A/N: Here we go! Next chapter is up! But first, here are the Review Responses:

skylark dragonstar: I'm glad you like it. In this story, in order for the plotline to work out I plan it to, Momo needs to be in here. She's a much needed character.

PartyPony2: I love it when people smile when they read my stories. It makes me feel good. :) Anyways, would she be arrested? Actually, to be honest, she will, but not for association. Momo is still the Lieutenant of Division 5, and yes, Division 10 does have a Captain. No it's not an OC nor Matsumoto. Like I said, there are no major OCs in this story. The Division 10 Captain has a major part in this story, and it is a canon character, one who does have bankai, but he's someone who appeared in the series only once. Actually, he doesn't appear in any episode, but a movie. PM me if you (any of you) want to guess. And all other questions will be answered later.

bleach hui: Well, here it is!

Toshiro with love: I'm glad you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own Bleach! All of it belongs to Tite Kubo.

And thank you all for the favs and the story alerts!

~3~3~3~3~

Chapter 3: Older Brothers in the Line of Duty

"Gooooooooood Mooooorrrrnnniiiinggg, ICHIGO!" Both Ichigo and Toushirou had to wake up to that. However, both of them were truly awake when Isshin let out a strangled yell, because Ichigo had kicked him before Isshin could and had grabbed his face and held it to the ground.

Toushirou rubbed his eyes as Ichigo muttered angrily, "Are you nuts? What kind of sick, twisted freak attacks his own son while he's just lying there sleeping?"

"You are getting good," Isshin mumbled out with some effort. "Looks like there's nothing left to teach you, my son."

Ichigo thought of something and then grabbed the front of his father's shirt, who had a red hand mark over his eyes.

"Wait a minute! What about Karin, Yuzu, and Toushirou's injuries from last night?"

"Injuries? What are you talking about? All three are just fine. Look over there at Toushirou. The only pain he's in is from waking up so early."

"W-What?" Ichigo was confused and dumbfounded.

Outside, the damage from the hollow was finally realized. Only, the other three didn't call it damage from a hollow, so to speak.

"It's a miracle!" Isshin exclaimed. "A truck crashed right into our house and no one gets hurt!"

Ichigo and Toushirou were both dumbfounded.

'Actually, that Shinigami, Hinamori, was it? She's a pretty good healer. My shoulders feel like brand new...' Toushirou thought.

"What's more miraculous is that none of us even woke up when it happened," Karin muttered.

'I-I don't get it...' Ichigo thought. 'Their wounds are completely gone!' He looked over at Toushirou, who was flexing his shoulders without a distorted look of pain on his face. 'His too. They think that a truck did all this? Is this the work of those two Shinigami?'

The rest of the family was walking by back into the house.

"Onii-chan, Shirou-chan, hurry up and eat breakfast or you're gonna be late for school," Yuzu said.

"Sure," Toushirou said following Yuzu into the house. Ichigo followed a while afterwards.

'I wonder if both of them went back to the place they mentioned...the Soul Society.'

In class 1-3, the boys were talking about last night.

"Hey, Ichigo, Toushirou, I heard a truck crashed into your house last night, dude," Keigo said.

"Pretty much," Ichigo said.

"So, did you clean it all up yet?" Mizuiro asked.

"What are you kidding? It's gonna take forever," Ichigo said.

"Need any help?"

Toushirou looked up a tall and burly Chad. He sweatdropped and backed away one step very slowly. "Er...that's okay, Chad..."

"Yeah, Chad," Keigo said. "You could wind up bringing the whole house down, if you know what I mean."

Two girls walked towards the group of five boys.

"Hey, what have we got next?" Ichigo asked.

"Language lab," Mizuiro answered.

"Great, my favorite subject," Toushirou muttered sarcastically.

"I thought you liked that class, Toushirou," Mizuiro said. "You get an A in that class every day."

"I get an A in every class," Toushirou counter-attacked.

"Hey, you're Ichigo, aren't you?" A familiar voice ran through Ichigo's head. He turned around to see...

Ichigo's mind went blank.

"I'll be sitting next to you from now on. My name is Kuchiki Rukia," Rukia said.

"And I'm Hinamori Momo, her cousin. And I'll be sitting next to you, uh, Toushirou, right?" Momo said.

Ichigo freaked out, while Toushirou simply said, "Y-Yeah..."

"I-It's you!"

"What's wrong, Ichigo?" Keigo asked.

"You two know each other?" Chad asked.

