AN: Wow. Almost 70 follows. Thank you guys so much for enjoying the fanfiction! I hope you enjoy chapter 5!

Chapter 5: Chad

"A cursed cockatiel?" a blond boy asked to one of his two friends. One of his friends had a buzzed haircut, and the other was a tall, lean boy with shaggy brown hair that fell over his eyes. It was night time, and the three of them were sitting on the ground in front of a construction site. There was bird cage in between the three boys, with a white cockatiel sitting in it.

"All of the people that have owned this bird have gotten into these really terrible accidents and died," the boy with the buzz cut said. He was wearing a white tee-shirt with blue around the collar and sleeves, and brown cargo pants.

"Wow," the blond boy said. He was wearing a red tee-shirt, with a yellow button up shirt worn open, and khaki pants. He had a guitar case sitting next to him. "That's not a good sign."

"Hey, Shigeo, you want to take him?" asked the boy with the buzzcut.

"So, Ide, tell me," Shigeo said. "Just how stupid do I look to you? Here's an idea. Why don't you set him free or dump him someplace?"

"Well, that would be too cruel," Ide said. He looked at the tall boy with the brown hair. "Well, how about you, Chad, what do you say?" He picked up the cage and held it in front of Chad's face. Chad was wearing a light blue tank top and black pants. "Isn't he cute?"

"Hey, knock it off," Shigeo said. "You know Chad's got a weakness for cute things." All of a sudden, the bird starting screeching and flapping its wings quickly, and a loud noise was heard above them. They looked up and saw that a steel beam had fallen from the construction site and was about to land on them. Chad quickly stood up, got underneath it, and let the beam land on his shoulders. He groaned in pain, but remained standing, blood trickling down his face. Evidently, the beam had hit him in the back of the head as well.

"Chad?" Ide asked, concerned.

"Are you all right, buddy?" Shigeo asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm ok," Chad responded, as blood continued to trickle down his face.

"You're OK?" Ide was dumbfounded. "Then how come you're bleeding, bro?"

"Thank you so much for saving me," a small voice said. The three boys looked down at the source of the voice, only to see the bird still sitting in its cage. "Hello there," the bird said. "My name is Yuichi Shibata. What's your name, mister?"

"Did you hear that?" Shigeo asked. "That bird is talking like a person."

"Yeah, I heard it," Ide responded. "That bird is cursed."

"I'd really like to know your name, mister," the bird said, still addressing Chad. He just looked at the bird with a blank expression on his face.

"Yasutora Sado," he said to the bird like it was the most normal thing in the world. "I'm 15 years old."

"Check it out," Shigeo said. "Chad's interested in the bird."

"Jeez, there's not even a trace of that cut left," Ichigo said, feeling his forehead. He was eating lunch on the roof of his school along with Rukia, Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha. "It's nearly healed in just one day."

"Yeah, and my ribs are all healed, too," said Yang.

"Don't be so surprised," Rukia said proudly. "I got the best grades in my Kido class, and I have a talent for it. Healing your wounds was easy."

"You got graded?" Ichigo asked, looking at her. "So, what? There's a school for Soul Reapers?"

"You can call it that," Rukia said.

"Is it that weird?" Blake asked. "After all, we had to go to school to learn how to become Huntresses."

"Don't even get me started," Ichigo said. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around all that stuff you told me about your world. 'Remnant' or whatever. Can't believe I'm shacking up with aliens."

"'Shacking up'?" Yang said with a mischievous smile. "You make it sound like we're up to no good."

"Do you always have to be a pain in the ass?" Ichigo asked, annoyed.

"You know you like it, Berry Boy."

"Why you little!"

"Hey," Rukia said. "Can one of you idiots tell me how to drink from this?" She held up a juice box.

"Idiots?!" Yang and Ichigo yelled. Blake and Pyrrha tried to hold back their laughter.

"If you're going to keep bickering like idiots, that's what I'm going to call you. Anyway, I'm thirsty. How does this thing work?"

"Whatever," Ichigo said. "You poke a hole in it. You use the sharp end of your straw."

"What straw?"

"So, you're all together again," a voice called out to the group. They turned and saw that the voice belonged to Ichigo's friend Mizuiro. He was holding a lunch box in one hand and a water bottle in the other. "You seem pretty chummy with them, Ichigo."

