Bleach: Three Paths

by Getsuga Goon

What if Rukia arrived too late at the start of Bleach? You'd be surprised. The fates of the Kurosakis would be forever changed by this one event. Takes inspiration from the Bleach Fanfiction named "White" by Melkor's Mercy. [Cross-posted on Ao3.] Cover image by Chris-Jin on DeviantArt.

32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32: The Uncrowned King

The Past, Karakura High School

A boy with long brown hair and a grey school uniform flaps his arms about in a comical manner, freaking out, "MIZUIRO! MIZUIRO, WE GOT TROUBLE!"

The boy whines incoherently, causing the shorter boy next to him, similarly dressed but with long black hair, to answer uncaringly whilst looking at his phone, "Oh hey, Keigo. How's it going?"

The brown-haired boy continues to whine, "You won't believe what I just heard, we've got bi-bi-big trouble!"

Mizuiro, still looking at his phone passively, remarks, "You seem kind of hyper this morning…"

1 Minute Later

Mizuiro finally turns away from his phone with slightly widened eyes, "Chad and Ichigo from Mashiba Junior High School?"

Keigo shouts out, with tears in his eyes, "Now you get it! For some reason, they both entered this school. This is no joke!"

Mizuiro resists the urge to roll his eyes, "So what if they did? Why are you freaking out?"

The other boy continues his screaming, "You moron! Chad and Ichigo are the most disgusting super delinquents of all time! You wouldn't believe some of the stories I've heard! Some people say they're in with the Yakuza! They've got arrest records that are like a mile long! They smuggle drugs and go into bookstores and look at porn for like five hours straight!"

The black-haired boy raises an inquisitive brow, "But… you've never met them, and those are just rumors, so you don't know what kind of people they are."

Keigo ceases his flailing and places his hands out in front of him, as if to bring emphasis to his words, "We're talking about Chad and Ichigo here! We know exactly what type of people they are!"

Mizuiro tunes out Keigo's shouting as he goes over the small book in his hands that he got for orientation.

Some Time Later

Keigo and Mizuiro find themselves in front of a board in the school's courtyard, containing listings for class rosters.

Keigo places both of his hands on the side of his face, screaming with tears in his eyes, "THERE'S NO WAY!"

After a moment, Keigo dramatically falls to his hands and knees, sobbing.

Mizuiro looks down at his friend with a raised brow, "Hey, what's the matter?"

The other boy responds dejectedly, "Our youth just ended…"

As the two boys continue to chat, a group of girls looks at the black-haired boy from a distance, remarking that he looks quite attractive.

Roughly 5 Minutes Later

Keigo continues his whining as the pair still stand in front of the board listing class rosters, "Oh no… Why did this have to happen…?! Goodbye cruel world…"

Not even a moment later, the board and posts come crashing down in the wake of two students trampling two other students. Keigo and Mizuiro barely dodge the two students on their warpath, leaving them to watch as the unidentified violators slam the two other students in the dirt.

Keigo flinches before screaming, "AH! THAT'S THEM! IT'S CHAD AND ICHIGO…!"

Standing above the two downed students like feral animals is a tall, darker skinned boy with wavy brown hair and a lighter skinned boy with short spiky orange hair.

Shortly after, a group of ruffians armed with chains and baseball bats circle around the group of now four boys. Chad and Ichigo, now back-to-back, stare down the group of ruffians, not flinching under their violent gazes.

Keigo, as expected, continues to be unable to hold his composure, "No, no, no, no! This can't be happening! This is like some kind of horrible nightmare that just keeps getting worse and worse! It's a nightmare! TELL ME IT'S A NIGHTMARE!"

"Please, shut up…" Mizuiro remarks calmly with an unamused expression.

One of the ruffians, dawned in a grey school uniform, steps out of the circle chuckling. The group of four turn to see a boy with multiple piercings and blonde hair.

The delinquent snickers, "Would you look at this? Chad and Ichigo running away like two scared rabbits."

At this point, Keigo has completely lost it, "REIICHI OSHIMA FROM TOKATA JUNIOR HIGH!"

Mizuiro deadpans, "Hey Keigo. How is it you're so informed about all of these juvenile delinquents? And I don't know if you've noticed, but all of their names seem to be on our class roster…"

Reiichi raises a brow, glaring at the brown-haired boy, "What's your problem? You a friend of Ichigo's or something?"

Keigo shakes his head at impressive speeds, "No, no, no, no! Not me! I-I've never seen or met the guy before today honestly!"

Mizuiro smiles as he speaks to Chad and Ichigo jovially, drawing their attention, "Mizuiro Kojima from Hiragi Junior High. I'm in class 1-3. It's nice to meet you!"

Keigo's jaw drops as comical tears flow freely from his eyes, "Ah—ah…!"

Reiichi smirks as he cracks his knuckles, "Mizuiro Kojima has joined the other side…"

The brown-haired boy continues to cry, waving his hands in protest, "N-no! H-he hasn't! He doesn't even have a side! He's—y'know… TELL HIM YOU DON'T HAVE A SIDE! TELL HIM YOU'RE NOT THAT TYPE OF KID! TELL HIM ANYTHING! YA GOTTA HELP ME OUT! MIZUIRO, I'M GOING TO DIE! MIZUIROOOOO!"

The other three boys ignore Kego's pleas as Ichigo stares down at the black-haired boy with widened eyes, "Class 1-3? We're all in the same class then. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, and this here is Yasutora Sado, but you can call him Chad like I do. It's good to meet you."

