A/N: Hello folks, and welcome to my story. I tried to keep in tone with the show as best I could, so there will be general, inexplicable insanity mixed in with substantiated plot. It's silly, it's fun, try not to take it too seriously, as the premise of it is rather ludicrous, but whatever, that's what makes it fun.

So a couple things you need to know before we begin: This is slight AU, and I want to note that aside from the most obvious differences, you will see that the main cast has been aged up by two years - you'll realize why it would be gross if my main character was any younger. This is a sister fic, of course. Hiwarai is Ichigo's sister, who is younger by eleven months. Also, it is OCxMulti, and that means in this story, there are going to be six male partners. So, it's a reverse harem. I've never really done unconventional relationships, so this should be interesting. I'll try to make it as not ridiculous as possible, but, eh, that's kinda what makes it so delightful to write. The absurdity is almost endearing. Anywho, the fellas are going to be: Ikkaku Madarame, Renji Abarai, Kenpachi Zaraki, Byakuya Kuchiki, Hisagi Shuuhei, and Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.

I hope you stick with me, and enjoy this wild ride. Thanks for reading!

TheIndigoGirl

Disclaimer: I do not, and will not ever own rights to Bleach. The OC, unfamiliar plot dynamics, and overall story concept are mine, though.

Chapter 1

Some days, it really isn't difficult to imagine there being another world beyond this one. All you need to do is stare at those immense thunderclouds, scuttling across the sky like giant floating islands, to know exactly what I mean. It's as though, if you could only reach them, it would be all too easy to step from this realm and into the next. That's when I can really see the merit of the Christian Theology regarding heaven. When you raise your palm toward the sky and watch those white masses through spread fingers, it's quite easy to suddenly find yourself wondering if there might be something more.

Of course, being a Kurosaki meant I already knew that there was something more out there, but even then, awareness is very different from understanding. I lowered my hand and ran it through my dark bangs, puffing out a sigh as I did so.

I maybe wasn't able to see the full apparitions that my brother, Ichigo could, but what I did see on a day to day basis left me with little doubt: There was life after death. Or maybe I should say existence. For me, the dead were little more than figures made of smoke, lit from within by their Soul Fires. In the living, that colorful flame radiates from their core and creates a visible aura, but absent of their flesh, to me at least, souls appear as little more than walking torches.

This Sight, my gift, is more than auras and spirits, though. My brother sees ghosts, but I, if only for a second, see entire worlds. Glimpses, ever so brief glimpses in the mirror or in still water, of realms beyond our own. Each time I do, I don't know, I feel something that can only be called longing tug at my soul; almost…almost like it's calling to me. I know it's irrational, but then, so is seeing other worlds in the first place.

Ichigo doesn't believe me – which seems honestly narrow-minded for someone who regularly helps the dead pass on. Although, I guess that he has been more open to the idea lately. A lot more.

Another weird thing is that my over-protective sibling has forgone his favorite pastime – looming menacingly over my shoulder – in favor of spending more and more time with the tiny exchange student, Rukia Kuchiki. He's been hard pressed to let me out of his sight after our mother died, but lately, that constant guard has become rather lax. Not that I'm complaining, but it is rather odd.

In the months before Rukia's appearance he'd been particularly suffocating. As a sixteen (almost seventeen) year old girl in her final year of high school, I've found that it is incredibly difficult to have a social life when your brother is Ichigo Kurosaki. Especially when one wants to be social with boys. He's protective of our two sisters as well, but they have the good luck of being four years younger. That means that they get to go to a completely different school. I, however, am only eleven months younger than Ichigo, so, not only do I have to go to the same school, but I also have nearly every single class with him.

But, hey, with him spending more and more time with Rukia, I might actually have a chance to make decent conversation with a male who isn't either related to me or dead.

"Oi, what are you doing over here?!"

I heard the familiar shout a short ways behind me and sighed. The man has a sixth sense for more than ghosts. I so much as think about talking to a guy and he's breathing down my neck.

"Are you crazy, Hiwarai? Sitting here all alone…. Something could of happened!" Ichigo grumbled as he plopped down beside me a few moments later. A deep 'hmm' of agreement sounded from my other side where I assume Chad (the only non-related male allowed to hangout with me due to his gentle nature and complete obliviousness to the opposite sex) now sat.

