AN: I'm really sorry about the long wait, guys. I got really busy toward the end of the semester, and that left me with very little energy to write. Now that the semester is over, I don't anticipate having this problem for a while. Now then, on to chapter 9.

Chapter 9: Mother

"So, what are we doing about this?" Yang asked. She was sitting in class with Rukia and her other Remnant friends. Just as Tatsuki had said he would, Ichigo had skipped school so he could help his family prepare for their trip to the cemetery. Yang herself hadn't said a word to him before they left him behind to go to school. The girls were discussing what they were going to do after school got out. "Do we feel comfortable just leaving him be?"

"Personally, I'm concerned about the things he was saying in his sleep," Pyrrha said.

"There's definitely something about the circumstances of his mother's death that he isn't telling us," Blake said.

"When we get out of school, I'm going to meet him at the cemetery," Rukia chimed in.

"Why?" Yang asked.

"Because, I know this sounds cold, but he can't afford to take a day off, even today. I need to be with him in case a Hollow shows up. What will the three of you do?"

"I think," Yang said sadly, remembering Ichigo's lashing out the day before. They still hadn't patched things up yet. "I'm going to stay out of his way." She felt guilty for pushing the issue. In hindsight, she shouldn't have tried to force him to talk about something that was clearly affecting him so much. But at the same time, she couldn't help but feel hurt by what he said. Why does it hurt so much? She thought. It's like he said, it wasn't my business.

"I agree with Yang," Pyrrha said. "It wouldn't feel right, intruding on something so personal."

"Same here," said Blake.

"That sounds fair," Rukia said. "To be honest, I'd rather not go either, but I don't have a choice." A silence fell over the four girls. They simply didn't feel comfortable continuing this particular conversation, but at the same time, the silence felt almost suffocating. Thankfully, a certain cheerful strawberry-blond jumped in to break the awkward tension.

"Hi there!" Orihime said happily, Tatsuki standing behind her. The girls returned her greeting. "You all hang around Ichigo a lot, right?"

"Yeah," Yang said.

"Do you know where he is today?"

"No, we don't," Blake lied.

"Oh,"

"So, did you need something?" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking," Orihime said. "We don't really know each other that well, so I was wondering of you wanted to hang out with me and Tatsuki after school."

"Yeah," Tatsuki said. "Orihime and I were going to chill at my place, and you're more than welcome to join in."

"That sounds wonderful," Pyrrha said with her trademark smile.

"Sure," Blake said with a small smile.

"Why not?" Yang said. This will help me get my mind off Ichigo at least.

"What about you, Rukia?" Orihime asked.

"Sorry," Rukia said with her fake smile. "I had other plans. Some other time, maybe."

"OK!" Orihime said. "Another time, then."

"Boy, we're never going to get to the top," Yuzu complained, fanning herself with her hand. The Kurosaki family were walking up a rather steep hill to get to the cemetery. Karin and Yuzu were pretty far ahead of Isshin and Ichigo, and the absolutely sweltering heat was starting to get to Yuzu.

"Speak for yourself," Karin said dismissively. "This hill's no problem. And please, don't let Dad hear you say that." As if on cue, they heard their father's voice calling them from further down the hill.

"You can do it, Yuzu!" He yelled. The twins turned and saw that he was standing on his hands for some absurd reason. "Hang in there! You see? Dad's on your side!"

"Now you did it," Karin deadpanned. "Just ignore him, or he'll never stop." She turned around and continued walking up the hill. "Giving guys like him attention only encourages them."

"You're wrong about that," Isshin said as he started running up the hill at break-neck speeds on his hands. "I'm automatically encouraged, even if you ignore me!"

"Get out of here, you creep!" Karin yelled, kicking him in the face and sending him tumbling back down the hill. "Now we can walk in peace for a while," she said, calmly continuing the walk. Ichigo looked back up at his sisters, using his hand to shield his eyes from the sun.

"Phew," he panted. "Man, it's hot. Even for the middle of June, this kind of heat's a little unusual." He briefly remembered that day again, with his mother.

That day was also June 17, he thought. But it was completely different.

"Someone's up there already." Karin's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Wow," Yuzu said. "She had to climb up here pretty early to beat us to the top."

"Yeah," Karin said. "Although…" Ichigo finally saw who they were looking at, and nearly jumped out of his skin. Right there, at the top of the hill, wearing a yellow sundress and a backpack, waving a white wide-brimmed hat at him, and laughing cheerfully, was Rukia. "Doesn't she seem awfully cheery for someone visiting a grave?" Yuzu turned to look at Ichigo.

