Destiny Awaits

by Jenncat

Hiro and Ando's road trip takes a very unexpected turn. New friends are made, while the forces of evil grow stronger. Third in my Bleach and Heroes crossover series.

Title: Destiny Awaits

Author: Jenncat (Mindwarp on LJ)

Fandoms: Bleach/Heroes

Characters: Bleach: Yammy, Ulquiorra, Aizen, Orihime, Ichigo, Nell, Chad, Rukia, Renji, and Ishida. Heroes: Hiro and Ando.

Rating: PG/K+

Genre: Gen

Spoilers: Through the current manga chapters for Bleach, and through Unexpected for Heroes.

Warnings: This is third in my crossover series, following Fathers Know Best and Come to Lend a Hand ... Or a Paw. You don't necessarily have to read those first. However, I would recommend doing so, especially the second story, as this does follow directly on the very end of that.

Summary: Hiro and Ando's road trip takes a very unexpected turn. New friends are made, while the forces of evil grow stronger.

Author's Notes: This is where I finally totally break with canon on both sides. It had to happen eventually, but since it will be a while before Kubo-sensei finishes up the Hueco Mundo/Rescue Orihime arc, I knew it had to happen now (although, he's still doing a great job with screwing with our little brains, with regards to who Rukia ran into there). Plus, I like my resolution to Hiro's problem much better than what Kring's done so far. ;) Everyone is speaking in Japanese in this story, and therefore names appear with the family name first. Dialogue in parenthesis are thoughts. A few quick Japanese definitions:

1. -taichou - honorific for squad captains.

2. -soutaichou - this is usually translated as Commander-General or Captain-Commander.

3. Nii-sama - a very polite way of saying older brother.

Thanks as always to Dragonsinger for beta reading, especially since this is pretty much set on the Bleach side of things, and she's not an anime/manga fan at all. If this makes sense, and the exposition isn't annoying, it's all thanks to her. All that is holy knows I had to think long and hard on how the "heroes" fit in with regards to certain aspects of the Bleach universe. The title is from a song on the first Bleach OST, while a certain new name was stolen from Hiro's blog at http://blog. nbc. com / hiro (insert underscore here) blog / (just remove the spaces and the parenthesis in the middle, of course).

Disclaimer: Heroes belongs to Tim Kring, his team, and NBC/Viacom. Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite, Shueisha, TV Tokyo, Studio Pierrot, Dentsu, Viz, and maybe Adult Swim/Cartoon Network. I own nothing, and make no profit off of this. No challenge is intended toward any existing copyrights or trademarks. Please don't sue.

---

"Ando-kun, take the Versa back to the rental place, and go home." Nakamura Hiro tried not to meet his best friend's eyes. He knew if he did, his resolve would break. Instead, he grabbed his bag, and started towards the bus to Las Vegas.

"Hiro! Wait, Hiro!" Suddenly, Ando's shouts changed to ones of alarm and fear. "What... what's going on?"

With that, Hiro's resolve broke. He turned around to face his friend. What he saw was not what he expected to see. He expected to see Ando's face pleading with him to change his mind, not Ando dangling in mid-air, struggling against something he couldn't see. "Ando-kun!" Hiro dropped his bag and ran towards him, but was suddenly stopped by what felt like a brick wall right next to Ando. Dazed, he didn't react as he felt himself grabbed around his waist and hoisted up, just like Ando. As he tried to focus, he peered closely at the air in between the two men. There was a shimmer there. It reminded him almost of the heat haze he had seen during their road trip, but it wasn't hot enough for that now. "Some... something's here, Ando-kun," he whispered in shock.

Ando tried to twist to face Hiro. "What is it? I can't see anything!"

"I don't know!" Hiro cried back, his voice rising in his panic. "I just see a shimmer."

"It's one mean shimmer," Ando muttered. Suddenly, both men started moving forward, still held by their invisible captor. "Where are we going?"

