Unfortunate Circumstance


When the two were given some time alone (around lunchtime) Ichigo snuck Rukia to the rooftop of the school, hoping to get some answers. What had happened was, the night before, he was sitting in his room alone, dreading his schoolwork but still getting his assignments done. Then, all of a sudden, this girl, Rukia, showed up in his room, hopping through his wall wearing an all-black shihakusho, which looked like a kimono or samurai attire. One thing led to another and a hollow attacked Ichigo's family. Rukia tried to stop the creature but was beaten badly. In a last-ditch effort, she entrusted her power to Ichigo so that he could stop the hollow and save his family. What Rukia wasn't expecting was for Ichigo to absorb practically all her power. This damn girl. Ichigo thought with an annoyed face, Just what the hell is she planning. Making up some stupid sob story. She may have fooled most the class, but it takes someone with just a little bit of critical thinking to question her. Ichigo thought back to class, he saw very clearly the face Aqua was making towards Rukia. Aqua never really came off as the cold type, he'd say she was the perfect middle-ground between Orihime and Tatsuki. Mostly serious, but she seemed pretty cheerful...despite what has happened to her recently. Or perhaps she's really good at hiding emotions and she just goes about it in a different way than he does.

"Hey, where are we going?" Ichigo's thoughts were cut off by the sound of Rukia, "Leading me up to such a quiet and empty place, what dost thou intend of me?"

"Shut up! Don't talk like that, it's weird. People will figure out something is up right away." Ichigo replied with an annoyed tone.

"Weird?" Rukia asked with a questioning glance, "That's kinda rude don't you think? I say I'm pretty good for someone who just learned in a day."

"From what a period piece?" Ichigo shot back before shaking his head, "That isn't the point, what the hell is going on here? Why are you at my school? Explain yourself."

Rukia gave Ichigo an extreme deadpan expression, "Explain?" she asked in a monotone voice, "Okay, fine. Remember last night?"


The night before...

Shortly after his first encounter with Rukia, Ichigo heard a noise coming from downstairs. Despite the magical binding Rukia had put him in (to keep him from causing a scene) he was still able to get up and break free so he could run down the stairs to check on his family, much to the surprise of Rukia herself. When Ichigo got to the bottom of the stairs after calling out for his father and sisters, he was horrified to see the front room was a mess. His father lied on the ground, motionless, bleeding. Not to far from his father was his sister, Karin. He walked over to her and she looked okay for the most part, but she was still bleeding. "Ichigo?" Karin called out, "Thank goodness you're okay. Please, just get out of here, don't worry about me." she said before closing her eyes completely. Ichigo wanted to say something, but stopped as his attention was taken by a large cracking sound. Looking past his father he saw that there was a giant hole in the wall of their front room, it led outside and that was when he saw...'it'.

Rukia had told him she was hunting a Hollow in the area, explained to him that Hollows were 'evil spirits,' as she put it. Naturally, Ichigo assumed it would be humanesque in nature and features. But he was wrong. So very, VERY, wrong. This thing...this creature...was some sort of monster. It looked almost reptilian in appearance with smooth looking skin and some sort of spikes on its back, almost like a lizard. But the face. The face was so creepy. Like it was just an exposed skull with markings on it. Its eyes were pure white and the howl. He had never seen something like this before, in his entire life of being able to see ghosts, he had never seen anything that looked like this. He would have lost himself if he didn't see what was in the creature's hand. It was Yuzu. She looked barely conscious, as if she was stuck in some sort of nightmare she just wanted to wake up from. Whatever nerves Ichigo had before, they steeled up when he saw her. He grabbed a bat and charged the creature, hoping to free his sister from its clutches. But it was no use, the creature punched forward and knocked Ichigo back against the brick flowerbed, cracking it slightly. He was hit so hard that the aluminum bat became bent and mangled and he was bleeding from his head.

Immediately the creature went to follow up by crushing Ichigo with the hand his sister was held in. Ichigo held up the mangled bat to defend himself, but was saved by Rukia who jumped down and sliced the creature's arm off. Ichigo was able to dive and catch his sister as she fell from the dismembered appendage. "Yuzu, hey, come on. Are you okay? Please, answer me." Ichigo called as he lightly shook his little sister in his arms.

"Don't lose focus!" Rukia yelled out as she stood in front of him, sword at the ready, "None of your family members have had their souls eaten yet. Even your father over there is fine." she reassured.

