A/N: So, as some of you have seen - if you actually read my profile from time to time to check out the upcoming stories section - I've been planning to write a Kenpachi/Lucy crossover for quite some time. I honestly have no idea if this will be all that good in regards to keeping all of the characters in Bleach in character, but for any of you that are willing to give this insanity a shot, I thank you.

Hopefully, I can do this story justice. So, it's time to get started.

Just as a point of reference, this is after Tartaros in Fairy Tail. And after the end of the anime for Bleach. I'm not even gonna try to work any of the final arcs from the manga in there, lest I fuck up all the things.

So, without further ado, let's get on to the story!

A New World

"You Fairy scum won't make it out of here!" the dark guild's master bellowed. "Morþorwyrhta, forðgān!"

Team Natsu scattered in every direction they could within the confines of the guild, each of their eyes widening as black ichor oozed from the mage's hands, spiralling wildly and searing every surface it came in contact with.

The smell alone was enough to have Natsu doubling over as though he was on a train, instantly hurling up the contents of his stomach and ignoring the burning bits of wood and stone that pelted his back from the crumbling ceiling.

Gray found himself pinned helplessly beneath a large section of the collapsed wall, with an alarmingly large piece of rebar spearing through his thigh and anchoring him to the ground.

Erza was able to dodge just in the nick of time, but her newest Heart Kreuz armor didn't fare so well.

Lucy was pulled out of the way by Loke, thrown across the ground as the spell hit his back instead. The agonized scream that tore from the Lion Spirit had the blonde more than infuriated. "Speak English!" she screeched. "You're gonna pay for hurting my friend!"

"Dōmdæġ Unġeendodlīċe!" A cruel smile slowly pulled up the corners of his mouth, crinkling his eyes as they shifted from a soft, deep grey to milky white. His other hand extended, one finger singling out the Celestial mage, and wisping black shadows that hissed and writhed in erratically twitching tendrils shot toward her. "Seġniende intō dēaþes. Goodbye…"

Lucy screamed in terror as darkness consumed the area around her, arcing over her body and cutting her off from the rest of her friends. She didn't hear Erza's enraged shouts, or see the flames that instantly overtook Natsu's body while he vaulted from the ground in the hopes of saving her. The hissing sound filled her ears, wriggled its way into her head until it was pounding and she thought it would explode. Just before she lost consciousness, as the first shadow reached its cloying, chilly fingers of death toward her, she smiled when she felt the warm encasement and familiar feeling of three wooden walls surrounding her. Protecting her. "H-Horo…logium," she muttered, eyes fluttering until she saw no more.

The Clock spirit gasped as the shadows converged on himself and his keyholder. He knew she was safe, but when he realized that the spell was lashing at his wooden body, slowly eating away at him, he panicked. His time was running out, and he had to think quickly so Lucy could be saved. If he was destroyed right then, with her already having lost consciousness - although, he could feel her starting to wake up a little bit within him - she wouldn't survive.

There was only one thing he could do, even if it meant that he would be reprimanded for it. He would gladly take that over losing the blonde. With only one thought in mind, of saving the blonde held within him, Horologium let the clock hands on his face spin faster and faster as he swatted away the next tendril that lashed out at him. Just before he could finish his preparation to shift back to the Celestial realm, another three tendrils slammed into his body from different sides and the dark orb surrounding them exploded.

"Oh, this isn't good," Horologium whispered.

Lucy's eyes shot open when she felt wind whipping through her hair.

"I'm sorry," Horologium called out. "My time is up!"

"What?!" Lucy looked up in the air to see the Clock spirit disappearing into the bright blue sky above her. 'Blue sky?!' The sky wasn't blue when they went into that dark guild. It had been pouring rain, actually. She looked back down, then screamed as she realized that she was hurtling through the air and on a direct path to the ground. To two men that were clashing in a sword fight on the lush grass. "Oh shit!"

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

Lucy saw a flash of black energy, surrounded in deep crimson, swiping out of one of the men's blades just before she hit the ground. Directly in the path of the attack. She was going to be skewered, she was sure of it. If not, then whatever that insanity was that came from the ginger-haired man's black sword was going to obliterate her.

Kenpachi paused, his sword still perched in the air and just about to descend, as an enormous cloud of dust and rocks went flying in every direction and Ichigo's attack was stopped. "What the hell? Who decided to jump in on my fight?" Feminine coughing and a quiet hiss of pain came from the settling debris before he was able to see a woman lying on the ground. Wearing not a stitch of clothing, except for a few tattered bits of fabric that hardly covered her nipples and what he could only assume had been a skirt at one point. "O...kay?"

