Bleach (Last Updated Early 2013)

The Black Mask

Ichigo walked out of his school having just finished for the day he was hoping to get home and do some study as he was walking down the road towards his home he stopped and looked around, Ichigo felt unease as a chill ran down his spine he wondered what was causing this feeling and what he should do about it as he walked the rest of the way home, he hoped that it didn't mean the beginning of events out of his control and then he idly wondered what Rukia was doing at that moment and sighed he missed her far more then he let on talking to Orihime and Uryu, Ichigo walked in the door and ducked as his dad's welcome home kick flew over his head, before leaving he'd put some sandpaper on the wall and he heard his dad shout as he hit the sandpaper Ichigo had placed there, "Nice try, dad, but I was expecting it this time." He said, remembering the day before when his father had tried the same trick and almost knocked him out.

Twelfth Division Barracks and Department of Research and Development.

"Nemu! Move faster you dullard I want to see the observations from the world of the living at once!" Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of the Twelfth Division shouted to his Lieutenant Nemu Kurotsuchi.

She replied "Master Mayuri they're waiting on your station for you"

"Thank you, Nemu", the captain sat at his terminal and looked at the data he turned and added "Recall the observers it's time for phase two to commence"

"Yes Master Mayuri" his Lieutenant replied.

Kurosaki House, Around midnight.

Ichigo woke to the sound of an alarm and the smell of smoke in his bedroom he jumped up to see his house on fire with smoke everywhere, he noticed his door open and his two sisters in their pyjamas unconscious on the floor he ran over to them an checked their pulses, they were both alive. He looked out of his doorway and saw that the stairs were already burning and he didn't like the groans coming from the roof, so he decided to throw his sisters and himself out the window to save their lives, Ichigo noticed Isshin was already standing on the front lawn and Ichigo shouted to him to catch his attention when his father looked at him, Ichigo threw Karin down and saw his dad catch her, he then threw Yuzu down after his dad had placed Karin on the ground. As he threw Yuzu he idly noted that she was holding Kon in one hand. As Ichigo prepared himself to Jump out the window he heard an almighty groan, and the floor beneath him collapsed. As Ichigo lay injured in the rubble with an obviously broken leg the flaming roof collapsed on him and Ichigo died as his chest was skewered by a burning wooden beam from the roof supports.

30 minutes later.

Ichigo woke in the wreckage and stood up. but he felt weird and light-headed, he also had trouble breathing then he remembered the wooden beam falling towards him he looked down at his chest and he saw his chain of fate severed and he turned around to see his blackened body with the wooden beam rising upright through its chest. He walked out of the house and Karin looked up and saw him and smiled, then her smile died as she realised that she was looking at his ghost. Ichigo nodded at her and said to her "I need to get out of this town it's not safe for a spirit like me, tell Orihime, Chad and Uryu, what happened and that I'm looking for a soul reaper to enter the Soul Society. Sorry Karin, I didn't think that the floor was going to collapse first" he hugged her and then ran for the nearest town exit to get out of town before the hollows or unfriendly soul reapers got to him.

Ichigo ran so far that he lost all track of his location, he hadn't realized that at points he was moving using Shunpo, but he couldn't do it consciously and didn't know how to do it consciously with his limited reiatsu, after travelling several kilometres into the forest following a small road, Ichigo noticed a temple at the side of the road and decided to enter the temple and see if it had any interesting people or spirits. As he walked in the gate he saw a flash of movement at the side of his vision and shifted away on instinct as a Shinigami he had never seen before with blue hair and tattoos like Renji's on her neck and forehead, he shouted "Renji! Wait you aren't Renji! Who are you?".

The Shinigami's eyes widened and before she could stop herself her Zanpakutō's hilt spun around and tapped Ichigo on the forehead and she performed the Konsō upon him, she looked at him in the second's before he disappeared and shouted "How do you know Lieutenant Abarai's first name, who are you?", before he could reply Ichigo's soul departed for the Soul Society.

"Who was he?" Thirteenth Division's Tenth Seat Misato Soma wondered "how did he know Lieutenant Abarai's name?" she would continue to ponder these questions for the 2 weeks until she was recalled to the Soul Society.

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