A/N had an idea for a Bleach fanfic. But went back to my old story Rogue Soul, and began to think. I went back and read RS and couldn't help but see a lot wrong with it. After some thought, I decided to fuse the two, into a sort of Rouge Soul 2.0 if you will. Most of the key plot elements will be the same with one major exception. I left the old one up for those of you who still want to read it. Be aware though, that there will be different details, so don't expect it to be entirely the same.

IIIIIII

"What's the problem?" the shopkeeper asked, motioning Isshin to take a seat. The man obliged, sitting down in a wooden chair, the child still in his arms.

"I don't know what's wrong." Isshin answered, looked down at the boy, worry evident on his features. "He thrashes around when he cries, almost violently; and his eyes…"

"What's wrong with his eyes?" Urahara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Whenever he has one of his fits, they…change color." Isshin said. The man looked towards the shopkeeper. "They change to a dark yellow...almost amber color."

This last bit of information made the normally nonchalant shopkeepers eyes widen noticeably. "Are you sure about that?" A nod from the other man confirmed it. The hat once again covered Urahara's eyes as he glanced down to the floor. "I'm not entirely sure…" he began. " But if it is what I think it is…"

"He's turning."

The shopkeeper looked up in surprise at Isshin's words. "Yes, it seems so." He admitted, no longer seeing the need to soften the blow.

"Why now?" Isshin mumbled to himself. "When we've just now become a family…"

"Switching his Gigai is probably what did it." Said Urahara. "His original one grew at the same rate as he would have without it; maybe taking two hundred years or more to reach maturity. This new one though, grows at the rate of a normal human being." He paused for a second, considering his words. "That must have accelerated it..."

Isshin stared down at the boy, tears welling up. "I just wanted him to live a normal life... with me and Misaki." He looked up at the shopkeeper, a desperate look in his eyes. "Is there anything you can do?"

"It's already begun Isshin." Urahara said sadly. "The boy is going to become a hollow… he was doomed to that fate when his mother was attacked." He watched as his old friends head fell in despair at his words, the boy was doomed. I'm sorry big guy... there's nothing I can do. He stood up and patted the stricken man on the shoulder. "I'm sorry." He stood up and walked towards the back room of his shop, wanting to give his friend what little time there was left of the boy's life. He sat down quietly at his desk, placing his head on his hands. I knew it was risky… he thought. But I did it anyway… Now Kaien's son is going to become a hollow. His thoughts drifted back to old lieutenant of squad 13. Isshin was trusted with his brother's son, and I kill him. When anyone thought of Kisuke Urahara, they would tell you of an aloof, mysterious man, one who always seemed to be in control. Here however was a different man entirely, one filled with the stinging pain of regret. In that old Gigai he could have lasted at least another hundred years… He slammed his fist down in frustration, leaving cracks in his heavy workbench. It's too late to change the gigai now… Before too long, he will completely become a hollow… maybe a week at the most if his eyes are changing… The train of though was cut short as box fell on the shopkeeper head with a heavy thump. "Oww..." Urahara mumbled, taken by surprise by the falling object. He glanced down to see what it was. The... His eyes widened as an idea crossed his head. He snatched up the box and hurried into the front of the shop.

The broken man sat in his chair, staring down at his nephew. I'm sorry Kaien... I'm so sorry… I couldn't give him the life you wanted.

"Isshin!" Isshin looked up to see Urahara, entering the room and holding a fairly large wooden box; the shopkeeper's eyes now holding a glimmer of hope. "I have something which may work."

The former soul reapers eyes shot open in surprise. "What…what do you mean?"

"It won't take the hollow out of his soul, but we may be able to halt it here; preventing him from fully becoming one." Urahara explained, placing the box on a nearby table.

"What is it?" Isshin asked.

"For quite some time now, I've been working on a project." Urahara continued, beginning to open the box. "You remember arrancars right?"

