May: You actually fixed it up a bit...I applaud you, Lefty.

Lefty: *bows* I took people's advice, plus Writer's block has been slapping me in the face for the past...idk week?

May: Well, we should continue with the story.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two series!

Warning: I tend to stretch things out, so beware some chapters in the future...


-Raven-

A meditation should be just that. A meditation. But why is this scene trying push its way into my mind?

A 15 year old teenager with spiky orange hair collapses onto the ground after getting slashed across his abdomen by a man with brown hair and glasses. "Oh? I thought I severed your hip from your body. Guess the cut was too shallow…" the man comments as the teenager collapses onto the ground.

Next thing I know, the brown-haired man is standing behind a man with crimson hair tied up into a high ponytail. Blood splatters out of his body just like it did to the orange-haired teenager. The man walks past him to a girl with black hair, completely paralyzed in shock. "Comeget upRukia Kuchiki…" Fear spreads through my entire body as I realize he's a man we should never fight. He grabs the collar around her neck and prepares to pull her up as the teenager forces himself to get up. The man goes onto explain that there is something to strengthen something called…Shinigami? He continues on, stating that something called the "Hōgyoku" is one way to make a Shinigami become stronger. "The hiding place he chose…was you…Rukia Kuchiki…" he states, turning towards the black-haired girl.

Before he can continue any more of his explanation, a figure slams onto the ground. Before I can look at his face, he screams "AIZEN!" and then slams a sword onto the ground, creating a huge dust storm.

I open my eyes as I hear Robin's voice outside the door. "Raven! Starfire's in trouble! Something's wrong with her! We need you to go see!" I stand up and slide open the door to find Robin in a frantic state.

"What's going on?" I ask, looking around. I hear a scream in the Medical Bay and Robin leads me hurriedly to the room. We open the door to find Beast Boy and Cyborg, restraining a flailing Starfire. "What happened?" I ask him frantically as he runs over to Starfire.

"We don't know…We just suddenly heard her screaming in her room. When we came in…there were these white blobs streaking out of her left side…" Robin explains. Starfire turns her head towards us and I see what Robin had meant. A mask is forming on the left side of her face and it looks like a cat's but more menacing. Does it have something to do with the dream I had?

"Dude, Raven! See if you can fix her!" Beast Boy yells, running over to me.

"I have no idea what's happening to her. Do you really think I can heal her?"

"Well…what else are we supposed to do?" he asks, turning toward Starfire's twitching figure.

Starfire begins gagging as more of the white substance spreads across her face. "Star!" Robin yells, grabbing Starfire by her shoulders.

"R-Robin?" Her voice has changed to an echo and we can hear another voice behind hers.

"What happened, Star?" The blob continues forming to look like a cat's, but there are eyeholes for her eyes and her mouth is being covered with the blob.

"I…do not know…I heard…a noise in…my room…I opened my eyes…and saw this man with…brown hair…after that…this thing began forming…on me…" she explains, coughing momentarily.

"What did he look like exactly?" I ask, going rigid as I remember the strange man in my dream.

"His hair…was pushed back…with a single strand…over his face…He…said… 'You will be the first test subject'…That is when this happened to me…He…had this strange ball…in his hand…I believe that is what-" Starfire stops as more of the strange substance begins spreading across her face. It stops forming, leaving just her right eye visible. Her mouth is covered by the mask. The mouth reminds me of Cheshire's grinning face and there are two red markings underneath the left eyehole. With most of the mask having formed onto her face, she passes out.

"Is…is she going to be ok?" Beast Boy asks, fearing for his friend's life.

"She will…I'll stay with her…you guys can go get some rest…" Robin suggests, turning back to Starfire. I leave the room before Cyborg and Beast Boy could and I head to my room. I think about Starfire's information and I suddenly hear a voice.

"…And then the third class is Vasto Lorde. They're the greatest of the Menos and about the same size as a human. There are very few of them. It's said that there are only a few of them in all of Hueco Mundo. Bluntly put…a Vasto Lorde's battle abilities are even greater than a Captain's. By changing the Menos into Arrancar, they come into possession of an incalculable amount of power. With three of our captains now on their side commanding all those Menos, we can say this: If, at this point in time, Aizen manages to bring ten Vasto Lordes under his control…then it's the end of the Soul Society…" With that, the connection stops and I can no longer hear the voice. But two words suddenly pop up in my mind as the connection stops, "Karakura Town."