Lucy winced and slowly pushed herself up, surprising both men as the few scraps of clothing that still covered her stayed on. "Wh-What the hell was that?" she coughed. How she had even survived in the first place, Lucy hadn't a clue. What she did know was that whatever that crazy black shit had been, it hurt like hell. Her eyes creaked open and she took in the scratches that littered her arms and legs, then the utter destruction her clothing had undergone. Again.

Kenpachi let out a piqued huff, his eyes narrowing as the blonde woman on the ground sat up fully and scowled at her lack of clothing. "Well, I don't-"

"Why?!" Lucy screeched, looking up toward the bright blue sky and lazily floating clouds. "Everywhere I go! Every-fucking-where I go, my clothes disappear! You suck, universe. You know that?!"

A strangled squeak left Ichigo's lips when the woman scrambled to her feet, causing Kenpachi to roll his eyes. "Oi! Quit yer screamin'. And get outta the way."

Lucy slowly turned toward the low, grating voice that sounding off to her left, her jaw dropping and her head tilting back as her gaze lifted higher and higher. What he was wearing was strange - black pants with wide legs, an open black robe of some sort that was tucked into his pants, bandages wound around his stomach and waist, a white coat with tattered sleeves - but that all went by the wayside when she looked at his face. A strong jaw, a long scar running down the left side of his face from forehead to chin. No eyebrows - which, oddly enough, reminded her of Gajeel - and deep grey eyes. Well, eye, since he was wearing an eye patch.

A small gust of wind fluttered the blonde's hair, and her head tilted to one side as she looked up to see his long raven hair was slicked back and almost pointed. And that there were small bells attached to the ends of his hair that jingled lightly in the wind.

"You're in my way. Unless you've got a death wish, I'd suggest moving," Kenpachi sighed. "I'm not really into fighting weaklings though, so…"

Lucy shook herself free of her stupor, her eyes hardening. If there was one thing that got her goat, it was being called weak. It didn't matter to her that this guy looked as though he would willingly eat her for breakfast, that was just a dick thing to say. "I might not be some overly muscled dildo," she spat, her hand straying to her keys, "But at least I don't sound like a cat when I walk into a room with stupid bells in my hair."

A dark grin stretched across Kenpachi's lips as he felt Yachiru land on his shoulder once she arrived. "You can hear my bells, huh? Maybe you're not so weak after all."

Just as Ichigo was able to find his voice, after forcing himself to look away (and peeking through his fingers at the blonde woman), he turned back fully and got ready to speak. Only to collapse to the ground as she shifted and the last stitches holding her top together fell, baring her large breasts.

Lucy screamed and threw her arms over her chest. "Oh, come on!"

"Ken-chan!" Yachiru giggled as she peeked over her adoptive father's shoulder to the topless woman standing before them. "Did you get a stripper for your fight with Ichi?"

"No."

"Then why is there a naked woman here?" she asked curiously before a wide grin spread across her face. "Oh, I know! Ichi got you a stripper as a best friend present!"

"I don't think that's the case, either," Kenpachi sighed as he glanced at Ichigo's prone form. "Fuckin' kid… They're just some tits, Kurosaki. Sac up!" Was he going to admit that they were probably the nicest set of tits he'd seen in the last few hundred years? No. He was keeping that shit to himself. It wasn't all that often he had the chance to see a pair that were even remotely close to what he'd gotten an eyeful of. And Rangiku's chest didn't even compare, as far as he was concerned.

"Do strippers usually scream like this?" Yachiru asked.

"No, Yachiru."

"I'm not a stripper!" Lucy shrieked.

"Are you sure, Ken-chan? I think that's what a stripper would say..."

"What the hell kind of shit have you been reading?!" he bellowed over his shoulder, his only visible eye blazing with fury.

Yachiru shrugged, an innocent smile on her face. "Blame Baldy..." Was she going to tell him that it wasn't actually Ikkaku that showed her anything, but that she'd simply heard it while walking through the division's chow hall? Absolutely not.

"I'm gonna kill him…"

Yachiru's lips pursed. "Maybe it wasn't him… Toshi, maybe?"

"Hitsugaya?" Kenpachi asked with narrowed eyes, a sneer curling his lip. "I always knew he was a fucking pervy midget from hell…"

Yachiru giggled as she returned her attention to the hysterical blonde before them. "Ken-chan… If she's not a stripper, why is she naked?"

