A/N: Now, this chapter was a long time coming, mainly because I have school to deal with these days. I want to actually get this closer to done as much as possible, that's for sure, but that's likely not to happen just yet. Ugh… well, apart from the delay on this chapter's writing and uploading, I've been busy in life with stuff other than school. My job also takes precedence in times like this. Please understand that about my life.

No, I'm not gonna give this story up, not by a long shot. Just keep in mind that I've been busy lately. With that said, I'll be working on this more, to give everyone a fair idea what I'm planning for this whole story.

Oh, right, there's supposed to be red text within this chapter… that can't be loaded on FFN for some odd reason. Those of you who read this off of FFN will know that the red text is pretty important. Just a heads up for everyone here.

Okay, on with the story, then. The review corner is in the bottom of the chapter like usual, everyone. Now… The Wheel Of Fate Is Turning. Rebel 1, Action!

Day of Bleach
by Xamusel

Chapter 3: A Museum of Death?

It was two days since Sakurai Kei became part of the Kurosaki family household (and since I made a fool of myself when meeting her for the first time… ouch). Among other things, I learned that she was taking lessons in how to defend herself with a weapon of her own design, namely her Relic from the canonical timeline of Dies Irae. Of course, before she can use her Relic, she needs to know how to hold a sword like a bokken without injuring herself.

Now, I was getting ready for the day as a Preschool student, and I was prepared to bring Ren into the realm of the living in her own body… though there was something I might have been forgetting. Something about a joint field trip? I hope I can remember what it was all about.

"Ichigo, Kei-chan, it's time for breakfast," Masaki-kaa-san called from downstairs. "After breakfast, it'll be time to head to Preschool for the joint field trip to the museum in Namimori."

I gulped audibly at that. Wasn't that where Ren was supposed to go to earlier? For that matter, will Dying Will Flames even take a part in this life? It's gotten hectic enough with just Reishi, Reiryouku, Reiatsu and whatever powers the Die Ewigkeit ability, so to add in Dying Will Flames of all things, as much as I love a good multicrossover? This is not one of those times when it'd be sensible. Still, with nothing else I can do about the matter, I hoofed it over to getting out of the house sooner than later.

As I reached the breakfast table, I saw that Isshin-tou-san was reading the newspaper at his seat, before I decided to figure out what he was reading in the news. "Daddy, what's going on in the news today?" I asked him.

Isshin-tou-san looked in my direction briefly before he said, "Well, son, it seems that there's a flu epidemic going on around the country. I want you to stay safe, obviously, but I can't administer the vaccine on you myself." He handed me a portion of the newspaper that he was already done with, so it seemed. "Here, you can see for yourself what I mean."

Taking the portion of the newspaper that I was offered, I looked for the article in question, before I saw that it was a headline in the front page. "Okay, I'm seeing it," I said. As I read the whole thing, I realized that a lot of people were getting ridiculously sick from the Flu Virus… which made me wonder what was really going on, anyway. "Daddy, what's really going on here?" I asked.

Isshin-tou-san chuckled as he heard that. "So, you noticed, did you?" he asked me. "Good, that'll make things easier to explain for you, then." He coughed into his right hand before he continued, "It's a case of immense poison that's being spread around, though nobody knows where that poison's coming from. It's likely a supernatural cause, but from what, we don't know yet."

I sighed in annoyance when I heard that. It seemed likely that Tubal Cain II, AKA Sakurai Rei, was causing trouble for the whole country. I hope I'm wrong about how Tubal Cain's formed here…

"Aww…" Masaki-kaa-san cooed at the two of us, which seemed really strange to me at first. "The two men of the house are sharing a newspaper to read together. Cute!"

I facepalmed. "Momma…" I groaned.

Eventually, the time came for the Preschool class to head to Namimori by bus. In that time, I had managed to figure out when to get Ren outside of my soulscape. I was going to do it shortly after I got back from Namimori, which would mean about 1530 that afternoon. It was a good thing, too, because I really wanted to make sure that she had her own body as soon as possible. As for the where of the mission…? I didn't know entirely the answer to that. I mean, there had to be an alleyway somewhere, right?

