Disclaimer: I don't own BLEACH.

Warning: OOC-Ness, Angst, Mystery, Slight Romance

Off-topic Rant: With lecture and writing this story at the same time, it was hard to balance the 2 and I'm glad I managed to do it after all. ^.^ Thanks for waiting, you guys! ^.^ Oh, I had difficulties on the Quincies' and Shinigamis' Rivalry as well. If there was something I wrote wrongly, please don't hesitate to tell me in your Reviews'. ^.^

Special Thanks: 841 Views, 6 Reviews, 7 Followers, 4 Favorites. Thank You so much for the love you all have bestowed on this story! ^.^

Ichigo widened his eyes in shock. This couldn't be... Who he think it is... Could it...? "Rukia-Sensei?"

After seeing the black portal that the Hollow made, Rukia lowered her sword and turned to gaze at Ichigo. "I'm honored you acknowledge my presence, Kurosaki, but I'm not the one you shoud be worried about here." Gazing at Karin, Rukia heaved a mental sigh of relief although her face seemed familiar to Kaien's little playmate. Would it be that much of a coincidence? "You don't have to worry too much, Ichigo. She only fainted, nothing serious."

She hadn't expected herself to really make a slash out of the Hollow as compared to what she did just now. She wasn't supposed to reveal herself before anybody, anyway. She had thought this whole patrolling would be a 'Quincy Observing' business, who knew she would be caught in the action as well. But, when she had arrived to the scene of crime and saw Ichigo Kurosaki trying to hit the Hollow with only a stool in his hand, that was when she acted because she was beyond pissed. Taking a moment to calm herself down, she sighed deeply. Man, when Yoruichi and Urahara knows about it, things were going to be bad for her. Rukia sighed deeply and could only hope that Ichigo won't make a fuss the following day. "Really?! Karin just fainted? Nothing is wrong with her?"

Before she could respond, another voice joined in. "Kurosaki!" Great. Not only was her suspicions confirmed, Ishida had to come at such a time where she had forced the Hollow to retreat? What was this? 'Reveal-Shinigami's-Identity' Day? Rukia massaged her temples and Ishida froze as he stared, or rather, glared at Rukia. "I should have known you were a Shinigami since I noticed you have a little Spiritual Pressure inside you, Rukia-Sensei." Rukia sighed. Things have just gotten a little more complicated. "Looks like Inoue-san was right about you after all, Rukia-Sensei."

Rukia's eyes hardened. "You are twisting the facts, Ishida." Ishida narrowed his eyes at what Rukia was implying. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Inoue Orihime wouldn't even have known what a 'Shinigami' was." Ishida frowned. "Inoue was only suspecting that I was spying on both of you at the rooftop."

"Were you?"

Rukia sighed at Ichigo's question. Really, why was her student asking irrelevant questions at the worst timing ever? "Whether I was or wasn't spying isn't important at this point of time, Kurosaki Ichigo. You should be more worried for your sister than worrying for whether I was spying on both of you or not." Satisfied at the silence she had gotten from Ichigo, she turned to Ishida. "If I had a choice, I wouldn't have revealed myself, Ishida. But, I want an answer. Was it you who had eliminated all the previous Hollows' residing in KaraKura Town or was it the Resident Shinigami that was finally doing his job?"

Ishida gave a mocking laugh. "You really think that the representative Soul Society sent out to KaraKura does his job as a Resident Shinigami, that's hilarious." Ishida glared at Rukia which Rukia pointedly ignored. "That was the most pathetic Shinigami I have ever met."

She couldn't exactly deny Ishida's insults. Because, if she could, she wouldn't have risked running out today and revealing her identity because she was almost certain that it was Ishida who had eliminated all the previous Hollows that was residing in KaraKura Town. But, if that was the case, she had no choice in this matter. Stabling her sword in one hand, she spoke. "Then, Ishida Uryuu, I demand you to leave this battle to me."

If looks could kill, Rukia would be dead by now. "And, why the hell would you think that I would leave this fight to you, Rukia-Sensei?" Rukia could tell Ishida was fuming but honestly, she could care less. Between the balance of two worlds and Ishida's pride, yeah, she would care less about Ishida's pride. "The Shinigami stationed in KaraKura Town is nothing compared to me! In all the days that he has been here, I was the one doing all the eliminating of the Hollows and the freaking Shinigami Soul Society has sent to KaraKura Town have been benefitting from all the hard work I have done! Tell me why the hell-"

Ishida was stunned to silence as the blade that Rukia had originally used to slash the Hollow ahd now, been pointed at his throat with Rukia glaring at him. "Keep that attitude, Ishida and you won't even have a world to protect." Both Ichigo and Ishida widened their eyes and Rukia gazed at Karin. If she wanted this to work, Ichigo must be out of sight. Taking a moment to calm herself down without removing the blade from Ishida's throat, she locked gazes with Ichigo. "Kurosaki Ichigo, the ground is not suitable for a human to lie on. Bring her to her room and lie her down, make sure she is comfortable. I will visit her shortly when I'm done with this... Nuisance." Ishida glared at Rukia.