"Hold on, I thought you said Hollows attack humans to eat their souls. Why the hell would this one not do that?" Ichigo asked, still clutching to his sister.

Rukia gulped slightly, "Hollows attack humans for their souls, that is true. But they also don't want to eat just any soul. They search for souls with high spiritual concentration. Sometimes that means some arbitrary humans are hurt in the process."

"But what the hell does that mean, dammit! Is my family in the clear or not?"

"I...have never met a human with as high of spiritual pressure as you. One who can see shinigamis such as myself. If we are being honest...the Hollow's target...is most likely you." Ichigo's face went blank. To think that he was the cause of his family's danger. He didn't want to believe it, but if what the shinigami said was true, then what else could he believe. Why else would it just randomly attack them and not eat their souls? Maybe the creature was smarter than he thought. Perhaps it was using his family as bait, to draw him out.

"So wait..." Ichigo looked down in despair, "It came for me? The reason why my dad, the reason why Yuzu and Karin are in danger, is all because of me?"

"Hold on, I didn't exactly mean it like-" Rukia couldn't finish what she was trying to say as the Hollow had regrown its dismembered arm and slapped Rukia across the road and into a brick wall. Rukia held her shoulder and rubbed her head in pain, "Ugggh...turning my back on an enemy. How careless of me." she groaned.

Ichigo, for whatever reason that provoked him, set Yuzu down and stood to face the creature, "Hey, you big ugly bastard!" he called out, "You want my soul right? Then fight me face-to-face you big coward! Nobody else has to get hurt, I'm right here!" the Hollow let out its blood curdling howl before charging forward. Ichigo's eyes widened, but he still braced himself all the same. But instead of the creature biting down on him, Rukia had stepped in and taken the attack and saved Ichigo's life. She was bitten, but she didn't go down without a fight as she had stabbed the creature in the eye, causing it to recoil back in pain. "Shinigami!"

"You damn fool." Rukia coughed out, blood shooting to the ground, "I told you already that your power was no match for it. What? Did you actually think everything would be fine if you gave him your soul? It'd just move on to the next soul to feast on, growing more powerful after each one."

Ichigo looked down at Rukia with a saddened expression, "I...I'm sorry."

"Don't focus too much on it." Rukia coughed out, "Unfortunately I no longer have the strength to keep fighting. Now we can only wait until we become its food." she chuckled. She looked up and saw Ichigo's distraught face, as if he finally was seeing the consequences of this creature living, she gulped knowing that what she was going to do would be incredibly irresponsible, "Do you...want to save your family."

Ichigo quickly looked up, hope sparkling in his eyes, "You mean there's a way?"

"Yes." Rukia nodded, "Specifically, there is only one way." Rukia unsheathed her sword, her zanpakuto, and pointed it towards Ichigo, "You must become a shinigami."

"What the? How-"

"Pierce the middle of your chest with my zanpakuto. I shall transfer half of my shinigami power to you. Then and only then will you gain the power necessary to fight. However, be warned, this plan is haphazzard at best, and is based solely around your unnaturally high spiritual pressure. The success rate is not very high, so if the plan fails...you will die." she warned.

Ichigo was torn, on one hand he wanted to help his family, on the other the chances of him being successful sounded so low it may not even be worth trying. "Ichi...go." Ichigo's eyes widened at the sound of Yuzu over by the flower bed. "Ichigo...where are you?"

Ichigo swallowed a lump in his throat, trying to calm his voice, "Yuzu...are you alright? Are you having a scary dream?" he asked.

Her eyes opened slightly, and Yuzu looked up towards her brother, "It's dangerous, please don't come. Get away."

What the hell? Ichigo thought, Why? They are lying there about to die and they're worrying about me. Why? Dammit. Here I am being scared and I haven't even gone through what they did, I feel so selfish and stupid! It was at that moment that Ichigo felt his resolve. He stoned his expression and turned towards Rukia, "Hey, shinigami, give me the damn sword." he said as he walked over to her.

She shook her head, "My name isn't Shinigami. It's Rukia Kuchiki."

Ichigo smiled and nodded, "I see, well, Rukia Kuchiki, I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. Let's pray this won't be our final greeting."