Anyway, the point of this was, I needed to get out of Preschool at the right time and be home in time to give Ren her own body. Nothing else would suffice for this whatsoever.

Now, with that settled, I was on the bus to see this museum exhibit that everyone voted on when I thought I was being watched by something or someone. I looked around to see who was watching me, before I gave a sigh of despondency when I didn't see anyone… until I realized that this someone was probably behind me. Then I paled in horror as I looked backwards, seeing that I was seated in the back of the bus, at the direct middle of the row. I saw a white snake floating in the sky, and not just any white snake, but a snake with no tail and two heads! I barely contained the scream of horror when I saw the Mercurial Snake in the sky… although, when I blinked next, he vanished.

…suddenly, I'm not looking forward to this field trip. Is the Bois de Justice going to show up at this exhibit any time soon?

…it's official. This exhibit is beginning to look like the one from 2006, over in Suwahara City in the canonical Dies Irae. This is proving to be the most ridiculous thing I've seen so far. It would be better if we'd chosen a different museum at this point.

Still, why do I have the distinct feeling that I've seen this whole thing somewhere before? I don't remember being in Namimori before now, so what gives?

…damn my incomplete knowledge of Dies Irae. Why did I have to be inserted into a fusion of Bleach and Dies Irae?

Still, no help for it, not right now. I needed to figure out why I was here in the Swords of the World exhibition of all things… oh, wait, that's because my classmates and I were being idiots about it. Ugh…

"Excuse me," a little girl about my age spoke up next to me, causing me to look in her direction… well, her and her friend's direction, at least. She had a separate little girl hanging out with her at the time. "Are you from Karakura Town?" At my nod, she continued, "Ah, that's good. My name's Ayase Kasumi, and this is Sawada Setsuna."

If a vinyl record was playing right then, I'm sure a scratch track would've been more than appropriate. Uh-oh…

"We were wondering…" Kasumi continued, unaware of my thoughts, "We were wondering if you would be willing to play with us after this exhibit's done showing us kids around?"

It took me a bit to realize what was going on. "You're bored, aren't you?" I asked for clarification. Upon seeing the two of them nod, I sighed and drooped my head momentarily. "Okay, we'll play together—" I was almost drowned out by the imminent cheering the two had to give, so I held my hand up to stop them. "—on the condition that we pay attention to what's being said here. After all, who knows when this stuff will be important later?"

With that, the two of them nodded in understanding, from what I could tell. Well, can't be picky about this, can I?

"Okay, let's explore the exhibition, then," Setsuna said. "I'll help us stay out of trouble with my trusty intuition, which has yet to give me bad advice."

…ugh. Is this rendition of the universe trying to give me a migraine?

Well, with nothing else for us to do, we started exploring the area. It wasn't as if I was unaware of what things were, though, since I felt the ever-growing sense of déjà vu all over again when coming into the area. However… I was hopeful that something new would show up here.

…be careful what you wish for, and all that, right? Good grief.

About half an hour after the three of us met for the first time, I was getting ready to use the toilet, especially since I hadn't used it since leaving for Preschool… ugh. "Sorry, girls, I need to toilet," I told the two of them. "I hope you don't mind me doing that." With a shake of their heads, I saw the confirmation that I needed to go toilet.

A few seconds later, I went to the toilet, though my Preschool teacher insisted on escorting me to the restroom. When I reached the restroom, I hurried to a urinal and unzipped my pants, taking care of all that I needed to do there. It wasn't often that I had to go that bad….

Eventually, I was on my way to meeting with Kasumi and Setsuna, so that the three of us could finish exploring the exhibits properly. Nothing was going to ruin the mood proper for this, so—

"Ichigo-san!" Setsuna cried out when she saw me again. "Do you know where Kasumi-chan went?"

—open mouth, insert foot once again.

"I don't, no," I told Setsuna with a shake of my head. "However, I'll find her, I promise you that."

A few seconds later, I was about to pass a hallway that seemed to be closed from the general public when—

Come and find my gift to thee, you who house Zarathustra.

—!

I spun fast enough to look at the hallway in question, looking for whoever said that to me, before I did something that no sane person would ever consider doing in my shoes. I walked right into the hallway. Granted, I still had my Asauchi on hand for if something was beyond my skill level without it, but still….

