I do not own Kamen Rider Ghost or Bleach. They belong to their respective creators and not me. I am only writing this for fun and not for any kind of profit. If you do not like this story, then feel free to go elsewhere for something more suited for your tastes. For those of you that remain, please enjoy.

Kamen Rider Ghost: Bleached

By Ten-Faced Paladin

Chapter 5: A Beautiful Mind

Karakura Police Department

Tatsuma sat in 'his' chair in 'his' office, formerly the office of Commissioner Tarakudo. However, since the piggish man was being investigated for former Officer Shinjitsu accused him of, lots of circumstantial evidence was appearing to show that the man had been misappropriating the budget and even impeding investigations into wealthy and/or influential people for the sake of his own career. With such a powerful accusation, Tarakudo was suspended until further notice or if they found hard evidence of wrongdoing which was likely considering the experts Tatsuma had come in to look over things.

In the meantime, Tatsuma was placed in charge of the Karakura precinct until a new commissioner could be found. It may have been considered a strange move to place a detective in such a spot instead of a ranking officer, but there were several reasons. The first was that until they were sure that Tarakudo's immediate officers weren't as corrupt as he was, none of them were going to be trusted. Secondly, Tatsuma was being groomed for a similar position in Hinata Hot Springs after his part in taking down Museum was revealed. His current placement would be a field test to see how ready he was at that point. Finally, there was just no one else who was qualified and not under investigation. Karakura wasn't exactly a prime place for people who could handle such a position.

While Tatsuma did accept the placement, he wasn't exactly thrilled with it. What he wanted was to be back home in Hinata where he could be close to Mutsumi, not in an entirely different district altogether. Sure she understood why he had to do it, but Tatsuma still didn't like it. There was also the fact that because of Tarakudo's negligence and outright favoritism to the social elite, Karakura was dealing with a hefty delinquent problem.

Tatsuma leaned back, massaging his brow, "How in the name of the kami did Tarakudo get away with this for so long? The delinquents are practically a small army here."

Well, the answer was easy enough. Tarakudo squirreled away the budget for the beat cops who would deal with such things for his own personal use. With only a skeleton force of police, the delinquents got out of hand. Then Tarakudo likely covered his tracks and played innocent, giving some excuse about being underfunded and unable to hire more police officers.

Still, all of that was on the back burner in Tatsuma's mind. Putting aside the latest report of apprehensions of the local thugs, he picked up a file he had been putting together marked as Ghost.

Although Shinjitsu confessed to stealing the Picasso, the Billy the Kid six-shooter, and trying to steal the Tutankhamun ring, he was adamant that he had not stolen the Edison lightbulb. He had only begun after that relic had been stolen. It was also why he dressed the way he did during the heists as a suggestion by the man who he sold the items to and had taught him how to call on the Ganma. Naturally that contact didn't give a name, leaving Tatsuma with no leads to follow up on.

To Tatsuma's trained eye, it was looking like there was more going on than just a thief getting into the black market of antiquities. Something deeper was going on, something involving those Ganma creatures he had witnessed. It reminded Tatsuma of back when he was just digging into Museum's operations, trying to find the connections. Learning about the Ganma was just reviving those old instincts.

And if Tatsuma was right, someone was taking the fight to the Ganma.

Kurosaki Clinic – Ichigo's Room

83 Days Remain

Ichigo sat at his desk, lightly tapping his fingers on the wood. To the side, his homework was already finished and ready to be handed in. A perk, if you could call it that, to his new role as Ghost was that Ganma weren't as eager to go hunting as many Hollows were, which could be practically daily at times. So Ichigo could at least keep up with his schoolwork to his standard level. It was better than going away for days or weeks and leaving Kon in his body to screw up his grades in favor of flirting with girls or something.

In front of Ichigo were the three Legendary Soul Eyecons he had collected. Musashi. Edison. Robin Hood. With them, he was a fifth of the way to claiming the fifteen Eyecons he needed in order to save his life. Still, for how simple the goal was, things were getting pretty complicated in terms of the opposition he was facing.

The Ganma themselves were definitely not like the Hollows. Most Hollows were simply rampaging animals for the most part with varying degrees of intelligence. Pretty easy opponents if one didn't make any stupid moves. Ganma on the other hand were intelligent and seemed to be working towards some kind of goal, one which wasn't limited to just collecting fifteen Eyecons of their own.

Worse, the cops were starting to get involved. The Ghost Thief case was officially closed, but Detective Tatsuma was still around and Ichigo had a feeling in his gut that he knew there was more going on than the rest of the cops did. Ichigo read up on the man and had to admit, Tatsuma seemed like his kind of people. Strong, dedicated, honorable, and held an integrity which was downright indestructible if all the hype about him was believed.

Still, a good cop or not, Ichigo didn't want to bring the man into the mess with the Ganma even if he did have tech which allowed him to see and fight them. This was Ichigo's problem and he would see things through to the end, for better or for worse.

*POP!*

"Hey, why are you just sitting here and staring at those Eyecons so much?" Yurusen asked after popping into existence next to Ichigo's head. "You should be going out and looking for more of them!"

"Oh yeah?" Ichigo frowned, glancing over at the tiny spirit. "You got a clue where to find one then? We have been looking for the last two days and we haven't found anything."

"Have no fear! Your lovable teacher will guide you!"

Ichigo blinked and turned around, looking to his former closet. Stepping out was none other than Sage, but the man was not dressed in his usual sage-like attire. Instead, he was dressed in what looked like a lab coat of some kind with a wig of frizzy white hair and glasses on his face, making him look like some kind of nut.

"Oi, what did I tell you about just barging in?!" Ichigo snapped.

Sage simply ignored the annoyed teen, "Today we shall begin our lesson. First, we begin with science and history." Sage reached back into his 'room' and pulled out a moving blackboard and began writing on it. "First, who is the man who first began to seriously study gravity and the laws of motion thanks to nothing more than an apple?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes, "Isaac Newton of course," Ichigro shrugged, but then stopped and blinked, "Wait, you're not saying there's a lead for him, is there?"

"Correct! A gold star for you!" Sage praised Ichigo. "With all his studies and the fields he was an expert in, only the highest places of learning could appreciate him."

