(A/N: My brain is scarred irrevocably by a code geass abridged series and a Harry Potter and Deadpool crack fanfic. I will never be the same again…yet somehow I still have the proper brain cells to continue writing. Go figure)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Tales of Symphonia


3rd Person pov

Aselia

Lloyd, Sheena and Kiku flew across the skies of Aselia. Their destination was Altessa's place. Neither had realized the reality of the situation, so they were intent on asking Virginia for Raine's whereabouts. However, when they arrived, they were met by Altessa at the front door.

"Oh, Lloyd, Sheena…I believe your name is Kiku yes?" Altessa asked.

"Yes," Kiku nodded, recognizing the dwarf. Ratatosk's Rangers had met Altessa on more than one occasion.

"What can I do for you?" Altessa asked.

"Hey, Altessa. Can we speak with Virginia?" Lloyd asked.

"Virginia? Who might that be?" Lloyd and Sheena were at a loss for words.

"Altessa are you…feeling okay?" Sheena asked.

"I feel fine. I've never felt better. I've been hard at work since that incident in which I was injured by Mithos Yggdrasill. It was the night right before all of you attacked Cruxis," Altessa stated.

Wordlessly, Lloyd and Sheena decided it was best to keep their remembrance to themselves. "Altessa…have you seen the Professor anywhere?" Lloyd asked.

"Professor Sage?" Altessa asked. "Not since she and her brother left to make the world a better place for half-elves."

"So we're back to square one," Sheena commented.

"Might I ask what you three are doing together?" Altessa asked. "I was under the impression you were travelling with the Chosen, Lloyd."

"It's a long story and we're kind of in a hurry," Lloyd excused. It was the truth, but not the whole truth so he wasn't breaking the 11th dwarven vow.

"Well, whatever you're up to, good luck then," Altessa told the group.

Lloyd and Sheena got back up on the Rheairds with Kiku clinging to the Ninja chief's waist. Kiku had never been off the ground so high before, so she was rather nervous being in the air all the time.

"So now what?" Sheena asked Lloyd.

"Well the professor's not in Iselia so that's out," he said. "Maybe we could track down Ratatosk's Rangers and see if they could point us in the right direction."

"That's a good idea! Kiku, do you know where we might find Marta and the others right now?" Sheena asked her.

"We were supposed to go to Palmacosta to stock up on supplies," Kiku stated.

"Palmacosta it is then," Lloyd and Sheena both veered their Rheiards in the direction of the Sylvaranti city.


Kyoto, Train station

While Ichigo and Masaki waited at the train station, Ichigo's phone rang. It was Mimi. It figures she would call. Ichigo thought to himself and answered. "Moshi-moshi."

"Ichigo, where are you?" Mimi asked.

"I'm at the Kyoto Train Station with my mom," He answered. "I'm going back to Karakura Town, something important came up."

"Oh, I know what this is about," Mimi ranted, "You're going back to see that Orihime bitch aren't you? You can't fool me!"

"This has nothing to do with Orihime. If you don't believe me you can come down here yourself," Ichigo responded shortly into the phone.

There was a moment of silence before Mimi said, "I think I will." She hung up.

"Looks like we're waiting forty five minutes for a new train," Ichigo sighed as he put his phone away. His mother didn't mind one bit.


Palmacosta

Lloyd, Sheena and Kiku arrived in the large port city together. Kiku was so shaken up from the Rheairds that she voicelessly demanded that she and Sheena hold hands. Sheena didn't mind of course. Kiku was her friend.

The trio looked around town for a bit before Lloyd pointed to Marta and the others retreating from the other side of the bridge and shouted. "There they are. Marta!" He ran up to Marta and the rangers. Surprisingly to him, Naomi and Emil were absent from the pack.

"Oh, Lloyd, Sheena, Kiku." Marta said turning around to see her friends. "Something you need?"

"Marta, have you seen Raine anywhere or know where she might be?" Sheena asked her.

Marta shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I don't know where Raine might be," Marta said. Lloyd let out a pained growl of frustration.

"What's the matter?" Serina asked. "Something we can help with?"

"Maybe," Lloyd said and took a deep breath. "Does the name Ichigo mean anything to any of you?" The consensus was a unanimous 'no'.

