Title: Fated Souls

Rating: T

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo. Two respected mangaka! I do not own the characters in any way nor the story plot. Only the idea of this fanfiction!

MizukixTsukiyomi's Notes: Well, finally had the time to write this. I was pushing it back further since I thought most people wanted 'Dimensional Lovers' to be updated, but I wanted to get back into what I originally started from. Well, we finally get into the whole Soul Society arc of things! Renji versus Ichigo in this chapter (half of it) and not a lot of Kagome and Ichigo interactions but the next chapter is where the tears begin!

I also have a very important question...would you like me to write about Ichigo's training with Urahara here? Or skip over that? If you would like it...I can try to incorporate something, but so far, I have nothing. So I am leaning on skipping over it and simply having flashbacks with important conversations with Urahara.

So anyways, thank you all for reading! and the support! Hope you enjoy! Also...so awkward writing the restroom scene, but it had to be done...

Special Thanks To:

Neo-Crystal, starmienight, dragonlily22, MidnightReader1, stephanie, Nixie the Bloody Pixie, Infinities Lover, xXSaSuHiNaXx, Twilight, Joker2113, Anime hotty lover 18!

Thank you!

Chapter 37: Hopeless Hope

"Rukia-chan! Watch out!" Kagome pushed the petite Shinigami away from Renji's swing of his blade. Rukia flipped backwards, barely dodging the hit. Her eyes narrowed down in a glare, watching as Renji prepared his stance.

"The transfer of Shinigami abilities is a grave offense. The high ones were kind enough to entrust us with the execution instead of the police," Renji smirked, tightening his grip on the hilt of his Zanpakuto. "Now…which one of you two gave the human your Shinigami abilities? We want the human who captured you two and stole your powers."

Kagome's finger curled in slowing into a fist. "What for?"

"Ah?" Renji bent his knees, preparing for his next attack. "To kill him of course. Don't try to protect him." His eyes landed on the petite Shinigami. "You know, don't you? My sword strokes? You didn't fully dodge it…I simply let you, but this time, I will cut you."

From the corner of his eye, he quickly retreated back a few steps, watching an arrow made of blue light had aimed for his head. Renji quickly looked to his side, seeing the shadow of a person slowly walking towards the dispute.

"Two armed men against two defenseless girls…what is this world coming to?" Uryuu appeared holding his bow and a plastic bag in another hand. "That kind of thing…really makes me mad."

Renji glared at the unknown enemy: "Who are you!?"

"Just a classmate," the Quincy pushed in his glasses, "one that hates Shinigami."

Kagome blinked, even her and Rukia taken back by his sudden appearance. The miko took a step back: "I-Ishida-san…what are you doing here?"

"Just passing by," he replied, his eyes glued onto the two males. "No big deal. Well, if you must know...," the Quincy raised his plastic bag up, "I felt a sudden urge to go to Sunflower Seams, that twenty-four dressmaking shop. There is a branch near here. That is where I was headed at this late hour." He looked away from the female's gaze. "I certainly didn't bring this bag with me just so that I would have an excuse for suddenly leaving the house...because I sensed the spirit energy of a Shinigami, okay?"

Kagome's eyebrow twitched at his long explanation: 'That may be the worst lie ever told…'

'Can he be that stupid?' Rukia couldn't believe how much this guy could talk and do for a lame excuse.

The bag held on his wrist quickly sliced off from the holding straps along with his wrappings from his wounds. Uryuu looked down, watching his bag crash to the floor.

"Stop yapping, four eyes," Renji rested his blade on his shoulder. "I am asking you a question. Who are you? Well? If you don't feel like answering, fine. I can just…kill you." He lowered his sword, the ending point aimed towards the trio.

"Wait, Renji! He has nothing to do-!"

"What was that?" questioned Uryuu, cutting off Rukia from her protecting words. "I will answer you then. I am a classmate of Higurashi's and Kuchiki's. One who hates Shinigami."

"That is not what I asked you!" growled Renji, annoyed that this guy was going around the question.

"I'm Ishida Uryuu. Nice to meet you."

"Huh? You're strange," Renji's eyebrow crooked upwards.

"Well, I just thought you had a right to know. You are a Shinigami, but…you should know the name of the one who kills you."

"That does it! You are dead meat!" shouted Renji.

"Renji, no!" Rukia exclaimed, watching as both were ready to slice each other's throat off.

