Chapter 4

As per usual Ichigo rose early. It was kind of surprising that it was the alarm clock, not his Father, that woke him up. He guessed that it might have something to do with his guest.

He tried to leave the room as silently as possible, but Tia woke nevertheless. It seemed that one night of rest allowed her senses to come back to their peak.

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you up." Ichigo apologized.

"It's not your fault. Life in Hueco Mundo makes you heighten your senses, especially hearing." Tia said stretching. Ichigo had to turn his head, because the urge to just stare at her was pretty strong.

"That's kinda cool, so any specific for breakfast?" He asked.

"Anything will be fine, Ichigo-san." Tia replied, blinking the sleepiness away.

"Got it. One anything on the way." He joked, but Tia's reaction was only quizzical. "That was a joke."

"I see." She answered flatly.

"Errr…I guess I'll go then." He replied awkwardly and left the room. Tia found herself alone agian, at least psychically.

'You could at the least smile. He's trying to befriend you, you ass.' Tiburon chastised.

'Aren't you getting bold recently?' Tia asked in slight irritation.

'Maybe, but you should try to befriend him too. If not for friendship then for self-preservation. He is a Captain, and if worse comes to worse he might be able to put in a good word for us.' She suggested.

'I won't deceive him in such a manner…I'm not that man.' She thought with venom.

'So back to square one, since you feel so strongly against deceiving him.'

Tia closed her eyes, mulling over what her Inner Hollow said. Indeed there were benefits in having this young Shinigami as a friend. But she wasn't the type of person to think of friendships, even just potential, in such a cold way.

The real question was, did she really want to befriend him?

He appeared honest and sincere, and she found his morals admirable. His code was very similar to hers, not to mention he already stuck his neck out for her a few times. Then again she got burned once when she trusted a Shinigami, and those closest to her paid the price for that foolishness.

She needed more information about Kurosaki Ichigo, so she decided to observe him for a while. Maybe even be a little more open with him.

After she finished her morning needs, she walked down stairs to the kitchen. She found both men of the Kurosaki family there.

"Good morning Tia-san!" Isshin bumbled joyfully.

"Good morning Kurosaki-san." She took a seat and looked at the mug filled with… "Coffee?"

"Yes, is something wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"No, it's just been so long." She took a careful sip, languishing in the long forgotten taste again. Both men exchanges a look, but decided to not dwell on the matter.

"Ok I have to head to the clinic." Isshin said, finishing his own cup off. "Yuzu and Karin are coming back today, so don't forget to introduce them Son."

"I won't Dad." Ichigo waved him off, handing Tia a plate of scrambled eggs and toast. Then he took the seat opposite her. "After the breakfast we should go to the Urahara's to get your ID, and the rest of the transfer documents. After that maybe you can help me with my Hollow powers. A bit later we'll meet with my friends from school. They are aware of spirits, and will help to cover you while you are at school."

"Thank you." She looked into his eyes. "I'll do my best to repay you for your kindness."

"You know you don't have to do anything special. Just show me a few Hollow tricks and we'll call it even." He smiled back. "Since we're kinda running on my schedule today, is there anything you wanna do after everything?"

"I'm afraid I'm not yet acquainted with the means to pass time in the Human World." Tia replied.

"Well what did you for fun in Hueco Mundo?" Ichigo asked, wanting to know as much about her as possible.

"Fun?" Tia stared at him blankly.

"You know, when you were not fighting for survival…What did you do in your free time in Las Notches, for example?" Ichigo clarified.

"I mostly spent my time meditating, or talking with my faction." She said, hints of nostalgia in her voice. "Also I used to play the occasion game of chess with the man called Tosen. In fact he taught me how to play."

"So you like chess?" Ichigo inquired.

"It's quite a pleasant exercise for the mind. Do you know how to play?" She looked at him in slight expectation.

"I do, but I'm not very good." He rubbed his neck sheepishly. "But we can play if you want."

"I'd enjoy that." She curved her lips upward, just a bit. Ichigo's expression brightened by a noticeable margin.

After they finished breakfast and dressed, they made their way to Urahara's shop. When they arrived they found Tessai sweeping the patio.

"Good morning Ichigo-dono, Tia-dono, you're documents are ready." Tessai greeted them.

"Hey Tessai what's up?" Ichigo shook the large man's hand.

"It's been peaceful Ichigo-dono, how are the things on your side? I hope being a Captain hasn't gone to much to your head?" His smile fell when he saw Ichigo's expression darken. "What happened?"

"Can we talk inside? I'll need Urahara-san there too." He stated. Tessai nodded and put his broom aside, leading them inside.

Urahara was found sitting in the living room drinking tea.

"Ah, what a pleasant sight to these eyes." He smiled to them. On the table before him lay a white envelope. "These are you documents, Tia-san. ID, school records, addresses, and some medical bills to cover your story."

"Thank you Urahara-san." Tia took the envelope. "I appreciate this."

"Think nothing of it, but could someone be kind enough to tell me why Tessai looks rather troubled?"

Ichigo took a seat and gave Urahara a deadly serious face. Tia sat next to him, while Tessai took a place near Urahara.

"Oh boy…" The man muttered.

"You know my sudden promotion…" Ichigo explained everything to them. From trying to bribe him into accepting, to Zaraki blabbing about loose cannons. "I can't say the deal's bad, it could have been much much worse, but that still doesn't make it right after all I've done for them."

"So what are we going to do?" Kisuke asked, his usual carefree manner gone.

"For now, nothing. I'll play by their rules for time being, but…" He paused and glanced at Tia. "If things go south I want you to smuggle her back to Hueco Mundo."

The Arrancar woman opened her mouth to protest, but Ichigo was faster.

"I promised to protect you, and I plan to keep my word. I won't allow you to be dragged into my mess. They'll probably detain me at worst, but you? They won't show any mercy to you Tia, and I don't want to see you die without giving you a fighting chance first." He put his hand on her shoulder. Again his words called up a strange feeling in her chest. He put his hand down and returned his gaze to Urahara. "I'll also want you to stop my friends from coming to my aid. If I'm taken out they won't stand any better chance." It wasn't an arrogant declaration, but simply cold hard fact.

"What about you Ichigo-dono? We can hide you too." Tessai stated.

"They'll will go after my family then, to lure me out." Ichigo said grimly. Tessai and Urahara exchanged a look. Such practice wasn't beneath the 2nd Division either. "Can you arrange all that for me?"

"Yes, we can…I'll contact Yoruichi and make some preparations." Urahara agreed without hesitation.

"Ichigo-dono I wish to train you in Kido Arts, to help speed up your progress." Tessai said. "Can you visit me every evening from now on?"

"Maybe not every, but I'll come by whenever I can." Ichigo nodded. "I seriously need to amp up my training. It might only be my paranoia, but I don't want to get caught off guard."

"It's reasonable to be always on guard." Tia spoke, surprising everyone. "Even the most inviting place can be a nest of vipers."

"Wisely spoken." Urahara commented.

"Since that's settled, do you mind if we use your training area, Hat's n Clogs?" Ichigo asked while standing.

"Be my guest Ichigo. Oh and before I forget, Ururu-chan has your clothes repaired Tia-san." Urahara told them with a smile.

"Thank you." Tia replied politely and followed Ichigo, who thanked the Shopkeep with a smile and nod.


Karakura Town Center

"Man what's the big deal about meeting this new student?" Keigo complained.

"Stop whining." Tatsuki grumbled. "Orihime-chan said it's important."

"I hope she's hot!" Chizuru licked her lips. "Of course no one can beat my Hime-chan!"

"Maa, maa, let's not get lost in delusions, Honsho-san." Mizuiro smiled. "Look there's Inoue-chan and she's with…Chado and Ishida?"

"Hey guys, is it just me or do they look worried to you?" Keigo stated growing serious. "Can this be about those things?"