"Mizuiro, shut up," Ichigo said. "Come on, does it really look to you like we're chummy?"

"Maybe. Well, to be honest, you seem pretty close with them. People are gonna start talking."

"Whatever," Ichigo sighed as he poked the straw into his own juice box while Rukia was still trying to decipher hers. "If I really cared what people think, I would have dyed my hair black a long time ago."

"Yeah, that's true."

"So," Blake asked him. "What kind of things are people saying about us?"

"Oh, the usual," Mizuiro answered. "People are starting to think Ichigo set up a harem of girls all fighting for his affection." The girls all scoffed at this.

"Yeah, right," Blake deadpanned.

"I assure you it is nothing like that," said Pyrrha.

"Yeah," said Yang. "We're just a group of friends yanging out." She said that last sentence with a stupid grin on her face. Blake and Pyrrha instantly facepalmed while Ichigo and Mizuiro were flabbergasted. Rukia was still too busy fumbling with her drink to pay attention.

"Oh god," Blake mumbled into her palm.

"What the hell did you just say?" Ichigo asked incredulously.

"'Yanging out'?" Yang said. "Get it? Cuz my name is Yang?"

"Yeah, I get it. Why?"

"Why not?"

"Because that was the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"Whatever. I'm hilarious."

"I had held out hope that she would stop doing this," Blake said.

"Never a dull moment with Yang around," Pyrrha said with a nervous giggle.

"That's one way to put it."

"So THIS is the straw!" Rukia declared, getting everyone's attention. She had ripped the straw off the back of the juice box and was staring at it intently. "It's short. But where do I poke it?"

"Hi there," Mizuiro said, walking up to Rukia.

"Why, hello there!" Rukia said, instantly putting on a cheery smile that the others besides Mizuiro all knew was fake. "You're, um, Mizuiro?" He gave a small chuckle.

"That's me. I guess we haven't been properly introduced. Same to you girls, too," he said, gesturing to the girls from Remnant. "I'm Mizuiro Kojima. I really like-"

"Picking up chicks," Ichigo interrupted.

"Huh?!" Mizuiro looked offended at that comment. "Ichigo, that's not cool."

"Watch it, girls. He may look like a dork, but he's a real player. Seriously."

"Cut it out!" Mizuiro pleaded. "You'll permanently damage my reputation! Besides, Ichigo, you know older women are really more my style."

"Like I said girls, watch this one." After all, the three girls from Remnant were 17 if what they told him was true, making them all two years older, and who knows how old Rukia was?

"What's this?!" a loud voice suddenly called out to them. Ichigo looked and saw that it was his friend Keigo. "The hot transfer students are hanging out with you guys? How did that happen?"

"Did he seriously just call us 'hot' out loud to our faces?" Yang whispered to Blake.

"Bold and overconfident," Blake whispered back. "Reminds me of a certain someone." They both looked at Pyrrha, who smiled sadly, clearly also being reminded of her old partner, Jaune.

"Ichigo picked them up," Mizuiro said to Keigo. "He's the one who brought them here."

"I did not!"

"Ichigo did?!" Keigo asked excitedly. "Ha ha, what a guy! Good job!"

"It's really no big deal," Ichigo deadpanned. Keigo quickly ran up to the four girls, and stood tall.

"Greetings! I'm Keigo Asano! Welcome, lovely ladies to this garden of manliness!"

"Uh, hello," Rukia said uncertainly.

"Uh-huh," Yang said disinterestedly.

"Whatever," Blake sighed.

"Hello, there," Pyrrha said pleasantly.

"Yeah!" Keigo yelled, throwing his arms up in excitement. "Lunch party! Right here! Right now!"

"Some party!" Mizuiro said mockingly. "Noodles and juice?"

"Shut up! It's the feeling that counts!" Rukia and Pyrrha were laughing nervously at this boy's energy, while Yang and Blake were completely ignoring him at this point. "So, ladies," he said, trying to act as smooth as possible. "If you ever find yourselves needing anything, you just call on me. I'm here for you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Pyrrha said, her smile still on her face.

"Great!" Rukia said, holding out her juice box. "Open this!"

