Hello and welcome to chapter 10 and the first chapter where Ichigo and his friends encounter Grand Fisher. For those who have been following since chapter 1, you'll know exactly why Rangiku was sent to the World of the Living in the first place. For those who haven't, well, you can either go back to that chapter or read this and/or the following chapter to find out. This is also the chapter where I reveal the 6th and final member of Ichigo's harem, at least for his main girls. I may include more in the future, but for now, this is it. As I mentioned before, she's an Arrancar and in case the lanky guy I revealed at the end of the last chapter didn't make it obvious enough, this chapter will.

Warning: Violence!

Chapter 10

June 17, Memories in the Rain

In Hueco Mundo, no, in the shadow of a mighty porcelain castle at the center of the desolate desert, a very tall man with a thin and lanky body, black hair that hung past his shoulders to conceal the left side of his face (along with his eye patch), approached a large gate in the castle's walls. Lingering before it were two other individuals. One had four arms and a Hollow mask in the shape of a beak which left only the upper-left quarter of his face visible. The other had a bulky helmet similar in shape to a hammerhead shark with the right-hand side wrapped in cyan bandages, his short gray hair parted along with the gap in his helmet to uncover his grey left eye.

"What are you fools doing here?" said the lanky man, clearly annoyed. Then again, when was he not?

"Master Nnoitora!" the beaked hollow gasped, his eyes wide open with shock. "Grand Fisher waits inside. We were just on our way to give him an assignment."

"I can see that, you idiot," Nnoitora growled. "Now get lost! I'll do that myself…"

The two then moved away while Nnoitora forced the gate open and approached the massive Hollow outside.

"Hello, weakling." said Nnoitora. "You like eating women and children, right? I've got a job for you."

Grand Fisher would've smiled if his mask allowed it. "A job like that? I'm excited already."

Nnoitora smiled and narrowed his eye. "There's more…"

In the World of the Living, Ichigo was sleeping in the bottom bunk with Rangiku and Orihime while Tatsuki slept in the top bunk. Haruko slept in the rollout bed, and Yoruichi slept in her cat form on a cat bed that Isshin got for her (a much thriftier solution for both finances and space management). However, not everyone's sleep was peaceful…

On a rainy day, Ichigo was walking home with his mother near the riverbank when he suddenly spotted what looked like a girl about to fall into the river. The river was flooded and the water was moving so fast that no one could survive if they went in, certainly no one her size.

"Huh? No…!" Young Ichigo ran towards the "girl" even as he found himself internally screaming to get back . "I've gotta save her!"

However, just like before, Ichigo was blind while his mother tried in vain to stop him. "No…! Ichigo…!"

The next thing he knew, Ichigo saw his mother lying on the ground, covered in her own blood.

Ichigo was tossing and turning, even talking in his sleep. "No, don't go…"

This caught the attention of Rangiku and Orihime. Haruko, Tatsuki and Yoruichi heard the commotion, as well.

"Ichigo, what's wrong?" Rangiku shook Ichigo frantically. "Ichigo?!"

It didn't take long for Ichigo to wake up.

Orihime drew herself up above him, the grey cloth of her new nightie (per Ichigo's preferences) gently gliding along Ichigo's arm. "Are you okay?"

Ichigo sat up and panted heavily, with cold sweat covering his head. Not wanting to push it, the girls waited patiently for Ichigo to calm down. Yoruichi already knew what was the problem, but she knew that it wasn't her place to tell the others.

After a minute, Ichigo sighed and hid his eyes beneath his hands. "I'm fine. Sorry if I worried you."

Rangiku saw right through his bluff. No you're not, Ichigo. You must've had a nightmare about your mother's death. You told me that she was killed, but you didn't say how. What aren't you telling us?