"You know not everything revolves around that." Tatsuki pointed out.

"I think Keigo might be right. If they wanted to introduce a new student to us early, why not call Michiru, Kunieda, and Natsui too?" Mizuiro stated, folding his arms. "But I guess we'll find out in the minute."

"Hey guys." Orihime greeted with a smile, but they all could see that it was forced. The group exchanged greetings before Inoue got their attention. "Why don't we go to somewhere more quiet."

"Sure." Tatsuki said shrugging, but she was starting to get nervous. They walked while chatting idly, but something was amiss from their usual banter. After a few minutes they went into some park and chose a pretty secluded area, that way no one could eavesdrop.

"Ok guys let's cut to the chase, what is this all about?" Keigo said unusually serious. "It's not about the transfer student is it?"

"No it is about t..her, you see we have a situation." Ishida said. "That transfer student is an Arrancar."

"Stop right here!" Mizuiro rose his hand. "Aren't those the things that Ichigo was fighting against?"

"Yes, but let me explain." Chado said and went on to tell them about the events which took place three days ago.

"I always knew he was a bleeding heart, but damn." Tatsuki summed up their collective thoughts. "Is he mad? She can hurt him and his family!"

"My words exactly." Ishida commented, adjusting his glasses.

"So how strong is she exactly?" Mizuiro asked.

"Enough that she should be able to beat us easily. She was ranked third in their army." Inoue said. "Only Kurosaki-kun is able to defeat her at this point."

"So what do we do?" Chizuru asked. "Should I use my anti-Arrancar female techniques on her?"

Chado, Inoue, and Ishida sent her blank stares.

"Long story, don't ask." Tatsuki said.

"…I don't believe I shall. Moving along. I think it's best to go with Kurosaki's madness for a while, since he's rather adamant about keeping her." Ishida stated.

"She might turn out trustworthy." Chado pointed. "Ichigo is a good judge of character, after all."

"I…agree." Inoue said after some hesitation. "But it never hurts to be cautious."

"So let's agree not judge her to harshly, and give her a chance while keeping a close eye on her." Keigo summed up.

"That's pretty much it. So anybody up for pizza?" Inoue suggested.


Underground

"I have to say it's….impressive." Halibel stated, as she stepped onto the rocky desert sand, dressed into her white uniform again.

"Yup. Old man Urahara is pretty good at this kind of stuff." Ichigo replied. Both of them admired the vast underground desert. It was the type of desert that can be seen in the middle of United States of America and Mexico. Large rock formations stood proudly in the rays of the fake sun. A sea of rocky sand covered the area as far as the eye could see.

"How large is this facility?" She asked.

"Urahara told me that it's around thirty kilometers wide and long." Ichigo explained.

"How exactly did he build this? Humans should have noticed something like this. Not to mention the labor needed to do so." She wondered, imaging the amount of work and resources needed to complete such a project.

"Well when I asked him about that he only told me something like, 'Well the enthusiasm was all I needed to complete that project…but being a Captain largely supported my enthusiasm.'. I suppose with all the Soul Society resources it wasn't that hard. Than and he's supposed to be as smart or smarter than Aizen." Ichigo said grinning, imaging Shinigami digging this hole.

"I see." Halibel replied nodding. 'The shop owner really is interesting. I'll have to keep my eye on him.'

"It's a great place to train. No one will interrupt you, and everyone can have as much space as they want." He said smiling at her.

"So where do you think would be a good starting point?" Ichigo asked with eagerly

"Before I start teaching you any Arrancar techniques I want to gauge your power level. We will start with a spar." She stated surprising him slightly.

"Are you sure? I mean… you were pretty badly wounded not to long ago. Even with Inoue's healing you shouldn't overexert yourself." He said in concern.

"I can handle myself well enough. Do not worry about me." She replied, slightly flattered by his concern for her. "I will not go easy on you, as I want to see the full extent of your power." She warned.

"Fine. Just don't regret it." He said cockily, as he unsheathed his sword. Tia stared at him blankly. Ichigo blinked before face palming. "I'll be back in second."

Two minutes he came back with her sword and handed it to her. Tia adjusted the sheath on her back, and pulled her own sword out.

"Ready?" She asked.

"I was born ready..." He couldn't finish, because Halibel lunged at him. Her speed was so fierce that Ichigo barely managed to block. The force of her vicious stab sent him flying into the nearest rock.

"What the…" He began before he saw her flying towards him again. He sidestepped her attack and sent a devastating counter, only to have her duck under his sword and roundhouse him in the face. He flew and fell hard on the ground.

"I told you I wouldn't go easy on you, focus." She lectured him and making some distance. "Distraction leads to demise."

"It's more like an actual fight than a spar." He whined, massaging his sore face.

"That is the purpose of this exercise. To push you to the edge." She told him.

"You don't want to see me on the edge." He replied in a cautious dark tone.


Flashback

Roof of Las Notches

Ichigo was floating in darkness. His mind half aware. The only sensation he felt was excruciating pain, coming from his chest.

He was dying.

'Not like this… I still need to live.' His waning consciousness managed to muster. 'I have to save them.'

'Tsk. Whining like a little bitch when you're about to die. HAHAHAHA!' Hichigo cackled. 'You're pathetic! It's time for me to show what I can do to that Emo. Hahaha!'

'Don't…you…dare.' Ichigo felt his consciousness devoured by his Hollow.

"Save us Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue's desperate cry pierced through the shroud of darkness, robbing Ichigo of his last remaining senses.

From that point Ichigo could only watch in confusion at the unfolding events, with no control over his body.

Ulquiorra was standing in front of him….

"Who are you?" The Arrancar asked.

'What do you mean?' Ichigo thought drowsily

"Didn't you hear me? I asked who you are." Pale Arrancar repeated the question.

Ichigo opened his mouth to reply

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" His roar pierced everything…..

Darkness

'What happened? Where I am?' He looked around, fire was everywhere. 'What happened?' He tightened his grip on his sword. Then he noticed that he was holding something in his other hand.

Ichigo felt terror gripping his insides. 'I'M HOLDING A SEVERED LIMB!'

It was covered in black fur and bloody. There was liquid seeping through his fingers. He turned to Ulquiorra, noticing that he was missing an arm.

Ichigo was disgusted at that very moment, but he was feeling…proud. Proud that he finally managed to wound his enemy….

Darkness.

Ulquiorra's head was beneath Ichigo's foot. He pressed harder, seeing the head dig deeper into the ground.

"I see, no mercy. How very Hollow of you." The defeated Arrancar stated calmly.

Anger courses through Ichigo's veins, turning his vision even more red.

'I'm not a Hollow! You bastard, I will show you…' He spat venomously. A Cero charged between his horns. 'Die' He fired.

The explosion was tremendous. The power behind his Cero broke through the roof of the dome, devastating everything below.

Ichigo felt sick when he saw the damage. Ulquiorra was now nothing more than a torso with a head, one wing and an arm attached. The Hollowfied Shinigami threw him toward the roof top .

With menacingly slow steps he reached the body, pointing the tip of his sword at the fallen Arrancar's throat.

But just before the blade pierced his pale skin his hand was stopped.

"That's enough, Kurosaki. The battle is over. He's our enemy, but there's no need to carve up his corpse." Ishida said, holding his hand firmly. Hollowfied Ichigo put more strength his arm.

"I said enough, Kurosaki!" Ishida raised his voice. The Quincy felt his hand slowly giving under the Hollow's strength.

"Can you her me Kurosaki? It's time to stop! Do it, and you really will no longer be human! Don't, Kurosaki!" Ishida yells.

"Grrr." A savage growl escaped Ichigo's mouth, and in one swift motion he pierces his friend's stomach.

"Ishida-kun!" Inoue's cry attracted his attention.