Hiro stared ahead. He almost swore he saw the sky break in two, revealing nothing but darkness. Both men screamed as that darkness enveloped them. After what seemed like an eternity moving forward in it, they saw a glimmer of light. The light slowly expanded, until the night changed into twilight. They looked around them, eyes wide in shock. Oh, now they could see the scowling giant holding them, all right, along with other strange people gazing calmly at them. All of them had four things in common: all wore white, all had weapons, and all looked like they had holes in their torsos and weird bone fragments attached to their heads. Some had extra jaws, like the one holding them. Others had fragments around their eyes, or on their cheeks. Some, like the slender man walking forward from next to them, looked like they had partial bone helmets. The slender man walked up to someone in an oversized chair, and spoke quietly to the person for a moment. The one in the chair leaned forward, and called out, "Yammy. Bring them forward."

The giant grunted, and complied. Hiro and Ando stared at the man in the chair. In contrast to everyone else, he looked quite normal. It was obvious, though, that this was a man to be reckoned with. The man gazed back at them, then turned back to the pale, slender man. "Ulquiorra," he calmly said, "why did you bring the other one? I only specified that you bring Nakamura Hiro to me."

Ulquiorra bowed deeply. "My apologies, Aizen-sama, but based on the information Zaera-Polo provided us, as well as what I witnessed, I believed that taking his friend along would prove to be good decision in the end, even though he is trash."

Aizen pondered this for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Yes, I do believe that you are correct." He turned to face Hiro and Ando. "Nakamura Hiro, you can manipulate time and space, correct?"

Hiro started. "How... how did you know that?"

"I have my means. I take it to mean my information is correct."

"Well, yes, but..." Hiro's voice trailed off. He had just used his powers successfully to reverse time, but that was a fluke, when his life was threatened. "My powers have not been working lately, however."

Aizen nodded again. "I have heard that as well. So, I will make a deal with you. You will use your powers as I direct. In return, I will restore them to you, in full."

Hiro almost grinned in agreement, then stopped. He looked around him again, and shuddered. Something wasn't right here. "Why do you want me to help you? You abducted Ando-kun and I. Why should I trust you?"

Aizen smiled slowly. It sent chills down Hiro's spine. The smile looked kind and gentle, but it didn't feel that way for some reason. "Why indeed? Perhaps you need a different incentive. You want to be a hero, I hear. Would a hero allow his best friend to be killed?"

Hiro froze. This was exactly why he was trying to send Ando home, back to safety. He looked over at Ando for a long moment. Ando's eyes had grown wide in fear. Ando noticed Hiro looking at him, and tried to smile reassuringly. "I'm sorry, Hiro. I guess I should have listened to you."

Hiro's heart sank. He turned back to Aizen. There was only one choice he could make. "I'll help you. In return, you will not harm Ando-kun at all," he said in defeat.

"Of course. There would be no reason to do so." Aizen gestured for Yammy to put Hiro down. "Ulquiorra, please take Hiro to Orihime. Tell her that the extra incentive for Hiro now applies to her as well. As for that one," he ordered, pointing towards Ando, "take him to join our other guest."

Ulquiorra nodded and took Hiro's arm. Hiro turned his head to stare in worry back at Ando, as Yammy hauled him down a different corridor than the one Ulquiorra was leading him down. "Please look ahead, Hiro. I do not wish to have to pick you up if you fall," Ulquiorra said. His voice seemed calm and bland, but something about it told Hiro to do as he was instructed.

Finally, they reached a door. Ulquiorra called out, "I am coming in," before opening the door. Hiro peered inside, and saw a pretty teenage girl. For a moment, she seemed sad, before she composed herself. "Hiro will be staying here as well, until you are both called on by Aizen-sama. Hiro, if you are given any instructions, follow them. Orihime can inform you that when you are told to do something, you will do it, or will be forced to do so. Do not make us use force."

Ulquiorra turned to leave, but Orihime grabbed him first. "What about Sado-kun? I can still feel his reiatsu."

