Okay, I'm gonna be honest – I've loved Kingdom Hearts since I was in elementary school. I got into Bleach my freshman year of high school. One day, this story popped into my head. I never had the time to write it down… until now. Hope you enjoy!
Kingdom Hearts: the Search for a Heart
I shouldn't be alive.
I was fighting Ichigo Kurosaki, who had somehow Hollowfied completely. He had used an unimaginably powerful cero to blast the lower portion of my body away. I dealt what I had thought was a death blow, but all it did was revert Ichigo to his original human state.
Hmph… it seems even I cannot know everything.
I had faded away to nothingness, and I thought that was that. It seems, though, that some unknown force has plans for me. I am now in a room bathed in a soft, blue light. It almost reminded me of the way light looks at the bottom of one of those human's pools. There were no walls… or if there were, I couldn't see them, thanks to the darkness on every side. Only one thing besides me is in this room. It's a strange contraption – mirrors in the shape of teardrops, all connected via white piping. In each mirror, different images were playing like videos. One had a boy in green tights flying around, occasionally taking stabs at a pirate in red with a hook replacing a hand. Another image showed a skeleton fighting… was that a giant sack?
"The Eyes of the Kingdom," a familiar voice said. "It's my way of monitoring all the worlds."
Turning around, I got another unexpected sight. It was Orihime Inoue, the woman who Ichigo Kurosaki fought so hard to save. She was… different, though. Not only were the clothes that I gave her oh-so-long ago intact, she moved differently than before. Before, her movements conveyed compassion, youth, and boundless energy. Now she moved with wisdom that only centuries worth of living could bring, mixed in with something else I couldn't identify.
"Why did you bring me here, woman?" I asked, my voice carrying no emotion whatsoever. Just like it always does.
"I'm not Orihime," she answered.
Now, as a rule, Hollows don't feel any positive emotions. We lose that part of ourselves the longer we stay away from the Soul Society. Due to the circumstances of my creation, I couldn't feel anything. My heart was, in every sense of the word, gone. That fact is the only reason why I'm not in shock right now.
"Then who are you?" I asked, hoping to learn more. One of my habits is to analyze any situation and get information.
"I'm known by many names," the woman who looked like Orihime replied. "Only one name, though, is pronounceable in this language. I am called… the Caretaker."
"The Caretaker… of what?"
"I protect the heart of all worlds, known as Kingdom Hearts. Or at least… I used to protect it."
"What happened?"
"The Heartless happened," she replied. "I may be powerful, but I can't be everywhere at once. To combat this threat, I forged the one thing that can combat those things."
In a flash, I drew my sword and held it against her neck. "This drag-it-out-of-me-line-by-line routine is starting to become tedious," I said. "So stop before I slit your throat."
I never saw it coming. One minute, I was standing on my feet. The next, I was on the ground in a small crater. The Caretaker was on top of me, holding my sword in her hands. She didn't appear angry at all. In fact, she almost looked bored.
"I thought you had more self-control than that, Ulquiorra Schiffer," the Caretaker sighed. She held the sword out in the air, where it actually started to hover. "You are right, though – I was wasting too much time, so I'll just get straight to the point."
A white light, brighter than the light illuminating the room, started to shine on me from above. And from the darkness, there came a weapon the likes of which I have never seen before.
Its shape reminded me of a key, but it was big – its length matched that of my sword. It was black all throughout, with green lines making a spider-web pattern along the shaft. A square handle the size of my head acted as the handle, hollow except for a single bar running through the center. A small chain about two inches long dangled from the handle, and attached to it was a piece of green metal in the shape of a bat.
"This is called a Keyblade," the Caretaker said. "I forged it and gave it to people with pure hearts to combat the Heartless. That's when things started getting complicated. A Keyblade Master who called himself Xehanort was corrupted and killed anyone with a Keyblade. A boy, Sora, managed to wield a Keyblade recently, but he is now in a deep sleep."
"I see no reason where I am in involved in this, Caretaker," I said, getting up and dusting myself off.
The Keyblade that was hovering in front of me disappeared in a small flash of white light. It reappeared in my right hand. While I was busy staring at it, I felt the Caretaker place my sword in my left hand.
"Ichigo defeated Aizen," the Caretaker said. It took me a few moments to process that. How could that piece of trash, who barely survived fighting me, the fifth strongest Espada (fourth, if you're not counting when Yammy isn't in Resurreción), beat a man who was many times my stronger?
"Ichigo lost all his powers during the fight. Aizen has retained his immortality, but that isn't what should concern you. What should concern you is the Hogyoku."
"That shouldn't be too dangerous here. The Hogyoku can only eliminate the barriers between a Hollow and a Soul Reaper. I doubt that should be much of a problem here."
"Ulquiorra, you've been lied to. The Hogyoku's true power is to grant the wishes in its host's heart. Now, don't interrupt me. During the fight between Ichigo and Aizen, the Hogyoku abandoned Aizen in the hopes of finding someone stronger than him. It is now here, searching the worlds for a new master."
The Caretaker looked me in the eyes, and I couldn't look away. "This is what I task you with, Ulquiorra Schiffer. Find the Hogyoku, and repair the damage to the worlds it visits."
"No."
"Excuse me?" the Caretaker asked in a dangerously low voice.
"I have no interest in taking part of your little war with these Heartless. I have my own mission to pursue."
The Caretaker started smiling slyly. "Ah, you're interested in finding out what it means to have a heart? Well, I can help you out with that. Do this for me, and I will grant you your own heart."
"You can do that?" I asked, uncertainty in my voice. It wasn't that I was uncertain she would do it – I just wondered if she had the power to do as she says.
"You can't be the Caretaker if you don't pick up a few tricks along the way," she replied. "So, I will ask again – will you take this duty, Ulquiorra Schiffer?"
I thought long and hard for a full three minutes. Ever since my fight with Ichigo Kurosaki, I have taken an interest in the heart. And here I am, offered a chance to have my very own heart.
"I accept."
"Excellent. Now, let's begin your training."
That ends this chapter. Feel free to review! I won't be mad if you guys say it needs work!
