Hey peoples. Whatz up?

I want to thank all of you who have reviewed:

daydreamer1008

Alice no Kurou

cazcappy

And everyone else ;)

I know I may be repeating myself, but reading each review just makes me feel really happy XD I hope you guys will like this next chapter. Enjoy.


Chapter 11

Send in the New Star

(? POV)

"RUKIA!" I called out to the shorter girl in front of him. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

"ICHIGO, STAY OUT OF THIS," Rukia yelled back at him, not moving from where she stood.

Before me were two Soul Reapers, they had been ordered to take Rukia Kuchiki back to Soul Society. I glanced to my left and saw Ishida laying on the ground not far from Rukia. He had gotten to Rukia before me, but he got hurt and was now unconscious. I looked back at the Soul Reapers. One of them had wild, red hair that was pulled into a ponytail. He had sunglasses and tribal tattoos all over his body. The other had long black hair and a white haori over his black kimono. Rukia had been 'attacked' by them and was supposedly deemed guilty for some crime that she had committed. Had I not got there in time, she may have been gravely injured. The red-head, the so-called Renji, charged at me with his Zanpakutō. I clutched my own, getting ready for the attack.

"Roar, Zabimaru!" Renji called out, extending his hand across his blade. "You think that blade is enough to take me out!"

He swung his sword at me, so I brought my blade up in defense. The two blades hit each other, sending sparks and the sound of clashing metal into the air. Dammit. He's much stronger now. I was sent back several yards, blood poured from the new wound on my shoulder. Sweat beaded down the side of my face. I wiped it away. I looked at Renji and saw him smirking like a mad-man.

"Come on. Is that the best you can do? Call out your Zanpakutō!"

"What? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't tell me that you're wielding a Zanpakutō and not know its name! You really are stupid," he growled.

He charged at me again. I brought up my sword to block him. Suddenly, his blade extended beyond its previous reach. My block was not enough. Blood gushed out of my shoulder as Renji brought his blade back to its original length. What the hell...just...happened? I fell to my knees, clutching my shoulder to stop the bleeding.

"Surprised you, huh?" he grinned, then frowned. "Man, you are so dead. Just give up already."

"Ichigo!" I heard Rukia yell at me, she sounded frantic.

I glanced up as the Soul Reaper was about to deliver the final blow. No. I'm not done. I gritted my teeth. Out of my anger, my spirit pressure exploded, sending choking waves at my enemies. I saw Renji stop and put his hand up to his mouth. Now was my time to smirk.

"No...I'm not done yet," determination shimmered in my eyes.

"Impossible! How could you still be standing..." he spat at me.

I charged at him, swinging my sword at him. He jumped out of the way, just by a narrow shot. I grinned and charged again. We kept this up for several minutes, each delivering and dodging blows. Despite my injuries, I still had enough will power to try and save Rukia.

"D-Dammit," Renji landed on the ground not far from me.

My spirit energy must be getting to him, since he could barely move. I jumped up and swung my blade down upon him. There was a flash. I landed on the ground and stared in disbelief. W-What? How could he? My sword was cut down to the stump. Something flashed in the corner of my eye. Looking over my shoulder, I saw the other Soul Reaper still standing by Rukia. There is no way he could've moved that fast. I looked at his hand. My eyes widened when I saw my blade in his hand. Impossible. Blood poured from my uninjured shoulder. I clutched it, grimacing. I felt both anger and shock at what was happening. There was another flash, and he appeared behind me. W-What? Blood gushed out of my chest. I fell to the ground.

"Ichigo!" I heard Rukia scream. "Nooo!"

"It is no use," I could barely hear the dark-haired man. "We must leave now."

I heard them start to leave. I reached out and grabbed the man closest to me. He looked down in disgust.

"Hell...no," I smirked faintly. "I'm not ready to give up."

His eyes flashed. Bringing out his sword, I knew what he was about to do. Suddenly, Rukia's foot kicked my hand away from the man.

"Damn, you," she didn't look at me. "How dare you touch my brother. You have no right."

Wait. Why is she suddenly acting different. I just tried to save her and now she's throwing me away like this. I was getting confused at all of this.

"Brother...I am sorry. I have finally realized this," Rukia turned her back to me. "Let us go. I am ready to face my punishment."

"R-Rukia."

"Shut up. Don't you...don't you ever...come after me again. If you do...I'll never forgive you. Just," she looked at me, her eyes brimming with tears. "Please stay and live...just a little longer."

