Chapter 1: Disappearance
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Slender Man/Slender or any Shakespeare works.
BLEACH
Darkness…
Fear…
Despair…
Death…
It was hard to believe that one being – one entity – could cause these four things upon its' mere appearance in front of those who it chose to… follow… Yet, a single being was what it was. The beginning of it all.
Being… Entity… Could those words even describe such a being? Wasn't it so much more than that? That was what those who knelt before the… being, for lack of a better word, believed. Then again, when faced with such power, it was only natural for one to think of such a thing.
The being sat atop a crumbling stone throne at the top of a tall, cracked staircase, its' figure shrouded in shadow despite the torches that lined the cave-like chamber, its' very presence practically suffocating the three inferior beings who knelt before it, awaiting their orders, willing them to come sooner rather than later, all of them wanting to escape the being as soon as possible.
"… Find more… I must… have more…" the being practically whispered, its' masculine voice sounding warped and metallic as it did so.
"… Y-yes, my King… A-as you command…" a bipedal crimson lobster-like creature stuttered, his high-pitched voice cracking slightly in fear, his human-sized body visibly quivering. A blank mask with a frowning design on it covered its' face and its' arms ended in massive round claws that looked to be capable of crushing at least a human skull. Large, razor sharp ridges covered its' arms and its' back, starting from its' head and ending at its' lobster-finned tail.
Taking the ensuing silence as their cue to leave, the three creatures scrambled out of the room, eager to escape the being on top of the throne. Walking through a large door and ascending a long flight of torch-lit stairs, they eventually burst out into the cool air that accompanied the perpetual night of Hueco Mundo, kicking up sand as they fled the cave that they had just exited from.
Panting, a dark brown, bipedal scorpion-like creature wearing a blank mask with a leering grin on it spoke up. "How long do we have to listen to that… that thing?!" it exclaimed, its' mask not reflecting its' true emotions.
A brown dog-like creature with an eared mask immediately hushed it. "Shh! Don't let him hear you say that, Sharp Sting! He'll turn us into one of those… mindless things!"
"We have no choice, Sharp Sting!" the lobster hissed.
"What do you expect me to do, Crusher Claw?!" Sharp Sting retorted. He turned to the dog. "Weren't you the one who attempted to encourage us to rebel when he first appeared, Swift Paw?! Why are you backing out now?!"
"You saw what he can do! We can't risk it!" Swift Paw snapped.
"Shh!" Crusher Claw hushed them as a green mantis-like creature slowly ambled past, a strange symbol etched into the forehead of its' mask that none of the creatures bothered to get a good look at. Once it was gone, he turned to the others. "They're all on his side… They've been… converted… If they hear us talking like this, we'll just become his mindless slaves like them…!"
"Yeah. They're mindless. They're too stupid to know whether we're on his side or not!" Sharp Sting argued, his scorpion tail twitching in annoyance.
"Then, how does he always know when we're not on his side?" Swift Paw reasoned.
Suddenly, Sharp Sting drove his stinger into the ground in annoyance, the force of the impact kicking up a cloud of dust. "I don't care…" he grunted. "… I'm getting out of here… Whose with me…?"
The other creatures started, jumping back in horror. Swift Paw shook his head madly, his jowls flopping from side to side as he did so. "T-t-that's insane!" he stammered.
"No! It's just too dangerous! We'll keep bringing them to him!" Crusher Claw retorted. "It'll keep us safe!"
"I don't care! I'm going anyway! I can't deal with living in fear like this anymore!" Sharp Sting snapped, finally making up his mind. He ran towards a sand dune, making a break for freedom. Sensing neither of his comrades following him, he didn't stop or turn back, a cloud of sand kicking up behind him as he ran. Reaching the top of the sand dune, he paused, something in the distance catching his eye.
Scanning the desert, he saw that the mantis-like creature had stopped. Sharp Sting frowned behind his mask. "What is that Hollow doing…?" he muttered as he watched the creature – a Hollow. It was almost as if it was… staring at him…
He blinked and started as another figure appeared in the desert. Straining a little, although he was unable to make out the second dark figure's appearance in the dark perpetual night of Hueco Mundo, he watched the figures stare at him, both Hollows never moving an inch. An uneasy feeling suddenly came over him. He blinked again and the other Hollow was gone.
