Kari's delivery runs

"By riding with me on my run. You can help me deliver the items," said Kari.

"I hope you can handle having a fox demon on board."

"If I can deliver with Mr. Yoruichi on my shoulder for an entire run, then I'm sure I could handle a demon fox."

Kyuubi had never been on a bike before, so he was skeptical that it actually worked. His surprise was that it actually held both their combined weight and that of the packages. Kari grinned when she scared Kyuubi by making a sharp turn while on a busy intersection. (He nearly went ballistic when she rode with NO hands on the bars for over two blocks!)

-----

"So how did you enjoy your first bike ride, Kitsu?" grinned Kari.

"That…was…the most…idiotic…horrific…ride on…pieces of metal…with only two wheels!" said Kitsu as he tried to get his heart back down his throat. He gulped when he saw the evil smirk on her face.

"I hope you weren't thinking that this is our last ride. You had the easy run…now it's time for round two!" snickered Kari.

"You…are evil!" said Kyuubi in dismay.

"Thanks…I try my best!" laughed Kari as she rode back to the shop. (She cut him some slack and went easy on the return trip.)

-----

"How was round one?" asked Urahara.

"Me thinks the fox has already had enough," snickered Kari. (BTW, that grammer error was deliberate.)

"After just one run? What did you do to him?"

"She rode as if I were the one chasing her! She's a danger to those who are anyway near her way!" said Kyuubi weakly.

"So did the Gigai work or not?"

"Would I still be here if it hadn't?!"

"I would have Yoruichi go with her, but he already left. Try to go easy on him when you do the next round," said Urahara.

"There's no chance in hell that I'm getting back on that death trap!!!!"

"I was just playing with you earlier Kitsu! I normally don't ride like that; besides, you did want to give the Gigai a decent test run," Kari reminded him.

"I don't think I can take another run…"

"I'll do this round solo…you can ride with me on the final deliveries for the day."

"Hold it! You know that it's too dangerous to ride without something to defend yourself!"

"Urahara, knock out my soul long enough for me to hand Kitsu my Zanpaku-to. Will that convince you to let me go?"

"I don't know if a Zanpaku-to can remain while you're not in your Soul Reaper form…"

"Benihime is a Zanpaku-to and she doesn't have any problems with it."

"…"

An hour later…

"Not one Hollow bothered me. They weren't even around!" reported Kari.

"That's good to hear."

"Kitsu, you ready for the final round?"

"I doubt I'll ever be ready to ride with you again…I'm not THAT suicidal!"

"You can ride on my shoulders…the final package takes up the rack."

"Good luck…" said Urahara out of the corner of his mouth.

"You said it…I'll be needing luck to survive this!" snorted Kitsu.

XxXxX

The ride was an easy one…and not as rough as his initial run. Kitsu was mildly surprised that it wasn't as bad. Kari laughed when he mentioned this.

"That's because I was feeling evil this morning. I rarely ride like that anymore."

"You are definitely MORE sadistic than me. I wouldn't put Naruto through that! The 4th Hokage maybe…"

"My friend back in America says the same thing all the time. I actually enjoy playing head-games with others!" laughed Kari.

"…"

XxXxX

"So how did he fare this time?" joked Urahara.

"I actually enjoyed it this time."

"So you liked the way Kari rode like a maniac?"

"She didn't ride like this morning. It was a LOT more enjoyable when she wasn't acting like a crazed idiot!"

"I HEARD THAT!!!"

To ensure that Kitsu wouldn't make any more smart remarks, she made peanut butter cookies and watched as he struggled to get them off the roof of his mouth! (It turned out to be the main entertainment for the night.)

Kitsu rode with Kari on most of her delivery rides…give or take a few close calls. He finally got used to it after a few days; that was when they had a wake-up call that caught Kari's attention immediately. They were passing a street like every other day…that is, until they were caught in an explosion!

"Wait…it couldn't be! There's no way that today is…!" said Kari in shock.

"What is it…? What's wrong?"

A Hollow emerged from the dust cloud; Kari immediately parked long enough to watch a scene that she remembered all-too-well. (It was the moment when Ichigo first encountered a Soul Reaper.)

After it finally ended, Kari went back to delivering packages… she did her job quickly and quietly. She said nothing to the others about what would happen next. As everyone went to bed, she stayed up; she snuck out so quietly that even a cat burglar would be impressed. Right before she could make her escape, she felt something on the back of her neck twitch.

"Where are you off to so late?" asked Urahara suspiciously.

"Someplace you'll be in a few hours. I'm going to watch something very interesting happen at the Kurosaki clinic."

"What's going to happen?"

"Ichigo's family will be attacked by the same Hollow Kitsu and I saw earlier. Rukia Kuchiki, Byakuya's little sister, will be the one sent to get rid of it. In the process, she'll give up her powers so Ichigo can save his family."

"How do you know that is what'll happen?"

"Because the main character in my Bleach manga…is Ichigo Kurosaki. I know that's what will happen because that was how the series started."

"And you want to watch it happen."

"Yup."

"I would tell you to take Kitsu with you…but," started Urahara.

"Relax…I'll be out of sight and I will hide my reitsu so they won't even know I'm there. Well actually, the reason I'm going to watch it is because I want to see Ichigo break the first Kido spell, the paralyzing one, firsthand."

"Just…"

"Don't even think of saying it. You'll jinx me for sure!" warned Kari with a mock-serious look.

-----

The scene played out exactly as she remembered it. Watching Ichigo break the Kido was amazing; and seeing him transform for the first time was memorable. She waited until Urahara showed up to offer Rukia a chance to recover until she got her powers back; by that time she already left and made it to the store before them to get the Gigai. (Urahara showed her the one that she mentioned.)

