Ichigo suppressed a manic grin as he watched the students file out of the Great Hall, still whispering excitedly. Now that he had revealed himself publicly, there would undoubtedly be reporters swarming to get an interview, and possibly some Ministry officials looking for him. He scoffed. As if they could do anything. He knew that the upper-class purebloods who had bribed their way out of imprisonment for their World Cup stunt were out for blood. But no matter how much influence they had with the Ministry, there was no way the Department of Magical Law Enforcement could do anything to him. He had diplomatic immunity granted by the Japanese government, and even if the British Ministry did try to arrest him, there was no way they would be able to keep him in custody. Ichigo doubted that they would actually try anything, not when a huge international event was about to happen. The British Ministry would not want in international scandal just before the Tri-wizard Tournament, after all.

He stood up from the teacher's table, where he had been offered an honorary position, and was about to leave the Great Hall for his room when he was stopped.

"Pardon me, Mr. Kurosaki," said the familiar voice of Albus Dumbledore. Ichigo turned and looked in Dumbledore's twinkling eyes coolly.

"Yes, Headmaster?" he asked politely. "Something I can do for you?"

"If you don't mind, we have a few questions for you, if you have the time to answer them," the old man said, gesturing to the teachers, who had come up behind the headmaster, curious looks on their faces.

"Certainly," said Ichigo, twirling his hat absently in his hand. "In exchange, I myself have a few questions for you."

"A trade then," smiled Dumbledore. "Excellent. For my first question…" He considered for a moment, stroking his long white beard thoughtfully. "Ah!" He looked at Ichigo expectantly. "Is that hair color natural? I don't believe I've ever seen such a vivid shade of orange before."

Ichigo choked slightly. He had expected a question that might cause him to reveal certain details about his mission that he was unwilling to share, not something as shallow as that. Recovering quickly, he composed himself. "It is, Headmaster," he responded, running a hand through his hair, still unruly and spiky after nearly half a century of captainship in the Gotei 13. "I believe that it's my turn to ask a question."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, and Ichigo wondered idly if it was possible for the old headmaster to go blind from too much twinkling. "It is indeed, Mr. Kurosaki. No doubt you have many questions for us, in order to become accustomed to the English wizarding world and its customs."

Ichigo nodded in agreement. "There are many things about your culture that I'm curious about, which I haven't read about already in our reports. For example, the, ah… ghosts here at Hogwarts." He looked at Dumbledore and the assembled teachers inquisitively, and some of them shivered a bit at his golden eyes, which were again glowing, this time with curiosity. "How are they able to stay manifested in this world for such a long time? From what I heard during dinnertime conversation, many of them are quite old."

"You do not have ghosts in Japan?" asked the old woman, McGonagall, looking at Ichigo with sharp eyes. Ichigo made a mental note of her. She would be difficult to keep secrets from, it seemed.

"They are not the same as the ones I have seen here," Ichigo replied. "You see, Japanese magical culture is very much based on spiritual powers and the like. The belief is that when a human dies, their soul leaves their body, which is left behind to decay. The soul then is connected to the living world by what we call the 'Chain of Fate.' The soul then lingers in the living world, bound by their regrets, until they are purified and sent to the afterlife by mythical beings we call 'shinigami,' which roughly translates to 'god of death.' However, I think a more apt translation in context would be 'soul reaper.'"

"These 'shinigami' then, they are the equivalent of the Grim Reaper then?" asked Professor Vector, the Arithmancy teacher.

Ichigo paused, pretending to think about the answer. In reality, he knew exactly how to respond already, but he didn't want to give these English wizards and witches the impression that he was very knowledgeable about the subject. After all, it was only human nature to have an overwhelming curiosity of the afterlife. "I wouldn't say that," he said slowly. "I have read about your 'Grim Reaper,' who seems to bring death. You see, according to Japanese mythology and folklore, shinigami are beings, spirits themselves, who do not bring death, but rather act like guides for the deceased's soul, leading them to the afterlife. I would compare them more to Charon of Greek mythology, the ferryman who carried souls over the River Styx to the Underworld."

"You seem very knowledgeable about Western cultures," said Dumbledore, looking at Ichigo curiously. "How is it that a Japanese wizard knows so much about our cultures and stories despite Japan being completely cut off from the rest of the wizarding world? On the other hand, I don't think any of us have heard of these 'shinigami' that you spoke of." The assembled British wizards and witches nodded in agreement.

