Hello there.

So... for everyone who follows my work but isn't in the spoiler section of my Discord Server... this is probably going to come as a surpise.

But yeah, decided to write a Bleach fic... admittedly this idea has been floating around for about fourteen months at this point but I finally decided to just get the first chapter done.

I feel it's a bit... rough, but that might be because of the fact it's basically just setup.

So... let's get this on with.

"Gimme the sword Shinigami, we'll try your plan."

The orange haired boy said, his tone shockingly even despite the situation he was in.

"Not Shinigami, my name is Kuchiki Rukia," the boy may have been a fool, but his resolve was commendable.

"Oh, Kurosaki Ichigo, nice to meetcha," he replied, his tone easy despite the Hollow that was now charging towards them, "let's hope this won't be our last meeting."

"The Hollow is coming, we have to hurry," she commanded as he took hold of her blade and pointed it at his chest, "ready?"

"Yes."

And with that, her blade pierced his chest and her Reiryoku flowed into him, transferring half of her power to the boy just as intended.

Even at only half of her power, the speed the orange haired boy displayed as he severed the Hollow's arm clean off was impressive, likely closer to a Vice Captain than an unseated officer.

But beyond that, there was the Zanpakuto that he held in hand, easily over two metres long and thirty centimetres in deep. It was far too large for a rookie to possess.

But with the amount of Reiatsu the boy had been subconsciously emitting, that wasn't really surprising.

No, what was surprising was that the blade existed at all.

Sode no Shirayuki was still held in her hands, which raised the question of where the blade he was wielding had come from. All Zanpakuto needed an Asauchi to manifest after all, so he should have needed to use hers in order to manifest a Zanpakuto.

Yet there it was, clear as day as he used it to effortlessly slice through the Hollow that had been powerful enough to wound her.

She took a deep breath and started to focus on her injury while the boy- Ichigo, was finishing off the Hollow. The injury wasn't anything too dangerous, just painful and would impact her swing, but a little bit of Kaido would be more than enough to fix it.

And in a day she should be back to full health.

Unfortunately Ichigo would be immune to the memory wiping device she had for this type of situation due to his raw Reiryoku levels, but she doubted he would really matter in the long run.

After all, once the Shinigami powers she gave him wore off, everything would go back to normal for the boy.

"So, will you be all right there Rukia?" his voice called out and she opened her eyes, seeing the remains of the Hollow dispersing into Reishi just as expected.

"Yes, though I will admit, I expected you to only be able to delay it while I healed," she said.

"Well, with the power you gave me, it really wasn't a problem to handle," he said before looking down, "sorry about that."

She blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"If the power you gave me let a novice like me handle it so easily…" he trailed off, "you wouldn't of had any trouble handling it yourself if I hadn't been stupid and gotten involved."

Well, it seemed like the boy had a decent head on his shoulders after all.

"Indeed," she acknowledged, "and apology accepted."

It may have caused problems for her but in the end she could certainly understand why the boy had done what he had. He was ignorant of how Hollows worked and was trying to protect his sisters.

His willingness to sacrifice himself was commendable even if it was utterly foolish.

"So, what happens now?" he asked.

"Now, I will finish healing my wound and then I will heal your family and adjust their memories of this event," she stated, "I would adjust yours too however the alterations don't work properly on those with high spiritual energy like you."

The boy nodded.

"So how long will this last?" he asked.

"A day or two at most," it was a guess, but an educated one at least.

"I see," and with a soft smile, the boy proceeded to collapse face first and hit the ground.

She smiled.

He held on longer than she expected given the sudden influx of spiritual power he received. Honestly the simple fact he hadn't suffered soul suicide from the process was impressive enough as it was, for him to remain conscious so long after the battle only made it more so.

Maybe he would have made a good Shinigami, but without a Zanpakuto spirit of his own, he wouldn't keep her powers for long.

Which was for the best given the criminal nature of what she had done.

When he finally lost her powers, there would be no way to tell that she had broken that law.

She shook her head as she made her way towards the boy's family and started the process of healing their wounds.

Everything would return to normal soon enough.

XXX

Ichigo found himself lying in bed yet again.

It had been a couple of days since the Hollow had attacked his home and outside of having to fix the damage, everything had been normal.

Hell, he hadn't even seen that Shinigami since he had passed out in front of his house.

He must have looked like a complete loser doing that.

