A/N: Wow, I'd like to give a big thank you to all 22 people who reviewed last week! I'm really amazed by how many reviews this story is getting! I'm sorry if I didn't get to replying to questions or whatnot, but I've been very busy this week.

Alright, back to business. I've had a few people ask about pairings for this story, so I'll reiterate what I said in Chapter One. A Second Chance will be putting no emphasis on any particular pairing, just as the canon does (although it has been leaning very IchiHime lately). That doesn't mean that there won't be any sort of romantic things in the story, but I'm trying to follow canon as closely as possible. I just don't see Ichigo going and proclaiming his love for Rukia or Orihime or anyone else, especially because of the situation he's in. And again, there will be no slash in this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, only the things I make them do.

Chapter 11: The Dog's Folly

Ichigo was abruptly woken from his nightmares by the usual morning bell. He sat on the edge of his bed and rested his head in his hands. The unexpected visit from Aizen had taken Ichigo for a spin. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Ichigo had begun getting very comfortable with academy life. Being absorbed in his classes, having new friends stalk him, even reuniting with Rukia, all reminded him of his life before the war. Ichigo thought he had resigned himself to seeing the war through, avenging his friends, and taking down the traitors. But, the very moment he settled in a comfortable schedule, Ichigo found himself letting all that go.

He had let his guard down.

He hadn't been ready for Aizen, and that may have cost them everything. If Shirosaki hadn't been there, constantly bringing him out of his murderous thoughts, Ichigo really would have tried to kill the captain right there. Even then, Ichigo knew Aizen was smart. He knew that if he didn't find some way to fix this all their war efforts would be lost. In fact, he had spent all of that afternoon and the next day trying to figure out what Aizen could possibly conclude from the way Ichigo acted and what he said.

Now it was Friday morning, and Ichigo had only thought of one thing: he needed Rukia to help him. Ichigo finished getting ready and ran out to the fitness class, knowing he would be thankful for the warm-up later. This was the only class he had today and right after he would shunpo to Yoruichi's hideout to meet Rukia and Renji.

Ichigo smirked. The only good thing that came out of that day with Aizen was that now everyone knew he could shunpo, so he no longer needed to hide that particular ability. His first hohou class gave his morale a much-needed raise after he literally ran circles around the other students. He had personally been taught by the Goddess of Flash, after all. But they didn't need to know that.

Thursday was exactly the same as Monday, minus the meditation seminar. He continued to put way too much energy into his kidou, this time almost collapsing the roof when he burned straight through one of the supporting pillars. In zanjutsu he was paired with clumsy Choshi again for half the time and spent the other half sparring the instructor. Ichigo gave Ikoma a nice surprise when he almost defeated him using the man's own technique, but was again beaten down by the instructor. Ikoma said afterwards that he lived up to his nickname of "Mimic Prodigy", whatever that was supposed to mean.

--

"Hey, Ichigo-san! Where are you going?" Ichigo turned around and groaned when he saw Terada, Minobe, and Choshi running to catch up to him. He thought he was in the clear when he saw no sign of his friends in class or on his way to the academy gate. They must have heard from someone that I was leaving...oh well. He groaned to himself and answered Terada's question.

"Nowhere..." he said halfheartedly, knowing that the persistent freshmen would try to wring the truth out of him no matter what he said.

Minobe walked up to face him and raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Nowhere, huh? Sounds fun. We're coming too. Besides, we've all been so busy that we haven't visited Nowhere in ages. Why are you going to-"

"Alright! Alright! I get it! Geez, I don't know why I bother to tolerate you people and your sarcasm..."

Terada giggled and caught up with Minobe, Choshi trailing slightly behind. Terada patted Ichigo on the head and ruffled his bright orange hair. "You're so cute when you're annoyed, tiny Ichigo-san!"

He smacked her hand away and frantically pointed between her and Minobe, saying "You can't say anything like that! You're almost the same size as me! Besides I can kick all your asses any day of the week!" He huffed and stomped off towards the the gate out of the academy, the other three snickering and following behind him. Ichigo quickly turned around. "And you're not coming with me!"

