Chapter 36: Arisawa Tatsuki, Soul Reaper Apprentice

(A/N: Live from Pennsylvania it's draconichero20 with a new Soul Chess chapter. Please note that unless I conform to Ichigo and Rukia's position directly, assume that whatever they're doing at the time is what happens in canon).

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Code Geass

3rd Person pov

Kurosaki Ichigo woke up the next morning to the dreadful sound of "GOOOOD MOOOOOORNIIIING ICHIGOOOOOOO!" as his dad prepared to pounce on him like he did almost every other morning. Of course, Ichigo happened to be ready for his old man's assault and pinned him to the ground, hands gripping the man's face like he was trying to crush Isshin's skull.

Things only got weirder from their as Ichigo found out that his family wound up thinking that a truck did all the damage to their house that there was. Figuring that all he could do was move forward, Ichigo ate his breakfast and headed off to school. Of course, he had a little surprise waiting for him there and said surprise had nothing to do with the fact that he had his very first interaction with Tatsuki's best friend, Inoue Orihime or the fact that he was so late that it was time for lunch.

It was after lunch that he was welcomed with a surprise: a substitute teacher.

"That's weird." Ichigo stated. "Fon-sensei's never been out before." In all of Ichigo's memory he couldn't remember one instance of which Soifon had ever been ill or out when he was at martial arts training practice or at school. In fact, from rumors that he'd heard, Fon Shaolin had an impeccable attendance record. "I didn't think it was like her to call out sick."

"You dumbass," Tatsuki chastised, "Fon-sensei isn't out sick. I heard she's doing some big project for the school board."

"That's not what I heard!" Ichigo's overly energetic classmate, Keigo, shouted jumping into the conversation. "I heard Fon Shaolin is actually a Yakuza and a trained assassin and that Karakura High is where she tracks her young victims and recruits."

"Whatever it is your smoking Keigo, you mind passing some my way after class?" Ichigo asked, jokingly.

"It's true I tell you!" Keigo asserted. "She's gotta be a trained assassin or something! You were there when she took down that purse snatcher! You saw how she can move!"

"Well, yeah Fon-sensei is pretty strong and fast, but I don't think you can go so far as to call her a Yakuza." Ichigo scratched his head.

Tatsuki being there, Orihime couldn't help, but throw her own two cents into the conversation. "Or maybe she's an agent sent by the gods to watch over human souls and is reporting back to her boss."

"That's quite an active imagination you have Inoue-san." Mizurio said to her.

"Hey it's better than Keigo's Yakuza theory at least." Ichigo said, leaning back in his chair. After what he had been through last night anything was possible.

"Hey!" Keigo was insulted at the idea that something Orihime suggested was a more believable than his own. Of course the whole irony of the situation was that Orihime wasn't that far from the truth. The subject changed awfully quickly. "Seriously though Ichigo, what's the deal man? I heard your house got wrecked by a truck last night."

"Pretty much." Ichigo said.

"A truck? Are you all right?" Tatsuki asked.

"I'm fine, everyone's completely unharmed. Lucky break on our end." Ichigo responded.

"So did you clean it all up?" Mizurio asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Ichigo asked. "It'll take forever to clean up that mess."

"Need any help?" Chad offered.

"That's…okay." Ichigo said.

"Yeah Chad, I mean you could wind up bringing the whole house down, you know." Keigo stated.

"Hello." A friendly voice called out. "You're Ichigo aren't you?" Ichigo turned to see Kuchiki Rukia, the Soul Reaper from last night, standing behind him. "I'll be sitting next to you from now on. My name is Rukia.

Ichigo freaked out, stood up and pointed at Rukia. "H-hey! It..it's you!"

Tatsuki rolled her eyes and began leaving the room. She motioned for Orihime to follow. The orange haired teen did so. Tatsuki was not about to stand in the middle of the classroom while Ichigo had an episode. She and Orihime went to the one place women went to when they needed privacy: the washroom.

"Ugh, that idiot." Tatsuki said, washing her hands furiously. "What's with him anyway?"

"Tatsuki-chan are you okay?" Orihime asked her.

"She's not even a ghost and he completely freaks out. I swear one of these days I'll—"

"Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime shouted to get Tatsuki's attention. The raven haired teen had been rubbing her hands so furiously that she didn't notice that she'd cut herself on her along her left index finger knuckle with her own fingernail.

"Ah, dammit!" Tatsuki grabbed a paper towel and put it over the bleeding scratch. "I'm sorry, what were you saying Orihime?" she looked at her friend.

"N-nothing, but…are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine." Tatsuki smiled.

Orihime didn't seem convinced. "Kurosaki-kun…he's…interested in that girl…you think?" Orihime asked.

"Don't be ridiculous." Tatsuki said. "Rukia's a new transfer student. There's no way in hell Ichigo knows her."

"What if he does though?" Orihime gasped and then went off on a tangent. "Maybe he saw her at a restaurant and said hi to her, but they didn't really know each other and so they talked and…

When her friend went off on tangents like this Tatsuki knew it was best just to let things run their course and wait for Orihime to finish. She removed the paper towel and looked at the cut on her hand. She had pierced through two layers of skin. She shook her head and splashed cold water on her face. Tatsuki looked at herself in the mirror. She was getting worked up over nothing. The scowl currently on her face could be mistaken for Ichigo's almost.