"She's waving like she knows you," she said to him.

"No way!" Ichigo yelled, shaking his head furiously. "Nope! Never seen her before!"

"There is something familiar about her," Karin said thoughtfully. "I wonder if I've seen her somewhere before."

"No, don't say that!" Ichigo yelled, beginning to panic. "Hey, I just remembered. I think I do know her! In fact, she's a girl from my class back in middle school. Maybe I should go talk to her or something, you know? I'll go and have a little chat with her, and you two go on ahead to Mom's grave without me, OK?" He broke out into a sprint, grabbed Rukia by the hand, and sped off down the street with her, completely disappearing from the twins' sight within seconds.

"Ichigo!" Yuzu called out exasperatedly.

"Aha," Karin said, giving a cheeky smirk in Ichigo's general direction.

"And what's that supposed to mean, Karin?"

"What it means is our Ichigo has finally grown up and become a man."

"Why did you follow me here, Rukia?" Ichigo demanded. He had brought her to a trail in the woods to talk.

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked. "I'm here in case a Hollow shows up. You certainly can't handle it yourself."

"Way to keep a low profile in front of my family," he scolded. "Why were you waving at me like that?"

"I suppose I could have been more discreet," she admitted. "I just didn't think of it."

"That's OK," he said, managing to calm himself down fairly quickly. "So is it just you, or are the others around, too?" he asked apprehensively. In truth, he really hoped they weren't there. Things between him and Yang in particular had been awkward since he yelled at her the day before.

"No, it's just me. The others didn't want to disturb you."

"OK then," he breathed a sigh of relief. "So what are you upset about?"

"I'm not upset about anything," she said matter-of-factly. "Listen, about your mother, I heard you mention that someone killed her. But you never said who killed her."

"Listen, just drop it, OK?" he said, growing uncomfortable with the current conversation. She ignored him.

"When I first met you, you said you'd been able to see spirits since you were very young. I need you to answer one question for me. Is it possible that your mother was killed by a Hollow?" His body instantly tensed up the second the question left her mouth. She didn't notice it, and she continued talking. "If your spiritual capabilities were that high as a child, then there may have been a Hollow that sensed you. And when it came after you, it could have killed your mo—"

"Stop it!" He screamed. "Just shut up! Why does everything always have to be about Hollows with you? There was no freaking Hollow there that day, alright?" He unconsciously clenched his fists tight as he spoke. "You'll never understand the pain and suffering I have to live with every single day." She only stared at him in silence. He began to walk past her, heading back to the cemetery. "So sorry to wreck your theory, but all the usual suspects, like Hollows, serial killers, thugs, they're not to blame. I am."

"Huh?" she was completely stunned by what he had just said, and she couldn't stop him from breaking out into a run away from her.

"Wait, Ichigo!" she called to him, but he wasn't listening.

"And then he comes out in a DRESS!" Yang regaled, causing the other girls in the room to burst out laughing, particularly Orihime and Tatsuki. They had changed out of their school uniforms and were hanging out in Tatsuki's bedroom, talking and munching on snacks, having a great time. Orihime had changed into a yellow top with white straps and a long purple skirt, and Tatsuki was wearing a long sleeved red shirt and grey pants. Yang was wearing her yellow cropped tank top, but hadn't worn the jacket because of the heat. Blake was wearing her white cropped zip-up jacket, and Pyrrha was wearing her black pull-over hoodie and denim miniskirt. The three new girls were telling stories to Orihime and Tatsuki about their home, obviously leaving certain details out, such as it being a completely different world or the fact that they were dead. Yang was currently retelling the story of the school dance during the girls' second semester. "He then walks right up to Pyrrha and pulls her into a dance."

"Really?" Orihime asked between laughs.

"Yes, it's true," Pyrrha said, blushing faintly at the memory of Jaune.

"Ooooooooh," Tatsuki cooed teasingly. "I know that look. You get some action later?"

"Oh, no!" Pyrrha yelled, waving her arms frantically to dismiss the misunderstanding. "We weren't even dating! He was just trying to cheer me up."

"What do you mean?" Orihime asked.

"I was fairly popular at our school," Pyrrha explained.

"That's an understatement," remarked Blake.

"Yes. Jaune assumed that boys would be falling all over themselves to ask me to the dance, so he joked that if I didn't have a date, he'd wear a dress. And I didn't have a date."

