Disclaimer: Nothing is owned, but the OCs. And, really, I don't even own the copyright for them, because those cost money. Life is such...

Chapter 1 – It's About That Time

Mornings were the absolute worst. It was the mark of a new day. A new period of self-reflection and self-loathing. A new dawn of waiting.

He didn't bother with an alarm anymore. He rarely got a full night's sleep anyway.

If he needed sleep, it would be a problem. But since he didn't, it was merely just an annoyance.

Kurosaki Ichigo stared at the digital clock that rested on a bed stand. It read, "04:34." The former substitute Shinigami sat up, eyes narrowed, and wordlessly rolled out of his bed. Walking to his bathroom, which was connected to his roomy, yet still unimpressive bedroom, he grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste and sighed. This was going to be yet another long day.

It had been six months since he had passed. In those lonely six months, he learned what his path was to be.

To become a lord. Which one he followed did not matter.

To him, Death would be the best. So he would work toward that. To achieve this in a timely manner, he had to throw himself at his job and focus on nothing else. Luckily, he had no distractions to get in his path. For now, at least.

His trip to the bathroom ended at 04:46. Still hours before he had to leave. This was the worst moment of his days. The time when he has nothing to do.

What he needed to do was simple. But, like everything complicated plan, he needed to set it up. And like with all good plans, he needed plenty of backups.

But it's only been six months. He has plenty of time.


04:53

He was going to melt. He needed to find something to waste his time. Sulking isn't exactly the most productive way to spend his early morning. Since he lacked a physical human form, without the use of a gigai, he didn't require food, even though he still enjoyed the taste. He didn't need to sleep either, but if he didn't do that, he probably would have lost his mind months ago. Or at least what he hadn't lost already.

"Let's not go down this again..." Ichigo said to himself, darkly. He had to remind himself constantly to not get bogged down by the negatives in his life. He had to remember his purpose and what needed to be done next.

"Let's move into the future..." he said, leaning back against a wall.


05:31

The thoughts he desperately tried to avoid were creeping back. He had no escape from his mind. He needed a distraction.

Going to work early would do, for a short period of time, but it was never enough. He needed more.

Grabbing his car keys, the very stressed redhead started to make his path out of his humble apartment and into his mundane "existence" that he called life.


06:08

"Oh, Private Maddox, you're early," Ichigo said, approaching a young woman, sitting at a desk in a dimly lit office with light blonde hair, and the slightest peaking of dark brown horns poking from underneath. The subordinate flinched.

"O-oh, Ensign Kurosaki!" she squeaked, "Good morning! I came to finish some work I left last night."

"How diligent of you. I won't bother you too much," he said, "Keep up the good work..." He left the small office and started to walk to his own office, a much larger one. It was sparsely decorated, as Ichigo didn't see the need to dress the room up. Nothing he did to the room made it look less like a prison.

Sitting at his desk, he turned on his computer and logged in. He opened his email and scanned it quickly, looking for anything important.

"Just meetings..." he groaned.

Luckily, in his line of work, nothing exciting happened. He went to work, then he went home. Because of that, he was allowed to plot as needed. Unfortunately, there was nothing he was able to do at the moment. He needed to promote and establish more connections.

"Step by step, Kurosaki..." he said to himself.


07:47

"FOUO:/Briefing 1335"

The email popped up and Ichigo almost wanted to find someway to kill himself. He hated briefings, because he knew what they came with. Especially since he had other work to deal with.

Briefings came with paperwork. A lot of it. And with paperwork came a lot of questions from every corner. As a newer officer all he really had to be focused on was the paperwork and keeping his head down from any hawks looking for easy prey, but he knew that there would always be extra targets on his back due to his background.

"Let's prepare for this shit."


08:02

"Ensign Kurosaki," a relatively dark-skinned man, with the same gold bar that Ichigo wore on his collar, with a buzzcut, said, standing in the door frame.

"Ensign Tawfeek," Ichigo said, with no inflection in his voice, "What can I do for you?"

