Mr. 96: Sigh….nobody wants to read any fanfiction o' mine over July! True, I haven't updated in a while, but….

Anyway, I'm taking a bit of a break from the "When They Cry" arc, as I was conceiving it at a time when I was thinking too hard and coming up with crazy ideas. I'll finish it, of course, but I don't want to fixate on it. This is a Bleach/Shakugan no Shana crossover first and foremost.

(Opening Theme: Black Paper Moon)

(as the guitar solo commences, Zangetsu falls out of Ichigo's hands, the sky turns into night as we get a look at the sky, and the words "Ultimately Annihilated" come up in Japanese kanji behind a background of stained glass. Look up the translation, if you will.)

I'm Falling Down into my Shadow, iki wo hisomete, matteiru Deadly Night

(Ichigo and Shana clash swords high above the ground, then Nigo appears on the sidewalk in a burst of flame and looks above, scared, as Friagne appears above Ichigo and Shana.)

Don't Scary majo ga egaita, kabocha no basha mo, sono me ni utuseru kara

(Yuji stands in a windy background, shifts to Keiichi and then image melts to form Mask)

See You in Your Dreams, Yeah Baby kowai yume da to shitemo

(Ichigo and Nigo dance with Rukia and Orihime, respectively, while Keiichi looks down on them from a rooftop, his face quickly turning dark with his eyes and the inside of his mouth glowing red)

Fairy Blue, kimi no tame ni hoshi wo kudaki, kazarituketa, Black Paper Moon

(Ichigo pulls out a small ornate black sword with angel-type designs from the stomach of a brown-haired teenager wearing a vest and a stubble, then leaps up and clashes with Keiichi)

Shinjite Kureta nara! When You're Lost "Here" I am… "Forever" With Your Soul

(Keiichi cries out as his blood flies everywhere and he falls down, Ichigo rips Zangetsu out of Friagne's stomach and tears him apart with it)

Miagereba kagayaku tsuki no youni

(Ichigo looks up in a faded dark sky as an androgynous being wearing black with wings looks down at him.)

Ichigo and Shana wandered around the district of Misaki City that Keiichi specified. Both of them were incredibly angry about the fact that they had to endure each other's company for even a few minutes, but….

"You think I'd help a Soul Reaper out any more than I have to?" Uryu said, adjusting his glasses.

"I'd like to help, but I need to check up on Keiichi Maebara," Chad said.

"Um, I promised Nigo I'd go with him to the park today," Orihime said.

"Sorry, man, I got her now!" Nigo said. Ichigo remembered being morbidly in a "kill-Nigo" mood when he said that.

"I have to report back to the Soul Society," Rukia said.

"I was going to check on Keiichi Maebara too," Yuji said, "Besides, someone's got to vouch for Shana's absence."

…Thus, thetwo of them were stuck together, very much against their will. Neither of them spoke to the other for the entire trip. They eventually came to the apartment Keiichi told them about, and Ichigo knocked on the door. "Huh, that's odd. Nobody answered," he said to himself.

Meanwhile, Shana saw something out of her eye. "Over there! He's going out the window!" she shouted, pointing to another window right next to the door. Indeed, someone was moving out of the window, and quickly running from rooftop to rooftop.

"Dammit! Why does he have to make this so hard?" Ichigo swore under his breath, going out that window. He and Shana chased after Lestrade, the latter's hair turning red, and they were catching up quite quickly to him, until he dropped down below into an alleyway. Ichigo and Shana had already made the jump to another building, and by the time they jumped down, he had already gone.

"Dammit!" Ichigo said, looking around. "Where's he gone off to?" Shana said, also looking around.

"You think I'm going to help you?" a voice said from behind them. Ichigo and Shana turned around. The owner of the voice had on a white long sleeve turtleneck shirt, a brown vest over it, wore small round glasses, and had beard stubble on his face. His brown hair was curly and unkempt, and his face seemed to indicate he was American or European. As if his name didn't give that away, Ichigo thought.

"Look, there's something I need to tell you," Ichigo said, "Y'see—"

"I know what you're going to say," Lestrade said, cutting him off, "I'm something called a 'Torch', right? Sorry, but you're a little too late. I've come to terms with what I am right away."

"Then why aren't you helping me, dammit?" Ichigo said, punching a wall.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Shana interrupted, hitting him in the head, "It's not that simple. Lots of people can't cope with the fact that they're Torches. Even yours almost had a nervous breakdown on me when I told him. He must not want to help you because he knows what'll happen to him if he does."

"The little girl's right," Lestrade smiled, "A Torch has only a limited amount of time on this world. You think I'd want to make it any shorter? Look, when I became a Torch, I decided then and there that I'd do anything to survive!"

Ichigo grimaced. This guy was really getting on his nerves…!

"Listen, you idiot!" he said, grabbing Lestrade by the shirt, "You think you're the only one in the world, and that makes you the only one worth considering? Well, you're wrong! There are other people here, and…"

"There'll always be other people here," Lestrade said, "It doesn't matter who they are. I just want to live for as long as I can because I know the end's coming."

"And, what, that gives you an excuse to watch everything else burn around you?" Ichigo said, getting further infuriated with this guy.

"I'm not really in the 'hero' business, kid," the Mystes said, sighing, "And you're not much cut out for it either. I get that you wanna protect people and make a difference and all that, but it's impossible in your condition. You've lost something."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?" he whispered, although he had a pretty good idea what this guy was talking about.

"It's something that you needed. And losing it has changed you. You're not the guy you were, 'King'," he said, chuckling to himself. He turned away, and left.

Ichigo was visibly shaken by this, and Shana could tell. But to her it didn't make much of a difference. "That guy's no different from any Torch I've met except Yuji," she said, her hair turning back to normal, "They're so scared once they learn they're a Torch, they'll do anything to live just a little longer."

"No, that's not it," Ichigo said, standing up, "He said something about me being changed. What was he talking about….?"

Mr. 96: Nobody but me knows what Lestrade was talking about! I bet you can't even guess right! Also, the whole "King" deal….Lestrade ain't referencing Hollow Ichigo. I guess I'm getting ahead of myself, going after my current arc.

Anyway, review! Or "Ultimately Annihilated" goes on a permanent cliffhanger!