I do not own Bleach nor One Piece. I am not going to say anything witty to that effect about what would be if I did for either or preferably both... because I'm greedy like that! With that said, this story is for entertainment purposes only and I hope you I hope you enjoy this whilst I brood.

A Reaper amongst Straw Hats

Chapter 8: Of the Bark's Shadows, part one

The Thousand Sunny

The Straw Hats were by no means bad company in of themselves. They were overall friendly, helpful and provided a laugh or two on occasion when he wasn't expecting it. That said however having been stuck on the same ship with them for over a week and a half he couldn't help but regret his decision to 'hire' them. At least back in the cabin at Water Seven he could squirrel himself away for some peace and quiet. There was no such choice for him here in the long run. Especially during meal time even when he had taken the extra precaution of stepping out to eat by himself after day four of having to defend his plate from Luffy; somehow, someway those rubber hands kept finding his food whenever he let his guard down. Sadly in spite of this his precautions didn't really help much either in regards to Luffy. Not only that but he was also forced to contend with seagulls, the occasional freak weather pattern, marine life that conventional wisdom would declare impossible, and in one case a hand glider missing its rider of all things. Thus he was forced to endure his meals inside the aquarium room... for the most part at least.

Thankfully that's where most of his aggravation lay. This was of course excluding the attempts where they, Luffy, Usopp and Chopper really, but mostly Luffy, try to rope him into their little shenanigans both on and off the ship whenever the opportunity presented itself... and of course being shanghaied into defending the ship when the opportunity presented itself as well; though a given, the less said about that, the better.

"Hey! I see something floating in the water!"

... Hopefully this wouldn't be yet another tale as to why he should reconsider jumping ship and try to hire a more sane crew.

With a groan he closed the book, part two of a series called the Rainbow Mist, and got off from the floor of the uppermost deck of the ship he had sequestered himself too. After double checking where his badge was and placing it in his hand just in case, he reluctantly made for the nearest banister to see what the fuss was. When he did and leaned over it to observe the deck below he saw Luffy making use of his rubber limbs to grab at something far off from the ocean beyond the ship's outermost railing. In fact with a cry of "I got it!" he placed a foot on the banister and began to tug on the object until he finally hefted up a barrel with a ripped up red and black flag sticking atop of which. Once he took a moment to ensure he had a secure grip on it he set it down on the lawn behind him. In excited curiosity the two others, Usopp and Chopper, ran up to him to observe the barrel before they, after Usopp hefted Chopper up, linked arms with Luffy with Chopper in between the two boy and began to dance and sing in newfound merriment.

After seeing all this and fairly sure he had roused himself for what appeared to be a wild goose chase Ichigo silently sighed, rolled his eyes and meandered back to his previous spot where his book was left behind. Once he reached it he noticed from his latent sense of perception that the trio had stopped singing, and that the voices of the others near indecipherably floated from the deck below, seemingly summoned by the trio's merriment. Even so he paid them no mind as he picked up the book and sat himself back down however. If anything he would rather be concerned about one thing: whether or not he would be suddenly rained on, again, while trying to enjoy himself as a passenger on a pirate ship in between searching for rumors and evidence toward inter-realm (universe maybe? He wasn't sure) travel on each island they docked at. Sadly however he had yet to uncover anything substantial enough to fuel a sense of hope in this regard. The closest of course was a book on Devil Fruits and even then he wasn't holding his breath; strange as they were, nothing he read nor witnessed thus far suggested such abnormal capabilities despite their very nature. Maybe though: if a fruit could make someone a literal "rubber man," make someone as elemental as the wind and even let others turn into different species altogether, then there might be a chance that there was something like a cross dimensional ability granting fruit. No guarantees however. Until proven otherwise however he may as well try to unwind himself with this fantasy book.

... too bad it wasn't meant to be however.

