This is a rewriting in English version of my previous work so that English speaking readers do not have difficulties to follow my Spanish version translated in their language. In addition, I received one of the last comments from surely an American, that he had problems to follow since he claimed that he confused gender with the characters, and therefore I decided to correct it.

With that, I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1: The crimson sword

Death…

There was a lot of death around him. The ground where an open-air hill rose was littered with the corpses of brave warriors who slaughtered each other in a meaningless dispute that would jeopardize the future of the kingdom that both their brothers, parents, and friends fought so hard to achieve, and now each brother faced each other in the belief of a new future.

Between them, a lone warrior masked in silver armor and a crimson cloth skirt (tunic extension) that protruded from the armor and covered the surroundings of the waist pounced on any enemy who dared to stand in its way.

It pushed away any annoyance it saw with its great sword similar to a claymore (Scottish sword) of silver color with crimson ornaments. Apart from its natural red color, most of the blade was stained with the blood of its enemies. It kept swinging its great sword towards the numerous obstacles that stood in its way singlehandedly. No one could stop him from continuing on its way to reach its destination. It would shed blood on any fool who messed with its true goal.

It was there, when it looked up to see the person who wanted to cross his sword with him shadowed looking at its opponent with dislike without showing any sign of emotion. It was standing at the top of the hill with a posture that indicated that it was waiting for him. The lone warrior smiled under its helm when it finally saw its chance and immediately went to face it. Not without before encountering another annoying obstacle, which it immediately dispatched with its sword. Now that the path was clear and the warrior's goal was still in place, it could finally finish what it started. With that in mind, the warrior raised its bloodstained red sword to the sky whose image reflected right in front of the sun.

"Onīchan, it's morning!"

A high-pitched female voice reached the room of a certain teenager who was still sleeping in his bed, and his pet, a talking stuffed lion, was also lying on a shelf above the teenager's bed.

"Time to get up!"

The second scream made the teenager shake a little on the bed and groan until he finally opened his eyes and lazily lifted his torso until he was still sitting on the bed. His head was lowered with his distinctive orange hair slightly covering his eyes. He cocked his head to the side to gaze out the window at a shower of sakura blossoms blown by the gentle breeze announcing the arrival of spring. After a little while watching the beautiful spectacle of the sakuras, the teenager with orange hair and brown eyes lets out a huge yawn and then he put his bare feet on the ground to get up and stand up. He then he went into his closet in search of clothes.

Then, he heard a small yawn, and the teenager vaguely turned his head to look at the modified soul inside a stuffed lion known as Kon, waking up.

"Aaah, I slept well today." Kon groaned as he looked at his owner and roommate. "Is it spring already?"

The teenager still had a sleepy expression but answered anyway.

"Yes."

And just like that, Ichigo Kurosaki, 17, a 3rd high school student and former Substitute Shinigami got under way to start the day.

"Weeell, here we go with our typical family breakfast before we start the first day of spring." He exclaimed as the cheerfully and jovial as ever, Isshin Kurosaki standing in the kitchen looking at the rest of his family sitting in their respective places. "How about we organize a picnic later, huh?"

However, instead of paying attention to him, his children simply had their sights on their respective appetizers without listening to what their father was saying as if it was not an important event. This did not go unnoticed by the doctor as he watched his children ignoring him.

"Oi, are you listening to me!?" The doctor exclaimed, childishly shocked, looking at each of them to make sure they were all ignoring him. Unfortunately, they were.

"You are always the same to celebrate something important every morning when I, Yuzu and Ichi-nii have more important things to do like go to school immediately." Karin Kurosaki's disinterested voice argumented as she shoved her gohan (white rice) with chopsticks into her mouth, her expression as serious as ever.

Isshin began to complain about Karin's criticism. "Oh come on, how can you be such a party pooper? Why don't you show so much enthusiasm?"

"Because it is still too early to make our plans and like I said before, we have to go soon." Karin replied nonchalantly as she continued eating.

Isshin just sank into his chair completely disheartened by his daughter's nonchalant attitude and muttered something. "You are so cold..."

And the black-haired girl just went about her business without paying attention to her "silly" dejected father.

"Karin-chan…" The scolding tone of the youngest and most responsible family member, Yuzu Kurosaki, came from her side. "You shouldn't talk like that on such a special day. The holidays are finally over, and we should enjoy that."

Suddenly, as if her words had taken effect, Isshin came to life more spirited than ever.

