A/N: Hello, hello. A preliminary note from moi warning you that this'll hopefully be a long ride. I also want to warn you that I will be lazy af when it comes to updating. I'll do it as I feel like it because trying to keep a schedule for something like this doesn't really work for me. There was something else I wanted to say... Oh yeah. Rating. I give it an M rating because I can. The rating pretty much has no bearing on whether or not you read the story, but the fanfiction honchos who look out for that could probably nab me for some obscure, nitpicky detail. What I'm saying is that this work as a whole probably classifies as T, but the characters will have a colorful vocabulary (because color makes everything better) and there will be a fair deal of death and blood and violence and fun. Probably no lemons, though. I haven't tried to write a sex scene, but I feel like it won't go very well...

Disclaimer: It'd be cool to own Bleach and Code Geass, but I don't.

"What say you and I take over the world?"

Verdant took Black.

"Which world?"

"Don't be daft, young one, the afterlife."

"And you tell me not to be daft. The 'afterlife', as you call it, is a rather divided place."

Black took Verdant.

"You're smart enough, boy, to know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Of course. Without this rather pleasing noggin atop my slender neck, you would certainly be bored out of your mind."

"Do not forget the power I have bestowed upon you. You are in no position to get snarky with me, boy."

Verdant took Black.

"By the power vested in me, I certainly grant you quite a bit of indirect power, don't I? Anyway, I digress: Hell lies beneath the two surface realms of the afterlife, connecting them, at points, on the same plane of existence; almost like the earth keeps the sky revolving around the sea… this is certainly the most gutsy plan you've concocted since I've been stuck down here."

A deep baritone as Black took Verdant.

"That has not been as long as you think, boy."

"So you say, I don't understand why you can't at least grant me a watch." A silky tenor sighed decadently, "You and your ways of torture."

"You say that, but you know better than anyone down here that you've earned your way to hell, and—as an eternal being—let me tell you that your downward spiral was by far one of the most interesting."

"You are the last person I want to hear that from. Besides, at least I controlled my spiral."

"Oh yes. You sure did, but that's why it's so much worse! We give discounts to psychopaths."

"Oh? And I didn't qualify?"

"I'm sure you did at one point."

Black takes Verdant.

"You never did tell me why you insist on playing with a green chess set."

"That's a personal preference. It isn't like it has some profound effect on the way the game is played. Why not embody your own ideals rather than embracing those provided?"

Verdant advanced.

"You certainly are an idealist, ironically enough, although, you do remind me of my best friend—from when I was alive, of course. It's no wonder you and I can get along so well."

Black took Verdant.

"Checkmate."

"… How the hell?"

"The board is the world. The world is a dangerous place, oh bearer mine, and I am the scourge of the board. Now then, you said something about taking over the world? I have some past experience in that regard."

What's this? A villainous perspective? Psh. Nah. My name is Preaching Red and I'm a patron of the morally righteous protagonist! Well, read on minions and be amazed by my next endeavor (to take over the world with prose and diction)!

'It seems as though the clouds race across the skies faster / after the sun dies.'

'Jesus wept! Stop your useless musing and focus on the task!'

'Oi! Shakespeare would have been proud of that musing!'

'Can it, Carrot Top! That hollow's got a big, sharp shiny ready to nip your little tip.'

'He has quite the arsenal of big, sharp shinnies; be careful Ichigo, I think I recall that you have a test first period tomorrow.'

'Of all the things to worry about in this situation you worry about that?'

'Focus'

"Shit"

A severed lock of orange hair shivered in the brisk autumn breeze, floating freely towards the darkened yin horizon. A listless silvery plume of vapor vanished as quietly as it appeared, but the hissing didn't cease; the fading light of the yang horizon caught noir sclera and the sky blackened.

"Ichigo" worrying violet tried to tag cooling auburn, "Why did you hollowfy against a Class B hollow?"

"Hm?" Ichigo grunted in confusion. The teen took a moment's pause, cleaning out his ear with his pinky and blowing on the extremity lightly once he was satisfied, "Oh, Rukia. Why the hell are you here? It was just a Class B hollow."

A pulse of palpable, tumultuous silence followed the innocent comment.

"Uh, Rukia…?"

A twitch was all the warning Ichigo received before the petite noble leapt into action.

"I'm gonna bash your sorry face in, dumbass!"

"What'd I say?!"

"C'mon Rukia, lay off him." Tattooed eyebrows tilted as smoldering irises rolled in exasperation, "it's four in the morning and the kid has classes tomorrow."

