Erza continued to cry into the boy's chest, with the whole guild looking. But for some reason, she didn't care. The guild was thoroughly shocked. They had seldom seen their S-Class mage cry, and that had been back when she was young and had just joined Fairy Tail.

And yet now, here she was, their Titania, with tears of joy in her chocolate brown eyes, embracing someone the guild had never even heard of before. Surely if he had meant this much to Erza, they would have at least known something about her.

Light glowed around Erza as she equipped into something else. Nobody other than Wendy (Who was standing right next to them, and was just as shocked as the majority of the guild) could see the change. Erza now adorned an eye-patch that covered her right eye.

"I've been saving this for a long time" She said, her voice soft and quiet, as she slowly looked at her long-lost stranger. A stranger who had moulded all most everything she had ever done.

"Would you mind getting off?" the boy grunted. Erza was surprised at what he had asked, and then noticed he was under a considerable amount of pain. She quickly got to her feet and helped him to his feet. Wendy handed him his sword, which the boy graciously accepted.

"I-I'm sorry" said Erza, her face slightly flushed at the realisation of what she had done. The boy didn't say anything; he just stared at her with curiosity. Words were already being exchanged by the guild members of Fairy Tail in hushed tones

"Erza knows this guy?"

"Look at his sword!"

"Why did he lie about never being here?"

"You think it might glow?"

"Of course not, you dolt! It's obvious it can erupt into flames!"

Ichigo's brain seemed to have turned to mush as he stared at this girl, whose name he had just learnt. She talked like she knew him well, when in reality, Ichigo had never even seen her.

No, thought Ichigo. He definitely knew this girl. He had no idea how or when, but there was something about her. It would be impossible to forget that scarlet hair. Heck that would be like forgetting Zaraki was a madman. It would be a crime to forget someone who looked like Erza...so why couldn't he remember? It frustrated him, but he kept staring at her.

"Do you...remember me?" she asked, her voice filled with hope. He wanted to say 'yes' as he recognised the emotion in her voice. He had felt the same way when Rukia had assured him that he could save his family. So fragile. So desperate. He decided to remain silent.

Thankfully for him, Wendy decided to interject "I'm sorry Erza, but he's heavily injured. I'd be surprised if he remembered his own name" It was obviously not the case, but he gave a silent thankful look at Wendy, who answered with a slight nod. He guessed she got this sort of stuff well.

Erza's eyes widened. Concern won over curiosity. She spoke in a rapid tone. "You should sit down. I'm so sorry I knocked you down, it must be really painful. Why hasn't Wendy healed you already? I haven't heard of a wound Wendy can't cure"

"It's not exactly a wound" muttered Wendy, watching as Ichigo sat down on a bench near Lucy. The guild went back to its hustle like nothing had happened. "Ichigo has a...well, I'm not sure what. There's something suppressing his magical energy"

"Ichigo" Erza said the word, playing with its syllables. She had wanted to know that name for a long, long time. This was probably one of the most awkward moments in Ichigo's life, topping seeing a cat turn into a naked woman (Honestly, he had not expected that one). How often did a stranger hug you and ask you if you remember them? For now, he stayed quiet.

The guild master arrived the moment Erza opened her mouth to repeat her question. Ichigo thanked the gods for that. It would save him the humiliation of saying he didn't remember her, plus he'd finally have someone to talk to. There was something nice about the guild master, Makarov was it?

The guild went silent when they noticed the look on Makarov's eyes. He didn't look happy at all. He silently walked up to the room the Guild Master used in the guild headquarters, and slammed the door shut.

"I've never seen him that angry" muttered Wendy. "It seems worse than how he was when Acnologia hit us"

"Acnologia?" Ichigo asked, curious. It was good that Erza had turned her attention away from him; her brown eyes seemed to pierce him.

"The black dragon. It could blast out an Island with just a roar"

Ichigo's eyebrow rose a little. He had heard of pretty impressive stuff, but this one had to top that. For about a minute, nobody moved.

