I do NOT own or claim to own Bleach. That right goes to Tite. (lucky) However, I did add three new characters. See if you can guess which ones. ^-^

Chapter 1:

"As you all know, we're having our annual festival next week and it's mandatory that you all participate. So please take part and have fun with it!"

His teacher couldn't have made things any worse for him than she already had with that announcement. Ichigo already had to deal with all the Hollows that have been showing up, plus deal with all the souls popping up all over the place and business in the Soul Society. He barely had enough time for school work. Not to mention the fact that this was a festival, meaning that his family would show up, no doubt. He wasn't embarrassed of his sisters. It was his father who was the problem. Not only that, but his group had to come up with an idea. The class had been divided up three parts to make the most out of the festival. Ichigo, Chad, Orihime, Uryu, Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro were a team. Their break time was spent coming up with ideas for what they were going to do.

After an afternoon of thinking, Orihime had an idea.

X

"What? A bake sale?" Yuzu asked when Ichigo arrived home.

"Yeah, it was Orihime's idea. I sorta went along with it. We ran it by the teacher and she says it's a good idea. No one else is doing it yet."

"That sounds awesome! Are you going to be making anything, Ichigo?"

He shrugged, sitting down at the table. "I don't know. I never really baked anything before. I wouldn't know where to start."

"Can't go wrong with cupcakes! They're light and fluffy if you make them right and they're easy to carry around. If they're super good, you'll sell lots!" It seemed that Yuzu was more pumped up for this than Ichigo and she didn't even go to his school.

"Did you want to make something, Yuzu?"

Her face lit up but she looked a bit surprised. "What? Me? Really?"

"You're not getting out of it that easy, Ichigo!" His father suddenly appeared behind him and kicked him in the head. "No son of mine is going to let his little sister do all the work for him for his school's bake sale."

Ichigo griped the table for balance and delivered a swift sideward kick to his father's face. "Shut up. You don't know anything about it."

"It's your school, your team, your project and you're making your baby sister do all the work when she's not even involved! How can you call yourself a-"

Ichigo kicked him in the jaw, shutting him up. "Hey, some people in our group can't cook so you're asking their family members to help out. There's no rule against that. Besides, my job is to sell the stuff. Nothing says that I have to be the one to cook it. And the more we have, the more we can sell. I was just asking her. I'm not forcing anyone to do it if they don't want to."

Yuzu held up her bowl and donned her apron. "I'm willing and able! Just leave it to me!"

X

"So what are you making, Ichigo?" Orihime asked the next day during class. Their teacher had given them the afternoon to work on their projects since many students still didn't have any ideas.

"My sister's going to be making some chocolate cupcakes, she says."

"Aw, you're not making anything yourself?"

He shrugged. "I'm helping her so my dad will shut up about how I'm making her to all the work by herself. I've already started baking some test ones. I burned half of them but the others came out ok."

"Are you making them from scratch?"

"Nah, I'm using the stuff that comes in a box."

Orihime sounded a little disappointed at this, but moved on. "What are you making, Chad?"

"Apple pie."

"Oh, that sounds yummy!" She wrote it down on her clipboard. "And you, Uryu?"

"I'll try my hand at brownies."

"Nice!" She made another note. "And that just leaves-"

"Hey, guys! Look what I found!" Keigo came bursting into the room with a magazine. He threw it into Ichigo's face. "Take a look at that! Look, look, look!"

"I'm trying! What?"

Calmer than before, Keigo pointed to a small section in the magazine. "See? Look, page four."

Ichigo looked down and read the title. "'Rising Star Comes to Small Town'. Yeah, so?"

"So?" He pointed to the page repeatedly. "She's coming here! Look!"

"I saw it, ok? I still don't see what the big deal is."

Orihime and Tatsuki pressed in for a better look. "Hey, I've heard of her," Tatsuki said, pointing to the page. "She showed up out of the blue and is a huge hit."

"Who is she?"

"According to this magazine, she grew up at an orphanage in New York and was discovered and adopted by some guy at a talent show who liked her voice. He said that she was the best child singer he had ever heard and wanted to make her a star."

"And?"

"And since then, she's been traveling around the world, getting her name out there. She's become quite popular over the years. Like it says right here, she's a rising star. She's going to come out with her first CD in a few months. So far, she's been performing at concerts and small towns to get publicity. I hear she's very good. I only heard her once online. Someone took a recording of her songs at a concert last fall. At the time, she was just an opening act. Now she's getting big."