Ichigo smiled slightly. It wasn't a malicious smile, no. Some who were present later would describe it as more mischievous than anything else. "Ah, you see, it is true that the magical culture of Japan has cut itself off from the outside world. However, the mundane world of Japan has very much immersed itself in western society."

"Mundane?" a short, plump woman, Professor Sprout, asked. "Do you mean muggle?"

Ichigo frowned. "I find that term for a non-magical human rather offensive, Professor," he said. "From what I have observed of you English wizards and witches, it appears to me that simply because you possess abilities that others don't, you think yourselves superior. Frankly, it is an idea that is appalling to us Japanese wizards. We ourselves, although we don't share our magical secrets with others, have very completely merged ourselves with mundane society. We of the magical society consider the mundanes to be our equals. The two societies have drawbacks and advantages, checks and balances, so to speak. To think that one is superior to the other is foolish."

"You mean you Japanese wizards actually intermingle with muggles?" sneered a greasy man also dressed in black. Ichigo snorted. It seemed that these English wizards were so arrogant that they had completely cut themselves off from the mundane world.

"Certainly," Ichigo said with a smirk. "Japanese wizards live with, work with, and breathe the same air as the mundanes. What makes them any different from us? What makes us any better than them? It is ideas like this, that wizards are better than mundanes, and to a deeper extend, that those wizards that are of pure blood are better than those who are not, that led to the rise of your dark lord, the so-called Lord Voldemort, fifteen years ago." He ignored the gasps of shock as he said the 'taboo' name casually.

Dumbledore smiled as he listened to Ichigo's rant. "That is a very interesting point you bring up, Mr. Kurosaki. I am rather impressed at your insights in these matters."

Ichigo bowed slightly. "Thank you, Headmaster. I'm flattered. However, I am still curious about these ghosts of yours. How did they come into existence?"

"According to the ghosts themselves," Dumbledore said, "When they died, they were offered a choice: to pass on, or to remain in this world as they are now: an imprint of their old selves when they were alive. It seems to me that those who chose to stay are those who had some sort of regret, similar to what you called the 'Chain of Fate', was it? that binds them to the world."

Ichigo nodded, thinking. He had never seen something like this before. It was unheard of in Soul Society for a soul to stay in the world of the living without hollowfying. As captain of the Twelfth division, and the one in charge of all technical matters, Ichigo was obligated to investigate. Although even if it weren't, he would have done so anyways. The scientist in him was simply itching to begin running experiments on these ghosts. He wondered if they were visible to regular mortals as well, or just to wizards. Probably just to wizards and other humans with higher-than-normal reiatsu, though, since they didn't seem to leave the castle. "Headmaster, may I request something?"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Of course, my boy. What is it?"

Ichigo refrained from rolling his eyes at the way the old headmaster addressed him. Ichigo had been a captain of the Gotei 13 for nearly half a century now, he was older than most of the teachers at Hogwarts, for kami's sake! "With your permission, may I run some experiments on the ghosts here at the school? You see, as captain of the Twelfth division of the Imperial Court Guard Squads, one of my duties is also the investigation of any technical affairs. I am the president of the Research and Development Institute, and I myself have pioneered much of the technology that the Court Guard Squads use."

"Oh?" said Snape, the greasy teacher, seeming somewhat interested. "Do elaborate, won't you?" he said with a slight sneer on his face. Clearly he doubted Ichigo's claims.

Ichigo sighed. "Very well. But in order for you to appreciate some of what I created, I suppose I should give you all a lesson on Japanese magic. From what I've seen, the normal magical population in Japan has spells very similar to those that you teach your students here at Hogwarts. However, we in the Gotei 13, that is, the Thirteen Imperial Court Guard Squads, have a very special type of magic, which we call kidou. Kidou, which translates roughly 'the Demon Arts', is magic specialized towards combat. Kidou is divided into two main branches. Hadou, or 'Way of Destruction,' consist of offensive spells, numbering from one to ninety-nine, in order of increasing of power. Bakudou, or 'Way of Binding,' focus on either defensive spells or spells intended to immobilize or incapacitate your opponent. Similarly to hadou, bakudou spells also range from one to ninety-nine."

"Interesting," remarked Dumbledore. "And the inventions?"

Ichigo reached a hand under his overcoat, pulling the custom black handgun from the right holster at his waist. "This," he said, handing the gun expertly, "is a customized Colt Model 1911. The mundane firearm fires .45 caliber bullets. However, this particular model has been modified to fire these." From an inside pocket, he produced a shiny silver cartridge with a Japanese symbol etched on the side. "This is a specialized container designed to contain a kidou spell that has been placed into minor temporal stasis. It is loaded into the gun, and when I pull the trigger, the temporal stasis is released, allowing the spell to be fired from the barrel of the gun. Allow me to demonstrate."

