AN: Thank you guys for all the Follows and Faves! I'm glad you're all liking the fic so far! So, here's Chapter 3 for you all.
3: Orihime
"GOOOOOOOOD MOOOOOOOORNING, ICHIGOOOOOO!" The yell came from Isshin Kurosaki, who was currently flying through the air with both feet held out in front of him, attempting to wake his son up with a double flying kick, but was intercepted when Ichigo caught him by the face and slammed him to the floor. "Aw!" Isshin moaned, disappointed that his sneak attack didn't work.
"Are you nuts?" Ichigo asked his father angrily. "What kind of sick, twisted freak attacks his own son while he's sleeping?"
"You are getting good!" Isshin said, still on the floor. "It looks like there's nothing left for me to teach you, my son."
"Huh? Wait a minute!" Ichigo exclaimed, finally remembering what happened last night. "What about Karin and Yuzu's injuries from last night?"
"Injuries?" Isshin asked, genuinely confused. "What are you talking about?"
"What?" Ichigo asked, dumbfounded.
"It's a miracle!" Isshin shouted. He was standing outside the house with Ichigo and the girls, looking at the hole in the side of the house. "A truck plows right into our house and none of us even gets a scratch!"
"What's more miraculous is that it somehow didn't wake any of us up," Karin said disinterestedly.
I don't get it, Ichigo thought, staring at the hole in total shock. Their wounds are completely gone. They think a truck did all this? Is this because of that Soul Reaper?
"Ichigo," Yuzu said, as she and Karin had started to walk back inside like nothing happened. "You better hurry up and eat breakfast or you're gonna be late."
"Yeah," Ichigo said absentmindedly. He was still thinking about the Soul Reaper from last night. Rukia Kuchiki. I wonder if she went back to that place she was talking about. The Soul Society.
The lunch bell just rang at Karakura High School. The students were mingling in the halls, going to each other's classrooms for lunch. Walking down the hall were two girls. They were both wearing the female uniform for Karakura High School: a grey blazer over a white dress shirt, a grey pleated skirt, and a red bow tied around their necks. One of them had short black hair. The other one had long strawberry-blond hair, with two teal star-shaped hairpins keeping it out of her face, and a rather large chest.
"Orihime!" The black-haired girl said to the strawberry-blond. "Did you bring lunch today?"
"Mmhm!" Orihime replied, smiling cheerfully. "Leftover Taiyaki-style ramen with wasabi and honey." The other girl looked disgusted at the thought of what THAT must taste like. "Would you like some, Tatsuki?"
"That's ok," Tatsuki replied. There was no way in hell she was eating whatever that was supposed to be.
"But it's really good," Orihime tried to convince her friend to change her mind, when she was knocked over by an orange-haired boy walking into her. She fell to the ground, dropping her books.
"Oh, it's you," Ichigo said nonchalantly. "Hey, Orihime."
"Oh, no!" said Orihime. "I'm sorry."
"Ichigo!" Tatsuki said sternly, getting right in his face. "You knock her down, and that's all you have to say? What the hell's wrong with you?"
"Sorry about that," Ichigo said. He looked down to Orihime, who was still on the ground. "You gonna be all right?" Orihime nodded. "Here," Ichigo said, offering his hand to help her up. She looked into his face and stared at his eyes for a few seconds before quickly standing up.
"Oh, no." she said, starting to back away from him. "That's alright, really." She started waving her arms around nervously. "I-I have v-v-volleyball! T-That's right! Volleyball!" She turned around and started running in the opposite direction.
"Orihime!" Tatsuki called after her friend.
"What's the matter with her?" Ichigo asked, confused by her behavior.
"What could it be?" Tatsuki said teasingly. "Maybe it was your ugly mug! By the way, why are you so late? It's already lunchtime."
"Yeah, don't worry about it. I'll tell you later." And with that, Ichigo walked away.
"Hey, Ichigo," a teenage boy said. Ichigo was sitting at his desk in his classroom, and a small crowd had gathered. The one who spoke was his friend Keigo, who had long brown hair. He was leaning against the desk directly in front of Ichigo. "I heard a truck crashed into your house last night, dude!"
"Pretty much, Ichigo said.
"Did you clean it all up yet?" The question came from a boy standing to Ichigo's left, a boy named Mizuiro. He had black hair that covered his ears, with a single bang over his forehead.
"What, are you kidding?" Ichigo asked him. "It's gonna take forever."