"What about Emil? Surely he'd remember," Sheena asked. Marta let out a shrill gasp, looking like she was about to cry. "What…what did I say?"

"Sheena…don't you remember what happened?" Marta asked.

"N-no…I…we thought Emil was with you," Sheena was confused.

"What are you talking about?" Marta cried out in anguish. "Emil sacrificed himself to become a permanent lock on the Ginnungagap after he thought he had accidentally killed me because he was pretending to be Ratatosk." Both Lloyd and Sheena exchanged surprised looks.

"I get the feeling something strange is going on. Sheena and Lloyd…do not seem like themselves." Rachel stated.

Lloyd just had an epiphany. "Rachel…you…you can see spirits right?"

"I…yes…I can," Rachel was alarmed by Lloyd's outburst. "But…I don't believe I've told you that."

"Poor communication can lead to disastrous results," Kiku stated.

"Kiku has a point," Serina stated as she made to console a grieving Marta, "Lloyd, Sheena, if something is the matter, perhaps you should tell us what's wrong."

Sheena and Lloyd exchanged nods and proceeded to tell their friends what had happened.


Karakura Town

Mimi had met up with her boyfriend and met his mother and they exchanged pleasantries. Despite Ichigo's protests to explain to Mimi that he was about to walk into a dangerous situation, and Masaki's assurance that everything would be fine, Mimi insisted on coming with Ichigo to his home town. It was her first time in her boyfriend's hometown. She wanted a grand tour, but Ichigo had other things on his mind. When the three got into the Kurosaki family car, with Masaki driving and Mimi in the front passenger seat, Ichigo asked his Mother if she could drive him somewhere.

"Of course Ichigo, where to?" she asked.

Ichigo thought about how to respond to her question for a few moments before saying, "I…don't know if you would know this place, can you just follow my directions and trust me?"

Masaki smiled. "Of course."

Ichigo directed his mother all the way to the far east end of town. The car ride, with traffic, took the Japanese citizens about ten minutes to reach Ichigo's desired destination. As he came up on the proper street Ichigo instructed his mother to pull over and stop the car. He got out and told Mimi and his mother to stay put.

"Oh hell no!" Mimi shouted. "I'm going with you!" She began to unbuckle her seat belt.

"No," he told her, "you're going to have to show some form of trust to me." He played a card he didn't want to have to play, but knew it was the only way he'd get to go to his chosen destination alone. "I'm your boyfriend and I'm as loyal as a knight. This has nothing to do with another girl."

He and Mimi gazed at each other before the brunette conceded to his point. "Fine just…just be quick about it."

Ichigo sighed with satisfaction and walked down the next three blocks and turned the corner as the sun began to set. "Here we go, straight to…to…"

Ichigo found himself staring at an empty lot. Said lot looked as if it had been abandoned for years. It was as if nothing had been there for centuries. The large, tall buildings on either side of it just had a vacant dirt lot in between them.

"Where's the shop? WHERE'S THE DAMN SHOP?" Ichigo shouted at the top of his lungs. He was about to have a meltdown when he began digging fiercely into the ground with his bare hands. "I know," he said, starting to lose it, "I'll just dig my way into Hat and Cloggs' 'secret' underground training facility." He began digging at one spot of dirt frantically, hoping with every clump of dirt he scraped away that he'd fall for miles and somehow, miraculously, get up with no broken bones. However, as he continued to dig, his hopes started to die with each passing scrape. The anguished look on Ichigo's face soon brought him into despair as he ground his hands into the dirt and screamed out at the top of his lungs. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

"My, you are so loud," Ichigo heard the cold female voice from several meters up in the air. He looked to see a figure standing high upon the rooftop of the building to his right. It was a young woman, probably about 27, blood red hair coming down to her waist. Her hair covered her right eye and she stared down at Ichigo with crimson irises. She was wearing a two piece gown. The top part covered her double-d cup chest, sporting quite a bit of cleavage, with very baggy sleeves, baring her midriff. The bottom was a long, smooth skirt that went down to her ankles. Both pieces of clothing were crimson with maroon hems and golden embroidery. The woman wore a golden crown atop her head. She had very dainty hands and was wearing maroon high heeled shoes, size eight. Seeing her, Ichigo became confused, frightened and surprised all at the same time.