From another inside pocket, Ichigo produced a rubber disk about the size of a small plate. Holstering the gun again, he instead pulled out his wand. "The first, and least lethal of the kidou spells, is effectively an invisible force that pushes back the target. Roughly translated, the spell's name is 'repel', or 'thrust,'" Flipping the rubber disk into the air, Ichigo aimed with his wand. "Hadou no. 1, shou!"

The disk, which had been flipping end over end straight up, was immediately pushed halfway across the hall, landing with a soft thump on the floor.

"In order for me to cast multiple spells, I would have to recast the spell over and over again. Saying the incantation makes the spell stronger, but means that I can cast fewer spells in a set amount of time. Casting without the incantation allows me to fire many spells, but at a greatly reduced power. The gun allows me to avoid the incantation while casting the spells at full strength." Ichigo pulled out another disk, flipping it end over end once again.

Dumbledore and the assembled teachers watched as Ichigo's stance completely changed, becoming somehow more… predatory. His eyes began to glow again, and a slightly maniacal grin appeared on his face.

His right hand plunged beneath his overcoat, his long fingers wrapping around the black matte grip of the holstered gun. The disk was reaching the apex of its flight the gun came clear of the leather holster. With only an instant to aim, Ichigo pulled the trigger. The spell, invisible to the wizards' untrained eyes, struck the flat side of the disk as it was exactly 45 degrees to the horizontal, sending it flying away from where he stood. Ichigo fired again and again, the shots impacting within half a second of each other, sending the disk hurtling across the hall. The last shot impacted the disk exactly 4.64 seconds after it was tossed into the air, sending it slamming into the door with a hollow THUD, having traveled the entire length of the Great Hall.

Snape's eyes widened as he witnessed the incredible feat of speed and reflexes. Before the disk had hit the ground, Ichigo had already ejected the empty magazine and had a fresh one loaded and a new round chambered. The greasy-haired Potions master bent to the floor, picking up one of the cartridges and palmed it discreetly. This was something he had to study. Unfortunately, Ichigo's trained eyesight caught the slight movement, and he shook his head.

"Sorry, Professor, but I'm afraid these cartridges are classified as confidential contraband by the captain-commander of the Gotei 13. You can't have that," Ichigo said, smirking unperceptively. He knew how much the potions master longed to examine that. Unfortunately, without the proper tools and equipment, which Ichigo doubted the wizards had, since they had all been invented by Ichigo himself or Urahara Kisuke, even if Snape had access to the cartridge to examine, he wouldn't get much out of it.

Scowling, the teacher handed back the cartridge, which Ichigo pocketed along with the other now-empty ones he had just fired. "I assume that is a sufficient demonstration?" he asked, using his customized, completely silent movement technique, a combination of the shinigami flash-step and sonido, to retrieve the two black disks. Reappearing in a billow of his overcoat on the dais in front of the teachers, he slipped them back into an inside pocket in the coat.

"What was that just now?" asked McGonagall, her eyes wide. "That wasn't apparition. Besides, you can't apparate in Hogwarts, the wards block that. How did you move like that?"

Ichigo chuckled. "Sorry, Professor," he said, not at all apologetically. "That's also classified information. I can tell you what it's called though. I call it seishuku ashi. Roughly translated, it means 'quiet foot'. Another of my… inventions, if you will." Turning, he walked out of the Great Hall. "Well, Professors, I must admit that I still have a great many questions to ask, but it is getting rather late, and I like to get an early start of the day. Good night to you all."

The doors of the Great Hall slammed shut behind Ichigo's retreating back, leaving the professors of Hogwarts also with a great many questions unanswered.

#

Another daily update for you all! I'm absolutely stunned by how many reviews I have. 64 reviews for a mere four chapters? Dang.

Also, I have a message, or rather some advice, for the anonymous reviewer that identifies him/herself as only 'd', whose flames I have deleted. If you really want to piss someone off, I suggest you try as much as possible to use proper grammar and spelling. Sadly, when one spells 'eat' as etae, it tends to make people take you much less seriously. I do feel sad that I had to delete your two previous reviews though, since if I had kept them the review count for my story would be two higher than it is now. So, please don't waste any effort leaving a flame review, since I really don't care, since my story is clearly well-liked by my readers, and it's just going to be a waste of time since I'm just going to delete it anyway. Good day.

~fokker333