Kagome's eyes narrowed: 'This isn't good…'

Zipping his pants, Ichigo sighed, watching the toilet flush. He grunted lowly under his breath, annoyed over his worry for both Kagome and the petite woman. "Where can Rukia be? Not only am I worried over Kagome's condition…but now she is gone? It's already after two in the morning…," he scoffed and turned to wash his hands. "If she wants to stay out all night, fine. I will take a night off from Shinigami duties and get some rest-"

"Ommf!"

Ichigo quickly jumped back, looking around the small bathroom. His ears had definitely picked up a small voice. "Whoa! What was that!? Whose voice is that!?"

"Mmf! Mmf!"

"Huh?" he blinked, composing himself. Concentrating on the source, he knelt down and looked behind the toilet seat. "It's coming from behind the toilet?" His eyes expanded at the sight of Kon taped onto the object and having his mouth covered with the same duct tape. "You!? Kon!?"

He blinked and slowly narrowed down his eyes: "What are you doing there? I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff."

"Mmmm!" Kon muffled behind the constriction, shaking his head violently at the accusation.

"You seem agitated. You are lucky you can find time to enjoy yourself."

"Mmmmm!"

"Geez!" shouted Kon, freely waving his hands in the air. "What a nightmare! Thank you, Ichigo!"

"You are…welcome?" Ichigo pinched his nose, trying to cover the odor from the stuff lion coming into his nostrils. He sat on the wooden floor with the plush standing across from him in happiness.

"I couldn't see who was there, so I had to figure it out by the sounds!"

"Umm…gross," commented Ichigo, looking to the side.

"Yeah…," Kon shook his head, memories of his struggle flashing back. "It was tough before you came. I had to listen to three small tinkles and two big splashes from your dad!" He quickly turned around to face the orange head. "In fact, five minute before you walked in, your father took a huge steaming-"

Ichigo quickly sprayed the lion toy with a scented disinfecting spray. His eyebrow twitched, glad that the small was beginning to decrese. "You should have told me sooner. No wonder you reek."

"What are you doing!?" shouted Kon, jumping onto the teen's face. "Is this how you treat a friend who has endured a nightmare of captivity!?"

"Back, stinky!" exclaimed Ichigo, trying to pry him off from his person. "Don't touch me! Get away! You are not my friend, toilet hugger!" He pushed him off, quickly coming to cross his arms. "So? Why were you tied up back there?"

"Why do you think?" questioned Kon. His eyes immediately widened, remembering why he needed the orange head's immediate attention! "Oh yeah! Rukia-onee-san and Kagome-onee-san! They are in trouble!" he leaped towards the teen once again.

"Get off!" he shouted back, protecting his face.

The male Shinigami followed Kon with his eyes as the plush made its way to the desk and pointed to the note laying there. "Look at this! They both left a short note! Did you not notice!?" Kon shook his head, remembering how he had momentarily caught them leaving from the window only with having Rukia spot him immediately. She had told the miko to wait for her and she quickly kidnapped him to the bathroom and tied him up.

Ichigo blinked, slowly standing from his spot and making his way to the note. "Hey…what is this?"

"I just told you! It is a note! They deserted us!"

The orange head's eyes widened, realizing what he was trying to tell him. He turned his head to the side, facing the lion plush: "Why!? What do you mean desert us!? Kagome was here!?"

"How should I know!?" he exclaimed back. "I am crushed! I was here when they were both leaving! But they both abandoned me without a word of explanation! All I heard was Rukia-onee-san tell Kagome-onee-san to wait for her! Kagome-onee-san seemed extremely worried yet frightened!"

Ichigo gripped the note in his hand and began to slip it open. Kagome…left? Once again she was leaving without a word? No. He couldn't let her leave like this. Not without an explanation.

"Then this note…is the only clue we have…," Ichigo's nerve struck upon seeing the note filled of gibberish and a drawing (obvious from Rukia) of a tanuki. 'They were working on a stupid riddle right before she left!?'

He blinked, realizing the tanuki on the edge of the paper. "Why a tanuki? Oh…I get it! 'Ta-nuki'! 'Nuki' means 'without'! So I'll read it without the 'Ta's'!"

Holding the paper straight in front of him, he began to read the words out loud. "We…must go. Don't look for us and don't worry about us. Burn this letter after you read it. And if you can…stay hidden for a while…at least for Kagome's sake."

Brining the note lower, he stared at it – confused. "What is this about? It doesn't say why they left."

"Don't you understand?" asked Kon, looking down at the note. "Something happened! Burn the letter and stay hidden! We are in danger! We must be! There is trouble between them and the Soul Society! And to keep us out of trouble…they went off by themselves!"