Later that day, everyone was nicely dressed and making their way to the cemetery. Ichigo had thrown on a yellow t-shirt with red sleeves and grayish blue jeans. Isshin chose an orange-red long sleeve shirt and black pants, complimenting his son's colors. Karin wore a blue and white t-shirt with tan shorts and a sun visor, while Yuzu had ironed out a hooded yellow dress. Rangiku wore a long sleeve green shirt with an open yellow blouse on top of it and dark red skirt, her usually prominent cleavage concealed. Orihime had a yellow blouse herself, with a purple skirt that reached halfway between her knees and ankles, and Tatsuki wore a long sleeve dark red shirt and greenish gray pants. Haruko donned the outfit she'd worn when she first moved into Kurosaki Clinic and Yoruichi was in her cat form.

They soon reached a slope as the cemetery was up a hill. Karin and Yuzu were in front, followed by Isshin, then Ichigo, then Orihime and Tatsuki, then Haruko, and Rangiku and Yoruichi brought up the rear. Kon and Momone rode in Orihime's bag, just in case they were needed.

Yuzu wasn't pleased by the fact that the path was taking them uphill. "Boy, we're never going to get to the top."

Karin didn't think so. "Speak for yourself. This hill's no problem. And please, don't let Dad hear you say that."

But it was too late as Isshin did hear this. "You can do it, Yuzu! Hang in there!"

Yuzu and Karin looked back and saw that their father was standing on his hands.

"You see? Dad is on your side!"

"Now you've done it," Karin closed her eyes and turned back around. "Just ignore him, or else he'll never stop."

"Oh, that looks like fun!" Orihime remarked. "Let me try!"

But in her eagerness to get up on her hands, Orihime completely forgot that she was wearing a skirt.

"Orihime, stop!"

But it was too late. Orihime stood perfectly up on her hands and… the inevitable happened. Her skirt flew down and covered her upper body, revealing her panties and everything around them. Ichigo looked away and closed his eyes while Tatsuki ran up to Orihime.

"What do you think you're doing, Orihime!" Tatsuki pushed her down on her back. "You're wearing a freaking skirt and you just flashed everyone in sight!"

Orihime got back on her feet and giggled. "Oops, sorry about that. I forgot!"

Tatsuki dipped her head before shaking it. "Honestly, Orihime..."

Everyone else laughed, except for Ichigo. He simply lowered his own head and walked right by them.

His presence was not noticed by the others as he passed by them at first as they were either too busy laughing or, in Tatsuki's (and by extension Karin's) case, dipping and shaking their heads. It didn't help either that Ichigo walked quietly by them so as to not draw attention to himself. It wasn't until Rangiku raised her head to see Ichigo walking by that someone finally noticed. Isshin also noticed. Orihime and Tatsuki soon noticed too when Ichigo placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't do that again."

The laughter died in a heartbeat.

"The Forest of Menos. Never thought I'd be here again."

Silvery pylons stretched from the forest's floor to the solid roof above, beyond which lay the desert surface of Hueco Mundo. Before Grand Fisher could begin his search in earnest, he was blocked by a large grey Hollow with a white shell-like appendage on its back. But this one was no ordinary Adjuchas Hollow.

"The Guardian of the Menos Forest," Grand Fisher said reverently, unused to Hollows who were at once his size but stronger than him.

"What brings you here, Grand Fisher?"

Again, Grand Fisher would've smiled if not for his mask. "I'm hungry, and I know there's a hearty meal nearby."

Elsewhere in the forest, another denizen of Hueco Mundo was hiding her wide hazel eyes with her tiny hands and… counting.

"28, 29, 30! Pesche, Dondochakka! Ready or not, here comes Nel!"

With a speed that seemed a little too fast for her short legs, the girl chose a direction and sprinted off. She paid the humongous tree-like Gillian Hollows no mind, besides checking behind them to see if Pesche or Dondochakka were hiding there.

While walking towards the cemetery, Ichigo couldn't help but take notice of the heat. "Man, it's hot. Even for the middle of June, this kind of heat's a little unusual."

Behind him, Orihime, Tatsuki and Haruko were chatting with each other about some things to try and get their minds off of Ichigo's problem. But as hard as they tried, it always ended the same, with their thoughts going back to what was going on.

