It was dark.

Ichigo stumbled forward, reaching out blindly, looking for something, but even he didn't know what.

He searched around for what seemed like hours when his hand came into contact with something. As he felt it out, he realized that it was a stone archway. It had an ominous feeling surrounding it; like it was a passage for the dead. But with nowhere else to go, and no fear of death, Ichigo shrugged and stepped through it. Suddenly, the world pitched forward and Ichigo found himself at a train station. It was a reasonable size, big enough for several hundred people. There were benches littered in different places, and places for groups to converge. The whole station was white, as though someone had splashed paint all over it. And no one was there. Ichigo looked around, confused. The station should have been bustling with people, but he was the only one at the train station.

"Where am I?" He asked aloud.

"That's not the question you should be asking." A voice said.

Ichigo whirled around, but there wasn't anyone there. He looked all around him, but he confirmed that he was the only one at the train station.

"What do you mean?" He asked as he turned in circles. "Where are you?"

The voice chuckled. "Which question do you want me to answer first?"

"Just answer!" He was getting more and more agitated by the minute. This whole situation irked him. He had enough voices in his head.

"Hmmm… I'll answer both questions at once." Ichigo scratched the back of his neck, confused.

There was a sudden flash of white behind him. Ichigo scrambled backwards, away from it. Within the light, a man appeared.

This man was old, with white hair down to his waist and a thick beard just as long. He had a kind face, one wrinkled with age, and twinkling blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles. He wore a purple cloak, which would have been odd and out of place on anyone else but this eccentric man. He had a wizened smile plastered on his face, one that widened when he saw Ichigo.

Before Ichigo could say anything, the man spoke; "The question you should have asked is; when are they coming?" He gave Ichigo a meaningful as he sat down on a nearby bench. He gestured for Ichigo to sit beside him. Ichigo did, hesitantly.

The man observed him in a way that made him feel like he was being X-rayed. He shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. When the man continued to stare, he cleared his throat. No response.

Getting annoyed he said, "Oi! Are you going to say anything?"

"Well," the man said, clearly amused. "I thought that maybe you would say something."

Ichigo sighed in annoyance and the man chuckled.

"So, are you going to ask the question?"

Ichigo eyed the other man. "What do you mean?"

The man may have rolled his eyes, but since he was kind he just responded patiently. "I'm not going to answer until you ask. So, ask."

Ichigo scratched the back of his neck. "When are they coming?"

The man nodded happily. "There you go, now to answer…" He frowned in thought. "How do I answer…?"

Ichigo sighed. Exasperated, he put his head in his hands.

The man hummed for a while and then made a noise of exclamation. "Oh! Okay, now I know how to answer." He sounded pretty happy about it. Ichigo raised an eyebrow, and tuned out of his surroundings, hoping to just open his eyes to his room.

"Ichigo," Ichigo stiffened and looked at the man. He no longer had a smile, but a saddened expression on his face. "I'm sorry that I'm going to have you get wrapped up in this. But I'm afraid that I don't have any more options. They are coming."

"Who?" Ichigo asked curiously.

The man slid something into Ichigo's pocket.

"Them." He said simply.

Ichigo eyed him strangely and made to see what he had put in his pocket. But the man grabbed his arm with surprising strength.

"You'll need this when they come. Tell them that it came to you in a dream, which is half-true." He let out a half-hearted laugh and then looked at Ichigo with the utmost seriousness in his eyes. "Please Ichigo, help them. Join forces, because, otherwise, all worlds will fall."

He saw Ichigo's eyes harden with resolve and knew that he had been right to come to this specific Shinigami for help. He only wish he could've done more.

But he only sighed and patted Ichigo's back, saying, "I feel horrible for forcing such troubles on you, but you're the only one that can help. I know you can do this, for you've done so much more than they. But please," He locked his bright blue eyes with Ichigo's amber ones. "Protect them."

For a split second, Ichigo could see the hardships this man had endured. With that in mind, he nodded mutely and the man smiled.

With that, the world pitched backwards and the world fell into darkness.

A/N: This chapter. Shorter than what I'd like it to be, but we'll blame that on it being the first chapter. I think who the old man is is pretty obvious! If you don't know then get out. You no HP fan.

For this story, I am doing pairings. Some are a given, but some aren't! Pairing list is in the next chap and any more suggestions are welcome!

TIME LINES

Harry Potter: After the seventh book, but a year or two after the final battle. I was toying with the idea of Hogwarts moving locations… not really sure if that'll work, but we'll see. As to what they're doing with their lives… You'll just have to wait and see, won't you? And as of now, all of their pairings still stand.

Bleach: Awhile after the Fullbring Arc. I last saw/read that specific arc about… 1, 2 years ago? So some of the ending is kind of spotty to me. I doubt anything afterwards will come in to play (mainly because I haven't been able to keep up with the manga).

Edited as of 7/10/14

So, this is me… about 3 years after this was first published. Yay.

Listen, guys, I'm sorry. I've had a ton of stuff going on in the past few years and I just found that writing didn't help as it usually did. Reading, on the other hand, helped a lot. So, even if I haven't been writing, I've been reading A TON. Doing this, I've often come back to my own writing with more criticisms than compliments. With these feelings of discouragement, I admit I haven't even attempted to write in a long while.

But tonight…. Tonight I was planning on searching through some of my favorite stories for one in particular. So, I decided to go about it through clicking on my profile. Then I saw the amount of reviews I had for this story. 18. 18 freakin' awesome reviews (and one hilarious one where I was likened to a perv because of my many ;Ds I ain't even mad!) that made me feel like a terribly privileged person. 18 reviews may not seem like a lot to some, but with the time I've been having, 18 reviews is tear jerking.

I AM GOING TO FINISH THIS STORY. NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES.

Given that it has been a few years since I've touched this story, I'm open to any ideas or criticism that you may be willing to give. C'mon, guys. Writers love criticism… When they're far enough away to resist punching you in the face ;P

Love you guys, hope you continue, I SHAN'T GIVE UP ON THIS.