I was in absolute shock. Rukia closed her eyes and turned to walk away. The other two Soul Reapers moved ahead and opened a 'gateway' to this Soul Society. I tried to move but failed. My body was too weak. R-Ruk-i-a. My vision started fading as the gateway began closing. Before I blacked out, I could've sworn I saw Rukia look back at me. Her face was covered in guilt in sorrow.

(Jennifer's POV)

Alright...Where the hell is it? I looked around at the houses around me. I had been looking for this Kisuke for the past several days. There was no sign of Urahara's house anywhere, and I was getting pissed off. I was now in my cat form. In the previous evening, I had grown tired and decided to rest up before continuing my search. Walking along a roof-line, I occasionally glanced down at the streets for any sign of anyone familiar. No one. Sigh. I jumped over to another roof top and sat down. My dark fur bristled in the cool breeze. I continued scanning the houses. I jumped down onto the street below and walked on slowly. If I keep this up, I might actually lose a few pounds or so. Something caught my eye. Cocking my head to the side, I pounced onto the fence near me. I looked on and saw a small shop that said something like 'Urahara's Shop'. I sweat-dropped. Oh, God forbid me for being so blind. I sighed and jumped down on the other side.

"Well...at least I found it," I talked to myself.

I heard yelling inside and walked through the opened door. Hmmm. I wonder if they'll notice me? I looked inside one room and saw what looked like a young boy, about my age, freaking out from a taller guy that was under the covers. Okay...Wait. Is that? I sweat-dropped. Oh, brother. I had to walk in and see this?

"Aww. I see you're finally awake, Kurosaki," a man in clogs and a green-striped hat walked in behind me.

He walked past me and started talking to the boy, completely ignoring my presence. I waited until he was done talking before I stepped forward. When he was done, he walked out and closed the door. Unfortunately, he turned in my direction and almost stepped on me. I nearly screeched when he nearly stepped on my tail. Damn that human. The man glanced down at me. I glared back at him.

"Yoruichi!" he smiled.

I hissed. Oh, he did not just call me that. The old man looked confused. I think I hit a chord.

"What? How the hell can I be Yoruichi!" the hairs on my back spiked up. "One, I'm not Yoruichi. Two, HOW THE HELL CAN I LOOK LIKE YORUICHI WHEN MY FUR IS BLACKISH-BLUE AND NOT CHARCOAL-BLACK?"

He scratched his head, as if trying to comprehend what I just said. His eyes suddenly glimmered with joy.

"Awwww, Jennifer!" he squealed, causing a irk-mark to appear on my head. "I'm so happy to see you. When did you get here?"

I scratched at him when he tried to pick me up. I jumped onto the farthest bookshelf to get off the ground and sat down. He walked up to me and leaned in for a closer look. I hissed again, receiving a chuckle in return.

"My, my. You're just as how Yoruichi described you as," he brought out a fan and started fanning himself.

"First off...are you Urahara?"

"Yes, yes. I've actually been waiting for you, Jennifer," he continued smiling.

"Good," my eyes narrowed. "Now I can get some decent rest."

I jumped down and walked to the front room. Urahara followed me, careful to not step on me. When we got to the room, he walked off and came back with some sushi. Damn, him, I growled to myself. After eating my fill of the sushi, I looked up at Kisuke. He seemed to waiting for someone.

"Kisuke!" the orange-haired kid, Ichigo, walked out with some proper clothes on. "I'm heading out."

"Very well. Remember, we have only ten days," Urahara waved.

I watched on until the boy disappeared from my view. I grinned and walked into the front room.

"So...Jennifer. What brings you here to Karakura Town?"

"Shouldn't you know," I closed my eyes. "Haven't you heard from Yoruichi?"

"As a matter of fact, I did. She came by just yesterday."

My ears perked up. What she's here, I sighed. Well...at least I know that she made it past through alright. Then a question hit me.

"Then if she's here, where is she?"

"Hmm. I think she's out and about," again Urahara brought out his fan. "She should be back in a little bit. I believe that she's been looking for you."

"Good. Then I'll wait for her," I got up and walked past Urahara. "Oh, and I'll be right back. Let me know when she's back."

I heard him chuckle. And don't think about following me. Pervert. I walked into one of the unused rooms and managed to close the door. Seeing as no one was around, I transformed back into my true form. My Zanpakutō appeared, so I put her down in one of the corners. I grimaced as I looked at myself. Unfortunately, I had no clothes. Of course, I had to lose my clothes to those fucking Hollows. 'At least no one saw you, especially a pervert,' Kurakeshinmaru replied to my thought. I had lost my outfit when a couple of lesser Hollows attacked me the day I arrived in Karakura, so I had to toss them out and walk around as a cat. I looked around and found a gigai next to a dresser. I guess Yoruichi told him to ready my gigai. How sweet. I got into the gigai quickly. Opening a dresser drawer, I pulled out a pair of black jeans and a red tank top. Getting those on, I found a pair of sneakers and put them on my feet. There. Now I can walk around with some clothes on my back. After getting dressed, I walked back out into the 'living room' and sat down on a chair.

