Chapter Five

"Let's see… I can sort of feel Ichi-nii's reiatsu, but with all these people around, it's kind of hard to pinpoint him. Geez, this is annoying…" Karin said to herself, walking leisurely around Soul Society, having stolen a uniform, and managed to blend in fairly well, save for the fact that she didn't have a sword. Fortunately, most people weren't paying attention to that.

She had only needed to introduce herself as Ichigo's younger sister to a giant gorilla who was guarding the front gate in Soul Society, and she managed to get in, and it was fortunate that nobody was there at the moment. The only problem was that although she was able to walk more or less in the open, she was now completely lost.

Seireitei, as Kisuke had called it, was huge. He had asked if she wanted someone to go with her as a guide, but she had told him rather foolishly that she would be able to find him on her own. KAMI!

What a stupid, stupid, stupid idea that had been, and suddenly, she made it worse by slamming into an old man with a laid back look, a terribly gaudy pink cloak, and a hat on that covered a long ponytail.

"Oh… Um… Excuse me, Ojii-san… My name…"

"You don't have to tell me your name, sweetie… Just tell me what a human is doing in Soul Society."

"Well… You see… I need to find my brother… He should be here… Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"Oh, right! You're… Karin-chan, correct?"

"Um… Yeah…" Karin said, surprised that Kyoraku knew who she was.

"Great. You may not remember, but I was the one who came to your house to tell you and your family that Ichigo was going to be in Soul Society for a stretch. Gosh… That was a few months ago. I'm not surprised you don't remember.

"You seem to have more than a human's fair share of spirit power. Otherwise, I doubt you'd last long in Seireitei. But why do you need to see your brother?" Kyoraku asked, kneeling down and putting a hand on Karin's shoulder.

Karin merely swatted his hand away from her, glaring at him. Nanao, who was standing a ways away, but who could still see their conversation, if not hear it, was slightly surprised at this young girl's audacity. Even she, as his lieutenant wasn't usually bold enough to be so blatantly rude to him.

It was true that she occasionally had to swat him with her fan or a book when he was making inappropriate advances on her. But compared to how he usually acted toward female Shinigami and especially toward Nanao, Kyoraku was being fairly appropriate, treating her almost as a young child.

"I want to become a Shinigami like him! I refuse to allow him to take on the whole burden on his own!" Karin yelled spiritedly, pumping her fist.

"A Shinigami. You wish to join the Shin'o Academy? How old are you? 50? 60?" The middle aged looking man asked, seeming surprised. Karin blanched at his assumption that she was so old.

"Excuse me!? I'm not even close! I'm thirteen! Thirteen! I'll be fourteen in a few months…"

"I see… Well, then, I will take you to see your brother, and he will have the right to decide whether you may become a Shinigami. Normally, I would ask Captain Kurosaki. But I assume that you already told him. If you haven't I'll know fairly soon, and it won't be good for you.

"That aside, I'll take you to Kurosaki." Suddenly, though, Kyoraku was called upon by Nanao. He had specifically asked that Nanao be transferred to his division when he became Captain-Commander.

"Um, Captain-Commander? I hate to be rude, but who is that human girl over there, or is she a new soul that just came to Soul Society?"

"No. She is Ichigo Kurosaki's younger sister." Kyoraku said placidly, taking Karin's hand firmly and leading her over to Shinji, who had been one of the people standing there, and he pushed her over to him.

"Captain Hirako. Please take this girl to see Kurosaki. He is probably training in the Squad 11 Barracks."

"Yes, Captain-Commander…" Hirako said, then he looked down and grinned lecherously at Karin.

"Hey, you're pretty cute. Hard to believe a guy like Kurosaki bagged you."

"Shut up, you perv! He's my brother! Don't you see the family resemblance?"

"Wait! Seriously? You two are related?"