"Rectangles!" Orihime suddenly shouted completely out of nowhere.

Knowing that her friend's outburst meant that her tangent had hit a finite point Tatsuki addressed her friend with a question. "Orihime do you have a bandage?"

"Ah sure," Orihime dug through her pocket book and gave Tatsuki a bandage. Tatsuki applied it to her finger and then let out a huge sigh. "Come on, let's go back to class." She walked about three steps before Orihime stopped her with a reminder.

"Say, Tatsuki-chan, how did lunch go with Kurosaki-kun yesterday?" she asked.

Tatsuki stopped. "How else do you think, Ichigo started getting crazy over a supposed ghost again and it completely ruined our lunch." Tatsuki said and stomped a few more steps before turning to look at Orihime. "You coming?"

"Ah, right." Orihime followed Tatsuki back to class.

For all students of class 1-3, save Ichigo, the school day was pretty uneventful. After class Tatsuki and Orihime walked back home together.

"Man, for a substitute teacher Ochi-sensei sure gave a lot of homework." Tatsuki scratched her head.

"I think, it's a good thing that a substitute teacher has such a dedication to the educational system, don't you think, ne Tatsuki-chan?" Orihime asked.

"I suppose so," Tatsuki responded. As the two friends walked into the Mashiba district, as they normally did on their way home together until they each took separate roads upon reaching the Kasazaki district, Tatsuki couldn't help, but wonder if the rumors she had heard about Shaolin were really the truth, or if any of them were true. Tatsuki thought that if her sensei believed she was going to be absent that she would've told her about it yesterday. Maybe Ichigo's right, maybe sensei really is sick.

"Say Orihime, do you think maybe we should go to sensei's house and see if she's all right?" Tatsuki suggested.

"Ah, that sounds like a great idea." Orihime said. She gasped. "Maybe we should get flowers in case she really is sick."

"Well there's a candy store a couple blocks down the road from where sensei lives. I know some of her favorite snacks so maybe we can get those." Tatsuki suggested.

"Fon-sensei will be really happy that we care so much about her don't you think?" Orihime asked.

Tatsuki nodded. The two friends headed off towards the east side of the Mashiba district, where Soifon lived. They were about halfway there when they passed by an alleyway and a voice called out to them. "Oi." Tatsuki and Orihime turned to see their sensei leaned up against the wall to the entrance of the alleyway.

"Ah, sensei!"

"Fon-sensei!" Orihime and Tatsuki were surprised to see her.

Soifon was dressed in a sleeveless black t-shirt with a yellow vest over it. She was wearing black jeans with a chain belt with a hornet's crest embroidered into the back pockets and along the outside sides of the pants. She was wearing a pair of black sneakers with white soles on her feet. Tatsuki was starting to think that perhaps Keigo's Yakuza theory wasn't so farfetched after all.

"Sensei, where were you today?" Tatsuki asked, curiously.

Soifon merely pushed up from off the wall and looked at Tatsuki. "Arisawa, do you still wish to see the unseen?"

"Huh?" Tatsuki was confused.

"Tatsuki-chan?" Orihime looked at her best friend.

"If you still wish to see the world as it truly is," Soifon turned around, "follow me." She broke into a sprint.

"Ah, sensei!" Tatsuki darted after her. "Come on, Orihime!"

Orihime waved to Tatsuki as she ran off. "No, that's okay. You go have fun with sensei."

Tatsuki simply nodded, knowing that Orihime could never keep up with her at her fastest pace and tore off down the alleyway after Soifon. The average human running speed has been recorded to be 6.7 meters per second. Tatsuki was clearing doing 7.1. Also for 100 meters, most women could run at a speed of 9.53 meters. Soifon was clearing doing 10, and that was only a fraction of what she was capable of. So, while Tatsuki was panting and desperately trying to keep up with her sensei, Soifon was barely breaking a sweat.

Of course, there was a point to all this. By pressuring Tatsuki to keep up with her, Soifon was slowly draining Tatsuki's energy until she forced the young teen to be out of breath. By leaking her spirit energy as she ran, the lack of energy in Tatsuki's body would slowly be replaced with potential spirit energy. Once Tatsuki had spirit energy building up in her body, like Ichigo's last night, all that had to happen was for Soifon to release that energy and she could make Tatsuki spiritually aware. This was a theory devised by Urahara Kisuke himself. If Soifon had learned anything in the last 100 years it was that Lelouch's plans were almost always successful, Yoruichi cared a lot about her, and Urahara was almost always right.

Soifon looked behind her as she and Tatsuki ran west towards Karakura Community Park. Tatsuki was breathing hard as she tried to keep up with Soifon who remained consistently outside the teen's reach. "What's the matter, Arisawa?" Soifon sneered as she looked at her student. "Running out of steam?"

"You wish." Tatsuki grunted and continued to run after her sensei. Just where is she leading me too? And how is all this running supposed to help. By the time we get to where we're going, I'll be exhausted if this keeps up.

Soifon and Tatsuki eventually did make it to the park and reached a section of it through the trees of the forest nearby where there was no one around. Tatsuki was exhausted and stopped when she saw Soifon had stopped and bent over and put her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

Phase two. Soifon thought to herself and leaked out a portion of her spirit energy that she directed to seek Tatsuki's panting form like a beacon. Of course, this spirit energy would remain dormant unless otherwise released. However, it was enough for now.