Chad gives a slight nod to the smaller boy before continuing to eye the other delinquents with a serious expression, ensuring none of them get the drop on them.

Ichigo and Mizuiro then turn to regard Keigo behind them, as Chad continues to guard Ichigo's rear.

The orange-haired boy asks, "Who's your friend there?"

Keigo flails as he is now in the grasp of Reiichi, "MIZUIRO!"

Mizuiro responds casually, "That's Keigo Asano. He doesn't do too well in school, but he's a pretty smart guy—honest, likable, and loyal. What can I say? He's 100 times better than me."

Ichigo now has widened eyes, looking at Mizuiro, "Wow, you're incredible…"

The black-haired boy turns to Ichigo in shock, "Huh?"

Ichigo turns away from Mizuiro, eyeing the goons around them, "I mean, for someone to have so many nice things to say about his friend… that's pretty rare, nowadays…"

Mizuiro stares at Ichigo's back in muted shock.

Ichigo begins to bend over, performing various stretches, as he calls back to the other boy, "Mizuiro, how good are you at coming up with excuses?"

The boy responds with a passive expression, "I'm so good, it's sick."

Ichigo smirks, now having finished whatever stretching he was doing, "Alright then. You have 5 minutes to come up with something creative because we're going to need a story good enough to keep us all from getting suspended. We're rescuing your friend Keigo."

Ichigo and Chad immediately lunge at Reiichi, leaving Mizuiro to stare at their backs with widened eyes.

Present, Karakura High School

Mizuiro sits at his desk, tuning out the lecture as he stares blankly out the window, deep in thought.

"It seems like everyone's gradually leaving, one by one… Ichigo died, then Chad disappeared for a while. Not to mention, Tatsuki and Orihime have missed a lot of class lately… then there's Keigo…"

Mizuiro stares dejectedly at the vacant desk next to him, where Keigo usually sits, "Whatever's going on, I hope they're all okay…"

Execution Chamber, Silbern

Within the halls of Silbern is a rather dark and notorious room, known best as the place where Sternritters deemed unfit for Yhwach's mission breathe their last. Towards the front of the room, the entrance has one Soldat on each side, each wearing a white cap and uniform. On the opposite side of the room are various posts, three of which currently have individuals chained to them. The individuals are forced to their knees due to the bindings that hold them.

At the right most post is a woman with long black hair currently wearing a black suit with a skirt—Bambietta Basterbine. She stares at the ground worriedly, her pupils spasming as she hyperventilates, as if coming to terms with her current situation evokes not but panic and fear.

To the post next to her is another, green-haired, woman, this one with quite the unique hairstyle—Candice Catnipp. She currently wears a red crop top and short blue jean shorts. Unlike the other woman, this one has a dejected and solemn look in her eyes, suggesting that any and all hope has left her.

The final individual is a boy wearing a grey uniform, which is the one he would wear at school. The boy's hair is long brown, which covers his face as his head dips towards the floor. The boy's breathing is a bit haggard, his breath hitching every so often as he gains slight consciousness. Every time the boy is about to wake up, his consciousness slips away again due to the effects of the bindings.

After a few moments, footsteps can be heard approaching, causing Bambietta to flinch, shifting her back to maintain an upright posture as if to show reverence. As the footsteps enter the room, Bambietta's eyes follow the form of a white cloaked figure.

The footsteps continue until Candice, with her head still downcast, sees the white and silver shoes of the individual who had just entered.

A masculine voice addresses her, "Look at me, Catnipp. Show anymore disrespect to me or His Majesty, and it will only make things more difficult for the boy…"

The green-haired Sternritter widens her bloodshot eyes slightly as she looks up to the form of a blonde man—Jugram Haschwalth.

The man's brow twitches, "That's a bit better… but you'll need to be a lot better than that if you are to teach this boy how to show proper respect to his superiors—everyone here."

Candice stares at the man in confusion, her mouth opening to speak.

Before she can let out a word, the blonde man explains, "I spoke with His Majesty. He has decided that killing the two of you would be a waste… at this time. His Majesty was pleased that Yuzu Kurosaki has shown great loyalty to the Reich in keeping everything except your names from the ears of the Shinigami. She will make an exemplary Sternritter if she survives her current predicament."

Bambietta and Candice widen their eyes in shock as Haschwalth turns to the entrance, looking past the Soldats present, "Release their bindings."

A second bespectacled man, wearing a white hat and uniform similar to the Soldats, adjusts his glasses after brushing locks of his black hair out of his eyes, "As you wish, Sir."

The man walks past Haschwalth and the two women, before abruptly spinning on his heel and retrieving some kind of key from his belt. The man bends over and unlocks each of the bindings one by one.

Bambietta sighs in relief before rubbing her wrist as the jailer lets Candice go too.

As the boy's bindings come undone, he begins to fall towards the ground, however, before his head can hit the floor, it is carefully caught by a feminine hand. Candice glares at the jailer briefly as she holds the boy protectively. The jailer ignores the glare as he walks back to Haschwalth's side.

The blonde man gives him a brief nod, "Thank you, Opie. That will be all."

The man, known as Sternritter J: Quilge Opie, gives Haschwalth some kind of salute, raising a silver object that could only be his Quincy Cross, before promptly exiting the room.