I didn't respond, and instead gifted my overbearing sibling with the full effect of my silent fuming. He really is too much sometimes. Sitting alone on a grassy hill is nowhere near dangerous enough to warrant a scolding. Several minutes passed in silence before Ichigo seemed to realize that I wasn't going to acknowledge him. He growled, ripping up some grass and throwing it at me, smirking when that managed to earn him a glare. "You should be more careful," he said, hefting his book bag around so he could dig a snack out.

"If you would stop trying to wrap me in bubble wrap, I just might, but until then, I will be suitably reckless, " I snapped, snatching at the fruit chews he passed my way, absently offering one to Chad before the redhead had a chance to.

"That's stupid," he countered. "The more danger prone you are, the more I'm gonna try and protect you. If you want me to back off, then you've gotta –,"

"Become a hermit, maybe open up a temple in the mountains for solitude and chastity."

"Well, I mean, you don't have to go that far, but I'm certainly not going to stop you," my brother chuckled.

"You're impossible," I grunted. "So…where's Rukia?"

I glanced up in time to see the blush on my brother's face and couldn't resist grinning.

"Uh, we're gonna meet up with her later," he muttered, coughing into his hand as he awkwardly changed the subject. "What about you? Why are you hanging out here? I thought I told you to wait for me in front of the school."

"What made you think I'd actually do as you say?" I remarked cheekily, smiling when Chad offered me a flower he'd plucked off the hill. Twirling it in my fingers, I nodded at him in thanks, "Besides, I like this place. It's peaceful."

"It's boring," he snidely replied, nudging my hip with his foot as he stood. "Come on, brat. Let's get moving."

He pulled me to my feet, away from the quite hillside and any musings on other worlds done there. As I walked, I told Chad about the new mask I'd just acquired. The tall teen nodded politely, but Ichigo snorted, "Anyone ever tell you that collecting masks is a rather weird hobby, especially when those masks are as creepy as yours?"

"They're cool," I defended.

"How many do you have?" Chad asked, gentle voice a complete contrast to his great stature.

I beamed up at him for his unexpected interest, "Six, if you include the one I just got. You want to see?"

"You brought that thing with you?" Ichigo cried incredulously.

I ignored my brother and tugged the mask from my book bag so I could show our large friend, "See! Isn't he incredible?"

I held the mask out, but Chad respectfully kept his hands to himself, opting to simply look instead. I followed his eyes and gazed fondly at my mask's snarling countenance. The bone-like material it was made from had been painted mostly red, with intricate black facial markings and curved ebony horns. Though there weren't any scales, the features themselves were distinctly those of a snake.

"It is very nice," he said gently. I rewarded Chad with another warm smile.

"I only pick ones that are completely unique," I looked down at the mask, tracing the vicious visage delicately with my fingers. "He's an excellent addition."

"He?" Chad queried, bemusement obvious in his voice.

I blushed, gnawing on my lip, "Uh, yeah, all the masks seem rather masculine. I just got in the habit of referring to them as 'he' or by their name. This one…this one is Honaka."

"Honaka," Chad hummed as he mused upon the name, he glanced down at me with that expressionless face of his. "Red Bone?"

I nodded sheepishly, "I know it's sorta on the nose, but I think it fits him rather well."

"You know you sound like a crazy person when you talk like that, right?" My sibling piped in as we turned another block.

"Oh, bite me," I hissed, hugging the carved wood to my chest almost protectively, but Ichigo offered no further comment. He seemed to enjoy teasing me for my hobby more than possessing an actual dislike for it. "I know they're not real. But sometimes they do feel…alive."

Chad peered through his thick curly hair at the mask in my hands, "Yes…I agree."

This time I felt like he wasn't just humoring me. For some reason, it unsettled me. I tucked my Honaka away gently, and decided not to linger on those quiet words or the knot they left in my stomach.

At that moment, we turned another corner and all three of us stopped short. The square was saturated in a heavy, dark malevolence that made the air so thick, it was almost hard to breathe. It felt, I don't know how else to explain it…hungry. Hateful and hungry.

"Chad, get my sister out of here," Ichigo said lowly, in a tone I'd never heard him use before. His face was stark and severe, the playful gleam in his eyes replaced by something sharper and almost frightening.

"What? I'm not going anywhere! Ichigo, what's happening?"

"Chad, go!" My brother growled, not even acknowledging the question. The tallest of us turned in my direction, likely intending to scoop me up, but before he could take a step, a form shot out from a growing rift in the sky and slammed into him. Shocked, I watched as both went tumbling away and into an alley, knocking down trashcans as they skidded across concrete.