"No prob," he said. "Your wish is my command." He took a step backwards, and bumped into somebody standing behind him. He turned around and saw that it was Chad, who was carrying a bird cage in his left hand.

"Hey Chad," Ichigo said.

"Hey, Blake, look," Yang said teasingly to her friend. "It's Tall, Dark, and Handsome."

"Yang!" Blake said through clenched teeth, a light dusting of pink appearing on her cheeks. "Knock it off!" Chad looked right at her and raised his hand to greet her. She sheepishly returned the greeting. She then noticed the bandages wrapped around his hand. Looking up, she saw that his head was wrapped up, too.

"What happened to you?" she asked him.

"Woah, you got hurt," Keigo observed. "How?"

"I had a mishap," Chad responded simply. "A steel beam fell on my head." Everyone was stunned by that. How had he even survived?

"A steel beam? For real?" Keigo asked.

"My hand got hurt when a motorcycle ran into me," Chad continued.

"Jeez," Yang said.

"The rider that hit me got banged up pretty bad. The force of the collision threw him off and he was knocked out, so I picked him up and carried him to the hospital."

"Holy crap," Ichigo said.

"Well no wonder you were late to school," Keigo said.

"Boy, he really states the obvious, doesn't he?" Blake whispered to Pyrrha, who simply chuckled.

"Just what the hell is your body made of exactly?" Ichigo asked.

"I wonder what else this guy can handle," Yang said teasingly, nudging Blake with her elbow.

"Yang! I said stop!" They heard a clanking sound, and saw that Chad had put the bird cage on the floor.

"Hey, where did you get the bird?" Keigo asked.

"My name is Yuichi Shibata," the bird said, stunning everyone. Ichigo and Rukia looked particularly affected. "It's nice to meet you. What's your name?"

"That is amazing!" Keigo exclaimed, getting right up to the cage. "I mean, the way this bird can talk is phenomenal! My name's Keigo Asano! Kei-go, A-sa-no! Can you say that?"

"Are talking birds normal here?" Pyrrha asked Ichigo.

"No, they are not. So Chad, just where did you get this bird?"

"Someone," he said. He paused for several seconds, leaving everyone in suspense. "gave me him," he finally finished, flooring everyone.

"Hold it!" Keigo said. "There you go again, getting lazy and cutting your story short! Come on! That's a bad habit you have, Chad! Now explain! Spill it!"

"That was the whole story," Chad said, sitting down in front of the bird cage. He pulled out a packet of oyster crackers and began to feed them to the bird.

Ichigo was staring intently at the bird. He got a really weird feeling from it. Really weird. Rukia had noticed.

"Don't worry," she said. "You're right, there is something in that bird, but I don't think it's evil. It's probably just a lonely soul. You know, one that didn't have many friends."

"Poor thing," Blake said.

"Yes, it's unfortunate. But we can't leave it or it might become a Hollow. Tonight we perform a Konso."

"Oh great," Ichigo sighed. "That's just what I need, another sleepless night." He took her juice box from her, finally sick of her fumbling around with it, and stuck the straw in the box himself.

"A Soul Reaper's work is never done," Pyrrha said.

"Don't remind me."

How odd, Rukia thought. Ichigo was concerned about the safety of others and sensed the soul's presence. Maybe he's beginning to understand what it means to be a Soul Reaper.

"Here you go," he said, handing her back her juice box.

"Oh, thank you," she took the juice box from him and finally started drinking from it.

"You know," Ichigo said. "I first met Chad back in eighth grade." The four girls had all begun listening to his story while the boys were fawning over Chad's bird. "The color of my hair always got people's attention, and not in a good way. So I'd end up getting into a bunch of fights with some tough guys who didn't like the fact that I was different."

"Some things never change," Blake said, making a mental note to herself to never take off her bow. If people just up and attacked Ichigo just because of the color of his hair, she couldn't imagine what people would do to someone who has cat ears. Especially since the faunus don't exist in this world.

"Yeah, people really suck sometimes," Ichigo sighed. "Actually, the day I met Chad, I was in the middle of getting my ass kicked. His timing couldn't have been better. Six guys had jumped me. Two of them were holding me down while the leader wailed on me. They really meant business. Then Chad suddenly swooped in and knocked the leader over. All six guys grabbed a hold of him and the leader started hitting him over and over, but he just wouldn't go down. He stood there and took it. He didn't fight it. In fact, he never fights back, no matter how much people egg him on."