He yawned, ready to go to sleep now that Sunday was over, when his eyes widened at the sight above his bed.

"Wha-?!" he cried out as a giant red hand emerged from his wall and tried to crash down on him.

For once he was happy for his father's surprise attacks developing his reflexes.

He was out of his bed, his mind stalling as he came face to face with yet another Hollow.

Swallowing nervously, he tried to think of how to get out of this without endangering his family.

Going out his bedroom door would lead the monster to them, which made the window the only viable option… but the Hollow was directly between him and that particular exit and didn't look like it was going to let him pass.

Blood.

He blinked as the Hollow's head was split in two, a slender metallic blade passing through its skull like paper.

"Wha-?" he stared as the Shinigami from two nights ago stood before him once again, her expression looking almost troubled.

"Hello again Kurosaki-san," she spoke calmly yet coldly.

"R-Rukia?" he managed to get out before her eye twitched.

"That's Kuchiki-san," she corrected before taking a deep breath, "there's… a problem."

He nodded. It didn't take a genius to realise that there had to be a problem if he was getting attacked twice in three nights.

"Yeah… this is happening a bit too often isn't it?" he asked before blinking as she put a red glove with a strange marking on her right hand, "what are you-?"

The next thing he knew, she had slammed him in the face, knocking him down.

"H-hey! The hell was that for!?" he said as he started to push himself up before discovering he couldn't.

He looked down.

Black clothes that matched Rukia's. A copy of himself lying near his feet and most importantly…

A sheathe that currently stretched past his feet.

Looking over his shoulder, he could see the handle of a sword…

"What the hell?" he muttered, "is that sword three metres long or something?"

"Kurosaki-san, that Hollow was drawn here by your spiritual power… your spiritual power that has only grown since our last meeting," she informed him before her face twisted into an uncertain frown, "and the Shinigami powers I gave you have only grown stronger with it."

He blinked.

"How did that happen?" he asked, "I thought you said your powers should only last a day or two."

"They should have. But for some reason your power is doing the reverse of what it should be."

He frowned.

If these powers were growing then that meant that he'd probably draw more of those Hollows to his family. No wonder she thought it was a problem.

"So what's the solution?" he asked and she started to bite her lip before releasing a defeated sigh.

"I am going to have to report this to Soul Society," she said.

He narrowed his eyes. Her tone indicated that she clearly didn't want to.

"Is there something wrong with reporting this?" he asked.

She scrunched her face before releasing yet another sigh.

"Transferring our power to a human is a crime," she stated.

His heart skipped a beat.

"What?"

"Because of the chance of our power overwhelming the soul and causing it to explode, it has been outlawed for over a thousand years," she explained, "because if a soul is destroyed that way, it is removed from the cycle of reincarnation and can, if done often enough, unbalance the worlds."

Ichigo could do little more than stare.

"Honestly if it wasn't for the fact that you are abnormally powerful, you would have probably been destroyed more thoroughly by the transfer than you would've been had the Hollow eaten you."

Ichigo took a few deep breaths.

It truly had been a massive risk then.

But it had worked. He was alive and had managed to save his family because of it.

"But it worked," he pointed out, causing her to blink, "I'm alive, the Hollow is dead and my family was saved. That has to count for something doesn't it?"

The shinigami's eye twitched even as he remained trapped on his back.

"These are ancient laws that exist for the purpose of stopping the worlds from colliding and destroying each other," she declared, "just because it worked doesn't mean the crime isn't still severe."

He grit his teeth before rolling over onto his stomach and pushing himself up, removing the scabbard from his back so he could stand normally.

"That still sounds like bullshit," he said, causing the girl to stare at him derogatively before shaking her head.

"Even so… I need to report this. If you had simply lost the powers then I could've pretended this hadn't happened, but since you aren't losing them… I'll just have to face the consequences for my actions," she said, her tone even.

"They're not the consequences for your actions-"

"Yes they are," she interrupted him, "I didn't have to jump between you and that Hollow, I didn't have to give you my powers… but I chose to do so and as such, I have to face the consequences for that decision."

He grit his teeth.

"Now, ready yourself," she commanded as she pulled out her sword, causing him to take a step back, "calm down, this isn't for you."

And with that, she thrust the blade to her side, prompting a Shoji to appear in the air and open.