"You hear who's coming down to town?" Tawfeek said, with a wide smirk on his face, "Lord Touken's little pet."

"Captain Kato? You sure?"

"Positive. Us at Protocol are already busting our asses to get ready for her. Makes me sick."

"Great. More eyes."

"Ever since you got here it's been nothing but eyes on us. I'm starting to think you are bringing us bad luck." Tawfeek sat in a chair facing Ichigo's desk and sighed.

"I wonder what the big deal is this time. I hope we don't have to get involved too much this time."

"We will," Ichigo said, frustration brimming in his voice, "It's always like this. They need some goons to do their dirty work and we're the ones they love to get. Mainly because if we complained about it, there would be no one going to listen to us."

"Ensign Kurosaki, what did I tell you about being bitter?" Tawfeek said, grinning, "Let's just handle this the quietest we can. If we make no noise, we get no trouble, right?"

"I'm not sure that's how this all works..."

"Eh, semantics."


10:12

Ichigo had done nothing for the past two hours. This was his life now. He wanted. He received instructions. He did his job. Then he waited for some more.

Of course, he had a good reason to wait. He still hated it. But it wasn't like he was going anywhere anytime.

He did miss his friends, however. He felt that being isolated would make his resolve stronger, but all he felt was bitter coldness and the agony of being alone. And it was driving him mad.

Pretending to like any of his coworkers led nowhere. They all were self-absorbed snakes. If they saw the slightest opportunity to advance their careers, they would strike at it with absolutely no regard for whoever was in their way. It was pitiful.

Of course, this was by design. The militia had no use for ethics. Militaries use ethics. Somewhat, thinking about it further. Militia, by design, was meant to be the most efficient paramilitary force at the lowest possible cost. Optics would be bad, but no one cared if the job was done.

Ichigo groaned, feeling that he has lost his focus. There wasn't much to do at the current moment. There was going to be a meeting where their group was going to be told to kill someone, probably related to the Gnev Bolezn experiments, and the story they were going to push on why they were there. It was always the same. It had really become a boring routine.

"Should I have done things differently?" Ichigo said aloud, to no one. He had no more real voices in his head. No more Zanpakutō spirit. No more false one. Of course, he swore he still heard Ulquiorra, but that should be impossible...Should be? He did technically absorb him before he faded away, but that should matter. Ichigo doesn't have a soul anymore.

Why was he even having this eternal crisis anymore? None of this crap mattered to him anymore. He had a job to do. And that job was going to take a long time to do. He knew there was going to be a lot of boring clean up to do. And he knew that he had to be the one that did it. There was no reason to be mulling over this at the current moment. He simply had to stay true to the path laid out in front of him.

This...That was fun.

Not having to worry about some conspiracy. Not having to deal with the Shinigami and their problems. No having to deal with the Wandenreich, wherever they happen to be. Just hunting down some monsters and the bastards who created them. Easy enough. It was oddly relaxing that your job was done when the enemy was defeated and not having to deal with any nonsense afterward. Of course, when that day gets closer, things wouldn't be so easy, but he'll worry about that stuff when it gets here.


12:46

Ichigo liked to be early to meetings and briefings. He liked to decompress beforehand. Preferably alone. This time, he was not allowed that opportunity, as Tawfeek was there before him, alongside a couple of enlisted leadership.

"You think this might be a dud?" Tawfeek asked, smirking, "We got stripes here."

"You pay attention to the other briefings, idiot?" Ichigo asked, "Enlisted is always here. You think we're going to do boot work?"

"You might."

"Might not. I go out with the Enlisted because it's a decent learning experience for them. I'm not out there to work."

"Hmmm."

That was a lie.

Ichigo, in his short time in the militia, had become an excellent liar. Had to be. No one could know that he had died. Or...Died in name only.

Ichigo did not die properly. His soul was lost. His soul faded away. His body remained.

Ichigo was not a man. Ichigo was willpower walking. His body wasn't completely useless, but it was completely unusable as a host. But, there was something he could take from it.