"How?" Tatsuki asked.

"Well, everyone just assumed I was out of their league, so no one asked. When he found out, he changed into a dress, and there we were, out on the dance floor."

"Awwww," Orihime cooed. "That's so sweet!"

"So you started dating him after that, right?" asked Tatsuki. "I mean, he puts a dress on in public for you, you start dating him."

"Sadly, no," Pyrrha frowned, greatly confusing the other two girls.

"Jaune was as dense as a bag of rocks," Yang said. "He thought he was just doing something nice for his friend, but didn't know how she felt about him. He actually had eyes for our friend Weiss."

"Oh, that sucks!" Tatsuki lamented.

"Yes, I suppose it does," Pyrrha said sadly. The girls fell silent when they saw the genuinely downtrodden look on the redhead's face. The silence lingered for several seconds until Orihime decided to break it.

"So," she began. "I think I may have finally figured out the mystery of Ichigo."

"The what now?" Yang asked.

"I think Ichigo is actually some kind of superhero, and he's here on a mission to protect Earth!"

"A superhero?" Tatsuki asked.

"Seriously?" asked Blake, the irony of who she was saying this to not lost on her or the other girls from Remnant. Tatsuki chuckled.

"The first time I saw your 'superhero'," she started, "we were both only four. I was at the dojo where I started my training, and I saw him come in for the first time. He was holding his mom's hand. She was so beautiful. But what I noticed most was his incredible orange hair, and his big, goofy grin."

"That sounds adorable," Pyrrha cooed, finally starting to feel better after being reminded of Jaune.

"I really can't picture him with a 'goofy grin'," said Blake.

"Yeah, I don't think he's so much as smiled since we met him," said Yang.

"As soon as I saw him," Tatsuki continued, "I knew he wouldn't last too long. He was just too skinny and weak. In fact, in our first match, I made him cry with a single punch. I just reached out and poked him with a soft one, and that was all she wrote. One quick shot, and he was down for the count."

"Are you sure we're talking about the same Ichigo here?" Yang asked.

"I'm positive. In fact, he cried every time he lost. But then the most amazing thing would always happen. When his mom would come to pick him up, even if he was still sobbing, as soon as he saw her, that big smile would break out across his face again. He was such a baby. I mean, what kind of kid smiles when he just lost a fight? I didn't get it. Here was this total wimp, just a complete momma's boy, and yet he seemed to be so happy all the time, like life was just one big ride, no worries at all. He was a happy kid because of his mom."

"So, what happened to him?" Orhime asked. "What made him change so drastically?" The girls from Remnant could probably guess what Tatsuki was about to say. The black-haired girl's face became somber.

"When we were nine, she died." Orihime gasped at this revelation, and the other girls simply looked down sadly, Yang in particular.

I knew that losing her would change him, but I never thought it would be that drastic, she thought. Tatsuki continued telling her story.

"He didn't come to school that day, of course. I was kind of worried because no one seemed to know where he was or if he was OK. It seemed so unfair. No nine-year-old kid can handle that kind of grief alone. So I went looking for him everywhere I thought he might have gone. I finally found him by the river, right where his mother had died, just wandering around in circles. He'd crouch down when he got tired, then he'd get up and keep walking. For days I watched him. He did that from morning til night, like he was waiting for her to come back. I hated seeing him that way. The happy Ichigo was gone."

"How sad," Orihime commented.

"I can't believe he had to go through something like that when he was so young," said Pyrrha. Yang was deep in thought about what Tatsuki said. She kept remembering the things she heard Ichigo say in his sleep. "Why did I do it?" Something clicked in her head.

He blames himself for her death, she realized. I don't know what happened, but somehow, he blames himself for it. Her hands unconsciously clenched into fists. That's why he didn't want to talk about it with me. He feels ashamed. He needs help. I don't care what he says to me, he needs someone there for him. She stood up.

"I'm sorry, girls," she said. "I just remembered something I have to do. I'm gonna have to go take care of it." Blake and Pyrrha looked at her in confusion, but didn't say anything. "Thanks for having me over Tatsuki. We'll have to spar somtime. I'm a hell of a martial artist, if I do say so myself."

"Anytime," Tatsuki said.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow," she said to whole room, before walking over to Tatsuki's front door, putting her shoes back on, and walking out.

Rukia was sitting on a ridge overlooking the cemetery, contemplating what Ichigo had told her.