"Come," she commanded, "I don't know how this will go, but hopefully they'll consider you innocent given the circumstances."

Ichigo nodded as she sheathed her blade and started to walk through.

He followed, hoping nothing too bad would happen for either of them.

XXX

Ichigo stared as he emerged from the Shoji that led between the living world and the afterlife.

It looked like a pretty normal feudal Japanese castle… though greatly expanded in scale.

"Welcome back Kuchiki-san, I thought you were supposed to be stationed in Karakura for a month?" one of the Shinigami manning the gate on Soul Society's side said before glancing at him, "who is that? I thought you had been assigned alone?"

The girl took a deep breath.

"Complications arose… I need to speak to Captain Ukitake," she said, her tone holding an obvious sense of nervousness despite her obvious attempt to hide it.

The man who had been speaking glanced between her and Ichigo before nodding.

"I'll let him know you need to speak with him," the man said before picking up a black butterfly and speaking to it before it flew away.

"Thank you," Rukia said, "come Kurosaki-san."

"Yeah yeah," he acknowledged dismissively before he proceeded to start walking, his oversized blade dragging behind him like that horror game monster with a pyramid on its shoulders.

The man who had been manning the gate stared at the blade. It almost reminded him of those people who looked at people with overpriced cars and said they were 'compensating for something'.

It just made Ichigo feel self-conscious.

Perhaps if he didn't have to drag it around he wouldn't care, but as it was, he just wanted a smaller sword.

He released a sigh as they walked for a good half an hour.

"How long is this going to take anyway?" he demanded, "I have school tomorrow you know."

"That's not important right now."

"It is to me!" he shot back.

She released a sigh before turning to face him.

"You don't understand the current situation Kurosaki-san," she stated, her nerves still showing through despite her attempt at keeping calm, "I don't know what will be done with you… it's possible that they may decide you are to be destroyed."

His heart skipped a beat.

Destroyed?

"Why would they do that!?" if he had known that such a severe punishment was possible there was no way he'd have followed her through that door.

"Because people like you aren't supposed to exist," she declared and he swallowed.

"And you didn't think it was worth letting me know this before dragging me here?"

"Would you have come had you known?"

He looked away.

"I thought so," she spoke softly, "at the very least I hope Captain Ukitake will be willing to argue your case and get you off."

He looked at her before releasing a sigh.

Despite this, she had saved his life and the lives of his sisters and father.

So listening was probably the least he could do.

"Fine."

Without any further words, they proceeded to start walking again, earning stares from everyone they passed, ranging from awe to disdain.

"Hey, why does everyone keep looking at me like that?" he was beginning to grow unnerved by the constant stares.

The girl glanced at him, her expression almost pitying.

"The more powerful a Shinigami is, the larger their Zanpakuto is," she informed him, "though normally by the time they have enough power for it to reach the size yours is at, they have already mastered the art of controlling the size of their blade."

Ichigo blinked before grimacing.

"So… they think I'm trying to show off?"

"Probably."

He groaned at that acknowledgement.

"So can you teach me how to control this damn thing's size?"

"I don't see why it's necessary," there was no hesitation, "there's no guarantee you'll live past today."

Why did she have to bring that up again?

"But seriously, dragging this damn thing around is annoying," he declared.

"And you shouldn't even have it in the first place," she shot back.

"Just because I haven't lost these powers yet-"

"That's not what I meant," she interrupted and he stalled, "when a Shinigami develops their powers, they are given an Asauchi, a blank blade for them to imprint their soul upon… without an Asauchi there is no Zanpakuto."

He blinked before looking at her side and then at his own blade.

"Then… where did I get this thing?" he asked.

"I don't know. When I lent you my powers I assumed you'd take my blade and use it until I took it back… but instead you somehow manifested your own blade without an Asauchi," she explained before grimacing, "honestly that alone could prove more damning than anything else."

"Why would that-"

"Because it's possible you may be handed over to the Research and Development division," she cut him off.

Oh…

"That's… definitely not good," he acknowledged and she nodded.

"Indeed."

So now there was the possibility that he could become a test subject or be executed… honestly he was beginning to wonder if it could get any worse.

"Are there any more horrific fates I should be aware of?" he asked.

"Not that I can think of off the top of my head," she replied, "hopefully you'll just be stripped of your powers and returned to the human world unharmed."

He nodded.

He could definitely get behind that option.