Whatever happened, it sounded like a cannon went off from the lowermost part of the deck where the lawn and crew was located, as such it easily drew his attention and prompted him to his feet in surprise in time to see something whistling its way to the heavens above. He barely caught a glimpse of the crimson streak before it exploded and expanded like a red dwarf sun above, shining with such intensity that he was forced to cover his field of view with his hand as he squinted. "Damn it," he growled as the light faded away in favor of the natural sunny sky.

"SO THAT WAS A TRAP?!"

... he groaned as he sauntered back to the rail just as Usopp screamed a rant and ran to the side with his magnifying goggles down. In short order he essentially enlisted Chopper in joining his frantic search for enemy pirates, bounty hunters and so on whilst Ichigo merely rolled his eyes... and lazily joined him by craning his head in the direction he came from for would be marauders. His search however, despite its more lethargic contribution, was interrupted as Nami chose to start yelling as well. He missed the first half of it but he definitely heard her yelling something about a storm on its way. As she and the crew began to move with purpose below he finally relented and absconded from the rail to the book he had abandoned. After collecting it he made his way down to the library to stow it for safe keeping. He barely even made it to the first set of stairs that the storm Nami had warned everyone about made its presence known with a startling swiftness that overtook the brilliant day with its ugly rage. He wasn't even past the second step before he tucked the book under his plain black shirt with the Galley-La logo to give it a modicum of protection from the newfound rain. He even hunched over for all the good that would do him as he rushed down to the second tier and dashed to the library from there, only partially aware of the goings on around him from the similarly mad dashing of the crew and the furling of the sails. In fact he was none the wiser to what was happening until he reached the library itself when a lurch tossed him through the doorway the moment he opened it. Having been caught by surprise by the ship's newfound speed amidst the rocking ocean that now plagued them, he was sent sprawling onto the floor with a groan.

Not to accept defeat, especially since the door was letting the rain in, he hefted himself up with a dry scowl and fished out the book from its impromptu covering and tossed it onto a nearby couch before rushing to the door to not only get outside but to help assist them as well. It was in vain however. The moment he stepped outside and slammed the library door shut his ears were not only assaulted by the crack of thunder but the industrial whirring of machinery in motion. Steam powered paddles he soon realized upon running to the side to sate a hunch borne from his time at Galley-La. In minutes the storm which disturbed both them and the ocean surrounding them was abandoned with almost unprecedented speed matched only by the Puffing Tom. Yet as they headed for more stable waters a thick fog began to roll in, and the sky, already dark from the overcast sky, seemed to grow as dark as the night...

"Whew! We survived!"

As he eyed the gloomier surroundings that began to entrench itself on the Sunny, Ichigo, still partially damp, positioned himself to lean against the railing overlooking the deck where the Straw Hats had situated themselves.

"Yeah. It's nice that we pulled through, but what's with this sea?" Zoro asked as he too eyed the atmosphere much like Ichigo, except he was leaning against the railing along the edge of the ship, his back to it. "It's not night yet, but with this thick fog, it's creepy how dark it is." Next to him was Usopp and Franky, the both of them looking out to the fog behind Zoro.

"Do you think we stumbled into that one sea?" Nami asked as she approached them. Her face scrunched up in apprehension. "I'm not ready for this!"

"What? We're drawing up on Fishman island?" Usopp offered with a grin. In the meantime Ichigo blinked and wracked his mind for some sort of relevant information regarding their situation only to draw up a blank. Also, wasn't Fishman island suppose to be at the Red Line itself? He could've sworn that was what he read back when he was gathering information for his would be expedition.

"Nope! We crossed over into haunted water!" Luffy interjected, his hat over his eyes and a devilish smirk on his face as he slide into the long nosed man's view. Franky in the meantime shared the same smirk. "Yep! Don't let your guard down. From the looks of it we're already caught in infamous waters."

"The Florian Triangle!"

