Introduction

The room was dark, with the exception of a feeble table lamp that was barely lighting the place. The table was old, as it had the feel of being around for centuries. Around the table were five chairs, which had felt the weight of numerous and powerful individuals over the years. From the shadows came five individuals, whose presence could be felt for probably miles around. Then, a strong male voice began to speak as they sat down.

"My Fuhrer, the plans for attack are almost complete. We should be able to attack the Seireitei in about one or two days." said the voice. From the top of the table, a second male voice began to speak, this one with a more analytical tone. "Our enhanced black sun technology has been fully updated, my Fuhrer. We should have little trouble in reaching the Soul Society." From across the table, a sultry female began to talk. "My coven is ready for your commands, Fuhrer. Whatever you wish, we shall perform." a final, more guttural feminine voice arose. "My Fuhrer, my stealth squads are available at your disposal. We shall take out your enemies without making a sound."

As this female voice stopped, attention was brought to the leader at the table. His presence was stronger than anyone else, and they could feel him gazing into their minds. He began to speak. "Ladies and Gentlemen, you are performing admirably. I can feel it in the air: The reich will rise up again! With your help, we can make this dream into a reality, and put the Soul Society in it's true place. In this, the setting of the sun, the Nazis shall be recognized anew. With these final words, I say to you: Leben Sie lang das Schwarze Sonne!" The others all shouted in unison: "Leben Sie lang das Schwarze Sonne!" Then, the five figures let, and the light was snuffed out.

Chapter 1

"Mr. Kurasaki...Wake Up!!" Said the teacher in the front of the classroom. "You have been in my class for almost an hour, and you have slept through at least half of it!" Just then, an orange-haired boy in the back began to rise slowly, as if he was just getting out of a trance. "4 times 2 & 7 years ago" he said in a flurry. "This time, Ichigo, you better have a good excuse for sleeping in my class!" said the teacher in a more furious tone than before.

"As a matter of fact, sir, I do." said Ichigo. "My younger sister had an accident last night, and we had to take he to the hospital, so I stayed with her over night to keep an eye on her."

"Oh" said the teacher."My apologies...I didn't know. Please give your younger sister my regards."

"I will" said Ichigo "I'll try not to dose off in class again, if I can help."

"As long as you try, I'll be happy with it" the teacher said. "Alright everyone, class is done. Be sure to read chapters 1 - 3 for next week" he concluded. All of the students rose up and left class, save for a small group in the back of the class.

"So, Ichigo, you wanna go to the arcade or get some ramen?" a long, orange-haired girl spoke, with a cutesy voice that could sweeten anything.

"Nah, Orihime. I'm still too tired after what's been going on recently." Ichigo said "Maybe in about a day or two."

"Okay", she said, and left the classroom soon after.

"Chad, Uriu, you still feeling a little off after what's been going on?" he went on to say shortly after.

"Na" said Chad "I've been mostly okay, just feeling a little dizzy at the wrong time and such."

Uriu went on to say: "I still rearing from all the energy that I've use up. I'm amazed that I managed to come to school today."

"Well, go home at get some rest. That's what I intend to do." Said Ichigo, and then he left the room.

Maybe he needed more than rest, Ichigo though.

Chapter 2

Ichigo felt bad about lying to his teacher. It wasn't that he thought it would be fun to lie to his teacher. He lied so he could hide what he had done over the past couple weeks. The whole Bount debacle had left him and his friends drained, so by the time they came back to the world of the living, they were incredibly tired, and had little energy left. He wished that being a Soul Reaper wasn't so tiring, and that it was a little easier on his body.

He put the past behind him as he walked home. Going home was something he wanted to do in a while. Home is where his father and his sisters were. Home was where he could get a hot meal, a relaxing warm shower, and a nice soft bed. These were things that he was happily thinking about as he was walking home. Then, all of a sudden, Ichigo just stopped walking, and stood right where he was.

Ichigo though that he felt something tap him on the back, and he looked around and saw nothing. He then though that something was in front of his foot blocking his path, but saw nothing. Then he looked up, and saw what was perhaps the strangest thing he had ever seen yet.

