A/N: Here's the next chapter. Enjoy! I also want to thank Black Cat Angel for giving me the name of the zanpakto mentioned in this chapter. She also helped me remember some of the names of the characters. I haven't seen Bleach in a while so on some things I'm not completely accurate on. (Mainly the story-line) However, this is my take on how the story could be so I'm just going to go with it and hope you all will enjoy it.

Edited/Rewritten as of 2/25/13

Disclaimer: Too lazy to write one, but you know it's not mine.

Chapter 3

A New Threat

Ichigo Kurosaki watched in awe as an auburn haired girl in a black kimono waved around a golden zanpakto. Its radiant light illuminated the dark night as she massacred the Hollows surrounding her.

"Shine, Ryumaru," the girl murmured as she floated higher in the sky. Her eyes closed as she clutched her sword tighter in her hands. A golden ring surrounded her. In the seconds that followed the ring slowly morphed into a golden dragon. With a flick of her wrist, the dragon attacked the remaining Hollows in a blast of golden light. Their vaporization was instantaneous. The wind blew, ruffling through Ichigo and Rukia's hair as the night quieted once more. They watched the girl float back to the ground, completely speechless even as her feet touched the soft grass.

Rukia's dark blue eyes widened. "No way."

Ichigo blinked, confusion written all over his expression. "Kiki?"

Kiki opened her eyes, but the instant she did her body swayed. The black kimono disappeared as she dropped to the ground, replaced by the dark green dress she'd been wearing earlier that night.

"Kiki!" Rukia shouted, rushing to her side. After kneeling down, she checked the girl's pulse. It was fine, but now a billion questions were running through the soul reaper's mind.

Ichigo approached more slowly, astonished and downright confused on what was going on. He couldn't fathom how a girl as fragile looking as her could have so much power in her hands.

"Her spiritual pressure…"Ichigo trailed off, noting that the golden zanpukto had disappeared from Kiki's hand.

"I know," Rukia agreed, her expression reflecting her concern. "It was out of this world."

"Ichigo! Rukia!"

Ichigo and Rukia turned toward the new voice. Orihime, Chad, and Uuryu were rushing right for them.

"Did you feel that spiritual pressure?" Uuryu asked as soon as he arrived. He pushed up his glasses when he noticed Kiki's state of unconsciousness. "Ichigo, what happened to her?"

"She defeated all the Hollows at once," Ichigo answered, shrugging. "I guess doing so caused her to pass out."

"So you're saying that Kiki was the source of that wild spiritual pressure?" Orihime questioned, her grey eyes widening in surprise. "Wow! She's really powerful."

Rukia nodded, rising to her feet. "I never would have suspected such immense power within her. To me, she looked like an ordinary human."

"Well, after all this time you should know not to judge a book by its cover," Uuryu commented offhandedly. Rukia glared at him for a moment, but her gaze shifted to Ichigo as he knelt to examine the unconscious girl.

Ichigo pressed his palm to her forehead, but pulled back almost immediately. Her skin practically burned his hand.

"I think we should get her to a hospital," Ichigo stated, picking her up bridal style. "She has a high fever, not to mention that the poor girl just fainted."

"I don't know Ichigo," Chad commented, speaking up for the first time. "More Hollows might come after her with spiritual pressure like that. It'll put people's lives at risk."

Rukia nodded in agreement. "He's right, taking her to a hospital isn't a good idea."

Ichigo frowned, glaring down at the girl. "Then what do you suggest we do!"

Rukia thought it over for a moment. "I say we take her to Urahara's shop. He'll be able to treat her and he might be able to figure out who this girl really is."

Ichigo's frown turned into a hard scowl as he gritted his teeth. "She always acts like she's the smartest girl in the world. I can't stand that about her sometimes."

"Good plan," Chad stated. Ichigo sent a glare at the taller dude. Who asked him to intervene anyway?

Well, nothing could really be done about it, so the substitute soul reaper let it slide. He couldn't afford to lose his cool anyhow. After all, he and his friends were dealing with a delicate situation here. A teenage soul reaper with an extremely powerful spiritual pressure didn't come along everyday. To make matters worse, they didn't know anything about the girl.

And Ichigo had a bad feeling that Kiki was going to end up bringing a lot of trouble for them.

Later that night

Kiki P.O.V.

The darkness has always been my ally. Yes, ever since the night my mother disappeared from my life the darkness has been my solace. However, it has proved to be my greatest enemy when it comes to dreams.

"Your destiny shall be fulfilled."

Every night I hear that awful voice tell the story of what I'm destined to do. I never understood any of it really. All I know is that I always dream of death. I dream of killing innocent people. I dream of destroying the world with a power I do not have.