"So, what do think it is this time?" Tawfeek asked, smirking, "Demons are left for the demon hunters. Some bullshit relief mission?"

"Ensign Tawfeek, I'm going to need you to stay back on this one," Ichigo said, narrowing his eyes. Tawfeek chuckled.

"Say less. I hate these sudden deployments."

"I need the field experience anyway."


15:43

Somalia, Africa. Next day out. Flight time 0600. Of course, it's something that Ichigo had to take care of. He was the only officer in contact with the Horsemen. Well hopefully. He would rather not have to put a body in the ground.

Ichigo hated the fact that he was nothing more than a glorified assassin. Ichigo never liked killing people. Monsters were easy. Hollow's were even easier. But humans were...complicated.

Now, Ichigo never had a problem killing. But he really didn't like that. And now he had to. For multiple reasons.

Nothing to do now. Ichigo grabbed a stack of papers on his desk and dumped them into a satchel. Most of them were food for his shredder, but there had to be something that he could have used. It wasn't like Ichigo was on who like to throw things away.

Walking out of his office for only the second time that day, Ichigo locked up and turned on a heel, walking into Private Maddox, the meek demon secretary.

"Oh, you're still here?" Ichigo said. Maddox nodded.

"I can't just leave earlier b-because I showed up earlier," she said, shifting her eyes downward. Ichigo shrugged.

"Heh, more dedicated than me. Remember to always take care of yourself first, Private."

"W-well, I don't want to be a burden. Being a demon...It's nothing. I just want to be as useful as possible."

"Don't feel like you are useless, Private. You're as worthwhile as anyone else in this building. Commit that to memory."


17:02

Extermination. A Somali village was overrun by Gnev Bolezn's virus. The Enlisted members were being sent to support local village, but Ichigo alone was sent to kill everything in that village.

He really didn't like that.

Demon extermination was easy, but killing humans turned was just...Unpleasant. It was just yet another dirty part of a dirty job...

But, it was necessary dirt. If Gnev's virus broke throughout the world, the living world would be completely destroyed. And as unnecessary was the living world was to Ichigo's plan, there were people that he would prefer to not to die. A lot of people...

Ichigo wanted to go to Karakura...He wanted to see all of his friends...his family...But he couldn't. His "death" was key for his story to develop the way that he wanted. If he had gone back, the progress that he had made would be for naught. He needed to give himself the best opportunity to succeed and for his friends not to be distractions on his path.

He hated that he considered them distractions. They were...are his friends. Despite the living world forgetting about him and the Shinigami purging any knowledge of him due to pressure coming from the Lords of Death, he knew that those close to him would keep him in his heart forever. Even if he wasn't worth it...

He hoped that the grieving period was short and that they could move on with their lives, but he knew that he was lying...Why would he plan to go back to Karakura once his plan was in motion if he wanted them to move on?

Oh. He had almost forgotten.

Orihime had taken her first step into becoming the Soul King. Her soul was transitioning in, as the soul of the current one was transitioning out. There will be a brief period where Orihime will not have ascended yet and this is year Kurosaki Hayato, a Quincy that happened to be Ichigo's uncle and a major pain in his ass, would strike. He would enter Himmelskimmer, the birthplace of the Quincy, and force open the gates, using Irminsul, a white brand created as a secondary key to Himmelskimmer. This is what he knew. His studies led him to this conclusion.

What his studies didn't answer was why he needed a second Quincy. A pureblood, not unlike his former self, to be exact. Ishida, no matter how hard he tried, would never be adequate. But why did he need one? What could he possibly a second Quincy for? And who else could he use?

"I wonder..." Ichigo murmured, thinking about the woman that attacked him back when Yhwach revived himself. She was a Quincy...Maybe? He never got a good read on her Reiatsu. He had no way of confirming if she was a Quincy or some kind of imposter. Regardless, she was with Sora and Izanami, two dwellers of the Abyss. She wore a mask, not unlike those two. She could be stationed in the Abyss.

Regardless, his plan was to never allow Hayato to reach his plan anyway. Just get far enough so Ichigo could use his plans against him.