"Yes." Isshin responded. "They're Hollows with some Shinigami abilities." His eyes narrowed. "You're not going to…"

"No, he won't become an Arrancar." Urahara said, pulling out a smaller box. "If this works, Ichigo's soul will balance out." He opened the smaller box, and lifted out a small blue sphere.

"Is that it?" Isshin asked, hopefully.

"Yes," Urahara replied. "If it works, his life will be saved…but…" he trailed off.

"But what?"

"There will always be some hollow in him." The shopkeeper stated. "He may behave differently, more aggressively… it will not be easy, and you'll have to explain it to him eventually… to be honest, I'm really not sure what will happen when his soul stabilizes."

"I'm willing to take that risk." Isshin said, taking one last look at the sleeping boy in his arms, before handing him to the shopkeeper. "Save my nephew."

IIIIIIII

That had been a night forever etched into the mind of Isshin Kurosaki. That little blue ball had saved Ichigo's life. When Urahara brought the boy and the orb close to each other, it simply flowed into the boy's body, disappearing inside. In what seemed like a massive stroke of luck, there hadn't seemed to be any form of side effects either. When he awoke the next day, both eyes were as brown as the day he was born, and Isshin had never felt happier, knowing that his nephew was going to be ok. His new wife Misaki calmed down as well when she was her new step son wasn't having the weird eye problems any more. She had never known just how grave the boy's actual situation was, and Isshin wanted to keep it that way. His wife was ignorant to the world of souls and hollows, and he wanted to keep it that way for as long as he could.

Ichigo had grown quite normally through his first two years, progressing through the stages of crying, crawling, and walking. However, once he started heading off to preschool, things started to change. When Ichigo turned three, something began to change in his behavior. The Kurosaki household began to receive phone calls on a nearly daily basis. All of them talking about how Ichigo seemed to play too rough with the other children, one day he received a call slightly worse than the others.

"Excuse me, is this the Kurosaki home?" a feminine voice called across the line.

"Yes it is, Isshin speaking."

"I have something to tell you about your boy, Ichigo." The teacher said.

Oh great, not this again… "What'd he do this time?" Isshin asked, unsurprised.

"Well, to be honest all of the blame does not lie with your son." The teacher began. "Ichigo was playing with some blocks when another boy came up and took some. Your son scowled and tossed a particularly large block at the other boy…knocking him out cold."

"WHAT?" Isshin exclaimed in shock. How hard would he have to throw it?

"Yes, that was our reaction as well." Said the teacher in annoyance. "When I told him that was bad, he just threw one at me…from across the classroom."

Isshin rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry about that, he can be… a little energetic sometimes."

"I'm sure he can be Mr. Kurosaki." The woman replied. "However, we're going to have to ask that your son please attend a different school from now on."

"Please don't, I swear it'll never..." he stopped as the other side of the line hung up. Isshin sighed. This'll be the third one this month…

IIIIIIIII

Ichigo continued to be a nuisance as he grew older, getting kicked out of almost every preschool service in the city. Among babysitter he had reached almost legendary status as the "Kurosaki Demon Child' known for eating massive amounts of food, growling at his caregivers, and breaking things with his hands. There was also one incident where some poor girl ended up with a black eye and a restraining order taken out on the child. The boy's behavior was wild and unpredictable, one minute he would be playing calmly with his toys, and the next charging around outside terrorizing the neighborhood. Isshin was beginning to worry, but cast it out as a boy being a boy. He had his own streak of terror when he was a kid, becoming a legend in his own right; but nothing like this. Isshin could only thank the stars that his wife had the patience of a saint.

Misaki had put up with Ichigo's antics far longer than anyone else had ever lasted. She had years of experience with small children, since she taught kindergarten classes at a local school, she also seemed to be the only who was immune to the toddlers occasional violent outbursts; meaning she landed the duty of telling him to take his baths and brush his teeth. Isshin would chuckle to himself every time he saw that ever present scowl morph into a childish pout whenever his wife started to throw her weight around.