A sudden shout had me turning back to see another careening in my direction. Before I could react, a figure stepped before me. Smoke rippled as the being stood protectively before me and met the oncoming mass. The hell? A ghost fighting another ghost?

The spirit in front of me pushed the other, slightly darker smoke being away.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed a flash of orange as my brother rose to his feet. I started for him, concerned. When had he fallen? Had he been attacked?

"I-ichigo?" I asked, only to stop in my tracks when he turned my way.

He seemed…off. Physically, he looked the same as always, but the sight of him had my instincts screaming. Something was wrong – but what? It took me a dazed moment to realize that it was his aura. What was usually a swirl of bright reds and golds was now murky amber. I felt my eyes widen when I realized that the Soul inhabiting my brother's body wasn't Ichigo's.

It was impossible. He couldn't be…possessed, could he?

My eyes darted between the being inhabiting Ichigo and the smoke creatures that fought in front of us. I didn't know how to banish a spirit and I certainly didn't know how to fight one. The sudden surge of helplessness was an unfamiliar and punishing weight on my shoulders. What the hell was I supposed to do? What the hell could I do?

Before I could make a decision, the being wearing my sibling's face reached out for me and I took several startled steps back. The not-Ichigo frowned; it stopped and I stared at it warily.

"I don't know who you are, but you better get out of my brother right this minute!" I commanded, forcing my voice not to waver. Its eyes bulged in surprise at my words.

I hadn't noticed, but I'd moved so far from this imposter, that I'd wandered back into range of the fighting smoke forms. When the darker of the pair took a unexpected swipe at me, I leapt away with an embarrassingly girly squeak.

"Stay back, Hiwarai! Don't let these things touch you!"

That was my brother's voice, but it certainly hadn't come from the person in front of me. Disbelievingly, I turned toward the human shaped smoke-form – a spirit whose Soul Fire burned a bright golden red. Wait…What? That couldn't be…

"Ichigo!?" I said sharply, as I took a step toward the source of that voice.

"What part of stay back didn't you understand?!" The man shaped smoke-form in front of me barked as he clashed with the multi-limbed shape of the other. That was definitely Ichigo's voice.

My jaw dropped, horror pulsing down my spine, "Are you…are you dead?"

He couldn't be, though. Spirits can't possess dead bodies. But you can't be a ghost and still be alive, right?

"What?! No. Why would you think that?"

Instantly relieved, but also irritated, I snapped, "Because you're a ghost, moron!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah," he grunted, pushing away another smoke-form as the last one he'd slashed faded into the wind. I assumed that meant he'd killed it. "You can't really see me like this, right?"

"No, you're all smoky."

"That's weird."

"Want to explain?"

"Not particularly."

I hmphed as my sibling dispatched the second shadow. He engaged a third and a fourth trickled out directly after it. "Kone, grab Hiwarai and get her out of here."

He'd directed the command at the spirit in his body. I blurted, "You know this guy?" as the spirit, Kone, said, "Um, I don't think that's an option anymore."

"Sure it is. Just toss her over your shoulder and run."

"No, I mean we literally can't!"

"Huh?" My brother and I looked back to where Kone was pointing, only to see a gigantic version of the creatures Ichigo was fighting coming through another rift behind us. "Oh crap! Uh…don't worry. I got this."

"It's not that I doubt you – I am actually mildly impressed – but seriously, what do I do? Can I fight these things? I mean, what are they? Are they ghosts? They don't feel like – ack!"

I jumped out the way of a smoke-form, scrambling to my brother's side. Ichigo tugged me close as he spun to confront the odd creature. I was briefly amazed that the hand gripping my upper arm felt solid. I'd half expected his fingers to pass right through me, like most spirits.

Speaking of spirits…

My eyes caught on an orange-haired figure as it flailed only a meter or two away from us. Watching this 'Kone' leap about with undignified squeals of terror actually did a lot to comfort me. The sight was extra amusing since he inhabited my brother's body. The guy wasn't the least bit capable, but I had to give him kudos for being nimble. Kone, not Ichigo. Well, Ichigo was nimble, but he was also capable – at least as far as I could see. I mean, it was a little hard to tell when he was made of smoke. But, you know…

Ugh, this whole thing was giving me a headache.

"Okay," I muttered, feeling extremely dazed. "Um, this is very strange."

