Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

A/N: I know I should be updating other fanfics. But after drowning endlessly in IchiRuki, I don't think I have an option! So yeah, guess I'm ready for the task. One down, 98 to go!

For me, here AU is gonna be anything except with them being Shinigami. There'd be clichés and there'd be character deaths and there'd be all kind of shit I can come up with. So, anyway, here's the first chapter…

Kingdoms and Honor

The Lord sits on his throne, his calculative gaze fixed, scrutinizing every minute detail the General presents. The war is raging. And there is little certainty about anything at all. The guard announces the long awaited arrival of the princess and the meeting is dismissed at once.

She enters. For a figure as puny and non-impressive as the raven-haired's, it should be physically impossible to command that strong a sense of presence. But the sheer metal of her being leaves little to dispute about the prospects of the clan.

"Nii-sama," she bows low and goes down on her knees. "The troops are ready to depart. This battle shall, in all probability, be decisive. I vow to lead us to victory and restore the honor of the Kuchiki clan. I have come to seek your blessings."

He stares at her for a moment, impassive and cold. But the glint in his eyes suggests pride. Suggests affection. Suggests guilt. Suggests angst.

"Return victorious," he says—his voice as cold and commanding as ever. "Or do not return at all. The honor of the clan is in your hands to protect."

She nods, determined to live up to the command till her last breath. And he watches her back in an almost awestruck admiration as she walks out, head held high.

The crown prince of the Shiba clan is nothing if not a ferocious warrior. And she sees the living legend she has so often heard of as their troops clash. Metal to metal, fire to fire. They roar into the battleground, staking their all. He leads with a fire that's unheard of. No… he himself is that fire—the epitome of inspiration—that charges the troops, and spreads wildly. And for all their technical and strategic advantage, she realizes a little too late, what they lack, is the means to contain that fire. He delivers the last blow, bringing her tumbling down from the horse to her knees. And the crushing defeat weighs heavy on her heart as they all surrender their weapons. The cool tip of his sword, inches from her neck, seems like a crude mockery in her face as she lets go of her own sword with reluctance. And sucks in a deep breath, preparing herself to meet her end right there and then. But she doesn't see it coming—when he sheathes his sword back in place and extends his hand.

"I'm Ichigo," he says, and she's enraptured by the sheer warmth his voice brings around her. Because, she reminds herself, he is fire. "Crown prince of the Shiba clan."

She doesn't look up, doesn't reply. For all the humiliation she's suffering as a warrior, she refuses to surrender the last bit of her pride.

"I see," he chuckles softly. And the light tone is such a crass contrast to the voices screaming inside her head that she wants to pull her hands over her ears and yell till her lungs explode.

"Well, princess," he says, and she knows he's probably shaking his head in disapproval… or maybe exasperation. "For now, you shall be coming back with me to the kingdom of the Shibas. The survivors of your army shall all be taken in as prisoners of war."

And what about her? She can't dare to ask. And the anguish inside of her grows as she jerks her head up to commit the last act of defiance before taking her own life and save a lifelong embarrassment to the Kuchiki clan.

And that is when the clock stops, and the world around them freezes. She stares at the warmth in the heath of his brown, brown eyes. He stares at the defiance in the ocean of her blue, blue eyes.

Then the time starts ticking off again. And the world returns to its state of perpetual motion.

… and the raging fire in his brown… has met the cold ice in her blue.

A/N: So each chapter is going to be short. I'll try to update in every 3-4 days. This story will be taken up in a later chapter, so yeah, it's a "to be continued" thing. (Come on, I gotta make it 99! Spare me!)

Thank you for reading!

Please leave a review.