Author's Notes:

Written in record time (for two lazy asses, that is), here it is: The third chapter to this fic! Since the first two chapters only really served the purpose of introducing the main differences to characters and setting, this chapter is a good bit longer than the previous two, so that the plot moves along some more.

"So I stand like this, and swing the sword up and down?"

"No, no, you've got it all wrong." Rukia said, sounding annoyed. "Legs wider apart- stand in a way that it's not easy to make you lose your balance. And don't hold that sword straight out like that- it's a sword, not a club. More outwards-" Ichigo made an adjustment- "yes, that's better. Now, swing it up and down until your muscles begin to ache."

It was morning, just two hours before breakfast, and the two of them were finally getting around to the basics of kendo- or zanjutsu, swordplay, as she had labeled it. Ichigo hadn't minded getting up early, but he found himself minding Rukia's tone more and more.

"That's all there is to it, swinging the sword?"

"You learn to crawl before you learn to walk, Ichigo. I'm guessing that whoever was your sensei in your karate dojo didn't teach you how to knock people over on your first day."

"No…" Ichigo grunted. That one had been all about learning basic stances. It wasn't that this didn't make sense, but Rukia wasn't the most pedagogical of teachers. "So uh, how long before I become a level twenty blademaster with a plus five sword of destruction?"

"…what?" Rukia shook her head irritably. "If it's about skill, then… well, not counting when you actually have to fight… twenty years to become a master, with rigorous exercise. That's not what we aim for, though. I'm going to make sure you're not going to end up killing yourself out there, especially with a sword that big and heavy."

"Great. So how long before I am proficient?"

"Maybe with a month's intensive training, you'll have picked up enough basics to not get thrown out of a kendo class. Now swing!"

Ichigo began swinging the sword up and down. It was remarkably heavy, but being in his shinigami form as he was, it was not much of a bother. It was really something, he thought, how much stronger he felt as a spirit. A sword like this, he'd struggle to lift- let alone swing- in real life, and here he was swinging, up and down like it was a regular bamboo stick…

After much swinging, his breath was ragged, his muscles were aching and his legs trembling. This was an exerting business after all, and he was new to it. Still, he could keep going to a thousand, if only to see the look on Rukia's face.

"…one hundred an eighty six!" He breathed heavily. "One hundred and eighty-seven! One hundred and-"

"That's enough. Go back into your body, shower and get breakfast." She smiled briefly. "You're doing all right. Don't slack, and you might not mess this up."

"…thanks, sensei." Ichigo said, getting back into his body. Hard as this was, it didn't feel bad putting his muscles to use – not to mention that the training this early in the morning got him awake better than any coffee did.

A little over a week had passed since Rukia had turned Ichigo's life upside-down by giving him the powers of a shinigami, and staying at his house until she found a place of her own. While the first day with her had been incredibly awkward both at school and at home, Rukia quickly adjusted to the new life. Just as Ichigo had hoped, with Rukia actually paying rent, it had been easy for her to convince his mother to let her stay for a year, as she and his sister believed – though Ichigo whole-heartedly hoped that Rukia would not end up staying for a year.

While Rukia adjusting to life of a student had gone way quicker than expected, it had been quite the opposite for Ichigo and his life as shinigami. Hollows would always attack at the most inconvenient times, such as during class, while he was eating, or even in the middle of the night. Whenever a hollow showed up during class, Ichigo and Rukia would always end up using the excuse that they had to go the toilet, which obviously did not exactly help the issue of his gossiping friends, who already all but outright said that they considered the two a couple.
The actual fights against the hollows had remained as easy as his first two encounters. While the appearance of the creatures could drastically vary, all of the beasts that Ichigo had encountered so far were still weak enough for him to defeat them with little to no problems, making him wonder how exactly Rukia could have failed against the first one, forcing Ichigo in to his current position. When Ichigo had however shared this thought with Rukia, she only replied that he had only been lucky so far, and that it was his own stupidity that had caused this situation.

Keeping the entire shinigami-business hidden from his family and friends had turned out to be much easier than expected: As Rukia had revealed to Ichigo, she owned a device that allowed her to alter the memories of living people, which they used to erase any suspicions that came up in regards to Ichigo's odd tendency to rush towards the bathroom at the weirdest times. But at least as far as his family was concerned, the altering of memories turned out to be less necessary as expected, since both Masaki and Karin were too busy with their job and school respectively, and of course with Yuzu. Over the last few days, her condition had barely changed. While this was not exactly good news, it was still worlds better than receiving bad news.