Ulquiorra stared at her hand until she let him go. "He is still alive. How long he stays that way now rests in your hands. I believe Hiro can vouch for that, as his friend is now with Sado." With that, Ulquiorra strode out, closing the door firmly behind him.

Orihime turned to Hiro, her eyes widening. "What does he mean? Who are you, anyway?" She blinked. "You're a normal human. You barely have any reiatsu. Why are you here?"

It was Hiro's turn to blink in surprise. "I'm Nakamura Hiro, and you are?"

Orihime put her hand over her mouth in horror. "I'm so sorry! I forgot my manners." She did a little curtsey. "My name is Inoue Orihime. How do you do?"

"I'm fine," Hiro said cautiously. "What do you mean, a normal human? You look like one, too, as does Aizen-san."

Orihime shook his head. "I am human, but I'm a little different." She paused, unsure of how to continue. "I have... special powers."

Hiro grinned at the girl in excitement. "I have powers, too! I can bend time and space - well, sometimes. It hasn't really been working too well lately. What can you do?"

"I... Aizen-san says my powers are the rejection of situations. I can heal people, or keep them from being hurt by shielding them, or sometimes I can attack with it. I'm not too good at that part, though. How do you have powers with such low reiatsu?"

"Reiatsu?" Hiro repeated. He thought for a moment, since he hadn't heard that word before, then realized she was talking about spiritual energy. "Why does that matter?"

Orihime stared at him. "Reiatsu is how you use your powers. The more reiatsu you have, the stronger you are." She paused. "Who brought you here?"

"Ulquiorra and a giant named Yammy. Yammy just grabbed Ando-kun and me. I don't know how though," he frowned. "I couldn't even see him until we got here. I just saw a shimmer, and Ando-kun saw nothing. Where are we, anyway?"

"Welcome to Las Noches, in Hueco Mundo, the world of Hollows," Orihime replied.

"Hollows?"

"Hollows are spirits that live by eating souls - human souls, usually. When they aren't preying on us, they're here. You can tell a Hollow by the bone mask that hides its face, and the hole in its chest."

Hiro started, remembering all of the people looking at Ando and him before. "I saw people like that when Ando-kun and I arrived, except..."

"Their masks were broken, right?" Orihime interrupted. "Some Hollows have done that, to gain more power, and become more like their enemies, the shinigami."

"Shinigami? Don't they just exist in stories, like in Death Note?"

Orihime gave him a look. "Aren't people with powers something out of a manga, too?"

Hiro looked down, embarrassed. "Good point."

"Anyway," Orihime continued, "The ones who broke their masks are called Arrancar. With Aizen-san's help, they've become a lot stronger lately. They're becoming strong enough to take on Soul Society, the home of the shinigami, in an actual war."

"Aizen-san... is he a human?" Hiro asked.

Orihime shook her head. "No, he's a shinigami."

Hiro started. "I thought you just said shinigami and Hollows are enemies!"

"They are. Aizen-san is one of the strongest shinigami. He was a captain in the Gotei 13, their primary army. He, and two others, turned traitor, and are now leading the Arrancar instead. Aizen also stole a device called Hougyouku. It allows him to make more powerful Arrancar, ones that can easily take on a shinigami captain." Orihime paused. "I think that's why he wants you. I know that's why he wants me. The creator of Hougyouku, Urahara Kisuke, sealed it when he found he couldn't destroy it."

"Why did he want to destroy it?" Hiro interrupted.

"It was something he shouldn't have made. It was too powerful. Urahara-san always likes to push the boundaries - but he sells really good candy, and he gives me a pretty good deal at his store," she giggled. "Anyway, Aizen broke the seal on Hougyouku, but it was supposed to take four months to fully waken. It's been two months since then. I think he wants to use our powers to speed that up." Orihime frowned. "Could you answer a question of mine? What did Ulquiorra mean when he said when he said you would understand why Sado-kun's fate rested in my hands?"

