Chapter 21:

"No… Kenji…" Ichigo held Kenji's remains in his cupped hands.

If Orihime was quick, she could save him. She could bring Kenji back.

Out of danger, Orihime lowered her shield and moved forward. She started to heal Ichigo, but he told her to save Kenji instead. He begged her to bring him back. She tried to heal both of them at the same time.

No matter what she did, the dust in Ichigo's hands remained dust. Kenji was not coming back. She couldn't heal the Soul Candy.

Orihime slowly moved her shaking hands away, giving him a sad look. "I… I'm sorry, Ichigo… I…"

He understood. There were many reasons why her powers weren't working on him. It might have been because he was artificial; it might have been because she could not bring someone back from the dead. Maybe it was because he had been dead for too long or maybe it was because he was nothing but dust and she could only bring back a body. All he knew was that she could not bring Kenji back.

He was gone.

Ichigo bowed his head over his cupped hands, gritting his teeth.

He was proud of Kenji. Proud of his actions and what it signified. He was proud that Kenji learned and grew. When he first met him, Kenji understood so little but know he had grasped that basic understanding that had eluded him for so long.

He was glad. He was happy Kenji had learned. He was pleased to see him develop to such a level.

But it also made him sad. Ichigo was sorry to lose him. He wanted Kenji to live a little longer if he could. He would have thought of a way to convince the Soul Reapers to keep Kenji alive. Kenji's final actions proved that he wasn't an enemy. Just ignorant.

Kenji died saving Ichigo. He would never have done such a thing two days ago. He really was an ally and a friend.

Ichigo was not going to let his sacrifice be in vain.

He raised his head to glare at Miku.

Miku locked eyes with him and did not move. From the look on his face, Ichigo seemed to be trying to hurt Miku with his expression alone. Miku could feel Ichigo's rage. It was enough to root him to the spot, but not enough to keep him from speaking.

"What?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

Ichigo tried to stand but he couldn't. His upper body tipped forward and he held out an arm to catch himself. Some of Kenji's remains spilled onto the ground when he moved and Ichigo quickly stopped. He scooped the dust into a pile, trying to keep Kenji contained.

Even now, Ichigo was trying to protect him. Though Kenji was gone, Ichigo wanted to keep his remains safe.

Witnessing Ichigo's kindness made Miku lower his guard. Ichigo came across as a tough warrior, glaring at people and frowning most of the time as if he hated being where he was. Miku wasn't sure if that was a front he put on to protect himself from others or if that was just another aspect of his personality. He hadn't seen a whole lot of Ichigo's caring nature. Not in this way.

Ichigo said he cared about Yuzu. Shouted, actually. He fought for her with fists and a sword. That didn't exactly show his tender side. It only displayed more of the tough fighter persona Ichigo showed most often. He would yell and threaten and he would fight until he was covered in blood and long after that.

Now Miku could see Ichigo's tender side. Seeing him scoop up the remains of a dead ally, an artificial one, no less, made Ichigo look vulnerable. Not as an easy target to attack, but as someone with a heart.

Like Nikko.

Miku didn't want to take someone's sister away. When he saw how Ichigo behaved on a regular basis, he convinced himself that Ichigo was undeserving of a sister like Yuzu. Someone as kind and sensitive as Yuzu should have been with a brother with similar traits. Someone like Nikko. In a way, Miku justified his actions by claiming that he was taking the girl from a heartless brother and giving her to someone with more compassion who would show her love and care for her.

Now he saw that Ichigo was a sensitive person and was compassionate. He just didn't often show it.

But it was too late to turn back now. What was he supposed to do? Tell Nikko that everything they had fought for was all for nothing? That after all this, after finally finding him a replacement sister, they had to give her back?

He couldn't forsake one for another. To him, Nikko was deserving of a sister. He was finally starting to come around after he held Yuzu in his arms and remembered what it was like to hold a warm body to his chest. He couldn't tell Nikko he had to give her back. Not after all this. He couldn't do that to him. He had made a promise.

Besides, Ichigo had another sister. He had a father, too. Nikko was all alone. He had no one.

No. This plan would continue. Miku couldn't surrender now. He was doing the right thing.

Everything he did, he did for the sake of another. Someone whom he felt deserved it.

