I am terribly sorry for the long wait! Dx I was out of town these past two weekends, and I have a big paper due tomorrow! I didn't sleep Tuesday night so I could finish most of this. x.x I spoil you guys D: I was writing and was like '2 pages!? Not enough pages!' Two pages is a lot for me. P: Well, I didn't particularly like this chapter. Oh and the part with Yoruichi is supposed to go fast, cause Ichigo and Rukia were not gone for long, which she knew, so she had to make things quick. SO…yeah. The next few chapters will be easier to write since the story is picking up.

A big thank you to the following people who reviewed, favorited, and watched!

Kai G. Takuya

The Loyal Newt

Black-HunterXX

Devil2Kyuubi

Awakeningstorm3453

GuitarGirl1418

Elemental-Angel-Fox

I think that's everyone! A big thank you to you all once again! I'm glad you all enjoy this story! This chapter is for all of you.

Enjoy!

"He…became a hollow…!" Ichigo stuttered, watching as the beast formed on the rooftop.

"Wha…what is that monster?" Don Kanonji whispered in bewilderment. Ichigo's expression turned to one of shock at his words.

"Wha…what do you mean "what"! It's a hollow! You've never seen one!?" He shouted. Kanonji turned to face him with a flourish of his hands and responded,

"Of course! Who do you think I am? The charismatic spirit medium of the new century, Don Kanonji! Monster extermination is outside my field!" I rolled my eyes at his ignorance. Just what exactly did he think happened to all of those souls? Ichigo attempted to explain that the spirit was a hollow, but Kanonji cut off his explanation with a "WOAH!? I'm sensing…I'm sensing it…! The smell reeks of a super dangerous spirit!" He shouted with his hands fanned out around his face, "So then, he…is the earlier spirit's evil boss who has come back for vengeance!!"

"Uhmm…That's not it. Listen to a person's explanation throughout the end…Well, whatever. That'll do." Ichigo mumbled as he gave up on trying to correct the delusional man before him. Their banter was interrupted as the hollow started to mutter something about souls and devouring. With a sudden leap, he charged down the side of the building shouting, "I'll devour your soul!"

"Incoming!" Ichigo yelled as he braced himself, "Run away Kan-" He was cut off when Kanonji's hand was placed on his shoulder. Before Ichigo or I could react, Kanonji threw him backwards.

"Run away boy! Leave this here to me!" Kanonji shouted, obviously trying to be the hero. Ichigo and I exchanged looks of disbelief. "Come on, bad spirit! The charismatic spirit medium of the new century, Dan Kanonji, is your opponent!" Kanonji rushed towards the monster, only to be saved in the nick of time by Ichigo's sword. With one huge push, the hollow was thrown back.

"…Boy…? Why…didn't you run away, Boy!?" Kanonji yelled in Ichigo's face. "The same to you, idiot! Hurry up and run!" He retorted. I snickered quietly. Kanonji proceeded to yell about how he couldn't run away, but my attention was elsewhere. I watched in horror as a looming shadow appeared behind Ichigo. I didn't even think of what would happen as I took off towards Ichigo, my thoughts focused on only one thing; protecting him.

"Kai!?" Ichigo shouted, gazing at me with confusion on his face as I rushed towards him. His expression suddenly turned grave as he realized the presence behind him that prepared to strike. With all of the strength I had, I jumped into the air and latched my teeth onto the sleeve of his shuhakusho, and whipped my head, effectively throwing Ichigo out of harm's way.

'Good, he's saf-' My thoughts were cut off when I felt the teeth of the hollow clamp down on my front leg. A strangled yelp escaped my lips as I barely heard Ichigo shout my name. Everything was a blur as Ichigo pushed the hollow away, forcing it to drop me. I groaned as I felt blood pool around the wound.

"Shit…" Ichigo muttered as he knelt down next to me. I knew it would take more than this to kill me, but it still hurt more than anything I had felt in my life. I slowly struggled to my feet, making sure to put zero weight on my injured leg.

"Lay down girl. You shouldn't be walking." Ichigo said, guilt written all over his face. I wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault, but this damn body wouldn't let me. I growled slightly to let him know that I still wanted to help.

"Don't you growl at me! I want you to go over to Rukia, and get her to fix you up. Understand?" he spoke sternly, pointing in Rukia's direction. I growled slightly, but started to limp towards Rukia. It's not like I would be much help with my leg the way it was anyways. The second I reached the crowd, Rukia came rushing over as others gazed at me in confusion and wonder. It was understandable, considering I just got attacked by an invisible monster to them.

"Kai! What were you thinking!?" Rukia scolded me as she forced me to lie down.

'It was either Ichigo or me.' I thought bitterly. Getting scolded for helping someone did not go over well with me. I sighed as I let Rukia tend to my wound. Before long, everything started to fade as I slowly drifted into unconsciousness.

I'm not sure how much time passed before I finally woke up. Glancing around at my surroundings, I noticed I was in Ichigo's room on my makeshift bed of pillows.

'How long have I been out?' I thought curiously, noticing the sun was past the noon point. I slowly rose to my feet, wincing slightly when I put too much pressure on my right front leg. Making my way down the stairs, I heard the doorbell ring.

"Ye-ah. Sorry, on Thursday we're closed in the afternoon…" I heard Ichigo's voice come from the front door.

"I've come to invite you out for a drive, my #1 pupil!!" Was that Don Kanonji?

I reached the front door just in time to see Ichigo slam and lock the door in front of Don Kanonji's face.

"Why did you lock the door, my #1 pupil!?" Kanonji shouted, latching onto the door handle in an attempt to pry it open.

