Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. It's property of Kubo Tite.

Author's Note: I'm back and much sooner than expected! I have vacations from work, so I've been able to do more than I usually do. With this extra time, I got to update this fic. I hope I update a second time before my vacations are over, cause who knows when I'll get to update after that. Anyway, I'm so happy with the response this fic's gotten. Thank you all of you for reading, reviewing, and for putting this story on your favorites! You guys rock!

I really hope you like this chapter too. Sorry if the chapters have been so short, but I've found it's better if I publish them this way, mainly because of the amount of pages I'd have to edit right away if they were longer.

Anyway, see you guys soon!

Reviews:

Toru: Thank you so much for your support! Of course I'll finish this story, no matter how long it takes!

Chapter 3: Snow White and the Seven Idiots

They walked in silence for the most part. That was alright by Shirayuki. She was deep in thought. She had a million questions but she didn't know where to start. Just a month ago, she had been the princess of Seireitei, living happily with her father. Now, she was a runaway princess, escaping from Aizen's clutches. She had no riches, home or family. She had been all alone in the world, and then Kuro had come along, saving her from a gruesome death. Why he had been there, she wondered. Why would any sane person stroll around a wolf infested forest was beyond her. All she knew was that he had helped her when she had needed it most, and now they were presumably going to where he lived. Why had he saved her? Rather, why was he taking her with him? Had he fallen in love with her at first sight? Shirayuki had read dozens of romantic stories before, but she had never believed in such a thing. It was more likely he had felt sorry for her, and was now going to take care of her until she found her own way. If he had really wanted to take advantage of her, he would have already done so. Or so she hoped.

Kuro suddenly stopped walking, and Shirayuki almost slammed against his back. Wondering why he had stopped, she looked up only to find there was a quaint cottage in the middle of a clearing. It was decently large but seemed to be sparsely decorated. There weren't pots or chairs outside. Only an ax and chopped wood were the lone residents of the yard. The cottage would have looked uninhabited if it weren't for the fact there were curtains on the windows and there was smoke coming from the chimney.

So this was Kuro's home. Somehow, it seemed fitting.

Kuro turned to her, face still concealed by his hood. "Before we go in, just remember they're not as crazy as they look like." He warned her. His words did nothing but unsettle her. Shirayuki opened her mouth to ask what he meant, when he opened the door. It creaked and screeched unnervingly, as if something was waiting behind the door. With rapid movements, Kuro stepped aside, pulling her by the arm, effectively moving them both out of the way just in time for a man about her age to come out, running at full speed towards them.

"Kuro!" The new man exclaimed the moment he saw her companion. "Where have you been? We've all been worried!" He kept babbling, as tears streamed down his face. "Answer me, you idiot!" He reached out and grabbed Kuro's robes. It was then when he finally stopped and noticed Shirayuki was there, hiding behind Kuro. "And who is this lady?" He wondered, walking towards her. "I'm Keigo, what's your name, angel?" He asked her, winking for added effect.

Kuro groaned. "Shirayuki, this is Keigo." He told her, introducing the man. "Keigo, this is Shirayuki. She'll be staying with us."

"Nice to meet you, Shirayuki!" Keigo said, shaking her hand. He abruptly stopped, looking her over. "Wait! As in the princess?!" He practically shouted.

"What's going on here?" A voice suddenly said. It was feminine yet a bit deep. "Kuro, you're back!" A woman, then, appeared. She had short, black hair, and was rather tall. Taller than Keigo even. "And you brought a girl with you!" She said, surprised. "Don't tell me you found a girlfriend while you were out hunting!" She taunted him.

"Shut up. She's not my girlfriend. She just needs a place to stay for the time being." Kuro answered for Shirayuki.

"And she's the princess!" Keigo added, still evidently surprised by the news.

"What?!" The woman exclaimed, as shocked as Keigo was.

"Come inside." A new voice interjected. A second man had appeared at the door.

It all happened too fast. Kuro ushered them all in. Shirayuki trailed behind him. She couldn't help but notice as she walked in that the second man glared at Kuro as he passed him by. Meanwhile, Kuro had simply rolled his eyes. Once she entered, she was confused to find there were more people inside the cottage. They were as dumbfounded to see her too by the way they stopped doing their chores. Shirayuki was about to greet them when Kuro pulled her upstairs and into one of the rooms. The second man walked inside and closed the door behind him. Shirayuki finally took a good look at him. He had black, chin-length hair and blue eyes hidden behind glasses. He was shorter than Kuro, but still fairly tall. He was observing her as if he could dissect answers from her.