Walking into the room at the end of the hallway, I gulped when I saw the Bois de Justice itself in the flesh, its sheer size enough to give me goosebumps. Ugh… this doesn't bode well. I wasn't sure what I was going to get out of this, but I figured I would be better off bolting as soon as possible, so—

"Please… me…"

—I stiffened in shock. Who the hell said—

"Time is… out fast…"

—okay, I had no idea who was talking, but it wouldn't do anyone any good for me to ignore this. "What's wrong?" I asked. "How can I help you out?"

Suddenly, the spirit of Marie floated out of the Bois de Justice, leaving me to look like a fish out of water. "You can see me, can you not?" she asked me. "Please, help me retrieve a child your age from slavery. Time is running out for saving her… please, you must hurry to stop the slaver from enslaving her."

I nodded when I heard that, before I told her, "I'll do it. I just need to know where to find her."

Marie nodded, before pointing at a doorway that was to the left of the Bois de Justice itself… hold on. That wasn't there before! "Enter through there…" she told me, before the guillotine blade started to glow white. "I will grant thee my power to save this child."

Blinking in surprise, I saw that the blade began fusing into me, allowing me to use the basic abilities of Die Ewigkeit as devised by Mercurius… Assiah. Of course, I needed to develop Yetzirah at my own rate, unless something really stupid were to happen.

As far as what Assiah was supposed to do, it was supposed to be a basic implementation of a Holy Relic, namely the slicing power of the Bois de Justice… oddly enough, I didn't have any idea what I was supposed to do with this power, other than save Ayase Kasumi from whoever was going to enslave her. This just proved to be utterly ridiculous.

"Hurry, young one," Marie told me. "Time is running out."

With a nod, I rushed over to the door and opened it, lea—

"Where are you going, Ichigo-kun?"

—I turned to face the person who spoke to me, who turned out to be Kei. "I'm going to rescue a native of Namimori," I told her. "You want in?"

Kei looked at me as if I had grown a second head, before she sighed a few moments later. "I guess you can't fight your name, can you, Ikki?" she asked me. "I'll help you out, Number One Guardian, though you owe me ice cream after this."

…Ikki? That's a new one. "Okay, then," I nodded as we prepared to go through the door. "Ladies first, and all that."

With that, we rushed into the doorway, leaving it open for our escape route. It wouldn't do to be stranded on the other side, now, would it?

…how stupid of us.

When we reached the other side of the mysterious passageway that we went down to get there, we were quick to find a way to keep the door open as long as possible, namely with a door jammer that was left for us. Naturally, with us being kids, we did our absolute best to prevent anyone from undoing the jammer as much as possible. It seemed like a good idea, honestly, and it was one we needed to apply for our safe return.

"Alright," I said, taking stock of the situation. "We're in a hallway with white walls, burgundy carpets, and a white ceiling… why does the architecture fill me with dread?"

"I'm not sure, Ikki," Kei told me. "However, we need to hurry up, as who knows what sort of creeps are here—"

A man clearing his throat caught our attention. "Are you kids lost?" he asked, prompting us to look at him. White clothes that looked like a Nazi uniform… uh-oh. I looked up to see his face. Green eyes, piercings on his ears in opposing corners, and a red mohawk? Oh shit… Bazzard Black?! "I hope you are… this place is rather spooky for those of you who wander too far in without guidance."

Before I could say anything to diffuse the situation, Kei said to him, "We're looking for someone, mister…?"

"Oh, right, not that many children know me here in Silbern," Bazzard Black said. "I'm Bazz-B, commonly known as Sternritter H, The Heat. What about you?"

Yep… we're doomed. Didn't think Yhwach was going to kidnap Ayase Kasumi, or at least order it while he was still in his coma… wait, what?!

"I'm Sakurai Kei, and my friend here is Ku—"

"Minami Itsuki," I said, making up an alias right off the bat. After all, it wasn't like they could detect me having Zangetsu within my soulscape, could they? I also wasn't able to use the Quincy powers of Masaki-kaa-san, anyway, so there's that…

Bazz-B looked at the two of us with a bit of surprise, before he asked, "How did you get into Silbern? I mean, you two are still supposed to be in the world of the living, right?"

