A little bit of everything
an excerpt

It was dark outside, and Ichigo stood shivering in his light coat. He was supposed to be meeting Rukia, getting information on the current situation, but so far, the female shinigami was no where to be found. Dammit. Ichigo muttered to himself, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Why is she always late? He scowled, and his eyes did a three-sixty, looking for the petite, black haired girl. She was almost a half-hour late, and Ichigo was thinking about just giving up on her and heading home. He didn't want to catch cold because that girl just couldn't be on time.
“Ichigo!” He jumped at the sound of his name. He turned to look to his right, seeing a girl dressed in a striped dress, running towards him, a phone flipped open in her right hand. “Ichigo!” She yelled again. This was Kuchiki Rukia, a shinigami of the thirteenth squad, of the thirteen protection groups.
“What is it?” Ichigo asked, getting worried. “Is it a hollow?” He took his hands out of his pockets, ready to change quickly if he needed to.
“No. Not a hollow! Arrancar! Espadas!”
“What?!” Ichigo's face hardened. “Where?”
“By the river bank, under the bridge!”
“Alright! Let's go!” Ichigo quickly got himself out of his physical body, so he could wander around in his spirit form...
WAIT. Before we get into all that, there are a few things that need to be explained first, so we're going to back up a couple of months. Kurosaki Ichigo, a fifteen year old high school student, with you're somewhat average life. Well, with the small exception that he can see the ghosts of people who still have attachments to the world. He'd always been able to do it. But just recently, everything had come into a more clear view. He could feel them, see them, touch and talk to them. He had never been able to do that before. He was kind to the younger ones, bringing them flowers, and other things that he could place next to the place they were so desperately attached to. To the older ones, he would stay and talk, listen to them talking about all the interesting people that passed, and the things they heard. Ichigo was kind enough to stand and listen to them, nodding once in awhile, and even laughing and answering back. That's all those poor souls wanted, other than to be able to go to heaven, or in this case, Soul Society. They just wanted company.
Anyway, aside from all that, he wasn't that average looking either. He had shocking orange hair, like the leaves you see on the trees during the fall. His eyes were a dark brown, and always seemed to be either scowling, or distant. He wasn't as emotional as most people. He had secluded himself, hiding away in his own little world. He was maybe 5'7” inches tall, one of the tallest in his class. Ichigo had a muscular build, and a strong mind. But he always thought with his gut, and never his head so when he was little, he was constantly getting beaten up because of his hair color, and back then, he was a crybaby. If anyone did anything to him, he would start crying and whining, but as soon as his mom showed up, he would smile a large, childlike smile. And then, when he was only 7 years old, she died, being killed by some unknown force. Well, at the time it had been, though, that's a whole different story.
All that had been normal, until one day, he saw this huge monster in town, chasing after this ghost that he had known. Ichigo hadn't known what it was. It was shaped like a worm, but a thousand times bigger, and right in the middle of it's chest, was a hole where the heart should have been. Ichigo had stared at it, incredulous, his eyes wide, and his mind racing. He wanted to know what the hell it was, and why the hell it was chasing after him.
Of course, the others around him didn't see the huge monster like thing chasing after him, deaf to its roar. And they didn't notice the strange girl in a black kimono, chasing after it, her hand at her hip, just about to draw something that hung loosely around her hip. Ichigo had stopped dead in his tracks to watch the girl as she drew a long sword from her hip, and cut the thing, right down it's middle, cutting through the hole in its chest. And right before his eyes, the monster was gone, replaced by a small, blood red butterfly that was flying towards the sky. Ichigo had ignored it... Kind of. He still wondered who that had been, and why she was wearing such strange clothes out in the middle of town.
Later that evening, that same person came to his house, and entered his room, and stared at him. She was completely oblivious to the fact that he could see her, clear as day, unlike the rest of the world. “Who is this? Why didn't he run when he saw that hollow?” She asked herself.
“Who are you?” Ichigo demanded from her. She ignored him.
“Hmm.... I wonder. I don't feel any spiritual power coming from him so he couldn't have seen it.” She pondered this while still looking at Ichigo. “Ah well. He's just human. He can't see me.”
“Who are you?” Ichigo demanded again, still staring at her from his place on the floor. Not that he had been there when she came. She'd come so suddenly, he had been so startled, he had fallen and landed on the floor.
She seemed to have noticed this time. She turned to him and said, “You can see me?”
