Hello everyone! If you have a moment, I'd like to ask for you all to check out my original story, "Skykaila". You can find it on taskey, wattpad and inkitt! Thank you!

Also, happy birthday to our Ichi-berry! :D July 15th


Ichigo screamed in pain as his body slowly began to take shape. He gasped and writhed against the sandy ground of Hueco Mundo. He reached forward, a white arm solidifying from the bright blue it was previously. Ichigo dug inch long black talons into the ground in an attempt to ease the pain. All he managed to do was wrap an iron grip around a few hundred grains of sand.

Ichigo's body whipped to the right in a deformed fashion. He arched backwards as a hole tore through his chest. The mostly blank mask from the Menos he was before wrapped around his head, like it was taking possession of the poor boy, and two long horns pushed forth from the bone-like substance. A growl emerged from Ichigo's throat, thick and echoic, while two red lines bled from his yellow eyes.

Something thick, but at the same time very light, wrapped comfortably around Ichigo's body. He noticed tuffs of red at the edges of this coat, as well as a long cape-like back to it. He wiggled his feet, honestly surprised that he still had any, only to find that they were bare with pointed claws at his toes.

He surveyed his appearance once the pain ceased. A long white coat covered his white arms. Both his feet and hands had long, talon-like nails. His head was completely covered by a mask, but when it was touched he could feel it as though it were his skin. Ichigo's hair had grown abnormally long and stuck out the back of the helmet-like mask. Ichigo's chest was exposed, as well as a thick, dark hole.

"I suppose it makes sense… to fight a monster you must become one-" Ichigo froze at the sound of his voice. How did he even begin to explain how it sounded? It echoed across the silent desert, but it was more than just that… His voice was sharp, like it demanded attention.

'Come to me…'

Ichigo blinked and snapped his head to the left. That was definitely an unfamiliar voice, and yet it felt so inviting and warm. He could see something in the distance, something that looked like a castle… Ichigo didn't quite know where else to go so he decided to head in that direction.

'Eat.' Another voice sounded. Ichigo froze mid-step.

'Come to me and I will free you of hunger…'

'Eat or you'll die. Eat or you'll be weak forever!'

Ichigo groaned as the voices battled in his head. A spark of dizziness washed over him and he toppled over, whining like a hurt animal, "Who's there!? What do you want!?"

'Look out… they're coming…'

Ichigo spun around in time to come face-to-face with another monster. Hollow seemed to be the term that came to mind. Its clawed hand pinned him to the ground and he spat out a curse as its teeth drew in close to his face.

"NO!" Ichigo shrieked. His body jolted at the memory of being torn apart. It hurt, so bad, and he was not about to go through that pain again, nor was he about to squander his second chance at life! Ichigo dug his claws into the Hollow's neck. With a strength he didn't even know he had, Ichigo threw the Hollow a few meters away. He got to his feet and was about to run when one of the voices from earlier called out to him.

'Fight it Ichigo! Destroy it!'

Ichigo crouched to the ground, like a lion preparing to pounce. He growled and lunged at the Hollow. Despite its size, Ichigo was clearly stronger than it. He lifted the Hollow off the ground and threw it against a large boulder. Ichigo leapt for it again, snapping its neck.

'Eat…' The voice spoke up again.

Ichigo placed a hand on his stomach and felt it growl. The blood from the Hollow's wound released an intoxicating scent. Ichigo shuddered, knowing full well that this was wrong, but he couldn't stop himself. He rushed to the fallen Hollow and sunk thick, long fangs into its flesh. He moaned as the blood coated his throat, and the flesh sated his hunger. What remained of the Hollow, after Ichigo had finished eating, vanished into nothing. Ichigo stood tall, his muscles humming with power and his stomach full of food, and he began to pursue the first voice he'd heard.