"Higher learning? Some kind of school then," ichigo frowned in thought. While he thought Sage was just a downright annoying pain the ass, the guy knew plenty about the Ganma and Eyecons. He proved as much when he predicted it would be Robin Hood's soul about to appear and provided the Condor Denwor needed to track him down. So Ichigo was willing to give the old man's hints a chance.

He looked up to the spirit, "So some kind of university?"

"Aha! Excellent! A+!" Sage laughed, pushing the blackboard back into his room. "Okay, I expect your homework to be turned in for the next lessons. Class dismissed!" with that, Sage ducked back through Ichigo's closet door before shutting it.

"Hey, wait a second! You can't just give me little hints and then duck out like that!" Ichigo got up and stomped to his closet before opening the door. He expected to see the one room apartment that Sage somehow managed to fashion for himself, but was instead met with his own closet walls. "…dammit."

Shaking his head, Ichigo turned back to his desk before retrieving his cell phone. Hitting one of the speed dials, he called up one of his friends, "…hey Uryu? Yeah, it's Ichigo. Sage just dropped some hints so listen up."

It didn't take long for Ichigo to round up his friends and meet them at the local park. Along with Uryu, there was Chad, Orihime, and Tatsuki in attendance. All of them had been quick to attend, knowing that another Eyecon was on the horizon and Ichigo would need it.

"Okay, so Sage gave some vague hint about this Eyecon coming from Isaac Newton and something about higher learning?" Tatsuki crossed her arms. "Jeez, could he put any less detail into this?"

"Vague or not, it's still a hint in the right direction," Uryu pondered. "Obviously we're going to find a connection to Isaac Newton at a facility for higher learning."

"Is there one in the area?" asked Chad, pondering the information. Karakura wasn't exactly known for being an educational hub or for being the home of one. "Or maybe it means it's with someone who is connected to a university?"

"You mean like that Suna person?" asked Orihime. "He was a professor, right?"

"Of Egyptian history," Ichigo reminded his sometimes spacy friend.

"But a professor who works for a college or university," Uryu snapped his fingers in realization. "Likely where this clue of Sage's would pan out." He pulled out his I-phone and immediately began looking up information, quickly finding it. "Horus is currently a professor at Chishiki College. It's just outside the district so we can go now."

"Would they even let us wander around the campus?" asked Tatsuki.

Uryu grinned lightly, "We'd merely be high school students looking into further education. No one would bat an eye when they see us."

"Speak for yourself," Ichigo huffed, absently running a hand through his hair. He was pretty sure campus security would deny him access anywhere on his hair color alone.

"Ah come on, let's go already," Tatsuki slapped Ichigo's shoulder.

In another part of Karakura, something was happening. Unseen to the mundane eye, a doorway appearing like a pair of shogi doors suddenly appeared in a back street. Once it had fully appeared, both doors slid open, allowing to figures to step out.

The first was a short young woman dressed in an entirely black outfit. Her hair was short and dark with a stray lock coming between her eyes. Her eyes themselves were rather large, easily expressing her emotions, which at this point showed seriousness and a bit of worry. At her side was what appeared to be a regular katana.

Her companion was a young man, easily dwarfing her, not that she enjoyed it being pointed out. He was dressed exactly like her, however his chest was slightly exposed, showing black tattoos marking his skin. He wore a violet headband and had long red hair which was tied in a messy ponytail that draped onto his shoulders. Like his companion, he too wore a katana on his side.

They were shinigami of Seireitei, the girl being Rukia Kuchiki and the boy being Renji Abarai. Both had quite the history with certain people in Karakura, not that the majority of the district knew it. In fact, it was Rukia who first brought Ichigo into the affairs of the afterlife, kickstarting their adventures which culminated into the Winter War against the rogue captain, Aizen.

"Been a while since we've been out this way," Renji commented, looking around. "Doesn't look like it's changed much."

"No. Not really," Rukia sighed, glancing slightly at the scenery.

Renji glanced to his companion, sighing, "Hey, you want to see them, don't you?"

Rukia looked to her partner with a sad smile, "Am I that obvious?"

"Pretty much," Renji smirked as they walked down the street. "But business before pleasure and all that. We can check up on Ichigo and the others after we talk to Zennosuke about his evil eyes and light bulb monsters."

Rukia nodded, although she had a bad feeling in her gut. Karakura really was a hotbed of unusual activity. She herself played a role in a lot of it. Things like the Winter War, the Bounts, even that incursion from Hell. The weird even for the Seireitei and Gotei 13 always seemed to be happening in Karakura. Even if evil eye monsters turning into giant light bulb beasts like Zennosuke said seemed ridiculous, no one was taking any chances when it happened in Karakura.

'Ichigo, everyone,' Rukia thought as she and Renji took to the rooftops to meet their contact. 'For once, please be okay and not involved in all of this.'

It was a vain hope, she realized, but she still hoped.

Chishiki College

It wasn't hard to find Chishiki College. They were available on any map or directory so that wasn't an issue for Ichigo and his friends. Hopping on a short train ride, they managed to reach the school in good time.

"Nice place," Ichigo commented as he and his friends walked through the campus. The entire area was clean with a few trees dotting spaces with taller buildings looking quite like one would expect of a facility for higher learning. Even the students walking around seemed to somehow feel like a higher standard. Of course, that may have been the mystique of college or university in the high schooler's eyes.

"It's a respectable school, although one which doesn't cater to the field I'm interested in," Uryu commented, adjusting his glasses.

"So then, where do we look if we want a lead on Newton?" asked Tatsuki, hands on her hips as she looked at the campus. Maybe if they had a good Phys. Ed program she might consider applying…

Uryu glanced at her with a look that said 'really?', which made Ichigo want to snicker. Usually the Quincy kept giving him those looks. Sighing, Uryu turned his gaze away, "Likely the science department. Physics to be specific. That is likely where we'll find a clue since that field is where Isaac Newton is most well-known."

"Okay!" Orihime nodded, determined. "Then let's go find Newton-san and get his help!"

