"Ichigo!"

All he could feel was warmth.

"Kurosaki-kun, please wake up!"

"Inoue?"

"Ichigo."

"Chad."

"I think he's coming 'round."

"Renji. . ."

Ichigo struggled to open his eyes. The light only brought him pain, despite the warmth it cast onto his skin. It was both comforting and a nuisance.

"His wounds are fine now, Orihime," Uryu spoke. "You can lower your healing field."

"R-Right!"

The light faded, but so did the warmth. Ichigo groaned and forced his eyes open.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Ichigo," Kisuke teased, waving his trademark fan. "Well, not literally the World of the Living, but you're awake now, that's what I mean. You're back in the Soul Society now. At the Kuchiki manor."

Ichigo scowled at the shop-keeper. "How long have I been out?"

"A day or two, at most," Kisuke replied.

Ichigo looked around the room, taking in the sight of his friends. He smiled at Orihime. "Thanks for healing me, Inoue."

Her cheeks immediately turned rose in colour. "O-Oh, it's not a problem!"

"Your wounds were fairly deep," Uryu informed, leaning closer to Ichigo. "They seem healed, but there are still traces of that woman's spiritual pressure."

"The same thing happened to Rukia-san," Kisuke said, his grin gone and fan tucked away.

Ichigo felt each of his friends tense before their expressions grew heavy. He immediately sat up. "What happened to Rukia!? Is she still hurt?"

"No," Renji spoke, "but something is definitely wrong."

"Tell me, Renji!"

Renji turned his head towards the other side of the room. Ichigo followed his gaze. He noticed Rukia in the corner, hiding behind a blanket. She was trembling, her eyes locked on Ichigo.

"Rukia?"

She yelped and pulled the covers over her head.

"Rukia. . . it's me, Ichigo."

"I know who you are, b-baka!" She replied, then immediately started crying. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! You're a smart guy, Ichigo. Please don't hurt me!"

Ichigo slid out of his bed. "Rukia. . ."

She lowered the covers to see him approaching her. She screamed and sprung from her bed. Ichigo froze as Rukia cowered in the corner of the room.

Kisuke watched with mild curiosity as Ichigo approached Rukia. He stopped about a meter away and extended his hand. "Rukia, you're gonna be fine, I promise."

Rukia stared at him with wide-eyes. "Ichigo. . . I'm scared."

"Don't worry." Ichigo smiled and released a soft chuckle. "You know me and Renji wouldn't ever hurt you, right?"

Upon hearing his name, Renji moved closer. "Ichigo's right," he said.

Rukia sniffled and took Ichigo's hand. "Y-yeah, but. . . what about those bad guys out there?"

Ichigo grabbed Renji's wrist and pulled him towards Rukia. She flinched but didn't let go of Ichigo's hand. Ichigo placed Rukia's hand into Renji's and flashed them both a smile. "Don't fret, Rukia. Renji will protect you while the rest of us stop those bad guys. You don't have to be scared at all!"

Rukia giggled. "Yeah! Okay!"

Renji blushed as Ichigo slipped his hand out of Rukia's and left her and Renji holding hands. Rukia turned to Renji with worried eyes. Renji gave her a smile and a nod. "Right, Rukia, I'll stay with you."

Ichigo marched towards the exit, grabbing Urahara by the sleeve as he left. Uryu follow suit, leaving Chad and Orihime behind with Renji and Rukia.

"So, what's happening?" Ichigo questioned once they were out of Rukia's earshot.

Kisuke frowned, indicating that he was serious. "It would appear that Rukia has lost her nerve due to the effect of Seni's Zanpakuto."

"Seni?"

"Seni Hayami. The woman who attacked you."

"Oh." Ichigo frowned and leaned back against the wall, trying to ease his racing heart. He felt sticky and couldn't keep himself from fidgeting.

Uryu adjusted his glasses. "Yes, well, not only that, but she used her effect on you as well."

Ichigo felt his heart skip a beat. "You mean. . . I might end up like that, too?"

Uryu glanced at Kisuke. The shop-keeper shrugged. "You don't feel any different, do you?"

Ichigo shook his head.

"Rukia-chan felt sick before the transition happened. It happened rapidly, too. She started crying and telling us to back away. We did. This happened only an hour before you woke up. We were sure the same thing would happen to you, but, nothing seems to have changed yet."