"See? She does understand me. Yuzu knows how to have fun and enjoy these special moments. There is no doubt that she got this from her mother." Isshin praised his favorite daughter with a cheesy childish tone and tearful eyes. Yuzu couldn't help giggling nervously as she looked at her father's childlike form.

Karin just shrugged while still eating.

"Oh Yuzu, you are so good. You will see that we will have a good time this afternoon." Isshin continued to encourage to brighten up the atmosphere and continued talking about their plans that they were going to make to celebrate that it is spring to the great annoyance of Karin, who had no choice but to sit there and listen.

On the sidelines of the conversation, Ichigo was left alone deep in thought. The image of that great red sword still flashed in the adolescent's mind in all its glory. He still couldn't get that strange dream he had last night out of his head.

'What was all that…?'

"¿Onīchan…?"

His sister's voice made Ichigo return to normal and fixate on a Yuzu, looking at him a little worried.

"Something wrong?"

Ichigo didn't know what to say about it when he saw the reaction of his seemingly worried sisters.

"You've been in a trance since you sat down, is something bothering you?" Karin asked a bit worried as well.

In a way, Ichigo had been acting strange for a sometime due to the strange dream he had, and despite not remembering almost anything, for some reason he couldn't get that last part of his head off.

"Ah no, it's nothing." Ichigo lied with a smile. "Don't worry, nothing's wrong with me."

Yuzu didn't know if that was a good sign, but something told Karin that something was disturbing her older brother's mind. Instead, Isshin decided to change the subject.

"Anyway, girls, where was I going? Oh yeah, we could also take anything like-

"Are we already with that?" Karin interrupted a little annoyed.

And once again, father and daughter started arguing again as usual, while Ichigo and Yuzu couldn't help but smile slightly at the scene. The little morning argument between father and daughter ended shortly after, and thus the entire Kurosaki family began to devour their respective food in peace. After just 2 minutes, the family emptied their plates and got ready to do their jobs. Leaving the house, each one took different paths to go to their respective destinations; Karin and Yuzu went to their school together to start their new course there.

Yuzu watched Ichigo go his own way alone, and the former raised a hand to say goodbye.

"Onīchan, have a good day!"

"I will. You take care, okay?"

She nodded cheerfully before rushing to catch up with Karin, as Ichigo went his own way alone in the direction of his high school to start his new course.

Halfway through, Ichigo took the time to think and reflect on the events that occurred last winter. It had been 2 years since he and his friends foiled the plans of the traitorous Shinigami, Sōsuke Aizen and his army of Arrancars to conquer Soul Society, and all thanks to his last resort; the Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō, which consequently caused him to completely lose his Shinigami powers including his ability to see and feel spirits around him, so he became a normal human.

At first he did not know whether to feel satisfied or not. His powers as a Shinigami was something that he did not want since he met Rukia Kuchiki, the short girl who changed his fate, since he did not want to risk risking his life fighting against the hollows, but soon he got too used to it since, despite having obtained them by accident, in the end it turned out to be like a blessing for him since with that he could finally be what he had always wanted; The protector number 1. Thanks to those powers, Ichigo was able to save many lives (well, actually dead) including his family and friends. But in the end, he had to give it his all to beat the deranged former captain. And if that wasn't too much, the fact that he had lost spiritual sense meant that he couldn't see his friends in Soul Society anymore, especially Rukia.

At first Ichigo thought that this was all he wanted. He hated dealing with some of the eccentric spirits, especially when they knew he could see them. But Ichigo was now slowly starting to hate this normal life. Well, he didn't hate it, but he was getting anxious. Now the only ones who had spiritual sense were his father, Karin, and his friends at the Karakura High School. He wished he could be there with his friends and help defend their hometown.

Since he lost his reiatsu, he also stopped noticing his presence and that was a good thing, but at the same time he also stopped feeling Zangetsu, the embodiment of his Shinigami powers, who had taught him and guided him in all the battles he had. It was really a bit frustrating for the hero of the war against Aizen, but in the end he had to accept it and live life as if nothing had happened without fear that another war similar to the previous one would break out now.

Fifteen minutes after he left, Ichigo reached the entrance of the school campus and saw a large number of students in the same school uniform as Ichigo gathered to enter the campus. They all seemed very happy about the arrival of spring, although Ichigo didn't seem to be, not because he was depressed or something. He has always been like this.

"¡Kurosaki-kun!"

