Disclaimer: I own nothing.

CANDY

"So why are we this far out again captain?" Rangiku Matsumoto lieutenant of squad ten asked.

"For the tenth time Rangiku, reports of hollows in the outer districts have been decreasing for an unknown reason according to the twelfth division. We are here to find out why", captain Hitsugaya told her with irritation. They were currently headed through a forested area in the outer area of the Rukon district near a village that had been plagued by hollow attacks for years. When they asked the people who or what was eliminating the hollows they seemed to remain silent and even lied saying they didn't know. Most likely they were more afraid of what was out there then the hollows themselves.

"This way, I sense a hollow close by", the short captain took off in a blur followed by his second in command. They arrived in time to see the dead body of the hollow dissipate into reishi particles.

"Ah damn it, looks like we just missed them captain", the large breasted woman sighed dejectedly, but all the while happy they didn't have to do any work.

"This is most irregular, I'm positive when I sensed the hollow it had just appeared in soul society", Toshiro walked around the sight looking for any clue he could find. "Whoever did this also sensed the hollow and got here faster than me and killed it all in the span of a few seconds", the white haired captain couldn't find a single trace of anyone other than himself and his lieutenant.

When this situation was first brought to the Gotei thirteen's attention they had first deployed a few seated officers to investigate. After they returned empty handed with no explanation for the mass destruction of hollows from all around the Rukon a team from the twelfth division was sent to investigate. They too came back with nothing and now all the captains of the Gotei were made aware of the situation and four were sent to find out what was happening along with their respective lieutenants. Captain Hitsugaya and his second Matsumoto were sent east, Captain Kuchiki and his lieutenant Renji Abarai went west, Captain Aizen and his lieutenant Hinamori went south, and Captain Ukitake who didn't currently have a lieutenant so he brought his subordinate Rukia Kuchiki to investigate north.

If there was a person or group of individuals behind the elimination of hollows in soul society they would soon be discovered. Most seemed to believe that it was a group of rogue Shinigami that abandoned their duty and post, if that was the case then the stealth force or punishment squadron would be deployed to deal with them. Hitsugaya wasn't sure what they would do next, after all it was technically illegal for citizens of the Rukon district to fight hollows only the Shinigami were authorized to because only they had the power to, but at the same time these hollow hunters were providing a valuable service and had not caused any harm so far. It still remained to be seen whether or not they would be commended or arrested for their actions. For now all they were given orders to do was find them.

"Let's keep moving Rangiku, odds are they might still be in the area", the two of them quickly left unaware of the black cloaked figure wearing a skull-like mask stepping out from the shadows. The man was an expert at hiding his spirit energy so the captain and his lieutenant never detected his presence. The figure took off his mask and dropped his hood revealing a handsome seventeen year-old boy with shaggy bright orange hair reaching past his neck, brown eyes and peachy skin. The boy walked over to a nearby boulder and sat down pulling a few pieces of candy out of his pocket.

"Ah dammit, their on to me now", he said to himself picking out a strawberry flavored lollipop. "I'm going to have to be like super careful now", he removed the wrapper and popped the red candy on a stick in his mouth. "Hope those Shinigami aren't around tomorrow".

THE NEXT DAY

Rukia wandered around the streets seeing various shops and buildings, they people here seemed to be busy with setting up for a festival of some kind that involved hollowed out pumpkins with faces carved into them, she wasn't even sure what that was about. Separated from her captain she wandered aimless, at first she attempted to ask people about the hollows being destroyed, but they either refused to tell her or didn't seem to know.

"GRAWWW!" a monstrous roar and the sounds of children screaming made Rukia stop and turn to see a group of little kids running from something wrapped in white bandages wearing a pair of brown raggedy pants with a skull mask making scary noises and walking weirdly as it made to grab at them.

"Halt!" Rukia appeared in front of the monster with her sword out pointing at the creature.

"Whoa their little girl relax!", the creature held up his hands in surrender. "And what are you doing with that sword little one?" He removed his mask revealing a handsome face underneath.

"Little one!? I'll have you know I'm a Shinigami of the thirteenth division, that's why I have this sword", Rukia explained not liking how he referred to her as a child. She was Shinigami and a noble and would not be talked down by this guy.