"Who's Sado-kun?"

"Sado Yasutora. He's a friend of mine. He came here, with some other friends, to try to rescue me." Orihime's face returned to that sad look Hiro had originally seen her wear. "He was beaten by one of the Espada, the ten strongest Arrancar. I know he's still alive, but Ulquiorra said he was with a friend of yours?"

Hiro nodded. "Masahashi Ando. Ando-kun was traveling with me, on a quest to keep an exploding man from destroying New York."

"An exploding man is going to destroy New York?" Orihime repeated in shock.

"I traveled to the future by accident and saw it, so I had to try to stop it. We were trying to get a sword that I need to help focus my powers, when we were kidnapped. Aizen-san said that if I don't help him, he'll kill Ando-kun."

Orihime weakly sat down. "So, if I do try to resist after all, he'll kill Sado-kun, and any other of my friends that he captures."

Hiro awkwardly patted her shoulder in reassurance. "Let's play along for now, and see what happens."

---

"Ichigo, go this way!"

Kurosaki Ichigo found himself dragged along a dank, musty corridor. "Are you sure we're going the right way, Nell?" he asked his pint-sized companion.

The little Arrancar girl nodded vigorously. "Nell used to play down here, before she left Las Noches and met her big brothers. This is where they keep all of the little bugs, like Nell."

"You're not a little bug," Ichigo muttered, trying not to smile at the strange kid who had attached herself to him when he had arrived in this strange world. "So, you think they would keep Chad down here also?"

Nell nodded again, before stopping short in front of two hulking brutes. "See?"

Ichigo grumbled under his breath before grabbing his zanpakutou, Zangetsu, and slashing quickly through both guards. He panted as he leaned against the door. Much to his surprise, he found himself falling down instead, as the door opened against his weight.

"Ichigo????"

Ichigo peered up to find his best friend, Sado Yasutora, staring worriedly down at him. "Hey, Chad. Man, you look like hell," he replied, taking in the bandages wrapped around Chad's chest.

The Mexican-Japanese boy grunted as he reached down and pulled Ichigo up. "You look bad, too." He peered closely at Ichigo. "How long have you been using your bankai?" Chad gestured at the tattered black coat Ichigo wore, along with the solid blackness of Zangetsu, both signs that Ichigo had unleashed the blade's full powers.

Ichigo scowled. "I had to, even if it does tire me out. It's the only way for me to take these guys on." He blinked as he realized there was someone else here. "Who's this?"

"Masahashi Ando," Chad replied.

Ichigo waited, but as usual, Chad didn't continue. "Keigo's right, for once. You do leave too much stuff out." He turned to Ando. "What's your story?"

"Hostage," Ando replied. "Sado did tell me a few things, so I guess you're part of the rescue party. Do you mind adding a few more people to the list?"

"Who?"

Ando sighed. "Well, me, for one, and my friend Hiro. Preferably before Hiro ends up helping your enemy to save me."

Suddenly, the ground started shaking. All four grabbed at whatever was nearest to brace themselves. "Nell," Ichigo called out, "do you get earthquakes in Hueco Mundo???"

The shaking stopped. "No, we don't," she replied. "I've never felt anything like that before." The tremors started again, but this time Chad and Nell stared at the ceiling. "Do you feel that, Ichigo?" Nell asked.

"He can't detect reiatsu that well over his own," Chad answered for him.

Ichigo scowled. "Yeah, yeah, just tell me what you felt, Chad." The pulses increased again. "Never mind, even I noticed that."

Ando's head whipped up. "It's Hiro!" He dashed out of the cell. The other three stared at him, and then ran after him.

"How do you know?" Chad asked. "I thought you didn't have any powers."

"Yeah, that's me, 'unspecial Ando',", Ando muttered. "I don't know, I just do. Follow me," he commanded as he ran even faster.

Ichigo picked up Nell as he and Chad sped up as well to keep up with the now-frantic Ando. "At least he doesn't have shunpo, so this isn't too bad," Ichigo grumbled.

