Author's Notes:
Damn. . . hard to believe that this is already at chapter 10. Everything sure is coming along quicker than I thought, huh.

Orihime stared at the cat sitting in front of her, torn between listening to its instructions on how to awaken her spiritual power, and the desire to absolutely cuddle the little furball.

Not too long after Tatsuki had promised her to find a way to help her fight evil spirits, she had introduced Orihime to the shopkeeper Urahara Kisuke and his subordinates. Said subordinates included, among others, the cat Yoruichi- who, after some introductions and some arguing, had ultimately decided to help Orihime develop some powers of her own. Unlike Tatsuki, though, who had shinigami powers, Orihime would be getting some other kind of other power- called 'Fullthing' or 'Failbring', or something like that.

So for the past few weeks, Orihime had been training together with Yoruichi, the two of them occasionally being joined by Tatsuki and Urahara, who would do little more than watch them during their training. Calling what Orihime was doing under Yoruichi's supervision 'training' really was a bit of a stretch, though; most of said 'training' consisted mostly of Orihime trying to feel some weird stuff, and, after somehow succeeding in that, putting that stuff into things to use them as power stuff.

Even though Orihime herself was not really noticing much, according to Yoruichi, she was making some progress, though it was no progress that Orihime could actually visualize. All of this was not exactly helped by the fact that to Orihime, Yoruichi was absolutely adorable, which did cause a few problems when she was trying to listen Yoruichi's instructions, while keeping herself from just stroking the cat.

"Hey, are you even listening right now?" Yoruichi demanded in an annoyed tone.

"…soft." Orihime mumbled, stretching out a hand, rubbing Yoruichi's back. Tatsuki, who had been watching them after a harsh training session, sighed. Orihime was gifted, she didn't doubt that, but there were times when she wouldn't blame people for thinking she was 'special'.

"Oh, for pity's sake." The cat grumbled. "Can you really not concentrate when I am like this?"

"Sorry, Yoruichi-san!" Orihime exclaimed, quickly retracting her hand. "I just- you look so cute and cuddly."

The cat gave a long, deep sigh. "There's no helping it, I suppose." The cat began to glow, and somehow it expanded, taking on a diffuse shape, a radiant white… and then there was a flash, some smoke, and where there two seconds ago had been a gruff black cat, a lean, dark-skinned, beautiful woman with purple hair sat cross-legged. Perfectly naked too, Tatsuki noticed.

"Huuuuh?" Orihime said, sounding baffled.

"Cats don't talk." The woman- Yoruichi- said, her voice much lighter, but not particularly softer. "That's just the form I prefer."

"Oh." Orihime said. "Oh yes, that makes perfect sense!" She smiled happily.

"No, it doesn't!" Tatsuki exclaimed. "Cats turning into women falls under the category of things that make very little sense! And put on some clothes, god damn it!" She didn't know why she was so flustered, but then again, seeing cats turn into women wasn't exactly an everyday occurrence.

"Look at you, all flushed." Yoruichi said smugly. "Who knew you were such a prude?" She grinned. "Calm yourself, baby shinigami. A couple of weeks ago you thought ghosts weren't real- with what you know now, is it so weird to think there is shapeshifting magic?" She turned back to Orihime. "Now, lessons…"

"You have very nice boobs." Orihime noted.

"…thank you." Yoruichi said, and gave a smile. "Do I need to put on clothes too?"

"Oh no, this is fine." Orihime said cheerfully. "Now that you're not small and cute anymore, I can totally focus."

"Good." Yoruichi said. "Now, focus on yourself. All we need from you for today is for you to produce just a spark of power."

"That should be easy." Orihime nodded. "So I just make this spark, and eventually I get the Bullfing no jutsu?"

"…we have a long way to go." Yoruichi said, almost grumbling.

oOo

"Please open up, Ichigo! I want to talk to you!" Rukia said, while loudly knocking against the door to Ichigo's room. Unsurprisingly, no response came, and the door remained locked.

Rukia sighed. For days now, she had been trying to talk to Ichigo so that she could apologize to him, but he always just ignored her. When they were on their way to school, during class, during breaks, and even at home, he just kept ignoring her, as if she wasn't even there. And whenever he did have a choice, Ichigo just avoided her as if she were the plague – by locking himself into his room, for example.

Slowly, Rukia made her way back towards Yuzu's – no, her room. On her way there, she came across Karin, who gave her a curious look. "Man, you really must've pissed him off if he still won't talk to you... for how many days is this already going now? Three? Four? Just what did you do, anyway?"

