Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, this wouldn't be a fanfiction, now would it?

A/N: Chapter 2. I actually had a good portion at this written when I posted Chapter 1, so I probably should have added more, but I really like where I ended it, despite the cliffhanger. Well, new (old) characters are introduced in this chapter, so enjoy! And Review!


Chapter 2- Of Shinigami, Arrancars and Missions

Ichigo blinked. "What the…who the hell are you?" he demanded.

The white one looked surprised. "Ya don' remember us King?" he asked. "Awww…c'mon, try to remember us!"

The dark haired one spoke next. "We are you partners, Ichigo. Even if you don't remember us now, you will soon." He changed topics surprisingly quickly. "Do you want to protect your friends, Ichigo?" he asked.

Ichigo frowned at the speed in which the man changed topics. "O-of course," he stuttered.

"Can you trust me, Ichigo?" he asked.

Ichigo started at him. He had no idea who he was, and yet something in his gut told him that he could. "Yeah. You'll help me save my friends, then?"

"If you trust us."

"'Us'?" Ichigo repeated, eying the white one dubiously.

The receiver of his stare grinned. "C'mon King. We can play nice. I'll even let you stay King if you want."

Something told Ichigo that he could trust both of them, and his gut generally was right. He nodded, "Aright," he said. "Help me protect my friends."


Orihime shrieked, "Kurosaki-kun!"

One minute the orange haired teen had been shouting angrily at the monster, and the next, he had fallen over, apparently unconscious.

Rukia stopped shouting for a split second, but then caught Ichigo's body out of the corner of her eye. "ICHIGO!" she shouted.

And then she was falling. The hand that the monster had been holding her in had seemingly opened on its own accord. Right before she hit the ground, something caught her. She looked up, and found herself staring up into a very demented white mask.

"YAH!" she screamed.

A voice from behind the mask spoke. "Shut up, midget!"

"Ichigo?" she whispered.

The voice didn't reply. The Ichigo-looking figure set her down next to Orihime and Uryuu and jumped back towards the monster, who was glaring at him.

Rukia looked down at Ichigo's body, and then at the figure that had saved her. "What the hell, Ichigo," she whispered.


Ichigo had never felt more alive, and yet he was physically dead. He could feel the power flowing through his veins, despite how corny it sounded.

He gave an exuberated laugh, but it came out rather maniacal. He jumped at the monster. 'The arrancar,' the dark haired man's voice spoke in his head, giving Ichigo its name. He swung the giant sword at the arrancar's arm.

In its surprise, the creature was unable to make any move to block Ichigo, and its arm flew off, leaving a bloody trail on the ground.

The arrancar roared in fury, cradling the stump. "You will regret that, brat. You will regret that."

And then it was gone. Not even the arm remained.

Ichigo let out a sigh, and felt the mask fall off his face. "Ugh," he muttered. He made his way back to his friends, who were staring at him in shock. Somehow the orange haired teen knew that he needed to get back into his body. He slipped back into the motionless vessel and blinked in surprise as he was assaulted by an all encompassing fatigue and soreness.

His three friends' faces appeared above his head. "What the hell was that about, Strawberry?" Rukia demanded.

Ichigo blinked. Everything seemed unnaturally funny right then. "You're ok midget…" he chuckled. "Tha's good. I was hopin' you'd be…" he laughed again.

Ishida stared down at the snickering form of his friend. "He drunk on exhaustion or something," he muttered. "We'd best get him home. He'll need some sleep before the first degree I plan on giving him." The others nodded in agreement.

Together they walked the woozy teen back to his house, where they threw him unceremoniously onto his bed.

"What happened to him?" Masaki asked in shock.

Rukia shrugged. "He hit his head. Tripped over a branch or something."

She nodded, but looked back into her son's room suspiciously.

"Tell him we'll see him in school, Kurosaki-san?" Orihime asked.

"Alright," she told them, and watched them leave through the front door. She looked back in on her son. "Ichigo, what have you gotten yourself into this time?"