Yes, the show did go on… even if it did so in the strangest of ways.

oOo

Inoue Orihime was a kindly girl, well spirited although terribly absent-minded, sometimes enough so to make her best friend Tatsuki wonder if her mind had not divorced reality entirely. More importantly, Rukia had noted, she had some small measure of reiatsu, moreso perhaps than several of Ichigo's other classmates.

"What do you think of Orihime?" She asked casually, staring out a school window during yet another lunch break.

"What about her?" Ichigo grunted, consuming his sushi rolls in a manner more reminiscent of assault than of mere eating. "She's nice, and all the boys like her because tits, and Tatsuki's friends with her so I kind of know her a little."

"You noticed her assets, eh?" Rukia smirked.

Deciding not to bite, Ichigo grunted, "Hard not to. I mean, I do have eyes. What's your point?"

"No point. I'm just trying to learn. Fit in, you know?`"

"With your lying skills-"

"Acting skills."

"-acting skills, fitting in should be easy, right?"

"So call it curiosity."

Ichigo grunted. "You know Keigo and Mizuiro. There's Tatsuki, who I've been friends with since I took up karate when I was five,"

"Ooh, childhood friend?" Rukia smirked. "Doesn't it usually mean she's the most likely love interest?"

"Luckily, this isn't romantic fiction. Besides, wouldn't that make you the competing love interest, being the new and interesting character?"

Rukia chuckled. "Maybe. I mean, I am ten times your age, but maybe you like older women?"

"Anyways," Ichigo continued, "Besides them, I don't really have a lot of friends. I got this reputation as a thug, so…"

"Did you know that they all have reiatsu?"

"…you mean the whole soul thingy? Don't everyone?"

"More than usual. It's curious."

"Means they'd be more likely to be hunted, doesn't it?"

"Oh, how practically minded you are… and yes, it does."

"Why, though?"

"I don't know. I have an inkling, but I don't want to jump to conclusions."

Shrugging, Ichigo went back to his lunch.

But since fate didn't seem to be kind to him these days, he could only take a few more bites, before he was once again interrupted. "Hey, you two love birds! Would you mind some company, or would you prefer having your privacy?"

"For the last time, Tatsuki: Rukia is not my girlfriend." Ichigo said, not even bothering to look up from his meal.

"Of course she isn't, and I'm going to be the King of the Pirates." Tatsuki snarked back, a big grin on her face. Just like Keigo, she had really taken a liking in teasing Ichigo about Rukia.

"Well, good luck with that. From what I hear, the competition is a good bit ahead of you."

This exchange left Rukia irritated, to say the least. "...Pirate King?"

"Forget about it. It's not important." Tatsuki told Rukia, her tone much kinder then when she had spoken with Ichigo.

Only now Ichigo looked up from his meal, and, to his moderate surprise, saw that Tatsuki was alone. "Where's Orihime? Isn't she usually with you at these times?"

"Orihime got hit by a car earlier this morning. Nothing too major happened since the car was moving rather slow, but I still insisted that she'd let herself get checked up when she came here. She really has the worst luck recently..."

That got Rukia's attention. "Bad luck? Like how?" She inquired, her tone unexpectedly serious.

"Well, Orihime has gotten in all kinds of bad accidents recently. A few days ago, she almost fell down some stairs here at school, just yesterday she dropped a very sharp knife that was she using to cut vegetables, which just barely missed her foot, and now this..." Tatsuki explained, somewhat taken aback.

"Tragic." Rukia said, sounding almost dismissive. It sounded cold, but Ichigo noticed the look in his eye. Was there something else to it? "Well, we're almost finished with lunch- better get going for class"

"You've still got at least twenty minutes-"

"Oh, it never hurts to be there early." Rukia said. "We'll probably quiz each other on some of the questions for the next lesson. Right, Ichigo?"

"Oh, I get it." Tatsuki grinned. "You'll quiz him, right? Just remember to use protection if you decide to have an in depth discussion about legal theory."

Ichigo shot her a fierce glare. "We better get going." He said, deciding not to make things worse. "See you, Tatsuki."