Palmacosta

As Lloyd and Sheena finished their story and compared theirs to their friends, both of them began to realize that something was very wrong with this world of theirs.

"So let me see if I have everything squared away," Rachel, the only spiritually savant member of the group, scratched her head. "According to your account, the journey of world regeneration was assisted by afterlife spirits called Soul Reapers. One of them, named Ichigo Kurosaki, is a close friend of us all, but only you and Sheena seem to recall these differences, while the rest of us feel as if the world we are living with is perfectly normal. You also say that there was a strange effect from the ancient, and revitalized, Twilight Imperial Palace and that we were all on the battlefield only hours earlier?" Rachel asked Lloyd.

"That about sums it up," The twin swordsman said.

"But what does this all mean?" Lavirna asked. "More importantly why are you and Sheena right now the only ones who have these weird memories?"

"I don't know, but if Sheena and Lloyd think finding the professor will help, I say we do it. Everyone, let's split up and search!" Marta declared. The most important thing she had taken away from Lloyd and Sheena's story was that, by their account, Emil was alive. If helping them meant getting back the summon spirit she loved so dearly then she was going to give it her all for her friends.

The group agreed that Lloyd and Sheena would be in charge of gathering everyone together once the professor was found. Since Kiku could teleport it was decided that she, Sheena, Marta, Lloyd, and Lavirna would go in one group, while Rachel and Serina would take the Rheairds and search from the high skies. Since no one knew if Raine and Genis would be together, room would be needed on the Rheairds. Kiku could teleport up to 8 people so she wouldn't be at maximum capacity even with Genis and Raine. Rachel and Serina decided to hit up the Tethe'allan cities, the others would be searching through Sylvarant.

Lloyd and Sheena were uncertain where they were, but if this was some form of illusion that Album Atrum had trapped them in, time was of the essence. Rachel and Serina plotted a course for Altamira and Kiku teleported herself and her friends to Asgard.


Karakura Town

Ichigo looked up at the strange figure on the rooftop before she disappeared and reappeared at the same altitude level as him, a couple meters away from the hole he had dug. Ichigo didn't know whether to run like hell or stick around, but he felt something from the woman before him.

There's no mistaking it, Ichigo said as a bead of sweat trickled down the right side of his face, she has reiatsu. "Who are you?" Ichigo asked. "Or…perhaps I should ask…what are you?"

"Simple questions, but rather than tell you the answer, why not do some work and figure it out for yourself?" the woman in red asked Ichigo.

"Hey! My life is kind of screwed up right now if you haven't noticed! I'm going to go with you haven't. No one seems to, but I'd still appreciate the lack of games!" Ichigo shouted.

"There is no reason to raise your voice Ichigo." the woman said to him. "And yes we have noticed. I come from your world, the world where the Ichigo Kurosaki with your memories belongs."

"What do you mean my world? What are you talking about?" Ichigo shouted. "Stop playing games with me!"

"More and more questions and so little reason to answer them. You won't get very close to a solution if you can't think on your feet," the crimson clothed woman stated.

Ichigo tried his best at deductive reasoning. "You…have reiatsu…but…you don't seem like Soul Reapers or hollows or even normal souls…wait are you…a Zanpakuto?" Ichigo asked.

The red clothed woman clapped her hands slowly. "I believe you just earned yourself a prize."

This woman…her attitude…feels familiar somehow.

"Since you've figured out that much, you know that each Zanpakuto has a name. Why don't you see if you can figure out who I am?" The red haired woman stated. "From my release alone, let us see if you can tell who I am." She took a few steps towards Ichigo and held out her right arm. "Awaken," She said. A surge of crimson energy around her as a sword materialized in her hand. It was sleek and medium sized. The grip had a gentle decorative bend that ended in a crimson tassel dangling from the pommel. There was a U-shaped decoration in place of the usual cross guard around the first three to four inches of the blade. At the base of the 'U' was a flower design next to a red string wrapping that connected to the handle. The string was wrapped thrice around the hilt with a three loop bow on one side and a folded paper decoration on the other. The blade ended in a slanted razor edge.