"Need any help?" came a deep voice from Ichigo's right. Ichigo turned to look at the voice, but he his eyes were only at stomach-level with the boy who talked. Ichigo had to strain his neck to look him in the eye. He was looking at his friend Yasutora, better known as "Chad". He was very tall and lean, with slightly dark skin, and shaggy brown hair that fell over his eyes.
"That's ok," Ichigo said to the living mountain.
"Yeah, Chad," said Keigo. "I mean, you could end up bringing the whole house down, you know?"
"Hey, what class is next?" Ichigo asked.
"Language lab," Mizuiro answered.
"Hello," a feminine, yet somehow familiar voice said from behind him. "You're Ichigo, aren't you?" Ichigo turned around to see who was speaking to him, and was shocked to see the Soul Reaper from yesterday. Except she was wearing the Karakura school uniform. And it seemed like the others could see her, since they turned to look at her, too. "I'll be sitting next to you from now on," Rukia said pleasantly. "My name is Rukia."
"AH!" Ichigo stood up and pointed at the girl. "It's you!"
"Ichigo, what's wrong with you?" Keigo asked.
"You two know each other?" asked Chad.
"Of course not," replied Rukia, still smiling pleasantly. "We've never met before. Isn't that right, Ichigo?" She held out her hand for Ichigo to shake, and he saw a note scribbled on the palm of her hand. "Make a scene, and you're so dead!" The note said, causing Ichigo to just stand there in shock, as he shook her hand.
"Rukia's one of the brand new transfer students!" Mizuiro said cheerfully.
"Nice to meet ya!" Kegio said, in a way that indicated he was definitely going to ask her out later.
"Wait, 'one' of the new transfer students?" Ichigo asked.
"Yeah, there are four of them," Mizuiro answered. Ichigo looked past Rukia, and was surprised by yet more familiar faces. Sitting in the back of room were the three girls from last night, Pyrrha waving, a pleasant smile on her face, Blake with her nose in a book, and Yang grinning mischievously. All three were wearing the Karakura uniform, and Ichigo couldn't see the chains sticking out of their chests anymore.
"Dude," Keigo whispered in his ear. "How lucky are we? We got four new girls in our class, and they're all super hot!"
"Yeah," Ichigo said, annoyed by this turn of events. "Lucky us."
Suddenly, Chad took a few steps forward, and stopped right in front of Blake.
Hubba hubba, Yang thought to herself.
"I like your bow," Chad said simply to Blake, who looked up from her book, a slight blush on her face.
"Oh," she said. "Thank you." The bell rang, indicating that the lunch period was over, and class was going to resume. Yang and Pyrrha looked at the flustered Blake with smiles on their faces.
"Alright, you freaky little nut job," Ichigo said to Rukia. Classes were over for the day, so he had dragged Rukia, Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha to the school's courtyard to talk to them. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"How scary, you big brute," Rukia said mockingly, causing Yang to snicker, while Blake just smirked and Pyrrha tried to stifle a laugh. "Jeepers, you're not gonna hurt me are you?"
"First of all," Ichigo said, pointing at her. "You can knock it off with the goody-two-shoes act."
"Well, I thought it was pretty good considering I learned it overnight," said Rukia.
"Yeah," Yang said, smiling. "She was practicing in front of the mirror all last night."
"Alright, forget it," Ichigo said, annoyed. "So tell me just what you're doing here now, anyway. Weren't you supposed to go back your Soul Society or whatever it was? And why are those three still here? Shouldn't they have passed on by now?"
"I can't," Rukia said, much more serious now. "Only Soul Reapers can go back to the Soul Society. I haven't the power to return anymore."
"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked.
"Last night, I lost almost all my powers as a Soul Reaper," Rukia said somberly. "I'm afraid they were all absorbed into you, Ichigo."
"Huh?" he asked. "I wouldn't know anything about that. And why haven't those three passed on yet?"
"Aw," Yang said playfully. "Are you really that eager to get rid of us?"
"Basically, our souls aren't of this world," Blake said.
"So, we can't go to the Soul Society," said Pyrrha. "Our souls don't belong there."
Not of this world? Ichigo thought. What does that mean?
"So now," Rukia said, "for the time being, the four of us are stuck in these ridiculous gigai forms."
"What do you mean by 'gigai'?" Ichigo asked.
