Author Notes!

Hi! My name is Louis and this is my first story on the site! Before we get started, I just wanted to make some things clear.

1st: I moved the events of Bleach up a few years to take place in 2012. So around the end of Persona 4. This doesn't really change anything, and I've already adjusted the dates in the Bleach timeline appropriately. It just made it easier for me.

2nd: This will follow the Bleach Manga. I may throw in some things from the anime if I like them, but probably not.

3rd: This takes place after Persona 4, but doesn't take Arena/Ultimax into account. Cause I haven't played them, and wanted to write this soon. Though I will be looking at those games for inspiration on Adachi's fighting style, though I'll probably make my own changes to it.

4th: Non-Story related but I don't have a schedule for this story. College and Work take up a lot of time, so new chapters will come out…when they're done. I'm shooting for once a month!

5th: If you have anything to say about the story, comments/concerns/criticism/praise, please leave a Review! And if you like it, give it a Fav/Follow!

That's about it. So sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

PS. If you'd like to be a beta-reader for this, feel free to PM me! The more the merrier!

August 20, 2012

Japanese Highway.

A sharp bump in the road jolted Tohru Adachi awake, making his eyes snap open to take in the scene around him. The darkness of night made that easier said than done, but he already knew where he was. Stuck in the back of a police car, hands cuffed and being carted off to make space for a new wave of petty thieves and punk kids.

Not like there was anything else to catch in that shitty town.

Chuckling to himself, Adachi gave out a yawn that caught the attention of the officer in the front seat.

"Finally awake? Just as well, we're almost there." The man looked at Adachi through the rearview mirror. "Can't wait to dump you off, you sick bastard."

"Oh man, why the bad mood? Don't you like having personal time with your old co-worker? Remember all the good times?" Adachi grinned at the man, still laughing.

"Oh yeah, I remember. I remember you killing a woman and a girl and stringing their bodies off antennas. Then I remember you trying to pass the blame on to an innocent man!" The Officer worked himself up during his short tirade, face and ears red with anger. "And to think we let the murderer investigate his own crime."

"Now don't be too hard on yourself! You guys couldn't have possibly been expected to figure it out! You hicks just aren't that bright." Adachi learned a few ways to entertain himself during his time on the Inaba police force, but this was by far his favorite.

"Go fuck yourself!" By now the Officer was barely keeping himself jumping in the back and beating his charge, hands trying to crush the steering wheel, but he managed to rein himself in. After a moment to breath, he shot a glare towards the back. "I'm glad you're Karakura's problem now. Maybe Dojima-san will calm down at the station."

The moment he heard his old boss's name, Adachi's mood instantly took a downward turn. A frown replaced his cocky grin and he glared out the window. In the distance he made out a fairly large town, even spotting some fairly tall buildings. However, it was still much smaller than what Adachi was used to.

Another damn country town.

Silence made up the rest of trip, and eventually the police car passed a sign. 'Welcome to Karakura Town! The most spirited town in Japan!' Next to the slogan a rabbit-like blob was doodled. Adachi was about to let himself go back to sleep, but the moment they passed into Karakura's city limits, a strange feeling washed over him. He clenched his hands and started looking around, but couldn't find the source of the feeling. It was like a pressure was pushing down on him, making sweat start to pour down his neck.

An agitated voice made its way from the front. "I hate coming here. There's something wrong with this place." The Officer paid no attention to Adachi's distress in the back, instead navigating the roads to his drop-off point.

Adachi closed his eyes and started taking deep breaths. Okay, what the hell was that?! Is this place cursed or some shit? Suddenly, another feeling flared to life inside Adachi. Only this time Adachi was well aware of what it was. My Persona? Why is it reacting outside of a TV?

Then, as quickly as they started the feelings left him. What the hell just happened!? Looking at the Officer, Adachi saw he was completely unperturbed. "Hey! What was that just now?"

The Officer just looked back, confused at the former detective's reaction. "What was what? Sit back and keep quiet, I'm trying to find this damn street!" Adachi watched as the man turned back to focusing on street signs.

Are you serious? He didn't feel anything? Adachi looked outside the window, but only saw closed shops and empty streets. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just a regular town.


"We're here."

The Officer parked in front of a building with no notable features at all. Only the sign in front saying 'Karakura Police Station' identified it as anything special. Adachi didn't have time to notice anything else about it before he was roughly pulled out of the car and pushed toward the building.

Stumbling forward slightly, Adachi turned around and glared at the Officer. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?"