Ichigo shrugged a bit and turned to the left to see 2 familiar faces approaching him. Orihime Inoue and Uryū Ishida. They also changed a bit. Over the 17 months since Aizen's defeat, Orihime's hair had grown fuller and wavier. Her bangs naturally frame her face without her hair clips and also hang over her ears. She stopped wearing her hair clips and instead keeps them clipped onto the left collar of her school uniform. As for Ishida, he hadn't changed too much physically, except that he grew the bangs on the right side of his face and the rest were hanging next to his left ear.

Ichigo managed a smile seeing them walk together.

"Hey guys, how are you?" He asked making a wave of his hand.

"Fine, and I suppose you will go on as usual too, right?" Ishida replied making the orange haired boy raise an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I see that you still have the same orange hairstyle as always. Are you thinking of joining a street gang or something?" The Quincy asked with a joking tone and a smile to emphasize his tone.

That caused the former Substitute to frown deeply annoyed at his friend / rival's joke.

"Oh shut up. Unlike you, I'm not very interested in fashion."

"Well, sometimes I think about my style from time to time. You should do it for a change." Ishida stated as he rubbed the strait of his hair making Ichigo snort a bit at the Quincy's almost narcissistic attitude. Fortunately, someone was here to lower the tension.

"Okay, easy you two." Orihime said nervously almost between the 2 boys to avoid a possible fight. "I really don't care how each of you grieve, since I like both of you."

This caused the boys to stop looking at each other and focus their attention on the peacemaker girl in puzzlement. The air between them froze as the bubbly girl looked more flustered by the boys' reactions and couldn't help but blush slightly. This tension was really killing her, and she just needed a miracle to break it.

Fortunately, it happened when everyone heard a bell and turned towards the building.

"Well, we'd better hurry before we get scolded for being late for our first day of class." Ishida indicated before being the first to cross into the compound and then he is followed by Ichigo and finally Inoue, the latter happy for the bell and now rushing inside.

Not many things had changed as the 3 teens walked the hallways of the school and surveyed their surroundings. The hallway stretched out for several meters with a large number of students; boys and girls in the same uniform as them, talking and chatting among themselves about the old days and about the new course they had to face from now on. Ichigo barely paid attention to the scene and his mind only focused on the Quincy beside him.

He couldn't help but think that Ishida was now in charge of fighting the hollows that roamed in Karakura and could even skip classes for that task. Actually, he wasn't envious, but he was a little concerned that he was interfering in the work of Rukia's substitute, that Shinigami with brown-afro hair who didn't remember his name, although he claimed he belonged to the elite or something. Either way, he was delighted that the Quincy did a good job despite he is getting on badly with him at times.

However, the only thing he envied him was that he almost always had the fortune to skip classes with the excuse of going to the infirmary, and the most annoying of all was that he even skipped out of Biology class, his least favorite subject.

"Ohayō, Ichigo." Ichigo's train of thought was interrupted by hearing another familiar voice and he turned his attention forward to see Mizuiro Kojima, one of his oldest classmates greeting him respectfully.

"Yo, Mizuiro." Ichigo returned the greeting with a smile.

"Ohayō, Kojima-kun." Orihime greeted.

"Ohayō." It was Uryū next.

The respectful boy returned their nod before focusing on Ichigo. However, just when he was about to say something, another person also decided to say hello to them, but in a crazy way.

"Iiiii-chiiiii-gooooo!"

Just as he thought, a brown-haired boy ran wildly like a child upon seeing his mother return, passing through a crowd of students perplexed by his run, and then took a great leap towards the orange haired teenager who immediately catches him squarely with one movement of arms that consisted of wrapping his neck in a key.

"Moooorning!"

Once the energetic teenager is stopeded, Ichigo held him in place without realizing that he was cutting off his air. Both Uryū and Mizuiro shook their heads at their friends display. It had almost been three years, yet Ichigo and Keigo still acted the same. They were both hopeless.

"Alright, I'll see you guys later." Mizuiro told them. He walked past them not turning back, knowing the end result of the "greeting".

Ichigo turned his attention away from Keigo as he watched Mizuiro leave. "Yeah. See you at lunch." Mizuiro didn't turn back, but he did wave back at them. Poor Keigo tried desperately to free himself from the grip that was suffocating him, but the orange haired boy's iron grip was too much.

"I'm tapping! I'm tapping out!" Keigo gasped, gasping

Ichigo hardly noticed this.

"Kurosaki-kun, you are drowning Asano-kun." Orihime warned as she pointed to a poor Keigo on the brink of death. Ichigo had time to notice and finally released Keigo from the grip.