After seeing Ichigo's reaction to Kenji's death and after seeing him fight, seeing him never give up no matter how hard things became, Miku respected Ichigo more than he did before. In a way, Miku thought they were similar in a sense.

Miku came across as a psychopath. In truth, he wanted to. As long as he seemed dangerous, no one would want to get near him. No one would threaten him. Where he came from, the thugs always prayed on easy targets. They didn't want a challenge. Once Miku learned how to fight, life became easier for him. He was targeted less. However, there were still people who wanted to cause trouble. That was when he used his changeling abilities to stop them.

To some, pinning the blame on someone who did nothing was unfair, but Miku felt it was justified. The thugs had gotten away with so much that they needed to be put away for something. If they could be sneaky enough to evade the authorities, then Miku would be sneaky as well.

He learned how to get his way. He learned how to make things happen as he saw fit.

The thugs in his hometown were dangerous people, so he would get them locked up. Nikko needed a sister, so Miku would give him one.

Nikko wasn't like him. He didn't know how to fight. He never had to. His hardships were different. Instead of dealing with thugs in a rough town, he had to contend with being apart from someone he loved very much. Someone who loved him in return. Nikko's pain was different. His struggles were different. He needed help and no one would do anything.

Miku was not heartless. He cared about Nikko. He recognized that Nikko didn't deserve this kind of pain. When Miku learned how it all happened, he pinned the blame solely on the Soul Reapers. They could have helped Nikko but they didn't. Now he was alone.

He and Ichigo were just fighting for different things. They were similar, in a way. Neither of them were heartless people. They both had compassion. Neither would give up when it came to winning. They would do anything. They were both seen in a certain light by others. To a point, they did put on a front. At least, that's how Miku depicted him. Ichigo was loving and thoughtful, but he wouldn't show it openly. Miku felt he was in a similar way.

Despite their similarities, they were both very different. In fact, Miku had done something Ichigo would never have done, even if it was intended to help another.

Miku was a kidnapper.

If it meant success, he did not care. If it meant getting what he wanted, he didn't mind taking it from someone else.

Another way in which they were different was seen in the fact that Ichigo would never shoot through someone to reach an enemy, but Miku would.

And he did.

While she healed Ichigo, Orihime asked if anyone had a bottle Ichigo could use to hold Kenji in. Uryu reached for his belt, feeling around for something. He took a small flask off his belt, emptied it and handed it to Ichigo.

Afraid to move his hands, Ichigo remained perfectly still while Uryu brought to flask down to him. He held it steady while Ichigo carefully poured the dust into the flask. He gathered the fallen remains he piled up and poured them inside as well.

Ichigo knew a number of people gathered among them would criticize him for his actions, calling him foolish, but Ichigo just couldn't leave Kenji like this. He couldn't leave him on the ground and have him blown away by the wind. Ichigo didn't know what they could do for him. He doubted anyone would want to give Kenji a burial, but they could decide that later.

Right now, there were other things to consider. Other people to deal with.

Like Kenji's killer.

After Kenji was secured in the flask, Ichigo turned his attention back to Miku.

"You knew," Ichigo growled. "You did that on purpose."

Shaken from his thoughts, Miku blinked. "I didn't know he would throw himself in front of you like that," he answered honestly. "All this time, the guy kept going on and on about how he only cared about his own survival. I had no idea he would willingly sacrifice himself for you. I couldn't have predicted such a thing."

"I didn't mean that," Ichigo snarled at him. "After Kenji did that, you purposely fired at him. That's what I'm talking about!"

He saw him do it. He watched Miku fire that weapon directly at Kenji. He never stopped. He even kept pressing the button over and over again. He was aiming at Kenji.

"I saw you press that button!" Ichigo snapped. "I watched you do it! You had that weapon fire at him! You didn't bother to stop it. I know you were pressing that button to send more broken pieces his way. I saw the weapon speed up. I saw the look in your eyes! You killed him on purpose!"

"I thought he would get out of the way if I cranked it up a notch," Miku defended his actions. He couldn't explain away his action and he couldn't fool Ichigo's eyes. Miku knew Ichigo knew his true intentions.

"You tried to shoot through him to get to me!"

"I figured one of two things would happen. Either he would get out of the way to save his own skin or he would get cut to pieces and fall away, leaving you exposed," Miku confessed. "You're right. I did fire at him on purpose. Yes, I did try to kill him."