"I... said a few things that I shouldn't have, that's all. I was actually hoping that he would be over it all by now..." Rukia answered after a short moment of hesitation. There could be little harm in telling Karin what had happened in uncertain terms, after all.

"Huh... and here I thought that Ichi-nii had found the love of his life in you. A shame that it's over... you really made a quite nice couple." Karin noted nonchalantly.

"I- we- he wasn't my boyfriend!" Rukia burst out, getting more flustered than she wanted to.

"Oh, you mean that he still is?"

"N-no! He isn't, and he never was to begin with!"

"Sure thing." Karin said, both her tone and her expression making it clear that she didn't believe a single word. "Well then, good luck with getting your totally-not-boyfriend, who just so happens to be my brother, to talk to you again."

And with that, she headed back to her room, leaving and entirely befuddled Rukia behind. After staring after her for another moment, Rukia finally opened the door to her room... where she found Yuzu sitting on her bed.

Rukia hesitated. She was aware that not only Ichigo, but apparently Masaki and Karin were able to see Yuzu's spirit, and had talked to her before, but so far, Rukia herself had not made it clear to Yuzu that she could see her as well. "Uh..."

"Hm? Can you see me, too, Kuchiki-san?" She asked curiously.

"Uh, yeah? I guess..."

"Wooow... and here I thought only my family could see me! This is awesome!" Yuzu said, displaying a happiness that Rukia rarely saw in spirits. "Ohh, I hope that you don't mind me being in your room, Kuchiki-san?"

Rukia wildly shook her head. "No, no! Not at all! If anything, then I should be asking you if you don't mind me staying here, since this was your room before you, well..."

Yuzu lowered her head a bit. "Before I died... well, since I'm dead, I don't really need a room anymore... this is your room now, Kuchiki-san. I don't want to stay for too long, anyway."

Rukia looked at the chain protruding from Yuzu's chest. It had already shortened a bit, but not by an alarming amount; it would probably still take a fairly long time before it would be gone entirely, but one day, it would be gone. Rukia really needed to get Ichigo to perform the soul burial as soon as possible... in the absolutely worst case, she might even have to ask Urahara to do it. Though, the possibility that she regained her powers before Yuzu got to that point was there, too...

"Say, Kuchiki-san..." Yuzu interrupted her thinking "How exactly do you feel about Ichigo?"

Luckily for Rukia, though, her denreishinki rang, before she could even begin to think of an answer. "Err, I'll answer that later, okay? I gotta take this!" And with that, Rukia stormed out of the room. Once she was out in the hallway, she took a deep breath. Ichigo's sister really seemed to like getting her worked up... but that was beside the point for now. Rukia didn't even know why she was still carrying the denreishinki around with her. Ever since Yuzu's death a few weeks ago, Ichigo hadn't been out to hunt hollows a single time, leaving Uryu to take care of the beasts instead. Thinking that the device was giving her the data on yet another hollow attack, Rukia pulled the denreishinki out of her pocket – only for it to display something that she had absolutely not expected.

oOo

She hurried down the street, far away from the Kurosaki place. How could she have missed this? What was going on? Huffing she jogged down the street. It was twilight; the sun was going down, but she couldn't have cared less.
Then, just as she ran, she felt it. Overwhelming power, bearing down on her, like a flame blazing towards an insect. She looked up, and standing there in the sky they were. Two shinigami, people she knew- one had furiously red hair, his high hairline covered with big shades, and the second… her nii-sama. Standing there in his white haori, his long black hair held in check by the elaborate hair ornament, the kenseikan.

"Rukia." He said, slowly descending. "You are under arrest. For having violated Gotei law on several accounts, I am to take you into custody. Do you understand?"

"…yes." She managed.

The red-haired one, Renji, walked up to her. "Y'know, what really surprises me is how you actually hid from us. Did you try to run away, or what?"

"Hid?" Rukia said, sounding confused. "I've been trying to contact you for weeks! I even asked that shady business owner to get a message through!"

"Pull the other one, it's got bells on." Renji scoffed.

Quickly, she turned to the other man. "Nii-sama, please believe me! I haven't hid or tried to run- I know I'm not a great shinigami, but have I ever lied to you? Have I ever tried to run away?"

"It has been noted and will be investigated." He said dispassionately. He stretched out his arm. "Now, come with us. We will talk more when we are in-"

And then he was cut off by a shining arrow, shooting right in between his hand and Rukia.

"Two men, accosting a girl after dark?" Rukia could see him from afar, adjusting his glasses. What the hell was he doing? "You two make quite the villains."

