Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

METAL

Chapter 1: Bloody Visions and Foreboding Feelings

"Something is not right here." Rukia warned, tentatively fingering the hilt of her zanpaktou still tucked in her sash at her hip.

"Yeah." Ichigo nodded feeling the same odd sensation prickle along his arms, up his neck, and down his spine. It wasn't the vanquished hollow slowly disintegrating at their feet. The hollow had been a small fry- barely worth their time and certainly not worth Rukia drawing on Sode no Shiriyuki. But the scent in the air made the lady soul reaper wary enough. It was not the lingering scent of the hollow, the sharp tang of evil blood. No. This smell in the air was sweet and tart like an orchard full of ripe green apples.

Rukia's gem colored eyes narrowed as she scanned back and forth from the playground to the tree line. "I'm going to take a look around." She said finally. She glanced at her partner who gave a nod, distracted. Her quick flash step took her deep into the trees before he had even registered her movement.

With a sigh he shook his head and was about to sheath his blade, but paused. The disturbance that had tainted the air and twisted the spiritual pressure around them was at his back. His heart leapt into his throat as he whipped around to face the street.

Standing across the street of the deserted intersection below a streetlamp that flickered eerily stood a woman, blood flowing from the slash stretching across her throat. But that was not the only source of life fluid that dripped from her like a torrent. Cuts up and down her bare arms sluiced down her adding to the growing puddle at her feet, the majority falling from her slit wrists. There was a spreading stain on her left side that could only be a stab wound. She stood awkwardly, her right foot held slightly above the ground, her toe pointed downward at the pavement. More of her blood was matted in her hair, which might've been black but there was no telling as the fluid might've stained it that way. Her face though… There was something about her blood smeared face…

As he stared in horror at her he finally realized her blood stained lips were moving. She was screaming, but her vocal cords were emitting no sound- nothing reaching his ears. That in itself struck a chord in him as though he knew what her voice should sound like, though he could not say why she would seem so familiar.

She was clearly looking at him though, gesturing wildly, looking more angry than frightened or in pain despite her obviously tragic state. As much as it seemed unlikely, she was obviously looking right at him. Did that mean that she was a soul? He had never seen a soul so fresh in its death before. And there was no chain, just the disturbing wounds that continuously leaked, making the stream that was sluggishly meandering across the street to where he stood. His stomach gave a lurch as he looked down at the dark crimson tendrils reaching toward him.

Then it struck him. Could she possibly be alive? That thought was mind numbing and he felt his gorge rise at the atrocity.

Rukia at that moment returned to his side as though sensing his distress. She heard the hitch in his breathing and felt the wavering of his spiritual pressure. Concern clear in her eyes, she frowned, staring at the horrified look on his face, "What is it?"

Ichigo remembering himself upon feeling Rukia's reassuring presence next to him took a step forward. Whether living or dead, the blood soaked woman was his charge now, an innocent who needed his help. He put his hand out in sign for her to wait, "H-Hold on! We'll help you!"

But with a screech of tires a truck turned the corner down the street and sped toward them. Ichigo instinctively put his arm out, forcing Rukia to step back from the curb. Regardless of there being no threat to them as they were in spirit form, Ichigo couldn't help his human instincts. The truck rushed by and almost predictably when he looked across the street again, the blood drenched woman was gone. An apparition he thought as he realized for the first time that the woman next to him had not appeared to have noticed the strange vision.

He started looking in each direction, further worrying his partner.

"Ichigo- what is it? What has you so disconcerted?" She reached out as though to touch his arm, but stopped short. He turned to her, his expression clearly troubled.

"So- you didn't see her." He said after a moment, looking over her head at the place the specter had occupied. The river of blood that she created had vanished as well. Closing his eyes he tried to rid himself of the sight of her trying desperately to communicate with him as the unrelenting gore streamed from the appalling lacerations. He shook his head; such a sight could not have been simply his imagination. His imagination was not nearly so morbid.

"Ichigo…" Rukia's gaze remained on him worriedly. She sighed, "I saw nothing… Only felt the disturbance." He nodded, oddly resigned to the fact that only he had been fully affected. It always seemed the oddest of occurrences were meant for his eyes alone.

He swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat, hoping the awful chill in his bones would disappear as well. After a moment he sighed, running a hand through his hair "Come on. Let's head home. I'll tell you about it on the way."

Not waiting for her reply he took a deep breath in and propelled himself from where he stood, flash-stepping toward home.

Rukia remained for a few moments more however, scanning slowly, reaching her senses as far as she could for a hint of the disruption. But it was as though it had been blown away by the breeze, all traces gone. The only thing left was that tingling at the back of her neck, assuring her that something was indeed wrong. She reached for her soul pager, flipping it open though she knew there would be no new orders flashing on the screen. She grimaced flipping it closed in irritation. Whatever Ichigo had seen had left him reeling, despite how nonchalant he had tried to seem, his eyes had given him away. He had beheld some horror.

The thought made Rukia's heart clench. Was there nothing she could shield him from? She bit her bottom lip, her eyes narrowing. Finally she nodded decidedly to herself. She would listen to whatever it was he had to say, and then find a way to ease his mind.

"A woman covered in blood?" Rukia's captain repeated with a concerned frown. She nodded.

After listening to Ichigo's account, Rukia had urged him to go get some rest, simply stating that he was overworked and needed to take it easy more. Ichigo had frowned feeling as though she were glossing over the whole thing, but had only muttered his ascent and readied himself for bed. For a while she had watched him, without his knowledge, as he fell into a troubled sleep, her indigo eyes dark with foreboding. Finally when his breathing had evened out and he had settled on his back, she had climbed out the window and dropped down to the side walk outside.

Her new soul pager allowed her to get video feed so she was able to call the Thirteenth and see her captain's comforting smile on the screen. But as she told him about the encounter with the hollow and the odd spiritual pressure and scent that had lingered in the air after its dispatching, Ukitake's face had fallen. He looked doubly disturbed by what his student had told him about what the substitute soul reaper had stumbled upon.

"I must say this is quite alarming. I'm not quite sure what we can do about the fact that this apparition seemed to only appear to Ichigo. This doesn't leave much for us to go on. However, the fact that there was a strange spiritual signature in the air is in itself worth investigating. Stick close to him, Rukia and please keep me updated daily. Also, if you can gather any clear evidence of the strange spiritual pressure you felt in the next few days send any unusual findings to the Department of Research and Development right away. If anything out of your scope of your expertise should arise, it is imperative you call for back-up right away." Captain Ukitake ordered with a serious set to his face.

After a moment he added with the slight trace of his fatherly smile, "And as always, please take care."

"Of course, Captain. Thank you." Rukia agreed immediately, her eyes sparkling with determination. She sighed as the screen went blank and she flipped the phone shut. She had taken a leisurely stroll around the block and she just happened to return to where she had started upon ending the call.

As she gazed up at Ichigo's window a hot molten finger of dread ran down her spine, flushing her body with uncomfortable warmth. Her fists clenched at her sides as the feeling lingered for a moment and then disappeared. She had to take a steadying breath as the odd feeling passed and she was left feeling breathless and confused. Whatever had disturbed the air this night could only mean more danger ahead for her and the substitute shinigami. Visibly she shivered and glanced around her warily feeling for the soul candy dispenser in her pocket just in case. But the night was quiet, not so uncommon for how late it was. Still as she relaxed only slightly she felt the sudden urge to check on her partner.

When she had managed to get herself back up onto the windowsill, she paused before going in, listening as Ichigo muttered in his sleep. She sighed, knowing there was very little she could do about the things that might haunt his dreams, a touch of guilt flicking her as she knew he would not have come face to face with the stuff of nightmares if not for her interference in his life. She quickly reminded herself however that Ichigo seemed insistent on keeping and increasing his power to protect those around him, something he had assured her he could not do had she not become a part of his life. Still sometimes…

She was leaning halfway in the window when her hand slipped and she ungracefully fell forward and landed on the floor with a thud.

"Idiot!" She hissed at herself in what she hopped was a quiet voice. Not that it would have mattered whether she had yelled as Ichigo was suddenly on his feet standing in front of her. She found herself staring at his bare feet until she slowly scanned upward to see him looking down at her with a mixture of concern and amusement.