"Sorry about that. I kind forgot about you." Ichigo apologized as Keigo tried to catch his breath.

Once this comical scene was finished, the 4 of them proceeded with their march until Ichigo and Keigo entered their classroom while Ishida and Inoue in the other next door. In the first one, Ichigo saw some new faces except Tatsuki who was the first to notice and greet him, and he did the same in response.

'My first day of course, and we are already in Biology.' Ichigo thought bitterly sitting at his desk with one hand supporting his face as he put on a bored expression to the teacher who was standing giving lessons.

It really was a nuisance for the former Substitute to start this first quarter with one of his least favorite signatures. He wasn't a geek like Ishida or Inoue (surprisingly she is despite her character) so he shouldn't be wasting his time with this nonsense were it not for his obligation as a student on the part of his teachers to attend this. Hell, he wouldn't have minded if at least on this day they started with Math, which was one of the hobbies Ichigo was used to. But no! Math would come after recess.

With a resigned sigh, Ichigo could only wait for this shit to be over at once.

"HEY, Ishida! Where do you think you're going!?" Ichigo heard a voice from the other side of his class, and then he heard another, but familiar voice that seemed to be rushed.

"To the nurse's office! I'll be right back!"

Ichigo didn't need to know who it was when he knew that it was common for Ishida to almost skip a class with the excuse of going to the bathroom or the infirmary when in reality, he meant to exterminate a hollow lurking around the area. The truth is that he did not envy him anything, but he could not help feeling that the four-eyed was very lucky to briefly skip classes, especially this one, to his frustration. However, this was not the main cause of his unease.

'Damn it, why do I keep having that in my head?'

"Kurosaki Ichigo." His teacher's stern voice brought him back to reality and he noticed his tutor who didn't seem so happy about his lack of attention. "Biology class bores you?"

"Ah, No. It's not that." Ichigo replied nervously. "Sorry."

The professor said nothing more as he returned to the subject.

"Well, where was he going?"

Once safe from the teacher's wrath, Ichigo was able to focus on his business in peace, but he couldn't help shaking off the frustration at having that image in his head. Seriously, what the hell was wrong with him?

A few hours later

After the third hour, recess began, and all the students immediately went out to the outdoor patio to enjoy the outdoors and rest their heads a little so that they could chat with each other and eat their food. Ichigo was not among them, and only moved to his usual place being the roof of the institute where he could eat in peace, with his friends, of course.

The fresh air he breathed up here would relieve him of the stress he felt.

"Well guys, a question for everyone." Keigo spoke looking up at the rest of his friends that consisted of Mizuiro, Ichigo, Tatsuki, Orihime and Uryū, all sitting on the floor eating their respective snacks. All 5 paid attention to him.

"Any plans on what to do for your future?"

This got everyone's attention.

"You mean like after high school?" Ichigo asked looking at Keigo.

"Of course, what else will it be?" Keigo replied in an incredulous tone.

"Why do you ask now?" Tatsuki asked curious about the implication of something that should be raised until later.

"Because after this semester, we have career counseling." The brunette replied with a tone of fact. "It's time you start thinking about it."

Each one considered the chestnut's words, and although some wanted to make their answer known, some made little difference since it was still too early for that. Either way, after a short debate, Orihime was the first to respond.

"Well, the truth is that I had planned to do several things after we finished, but I'm still not sure." The orange haired girl replied a little nervous. "Maybe I'll think about it when I go to college."

"Hmm? Are you going to university?" Ichigo asked a little surprised at the orange haired girl.

"Sure, I don't want to be left behind, and I suppose my university will offer me a variety of opportunities." She replied with a smile. Ichigo had been a bit thoughtful about the fact that his friend is going to go to a university, although it did not surprise him enough due to her faculties that she had in previous courses since she had been in third place among the 20 most talented students from high school

On second thought, Ichigo also had good grades in both math and gymnastics, and maybe college is the right place to start his future there.

"That's very good." Keigo congratulated before continuing with the others. "What about you, Uryū?"

Said boy adjusted his glasses a little with an almost bored expression. "Obviously yes. At this school there doesn't seem to be a suitable challenge for me."

As much of the crowd looked at the Quincy almost shocked by his words, Ichigo just rolled his eyes. 'Nerd...'

"Hahaha, it seems that you are from what there is, huh?" Keigo chuckled a bit before turning his attention back to Tatsuki.

"What about you, Tatsuki?"

The second strongest girl in Japan tilted her head a bit thinking about her answer.