"Have fun!"

With that, they left. As soon as they had turned a corner, Rukia practically dragged him away, pulling him into an empty corridor.

"What is it? You seemed to get… I don't know, upset."

"I don't know yet, but we need to find out. I think that girl, Orihime… she might be targeted."

"Targeted?"

"Did she have a relative who died recently?"

Ichigo stopped eating. "Uh, yeah. She had a brother who died just two years ago." He had a bad feeling about this.

"Ichigo, I told you about how hollows form. Do you remember?"

"Yes, yes- restless spirits driven mad by regret, et cetera and so forth. I'm not thick."

"I suppose I should tell you a bit more. Hollows… when they first form, their first instinct is to find their loved ones."

"Wait, you mean-"

"You know how you hear about people passing away shortly after a loved one? People like to think it's a romantic bond between two people taking both into the next world, but it's not. It's a hollow, killing and eating the one he loved the most."

"Uh." Ichigo had a cold feeling, like a slab of iron sinking into his gut, as the full implications went through his mind. "That's… um. So if I did…?"

"If you did, you'd probably kill your mother and sisters very soon." Rukia said matter-of-factly.

"…right." Ichigo said, trying not to think about it because, fuck. "So what do we do now? Is there any way to find out if she really is being targeted?"

"Unfortunately, no. All we can really do is wait until I get orders regarding her. In the meantime, you better mentally prepare yourself to fight Orihime's brother."

In response, Ichigo only frowned. So he couldn't even be sure if the life of his friend was in danger, and had to just sit around and wait. Wonderful.

The rest of the day went by painfully slowly. During the entire time, Ichigo kept nervously looking at Rukia, constantly expecting her to make a sudden move, something that would let him know Orihime's potential hollow-brother had shown up. But until the end of the day, no such thing happened, which did not mix well with the tension that had been building up within him. After however even dinner went by without anything happening, Ichigo was finally able to calm down as he sat down to do his homework, while he started to wonder if perhaps Rukia had been wrong about Orihime's brother after all – which, as it turned out was a mistake. Not even five minutes after he sat down to work, Rukia burst into his room wearing the glove necessary for removing Ichigo's soul from his body (as well as one of Yuzu's pajamas that Masaki had borrowed her), charged at him, and hit his chin once more.

"Ouch! Can't you at least knock at the door before you just charge in?!"

"There's no time for that! I got my instructions for the next hollow!" Rukia quickly hissed.

"Urgh, alright... where is it?" Ichigo asked in an annoyed tone, expecting a battle that was no more challenging than any of his previous encounters with hollows.

"It's right here! Now!"

Ichigo barely had time to react. From out the wall- or at a closer look, from out a blackness suddenly nesting at his wall- a hideous creature burst forth. Its face was a large, white mask of bone, and its body was a detestable mix-and-match of man and animal, with the muscular red torso of a human being and the body of a snake. The creature lashed out at Ichigo with its long, clawed hand, and Ichigo only barely dodged. Pulling out his blade, he took a stance.
The monster roared, and raised its hand. Realizing that it was better that he hit it before it hit him, Ichigo swung his sword down, clamming solidly into its forearm. Unfortunately, it seemed to have no effect- the swipe it had been preparing was stopped, but the arm wasn't even nicked; it was as if it was immune to his blade's damage.

"Mine!" It roared. "Mine! She is all mine! Stay away!"

Ichigo didn't answer, instead raising his sword, aiming for the mask. The arm was a no go, but if he could hit the mask, it would all be over…
But hollows are creatures of instinct, none of which is stronger than that of survival. The monster quickly guarded its face with an arm, Ichigo unable to do much more than push.

This was bad. His room wasn't exactly small, but it was positively cramped in the context of swinging a greatsword at a gigantic monster. The hollow too seemed to realize it, its second arm finding little room to move in. Glaring viciously at Ichigo, it settled for another deafening roar, before sliding up into the roof, leaving an empty room and a surprisingly whole roof.

"What…" Ichigo was panting. "What the hell was that?! How did he…"

"Hollows can create small portals between their world and ours, to slide in and out of at will." Rukia explained. "We're lucky this room was too small."

"Yeah, that's fucking lucky!" Ichigo exclaimed, still recovering from the shock. "These damn things can pop up anywhere, any time, and we are lucky!"