---

Hiro stood before a white column. The top of the column had been rotated open, revealing a glass box with a small, round stone inside. He looked at the box for a moment, before turning his focus back on Aizen. "This is Hougyouku, isn't it?" he asked.

Aizen gave him another one of his small smiles, looking for a moment like a satisfied teacher. "Orihime has informed you well, I see. Yes, this is it." He opened the box, then gently took one of Hiro's hands in his, and placed both of their hands on the stone. "Now, I want you to focus your powers on it."

"But... I told you, my powers aren't really working right now."

"Do not worry. They will. Just focus on time passing. Do not stop until I tell you to do so."

Hiro peered closely at the stone again, burning the image of it into his brain. Closing his eyes, he scrunched his face up in concentration, trying to remember exactly what it felt like when he had used his powers successfully in the past. A few long moments went by. Suddenly, he felt a rush of energy course throughout his body. Hiro felt more alive than he ever had, even more than the first time he had realized he had stopped time. All that mattered was that energy, and the stone in his hand. He focused on it, imagining a clock speeding forward. Dimly, he heard someone mutter, "Yes, it's working. Don't stop." He couldn't stop even if he wanted to do so. Why would he want this amazing feeling to stop, even if suddenly he thought he heard screams of pain in the background? Nothing else existed for him now, except for that feeling.

"Santen Kesshun! I reject! Souten Kishun! I reject!" Vaguely, Hiro recognized the voice as Orihime's, as a new sensation was added on top of the glorious energy rush. The new feeling fought against the old, trying to hold back the changes being made to him. It was Hiro's turn to scream in pain at the conflict raging inside of him. He forced his eyes open. They widened quickly at the sights he saw: Arrancar aging rapidly, stone crumbling into dust, a golden energy shield surrounding Orihime, another shield surrounding him, and in the center of it all, Aizen's expression turning into one of triumph as he turned to the girl.

Aizen reached over and casually pried Hiro's hand off of Hougyouku. Hiro almost keened at the loss as the glorious energy stopped flooding him. Only a soothing calm tried to remain, which he recognized as the feeling that was fighting the energy rush earlier. "Thank you, both of you." Aizen calmly said.

The golden shields retracted, revealing little flying creatures at the ends. The creatures flitted back to Orihime and disappeared into her hair. Hiro almost swore he saw her flower hairpins glimmer as that happened. "What do you mean?" she asked. "I..."

"You tried to reject Hougyouku's very existence at the moment Hiro reached the time it was to fully awaken, didn't you? Foolish girl, didn't you think I expected you to do that?" Aizen mildly chided. "I know full well that your Souten Kishun rejects situations inside the shield your Shun Shun Rikka project - that is why it acts as a healing method as well, as it rejects any injuries done to the person inside. All I needed to do was make sure all you rejected was the final seal Urahara Kisuke placed on it in the process, and then distract you before you went too far." Aizen's small smile was one of triumph. "This one," he said as he pointed to Hiro, "made an admirable distraction." He casually tightened his grip on Hiro's wrist and tossed the smaller man aside.

Every fiber of Hiro's brain felt like it was charred, as the backlash from the energy overload hit him. His eyes fluttered shut. He could just make out Orihime's sobs over him. It didn't matter anymore. Evil had won, and there was nothing he could have done to stop it.

(Liar. Fool. You could always stand up and fight. Isn't that what you swore to do?)

He smiled at the voice in his head. He had always dreamed of being a hero, like the ones in the old folk tales and the newer manga.

(With great power comes great responsibility.)

Ah, Spiderman - the lesson he learned when his uncle was murdered by a criminal he could have stopped, but didn't, because he was only using his powers out of selfishness and greed. Hiro always liked reading Spiderman. He heard other voices in the distance, keeping him from his memories for a moment.

"Inoue!"

"Kurosaki-kun!"

"Ah, the ryoka boy. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that once again, your timing is slightly off."