During the delivery next morning, she couldn't resist hinting Ichigo about what was about to come.

"Don't think that this will be the last time you see Rukia, Ichigo. She'll be back sooner than you think."

"What'd ya mean?"

"You'll see when you get to school…" snickered Kari evilly.

"What the…!" said Ichigo in surprise as he meets Rukia in school. (You can guess what'll happen next.)

'How did Kari know…?'

Ichigo walked into the store and asked, "Have you seen Kari?"

"She's out on a run. Why?"

"I have some questions for her…" said Ichigo ominously.

"What did she do this time?"

"I couldn't resist giving Ichigo a hint this morning of what was about to come," answered Kari.

"You knew she'd be coming to my school…how?"

"It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together. Rukia was stuck and we let her borrow one of the spare bodies that they use when they're weak on spirit energy. She also needed something to wear so we gave her one of the uniforms from your school. Besides, Rukia is too close to your age in appearance, so it was only natural that she attends your school."

"Well, there was that and the fact that she wanted to make sure you'd take her place until she got her powers back," shrugged Urahara.

It was then that Ichigo remembered something.

"Kari, were you around when that thing came after me yesterday?"

"I was there…and I watched as you broke a Kido spell with your own power. It was pretty interesting to watch you become a Soul Reaper," said Kari dryly.

"You were at my house and didn't even try to help?!" said Ichigo annoyed.

"Chill, Strawberry-head. I knew what would happen long before you did. I knew that you were in no actual danger."

"The only people who can call me Strawberry are my friends…which you definitely aren't."

"Ichigo means 'strawberry'. Besides, its not like I know what will occur for the next few months…"

"What was that…? I didn't…" started Ichigo.

"If you're not going to buy something then go home. I have to finish my rounds!" griped Kari. Before Ichigo could retaliate, she picked up the packages and went back to work. Urahara just shrugged at the look Ichigo shot him.

Kari's delivery runs were now more interesting than ever. Thanks to Ichigo finally becoming a Soul Reaper, she now had something to be on the look-out for. And when Rukia ordered a Gikongan (Soul Candy; renamed after the Shinigami Women's Association complained about the name), she knew that she better keep an eye on the school. Sure enough, a week later Urahara found out the hard way that he accidentally sold a Mod Konpaku…which had been put under a seek-and-destroy order for many years.

"Well, at least now I know to get to Ichigo's body before Urahara does. I already know where he'll be…" grinned Kari. Kitsu remained quiet as she headed to Yuzu and Karin's school.

"Why are we here?"

"Because the mod Konpaku will be here in a few short minutes. Hang on…I'm going to double-check the timeframe." Kari said as she went to the place where the three boys were skipping class playing video games. Sure enough, they were almost at the part where the mod Konpaku, (soon to be saved and named Kon), and since she already finished her last round early…

"Kari…what are you…?"

"Simple…I'm going to watch something."

"You know as well as I do that Urahara wants that damn pill thing."

"It's called a Gikongan. And if you don't pipe down you'll miss something interesting."

"…"

The scene played out…almost exactly as it had in the manga. Except for one small detail…she got to the pill before Urahara.

"Kari, you know we have to…"

"I know, I know…you have to destroy this idiot. But if you ask me, he hasn't done anything bad enough to kill him."

"That's not a real soul…"

"If he has a conscious mind that can think, then it's real enough for me," retorted Kari. Urahara swiped it and that was when the scene went back to the way it was. And then she had to change the scene again.

"Hey Ichigo…if you want to repay that guy for his little joy ride, here's a little tip. Look for something that you can use as a body, like a stuff animal or something," she grinned.

"What'd you…?"

"Just a little friendly advice…"

-----

She followed Ichigo until he found the plushie that she knew would become Kon. As soon as Kon realized Ichigo was in the mood to pummel something, she rode her bike past him just as he started to beat the stuffing out of the stuffed animal.

"Hey Ichigo. See why I told you to keep an eye out for a stuff animal?" she grinned.

"How did you know that the Soul Candy worked on plushies?" asked Rukia.

"Let's just say I'm a follower of Chronepsis…"

"Who's Chronepsis?"

"Try looking under Draconic Deities."

"Okay…"

"Go ahead and continue dealing with the perverted plush toy," laughed Kari.

-----

"Kari, you've got some explaining to do," said Urahara.

"Let's just say I'm a fan of Chronepsis and leave it at that."

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to deliver tomorrow."

"Fine…Chronepsis is a Dragon Deity who is also known as 'The Silent' and the 'Watcher'. A neutral party if you will," said Kari.

"What…?"

"I'm a huge fan of dragons…and one of the most popular games involving dragons is called 'Dungeons and Dragons'. Chronepsis is one of the dragon gods from the game."

"I can barely keep up with your interests anymore…" griped Urahara.

"At least I keep things interesting around here," joked Kari.

"I give up on you," said Urahara.

"June 16th…that's when an old pain-in-the-ass will return."

"Isn't that when…?"

"Ichigo's mother died. And guess who'll have the gall to show up and ruin things."

"Rukia and you."

"WRONG. She shocks Ichigo by showing up before he got to the grave. She stays out of the way after he talks to her. Someone else shows up to cause all hell to break loose."

"Who?"

"Take a wild guess…perhaps I should have said something."

"Grand Fisher."

"You better believe it. He shows up, takes both of the girls hostage, and ends up confronting Ichigo who barely manages to save his sisters."

"How does the confrontation end?"

"I'm not going to spoil the ending. But I do know who will be the one to get revenge for Ichigo's mother."

"Who? And when?"

"I don't know when, but you already know his name. He runs the Kurosaki clinic."

"You mean Isshin."

"I know he was a Soul Reaper like you," said Kari.

"What else do you know?"

"What will happen when the last Quincy makes his appearance."