Within a modern yet simple house within residence in Fuyuki City...

"Ugh!" cried out a black-haired girl as she rubbed her forehead, while three others looked at her. One was a woman with blonde hair tied back in a bun, dressed in silver metal armor and a blue dress. Another was a man with dark brown skin, short white-gray hair, and gray eyes, wearing black spandex armor covered by red sleeves and legs, with a red robe tied around his waist. In the center stood a teenager in a blue and white jersey shirt and blue jeans, with auburn hair and golden brown eyes.

The blonde woman wore a thoughtful expression, the gray-haired man deep in thought, while the teenager looked at the girl with concern.

"Uh, Tosaka, are you okay?" The teenage man replied as the younger girl rubbed her temples.

"It's bad enough that you of all people, Shirou, ended up caught up in this war. But now the Shinigami are part of this too."

Shirou then looked at the woman in confusion. "Shinigami...I thought we were battling against Servants?"

The gray-haired man huffed in annoyance. "We were suppose to...but ever since that priest gave us the heads up, the gods of death have now officially participated in the Holy Grail War. Which just makes this whole situation all the more troublesome"

Shirou then looked at the man in concern. "Death gods...you mean they are like spirits that govern the dead?"

Tosuka then sighed. "In a way...the Shinigami are souls that are responsible for sending spirts of the dearly departed to the afterlife, or to what they refer to as the Soul Society. In order to maintain the cosmic balance of the world" The magus explained. "Usually most magi and Shinigami remain neutral with one another so long as the magi don't mess with human souls...but after the last Holy Grail War resulted in The Great Fire of Fuyuki city and them discovering this Holy Grail War. They now want to take the Holy Grail for themselves by being fellow contestants"

Shirou then furrowed his eyes as he tried to take in everything Rin said. "So they only entered this war just to prevent something like The Great Fuyuki Fire from happening again?"

Archer then huffed. "The Shinigami are particularly sensitive when those not under their jurisdiction mess with the souls of the dead or living and since the throne of heroes technically consists of humans who were once alive, along with them being enslaved by a group of magi and forced to fight against their will. That at least to a certain extent also counts as part of the Shinigami's jurisdiction"

Shirou then looked down at the floor in thought. "If that was the case, would it be right to fight against the Shinigami in the Holy Grail War?" He argued. "I mean they are just trying to stop another disaster like the Fukui Fire from happening again right?"

Saber then looked towards Shirou. "Master the Shinigami may have noble causes for the Grail War...but that doesn't mean they are to be trusted. Especially if they wished to use the omnipotence of the Grail for personal gain" she then closed her eyes in thought before opening them up again. "In fact from my personal experiences with them during my time as king, they were more concern in maintaining their interests than protecting the innocent"

"Indeed..." Archer agreed. "And while they have gotten much more organized from what I have seen them from my lifetime. The Shinigami are willing to use any means necessary to maintain their hold over the afterlife. So them abusing the Grail is not out of the question"

Tosaka nodded. "And not only that but them winning the war would render everything that I work for father's and family's name pointless and besides it's not like would I'll use the Grail for anything even if I did win it" Rin then turned to face Shirou. "So what will you decide?"

Shirou then fought long and hard and then sighed. "Personally Rin as long as you have no ill will for the Grail I am willing to keep our alliance..." He then looked at Saber and then at the Archer. "...and if the Shinigami can't be fully trusted with the Grail then I will fight them and the Servants to prevent anyone from abusing the Grail's power!"

Saber then smiled at Shirou while Archer let out an agitated breath.

"Well...if you that willing to stick in the war then you need to be trained as a proper magus," Archer said while Shirou looked at him in confusion. "And I and my master and Saber will help you with that"

Shirou then eyed Archer skeptically "Why have the sudden interest in training me?" Shirou asked confused and Archer then turned his head away.

"Because Shirou..." the Archer said in a low voice. "Captain-level Shinigami are basically within the same league of power as a heroic spirit and your half-baked magecraft isn't going to cut it when we inevitably fight them and the other Servants"

Saber hummed in agreement. "He is right Shirou for while the Shinigami may start as ordinary souls those with the potential can eventually match even the most powerful of Servants in combat and if any of us are to emerge victorious we need to use this time to become stronger before they arrive!"

Shirou looked at, Rin, Saber, and Archer smiled and nodded.

"Alright I'll do it!'

A few days later while Shirou was training with Rin, Saber, and Archer. Ichigo and his friends arrived in a large fancy suite and began unpacking their stuff while the former overlooked outside the window.

"Never thought the Soul Society would go so far to provide us logging and finance in this mission" Ichigo mused while Rukia rolled her eyes.

"The Gotei 13 are not so callous as to leave us burdened with such trifles Ichigo, especially when dealing with the servants so try to be a bit more grateful when they are willing to offer their services" she criticized while Ichigo huffed.

"Yeah I guess but..." he then looked out of the cityscape of Fuyuki and then at the central park. "It's just hard to believe that this place used to be engulfed in flames just a decade ago and now everything seems to be rebuilt"

Renji then sighed. "And we hope to keep it that way for the most part, especially since all the Captains and Lieutenants within this war already have their limiters off."

Ichigo then turned to face Renji speaking. "Speaking of them do you know which captains are participating?"