As Candice and Bambietta rise to their feet, the former now carrying the boy bride style, Haschwalth gives them a warning, "You both should know that if Sosuke Aizen breathes a word about your abilities or the Reich, all three of you will die. The boy will go first, Catnipp…"

Candice shudders as Haschwalth continues, "You are both free to do as you wish until I summon you again. I will be having your 'friends' keep an eye on you in the meantime."

The two both give a nod of understanding at the man before he turns on his heel and marches towards the exit, "Given how long the boy has interacted with the bindings, he will likely awaken within an hour or so…"

Candice stares down at the boy briefly as Haschwalth makes his exit, Bambietta following after.

As the black-haired woman reaches the edge of the hall, she eyes a Soldat walking about, minding his own business.

She turns to Haschwalth, who follows her gaze.

The man snorts lightly, "You may do as you please…"

As Haschwalth walks off, Bambietta eyes the Soldat with a predatory look.

The Soldat flinches as he hears the woman's high-pitched voice, "Hey, you!"

The man turns to her, asking dumbly, "M-me?"

Bambietta nods, "Yes… follow me to my room. As you might gather, I'm quite stressed and am in need of 'Special Relief' to deal with it…"

The woman walks off, leaving the jaw-dropped Soldat to regard her with widened eyes.

Bambietta pauses, glancing back at the man in mild irritation, "Well, what are you waiting for? Fall behind and you'll suffer the consequences!"

The man blushes profusely, now wearing a smile, "A-apologies, ma'am! It would be my honor!"

A Few Minutes Later

The Soldat truly had no idea what was awaiting him, as his body now splits into two vertical halves. His scream is loud, yet short, as even his neck was split in two, causing the scream to be replaced by a splatter of blood and gushing noises.

Bambietta sighs as she sits upright in her bed, removing the remainder of her black clothing. The woman walks across the floor, over the two pieces of the corpse that now coats the floor in a distinct red color. She opens the closet at the edge of the room before pulling out a similar uniform to the suit she was just wearing, although this time it is white.

The woman gets completely dressed before finally adjusting a white hat at the top of her head, once more letting out a deep sigh, "I wonder how Yui would react to this… she'd probably be horrified, if not, disappointed in me…"

Bambietta has a distant look in her eyes before they shoot open at the sound of a new arrival.

"Oh, just look at the mess you made, Bambi~. That must mean you're in a really bad mood… you can tell me what happened, I promise I won't tell Lil or Meni!"

Bambietta turns to regard the form of her 'friend', Giselle Gewelle, standing over the pile of gore with a dumb expression on her face.

The Bomb Sternritter huffs, "It's none of your business, Gigi. Go bother someone else…"

Giselle shakes her head, "No can do, Bambi! I have to watch you! But… I guess we can go to Candy's room. That's where the others are after all…"

Giselle walks out through the entrance as Bambietta slowly follows behind, continuing to have a distant look in her eyes, "I hope you can save her… Kugo…"

Hueco Mundo

Five Adjuchas stand in a group around a pile of Adjucha corpses. This is no ordinary group, however, as they have become some of the most notorious hollows to occupy the dunes of Hueco Mundo.

Shawlong looks off into the distance as Edrad and Ylfordt argue.

The large volcanic hollow barks, "Why didn't you try to convince Grimmjow to let us stay with him?! It's probably been months now that we've been searching for him!"

Ylfordt snaps back, "Calm down, brother! The boss wanted some time alone to hunt—he's still looking for White… I wasn't going to get in his way."

Edrad snarls, "Well, what are we supposed to do now? By now, almost all of Barragan's Adjucha minions steer clear of us. We're running out of food sources! Not to mention the Arrancars tracking us down!"

Shawlong, Di Roy, and Nakeem all back up hesitantly.

Di Roy calls out in an urgent tone, "Hey, guys…"

Ylfordt chuckles, still addressing Edrad, "What's the matter brother? Scared of the Arrancars?"

The volcanic hollow huffs, "Of course not! Those fools gave up their raw hollow powers to become more like those weakling Shinigami!"

Shawlong calls out now, with caution in his voice, "We have company!"

The bull and volcano hollow spin to regard Shawlong before seeing what he is referring to.

Ylfordt gawks, "Oh no bro…"

Standing in front of the Adjuchas is an androgynous human-looking individual with black hair and pale violet eyes, garbed in a white Gi and a sword strapped to their waist.

Luppi smiles sadistically at the hollows, "What was that about not fearing Arrancars? I've finally found you pathetic band of Adjuchas—yet I don't see your master, this 'Uncrowned King', anywhere… No matter, seems I'll have to lure him out by showing you all some discipline…"

The Adjuchas take fighting stances as the Arrancar begins to charge a red cero in his hand.

Elsewhere in Hueco Mundo

A slim humanoid hollow with long blue hair, green furry ears, and white segmented bone armor stares into the distance.

The wind blows across the sands fiercely—in a chaotic manner, as the hollow roars into the sky out of nowhere, flaring his reiatsu to cause a small explosion.

After a moment, the hollow settles, staring intently at the moon in the sky, "Where are you… White?"

Suddenly, the Vasto Lorde turns around with blue, slightly widened eyes, "That reiatsu… an Arrancar! Finally, something worthy for a Vasto Lorde to tear apart!"

The panther Vasto Lorde cackles maniacally as it pounces off.

Luppi vs Grimmjow's Gang

Luppi stands victoriously over the smoking forms of Grimmjow's Gang, "That was all you weaklings had? A shame… that 'Uncrowned King' hasn't shown up… maybe it died…"

Edrad snaps, "Grimmjow wouldn't die! By now, he's stronger than even you Arrancars!"