After two long days, it soon became apparent that the voices Ichigo was hearing were coming from two very different places. One seemed to aide him, and it existed within Ichigo's consciousness. The other one seemed to guide him, but it wasn't coming from Ichigo. It was an external force, one that Ichigo didn't feel the need to have to obey. The one from within Ichigo's mind compelled him to obey it. It felt safe and trustworthy, while the outer one made Ichigo feel anxious.

In fact, the other voice was less of a sound and more of a feeling. Someone was trying to lure Ichigo in with their mere presence. Ichigo sighed and shook his head. He wasn't exactly sure how he was coming to these conclusions, but he just knew it…

"Is that him?"

Ichigo jumped at the sound of a real voice. His body whipped around in that direction, his eyes landing on a man with dark black hair and piercing green eyes. There was another man next to him, with silvery locks that covered his eyes.

"Yes, Ulquiorra. That's him." The silvery-haired man answered.

The newly dubbed 'Ulquiorra' stepped towards Ichigo. Ichigo's first instinct was to run, but before he could, Ulquiorra knocked him out with a single hit to the head.


Ichigo jumped awake, snarling at the man observing him. It was one of the men from before… 'Ulquiorra'. Ichigo couldn't seem to talk, but that didn't stop him from defending himself. He extended his claws and prepared his body for an attack.

"Enough of that," Ulquiorra spoke, clearly not startled nor scared of Ichigo's threatening position. "I am not interested in fighting you, nor should you be interested in fighting me. Can you not tell the difference in our strength?"

Ichigo suddenly felt like the world was crushing him. He struggled to stay up as the man approached him.

"I've been ordered to inform you that Aizen-sama has found you worthy of joining our ranks. You are a part of the Números, and have the number 115. That means you are joined by 114 brothers and sisters. You do not have to interact with anyone here. In fact, it's probably best that you avoid other Números altogether until your power increases."

Ichigo laid down on what he figured was a bed. It wasn't that comfortable, but it was better than sand or stone. He felt exhausted being in this man's presence.

"Oh, and one other thing…" Ulquiorra locked eyes with Ichigo. "Become aware of who the Espada are. Odds are if you feel someone else with power similar to mine, you should show them respect. If not, they might just crush you and throw you out like trash. There are 10 Espada. We are ranked by number according to our strength. You Números are simply given a number based on birth. I'm surprised you even have a number, since you aren't even an Arrancar."

Ichigo watched the man walked away, and felt more confused than he had before. He passed out swiftly afterwards, and didn't wake again until someone else stirred him.

"H-Hello monsieur…" A petite girl murmured with her head bowed. Ichigo cocked his head to the side and she gestured for him to follow her. "Aizen-sama has returned… h-he wishes to see you."

"Aizen-sama…?" Ichigo questioned. His voice had returned now that Ulquiorra's overwhelming strength wasn't crushing him.

"Yes. H-He's our leader… H-He's instructed me not to talk to you."

"Oh." Ichigo fell into silence, following behind the girl closely. Who was Aizen? Was he one of the Espada that Ulquiorra had mentioned? As Ichigo walked, he discovered that there were several other rooms around this place. Some of them were empty and others held three or four Hollows. He couldn't help but wonder why his room had been empty. There were so many questions…

"We're here." The girl announced, pushing open two large doors. Ichigo hesitantly stepped inside, observing the large room with caution. It was dark, much darker than the hallways. Figures sat upon rocks around the room. There was one figure, however, that seemed to stand out. This man sat on a large throne in the back-centre of the room. A grin could be seen on his face.

"Ah, hello." The figure greeted, standing up from his seat. Ichigo recognized that voice, and the man's presence. It belonged to the strange voice that had been calling him here.


Teaser for Skykaila: It's hard to deny the past when it's cold, red eyes are staring you right in the face. Kim froze in sheer terror. There before her was a creature unlike anything she'd ever seen - a majestic, dark blue lizard, with sparkling scales. There was only one word for a creature like this: dragon.

I'm trying to get some popularity going for this story. I plan on entering it into a contest in November!