Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Type-Moon, and I am only borrowing characters, plots, ideas, etc purely for entertainment purpose only.

Chapter 1

Being a substitute Soul Reaper, meaning that she was still alive, Kurosaki Ichigo would normally have been considered both as an anomaly and an outcast among the Shinigami who were technically dead in the physical world. In fact, at the beginning, that was how they saw her, and she was treated as an enemy, someone who must be eliminated.

As time passed, however, her honest and kind nature hidden behind her face in a constant frown had slowly won over even those who were once her enemies. Her actions had been proven to be noble, and for more times than could be counted, she had aided Soul Society in its times of need.

In the course of time, she gained so many friends and comrades who, despite being weird and unique in their own ways, were quite dependable during hard times. Even the most brutal and heartless among them who had once tried to butcher her would not hesitate to put their lives (while their physical body is dead, their souls are still very much alive) on the line to save Ichigo, just as she would have done for them if the situation was reversed.

Now, the biggest threat Soul Society and the world had to face had been vanquished. Sosuke Aizen, the traitorous captain who had gained powers beyond imagination thanks to the Hogyoku, was dead. Using the Saigo no Getsuga Tensho, Ichigo managed to defeat Aizen, though it came at a heavy price.

As Ichigo had been warned by her two Zanpakuto spirits, using the Final Moon Fang Heaven Piercer would drain her of every bit of Reiryoku/Spiritual Energy she possessed. The pain after its usage would be unbearable and her chance of survival, even if healing techniques like Orihime's or Unohana's (or even Kurotsuchi's) was used, was less than one percent. And it was not just the death of her physical body either. Her death would be complete, both of body and soul. In other words, the person named Kurosaki Ichigo would completely cease to exist, a fate which some would consider even worse than suffering in the afterlife.

And yet, to the immense joy of her many friends and her family, Ichigo managed to survived. She was in a coma for months and yet at the end of it she managed to wake up, due to the stubborn refusal of her friends to give up on her which gave her strength, and after a while her powers managed to recover.

Apparently, Soul Society's resident mad scientist, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, upon the general request of Ichigo's friends (if having Captain-Commander Yamamoto's zanpakuto in bankai form shoved near his throat could be considered a request) agreed to work with Urahara Kisuke, and together the two found a way to save her life.

By giving Ichigo a massive enough amount of Reirokyu, she was able to once again reconnect to her deep well of power. The amount of energy required to do this is indeed massive, even though it was only meant to reform the connection. With the number of friends that Ichigo made, however, gathering it was not much of a problem. Having people like Kuchiki Rukia, Abarai Renjie, Kuchiki Byakuya, Kenpachi Zaraki, Hitsugaya Toshiro, Gin Ichimaru and others with large amounts of it tend to help.

Now, without Aizen's threat looming over their heads, things had now become somewhat peaceful. True, the constant threat of Hollows was still there but compared to what all of them have been through, handling them was like a walk in the park.

That however does not change the fact that the problems in the world, whether it be of the living or the of the dead, never end, which is a sad yet distressing fact.

Even though the times had become more tranquil, the job is never done. There was always something important to do. Presently, Ichigo had set out on a mission.

There was this particular Substitute Shinigami like her who had been a great help against a terrible crises. He had keen observation abilities and intellect, and his quick thinking helped greatly in preventing a disaster. According to Uruhara, this person, due to problems with his family, had some psychological issues but they were resolved when he was finally able to talk to his Zanpakutou. In truth, no one actually expected him to become a Soul Reaper.

Unfortunately, just as it was the case with her, the young Shinigami, as a consequence also ended up losing his powers. However, it was not just that which he lost. Due to the type of enemy they had to face, he also lost his memories of the entire time that he was a Soul Reaper.

Thus was the objective of Ichigo's mission: to find this person to restore his powers and memories.

Now, normally this mission would be worse than looking for a needle in a haystack. Even though Soul Society's scope is worldwide, trying to find one person among billions was extremely difficult, especially since his level of Reiryoku had dropped to that of an ordinary human's. Even those who are familiar with his signature would find it excruciatingly difficult to locate him.

However, as luck would have it, his Reiryoku has spiked high enough for it to be noticed by the radar (an invention made by Soul Society Resident Mad Scientist Mayuri Kurotsuchi), and it was detected at a placed known as Fuyuki City, which was located at the Southern part of Japan.