My dreams are vivid nightmares of what happened in the past and of what's supposed to happen in the future. Truth be told, I never believed in destiny, but my more recent nightmares were just too vivid to not be true. My destiny was decided before I was ever conceived.

That's why I ran away. I don't want to be a monster. I want to destroy the monsters that chose this life for me. This is my reason for living and fighting. I will never be a monster.

Still, I find myself blacking out a lot. I'm not sure why that happens. It's been that way ever since I obtained my scar. Every once in a while I pass out and then find myself in the middle of nowhere when I awaken again. At first, blacking out randomly drove me crazy, especially when I ended up in places I rather not be, like graveyards, and abandoned warehouses. As time passed, dealing with the black outs became easier, but it still creeps me out a little, even if it is normal part of life for me. I'm used to being surrounded by darkness, so I'm not really afraid anymore.

Of course, I know that the blackness that's surrounding me now is part of a dream and dreams do not equal good times. I don't think I've had a good dream since I was a child.

Thankfully, the darkness starts to lift as I gradually slip back into a conscious state. My eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the dim light of the room. I turned my head, glancing around upon realizing that this was most definitely not my house. No, the ceiling is to short and the walls too pale. Last I remember I was at school, though I can't fathom what I was doing there in the middle of the night. Wasn't there a dance or something?

I sat up, taking quick notice that I was lying on a mat placed on the floor. Lifting my arm I noted that my clothes had been changed too...wait...oh, no…

WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The door to my right suddenly slid open. I snapped my gaze, fuming when I find Ichigo Kurosaki standing in the doorway...and he's smiling.

"Hey," he began, waving his hand. "You're finally…"

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME!" I screamed, scrambling to my feet while taking in my attire. I was wearing an orange kimono top and black short-shorts. Being the conservative girl that I was…I'd never , EVER wear short-shorts. For a moment I try to wrack my brain for a memory, but the only thing I'm getting is standing by the punch bowl with him.

That's it! He must have spiked the punch! That's how I ended up here! But if I was drunk when he brought me here then...oh no...

"Calm down…"

"Don't you tell me to calm down you pervert!" I shouted, frantically searching the room for something breakable. I saw a vase in the corner and rushed to grab it. "You better tell me what you did to me!"

Ichigo had a puzzled expression on his face. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" I snarled angrily. "You took advantage of me didn't you!"

"What!" he shouted, a blush rising over his cheeks. "G..get your mind out of the gutter! I brought you here after you passed out."

I stiffened, unsure if I had passed out from him spiking the drink or completely on my own. "When exactly did I pass out?"

Ichigo crossed his arms over his chest, tilting his head slightly as he studied me. "After you killed those Hallows at the school."

"Hollows?" I questioned. "What are you…do you mean those big monster things?"

"Yeah, I guess," Ichigo stated, his expression fixed in a scowl now. "Listen, I've got some questions for you…"

By that time I'd already checked out the conversation. I remember seeing the monsters now, but after that…it's all a blank. I certainly don't remember killing anything. He has to be lying to me. There's no other explanation.

"Tell the truth Kurosaki!" I exclaimed, interrupting his stream of questions. "I've never killed anything in my life." Part of that was a lie. I'd never killed anything like a Hollow before. However, I had killed something worse once in the distant past, not that I'd tell this punk. He definitely has a darkness deep inside of him. It's subtle, but I know without any experiment that whatever darkness there is deadly. Plus, he seems like one of those macho types. I have no doubt in my mind that he did something to me.

Ichigo, noting my expression, lifted his hands as a peace offering. "Listen Kiki, I promise you that you haven't been harmed in any way." He paused, his gaze narrowing on mine. "Wait a minute. What do you mean you've never killed anything? I saw you kill those Hollows with my own two eyes."

"What?" Reluctantly I put my weapon back in its place. Could he be telling the truth? No, nothing adds up here. I don't remember killing anything or anyone at all. There's no possible way unless…

Passing out at random…ending up at a different place from where I'd originally fainted…that could only mean that I…

"Oh, my gosh," I muttered as I feel to my knees. "So that's…"

Ichigo rushed to my side, kneeling down as he questioned me. "What's wrong?"

Answering him was impossible as thoughts raged through my head. I touched the scar on my forehead, remembering my most recent nightmare.

I had been running through a dark forest . There was no path ahead, just me and the tall trees as far as I could see. Then, out of nowhere the trees begin to part...and that's when I saw it; the monster that caused my mother to disappear all those years. The Arrancars.

The dream shifted, a sudden wind blowing through my hair as the dark forest turned into a desert. The sky was still dark as it had been in the forest area, but a dome-shaped building stood out in the desert sands. Instantly I can sense spiritual pressures, the force of them weighing down on my body so much that I can barely move, but I can move enough to turn around. I'm able to breathe long enough to choke out a scream before the masked monsters...Hollows I guess...devoured me.