Ichigo recognized the sword immediately. "Th-that's…" He knew the sword the woman was holding all too well. He had fought against that blade for five straight days, by his memory, a little more than five years ago. "You…you're…you're Benihime…aren't you?"

With a wave of her hand the sword the red clothed woman was holding dissipated. "I am." She answered.

"I see...so you're hat and cloggs'..." Ichigo suddenly realized something, "H-hold on a minute, if you're here then where's Urahara-san?"

"I was getting to that," Benihime replied, "Ichigo, do you recall the last thing that Album Atrum said?"

The last…thing? Ichigo questioned.

"Grant me the power to step into territory beyond creation! Take me back to the beginning!"

Ichigo gasped. Back to the…beginning. "Just…just how far back…did he go?"

"As he said, in order to activate the tower's power, the beginning."

"Don't play games, what beginning are you talking about?" Ichigo asked.

"The very beginning," Benihime stated. "Album Atrum went all the way back to the very beginning of time."

Realization hit Ichigo harder than five tons of bricks falling on top of him from a thirty story window. "Wh-what?" His whole being shivered with fear.

"My master foresaw this outcome, thus he sent your father on a very important assignment while everyone else was out fighting. He put a fragment of me inside your father's soul." Benihime placed a hand to her chest. "Your father went straight to a location in Hueco Mundo where the Otherworldly Gate and the hollow world would overlap. He was instructed with a chant and some instructions by my master and was told to activate the enchantment should Album Atrum succeed in his plans. My master said it was absolutely essential that you reach the top of the tower and were there when Album Atrum activated it. By doing so, you became immune to the effects of Album Atrum's rewritten history."

"Wait a minute, how does someone rewrite history?" Ichigo asked.

"By going back to the beginning of time, he manifested and developed powers far beyond anything in the known universe. He became an elder god of time and space. He has complete dominance over the Gotei and the Royal Dimension. They are all puppets on his strings. None of them question his authority because, for them, this is how it has always been."

"But…what's become of the Urahara shop, why isn't he here? Why is my life affected?" Ichigo asked.

"That…I do not know. My master only foresaw this far and that getting you to keep your memories was essential to restoring the world to how it once was. However, I can take you to someone who can tell you the details."

"Who?" Ichigo asked.

"The only man in your town with, as far asI can sense, any knowledge of how things work around here: Ryuken Ishida."

Ishida's…dad? Ichigo questioned. He then recalled something Karin had said earlier that day.

"Dad died eleven years ago in a plane crash. He was on his way to a business trip. A friend of his, Ryuken Ishida, came and told us the news."

"Where can I find him?" Ichigo asked.

"Where else?" Benihime asked. "His office at Karakura General Hospital." She extended her hand to Ichigo. "Take my hand and we can be there in minutes."

Considering Benihime's master, Ichigo wasn't exactly jumping at the chance to take transport suggested by the crimson princess. "That's okay…I'll get my mom to drive me." He said.

"Then I shall follow you," Benihime folded her arms inside her sleeves. "As I am a spirit, I am invisible to those without the gift to see me."

"Okay, let's go see Ishida's dad then," Ichigo said and the duo headed back to his mom's car.


The skies over Iselia

"So why did you decide on Altamira?" Rachel asked Serina.

"Well, it's the basis for the Lezareno Company and Regal is the president. With any luck he or one of his employees might have done business with Raine," Serina stated.

Rachel got a mischievous smirk on her face. "Oh I know what this is about, you just want to use our investigation as an excuse to go say hi to Regal, hmm?"

"Sh-shut up!" Serina blushed, gripping the handles of the Rheaird extremely tight. "That's not funny Rachel."

"Aww, there's no reason to be embarrassed," the staff wielder teased the physically youthful elf. "Love is a beautiful thing."

"Y-yeah…w-well…I…" Serina turned snappy and shouted at her friend, "Well…well what about you huh?"

"What about me?" Rachel asked with a straight face. "I don't have an emotional investment in any man."

"Oh come on, not a single crush? There's no one who makes your heart sing?" Serina tried to probe her friend's mind.

"Nope," Rachel answered.

"Not even a past love?" Serina asked.

"What? You expect me to get all angsty and start recalling a childhood promise I made to a deceased friend?" Rachel asked. "Not every woman has to be a wallflower over a man...or a woman I don't discriminate. I'm not exactly jumping at the chance to get tied down either."