"I need to talk with the master" Ichigo said, walking towards the room. His knees were awfully shaky, but he didn't care. He NEEDED to get out of here, no matter what. His path was blocked by a tall yellow-haired man, who had a nasty scar running down one of his eyes.

"Get out of my way" Ichigo growled, glaring at his obstacle.

"No can do. Gramps doesn't like company when he's pissed"

"I need answers, and your 'gramps' seems like the only one who has a clue about what I'm talking about. So I'd appreciate it if you moved" The last word was particularly loud. Everybody stared in shock at the orange haired teenager argued with one of the strongest people in their guild.

"Don't talk to people you can't beat like that, boy" ordered Laxus (For it was the lightning dragon slayer).

"Yeah? And what's to stop me from kicking your ass?"

"Heh, with that little magical energy, I'd be surprised if you could beat pipsqueak over here" He motioned towards Natsu, whose fists instantly went ablaze.

"What did you say?!" He demanded, standing right next to Ichigo, a similar glare on his face. But Laxus knew Natsu well enough and actually cared for Natsu as to not insult him further. He did not, however, care for Ichigo.

"You're new here. I suggest you shut up and practise. The moment you beat me will be the moment you earn my respect. Something tells me you're never going to earn that" and with that, he walked away, making sure to shove past Ichigo's shoulder as he did.

"Who the hell is that guy?" Ichigo asked.

"Laxus. Old man's grandson" said Natsu, watching as Laxus' form grew smaller.

"Is he always a prick?"

"Nope. In fact, he never is nowadays. Don't know what's gotten into him today" muttered Natsu. He then looked at Ichigo.

"So you know Er-."

Once again, he was saved as the door to Makarov's room swung open, crashing against the wall in a massive thud. His eyes were fixed on Ichigo.

"You" He motioned for Ichigo to step inside. Ichigo complied, walking as fast his body would allow. Much to Ichigo's distaste, Makarov asked for Erza to come as well. Erza, along with Natsu, Gray, Wendy and Lucy. Ichigo quickly found a seat and slumped into it. He hated feeling weak, more than anything else.

Makarov stood at one end of the room, looking out the window in the typical clichéd over-used manner used in the bad T.V movies Ichigo used to watch. He wondered if there was any T.V here at all.

"Why did you call me?" Ichigo asked, beating around the bush wasn't something he did.

"A matter has come to the interest of the magic council. The magic council has...scouts. One of them found this" Makarov dug his coat and found something. A photograph. He silently handed it to the nearest person (Gray). "The scout made it back in time. However...he died the moment he reached the magic council"

Gray's eyes widened as he stared at the image in front of him. He handed it to Natsu, and frowned at Makarov.

"Master. This thing..."

"This thing didn't have magical energy at all. And yet, the scout couldn't even stand while within a hundred metre range from the thing. Very similar to what you displayed when you came here"

Ichigo was surprised, but did well to cover it. He could understand someone letting loose a torrent of this 'magical energy', but to use it in the same way that Shinigami did? That was out of the ordinary. It seemed like everybody was taking turns looking at the photos, which meant he was last. He sighed internally.

"Okay, so it can do that. So what?"

"The scout-."

"Oi, Master! Did the scout find the photograph or the actual thing?" asked a very confused Natsu. Ichigo wanted to bang his head against the wall. But apparently, this kid made up for his brains with brawn. Obviously he had seen the picture.

"He found the photo. He did not see the actual thing, or know who took the picture, but he felt the magical energy. It was enough to scare him to death" Ichigo was slightly taken aback by that, as he was sure the scout would have seen that thing, whatever the hell it was.

It was now Erza's turn, who just studied the picture with eyes that did not betray her thoughts. It was funny how she was crying about just two minutes ago. She then finally passed the picture to Ichigo, who nearly snatched the picture.

The being in the picture was familiar. It was humanoid, had skin as white as the moon. Where eyes should have been, narrow slits took their place. It had flowing yellow hair, falling down till its waist. It also had claws as big as knives.