After finding a map to the campus, the group headed towards the science building where most of the related programs were taught. No one really gave them any second glances since they weren't wearing their school uniforms and looked old enough to be proper students. A few did give Ichigo some glances, but since he was surrounded by more regular-looking folk, they merely assumed his hair was the result of a wild childhood and he was getting his head on straight.

They entered the first floor of the science building, noting a trophy case of awards the school earned and plenty of doors leading to classrooms. Ichigo glanced around, spotting a directory, "Says here the offices are on the third floor. Probably ask around and see which of them know the most about Newton."

"And just how do we break the ice on this one?" asked Tatsuki. "Do we go up and ask which one of them is a Newton fanatic?"

"Just ask," Chad suggested. "Students ask teachers questions all the time. Just say we're doing an assignment on Newton."

"Simple, but plausible," Uryu agreed.

The group did find the science building on the campus before locating the physics division. There were a list of professors who had offices there. Not knowing who else to pick, since they didn't know which teachers taught which subject, they went for the front desk.

"Ah, hello," the secretary nodded as the group reached the department. "Can I help you?"

"Yes," Uryu nodded, stepping forward. "We've been assigned a bit of a science history project and we were hoping to ask one of the faculty some specifics, or at least get them to point us in the right direction."

"Of course," the woman nodded. "And the subject?"

"Isaac Newton is the core subject," Uryu answered. "We-,"

"Professor Juryoku," the woman interrupted with a bit of a fond sigh of patience, "Room 372. Just follow the loud noises."

Uryu blinked, "Um...thank you then."

The group went for the halls of offices and looked for the number of the teacher they were looking for. After checking the numbers, they were stopped by the sounds of what seemed like a squawk before there was a loud crashing noise. After that was boisterous laughter.

"...My bullcrap detector is spiking," Ichigo muttered, a sweatdrop on the side of his head. The sounds of chaos and the boisterous laughter simply reminded him all too much of his father. Issun made a similar laugh when he was making bravado in front of his kids.

"Do you think it's okay?" asked Orihime, looking down the hall in concern.

"No turning back now," Uryu sighed, adjusting his glasses. His expectations for a member of higher learning faculty though swiftly dropped.

The group approached the door where the noise came from. To some in the group's dismay, it was also the same office that they were looking for. The collected students looked to one another before Ichigo stepped forward and opened the door.

"The hell?" Ichigo blinked.

The room looked like a hurricane had hit. Books and papers were strewn about. It also looked like there were scientific implements strewn about for good measure. A desk was partially hidden from the disaster. There was even a bookcase tilted over, it's contents spilled onto the floor.

"Uh...hello?" asked Ichigo.

"Mmmf!" a voice sounded off from under the mess. A portion of it rose up before it separated to reveal a man. He wore a simple suit with gray hair and black glasses. The glasses were askew and it seemed his eyes were unfocused for the moment. He shook his head and got his senses back, suddenly noticing the teenagers in his office. "Oh, terribly sorry! Just a physics experiment that got away from me."

"Are you okay?" asked Chad, slightly concerned for the man.

"Oh yes, yes, yes," the teacher pulled himself up, brushing himself off. "Just some first hand antiquated experiments into gravity and recreating those days of discovery. It's fine."

"Recreating experiments? Why?" asked Tatsuki.

"To walk in the path of the greats, to know their wonder at their discoveries," the professor grinned. "To discover something new, you have to first know what paths have been walked before you can blaze your own trail."

"Ah...yes," Uryu coughed while Ichigo blinked in confusion. His friends were no different. "Well, we were assigned a bit of a science history project. We selected to do a piece of Isaac Newton and we're hoping you would be able to help us."

"Isaac Newton?! He's one of my inspirations!" the professor grinned. He spun around and dug through the debris of his totalled office before he retrieved a thick and apparently old book. "Here it is. One of the published texts written by Isaac Newton himself! Here are his observations, theories, and experiments he conducted in his life!"

"Are you sure you should be swinging it around like that?" asked Ichigo, a little concerned for the book. Potential to be an Eyecon aside, the thing should have been in a museum display or a safe.

"Oh this is the source of all my inspiration," Juryoku grinned. "When I wish for insight into science, I always read these pages which can help me find the way!"

"Yeah!" Orihime cheered, taken with the mood.

"...right," Ichigo sighed, rubbing his temple. It wasn't his dad's level of crazy, but he sure saw that it was comparable. "Okay, so what can you tell us about the guy?"

"Well, dig up a seat and I'll explain!" Juryoku grinned.

A young man sat in the library of the university, desperately reading through numerous books and documents. He looked almost frantic, but at the same time, almost despairing. He just kept looking over the documents and books.

"I have no idea what to do!" he groaned, grasping a book desperately.

"Heh, heh, heh," an unheard voice chuckled. Emerging from the stacks of books was the form of a Ganma. It wore what seemed like white lab coat with numerous glass prisms on the shoulders and running down his sleeves. On his head, he wore a crystal prism which was refracting the lights, giving the Ganma a rainbow sheen.

"The answer is simple~!" the Prism Ganma chuckled, whispering to the student. "There is a book which has all of the answers you need!"

Kurosaki Clinic - Ichigo's Room

82 Days Remain

Ichigo would never be the first to say something about school being dumb or a hassle. The punks in the schools or judgemental teachers were something else. Still, Ichigo had to admit that if he ever had a project to do on Isaac Newton, he would have a ton of material and potential books to look through. Still, it was difficult to hear the guy ramble on and on about the legendary scientist.

"You know," Yurusen appeared again with the annoying chuckle in his voice. "You should have just snatched the book and turned it into an Eyecon. The guy was rambling enough about Newton during his little talk."

"Oh yeah?" Ichigo scowled. "And how do I explain it vanishing then? If it just up and disappears on the guy then me and my friends get accused of taking it."

"So? They'd never find it," Yurusen shrugged. "It would never stick."

"And I don't need police attention hanging on my record," Ichigo retorted.

"Compared to saving your life?" Yurusen pressed.

"Yes," Ichigo huffed, pushing the tiny ghost away. "Now buzz off unless you have something to add."

"Mou, no fun," Yurusen grumbled before he vanished.