"Well, unlike we elves, human life is short lived. You're never going to find love if you pass your prime," Serina told her friend.

"Please, I've still got at least ten years before I start getting wrinkles and my hair turns the color of my outfit," Rachel boasted.

"So…what's your ideal man then?" Serina asked.

Rachel looked up into the sky. "I want someone who can be honorable, someone has the gusto to do the right thing, despite what the law or his orders might say."

Serina laughed. "Oh come on Rachel, what are the chances of finding someone like that?"

Rachel shrugged. "I don't think it's a bad fantasy, but I know that when I see the person I'll know that they're 'the one'. I mean you fell for Duke Bryant at first sight didn't you?"

"Uh…hey look I can see the Altamira Grand Hotel in the distance!" Serina pointed, dodging the question entirely.


Karakura Hospital

Using Benihime's directions, Ichigo directed his mother to the hospital. Mimi got slightly ticked off, saying how Ichigo was making his mother waste gas by driving him forward and back across town, seeing how the hospital was only a couple of blocks from the train station, but Masaki said she was more than happy to drive her son across town if it meant helping him do what his heart was telling him to do. Mimi just rolled her eyes.

The young college student had gotten what she wanted, Ichigo was her boyfriend. She, like Orihime, had admired him from afar, and now she was closer to him than any other girl at Kyoto University. However, like Orihime, she was starting to realize that the real Ichigo was much different than the fantasy she had in heard head. For Orihime this hadn't been an issue. Orihime and Ichigo had broke up because Sora did not believe that the long distance thing would work between her and Ichigo. There had been a huge argument and Ichigo had lost his temper as a result. Sora had Orihime break the closeness she had with Ichigo off. She and Ichigo were still really good friends, but once Mimi entered the picture, Orihime was aggressively pushed away by the territorial brunette. This was not outside Sora's calculations and exactly the reason he didn't want Orihime so close to Ichigo in the first place beyond High School if they were not going to the same college.

Ichigo had tried to keep his friends from fighting, but eventually found it too much work and just gave up, Mimi winning out. Mimi looked out the window, remembering most of her life at Ichigo's side, blissfully unaware that the Ichigo Kurosaki in the back seat did not share any of her memories.

As the Kurosaki family car pulled in front of the hospital, Ichigo got out of the car, saying that Mimi and his mother should get something to eat, since he might be a while. As he approached the hospital, Benihime appeared before him. Ichigo gave an acknowledging nod to the her and the Zanpakuto followed him inside the hospital. Ichigo went to the vending machine and got some chips and a cola and had a snack before approaching the front desk.

"Yes sir, can I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"Hi, I'm here to see Ryuken Ishida," Ichigo said.

"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked.

"No, but I'm the son of one of his late friends. My name is Ichigo Kurosaki," Ichigo stated.

"I'm sorry Kurosaki-san, but the director isn't accepting any social calls at this time," The receptionist replied.

Thinking quickly Ichigo grabbed a post-it note from on top of the counter and scribbled something on it. "Then could you call his office and say to him the word written on this piece of paper?" Ichigo requested.

The receptionist sighed and dialed her boss' office number. "Yes, Ishida-riji, this is Mayu Sanaki, one of your front desk receptionists." (Riji = Director) There was a pause as Ryuken responded to Mayu's introduction. "There's a Mr. Ichigo Kurosaki here to see you." There was another pause. "Yes, that's what I told him sir, but he asked that I give you a message." Another pause. "Hai, let me see what's written here. Umm…" she looked at the Kanji oddly. "Zan…pak…uto?" She didn't understand what the kanji meant. Ryuken did however. "Oh…okay…I shall do that sir." Mayu hung up the phone. "The director says he will see you." She told Ichigo. "The director's office is on the top floor, room eight hundred eight."

Ichigo gave the receptionist an acknowledging hand wave and headed for the elevator.


Asgard

Kiku's teleportation into the center of the windy town spooked several civilians. "We are in Asgard," She stated.

"Er…right," Lloyd said, taking notice of the ashen circle around the now dispelled teleportation field the group had arrived in.

"Should we split up and ask around?" Sheena asked.