"Oh for real!? I thought you were just one of the kids dressing up like a Shinigami for Halloween", the orange haired guy laughed at the misunderstanding.

"What's this Hall-oween? And why are you dressed like that?" Rukia asked, more like interrogated.

"You don't know? Well it's a day people dress up like monsters and try to scare each other and eat candy", he explained to her with a grin.

"Why would they do that?" Rukia looked around to see other people dressed up in similar costumes to this orange haired teenager.

"Um…for fun", he said like it was so obvious. "Well I got some brats to find, see around miss…"

"Rukia, Rukia Kuchiki", his eyes widened in a way that was familiar to her by now, he must have realized she was part of the noble Kuchiki family. Any minute now he would be bowing and making apologies like all the rest.

"Pretty name, nice meeting you Rukia", he put his skull mask back on and started to walk past her. Rukia was stunned that he didn't care about her status, she wasn't mad she was actually sort of relieved.

"Wait I didn't get your name!" Rukia called after him.

"It's Ichigo, Ichigo Kurosaki", he replied through his mask. "And no it doesn't mean strawberry!" Rukia smiled and waved as he walked off, he seemed nice. It wouldn't occur to her until much later that Ichigo didn't seem surprised that a Shinigami was patrolling the area, nor did he question it.

LATER

"All right kids, let's try this street", Ichigo said still in his costume, the sun had went down and he was chaperoning a group of kids also dressed in costumes as they went around trick or treating. For the past four years the parents of this town had asked him to keep watch over their children while they had their fun on Halloween, they trusted him and knew he would protect them from any harm.

"Make sure to say thank you!" he called to them as they carried their sacks filled with candy. Ichigo suddenly turned towards the nearby forested area sensing the presence of a hollow. After telling the kids to wait here for him he disappeared in a flash to deal with the nuisance.

"We'll have to wait here and see what happens", Ukitake said sitting up high in tree with Rukia on another branch. They watched the large beetle-like hollow stomp about the forest floor.

"But what if no one shows up Captain?" she asked her friendly commander.

"Not to worry Rukia, if no one shows up we'll deal with the hollow before it wanders to close the edge of the forest", he assured her with a kind smile. They happened to be in the area when the hollow showed up and decided to wait and see if who they were looking for would show up to kill it. Turns out they didn't have to wait long. A figure in a black cloak appeared out of the darkness of the night and walked slowly towards the hollow. The beast let out a roar and charged towards him as he unsheathed his sword, the blade looked average, but the hilt was covered in ragged torn bandages and the guard looked old and rusted. The hollow didn't stand a chance, one second its face was a foot away from the black cloaked man and the next its mask was split down the middle by a powerful swing of his sword. Rukia watched in awe at the speed, power and precision the man wielded, her captain stood up and dropped down from the tree alerting the cloaked figure to their presence.

"That was quite impressive stranger", Ukitake said walking over to the mysterious hollow slayer with his hand away from his sword to show that he came in peace, for now. The cloaked man remained silent as he looked at the captain. "May I ask for your name?"

"Hm", was the only response he seemed to give. Rukia appeared next to Ukitake catching the cloaked man's attention. She noticed the mask on his face and it rang an instant bell with her, it looked just like the same skull mask on the face of someone she met earlier today named Ichigo. The still unidentified masked figure merely swung his sword to flick the hollow blood from his blade before sheathing it and turning to leave.

"Wait!" Ukitake tried calling after him, but he disappeared into the darkness leaving no other trace that he was there. "Well that was odd, but at least we got a look at a potential suspect in all this".

"Captain, I believe I've seen that mask before", Rukia admitted.

"Where?"

"This man I ran into earlier today, he was dressed like a monster and wearing a mask just like that one", Rukia thought about, but realized one important fact. "The difference was that he didn't have any spiritual pressure, but whoever that was clearly did Captain".

"That is true, and it is Halloween so most likely there could be a shop selling masks like that one. Did you happen to get his name?" Ukitake asked.

"Yes, his name is Ichigo Kurosaki", Rukia answered quickly.

"Well he must live in this area, if we find him we might be able to find out where he got the mask and maybe the store that sells them could help us find our mysterious hollow slayer", Ukitake seemed remarkably optimistic about this needle in a hay stack situation they were in.