When Tatsuki finally caught her breath she looked at her sensei. I don't get it, sensei had to be running at least three meters per second more than me, but she's not even the slightest bit tired.

"Are you ready to see the world through different eyes?" Soifon asked Tatsuki.

Still a little short of breath, Tatsuki merely nodded. Soifon grabbed her vest and discarded it to the ground. Tatsuki was unsure what was about to happen.

"Think fast." Soifon said and leapt at her student.

Tatsuki barely had time to blink, but instinct told her to dodge. "Sensei, what are you doing?"

"If you want to see the world as Kurosaki sees it you must unlock what is inside you. And to do that you must be pushed to your limit. I wish there was an easier way." Soifon said and leapt at Tatsuki again. The exhausted teen dodge rolled out of the way. Soifon looked at Tatsuki as she panted. It's not working…why isn't it working? Soifon thought to herself. I'm not even sensing even a slight change in the small amount of spirit energy I gave her. I don't want to hurt her too badly. She's doing fine just dodging, but perhaps…perhaps I should be the one on the defensive. "All right, your turn, come at me!" Soifon declared.

Tatsuki wasted no time and charged at Soifon she threw a punch at Soifon who blocked with her open palm and then swooped down low and knocked Tatsuki off her feet and onto the ground. Tatsuki landed on her ass only for a sweeping kick from Soifon to come aiming in for her head. Tatsuki ducked down to avoid a head injury, jumped to her feet and did a high sweeping kick to Soifon's neck.

The short stature karate instructor blocked Tatsuki's kick with her arm and struck forward. Tatsuki leapt back to avoid getting it. Soifon was holding back a lot to avoid overpowering Tatsuki. She didn't want to cripple the poor girl if she managed a successful strike.

I've never seen sensei move like this. Tatsuki thought to herself. Well…no she did show this level of skill when I watched her compete, but to think that she'd use such a level of skill against me…is this really going to help me see ghosts?

It's working now. The spirit energy inside her is slowly building. All I have to do is get her to release it. Perhaps if I up the danger factor she might respond. Soifon took a deep breath. Once again I wish there were other options. Soifon went over to her vest and unfolded it. Tatsuki saw the sheathed wakizashi that was fastened to the back of it. Soifon drew out her bladed weapon. Now the teen was frightened. "Fear is the source of evolution. When your life is threatened your senses heightened and you fight to survive. In the course of your adrenaline pumping and your heart throbbing, you awaken to abilities you never thought you had." Soifon said. "Do you feel fear, Arisawa? Are you afraid that I might hurt you?" The petrified look on Tatsuki's face was the only answer Soifon needed. "Good." She went after Tatsuki with her sealed Zanpakuto and swung. Tatsuki bent over backwards to avoid being slashed.

What is she doing? Why is she attacking me? Tatsuki found herself thinking. She bent backwards onto her hands and used the propulsion to flip back. Soifon came rushing in, Tatsuki dodged to the side, the blade narrowly missing her. Is she seriously trying to kill me? Why? What have I done? Tatsuki almost wanted to cry. She revered Soifon, she really looked up to her and now here she was coming at her with a bladed weapon. She dodged another strike. Wait…what the hell am I dodging for? Just because this is sensei, it doesn't make her any different from any punk to come at me with a weapon. Tatsuki cartwheeled away from another strike. In that case. Tatsuki took a battle stance as if to say 'Bring it. I'm not afraid of you.'

Soifon, smirking at seeing Tatsuki's confidence, charged forward with her blade. However, Tatsuki was tired of running and dodging. This time she would counter. Soifon stabbed forward, but Tatsuki grabbed her wrist and with a fierce battle cry punched Soifon in the ribcage with all of her strength. That impact was exactly what was needed. "Good job." Soifon said as Tatsuki made contact with her chest. Suzumebachi went flying out of her hand and Soifon went flying back several meters before she backflipped and righted herself.

Tatsuki could feel it in herself, something had just been unleashed. She looked at her clenched fist there seemed to be smoke surging from it. Soifon looked at her clothes. Her shirt was singed a bit. "Excellent work, Arisawa. You have awakened."

"Huh?" Tatsuki was confused.

Soifon went and got her vest. "I told you, evolution is attainable through fear. When you were afraid for your life you stopped dodging and fought back. You saw me as any other enemy that would try to attack you and in doing so you awakened the small bit of spiritual power that I seeped into you."

"Huh?"

"We were running so that you would become exhausted. As someone who already is adept at this sort of thing, I simply exuded my own spiritual power and it sought you out like a fly to neon sign." Soifon stated.

"I'm still confused." Tatsuki said.

Soifon simply smiled, walked over to Tatsuki and put an arm around her. "Come, we have a lot to talk about."

Tatsuki and Soifon had a long discussion about basically everything Ichigo and Rukia had discussed yesterday evening. Soifon did not tell Tatsuki that Ichigo had become a substitute Soul Reaper, or that creating one was against Soul Society rule, or that Rukia was even a Soul Reaper. She merely explained the way the Soul Society and the "Invisible World" worked. Tatsuki thought her sensei was a bit off her rocker, but it was when they got back to Soifon's house to discuss things privately that things started making sense to Tatsuki.

