Part I

What a weird thing to do.

"Soccer's not weird! It's fun," Rukia said with a pout.

But…why play it?

It was asked so plainly, that Renji visibly drew himself back in surprise. Even Rukia had to stop and think why.

Eventually, Renji gave his answer of, "Well, I'm not really sure, but you do get to play with your friends."

Hmph, that sounds fine for you, but I don't have time for things like that.

"Don't have time?" Renji asked incredulously. Then he seemed to realize something. "You mean you don't have friends," he said slyly.

I have plenty of friends! Dozens more than you two!

Rukia let out a loud huff, saying, "Renji, stop bothering him about it. If he doesn't want to play soccer with us, its fine."

No…I do.

Expecting as much, a grin crept on Rukia's face. It wasn't too often they got a new teammate. Still, she tried to remember her manners.

"My brother told me I shouldn't play with strangers, though," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "So, what's your name?"

Oh! My name is–

Rukia's eyes snapped open, startled awake by the sound of her alarm clock blaring in her ears. Sitting up, she let out a quiet groan, still half asleep. She was sure she was in the middle of a dream just a moment ago, but she couldn't for the life of her remember what it was about.

Speaking of dreams…

Three days ago, a Hollow attacked her high school, or maybe it didn't. Renji had no memory of the incident, she had no proof. The broken windows had since been replaced, and she was stuck wondering if she somehow imagined the whole incident.

Their teachers seemed to be under the impression that the school had been randomly hit by a meteorite. Apparently, her and Renji had ran off and had gotten hurt by some shrapnel. They were lucky to be alive.

As bizarre as the story sounded, it was definitely less bizarre than what had actually (probably) happened, and it was probably that little piece of reasoning that made Rukia doubt her own memories. Who's to say that she didn't just get hit on the head and dream all of it. After all, the only thing she remembers after leaving a hole in that Hollow's head was being gently prodded awake by her homeroom teacher.

Rukia let out a sigh of frustration. It was all just too confusing! She tore away her covers. Dream or not, she still had to go to school.

This morning, the house was even emptier than usual, her brother having already gone to work. Honestly, it seemed like he was always gone, sometimes. She might have resented him for it had she not figured that he was just a busy man that had to get the money to pay for her school fees and the nice roof over her head somehow.

She tidied her room up, straightening her yellow, bunny patterned sheets. She could almost hear Byakuya in that very room giving her a lecture about organized living spaces and organized minds.

Eventually, with her morning routine finished, she headed down the stairs, the quiet keeping her still sleep clouded mind from rebelling completely. There was something to be appreciated in being in a large empty house in a small quiet neighborhood.

She grabbed her bag and lunch money from the counter and a banana from the pantry to act as her breakfast on-the-go just before she headed out the door for school.

On the path, she noticed Maru's lamppost, now unoccupied. It was a comforting sight really. It let her know that the little Spirit had moved on. She noticed, however, that right at the foot of the lamppost was a now-intact vase, full of fresh flowers.

Part II

Entering her classroom was nothing like going down the stairs of her home. People were chattering, joking, squealing, and even shrieking. Basically, it was a normal day at Karakura High School.

However, right now, normal felt good. She sat down at her desk, half eaten banana in hand, and ended up catching the tail end of a conversation Renji was having with Keigo.

"Come on Renji, you've gotta know something about the newbie!" Keigo pleaded.

Renji scoffed, "Why on Earth would I know him?"

"Because he," Keigo hesitated, before finishing with an eyebrow raise, "ya know."

"I don't." Renji's expression turned sour.

Keigo let out a long huff before coming out with it. "He looks like a delinquent!" Renji froze. Rukia blanched. That was not a wise thing to say, but then again, don't let anyone accuse Keigo of being wise. He explained, "He has that weird hair."

"Are you saying something about me, Asano?" Renji asked that leaning toward Keigo, using his full height advantage. Keigo shrunk back. This was probably going to get entertaining soon.

"What! No, no, no, no," Keigo stammered out. "I wasn't saying anything at all." He really was. "What I mean is that you know?"

Renji's scowl grew deeper. "You keep on saying that, but I don't know."

