Chapter 2: Awakening

AN- So sorry for the HUGE wait. I've had a very active life recently. First there was my exam prep and the subsequent sitting of said exams, then I had writers block for awhile, then I got over it and began writing again, but hated what I had written, then more writers block, then TV Tropes (Any Tropers out there understand my multiple tab terror), then my mum got remarried, then I FINISHED IT, but then I had beta issues. In short, this chapters been well due for a while, and I know it isn't brilliant, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. But I will... I will... I shall challenge Kubo to Mortal Combat, and I will win even if it kills me. Because I refuse to die when I'm killed before I get at least one popular franchise in my pocket.

Beta:SadAngel262

The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a sterile, white room. I blinked, taking a moment to lay there and enjoy the feeling of a soft duvet around me.

On one hand, most of my brain was screaming at me to question where the hell I was, since my last discernible memory was of walking home with James... before everything went black.

The rest of my mind told me that it was TOO damn bright, and that I should turn over and sleep some more.

I listened to the second voice, flipping over, choosing to think from under the safety and darkness of my pillow. Definitely not a morning, way too bright for that.

Hang on... what's that?

Footsteps, I thought. Yeah, a rhythmic sound of feet falling on floor, originating from nearby.

Just what was I doing here?

Gradually, it started to come back to me. I had a strange dream that I had fallen into the anime Bleach of all things, gained a Zanpakuto, killed some Hollows then fell unconscious after attempting to talk to a Shinigami due to exhaustion.

Sounds sort of stupid. I probably just got hit by a car while walking home and dreamt up the entire situation while I was waiting for medical assistance.

Thus why I was in a sterile, white and too BRIGHT room.

It's the only thing that makes a modicum of sense.

"O-oh!" Stumbled a female voice in startling relief. The volume of the footsteps increased. "You're awake!" Stated the voice, as equally relieved as before.

"Yeah, yeah." I muttered wearily, still not fully awake and thinking about the stupid dream.

"More like, still in denial."

If I had been drinking something, I would've spit it out. I instead opted to shoot up like someone had told me that a copy of Xenoblade Chronicles was going for ten pounds at the nearest game store. Gentle but firm hands reluctantly forced me down.

"S-s-sorry!" She apologised. "But you reallyneed to rest! When Lieutenant Hinamori brought you in, y-you were burning up!"

I looked up at the female that had pushed me down. It was hard to tell since she was looming over me (As much as someone like her could loom), and it was sort of irrelevant for the moment, but she was attractive. Damned attractive. Short, blonde hair parted around her heart shaped face, eyes of a sharp, metallic grey colour looked down into my eyes, analysing me with a familiar intensity, scrutinising me with a mildly apologetic expression. The only other feature that I could identify about her was that she was... well... its hard to just blurt it out without being crude, but she was rather developed. And the angle of her above me allowed me a close up shot.

"It's fine." I muttered, my ears turning a deep crimson colour, just like they always do when I get embarrassed. "You can stop holding me down now... It's just... you know."

"Wh-what?" The woman seemed genuinely confused. "Y-you should be resting! As a n-nurse and as a member of the F-Fourth Squad, my duty is to help others recover, to save their h-health, even if force must be applied!" She tilted her head in a sheepish gesture. "T-that's what Captain says anyway."

"It's just that I have a rather interesting vantagepoint." I told her, attempting to avert my eyes.

"... Ohh." The self proclaimed nurse caught on. "Ohhhh..."She turned an equally red colour as my ears and practically fled from the room, giving me a brief glimpse of her attire, that being some loose black robes to cover her petite form, well, for the most part, and a long, snow coloured nurses coat, obviously unable to show herself due to my blunt comment. Clearly, the stuttering girl was unable to handle such a brutish comment about her... assets. Easily embarrassed, as far as I could tell. Either that, or disgusted at me, assuming that I was a pervert or something.

I'm not though! I averted my eyes! I am NOT some sort of douche that ogles at girls at every opportunity! My parents taught me better than that, I am a perfect gentleman, thank you very much!

"Man... if I was you, I would have savoured the moment." Oh look, the voice is back. "Yeah, I'm back."

I sighed, my convenient self delusion of the whole Bleach thing being a dream draining away as I did. I couldn't lie to myself any more. As ridiculous as it was, I couldn't deny it any more. The voice was there and the woman mentioned things like 'Lieutenant Hinamori' and 'Captain's', clearly telling me that this is not just some ordinary hospital and that I've just had a regular, normal accident.

"This is real... isn't it? I'm truly in Bleach?"

"Unfortunately."I could almost sense the voice giving me a sympathetic smile.

"Why am I here?"

"In this hospital?"Not exactly what I wanted, but oh well. Any answer will do. "I think that our... bonding... was a bit too strenuous for you. By all rights you should have collapsed from pain or exhaustion, I just dulled your senses and gave you a surge of adrenaline to keep you moving until the Hollow was dead."

"Then it ran out?"

"Yeah. You fell unconscious as soon as you won."

KNOCK! KNOCK! "I'm coming in." Spoke a calm voice before the sliding door opened once more. A quite honestly beautiful woman with blue eyes and long black hair braided down her front, garbed in a long white coat entered the room, a serene expression on her face.