"Ichigo killed his mother?" she asked out loud to herself. She thought back to their conversation from earlier, and remembered her insistence that a Hollow might have killed his mother. "I can't believe I said that," she said in disgust. "How insensitive." The backpack on her back began to rustle.

"Hey Rukia, yoo-hoo," Kon's voice called from inside the bag, opening it up and sticking his arm out so he could pull himself the rest of the way out, taking a deep breath after doing so.

"What are you doing, Kon?" she demanded. "I told you not to come out until I said so."

"Give me a break," he said, exasperated. "I can hardly even breathe inside here, Rukia. I need oxygen, stat. When are we going back home, anyway?" he whined.

"I told you before," she scolded. "It's my duty to always stay close to Ichigo so I can help him if a Hollow shows up."

"Hollows?" Kon asked, pouting deeply. "You're like a broken record. That's all you ever talk about. 'Hollow' this, 'Hollow' that. I think you need to get out more, maybe make some more new friends!" As he said this, she stood up quickly, jostling him from his perch and causing him to fall out of the backpack. "Hey!" he yelled, climbing back onto her back. She responded by shushing him. She seemed to be listening closely. After a few seconds, she heard what sounded like a snort. She quickly turned around to look at the woods, searching for the source of the noise.

"What is that?" Kon asked, fear apparent in his voice. Rukia started to slowly stalk into the woods, her eyes peeled for whatever was making the noise. As she drew closer, the noise began to sound distinctly like snoring. Suddenly, a pair of arms shot up from underneath the shade of a nearby tree, causing Rukia to jump backwards in surprise. The arms belonged to a man in a black Soul Reaper Shihakusho, and had a large hat on his head. He finished his stretch and yawned deeply.

"That was a nice little nap," he said groggily. He noticed Rukia standing near him. "Hello there, comrade."

"You…" Rukia said, glaring at him, as Kon fell off her back again. The Soul Reaper chuckled and rolled away from the tree, before standing up and facing her, gripping the sheath of his Zanpakuto with his left hand, and scratching the back of his head with his right hand.

"Sorry," he said. "I hate to be caught napping but these missions get so dull sometimes that I just can't seem to stay awake."

Kon got a good look at the man's sword, and the color would have drained from his face, if his body had blood in it instead of stuffing. "A Soul Reaper?" he gasped. "Not good," he said, as he ran off to get help. "Not good at all."

"Mission?" Rukia asked the Soul Reaper, glaring at him warily. "What kind of mission are you on?" The Soul Reaper chuckled.

"Don't you know, Rukia?"

"Goodbye, Tatsuki!" a young Ichigo said cheerfully to his friend. His mother had just come to pick him up from the dojo, and it had started raining.

"Bye, Ichigo!" Tatsuki said. "See you at the dojo tomorrow!"

The dojo was located on a small side street, and they were approaching an intersection to turn onto the main street. Ichigo was wearing a yellow raincoat and both he and his mother were holding umbrellas. Ichigo walked a little bit ahead of her. As he approached the road, a truck sped by, splashing him with water.

"Oh, that careless driver," his mother said, pulling a handkerchief out of her breast pocket. "Are you all right?" She leaned down and used the handkerchief to wipe off his face. "Let me switch places with you and walk next to the street so that doesn't happen again."

"Nah, you don't have to do that," he said. "I'm the one with the raincoat on, so I don't mind. Let me protect you from stuff like that, OK?"

"What a brave boy," his mother said, giggling. "That's very sweet. But before you worry about protecting me, I think you should work on protecting yourself from that Tatsuki."

"Come on," he whined. "I won a point from her the last time." This made his mother chuckle again.

"There you go," she said, smiling at him and removing the cloth from his face. "You're all cleaned up now. Let's go. And I'll walk on the street side this time."

"Hey mom, can I—can I hold your hand, please?"

"Of course you can," she said with a bright smile, holding out her hand for him to take hold.

Ichigo and his mother were walking on the street near a river when he saw a black-haired girl standing by the riverbank. She had her hair in a bowl cut and was wearing a white robe. Ichigo stopped walking to look at her.

"What's that girl doing?" he asked. He watched as the girl took a step forward and moved to throw herself into the river. He knew he had to save her. He sprang into action, dropping his umbrella and sprinting down the embankment towards the girl. "I'll be right back!" he yelled.