"I'll ave…" Ichigo growled, but he couldn't form the full sentence. "I will sa…I will save you." He finally chokes. Content that his words reached her, he hears a painful moan.

'Ishida?' He saw his sword sticking out of his gut. Then clarity finally came to him. 'What have I done?' He dreaded. Against his will, his body started to move towards the Quincy. 'No, stop!' A Cero formed between his horns. 'STOP IT!'

"Kurosaki-kun? Kurosaki-kun? KUROSAKI-KUN!?" Inoue yells in terror.

Just before Ichigo killed his friend he felt a presence, and then world returned to darkness


Present

"Well actually I do. I want to see what you are capable of." She replied, oblivious to what happened the last time he was pushed to his limits, and beyond. Though she sensed something strange about his Reiatsu for a brief instant. It seemed…darker, heavier, more predatory.

She hadn't had long to dwell on the thought, because Ichigo took the initiative and lunged at her with a savage vertical slash. Tia blocked it, grunting under the pressure. Her feet dug into the ground, and she felt her knees giving under Ichigo's monstrous strength.

Gathering her Reiatsu she maneuvered the hilt to the side, and kneed him in the gut, sending Ichigo flying. He regained his footing mid-air and saw Halibel rapidly approaching.

"Getsuga Tensho!" A blue wave of energy flew towards the Arrancar.

"Ola Azul!" A yellow wave of energy released from Tia's sword. The attacks collided creating a massive explosion, but both fighters ignored it and clashed inside the eye of storm, sending stray waved of Reiatsu in every direction.

Each time their swords connected a splash of sparks flew from them. Each tried to press the advantage, but neither of them backed even a millimeter.

Ichigo looked into Tia's teal eyes and saw calm mixed with… he really wasn't sure what it was, but it might have been something akin to curiosity.

Ichigo gathered even more Reiatsu, and started pushing harder, but so did Tia.

He glared at her in determination, which she gladly returned.

"Getsuga Tensho." Tia had only a split of second to react, but for a Tercera Espada that was enough. She stopped pressing Ichigo and retreated her blade, while side stepping and allowing Ichigo's attack to harmlessly pass by. This left Ichigo's side open.

She was about to deliver a nasty swipe swung from her neck, but the young Shinigami's reflexes were top notch too. Seeing was she was about to do, he used his free hand and moved it to block Tia's elbow from moving. He swapped his sword, but Tia already gone and he just cut the air.

She jumped up and slashed from above, with Ichigo blocking by raising his sword, which was the exact reaction Tia wanted. Using her momentum she slammed her knees into his face, sending him stumbling back. However she underestimated his pain tolerance. The moment she landed a vicious thrust grazed her shoulder, drawing a bit of blood. Tia jumped back, making some distance, and looking at him in gauging calculation.

'He's still holding back.' She noticed. 'I need to pressure him more.'

She slowly moved her hand to her zipper. What happened next would be engraved in Ichigo's mind forever…and would appear in his dreams for a while.

Tia started to slowly unzip her vest from the bottom up. In an almost seductive manner, slowly letting her breasts free.

'So that's where her number is.' Ichigo thought numbly, as his throat dried up and blood rushed to his face. His eyes were glued to her breasts, as they slowly became more and more visible. Despite never admitting it to any one, he almost groaned when he saw that her Mask Fragment covering her decency.

Finally his prude nature forced him to rip his eyes from her breasts and move them up. He held back a gasp this time. 'That's why she hides her face.'

Tia's lower half of her face was covered by the her bone white Hollow Mask remnants. The mask resembled that of a sharks, with rows of sharp teeth placed along her jaw. The bone structure also covered her throat and neck. And again his sight moved to her barely covered breasts.

"Gah! Cover yourself!" Ichigo slapped his hand over his eyes. The moment those words left his lips he felt cold steel pressing against his throat…and something very soft pressing on his chest.

"Covering your eyes during a battle is not a wise decision." She stated coldly. "If I wanted to harm you I could do it this very moment."

Ichigo took his hand off, and immediately saw how close her face was to his. Her eyes were cold and focused, adding her toothy Hollow Mask, she gave off a predatory vibe. Ichigo gulped, she was completely right. She could have taken his life right then.

"But you didn't?" Ichigo mumbled when she took her blade from his throat, and stepped back.

"No, but you must learn to never trust a stranger. Trust can get you killed." She said, making Ichigo pout a little…then he remembered that she had her jacket un-zipped.

"That doesn't change the fact that you're practically naked!" He exclaimed with a blush. "I shouldn't be seeing that!"

"My mask covers most of myself, I fail to see your point." She crossed her arms under her breasts, pushing them up slightly.

'Nice one Tia, show him more of the goods!' Tiburon cheered.

"…" Ichigo looked at her stupefied, not knowing what to say. Also the fact that he was having a hard time keeping his eyes from wandering. He decided to let it go.

"Fine. Looks like Shinkai isn't a match for you, but I pretty much knew that anyway. So I'll even us out." He said standing up and taking his stance, he pointed his sword at her. "Ban-Kai!" He shouted, and was engrossed in a black Reiatsu. Halibel's eyes widened at his massive increase in power. It matched that of the Quarto Espada when he Resurrected.

'He wasn't that powerful when he battled Grimmjow.' Tia mused. 'His growth rate is astounding.'

"Don't lose focus." She heard a whisper coming from behind. She swirled around slashing with her sword, but only cut air. Turning back he saw Ichigo standing in the exact same spot he was when he went Bankai.

Tia narrowed her eyes at this slight jab at her. She didn't like to be mocked, but Ichigo didn't allow her to have time to dwell on it, as he launched himself toward her, raising his sword high. She rose her blade to block, but the sheer force Ichigo put behind the strike sent her flying. Instantly he followed after, but Tia predicted it and sent an Ola Azul at him. With ease he cut through it, before engaged her again.

Tia had a hard time keeping up with him, barely blocking his attacks in time. With every passing moment more and more cuts appeared on her body. They again locked their blades and attempted to overpower the other.

This time Tia decided to give Ichigo a taste of his own medicine.

"Ola Azul!" She fired it point-blank, sending the Shinigami flying back, surrounded by a wave of yellow energy. She also fired a yellow Cero for good measure, but as she predicted, it was countered by a now black Getsuga.

When the dust settled, Ichigo was merely patting off his coat. The damage her Ola Azul did was minimal at best.

Tia furrowed her eyebrows. She couldn't beat him at her current level now.

Just when Ichigo was about to advance on her, she changed the grip on her sword.

"Hunt, Tiburon!" Immediately she was surrounded by water on all sides, and disappeared in it.

For a moment the water around her formed the shape of heart, and Ichigo found it…interesting. The water then stared to spin fast, like a vortex. Ichigo felt a massive Reiatsu building inside it.

Just then a giant sword shot out of the vortex, revealing her full appearance in broad day light. Not to mention the accumulated water caused a small flood, when it fell to the earth.

The water was freezing cold, but that was exactly what he needed right now.

Above him Tia floated, allowing him to witness her Resurreccion.

She wore a pair of white knee-length boots, elbow-length gloves, and a mini-skirt made of bone. Ichigo examined its "construction" very thoroughly, while trying not to die from the blood loss. The remnants of her mask acted as her bra, covering the center parts of her breasts in a strip-like fashion, leaving the sides of her breasts visible. By now Ichigo was badly losing the fight against blood loss. Her arm shells had spike that went along her head, and there were two ribbon-like protrusions, imitating shark fins growing out of her arms.

In her right hand she was holding a giant shark-tooth shaped sword with gills. The hilt of the sword was inside the sword, hiding her whole hand, but Ichigo deduced that it had was horizontal from the way she was holding it. He could spare only a little time analyzing her sword, as he was more focused on the wielder. Her teal eyes were now glowing with power, only then Ichigo noticed two dark blue, thunder like tattoo's on her cheeks.