I jerked my thumb to the doorway. "Does that answer your question, sir?" I asked in return.

Bazz-B looked at the doorway. "Strange…" he said. "How did that doorway show up?" With a shrug, he said, "Well, at least you're able to go home after looking for who you need to. Who are you looking for?"

"A girl from Namimori named Ayase Kasumi," I told him. "Her friend lost track of her earlier today."

Bazz-B put a hand to his chin for a few seconds. "I need a physical description of her, kids," he said. "I might have seen her earlier, but I don't know for sure."

"Well, she's yay tall," I said, gesturing my hand to be a few centimeters below my height currently, "has auburn hair, blue eyes, and is wearing a green and blue striped dress. Have you seen her?"

"Actually, yes, I have," Bazz-B said. "I was talking with Jugo earlier when we both saw a Soldat leading her over to an unused bedroom. I wonder why she was even here?" After a bit, he said, "Look, kids, I can imagine you need to return her home as soon as possible, but could you please stay the night here? I don't have it in me to send you packing when you came here to rescue someone, but I also know that it'll be late by the time you get home now, anyway."

Kei and I looked at each other for a few seconds. We nodded to each other. I turned to Bazz-B. "We'll do it," I answered.

Bazz-B sighed in relief when he heard that. "Good," he answered. "I won't force you to undergo the training required to stay here, though that might be a problem for the others when they hear about this."

I nodded. "Okay, mister," I said. "We'll be sure to help keep this secret."

"Thanks, kids," Bazz-B said. He then turned to face the direction right of the doorway. "Follow me." He then proceeded to head down the hallway.

Kei and I looked at each other for a bit, before she asked me, "Minami Itsuki?"

"I needed an alias."

Eventually, the two of us made it to a bedroom with two beds, though they were bunkbeds at that. I was especially glad that we had bunkbeds for our use here, because it'd be especially awkward for us at our age to see each other naked. After all, kids our age were not supposed to be… well… that'd be TMI, I suppose.

"Okay, kids," Bazz-B said to us. "Here's your temporary room. Be sure to choose who gets to sleep where, alright?" At our nods, he left us to see what was inside the bedroom, which we needed to do with the door closed.

When we closed the door behind us, Kei asked me, "Where did the alias come from? I don't recall any fictional names along those lines."

…well, at least I know that Air Gear wasn't created at this point in time. Now, how do I tell her about that manga?

"Ikki?"

Okay, no time like the present. "I'm unsure if you know of the existence of the multiverse," I said.

"Oh, I'm aware of the multiverse theory," Kei told me. "I have to be in order to do my duties later on." She then gave me a serious look. "Are you saying that you're not from around here?"

I sighed deeply. "My body's from around here, but my soul is not," I told her. "It's a rather hard concept to wrap my head around, I'll say that outright, but—"

"It doesn't matter," Kei said. "You'll still be Ikki to me, regardless."

I sighed in relief when I heard that. "Thanks, Kei-chan," I said, bowing to her in the Japanese style.

"Wh-what are you doing, Ikki?!" Kei cried out. "You're acting really weird right now, you know that?"

I undid the bow at that point, placing my right hand at the back of my neck. "Sorry about that," I said, scratching the back of my neck. "I'm unused to this sort of dialogue, y'know?"

Kei nodded in understanding. "So… your alias?" she asked me.

I removed my hand from the back of my neck. "It's from a manga and anime series that might not even be out yet called Air Gear. I only know of it because it came out where I originate from while I was still in my old body."

Kei nodded at that. "Okay, I see," she said. "So, how old would you be in the year 1994 back in your home?"

"I would've turned 3 on the 22nd of October," I told her. "However, given that my fifth birthday is listed as July 15th, I guess that would make things especially difficult to accept."

Wait, come to think of it, why didn't I join a dojo yet? I know it's important for me to meet Arisawa Tatsuki… or is it? I dunno… I guess I'll have to ask mama and daddy to sign me up for training later.

"I see…" Kei said. "Well, here's hoping we can rescue the poor normal girl who has been taken from her friend."