"Renji." Her brother said, not even taking his eyes off her.

"Got it." Renji stepped up, unsheathing his zanpakutou. "You're in for a world of hurt, boy."

"Get out of here, Uryu! There's no need for you to do this!" Rukia quickly interjected, before the two could clash.

"Huh? Who says that I'm doing this for you?" Uryu asked calmly, raising his bow to fire another shot. "I was just on my daily patrol when I sensed two shinigami showing their faces in this town... call it Quincy instinct, but I simply cannot help but to attack shinigami when I come across them. That I'm helping you with this is nothing but a mere coincidence, Kuchiki Rukia."

Rukia stared at Uryu in disbelief. He was lying – about most of it, anyway – and he wasn't even doing a good job at it. Why did he interfere?

"Whooa, a Quincy? You don't really see these guys much these days. What should I do, Kuchiki-taichou? Kill him?" Renji asked, his tone full of curiosity.

"Let him live. We do not have any orders pertaining Quincies. Our tasks are limited to arresting Rukia, and taking the powers of the human that took hers."

Renji grinned, and got into a fighting pose. "Understood, captain."

Before Renji could however even do as much as begin to charge at Uryu, the Quincy had already shot multiple arrows at him, moving erratically around while doing so. In her powerless state, Rukia couldn't even follow his movements with her eyes – all she could do was hope that nothing bad would happen.

Renji leapt forward, moving smoothly and with determination, narrowly dodging Uryu's shots. He unsheathed his blade, leaping at Uryu, slashing down swiftly in a downward arc-

And suddenly, Uryu wasn't there anymore, standing on a lamppost ten yards away.

"Huh?" Renji grunted. "That- was that shunpo, human?"

"You should consider more your imminent doom, shinigami." Uryu said, trying to sound intimidating as he unleashed a quick volley of shots. This was bad- not only was the shinigami's reiatsu greater than his own by a significant margin, but he moved with the ease of a veteran. It was like observing his grandfather in combat- completely confident, each move practiced a thousand times for use in combat, tempered by experience. He had one advantage, though… the shinigami was under instructions not to kill him, but he himself had no such reason to hold back. Charging a shot, he aimed and quickly jumped back to the next lamppost, firing mid-air.

Renji simply cut the arrow, dashing through the air. "You're a decent workout, for a human." He said cockily, raising his sword up on high. "Now hold still!"

Uryu scowled, and charged a shot with a heavy amount of reiatsu. This had better work…

And just as Renji closed the distance, he used the hirenkyaku, moving in an instant behind Renji, hitting him almost point blank. The shinigami staggered; blood poured out from his shikausho…

"Well fuck me, that actually hurt a little." Renji said, sounding surprised more than anything.

"Renji." Byakuya said. There was a slight change in tone, Uryu noticed- a hint of impatience.

"Got it." Renji turned. Instantly, Uryu moved away- and just as instantly, Renji followed his own movements even faster. "Now this is shunpo, boy!" He cheered, bringing down his sword. Uryu gasped; he had never been cut like this before. From his shoulder down his side, the sword had cut, disabling his firing arm. Just barely, he managed to outrun the shinigami, stopping not far from the enigmatic man in the haori.

"Damn… it…" Uryu swore.

"Tell ya what, kid," Renji said, resting his sword against his shoulder, "if ya give up now, I'll let ya go. I'll even admit you did a good job dodging my attack."

"What kind of man would leave a woman in need?" Uryu snapped. It was cliché, he knew it, but it was the best he could manage.
More importantly, why was he even doing this? Why was he fighting a battle he couldn't win, for a girl he barely even knew? Was he this stubborn? Suddenly he remembered Kurosaki, who had faced him so very similarly, despite no odds of winning.

"Suit yourself." Renji said. "I'll end this quick, then." He held up his sword, running a hand down the dull side of the blade. "Howl, Zabimaru!"

Almost instantly, his reiatsu increased tremendously. His sword eolgated and widened, its bladed side now carrying a row of nasty-looking spikes, the head of it having two spikes pointing in either direction. It looked like a weapon made to maim, to slaughter… Uryu sighed; this would really hurt. Already weakened from his injuries, he was getting close to the point from collapsing under the pressure of the man's power alone. Just why had he gotten himself into this?

But it was too late for such thoughts. Mustering all the strength that he had left, Uryu stood up straight, and readied himself for one final attack. "If you think... that this trickery... is enough to overcome a Quincy's determination, then you are sorely mistaken, shinigami!"

Renji sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you, man."