The androgynous Arrancar glares at the volcano hollow before drawing his blade, "That's no way to talk to an Espada… looks like you still need some discipline…"

Edrad briefly widens his eyes at the revelation that they were fighting an Espada before Luppi jabs his sword into the Adjucha's large arm, twisting it around. This prompts the Adjucha to howl in pain.

Luppi continues this for a few moments before his eyes widen suddenly. The androgynous Arrancar looks to his left just as a black, clawed hand violently grabs his face, sending him bouncing across the dunes.

Luppi manages to get proper footing after two bounces, glaring at the hollow who dared interrupt, "Damn you…"

The Arrancar glances briefly in shock as it eyes the sword still lodged in Edrad's arm.

The volcanic hollow regards the Vasto Lorde, "Grimmjow…"

The panther hollow grunts, "Look at you guys—you're a mess! Don't tell me this clown killed you all!"

Grimmjow's Gang all groan as they attempt to sit upright, struggling due to their wounds.

Edrad defends, "But Grimmjow, he's an Espada…"

Grimmjow cocks his head at the Adjucha before regarding Luppi with a bloodthirsty gaze, "Is that right…?"

Luppi smirks, "Indeed! I am Luppi Antenor, Espada number—"

"I don't care about your rank, Espada!", Grimmjow cuts the Arrancar off.

Luppi scowls as Grimmjow grasps the sword, ripping it out of Edrad's arm, prompting the hollow to wince in pain. The panther then tosses the blade at Luppi, who catches it easily.

The Arrancar gazes at the panther questioningly, "What are you doing? Do you want to die that badly, Vasto Lorde?"

Grimmjow grunts, "Use your release state—I know you Arrancars can do that!"

Luppi frowns, "Presumptuous beast! You aren't worthy of my release state—"

Before the Arrancar can react, Grimmjow is upon him, slashing him across the face with a clawed hand, drawing blood. The panther immediately follows up by sending a kick to the Arrancar's midsection, sending him skidding against the dunes.

Luppi halts his momentum, launching a cero at Grimmjow. To the Arrancar's shock, the Vasto Lorde catches the cero in its hand before throwing it back at him, prompting the Arrancar to slash it in half with their sword.

However, Grimmjow immediately appears right behind the cero, sending a clawed hand at Luppi's chest. The attack grazes the Arrancar just as he uses Sonido at the last moment, creating distance between them.

The Arrancar lets out a light pant, "Seems I underestimated—"

Luppi widens his eyes as Grimmjow charges a red cero in his clawed hand.

The Arrancar hastily calls out, "Strangle, Trepadora!"

The panther hollow launches the cero at Luppi; however, an explosion occurs as the hollow releases. Out of the smoke, a long white appendage comes out and deflects the cero with ease.

The smoke clears, revealing Luppi now dawned in some kind of bony back-pack, which houses eight long tentacle appendages.

The Arrancar smirks, "The real battle begins now, fool! I'LL DESTROY YOU!"

Grimmjow's blood begins to boil upon hearing the declaration, letting out a guttural roar of bloodlust, which produces a shockwave as the panther glows with blue reiatsu.

Luppi launches his appendages at Grimmjow, attempting to catch the panther. The Vasto Lorde doesn't attempt to dodge, instead grabbing one of the appendages, digging his claws into it.

The tentacle hollow mocks, "Fool! You fell right into my trap!"

A second, third, and fourth appendage traps Grimmjow in a makeshift net. The panther screams as he shifts and struggles to break free of the trap.

Luppi smirks as the tentacles constrict around the panther, "You should've known better than to challenge an Espada!"

The Arrancar moves more of his appendages towards Grimmjow's head, "I think I'll snap your neck as the final act—"

Luppi cuts himself off as the panther starts laughing, furrowing his brow and frowning, "…what's so funny?"

Grimmjow laughs evilly, "You call this a trap?!"

Luppi's eyes widen as his appendages around Grimmjow are suddenly torn apart by large blue clawed extensions on Grimmjow's fingers. The hollow raises his left hand before throwing it down in Luppi's direction, sending the extensions down at the Arrancar.

Luppi retracts his appendages in an attempt to block the claw blades, but is slammed to the ground by the impact, causing an explosion.

Grimmjow, still with the extensions on his right hand, looks down quietly at the smoke before seeing Luppi's bloodied body get up from the ground.

Luppi wears a hysteric smirk, "Now I'm bleeding—you'll die!"

The Arrancar raises his four remaining tentacles and the bloodied stumps from the other four before blue light gathers at each of the tips of them, mixing with his blood, "GRAN REY CERO!"

The beams launch violently at Grimmjow at insane velocity. The panther tenses up from the raw pressure they exert, prompting him to immediately throw his remaining claw blades at the blast.

The combined might of the ceros prove too much, however, as Grimmjow's blades shatter from the force of the ceros. The panther raises his arms defensively as he takes the blast from the ceros.

Luppi laughs as smoke now covers the sky, "Fool, now you're dead! I'll take great pleasure telling Barragan that I… defeated… a…"

The Arrancar looks at the sky in shock to find Grimmjow panting and bleeding, "Nice attack—I think I'll return to favor!"

The panther raises both hands and charges red ceros that become blue after mixing with his blood. Luppi's eyes widen as Grimmjow launches two Gran Rey Ceros, causing his body to buckle backward from the force.