The creature howled and made its advance towards the two, "No time left, it's now or never, Ichigo." Rukia called out as she held out her zanpakuto. Ichigo grabbed hold of the hilt with his hand, covering Rukia's hand before plunging the sword into his chest.

He felt...nothing. Well, not nothing, he felt cold, but he wasn't sure if that was because of the steel of the blade or because he was dying. Then he felt an intense surge of energy, a bright light shone over him and before he knew it he was standing on the opposite side of the Hollow, with a zanpakuto in hand.

The Hollow's arm had been cut off by Ichigo, its blood splurting all over the place, it crying out in pain. Ichigo smirked as he held the zanpakuto over his shoulder, however this zanpakuto was not like Rukia's. It was much larger, almost the size of his body and he was holding it with one hand. His outfit, well, it was just like Rukia's. H-How? Rukia thought, her outfit now turned white. It was only supposed to be half of my power, but he took all of it? In a blink of an eye, Ichigo finished off the creature with one swipe of his newly gained zanpakuto. Afterwards, for him, it was over. He blacked out.


Present day...

"Yeah, so what?" Ichigo asked, "I used some of your power, I stopped that Hollow. Your job's done, so why haven't you left yet?"

Rukia sighed and crossed her arms, "It's because only shinigami can return to the Soul Society. And as of right now, I cannot return there."

"The hell are you one about?"

"It's because I lost my shinigami powers." Rukia said bluntly, "You took it all."

Ichigo cocked an eyebrow and began to wave his arms around, "What the hell are you talking about? I can't be a shinigami, look at me, I returned back to normal, so where did all that power go?" he asked.

"It's inside of you." Rukia replied while tapping Ichigo's chest, "Deep inside your soul, the power of the shinigami stays locked up. Obviously, your body won't be a shinigami, it has to be your soul." she explained, "And as it is right now, I no longer have any of my power left, except for a small fraction. I had to be forced into this artificial body to recover." Ichigo looked confused so Rukia quickly explained, "It is called a gigai, usually it's only used in emergency situations or when we shinigami need to interact with humans. Most of the time though it's where we put our souls so they can heal and hide from threats." What the hell are you, a hermit crab? Ichigo thought. "Hey, you just compared me to a hermit crab didn't you!" Rukia accused as she pointed to the human. "Weakened shinigami are easy targets for Hollows you know, so it's either act human or die." she huffed.

"I get it now." Ichigo replied with a nod, "So...what the hell is it a weakened shinigami like you needs from me?"

Rukia smirked, "Well, obviously, I need you to take over my shinigami duties until my powers return!" Ichigo gave Rukia a blank stare for a solid minute, so Rukia continued, "Of course you are the one with shinigami powers now. But don't worry, I won't send you out there blind, I'll obviously be by your side to help you out. Also, you have no right to refuse, so shall we start now or-"

"Hell. No." Ichigo replied, making an 'X' with his arms.

Rukia let out a slight chuckle and cleaned out her ear, "Sorry, I think I had something stuck in my ear. Did you just refuse? Surely you didn't just refuse after I said, 'You have no right to refuse'." she repeated, this time making her voice sound deeper.

"No way." Ichigo replied again.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'NO'?"

"I mean, 'No,' what do you not glean from that?" Ichigo shot back as he crossed his arms and turned his head from the hidden shinigami. "It's a modern world, have one of those Monster Enforcers or whatever they're called take care of it. I know one, she's my neighbor." he waved her off as he started to walk away, "Who knows, maybe there's a couple of those hero-types still running around that'd be willing to help."

"Monster Enforcers?" Rukia asked in a low mumble, but shook it off as questions to ask later, "Anyway, what about last night?"

"What about it?" Ichigo replied back with an annoyed tone, "I only helped out because my family was in danger. You think I'm gonna help out every sorry soul out there? What do I look like to you? Spider-Man? I'm not that nice of a person."

Rukia nodded and put on a fingerless red glove with a flaming skull design on it. "Fine, seems I don't have a choice." she took a deep breath and charged forward, palming Ichigo in the chest and pushing his spirit out of his body, revealing his shinigami form. His physical body, meanwhile, fell over.

"Hey, what the hell!?" Ichigo yelled out, "Did you just punch my spirit out of my body? Hey, body, snap out of it, get the hell out of here!"