Keigo was desperately looking for an out, eyes darting toward Rukia. She merely shrugged. He dug his own grave. There wasn't much she could do about it now.

"Wait!" he cried out, sweating slightly. "I think I see him there, just through the window!"

Rukia turned her head there, fully expecting the hall to be empty and for Keigo to be caught in a desperate lie, but sure enough someone had just walked out of her sight. She swore she saw a flash of orange, but she must have been seeing things. She hadn't been getting as much sleep as she should have in the last few days, after all. This new person opened the door.

She almost dropped her banana.

It was him. There was literally no doubt that it was him. He had the same orange hair and the same glare. The only difference was that he was wearing a Karakura High School uniform. Suddenly, the likelihood of her not completely dreaming up the events of Monday afternoon was a lot greater.

That, or I'm going completely crazy.

Exactly. She could have seen him in passing. Dreamt up a crazy situation of him as a Monster-Fighting Spirit. It wouldn't be the craziest dream she's ever had. There was no need to freak out the new transfer student by being the "psychic wannabe." It was best to just greet him normally.

The bell rung, signaling the start of class, and everyone sat down in their respective seats. The teacher pulled the new student to the front of the class.

"As I am sure many of you are aware," she started with a smile, "this young man will be joining us for the remainder of the school year. Due to extenuating circumstances, he was unable to join us at the very start, but I am sure you will all accept him with open arms. Now, if you could please introduce yourself," she said, gesturing to him.

"Thank you," he said with a bright smile. Dammit, even the voice was familiar. He turned around and begun to write his name. Now, there were a few ways to interpret those characters. Nothing was certain. "I am Ichigo Shiba." Rukia flinched. "I hope we have a pleasant year," he said with a bow.

Rukia couldn't believe it. She couldn't goddamn believe it. She really was going crazy, that was really the only explanation. This was the exact Spirit she saw on Monday, and here he was, walking and talking and being visible like a living, breathing person. He smiled politely, asked questions when needed, gave the correct answers. (All of it rang incredibly phony, by the way.) Rukia thought she was going to be sick. She actually didn't notice when the lunch bell rang.

Slam!

"Rukia!"

"Ahhh!" Rukia screamed. Everyone stared at her. She felt like sinking into the ground. Chizuru seemed unfazed, however. She was standing over Rukia, both hands on her desk, looking desperate.

"You were staring an awful lot at that new kid," Chizuru said accusingly. She continued, eyes wide and hands clasped, "Is there something he has that I don't!"

She felt relieved when people went back to…whatever they were doing. As for Chizuru's question, technically she could think of a few things (not including the katana and ability to slay monsters) but mentioning those would not only give the wrong idea, it would probably be rude, too.

"It's not like that," Rukia whispered. "It's just…" she tried to find the right words. "I guess I had this weird dream, and he was in it." And it may not have been a dream.

"A dream!" Chizuru gasped out. She despaired, "You were dreaming about him." Her face then took on a look of utmost seriousness. "To think," she started, "that this man has only been for a day, yet your heart has already been taken by him. I suppose I should just throw in the towel."

Rukia's eyes widened. She supposed, that from Chizuru's perspective that would sound pretty bad.

"It's not like that," Rukia insisted. "I barely even know him!"

"Well, we may not have known each other for long," it was him, it was him, of course it was him, "but sometimes…it feels like a lifetime." Rukia immediately turned her head up toward the Spirit, Shiba, as she guesses she should call him. He's flashing her a smug smile. He continues, "Sorry but could I borrow her for a second?"

Before Rukia can so much as get a word out, he's grabbing her by the shoulder and pulling her just outside of the classroom. To an outsider, it doesn't look like much, but she can feel his steadfast grip.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" seethed Rukia. He took her further and further away from the class.

"The 'big idea' is that we need to have a little talk," he said with a scowl. He dragged her all the way outside to the back of the building. It was basically abandoned, save for a group of second years sitting in a circle not far from them.

"Hey!" Shiba yelled, kicking the railing. "Scram!" The second years took one look at Shiba, tall, scowling, intimidating, and looking like he was itching for a fight. They ran off in less than a second, startled looks on all of their faces. He turned to face Rukia with basically the same exact look. She'd like to think it didn't intimidate her.

