I keep splitting the original chapters up because my additions make them too long. At this rate I'll reach chapter ten before I reach the end of the original chapters. Sigh. Wonder if that's a bad thing….

Hope you enjoy!

Yuzu was humming when they came home. "You know, I kinda like her," she stated cheerfully as she stepped into the house.

Karin scowled. "She tried to kill Ichi-nii."

Yuzu nodded, smile turning woeful. "I know, but she said sorry, and she really wasn't that bad once Urahara-san talked her around."

Karin rolled her eyes as she followed her sister. "Saying sorry is easy. Doesn't mean she meant it."

The black-haired twin paused when she realized Ichigo wasn't following her inside. She stepped back out, wondering where he had gone.

"Up here," Ichigo called from above. Karin looked up, finding her brother squatted down on the roof like a particularly colorful gargoyle. "Go on ahead, I'm going to spend some time here."

Karin blinked, but obediently went inside after shooting him a look that told him he'd better be there for dinner, or else. Ichigo chuckled, but his amusement was short-lived. He sighed, the Shinigami's accusations heavy on his mind.

"All Hollows are monsters!"

"He feeds on souls, for gods' sake! How in the Worlds can something like that be 'a good person'?"

And wasn't that the truth? Even though he only ate other Hollows, hadn't they once been Human souls themselves? Didn't they still contain the souls of the Human's they'd devoured? Ichigo wasn't killing Humans directly, no, but he was still profiting from their suffering. Didn't that make him just as much of a monster as the beasts he hunted?

It did. His reasons may seem noble, but in the end they were based on pure selfishness.

He didn't want to lose his family. He didn't want to say goodbye to his friends. He didn't want to abandon the Living World for a world he didn't know just because people believed he was supposed to.

He didn't want to give up what he had, even if it might be better for the ones he loved that he left. He had already changed their lives so much that they had one foot in the world of the dead, just to keep him company. Surely they would have been happier if they had remained ignorant of that cruel aspect of the world a while longer. Surely Karin and Yuzu would have been happier had they been taken in by a normal family, instead of remaining with a dead brother whose appearance was only fit for nightmares. Surely they would have been better off if he had passed on.

Whispers reached him, seeming to come from all around him. But covering his ears wouldn't shut them out. He knew that. The voices of the Hollows he had devoured were never blocked out so easily. They slowly lost their individuality and faded as time passed, but with every meal new ones were added to the crowd in his head. His mind was never quiet.

:Precious Yuzu and Karin,: they crooned. :You died for them. Gave your life for them. Of course you deserve to keep them.:

:Good guy, Chad,: one whispered. :If you hadn't saved him from that gang he might've died. Surely you deserve some compensation? It would be the least he could do.:

:Bold Tatsuki and sweet Orihime,: another sneered, spite coloring it's voice. :There were there, and they didn't even save you. If only they had acted quicker this wouldn't have been necessary. If they had paid attention to you instead of your little sisters you wouldn't have become a monster.:

:Uryuu, your cousin,: an almost feminine voice said sweetly. :So lonely in his big house. His father doesn't even want him. He won't mind if you make him stay with you forever.:

:Don't let them go. They belong to you,: a small group goaded, kindling his darkest desires. :They owe you, they miss you, they want to be at your side. You know they'd quite gladly give themselves over to you after all you've already done for them.:

:They trust you so much; it would be so easy just to make them stay with you forever. For ever and ever, so they will never be able to leave like your parents did-:

Ichigo snarled, fed up with the lies and toxic promises. He shook his head savagely and reached up to press the tips of his claws harshly against his mask. A little harder and it would break. It hurt, like dull daggers digging into his forehead, just shy of breaking skin, but the warning was clear.

Back off, or I'll take you all with me in death.

The Hollows in his head screeched in fear and anger, panicked at the sheer insanity of his threat. But they were held captive within his soul. They could feel his ruthless determination, as clear as Ichigo himself felt the tiles of the roof beneath his hands and feet. As clear as the sharp edge of a knife, pressed against their throats. No matter how absurd it was to them, it was no empty threat.

The Hollows retreated, snarling and spitting insults, their voices gradually fading into the depths of his mind until they were back to being the low, constant murmurs Ichigo had long ago learned to ignore.

Ichigo sighed tiredly, rubbing the sore spots on his mask. He hadn't damaged it, but the places where he claws had been pressed against throbbed like fresh bruises. It was odd, how something that seemed to be nothing but senseless bone could hurt, but Ichigo had gotten used to his Hollow form long ago. The mask was the most important part of him, so it wasn't as if he couldn't somewhat understand why it made an odd sort of sense that it was as sensitive as it was.

He tilted his head back, looking up to the sky. Aah, he'd really let himself go, now hadn't he? He knew that dwelling on his situation too long would be considered an invitation by the Hollows inside him, but the Shinigami's accusations had left him in a dejected mood. Resolutely, he shook it off.

He really had to figure out what to do with her. She had sworn not to tell anything about them to Soul Society after she had finished asking all her questions but Ichigo was still wary. The memory of their dispute was too fresh to just dismiss.