"... crap," Ichigo groaned. He hung his head and ignored Usopp's latest panicked cry and the Straw Hats subsequent teasing of the poor... yet screechy guy. The Florian Triangle, one of several phenomena that was sprinkled about the world as he knew it. Needless to say it was to them as the Bermuda Triangle was to the Americas and their neighbors: a place of mystery, dread and disaster that many would like to avoid if given the chance. Almost every week a few ships were reported going into these waters only to never be seen again. Even then a few ghosts ships wander back out, some worse for wear and just short of falling apart whilst others were seemingly abandoned altogether without a trace of the crew in the slightest, or even a storm to help explain their lack of presence...

"Yo ho ho ho~"

Immediately Ichigo tensed as a haunting voice softly echoed out from the fog and drifted along the deck. For better or worse he wasn't the only one who noticed as the others stilled in either confusion or out of anxiety. Like him they began to look out to the fog in hopes of locating the source of the ethereal singing.

"Yo ho ho ho~"

It was the tired creaking and groaning of slowly dying wood that slowly announced itself along with the singing that drew his attention first. Likewise it drawn the attention of the crew itself to the starboard, the right, side... and tensed. Though he wasn't proud to admit it his heart skipped a beat in trepidation as the source of the haunted singing slowly lumbered by their own, a galleon looking on the verge of breaking down. A pirate ship scarred from a battle long since forgotten, pitted, torn and slowly being covered with moss. Its Jolly Roger upon the main sail looking more weary from fatigue than menacing or promising.

As the crew was voicing their own panic which he barely kept to himself he listened to the half hearted song as it was sung in hopes of identifying the source proper. It was hard at first but with each rendition of that one verse his searched narrowed down to the port side of the galleon, to a hunched over thin figure looking as defeated as the ship that bore him. Whoever it was it seemed like he hadn't noticed them despite literally coasting alongside them, as if he were lost in his own little world. It was particularly hard to tell what he was thinking with that grinning skull mask he was—

"We're on our way to deliver Bink's booze~..."

... correction... it was hard to tell what a skeleton was thinking!

"Yo ho ho ho~!" the skeleton sang one last time before his ship slipped past them and barely outpaced them ahead in its leisurely path back into the surrounding mists.

"Did you just see that? That skeleton was singing!" Luffy loudly proclaimed, thus snaring all the attention back onto himself.

"Stupid! Skeletons don't sing! You're just hearing things!" Usopp screamed in denial as he clutched his head. In the meantime Chopper nervously nodded his head with the same panicked excitement as his friend. In the meantime Ichigo palmed his face and groaned whilst the thought of a devil fruit at work struck him. "Idiot," he muttered as he entertain more than a few notions to refute Usopp's steadfast refusal; by his logic Luffy couldn't be made of rubber, Franky wouldn't be halfway made of metal and powered on soda and Ichigo wouldn't have super natural powers after all.

Regardless, Luffy, having already worked himself up like the hyper active ten-year old he must secretly be had to be restrained by the collar of his vest by Sanji. "Not so fast Luffy."

Out of mild curiosity Ichigo dragged his hand down his face just in time to not only witness Luffy being barely restrained by the neck of his own vest whilst Zoro held out a fist full of tongue depressors. He barely managed to blink in confusion before his eyes narrowed in a deadpan expression. "Really?"

Whether or not he was heard, Zoro minded his own business as he presented the sticks before them. "Go on. We're gonna draw to see to see who goes aboard that ship with Luffy."

"Why?! Send whoever actually wants to go!"

"Right! That's what we should do!"

Seeing as he wasn't a part of the crew Ichigo slipped away from the railing and barely managed a step toward the library before a thought struck him: while it wasn't as bountiful as an island and its populace, a pirate ship, no matter how derelict it is, went places. Its crew explored, plundered, made deals, did things that may or may not hold a clue as to how to leave this world. Even if it didn't, didn't he leave Water Seven for such a chance to begin with?

With a sigh he gently clenched his fist around the badge to ensure he hand't let go of it the entire time. Once he was satisfied of its presence he spoke up as he turned on his heel toward the ship which they were catching up to.. "I'll meet you guys over there."

"What?! You too?!" Nami cried.

