Chapter Two: Emergence

It had been an eventful last night, reflected Ichigo as he awoke the next morning. He couldn't quite remember exactly how things had ended, or how he had ended up here. It became apparent that no one in his family except him remembered anything.

'Its a miracle!' proclaimed Isshin Kurosaki. 'A truck plows right into our house, and none of us get so much as a single scratch!'

'What's more miraculous is that we slept right through it,' said Masaki ruefully. 'this is going to be very expensive to repair, and less than fun to live with for the next week.'

Ichigo wondered if he had dreamed everything, but dismissed it as unlikely. 'Hey mom, I need to head to school, I'm probably late as it is.'

'Don't worry about it, dear.' said Misaki 'We'll handle the cleanup.'

Ichigo prepared for school and headed off. It turned out that he got there very late, and he hurried through the school with a meaningful gait. As he passed through the halls, he rounded a corner and collided with someone.

An auburn haired, busty girl named Orihime fell down and landed with a crash. Ichigo looked at her in contempt. Everyone was always acting as if she was this special snowflake. Just because she was eccentric even though it was an act. Ichigo had been eccentric once, and that had ended with him getting the shit kicked out of him by thugs. Her lie was a bright mirror to his lie, and that made him hate her.

Their eyes met.

'What do you want?' he asked.

'Ichigo, you knock a girl down, and that's all you have to say?' asked Tatsuki.

Ichigo glanced at Tatsuki ruefully. 'Fine, I'm sorry I knocked you down Orihime.' he said, voice holding a note of sarcasm. 'Do you require me to help you up?' Every word that came out of his mouth concealed the seething resentment he felt towards her.

'Oh no!' she said. 'I have to go play… uh… volleyball! Yes, volleyball!' Then she ran off.

'I don't care.' snapped Ichigo, though she didn't hear.

'Well you're in a good mood this morning.' said Tatsuki sarcastically.

'You wouldn't be in the best of moods if you'd ended up having a truck plow into your house.' said Ichigo. 'How late am I anyway?'

'It's time for lunch.' said Tatsuki.

'Do you need any help with the cleanup?' asked Chad, who had been going to meet Tatsuki.

'No,' said Ichigo, 'we've got it under control. Just…' he shook his head, 'nevermind, I need to go.'

He made his way to his classroom, and sat down, trying to process everything that had happened. Had he seen her, or had it been some kind of weird daydream, conjured up by stress. Dimly he noticed Tatsuki speaking with Keigo Asano. Keigo was a person Ichigo found annoying and not all that funny.

Then he noticed who he was speaking to, and found her familiar. She approached him, and he looked up. 'Hey, you are Ichigo, aren't you?'

'It's you,' noted Ichigo, 'what the hell are you doing here-'

'You must be mistaken; we've never met before.' She turned her hand around. In writing on her palm, there was a message: 'Make a scene, and you are so dead.'

'…Can we talk in private?' he asked after a moment.

Later outside, in a courtyard used for karate practice, he confronted her. 'Alright, could you tell me what the hell you are doing on this plane of existence?'

'Jeepers you big brute,' she said in a false dramatic tone. 'you aren't going to hurt me, aren't you.'

'Knock it off with the goodie two shoe act, I've seen you cut a giant monster in half.' snapped Ichigo.

'Well, I think it's pretty good, considering I learned it overnight.' she replied.

'Look, shouldn't you have gone back to that soul society place already?' asked Ichigo.

'No,' said Rukia 'it's not efficient to send a Soul Reaper down for a single mission, it takes too much energy. I'm here for the next few weeks at least.'

'Glorious,' said Ichigo, slipping his hands into his pockets. 'so what does this have to do with me?'

'Not much,' she admitted. 'But you're asking questions so I figured I'd answer them. Also, I need a place to stay.'

'Can't you rent an apartment?' he asked.

'Well…' she paused, 'the Soul Society does not expect its operatives to support themselves. Instead, we usually rely on the laws of hospitality to survive. We explain the situation to a kindly local, and they give us room and board.'

'So the afterlife are a bunch of freeloaders?' surmised Ichigo.

'That's a very impolite way of putting it,' chided Rukia, 'but yes. What I'm in right now is a gigai. An artificial body which a Soul Reaper inhabits when spending time in the world of the living.' Suddenly there was a beeping sound from her pocket, and she drew it before looking at a phone. 'I've got orders. We'll have to cut this short.' Drawing out a badge, she tapped it up against her chest and emerged from her body in her usual robes. Her own form fell and landed. 'Could you take care of my body, I have work I need doing.'