Much like Yoruichi and Urahara, Soifon was equipped with a special gigai that allowed her to use her powers without the need to switch to Soul Form. It was a simple matter of exuding her reiatsu enough to make Tatsuki lose her breath momentarily and showing her Suzumebachi's released state to get Tatsuki to comply that things were pretty screwed up in the world around her.

"What? Regretting learning about all this?" Soifon asked.

"It seems like the driving plot of a shonen manga." Tatsuki responded. Soifon laughed, understanding where Tatsuki was coming from.

It took most of the afternoon for Soifon to explain things properly to Tatsuki, but by the end of the night the teen had a better grip on the invisible world than Ichigo.

Yoruichi kept herself out of sight for the evening, revealing herself now she believed would only give Tatsuki a bit of a panic. Spirits and corrupted souls was one thing, but a talking cat was entirely another.

To help Tatsuki further understand the power that Soifon had awoken within her, Soifon told her to meet her at Karakura Community Park where they were today and they'd train together so that Tatsuki could get a full understanding on her power.

Tomorrow was Saturday so the duo was able to spend almost the entire day training together. As a result of the training however, residual marks were left imprinted on the back of Tatsuki's hands. The imprint was more like an insignia that took the shape of a the same flaming skull as was seen on the glove Rukia and other Soul Reapers would use to extract souls from their bodies. The difference between the imprint on Tatsuki's hand and the mark on the Soul Reaper glove though, was that the imprint on Tatsuki's hand flashed a bright shade of red like the light seen from an automobile's brake lights. Soifon said that the insignia would vanish over time, once Tatsuki got her power under control, but to conceal it, she gave Tatsuki a pair of blood red, fingerless gloves. As a gift from her sensei, Tatsuki said she'd treasure them.

That evening, after training, she wore the gloves to Orihime's place when she went over for dinner. After inviting her in, Orihime noticed Tatsuki's gloves.

"Tatsuki-chan, where did you get those gloves?" Orihime asked her.

"Oh, sensei gave them to me as a gift. Aren't they cool?" Tatsuki asked, beaming. She found fingerless gloves to be quite the fashion statement. She always wanted a pair, but the really good quality ones were always so expensive.

"Yes, very cool." Orihime said and invited her friend inside. It surprised Tatsuki when Orihime mentioned that Ichigo and Rukia had grown so close that they were walking around together. What shocked her more was that Ichigo didn't bother to walk Orihime home despite the fact that she was hurt.

"What…oh no…I mean he did offer to do so…but…" Orihime went into a daydream only to throw her hands out in front of her and start acting like a rabid zombie as she shouted, "I'm warning you, you better watch out champ cause I'm winning this match!"

"Hey snap out of it, you're daydreaming again." Tatsuki informed the ditzy teenager.

Orihime didn't even hear her. "I'll give you a right and another! Bam! AAAAH, he's got a gun!"

A sudden shockwave and tremor however knocked both girls from their lighthearted fun. "Hey…what was that?" Tatsuki asked. It was then that she could feel another presence and in moments a creature, like one her sensei had described to her yesterday appeared before her eyes. Its roar was blaring in Tatsuki's ears like music with the volume up to high.

"Hollows can only be seen by those with spirit energy it is important to protect those of who the invisible world is a mystery to. Mysterious deaths have occurred by normal people being attacked by these things. You had best be careful."

Soifon's words rang through Tatsuki's ears over the sound of the hollow's roar. She shoved Orihime aside without word or warning and dropped flat on the ground, avoiding Acidwire's attempted assault on her best friend.

Orihime let out a surprised yelp as she was shoved and banged her shoulder on the floor.

"Run, Orihime!" Tatsuki shouted.

Orihime was confused she didn't understand what was happening around her, but the next thing she knew she was floating in midair, being bound tightly by something.

"Let her go you mutant anaconda!" Tatsuki shouted and sank her teeth into Acidwire's tail. The hollow let out a pained roar and whipped Orihime into the wall. "Oh, so that's how you wanna play it huh?" Tatsuki climbed up onto Acidwire's back, but before she could deliver a decisive blow to the back of his head a fierce game of hollow rodeo ensued.

Orihime recovered momentarily and saw the strange sight before her. "Tatsuki-chan!" she ran forward to help her friend. Despite the fact that she could see nothing, she could tell from Tatsuki's awkward position that something was in front of her. She let line drive a punch and smacked Acidwire in the chest, just below his hollow hole. The resulting kickback caused Tatsuki to be thrown back off of Acidwire and land against the wall. "Tatsuki-chan!" Orhime called out again.

Unfortunately for Orihime, with Tatsuki no longer detaining Acidwire, he could return his focus to her. By the time Tatsuki recovered from the blow to her back she only had enough time to see Acidwire drive his fist through Orihime's chest.

"Orihime!" Tatsuki shouted. Orihime's soul tumbled out of her body, linked to it by a chain of fate. Angered Tatsuki grabbed Acidwire by the tail and with determine strength picked up the entire hollow and chucked it halfway across the room. Hissing, Acidwire retreated into whereabouts unknown, but it would only be brief. His current plan of attack was not working. He hadn't expected his prey's guest to be spiritually aware.

In soul form, Orihime now found it much harder to breathe, but she saw Tatsuki, panting. Tatsuki had saved her. "Tatsuki-chan." Orihime got out.