"Hm?" He stopped himself from transforming into his fullbringer state to observe the deck below. Other than luffy it seemed at least half the crew had absconded to the rail facing the decrepit galleon... actually it was half the crew: Luffy in the short time he wasn't looking and thus subsequently ignoring everyone, Franky, the one face he so badly wanted to punch without breaking his hand, Sanji and Robin all stood atop the railing. Of everyone presently atop of it only Luffy turned around to regard everyone else. Even so Zoro hadn't moved from his spot in the slightest whereas those that wished to remain, consisting of Nami, Usopp and Chopper, groveled at his the swordsman's feet.

"Just draw your sticks already," Zoro grumbled. "Two people will go with him aside from Death Wish." Ichigo reflexively groaned at the moniker yet was otherwise ignored. "It'll be their job to make sure doesn't do anything stupid."

Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, the rush of energy garbed Ichigo in his outfit and sword as he made for the clearer part of the stair's landing in order to take off. He of course stopped a moment later when Nami's wail of lament echoed across the deck. Glancing over to her, he was quick to spot out the source of her woes clutched tightly in a deathly grip, a tongue depressor with a red mark on its end. "Why me?!" she groaned.

"Alright, my turn," Sanji murmured as he hopped off the rail and sauntered over to Zoro. Robin and Franky soon joined them at their own respective paces be it taking their time in descending, Robin, or simply hopping off and jogging over in hopes of beating Sanji to the draw, Franky. In the meantime Ichigo shook his head and prepared to jump—

"Wait!"

Footfalls quickly assaulted the wooden stairs just in time for Ichigo to crane his head toward the mobile source. He barely managed to spot Nami proper before she wrapped her arms around his neck much to his confusion and Sanji's instantaneous jaw dropped, "gaw" included, jealousy. "Ready!"

"Huh?"

"Please!" she whimpered with such intensity in her saccharine tone that he honestly felt like he was having cavities on the spot. Her watering, puppy dog fashioned eyes only made things worse! It was like she somehow met and took notes from Yuzu! "You're so much saner than most of these guys!" When she threw in the sniffling Ichigo knew he was done for.

"... you play dirty, you know that, right?"

"Can you really blame me?"

He snapped his head away before his face and mind completely melted at the expression on her face as she turned it up a notch. "Just get on," he groans as he hunched over slightly. It wasn't even a second later that her legs wrapped around his waist as she squealed in vindicated joy, his hands snaking around her thighs for a more secure hold of her person much to his chagrin.

"Hey wait!" Sanji called out the second he snapped out of his stupor. It was too late though. Made forcibly apathetic by Nami's antics for the sake of his own sanity, Ichigo happily ignored Sanji as he kicked off the deck of the Sunny and set out for the aft of the galleon before them at a pace comparatively sedate to most of his usual, often battle driven romps. Not that Nami minded much however. If anything she minded being closer to the ghostly ship with each hop if her tightening hold indicated anything...

"Hey! Wait for me guys!" Luffy called out. "Gum-Gum..." His arms whipped back only to use their sudden stretching momentum to surge forth and grasp the ruined ship looming above them. "ROCKET!"

"Hey, wait a minute damn it! If anyone's going to carry Nami around...!" Sanji likewise ran for the railing and leapt onto the rail with one foot already ready to launch him off. "It's going to be me damn it!" As it was expected he catapulted himself toward the ship. Alas unlike Ichigo who could seemingly leap from one invisible platform to another that only he could access, and Luffy who's methods of travel were as useful, for him, as they were dreaded, for everyone else, Sanji had to settle for a more mundane approach by comparison when his own kick didn't launch himself as high up as he would've liked. Though his rush was reckless, he wasn't without some form of plan. Ruined as it was with the rest of the ship and obviously falling apart, there was rigging along the side of the galleon which he caught in his free fall and easily climbed in order to catch up with the others as well as chew Ichigo out.

As all this was happening Zoro rolled his eyes and took one of the sticks out from his grasp only to find it blank. "Tch. And here I was hoping to find a new sword in there..."

"... now that I think about it, shit cook didn't even draw either. Jackass."