"Well, I don't intend to go to a university. I'm thinking of working in a dojo one day."

Some were not surprised that the tomboy had not thought of going to college, so they did not decide to discuss it further.

"I see… I guess that was to be expected of you." Keigo commented with a smile. "Good luck then."

Tatsuki didn't reply as she turned to her food. Finally, Keigo turned to the last person in the group.

"Well, what about you, Ichigo?" Some looked at the orange haired boy for his answer. Said boy just looked with a serious air towards his friends.

"I think it is still too early to decide, but I also think about going to a university." He answered before taking his sumo. They all silently looked at the former Substitute for his simple words, though some agreed that he was right that it was still too early.

"If that's so, I suggest you strive to get to the top. You had good grades at the start, but your grades fell from the second half of your first school year..." Keigo recalled with a smile. This hit a nerve for Ichigo as he remembered that.

"Quit reminding me. I had a lot going on back then. It couldn't be helped." A more frown appeared on the face. "Besides, I'm still above average."

Then he heard some laughter and the orange haired boy turned to see that it was Ishida who was laughing softly, but unfortunately, he was overheard by Ichigo.

"And you what are laughing at, huh?" He asked with annoyance looking at the Quincy.

Ishida stopped laughing and looked at Kurosaki in a funny way. "Please Kurosaki, you surprise me that you still consider yourself smarter than the others."

Ichigo couldn't help growl annoyed at the comment from the 4-eyed bastard who always got under his skin. Just when he was about to retort an unpleasant thing, luckily Orihime intervened.

"Come on guys, don't fight, okay?" She nervously said hoping to avoid a fight between the 2 guys she admires so much. "Now we are starting, and I am sure that we will all succeed together."

"Yeah, stop acting like you are kids." Tatsuki said as well, although her tone seemed nonchalant in contrast to Orihime.

"Certain." Keigo added as well and then remembered something that happened in class. "By the way, Ichigo, what happened to you in class today?"

This question again caught the attention of the group, who first focused their attention on Keigo and then on Ichigo as the main point of attention. The latter looked somewhat uncomfortable at the reactions of the others.

"Uh, what is it?" Ichigo asked not understanding what the brunette meant.

"Since school started, lately you haven't stopped being attentive as if you were absent. Is something wrong with you?"

The others also looked with more intensity and curiosity, especially Uryū, at what was happening to the former Substitute.

"It's true, I noticed it too." Tatsuki said suddenly remembering what happened. "I saw you as in a trance and you weren't paying attention to the teacher. Are you okay?"

Ichigo immediately realized that they had sensed his unease, surely from his incredible spiritual insights. Inwardly, he didn't want to worry them about something so insignificant, so he decided to make an excuse.

"No, it's nothing." Ichigo lied, but they didn't seem to be convinced at all.

"Are you sure? You looked a bit tense earlier." Tatsuki said looking skeptically at the orange haired boy.

"Is that true? Are you sick?" Orihime asked looking concerned as well. The rest also looked at him in the same way with a mixture of suspicion and concern to know that he was hovering in the head of the former Substitute. Ichigo couldn't help feeling nervous and annoyed by so many stares in front of him.

"I'm telling you it's nothing!" Ichigo exclaimed almost loudly. "Am-

Before he could finish the sentence, he stopped in his tracks while still looking at the expressions of his friends, and he knew very well that he could not leave them so worried until they knew what was happening to him. With an irritated sigh, he decided to speak.

"Alright, fine, I'll tell you." Ichigo said reluctantly before focusing on telling them what he remembered.

"You see, earlier I had a strange dream while I was sleeping." Ichigo started in front of his friends. "I don't remember much since everything was blank, but the only thing I remember before waking up was that I saw a strange sword floating in the dark."

"A sword?" Orihime asked confused. "Was it a Zanpakutō?"

"No, it didn't look too much like a Zanpakutō." Ichigo replied almost immediately. "It didn't look too much like a katana. Rather, I think it was foreign."

"You mean it was a western-style sword like the ones used in Europe?" Mizuiro asked next.

"I think so."

Uryū paid more attention now interested in the subject. "And what is the problem with that?"

"Well, despite being the first time I've seen it, I can't get it out of my head at all times." Ichigo replied as he rubbed the back of his head as if it hurt a little. "Every time I am deep in thought, that image always appears no matter how many times it happens, and I'm already getting fed up."

"Did you see something like that?" Uryū asked with intrigue.

