Summary: Well, that didn't go quite according to plan. After using mugetsu and defeating Aizen, Ichigo finds that the cost was much higher than he had anticipated. The use of mugetsu cost him not just his powers, but his life as well. Now brought before the Soul King, Ichigo is given a second chance as a reward for his sacrifice. Teleported to a different universe, Ichigo must get settled in and try to make a normal life for himself. Of course nothing ever goes quite according to plan now, does it? Bleach and Highschool DxD

Author's note: Hey all, so this is my first fic i've written, hope it won't be too terrible for ya. I am, of course, going to be improvising many things as I go along, but I do have some basic plans and changes which I plan on making. First I will be giving Ichigo a new zanpakuto, one of my own creation that is, well, to be frank its a tad OP, but to be fair many things in the DxD universe can get quite powerful from all i've seen. Also dont plan on this being 100% accurate to the DxD universe as I haven't actually watched the anime or read the stuff, I have read enough of other fanfictions to get a basic idea and will be using the wiki to make sure i cover the major events properly. Also, PROFANITY WARNING, I tend to cuss quite often, and it will be used in the text. If you have any ideas or constructive criticism please shoot me a message or something, I still need to figure out everything for the site lol. Gonna put an "M" rating on just to be safe. Probably should stop before this gets too long tbh, so without further ado, I present "Into the Fire".

"Speaking"

'Thinking'

"Zanpakuto"

[Sacred gear]

Chapter 1: Well that was unexpected!

"Mugetsu"

With a swing of his arm, the skies over their battleground was engulfed in what seemed to be an endless night. It was over, the lone teen had accomplished a task which many before him had tried and failed. 16 year old Ichigo Kurosaki had defeated the traitor Aizen, who had defeated many of the most powerful centuries old warriors of the gotei 13, with a single swing of his sword no less. And now there was not a single speck of matter left of the traitor or his little marble which cause this whole conflict to begin with. As the light returned to the sky Ichigo could feel his appearance returning to his original state, his now short orange hair just above his eyes and his bankai robes fluttering in the wind. All was silent for a time, however soon enough a familiar face flash stepped his way over towards Ichigo.

"I see its finally over then…" Kisuke Urahara stated while looking over the battlefield, a large and long gash running for miles on end, signifying the use of the extremely powerful sacrificial technique. Ichigo looked over his shoulder towards Urahara, the madman behind the creation of the damned marble that started it all. As he was about to speak up Ichigo started to feel a rather strong pain in his chest. Grimacing slightly, he assumed it was a side effect of his powers leaving him. He turned fully to face Urahara.

"Yeah, I guess so," he responded."

"Do you regret it?"

"Hm?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow

"Using that technique, soon enough your powers are going to disappear. So do you regret it?" Urahara asked, though something didn't seem right to him. Yes Ichigo's powers should be fading, but the rate at which his energy was disappearing was much faster than he would have assumed it should be, it was quite alarming as a matter a fact. Just as Ichigo was about to respond however, the pain in his chest seemed to become much, much worse. He doubled over in pain while coughing.

"ICHIGO!" Urahara yelled as he rushed over to his young student. However just as he was about to reach out to Ichigo there was an explosion of light, followed by a heart-wrenching scream from our young hero. After the light subsided Urahara looked to where Ichigo was once on the ground… but nothing was there…


Ichigo woke up with a start.

'Wha… what just happened?' He thought as he opened his eyes. As he sat up from the ground he was laying on he winced. One of his hands went to his chest, where the extreme pain from earlier had subsided to a dull ache. After taking a moment to compose his thought he finally took a look around him. Well, needless to say the orange haired teen was shocked. He found himself in a rather large room fit for royalty. It was a large and long hall, the floors were a light absorbing black, much like the color of mugetsu. Down the hall there were large pillars which stretched for what seemed like miles, as the ceiling was so high that the room seemed to have its own set of clouds. The pillars themselves were a pristine ivory color, each with a banner colored a royal purple cascading down the fronts of the pillars. Now looking down the hall itself he could see a blood red colored carpet stretching all the way down to what appeared to be a throne, which seemed to be occupied by a person. Well, seeing as he had nothing better to do immediately he decided to get up and walk over to this throne. Perhaps that fella would know what is going on at the moment. As he approached the throne he was able to get a better look at the man, as now it was apparent this was a male, which was sitting upon the throne. He seemed to be a gentleman in his upper 40's with a head and face full of graying black hair. His eyes were rather off though, the sclera was black with white pupils. He was wrapped in a cape that was colored a royal purple, much like the banners present along the hall, though this was trimmed with a spotless white fur. Ichigo finally arrived a few feet away from the throne, the regal looking man on the throne observing him all the while.