--

Ichigo dropped into the concealed entrance, remembering the first time he was taken there by Yoruichi and the last time he was there with the remaining captains. After Seireitei was taken by Aizen, Urahara somehow managed to install a metal base around the hideout that concealed spiritual energy and created the perfect secret base in Soul Society. That, along with various scavenged machines and materials from the Twelfth Division created what the shopkeeper dubbed "Yoruichi's Hideout" after his recently deceased friend.

Ichigo walked deeper into the cavern, recalling the good and bad times spent there when he realized that Rukia wasn't there. It was odd for her to be later than him, though he probably figured it was because she was dragging Renji to get there on time. He sat down on a shorter rock facing the entrance and waited.

Not five minutes after he sat down he heard familiar snickering directly behind him. Ichigo immediately spun around and punched Renji in the face, cracking the sunglasses he wore on his forehead. Rukia stepped out from a nearby outcrop and shook her head. "I told you shouldn't do that, stupid." She looked to Ichigo while Renji was still down, searching his face for any emotion that could give them away. Ichigo had been ready this time though, and only let a flicker of sadness pass over his face when he saw his old friend. Rukia gave him a reassuring smile before resuming her act and stomping over to give Renji a kick to his rear.

Ichigo just watched as the two started a large argument, completely forgetting his existence. He sighed and sat back down, brushing off his academy robes before calling out "Hey, Rukia! Who's this stupid-looking guy?" Renji stomped over, rolling his sleeves up as Ichigo smirked. Some things never changed.

--

Rukia finally got things settled down after the two boys got into a fist-fight that Renji eventually won ("Hey, the stupid bastard cheated!"). It wasn't all that surprising since Renji was a lot bigger than Ichigo and, as he boasted, been out of the academy for over thirty years. Ichigo knew it was because Ikkaku kicked his ass every night and made him get better.

The two dimensional travelers were having a comfortable conversation before Renji got tired of listening and stood up. He pointed at Ichigo and said, "Hey, freshman. I don't know what kind of sissy-tests they have at the academy, but if you want to really gauge your strength you should battle an actual shinigami. And, it just so happens that I'm gracious enough to kick your scrawny ass for you." Renji smirked as he waited for the student's response.

Ichigo looked towards Rukia after Renji made the expected proclamation. She nodded slightly, betraying none of her anticipation for the fight on her face. Rukia quickly unbuckled Sode no Shirayuki and tossed it to Ichigo with a quick "Catch."

He grabbed the sword out of the air with a practiced motion, but Ichigo wasn't expecting the small sword to suddenly become at least five times larger! The moment his hand, and inevitably his spiritual energy, came in contact with the zanpaktou it grew to an enormous size and quickly brought Ichigo to the floor with its increased weight.

Ichigo just stared at it. Sure, back when he had first used the sword it might have been just a little bit crazy in size. But now it was just ridiculous! How was he supposed to lift a zanpaktou that was twice as big as when he last wielded it and when he was half the size than he had been at fifteen? "What the crap is this!?" He said to a hysterical Rukia after managing to get his crushed hands out from under the huge zanpaktou. Ichigo pathetically tried to lift the gigantic sword, but the laws of physics wouldn't allow it. This of course made Rukia laugh even harder, eventually dragging Renji down with her as she tried to stand up using his legs.

Ichigo just watched the two as they laughed and rolled on the floor, his eyebrow twitching every few seconds. Whenever it seemed like they were about to calm down one of them glanced at Ichigo and the giant zanpaktou and then the fits of hysterical laughter started all over again. This continued for about five minutes before Ichigo walked up to the pair and delivered quick kicks to their faces.

Rukia and Renji quickly stood up and clutched their throbbing noses before simultaneously pointing at Ichigo and saying "What's the big idea!?"

He just pointed at the gigantic slab of metal. "What the hell am I supposed to do with this?"

Rukia sighed and walked over to Ichigo and Sode no Shirayuki, punched Ichigo in the face, then went on to grab the hilt of her zanpaktou as if nothing had happened. The moment it touched her hand the sword again changed shape, becoming the perfect size for the small shinigami. Rukia turned to Ichigo, a smug look on her face. "Since you obviously don't have a handle on your spiritual energy yet," Ichigo growled, "you can't use Sode no Shirayuki in this form. There's a simple solution to this, however." A look of concentration passed over her face as she spun the zanpaktou. A long white ribbon extended from the hilt as the entire sword turned white, causing Renji to gasp in shock.

