"Bakudo number one! Sai!" A voice yelled, and Ichigo knew he fucked up almost immediately, arms being pulled behind his back by an invisible force. He cursed as he was forced to drop his zanpakuto, the blade clattering against the pavement. He hadn't sensed the other soul reaper, and as far as he knew, there weren't any assigned to this area. At least, that was according to ole hat and clogs. He cursed internally at this, flaring his reiatsu. He couldn't be caught, that would mean he and his family would be in trouble, and he wasn't going to allow that. With a guttural yell, he flared his reiatsu even higher, forcing the Bakudo to break. He jumped, turning in mid air to face the adversary. It was a girl that looked his age, with longer black hair and violet eyes. She wore a shocked expression on her face, not expecting him to have broken free. He cursed mentally, seeing his blade standing just in front of her. He had to confront her to get it, and he wasn't looking forward to it. All he'd wanted to do was stop that hollow before it hurt anyone. He landed a short distance away, facing the soul reaper.
"Disintegrate you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat! Bakudo number nine, Geki!" Ichigo recited, a red beam of light shooting out amd hitting the girl. She was immediately frozen, unable to move. Ichigo rushed over, grabbing the sealed Zangetsu, turning to face the girl.
"I'm sorry about this," he said, taking the hilt of his blade and hitting her on the back of her head, knocking her out. He released the bakudo and threw her over his shoulder, flash-stepping away. He uttered a small prayer that the mod soul Urahara gave him was behaving in class, he'd have to last just a little bit longer. He made short work of the trip to Urahara's shop, landing in front of it just a few minutes after the incident. He greeted the two kids out front sweeping, before entering the shop.
"Ah, Kurosaki, it's good to see you today. The soul reaper, not so much," Urahara commented, sitting towards the back of the shop. He must've sensed them coming. Ichigo sighed, he was going to get a talking to for sure from the blond.
"Sorry about that. I wasn't sure what else to do, she saw my face and tried catching me in a Kido. I figured you might have an idea how to fix this out of anyone," Ichigo commented, watching the blond for any sort of reaction. For a few seconds, Ichigo couldn't read the man's emotions, before the blond erupted into laughter.
"Well of course, you came to the right place, Ichigo. Follow me downstairs with her," Urahara responded, standing up. Ichigo sighed again at this, thankful the reaper was so small. He followed the blond to the very back of the shop and down a long set of spiral stairs to the 'Urahara Dome', which is what the blond named the training grounds. He was a bit eccentric, but Ichigo had to admire his skill and power. Ever since he started training his soul reaper powers two years ago, he'd picked up a lot of skills, and fast. According to Urahara and Tessai, what he'd learned in two years was more than what normal reapers learned in six at the academy.
"Alright kid, set her down over there, and come by me. Tessai! Lock down the dome!" Urahara shouted, the burly shopkeep and former Kido Corps leader nodded silently, the entrance disappearing in front of him. Ichigo set the girl down before moving to stand by Urahara's side. Tessai joined them shortly thereafter, just as the girl started to stir. Ichigo placed a hand on his zanpakuto, just in case she came up swinging. Both Urahara and Tessai, however, seemed less worried. Ichigo guessed that was just because of their strength, he doubted she could come close to those two. The girl sat up, looking around confused, before jumping to her feet and drawing the zanpakuto in defense, looking nervously between the three before her.
"Where am I and what did you do to me?" the girl asked, voice filled with anxiety. Urahara laughed, taking a step forward.
"Now now, Ms. Kuchiki, there's no need to be so hostile towards us. We're all friends here, right?" Urahara asked, a mischievous smile on his face as he looked down at the shorter girl. This only served to confuse her more. She didn't recognize him, yet somehow he knew who she was.
"You! Soul reaper from earlier! What's going on? Who are you and what are you doing here?" Rukia asked.
"Well, I'm a human with soul reaper powers. I awakened them two years ago and have been sending souls to soul society and killing hollows. I brought you here because I can't have you ratting me out to Soul Society and them hunting me down to kill me," Ichigo explained, probably much to Urahara's disdain. He just didn't want to lie, he figured maybe diplomacy would solve this issue. He didn't lie, either, he just left out certain truths, like his dad being a former captain and on the run. She didn't need to know that particular detail just yet. "Who exactly are you and what are you doing here?"
"I'm Rukia Kuchiki of Division Thirteen. I was sent here to monitor this area for increased Hollow activity," Rukia explained, still bouncing between the three. Urahara chuckled at this, seemingly having a great idea.
"Well then! I feel this affords us a wonderful learning opportunity, eh Tessai?" Urahara said, grinning mischeviously. Ichigo had an impending sense of doom, but disregarded it for the moment. He mostly trusted Urahara, so if the man had an idea, he'd at least hear him out on it.
"What do you mean? And why do you know my name?" Rukia questioned, still not ready to let down her defenses. Just because they hadn't attacked her yet didn't mean they wouldn't. Urahara just grinned, something akin to a plot forming in his head.
"All in due time. Said opportunity is this; you and Ichigo patrol together and train. In exchange, you both get stronger, you have back up on patrols, Ichigo gains some well needed experience, and you don't report this all to your superiors," Urahara explained, looking between the two. Both Ichigo and Rukia narrowed their eyes at Urahara, both sensing that the man had ulterior motives, even if they weren't quite sure what.
"Is there an alternative that doesn't end with me dying?" Rukia asked, knowing the unspoken, while Ichigo looked mildly shook at the implication. He'd only brought her here in hopes the blond could wipe her memory or something. He was even more shaken as Urahara shook his head no in response.
"Hey now, no one is killing anyone," Ichigo said sternly, hand on his zanpakuto. Despite the trouble Rukia could bring turning them in, he wasn't going to let anyone get killed over it. Him and his family could always relocate, if need be. This caused Rukia to look at him in shock. Was he really defending her, despite everything? She could ruin his life and he was sticking up for her. Humans were truly odd creatures. While this was happening, Urahara only grinned wider. His plan was already unfolding, Ichigo's defensiveness playing to his expectations. Now so long as the noble reacted the way she was supposed to, it was a sure thing. As if on cue, Rukia dropped her hand from her zanpukto, staring to the ground as she did so.
"I'll do it, for now. But anything suspicious and our deal is off," Rukia stated, looking to the blond with determination. Hook line and sinker, she fell for it.
"Very well then. I'll leave you two to get acquainted. Come along, Tessai," Urahara said, grinning as he and the kido master walked to the exit, leaving Rukia and Ichigo to stare at each other in mild confusion.