Shifting his weight into a more comfortable crouch, Ichigo's tail swung lazily off the edge of the roof, flicking occasionally much like a cat's would. A gust of wind pulled at the stands of his hair, making them flutter and dance. Brushing his wild mane out of his eyes, Ichigo started contemplating ways to put Kuchiki Rukia's word to the test.

He was startled out of his reverie by Yuzu's voice."Ichi-nii-chan! Onii-chan, where are you? Dinner will be ready in ten minutes, so please come inside!" his little sister called through the kitchen window.

"Coming," he called back, abandoning his musings for now. He hadn't come up with more than that he needed to keep a really close eye on her in case she tried to send a message to Soul Society. Oh well. He would come up with something better soon. Maybe the others would help. Jumping from the roof into the back yard to land with practiced ease in front of his little sister. She gave an exaggerated yelp of surprise.

"Onii-chan!" Yuzu laughed. "Don't startle me like that!"

"Sorry, sorry," he said playfully. "Didn't know you were such a scaredy-cat."

"Careful, Ichi-nii-chan," she said sternly, waving her wooden spoon threateningly. "Or you won't get dessert." The threat was ruined by the smile pulling at her lips.

Ichigo gasped and whined pitifully, letting himself flop onto the ground as if she had struck a mortal blow. "That would be too cruel," he complained.

Yuzu couldn't hold it anymore and burst out in giggles. It was a sound that never failed to make Ichigo smile.

This is what I'm living for, he thought. This is what I'll never be able to give up. I don't care what Shinigami think, as long as I can still make them laugh.

Bad mood lifted, Ichigo phased through the wall. It was better not to open the door without one of the twins there. The neighbors might get weird ideas if they saw doors opening on their own.

"Oh! Onii-chan, can you put this on the altar please?" Yuzu asked, handing him a small bowl with rice and pickled vegetables. A pair of chopsticks was stuck into it, standing upright like sotoba for a grave.

Ichigo accepted it carefully. "Sure."

Walking on all fours with one hand occupied wasn't easy, but Ichigo had gotten used to it a long time ago. He was still too large to stand upright indoors, not to mention that the shape of his body was ill-suited for walking on two legs anyway. He had learned to adapt without looking back.

Ichigo turned towards the small shrine in the corner of the living room. It held three picture frames, but Ichigo only paid attention to two. "Hey mom, dad," he greeted quietly as he carefully placed the bowl on the designated spot. The Kurosaki family had never been religious, but the siblings liked the idea of sharing their meals with their parents like this. If they had lingered like spirits like Ichigo had, then they probably would have been here right at this moment, sharing it in truth. As it was, the siblings could only hope that their parents had passed on properly, and had not been eaten by a passing Hollow.

I wonder what you would think of this, mom, dad, Ichigo thought sadly. I wonder if you would've approved of what we did.

From what he remembered of his parents they probably would have scolded them for attacking someone and causing property damage. But surely mom and dad would have understood why they had done it? They had always encouraged him to defend himself.

He could only pray they wouldn't have minded him defending himself this way. He had been pretty brutal with Kuchiki after all.

"I miss you," he told his absent parents. "And Yuzu and Karin do too."

With a sigh he turned away from the pictures, joining his sisters at the dinner table.

XXX(xxxx)XXX(xxxx)XXX(xxxx)XXX

Rukia couldn't help but sigh in relief. Fully healed after two days of resting and having her patched-up shihakushou returned, Rukia was glad she could finally get out of that tiny shop. She took a moment to relish in the brisk morning air, before she set out to do her duty. While the shopkeeper and his employees had left her mostly alone, she hadn't been at ease with remaining under their roof while weakened. She had promised she wouldn't harm the eldest Kurosaki, but that didn't mean she was comfortable with sharing living space with people who were on the Hollow's side.

I still can't believe it, she thought to herself as she used shunpo to leap across the rooftops. A Shinigami in league with a Hollow. And not just any Hollow, but an Adjuchas. Only one tier below the greatest Hollows of all. The mere idea that such a creature inhabits this town makes my skin crawl.

The decision to keep an eye on the creature was axiomatic. Her duty as a Shinigami demanded that she did a proper threat assessment. Not that she thought Urahara had deceived her when he convinced her that Kurosaki wasn't a threat, and she would not be able to win from Kurosaki should he choose to forgo his humanity anyway, but in case Urahara had misjudged the situation she could at least warn the right people. She didn't know how Kurosaki had retained his sanity, but she wasn't just going to assume the status quo would last forever.

However, if it did last, then this remarkable group had the potential to become great allies. For her, and for Soul Society as well, if her superiors would allow them the chance. She manfully ignored her own unbridled curiosity, which was constantly nudging her to check up on the Humans of group even when they were not doing anything unusual for Humans. She was determined to handle this case professionally.

So instead of spying on the remarkable Humans going to school, she spied on the remarkable Hollow. She was in luck and managed to catch up to him and his sisters when they passed through the area where she had first encountered the three of them together. She followed them as quietly and as stealthily as she could. To no avail. She was pretty sure she caught a glimpse of golden eyes looking straight at her the moment she landed on the roof were they had fought before, but she couldn't be certain.