When Ichigo had turned five, he had entered elementary school with as notorious a reputation as someone his age could have. Through a particularly fortunate stroke of luck, Ichigo had landed in her class; however many would say it was due to the other teachers fear of taking on the kid. She was quick to discipline Ichigo whenever he would do something wrong, and due to her now near constant influence, the young boy was learning albeit slowly, what was and wasn't acceptable.

About halfway through that year, joyous news arrived at the Kurosaki household. Misaki was going to have twins! Isshin was overjoyed at the news that he was going to have not one, but two new children. When they had told Ichigo he was highly curious, would he have a brother or sister, both even? The parents let him know that even they didn't know, and would have to wait to find out. Months later, Misaki gave birth to twin girls, who were named Karin and Yuzu. When Ichigo saw his sisters for the first time, he felt something trigger in his head, it confused him. "Tell me Ichigo." He heard his father say. "Why do big brothers come first?" Ichigo shrugged at the question, looking up at his father. "To protect those who come after them."

IIIIIIII

It wasn't long after leaving Misaki's class that Ichigo was back up to his old antics, although things were beginning to take a turn for the worse. The boy had proven to have an incredibly short fuse, and could go off at any discernible second. When Ichigo was seven, his parents were called up to the school office and given an ultimatum.

Both of them were now seated in the principal's office of Ichigo's school. Isshin and Misaki sitting in chairs beside each other, the girls sitting on their mothers lap. Ichigo sat in the corner, a scowl on his face.

"You're nephew is quite an interesting case Mr. Kurosaki." The principle said, looked towards Isshin. "In his classes, he is doing quite well, near the top of his grade in fact..." Isshin had turned a surprised look at his wife who visibly grinned; she knew what she was doing. "…However, we simply can't overlook all the fights he has been a part of all this year."

"That's what they get for calling me a nerd!" Ichigo shouted at the principal, earning glares from all the seated adults. "Humph…sorry." He muttered, turning away from the group.

"Frankly Mrs. Kurosaki, if you weren't an employee here I doubt we would have tolerated it this long." The principal said. "Another child sent to the hospital and we'll have to expel him."

"Well what would you like for us to do?" Isshin said calmly.

"Get the boy under control." The principal stated. "Put him into some sort of sports club or something, he has too much pent up aggression."

"I believe we can manage that sir." Isshin said, standing up and extending his hand. "I give you my word that Ichigo will not send anyone else to the infirmary."

The principal merely snorted, but shook the man's hand. He watched as they gathered up their children and headed out of his office. I don't give that kid a week.

"Misaki." Isshin said as the group was walking down the hall, getting his wife's attention.

"Yes, Isshin."

"Take the girls to the car; I have to talk with Ichigo about something." She gave him a questioning look, but he waved it off. After she had gotten out of earshot, he turned back to Ichigo. "Ichigo, why did you get into all of those fights?"

The boy looked up at him with a neutral expression. "They insulted me, called me nerd because I did well. Talked about how I was a troublemaker."

"So why did you hit them, what did that accomplish?"

"I shut them up; they have no right to insult me."

Isshin looked him in the eye. Such pride… must be part of the Hollow in him. "Ichigo, do you know what your name means?"

The boy looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "No, what?"

"It means one who protects." Isshin said. "You are a strong boy Ichigo, far stronger than most your age." Ichigo's chest swelled at the words. "However, you are misusing your strength."

"What do you mean?"

"What makes someone a man, Ichigo?" Isshin said, squatting down to be on his nephew's level.

"Strength." Ichigo said. "A man gets what he wants by beating up the other guy, like Superman or Kamina!"

Isshin sighed at his words. "You're half right. Superman is a man because he uses his strength to defend others." Ichigo's eyes widened. "Kamina fights to make a brighter future for everyone. A man does what's right and does all he can to protect others. Right now you're nothing but a bully."