"He looks like he could mess someone up," Yang observed. "I wonder why he doesn't fight back. It's weird, right Blake?" There was no response. "Blake?" She looked to her partner, who was just looking at Chad, but Yang couldn't quite read her expression. Was it interest?

"This juice tastes good," Rukia said quietly.

"It had better," Ichigo said. "It only took you all afternoon to figure out how to open it."

"I'm home," Ichigo called, walking into his front door. Normally he'd be greeted by his sisters with dinner on the table, but tonight he instead walked in to them wearing pink nurse's outfits and rushing around with medical supplies.

"Move, Ichigo!" Karin yelled, shoving past him. "Out of the way!"

"Hey!" He called after his sister. "What's the hurry, Karin?"

"Welcome home, Ichigo," Yuzu said as she hurried past him. She was carrying a box of medical supplies with her.

"So what's got you both so worked up?"

"An accident," Yuzu said, stopping at the front door to turn to him. "There was a big car wreck down at the corner."

"A big car wreck?"

"I just told you, four cars!" Ichigo heard his father shout. He was talking on the phone, and it was clearly not going his way. "So you can't take that many? Well here's a news flash: They gotta go somewhere! We can't treat them all here, we're a small clinic! Listen, tell your boss this is a request from Isshin Kurosaki! He'll find me some open hospital beds, no problem! Just do it!" He slammed the phone down.

"Uh, hey Dad," Ichigo said nervously.

"Damn stupid idiots," his father grumbled. "They wouldn't know a stethoscope from a cell phone."

"So is there anything I can do?"

"No," his dad said quickly, crushing his spirits. "Just assume the fetal position and stay out of the way."

Ichigo did just that, curled up on the floor in the corner of the room. He may not know how to help, but did his dad have to be such a jerk about it?

"Dad, we've got this one last patient that needs treatment," he heard Yuzu say.

"Man, this guy's as big as they come," Isshin said. "Ichigo, come over here and give us a hand with this guy."

"You bet," he said, getting up and walking towards them, only to stop dead in his tracks. Standing in his family's clinic, so injured that Isshin had to help him stand, was Chad. Chad looked up and him, and nodded in greeting. In his left hand was the bird cage. What was weird, though, was Karin's face. She was staring at the bird, almost like she was terrified of it.

Ichigo helped his father sit Chad down on a bed, and Isshin carefully removed Chad's yellow Hawaiian shirt to examine his injuries. Mostly a few scrapes and bruises, but they were shocked when they saw what was on his back. There was an ugly purple patch of skin in the shape of a hand right in the middle of his back.

"Whoa, what a horrible wound," Yuzu said, holding her mouth in shock, and a little bit of disgust.

"So, what happened to you out there?" Isshin asked. "This looks like a pretty nasty burn, but I think I can help you out." He grabbed a swab and started applying ointment to Chad's burn.

Something doesn't feel right, Ichigo thought.

"With this wound, you're going to have to take it easy for a while," Isshin instructed.

"That's good," Chad said.

"Huh?"

"I'm fine now," Chad said, getting up and putting his shirt back on. "Thanks for the help." He started to walk towards the table the bird cage was placed on.

"What?!" Isshin shouted. "You are crazy! Do you have any idea how much blood you've lost, son?" Chad only took about 2 steps before collapsing on the ground face first. "I told you," Isshin sighed. "Yuzu, Karin, get a bed ready for him."

"Right," Yuzu said. "Time to go to bed, Mr. Giant."

Ichigo walked into his room, and was startled to see that Rukia, Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha were already there. With all the excitement downstairs, he had completely forgotten about his new roommates. Blake was in her bunk in the closet, and was engrossed in whatever book she was reading. Pyrrha was seated at Ichigo's desk, studying. Yang had evidently discovered the joys of Manga, and was sprawled out on the floor reading one. Rukia was simply sitting on Ichigo's bed, looking like she was contemplating something.

"What's up?" Yang asked.