XVX

It was a few minutes at the most before Sanji managed to catch up with them. By then however he found Nami attempting to strangle Luffy yet again for something doubtlessly moronic on his part... and a skeleton dressed in tattered suit minus a shirt, a blue bolo tie-like cravat wrapped around his neck. Not only that this skeleton also bore a surprisingly large afro, atop of which a top hat was perched upon without even hinting that it could slip off. Observing this skeleton whom quietly watched his beloved navigator give Luffy a piece of her mind while sipping from a teacup, which he noticed the arm holding said cup aloft also held a cane hooked along its forearm, what righteous fury he had felt slipped away as he tried to comprehend the animated skeleton for what it was... an animated skeleton. Soon enough however it opted for something it could wrap around: "Hey, where's the idiot with the hair?" he blurted out without thinking.

"Hm? Oh! Hello there!" the skeleton greeted whilst Nami paused long enough to acknowledge Sanji with a rather plain "hey Sanji" before resuming her assault of and berating of their captain. "If you're looking for Mister Kurosaki, he went beneath deck to see if there were any items of particular value to him. I'm afraid he wasn't very specific sadly. Would you care for some tea?" he queried as he gently gestured to a nearby table where some damaged but functional china, plus a kettle, rested upon.

"Uh, thank you... Do you mind me asking you a question however?"

"Sure! How may I help you?"

"Great. Would you mind explaining HOW THE HELL YOUR ALIVE AND TALKING WHEN YOUR NOTHING BUT BONES?!"

XVX

Below Deck

He wasn't quite certain how far he had gotten below deck from his point of entry when Sanji's voice managed to squeak through the holes and the decrepit wood that was amazingly still holding strong given the ship's sorry state. At least in comparison to its outer hull and main deck. Age and neglect were taking their toll, anyone could see that. Not only that but it was clear he wasn't the only... visitor this ship had, regardless of Brook's warning that he was once raided long before the Straw Hats and himself had arrived.

Whoever came here was nothing less than brutish in their search: smashed crates, sacks sliced open and emptied before being tossed aside, even entire sections of the interior looked to have been ripped apart to either reveal nothing but the framework or a justifiably searched for and subsequently raided secret compartment. Even the cannons looked to have been forcibly dragged up the stairs now that he was really looking...

Worse yet... the longer he stayed her, even with Brook's permission to see if he had any 'abnormal relics' on the ship, he couldn't help but feel rather pathetic as he picked through the remains of a... man's... life out of said man's generosity for perhaps a scrap of hope to return home...

Eventually it got to him however. Thankfully, for him at least, he scoured an entire deck before returning to the main deck. A main deck that was abandoned by the other parties no less... he wasn't sure if he was thankful for that or not. Still, it allowed him a chance to quietly brood in peace, at the farthest side of the ship no less for good measure lest someone would walk in on him when he would rather be alone to cope with his frustration.

"Are you not going to join us at our meal with our newfound guest?"

Startled, his hand flew up to the handle of his machete when he turned to the source of the voice only to barely miss it. His eyes quickly rooted themselves to the only drop of color within the grayed and dying ship only to find himself halting, stupefied, at the sight of Nico Robin's head pleasantly smiling him with near masterfully concealed mirth at his expense from the nearby railing he was brooding over. As she no doubt inwardly chuckled at his expense, Ichigo tried to puzzle out how she performed such a feet as his jaw soundlessly worked itself between opening and closing, repeatedly.

"Devil Fruit," he concluded after some deliberation, subsequently relaxing and returning to his spot while doing so as his fullbring finally dissipated into nothing. At this the head simply and pleasantly twittered to itself.

"If it makes you feel any better, it takes greater effort than I would normally put forth when it comes to a more... complex portion of my body."

"I'll take your word for it," he offered without glancing over to her.

"Hm."