"R-Rukia! You didn't call out a release command! When did you learn to do that?" Ichigo didn't seem to be as impressed.

Rukia smirked and wiped a thin layer of sweat from her forehead. "I just got it a few days ago, actually. Thought this would be a good time to show off, since it still takes quite a bit of effort and I'm not the one fighting." She held out the released zanpaktou to Ichigo as Renji sputtered in disagreement.

"Wait, that's not fair! If the brat gets your released sword I'm releasing mine too!" Renji prepared to extend Zabimaru when he was stopped by Rukia. Or Rukia's fist.

"Idiot! Are you really that stupid? The only difference between that and the unreleased form is that it's white and has a ribbon! Do you want to kill him?"

"B-but it's-"

"He can't use any of Sode no Shirayuki's abilities, stupid, only I'm able to do that. It's a fair fight, or are you backing out Scaredy-Eyebrows?" Rukia smirked as her hot-headed friend quickly put the argument to rest and demanded that they start immediately. Meanwhile, Ichigo was examining the sleek sword and getting a feel for its weight when a voice startled him.

"Hey, it's gettin' kinda cold in here. You okay? What's going on out th-WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?"

Shut up. It's probably Rukia's zanpaktou. You seen her before...oh wait, you haven't! Zangetsu told me about her a few months back, so good luck. I heard that she's feisty.

"Oh god, the claws! Teeth! TEETH!!" There was something very satisfying about hearing Shirosaki's screams of pain and fear in his mind. Maybe it was because the hollow had always laughed as Ichigo did the same thing when Rukia attacked him. Revenge is sweet.

Ichigo was glad that he hadn't unlocked Zangetsu yet, though. During the horrible weeks of recovery after the 'incident' Ichigo had taken to having long talks with his zanpaktou. The old man had been pissed off for months when Ichigo had finally become a shinigami, giving him freedom from wherever the sword was locked up. That exact same instant Sode no Shirayuki waltzed in and pushed him away, taking all the fights for herself. Zangetsu said he endured scratches and headaches from the 'loud-mouthed beast' before hiding himself in the very back of Ichigo's spirit for the next month. Although this saved him when Byakuya nearly killed Ichigo, Zangetsu was still scarred by the experience.

Not to mention that a few days after the 'beast' was finally gone another appeared in the shape of a human. Ichigo was still amazed that his zanpaktou was sane, if a sword could go crazy.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Rukia calling out for him to pay attention. Ichigo looked around to see that the small shinigami was perched on a particularly high spire. He readied Rukia's sword and faced his opponent, the usual feeling of excitement rising in him.

Renji looked smug and almost carelessly slid into position, waiting for Rukia's word.

"Match: Kurosaki Ichigo and Abarai Renji. Ready 3...2...1...GO!"

Ichigo wasted no time and shunpoed to Renji, raising Sode no Shirayuki only to have it blocked at the last second. The two jumped back before Renji ran forward with a cry, secretly mortified that a simple freshman had nearly caught him off guard. Said freshman easily blocked and the two came to a standstill, trying to gain power over the other. Ichigo was having problems using his spiritual energy with Sode no Shirayuki, and couldn't seem to put as much in as with Zangetsu. He knew he would be overpowered by Renji if he couldn't raise his energy enough.

Ichigo abruptly backed out from their struggle, avoiding Zabimaru by spinning and drilling both legs towards Renji (his dad's move, of all things). Renji dodged the attack and swung his zanpaktou down as Ichigo barely evaded by rolling out of the way. The two faced each other again and leapt, swords crashing together. This time Renji surprised him by sweeping his leg around and getting Ichigo in his side. That was all the distraction Renji needed before he managed to scratch Ichigo's face.

The two stood apart again, breathing heavily. Renji smirked, "You're not bad, for a freshman. It's almost like-hey, wait a second...are you that prodigy that everyone's talking about? Rukia, why didn't you tell me you knew the Mimic Prodigy!?" Ichigo sensed this would take a while, so he focused on catching his breath and seeing of he could force more energy into the sword.

