Ichigo groaned as he and Rukia raced up to the park, where the signals on her phone had been coming from. Hollows swarmed over the park benches, causing mass panic in the civilians, who saw nothing but random explosions.
"Well, let's get to work." Rukia said, unsheathing her zanpakuto. Ichigo did the same, and they leapt into battle, slashing through Hollow after Hollow.
However, there were just too many Hollows, and they were about to be overwhelmed. Suddenly, he saw a flash of blue. One of the Hollows had started advancing on a young girl with strange blue hair. She was absolutely defensless, and backed away from the Hollow.
"Ichigo!" Rukia shouted, pressing her blade against a Hollow. "Get that girl!"
Ichigo hacked his way through the Hollows in his path. But before he could reach the girl, the Hollow lunged, baring its teeth.
Ichigo expected the girl to scream, or call for help.
However, she just smirked. "Naughty Hollow. It's not nice to pick on little girls, you know." Her wrist glowed blue, and the glow elongated to form a shining bow, made entirely out of a shimmering blue light. She fired an arrow, splitting the Hollow's skull right in two. It disintegrated into black powder.
Ichigo's mouth fell open. This girl, whoever she was, was a Quincy, without a doubt! Rukia leapt to his side. "Ichigo, did I just see what I think I saw?"
"If you saw that girl use the powers of a Quincy, then yeah."
Meanwhile, the girl launched a volley of arrows, except something seemed different. These arrows were-----silver? And more surprises were to come. The girl put away the bow and drew two zanpakuto in the form of long knives, each blade as long as her forearm.
"Ina! Zuma!" She called. "Let's fight! Crash and Rage!"
The two knives glowed and elongated, until the girl held two normal sized katana swords, which she used to slice neatly through the Hollows' skulls.
Rukia's eyes widened even further, and Ichigo almost forgot to breathe. "She's both----a Quincy----and a Soul Reaper?"
"Is that even possible?"
The girl shrank her katana back into knives, sheathed them, stood, and noticed them. "Oh, hello. You must be Rukia Kuchiki and Ichigo Kurosaki, the Soul Reapers here in Karakura Town."
"Yes, that's us." Rukia answered. "Who are you? And how did you hear of us?"
The girl smiled, brushing a lock of blue hair out of her face. "I'm Rei Asaka, and the man with the striped hat who owns that shop told me to come here to find you."
"That would be Kisuke Urahara."
"I guess. But tell me, where can I find Uryu Ishida?"
"Why would you want to find him?"
Rei smiled again. "Because he's my last living relative. I'm part Quincy, as you can tell."
Ichigo blinked. Uryu Ishida, class genius? Related to this girl with sea blue hair? No way. But Rei was without a doubt a Quincy.
"Hold on." Rukia announced. "You used two zanpakuto. How can a Quincy use those? It's unheard of!"
Rei shrugged. "Maybe so, but I'm also part Soul Reaper."
Rukia's mouth fell open, and she backed away from the girl. "But that's even more unheard of!"
Rei pulled out a katana and casually propped it over a shoulder. "And?"
"If you're a Quincy, then why were your arrows silver?"
"I dunno. Guess it's part of the whole 'half and half' thing. But the arrows only kill a Hollow when I want them to. The silver ones just Purify Hollows. Like my zanpakuto. And um, by the way----"
"Yeah?"
"Is there any chance that I can stay here for the night? I've been living in the woods and on the streets for the past three months."
"THREE MONTHS!!!"
Rukia carefully studied Rei. "Hmm----part Soul Reaper, part Quincy. The Soul Society's on your tail, I bet."
Rei nodded.
"It'll be risky, having you with us. But at the same time----- how old are you?"
"Sixteen, almost seventeen."
"Is that you're actual physical age? Not just how long you've been a soul?"
"My actual age."
"You're human?"
"Half. My mother, the Quincy, was human."
"And how long have you been fighting Hollows?"
"Three months."
"ONLY THREE MONTHS?!!"