"I know, sis. Just, uh, I don't know…stick close and duck when I tell you to duck. These guys are Hollows and you can't really do much to them, but they can hurt you, so don't try to fight them."

I winced as a screaming 'Hollow' was cut lengthwise by whatever my sibling had in his hands, "Hollows? What the hell are hollows?"

"Not really the time to explain Hiwarai!"

"R-right, sorry. Slash away!"

"Thanks," he said with gruff amusement. As he spun back and forth, I had time to marvel at this 'other' that my brother had become. I was quick to guess that this was what he'd been hiding, but then, why had he kept it from me?

"Oh shit! Watch out!" Ichigo shouted as the giant figure Kone had spotted earlier slammed a fist into the pavement in front of us. I slipped out of my brother's hold as he jumped away and tumbled across the road. I winced and scrambled to my feet as pain arched across my nerves. I looked down, hissing out a breath at the sight of raw, red scrapes on my knees and upper shins. My uniform skirt had done almost nothing to protect my legs.

Trying to shake off the pain, I looked over at Ichigo as he battled the big smoke-form – I mean, Hollow. It was hard to tell when he was little more than smoke, but he didn't look hurt.

My brother seemed to notice my crouched form, as he yelled over to me, "Hang on, Hiwarai! I'm on my way!"

"No, no…take your time," I wheezed, waving away his concern. "I'm fine."

I glanced down at myself with a wince. Okay, maybe that wasn't completely true, but a couple bumps and bruises were hardly life-threatening.

"Hiwarai! You gotta – Ah!"

My head snapped up at Ichigo's scream of pain, pulse slowing to an icy crawl at the sight of his smoke-form skipping across pavement. When he skidded to a stop four feet to my left, I bolted to his side with a terrified whisper of, "Ichigo…"

I couldn't tell if he was just dazed or unconscious, but his prone form didn't respond to my increasingly desperate cries.

"Please," my voice was a splintered mess of fear and despair, "You have to get up. I-it's coming…"

I stared over at the massive, lumbering Hollow that had batted my brother away like he was little more than a bothersome gnat, tears pooling in my eyes. He shouldn't have gotten hurt, but he'd been distracted. By me. I clutched at my unresponsive sibling as those tears spilled over, watching as the monster made his way toward us, slowly, leisurely – tauntingly.

"We can't die like this," I murmured, "You can't die like this. Not…not because of me."

My desperate eyes scanned the empty square, already knowing that there would be nothing there to see. No one was coming to help us. I was on my own. I stood shakily to my feet, fighting my nausea as millions of stray thoughts merged into one, certain one: I had to protect him.

I well understood that a crying teenage girl didn't stand a chance against this creature, yet it hardly mattered. I wouldn't, no…I refused to abandon my brother.

It wasn't a logical thing to do; it wasn't even a sane thing to do, but something told me, as I went to stand between my brother and the Hollow, that it was the right thing to do. There was even a nagging, distant part of me that whispered: "It'll be okay."Considering my situation, I had every reason to doubt it, and yet…I was oddly comforted. So I swung my bag up in front of me and clutched it close like a shield; allowing myself this tiny bit of hope…this tiny bit of faith.

As if sensing my resolve, the hollow picked up speed, roaring out a noise that shook the ground. Chills swept through my gut, my legs locked and body trembling. All I could do was stand there as it closed the distance between us. Maybe it was delirium or perhaps even shock that had me absently noting just how much the term 'Hollow' fit this creature. The spirit's smoky mass roiled with cinder and hot ash, as though someone had attempted to stomp out the blaze of its Soul Flame and scatter the remnants to the wind. At its core, there was nothing left but a dim glow, little more than dying coals.

Something about it seemed almost familiar…

A pained groan from behind me cut into that stray thought, reminding me that there was someone precious on the line here. As I stood in the path of the monster, defenseless and comically small, I felt that internal fire in my chest crackle. With each of the Hollow's steps, that flame grew a little hotter and a little hotter, until that small flame had become an inferno. The heat of my soul was almost physically suffocating, burning outward instead of inward – like it was trying to escape. I was torn between fear of the Hollow rampaging in my direction and the fear that I was about to spontaneously combust. Either way, I was certain that 'horrible death' lie in my future.

Then, at that moment, something that had been lying dormant beneath my skin all my life came surging to the surface. Whatever it was, it pulsed and hummed deep in my core, a place beneath flesh, beneath bone, beneath substance. It ripped and it roared, it kissed and it fluttered. It writhed from my pores, without sense or substance, all the while destroying me, remaking me. A fire that doesn't even exist somehow burning me to ash.