"Ichigo!" Rukia called out, "Come on, you can get your body back once we're done." Rukia smirked and waved her arm, beckoning Ichigo to follow. Ichigo grabbed Rukia and jumped off the rooftop, with his newfound shinigami powers he found he was able to jump from building to building with ease. Meanwhile, on the rooftop, Aqua popped out of hiding and stared at Ichigo's downed form.

"So that's what's going on, Ichigo saved her ass last night and now that lazy soul reaper wants him to do her job for him!" Aqua said with a snap of her fingers. (She showed up late to the story and could only glean that Ichigo got some soul reaper powers from her), "That rat faced bitch, I knew she was bad news just looking at her, acting all cute to the boys and stuff. She's like those mean girls from those old movies!" Aqua frowned and stared at Ichigo's body, "Despite her being a lazy bitch, Ichigo is still pretty noble for eventually deciding to go with her." (Again, she didn't hear the full story, and she can't really hear Ichigo too well while he's in his spirit form. She can get a solid outline of what he looks like, but that's about it.) "I better help him out." she nodded. Aqua walked over to Ichigo's empty physical body and lifted it up with ease, "Time to put on the act of my life." she nodded.

Aqua kicked open the door to the nurse's office, water splashed on Ichigo's face to make it seem like he was sweating, "Nurse, nurse, nurse!" Aqua shouted out, "Please, I need a bed stat!" she threw Ichigo's body on a bed and covered him up with the blankets, "It's Kurosaki, I think he's come down with some sort of cold. We were outside and all of a sudden, it's like he's gotten heat stroke!" she held her hand to her forehead and fake cried, "I think he needs to rest until he's cooled down. But don't get too close to him, he said he's feeling kinda queasy too."

The nurse wanted to ask some questions but Aqua just left before the lady could even open her mouth. "I...suppose I'll just let him rest." the nurse said with a scratch of her head.

Back with Ichigo, he and Rukia stood in the middle of a local public park. He knew the park pretty well, he crosses it all the time on his way to school, plus it's close to his house, so he saw it on weekends a lot too. "Hey." Ichigo called out, trying to get Rukia's attention, but she didn't respond, "I said, hey!" he yelled out.

"Just wait, it'll be soon." Rukia assured as she stood cross armed next to Ichigo, still in her gigai, of course.

"'Soon' she says. How soon is soon? We've been standing out here for twenty damn minutes! I still have school and stuff you know!" he complained.

"Does a spirit frequent this park?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo blinked a few times, "Yeah, one does." he replied, returning to a calm tone.

"What kind?"

Ichigo rubbed his chin and crouched down, "He's about yay tall, I'd say he looks close to five or six years old. Plays out here around noon." he explained.

Rukia nodded, "Friend of yours?" she asked with a smirk.

Ichigo shook his head, "Hardly. I've seen the kid 3 or 4 times total. But every time it's been at noon." he shook his head realizing there should be a follow up question for him, "Hold on, what does that have to do with-" he was cut off as Rukia held out a cell phone in front of his face. On it was a message that gave the name of the park they were at and the time twelve pm. "What's this?" he asked as he grabbed the phone.

"It's an order from the Soul Society." Rukia explained, "It means that within fifteen minutes of twelve o'clock, within a twenty-meter vicinity of Yumizawa Children's Park, a Hollow will appear." Rukia frowned, "Most likely...that child is its target." Ichigo gasped slightly and as if almost on cue, the screams of a young child could be heard. Turning behind them, Ichigo and Rukia could see a little boy running for dear life from a Hollow that looked as if it was some sort of spider-like creature with a narrow almost humanesque face. Ichigo instinctively grabbed the hilt of his zanpakuto and was about to jump into action when Rukia stopped him, "WAIT!" she yelled out, "You're just going to help him? Just like that? Funny, but isn't he...a stranger?" she asked.

Ichigo frowned, "What the he—What does that matter? How could I not help someone that's right in front of me!?"

"Whether it's in front of you or far away, it doesn't change the fact that he's being attacked." she replied with a stern face. Ichigo could already tell what Rukia was trying to do, she essentially trapped him into contradicting what he said earlier. He heard the kid yell out again and saw him trip over a divet in the ground. Ichigo gripped the hilt of his blade tighter and almost took off again, "DON'T YOU HELP HIM, ICHIGO" Rukia yelled out, "Even if you save that kid, right here, right now, none of it will make a difference unless you become a shinigami. Saving him because he's right in front of you? Don't be so naïve. A shinigami has to treat all spirits equally! You can't just choose who can live or who can die based purely off your own convenience! So don't save the kid with such half-heartedness. If you want to save him, then commit!" she commanded, "Commit to go anywhere for them, even give your own life if necessary."