"Rukia? What exactly are you doing?" He asked in confusion, the hint of laughter in his tone immediately agitating her.

"Nothing!" Rukia scowled, pushing herself up with her hands so that she was sitting back against her calves.

There was silence between them as she refused to look up at him afraid he might see the blush of embarrassment on her face in the last of the moonlight.

"Are you okay?" He finally asked, now only unease coloring his words. He knew it was unlike Rukia to be clumsy and couldn't help but wonder if something wasn't wrong with her gigai again.

"I'm fine." She said brusquely brushing at the nonexistent dust on her skirt. She was rather bewildered by her sudden inelegance as well, but she wasn't about to make that obvious and thus worry him.

When she saw his hand appear in front of her, offering to help her up, she thought about slapping it away, but when she looked up into his face with a glare, she only found he was looking down at her with a surprisingly tender expression. She took a breath as though to berate him for the pathetic look but instead she sighed and slipped her hand into his.

He helped her to her feet and she murmured softly, "Thanks."

He shrugged and went back to plop down on his bed, his hands behind his head. Rukia watched him for a moment and then headed for the closet. As she slid open the door he asked quietly, "What did Ukitake say?"

Of course she hesitated, wondering for a moment whether she ought to just simply beat a hasty retreat by diving into the closet and shutting the door calling her good-night. Instead she just smiled, hoping she didn't sound as worried as she felt, "He wasn't too concerned actually… He said you should try to get some more sleep."

"Hmm." He hummed, his eyes zeroed in on the ceiling. But she knew her words had been unconvincing.

She sighed, "Ichigo-,"

Both Ichigo's badge and Rukia's pager gave warning and they exchanged a look, in an instant any tension forgotten and their minds in complete sync.

Rukia stared at the soul pager her eyes widening at the amount of red blinking dots on the grid that indicated the spiritual pressure of several hollows.

"There's a high concentration all over the city." She said and he knew exactly what the frown on her face meant. This was unusual. She looked up, but there was no need for a word of encouragement as Ichigo had already stepped out of his body, a familiar scowl of determination clear to her despite the early morning shadows across his face.

Kon chose the perfect moment to wander in, muttering something about "greedy humans" and "my delicious choco puffs". He barely made it through the door however before he was picked up by Rukia which he wouldn't have minded had she not tossed him across the room to her partner. Kon sailed across the air with a cry only to be caught by Ichigo. He had no time to curse or struggle before the boy squeezed hard on the stuffed lion's middle, popping the mod soul pill from his body. There wasn't even a chance for the disturbed mod soul to ask questions as he found himself in Ichigo's body, slumped against the desk. He watched as the two soul reapers flew out of the window, one after the other without a word.

Kon growled to himself, getting to his feet as he brushed at the invisible dust that had settled on his arms and legs in the wake of their speedy departure. He pulled a scowl, but was again interrupted before he could make a whiney tirade.

"Kon!" Ichigo appeared at the window, making the mod soul grab at his chest in terror, flinching back.

"Dah! Ichigo-," Kon opened his mouth to berate the teen, but had no chance.

"Kon, it's going to be a long one so do me a favor and keep an eye out around here… And don't do anything I wouldn't, got that?" Ichigo said.

"Yeah- yeah. I've done this before, Idiot!" Kon muttered, waving a dismissive hand at the boy, but when he looked up the window was vacant.

Somewhere a hollow screamed and disintegrated into spirit particles. Somewhere another fell to a ridiculously large blade. Somewhere sweet smelling blood trailed a lost soul. And somewhere evil was lifting its head, its glowing green eyes pulsing with a power that would soon be fully restored.

Yes. It would be a long one.

AN: Yes, there will be Ichi/Ruki, but I haven't yet decided about any other pairings. Unlike my other fiction I don't have a super clear idea where this is going, but I'm hoping it will be a vicious success! I simply have this vision of blood and evil and an OC that is both hard-edged, tragic, and soft all at once. I honestly don't think there will be a solid OC/Canon Character pairing- at least nothing lasting- maybe hints. In the end I want this to be just a gritty/dark new adventure for the Bleach cast.

Next Chapter: The Gotei Thirteen and the Exiles react to the menace that is sure to come!

Wish me luck! R&R PLEASE!