Hey! It took me awhile to actually get myself to write a story, but being bored for longer then an hour helped me more then I thought it would! I don't really have a plot for this. Well, I do, but I don't at the same time. It'll be following most of the regular Bleach storyline, with a few changes here or there. Though, by the title I'm assuming most people are able to tell one major difference. Also, while this is more for my own entertainment then anything else, I would be very happy to know what people think of it. So please, write reviews! Good or bad doesn't matter, I just want your honest opinion. Please keep it polite though. I don't want insults, just criticism. Enough with the introductory though, here's the key!:

Key:

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Ability

Definitions[number]: At the bottom of every chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

With that done, on with the fanfic!

Chapter 1: Making a New Friend

Kurosaki Ichigo was many things. He was strong. He was tall. He even had the most extraordinary orange hair anyone had ever seen. But there was one thing that he was not. Alive. He had died when he was just a boy. He had died, alongside his mother, being eaten by a Hollow called Grand Fisher. His mother had tried to defend him, to no avail. While the Hollow preferred women, the two were so close together that the beast had eaten both of them. Luckily for Ichigo, his soul was able to get away thanks to the sacrifice that his mother had made, and it was, a short time later, found by a shinigami[1] and sent to Soul Society. He was sent to the 78th district of Rukongai, and he had been going from hut to hut ever sense. Ichigo didn't know how long it had been sense then. He didn't want to think about it. If you compared him to a human, you would say that he is about nine. He believed that was the same age he was when he died, but he couldn't remember.

That puts us to the present time. He didn't have any friends. He didn't have anyone who cared about him. He was a loner. But that would change today. As he was walking through the pathways, he heard a scuffle off in the distance, down a narrow alleyway. 'What's that sound?' the soul wondered, and, as curiosity got the best of him, he slowly walked down the isle. It was dark, so he couldn't see anything. Squinting to try and get a view, he could faintly see a group of shadows moving around. He then heard a voice. "Let go of me!" it said. From what he could tell, it was a female, possibly no older then he was. Suddenly, one of the shadows went flying off in the distance, and a smaller shadow suddenly leaped into the air, kicking the other shadow and sending it flying as well. Ichigo's eyes widened as the small shadow suddenly came darting towards him, and within a second he felt a pain in his chest, and he heard a loud slam.

When he opened his eyes, he found that he was now out of the alleyway. 'What happened…?' he wondered. It was then that he realized that he couldn't breath very well. As he looked down, he saw raven colored hair. From what he could see, it was a girl. He figured it was the same girl that he heard… 'Oh… Right… I must've gotten hit.' He mentally faced palmed himself at his stupidity, having forgotten. Rolling over, slowly standing up, making sure to hold the girl so that she wouldn't hit the ground, he picked her up, and carried her to the hut he was currently staying at. When he arrived, there was no one there. The hut was a little larger then average, having ten beds on each side, and one large table in the center. It had a room off in the back left corner where the bathroom was. Placing the girl on one of the beds, he went over and sat at the table, keeping an eye on the girl.

15 minutes later

Ichigo had nearly fallen asleep watching the girl. It had been a while, and he was getting very sleepy watching someone else.. Well… Sleep. Right before he closed his eyes though, the girl's eyes suddenly snapped open. The sudden waking up of the girl caused Ichigo to immediately stand from where he was sitting. The girl suddenly looked at him, glaring, and did a leaping tackle, obviously assuming he was an enemy.

"Where am I? Who are you?" the girl demanded as she pinned him to the ground. Stuttering because of the sudden position, Ichigo finally managed to get the words out.

"I-I'm Ichigo! Ichigo Kurosaki! You're in the 78th district of Rukongai, and this is the hut I've been staying at for awhile! Please don't kill me!" He said this last line with sarcasm. While he was "young" for a soul, he knew how to defend himself perfectly fine. The girl, however, continued holding him to the ground, scowling at him.

"What am I doing here?" she asked threateningly. Ichigo answered without hesitation, the events of early clear in his mind.

"Well, I was out for a walk, when I heard noises coming from an alley, when I went to check, I got hit in the chest by… "something"… and I was knocked out. When I woke up, you were out lying right on me."

Finally, the girl relaxed her grip, smiled, and said, "I see. And out of concern, you brought me here?" After Ichigo nodded in the affirmative, she finally let go completely, stood up, and looked around the hut. "So you stay here?"

"That's right" he responded. "There's normally other people here, but there wasn't any when I brought you in, and none have shown up yet." As the girl continued looking around, Ichigo finally asked, "By the way, what's your name?"

Turning slightly to look at him, while her back was still facing towards him, she responded, "Rukia."

"Rukia, huh? That's a nice name." Pausing for a moment, Ichigo continued, "So, why were those punks after you?"

Turning to face him completely now, Rukia responded, "They were just mad that I stuck up to them and allowed some kids to get away with some food."

"Really? Wow. That was brave of you." Ichigo said, not expecting what was going to happen next. He received a powerful punch to the stomach.

"You fool! You think that was brave? They weren't even worth wasting my breath on." She finished this last line with her arms folded, eyes closed, and head up in a proud manner.

Holding his stomach that he was sure was broken, he asked, "Did you have to punch me?" with a very comical expression.

Smirking, Rukia nodded. After a few seconds, after Ichigo had recovered, Rukia asked, "So, do you live here, or do you wander around?"

Looking off to the side, Ichigo responded, "I wander about. There's never been a reason to stay in one place."

Smiling, Rukia held out her hand towards Ichigo. "Well then. How about coming along with me? I wander around myself, and two is better then one!"

Thinking for a moment, Ichigo smiled, and took her hand. And thus a new friendship was born.

Well, there it is. Once again, I'm open to any criticism that will be offered. Please read, and tell me what you think! I don't know when the next chapter will be up. It might be tomorrow, the next day, or it might be a weak from now. I don't know. Anyways, looking forward to seeing what you guys think!

Definitions:

[1]Shinigami: Death god.