LATER

"I'm back!" Ichigo called from the entry of the house.

"Ichigo!" a girl called from the other room. He walked into the small kitchen to see a girl the same age as him with long auburn hair, dressed in a black skirt and white t-shirt and apron over her clothes. "Did the kids get home alright?"

"Yup, the little brats made it home stuffed to the gills with candy", Ichigo grinned taking off his black cloak and skull mask. He sat down at the table wearing only a pair of ragged brown pants. His body was not super toned though still quite muscular for his age, but Orihime knew how strong he really was. She put an open soda bottle in front of him while opening one for herself.

"Happy Halloween", they both said taking gulp.

"I saw the Shinigami today", Ichigo dropped on her. "Two actually and one was a captain".

"Oh no, are we going to have to move again?" Orihime asked.

"Probably, can't have the 'grim reapers' finding me", he said while making finger quotes at the words grim reapers.

"I know what you're doing is breaking the law Ichigo, but you're still doing the right the thing", she said walking over to hug him from behind.

"I know Orihime, but I doubt they will see it the same. I'll probably go to prison if they catch me", he placed his hand over hers as she held it against his heart. "But in the meantime, let's enjoy our freedom", he said kissing her temple quickly. She smiled at him and led Ichigo by the hand to the bedroom.

"Times like this I really love the afterlife", Ichigo said laying her on their bed.

The next morning Ichigo awoke to the sound of knocking at the front door. He unwrapped his hands from around Orihime's naked body and put on a pair of pants before heading to the door grumbling about this being too early. Opening the door his heart nearly stopped when he saw the same Shinigami captain and Rukia Kuchiki from last night. Luckily his years of practice allowed him to hide his surprise and greet the two.

"And how may I help you two this morning?" he smiled, but inside his head he was chanting curse words over and over.

"Ah sorry for disturbing you so early, but are you Ichigo Kurosaki?" Ukitake asked, finding said person was surprisingly easy. The first person they asked Rukia described a tall teenager with bright orange hair and they immediately knew who he was talking about and told them where he lived.

"Yes I am, what can I do for you?" Ichigo gestured for them to come inside. Rukia's eyes were glued to his abs making the orange haired teen smirk. "See something you like shorty?"

"N-no of course not", Rukia scoffed and turned her head away to hide her blush. The three of them sat at a small table before Ukitake began his explanation for why they were there.

"My name is Jushiro Ukitake I'm the captain of division thirteen, and my associate you've already had the pleasure of meeting. We won't bother you for long so I'll get to the point. Rukia told me you were wearing a mask when she met you correct?" the white haired captain asked kindly.

"Yup", he said with a pop.

"A person of interest we are investigating also possesses the same mask. We were wondering where you got that mask, it might help us track down this person", Ukitake noticed how calm Ichigo appeared despite a captain level Shinigami being in the same room as him, it was very odd.

"Well I'm sorry to say I didn't buy may mask anywhere, I fished it out of the trash. We don't exactly have much money as you can see", he said pointing to the living conditions around the home. "You can look around the area you might be able to find the shops that sell masks, but it might be difficult since it's the day after Halloween and most of those shops would be packing up their seasonal products right about now", he shrugged.

"I see, that could be a problem. You said we, are their other's living here?" Ukitake asked.

"Yes actually someone who lived in the same city and time as me back when I was alive, we met up in the Rukon district and have been living together ever since", he explained happily. "I'd ask we be quiet, she's still asleep and after last night's fun is very tired", he smirked. "Get what I mean shorty?" Ichigo asked seeing Rukia blush again.

"Cut the perverse talk in front of my captain", she practically growled.

"It's quite alright Rukia, his carefree attitude reminds me a lot of Shunsui", Ukitake chuckled seeing the similarities between this teenager and his friend. It was actually nice and refreshing to meet someone so informal in the Rukon. "Well we won't take up anymore of your time Kurosaki", he stood up to leave with a bow.

"Please call me Ichigo", he stood up and bowed politely.

"Thank you for your assistance Ichigo", and with that the captain and Rukia left his home. When they were gone Ichigo let out a sigh of relief, he had been keeping his spirit energy so tightly confined afraid this captain might sense even a fraction of it. For now he blended into the soul society as a powerless, but albeit dashingly good looking soul of the Rukon district and that's how he'd like to keep it. Captain Ukitake and Rukia walked the street in silence after they left the young man's home.