"Shooting through an ally," said Orihime. "That's cold. How could you do such a thing?"

Miku paused, thinking about how he would answer. "Kenji probably knew the answer himself. After he tried to protect Ichigo, he knew I never would trust him again. I had to do it."

"No, you didn't," she told him. "You didn't have to! He wasn't an enemy."

"Oh?" questioned Miku. "From my point of view, he betrayed me. The same way he did you. Remember? He got in my way when I tried to kill Ichigo, the same way he got in your way when he tried to stop you from saving the girl. Don't tell me after that you never thought he was an enemy. Don't pretend you didn't think he betrayed you. That you felt you could no longer trust him. That you weren't angry."

Ichigo admitted that Miku was right. He among many others felt that Kenji had betrayed them and could not be trusted.

"But he never lied," Ichigo said loud enough for Miku to hear without shouting. "Kenji never lied. I don't know if he could."

"It doesn't matter," Miku told him. "Whether Kenji could lie or not doesn't make him any less trustworthy. He could still tell the truth and you wouldn't have trusted him. Trust isn't always about lies, but about how well you can read a person."

"Or how well you know their actions," Uryu added. "While it is true that many of us did not trust Kenji, it was never based on lies. At least, not as far as I'm concerned. Every person here questioned whether or not Kenji could be a trusted ally and many felt he couldn't. Kenji just proved to us that he was always an ally. I don't think any of us saw him doing that. It was indeed a surprise."

"Is there a point to this?" Miku asked him.

"My point is that Kenji was a mystery and most of us felt that made him untrustworthy. Especially when it came to his lack of understanding certain things. Things that come so naturally to us," said Uryu. "You, on the other hand, are not a mystery. We can read you. We know what you'll do. We don't trust you because we can't read you. We don't trust you because we can. We know exactly what you're all about. You're willing to stab someone in the back and even shoot through an ally to win the battle. You're low."

"Am I?" Miku asked him, sounding surprised. "I never stabbed anyone in the back. Kenji believed I would not harm him so long as he served and he was right. When he protected Ichigo, he was not serving me. He did that on his own. Since he wasn't serving me anymore, and I knew he wouldn't after that, then I attacked him. That wasn't stabbing anybody in the back. He knew that was coming."

"You didn't have to do it!" Ichigo shouted at him.

"Don't tell me you never wanted to after he stopped you from achieving your goal," Miku threw back. "That you weren't angry enough to do it. That the thought never crossed your mind. That you never felt you needed to or should."

While that was true, Ichigo didn't want to admit it. After he had calmed down and took a look at Kenji's character, he realized Kenji wasn't fully conscious of his actions and how it would affect others, especially their feelings. Kenji did not think he was doing something wrong. To him, his actions made logical sense.

Miku, however, knew exactly what he was doing and did not care. He didn't care who he hurt or the effects it would have. He didn't care if he kidnapped an innocent girl and kept her from her family.

Which reminded Ichigo of something important.

"You said before that not everything on that list was meant for Yuzu," Ichigo reminded him. "That machine was meant for us, but what about the rest of the things? What are you planning to do to Yuzu?"

Miku glanced at the Soul Reapers, wondering if this was a trick. Ichigo might have been trying to distract him. That didn't seem to be the case. The Soul Reapers were all gathered together in front of him. If any of them moved, he would see them. There was nothing to hid behind. Besides, Ichigo seemed to be asking a genuine question. He really wanted to know.

"I suppose you do have a right to know," admitted Miku. "I gave you an explanation as to why I took your sister in the first place. As her biological brother, you should probably be included in this."

"So tell me."

Miku grinned slightly, as if he were proud of the answer he was about to give.

"I asked you to get those things for me from that lab because I didn't have enough to work with and those items would give me an edge. I knew you would come looking for her, so I rigged something up that would help me fight a large group of Soul Reapers. I also needed something to help give me a boast as well. Things to help me fight."

"And Yuzu. What about Yuzu?"

"Your sister looks similar to Nikko's, but not exactly. Only the body type and hair. The eye color and face are all wrong. Her voice. The other things were meant to help me remedy that. I always got high marks in school. I was good in science and chemistry. I know how to do things. I knew that knowledge would come in handy for this. I have lots of skills. I mean, who's better at knowing how to change a face than a changeling?"