Ichigo's gaze turned to the floor. He didn't like it, but his father was right. Sometimes he would tell himself that, but it was almost as if he wanted to fight just because he could. "Dad, sometimes I just can't help it. I get mad and this feeling comes over me and, I can't stop."

The Hollow Instincts Kisuke has been worrying about…. He touched the boys chin and pulled his face up. "I think I know how to solve your problem." Isshin stood up and motioned for the boy to follow.

"Hey!" Ichigo called chasing after him. "Where are we going?"

"You'll know when we get there." They arrived at the car soon after, and after joining a slightly impatient Misaki, headed off to their destination. The local martial arts dojo.

IIIIIIII

Ichigo may have done quite well in school, but in the dojo he was a force of nature. He had fought his way to the top of the class almost immediately, earning a spot in his age groups tournament in under a month. The classes had done wonders for Ichigo's behavior in school as well, for now all of us pent up aggression and energy went to pounding the other kids at the dojo into the dirt. To everyone's surprise, Ichigo had developed a massive competitive streak. When asked why by his parents he replied. "Every time I'm in there, I try to prove I'm the best." For the most part, the one on one spars were quite easy for Ichigo, because he was quite strong for his age and already had a good amount of experience fighting others.

He had been looking forward to the city wide tournament for some time now, and on the day it was to begin, he was practically bouncing off the walls to get in and fight someone better. Once the tournament began, to his disappointment, he was only mildly challenged. As he fought his way into the finals, he actually felt kind of disheartened. His growing competitive spirit wasn't being satisfied by these chumps; he needed to fight someone stronger. It was this mindset he carried into the finals, facing off against a boy slightly taller than himself with long black hair.

"Ready to lose punk?" The boy asked him, cracking his fists.

Ichigo just stared at his opponent with a bored expression, not expecting much of a challenge. The ref signaled to begin, and both fighters jumped into their stances. Ichigo saw the boy in front of him swing a punch towards his face. He lazily brought his arms up to block the strike, only to double over as something collided with his exposed gut. What the... He looked down to see his opponents other fist dug into his stomach.

"Didn't see that coming did you?"

Ichigo looked up in time to see the boy's heel coming around in a swift kick, colliding with the side of his head. Ichigo grunted in pain as he was thrown to the ground by the force of the kick, his head swimming in pain. Oww...

"What an amateur." The taller boy said, smirking at his downed opponent. Ichigo shakily stood up. "Want some more?" Ichigo just repositioned himself and dropped into his fighting stance. This time he was the first to lunge at his taller opponent, only to gasp in surprise as his punch was swatted aside. His opponent then proceeded to grab his arm and use the leverage to toss Ichigo over his shoulder.

The loud thump echoed throughout the gym as the boy came in contact with the hard floor. "I can't take this anymore!" Misaki cried out, trying to call for an end to the fight. A hand touched her shoulder, causing her to turn around. "Isshin he's going to get hurt!"

Her husband looked back at with a neutral expression. "Not just yet Misaki." He said calmly. "He needs to do this himself." His wife glared down at him, obviously thinking otherwise; but she sat back down and turned her attention to the fight. Obviously willing to at least give Isshin's theory a shot.

"Was that your mom?" The taller boy said as Ichigo picked himself off the ground once again. "She's ugly; I can see where you get it from…" Ichigo tore his eyes up to look at the other boy, his eyes narrowing. "What's the matter am I making you mad?" the taller boy placed his hands on his hips and laughed. He was so busy laughing, he missed the fact that something was happening to his opponent's eyes; namely black color seeping into them. "Let's get this over with." The kid said with a smirk, raising his arms. "Take this!" he shouted swinging for Ichigo's head. He smirked when his opponent once again blocked his face; bringing his other fist towards the boys gut like the last time. When impact was made however, there as a much different result. "AAGGHH!" the boy screamed out in pain, pulling his fist back. What the hell is he made of…it's like punching concrete... He saw that several of his fingers were busted, and his wrist looked floppy. MY HAND! His eyes shakily looked up to see that his opponent was scowling back at him, a furious look on his face. "Look man, I'm sorry." He said, backing away from the enraged Ichigo. He almost screamed out in fear when the boy's eyes turned to him. They weren't a soft brown like they had been before, now they were black with golden irises. "What are...?" He felt as if a pressure was pushing down on him, rendering him immobile and thus unable to avoid the ferocious haymaker that Ichigo imbedded in his gut.

