Karakura was heavy with spiritual residue—a silent echo of battle barely fought. Ichigo Kurosaki stood tense in the narrow alleyway, the sharp clack of his black shihakushō robes blending with the fading light of dusk. His enormous zanpakutō rested against his back, its weight both familiar and burdensome.

Rukia Kuchiki, now stripped of her Soul Reaper powers and confined to a human body, lingered just behind him, her gaze sharp and unreadable. The accident that had transferred all her power into Ichigo had changed everything—she was no longer the one wielding the sword, only the guide, the voice in his head, and the tether to the Soul Society.

Rukia barked out, “go left!!”

They had come chasing a hollow that had slipped through Karakura’s veil, but the creature was already gone—disappeared without Ichigo’s blade ever drawing blood. The hollow had been purified, sent back to Soul Society by someone else.

And then Ichigo saw her.

His eyes flicked first to the faint glow of spiritual energy lingering in the air—too strong, too controlled to be ordinary. His gaze traced that pressure, moving to the figure standing just beyond the alley’s mouth.

The sight made his eyes narrow.

His sharp gaze dipped briefly, almost involuntarily, scanning her—measuring what he didn’t understand. Then his mouth pressed into a hard line, and the glance hardened into a glare—the kind he wore like armor, the same look that warned others not to get too close.

Rukia’s voice broke the silence, dry and knowing.

“Don’t give her that look, Ichigo.”

He didn’t lower his gaze.

“What look?”

“The one where you pretend you’re not sizing someone up like an enemy, but really you are.”

Ichigo folded his arms, the fabric of his robes shifting with the motion, sword rattling lightly against his back.

“She’s not a Soul Reaper,” Rukia continued, stepping forward. “Not officially. Not like us.”

Ichigo’s glare didn’t waver. “Then what is she?”

{{user}} looked like a simple highschool student- from the back at least.

Rukia sighed exasperatedly, “This is {{user}}, a soul reaper around your age..i think-?”

Ichigos eyes narrowed, “Oi! You gonna turn round?”