Originally, this mission was one which either Kisuke or Yoruichi intended to do themselves. However, Ichigo decided to volunteer for it. Naturally, since Ichigo was a Substitute Shinigami herself, no one was surprised.

Unknown to them, the blonde-haired soul reaper had a personal reason for completing this particular task.

Considering that all she had to do was give back the young man in the picture his shinigami powers (though since ten years had passed since then, he would undoubtedly look older), the female Substitute Soul Reaper thought that the mission would be easy. After all, since she knew him personally, she would be able to recognize him and his reiatsu even without the device, though pinpointing the location did help.

At least, that was what she kept telling herself. For some reason she could not understand, Ichigo could not help but feel uneasy, unable to shake off the feeling that something terrible was going to happen. And when her gut feeling was telling her that something was not right, something was definitely not right.

She was right.

The moment she arrived in Fuyuki City, the first thing she noticed was Reiatsu that was exuding a foul and evil aura.

Her unacknowledged heroic impulse getting the better of her, Kurosaki Ichigo decided to forego her mission temporarily and instead chose to prioritize eliminating whoever... or whatever it was.

xxxXXXxxx

What the hell is that thing?

Kurosaki Ichigo was already used to weird happenings around her. She was a shinigami, or rather Substitute Shinigami, and was thus exposed daily to the supernatural. She was not someone who was easily surprised.

However, as she looked at the thing before her from the riverbank, she could not help but be rooted to the spot, both in shock and disgust at the giant 'thing' that was currently in the middle of the Mion River.

It was a monster, one which emitted an evil aura. What was worse, however, is that it reminded Ichigo of... ?!

The young soul reaper shook her head, deciding she did not want to continue with that line of thought. What was more important than what the monster looked is the fact that it is a monster. And almost just as bad as the presence of the giant creature was the presence of sever...

'Ugh! King! That looks like one of those things we watched from four eyes' collection.'

A familiar voice of a certain someone forced said unwanted line of thought to continue. It belonged to an entity who looked exactly like Ichigo, the only difference is that her hair was silver in colour unlike Ichigo's blonde, while her eyes were of a golden colour: Ichigo's was emerald.

Shiro, one of Ichigo's two Zanpakuto spirits.

'Arrrgh! Why did you have to say that out loud! And I was trying so hard not to remember it!' Ichigo hissed in her thoughts.

'Well you're the one who started it! You know I hate those things just as much as you do! There's no way I'd let you be in peace while those horrible images continue plaguing my mind!'' The spirit complained.

Whenever Shiro spoke with her Soul Reaper, even though they were now on friendly terms and not actively trying to kill each other, her tone was normally a mix of cheerfulness and sarcasm. There are, however, certain delicate issues that could rile up the bloodthirsty Zanpakuto Spirit that could observe (and create) scenes of bloody violence and brutality while cackling with glee... women being violated was one such issue.

Cruel side or not, Shiro was still female.

Thanks to said Zanpakuto Spirit, however, instead of a clear head, Ichigo's mind was filled with visions of girls and tentacles and other stuff shown in the Aizen-be-damned movie (which was lent to them accidentally when Ichigo tried to borrow a 'non-rated movie' for Yuzu) that was part of her best friend's massive collection. The Quincy who she once thought was stoic and straight, was apparently into that kind of thing, a closet pervert. They were still close friends but ever since that day, Ichigo could not help but feel uneasy when the two of them were alone.

The Shinigami and the Zanpakuto spirit both feeling very annoyed at each other, they were just about to continue their bickering when another voice spoke in a calming yet commanding tone.

'Enough you two.'

Immediately, the area around Ichigo started spinning in a white blur and when it finally stopped, she found herself in a familiar place, one which was filled with an endless number tall buildings and skyscrapers.

Her inner world.

'This is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves.' The owner of the voice stated. Looking to the side, Ichigo saw a girl who looked exactly like herself. The only difference between them is that unlike Ichigo who had blonde hair, this being's hair was black.

It was Kuro, Ichigo's other Zanpakuto spirit.

While Ichigo is the one who has the most control in the real world while Shiro is much stronger than Kuro in terms of the amount of spiritual energy they hold, both of them held great respect for the sage-like female who was far wiser and than the both of them combined. She was, despite having lower Reirokyu, even better-versed in battle than. A spar between the two Zanpakuto spirits always end with Kuro as the victor.

