Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I don't own Bleach, either. Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo.

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Inuyasha x Bleach

A Light in the Darkness

By Cyberweasel89

Prologue: Bull and the Strawberry

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A peaceful night in the forests of Japan, just outside the suburbs of Karakura Town. With a full moon casting its light upon the world from above, curious shadows play at the treetops with the passing clouds, made black from the nighttime darkness. Very peaceful... Except for that fireball that just lit a tree ablaze.

"He's gone this way! Don't let him get away!"

Two women, both roughly eighteen, pursued a male target through the forests of Japan.

One of the two women had deep black hair in a bob cut and yellow eyes, dressed in an octopus-printed kimono that bared the cleavage of her large breasts. With the cow-like horns on her head, she was clearly not human. This was further proven when an octopus-like tentacle extended from her back, which she used to grapple from a tree branch to another branch, conjuring a fireball over her palm and hurling it at their unseen target.

The other was a girl of about the same age, with the same cow-like horns and cleavage baring kimono, though hers bared the images of cows on it. Like her sister, she also had yellow eyes, though her hair was light brown and longer, tied up into a bun held in place with chopstick-like pins. Her breasts were smaller than the older girl, but still large. She followed alongside the older girl silently, an unsure look on her face, a sharp contrast to her partner's aggressive expressions.

"I'll burn this forest down to find where he's hiding!" the older of the two growled. Summoning a fireball over her palm, it rapidly grew in size, and after a mighty plume of flame, the surrounding forest was reduced to ash. Standing there, unharmed, was their target, enveloped in smoke and ash.

"Yuzu! Kon! Make sure he doesn't get away!"

The mysterious figure was wrapped in glowing purple threads from the side, a little boy only about ten years old holding the ends of them. He also wore a short-skirted kimono, though his was orange with lions depicted on it. Dark brown hair, yellow eyes, and cow-like horns like the two older girls.

As the smoke cleared from the fire, the figure was revealed for the first time that night to the three siblings. Standing at about five foot nine and seeming to be about fifteen, he wore an entirely black kimono, the front left open to bare his toned and highly muscled chest. His feet were clad in straw geta and white tabi, a spine-like red strap stretching across his chest. He glared at the three girls through golden yellow eyes, a head of short, spiky orange hair atop his head along with two orange-furred pointed dog ears. Claws were on the ends of each finger and long, curved bull's horns emerged from the sides of his head. A scowl was on his face as he eyed the girls with hostility.

"Ichigo!" the bolder of the the two girls began, the purple glowing threads from the little boy immobilizing him. "You dare flee our compound on the very night you are to meet your betrothed? What has gotten into you, nee-san?"

He said nothing, glaring at each of his three siblings in turn, finally settling on the youngest, who flinched under his gaze.

"D-Don't look at me like that, Onii-chan! You know you have a responsibility to your clan, even though you're only half ushioni!"

"Your brother is right, Ichigo." the bolder sister addressed him. "You are the oldest male of the four children of the head of our clan. It is your duty to fulfill your duties for your family. You are to meet your betrothed tonight and marry into the prominent dragon daiyoukai clan. Your fiancee is even at our compound waiting for you with her father, the head of her clan. What reason do you have for running?"

Ichigo only reached up and clutched at his heart, never breaking his glare on his older sister.

"Ah... I see. You still hang on to your petty, worthless dream. Come home with us, Ichigo. Return now and we will make up an excuse for mother and your fiancee. No one has to know you ran away from your responsibility tonight."

Ichigo, instead, grinned with a mouth full of fangs.

"Kon! Tighten the hold on hi-"

The strings instantly vanished from around Ichigo, the youkai taking off into the forest just in time to dodge a fireball fired at him from his older sister.

"Drat! He used his power to escape your hold, Kon!"

"I'm sorry, Onee-san..."

"No matter. Comb the forest! If he escaped to where the humans live, we will ensure no one who saw him survives..."

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"You're awake. How about that."

The young man with the bull horns and dog ears pulled himself into a sitting position without even a single groan.

"Easy, easy. I found you lying outside the school grounds. I am only here because I am keeping an eye on the astrology club up on the roof, boy."

The young man rubbed his golden eyes, a silent sigh emerging from his lips.