"Um… Yeah… That's what I just said! Besides. Didn't you hear him call me his younger sister?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. I guess he did. Hey, you wanna be my woman?" Shinji asked, grinning stupidly with that wide smirk of his. Karin made a look of disgust, and shook her head.

"Ew, no! You couldn't pay me enough to be your girlfriend!" Karin shouted angrily, paying no mind to the fact that he was a captain, and should therefore be shown more respect.

At this, Shinji merely shrugged and continued leading her to the Squad 11 barracks. When they got there, Shinji opened the door, where Karin gasped as she saw Ichigo and Captain Zaraki sparring with wooden swords.

Both had a fair number of bruises on them, and looked as though they had been put through the wringer. When the door opened, though, they all stopped and looked up. Most of the squad stood and bowed to Shinji, except for Ichigo, who had a stunned expression on his face.

"K-Karin!? What the hell are you doing here!?" Ichigo exclaimed. Karin grinned, and gave him a thumbs up.

"I came because I wanted to be a Shinigami as well. But the old man said I had to ask your permission first.

"Didn't I tell you that humans can't become Shinigami? They have to die first and become souls."

"I'm willing to make that sacrifice." Karin said bluntly, shocking Ichigo at her openness to death.

"What about your life as a human?" Ichigo asked. Karin shrugged. "I'm willing to make that sacrifice." Karin said again with a smirk

"What about our family? Yuzu would be devastated if you left." Ichigo reasoned, trying as hard as he could to get her to change her mind.

"I don't think you understand just how far I'm willing to go for this. I'd miss Yuzu and Dad. But I'd get over it. It's you I miss most right now. It's been really lonely without you." Karin said sadly. "I just want to be near you."

At this, the other members of Squad 11 laughed, and Zaraki spoke.

"Was this your woman in the Human world, Ichigo?" He asked teasingly.

"Whoever she is, I admire her spirit! She's definitely worth having around!"

"NO! Sh-she's my sister! And she's not staying…" Ichigo said firmly, seeing the looks the other members were making at Karin.

"What!? That's not fair!" Karin complained.

"Not fair? That's about the same level as 'prove it' or 'make me'…" Ichigo said, raising an eyebrow at Karin.

"I don't care! I have to ask your permission to stay, but I won't stop trying until you let me! I'm just as talented as you are. I could surely at least make it into the Academy! I'll keep coming back over and over until you give me permission! I'll never stop harassing you! I'll wake you up at night! I'll interrupt you when you're with Rukia! I'll bother you during mealtime!"

"Karin…" Ichigo said, putting a hand on her shoulder, and kneeling down in front of her. Even after she had grown so much, she was still a fair deal shorter than he was. "Karin-chan…" Ichigo corrected himself.

"I'm not refusing you because I think you're incapable, or because I don't trust your judgment. I'm doing it because being a Shinigami is extremely dangerous. I've almost died plenty of times, and my survival was often due to sheer luck. I couldn't stand the thought of any of my family dying because I was careless."

"I still don't think it's fair." Karin complained.

"Let me tell you a story. If you still want to become a Shinigami after that, I'll agree. There was once a Shinigami named Sosuke Aizen. To the whole of Soul Society, he was the perfect captain. He was kind, generous, strong, and noble.

"But one day, during the time I had gone to Soul Society for the first time to rescue Rukia, he revealed his true colors. He murdered the entire governing council and defected to a place called Hueco Mundo, which is where Hollows live.

"He amassed an army of things called Arrancar, which are Hollows who removed their masks in order to gain Shinigami powers, and waged war on Soul Society with the ultimate goal of stealing 100,000 souls from Karakura Town to create a copy of the King's Key, which would allow him entrance to God's realm so that he could kill God and steal his place.

"He convinced two other captains to follow him, and they attacked Karakura Town. I was at that battle, and I had to learn to access a special power to defeat him. But there were grave consequences for learning such an ability. I lost my Shinigami powers and became a normal human again. But I chose to regain my Shinigami powers. Do you know why I chose to return to being a Shinigami?"