"Aren't you going to say something?" she asked. He just stared at her, an unreadable expression on his face. Who the hell did this guy think he was?

He finally asked, "You remember Monday, right?"

Rukia bit her lip. She hesitated for a long moment, thinking that hey, maybe if everyone else forgot about it, she should to? It might just save her the headache of whatever he's obviously trying to ask of her.

Instead, she said, "Yes." Shiba let out a long sigh.

"Good," he said, leaning against the wall. "Then I won't shock you when I say I lost my powers." Rukia blinked.

"What?" She thought she knew what he meant but, "you mean your sword?"

Rolling his eyes, Shiba said, "Yes, my sword." Rukia bit back a retort.

"Wait," she said, pointing a finger at him. "You told me that I was 'borrowing' your powers. Why haven't they gone back yet?"

"They were supposed to," he said, levelling a glare at her.

"Hey, you're acting as if it's my fault!" Rukia exclaimed indignantly.

He took a long look at her, glancing from head to toe before saying, "It's not, probably."

"Then just take them back," Rukia said through gritted teeth.

"If I could do that," he said condescendingly, "then don't you think I would have tried already, shorty." Rukia glowered. Of all the pricks she's ever known… "For now," he continued, "I'm stuck in this Gigai, which is a fake body for Shinigami, in case you were wondering." He said this casually, like that was supposed to explain everything.

"Wait, wait, wait," Rukia said holding a hand up. "Gigai? Shinigami? You're going to have to slow down a bit."

He let out a long-suffering sigh, the asshole, before starting, "A Shi-ni-ga-mi," he over-pronounced every syllable as if he were talking to a toddler, "is a Spirit that kills Hollows, you know, that monster you fought three days ago? You," he said this taking a step toward her, "took my Shinigami powers. Now, I can't kill Hollows. I can't do my job." He ended his tirade with the harshest glare Rukia had seen from him, yet.

"What the hell do you want me to do about it?" Rukia asked, nose turned up. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I'm serious!" she exclaimed. "I've spent the last three days as a normal person, no powers, mostly just…math homework!"

"Normal, huh?" he said with smirk. "Newsflash shorty, normal people don't see Spirits."

"Th-that's entirely irrelevant!" she stuttered out.

Shiba's shoulders sagged, and he muttered, more to himself than anything, "I can't believe I have to deal with this," as he rummaged through his pockets before pulling out a red fingerless glove with a strange skull symbol. "You may want to hold your breath," he said, pulling it onto his hand. Before Rukia even had time to react, his open palm connected with her forehead, and she tumbled back a good meter. She landed flat on her back.

"What the hell was that for…" she groaned, pushing herself up. She didn't care if he outweighed her by a whole thirty kilograms, she will

The first thing her eyes connected to was…her. She was lying on the ground, eyes closed like she was asleep, but she was also right here, sitting up and looking at her.

"You just…!" Rukia couldn't even get words out right now, she was so shocked.

"Just as I thought," Shiba said, pocketing the glove. "It's your Soul that's got my power, not your body."

Looking down at herself, Rukia could see she was wearing that same black kimono and hakama that she wore when she killed the Hollow, that Shiba wore when she first saw him. An impractically large sword was strapped to her back, but more notable was the power that she felt then. It was back in full force, buzzing just beneath her skin.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Shiba dragging her still body away and stuffing it into an unlocked sports club shed like he had just finished committing a murder. She gaped. He walked away like nothing was wrong. She had to jog toward him to catch up.

"Wouldn't it be bad if someone found me like that?" she asked with a skeptical look on her face. Well, it wouldn't be "her" per say, but rather her body and oh boy this situation was getting too strange even for her tastes.

"Naw, humans usually don't ask questions." Rukia somehow doubted that. "Come on, we gotta go." He proceeded to walk quickly right out of the school gates without even waiting for an answer.

"Where?" she asked, having to pick up her own pace. Why did the guy have such freakishly long legs?

"I'm not sure. I don't know this town too well, but its close."

"'It?'" Rukia's eyes widened. "You mean a Hollow?"

"Uh, yeah," Shiba said, nodding his head. She still remembered the last one she came across, inhumanly strong and with a thirst for blood.