Even now I could guess her identity. Bleach is one of my favourite anime series; I've seen the entire series from start to finish and loved it! As such, the woman before me could only be Captain Retsu Unohana herself. Either way, I can't just say that up front. For one thing, it would be REALLY suspicious. The excuse of 'I saw you in an anime' probably wouldn't go down well, and would probably leave me in the Maggots Nest's insanity ward, wearing a straight jacket, surrounded by padded walls and comparing my tinfoil hat collection to the other maniacs.

"Morning." I greeted half heartedly, still a bit irritated that my first interaction with someone from the Soul Society had made me out to be some sort of pervert.

"It's afternoon." She smiled.

"That's a good thing then. I dislike mornings with a vengeance." I sighed. "By the way, I think I might have scared away the nurse."

Unohana blinked. "Oh, her? Don't mind Kasumi. She's easily embarrassed."

"Fair enough." I responded. Unohana analysed me for a few moments, before she took the seat next to me.

"Don't you have any questions?" She asked.

"Many." I half lied, only really wanting to know how I got here and how to go home, already knowing about this afterlife in great detail. "Where am I?"

"You are currently in the Fourth Squad's barracks. This is one of the private rooms in our medical ward."

"That answer is hardly useful for someone who has been in this place for a grand total of an hour." I informed her. I still had no idea what exactly was going on, but I had to cover up... and quick! You see, normally people get annoyed if you tell them that their entire existence is entertainment for fat nerds living in their basements. They question their own existence, deny the truth. The fact that I know the entire plot of Bleach would also cause problems, since I was rather paranoid that I'd be exploited by someone like Aizen if anyone discovered that I know intricate details I shouldn't know.

"Cover it up like hell."Advised the voice, Javan, if I'm not mistaken. I think that's what he called himself. "Seriously, I shouldn't need to explain this, since time is short, but for now you need to bluff like hell. I've seen situations like this before; no one would believe the truth."

Quite.

"I suppose so." Unohana tilted her head to one side in comprehension. "Your state of attire when brought in by Lieutenant Hinamori was distinctly human world based, from this I can deduce that you haven't been in the afterlife for long."

"You mean that guy wasn't JOKING? I keep telling people, I'm not dead!"

"No. You're alive, unfortunately. Therefore the fact that you are in the land of the deadis rather worrying, isn't it?" A smile. It wasn't a very nice one either. Said smile only promised pain and disembodiment. Bloody hell, I can't breathe, why is Unohana so terrifying!? Isn't her character supposed to be some healer that is nice and stuff!? "I suppose you'd better talk. Offer me some answers and I shall give you them in turn."

"S-sure." I gulped.

"I'm glad you're so cooperative." The smile relented and suddenly the world grew several degrees warmer, birds began to sing and the pressure relieved itself. "Firstly, what is your name."

I resisted the suicidal urge to ask her what her quest was, then demand her to tell me the wingspan of an African swallow. I ignored the desire to reference and instead struggled to think of a reasonable answer. Again, this might seem stupid, but I didn't want to give her my proper name. I had no idea what I was doing in the Bleachverse; I knew so little of my transition here. I have no idea if this was a dream, a completely separate universe or merely one very similar to my own only with the events of Bleach going on at the same time.

Basically, I wanted to know if this world is like my own. Does it has the same anime as my own? Does it has Star Wars? Are the background characters not shown here the same as the ones in my own universe, or are they completely new? Is there a version of myself living in the human world somewhere, strolling around with James and debating video games, unaware that another version of him was prowling about having an adventure he could only dream of having?

If I told Unohana my name and she found the other me in her records, what would happen? Would I be called a fake, or would something worse happen? Would they take DNA swabs and find out I'm completely identical? Would they figure out I'm from another world?!

There were just too many risks with using my own full name or revealing hints to my human identity, so what could I do?

"Play the amnesic card." Suggested Javan. "They might not believe you, but just claim ignorance, give a false name they can't track and reveal only basics. If we're lucky we won't have to disclose anything too incriminating."

"Right."But what to use?

"I'm waiting."

Okay. I need to be quick. First off, I can't change my first name. I'd forget it and slip up if I tried to use a different one. That means my first name MUST be Marcus. What about the rest? Hmmm... perhaps I could use Solus? It's the gaming username I often used online and when I briefly tried joining in an MMORPG, only to give up in favour of console gaming due to the fact that I actually had a life. Then I could use a placeholder of 'D' for my middle name, in honour of one of my favourite anime series, One Piece. Yeah... that could work.

"Marcus D. Solus." I informed at last. Yes, it's a name I should be able to remember, and is cool enough that I can be proud to use it. For the duration of my stay in the Seiretei this shouldprotect my identity.

"Nationality?"

"English... I think."

"You think?" The stern woman gazed at me curiously.

"Yeah... my mind's sort of hazy." I mock laughed. "I'm pretty sure I'm British at any rate."

"What are you doing here?"