Ichigo gritted his teeth, and he thought back to the night before. How Rukia risked her own life for him. He knew what he had to do. He heard the howl of the Hollow once more as it stood over the child. Ichigo unsheathed his zanpakuto and cleaved off two of the Hollow's legs with one swing of his blade. The creature cried and moaned in pain and Rukia smiled, "Ichigo. So, you've-"

"Shut the hell up!" Ichigo yelled out as he stabbed his sword into the ground, "I don't accept jack shit! I'm not some Avenger, I didn't do it out of some sense of responsibility! I saved him because I wanted to save him, you got it? Is that any wrong?" Rukia wanted to say something, but Ichigo continued, "You aren't any different!" he yelled out, "You risked your life to save me that time, remember? At that moment were you thinking about some complicated stuff like 'shinigami duty'? Because that isn't what sacrificing yourself is! I don't know, maybe I'm just...different!" he grunted as he stabbed his zanpakuto through the skull of the Hollow before slicing it upwards, splitting the Hollow in two. "I haven't accepted any commitment if things get bad...I may run away. I'm not a good enough person to sacrifice my life for a total stranger." he sighed, "But...I also ain't some piece of trash that lives happily without paying off his debts." Ichigo pat the kid on the head before walking over to Rukia and holding his hand out in front of her, "So I guess I'll help you with this...shinigami thing. Even if I don't really want to, it wouldn't be right to refuse."

Rukia smiled and reached out and clutched Ichigo's hand, shaking it. "Then...welcome to the life of a shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki." Rukia sighed and looked at her Soul Phone, no more messages were popping up. "It seems that's it for today. We'll go back to the school and rest. But be ready," she pointed at Ichigo's face, catching him off guard when she accidentally poked his nose, "The training starts tomorrow."


Back at school...

The school day continued as normal for Aqua, everyone seemed to believe her 'Ichigo caught a cold' story. Which was good because it meant she didn't have to constantly cover for him every single class, but she felt kinda bad for the people at the school because...man they are so gullible. First, they just believe everything that soul reaper says without question, now they just believe Ichigo caught a cold out of nowhere? I mean, the last one is at least plausible, but man...are people in Karakura just dumber than average right? she thought. Her and Ichigo showed up halfway through the school day, then Ichigo left after third period with Rukia, now it was almost the end of sixth! Damn Reaper. Aqua thought as she bit her thumb, Clearly Ichigo is willing to help you, but that doesn't mean you have to take advantage of him! (She's still completely oblivious to what is really going on.)

Aqua sighed and looked to her left to see Orihime with a dazed look on her face. If what she gathered was true, sounds like Orihime has it BAD for Ichigo. She has no idea why, but that's what she's been told by Tatsuki's accounts, Orihime doesn't seem to shy away from talking about her crush on Ichigo either. Poor girl, she must be worried about him. Aqua thought with a nod. It was then Aqua had an idea to cheer the girl up, "Orihime," she whispered, getting the bubbly girl's attention, "Don't worry, Ichigo is A-OK." she assured with a goofy grin and a thumbs up. She wasn't sure it would work, but Orihime seemed to show off a big smile of her own. Ha ha, way to go, brain. Look at you, always coming up with the best things to say. (She's delusional.) Aqua blinked a few times as she saw what looked to be Rukia hopping onto the roof of the school over by where she had left Ichigo. So, they're back.

On the roof...

"Whatthe hell, Rukia! Where's my body?" Ichigo yelled out.

"How am I supposed to know? Maybe it just grew legs and walked away." she replied smugly.

"I ALREADY HAVE LEGS YOU IDIOT!"

Rukia huffed, "Relax," she looked down on the ground and saw a note. Picking it up she quietly gasped as she read it, "Why don't you check the infirmary. Perhaps your friends thought you were sick."

Ichigo blinked twice before relaxing his muscles, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense." he nodded.

As he left Rukia looked back down at the note and frowned. "Body is in the infirmary. Stay on the roof, we need to talk." it read. This could be bad. Rukia thought as she bit her thumb.