Ichigo's eyes widened, realizing the situation.

"Maybe…they are…dead-"

"Stop that." Ichigo sighed and crumpled the letter into his hand. "Don't jump into conclusions. We don't know what happened. Letting our imaginations run amok won't help."

"Ichigo…"

"Come one, Kon." He turned his back to the plush, staring at the wall. "I'm going to go Shinigami and find them! Follow me!"

"O-Okay!" Kon slowly stood on his two feet. "So…how are you going to become a Shinigami?"

They both stood silent; both turning to face each other. Ichigo blinked: "With that glove that knocks out souls…"

"Don't the girls have it?" questioned Kon.

"Then…," Ichigo grasped his head between his hands, "crap! I can't become a Shinigami without their help!" He inched closer to Kon, grabbing him forcefully. "What are we going to do!? If they are in trouble with the Soul Society, then I have to be a Shinigami to help them!"

"Why are you yelling at me!? Don't underestimate a stuffed animal!"

"Hello! Looks like you have a problem."

Ichigo looked over his shoulder and stared at the person sitting on the edge of his window. "You're…"

"May I be of assistance?" Urahara smirked, raising his cane to the Shinigami. "Um…two of my best customers are in trouble. I will make an exception this once and do this on credit."

Kagome's eyes widened, watching as Uryuu fell to the ground. Renji slowly walked towards the unconscious body and smirked: "See? What did I tell you?"

Rukia shook her head, her eyes set on the puddle of blood below the Quincy. 'He…is strong! Even stronger than before! Kagome-chan nor I couldn't stop him…I couldn't even move!'

"Now…," Renji slowly raised his blade upwards, looking down on his target, "time to finish this. Reflect on your stupidity as you die."

The miko glared at her Shinigami friend, despising his cocky attitude and actions towards the people who had nothing to do with her conflict.

"I am Abarai Renji…the one who killed you! Nice to meet you!" Renji lowered his blade swiftly, his eyes coming widen upon seeing the miko coming protectively in front of the Quincy. "Kagome! Get away!"

Her glare pierced into his own, making him curse under his breath.

"Fine! Join him in the next world!" Renji quickly felt the ground shake and crumble underneath his feet, his reaction coming to jump away from the source. "W-What!?" Flash stepping onto brick wall, he looked up, finding a male standing in front of the long haired female Shinigami. "W-Who are you!?"

Kagome's and Rukia's eyes widened, taking notice of the familiar orange hair. Kagome slowly shook her head, having her fear coming into a reality. This was not what she wanted. She didn't want him here. She was supposed to protect him!

He was supposed to forget about them!

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo! The man who is going to beat you! Nice to meet you!" he glared back.

Renji's eyes narrowed, scanning his person. "A…shihakusho? Who are you? What unit are you with?" His observation stopped upon seeing the size of his enemy's blade. "And where did you get that…ridiculously oversized Zanpakuto!?"

"What?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow, resting his Zanpakuto over his shoulder. "It's big? I thought it was just big compared to Rukia's and Kagome's. Up to now…," his eyes tightened, lowering his blade to hold it in both hands, "I had nothing to compare it to!"

'A-Amazing! The size of that thing!? A Zanpakuto is proportionate to the wielder's reiatsu! Could his power be that great!? It can't be!' Renji growled under his breath.

Kagome stood her ground, glaring daggers onto Ichigo's back. A storm of emotions was beginning to brew inside of her. She felt happy yet angry. Fearful yet relieved. Hopeful yet…hopeless.

"K-Kurosaki-san…why did you come?" she whispered to him, catching his eyes over his shoulder.

Renji's eyebrow rose, catching their small interaction. "I see…now I know who you are. You are the human who stole one of their powers!"

Returning his gaze back to the unknown Shinigami, Ichigo stood defensively in front of the miko. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Kill you!" Renji jumped up, aiming for his target.

"Kurosaki…Ichigo," Byakuya's eyes narrowed down, his sights set on the duo.

"Who is that guy?" Kon laid inside Ichigo's body, resting on his bed while staring at the ceiling. 'He turned Ichigo into a Shinigami and he put me into Ichigo's body so his family wouldn't get suspicious. Then he…disappeared. What is that guy up to? I have no idea…'

"But that guy is creepy," whispered Kon. He raised his lion plush above him, staring at it intently. "I was dying to go look for them too…I just hope they are okay."

