Author's note: Chapter 3! Contains abit of a spoiler for the anime Episode 114 onwards. I've already said in the previous chapter that this is based on the part after Vaizard speaks to Ichigo, and now it's plus the part where Ulquiorra and Yami had already gone to the Living World and fought with Ichigo and company, but Hitsugaya's team hasn't appeared yet. Also, I've tried to make my chapters longer! Hope it's better. :)

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Rukia could only vaguely recall what happened after she left the school to meet that new student. She couldn't fathom what was going on, her mind was still in a mess. It felt like someone has been in her brain, read all her memories and added something in. Rukia remembered meeting that new student in the park, but somehow her memories ended there. There had been a soft glow from the tattoo on her right hand…Hang on. When did she get that tattoo?

"I see you have awaken."

Rukia whirled around in a mixture of shock and fear as she searched for the owner of that unfamiliar voice. It was bad enough waking up in a strange room – the room was all white, with nothing in it other than the bed she was lying on and a vase of flowers sitting prettily on the floor. There were no windows, yet the room seemed brightly illuminated as if it was day. There seemed to be no ceilings, and there were no doors. Therefore, the sudden appearance of a person was of great surprise to Rukia. Had he been there all along?

A man clothed in all white stood in front of her. For one second, Rukia thought she'd gone to heaven, and she was seeing an angel. But somehow the person standing there didn't look much like an angel, although his emerald eyes were rather handsome. Then, she realized who that person was.

An Arrancar.

Before Rukia had the time to react, though, the arrancar spoke.

"You can call me Ulquiorra. If you were wondering where are you, this place is Hueco Mundo. Congratulations for making it here in one piece. "

"Huh?" What in the world is happening? An Arrancar being friendly to a shinigami? She was in Hueco Mundo? There's too much to absorb and too little time to understand.

"Do not worry. Aizen sama will help you to become an Arrancar soon. Your wish will be granted to save Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Wait…When did I say I wanted to become an Arrancar?"

"You wished to save Kurosaki Ichigo, did you not?"

"Yes. But…"

"Then you have to become an Arrancar. If you don't understand, don't ask."

With that, Ulquiorra vanished. Rukia blinked at the spot where he was in astonishment.

"Yo."

Oh no. Not another Arrancar again. She felt confused enough without them performing their disappearing acts and then bombarding her with bizarre information. She turned to the other side of her bed and saw… The new student.

"Nice place here. Quiet, peaceful."

He's got the nerve to be commenting on her surroundings when he's the cause of all these confusion. Rukia stifled an urge to pick up the bed and throw it at him. No point destroying her only furniture in the room over an idiot like him. Besides, she wanted to know what was happening.

"What's going on? Why have you brought me here? Most importantly, why am I being turned into an Arrancar? Who are you?"

"Whoa. That's a lot of questions. Ok, I'll answer them one by one. I'm a Vaizard. The Vaizards are currently allying with the Arrancars for a certain reason, and you're a crucial factor in our plans. Because your current powers are too weak, Aizen sama has kindly consented to helping you by turning you into an Arrancar so that you'll have a higher chance of living for a longer period of time…"

The new student didn't get to finish his sentence. The bed went flying and crashed against some invisible wall, splintering into many pieces. That blow should have knocked idiot out. Rukia was fuming. She wasn't interested in becoming an Arrancar, and she was definitely not going to help that traitor (Aizen) do anything. Damn, how does a person get out of this place?

"If you really want to help Kurosaki kun, you should cooperate with us."

Aww shoot. I missed the target. "Yah, right. As if I'll believe your lame excuses."

Rukia felt a little smug to see that her aim wasn't that bad afterall. The Vaizard was bleeding from a cut on the side of his head as he tried to untangle himself from the wreckage of the bed.

"Haven't you noticed? Kurosaki's been upset recently hasn't he? Don't you ever wonder why?"

True. But it still doesn't quite make sense. What has all these got to do with Ichigo?

"It's that Hollow in him. We need your help to counter that Hollow and tame him, but you're too weak with your current strength."

"So the only option left for me is to become an Arrancar?"

"Yes. You don't have much time to consider. Our plan is already going into action as we speak. In fact, you don't have much of a choice."

A bell tinkled somewhere in the room.

"I gotta go. Think about it. This is about saving Ichigo."

Rukia felt completely overwhelmed by this influx of information. She salvaged her blanket from what was left of her bed and draped it around her shoulders.

Arrancar, Vaizard, Ichigo.

She didn't know what to do.

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Haha I actually forgot the Vaizard's name. Anyone knows?