It was as though something had been…released.

Suddenly that energy snapped back upon me and I felt something hard affix itself to my face. Startled, I reached up a hand and felt contours that weren't my own, "What…?"

"Hiwarai!"

My head snapped up at Ichigo's shout, eyes widening as I realized that it was a warning. I had a split, distracted second to absorb the fact that the giant hollow was still bearing down on me. Instinctively, I raised my arms in front of myself, turned my head away and braced for impact. Energy crackled up from my arms, into my hands, and even behind closed eyes I could see the flash of blue light.

I felt the energy jump from my hands and immediately afterwards heard something howl. My eyes popped open, head spinning, as I tried to absorb what I was seeing. First of all, the Hollow was no longer a smoke-form mass with a broken soul, but some hideous, nightmare combination of a bear and an insect. I sort of had a feeling that that was how it had always looked, even before a hole had been blown straight through its chest. The Hollow's jaw worked soundlessly as it stared down at the still smoking crater until its legs gave way beneath it. I watched, stunned, as it twitched a half dozen more times before stilling completely.

There was another flash of blue light that had me looking down. My stomach lurched into my throat at the sight of bizarre, electric blue fire crackling across my hands.

"Ah!" I yelped, waving my arms about at the sight of the fiery substance, the action only growing more frantic when it refused to go out. "What is happening!"

"Whoa, Hiwarai! You totally killed that thing!" Ichigo exclaimed as he wobbled into my field of vision, rubbing at his head. "Hey…what's on your face? And what's with the blue hair?"

"I don't know Ichigo, I'm a little busy being on fire!"I shrieked. "Help me!"

"Hey, hey, calm down," he said soothingly. "Uh, I don't think that's actual fire. It's not hurting you, is it?"

I forced myself to still and actually feel my arms. He was right! It didn't hurt…

"See," my brother said gently. "There, can you, um, pull your energy into yourself?"

I shook my head numbly, but tried to focus on the flickering, lightening like fire on my hands and arms anyway. When nothing happened, I stared pleadingly up at Ichigo, voice cracking as I said, "I can't. I don't know what to do! Why is this happening?"

I hated the panic in my voice. I could feel myself crumbling, pieces falling away faster than I could catch them. How long ago had it been since the world felt reasonably sane? It felt like hours, though I knew it had to have been only minutes. Within that time, there'd been no chance to stop and comprehend. I was at the mercy of a moment, and waiting for it to pass was tearing me apart.

"Come on, sis. You just took on a giant, monster beast and now you're freaking out?" His exasperation suddenly became anger as he scowled down at me, "By the way, you are never allowed to do anything like that ever again. I almost had a heart attack when I woke up to see you standing there, that freaking Hollow charging for you. Tell me, are you crazy or just stupid?"

"I saved your life," I growled weakly, too drained to muster actual offense in the face of his genuine worry.

"You don't know that," he huffed. "I had everything under control."

My expression must have been suitably disbelieving, because his instantly became haughty, "Whatever, just wait here and work on that flame shit. I gotta go take care of that last Hollow."

I followed his gaze to where the remaining creature eyed us hatefully. The thing must have come through after the big guy went down, because I hadn't noticed it until now. It was wolf-like, almost rabid looking, and staring at it sent unease skittering down my spine. It snarled at me and my brother, and the sight of its teeth had me wishing it would go back to being nothing more than smoke and cinders.

"Oh," I said, swiveling my head to stare at my brother in realization. "I can see you."

As he paused mid-step to look back at me, I noticed that, for some reason, he was wearing different clothes in his spirit form. When was the last time he was in a hakama… willingly? The traditional garb seemed fitting, though, what with the giant, slate grey sword in his hands. I didn't even know what to call the blade. It certainly wasn't a katana.

I waggled my still flaming fingers in the air as I tried to summon the right words in my exhausted brain, "I can see you, even though you're a spirit. You aren't just smoke! I can see the hollow too."

"Oh. Whoa. Cool," he said lamely. "Uh, speaking of that hollow…"

"What? Oh, yeah, go slay that guy," I waved him forward. He smirked for whatever reason and walked quickly over to the wolf beast. I only recalled that the idiot might still be injured when he slammed a giant sword through its skull. He no longer moved like he'd just been knocked unconscious. I mean he'd only been out for a couple of minutes, but still…

He jogged back over my way with a big grin on his face, and I came to the conclusion that he hadn't suffered any long term damage, what with that hard head of his. It was a little weird to me, that a spirit could be injured the same way a physical body could, but I didn't feel up to deciphering that heap of insanity right this moment.

