The sound of Rukia's alarmed blared through the air, waking Rukia up with a slight jolt, her hair disheveled. Sitting up, the girl rubbed her tired eyes with her fists. Swinging her feet off the bed, she stood up and shuffled towards her closet. She slid open the door and glanced down, blinking a few times, thinking that what she was seeing was a dream.

But, she soon realized it was not.

There, lying on a make-shift bed in her closet, was a snoring Ichigo, who looked quite uncomfortable with his legs propped up on the wall because he was obviously too tall to lie completely flat in the tiny closet.

Rukia's face scrunched up in a frown.

"What the hell is this!?" Rukia's sudden outburst caused Ichigo to wake up and jump in surprise, almost falling out of the closet.

Looking up at the fuming girl, Ichigo gave her an uneasy smile. "Oh…Hey Rukia…"

"Explain why you are sleeping in my closet!" Rukia then realized he was wearing clothes that she recognized. "And are those Byakuya's pajamas!?"

"Ah…."

How was he going to explain this?

"Well, you see I'm the only one who can get your soul out of your body so I have to be near you at all times." Ichigo explained, sitting up from his extremely uncomfortable position. "Plus, I don't have anywhere else to stay…"

Rukia opened her mouth to say something before there was a knock on her door.

"Rukia? Is everything okay?" Hisana's muffled voice said from behind the door. "I heard you yelling…"

Rukia cursed then glanced towards the door. "Yes, I'm fine. I just saw a bug. But, it's fine now. I killed it."

There was a hesitant pause. "Alright, then. Make sure you come down for breakfast before school."

"Okay." She replied back, listening to make sure Hisana was gone. When everything was clear, her eyes shot back towards Ichigo. "You can stay here, but you better not do anything stupid! If Hisana and Byakuya see you, who knows what will happen…"

Ichigo waved his hands. "Alright, Alright, I got it. Don't get caught."

Rukia stepped back, crossing her arms. "Good. Now, get out of there so I can get ready."

"You can ask nicer, you know." His comment earning him a glare. "I'll be waiting outside."

With that, Ichigo climbed out of her window, and landed on the sidewalk below.

About 20 minutes later, Rukia came scrolling out the front door of her house, dressed in her school uniform and a book bag in her hands.

"Let's go."

Ichigo, who had been leaning against the nearby wall, began walking with her.

As they walked to school, Rukia glanced over at Ichigo. "So, tell me more about the Soul Society."

Ichigo raised his eyebrow. "Why?"

Shrugging, Rukia replied, "I'm just curious. I kind of want to know about the place I'm sending all these souls to."

"Well, it's a lot like the living world except people age slowly and you don't get hungry." He vaguely told her.

Rukia blinked. "Is that it? There has to be more to it than that…"

Ichigo put a hand to his chin, thinking. "Hmm…I've never really had to explain it to someone before…"

He held up two fingers. "Basically, the Soul Society is divided into two parts: Rukongai, where souls live when they first arrive in Soul Society, and Seireitei, where the Shinigami live. Seireitei is in the middle and Rukongai surrounds it."

"I see." Rukia responded, picturing it in her head. "So, how do souls normally become Shinigami? I'm sure Shinigami don't just hand out powers like you did to me, right?"

An almost tense expression appeared on Ichigo's face for a second before he chuckled slightly, looking forward. "No, they don't. Normally, souls who want to be Shinigami have to go to the Shinigami Academy. If they pass, they become Shinigami."

"That simple?"

"Well, it's not as easy as it sounds. You have to be in the Academy for six years to graduate. And the better you do, the more likely you will be placed in a high-ranking position. They only want the best."

Rukia playfully smirked. "If they wanted the best, how did you graduate, Ichigo?"

Ichigo's eye twitched in irritation. "Shut up! I was actually best in my class!"

"Whatever you say." She replied, laughing, before grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him along. "Now, come on, we're going to be late."

When they arrived at school and headed into the classroom, Rukia noticed a boy in her class staring very intently at her as she walked by him to get to her desk. He was pale and had chin-length black hair that was parted in the middle. His blue eyes glared at her through his thin, frameless glasses. For some reason, she got some strange vibes from him.

"What's his problem?" She muttered to herself after she passed him, proceeding to sit at her desk.

She glanced at the clock. They still had a few minutes before class was supposed to start.

"Hey, Tatsuki." Rukia called her friend, who sat two seats in front of Ichigo.

Tatsuki turned around with a raised eyebrow.

Rukia motioned with her hand. "Come here."

"What's up?" Tatsuki asked once she made it to Rukia's desk.

Rukia pointed towards the raven-haired boy who sat in the front of the class. "Do you know who that is? Is he new?"

Tatsuki turned her head to look at the boy then turned back to Rukia with a raised eyebrow. "You mean Ishida Uryu? He's been in our class since the beginning."

"Really? I wonder why I've never noticed him before..."

Tatsuki chuckled. "Well, you're not that observant, are you?"

