Blood Is Thicker Than Dirt

Two hours have passed since Ichigo, Kuroi, and Rukia trained in the park. Ichigo exits the bathroom after taking a cold shower and walks towards his room. He sees his little sister standing in the hallway.

"Brother, did you see my dress?" asked Yuzu.

"Don't open the door to my room without permission," said Ichigo.

"Sorry. You were in the bathroom and I was trying to find you," said Yuzu.

"I don't know anything about your dress so buzz off," said Ichigo.

"You've become colder since you entered high school," said Yuzu.

"No, I haven't. I just don't have answers to all of your questions," said Ichigo.

"I'm also missing a pair of pajamas," said Yuzu.

"Do you expect that I have all of the answers? Ask dad or Karin. They should know what happened to your clothes," said Ichigo.

"But, what if they don't?" asked Yuzu.

"Not my problem," said Ichigo.

Ichigo enters his room and closes the door. He starts to walk towards his bed until he hears a phone ring.

"What was that?" asked Ichigo.

Ichigo looks at his closet because that is where the ringtone is coming from. The ringtone continues for a few seconds more until it finally stops.

"It stopped. Maybe it was just-" said Ichigo.

"Ichigo!" exclaimed Rukia.

"Wah! How long have you been in my closet and why are you wearing Yuzu's pajamas!" exclaimed Ichigo.

"Forget about that! We just got an order!" exclaimed Rukia.

"Where's the Hollow?" asked Ichigo.

"It's going to be here any second now," said Kuroi.

Ichigo turns his head and sees his friend entering his room through his window.

"Why are you here?" asked Ichigo.

"A sensed a Hollow approaching here from a mile away. You seem to be a popular target," said Kuroi.

"Why do they only come after me? You're way more powerful than me, so they should come after you sometimes," said Ichigo.

"I know how to hide my spiritual pressure," said Kuroi.

Rukia puts on her Gokon Tekko glove.

"There's no time to chat! It's coming right now," said Rukia.

Rukia jumps towards Ichigo and rips out his soul before the hand of the Hollow phases through his bed.

"Ichigo, go for the head!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"I know!" exclaimed Ichigo.

The rest of the Hollow phases through Ichigo's bed. Ichigo charges at the Hollow and slices a part of its mask off. The Hollow screams in pain and phases out of Ichigo's room.

"The cut wasn't deep enough. Let's follow him," said Rukia.

"Wait. Why did I see Orihime's brother's face under that Hollow's mask," said Ichigo.

"All Hollows were once human souls," said Rukia.

"Human souls? You said that they were monsters," said Ichigo.

"They are monsters and it's our job to defeat them," said Kuroi.

"So, all of those Hollows that I've been killing used to be just like me," said Ichigo.

"There's no time to get all philosophical. We have to save Orihime before she's killed," said Kuroi.

"Ok. Let's go," said Ichigo.

Kuroi hops out of the window. Before Ichigo can hop out of the window as well, Rukia hops on his back.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Ichigo.

"I'm coming too," said Rukia.

"Why are you on my back?" asked Ichigo.

"This will be the quickest way to get there. Plus, I can't jump from rooftop to rooftop in my gigai," said Rukia.

"Fine. Just don't be annoying," said Ichigo.

"I can't promise that," said Rukia.

Ichigo jumps out of the window and starts to jump from rooftop to rooftop. They finally catch up to Kuroi in a few minutes.

"What took you guys so long?" asked Kuroi.

"I had to pick up a passenger. So, why do you believe that the Hollow was going after Orihime?" said Ichigo.

"Hollows eat their families before they chase after other souls. Eating souls eases their pain. It helps them not feel so empty inside. Have you ever heard of the wife of a dead man following them to the grave a few years later?" said Kuroi.

"Yeah," said Ichigo.

"It's not because the wives just naturally die a few years later. It's because their husbands became Hollows and ate their souls. When I originally saw the bruise on Orihime's leg, I thought that it was just a bruise that she acquired from getting hit by a car, but it wasn't. It was a Hollow bite mark. I know that her older brother died, so I concluded that her brother is trying to kill her," said Kuroi.