Tia looked into his eyes, expecting some sort of reaction. She got it.

Ichigo with lighting speed slapped his hand over his eyes.

"This is getting frustrating, Ichigo-san." Tia could help but growl a little.

"That's my line! You're wearing even less clothes than before! What are you an exhibitionist?!" He shouted, but Tia could see small gaps between his fingers.

"What's an exhibitionist?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. Even from where she was standing she could see the fierce blush on his face.

"It's a person who…." He gulped. "Like when other people see them naked. It's a sort of perversion."

"Are you calling me a pervert?" Tia asked with a dangerously calm tone.

"In a sense…" Ichigo replied without really thinking it through. "SHIT!" He shouted, barely dodging an attack that looked like a tsunami wave. Before he could land, Halibel appeared behind him "La Gota." She said before she shot a shark tooth-like bullet of water at him. Ichigo got hit, and was slammed hard into the ground.

Recovering from her hit quickly, Ichigo released a Getsuga towards Halibel. Before the massive wave of Reiatsu hit her she dodged, forming a yellow Cero. Much to Ichigo's surprise she didn't fire it immediately, but forced it into her sword. The sword started gained a yellow glow.

'Not good.' He thought, then she started to advance towards him. He concentrated his Reiatsu into his blade, prepping a massive Getsuga, and lunged at the approaching woman.

The moment their swords clashed a titanic explosion ripped through the area. Not even a second later Ichigo flew out of the smoke, crashing into the nearest rock formation. He felt blood seeping from numerous wounds, not to mention a nasty pain in his back.

'Damn she's touchy.' Ichigo looked up, only to instantly lower his head. Tia was hovering above him giving him quite the good look under her skirt.

"It looks like it's not only your Hollow abilities that need honing." Tia stated coldly. "One should never address a lady in such a manner." She chastised him.

"Show me a lady and I'll see to it." Ichigo mumbled angrily. She was starting to get on his nerves. She was the one running around practically naked, not him.

"What was that?" Tia asked, pointing her sword at him.

"That was me growing serious." Ichigo snapped, and in one swift motion he swiped his Hollow Mask into existence.

Instantly his Reiatsu grew darker and heavier, almost suffocating in its nature. Again his golden eyes drew her total and complete attention. They seemed to call her to come closer, almost hypnotizing her. But she could also see the darkness behind his gaze, the strain this power put on its wielder.

'This can't be normal, the others hadn't had this kind of look.' Tia realized.

"Ready to continue?" Ichigo's Hollowfied voice reached Tia's ears. 'Why's this mask is still so heavy?' He wondered for a moment.

Tia felt something was off. Gone was the young, slightly irritating boy. Now before her stood a seasoned warrior, projecting an air of power all around him, with eyes of steel.

With those two orbs that seemed to swallow her entirely.

"Yes…I am." She replied when she woke from her trance. The moment those words left her mouth, Ichigo disappeared from sight. Only her instinct and top-notch reflexes allowed her to block the ultra-fast slash coming her way. Yet the force behind the attack was so great, that it batted her away the moment two swords connected.

Halibel had problems with regaining her footing, because the air pressure was so thick. The second she regained her balance she had to block yet another deadly thrust. Luckily her blade was perfect for it, since it could act as a shield.

'I need to take the initiative!' She blocked Ichigo's blade, forcing him to lock it with hers. She used her free hand and to form a Cero in her palm. Seeing this Ichigo jumped back. Tia fired the Cero, but she was aware that with his speed it was going to miss. The question was how was Ichigo going to avoid it.

Not in her wildest dreams did she expect him to take it head on.

"Getsuga Tensho" A wave of darkness collided with her yellow Cero, creating a vortex of black and yellow and obscuring Tia's view. Years in Hueco Mundo taught her one thing, always watch your back.

"Trident!" A deadly, high-force slash shot towards Ichigo, who chose to come onto his opponent from behind. His eyes widened in surprise. He rose his sword to deflect it, but the power was too great for him to handle. He was tossed from the sky and crashed into the ground. The impact created a large crater, and shot tons of dust into the air at the same time. "La Gota." Tia released another water bullet in Ichigo's general direction. She wasn't about to fall into a false sense of security after one solid hit. Besides she needed more water to perform her Cascada.

Ichigo launched out of the crater towards Tia, easily avoiding her water bullets.

'She can't even hope to hit me with an attack of this level… and she doesn't seem to be a type to randomly fire. She's up to something.'

He slashed another Getsuga at her, which she nimbly avoided while still shooting at him. He noticed that she was keeping her distance, visibly biding her time.

'Just what the hell is she-'

Ichigo got his answer.

"Cascada!" She shouted, and released a wave of high pressure water, aiming devour Ichigo. Startled, he failed to avoid the torrent. Not being able to withstand the force, he was forcibly planted into the ground again but this time soaked.

Growling, he lifted himself up and decided to try the fruits of his Kido Training. He jumped into the air and closed the distance in the blink of an eye. He noticed that she was slightly slower than him, so he would use that to his advantage.

"Bakudō #4. Hainawa!" A rope of yellow energy shot from his hand, wrapping itself around her ankle. Obviously not expecting Kido, Tia fell for his trick. Tugging the rope Ichigo dragged her to him.

For a second their faces were inches apart. Their eyes met again, and in that very instant they realized that they felt exact same thing.

Excitement.

Tia had to admit that it was her first time feeling like this in battle. She usually fought out of necessity, and such mock fights like this one were absurd in her opinion. Maybe it was because of the absurdity of said fight she could feel like this.

She blocked his slash to her side, still keeping eye contact with him. Using the momentum she pushed herself off of him and made some distance. While backtracking she sliced the rope holding her.

But not even second later they clashed again, creating massive tremors each time their Reiatsu filled swords made contact. Slowly they began to descent to the ground, still not breaking the eye contact.

Now the desire to dominate the other was clearly visible in their eyes.

Ichigo slashed from above his head, intending to cripple her arm, but Tia would have none of it. With a powerful swing she knocked his sword to the side, and went for a stab to his unprotected chest. Ichigo side stepped, avoiding the hit, and elbowed Tia's unprotected side. She grunted but ignored the pain and spun around, whacking Ichigo's back with the flat side of her sword. Ichigo stumbled a few steps forward. He spun around only to kneel, so Tia wouldn't take his head off. He slashed at her legs, but she jumped avoiding the hit. What she wasn't expecting was Ichigo grabbing her ankle and throwing her away from him. Tia did a gracious back flip and elegantly landed on her feet.

They stared at each other panting. Both of them were covered in sweat, grime, and blood from their numerous small cuts.

'She's so strong.' Ichigo thought, watching his opponent. 'I wonder how Aizen managed to keep her on a leash?' His traitorous mind showed the picture of her in a collar and the leash that was holding her….'Ok let's not go there.' He blushed under the mask. Ichigo felt that it was the high time to end the spar. They'd been at it a while and their meeting with his friends was soon. He was about to disintegrate his mask, when suddenly his Hollow spoke

'I can't believe you're getting so worked up about that bitch. Ya should disciplined her more.' Hichigo said with a lecherous tone.

'She's not a bitch, you bastard!' Ichigo shouted in outrage, but his Hollow ignored him.

'I believe I can tame her for us.' The young Shinigami could almost feel the psychotic smile creeping on his Hollow's face. 'I'm gonna enjoy playing with her so very much HAHAHAHA.'

Before Ichigo could open his mouth, his mask suddenly grew around to the back of his head. Two mighty horns grew out of it, and now his mask looked more like horned helmet.

Tia saw the transformation and braced herself, yet the feeling of wrongness that she had at the beginning of their fight came back, crashing over her tenfold. His Reiatsu became so erratic and dark that she had hard time sensing Ichigo. Instead she started to feel something viler, more primal.

"Ichigo-san are you ok?" She asked, seeing that her question attract his attention. When their eyes meet she gasped.