She rushed off. Ichigo looked to the comatose girl in front of him, then to grim reaper running off in another direction. He could take her with him. But it would look awkward for him to drag an unconscious woman through the streets. Besides, it wasn't as if it was actually her.

He pursued her through the streets, noting that she ran really fast. She arrived at a playground and stopped. He came up behind her, stretching out one arm as he did so. She glanced back in irritation. 'You were supposed to stay by my body.'

'Yeah, well, I'm not your servant.' snapped Ichigo. 'And anyway I never said I'd let you stay at my place. So why are we out here anyway?'

She sighed. 'I am out here because a young boys ghost is about to come under threat by a hollow. I need to stop it.' Then there was an inhuman roar, and a boys spirit came into view, fleeing in terror. Behind him rushed a hollow in the form of a spider, coming after him with a gaping maw. Rukia drew her blade, and rushed forward, passing by the hollow, before sheathing her sword. Moments later, the hollow exploded into blood and dissipated.

Turning around to face the boy, she spoke:

'Child, if you wish to avoid being devoured by those creatures, you must pass on.' she said, before tapping the base of her sword against the boy's forehead. The boy glowed blue and faded from view. Once again, Rukia sheathed her sword and approached Ichigo.

'So you send people to heaven then?' asked Ichigo.

'More or less,' she stated, not looking him in the eye.

'…Right,' he said.

They made their way back, and Rukia went back into her body. In the aftermath, as they hung out on the roof, Ichigo approached her. 'Look, about you needing a place to stay. I'll talk to my parents about it, and see what I can do. But no promises.'

'Thank you,' she said, 'I appreciate it.'

'Well you saved my life,' he reflected, 'so it's the least I can do.'

As they both walked back from school, Ichigo began mulling things over. He reflected why he was in such a bad mood. He couldn't quite decide. 'Hey, so about these powers of yours.' he said after a moment.

'Yes,' said Rukia, 'what of them?'

'Has there ever been a case where humans developed powers?' he asked.

Rukia remained silent for a moment. 'There were one or two cases like that. They all ended badly. In emergencies, it used to be allowed for a Soul Reaper to pass their powers onto a human. But humans didn't always use their powers responsibly. After an extreme case, the practice was banned.

'You're better off-'

And then there was a terrible screeching noise that drew their attention to the side of the street. There, near a crosswalk, Orihime Inoue lay prone on the ground. A car rushed off in the opposite direction. There was a claw mark on her leg.

'Who is that?' asked Rukia, curious.

'That's Orihime,' said Ichigo, 'just ignore her and perhaps she'll go away.'

They continued on.

'There was a mark on that girl's leg,' said Rukia, 'it's possible that she may be being targeted by a hollow.'

'Isn't that your area of expertise?' asked Ichigo. 'Why are you bothering me about this?'

'Well I figured you'd be interested.' said Rukia. 'Seeing as you've gone out of your way to get involved in every hollow I've slain thus far.'

'Fair enough,' said Ichigo, 'I just don't like Orihime Inoue.'

'Why not?' asked Rukia. 'I saw her before. She seemed nice.'

'What she is,' said Ichigo, 'is a mary sue.'

'A what?'

'A mary sue is a character who overrides common sense to make the entire universe revolve around her.' said Ichigo. 'Orihime Inoue is a real-life example of this. Everyone pretends as though she's this tragic figure because a bunch of bullies cut her hair.'

'That sounds traumatic.' Rukia reflected.

'Try taking a pair of brass knuckles to the face a couple of dozen times and then tell me that!' snapped Ichigo. 'Everyone fawns over her and pretends as though she is something special. But she's not.' He paused. 'Look, when I was a kid, I constantly got beaten to a pulp because I had orange hair. Did I get loads of sympathy? No, instead they branded me a delinquent and pretended as though I had done something to deserve it.'

'So that's why you dye your hair.' surmised Rukia in a guarded tone. 'I suppose that's as good a reason as any. Still, did she have any recent deaths in her family? It could be important.'

'Well,' he said, 'her brother did get killed in a car accident a couple of years ago. I think he was her only remaining family.'

'And you don't think that's worthy of sympathy?' surmised Rukia.

'Maybe it is,' admitted Ichigo, 'I don't like people much.'

'That I gathered.' said Rukia.

As they continued, Rukia broke off from him, and Ichigo glanced to her. 'Where are you going?'

'Do you really want to know?' she asked.

'Not really, I guess.' he admitted.

'Then, don't ask.'