Rukia stayed up on the rooftop for the rest of the day, which wasn't that long of a wait. School ended about twenty minutes after her and Ichigo returned. Ichigo himself went home early since he spent so much time in the infirmary, the school even called his father and asked him to give Ichigo a checkup. Rukia looked down below, watching as all the humans made their way to their homes or walked to clubs, eventually, after almost an hour of waiting, she heard the door to the rooftop open up, "Huh, I thought I had a strange feeling about you." Rukia said as she saw Aqua approaching her.

Aqua stopped and stared at Rukia, looking her up and down, "Funny, I had a strange feeling about you too...Soul Reaper."

Rukia recoiled back a bit, her eye twitching in irritation, "What did you just call me?!"

"I know exactly what you are." Aqua accused as she pointed at Rukia, "You've come to fight off against those demons right? Those Hollows? But you couldn't hack it and now your lazy ass is extorting Ichigo to do your job for you!"

"Huh?" Rukia's mouth was agape in surprise, "I could hardly call what I'm doing as extortion, he owes me, so he has to do my job!" she stopped and blinked a few times, "Admittedly, I could have worded that better, but I'm not extorting him!"

"Liar!" Aqua yelled out, "I was warned about your kind, about how you're a bunch of stuck-up assholes. I was told that if I just ignored you, you'd go away." Aqua grit her teeth and shook her head, "But it seems I can't do that, not if you're using my friend. So, I'll say this once. Leave Ichigo alone, or I'll force you to."

Rukia scoffed and crossed her arms, "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I can't do that. I need Ichigo to do my job while I'm weak, and Ichigo needs me in order to detect when a Hollow will show."

Aqua sighed and clenched her fists, "Then you leave me no choice." Aqua began rushing towards Rukia and cocked her fist back, full intent of punching the hidden shinigami. Rukia stood calm until she felt a spike of spiritual pressure and Aqua's hand looked as if it was glowing with aura. Rukia then quickly jumped out of the way as Aqua punched the ground where she just stood, cracking the ground and leaving a meter wide crater. "Consider that a warning shot shitlips! I ain't missing twice!" is what Aqua said, however, on the inside: Son of a bitch this rat is faster than she looks!

"What the hell?" Rukia asked in surprise, jumping back to a safe distance. That was close. I knew I felt something off like that, but to conceal her spiritual pressure like that...she has to be an expert with controlling her spiritual energy. Rukia quickly had to weave left to avoid a jab from Aqua, the punch so fast and strong that Rukia felt she'd lose the skull to her synthetic body if the attack connected. This spiritual pressure...it's strange, it's almost foreign. A punch finally connected to Rukia's gut, and she felt all the air leave her body, DAMN! Rukia grit her teeth and redirected Aqua's next punch before countering with a cobra strike to the teen's chin. "You're pretty good, but I have much more experience." Rukia performed a back handspring to gain distance before landing in a crouch. "As foolish as this squabble is, I need Ichigo, so if beating you is the only way to convince you to stop then I won't hold back." Rukia took a deep breath and extended her palm outward until Aqua was nearly right in front of her, "Hado 31: SHAKKAHO!"

Aqua stopped dead in her tracks and cocked an eyebrow, "What was that about Shock a hoe?" Aqua asked. Suddenly, a red flame formed in Rukia's palm before it fired forward like a fireball and hit Aqua square in the chest, "UGH!" she grunted out as the blast launched her backward across the rooftop. "Oooooh...son of a bitch, that hurt." she groaned, "So, you can shoot fire, can ya'? Well, let's see if you learned how to fly with those repulsers!" Aqua quickly dashed straight toward Rukia and wrapped her up in a tackle. Aqua then lifted the small shinigami up and continued driving forward before jumping off the building.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Rukia yelled out as the two of them were in rapid freefall down the four-story building. I got to get out of her grasp! "Hado 31: Shakkaho!" Rukia held up her palm again and aimed at Aqua's head. The teen saw this and let go so she wasn't hit. "Got you! Rukia yelled out as she canceled her attack and grabbed hold of Aqua's arm before twisting her in the air. Now it was Aqua closest to the ground and Rukia on top.

"Oh...this is gonna-" before Aqua could finish what she was going to say, she landed down on the concrete, and Rukia on top of her, forming a large crater in the courtyard of the school. Thankfully, there was nobody around to see what happened, made Rukia's job easier.

