Ichigo was lying on the bed in the room that had been given to him. He was thinking about what Zeus had told him. There was a war coming soon. And it would determine the universe's survival or destruction. And of course, he was caught right in the middle of it.

Flashback

"An apocalypse?" Ichigo asked in shock.

"Yes," Zeus said grimly.

"How would the destruction of Olympus cause the apocalypse?" Byakuya asked in obvious skepticism. "One world's destruction shouldn't cause a collapse of those proportions." Of to the right, someone cleared their throat.

"Lord Zeus," said a woman wearing a female version of Greek battle armor. "Permission to speak, please."

"Granted, Athena."

"Thank you," the woman, Athena, said. She then turned to Byakuya. "To answer your question, Captain Kuchiki, Olympus is actually the source of all life."

"What?" Toshiro asked in surprise. "How is that possible?"

"Simple. The world cannot exist without gods to sustain it. If we are destroyed, and Olympus is torn down, all life will follow suit. Spiritual power will fade, and souls will soon vanish into nonexistence." Athena paused, giving everyone time to let that sink in.

Finally, Rukia asked, "Who would be willing to destroy the gods if the universe would end because of it?"

"Kronos," Zeus said with adamant certainty. When Rukia asked who Kronos was, he sighed grimly. "Kronos is the king of our sworn enemies, the Titans. He is one of the three most powerful beings in the universe, which includes myself and Kronos's father, Ouranus. He is also my father."

"Your own father wants to destroy you?" Rangiku said, shocked that anybody could be that coldhearted. "Why would he want to do that?"

"The man is a tyrant," said a man who held a silver trident in his hand. "We overthrew him because he abused his power and broke several of the ancient Divine Laws that even we immortals are bound to. Now he wants revenge, and to take back the throne that he believes belongs to him and him alone."

"And just how the hell are we supposed to help you guys against someone as powerful as that?" Ichigo asked disbelievingly. "In case you haven't noticed, none of us wield godlike strength."

Zeus simply looked at Ichigo with an analytical stare, making the orange-haired teen feel nervous. "You are correct in the sense that you do not have power. As such, I have come to a decision. You, Ichigo Kurosaki, will train under the tutelage of the finest instructor Olympus can provide."

"Who would that be?"

"Chiron. He has trained many great warriors, from Heracles the Strong to Theseus, slayer of the Minotaur, the Bane of Athens. He will be the perfect instructor for you."

"Where can I find him?" Ichigo asked.

"He will find you, boy," Zeus assured him. "In the meantime, you and your comrades will stay here in the palace. You will each be given your own rooms. Perseus will show you the way."

"Of course, Father," Perseus said with a nod. He turned to leave and motioned for the others, who followed him out.

End Flashback

He couldn't quite understand it. He had lost all of his powers a year ago. Now a group of gods were depending on him to save the universe from a madman who is quite literally the great-granddaddy of all things evil. Go figure.

He sat up when he heard a knock on his door. He then heard Orihime's voice call his name. In response, he said, "You can come in." She opened his door and walked into his room. She seemed upset about something. "What's wrong?"

"Ichigo," she said quietly. There was concern in her voice. "I'm worried. This Kronos guy. From what Zeus said, he's incredibly powerful. And I can't help but wonder… what if…" She trailed off, but she knew she didn't need to finish. Ichigo looked at her with concern of his own in his dark brown eyes.

"Orihime," he said with unusual tenderness that he reserved specifically for situations like this. "Don't worry. We've all been through things that seemed impossible to overcome. Remember when Ulquiorra killed me?"

"I wish I didn't," she muttered sadly. Ichigo mentally kicked himself for bringing up that memory. He was only trying to prove his point.

"I'm sorry, Orihime. I shouldn't have mentioned that. But my point is, no matter what comes our way, we'll all find a way to get past it."

"Right," she said with uncertainty. Ichigo reached out and took hold of her shoulder. She looked up at him in some level of surprise.