They parted ways, and Ichigo returned home. The hole in his wall was gone, and as he entered, he saw his Mother looking at him curiously. 'Ah, Ichigo, I see you are back.' There was a long silence between them. 'Are you alright, dear? You haven't seemed yourself lately.'

'Yeah, I'm fine.' replied Ichigo. 'Got a bit lost on the way home, but I'm still fine.'

'Right,' said Misaki, 'well come in dear.'

The afternoon passed without much event.

Dinner was a simple affair, and Ichigo didn't speak much during it. There didn't seem much point, and after he'd finished his food, he excused himself. Going up to his room, he lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, mulling over events. A whole new world had quite literally opened up to him. Not only was the afterlife real, but apparently so were masked monsters. Ones' that devoured the innocent and guilty alike.

So what had changed?

Well other than the fact that someone who hunted the things wanted to live in his house for the next few weeks, not much. He'd forgotten to raise the subject during dinner. He didn't really connect with his family much. He felt like he barely knew anyone around him like he was cut off, distant and without a real stake in events.

There was a knock at the door, and he glanced up to see Yuzu coming in. 'Yeah, what is it?'

'Ichigo, have you seen my pajamas?' said the girl.

'Why would I know where your pajamas are, Yuzu?' asked Ichigo in deadpan. 'What possible interest could I possess in caring?'

'You know, you've been really mean lately.' noted Yuzu.

'Maybe so, but I don't know where your pajamas are.' stated Ichigo.

Yuzu closed the door and walked back to her room. Ichigo leaned back on his bed before he heard a ringing sound coming from his closet. Sitting up, he looked in in bemusement, as the door suddenly slid aside. Rukia Kuchiki emerged, clad in Yuzu's pajamas.

'What the hell are you doing in-'

'Get down!' Snapped Rukia, before using her badge and emerging from her body. A giant arm reached out of the wall. Ichigo rolled away just in time as a massive naga like hollow emerged towards them, its maw opening wide. One of its fingers sliced him across the shoulder, and he fell away, bleeding.

Rukia stepped aside from its strike. Then she brought down her sword in one swift movement, clashing with its mask. The side of the face shattered, and Ichigo stared at what he saw beneath the mask. Then Rukia raised her sword again and sliced it in half with one stroke.

The beast disappeared into mist with ease.

'That's odd,' said Rukia, 'usually I'd have no trouble slicing this kind of hollow in half.'

'I got a look at that things face,' said Ichigo, 'that was Orihime's dead brother.'

'Don't worry, I just sent him to the afterlife as he was before he became a hollow.' said Rukia, sheathing her sword. 'There is nothing to worry about.'

'Nothing to worry about?' asked Ichigo. 'Why did he transform into a monster?!'

Rukia sighed. 'Hollows are what happens when a spirit lingers too long in the world of the living. They become consumed by their negative emotions. Little by little, they degenerate into what you saw there. It's a good thing I kill that thing when I did, or else it would have targeted those that were closest to them in life.'

Rukia got back into her body and stretched. 'I can never get used to being so restricted.'

'Yeah, I have a question.' said Ichigo.

'Yes?' asked Rukia sweetly.

'Why do these things keep happening in my house?!' he roared.

'Well…' she paused, 'I may not have told you everything. See, you have an unusual amount of spiritual energy. As a result of this, hollows will be drawn to you naturally, seeking to devour you. That is part of the reason why I sought you out in the first place. I thought that the hollow would be drawn to you.'

'So I'm bait.' said Ichigo.

'Not bait,' she said. 'It's more like you are a risk to those around you. So it's necessary for me to ensure the threats you lure here don't kill anyone.' She paused as she realized that made things worse. 'There is nothing to worry about, I've got skills approaching that of a seated officer. Ordinary hollows will be no match for me.'

'And what happens after you leave?' asked Ichigo.

Evidently, she didn't have an answer to that because she remained silent. 'Well… I mean… there are plenty of other soul reapers. It's not like you will be defenseless or anything.'

'Except I've been seeing spirits since that day seven years ago.' said Ichigo. 'And I've never so much as caught a hint of any soul reapers other than you. How many soul reapers are there?'

'Erm… well, I shouldn't be talking about this.' said Rukia. 'But I'd estimate perhaps six thousand or so assigned to guarding Japan. Maybe less.'

'And how many hollows are there?' asked Ichigo.

'…We've never successfully counted them.' said Rukia. 'But their attacks have gotten worse over the past hundred years or so. We're a bit spread thin actually.'