"Ichigo..." Isshin muttered; shocked at what he had just seen. He had been surprised to see Ichigo losing and had been partially glad that he was. It could be a valuable lesson that not everyone is easy to beat, to not get overconfident. But now, after seeing what had just occurred, Isshin wasn't sure if he was even looking at Ichigo at all. Misaki on the other hand, stood up and cheered, proud that Ichigo had managed to make a comeback; completely oblivious to what had just happened.

The taller boy fell to the ground, clutching his stomach, unable to breath. Trainers came out to check on him, and after feeling his chest, immediately ended the fight. The ref grabbed Ichigo's hand and raised it up signaling him to be the winner. Isshin held his breath as the boys head began to turn towards the crowd. What if he's lost control.., what should I… His eyes locked with Ichigo's soft brown ones, not the hollow amber he had been dreading, thus alleviating any worries Isshin might have been building up. Guess he's alright… for now. "Way to go Ichigo!" ha called out to his nephew, who was now grinning in the center of the ring, trainers coming out to check on his condition as well. He would prove to be largely ok except for a few bruises. His opponent however, was not quite so lucky, having to be rushed to the emergency room for a broken hand and four broken ribs.

IIIIIIII

After the tournament was over and Ichigo got his trophy, the Kurosaki family decided to celebrate with a Picnic out by a local river. Well, celebrate may not have been the best term. While Misaki was quite proud of the boy; Isshin couldn't get his mind off what he had seen. Ichigo's eyes blackening like hollows, and the events that followed. Misaki had gone down to set up a blanket with the girls; while the men of the house wondered down the river. That punch didn't even faze him… he thought, watching his victorious nephew playing with ducks down near the water's edge. Now he looked nothing like the furious attacker he had seen before. That punch was devastating… I could hear the kid's ribs crack from the stands. What really bothered Isshin was how quickly the state had come up and how it left almost immediately after the punch was thrown. If he was being taken over, it wouldn't end so subtlety, but if Ichigo was still in control, than what caused it in the first place? When he had questioned Ichigo about it on the ride over, the boy had been confused; simply stating that he had gotten mad and swung out at his opponent. Could it be anger then? Isshin thought, worried at the thought. If Ichigo lashed out like that every time he got angry, things could quickly take a turn for the worse. Maybe it's time I saw Urahara again…

"Hey dad!"

Isshin looked up to see Ichigo, his head cocked to the side. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Who is that over there?" the boy asked pointing back across the water. The man's gaze followed Ichigo's hand, his eyes freezing when he saw what the boy was pointing at. A girl, one around Ichigo's age was floating above the water, she was translucent, the man saw; as he was not able to truly see through her dim form. A spirit… He looked down at his nephew who seemed to be gazing at the same scene in obvious interest. He can see them now…

"Hey are you ok?" Ichigo asked, walking towards the spirit. "How are you floating like that?"

If Ichigo can see spirits now… Ishhin thought, watching the scene before him. The thought unnerved Isshin greatly, for if he was gaining such abilities then he may not be far off from his natural abilities. He was born a spirit, if this continues I may not be able to hide him for much longer… a chill raced down the man's spine; something wasn't right. He looked at Ichigo, who had also frozen in place. The spirit girl was rising out of the water, revealing a long stem, leading to something quite large. This feeling…A HOLLOW. Isshin sprang up and began to run towards the water. "Ichigo move!" The boy turned to look at his uncle, fear evident in his eyes.