"Tatsuki, Orihime here said that you've known Ichigo for a long time," said Haruko. "Care to elaborate for me?"

Tatsuki nodded solemnly. "The first time I saw him, we were both only four. I was at the dojo where I started my training, and I saw him come in for the first time. He was holding his mother's hand. But what I noticed most was his incredible orange hair, and his big, goofy grin. I knew right away he wouldn't last too long. He was just too skinny and weak. In fact, in our first match, I made him cry with a single punch. I just reached out and poked him with a soft one, and that was all she wrote. One quick shot and he was down for the count."

"Really, that's all it took?" Haruko asked.

"Yep, and he cried every time he lost," Tatsuki smirked.

Haruko looked at Ichigo, then back at Tatsuki. "With what I've seen since I've known him, that's hard to believe."

"I'll get to that in a bit." Tatsuki got back to her story. "Anyway, after each time that happened, the most amazing thing would always follow. When his mom would come to pick him up, even if he was still sobbing, as soon as he saw her, that big smile would break out across his face again. He was such a baby. I mean, what kind of a kid smiles when he's just lost a fight? I didn't get it."

Tatsuki placed her right hand onto her forehead. "Here was this total wimp, just a complete momma's boy, and yet he seemed to be so happy all the time, like life was just one big ride, no worries at all. He was happy as a clam because of his mom."

Orihime bit her lip while Haruko simply looked down.

"Something tells me that that phase did not last long," said the former office lady.

"And you're right, Haruko." Tatsuki's tone of voice grew grim. "When we were nine… she died."

"Oh…" Orihime and Haruko both said at once. After all, both had lost someone precious to them, Sora for Orihime and Ken for Haruko.

Tatsuki continued her story. "He didn't come to school that day, of course. I was kinda worried because no one seemed to know where he was or if he was okay. It seemed so unfair. No nine-year-old kid can handle that kind of grief alone. So I went looking for him everywhere I thought he might have gone. I finally found him by the river, right where his mother had died, just wandering around in circles. He'd crouch down when he got tired, then he'd get up and keep walking. For days I watched him. He did that from morning till night, like he was waiting for her to come back."

Tatsuki's hands gently closed into fists. "I hated seeing him that way. The happy Ichigo was gone. Of course, it's only now that I found out that she was actually killed."

"That's so sad," Orihime lamented. Sora's death had been bad enough, but she was glad he'd gone relatively peacefully. "But who or what could have killed her?"

"Could it have been a Hollow, like what happened with Ken," Haruko guessed.

Tatsuki dismissed that idea. "It could have been that serial killer who eventually became the Shrieker, like what happened to Yuichi."

"Perhaps it was just a freak accident like what happened with my brother," Orihime guessed.

"No, but whatever it was, I think we should drop the subject." Tatsuki crossed her arms and placed them on the back of her head. "It's a touchy subject for Ichigo and his family and I for one don't want to upset them."

Haruko and Orihime agreed.

"Hey!"

The three looked and saw Ichigo standing right in front of them.

"Ichigo!"

"You know I can hear you talking," Ichigo told them. "There was no freak accident, no serial killer, and definitely no freaking Hollow that day, alright?!"

Tatsuki wasn't taking any of this. "No need to lose your cool, Ichigo!"

"Just shut up," Ichigo grunted. "You'll never understand, what I have to live with every single day."

Ichigo was about to say something else when Rangiku slapped him across the face, catching everyone off guard.

"That's enough, Ichigo!"

Ichigo nursed his cheek and turned his glare towards Rangiku. "Yeah? What?"

"Maybe we can understand, maybe we can't, but no one can understand someone when they don't explain themselves," Rangiku told him. "You want to bottle up your feelings? Fine. But don't you dare give anyone grief for not understanding when you won't even give them enough to get it. Got it? If you want help, we're all here, ears and eyes open."