"Ah, Orihime." Tatsuki ran over to her Soul Form. She looked at the chain attached to Orihime's body and then rushed over to Orihime's actual body and made sure the chain was attached. She sighed in relief.

"Tatsuki-chan, what's going on?" Orihime asked. "I'm so confused. That thing…you could see it couldn't you?"

Tatsuki nodded as she went back to her friend's side and squatted in front of her. "Yeah, I could see it, but don't worry though. I won't let it hurt you."

"Was that…one of the spirits Kurosaki-kun always says he could see?" Orihime asked.

"Kind of," Tatsuki said, "I don't have time to explain right now though." She went over to Orihime's other body and carried it in her arms. "Can you stand?" she asked.

"H-huh?" Orihime was still confused.

"Right now your soul and your body have been separated. "What I'm holding right now is your body, linked to your soul by the chain embedded into your chest. If we go to Sensei's house she can fix that."

"But that's all the way on the other side of town!" Orihime reminded her.

"We don't have any other choice. You and I both have to run or you get on my back and I'll carry both you and your body." Tatsuki instructed.

Orihime was lost, confused and discombobulated, but seeing the confidence in Tatsuki's gaze, she knew she could trust her best friend. "Okay."

It took Orihime a little while to get going, being a soul and all made it very hard to breathe, but she and Tatsuki eventually broke into a steady pace. Unfortunately, the two of them didn't get very far before Acidwire reemerged and it reappeared almost right underneath Tatsuki. If the teen hadn't sensed it just moments before she would've lost one or both of her arms.

"Back for round two are you?" Tatsuki asked.

Acidwire just roared in her face, but before he attacked he spoke. "Foolish girl, do you have any idea who I am?"

"Do you think I give a damn?" Tatsuki asked. "The only thing I care about is that you tried to hurt Orihime. Anyone who tries to that," Tatsuki jabbed her thumb at her chest, "answers to me."

Acidwire roared and lunged at Tatsuki. Tatsuki leapt backwards to avoid Acidwire's assault.

I'm only going to have one shot at this until I get stronger. I'd better make it count. Tatsuki thought to herself. Acidwire's slow reflexes allowed Tatsuki the time she needed. She put down Orihime's body and stood absolutely still as she gathered spirit energy into her opened palm that was spread out in front of her face. She grabbed her forearm with her other hand. She clenched her fist and an audible hiss and crackle sounded as a burst of flame exuded from her hand. Running as fast as she could Tatsuki charged at Acidwire. "Eat this you overgrown snake! Kaso Kobushi!" (Pyre Fist) Tatsuki struck forward with a forceful punch that seemed to have flaming spirit energy built into it. Tatsuki jumped as high as she could to get her attack to aim for Acidwire's head, but the hollow reached out towards her and Tatsuki had no choice, but to bring down her ace in the hole down on to Acidwire's arm. However, the resulting contact sent Tatsuki's spirit energy down into Acidwire's arm and blew up his entire hand and wrist. The hollow reeled in pain and retreated into the darkness. Tatsuki knew it would be back. She stood her ground and waited for Acidwire to reemerge. He did, but he emerged not on Tatsuki's location, but on Orihime's location. "Orihime!"

Acidwire's attack was thankfully stopped and by a blade several inches longer than Tatsuki's body. Carrying it was Ichigo, clad in a Soul Reaper uniform. "Leave them alone! I'm the one you want!" Ichigo slashed the palm of Acidwire's remaining hand and he retreated back into the shadows. As if the Soul Reaper wasn't tough enough to deal with the first time, now Acidwire had to deal with both Ichigo and Tatsuki.

Ichigo is a Soul Reaper? Tatsuki was confused.

"Kurosaki-kun." Orihime was surprised to see him.

"What? Inoue?" Ichigo looked at her.

"Ichigo, what the hell?" Tatsuki shouted at him.

"Tatsuki?" Now Ichigo was more confused than she was. I don't get it how can they see me? He looked at Orihime and saw the chain embedded into her chest. Inoue I can understand, but when could Tatsuki see spirits? Just the other day…

Ichigo had no time to think as Acidwire's roar sounded through the air again. "He's coming back! Be on your guard!" Tatsuki shouted.

"Wait a minute! How can you suddenly see spirits?" Ichigo asked his friend.

"I'll explain later, right now you're going to help me protect Orihime!" Tatsuki ordered.

"You don't need to order me to do that." Ichigo said. "By the way, do you know what that thing really is?"

"Does it matter, it's going after Orihime and that's bad enough!" Tatsuki shouted.

"Did you ever think why it would, or were you not told that part about hollows?" Ichigo asked.

"Hollows are spirits of despair and corruption. Their lives are of unfulfilled purpose. If a hollow has a family or friend that is still alive, chances are high that the hollow will seek those people out first and claim their lives."

"Wait you mean—"

Acidwire's reemergence cut Tatsuki off. He began by attacking Tatsuki with his cut hand. She rolled to the side. Ichigo came running in and tried to attack Acidwire's handless arm, but his tail blocked the Soul Reaper's path.

Rukia came running down the street, bearing witness to the events unfolding and knelt down by Orihime. She could worry about Tatsuki's reiatsu after the hollow was taken care of.

"Tatsuki-chan! Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime was worried for both her friend and her crush.

"Hey," Rukia knelt down by Orihime, "are you okay?" She saw the chain of fate and sighed.

