Disclaimer: I own nothing

Rated: T


"You have to be joking..." Ichigo mumbled, still stuck in the awkward position on the floor as Kagome laughed under her breath beside him, "Are you serious?"

"In this world," The girl went on, as if not even hearing them, "There are two types of spirits. The first one is called "Plus", the ordinary spirits," She held up the paper, pointing to a rather badly drawn rabbit with a bunch of hearts surrounding it, "These are the good kind; the kind you usually see," She switched papers to an equally badly drawn mean-looking bear, "And the other kind is called a Hollow. They attack the living and the dead and eat their souls."

"Why the hell are your drawings so bad?" Ichigo grumbled, flailing in anger as the Shinigami drew a moustache on his face with her marker, "What the hell?"

"Oh, shut up, Ichi," Kagome snickered, patting his back as he thrashed around like a fish out of water, "Isn't her explanation interesting?" She asked, receiving no answer from her step-brother.

"We Shinigami have two jobs," The girl continued on, "One is to lead the Pluses to the Soul Society through the Konso I just used, and the other is to kill Hollows and purify them."

"Purify?" Kagome perked up at the word, "As in spiritually purify them?" She looked excited as the Shinigami nodded, "Like what Miko and Houshi can do?"

"Miko and Houshi?" The girl blinked, now the one who looked rather interested, "Those beings have been extinct for centuries," She stated, staring at Kagome with curiosity, "What do you know about them?"

"Oh!" Kagome smiled, "Well, on my biological father's side, I come from a line of Miko and Houshi," She said, "Though nobody has shown any spiritual power for a long while – despite what my Jii-chan says." She muttered the last part.

"As interesting as all this is," Ichigo said sarcastically, shuddering as he recalled the last time he had visited Kagome's grandfather in Tokyo (those ofudas were not easy to take off), "TAKE THIS DAMN SPELL OFF ME!"

"Hmm," The Death God furrowed her brows, completely ignoring Ichigo, "What is your surname?" She suddenly asked of Kagome.

"Higurashi," Kagome answered, taking note of how the girl's eyes widened in shock and recognition, "Wha–?" She was abruptly cut off when the girl stood up with her hand tense on the hilt of her sword.

"I sense it," The Shinigami frowned, glancing around cautiously and stiffening when the door to Ichigo's room flew open, "A Hollow!"

"Yuzu-chan!" Kagome gasped, kneeling down by the girl as she fell weakly to the floor, "What happened?" She asked, vaguely hearing Ichigo struggle against the Kidou, though ignoring it for Yuzu.

"Karin-chan," Yuzu breathed out, panting harshly, "You and Onii-chan have to save... Karin-chan!" She whimpered in pain, before falling in Kagome's arms unconscious.

"Dammit, let me go!" Ichigo struggled, watching as Kagome checked Yuzu's condition and as the Shinigami ran past them with her sword drawn, "Fuck this!"

"Ichigo?" Kagome blinked, putting Yuzu down on the floor gently as Ichigo crawled on the floor with his knees and head towards the stairs, "How do you get rid of this Kidou?" She asked no one in particular as she helped Ichigo to his feet by allowing him to lean on her quite heavily.

She and Ichigo both tumbled down the stairs rather harshly as she lost her footing trying to steer Ichigo down, "Stay back!" Kagome lifted her head at the warning, ignoring the pain of falling down the stairs and looked towards the Shinigami who was facing off with a hideous-looking monster.

"Karin!" Ichigo stumbled to his feet, spotting the Hollow with Karin in its grip, "Its got Karin!"

The Shinigami paused in shock, staring at Ichigo with wide violet eyes, 'He's moving on his own... even under the power of my Kidou?' She thought, stumbling back as he completely broke the binding spell with nothing but his raw human will, 'How...?'

"Ichigo!" Kagome gasped in horror as the Hollow flung Ichigo away from like he was a mere rag-doll, "Ichigo, are you okay?" She ran headfirst into the danger, managing to catch Karin before she could crash to the ground as the Shinigami cut into the Hollow with her sword, "Karin-chan!"

"Stay calm, the both of you," The Shinigami ordered, glancing around cautiously as the Hollow seemed to disappear for the moment, "Your sisters' souls weren't eaten by the Hollow."

Ichigo ignored the pain in his body, taking Karin from Kagome so he could check for injuries himself, "I see now." The Shinigami murmured, glancing at both Ichigo and Kagome from the corner of her while keeping her guard up and swinging around as the Hollow reappeared right behind the two while growling menacingly.

"This Hollow was after you two this entire time!"