"Because Gingerbread over here," Lucy shouted, nodding her head to the man on the ground, "Decided to use some crazy magic bullshit and my clothes disintegrated!"

Yachiru blinked and tilted her head to one side, then pulled on Kenpachi's haori as she jumped down from his shoulder. She didn't really know where the strange blonde woman had come from, or why every time she tried to get some sort of read on the woman's reiatsu, it was muddied, but that didn't matter. If she wasn't supposed to be naked, then she should probably get something to cover herself up. "Here," the little pinkette said. "Ken-chan's kosode is all sweaty, but his haori stays pretty clean… Mostly."

Lucy blinked in surprise, then smiled down at the sweet girl that was dressed identically to the hulking man. "Thank you," she whispered as she pulled the tattered white coat on and crossed her arms over her chest. A sheepish smile turned her lips as she looked back into a single unimpressed eye. "Sorry, uh… What was your name?"

"Gotei 13's Eleventh Division Captain, Kenpachi Zaraki," he replied, just as he was forced to do by the old man ever since he'd gained the title.

"I'm Eleventh Division Lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi!" Yachiru grinned, hopping back to perch herself on Kenpachi's shoulder. "And that's Ichi. He's a pervert."

Lucy slowly turned to look at the ginger-haired man as he stood. The same clothes as the other two, soulful brown eyes, and a long black coat with tattered ends flowing in the wind. "His nose isn't bleeding," she sighed. "Not a pervert. Just a virgin."

Ichigo squawked and nearly dropped his zanpakuto. "I-I'm not!" When the woman simply arched a brow at him, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "And my name is Ichigo, not Ichi. Substitute Shinigami."

Lucy blinked slowly. Once. Twice. "Huh?"

Ichigo sighed and shook his head. "No one ever knows what I'm talking about," he muttered. "But who are you?"

"Oh!" Lucy blushed and gave him a tentative smile. "My name's Lucy Heartfilia. I'm the Celestial Spirit mage of Fairy Tail."

"Celestial, what?" Ichigo frowned, looking to the hulking captain and his lieutenant and hoping with everything he was worth that they knew what she was talking about. When he saw the confusion on their faces, he focused on the blonde again, on her reiatsu, and his frown only deepened. "What the hell's going on with your reiatsu?"

"Maybe she's some new hollow, or something," Yachiru supplied.

Lucy's lips pursed as she looked down at herself, then back to the teen in front of her, then to the other two. "I'm a mage, not a hollow. And don't talk about my reiatsu like that!" After a moment, she muttered, "Whatever that is…"

"Well, I really don't give a damn either way," Kenpachi sighed. "But yer kinda interrupting my fight here."

"This is a little more important that us sparring," Ichigo shot back, turning his suspicious eyes to Lucy again. "Where did you come from?"

"Magnolia," she shrugged. "Well, more like a few miles south of Shirotsume, since I was on a mission with my team, but…" At the more confused expressions she got, she sighed. "I'm guessing I'm in another realm. Somehow." Really, this was just wonderful... "I'm from Earthland."

"Earthland?"

She nodded, then stiffened when Kenpachi tightened his grip on his - now that she was looking at it - terrifying jagged sword that was clearly etched with years of fighting. "So, uh…" she chuckled nervously. "Where am I now?"

"Soul Society," Ichigo answered. When the blonde was utterly silent, he sighed and looked to Kenpachi. "Maybe we should, I don't know, take her back? Someone could figure out what's going on."

"Unless she's a hollow," Yachiru giggled. "Then you'll get in trouble, because you're a pervert."

"Damnit, I'm not a pervert!"

"And I'm not a hollow!" Lucy shouted over him. "Wait, what's a hollow?"

"Not important," Kenpachi grunted. "But I'm gettin' tired of waiting, and this is still my fight, so…"

Lucy screeched when Kenpachi's sword came flying down at her, much faster than she could get out of the way. The sudden rattle of chains in the air, along with the sight of light pink hair and a maid uniform, had Lucy sighing in relief. "Hey, Virgo."

Virgo's eyes stayed locked onto the large man before her, her hands clenching around her chains as they wrapped around his sword. "Hello, Princess. Would you like some assistance?"

"Yeah," Lucy laughed a little breathlessly. "That'd be helpful."

Virgo nodded, loosening her chains as Kenpachi pulled his sword back to his side. "What the hell are you?" he asked with a wicked grin. If he could get a new kind of enemy to face, and with the knowledge that the little maid was able to stop his sword rattling around in his head, then maybe his fight with Ichigo could be postponed for a little bit. Maybe.