"But..."

Rukia closed her eyes. "Go. Your sister's health is much more important at this moment."

Ichigo was too stunned to notice what has happened this particular night, it was the first time meeting face-to-face with a Hollow after all. Without any further objections, Ichigo brought Karin in and Rukia turned her gaze back to Ishida. "What do you mean by Quincies being the cause for World Destruction, Rukia-Sensei?" Ishida was gritting his teeth now. "That's a really harsh accusation, Rukia-Sensei."

"Tell me, Ishida. Have you wondered why Soul Society was forced to pass down the order of eliminating Quincies?" Rukia asked while removing the blade from Ishida's neck. Ishida shook his head, indicating that he doesn't know. "In simpler terms, you didn't care enough to know." Ishida stayed silent, clenching his fists. What Rukia was implying was that he didn't care enough to know what was causing the conflicts between the Shinigamis and the Quincies. Truthfully, Rukia had insulted Ishida but Ishida wasn't one to lash out recklessly. He would hear what Rukia has to say. "I heard about you, Ishida Uryuu." Ishida gazed up at Rukia, wondering what she meant by that. "You were present when your Grandfather was killed by Hollows, right in front of you. Therefore, you decided on your own that you would hate all Shinigamis' because they didn't appear and protect your GrandFather when you depended on it the most." Ishida nodded, fists clenched. "I don't really know or even care who's in the right or who's in the wrong but Soul Society was forced to annihilate Quincies because of Quincies themselves."

Ishida continued glaring at Rukia. "Of course you would help Soul Society, you are a Shinigami for goodness' sake."

Once again, the blade was placed near Ishida's throat. "Have you heard my reasoning, Ishida?" Ishida was silent and this allowed Rukia to continue. "Shinigamis purifies Hollows but Quincies disintegrates Hollows. That only means that the Hollows sent to KaraKura Town doesn't make it back to Soul Society. Shinigamis are given the name 'Balancers' for a reason, Ishida." Rukia removed the blade from Ishida's throat. "Soul Society passed down the order to annihilate the Quincies because they knew, if they had allowed Quincies to go on doing however they liked, the destruction of 2 worlds would be unavoidable. And, it's not as if Soul Society never tried to communicate either. There had been numerous talks where Soul Society told the Quincies their situation yet Quincies refused to address those complaints. That was the reason why nobody stood up for Quincies."

"Are you saying that Shinigamis' weren't in the wrong for abandoning my GrandFather when he needed it?!"

Rukia saw the portal was slowly forming now. The Hollow must have recovered. Rukia knew she would have to settle this sooner or later. Rather sooner than later though. "I never said who was in the right or who was in the wrong, Ishida. I said, I don't know and I don't care who was in the right or wrong. But, if I allowed you to continue eliminating Hollows, I would be encouraging the idea of World Destruction. And, before you even say I'm on the side of Shinigamis', let me hand you the same situation, Ishida. If given a choice to save the World from Destruction, would you choose that or would you rather allow both Worlds to be destroyed?" Ishida stared at Rukia as Rukia lowered her sword and backed away, causing Ishida to widen his eyes. Both of them were oblivious to the fact that Ichigo was staring at them and frowning, though. When had Rukia-Sensei and Ishida gotten so close? "The decision is up to you, Ishida. You can choose to let me handle the Hollow or eliminate the Hollow yourself. I don't mind either way since the Hollow would be destroyed regardless."

There were a few moments of silence as Ishida gazed at Rukia. "I leave this battle to you, Rukia-Sensei."

Rukia smiled. "I knew you would come to your senses someday, Ishida." Gazing at the balck portal where the Hollow had emerged himself, its arms seemingly healed, Rukia steadied the sword in her hand. "You are not leaving this place aiive, Hollow, not if I can help it." With that said, she charged towards the Hollow and leaped up the air. In an instant, she slashed the Hollow into half, purifying it. As she landed on the ground, she stabbed her sword into the ground because she kenw she would have fallen onto the ground if she hadn't done so, causing Ishida to narrow his eyes. Taking a moment to stable herself, she spoke. "Kurosaki Ichigo, I thought I told you to take care of your sister. Why are you down here?"

"I..."