"They usually don't use them like this," Rukia reassured him, "usually, they just enter this world, hunt and go back."

"So why'd this one come into my bloody room? Am I that tasty?!"

"That… is a good question, actually. Maybe what the hollow said has something to do with it?" She suggested.

Ichigo scratched his head. "What did it say? I wasn't quite paying attention, since I had to think about how to kill this thing."

"At least you're focusing on the right things... I think it said 'She's mine! Stay away!' or something along those lines."

"'She'? Who could that thing have meant with tha-" He interrupted himself, as realization dawned. "Orihime." He whispered.

"Hm? What did you say?"

"Orihime. That hollow just now must have been Orihime's brother, and he really is after her." Ichigo explained, struggling to stay calm.

"But even so, that doesn't explain why he would go after you." Rukia pointed out, still skeptical.

Rukia's objection was however met with little approval. "Does that even matter?! Orihime's in danger! We need to get to her place as quickly as possible, or else he'll eat her!"

"Alright, alright! But how do you want to get there?"

"Me? I thought you had something for this! Don't you shinigami have something that allows you to go to other places quickly?"

"Well, we do have a few means, buuut..." She smiled weakly, with a guilty expression on her face "you as a substitute shinigami can't use them. We have no other choice but to go by foot."

Ichigo glared at Rukia. He was already thinking about a snarky response to give Rukia, but decided against it. There simply was no time to waste with arguing. "Fine. Then get on my back. I'll carry you there, so let's get going."

Dashing across rooftops and telephone poles, the two of them made their way towards Orihime's house, Rukia riding on Ichigo's back. Swearing under his breath, Ichigo hoped they wouldn't be too late.

oOo

Spending time with Orihime was as it usually was for Tatsuki: entertaining, sweet and with a dash of confusion added to the mix.

"Hey Tatsuki-chan, do you want a snack? I'm making peanut butter and herring sandwiches with ketchup!"

"No thanks." Tatsuki said, smiling to herself. Enter the confusion- Orihime's cooking skills were a sight for gods- not bad, but certainly alien to anyone who had ever been near actual food. "I'll take some tea, though."

"O-kay!" Orihime chirped.

As much as she loved spending time with Orihime, there was something about tonight that felt… off. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, that something… else was near. It had been there all night, subtly, but it was coming to her with a vengeance now.

It was silly. She didn't believe in ghosts or spirits, but as much as she wanted to tell herself it was just indigestion- and with Orihime, that would be an easy excuse- she couldn't. There was… well, what was there? Feeling unease, Tatsuki shook her head and shrugged.

As she stared out a window, she heard Orihime walk in the room. Just as she turned her head to look to her, Orihime yelped. She had fallen to the floor- which was odd, because it didn't look like she tripped.

Getting to her feet, Tatsuki said, "Orihime? Are you okay?"

"Help…" Orihime whimpered.

Tatsuki looked closer. Something was off. Orihime looked like she was being held down- and there was a blur over her body. Tatsuki blinked several times. What in the world? As she looked close, she saw a shimmer of red flicker in and out of her vision.

Well, never mind what it was! Quickly, she rushed to Orihime's side. As she got closer to her friend, the feeling of something being nearby got stronger and stronger – and suddenly, an invisible force knocked her back.

As if she had been struck by a fierce blow, Tatsuki flew into the nearest wall. The impact hurt badly, but the pain wasn't what concerned her most.. For a moment, her vision went blurry, and she was close to getting unconscious, but managed to pull herself out of it. Orihime was in danger – Tatsuki simply couldn't just fall unconscious in such a situation! She quickly shook her head to get rid of that feeling of dizziness, only to feel a sharp pain in her left shoulder.

With a feeling of dread, Tatsuki turned her head towards her shoulder, where she saw a cut that went right through her clothes, and deep into her flesh. Blood was flowing from the wound, dying the shirt she was wearing in a dark red color. "B-Blood? When did I-?"

But before she could even finish her sentence, something pushed her towards the ground, just like what happened with Orihime. By now, Tatsuki was starting to question the reality of the situation – maybe she was just sleeping, and having a bad nightmare? Maybe she was about to wake up, and realize that it was the middle of the night – no. The pain, the feeling of the sheer force on her almost beginning to break her bones was too real for that. It was if she was stuck in a horror movie.