'Last question.' said Ichigo. 'Do you keep track of all the spiritually sensitive humans throughout Japan?'

'Uh…' she paused, 'no. No, we don't.'

'So how do you know that they don't all get eaten?' asked Ichigo. 'What statistics do you have, which prove that you are actually protecting them. Before you came along, there were tons of spirits wandering this place. There still are.

'Frankly, it sounds to me like your Soul Society isn't doing a very good job.'

'Look, I don't have all the data.' said Rukia. 'I shouldn't even be talking to you about this. But… I have some family members in high places, alright. When I return to the Soul Society, I promise you I will make sure that a soul reaper is posted here.

'Your family won't come to any harm because of your spiritual pressure, I promise.'

Ichigo sighed. 'Well, thanks, I guess. Are you sure there is no way for a human to get powers?'

'I wouldn't try if I were you.' she said as she got back into her gigai. 'I'm serious here. The Soul Society can… well… we can become very ruthless. Especially when people threaten to disturb the balance of the worlds.' She stood up and dusted herself off.

'This heaven is sounding worse and worse by the second.' noted Ichigo.

'You don't know the half of it.' said Rukia.

The door opened.

'Ichigo!' said Isshin. 'Are you summoning the forces of darkness in your room again-' He paused as he saw Rukia.

This was going to be one hell of an awkward conversation.

'You're telling me that you got hit by a car, and they didn't even stop to help you?' asked Tatsuki.

'Well, it wasn't even really all that bad.' admitted Orihime. 'Ichigo and Rukia seemed to be talking about something really important as well.'

'I never knew that Ichigo could be such a heartless bastard.' noted Tatsuki. 'I swear I'm going to pummel him the next time I see him at karate.'

'But I thought Ichigo stopped going to karate years ago.' said Orihime.

'Yeah,' said Tatsuki, 'ever since we met Chad he just hasn't been the same. I've never told anyone this, but he used to be constantly smiling. It actually kind of ticked me off, and I knocked him down. But every time he saw his mother, he would instantly break out into a grin again, and we'd go at it.'

'So happened to make him stop smiling?' asked Orihime.

'He got waylaid by a bunch of thugs when he was twelve.' said Tatsuki. 'They were targeting him because of his hair color. I…I was out sick that day, so I wasn't around, and neither of us had met Chad yet. They beat him to a pulp, and he spent a week in the emergency room.

'I… well…' Tatsuki tried to find a way to say what came next without bringing up painful memories for Orihime. 'When he was there, there was a massive car wreck which blocked off all the roads. His family had to work overtime at the clinic because there were so many people who needed help.

'They… they weren't able to visit him for days.

After he recovered, he didn't smile anymore. He dyed his hair black from that day forward, and just started being distant from everyone.'

They fell into silence once again. Tatsuki wondered if Orihime had grasped what she tried to conceal. She hoped not. Because Orihime had had a crush on Ichigo for years and was completely oblivious to how much he hated her. If she found out her brother was among the patients, she'd never forgive herself.

Tatsuki decided to change the subject. 'So, do you ever get the feeling that a sudden disaster has been completely averted?'

'You know now that you mention it Tatsuki, I'm pretty sure an army of robot zombies has been routed somewhere.'

Meanwhile, Rukia was telling tales.

'So you see,' said Rukia, hand clasped in prayer. 'My brother is currently engaged in a vicious war with a rival samurai. And with the sheer chaos going on around me, I have nowhere to call home, and no one to call friends. Please, I beseech you to shelter me.'

Yuzu looked like she was on the verge of tears. Karin looked less than impressed with the obvious falsehood. It was an emotion shared by Ichigo, who had a vested interest in ensuring Rukia stayed here. Mother looked unimpressed as well.

'You have been through a terrible time, my dear girl.' said Isshin. 'But not to worry! So long as there is breath in my body, I, Isshin Kurosaki, swear that no enemy will cross the threshold of this house.'

'…Well I suppose if you need a place to stay.' said Misaki. 'Ichigo seems to trust you.'

'You don't honestly believe her story, do you?!' asked Ichigo, at his wit's end. 'This isn't the feudal era!'

'I believe that she is in need and that we can supply that need.' said Misaki carefully, before walking out.

It was official, Mom and Dad knew more than they let on.

Author's Note:

Okay, so Ichigo hates Orihime. Although I did actually come up with a reason why it had to happen. This is one of those butterfly effect things, I guess.

The original title for the fanfic was 'The Cheerful Substitute.' because I figured I'd have Ichigo be a genki guy. However, things developed otherwise.