Tracking a Hollow that powerful, knowing that he was likely perfectly aware she was doing so and she would never be able to find him back until he wanted to if he slipped out of her sight, was nerve wracking. She firmly told her anxiety to take a hike, because she wasn't doing anything she had promised not to do. So far she wasn't having much luck convincing herself. So to reassure herself, she carefully hid on roofs of high buildings, where she would be more difficult to see from the Hollow's low vantage point. She was still highly strung as she watched the Hollow drop his sisters off at their school before he disappeared through a garganta.

Despite herself, she let out a relieved breath. With Kurosaki back in Hueco Mundo she was no longer obligated to follow him. She stood up and stretched a little, for the first time that morning finally noticing the fine weather. Maybe she could now study the Humans a bit better. She was curious what their education was about-

"What do you think you're doing?"

Rukia very nearly jumped out of her skin; with a shriek of surprise she toppled over the edge of the roof. Fortunately, something thick, nimble, and strong wrapped around her wrist before she could fall very far. Looking up she came face to face with Kurosaki's distinctive red and white mask, golden eyes glowing with guarded amusement as he peered over the ledge she had previously occupied. She scowled at him, knowing her cheeks were stained red with embarrassment, but she didn't protest when he lifted her back onto the roof. To her relief, he unwound his tail from her wrist the moment she got her feet back under her. After a moment of thought she decided not to draw her Zanpakutou, no matter how much she desired to beat him around the head with it right now. She already knew she was likely to lose if she resorted to violence.

Rubbing the red marks his tight grip had left on her skin, Rukia stated icily, "That was uncalled for."

Kurosaki snorted and shrugged. "Not my fault you are easily startled."

"You can't blame me for being surprised when you don't have any reiatsu to warn me you're coming," she shot back defensively.

She was sure Kurosaki was smirking beneath his mask when he replied, "Maybe your senses just suck."

"My senses are excellent, thank you very much," the Kuchiki huffed, exasperated amusement slowly starting to replace the worst of her wariness. She was having a civil argument with a Hollow. Alone. The world had officially gone round the bend and had taken her with it. "You're the one who is faulty. You're invisible!"

He managed to give her a deadpan look despite his mask. "I'm not."

"You are. And you cheated by using a garganta. I thought you went to Hueco Mundo!"

"Garganta aren't cheating. You can sense them coming if you pay attention. And I was planning to go, but then you went and stalked us. So now I'm keeping an eye on you, to make sure you won't bother my sisters or friends."

Rukia made a face, unsurprised by Kurosaki's mistrust but annoyed at being placed under his supervision. It should be him on parole, not her! Then again, it did make it a lot easier for her to keep an eye on him in return. "Alright," she accepted reluctantly. "But you better stay within my line of sight. I don't want you creeping up on me anymore."

Kurosaki huffed. "Then be more alert. I'm not going to go out of my way to appease you just because you're-"

Rukia never found out what she was according to the Hollow, because at that moment he cut himself off and suddenly raised his head as if smelling the air, startling her greatly. A heartbeat later her denreishinki started beeping, and a spot in the air rippled and parted a few blocks away, revealing the telltale darkness of a garganta. With a snarl and a few fast leaps, Kurosaki was beside it the moment a Hollow stuck his head out. In a flash Kurosaki had it by the scruff of its neck, making the lower level Hollow squeal. With an openhanded thrust that looked far more routine than Rukia was comfortable with, the Adjuchas slammed his claws into the new Hollow's head, killing it instantly.

Stunned, Rukia watched with a good deal of morbid fascination as Kurosaki clamped his teeth around the neck of the dead Hollow. Was he going to feed on it? After a second the corpse dissolved with a disturbing slurping sound and disappeared in Kurosaki's maw like an extremely weird and disfigured noodle.

"What?" Kurosaki challenged when he caught her staring after he was done. "I need to eat something."

"… I… suppose so…" Rukia said weakly. Kami, she had not expected that. One thing to know that he fed on other Hollows. Quite another to actually see it. And he had killed it so swiftly too. Kurosaki was scarily efficient, she admitted silently to herself. She hadn't even had time to draw her blade! She had no illusions that it could just as easily be her in the dead Hollow's place if Kurosaki decided she was too much trouble alive.

So maybe I should prove myself useful, she thought to herself as her denreishinki went off a second time. And Kurosaki highly values his sisters' safety.

Decision made, she raced towards the spot where the next Hollow would appear. Kurosaki easily kept up with her, watching her warily. Seemed he meant it when he said he would keep an eye on her. Rukia did her best to ignore him. One turn, another, there!

Drawing her blade she charged the Hollow. It was a low level one, and hardly a challenge. A rush of shunpo and a quick slash through the mask later, the Hollow was dead. Kurosaki was eyeing the corpse contemplatively. Rukia quickly turned away before the Adjuchas decided he wanted to eat that one too.

"You know, if you want to keep me in your line of sight then you shouldn't turn your back on me."

Rukia stiffened, but was determined not to show how badly he had startled her this time. "Don't sneak up on me!"

"I didn't sneak. You're just oblivious."

Rukia's retort died in her throat when she spotted the corpse of the Hollow she'd just killed. "… You didn't eat it."