The Arrancar raises his appendages, preparing more Gran Rey Ceros of his own. He launches them just in time to create a beam struggle, which doesn't last long as Luppi's beams quickly overtake Grimmjow's double cero.

Luppi's smirk is shortly replaced by a frown as he hears a distorted noise behind him, "Oh no! I let my guard down!"

The Espada turns around but is immediately pierced through the chest by a bladed, clawed hand. Luppi watches his blood trail down Grimmjow's arm as the Vasto Lorde violently rips his hand out of the Arrancar's chest, leaving the Arrancar with a second hole.

Luppi begins to fall but Grimmjow catches him by the neck, looking at him intently before suddenly opening his mouth.

Luppi's eyes widen in horror—the last expression he'll ever make—before his face is suddenly torn off by Grimmjow's fangs, leaving the blood to spurt freely as parts of the Arrancar's skull can be seen. The body squirms as Grimmjow continues to savagely feast.

Shawlong looks on in shock, "I thought Vasto Lordes avoided feeding?!"

Luppi's corpse has reverted back to the sealed state by this point, Grimmjow having consumed most of his head.

The panther then discards the body, throwing it before the Adjuchas, "You guys can have the weak bits—they taste disgusting!"

Grimmjow bends down before starting to devour the Zanpakuto, bit by bit.

The Adjuchas quickly feed on the rest of Luppi's corpse, regaining their strength as well as a substantial power boost.

Grimmjow finishes devouring the blade before his body glows with blue reiatsu, causing an explosive shockwave across the dunes.

The Vasto Lorde cackles, "THAT was an Espada?! Killing Barragan should be easy, then! Soon, very soon, I'll be KING!"

Grimmjow's Gang watch in awe and disbelief as their leader continues laughing maniacally.

Elsewhere in Hueco Mundo

A small, cloaked girl chases a man dawned in a black Gi, both wearing amused looks on their faces. A distance away from them, a cloaked man with long brown hair sits with his eyes closed, seemingly taking a nap. The man's eyes suddenly shoot open before he sits up and looks off in the distance, wide-eyed.

The other man halts suddenly, causing the girl to bump into him, "You felt that too, didn't you, Stark?"

Stark nods, "Yeah… thanks to your training I can better tell how strong someone is… that source of reiatsu is no joke…"

Lilynette, rubbing her nose, states with a smile, "Not only that, but we can also raise and lower our reiatsu thanks to your help, Ashido! We can finally be around other hollows!"

Ashido shrugs, "Don't mention it. That's what friends are for right?"

The girl nods cheerily, "Yeah!"

Stark sighs in lamentation, "Even so, every other hollow we've come across ran away whenever we tried to approach them…"

The other man looks away guiltily, "Sorry… they probably are scared of me. I am still a Shinigami, after all…"

Stark groans, rubbing his head, "Forget about it… I'd rather stick with you for now anyway. Lilynette would give me hell if I just up and left you for some hollow I don't even know…"

Ashido gives the man a light smirk while Lilynette huffs, "You're right about that! Anyway, that reiatsu is a bit worrisome… it feels like it could be even stronger than we are, Stark!"

The group falls silent at the girl's words before Ashido states, "If it does end up being a problem, the three of us can deal with it."

Stark nods lazily, "Yeah, I'm not too worried about it."

As if to prove his claim, Stark nonchalantly raises his hand out of his cloak, charging a dark blue cero in it before launching it into the air for the hell of it.

Ashido and Lilynette watch the cero disappear before their eyes widen. Stark furrows his brow as he watches a white horned hollow with black wings descend from the sky before them.

Ashido unsheathes his blade, approaching the hollow cautiously. The white bat notices Ashido's clothing before immediately raising his hand and charging a green cero.

Ashido's eyes widen as the cero is released too quickly, "Damn! I can't use my shield!"

Suddenly, Stark appears in front of his other half and the Shinigami, smacking the cero away with his bare hand, sending it off-course. This creates an explosion in the distance.

The white bat stares at Stark with widened green eyes, "I meant for that to be fatal! How could he deflect it with his bare hand?! Is he even stronger than White…?"

Stark shakes his hand, now with a black scorch mark on it, around in pain, "Ow… that actually hurt."

Ashido snaps at Stark, "No shit, that actually hurt! That thing's a Vasto Lorde! You should be dead after pulling a stunt like that!"

"Yeah, what he said!", Lilynette chimes in.

Stark shrugs, "Well I wasn't going to let him hit you two… speaking of which…"

The man turns his lonely grey eyes on the white bat before him, "What do you want with us?"

The bat moves forward slightly, before his eyes narrow in frustration. The hollow then looks to the ground dejectedly.

Lilynette's eyes widen as she notes, "It doesn't have a mouth…"

Ashido also widens his eyes, "You're right… I've never seen a hollow like that before, not in all the time I've been here…"

Stark rubs the back of his head in an annoyed manner, "Shit… and here I thought I had trouble communicating with others…"

The bat looks up, meeting Stark's now somber gaze, "It must be quite lonely for you, am I right?"

After a moment, the bat nods his head, "Yes… I am alone… so I must be lonely… that only makes sense."

Stark then glances at Ashido, recalling something, before turning back to the bat, "Look, I'm gonna give you the benefit of the doubt and say you attacked Ashido because he's a Shinigami. However, you should know that he's not like the rest… allegedly… so can't all of us lonely guys just try to get along?"

"Hey! I'm not a guy, I'm a girl, Stark!" Lilynette calls out, annoyed.