"If we're fighting one of those things, shouldn't we try and do better than 'not sure?'" Rukia felt like she was freaking out here. Deep breaths. She had to take deep breaths. "And do you know where you're going or not?"

"Kinda," he said offhandedly. Digging into his pockets, he pulled out a simple cellphone. "Think fast." He tossed it to her.

Rukia was able to pause her racing thoughts just in time to catch the phone in her hand, despite the awkward angle it was thrown it. She flipped it open and took a look at the already blinking display.

20m

12:00pm

-15min

"What does all this mean?" she asked, squinting at it.

"Those are some directions to a Hollow that's going to attack. Within fifteen minutes of twelve o'clock, in a twenty-meter radius of here." He took the time then to glance around the area, Rukia's own eyes following. This was a park that Rukia saw children frequent all the time. Right now, it was pretty much abandoned, though, a nearby play structure baking in the sun. There wasn't anything remarkable here at all, but if Shiba could sense something… "Are there any Spirits that are in this area?" he asked.

Rukia didn't even have to think about it. "There's a little boy Spirit. I've noticed him playing here once or twice."

"Well, now we know the Hollow's target," Shiba said with a scowl. Rukia was taken aback.

"Hollow's target? You don't mean…" But she knew he did. "It's after the little Spirit, and you want me to stop it?"

"Yeah." He said plainly. "Like I said, I can't do my job, so you're going to have to do it for me."

"I-I…" Rukia stammered. Before she could string together anything resembling a sentence, she felt that horrible presence for the second time in her life. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. She also heard a little boy scream.

"Rukia!" Shiba yelled. His eyes had a different look in them, entirely. This one spoke of desperation. That was all the prompting she needed to spring forward and run towards the sound of the shrieking boy.

He was on the ground, just behind the swing set trying desperately to crawl away. Above him, the Hollow looked down, tongue darting out over its bone-white lips. It looked much different from the other. Two of its eight legs gripped the swing structure, causing it to creak under its weight, which was equal if not greater than the one from Monday. It reared back like it was about to strike, and Rukia ran forward before she even knew what she was doing.

She stood in just above the little boy, holding her sword straight in the air, piercing through the Hollow's tongue. She sliced left, cutting it off entirely.

The Hollow let out a garbled shriek, stumbling backward, a long spindly arm swinging toward her. She turned, and grabbed the boy in her arms, jumping out of its path. He clung to the front of her Kimono tightly. She moved her Katana to her free hand, thinking somewhere in the back of her mind that it was odd she had no trouble lifting a blade that was easily just as big as her.

The Hollow barreled for them all eight of its legs thumping loudly against the ground, but this time Rukia didn't move. She felt as the boy buried his face into her chest, crying, and she waited for just the right moment.

Closer…Closer…Closer…There!

The moment she could almost feel the Hollow's breath she sliced upward, cutting through its mask easily. Just like the last one, it disintegrated before it's body could even touch her.

The boy was still cowering, head buried in black fabric. She couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness in her heart. He was what, five, six?

"Hey!" she urged softly. "It's okay, it's all over, now."

She couldn't help but laugh as the boy slowly turned his head, searching with just one eye for the Hollow. She could feel his body sag in relief just before he carefully extracted himself from her. There were still some tears in his eyes, but he was smiling, now.

"Thank you, Miss," he said, rubbing a hand under his eye. He was looking up at her with more admiration than had ever been directed at her before. Rukia was blushing when she slid her sword into the sheath on her back. She let him down.

"You're welcome," she said quietly. Then a little louder, she said, joking, "Now, try not to get into any more trouble, okay?"

He giggled, sheepish before saying, "I will!" Rukia gave him one last pat on the head before he ran off into the trees, probably looking for something else to do. He sure was resilient, Rukia would give him that.

During this whole interaction, Shiba was looking at her from the sidelines, curious. Rukia turned to him, glaring.

"There!" she said, crossing her arms "I did your job, happy? Mind letting me go so I don't miss class entirely?" She didn't wait for him to answer, though. She just stomped off in the right direction, and he followed, silent. It was actually a little unnerving.

Shiba took his time in saying something, going blocks before he finally said, "That kid wasn't the only one, you know?"