Desperately, Tatsuki used all of her strength to try and get back up, fight against the force that held her down – and somehow, she was able to get back up a bit. Her hopes getting up, Tatsuki increased her efforts... only for the thingholding her down increasing the force with which it held her down even more.

She couldn't breathe. Her view of the room, of the creature, it was all a blur. Desperation began to overtake her. Struggling, she kicked and punched, thrashed- but the grip holding her was too strong, like the oppressive fist of a giant. Her shoulder burned with pain, and fear began to take her mind. She breathed raggedly, not even having the presence of mind to scream. What the hell was this? What was going on?

And just as she was about to pass into blissful oblivion, the pressure on her chest let up. She shook her head, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. Slowly, she worked herself up in a sitting position- what happened?

She blinked, finally getting a good view. The red blur- it had taken a somewhat humanoid shape now- was… it was fighting a black blur. With red hair. She could hear voices, as if through the opposite end of a tunnel, but it was so… familiar.

"Ichigo?" Was all that she managed to get out before she lost her consciousness.

Ichigo just barely noticed it, Tatsuki's groaning of his name. He had arrived just barely in time; the hollow had pinned them both down and looked like it was planning on eating Tatsuki. He had slammed through a window and into the hollow, knocking it back, and was now trying his best to cut its head off. It was resilient, though, and its arms were tough and thick. Ichigo grit his teeth.

"You bastard… this is your little sister, isn't it?" He spat. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"It can't be reasoned with, Ichigo!" Rukia shouted. "Don't even try talking to it! Just cut its head off and finish it!"

"I'm trying!" Ichigo shot back angrily– which distracted him long enough for the hollow to shake him off and get back to its feet, while Ichigo landed on his own back. In a quick motion, Ichigo jumped back up, and got into a battle-ready pose that Rukia had taught him earlier, awaiting the hollow's next move. Instead of attacking him, though, the creature only stood there, staring at Ichigo, who only now got a good full view of the hollow.

The hollow had a long, snake-like body, lacking anything resembling legs. Completely unlike a snake however, its upper body was broad like that of a human, and even had a pair of long, muscular arms, ending in claws.

Located in the center of its chest was a hole. Its face, meanwhile, resembled a human skull with black hair, and staring, red eyes... the right eye, at least. The left eye was, as a matter of fact, just like that of a human. Seeing this disturbed Ichigo more than everything else about the hollow's appearance: When hollows looked like inhuman monsters, it was easy enough for him to pretend that they were just beasts, but in this case, the fact that this creature was once human was absolutely impossible. Against his own will, Ichigo found himself shuddering, as the hollow's monstrous face twisting itself in anger.

"Kurosaki... Ichigo...?" The creature said, its – his voice a deep, distorted growl. "You...! It is all your fault! You are the reason she forgot me!"

Striking out quickly, he moved his right arm forward in an attempt to hit Ichigo, who raised his sword, managing to block just barely. The hollow's strength pushed him a good bit backward, but didn't manage to knock him over. Assuming that hitting the sharp side of his sword had at the same time injured the hollow's claw, he looked up with a self-confident grin – which immediately vanished when he saw that the hollow's claw was in fact completely unscathed!

What was up with this hollow? He could hit hard enough to cleave a tree trunk in two- and that was an amazing amount of power, but this hollow hadn't even taken a nick. Looking closer, Ichigo saw thick skin on its forearms, grey like iron. Armour? He shook his head; this was no time to get distracted. The hollow roared, and raised its arm again.

What happened next was in no way a product of a calculating mind, but the instinct of a fighter finally kicking in. As the hollow raised its arm, Ichigo dodged low and lunged forward, sweeping his blade sideways and upwards, cutting into the hollow from the side of its torso to the armpit. This time, he drew blood- and pain. The hollow screamed, walloping Ichigo with its other hand. Through the wall Ichigo went, and without thinking he braced himself as if he was landing on ground- and found himself standing on thin air. He allowed himself only a second's worth of shock before he turned his eyes to the hollow. It glared at him from the hole it made, grabbing at the edges and making ready to lunge.

Ichigo calmed himself, and remembered what Rukia had told him. When you fight, master your emotions. Never be rash. Keep a level head, and stick to your training.. Determinedly, he raised his sword.