“No shit. You think? I've been watching the whole time you've been here. That's considered breaking and entering you know.” Ichigo stared at her, a scowl on his face.
She continued to stare at him, a dumbfounded look plastered to her face. “If you can see me... That means you saw that hollow earlier?”
“You mean that monster thing that was trying to eat that spirit? Yeah. I saw it. So what?”
That's strange, she thought to herself. He has no spiritual energy, and yet, he can see me, a shinigami, and that monster, a hollow?
“What are you?” Ichigo asked her.
“A shinigami. A death god from Soul Society, here to look after the town for awhile. We've seen a recent increase in Hollows and they need to be destroyed quickly.”
“Hollow?” Ichigo asked, curiosity tugging at him. “What the hell is that?”
The shinigami smiled and pulled out a sketch pad, with a maker, out of nowhere. “Now a hollow is a soul whose 'spirit chain' has been torn from it's body, leaving a hole in it's chest. It then becomes a hollow, hiding in between Earth and the Soul Society, known to you as heaven.” She continued to explain, using pictures as an aid. The pictures only confused Ichigo more.
He dared to ask at one point, “Yeah, I understand, but what's with the sucky pictures?” He found his face being implanted with a foot.
“Do you get it?” She had asked him, a hostile air about her now.
“Yeah I get it. Didn't I already say that?” She just stared at him, her face scrunched into an angered glare. She didn't like this man so much. He was annoying, arrogant, and as much as she hated to admit it, he was kind of cute. Ichigo waited for her answer, until he heard the earsplitting cry, from something that couldn't be human.
Maybe this is what she was talking about? Ichigo thought to himself, and in his desperate attempts he called out, “Shinigami, did you hear that?Hey you! Can't you hear that?” The shinigami ignored him and continued to look at the man sitting on the floor. She couldn't quite understand why he could see her. No spirit power of any sort, an average human being. Nothing out of the ordinary. “Dammit listen to me!” Ichigo cried. “Can't you hear that... That thing?!”
She looked him and said, “Shut up you. I'm trying to-” She stopped mid-sentence, as a sudden wave of spiritual energy washed over her. “Is that a hollow?” She asked herself, her eyes wide. She was so intent in listening to the monster like thing, that she jumped when she heard one of Ichigo's sister's scream.
“Yuzu!” Ichigo said, panicking. He jumped up, prepared to go storming out of the room, but suddenly, he found himself being bound together by some unknown force. “What are you doing?” He yelled, spat, at the shinigami. “Didn't you hear that! My sister might be hurt!”
“You're not strong enough. You're just a human.”
“I don't care! She's my sister! She might be hurt!” Ichigo said, trying to sit up.
“You're not going to be able to do anything. That thing is HUGE. Don't you understand that? You're likely to die if you go out there!” Ichigo glared at her, about to answer back, when both of their heads snapped to look at the door.
Yuzu stood bleeding against the door frame, saying, “Ichi-nii, help me. Karin... She's in trouble.” Ichigo's eyes widened. “She needs help Ichi-nii! I think she's hur-” Her body slumped against the door frame, as a hand of some unknown creature pushed her down, using it's huge, muscular hands. Ichigo struggled against the invisible restraints.
“Goddammit! Let me out of this! I have to save my family!” Ichigo voiced, veins popping from his arms as he struggled. The shinigami ignored him. She was staring out the door, her eyes wide, and her body shaking slightly. And then suddenly, she was gone, flying down the stairs, her clothes billowing out behind her. Ichigo screamed after her, “Let me go first! I can't save my family like this! DAMMIT!” He forced himself into a sitting position on his knees, and then threw himself sidewards so he could roll down the stairs and into the entry way. The black haired girl was staring out of the house, staring at a huge hollow, in it's hand, Ichigo's younger sister Karin. The hollow was choking her, holding her tightly in it's large, beastly hands.
“Karin?” Ichigo's face hardened. And suddenly, he was pushing with all his might, sitting on his knees, against the restraints, his veins just about popping.
“Don't!” The shinigami ordered. “You're going to damage your body that way! That's demon binding spell! Only I can release it! If you do that, you'll over strain your body!” Ichigo ignored her, still straining until finally, the restraints broke, and he was set free. The girls eyes went even wider. A human, a pitiful human, had just broken the restraints on a binding spell? There was no way. That wasn't possible with a normal humans strength. And that's when she would learn that Kurosaki Ichigo, was no normal human being.