Stark looks away from her uncaringly, "Whatever, my point still stands…"

The bat's eyes narrow, "Not like the rest…? These beings must be those Arrancars I heard about, since they don't have full masks… but is it really safe to be around a Shinigami…?"

Stark maintains his gaze before sighing, "Look, if Ashido here makes you feel threatened, you can get a free hit in on him—I won't stop you."

"Hey—!", Ashido protests, although he's ignored.

Stark continues, "It's just, we don't meet many other hollows who like to be around us. Maybe we could be friends?"

The bat hollow stares thoughtfully at the Arrancar, "Friends? Does he mean like allies? I've never had a friend before…"

After a moment, the white bat nods hesitantly, a sign of agreement.

Stark smiles slightly, "Good deal…"

The long-haired man then yawns before sitting back down, "You can play with them if you want, I think I'll take another nap now…"

As Stark drifts off into sleep, Lilynette and Ashido resume their game, albeit the latter being much more weary due to the gaze of the white bat, who eyes them curiously.

?

Alright… what is it now?

Ichigo now appears in the same manner as when he was a highschooler—with the grey and red school uniform. His hair is much shorter than it is now, barely even passing by his ears. Furthermore, his skin is no longer the pale white tint it is now, and both of his eyes are brown.

Ichigo is in a hallway in Karakura High School, on the second floor, standing in front of two girls. The first girl has short, spiky black hair and regards him with a scowl.

Is that Suki…?

The boy glances at the second girl, who has long orange hair, similar in color to his own, and deep grey eyes. The girl looks away slightly when he looks at her, a slight blush on her face.

Who is she…? She looks familiar…

Tatsuki snaps at the boy, "Ichigo! Are you listening to me?!"

The boy looks at her with a bored expression, "Sure… but I'm still not sure what the problem here is…"

Tatsuki, whose scowl deepens at this, snaps at the boy, "Clearly, you haven't been listening! I was trying to introduce you to Orihime, and you acted like you didn't care!"

Ichigo raises a brow as Orihime immediately cuts in, "O-oh no, it's alright Tatsuki! I don't mind if he's rude!"

The black-haired girl raises a questioning eyebrow at her friend, prompting the girl to blush lightly, waving her hands around in a defensive manner, "You know being talked to politely all the time can get boring, so, um, it's just that Ichigo here is nice because he's different—but that's not to mean I like him or anything because that would be crazy! Hahaha!"

Orihime dumbly rubs the back of her head as she laughs, causing Tatsuki to sigh and look to the ground in irritated acceptance, "You sure can be weird sometimes, Orihime…"

Ichigo rubs the back of his neck, sighing, "Man, Tatsuki has a point... I don't want her to think I'm rude to girls…"

The boy eyes Orihime, who bashfully looks away when she notices his glance.

He sighs again before dropping his scowl, wearing a soft expression, yet not quite a smile, "Let's start over. My name is Ichigo and it's a pleasure to meet you, Orihime. I hope we can become good friends."

Orihime's eyes widen as she turns to look at Ichigo's gaze, finding herself lost in his brown eyes.

After a moment she blushes a bit, wearing a dumb smile, "Y-yeah, nice to meet you too!"

The two give each other a bow as Tatsuki smirks, "See, why couldn't you have done that the first time Ichigo? It's not hard..."

Ichigo scowls as he shifts his gaze back to Tatsuki, "Oh, shut up! It's not like I make it a habit to go around introducing myself to people!"

Tatsuki frowns, placing her hands on her hips, "Well I think you should! It'll make you much more popular around this place!"

The boy shrugs, averting his eyes from his friend as he looks out the window. His eyes widen as he sees a group of punks attacking a large Latino boy in the courtyard, "Chad needs help!"

Ichigo suddenly runs off down the hall, calling back, "I'll catch you later, Tatsuki! And again, it was nice meeting you, Orihime!"

The memory fades into darkness as Ichigo runs down a flight of stairs.

Hueco Mundo

The Vasto Lorde opens his eyes, rubbing them with his hands, "Tatsuki and Orihime, huh? Chad too… they must've been some of my closest friends…"

Just then, Ichigo's eyes widen as he jolts up from the rock he was laying on, startling Loly and Menoly who are resting nearby.

"Wait! I know those two girls! And not just from my past life, but this one too!" Ichigo stands frozen in place as he begins to make the connections in his brain.

The Vasto Lorde's eyes relay a sense of deep shock and urgency, "They were both at the Hospital… Orihime… she's Sora's sister! Which means…"

Ichigo's eyes narrow, now having a sinking feeling in his stomach, "My full name is Ichigo Kurosaki—the boy who stole the affection of Sora's sister! I… I'm the reason he became a hollow…"

The dragon Vasto Lorde stares at the ground dejectedly, as Loly and Menoly approach him slowly, the former asking, "Hey, um, Master Ichigo… are you alright?"

Ichigo looks up briefly as the words of his follower stir him, "Yeah…"

A clear lie.

The Vasto Lorde walks off, seemingly deciding something, "I'm going off to clear my mind again…"

After ascending multiple flights of stairs, Ichigo once more finds himself in the tomb of one Arturo Plateado. The hollow grits his teeth underneath his mask. His fist clenches to the point of drawing blood. Ichigo enters a tunnel vision of sorts, causing his reiatsu to spasm around him, shaking the room as crimson red light coats his figure.

"So let me get this straight… not only did I kill my mother as well as countless hollows and humans merely doing their best to get by… but I am the reason that one of my friends in life will never see her brother in the same light again?!"