Kurosaki shrugged. "No need. One as weak as that one won't do much for me anyway, especially after you slashed it with your Zanpakutou."

Rukia blinked. "A strike with a Zanpakutou reduces the… nutritious value?" she asked, mentally cringing as she said it.

Kurosaki let out an amused snort at her wording. "Yeah. Urahara figured that out. It's not really surprising when you think about it. You're purifying the souls after all, so most escape even if I do eat the corpse afterwards."

"… You don't care about that?"

Rukia suddenly found herself on the receiving end of a sharp, assessing stare. She tried not to make her shiver of unease too visible.

"Contrary to your beliefs," Kurosaki said slowly, his tone measured and edged with a hint of warning. "I do not enjoy eating souls. I only eat them because I need to. At least by targeting Hollows and only Hollows, my hunger is put to the best use possible. They're corrupted already, so being eaten again will hardly matter to them."

Rukia said nothing. There was not a thing she could think of that wasn't likely to get interpreted the wrong way. Kurosaki stared at her for a few moments longer, before he seemed to accept her silence as agreement.

Her denreishinki beeped. Without a word both Shinigami and Hollow turned to intercept the intruder. For now the uneasy truce held.

XXX(xxxx)XXX(xxxx)XXX(xxxx)XXX

Somehow, somewhere along the way the Hollow slaying had turned into a competition. Ichigo had no idea how, but for some reason he found himself racing the Shinigami to reach a next Hollow first. His own kills he always ate – with some minor goading in the direction of Kuchiki's back – along with a fair few of the Shinigami's kills. Kuchiki's suspicious behavior had kept him from going to Hueco Mundo to hunt, and now he was starting to feel the consequences. The small fry they encountered weren't enough to still the hunger stirring in his gut.

Ichigo ignored his body's needs with the ease of experience. He had suffered far worse back when he hadn't learned yet what would fill his stomach and what wouldn't. The few pangs of hunger were hardly a challenge. After Urahara's experiments, he hardly ever noticed them even. The shopkeeper had been sadistically throughout when he tested Ichigo's limits.

During one of the calm moments between Hollow appearances Kuchiki asked the question that had been on Ichigo's mind as well. "Why are there so many?" she grouched. "Are things usually this bad?"

Ichigo tilted his head. "Usually it's a lot quieter, especially during day time. Though my friends agreed yesterday was pretty hectic. The Hollows might have been drawn by our fight. An attentive Hollow would have been able to sense that it was a fight between its enemies. Or Urahara-san could be working on an experiment again," he speculated.

The Shinigami stared at him, aghast. "Urahara-san attracts Hollows for his experiments? But that endangers the entire town!"

"Ah, no, that's not how it is," Ichigo corrected. "Urahara-san and his employees help keep the number of Hollows in check. But if Urahara-san is working on an experiment they might have taken a few days off for that."

"Oh." Kuchiki frowned. "But really, this is a ridiculous number of Hollows."

Ichigo nodded. He was concerned as well. He wasn't too worried about his friends, they were strong enough to defend themselves as long as they stayed in groups of two, but his sisters were in grave danger with this many interlopers. If this kept up then he would have to ask Urahara if Yuzu and Karin could sleep at his place while he went to hunt in Hueco Mundo.

XXX(xxxx)XXX(xxxx)XXX(xxxx)XXX

The number of Hollows decreased only minimally over the next days. On the positive side, their shared goal to keep Karakura safe had built a tentative camaraderie between Shinigami and Adjuchas. Their squabbling had turned into teasing, and Rukia was no longer easily startled whenever Kurosaki sneaked up on her. It helped that, eating habits aside, Kurosaki behaved more like fellow Shinigami than a Hollow. He despised other Hollows and hunted them as fanatically as she did.

Rukia had also discovered that he abhorred anything that threatened his sisters. She had personally seen him terrify a group of callous teenagers into leaving his sisters alone by roughly pushing them into the bushes along the sidewalk. It hadn't given the bullies worse than scrapes and bruises, but it had effectively made them flee when they realized they couldn't see, hear, or touch the one who pushed them. While the method certainly wasn't kind, it was a far more gentle solution than she had expected from the menacing Hollow. Especially because Rukia herself had been tempted to give those nasty kids a few good whacks around the head after listening to the comments they'd made about the twins having no family.

On the negative side, the unnatural number of Hollows really was becoming alarming. Especially because while the number of them went down a little, their average power level went up. One of them had even been a Hollow that had eluded Shinigami for more than fifty years and was notorious for having killed several Shinigami and preying on Humans with high spiritual power. There had even been speculation among the Shinigami that Grand Fisher had already been an Adjuchas. Despite having met the creature, Rukia couldn't confirm or deny those suspicions. It didn't matter anymore anyway. Grand Fisher had enjoyed playing around with his prey and had underestimated her companion simply because his lack of reiatsu signature. Kurosaki had been unusually violent when killing that one before he ate it. Apparently it had once attempted to eat Yuzu and Karin before the oldest Kurosaki sibling had chased it away. His evolution into Adjuchas had rendered him unrecognizable to the cruel Hollow, which made killing it easier. Rukia hadn't bothered to try and stop him from butchering the malevolent creature. Instead she had gone ahead and hunted down the next interloper.