"Renji!" Ichigo grinned, decidedly glad to see the redheaded lieutenant of the sixth. He bolted up now that the diminutive Shinigami had vacated his personal space, making eye contact with his guardian angel once he fully righted himself, "You guys have a good one. I'll see you at Kisuke's tomorrow after school."

Renji waved him off haphazardly, "Yeah, yeah. Get yer sleep, Strawberry. Can't have you failing that test tomorrow morning."

"How does everyone know about my test?"

Renji and Rukia were in no position to clarify the teenager's confusion, for the pair was already bickering about whether or not Ichigo's test was tomorrow or today.

"Technically, by the logic of dates, it's today!" Rukia wagged her index finger at the much taller sixth division lieutenant.

Renji put his own index finger on hers, pushing it down and forcing the Kuchiki heiress to make a fist once again, "Maybe so, but Ichigo hasn't slept yet, therefore his internal clock has yet to reset…"

Ichigo walked away with a roll of the eyes; those two were pieces of work by any definition of the phrase. If it wasn't for their strength, he doubted the Gotei would put up with their antics. However, if Ichigo knew the soutaicho as well as he thought he did, he figured that old geezer enjoyed antics a little too much. After all, Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake had been captains for almost 400 years now and they hadn't been kicked out yet.

"Home sweet home" Ichigo mused, sliding his soul smoothly back into its mortal vassal. His irises veiled beneath quickly drooping eyelids, Ichigo didn't fight the urge to pass out. Welcoming the warm darkness with open arms, the Substitute Shinigami of Karakura fell into blissful unconsciousness.

Morning, sweet and simple in its purest form, showed its dainty face rather bluntly through the open curtains. Taking advantage of the unobstructed path, the light dashed forward giddily, eagerly bouncing and dancing atop Ichigo's protectively tightening eyelids.

"Holy hell it's bright this morning…" The substitute Shinigami murmured to himself, "What time is it?"

'7:03? Looks like you have seven minutes to ward off your father.'

"Seems that way, doesn't it. If I hurry, I can take a shower before I get to school."

'Want to look good for Orihime?'

"Dumbass." Ichigo didn't even dignify his hollow with the satisfaction of eliciting a response.

The warm water splashing against the back of his head almost nullified the sound of his father crashing through his room and flying out the second story window. Ichigo could only roll his eyes as he heard shouts of surprise and worry from the early morning joggers that his father undoubtedly scared the life out of. Taking the incident for what it was, he pushed the handle down, cutting off the flow of water to the nozzle.

Wandering down the stairs in a much more refreshed manner, Ichigo took note of the missing members of his family; namely his sisters.

"Hey Old Man!" Ichigo called, "Where are Karin and Yuzu?"

In response to his question, the front door opened with a startling bang. Ichigo quickly tilted his gaze in order to take in the bedraggled form of his father, "Nice look, Dad."

Placing his hand on his lower back and pushing forward—sighing as the action elicited a few pops—Isshin plopped down at the dining table.

"They have an early day today, something about an honor role breakfast."

"They made the honor role and didn't tell me?"

"You were out all last night; they didn't want to bother you. If you ask me, I think they should have absolutely bothered you. You're their big brother and should be damn proud of them."

"I am damn proud of them!" Ichigo exclaimed before sighing, "You didn't even drive them in?"

"They wanted to walk." Isshin's lab coat ruffled along the shoulders as he shrugged in response, "Don't ask me why. I don't usually question their decisions too often anyway; I trust them."

"Yeah?" Ichigo plopped down next to his father, "So what's for breakfast then?"

"Burnt toast" Isshin deadpanned

"Moron."

Karakura High

It was the shouting that alerted him first.

Ichigo wheeled around with his arm raised in self-defense, and down went Keigo Asano.

"You should really stop doing that, Keigo." Tatsuki Arisawa commented as she strode around the corner, "I'm pretty sure Ichigo's been doing his fair share of lifting lately."

"I agree with Arisawa-san, Asano-san." The other blue haired member of their friend group, Mizuiro, made his clean-cut appearance, "Those biceps speak volumes, Ichigo."

"But I have something important to tell him!" Keigo whined, shooting up from his previously prone position.

Tatsuki rolled her eyes, "If he hasn't heard about the transfer student I might have to punch him."

"Transfer student?" Orihime Inoue piped up, peeking around Tatsuki to make eye contact with her.