"Did anything about that conversation strike you as odd Rukia?" the older asked in a serious tone.

"Um, I'm sorry I don't understand what you mean Captain?" Rukia followed next to him respectfully.

"That Ichigo didn't seem at all surprised or impressed by a captain being in his home, nor did I detect a hint of nervousness in his voice", Ukitake's suspicions became aroused when Ichigo didn't even flinch when the other tried to send a small pulse of spiritual at him. Even ordinary and powerless souls would at least be a little sensitive to reiatsu, but Ichigo didn't so much as twitch when he felt Ukitake's.

"Now that you mention it captain, he didn't seem surprised when I told him I was a shinigami when we met yesterday", Rukia was starting to see how curious this was. Perhaps Ichigo Kurosaki was more than he appeared to be.

THAT EVENING

"You ready to go Orihime?" Ichigo asked from the front door while biting the top corner off of the bar of chocolate. He carried a back pack containing all of his things, including his cloak and mask. He currently wore a pair of faded frayed blue jeans, a white cotton deep v long sleeved shirt, a pair of red converse that he got from the underground market and orange tinted wide sunglasses with his sword strapped to his belt. Orihime appeared from the bedroom with her bag packed wearing a light blue tank top, skinny jeans and sandals.

"Hello good looking", Ichigo liked making her blush with his cat calls.

"I'm ready captain", Orihime gave him an adorable salute. The two of them walked out of their home for the last few years and made their way west to find a new home, not before letting their friends and neighbors know they were moving of course.

"Are you upset that we have to move again?" He asked with rare maturity in his voice while they walked.

"I'm always sad to leave our homes", she said sadly.

"Do you ever regret staying with me?" Ichigo asked this question all the time.

"I made a promise to always stay by your side Ichigo, I'm not about to break that no matter what", Orihime said confidently, she stopped and tried to kiss him but a pink bubble from the gum in his mouth stopped her so she just settled for holding his hand while they walked.

CAPTAINS MEETING

"Report!" the head captain ordered.

"We found nothing head captain, not a single trace of whoever is responsible for the destruction of hollows in the Rukon district", Captain Aizen said taking a step back in line.

"That's not entirely true, myself and a member of my division Rukia Kuchiki managed to confront the individual, but he ran from us", a few captains muttered how inexcusable it was for letting the suspect go.

"To be fair they were not given orders to apprehend this character", Kyoraku defended his friend's actions.

"It's true we were merely sent to discover the identities of those responsible", Hitsugaya added. Everyone began to argue about official orders and implied orders.

"Enough", the head captain stomped his cane on the wood floor to command everyone's attention. "The new orders are as follows, captains Ukitake, Aizen, Hitsugaya and Kuchiki will return tomorrow to the field to continue investigation. If the rogue responsible is spotted you are to apprehend on sight. Captain Ukitake, have a description and drawing of the suspect made for wanted posters. That will be all" Yamamoto's orders were clear and absolute.

One captain in particular while wearing a kind mask of falseness was silently growing more aggravated. Sosuke Aizen had already discovered the anomaly of the hollows being eliminated mysteriously long before the twelfth division. He was hoping to find the source of this mystery, but failed to do so and now the Gotei was involved. Aizen believed that whoever was doing this would have been flushed out by now, but ironically they remained a ghost.

'The best way to find a needle in a haystack is to burn all the hay', he smirked as he contemplated how to bring this mysterious individual to the light.

I really wanted to do a Bleach story, particularly this story. It's an alternate universe story line where they events take place if Ichigo died at a young age and ended up in soul society. I know he seems out of character, mainly because I wanted to loosen him up, being in the afterlife has sort of liberated from his normal demeanor, but he's still the guy that wants to protect.

The pairing is Orihime for now, might change later. This Ichigo is more of a lady's man and is not afraid of a little skin. As for why she's dead too, that will be told later. I also always wondered if other souls from other countries could be found in soul society, if there are then it would make sense that they would continue to carry on their traditions and holidays like Halloween and Christmas.

New Zanpakuto for Ichigo, totally different…in most ways.

Thank you for reading, let me know what you think so far.