I do not own the characters, ideas, and/or places from either Bleach or World of Warcraft and their respective universes. Tite Kubo and Blizzard® own them respectively. Any original characters in the story belong to me. Any comparisons to other fan fiction or series characters are entirely coincidental and not intentional.
Hello - Normal Speech
Hello - Thoughts
Hello - Demons / Titans/ Inner Hollow/ Dragons / Arrancar Released Form
Hello – Thoughts of Demons / Titans/ Inner Hollow/ Dragons / Arrancar Released Form
I love reviews. To see that someone took the time to log in (or not) and criticize my work is fantastic. I don't care if the review is positive or negative as long as they give good reasons for their response I'm happy. I have gotten reviews that pointed out plot holes, questions I didn't answer, or simply things that I forgot.
PM or say in a review whether you prefer this method: One character per chapter or my earlier method. Depending on what is said I will go back and add material to the earlier sections (Chapters 9 – 11) in order to make them full-blown chapters.
AUTHOR NOTE #1: Please note that this chapter contains the sections involving Ichigo from Chapters 9 and 11. While at first glance it may seem as if I simply copied and pasted them here as a chapter I have added much to the sections as well as introduced new dialogue and sequences. I am doing this in order to advance the story without jumping around and potentially forgetting to write key points or plots that would help to tie everything together.
AUTHOR NOTE #2: Do not take this chapter as a sign that I am just going to redo Chapters 9-11 into full chapters. While I will delete those chapters one I have written full-length chapters I will make sure to include a lot of new material in each of them so that they are worth reading again.
...
Secret of the Dragonflights Arc
Chapter 10: Ichigo's Dramatic Escape from Darkshire
Ichigo glanced at the sky as a fork of lightning illuminated the surrounding forest. Quickening his pace as a cold wind picking up, he was determined to find shelter before the storm hit.
Quite a bit of time had passed since his fight with that strange woman and her partner and Ichigo had no idea who they were. He decided to put that on the backburner when he saw a faded sign on the side of the road that read 'Darkshire.' Silently hoping this place wasn't deserted as well he picked up his pace.
As he entered the town he noticed something strange. While there were people walking on the streets and talking with each other the overall atmosphere of the town was one of nervousness and fear. "Something has these people scared out of their minds. I didn't notice anything that bad on my way here so what could it be?" Determined to get some answers, he walked towards a man sweeping outside a building.
"Hey."
The man looked around nervously before seeing Ichigo walking to him, "Yes?"
"Mind telling me what the hell's wrong with these people?" he asked as he gestured over his shoulder to the town.
"You must be new here if you don't know what's going on. This is Darkshire where people go missing from their beds in the middle of the night. A man and his wife can go to sleep and only the wife would be left when dawn arrives."
"And no one tried getting help?"
"We have tried. Several times, in fact," the man sighed and looked into the forest, "No one that we sent for help has ever returned. Not a single one. Eventually we gave up trying to find help and decided to let the adventurers and mercenaries deal with the problem."
A howl in the distance caused the man to jump, "Listen, I can't stay out here any longer. If you want more information go to the Darkshire inn at the end of this road. Someone there might be able to help you."
Ichigo watched the man race inside the building before turning and walking towards the inn, "What he said sounds a lot like that diary I found earlier with people disappearing for no reason. I wonder if it started here or is spreading?"
Reaching the inn as the rain started to fall, he pushed the door open and took a quick glance around. The whole first floor was functioning as a pub and was full of human-like people dressed in various robes, leather, and steel and all of which had various weapons lying on the ground or against a wall next to them.
He shut his eyes as he tried to face the reality of his situation. "Just count to ten Ichigo. When you open your eyes, you will be back in Hueco Mundo. You will not be standing in a Dungeons and Dragons world."
Opening his eyes and seeing that he was still there, he sighed and made his way to a table near a corner and sat down, leaning Zangetsu against the wall. Groaning as he stretched his muscles, he propped his chin on his hand and looked through the nearby window as storm finally hit.
"What the hell is going on? I remember fighting an arrancar and using that cube Hat-n-Clogs gave me to try to stop his attack. But instead I somehow got dropped off in this backwards world filled with magic and other things." As he put his thoughts together, something clicked in his mind.
"It must have been a portal or something. That could mean that I'm not the only one who made it through to this place. Ok, so my next step is to find everyone else. The only problem is I have no damn clue where to start looking."