Eventually they reached a large courtyard and Rukia led him towards a room with a light turned on before knocking on the door.

"Please come in Rukia," the voice on the other side sounded surprisingly gentle and the girl opened it to reveal a middle aged man with long white hair and a soft expression, wearing a grey kimono that was clearly not standard uniform.

"I'm sorry for disturbing your rest Captain Ukitake-"

"It's fine, I was just having a drink anyway," the man cut her off, "now, the gate messenger said a complication had aro-"

The man stalled the moment his gaze turned on Ichigo.

The expression the man gave him was unmistakable.

It was like he had seen a ghost.

"Rukia… who is this?" the man asked after regaining his composure.

"The complication," she admitted, "may I take a seat?"

"Of course," the man nodded before looking at Ichigo again, "so can your company."

"Thanks," Ichigo said as he sat on a cushion and let the stupidly oversized blade rest on the ground next to him.

"So… please, start from the beginning," Ukitake said, prompting Rukia to start giving her report.

XXX

"I see…" Ichigo waited with bated breath as Rukia finished her explanation and the Captain closed his eyes and rubbed his chin, "you certainly have caused a bit of trouble haven't you Rukia?"

"Hey, it was my fault for-"

"No, you weren't Kurosaki-san," Ukitake cut him off immediately, "you were an uneducated bystander who tried to do the right thing with incomplete information."

He grit his teeth.

"Though the fact that you are willing to accept responsibility for it despite that does say a bit about your character," the man said with a soft smile, "now, I will have to report this to the Central Forty-Six, they will decide what will happen from now on."

"How long will it take?" Ichigo found himself asking, his nerves starting to fray at the idea of missing school… or worse, his family finding his corpse in his room.

The man thought for a little while.

"Honestly, it will likely take some time," the man acknowledged, "for now, I guess you should probably be returned home until the verdict has been reached."

Ichigo nodded before frowning again.

"I… just have to ask, how hard is it to control the size of your sword?"

"Hahaha," the white haired man offered an easy going laugh before shaking his head, "honestly it will probably take a few weeks to get to that point. But I suppose it doesn't hurt to teach you the basics of controlling your Reiryoku and the size of your blade."

"C-captain Ukitake!?" Rukia sounded almost scandalised.

"It's fine Rukia," the man answered, "all we're talking about is helping him get his sword to a more manageable size after all."

She frowned before nodding in acknowledgement.

Was there perhaps some problem with teaching someone like him?

"Well then Kurosaki-san, the first thing you need to know in order to control your Reiryoku is having a solid mental image to represent your power," the Captain said, "a sphere for example, the denser the material contained within the sphere and the clearer the outline, the better."

Ichigo closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he started to visualise just what the man had suggested.

But… what colour should the sphere be?

He had barely considered the question when his mind filled it in for him. Gold.

A solid gold, the outline was a little fuzzy but he started to focus on that, the gold starting to fade.

It was too much. Having to focus on such a large outline… so maybe…

He maintained his focus as he started to push the outline closer to the centre, slowly but surely shrinking the sphere so he wouldn't have to spread his visualisation of the surface further than he had to, the colour within slowly but surely becoming more solid as he pushed further.

He took several more deep breaths as he continued to focus on that image before opening his eyes.

The first thing he saw was Ukitake looking at him, a look of astonishment on his face.

"So… should I just keep practising with that image?" he asked.
"What are you?" he heard Rukia's voice muttering from beside him, prompting him to face her and notice her eyes were wide and her face pale.

"D-did I do something wrong?" he asked before turning back to Ukitake.

"No… you're just… a bit more powerful than I expected," the man said, a soft smile on his face, "beyond that… you seem to have gained a basic level of control already… it's honestly rather impressive."

Ichigo blinked.

He didn't feel like he'd gained some level of control.

"Yeah, well I doubt it'll help with that damn sword," he muttered as he turned to face the blade again before feeling his heart plummet.

It looked like it had gotten even bigger.

"Well, the next step should be simple enough," the older man said, "that image you formed represents your spiritual power, so reach into it, draw that power out and through your body."

Ichigo proceeded to do what the man said, reaching into the sphere with his hands, letting the gold flow into him and through his body.

