Bleach: A Grand Adventure

Kisuke aided Baiken and Pinkie in tracking down the people that saw Kon, as even Ichigo and Rukia were calling the Mod-Soul by that name, where he would tamper with whatever electronics had caught or recorded his actions in Ichigo's body and used his device to alter the memories of the humans involved with this event. It took some time and effort to make sure everyone had been hit, and everything had been altered, but after some time they were able to preserve the reputation that Ichigo was known for, while he and Rukia seemed to lecture Kon on how to behave while in his body. Of course that did let the girls confirm that the pair had used the lion plush as the Mod-Soul's body, but despite the fact that he was told to act like a stuffed animal, to avoid bringing attention to himself, he didn't listen in the slightest. What that meant was that Kon liked to angle himself so he could make an attempt to see under Rukia's skirt so he could see her panties, resulting in her simply beating his body a little until Ichigo restrained her for a short time.

Baiken also found that the morning following Kon coming into their lives, and them getting used to his existence, he tried to jump onto her chest like the pervert he was, causing her to punch him into the ground, before she joined Pinkie on the roof they normally stood on while Ichigo was getting ready for school.

"Something's eating at Ichigo... but I'm not sure what that something might be." Pinkie commented, where Baiken found that she agreed with Pinkie, it sure looked like there was something eating at him and he was keeping it hidden from them, even Rukia knew something was up with him, which made her interested in what might be bothering him.

As it turned out they followed him to his school once more and found that the students were weirded out by his smile, like he was putting on a brave front for everyone else, and Orihime definitely noticed that he was tense, something that caused the other girl, Tatsuki, to tell the girl that she was good for figuring it out so fast. Apparently Ichigo would be taking the next day off, the seventeenth of June to be exact, and Tatsuki was telling everyone that if they had some business with Ichigo it was best that they did it today, since he'd be gone all day tomorrow. As it turned out there were other students in the rest of his classes who learned the same thing, remembering that something big was happening tomorrow, so they made sure that their business with Ichigo, be it homework or even club related activities, were done so he wouldn't be bothered during the big day. At the same time they found that Tatsuki, Orihime, and the others that were in the know did their best to ensure he wasn't weighed down by anything so he could spend tomorrow doing whatever it was that he and his family would be doing, since the girls suspected it was family related.

Baiken eventually figured it out, in fact it was so blatantly obvious when she thought about it, Ichigo's mother was gone, no doubt dead since they knew that experiencing death could trigger one's ability to see into the Spiritual World, and this meant that the family would be visiting her grave.

Sure enough Isshin informed his children of what they would be doing, they were preparing lunch and items for tomorrow, no doubt to amuse themselves after they finally spent some time with the grave of their missing family member, and yet it put a bit of a smile on Ichigo's face. His sisters, for the most part, ended up sleeping together in the same bed that night, no doubt to contain their sadness by embracing a family member, stopping their tears in their tracks, and yet, while the rest of the family went to bed early, Ichigo took a short bath. It was pretty obvious that each of them were copping with what was going to happen tomorrow, to the best of their abilities, and yet it was still bothering each member of the family to different degrees, based on what Baiken and Pinkie could see right now. Rukia did the smart thing and made sure to keep herself out of sight during the meeting, in fact she was sitting in the closet like normal when Ichigo finally returned to his room, where he locked the door behind him so no one might walk in and see Rukia sleeping in his closet.

"Rukia, I won't be working as a Shinigami tomorrow... and before you complain, let me remind you that you have Baiken and Pinkie to stand in for you." Ichigo said, as he knew that Rukia was expecting him to do ALL of her Shinigami duties, instead of the three of them spreading the load among him, Baiken, and Pinkie, but right now he was taking advantage of that fact and was banking on the girls helping out in this specific situation, "In case it wasn't clear, tomorrow is the anniversary of the day that my mother died... or was murdered... and the family will be going to visit her grave for the day. Just pass whatever work you get onto the girls, they'll be able to do your orders in no time at all."