His golden eyes were filled with so much frustration and agony that she almost broke the eye contact.

"Are you alright Ichigo-san?" She repeated with more worry in her voice that she expected.

"R…Run." He choked. "I…I…" He dropped his sword and grabbed at his face, letting out a painful moan. He fell to his knees, and froze with his head down, still holding his face.

"Ichigo-san?" Tia said warily. "What is going on?" Yet her question remained unanswered.

'Be careful Tia, something is very wrong here.' Tiburon warned unusually serious. 'His Reiatsu is barely recognizable.'

'I know.' She started to slowly approach the kneeling Shinigami. She called his name few more times but it didn't work.

She pointed her sword at his head, and slowly used her free hand to reach for him. She expected anything at this point, but not for Ichigo to suddenly burst into maniacal laughter. Startled she jumped back and braced herself.

"Chill sweetheart. I just want to talk…for now." Ichigo's voice was now even more eerily than before. It was deadly, cold and empty, nothing like previous one.

"I would appreciate if you refrained from calling me that. What is the meaning of this, Ichigo-san?" Tia replied furrowing her eyebrows. 'What is going on here?'

"Would you prefer sweet-cheeks, or simply whore?" Hichigo tiled his head to the side. Tia's mouth hung open at the blatant insult. "Oh and one more thing…Ichigo's ain't home right now. Hahahaha!"

He grabbed his sword and lunged at her suddenly, laughing insanely.

Despite thinking she was prepared, she had never expected something like this. Tia felt like she was actually fighting a Hollow itself, not a Shinigami with Hollow powers. Neither of the Visored had such evil Reiatsu. Tia tried to block his slash, but when the swords connected she was sent flying backwards. Before she could do anything Ichigo appeared in front of her.

He had grabbed her by the throat, and threw her violently to the ground. When Tia hit the ground, she knew she had to move right away. She rolled from to the side, only to see sword piercing the spot where her head was laying a second ago.

'What the hell happened to him?' She thought. Halibel noticed that after he had grown horns, his fighting style changed. It became more…savage, not to mention that he easily overpowered her now. She snapped out of her mind when she saw that he started to advance on her. "La Gota!" She shouted, and sent a quick water attack in his direction. Almost lazily he dodged it. It didn't even slow him down.

For the first time in a while she started to feel fear. When she looked at Ichigo advancing on her, she felt like darkness itself was coming at her. She tried to slow him down with a powerful Cero, but she hadn't expected for him to lean forward and charge one on his own.

They both shot at the same time. However Ichigo's Cero was stronger, and devoured the one shot by Halibel.

For a moment the world turned red. She crashed hard, losing her sword in progress, and her Hierro was damaged horribly, as she was bleeding all over.

Suddenly she felt a pressure on her waist. When Tia opened her eyes she saw Ichigo sitting on top of her. She tried to punch, but he caught both of her hands and pinned her to the ground. She was now at his mercy, but from the look he was giving her, she knew that she would receive none. They just stared at each other….

"Who are you?" Tia finally asked keeping her voice even, but her stomach was tied in a tight knot. Where previously his eyes held a certain allure to them, now there were nothing more than cold and predatory.

"I'll let ya in on a secret, my lil Arrancar." Hichigo leaned close to her face. Now Tia's head was between his horns. She could feel his cold breath on her. "I ain't got a name yet." He took in her scent, letting a satisfactory rumble escape his throat.

Tia's eyes widened. She started to struggle, but he had her firmly pinned down.

'Think of something Tia! He's going to kill us!' Tiburon exclaimed.

'I'm trying!' Tia snapped back, but panic was quickly setting in as he leaned his face even closer. His mouth spread open revealing razor sharp teeth. 'Damn..' She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable. However instead of pain she felt a wetness on her cheek.

Her eyes snapped open and in horror she realized what he was doing.

He licked her.

"S-Stop it!" She snapped, but a stutter found its way into her voice.

"I'm just getting started." He rumbled. "I could kill you, but it would be such a waste. I have other uses for you right now."

The tone it was said in made Tia's blood freeze. Suddenly the perspective of being killed wasn't nearly as bad.

"Ichigo-san, stop this madness." Tia desperately called.

"I told ya he's not home. It's just you and me." He leered. He pulled her hands above her head, and grabbed both with one hand, freeing the other. Moving it to her face he caressed her cheek. Tia flinched at his touch, feeling some sort of unexplained dread over taking her. It wasn't normal. She was not a coward, she knew that, but this feeling was spreading, paralyzing her.

His hands moved from her face to her right breast, grabbing it roughly, and eliciting a flinch of pain from her. Her breath hitched and her eyes watered.

By now the feeling of terror had clouded her judgment. She couldn't explain it, but she had a feeling of horrible déjà vu. Yet she couldn't recall ever being in such a situation before.

To her horror Ichigo, or the creature that controlled him, let go of her breast and moved his hand south, slowly almost in mocking manner.

For a second Ichigo's horned mask overlapped with an image of another man. Tia could only see dark hair and brown skin. She never felt a fear so deep seeded before, but that image chilled her to the very bone.

At that moment all her barriers shattered. She did something she never had before.

She begged.

"Please stop, Ichigo." She choked her voice breaking, with tears falling down her face. "Don't hurt me…please." She added in small voice, shutting her eyes tight.

The hand stopped right above her bellybutton, as if frozen. Tia felt a pulse of Reiatsu come from Ichigo. She dared to open her eyes, and saw a literal battle within his eyes, warm gold fighting the darkened cold.

From second one of his Hollow's take over, he'd been trying to regain control of his body.

It was Tia's desperate plea that finally snapped something inside him. Triggering every instincts he had to protect her at all costs.

'Back off you bastard!' Ichigo roared from within, amassing as much willpower as he could. 'You won't hurt her!'

'Hurt? I'm just having fun with her. You might even thank me later, cause you're about to get your first fuck.' Hichigo laughed cruely.

'Shut up! How the hell can you even think like that!? Just look at her you bastard, she's terrified!' Ichigo roared furiously.

'So? The strong prey on the weak, that the only truth of this or any world.' He replied with a shrug.

'I will protect her, and you can't stop me!' Ichigo spat, sending a massive wave of his Reitsu at his Hollow. Hichigo grunted, displeased by this action. He still lacked the strength to overpower Ichigo at this point. The damn Hollow Mask locked away most of his power, but if he managed to make some permanent adjustments to it…

Tia could sense the notable shift in Ichigo's aura. It was becoming gradually warmer, more like it used to be. Even the oppressive atmosphere was lifting, soothing her fear some.

She flinched when Ichigo suddenly pulled up off of her and stepped back. His hands moved to his mask grabbing the at anything he could. Finally he gripped both horns and desperately tried to break them off.

She watched with her mouth slightly open, as he finally snapped both horns off. With a warbled roar of defiance he punched his mask till it cracked. When finally large chunk fell of he grabbed the exposed hole. In one savage move he ripped off most of the mask, shouting in pain when he did.

He fell to his knees, and threw the remaining masked part of his face against the rocky ground. Sickening cracking sounds came from the action.

For few minutes Tia simply stared, awaiting his reaction, but it was growing clearer with every minute that he might be unconscious.

'It might be another trick.' Tiburon warned.

'He had me at his mercy. I don't think that what happened was his doing…' Tia replied getting up and grabbing her sword. She cautiously approached Ichigo's prone form. 'Something took control of him.'

'So he's a psycho? Great you really have a knack for picking men Ti-chan… While we're on that, who the hell was that guy we saw?'

The very mention of that memory caused a shiver to go down her spine.

'I don't know…but it was…disturbing.' She struggled to find a correct word for the feeling.

