I don't own Bleach, etc etc.

Ancient History

Ichigo stared up at Urahara, not sure whether to be shocked or relieved by his presence. He did know one thing, however; that he was completely and utterly confused.

Not only had Rukia and Uryuu been conducting some sort of secret meeting in the park, but Uryuu was about to dart off after some weird spiritual pressure that Ichigo never heard mentioned before and couldn't sense to save his life. And, if that wasn't enough, a strange shinigami he very vaguely remembered from the Winter War popped up out of nowhere and was now engaged in a rather frightening staring contest with Uryuu.

"Before we go anywhere, you need to explain to me exactly what's going on," he said, crossing his arms stubbornly and sitting down on the bench.

You tell 'em, Ichigo, snickered his hollow.

Ichigo ignored him, unwilling to be provoked.

"I'm waiting," he said.

"Ah hah, well aren't you impatient…I'll sum it up for you quickly," said Urahara, jumping down on the ground. "The Soul Society has detected a strange spiritual pressure around here lately. I'm assuming they sent this woman," he said, nodding at Michiko, "to investigate. And now you're up to speed. So shall we go?"

Ichigo stood up, still not satisfied with Urahara's answer, but willing to bite his tongue for the time being.

"Yeah, all right."

Rukia nodded, followed by a reluctant Uryuu.

Urahara turned to Michiko. "And what about you, Miss…?"

"Michiko Nakamura, second division," she said. "I'll hear what you have to say, but I have to inform you that I'll be repeating anything I deem useful information to my superiors."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem," Urahara said.

Once they'd all arrived at the Urahara Shop, Urahara led them into a back room and invited them to sit around a small table.

"I don't want to waste any of your time, so I'll just dive right in," he said once they were all seated. "For starters, I have pretty good reason to believe that the things responsible for the strange spiritual pressure are what I've been calling Elementals. An Elemental is a being with the ability to infuse its own spiritual energy into the energy in the environment. To put it simply, they can control things like wind, water, fire, et cetera. However, they can make those elements more powerful by adding their own spiritual pressure."

"So I was right," Uryuu chimed in. "These Elementals are like shinigami-Quincy hybrids. They take their powers from the environment like a Quincy, but they also have spiritual energy within themselves, like a shinigami."

"I guess that's one way of looking at it," said Urahara. "That's also why I'm assuming no one here but Ishida-san has been able to sense them, as Quincies are much more sensitive to spiritual pressure, and the Elementals don't have as much as, say, a shinigami."

Uryuu nodded, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Ichigo scowled, slightly irritated that Uryuu acted so smugly about all of this. He smirked, reminding himself that he was still very capable of trashing him in battle.

"Any questions before I move on?" Urahara asked, bringing Ichigo out of his fantasy fight.

"Where do these Elementals come from then? Surely there's nothing like them in the Soul Society," said Michiko.

"That's quite right, Nakamura-san, they're not from the Soul Society. This hasn't been confirmed yet, but I'm fairly certain that a shinigami named Yasuo created them," explained Urahara a bit bitterly. "He was my mentor, and a brilliant scientist. However, he was also a very corrupt man who was never satisfied with his status in the Gotei-13. One day I arrived at his lab to help him with an experiment, and the entire place was torn apart, with Yasuo nowhere in sight. Later that day, I learned that the Central 46 Chambers arrested him and convicted him of treason. He had apparently made plans to overthrow the Central 46 and seize control himself, although I don't know the details...needless to say he was exiled to Earth, and that was the last I'd ever heard of him."

"So Yasuo is trying to overthrow the Soul Society," clarified Rukia.

Urahara shook his head. "This is about much more than simply trying to overthrow the Soul Society. Kurosaki-san, let me ask you a question," he said, shifting his attention to Ichigo. "Recently, have you gotten any hollow alerts that have been dead ends?"

Ichigo frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Has your substitute shinigami badge alerted you to the presence of a hollow, but when you arrived at the scene there was nothing there?"

"Yeah, that happens every once in a while," admitted Ichigo. "But I'd always assumed Chad or Inoue or Ishida just got their first."

"I see," said Urahara. "Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. I've been mapping the spiritual readings around Karakura Town very carefully, and the ones responsible for destroying those hollows were definitely Elementals."

"But I don't get it…wouldn't that just be helpful to the Soul Society?" asked Ichigo.

"Oh no," Urahara said. "When an Elemental destroys a hollow, the hollow only disappears. In other words, Elementals can't exorcise hollows like shinigami can."

Michiko's eyes widened. "So the balance of souls…"

Urahara nodded. "That's correct. If the Elementals are allowed to continue destroying hollows as they are, the balance of souls will be lost, and life as we know it will cease to exist."

"Wait, but that doesn't make any sense," Ichigo argued. "Why would this Yasuo person do something that puts him in danger too?"

"He probably doesn't care about that," Urahara explained. "Yasuo doesn't care who gets hurt as long as he gets his revenge. Even if he dies in the process."

Ichigo didn't want to admit it, but he felt a twinge of excitement upon hearing Urahara's description of the coming threat. Of course, he didn't want anyone else to get injured, but something in him yearned for the raw simplicity of battle. Above all, he wanted something he could really sink his teeth into. He felt guilty just thinking about it, but he couldn't deny it made his heart beat a little faster.