Ichigo frowned down at my still blazing hands as he slowed to a stop in front of me. He started to reach out for me but I whimpered, tucking my arms against my chest, "Don't touch me! I don't want to hurt you…"

"Okay, shh," he said, raising his arms in a placating manor and taking a step back. This patience and gentleness was a definite contrast to his usual brusque demeanor. "Don't worry, we can figure this out. You just have to calm down."

"I don't know if I can," I hiccupped, soft sobs pushing up behind my breast. I'd kept them at bay the best I could, but the stress was definitely taking its toll.

"Of course you can," he stated arrogantly. "It's no weirder than any of the other weird things we've had to deal with. We see dead people, Hiwarai. Manipulating soul energy is probably the least odd thing that's ever happened to you."

I laughed wetly, "That's not even the least bit true…but, thanks Ichigo."

Even if what he said had been inaccurate, he still had a point. We led abnormal lives, and this was just one more abnormal thing. I could deal with this – just like I'd dealt with seeing smoke-forms and auras and worlds far away from our own.

I took deep, even breaths, focusing on the energy that seeped from my core and coalesced into writhing fire on my skin. I envisioned each breath pulling that energy back into myself, and watched, amazed, as the blue slowly flickered out. When it was finally gone, I sank down to my haunches in relief.

I pulled my legs up into my chest, laughing a little hysterically. I laid my forehead on my scuffed up knees, near instantly jerking back when something harder than my face bumped against the wounds.

In a daze, I reached up and pressed my fingers against…wood? I wrenched my pack into my lap with a gasp of, "I can't believe I forgot!"

"Huh? What did you forg – Oh shit! I forgot Chad! I'll be right back." I barely even registered my brother bounding off to where we'd last seen Chad, too focused on the hand mirror I drew from my bag with shaking fingers.

I slowly opened the case, and nearly dropped it at the image that reflected back at me. Atop my own features was a mask, and an incredibly familiar one at that. That white porcelain mask was unmistakable! After all, its feline features and mane of electric blue hair were the reason I'd name him Nekomi (for sea-cat). He was the first mask I'd ever collected, and last time I'd seen him, he'd been hanging on the wall over my bed.

"How can this…you can't be here, I left you at home!" I whispered fiercely at the demon in the mirror. It was just like him, it couldn't be a coincidence. It had to be him, but how?

"You never left me anywhere, I've always been here…in your soul."

This time I did drop the mirror.

…Uh.

That didn't just happen. Of course it didn't. Masks don't talk. I'm just tired. That's all.

After a few moments spent in denial, I reached down to pick up the now cracked hand mirror and raise it back up slowly. I gawped at the reflection as the already enormous, Cheshire-like grin on Nekomi's face widened.

"Startled you, did I? Can't say I'm sorry, or that I didn't enjoy seeing that look on your face."

He can't even see my face.

"Course I can. I'm pure energy composed of your soul. I don't need eyes to see." His lips curled over sharp teeth, each word posed with almost carnal delight. Wait…

"I didn't say that out loud! How did you…?"

A dark chuckle tumbled out and his grin turned a little wicked, "I'm part of you, just like I said. I can hear anything and everything in your head, whether you say it out loud or not."

My eyes narrowed at the beast, certain that I didn't like the suggestive undertone to that statement. He stared back at me from the mirror, dancing sky blue eyes with their all too inhuman pupils.

If that is supposed to mean what I think it means, I'm going to smash you into a thousand pieces. I thought deliberately at it…him…whatever.

His snicker convinced me that my thought went through, loud and clear, but before I could rip him off and stomp on him, he purred, "Even if you threw my mask into a volcano it wouldn't do you any good. I'd just reform and pop back into existence any time I want. I'm made from your soul. I'm sorry to say that you're stuck with me."

"You don't sound particularly sorry at all," I said dryly, a little depressed by his words and the glee with which they were delivered. I felt an angry tick form just over my eye when his laugh dropped an octave lower then naughty and became pure sin. I refused to acknowledge that the sound sent something hot and foreign sliding into my gut. I shook my head sharply, tossing the sensation to the back of my skull before staring down into the mirror with a frown.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably, not really sure how to process this whole situation or how to react to it. I should be accustomed to weird, crazy shit happening in my life by now. "So, um, that energy – the blue flame stuff – that was you?"