"You look like something's bothering you," Pyrrha said to him.

"There was an accident around the corner from here," Ichigo said.

"Is that what all that noise was?" Blake asked, not looking up from her book.

"Yeah, and I couldn't believe it but Chad was hurt pretty badly." That got Blake's attention. "They've got him in a hospital bed downstairs."

"Really?" Yang asked. "Man, I thought that guy was invincible."

"Trust me," Pyrrha said quietly. "No one is."

"He had this really nasty looking burn on his back. It reminded me of the bruise Orihime got from her brother, now that I think about it. And it gave me this weird feeling." He looked to Rukia, who still hadn't spoken yet. "Did you feel it?"

"Of course," she said. "I felt it all the way in here, and yet I sense no evil in Chad's bird. But I sense that his wound really reeks of a Hollow."

Blake's face took on a look of concern at those words.

"With Chad here," Ichigo said, "I can't run the risk of performing a Konso tonight. He might not be able to see me, but my sister could, and I'd rather not deal with that. We'll have to make sure to keep an eye out for the Hollow and help that bird out tomorrow."

"Well," Yang said, standing up and stretching. "I think I'll call it a day. Ichigo, if you'd please leave the room so we can change?"

"What? It's MY room you're staying in. Why should I leave?"

"Are you seriously suggesting that you can stay in this room while four girls are changing? You pervert." She said this with a sly grin on her face. Ichigo finally grunted in frustration and left the room.

Chad was lying awake in his hospital bed. Ichigo's father had instructed him to lie on his stomach so he wouldn't irritate the burned skin on his back. He looked over to his right, where the bird cage was sitting. There, sitting in his cage, was the white Cockatiel named Yuichi Shibata. Yuichi was just looking at him. They stared at each other for a few minutes, when he heard the door knob click open. He wasn't expecting anyone to be coming into his room this late at night, so he was immediately on edge. The door opened slowly, and in walked a familiar girl. She had long black hair with a black bow in it. She was wearing a short black yukata, and Chad couldn't help but blush lightly. He couldn't help it. She looked really cute.

"You're Yasutora, right?" The girl asked.

"Mhm," He responded. "And you're Blake?" She nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"I have to talk to you about something. It's been bothering me."

"Shoot," he said, sitting up.

"Ichigo told me something about you. He said that you never fight back, even when people provoke you. Why? Why do you let people walk all over you?" Her hands had unconsciously clenched into fists as she said this.

"I made a promise," he said simply.

"A promise?" Blake asked. He nodded.

"Yes. To my abuelo. I promised that I would never use my strength for myself. Only for others."

"Even if you get seriously hurt?"

"Yes."

"But why? If someone attacks you, you have every right to fight back."

"I used to pick fights a lot as a kid." This shocked Blake. "I was always big, so I thought that meant I could do whatever I want. My abuelo showed me that I was wrong. Power should only be used to protect others."

"But that's…" Blake was speechless. Suddenly, Yuichi started flapping his wings.

"He's here!" He said. "He's here!"

"Morning, Ichigo," Yuzu greeted her brother. Ichigo had walked into the living room, his school uniform already on. The girls weren't in his room when he woke up, as usual, so he assumed they had left early to avoid being seen by his family. "Breakfast is ready." Ichigo noticed that Yuzu was the only one in the living room.

"So, hey, is Karin up yet?"

"She didn't want to eat," Yuzu answered. "She said she's not feeling so good. I'm worried."

"Really?" Ichigo asked incredulously. "Karin's sick? That's not like her."

"Ichigo!" Isshin suddenly yelled, bursting into the room. "Bad news! Chad's disappeared from his room! He's gone!"

Ichigo was running through the streets, desperately trying to find Chad. With his injuries, he had no business being out. Especially since he had a Hollow after him, if the burn on his back was any indication.

"Ichigo!" He heard Rukia's voice call him, and spotted her along with Yang and Pyrrha.

"Girls!" He said. "Chad's missing!"

"What?" They were shocked.

"Chad too?" Pyrrha asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Blake's missing, too!" Yang said, concern in her voice. "She was gone when we woke up this morning."

"Hopefully they're together," Rukia said. "Ichigo, do you have any idea where he might be?"

"No clue."