He was looking straight up at the sun, something that most people shouldn't do, lest they wanted their eyesight gone. Being a Soul Reaper, this wasn't a problem. Ichigo noticed the sun in a it's bright glory, then, just for a couple of seconds, saw the sun blink back and forth between light and darkness. As this was going on, he noticed that his spiritual pressure was fluctuating from high to low. After this blinking, the sun went back to normal, and was shining as normally as it was before.

This sent a wave of horror and shock through him, and he then went racing home, hoping that his family wasn't in danger.

Chapter 3

He just got to the front door, when he violently opened the door, and shouted "Dad! Little Sisters! Are you alright!?" Fortunately, everything was alright on this day.

"Ichigo, we're in here. You didn't have to slam the door open and yell" said his dad.

"Yeah, big bro, we're in the kitchen. Did something bad happen today while you were at school, or when you were walking home today?" said Ichigo's 1st sister, Yuzu.

"Little Sis, is Karin here? Is she okay?" Ichigo said frantically, as if he was losing breath with every word he spoke.

"Yeah Ichigo, I'm here. You sound like a cat that got kicked. Wipe your feet before you walk into the house." said Karin, Ichigo's 2nd sister. Despite being younger than him, she always tried to speak to him as if she was older.

"Thank God you guys are okay." Ichigo said with a sigh of relief. "I though that something had happened to you three as I was walking home. The strangest thing happened to me on the way home. I can't really describe what happened." he went on to say.

"Well, whatever happened, I'm glad that you're home" said Ichigo's father.

"Yeah, Yeah" said Karin. "We're all here. Now lets go eat dinner before my stomach decides to pop out and attack ya."

"Alright, Alright" said Ichigo. "Let's go have dinner. I'm starving!"

After the meal, Ichigo decided to go up to the bathroom for the shower that he wanted in a long time. He could imagine the sound of the water bouncing off of him and the stall, the soothing heat, and the relative peace & quiet that could only be obtained by taking this shower. He finally got to the bathroom, opened the door and it hit him.

It felt just like earlier. His spiritual pressure was fluctuating just as before, only that it was quicker, and that it felt a little more painful. Fortunately, it only lasted about 10 second. After that amount of time, he felt as normal as before. Thinking that it was himself, he went into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He stripped himself of his clothes, and threw them into the corner, barely missing the clothes basket. He stepped into the shower, and pulled the curtain in front of him so noone would see him naked. He leaned down to turn on the water, and another fluctuation in his spiritual pressure occurred. This flux felt strange, in that it was only 3 seconds long, and there wasn't any apparent pain. He did however, saw images of a dark, almost black-like sun during this short amount of time. He once again threw these images into the back of his mind, and finished up his shower.

"Okay guys, I'm heading off to bed. I'll see you in the morning" said Ichigo as he was heading off to his room. With how he was feeling at the moment, a little sleep was all that he wanted. He got into some simple pajamas, lifted up the covers, got under then, and drifted off to sleep, all the while thinking about what had happened today.

Chapter 4

On a balcony high in the Seireitei, Captain Hitsugaya and his subordinate Rangiku were looking out into the blue sky above the entire Soul Society, thinking about the events that occurred within the past couple days. Finally, Rangiku began to speak.

"Must we deal with trivial things such as this?"

"Trivial. What do you mean by that?" spoke Hitsugaya.

"I meant things like the Bounts, Hallows, and other such stuff that takes up our time." said Rangiku. "We waste our time with things like these, and we never have time to fix our own problems."

"There is truth in your words, Rangiku." said Hitsugaya. "Indeed, these things do waste our time, but if we ignored them, then all of this would become dust." As he was speaking, he noticed than Rangiku wasn't completely paying attention, but was looking at something up in the sky, and then he noticed something as well.

"What is that?" said Hitsugaya.

"Can't quite make it out. Looks like some sort of large metal bird." said Rangiku. "It's making a lot of noise. Was there any notice about the science division testing anything today?"