Ichigo, as soon as he could move freely again, ran from the house, and into the street where the hollow still strangled the young girl. The hollow was laughing as it squeezed the life out of her, completely ignoring the orange haired boy until he shouted out, “Let go of her! You can have me instead!” The hollow stopped laughing and looked down at Ichigo, back at Karin, and then back at Ichigo again, throwing Karin aside. She hit the ground, skidding about 15 feet sidewards, into the side of the house.
“Heh heh heh. You smell juicy boy.” The hollow said, it's voice grating to Ichigo's ears.
“What the hell do you want you ugly bastard?” Ichigo asked it, his face hard, his body tense.
“Ugly bastard? Such harsh words, coming from one so insignificant compared to me.” The hollow laughed. “I have a deal for you boy. If you let me eat you, I'll eat just one other family member!”
“What bullshit is that?” Ichigo spat in the hollows face, all his anger burning in the pit of his stomach. “That's not a deal. You'd still be harming part of my family and I ain't down with that you piece of shit!” Ichigo raised his fists into a fighting position. “I'll take you down!”
“Heh heh, take me down huh? Let's see you try!” The hollow then lunged at Ichigo, it's teeth bared. Ichigo stood his ground, his eyes wide though. The thing was bigger than he had anticipated though. Its body was at least twenty feet long, if not longer, and it's mouth, opened, was about half the size of a full length football field. It loomed closer and closer to Ichigo, but he wasn't prepared. He couldn't fight something that large with his fists. It was almost impossible.
Ichigo crossed his arms over his body, just as the hollow was about to take a chunk out of him. He closed his eyes, preparing himself, but he didn't feel any teeth biting into him. He didn't feel anything at all. Ichigo chanced opening his eyes, and lowering his arms just a little bit. The shinigami was in front of him, her whole right arm bleeding, and the teeth of the hollow were biting deep into her shoulder.
“You idiot. You think that that giving just your life with stop this thing? How stupid can you get? I told you! You're not strong enough to even try to go against this thing. Why couldn't you just sit back and let me deal with it?” She didn't sound angry, just slightly annoyed, and like she was in a ton of pain.
Duh she's in a ton of pain you idiot! Her arms being just about torn from her body! “I couldn't let it harm my family. Their the only ones I have left!” Ichigo argued back.
Rukia opened and then closed her mouth a few times, but couldn't find anything to say. How could one person, have so much love for his family? She couldn't comprehend that. She sighed and closed her eyes. She wasn't going to argue with him anymore. He was too strong willed to be controlled by anyone or anything.
It was silent for a few minutes, but soon, the young shinigami found herself being flung sideways, her back cracking against a poll she landed against. “Heh heh heh. So weak for a shinigami!” The hollow crackled to himself. “But you smell so tasty. Maybe I should eat you first!” He laughed again.
Ichigo had watched as her body flew back wards, her blood spilling along the ground as she went. His eyes had widened in shock. This wasn't what he had expected. This.... thing was laughing as it hurt another human being. Or something that was probably once human. He rushed over to her, concern creasing his face. “Oi, shinigami, are you alright?”
Her breathing was heavy and raspy but she manged to say, “I'm fine. But, I'm not going to be able to kill that Hollow.” Ichigo listened, his face dropping. He couldn't kill it, and now, the only one that could, was rendered immobile. “I have an idea, but I don't know if it'll work, and it may cost you your life.”
“What do I have to do shinigami?” Ichigo asked, his heart pounding against his chest. He was willing to do anything, go to any lengths to save his family. He would go to any lengths to save this person.
She was taken aback by his eagerness. He was willing to sacrifice his own life, just to save four or five people. Composing herself again, she answered, “Take my sword, and shove it through your heart. I'll transfer some of my spiritual power into you, and you can use that to cut down that hollow.” Ichigo stared at her, his eagerness slowly ebbing away now. Did he trust or, or did he not? He wasn't sure. “You have to trust me. And you won't know unless you try.” Slowly, she removed her sword from her sheathe, and pointed it in Ichigo's directions. For a minute, Ichigo didn't do anything but stare at it. But, somewhere deep in the back of his mind, his conscience told him to trust her. With quivering hands, he took the point of the sword, and pointed it at his heart. Gulping down a few things of spit, and letting out his breath slowly, he readied himself.
“Do it now shinigami.” The shinigami gave him the ever so slight smile.
“It's not shinigami. It's Kuchiki Rukia.” And she thrust the sword into his chest.

END OF CHAPTER ONE