Rukia groaned and lifted her body up. She took a few deep breaths as she stared at Aqua's downed form, all bloody and scraped from the fall. "Damn gigai. Can hardly withstand a little fall like that?" she took a couple deep breaths before coughing out blood. "Despite the fall, she's still breathing. Whatever she is, definitely not human, though. Hm?" Rukia looked down and saw a thick neckless of a Portate Cross with a gem in the middle. The gem began to glow and Aqua was engulfed in a blue aura. Rukia grunted in surprise as she felt a rise in spiritual pressure again. Before she could do anything, Aqua's hands shot up and wrapped around Rukia's throat. Aqua then began to squeeze down as she started to stand, lifting Rukia in the air. "Sha...kka...ho." Rukia pressed her palm right against Aqua's chest. The fire blast went off and Aqua was flown across the courtyard before rolling to a stop.

"This girl...is crazy." Rukia coughed out. Not wanting to stay and see what happens, she decided to take the initiative and leave the school grounds. She ran through the streets, trying her best to get as far away from the school as she could. Eventually, Rukia turned down a street and slowed down, catching her breath as she started to walk. "I don't know what she is, or what her problem is, but I can already tell fighting her in this body is a death sentence."

"Hey, Soul Reaper!" Rukia stopped in her tracks and her eye twitched at the sound of a voice calling for her. She turned around and saw Aqua at the end of the street, breathing heavily, an almost crazy look in her eye, "Are ya' gonna leave Ichigo alone?" she asked.

Rukia, not wanting to fight, immediately began running. She looked back to keep an eye on her pursuer, just to see Aqua practically already face-to-face with her. "AAAAH!" she cried out from the sudden jump-scare, "How the hell did you do that? I was so much farther ahead than you!"

"You're cute and tiny, I'm kinda punk and have thirty centimeters of height on you. I cover ground at like 130% your speed." Aqua explained. She grabbed Rukia and pulled her into an alleyway before using her strength to toss Rukia up onto the rooftop of one of the buildings. Before crouching down and wall jumping between the buildings to chase her. "Now," Aqua started as she landed on the rooftop in a crouch, looking at Rukia who was rubbing her butt in pain, Ooh, panties shot! She quickly shook her head before getting to her feet, "As I said, you will leave Ichigo alone. Or I will make you."

"Can you at least listen!" Rukia yelled out, "I'm not extorting Ichigo. He has to do my job because I can't!"

"Not my fault you're incompetent." Aqua cracked her knuckles and cracked her neck, "Here I come."

Just as Aqua was about to make a move, a large shockwave went between the two girls, a crack forming across the rooftop before destroying one of the guardrails. "Knock it the fuck off already!" the two girls flinched and looked towards where the voice came from to see Kokoa standing with her sword out. "I get a call talking about monster activity and what do I find? My own niece acting stupid and letting her powers loose in the middle of Karakura," Aqua flinched and guiltily rubbed her arm, "And you, a Soul Reaper who lost her powers like a moron." Rukia flinched at the comment herself. Suddenly, both girls were yelling out in pain as Kokoa held them both by their ears and yanked, "WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM, HUH?" she shouted, "You," she looked at Rukia, "Be more aware of your surroundings, don't go around using your magic bullshit, people are gonna think you're a monster or something. And you," she looked to Aqua and yanked harder, "Whether you like it or not, you actually ARE a monster, got it? So, you need to be ten times more careful. ALSO, when I said just ignore the Soul Reapers and they'll go away, that means FUCKING IGNORE THEM!" she growled, "Honestly, I don't like them, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop them from doing their job, that means I'll have to do that shit. And I don't have the ability to see Hollows like they do."

"But Aunt Kokoa," Aqua groaned, "This rat bitch is extorting Ichigo!"

"I'm not extorting him, I need him!"

Kokoa groaned and dropped the two girls, "Sometimes I really miss drinking," she sighed, "Aqua, did you even get the full story? Or are you just assuming things?"

Aqua blinked and glanced all around nervously, "I mean...that's about what I gleaned from everything."

Kokoa then turned to Rukia with a bored expression, "I gave Ichigo some of my power because I was too weak to keep fighting, but his spiritual pressure was extremely high. But instead of taking half he took nearly all of it!" she quickly explained.

"Huh?" Aqua asked with a bewildered expression.