"Not that I can think of." said Hitsugaya as he was walking away "I'll send one of my men to the science division to see if they are testing anything."

"Captain look! There's dozens of them!" shouted Rangiku as she pointed towards a whole swarm of then.

Captain Hitsugaya ran back towards Rangiku, and saw what she was seeing: Groups of tightly formed metallic bird-shaped things were flying in the air, all in tight formation, never deterring off the path. As the both of them observed, the flying objects were heading straight for the Seireitei.

"I don't think this is a science division test, sir." said Rangiku.

"You're right." said Hitsugaya. "I'll go inform the other captains of what's happen..." Before he could finish what he was going to say, all of the flying object were opening up to what was apparently a hatch underneath, and was releasing smaller, metallic objects that were falling quickly to the ground.

"Captain, what are those things that are falling down?." said Rangiku. In about 5 seconds, she was about to get her answer, and it is an answer that she wished she didn't want.

About the time that she finished her sentence, a series of loud explosions rocked the entire Seireitei. After those explosion occurred, another set of them happened in another direction.

"Captain! What the hell is going on?" yelled Rangiku.

"I don't know." shouted Hitsugaya. "Get all the men prepared of battle. Whoever this new foe is, they are more bold than anything we have ever faced."

"Sir yes Sir." said Rangiku, as she gave her superior the proper salute and left.

Hitsugaya stood there, watching the flying objects continue to drop what were apparently bombs, bombs that apparently could pierce through the shields of the Seireitei. He thought to himself "Who would do this? Who would have the nerve to attack the soul society, and when we were off the heels of a conflict with the Bounts." His thoughts were cut short when his subordinate, Rangiku, returned.

"Sir, I have good news & bad news." said Rangiku in a wearily tone.

"Good news first." said Hitsugaya. "Good news makes the bad news easier to take in."

"Alright, the good news is coming first" said Rangiku. "I have the squad prepared for your command, and I took the liberty to inform the other captains of the situation."

"Okay" said Hitsugaya. "The good news is out of the way. Lay the bad news on me."

"The bad news" said Rangiku "is that many of the squads have been decimated through this attack, including your squad...sir"

"Damn it!" shouted Hitsugaya "Oh well. My squad is at least partially intact. Prepare them fo..."

"That will not be necessary, Squad Captain Hitsugaya" said a captain who was walking towards the both of them. He appeared to be older than anyone who was at the Seireitei, and had a regal aura around him.

"Head Captain" said Hitsugaya in an amazed tone. "Do you know what is going on?"

"To some extent" said the head captain "We're facing a foe that we may not have a chance of willing against."

"What do you mean?" said Rangiku as she was looking at the captain in a shocked expression.

"Follow me, and I will show you" said the head captain, beckoning Hitsugaya and his subordinate to follow him.

Chapter 5

Ichigo woke up the next morning feeling horrible. Nasty headache, achey joints, and a upset stomach were just a few of the things that was wrong with him. He noticed that something wasn't right with his spiritual pressure. He could still feel it within him, and was at the same level as it was the day before, but he noticed that there seemed to be a second presence along side his normal power, a presence that was there much longer than he ever could detect.

Despite ignoring what was going on the previous day, Ichigo finally decided to do something about it. He took down some notes in his head as he was getting dressed and getting his school supplies, and analyzed what had happened the day before as he was eating breakfast.

"Ichigo, you seem occupied with something. You want to tell me what's going on?" said Ichigo's father.

"Something is going on dad" replied Ichigo. "It's personal, so I'd rather not talk about it."

"Alright Ichigo, you don't have to be so pushy." said his dad "I didn't mean to pry into your business."

"Dad, there's no need to apology to him." said Ichigo's second sister, Karin. "It looks like he didn't get his beauty sleep, and he gonna be cranky to everybody. So we gotta give him a little jab or two every now and then to get him back to his normal self."

"That's one of the few things I can agree on with you" said Ichigo.