"Once that is done, pick up your blade and let your power flow into it," Ichigo followed those instructions, grasping the handle of his sword and picturing the gold of his spiritual power flow through it, "and once you have visualised your power flowing through your Zanpakuto, picture the shape of the blade and shrink it, try to keep the outline sharp and let the colour of your power grow denser, darker and more solid."

Taking a deep breath, Ichigo focused, trying to shrink the stupidly large blade, the gold growing darker and darker until it was nearly black.

"Good, just keep practising this and eventually it will become second nature," Ukitake's voice called out and he opened his eyes to see a blade that was now only slightly longer than his arm.

"Thank you sir," he said, his relief at no longer being forced to drag that oversized kitchen knife seeping into his tone.

"Well, don't thank me yet," the man said, his smile dimming, "there's still a lot of work for me to do concerning this situation. Hopefully nothing too bad will happen."

Ichigo nodded.
"Sorry for this, but I was wondering… Rukia said that all Shinigami need a blank blade in order to get their sword," he decided that while Rukia was completely unsure about the situation concerning where his sword came from, the man before him may have a better idea.

"Yet you manifested a Zanpakuto without one," the Captain said, his expression soft, "I have a theory concerning that though I will keep it to myself until it's been confirmed one way or another."

Ichigo nodded.

It was pointless for him to try and extract such information from the man. Not when he had already been given a lesson on how to make his sword smaller… and it was looking a bit bigger now.

He refocused on his image of the blade and worked at it again.

Ukitake did say that he would have to practice to make it a subconscious process so it only made sense it would slip on occasion.

A knock sounded on the door and Ichigo turned, surprised that there was someone awake at this time.

"Captain Ukitake, is everything all right?" a pair of voices called from the other side of the door, each sounding as if it was trying to talk over the other.

"Ahaha, yes, everything is fine Kiyone, Sentaro," the jovial man said, "though your timing is perfect. We have a visitor who needs to return to the human world."

The door opened and Ichigo was greeted by the sight of a pair of drastically different Shinigami. One was a petite woman with light brown hair, while the other was a gruff looking man with unruly black hair and a goatee.

The moment they laid eyes on him, they froze, their expressions locked in the same shock that had adorned Ukitake's upon his arrival.

"Kurosaki-san here needs to return to the human world," the Captain spoke, "could you also arrange for someone to take over patrol of Karakura from Rukia as well?"

"O-of course Captain Ukitake," the pair spoke in unison before the girl turned to the man, "I'll arrange for the replacement, you can escort Kurosaki-san to the Senkaimon."

"Yeah," the man agreed before the girl proceeded to leave the area faster than she probably needed to, "if you would please follow me Kurosaki-san."

"Thanks… I guess I'll see you later Ukitake-san," Ichigo said as he proceeded to follow the dark haired man out.

The pair walked in an uncomfortable silence as the man seemed uneasy.

"So, what is it about me that gets those weird reactions from you guys?" he decided to ask, "you, Ukitake-san and that girl you came with all looked like you'd seen a ghost."

"Sorry," the man said before releasing a sigh, "it's just that you're the spitting image of our old Vice Captain."

Well, that was a surprise but at least it explained why they reacted the way they did.

"If you don't mind, I would like to ask a question too," the man spoke formally.

"Go ahead."

"Who are you? What are you doing here and was it you that created that Reiatsu earlier?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo, high school student," he replied easily, "Rukia saved me and my family but there were complications so we both came here to speak with Ukitake-san about it… and I don't know anything about Reiatsu, let alone if I created it."

The man nodded with a frown as he looked him up and down before his face paled.

"You said you are a high school student… that means you're alive," the man said, causing Ichigo to nod, "did Rukia," the man took a deep breath, "did she transfer her powers to you?"

Ichigo nodded, causing the man to grimace.

"How long ago?"

"A couple of days, according to her my power seems to be growing instead of draining," he explained.

"So why is Captain Ukitake sending you back to the human world?"

"I have school tomorrow," Ichigo said with a shrug, "and I think he wants to try and get me a light punishment."

The man nodded.

"Yeah, Captain Ukitake is a good man like that."

Silence fell upon them once again, but at least this time, it wasn't awkward.

XXX

Well, that was easy enough.

Ichigo was grateful that getting back into his body wasn't difficult, though the aching that came from Rukia knocking his soul out and letting his body hit the floor, plus the fact it had been lying there for hours before he returned to it, was annoying.