However, in the last moments of the dream I see the face of my father in the pitch black darkness surrounding me as I'm eaten. His brown eyes were filled with cruelty, his smile sinister.

"You cannot escape your destiny my child. You shall become one of us."

At the time, I didn't completely understand his words or even the dream itself, but now it all made sense.

I'm becoming an Arrancar. That's the only explanation for all the things that have happened. That's why I can see monsters. That's why I can see ghosts.

"Kiki, snap out of it," Ichigo ordered. "Come on, your starting to freak me out."

I snapped out of it long enough to push him away from me. "What did you see?" I rose up from the floor steadily, willing myself to stay calm despite the terrible realization I'd just made. Ichigo didn't answer until I was but a few steps away from the sliding door.

"You took out the Hollows with your zanpakto."

"What in the world is a zanpakto?" I wondered aimlessly, pausing in the doorway. "Is it a weapon of some kind?"

"Well, I see that our guest is finally awake."

I blinked suddenly realizing that a man was two inches away from my face.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"You mind cutting out the theatrics young maiden?" The man laughed as I darted behind Ichigo, hoping he'd make a good meat shield if this guy happened to attack me. He wore a green kimono and a matching hat. He had short, sandy blond hair, and grey eyes that seemed to hold wisdom within them, but I wasn't entirely sure of that. My breathing slowed though and I calmed down. I don't normally lose my cool like this, but a lot of bizarre things are happening today.

"Urahara, did you and the others contact the soul society?"

"Soul society?" I questioned. Now I'm really confused. What the heck is going on here!?

Apparently, no one wants to fill me in on anything. I don't think there's a way for me to escape from this either. At this point I can't decide if I'm in good hands or if I'm in deep trouble.

Uruhara nodded his head in response to Ichigo's question. "Captain Hitsuguya will be arriving in an hour or so with Lieutenant Matsumoto."

"You mean Toshiro and Rangiku?" Ichigo asked.

Urahara sighed. "Never one for formalities." He laughed, the sound of it loud and boisterous. "It was never my thing either..."

"Um, sorry to cut in," I interrupted, "but I'd appreciate it if someone would start explaining what's going on here!"

Urahara laughed harder, his hands wrapping around his stomach as he did so. "You sure know how to pick em' Ichigo. I'll let you explain what's going on while I converse with your friends."

"Wait a minute! Don't leave me to deal with her..."

Urahara closed the door behind him before Ichigo could protest further. I sunk to the floor again, the initial shock of the situation was gone, replaced by a feeling of complete confusion and disarray. My mind couldn't get anymore jumbled than this.

However, one thing was clear. I'm becoming the monster that my father wanted me to be. There's no way to escape it. In response to this realization, my arms involuntarily hugged my knees. Now the question is what I'm supposed to do about it. How can I stop the process? Can I even stop it? Right now, I just don't know.

The room was silent, awkwardly so, and in the midst of that silence my thoughts turned toward the worst case scenarios. Years of running hadn't done me any good. I'm doomed to suffer a terrible fate no matter what I do.

"Um…listen…Kiki..."

"What?" I asked softly, choking down a sob. "No, I still have my pride if nothing else. I'm not going to cry in front of the jerk behind me."

"Are you crying?"

"Darn it," I thought as I heard myself blubber out a no. This was horribly pathetic. Honestly, I'm not a crybaby so why am I acting like one right now. Just because I've made some stupid realization that I'm becoming what I fear most? That may be enough for some, but not for me. If I was going to cry about something, it should have been the day I got this stupid scar. It should have been the day I looked in the mirror and saw the face of my father staring back at me after my mother and sister disappeared.

I didn't cry then so I shouldn't be crying now.

The tears flowed anyhow, despite my desperate attempts to stop them, the tears continued to fall down my cheeks. In my jumbled train of thought, I rationalized that things couldn't possibly get any worse.

Apparently, I'd lost all sensibility. Things were going to get worse very soon. These people from the Soul Society or whatever Urahara had called it were coming to get me. Were they going to kill me? Would they perform experiments on my body once they did? I had no clue and all I could think about was the fear rising up inside of me. For the first time in a very long time...I'm terrified.

"Here."

I turned my gaze toward the box of tissues Ichigo held out to me. I blinked, lifting my gaze to meet Ichigo's only to flinch back when I noted our proximity. In the course of my crying fit, he's managed to fill up most of my personal space. A blush rose on my cheeks, not because of the fact that he was only inches away, but because he had a close up view of my teary display of childishness.

"Are you going to take one?" he asked, his voice causing me to look into his brown eyes again. He seemed earnest even though there was a slight annoyance in his tone. After a moment, my hand finally reached for the box of tissues. I took some out of the box and started dabbing at the tears that were falling from my eyes.