"My name is Virgo, Celestial spirit of the Maiden constellation," she replied flatly.

When Kenpachi laughed and moved to attack Virgo again, Ichigo shot forward and blocked his next attack with a scowl. "Kenpachi, seriously. I'm pretty sure you shouldn't just start attacking people outta the blue!"

"Well, she's an intruder," Kenpachi reasoned. "And if she tries breaking into the Seireitei, and we didn't stop her, then it's our asses."

"And if she's innocent, and really has no intention of hurting anyone, then-"

"Y'know, I'm right here!" Lucy shouted, her eyes narrowing as the two men and little girl turned to face her, looking for all the world as though they'd forgotten she really was there.

"Besides," Ichigo reasoned, "That maid called her a princess, so…"

"Sure as shit doesn't look like a princess," Kenpachi muttered, a heavy sigh passing his lips. "Fine, what are we doin' then?"

"Not a clue," Ichigo replied.

Lucy rolled her eyes and turned to Virgo, now that the threat of her being sliced in half had been taken care of - she hoped. "Virgo, my clothes kinda got, um… destroyed. Again."

"I see," Virgo nodded. "Would you like assistance in entertaining these men?" Virgo asked, her eyes glinting with mischief.

"No!" Lucy shrieked, tightening the overly large white jacket around her chest when Virgo reached forward to bare her breasts to everyone. "I need clothes!"

"Wow," Kenpachi muttered.

"Punishment, Princess?" Virgo asked with a deep bow, pulling a shihakusho out of nowhere and holding it up to the blonde.

"Where did that come from?" Yachiru whispered.

"I don't think we wanna know," Ichigo whispered back.

"Oh geez," Lucy sighed. "How do I even put this on?"

"Go on, Ichigo," Kenpachi laughed, roughly nudging the teen. "Why dontcha show her?" When Ichigo turned to glare at him, Kenpachi's laughter halted as he watched the maid start moving quickly around the blonde.

"Virgo! Stop! Oh good lord! What are you - OW! HEY! Don't put your hand there!"

Yachiru giggled as the blonde's shrieks grew in volume, then wrapped her arms around Kenpachi's head. "No looking, Ken-chan! You're not old enough to see that!"

"What the hell, Yachiru!" Kenpachi whirled one way, then another, uncharacteristically spinning in a circle while he tried to get the girl to let go. "Like hell am I not old enough!"

Lucy was left a panting mess by the time Virgo was finished, but she looked down to find herself dressed just like everyone else around her. Weird little sandals, white socks that had a split for the sandals between her toes, wide black pants, the works. Her top was parted enough to show a good portion of her cleavage, but that really didn't make a difference to her. She was actually more covered than she usually was. She could feel her keys tucked into one side of the strange wide tie around her waist that held her top closed and her pants up, somehow, and her whip on her opposite hip. Her hands strayed to her hair, and she smiled when she felt it all pulled to the back of her head and looped around two crossed chopsticks. "Thanks, Virgo. You're a lifesaver."

She bowed again, smirking when she heard the ginger-haired youth behind her collapse to the ground as her skirt rode up. "Of course, Princess. Do you need anything else?"

"Uh," Lucy shifted uncomfortably. "Not right now, I don't think. But, if you could let Grandpa Crux know I'll be calling him out soon, I'd really appreciate it."

"Of course. Horologium was rather concerned when he came back."

Lucy sighed and shook her head, pulling the maid spirit into a tender hug once she was upright again. "Let him know I'm sorry, okay?"

Virgo nodded, a minute smile tugging the corners of her lips up. "Yes, Princess. Be safe." With that, she closed her eyes and disappeared in a gentle shower of glittering gold, leaving the group staring at Lucy curiously.

"What the hell are you?" Kenpachi asked.

Lucy sighed and handed the huge man his white jacket. She didn't need it now that she was fully clothed again, after all. "I'm a mage," she said with a smile. "And that was one of my spirits."

Yachiru snorted, propping her elbow on Kenpachi's shoulder and resting her chin in her hand. "Spirits, huh?" When Lucy nodded, she giggled. "We're all kinda sorta spirits here, so… Does that mean you're gonna collect us?"

"Oh god," Ichigo sighed. "Just like Pokemon..."

"Uh, no?" Lucy said hesitantly. "I'm assuming you guys don't have keys to be used for summoning you, and you're not associated with constellations… Right?"

"Nope," Yachiru giggled. "Ken-chan's always losing keys."