Ichigo licked his bottom lip, chewing on it nervously. "Well, that at least explains why everyone seems so worried, but I'm fine! I swear. I'll let you know the instant something changes."

"That's good news," Kisuke said, "but we'd like to run some tests on the reiatsu she placed into your wound. Do you mind if I take a sample?"

Ichigo leaned away from Kisuke. "Is it going to hurt?"

"Nonsense! Of course not!"

Ichigo removed his Shihakusho and a yelp of pain later, Kisuke got his sample. Ichigo scowled at the man as Orihime quickly healed the small cut on his chest.

Renji had gotten Rukia to fall asleep. Kisuke was gentler with taking a sample from her, as to not wake her up, and then he left to go test them.

"It'll take a couple of hours," he hummed as he exited.

Ichigo chased after him. "Kisuke! Wait! Where are they keeping my-?"

"GOOOOOOD MORNING IIIIICHIGOOOO!"

Ichigo scowled and blocked his father with a foot to his face. "Never mind."

Kisuke chuckled and hopped off.

Isshin slapped Ichigo on the back. "Good to see you up and about my boy!"

"Shut it, goat face," Ichigo sighed. His eyes widened. "Wait! If you're here then who's protecting Karen and Yuzu!?"

Isshin dusted himself off from Ichigo's attack. He huffed and folded his arms. "Did you really think I'd leave them unattended? No! My old pal, Toshiro, volunteered to look after them!"

"Yeah, if by 'volunteered' you mean 'was forced to' then sure, Toshiro volunteered," Renji muttered. "He got permission from the Head Captain to go to the World of the Living with Lieutenant Matsumoto and guard your house. Captain Soi Fon has been investigating Jinsei and Hayami's whereabouts but nothing has turned up so far."

Ichigo sighed and slowly nodded. He returned to his bed, Chad, Orihime and Uryu sitting beside him. Renji sat in a chair next to Rukia while Isshin passed out in a third bed.


An hour later, Rukia and Ichigo sat on their beds and gazed out at the moon. Orihime and the others had returned to their own rooms down the hall. With a bit more snooping, Ichigo found out that he and Rukia were given a special room in the Kuchiki manor where Shinigami from Division Four could keep an eye on them, but still give them some privacy. They were under strict orders to keep them from leaving the manor until Kisuke's tests were finished and a cure could be found.

Besides, the only way Yamamoto was going to allow Ichigo, his father, and Ichigo's friends to stay within the Soul Society was to dump them on Byakuya and make him suffer.

"I've been thinking, Rukia."

"H-Huh?" She turned to him with a small jump.

Ichigo sighed and hugged a pillow to his chest. "Never mind."

Rukia huffed. "No, don't do that, I wanna know!"

Ichigo raised a brow and turned to face her. "You sure?"

She nodded. "I feel a bit braver now. I think I can handle it."

Ichigo returned his gaze to the window. "Her Zanpakuto's effect must be wearing off."

"I hope so," Rukia muttered. She fidgeted slightly before mumbling, "What were you gonna say?"

"Oh," Ichigo sighed. "I've just been wondering. . . how come I'm on beck-and-call whenever the Soul Society needs me?"

Rukia blinked. "I dunno."

Ichigo laid back on the bed with a huff. "I have to drop everything whenever the Soul Society needs my help. As a result, my grades suffer, my family misses me, and I just. . . it's exhausting work! Sure they gave me my powers back as thanks for stopping Aizen, but they still expect me to drop everything and slay Hollows. I'm starting to think the only reason they gave me my powers back is so that they don't have to worry about Hollows in my area, and so that they have a disposable pawn to throw at their current biggest threat."

Rukia shrunk down. "I'm sorry."

Ichigo rolled onto his side to face her. "O-Oh, Rukia, I didn't mean you. You're my friend. Of course, I'm going to protect you."

She smiled and relaxed a touch. "I know."

Ichigo snuggled into his pillow. "I think I'm just tired, Rukia. I'm going to get some sleep before my Dad wakes me up in the morning. Night."

"Yeah, he's scary," Rukia muttered, making Ichigo chuckle. "Good night, Ichigo."


All you hear is distant evil laughter from the author as the chapter comes to a complete close. . .