Alright. This is my first time posting something on , so don't blame me for the lack of everything.

I do not own the Bleach characters, for they belong to Tite Kubo.

Ichigo fell to the rough concrete floor, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth and nose. He pushed himself up, his arms shaking and blood dripping, and as he looked up, a foot hit him at the side of his cheek; everything went black.

Ichigo could hear voices as he tried to open his eyes. "How long is he going to sleep?" a voice asked among the rest of the questioning one's.

Finally, his eyes slit open, people surrounding him as he lied on the floor. They gasped, moving slightly away from him as he sat up. "Are you alright?" An elderly voice asked within the crowd. He nodded. "You slept for a while now," she said.

He looked around, slowly getting to his feet. "Where am I?" He gazed around. Old brick buildings with small windows surrounded him, and a group of people older than him stood around him.

"Home or since you're new, Land of the Dead, which is your home, too." The woman said from behind Ichigo.

He turned around, finding the woman behind two, short men. "Land of the what?" he asked.

"Land of the Dead and it's a place where the people who have passed come to."

Ichigo was quiet for a moment. "Where dead people go to..." his voice trailed off. "That is just—" Off in the distance, there were skeletons. Ichigo staggered back as everyone moved out of his way.
His heart raced as he looked around. "This isn't Karakura Town anymore," he whispered, panic rising.

"Oh, so you're from the same town as—"

Ichigo interrupted the old woman. "I cannot be dead. I was fine just—" Ichigo began to remember hitting the floor, his blood covering the concrete, passing out, but he could still hear voices. He remembers hearing crying and a small feminine voice.

"Ichigo, you cannot be dead." It was Orihime. "You're still warm..." her voice trailed off.

I'm not dead, he thought. If I was, I would have been cold, and I wouldn't have been able to hear Orihime. I have to get out of here.

"Is there a way out of here?" he asked. "I mean is there a way to get back to Karakura Town?"

"Well, there is," the woman started. "But why would—"

"I'm not dead—see, I'm not injured." Ichigo patted his stomach.

Everyone laughed. "Of course you're not injured, none of us are," the woman chuckled.

"What do you mean?"

"When you enter the Land of the Dead, you injuries disappear. But when you leave, they reappear. I died in a car accident."

Another voice came from within the crowd, "I died in a fire."

"A bullet killed me."

"And for people who died in their sleep or so," she said. "They are purple or blue. How did you die?"

Ichigo was too astonished and horrified to answer. "Don't pester him, Cathleen. Let us all get a drink at Gary's," an elder man sighed.

"Of course, let us all welcome...what is your name young man?" the woman asked him.

"I-Ichigo," he said.

"Okay, Ichigo let us all introduce ourselves." The woman grabbed his wrist and led him towards the bar.

Ichigo sat at a bar stool, staring at the fizzy alcohol in front of him. "Any questions?" the woman asked, taking a sip of her beverage.

"Just one," he whispered. "Is there a way to go up there?"

"The World of the Living?" she asked. He nodded. "Well, you came at the right time. In two weeks time, we have an opportunity to go up there. It happens once every two years."

Ichigo's head shot up. "Really?" he asked.

She nodded. "Every two years, on Halloween, we visit the World of the Living and celebrate the day of the dead. We tend not to interact with the humans, so we celebrate in the woods."

"And this is in two weeks?" Ichigo said feeling happily overwhelmed at what she had just said. She nodded, taking another sip. "So," he started, unsure of what to say, "What do you do here?"

She spun herself around, watching everyone dance and talk and laugh. "Anything you wish." She glanced at him. "Go take a look around and see what we do."

Ichigo walked down a narrow alleyway, his hands in his jean pockets, lost in thought. As he exited the alley, he noticed a woman—no, a girl? She was shorter than Ichigo; her hair was black and short, barely passing her ears, and wore a knee-length, white dress.

She stood on top of a railing at the edge of a cliff looking out at other buildings. He watched her as she extended her foot out. He ran towards her. She disappeared from his sight.