"Shut it! Get in the damn station so I can start heading back home and be finished with this damn special transfer."

A Special Transfer. Moving a prisoner that, for special reasons, cannot stay at their current prison. Adachi knew from the moment he'd been caught that he'd be going through one of those. It was too much to expect officers to hold one of their former detectives in the same station they used to work in. No one there could separate emotions from their work. They were only small-time cops in a stupid little no-name town.

Adachi turned around and walked through the entry to the Karakura Station, followed closely behind by his driver.

The station lobby was just as plain as the outside, with off white walls and a waiting area to one side. The only notable feature was a giant TV behind the desk, displaying security footage from different parts of the station, inside and out. Sitting at the desk, a tired looking woman in an officer's uniform looked up from a pile of papers, watching as the two walked in.

"Are you the Special Transfer from Inaba?" The woman asked the question in a harsh tone. Adachi could tell he would be looking forward to a nice, pleasant stay.

"Yes. Officer Kimura of Inaba delivering Prisoner Tohru Adachi. Accused of two counts of first degree murder." Officer Kimura brought Adachi to the desk to present him to his new handler. For her part, the lady looked appropriately disgusted at Adachi's crimes as she pulled out his file from the stack. Adachi looked more bored than anything else. "As of 11:50 PM on August the Twentieth, Tohru Adachi is now in the care of the Karakura Police Department," Kimura let out a sigh that had been building up, "Good luck. Really."

Immediately after officially handing over his charge, Kimura gave a quick salute before quickly heading back to his car. The sound of the car peeling out and speeding away echoed through the silent building, leaving just Adachi and his new Officer escort staring at the entrance.

"Wow. He must've really hated me! Wonder why…"

"Be quiet. Now, I have to go grab some paperwork from the fax room. Stay here, and remember, there are cameras watching you. You won't get far if you try to run." Having said her piece, the Officer turned and walked through a doorway beside the desk.

"Oh, I'll be good!" The Officer let out a heavy sigh before she disappeared behind the door. Adachi dropped his fake smile as he looked around the lobby. "Wow, this actually looks exactly like the Inaba office. Oh god, am I in purgatory? Forced into endlessly repeating shitty country police stations?"


The minutes passed slowly, and Adachi was starting to get irritated, pulling at the handcuffs on his wrists. "Is that bitch too stupid to find some damn paperwork?" Looking at the clock on the wall, he saw that it was 11:57. All these country cops are the same shit. They can't tell their asses from their elbows! So useless, may as well not even be here. Adachi glanced at the TV spanning the back wall and chuckled. Maybe she needs some fear to get her head in the game. After a moment he shook his head, taking grim amusement at how he used to be.

As Adachi moved to take a seat, the same pressure from before came back, only at twice the strength. Adachi was forced to his knees from it. "What!?" He panicked and looked around, but couldn't see any possible source. "What the hell was th-"

GROOOAAAARRRRRR!

Any train of thought was cut off by a guttural roar that ripped through the air. The ground shook as a crash came from outside the station door. Following the crash was the sound of sword swings flying through the air. Adachi managed to get to his feet and started backing towards the desk. Another roar, and the shaking intensified, getting closer to the station door. "Hey, Lady! Where the fuck did you go!?" In that instant the power to the building cut out, keeping Adachi from seeing anything.

And then, all the sounds stopped. The quiet weighed on Adachi as much as the constant pressure. A glow began to grow behind Adachi and he spun around.

On screen a silhouette was fighting off a huge Shadow, wildly swinging a sword in its panic. "What the…the Midnight Channel? How?" The image on screen showed the silhouette falling to the ground. Before it could get back up, the figure was skewered by its opponent.

Something suddenly crashed through the front wall of the station, breaking Adachi out of his stupor. Looking at it with the little light coming in from the broken wall, all Adachi could make out was a giant mass of black. Following the mass was a tan man with cropped hair wearing a black samurai outfit and pointing a katana at the thing.

"Ha! Give up you miscreant, and I shall send you off painlessly!" The Samurai dashed up to the pile and slashed at it, but he only hit air. The pile jerked away from the swing, allowing Adachi to see the white mask contorted into a scowl.

What the hell kinda Shadow is that!?

Adachi was too shocked to move and got noticed by the masked monster. "Oh, so here's that delicious soul that I felt!" The Shadow took a shallow slash to the arm, but just ignored it and faced Adachi fully. Beyond the mask was what seemed to be a tall, thin, pitch black human body, but it was made up of tightly wrapped tentacles. Adachi didn't know how, but he knew that this was the source of the pressure he felt before.