"It's a temporary body that serves as a vessel in an emergency," Rukia explained. "In my case, I have to stay in this body while I wait for my powers to come back. The girls have to stay in theirs until we can figure out how to help them pass on."
"Looks like you're stuck with us," Yang said, winking at him. "Lucky you."
"Oh, now I get it," Ichigo said. "So that's why the others were able to see all of you before, right?"
"That's correct," Pyrrha answered.
"So," Rukia said, "until all of my powers come back, it's up to you, Ichigo, to perform the duties of a Soul Reaper."
"Huh?" Ichigo asked, not believing what he was hearing.
"You now possess the strength of a Soul Reaper," Rukia continued. "You do not have the right to refuse your calling."
"No way!" Ichigo cut her off, making an "X" shape with his hands.
"What?" Rukia asked.
"My monster fighting days are over," Ichigo said. "That was a one-time deal."
"Understandable," Blake said.
"Don't be ridiculous, Ichigo," Rukia said. "You did just fine yesterday. And don't encourage him, Blake."
"I'm just saying I understand his reluctance," Blake countered, looking away from Rukia.
"Yeah, Blake gets it," said Ichigo. "Besides, the only reason I was able to kill that thing last night was because my family was in danger. But it's not like I'm ready to go and fight for complete strangers or anything. Sorry to disappoint you." Ichigo turned around and started walking away, not noticing the disappointed expressions on the faces of Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha.
"I see," Rukia said somberly, putting a glove on her right hand. The glove was red and fingerless, with a cartoon skull wrapped in blue flames printed on the back. "Guess there's no other choice, then. Let's do it." She nodded to Yang.
"Hey," Yang called to Ichigo. He turned around to answer her, just in time to see Rukia charging at him. She hit him in the chin with the palm of her gloved hand, knocking his soul right out of his body.
"Ah, crap!" Ichigo yelled. He was now wearing his black shihakusho, and his sword was strapped to his back. He was looking at his own body, which was lying motionless on the ground in front of him. "What happened to my body? What in the world did you do to me?"
"Seeing that is going to take some getting-used-to," Yang said with a disturbed look in her eyes. It's not everyday you see someone literally get knocked out of their own body. The other two otherworldly visitors nodded in agreement.
"Follow me," Rukia said.
"Hey," Ichigo said to Rukia. He was following her along with the three new girls down the sidewalk towards a small park with a playground. "You wanna tell me where we're going here?"
"Yeah," Yang agreed. "I'm getting kinda bored, here."
"We're getting close," Rukia said to them, pulling a flip phone out of the breast pocket of her blazer.
"Close to what?" Ichigo asked, getting impatient.
"Our latest orders from the Soul Society," Rukia answered, looking at the phone. "It looks like the spirit of a boy that dwells in this park is likely to be attacked soon."
As soon as Rukia finished saying that, the five of them heard a scream. They looked to the park, where the sound seemed to be coming from, and watched the slide explode. They then saw a young boy with a chain sticking out of his chest fleeing in terror from a Hollow with a spider-like body.
"So that's a Hollow?" Yang asked Rukia.
"Correct," Rukia answered.
"It looks kind of like a Grimm," Pyrrha said to the other two Remnant girls.
"Yeah," Blake agreed. "Except somehow even scarier."
"Alright, you three," Rukia said. "As much as you may want to help, you don't have the spirit energy to take on a Hollow. Just stick to the plan."
"Yeah," the three girls said in unison.
Ichigo hopped the fence and started running towards the boy. "Wait!" Rukia said. "Hold on."
"What is it?" Ichigo demanded.
"Just where are you going?" Rukia asked. "That boy's a complete stranger, isn't he?"
"So, what?" Ichigo asked, not realizing what she was doing. "I can't just stand by and let this happen. You expect me to watch him die?"
"Don't be such a fool," Rukia said sternly. "In the eyes of a Soul Reaper, all the spirits of this world are equal."
"If you want to save one person, you have to commit yourself to saving all of them," Blake said. "Not just the ones right in front of you or the ones in immediate danger."
"Those with the power to save others have a responsibility to do so," Pyrrha continued.
"Even if it means laying down your life," finished Yang. Just like being a Huntress, she thought.
Ichigo could only stand there, contemplating what the girls had said, as the Hollow grew closer to catching the boy. The boy tripped, and the Hollow raised one of its legs to impale him. Faster than the blink of an eye, Ichigo's sword cut through the leg that the Hollow had raised. Now standing right in front of the Hollow, Ichigo swung his sword in the opposite direction, cutting off another leg, leaving the Hollow with four. It fell onto its back and vanished through a portal. The girls watched him in stunned silence.