"Ichigo, where are you going?" his mother yelled back to him. He didn't answer, and continued running towards the girl. "No, Ichigo, stop!" His mother dropped her umbrella and ran after him. The girl was about to fall into the water, and Ichigo reached out his hand to grab her. But then, his hand simply passed right through her. And then everything went dark.

When Ichigo finally came to, it was still raining. He tried to move, but felt a heavy weight on his chest. He looked at his body to see what was weighing him down, and what he saw made him sick to his stomach.

Lying on top of him, with a large, bloody wound covering her back, was the corpse of his mother.

He could only scream.

Hi, Mom, Karin said in her head. She and Yuzu were standing in front of her mother's grave, Karin with her hands clapped together in prayer, and Yuzu was curled up in a ball. I know it's been a while since we visited you. Sorry about that. But we're all doing pretty well. How have you been? Well, not that great I guess, seeing as how you're dead and all. The sound of sobbing snapped her out of her prayers. She looked down to see that Yuzu was crying. She was crouched down, and her head was resting against her knees, her shoulders bouncing with every sob that escaped. Karin crouched down so she was at the same level as her twin.

"Hey," she said to the distraught girl. "You can't keep bursting into tears every time we come here, you know. We're 11 years old. We're big kids now, for crying out loud." Yuzu looked up at her, and the light hitting her tears almost made it look as though her eyes were shimmering.

"I know," Yuzu said through her tears, "but this place just makes me so sad." She put her head back down and continued sobbing.

"Oh, Jeez. Are you sure you're really my sister?"

"I'll cheer you two up!" their father shouted. They turned around and saw him making a series of very bizarre movements while making gorilla noises for some strange reason. "It's time for the annual Kurosaki family headstone leaping and incense eating competition, so let's get started!" His enthusiasm was answered with a kick to the face, curtesy of Karin.

"You win for most annoying dad of the year!" she yelled as she sent him flying, knocking over a headstone with his head.

"I won already?" he asked. "But I was just getting started!"

"Can we trade in our dad?" Karin asked to no one in particular. "We really need to get a new model." Her dad got up and started running towards her.

"Here we go!" he yelled. "Loser's gotta wash my feet!" He was stopped in his tracks when Karin kicked him in the stomach, forcing him to double over in pain.

"Dad, that's disgusting!" She ran in the opposite direction as he quickly got up and began to chase her.

"Come back and fight like a man!"

Karin looked behind her while she was running, so she didn't see the girl standing in her way until after she ran into her. "Ow," she said as she fell on her butt. She looked up at the girl she ran into. She was greeted to the sight of a teenage girl with long blond hair, and a knockout figure. The girl was wearing a yellow cropped tank top, and black jeans.

"Oh, sorry about that," the blond girl said, holding out her hand to help Karin up. She took her hand gratefully.

"Uh, yeah," she said. Who is this girl? She's not exactly dressed to be visiting a grave.

"My name's Yang," the older girl said. "What's your name?"

"Karin," she said warily. There seemed to be flash of recognition in Yang's eyes for some reason. The older girl walked past her and read the name on the gravestone. It said "Masaki Kurosaki". Karin watched as the older girl started looking around her, as if she was seeking something out specifically. "Can I help you?"

"Oh, don't mind me," Yang said.

"No more games," Rukia said to the Soul Reaper standing in front of her. "Who are you? Just answer me." The Soul Reaper chuckled.

"Rukia Kuchiki," he said, lifting his head up to see her face from behind his hat. She could see the wild grin he had on his face. "That's a name everybody at Soul Reaper Academy knows." His words surprised her. "Let's face it, you're famous. Adopted into the noble Kuchiki Family, you were known to the rest of the student body as the 'Princess of the Rukon District'. And I am Eikichiro Saido. You remember me now, don't you? I was older than you, but you know my reputation." Rukia only stared at him, no sign of recognition on her face. That clearly irritated Saido. "Maybe this'll ring a bell. They call me that really funny guy, right?"

"I've never heard of you," she said bluntly. Her words were like a dagger in his heart, if the way he recoiled was any indication.

"Oh well," he said. "No matter. I suppose we should get down to business." She put her hands up defensively, expecting a fight to break out at any time. "Hey, settle down. All you gotta do is answer a few questions."

"You can't fake it forever, all right?" Kisuke's words came back to her. She suddenly had an idea of who this guy might be.

"Oh, wait," she said. "The Stealth Force." He pulled a string on his hat, causing a flap to open up on top that said "Correct" on it. He pulled the string over and over, causing the flap to open and close.

"Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding," he said in time to the opening of the flap. "That is the correct answer!" This man very much confused her.

"Would you just knock it off!"

Kon was running through the woods, trying to find Ichigo. This was bad. Very bad. The Soul Society had finally decided to send someone after Rukia when she didn't return as expected. The last thing they needed now was for them to take her back and discover Kon's existence. Or Ichigo's status as a Substitute Soul Reaper. Or Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha being in gigai's despite not being registered.

He needed to find Ichigo, fast.

"Ichigo, help!" He screamed, tears somehow falling out of his glass eyes. "Emergency! Rukia's in trouble! Ichigo, where are you? Ichigo!" He came out of the grass and found himself perched precariously over the edge of a small cliff. Well, small for a human, but it seemed gargantuan to the little stuffed lion. Time seemed to freeze as he balanced on one leg near the edge.

Uh-oh, he thought. This can't be good. He lost his balance and tumbled down the cliff, landing on the shoulders of one Ichigo Kurosaki, who was sitting on the ground. The teenager slowly stood up, Kon still staying put on his shoulders.

"I am really not in the mood for you right now, Kon!" Ichigo yelled, grabbing the lion by the back of the head and holding him in front of his face. Kon could see that his eyes were red and puffy, indicating that the boy had likely been crying a little bit ago. But that wasn't important right now.

"Rukia's in trouble!" the stuffed animal yelled, flailing his arms desperately.

"They're getting pretty irritated with you back there," Saido said. Rukia was staring him down, her guard full up. "They want to know why you're still here."

"I'm still here because the Hollows keep coming," she said evenly. "I keep getting orders, too. It's that simple."

"That doesn't explain why you're dressed like a high school girl," he said teasingly.

Rukia looked down at her dress in confusion, before covering herself with her arms defensively.

"What does it matter?" she yelled. "I'll wear whatever I want!"

"Oh, don't be embarrassed. It just looks like you're finally growing up into a woman."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Her question made Saido chuckle.

"Oh, stop, you're killing me. Why not admit it? You're involved with that kid whose mother was killed by a Hollow. The guy with the spiky hair?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you feel sorry for him, or are you looking for fun in the human world?"

"None of your business, Saido! Shut your mouth, or I'll shut it for you!"

"Nothing to be embarrassed about, my little flower. Everybody needs love. And I guess the best you could do was a human boy to get all smoochy with." She made good on her threat and began charging up a Kido, her hand glowing with a bright blue light. He quickly jumped away from her, left hand gripping the sheath of his zanpakuto. "No, huh? Too bad. That's the only excuse I think the Soul Society would have bought. If I don't get an answer from you that satisfies our superiors, I'll have to take you back, even if it means dragging you by the hair."

"Are you threatening me?"

"I could be."

"Well, Saido, I have no intention of returning until I'm done."

"Eh, I tried. But you leave me no choice." He drew his sword and entered a battle stance.

"Rukia!" an obnoxious, all-too-familiar voice yelled, surprising both Rukia and Saido. She looked and saw both Kon and Ichigo running towards her.

"Rukia!" Ichigo called. "Are you all right?" He stopped in between Rukia and Saido, and stared down the Soul Reaper. "Who are you? And what do you want here?"

"Well, what do you know? It's spiky head," Saido said. "Am I really visible to you, lover boy?"

"Kon, who is this clown?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't know." Ichigo picked up Kon by the head angrily.

"You brought me here in a panic because you said it was an emergency, you furball!"

"Nevermind about me right now," Saido said. "Tell me about yourself, son. Just what do you do?"

"Ichigo, don't say it!" Rukia called to him, but he wasn't listening yet again.

"I'm a Substitute Soul Reaper." Saido looked at him, a wicked smile on his face.

"A Soul Reaper? Is that right? I'm still waiting for the punchline, because that has to be a joke." He lowered his head so they could no longer see his eyes behind his hat. "Oh, Rukia, that's a big mistake. What you've done is a serious crime."

"Huh? What does he mean?" Ichigo asked Rukia.

"Maybe it's better this way," Saido said. "It'll be more fun to kill a Soul Reaper imposter than just another dumb gigai. Let's do it!" He threw his hat in the air, revealing his slicked-back black hair. He raised his sword and charged at Ichigo, who held up Kon in front of him like a shield.

"Do what?" he asked in a panic. Saido jumped in the air and brought his sword down, a move that Ichigo side-stepped. Saido quickly spun around and swung his sword in a horizontal arc, and Ichigo was able to backstep that one and reached his hand in front of the stuffed lion's face.