I begin mulling over the words the voice said. The voice belonged to a man…he must have been explaining about this…Vasto Lorde…to a group of people. There were some words I didn't understand…Menos, Vasto Lorde, Hueco Mundo, Arrancar, Soul Society…and Aizen, who must be the enemy. Then there's that town…Karakura…Town…I close my eyes again, hoping to find the connection again. Nothing…but silence.


-Ichigo's House-

Tōshirō Hitsugaya, the white-haired captain of 10th division, feels a strange feeling in his stomach as he explains the three types of Menos to the substitute Shinigami, Ichigo Kurosaki. As he tells Ichigo about the strongest type, Vasto Lorde, he senses a presence. But once he finishes explaining, both the presence and the strange feeling disappears.

"What was that…? The reiatsu was about as high as a Captain's…but I don't recognize it…Could they be here at Karakura Town?" He decides to shrug it off and notices Renji pulling something out of the doll as it continues to wriggle around.

"Hey, can you really get it out?" His assistant captain, Rangiku Matsumoto, asks.

Renji pulls his hand out as the pill pops out. He grabs it and declares, "Got it! This is it!"

"It's kind of nasty looking," Rangiku comments, looking at the pill. She picks up the doll and continues, "For a gikon to come out so easily, it's either a simple design or a crazy one. That's our Bureau of Technological Development for you."

"Hey…" Ichigo interrupts.

"They do things a bit differently," she continues on, ignoring Ichigo.

"I said hey!"

"What is it?" Renji asks, turning towards him.

"When are you guys going back?" Ichigo questions as Renji stuffs Kon back into the doll.

"What are you talking about? We aren't going back. We're going to be here until the fight against the Arrancar is over," he explains as Kon wriggles around in his hand.

"…Well…where are you gonna sleep? And before you answer, there's no way my house has enough space for all of you," he says, looking back and forth between the 6 Shinigami.

"Ah? Not even for me?" Rangiku asks, her eyes blinking at him.

Ichigo takes a step back and yells, "Normally, you'd be the last one I'd let stay! Besides, I don't get why you think it would be ok for you to stay here!" Rangiku ponders over something, and then starts to unbutton her shirt as Renji and Kon blush. Ichigo begins freaking out and yells, "What are you doing? You can't stay here even if you unbutton your shirt!" She stops and pulls up a bit of her skirt as Ichigo covers his eyes. "You still can't stay here even if you lift up your skirt a little! Damn it! Seduction like that is not going to work on me! I'm definitely not that type of guy!" He exclaims, even though one of his eyes are open.

Rukia stands behind him and argues, "Then, how about you close that gap between your fingers?"

Then she decides to leave and states, "Well, for the time being, I'll stay at Orihime's."

"Stay there? Did Orihime say it was ok?" Ichigo asks as Kon's ear twitches.

"No, but that kid can't say no once someone asks her a favor," she replies, grinning.

Kon then ponders over the situation in his mind, "Orihime and Rangiku staying in the same room!" Then he imagines a dirty image and leaps towards Rangiku screaming, "What an amazing forbidding garden! How about a mascot character in that garden-!" But before he can grab onto her, she karate chops him onto the ground.

"Are you coming too, Captain?" Rangiku asks, turning towards Tōshirō.

"Of course not, you idiot!"

"You should come! It'll be fun!" she suggests as the two walk down the road.

"For you maybe."

"We'll be leaving too," Ikkaku informs Ichigo, talking about himself and Yumichika.

"Any idea where to?" Ichigo asks.

"Like I'm supposed to know. I don't need you to take care of me. I never intended to ask for help from you. You've got to find a place to sleep on your own, you know?" he replies, walking away from them with Yumichika following.

"You should hide that wooden sword while walking around," Ichigo warns.

Renji takes a step forward towards the opposite direction, announcing, "Well then, I'm off to Urahara's."

"Planning to freeload off of him again?" Ichigo asks, turning towards him.

"Who'd want to do that there? Besides, there's a few things I want to ask him," he explains, walking away.

"I see…"

"Be careful!" Rukia says, waving her hand.

Then Ichigo turns towards her and asks, "So? Where are you planning on staying?" She freezes momentarily and rushes towards his house.