Rukia closed her eyes and pulled her sword out from the ground. "Let's go, I can attend to your sister now." She figured she would be in for a lot of pain with Ichigo, judging by the fact Ichigo hadn't gotten over the fact that a Hollow had attacked his family. Once he got over that fact, both Ishida and Rukia were in a lot of trouble. But, nevermind that for now. "Ishida." Ishida turned to gaze at Rukia. "I'm not trying to dismiss you from the elimination of Hollows. Regardless to who is the one destroying it, the Hollows would be destroyed anyway and I'm fine with that. But, if you are going to do that, please remember the Soul Balance of 2 Worlds." Rukia turned to face Ishida. "Resident Shinigami is sent to KaraKura Town for a reason. Instead of hating Imoyama-san before you even know him, why not try cooperating with him?" Rukia had walked back to Ichigo. "Come on, let's go attend to your Sister."

"Right..."

Ishida gazed at Rukia's retreating back. Not only had he blamed all of Shinigamis' who didn't help his GrandFather, he had also wronged Shinigami. But, what Rukia was implying was, he had wrong the wrong side all along? Getting all this information in one day wasn't a good idea, Rukia probably didn't think through this for a little. But, did that mean that Shinigamis' weren't in the wrong for not coming to his GrandFather when he needed them the most? Ishida closed his eyes, the death of him witnessing his GrandFather dying still deep in his mind. He promised he would avenge him. But, what Rukia was saying was that... It was the Shinigamis' fault for abandoning his GrandFather but it was also the Quincies' fault that it had led to this? He had always believed it was the Shinigami's fault, was he wrong in all of that? "Rukia-Sensei." Rukia halted her steps, gazing back at Ishida. She should have thought of this better. Although she knew of the rivalry of Shinigamis and Quincies, why had she told Ishida all of that without a thought of his story? But, at that time, she couldn't help it, she was just pissed, so pissed that Ishida couldn't listen to her and once again, allowed her mouth to control her mind. "Are you a Shinigami?"

"You are still onto that fact?" Ishida turned his gaze at Rukia when Rukia sighed. "Does it matter whether I'm a Shinigami or not?"

Ishida scoffed while hsi eyes was still fixated on Rukia. "Of course. If you are a Shinigami, that would explain why you are siding with them."

Rukia's fingers tightened around her blade. Oh, she was beyond pissed now. If she could, she would kill Ishida in a single moment and not look back. "Do you even hear what you are saying, Ishida?" Ishida's gaze lowered down. "You are simply saying because I'm not on your side, I'm a Shinigami? Listen carefully to your words before you actually speak, Ishida. But, to answer your question..." Rukia felt her gaze wavering as she held onto the wall for support. Ishida, noticing this, instantly rushed forward but Ichigo was much faster, seeing that he was the nearest to Rukia as he held her hand and helped her up. "I'm a Shinigami. But, at the same time, I'm not a Shinigami." Ishida had wanted to ask more when Rukia cut him off, not able to handle anymore surprises for today. "I won't answer anymore questions, Ishida, trust me when I say today has been a long night, even for me.I will see you in school, Ishida."

A nod of his head and Ishida was away from Ichigo's house, his gaze promising that he would be back for answers. It would be wise to let Ishida think through the answers for himself, just for one night, Rukia figured. She probably will answer whatever questions Ishida had, if Ichigo was aware of what was happening tomorrow and was fine with it. Speaking about Ichigo, her gaze turned back to Ichigo and removed her hand from Ichigo, causing Ichigo to be surprised. But, instantly after doing that, she nearly fell to the ground, if not for Ichigo helping her up once more. Turning her gaze to Ichigo once mroe, she, once again, attempted to remove her hand off his but Ichigo dragged Rukia upstairs, this time. Well, he certainly didn't have the time to walk around seeing that Karin and Yuzu might be in critical condition. "You are so stubborn, Rukia-Sensei. Just come up with me already and take a look at Karin."

Rukia remained silent as she continued gazing at Ichigo before forcing her eyes to stray elsewhere, not willing to look at him any longer. Ichigo was definitely oblivious to his striking resemblance to Kaien but Rukia wasn't. A forceful tug to make her go somewhere. It had happened before. The situation and circumstances were different but it had certainly happened before, in a different dimension, in a different world. Ichigo must have noticed something wrong with Rukia as he gazed at Rukia only to find that Rukia was deep in thoughts. He hasn't heard heads or tails of what she was conversing with Ishida but his homeroom teacher was certainly a mystery. First, she hinted on Ishida and his 'Friendship' when he introduced himself to the whole class. Next, from Inoue's words, Rukia has been spying on them since lunch. Thirdly, she had attempted to help Ichigo but not letting anyone knowing that she had attempted to help him. Now, she comes flying with a sword and saves his Sister. Yeah, Rukia certainly is a mystery. "Thank You."

Rukia narrowed her eyes without even gazing at Ichigo. She didn't think she could handle looking at Ichigo without the thought of Kaien dying in her arms haunting her mind. "What for?"

Ichigo looked away. "For saving Karin."