As stupid as I felt, Ichigo's kind gesture helped ease the pain a little. My hypothesis on him may not be as accurate as I first thought. Maybe…no, I can't rule that out yet. I don't know him well enough to make any judgements.

"What's going to happen to me?" I asked. He was still next to me, but at that point I'd refused to look at him. His closeness was actually starting to make me nervous now.

"You're not in any danger Kiki," he replied. "I promise you that. Urahara and Rukia just wanted to identify you."

"Identify?"

He paused. "You're a soul reaper aren't you? So you must have come to the world of the living to do something."

"Soul reaper?" My gaze snapped to meet his again. "What's that?"

Ichigo looked puzzled, almost flabbergasted by my question. "You don't remember a thing do you? About what you did to those Hollows."

I nodded. "That's right. Are you saying that I'm…a soul reaper?"

"I don't know, that's what we're all trying to figure out," Ichigo answered, obviously annoyed with my constant questions. He abruptly rose to his feet. "Just rest for a while Kiki. I promise that I'll explain everything later. For now, just hang tight."

A sigh slipped from my lips as I wiped away the last of the tears. "Very well then."

"And quit talking like that," Ichigo added. "It doesn't suit you at all."

He closed the sliding door behind him, leaving me to wonder what he meant by that comment. Oh well, I figured I had more important things to deal with now. Trusting Ichigo and his friend Urahara seemed out of the question, but I found that there wasn't another choice to consider because there isn't an escape route in this room for me to exploit. I'm trapped.

I don't know what I'm going to do from here.

Meanwhile in another dimension

For miles around all that can be seen are desert sands. However, in the center of this desert is a fortress for the monsters that ruled the land. This place and the land that surrounded is named Heuco Mundo, home of the Hollows.

And the land of the cursed Arrancars and Espada for which our heroes faced their greatest and most formidable enemies. Yes, in recent times, this land has been subject to rampant attacks waged by the Soul Reapers. The leader of this attack was the Substitute Soul Reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki. He and his friends waged an invasion on the fortress to rescue the young and innocent Orihime Inoue. The master of the land at the time had held a great interest in her.

The battles fought had been treacherous and difficult. The original group consisting of a Quincy, a man with excellent brute strength, two soul reapers from the soul society, and Ichigo Kurosaki himself, had risked their very lives to save the young maiden in distress. In some ways, you could call the journey a classic yet dark fairy tale.

In the end, Orihime was saved and great enemies such as Ulquiora Schiefer and Souske Aizen were defeated by the powerful substitute. The latter having initially costing Kurosaki to lose his shinigami powers, which he was later able to regain. The casualty count was high though, with the former captains of squad three and squad nine. Aizen was permanently sealed and the Hōgyoku returned to its rightful place after the ordeal was through.

Or so it seemed at the time.

In the course of the last few months since Aizen's defeat, a disturbance has shaken through both the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo. In the Soul Society, the disturbance was somewhat ignored, the slight rise in reitsu throughout the dimension something all soul reapers were accustomed to from time to time. However, this disturbance, small as it was, allowed for certain people to be freed...quite unexpectedly.

And in other areas, like Hueco Mundo as well as the living world...people and Arrancars alike came back from the dead with no memory of any of the events that had occured previously...all except for one Espada who held onto the image of a girl with strawberry blonde locks and a man he failed to settle the score with.

At this particular moment, the revived ex-captain of squad three was strolling down the dismantled halls, a smile etched in his features with his eyes closed as always. His name was Gin Ichimaru, carrier of the Shinso zanpakuto.

The smiling man came to a stop at the end of the expansive hallway. A tall door stood before him, a door that would lead him towards his awaiting destiny, whether he knew it or not.

His hands pressed gently against the wood. The smile was still on his face, but it faltered as the face of the subsitute soul reaper flashed in his mind. These were the only memories he held of the decisive battle.

"Forgive me Ichigo Kurosaki, but I can not allow anyone else to destroy Aizen but me," he thought upon opening the expansive door. "Revenge must be mine alone."

Gin's footsteps echoed as he entered the large dinning area. It had been greatly damaged by the rampage of the Soul Reapers, but the throne that was at the end of the room still remained. On throne sat the former captain of the fifth squad, Souske Aizen, carrier of the Kyōka Suigetsu zanpakuto.

"Are you ready to commence the operation in capturing priority item two?" Aizen asked as Gin approached, a sinister grin on his face as he took in the sight of the man who would betray him once again if given the chance.

The former captain of squad three forced his smile to return as he addressed him.

"Yes, our new forces are ready to be deployed at the flick of your wrist."

Aizen chuckled. "Good, then let our final onslaught begin."

A/N: Hope you guys liked it. Stay tuned for the next chapter.