"I've been looking for you!" In an instant a tendril shot out of its chest and straight at Adachi, grabbing him by his midsection while knocking the air from his lungs. Adachi got his senses back just as he was heading for the beasts mouth, but then he found himself landing on the ground well before his target.

When Adachi looked up, the Samurai had his sword ready and the tentacle that grabbed him was flailing on the ground. "You will not harm the people of this world, monster!" The Samurai leapt towards the monster and pointed at it, "Shō!" From his finger a burst of energy struck the Shadow and knocked it toward the broken wall. The Shadow recovered quickly and smacked the Samurai into some rubble when he tried to follow up with a downward slash.

Adachi got himself up and decided he'd had enough of the fight. Turning to the TV, Adachi grimaced. This goes against my rules, but I don't plan on dying! Without any hesitation, Adachi dove towards the screen.

"Get back here!" The Shadow reached with its hand and more tendrils shot out towards the fleeing man. Just as Adachi went through the screen, they wrapped around his ankle and pulled. However, rather than its prey being dragged forward, the Shadow found itself being dragged into the screen. "What!? What is this!?" It tried pulling back harder, but it was still being dragged into the screen.

Getting up from the rubble, the Samurai saw the beast struggling with something in front of it. Seeing his chance, he rushed the Shadow and slashed at it, carving a gash into its side. Roaring in pain, the Shadow only had a moment to glare at the man before it was overtaken by the force that had grabbed him. Almost by instinct it shot out a final tendril, grabbing the Samurai's leg. In the next moment, all three beings vanished through the TV screen, leaving behind nothing but the debris of the fight and silence.


A familiar feeling of weightlessness surrounded Adachi as he fell downwards. It's like I never even left. He only had a few moments to appreciate the feeling before gravity returned and he went rushing towards an open field. Adachi tried to roll along the ground as it came closer, but a sharp pain in his foot paralyzed him and he crashed into the dirt.

"Damn it, that hurt!" He tried to get up, but couldn't support himself and fell into a sitting position. Stupid monster broke my ankle. Feeling his wrists, Adachi noticed that the handcuff's chain broke at some point during the fight. He decided to look around himself to see where in the TV he was.

He found himself in the middle of an open, grassy field underneath a clear blue sky. In the distance Adachi heard the sound of a river going by at a relaxing pace. A light wind went by and shook some leaves from the few trees that broke up the seemingly endless field. As some of those leaves passed Adachi, he just stared at them.

What the hell happened to this place?! Did those kids really get rid of the fog? He put a hand on his head and started laughing. "Wow, what the hell! So this place is supposed to be made from people's inner thoughts? What a joke." Before he could continue thinking on the state of the TV world, a tearing noise above him grabbed Adachi's attention.

From a hole in the sky the man-shaped Shadow fell near Adachi's spot on the ground, followed by the Samurai. The black creature and the black outfit of the man clashed with the natural environment around them. Groaning, the Samurai picked himself up.

Spotting Adachi, he carefully went over to the injured person. "Human, what happened? Where are we?" Keeping his sword in a ready position, the Samurai looked around.

Adachi sighed and looked past the man. "We went inside the TV."

"…"

"…"

The Samurai just stared at Adachi. "…And?"

Adachi shot him an annoyed glance. "And what? We went into the television in the station. That's it. End of story."

"What kind of trick is this? This doesn't feel like your world or the Soul Society!" Tightening his grip, the Samurai took a step towards Adachi.

Soul Society? Adachi glared into the man's eyes. "Hey, I didn't force you to come with me! Why don't you go yell at that weird Shadow over there!"

"Weird shad-The Hollow!" The Samurai's eyes went wide and he went to face his enemy, but before he could make a move the tendrils wrapped around his chest. They lifted him up before slamming him into the ground and tossing the man into a tree down the field.

The hulking figure approached its meal with narrowed eyes. "You've been a huge pain for a snack," Tentacles dragged tiredly behind the Shadow, "But the chase is over. Now, it's time to eat!"

Adachi saw the tentacles start to rise, but he just smiled to himself. "It's been a while since I've been in this place. It's like coming back home after a long trip." Adachi held out his hand and a spinning blue card floated up from his palm. On the card was an image of a court jester with a 0 below it. "Mangle them, Magatsu-Izanagi!" The card shattered like glass as Adachi closed his hand into a fist.