"Wait up! Rukia!" he yells, chasing after her.

"Fool! This is the only place I can really sleep!" she explains, kicking off her shoes and running into the house.

"You idiot! My family already saw you! Just what type of excuse are you going to use?" he yells, kicking off his shoes and following her into the house. "Listen to me, damn it!"


"How's she doing?" I ask, floating into the room. I notice Robin jump at my voice and he turns towards me.

"She's still unconscious…I don't know what this is…This is the first time I've seen something like this…We need to find someone who knows more about this…"

I debate over the situation, remembering the strange dream and conversation from earlier. I decide that I should probably tell him, worried about his reaction. "…Robin…I think I might know where we can find help…"

He immediately turns his entire body around and begins to ask me a tsunami of questions. "Who is it? Where can we get the help? Can we trust them? How do you even know-" I bring up a hand to stop him and I turn towards Starfire.

"I don't know exactly where or who the person is, but I heard a Japanese accent."

Robin's shoulders slump and he asks, "Do you know…the location of where they were? Japan's a pretty big place…"

"I…heard…this term…Karakura Town. I'm not sure, but I know that it was the same voice by the person I heard earlier."

"Karakura Town…I'll look it up. Can you see if you can heal her while I go search? If I find something, I'll let you guys know right away," Robin commands, walking out of the room.

I turn towards Starfire and realize with surprise that the mask completed itself. It looks just like Cheshire's, but there is something about it that makes it more threatening. "Starfire?"

I see her head twitch and she turns towards me. I look through the eyeholes and see glowing green eyes as if she's using her powers. "R…Raven?" she asks, uncertainly.

"…Star? Are you ok?" She pushes herself off the bed and lunges at me. I barely manage to dodge and she turns her head towards me. "Starfire! What's wrong with you?" I question her, ducking from her attack. She crashes into the wall and I run out the door as she shakes off the impact. I run into Beast Boy and Cyborg.

"Yo, Raven! What's going on? We heard noises coming from the Medic Room," Cyborg asks.

"Starfire attacked me. I don't know if she's doing it consciously or unconsciously, but she's coming. We have to go tell Robin!" I yell, running past them as they follow. I dart into the Ops Room to find Robin in front of the doors.

"Raven! I've found Karakura Town. We need to go get Star and-" he pushes me aside as he ducks with me. A green starbolt zooms past us, colliding with the sofa. I put up a shield as she rams right into it.

Cyborg and Beast Boy show up seconds later and quickly restrains her. She begins growling and struggling from them. Robin walks over and attempts to pull off the mask. She shakes his hand off and almost manages to push the two boys off, but I use my dark energy to detain her. They get off and turn towards Robin. "What's happened to her?" Beast Boy asks.

"…Pack your bags…We're going to Japan again."

"What? Really? Are we going to Tokyo again?" Beast Boy asks again, getting excited.

"Well, the location is in Western Tokyo. Raven, do you think you can keep her like that until we get there?"

I pause for a moment and then I shake my head. "I can't keep it up for that long."

"I'll build a cage for her, then," Cyborg suggests.

"As long as it's not something that she can break through. You have to remember that she has alien strength," Robin explains.

"I bet that mask enhances her powers. So it needs to be a strong cage," I realize.

With that, Cyborg leaves the room to begin building. I look over to Starfire and notice that she's unconscious. So, I bring her back to the Medical Bay and wrap my energy around her. I see Beast Boy come in and he glances over at Starfire. "Is she going to be ok?" he asks me.

"Once we bring her to Karakura Town and find the person we're looking for, she will," I assure him.

Robin walks in and says, "Beast Boy, go pack. Raven, you can go. I'll watch her while you go get ready."

"I'll be fine, I don't need to pack. I can watch her."

"…Alright." Both boys leave and I turn towards Starfire.

"You'll be fine…" I whisper, sitting down on the chair. Suddenly, I begin hearing voices again and I force myself to focus on the conversation. There might be something important in it.

"Prepare yourself, Matsumoto. They're here…" Suddenly, two men show up in front of them. One is tall and skinny with a mask on his head with a bit covering his left eye. The other man has a mask covering half of his face and he's chubby.

"Nice to meet you…" the tall one states, and then a blur zooms towards the white-haired person. The one that I had heard earlier.