When she stood next to Ichigo she pressed a blunt side of her sword against his side, not wanting to injure him. Not getting a response, she gathered her courage and knelt next to him. Carefully she flipped him on his back. As predicted he was out of cold. The mask he wore had dissolved into nothing, but he had bleeding punctures on his face where shards of it had embedded before vanishing. Not to mention a nasty black eye.

Standing back up Tia summoned a small ball of water above his face, then dropped it on his face.

Ichigo awoke with a gasp.

He frantically looked around in disorientation, but when his eyes landed on Tia he calmed down. She could literally read the relief on his face.

"Thank Kami you're ok." She heard him whisper, as he ran his hand over his bloodied face. "I'm so sorry." He mumbled in apology, a pained look on his face which wasn't from his injuries.

He couldn't even imagine how relieved Tia was to hear that. Because of her previous experience she was afraid that he played her. While reason why he did it in such manner eluded her, the thoughts were present. If not for the drastic change in his Reiatsu and the personality, she would try to strike him down for his apparent betrayal.

"Can you explain who or rather what that was?" She asked after a few seconds, letting him get his bearings. Her voice still slightly shaken.

"I told you about him… that was my Inner Hollow." Ichigo said as he sat up. "I thought I had him under control... guess I was wrong." Guilt took over as his prominent feature. "I'm sorry that I scared you… that I made you cry. If you don't want to stay by me anymore, I understand. We'll find you somewhere else safe to stay." He stated avoiding eye contact, shame coating his words.

His declaration surprised Tia. She couldn't ever remember meeting such a person.

"Tell me more about this Hollow of yours?" Tia finally asked.

Ichigo explained everything he knew about Hichigo. From their first meeting, to the forming of the mask which was supposed to keep him at bay. The only part he omitted was that once he completely turned Hollow and killed Ulquiorra.

"That's all I know… That's the reason I hoped you could teach me how to control these damned powers." Ichigo sighed.

'Such a heavy burden for someone so young.' Tia looked at him with a new found respect. "You should have told me this sooner, Ichigo-san."

"I'm sorry… I guess I was afraid that you wouldn't want have anything to do with me if I told you." He rubbed his neck.

"Fear is only natural, Ichigo-san. It is a part of our instinct to survive, a motivator to improve ourselves." She told him sagely. Suddenly a question popped into her head. "Are you afraid of your powers?"

"I... Yeah I am…" Ichigo admitted uncomfortably. "I'm afraid of losing control and hurting the people I care about in the process… you included… It's not like I even wanted this damn power to begin with." He sighed, not really knowing why he was spilling his guts to her.

"Then why did you seek more power?" She asked puzzled.

"Because I was even more afraid of losing them because of not having the power to protect and save them." He stated in conviction.

To his surprise he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up he was staring her eyes. Instead of what he thought he'd see, he saw understanding and sympathy in them.

She couldn't even find the words to describe how well she understood him. The fear of losing the ones closest to you, the fear of being powerless, the fear of being alone…

"I'll aid you Ichigo-san. I'll help work on your control of your Hollow powers, to the very best of my ability." She stated firmly, determination in her teal eyes.

Ichigo's mouth hung open at her sudden declaration, and his voice got stuck in his throat.

"Thank you Tia. It really means a lot to me." He smiled warmly.

"Think nothing of it Ichigo." She replied with an unusually light tone, so much that she actually forgot to add the suffix. Ichigo caught this and his smile grew. The basked in the understanding for a while. Not saying anything as Tia helped him to his feet.

Then the spell was broken when Urahara's voice called out to them that Ichigo's body's watch was going off.

"Shit! We're going to be late!" Ichigo exclaimed. "We need to get going."


City Center

"You think they ditched us?" Keigo asked after half an hour of waiting.

"Nah. I'm sure Kurosaki-kun and Halibel-san are on their way." Inoue reassured, but her own voice was laced with worry. "Any minute now."

"Remember guys, be friendly to her for Ichigo's sake." Chado reminded them. "You too, Ishida."

"Hmph." The Quincy grunted.

"Hey guys! Sorry for the wait!" Ichigo's voice called out from behind them.

Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro's jaws hit the floor when they saw Tia. Chizuru, on the other hand, started to shamelessly drool and ogle the Arrancar. All of them had the exact same thought though.

'Damn she's hot.'

"Guys this is Tia Halibel. Tia this is Tatsuki Arisawa, Chizuru Honsho, Mizuiro Kojima and Keigo Asano."

Before anyone managed to say anything, Chizuru shot forward with a speed that no human being should possess, and started fawning over Tia.

"Ahhh, that mocha flawless skin, perfect full lips, cute nose, amazing killer figure, and Kami almighty! Those boobs… I'm so in love!" Chizuru wrapped her arms around herself, starting to sway in a snake-like motion, panting like a dog. Her a perverted glint in her eyes she started to advance on Tia, her hands making grabbing motions.

Tia was so stunned by the other female's shameless advance, she almost allowed herself to be grabbed by her.

A centimeter before contact Chizuru found her wrists being grabbed and pulled away. Tia's vice grip easily making the younger girl flinch. When she looked up from Tia's assets, she met a sight that halted any protest. Halibel's eyes were dangerously focused, taking on a stare that could freeze fire solid.

"I would appreciate you restraining yourself." Tia stated simply. Bone chilling ice filling her words, and it immediately paralyzed the lesbian. A shiver ran through the rest of the group, even the stoic Quincy. It was a simple primal fear she instilled in them.

"G-Got it!" Chizuru choked out, backing off when her wrists were freed. Yet one could see the tiny hint of a smile on her face when she turned. "Mistress" She mumbled inaudibly, some sort of insane glee in her eyes.

Ichigo face palmed so hard it hurt. 'How the hell'd he get away alive?' Ichigo thought, shocked that his Hollow got as far as it did.

"Um...right, can someone else please introduce themselves?" Ichigo begged.

"It's a pleasure." Tatsuki stepped with straight face, and offered her hand, which Tia cautiously took.

"Nice to meet you." Keigo did the same, albeit it was obvious that he was incredibly nervous now.

"Heya. So you're not going to eat us while we're not looking, are you?" Mizuiro asked, shaking her hand with easy going smile on his face.

"I have no malicious intent towards any of you." Tia replied, slightly taken off guard by his upfront question.

"That's great. I think we'll be good friends." He stated, letting go of her hand. "So how about we go to the arcade to break the ice?"

The group generally agreed to the idea, leaving Tia the only one out of the loop.

'Arcade? What is that?.' She questioned mentally.

'Aww, are you embarrassed by your severe lack of knowledge?' Tiburon mocked.

'Then tell me oh wise one, what an arcade is?' Tia said, heavy on the sarcasm. Tiburon didn't grace her with an answer.

Sighing she decided to ask.

"What's an arcade?" As predicted the others turned to her in shock.

"You don't know what it is?" Tatsuki asked in disbelief. "How old are you, one hundred?"

"That is almost accurate." She replied, ignoring the jab at her age. "Now that that is out of the way, what is this Arcade?" She asked exasperated. The idea of befriending Ichigo's friends was growing less appealing to her.

"Give give her a break guys, everything is pretty much new to her." Ichigo said conciliating. "Stuff that's normal to us wont necessarily be to her. The arcade is a place in the entertainment district where you can play various games and hang with your friends."

"Like chess?" She was desperate for some familiar ground, but Ichigo's apologetic expression killed it.

"No…errr more…action-y things? You know what, it's easier to show you than explain it." He grinned and motioned her to follow.

After fifteen minutes of semi-comfortable conversation, they arrived at the light filled entertained district. The place was wall to wall with colorful neon, advertisements, and most of all people. A lot of people.

They made their way through the crowd to their destination, a large gaming parlor filled with various machines.

Ichigo noticed with pleasure that Tia took a keen interest in the place.

"Here were are Tia, the arcade. It has almost every possible game you can dream of." Ichigo said.

"So what's first?" Inoue asked.