"Well, technically us, but that's the power I, specifically, give you. Each of us, when called upon – worn, I should say – grant you one power, one ability and a weapon. When we have the time and space to practice them, I will go into greater detail, but until then, all you need to know is that what you used was my power."

"Each of us?" I echoed. "Are you talking about the other masks? Are they alive, too?"

"Still sharp I see; glad your brains didn't leave along with your manners. I've yet to hear a 'thank you' for, you know, saving your life and all," Nekomi grumbled, ear flicking in irritation.

I quirked an eyebrow, "Oh? I thought you were part of my soul? Couldn't you say that I saved myself?"

"You'd write me off as a technicality?"He growled. "Low blow."

"I'm not the one trying to undermine my own logic," I shrugged, a smile creeping on my face at the sight of his pouting. "Anyway, you were talking about the other masks…?"

He saw fit to glower at me as he reluctantly explained, "Yes, the other six are alive, but they're all inactive. Of the Rokugami, I'm the only one you can currently use."

"Rokugami?" I whispered in amazement. Did that mean they really had called to me? Or did my soul somehow bestow sentience upon them? Each one did seem to have its own personality – even from the moment I'd first gotten them. I hadn't thought anything of it, of their warmth, and the sense that if they could, they'd talk back. I'd brushed it off as an active imagination, loneliness, or something like that. I'd never once thought my instincts would be so on point.

Nekomi hummed, "Now that you're power is no longer dormant, I can come to you at any time. In fact, since I'm composed of spirit energy, only those capable of seeing spirits would know you're wearing me."

I slumped, "You aren't some kind of crazy dream, right? You're really real, aren't you?"

"Bet your sweet ass I am."

"Look, Hiwarai! I found him," My brother shouted abruptly, tearing through my offense at Nekomi's words. I looked over to see the Chad's arm slung over his shoulder. He appeared a little worse for the wear, but nothing too critical jumped out at me. I rushed over to the two of them, anyway, "Is he okay?!"

"Yeah, he's alright," Ichigo grinned, that baffling love for violence and danger only boys ever seemed to have shining brightly in his eyes. "Man, you should have seen him thrashin' the hell out of these Hollows. Chad's got a right hook like you wouldn't believe."

Thoroughly convinced that men were crazy, I said, "Okay, sure, whatever you say. We should still patch him up in the clinic anyway."

My orange-haired sibling shrugged, "Yeah, yeah."

I rolled my eyes. For someone who was raised by a doctor, he sure has a poor bedside manner. Of course, our father was nearly as emotionally stunted as Ichigo, so it wasn't necessarily a surprise.

"I am fine, Hiwarai," Chad said, before shaking his head as if in regret. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you, though. There was another pocket of Hollows around the next corner."

I canted my head to the side, "Don't worry about it, Chad. You definitely had your hands full enough, by the sound of it. Even with Ichigo getting knocked out, things went as well as they could."

"Ichigo was knocked out?" Chad asked, scratching at his gravel encrusted scalp.

"So, uh, you gonna take that mask off anytime soon?" He asked hurriedly, changing the subject as his cheeks tinged red.

I can't believe I forgot about Nekomi! My mind was a chaotic mess; though, with all that's happened, can you really blame me? I reached up and tried tugging him away, but it was like trying to pull my own face off.

"Um, one second," I turned away from Ichigo and raised the mirror once more. Okay, how do I get rid of you?

"So eager to see me gone? I'm hurt," the mask said, grin belying this supposed agony.

"Oh, be quiet! I can't walk around like this forever you know!" I hissed at the mirror.

"Who are you talking to?" Ichigo grumbled from where he was sprawled on the sidewalk beside a silent Chad. I noticed, then, that he was in his real body again. I didn't know when he'd returned to it, or for that matter, where that Kone guy had gone. To be honest, I was still too freaked out about that whole situation to ask.

"Um, Nekomi," I murmured a moment later in answer to Ichigo's question.

"Nekomi?" He looked at me, puzzled, before he realized what I talking about. "Your mask? Masks don't talk, Hiwarai."

"Most don't, yeah, but Nekomi isn't just a mask."I felt my brow furrow as I looked his way, "Wait, can't you hear him?"

"Did you hit your head when I pushed you or something?"

Ugh, why can't he hear you? "Say something!"