"Yeah, Yeah, don get your hopes up" replied Karin.

"Well guys, I'm off to school" said Ichigo. "Take care of your selves"

"Take care!" replied Ichigo's family.

Now that he was out of the house, he could finally feel a little more at ease. Thinking that he was endangering his father and sisters after his ordeal the previous day, he went off to school, to another day of average education, but at least his friends would be there.

Chapter 6

We he got to school, he headed straight for his homeroom class, wanting to see the friends that made him feel better day after day. As he headed straight for the classroom, he also went over all the thoughts about the previous day, particularly the semi-repeating images of the dark, almost black sun. He discarded that though as he opened the door to his homeroom, and what he saw before him was a bit of a surprise.

He saw his friends in their usual seats, but they didn't seem to be their usual, peppy selves. In fact, they seemed to be as miserable looking as he was. He went to his seat, which was conveniently in the middle of them, sat down, and began a conversation with Orihime, the one who was closest to him.

"Morning Orihime, you seem a little under the weather. Are you feeling alright?" said Ichigo.

She turned slowly towards him, looking a little pale, began to speak.

"I'm okay, Ichigo. I seem to be feeling a little out of it today" she said softly, as if to not hurt her throat.

"Okay" said Ichigo in a worried tone. "Chad, how are you do..."

He turned to Chad, who was sitting in the upper right corner, and noticed that he was asleep. Before he entered the classroom, Ichigo saw he completely awake, if slightly slouching over his desk. "He must have fallen asleep as I began to sit down" said Ichigo under his breath.

"Ichigo" said Uriu as he was taping his friend's shoulder.

Ichigo turned around, glad to see that one of his friends wasn't so sickly looking.

"Yeah, Uriu?" said Ichigo.

"Ichigo, did you have any strange dreams last night?" asked Uriu hesitantly.

"I did, actually. Why do you want to know?" said Ichigo, thinking that maybe he wasn't the only one having problems.

"Did your dream happen to involve some sort of..." said Uriu, suddenly stopping to catch his breath.

"Go on" said Ichigo.

"Sorry Ichigo, I seem to be out of breath." said Uriu, finally catching his breath. "I meant to finish my question earlier. As I was saying earlier, did your dream involve a black sun?"

Shocked that he had asked, Ichigo waited for the right response to come to his head. Finally, the right response came to him.

"How did you know?" he said.

"Well" said Uriu "I think I may have had the same dream, as well as Chad and Orihime. There also see...."

"Okay everyone, class is now in session!" spoke the teacher as he walked into the room.

"I'll tell you more after class today." whispered Uriu before the teacher noticed him.

"Thank you, Uriu" said Ichigo in his head. "I guess it hasn't happened to just me."

Now that Ichigo had at least a scrap of new information, he could try to unravel the mystery that was set before him and his friends. A mystery, he thought, that would take time to solve.

Chapter 7

The head captain, as well as Captain Hitsugaya and his subordinate Rangiku, had been walking for almost two hours. Then, all of a sudden, the head captain stopped in front of a medium-sized, worn-down building in a dusty corner of the soul society. The building appeared to not have been used in at least 50 years. A small sign was hanging on the door, and translated, meant "Do Not Enter!" The head captain finally began to speak.

"Here we are" said the Head Captain "I haven't seen this building in at least 67 years."

"Is this true, Head Captain?" said Rangiku.

"Indeed" he replied "Within this building is the reason behind this attack, as well as the return of a powerful foe."

"Who is this foe that we face?" spoke Squad Captain Hitsugaya.

"All will be revealed shortly." said the head captain "Just have a little patience."

The head captain took off the sign hanging on the door, and proceeded to put his hand in a right pocket, and began to search for something. Rangiku noticed that the head captain pulled out a old, rusty key. The captain put the key in the lock on the door, and gave it a turn. He put the key back into his pocket, gave the doorknob a slow turn, and pushed the door open. The head captain then beckoned Hitsugaya and Rangiku to come inside.

"Sir, it's dark in here. Do you have a light?" said Rangiku.