The Vasto Lorde can't help it as tears fueled by self-hatred fall from his eyes, "WHAT AM I EVEN GOOD FOR?!"

Ichigo's breath hitches as he regards the tombstone in front of him, "I should be buried in the sand like you…"

The Vasto Lorde calms his breathing a bit as he stares at the ground dejectedly, "I know… I'll find Sora… and then, I'll…"

"You'll what?" the voice of the wraith suddenly cuts in.

Ichigo stares back at the wraith in mild surprise, before snarling, "What else? I'll let him kill me."

The wraith's head shifts up from underneath the cloak, "I don't see that happening. The serpent, 'Sora', is quite fond of you."

The Vasto Lorde flinches, "What…? You… you mean he's on the surface…"

The wraith seems to nod, "Indeed. I've been keeping an eye on the young Adjucha known as 'Acidwire' by Barragan's men. I do not know all of the details, but he is more loyal to you than any of Barragan's men are to him… he sees great kindness in you, White. Whatever issues you think he has with you; I am certain that he would forgive you."

Ichigo stares at the wraith in stunned silence before the wraith declares, "If you wish to know where the serpent is, he is currently accompanying a group of four female hollows, one of whom is a Vasto Lorde like yourself. You will find them in the sands near Las Noches."

The wraith then suddenly disappears, leaving Ichigo in his stunned state, as the two familiar forms of a centipede and scorpion enter the room.

Menoly calls out, "Um… Master Ichigo…?"

The Vasto Lorde shakes his head, slapping the sides of his mask which startles the two Adjuchas. He now has a fire in his eyes, "So Sora won't hate me, huh? Well regardless, I have to set things right with him before I even think of letting myself die."

Ichigo then turns to his followers, bowing apologetically, "Look, I won't ask you two to accompany me in this… but I need to deal with an ally from my past…"

Loly looks down at him before letting out a scoff, "Well… I just don't want it to have an effect on my training… that is one of the reasons why you brought us here across that god-forsaken rift, after all."

Ichigo nods, recalling the rift he visited with the bat hollow a while back, "Yeah… sorry about that…"

Ichigo's thoughts drift to something else, "Not to mention, that shadow of mine has been quiet lately… I wonder if I was just seeing things back then…"

Loly tilts her masked head, "Besides which, we can't even get a decent meal out here!"

Ichigo's eyes widen slightly at this before he hears a voice in his head, "That's right. Clock's ticking, King. How long are you going to let your subjects starve? The time for action is NOW!"

The Vasto Lorde has a serious look in his eye now, something the two Adjuchas take note of.

Ichigo declares, "You two have become stronger in our time here—you could probably take out any one of Barragan's Adjuchas, except maybe his generals. But here, we are capped—there is nothing strong enough to eat to become stronger in the traditional sense. For letting you starve, I am sorry."

Loly is quiet at this while Menoly states in appreciation, "I appreciate the sentiment, Master Ichigo."

Ichigo nods briefly as the group begins to descend the tower.

In the meantime, Ichigo can't help his racing thoughts, "I killed my mother… I'm why Sora became a hollow… I'll have to atone for those at some point… thinking about it, as much as I hate to say it, Barragan has to go… I can leave Hueco Mundo in the hands of someone like Nel after that…"

Spire Exterior, Hueco Mundo

As Ichigo and his Adjucha followers walk through the doorway of the spire, Loly lets out a groan, "You're still following us?!"

Ggio stands at the end of the stairway, with a conflicted look in his eyes.

Ichigo grunts, "Just ignore him… we've a king to dethrone."

The trio pass by the tiger Adjucha before the tiger's eyes widen, "Wait!"

Ichigo pauses in his stride, sighing, "If you intend on stopping us from going after Barragan, we all know you can't—"

Ggio suddenly gets on his knees, prostrating himself before the dragon. His actions cause the two Adjuchas flanking Ichigo to widen their eyes in confusion.

Ichigo tilts his head back at Ggio, stating in an uncaring tone, "What are you doing?"

The tiger begs, "Please, allow me to accompany you, Lord White!"

The two Adjuchas stumble, too stunned to speak, while Ichigo promptly turns around, his hair flowing in the wind, "What?!"

Ggio elaborates, "I have determined that Barragan is no longer fit to be the king of Hueco Mundo! He has been acting far too cowardly ever since you appeared, something I have been trying to ignore until recently. He will not leave his castle to hunt and slay you, rather he preferred to send his army of loyal Adjuchas as well as Espadas after you… he fears you because his power did not kill you, I see that now. He's no longer the great, fearless king I remember serving the last few hundred years…"

Ichigo snarls, "And who said I want to be king, anyway?"

The tiger looks into Ichigo's eyes, "You are the only one who can, Lord White. The hollow king must be the most fearsome hollow on these dunes—the most powerful. The others will only accept a king who is the strongest and who has slain the previous one. YOU are the only hollow who can do that."

The Vasto Lorde glares thoughtfully at the tiger for a while. The sisters shift nervously during this silence, wondering what he'll say.

After a long moment, he snorts, turning away, "Fine."

Ggio's eyes light up, "You mean you'll be king?"

Ichigo glares at the tiger uncaringly, "No… you can follow us. I still don't think I'm the right person for the job of being king."

Ggio bows, "Regardless, I will serve you with all that I am, milord. My fangs are yours."