"Well?" He asked as he sat down on a chair.

"I'm sorry?" Shirayuki said, feeling at a loss. She didn't know what he wanted her to say.

"Are you or are you not the princess of this kingdom?" He cut down the chase and went straight to the point.

Shirayuki stiffened, and Kuro sighed. He made her sit down on the bed and then glared at the man. "Although Ishida's a pain in the ass, he's harmless. No one's gonna hurt you, so you can tell him the truth." He told her, gently patting her shoulder.

She narrowed her eyes at this Ishida person. He didn't look like he was armed. He wasn't intimidating either. Not in the way Kuro was. And if Kuro had as of yet to lay his hands on her, she supposed Ishida was harmless enough. Shirayuki nodded before answering. "Yes. I am the princess."

"And what proof do you have of that? I'm not as trusting as Kuro and the rest are. I need to see if you are the real princess." He demanded.

Shirayuki grabbed the locket that was still on her neck. She took it off and opened it, showing Ishida the portrait that was inside. "Would just a common girl be in the possession of the king's locket?" She asked.

Ishida took the locket from her and analyzed the portrait. Sure enough, the girl in front of him looked exactly like the late Queen Hisana. He nodded at her grimly, returning the locket to her, and then narrowed his eyes at Kuro. "What in the world were you thinking?! Just coming here and bringing the princess with you?! And where did you even find her?!" He yelled angrily at Kuro, who simply rolled his eyes. It seemed he did that often.

"To answer your questions, I found her in the woods. I saved her from some nasty wolves. Since she doesn't have anywhere else to go, and she was completely lost, I brought her here. That's the end of the story." He grumbled.

Ishida did not look impressed by this answer. "And what are you going to do? Make her part of your plan?"

"Plan?" Shirayuki wondered out loud, turning to look at Kuro.

"I just wanted her to have a place to sleep tonight. Nothing more." He answered, crossing his arms.

"I suppose it can't be helped." Ishida muttered. "Very well, she can stay. But you have to take care of her!" He told Kuro, pointing a finger at his face. "I'll leave you to explain things to her. I'm Ishida by the way." He introduced himself hastily.

"You can call me Shirayuki." She said. Ishida nodded and then left them alone. The princess turned to Kuro, who was muttering something under his breath which sounded suspiciously like nosy asshole. "So, what is there left to explain?" She asked him.

"I'm sorry. Everyone's been on edge since the kingdom was taken." Kuro explained, sitting down next to her.

"Oh." Shirayuki whispered. Since she had been in the dungeons for so long, she had no idea how the kingdom had been faring.

"Yeah." Kuro said, shrugging. "You're in Ishida's cottage. Or rather, the cottage his family owns. Since he's by himself, he has let us stay here." He explained.

"Us?"

"Yeah, me, Keigo, Tatsuki, the girl you met, and three others. We're staying here until we figure out what to do."

"About what?" She asked. Nothing he said made sense.

Kuro seemed uncomfortable. He looked out the window and Shirayuki followed his gaze. It was dusk already. "You really don't know anything that's happened, do you?" Kuro asked her, eyes looking sad.

"No." She said. "After… after the kingdom was taken, I was imprisoned in the dungeons. I got out until today." She explained. "News don't really travel underground." She chuckled darkly.

"To put it simply, everything's changed. The nobles who opposed Aizen have either been killed off or been imprisoned. The rest have joined the new king." Kuro spat the word as if it had been a curse. "New nobles have been appointed, all of them Aizen's men. Most of the army and knights have turned on the people and joined him as well. The citizens of the kingdom are suffering. None of us here can stand it, and so, we have been planning what to do for the past month." He finished explaining, an uneasy silence settling between them.

"I see."

"We didn't know if you were still alive." Kuro added. "There've been rumors that Aizen had killed you. But there were others that said he wanted to make you his bride. Since we didn't know what to believe, we didn't even try to investigate the castle. Forgive me for that."

Shirayuki shook her head. "There's nothing to forgive. It's true that Aizen attempted to wed me. However, I refused each time. I thought I was going to die today. But I managed to escape."

"And how did you escape? Excuse me, but it sounds hard to believe that you'd manage to run away from the castle. There are guards everywhere. We've checked." Kuro said, raising an eyebrow.