"Have you made your decision, Ichigo?" Rukia asked.
"Like hell I have," Ichigo said, relaxing his stance. His answer surprised Rukia. "I haven't decided to do squat. I saved this kid because I wanted to. You hear me?" The kid was lying the ground, crying. "What about you?" he asked Rukia, turning around to face her.
"Me?" Rukia asked.
"I seem to remember you putting your life on the line to save me last night. Tell me. Were you really thinking about your duty when you rushed to help me? Of course not. That's the last thing on your mind when you save someone."
"Huh?" All four girls were surprised by what he was saying. Behind Ichigo, the Hollow had reappeared, and started charging towards him.
"At the very least," Ichigo said turning around and lifting his sword up. "I choose to be different!" With that, he impaled the Hollow right through its mask, causing it to dissolve into small black particles.
"Spoken like a true Huntsman," Pyrrha said.
"Yeah," Yang said, simply staring at Ichigo's form for a few seconds, a small smile on her face.
Ichigo walked up to the boy, who was now sitting up. "You OK?" He asked the boy. The boy looked up at him, and recoiled in fear. "Alright, kid. If you don't wanna go through that again, you better hurry up and pass on already." He tapped the hilt of his Zanpakuto against the boy's forehead, causing a brilliant blue light to appear underneath him. Rukia looked shocked, while Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha looked on in awe. The boy slowly disappeared into the light, a peaceful expression on his face. Rukia walked up to stand next to Ichigo.
"You did that quite beautifully," she said.
"Is that what he was trying to do last night when he hit me in the head repeatedly?" Yang asked.
"Correct," Rukia said. "That was called a Konso. It's a ritual we Soul Reapers perform to help a soul pass on. That's what it looks like when it actually works."
"That was beautiful," Blake said.
"Yes, it was simply breathtaking," agreed Pyrrha.
"You did a good job there, Berry Boy," Yang said, hooking her arm around Ichigo's neck.
"What?" Ichigo asked, suddenly embarrassed. "Who told you that's what my name meant?" Rukia refused to look at him, whistling a tune and pretending she didn't hear him. "Whatever. I'm gone." He wrestled free from Yang's hold and walked off, the girls looking at him with smiles on their faces.
Later that night, a man was watching Orihime reading a textbook through her bedroom window. The man was floating several stories in the air, had shoulder-length black hair, and was wearing a black suit and tie. He also had a chain sticking out of his chest. He continued watching her until she reached up and closed the blinds, causing the man to sigh in disappointment. Suddenly, he felt a presence near him. He turned to look to his left, and was filled with an overwhelming sense of terror. Floating in front of him were two monsters, wearing masks that appeared to be made of bone, with gaping holes in their chests. The monsters reached out their arms towards him, causing them to stretch and wrap around his body, immobilizing him. He screamed in terror.
"What are doing? Stop!" He pleaded to the monsters, as they vanished with him through a portal. When he emerged from the portal, he was in a place he had never seen before. He was surrounded by sand, with rock spires jutting out of the ground haphazardly. The sky was pitch black, yet there was still a source of light in the sky. "What's happening?" He looked around, scared out of his mind. "Where am I? I don't understand. What are you gonna do to me?" He felt a presence behind him, so he turned around to look at it. The figure was obscured by shadows, but he could tell that whatever it was, it was big.
"You are a lost little spirit," the creature said in a bone-chilling deep voice. "Now, let's devour this soul." The man got up and started running away, absolutely terrified. "Get him!" The creature shouted, causing the two monsters that attacked him earlier to charge at the man. Several more creatures joined in and dogpiled on the man, while the large creature simply laughed. Eventually, the monsters dispersed, and the man's form exploded in a bright light. His body reformed as the torso of a man, but the lower body of a snake. His skin was mostly black, with red around the shoulders, and white, bone-like protrusions coming out of the tail. A white substance exploded out of his mouth, and spread around his face, solidifying into a mask that looked like a skull. He let out an agonized roar.
"Hear my voice, oh Lord," Rukia read dramatically. She was holding a book, and was wearing a blue short-sleeved dress with black flats. "Help your humble child understand why she was born. And if your divine will wishes it, summon her back to your side. I await your-"
"Jeez, would you shut up already?!" Ichigo shouted in her ear.