"It might be a bad idea to say this, but... You are a youkai, are you not?"

The man speaking was a tall, fit man despite his middle age, with incredibly long, gleaming ebony locks adorned with an odd-looking white hair clip. A pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose, slate gray eyes sending the youkai a stern, hawk-like gaze. The man seemed cold... Even his voice had an edge to it.

"Hmph... judging from those horns... You are an ushioni daiyoukai, are you not?"

Ichigo bared his teeth at the man, seeming to be reaching for something under his arm.

"Relax, boy. I have nothing against youkai. In fact, I think I know who you really are. Those ears... You are Sesshoumaru's son, are you not?"

Ichigo paused, studying the man.

"Half ushioni daiyoukai... Half inu daiyoukai... And the son of the legendary Inuyasha's brother himself. Hmph... I suppose it is quite a miracle to meet someone so close to my ancestors."

He continued to study the man.

"Yes, I suppose I should explain." He reached up, pushing his glasses up his nose. "You might have heard stories of a monk named Miroku and a youkai slayer named Sango... I suppose you could say I am their distant descendant. Five hundred years in the making."

Ichigo showed no reaction, but the man continued.

"My name is Byakuya. Kuchiki Byakuya, boy. And you... must be Ichigo-san."

The daiyoukai bared his teeth at him in a silent growl.

"Settle down, boy. I am sure your father told you stories about me before he died. I heard about that, actually. Quite the mysterious circumstances, really. But since I have the blood of the people involved in the defeat of Naraku coursing through my veins, I actually know what the world used to be like."

The man, Kuchiki Byakuya, took a seat in the nurse's chair, swiveling it to face Ichigo as he sat on the nurse's office bed.

"When Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Shippou, and Sesshoumaru defeated Naraku... Kagome decided to stay in the feudal era to be with the dog hanyou. In doing so, the very course of history was changed. Though it's the fall of 2014 right now..." The moonlight coming in from the window seemed to reflect off the man's glasses. "Youkai still exist in this modern era."

Ichigo only eyed the man warily.

"Now, do not misunderstand me, boy. Youkai tend to stick to their own parts of the world. In fact, your daiyoukai clan's compound is unusual, being so close to this city." He reached up to push up his glasses. "Now... I can tell you ran from your clan, boy. Tell me... what were you running from?"

The daiyoukai gave a silent sigh, reaching into his kimono and removing... a Bible? He held the book up for Byakuya to see, and even retrieved a cross necklace from his pocket.

"I see..." Byakuya stated calmly, looking down at the floor. "You're Christian... A rarity in Japan. But what's more..." he looked up, straight into Ichigo's eyes. "You want to be a clergyman, don't you?"

Ichigo only nodded.

"Hmph... Very well, I shall make you a deal. Now, I do not expect anything in return. But I do have someone you might want to meet. You see-"

The shattering of glass came from the room next door. Byakuya shot to his feet, turning to gaze at the closed door.

"I will be right back. Stay here, Ichigo-san."

Moving to the next room, Byakuya found the window to the outside broken, but... he could sense it. Two of them.

"Well, look at this. A puny human saw our dear brother. I guess that means we'll have to kill him so mother doesn't find out about Ichigo-nii leaving."

Byakuya whirled around to see two women with yellow eyes standing there.

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Ichigo, meanwhile, paused to see his little brother standing in the doorway leading to the hallway.

"Onii-chan..." the boy's child-like voice said.

Ichigo looked away, wincing.

"I know why you left..." he continued. "But what I don't understand is... Why? Why didn't you ask me to come along with you?"

Ichigo turned to his little brother, eyes widening.

"I'm sorry, Onii-chan... But I need to restrain you again... But don't break free this time... or both of our Onee-san will kill the human in the other room."

Putting his fingers together, he spread them apart, a series of the purple glowing threads forming between them. They shot out, wrapping Ichigo in them again.

"I know you can just use your Kidou against them... Which makes you the only one who can escape my unbreakable Kandata Strings... But please don't, Onii-chan..." tears began to form in the boy's golden eyes. "I... I don't want our Onee-san to hurt anyone else!"

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The bolder of the two summoned a red fireball over her palm, smirking.

"Shall we burn this one alive just for fun, Yuzu-nee?" she asked her twin sister, who only fidgeted her fingers in response.