A grim expression on his face, Uryu fired several more arrows, Renji beginning to charge at him at high speed-

"What the hell is going on here?" The voice came suddenly, from a point not too far behind Renji, who stopped dead in his tracks and looked around confused. Uryu tensed even further; he knew that voice well enough. And sure enough; only a short moment later, Kurosaki approached them in his human body.

"Stand back, Kurosaki! Against these foes you stand even less of a chance than I do!" Uryu shouted.

Ichigo kept walking unperturbed, until he stood right in front of the man in the haori, who kept the same apathetic expression that he had been bearing all along. "Whoever said that I was going to fight them, Ishida? Unless I'm completely mistaken, these two are here to do something that I've been waiting for months now."

Uryu stared bewilderedly at Ichigo, just like Rukia and Renji. "They... what?"

"Who are you, and why are you here?" Ichigo meanwhile asked the man in the haori, ignoring Uryu.

The man gave Ichigo a calculating look. "I am Kuchiki Byakuya, captain of the Gotei Thirteen's sixth squad, and the brother of Kuchiki Rukia. The task that I was given was to arrest her, and take away the powers of the substitute shinigami that she created. But who are you, to demand such information?"

"Substitute shinigami, huh..." Ichigo said quietly. "Well, that'd be me then, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Uryu's eyes grew wide. What had gotten into him? "Kurosaki, you idiot... why are you telling them this?!"

"Shut it, Ishida! That's none of your business!" Ichigo barked, keeping his eyes on Byakuya. "So, you want my powers? Go ahead. Take them. I never should've gotten them in the first place. The only reason why I got them to begin with was because I was being an idiot who thought that he needed to get involved in the affairs of the dead. For a while, it has been fun to protect the souls of the dead, and help them pass on, but that fun is long since over now. So, be my guest. Take my powers and give me a normal life again."

The man- Kuchiki Byakuya- looked at him, a hint of curiosity in his condescending gaze. For just a second, a rebellious part of him imagined fighting him- and was snuffed instantly. He could feel the Kuchiki's reiatsu, at least twice as oppressive as that of his subordinate, bearing down on him even with the restraint the captain carried himself with.

"Sensible, young man." Byakuya said, in an even tone. He slowly and gracefully pulled his sword out. "It will be noted that you were co-operative."

"Can I uh, just say a few words to Rukia?"

Byakuya frowned. "What business do you have with my sister?"

"Just a few words, please. I'm giving you these powers back willingly- so let me have this. Please."

"…do not tarry." The captain said, temporarily lowering his sword.

"So, Rukia…" He said, swallowing. He wasn't quite sure what to say to her now.

"I'm surprised you even found us."

"Could feel the reiatsu." He murmured. "Hard not to." He shook his head. "Anyways… I guess this is goodbye."

"Yes, I suppose it is. I'm going to be taking responsibility for my crimes, and… I don't think we'll see each other again."

"It's uh, it wasn't bad. Uh. Knowing you, I mean." He said, desperately trying to think of something meaningful. "And uh, sorry. For slapping you. You were right."

"Good bye, Kurosaki Ichigo." Rukia said coolly. "You performed adequately, but this is farewell." Deliberately, she turned around, facing away from Ichigo. Ichigo swallowed again, feeling like somehow he'd made a big mistake. Well, there was no fixing it now.

"So uh," he said, turning to Byakuya, "how do we do this-"

He didn't even see him move. One moment, Byakuya had been standing in front of him, the second he was standing beside him, sheathing his sword. Ichigo groaned, sinking to his knees. There was a small trickle of blood coming from his chest.

"You will not die." Byakuya said calmly. "I made a precision strike. You will not be able to access your powers any more. It has gone back where it belongs." With that, he walked towards Rukia, who was being flanked by Renji.

And suddenly, Ichigo felt like an anvil- two, three of them- had been dropped on his shoulders. The power was gone, the power that had always been there, tingling in him ever since that night. He had gotten so used to feeling its strength that its absence was a massive shock to him, like a slap in the face, amplified by perhaps a million. It wasn't painful per se, but so… odd.
He turned his head just in time to see the three shinigami walk through a round, glowing gate. Rukia gave him a quick last look as she walked through it, then swiftly turned her head around. The gate closed shut, leaving the street as normal and ordinary as it ever had seemed.

He couldn't be sure, but- had he seen tears in Rukia's eyes as she left?

Like a sleepwalker just waking, he reached an arm out, towards the already closed portal.

"Rukia…" he said quietly... only to be receive a punch to the face, which knocked him over.