As Ichigo thought about his predicament and how he was going to get home, he was brought out of his thoughts by a light feminine cough. He turned his eyes away from the rain-covered window to the barmaid, who was standing by his table with a look on her face that suggested she had been standing there for far too long.
Looking back out the window Ichigo muttered a quick, "What?"
The woman's face gave a slight twitch as she brushed down her apron in frustration. Calming down and clearing her throat she asked him, "Would you care for something to drink?"
"Who are you?"
"I'm the barmaid Mabel Solaj and, if you keep up this attitude, the woman who will throw you out into the rain."
With a bead of nervous sweat trickling down his face, Ichigo quickly said, "I'll be glad to have something. What do you have?"
"We have a few kegs of Pinot Noir, Thunder Ale and Rhapsody Malt. We also have a few bottles of Junglevine Wine that some traders 'left' with us when they forgot to pay for their rooms. However…" she trailed off as she stared at Ichigo, "you see far too young to be able to drink. All I've got for kids is some Melon Juice."
Ichigo blinked in confusion as the choices were given, "I don't recognize any of that. Sure some of the words are familiar but I never heard of brands like that."
"I need to think about it," he said as he waved Mabel away, "Come back in a little while."
Mabel sputtered indignantly, "Are you serious? As you can plainly see the inn is packed. If you aren't going to order anything now then I'm not going to come back."
"Well go then," Ichigo said as a familiar scowl appeared.
Mabel huffed and gave Ichigo a dirty look before hurrying over to another table at the far end of the inn, clearly passing several tables of men and women calling out for her. Turning back to the window and his thoughts, a minute didn't pass before loud and boisterous laughter echoed over from the table behind him. Turning around, he saw two dwarves with match red beards drinking and laughing.
The one closest to him noticed Ichigo looking at him and gave him a hard pat on the back, "Nice job kid. I haven't seen someone fluster or frustrate Mabel that much since that night elf. What was her name again Gogan?"
The other dwarf quickly finished drinking from his pint and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He leaned back against his chair as he answered, "It was Villina…no wait, it was Vylina…crap, what was it again? Oh right! It was Vilyna."
"Thanks Gogan. So Vilyna pranced up to Mabel at the bar and starts lecturing her about how alcohol is bad and she should ban it in her inn. Myself, I don't have a problem with the occasional drink as long as it doesn't interfere with your job, but Vilyna had to say that we should never drink."
"She was one hell of an uptight bitch Hoiran," Gogan mumbled.
"True Gogan, but the best part happened after Mabel had to listen to her talk and talk for over an hour. It was hilarious watching Mabel slowly but surely reach her tipping point."
As Hoiran went on with his story, Ichigo found himself starting to relax for the first time since he arrived. Aside from the fact that he could understand perfectly everyone around him even though that shouldn't be remotely possible, it seemed as if he finally had a moments rest.
"…And then Mabel picked up Vilyna and threw her out the door into the street. The curses that spilled from that night elf's mouth made Gogan here almost blush in embarrassment. It was one of the funniest things I have seen in years!" Hoiran finished while laughing. After about a minute he calmed down enough to ask, "So what is your name kid?"
"Ichigo."
"That's one strange name. What are you doing in the Duskwoods? Don't you know how dangerous this place is?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
"It's simple. My brother and I arrived with one of the supply caravans about two years ago to try to deal with the supernatural forces plaguing this place," Hoiran explained with sarcasm near the end, "Our job entails fighting and killing every zombie, ghoul, abomination, worgen, ghost, skeleton, and ogre that we come across."
He scoffed at Hoiran's blasé description of his work, "Nothing much my ass. There is no way he goes out and fights zombies." When he saw that Hoiran was expecting a reply, he said, "I'm actually lost. I literally took a wrong turn and somehow ended up in the forest west of here. I stumbled through the forest until I found a road and then followed it back here."
Hoiran coughed as he chocked on his drink. It got so bad that Ichigo had to turn around and slap his back a couple of times to clear his lungs. After a minute and several deep breaths he asked, "It's impossible for anyone to travel through the Duskwoods by themselves without being torn to shreds!"
Ichigo shrugged lazily, "It wasn't that bad. Sure there were a few giant spiders and wolves but besides those it was an easy walk."