They had already asked Urahara whether he knew something about the odd phenomenon, but he hadn't been able to identify the cause either. The whimsical shopkeeper hadn't looked happy when he admitted that. They could relate. The lack of information was irritating to say the least.

Standing over the corpse of the latest intruder, Rukia heaved an aggravated sigh. She had taken some of her frustration out on the low level Hollow, but it hadn't really been satisfying.

She twitched as her denreishinki started beeping again a heartbeat later. Yanking it out of her pocket she yelled at it. "Why won't you stay quiet?!" It didn't stop the beeping, but it was somewhat cathartic to yell at something that wouldn't retaliate.

"Oi, Kuchiki-!"

Out of nowhere, massive reiatsu slammed into her, feeling like biting acid upon her skin. At the same time she was yanked away by large, clawed hands.

Shaking from the sudden rush of adrenaline, she could only stare at the sizable crater that had appeared where she had been only a moment ago. In the middle stood a insectoid Hollow with thin, spindly limbs, who radiated enough toxic energy to make breathing difficult. It snarled, high pitched and grating, flinging itself forward almost faster than she could follow. Kurosaki reacted just in time, one arm pressing Rukia tight against his chest while using his own speed to escape the long, grasping fingers of the other Hollow. He rolled, and Rukia automatically made herself as small as possible to give him the most maneuverability she could. She heard Kurosaki grunt and a sickening, tearing sound. She hoped the latter didn't come from Kurosaki.

Suddenly, she was unceremoniously dropped onto the ground, boxed in by Kurosaki's large limbs as he crouched over her. A feral, vicious growl rumbled from the broad chest mere inches from her face. She felt her bones and the ground beneath her vibrate from the strength of it. For a moment she could only blink, confused, as she digested the events of the last minute. Kurosaki… had saved her. And was now snarling down another Hollow that had apparently been going after her. Even after getting used to Kurosaki the last couple of days, that was a tough surprise to take in.

And… she didn't have time to waste on it.

Regaining her equilibrium with considerable effort, she rolled over so she could face their attacker. She was shocked to see the somewhat human shaped Hollow clacking its mandible-like jaws at her, spindly bloody fingers twitching from stick thin arms. Kurosaki was an Adjuchas, another Hollow shouldn't have been able to injure him bad enough to draw that much blood!

She froze. Unless… scared of what she might find, she gauged the intensity of the new Hollow's reiatsu. Another Adjuchas… she concluded with horror. Did something like this happen with his friends and sisters as well? Rukia wondered, looking up at her protector with worry. No wonder he had been so swift with attacking me with extensive force. If they've been threatened this badly before…

Kurosaki didn't spare her a glance. His attention was fully focused on the other Hollow. The unknown Adjuchas had paused, staring at them with what might be puzzlement. Kurosaki rumbled another warning. "There's no prey for you here," he spat threateningly, his long orange mane bristling with hostility. "Go back to Hueco Mundo."

The other Adjuchas hissed loudly, inching closer as it weaved its large head from side to side to keep its eyes trained Rukia despite Kurosaki's bulk blocking its view. Its mask was crowned with two antennae-like horns that aggressively pointed forward, and its fingers clenched restlessly at the thin air as if wishing it had a body between them to mangle and tear. "Yoouuuu… Why'd yoouu proootect the Sshhhiiinigami?"it demanded menacingly. The slurred, long drawn out words and hisses reminded Rukia more of a snake than the insect it looked like. "Yooouu'd betraaay your brethren? Fooor a mangy Sssshhhhiiinigami?"

Kurosaki snapped at it when it into his range, making it jump back. "I'm not one of you! So leave before I kill you, bug-face!" he snarled. From this close Rukia could feel how every muscle in his body was tense like a coiled spring, ready to snap into action to tear his opponent apart. But he wasn't attacking. Yet.

"Buuug-faace?! Buuug-faace?! How daaare yoouu!" the Adjuchas shrieked affronted, green-hued reiatsu coalescing around its skeletal body, bright, sickly green eyes glaring hatefully at Kurosaki from behind its white, tribal mask. "I will devour both your ssssouls and be one step clooosser to becoming a Vasssste Lordeee!" it declared and aimed with its hand at them, the wickedly pointed digits crooked like claws as a deep green Cero formed in its palm.

Rukia caught a glimpse of the green energy shooting like a beam of light towards them before Kurosaki picked her up as if she weighted nothing. A rush of sonido later and they were on the other side of one of the buildings in a small, deserted car park. He quickly herded her into the shelter of a small thicket that sat on the edge of the car park to liven up the place. She didn't have time to protest before he shoved her between two dense bushes, making it probably impossible for an outside observer to see her from a distance, but at the same time getting a lot of dead leaves and little twigs into her hair.

"Stay here. Don't you dare come out, he's too powerful for you," Kurosaki commanded.

For a moment anger tried to take hold of her. A Hollow, commanding a Shinigami? The knee-jerk reaction to that was scorn. But she had gotten to know Kurosaki, and was aware that he was dead serious. She quickly stomped on her irrational anger until it returned to where it came from. It wasn't as if what Kurosaki said wasn't true. She nodded in conformation.

