Kurosaki Isshin stood there grinning in his Shinigami outfit. Rukia stood there amazed as he held onto his waist belt looking up at the sky.

"You've noticed it too, haven't you?" He said. Rukia was still awe-struck to give him an answer, but was able to shake that off and nod. He sighed as he shook his head. He began to turn to walk away before Rukia stopped him.

"Wait!" She yelled. "What's going on with him?" She asked. Isshin stood there for a second before turning his head to face her. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up as his now serious face.

"He lost…" Isshin simply spoke. "Over the past few days I've noticed his Reiatsu jump up and down. It's almost like he was having an internal struggle with his inner-self."

"What do you mean? Inner-self?" She asked.

"He means the hollow within him." They both turned around and saw Urahara standing there with his cane in his hand. His eyes were hidden by his hat as he gave them both his usual smile.

"When you were forced to go back to Soul Society, Rukia, Ichigo wanted to grow stronger so that he could rescue you. So, I put him through my training that made him stronger, faster. One part of the training was that he had to learn to control his inner hollow so that it would not take over him. Since then he has been in a constant battle against it so that it would not take over him. What I want to know is what made him give up? You felt it too didn't you?" Urahara looked over at Isshin who nodded his head in disappointment.

"Just about an hour ago I felt a sudden drop in his Reiatsu and then it surged higher than I had ever felt it before. But it had a hint of darkness in it. I was hoping that it wasn't Ichigo, but when I went up to his room, he was already gone. I was scared that he might hurt someone, so I had to go to shinigami form in case I had to stop him.

Rukia was shocked when he finished. Suddenly a voice in the back of her head began to bug her. A question that she had to answer. 'Did I cause this on him?" She grew nervous

"Rukia," Urahara said. She nearly jumped out of her own skin when he called her name. It was an unusual tone of voice coming from him.

"You were with him last. Do you know when this could have happened?" Rukia hesitated for a moment. Both Isshin and Urahara were glaring at her, which caused her to feel nervous. Then she let out a big sigh and then took a deep breath before she began to tell them about what happened. They both listened attentively. When she finished, they glanced at each other and nodded.

"That sounds about a good reason as to how he turned hollow." Urahara said. Isshin just nodded before he spoke.

"You know, I thought you and Ichigo were together already." Isshin said as he reached into his pocket. "I was going to say that would explain this." He pulled out a black silk panty from one of his pockets. "Look familiar?" He asked. Rukia looked at it and quickly swiped it away. Rukia's face turned beet red as Isshin and Urahara began to bust out laughing. She quickly shoved it into her pocket ashamed.

"He must've bought that for you didn't he?" Urahara said, elbowing her in the ribs. Isshin was trying to catch his breath as his laughter began to settle. Rukia had had enough. Within that moment, both Urahara and Isshin were sitting on the ground with a bruise on their heads. Rukia's cell phone began to ring. She reached into her pocket and grabbed the phone and answered it. Isshin and Urahara were both making jokes underneath their breaths.

Rukia hung up her phone with a grave look on her face. When the two saw her facial expression, they stopped laughing and waited for her to speak.

"That was Genryuusai. He said Soul Society is under attack… It's Ichigo…"