"What the HELL has gotten into you, Kurosaki?!" Uryu shouted. "First you quit over your sister's death, now you let Rukia go like that – what is wrong with you?!"

Slowly, Ichigo got back up. "I thought I told you, Ishida... this is none of your business. I was the one that had been turned into a substitute shinigami here, and that's over now. And honestly... I'm glad about it. It's just like I said earlier: This has been fun for a while, but now that Yuzu is dead, the fun is over." He slowly shook his head. "When this all began, Rukia told me that it is forbidden for shinigami to create substitutes... and I can see why now. The living shouldn't be meddling in the affairs of the dead, Ishida. In the end, all that me becoming a substitute shinigami has accomplished was wasting my time, and causing me more pain that it was ever worth. You really should quit this entire business, too... it's only a waste of time for living human being."

Uryu punched him once more. "So you're telling me that just after your sister died, you suddenly see the errors of your ways and do what's right? Don't make me laugh! All this time, you used your powers to protect those that are close to you from hollows, but the instant that you have to help your sister to move on, you're dodging your responsibilities, and let your grief get the better of you! Do you know why I 'meddle in the affairs of the dead', as you call it? I know that me alone fighting hollows makes little difference in the grand scheme of things, but it is something! When I can make a difference between just one soul that gets to pass on safely, and a soul that gets eaten by a hollow, then I'll gladly meddle in the affairs of the dead! I thought it was the same for you, Kurosaki!"

Ichigo stared at him uncertainly. "...so what? Even if I admit that you're right now, it makes no difference. I've lost my powers, and Rukia is going to be punished at the Soul Society. Neither you nor I can do anything about this, and neither should we."

For a moment, Uryu remained quiet. Then- "I was honestly expecting more of you, Kurosaki." And with that, he turned around and walked off into the night, leaving Ichigo where he was.

oOo

Two days later, things were somehow returning to normal, at least if he tried hard to feel like it did. He could still see ghosts, but now… they weren't his responsibility. He could focus on his studies again, maybe do something about his slowly declining grades. Summer was coming, soon there would be vacations galore- or summer break, for him. He could put this shinigami business behind him.

But still, Rukia was always on his mind, however much he tried to avoid it. He had told himself she had been nothing but trouble, that he should hate her, but that felt so much like a lie that no amount of wanting it to be true could convince him. Still, it was out of his hands. As he walked home, he found himself hoping she would be all right, that they'd let her off easy; maybe he should testify for her somehow-

No. That was over with. Her fate was hers, his fate was his, and they were no longer intertwined. Give it a week, and he'd stop thinking about it. His family and friends all believed that the foreign student Kuchiki Rukia had to abruptly return to her home country, so none of them mentioned her anymore, and it would only be a matter of time before Ichigo forgot her, too.
Somehow.

"My, my," He knew that voice; he'd know it anywhere. That jovial, cheerful voice, sounding so effortlessly casual… "you're looking broody, Kurosaki-san."

"Hat-and-clogs." Ichigo grumbled. Indeed, it was he, Urahara, sitting on a fence. "What do you want?"

"I said I took an interest in you back then, Kurosaki-san," the store owner said, nimbly hopping off the fence, landing in front of him, "and that hasn't changed."

"Well, I don't have an interest in you. If you like young men, I think there's a gay bar three blocks down." Ichigo shot back.

"Comedy really isn't your strong suit, Kurosaki-san." Urahara said, smiling. "The time has come to do something about your power."

"Well, that's gone." Ichigo said, taking a step forward, past Urahara-

And then he sunk to his knees, letting out a gasp.

"Don't worry- that little spell only knocked the air out of you." Urahara said, raising his cane. "This might hurt a bit, though." The tip of the cane came down on the back of Ichigo's neck, and everything went black.

oOo

He woke up to find the sun shining in his eyes. As he opened his eyes, getting to his feet, he realized it wasn't the sun at all- it was the artificial light of Urahara's basement.

"Gnn…" Ichigo grunted. "What the fuck, Urahara?"

The man was nowhere in sight; his curse was wasted on the nearby rocks. What did he have in mind, taking him here? This was crazy…

"So you're awake."

Wait a second. That voice. That voice.

He turned around. "Tatsuki?"

"This way." She said, walking away from him, towards a more open part of the gigantic basement. Bewildered, Ichigo followed her. There was something incredibly wrong with this all, and it wasn't just the fact that Tatsuki was involved with Urahara somehow. No, there was something wrong with Tatsuki herself...

Like the fact that she was wearing a shihakusho, the same kind of shinigami uniform that Ichigo had been wearing whenever he had to play his role as substitute shinigami.
...what the hell?