"I promise, Orihime," he said with a determined look. "Everything will work out in the end. That's a promise that I intend to keep, no matter what."

Orihime nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Ichigo. I feel a little better now." She turned and went to leave the room. "I think I'll go to bed soon. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Ichigo replied as Orihime left his room.

As she closed his bedroom door behind her, she leaned back on it, thinking about all that had happened so far. Things had become rather stressful, she thought. She still couldn't believe that the Greek legends were actually true, even though she was staying in a divine palace in the Olympian city, with gods, ancient heroes, and other powerful beings dwelling just outside her own bedroom.

She thought about Ichigo's promise. She believed him with all her heart, and was ready to help him fulfill it by any means necessary. She then put on a determined face and went down the hallway, going in the opposite direction of her room.

-o-

Athena had just finished cataloguing everything in the palace library, a job she thoroughly enjoyed. She knew that humans would likely call such hobbies a sign of a major case of obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD. She didn't really care, though. She loved working with books, and that was all that mattered to her.

As she was walking down the hall heading for her bedchamber, she felt a small (at least to her) presence of spiritual energy, and turned to see the source. She saw the young, red-haired girl that had arrived with Kurosaki with a determined and hopeful expression on her face.

"Oh, hello," Athena greeted the girl. "Orihime, right?" The girl nodded. "Well then, is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes," Orihime said nervously. "I have a favor to ask of you, ma'am." She then went into a deep bow of respect. "Please train me!"

Athena looked at the girl with her eyes wide in surprise. Had she heard her right? "I'm sorry?"

"You're the Goddess of Wisdom and Battle, right?" Orihime asked, worried that she might have gotten the wrong person. Athena gave a simple nod of confirmation. "Please. I want to become stronger to help my friends."

Athena eyed Orihime in an analytical fashion that only the Goddess of Wisdom could utilize. The girl seemed earnest enough. And she couldn't see any dark thoughts in her eyes. This girl was completely innocent, only ever having watched all-out battles, never having actually fought a particularly powerful foe. Athena's eyes narrowed.

"Very well," Athena said in the same tone that a teacher would. Orihime looked up in surprise. "I will train you." Orihime's face broke out into a wide grin of sheer gratitude. "I must warn you, however: training under a goddess can be stressful. I won't go easy on you."

"I don't want it to be easy," Orihime said with certainty. "I want to become as strong as I can!"

"Then you should go to bed. You'll need your rest. Meet me at the palace's entrance in the morning. We'll go to my private training ground from there."

"Right! Thank you, Athena!" Orihime shouted excitedly as she ran down the hall and headed for her room. Athena simply shook her head and chuckled. Tomorrow was definitely going to be interesting.

-o-

Kenpachi sat on the ground, muttering to himself miserably. Yachiru looked at the pile of rubble and debris that was once the Olympian Coliseum. Kenny had taken off his eye patch after a twenty-foot-tall Cyclops had knocked him into a wall with a war club. After that… well, one could easily guess what had happened.

"That Coliseum was the best thing that ever happened to me," Kenpachi said sadly. "And now it's gone. Now what?"

"Wanna go find Ichi and see if he got his powers back?" Yachiru suggested with an excited grin. Seeing Kenny level the Coliseum had only made her even more excited than before. Kenpachi shrugged at her suggestion.

"That's better than just sitting around here doing nothing," he said as he stood up and slung his zanpakuto over his shoulder.

"All right! Let's go!" Yachiru shouted happily as she jumped onto Kenpachi's back and pointed in a seemingly random direction. "That way!" And with that, their wild goose chase began.

-o-

Author's Note: Hey, sorry. I just wanted to let you guys know that I'll likely change the title to Warriors of Olympus. It just sounds better to me. What do you think, though? I'm not setting a poll. I'm just curious. Do you prefer Guardian of Olympus or Warriors of Olympus? Leave a review stating your opinion please.