Reeling her hand back, the ushioni daiyoukai threw the fireball at the helpless human teacher.

Only for an arrow glowing with white light to pierce through the fireball and strike the floor in the corner.

"What? Who-"

"Looks like I got here just in time. Hi there, Byaku. What's up?" a teenaged female voice spoke from the hallway.

"Hmph. You did not need to do that. I could have easily handled these two. Still, you are not an unpleasant sight." Byakuya greeted calmly.

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"I'm going to tighten the strings until you pass out from suffocation Onii-chan... Onee-san's orders..." Kon continued through his tears. "I... I love you, Onii-cha-"

The strings fell limp. Kon looked to see a giant fang-like sword having cleaved the outstretched Kandata Threads effortlessly. But... how? They were unbreakable!

"So... You're my nephew, huh?" a male voice asked.

Ichigo looked up at the red-clad figure, his eyes widening.

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"No way! The legendary Kagome? In this era! How?" Karin stammered at the sight of the girl.

"Oh, you know. Came to visit my family and all. Inuyasha's in the other room, too, actually. Talking with his nephew."

The teenaged girl's eyes widened, while a small smile grew on the face of her twin, Yuzu.

"Retreat, nee-san! Retreat!"

"I don't think so!"

A massive blast of energy sent the two flying out their own broken window, landing just outside. They were soon joined by Ichigo, jumping down to meet them.

"L-Last chance, Nii-san! You can't rely on these ancient relics of history to save you!"

"He doesn't need to!" Inuyasha shouted down from the second floor of the school.

Ichigo reached his left hand to just under his right underarm, seeming to grasp at something. From nowhere, he pulled a huge sword that looked almost like an elegant cleaver, the hilt lacking a crossguard and seeming more like a handle wrapped in bandages.

"No way! This is treason, Nee-san! Not only did you abandon your duties, but you stole the Ushioni clan's most prized treasure, the cursed sword Zangetsu, from our vault before you did! Forget coming back! This means death for you, brother!"

Ichigo held his ground, staring his sister down, but Karin's angered panting soon became a smirk. "Or, rather... I may not have to kill you. You are wielding a cursed sword, after all. Anyone who's ever attempted to wield Zangetsu has had a gruesome death soon afterward."

She watched as Ichigo tossed the sword into the air, sending it spinning up above him and back down. Her eyes widened as the sword naturally wove it's way right around his outstretched arm as it spun on its descent, where anyone else's arm would've been cleaved by the falling cursed blade. Before it hit the ground, Ichigo caught it, again holding it in a combat stance.

"Hmmm... I hate to admit it... But it's possible... You may have actually tamed the sword's curse, brother. Does this mean... Zangetsu has chosen you as its true master?"

Ichigo again said nothing, merely staring his sister down.

"Ugh! You're so insufferable! Fine. Let's see if you actually know how to use that blade."

She summoned a fireball over her palm, firing it at Ichigo. Just before it reached him, there was a slash of the blade so fast she had to admit, she had trouble catching it. Before her eyes, the fireball dissipated, cut down by his strike.

Kagome and Inuyasha watched from the second floor of the school.

"Shouldn't we help him, Inuyasha?" she asked the hanyou.

"Nah." he dismissed. "Kid's my nephew, ya know. He's got it handled."

"Hmmm... So you can cut down one of my fireballs, brother. But how about... A hundred of them?"

Jumping back, she began conjuring and throwing a barrage of fireballs into the air around her, creating an army of them floating around and above her. When the total was well over a hundred, she sent them all flying at him at once.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome urged her husband.

The Hanyou just smirked. "There's four kinds of fighters in this world, Kagome. There's power, speed, mana, and skill. And my nephew here..."

Ichigo merely glared at the barrage of fireballs heading for him, his yellow eyes cold and analytical. A deep breath followed... Then a flurry of constant slices, slashes, and cuts so fast they were almost invisible. When Ichigo returned to his still stance, the army of fireballs was reduced to a mere burst of harmless embers.

"...is speed."

Karin's eyes widened, her hand still outstretched from having directed the horde of fireballs at her brother. Her mouth hung open, her eyes wide. Lowering her hand, she clenched her fists so tight she was sure her nails were digging into her palms.