Rei winced. "Please, not so loud. You'll deafen my ears and senses, which I can't afford if I'm being hunted by Hollows or the Soul Society."
Ichigo scratched his head. "Sorry. But still, only three months? And you've made it this far, as to you can fight Hollows without a blink of an eye?"
"You've got to learn quick when you're on your own, or you won't last long." Rei flipped her hair, and Ichigo caught sight of the cross-shaped charm hanging from her wrist, dangling on a thin silver chain.
"Well, Ichigo?" Rukia asked. "Legend says that children of Quincy and Soul Reapers have powers beyond even our imagination. She would be a useful ally. We can offer her that spare closet in your room, the one you keep your unwanted clothes in after your house was remodeled."
Ichigo groaned. "I dunno."
"Ichigo!" Rukia pulled him aside. "I can sense her Spiritual Energy. Somehow, she's managed to squash it down, but it's incredibly powerful. Almost as strong as yours, from what I can tell. Perhaps even stronger. But either way, in the times to come, we need her strength."
Ichigo gritted his teeth. "Fine. But if this ends up all crazy, then I'm blaming you."
"Done." Rukia turned to Rei. "Well, welcome to the group."
Rei beamed. "Really? Thanks!"
"Yeah, whatever." Ichigo scratched the back of his neck.
Rukia blinked. "Um, Rei, aren't you going to change to your gigai? Or are you staying in that form the whole time?"
Rei glanced down at herself. "Oh, oops! I almost forgot." She tapped her collarbone. Her form shimmered, then solidified into a human body, dressed in normal clothing.
'What trick is that?"
"Another Quincy/Soul Reaper trick I picked up. Honestly, my body can be so complicated, it's like figuring out how to use some new strange machine you've never seen or heard of before without the instruction manual. In other words, it's a huge pain."
Rei tied her hair up in a ponytail, and Ichigo caught sight of a silver piercing in her right earlobe. It was in the shape of a lightning bolt, gleaming in the light. Beautiful, yet strangely deadly-seeming.
"Hey, what're you looking at?" Keigo asked, poking his head in Ichigo's view.
"Huh?"
"What's with you, man? You can't seem to stop staring at that new student in our class, Rei Asaka. And I thought you were with Rukia! Then again, that Rei girl is almost hotter than Rukia or Inoue. Think she's interested?"
"Interested in what?" A voice asked. Both boys jumped and whirled around. Rei stood there, her hands on her hips.
Keigo scrambled up. "Ah, Miss Asaka! I was just wondering if you'd do me the honor of being my girl----"
Rei smirked. "I wouldn't bet on it. Did I mention that the last boy who tried to make a move on me ended up in the hospital? He tricked me into going on a date with him, and tried to force a kiss on me. I broke his jaw in three different places."
Keigo yelped and skittered backwards on all fours. Rei burst out laughing. "Just kidding! But I did give him a black eye. Well, it was nice talking to you, Keigo. Ichigo. See ya later." She waved over her shoulder, then ran off to where Rukia and Inoue were waiting.
Keigo ran a hand through his hair. "Dang, that girl has spunk."
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "That 'spunk' is gonna beat you up for real if you try to make a move on her again."
"I guess. But I'm not giving up. She's definitely quite a girl."
Rei tossed her hair over her shoulder, letting the light bounce off her lightning-shaped silver earring. Honestly, when were guys gonna learn to leave her alone?
She tucked her books away into her bag and stood, ready to leave the classroom. Everyone else had already gone home, and Rukia was waiting for her in the courtyard. She walked out the door and down the hall, pushing her way out the front door and into the sunlight.
Rukia stood there with Ichigo. She smiled at her approach. "Ready."
"Yeah. But hey, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Why do you act so flirty and girly at school, when you're really tough and rock hard?" Rei swung her bag over her shoulder. "Does it even benefit you? I just don't get it."
Rukia walked beside her. "No, it doesn't necessarily benefit me, but it does have its uses."
"Like?"
"Well, if someone really did happen to find out that there was such thing as a Soul Reaper, a silly, frilly girl like me would be least expected. You should try it sometime."