"Was that a Sonído…? What is one of his Arrancar doing out here…?" the scorpion Hollow muttered to himself. "Oh, well… None of my concern…" He paused. "… I have to get moving…"
The Hollow slowly and carefully began to make his way down the sand dune, being careful not to trip and injure himself. He would need all of his stamina if he was to keep moving. He just wished that this uneasy feeling that had suddenly swamped him would go away. He didn't have time for that.
He walked for what seemed like hours to him, the uneasiness slowly growing with every step that he took. Forcing down the new feeling of sickness, he looked back for what felt like the hundredth time to him.
"There's nothing wrong… Nothing's going to happen…" he reasoned to himself with a wry chuckle. "He doesn't know I'm here…" Turning, he kept walking…
… Before promptly turning again, the soft sound of shifting sand reaching his honed ears. After turning, he noticed a tiny lizard-like Hollow scuttling across the ground. It blinked and stuck its' forked tongue out, tasting the air for Reiatsu. The larger Hollow licked his lips and rubbed his stomach.
"I get it…! I'm just hungry… Not sick… I might as well have a little snack…" he muttered before launching himself at the tiny creature, gathering the squirming Hollow up in his mouth. He got up and turned around, grabbing either end of the lizard-like Hollow that hung out of his mouth. Just as he was about to bite down, he became aware of something…
… Something was standing right in front of him… Something…
… Tall…
… A scream of terror echoed out over the desert of Hueco Mundo…
Splatter!
Karakura Town a few weeks later…
Ichigo sat back in the swivel chair in his room with a sigh of contentment, a thick book in his hands. The bright sun shone through his window, signalling that the summer holidays had just begun and he wasn't going to waste any of the days to come. Aizen was gone, his Shinigami powers were back and there were no enemies to fight. With nothing but a quiet summer ahead of him, he was going to enjoy every last bit of it.
He was vaguely aware of Rukia who sat on his bed watching a small portable television that he had for his room. He started to ignore her had he opened his book at the marked page, setting his dark blue bookmark with the number '15' on it to the side.
"Hey… Have you seen this, Ichigo?" Rukia asked him all of a sudden.
A disgruntled Ichigo looked up from his book, a frown marring his features. "What?" he grunted in annoyance before looking back down at his page.
"The news. Look. People are going missing," Rukia told him as she turned the TV to face him.
Ichigo leaned forwards slightly to see what she was talking about. On the screen was a stony-faced reporter, his eyebrows furrowed as he delivered the serious news that, apparently, a third person in Karakura Town had gone missing over the last two weeks with little to no explanation as to why and that the police were beginning to suspect foul play.
Shaking his head, he leaned back. "It's sad, but there's nothing we can do. We haven't detected any Hollows, so it must be a human. It's not our problem," Ichigo sighed as he looked back at a page of his book again.
"Ichigo! It's not just happening in Karakura Town, you know!" Rukia argued.
Ichigo didn't appear to be listening and let out a chuckle as he observed the page in front of him. "Oh, Falstaff… What will they do with you…?" he mumbled with a smirk. Rukia suddenly leaned forward and pulled the book out of his hands. "Hey!" Ichigo protested. "I was reading that!"
"This could be serious, Ichigo!" she shouted.
"Maybe, but I'm just like you. I need to wait for orders from Soul Society to take matters into my own hands. Until it's proven that it's relevant to Soul Society, there's nothing we can do and you know that," Ichigo grumbled as he pulled the book out of a crestfallen Rukia's hands. "Now, don't take my book again, midget."
After a few seconds of silence, Ichigo found himself stopping himself from reading his book and noting her lack of protest. Usually, when he called her a midget, she would come out with guns blazing, arms and legs flying in every direction in a futile attempt to land a blow on the redheaded teenager who was, more than often, prepared for such a thing. What he wasn't prepared for, however, was silence.
