This is the first of, what I hope will be, a series of Bleach Fairytales I wanna write. If you have any requests, ideas, prompts etc. for a certain story, PM me =)

Once upon a time, in a far, far away nameless village, there lived a boy named Ichigo. He was a worthless, lazy, careless fellow, and his poor mother was so distressed, she died of shame. He lived with his father, who was just as foolish as him. They were poor, and just made enough to pass the days.

That was until they met the evil merchant. He chanced to see Ichigo lying under a tree, flinging around an orange plushie, and decided the boy would make a useful tool. Pulling his hat down to cover his eyes, he approached Ichigo.

"My dear boy, are you the son of Kurosaki?" he asked.

Ichigo looked surprised, and nodded, whereupon the merchant introduced himself.

"My name is Urahara" he said, "I'm your mother's brother. Don't be surprised, I haven't come to this village for 40 years. Come with me, I have to give you the treasure entrusted to you by your great-great-great-great grandfather."

Ichigo gave up trying to figure out how far behind the line went, and followed the merchant. It was not like he had anything better to do. (He would have preferred to spar, but most of the gangs were in the hospital, getting their broken bones treated.)

They traveled for a night and a day and another night, till they reached a tacky looking shop. On entering, Urahara led him to the basement, which led to a huge ground. He pointed to a hole in the ground, and asked Ichigo to climb down.

"You'll find a shiny stone in there" he said, smiling, "Bring it up."

Ichigo peered into the dark abyss, and jumped in. When he reached the bottom, he saw the stone Urahara spoke about, and called out to the merchant to haul him up.

Urahara wanted the stone before he would pull Ichigo up, and they bickered for a bit, until Urahara lost his temper and went away.

Now the stone the merchant wanted was called the Hougyoku, and had magical properties. Luckily for Ichigo,(for otherwise he would have been trapped in the hole for eternity), he accidentally rubbed the stone, setting free the genies which lived in the stone.

There were eight of them, and they tumbled out with an odd mix of quarrelling and giggling. Their leader seemed to be a blond guy, who identified himself as Hirako, (though there was a midget who seemed to be demanding attention, judging from the way she was practically throwing herself in their faces.)

"We're the Vaizards", Hirako said, "We have the power to grant your wishes. What would you like us to do?"

And so, Ichigo wished himself out of the hole (partly because he wanted to go home, and partly because it was getting a little cramped in there). He set out on the return journey, but got lost and wound up in the capital city. Here, he strolled the streets aimlessly, looking at the stalls. His attention was soon captured by a procession in the lanes. A palanquin, shaped like a rabbit, was in the midst of it, surrounded by several guards. It was the Princess Rukia, a woman of unrivalled beauty, who was seated within. As it passed Ichigo, he chanced to see a glimpse of the princess's face, and obviously, he fell in love at first sight.

That night, he was haunted by the pretty face, its gorgeous eyes, the lush lips, and thus, the next day he decided to ask the King for her hand in marriage. He used up a wish to dress himself up like a Prince, and set off towards the royal palace.

But that, my dears, is the next chapter of the story.