"Yeah! Yeah! Fight!" shouted Renji, clashing his sword with Ichigo's. He continued to push him back with his strength, only widening at the lack of strength the orange head displayed. "Well!? It that huge sword just for show!? Huh!?"

"You talk too much!" Ichigo grinned his teeth, feeling the push from just their swords clashing. 'Man…who is he!? He is fast!' Ichigo quickly slashed his Zanpakuto down onto the ground. His eyes widened, seeing Renji disappear from his spot and feeling a slash onto his shoulder from above.

Kagome's eyes and Rukia's widened, watching as the slash soon released a splash of blood out from the orange head's shoulder. Ichigo dropped to his knees, gripping his wound while cursing under his breath.

"It's over."

Ichigo looked up, seeing the cocky grin spread on his opponent's lips.

"You are dead. The power will go back to whoever you stole it from…and both will go to the Soul Society and die."

Ichigo's eyes slowly widened, changing his line of sight to stare at the Rukia dropping her view to the ground while the miko held the tears back, covering her fear and weakness.

"Man, you are dumb as they come," chuckled Renji. "They both ran away to protect you. If only you had stayed home. But you had to chase after them. Did you actually think you save them? A phony like you couldn't put one scratch on a real Shinigami."

Renji froze in his words, feeling the slash brush against his chin. He narrowed down his gaze, watching the orange head slowly stand from his position.

"Oops, my bad," grinned Ichigo. "I know you were in the middle of a pompous boast…but your guard was down and I just couldn't resist. You were saying?" Ichigo's smirk widen while dusting off his sleeve. "Please…continue. Something about one scratch?"

"That does it!" Renji wiped off the trickle of blood on his chin.

"Your guard was down, Renji."

The maroon haired Shinigami looked over his shoulder to see Byakuya standing with a non-different expression.

"Kuchiki-taichou…" Renji's eyes narrowed defensively. "So what, sir!? For him, this may be a big deal, but-"

"That child Kurosaki Ichigo…I thought I had seen him somewhere," continued the black haired male. "There was an image-only report from the secret mobile force thirty-three hours ago. Menos Grande was driven back to Hueco Mundo by a sword and arrow wound…so it said."

'Menos? What? You mean that giant with the big nose?' Ichigo blinked, unsure of their conversation.

Kagome stared at the captain, surprised that they were able to get that much information from the Menos incident. 'An arrow…so they caught that too? But do they know…it is me?'

"Ha-ha-ha!" Renji's laugh echoed throughout the night. "Yeah, right! The secret mobile force isn't what it used to be! This one wounded Menos!? I can't believe it!" he pointed towards the orange head.

'This one!?' Ichigo's eyebrow twitched.

"Renji…," whispered Byakuya.

"Look, taichou! Look at his Zanpakuto! It's just a big important embarrassment! He obviously can't control his spirit energy!" Renji turned his attention back to his enemy. "Hey, you! What is your Zanpakuto's name!?"

"Huh? Name!?" exclaimed Ichigo, officially lost on the topic. "It doesn't have a name. You named your Zanpakuto?"

"Heh, I knew it," smirked Renji. He touched his blade, sliding his hand from the hilt to the edge. "You can't even ask your Zanpakuto its name! You think you can fight me as an equal! You are two thousand years too early!"

Ichigo's eyes caught the shape of Renji's blade changing to those with having spikes at the end. Hs blinked; surprised: "The Zanpakuto!?"

"Howl, Zabimaru! Look!" Renji jumped above, aiming for his target. "There stands dinner!"

"Renji-kun! Stop!" yelled Kagome before Renji's blade stabbed itself into Ichigo's shoulder and retreated back with each spike stretching the wound. His body slowly dropped down, his ears catching only catching Renji's voice.

"It is over, boy! You lost to Abarai Renji! You will die here!"

MizukixTsukiyomi's Notes: Hopefully I can update this soon, because I really want to get into the whole Soul Society thing, ha-ha. Anyways, thanks for reading.

P.S. Also, if you are a fan of Dimensional Lovers, check my poll for the next one-shot pairing!

Author's Talk:

Anime hotty lover18: I hated this part too, but it was also very interesting because it was the first time Rukia showed emotion!

Joker2113: Renji was a punk at first along with Byakuya...but later I came to love them haha!

xXSaSuHiNaXx: I noticed I do the whole formal thing, haha. The college writing style gets stuck on me, I'm sorry! But I am trying to get them to talk casually, at least to those characters that talk casually! I will try to fix that!

Please review.

Ja~ne!