Author's Blurbs: Hey, back again with some dinky chapter I decided to just crap out to show the thought processes of Ichigo. Yeah, I take it slow, but I don't like people just falling in love and saving the world in a few chapters. I've noticed a lot of fanfiction has a tendency to God Mode their characters. No, not with this one. People die. People make mistakes. It's one of the reasons why Shakespeare is awesome. If you don't get that reference, then I suggest you read a few of his plays and get the themes behind them.

Also, speak up people! I've had over 4k hits since I came back and no one has wrote in what they want to make for a hollow in my little contest. Come on, guys! I'll mention your names and give you credit. Forever to immortalized in a arbitrary bit of fanfiction. When I become famous, you'll shoot yourself in the foot for not doing this. I don't bite...unless you're into that...Also review! What did you like? What didn't you like? What flowed well? What stuttered and seemed contrived? Analytical thinking can help you with your own writing as well.

Also, I have candy.

P.S: I don't own Bleach. Please don't sue me. I'm in the military. Life sucks enough as is.

Chapter 13: M.O.V.E

"Now if we look at this angle, we can see that it is acute, as in less than ninety degrees..." the math teacher droned, not that Ichigo was paying him any attention. He already knew the material; it wasn't like he was bad at school or anything. Actually, he was surprisingly good, if one could judge by people's reaction to his ranking in class.

No, he just had more things on his mind as he looked out the window at the white clouds above. His "fly by the seat of his pants" invitation to Yoruichi had been just that, a spur of the moment thing that now left him scrambling to put together the details to his vague plan.

The woman was a mystery to him. What little bit he got to know of her was whatever she let slip while she was training him, which wasn't much, and also the few tidbits he had gleaned from Rukia and the old man from the shop. Well, he figured, she had helped him on her own, with no discernable benefit on her part. Plus she was a friend of the old man, who though seemed to be a bit on the loopy side, had become just another addition to his ever growing circle of loopy friends. So the purple haired woman couldn't be all bad.

No, he decided, she was a friend. And Ichigo looked out for his friends. She seemed a bit reclusive to him and he was determined to show her that she could count on him and his circle of comrades. She didn't have to be alone. Not like he had to be after his mother...With a mental shake of his head, he threw that depressing train of thought away. He refused to mope around anymore. It did little respect to the memory of his mother if he was constantly sad over her, and he knew the free-spirited woman would want it that way.

A teeny, tiny, hidden part of him also quietly admitted that he found Yoruichi interesting. She was just so...what was the word...different? Yes, she was different from all the other women he knew. He kept trying to place a finger on what exactly it was, but kept coming up with nothing. Perhaps it was how confident she was, so self assured? Perhaps it was the aura of mystery she exuded. Curiosity got the cat as they say. But he felt that there was something hidden under that bravado, and Ichigo was usually spot on with his judgments of people.

To put it plainly, he found all his new acquaintances fascinating, and he figured the purple-haired princess was as good a place to start than any. With their line of work, he never knew how long his friends or he would be alive. It only made sense to enjoy the times while they lasted. He wanted to learn more about his friends and he wanted them to give it up freely, because what better way was there to live on than in the memory of those who care about you?

Sheesh, when did I become so morbid? He thought while watching a white cloud that from his current angle sort of looked like a strawberry.

You know why...A faint voice whispered in the recesses of his head, the echoing reverberating in the corners of his consciousness. I'm coming for you, King...ahahahahahah...

Ichigo bolted up out of reflex, his chair slapping against the desk behind him. Luckily no one but the student behind him noticed the outburst.

"Sorry." he muttered, rubbing the back of his head nervously before nonchalantly going back to his cloud watching. Underneath though, he was scared shitless.

The hollow had never gone so far as to answering his thoughts while awake...it has never been this bad before. Ichigo feared it was getting worse. It felt like he was sliding down a slippery slope that was an inevitable trip, no matter what he did.

With a deliberate sense of what was needed, he forced his breathing to calm down, waiting for the sound of his heart to stop beating down the walls of his chest. No, he'd just ignore this. He could fight this. He had no choice. No way was he going to let himself get beaten by one dumb hollow.

Back to the problem at hand. What could he do? It was first period and he had only until school was done to plan out what he wanted to do then invite his classmates. No doubt Rukia would yell at him for putting the princess at danger, sick as she was, but she'd get over it. Someone like Yoruichi was much in the same vein as Ichigo himself. Too free-spirited to remain shackled down, even when hurt.

Hmmmm. Well, he initially thought maybe a picnic...but that was fucking lame. You could do that anywhere at any time. The beach? No, he'd be walking right into a trap with that one. Yoruichi was probably just as perverted as the old man from the shop, and he'd be asking for it with her in a bathing suit. Not that the male part of him minded, no, actually it was quite insistent that he go that route. Especially since Inoue and Rukia would come too. He squished it as quickly as the uprising had started.

He didn't have the time to look for a relationship, even if had a chance with any of the three women. He just wasn't interested. Too much effort. Hmmmm...What to do? He slumped a bit, his iPod falling out his pocket at the motion. When he reached down to pick it up, he saw the track it was on and it hit him. The PERFECT way that was within the realm of being normal, and yet different enough to interest the cat woman and get her out of her comfort zone.

Plus it'd pay her back for teasing him so much. The day just got a bit brighter for Ichigo as he pulled out his phone and hid it behind his math book. Time to text a friend of his; he had a lot of work to do.