Hoiran stared at Ichigo before he groaned and reached into the bag hanging from the back of his chair, "Damn my sense of morality. I won't be able to sleep tonight if I know a kid your age is travelling through the Duskwoods by themselves."
"What do you mean 'kid my age'?" Ichigo growled.
"Save the bravado for someone else kid. There are things roaming these woods that can break a man's mind and sanity to the point where you can only dream of death," Hoiran somberly explained as he gave Ichigo a map. Opening it up, he turned his head when he heard the dwarf get up and walk over to his table.
"We are right here," he said as he pointed to the map, "The farms of Westfall are to the west and Elwynn Forest is to the north. To the south is Stranglethorn but you would have to be crazy to go there without a guide or direction. No, the best way to get you out of here with your mind and body in one piece is to take the road north. It is the shortest way out of the Duskwoods and will bring you to Stormwind. Someone there will most likely be able to help you."
Rolling the map back up and tucking it into a pocket, Ichigo couldn't help but feel suspicious at the dwarf's generosity, "What's the catch?"
The dwarf took a long drink before he talked, "Over the years I've seen a lot of upstart adventurers your age that think they are invincible once they get a sword. They are always the first to die in battle. I guess I just don't want to see you fall the same way is all."
"Er…thanks, I guess. By the way, how-" Ichigo was cut off as several men in gray armor with swords and shields emblazoned with a lion stormed into the inn. The whole building fell silent as the man in front stepped forward and spoke with a deep and gravely voice.
"Listen up!" he shouted. Once he felt the entire bar grow silent he reached up and removed his helmet. Banging it against his leg to dry it he continued, "I am here on the orders of both Lord Fordragon as well as Lady Prestor to tell you that my men and I are to be stationed in Darkshire until our mission is complete. If you cooperate we will be gone as soon as possible."
Seething in rage, Mabel slammed the glass she was cleaning on the counter and stormed towards the captain, "Who the hell do you think you are to just storm into my inn and say what you just said? After Stormwind abandoned us you have no right to just come back and take over!"
"While we are regretful about your situation, we are here on business." The captain motioned with a hand to one of his soldiers, who let the large bag attached to his back fall to the floor, "We are here in search of a man who was last seen in the proximity of this town. While details about what he looks like and how he acts are sketchy, we do have a somewhat accurate picture of the man."
The captain gestured with his hand and the soldier stepped forward and gripped the edges of the large poster and pulled them taunt. Once Ichigo saw it, he gagged slightly and silently wished he were somewhere else at the moment. Drawn on the poster, with some exaggerations here and there, was a remarkably accurate picture of him, scowl and all. At the same time that he realized this, everyone else in the bar did as well. The captain noticed the stares and followed them to Ichigo, who was slowly moving his hand towards the hilt of Zangetsu on the wall behind him.
As his men drew their weapons and slowly circled around Ichigo, the captain said, "Just give up and come quietly boy. I promise if you do so no harm will befall you."
Ichigo's expression softened and for a moment is seemed like he was considering turning himself in. Sighing, he stood up and threw the table at the captain with enough force to knock him and the men around him out cold.
"You're out of your fucking mind if you think I'll just give up that easily."
...
Katrana Prestor was walking through the Stormwind Royal Gardens when a drop of rain fell from the overcast sky and onto her forehead. Looking up with a sneer of disdain at the storm clouds, she quickly moved towards one of the pavilions in the garden and leaned with her back against one of the wooden posts. Closing her eyes to try and prevent the oncoming headache, she growled when she heard a familiar voice talk to her.
"You took a bold risk moving so directly against that man. Don't you think the wanted posters were a bit much, even for you?"
Goodbye headache. Hello migraine.
She scoffed and turned to the death knight, "You took quite a risk coming here Bloodhaze. Have your injuries addled your brain?"
Bloodhaze let the insult slide as he turned away from her and gazed toward the city of Stormwind in the distance, "What is your end goal of this plan? I did not find that man to be such a threat but it seems that you saw something that you feel warrants such methods."
"Are you forgetting what he did to your precious runeblade?"
"True, he did shatter it but it was not the first time a runeblade has been destroyed."
Katrana turned and walked away from Bloodhaze, her disdain for the man rising with each second, "You death knights have never understood just how intricate politics is. This man knows more about our plans than anyone should. If he manages to tell someone what he knows then questions will be asked and investigations will be raised. Sure I might survive such an event depending on who he tells and by carefully manipulating Bolvar as much as possibly but our plans might be delayed by up to a couple of weeks."