A vicious growl preceded a red and black figure appearing from thin air in front of Adachi. Standing spread legged with rough, heavy breaths; the armored being stared down the Shadow with vicious, yellow eyes from behind its red faceplate. The wind slightly blew its red and black coat around armored legs. In its hand a naginata, colored similarly to the rest of it, was held underhanded with the blunt end towards the enemy.

Letting out a feral scream, Magatsu-Izanagi fully faced the Shadow. The Shadow shook off the shock of a new enemy's sudden appearance and prepared its tentacles again. "I don't care what you are! Get out of my way!" The tendrils shot straight at the Persona and Adachi. Magatsu-Izanagi dashed forward and slashed at the incoming attack.

The sound of pierced flesh echoed through the field.

Adachi's eyes widened. Instead of easily slicing through the tentacles, his Persona's attack just passed through without having any effect. He looked down and a black tentacle was going through his stomach. "Wh…what?" Adachi fell to his knees as Magatsu-Izanagi vanished back into nothing. Blood began to come out from around the tentacle and pool on the floor. "Damn it…" Adachi took a last look at the Shadow's smirking mask before he blacked out.


Picking himself up again, the Shinigami looked to see what he hoped he wouldn't. The Hollow was holding a limp body in its hand, grinning at finally having gotten its meal. From the held body a chain extended to an exact replica on the ground some distance away. From a hole blood was streaming around the body on the ground. "Damn you." Readying his sword, the Shinigami focused his energy.

The Hollow, seeing only on the soul in front of it, grabbed the chain that connected him to his body. "You've got some strange powers, but you're still just a human. I don't want to eat you now. You might give me indigestion with those powers." The Hollow tightened its grip on the chain. "But I can still make you suffer!" With a sadistic grin, the Hollow tore the chain from Adachi's spirit.

Adachi's eyes shot open and he started shrieking in pain. The Hollow dropped the flailing soul and watched in amusement. "Hahaha! This is always the best part!" Cracks began to spread around Adachi's body, coming from the hole in his chest. Before he completely gave in to the pain, a blue glow came from the cracks and hole. Adachi began to claw at his face, and the red mask of his Persona came out; covering his head. He then went completely still before collapsing face down in the dirt. The Hollow stopped laughing and glared at the figure before him. "What just happe-"

Before it could question the scene, a glowing sword cleaved the Hollow's mask from behind. "I finally got you, you bastard." The Shinigami landed before the unconscious Adachi and stared sadly at him. "I am sorry human."

Turning away, he thrust his sword forward into the air and wooden gate materialized. He started walking towards it, tiredness in his motions. As he was about to walk through, a rustling sound made him look back towards the fallen man.


Adachi didn't know what was happening. He saw his Persona pass through the Shadow. He saw the tentacle pierce his stomach. But afterwards was a blur with nothing feeling real, except for the burning bursting pain the filled his very being. Shit, is this what dying's like? But before too long, the pain subsided and was replaced by a familiar warmth.

Magatsu-Izanagi's power was overtaking the pain, and Adachi knew that without it holding him together his soul would shatter. I said I wasn't dying! With great effort, he pushed on the ground and got himself up. He didn't notice his repaired ankle or that he was wearing a helmet or that the hole was in the wrong spot. He saw the Samurai and everything went red.

The Samurai stared back at the masked soul. "H-Human?" The yellow eyes of the mask flashed and Adachi dashed with inhuman speed towards the Samurai. In his hand the red and black naginata flashed into existence, pointed right at the sword wielding man. The Samurai barely had time to notice what was happening before the mask was right before him. The polearm went straight through the Samurai. Showing no emotion through his mask, Adachi tore the weapon out through his side. The Samurai coughed up blood before falling back, barely clinging to consciousness.

Adachi watched the man bleeding out before he regained control. Jumping back, Adachi tore off the mask and looked in horror at the injured spirit. "What just happened!?" Adachi looked at the naginata in his hands before it vanished, along with the discarded mask. As they vanished, the blue light from the cracks in his body faded to a low glow. The hole in his chest flashed, and the Jester card covered it.

Another cough came from the ground. "H-human."

"Oh shit! What's going on!?" Adachi tried to grab the card, but it seemed to be a part of his body.

"Calm down. Your soul has been ripped from your body." The Samurai gestured towards Adachi's body.

Adachi followed his gesture and saw himself dead in a pool of his own blood. "What did you say? I'm dead!?"