The Vasto Lorde rolls his eyes at the display before narrowing, "Hold still…"

Ggio does as ordered before Ichigo's white clawed hand shifts into a black blade. Ggio keeps himself still, despite the threat Ichigo's blade poses. The Vasto Lorde quickly strikes the air above the tiger before his hand reverts back to its usual state.

Ggio's eyes widen as he can feel his connection to Roka being severed. Golden thread splits apart where Ichigo had struck.

Ichigo then walks off, flanked on each side by the sisters, before tilting his head back at the tiger, "Welcome to the pack, Ggio. Try not to slow us down."

The tiger nods, energetically joining the group, "I'll prove my abilities are invaluable! I'll give my life if you order it, my lord!"

Ichigo once more rolls his eyes, "So we've got another Menoly on the squad… speaking too formally… whatever…"

As the quartet fade into the horizon, the wraith walks out of the doorway of the tower.

A feminine voice, without any of the ghastly echoes from before, utters, "Indeed… that Dragon was different from most… he was very strong, yet possesses a certain kindness… he's looking to create a new world order… which could be problematic… but I think…"

The figure removes the hood hiding their face, revealing a feminine, tan face with crimson eyes, various tribal markings, and short violet hair with a red tint and a red and orange feather attached to the left side of her head, right above the left ear, as if it were once part of a mask, perhaps.

The woman purses her lips and scrunches her brow, giving a worried look, "…this hollow indeed could be another Wind of Chaos like you were… brother."

The woman looks to the ground, with a serious expression, "I pray… that unlike you, he isn't crushed by ambition…"

Silbern

Keigo feels himself stirring from the sound of multiple voices, most of which he doesn't recognize. The boy feels his head laying against something soft, yet firm. He can also feel something holding the locks of his hair—a hand, perhaps.

"Look Candy, he's waking up!", one of the voices he doesn't recognize calls out.

The boy's eyes shoot open, greeted by the sight of four women, including Bambietta Basterbine, who sits at the edge of the bed he is laying on. Although, the boy does not recognize the woman, as they never met.

Bambietta looks away with a scoff, "Haschwalth must've knocked him out really good to be asleep for that long..."

A woman with blue eyes and black antennae shaped hair, Giselle, looks back at Bambi with a smile, "You are acting a bit weird, Bambi... you'd usually be excited to snatch away Candy's newest boy toy!"

"He's not my type..." Bambi says before looking away distantly.

Giselle scrunches her brow, "Bambi's acting even more distant than when she first got here... oh how the time flies…"

Giselle smiles dumbly as she recalls when she met Bambietta.

Keigo can hear a familiar voice from above shout out in annoyance, "He's not my boy toy!"

The boy shifts his gaze up to find Candice wearing a white hat, similar to Bambietta's, as well as a seemingly modified white uniform that exposes her midriff, her shoulders, and a good portion of her chest. At this point, the boy looks over slightly, deducing that he is laying in Candice's lap. Although, this is no more exposing than the clothes she typically wore in the world of the living, so the boy doesn't flinch at the sight, merely raising a brow at his position as he grabs his stomach, recalling the pain where he was struck.

Giselle snaps back, teasingly, "Well you certainly hold him like he's your lover~."

"Bitch...!" Candice snaps between gritted teeth.

Meninas and Liltotto, the furthest from Keigo's sight, are seated at a table at the edge of the room, drinking tea and eating pastries respectively.

Meninas takes her teacup away from her mouth, looking at the boy with a blank expression, perhaps out of mild interest.

Keigo finds his eyes drifting towards the pink-haired woman's chest, "Damn, she's stacked..."

The woman gives the boy a polite smile, which he instinctually returns, "Well, if Bambi and Candy don't want him, I'd be glad to take him..."

Liltotto raises a brow, "Really? You don't usually like to do slutty things with guys..."

Meninas shakes her head, placing her palm on her cheek as she sighs lightly, "I don't… I just think it'd be nice to try having a boyfriend for once."

The woman, however, shows very little emotion on her face as she says this, underscoring the fact that this may be purely out of bored curiosity. Candice has sparks coming off her body, wearing an angered expression as her grip of Keigo tightens slightly, causing the boy to flinch.

The woman stares at the others as if they are trash, "No. He's mine."

The other women flinch at this. Even Giselle takes a step away from the bed Candice is laying on. Keigo gulps, having only seen glimpses of this side of the woman. The boy attempts to smile but winces as he tries to sit up. This causes the green-haired woman to look at him in mild concern, the sparks fading.

Keigo chuckles, "Come now, ladies, there's plenty of me to go—wait..."

The boy's eyes widen, staring directly into Candice's green one, "What about Yuzu?!"

Candice scrunches her brows before looking away, wearing a guilty expression.

Keigo fears the worst, snapping, "She's not dead, is she?!"

Candice scowls at this, "No way! Yui won't die that easy!"

The boy still frowns, "You mean, she's safe…?"

The green-haired woman who Keigo had recently become comfortable with, looks away yet again. This time, however, she remains silent.

Bambietta glares at the pair before sighing and jumping off the bed, "Enough talking about Yui… you should worry more about yourself, boy…"

Keigo flinches as his eyes widen, beginning to realize the situation he's in.

The black-haired woman begins to walk out of the room, raising her hand as she points in the air with her index finger, as if to order the others around, "Now, girls… I think it's time we showed this guy around."

Author's Note:

Grimmjow… yeah. He's way stronger in this story than in canon, so please keep that in mind going forward.

On that note, the next chapter will shift focus back to Karakura Town and the Soul Society.