"I already told you that this is the first time I've seen something like this, and to my knowledge I didn't see anything like it." Ichigo replied with a bit of annoyance. "The truth is that it is very strange for me, but..."

"Maybe you must miss Kuchiki-san." Orihime said suddenly. This made the former Shinigami wince a bit at the mention of the name. "I'm sure you would be missing Kuchiki-san and Abarai-kun, which is why you dream of swords."

Everyone looked at the orange haired a little surprised by that fact. It is true that some missed the short girl like Keigo, Orihime and Ichigo, although the latter did not admit it, but it was not that bad either since from time to time he came to visit them all in a gigai so that even Ichigo could see her and listen to her morning taunts. The last time she was here together with Renji was during the New Year holidays where the experience was unforgettable.

With this fact, it did not seem that it was the absence of the young Kuchiki that caused the former Substitute to have strange dreams with swords. No, this was something else.

"I doubt it too much." Uryū said sharing the same thought as Ichigo. "I don't know what's going on, but I think when we leave, you should go rest, okay?"

Ichigo said nothing as he considered the Quincy's advice, and he knew he was right. It was always better than something.

He rose from the ground and leaned his hands on the railing to gaze at the vast, barely clear blue sky, emptying his mind of all lingering thoughts and only focusing on his future as a normal human. He didn't know what was wrong with him, but he couldn't allow strange dreams to get in his way, and all he wanted was to live in peace since he lost his powers.

Whatever happened, nothing would interrupt his well-deserved peace.

However, few knew that fate had other ideas for him.

Somewhere unknown

In a large room with large gray stone walls with a single window with colored marquees stood an old man who looked to be in his 50s, but still seemed to be in better shape than ever. The man had short hair and a white beard. The man was dressed in black royal garb with a short black cape draped over his shoulders, standing alone in the stone room staring at a crystal ball. The man held the crystal ball in his hand while looking at her with a mischievous smile.

In it he was watching a carefree Ichigo drinking his sumo and what he said was what caused the old man to laugh. "This time nothing will get me into another supernatural experience."

"Are you sure Ichigo? Sure?" The old man chuckled at the boy's optimism. He almost felt sorry for him, but at least the boy will get over it and it would be entertaining to watch.

He just needed to do the finishing touches to make it take the ex Substitute on an unforgettable new adventure.

Karakura High School

The last bell of the school resounded throughout the enclosure, announcing the end of classes, and moments later, all the students left their respective classrooms walking through the corridors to go to their respective homes. Among them was Ichigo walking alone, and as he descended the stairs, his mind was still debating that strange dream he had and its 'apparent' meaning. Clearly, he didn't think this was because he missed being a Shinigami, since he had definitely given up on it quite a while ago and that was how he wanted it.

There was no point in it. Despite that, he admitted that he just missed old Zangetsu a little and not having had the opportunity to continue talking and getting to know each other better as promised. She couldn't help but regret a little, but she didn't think that was the cause either.

Once he was out on campus, the former Substitute pondered an option to fix this problem. Should he take Ishida's advice and go to his house to rest to forget that, or should he pay a visit to Urahara Shop to ask for answers?

No, the first would be the best. He didn't want to upset the shopkeeper about a matter he considered trivial at this moment, and it would be best to get some rest to see if it would go away in a matter of weeks.

With that in mind, Ichigo started heading home.

"Kurosaki-kun."

Just as he was about to leave the campus, Ichigo looked back to see Orihime and her side Uryū heading towards him.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked curiously looking at the two.

"Ano, do you want Ishida-kun and I to walk you home?" Orihime asked suddenly, drawing the attention of the 2 boys.

"Accompany me to home?" Ichigo asked surprised.

"Yes, it would be nice if it were the 3 of us together." Orihime insisted with a nervous smile.

Ichigo considered this for a moment and didn't really know what to say. It wasn't that he cared so much, but he had never been to his house in the company of someone, and this would be the first time. But he's also not one to turn down a friend's request, though he just hoped that a certain father and sister would misunderstand things.

"Okay." He gave the orange haired a good answer to Orihime's delight.

"Thank you. You won't mind, will you, Ishida-kun?"

"Well, I really don't have anything planned today." Uryū replied approvingly.

With everything decided, the 3 of them left the campus together and headed towards the Kurosaki Clinic. Everything seemed that everything was going to go very well for everyone on this beautiful day, but without the knowledge of anyone, a strange storm was hanging over the sky of the city.