"That sounds like a good plan," Lloyd said. "Sheena, Kiku and I will go see if Aisha, Linar, Harley or the Mayor have seen the professor. Lavirna and Marta, you two go and check out the marketplace."

The group agreed and split up.


Karakura Hospital, room 808

Ichigo reached Ryuken's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Ryuken answered from the other side. Ichigo walked in, followed by Benihime.

"Picked up a stray?" Ryuken asked Ichigo.

"Hardly," Benihime stated. "Ryuken Ishida, there is much we have to tell you."


Altamira

Upon arrival in the bustling city Serina and Rachel went towards the tramway to take them to the Lezareno main office building. After smooth talking the guard over, Rachel got the two women elevator access and they took the lift to Regal's office.

"Oh, Rachel, Serina," The Lezareno president said in both surprise and welcoming to his companions, "I wasn't expecting a visit from friends, please come in. What can I do you both for?"

"We're looking for Raine," Rachel stated. "Have you seen her at all?"

"I can't say I've seen Professor Sage recently enough to know where she would be now, but by the look on your faces I'd say something very dire is going on. Might I ask to be informed on the situation?" Regal asked. Rachel and Serina agreed.


Asgard

Lloyd, Sheena, and Kiku entered Aisha's house and found Raine working with Linar on something on Aisha's kitchen table. Harley was reading a newspaper and Genis was asleep in the chair by the door. When the young half-elf heard the door open he woke up and turned his head to see Lloyd entering into the house. He sprung to his feet. "Lloyd!"

Lloyd was happy to see his friends. "Genis! Professor!"

"Lloyd, what are you doing all the way out here? Where's Colette? Is something the matter?" Raine asked.

"There's something Sheena and I need to explain to you both, it's really important." Lloyd stated.

"Well, go ahead," Raine told him.


Karakura Hospital, room 808

After hearing what Ichigo had to say, Ryuken lit a cigarette and puffed on it. "You know if it wasn't for the fact that there's a dead man's Zanpakuto in my office, I'd find you a nice padded room right about now."

"Does that mean you believe us?" Ichigo asked.

"For the most part," Ryuken replied.

"Just what do you mean by dead man's Zanpakuto?" Benihime asked.

"Ichigo, the Urahara shop you mentioned does not exist because Kisuke Urahara was never banished from the Soul Society. Instead he was killed, along with many others, in what is known in the Soul Society as the Elder God's Blood Purge." Ichigo couldn't believe his ears. Kisuke Urahara deceased? The very notion was absurd.

"Several things you have told me do not add up with the Soul Society's current standings of things. For one, the quincies were never hunted down. Instead, Elder God Album Atrum dispersed us across the many worlds of the universe, keeping us from over multiplying. He also restricted that parents were only allowed one set of children, to keep our numbers from growing too large. To continue, he also orchestrated a blood purge, arranging the Soul Society, the Gotei and the Royal Dimension as he saw fit. The Soul Society lost many great men during that front. No one questions the Elder God's authority. He has brought about a peaceful afterlife, hardly anything goes wrong. Yet you mark him as a madman. You would stand against him, despite what he has done to keep the peace. The world you come from sounds like it has been full of hardships and rash decisions. The Elder God has prevented such things from occurring. Would you throw away peace simply for your own selfish reasons?" Ryuken asked. "Peace that has kept the lives of the quincy people alive for more than half a millennium."

"To substantiate his 'peace' he killed a lot of people. That is something I cannot accept. God or not, peace or not, the only thing Album Atrum has created is a tyrannical dictatorship," Ichigo scowled.

Ryuken inhaled the smoke from his cigarette and then blew it out before speaking. "Your father said the same thing. He was determined to know why so many of his closest companions had to die. He went to the Soul Society, alone, in hopes of learning the truth. We went together. We were brought before the Elder God by the soutaicho and then betrayed to the Elder God, by him. I barely escaped with my life. Your father was not so lucky. He opened a Senkaimon and told me to go back to tell you and your family about his fate. He told me to tell you and your family he died in a plane crash. However, it seems that his reasoning was sound. That's the only explanation I can think of that would allow Kisuke Urahara's Zanpakuto to be at your side."

"So wait, besides my dad and Hat and Cloggs, who else died in that Blood Purge?" Ichigo asked.