Of course, both Ichigo andShiro(except when she is in a really bad mood) had enough sense not to call her a sage to her face. As the two found out when Kuro was under the control of Muramasa, she can be very, very, very cruel if someone tried to call her old. She rarely raised her voice, but that was because she was the calm type, one who seemed to follow the philosophy 'action speaks louder than words.'

As of present though, these hardly mattered in the mind of Ichigo. After looking at the black clothed spirit's face, Ichigo decided it was best to stop arguing with the silver-haired spirit. The only times Kuro wore a sterner than usual expression was when she was uneasy about something.

'What's the matter?' Ichigo asked, as she looked at her raven-haired reflection straight in the eye.

'I feel the presence of a great evil. It is not that aquatic monster that I'm talking about.' Kuro said worriedly.

'Say what?!' Shiro shouted in response. 'Have you gone blind?!'

'No I have not. I am merely stating a fact.' Kuro replied in an even tone.

'Are you nuts?! Just look at it! There cannot possibly be anything more evil than that thing in the river!' Shiro shouted in indignation.

'...'

Ichigo silently watched the exchange between the two entities that form her sword continue arguing, already aware of how it would end.

'Ah, I've had enough of this! This is dumb! I should have known there was no point arguing with you!'

Wearing a familiar scowl on her face due to the fact that she lost, Shiro turned around and was just about to jump towards the other building when she stopped.

'Do not worry King. Whatever problem there is between me and Madame Wrinkles, it won't stop me from aiding you. Now if you'll excuse me. I want to take a nap. Just call out my name when you need my help.'

Yawning widely, Shiro jumped away, undoubtedly to find a good place to lie and down and have some rest.

'Madame Wrinkles, huh? Now that's a new one. You've got to give her some credit. It suits you. When it comes to stuff like this she can be very creative.' Ichigo commented offhandedly, unable to stop herself from snickering. It was true though. Out of the three of them, even though it was Ichigo who scowled most of the time, Kuro did have the most wrinkles.

'Indeed.'

Ichigo immediately dropped her smile, colour draining from her face. While her voice remained calm, the look on Kuro's face was one which promised immense pain if she did not stop.

'H-hey, I was only kidding-' The blonde-haired girl stammered.

Kuro made a sudden movement which made Ichigo cringe. However, instead of a punch or kick to her face like she expected, Kuro merely turned around and started staring at the clouds that were moving in the sky.

'Ichigo, as I think you already know, what I said about sensing another evil presence was no jest.' Said Kuro, her tone solemn and serious.

'...' Ichigo fell silent. Whenever the raven-haired female talked like this, she knew it was best to listen.

'However, now is not the right time for us to discuss it. The reason I called you here is because aside from the monster, there are other individuals with large amounts of Reiryoku in the area, some large enough to be at the very least on the level of a Captain of Gotei Thirteen or of the Espada.'

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. The air was indeed surging with reiatsu coming from various sources.

The raven-haired female turned around and started walking towards Ichigo until they were less than a meter apart, staring deeply into the young Soul Reaper's eyes, as if looking at the very depths of her soul.

'I know you intend to destroy that abomination and prevent it from destroying the lives of the innocent. Yet we do not know what these spiritually powered beings may be planning, if they are allied with the demon or intend to fight against it... or if they are simply trying to add to the already ensuing chaos. Tread carefully Ichigo. We do not know who among them could potentially be friend or foe.'

'...'

Silence continued to reign between the two of them as they continued staring at each other, trying to comprehend what was in each other's minds.

Before Kuro brought Ichigo into the world inside her soul, the Substitute Shinigami already noticed it. There were at least ten beings in the area with higher than normal reiatsu, six of whom have at the very least Captain Level reiatsu, at least three of whom was actively using them. The first course was whoever was inside the giant squid, who was undoubtedly controlling it.

The other two belonged to the pilots of what Ichigo could only tell to be unique types of jet fighters, one gold while another black, both of whom seemingly unconcerned that a monster was there and were having a dogfight. From the way there were acting, it had been apparent to Ichigo that neither of them were siding with the monster. However, neither were they opposing it either. Twice she saw a missile hit the monster but Ichigo knew that they only hit by accident.

The two reiatsu-using pilots simply did not care.

'I understand,' the substitute Shinigami stated after a while, as she nodded her head. 'I'll be careful. Don't worry.'

Judging from how selfishly these morons were acting, while unfair, Ichigo thought it best to assume that the others were the same way: neutral... or worse... on the side of the monstrosity.