Technological Development Department - Soul Society

Everything seemed to be going well within the Soul Society Technological Development Department with each member in their respective positions keeping a close eye on the order of what was going on in both the Soul Society and the world of the living. After the War against Aizen, there was no hollow or Arrancar activity that threatened the safety of both worlds, but that was no reason to be relaxed, as it was not yet known what was coming.

But even so, young Rin Tsubokura did not firmly believe that another different threat was coming, and he simply sat back in his seat in the main hall of the center eating a candy thus neglecting his work.

Just as he was about to open another candy, suddenly the horn alert sound was activated automatically alerting everyone present. Rin checked his terminal and his eyes widened in puzzlement.

"A sign has appeared!" Rin warned urgently, alerting the front operators. "Position 3600-4000, right in Karakura Town."

It didn't take long as the operators tried to verify the information, furiously tapping their respective monitor keyboards. For a moment, they thought it was a second coming of Arrancars, however, seeing the full information, their expectations were wrong.

"What happening!?" Asked newcomer Akon, Third Assistant of the Twelfth Division and Vice President of SRDI.

"Come here, Vice President." Hiyosu urged as he kept typing his terminal. "We have detected an anomaly in the world of the living, in Karakura Town."

"I hope it's not another Arrancar." Akon spoke as he walked towards the front operators.

"No, this time it is different." Hiyosu replied calling the attention of the unchanging vice president. "According to our data, the amount of reiatsu along with its essence, it seems that it is not linked to the Arrancars at all. I cannot identify it from the data source."

Although he didn't show it, Akon seemed genuinely intrigued by this fact at a close look at the terminal. His eyes became sharply focused as he read the data, and then a strange unease and confusion washed over him. As Hiyosu reported, the strange anomaly that was approaching Karakura was not an Arrancar, but neither was it a Shinigami or Quincy, and it was so unknown that it could not even identify it.

What was it?

Karakura - World of the Living

Halfway to the Kurosaki clinic, Ichigo, Uryū, and Orihime stopped walking when they noticed strange disturbances in the sky. They saw gray clouds swirling above them like some kind of hurricane.

"What's going on?" Orihime asked worried about this strange phenomenon. "There was not supposed to be a storm today."

"It will have something to do with climate change." Uryū said while still watching the disturbances.

Ichigo couldn't help but keep looking at the cloudy sky and had a feeling that something was going to happen. It didn't take long to confirm when suddenly he saw something begin to plummet from the clouds toward its same location. His eyes widened in shock upon seeing this.

"WATCH OUT!" Ichigo yelled as he pushed Orihime out of the way, and Uryū did the same. Once out of the way, the object fell and hit the sidewalk hard like a grenade exploding causing debris and dust to rise. Orihime summoned her Shin Shun Rikka to create a magical barrier that blocked the dust and debris from the shattered pavement in midair.

The teens were well protected behind the barrier as debris splashed and diverted to either side as it made contact with the barrier. A few moments later, when the dust began to settle, they could barely see a long, motionless object still blurry a few meters in front of them. Whatever it was, it had a vaguely similar shape, but they still weren't entirely sure about it. When the last specks of dust disappeared, Orihime annulated the barrier to see better, and thus, the object was revealed with the naked eye.

Their surprises were enormous when they saw that the object that had fallen from the sky and struck right near them was a huge sword looming in all its glory with the point of the blade driven into the dented pavement. The sword itself, had the hilt and the base where the blade begins of colour crimson red, while the rest of the long blade is colour silver.

The first to be surprised was Ichigo who couldn't help but open his eyes in total shock as he recognized the shape and color.

Uryū and Orihime were also at a loss for words, not for the same reason as Ichigo, but rather from gazing at such a strange object that looked like some kind of saber they had never seen.

"What's that?" Orihime asked a little shocked.

"It looks like some kind of sword or something." Uryū replied. "I don't think it is a Zanpakutō."

The 2 continued looking in silence as their minds tried to understand what was happening and what it was, while Ichigo was babbling something while his eyes were still fixed on the shape of the sword embedded in the ground.

There was no doubt ...

"What's wrong, Kurosaki?" Uryū asked barely hearing the orange haired babble. Orihime also turns to Ichigo also clearly worried. Ichigo didn't formulate an answer while still staring at the sword.

"Oi, can you hear me?" Uryū asked once more with concern.

"Kurosaki-kun."

After a moment, he finally speaks.

"T-that sword I've seen before." He said in a low voice but was heard by Uryū and Orihime.

"What do you mean?" Uryū asked without understanding.