"I don't need keys," Kenpachi grumbled. "Anyone dumb enough to try and break into my shit will be in for a world of pain."

"That's the truth," Ichigo muttered under his breath. He looked at Lucy for a long moment, then said, "You're a mage… As in…"

"I use magic," Lucy nodded.

"Well, whether you're here to fuck shit up," Kenpachi sighed, "Or you showed up by accident, I'm pretty sure there's gonna be all hell breaking loose."

"Well, it's not like I asked to be here," Lucy replied. "I just want to get home. My team's probably destroying everything trying to find me…"

"Ken-chan," Yachiru mused. "She looks just like a regular shinigami."

"Yeah, and?"

"So why don't we just take her back with us and pretend she's a new squad member until we figure out how to get her back to wherever she came from?"

Kenpachi paused and looked down at the blonde as her eyes widened, giving her an appraising once-over. She definitely did fit the part of a shinigami, but he couldn't really see anyone else in his squad fully believing that she was one of them. She didn't look like a fighter. Hell, Yachiru was the only female in the whole division simply because most women weren't really made for the kind of no-holds-barred fighting they did. "I don't know…"

"Well, it's either that, or she gets locked up in a cell," Ichigo muttered. After Aizen's fall, and after getting his shinigami powers back, he'd been given a pass of sorts for entering the Soul Society whenever he wished. He was still sort of under Yamamoto's orders, while having a little more leeway when it came time to get things done that the Gotei 13 couldn't due to red tape, but there were still rules. Especially concerning Ryoka. She'd be locked up until it was decided whether or not she was an ally.

"Ken-chan…"

Kenpachi looked from Yachiru's pleading eyes to Ichigo's contemplative expression, then down to the blonde again. "She doesn't even have a zanpakuto. No one will believe it."

"Zanpakuto?" Lucy asked curiously. "What's that?"

Ichigo switched back from his bankai - considering the fighting was obviously done for the time being - and lifted his sword to show the blonde. "A sword. Each one looks different based on the owner."

Lucy's lips pursed, then she reached for her Fleuve d'Etoiles. "Well, I've got a weapon, if that helps?"

Kenpachi's brow lifted as he looked down at the coiled whip. "Really? What's that gonna do?"

"It does quite a bit, thank you very much!"

"Prove it."

Lucy scowled up at him. She hated when people instantly cast her abilities aside, and that was twice in the span of ten minutes that this guy had done just that. If he was going to help her, then she was more than grateful for it, but did he really have to be such a dick about it all? If she needed to prove herself for him to see that she could at least pull off this little ruse, then she guessed it couldn't be helped. He was a captain, after all - that term was easily transferrable, no matter where they were from - which could only mean that she was going to be playing that part of a member of their military.

The whip unfurled, revealing an extended length of maroon leather and a heart-shaped bit of metal on the end. Kenpachi's arms crossed expectantly as she flicked the whip out to one side, a smirk forming when he noticed a sudden shift in her eyes. That was what a fighter looked like. She was wholly unassuming while just standing there, but now she looked like she was really ready to get serious. "Alright. It's a whip. What else?"

Lucy's jaw clenched and she channeled her magic down the length of her arm. "It's not just any whip," she said while the leather length rippled and coiled on the ground. "This was a gift from my spirits."

There was a sudden rush of power that hummed in the air as the whip transformed, a brilliant flow of celestial, gleaming water taking place of the cord with a strange orange-white light wrapping around its length. Kenpachi's smirk widened slightly. "Alright, it's a pretty whip. Can you even use-"

Lucy flicked her wrist, sending her whip sailing toward the huge man in front of her. When it was easily deflected with his sword, she mentally commanded it to wrap around from behind, knocking one of the bells in his hair into the air. With her free hand, Lucy caught it, holding the small bauble up and grinning at the suddenly stunned look on everyone's faces. "I'd say I know how to use it," she laughed.

Yachiru clapped, then hopped down to take the bell back from the blonde. Once it was properly placed back in Kenpachi's hair, she looked at the side of his face with a grin. "See, Ken-chan? It'll work."

Kenpachi chuckled quietly as Lucy put her whip away. "Guess we'll see about that. For now, you're a member of my squad. If anyone asks, you're shadowing Yachiru and you've been a part of the division for three months now."

"Why three months?" Lucy asked.

"Because the last time we got new members was three months ago. No one knows their names or faces yet, so it works out."

Ichigo frowned as they started walking back from the outer Rukon district. "Eleventh is filled with men. How would they not have noticed a blonde woman walking around?"