Rukia rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Tatsuki."

"Alright, class! Time to begin!" The teacher announced, causing everyone to take his or her seat.

While the teacher taught, something else was on Rukia's mind.

If that boy has always been in their class, why did she only notice him now? And why was he glaring at her? She was sure she had never even talked to him. So, why did he seem to hate her?

XXX

Once school was over, Rukia and Ichigo walked on their usual path to Rukia's house. However, something felt different. Rukia kept glancing behind them, having the strangest feeling that someone was following them. But, every time she looked back, no one was there.

Noticing this, Ichigo raised his eyebrow. "What's up?"

Rukia shook her head. "It's nothing."

Then, an all too familiar beeping noise escaped from Ichigo's pocket. Quickly flipping open the phone, Ichigo got the Hollow's location.

"Okay, the Hollow is-Wait. Where the hell did it go?" Ichigo muttered in confusion as he pushed various buttons on the phone.

"What do you mean? It just disappeared?"

Ichigo nodded, staring at the screen. "Yeah…"

"Wow, you Shinigami really are useless."

Rukia and Ichigo's heads shot towards the direction of the voice, only to see the boy from their class, Ishida Uryu, walking towards them from behind a nearby wall with a bright blue bow made of some kind of energy in his hand.

Rukia's eyebrows rose in surprise. "What?"

Uryu continued his cold gaze as the bow vanished. "Don't act so surprised - I know you are a Shinigami. I've known since the day you became one. And I hate you because of that."

Rukia frowned, clenching her fists. "What are you?"

"He's a Quincy." Ichigo stated with a frown. "Honestly, I didn't know Quincys were still around…Most of them were killed off in the war between the Shinigami and the Quincy 200 years ago."

The girl looked confused, glancing at Ichigo. "What's a Quincy?"

"They are basically the opposite of Shinigami. They are human and use bows to defeat Hollows. But, one of the major differences is how the souls of the Hollows are dealt with. Shinigami purify Hollows, so the soul is still intact. While, the Quincy actually kill Hollows, which destroys the soul entirely. So, they basically mess up the balance of the souls." Ichigo explained.

"Stop talking like Shinigami are so much better!" Uryu shouted with anger. "I'll prove to you that the Quincy are more superior!"

"And how do you plan to do that?" Rukia questioned him.

Uryu smirked, pulling out a capsule from his pocket. "With a competition."

Rukia stared at the capsule. "What's that?"

"Bait." Uryu stated with a smirk. "When I crush this, Hollows will be drawn to us. Whoever defeats the most of them will be the winner."

Both Rukia and Ichigo's eyes widened.

"What!? Are you insane?" Rukia shouted, glaring at him. "You want to put people's lives in danger just to prove who is better?" She shook her head. "I'm not playing your stupid game."

"Are you afraid you can't handle it?" He taunted.

"It doesn't matter if I can handle it or not - I'm not doing it." Rukia responded, not letting his taunts provoke her.

"I knew you would refuse. You are only a temporary Shinigami, after-all. You're nothing without him." Uryu said, gesturing over at Ichigo.

Before he knew it, Ichigo aggressively grabbed him by his collar, snarling at him. "Listen, you little shit! She's not doing it! Now, get the hell out of here before I beat your ass myself!"

Uryu's sudden chuckling made Ichigo frown even more. "What's so funny?"

The boy lifted up his clenched fist and opened it, only to reveal the crushed capsule in the center of his palm. "Guess she's going to have to play along anyway."

Ichigo's widened before his phone began beeping non-stop. His eyes shot up, seeing a large amount of Hollows beginning to emerge from the Garganta.

"Idiot!" He yelled as he threw the boy to the ground and, as quickly as possible, he rushed towards Rukia, placing the Soul Glove over his hand, and forcing the girl's Shinigami soul out of her body.

Rukia rolled backwards before smoothly rising back to her feet. Pulling her Zanpakutō from its sheath, she leaped into the air and sliced through the mask of one of the incoming Hollows. Another came at her from behind. She twirled around and jabbed her blade through the middle of its mask before cutting down. More Hollows headed towards her but, before she had the opportunity to attack them, they were shot with a barrage of bright blue arrows before vanishing.

She landed on the ground and glanced to the side to see Uryu pointing his bow towards the sky.

Lowering his bow, the boy looked at her with an amused face. "Looks like you're already following behind, Kuchiki-san."

"I told you, I'm not playing your game!" Rukia shouted in frustration, stomping towards him. "Stop this right now!"

Uryu shrugged. "I can't. You're just going to have to keep fighting until they're all gone."

With that, Uryu began shooting at the Hollows again.

Rukia huffed loudly before attacking the Hollows that came towards her. If Uryu couldn't stop it, the only thing she could do was defeat them all. However, that proved to be much more difficult than it sounded. When she thought she defeated a decent amount of Hollows, in reality, she had barely made a dent. When she defeated one, more would come. It was never-ending.