"Come on, Kon!" he yelled. "Cough it up now!" He reached his hand inside Kon's mouth, causing the stuffed lion to start flailing uncontrollably. "Give it to me," he said as he felt his fingers touch the pill inside the lion's body.

"Now you die!" Saido yelled as he leaped with his sword raised over his head. Ichigo was able to pull the pill out and swallow it, ejecting his Soul Reaper form from his body, and leaving Kon behind. Ichigo instantly drew his sword and deflected Saido's attack, greatly confusing the other Soul Reaper. "Not bad. You're human, and yet you were able to transform. I'm interested in learning how you got that ability."

"I don't give explanations to anyone who attacks me or my friends," Ichigo said as he assumed a fighting stance.

"Wait, Ichigo," Rukia said, running up and standing in front of him with arms outstretched to her sides. "Just stay out of it. It's my battle, not yours."

"What can you do?" he said, pushing her aside. "You don't have your sword." He raised his sword and charged at the Soul Reaper, who just smirked and ran to meet him, their swords clashing.

Yang was starting to feel really uncomfortable with all the staring. One of Ichigo's sisters, Yuzu if Yang remembered correctly, was kneeling down in front of their mother's grave in prayer. The other one, Karin, had been staring at her suspiciously for the last 10 minutes. Their father had gone who-knows-where, leaving the three girls alone. After Yang looked at the name on the grave, she knew she had the right place, but for some reason Ichigo was nowhere to be seen. So, she chose to wait for him. Which was only made more uncomfortable by his sister trying to burn a hole in her forehead with her eyes. Finally, the dark-haired girl broke the silence.

"Who are you?" she asked. "Looking for someone?"

"Yeah, I guess," Yang replied nervously.

"You wouldn't happen to be looking for Ichigo, would you?"

"Yeah, I am," she admitted. "Do you know where he is?"

"He's not here," Karin said. "He ran off with another girl, sorry to say. Man, when did my brother become such a ladies' man?"

"Huh?"

"You poor soul. So how do you know my brother, anyway?"

"Uh, let's just say we go to school together." Yang couldn't very well admit that she'd been living in his closet, now could she?

"So, why are you looking for him?" Before Yang had a chance to answer her question, they both felt an overwhelming pressure in the air around them. It was powerful, and made them feel like they were being crushed.

"What the hell?" Yang asked through gritted teeth.

"Something's here," Karin said.

"What's wrong?" Yuzu asked. "What is it?"

"There you are," a deep voice said. It sent chills down Yang's spine, and clearly Karin's, too.

"Karin, you're scaring me," Yuzu said, still being unable to sense anything.

"Where is Dad?" Karin asked her sister.

"He told me he went to talk to the cemetery director."

"That's just great." The overwhelming presence got stronger, and Yang continued looking around for the source of all this power.

That's when she saw the Hollow.

It was large, with a body that looked like it was covered in green fur. He had thin red legs, similar to the legs of a chicken, and arms that looked like them as well. Its mask was white with red accents, and looked like it was smiling, and it had a long string-like appendage sticking out from its back that looked similar to a fishing lure. It was approaching Ichigo's sisters, whom Yang was standing behind. She reached into her pocket to pull out the brass knuckles that Rukia gave her.

"I'm going to have you keep me company for a while," the Hollow said. "The bigger the bait, the bigger the catch."

"What do you see?" Yuzu asked. The Hollow laughed as it approached the girls. It was then that Yang sprang into action, the brass knuckles on her hands. She ran past the girls and threw a punch straight to the Hollow's face, but to her surprise, it didn't so much as flinch.

"You can see it?" Karin asked.

"Run!" Yang yelled to the two girls. "Get out of here!"

"Karin, what's going on?" Yuzu asked.

Saido leaped high in the air with his zanpakuto raised above his head. He brought it down in a fierce overhead swing, but Ichigo deflected it. Saido used the force of Ichigo's deflection to soar through the air away from him. He planted his feet on the side of a tree, and pushed off it, launching himself back at the orange-haired teen. He swung hard with his zanpakuto, but the substitute was able to block it. Before Ichigo could counter, though, Saido landed and kicked him in the stomach, making the teen reel backwards in pain.