Kenpachi shrugged. "Not my problem. If anyone questions it, they can come to me." He grinned then as he looked down at the blonde, carefully eying her abundantly visible cleavage in his peripherals. "And that won't happen."

Lucy found herself smiling up at Kenpachi instead of taking in her surroundings. The sights and sounds and smells of the foreign forest they walked through fell by the wayside, and although she felt like she could breathe a little easier, the blonde knew that things would be anything but easy while she was in this new place. All she could hope was that she would be able to get back to her home, and her friends, before too long. The last thing she needed was for Fairy Tail to think she had died, after all.

Three days had gone by since Team Natsu returned from their mission, with the guild's Celestial mage missing and not a shred of proof she had been in the middle of the explosion that took down the building around them, except for her scent in the air, a pile of ashes, and a few scraps of the skirt she'd been wearing.

Nothing was the same at Fairy Tail. The guild was quiet, mourning the loss of their light, and their dear friend. Natsu took it the hardest of them all, feeling the sudden loss of the blonde all the more, because of just how similar it was to when Lisanna had left them. He was quiet now, alarmingly so, brooding even.

The rest of Team Natsu was at a loss for what to do, but Master Makarov knew that his children needed to accept their loss and remember Lucy for all the good she did in the world. Gray was in the infirmary, healing as best as he could after Wendy tended to his leg. Erza refused to touch her cake, and simply stared at the table in front of her.

What all of Fairy Tail needed to remember was that the dark mage they had faced was taken into custody, and he would never see the light of day again. Lucy's sacrifice hadn't been for nothing. It meant something, to each and every one of her friends and family. And it meant so much more to the people that would never be hurt by that man.

The funeral was happening in only a few short hours, and everyone was on their way to the train station to be at Lucy's grave, set just next to her parents' graves after they had been moved back to the Heartfilia Konzern, where they all belonged. There had been no question about where it should go. Just like there was no question of what would happen now that Lucy was no longer with them.

In a matter of three days, while everyone was wrought with grief, several major changes had occurred. The normally closed off Iron Slayer had spearheaded a project to raise money to make one of Lucy's dreams come true. To buy back the estate that she had once lived in. There were several million Jewels that needed to be collected, fifteen million to be exact, but once he'd stood before the guild and told everyone what he wanted to do, that it was for the blonde and it was something she'd told him she wanted to make happen since the Infinity Clock, everyone had pitched in.

Just that morning, Gajeel - who had taken Lucy in as his sister after the Grand Magic Games three years earlier, after the Eclipse Gate incident - went down to sign the rest of the paperwork and outright buy the once-great Heartfilia Konzern. In only three days, Fairy Tail - along with friends of theirs from other guilds - had raised more than enough money for the endeavor.

Once it was all said and done, and once the repairs were finished, a large portion of the Konzern would be turned into an orphanage in remembrance of the loving woman they had all been honored to know. Totomaru volunteered to become a live-in teacher for the children that were already waiting to move in. Juvia was going to teach the children to swim.

Gajeel, oddly enough, said he was done with everything and was only going to stay at the Konzern to make sure everything ran smoothly. He wasn't going to leave the guild, but when asked, the Iron Slayer said he simply couldn't be there with the memories he had of Lucy there. No one questioned whether he had deeper feelings for her than just the siblings they had seemed to be, because everyone already knew he only had eyes for one person. Only Lucy had known it was another Dragon Slayer, and one that he hardly ever saw.

Everything was moving so quickly, and it warmed Makarov's aged heart to see just how much Lucy had affected the lives of everyone around her. All he wished was that it was something she could be present to witness.

So, as Makarov stood at the head of Lucy's empty grave, looking out over the large crowd gathered, with tears in his eyes, he could only smile. Lucy had been with them only four short years. Eleven, if they counted the seven years she and the others lost on Tenrou Island. His heart was heavy, and he missed her bright smile and even brighter laughter, but it was all the good memories he had of the blonde that made him smile.

The sight of so many people standing there in front of the empty grave and her headstone, seeing them all come together to honor her and the many memories they all shared, brought a small sliver of joy into the day. His children, the children of other guilds, even Crime Sorciere dotting the crowd with tears in each of their eyes. It was more than he ever would have expected, and he realized then that it shouldn't have been a surprise.

