This chapter is somewhat short, but considering that I usually upload twice a week it's not too bad.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

Chapter 13

"So you're going to be fine before the school year starts?" Ichigo asked, sitting next to the bed that Kira was resting in. Mika, Riku, and Shiro were also there, making the small room somewhat crowded. It was the following morning, and Ichigo had actually gotten a full night's rest – until Shiro woke him up by yanking Ichigo's mattress out from under him. Thanks to the argument that followed, Riku had woken up as well, despite having gotten in late the previous night because he'd been watching over Kira in the infirmary.

"Yeah," Kira answered, managing a small smile. "I have a concussion, but it's not as bad as they thought it was. Some healers from the Fourth Division visited, and they said I'll be fine by Friday."

"That's good," Riku commented, grinning at his sister. Mika made a noise of agreement. "By the way, Ichigo, you never really told me what happened yesterday."

Ichigo shifted uncomfortably, and even Shiro's expression darkened slightly. Kira watched him, eyebrows drawing together. She couldn't remember much from last night either, and if Mika recalled anything she wasn't sharing.

"It's a long story," Ichigo said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Nothing you guys need to worry about."

"Considering that my sisters got hurt," Riku pointed out flatly, "I'd say it's something I need to worry about."

Ichigo was well aware that Riku was frustrated at not having been there to help his sisters when they needed him. While he was grateful to Ichigo, he still felt the tiniest thread of suspicion.

For a few seconds, Ichigo debated whether to tell his new friends – because they were undoubtedly friends now – about what had really happened the previous night. However, he could feel Shiro giving him a warning look. There were some secrets that Ichigo was going to have to keep.

"I followed Kira," Ichigo said with a shrug, improvising a lie mixed with half-truths. "When I found her, she was fighting with three bullies, and her sister was hurt. I stepped in, and I got the bullies out of there pretty quick. Shiro helped too."

The vagueness of the explanation only made Kira, Mika, and Riku more suspicious, but they could tell that it wasn't something Ichigo particularly felt like discussing.

"I have to go," Ichigo said awkwardly. "My family is probably wondering where I am; I was supposed to visit them earlier."

"See you tomorrow?" Kira asked hopefully. Ichigo glanced back at her and shrugged.

"Probably."

Kira watched her new friend walk out, the slightest of frowns present on her face. She knew Ichigo wasn't a bad guy; he'd defended her and her sister from those three bullies without question, and hadn't done anything to hurt her. Even Shiro had been helpful, supporting Mika on the way over.

That was the only part that Kira remembered. Walking through an empty courtyard as night fell, her arm around Ichigo's shoulder while he led her to the infirmary. She remembered how strong Ichigo had felt, remembered how his muscles had been rock hard under his skin. That confused her. She could understand being thin and lean from growing up in the Rukongai, but Ichigo had taken that to a whole other level. Even Riku wasn't that muscular, and he'd taken every opportunity growing up to get stronger so that he could protect his younger sisters.

As far as Kira knew, Ichigo didn't have any siblings, but he wasn't exactly forthcoming with information on his family. Maybe Kira could ask him when she was more comfortable with him.

"Hey, Riku?"

"What is it, Kira?"

"What do you think of Ichigo and Shiro?"

Kira's brother paused to think. He'd always been straightforward, and wasn't a fan of lying or embellishing the truth.

"They don't seem like bad guys. And they definitely act like brothers."

"And?" Kira could hear the hesitancy in her brother's tone. Riku sighed.

"There's something about them that seems off. I can't place it, but there's something there that makes me feel weird. There's just no word for the feeling."

Kira nodded in understanding.

"I got that feeling too."

"I did too," a small voice said. Kira looked at Mika in surprise. Usually, she didn't speak unless it was absolutely necessary or if she was in trouble.

"Was Shiro mean to you?" Riku questioned seriously, kneeling down in front of Mika. He'd always been extremely protective of her, even more so than Kira, something most people wouldn't think possible.

Mika shook her head mutely, but Riku didn't seem satisfied. Sighing, he leaned back on his heels and rubbed one eye.

"Not to sound ungrateful for what those guys did for you," Riku said to me, "but I can't say that I'm a huge fan. That Shiro guy . . . Last night, I didn't even see him sleep. When he caught me looking, he just smiled at me."

"That doesn't really seem like a ridiculous reaction," Kira pointed out.

"Trust me, it's worse than it sounds," Riku insisted. "There's something wrong with that guy."