"So... You're fast, eh, Nee-san? You can easily cut down a measly little fireball... But how about..."

She raised her palm, rapidly conjuring a fireball that was growing in size at breakneck speed. "A giant one! Can your measly sword do that?!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome nearly whined.

"Give him a second. Kid's got one more trick up his sleeve." Inuyasha stated with confidence.

The giant fireball was not, however, directed at Ichigo, but thrown at the school. And though moving slowly, a fireball that size could easily decimate the entire building. In a flash, Ichigo was between the attack and its target, taking another deep breath. He thrust his blade against the inferno in an inverted grip, as if attempting to deflect it with the sword alone, but then...

It was gone!

Karin's eyes widened. Her most powerful attack... Gone? Just like that? It was as if it had been completely erased! Or... No... It couldn't be...

"You've mastered it? You've actually mastered it? I can't believe you, Ichigo! Ugh! How could a mutt like you possibly master it when you could barely stop your younger sister's strings earlier?"

Ichigo showed no reaction, only scowling and staring his older sister down. She smirked in response.

"Well, no matter. You have nothing that can actually harm me. So it seems we are at an impasse, brother. Now surrender, or-"

Wait... No... Zangetsu... it was... Glowing blue?

Ichigo held the cursed sword low to the ground, the blade of the sword shining with a cerulean light.

"No... It can't be! You've only had Zangetsu for barely a few hours and yet... You can already use it's Getsuga Tenshou?"

"Getsuga Tenshou?" Kagome asked.

"You got me, Kagome." Inuyasha replied.

"Zangetsu." A young male voice spoke from behind them. The two turned around to see a little boy with horns standing there. He walked up to the window to watch. "Slaying Moon. It's a sword said to be capable of piercing the heavens themselves" he explained calmly. "Naturally, you can't pierce the heavens... if you can't reach them."

"Hm... Interesting. So, what's Getsuga Tenshou do?"

"Getsuga Tenshou... Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer... is..."

In a lightning-quick movement, Ichigo slashed the sword upward. A curtain of blue light trailed along the ground, going up his sister's body right down the middle. The scream she made was absolutely deafening.

"A projectile cutting attack composed purely of reiatsu."

"Hah! How about that." Inuyasha chuckled with a smirk.

When the aurora-like blue light settled, Ichigo and Kon's elder sister was lying in a pool of her own blood. Her twin sister jumped down from the top of the building. Picking her injured, but still alive, sister up in her arms, she turned to Ichigo. A gentle, unsure look on her face, she managed a small smile and spoke her first words to him that night.

"We'll back be... Nii-kun."

The girl jumped off into the trees, leaving Ichigo to slump down onto the ground.

"C'mon, Kagome. Let's go."

"Go? Don't you want to talk to your nephew, Inuyasha?"

"Nah. Rather visit with your folks and have some of that instant ramen stuff."

"But what's Ichigo going to do? He'll be on the run from one of the most powerful daiyoukai clans in the modern era!"

"I shall take care of him."

They turned to see Byakuya standing there, frowning as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

"He can stay at my family's shrine. So long as he hides those horns and ears, I can enroll him as a student at this school. The principal is a good friend of mine who owes me a favor or two. I can just tell him he's my nephew and that he transferred from far away."

"You sure that's okay, Byaku?" Kagome asked with concern.

"No problem whatsoever." he assured them, though his voice remained cold and business-like. "Plus... I would quite love for him to meet my daughter."

"Um..."

All three turned to the voice of the little boy in the room.

"C-Can I stay with you, too, Byakuya-sama?" he asked.

The teacher crouched down to reach the boy's level. "Oh? And why is that?"

"I... I want to be with Onii-chan... I'm... kind of a runt among ushioni... and it's a very matriarchal youkai clan... So Onii-chan was really the only one who treated me kindly... I want to stay by his side..." he stated, tapping his fingers together nervously.

Byakuya stood up, still frowning. "Very well. Ichigo-san will need a surname, though, if he wants to pass for human. How about..."

Kagome couldn't help but sigh at that name, while Inuyasha expressed a smirk, saying it was cool.

Looks like Ichigo... Sesshoumaru's son and Inuyasha's own nephew... Would have an interesting life from now on.