"It is the same sword that appeared in my dreams."

Both Uryū and Orihime widened their eyes in puzzlement upon hearing that and then turned their attention to the still embedded sword. So that was the sword that Kurosaki saw in his dreams. Ichigo couldn't believe what he was seeing either. It was undoubtedly the same sword that he had seen in his dreams and whose image had stuck in his mind in all its glory.

He couldn't understand what was happening and why that sword had appeared so suddenly and falling from the sky. It was quite surreal that something like this would happen without-

"Aaaah!"

His thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly felt a strange pain above his right hand. He immediately grabbed said hand with the other tightly and groaned as if he were burning.

"Kurosaki!"

"Kurosaki-kun!"

Ichigo felt a strange burning sensation, but it wasn't as painful as he expected. He didn't know what was wrong with him, but he just hoped it wouldn't last that long. Suddenly the pain disappeared immediately, and Ichigo withdrew his other left hand and his eyes widened in puzzlement. He was supposed should have a some kind of burn or sting on top of the hand, but instead there was just a strange tattoo shaped like a dragon skull that glowed with a strange red fluorescent light. Uryū and Orihime also froze upon seeing the glowing mark on Ichigo's hand.

Neither was able to ask a question when suddenly a strange crimson light bulb emerged from the ground covering the red sword. The spotlight rose upward like a column and was so bright and blinding that it forced the teens to cover their eyes.

They could feel a strange force emanating from that glowing column of light like a torrent of reiatsu for those with a well-developed spiritual sense like Uryū. Ichigo slightly spread his arms to see what was happening and could barely see how a strange figure rose from the ground where the sword was inside the column. In a matter of seconds, when the figure fully emerged, all the light around it vanished as if nothing had happened, leaving only the figure that had emerged behind.

When Uryū and Orihime pulled their arms away as well to see him, they were totally frozen by what they saw.

There, a few meters from where the 3 teenagers were, there was a single figure that was knelt down on one knee. It appeared to be a knight dressed from head to toe in imposing silver-colored steel armor, and a long crimson skirt that protruded below the waist almost to the feet. On his arms the crimson chainmail protruded from the rest of his body while his hands and forearms were covered by a pair of silver gauntlets. On his head he wore a closed-face helmet menacing looking that completely obscured the face. The helmet also had 2 horns embedded on each side slanted upward.

Moments after appearing, the mysterious knight drew themselves up to its full height, standing straight and proud even though it was still a bit short compared to Ichigo and Uryū. However, what most caught the attention of our protagonists was that 'he' held the same red sword in its right hand whose colors coincided with the armor. It appeared to be a great sword at first glance, but despite it being almost the same size as its wielder the knight held the blade like it was being an extension of its wielder.

After this, an intense silence was formed in the environment as the 3 watched the mysterious demonic-looking knight in front of them and wondered who he was. The way he looked, for a moment, Uryū and Orihime reminded them a bit of Ichigo when he assumed that terrifying appearance of a horned hollow when he fought against the Cuarto Espada Ulquiorra. However, they knew that he was not a hollow.

Ichigo also wondered who this strange character was, since it was the first time he had seen him. It definitely didn't look like a hollow or an Arrancar. So who was him?

Then suddenly they heard a clicking coming from the knight. Ichigo and the others noticed parts of the knight's helmet had detached, near the neck. With a series of metallic clangs, the knight's helmet magically split down the middle and separated into various pieces, fusing with the rest of the armor revealing the face of its wearer underneath, that to everyone's surprise, 'he' was a female.

In fact, the wearer of the armor was an beautiful young woman in her teens with a fair skin complexion of European descent. Her hair is medium length soft blonde that had been styled into a updo hairstyle with two braids going along the side of her head to the back where the rest of her hair was left hanging in a wild ponytail.

She had a slightly androgynous face, but based on her facial features, it was easy to tell that she was female.

Suddenly she opened her eyes revealing that they are an intense bright emerald green color that caught the attention of our protagonists and later stabbed her sword into the floor in front her, resting her hands on the right side of its pommel, giving the 3 teens a full view of its almost impossibly beautiful silver blade.

"My name is Mordred. I am the only and true heir of King Arthur Pendragon!" The blonde introduced herself with a strong and dominant tone that denoted pride.

Ichigo and the others could only look with amazed and confused at the introduction of the warrior who called herself Mordred.

Then the blonde abandoned her formal expression and drawing a wild smile on her face. "Now, I ask you. Are you my Master?"

To be continued.