"It's obvious!! How did you find out about my house!? You stalker!! Go back where you came from!!" Ichigo screamed in reply. I couldn't help but laugh at the scene before me. The two proceeded to quarrel until Rukia appeared. It turned out she was the one who had told him where Ichigo lived. Before I was even noticed, Rukia's cell phone went off just as Yuzu noticed Don Kanonji. The pair of Shinigami ran off as quickly as possible, obviously glad for the distraction.

I sighed before trudging back upstairs. I nudged the door to Ichigo's room open, only to be greeted by Kon.

"Kai!! You're awake!" He shouted, leaping towards me. He was quickly silenced as my paw swatted him out of the air.

"Cruel as always! And even after I watched out for you the two days you were out! You should be thanking me!" Kon shouted. I blinked a few times in surprise.

'I was out for that long?' I couldn't help but wonder what had happened during the time I was out. I growled slightly at Kon, but flattened my ears to show it was more of an apology. My bed of pillows was comforting as I plopped down onto them. Kon followed shortly after, lying down against my side. The time when Rukia and Ichigo were gone was usually spent like this; in silence.

"Hey Kai?" I raised my head in acknowledgement, "Do you ever feel like you're being left out?" In all honesty, the question shocked me, especially coming from him. Unfortunately, he had voiced the thought I was trying to avoid. Every night, Rukia and Ichigo would leave to hunt hollows, leaving Kon and I behind so we wouldn't get hurt. Their constant battles and time spent together gave them a bond that I only wished I could have with someone. I hate to admit it, but I was jealous of their friendship, because it was something I could never obtain.

With my body the way it is, I had no way of sharing a bond such as theirs. It is impossible to have a bond with someone who cannot even vocalize how they feel. I tried to think of things from Kon's perspective. He was a mod soul; not completely human, and stuck in the body of a stuffed animal. He spent all of his days mostly alone in Ichigo's room, with no one to talk to. Even when it was just me and him, I still could not provide any conversation for him. I hadn't really given it thought, but we had more in common than we thought.

I whined in reply, nodding my head. "I thought so…" He muttered. Before any more input could be given on the subject, an unfamiliar presence made itself known.

"Well this is certainly a surprise." A deep sounding voice came from the window. My head whipped around, searching frantically for the source of the voice. I was mildly puzzled when the only thing I could see was a black cat perched upon the windowsill. Surely it couldn't have been the one who spoke…right?

"What's wrong? You look surprised as well." My mouth dropped open in shock as the black feline spoke.

"Well? Speak up. Is this the residence of Kurosaki Ichigo?" The cat spoke again. I could barely nod my response. I watched timidly as the cat slowly approached me.

'Is this cat really like me…?' Thoughts raced through my head.

"Of all places, I never expected to find someone who held power similar to my own. Although, it seems you're clueless about how to use it." The feline examined, circling me like some sort of predator. My mind was practically spinning at the thought of someone being similar to me.

"My name is Yoruichi. It's not often a shape-shifter comes along. Let me see your human form." The cat demanded. My eyes widened slightly.

'It knows how to turn back into a human?' I shook my head and whined slightly. It may know how to, but I did not.

"Hm, still not there yet? Don't worry, it took me awhile too. Well, I came to see the place where Ichigo lives. It might come in handy later for us," the feline spoke, glancing around the room, "Let me give you a little push for you to get back to a human before I go. First, close your eyes. Then, find the energy dormant within you. It should feel warm and appear as a bright light. The color of the light will depend on your reiatsu. After you find it, try and form the energy into the shape of a human." It instructed. I tried to make a mental note of everything it said.

"Well, Ichigo and Rukia are home. I'd better leave. You'll be seeing me again very soon." Yoruichi said before leaping out the window without so much as a goodbye. Sure enough, the door opened only seconds to later to reveal Ichigo and Rukia, both looking annoyed.

"I'm telling ya, the damn thing is broke!" Ichigo complained, pointing furiously at Rukia's phone.

"Shut up! I heard you the first ten times. I told you I'll get it checked out tomorrow. Now let's get to bed, we have exams tomorrow." Rukia instructed, leaving the room to change.

"Stupid Rukia, stupid phone, stupid Soul Society." Ichigo mumbled. As routine, I placed my paw over my eyes as Ichigo changed. Since my eyes were already closed, I decided to try and find the warmth Yoruichi had mentioned. I concentrated as hard as I could, but could only barely see a white light.

"Oi, Kai!" I snapped back into reality at the sound of Ichigo's voice. I glanced at him curiously.

"You kind of looked like you'd fallen asleep sitting up." Ichigo stated. Rukia entered the room as soon as he finished his state, walking over to give me a scratch behind the ear.

"Goodnight Kai, goodnight Ichigo." She said as she made her way towards her closet.

"What about me Onee-san!?" Kon shouted, tears streaming down his face. She frowned slightly.

"And goodnight Kon." Rukia stated flatly before shutting the door to the closet.

I watched as Kon lied down on my makeshift bed while Ichigo slipped into his. I glanced over at the bed with Kon, and then at the closet.

'I might as well.' I thought, and nudged open the closet door.

"Kai? What are you doing?" Rukia questioned. Without wasting any time, I jumped inside the closet, nudging the door shut behind me. I felt Rukia watch me as I lied down next to her, placing my head on her arm, using it as a pillow. For a second, her expression was mildly surprised, but it quickly changed to a warm smile.

For some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen soon, and until then, I wanted to spend all of my time as close as possible to Rukia. I sighed contently as her hand stroked the top of my head. I could feel her hand slowly slow down as she fell asleep.

I prayed for the first time in a long time that night.

'Please, don't take this away from me.'

That's the end of Chapter 4! I'd really appreciate reviews!