"Come on, then!" He shouted. "Come get me! I was the one who took Orihime- so come kill me if you can, here and now!"

Again, the hollow roared, lunging towards him.

Good. He was away from Tatsuki and Orihime – that was the easy part. The hard part, though, was coming right up: As the hollow got close, he unleashed a series of quick slashes, which Ichigo could only narrowly dodge. There was no time for counterattacking. If any of the hollow's attacks hit Ichigo, they would cut him bad, very bad, so all Ichigo could do for the time being was to continue evading, and search for an opening.

"It is all your fault!" The hollow once again shrieked, while still keeping his assault against Ichigo up. "The fault of you and your other friends! Before she met you, she would pray for me every day... I had died, and yet I was happy, since she still remembered me. I was always watching! But once she met you, and all of these other people, she stopped! She forgot me, left me all alone! But I won't let you take her away from me!"

Ichigo didn't say anything in response. After hearing Rukia's explanation on how hollows behave, the reasoning of Orihime's brother was hardly surprising... and more importantly, Ichigo had finally found an opening in his barrage of attacks. Grasping his sword in both hands, Ichigo charged at the hollow, planning to attack his mask with an upward slice –

SMASH! Something knocked Ichigo out of the air, and into the ground. Though he was seeing stars, Ichigo knew it was a matter of seconds before the hollow would bear down on him. He could feel its presence, its spiritual mass like a malignant tumor coming down…

Quickly, he braced himself with his left arm, and flipped over. The hollow had almost come down on him completely. Shaking his head, Ichigo put an arm on the ground and got up to his knees. He had just barely gotten to his feet when the hollow smashed into him; he could barely block in time. He was sent flying backwards, but though he had to struggle, he managed to keep his balance. Getting pinned would be the end of him.

Looking from on high, concealed in the dark of night, two figures observed the frantic struggle.

"This is your new potential?" The first voice, rough and low, said, sounding skeptical.

"One of several." The other said with cheerful confidence. "I'd say he is doing fairly well."

"He is fighting at his best just to stay alive."

"And he stays alive- and what's more, he isn't getting hit. For a nineteen year old with no previous training before the last few weeks, that's quite good."

"I've no doubt the kid could be good if you gave him half a century to grow- but do you have that kind of time?"

"Look at them," the second said. "Two fighters, both new to the scene. One a hollow, only a few years old. Powerful- more powerful than normal for a hollow, in all likeliness owed more to patronage by a stronger hollow than natural capacity-"

"Don't get sidetracked."

"-right. The other is a teenager with a lot of raw power but almost no training, yet with significant progress for the short time he's had it. You know who his father is- do you doubt he'll do what we need him to?"

"I suppose you're right."

"I do not need an unstoppable juggernaut. I need a distraction- and if he lives, all the better. He'll do. Easy to manipulate too, I'd wager. Look now!"

Though the attacks were fast and fierce, though the weight of the sword made his muscles burn, the fight had stabilized. The hollow had hoped to overpower him, and it had failed. Its blows were slower- or he was moving faster. Whichever it was, Ichigo was going to take advantage of it.
There was the opening again- but what had happened last time he tried to use it? He jumped back a yard, and managed to stop the lash of the hollow's tail just in time. That was what had smashed him into the street, faster than either of its arms could move.

Come to think of it, its moves were… predictable. They were still fast and furious, but they seemed to follow a pattern. Good. He wasn't stronger, but finally he knew a way to get an edge over the monster.

But staying alive was one thing. Ichigo still needed to find a way to get past the hollow's defenses, and attack his mask. The longer this fight lasted, the more it drained his stamina, of which he was certain that Orihime's hollowfied brother had more than him.

Following a sudden whim, Ichigo seemingly blindly charged at the hollow, evading its claw strikes. Just like before, the hollow lashed out its tail, intending to knock Ichigo out of the area in which he could become dangerous – which was however exactly what Ichigo had hoped for. With a well-timed hop, he avoided getting hit by the tail, and landed on it before the hollow could retract it, gripping it firmly with his hand. The hollow obviously didn't take kindly to this, and started thrashing its tail around frantically, attempting to smash Ichigo into the ground to get rid of him.

