"Hiya, shinigami. How ya been?"

Grimmjow, the sixth Espada, had resurfaced. Rukia was panicking, certain her spiking Reiatsu would be enough to alert her allies, but not sure they'd arrive in time.

Wide, sharp teeth leered at her under predatory eyes. "What, ya think I'm here for you? Hah! I only fight for the challenge, so you ain't even on my radar, shorty!" he mocked. Jumping down from his perch, he landed softly in front of her, cat-like in even that respect.

"Nah, I'm not even here to fight, not this time. Where's that orange-haired bastard? He's the reason I'm here," Rukia was only a little shocked. "I wanted to let him know I've gotten stronger, so that little bitch-sword of his is gonna have to upgrade if he's gonna beat the new tenth Espada!"

He turned, revealing his tattoo, which Rukia noted had changed from a "6" to a "10".

"The tenth Espada? Weren't you -?" she began as Grimmjow interrupted with a snarl.

"Shut up! The new espada are the Vasto Lordes Aizen recruited, so yeah, I'm the tenth. I can still kill all of you, so don't think I'm weak damn it!"

He glared at her, as if challenging her to question him. She decided that fighting him would be a horrible idea, she knew he would win. Before she could speak, he continued.

"So anyways, I was sayin that I've gotten stronger. Well, you let Ichigo know that I'm waiting for a rematch, will ya? Oh, and that if he doesn't come for one when Soul

Society invades again, I'll personally come kill his family."

Grimmjow vanished from sight then, and Rukia felt a sting across her cheek, then a familiar warm wetness trickling down her face as a fresh cut opened.

Grimmjow reappeared on the lightpole, and gave a warning, "You go tell Ichigo about this, or I promise you I'll come back and kill you. Got it?"

Rukia was frightened but nodded. "Kuchiki-san!" she spun to the person calling her. Ishida Uryuu was running towards her, Quincy bow charged and ready. She turned back around and noticed that her visitor had left just as quickly as he arrived, and she couldn't have been happier.

"Kuchiki-san, are you alright? I was patrolling across town and felt your Reiatsu spike a couple times. I didn't detect any hollows so I came to see what happened."

"Ah, thank you, Uryuu." Rukia was staring off where Grimmjow had stood only moments before. He said if I don't tell Ichigo... He'll kill his family...

"Kuchiki? What made your reiatsu spike?" the Quincy asked with a suspicious look.

"Grimmjow..." she sighed.

Ishida's eyes narrowed. "Grimmjow? He was here? Where did he go, Kuchiki?" his bow glowed brighter as he tensed up, wanting to fight the Espada who had threatened Inoue.

Rukia only shook her head. "He left, probably to Hueco Mundo again. He came to deliver a message through me to Ichigo," she explained, pointing to the cut on her cheek.

He bent down to inspect the wound. A rare look of confusion clouded his face, "That's a very shallow cut, what was he trying to do?"

Rukia explained the encounter to him, indicating where the espada had stood and snapping her fingers to show how fast he had moved. The Quincy took in all the information and sighed, pushing his glasses up with a finger. Light glinted off the lenses and covered his expression, one of deep concern and a little fear.

"I'll go to Urahara's and report this," he said slowly, turning away. "Get back to Kurosaki's now."

She nodded, and began walking the short distance home when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She turned and saw Ishida looking at her, a frown on his face.

"Kuchiki. I... I wouldn't tell Kurosaki about this just yet. He's still upset, I think, from some things that happened in Hueco Mundo," he explained. "You know he's brash when he's angry, so telling him now would only result in his departure to Hueco Mundo before the Gotei 13 are prepared to support him, and I fear he would be going there to die," he finished.

Rukia could hear the logic in the argument, and when it coupled with her desire to protect Ichigo from his own self-pity, she realized Ishida was very right. Speaking of whom... "Ishida. I need you to tell me something."

His hand dropped to his side as he looked away. "I... already know what you'll ask, Kuchiki. It was bad, what happened to him. Whatever he became when he defeated Ulquiorra... that demon was nothing but an embodiment of rage and hate. All of his darkest parts came out at once. We needed that though..." he continued. "We needed that aggression and raw power to win. I had hoped he would realize it by now, that his hollow attacking me was not his fault. I should have noticed earlier that the reiatsu was entirely hollow at that point. His own normal spirit was just a speck in the storm. I misjudged and stood up to it, and I got hurt," he added, readjusting his glasses.

Rukia spoke softly, "So, you've noticed it too then?"

"Hai... He hasn't been... himself, has he?" he nodded knowingly.

They both stared at the ground, unsure of what to say. Their friend, Ichigo, had been so torn up over something that he had no control over, and they couldn't do anything to help him. It was unfair. He had always protected everyone, always grown stronger to fight every opponent that came his way, and they had always relied on his strength to come through in the end. Even if they, the two proudest members of the group, would never admit it. Rukia spoke up first.

"He's been... broken. If that makes any sense." Ishida made a small sound of agreement, and she continued, "I have an idea of what can be done to help him. But, Ishida, I'd like you to help too. Could you stop by and talk to the idiot?" she finished, smirking.

He laughed, "Hah, me, help him? Bah. Usually I'd say no, but seeing as how we're going to need his help soon... You have a deal, Shinigami," he said, holding out a hand. She took it and shook firmly.

"Thank you, Quincy. I promise not to mention this to your father."

With that they parted ways for the night, Rukia walking two blocks to get home, and Ishida continuing his patrols. How he managed to patrol each night and still maintain the top spot in class was beyond her understanding. She made it to the steps of the Kurosaki household and noticed a light on in Ichigo's room. Deciding she was curious, she shimmied up the drain pipe and propped her elbows on the window to see what he was doing up.