"Damn. And there's no news from the Soul Society about a Hollow. I'm not sensing one either." She reached inside her blazer, and pulled out her sketch pad, showing little cartoon creatures. The left side of the drawing was colored green, and said "Soul Society". The right side was colored blue, and said "World of the Living". Going down the middle was a thick black line, and all the cartoons representing Hollows were lined up inside it. "When a Hollow isn't chasing a Soul, it can hide itself between this world and the Soul Society. When a Hollow is between worlds, it can't be detected. So, we won't be able to locate the Hollow, and by extension Blake and Chad, until it shows up to attack them. You understand?" Ichigo just had a blank look on his face.

"You think I can understand those Kindergarten drawings of yours?" He said flatly, causing her to hit him in the stomach with her sketch pad.

"But if we wait for the Hollow to show up, it'll be too late!" Yang said. "I can't just sit here and let them die!"

"There has to be something we can do," Pyrrha said, the concern clear on her face.

"I've got an idea!" Ichigo shouted. "We'll use Chad's bird friend!" Rukia looked confused. "Can we use that bird to help us detect the presence of a Hollow?"

"No, that's impossible." Ichigo simply grunted and closed his eyes. He looked like he was using all of his concentration, but on what, the girls didn't know. Then, slowly, he began to glow blue. "I-Ichigo?" Rukia asked. "What is this sensation I'm feeling?" Particles of blue energy started to gather around him.

"You two sure are nice," the bird said from inside its cage, which was still being held tightly by Chad. They were on the run all last night. When Yuichi started freaking out, Chad immediately felt some kind of dangerous presence, and without thinking, had grabbed both Blake and the bird and made a run for it. They had finally come to a rest in a construction site, Chad in his yellow Hawaiian shirt, and Blake still in her short black yukata, much to her embarrassment to still be in her pajamas. "The both of you are. But I need to apologize to you and explain something. Everyone who has ever owned me has ended up with bad luck."

"Yeah, I know," Chad said.

"I'm assuming that's why you've been getting injured so much?" Blake asked. Chad simply nodded, trying not to look at her. He had been avoiding looking at her since they started running, not wanting to stare at her in her pajamas. Blake had to admit it was kind of sweet that he was trying to avoid making her uncomfortable. They had entered into an empty storage shed. It was very large and spacious, with several large windows lining the walls.

"I'm sorry," Yuichi said. "I should have told you."

"Don't worry about it."

"So, please, forgive me? And abandon me. Just leave me here and go." Chad lifted up the cage in front of his face so he was looking Yuichi in the eyes.

"I can't do that to you," he said.

"Me neither," Blake agreed.

Karin was lying in bed, sweating buckets and breathing heavily. She let out a few weak coughs. Chad's bird kept appearing in her mind. She sensed something when she looked at that bird. Something that terrified her. "Ichigo," she said weakly, getting out of bed and stumbling to her bedroom door. "I've got to tell him."

The blue particles surrounding Ichigo were beginning to condense around his body. The girls stared at him, shocked at the dazzling display in front of him.

"What's happening?" Pyyrha asked.

"He's trying to feel the soul in that bird," Rukia said. "Even I can't sense such a weak soul at this distance. And the human soul inside it is being partially eclipsed by the soul of the bird itself. For him to hone in on it from so far away should be impossible." Suddenly, the particles condensed into white ribbons surrounding Ichigo. The girls looked on in awe. "He did it," Rukia said.

"I got them!" Ichigo said, grabbing two of the ribbons.

"Wow," Rukia said.

"Way to go, Berry Boy!" Yang yelled in excitement.

"I told you to stop calling me that!" Ichigo yelled as he started running in the direction the ribbons came from. Yang and Pyrrha followed. Rukia hadn't started moving yet, and was just looking at him in shock.

He saw it, she thought. Spirit ribbons, rays of spirit energy. But only high level Soul Reapers can see those. Is he really growing as a Soul Reaper that quickly? She ran off to follow the others, and hoped they would find Chad and Blake in time.

"I think we managed to ditch him," Chad said. They were sitting in the storage shed, taking a well-deserved break.

"Yeah," Blake said. "I don't see him anywhere."

"We're lucky you can see it," Chad said.

