Guilt

Two days have passed since Kuroi failed to defeat the two enemies sent by Aizen to test his abilities. Sad that he was unable to protect Orihime, Kuroi has decided to distance himself from his friends. Currently, Kuroi is sitting on the rooftop of his school staring at the sky. The door behind him opens and he turns his head. Tatsuki stands inside the doorway.

"What do you want Tatsuki?" asked Kuroi.

"We haven't talked in a few days since those two guys attacked us. What's going on?" said Tatsuki.

"I'm weak," said Kuroi.

"You're not-," said Tatsuki.

"Don't try to tell me that I'm not weak. I've already heard that speech multiple times. I was too weak to beat Aizen in the Soul Society. I was too weak to beat Aizen's goons. I was unable to protect Chad and Orihime and you. You guys nearly died because I wasn't strong enough to protect you guys. I'm a disgrace to the Gotei 13," said Kuroi.

"You're not a disgrace and you're not weak. Yeah, you may have got abused by that brute, but you would've won if you weren't distracted. I don't know if you were going to beat that albino guy, but you would have destroyed that brute. You're not the only protector of this town. You can't allow yourself to carry all of the responsibilities on your shoulders. Put some faith in your friends. I may be weak for now, but you can count on me when I get strong," said Tatsuki.

"Have you started to train with my father yet?" asked Kuroi.

"Well, I've spent the last couple days resting, but I'll start tonight," said Tatsuki.

"That's good. Maybe you won't end up weak like me," said Kuroi.

"You need to do something to get this loss off your mind. What if we-," said Tatsuki.

The door quickly opens and prevents Tatsuki from speaking.

"Kuroi Hono, get into my classroom immediately!" exclaimed Ms. Ochi.

Kuroi and Tatsuki turn their heads and see their angry teacher standing in the doorway.

"What do you need, Ms. Ochi?" asked Kuroi.

"You have skipped too many of my classes, young man. Now, it's time for you to face the consequences," said Ms. Ochi.

Kuroi slowly gets up and walks towards the door.

"I'll see you later, Tatsuki. I'll be praying that your training goes well," said Kuroi.

Kuroi follows his teacher down the stairs and they reach their homeroom. Ms. Ochi opens the door to the dark classroom and reveals Ichigo sitting at a random desk.

"Look, I like both of you boys, but that doesn't mean that you guys can lie to me and skip class when you want. To regain my trust, you have to clean this entire classroom by the end of the day. I will check in on you guys later to make sure you are working hard," said Ms. Ochi.

Ms. Ochi quickly leaves the dark classroom.

"So, I guess we're stuck together," said Ichigo.

"This came at a bad time. I was enjoying the warm weather and the beautiful sky," said Kuroi.

"What's been up with you? You haven't been killing Hollows for the last couple days," said Ichigo.

"You can deal with them. You need the experience," said Kuroi.

"There's another reason. You got beat up by that Yami guy and now you believe that you're weak," said Ichigo.

"That's not it. I've always been weak. I'm just a speck in Aizen's eyes," said Kuroi.

"You're a very strong guy. Aizen is just on another level. All you have to do is continue training and you'll be fine," said Ichigo.

"You don't get it. None of you guys get it. I'm supposed to be the guy who protects this town, but I'm not strong enough. I always rely on my friends to help me. I can't call myself strong if I can't win fights without help," said Kuroi.

Before Ichigo and Kuroi can finish their conversation, the door to their classroom opens. Fearing that their teacher has already returned, Ichigo and Kuroi jump and grab a broom and dustpan.

"How's it going guys?" asked Renji.

"Why are you guys here? Are you guys on a mission or something? I doubt that you guys would just visit us," said Kuroi.

"We were ordered to meet with the acting soul reaper group because we have to prepare for a confrontation with the Arrancar," said Renji.

"What's that?" asked Ichigo.

"How did you not know what you were fighting before fighting them?" asked Ichigo.

"I just saw people hurting my friends and leaped into action," said Ichigo.

"Arrancar are Hollows that ripped off their masks and have gained powers similar to a soul reaper. They are very dangerous and that's why we're here," said Renji.

"They should've brought some stronger shinigami. Kenpachi would have been a better choice," said Kuroi.

"I was personally chosen to lead this operation," said Toshiro.

"I know Captain Shortstuff. That's why I wanted someone stronger," said Kuroi.

"It's Captain Hitsugaya to you," said Toshiro.

"Whatever, Toshiro," said Kuroi.

A hand grabs onto the windowsill. Kuroi and Ichigo hear this and turn their heads to see someone trying to pull themselves up. A few seconds pass before the small woman pulls herself up and stands on the windowsill.

"Rukia," said Ichigo.

Rukia doesn't respond and jumps and kicks Ichigo in the face. Ichigo falls back into Renji's arms. Rukia then turns and punches Kuroi in the face.

"It's good to see you too, Rukia," said Kuroi.