But Ichigo just scoffed and turned away. "No one can help me. All of the usual suspects, like Hollows, serial killers, thugs, they're not to blame. And it was definitely no accident."

"Then tell us, Ichigo," said Rangiku. "Who or what was responsible for your mother's death?"

Ichigo took a deep breath before answering bluntly, "I am."

Half a dozen gasps followed.

"And I need to be alone."

Ichigo ran off. Orihime wanted to follow him.

"Ichigo!"

"Let him go." Yoruichi leapt in front of her, her small form nearly causing Orihime to trip. "He needs time to cool down."

"But how could he be responsible for his mother's death?" Haruko asked.

"I don't think that's the case." Tatsuki looked on as Ichigo vanished over the hill. "There's something he's not telling us, or perhaps he's told himself that so much that now he believes it. Either way, he's not in the mood to talk, so let's leave him be."

Rangiku, however, decided otherwise. She was a Soul Reaper. By default, that meant she helped people move on.

"You girls go on. I'm going after Ichigo."

"Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"Ichigo needs help, whether he's willing to admit it or not."

In the Soul Society, there was a short male Soul Reaper with turquoise eyes and short spiky white hair wearing the traditional black robes with a sleeveless white haori on top of it and a green sash around his shoulders, held together by a round star-like clip. This sash held his Zanpakutō's sheath in place on his back and was tied to it at either end.

This Soul Reaper was sitting at a desk filing paperwork which never seemed to end, much to his annoyance. "What the hell is Rangiku doing in the World of the Living? First a Hollow damages a local clinic, then another Hollow destroys an apartment, and not a single word about the Grand Fisher! I know she's lazy, but she should've reported by now!"

Suddenly, a messenger came in. "Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Sir!"

Tōshirō was annoyed. "I told you to just call me Captain Hitsugaya!"

"Sorry sir," said the messenger, "but we've received information regarding Lieutenant Matsumoto's activity in the World of the Living."

Ichigo found himself near some stairs beneath a grove of trees after his blow out at the girls. By now, he had cooled down, but was still upset and had a glum expression.

"Ichigo?"

"Huh?" Ichigo looked and saw Rangiku standing above him. "Rangiku?"

"Are you okay?"

Ichigo took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about my reaction back there."

Rangiku crossed her arms. "It's not just me you should be apologizing to."

Ichigo sighed. "Yeah, I know…"

"And, sorry about the slap."

"You don't have anything to apologize for. I deserved it."

Rangiku closed her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking again. "Listen Ichigo, I know it's none of my business, and I'm probably being insensitive right now, but how did your mother die?"

Right away, he tensed up.

"You said that she was killed, and that you were the reason, but what did you mean by that?" Rangiku then noticed Ichigo hiding his face by looking away . "It's okay. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

Rangiku turned to walk away and give Ichigo his space, but soon found her wrist caught by his hand.

"If you really want to know…" Ichigo began, then swallowed. "Today, 6 years ago; it started off as a normal rainy day. My mother was picking me up after my training at a dojo that Tatsuki and I trained at as kids. She'd often take me down, but that day I finally won a point from her…"

"Goodbye, Tatsuki."

"Bye, Ichigo. See you tomorrow."

Ichigo and his mother were walking home in the rain. Ichigo was wearing a yellow raincoat and carrying a small umbrella. Masaki simply carried a big umbrella, no raincoat. As Ichigo got close to the curve, a truck rushed by and splashed water from a puddle in the street onto him.

Naturally, Masaki came to her son's aid. "Oh, that careless driver. Let me see you. Are you alright?"

Masaki cleaned Ichigo's face with the skirt of her dress. "Let me switch places with you and walk next to the street so that doesn't happen again."

But Ichigo shrugged off the offer. "Nah, you don't have to do that. I'm the one with the raincoat on, so I don't mind. Let me protect you from stuff like that, okay?"

"My son, ever the hero," Masaki giggled. "That's very sweet, but before you worry about protecting me, I think you should work on protecting yourself from that Tatsuki."

