Beyond the Known Realms
It was dead at night in the seemingly peaceful Karakura town, the sky burned with a billion stars that gleamed mystically against the water, the moon itself watched silently as Ichigo and friends walked along the river banks close to where his mother was killed. His eyes rose to the path ahead seeing a sudden gleam in the distance.
"Ichigo do you sense that?" Rukia said sounding shocked to her core by the pressure coming from the reiatsu nearby, Ichigo looked at Rukia confused then looked to Chad and Orihime.
"Do you guys feel anything?" they nodded no, as Orihime went to speak and spark of blue energy shot passed the group quickly being followed by Ishida and without thinking Ichigo instinctively chased after.
"Ichigo get your skinny ass back here!" Tatsuki yelled to Ichigo as the group followed him they quickly moved to the source of the reiatsu they see two shadowy figures locked in combat one wield a normal katana pushing the blade against a large black metal scythe holding the katana still.
"You Arrancar think you're so powerful but…" He looked at the Arrancar seeing untamed fear lying in his eyes. "YOU DRAW THAT POWER FROM THE SOULS OF YOUR VICTIMS, YOU STOLE EVERYTHING SOMEONE ELSE LIVED FOR, YOUR KIND DESERVE NO LOVE AND NO MERCY. JUST DIE!"
The scythe wielder then pushed his opponent's blade away with ease and within a blink of an eye slicing the Arrancar, evaporating as he split in two, Ichigo looked at the stranger trying to look at his face.
The stranger took a breath "Ichigo Kurosaki, Orihime Inoue, Yasutora 'Chad' Sado, Rukia Kuchiki, Uryu Ishida and Tatsuki Arisawa" he turned to them lifting his head slightly his face covered by his long black hair only showing his left eye, they look at him feeling protective over each other Rukia felt slightly more afraid for herself wrapping her arms around her stomach feeling uncomfortable more so in the strangers presence with his eyes piecing in to her soul "Why are you all so surprised? I know more than your names. I know everything about you and the soul society, I know what you truly are" he said intimidating them through his seemingly simple words.
"Who are you?" Ichigo roars at the stranger, the man grins.
"You can call me… Fane for now, Shinigami." he suddenly dispersed in a vortex of reiatsu disappearing into the night.
Ichigo stayed up all night thinking about this Fane character, wondering if he'd passed him somewhere, finding him to be oddly familiar, "What's with that guy, he didn't feel right he felt different, and not the good kind" he thought to himself.
"I don't think we should challenge him ... yet" the dark angry hollow whispered "I'll only fight to protect" Ichigo thought making the hollow back down.
A sudden yet soft knock tapped at his bedroom door, Ichigo shot up in surprise even though the knock was quiet, but to him it sounded and felt like a shockwave of energy passing straight through him.
"Is that Inoue? No it can't be" he thought as he approached the door to inspect who it was, he reached out for the handle shaking not realising that it was over 24 hours since he last slept . his body thumped with the sounded of his heart as he slowly opened the door, suddenly he felt a heavy and impossible force wound him, he fell to the ground his sight blurred, voices around him became muffled "Ichigo! Help, Isshin!" He heard as he slowly faded into an unconscious state, the last thing he saw was a woman with unmistakeable auburn hair looming over him holding him in her arms.
He awoke to find himself in a forest wearing his Shinigami attire seeing only tree's and hearing whispers.
"Hello, is anyone there?" he yelled, only hearing an echo in response. Still hearing the slight whispers, he focused his mind on them, pinpointing the direction of said whispers, he began running towards it. As he moved in closer to the whispering, he was unable to understand the incoherent babble, he felt it was telling him something but unable to tell what it was, he looked out ahead seeing a clearing in the distance, instinctively he sped up heading into the clearing, the amount of light in the clearing blinded him, causing Ichigo to land in a large pond connected to a relatively small but wide waterfall , Ichigo jumped back up dazed it took only a few seconds for his vision to come back properly. "Where the fuck...?" Ichigo said, stunned at the beauty of his surroundings seeing several cherry trees hanging over the pond, although for cherry trees they were very large, one even looked like the braches had formed as a staircase for someone to walk up with its leaves sitting in a dip in the middle of the tree like a resting spot in for someone to lie in and let the world pass them by as they looked up towards the sunset that lasted forever he walked out of the water and sat against one of said trees.
"So you're here, I'm surprised I didn't have to come and find you, Ichigo. I'd figured you'd get lost in this place, but I'm impressed by you and that's only because I'm easily impressed." Ichigo got up looking around for the voice.
"Where are you Fane I Know it's you! Show yourself!"
"Some cheek you've got kid, beside for all I know you'll attack me on sight and no offence to you but I don't like people when they go attack me I get enough of that at home... anyway, if you would to meet face to face then I need your word regardless of what I ask and I swear I won't attack you unless need be, so what do you say, pretty please?" Fane said the last part with a mock effect to it.
"I don't know why Fane but I trust you so I give you my word." Ichigo said smiling at the unusual attitude given off by Fane.
The wind began to shift and centralize a few feet ahead of Ichigo, the wind then suddenly turned from nothing into reiatsu, the colouring effect of the reiatsu turned black and white as it localized in to the shape of a fairly well-built male. Fane stood in front of Ichigo, but not in a Shinigami's robe but in fact human clothing; a well fit outfit all together, on the lower half he wore a pair of black and white converse trainers with a pair of dark blue jeans and a black buckled belt with the words 'The Reaper' in gothic writing on the buckle itself, and on his upper half he wore a black long sleeve with the sleeves rolled up, on top of which, he wore a crisp, clean white shirt, also with his sleeves rolled up. On his right hand he wore four sliver rings; on his index finger he wore a skull ring, on his middle finger he wore a Celtic ring, sat on the finger next to it he wore a wedding ring and on the last of his fingers he wore a engraved ring with the words 'faith in others is all I ask' clearly showing sentimentality to it as his thumb ran over it, on his neck was the final effect a sliver detailed gothic cross.
"Well it's nice to meet you Ichigo the honour's mine." He spoke respectfully.
"Um thanks, but how do you know me, or the others for that matter?" He questioned.
"Ah, I was hoping you might not ask, but I suppose you deserve the truth after I dragged you here, oh sorry about that too."
"That was you, what the hell?"
"Again sorry, but it was the only way to talk to you without the Arrancars finding you or the others; if he gets his hands on any of you, especially you or Orihime, either one of you and we're fucked right up the ass." Fane said going off on a rant.
"What are you talking about, is there something I need to know? Tell me everything!" He demanded.
"In time, Ichigo, but for now you need to go home and understand some truths..." He looked to Ichigo with a smile.
"The first you'll need a push for; here's a clue, they're right beside you no matter what and that's pretty obvious to me and everyone anyway so please find out soon, k?"
Ichigo stood there in disbelief to what he heard from Fane. The black clothed man then headed in to the forest. "Hey Fane, I forgot to ask what's your name, your first name, I mean." Ichigo questioned once more.
"Oh yeah, completely slipped my mind too, the name's Michael, Michael Fane and I'm a Guardian from Beyond the Known Realms." He said, acting cool, shifting his sunglasses, which he pulled out of nowhere, slightly.