I've decided to branch out from Fairy Tail and enter Bleach territory. Here's the first upload of many stories I have written for Bleach. I don't own the characters nor the art used in the story and for the cover. Please, enjoy and review if you have a moment :)

As he slipped over branches of the forest floor, he was careful to watch the mountains up ahead. He knew that it and the vast area surrounding the base of it belonged to Unseelie, fair folk belonging to the moon god, Tsukuyomi, and he knew that if anyone found him before he could request council, they were within their rights to strike him down. A chill ran down his back, not only from the cool air. He didn't want another's blood on his hands but he wasn't going to allow them to take him so easily. He needed to be heard, and then they could decide what they wanted to do with him. After all, he hadn't even requested permission, from his own people, nor theirs.

As he made his way under an archway that seemed to be crafted by the trees themselves, he hit a clearing, and across it, he could see one of the villages. He knew it was called the Rukongai, and it stretched west and east, as if it were a wall, and he supposed it might as well as been. Further up, in the mountains, was where the Lord of their lands lived, and it was who he needed to speak with. The Rukongai acted as the first barrier between him and the Lord.

Squaring his shoulders back, he took a deep breath and started to walk across the clearing, trying to give off a calming and nonthreatening aura. As he nearly reached the gateway that symbolized entrance into Rukongai, something moved from the corner of his eye, causing his gaze to snap over. There, 5 massive reindeer stood, their coats the palest brown, with stark white antlers that had to have been as long as his arm and much sharper than any sword he carried. The one in front took a step towards him, and its eyes were the most unnaturally pale lavender he had ever seen on any creature, or any person. It watched him for a moment, intelligence shining in its eyes, before it bowed his head to him. He let loose the breath he hadn't realized that he held, and moved his hand back to his side, as he must have reached towards his sword when he caught sight of the massive beasts. He bowed his head to the beast, only feeling slightly foolish, and turned back towards the Rukongai, finally crossing under the gateway, and feeling the shift in the air as he entered.

He gaped at what he was now seeing. The village had been large before, but now that he stood in it, he realized that it had only been an illusion and the actual Rukongai was extensive. Dozens of people milled about, and only a few gaped in his direction as he entered. Seeing as everyone had extremely dark or extremely pale hair, he knew his shock of vibrant orange hair must be quite the thing. Ignoring the looks sent his way, he cut straight through the village, hoping to find the mountain pass before someone found him. There would be guards there, and they would bring him to the Unseelie Lord.

Just before he could even make it halfway through, he felt his hair stand on end, and a rush of snow blew in front of him, covering his vision. He threw his arm up, and when the air cleared, a reindeer stood in his path. He took a step back, unwillingly, and gaped up at it, but the fact that it had been all white was not what had him completely flabbergasted. On the back of the massive creature sat a young woman. Her skin was nearly as pale as snow, but her hair was definitely as white as it. Circling the back of her head from temple to temple was a diadem of pure ice, its edges as sharp as her features. She wore an equally white furisode that was surprisingly worn slightly off of her shoulders, with a pale lavender obi, and very light blue diamonds laced up the hems of her skirt and sleeves before fading back into pristine white. As high up as she was, the white sun made her look as if she were glowing from some sort of inner light, but when she lowered her chin to look him further in the eyes, he was taken aback by the pale violet orbs that sat in her face.

"Come. We are expecting you." Her voice was ice, and it carried the weight of a blizzard that countered against her lithe appearance. If not for her kimono, he would've expected her to be in her early teens. Inclining his head slightly, he tried not to wonder how they knew he was coming, but still he glanced over his shoulder. She said nothing of it, just directed the reindeer towards the mountains, and eventually beyond the gate. As they started their incline, he squinted, watching the wind whip around them furiously, and wondered if he would lose any fingers. It must've shown on his face, because he heard a short laugh. Glancing up, he found the young woman watching him, her lavender orbs shining. "The winds are ours, the snow, and the cold. They will not harm you. They are meant to keep others out." He nodded, not completely understanding what others she meant. His thoughts strayed to Tengus and other bird demons that could easily reach the Unseelie kingdom. He thought a moment longer, remembering what she had said, and cleared his throat. She didn't glance back at him again, but he knew she was listening.

"You said you were expecting me?" he watched her slowly look at him, her eyes glinting with something that set him on edge.

"It is expected that I have eyes beyond the ones that I own." She looked at him for a moment longer, and it clicked for him. He felt his brows shoot up.

"The reindeer in the clearing!" she only looked at him, amusement passing over her features, and she turned away once more.

