Ichigo stepped out of the garganta and into the Soul Society. He inhaled the reishi-infused 'air' and sighed. After a moment, he started walking towards the Head Captain's building, where he could feel four powerful spiritual pressures.

Pushing open the door, he was greeted with an unexpected sight. The Head Captain was laughing. Around him were three unfamiliar soul reapers. A woman with shoulder-length dark hair who appeared to be in her mid thirties, a man with hair of similar color who looked around forty, and a man with silver hair who looked about twenty.

Suddenly, Ichigo felt a little bit lonely. It was times like these he wished he could have just had a normal life. He shook off that feeling a moment later. When he thought about everything he had gone through, the friends he had made, he knew he couldn't ask for a better life. It had it's fill of struggles, sure, but he was quite happy. His only regret was that the only other person truly close to his level was Nel. Unfortunately, she had had things to attend to in the human world, but she said she would join him later.

Ichigo coughed to get the attention of the others in the room.

The four looked over and jumped. The three strangers immediately took battle positions.

"Calm down you three," Yamamoto said. "This is Ichigo Kurosaki. Although I am confused by his odd appearance as well, he is no enemy of ours."

He was referring, of course, to the white highlights in Ichigo's now slightly longer hair and hollowfied eye.

Ichigo realized this and rushed to explain. "Oh, this? Pay no mind to it, I just made an agreement with Nashi — I mean, my hollow."

Though Yamamoto raised an eyebrow, he remained silent as the three strangers relaxed.

Suddenly, the man with silver hair's face lit up. He ran up to Ichigo like he was going to tackle him, but just before he got there, he knelt down and looked longingly at the Zanpakuto hanging at Ichigo's waist.

"Can I see your sword?" He asked in awe. Ichigo, though a little confused, drew his sword and handed it over. "Whoa! This is so cool! Zangetsu, huh? Cool name." Ichigo looked surprised when the guy... fondling his sword spoke its name.

"How did you...?"

"Oh, I have a way with Zanpakuto. I can hear their voices sometimes even before their owners do. Wait a minute..." The man's eyes widened. "Why do I hear two... no, three voices?"

"Well, before I tell you their names, mind telling me yours? I'm Ichigo."

"Oh! Sorry. I'm Emi. Why does your sword have three voices? Zangetsu's is clear, but I can't tell what the others are saying."

"Here," Ichigo said, and tapped the blade of Zangetsu. The blade then warped and changed color. The sleek black metal became a shining silver, and the blade changed to reveal Kyoka Suigetsu. Yamamoto's eyes widened, but said nothing. Time had taught him to trust Ichigo, and he knew that if he really wanted to, Ichigo could destroy the Seireitei with a thought.

"Oh! Kyoka Suigetsu, huh? She feels... conflicted. Well, that's your business, not mine. Anyway, could I see the last one?"

After a moment of hesitation, Ichigo called Murcielago forth.

"What the hell? This can't... how can a Zanpakuto possess a hollow's spirit? Though shards of hollows can latch onto Whole souls, an incomplete soul like a Zanpakuto shouldn't be able to support one," Emi said, obviously surprised.

Yamamoto decided to explain. "There once was a captain with an intellect unmatched by any other. One day, he had an idea. He wanted to breach the gap between Shinigami and Hollow. No matter how much a Shinigami trains, there will always be a point they cannot pass. However, when this gap is breached, the limiter is removed and there is a possibility for unrestrained growth. The man, in a way, succeeded in his endeavor and created a device which breached that gap. Through this, hollows could become something close to a real Shinigami, and Shinigami could become something close to a hollow. When a hollow becomes a Shinigami, they gain a Zanpakuto."

Though Emi, being rather dull in anything not pertaining to weaponry, didn't understand much of Yamamoto's rather lengthy explanation, he got the general idea. "Cool! This unlocks all sorts of potential! Are there any other hollow Zanpakuto right now?"

"Yes," Ichigo responded. "I can take you to see them some other time."

"COOOL!"

Hey partner, this guy is kinda weird.

Ichigo ignored Nashi as Yamamoto introduced the other two strangers in the room. "Aside from Emi there, the two in the corner are Maya and Kiri. These three are the only souls in existence that can freely use both a Zanpakuto and Quincy arrows. Not only that, but as Starrk saw before, they also have some quite unique enhancements as well."

Huh. Quincy and Soul Reaper both.

Maya and Kiri both gave Ichigo a slight nod.

He hadn't noticed it before, but these three had incredible reserves of power. The reason it was so well concealed was because their power was split evenly between Quincy and Soul Reaper. He had a feeling Emi was the strongest in terms of power, but the intellect of the other two could be as impressive as Mayuri's. As he looked into those lightless eyes, he knew they were master tacticians.

For the next few hours, they took time getting to know each other and tell stories of each others feats. Though Ichigo had the most stories to tell, he felt that the three newcomers' story was the most impressive. A tale of how the Quincy King was trapped in a separate reality because of the efforts of the Head Captain and True Guard. It turned out that Yamamoto had just barely defeated Ywacht in their duel when his Almighty power allowed him to begin recovering. Just before his regeneration was complete, the True Guard cast a Kido so powerful the King was warped to a different reality.

After meeting the True Guard and finding them, though kinda quirky, incredibly likeable, Ichigo decided it was about time to go home. He tore open a garganta and began walking. Just as it was about to close, however, he heard the four shout out. He turned 180 and dashed back out. He reentered the Soul Society and found that the room he had been laughing in minutes ago was rubble, and the four others were looking up in the sky with grim looks on their faces.

In the sky was an angel.

The angel opened it's perfectly-shaped mouth.

"Ichigo Kurosaki has three days to relinquish his life to me or I will destroy this and the human dimension. He knows where to find me."

With that, he vanished.

The four looked at Ichigo with worried looks on their face.

"Well... this is awkward."

Sorry for the month-long wait with short-ish chapter. I've been reading the Overlord Light Novels and mmmmmmmm are they good. Anyway, I know I'm all over the damn place but I've decided that I will make a sequel in the future regarding the two ladies of the story because it is way to god damn hard to fit them in with what I want to do right now. I hope you can forgive me... well, r&r, but please refrain from petty insults. Tell me what you think would make it better and I will consider it if I feel it fits in. Till next time.