyway.

-"UNWORTHY SON, what're you doing getting home this late?"

-"It's not that late, Dad, it's six-thirty. And anyway since when do you care?"

-"Well you're late! And you're getting no dinner."

-"Father..." Yuzu.

-"That's okay, Yuzu. I'm not hungry anyway."

-"But Ichigo..."

-"I'll see you in the morning."

Ichigo Kurosaki tossed his bag aside and lay down on his bed. Eyes closed, he visualized the white mask, with its row of blood-red stripes running across the left side.

"A vizard...And all this time, I thought I was just a Soul Reaper. But I wasn't...was I?" Ichigo shook his head.

"No. I don't give a damn what that Shinji bastard says. I am a Soul Reaper."

-Are ya?

-Fuck off. I just wanna be alone.

-So mean of ya, King. And here I thought we were makin' progress.' He laughed, the cold high-pitched sound echoing in Ichigo's ears.

-Look, just leave me alone, Kuroichi, all right? I don't want to put up with you right now.

Regardless of the fact that he and Kuroichi were one and the same, opposite sides of the same coin, Ichigo still couldn't stand the bastard. He reminded him too much of what Shinji had said.

That unless he could maintain permanent, complete control, and crush Kuroichi into the very innermost core of his soul, one day he would lose control...and everyone he knew would pay the price.

-"Karin, I'm worried about Ichigo."

-"Why?"

-"Because, he's skipping dinner again. That's three times this week. D'you think he..."

-"What?" The truth was, Karin still didn't know what to think of Ichigo. She still remembered that time, not so long ago, when she'd confronted him.

They'd suddenly felt something...a kind of strange pressure, and then Ichigo had...seemingly exploded out of his own body, and come out wearing black clothes and a sword...an enormous sword, wrapped in white and strapped across his back.

He'd come back covered in bandages.

-"Don't worry, Yuzu, let Daddy comfort you!"

-"Get AWAY, YOU OLD PERVERT!" Isshin once again made one of his usual perverse attempts at getting to Yuzu, and was rewarded by Karin's sneakered right foot slamming into his most sensitive spot.

He keeled over.

"Still, Yuzu, I really don't think there's anything to worry about. He's probably just...busy...like, at school, ya know?"

-"Okay." Yuzu was making a face, but she at least agreed to let it rest for the evening, and they finished eating in relative quiet.

While Yuzu and Karin were cleaning up the dining room and kitchen, Isshin said he was going to check up on Ichigo.

He opened the door to find hsi son on the bed, in the dark.

Inside the partly-open bag Ichigo usually carried to school, he caught a glimpse of something.

Leaping into the room, he lunged for the bag.

"LET'S SEE WHAT'S IN ICHIGO'S BAG TODAY!!!"

-"Let go of my bag, you crazy old man!" Ichigo's arm lashed out and grabbed onto one of the two straps just as Isshin caught the other.

The two continued tugging the bag back and forth, Ichigo yelling for his father to let go.

Isshin reached into the now-open bag and whipped out the magazine Ichigo had "purchased", however unvoluntarily, from Lisa that afternoon.

Brandishing it, he yelled. "Ichigo! My son is becoming a man, I am so proud! But you know..."

-"GIMME THAT!" Ichigo reached across, snatching the magazine back.

"AND LET GO!!" As Isshin tugged the bag backwards, Ichigo pulled as hard as he could.

The bag split in half, and Isshin hit the ground, while Ichigo was thrown back onto the bed. Why he hadn't thrown the damn magazine out as soon as he got home didn't matter, but he immediately slammed it into the wastepaper basket.

Too late he saw the white object reach the top of its arc after it had been thrown free of the torn bag, and come spiralin g down to land with a loud THUMP on the floor.

Isshin, who'd just gotten up and had been standing facing the door, turned around just as Ichigo stood from the bed. His eyes went wide as he looked at the object, then at his son.

"Ichigo...what the hell is that?"

Isshin Kurosaki and his son stood at opposite ends of the room, looking at each other.

On the floor in between them was the intact, white mask, its dark eyeholes seeming to glare malevolently at the ceiling.

"Ichigo, what is a Hollow's mask doing in your backpack?"

DUN DUN DUN DUN!!! Well, I decided to continue this one after all. And Chp2 ends in a cliffhanger at that, I am so evil.

And yes, I changed my pen name.

Well, what do y'all think?

Thanks to all of you who had reviewed this already. I am very sorry that the story got deleted, so I lost all your wonderful reviews, but after so long I have at last decided to grant you a continuation.

R&R, everyone, please, and thank you!