"Uh, Tatsuki? Why are you wearing that?"

"Just wait a moment; I'll explain that soon enough. Let's get to the others, first." She replied nonchalantly. Others? This all just kept on getting weirder...

A moment later, said 'others' turned out to be Orihime and the woman that he had seen the hollow Grand Fisher take the form of... except naked. They both sat on the floor, and seemed to be discussing something.
...what?

Ichigo stopped dead in his tracks. "Ooh, I get it!"

Tatsuki stopped, too, turned around gave Ichigo a confused look. "Huh? You do?"

He nodded calmly. "Of course. It's quite simple, actually- I'm still asleep, and having the weirdest dream that I've had in ages. I mean, you being a shinigami, Orihime having a little talk with a woman that I've only seen once in my entire life – who is now naked, no less – can't get much weirder than that. Maybe if I'm lucky, then Urahara kidnapping me to begin with was also part of this dream..."

"No such luck, Kurosaki." Uryu's voice came from behind him. "You are awake, all right. If you want me to prove it, I could punch you again."

"Right." Ichigo sighed. "So if this all is real, would any of you mind telling me what the hell this all is about?!"

"Such impatience, Kurosaki-san! We were just about to get to that, believe me." Yet another voice – Urahara's – came from behind him. "Orihime-san, Yoruichi, could you please come over here? Our guest has awakened!"

As he called, Orihime and that woman- still buck naked- stopped their conversation, and walked over.

"What…" Ichigo managed. "What. The fuck."

"Yes, it's perfectly believable that you get supernatural powers, but when your friends get them, it's incredible." Tatsuki said, sniggering.

"TatsukI!" Ichigo exclaimed. "When…"

"When you decided to be the big macho hero all on your own, never mind your friends. And right now, I'm actually better at it than you are, or so Urahara says." She almost sounded smug.

"Well, I'm not the big, macho hero anymore!" Ichigo sneered. "I'm out, and if that shady ass store owner could only realize that-" he pointed viciously at Urahara- "then I could maybe, just maybe get on with my life!"

"Can I punch him?" Tatsuki said, cracking her knuckles.

"In time." Urahara said, grinning. "Now, Ichigo-"

"Don't you 'Now, Ichigo' me!" He shouted. "You kidnapped me, took me here against my will- why would I listen to a word you say?"

"You lost somebody." Urahara said, holding his fan up over his face. "That always hurts a lot- and I know of your dilemma, too."

"That's out of my hands."

"You lost somebody," Urahara continued, unperturbed, "but you stand to lose much more if you don't listen."

"Like what?!"

"Rukia-san." He said simply, pulling out a small piece of paper, holding it out to Ichigo.

"What even is this?" Ichigo snatched the paper angrily.

"It's a copy of the sentence given to Kuchiki Rukia yesterday. Read it."

Quickly, Ichigo eyed through it. It was written in archaic Japanese, with lots of formal language…

"…execution? For this?"

"Execution."

"How do I know you didn't just make this up?"

"Skepticism, good- although I wish it was motivated by something better than animosity." Urahara said. "Believe what you will, but within the month, she will face a complete eradication of her being. Death, in a very final sense. Tell me, does she deserve to die?"

"What the hell-"

"Answer." Urahara snapped. "Does she deserve to die?"

"No!" Ichigo snapped back. "She is- she is- I mean, she…" he trailed off.

"A good start." Urahara nodded. "I'm not going to make one of those bad jokes, that she is your girlfriend- but she does matter to you. You're a loyal person, and she helped you save your family. You want her alive."

"Yeah, but… I mean, even if I assume this is true, that you're not lying to me-"

"Would I?"

"…do you really want me to answer that?" Ichigo said, almost incredulous. "Almost everything about you screams "ulterior motive"- you'd lie to me if it suited you."

"Maybe." Urahara said, flicking his fan closed, "but I usually only tweak the way a fact is perceived. And a cold hard fact is that she is going to die unless we do something."

"Prove it." Ichigo said, glaring at Urahara. "Prove it, hat and clogs. Give me just one reason to believe you!"

"Ahh, you got me there, Kurosaki Ichigo!" He pointed his closed fan at Ichigo and grinned. "I do indeed lack any proof that you would consider to be absolutely certain. But here's something else to consider: Your conscience. No one is forcing you stay here. If you wanted to, you could just walk out of my humble abode, and leave your friends here to start the rescue mission of Kuchiki-san by themselves. The question here, however, is: could you? Could you just leave, knowing that Kuchiki Rukia might be executed, and that you turned down a chance to save her life?"