"I vote the zombie shooting games?" Keigo proposed, waving his hand in the air. "They have the newest House of the Dead!"

"I'm in." Tatsuki agreed.

"Well I'm down for some good old Mortal Kombat." Mizuiro said.

"Me too." Chado replied.

"How about a racer, Hime-chan?" Chizuru chirped, wrapping her arms around her, and literally dragging her away.

"Any preferences?" Ichigo asked his to those reaming.

"I'm not really into this kind of stuff." Ishida shrugged, while Tia just looked blankly at Ichigo. "Ok then. Maybe…." He looked around and spotted a newly vacated dancing game. "How about a little dance off?"

"Please. I've taken lessons in multiple actual dances. You'd be digging your own grave, Kurosaki." The Quincy snorted, but never the less moved towards the game. The machine supported two players.

Ichigo looked to Tia, and was about to offer her his place, but the she was quicker on the uptake.

"I'd prefer to see how this device works first." She stated, folding her arms under her breasts. Ichigo nodded and stepped on the pad.

"It's very easy, you see these four arrows on the floor? You have to step in time to the one the screen shows you to get points. Ishida let's start on something easy to show her." Ichigo proposed.

"Fine." The dark haired boy said, choosing the lowest level of difficulty.

The game started and the music slowly got louder.

They boys grabbed the railing behind them for the balance, and started stepping on the arrows along with the rhythm.

At that level both of them easily managed to score one hundred percent.

"That was easy. Time to step it up." Ichigo said setting the level to high.

And indeed the difficulty was visible. The speed they both stepped the arrows changed greatly, making it look ridiculous at some points, as their legs flew towards the designated arrows.

She watched as the screech change colors and images with the music, intensify.

With a final blast of light the song finished.

A perfect score for Ishida, and ninety four for Ichigo.

"Easy win." Quincy commented with a superior smirk, before stepping off the machine. "I'll be going now Kurosaki. I have few things to get ready for tomorrow." He bid him farewell, completely ignoring Tia.

'That was rude.' She furrowed her brows.

"Don't mind him. He just needs time to warm up to you… a lot of time." Ichigo shook his head, after sending a disapproving glare after Ishida. "Wanna give it a try?"

Tia hesitated. She'd never done anything like this in the past. Despite everything, she was a bit shy to try.

"C'mon, it's fun once you get the hang of it." Ichigo spoke up noticing her reservation. His sympathetic smile just barely swayed her, and she nodded before stepping on the pad.

Ichigo put the setting on normal, and started the game. Tia mimicked him and put her hands on the railing, as she began stepping on the arrows.

For her first time she was fairing quite well. Her eye leg coordination was already honed to near perfection, and the game became that much easier with that knowledge. Still it hadn't prevented her from miss-stepping at some odd timed steps.

Obviously Ichigo won, a perfect score on his side. To his surprise Tia asked for another game. Happy that she was having some fun, or at least wanted to continue, he started another round.

This time he paid more attention to her. He had to admit that the face she made when she was concentrating was cute. Not to mention the position she was in drew his attention. Her shapely hips were pushed forward, showing how toned and flat her belly was. Not to mention that every time she made a step her breasts bounced up and down. Ichigo face heated up, but he convinced himself it was because of the movements he was put through.

He returned his attention to the screen and noticed that he was starting to lose. Focusing on the game he caught to caught to her, and what resulted was a draw.

"Wanna try another game?" Ichigo asked, as he started to get winded.

"Very well." She replied, but he could hear the slight disappointment in her voice.

"Don't worry we'll can come play it again before we leave. I just wanted to see if you'll like any of the other games."

For the next hour Ichigo and Tia wandered from game to game, playing any that caught the Hollow's interest or Ichigo suggested she might like. Several times they ended up joining his friends. Despite the awkwardness at first, Tia started to feel semi-comfortable around the humans, with exception of when she had to explain to the store operator how she broke the arm wrestling machine. Luckily Ichigo managed to push the responsibility on some sort of machine defect. Because it was totally impossible for the female high school student to break it...

After a few more games, including one more dance off between Ichigo and Tia, which ended in the former's victory. It was only a two percent difference, but it was also on the highest difficulty. They decided to call it a day.

The group exchanged farewells and all headed home.


Same Day, Urahara's Shop

The shop owner was working on some undoubtedly awesome project via computer, when suddenly a pair of slender brown arms wrapped around his neck. A head followed after, resting on his shoulder.

"Ara, it's good to see you again, Yoruichi." Urahara commented with a goofy smile.

"Well Kisuke you said it was urgent, so I mustered up a bit of time. What's the problem?" The violet haired Flash Goddess purred.

"I think it would be best for you to see." Kisuke replied, and opened a new screen.

He clicked few times and a video, in extremely high quality, started to play.

"Ohhh? And what Ichi-bo and his new guest doing there?" She asked with a sudden keen interest. She planned to pay her favorite student a visit anyways. The prospect of a supposedly hot woman together in one room with him, just sped the things up.

She watched the fight in curiosity, seeing just how much he'd improved.

"Now that's my star pupil." She grinned, when Ichigo started to put pressure on Tia. That was until the moment she started to unzip her jacket. Yoruichi narrowed her eyes, displeased that the woman behaved like that in front of her pupil. Only she had that privilege. "That's some quality teasing." She stated, trying to sound carefree but failed. This drew an amused stare from her companion.

Yoruichi pretended that nothing happened, and continued to watch the movie. She grew even more displeased when she saw Tai's Resurreccion. 'This is getting ridiculous!' She thought.

However all the irksome feelings evaporated the moment Ichigo's donned his mask. She quickly noticed the changes happen in Kurosaki. When his horns grew she stared in disbelief as he easily obliterated his opponent. Her disbelief changed to horror when she witnessed his actions towards Arrancar after moments later. Not to mention the look of utter dread on Tia's face.

At that point Yoruichi felt pity for the poor woman. She didn't even realized that she was holding her breath when Ichigo's hand started to grope her and then move towards Tia's womanhood.

'Stop it, Ichi-bo.' A hand traveled to her mouth, covering her shocked expression.

The video was muted, but Yoruichi could read Tia's lips. Relief flooded her when his hand stopped. Even more when he started to fight back and tear at his mask.

Yoruichi knew that Ichigo would never forgive himself if he did something like that. She was well aware that it wasn't him at that moment. There was no way that her student would do something so vile.

Not Ichigo, ever.

The recording ended with Tia putting her hand on his shoulder.

"What the hell was that?" Yoruichi finally asked.

"I believe that this was his Hollow taking over. His Reiatsu readings were similar to those recorded while he was achieving his mask." Urahara said in grim seriousness. "But I'll need his input to prove it, and that's where you come in. I would like you to go talk to him." He said. "He'll need his sensei." He put pressure on the last word, making Yoruichi narrow her golden cat-like eyes.

"What are you trying to say, Kisuke-kun?" She asked in a dangerously sweet tone.

"Nothing, nothing at all." Urahra waved his fan. "I'm just saying that young Ichigo will need a shoulder to cry on."

"He can get that, and more if he wished." She grinned. "He seems like a person who appreciates what he has."

"Touché." Urahara smirked. "Well you better go show him what he has then."

"Aye, aye." She mock saluted him, and disappeared in flash of Shunpo.


Kurosaki's Home

"Ichi-nii!" Yuzu, his youngest Sister, tackled her older Brother into a tight hug. She was followed by Karin, who smiled and nodded him welcome.

"Yuzu, Karin, long time no see." He smiled widely, ruffing Yuzu's hair. "How was your trip?"

"It was good nii-san, we-" Karin paused when she noticed Tia behind Ichigo, her eyes narrowing scandalously. "Who's that?"