Seemingly satisfied with the response, Kuro also nodded her head in affirmation before speaking as she had always done, the words of inspiration that had helped Ichigo greatly to continue treading on her path.

'Do not forget, Ichigo. Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate...'

Once again, the world around Ichigo started to swirl, just as the Shinigami heard her Zanpakuto's parting words.

Unlike how it was before, however, the next lines were spoken by not one, but rather, by two voices in tandem.

'Trust me Ichigo, in battle you will never be alone. I'm always here for you...' Kuro stated encouragingly.

'We're always here for you!' Shiro added which, while different in tone, also held encouragement.

'Now call out my name... call out our name!'

The last phrase of the sentence was shouted by the two voices in unison.

'Shiro... Kuro... thank you...'

Smiling to herself at the modification of the cliché yet forever inspiring words, Ichigo drew her sword and shouted, just as the world around her stopped spinning.

"Cleave a path towards the moon, Zangetsu!"

Immediately, a bright blue light emanated from the Substitute Shinigami's body as she released her Reiatsu, her sword taking the form of an oversized Khyber Knife, a black blade with a silver edge.

xxxXXXxxx

On the other side of Mion River, an emergency strategy meeting was being held between five individuals.

Their original ploy was to try and find an opening to where Caster was huddled inside of the monstrosity he created so that Lancer would have the chance to destroy it completely. With his red spear, the Crimson Rose of Exorcism, he would be able to destroy Caster's Book of Prelati and thus put an end to the giant demon along with the wicked Magus Servant with the use of his other spear, the Yellow Rose of Mortality.

Unfortunately, the monstrosity was immortal and regenerates too quickly. Even if they pinpoint Caster's exact location within it, striking at him directly would be nigh impossible.

Thus, they decided to retreat and regroup to devise a plan.

It was not going well.

"For the time being I'll drag that thing into Ionioi Hetairoi. Well, it'll probably be impossible to destroy it completely even with my elites. Confining it in my Reality Marble is the best I can do."

"What do we do after that?" Lancer, the Servant of the Spear inquired.

To the dismay of the other members of the temporary alliance.

"No idea." Was Rider's response.

It was apparent now to the others what Rider was planning. The King of Conquerors intended to delay the monster's advance, giving the others hopefully ample time to think of a way to destroy it.

"After taking in such a giant, I can maintain my bounded field of troops for a few minutes at most. During that time, by any means possible Heroic Spirits, find a strategy that will grant us victory. Boy, you stay here too."

Having finished his short speech, Rider grabbed his Master by the back of his shirt, before plucking him out of the chariot and placing him on the ground.

"H-Hey?!" Waver demanded, feeling a mixture of anger and fear at his Servant. He already had an idea of what Rider's intentions were, but he was not happy about it.

"Once the bounded field is deployed, I will have no way of knowing the situation outside. Boy, if something happens, concentrate and call me. I'll dispatch a messenger to you."

"..."

Waver honestly did not like the idea of being away from his Servant, especially in the company of two enemy Heroic Spirits. Allies though they were at the moment, there was always the chance of betrayal.

However, the Master of Rider knew it was necessary. If they were to defeat Caster, such a thing should be considered trivial.

Thus, even though he was afraid, Waver merely nodded his head in agreement.

"Saber, Lancer, the rest is up to you two."

"Got it."

"Understood."

Now the burden of finding a way to destroy Caster and his giant demon would be left to the King of Knights and the Knight of Fianna, neither of whom has the capability to deal with Caster at the moment, no matter how much time he managed to buy.

Lancer's skills and Noble Phantasms was not designed to strike against such a huge adversary and could thus be considered useless.

Saber, on the other hand, was on the same boat. While she does possess a Noble Phantasm that could obliterate the giant, she could not use it due to the injury inflicted upon her by Lancer. She could of course ask Lancer to lift the curse, but her honor and sense of pride as a knight does not permit her.

Unaware that he would likely be just waiting his time and energy, Rider was just about to take off on his chariot when...

A massive surge of prana suddenly spiked from the riverbank on the other side.

'What was that?' Was the thought that entered the minds of the five allies.

Taken by surprise, Rider paused for a few seconds. Then, with a shake of his head, he pulled on the reigns of Gordius Wheel and started flying towards Caster's monster to proceed with the operation.

xxxXXXxxx

Not wasting any time, Ichigo shot towards the giant squid-like creature in a flash of shunpo.

