I woke up, and when I looked around, I expected to be in my house. Instead, I was lying in a bed that resembled a hospital bed and to my left was a desk with a chair. On the left wall was a sliding closet door which was shut, and I heard somebody shifting around in the closet. At least I hoped it was somebody, and not something.

   The shifting became a little louder and continued for a few more minutes, and then the closet door shuddered. It slowly slid open and a man stepped out, and my blood ran cold. Spiky hair. Cold eyes. But it wasn't Hichigo.

   Instead, he had spiky orange hair with caramel brown eyes, and a scowl. He looked exactly like Hichigo, and I wondered if only I could see him. Maybe I'm just going crazy. I could see his muscles rippling through his tight white t-shirt, as he walked over to the bed.

   His mouth hung open slightly, and he was panting for breath. Sweat trickled down his neck, and he wiped it with the back of his hand. I recoiled from him when he sat on the side of the bed beside me.

   "Hey, hey! It's okay," the boy held his hands up in surrender," Hichigo brought you here to rest while you were being healed." Suddenly, I realized that my wrists and ankles were working properly.

   "You know Hichigo?" I asked, reluctant to get close to the boy.

   "Yeah. It's a really long story..." the boy trailed off and scratched the back of his head," But I'm willing to tell you if you will listen."

   "Tell me," I said angrily. This boy had better tell me the truth, or he is going to get hurt. The boy turned towards the closet and whistled. A small head popped out from inside the closet, and a girl ran out. She was a few inches shorter than me, and had black hair and violet eyes.

   "This is the woman that healed you, Rukia Kurosaki," the boy said motioning to the girl, then to himself," I am Ichigo Kurosaki." The petite girl, Rukia, hopped on the bed and sat in Ichigo's lap. I eyed them suspiciously for a moment before realizing that they must be a married couple.

   "Oh... So that's what I heard earlier..." I smiled and raised an eyebrow at them. Their faces turned a vivid shade of scarlet.

   "No way! None of that yet," Ichigo said. I have to admit how calm and collected he was, and the fact that he just admitted that he had never done it yet. He seems like a very modest man. "Just a little kissing is all," he mumbled under his breath," Anyhow, I believe you wanted to know who and what Hichigo is."

   "Yes, I do," I actually had forgotten about that for a moment until,he brought it up,again.

   "You may or may not have noticed that Hichigo and I look exactly alike, except for the color," Ichigo said. I probably had that 'duh...' look on my face, but he seemed to ignore it. "That is because Hichigo is a part of me."

   I am really confused. How can Hichigo be a part of this man? That has to be impossible, but then again, it has to be true. It's a paradox... Or at least I think it is.

   "I am a Shinigami, along with Rukia," Ichigo said.

   "A Shinigami?" I asked, remembering back to when I had last seen my grandfather. I was only ten, and he had said something about people called Shinigami who came from the Soul Society and helped to pass people on and to exterminate evil spirits. He said that they used special swords called Zanpakutos. So what this guy is saying is that he and his wife are Death Gods. Seriously?

   "Precisely. Ichigo once had his Shinigami powers severed from him, and he attempted to regain them. When he did, he turned into an evil spirit known as a Hollow and developed Hollow abilities. That power was a specific part of him that he named 'Hichigo'. Hichigo had always wanted to be free, and finally we found a way," Rukia explained. I wanted to laugh, but the look on both of their faces was stern. Were they being serious?

   "Hichigo found a way to manifest himself so he could explore the human world. In exchange, Hichigo was sent to school to look over my sisters. Only those with high spiritual energy, like you, can see him," Ichigo finished. Anger boiled up inside of me. These idiots expect me to believe this?

   Before I could go on a rampage of emotions, the bedroom door slammed open. A man stepped inside with an evil grin on his face. Hichigo.

   "It's true, Hikari," Hichigo said," Do you trust your instincts to discard reality, which isn't real at all, or do you trust the ethereal factors of the world?" This man saved me. I don't know what to think of him. Would he be more dangerous as a friend or an enemy?

   "You are twisted," I snorted and folded my arms across my chest. Hichigo smirked and walked towards me. He placed a cold hand on my shoulder.

   "I'm very sorry that you weren't able to attend school today, Hikari. If only those damned Hollows wouldn't have attacked you," Hichigo said softly and a frown replaced his evil grin. So those evil spirits were Hollows? Is that why they had that weird hole in their chest?

   "How were they?" Ichigo asked in a hard tone. Hichigo removed his hand from my shoulder.

   "Yuzu was good, as to be expected, as was Karin. Your sisters act like angels in class," Hichigo reported," But when they're here, it is quite the contrary."

   Wait. Did he just say Karin? My mind wandered for a moment and I tried to convince myself that he wasn't talking about the black haired Karin from my class.

   "Karin is your sister?" I asked in disbelief. Ichigo's head turned towards me.

   "You know her?" Ichigo asked.