"Aizen did not want to dirty his hands, I guess. He had a knight kill me in the forest. Unluckily for him, that knight happened to be my friend. He let me go and told me to run away. He planned on fooling Aizen by giving him the heart of a deer." She told him, toying with the dagger Renji had given her.

"Do you think it will work?" Kuro asked her, looking her in the eye.

"No." She answered in a heartbeat.

He chuckled. "So you're no fool."

She glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sorry, but I thought you were an idiot when I found you with your hair stuck on a bush."

Shirayuki flinched. "I didn't think that would happen."

Kuro didn't say anything else, and kept looking at the window. She looked down, playing with the dagger, wondering if Renji was unharmed, and if he had managed to escape as well.

"I'm sorry." Kuro suddenly said, breaking the silence.

"What for?" Shirayuki asked. There was nothing to apologize to her for. He had saved her, after all.

"I came here six months ago, knowing Aizen would try to take the kingdom. I tried to stop him but I failed. Everything that's happened is my fault. You wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for me." He said dejectedly.

Kuro looked so pitiful it broke her heart. "It's not your fault." She said, putting a hand on his arm. "Aizen is the one who did this, not you. You saved me and you even gave me a place to sleep tonight, so, thank you." She told him, a soft smile gracing her lips.

He nodded at her. "No problem. I'd do it again."

"But, I have to ask, how did you know about Aizen's plan?"

He glared at the ground. "Your kingdom isn't the only one which he has attacked. Two years ago, he went to my kingdom, and gained the trust of the king, telling him he was an emissary of King Byakuya. He was well-received and had a place on the court. But when we weren't looking, he attacked and stole a prized possession. The prince and I tried to stop him, but he escaped. Not before killing the prince, of course." Kuro muttered the last part angrily. "As for me, I was cursed forever." He said, pulling the black hood that covered his face, revealing strange marks on his skin. "I've been tracking him down to break the curse, and then I found out about his real plans. I'm afraid I was too late to stop him."

Shirayuki didn't say anything else. She just observed him. "What exactly did he do to you?" She asked at last.

He played with the hood. "The curse changed my physical appearance. It gave me black hair and black marks."

"That's it?" She asked in disbelief.

He snorted. "Of course not. It just signals the effects of the curse. You see, I used to be a very strong man, the strongest in my kingdom. I saved people. Killed beasts. Protected them all. But now, each day that passes, I get weaker. Aizen corrupted my force. When I'm completely covered in black markings, it will be my end." Kuro declared.

"That's horrible!" Shirayuki gasped. It was a really terrible curse. To die slowly, without even being able to do anything to save yourself.

"I was told the only way to break the curse was to defeat Aizen. But now there's more at stake." He said, clenching his jaw. "Aizen can't be king of any land. He'll start wars and take control of everything. He's too powerful. We need to stop him before it's too late."

Shirayuki considered his words. Now she knew for a fact he possessed magic, something that had been speculated for many years. His magic was powerful enough to curse a person. Kuro had not said it, but he had implied with his words that magic had been at play when he stole the kingdom from her father. That made him more dangerous than she had believed. No one would be able to live peacefully if he ruled Seireitei. Her people were in danger.

"I want in.

"What?"

"Ishida said you had a plan." She explained. "And you said yourself everyone here has been trying to think of ways to defeat him. I want to help."

"It's going to be dangerous." Kuro warned her.

"I can take a little danger." She answered, smirking a little.

"We might need to infiltrate the castle and fight off his men." He added.

"Then today's your lucky day. I know the castle in and out." Shirayuki retorted.

"It won't be easy." He continued saying.

"I wasn't expecting it to."

"We will have to kill him." Kuro said. "Can you do that? You're a princess. Can you stain your hands with someone else's blood?"

Shirayuki frowned. "My hands are already stained with my father's blood. You lost your prince. Well, I lost my father. He died in my arms. And that's something I will never forget." She said, clutching her locket as tears threatened to spill from her eyes. "Yes, I'm a princess. And this is my kingdom." She gestured around. "I can't just sit here and pretend things will get better. I was meant to inherit the throne, and so it's my responsibility to be the one to take Aizen down for good." She said with conviction. "But I don't know where to start. You do." She pointed at Kuro. "You already know him. You have a plan. We want the same thing, so let's join forces. Please, lend me your strength, even for a bit. Otherwise, I won't be able to face my father."

"Shirayuki…" He whispered in awe. Then he gave her a small smile. She thought it was possibly the most sincere smile she had ever seen. "Alright. Since you're up to the challenge, we will fight together."