"Get out of here!" Isshin shouted back at Ichigo. "Something bad is about to happen!"

"But" he muttered, confused by what was happening.

"JUST GO!" Isshin shouted back, seeing a grinning white mask ascend from the river.

"What's happening..?" Ichigo shouted, backing frozen in place.

Isshin reached down to grab Ichigo's hand and pulled, but the boy didn't budge. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" he shouted down to the stationary boy. "WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE… oomph!" He grunted as one of the hollows arms bashed him in the side, sending him flying a good ten feet, sliding to a halt beside a tree.

"UNCLE!" Ichigo cried out; growing more confused by the second.

"Hehehehehe." The Hollow chuckled, climbing out of the river towards his victim, paying no attention to the shaking boy on the bank.

"Ichigo…r-run!" Isshin coughed out, trying to pull himself up. The hollows strike had hurt him considerably; breathing was proving to be difficult.

Ichigo watched in horror as the monster ambled slowly towards his mother and father, feeling helpless. He swatted dad aside like he wasn't even there… He was too afraid to move, fear of the massive creature rooting him to the spot. Ichigo… Ichigo breathed in sharply, remembering what his father had told him months ago. Do you know what your name means…?

"You look delicious." The hollow said, slowly approaching the pair. His white mouth opening, revealing pure darkness behind his huge teeth. "I'll enjoy devouring your souls."

"STOP!"

The beast halted and turned its head around, resting its predatory gaze on the young Ichigo. "Be quiet boy, I'll eat you shortly."

"Leave them alone." Ichigo's voice called out, his hands clenching. Anger was rising in his chest; anger and his uncles words. …He who protects.

"HAHAHAHA!" The hollow jeered, turning back to the adults before it. "DON'T INTERRUPT MY MEAL!" He lunged for the man and woman before him, unable to wait any longer to devour their souls. To his surprise, he stopped short of his food…something was holding him back.

Isshin froze, watching the massive hollows jaws shoot forward, only to stop mere inches away. What... he thought confused as to why the beast would do so. His eyes almost popped out of his head in shock at what happened next.

"What is this?" the Hollow said, as it began to lift off the ground. Something had grabbed its tail, and was using it to lift up the hollows bulk. Impossible! The Hollow thought, beginning to thrash around and plant itself back on the ground.

Ichigo shouted out as he tried to lift the hollow over his shoulder, an imitation of a shoulder through he had seen in class. Come on... a little more… he thought pulling the last bit up off the ground. "AAAHHHHHHHH!" he screamed, pulling down with all his might, his scream sounding more animalistic by the second. The Hollow came crashing down on the other side of Ichigo with a huge crash, shaking the ground.

Isshin looked on in amazement. Did Ichigo just take down a Hollow?

"What human could do that?" moaned, pulling itself off the ground. The attack had hurt it considerably, but wasn't quite enough to actually damage his form. Its angered gaze fell upon the boy it had seen before; now standing there defiantly, face drawn up in an angry scowl. "Who are you?" It asked.

"Ichigo Kurosaki." The boy replied with a growl. "Now leave my uncle alone." His now amber eyes glaring at the beast in righteous fury.

"The eyes..." The hollow began, noticing how the child's eyes had changed. The hollow was genuinely confused at this latest development. How could a human child have that much strength, and the eyes of a hollow…? No matter... the hollow thought, a smirk growing on his face. He shall make for a better meal than the other one... The hollow began to move forward but stopped cold as it sensed a new energy source. This new feeling caused dread to spike in the Hollows mind; SHE was coming. It reached up one of its massive hands and swiped at the air, creating what appeared to be a great rip in reality.

A garganta! Isshin thought, gazing at the hole torn in space.

The hollow leaped into the garganta, before taking one last look at the boy with hollows eyes. "I will feed on you boy, it is only a matter of time…" With that, the rip closed and the Hollow was gone.