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief as he organized the notes he got from Prof. Juryoku. Just because he was a little annoyed about sitting through the lecture, Ichigo didn't disregard what essentially was a free college level lecture. He just wished he had better than a small notebook at the time. He may have to swallow his pride and compare notes with Uryu. Orihime was a pretty good student, but her notes often had all sorts of weird doodles and sudden ideas she had in the middle of writing down her notes. It was partially illegible to him and only Tatsuki had a real idea what she wrote half the time.

In the midst of his organization, he heard the padding of feet running rapidly towards his room. It was too light to be his father on another crazy run, so Ichigo didn't tense up for an attack. Pegging it as one of his sisters, he just decided to wait to see what was happening.

*SLAM!* "ICHI-NII!"

That cry had Ichigo suddenly sit up with a jolt. He saw Yuzu at the door, huffing for breath and looking a little panicked. Immediately his big brother instincts flared up as he stood from his desk, "Yuzu? What is it?"

"I...I...I…" Yuzu trembled. "Th-there's a policeman downstairs asking for you?"

"What…?" Ichigo blinked.

Now very concerned, Ichigo started to head downstairs and wonder what the police wanted with him. Granted, he had been in more than his share of street fights with the local tough guys who figured he made a prime target. Sometimes some property damage happened, but he managed to keep his head down and avoid being accused of anything. Punks didn't like to rat each other out to authority, even worse if they lost to those folks. The few times he got spotted by teachers or others for his fights, he was able to make a pretty clear case for defending himself. Anyone who lived in Karakura knew how the local thugs could be.

Coming to the dinging room, Ichigo saw the rest of his family around the table. Issun was standing up, looking serious for a change with his arms crossed over his chest. Karin was at the table, trying to look calm but she was a little on the nervous side. Most shocking of all was the police officer who had taken his own seat.

The red leather-clad form of Detective Ryo Tatsuma, the man who was currently running the police in Karakura.

'Oh crap,' Icigho fought the urge to gulp.

"Man Ichi-nii," Karin smiled weakly. "How bad were the punks this time if the cops had to get involved.

"Karin, you can't say that in front of a policeman!" Yuzu cried, following her brother. "We have to keep his guilt in street fights a secret!"

"Yuzu," Ichigo groaned.

"Okay girls, enough," Issun spoke up. Again, sounding uncharacteristically serious. He looked to Ryo, "Okay Detective Tatsuma. Just what has my irresponsible son gotten into now?"

Tatsuma looked to the doctor and spoke up, "He's not in trouble per say. If anything, his street fighting reputation is legendary among some of the patrol officers, but that's not why I'm here either. What I am here about is a visit he made to Chishiki College yesterday."

Ichigo frowned slightly, approaching the table, "I was there. Some friends and I were looking into a possible college to try for."

"Can they vouch for that?" asked Tatsuma.

"They can," Ichigo nodded. "But what the heck is this all about?"

Tatsuma tapped on the table for a moment, getting a measure of Ichigo, "Alright, I'll be open about this. Yesterday, Professor Juryoku reported one of his books, a rare one written by Isaac Newton was stolen."

Ichigo's eyes widened, "W-what?!"

"Normally I wouldn't be personally involved, but with the recent spree of the Ghost Thief and some incidents before, I've been noticing a chain of similar acts," Tatsuma explained. "So when another relic form a famous historic figure goes missing, I feel like I have to investigate."

"Right," Ichigo frowned slightly. So Tatsuma was noticing a connection betwee the last few Ganma incursions and the legendary objects they were hunting. Not good. Worse, the guy knew about the Ganma and wouldn't write them off as delusions since he had fought all sorts of weird monsters before. "So you come to me because you found out I was there?"

"Indeed," Tatsuma nodded. "Granted, you had people who could vouch for you, but some of my officers are a little suspicious since you, a known street brawler, suddenly show up at a university where a relic went missing."

"Ichi-nii wouldn't do that!" Yuzu snapped.

"I know," Tatsuma replied neutrally. "I do my due dilligence with any possible subject or witness. Frankly, aside from his rather spectacular fighting record, Ichigo Kurosaki is a good student who is well behaved for the most part except when delinquents try to pick a fight with him over his hair color."

"Stupid sterotypes," Ichigo couldn't help but grumble.

"Ha! He has my wife's hair color and wears it with pride!" issun snorted.

"No doubt," the detective conceded. "But understand I have to follow all possible leads and suspects. So now, Kurosaki-san, tell me everything you and your friends did when you went to Chishiki."

So ichigo sat down and began to explain everything he and his friends did while at the school. He did admit they made up a story about having an assignment about Isaac Newton since he was one of the first people they thought of when they thought of science history. The reason for the ruse was to see how thorough or not the teachers would be in helping them. They did meet with Prof. Juryoku, but after they met, they went to other departments to see what the other teachers were like. This last part was true, as Uryu did want to see what the facilities were like, if only to consider Seimei as a backup school or not. Ichigo was just thankful for it now instead of annoyed like he was.

Tatsuma merely took it all down in his notebook. For all Ichigo was watching the guy work, he couldn't help but in some ways he was looking almost into a mirror. Granted, Tatsuma's personality was different from his, as was his attitude and a lot of other personal things. No, what Ichigo saw as so similar was how Tatsuma carried himself and how determined he was to ferret out the truth.

If he wasn't trying so hard to keep the guy from getting in the way or getting in over his head, Ichigo was pretty sure he could get to like the guy. Maybe.

He just hoped the others would help coroborate the story he was telling.

Karakura - Rooftops

Rukia sat on the edge of a building, looking down on the city. She had to admit, it held a special place in her heart since so much of the events which made her the person she was now happened there. Right now though, she was just think of ways to try and take the edge off her frustration while she waited for Renji to finish his report to HQ.

Zennosuke had been less than helpful, which wasn't surprising. When questioned about his report, he just reiterated some kind of battle with 'a giant lightbulb monster', 'an orange-faced weirdo', and 'a flying ghost ship'. He only had a vague description of the 'clown' which had no real identity since he was covered in armor. Worse, Zennosuke had no ideas, or even a theory on what the creature he saw actually was.

Why that surprised her, Rukia wasn't sure at this point.