Ryuken opened a drawer and pulled out an obituary list, written in Isshin's handwriting. Many of the Soul Reapers listed Ichigo did not recognize, but there were a cluster of names that stuck out besides his father and Urahara: Yoruichi Shihoin, Shaolin Fong, Shinji Hirako, Hiyori Sarugaki, Jushiro Ukitake, Shunsui Kyoraku, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Lisa Yadomaru, Nanao Ise, Retsu Unohana, Tessai Tsukabishi, and Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto. Ichigo shook with fear at reading the names of some of the most powerful people he knew written on an obituary list.

"But…if…jii-san is dead…who…who runs the Gotei now?" Ichigo asked.


Squad One Barracks, Captain's Meeting

The captains and Vice-captains of the Gotei 13 lined up for a regularly scheduled meeting with their vice-captains. Sporting the number two haori was Stefan Lusca. He was a lime-green haired man with a prideful manner. His Vice-Captain was a slender woman with long, chestnut brown hair and emerald eyes named Kendra Otamachi. The number three haori was worn by a man with crimson hair covering his left eye. His name was Treva Hoshima. His Vice-captain was Rojuro Otoribashi. Leading fourth division was May Stowa and her vice-captain was Isane Kotetsu. 5th Division's captain was Toshiro Hitsugaya. Momo Hinamori was his Vice-captain. 6th Divison was led by the famous duo Byakuya Kuchiki and his wife, Hisana. 7th Division's captain was Love Aikawa and Vice-Captain was Yosei Samakura. 8th Division had their captain as Kaname Tosen. Sajin Komamura was the vice-captain, and since incidents had not occurred to have him do otherwise, he wore a helmet over his head. 9th division was led by Kensei Muguruma assisted by Mashiro Kuna. 10th Division's captain was a woman with long dark brown hair. She wore thick eye-shadow and lipstick in contrast to many of the other high ranking female officers who wore little to no makeup. Her name was Mari Akari. Her Vice-captain was a young woman, looking about half Mari's age, with green hair the color of pine-needles. Her hair came down to her mid-back in split ends, and red irises. She was known as Yuna Homura and she was very devoted to her captain. 11th Division was led by the fearsome Kenpachi Zaraki and the fiery, red haired, Renji Abarai. 12th Division was led by a woman with bright brown hair, with her hair styled in a bun and two hairpins running in an X-pattern through said bun. She had a shapely bust, much like the captain of the 10th. She was the most feared of the 13 captains outside the head captain for she was Kasumi Atrum, the only daughter of the Elder God, Album Atrum, and his bride, Nemu. Her vice-captain was Izuru Kira. 13th Division's captain was the famous Kaien Shiba and at his side was the 6th Division Vice-Captain's younger sister, Rukia Kuchiki.

The 1st Division lieutenant, a woman with long pink hair, carrying a claymore blade, calmly walked into the hall. Her name was Yachiru Hekira. She was the mentor of the current Kenpachi, now his inferior in combat. Originally, when they met, she had been the 13th division's vice-captain, but had been transferred to a more respectable position after the blood purge since Chojiro Sasakibe had been caught up in it. Yachiru was the only individual Kenpachi respected, despite the fact that he had become stronger than her. They had a long running history together and she had convinced him to join the Gotei after 40 years of friendship. Yachiru addressed the Gotei: "The Soutaicho is entering. All stand at attention."

All the captains and lieutenants did as they were told as a man, with short brown hair, walked into the hall. He wore rectangular framed glasses and had an easy going, warm smile upon his face. He reached the other end of the hall and turned to face his fellow captains. "Good everyone is here," He spoke calmly. Everyone looked over to their Captain Commander ever since the death of the former captain commander at the Elder God Album Atrum's hands: Sosuke Aizen. "Shall we begin today's meeting then?"

To be continued…


(A/N: The world has been spun completely on its head with Album Atrum in complete control of the world, married to Nemu, having a daughter, and having absolute command of the Gotei 13. How did things come to be like this? Why is Aizen in charge with so many of his former enemies? …well former enemies as known to us beyond the 4th wall anyhow. How are Ichigo and the Aselians going to fix this mess? Answers to some of these questions will be answered next time on Tales of Bleach: Blades of Destiny).