Karakura Town felt different after what she'd seen.
Rukia Kuchiki stood on a quiet residential street, the night sky draped in a bluish haze. Streetlamps buzzed faintly, giving off that artificial glow humans found comforting. She had lived among them long enough to understand why — their world was too fragile not to cling to every sliver of light.
But fragile didn't mean powerless.
She'd learned that the day she met Ethan.
Her fingers tightened around the hilt of her sealed Zanpakutō, hidden under the borrowed faux-body gigai coat. Her heart was steady… but sharper than usual.
She replayed the Hollow attack she'd sensed earlier — the impossible one. The echoes of Ethan's reiatsu that should not exist in the human world. The captains had felt it too. Soul Society was alert, watching, preparing.
And she was back here again, continuing the mission as expected.
But her mind kept drifting to Ethan.
What are you hiding? What did I sense that night?
Questions Unohana hadn't answered. Questions Ethan had lied about.
A soft thud snapped her attention forward.
Down the street, a boy was walking with his hands shoved in his pockets, shoulders slightly hunched. His hair — bright orange, like fire under moonlight — made him stand out instantly. She'd seen mugshots in the soul databases, reports from Misguided Spirit cases, survivor statements.
Kurosaki Ichigo.
A human with abnormally high spirit sensitivity.
She'd planned to observe him quietly at first. Blend into the town, get a sense of the local Hollow density, watch over the spiritually aware humans from a distance.
But then—
"Oi! You!"
Rukia blinked.
Ichigo was staring right at her.
He can see me?
No — his eyes weren't quite locking on her form. He wasn't looking at her like Ethan had. It was more like he sensed something there.
Or… someone.
His brow furrowed.
"You feel like that weird presence I keep running into. The one from last night. Who are you?"
Rukia felt a chill run down her spine.
Last night?
The Hollow incident?
The reiatsu spike?
He sensed that too?
She wasn't ready for this.
But then a spiritual ripple washed across her senses — sharp, abrupt, wrong.
A Hollow.
Close.
Too close.
Rukia's training snapped into place immediately. Her hand shot out, pushing Ichigo back just as a claw tore through the air where his head had been.
His eyes widened, pupils dilating.
"H–holy—! What the hell is that!?"
Rukia stepped forward, voice suddenly steady and authoritative.
"You can see it clearly now? Good. Then listen closely."
She drew her Zanpakutō in a single fluid motion, blade gleaming under the streetlights.
"This is a Hollow. And if you do exactly as I say, you might survive."
Ichigo didn't run.
Didn't scream.
Didn't shut down the way most humans did.
Instead, he clenched his fists, teeth bared, fear and defiance mixing into something fierce.
"Like hell I'm just gonna stand around! That thing attacked my family yesterday!"
Rukia's heart jerked.
Yesterday?
Another Hollow appeared?
Threads she didn't understand were tightening around her, around Ichigo, around Ethan.
The Hollow lunged again.
Rukia moved.
Steel met monster.
Ichigo shouted.
The battle began.
And Rukia felt the first shift in destiny — the moment history truly started to tilt.