"I don't know!" I honestly stated. "I remember walking, then suddenly I was in that weird street. I didn't dieor anything like that! I just sort of... appearedthere! Then they start telling me I'm dead, then that monster shows up, and THEN it tries to eat me!" I say it almost indignantly. "Eat me. I was nearly LUNCH! So I didn't just want to die in that forest, so I decided that I really, really liked living (Even if I could have potentially been dead all along), so I decided not to die! I wanted a tool to kill that thing, so the sword showed up and I killed it!"

"That's the story you're sticking to?" A pleasant pokerface analysed my every word, looking for falsified testimony or covered up lies. Luckily, everything I said WAS true in some way or another. I don't know why I'm here. I did just appear. I did just want to live, and the sword DID just show up like that. I just left out the voice in the back of my head and my own knowledge.

"Yeah. To be honest, things are really a blur. I can talk and I know various facts, figures and pieces of info, but nothing really about my own identity, save for my name and my nationality." Now THIS was a full on lie. I bit my tongue, hoping the powerful Captain noticed nothing amiss.

She smiled. "So you're playing that angle, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." I deadpanned her. "I am very worried about my lack of knowledge on my own identity."

"Really?" She smiled.

"Yes."

"Truly?"

"But of course."

"Honestly?"

"Yep. It's obviously my number one concern right now."

"You don't sound too convinced."

"Oh yes, I am soconvinced." I told her, trying not to break my straight face. I can have a Ayanami Rei poker face too, damn it! I can so pull one off if I try!

The smile remained. "Very well. I suppose such a claim will protect you from unwanted questioning, won't it Marcus?"

"Don't know what you're talking about." I denied.

"Sure, sure." She took a pen from the side desk and write on a medical card in Japanese kanji or something. No idea what it says, but its probably 'amnesic' or a medical name equivalent. "My name is Retsu Unohana, the Captain of Squad Four, if you're interested."

"I have no idea what all these terms mean." I told her.

"Of course. I forgot; you're nothing but a helpless amnesic who has no idea how he arrived in the land of the dead and could perform the impossible and summon a Zanpakuto."

"Hey! I'm as confused as you!" I raised my voice, attempting to sit up in bed. FLICK! "OWW! YOU JUST FLICKED ME!"

"Yes."

"IN THE FACE!"

"So?"

"IT HURT!"

"Suck it up." Unohana stood up. "I can work with what you have provided. I intend to protect you despite your obvious and unsightly lying. As such, I shall back up your amnesic claims, since the alternative includes tossing you to the scientific hounds of Squad 12 to dissect how you did it, summoning an impossible weapon."

"What exactly did I do anyway?" I asked.

"Lieutenant Hinamori, the woman who assisted you, carried you here over the course of three days after she had been assigned to patrol the Rukon District and had found you. You were still knocked out when you arrived, and only woke up today on the seventh day of your stay. Your assigned nurse, Kasumi, was worried you would never wake up. Now today you have." She grimaced. "As for what you did, it was impossible. Obviously, one must be deceased to wield the powers of the dead, the Zanpakuto, the weapon that slays the heavens and purifies the hells. It's a given that only a Shinigami may wield the power to purify evil souls."

"But I did it anyway. I somehow summoned a Zanpakuto." I offered, eager to get this crap over with.

"Quite. You are undoubtedly a human Ryoka that has appeared in our midsts, yet you were still able to project the manifestation of your soul without a Shinigami to give you an Asauchi for your soul to fill up first. This is nearly unheard of, and worrying, particularly for a living human."

"Sorry." I sheepishly raised my hand. "Any breaches of the laws of reality were unintentional on my part."

Unohana sighed. "It doesn't matter anyway. You did it. Still, this might work in your favour."

"How?" I snorted. "Based on your tone, I'm a Ryoka, which is seemingly bad. And I used a Zanpan-thingy, which is bad. Therefore how is any of this a good thing?"

Unohana ignored me in favour of knotting her brows together in worry. "Now that you're awake, myself and Captain Aizen must present an argument before the Central Sixty-Four and the Captains as to why you should be allowed to live: Aizen because his Lieutenant brought you in and I due to treating you." She sighed a deceptive sigh. "We will raise the idea that since you summoned one of our weapons without seemingly any help or contact by a Shinigami, I will claim that since your soul is close enough to a Soul Reapers, that you be treated as one of our own."

"You mean?"

"Yes. So long as you obey by our rules and stay on the strait and narrow, you should be able to escape the chopping block."

I grinned. "That's awesome! I am still a smidgeon confused, but oh well!"

"That should pass." She brushed the issue aside. "Luckily, the Academy only started classes last month in September, so we should be able to enrol you without any issues. We'll assign someone to help you catch up." She pondered. "Also, while the afterlife has a unified language, our writing systems can differ. Do you know any form of Japanese writing?"

"From my vague memories, no." As much I desired Japanese lessons, I never found anyone to teach me, or had any time to learn it in. A shame, think of all the RAW Japanese crap I could have experienced otherwise.

"Then we shall have someone assist you as well." She turned to leave the room. "For now, rest. I must arrange the details of this new arrangement. You are my responsibility though, so stay out of trouble."

I gulped. Truly Unohana was a frightening woman. "Yes, ma'am!"