Ichigo was vaguely aware of the hushed voices of his friends and mother. He also vaguely recalled muttering before he fully passed out, "Thanks for the help, Zangetsu, Hichigo."
In the 120 years since she had died, Tatsuki had graduated the Academy at the top of her class, gained her Shikai, and had become the Vice-Captain of Thirteenth Division.

Tatsuki knew that some thought she was trying to replace Kuchiki Rukia. In truth, Tatsuki had to wonder if she even came close to measuring up to the person and Shinigami that Rukia had been. However, when she thought like that, she became depressed and forced herself to stop.

It was a bright day in the Seireitei when Tatsuki heard her office door open up. She looked up from her paperwork and found the unusually serious face of her husband, Fifth Division Captain, Abarai Renji. "Hey," he said.

She frowned. "Hi yourself. What's wrong?" she asked.

"You heard there was a Captain's meeting?" he asked, moving to take the seat across from her.

Tatsuki nodded. "Yeah, Ukitake-taichou hasn't gotten back from it yet."

"He's still talking to Yamamoto-sou-taichou," Renji told her with a sigh. "The meeting had to do with a mission to the Real World."

"And they had to invite the Captains, why?" she asked.

Renji scowled, "Let me finish," he told her. "Anyway, I was pre-volunteered for it, but I pointed it out that our anniversary was coming up. Yamamoto suggested you come as well, figuring you might want to revisit your old home. I told him I'd let you know-"

"Renji," Tatsuki said in a low voice. "What's the damn mission already?"

The redhead gave her a strange look. "We're going to Karakura," he told her. At her surprised look, he continued, "Last night, an extremely high reiatsu was recorded in the disrict. We believe that it was an Arrancar's."

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah," he said. "But the weirdest thing was, that before it disappeared, we got a reading of another insanely high reiatsu. We're pretty sure it was a vizard's."

Tatsuki stared at him. "I though they were eradicated during the War, because Aizen thought they were a threat."

Renji nodded. "So did we, but we're pretty sure of what are reading said. So, they're sending a team down to check it out."

"Who's on the team?"

"Me, you if you'll come, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Chad, Matsumoto, Hitsugaya," he ticked them off his fingers.

Tatsuki chuckled, "Not Keigo or Mizuru" she asked. "Or either of the Kurosaki twins?"

Renji shook his head. "Isshin wouldn't let them. Something about it not being the mission for them. And Yamamoto didn't really want Mizuru or Keigo in the Real World right yet. They're still fight over the position of fourth seat, and Yama doesn't want them to do anything…."

"Stupid?" she asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah. He doesn't want any unnecessary attention."

Tatsuki laughed again. "And yet look at who he's sending. You guys have got to be the most obvious in all the Gotei 13!"

Renji chuckled as well. "Anyway, Isshin wants me to give someone a letter, but he won't tell me who. He only wrote the letters "KM" on the front and said I'd know when I saw them."

"So Isshin knows something we don't?" Tatsuki asked. "Why am I scared?"

Renji grinned. "I couldn't get much more out of him. He was going to have a drinking contest with Urahara and Kyouraku."

She rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything, the door to her office burst open and in flew Keigo and Mizuru.

"Tatsuki!" Keigo moaned. "Why can't we come too?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because you're both idiots," she told them.

Mizuru pointed his finger at Renji. "But so is he, and he gets to go."

"OI!" Renji exclaimed. "I'm a Captain you little-"

Tatsuki laid a hand on her furious husband. "You both are still too immature to go. Besides, Ukitake-taichou's going to need help with me not being here, and I just don't think Kiyone and Sentarou are going to be enough. Maybe he can pick between you, while I'm gone." 'Hah! Have fun with them, Ukitake-taichou.'

"But…but…" Keigo moaned.

"Go away, you two." Tatsuki pointed to the door.

"But Tatsuki…" he whined.

"It's Abarai-fukutaichou," she growled.

"You sound like Hitsugaya-taichou now," Keigo pointed out.

"I don't care. Go!" She was pissed.

They went.

Renji looked at her. "You just set Ukitake up for torture," he pointed out.

"I know," she said cheerfully. "Let's go pack," she grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the room.


A/N: No Cliffhanger this time. Happy? Hope it was a good update. Stay tuned for Chapter 3!