The two swords clash as the orange-haired woman screams, "Captain!" But she leaps back as the other man crashes onto the ground right where she had been standing seconds before.

"I am Arrancar Eleven, Shawlong…" The tall man introduces as he pushes his sword against the white-haired captain.

"I'm the captain of the 10th squad, Hitsugaya Tōshirō." They push off and separate.

"Captain of the 10th squad…My, my, how wonderful…It looks like I hit the jackpot," the man named Shawlong comments.

"No. You're probably the biggest loser of all…" Tōshirō replies threateningly, a strange icy-blue aura coming out of his body."

"Oh?" Shawlong calmly replies.

I shoot straight up as I hear struggling on the bed. "Starfire…?" I ask her.

She ignores me and continues to try and escape. I cover her entire body with my dark energy, but she manages to burst out. The force from it pushes me back and I hit the wall. She turns around and crashes against the window. The window cracks and flies out of the tower as I get up. Robin and Beast Boy dart into the room to find Starfire flying away.

"Raven…what happened?" Robin asks, helping me.

"She…started struggling. And she managed to escape from my powers…that mask must have enhanced her powers tenfold…" I explain.

"Beast Boy, go tell Cyborg to stop what he's doing and start packing. We're going straight to Karakura Town in one hour. Go get ready," he commands the two of us.

I head out of the room as I try to find the connection again. Before I can get any farther, I hear a voice, speaking to me.

"Who are you, exactly?"

I pause as the owner of the voice appears. "Are you… Tōshirō Hitsugaya?" I ask as I look at his attire. He is wearing a strange black outfit with a white, sleeveless kimono on top of the clothes. There is a green sash around his shoulders being held together by a round clip. There is a sword above his right shoulder and his hand is gripping the hilt.

His eyes widen, surprised to know that I know who he is and pulls the sword it a few inches. "Tell me again…who are you?"

"I'm…Raven…from Jump City," I reply hesitantly. "Are you the one that I keep hearing in my voice?"

He looks at me incredulously, sheathes his sword, and replies, "Probably…"

"Wait, are you one of the residents in Karakura Town?" I ask.

"I suppose so…are you coming to Karakura Town?"

"We're going to leave in about an hour. But the flight there would probably 10 hours if we push our T-ship full throttle," I answer.

He ponders over something and then he says, "We'll wait for you. Land in an easy spot to get to and we'll find you."

I nod and the connection stops.

I look around and I see Robin coming out of his room. "You've been standing there for a while now. What's going on?"

"I was…talking to the person that lives in Karakura Town. He says to land in an easy spot to get to. Then he'll find us."

Robin nods and asks, "You don't need to get ready?"

"I'll be fine…" I go into my room and I look around, seeing if I need anything. I exit the room, empty-handed, and I go to the Ops Room. I find Beast Boy sitting on the sofa with two bags next to him. "Ready?"

He turns his head to me and nods. I see Cyborg coming into the room with a duffel bag in tow. He is wearing a dark jacket with black pants to match it, meaning he doesn't want anyone to see what he looks like. "She escaped?" Cyborg asks me, with disbelief in his voice.

"I have a feeling she'll be going to Karakura Town. We'll see her there," I reply.

Robin comes into the room with a backpack and turns to Cyborg. "Is the T-Ship ready?"

"Yeah, do you have the coordinates there?" Robin nods and we all head down to the T-Ship.

Robin gets in the front as I get in the right part of the ship with Beast Boy in the middle. Cyborg puts our bags into the trunk and then jumps into the back. The engines roar into life as we head back to Japan.


Elsewhere...

"Aizen-sama…" A voice begins, walking into his throne room.

"What is it…Kaname?"

"The first test subject is coming to Japan. Shall we send some Arrancar to deal with her?"

"No, her teammates are probably on her trail…We'll see how this turns out. And head to the meeting room. I shall see you there…"

"Yes, my lord." As Kaname leaves, Aizen grins evilly. He descends and sees Gin standing to the side.

"Let's go, Gin." The two head down the corridor as they meet up with Kaname. The door at the end of the hallway opens and the 10 Espada look towards him as he (conceitedly) walks in. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Espada…we have some business to discuss…"

TBC…

Lefty: Finished! And I've finally fixed it! :3