"Fast, too. Usually, these things take years before anyone like her is taken seriously," Uryu said.

Ichigo flipped the magazine closed. "I don't know why you bought it up. We're supposed to be doing work here."

"But she's coming here! That's what the big deal is!"

Ichigo groaned. "I've never been the type to idolize people for their job. If she sings, she sings. Big deal. I don't care."

"But- but- but…"

Ichigo looked at Orihime. "What's next on the list?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah…"

X

He had to admit that he was a little curious. Why would someone like her come to a place like this anyway? Just to get her name out there? She already had her name in the magazines, wasn't that enough? And all the way from New York, too. That was pretty far away. Why here of all places?

Ichigo took a hot shower and went straight to bed. He had a long day tomorrow. It was going to be Friday and that meant that he would only have this weekend left to work on their project. It was coming up fast.

Word of the rising star traveled fast around the town. Even his sisters had taken an interest in her. She wasn't that much older than they were. This girl was somewhere between 13 and 14 years old. Perhaps they thought that if she could do it, they could do it, too. That was Ichigo's idea anyway. He wasn't sure. Karin wanted to become famous for sports, not singing. He wasn't sure what Yuzu thought, though.

It was a warm night, so they opened their windows to let some air in. This meant that Ichigo could hear everything that they were doing. He fell asleep listening to them play her songs on their laptop.

X

The birds were unusually loud that morning. Ichigo rolled onto his side and tried to find his pillow to throw over his head. He couldn't find it. His bed was unusually hard, too. It felt like rock. He opened his eyes and found himself outside on the sidewalk, a couple blocks away from his house. He sat up and looked around. "What the hell? What am I doing all the way out here? How'd I get here, anyway?"

He stood up and jogged back to his house and climbed up to his open window. After all, he didn't have his keys on him and it was too early to wake everyone up with the door bell. Once inside, he was greeted by a unholy mess. His bed had been flipped onto its side and his closet door was wide open. His chair had been thrown across the room and his book bag had been torn to shreds.

"What the hell happened here?"

Kon crawled out from under the fallen mattress and whimpered. "Oh… I- Ichigo..!" He looked close to tears.

"Kon, what happened here?"

The stuffed animal sniffled. "Y- you… You went nuts! That's what happened!"

He closed the window and corrected the mattress. "What are you talking about?"

Kon jumped to his feet. "You went crazy in your sleep last night! At first, I thought you were having a nightmare, but then, you jumped off your bed, flipped over the chair and started to attack your school bag! I came out to see what was going on, but when you attacked me, I made a run for it and hid under your bed. The last thing I saw you do was jumped out the window and run off!"

Ichigo felt weak. "What..? Are you saying that I did all this?"

"Why do you think you were out there?"

"I…" He had no answer for that. "So… you think I was sleepwalking or something?"

"Walking? You were sleep-berserking! You nearly killed me! It's a good thing your family is used to this sort of thing! Your dad can sleep through anything and your sisters didn't seem to care! They're used to strange sounds coming from your room."

Ichigo sat down on the floor. None of this made any sense to him. Why would he do all this? How? Why?

X

On his way home from class that day, he heard someone call his name. He turned.

"Rukia?"

She was dressed in a school uniform, in a gigai. "Ichigo, we need to talk. But not here." She pulled him back to his house and up to his room. She sat him down on his newly made bed and tossed Kon aside after his usual greeting to her. "So, I understand that something strange has been going on around here recently."

"So you know, huh?" Ichigo wondered how she found out about his strange behavior so soon like this.

"Not too many Hollow have been showing up during the day, but at night, they pop up everywhere. The strange thing is that they're not attacking anyone. One soul I talked to said that a Hollow passed right over them. That's very strange. Then they just go away. That's very unnatural."

"Wait, so we're taking about Hollows right now?"

"What did you think I was talking about, bunnies?"

"Knowing you…" Ichigo went on. "I thought we were talking about me."

"Why? I was called here because of the Hollows. What do you have to do with it?"

Ichigo told her what happened and Kon told her his side of the story, too. After all was said and done, Rukia decided to spend the right in Ichigo's closet again.

The night was no different than any other night. But it did take longer for Ichigo to fall asleep than usual. Finally putting himself at ease, he fell asleep. Rukia stayed awake to watch him. There was no change in him for the first couple of hours, except for the occasional tossing and turning and sleepy mumbles. Rukia smiled when Ichigo snuggled into his pillow as he slept, wondering what kind of dream he was having. But other than that, there was no change in him.