"Hey," Renji's voice broke Rukia's musing, causing her to turn and see him approach.

"What did the captains say?" asked Rukia.

"Investigate and meet with Urahara to see if he knows something," Renji replied. "We're really flying blind this time."

"Yes, we are," Rukia sighed, standing up. "Well, patrolling didn't do anything yesterday and Zennosuke can keep up with the hollows for now. Let's see Urahara and maybe get some clues and then maybe we'll have a better idea as to where to go next."

"Sure thing," Renji nodded. "Somehow, I'll bet Zabimaru that Strawberry's wrapped up in this somehow."

"No bet," Rukia snorted. Somehow, she could guess he was hip deep in it all somewhere. He always was it seemed.

After Tatsuma finished up with Ichigo, he quickly began texting his friends, hoping to either warn them or find out if the police had managed to let slip anything. If nothing else though, Tatsuma was a good detective. While he was questioning Ichigo, other detectives were questioning his friends. Tatsuki and Uryu didn't have any problems, although it pissed Ichigo off that Chad's interviewer gave him a bit of attitude thanks to his street fight record and his foreign looks. Orihime, well, she managed to prove her innocence, if only because of her storytelling technique the detective probably thought she was too ditzy to really try and steal anything.

Still, the group got together after the interviews to brainstorm what might have happened.

"Ganma, it's got to be," Tatsuki insisted.

"Probably, but what are the odds? One shows up the same day we look into Chishiki so we get drawn into this?" asked Uryu.

"You think it was planned?" asked Chad.

"I do," Uryu nodded. "Each time Sage has brought a new figure to our attention, we also begin clashing with a Ganma who is also hunting for that relic and for someone to sacrifice in their rituals. No, these are not coincidences."

"I'm not arguing that," Ichigo shook his head. "Sage has got some kind of inside track with the Ganma. Though what's his game?"

"A wish for absolutely anything? That's not hard to guess," Tatsuki muttered. "Probably wants you to collect them for him so he can swipe them!"

"Maybe, but right now he's too damn useful. We can't seem to find anything without him," Ichigo shrugged. "But in the meantime, what do we do now?"

"Well, we know that Ganma need to sacrifice someone to make Eyecons, right?" asked Orihime. " Do you think Professor Juryoku is at risk then? He seemed to really admire Newton-san."

"It would fit their usual style," Uryu agreed.

"Then let's go take care of this creep," Ichigo huffed. "My rep's bad enough as it is. I don't need being accused of grand theft to be added to it."

"I dare say your boss wouldn't like it either," Uryu chuckled.

Ichigo shivered. His boss would certainly give him hell if she heard about this.

Chishiki College

Urahara hadn't been as helpful as the two Shinigami had hoped. He had been able to explain that the creatures called themselves Ganma, possibly led by someone they referred to as a Prince. He did tell them that they were from another realm and they were seeking the souls of legendary individuals to summon through relics they handled.

"You sure this is accurate?" Renji asked Rukia as she read over a local newspaper. "What even gave you this idea?"

"I'd read a lot while I was hiding out," Rukia answered. "Newspapers usually have good information. Since these Ganma creatures actually interact with the world, unlike hollows, they'd leave a mark even the mundane could see. Urahara did mention a human built some kind of spiritual machine slipped to him by that lightbulb monster."

"I dunno. Seems like a wild goose chase to me," Renji muttered.

"Well, mentions of a ghost thief stealing relics connected to legendary souls seem to be all the paper can talk about," Rukia retorted. "And the captains did tell us that something was disturbing the Cycle here. It fits with the Ganma trying to steal legendary souls."

"True, but, a ghost thief? Come on, that's just cheesy," Renji huffed.

"Maybe, but with a theft at this school, it's a possible lead," Rukia retorted as they looked down at Chishiki College. "And a thief with 'ghost powers' that no one can explain seems a bit suspicious to me."

Renji sighed, but accepted that, "Aight. I get it. We don't have much of a lead otherwise. Let's do the rounds and see what rocks we can kick."

The pair leaped down to the college grounds and simply bega walking. Being Shinigami, no one there would be able to see them. Perhaps they would have been better at their search if they knew what they were looking for, but with Zennosuke's rather lacking report, they weren't very sure of anything.

Walking through the middle of the campus, Ruki found herself stopping when she spotted something...bizarre for lack of a better word. Sitting on a bench was a student holding his backpack in his lap as if he was waiting for something. Behind him though, was an odd creature wearing a coat covered with prisms, even wearing one on its head.

"What in the world?" Rukia blinked.

"Come on, come on, read the book," the creature whispered to the student. "You took it. You might as well use it. Learn the knowledge and pass your exams. It'll be easy with this book!" The words only seemed to cause the student distress as he clutched his bag tighter.

"Renji, I found one," Rukia spoke up.

"What?" Renji turned from his spot, stopping when he saw the same creature. "What the hell…?"

Some may have passed the creature off as a cosplayer as some kind of street act. Still, the two shinigami knew better. First of all, no one was sparing even a glance at the creature, which anyone would have to stop and at least glance once as they went by. Secondly, Renji and Rukia could feel it's spiritual power as clear as day. It felt strange, different, certainly not human, shinigami, or hollow.

"Looks like we found a lead," Renji grinned, drawing his sword.

"Agreed," Ruki nodded. "Let's go."

"Come on, read the book. You need the knowledge," the Prism Ganma whispered to his target, but stopped when he saw two figures in black approaching. "Uh-oh, busted~!"

"Alright you," Renji frowned, sword over his shoulder. "You don't seem wild like a hollow. Careto answer a few questions of ours?"

"Hmmm, I don't think so," the Ganma chuckled, standing up. "Nope, don't need to associate with Seireitei." The prisms on its coat began to shine in a rainbow of colors, "So why don't you just...DISAPPEAR!"

Beams of light erupted from the prisms, each one a different color. Rukia and Renji immediately dashed away, using the Shunpo technique. The beams of light immediately jerked, moving fast to follow. Renji grimaced as four beams flew at him, forcing him to move. Rukia was stalked by three and both managed to dodge before the beams crashed into various areas.