The orange-haired Adjuchas gave her a last, considering look before he rushed away to confront the Hollow that had just appeared on the other end of the small expanse of asphalt. It looked very annoyed with Kurosaki's relocation. Their clash was loud and accompanied by harsh snarls and shrieks, most of which lacked Kurosaki's deeper timbre. Rukia scooted to the edge of her hiding place, peeking out of the foliage just in time to see Kurosaki knock clawed fingers aiming for his heart aside. Silent and deadly focused, Kurosaki returned the blow, claws spread to rend and tear as he aimed for the invading Adjuchas' mask. She winched a little when the loud thud echoed between the buildings and the invading Hollow shrieked more ear-splittingly loud than ever. Unfortunately, it managed to throw itself back, which robbed the impact of Kurosaki's blow of most of its strength. A few scratches aside, its mask was undamaged.

Rukia hastily stifled a cry of concern when the bony, spindly Hollow kicked out with one spurred foot and caught her ally right on his shoulder, managing to dig between the armor plates with its clawed heel. The blow was followed by a spray of blood. To her surprise, the dark liquid was immediately followed by a hiss like escaping steam and wisps of white smoke. When Kurosaki retaliated she could see no sign of the wound.

He didn't heal that fast before!

A distant, quickly forgotten thought that flashed through the back of her head. She ignored it, eyes riveted on the fight before her. If the situation had been different she might have considered it poetic. One Hollow hungry for souls and power, only fighting for its own greedy desires. The other still bound by his humanity, fighting so his friends and family could be safe.

Instead she could only stare in muted horror as they lunged at each other, fast as striking cobras, colliding with the cringe-worthy sounds of claws ripping through flesh and grating against bone. Mandibles clacked loudly as the interloper snapped at Kurosaki's mask. Kurosaki's right hand wrapped around one horn of the other Hollow's head in response and yanked it away to keep those jaws from closing around the most vital part of his anatomy. Simultaneously, Kurosaki charged a cero in the palm of his free hand, the light an eerie red glow that spilled like fresh blood through his fingers.

Rukia clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp when the insect Hollow shoved a thin hand through Kurosaki's bicep to make the ball of energy go awry when Kurosaki fired it. Kurosaki's resulting snarl of pain made the Shinigami cringe. It was torturous to sit and hide like a coward while someone she had tentatively started to appreciate as a semi-trustworthy ally fought and bled. The fact that the hole in her ally's arm closed swiftly with another rush of white didn't help the agony of being unable to offer her ally aid.

But she didn't have a choice, blast it all. Jumping in would just make the fight more difficult for Kurosaki.

The foes separated, circling each other warily, trying to find the other's weaknesses. The invading Hollow went on the offensive first, sonidoing forward with its spindly, spear-like fingers aimed for the gaps between Kurosaki's armor plates. Kurosaki anticipated the attack and sidestepped the other Hollow's lunge while simultaneously slamming his armored elbow into the other masked creature's back with a nasty crunch. However, as he did so the interloper managed to dig one of his sharp-fingered hands into the orange-haired Hollow's thigh, tearing a gaping gash in the white flesh that bled heavily. The wound closed without problem, but the exchange had ended unfavorably for Kurosaki. It was odd, given how strong Rukia suspected her ally was.

After a moment of thought Rukia realized what caused the problem. Kurosaki wasn't fighting at full power! He barely had any of his reiatsu released and was still but a spark of a dying candle flame compared to the storm of reiatsu the other Hollow kicked up.

If he releases his power, then Soul Society will detect two Adjuchas level Hollows battling right in the middle of Karakura and send reinforcements. But if he doesn't he'll get killed! she thought in horror as she watched Kurosaki gain another injury as the two exchanged blows. With a snarl and a heavy punch he batted the insect away. What do I do, What do I do, What do I do? there had been only one time that she had felt more useless than now. There had to be some way for her to help!

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Ichigo was getting seriously worried. This fight wasn't going well for him but he didn't dare release his power. There was no way it would go unnoticed by the Shinigami, and the clash of reiatsu would be so severe the people of Karakura might notice as well. But if he didn't, he was prolonging the danger this fight brought to those he cared for. Much longer and his friends would show up, and against a Hollow of this level they would get badly injured. Ichigo knew he was taking quite a lot of damage, and since he had managed to keep the other Hollow from winning he knew it was only a matter of time before the other would try to escape. When that happened it might go on a rampage.

He released a loud snarl when bony fingers caught under one of his arm's plates and yanked it off in a bloody show of flesh and torn muscle. Whipping around, his tail crashed straight into the insect's middle with a crack, his sickle tail tip slicing into the other Hollow's side as it was flung away, crashing into a light pole, which fell over like it was a stalk of corn. The other hollow shook of the tangle of steel and readied itself for another exchange.