"W-why? Why would you willingly risk your life like that?"

"Because I wanted to protect you, and Yuzu, and Dad, and all of the other people of Karakura Town. Now, I can do that even better, because I can go anywhere in the world, and fight Hollows just the same.

"My life isn't worth living if my friends and family die because I couldn't protect them. Do you understand?" Ichigo asked, looking Karin straight in the eye. Karin stared at Ichigo for a moment, then nodded.

"I understand… But I still want to become a Shinigami, too. I want to be able to protect the people I love as well." Karin said, showing her strength more than ever, now. If anyone in the family had inherited their father's Shinigami abilities, it would be Karin.

Ichigo was sure that Yuzu would probably make a better Quincy, if, indeed, she was suited for such a life. Perhaps Yuzu was best off just being human. There was nothing wrong with being 'just Human'. Ichigo had been 'just Human for fifteen years, and lived a fine life. He had some weird talents that he had put to good use… But he didn't have anything like what he had now.

"Okay, Karin. Go out, and tell that perverted lecher that I gave my consent… Well… Both of those perverted lechers…"

"Which one is which…?" Karin asked with a grin.

"The one with the tacky pink cloak is the Captain-Commander. You'll have to call him 'Sir' or 'Captain-Commander'… But the other guy… Just call him Captain Hirako… And if he hits on you… Feel free to punch him."

"He already hit on me… Perverted bastard…" Karin muttered, blushing slightly.

"I wouldn't put too much stock in him. Do watch out, though, if you're put into his division when you graduate." Ichigo said. Karin shook her head, though.

"I want to be in your division when I graduate…"

"Oh, my…" Ikkaku sneered. "Someone has a bit of a brother complex… Don't tell me you're a lolicon, Ichigo…"

"Shut up! I am not a lolicon!" Ichigo snapped at Ikkaku. Karin seemed to go similarly red in the face.

"And I do not have a brother complex! And I am not a Lolita!" Karin yelled, completely incensed at their rudeness.

"Well, anyway, Karin. Tell them I told you it's fine to join the Academy. Do be careful, though. Old goat face would kill me if I let you get hurt on my watch…"

"Finally! We can get back to our fight! Do you want to use a wakizashi in your off hand, Ichigo?" Kenpachi asked. Ichigo grinned wildly, and nodded.

"Actually, yeah… That would help… I'm trying to get used to using two swords. Niten Ichi-Ryu ain't an easy style to learn…"

The other members of Squad 11 looked at Ichigo, mouths agape. None of them knew that Ichigo even knew a word like Niten Ichi-Ryu… It was a sword style that samurai used back when samurai still existed. But, now, the style was almost extinct, as not many Shinigami, even, used two swords.

There were three Shinigami in all of Soul Society that used two swords. One was Captain-Commander Kyoraku. One was Captain Ukitake. And the third was Ichigo, himself.

He had only gained a two sword style recently when he discovered where he really came from and needed to reform his Zanpakuto. When he did, he found that his sword was split into two. The larger sword represented his Shinigami/Hollow hybrid powers, which he still possessed. The smaller one represented his Quincy powers, which he was still just beginning to master.

He occasionally worked with Zangetsu on his ability to control his Blut powers. He already had Blut Vene, but was working on Blut Arterie. Ichigo knew full well that when he mastered it, he would become a veritable fighting machine, which would allow him to protect the people he loved even more efficiently.

Ichigo snatched the wooden wakizashi out of the air as it was thrown to him, and immediately attacked with the bokken. Kenpachi grinned maniacally, and blocked, pushing Ichigo back fairly easily only for Ichigo to attack once more, now with both swords.

He then threw the bokken up in the air, and punched Kenpachi in the face, twisted around and kicked him before grabbing his bokken again. Kenpachi and the others laughed at this.

"Good! Good! You've gotten so much better since last time I fought you! If only I could have fights like this every day!" Ichigo grinned as well.