"As a matter of fact, I do." said the head captain, as he reached into the left side of his coat, and pulled out a torch sand a match, then lit it.

"We actually have to go down into the basement of this building." said the head captain "There's a light source down there that's better than this torch. I only lit this so we could find our way around up here."

"That seems logical" said Hitsugaya.

"It does, squad captain" said the head captain. "Now come. What's downstairs is crucial to this recent attack."

He beckoned both Hitsugaya and Rangiku to follow him into the building. When they entered into the building, they found nothing but dust and a few broken tables and chairs, nothing that seemed to offer any form of information as to who their attackers were. Yet, the head captain showed them to a small trap door in the corner of the building, and proceeded to lift it up. They saw that there was a dark shaft, with a ladder that led down the shaft into wherever they were going.

"Down this way" said the head captain. "We aren't far off from our destination."

"Head Captain, I know I asked earlier" said Hitsugaya "But who exactly is it that's attacking us?"

"As I said earlier" replied the head captain "All will be explained soon."

The three of them climbed down the ladder into the shaft, getting closer to their dark destination. They reached the bottom of the shaft, and proceeded to walk towards a large wooden door. The three of them were standing in front of it, gazing at it's size, and the bizarre symbols that were covering it. The symbols appeared to be of a sun shaped, yet all of them were black, and many of them had slanted rays protruding from them. Some had just four, and others had six to twelve rays protruding from them.

"What is this?" asked Rangiku.

"Something that is perhaps the greatest threat to the soul society" replied the head captain.

The head captain touched a couple of the suns in a certain order, and the wooden door began to open. At first, nothing could be seen in the room. Even the torches were barely illuminating the room. All of that changed when the head captain walked toward a small switch, flipped it, and the whole room became lit with a bright light. The view before them was shocking.

As they put out their torches, they were gazing at what appeared to be a small warehouse. At each corner of the room was a red flag, with a white circle and a black sun in the middle of them.

"There seems to be a black sun theme going on here" said Hitsugaya.

"Indeed" replied Rangiku

They continued to scan the room. Two things brought their attention. The first was a large draped object in the middle of the room.

"It appears to be some sort of machine" said the head captain as he was looking under the the drape.

The second item that brought their attention was a bookshelf up against the back wall of the warehouse. Both Hitsugaya & Rangiku began walking towards the shelf, and began to examine the titles on the bindings. Titles like Opus Magnum, Irminenschaft, Alchemy of the Suns, and Ariosophy fascinated the both of them. There was one book, however, that quickly caught their attention.

"This book seems like it may offer a solution" said Hitsugaya as he was handing the head captain a black-leather bound book, with red lettering on it's binding that showed it's sinister title: Black Sun and the Reich.

"This is a book that I haven't seen in a long time" said the head captain in a heavy tone.

"Head captain, can you finally give us some answers?" said Rangiku, with a tone that was laden with impatience.

"I knew it was coming to this eventually" said the head captain with a sorrowful voice. "Well, pull up a chair. It's about time I told you what's going on."

The three of them found chairs thick with dust, cleaned them off, and sat down for a long talk.

The head captain began to speak. "In the year 1943 in the mortal world, in the continent called Europe, an event called World War II was at it's peak. Nazi Germany still had it's iron grip on the continent, but their enemies were beginning to beat them, and badly. They were searching for a weapon that would tip the balance of power back to their side."

"A history lession?" said Hitsugaya "We don't have time for this!"

"Be quite and let me finish!" yelled the head captain. "As I was saying earlier, the Nazis were searching for a weapon that would help them win the war. Then, a sect of the Nazis called the Thule Society discovered an alternative energy source located in a dimension parallel to that of the earth."

"The Black Sun, I'm assuming" said Rangiku.

"Yes, subordinate Rangiku, it is" said the head captain "Now will you please let me finish?"

"Yes, sir" she responded.