"What are you guys doing here looking like wimps!" exclaimed Rukia.

"Well, you did just assault us," said Ichigo.

Rukia places the Gokon Tekko on her right hand and rips out Kuroi's soul. She then grabs the soul reaper and jumps out of the window. Before they land on the ground, Rukia jumps on Kuroi's back.

"Why did you do that?" asked Kuroi.

"A Hollow is nearby. We have to take it down," said Rukia.

"Why do I have to come? Ichigo can deal with it," said Kuroi.

"You've been depressed for the last couple days. You need to see some action to feel better," said Rukia.

"How did you know that?" asked Kuroi.

"I just know things," said Rukia.

Kuroi gives Rukia a suspicious look, but she just instantly looks away. They continue to jump across the rooftops for a few minutes until they find the Hollow.

"Go and deal with it," said Rukia.

Rukia jumps off Kuroi's back and kicks him in the back. He rockets towards the ground and lands on it face first. The Hollow turns around to see its new prey. It immediately tries to smash the soul reaper with its claw. The soul reaper easily jumps out of the way.

"What are you doing! Start fighting! Are you going to let a normal Hollow beat you!" exclaimed Rukia.

"Shut up!" exclaimed Kuroi.

Instead of slashing the Hollow, Kuroi jumps out of the way of the Hollow's attack.

"What was that! Ever since you lost to those Arrancar, you haven't killed one Hollow! Chad got hurt! Orihime got hurt! Tatsuki got hurt! So what! Have you always been a man who loses his spirit over little things! I know that it's scary to lose! I know that it's scary to not be able to protect your friends, but if you want to protect them, get stronger! If you want to never lose again, get stronger! Swear that you will get stronger to destroy any threat that you see! Swear that you won't nearly get your friends killed! That's how you stop being weak, so what will you do!" exclaimed Rukia.

"I'll just get stronger every single day," said Kuroi.

"I can't hear you!" exclaimed Rukia.

"I'll just get stronger every single day!" exclaimed Kuroi.

"Now, kill that Hollow!" exclaimed Rukia.

Kuroi jumps up and holds his blade over his head. He brings it down and kills the Hollow in one slash. Kuroi turns his head and looks at Rukia.

"You are noisy. That's annoying," said Kuroi.

"It was motivating though. Now, you need to apologize to Orihime," said Rukia.

"I can do that later. I have to clean my homeroom before my teacher returns," said Kuroi.

Rukia runs up to Kuroi and grabs him by his shihakusho. She starts to drag him towards the school.

"Why do you have to be so hands-on? I can walk perfectly fine," said Kuroi.

"You need to learn that being a protector means more than just taking down threats," said Rukia.

Rukia drags Kuroi on the ground for a few minutes until they return to the school. Rukia drags Kuroi through the school until she finds Orihime walking through the halls.

"Orihime, long time no see," said Rukia.

Orihime turns around, surprised to see her friend once again.

"Rukia? When did you get back? How long will you stay?" asked Orihime.

"I'll tell you later. Kuroi has something to tell you," said Rukia.

"I'm sorry that I was too weak to protect you. Next time, I won't let you get hurt," said Kuroi.

Orihime smiles.

"Thank you Kuroi. That made me feel better," said Orihime.

"You're welcome," said Kuroi.

Orihime walks away with a little hip in her step.

"Thanks, Rukia. I owe you one," said Kuroi.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not a greedy person," said Rukia.

"Kuroi!" exclaimed Ms. Ochi.

Kuroi and Rukia turn their heads and see the angry teacher staring at them from down the hall.

"Oh. Hi, Ms. Ochi. What beautiful weather we're having," said Kuroi.

"I told you to clean the classroom and you're busy chatting with girls!" exclaimed Ms. Ochi.

"I just came from the bathroom and ran into a couple friends. I'll be back in the classroom in a second," said Kuroi.

"A second has already passed and you're still standing here," said Ms. Ochi.

Ms. Ochi starts to menacingly walk towards Kuroi and Rukia.

"Run," said Kuroi.

Kuroi and Rukia start to run from the pissed-off teacher. Ms. Ochi starts to chase after them.

"Why are we running!" exclaimed Rukia.

"You don't want to mess with an angry Ms. Ochi. She's a monster when she's pissed off. She may even be scarier than a Hollow," said Kuroi.

"You can't run forever troublemakers! You'll be in my grasp any second now!" exclaimed Ms. Ochi.

Rukia turns her head and sees the angry teacher's face seemingly start to change into one that looks like a Hollow.

"You're right. She does look like a Hollow, but we can't do anything but run," said Rukia.

"Hopefully her short-term memory kicks in soon. I can't run forever," said Kuroi.

"Maybe you should stop skipping class," said Rukia.

"I'm skipping class because you force me to leave to fight weak Hollows," said Kuroi.

"It's your job. Don't blame others," said Rukia.

"Shut up, Rukia," said Kuroi.