And technically, Ichigo's plans were the same as Hayato's, just done with a different method. One hopefully with far less unnecessary bloodshed. His uncle was reckless and fought as if he had nothing to lose. He would kill as many as it took to accomplish his goals. Nothing was off-limits.

No reason to rush, however. The scene was not set yet. Either party was ready to act. All Ichigo needed to do was wait until someone made a move to react.

21:06

Ichigo had no pictures or videos about his past life in Karakura. Some nights this made it very easy to forget that he had lived there and the trauma that has come and is coming their way. Tonight, on the other hand, he missed them dearly. He missed how Keigo and Asano would bicker, with Keigo getting beaten and subsequently leaching onto Ichigo for the support that he was not going to get. He missed how he and Chad didn't have to say a single word to each other to bond. He missed Tatsuki trying to act like his big sister, despite being two days younger. He missed his goofy family. He missed helping Yuzu with her homework. He missed playing soccer with Karin. He missed...well he missed something about his father. He missed Ishida and how he was to trigger into some rant or something. He missed Orihime and the level of peace that she brought him.

He didn't miss the Shinigami, but he did miss Rukia. She was the one who opened him to this world and she was the one that helped him along the way. She was there whenever he needed someone to make sense of the craziness he had entered. She gave him all that she could to help him grow. He really owed it to tell Rukia the truth one day, but...it probably would be any time soon.

Turning off the light in his room, Ichigo rolled into his bed, ready to sleep off a bitter day. One day, he'll make this right. But first, he needs to handle his part.

Next day, 8:22

"Ensign Kurosaki," a man, with light brown fatigues on said, smiling brightly, "I know you know that the men are always excited with officers to come out to help during our deployments. It makes our work feel a bit more legitimate, y'know?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said, brandishing a short white sword on his hip, "I can see that. Your men should know that our work is completely legitimate, even if it is done behind a shroud of secrecy." The man laughed heartily.

"I know, I know," he said, "But you know how this works. We're an illegitimate militia of hell. We're made up of demons and some of the most irredeemable villains of the living world. No one recognizes the work that we do and most officers use our blood to fuel their progression in their careers. So it feels good that you are out here with us, even if your mission is different from ours."

"Yeah. I'm glad you feel that way."

9:31

The air is thick with the stench of blood.

Ichigo steps out of the small, one-manned four-wheeler that he rode to his mission location. He put on a pair of black sunglasses and walked through the ruined gates. Mangled bodies littered the dirt road. The houses that the locals called their humble homes were in complete shambles. Gnev Bolezn's virus must have already mutated someone, and they have been making short work of the unprepared villagers. Sickening.

Bolezn was efficient with how he spread his demon virus throughout the world and the Lords were confused about how to capture him. Mainly due to capturing him would not fix their current dilemma. He had sold his virus to various terrorist groups throughout the land, knowing it'll eventually affect them too. He was a madman, aiming to kill as many as he could before he was eventually captured. And he was doing a stellar job in staying out of the open and being as hidden as possible.

"Pathetic," Ichigo said, narrowing his eyes. Ichigo didn't see himself as a paragon of justice, but such pointless bloodshed still irritated him to the ends of the earth. Knowing Gnev was once a lab partner with his mother also irked him. Of course, this disgusting bastard knew his mother.

Not matter. Eventually, he will be found. And eventually, Ichigo will find great pleasure in giving him an unmarked grave.

A blood-curdling scream erupted throughout the village, catching Ichigo's attention. The redhead pointed his head towards the largest building in the small village, the only hut with more than one story to its name.

"The beast probably ran to avoid the sun," Ichigo said, "Gnev never quite worked out that flaw." Grabbing the ivory white handle of his blade, Ichigo slowing walked toward the building, ready for anything.


"It's About That Time" by Miles Davis

I am back. Not gonna have an excuse, just know that I'm finally dragging myself out of a bad place and rediscovered my passion for writing. I'll finish this, no matter what.

C'est la vie.