"A Vasto Lorde" muttered Ichigo. He remembered learning about the classifications of hollows, but couldn't quite remember where. He looked at the Guild Master. "If this is what I think it is, we have no chance"

The master frowned at him. "We have no chance?"

"I don't have the power to even scratch a Vasto Lorde, let alone beat one. We don't have a chance" repeated Ichigo. "And from what I've gathered about you guys, neither can you"

"Are you calling us weak?"

Ichigo shook his head. "You guys are far from weak. It's just a Vasto Lorde is way too strong"

"Hey pal, from what we've gathered, you're not that strong either" growled Natsu, his eyes having an anger Ichigo didn't think the boy could possibly possess.

"I never said I was" said Ichigo. Maybe if he had come here a different time, he would have made a crude remark. Heck, he wouldn't have even accepted that a Vasto Lorde was unbeatable. But from what he knew, he hadn't even defeated Ulquiorra. There was no way a Vasto Lorde was going to be killable. It also confused him as to how there was a Vasto Lorde here, in a place where he hadn't even seen a single plus.

"Look, I need to talk to you about something" Ichigo's words were directed to the Guild Master. "Only you. I think you can actually help me shed some light on the situation I'm in"

Makarov looked like he wanted to argue about it, but rather told everyone to leave. Everyone but Erza did, and Makarov did not seem to have a problem about that. This just made Ichigo's life a hella lot more awkward. Lucy and Gray and had to pull Natsu to get him out of the room.

As soon as everybody went outside, Makarov propped himself on a chair. "What is it?"

"Uh...Shouldn't she not be here as well?"

"Let her stay. I have news I need to tell her as well"

"Fine. I'm going to cut straight to the chase. I'm not from here, and I know you know that. That thing in the picture? It isn't from here either. I don't belong here, and I need to get back to where I was"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not from here. I've never heard of this Magnolia place, and I've never heard anyone else talking about either! If this place existed, I would have seen it somewhere on the world map, but I haven't!" Ichigo was getting more frustrated by the second.

"What are you talking about? Of course you've heard of Magnolia! It's the-."

"I know. It's probably the most famous city in this kingdom, isn't it? But guess what? I-haven't-heard-of-it! And you know what? When I tell you my story, you probably aren't going to believe me either! I'm a Shinigami! From where I'm from, Shinigami are beings who maintain the balance of the living world! You see this?" He gestured to his back. "That's a Zanpaktou! But obviously you have no idea what that means right?!"

Ichigo's right hand rushed to his forehead. He was completely and utterly pissed. He felt so helpless here, so useless. His friends were probably dying; his family was probably already dead. And look at what he had here? Nothing but a bunch of hyper-active people who believed in petty things like 'family' and 'friendship'. Goddamn it! Damn it all!

"Zanpaktou? What is that?"

"It's my sword" Ichigo stated the obvious. "It's what Shinigami use to purify Hollows, or perform Konso. But you obviously don't know what Konso or Hollow means, so I could be talking to the goddamn wall and it wouldn't change the reaction I got"

He half expected the Guild Master to punch him in the face for being so disrespectful. Makarov didn't say a word. He merely stared at Ichigo, as though he understood what Ichigo was going through.

As if!

"This is so confusing! You know, I've seen a lot of movies, and in those, my situation would be considered 'dimensional travelling!'" He made a gesture with his hands. "I never signed up for this! I don't want to be in 'Magnolia!' I don't want to be a part of 'Fairy Tail'. Everybody I know is dying, and I'm here, getting beaten down by trash!"

He turned towards Erza. "Look, I'm really sorry, but I don't know who you are. You've probably mistaken me for someone else" He tried to make his voice sound as soft as possible to convey the news to her. He knew that whoever she must have met probably meant a lot to her, but he wasn't that person. There was no way he could have met her...right?

Erza did not seem convinced. She didn't even show any sign of hearing his words, although his words had been directed to her and that she was looking straight at the Shinigami. He turned back to Makarov.