"Maybe I should punch you instead." Tatsuki murmured good-naturedly

"Yeah, yeah." Ichigo waved his hand, "I heard about him. He's here all the way from the good old U.S. of A."

"Or Her."

"Hm?"

"Or her." Tatsuki repeated

"Yeah, Ichigo!" Keigo hung off Ichigo lazily, "The new kid could be a blond bombshell from California!"

"Jeez Keigo is that all you think about?" Ichigo brushed him off lightly, making sure not to plant him on the ground.

"There are worse things to think about!"

"… Fair enough."

Interrupting the pregnant pause that was bound to follow Keigo's comment, the bell sounded and the group from Class 3-E headed off to classroom 3-E.

As Ichigo expected, the teacher, Ms. Ochi, was all over the transfer student. Ichigo wasn't all that impressed with him, but then again it was rather hard to impress him considering the things he'd seen. What surprised the Substitute Shinigami was the way Shinji Hirako, who sat to his right, was ogling, weirdly enough, the new kid.

"Hirako!" Ichigo hissed, "Stop staring at the new guy!"

Shinji appeared scandalized by Ichigo's accusation, "Staring? I wasn't staring!"

"Yes you were, it was startling to unsettle him and me." Ichigo retorted, noting the glances the black haired boy was sending their way.

"Okay, fine. But you have to admit that that kid is pretty to an illegal degree."

'Pretty?' Ichigo's hollow laughed, 'The only other "pretty" guy we know is Byakuya Kuchiki!'

Ichigo stared at Shinji in confusion before deciding to examine the kid in the front of the class as well.

"Yeah, sure. Objectively speaking, the kid is attractive." Then something occurred to Ichigo, "What the hell are you talking about? You're like 400 years old! How can you be engaging in such trifle banter?"

Unbeknownst to the bickering pair, the immediate surrounding area had overheard their conversation and was now also staring at the new kid, measuring him and taking note of his appearance. Ms. Ochi also took notice of this and chose to commence the lesson to avert the continuing situation.

"Class, as I'm sure you've all noticed, this is our new student. His name is Lelouch Lamperouge, and he tells me he put as many "L's" in his name as possible just to annoy you."

This elicited a chuckle, and everyone's attention was diverted from the student's appearance except, seemingly, for Shinji.

"Shinji, you've really gotta stop looking at the kid, you're unsettling me let alone him." Ichigo shook Shinji's shoulder as a form of warning, "It's gone beyond simple staring; it's like you're examining him."

"Ichigo" Shinji said darkly, "This kid has spiritual pressure."

"What?" Ichigo hissed

"It's very well suppressed—I almost can't sense it over your tower of power—but it's definitely there, and it seems like he's well trained in its arts."

"Well shit." Ichigo groaned, "Think he's here to recruit me to be a Visored?"

"Funny."

Before Ichigo or Shinji could delve deeper into that topic, Lelouch addressed the class with a light bow, "Hello, my name, as you've just heard, is Lelouch Lamperouge. I look forward to acquainting myself with all of you in the coming days."

'He's very eloquent for a foreigner.' Ichigo's hollow commented in confusion, as though he was actually contemplating the questions associated with such a trait.

"You're very eloquent, Mr. Lamperouge" Ms. Ochi exclaimed with enthusiasm, "How well do you speak Japanese?"

"If not fluently then pretty close to it. I lived in Tokyo from age 8 to 14, so although it is my second language I know it very well."

"Splendid!" Ochi grinned, "I hope you know that I will be putting you on the spot come English class!"

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

"Great! Now, if you'd please take the seat behind Shinji Hirako, the boy with the blond hair, next to Ichigo, the boy with orange hair."

"Of course."

Making his way over, Lelouch placed his bag delicately on the ground before sitting down. With great deliberation, Lelouch sought the attentions of Shinji and Ichigo, "Nice to meet you."

The pair nodded, turning their heads forward stiffly but not before sharing a glance full of uncertainty. Of course, if they had kept their attention on Lelouch, they would have noticed the grin etching its way onto his facial features.

Urahara Shōten

To him, it was an earthquake.

A rare grimace made its way onto Urahara Kisuke's face as the gate to the afterlife slammed closed, sending a shockwave throughout the living world.

"They're here, Yoruichi."

A dozing black cat opened one blazing eye, making eye contact with the blond man's grey orbs. The cat noted the tilting of Kisuke's green striped hat, shading his eyes and illustrating the man's displeasure over the event. Flicking her tail was the only signal of recognition she gave, but Kisuke knew she understood the gravity of the situation.