"Sounds reasonable to me, honestly." Baiken commented, because this was a ritual that was important to the family and it made sense that they shouldn't interrupt it too much, so she was more than willing to do everything in her power to make sure the family weren't bothered on the special day of the year, since it would just annoy Ichigo even more.

Rukia looked like she wanted to argue, but in the end she compromised with Ichigo, she would go to the cemetery that was where Ichigo's mother was buried, though she would hang in the shadows, watch over the family, and toss Ichigo Kon's pill if he ended up being attacked, leaving the other Hollows to Baiken and Pinkie. To their surprise he was fine with that, since it meant he would be protecting his family in case something happened, he wouldn't have to rely on anyone else, while leaving the rest of the danger to those that were able to deal with it in no time. With that in mind Baiken and Pinkie let the pair go to sleep for the night and watched over the city, taking turns sleeping so they could make sure there were no Hollows lurking in the shadows, but, for the most part, it looked like even the lost souls weren't interested in hunting. Such a thing meant that all of them were able to get some decent sleep, which Ichigo and his family needed since tomorrow was going to be a big day for everyone, and, as they expected, Rukia collected Kon when morning arrived, got dressed, and was gone before Ichigo even woke up.

The girls glanced around the area for a time and found that it wasn't long before the Kurosaki family departed from their home, where they walked through the city, passed some of the streets that Ichigo had talked to a few spirits in, and made their way towards the cemetery that Ichigo's mother, Masaki, was buried in.

"There's Rukia, lurking in the forest." Baiken quietly commented, watching the family head up the hill while Rukia watched from the trees, staying far away so she didn't draw attention to herself while also being near in case the family was attacked, and she was dressed for the nice weather, even though Ichigo seemed to think it was hot out.

"You know, I'm starting to think that a Hollow might have been involved... Ichigo said he's been able to see souls for as long as he can remember, right?" Pinkie asked, though she was resting in the usual spot on Baiken's shoulder, giving her a chance to see everything while they talked, while Baiken could see that she had been thinking about this since they figured out that Masaki was the missing link, and it wasn't long before the taller lady nodded her head, "Well, I think he meant it... I don't think he gained that power when his mother died, I think, due to his excessive Reiryoku, he's always had this power, since the day he was born. If that's true, than that means there's a good chance a Hollow did attack him and his mother got in the way, saving him while losing her life in the process."

"Best not tell Ichigo that... he already looks like he's traumatized by this event." Baiken replied, as she realized that Pinkie was making sense, something that seemed to be odd when she considered what she knew about the girl, hence why she decided to say nothing about this to Ichigo.

Pinkie said nothing to that as they watched the family have whatever fun they wanted to have, even stopping at the grave for a time to pay their respects to Masaki, but even she had to admit that there wasn't much for her or Baiken to do, there were no Hollows hanging around. As she thought about that, however, Pinkie felt something in the air and glanced down at the graveyard, where she pointed out what appeared to be a phantom of a little girl that was standing near the edge of a cliff, or edge of a hill, and Baiken zeroed in on it. Both of them realized what they were looking at, there was a Hollow in the World of the Living, hanging out in the cemetery for some reason, and before they could react Karin, who happened to be the closest to the figure, was the Hollow's main target. Such a thing was followed by Ichigo and Rukia grouping up, especially since Yuzu was also near the figure as well despite the fact that she couldn't see it, and yet, despite that fact, Ichigo took one look at the scene in front of him, and noticed the little girl attached to the shadowy Hollow before acting.

Baiken's eyes widened as a grin appeared on her face, as Ichigo's rage at seeing his sisters treated like this caused him to really focus on the lessons she had been forcing on him since he took Rukia's power, in fact he sliced through the creature's leg and tongue to save both of his sisters, before she noticed the giant hamster form that the Hollow possessed, with bird-like hands and feet and a lure like an anglerfish.