"We will arrive to the castle soon. You will be stripped of your weapons, and then our Lord will meet with you to discuss your reasons for forgoing both of our laws." her words were harsh, and he found himself wincing. Regardless of how the Lord would take his words, he could still kill him in the end. Releasing a small sigh, he glanced over the edge of the mountain, taking in the Rukongai below. It looked almost like a river, circling the mountain, and his lips quirked. Karakura, the city that laid before his own kingdom, was nowhere near as large as the Rukongai, nor did it lay below the kingdom. It was the first entrance in order to get to the kingdom, and the noble and common folk easily shared space with one another. He supposed it was a Seelie thing, having that openness with their kind.

"Halt!" a masculine voice shouted to them from ahead, and he found himself glancing around the reindeer and woman whose name he had no idea of. It seemed to be fair however, she did not know his name either. He heard her sigh and was sure if he could see her face, she would be rolling her eyes. It caused a chuckle to fall from his mouth, and she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Her lips tilted into a smirk as 4 guards came forward and flanked the entrance to the castle. "State your business." If possible, it seemed the wind whipped harder around them for just a moment, causing him to squint his eyes tighter, before it died, causing whatever snow in the air to fall slowly and softly downward. He opened his eyes fully for the first time since they started the trek up the mountain, and watched the woman speak from atop the reindeer.

"Someone wishes council with Lord Kuchiki."

"Someone?" he heard the guard ask, then lean around the woman, to look him over. The guard's eyes widened at him, taking in his obviously Seelie features, before his gaze hardened. "We had no word of a Seelie requesting council." his tone obviously insinuated that he wasn't going to allow him council neither, but the woman in front of him seemed to not take no for an answer.

"Is that so?" her voice was soft, but sharper than the winds that had blown at them, and he could recognize a threat when he heard one. The guards had stiffened at that, and he knew that they would use force to turn them back if necessary. He couldn't leave, not with everything that was depending on this meeting, and so he started to reach for his blade at his hip. The guard closest to him saw the movement and drew his own blade, a pure silver katana that had an inscription of white symbols in it's blade.

Without preamble, the guard moved forward, raising his blade to drag it down against him. He pulled his own blade out to catch it, but to his surprise, the guard never got past the woman and her reindeer. Instead, the guard and his engraved katana had been caught against a pure white blade that had materialized out of thin air, and into the woman's hands. The collision caused a blast of cold air to be expelled, and he watched in complete shock as the guard's blade turned to ice and shattered. He turned and gaped up at the woman, who only tightened her hold on the handle of the blade.

He could see his own shock mirrored in the guards' faces, but then it shifted, and the four of them dropped to their knees, kowtowing to the woman. He took a step forward, in order to see the woman's face, but it had transformed into a cold beauty, her features severe, and the corners of her mouth pulled down as she stared coldly at the guards' backs. He watched her release her hold on her blade, as the guards begged their forgiveness to the ground, and was surprised to see it dissolve into snow in midair. The head guard raised his head slightly, and he could see fear in his eyes.

"We are extremely sorry, my lady, we had no idea-" she cut them off with a raise of her hand, and she finally glanced over her shoulder to him.

"Come, Kurosaki Ichigo. We are expecting you." it was said in a soft tone, and he watched the harshness melt from her features slightly. It was probably because he was gaping at her, however.

"How do you know my name?" he asked cautiously as he followed her past the guards. She gave a small laugh, and it helped the tension in his body ease, somewhat. She looked at him, her eyes melting to a twinkling amusement.

"I told you earlier that it is to be expected that I have eyes beyond the ones that I own, did I not?" her tone was teasing, and he knew that he wasn't flushing just from the cold anymore. He nodded, slightly distracted by the homes he could now see that encompassed the highborn Unseelie. Each was connected by pathways of ice, and the largest had a wall of ice protecting it, with Sakura trees, of all things, in full bloom. He knew it had to do with the fact that the Unseelie Lord had lived there, and that originally, the lord had come from the Seelie lands. He glanced to the woman once more, wanting to know if his hunch was correct.

"What is your name?" she halted, and slowly turned to him. He was worried that he had offended her, crossed some invisible line that was unknown to him, but she just smirked at him. The thought came to him unbidden, that although he knew that both Seelie and Unseelie were beautiful, she had an otherworldly quality about her that make her equal parts dangerous and breathtaking. He was so caught up in the realization of his thoughts, he almost didn't hear her speak.

"My name is Kuchiki Rukia."