"What is your problem?" Rukia asked, looking genuinely hurt that her reading was interrupted. "I am studying contemporary language."
"You're off by a couple centuries," Ichigo said flatly. He was wearing a white tee-shirt with "15" printed on the front, blue jeans, and black sneakers.
"Is that what you were doing?" Yang asked. She was wearing an orange cropped tank top, a leather jacket, black denim pants, and white sneakers. Ichigo couldn't help but think she looked damn good. "I thought you got religious on us there for a second."
"If you really need to learn that badly, I could help you find some good books to start off with," said Blake. She was wearing a white zip up jacket that left her midriff exposed, black pants, and black boots. On top of her head was her ever-present bow.
"Well, at least she's trying," said Pyrrha, her smile still present. She was no longer wearing her circlet, as she quickly realized it looked out of place in this new world. She was wearing a black pull-over hoodie, a denim miniskirt, and red sneakers.
"Whatever," said Ichigo dismissively. "So tell me," he said to Rukia. "How long do you plan on following me around?"
"Until you answer your calling as a Soul Reaper."
"Yeah, right," he said. "And what about you three?"
"It's not like we have anywhere else to go," Yang said, putting her hands on her hips. "You know, most guys would kill to have four beautiful girls like us around them all the time, but you can't wait to get rid of us. It really makes me wonder about you."
"Why you little," Ichigo said, getting right in her face, scowling at her while Yang just smirked.
"Now, Yang," Pyrrha said. "Don't antagonize him. I'm sure he's only upset that we just showed up out of nowhere and haven't left him alone."
"Aw, but it's fun," Yang whined, her face still inches from the scowling Ichigo's.
"Hey, Yang," Blake said. "You might want to move your face away from his. People might get the wrong impression." It was at this moment that Ichigo and Yang realized how close their faces were, and they pulled back, blushing furiously.
"Blake!" Yang said. "What was that for?"
"Call it payback for laughing at me in class when that boy talked to me."
Yang was going to continue arguing with the black-haired girl, when the group heard what sounded like tires skidding. They looked to the source of the noise and saw a car speeding away, and a figure that appeared to belong to a girl lying on the ground. The five of them ran towards her to help. As they got closer, Ichigo recognized the girl as Orihime. She was wearing a short-sleeved purple blouse and a yellow skirt with orange flower designs.
"Hey!" Ichigo called to her as they got closer. Orihime was slowly trying to get up, clearly in pain. "Orihime!"
"Uh, Ichigo!" she yelled in surprise, quickly sitting up fully.
"Did you just get hit by that car?" He asked concerned.
"Oh!" She looked confused. "Maybe."
"What do you mean, 'maybe'?" Ichigo asked.
"Did she hit her head or something?" Yang asked. Blake and Pyrrha simply shrugged.
"Are you gonna be ok?" Ichigo asked.
"Mmhm!" She said, quickly standing up. "It was just a little bump on my head. Don't worry, I'm fine. I swear!" She starting pumping her arms in the air.
"Ah, so she did hit her head," Yang said. "That explains a lot."
"You sure you're ok?" Ichigo asked. "Where did that car go that hit you?"
"Um," Orihime said, looking like she was thinking. "It drove away," she said simply.
"Orihime!" Ichigo said incredulously.
"Oh, sorry," Orihime said, looking down sadly. Ichigo felt bad for making her sound stupid.
"Well, OK," he said, scratching the side of his face in embarrassment. "As long as your OK, then."
"Is she always like this, or is that the head injury talking?" Yang whispered to Ichigo.
"Beats me," he whispered back.
"Yang?" Orihime asked, having recognized the blonde from school.
"Hey there," Yang said, flashing a smile at Orihime.
"And Blake, Pyrrha, and Rukia are here, too?" asked Orihime.
"Hi," Blake said.
"Hello again," Pyrrha waved, her pleasant smile never once disappearing.
"Yeah, and just who are you?" Rukia demanded.
"Hello!" Ichigo whispered in her ear. "She's in the same class as you! Her name is Orihime! Get your head outta your butt!"
"Oh, of course!" Rukia said, curtsying to Orihime. Her voice suddenly became much softer. "Orihime! How are you?"
"Wow, it's almost like she instantly became a completely different person," Blake whispered to Yang.
"I know," Yang whispered back. "And the girl just got hit by a car. How does she think she is?"