The head captain continued to speak his tale. "The Thule Society somehow opened a one-way portal to the soul society, sending in a small group of soldiers and scientists, along with the machine behind us, and some occult-related books that are on the shelf over there. Their goal, apparently, was to somehow use the machine they brought to puncture a hole into the Veil, where the black sun was housed."

"That seems logical" said Hitsugaya "But why did they do it here?"

"Apparently, connections to the Veil are stronger here than in the world of the living, and more stable." replied the head captain "In that book you're holding, it describes their plan to conquer Europe and the rest of the mortal world using the Black Sun's power. In the last two chapters, it even describes how they were eventually coming to our world and conquering it as well. Fortunately, we managed to discover the invaders, and quickly put a stop to their plan. After that, we hid their machine and all references down here, never to see the light again."

"But what are they do here?" asked Rangiku in a slightly worried voice. "Are they trying to see revenge or something?"

"That, my good lady, is what I've been trying to figure out." said the head captain "Something about this attack seems different, as if it was performed in a more organized manner. In any case, we must put the entire soul society on high alert. We must defend everything at all cost."

"Agreed" said Hitsugaya. "I'll get my squad to assist the others as much as possible."

"That would be wise" replied the head captain.

"Head Captain, what were those things that were attacking earlier?" asked Rangiku.

"The larger objects that were dropping those explosives are called bombers" said the head captain "It's their job to soften up any resistance before their ground forces attack. As for the smaller objects that were following the bombers, they're called fighters. They make sure that the bombers do their job, as well as performing strafing attacks on any ground or air forces that get in their way. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!" she responded.

"You two, dismissed." said the head captain. "I have some things I need to take care of."

Chapter 8

"Did you hear all of that?" said the head captain, as he was looking at a corner of the room.

"Yes I did." said a dark-skinned woman in a orange uniform. "Seems we have a problem on our hands."

"Well, Yoruichi" said the head captain with a heavy sigh. "There was bound to be a retributive attack from the Nazis sooner or later."

"Head Captain, why didn't you tell Hitsugaya and Rangiku the whole story?" asked Rangiku.

"That's for me to know, and for the rest of you to find out at a later time." said the head captain. "Yoruichi, I have some orders for you."

"Yes sir." said Yoruichi "What are your orders?"

"First" said the head captain, as he was taking out a small bundle of papers from his coat. "Give these papers to Rukia Kuchki. They detail a set of orders that she must perform immediately."

"Understood." said Yoruichi. "What is your second set or orders?"

"Second" said the head captain "Is to inform the captain of the science division and some of his people to come down here and investigate this machine and the books that are in this room. Understand?"

"Yes sir." said Yoruichi, in her usual obedient tone. "Is that all?"

"Yes it is" said the head captain. "Your dismissed."

Yoruichi left the room in a hurry, while the head captain was still seated in his chair. He seemed to be feeling heavy with a burden that has been with him for a long time. Then, he began to speak to himself.

"What have we done?" said the head captain sorrowfully. "Has it finally come to this?"

Chapter 9

The class had finally ended, and Ichigo was just about to fall asleep. At the time, he felt so mentally & physically drained he could barely stand up, much less able to stay awake. He tried to get at least 10 minutes of sleep before he decided to head home, but after 3 minutes, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He woke up and slowly turned to whoever it was that tapped him. He was surprised to find out that it was Chad who tapped him on the shoulder.

"Chad, you're awake." said Ichigo, sleepily "Are you feeling okay? You were knocked out cold earlier in the class."

"Eh, I've felt better." said Chad.

"Well, that's a relief." Ichigo went on to say. "I thought that you died or something."

"For a moment" Chad said "I though I was dead."

Ichigo felt a small increase in personal energy come back to him after his quick conversation with his friend. He looked around to see if any of his other friends were still in the room, but no-one else was there. They all must have left for home, he thought to himself. He was glad his friends managed to head back home, as they seemed to be a little more lively and energetic than him. "Well, maybe I have a little pep in me to walk back to my house" he thought to himself. A moment later after he put his things into his backpack, he rose from his chair and began to walk home.