"Good." That smile still terrifies me more than it reassures me. It was worse than the Joker's for gods sake! "Kasumi shall attend to your needs for today, so ask her any questions that you have. Try not to give one of my favourite pupils a heart attack though, or corrupt her too much." She joked as she left the room, leaving me unable to protest. Undoubtedly the evil woman had been listening in on my wake up, but just chose to imply I was a sexual deviant anyway, just for shits and giggles.

I found myself deciding that I almost wanted Aizen to be my minder. At least he was the devil I knew.

XXXXXXXXXX

The rest of the day I was constrained to my bed by a very insistent nurse (That had managed to overcome her original embarrassment and actually enter the room after a decent amount of time), despite the fact that my ailment had only been mental exhaustion and nothing else. In my defence, she had inherited a certain level of formidable (But cute) authority from her psychopathic Captain.

With nothing much to do, I made conversation. First I tried to talking to Javan in my head, since this whole incident had led me to wonder WHY THERE WAS SOMEONE LIVING IN MY HEAD, no matter how useful said person had been since awakening from his apparent slumber. I had lots of questions I needed answering, but alas, the dick told me that we needed a long conversation which would be best performed when we had time and not when my potential execution was looming over my head like a sharpened guillotine on crack.

Next, I tried to talk to the stuttering, easily flustered nurse. I found out a few things from her stumbling yet endearing responses.

Firstly, her name was Kasumi Kiyono, and according to her, she actuallyused to live in England at one point in her human life, where she first studied human medicine and worked in a hospital. This prior knowledge led to her choosing to join the Fourth Squad after she finished her training. Small world, huh?

I noticed she was just as easily startled as she seemed at first glance. A bottle of shaken nerves could best describe her regular personality, although I don't exactly know her well enough to make a full analysis.

I also learnt that she was somehow the Third Seat of the Fourth Squad and had been in service to the Gotei 13 for only twenty or so years, meaning her rate of growth had been rather potent. Then again, she also mentioned that the only reason she was so high ranked was due to her medicine skills and not her actual combat potential.

Oh yeah, since I had nothing better to do except twiddle my thumbs, I decided to set up my introduction into this world. When Kasumi asked me about my own life, I lied and played the amnesic card, then asked her about the Soul Society in general. Cue a long lecture on the nature of the Soul Society, ninety-five percent of which I already knew.

Yawn for the rehash of knowledge... But yay for having spoilers which will allow me to survive in this crazy, messed up world! I had made progress in determining where I was in terms of canon (Javan had butted in to force me to do so), Aizen was still a Captain, so we were sometime after that flashback Pendulum arc, but before the whole Kurosaki Ichigo fiasco. Basically, I'm in the 95 percent of the anime not showed on screen, the time when nothing interesting happens.

Then again, this could be an alternate universe where Aizen never rebelled, but I'm not even going to tryto open up that can of worms!

Until proven otherwise, Aizen equals sadistic, puppy kicking bastard! My bases are covered!

Speaking of our favourite Magnificent Bastard, Kasumi said that his Lieutenant would visit me at some point.

"Hello?" Asked a cheerful voice from the door. "Is this Mr Solus' room?"

I was about to say 'no', until I realised that Solus was my fake name. "Umm, yeah." I stated, looking at the figure as she gracefully entered the room. Lo and behold, speak of the Hinamori and she shall appear.

"Thank goodness." She smiled an innocent smile. "I'm glad that you're okay."

"As am I." I told her. "Speaking of which, apparently you carried me here."

"Yeah." A frown briefly graced her features. I felt like a total dick head for making a girl as sweet as her make that expression. "I was pretty worried when you suddenly collapsed, so I shunpoed you here as quickly as possible." The frown left her face, as if a cloud obscuring the sun had disappeared, allowing the full, magnificent radiance to be unleashed. "Thank goodness that you're okay."

"Ahem." Humphed Kasumi, looking a little nervous. "V-visiting hours are between t-ten and four. Its now six, m-miss Hinamori! I have to ask you to l-leave!"

Hinamori looked towards the busty young women, as if realising that she was in the room with us. "Surely you can let me off this one time? I'm really happy that Mr Solus has woken up, so I want to congratulate him."

"N-no." Kasumi made a cross shape with her arms, sticking to the rules like a fly to paper. "P-please come back tomorrow." She told her sternly.

"Snigger."I heard a noise clearly similar to a snigger.

"Come on~" Pouted the Fire wielding girl. "Just this once!"

"N-no." She reiterated.

"Don't make me pull the superior officer card." Threatened Momo light heartedly. "I'll be quick!"

Kasumi still looked a bit put off, her cute facial features scrunched themselves up in thought. Eventually she came to a decision. "F-fine!" She snapped. "Be quick." She gave me a final look, then stormed out the room.

"Wow." I vocalised. "I never knew she had that in her." It seems like young Kasumi (Okay, older than me Kasumi) had much deeper courage than I realised. She has steel balls when it comes to the rules. But alas, Momo's fire could melt her inner steel, flooding her with her burning passion to visit a patient; Kasumi struggled frantically, but gave in eventually due to Momo's superior status, and came out on top in the end.