Peeking over his book, he saw her sitting on his bed, her eyes lowered and glued to the TV in her lap, her hands clutching it tightly. If Ichigo knew any better, he would have said that she looked sad. Depressed, maybe…
"Don't worry, Rukia. It's probably some organisation if it's happening elsewhere. The police are already on the case. Once they find one or two members, they'll be able to bust the organisation. It'll be fine," Ichigo told her, his voice in monotone.
Rukia seemed to instantly perk up, her cheeks going slightly red. "Who said I was worrying?!" she snapped.
"You when you tried to drag me into a mess that neither of us are a part of," Ichigo deadpanned.
"At least I'm not a strawberry!" Rukia blushed in embarrassment, trying to come up with a comeback.
Ichigo didn't look up from his book. "Better a strawberry than a midget…"
"Oh, that's it!" Rukia stood up and rolled up her metaphorical sleeves.
"Ichi-nii!" a voice suddenly called from downstairs. "Dinner!"
Never taking his eyes from the book, Ichigo swivelled his chair around and stood up, Rukia's punch missing him by a mile. He headed for the door while Rukia spent the next few seconds vaguely wondering what had just happened before snapping out of her daze and chasing after him.
"Wait for me!"
A few weeks later…
Ichigo woke with a start as a soft tapping could be heard on his window. He slowly sat up and looked around him, his eyes becoming drawn to the window as it gently slid open and a redheaded man wearing some kind of black and white uniform slipped into the room, his long red hair tied back in a spiky ponytail. Intricate tattoos spanned out from his eyebrows and down his body and a katana hung at his waist.
Ichigo quickly pulled off his bedcovers and stood up. "Why are you in my room, Renji?!" he hissed, wiping the sleep out of his eyes as he glared at the man – Renji.
Renji brought a finger up to his lips. "Where's Rukia?" he whispered. "We need you both in Soul Society. It's urgent."
Biting back a protest, he grunted in annoyance before motioning for Renji to follow him. Opening the door with a click, the two men tiptoed down the hallway towards another door which Ichigo quietly tapped. Rukia soon emerged, wiping her eyes with one hand.
"… What are you…?" she began before trailing off at the sight of Renji who wordlessly stood behind Ichigo, a serious look on his face. Rukia opened her door, allowing both men to step inside. She slowly closed the door behind her and leaned against it. Flicking the light on, she turned to them. "What happened?" she whispered.
"There's trouble in Soul Society…" he responded.
"We get that… You wouldn't be here at this time of the night if there wasn't…" Ichigo deadpanned.
Renji cleared his throat and shot a glare in Ichigo's direction before continuing. "… To be honest… I don't know… I haven't been informed yet. Neither have the other Captains and Vice-Captains. Sōtaichō want you and Rukia there before he begins…"
"Us? I could understand me. I'm a Vice-Captain. If it's so important, why is Ichigo coming?" Rukia asked with a confused expression. Ichigo shot a glare in her direction.
"It's something about Ichigo's knowledge of the human world," Renji informed them. "I don't think Sōtaichō completely knows what's going on either…" Renji paused for a few seconds. "Either way, he wishes to see you two immediately," he finally stated.
"I'll get Kon set up. I'll be back in a minute," Ichigo told them.
The next day…
"IIII-CHIIII-GOOOO!" Kurosaki Isshin yelled dramatically as he burst through Ichigo's door with a flying kick only to have his foot connect with the window which smashed from the force, sending him hurtling out the second story window to the ground below.
He yelped upon impact and lay on the ground for a few seconds, waiting for the throbbing to stop when he suddenly noticed something land on his head. He sat up, rubbing his head as a piece of paper slowly fluttered down to the ground having been knocked off its' place on his head. Isshin picked it up and read it.
'Dear Oyaji,
Had to leave for Soul Society with Rukia last night. They called for an urgent meeting.
Ichigo.
P.S. Don't let Kon do anything stupid.'
Isshin paused as the sounds of snoring echoed out through the broken window. He scrambled to his feet and made a break for the kitchen where he fell down beside a large poster of a beautiful woman.
"Oh, my love! Our son has left without so much as a goodbye! Where did I go wrong?!" the weeping man yelled at the poster, tears spilling from his eyes in something akin to rivers. As he did so, a bemused black-haired girl turned away from the doorway and shouted up the stairs.
"Yuzu! He's gone crazy again!"