I could only nod in agreement at what Kei said… before it hit me. "Ugh…" I groaned with a facepalm. "How are we supposed to find Kasumi-san before she gets turned into a Quincy, and before our legal guardians try storming the place to track us down?"

Kei blinked a few times in what just had to be a cute way for someone like me. "Uh…" she drawled on me… and I thought the Japanese didn't drawl like that! "Well, here's hoping that the Quincy don't do anything stupid…" She then gained a serious glint. "Wait, how do you know what they're called?"

"Remember my explanation about where the alias Minami Itsuki came from?" I asked Kei.

"Yeah, but—" she then gained a thoughtful pose to go with her serious glint. "Okay, point."

I nodded when she acquiesced the point. "Yeah, I thought you'd understand," I said. "In any case, you want to take the top bunk, or do you want me to take it?"

Kei stopped her thinking pose at that point. "I'll take the top bunk, Ikki," she said. "Now, let's get to sleep…" she gave off a mighty yawn. "Before we go to bed, though, we need sleepwear."

"Yeah, we do need sleepwear," I admitted. "However, I do wonder how we'll get temporary sleepwear here when we're not supposed to be in Silbern to begin with. Do you have any clues, Kei-chan?"

A few seconds passed, before I saw that Kei was blushing rather heavily. However, when she was about to open her mouth to speak, there was a knock at the door.

"I know you're there, kids," a male voice said from the other side of the door. "Bazz-B told me where to find you. Are you still decent?"

I walked over to the door, opened it slightly enough for him to see my left eye, and asked, "What would happen either way?"

"If you think I'm not in on your rescue operation, you're mistaken," the man said. "Bazz-B wanted to make sure that nothing went wrong with you two… especially since you'll be staying the night here for tonight. The sleepwear you want is in the closet at the other side of the bunk bed, with the male sleepwear on the left. Make sure you sleep with your normal clothes under your sheets, so that you can keep them clean when you get home." With that, the man walked away from the door, only to pause when he seemed to have thought of something. "Oh, right, my name is Jugram Haschwalth," he said, turning to face the door once again. "Please remember that." With that, he walked away, for real now.

…what the heck was that all about?

A/N: FINISH!

…what, indeed. I don't think anyone could say that they saw that coming, right?

Still, I am a bit on a time crunch with regards to my classwork right now. I want to make sure that I have the homework all done by the end of the quarter. Therefore, I might end up going AWOL for a bit of time to focus on schoolwork.

On that note, I have some news for everyone. For those of you who may or may not know, I'm a multicrossover fan in my own right. However, due to circumstances outside of my control, I tend to make things even more chaotic than they should be with my own multicrossovers. Now, what does that mean for this story? It means that I'm preparing this to be a multicrossover story… with a lot of deliberation about the whole thing.

With that said—

…

…

…oops. I forgot to say this sooner. I actually have a page for those of you who wish to support me in that way. I am not going to go out of my way to force any of you to be my Patron, though help is always appreciated, to be sure.

*ahem* Now, let's get back on track here, shall we? On to answering reviews.

Well, this is definitely getting interesting in the Chinese sense.

Please be aware that I'm only knowledgeable on the Bleach side of things. I won't be able to give feedback on the other side of the crossover.

Also, I'm going to switch to my normal review habits now - as in, I will only review if I find something I personally find the need to comment on. ~Takeshi Yamato

Okay, that's a good point, man. I understand what you mean, too, since we know each other pretty well. I apologize for trying to get you to review more than you should.

Good chapter ~edboy4926

Thanks for the support… and I wish I could update a lot sooner than this at times.

Now, I'd better get back to writing for my English class… ugh. I feel like a dolt, too. I have a lot on my plate as it is already, and I'm adding more and more to the plate without proper procedure to give me a reprieve? Ugh… this is just stupid of me.

Until we meet again… farewell.
~Xamusel

PS: For those of you familiar with the Masada-verse as a whole, please try to guess who the first interlude is about. I will give you a digital cookie for the first correct guess on the subject.

PPS: Yes, the interlude is the next chapter to be written, to be sure. Please keep in mind that I'll be busy with other stuff for a while, sadly… but I'm planning on getting my stuff together for this to work.