"Snigger."

Hang on... did that sound suspiciously like a possible innuendo?

"Yes."

"Well it means nothing."I decided. Yes. It was just a joke... yes... I'm not really a pervert!

"The jury is out on that one."

"Stop." I said out loud.

"Pardon?" Asked a confused Momo.

"Nothing... Nothing." I shook my head. "Anyway. Thanks for bringing me here. I owe you for that."

"It was my pleasure." Momo really had a pleasant smile, she truly was a caring person. "I'm glad that I was even on patrol that day, since if I hadn't those Hollows would have eaten you."

"Yep. I was dead meat, so thanks again."

"Well, that's what Shinigami are for, helping people." She informed me happily.

"Helping people, guiding them to the afterlife, and killing badass ghosts in supernatural sword battles."

"It is a rather rewarding job." Admitted the bun wearing girl. "I really hope Captain Aizen can help you get into the Academy, the more Shinigami the better!" She leaned in, as if telling a secret. "Actually, I sometimes come in and give Kido lectures." She sheepishly said. In hindsight, that didn't seem like a particularly confidential secret.

"T-times up!" A raised voice wafted through the room, signalling Kasumi's return. She impatiently tapped her foot and glared at Momo. "Y-you need to go now!"

"Snigger, snigger, snigger."

I nearly burst into laughter. While Kasumi couldbe formidable, this wasn't one of those rare moments. Any attempt Kasumi gave at glaring just seemed too adorable to be threatening. Seriously, is it wrong for a women older than twenty to be called 'adorable'? Probably. Do we care? No. we're too busy trying not to laugh at Kasumi's glare.

"Very well then." Momo bowed once at each of us. "I shall excuse myself then. Bye Marcus!"

"I prefer Marc." I told her.

"Right, I'll visit you again Marc." Momo energetically left the room. Kasumi turned her glare to me.

"Come on!" I stressed. "What have I done to deserve that... fierce... look?"

"H-how come you asked Lieutenant Hinamori to call you Marc but n-not me?" She seemed rather put off by this.

Another "Snigger."sound reverberated around my mind, really irritating me.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "I do prefer Marc, but I never really corrected you because I noticed the stutter stressing the 'M' more than the name as a whole."

"So c-can I call you M-Marc?"

"Knock yourself out." I rolled over in my bed, then looked at my window. It was starting to get dark. "I wonder how the meeting about me is going?" I asked rhetorically.

"I-It'll be fine... M-Marc!" Kasumi placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure it will." She stated with new confidence. "Captain will get you through this crisis, l-like she did with m-me. She helps people." She laughed. "And if she doesn't h-help, I will."

"Snigger, giggle, snigger."

I mentally snapped. "WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR GOD DAMNED PROBLEM JAVAN!? You've been giggling like a loon for this entire damned conversation!"

"I just... snigger... can't believe how quick you work... You sly, sly dog."

"Wait... what?"

"First day awake and you've already activated several flags! Those two girls affection levels are sky rocketing and you've barely done anything! Kasumi is already pledging to help you!"

Hang on... is he implying what I think he's implying?

"I wonder which route he'll follow...?"

He is implying that.

"MY LIFE IS NOT A DATING SIM DAMN IT!"I internally roared, while on the outside I glared at the window. Its one thing comparing my life to a bad fanfic due to my shoddy placement in this world, or to an anime due to the medium I have found myself inhabiting, but a dating sim?

"Hey, I've seen a lot of stuff and a lot of people in my time, and I KNOW where this is going!"

"I'm ignoring you now."I then proceeded to block out the voice living in my head, which is very difficult considering the fact that HE IS IN MY HEAD, but I did a decent job. I just kept telling myself that I wasn't trying to maximise Affection Points, that he was WRONG...

XXXXXXXXXX

In the end, I nodded off to sleep at around nine, still partially exhausted from the whole incident which led to my placement in the Fourth Squad's medical room. I think I dreamt, of what though, I'm not sure.

Shattered images, vague feelings which weren't mine, blank faces of those I don't know or should know but don't anyway. Thoughts, feelings and memories.

All that left my mind as I woke up late morning to more annoying sunlight, feeling refreshed, but severely displeased with the sun for waking me.

I chose to lie there for a bit and think, since I still didn't feel like getting up. I said think, but I really meant worry. I mean, my very life was at risk at the moment, I still had no idea if Aizen and Unohana's gambit would work and secure me a 'get out of jail free' card or not, or if my execution was currently being planned, and my family was probably worried sick about me not coming home from school.

Its like waiting for the results of an important exam to see if you could enter a new school, only more stressful and potentially less beneficial to my health.

After who knew how long, a brief knock alerted me to the fact that someone has entered the room. Cranking my eyes open, I saw Kasumi cheerfully approach.

"W-wake up Marc. I know you're awake!" She scolded gently.

"Yeah, yeah." I complained, giving up the fight and sitting up to address the nurse. "I'm up."

"H-Here." She shoved something onto my bed, a black pile of undefined stuff. "C-Captain says your well enough to g-get up and w-walk around."