"Listen," Yuichi said from his cage. "You're both in danger here."

"Don't worry," Chad said. "We'll be fine. I should at least be sturdy enough to handle this."

"We won't let him hurt you, Yuichi," said Blake. "I promise you this." They heard a creaking sound above them, and looked up to investigate it. Blake's eyes went wide.

"I see it!" She shouted. They both managed to roll away in time, as the ground they were just standing on exploded because of something Chad couldn't see. Right before he rolled, Chad had grabbed the birdcage, and he and Blake were sprinting towards a window on the opposite side of the shed.

"It's right behind us!" Blake shouted.

"Let's get out of here!" said Chad.

"Oh, no!" The bird exclaimed.

"Don't worry, we're gonna make it," Chad assured him. The two humans had finally reached the window, and jumped straight through it.

Ichigo was running, following where the ribbons pointed, Rukia, Yang, and Pyrrha following him. They were fast approaching a corner, when they finally saw the pair they were looking for emerge from around it. Chad looked right at him, the bird cage in his hand. Ichigo saw Blake right behind him.

"There they are!" He yelled. "It's Chad and Blake!"

"Guys!" Blake called. Chad stopped running for a brief second, looked back in the direction that they came, then grabbed Blake's hand and started running in the opposite direction from the others. "Wait, Yasu!" She said to the giant.

"Wait!" Pyrrha called.

"Blake!" Yang called out to her partner.

"Stop running away!" Ichigo yelled. "You need our help! Hold up!"

"Ichigo!" he heard a voice call to him. Looking to his left, he saw Karin leaning against a lamp post for support, looking pretty rough.

"Karin?" Ichigo asked, concerned. "What are you doing here? You look really sick." She couldn't hold herself up anymore, and fell to her knees. Ichigo and Yang were instantly by her side.

"You two need to get Karin home now," Rukia instructed them. "That way we know she'll be safe. Pyrrha and I can handle this."

"What, are kidding me?" Ichigo asked. "I'm not just gonna leave you."

"Just do as I say!" Rukia snapped. "If we leave her here, you'll just be distracted when you fight the Hollow, and that can't happen."

"Don't worry," Yang said. "Pyrrha will be with her. She was the best fighter of our generation back in Remnant." Pyrrha nodded.

"Go on, get moving," Rukia ordered. "Get her home, and get back here quick."

"Pyrrha," Yang said. "You make sure you bring Blake back. And whatever you two do, don't die."

"Will do," Pyrrha said confidently. The two girls took off in the direction Chad and Blake ran off to. Ichigo picked his sister up, and he ran back home with Yang in tow.

"You're gonna be alright, Karin," Ichigo said. "You just hold on, OK?"

"Ichigo," Karin said weakly.

"Don't try to talk," Yang said.

"Ichigo," Karin said again. "I came to tell you. I saw it." She was starting to look really distressed. "I saw the memories of the spirit possessing that bird. His strongest memory flowed into my mind, and I saw it all. I saw exactly what he saw- his mother's murder." Ichigo and Yang were both horrified by what they were hearing. "It happened right in front of him," Karin continued, grabbing Ichigo's collar tightly. Tears were starting to form in her eyes. "You have to tell him that if he goes to the other side, she'll be there. You've got to help that poor boy! Please! Don't let him be alone anymore."

Damn it, Rukia thought, panting heavily. She was still trying to chase down Chad and Blake, with Pyrrha running a little farther ahead. Rukia was running as fast as she could, but just couldn't keep up with them. This Gigai is worthless! Next time, I'll make those R&D imbiciles give me one stronger than this! This Gigai's legs can barely run, and it's heart and lungs are slowing me down. Pyrrha had turned around to look at her, and stopped to let her catch up.

"Are you ok?" The redhead asked.

"No," Rukia responded.

"Oh, you smell good," a deep voice said, making them stop in their tracks. They both froze, trying to feel out where the voice was coming from, but they couldn't see anything. Rukia couldn't sense anything either. Suddenly, a large white mask appeared right next to Rukia's face. "You smell wonderful, delicious." His eyes looked between the two of them quickly. "Time to eat your souls!" He opened his mouth, and a blast of energy flew out of it. Rukia and Pyrrha both rolled out of the way. They were finally able to get a good look at the Hollow. His large body was mostly a dark blue color. He had a mostly human shape, except for the large protrusions that looked like closed bat wings sticking out of his wrists. It had fur around its shoulders. It's mask was mostly rectangular, with long ear-like extensions sticking out of the top.