"Man, he's strong," said Kon, whom was currently inhabiting Ichigo's body. Ichigo was able to recover, and flipped away from Saido to catch his breath. He roared and charged, raising his sword high above his head. When he reached the Soul Reaper, he swung straight down, but Saido dodged it easily by simply pivoting on one foot. Saido brought his sword around and slashed horizontally, but Ichigo was able to duck under it, before deflecting another overhead swing from the Soul Reaper. He was forced to go on the defensive, as Saido unleashed an unrelenting series of attacks against him, before a hard swing impacting Ichigo's sword sent the teen tumbling away.

"You amateur," Saido said disappointedly to Ichigo, whom was sprawled out on the ground. "You try to use raw strength to cover for your lack of technique. You have no tactics and no skill at all."

"You shut your mouth," Ichigo growled, getting up and charging again. At that moment, Rukia's Soul Pager started beeping. She pulled it out and looked at the message, while Ichigo and Saido began trading blows again.

"What's that?" Saido asked after noticing what Rukia was doing.

"It's a Hollow!" Rukia said, clearly alarmed. Ichigo disengaged Saido and ran over to her.

"Where is it?" he asked.

"It's close. And it's big. Come look at this. The spirit energy reading is higher than usual."

"Yeah, it's way out of your league," said Saido, who had suddenly appeared behind Rukia, and was looking over her shoulder at the screen of her Pager. Ichigo and Kon looked at him for a second, before shouting in surprise.

"We gonna finish this now?" Ichigo asked with incredulity.

"Ichigo, there's no time for that," Rukia scolded. Your family may be in danger. Let's go!" The two of them ran off back in the direction of the cemetery, leaving Saido and Kon behind.

"Hey, wait," Saido called after them, but they were already gone.

Yang could only watch from her position on the ground as Karin was knocked to the ground by the Hollow. Yang had been knocked against the back wall, knocking the wind out of her. As she watched, the Hollow pressed down on Karin's back with it's foot, pinning her to the ground. Yuzu still couldn't see what was going on, so she ran towards her sister, whom was screaming in pain.

"What is Karin?" Yuzu asked. "What's happening?"

"No!" Yang shouted. "Stay back! It's dangerous!" Yuzu stopped running and looked at the blond in confusion. Yang was able to get her second wind, so she quickly got up and ran in between Yuzu and her sister.

"What's going on?" Yuzu asked, starting to grow scared.

"There's a monster here, and it has your sister pinned down."

"Oh, no!"

"Hey!" Yang yelled at the monster. "Let her go!"

"So, what did that guy mean back there about this being a serious crime?" Ichigo asked Rukia as they were running to confront the Hollow, Saido and Kon right on their tails. "I know giving me powers was against the rules, but was it really that bad?"

"Forget that," Rukia said. "You've got your own problems now. My scans show the Hollow is near your family. Actually, it looks like there's someone else there, too." They had reached a staircase, and continued their sprint down them, skipping several steps at a time.

"I know you want to ask me about my mother's death, don't you?" Ichigo asked her.

Would you answer me if I did? She thought. That's your business. All I know is that for you, it's a deep, jagged wound. And because of that, I don't know what words to say. I don't know how to ask you about it without dredging up your pain all over again without tearing your heart completely apart. "I'll wait for now," she said. "But when you want to talk, when you feel like you're ready to tell us about it, we'll be there to listen. Not just me, but Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha, too." They reached the end of the staircase, and took a sharp left turn and continued down the pathway. Saido jumped down to the walkway, and just stood there, rubbing the side of his head.

"This is a big mess," he said tiredly. "What do I do now? Heh, as if there's a question."

To be continued…

AN: I hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter, and again, sorry for the wait. So, onto some questions from the reviews.

Guest: I'm honestly not sure about doing the movies. I would certainly like to, as I really like the Bleach movies, but I'm really not sure. We'll have to see if I can figure out a way to incorporate them in an interesting way.

Matt: I'm not sure what you mean by half price discount bullcrap? Why would Ichigo not have his real zanpakuto? If you're referring to his post-timeskip swords, I'm going to follow canon in that regards just to keep him from being absurdly powerful right off the bat.

So, next chapter will be the conclusion to the Grand Fisher arc, and then a RWBY-focused chapter. I'm not intending for that chapter to be a full comedic break, as I don't think I'm clever enough for that, so it will still be used to further some character development and some relationships. I'm still taking suggestions for some stuff you'd like to see before things get serious in that chapter. I'll figure something out.

I've also been hit with sudden inspiration for another RWBY crossover. More on that in future chapters, though.

Thank you guys so much for reading! I'll see you next chapter!