Worse still, it was nearly morning so he wouldn't even be able to get a decent sleep.

Though he was at least grateful that he didn't seem particularly tired… perhaps being a disembodied soul made sleep unnecessary? Probably not, otherwise Soul Society probably wouldn't have beds like they did.

Oh well, it wasn't worth worrying about.

For now, he just had to wait for the verdict to come down.

Hopefully Rukia would get off lightly.

XXX

Yamamoto listened to the inane mutterings of the Central Forty-Six as they discussed the information in order to come to a verdict.

It had been a meagre two days since Jushiro had approached him about one of the Shinigami in his division transferring their powers to a human.

Though she was a Kuchiki, the current head of the clan refused to interfere in her sentencing.

It was certainly preferable to what the Tsunayashiro had done when one of their own had murdered his wife.

"A Verdict has been reached," one of the figures within the chamber spoke loudly, their tone conveying their experience and authority, "with the information brought to our attention, it has been determined that Kuchiki Rukia is hereby sentenced to ten years in the first level of the Central Prison."

He felt the girl sag in relief as the verdict was presented.

"And the human involved is to be assigned the role of a Substitute Shinigami and used to draw out the first Substitute. Upon their meeting, both are to be terminated," the spokesman declared.

Kuchiki's breath hitched but that was irrelevant.

Yamamoto simply nodded.

He would inform Jushiro of this decision.

The bait needed to remain in the human world in order to lure out the first Substitute. And given the boy was located in an area under his old student's jurisdiction, it only made sense he would be placed in charge of monitoring the boy.

"Dismissed."

The Kuchiki girl was escorted out of the chamber by a pair of Shinigami from his Division. With her sentence decided, she would be immediately processed and placed in containment.

Without any words, he turned and left.

Soon he was out of the chamber, where he was soon joined by the very man he needed to speak with.

"Kuchiki-san was sentenced to ten years," he stated without preamble, earning a nod off the younger man.

"I expected as much," Jushiro admitted, "do they intend on using Kurosaki-san as bait?"

Yamamoto nodded.

"Should he and Ginjo meet, they are both to be eliminated," he stated firmly.

"I'll do what I have to," and with that, his old student proceeded to split off from him.

XXX

An expected outcome.

Ukitake Jushiro had been living in Soul Society long enough to be able to predict that punishment.

Even the point about having to eliminate Kurosaki-san.

It left a sour taste in his mouth.

He hoped that Kurosaki wouldn't turn out like Ginjo had.

Perhaps if he arranged for the boy to receive the appropriate tutelage about Soul Society and its history, he would prove himself to not be a threat and get that particular order revoked.

But he would first need to decide on who to send to oversee Kurosaki.

Oh, of course.

There was someone perfect for the job… perhaps a bit on the weak side but he'd certainly be able to teach the boy and ingratiate him to the Gotei.

The moment he reached his office, he saw Sentaro and Kiyone waiting nervously.

"How did it go Captain?"

He offered a soft smile.

"Rukia has been sentenced to ten years," he admitted, causing the pair to release sighs of relief, "now, can one of you bring Hidetomo to me? I have a job for him."

"Of course Captain!" the pair cried out before practically racing each other to collect the man.

He just hoped he was making the right decision.

And that's it for now.

I will actually put in a little explanation here.

In this idea, Ywach stripped Ichigo of his Quicy powers when his mother died, so they're no longer there.

As such, Ichigo only has White.

On the topic of Rukia not losing all her powers, that is due to a headcanon I have. That headcanon is that the reason Rukia lost her powers completely is because Quincy are basically industrial grade vacuum cleaners for spiritual power, so they kicked in and drained it all.

Again, that is My Headcanon and if you do not agree with it, just accept that it's how I interpret the situation with the lack of decisive proof we have concerning it.

So yeah...

This also means that Ichigo's Zanpakuto is going to manifest differently to canon as well. However how it's Shikai manifests is based on the information from the reforging of the blade and what I believe it should manifest, not what I think 'would be cool'. As for his eventual Bankai... I have an idea for it though it is very possible that the TYBW anime adaptation will change that.

And lastly...

Pairings are undecided outside of who is not going to be with Ichigo. One of the characters who is not getting paired with Ichigo is Rukia (primarily because her dynamic with him reminds me too much of my own with my sister so it feels wrong to me to have them romantically involved).

So...

Shadow Out.