Bloodhaze reached out and picked a rose from one the bushes growing near the pavilion. After watching some water drip off the petals, he coldly crushed it in his hand, "And whose fault is that? You cowardly fled the field of battle when you had the advantage. While he was definitely stronger than you, he had not knowledge of what you can do, of what you are. You could have easily shifted and crushed him."
"And once again you are clearly showing just how smart you are," she retorted as she gazed out through the rain, "Our location was near the Twilight Grove which, since the mortals vanquished the satyr corrupting it, has been patrolled by the green dragonflight. If I had shifted to my true form they would have easily sensed it and investigated."
The death knight did not talk as his glowing blue eyes scanned the garden.
"By the way Bloodhaze," Katrana slowly said, a smile growing on her face, "Why are you here? By the cracks and dents in your armor you don't look too well. Is your master upset with your failure?"
"You know exactly why I am in this state!" he sharply responded, "While my master may still dream he is starting to stir and he has found some things in Azeroth not to his liking. One of which is your incompetence."
"My incompetence?" Katrana seethed, "Who was it that had their ass handed to them?"
"I may have lost but it was YOU that allowed him to overhear us and get away. Thus, the blame falls squarely upon your shoulders," he accused while pointed an armored finger at her.
"Why you-"
"Listen well Prestor. When my master heard of your plan, he was intrigued enough to go along with it since you appeared to have everything in hand. You know what happens to those that fail him in life, both people and dragons. I'm sure you remember what happened to Sapphiron…"
Katrana staggered away from Bloodhaze and turned her head in revulsion. Of course she knew who Sapphiron was, every dragon did. To be defeated by a mortal is one thing but to have your soul bound to your corpse and forced to do someone's bidding is another. Not even she would wish that on another dragon. When she looked back at Bloodhaze she was not surprised that he was no longer there.
"I will kill you one of these days Bloodhaze. No matter whom I have to work with or what I have to do, I will not take such a threat standing down. I will end your unlife by my own hands or claws."
She walked out of the pavilion and into the garden, uncaring of the pouring rain falling down on her.
...
The inn grew silent in both shock and awe at what Ichigo just did. Gogan got up and walked over to a couple of downed soldiers before rummaging through their pockets. Hoiran simply stared before turning to Ichigo
"Skies above kid, who'd you piss off in Stormwind?"
"I don't know!" Ichigo shouted as he picked Zangetsu up and attempted to escape the inn. Reaching the front door, he came face to face with at least a dozen more soldiers standing miserably in the rain, who turned to see who was coming outside. Ichigo and the soldiers stared at each other for a moment before he stepped back inside and slammed the door shut in their faces.
Stepping away from the door and groans of pain as the soldiers tried to push open a door that swings outwards, he breathed a sigh of relief and took a minute to try and think of a way to escape.
A brief look around the first floor showed him just how limited his options were. The windows were out of the question. They were too small to fit through and even if he could the soldiers outside would spot him. The door behind the bar was another option but Mabel had locked it when he first threw the table so that was no good. As he saw the first soldiers regaining consciousness a whisper to his left drew his attention.
"You should head upstairs and find a place to hide before they get up," Hoiran whispered.
Ichigo muttered a quick, "Thanks Hoiran," as he ran to the stairs while kicking a few soldiers on the way for good measure. He reached the landing for the second floor as he heard the front door to the inn finally open and by the shouting going on downstairs, the new soldiers must be trying to rouse their unconscious comrades.
Ichigo cursed when he reached for the nearest door and found that it was locked. After quickly trying several more locked doors, Ichigo was getting frustrated and desperate, "Come on, one of these rooms has to be empty. What are the chances they are all locked?"
The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs forced Ichigo to throw caution to the wind and run to the furthest room from the stairs. Gripping the handle and twisting it, he found to his frustration that it was locked as well. Thoroughly fed up and not willing to be caught, he took a few steps back and kicked the door open. Quickly running inside the room, he turned around and tried to shut the door as best he could.
Pressing his back against the wood, he sighed and looked around the dark room. Moving cautiously to avoid making any excessive noises, he walked through the darkness towards the window. Grabbing the latch, he threw it open and was immediately pelted with sheets of rain and howling wind. Apparently the storm that started earlier in the evening had only gotten worse.
