Yuzu's Journey
Chapter 1: Through the Senkaimon

A.N.: For the record, I set this at this particular point because I'm not sure if Yuzu actually knows Ichigo is a soul reaper. She can see spirits, to be sure, but I'm not sure if she knew the truth, so if this is inaccurate, I apologize. It's just that I've wanted to do a Yuzu story for a long time and this seemed like a good place to start.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.

After Ichigo's powers are restored….
Karakura Town

"La dee da…" Yuzu sang as she walked down the street, a bag of groceries in hand, still in her school uniform. Her father had asked her to get some food for tonight since he was too busy with patients and Karin was busy with soccer practice. She would have asked Ichigo but for some reason he had kept wandering off lately.

The thought of her brother made Yuzu's face turn sad. She loved her brother to death but she felt like she was being pushed further and further out of his life for some reason. Every now and again he'd disappear for days at a time, only giving half-assed explanations and excuses to where he's been. Yuzu suspected that Ichigo was seeing a girl and had tried to follow him, but every time she did so he'd vanished the moment he rounded a corner and was out of her sight.

Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, Yuzu looked up at the sky with sad, lonely eyes. "Ichigo. Just what are you doing?" This was almost as bad as the time he was gone for a whole month and returned badly injured. Yuzu had been worried sick and the sight of her strong and kind brother in such a horrible state reduced her to tears, never wanting to leave Ichigo's side. Things had gotten better in the past seventeen months, Ichigo spending more time with them. But it seemed that now Ichigo had relapsed into his old ways and it saddened his sister.

She continued to look at the sky and sigh in despair until she saw something jump across the rooftop. "What's that?" she pondered out loud, her eyes squinting. "Wait…that's…." She couldn't see clearly but it was a figure robed in black with a large sword on his back.

And he had orange hair.

"Ichigo!" She cried out his name but the boy moved too fast. "Where's he going?" she wondered. "More importantly, HOW is he doing that?" the perplexed brunette asked.

Taking off after him, Yuzu tried her best to keep up with her brother, taking shortcuts down alleys and even cutting through people's yards as she struggled to keep her brother in sight. Thankfully Ichigo did not bother to use the Flashstep otherwise Yuzu's search would've been in vain. Just when Yuzu's lungs were going to give out from exhaustion, she saw Ichigo head inside a building. "Urahara Shop? But that's where Jinta and Ururu live!" She was familiar with the children who worked there, watching them play soccer with Karin. "He's buying candy?"

Sneaking into the shop, Yuzu looked around and saw nobody. "Huh, wonder where everyone is? Oh no!" she gasped. "Ichigo's not stealing anything, is he?" Unbeknownst to her, Urahara and his gang had gone to the park for a picnic, leaving the shop open for Ichigo and inadvertently letting Yuzu in. Searching the rooms, Yuzu came upon a trapdoor and decided that that was where Ichigo had gone.

A big surprise waited Yuzu at the bottom. A very big surprise. "This place is huge!" she exclaimed as she looked upon Kisuke's underground training chamber. "How can a place like this be underground?"

Her musings were cut off when she caught sight of Ichigo from a distance, the boy standing in front of a rectangular gate-like object. "Ichigo!" Yuzu called out, running to him, but her voice never reached him, her brother passing through Kisuke's Senkaimon.

Reaching the gate, Yuzu pondered for a minute what she should do. Should she wait for Ichigo to return? 'But whenever Ichigo leaves he doesn't come back for days. What if he leaves now and never comes back? I could be waiting forever.' She shook her head. 'No. I…I want to know where he's going. I'm going in.'

Praying that her mother was watching over her, the schoolgirl stepped into the Senkaimon…

…And stepped out into the Precipice World. "What is this place?" Yuzu gasped, hugging her arms as she looked around. "This place looks like something out of a nightmare!" The area was dark, with just enough lighting to let Yuzu see where she was going. The walls were flowing in an odd goo-like current, making Yuzu gulp as she walked along the path. What terrified her more were the bones that littered the ground. "Where am I? And where's Ichigo?" She soon decided that this place was too scary and ran forward, hoping that she'd catch up with her brother. She walked for a short until she saw an opening of light, running towards it. To her relief, she saw the bright blue sky open up to her as she exited the portal…only to realize that she was high up in the air with nothing to stand on!

"KYAAAAAA!" Yuzu screamed as she fell from the sky, a victim of Kisuke's ridiculous joke of falling out of the sky. Luckily for the girl she landed through a large tree and she was able to snag onto a branch. Yuzu's light weight as not enough to keep it from breaking though, forcing her to land in some bushes. "Owwwww!" Yuzu cried, her school uniform getting to from the fall. "At least I'm ok. But where am I?" She looked around and was puzzled by her surroundings. It looked like she'd literally fallen back in time to feudal Japan. "What is this place?" she said stepping out of the bushes. "Did I go through a time portal or something?"

"Hey you!"

Yuzu whirled around and saw a large thuggish man walking toward her. He was bald and wearing a similar outfit to the one Ichigo wore; only his had an armband with the number eleven on it.

And he was armed with a sword.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" the large brute roared. Yuzu trembled at the sight of the man. "Answer me right now, little girl!"

"I…I don't' know!" Yuzu quickly said, walking backwards, afraid for her life. "I don't know where I am!"

The man sneered down at her, not buying it. "Liar! Nobody comes into the Seireitei without proper authorization! That makes you a Ryoka! And Ryokas…" Yuzu's blood chilled when she saw him draw his sword. "Are to be killed!"

"KYAAAAAA!" Yuzu screamed as she ran away from the man, wishing she'd never followed Ichigo through that portal. She didn't get very far when the man grabbed her by the arm. "Let go of me! Someone help me!" she screamed out loud.

