Chapter 2

Ichigo found himself, once again, atop the tall bridge, staring down at the water beneath. He longed to retrieve those memories he'd only found in the deepest recesses of his dreams. He remembered looking down at the water from the bridge. There'd been a green glowing ring surrounding the border between this world and another. The harder he tried to remember these things, though, the harder it became to see them clearly.

"Damn it," he muttered to himself. "Why can't I remember?!"

He held his head with one hand as he leaned on the railing with the other, staring into the depths of the water, wishing the ripples would somehow unlock his memories.

As he stood silently longing for the return of his memories, he heard the shuffle of footsteps approaching softly, as though uncertain how near to him they should approach. He paid them no mind as he stared down into the moonlit waters.

Suddenly, the person who'd been walking toward Ichigo only moments before stopped. Once again, Ichigo was too deep in thought to notice as he stood staring down at the water.

Just as suddenly as the person had stopped, they turned and began walking away.

It was then that Ichigo became curious of the person and decided to look and investigate them. As he looked up, he saw a young lady with slightly longer than shoulder length purple hair walking away from him. He was about to ask them who they were when a memory flashed before him of another young lady with purple hair and a red ribbon tying it up.

"Hey, wait," he managed to say to the girl. She stopped momentarily and looked through her hair at him. Through her hair he could not make out any detail and tried to move to an angle that he could see her better.

The girl, realizing he was trying to get a better look at her, hid her face and put her arm up to her head. Ichigo then began to walk towards the girl, reaching a hand out to grab her shoulder. As soon as he was only a fingertip away from her, she began sprinting away from him.

"Hey wait!" Ichigo shouted, priming to pursue the girl. As he began to sprint after her, a sudden spike of spiritual pressure distracted him and his combat pass began to make eerie, miniature hollow roars.

He looked at his combat pass and the girl, trying to decide which one took precedence.

As he tried to decide, he suddenly realized he'd brought a certain annoying fur-ball with him. Pulling Kon from his bag, he put the pass to him and ate the soul candy that popped out of the stuffed animal. Once his shinigami form was free from his human body, he looked back at Kon to ensure he was alright.

"Take care of my body, Kon," he shouted, taking off in the direction of the hollow.

"Sure, ass-hole," Kon shouted after him.

==Break============================================================================================

"Ichigo?" Rukia said as the substitute shinigami appeared next to her. "Why are you here?"

"I sensed a hollow," he replied, placing a hand on Zangetsu's hilt.

"Well, you're not needed here. I already handled this one."

Ichigo nodded, relaxing his stance and releasing Zangetsu. As he prepared to leave, however, another spike in spiritual pressure emerged. He searched through the city with his own spirit pressure to find it and his eyes instantly widened.

"Ichigo, what is-" Rukia began.

"Kon!" Ichigo interrupted, flash stepping back in the direction of the bridge.

=============Break===================================================================================

"That jerk," Kon muttered, brushing off the body of Ichigo, which he now possessed. "Always dropping me in the middle of nowhere just so he can go and play shinigmai!"

As he reached down to pick up the bag Ichigo had dropped in his hand-off of his body to Kon, Kon felt the spirit pressure of the hollow Ichigo was chasing after disappear.

"Well, he handled that one faster than usual," Kon said, flinging the bag over his shoulder and beginning to walk home. As he did, he suddenly noticed a young lady just a little way down the bridge staring at him from a distance. He looked at her quizzically when he realized he was picking up a slight spiritual presence from her.

"Hey," he said, reaching out towards her. "Who are you, anyway?"

The girl, once again, began sprinting away, sparking Kon's curiosity. He began to chase after her as well, when a hollow suddenly appeared between the girl and him.

"Whoa! Where the hell did you come from? And why couldn't I sense you before?"

It was then that the spirit pressure of the hollow flowed over him like a massive wave. Kon was stunned for a moment by the massive discharge, when the hollow brought its arm up and back-handed him so hard he flew into the railing on the side of the bridge, breaking a few of his ribs. The pain was intense and left Kon nearly immobile. He clutched his abdomen as he writhed in pain. The hollow began slowly walking towards him.

As it approached, the same young lady who'd run away from Kon moments ago now stood between the hollow and him. She held her arms out in a sign of defense.

"Leave Ichigo alone, you ugly bastard," she screamed.

The hollow stopped momentarily, deciding if it should kill her or just move her out of the way so it could devour him. Once it reached a decision, it, once again, brought its arm up and was about to smack the girl as well, when, suddenly, the girl leaped into the air. As she came down, she shedded her gigai, revealing what appeared to be a shinigami.

The girl withdrew her Zanpakuto and was about to strike when, from the same direction he'd left moments ago, Ichigo appeared. With a single sweep of his blade, the mask of the hollow was cleaved in two.

As the hollow began to disappear, Ichigo turned to the girl only to find she was gone. As he looked for her, he found her on the ground grabbing her gigai.

"Hey, wait!" he shouted, starting towards her.

Before he could catch her, she muttered something under her breath. A rush of dead autumn leaves swirled around her and her gigai. Ichigo covered his face and was blown backward by the torrent.

When he recovered, the girl was gone, leaving only the sense of familiarity he couldn't stand.