Soul Society

Ichigo stared at the young man on the ground.

"You're Conan?!"

Conan, or rather the young man stared at his hands, in amazement. His eyes widened happily.

"I turned back to my own self!" he cried happily.

"What do you mean, kid?" Ichigo asked. "You turned back to your own self?"

"I'm back to being Shinichi Kudo again!"

"Hold on a sec…you're saying that you're THE Shinichi Kudo?"

"The one and only."

"And that kiddy look was just a ruse?"

"I guess I'll have to tell it all from the beginning." Shinichi sighed. The two shinigamis waited for him to begin.

"I am Shinichi Kudo, one of the best teenage detectives in Japan."

"Talk about a huge ego." Ichigo muttered.

"And I didn't know it then but my curiosity eventually got the better of me." He paused, as though he was remembering a sad past. "I was at the theme park with my childhood friend…"

"Girl or guy?" Ichigo quipped. Rukia gave him a kick to the head.

"Shut up and let him talk."

"It was a girl." Shinichi said, his eyes dreamy. "Her name is Ran Mouri. We've been friends since forever."

"Right, so can we get back to the main story?"

"Sorry." Shinichi replied sarcastically. "And can you stop butting in with all your comments?"

"I liked you better as a kid." Ichigo grumbled.

"So anyways, we were at this theme park. And I saw 2 men dressed in black. They were acting really suspiciously. So I decided to see what they were up to. I followed them and saw an illegal deal of money laundering."

"And then you probably rushed up to them and valiantly tried to stop them."

"NO!" Shinichi gave Ichigo the evil eye. "I was attacked from behind because I was too preoccupied with the deal."

"Okay. That makes sense."

"And then they fed me this drug…and when I woke up, I was Conan."

"A drug that makes a grown up turn back into a kid?" Ichigo's eyes widened. "That's cruel."

"So what about this childhood friend of yours? Ran Mouri?" Rukia asked. "Didn't she notice something wrong?"

"Of course she did. But I've managed to evade her suspicions by calling her every night with this voice-changing device. And I have this wristwatch which can shoot needles and knock out people. And a pair of shoes that make my legs stronger."

"Those shoes won't fit you anymore. Plus you need to put on some new clothes. You look like you've suddenly grown up."

"You idiot! That's exactly what happened." Rukia remarked. "We need to get him some clothes so that he'll be able to blend in."

"You mean those shinigami clothes you're wearing?" Shinichi asked. "I'm not putting those on."

"You have no choice kid." Ichigo replied. "But where are we supposed to get clothes for him?"

"Oh don't you worry about that." Rukia smiled mysteriously. "I have my ways."

"That's never a good thing." Ichigo whispered to Shinichi.

Renji Abarai's room

"RUKIAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Renji screamed. "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?!"

"I wanted to borrow some of your clothes. Your shinigami robes." Rukia replied, rummaging around the closet.

"You didn't need to barge in like that. I'm supposed to have some privacy for myself!!!"

"Well, I'm sorry." Rukia said. "Now where exactly are your robes?"

"What do you need it for anyways? Don't you have your own clothes?"

"I need it for him." Rukia replied, pointing outside. "Come in Shinichi."

Shinichi walked into Renji's room followed by Ichigo. Ichigo looked around at the messy room.

"Whoa. And I thought my room was messy…"

"Who the heck is this?!" Renji pointed his finger at Shinichi. "Why is he half naked?"

"He's the guy the General Captain asked me to bring." Rukia explained. "So get me some clothes for him before he catches a cold or something."

"Okay, okay." Renji turned and opened his closet. He pulled out an extra robe. "Here."

"Glad you could help us Renji." Ichigo said mockingly. "Maybe you should clean up your room now." He ran out before Renji could react to his insults.

Shinichi gratefully accepted the robe and put it on. "Thanks a lot…uh…"

"Renji Abarai."

"Right. Mr. Abarai." Shinichi cast a glance at him. "Maybe you should cut down on eating so much snack food. Especially those Buffalo chips."

"How the heck…?"

"Simple. Your fingers have the orangey colour that is only found in Buffalo chips. And judging by your reaction, I know I'm right. Plus, I see quite a bit of the leftover bags scattered around the room. So you've been snacking in your free time on Buffalo chips. Simple."

Renji was speechless.

"I know. He did that to me and Ichigo too." Rukia said.

"Bye."

Renji just nodded. Rukia and Shinichi left the room. Renji continued to stare.

"Whoa." He breathed.

"So where to now?" Shinichi asked. "I have to go see someone right?"

"We're heading there now." Rukia replied. "You better be careful of your actions and words."

"Righto, kid." Ichigo agreed. "It's dangerous there."

"Don't talk so fast Ichigo. You're one of those people who can't really control themselves."

"Oh shut up!"

They walked in silence along the hallways of the shinigami residence. Soon they reached the huge doors of the meeting room.

"We're here, Shinchi." Rukia said. "Remember your manners."

"You don't have to tell me what to do. Besides you're my age."

"Are you 140 years old then?" Rukia asked mockingly.

"What?!" Shinichi was stunned. "You're a 140?!"

"What did you expect? 12?"

"Um…you look pretty young for your age…"

"Shut up, Kudo and let's get a move on." Rukia said. She turned and strode into the hall.

"140 years old?" Shinichi mused. "This place is so weird."

"Get used to it, kid." Ichigo told him. "And no use worrying about that. You're going to face all the shinigami captains of Soul Society. Be prepared."

"I told you. I'm relishing this challenge." Shinichi smiled. "I am already prepared."

"Good. Let's go then."