Curious to see what was on at this late hour, Rukia got out of the closet to turn on the tiny TV on Ichigo's dresser. He never used it anyway. She kept the volume low and flipped through the channels until she found something she liked. It was the news. They were talking about a young rising star coming to Karakura Town. The two people shared their views on her and showed a clip from her recent concert in China. She had a lovely voice, even Rukia had to admit. It was very pretty, though she couldn't understand the language.

As the singing continued, Ichigo started to toss and turn in his sleep. He started groaning. Kon tugged on Rukia's pant leg and pointed to the bed.

"That's how he was last night before…"

Ichigo's eyes snapped open and he leapt out of bed. He made a lunge for the TV. Rukia jumped out of the way. Ichigo grabbed the small TV in both hands and held it tight in his arms, embracing it. He rested his chin on the warm, smooth top and nuzzled it in an almost affectionate way.

Rukia just stared at him, not sure if he was truly awake.

"Sing…"

She blinked.

Ichigo was whispering to the TV in his arms. "Sing some more… please… keep singing… I love that song for yours… sing for me… Sing, my lovely…"

"Ichigo..?" Rukia took a step closer to him.

His head snapped up and showed her his gold eyes. Black pupils, yellow irises and black sclera. This wasn't Ichigo.

This was his Hollow.

"I want her to sing," he kept murmuring. "Sing more. Sing for me."

Rukia didn't know what to do. She had never seen this before. Kon shivered behind her leg, clinging to her ankle fearfully. How did Ichigo's Hollow appear like this? Did he take over every time he fell asleep? That couldn't be. If that were the case, then why didn't it happen sooner? It only happened after…

She turned on the TV.

Ichigo stroked the bright screen with his finger tips, Hollow eyes fixed on the singer in the glowing box. His dark eye softened as he listened with a sweet smile. He looked so calm and happy. Was this really the hostile Hollow Ichigo had been fighting all this time? It couldn't be. This guy was almost affectionate. In fact, he was, the way he was cuddling the TV like that. He looked as if he were in love. In love with the singer.

He held the TV close and rested his cheek on its top. "Sing some more. I love your voice. Keep singing. Don't stop." He traced her face on the screen with his finger, loving her.

After another minute, her song came to an end and her audience applauded in the tiny TV. The newswoman gave a chuckle. "She really is something, isn't she? The rising star will be performing in Karakura Town next week. For more information, look at our website or check your local newspaper. Her team is still making the arrangements, I believe, so that's all the information we have. We'll be right back after this."

The Hollow's eyes darted back to the screen and shook it in his hands. "No!" he snapped. "Bring her back! I want to hear her! I have to hear her sing again! That voice… I need it!"

He slammed the TV down on the dresser causing the screen to go black. It was unclear whether he had broken it or simply loosened a wire somewhere. He punched the TV with a growl. Then his eyes found Rukia.

"I must have her..!" He took a threatening step forward towards her. She backed up. Would she have to fight him? She left her precious Chappy back in the closet. There was no way she'd be able to reach it in time before he attacked her. "Bring her back!"

"What are you talking about?" She backed up, nearly stepping on Kon in the process.

He put his hands on her shoulders, looking weak. "Please… I need that voice. I need her to sing again… Please." His voice was dying out.

"T- take your hands off my Rukia!" Kon shouted from the floor.

The blackness of his eyes started to fade away. "I need her… I need…" His eyes changed from yellow back to their usual brown and Ichigo slumped over into her arms.

"Ichigo?"

He was snoring softly. He was still asleep.

Rukia shook him. "Ichigo."

He moaned and turned away, wanting to sleep more.

She shook him harder. "Ichigo, wake up."

"Forget the cinnamon, Yuzu. Just gimme the French toast as it is. I'll butter it myself…"

"Ichigo, it's me! Now wake up!"

His eyes shot open and he looked around, confused. "Oh… For a second, I thought it was my sister." He looked back at his empty bed. "How'd I get over here?" He looked back at Rukia. "Was I sleepwalking or something?"

She shook her head. "I think we have a bigger problem actually."

X

After Rukia had explained everything to him, Ichigo decided to take a little walk down to visit the Vizards and have a little chat with them. Perhaps their Hollows were going crazy, too. But when he got there, he found their usual hideout locked up and abandoned. There was a small note fixed to the door, however. Ichigo opened it up and read it.