"You wanted to give my sister plastic surgery?"

Miku nodded. "Yes. I wanted to change her face to look more like Nikko's sister's. I wanted to make her a perfect replica. But there are still issues, so I needed more. Some of those things you brought me I wanted to tweak so they could do a certain job for me."

"Which was?"

Miku chuckled. "Ichigo, you're a Soul Reaper. You should know this." He gestured to Nikko and then back to Ichigo. "Nikko is dead. He's a soul. That is what you call people like him, right? And those people with you. Those Soul Reapers. They all have one thing in common that poses a problem: They all age slowly. Think about it, Ichigo. Nikko's been the same age for years since his death. Meanwhile, you're aging like a normal living person. Yuzu is also a living person. Therefore, she's going to age quicker than Nikko is capable of. Do you see the problem? Nikko's new little sister is going to be older than him in a few years. Can't have that."

"Then those things you had me take and that other machine..?"

"I wanted to see if I could delay the aging process in her. I wanted to see if I could slow it down or stop it all together." Miku shrugged. "There's a much easier way to do that. I could make her like Nikko, but I'm not the kind of guy who would kill an innocent little girl."

"But you are willing to kidnap one from her family," Ichigo grumbled.

"True, but with good reason, like I said. I'm trying to help Nikko. I thought if I could slow her aging down, he'll be able to enjoy having a little sister again for a long time. He'll be happy. By changing her face, she'll look just like her. Nikko won't notice a difference. He'll look at her and see his sister. That's all he wants. He's been searching for so long and now, thanks to me, he's found her. Not the original, but why quibble? With a little tweaking, he won't be able to tell the difference."

"But what about Yuzu?" Ichigo asked him. "Have you thought about her? Forget me and my family missing her. What about Yuzu? What about her feelings? She never agreed to this. You really think she's going to be on board with you keeping her away from her real family to be a stranger's pretend sister? If you thought she was scared when you guys broke into my house and attacked, just think how freaked she'll be after she knows what you're planning."

Miku sighed. "Actually, I have thought of that," he said. "I had a feeling she'd resist. Even put up a fight. I had a couple of ideas on how to deal with that. I thought I could turn into you again and tell her everything was alright and that she was helping someone who needed it."

"Again?" Ichigo asked. "What do you mean again?"

"Oh." Miku smiled. "That's right. You didn't know. You weren't there at the time. I turned myself into you and your sister let me into your home. I wanted to make sure she'd work."

"You were in my house before?"

"And she never noticed a difference. She thought I was you. I'm a good actor, aren't I?"

That's when Ichigo figured it out. "That's how you knew what my mother looked like. You were in our house. You saw her picture."

"Yup. That photo album was caked in dust. You guys should really clean better." Miku's smile spread. "I can't blame you, though. I suppose I'd be unable to look at her photo after she was gone, too. But the look on your face when you saw me that time… That was priceless."

Ichigo snarled with hatred.

"How did you know where Ichigo lived?" Orihime asked. "Or who he was? And his family?"

Miku stopped giggling. "Huh? Oh, that was easy. In a way, Kenji and I were similar in that we both like to gather information. For me, it makes the performance much more convincing. I went to your school and tried to find out more about you. I learned your family name and all that stuff. Not too many people know that much about you other than how you are in school. I did learn that you had two little sisters. And about your family clinic."

"The clinic." Ichigo shut his eyes in horror. That was how Miku found them.

"Your name's on the freaking building, for crying out loud," Miku told him. "It wasn't that hard to find you. Once I learned what you looked like, I just turned myself into you and walked through the door. I met your sister, knew she was the one and left before you could come home. It wasn't time for me to make my move yet. I had to make sure."

"Make sure of what?"

"That's not important."

Ichigo opened his eyes to glare at Miku again. "Even if you did turn yourself into me to convince my sister to stay with Nikko, it wouldn't have worked."

Yuzu could not see Nikko. Even if Miku did turn into Ichigo and used his form to fool Yuzu, it didn't make up for the fact that she could not see or hear Nikko. Miku in Ichigo's form would basically be telling her to remain with an imaginary friend for the rest of her life. She would be able to feel Nikko, but being unable to see who was touching her would have frightened her.