Ichigo remained silent. As much as he hated to admit to himself, Urahara was right. It would be impossible for him to just leave now. Sure, telling himself that Urahara had been lying to pursue his own goals would be easy, but emotions simply aren't rational. Ichigo was certain, that before he could even set a single step outside of Urahara's shop, he'd be overtaken by feelings of guilt. But even so... just what the hell was this bastard planning?

"Ichigo." Tatsuki interrupted his thoughts. "Now look, I know that Yuzu's death has gotten to you more than I could ever imagine. I know that the fact that her spirit is still around is making this harder for you than anyone could ever imagine. But Rukia gave you this power so that you could help dead people, so that you can protect them. She gave you the power to protect your family. If you just completely stop because of Yuzu's death, and let Rukia die, too, aren't you just spitting on all the things that she has done for you? You have power, power to help people who are helpless, and the only one stopping you from using them is you! With shinigami powers comes the responsibility to help the dead, whether you like it or not. Damn it, you just have to help Rukia, Ichigo!"

For a moment Ichigo stared bewilderedly at Tatsuki. Then... he laughed, loud, long, and joylessly. "Geez... you're the fourth person now to lecture me about this all. First Rukia, then hat and clogs, then Ishida, and now you... you'd think that I'd actually get it by now. Though... responsibility, power... you're kinda forgetting there that right now, I don't have any powers."

"And that is where I come in." Urahara interjected. "Thanks to Arisawa-san over there, I have been able to perfect my method of turning living human beings into shinigami... and not just substitute shinigami, but the real deal. Give me another few hours, and I'll be able to give you shinigami powers which are way stronger than the substitute ones that you had before. So, what do you say, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

Ichigo looked around himself. Urahara, Tatsuki, Orihime, Uryu, the woman Orihime had been talking with – who was still naked – they all looked at expectantly, waiting for his answer.

"...You're all a bunch of bastards, you know that? Kidnapping me from home, dropping all sorts of crazy things on me, and asking me to believe them... I'm in." He stared defiantly at Urahara. "I still don't trust you further than I can throw you, though."

"And neither do you have to!" Urahara exclaimed cheerfully. "Here, follow Yoruichi-san, and I'll get what we need from the lab."

oOo

Humming cheerfully, Urahara Kisuke rummaged through his lab. "Damn, where did I put it…" he muttered. The cost of finding a shinigami willing to risk stealing an asauchi, plus the cost of finding a courier to smuggle it to the world of the living, was… steep, to say the least, and it would not do to have lost it. It wasn't like he was short on funds, but he was short on time. Rummaging a little more, ruffling research notes and test equipment, he finally saw the sheath, buried under a stash of papers on kido theory. "Found you…"

"You should be more careful with important equipment like that." He jerked; he had been so excited he hadn't even sensed another presence in the lab.

"Arisawa-san." He said cheerfully, not missing a beat, "weren't you supposed to be with the others?"

"Yes." She said. "But I'm not." She held up a paper. "You see, last night, after training, I found something."

"I can't imagine what in this lab could possibly interest you, Arisawa-san. I didn't figure you for a science enthusiast."

"I'm not." She held the paper to him. Carefully, he looked at it.

"Oh, my."

Tatsuki read aloud from the paper. "Subject located in southeastern Karakura. Reiatsu is faint, but should be traceable so long as you are within a kilometer or less of the target. Forwarding a sample within this message for your benefit. A bill for my services will be sent straight to division six."

"I knew I should have burned that." Urahara said, sounding irritated. "So what now, Arisawa-san?"

"Well, my first thought was to go shouting how you sold Rukia out- but I wanted to give you a chance to explain." She looked at him coldly, her fists clenching. "So why don't you explain why you sold Rukia to their side, that side we're about to go after in her rescue?"

"You always were smarter than you seemed." Urahara said casually. "Let me make one thing clear- the soul society's agents would have found her eventually. No matter what I or anyone else did, you cannot hide from them, not in the world of the living- if you have reiatsu."

"Go on."

"I have taken some pains to ensure she stayed hidden for a while- subtle things like reiatsu suppressing drones, distortion beacons that change the readings of typical reiatsu sensory abilities, and so on. What happened two days ago was that she was taken in, on my conditions, exactly when I needed her to be taken in. And I made a neat profit on top of it, too."

"And why should I believe you?"

"Consider the following, Arisawa-san," Urahara said, calmly looking her in the eye, "it stands to reason that I am well connected, yes? That I have contacts, ways of finding out what goes on and where?"

