Ichigo yawned as he removed Zangetsu from his back and rested it on the wall. Stretching he sat down on the bed. It wasn't his bed though. Ichigo was staying in an inn in town. But I could have called his bed though; he had been in town for at least a month. He did odd jobs here and there to get enough money for rent. If other Reapers could see him now, they would laugh at him. That was fine though, he didn't care about what they thought, and anyone who laughed at him wouldn't do so for long, lest they make him angry.

Ichigo glanced at his bedside drawer. An envelope and letter rested on top of it. Kicking his sandals off, he reached for it. He flicked the folded letter open with his thumb.

Dear Big Brother Ichi,

You make it so hard to write to you, you know that? You're always moving around. Anyway, how are you? You haven't gotten yourself killed have you?

Ichigo smiled softly. Karin would never outright ask if he was alright.

I suppose you're wondering how things are on this end right? Well Yuzu's fine, She's finally gotten over the fact that big brother won't be there to tuck her in at night. Don't worry about her, I'll protect her from. Especially the boys…

Ichigo smirked. God help any boy who wanted to mess with Yuzu.

And Dads…well…still Dad, unfortunately…He hasn't left us alone since you've left. He keeps crying about not letting another 'precious child' leave him, which is weird since he was all for you leaving.

Ichigo nodded as he read this. Isshin had been in tears when Ichigo had announced he was leaving home. Though they weren't tears of sadness. The old man hadn't stopped talking about "Ichigo becoming a man" for the rest of his stay. He kept saying stuff how Ichigo needed to grow up and get…never mind…

I swear I envy you sometimes, not having to deal with all this drama at home. But then again I suppose it's not exactly heaven on you're side. I heard the trails gone cold. Is it true?

Ichigo gripped the letter tighter as he read the last line. His eyes narrowed, as they always did as he thought about that man.

"…Fisher…"Ichigo spat out. Grand Fisher, the reason Ichigo had left home in his place, two years ago, the reason he became a Reaper. For the past two years he had tried to track down that man, the man that killed his mother when Ichigo was nine. He spent one and a half years tracking him. Except about six months ago the trail had gone cold. Nobody seemed to know where he went. Teeth gritted he forced himself back to the letter.

You know you don't have to do it you know? We'll still love you even if you don't find Moms killer. It doesn't matter to us. We just want to see our big brother happy.

Ichigo smiled as he read, his past mood gone.

Anyway, if this letter reaches you it means you've actually managed to keep still for a bit. We all miss you and hope to see you soon.

Love, Karin

Ichigo, smiling one last time put the letter back on the nightstand. Yawning again he leaned back in his bed and closed his eyes. However, his peace didn't last long because he soon heard knocking at his door. His eyes opened and he slowly rose from his bed. He walked over next to Zangestu and placed a hand on it. There were too many people in the world who wanted his head; he couldn't afford to be careless.

"Yeah?" Ichigo said. His door opened and three men stepped inside, they looked around thirty to forty. Ichigo raised an eyebrow.

"Can I help you?" He asked, suspicion in his voice. One man stepped forward.

"My name is Haru," He said, "and this is Kyo," He pointed to the man on his left, "and Juro," Ichigo nodded at them.

"Ichigo Kurosaki," He said. Haru nodded.

"Yes we know, we saw what you did at the graveyard earlier today," Ichigo said nothing.

"Actually we came here to ask you something," Juro said, stepping forward. Ichigo looked at him. Juro continued.

"We would like to hire you," He explained. Ichigo rose and eyebrow. After a minute he nodded.

"Take a seat," He told them, gesturing to the chairs in the room. They did so. Ichigo leaned against the nightstand.

"What do you mean 'hire me'?" He asked.

"We asked around town about you, we heard you're looking for work," Kyo said.

"Depends on what kind of work," Ichigo replied.

"You see, we're from a small village down south, And for years, a group of bandits has come and raided our village. We're sick of it. We want to stop them,"

"You want me to come and fight for you," Ichigo said. Haru nodded.

"If we had someone like you, we could drive them back for sure," He said.

"Wait, how many bandits are there?" Ichigo asked.

"A little over forty," Kyo replied. Ichigo rose and eyebrow and leaned back.

"That's putting an awful lot of fait in me," He said.

"Not just you," Juro said, "We can hire more people to fight,"

"How many more?" Juro thought for a moment.

"Around six or seven," He answered. Ichigo shook his head.

"The odds still aren't exactly in my favor,"

"We'll fight too, the whole village!" Haru said.

"We're sick and tired of Aizen and Naraku!" Ichigo looked up.

"Sousuke Aizen?" He asked. Haru looked at him.

"Yes, you know him?"

"Not personally," Ichigo said, "But, he's a very powerful reaper, I know that,"

"Please," Kyo begged, "You must help us! We're desperate, we'll give you anything, everything, if you'll help us," Ichigo looked at them all.

"Everything, huh…Are you really that desperate?" Ichigo asked. They nodded. Ichigo pushed himself off the nightstand.

"You know, once you start a fight like this, there's no stopping until it's done,"

"We know that," Haru said. Ichigo nodded.

"Alright, I'll help," He agreed.

"You will!?" Juro said. Ichigo nodded again.

"I became a Reaper so I could protect people with my power, I can't just ignore someone right in front of me who needs my help,"

"Thank you Mr. Kurosaki!" Haru exclaimed.

"It's Ichigo, and I think I might know some people who can also help," The three looked at him.

"People…as strong as you?" Ichigo smirked.

"Well…close…"He said. Ichigo walked over and sighed as he sat down on the bed. He looked up at them all.

"Now, you said you'd give everything, did you mean that?" Kyo looked at him.

"Yes…why?" Ichigo smirked.

"Because the person I have in mind, might just take you up on that,"

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Authors Note- Don't bother trying, because you'll probably never guess who the first person to join the seven will be. All I can say is that he's badass. And anyway, please review!