"Because I knew you would do something like this, stupid! And what the hell is a 'Mimic Prodigy?'"

Renji laughed, "That's what they're calling him nowadays. Don't know who started it, but it seems to fit." He looked at Ichigo and scowled. Quick-stepping over he raised his blade at Ichigo's head, but it was blocked. "Don't let your guard down, idiot!"

"I didn't." Ichigo calmly said as he sidestepped another blow and started on the offensive. Hey, stop yelling, you're distracting me!

"Why the hell does she get to fight and I don't!?"

Ichigo gritted his teeth as he barely blocked a strong blow from Renji. Shut up and help me out here. Why aren't I kicking his ass? This fight should be a piece of cake!

"It's that damn zanpaktou, she's over there sleeping cause 'you're not her master'. You should let ME fight!"

Something the hollow said reminded Ichigo of a meeting they had a long time ago. Everyone was needed to describe their abilities to their comrades so that proper match-ups could be made and strategies would be more efficient in fights. Just about everyone was surprised when it was Ikkaku's turn and he finally came out about his bankai. "...and in order to use it's full destructive force I've first got to wake up the bastard..." Ichigo's eyes widened as the simple answer came to him.

Ichigo jumped back from his opponent and landed on top of a smaller rock. He grabbed Sode no Shirayuki by the end of the ribbon and started spinning it above his head. The last time he had done this was when he rescued Rukia, and couldn't believe he let so a powerful and useful move go to waste. He felt spiritual energy flow into the blade as he spun it faster, surprised that Renji was just standing there and not taking the chance to attack.

But Renji couldn't take his eyes away from the awe-inspiring sight. The kid's energy just kept rising, seeming to have no limit. His eyes turned bright blue and the air swirled around him, crackling with power. I haven't seen this much spiritual energy since Captain Kuchiki, Renji thought with despair. He readied himself to do the only thing he could do; dodge. So that's why they call him a prodigy. He dove out of the way as the the small student struck out, lashing the sword towards him with the long white ribbon. Blue energy extended far past the blade, cutting through everything it touched. Renji could only look on in horror as the dust cleared and he saw the destruction Kurosaki wrought.

He sensed the freshman approaching and brought his blade up as fast as possible, barely saving himself when Sode no Shirayuki crashed down with amazing force. Renji was pushed back to one of the rocks and struggled to keep fighting as Kurosaki slowly pushed Zabimaru back. Renji growled and did the only thing he could think of to save himself. He ran his hand along his zanpaktou and called out "Howl, Zabimaru!" He faintly heard Rukia telling him to stop, but forced Kurosaki back by swinging the extended blade at him.

It was too late when he realized that the prodigy took advantage of his open position. The kid shot back towards Renji, actually running on top of Zabimaru before he put Sode no Shirayuki to the shinigami's defenseless throat. Rukia clapped and yelled out "Winner: Kurosaki Ichigo!"

--

Renji opened up to Ichigo much more after the fight, even if he kept threatening to beat him up later. Rukia and Renji shared their experiences at the academy while Ichigo told them what had changed or stayed the same, and Renji even shared a few of his stories from outings with his division. Ichigo cringed when he realized that Kenpachi wanted to fight him, and laughed when he learned what Yachiru had done to Yumichika's face. Finally they could see it getting dark outside and decided to call it a day. After extracting a promise from Ichigo to come every Friday the three headed for the exit.

Ichigo managed to hint to Rukia to visit him very soon, and before leaving, Rukia turned to Ichigo and smirked. "I know you couldn't sense it, cause you're a dense idiot, but you should probably talk to your friends about spying." She pointed at a large outcropping of rocks and laughed as she followed Renji off into the night. Ichigo growled and stomped off towards the rocks as he finally became aware of three more presences in the room.

A/N: Busted! Anyway, a special thank you to Shezza88 for planting the idea of the ribbon-spin in my head, and hopefully the battle lived up to everyone's expectations (I never can tell with my fight scenes). Oh, and if Shirosaki seems OOC, there is a very good reason for that. No, I'm not telling you why yet. See you next week!