"Yeah?"

"I knew about Kuchiki Rukia's loss of power from day one. I even supplied her gigai. Now, if I had wanted nothing but a quick, unscrupulous pay off, why would I have waited till two days ago?"

Tatsuki looked unconvinced, scowling at him.

"No, I have better plans than that. Sure, I rip off people every now and then- especially the Gotei Juusantai- but I'm not a villain. Rukia was caught, and now we have a decent schedule- a few days to train, or weeks if we need it- and then you make your entrance in the soul society, launching a rescue mission with plenty of time before her execution- coinciding neatly with your summer break. Timing, it's all about timing, Arisawa-san." He walked up to her, casually and slowly, and in one swift movement he had put his cane at her neck. "And consider this, too: if I was the bad guy, I would kill you for knowing this. I could, a hundred times over again- but I won't." Gently, he lowered his cane. "In fact, I am at your mercy, Arisawa-san. You have the power to undo my plans right here and now. All you have to do is go tell the others what you know, and they will lose trust in me. So what will you do, Arisawa-san?"

Tatsuki scoffed, and turned around, walking out.

As she marched out of the lab, she felt confused. She was angry that Urahara had kept things from them- not surprised, but angry, and she still wasn't sure what to do. His explanation had made sense, but then again, he was pretty persuasive. She shouldn't believe him just like that- but he was right, if she told everyone, then this was over and Rukia wouldn't be saved.

"You found something out." It was Uryu, observant as always, standing a bit away from the others.

"…yeah." She said, hesitantly. "I did."

"I'm no psychiatrist, Arisawa-san," he said coolly, "but whatever you found out, it upset you- but I don't think it upset you as much as you thought it would."

"Let's just say we can't really trust Urahara-san."

"Now that I thought was a given." Uryu said dryly.

Tatsuki chuckled. "It really should've been. Well, at least one of us is skeptical enough of him."

"It is simply in the nature of Quincy to distrust shinigami. It is the sort of thing that comes with being nearly completely wiped out by the Gotei."

Tatsuki blinked. "Being what?"

"Not that important. I'll tell you some other time." Uryu dismissed it, before simply walking off.

oOo

"So you're telling me to take this sword here, sever the chain that binds me to my body and essentially commit seppuku?" Ichigo asked, skeptically eyeing the blade that Urahara had brought him. Urahara had removed his soul from his body, which, just as Rukia's brother had said, didn't have any shinigami powers for him to use.

"If you want to put it that way, sure." Urahara confirmed, cheerful as ever, which did not exactly help Ichigo's mood.

"Uh-huh. Before I actually do that, though: Would you perhaps mind explaining me how in the hell this is any different from committing outright suicide, or how exactly that is supposed to help me gain proper shinigami powers?"

"You sure can be glad that I do enjoy providing people with exposition, Kurosaki Ichigo, because otherwise I would just tell you to ask your friend Arisawa-san." He said nonchalantly, still very much grinning. "The sword that I have given you just now is an asauchi, the raw form of a shinigami's blade, the zanpakutou. A zanpakutou is essentially the very manifestation of your soul and your strength, a being with a mind of its own. By impaling yourself with this raw form, you are pretty much claiming the asauchi for yourself, making it your own zanpakutou. And don't you worry about the chain-severing part – as your friend Arisawa-san has proven, it is perfectly possible for you to still be a normal person after doing that. Once you have become a proper shinigami, you will simply wear your own body like a shinigami in the world of the living wears their gigai, with no side effects other than a potential longevity. Is that explanation enough for you?"

"...I suppose." Ichigo said, trying to get everything that Urahara had just explained sorted out for himself. "How- how does this work, though?"

"Do you have time for a seven hour lecture on spiritual physics?" Urahara said. "Essentially, your body is endowed with a lot of reiatsu, and reiatsu that is accustomed to shinigami powers at this point in time. Using the data I extracted from the process with Arisawa-san, I have almost perfected the method… and you are an ideal candidate. This sword has been attuned to your reiatsu already- so don't worry. You won't even feel the pain Arisawa-san had to go through."

"…alright then." Ichigo said, inspecting the blade closely.

"Good! Well then, I suppose you still remember the parts that come now."

Ichigo nodded silently, and then did as he was instructed to. Cutting of the chain, good. Running himself through with the sword... more of a mental hazard. He took a deep breath closed his eyes, and tried to calm himself down.

Just do the same thing that you did when Rukia gave you her power.

He opened his eyes again, and quickly slid the blade into his chest.

Then he collapsed.