"All right," he said, a fiery determination he hadn't felt in months racing through his body. "What do we do now?"

Urahara smiled. "I always did like your spirit," he chuckled. "For the time being I'd like you all to sit tight until I can confirm that what I just told you all is actually the truth. I'll definitely have an answer for you by tomorrow, though. But for now, do not, and I repeat, do not go after the Elementals unless you're directly provoked. Kindly meet back here at the same time tomorrow, and we'll discuss how to proceed."

"I can't promise you anything," Michiko said. "I'll convey this information back to my captain and act based on her orders."

"Actually," Urahara said, maneuvering himself so that he effectively blocked the exit, "I would really appreciate it if you didn't tell your captain just yet."

"But you said that it wouldn't be a problem."

"Ah ha ha, did I now?" said Urahara innocently. "The thing is, Nakamura-san, someone by the name of Yoruichi Shihouin is investigating all of this as we speak. She probably wouldn't be all too pleased with you if you tell the Soul Society about our efforts prematurely. And I don't think Captain Soi Fon would appreciate it if you upset Yoruichi. Besides, I'm just asking you to wait for twenty-four hours."

Michiko glared at him. "You really leave me no choice."

"I'm glad we're in agreement then!" Urahara exclaimed, stepping out of the way of the exit. "Have a nice day! Take care now," he said, ushering them outside and shutting the door behind them.

Uryuu and Michiko both darted away before Ichigo could say anything, leaving him standing with Rukia in the gradually fading evening light.

"Shall we?" she said, nodding in the direction of his house.

"Ah…yeah."

***

Rukia walked in silence for a while, still trying to absorb everything Urahara said back in the shop. If everything he said was true, which was very likely, the Soul Society might not have the energy or the will to react effectively. It was really the worst possible scenario she could imagine.

"Don't worry," Ichigo said. "I won't let these guys win."

Rukia looked up at him walking beside her, and although she knew he had no idea what he was talking about and he would have said the exact same thing if a gigantic meteor was about to crash into the very spot where they stood, she couldn't help but feel comforted by his reassurance.

"Is that so?" she asked.

"Yes."

"By the way, Ichigo, didn't you want to tell me something earlier?" Rukia asked suddenly, remembering how he ran up to greet her at the park.

"Oh! Yeah, I did. Let's go sit over there," he suggested, pointing towards a bench near the edge of the river.

"Sure." Rukia noticed a hint of anxiety in his voice. She didn't blame him. For Ichigo to willingly talk to her…well, for him to willingly talk to anyone really about a problem was a huge step. She imagined that since it'd come to him offering this information freely, whatever he had to share meant a lot to him. Truthfully, it made her a little nervous as well.

Once they'd both sat down Ichigo began, staring off into the distance as he spoke.

"I don't really know how to start…but…I'm sure you've noticed it already…" he exhaled sharply. "He's back."

Rukia's heart sank. Even though she already knew to some degree, hearing Ichigo say it, admitting it both to himself and to her, added a grim reality to the situation that bothered her more than she expected.

"I did notice," she said quietly. "What are you going to do?"

"I'll figure something out. But in the meantime…I want…I mean I don't want…but it would be better for you if you weren't around me."

"WHAT?! Ichigo, that's ridiculous! Why on Earth would I stay away from you?" yelled Rukia.

"Because he might hurt you! He said it earlier…when we were fighting that hollow. He wanted to hurt you. It isn't safe," Ichigo insisted.

"Did he?"

"Did he what?"

"Did he hurt me?" asked Rukia.

Ichigo shook his head. "But what about next time? What if I can't control him…?"

"Would you ever let him hurt me?"

"Of course not," Ichigo answered immediately, almost reflexively.

They looked at each other.

"There's you're answer then," Rukia said, turning her eyes away from his as a light flush crept into her cheeks.

"I'm just looking out for you."

"Ichigo…why do you think I would just abandon you at a time like this? Why do you think I would let you go through this alone?"

Ichigo sighed. "I know you wouldn't! So I'm telling you it's all right."

"Well it's not," said Rukia. "I'm not going anywhere."

They remained quiet for a while, watching the water gently ripple by before them. Rukia hugged her knees in to her chest, attempting to sort through the many emotions bearing down on her all at once. It didn't take long, however, for her to identify the one that she felt the most. Rukia was angry. She was angry that Ichigo thought she would abandon him, angry that his hollow was trying to take him away from her, and angry that it had decided to make an appearance just when the world was about to be thrown into chaos. She dropped her head into her hands, wishing that just for a moment she could disappear and forget that the world seemed to be collapsing around her.

"You're too stubborn for your own good, you know," Ichigo said, an expression Rukia knew meant that he surrendered.

"Well…if I weren't so stubborn, where would you be?" she countered, sitting up straight.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, reaching his hand over her shoulder and lightly pulling her head onto his arm.

"It's a nice sunset."

A/N: I know this chapter was really dialogue heavy, but things will pick up soon! I promise! I hope you enjoyed chapter 3, please review and have a wonderful day! :)