"Oh, I'm great, thank you!" Orihime returned the curtsy, flooring everyone else with how nonchalantly she was acting.
"Well now, it appears that you've been shopping," Rukia added, her voice never losing its soft tone.
"Huh? Oh, that's right! Dinner!" Orihime rushed to pick up the grocery bag that she dropped when the car hit her. "My leeks, bananas, butter, and bean jam seem to have made it, too!" She said excitedly, twirling one of the leeks in her hand. Everyone else just looked disgusted.
Ugh, Ichigo thought. I don't wanna know what she's going to make with that.
"How did you get that bruise on your leg?" Rukia asked Orihime.
"What bruise?" Orihime asked, looking down at her leg. She saw a patch of purple skin that was shaped almost like a large hand had wrapped around her leg. "Oh, I guess that happened just now when that car ran into me."
"Jeez, does it hurt?" Ichigo asked.
"Yeah, that looks really bad," Blake agreed.
"It hurts a little, but I'm OK."
"Are you sure?" Pyrrha asked.
Ichigo looked down, and noticed that Rukia was kneeling in front of Orihime, staring at the bruise intently. The others had noticed, too, and were giving her weird looks.
"Um, what's the matter, Rukia?" Orihime asked.
"Huh?" Rukia looked up at her. She hadn't even realized what she was doing.
"Is anything wrong?"
"Right! Well, you take care!" Rukia said, standing up quickly, clearly embarrassed.
"Thanks!" Orihime said.
"So, do you want me to walk you home?" Ichigo asked.
"Oh, I'm OK, really. See ya!" She laughed nervously, before turning around and walking away.
"Man, she needs to be more careful," Ichigo said.
"For real," agreed Yang. "It's no surprise she got into an accident with how air-headed she seems."
"Well, she was certainly… unique," said Pyrrha.
Later that evening, Ichigo and the girls were walking along a riverbed. The setting sun cast an orange glow over the five teens. They had been silent for a while. Rukia was the one to break that silence.
"So, that girl," Rukia said to Ichigo.
"Oh, you mean Orihime?" Ichigo asked.
"Are you close to her?" Rukia asked him.
"Yeah, she seemed to know you," Yang added.
"Nah, we're not that close," Ichigo answered. "I barely know her, and we don't really talk that much. But she's friends with a buddy of mine, so I see her around. Although…"
"What?" Blake prompted him to continue.
"Around three years back or so, her older brother Sora was in a terrible accident and died at our clinic."
"What?" All four girls were shocked, and had stopped walking.
"He was in a car wreck," Ichigo continued. "He was the only family she had. I didn't know at the time that she was the girl I saw crying that day. I only found that out just recently."
"Oh my god," Blake said softly.
"That's terrible," Pyrrha said.
Ruby, Yang thought to herself, looking down sadly. Ichigo's story made Yang think about her own younger sister. How was she handling this? Yang knew that losing friends like Pyrrha and Blake would be hard for Ruby, but she couldn't imagine what she must be going through after losing her older sister, too. I wish I could check on her. What would she think, knowing that I'm living out another life in a new world?
"How in-tune were you to the spirit realm back then?" Rukia asked Ichigo.
"Not as much as I am now. It's really only recently I've been able to fully see and communicate with spirits. Why? What's up? What are you thinking?"
"Nothing," Rukia responded coyly. She started to walk past Ichigo, and motioned for the other three girls to follow her. "We'll see you later."
"Huh?" Ichigo asked. "Hey. Where are you going?"
"Back home," Rukia answered.
"Where's that?"
"You really want to know?"
"I guess not."
"Then don't ask." And with that, the four girls walked away.
Later that night, the door to Orihime's apartment rang. "Coming!" She called. Opening the door, she saw Tatsuki standing outside. She was wearing a white button-up shirt unbuttoned, with a black crop top underneath, and dark green camo pants. She was holding a plate of food covered in saran wrap. "Oh, hi Tatsuki!" Orihime greeted her friend cheerfully.
"My mom thought I should bring this over to you," Tatsuki said, handing the plate to Orihime. "It's stewed beef and potatoes."
"Oh, wow!" Orihime said excitedly.
The two girls were sitting down at the table, enjoying the food that Tatsuki brought over. Orihime had a modest apartment, with a sense of organization about the whole room. In a corner was a shrine to Sora, Orihime's older brother. Next to the shrine was a large pink stuffed bear, a gift from her brother.
"Oh boy!" Orihime said happily. "This is delicious!"
