Ichigo's breath catches in his throat as the Shinigami confirms what he had only just put together for himself, and then he glances down at Yuzu's muted red and blue form, his mind reeling. "He was after me…?" His sisters are hurt and bleeding, and his dad's over there dying all because of him? "All of this is my fault?"

"Wait, that is not what I meant-" the Shinigami starts to say, her voice laced with worry, but her words are cut short by a heavy, meaty thud. He's familiar enough with the sound to know that she's been hit, and the sickening crack that quickly follows from her being sent into the concrete wall across the roadway has him looking up from Yuzu's form again.

The large black mass that is the hollow stands directly in front of him, and Ichigo knows what he must do if he wants his family to survive. He moves Yuzu off of his lap as gently as he is able to in this situation and then stands up. "I've just about had enough of you," he mutters as he steps over Yuzu and drops into a basic ready stance. "If you want my soul so damn badly then fight me for it like a man!"

"You fool!" the Shinigami cries out right as the hollow lets out a roar and then lunges at him. The petite red shape of the Shinigami suddenly appears in front of him, just like before, and there comes a sound that unsettles him. The distinctively wet sound of flesh being torn open.

The Shinigami doesn't even cry out as the hollow bites into her, taking almost all of her torso into its mouth. The only thing that stops it from sinking its teeth clean through her is her sword wedged between its teeth, the pain of which causes it to spit her out just as quickly as it had bitten her. She immediately drops to her knees and then, after a second, falls forward onto the asphalt, all while the hollow rears back with a screech.

"Shinigami!" Ichigo cries out, and he drops down onto a knee beside the Shinigami. He can just make out her ragged breaths, and her form shifts slightly as she looks at him.

"You fool," she pants out, her voice pained. "Did you think it would be over once you gave it your soul?"

Ichigo frowns at the question and then gives a shake of his head. "Why would I just give that thing my soul? I was going to fight it," he says, only to pause as he realizes that this might be something he can't fight.

"You…were going to fight it?" the Shinigami asks, sounding surprised, and then she starts to push herself up onto her side. "That would be suicide for you as you are," she grits out, and she rolls onto her back and leverages herself against the curb just enough to sit up. "But there is a way for you to fight it."

"Just tell me how! I'll do anything!" Ichigo insists, and the Shinigami lifts her sword.

"In order to fight the hollow, you must become a Shinigami yourself," she states as she points her sword at him, and it just sounds crazy.

"What are you saying? I can't be a-"

"You can!" the Shinigami interrupts, and she lowers her sword onto her lap. At least he's pretty sure that's what she does. "Place the point of my Zanpakutō over your heart, and I will infuse you with half of my Shinigami powers—my reiryoku," she instructs and makes a weak motion with her Zanpakutō that he can't really make out. "You will temporarily have the powers of a Shinigami, which will give you a chance against the hollow."

"Are you sure?" Something like this shouldn't work, right? "Is this something you can do?"

"I don't know," the Shinigami starts off with, and it becomes clear that this is something she's never done before. "Your soul is quite powerful, but the chance of success is low and if we fail, you die!" He doesn't really like those kind of odds but… "There's really no other way, nor is there any time to ponder it!"

He hesitates, if only because it really is a do-or-die situation, and then comes the soft call of, "…Ichigo…" He stands and looks over in Yuzu's direction to find her right where he left her. "Where are you…?" For a second he thinks she might have woken up, but there's no movement from her.

"Yuzu…"

She doesn't answer him and she remains unmoving, so she's definitely still unconscious. "Don't come… danger… run… Ichigo…" And still concerned for his safety.

What kind of brother would he be if he ran away from this just because there is a chance he can die? 'I'd have to be a real punk to do that!' He thinks to himself and turns to face the Shinigami again. "Gimme the sword, Shinigami! We'll give your plan a try!"

"Not Shinigami," the Shinigami says, her tone a little lighter than before. "I am Kuchiki Rukia."

"Kurosaki Ichigo, nice to meet ya," he responds as Rukia clambers to her feet. "Let's pray this won't be our last meeting."

Behind her, the hollow roars, having finally recovered from the wound to its mouth, and Rukia steadies herself and then brings up her Zanpakutō. "We must hurry," she urges, holding her Zanpakutō out and it sways unsteadily.

Ichigo grabs it by the blade, noting that it is cold to the touch, to help steady it, and then places the tip of it directly over his heart.

"Ready?" Rukia asks in a low voice.

"Yes," Ichigo answers, and with his response, Rukia pushes the Zanpakutō through him. It hurts, of course, being stabbed through the heart, but the pain quickly vanishes as something inside of him seems to explode with the influx of Rukia's reiryoku. And with this explosive release, it's like the world around him is suddenly bathed in…not necessarily light, but he can now make out the road, the curb, and the features of Rukia's face instead of the colored shapes in a void of darkness like it was before.

He doesn't stop to marvel at his sudden ability to see, even if it's in varying degrees of darkness and the red of Rukia and the mix of blue and red from Yuzu. He'll ponder on it later, after he's taken care of this damned hollow, which admittedly looks strange in his new sight, and with barely even a thought he moves.