Sticking his head out the window, Ichigo noticed that there was an adjacent building to the inn with a roof only a foot or two away and a couple feet below the window ledge.
"At least there aren't any of those soldiers out there." Turning back to the now broken door to the room, Ichigo sighed as he heard the soldiers search for him room by room.
"What the fuck did I do to piss these guys off?"
Ignoring them, he stepped out onto the wet windowsill and was about to jump to the roof below when the door to the room opened, spilling the light from the hallway into the room. Moving quickly, Ichigo jumped out into the storm and easily landed on the flat roof just as the soldiers reached the window. As his foot touched the wet tiles, Ichigo started sprinting across the roof, narrowing his eyes to be able to see through the thick rain and darkness. About halfway across the roof, he turned around and saw one of the armored soldiers attempted to climb down to the roof with him.
"Goddamn it. These guys just don't give up."
Scoffing in disbelief Ichigo took off down the roof and jumped off the end across a gap between buildings. After clearing the seven-foot gap, he tucked into a roll and landed on the next house. Taking a moment to rest, he turned around and saw a couple of soldiers on the opposite side of the gap. He smirked at their reluctance to follow him.
"Not going to follow me anymore?"
The soldiers didn't respond as they turned around and ran back towards the inn. Standing up, careful to avoid slipping on the wet tiles, Ichigo walked to the edge of the roof before jumping off to the ground twenty feet below. Landing with a small grunt, he quickly looked around before running off in the direction leading away from the center of town.
"I have to get out of this place before those soldiers catch up to me. It won't be long before the ones remaining outside find out I've escaped."
Deep in his own thoughts and due to the howling wind, Ichigo barely heard the clamor of the horse-drawn wagon approaching him. Quickly jumping out of the way, he was surprised when a familiar body stood up over the side.
"Climb in before they see you!"
Taking his chances, Ichigo ran towards the wagon and grabbed Hoiran's hand. Once inside he looked around and noticed someone missing, "Where's Gogan?"
Hoiran sat down against the side of the wagon and shook some rain of his hair, "He's in front driving this thing. When it comes to escaping from dangerous situations, he is the one that can do it best."
"What are you both doing here anyway? Those soldiers are looking for me, not you."
"The situation became a lot more complicated after you ran away kid."
"What do you mean?"
Hoiran coughed, "After your little escapade upstairs the soldiers finally pooled their brains together and managed to open the inn door. While several immediately ran upstairs after you the rest spread out on the first floor to complete their other task."
With a feeling of dread in his stomach, Ichigo nervously asked, "What other task?"
"The arrest and death of everyone in the inn."
"What?"
"Keep it down!" Hoiran hoarsely whispered, "Gogan and I had that exact same reaction when their captain announced it. Apparently he felt it was in Stormwind's best interests to detain or kill anyone who might have associated with you, in fear of them either being under your control or carrying the plague of undeath."
"That's impossible."
Hoiran paused nervously a moment, "It's not as farfetched as you might think. During the Third War the undead did use sleeper agents and innocents to spread the plague."
"If that's true how did you escape the soldiers?"
Hoiran chuckled, "Gogan here took up his empty pint glass and threw it at the captain, almost knocking him out again. With their captain dazed, the confused soldiers were no match for twenty drunk and angry men and women seeking to escape imprisonment. In that ensuing confusion, we managed to escape and grab this wagon. Before we left we saw Mabel come back out and pick up a fully armored soldier and chuck him out the window."
With all that said Ichigo was still confused about one thing, "Why did you stop for me?"
"It all deals with what this says," Hoiran answered gravely as he handed a damp poster to Ichigo. Taking it from the dwarf, Ichigo unraveled it and squinted to read the soggy text.
WANTED ALIVE
Name: Unknown
Approximate Age: 15-18 years
Eye Color: Unknown
Hair Color: Orange/Red
Clothes: Black Robe with large sword
Charges: Colluding with a Death Knight, High Treason, Murder
Live Bounty: 700 Gold
The wagon was silent for a few minutes apart from the falling rain and the horses pulling it. Eventually Ichigo was the first to break the silence, "Murder? I didn't kill anyone and what the hell is a Death Knight?"
"It's not surprising you don't know what a death knight is. They are nasty sons of bitches and those that have fought them don't really like to talk about them."
"Why the hell not?"