But despite the wild movements that he was put through and the upcoming feeling of nausea, Ichigo still held firmly onto the tail, and slowly but steadily climbed onto the hollow's back from it.

"Now listen up! I don't care for what reason you try to kill me, Orihime, or my friends! Of course it's sad that she stopped praying for you, but don't you think that the only reason that Orihime stopped is because she doesn't want you to worry about her? You're her older brother! If anything, you should watch over her, and not harm her! If you hurt my friends, then it doesn't matter that you were Orihime's brother! I'll cut you down, with all of my strength!"
Ichigo shouted, as he finally managed to make his way onto the hollow's back, directly behind his head. His human eye having grown wide in shock, Orihime's brother turned his masked head around, to look at Ichigo... only to be greeted by swift strike from Ichigo's blade.

The blade came down hard, slamming into the hollow's mask. There was a gratifying crunch as it cracked. Satisfied, Ichigo jumped back, waiting for it to dissolve. Yet strangely, no such thing happened. Instead, behind that wicked mask Ichigo could see a human face; an eye, half a cheek revealed from the cut Ichigo made.

"I… I see now." It said, its voice soft and gentle. "I really… oh dear god, I hurt Orihime, didn't I…" it mumbled, sounding frightened.

"What, you're back now? Is this some kind of trick?" Ichigo demanded.

"I don't think so." Rukia said, coming up the street from out Orihime's apartment building. "He was recently turned, I think- it's not unheard of that a hollow can preserve some humanity for a short while."

"It's not going to go away though, is it?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"No."

"I- I hurt her, my god-" the hollow cried, sounding anguished.

"Calm down." Ichigo grunted. "She'll be fine. Won't she, Rukia?"

Rukia nodded. "A couple of bruises, but she will be fine. You did no real harm."

"That… that's good." The hollow said, sounding relieved. It looked at Ichigo, its one human eye staring intensely into his own. "I almost… I almost did the one thing no big brother should ever do. You must purify me, please, before I lose control of my senses again!"

"Big… brother?"

Coming from the way Rukia had come, it was Orihime's voice. Only a short moment later, Orihime herself approached the three of them. She seemed completely unharmed, both mentally and physically... and there was a long chain hanging from the center of her chest. There was no doubt that she could see both Ichigo and her brother, as she clearly walked up to the latter.

Ichigo gave Rukia an incredulous look. "Is that... supposed to happen?"

"It seems like before we arrived, he knocked his sister's soul out of his body... don't worry, this nothing that we can't fix. Let's see what happens now, but don't let your guard down." Rukia instructed, not taking her eyes off Orihime and her brother.

"Big brother... Sora..." She said, her voice little more than a loud whisper. "I... never did forgot you. Even when I stopped praying for you, I still didn't forget you... I knew that you were watching over me. But I didn't want you to worry about me. Those hairpins you gave me on the day you died... I've been wearing on every day since then. So please, don't be sad... I will never forget you. Don't worry about me. Just move on..."

And with that, she reached up to her brother, and embraced him in one last hug – as well as she could with his monstrous body.

Hesitatingly, Sora raised his large arms, and returned the hug, as tears started to roll down his face. "Orihime... thank you... and farewell..."

After letting the two have their short, tender moment, Rukia put a hand on Orihime's shoulder. "Inoue-san, you need to let go now. He must be purified, or he will become a monster again."

Though she seemed pained to hear it, Orihime stepped back. "I understand."

"Don't worry." Rukia said reassuringly. "His soul will pass on to the afterlife. He will be happy there."

"Well," Ichigo said, stepping up with sword in hand, "let's just do this, shall we?" There was an awkward feeling in his gut- the notion that behind every mask, there was once a human being, had not quite sunk in until just now, and it was an uncomfortable realization to say the least. Holding up his sword, he prepared himself.

Then, Sora gently grabbed his blade and slid it through his own neck. Surprised and relieved, Ichigo watched as the mask shattered, and the monstrous body began to dissolve. "Good bye, Orihime." Sora said, smiling as he passed on.

Ichigo just stared, not sure what to say. He had always known about death, about the tragedies of the world- but knowing something and feeling something were two different things altogether. He could only imagine how this would feel to Orihime.

"So… he's finally passed on?" The girl in question asked.

"For good." Rukia said, smiling. "Let's get you back in your body, shall we?"

