Prologue

Karakura Town, Soul Society

Ichigo and Aizen faced one another in the air with the former captain laughing sadistically. "Do you see that, Kurosaki Ichigo?!" he laughed. As the Hogyoku in his chest glowed, the Zanpakuto in his hand dissolved. "The Hogyoku has decided I no longer need a Zanpakuto!" What he didn't realize, was the true reason he was losing his Zanpakuto and the powers it gave him.

Within Aizen's Inner World

As the former captain battled Kurosaki Ichigo, his Inner World reflected the turmoil of the battle and his fusion with the Hogyoku. The ornate Feudal Palaces's mirror walls were filled with glowing purple veins from the stone's power. The black-haired spirit of Aizen's Zanpakuto was gasping in pain from the strain her wielder was putting on her. The green kimono she wore was torn and fraying, her hair in complete disarray, and the golden obi around her waist was rusting. Tears ran from amber eyes as she choked from the agony. "Sosuke… Why?"

"It's not your fault," came a deep male voice. She looked up and spied a man with deathly pale skin and flowing white robes. His hair was made of wispy purple smoke that glowed unnaturally. His eyes were black with glowing purple irises. "Aizen was always this ambitious, and your power only exacerbated his thirst for power of his own." He shook his head with closed eyes. "My own power and promises didn't help much."

Her eyes narrowed as she realized who she was dealing with. "So you're the abomination that Sosuke is using now." She forced herself to her bare feet and summoned her sword form to her hands. "If you're here to finish me off, I won't just sit here and let you do away with me."

He shook his head with closed eyes. He disappeared in a burst of Shunpo before pushing her onto her backside. As she slammed into the ground, she released the blade in her hand and it vanished into nothingness. "I have no need to fight you," he told her. "Additionally, that is not my purpose here. I am here to aid you, Kyouka Suigetsu."

She looked at him with a spiteful glare. "What are you talking about?"

He looked down at her, his expression blank and void of any emotion. "Sosuke himself said it, Kyouka Suigetsu. I am a construct designed to fulfill the desires of the one who is wielding me and those around them. As such, I bear a simple offer for you. One that will decide whether you remain here and die, or gain freedom from Sosuke."

The female spirit screamed in reply as the veins of power in the walls brightened for a moment. When she stopped screaming, she looked to her guest. "How can you help?" she asked between heavy breaths.

"I can do many things, Kyouka Suigetsu. If you accept, I can give you a second chance. And with it, a new master." He looked up and gestured to the mirrors around them on the walls. My power is already devastating you. If I don't help you, you will fade away and get devoured by my Reiatsu."

"A… new master?" she asked him.

He nodded. "There is someone else out there in need of someone to be by their side, just as badly as you need someone to stand alongside." He looked her in the eyes. "However, he will need you to help him grow. But I think that would help you heal from Sosuke's mistreatment of you." He knelt down and extended a hand. "Do we have a deal, Zanpakuto?"

She looked at him hesitantly. "And you promise I won't be treated like Sosuke treats me?" she asked him.

"He won't as he is. If he turns into another Sosuke, then it is no fault of mine." If the spirit of the Hogyoku weren't so emotionless, Kyouka would have sworn that he was trying to be funny. "However, you can raise him into a better Sosuke considering where he is in his life." He pushed his hand further. "Do we have a deal?"

She looked back and forth to the hand and its owner. The Zanpakuto spirit was internally conflicted. On one hand, she would be free of the abuse that Sosuke had been subjecting her to with growing frequency and live, but at the same time she'd be leaving the Shinigami who she had been with for the last several centuries and who knew the name of her Bankai. What if this new master never reached that? She grit her teeth as another wave of the Hogyoku's power surged through her, causing her golden obi to shatter. Collapsing, she looked up and weekly extended a hand to the spirit in front of her. "Please…" she whispered. "I… accept…"

The male spirit nodded at her response and placed a hand on her head. As contact was made, she dissolved into a dark green Jigokucho (Hell Butterfly) that rested tiredly in his hands. He stood up and looked down at the creature in his hands. "As strange as it is, Kyouka Suigetsu, I envy you. At least you could be heard by Sosuke." Covering the Jigokucho with his hands, his eyes flashed brightly as he sent the Zanpakuto away from the battle, and away from Aizen.

Surrey, England

A small boy, appearing about three but actually two years older, was being shoved into a cabinet under a staircase by a large man resembling a walrus. At the man's rough grabs, the boy squeaked in pain.

"What did I tell you about making noises after your punishment!?" yelled the man. He angrily shoved the little boy into the small space and slammed the door before locking it. "And don't let me hear you make a sound!" roared the walrus-like man.

The little boy was clutching his right wrist and quietly sobbing. After he heard his uncle stomp up the stairs and slam his own bedroom door, he took out a little flashlight and shined it on the wrist. He winced when he saw his hand twisted to the right a bit and a bump from what he assumed was a bone. As much as he knew his uncle would be angry, he really hoped the Freaky Stuff would fix his wrist while he was asleep. Otherwise, how else would he make breakfast and do all his chores in the morning?

As he put away the flashlight, he froze when he realized he was no longer alone in his cupboard. Gently flapping its wings in front of him was a dark green butterfly. Even though his Aunt told him all bugs were to be killed, he felt something was different about this strange butterfly. Extending a finger for it to land, the small creature landed and lifted its wings up, revealing one of them was bent.

"Oh, you're hurt too," the little boy whispered as he went to touch the butterfly. "Maybe I can…" Touching the wing, it straightened up and started glowing a bit. The little boy was so amazed that he couldn't stop staring until he had to close his eyes from the light's growing brightness. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a strange living room. It looked kind of like the one he cleaned, but there were pictures of him on the mantle instead of his cousin and relatives and it felt far more welcoming. The couch had an emerald color and was facing a TV that looked even nicer than the one he saw every day. The carpeting was a similar color, only more of a forest green. The windows, however, looked out into a dark and stormy sky.

"Wh-where am I?" he fearfully asked. "If Uncle Vernon finds me here-"

"He won't," came a gentle female voice from behind him with a strange accent.

He turned around and jumped back in fear from the woman he saw. She had black hair pulled up into a strange bun with two gold sticks through it that ended with small emeralds on the ends. Her skin was milky and flawless, and the white was broken with her black eye makeup and pale pink lips. She was wearing a strange green robe that Aunt Petunia would call whorish as it exposed a lot of her chest and showed off her bare legs from the mid-thigh down. A strange gold belt was around her waist with several cracks in it, making him think someone had broken it. Even though her strange manner of dress scared him, her amber eyes seemed to draw him in, and told him that everything would be fine. "There's no need to be scared," she told him gently. "I'm not here to hurt you."

"Who are you?" he finally asked.

She smiled at him kindly. "My name is -. And I'm your Zanpakuto."

"What?" he asked, now more confused than scared. "I didn't hear your name. Do you not have one?"

She shook her head and giggled. "No, I do have one," she told him. "However, you need to be ready to hear my name. "When you do, you will begin to truly learn what I have to teach you."

"To teach me? Teach me what?"

She giggled at the little boy. "I'll tell you when you're a little older, Shonen," she told him while ruffling his hair, not realizing he flinched when she went to touch him. "Speaking of… What's your name?"

"Oh… Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia call me Freak," he told her nervously. "But… m- my name is Harry, ma'am. Harry Potter."

She smiled warmly at him. "Nice to meet you Harry-kun. Let's be the best of partners."