"Friends and family," Makarov said after a shaky breath. He turned to the large collage of pictures containing Lucy from over the years as a few tears leaked down onto his cheeks. Everyone had donated a single picture. Countless moments of joy, of happier times, all centering around the blonde Celestial mage, stared back at Fairy Tail's guild master. As he turned back to the crowd, blotting his cheeks carefully, he took another slow breath. "Today, we remember a woman that touched all of our lives. We will never forget Lucy Heartfilia, and while it pains each of us that she is no longer here, it is the love she shared with us all that will always carry on in our hearts..."

Gajeel chewed his cheek as he glared at the ground, his arms crossed over his chest. He knew he needed to listen to the words that Master Makarov was saying about his sister, but he couldn't. Just the thought of her not being around anymore, of not getting the perfect hugs whenever he needed it, or feeling her hand slipping into his… It broke a part of him. He wasn't going to ever see her again, except for the few boxes of her belongings that had been moved into his house. They were supposed to finish moving everything after her mission, because her landlady had finally had enough of her team's destructiveness and Lucy being late on the rent. He wasn't supposed to be so alone.

"... I remember the day that Lucy first came to Fairy Tail…"

Gajeel was going to miss everything about Lucy, and he didn't have anyone to lean on anymore. It was why he was half-leaving the guild. She'd been his strength, the only one he was willing to admit that he was scared shitless to, and she'd never judged him. He'd tortured her so long ago, and she taught him what true strength was. And now, it was all gone. His eyes strayed to Pantherlily for a moment, to the sight of his Exceed sitting on a table with Shagotte and their two daughters. He'd moved on, had a family, and now… Now, Gajeel really was all alone.

"Luce was…" Natsu paused and sniffled quietly. "God, she was just amazing… I remember this one time..."

Gajeel closed his eyes instead of staring at his scuffed, steel-toed boots. Even his goddamn shoes reminded him of her. They had joked one day about what he should wear to her funeral - considering just how prone she was to getting into deep shit - and Lucy had told him that she didn't want him to dress up. If she was up in heaven, if it really existed, she wanted to look down at him and see the Iron Slayer just like he always was. The same tunic with metal embellishments, the headband, his weathered steel-toed boots, gloves. She didn't want anyone to pretend they were comfortable wearing a suit, because it would be a day that she was sure people would just want to be in some sweats. So, that was what he did. He dressed as though it was any other day, with the exception of the new earring in his left lobe of a little iron key, in honor of the blonde.

"... L-Lucy was like… a big sister to me," Wendy whimpered. "I-I never thought…"

A slow breath in, then out. That was all Gajeel could do to keep his own tears at bay. Sure, everyone in the crowd had been a huge ball of the salty shit, but Gajeel wasn't going to let himself do that where anyone but Pantherlily could see. Later, once everyone had gone home, he was simply going to finally allow himself to curl up in a ball and cry his damn eyes out. Not then. He hadn't done it since finding out about her death, because there was shit that needed to get handled. He was going to be useless once he started, so the longer he put it off, the better.

"I'm glad that Lucy was able to forgive me for what I've done," Flare said quietly.

"Blondie was a damn angel for forgiving us," Laxus sighed.

"I'm gonna miss Cosplayer," Bickslow sniffled. "Especially her hugs."

"I never knew what strength was until I met her," Minerva whispered, her voice quivering.

"I was once a Wizard Saint," Jellal said. "But the true saint in our lives was Lucy. She forgave so easily. Not just people who were once her enemies, but… People who committed crime after crime, who never deserved her forgiveness…"

Gajeel's lips trembled before he bit down on them. No way in hell was he going to cry. He couldn't. He knew people would want him to get up in the front and say something, especially since he'd been so put together for the past few days - at least, he had on the outside. Inside, he felt dead. Completely cold.

Unfamiliar fingers brushed over the piercings in his forearms, but all he could feel was Lucy's fingers. A warm, calloused palm ran lightly over his flesh, and he felt Lucy's hand. A tender squeeze, and he finally forced his eyes to open. To see just who it was that had brought back so many reminders of the blonde with such a simple action - something that no one had known she did. Deeply tanned fingers filled his teary vision, and Gajeel slowly lifted his gaze until he was looking into a single indigo eye.

"You really think she wouldn't have wanted you to let it out?" Cobra whispered.

"I-"

"Don't tell me you can't. You fucking can. And you know damn well she wouldn't want you like this." He forced Gajeel's arms down to his sides, then took a slow step closer to the man he hardly knew anything about. One that he already knew had feelings for him. Even though he'd been trying to ignore the Iron Slayer's pull, hearing just what was going through his head from the other side of the gathered mourners had been too much for him to bear.