Renji then stood up in thought. "From the latest message I got the other six captains, include, Kenpachi, Toshiro Hitsugaya, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Soi-fon, Shunsui Kyōraku, and my captain Byukuya Kuchiki"

Kurosaki lifted his eyebrows impressed. "Quit a line up...so is there like any way to find these servants ?"

Uryu then looked up to Ichigo. "Magus or at least from what I have heard about usually keep themselves hidden with boundary fields to prevent themselves from being detected...but I'm pretty sure that if we all patrol the streets together they are more than likely to find us first" he then furrowed his brow. "I suspect some of the Captains are doing the same as we speak"

Ichigo hummed in acknowledgment. "Right...so Urahara is there anything else we should know about this Grail War?"

"Urahara then smiled. "Well, aren't you a curious fella aren't you?"

The teen gave the man an irritated look. "I just want to know more about what I am up against in case I encounter another Servant. 'So do you have any information or not?'"

The shopkeeper then waved his fan. "Oh don't get so grouchy I'll tell ya, but I don't have much more to give, as the Magi are very secretive about how the mechanics of the Grail work."

Kurosaki then sighed. "Well give away what you do have then"

Urahara then grinned. "Alright...' well first you should know that each of the Servants is divided into seven classes, each specializing in a specific skill set."

"Ichigo then raised his eyebrow a bit. "A specific skill and class...' Ichigo mused 'Sounds like something out of an RPG."

The Kisuke then snickered at the comment. "It may seem that but it does serve a purpose as these, classes: Saber, Lancer, Caster, Assassin, Rider, Archer, and Beseker are what also determine their strength and rankings which ranged from E to A."

Ichigo and some of the rest of the group like Chad, Orhime, Rukia, and Renji, stared at Urahara puzzled and while the former grimaced his face skeptically. "Okay, now this went from sounding something from an RPG to literally being something from an RPG. This isn't one of your stupid pranks is it?"

Uryu then sighed as he rubbed his temples. "What he says is true Kurosaki in fact from what I heard not even the magi are sure why there is a game-like system, but that is just how the Grail war works."

Kurosaki still looked unsure but shook his head. "Find, whatever, so is there any way to determine these rankings?"

Urahara then perked up. "There is...' Kisuke then turned his laptop around and the rest of the group saw an image of the spear-wielding Servant and his rank states. 'By gathering and analyzing the residue Spiritual energy and mana from you and Lancer. I was able to determine that Heroic spirit's proper rankings."

Chad then looked over to the screen. "Hmm...Strength B, Endurance C, agility A, mana C, Luck E..." Sado then paused for a bit at the last stat. 'NP?'"

The shopkeeper waved his fan. "Noble Phantasm."

Ichigo then folded his arms. "I guess they are like their equivalent of a zanpaktou or fullbringer?"

Urahara then hesitated a bit. "You could say that...but they are more comparable in power to a bankai or a Resurrección."

Everyone's expression then gave way to that of shock

"A...Bankai and a Resurrección!?" Rukia could barely speak up.

Renji then narrowed his gaze on the screen featuring Lancer. "But isn't that guy's Noble Phantasm the same rank as his strength?" He questioned sternly. "How does that make sense?"

"Kisuke then cleared his throat. 'That is another complicated thing about this ranking system...Noble phantasm goes far beyond the standards of the basic states of a servant. His voice then becomes serious. 'Going by the research I have gathered the equivalent of a C Rank noble Phantasm…would be on the same level as an A-rank physical blow."

Everyone then gave expressions of concern and apprehension.

"The difference is that great huh…" Ichigo said to himself and then looked back at the shopkeeper. "Urahara…in comparison to the captains…which of them have the equivalent of A rank strength?"

"Aside from you only four in all the Gotei 13" Urahara explained which animated the whole group even more. "And those are the head captain, Unohana, Komamura, and…"

Later within Fukui Park one of the Captains of the Gotei thirteen Kenpachi Zaraki looked bored as he wandered around the area. He had a long main of wild black hair, light brown skin, and the face of a ruthless thug without any eyebrows, a long scar that went down his right eye while the left one was covered with a black eye patch.

"Man this is so dull…" The Captain complained. "When I was ordered to fight in this stupid Holy Grail War I thought I get to fight loads of strong people…but now it seems that they're too chicken to even come out and face me"

A small girl with short pink hair and a skull hairpin on her head jumped on Kenpachi's shoulder. "Well, I guess that means that you'll sniff them out of their hiding places and force you to fight them, Kenny!"

Kenpachi then snorted. "Maybe…if they are even worth the trouble"

"Oh, I believe we are more than worth that…Captain" A young voice of a girl called out to Kenpachi and when the latter turned around he he saw a child with long white hair, pale skin, crimson eyes. dressed in purple jacket ,with matching hat on her head and a purple scarf around her neck.

Standing next to her was a huge behemoth of a man with pale brown skin, a huge mane of wild black hair, massive shirtless muscles that looked like they could crush boulders, and wearing a black-gray armored waist warp. While his eyes glowed red with rage.

To most people the sight of such of imposing figure would have left them frozen in terror…but to Kenpachi it merely made him grin in excitement.

"Well, it seems things are finally starting to become interesting!"