"What's going on?" a concerned Misaki shouted, running over. "I heard shouting and a loud cra-"Her thoughts broke, when her eyes fell on Isshin. "Oh my god!" she ran over to him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay." Isshin said, standing up shakily. May be sore for a while, but otherwise alright.

"What happened?" his wife asked.

Crap... gotta think of something fast… Isshin's thought, trying to come up with a believable story. "Well uh, me and Ichigo were goofing around and I kind of ran into this tree…" He said with a grin, trying to pass as truthful. His wife squinted her eyes, obviously not buying it.

"I'm tired." The pair turned to see Ichigo approaching them, more shuffling than walking. Slamming the huge hollow had taken a lot out of his eight year old frame, now the poor boy was on the verge of collapse.

"Ichigo, what happened?" Misaki asked, kneeling down to the boy's level.

"There was this big monster." Ichigo muttered, falling forwards into the woman's embrace. "It threw Uncle into the wall, I made it go away…" he trailed off with a yawn, placing his head on Misaki's shoulder.

Guess they were playing around after all… the woman thought. She turned back to the now even more confused Isshin. How the hell did he go from slamming a hollow to falling asleep like that?

IIIIIIIII

That night, Isshin made a decision. I guess I have to now... He turned to Ichigo, long recovered from his nap and now stuffing his face with their dinner. "Hey Ichigo, I want you to go somewhere with me tonight."

"Where to?" Ichigo replied, not turning away from his food.

"Gonna see an old friend of mine." Isshin replied. "I think it's time you met him."

A scowl went across the boy's face. "I don't wanna; Gurren Lagann is coming on soon."

"He runs a caaaandy shop."

Ichigo put his chopsticks down. "When are we leaving?"

Isshin chuckled at the response; kids will do anything for candy. Feel bad tricking him like that… but he needs to know… After cleaning up and washing the dishes, the pair left the house, with the promise of being back before too late. The moon hung high overhead as they approached the center of the city. Isshin sighed. I hope it isn't too much for him, but if he keeps getting stronger…

"So, what's this guy like?"

Isshin looked down, surprised by his nephew's question. "Well I've known him for a quite a long time. I guess you could say he's very… different."

"Weird different or funny different?"

Isshin chuckled. "Maybe a little of both I guess." Their conversation dragged on for a few more minutes until they reached a building that seemed out of place. It was a small wooden building, almost like a shack in the middle of the city. The alleyway it sat at the end of was devoid of anything else, save a black cat eyeing the two from the top of a fence. As the two walked down the alley, Ichigo found it difficult to take his eyes off of the cat. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something about it just felt off. The cat seemed to mimic his gaze, following him as he walked.

As they approached the door, a man in long robes and a green and yellow bucket hat greeted them outside the shop. "Ah Isshin, nice to see you." He said, nodding towards his visitor. "This must be Ichigo, how do you do?" The shopkeeper asked, handing the shorter traveler a red lollipop. To his amusement, the boy shoved the thing almost into his mouth immediately. Kids love their candy… The man with the bucket hat turned back to Isshin. "So, to what do I owe this late night visit?

"Something happened today…" Isshin said, not sure where to begin. "… well actually the same thing happened twice today."

"Is it something to do with Ichigo?" Urahara asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes." Isshin began to explain. "He had a fight today with another kid, he was getting beaten…"

"I was not!" Ichigo shouted. "I was just playing around."

"Of course you were." Urahara said, patting the annoyed boys head.

"Something happened." Isshin continued. "His eyes changed color, they became a Hollows eyes." Urahara's eyes narrowed. "The boy he was fighting broke his fist trying to hit him, and when Ichigo struck back he broke the boy's ribs in one punch."

"A hollows eyes?" Ichigo questioned.

Urahara closed his eyes, seeming to be lost in thought. "And the second time?"