Rukia frowned. She knew.

"There are Hollows everywhere," he continued, "and every single one of them are looking to sink their teeth into whatever poor Soul they find." He said this all, slowly and carefully letting every word sink in. Then, he smirked. "I was my job to stop them, but…" He was looking up in the air as if to say but I'll never find anyone like that. Rukia rolled her eyes. She got it, okay.

"I'll do it," she groaned out. Shiba grinned victoriously. The next thing she said, she almost whispered. "I do owe you, after all."

This, Shiba didn't understand, and it was plain by the look on his face. Rukia knew she'd have to explain. She turned, facing him.

"Listen," she started. "You gave me your powers because I distracted you enough to get you hurt. The whole situation was my fault from the beginning, so I owe you this much." She finished the statement staring at her feet. She took one deep breath and continued, "Besides, you helped me save my friend."

Her eyes snapped back to him in that moment. He was giving her that smug smile that just pissed her off.

"But!" she exclaimed, taking one step toward him, "this is just me repaying a debt. I'm not here to play hero, I'm here to complete a transaction." Like signing a deal with a bank or a client. "Nothing more, nothing less."

Shiba snorted.

"Yeah, yeah," he chuckled out, "keep telling yourself that, shorty." He turned and started walking off.

She chased after him yelling, "Oh, I've had it with the 'shorties!'"

Part III

Rukia was back in her body, which luckily wasn't discovered comatose and holed up in a shed while they were gone, within the hour, and after a few more, class was over, and everyone was sent home.

She walked back home like she did with Renji every evening, but this time, she felt off. She waved goodbye when he reached his turn, and she felt like a liar. She was used to telling Renji everything, but here, she wasn't even sure if she was allowed to say anything. Ichigo, and yes, she was going to use his first name if he insisted so heavily on using hers, had explained how he altered the memories of any who witnessed the incident, how it's just standard procedure for those without any Spiritual Abilities when they come across something strange, and she understood, but she wished–

"Rukia!" Ichigo popped from behind a corner like a twisted parody of a jack in the box.

"Shit!" Rukia shrieked. Ichigo just chuckled.

"Has anyone ever told you that you startle really easily?" he asked with a smirk. She didn't even dignify the question with a response.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed out.

He started casually, "I figured that since you took my powers and you still need training to use them properly, I should keep close." Rukia didn't like the sound of that.

"How close are we talking, here?" she asked suspiciously.

"I was thinking of staying at your place!" he said with a grin.

"No." His face fell.

"Why not?"

"Because," she said, eyeing her house in the distance, "I have an older brother that wouldn't appreciate it if I started bringing strange men home to stay the night." She picked up her pace. Hopefully he would give up on his own.

He instead suggested, "I could talk to him."

"I seriously doubt you could say anything to convince him," she deadpanned. "What was wrong with where you've been staying for the last three days, anyway?" she asked accusingly.

"I told you," he said exasperatedly, "it's important for me to stay close to you for your training."

Rukia gave him a flat look and said, "I think I'm fine without the training. You told me I had to do your job. I'm doing it just fine." She dug her keys from her bag and unlocked the door, hoping the nuisance would go away. She saw her brother's shoes next to the ledge. He must have been back already.

"I'm home, brother!" she called out. Okay, she seriously doubted he would say yes to Ichigo staying, but she also figured that she'd have to introduce them to each other sometime. She could imagine they'd be seeing a lot of Ichigo in the near future.

Ichigo, right now was standing in the doorway, quiet, eyes wide.

"I…uh…" he stammered, eyes shifting. "Actually, I have to go." He closed the door quickly.

Rukia darted forward, wrenching open the door. She wasn't sure what she was going to say, what she was going to call out, but by the time she stepped outside, there was no Ichigo in sight to say it to. She stepped back inside.

"Sorry," she told Byakuya just before shucking off her shoes. "I don't really know what got into him."

Her brother was sitting on the couch going over a large binder full of documents. His expression was unreadable, and Rukia wasn't even sure if he ever saw Ichigo or not.

"What?" he asked, looking a little lost. "It's alright," he said. He then went back to his work. It wasn't mentioned for the rest of the evening, but that didn't mean it wasn't on Rukia's mind.