"Come on!" Ichigo protested. "I won a point from her the last time."

Masaki chuckled as she finished cleaning her son. "There you go. You're all cleaned up now. Let's go, and I'll walk on the street side this time."

As Masaki started to walk, Ichigo called out to her very innocently, "Hey, Mom, can I– can I hold your hand, please?"

Masaki giggled again and turned her palm towards her son, waggling her fingers. "Why, of course you can."

"I loved my mother so much, and I always felt safe as long as she was with me," Ichigo explained.

Rangiku nodded her head, gently rubbing the hand that still held her wrist. "What happened?"

Ichigo took another deep breath before continuing, "We were walking by the river when I saw something, or someone I guess. Back then, I didn't know I was seeing ghosts. I couldn't tell the difference between the living and the dead."

A girl with short hair was standing next to the river's edge. Due to the rain, the river was flooded and moving very fast. Anyone who would go into that would surely drown.

"Hmm? What's that girl doing?"

Said girl then started to teeter and fall into the river.

Acting on instinct, Ichigo let go of his mother's hand and ran right towards the girl to stop her. "Ah– I'll be right back!"

"Ichigo, where are you going?!" Masaki shouted before noticing something her son didn't notice. "No, Ichigo, stop!"

But it was no use. Ichigo reached for the girl's clothing to try and pull her away from the river, but just as he did that, said girl vanished.

The next thing he knew, Ichigo was waking up to a horrifying sight. Lying on top of him was his mother, her eyes as cold and dull as the concrete he felt beneath his back.. Ichigo was left crying "Mom? Mom!" over and over again as he tried to rouse her lifeless corpse.

"When I was little, my dad told me that my name meant 'he who protects'," Ichigo explained. "Up until then, I'd just wanted to protect my mother and my sisters. But that day, I knew I was meant to protect that little girl, too. That's all I was trying to do. But instead, my mom died trying to protect me from going into the river."

Rangiku by now noticed Ichigo was trembling.

"I never saw what caused it and I never saw it coming," Ichigo sobbed. "But I knew when I looked at her, that my mom was dead. That little girl was gone."

Rangiku guided his hand to her chest, then his head. She could see his face, turned to the side as it was. There was nothing sensual about this embrace. So many things were beginning to make sense about Ichigo, from his abrasive nature to his diehard commitment to the Soul Reaper duties, duties that had basically been forced upon him. All of it was a balm for this pain, this terrible pain, that Rangiku was only beginning to comprehend. "You poor thing."

"I remember thinking: how was I ever going to explain what had happened to Karin and Yuzu?" Ichigo croaked, tears beginning to soak the shirt of his mentor-turned-roommate. "We all loved my mom. She was always the center of our universe, the heart of our family."

Ichigo then started crying, bawling, as he slumped to the ground and took Rangiku with him. "And that heart was cut out– by me."

Rangiku reached around him and turned his head into her bosom, allowing him to use it as if it were a pillow. Nothing more was said as Rangiku rubbed the back of Ichigo's head. After everything he'd been through, especially in the last few minutes, a strong guy like him needed a good cry.

Nel was still looking for Pesche and Dondochakka. She had been searching for them for a while and by now she was lost.

"This isn't fun anymore!" she called, hoping they'd hear. "Nel should've found you by now!"

Suddenly, Nel heard a loud roar which scared her. "What's that!"

Next thing she knew, another girl appeared out of nowhere. This girl had short black hair and pale skin that caught her attention.

Nel called out, "Excuse me? Have you seen Nel's brothers?"

But the girl gave no answer. Instead, she turned around and started walking away.

"Hey, where are you going? Wait for Nel!" Nel followed this strange girl through the forest.

After walking for too long through the silver trees, plus a few Gillians still not bothering Nel, the girl disappeared, much to Nel's confusion. "Where'd she go?"

Even in the dim light of the forest, Nel still saw the shadow of the large Hollow looming right behind her.

"You want to know?" it said. "Here, I'll show you!"