"Kuchiki-san?" Orihime looked at her. "I don't understand. What's going on? What is that monster? Why is it attacking Kurosaki-kun and Tatsuki-chan? Why did it do this to me?" She held up her chain of fate.

"Just calm down, everything's going to be fine Orihime, just relax." Rukia told her. Of course, no sooner had she said that did Acidwire deliver a knockout blow to both Tatsuki and Ichigo one right after the other soar over towards Orihime and Rukia, swat Rukia away and drag Orihime away.

Tatsuki and Ichigo came to within moments. They instantly began bickering.

"Idiot! He was wide open, why didn't you slice his neck when you had the chance?" Tatsuki shouted.

"Hey, you're the one who blew up his hand earlier! Why don't you take care of him miss high and mighty?" Ichigo argued.

"Dumbass! I can only use that technique once a day, I've got nothing left!" Tatsuki growled back.

"Both of you shut up!" Rukia shouted. Tatsuki and Ichigo looked at her. "It doesn't matter who did or didn't do what. Right now that thing just went and grabbed Orihime and who knows what he's going to do with her. If either of you care any bit about her you'll quit arguing and go help her!"

Ichigo and Tatsuki both conceded to Rukia's point. "Rukia's right. Right now the important thing is saving Inoue." Ichigo said. Tatsuki nodded in agreement. Both ran down the street in pursuit of Acidwire, meanwhile the hollow had dragged Orihime back into her apartment and the two were playing brother/sister catch up...although considering one individual was a hollow, it wasn't as heartwarming as a sister reuniting with her dead brother should have been.

Ichigo and Tatsuki arrived on the scene to find Acidwire choking Orihime. Ichigo simply leapt up to the second floor. Tatsuki had to use the fire escape.

"You will listen to me!" Acidwire shouted. "Or else I will kill you first!"

"Like hell you will!" Ichigo shouted. Adrenaline rushing through him he stabbed Acidwire in the tail repeatedly and then chopped off his other hand, sending blood everywhere.

"Orihime!" Tatsuki burst into the room and knelt down by her friend as she coughed to catch her breath.

Ichigo stared at Acidwire with a dark glare. "Let me ask you something captain overbite. Do you know why big brothers are born first? They're born first so they can look out for their little brothers and sisters and protect them. Even a monster shouldn't say something like 'I'll kill you' to his own sister! You freak!"

"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about. Orihime is mine. I was fifteen when she was born. Our mother was a whore and our father a devil. When I turned eighteen I marched out of our parent's house and raised her myself." He reached out to Orihime with one of his stubbed arms. "Orihime, come with me. If you are obedient, I promise I won't hurt the others.

Tatsuki body blocked her. "Whatever the hell you are, you're not Inoue Sora. You're just a monster. So unless you'd like a freshly made knuckle sandwich special delivered to your face, leave her alone!" Tatsuki's face was a mask of frightening rage, more deeply embittered than Ichigo's normal one.

"B-but…Tatsuki-chan…"

Before Orihime could say anything else, Acidwire noticed her hairpins. He became crazed and attacked viciously. Ichigo blocked the assault made by the hollow's snapping jaw and Tatsuki sweeped around and punched him beneath his hollow hole and sent him flying out of the apartment and into the streets below. Ichigo leapt over Tatsuki's crouching form and made to attack Acidwire. He hesitated for half a second and it cost him the opportunity to properly slay Acidwire. The hollow rushed in to attack the Soul Reaper, but was stopped. It was Orihime who had stopped him, not Tatsuki.

Orihime apologized to her brother, understanding that her desperate 'don't leave me!' outcry the day he died was why he had not moved on when he could have.

"Orihime!" Tatsuki came running out into the street, worried about the wound in her friend's shoulder caused by Acidwire's teeth.

Orihime continued to talk to Acidwire, trying to reach her brother behind the mask, explaining to him that she wanted him to move on by showing that she was happy. Once again Acidwire became crazed.

"Orihime!" Tatsuki ran forward to prevent her friend from collapsing.

Rukia explained to Ichigo that Acidwire's behavior was caused by his struggle against his hollow self and his soul self. She explained that this made it obvious that Sora did not become Acidwire of his own volition. Her explanation continued by explaining that Ichigo was being targeted by a more powerful hollow, one that hoped that he would hesitate to kill Acidwire because he knew him, which Ichigo did.

"Wait a minute, are you saying Ichigo's on some masked freak's hit list?" Tatsuki asked, as she held the injured soul of Orihime.

"That's precisely what I am saying." Rukia answered.

Before the conversation could continue further, Acidwire's mask shattered and his consciousness became that of Inoue Sora. Orihime smiled at this and then fainted.

"Ah! Orihime!" Tatsuki worried. "Ichigo! You can do something about this right? I mean, you're a Soul Reaper and all so…"

"He can't actually." Rukia said, stepping forward. "I can though."

"You?" Tatsuki was confused.

"Tatsuki, I don't know how or why you became spiritually aware, or how you gained knowledge about Soul Reapers, but you shouldn't dabble in this kind of thing. It's too dangerous." Ichigo said.

"Look who's talking! You're more beat up than I am!" Tatsuki reprimanded.

"Hey, I'm just trying to look out for you okay!" Ichigo argued back.