"That's gonna be hard. Girly girls usually don't have lightning bolt-shaped piercings, or this weird blue hair."
"Ah, don't worry about that. Ichigo has weird hair, too."
"HEY!!!" Ichigo hollered.
Rei laughed, and let the two of them argue it out. They were obviously close to each other, most likely from their time together. Who knows? Maybe they'll get together for real sometime soon.
Suddenly, Rukia's phone blipped. she pulled it out and flipped it open. "An order, from the Soul Society. And bad, too. Apparently, they've detected a couple of Menos Grande somewhere near the park, the on by the lake." She looked at Rei. "You know, what a Gillian is, I take it?"
Rei frowned. "Hmm, let's see. Big. White mask. Pointy nose like Pinnochio. Appears from holes in the sky. Another form of a Hollow, one of the three types of Menos. Yeah, I have a vague idea."
Orihime gulped. "Oh no, how horrible! Menos Grande are very dangerous, Asaka-san."
"I know that. I think I ran into one on the way here."
"You think?"
Rei shrugged. "Are we gonna go kick Gillian butt or what?"
Rukia frowned. "The thing is, the Soul Society is sending backup and reinforcements. If the Society is really against you, it won't be a good idea for you to suddenly jump into a fight."
Rei sighed. "You're right. I'm still coming along, though. I want to help if I can."
Ichigo, Rukia, and Orihime opened their mouths to protest, until they saw the look on Rei's face. It was fearsome, full of fiery determination. It wasn't the look one got when they wanted to fight. Ichigo's stomach tightened. He recognized that look. It was the exact same expression Ishida often had when he was concentrating on killing Hollows. Not Purifying, but killing.
"I'm coming along, whethe you like it or not." Rei repeated.
Ichigo relented. "Fine. Just watch out, okay?"
Rei gave a little smirk. "Sure, but I can't guarantee that I'll stay out of the fight. But we're wasting time. Come on."
She started off down the sidewalk. "Aren't you gonna come? It is your job after all to get rid of the Menos."
Ichigo scowled. This Rei could be really annoying sometimes, especially when she was right.
They soon arrived in front of the park, Rukia and Ichigo in their Soul Reaper forms. They had instructed Orihime to head back to her home. It wasn't safe for her here.
Rukia glanced around, and gasped. All over the park, Gillians faced off against Soul Reapers. There were nine Gillians, but even a single Gillian was trouble. Nine was not gonna be a pretty sight.
Her throat clogged up when she saw who the backup Soul Reapers were. Renji, the lieutenant from Squad Six, Ikkaku, from Squad Eleven, Toshiro, captain of Squad Ten, his lieutenant, Rangiku, and countless others.
"Crap. Lot's of high ranking officials here. It's not safe for you, Rei." Rukia hissed. "They'll sense your Spirit Pressure."
Rei chuckled. "I highly doubt that, especially when they're facing off against Gillians. Nasty things, they are, those Menos. I'll be in the trees if you need anything." She smiled, then leapt into the bushes and trees on the edge of the park.
Rukia and Ichigo exchanged glances, before hurrying over to the other Soul Reapers.
Renji was the first to notice them. "Rukia! Ichigo!" He called, his zanpakuto held at ready. "Good, you're both here. We could use some extra help here."
"Right." Rukia replied, drawing her own zanpakuto and slashing at a Menos that strayed too close for her liking. Ichigo did the same, unraveling the white strips of linen from his blade.
Suddenly, the Menos attacked at the same time. Eight attacked, charging forward. However, the ninth froze, sniffed the air, then turned and headed straight for the trees, right where Rei was. It sent a glowing red Cero flying into the bushes. A short scream sounded, followed by Rei dashing out into the open.
Her eyes flared. "Hey, you stinkbag! What's the big idea, blowing apart my branch like that?"
Renji blinked. "Who's that?" He asked. "She can see Menos?"
"Oh boy." Ichigo groaned, hacking at another Gillians. "This'll be tough to explain."