Their eyes met and they nodded.

"Everyone." Kuro said as he and Shirayuki walked into the living room, where his friends were waiting for them. "This is Shirayuki, and from now on she will live with us." He declared.

"The princess!" A young woman with auburn hair gasped the moment she saw Shirayuki. "You're really the princess!"

"See? I told you!" Keigo said happily.

Shirayuki sighed. If she had known she would have been so easily discovered, she would have come up with another name. But, how could she have known they would know who she was after meeting her? There were surely many girls with dark hair and pale skin in the kingdom. Ukitake once had told her, while chuckling, that they had started naming girls after her nickname too! If she had revealed her real name, they would have realized she was the princess immediately. No one else had a name like hers. And, besides, she didn't even look like a princess. Her dress was torn and covered in mud. Her hair was a mess after being cut short with a dagger. She was sweaty and dirty. Were these people too perceptive?

"Anyway," Kuro said, ignoring them, "Shirayuki, this is Orihime." He said, pointing to the auburn haired girl.

"Oh My Gosh, it's so nice to meet you!" Said girl said excitedly.

"Likewise." Shirauki said politely, even though she was a bit off put by her enthusiasm.

"This is Chad, my right hand." Kuro continued, pointing to a huge man with dark skin, and slightly curly dark hair. Said man merely nodded as a greeting.

"That's Mizuiro." He said, pointing to a short man with dark hair and kind eyes.

"Hello." He said amicably. "It's nice to make your acquaintance, princess." He told her, as he bowed a little.

"And you already know Keigo, Tatsuki and Ishida." He said, pointing to them. "And that's all of us."

"Lies! I'm missing, Kuro." A deep voice said out of nowhere.

Shirayuki frowned, she looked everywhere but she couldn't see the newcomer.

"Down here." The voice said.

Shirayuki looked down and found a black cat with yellow eyes that watched her intently. "Did it just─" She started saying but was interrupted.

"That's right. I spoke." The cat said making Shirayuki shout in surprise.

"And the fleabag is Yoruichi." Kuro said, as if it weren't important. "And that's all of us."

"The cat talked?!" She yelled, still in shock.

"Of course I can talk." Yoruichi said, flickering its tail.

"Yoruichi is a magical cat." Orihime explained. "So expect her to speak."

"You're a female?" Shirayuki asked, flabbergasted.

"Yes, yes. The deep voice is just an annoying side effect. Don't ask about it." And with that, the black cat left, leaving a confused Shirayuki behind.

"Orihime." Kuro said.

The girl yelped and turned bright pink. "Y-yes?"

"Take care of Shirayuki. She needs new clothes and she's injured." He said before leaving.

"Eh?" Shirayuki blurted out.

"Oh My Gosh!" Orihime exclaimed once she really looked at the princess. She was covered in mud, and she could see scratches on her face and arms. "You're hurt! Come with me!" She said, taking her hand to one of the rooms.

The rest looked at where the two girls had gone, no one moving.

"So are we just supposed to ignore she's the princess?" Tatsuki wondered out loud.

"We'll have plenty of time to discuss it tomorrow. She must be tired from today's ordeal." Ishida retorted. "Well, goodnight." He simply said and went to his room.

"Aaawww." Keigo pouted. "I wanted to speak with the princess."

"Why would she want to speak with you?" Tatsuki asked him.

"What do you mean by why? Isn't it obvious?" The young man said. "The moment we met, it was like an instant connection! We're clearly meant to be together!" He exclaimed dreamily, even sighing for added effect.

"It will be hard with Kuro in the way." Mizuiro told him, a playful smile on his face. "Well, I'm off to bed too." He stood up and started walking up the stairs.

"Wait! Mizuiro! What do you mean by that?! Mizuiro!" Keigo asked, as he ran after his friend.

Tatsuki and Chad watched them go. The woman rolled her eyes and then turned to look at her companion. "And what do you think? Do you think it's fine that Kuro brought her here? If they find out she's with us, our operation is over."

Chad did not answer right away. He looked towards where they could hear Orihime and the princess talking, and then his gaze went after the door, where Kuro had exited. "He knows what he's doing." He simply said and stood up to leave.

"I really hope he does." Tatsuki muttered.

A/N: As you can see, Aizen continues being a bastard lol. And Yoruichi's here! Man, I love her!

Hey, guys, just a headsup, I made a poll in my Tumblr of what type of story you wanted me to write next, but I'm probably going to write something else.

What do y'all think of an IR horror story?