"Aww, why didn't you tell us that got a girlfriend!?" Yuzu exclaimed. "Hi. I'm Yuzu Kurosaki, please take care of my big Brother." She said with a sweet smile and bowing to Tia.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken little one." Tia said gently, shocking Ichigo the warm smile that crept on her usually impassive face. "I'm simply a transfer student from America. My name is Tia Halibel."

"Aww, but you're so pretty!" Yuzu whined.

"Yuzu!" Ichigo exclaimed blushing. "Stop that!"

"He's right, don't go embarrassing him in front of a girl." Karin said, folding her arms. "Name's Karin, nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Tia nodded to the eldest daughter.

"Oh! I'll have supper ready in half an hour." Yuzu announced happily.

Tia and Ichigo made their way up to his room, to drop off their stuff.

"Kinda looked like you had a soft spot for my Sister." Ichigo offhandedly mention with a sly smile.

"I do not know what you're talking about." Tia replied impassively. "I was simply being polite."

"Really? You just smiled at Yuzu. I never seen you smile." Ichigo caught her off guard with that comment. She hadn't even realized that she smiled. Tia had difficulty explaining to herself why exactly Ichigo's younger sibling made her smile. She just felt a certain warmth in her chest when she met them.

"It's not like that's a bad thing, mind you. It's just shows that you do have a heart."

Tia started to feel little uncomfortable about that remark.

"May we please change the subject?" She asked, but it sounded more like demand.

"Sure." He walked to the shelf and pulled out a few books. "These are the books you'll need to read if you want to stay afloat in school. We're in our second year now, so we'll need to catch you up." He handed a book to her.

"I see." She looked up at the shelf filled with books. 'This will take some time.'

"Also I'll show you how to use a computer. That way if you want anything else, you'll be able to look it up." He pressed the on switch, and for the remaining time till lunch, explained how the machine worked, including the usage of the internet. After they ate, during which they both got the third degree from his sister's, he continued to go over things, until his mobile beeped with a text.

When the screen lit up he saw that the message was from Yoruichi. She was asking to meet with him nearby his house, saying it was urgent.

Ichigo excused himself, and had Tia work on her own until he returned.

Walking out of the house, he moved to the spot she mention but didn't see anyone. Just when he was about to text her a pair of slender arms wrapped around the front of his neck.

"Good evening, Ichi-bo." Yoruichi said huskily, blowing warm air into his ear, startling the poor boy.

"Gyah! Don't do that Yoruichi! You almost gave me heart attack!" He exclaimed with a huff.

"Sorry, couldn't stop myself. So how've you been?" She asked casually, leaning on a nearby wall.

"I don't suppose you Hat's n Clogs has kept his mouth shut?" She shook her head with a cheeky grin. "So you know about my guest and my recent promotion?" He made air quotes.

"Yup, got wind of that… but I wanted to chat about a more... recent occurrence." She said seriously. She felt a bit guilty when his expression fell.

"I see. Should've know that the old man had cameras everywhere." He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Ichigo is everything alright?" Yoruichi asked with concern, putting her hand on his shoulder. "You know you can tell me anything."

"I know, I trust you Yoruichi." He gave her a weak smile. What he didn't know was just how much that admittance of trust flattered her. "You know at one point I thought that defeating Aizen would end most my problems? Looking back I can see just how naïve that was."

"Come on, don't be so hard on yourself." Yoruichi patted his back.

"But now problems are popping up one after another…" He sighed. "But cutting to the chase, I'm starting to lose control of my Hollow again." He gritted his teeth. "He was able to hijack my body again, and did things…." Now shame was clearly written all over his face.

"But how is it possible? Shouldn't your mask prevent it?" Yoruichi asked concerned, giving him a reassuring squeeze. She saw hesitation mixed with anxiety on his face. "Ichigo c'mon, speak to me."

"Yoruichi… I don't know how to say it… I'm still having trouble wrapping my own head around it." He rubbed his neck. "I don't even know where to start."

"Maybe from the beginning." Yoruichi suggested.

"That's as good a place as any, I guess? Back in Hueco Mundo when I was fighting an Arrancar called Ulquiorra, he... he blew a hole in my chest-" Ichigo started.

"He what?!" Yoruichi exclaimed.

"He shot a Cero threw my chest, pretty much killing me... but then something happened… I…" He hesitated, avoiding looking at her.

"Ichigo no matter what you say I won't think of you any differently." Yoruichi reassured him again. She was starting to seriously worry about him. Maybe she should keep an eye on him for a while.

"Thanks... I'm not sure how, but I changed into a full Hollow… an immensely powerful one. I tore Cifer apart, literally, and the he was powerful. But I beat him like it was nothing… I also lost my sanity, and I almost killed Ishida in process. If not for Ulquiorra pulling a sneak attack, I would've killed my friend." He shook his head. "Ever since then, when I put my mask on, it feels heavy, almost suffocating. It was almost as intense as before my training with the Visoreds." He sighed. "Today he took over again."

"Is there a possibility he might do it again?" Yoruichi asked worried.

"Probably, but I think it's limited to the times I have my mask on. So I'll need to really focus on training to suppress him." Ichigo folded his arms.

"Maybe I can help with that." She smirked. "Your hand to hand still needs some work, and I can teach you a thing or two about Kido."

"Thanks, but my schedule is full. I doubt that I'll find any more time to train with you, between School, being a captain, and training with Tessai and Tia."

Yoruichi pouted.

"So you want her to be your teacher instead of me?" Yoruichi glared at him, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

"It's not like that." Ichigo brought his hands up defensively.

"Of course, and the fact that she flashed her boobs and wears next to nothing, doesn't have anything to do with it?" She expected him to flip out and start denying it, but instead he blushed looking abashed.

Her jaw dropped and a vein popped on her forehead. "Oh you just didn't…." She growled, advancing on him.

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Ichigo took few steps back, until his back hit the wall. Yoruichi pressed herself against him, their faces millimeters apart.

Her golden cat-like eyes were now staring deeply into his.

"Remember this and remember this well Ichi-bo. I am your first and greatest sensei." She put a finger on his lips, silencing any protests. "You're my prized pupil, and when I offer you training you will accept it with a big smile and whole load of gratitude. Got it?" All he could do was nod dumbly. "Forget that and we'll have a different kind of training." She purred last word in such a way, that it sent a not unpleasant shiver down his spine.

Her finger moved down from his lips to his chin, gently pushing it to the side.

"Take care Ichi-bo." She winked, and disappeared in flash of Shunpo.

After a minute Ichigo let out the breath he was holding.

"What the hell was that?" He shook his head trying to get rid of the sensation of her body pressing against his. "Crazy cat lady." He mumbled, embarrassed all of sudden, before walking back home.

He went to his room to check on Tia's progress. The moment he opened the doors he instantly regretted leaving her to her own devices, because the first sound he heard was….

"JA! Schnelle Heinrich! Schnelle! Das ist Gut! Ahhhhh!" Coming from his computer. Tia cheeks were blazing red, and her hands covered her mouth.

"Tia what the hell!" Ichigo exclaimed, startling the Arrancar woman who just stared at him in shock. "Why the hell are you watching porn!?"

"I was looking for some information on the human body…" She somehow managed to keep her voice steady. "Somehow I ended up here with… these vile records all over."

"Ich komme! AHHHHHHH!"

Now both of them turned beet red. Ichigo quickly turned the site off, trying to look anywhere but at Tia.

"Why are there such things on this Internet? Shouldn't intercourse between a woman and men be a private matter?" Tia asked, unable to fight her curiosity or darker blush from it.

"Well you see…" Ichigo made a valiant effort to explain how the porn industry came to be, and how it transitioned to internet. After his best haphazard explanation Tia asked the question that would forever be engraved in his memory.

"How do you know so much about this?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

Ichigo fell into the infamous thousand yard stare.


A/N

And cut! Well it took some time but I hope you liked the read.

Also spoiler alert!

ISHIDA you bastard!

Anyways don't forget to leave a review!