"I don't need you 'looking out for me' I can take care of myself!" Tatsuki snapped.

"Would you two give it a rest? You're giving me a headache!" The fact that such a loud voice could come from such a small person once again got Ichigo and Tatsuki to quit their bickering. "Anyway, I need to treat Orihime and restore her. My Kido should be sufficient."

"Kido, but then…you're also a Soul Reaper?" Tatsuki asked.

"Rukia was a Soul Reaper." Ichigo told Tatsuki. "Two nights ago a hollow attacked my house. You know, the 'truck'."

Tatsuki started putting the pieces together in her own head. "So then…what exactly happened?" Tatsuki put Orihime down and let Rukia fix Orihime as Ichigo explained.

"Rukia became too injured to fight and transferred her power to mine and I wound up taking almost all of it, though she'd only meant to give me half. So…until her power restores itself, I'm stuck monster hunting." Ichigo explained. "I'd like to know how you got involved, but first we should finish what we started." He looked at Sora. Tatsuki agreed what Ichigo's silent language indicated.

"The hairpins she wears were a gift from you. That's why she wears them every day." Tatsuki stated.

"Kurosaki." Sora spoke to Ichigo. "Your sword," Sora moved his stump arm over his neck, "Please use it."

"Hey hold on now, I—"

"It's the best choice Ichigo." Tatsuki said. "Exorcising a hollow isn't the same as killing it. I am glad you showed up when you did." She looked down at her clenched fist. "My powers, until they are fully mature, merely exterminate hollows they do not have the exorcising capabilities of a Zanpakuto. Do the right thing Ichigo, let Sora find peace."

"She has a point you know." Rukia piped up, causing Ichigo to turn in her direction. "Once you become a hollow your only choice is to be cleansed. There is no going back to how you once were."

"So please, Ichigo, let Sora pass on while he's still himself." Tatsuki said.

Ichigo nodded and understood. Sora bowed his head to allow Ichigo to deliver the decisive blow. Ichigo brought down his sword.

"Wait." Orihime said, struggling to get up. Sora and Ichigo looked at Orihime. "I…want…to do it."

"Inoue?"

"Orihime?" Both Ichigo and Tatsuki were surprised.

"Onii-chan…the hairpins you gave me, remember the fight we had when you gave them to me. I said I hated them because they didn't look grown up enough and you left for work without and I didn't say anything to you. And that was the last time I saw you alive. I'm so sorry." Orihime apologized, tears welling up into her eyes. "If…if I can help you…I just want to help you."

Ichigo passed his blade to Orihime. "Here." Orihime grabbed the handle, but the large blade proved to be way too heavy for her to lift. Even if her shoulder wasn't injured, the blade was just too big. Seeing her struggle, Ichigo went over to her and stood up against her back. "Let me help you. It's my job anyway, so I might as well."

Orihime's cheeks turned a deep rose color when she realized how close Ichigo was to her. To make things seem more magical to her, Ichigo's hands were on hers. The Substitute Soul Reaper didn't see what he was doing as anything more than helping his classmate accomplishing something she couldn't do alone and Tatsuki knew he saw it that way. Ichigo helped Orihime lift his Zanpakuto and guided her to bring the blade down to purify Sora. It cleaved right through his neck. There was no pain and no suffering and he was purified. Orihime, unable to keep her feelings inside her, turned around and sobbed into Ichigo's chest. Of course, the moment she realized she was clutching to her crush she let go, apologized for holding onto him and, klutz that she was fell down on her ass. Tatsuki helped her back to her feet.

"Hey don't worry about it. When you lose a family member it's okay to grieve. So long as there's a compassionate shoulder to cry on you shouldn't be afraid to use it, even if it's a complete stranger." Ichigo saw him an Orihime as nothing more than acquaintances. From the time they'd known each other this was their first real interaction between the two besides the time that Orihime had been at his clinic when Sora died. Of course, Ichigo didn't know it was her at the time.

"Right, so, let's fix this shall we." Rukia said. When Tatsuki saw her pull out what looked like a cigarette lighter with a spring-loaded chicken head, instinct kicked in and she twisted Rukia's arm away and stole the memory replacement device. "Hey! Give that back!" Rukia shouted. Tatsuki put her hand on Rukia's face and held the device out of her reach. "If you think I'm letting you replace my memory you can forget it and the same goes for Orihime."

"Oh yeah, I wanted to ask you, just how is it you know so much about Soul Reapers?" Ichigo asked.

"We can talk after I've dealt with Orihime." Rukia said.

"You can forget it!" Tatsuki shouted. "Orihime is my best friend! She just helped her brother find peace and you would take that memory away from her? I know that humans aren't supposed to know about the invisible world, but let's not forget who is in charge here." Tatsuki took a leap back and pointed at Rukia. "You lost your powers." She pointed at Ichigo. "He's the Soul Reaper." She pointed at herself. "And I'm an apprentice to an exiled Soul Reaper. Therefore Ichigo and I outrank you."

"Exiled Soul Reaper, Tatsuki what the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"Ichigo, Fon-sensei, is a Soul Reaper." Tatsuki told him.

"Say what?" Ichigo's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

"Fon…sensei?" Rukia scratched her head. The only Fon she knew was Soifon, but she didn't think the woman would split her name up. Then again it wasn't common knowledge amongst Soul Reapers from Rukia's generation that 'Soifon' was Soifon's nickname. True, she knew Soifon's full name from the time that she was in the Fantomu no Jasutisu, but she hadn't done anything with the phantoms for more than twenty years so some of her memories were a bit fuzzy.