Gogan cut in for his brother here, "A death knight is someone, a paladin, warrior, mage or whatever, that sells their body and soul to the Lich King in exchange for power. Nasty bastards, the only way to really take them down is to first shatter the runeblade they always carry and then kill them."
"And you think I'm one of these death knights?"
"Nah," Hoiran said with a wave of his hand, "I couldn't be convinced you were a death knight even if I was drunk off my ass."
"As for why we're helping you," Gogan interrupted, looking a lot more serious than the drunken dwarf Ichigo remembered, "There are two reasons. One, you look too young and…well…alive to be a death knight. Second the timing of the guards appearance in Darkshire is too suspicious."
"What do you mean?"
Before Ichigo could answer, Hoiran reached into a chest in the wagon and pulled out two cloaks, one fit for a dwarf and the other for a human of Ichigo's stature.
"Put this on. It will keep you both dry and hidden from prying eyes."
Ichigo scoffed as he took the cloak and put it on, "This would have been a lot more helpful at the start."
"We had more important issues to deal with at the time, like escaping from those soldiers. Now as I was saying, the timing of your appearance and the arrival of those soldiers was too coincidental to be an accident."
"Now that you mention it," Ichigo said, "It was a little odd that they were looking for me so quickly after arriving. I've only been here for several hours."
"That makes this whole situation worse."
"Worse?"
"Worse," Hoiran nodded, "It takes at least two hours to travel to Stormwind at full gallop or one for a gryphon. If Stormwind acts as quickly as possible, another three hours to mount up and ride back down here."
"Gryphon? Where the hell did I end up?" It took Ichigo a moment to realize the problem, "So it would take at least five hours for them to get here but based on everyone's reactions to their presence back at the inn I can't see them coming for me right away."
Hoiran pointed a stubby finger at Ichigo, "Exactly kid. Someone knew you were coming and sent the soldiers down as soon as possible."
"Someone knew I was here, but who?" Ichigo's eyes widened in realization, "That woman!"
"Woman?"
Ichigo slammed his fist against the side of the wagon, causing it to shake from the force, "I met a woman earlier. She was meeting with a strange man who sounded all weird."
"Did his voice echo and did his presence cause you to feel cold and depressed?" Hoiran asked nervously.
Ichigo scratched his face as he thought back to his encounter, "Well…he did sound kind of weird and give me a creepy feeling but other than that there was nothing strange about him."
"He must have been a death knight. Now, was there anything about the woman that struck you as odd or out of place?"
"Well…she had long black hair, cold blue eyes, and the empathy of a rock. When I fought her she fought dirty and cheated every chance she got. When I put up more of a fight than she expected she fled with the death knight."
"How did she attack you?"
"First she threw fire at me. When she fled she wrapped herself in this purple and black barrier of flames."
"Purple and black?" Hoiran asked gravely, "Are you absolutely sure?"
"Yes," Ichigo answered hesitantly.
Hoiran brought a hand to his face in order to try and relieve his growing headache, "This is a rather disturbing development. From my past experience fighting in the Burning Steppes, any time you fight someone that wields purple and black flames it is most likely a black dragon in disguise."
"A dragon?" Ichigo asked skeptically, "Are you fucking serious?"
"I most definitely am. A black dragon is one of the most vicious and conniving creatures on Azeorth. Fighting and surviving against one is considered a feat."
Ichigo took a second to process that before he asked, "What now?"
"We need to get to Stormwind as quickly as possible," Hoiran shouted at Gogan before turning back to Ichigo, "We'll be passing over the Elwynn River soon and should be in Stormwind before the morning. You should get some rest. Hopefully the rain will stop before we reach the city gates."
Ichigo nodded and leaned back against the side of the wagon and closed his eyes. He had not rested since arriving on this strange world and the exhaustion was finally starting to catch up to him. He didn't understand why he was a magnet for trouble. Honestly, who could expect to drop in another world right on top of a conspiracy like he did? He didn't tell Hoiran and his brother about it because, much as he trusts them, he didn't want to get them involved in his business. Opening his eyes one last time before nodding off, Ichigo could see a series of orange and yellow lights far in the distance to the north.
...
As I said in the beginning of this chapter, this is the combination of Ichigo's story from chapters 9 and 11. Since it started out as a merging of two already written segments I added a third one and rewrote a lot of the first segment (especially the first couple of paragraphs)
Tell your friends about this story. Read and Review.
~Bahamut_Reishiki