"You're still alive," the Hollow said. "You two are certainly tougher than you look. And you can see me quite clearly. That's odd for humans. So just who are you?" The girls stood slightly lower to the ground, getting ready for a fight. "Oh, well, I guess it doesn't really matter. You all go down the same!" He raised his arm, and brought his fist down where the girls were standing. Pyrrha had executed a backflip, while Rukia stepped to the side and jumped towards the Hollow, hitting his mask with her knee. She grabbed the creature's chin and swung herself onto its back, landing in a crouching stance.

"Ye lord!" She began chanting. "Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man!" She leaped off the creature, pointing her arm at it in midair. "Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws!" Energy began to form in the palm of Rukia's outstretched hand. "Hado 33! Sokatsui!" A ball of blue flames launched from Rukia's hand, hitting the Hollow square in the back, the force of the explosion propelling Rukia away from the monster. Smoke obscured her view of it.

I did it, she thought. I got my powers back. She was shaken out of her self-congratulatory thoughts, when the Hollow emerged from the smoke completely unscathed.

Chad and Blake had finally stopped running, and were catching their breath outside of an apartment complex. Chad still had a firm grip on Blake's hand.

"Yasu," she said to him. "You can let go of my hand now."

"Oh, sorry." He said, letting go. Suddenly they heard a loud explosion coming from back the way they came.

"That doesn't sound good," Blake said.

"What's going on?" Chad asked.

"It's attacking them," Yuichi said from inside his cage.

"What?" They both asked the bird.

"Those girls that were chasing us before. The monster is attacking them right now."

"Oh, no," Blake said. "Yasu, let's go. We have to help them." He nodded before looking at Yuichi.

"You just stay here. We have to go."

"What are going to do?" Yuichi asked.

"We're going to save our friends," Blake answered.

"Wait! Please!" Yuichi started flapping his wings in a panic. "Don't go! It's too dangerous!" Chad placed the bird cage on top of the wall separating the apartment building from the street.

"Yuichi," Blake said. "That monster won't bother you anymore. I promised you that it wouldn't hurt you."

"It's not me I'm worried about!"

"Let's go," Chad said to Blake, ignoring Yuichi's continued pleas. They ran off back the way they came, leaving Yuichi to call out to them in his cage.

My spell didn't even hurt him! Rukia thought, beginning to panic. The creature let out a low laugh.

"I see," he said. "So that's what you are. I know that spell. You're a Soul Reaper. But yours was so weak it had no bite to it. That's too ba-"

He was interrupted by Pyrrha, who kicked him the side of the head, sending him reeling.

"What the hell?" He exclaimed.

"You forgot," Pyrrha said, assuming a fighting stance. "You have two opponents."

"Who are you? You're not a Soul Reaper."

"No I'm not. I'm a human named Pyrrha Nikos. But don't worry, I won't go down so easily."

"What do you hope to accomplish? You're just a human and a little Soul Reaper with no powers. I've already eaten two Soul Reapers who tried to help that boy pass on."

"The boy?" Pyrrha asked.

"You mean the soul in that bird," Rukia said. "Why have you pursued this poor kid so relentlessly?"

"I might be more inclined to tell you if you let me have a little nibble."

"You Hollow scum," Rukia spat at it. The Hollow just laughed.

I really hope Ichigo gets here soon, Rukia thought.

AN: I was originally planning to actually write out the RWBY girls explaining their world to Ichigo, but I could never get it to feel natural and interesting. So I instead decided to have that happen off-screen.

I know that the conversation between Blake and Chad could have been written better. Stuff like that is something I need to work on, but I hope you get the gist of what I was going for.

Also, I'm going to have Blake call Chad "Yasu". It just felt right to me.

I am no longer going to be uploading on Mondays. IT's too hard to keep up. So I will be sticking to just uploading on Fridays.

Thank you guys again for reading! I hope you've been enjoying it so far! Th next chapter will go up on Friday, April 12.