"Oh that's right," Ichigo rubbed his head, realizing Rukia's confusion, "yesterday's teacher was a substitute. Normally our sensei is a woman by the name of Fon Shaolin. There were a bunch of crazy rumors, but…are you sure she's a Soul Reaper Tatsuki?" Ichigo asked her.

"Do you think there's any other way I could understand about all this mumbo-jumbo?" Tatsuki asked. "How else do you think I gained the ability to see spirits?"

"But wait, how could you just gain spiritual power like that? It would take an enormous amount of residual energy to—"

Tatsuki cut Rukia off an explained the details of her excursion yesterday. Orihime remained silent all the while, trying to make sense of everything. "I'm still trying to master my power." Tatsuki said. "It's still a little on the rough side, but I wasn't about to sit by and let Orihime get attacked."

"And you protected me Tatsuki-chan." Orihime smiled. "Thank you." Tatsuki smiled back.

Tatsuki looked at Rukia. "Let me deal with Orihime. She's my friend and if there are any problems you can be sure Fon-sensei will handle it."

"But she's an exiled Soul Reaper you said. If the weight of her crimes weren't hefty enough already to warrant exile, they're sure to increase now." Rukia stated.

"Fon-sensei didn't tell me why she was banished…well she said she went by choice, but she didn't say the circumstances surrounding why she had to leave the Soul Society." Tatsuki responded. "Either way, I want you to leave Orihime alone."

"Give me one good reason." Rukia stated.

"Fon-sensei told me she was going to be out for a little while longer. In that time," Tatsuki jabbed a thumb at herself. "While you and Ichigo are off playing hero, I'll be your cover. You could skip class the entire day and I'll make up some excuse to legitimatize you playing hooky. After all, you're a student in the class Rukia." Tatsuki reminded her.

Rukia didn't like any of this. True, if she knew that 'Fon-sensei' equaled 'Soifon the Silver Phantom' she'd be a lost less on edge. In her current state, she'd never be able to take Tatsuki on in a fist fight and she really needed her device back. With a grudging sigh, Rukia extended her hand to Tatsuki. "Deal." She said.

Rukia finished getting Orihime back into her body and Tatsuki brought her best friend back inside the house. "So…Tatsuki-chan…what was all that about Soul Reapers and monsters and Fon-sensei and why was Sora a monster and…"

"Okay, okay, one question at a time Orihime." Tatsuki sighed. I know I said I'd take care of things, but this might be difficult given Orihime's nature. "I guess I should start from the beginning…

Tatsuki explained it all to Orihime. She had to explain to Orihime that she had only been able to see Ichigo in his Soul Reaper form because her soul had been split from her body. As she was right now, she couldn't see him much less any other ghosts.

"But why did you want to learn how to see ghosts, Tatsuki-chan?" Orihime asked.

"Because I was sick and tired of not being able to see it. Ichigo was always talking about seeing ghosts and stuff that it was just getting annoying. I mean, what am I supposed to do when I go say hi to him on a Saturday morning and there he is yelling at a trash can? I've been his friend for nearly a decade and so I just hate the idea of not being able to help him if he's having a problem." Tatsuki responded.

"Could I become like Tatsuki-chan and Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked.

"No!" Tatsuki said crossing her arms. "Out of the question. It's too dangerous and you have enough problems with your wild imagination."

"Aww, but Tatsuki-chan." Orihime whined.

"Don't worry. It's not all it's cracked up to be really." Tatsuki responded, rubbing the back of her head. "Besides, I had to go through hell to become spiritually aware." She leaned forward and held up her index finger. "I'd never intentionally subject you to that kind of danger."

Orihime simply smiled and gave her best friend a hug. "Thank you, Tatsuki-chan." She said to her. "I was…so frightened when everything started. I couldn't do anything, but…you and Kurosaki-kun were so brave and you both saved me and together we all…saved Sora."

Tatsuki wrapped her arms around Orihime. "Hey don't worry about it, that's what nakama are for." She let Orihime go after a bit and pulled out her cellphone and began dialing her house number. "I'm going to call my mom and ask her to bring over some pajamas and a change of clothes."

"Ah, you're staying here?" Orihime was surprised.

"I just…want to make sure you're going to be okay." Tatsuki smiled again. "That's what friends do."

Orihime brightend up. "Hooray! Sleepover!"

Tatsuki spoke with her mom and spent the night at Orihime's place. I will protect Orihime. Tatsuki thought to herself as she began to doze off. That's the promise…we made to each other.

To be continued…

(A/N: So Tatsuki gets powers and even Bleach's first official story arc is already seeing some major changes. Just to reiterate, I will not always be hovering on Ichigo and Rukia's position or anyone else's for that matter if it's just a rehash of canon, that's just you guys having to reread what you already know happens. I have some unique stuff coming up for the upcoming chapters, rest assured the revamp and altered Soul Reaper agent arc will be much more enticing than it was in canon. Please bear with the dullness of the plot, if you feel that way about it, until we get to the Soul Society arc. Expect another release later today. I was too tired to release this last night when I finished it so this was ready to go last night, I was not).