In a few seconds, the distance between her and the monster was reduced to twenty meters .Now, without the mist hindering her vision, she could see the demonic squid-like giant in its full wicked majesty. It was definitely not a pretty sight.

Size, in truth, was no longer something that fazed Ichigo. She had, after all, faced large enemies before and triumphed. In fact, the ones that caused her the most problems were only the size of ordinary humans yet wield far greater power.

The problem Ichigo could see was not the size of the squid, but rather, the combination of size with high speed regeneration.

Without warning, multiple tentacles shot from the monster towards Ichigo. She destroyed the large lumps of rotten meat with relative ease. More shot out at her and she did the same with them, slicing through them like knife through butter. Still, even though she could easily cut them, Ichigo knew that doing so was pointless.

Having observed the battle between the two aircrafts which was still continuing up in the sky, Ichigo saw that the projectiles they held, one firing a darkened version of typical modern day missiles while the other shooting out what seemed to be swords, could deal the monster great damage, as they did when said projectiles hit the sea demon 'accidentally'. However, the damage healed instantly, almost as quickly as when it was destroyed.

Ichigo knew there was only one way defeat an enemy like this: to utterly destroy it with one attack.

Defeating it would certainly not be an easy task.

Even then, the Substitute Shinigami's determination will not waver. No matter what happens, she will defeat it.

Ichigo has never considered herself a heroine nor does she deserve to be called one, at least in her opinion. The actions she had undertaken prove it.

When she went to Soul Society to save Rukia, she only cared about the wellbeing of her friends and family. She did not care about anyone else. She did not care that her actions could cause problems to the people in the afterlife.

Her reasons were the same when she went to Hueco Mundo to save Orihime.

Her reasons were the same when she destroyed Aizen.

Her actions may have saved the world, but that was never her intention. The number of people Ichigo counts as friends and family has become quite large, which now included a number of the Shinigami in Soul Society.

Yet, they are all she cared about, not the world.

Ichigo would never actively move to help people who were neither friends nor family.

But then, neither would she turn her back on people in need in front of her eyes or was aware of, even if the odds were severely not in her favour.

In her eighteen years of existence, Ichigo had been faced by so many insurmountable odds.

The current threat in front of her was no different. The monster was something insurmountable.

And yet she would surmount it.

Not because she felt that she could surmount it.

Not because she wanted to surmount it.

But because she had to surmount it.

Zangetsu was only in their shikai form. Ichigo knew it would not be enough.

There was only one thing left for her to do.

"Bankai!"

The river suddenly became turbulent. Large waves up to three meters in height began crashing towards the riverbank. At the epicentre of the surge, one could see a swirling mass of dense blackness that was thick with raw power, before vanishing as the conversion was completed.

"Tensa Zangetsu." Ichigo declared to no one particular, having simply been used to calling out the name of her zanpakuto's bankai. Still, saying their true name was not just a useless rant, as doing so somehow increase their power even further.

Unlike the large cleaver she had moments before, Ichigo now held a smaller sword in her hands, a black Japanese long sword with a short black chain dangling at the edge of its hilt. Her travelling clothes that consisted of a white blouse with a blue ribbon and skirt was now replaced with a long-leeved, ankle length black coat, a portion of her bankai that increases Ichigo defence, able to block the brunt of powerful attacks yet at the same time not hindering her movements.

Unlike most zanpakuto final releases, Ichigo's bankai becomes smaller instead of larger. However, one must not be deceived by its size as unlike other bankai which expand with the increase in power, hers simply compress it instead as if to suit its wielder's fighting style. This form enables Ichigo to use far greater strength and speed than in shikai form.

That aside, this form also greater increases the power and scope of something else...

Closing her eyes, Ichigo started gathering her reiatsu into her zanpakuto, body and sword once again emitting a black radiance. The air around her thickened with the raw energy she released. The waves of the already turbulent waters increased even further in height.

Having poured her reiatsu into it to its maximum capacity, Ichigo's eyes shot open as she raised Tensa Zangetsu high into the air.

"GETSUGA... TENSHOU!"

A ray of black light with a red outline erupted from Tensa Zangetsu the moment she swung her sword downward.

The river released a faint hissing sound as the dark beam cause the water to evaporate in a burst of steam.

The black light reached its mark. The sea demon, which was standing tall and formidable just a second before, was engulfed by the swirling and surging torrent of darkness, every single cell composing its body disintegrated.