'Ichigo, if you're reading this, then we're already gone. We're going on a trip until this whole thing blows over. Later.'

"Sure, they tell me they're gone, but they don't say where or what the thing is they're waiting to blow over. Damn them." Ichigo crumpled up the note and tossed it aside. "Well, only one thing left to do now. I have to have a little chat with the old man." He sat on the ground and closed his eyes. Might as well get it over with now while he had a moment.

Zangetsu stood behind him, overcoat flapping in the breeze. "I was beginning to wonder when you'd show up."

"So you know, then, huh?" Ichigo stood up and faced him. "My Hollow took over me last night and the night before. What's going on? Why did he do that?"

"Because he was summoned."

"Huh? But I didn't summon him. What are you talking about?"

Zangetsu looked out over the buildings with a poker face. "It would seem that someone else has called him to the front."

"Huh?"

He looked back at Ichigo. "I was kind of hoping that you could tell me what was going on, but I suppose not." He sighed and started to move away. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you with this. It has nothing to do with me. But if your Hollow is out of control, then I suggest that you put him back on his leash. You refused to have him destroyed after all."

"But wait!" Ichigo chased after him. "What's going on? Why is he doing this? What's happening?"

"I can't answer that for you. You have to figure that out on your own. Even I don't have the slightest idea. Deal with it on your own."

"But my Hollow-"

"Only came because he was called. If you're not the one who did it, then you have to figure out who did."

Ichigo opened his eyes and found himself back on the ground outside the Vizard's hangout. That didn't help him much at all.

X

Ichigo and Rukia walked back to his house, talking about what had happened to him.

"So you said that when you turned on the TV in my room, my Hollow took over?"

"That's right. But he wasn't as violent as usual. He was a lot calmer than normal."

"That's got to be a first."

"Did you go and talk to those Vizard guys?"

"Yeah, but they weren't there. They said in a letter they left me that they would return when the whole thing blew over."

"What thing?"

"I have no idea."

Rukia stopped and pointed to a poster on a building. "Ichigo."

He looked. It was a picture of that rising star girl. The singer. "Wasn't that who my Hollow was attracted to, according to you?"

"Yeah, I think so. He said that he liked her singing. Know anything about that?"

He thought. "Wait… The other night when I Hollowfied, I was listening to my sisters play her song on their computer. And last night you said that my Hollow showed up while you were listening to her sing on the TV."

"So you think they're connected?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"It's a pretty safe bet." She looked back at the poster. "But I don't see how a mere human could do something like that with voice alone… She sings and your Hollow shows up. It seems pretty strange to me."

"But what if she's not human?"

She put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm. That could be. We'll have to find out more about her to be sure."

X

Monday rolled around. The day before their school festival. It was supposed to be that Monday, but the school board pushed it back a day for some reason. Ichigo got his reason when he walked into the classroom and found everyone pressed tightly against the windows looking outside.

"What's going on?"

"A limo just pulled up and our principal's going out there to talk to them."

"A limo? Why? Who's in it?"

"I don't know, but everyone's told to stay inside and not to make a fuss."

Ichigo squeezed between his classmates and looked outside. A black limo stopped in the middle of the grounds and the front gates closed, sealing them in. The driver came out and opened the back door to the limo. Everyone squeezed together for a better look. A girl with raven hair stepped out in a red dress and white shoes. She smiled at the principal and looked up at the crowded windows.

"It's her!"

"The girl from the posters!"

"The famous singer!"

"The rising star!"

"It's her! She's here!"

"She's here at our school!"

"What's she doing here of all places?"

Ichigo moved away from the window and the crowd. Something about this didn't feel right.

When everything settled down again, the announcements came on. "Attention students and faculty. We are pleased to announce that our school will be hosting the rising star's first warm-up concert during our festival tomorrow!"

"So that's why it was pushed back a day," a student whispered. "To make room for her."

"I hear she's good."

There was minor feedback as the microphone was passed over to a new person. "Hello Karakura High! My name is Linnette and I'll be looking forward to the festival tomorrow!"

Ichigo's heart skipped a beat when he heard her peppy, happy voice. She sounded like one of those dumb blond stereotypes, all happy and cheerful. But something about her voice made him feel uneasy. Almost sick to his stomach.

"Work hard during the festival and give it your all. I know I will."

Dun-dun-DUN!

O_O

Well, this can't be good. What's going to happen? What will he do? Who is this girl? Why am I asking you all these questions?

Please review!