"I kept telling you," I complained lightly. "I'm fine. I was just tired, I could have probably gotten up yesterday."

"H-Here at the F-Fourth Squad, we try to verge on the cautious." She gave me a bright and an apologetic smile. "S-Sorry for the inconvenience." She bowed once, then walked over to the door, hiding her face from me. "I'll l-let you g-get changed now!"

I sighed. No wonder she was eager to run away from me. This black pile was probably Shinigami attire, and since she probably still assumed I was a pervert, she was worried that I would throw myself at her when I was changing my clothes.

"Would you?" Asked the irritating voice in my head known as Javan.

"No."

"Reeeeaaalllly?"

"Yes."

"You suuuuure?"

"YES, YES I AM!"I snapped back. Javan was surprisingly immature at times, almost schizophrenic in his mood swings between calm and serious and childish and perverted. I let loose another sigh; Javan was still making jokes about raising flags, even after a day had passed since the apparent incident.

Slapping myself briefly to remind myself to get up, I scrambled to my feet, glad to finally be able to escape the bed which had trapped me for god knows how long. Eagerly, I shrugged off the hospital gown thing I had been given and attempted to put on the clothes I was given.

I think I failed miserably.

This was the first time I had ever even laid my hands upon Japanese style clothes, so I was absolutely clueless as to how to wear them. Javan was unfortunately equally as oblivious ("Hey, I'm a man of fine suits, not robes!"He said), so it was mainly the two of us improvising as we went along.

Finally, I was moderately pleased in how I was dressed. White undergarments on, and the kimono thing wrapped around me, tied up somewhat successfully with some cloth. Hey, call me uneducated, but I have no idea what half of the stuff I'm wearing is.

Reluctantly, I exited the room and noticed Kasumi waiting for me. "Hey." I greeted, significantly more awake.

Kasumi appraised my clothing with a raised eyebrow, seemingly not impressed. "M-Marc?"

"Yeah?"

"Y-You mentioned you were English, right?"

"Yes." I wondered where this enquiry was going.

"Has n-nobody ever shown you h-how to wear a kimono?"

I scoffed. "No, never. I might not remember much, but I know that whatever life I led I would have probably never needed to know how to wear one."

The nurse frowned. "O-Oh."

"Why, is there a problem?"

"Y-Yes. Its just... you look..."

"Devilishly handsome? Roguishly masculine?" I suggested.

"N-no. Your attire is inappropriately worn." Kasumi gave me a sympathetic smile. "Y-you weren't in the R-Rukon District long, so we can't help your lack of knowledge. Don't worry, I was once c-clueless too!"

After this, the young woman ushered me back into my room and tried to show me how to correctly wear the blasted thing. I won't go into details; it was embarrassing, degrading and difficult.

Eventually I was given the all clear, so was allowed out of my room on a very small leash, now suitably attired.

"H-here we are!" Kasumi led me through the barracks while some of her colleagues looked on curiously, resulting in her leading me to much less formal room filled with sofas, chairs and low coffee tables. It was rather cosy actually, if not empty. There was only a few people relaxing in the room, with most of them being members of the staff that were cradling cups of tea or coffee.

"This is our s-staff room." Exclaimed Kasumi happily. "W-we come here when we're off duty. C-Captain said you could come here for a c-change of scenery. I would have taken you to the patients area so you could interact with the others b-but due to your... circumstances, Captain wanted you away from others."

"Fair enough." I gave her a smile of my own, taking one of the nearby comfy seats and getting comfortable. "I guess its better than being cooped up in my room."

"Oh, hey Kiyono." Greeted one of the relaxing Shinigami. He stood up and smiled at her. I noticed that he was rather short and had chin-length hair. I don't know why, but he looked familiar.

"O-Oh, hey Hanataro!" Greeted Kasumi, as cheerful as ever. "H-How's it going?" Oh yeah! He's that guy that showed up that one time in the Soul Society arc!

"Good enough." He explained. "I just had an early shift cleaning up the prisoner cells again."

"Y-You do realise that your schedule shouldn't have so much cleaning in it, r-right?" Remarked Kasumi curiously.

"I guess so." The weak male laughed lightly. "I suppose I'm really popular over there!"

"Are you sure someone isn't just throwing all their duties at you?" I asked, pointing out the obvious.

"I guess those Eleventh Seat members wererather insistent." He muttered.

"How do you two know each other?" I changed the topic.

Kasumi answered. "He used to be my s-superior officer once, b-before I promoted beyond him. I also h-help him when he gets bullied occasionally."

"I suppose it helps that you're one of Captain's favourites, eh?" Joked the weak willed medic.

"I never knew that."

"I-I guess." Kasumi scratched her own head sheepishly. "She helped me out of a tough situation a while ago, now she keeps an eye on me."

"Fair enough." I reclined on the seat, rolling my shoulders. "Now then, my potential execution not withstanding, what do we do for fun around here?"

"Execution?" Asked a surprised Hanataro.

"It makes sense in context." I told him. "So, I'm a bit bored."

"W-We have cards." Suggested Kasumi.

"Yu-Gi-Oh?" I raised hopefully.