"So. When did you get here, Jennifer?"

"A few days ago," my eyebrows furrowed. "I had been looking for your house, if you are to ask."

"Hmm. I see. Well, seeing as we are all here I might as well let you in on what has been going on lately."

"Oh, please do," I cocked my head.

So, with that, Urahara explained to me the events within the last few months. He told me about a certain Soul Reaper, Rukia Kuchiki, had given her powers to the boy Ichigo Kurosaki. After that, he was responsible with taking care of the Hollows in Rukia's place. Unfortunately, the Soul Society found out about this and sent out some men to retrieve her. When he said that she was taken just last night, my eyes narrowed. Yeah, yeah. I already know the whole story.

"And so you took Kurosaki after they left and brought him back here?"

"Yes. He was quite the fighter if you ask me," he fanned himself. "Very interesting indeed."

"Right. Now that you've told me all of this," I scratched my neck, remembering Yoruichi's instructions for the sword that I received. "Would you mind explaining to me about something?"

I walked into the room that my sword was in and came back out. I handed Urahara the sword. He seemed nerved by it when he reached for it but shrugged it off. He unsheathed the blade

"Hmmm. Yes, I do know for certain that this is a Zanpakutō," he said as he inspected the blade.

"Yeah, I already know about that," I crossed my arms. "But I'm talking about how the hell I'm supposed to use it."

"Hmm?" Kisuke raised an eyebrow at me. "Didn't you use it before? Yoruichi told me..."

"Yeah, I know that Yoruichi probably told you that," I interrupted him. "But that is all but a blur, okay. I was only using it out of instinct, but I don't know how to actually wield a sword. Yoruichi never taught as it only appeared only recently."

"I see," he appeared to be in thought. "Very well. Since you don't know how to use a Zanpakutō and Ichigo has to recover his spirit energy, I'll have the two of you train together. It'll make the training go by faster and be much easier."

He handed back my Zanpakutō. I nodded and took the sword back into my room. Even though it wasn't exactly my room, no one else used it. So why not? After putting Kurakeshinmaru in a corner, I stood there and stared out the window. I wonder...if how things are going on here. I heard someone open the slide-door, more like push past the small opening. A irk-mark appeared on my head out of annoyance.

"Urahara," I hissed, thinking it was Mr. Hat-and-Clogs. "If you even got the slightest peek at me, I swear..."

"Oh, cool it, kiddo. It's just me."

Instantly recognizing the voice, I turned around. At the doorway, Yoruichi sat on the floor in her cat form. A smile replaced the irk-mark.

"Yoruichi, you made it," I walked up to her and kneeled down.

"Of course I made it," Yoruichi looked up at me with her yellow eyes. "But my question is, why didn't you get here before me."

I had a feeling that she might've asked me that sooner or later. I sighed and started explaining myself.

"Y-Yeah," I scratched the back of my head. "I kind of ran into some trouble along the way. Not to mention I forgot the directions you gave to get here."

"You are such a fool," she shook her head. "At least you got here in one piece."

Yoruichi got up and started walking out the door. She stopped and glanced back at me. I gave her a nervous grin.

"Have you asked Urahara about the sword?"

"Yeah," I stood up. "He said that he'll have me train alongside this Ichigo-character for the next ten days. I should start by tomorrow at the earliest."

"Very well. Until then, you may go for a walk, but be sure to find your way back before sunset."

I nodded and followed Yoruichi. Funny though, as soon as we walked into the front room, Yoruichi and Urahara got into one their little 'cat fights' as Yoruichi called it. Instantly, I walked off and went outside. The air was fresh and warm. I smiled and started jogging in some direction.

(Ichigo's POV)

I can't believe it. Everyone has totally forgotten who Rukia is. It's like as if she really disappeared from this world. Is this what it was like when she left Soul Society. I gathered my books and waited for my teacher to let the class out. It was the last day of school. I about to leave the classroom when Keigo stopped me and started blabbering his usual nonsense.

"Sooo, Ichigo," he danced around me, causing me to twitch. "What are you doing for the Summer. I'm going to the beach. Do you want to join me?"

"Sorry, Keigo, but I've got plans with my family," I casually walked past him. "We're going away for the Summer."

"WHAT? You're leaving without me? HOW COULD YOU?" he started crying like crazy.