Each beam of light proved to have a different effect when it impacted. Red erupted in an inferno, causing people to scream and begin running. Orage caused explosions, increasing the carnage. Yellow made flashes of light, blinding many which was not good for the chaos. The green light caused whatever it struck to start melting while the blue beams froze whatever it touched. Finally the indigo beams erupted in a gas and the violet light caused a field of increased gravity, crushing anything loose inside the area.

"The hell?" Renji grunted, watching the area erupt in total destruction with just seven beams of light.

"Ha, ha, ha! Behold the power of chaos theory!" the Prism Ganma laughed before charging up for another series of attacks.

BOOM!

"Oh hell," Ichigo groaned.

The group stopped on their approach to the college when they saw a fireball erupt from inside. Immediately all five of them charged for the chaos when others were simply running away. Pushing through the crowds, they managed to get onto the campus proper. All sorts of wild things were going on which included melting pits, burning fires, and numerous other effects. Smoke was wafting everywhere, making it hard to see where the Ganma was.

"Anyone see anything?" asked Ichigo.

"I don't-!" Uryu began.

"Ah! Ruki-san and Renji-san!" Orihime suddenly cried out.

"What?!" Ichigo gasped. A breeze caused the smoke to waft away. Sure enough, Ichigo could see the familiar forms of the petite Rukia and the taller form of Renji. Both were leaping closer at the Ganma at the far end of the campus. It was firing rainbow lights in all directions to strike the pair of shinigami down, although their speed kept the blats for directly hitting them, the splash damage of the blasts were more than deadly enough.

For a moment, Ichigo was still. In a way, he still feared even if he could see Ganma, he wouldn't be able to see hollows or shinigami again. Never see his old friends from Seireitei. Now though, now he could see them and be able to connect with his old friends.

"Let's go!" he declared, grabbing his Eyecon while summoning his GhostDriver. "Henshin!"

"EYE! BATCHRIMINA!"

"KAIGAN! LET'S GO! KAKUGO! GHO-GHO-GHO-GHOST! GO, GO, GO, GO!"

Ichigo dashed forward as his parka ghost appeared. The armor formed over his body before the coat-like ghost landed on his form, completing the change with his orange face-plate folding up.

Ghost rached through the smoke, bursting through it before he summoned his GanGun Saber and charged for the battle itself. He burst from the smoke, coming up behind Rukia as she prepared for another lunge with her sword.

"Outta the way midget!" Ghost shouted.

Rukia froze, her eyes widening when she heard the voice and the rude nickname. Glancing over, she whispered only one name "...Ichigo?"

Ghost shot past Rukia, aiming for the Ganma, which yelped and unleashed more beams of light at him. Ghost dippe to the side, avoiding the streams, although a green one touched his armor, causing it to sizzle and smoke. Ghost grunted, but kept going, coming up to the Ganma and starting to swing.

"Ho! Hah! Too close!" The Prism Ganma laughed, dipping around the strikes. "I can observe all of your body movements and predict your attacks! I can see every move you're making! All seen by scientific deduction!"

"Oh shut up!" Ghost grunted, swinging hard only to miss again.

"Sorry boy, but your brute force fails against scientific genius!" the Ganma laughed, unleashing a blast of yellow, which created a blinding flare. Ghost recoiled, clutching his faceplate before a beam of orange sent him sailing backwards in a loud explosion.

"Ow!" Ghost grunted, flying back and landing on his back. His armor smoked, but it wasn't cracked as he forced himself up to his knees.

Renji blinked at the orange-clad fighter nearby, "...Is that you Strawberry?"

"Ah shut up Monkey," Ghost retorted, pulling himself up to his feet. "Talk after we bring this creep down."

"Ha! Bet on it!" Renji grinned, turning to face the Ganma again.

"Oooh, so confident are you?" the Ganma snorted. He quickly reached into his pockets and pulled out numerous Ganma Eyecons. He tosed them around, immediately causing Ganma Commandos to appear in blasts of black smoke.

"What?" Rukia gasped.

"Relax, they've only got numbers on their side," Ghost spoke up. "Besides, we got friends too."

His words proved prophetic as the projectile attacks of Ghost's friends came onto the scene, blowing away several of the commandos. Chad, Orhime, and Uryu approached the battlefield, all of them ready to fight.

"Everyone…" Rukia gasped, but then began to smile. "Just like old times."

"Better believe it," Ghost grinned beneath his mask. "Let's do this!"

(LINE BREAK)

Tatsuki watched her friends start to fight against the Ganma and it's forces. It was really times like this that she hated not having fully developed spiritual powers. Sure, she could see ghosts and all that, but she couldn't exactly do anything to really fight them. Maybe punch and kick, but most hollows and Ganma had crazy high durability.

"Dammit," She muttered.

As the chaos started with black Ganma blood starting to fly, a flash of blue caught her eye from the corner. Being a trained fighter, she certainly didn't get to her position by missing small tells. She turned and saw a rather plain-looking college student. He was trembling behind a tree and clutching a backpack rather desperately. The pac was clearly glowing as something inside was starting to shine.

"Wait," Tatsuki frowned. She dashed towards the cowering student and skidded to a stop, he yelped and clutched his back tighter, causing the shine to glow brighter, "Are you the one that Ganma was haunting?"

"G-Ganma?" the young man trembled. "Wh-what?"

Tatsuki growled, "Are you the one who stole that book and nearly got my friends arrested?"

"N-No!" the student yelped. "I didn't steal! I need to study! I-I wouldn't steal Isaac Newton's book!"

It was honestly kind of pathetic. The young man looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown and possibly not just from the fighting nearby. He was sweating profusely, shaking, and pale. All the while, the bag was shining inside.

"Okay, I'm not in the mood to play nice!" Tatsuki frowned. She grabbed the bag, causing the student to go wild.

"NO! I NEED IT! I NEED IT TO PASS! I HAVE TO PASS! I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING WITHOUT IT! NO!" he screamed, flailing like a wild man as he tried to keep a grip on his bag.

Sadly, his strength was nothing compared to Tatsuki and she easily pried the bag from his arms. His pasty strength, possibly due to some obsession the Ganma planted in him, was no match. Tatsuki pried the bag from him, pinning him down with her foot, while she opened her bag. The light almost blinded her for a moment before she could see inside. A thick book of obvious age which was glowing blue.