Kasumi giggled slightly at the reference. As a temporary occupant of England, she got the reference. "Alas, all w-we have is the regular kind."

"Oh well." I shrugged. "Deal me in."

XXXXXXXXXX

Over the next few hours we played various English and Japanese card games, trying to oust one another as the King of Games. Surprisingly, Hanataro was a gambling beast, getting such combinations of cards that I could almost swear that he had been cheating. Luckily for my ego, the medic had been forced to leave for his shift after two hours or so. Since then, various other Shinigami dropped in and out of the games.

Just before the clock struck one, another familiar face appeared. "Hey, Marc!" Greeted Momo cheerfully. "Hows the recovery going?"

"Pretty well." I told her, dealing in for the current game me and Kasumi were playing against one another, since everyone was off having lunch. "I was allowed to leave my room earlier today."

She smiled. "I'm happy that you've recovered."

"As am I. Still, based on your appearance, I guess we have the verdict."

"No." She shook her head. "They're still making their minds up. Captain Aizen said that he would break the news to you personally once they reached a decision."

"Yay." I stated without enthusiasm. The evil genius himself was going to pop in and say hi, not exactly a good thing in my books.

"I'm sure he'll get you off! Captain Aizen is wonderful like that!" Oh no, she's going into fangirl mode. I knew of the horrors known only as fangirls, so I could tell that it would be detrimental to my health to let her go on any more. It was time to change topics.

"Anyway, what are you doing here?" I quickly asked.

"I came to visit, silly." She took one of the seats that had been abandoned in the lunch rush. "Speaking of which," She gave Kasumi a short glare, whom responded with a defiant (i.e cute) scowl. "Nobody told me that you had left your room."

Not missing a beat, Kasumi responded. "I-It's policy not to share medical records with non Fourth Squad personal."

"Really?" Momo pouted. "At least I was here during visiting hours, huh?"

"M-my patient is still recovering, y-you'll need to leave soon." She stubbornly stated.

"But well enough to play cards?" I whistled innocently. Kasumi continued to glare. "Fine. It was nice seeing you Marc, and I really hope to see you again soon." The Lieutenant gave me a polite smile. "I hope that when you graduate from the Academy you join the Fifth Squad."

She left, leaving me and Kasumi behind. "Why are you insistent on her not visiting anyway?" I mentioned rhetorically, talking to myself more than anything. "You must be a sticker for the rules."

"N-not really." The blonde nurse looked away, a red sheen painting her cheeks. I sighed. She seems to get flustered far too easily.

"Oblivious."Stated Javan.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing... nothing at all. You just so happen to be rather similar to everyone's favourite orange head protagonist."The evil laughter said otherwise, but I chose to ignore my bipolar 'friend'.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was a few hours later when the news finally arrived, hand delivered by the original Magnificent Bastard himself, Aizen.

I had been returned to my room by Kasumi (Since I was getting bored of cards, wanted some peace and quiet and because she promised to get some books to read) when the one and only Captain Aizen entered unannounced, a false smile plastered on his face.

"Good afternoon." He greeted me pleasantly, pulling up one of the two chairs in the room and sitting a respectful metre or two away from me. I had the other chair, due to being fed up of lying in bed. "My name is Sosuke Aizen, I happen to be the Captain of Squad Five... I've been told that you've been told the basics of our present society?"

"Umm... yeah!" I told him cheerfully, trying not to show how panicked I was. By the way, on the record I am quite clearly noting that I was NOT scared of him... merely cautious of his presence, since when Mr I-Scheme-A-Lot himself gets involved in something, it gets messy. It gets messy real quick.

"Shit. Shit. BULL-shit!" Cursed Javan to me mentally. "This is terrible! Hell, we might have known this meeting was coming due to prior warning by Momo, but its STILL crap!"

"I KNOW! I WANT TO JUMP OUT THAT GOD DAMNED WINDOW!"

"It's nice to meet you!" I lied, trying not to reveal my true feelings. Aizen returned my line with an equally cheery tilt of the head. Right then I just knew that he knew that I knew that he knew and knows just how much of a lie that was. Aizen's a dick like that.

"I am equally happy to meet you. I make a habit of reading the records of all new Academy students, since they are the future, the next generation. I like to make predictions based around them, to help guide their growth." More like guide them down the path that hewalked. Manipulative madman. "In short, I like to meet these interesting cases."

"Right." I nodded. "Well, I guess I'm quite the case, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are. Marcus D Solus, a human Ryoka that summoned a Zanpakuto. I don't mean for you to get a big head, but what you did that day when you met my Lieutenant is nearly unheard of, a practical impossibility."

I scratched my head sheepishly. "Yeah... sorry 'bout that."

"No problem, I have no bias towards Ryoka, particularly those that surpass their limitations." Damn. Is that a certain gleam in his eye I see? "Your case is veryinteresting."

"CRAP! HE FINDS YOU INTERESTING!"

I resisted the urge to nod my head sagely. "Yes, this is BAD! When he gets interested, heads roll! By all rights, exiting this conversation via window might be the BEST solution!"