Without much ado, Rukia took Orihime back to her apartment, Ichigo following behind, and fused her soul to her body again using the same glove she used for Ichigo.

"So long as the chain is intact, the soul can be restored." Rukia explained, pulling out a strange-looking little device. "Look here." She said, as Orihime's eyes fluttered, finally waking up. There was a 'poof', and then Rukia put the device back in her pocket.

"What was that?" Ichigo asked.

"I just replaced her memories. Standard procedure for mortals who have seen things they shouldn't. Did Tatsuki see anything?"

"Uh, no," Ichigo said, feeling unsure of how he felt about taking away a memory like that, "she was knocked out when I came here. She'll probably think it was just a nightmare."

"Better safe than sorry." Rukia said, walking over to the barely conscious Tatsuki. She held up the device- but no 'poof' came this time. "Crap, no energy left." Rukia grunted.

Leaning forward, she mumbled a few words, and there was a faint green glow.

"What are you doing?"

"She was hurt. A flesh wound- not too bad, but definitely something a nightmare wouldn't explain." Seeing Ichigo's quizzical stare, she continued, "It's kido- shinigami magic. The healing kind, in this instance. I may be weak, but I haven't lost all power." Mumbling the spells, Rukia knit together the wound, sealing it perfectly. It took a while, but eventually Tatsuki's wound had closed entirely.

"I guess it'll be enough for now. Let's let her think it was a nightmare."

"Good. Let's go, then." Ichigo said, eager to get away from all this.

"By the way, that was a nice little speech you gave there earlier." Rukia said, as she and Ichigo made their way back to his home, this time slowly walking on the ground alongside each other.

"Ehh. I just thought that I had to say something, so I just said the first things that came to my mind." Ichigo replied, unsure if this was a genuine compliment, or if Rukia was just teasing him.

"No, no, I mean it. That really was the right thing to see... I think your words had just as big of a part to play in his purification as your attack on his mask did."

"Pah. If I could actually defeat hollows with just some good words, then I'd have a way easier time with all this." Ichigo grumbled. In response, Rukia only laughed.

"What's wrong with you, Rukia? You're being uncharacteristically cheerful." He asked in a puzzled tone.

"Am I? Well... I suppose I'm just glad that everything worked out so well. Orihime and Tatsuki are safe, Sora has moved on, and you had to fight against a hollow that was actually a challenge. Quite a successful evening, wouldn't you agree?"

"If you say so... but say, since this hollow was, as you said, an actual challenge, can't we just skip tomorrow's kendo training?" After a fight like the one he had just now, the last that Ichigo wanted was to get up at 5 AM next morning, just to wave his sword around some more.

"Hmm... nope!" Rukia chirped, before letting out a small, gleeful laughter.

oOo

When everything was quiet, Tatsuki opened her eyes. Even though her unconsciousness had apparently ultimately lasted only a few minutes, Tatsuki had still remained motionless, with her eyes closed, as to not draw any unnecessary attention to herself. But now, that she was certain that there was nothing more going, she sat up, and looked around her. Orihime's room looked just the way it did before this weird incident happened – if it happened at all.

As a matter of fact, Tatsuki would have gladly dismissed everything that happened as a bad dream... if it weren't for the fact that she clearly heard Rukia talk to the distant, unclear voice of both Ichigo and Orihime. While she didn't understand much of what Ichigo and Orihime had been saying, and didn't understand the meaning of most of what Rukia had said, one particular thing did strike her: Rukia saying something about "mortals who have seen things they shouldn't".

Just what the hell had that been about? Just who – or rather, what – was Kuchiki Rukia? And what had she gotten Ichigo into?

Tatsuki looked at Orihime, who was now sleeping peacefully, before making her way to the window. As she looked out into the night, Tatsuki decided that she would be quite wary in regards to Ichigo and Rukia from now on.

oOo

From nearby rooftop, the two figures that had observed the battle between Ichigo and Sora were still watching Rukia and Ichigo.

"Seems like there's nothing more going on here... c'mon, let's go home." The rough and low voice said.

One of the figures left, but the other stayed around for a little longer.

"Really, quite the interesting substitute that you have chosen for yourself, Kuchiki Rukia... not to mention his friends..." The remaining figure than said after another minute or so, before it, too headed off into the night.