"Of course not," Rukia said. "We've never met before. Isn't that right, Ichigo?"

"Rukia and Momo here are brand new transfer students," Mizuiro said.

"Nice to meet you both," Keigo said, smiling. For some reason, Toushirou felt a twang of anger in his heart when Keigo said that. Oh, the way he said it didn't help either.

"It's a pleasure," Rukia said, holding out her hand. Ichigo read the writing on her hand.

'Make a scene and you are so dead!'

That didn't help Ichigo at all.

"Alright, you freaky little nut jobs! What the hell are you two doing here?" Ichigo demanded.

"How scary," Rukia teased, "You big brute. You're not going to hurt me, are you?"

"Rukia-san," Momo started.

"First of all, you can quit with the cutesy talk. It annoys the hell out of me," Toushirou muttered.

"Well, I think it's pretty good, considering I learned it overnight," Rukia said.

"Forget it!" Ichigo said. "So what are you two doing here anyways? Weren't you two going back to that Soul Society place?"

"We can't," Rukia said. "Momo's mission here is a long-term mission. Mine was a short-term. And besides, only Shinigami can go back there. Right now, I don't have that ability."

"What?" Ichigo said.

"That true?" Toushirou asked Momo, who nodded.

"All of it."

"Last night, I lost nearly all of powers because of you, Ichigo. And thanks to you, for the time being I'm stuck in this ridiculous-looking gigai form."

"What's that?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia pointed to herself. "It's a temporary body provided for use in emergencies. Shinigami who are drastically weakened inhabit a gigai until their powers return."

"So that's why the others could see you guys," Toushirou said, his brilliant mind at work.

"That's right," Momo said.

"As so..." Rukia said. "Until all of my powers return, it's up to you, Ichigo, to perform the duties of a Shinigami along side Momo! It's only natural. You now possess the strength and powers of a Shinigami. You don't have the right to refuse your calling-!"

"No way!" Ichigo said, forming his arms into an X shape.

"What?" Both girls said.

"My monster fighting days are over. That was a one time deal."

"Don't be ridiculous, Ichigo-san," Momo said. "You did just fine yesterday."

"That was because my family was being attacked," Ichigo said. "I'm not about to risk my life for a complete stranger. Sorry to disappoint you." Ichigo turned and started to walk away.

"I see," Rukia said. "I guess there's no other choice then." Rukai put on a red glove with a skull and flame design on it. "Hey!"

Ichigo turned to see Rukia coming at him fast. He felt a pain in his chin and then all over his entire body. He looked up and then down and saw himself as he looked last night: a Shinigami.

Ichigo freaked out some more.

Rukia merely said, "Follow me. Momo, take the west side. We'll take the east." Momo nodded and swallowed a green pill, just as Rukia and Ichigo walked away. Soon, there were two Momos. One was in her Shinigami form. The other was in her school uniform.

"Try not to cry now, Luna, okay?" Luna, in Momo's gigai, sniffed and nodded, taking Ichigo's body out of sight as Momo turned to Toushirou and said, "Follow me, okay?"

Toushirou and Momo were walking down the street.

"Hey, Hinamori, where are we going?" Toushirou asked.

"To find a hollow. Soul Society can't detect it for some reason. Last night, you sensed the hollow first and that's why you went missing. I told the Soul Society about your fast hollow-detecting abilities and what that hollow did and said to you, just as you told me last night. They told me to stay by your side and be your bodyguard. Apparently, you're a big hot spot for hollows. But for some reason, you can sense hollows before the Soul Society or even I can. That's why I've taken you with me."

"Oh..." Toushirou then heard a hollow's cry.

He paused and looked at Momo, unsure of what to do.

"If you hear something, go ahead and run the direction you think it's in. It's ok. I'll be right beside you," Momo said.

He then ran to the source, Momo closely following him. Soon, she was right beside him.

"You see what I mean?"

Toushirou could only nod.

"By the way, you're pretty fast," Momo commented.

"Thanks, I'm on the track team," Toushirou said before both saw the hollow attacking a spirit girl. Momo quickly defeated it and sent the soul to the Soul Society.

Momo walked back, sheathing her sword as she went. "To a Shinigami, all spirits are considered and treated as equals. You must be willing to go to any risk to help any spirit, even if it means sacrificing your own life."

Toushirou only nodded, speechless by what he had just heard and seen.

"What are you doing to me?" The soul screamed in agony.