"Maybe that's why Ichigo insists on always being near him," Kira mused. "Ichigo probably knows that Shiro creeps out people, and hangs out with him to make sure he doesn't try anything."

"Shiro isn't like that."

"Mika, what are you talking about?" Riku asked, frowning at his little sister.

"Shiro isn't like that," the little dark-haired girl repeated stubbornly. No matter how much prodding Kira or Riku did, however, she refused to say anything else or even explain what she meant.

After giving her sister a worried glance, Kira turned back to her brother, shifting slightly in the comfortable bed the infirmary had provided.

"I don't think you need to worry, Riku. Ichigo seems like a nice guy, and Shiro . . . well, as long as Ichigo's around, I don't think you need to worry about him either. They helped me, remember?"

Riku wasn't reassured by his sister's smile, but he figured that he would come to his own conclusions. He was rooming with Ichigo and Shiro after all. If there was something wrong with the two, Riku was probably going to be the first to find out.

"God, why do I keep sneezing?" Ichigo complained, frowning after having sneezed for the second time in two minutes. He and Shiro were walking out of the Seireitei, beginning the long walk to the Shiba house.

"Why would I know?"

"I was just posing the question to the universe."

"The universe doesn't care."

"You're in a great mood."

"Better than yours."

"I think that's pretty debatable at this point."

Ichigo wasn't missing how Shiro's answers were getting shorter. Something was bothering the hollow, and Ichigo could feel it, and not in an empathy sense; he could feel the worry that Shiro was feeling, almost like Ichigo was the one worrying, but the feeling was slightly too foreign for that.

"Hey, Shiro?"

"What?"

"When you 'balanced' our Reiatsu, what exactly did you do?"

"I've already told you that I don't know. It was on instinct, so stop asking, King."

"But I can tell that you've been thinking about it," Ichigo pressed, long since having given up on getting his inner hollow to stop calling him King. "It has something to do with why you were so friendly with Mika, right?"

"Don't bring that up!"

"That's a yes. I've been thinking about it too, and I think I've got an answer."

"Congratulations," Shiro spat, scowling. Ichigo continued, not caring how annoyed his hollow was getting, even though Ichigo could feel himself getting annoyed in turn.

"When you 'balanced' everything, your eye changed. So did mine; it's like they switched. So you got the 'piece' of me that you usually have from being a part of my soul, while I got the 'piece' of you that I usually got from you being in my soul. That's why the Reiatsu balanced out."

"So?"

"But that transferred more than Reiryoku and Reiatsu. I got the piece of you; you got the piece of me. On top of whatever the Hōgyoku did to you, you're also part me, if that makes sense."

"But that means that you're part me. And for the record that's not that hard to figure out."

Despite how irritated Shiro's tone was, the hollow was at least slightly interested in what Ichigo was saying.

"Which means," Ichigo continued, "that I'm acting more like you, and you're acting more like me."

"That's just stupid."

"Really? Because it makes sense. What I did last night-" Ichigo paused to take a breath and clenched his hands into fists before forcibly relaxing them – "What I did last night was impulsive, stupid, and cruel." This time, Ichigo stopped walking altogether, his visible eye closing. "I can still hear them screaming."

Shiro smirked.

"You enjoyed it."

"No!" Ichigo snapped, fury crossing his face. "There's no way I would ever enjoy doing something like that!"

"But you did. I could feel it, King, or are you forgetting that? You enjoyed every second, and you want to do it again."

"That's not true! I would never do something like that twice, no matter what." The last three words were delivered coldly, as if Ichigo was almost daring the universe to try and come up with a situation where Ichigo would go back on what he said. Luckily, the universe didn't seem to be paying attention.

Shiro just grinned, communicating more in that simple expression than he could have in any number of words.

Ichigo took a deep breath, forcing down the frustration that had built within him during the conversation. He refused to believe what Shiro was saying; no matter what, Ichigo was not the kind of person who would happily hurt others simply for the rush that it gave him. His hollow, on the other hand, most definitely would.

And now I'm acting more like my hollow.

Ichigo scowled even more than he had been, ignoring a snicker from Shiro, and began walking towards the Shiba house again.

I just have to be more careful, keep my temper in check. If I pay attention, I should be able to control myself until Renji, Rukia, and the others can figure out a way to fix Shiro and I. And it would be best if I didn't tell anyone; Rukia would just worry, and I'd lose my bet with Renji 'cause they'd probably pull me out of the Academy. As far as anyone else knows, Shiro and I just have really unstable Reiatsu right now.