"Hmph, calling for help, Ryoka?" the stupid mad sneered. "Not like it'll do you any good!" His arm arched up to make the fatal cut to Yuzu when the girl remembered all those lessons that her father and Karin taught her.

…So she kicked him square in the balls.

"Gahhh!" the man screamed, crumbling to the ground as he let go of Yuzu. Yuzu darted off in the direction, scared out of her wits. Unfortunately she rounded a corner and saw another group of black-clad people standing around at the end of the street. The group of people turned and looked at the strange girl confused before they heard the Squad eleven officer shout. "Get her! She's a Ryoka!"

Having had nothing but trouble from Ryoka, the men charged at her. Yuzu screamed as she ran into a nearby alley, looking around for a place to hide. "This place is horrible! Who are these people?!" She saw her chance when she saw a small window opened. It was small enough just for her to squeeze through. Taking her chances, Yuzu crawled into the small shack and closed the window before any of the men could enter the alleyway. Looking around, Yuzu saw that she was inside a small storage room filled with crates. Hearing voices outside, Yuzu opened up a small crate and quickly got inside it. She cried tears of fear as she heard voices from outside as the men searched for her. "What is this place? Ichigo, where are you? I'm scared!"

But soon the voices ceased and she popped her head out of the crate, seeing nobody enter the shack. "Looks like they're gone…." She looked around and saw that the shack was filled with clothing. "Maybe I should wear something so that I can blend in…." Getting out of the crate, Yuzu started to rifle through boxes and crates….

Meanwhile….
Squad 1: Head-Captain's chambers

"Sir, reports are coming in of a Ryoka having been spotted!" Lieutenant Sasakibe announced to the captains assembled. "Search parties have already been deployed." Of the thirteen captains only seven were present. Soi-Fon, Rose, Kenpachi, Kensei, Kurotsuchi, Hitsugaya and Shinji were not present, out on their own assignments.

Yamamoto scowled. "How could we let an intruder in to the Seireitei? Has there been any disturbance at the gates?"

"No sir. There has been none. We're still investigating at this time."

Ukitake frowned. "A Ryoka? How in the world could they've possibly gotten in without using the gates?"

Byakuya turned to Lieutenant Sasakibe. "Has there been any description on the Ryoka? Or how many?"

"We've only gotten preliminary reports but they indicate a single intruder: a young woman."

Komamura turned to the Head-Captain. "From what the reports have shown us, it's in all likelihood that the intruder doesn't know where she is and is scared of her surroundings. She should be taken into custody peacefully so that we may ascertain where she came from."

"I agree, Captain Komamura," Kyoraku added. "Besides, hurting little girls hasn't exactly been our style, even if she is a Ryoka."

The Head-Captain nodded. "Very well, this order goes out to all captains. Please inform those not present, Captain Kyoraku. This Ryoka is to be found immediately and she is not to be harmed until we are given reason that she is a threat to us!"

Meanwhile….

"Teeheehee!" Yuzu giggled as she looked down at herself. "Cool! I look just like a ninja!"

She was dressed in the garb of the stealth force, wearing a tight fitting black outfit that had a mask that covered her face, a dark sash around her waist and her feet covered in black tabi. "I should have no problem fitting in as long as nobody sees my face. I should try to find Ichigo…" Taking her torn school uniform she placed it inside another empty box, making a note to come back here later to fetch it. Heading out the door she remembered something critical she was still missing. "I need a sword like those people…" she said glumly. She hated weapons and violence but she knew she had to blend in.

Rummaging through more crates, she came upon a large box labeled "Asauchi". Inside was an entire arsenal of swords. "There's so many…" Yuzu reached into the box and dug through it until she found a suitable sword for her tiny size: a wakizashi with a purple hilt and a round guard. Putting it on her side, Yuzu stepped outside and looked around. "Ok…now to find my big brother." A weird thing she noticed as she looked around; when she first arrived here the area seemed blurry, as if she was looking at the world through a fogged lens but now she was starting to see things more clearly.

"You there!"

Yuzu gulped and turned around, wondering if her disguise had been blown. A small, yet fearsome-looking woman walked up to her. Yuzu could feel sweat as the woman's hard gaze fell upon her. The woman was wearing a white coat over her black garment with a yellow sash. Yuzu saw long braids clinking behind her black hair, large yellow rings attached to the ends. On her back was a short sword affixed to her. "Um…yes ma'am?" she asked, scared.

"You're the new rookie for the Punishment Force, correct?"

'Punishment Force? What kind of place is this? What would Ichigo be doing in a place like this?' "Um…yes ma'am?" Yuzu said hesitantly. She had no idea what was going on but knew she had to run with it or risk being discovered.

The woman scowled at the woman, making her sweat through her outfit. "Rookie, my name is not Ma'am. You will address me as Captain. Understand?" she barked in a harsh voice, making Yuzu flinch.

"Yes, ma'-I mean, yes, Captain."

The Captain crossed her arms as she assessed the young girl in front of her. "Hmph. You don't look like much. We'll see how you do out in the field today, Rookie. What's your name?"

"Um…Yuzu."

Captain turned around. "Well, Yuzu, come with me. You're going to be a part of my group today. We'll be hunting hollows near the gates. I want to see what you're capable of, Rookie."

"Yes, Captain…."

Yuzu followed the woman as she led her away from the shack, wondering what fate had in store for her. As they walked, a million questions entered Yuzu's head.

'Where am I?

Who are these people?

Where on earth is Ichigo in this place?

…And what in the world is a hollow?'

To Be Continued….

A.N.: I think we all have a VERY good notion of how this is going to play out…or maybe not, I might just surprise everybody. We'll see….