"You DID steal it!" Tatsuki frowned. "How much did that Ganma mess with you?"

"I need it. I need it," the student moaned.

"You really should return that," a new voice spoke up.

Tatsuki spun around and stopped when she saw a man dressed in a dark coat with a hat, glasses, and a briefcase. He seemed utterly emotionless as he gazed at Tatsuki. More worrisome was the fact that two Ganma were flanking him. One dressed in a samurai armor with a pair of red eyes on the chest while the other wore a long duster with saddlebags over the shoulders and a cowboy hat.

"Crap," Tatsuki hissed, her eyes turning to the Ganma.

"Oh, you can see them?" the man asked, starting to grin and show truly disfigured teeth. "This makes it easier then. Now, give me the relic and my men won't have to do any harm to you."

"And let the Ganma get a chance at the wish? No freaking way!" Tatsuk frowned, slowly changing her stance to fight.

"Oh, I wasn't asking," the man grinned. His two Ganma companions produced their weapons, a katana and a six-shot pistol. Tatsuki grimaced and prepared to either run or fight…

"What are you doing Saionji?"

Tatsuki blinked and turned around before she gaped. Coming from behind was an armored figure whose resemblance to Ghost's armor was nearly identical. The difference was that the panels on the armor had vitality markings, like the spikes on a heart monitor. Also, his parka ghost was blue. Finally, his faceplate sported two horns and blue markings made it appear like an oni face.

The two Ganma stiffened slightly, apprehensive of the new Rider. The man, Saionji lost his grin and began to frown, "Specter. We are here on orders from Prince Alain. He wishes to collect the Eycons at all costs."

"And I'm under orders from Princess Alia," the blue Rider named Specter retorted. "She's heiress to the throne, not Alain. Her orders trump his. Now back off."

Saionji looked like he wanted to argue, but the tw Ganma certainly didn't. Both began to back off, leaving the man the only source of resistance. He scowled, but he backed off as well, vanishing with his ganma through a purple eye which opened up in the air.

"Slimeball," Specter huffed. He looked at Tatsuki who was now facing him with the glowing book. "Now then Jou-chan, any chance I can convince you to hand that book to me?"

"Like I said, no way," Tatsuki frowned. "I'm not letting those Ganma creeps get the chance at a wish like this! My friend needs it way more!"

"Oh yeah? And what does he want?" Specter presed. "What wish could he have which could make me trump the princess'?"

"His life," Tatuki replied simply. "He's only got a short time to live, and I'm going to make sure he beats this!"

Specter looked at her, seemingly surprised by her answer. After several moments, his shoulders slumped and he shook his head, "I see. Well, far be it from me to deny someone trying to save their lives." he looked to Tatsuki again, "That's not going to stop me from getting Eyecons myself. If your Ghost friend hasn't claimed them, then they're fair game for me and I don't intend to lose."

"Bring it," Tatsuki grinned. Specter nodded, but gestured for her to leave as he turned around. Tatsuki didn't need more of a hint than that, dashing for the site of the battle.

Ghost grunted as he slashed down another commando. HE was getting annoyed, seeing as the Prsim Ganma was still pulling more Ganma Eyecons out of its pockets without any sign that it was running out. Worse, it had manifested some kind of prism to throw the eyecons through. Where one Eyecon went in, seven came out, making even more commandos to fight.

"ICHIGO!" he heard Tatsuki's shout. He spun around, spotting his friend and how she was waving glowing book over her head.

"No way," he gaped, but cut down another commando before he ran to her side. "Where the hell did you get this?"

"The thief was cowering over there," Tatsuki shrugged, pointing to where someone was laying on the ground. "Now forget about that! Use it to summon Newton and crush this guy!"

"Tatsuki…" Ichigo sighed, not feeling right about using stolen property, but crushed the feeling since the situation really didn't allow for social propriety. He took the book and after a moment of hesitation, channelled his reiatsu into his finger and drew the eye symbol over the book.

The symbol appeared before the book dissolved into a light blue smoke that began to rise. Emerging from it came the form of a parka ghost. This one was light blue, appearing similar to an actual parka with metal plating on the shoulders. Attached to the short sleeves were metal gloves with large blue orbs for the fists. In the shadows of the hood were a pair of glowing blue eyes.

"Oooh," Newton sighed, shaking his head. "Now, what do we have here?" he drifted down to Ghost and Tatsuki's side. "What's all the excitement about?"

"Long story," Ghost replied. "Those things want to steal your spirit and use it as a power source."

"My Spirit? Well, I can't deny such things like the soul exist as I am now," Newton chuckled. "Still, this is all so very interesting. I'd love to research this new field of science!"

With that, Newton dove for Ghost's Driver and disappeared into it. Holding his hand, the GhostDriver shone a light blue light into his hand before a new light blue Eyecon appeared in his hand.

"And that makes four," Tatsuki grinned.

"Right," Ghost agreed before he turned to see the melee going on, "Okay, let's finish this!"

"EYE! BATCHIRIMINA, BATCHRIMINA, BATCHRIMINA!"

Ghost quickly swapped out Eyecons, letting his Ore Parka Ghost vanish in a haze of orange. Once it was in, the Newton Parka Ghost returned, staring down the fighting ahead. Seeing he was present, Ghost pulled the Detonation Trigger.

"KAIGAN! NEWTON! RINGO-GA RAKKA! HIKIYOSE-MAKKA~!"

The Parka Ghost rested on Ghost's shoulders before his faceplate slide up. It was mostly black with a blue arrow pointing down at a blue apple. As the change was completed, an aura of sheer gravitational force appeared, making Tatsuki feel heavier for a moment before it stabilized.

"GRavity?" she asked.

"Oh yeah. Gravity," Ghost agreed.

After the field stabilized, he strode forward towards the battle. The commandos didn't start to notice until he was closer. By then, it was too late for them. Ghost lifted his right hand. The orb immediately began to glow before he thrust his hand out. Waves of blue power washed over everyone on the field. Ghost's friends didn't feel a thing, but the Ganma felt themselves taken off of their feet, sent sprawling backwards in a heap of flailing bodies around the Prism Ganma.