Feeling slightly more confident, Ichigo's stride lengthened and the dark cloud that had been hanging over him lifted slightly, though it was still more than enough to deter anyone in the Rukongai from messing with the orange-haired Shinigami.

"Why the HELL did it take you so long to get here?! And where's your escort?!"

"Kūkaku, I can explain!"

"No, you can't."

"Shut up, Shiro!"

"I want an explanation, Kurosaki!"

"Uh – there was an, um, old lady . . .? And, um, she needed help crossing the – OW!"

Ichigo fell to the floor, clutching his head. Kūkaku shook out her good fist, glaring at the boy in front of her.

"If you're going to have an excuse," she growled, "at least make it believable!"

"Noted," Ichigo groaned as he struggled into a sitting position. The leader of the Shiba clan's punches were formidable, even with Ichigo's natural resiliency. Shiro was still standing by the door, unwilling to get any closer to Kūkaku. Even the hollow was smart enough to avoid a fight that he couldn't win.

Renji and Rukia were sitting on either side of Ichigo, both trying to smother their laughter and doing a terrible job. Kūkaku glared at Ichigo, but her expression abruptly softened.

"So what do you think of the academy?" She asked, apparently willing to let Ichigo's lack of escort slide just this once, despite head captain Yamamoto's orders.

"The school program hasn't really started yet – " Ichigo started, but he was forced to stop in order to prevent himself from getting hit by another punch from Kūkaku.

"Dumbass! I already know that! That's not what I'm asking!"

"Okay, okay! It's, um . . . it's . . . weird."

"You get to attend the Shin'ō Academy," Rukia asked, "and the only thing you can call it is 'weird'?"

"To be fair," Ichigo snapped, "I'm attending it only because of a stupid bet!"

"That you're going to lose," Renji snickered.

"I am not!"

"You are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

Both were silenced when they realized that Kūkaku was giving them a dark look. Somehow, Kūkaku managed to be even more intimidating than Captain Unohana; Ichigo guessed that it was because the head of the Shiba clan was perfectly willing to beat the crap out of anyone that crossed her, while Unohana made silent promises of what was to come. Actually, Ichigo amended, both of them are terrifying.

"Ichigo, have you met anyone yet?" Kūkaku asked. Ichigo reddened.

"What do you mean by that?"

"She means have you made friends," Rukia said sarcastically, giving Ichigo a sideways look. "With that scowl on your face, however, I'll be surprised if anyone wanted to be in the same room as you."

"That's harsh," Ichigo muttered. "And, as a matter of fact, I did make friends."

He tried to ignore the exaggerated double take that Renji and Rukia did. Kūkaku, on the other hand, was smiling proudly.

"I knew it!" She declared, putting Ichigo in a headlock before he could avoid it. "The Shiba clan has always been great at making friends in new situations, and you're practically adopted at this point!"

"You're . . . choking . . . me . . ."

Kūkaku let Ichigo out of the hold, and the boy started coughing, trying to recover.

"So, what're their names?" Rukia asked. "Are they related to anyone we know? Are they in a noble family?"

Ichigo shook his head, recovering his breath. "No. They're from the Rukongai."

"Are they strong?" Renji queried, a spark of interest in his voice. Rolling his eyes, Ichigo shook his head again.

"As far as I can tell, the oldest brother, Riku, is the strongest. Next is Kira, the middle sister, and then there's Mika. She's the youngest sister, and she doesn't seem strong at all. Of course, Kira's in the infirmary right now with a bad concussion."

"But they're all strong enough to qualify for the academy," Rukia pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess. Kira's got really weird hair color, too."

Renji snorted. "You're one to talk. If I didn't know you, I'd think that your head was on fire."

"Shut up!"

"Well, it's true!"

"Ichigo," Kūkaku suddenly said, interrupting the argument before it escalated. "I heard rumors that three academy students were severely injured last night. They admitted to attacking a younger student." Ichigo went pale. "Her name was Mika."

"Uh, yeah. I wasn't there –"

"You just said," Kūkaku continued, "that Mika isn't the strongest of the three, and her sister was also injured badly. Her brother hadn't been there at the time."

It didn't seem possible, but Ichigo's face went even whiter. In the background, Shiro snickered, a fact that no one in the room missed.