"Say what?" Ichigo asked, confused.

"He can't hear me unless I let him hear me," The mask replied, an edge to his voice that led me to believe that he wasn't too fond of Ichigo.

"Well, then let him hear you!"

"What the hell, Hiwarai. This isn't funny," my sibling sat up, full out glaring now.

"Shut it, Ichigo. I'm not talking to you," I snapped at my brother as I waited for Nekomi to comply.

"I don't think so. That brat's obnoxious enough as he is; I don't relish the idea of just how much more so he could be if he knew I was aware."

"I don't relish the idea of him thinking I'm crazy; now do as I say," I was starting to get impatient – he was part of my soul, wasn't he? You are mine; my soul, my mask, and you will do as I say.

Nekomi practically cooed, "I can't tell you how much I love being called yours, but still…no. I'm my own conscious spirit, an extension of your soul yes, but still separate enough to make my own decisions. And I'm deciding not to reveal the extent of my existence to flame-top over there."

"Uh, you know what? Fine. I don't care. Let him think I'm crazy. It won't be the first time he didn't believe me. You can just… you can just go away. I'll deal with you later," I yelled into the mirror, only growing more enraged when I realized that the spirit mask was merely amused by the show of temper.

"You know, you're cute when you're mad," Nekomi smirked at me from the mirror.

I blushed, flustered, because no one had ever talked to me the way the mask spirit did. "Just…just g-get out of here you perv!"

There was a warm chuckle that seemed to echo through dimensions as he said, "Later, kitten."

With those startlingly familiar words, I felt the mask tighten and begin to glow before it burst apart in a blaze of blue fire, disappearing entirely. I sighed, relieved that he was gone, even as I wondered why that last bit had sent pangs of recognition through my soul. There was a memory inside me, one I could only just touch. That word pulsed through my mind in a teasingly rich voice, all the while accompanied by the blaze of ocean blue eyes. Before I could sink deeper and pull the memory forth, Ichigo interrupted with, "You done being a crazy pants?"

I was about five seconds from strangling my sibling and he seemed not at all concerned by it. I settled for throwing the pocket mirror at him. It went wide, but the action made me feel a bit better.

"I'm not crazy, jerk," I howled at him. "Nekomi just doesn't like you. It's a sentiment I'm beginning to share!"

"Aw, come one," the orange top teen hopped to his feet, padding over to me with a slight pout. "You know I'm just glad you're okay, right?"

Sighing softly, I reached out to hug the idiot. I felt the anger drain from my body as I slumped against him.

"Thank you, Ichigo," I murmured into his shirt. "For protecting me."

"Well, you changed your tune pretty quick," he pulled away slightly to smirk down at me. I stuck my tongue out childishly and he laughed.

"You really worried me, you know that? I thought you were going to die," I whapped him on the chest.

He looked guiltily away, "Sorry…and thanks, you know, for saving my ass back there."

"You big Galoof," I teased with a warm smile. Shows of humility from Ichigo were rare, and actual gratitude was even rarer still. "As if I'd let you become some Hollow's chew toy."

He flicked me in the forehead, "Psh, as if. I'm a badass."

I rubbed at the abused spot with a scowl, "Badass or not, why didn't you tell me about this? How long has all this stuff been going on?"

"Not long," He grumbled sheepishly, "And I thought you'd be safer if you didn't know…"

"You were wrong," I whispered quietly, no heat in my voice.

"I know," he sighed. "It all started a couple months back and…do you remember that truck that slammed into the house while you were having a sleepover with Orihime and Tatsuki?"

"Yeah," I nodded, recalling the horror of having returned home only to see a giant whole in what was once the dining room.

"Well, it wasn't a truck…"

As we both hauled our large Hispanic friend toward the clinic, Ichigo went on to explain all the happenings of recent months and I tried my best to keep from freaking out. Especially when I learned that the rest of my family had been attacked a second time at our mother's grave. Not only did they all now know about Hollows, but because I'd been in bed that day with the flu, I hadn't been told what had happened. It was infuriating and frightening all at once. They'd all tried to keep me safe, but in the end, a confrontation with the Hollows had been inevitable.

After we got Chad patched up, Ichigo passed out on the couch, and my eyes began to feel all too heavy themselves. I tucked a blanket around my sibling and trudged up the steps to my room. I collapsed on the bed, bone weary and depleted. I slept that night with my masks, my Rokugami, standing silent sentinel.