"I need it… It is being held inside a vessel…a human body…you must get it for me…"

The soul stopped screaming as it slowly transformed into a hollow.

"Hear me, O Lord. Help your humbled child understand why she was born. And if your divine will wishes it, summon me back to your side. I await you-"

"SHUT UP!" Ichigo cut Rukia off.

"What is your problem?" Rukia asked. "I am studying contemporary langauge."

"You're off by a couple centuries," Toushirou said, turning a page his own book, Momo standing next to him, looking around.

"So tell me, Rukia, how long to keep planning on following me around? I understand why Momo's tailing Toushirou, but why are you following me?"

"Until you answer your calling as a Shinigami."

"Yeah, right, whatever," Ichigo said, turning around to go home, with the other three on his tail.

There a sound of tires screeching and Toushirou turned around, thinking that he sensed something.

In the distance, the car rolled away, leaving Orihime on the ground in a fetal position.

"Hey!" The group of four ran toward her. "Inoue?"

Orihime sat up immediately, startled. "Huh? Kurosaki-kun? And Toushirou-kun too?"

"Did that car just hit you?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh...maybe..."

Toushirou mind went blank. 'How can she not be sure?'

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked. "Are you going to be okay?"

Orihime got up. "Yeah, it was just a little bump on the head. Don't worry. I'm fine. I swear."

"Are you sure you're okay? And where'd the car go?" Toushirou asked.

"It, uh, drove away."

"Inoue!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

It took a while, but Ichigo finally caved in. "Oh, alright, as long as you're okay."

Orihime smiled and then asked, "Kuchiki-san? Hinamori-san?"

Momo smiled and leaned over to Toushirou and whispered to him, "Who is she?"

"Inoue Orihime. She's in our class," Toushirou whispered back.

"Oh, right," Momo said, just as Rukia said, "Who the hell are you?"

Ichigo elbow-bumped her, saying, "Hello! She's in the same class as you. Her name is Inoue Orihime. Get your head out of your butt!"

Both Shinigami girls said at the same time, "Oh, of course, how could I forget? It's nice to meet you!" Both curtsied at the human girl, who merely curtsied back.

"The pleasure is all mine."

"Well, it appears that you've been shopping," Momo said.

"Oh, yes, dinner!" Orihime ran back to get her bag.

When she came back, she twirled a leek in her hand, saying, "My leeks, butter, bannanas, and bean jam all made it too!"

'Ugh...I don't want to know what she's going to make with that,' Ichigo thought.

Rukia and Momo noticed something on her leg. Toushirou noticed it too.

"How did you get that bruise on your leg?" Rukia asked.

"What bruise? Oh this? I guess I got it just now," Orihime said.

"Geez, does it hurt?" Ichigo asked.

"Just a little, but I'm fine," Orihime said. She leaned down to Rukia's level, who was examining the bruise. "Umm, what's the matter, Kuchiki-san?"

Rukia looked up. "Oh, it's nothing. You take care now, okay?"

"Okay."

"You want me to walk you home?" Ichigo asked her.

"Oh, no. It's fine really. See ya." With that, Orihime walked across the street and on to her house.

"Speaking of walking girls home," Toushirou said, "You want me to walk you home, Hinamori?"

"Oh, no, it's okay. I think Rukia and I can find our own way. But thank you anyways."

Toushirou nodded, crestfallen, for some odd reason that he couldn't think of.

Ichigo and Toushirou were sitting on their beds in their room when Yuzu opened the door.

"Hey, you guys haven't seen my pajamas anywhere, have you?" She asked.

"Come on, Yuzu, this is a guy's room," Toushirou said, reading a book.

"He's right. Knock before you come in here," Ichigo said.

"Well, I'm sorry I asked. You two've gotten so mean since you entered high school," Yuzu pouted.

"Have not," Toushirou said.

"And we don't know where your pajamas are," Ichigo finished.

"That is just so odd," Yuzu said. "One of my dresses has gone missing too."

"Why do you feel the need to ask us about every little thing? Does it look like we care?" Ichigo asked.

"Okay, fine. Good night!" With that, Yuzu closed the door.

Rukia and Momo were lying on a bed in the dark, when Momo's Soul Pager deeped.

'An order?' Momo thought as Rukia looked up at her. There was a final beep. Somehow, Ichigo and Toushirou heard it too.

Rukia opened the door, which was to the closet in the boys' room.

"Ichigo! Toushirou! Move out! We've got orders!"

