Twins Stick Together

Chapter 1

(A/N) I only update when I get reviews. Period. Even if I've already got it written. And typed. I also appreciate ideas for my stories and pairings. Anonymous reviews are welcome. Any ideas you think I might use should be placed in reviews. ALSO: I spell-checked this as best I could. If you find any errors, PLEASE point them out so that I can fix them. On with the story!

Ichigo glanced around the room. He was well accustomed to that uneasy feeling of missing something by now. After all, it had been over a year since he had sacrificed his shinigami powers to defeat Aizen. He had made his decision knowing the consequences, and he had no regrets, but he missed his Shinigami friends. He had tried to avoid any reminders of their presence, but only now, as he prepared to leave, did he realize the comfort he had drawn from this room they had shared so many memories in.

Shut up me, he thought irritably.

Talkin' ta ya'self, King?

You shut up, too.

Ya scared, King? Leered the hollow.

Ichigo didn't reply. He was scared. Terrified, really. What he was doing was near suicidal. A reckless, spur-of-the-moment decision that could ultimately result in his own death. He smirked.

Somethin' funny? His hollow asked with a feral grin.

I was just reflecting on how much I love suicide missions accompanied by mysterious monsters and a possible apocalypse, he thought back.

His hollow laughed. Looks like ya got ya guts back.

Let's go.

Road trip!

Wondering why his hollow knew what a road trip was, he wrote a quick note and left it on the desk.

I'm helping out an old friend, I probably won't be back for awhile. Don't worry. Karin, keep Dad in line while I'm gone.

Ichigo

Don' worry? That bad, huh? His hollow seemed slightly subdued.

Yeah. I have to get out of here while I've got the chance. If I stick around someone's bound to figure it out and come after me. If I don't tell them where I'm going, they have nothing to hide, and they can't be forced to give up information they don't have.

'mind me not ta play ya at chess. The hollow sounded impressed and a little wary.

I've been masking my reiatsu since it started to return. If I keep it suppressed and spread it out slowly, it'll cover Karakura and Ishida won't be able to pinpoint me. Outside of town I'll completely suppress it. I'll go by rooftop. Taking a train means getting a ticket, and I'd rather not leave a paper trail. I transferred my bank account and left a false trail leading away from us. I think that's everything...

Or anythin' else, he added, awed.

Ichigo laughed softly, and slid the window open. He slipped out into the night, his dark clothes blending into the night as he jumped to the next roof. Reiatsu or no, freestyle parkour had become his new hobby, giving him the rush he needed while unable to fight hollows.

He paused, looking over the roofs. He was dead center in the middle of town. His eyes picked out a route and he started on his way. Handsprings, backflips, flying leaps, he did it all. Gravity had no hold on him, and the whole time, everything he did, he did as a human. It was enough to put Yoruichi to shame.

A hollow leaped at a small girl's ghost, only to have a fist crush his mask.

No point in hiding anymore, Ichigo thought.

His hollow cackled violently.

As the hollow faded away, Ichigo laid his hand on the ghost's forehead. She sunk through the ground in a blue glow. Konso finished, he took off out of town.

If only Rukia could see me now, he thought to himself. Doing Soul Reaper duties without leaving my body.

In the Soul Society, Rukia paused for a moment and looked at the sky, an uneasy feeling gnawing at her. Renji, walking beside her, stopped too.

"What's wrong?"

Rukia jumped, visibly startled. "Nothing."

"You worried about that stupid Stawberry again?"

She glared at him for a second, then relented. "Yeah. I just have this really bad feeling, like something terrible happened to him."

"Your intuition serves you well."

Rukia and Renji jumped.

"Nii-sama!"

Byakuya's face was kept carefully blank.

"A message from the World of the Living arrived during the Captain's meeting. Subsitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki has disappeared without a trace."