They were at the second floor now. "It's part of my responsibility, don't worry too much about it." Ichigo was uncharacteristacally silent and Rukia narrowed her eyes. "You aren't thanking me just for this, are you?" Ichigo was silent and Rukia had a feeling what Ichigo meant although she wasn't sure. At least, she didn't perceive Ishida out to be a gossiper. "I thought I had asked Ishida to be silent about it." Ichigo looked up at Rukia in a panicked mind and by now, Rukia was sure Ishida had ratted her out. "Looks like I was right in my guess." Ichigo glared at Rukia for tricking him. "Eh, that's a surprise. I don't perceive Ishida to be a gossiper." Just then, Ichigo opened the door to his Sisters' room and on makeshift beds, laid 2 girls. "These are your sisters?"

Ichigo simply nodded as she walked near Yuzu and Karin before taking out a Memory Modifier, making Ichigo narrow his eyes. "What are you going to do, Rukia-Sensei?"

"Would you rather your Sisters remember the events of what happened tonight?" Ichigo shook his head. "This object might be of use after all. It's called a Memory Modifier. As the name suggest, it modifies the Memory of others ever having seen the Monster they just saw."

Taking out a funny-shaped object that had a spring attached to it, Rukia was about to press the button when Ichigo spoke. "Would they not remember the events of what happened today?"

"Not a thing."

Before Ichigo could ask any further, he widened his eyes and slumped to the ground soon after and Yoruichi looked at the attacker calmly. "Yoruichi." Yoruichi nodded her head although she was glaring at Rukia. Rukia had a feeling what the glare was for though. "Did you manage to transport the soul to Imoyama-san?" Yoruichi nodded and Rukia instantly felt more at ease. Looking at Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Yuzu and Kurosaki Karin, Rukia activated the Memory Modifier before proceeding out of the room, not before stumbling as she held onto the wall for support.

In a flash, Yoruichi was there. "Are you an idiot, Rukia?" Rukia stayed silent. "What makes you think that after not hunting Hollow for over decades, you can just step in and hunt a Hollow without feeling any physical limitations on your body?" Silence was all Yoruichi had gotten from Rukia. "What's more, you had that Limiter Bracelet with you. You know it would cause a strain on your body no matter what."

"You know I didn't have a choice, Yoruichi." Yoruichi narrowed her eyes. "It was either that or allowing Shida to continue eliminating Hollows, causing the Destruction of 2 Worlds. If it was you, Yoruichi, would you risk it?" Yoruichi was silent this time round and Rukia sighed, knowing that she had gotten her point across. "Come on, let's go back." As they were almost out of Kurosaki Clinic, Rukia suddenly recognized why Kurosaki Ichigo was so much familiar to her. She halted her steps and Yoruichi turned to gaze at her, hearing another set of footsteps. "I'm surprised you hadn't came out and saved them, Isshin-san."

"It wasn't in my place, Rukia-chan, no matter what I have thought." Rukia turned back and met face-to-face with Kurosaki Isshin. "In addition, I sensed both Ishida-kun and Rukia-chan and I knew that I didn't have to step in."

"All 3 of them are unconscious but not dead, so I won't worry about them, Isshin-san." Rukia kept her gaze on Isshin. "Though, it would be best if you move Kurosaki Ichigo into his own room so that he wouldn't get suspicious about what had happened tonight and I believe Isshin-san knows how to play along with the Memory Modifier."

"You should know more than anyone else, Rukia-chan, that the Memory Modifier won't work on my son." Isshin stated seriously.

Rukia smiled as she was able to stand on her own now, removing the hold Yoruichi had on her as she fixed her gaze on Isshin for a mere one second before resuming her walk out of Kurosaki Clinic. "I guess we just have to see for ourselves, won't we, Isshin-san?"

"Rukia-chan." Rukia halted her steps but never looked back at Isshin. "Is your guilt gone yet?"

Widening her eyes slightly, there was no response from Rukia as she walked straight out of Kurosaki Clinic, Yoruichi following after her and Isshin was simply staring at the space where Rukia was occupying previously.

Replying To Reviews In Progress:

lightdesired: I might do something like that in this story, in the future. In the last Chapter of Bleach, it also shone to me that Ishida was alone. I don't mind him managing the hospital or something but the way that he was portrayed was saddening, with him just watching his Phone. D: I might make him support Rukia at some points of this chapter. D:

Vizual-Era: Honestly, when I had the initial idea for this story, it got me very intrigued as well because I was sure I could come up with something. Something that I felt could be made out into a story, totally opposite of what Bleach had from the first chapter. ^.^ I'm also hoping that Kaien is Rukia and Ichigo's son. XD Kid-Kaien is naturally cute in my opinion. ^.^

A/N: Reviews make me happy~ ^.^ See You Next Time. ^.^