"Huh? Is that my sister's pjs you've got on? Why the hell are you two in our closet?"

"First of all, we're all lucky it's big enough to fit two fully grown men. Second," Rukia said, putting on her red glove, "We're not alone."

"Come on, Ichigo-san. It's here. Let's go!" Momo said, taking out her green pill.

"'It's here'?" Ichigo asked confused.

"Move!" Rukia said, smacking Ichigo with her glove, and he and Momo, who swallowed her pill, both came out of their bodies. Luna had grabbed Toushirou out of the way and was holding him back from fighting.

Ichigo, Rukia, and Momo merely stood there.

"What are you doing, you two? Don't just stand there. Kill it!" Rukia said.

"Silence, Kuchiki! You may be a noble, but I outrank you!" Momo said, drawing her sword.

"Forgive me, Hinamori-fukutaichou, I thought we were still doing that cousins act," Rukia said.

"We are," Momo said. "Just let me give the orders around here."

"Understood."

"Ichigo-san!" Momo yelled. "Aim for its head!"

"Right!" Ichigo said, drawing his sword, making it scrape against the ceiling. Ichigo swung down, but missed. It swung its tail, but Ichigo couldn't dodge it. He was slammed to the ground.

"Ichigo!" Toushirou yelled, but Luna still held him back.

Ichigo recovered quickly and finally managed to injure its arm. Ichigo swung again, ignoring Rukia's "Focus! Don't just swing you're sword around!" Ichigo swung again, and he got it, but the cut was too shallow. The hollow grabbed Ichigo's sword and it was now a struggle for control. Soon enough, the sword broke part of the hollow's mask.

It then retreated.

"Ichigo..." Toushirou started.

"It's getting away. Let's go!" Rukia said.

"Ichigo-san?" Momo asked.

"I got a look at thing's face...it was the face of Inoue's dead brother!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"You mean hollows will attack their own families?" Ichigo asked, carrying Rukia on his back. Momo and Toushirou followed closely beside them.

"Yes," Momo said.

"Why would they do that?" Ichigo asked.

"A hollow is a fallen soul. When a spirit becomes a hollow, they loose their hearts and will attack anyone."

"It makes me sad that you can't remember me, Orihime...very, very sad!" The hollow aimed a strike at her, but Ichigo had blocked it with his sword.

"I'm the one you're really after, right? Leave her alone and fight me!" Ichigo managed to get a cut on its hand. It retreated before Ichigo could do any more damage.

"Uh...Kurosaki-kun? Thank you so much for saving us! But what are you doing here?"

"Woah, Inoue? How in the hell can you see me?" Ichigo asked.

"Why shouldn't I?" Orihime asked as Ichigo checked out the chain on her chest.

'Only spirit beings can see you. Normal humans cannot,' he remembered Rukia saying to him.

"That means..." Ichigo said.

"That's right!" The hollow was back. "She's a spirit being now. In other words, Orihime is dead!"

The hollow appeared. Ichigo tried to attack it, but he was thrown out the window and sent outside.

"Ichigo-san!" Momo exclaimed. "You okay?" She tried to aim for the arm that held Orihime, but the cut was too shallow and Momo was sent, by the hollow's tail, to the ground outside.

"Hinamori!" Toushirou yelled out. Without Luna or anyone else to hold him back, he rushed to her side.

With another swipe of its tail, Ichigo was sent to the ground right next to Momo.

"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled out.

"If you will let me, I'll go and finish him off. It won't take long," Sora went off, letting Orihime stand.

"No! I can't let you do that! Hurting someone just to have your own way is wrong!" Orihime yelled out.

"Be quiet!" Sora snapped at her. "Don't tell me what's wrong and what's right when it's your fault that I'm like this!"

Sora grabbed Orihime's neck with his claws.

"I should kill you on the spot for the way you've abandoned me. I'll kill you first!"

"No, you won't, you freak!" Ichigo stabbed Sora's tail, making him let go of Orihime and Ichigo kept stabbing the tail.

Momo kneeled next to Orihime as she coughed and choked while Sora recovered from his missing hand that Ichigo had just cut off.

"Let me ask you something, Captain Overbite. Do you know why older brothers are born first? There's a reason," Ichigo calmly said. "It's to protect the little brothers and sisters that follow."

"Ichigo!" Rukia and Toushirou had just come in through the door.

"And here you're threatening to kill you're own sister? Even a dead man doesn't have any right to say that!"