As he was walking out of school, he began to feel more of his spiritual energy coming back to him, and revitalizing his entire body. With each step, he was feeling more like himself before the incident. Despite this, he was still worried that another disruption to his spiritual pressure work weaken him, maybe even kill him. He was making a plan to visit Uriu, but quickly and rashly put that thought in the back of his head.

The walk home today felt more enjoyable than any over the others since the incident. He felt more pep in his step, and his mind was more clear than it had been in days. He didn't have to worry about his family being in danger, since he felt no hostile energy surrounding them. A couple of steps later, he seemed to be back to normal.

"Ah, everything's better now." said Ichigo outloud.

Chapter 10

Ichigo got to his house about a half-hour later. He was very excited to see his two sisters, as well as his father. He was hoping that his dad wouldn't perform one of the crazy sneak attacks like he usually does. He opened the front door, and heartily yelled "Everyone, I'm home!" There was no response. He yelled again to acknowledge that he made it home, but there was still no response. Ichigo shrugged his head, and walked right in.

He took off his shoes at the normal spot, and placed his backpack right next to them. He walked into the kitchen to get a snack, when he noticed a note placed on the kitchen table. He walked over, picked it up, and began to read it to himself.

"Dear Ichigo.

I'll be out of town for about 1 week, and I have your sisters with me. We can't tell you why, but suffice it to say, it is important business. I left you some money in a box in the living room, and there are a couple of dinners in the fridge. Hope your week goes well.

Sincerely,

Dad"

Ichigo was rather puzzled by this note. Usually when his father left for important business, he was usually told, and his sisters would be at a friend's house, not with him. He put the note back down on the table, and went to the living room. Sure enough, there was a box on the coffee table. He looked inside, and there was enough money there for a week, as the note said. He went back into the kitchen, and opened the fridge. There were dinners in the fridge, and all of them were his favorites.

"This is very odd" said Ichigo, as he pondered why his family left in such a hurry, and why they wouldn't tell him where they went. "Perhaps they're getting me a surprise, and it's gonna take them a while to get it" he went on in his head.

He filed this thought in another shelf in his head as he opened up the fridge to grab a dinner. He tossed it into the microwave, set the timer for the recommended amount, and headed to the cabinet to get a drink. The timer went off as he was heading back to the kitchen, when he grabbed his dinner. He took it and his drink to the living room, where he could sit down and eat in peace.

He ate his dinner in twenty minutes. It was a very satisfying meal, he though to himself. He put the dirty dishes in the sink to clean later, and put his drink container into the trash can. With a yawn and a stretch, he went upstairs to take a shower. He got to the bathroom, when he noticed that there was another note on the sink. Curious, he picked up the note, and began to read it.

"Dear Ichigo,

I forgot to put this down on the first note. We also got your favorite toothpaste and shampoo for you to use. There's also a fresh pair of nighttime clothes in the hamper for you to sleep in tonight. Hope your week goes well.

Sincerely,

Dad"

With a smile, Ichigo put the note back on the sink. He began to take off his clothes, then walked over to the hamper to take out his sleeping clothes, all the while putting in his clothes that he wore today. After this was done, he stepped into the showers to clean himself. He adjusted the water to the right temperature: warm, but not scalding. He allowed the water to sprinkle all over his body, thereby getting into every crack and crevice. He took the shampoo bottle that was next to him, squirted some into his hand, and began to rub it into his hair. This feels rather good, he though to himself. He rinsed the suds out of his hair, then turned the water off. He stepped out of the shower, and began to dry himself off. He then picked up the sleeping clothes that his family left for him, put them on, and tossed the dirty towel that he used to dry himself into the hamper. He walked to the sink, got the toothpaste that they left him and a brush, and began to clean his teeth. With a gargle of water moments later, he went to his room to sleep.

He opened the door to his room, and noticed that his friend Rukia from the soul society, was sitting on his bed, and was in full uniform.

"Rukia" Ichigo asked. "What are you doing here!?"

"No time to explain" said Rukia. "There's an emergency at the soul society, and they need your help."