"I swear," Tatsuki said. "If I don't bring meals over for you to eat, you always end up cooking the weirdest stuff."
"You think so?" Orihime asked her friend.
"Um, yeah. I mean, what is this stuff?"
"Hey, Ichigo?" Yuzu called. She was standing in the doorway to Ichigo's room. Ichigo was sitting on his bed reading a manga. "You haven't seen my pajamas, have you?"
"Yuzu, come on!" Ichigo said sternly. "Knock before you come in here!"
"Well, I'm sorry I asked," Yuzu said indignantly. "You've been so mean since you started high school!"
"Have not," Ichigo said flatly. "And I don't know where your pajamas are."
"That is just so odd. One of my dresses has gone missing, too."
"Why do you feel the need to ask me about every little thing? Do I look like I care?"
"Ok, goodnight," Yuzu said, irritated by her older brother's attitude. She closed the door as she left. Ichigo started hearing a ringing sound coming from somewhere in his room.
"What the-?" He looked up from his manga, and starting looking around for the source of the noise.
"Hey, Ichigo!" Rukia's voice called to him, opening his closet door. He looked to his closet and saw Rukia, Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha all piled inside of it. They had somehow installed a bunk bed in his closet and appeared to be doubling up. Rukia was wearing a yellow pair of pajamas with a black checkerboard pattern. Ichigo recognized it as Yuzu's missing pair. Yang was wearing a short yellow tank top that left a good portion of her midriff exposed, and short black shorts. Blake was wearing a short black yukata, with her bow still on top of her head, and Pyrrha was wearing a pair of pajamas almost identical to Rukia's except brown. Ichigo yelped in surprise.
"What the hell?" He yelled at the girls who had been freeloading in his room. "What are you all doing in there? Are those my sister's PJ's you've got on?" Ichigo asked as Rukia jumped out of the closet.
"I'll explain later," Rukia said, reaching inside her shirt to grab her glove. "We've got orders," she said.
"Orders?"
"We're not alone," she said as she put the glove on her right hand.
"Wait, what are you saying?" Ichigo asked. By now, the other girls had climbed out of his closet and were standing in his room.
"Get down!" Rukia hit him in the face as she said this, pulling his soul out of his body and knocking him off the bed, just as a hand reached through a portal in the wall, grabbing at where he was just sitting. The hand grabbed at Ichigo's bed, crushing it, and pulled the rest of its body through the portal. Ichigo saw it was a Hollow, with the torso of a man and the lower body of a snake. It had a mask that resembled a skull, framed by black hair, and a hole in the center of its chest. It looked right at Ichigo and roared.
"Why are you just standing there?" Rukia scolded him. "Do something!" Ichigo drew his Zanpakuto and leaped into the air, evading a swipe from the Hollow's claws. "You have to aim for its head!" Rukia instructed.
"This isn't good," Pyrrha observed. "It's too cramped in here."
"Yeah," Blake agreed, "His sword is too big for this room."
Ichigo attempted an overhead swing while he was still in midair, only for his Zanpakuto to cut into the ceiling, killing all of the momentum his sword would have carried, just as Pyrrha thought it would. When he finally completed his swing, his Zanpakuto simply bounced uselessly off of the Hollow's mask. The Hollow swiped at Ichigo with its tail, knocking him across the room.
"Ichigo!" all four girls called in concern. Ichigo quickly recovered, standing back up with his sword raised. The Hollow raised its hand and attempted to crush Ichigo, but he managed to roll out of the way. He swung his Zanpakuto at the Hollow's arm, but once again did not have enough momentum, leaving a deep gash in the creature's arm, instead of severing it completely like he had originally intended. Ichigo landed, frustrated at his lack of progress.
"You need to focus!" Rukia scolded. "Don't just swing your sword around!"
"Shut up!" Ichigo said, irritated. "Who cares, as long as I kill it?" Ichigo leaped into the air, dodging another strike from the Hollow's arm. He attempted another overhead swing, but his sword clipped the ceiling again, only managing to crack the Hollow's mask. The Hollow struck him with its tail, sending him flying across the room again. The Hollow then finally took notice of the four girls in the room with them, and made a beeline straight for them. "NO!" Ichigo yelled, trying to get up to help them. The Hollow swung its arm at the girls, and all four rolled away to dodge it. All of them except for Yang. She had jumped straight up in the air, throwing a punch at the Hollow, right in the cracked section of its mask. The Hollow was sent staggering backwards from the force of the blow, and the crack in its mask deepened.