An explosion of energy caused a massive shockwave of reiatsu, the blast that destroyed the demon bursting skywards in a pillar of blackness.

No spec nor trace of the monstrous creature was left, completely and utterly destroyed by the Moon Fang Heaven Piercer, the signature technique of the female Substitute Shinigami.

With the monster now obliterated, Ichigo sighed with relief, although she did not let her guard down nor did she leave her bankai state. The main threat has now been eliminated but there were still other large reiatsu signatures in the area, though thankfully the other two major threats, the two dog fighters, were no longer present.

In truth, after destroying the sea demon, Ichigo intended to shoot down the two spirit power enhanced fighter planes that were making a huge mess and endangering the lives of people by their theatrics. It seemed as if it was no longer necessary.

Not that she was complaining of course. After all, their disappearance means that they were no longer a threat, at least for the time being... which means less work for the Substitute Shinigami.

Now she could focus her attention on her true objective of going to Fuyuki.

From the corner of her eye, Ichigo could see something heading in her direction with incredible speed: a lightning shrouded flying chariot that was emitting a large amount of reiatsu... a sight which both worried and confused her.

On one hand, the chariot held great power, and if she knew anything about lightning and electricity, it was that it could move at incredible speeds that surpass even her own.

On the other hand, Ichigo could not help but blink, as even in the distance, she could tell that the chariot was being pulled by...

"Holy cow. Flying Cows?!"

The sight unnerved her in more ways than one. However, she did not linger on this thought for long, knowing it was not the time to think about such trivialities.

Exhausted after eliminating the giant squid using a massive Getsuga Tenshou, Ichigo had no intention of facing the chariot or whoever was driving it, not when she was not fighting at full power. Even though she has confidence in her own skills, the young Substitute Soul Reaper, while still retaining her headstrong and straightforward attitude for the most part, has learned to be more careful and subtle, to care more for herself.

For the sake of her friends who had done everything they can to save her, Ichigo knew that making sure that she did not die (unless there was no other option) was the only way to repay them and not waste their effort.

Her mind made up, Ichigo shunpoed away from the river, heading out to continue her original mission.

xxxXXXxxx

The participants of the Grail War near the riverbank, Master(in the case of Irisviel, acting Master) and Servant alike, were stunned speechless. Just moments before they were struggling with extreme difficulty against Caster and the monster he summoned.

Now that threat was gone, and the river area was peaceful once again.

And yet, despite the newly-acquired tranquillity, none of them managed to have a peace of mind. The way that Caster was eliminated only added to their inner turmoil.

Darkness, that was what it was. A dense, impenetrable beam of darkness was what overwhelmed the sea demon, vaporizing it like the water around it until there was nothing left. Such power is indeed something which a Servant, a Heroic Spirit, was capable of.

However, all of them knew that it was not a Servant behind the monster's destruction.

Assassin was already dead.

Lancer and Saber were both at the riverbank. Rider was flying towards the monster with his chariot and at the same time as the black energy erupted, Archer and Berserker were still engaged in battle.

In other words, none of the Servants could have been responsible for it.

Due to the angle from which they were watching, none of the four individuals standing by the side of the river saw who or what was responsible for that sudden burst of light, each one of them feeling a mixture of relief and worry at what transpired.

Relief, at the fact that the despicable Servant and his great threat of a creation were eliminated.

Worry, at the addition of an unknown variable to the equation.

However, out of the four of them, there was no one who was more worried than the acting Master of Saber, Irisviel von Einzbern. Being the vessel of the Grail, Irisviel had once again absorbed a Servant, and with every Servant she summoned, the more she grows weaker as a human.

Avalon. It was a powerful Noble Phantasm which belonged to Saber. Normally, Irisviel would no longer have been capable of even walking after absorbing one Servant, namely Assassin. However, because of the sheath, she was still able to function as a human, albeit she had to shut down a few human traits, including her sense of touch.

It was not exactly something Irisviel was happy about, deceiving Saber and not telling her about Avalon, but she believed in her husband, who thought it was a necessary evil.

The King of Knights was not aware of Avalon's presence, yet she was unconsciously feeding it energy that was helping keep Irisviel's human side alive, thought it had its limits.

Being the vessel of the Grail, Irisviel had once again absorbed a Servant, and with every Servant she summoned, the more she grows weaker as a human.

