Chapter 6

That Might be a Problem

Toshiro charged forward, not caring what consequences might come from his actions. He was only concerned with brutally hurting the person who hurt his dear friend. He squeezed his fingers tighter around the hilt of his zanpakutō and inhaled deeply. "Rain over the fro-"

"Stop!" Karin raced towards the scene only to have Ichigo quickly wrap his arm around her waist, preventing her from moving forward. "Nngh! Let me go, Ichigo!" She pounded her small fists against his strong arm, but he would not loosen his hold. She huffed and focused her attention to the young captain. "Wait, Toshiro!" She screamed desperately, digging her nails into her brother's arm, causing him to wince slightly.

Toshiro skidded to a halt and stole one quick glance back at the distraught girl. "Are you the one," he began as he slowly turned his head to face the cloaked being, "who appeared in Karin's mind…?" He kept his voice low.

"My, my Captain. Were you about to try an attack me?" The cloaked figure took a step closer to the young captain and pressed his gloved hand on the captain's chest. "That wasn't very nice," he tsked and took the last step to close the gap between the two.

Toshiro's eyes widened as he felt his body tensing. "What the hell!? I can't move!" He gritted his teeth and brought his eyes down to his zanpakutō. "I can't lift my arms…" He shifted his eyes to the hand pressed against his chest. "What…" He mumbled, finding it difficult to move his lips. "What are you…? Doing to me…?"

"Hmm, what am I doing to you, Captain?" The mysterious person laughed at the captain's dismay. "Shall I demonstrate my power?"

"Toshiro! Get away!" Karin pushed with all her might against Ichigo's arm, stumbling as she broke free.

"Karin, wait!" Ichigo bolted after the frantic girl.

Karin stopped a few feet away from the scene, arriving just in time to watch the cloaked figure push lightly against Toshiro's chest-shooting him backwards at an unbelievable speed.

"Shit!" Ichigo changed directions and leaped to catch the flying captain. He wrapped his arms around the small captain then turned in the air so he would bear the impact. "Ugh!" He shouted as the two crashed into the ground.

"Ichigo! Toshiro!" Karin turned on her heel and began racing towards the two boys, only to be stopped by a tight grip on her wrist. "Ahh!" She jerked her arm but couldn't free herself from the hand clasped around her wrist. "What the hell did you do to him!?" She spun around to face her captor.

"Ah Karin, I was simply giving him an example of my power. I fear he was greatly underestimating me." He whispered into Karin's ear, causing her to shudder. He laughed as she struggled to pry his fingers away from her wrists. "It's no use."

"What do you want!?" She screamed through gritted teeth.

"You, my precious Karin." He used his other hand to lightly brush a stray strand of hair away from her eye. "Won't you be a good girl and come with me?" He traced his thumb down her cheek.

"Like hell I would go with you! Now, let me go!" She dug her heels into the ground and began pulling away with all her might, gasping as she realized her efforts were useless.

"Oh? It appears we have some company." The cloaked figure turned his head to the orange-haired boy standing a close distance away. "Ah, the soul reaper brother has come to the rescue."

"Let her go, you bastard." Ichigo brought his hand to the hilt of his zanpakutō and pulled it to the front of his body, clasping both hands tightly around the hilt of the giant sword.

"I have heard many things about you, Ichigo Kurosaki." The cloaked being began moving towards Ichigo, dragging Karin with him. "Your strength is not something to take lightly." He stopped and gave a fake shudder. "How scary!" He laughed and jerked Karin to the front of his body, putting her between him and Ichigo.
"You should know, when it involves my family, my strength will be stronger than yours!" Ichigo raised his sword and yelled as he rushed towards the mysterious person.

"You will hurt your dear little sister waving that thing around so carelessly, Ichigo." The cloaked figure wrapped his free arm around Karin's stomach.

"You think I don't know that!?" Ichigo slammed his zanpakutō down on the cloaked figure, causing him to fly back.

Karin turned in Urahara's arms and looked over his shoulder at the battle. "You are really fast," she mumbled as she squinted her eyes at the dirt drifting up from the blow.

"Of course I am," Urahara chuckled as he set Karin down, casting a nervous glance to the unconscious captain.

"Toshiro!" Karin dropped down beside her friend and placed her hand against his cold cheek. "What's wrong with him!?" She brought her tear-stricken eyes up to Urahara.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think he will be fine." Urahara removed his hat and scratched at his head. He then turned to face the other soul reapers. "Let Ichigo handle this," he began, "You four are probably still weak from before." He turned back to Toshiro after receiving reluctant nods from the four injured people behind him.

Karin gently placed her hand on Toshiro's chest- the same spot that the cloaked figure pressed his hand against. She lightly rubbed her hand in a circular motion, hesitating when she noticed Toshiro wince slightly. She moved her hands to pull open his Shihakushō so she could get a better look at his chest, gasping at the large, black welt in the shape of a hand. "Urahara," she called over her shoulder. "Look at this!"

The older man leaned down and inspected the welt. He brushed his hand against it and took note on how it felt hot. "Odd," he muttered under his breath.

"Is he okay?" Ichigo approached the group and crouched down beside his sister. "Are you alright?" He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, sighing in relief as she nodded. He shifted his gaze to Urahara and the others. "The bastard just vanished." He brought his eyes down to the welt on Toshiro's chest. "I did manage to hit him before he disappeared." He sighed and stood up. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"You did well." Urahara placed a comforting hand on Ichigo's shoulder before turning to walk into his shop. "Renji, bring Captain Hitsugaya in here, would ya?" He called over his shoulder.

"What do we do?" Renji asked.

The group sat in a small room in Urahara's shop, surrounding a resting Toshiro. They have kept to themselves for a bit to try and process what is going on- Renji finally making the decision to break the silence.

"Rangiku, can you contact the soul society?" Urahara questioned.

"Sure." Rangiku pulled out the hollow tracker device-the cell phone- and began pressing buttons. After a few moments, Yamamoto's voice was heard through static. "Damn this thing," Rangiku griped as she hit it with her palm. "Sorry, it's not usually used for this purpose."

"Head Captain Yamamoto, I wonder if we could bring Ichigo Kurosaki's young sister to the soul society for a while. It appears she's in a bit of a predicament." Urahara rubbed his chin- a habit he appeared to have developed over time.

"Kisuke," Yamamoto began, "I'm afraid that might be a problem."

And there is chapter 6! I'm beginning to notice that this may be slightly AU-ish. But who cares, it's my story! Haha, no, for real though, if that bothers anyone, I apologize. Anyway, thank you so much for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows! I hope you all like this chapter!

Bleach-Tite Kubo