The momentary pause was long enough that the wound on Ichigo's arm healed over, but the armor would need a bit more time to fully regenerate. Until then, he felt like there was a bull's eye target on the exposed skin. He spared a split second to shoot a glance over at where he could see the Kuchiki girl peeking out at him in concern from where he had hidden her. That concern was enough of a surprise that Ichigo stilled for a moment. Time slowed, a heartbeat of stillness in which the heat of the fight became distant as a passing cloud. The expression on her face reminded him of his friends and his family. The ones he had sworn to protect. The ones who had made him promise he would never let another Hollow win, and would always return to their side. No matter what.

It was like turning a key. Staying under the radar suddenly wasn't important anymore. His restraint fell away as if a lock had been undone.

Time sped up again. Ichigo spun to avoid another wound, lashing out harshly with his elbow to the side of the Hollow's neck, following up with knee to the shoulder before the insectoid Adjuchas could move away. His reiatsu was steadily leaking out faster and faster, as if the sluices of a dam were rapidly opening. It gushed out, dense and wild, like a raging flood finally released. His movements became faster and move fluid, his blows stronger and more crushing. His reiatsu surrounded him like a cloak made of shadows, night-black tinged with boiling swirls of incarnadine red. His aura spread out and reached Kuchiki's hiding place, but his iron will made it curl around her own frost wisps of reiatsu without harming her.

Ichigo caught the stick-bug's hand within his own larger one, ignoring the sharp pain as the thin fingers immediately curled to dig into his palm. Ichigo squeezed, actually forcing the claws in deeper as he crushed the interloper's hand, darkly relishing in the screech of pain that his action wrought. He grunted as a spurred leg kicked and hooked into his side, but now he was properly fueling his hierro the limb slid off his armored skin, like water from a duck's back.

He grinned, dark and feral. "Tables have turned, asshole."

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Rukia shuddered as Kurosaki threw caution to the wind and released his power. His reiatsu was heavy and intense and solid as the walls of Seireitei, yet at the same time it was light and intangible like a cover of shadows. It felt hot, but didn't burn. Compared to the acid bite of the other Adjuchas' reiatsu, Kurosaki's reiatsu was incredibly gentle.

Watching the clash between the Hollow energies she realized another startling thing. She was not feeling his reiatsu nearly as heavily as she should. He's actively keeping the pressure away from me!

That covert gentleness was belied by the way the orange-haired Hollow fought now. Kurosaki was brutal and ruthless as he ripped into the other Hollow. A shiver of dread ran down her spine. Kurosaki was an opponent worth fearing. His power could crush her and those bloody claws could tear her to shreds in a heartbeat. But her fear was soothed by the looks he kept sending her between blows, as if he was making sure his reiatsu wasn't affecting her too badly.

"Fiiilthy traaaiitor!" the stick-like Adjuchas snarled as it shied away from Kurosaki. It was barely standing, hunched over as its broken hand hung limply at its side. The undamaged hand was balled into a tight fist. The invading Hollow's regeneration rate was incredibly slow compared to Kurosaki's. its side still bled black from the wound Kurosaki dealt with the bladed edge of his sickle barbed tail. There were several more raw looking scrapes and gashes covering its skeletal body, the majority of its limbs looking crooked and out of place from various bone breaks. "Youuu betray your kiiiind for filth! Yooouu are noo Hollooow!"

"I told you I wasn't," Kurosaki replied dispassionately as he confidently walked up to his injured opponent. Contrary to his opponent, Kurosaki appeared almost completely untouched. His breathing was a bit more heavy than usual, and he looked a little roughened up, but there were no visible wounds, and most of the blood that coated his skin blended in with his red armor. He definitely looked like the stronger one of the two masked creatures, which was in stark contrast with how much he had struggled at the beginning of the fight. Free from its confines, his reiatsu rumbled and coiled through the reishi of the area, making the air of the car park thick and ominous. Rukia was having trouble to keep her breathing light and even.

The other Adjuchas spat unintelligibly, clacking its jaws viciously but no longer having the courage to attack rashly. Its eyes suddenly flicked left and Rukia's breath halted in her lungs as piercing yellow-green orbs locked onto her wide violet. Without a second hesitation, the other Hollow dived for her, vanishing midway into a sonido. She distantly heard Kurosaki roar in fury right before the interloper appeared right over her, it's still healthy hand shooting like a spear towards her heart.

Abruptly, there was a solid red and white mass blocking her view of the attacking Hollow. Blood splattered across her face as she watched with wide eyes as spindly fingers pierced through thick armor and hide. She was shaking like a leaf as the insectoid Hollow writhed in Kurosaki's grasp.

"Alright. That's it. You're food," Kurosaki snarled angrily. His deep, distorted voice rumbling from his chest and was laden with threat, which made he captured Hollow cringe and increase its desperate struggle to escape. Rukia could see the Hollow's hand twist and wriggle where it pierced in the flesh of her ally's back, tearing open the regenerating tissue and releasing more and more thick, richly scented blood. The sight was enough to made her lose her lunch.

Behind her the sounds of struggle cut off abruptly with the loud crack of breaking bone. She looked back just in time to see Kurosaki absorb the other Adjuchas. The hand that was still stuck inside his body dissolved into a thick, viscous mass that disappeared into Kurosaki's maw.