Nel froze in terror upon seeing Grand Fisher open his mouth. She screamed as he lunged.

In the World of the living, Karin and Yuzu were in front of their mother's grave, Karin was standing with her hands together while Yuzu sat on her legs. Right behind them were Orihime, Tatsuki, and Haruko, while Yoruichi was sitting atop another gravestone.

"So this is where your mother is buried," said Orihime.

"Yeah," Karin nodded. "It's been a while since the last time we came here, to be honest."

"Must have been pretty hard for you," Tatsuki sympathized.

Karin nodded. "It was at first. But, I've gotten over it by now–"

Karin cut herself off when she heard Yuzu crying. "Hm?"

Everyone turned their attention to Yuzu, who had her face covered by her hands and knees as she sobbed.

Karin kneeled down and told her sister, "Hey, you can't keep bursting into tears everytime we come here, you know. We're 11 years old. We're big kids now, for crying out loud."

Yuzu looked up at her sister, her eyes still full of tears, and told her, "I know, but this place just makes me sad."

"Oh, geeze. Are you sure you're really my sister?"

"I'll cheer you two up," Isshin called out before doing some funny dances, much to the confusion of Haruko, the amusement of Orihime and Yoruichi, and the annoyance of Karin and Tatsuki. "It's time for the annual Kurosaki family headstone leaping and incense eating competition, so let's get–"

Karin kicked him in the cheek, sending him flying. "You win for most annoying dad of the year."

Now Tatsuki laughed. "Good air time, Karin."

"Thank you, Tatsuki." Karin smirked. "I get plenty of practice with a father like him."

Tatsuki crossed her arms. "He's lucky that it wasn't me who kicked him. I would have sent him clear to the moon."

Karin laughed. "Now that would be a sight."

Isshin got back up and started again. "Here we go. Loser's gotta wash my feet!"

Isshin then started chasing Karin.

"No! Get away from me, you old goat!"

"Father knows best, Karin!"

Tatsuki rolled her eyes and jogged behind, if for no other reason than to rescue Karin when Isshin's longer legs finally closed the distance.

As that was going on, Orihime comforted Yuzu. "It's okay Yuzu."

Yuzu looked at Orihime, her face still full of mournful wetness. "Is it really?"

Then, an idea flew into Orihime's head. "Here, you can use my chest as a pillow."

Orihime pulled Yuzu's head into her bosom and the young Kurosaki used it as a pillow to cry in. The orange-haired princess was unaware that a certain Soul Reaper was doing the exact same thing with Ichigo.

Kon and Momone popped their plushy heads out of Orihime's bag and saw what was going on. Normally, Kon would have been jealous of whoever was that close to Orihime's big boobs that wasn't him, but seeing the tears running down her face and having heard everything beforehand, he felt sorry for Yuzu.

"Poor thing."

"Maybe I should snuggle up to her and let her hold us for a while," Momone suggested.

"I think we should just let Orihime handle this for now," Kon pointed out, to his own mild surprise as much as Momone's.

Haruko got a good look at the gravestone and saw the name inscripted on it, recognizing the name instantly. I knew it.

Meanwhile, Ichigo finally calmed down and pulled away from Rangiku. "Sorry about the waterworks."

"Will you stop being like that, Ichigo?" Rangiku reassured him. "Sometimes there are things no one can deal with, especially on their own. But you can't just bottle up your feelings, and you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened."

This caught Ichigo's attention. "What do you mean?"

"Sometimes, things happen that are just out of our control, and the people around us can pay the price," Rangiku explained. "Sometimes they're minor and sometimes they're major. In your mother's case, it was major. But beating yourself up won't fix anything and it certainly won't make you feel any better."

Ichigo wanted to protest against Rangiku, but after thinking about it, he knew that she was right. However, that alone wasn't enough.

"Why- Why don't my sisters and my father blame me for my mother's death?"

Rangiku raised an eyebrow. "What, do you want them to blame you?"