"Do you by any chance...know if I can get out of here? I can't stay here"

"Dimensional travel, you say...?" said Makarov, his eyebrow slightly raised. "I think I might know someone who can shed light on this situation. I can probably convince her to meet you by tomorrow. Until then, you're going to have to stay with Gr-."

"I'll take him, Master. The house I bought is big enough for the two of us. I can cramp some of my armours into another room" said Erza, taking both Ichigo and Makarov by surprise.

"You're moving out of Fairy Hills?" asked Makarov. Erza nodded.

"Yes. I've already bought the house; surely I can accommodate him as well"

"Whoa, don't you have some sort of rule? Girls and boys can't live together!" Ichigo protested, his face turning the colour of Erza's hair. Despite everything he had gone through, Makarov chuckled. The fact that he hadn't beaten Ichigo up for being so disrespectful still surprised Ichigo.

"There is nothing wrong in it, Ichigo. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

Ichigo would have liked to say a thousand things, but instead shut up. Makarov addressed Erza.

"Gray and Natsu have fought again...There's a job that requests for both of them. Get your team together and leave by tomorrow"

"From what I heard in the guild, they don't seem to be wanting to go on a mission together"

"You don't understand. This mission was requested by Walrot Seeken, one of the four gods of Ishgal"

Erza's eyes widened with surprise. "Why is he requesting Natsu and Gray?! Something of such prime importance should be handled by someone like Laxus"

"That is why I want you and your team to go there at once. It is probably of much importance, and though Natsu and Gray are powerful, they are not capable of being disciplined"

"I understand. I will leave at once" and with that, she left the room, wordlessly asking for Ichigo to do the same. Ichigo did so with haste. He might have apologized to Makarov for his outburst, but right now, he was too angry and confused to even try and argue. He followed Erza into a now empty Fairy Tail, save Wendy, Lucy, Gray and Natsu. The latter two still arguing with each other.

"Hand this to him" Erza told Lucy, shortly after beating the two. Lucy let out an exasperated sigh, but complied said she would. She raised her eyebrow at the boy.

"Is he going with you?"

"Yes. Get to the train-station tomorrow morning. We leave tomorrow" she said. Ichigo followed her, rubbing his chest slightly. There was still a bothersome pain, no doubt left by Ulquiorra. He didn't know how the Espada had managed it, but he had. Hell, he didn't even know if it was intentional.

"Uh, look" Ichigo said, as he followed the armour clad mage. "Are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else? I've never been here bef-."

"You talked about your mother" said Erza, continuing her pace without even a glance back. Ichigo stopped in his tracks.

"My mother?"

"Yes" said Erza, finally turning around to look at him. "You said she was the most beautiful woman you had ever seen and that a life without her would be dull and boring"

"I...said that?" The pain on his chest was increasing a little. However, right now, he doubted if it had anything to do with the wound. His heart was beating rapidly.

"Yes. I can see why you would want to head back to your time. You seemed very close to your mother"

"My mother's dead" Ichigo said bluntly. Erza did not show any change in expression. He was having a hard time believing this was the woman who had been so vulnerable not long ago.

"I am sorry" her face didn't really look like she was sorry. And yet, he liked the fact that there was no pity in her eyes. She turned her back to him and continued walking, until she reached the house. It was far bigger than he had suspected, and not too far away from the guild. Ichigo already memorised the route.

The inside was very spacious, with multiple rooms on the ground floor. Each room housed dozens of armours.

"The spare bedroom is upstairs" said Erza. "It might be stuffed with armours, but I'll fix that by tomorrow"

"I don't understand" mumbled Ichigo. "Why did you agree to share this room with me?"

"Because you've met me. And you will remember me. I guarantee it. Good night, Ichigo" she said, and walked up the stairway to a room opposite Ichigo's. Ichigo entered his room (Which had about three armours only), and propped himself on the bed. He laid Zangetsu on the table beside the bed, and slowly drifted to sleep.