"Like I've been trying to tell you," Rukia sighed as she dusted herself off, "I need Ichigo because he took almost all my power, so he has to do my job for me while I'm stuck in this stupid gigai."

"O-Ooooooh..." Aqua said with a nervous chuckle, "So...you aren't so bad, you just needed Ichigo to take responsibility for his newfound power. That makes sense. Hehehe...my bad."

Kokoa squinted her eyes at Aqua and pointed to her right, "House. Now." she ordered, "We'll talk more about this, and your punishment later."

"But I-" Aqua stopped and she felt a shiver run down her spine as Kokoa's normally emerald green eyes turned blood red with slit pupils. "I...I'll go. See you at home." Aqua hung her head and walked over to the ledge of the rooftop before jumping down to the alley below.

"Where do you think you're going, Soul Reaper?" Kokoa asked, stopping Rukia in her tracks as she tried to tip-toe away, "I'm not done with you either." Kokoa walked up to Rukia and stuck her finger into the shinigami's chest, "Let's get one thing straight, I saved your ass this time because my niece doesn't know any better. But next time, if you pull this shit with another monster or even shinigami, I may not be as kind to you two." Rukia nodded. The intense spiritual pressure that stood before her, so powerful that she could practically see it. She knew it...this was the spiritual pressure of the legendary vampire. "So, here's what's going to happen. You will make sure that nobody remembers that they saw you or Aqua. You will not, under any circumstances, tell Ichigo or anyone else that Aqua is a monster. That is for her to decide, not any of you. Finally, you will watch over her." Rukia blinked a few times in surprise, "She's been attacked once by a Hollow already, she was able to fend it off, but I don't know how often she can do that without being able to properly see the creature. Do all this, and I don't make you my meal. Got it?" Kokoa was bluffing, she was never going to actually eat Rukia. She hasn't had blood...in a very long time.

Rukia gulped and nodded, "Got it." she agreed, "But...her power, it isn't like a vampire's. There are similarities but it feels...different."

Kokoa nodded, "Could be her inhibitor." she mentioned. Inhibitor? So that's what that necklace was? Rukia thought. "But...could also be because she's a dhampyr." Kokoa smirked, causing Rukia to gasp in surprise.

"Dhampyr? In this day and age? I didn't think there were any humans who could fall in love with a vampire. What, was the human some sort of slave?" she asked.

Kokoa had a smile spread across her face as she looked up, "No...he was the sweetest guy ever. And he absolutely loved my sister." Before Rukia could ask any more questions, Kokoa was already walking away, "Just don't let me catch you again. You hear?" with that, that vampire detective gave a wave before jumping down to the streets below.


The next day...

Both Aqua and Ichigo arrived at school on time. Sure enough, Rukia was there too. Ichigo took his seat next to the hidden shinigami and she smiled sweetly and greeted him, "Good morrow, Ichigo! Dost thou have a swell night's rest?"

"Cool it." Ichigo whispered with a frown. He looked up and saw Aqua glaring down at Rukia before she sighed and set her stuff down at her desk.

"Sorry." Aqua stated to no one in particular, but Rukia knew it was directed towards her, "I didn't mean get upset like that...period cramps, you know." she lied, "Also," she gulped, "Thanks for not telling him about...that."

"Don't worry about it." Rukia sighed, "You were just concerned." she smiled. Aqua couldn't tell if it was genuine, or if she was keeping up appearances, regardless, she felt a sense of relief.

"The hell happened between you two?" Ichigo asked with a whisper. He then had to quickly back his head up to avoid a pencil being thrown at his face, a pencil moving so fast it jammed halfway through the wall. Looking over, he saw Aqua giving him a glare with her hand extended out.

"Girl stuff, Ichigo. You don't ask about girl stuff. It's rude." Aqua stated before pulling out another pencil.

To be continued...


A/N: Kinda just doing this as I go along. I wonder if I should skip some chapters for the sake of keeping the story, like with stuff that Ichigo does as a shinigami that wouldn't necessarily be changed by Aqua being around. But then again that comes off as just me plopping this character in the middle of Bleach and not doing anything. I think maybe I'll do A plot B plot style going forward, kinda like I did here. Ichigo is one side, Aqua is the other and somehow (or maybe not) those two stories connect. For the next chapter it may not necessarily work that way...or maybe it can, we'll see. Anyways, I'll see you guys the next time I decide to do one of these