"No! Of course not," Ichigo clarified. "It's just that… It'd be a lot easier to understand if they all just blamed me! I can understand you, Orihime, Yoruichi, Tatsuki, and Haruko, but I can't understand why my sisters or my father don't blame me! I can't take it! I can't!"

Rangiku took a deep breath. "You'll have to ask your father about that Ichigo. I don't have the answer."

But Ichigo suddenly went to another question. "And why-why didn't my dad show up to save me and my mom? If he's a Soul Reaper, he could have-"

"I don't know, Ichigo! I don't know. But when I saw him the day after we met, I didn't sense his Soul Reaper powers. He probably lost them prior to what happened that day. Besides, since when did you start blaming your father?"

Ichigo was at a complete loss for words.

Suddenly, they heard a voice. "Well, well!"

Rangiku jumped as she recognized the voice. She turned to the right and saw her captain, Tōshirō standing right there just three meters away, not looking too pleased.

"So you've been socializing with humans instead of tracking down Grand Fisher all this time, have you?"

"Captain!" Rangiku gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here because someone hasn't been doing their job properly," Tōshirō told her.

Rangiku giggled nervously. "Well, um, I can explain."

Ichigo got in the way. "Hey kid, who the hell are you?"

Tōshirō ground his teeth at the slight, but kept his composure. "I'm Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Captain of Squad 10."

"My captain," Rangiku added.

Ichigo looked at Rangiku, right as his brain registered what he'd heard and forced him to do a double take. "Wait, you're a captain?"

"That's right," Tōshirō nodded, still glowering at him.

There was a moment of silence, until Ichigo burst out laughing. Rangiku would've been happy for his newfound good mood, if not for the reason why.

At Masaki's grave, Yuzu finally calmed down and pulled away from Orihime. "Thanks, Orihime. I needed that."

"I was glad to help," Orihime smiled softly. "Though, my dress might need to dry off."

Yuzu giggled awkwardly. "Sorry about that."

Karin reappeared. "I see you've finally calmed down."

"Yeah." Yuzu wiped her eyes. "But, where's Dad?"

"He went to talk to the cemetery director," Karin told her.

Suddenly, Haruto took notice of something. While she didn't see it, she could feel it. Her sixth sense pointed her gaze towards the sky where she saw something occurring.

"Holy smoke!"

Everyone looked up and saw a featureless black void opening up in the sky and a small child came falling out of it, balling her eyes out. Naturally, everyone scrambled to try and catch her, but the kid suddenly accelerated her speed and crash landed into the ground. Fortunately, she missed hitting any of the graves.

Unfortunately, she landed headfirst on the pavement.

Ichigo finally finished laughing and regained his composure.

Tōshirō cleared his throat. "Are we ready to act like adults now?"

"Yeah, sorry about that." Ichigo tried to hold it in, his crooked tight-lipped smile barely allowing it. "But I just can't get over the idea of a grade schooler being Rangiku's captain."

Tōshirō wasn't amused. "Who said I was in grade school?"

"Wait, you're not?"

Now it was Rangiku's turn to laugh. "Ichigo, you're getting me in hot water here!"

"Look, I don't know who you are, but I'll have you know…" Toshiro inhaled before shouting at the top of his lungs, "I AM NOT A LITTLE KID!"

At Masaki's grave, the others heard the loud shout.

"Who was that?" Yuzu asked.

"Don't worry about it," Karin waved it off. "Right now, we have to figure out what's up with this girl."

Orihime was the one who picked up the kid from the crater, but Haruko noticed something that the others didn't, not at first.

A Hollow mask? Could she be an Arrancar? She looks too human to be a normal Hollow.

"Are you okay, miss?" Orihime shook the kid a little.

The kid, whose face was covered in blood, opened her eyes and looked at her new surroundings. "Where's Nel? This doesn't look like... Is Nel in the human world?"

"Nel, is that your name?" Tatsuki asked.

Suddenly, something else made its presence known.

"There you are," it gurgled hungrily.