And yet, instead of growing weaker, even though she absorbed Caster's energy, she was feeling stronger; in fact, just as well as she felt when she had not yet absorbed a single Servant.

What is going on here?

Irisviel could not understand why, yet for some reason, even though no one else seemed to notice, the signature of the prana which powered the powerful dark energy blast that obliterated the sea demon...

Is eerily identical to Saber's.

xxxXXXxxx

To be continued.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Alright, people. This is the first chapter for my new fic Bleach: Fade to Zero. This naturally follows canon storyline, until the part where Ichigo defeats Aizen.

Now, here are a few details for the differences in this Bleach Semi-AU:

1. Ichigo is female. That is pretty much obvious.

2. Rukia, though Ichigo only realized it recently, was not the first Soul Reaper she met.

3. Aizen is dead, not in prison.

4. Certain Espada originally thought to be dead are found to be alive.

5. Gin Ichimaru is alive. Ichigo arrives just in time to stop Aizen from slashing him.

6. Ichigo does not have fullbring since her powers recovered a different way. Ginjou,Tsukishima and others does exist here though, and may or may not appear later.

7. The Lost Shinigami Arc and other Arcs after Aizen's defeat will be ignored.

8. Ichigo knows about the truth of her powers, and she is at peace with her Hollow-Zanpakuto part and Quincy-Zanpakuto part. She can access full power without needing to wear a mask. While her powers are mostly similar to canon, there will be some differences. Also, she has good reiatsu control that despite the enormous amount of it she can seal her sword. She learned the hard way that a Zanpakuto in Shikai state can be felt by sharp sensors even if she is suppressing her energy.

9. Using Final Getsuga Tenshou is dangerous not just because she will lose her powers but because her chance of surviving it is very, very slim.

10. Ichigo has a unique connection to a certain legend.

11. Yhwach may or may not appear later but if he did he and the Quincy will not be antagonists. I may or may not develop the plot much since it is not that relevant to this fic but they will have some sort of mutual peaceful relationship with Soul Reapers. Whatever plans he has in canon he does not intend to do here. Of course, Quincy and Soul Reapers generally will not lift even a finger to help each other unless there is a very high incentive. They are simply not trying to kill each other.

12. Ichigo's mother died not because Yhwach turned her power off but because of something Aizen did that made her unable to use it.

That would be it for the list for now.

As for the Fate/Zero Universe it will follow canon. However, since this is a crossover, more information connecting both plotlines will be added later.

By the way, here is a partial portion of Kurosaki Ichigo's profile (full profile will be posted in later chapters).

Name: Kurosaki Ichigo

Affiliation: Karakura Town, Soul Society, Urahara Shop

Gender: Female

Character Type: Human/Substitute Soul Reaper

Zanpakuto:Shiro and Kuro (Zangetsu). It is basically one sword with two personalities, one of a wise lady, the other of a battle addict/freak but still overall kind in nature since she wants to avoid killing unless there is no other option due to therapy. (Other details will be revealed later.)

Birthday: July 15

Age: 18

Height: 154 cm

Weight: 42 kg

Three Sizes: B73/W53/H76

Hair Colour: Blond

Eye Color: Green

Family

Isshin Kurosaki (Father)

Masaki Kurosaki (Mother)

Karin Kurosaki (Sister)

Yuzu Kurosaki (Sister)

Likes: Friends and Family, Challenges

Dislikes: Those who hurt her friends and family

Talent: Athletics, fighting, gambling, healing (dreams of becoming a doctor who saves people)

Natural Enemy: Arturia Pendragon

Image Color: Gold/Black

Stats: In Servant Terms

Normal Daily Life/Using Shikai (Zangetsu) (B Rank as Noble Phantasm)

Strength: C

Endurance: A

Agility: B

Reiryoku/Mana: B

Luck: B

Using Bankai (Tensa Zangetsu) (A++ as Noble Phantasm)

Strength: C

Endurance:A+

Agility: A++

Reiryoku/Mana: A+

Luck: A

Other Skills:

Magic/Reiatsu Resistance: A+(D when not using her Zanpakuto)

Charisma: B

Instinct: B+ (A+ if certain conditions are met)

Shunpo (Flash Step) A

Avalon Connection- For reasons unknown, Ichigo's energy can activate/reacts to Avalon

Getsuga Tenshou/Moon Fang Heaven Piercer (A when fired in Shikai form, A++ in Bankai Form)

But enough about that for now...

And like always, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter...

Later then, people...