"Hiro! What happened to him?"

Ando? He was here? Wasn't he a prisoner?

(So, will you fail to help him this time? He has come to help you. Just call my name, and I will fight besides you!)

Hiro saw the owner of the voice now. (Tousan?) It looked like his father, but when had his father dressed traditionally, except for a festival? His father never dressed so plainly, though, while this doppelganger wore all black, except for the white sleeveless haori he wore over the kimono and hakama.

(No. You KNOW me, Hiro. You have been searching for me ever since Peter Petrelli told you about me. You've just been searching in the wrong place, deluded by something that only looked like me.)

"Howl, Zabimaru!"

"Dance, Sode no Shirayuki! First dance, Tsuki Shiro!"

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

The shouts jolted Hiro fully awake. His eyes widened at the teenagers in front of him. An orange haired boy had just fired off a black energy blast from his equally black blade. Another young man, his long red hair pulled up into a ponytail, swung his hilt. The serrated blade extended out, as if the parts in between the teeth were made of elastic. The teeth bit deeply into an Arrancar. He grinned, his wild tattoos making him look like he had bit his enemies himself. Meanwhile, a shorter dark-haired girl whirled her pure white sword in a circle, causing ice to shoot upwards from the floor where she had danced and freeze some Arrancar on the spot.

"Hiro?" Hiro turned to face Ando. "Are you okay?"

"What's going on?" Hiro asked.

Ando grinned. "We're being rescued. Whatever you did, you distracted everyone long enough for Sado's friends to escape from the fights they were in and meet up here with us." Ando motioned for a tall young man to move forward. "Sado, can you help me get him up?" Chad nodded and slipped his arm under Hiro, hauling him up easily.

"Sado-kun, watch your back!" An arrow made of pure energy shot over Chad's head. The teenage archer adjusted his glasses, before taking aim at another foe.

"There's too many of them," Chad muttered as more and more Arrancar poured into the room.

"Pull back!" The dark-haired girl grabbed the other swordsmen and forced them to follow her order.

"Kurosaki, did you even think of how we were going to get out of here, once we found Inoue-san?" the archer sarcastically asked.

The swordswoman gave him a look in return. "Ishida, did he have any ideas for that when you all stormed Soul Society?"

"Good point, Kuchiki-san. I forgot how stupid he can be at times," Ishida replied.

"He's even worse than me," the tattooed teen agreed.

"Shut up, Renji!" Ichigo yelled.

Ando stared at the kids. "Great, so we'll just die here arguing instead of actually getting out of here." That shut everyone up, as the Arrancar army surrounded them.

(Call on me, NOW, Hiro! Hear my name and summon me! It is the only way! My name is...)

Hiro pushed his way forward. Ando tried to grab him, but Hiro yanked his arm free. "Hiro, what are you doing?" Ando cried out.

Hiro glared at Aizen's forces massing in front of them. His eyes met Aizen's for a moment. He saw the triumph there, and it stirred him to action. He focused solely on their foes, then scrunched up his face and screamed out at the top of his lungs, "JIYUUTOU! FREEZE THEM!"

A heartbeat passed. "They... they're not moving," Orihime whispered.

Hiro opened his eyes in satisfaction and looked all around. The only ones moving at all were himself, Ando, Orihime, and her friends. He grinned and shouted in triumph, "Yatta! We did it, Jiyuutou!"

(Of course, you fool.)

"Hiro, who are you talking to, and where did you get that sword?" Ando asked, staring at what was grasped firmly in Hiro's hands.

Hiro followed Ando's eyes, and stared as well. It was the sword from Mr. Isaku's painting, the one he had gone to Las Vegas to get. "But how... how are you here?" Hiro asked the sword.

(I've always been with you. You just didn't know it.)

Ishida looked around at the still-frozen Arrancar. "Pardon me, but since we don't know when this will end, perhaps we should all escape now while we have a chance?"

