A Fusion of Two Souls

Ichigo or Kaien?

Rukia POV
Seireitei was very busy today, especially the captains. We were all searching for the substitute shinigami, Ichigo, who had died six weeks ago.

*Flashback*

Stupid Grimmjow. He wanted another battle with Ichigo, so now they're battling. Again. Apparently, he had gotten stronger and wanted to test his new strength against Ichigo. I could tell because Ichigo seemed to be struggling. The two became blurs as they traded blows. Even most of the captains who were there couldn't follow their movements. All of a sudden, a scream pierced the air. Ichigo dropped out of the sky with Grimmjow's sword in his stomach. "Ichigo!" I yelled as I dashed towards him. His body landed with a thump on the ground. "Ichigo! Are you okay?!" He chuckled weakly. Ichigo never chuckles.
"It's my fault. I was being careless, and I got stabbed. Stupid me." His eyes closed as he blacked out.
" Unohana! He needs help!" I yelled. The captain of the fourth division hurried forward. She shook her head after looking over him for a moment.
"I'm sorry, Rukia. He's dead." My heart shattered.

Now, I was determined to find him. Renji yelled my name. "Rukia! Ichigo might have been spotted in the Rukon District!" Could it be? Was is really Ichigo? I have to see this.
"Renji! Hurry up or I'm leaving without you!" I yelled back as I ran down the hall. Ichigo had better be there when we get there.

*Time Skip*

A menos. Seriously? I'm looking for Ichigo and a menos shows up? That hollow is going right back to Hueco Mundo where it belongs. Renji and I headed straight to where three kids were being chased by it. "Run! I'll hold it off!" One of them yelled to the other two. As soon as they were out of sight, the boy yelled some very familiar words, "Tear the heavens asunder, Zangetsu!" I froze. Zangetsu was Ichigo's zanpaktou. I fell to my knees in relief. He was alive. We watched in silence as he cut down the hollow easily, and then sheathed Zangetsu without landing the final blow. Was he stupid?
"Ichigo! Watch out..."
"Rankle the seas and heavens, Nejibana!" No way. How could Ichigo have two zanpaktou? Especially Nejibana, Kaien's zanpaktou. No two zanpaktou can ever be the same, so how could Ichigo have Nejibana. The trident pierced through the hollow, killing it instantly. We approached him as he sheathed Nejibana. I scrambled off my knees and ran towards him.
"Ichigo!" I yelled as I kicked him in the gut. He grinned as he caught me.
"Oh, Rukia. Nice to see you again. Long time no see." I looked up at him suspiciously. To my surprise, his eyes were two different colors. One was ice blue while the other was his normal brown. Also, his hair was brown now.
"What happened to you Ichigo? Why do you have Kaien's zanpaktou? Where were you for six weeks?" The questions came tumbling out as tears threatened to escape. Ichigo looked confused.
"I'm not really sure. I mean, I not Ichigo Kurosaki, and I'm not Kaien Shiba either. I'm somewhere in the middle." I looked at him strangely. What did he mean by he wasn't Ichigo or Kaien? Then the answer hit me. He was both. The tears escaped.
"Do you have memories from both lives?" I asked tearfully. He nodded and started to look uncomfortable. I was right. Just wait until the captains hear about this. Especially Ukitake. Oh, and Orihime, Ishida, Chad, Isshin and Urahara. I mentally shuddered. Urahara. He would want to experiment on Ichigo. Or was it Kaien?
"Hey, uh Rukia..." Renji tried to say.
"Ichigo Shiba. That's who you are, I decided, interrupting Renji. The newly named Ichigo Shiba smiled. He smiled! Definitely not Ichigo. Well then again, this was also Kaien. Renji coughed, and we both looked at him.
"We should head back now. You're not going to hog Ichigo, are you? There are people back at HQ waiting for results." I felt stupid for breaking down in front of him.
"Right. Let's go then." Everyone's going to be shocked when we come back.

Please review. By the way, this is an IchigoxRukia fanfic.