"A Hollow attacked. It threw me aside like a ragdoll, but Ichigo was able to throw it."

"Throw it?" Urahara spat out in surprise. An eight year old tossed a Hollow?

"Pretty awesome aren't I?" the boy said, flexing his muscles. "I showed that monster whose boss!"

Not paying attention to the boy's boasts, the shopkeeper's mind was hard at work. What did all of this mean? The boy didn't seem affected at all by what had happened; here he was goofing off like any other kid would. "Isshin, you said that he attacked the hollow after it threw you?"

"Yes."

"What are Hollows?" Ichigo questioned, growing annoyed at not knowing what was going on.

Urahara bent down to get eye level with the boy. "Ichigo, this is very important." He waited until the boys eyes locked with his. "Why did you hit that boy as hard as you did?"

"He was making me angry." Ichigo said simply. "He called my auntie ugly."

Urahara almost laughed. He stood up and turned back to Isshin. "I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"Why is that?"

"Think about it, the hollow in him may only come out when he reaches an emotional extreme." Urahara explained. "First when someone he cared about was insulted, and again when you were attacked by the Hollow.

"This must be a part of the instinctual behavior you were talking about." Isshin reasoned.

"Dang it, what is a Hollow!" Ichigo shouted, increasingly annoyed at his question getting ignored.

The shopkeeper looked at the boy, and then looked back to Isshin, before turning back inside; motioning for the others to follow. "Take a seat." The visitors obliged. "Ichigo, you remember that monster you saw today, the big black one?"

"Yeah."

"That is a Hollow." Urahara explained. "You see, they are monsters that appear from time to time." He opted to simplify things as much as possible, better not to flood an eight year old's thoughts with death, souls, and what not.

"You mean there are more of those things?" Ichigo thought with a twinge of fear, but also deep inside, a rush of excitement.

"Yes, quite a bit more." Isshin added. "Most people can't see them, but certain people can." He smiled down at his nephew. "You're one of them."

"Unlike me and your uncle though, you have a special talent." Urahara continued.

"Really, what is it?" Ichigo asked excitement in his tone.

"You have some of a hollow's abilities inside you, ever since you were born." The shopkeeper explained. "That rush you felt when you fought the monster, the power in your fist when you defeated that boy; that was a hollows power."

Ichigo froze up. He had a monster's power, did that make him one? Part of him thought the news was the coolest thing ever, hell he was practically a super hero. But those things… He turned to Isshin, torn on how to react. "Uncle, what does this mean?"

Isshin's eyes widened, surprised at the boys question. He had thought the kid would turn a backflip at learning he had special powers, but he seemed almost solemn. That encounter must have gotten to him more than I thought. He wrapped a shoulder around the boy's shoulders. "It doesn't mean anything, even with the hollow powers; you're still my nephew after all." Ichigo smiled at his uncles words.

"You're still you kid, even I can tell that." The shopkeeper added. "I am interested though, what are you going to do if you see a Hollow again?"

Ichigo wormed out of his uncles grasp and stood, placing a hand on his chest. "I'll fight it."

"Oh?" the shopkeeper replied. "And why's that?"

"I stopped it from hurting my uncle." Ichigo said. "I'll keep them from hurting anyone else too! Because at the end of the day..." Ichigo's voice trailed off. His eyes closed and he took a deep breath. "…This is my territory." His eyelids opened, revealing black and amber eyes glaring back.

IIIIIII

AN: And that's it, the first chapter of Rogue Soul 2.0. I had the idea of Ichigo gaining Hollow abilities from birth and loved it. Yes, Ichigo is not a human in this work. NOT A HUMAN, even if he doesn't know that yet. For those of you wondering who his actual parents are, I mentioned his dad's name in this chapter. Pairings have not been decided yet, but there will be some. I'm thinking Ichigo x Harem personally. BTW, if you think Ichigo is crazy with the Hollow instincts now, wait till the hormones hit.