Kuchiki nodded. "Before we left, I asked Urahara how we could get back, since we can't open the gateway ourselves. We need to be back outside, where we started, though." She turned to Nell. "Do you think you can lead us back there?" The little girl nodded, grabbed Ichigo's hand, and started dragging him off again at high speed. The others ran after them.

As they ran, Kuchiki pulled out what looked like a cell phone. Ichigo looked at her quizzically. "Your kikanshinki will work here, Rukia?" He nodded at the phone.

Kuchiki nodded. "I checked. It's designed for interdimensional communications, after all. I just need to let Urahara know we're on the way. He said he would wait for the call. He can't keep the gate open for long, though, so I have to call when we're almost back at the beginning. Are we almost there, Nell?"

"Yeah, Rukia, we're almost there!" Nell cheerfully called back. "Of course, so are they!" She pointed at a mob of Arrancar who were now following them.

"Damn, I guess your time freeze didn't last long enough, Hiro," Ando groaned in frustration. "Why is it that when we're almost safe, we get screwed?"

"Destiny?" Hiro impishly shot back.

"I thought I told you to get destiny to lose our number!"

"Maybe it needs to lose theirs, too?"

"Shut up, idiot," Ando grumbled as the group left the building they had been in and entered a desert instead.

Rukia flipped the kikanshinki open. "Urahara, it's Kuchiki Rukia. Open the gateway now! We're coming in with friends!" As she flipped it closed again, the skies tore apart. For a few moments, a wide rift appeared, but almost as quickly, it started shrinking again. "Run for it! Nell, go find where your brothers hid right before that last battle, and hide yourselves well!" Rukia ordered.

"But I want to go with Ichigo!" Nell wailed.

Ichigo shook his head sadly. "You know you can't live in my world, Nell. You would have to hurt people to survive there, and I know you don't want to do that. Go, and try to be safe." He pushed her away, trying to ignore the little girl's sobs. "Go, run!" Nell paused and gave him one final look before running off.

The rest of the group ran as fast as they could, leaping into the rift just as before it snapped shut. The now-familiar blackness enveloped them, but they kept running, until finally they were back in bright light. Once their eyes readjusted, they stared around them. "Where the hell are we?" Ichigo shouted. He pointed at the dark stores and the empty parking lot.

"This... is not under Urahara's store." Chad murmured.

Ando looked around for a moment. He spotted a familiar car. "Hiro, it's the Versa!" He ran over to it. "See? Here's my stuff! Your bag's still here, also! That's a miracle." Ando muttered the last bit. "We're in America, near Las Vegas." He turned around, and stopped. "Why have half of the people we were with vanished? Didn't they make it through?"

Puzzled, Hiro looked around. No one was missing from their group. "What are you talking about, Ando-kun? Everyone's here."

Ando shook his head. "I only see you, Sado, Ishida, and that pretty girl you were with." He paused, and then peered closely at the air next to Hiro. "That's weird, though. I'm seeing shimmers in between you."

"Inoue-kun, what's wrong with Ando-kun?" Hiro turned to Orihime.

Orihime smiled in return. "Nothing's wrong. He's seeing only the humans. Only those with strong reiatsu can see shinigami."

"Wait, so they," Hiro paused and pointed at Ichigo, Renji, and Rukia before continuing, "are shinigami?" At Orihime's nod, he added, "Why can I see them, then? You told me before that I barely had any reiatsu."

Orihime paused. "I think what we did to Hougyouku changed you."

"That, plus just being in a place like Hueco Mundo, which has a high concentration of reishi - spirit particles," Rukia added. "Just being there raised both of your reiatsu. He can probably see regular ghosts now, but it takes a lot more to see Hollows or shinigami. That's why he's only seeing us as a shimmer, and can't hear us. You, though..." Her voice trailed off in thought. She took out her kikanshinki again and made a call, while Hiro relayed the situation to Ando. "Hiro," she called out to him, "this is where you were when you were taken to Hueco Mundo?" At Hiro's nod, she repeated that into the phone, then nodded at the answer she heard. "All right, I'll tell them that." She hung up. "Urahara's sending help and your body, Ichigo."