"Whoa!" Ichigo was dumbstruck at the sheer force the blonde had put into that attack.
"Awesome!" Yang said, pumping her fist triumphantly. "It looks like this gigai is just as strong as my old body was. Sweet!" She cracked her knuckles, throwing a confident smirk at the Hollow. "Ready for Round 2?" As she said this, the cracked section of the Hollow's mask fell apart, revealing a very human-looking eye underneath it. Ichigo was shocked the second he saw the eye. The Hollow gave out another roar, but this time, they heard what sounded distinctly like a man's voice mixed in. And he was in pain. The Hollow fell backwards through a portal and disappeared.
"It's getting away," Rukia said, turning to chase after it. "Let's go." Ichigo didn't move, instead staring at the space where the portal was. "Ichigo, what's the matter?"
"Something's not right."
"What?"
"I got a look at that thing's face," Ichigo turned to look at her, a look of horror on his face. "It was Orihime's dead brother!"
"What?" The three girls from Remnant were all absolutely shocked.
"Are you certain?" Rukia asked. Ichigo simply nodded silently, the horror of his realization immobilizing him. "Here's a word of advice," Rukia said somberly. "When attacking Hollows, come from behind and cleave their heads with one blow. Don't forget. It's basic theory for any Soul Reaper."
"Why?" Ichigo asked. "What do you mean?"
"It will keep your injuries to a minimum," Rukia explained. "And with any luck, it will keep you from learning the Hollow's identity."
"Wait a minute," Ichigo interrupted her. "What do you mean, 'the identity'?"
"You just saw for yourself. Do you understand? The Hollows were once the souls of human beings no different from anyone else."
Ichigo was completely horrified at this new information, while the three girls from Remnant just looked down sadly, having been told this information already but had hoped they would never have to tell him. "You- you never told me that! That thing I saw was just a monster, wasn't it? It was some beast from the underworld that needed to be wiped out."
"That is correct," Rukia said. "He is just a monster now. And he must be destroyed."
"But it was human once," Ichigo was having a very hard time processing this.
"It can't be helped," Rukia continued. "Souls that hold on to feelings of resentment or regret will sometimes resist Konso and linger on alone in this world. Should that happen, they either become Hollows on their own eventually, or they're devoured by other Hollows and become one of them."
"This is actually the reason why myself, Yang and Blake have to use these gigais," Pyrrha explained. "Rukia was afraid that since the Konso won't work on us, we'd eventually all turn into Hollows."
"Yeah," Yang said. "The gigais are to help keep us from turning."
"I had no idea," Ichigo was still trying to come to grips with what Rukia had just told him.
"WHAT?!" Tatsuki asked, surprised. "He was with ALL of them?!" Orihime nodded in response.
"But I'm sure he was just showing them around town, Tatsuki. What's the matter?"
"Damn," Tatsuki said, folding her arms in front of her. "I never knew Ichigo was such a smooth operator. I mean, honestly! He didn't even walk you home when you were hurt!"
"Well, no," Orihime said. "I mean, he did ask me if I wanted him to walk me home. But I…" She looked down, a deep blush forming on her face, and just sat there, completely lost in her own thoughts.
"Orihime," Tatsuki tried to snap her friend back to reality. "You're daydreaming again." Suddenly, they heard a crashing sound, and felt the ground around them shake. And then another. And another. And another. They sounded like they were getting closer. And finally, a roar rang out in the night.
AN: Thank you guys for reading! I'm finding that adding the RWBY characters to scenes from Bleach is a lot easier than I thought it would be.
I would like to take this opportunity to answer a question from the reviews. To Guest Isa: I currently have no plans to return the girls to Remnant. There are two reasons for this. I would have to rewrite how RWBY's story post Volume 3 would have gone without Blake and Yang. The main obstacle to being able to do that is the fact that Ruby's personality is so poorly-defined that I don't know if Yang's death would be enough to make her give up or she'd press on to Haven anyway. The other reason is that I'm trying to write in as part of their development the fact that they have to come to grips with never being able to go back to Remnant. I'm tossing around the idea of them temporarily going back to Remnant, but they will be living out the rest of their days on Earth.
Hope you guys enjoyed Chapter 3! Chapter 4 will be out on Monday, April 1. And no, I don't have anything for April Fool's Day. I didn't think that far ahead.