Miku did not know this was what Ichigo was referring to. He thought he meant something else, which caused Miku to give out more information. Information that made Ichigo seethe with rage.

"Even if she didn't listen to me, which I suspected she wouldn't even if it was you telling her, I had a backup plan." Miku smiled again. "Several, in fact. Some of it was going to involve those chemicals. Some might have included some conditioning."

"What do you mean?" asked Uryu.

"Well, I figured if she was unwilling to participate, I'd force her to play the part. Even if it meant brainwashing her. If that didn't do it, then I planned on basically turning her into a living doll."

"What?"

Miku shrugged, arms in the air. "Those chemicals can make someone braindead if you use them right. I wanted to turn her into a vegetable if she was unwilling to cooperate. Keep her body alive, but make sure she stayed quiet."

Ichigo clawed at the ground, ready to get up in a one-man stampede to trampled Miku to death.

"Don't give me that look," Miku told him. "I said if. I have a number of other ideas. Bear with me, here."

"I don't want to bear with you! You are not touching Yuzu!"

"Well, I couldn't before. The mixture I cooked up wasn't ready. All I have to do now is inject her with a few things, pour some stuff down her throat. I'm not going to kill her. I did specify that she would be a living doll."

"You're sick!" Uryu snapped.

"How could you?" added Orihime. "Yuzu never did anything to anybody. She never hurt anyone. She doesn't deserve this."

"Like how Nikko never hurt anyone? How he doesn't deserve this?" Miku said, pointing. "All he wanted was to find his sister. He begged the Soul Reaper to let him look for her because she was scared and all alone and he had no idea if she was in pain or what happened to her. The Soul Reaper ignored him! Sent him here where he's utterly alone! Like that's fair?"

Miku was not going to back down. He didn't care what it took. In his mind, he was doing the right thing. It was justified. In a way, he was helping Nikko reunite with his sister and he was getting revenge on the Soul Reapers for him.

"You people never listen. If you had waited for him to find her, none of this would have happened." Miku chuckled again. "I'm practically Robin Hood. I'm taking from those who don't deserve it and giving to someone who needs it."

Uryu frowned. "That's a poor excuse. Besides, Robin Hood actually…"

"I don't need a history lesson here," Miku snapped at him.

Orihime was almost done treating Ichigo's legs. Soon, he would be able to walk again. As soon as he could move them, he was going to run Miku into the dirt. He wanted to tear his head off.

Miku grinned, pleased. "I can make my move now. The mixture has finally set. I can turn Yuzu into Nikko's sister. I just have to change her face. If she's unwilling to play the part, then she will become a living doll. I'll slow the aging process down. I'm sure I can do that. Then she'll last a long, long time. She'll be there for Nikko and he'll never be alone again. I won't have to see him so depressed anymore. And there's not a damn thing you can do about it!"

Miku started laughing.

"Look at you! You're on your last legs! You're beaten and bruised and who knows what else? Kenji did a number on you before he made a stupid move that got him killed. And you didn't take me seriously! Look! Look what a weak human can do to the big, bad Soul Reaper!"

With a sadistic grin on his face, Miku locked eyes with Ichigo.

"I don't care how much you love your sister. Nikko has been suffering a lot longer than you and he deserves to have his sister back. It's the Soul Reaper's fault. Unlike you people, I'm actually helping him. I do feel bad about taking her from her family, but I've come too far to turn back now. I'm sorry, Ichigo, but you can't have your sister back. She belongs to Nikko now. She's his! I'll just do some tweaking and she'll be perfect! I've succeeded! She belongs to-"

Miku suddenly stopped.

Moments before, there was a strange whooshing sound but no one had moved.

Blood started to ooze from Miku's mouth. His clothes turned red.

Ichigo blinked. Miku had been attacked, but he didn't see who did it.

Miku's jaw quivered, eyes fixed straight ahead. Ichigo saw the look of pain and betrayal on his face. The look of fear and confusion. He knew who his attacker was.

"How… could… you?" Miku asked weakly.

His body fell forward, revealing his attacker and the weapon that did him in.

A collection of sharp scythes attached to long tentacles. They waved slowly in the air, dripping with blood.

Attached to these tentacles was a doll.

Who saw this coming? Anyone?

Please review! ^-^