"His body?" Hiro asked, shocked by the statement.

Rukia nodded. "Shinigami are spirits, but Ichigo's different from the rest of us. He's actually a human who gained shinigami powers. He can only use his powers when his soul has been separated from his body, though, so he left his body behind when he went to rescue Inoue. So, since it'll make things easier for him to get home, his body's coming here. Don't worry," she added at Hiro's still shocked look, "his body will seem alive and normal."

"Well, as normal as that stupid mod soul Kon can be when he's acting as me," Ichigo muttered. "How did we end up here, anyway? Did Mr. Hat-and-clogs have an answer to that, too?"

"Urahara said we ended up here because this was where the gate was last opened from in the living world. He didn't know about that, and so didn't take that into account when reopening it on this side. He was only focused on getting the Hueco Mundo end in the right spot. He said to tell you that opening gates to Hueco Mundo is a lot more difficult for him than opening ones to Soul Society, and it's even harder when he's actually trying to open it from the wrong dimension. We're lucky he was even able to open it at all." Ichigo glared at Rukia for stopping his rant before he even got started. She continued, "In the meantime, Urahara wants Inoue, Sado, Ishida, and Ichigo to stay with Hiro and Ando. Renji and I have to return to Soul Society, but unfortunately we won't be able go a way that you can use as well."

"Remember, the two of us weren't supposed to go after Orihime," Renji added, smiling ruefully, "even if Kuchiki-taichou actually loosened up enough to bend the recall orders enough to let us go. He and Ukitake-taichou understand, but they're probably in trouble because we went AWOL."

"Ukitake-taichou will definitely want to hear what I found out about our enemy," Rukia grimly added. "Still, he and Nii-sama will have to discipline us for dereliction of duty, and even if you have helped Soul Society before, Yamamoto-soutaichou will definitely not help right now."

After Hiro relayed this to Ando, Ando looked at Hiro's hands again. "You know, Hiro, you still haven't answered my question. Where did you get that sword? That looks just like Takezo Kensei's sword - you know, the one we were here to get."

"He just came when I called him," Hiro answered. "He told me to call on him for help."

As Ando stared at Hiro as if he really had finally lost his mind, the others looked at each other. Renji and Rukia both grasped their own hilts, and closed their eyes in concentration for a moment. "According to Zabimaru, he almost feels like a zanpakutou, but he can't purify spirits like ours can," Renji stated.

"A zanpakutou?" Hiro asked.

"A shinigami's weapon. Well, Arrancar have them now, too. They're extensions of us and our power. Each one has a spirit, even if the wielder isn't strong enough to hear the spirit's name," Rukia added. She closed her eyes again for a moment. "My Sode no Shirayuki says that he reminds her more of Inoue's Shun Shun Rikka."

"Her what?"

"My fairies - you saw them earlier protecting us when your powers went crazy," Orihime answered Hiro's question. "When I don't summon them, they're my hairpins." She pointed at the flowers in her hair.

Rukia nodded. "Your sword may have a spirit, but he works more like that than our zanpakutou. Still, it's interesting how similar he is to ours. No offense meant, but the help that's on the way is going to check you and Jiyuutou out as well."

"None taken." Hiro frowned. "I think it's probably a good idea to find out what's happened to me, anyway."

"On that note, we need to report in, Rukia," Renji said as he unsheathed his zanpakutou. He thrust it forward and turned it, as if he was unlocking something. "Open!" he barked. A set of sliding doors obligingly appeared and followed his command. Renji and Rukia waved goodbye, and walked though the doors, which disappeared after closing.

Ando walked over to the Versa. He paused and touched it. "It's nice to see something normal, again," he muttered as he unlocked the doors and slid into the driver's side. "Get in everyone, we've got a nice ride ahead of us. Next stop, Las Vegas."