"Well, I dunno if I could manage every day… But I'm in your division, so I imagine that we'll be seeing a good bit of each other…"

"Good! I like your attitude! Bring it!" Kenpachi shouted, swinging his bokken down wildly, slamming it against Ichigo's practice swords, jarring Ichigo's arms all the way to his shoulders.

"Bakudo #1: Kai!" Ichigo shouted as Kenpachi was about to bring his sword down again. He had not practiced much with Kido, but he remembered what Kukaku said about Kido, and that you should imagine a sphere of energy in your mind.

The more clearly you imagined it, the stronger the Kido would be. Kenpachi growled as he felt his entire body freeze, causing the rest of Squad 11 to gasp. None of them had expected Ichigo to be able to use Kido. After all, he usually had such weak control of his reiatsu. But he had surprised all of them in the past with his growth rate. Kenpachi struggled for a moment, then broke the bonds.

"I'm impressed, Kurosaki… But next time, don't bring Kido into a swordfight with me… I've lost interest. I'm gonna take a nap…" Kenpachi groaned, slouching off to bed with Yachiru fast in tow.

"Ichigo! Where the hell did you learn to use Kido? Especially Kido without the benefit of the incantation!" Ikkaku asked. Ichigo sighed.

"I didn't know if it would work. Bakudo #1 is one of the few Kido I can use. I remember that Rukia used it on me once…"

"Wow… You can use it just from having it used on you once? I've never been any good at Kido. It usually blows up in my face…" Ikkaku said.

"You really should call her Lieutenant Kuchiki… I know you two are close and all, but you're an official member of the Gotei Thirteen now, Kurosaki…" Yumichika said flipping his hair back behind his ear. Ichigo sighed.

"Well… I wonder what she'd say if I called her 'Lieutenant'…" Ichigo replied. Makizo snapped his fingers once, and nodded.

"Oh, yeah! You went on a date with Kuchiki just before you joined the Gotei Thirteen, didn't you? Don't worry… We won't say anything." He said, grinning at Ichigo. At this, Ikkaku stood, and grabbed a sword, walking over to Ichigo, and pointing it at him.

"Let's go. I'll take you on. You kicked my ass last time we fought. But I've gotten better since then."

"Ichigo nodded, and moved forward as Ikkaku did the same. But then, both of them froze, realizing that they had both had a Bakudo put on them, paralyzing them. After a mere moment or two, they were both released, and Byakuya Kuchiki walked in. The entire squad stood, and bowed to Byakuya.

"Hello, Captain Kuchiki…" They all said. Byakuya, however, only looked at Ichigo, and grabbed his arm, dragging him outside.

"Kurosaki… Know that despite my demeanor, I have nothing but respect for you. However, I know that you and Rukia have… Eloped… As the Humans say." Byakuya said sternly.

"Um… I don't think that's quite the right word, Byakuya…"

"It's Captain Kuchiki. If you are going to be a member of the Gotei Thirteen, you must address your superiors properly. What is it the Humans call it, then?"

"Um… Well… Dating, perhaps?"

"Yes. You and Rukia are dating. I cannot say that I object… Or rather, even if I did object, I know that Rukia would not listen, and that you certainly would not. But Rukia could have chosen a worse man to date.

"So, rather than fight a losing battle, I will simply inform you that Rukia is very important to me, and I will not allow her to come to harm."

"But…"

"Allowing her to become a lieutenant is different. She chose to become a Shinigami, and thus, she must accept that death may greet her at any time. If you hurt her, though, know that you will have made an eternal enemy of me.

"That is all. Beyond that… I trust you, Kurosaki Ichigo…" Byakuya said with his usual stoic, placid look on his face. Underneath, though, he seemed… Maybe a little bit worried?

"I won't hurt her, By… Captain Kuchiki…" Ichigo said. Then, "But how did you find out?"

"I have sources. You do not need to know what they are. Now, if we are done, I have other things to attend to." Byakuya finished, turning his back, and walking away. Ichigo called out and stopped him, though.

