I do not own Bleach or any of the characters.

Traveling Tales

Kurai sat on the top of the small mountain watching Urahara work. After Grimmjow had left, they had found out that Orihime had been taken to Hueco Mundo. The fact that she was allowed to say goodbye only served to make Head Captain Yamamoto believe that she had betrayed them and order all Soul Reapers back to the Soul Society. Kurai had, quite happily, refused. Not to the Head Captain's face, of course, but he hadn't returned with Renji, Rukia, and the others. After that, Kisuke had revealed that he had a way to send them into Hueco Mundo but that it would take until late that night to be ready. The others were in school one last time before going through the portal while Kurai was reflecting on his past, and a very long past at that.

He couldn't honestly say that his only goal in life was to kill Mayuri anymore, though he still wanted him dead. Now, he had other priorities. Like defending Nemu.

"Kanisawa would never let me live it down if she heard me say that," Kurai muttered to himself grinning.

"What's that Kurai?" Kisuke asked. "Something about that attractive member of Squad Ten?"

"Mind your own business Kisuke," Kurai spoke up. "And stop giving your opinion of my friends."

Kisuke shrugged and continued working. Kurai sighed and let his mind wander again. This time, to the Captain Guards. There had been a fair few. Two or three per squad, at the height of their strength. of course, by their fall, there were very few left. And That had ben when Kurai fought her. That one person that he had always wanted a rematch with. That one person who had survived his Bankai and beaten him to boot. That one damn hollow. Of course, she was a Vasto Lorde.

"Hey Kurai," Kisuke spoke up. "Do you suppose you could do me a favor?"

"Sure," Kurai nodded.

"Take a hike," Kisuke ordered. "Go find something to do until night. Here you're in the way."

Kurai shrugged and hopped down, turning and walking away.

That night, Kurai leaned against the same mountain as earlier as Ichigo, Chad, and Uryu all stood beside him.

"What's taking so long?" Kurai asked.

"Give it a minute," Kisuke said before tapping his cane on one wooden beam, a portal to Hueco Mundo ripping open between that beam and another opposite Kisuke. "Now, Hueco Mundo is not on the other side of the portal, it's an in-between world, like the Dangai. To pass through here, however, you have to concentrate your Reishi to form your own road. Kurai and Uryu will help you Ichigo."

"Is that all?" Kurai asked. "Easy. So, everyone ready?"

"Let's go," Ichigo shouted leaping through the portal with the others following.

Kurai caught Ichigo, giving him a quick explanation of how to form a road before Kurai and Uryu both formed platforms that would move for them. Then, Kurai lay on his side, propping his head up on his right arm as He watched Ichigo and Chad run along on Ichigo's poorly formed pathway.

"So Kurai," Ichigo spoke up. "Why don't you tell us about your history. I know almost nothing about your past."

"No one but me and Head Captain Yamamoto do," Kurai stated. "Well, let me see. You want to hear about me getting my Shikai, me getting my Bankai, or my most humiliating defeat?"

"Humiliating defeat," Uryu spoke up. "I could use a good laugh."

"I'm sure," Kurai smirked. "Well, to start, I'm the last remaining member of a group of elite Soul Reapers, even among officers of the Court Guard Squads, known as the Captain Guards. We were special body guards to the captains. A good number of us were even more powerful than the average Lieutenant, back then, at least. There were a lot of us. Two or three for every squad. But We had a set of rules. Among friends, be as invisible as possible. Among enemies, be deadly. We weren't allowed to make a splash. We presented ourselves as average, at least, after being recruited, and we were not allowed to be officers. I accepted this rule better than most. I was good at it. However, our missions were hard. We were sent to eliminate Adjuchas and large groups of Gillians that are too big to risk a large number of other Soul Reapers. As a result, we lost people. It was a fairly frequent occurrence, unfortunately. By The Fall, which is what myself and Head Captain Yamamoto came to call the event that cost the lives of everyone but me, there were only eight of us."

"What was The Fall?" Ichigo asked.

"A horrible mistake," Kurai stated. "This will be my second time in Hueco Mundo. We were chasing an Adjuchas and when we cornered it, it created a portal to Hueco Mundo, and pulled us all in after it. We killed it once there, but the portal had closed behind us. We spent maybe an hour trying to find a way out before we were found."

"By what?" Uryu asked.

"A Vasto Lorde," Kurai stated. "A female, a shark hollow. Her right arm was a massive blade in the shape of a shark's body. She offered to take us home, if we could defeat her. And we tried. We al activated our Shikai, and a couple of them their Bankai. But she obliterated us in minutes. All of them died. She was too fast, too powerful. We never stood a chance. Or rather, they didn't. I wasn't leader for nothing. She slaughtered them all like they were nothing, while also fending off Haruko and I with our most powerful attacks."

"But, you got back," Ichigo stated. "And you're alive. Does that mean you won?"

"Well, not exactly," Kurai sighed. "You see..."

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