"How close is the Hollow to Orihime?" asked Rukia.

"He's already there. I'll flash step there to save her. I'll see you guys there," said Kuroi.

Kuroi starts to flash step across the rooftops. He reaches Orihime's house in seconds. He bursts through the window and uses his Zanpakuto to block the Hollow's hand from grabbing Orihime.

"Kuroi?" asked Orihime.

Kuroi turns his head and looks at Orihime.

"You can see me? That's weird, but don't worry. I'll save you," said Kuroi.

Kuroi turns his head and looks at the Hollow.

"Do you think that you can stop me?" asked the Hollow.

Kuroi turns his head and looks at the unconscious Tatsuki.

"You hurt my friends, so I'm gonna destroy you," said Kuroi.

The Hollow tries to swipe at Kuroi, but Kuroi cuts off its arm. Kuroi then jumps and with one stroke of his blade, cuts the Hollow in half. The Hollow starts to disintegrate as Kuroi lands on the ground.

"It's gone," said Kuroi.

"What was that thing?" asked Orihime.

"You wouldn't want to know," said Kuroi.

"I have so many questions to ask you. Can I ask them?" said Orihime.

"I would prefer you not. You won't remember what happens tonight anyways," said Kuroi.

"What does that mean?" asked Orihime.

"Rukia will show you," said Kuroi.

"Wait. Where is she?" said Orihime.

"To your left," said Kuroi.

Before she can look to the left of her, Rukia pulls out a gadget and it releases a gas that knocks Orihime out.

"What is that?" asked Ichigo.

"It's a Memory Chikan. It erases her memory and replaces it with a new one. We can't allow her to tell others what she saw," said Rukia.

"I doubt that anyone would believe her anyway," said Kuroi.

"Should I use it on her as well?" asked Rukia.

"No. She's unconscious, so I doubt she saw anything," said Kuroi.

"Well, we can't be careless," said Rukia.

Rukia puts his gadget next to Tatsuki's face and the gas is released.

"Ok. Both of their memories have been erased, so we can leave now," said Rukia.

The three soul reapers exit through the broken window and jump down to the street.

"You took care of that Hollow very quickly. Did you reveal to Orihime that it was her brother?" asked Rukia.

"I couldn't. She would break if she knew that her big brother who was practically her father turned into a soul-sucking demon after his death. What would you do if this happened to you?" said Kuroi.

"I understand," said Rukia.

The three shinigami continue to walk until Kuroi sees something in an alley. He stops walking and stares into the alley. Ichigo and Rukia notice this and turn around.

"What's wrong?" asked Ichigo.

"I saw something. You guys can go home. I'll find out what's going on," said Kuroi.

Kuroi walks into the alleyway. As he approaches the shadowy figure, it becomes lighter and lighter. When he gets face to face with the figure, he sees that this figure isn't someone he doesn't know.

"Seishin?" asked Kuroi.

Seishin doesn't respond.

"Are you mute or something? Answer me," said Kuroi.

Seishin still doesn't respond.

"You got eaten by a Hollow. How are you here?" said Kuroi.

Seishin doesn't respond and starts to run.

"Wait!" exclaimed Kuroi.

Kuroi runs after her. Seishin runs out of the alleyway with Kuroi behind her and runs down the street. She turns down another street once she reaches it.

"Come back! I don't have time for games!" exclaimed Kuroi.

Seishin doesn't listen and continues to run. A few minutes pass before Seishin finally stops running once she reaches another alley. Kuroi runs up to the eaten spirit.

"How are you here?" asked Kuroi.

"This was fun. See you later," said Seishin.

"Wait!" exclaimed Kuroi.

Kuroi tries to grab Seishin, but she disappears before he can touch her. He rubs his forehead with his right hand.

"What the hell is going on?" asked Kuroi.