Shinigami are a rare site anywhere, especially in the world of the living. Reason being, they are not physical people, but souls. For the most part, anyway. Which is why a certain orange-haired shinigami was so confused at the moment. Everyone seemed to be watching him! He had long since given control of his body over to Kon, his not-so-trusted Modified Soul, and was traversing El Centro De El Mundo in his death god persona. Yet, every living person he'd passed was staring at him! It didn't make any sense.

Like so much else in his life, however, Kurosaki Ichigo decided to just ignore it. Ever since he became a death god, things in his life hadn't made much sense at all. Basic rules that he had been taught as a child about the worlds of life and death had been shattered, so why would the new rules be any different? Adjusting the gigantic meat cleaver on his back for more comfort, he continued walking through the great building.

The story here was, apparently, that some high-level hollows had appeared and he had been specifically requested to deal with them. That in itself didn't make sense to him, as he was a mere interim shinigami and not technically under the control of Soul Society. When he'd asked the old man in charge about it before being sent here, Yamamoto had given him a glare that could have been rivaled by the devil and told him to, "Get the f& to the damn mall."

That being the case, Ichigo ignored the insensibility of it all.

So here he was, in the hallways of an immense mall, and he had no idea where any hollows where, and was quite certain he could search for a week straight and find nothing. Suddenly, he was brought out of his inner grumblings, "Ah, you there, shinigami-san! I've been looking all over for you. I would assume Genryusai-dono sent you?"

Turning, Ichigo was greeted with a strange and delicious site: a... person made entirely of chocolate. Blinking at this strange being, the young man responded with an eloquent, "Huh?"

Death by Chocolate made his grinning way to the death god, already trying to decide if it would be more entertaining to keep the bot in the dark about the tournament or get him to participate unknowingly. Decisions, decisions...

Before the chocolate demon could make his choice, however, Ichigo was already talking, "So, where are all these hollow I'm supposed to get rid of? I haven't even sensed one since I got here."

Grinning deviously, DbC made his move, "Ah, so the old codger kept you in the dark after all, eh? No matter, I'll explain the situation. The hollow are," here the tasty tournament officiator took a deep breath before continuing, "nonexistent."

Veins instantly sprouted from Ichigo's forehead, and he grabbed Zangetsu's hilt threateningly before asking, "So why the hell am I here!?" DbC only continued to grin further enraging the hot-headed shinigami.

Before he could explode, however, DbC explained some more, "You see, the old man owed me a favor for services rendered in the past. I'm hosting a tournament of fighters here, and had a few drop out on me. I called in my favor from the old man to get a replacement fighter, and here you are! So, sound like fun? Wanna take out that frustration and anger on some people who probably deserve it?"

The veins had faded, and he'd released his zanpakuto's hilt, but Ichigo was still speaking through gritted teeth, "I don't give a damn about your stupid tournament! I'm supposed to be training for a war, not participating in a stupid contest!"

DbC threw out the bait, "What if I told you the winner was entitled one wish, no matter how grandiose, from none other than myself? What would you say then?"

The young man's face went from anger, to concentration, to a devious, almost maniacal smile. Taking the sword from his back, Ichigo said in his most confident voice, "I'd say, who's ass do I have to kick?"