Well, he can't do anything to me yet. He still thought that I'm just a Ryoka with a sword, just that. In truth, I could literally read his future like a book, having seen the entire Bleach anime. I knew ALL of his plans, so I must never let on that I knew his true motivations, or else I'd be pretty screwed.

"Anyway, onto business." Mr I-Kick-Puppies declared solemnly.

"Right." I agreed. "I need to know what lies in my near future, a few more years of school, or my head on a platter. Both are frightening options."

Aizen gave a realistic chuckle at my morbid humour.

"Faake."

"Already know."

"I see. Yes, let's skip these pleasantries and get to the heart of the matter." Aizen stood up dramatically and cleared his throat, taking a position that seemed vaguely heroic, as if he had just saved a dozen kitten orphanages before coming to see me. "Marcus D. Solus, you are officially in the custody of the Fifth Squad from this day forwards."

"WHAT!?" My mouth resembled a fly catcher. A dozen of the flying buggers probably flew into my gaping maw; I didn't care.

"You've been enlisted." The powerful man stated. "No execution is in your near future. Instead, you will go to the Academy and learn the ways of the Force."

"Pardon?" Did he just-

"Excuse my humour. I meant, you'll learn the ways of the Shinigami." He laughed at his own joke. "I am rather fond of some modern technologies those in the World of the Living have made. I hoped that you would have got the joke, but what did I expect of an amnesic." His raised eyebrow says otherwise, he knew that my claims are bullshit nearly as much as I did.

"Totally got it just now." I told him. "Ever fancied sitting in a swivel chair and spinning around while stroking a cat and making solemn declarations?"

"Once or twice. Back on track, you'll study there until graduation, then you'll return to join my Squad, since we brought you here, so you're our responsibility. You screw up, I get blamed. You also won't be able to leave for many missions without someone stronger than you to reign you in just in case you betray us... although such thing is merely a precaution."

I let out a terrific sigh of relief. "I'm glad that you're meeting with the Captains went so well."

"Actually, we only barely saved the skin of your back." He corrected. "Central 46 declared that since you wielded a Shinigami's powers, it was the Captain's authority to decide your fate. We only won seven votes to six; if one more had voted against then your life expectancy would have been severely lowered."

"Ouch." I winced. This had been a close one.

"Quite." Aizen offered me a serious stare, acting seriously for the first time in this situation, abandoning his usual façade to stress the importance of his next words. "This has been TERRIBLY close. You're on a shaky path, one wrong move, a single step out of line, if you ever drift to far from the straight and narrow, and then you'll be thrown from the beaten trail and..." He let the implication go unfinished.

"Death. Oblivion. A one way trip to Hell. You'll leave this Mortal Coil permanently."

"Thanks for that Javan; you're REALLY helping me here!" I sarcastically drawled.

"Moving on from such negatives," Aizen was back to normal. "Let me be the first to congratulate you about your new found status of 'not about to die'."

"Thanks. I'm more glad than you are."

"Undoubtedly." The Evil Genius agreed as he began to walk towards the door. "Still, I am glad, and I look forwards to seeing what you accomplish when you have the proper training. Goodbye, a teacher will be here to collect you soon."

And so he left. Surprisingly, for my first meeting with the Big Bad, it went pretty well.

XXXXXXXXXX

Fate was not always all seeing, not all knowing. Unbeatable, stubborn and a force of nature able to influence all of reality itself, but not all powerful, not fully omnipotent. Her power waxed and waned, differing depending on the reality she acted in. In some worlds she was absolute, in others humans (Pests that they were) would ignore her completely and kick their destiny in the face.

That was why humans often felt they could escape there fates; since they ran away, since sometimes she didn't have the power to stop them. They ran away, and Fate was powerless to stop them. Luckily, this was rare. Most of the time she had enough strength to ensure that they turned around, drawn back to their initially decided paths.

Errors were something else though. They were untouchable by her. They could fight back. Their distortion could spread to others, weakening her ability to influence them.

In a perfectly enclosed system, one could not afford a bug to replicate and spread, lest the entire system fall before the damage. Because of this, Fate would always squash Errors as soon as possible, with her full power. Even if Errors were harder to influence and even harder to pinpoint, she was resilient and stubborn enough to continue to manually search for these errors, then destroy them with outside forces.

Certainly, in the current world she was overseeing, a bug had slipped away from her. No problem. She was also as equally patient as she was stubborn.

She was happy to search, no longer how long it would take. Such was her duty.

She would win in the end; she always did. She could wait, years if she had to. This new Error would die, as would the other one. Such was Fate.

AN- So then, here's the second chapter. Readers of my initial fic should already be noticing changes, while I hope new readers enjoyed this even if there was a lot less action. *Shrug* It will take a bit of time before we get back to the good stuff; Marc will go to the Academy first, do some stuff there, then we'll have a few things to go through before canon comes along. I am also going to be inserting these 'Fate' sections occasionally. Not sure if they'll be in every chapter, but they will appear, and they will be rather important later on, giving a third party insight into certain events in the story.

Expect the next chapter soonish, since its already finished and merely being checked over.

Anyway, please give feedback on how this could improve. All reviews are appreciated. Undying Soul out.