"Does this mean the Head Captain knows Aizen is planning a coup?"

Yoruichi shifted her body, straightening her legs with a light yawn as she did so. Both eyes opened and she directed her gaze to the beleaguered shopkeeper, feeling sympathetic as she took in his hunched over appearance.

'He looks so small in that stupid green haori'

Kisuke Urahara was a shell of the Shinigami captain he used to be. Time will do that to a man; time and regret are the two most prominent causes that result in a beleaguered appearance. Unfortunately for Kisuke Urahara, he has both burdens weighing upon his shoulders.

"Don't ask questions you know I can't answer, Kisuke."

A snowy fan quickly covered a sheepish grin, as the humble shopkeeper opted to avert his gaze.

"My apologies. However, Yamamoto-soutaicho knows we're here—he can't possibly be that daft—and he'll undoubtedly send his little scion our way eventually. Pretty soon we'll be involved whether we like it or not."

Looking back to the cat, he noticed Yoruichi was now facing away from him—towards the suburbs if he remembered correctly. The sun slowly clambered upwards behind them now, giving the town of Karakura a majestic, royal aqua backdrop. His grey eyes searched the horizon for the object of Yoruichi's focus. Kisuke's gaze suddenly began to darken as he realized why she was looking to the suburbs.

"Hopefully the Old Man knows to stay out of Isshin's business."

"You can't honestly believe he will." Yoruichi flicked her tail dismissively; "Ichigo's Reiryoku is exceptionally powerful for a human. There is no doubt in my mind Yamamoto will target him first and foremost. Not only is he Aizen's greatest threat, Ichigo has enough willpower to power an entire city—metaphorically speaking of course; as a candidate, I doubt anyone could be more ideal for what Yamamoto has in mind. However, I'm sure you've noticed the unrelated, but also powerful, energy emanating from the other side of town."

"A brick wall couldn't miss it, Yoruichi. It's important we ascertain as much as possible about this new source before the Shinigami representative gets her hands on him or her."

"Him." Yoruichi corrected.

"Hm?"

"Our new source is a male, Kisuke."

"What makes you say that?"

"Men seem to always have a certain undertone to their spirit energy—whether it be underlying or on the sleeve—that makes them easily identifiable. It's almost like a gender stamp on a person's Reiryoku. In this case, I sense deep-rooted, well concealed fear and malice. That's not a good combination, Kisuke."

"I'm still a little shaky on that undertone thing…"

"Kisuke…" Yoruichi groaned, "You're missing the point! This new source is a liability, perhaps even more so than Ichigo."

"Wow. Never did I think I'd see the day when someone surpassed Ichigo on the loose cannon scale."

"Kisuke!"

"Right, sorry." Kisuke chuckled meekly, "Can I entrust that job to you? Oh meager feline?"

Yoruichi smirked, her fangs glistening in the early rays, "Of course you can. However, that means you're gonna have to deal with Ichigo and the new representative."

Kisuke paled as the possibilities, none of them relaxing and all involving some form of calamity, multiplied before his eyes.

"Wait… can I stalk the new guy instead?"

"Good luck, Kisuke."

With a flick of her tail she vanished into the brittle stillness of dawn, leaving behind no evidence of her ever having been there.

Kisuke, left alone with his thoughts, couldn't help but ponder the ramifications of the Soutaicho's decisions.

'I'm having doubts about this being an action on the part of the Soutaicho. This is most certainly not his M.O…. Aizen?'

Kisuke grimaced: if the megalomaniacal captain of Squad 5 was somehow pulling the strings behind this then these two prospects could be in a great deal of trouble.

'No. Not just them. The moment Aizen starts his big shebang, everyone—willing or unwilling—will be involved. Hopefully we can be ready when the bomb drops.'

A/N: I understand that it's kinda short, but it's the first chapter. It's almost a prologue. I felt like if I continued with it further (in the same style that I used) it would become annoying, so I took a bit of a word count hit here. I think it's like 3 words over 3,000 for those that like numbers.

Also, I can get pretty lazy regarding editing and whatnot. If anyone wants to volunteer to do some textual editing that'd be sweet (A beta reader in fanfictish).

Review, favorite, follow. Hit one or all of those buttons to make me a happy author, and I'll make you happy too if you know what I mean :P (The review button is my favorite—just between you and me).