"You don't really trust me, do you?" Ichigo asked, feeling slightly unnerved by Byakuya's placid way of addressing his discovery of Ichigo's relationship with Rukia.

"It is not a matter of whether I trust you or not. I trust Rukia. However, I still expect you to show her the proper courtesy… At least in public, and address her as Lieutenant Kuchiki. I have made it clear to her as well that it is expected of one of your rank to address her as such in public, regardless of your relationship in private.

"I know that the Captain-Commander places a great deal of faith in you… And, given that you have the powers of all three major spiritual beings… I suppose I cannot fault him for that. However, that does not mean that you are above the rules and regulations of Soul Society. And it also does not mean that I will hesitate to strike you down if you violate them so flagrantly as you have done so often in the past."

"I don't doubt it, Captain Kuchiki." Ichigo said, forcing himself to use the proper title.

"Do not think that your mediocre rank as an unranked Shinigami will last forever. There is a good chance that you might fill the Commander General's former role as captain of eighth division." Byakuya said, reverting to his typical concise manner of speaking.

"What do you mean? There isn't someone who's been here longer who can take the role?"

"I would prefer not to outline the entire series of requirements for becoming a captain right now. It will take time, and as you seemed quite involved in sparring with Madarame-san, I should not hold you longer than I need to.

"You may enquire with the Captain-Commander. Now please excuse me. Good day, Ichigo Kurosaki." Byakuya said, turning once more, and suddenly disappeared in a shunpo of great speed that kicked up dust behind it.

Ichigo sighed, and walked back into the dojo. Since he didn't have anything else to do, he figured there was no reason not to continue sparring. He did need to get used to fighting with two swords. Despite the fact that he was now more or less ambidextrous, fighting with two swords was a different story.

Ichigo went in and looked through the bokken, finding a Suburito in the pile and taking it out, gripping it with his right hand, and taking the regular bokken in his left. He didn't need to use the wakizashi, as neither of his swords were that small or that light, and thus, wouldn't function in the same way as such a light weapon.

Ikkaku cocked his head, but shrugged and accepted Ichigo's choice of weapons. He walked forward, and bowed to Ichigo as Ichigo bowed to him as well, and then, Ikkaku smirked, and spoke.

"Hey, Kurosaki. Your sister is cute. Would you object to me dating her?" He asked with a wide grin. Ichigo sneered, disgruntled.

"You can try. But apparently, Shinji already was rejected by her. Good luck, though…"

"I've never struck out with the ladies! Now fight! And no cheap Kido this time! This ain't a real battle. It's sparring!" Ikkaku yelled, jetting forward, and swinging his sword as quickly as he could. Ichigo blocked rather proficiently for carrying two relatively heavy bokken, and then counterattacked.

The two sparred like that for a while, then, after a while, when they were both finally exhausted, and had been sparring for six hours without stop, they ceased, and sat down. Ichigo sighed, and groaned, his soreness finally catching up with him. He looked outside, and saw that the sun was setting already. He stood quickly, and walked outside to find Karin standing there with Toshiro.

"Captain Hitsugaya… I didn't know you and Karin were friends…" Ichigo said. Toshiro glowered at him, but didn't say anything more for a moment.

"I wouldn't consider us friends. I helped her and her friends win a soccer match, and she assisted me with some minor Shinigami business. Other than that, we barely know each other.

"I merely agreed to stay with her as it would be improper to leave a lady by herself after dark." Toshiro replied, bowing politely to Karin, and giving her a tight smile.

"It was good to see you again, Kurosaki-san. You as well, Kurosaki…" Toshiro said, starting to walk off.

"Call me Ichigo."

"Call me Karin…" The two siblings said at the same time.

"I refuse. We are not friends. We're scarcely acquaintances. Have a good evening." Toshiro said coldly, causing Karin to stick her tongue out at him, and sneer as he flash stepped away.