Ichigo was sitting at his desk, his back turned to the window. She could tell he'd been in the house ever since that morning, his hair was still matted from sleep and his pajamas looked like they hadn't been washed. His head rested on his hands, as he stared at something in front of him. He seemed gloomy, and that was all Rukia needed to steel her resolve and climb the rest of the way through the window. She bounced on his mattress and sat on the edge, kicking off her shoes and tilting her head at the teen. He still hadn't turned around, or even acknowledged her. A small grin appeared on her face. "Ichigo, usually people say hello when they see someone else," she teased. She wasn't prepared for his answer.

"Sorry, I just- I just don't know what I am anymore..."

His voice cracked as he spoke, and he lifted his head and turned to look at her. His cheeks were glistening with tears, and his eyes were puffy and red, as if he'd been crying. Rukia was shocked to see this side of her friend. He normally held everything inside, and the last time she'd seen him like this was when he told her about his mother, Masaki. She got up off the bed and went to him, placing a hand on his shoulder for comfort. "Ichigo," she began.

"You need to understand something, Ichigo. I went to Urahara's. A fragment of your mask had been left behind, and he was keeping it. I touched it and something happened, and I saw everything that occurred in Hueco Mundo. Ichigo, you need to realize that what happened, it's not your fault." she explained, squeezing his shoulder. He shrugged her off. A moment of silence passed before he spoke.

"How can you say that? It was my blade that ran through Ishida. My hands that ripped apart Ulquiorra, my spirit force that fired a cero point blank," he said, his breath shaky, his eyes shut tight. "I turned into a monster, Rukia. How can any of you even stand to deal with me? I went to Inoue's this morning," he explained, finally answering her earlier question. "I needed to apologize to someone, and I figured I would say sorry to her first, since it was my fault she was taken in the first pl-" Rukia hit him in the head.

"Baka! You still think you had anything to do with that? Aizen tricked us all, and manipulated her into leaving! Dont say foolish things if you value the shape of your head, strawberry," she threatened.

"Fine. Maybe I didn't cause her to go there, but what happened there... I don't think I can ever really forgive myself," he finished. A look of annoyance crossed over her face.

Rukia stood up and paced over to her closet - my closet? What the hell, Rukia? It's his closet! - turning and speaking to Ichigo with a serious tone. "Ichigo, I spoke to Ishida." his ears perked up.

"He's alright?" he asked.

Rukia just huffed, "Of course he's alright, baka! You came back with us didn't you? Wasn't Inoue the one that healed him? And it's not like you did much anyways, I've had worse wounds from training battles. You're just over-estimating yourself. Maybe your attacks aren't as tough as you thought!" she teased.

He just blinked.

Sighing, she walked over and grabbed his hair roughly, yanking his face up to meet her eyes. "You fool. Did you really think any of us thought that you were the one in control then? Ishida took a chance by trying to talk to that thing, and he got hurt. You had nothing to do with it. So get over yourself. Yes, you have an inner hollow, and yes, it takes over from time to time. What can you do?" she asked, then answered her own question, "You can train, and get stronger. That's all. Feeling sorry for yourself isn't the answer."

She finished by kicking him in the shin, hard. "And if you ever ignore me like this again, I promise I'll tell Nii-sama that you violated my purity." That last threat finally broke the sorrowful look on his face. He gulped.

"You bitch... You wouldn't dare! That never even happened!" he said loudly. Smirking, she turned away as she replied.

"Wouldn't I? It would certainly be easy. After all, your father would no doubt be shouting it from the rooftops when Nii-sama arrived, just to confirm the story," she explained.

"How would he-" Ichigo stopped cold at the evil smile on Rukia's face.

"Oh, Ichigo, do you really think I wouldn't tell your father about his grandchildren's imminent arrival?" she snickered behind her hand.

The orange-haired teen jumped up and pointed at his tormentor, shouting: "You! You do anything like that and I'll tell everyone at school that you're in love with Keigo!"

"Hah! Keigo? As if! They would know you were lying!" she retorted. Inside she was smiling. They had finally started bickering, and her plan had worked. She knew that he had a one-track mind, and as much as he may have thought he didn't need forgiveness from anyone else, he really did need to hear the words from his friends. Normalcy had been restored, if only temporarily.

"Really? Then you won't mind if I call him now and tell him? Wha-OOF!" a pillow collided with his head and Rukia darted into her closet, closing and latching the door.

"Hey! You little bitch! What was that for? Wha-hey!" she heard a loud crash as she finished a certain familiar Bakudo. Opening the closet door, she saw Ichigo on the floor, bound by the same demon magic she had used on him when they first met. "You! You freakin' midget! What'd you do?"

Rukia walked over and sat on his back, forcing him to the floor. "I used the number one way of binding on you. Do. Not. Call. Me. Little. Okay?" she ended with her fakey school-girl voice.

Ichigo didn't speak to her for the rest of the night.


Meanwhile, at an abandoned warehouse to the south, a familiar group appeared in the moonlight. The leader, a thin blonde with a grin that stretched from ear to ear, spoke to the rest: "Ah! Karakura town! This here's gotta be the best town in the whole wide world for us, eh? I can 'ardly believe our little Ichigo's gone and found himself a new power... Well, y'all know what ta do!" he ordered and a sandal flew at his temple.

-SMACK- "Cut the crap Shinji!" yelled a short yellow-haired girl, a fang emphasizing her teeth. "Whaddya know 'bout Ichigo's new powers, huh? What aren't you telling me you asshole?"

The rest of the group sweatdropped.

The Vizards had returned to Karakura Town, and already they were fighting with each other. Ichigo had better be worth this.