"I am sorry. I failed my duty as a Shinigami." Keeping himself propped up with his arm, he grabbed the fallen sword from beside him. "Please allow me to perform one final duty."

Adachi looked down at the dying man. "Hang on a second! What was that monster? And what are you?"

Grunting, the man felt his consciousness slipping. "I am…a Shinigami. I keep the…balance between your world…and the Soul Society…where the souls of the departed are sent."

Having started to calm down, Adachi took in everything the man said. "Soul Society? Shinigami?" His hands clenched for a moment before they went slack, "If I wasn't standing inside a TV right now I wouldn't believe a word you were saying." Adachi glanced at the wound he carved into the Shinigami. "You seem to be taking dying pretty well."

The Shinigami chuckled, before coughing up more blood. "Shinigami know the risks of what they do. The wisest have already made peace with this." Gripping his sword with the last of his strength, he looked up at Adachi. "Please, kneel next to me so I may perform Konsō upon you and have you pass on."

Adachi glanced at his bleeding body and gave out an annoyed sigh. "I guess you can't just put me back." He knelt next to the dying soul. "So what's Konsō anyway?"

Once Adachi got near him, the Shinigami struck him in the forehead with the hilt of his sword.

"Ow," Adachi rubbed the spot on his head, "The hell was that?"

Smiling, the Shinigami allowed himself to lay back. "At least I was able to-"

CRACK

Jerking his head back up, the Shinigami stared in shock at the spirit before him. From the spot on Adachi's forehead blue cracks began to spread. The TV world began to shake and distort around them, and Adachi started to flicker out of existence.

The grass that made up the field started to wilt as the trees sank into the earth. From the spot Adachi stood more blue cracks surrounded him, spreading into the air around him. His flickering sped up. "Hey! Is this supposed to happen with your passing on thing!?"

"N-no! I've never seen this before!"

Adachi watched as the world began to twist and compress around him. As soon as he turned to yell back at the Shinigami, he vanished.


August 20, 1961

Soul Society, Seireitei, Captain-Commander's Office.

Steam from a teacup lazily drifted through the air of Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's office. With closed eyes, the elderly man slowly brought the cup to his lips; looking the very image of peace. As the liquid passed through his mouth, his face tightened slightly and he immediately put the cup back on his desk. "Chōjirō, this tea is from your personal garden, correct?"

Chōjirō Sasakibe, standing beside his commander's desk, happily took a sip from his own cup. "Yes sir, I grew an especially fine black tea and wished to share it with you." Chōjirō put down his cup and poured another tea for himself from a kettle.

"It's very…bold." Yamamoto grabbed the cane next to his chair and got up from his seat. "I'm going to the 13th Division to see Ukitake." Chōjirō nodded to his commander as he took his seat, beginning on the paperwork in front of him.


Closing the door behind him, Yamamoto released a tired sigh. "Damned black tea."

He walked out into the sunshine and looked towards the sky, breathing in the peaceful air of Soul Society. Acknowledging some passing officers, Yamamoto made his way toward his old student's barracks. Shunpō would make the trip much faster, but sometimes he enjoyed taking in the state of the Seireitei with his own experienced eyes.

CRACK

Yamamoto's gaze snapped back to the sky. In the distance, above Rukongai, blue cracks were spreading from nothing. It looked as if reality itself was warping. Ripping sounds made their way to Yamamoto's hearing, getting louder and louder. In the center of the cracks Yamamoto could feel an extremely powerful spiritual presence. But after less than a second, the power vanished and the cracks stopped spreading.

Suddenly, that section of sky quickly repaired itself, leaving a single crack in the sky. Yamamoto stared for a moment before turning back towards his office. He had a meeting to call.


August 20, 1961

Soul Society .

"Ohhhhh…" When Adachi came around, he found himself on his back in an empty field. Rubbing his head, he began looking around. Where the hell am I now? Another damn field? Adachi looked at himself, and noticed his usual suit was gone. In its place were a basic white robe and wooden sandals. Yeesh, is this what they dress the dead in? I guess it's better than just being naked.

He got up and took a better look at his surroundings. Right behind him was a dense forest. A few miles in front of him was a small town. "Well, now that I'm dead, do I need to worry about what could kill me in a forest?" While considering his options, Adachi's stomach made a loud rumble. "Huh, I guess that settles tha-wait, I still get hungry? What a pain in the ass." Grumbling to himself, Adachi began the trek to the town ahead of him.

Above Adachi, a single crack in the sky began to rapidly shrink back into nothingness.