"Welcome, Ichigo Kurosaki." The man spoke in a voice which was full of authority and commanded respect. Ichigo's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"How do you know my name?" He asked, though not in a threatening manner as he noticed his lack of a certain weapon by his side. Actually he only just noticed but he still had his bankai robes on. Now this wouldn't normally be an issue but he knew that he should have lost his powers. There was something odd going on for sure…

"Well if I didn't know the name of the young man who protected me and the worlds then what kind of king would I be?" And with those words the dots finally connected in the orange haired teen's head, this regal looking man in front of him was none other than the soul king himself! Now Ichigo was certainly NOT one for formality, HOWEVER, when a being that literally holds the balance between the worlds together is in front of him, well, this is probably the single person he would not want to anger.

"Yo-you're the soul king, aren't you?" Ichigo asked, feeling quite small for some reason as his body seemingly was pierced by the king's gaze. The man just smiled at him and gave a nod of the head, indicating that this man was, indeed, the lynchpin of the worlds which he had just sacrificed his powers to protect from that traitorous bastard Aizen. "Erm, well then is there any particular reason that I'm here then, er, sir?" The king just looked at him a moment longer before answering.

"Yes, in fact there is a reason young man. You see, I wished to personally congratulate and thank you for your actions. You have saved all three worlds and protected those you care about as well as me in the most selfless way possible. I do believe that this is cause for some form of compensation. So before your soul went to the reincarnation cycle I grabbed it and summoned you here." At this statement Ichigo gained wide eyes and an expression of extreme shock on his face.

"Why would I be going into the cycle though? I thought that using mugetsu was only supposed to remove my powers? Unless…" Ichigo's eyes went even wider, if that's even physically possible, at this new revelation. That little tidbit of information made Ichigo realize exactly what happened. The pain in his chest, the explosion, the cycle… Ichigo's soul had essentially destroyed itself. Old man Zangetsu never mentioned anything like that! Next chance he got he was going to have some words with…. Oh. He realized that he may very well never get that chance. His zanpakuto was gone now with the use of mugetsu. His face fell from is expression of shock to one of sadness. He would never get to speak with Zangetsu ever again, or his crazy ass father, or his friends, or… his sisters. At the thought of never seeing his sisters again his eyes began to slightly shine with unshed tears, though they wouldn't fall. He refused to let them. The soul king, seeing Ichigo going through this, decided to speak up.

"Do not worry young man, I have a proposition for you if you would hear it. Think of it as a proper reward for yourself" Ichigo quickly composed himself and nodded, slightly intrigued by what the soul king had to offer him. Seeing this the king continued. "Well to be frank with you young man… there isn't any way for you to return to your current life. HOWEVER," the king continued quickly before Ichigo could fall back into his depression, "I do have a way to send you to, well for lack of better terms, and alternate dimension." Now this got Ichigo's interest. He wondered exactly what the king meant by this. "Simply put, this dimension is almost the exact same as your own. The biggest difference, however, is that there are no shinigami." This truthfully wasn't very surprising to Ichigo, as if there is an alternate universe there was bound to be some sort of difference. Though he couldn't help the feeling that the soul king was leaving out something… not that he would voice his concern. It wasn't that he was slightly intimidated by the king sitting before him, not at all! He was just sure that it was a random feeling without significance.

"Would I still have my powers though? I mean it still SEEMS like I have them by the clothes but…" Ichigo trailed off.

"I would be able to give you powers back, though they will not be the same as before. Now then Ichigo… do you accept?" Ichigo took a second to think about it. There really wasn't any other option for him. He couldn't go back to his friends and family. By accepting this, he would potentially be able to make new bonds, find new people to protect...

"I accept, sir." Hearing this, the soul king gave him a warm smile.

"Very well then, best of luck to you, Ichigo." And with a wave of his hand, Ichigo disappeared from his spot. The soul kings smile faltered only slightly, "You're going to need it."