His ear perked at the unique sound he picked up during his stay with the Straw Hats. A sound that was almost solely heard during the most quiet periods of the journey thus far. It was almost indescribable really. The closest he could describe it was... the soft fluttering of petals. Curious, he canted his head to the source of the almost silent sound only to be mildly surprised by, despite seeing them before, by one series of arms appearing after another in a procession to bring forth a plate of what looked to be a serving of octopus alongside a healthy serving of salad. There was even a fork and a knife on the plate as well as it traveled along the decking in a bee line toward him... or rather, as he soon learned, the spot directly between himself and Robin's head as the arms sprouted from the railing's side to act as a means of conveyance till the dish rested on the railing proper. Looking at it, his eyes flicked up to Robin's head. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she hummed pleasantly just as he began to dig in at a sedate pace. For a time at least.

"... so what exactly brings you here?" Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a frown mar her visage before continuing to quash some form of rebuttal. "I mean, it's kind of going above and beyond when you could've simply stored a dish for me in the fridge where Sanji could guard it..."

A few moments past without an answer. Halfway done with his plate, he glanced over and frowned as he saw her with her frown still in place. There was a glazed look over her eyes though as if the head was but a living statue... a living statue beginning to waver. "Robin?" When she didn't answer him he voiced her name a little louder. "Robin?"

"Hm?" She looked up at him, her eyes blinking back into focus as she apologetically frowned. "I'm sorry. I got distracted. What were you saying?"

It was Ichigo's turn to blink before his scowl deepened in thought. "... so I take it your... head replication takes a lot more concentration than 'effort' so to speak?"

"Indeed." She offered her a half smile. "As you may have guessed, I cannot be of two minds at once as it were without sacrificing what immediate attention I have to begin maintain this particular technique."

"And likewise something abrupt enough would steal your focus away from your... 'other head,' dispelling it if you're not careful, right?"

"Quite," she answered him with a smile.

"So what happened?"

Her eyes flicked over to him rather briefly before looking out to the ocean. "It would seem our latest guest is much more peculiar than he outwardly seems at first glance."

"How so?"

She frowned once more. "It would seem that our guest is missing his shadow." Upon drawing his curious gaze she elaborated. "It would seem that someone had stolen it, and as such he cannot leave the dense fog of the Florian Triangle. If he does, by his own words it could very well serve as an eventual death sentence if he were to come into contact with the light of the sun."

His scowl deepened further. "... how so?"

Her frown gained a rather rueful quality to it. "It would seem that those who are subject to this would ultimately perish by turning into dust."

At a loss for words he turned back to his plate and picked at it. Every now and then he would take a bite out of his meal to further give himself something to do. Even so it didn't mean he was entirely ignorant of the world around him. Especially not the startled sniff of air Robin's head produced which prompted him to look up just in time for a brief segment of a distance wall to quickly pass his field of vision not obscured by the haze that surrounded them. Regardless, both sets of eyes turned to look at it only to be further jolted by the appearance of a gate on par with perhaps being a fourth of the size of the legendary sky consuming Gates of Justice. A gate morbidly fashioned to look like pointed stained yellowing teeth of a jaw closing down as if swallowing them...

"Excuse me, Ichigo, but I need to warn everyone."

He barely managed to glimpse Robin's head vanishing from sight much like her short lived limbs before snapping his head to the side in the direction the 'mouth' most likely came from, ignoring it all the while as it loudly clamped itself shut even as the waved it caused rocked the galleon enough to cause it to minutely shift and groan.

He barely even registered his own silverware clapping against the plate was he bodily turned to the misty island before his gaze as its dark forests, its ruined architecture and what looked to be a grand castle looming overhead beyond them forebodingly welcomed both him and the ships that slowly drew closer to it.

A/N: A little late for the party (as far as once per month updates are concerned), I'm sorry about that. But if anyone has worked anywhere in retail during SPRING then yeah... it's an ass kicker. Especially when you have no cover when your coworker goes on vacation. -_-

Anyway.

I hope this chapter was to your liking.

Monkeybandit2, making off with your attention. No refunds.Especially after so many chapters in. That's on your head, not mine!(Cackles!)