"You're in trouble now, King."

"Now would be a great time to keep your mouth shut, Shiro," Ichigo growled.

"Well, Ichigo?" Kūkaku prodded. "What's your explanation?"

Ichigo glanced between the concerned looks of Rukia, Renji, and Kūkaku and sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Okay, before you guys freak out on me, I had a reason."

"For the record," Renji interrupted, "getting kicked out of the Shin'ō Academy counts as losing the bet."

"I guessed that much. Anyway, Kira had asked me to meet her somewhere yesterday morning, so Shiro and I went. When Mika didn't show up, Kira got nervous and ran off. I followed, and found her in an alleyway. There were three bullies there, and they were hurting both Kira and her sister." Ichigo's voice became even angrier. "If I hadn't shown up, I can guess what they would've done to them. I took the guys to the infirmary afterwards and waited until Kira was awake to take her and her sister so that she didn't have to be seen."

There was an uncomfortable silence permeating the room, making Ichigo feel like he'd done something wrong. He knew that he'd taken the punishment to an extreme, but he hadn't been able to stop himself until it was too late.

But he hadn't permanently injured or killed anyone. Thanks to the healers in the Fourth Division, everyone would be back to full health before classes began.

Suddenly, Ichigo found Kūkaku holding out her fist, and it wasn't because she felt like punching Ichigo into next week. Somewhat hesitantly, Ichigo fist bumped her.

"Come on, Kurosaki," Kūkaku taunted. "I know you can do better than that."

She held out her fist again, and this time Ichigo hit it with more force. Kūkaku smiled.

"See? Not a problem for you."

"I – I don't understand. Aren't you angry at me?" Ichigo appealed to Renji and Rukia. "I mean, didn't I do something wrong?"

"Those jerks got what they deserved," Renji spat. "Preying on helpless girls . . . they should be expelled from the academy!"

"They will be," Rukia said with certainty. "No teacher there would allow that kind of behavior, even before official classes. Once those boys are released from the infirmary, they will not be welcome back at the school."

"What about me?" Ichigo asked, still concerned. "Since I – "

"Whoa, Ichigo," Renji cut in, a small grin on his face. "As far as we know, you weren't there, right? You weren't the one who attacked those boys so viciously. You just happened to find those girls and help them to the infirmary."

Understanding hit Ichigo, and a tide of relief swept over him.

"Thanks, Renji."

Instantly, the Shinigami scowled.

"Don't count on me doing you too many favors. I want to see you lose this bet, but I want you to at least start classes."

"Me too," Rukia added. "You're going to love the schedule we picked for you."

Ichigo snorted. "I'm sure. Speaking of which, I'm pretty sure that schedules came out today."

"They did," Kūkaku stated. "But you're staying for lunch dinner. Ganju said he wanted to try a special new recipe for both."

"Oh, uh, my captain said he wanted my help with some paperwork today," Renji stuttered, standing. "I need to go. Rukia, don't you have work to do as well?"

"Yes, I do. Thanks for reminding me, Renji."

"Traitors," Ichigo muttered as his friends abandoned him.

"Don't look so down. I'm still here."

"That doesn't help anything!"

"Screw you. I'm fantastic company."

"No, you're really not."

Shiro scowled and then began to sulk, something Ichigo hadn't been expecting. Who knew that hollows could sulk?

"Now, Ichigo," Kūkaku said, a malicious glint to her eyes, "you're going to teach Ganju a thing or two about fighting afterwards, right?"

Ichigo got the distinct impression that he didn't have a choice, and he braced himself for a difficult day ahead.

Quick shoutout to Krazyfanfiction1, Brayan Mariachi (earlier), and Mickeys Swaggmuffins (earlier), for reviewing multiple times! I would include "Guest" in that, but I have no idea if it's the same person or not . . . Kind of the point of the whole anonymous thing, I guess.

Anyway, this was more of a filler chapter than anything, but we did get a nice explanation on why Ichigo was slightly harsher than usual when it came to those two boys, and we got somewhere in explaining why Ichigo's inner hollow isn't really acting like Ichigo's inner hollow.

I've been stuck on chapter 17 for around two weeks now, but don't worry, I'm pushing past it. If I ever need to stop uploading for some reason, I'll find a way to let you guys know so that you don't feel abandoned.

-RoR

Coming up: Ichigo's first day of classes . . . plot twist with the schedule, and not-quite-eternal tag.

Please review.