"Oh no way... Grand Fisher, one of the most notorious Hollows of Karakura Town." Baiken remarked, where she and Pinkie landed by Ichigo, allowing them to move his sisters to safe place since it looked like both of them were knocked out from the ordeal, though her grin was more due to the fact that she could now feel the Hollow's Reiryoku, "Kisuke told us about him: he's been on the run for fifty-four long years, hunting souls with high Reiryoku so he can increase his power, and I'm sure the Soul Society has an extensive list on everyone he's devoured over the years... you know, I didn't want to say it, but he likely targeted you all those years ago, Ichigo, and your mother saved you from him. Remember our training, do not let any of your emotions rule your mind... focus and use them like a true warrior."

Sure enough the air shook for a moment as Ichigo's Reiatsu surged outwards, he was angry with Grand Fisher, both because of how many souls he had devoured and, more importantly, the fact that this Hollow had killed his mother, meaning he now knew who to direct his anger towards. Baiken noticed something important, it looked like a bit of darkness surrounded his eyes for a moment, like a Hollow's, while his Zanpakuto seemed to shimmer for a moment, as she was sure that she saw a curved blade of some sort that was definitely as long as Ichigo was. In the next instant Ichigo rushed forward, swinging his Zanpakuto at Grand Fisher, cutting through some of the Hollow's hair as it leapt into the air, prompting him to follow, but as that happened both Baiken and Pinkie stopped Rukia from helping out, as they were interested in this fight. With that fact in mind she and Kon gathered the girls and took them down to an area below them where they would be able to rest for a time and be safe from Grand Fisher, therefore allowing Ichigo to focus his efforts on slaying this particular Hollow.

The girls found that such a thing meant pushing him through the cemetery, where Grand Fisher attacked Ichigo and he just dodged the tongue and hair hands that were sent at him, slashing through them like they were nothing, something that did seem to annoy the Hollow since he wasn't able to deal any damage to him. Ichigo didn't have to do anything unusual while he fought this foe, he didn't have to lure Grand Fisher into attacking him so he could get a direct shot on him, rather his own speed and power, his true power that was leaking out of him, was more than enough to counter the Hollow's power. In fact when Grand Fisher tried to stab him Ichigo just severed the arm that came at him, most of it anyway, and even cut through the side of his body in the process, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the Hollow's body. Grand Fisher then tried to flee, as in he condensed his form into the lure doll that was attached to him, almost as if he figured that Ichigo would be fooled by it again, but as he leapt into the air Ichigo followed him, as he wasn't about to let this foe get away.

"Let us pay respects, Grand Fisher... out of all those I've fought you were the oldest, the filthiest, and the only one that has angered me this much!" Ichigo shouted, showing them that he was definitely still angry, especially given who this Hollow had taken from his family, but thanks to Baiken's training, when he wasn't on duty slaying Hollows, he had turned his rage and anger into something useful so he could focus on his sole objective, "Now, GO TO HELL!"

In the next moment Ichigo delivered the final blow to Grand Fisher, surprising the Hollow while slashing open his mask, only for them to find that he was right, the Gates appeared from behind the Hollow, where Ichigo watched as Grand Fisher was claimed by Hell, a fate he deserved. Once the deed was done, and they were sure the Hollow was gone, Ichigo returned to Rukia and they headed back to where his family was waiting, even though it also started to rain, though the girls let them go as they stood there, watching as his Reiatus and body returned to normal. Baiken was slightly annoyed that she didn't get a chance to fight Grand Fisher, he had been a Hollow she wanted to clash with after hearing about him from Kisuke, but, at the same time, she wasn't about to argue with the results, especially since this was a massive win for Ichigo and it lifted a burden from his shoulders. She and Pinkie could tell that the clash had left Ichigo with a new appreciation for being a Shinigami, as it seemed like he wanted to continue down this path, something that made them smile as he walked away, because he had grown quite well in the time they knew him.

In the end Baiken sighed as she and Pinkie left to return to Kisuke's shop, as they needed to tell him about what they had seen during the fight, as it would interest him greatly, while at the same time making them even more interested in what the future held for Ichigo and his home.