A/N: I watch Bleach almost entirely in Japanese, so I use the Japanese terms for the most part (e.g "Taichou" instead of "Captain"). If you want clarification, fell free to ask.

Chapter 1: The Day I Met "Her"

Little do the humans that inhabit this realm know of the fragile equilibrium their world is actually in. They remain blissfully unaware of the spirit protectors of the real world. These protectors serve to balance all of the souls that are mixed together in this world, but the humans do not hear to roar of the engines nor see the shattering wings of the protectors. These protectors are the Shinigami.

Sendai, Japan

0200 Hours

"10th Division Fukotaichou, Edge, checking in. All sensors are clear, Blaze-taichou."

"Understood. Return to B7R when ready."

"Right. I've got a weird felling, so I'm gonna take another quick look around before returning. Edge out."

The skies above Sendai were clear, but Edge just couldn't let go of that feeling that she was being watched. She knew something was out there, but where was it? Something had to be wrong, because her Reiatsu Sensors weren't even picking up her own reiastu.

"Oh, come on, you worthless sensor," Edge swore as she reached out and tapped the screen of the sensor fervently. The screened was filled with static, but then began to work, and she instantly wished it didn't. There was a large source of reiastsu being picked up by the sensor, and it was directly behind her…

Edge quickly glanced over her shoulder, just to see the foul soul that was following her screech, and then bite down on the tail of her aircraft. The metal armor was sheered apart as the one plane became two halves. The creature happily chewed on the spirit particle rich armor and engines of the plane, leaving the front half and its Shinigami pilot to fall to the ground below.

Atsushi woke with a startle from what sounded like an explosion. He slowly climbed out of bed and peered out his window. Others appeared to had heard the same thing as lights turned on all around the neighborhood. Then, he noticed what had awoken him. Literally right of Atsushi's house was a dust cloud rising from a crater in the road.

When Atsushi finally had gotten down to the street, a crowd had already gathered around the crater. Everybody was scratching his or her head, wondering what had caused it. Atsushi was confused as to why everyone was asking this, or was he the only one who could see it?

Down in the crater, he saw a jet fighter, or at least the front half. It looked like it had been ripped apart with considerable force. Who he assumed to be the pilot sat on the ground, leaning against the nose of the half-fighter. Blood spilled profusely from wounds on her head and arm, staining patches of her short black hair and green flight suit a dark shade of crimson. Her eyes were clenched shut and her breaths were heavy and ragged. It was obvious to even an idiot she was in immense pain, but why wasn't anybody helping? Atsushi sat in a crouch pondering this.

"Hey, hey, Atsushi," Yarichi, Astushi's younger sister, prodded. "Whatcha lookin' at?"

"Yarichi… do you see anything down there?"

"No… why?"

"It's nothing… why don't you run along inside before you catch a cold?" Yarichi nodded and turned back towards the house. Unlike most children at that ripe age of 8, she listened quite well and was not stubborn at all. Atsushi was about to jump down into the crater, but the heavy, comforting hand of his father, Takeshi, on his shoulder stopped him.

"There's no reason to go down there…" Takeshi mused. Then his voice dropped so low so that only he himself could hear. "I'm sure she'll be fine…"

"I don't get it…" Atsushi mused as he stared blankly at the ceiling from his bed. "Who in hell was she, and why couldn't anyone else see her? I mean, how in hell could you miss that wreckage?" Atsushi just closed his eyes and listened to the gentle breeze flow in through his open window. A slight tingling sensation began to come over him as he continued to lie there.

'Wait... this is the same feeling as when I was standing on the edge of that crater, staring at that wo-' Atsushi sat bolt upright, a little shocked. Through the darkness, Atsushi saw her, sitting at his desk chair at the far end of the room. The woman looked up, a little surprised that he had noticed her presence.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" she asked.

"You're in my room. I should be asking the questions. Who in hell are you and why are you here?"

"I am… a Shinigami. And the reason I'm here is because I'm using all the excessive reiatsu your body is expelling to heal myself." Atsushi reached over and flicked on the lights.

"Wait… Shini-wha?"

"Let me get this straight… So basically, you're a Shinigami?"

"mmhmm"

"And you came from a place called B7R to vanquish evil spirits?"

"Yeah"

"And your instrument for vanquishing these evil spirits is that airplane that's sitting in a crater in front of my house?"

"Yep"

"And you expect me to believe this?"

"Well, pretty much…"

"Well, fine… I'll believe it on one condition… Why in hell is it I'm the only one that can see you?"

"Remember what I said before, about how I was absorbing the excess spirit particles that comprise of your reiatsu? That's the reason. Ordinarily, humans have little to no reiatsu. Those rare humans who have a slight bit more are usually the ones that become the types you call "Psychics", "Fortune Tellers", etc. But you, you are special. Your reiatsu is off the charts for humans. The level is so high, that it's leaking out of your soul uncontrollably. This high level is why you can see me."

"Uh, huh… whatever you say, kid…"

"Kid? Who are you calling kid? I've lived for 10 of your life-spans."

"Oh, so, should I call you 'Old Hag' instead, then?"

"Why you lit-! If it weren't for my injuries, I'd break your neck right here and now. We shall meet again, in due time." And with that, she vanished.