"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!" Sora exclaimed. "Orihime is mine! I raised when our parents abandoned us. I was fifteen when she was born. When they left, she was three. I've protected her ever since. Orihime!" She looked up. "Come with me. If you listen to me, I won't a single hand on the others."

Orihime stood up, but Rukia stopped her. "Wait, stop! It's a trap. He may have the memories, but he no longer has the heart and feelings of a brother."

Orihime's hairpin glowed. This caused Sora to yell out in agony and slam his head into a wall.

"What's going on?" Momo exclaimed.

"Orihime...is...MINE!" Sora attacked again.

Ichigo blocked the attack with his sword. "As if! Inoue doesn't belong to anyone!" Ichigo chased him out, but hesitated to kill him. That gave him the perfect opportunity to have his hands get burned, making him drop his sword and body to the ground. However, he got up quickly. Sora aimed another attack at Ichigo, but someone else took the hit for him.

"Inoue..." Ichigo muttered.

"Ori...hime...why did you do that?"

"All of this happened...because of me...it's all my fault...because I begged you not to leave me alone."

Orihime fell to the ground, releasing Sora.

Sora then began screaming in agony again.

"What's going on?" Ichigo asked.

"He's fighting the hollow inside him," Momo said. "Apparently, this one didn't become a hollow by choice. He must have been taken over by a hollow. Don't you get it? His target was supposed to be you. A soul that is devoured by a strong hollow is manipulated by that hollow. In other words, a hollow who is after you and your brother took over a soul that you knew in life. Using that method, he knew you would hesitate to kill him. Sure enough, he was right. Right now, the brother's soul is desperately fighting that hollow for his sister's sake."

Suddenly, the hollow's mask broke, showing Sora's face. Orihime teared up and fell to the ground.

"No!" Sora cried out.

"Inoue!" Ichigo rushed to help her.

"It's alright!" Everyone stopped and looked at Rukia. "Luckily, the Chain of Fate is still attached to her chest. As long as it is not severed, she will not die." Rukia kneeled next to Orihime. "I need to treat her. Stay back."

"That hairpin she's wearing was a present from you, wasn't it, Sora? She told me that once. That's why she wears it every single day," Ichigo said.

Sora went over and grabbed Ichigo's sword.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Ichigo asked him.

"I only have a few seconds left before the hollow overwhelms me again. So while I'm sane and can still think clearly, I'll end this."

"No!" Ichigo yelled.

"Stop, Ichigo-san," Momo said. "He's made the right choice. Once you become a hollow you can't go back to what you were before. Let him pass on."

"Momo..."

"It's ok," Rukia said. "You soon learn that exercising a hollow is not really killing it. You're basically cleansing a hollow of its sins so it can pass on to the Soul Society."

"Wait, I have to tell you before you pass on," Orihime said, sitting up, all healed. "I want to tell you what I didn't tell you that morning...'Onii-chan, have a good day'."

"Yeah, I'm off now," Sora said before committing suicide.

Momo and Rukia comforted a heartbroken Orihime.

"It's true!" Orihime said the next day. "A sumo champion really came into my room and blasted a whole in my wall with a gun!"

"Orihime," Mahana said, "If you're going to make up stories, at least make them sound realistic."

Ichigo, Rukia, Momo, and Toushirou looked on dumfounded.

"So that's what you did yesterday," Ichigo said.

'Kurosaki-kun! What's with these monsters and all this...!' Rukia clicked a buttom in front of her face, and Orihime fell unconcious.

'Inoue! What did you do to her?'

'Memory replacement. I replaced her memory of tonight and gave her a new one.'

'Memory Replacement?'

'But I can't choose the new memories, which can be a problem,' Rukia said.

'So basically, tomorrow, we'll find out what she thinks happened tonight,' Momo finished.

"You used the same thing on my family the other night, didn't you?" Ichigo asked.

"Yep. What's wrong?" Rukia asked him.

"I don't have the resolve to do this yet. I'm not such a fine human being that I can promise to risk my life for a complete stranger, just like that," Ichigo said. "However, I'm not a total slime who'd watch someone get hurt right before my eyes. So I'll help you." Ichigo stuck out his hand. "At least, for now."

Rukia smiled and took his hand.

"Thanks, I'm counting on you."

'He...actually wants to do this?'

For some reason, Toushirou didn't really agree with this.

~3~3~3~3~

A/N: And that's Chapter 3! Review, please! Sorry if it seems kinda rushed. I jammed two episodes into one chapter and only brought out the main highlights.