"Oh, put a sock in it, Keigo!" my other classmate, Tatsuki kicked him in the ass. "You know quite well that not everyone's going to be available this year, so suck it up."

I left the classroom, leaving the two of them to fight it out. It was true that I was going to be busy this Summer, but I wasn't leaving with my family. I was going to train with Urahara and leave to go save Rukia. There was no way in hell I was going to just let her die, not because of me. It was my fault that she going to be executed. If I hadn't met her, none of this would've happened. I stopped walking when I got to the sidewalk. Yeah, none of this would've happened. I sighed.

"Ichigo!" I heard Orihime behind me.

"Oh, Orihime," I turned to face her. "What is it?"

"Don't lie to me, Ichigo. Where is Rukia? Why has everyone suddenly forgot about her?"

I sighed and motioned for her to sit down. I explained everything to her. I told her how Rukia and I met, how I became a Soul Reaper, and everything else that led up to Rukia's capture the night before. When I was done, I saw that Orihime had a sad look on her face.

"Oh...I see. Well...," she looked at me. "Aren't you going to do something about it? I mean...she's our friend. She can't die."

It was then that a got a nerve struck. My face hardened and I thought over what Orihime said. Yeah, Rukia is our friend. She's everyone's friend. I can't just sit around and let this happen. I got up and turned to face the busty girl. I smiled.

"Thanks, Orihime. I've finally realized what I need to do. Thanks."

I took off and headed towards my house. Just hang in there, Rukia. I swear. I'll come to save you. When I did get to my house, I looked up and saw someone on the roof. The person looked almost like Rukia but with white hair. What the hell?

(Jennifer's POV)

Oh, yeah. I found the best view in the neighborhood. I was sitting down on top of a house, watching the sunset. I knew that Yoruichi told me to be back before sunset, but I can't help but stop and watch them. It was really beautiful. It was like just watching it brought back memories, even though it hard to recall what exactly they were. I leaned over and hugged my knees. Everything seemed perfectly normal. I didn't even care if anyone saw me sitting on someone's rooftop.

"H-HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING ON MY HOUSE?" a voice suddenly broke my concentration.

"WAAAA," the voice shocked me and I fell off the roof.

I landed face-first into the ground. Groaning, I looked up with one eye. My eyes suddenly widened. It was Ichigo. He seemed to be scowling at me. Must be pissed off.

"Who the hell are you and why were you sitting on my roof?" he sounded a bit calmer, but still had that stern tone.

"Hmph," I got up and started brushing the dirt off my clothes. "If you must ask, I was only enjoying the sunset. Got a problem with that?"

"You didn't answer my question."

He walked right up to me and got right in my face. A bit too close for comfort. I growled at him and raised my hand. Within a minute, the orange-haired kid had a few scratch marks on his cheek. Yes, I do have sharp fingernails, but they're not too long. I smirked at the shocked look on his face.

"Get that close again, and I'll give you some more scars, punk."

The shocked look turned into a scowl. He obviously didn't like the fact that I just scratched him.

"Why the hell did you scratch me?"

"Like I said, don't get that close to me," my eyes narrowed at him. "I do have a personal bubble, you idiot."

He rubbed his face, but still glared at me. God! He's such an ass. Even though he was much taller than me, I was still able to kick his ass, and pretty sure he knew it too. The guy walked past me, but stopped right behind me.

"You still didn't answer my question from before. Now, who are you, kid?"

"The name's Jennifer. Jennifer Starr," I glared at him from the corner of my eye, trying to suppress the urge to kill him for calling me a kid.

"Hmph. Jennifer, huh? Well my name's Ichigo Kurosaki."

"I take it you're the one who wants to save that Soul Reaper girl...Rukia Kuchiki."

"Y-You...How do you..."

"Urahara told me," I turned so that I was facing him sideways. "And for your information, buddy, you and I will be training with Urahara together."

"W-What?"

"Oh, cool it. You're not the only one with a Zanpakutō. Well, more like you still need to get one yourself, but still...I need the training as much as you, Carrot-head."

"H-HEY! DON'T ME CALL ME THAT!" Ichigo had irk-marks appearing all over his head.

"Okay, okay. Fine then, but I can still call you 'Strawberry'," I smirked at his reaction.

"You've got some guts to call me that, kid," his irk-marks started disappearing.

Now was my turn to have some irk-marks appear. He smirked when I started growling at him Oh, so you want to play it that way, huh?

"You call me 'Strawberry' and I call you 'kid'. You got a problem with that...kid," he patted my head, messing up my hair.

"Fine then," I growled, for some reason I had a feeling that a fight with him was not worth it.