"Wh-What…"

Cobra smirked and closed the distance between them, pressing his chest to the larger Slayer's. It was one thing he'd never allowed himself to do. To be closer to the one he really wanted to be with. As his forehead rested on Gajeel's shoulder, he sighed and wrapped his arms around Gajeel's waist. Not a moment later, muscled arms wound around him, pulling the Poison Slayer closer. "There ya go," he whispered, a sad smile on his face as the first quiet whimper sounded in Gajeel's chest. Lucy hadn't known about Cobra's feelings for Gajeel before, but she did confide in the Poison Slayer that she hoped Gajeel would one day get the courage to tell the one he wanted to be with, how he felt. "I've gotcha, Gajeel…"

Except, Gajeel hadn't needed to say a thing. Cobra knew. Any time he was at the guild, visiting with Crime Sorciere and trying to avoid everyone, except for the blonde Celestial mage, he'd been able to hear Gajeel. The longing, the fight to keep himself at a distance because he was too scared to get turned down. While Cobra had no problem admitting that he was attracted to the man, it was also a point of pride that he wouldn't be the one to approach Gajeel. He wanted to be chased, but now… Now, it didn't matter. He couldn't just stand by and let the Iron Slayer suffer like this.

Several sets of surprised eyes turned sharply to Gajeel and Cobra, those closest around them sucking in a sharp breath of surprise once they saw the tender embrace between the two Slayers. And just how intensely Gajeel's shoulders shuddered while he finally broke down. The fact that Gajeel was finally crying really wasn't much of a surprise, because they all knew it would happen eventually. It was more that no one had thought he would allow himself to break down like this in public, and especially not with Cobra anywhere near him.

'Is this what I really think it is?' Suddenly, Gajeel pulled back, looking down at Cobra for only a moment, then smiling at the short nod he was given. He made his way to the podium just as Yukino stepped down, then turned to face everyone. Not caring in the slightest that he was showing everyone just how weak he really was. It took a moment to compose himself enough to speak, but when he finally did, Gajeel simply kept his gaze on the sky. On the clouds that started parting, letting only a few slivers of sunlight shine down on the earth.

It felt like she was really there. Right there with him. And that was what he'd needed this whole time. "Bunny was… my sister," he began slowly. "Even after everything we went through, she was always right there. I miss her so fuckin' much. I-I don't even… I don't even know what to say up here. But…" Gajeel paused and sniffled, a sad chuckle leaving him. "I guess I can tell a story that no one knows about. How I gave her the nickname… Ya see, I walked her home one night a little bit after joining the guild, and… She forgave me right then. I ended up going inside, and we had hot cocoa and ate tons of fuckin' marshmallows. She beat me playing Chubby Bunny. Then the damn psycho laughed at me when I started choking…"

Everyone let out a quiet laugh.

Gajeel's smile widened a fraction as he looks down to his boots. "After that night, she was Bunny Girl. Then Bunny. She'll always be my Bunny, my baby sister. Not a damn thing is gonna change that. All I can hope is that… Wherever she ended up… I hope she's happy." He looked up to the sky again, tears steadily streaming down his cheeks. "I-I love ya, Bunny. We all do."

As one, everyone present raised their hands into the air with one finger extended. No matter their guild, they all sent the blonde their prayers and love in the form of the infamous Fairy Tail sign. In that moment, they were all Fairies. Lucy had brought them all together, made each of them family. And they would never forget that.

And there's the end of chapter one! I hope you guys liked it so far. Honestly, it was so weird trying to write for Kenpachi, but I think I found my niche in making Yachiru the comic relief. If anyone in Bleach seems out of character, please let me know. I've never written for it, so I'm still finding my groove where those characters are concerned.

I'm sure some of you were just indifferent toward the final scene, considering it focused on Fairy Tail and all that. And yeah, Gajeel and Cobra happened - I really can't help it sometimes - but honestly, that was for building some more of the world this is all set in. Fairy Tail won't be making another appearance for quite some time, so you don't need to worry about much more coming from that without a good reason.

So, tell me what you all thought! Love it, hated it?

Also, for those of you that are wondering what the dark mage in the beginning of the story said, here's the translation. The original language is Old English (as in Anglo-Saxons' English, not Shakespeare...); although, it's a shoddy cut and paste version using my own limited beginner knowledge of the language.

"Morþorwyrhta, forðgān!" (One who causes death, go forth!)

"Dōmdæġ Unġeendodlīċe! Seġniende intō dēaþes." (Doomsday Eternal. Cross into death.)

So, Review, Follow, Favorite! I love you, guys!

~~GemNika