"What?! What?! What?!" The Prism Ganma cried out. "An outside factor?!"

"Yeah, an outside factor," Ghost nodded. He clenched his right fist, making the glove shine again before he moved the wave of energy up. All of the Ganma flashed before they all began to float up into the air.

"Ahhhh! We're floating! We're floating away!" the Ganma cried a second time.

"Not for long," Ghost replied. He abruptly cut off the flow of energy, causing the Ganma to all fall with screams into a groaning heap. Seeing his chance, Ghost freed his right hand from the glove before pulling the Dentonation Trigger.

"DAIKAIGAN! NEWTON! OMEGA DRIVE!"

Ghost leaped into the air, his right glove flaring to launch him higher than he would otherwise go. At the apex of his leap, his left gove flared and began pulling him back down towards the pile of Ganma. Rearing both hands back, both gloves began to shine before he came to the center of the mass where the Prism Ganma was trying to get up.

"Chaos Theory...used against me?!" the Prism Ganma gasped before Ghost slammed his fists down.

"HURRAAAAAHHHHH!" Ghosts fists slammed down on the Ganma, eliciting a scream before said Ganma exploded in a haze of fire. This caused a chain reaction in the commandos, making them all explode in flares of black smog. The black beneath the fire just made the entire scene appear macabre before it all faded away.

"Whooo," Renji whistled. "He hasn't lost his touch."

"Still causing destruction," Rukia sighed, but a happy smile was on her face.

"Better than you could do Midget," Ghost walked out of the fire. He released his hands, pulling the Newton Eyecon out and dismissing his armor. "Still short huh?"

"You're still a punk," Rukia shook her head. "But it's good to see you again."

"Likewise," Ichigo nodded before glancing at Renji, "Oh, and Renji too I guess."

"Dick," Renji snorted. "Well, think we should get out of here before someone asks you guys some uncomfortable questions?"

"We'd better," Uryu agreed. "I don't need a criminal record."

Later…

Ichigo and his friends retreated back to Orihime's apartment since it was the only place they could get reacquainted. Rukia and Renji were both deeply concerned to hear the Ganma appeared suddenly and simply cut Ichigo down. Sage, or whoever he was, managed to rescue him but only for ninety-nine days. Supposedly getting fifteen Eyecons would save his eyes with a wish, although they had no proof otherwise. Still, they didn't have much else to do to try and save Ichigo's life.

Tatsuki also reported the brief meeting with the crooked-tooth man named Saionji. She also explained the mysterious Specter and the mysterial Prince Alain and Princess Alia who apparently had clashing orders with each other. It added more pieces to the puzzle, but still no one could put the pieces together again.

"Man, hip deep in things again," Renji sighed. "You sure don't change."

"Don't see a reason to yet," Ichigo shrugged.

"Oh, almost dying yet again!" Rukia huffed. "And you're pulled into another weird conspiracy involving a group we've never heard about. Do you just attract these things?"

"Not my fault! They came at me!" Ichigo retorted.

The others just smiled fondly, seeing one of the typical arguments between Rukia and Ichigo back int he days before the Winter War. It was a nostalgic face, but they also noticed an energy come back to Ichigo. Ever since he lost his powers, a spark from Ichigo had left him. He didn't regret doing it, but he sure did miss it. Some of it returned when he began fighting Ganma, but now with their shinigami friends returned that spark was back. It was a pleasant sight for everyone involved.

Happy Days were back again...juyt with Ganma.

Chishiki College

Tatsuma walked around his fellow police officers as he eyed the destruction. The grounds of the college were ruined, covered with craters, mounds of ice, or any number of effects. To be honest, it reminded him all too much of some of the battles that he, Keitaro, and Philip would have against Dopants or Museum's forces. He knew the signs.

"So there is another," he pondered. Now he knew that there had to be another Kamen Rider involved.

Rumors were flying as to what happened but no one could say what caused the explosions. To all involved, they just started up out of the blue. Many considered it to be hidden bombs, but what caused the ice, acid, or other effects just couldn't be explained.

The only good thing he could claim could come from it was the resolution of the stolen book case. A student was found weeping on the ground near the street, moaning like he was in withdrawl for a book he had stolen. Signs were pointing that he stole it in a desperate bid for research, although he was clearly delirious. Maybe when he recovered they could get some straight answers out of him then.

"Sir!" an officer called out, catching Tatsuma's attention. "We found something strange!"

"What is it?" asked Tatsuma, approaching said officer.

"These," the cop produced two evidence bags. They consided of a broken glass prisim, while the other seemed to have several black and white plasting fragments taking the appearance of an eye if they were pieced together.

"Another one," Tatsuma frowned. So the Ganma were still running around and looking for special artifacts.

He may have to put himself into the investigation personally.

To Be Continued…

Next time on Kamen Rider Ghost Bleached

Yurusen: Stop dragging your boots and just take some Eyecons!

Ichigo: I'm not some damn thief!

Rukia: Summoning souls out of the Cycle is a big deal.

Orihime: We found a lead!

Specter: Sorry, but I have dibs on this own.

WARE-NO IKIZAMA! OKE HAZAMA

Next Time: Demon of Honnoji!

Tatsuma: Ghost, you're under arrest!

CHECK IT OUT! OMAKE CORNER!

PARKA GHOST PARADE

Newton Damashii

Like the Edison Damashii, Newton is infused with the elemental force of gravity, being the one who scientifically proved it existed. With his right hand, Ghost can unleash a force of gravity to repel from his right hand, and attraction in his left hand. His speed, strength, and jumping power is lowered, but his punching power actually increases since the power of gravity runs through his arms.

A/N: Well, here is the first glimpse of Specter and he seems to have a connection to the Ganma Royal Family. Not surprising, but not the one the original Specter had. I did have some trouble helping this move along since it had been so long since I last worked on this project. I hope the quality didn't drop too much. It's a little shorter in my opinion, but this was sort of a more transitional chapter to introduce Specter and have Tatsuma start getting personally involved since the battles are rising in scale.