Back in the trees, Ichigo introduced himself. "Oh yeah, that's right. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Soul Reaper."

This caught Tōshirō's attention. "Rangiku, you-! Tell me you didn't do what I think you did!"

Rangiku was reluctant to admit it, but she knew her captain wouldn't buy any lies. "I can explain…"

Before Rangiku could prepare her explanation, her Soul Phone beeped. Taking it out of her pocket, she noticed what was going on. What caught her attention was that there were two Hollows nearby.

"Well?!" her captain demanded.

"It's a Hollow," Rangiku answered. "No, two Hollows!"

"Where are they?"

"They're close, and they're both big," Rangiku answered. "I recognize one of them, but the other's a new one. Could one of them be…"

"Could one of them be what?" Ichigo asked.

"We'll worry about that later, Ichigo!" Rangiku exclaimed. "The others might be in danger!"

At Masaki's grave, the others came face to face with Grand Fisher, whom Haruko recognized instantly, but widened her eyes as opposed to narrowing them to try to keep that bit hidden.

Grand Fisher!

"I came here looking for a meal and found a feast." Grand Fisher's skeletal mouth parted and his disgusting tongue licked his exposed teeth. "A trio of Soul Reapers, a pair of Fullbringers, a Quincy, and an Arrancar. And that's not even mentioning the two Mod Souls."

Orihime and Tatsuki were both confused, though still terrified.

"A Quincy?"

"What's a Quincy?"

Damn it, Haruko cursed herself. I can't reveal my identity as a Quincy yet, but I'll have to attack! If I don't, Grand Fisher will eat all of us!

Oh great, Yoruichi cursed herself. Well, I guess that means Haruko is a Quincy, but I'll need to reveal myself. I just hope Ichigo and Rangiku get back here soon.

"Don't look so scared, not yet. I'm going to have you keep me company for a while," Grand Fisher told them. "The bigger the bait, the bigger the catch."

But Yuzu couldn't see what the others were seeing. "What do you see?"

Haruko turned to the two Mod Souls. "Kon, Momone, go find Ichigo and Rangiku! Quick!"

Understanding the situation, both Mod Souls jumped out of the bag to find their corresponding Soul Reapers.

Tatsuki took up a stance against Grand Fisher. "Listen, buster, I don't know who you think you are, but you just picked the wrong fight. See, we have this long standing arrangement. Anyone who tries to hurt Orihime gets the crap beat out of them, by me."

While impressed with her bravery, Haruko knew better. Tatsuki, what are you doing?

Grand Fisher was amused. "Is that right? Well then, how about I skip the wait and eat you now?"

Tatsuki's eyes widened as she realized what she just got herself into. Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut.

Everyone gasped as Grand Fisher's claws grew meters in length to pierce right through Tatsuki. Moments later, Grand Fisher retracted those claws and Tatsuki slumped to the ground in a fountain of blood

Orihime covered her mouth with her hands, unable to process what had happened. "TATSUKI!"

And that was chapter 10 and OH MY GOSH! Did I just kill off Tatsuki?

Anyway yeah, this chapter got really emotional for Ichigo since not only was he trying to adjust to his new life with his girls, but now the memory of his late mother was making it difficult for him to accept any help. Rangiku managed to calm him down and hopefully he'll be in better shape since now he has to protect the others from the very monster responsible for causing his mother's death. And for those who recall, Grand Fisher is also the reason Rangiku came to the World of the Living.

So yeah as you can see, the 6th girl in Ichigo's harem is Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. Now I understand that some of you believed that it was Tier Harribel and that might have seemed obvious, but it was wrong. As you can see, the lanky guy was Nnoitora Gilga and he pretty much sent Grand Fisher after Nel in order to kill her. I kinda figured his presence at the end of the last chapter would have given a hint, but apparently, that wasn't the case. Oh well...

Now the next chapter will have everyone basically hold their own against the Grand Fisher and we'll find out about Tatsuki's fate, or those who don't already know.

Chapter 11: Unbeatable Enemy