With a heavy sigh, he kneeled into a shaky crouch, placing one hand on the ground before him for support. The deep wound in his abdomen healed slowly while releasing hissing bursts of steam, as if the flesh was boiling as it reformed. Rising from her seated position, Rukia staggered towards him, timidly laying a trembling hand against the edges of the wound. Kurosaki flinched at her touch, but after a wary glance backwards didn't stop her from channeling some healing kidou into the wound to speed up the healing process. She was silently grateful.

As she worked, she couldn't help but marvel at his strength. She knew a Shinigami's life force and the level of injuries they could suffer was determined by his reiryoku reserves, but even the strongest Captains would have balked at the amount of damage Kurosaki had taken. Yet Kurosaki had fought on despite his wounds, and had even absorbed a very damaging blow to protect her. And he didn't even care about her! No Shinigami would have gone this far for someone who might still be an enemy. It was mindboggling.

Once the wound had been reduced to vivid, painful looking scars, Kurosaki tried to pull away. Rukia stubbornly followed, still channeling kidou into the healing flesh. Kurosaki let out an annoyed huff. "You realize this isn't necessary, right? I'll be fine in a couple of minutes."

Rukia ignored him. Kurosaki huffed again, flicking his bloodied tail like an annoyed cat, but didn't protest again. Only when a layer of red armor started to creep over the exposed skin Rukia halted her kidou and pulled back. Kurosaki immediately moved away, twisting around to inspect his injuries from both sides. He was remarkably flexible despite the red armor plates hindering his movements. Satisfied with what he found, he turned his unsettling gaze to Rukia.

"Thanks," he said gruffly. "There was no need for it, but thanks for trying to help."

Under different circumstances Rukia would have been insulted with his casual dismissal of her efforts. But after the blow he had taken for her, her guilt drowned out any anger. "Why did you protect me?" she asked quietly.

He gave her a look and shrugged. "I may hate what you tried to do to me, but that doesn't mean I want you to get eaten." He tilted his head. "And you've made my job more easy the last couple of days. You may be a Shinigami, but you're not as bad as I first though, Kuchiki."

"Call me Rukia," she corrected before she could censor her own words. Ignoring the embarrassed blush that threatened to rise to her cheeks as Kurosaki gave her a confused look, she added, "You're not that bad either. And you saved my life."

Slowly, Kurosaki nodded. "Then call me Ichigo. It will be confusing if you keep calling me Kurosaki anyway."

Rukia frowned. "How so?"

Kurosaki looked away with a shrug. "Yuzu wants me to invite you for dinner. She wants to get to know you better."

A thin eyebrow rose. "Any reason you didn't ask me earlier?" she asked curiously.

Kurosaki – no, Ichigo – shrugged again. "I wasn't sure yet whether I trusted you enough to show you our house."

Rukia nodded to herself. Yes, she could understand that sentiment. Rukia hesitated. On one hand she wanted to get to know the enigma that was the eldest Kurosaki and his family better, if only because she was burning with curiosity about him and his abilities, but on the other hand he still made her nervous. But his actions today had made her a bit more confident that he didn't carry any ill will towards her. She smiled hesitantly. "I would be honored to join you."

Ichigo snorted. "Well, come on then."

Such an odd Hollow, she thought as she followed the eldest Kurosaki. But despite her reservations she was starting to like him.

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A world away, things were far less peaceful. "Sir!" A brown haired, mousy boy cried out, spinning his chair so suddenly that he almost fell off. The bright glow of the screen cast his features in shadow as he faced the shadows swallowing the rest of the room.

"What is it?" A deeper voice called out from his left. The underling turned towards the source of the voice, squinting into the blackness that was only slightly illuminated by the light of other monitors.

"There was huge Hollow activity in an area under the Thirteenth jurisdiction not long ago," he reported. "The sensors almost shorted out, so the data was delayed. By the calculations… it was two Adjuchas!" the brown haired boy announced loudly, eyes wide as he analyzed the complex data files on the screen with skilled efficiency.

"Oh?" the boy's superior murmured. As he moved closer, the glow of the screens revealed a sallow faced man, with horn-like protrusions coming out of his forehead under a thatch of dark colored hair. "What is the status now?"

The underling quickly punched several buttons, scouring through the information. "The fluctuations continued for several minutes. At first it looked as if there was only one Adjuchas, but then a stronger reiatsu signature developed and spiked. After a short clash both plummeted and vanished. There's no sign of them anywhere in Karakura anymore," he reported, his voice wavering occasionally from nerves.

"Hmm…" The higher officer hummed thoughtfully before turning away. "Monitor the area more closely and be on the lookout for more unusual fluctuations," he ordered. "I'll inform the Captain."

"Yessir!"

Sotoba = grave markers (in this case, the comparison reflects on the wooden ones)

Having a small shrine in your home is a Buddhist practice. The shrine, called butsudan, is usually dedicated to a Buddha or a Bothisattva and may contain memorial tablets for deceased relatives. Given that in canon the Kurosaki family has a huge poster of their mom to remember her by (though that might have been all Isshin's idea) I imagine that Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin would like the idea of a memorial shrine to get one for their parents, even though in canon they never give a sign that they're religious. The shrine they have is basically a rip-off of a butsudan. It has no gohonzon or religious icon, but is wholly dedicated to their parents.

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