"Ishida!" She yelled as she glanced at the boy. "There are too many of them for us to be fighting separately. We need to do this together!"

"I will never team up with a Shinigami!" Uryu replied, firing arrows into the sky.

Rukia took down another Hollow. "This isn't about who is stronger. Innocent people could get hurt if this goes on like this!"

"I have everything under control!"

Just as he said that, a Hollow suddenly appeared behind him. Without a second thought, Rukia rushed towards it, jumping in the air before swinging her blade through the Hollow's mask.

Rukia rolled her eyes, turning to him. "You have it under control, right?"

Uryu just scowled at her.

Before they knew it, they were surrounded by dozens of Hollows. Unconsciously, they stood almost back-to-back, glancing at the group of Hollows.

Clenching the hilt of her blade tightly, Rukia turned her head to the side, looking at Uryu from the corner of her eye. "Look, if you don't want to be killed, you need to forget about this thing you have against Shinigami for just a second. Forget about that war-"

"It's not about the war." Uryu muttered under his breathe.

Rukia growled. "Whatever the reason is, it doesn't matter right now! We can fight them much easier working together."

Uryu was silent for second before responding, "Fine. But, only because I want to be the one that defeats you, not some Hollow."

The girl shook her head, focusing back on the Hollows. "You really are stupid."

Finally working together, the two managed to defeat all the Hollows that had surrounded them. But, just when they thought it was over, a gigantic Hollow that stood at least 5 stories tall tore open the rip in the sky and stepped through, its large pointed feet sending tremors through the ground. The Hollow had a white mask with an elongated nose and its body was covered from their head to their feet with a black cloak-like covering.

"What…is that?" Rukia mumbled with wide eyes.

"That bait couldn't have caused this…?" Uryu said with disbelief.

From his position a few feet away from Rukia, Ichigo blinked as he watched the Hollow escape from the rip. "Is that a-?"

"Menos Grande."

The voice caused Ichigo to clench his fists, his blood beginning to boil. "Urahara…"

A light blonde haired man with a green stripped hat stepped next to Ichigo before crossing his arms, his face amused. "Why so much hostility, Kurosaki-san? I thought we put that all behind us."

Ichigo glared at him. "You know damn well I didn't it. I only deal with you when I have to."

"And, surprisingly, you are my best customer." Urahara stated with a chuckle.

"What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Well, I noticed an usually large amount of Hollows in the area and wanted to check it out. Somehow, I knew it would involve you and your little girlfriend."

"She's not my-!" Ichigo stopped, shaking his head, realizing it was a stupid argument. "Just fuck off, Urahara."

Then, a red colored ball of energy appeared near the Menos Grande's mask, growing brighter and brighter as if it was charging up.

"Cero…Oh shit. Rukia!"

Ichigo stepped forward to run towards Rukia. But, then Urahara placed his arm across his chest, blocking his path.

"What the hell are you doing, Urahara!? Get out of my way!" Ichigo shouted at the man, pushing his arm away.

"Don't you just want to see what she can do?"

Ichigo glared at him. "I know what she can do. That's why I'm going to help her."

Urahara chuckled. "And just how are you going to help her? You're pretty much powerless until you're powers come back."

The man's statement caused Ichigo's anger to grow. He knew without powers he couldn't do much but hearing that he was powerless from someone else just made him angry.

Urahara then pulled out his fan, covering the smirk on his face. "I think you really are underestimating Kuchiki-san's abilities."

Then, just as the Menos released the Cero, Rukia went rushing towards the giant.

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Rukia!" Ignoring Urahara, he sprinted after Rukia.

Rukia held her sword above her head to stop the red beam. The Ceroslammed into her blade, the immense pressure of the attack almost bringing her to her knees. Through the thunderous noise of the blast hitting her blade, Rukia could faintly hear Ichigo calling for her.

"Don't…worry, Ichigo!" She shouted as she struggled to keep the blast from crushing her. "I can do it!"

Determination filled her eyes as she grit her teeth together. With a battle cry, she found the strength to push the Cero back towards the Menos, the attack going straight through the creature's mask before it faded away.

Breathing heavily, Rukia stared up at the sky as the large rip slowly vanished. Her zanpaktou fell from her fingertips as she dropped to her knees, her legs feeling like Jell-O.

"Rukia! Are you alright!?" Ichigo ran over to her and helped her to her feet.

The girl gave him a smile. "I'm okay."

Ichigo returned a smile then smirked. "I'm impressed. Guess you're stronger than I thought, midget."

That comment earned him a surprisingly strong punch to his stomach.

"It's a truce for now, Kuchiki-san." Uryu stated, looking elsewhere when Rukia and Ichigo glanced at him.

Rukia rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "A thank you for fixing your mess would have been nice…But," She smiled slightly. "I'll take a truce."

A very small smirk appeared on Uryu's face before he turned to leave. "Good."

And the Shinigami and the Quincy went separate ways.