Karakura Group – Ichigo Kurosaki – 7:06 AM, July 16

Ichigo Kurosaki woke with a start, head pounding. He was in a small, cramped room that obviously was not his bedroom , and finding shortly that he wasn't alone. Five of his classmates were sprawled in various parts of the tiny room.

Uryu Ishida was leaned against the wall sleeping soundly, glasses missing and in what Ichigo took to be some sort of pajamas that had strange blue crosses on them. Not far Chad, one of Ichigo's closest friends for a while, was in the middle of the floor, taking up most of the space and snoring lightly. Orihime Inoue and Tatsuki Arisawa were both sleeping on the only piece of furniture in the room, being a small couch. Mizuiro Kojima was the one awake besides Ichigo, and he was leaning against the wall, with his knees pulled to his chest, playing with his phone.

"Mizuiro?"

The small, dark-haired teen looked up. "Oh, Ichigo. I was wondering when you'd wake up," he said, shutting his phone with a snap and standing up. "Do you have any idea where we are? And why we don't have any service?"

Ichigo shook his head. Some people never changed. Ichigo wondered if they should wake the others? He didn't want to be the one that woke up Tatsuki that was for sure, but they needed to figure out where they were, and what was going on. Preferably sooner than later, and waking everyone up would be the best way to accomplish that. "I'm going to-"

"Wake them up? Yeah, I was thinking of doing the same thing. I'll wake up the girls, you try Uryu and Chad." Mizuiro crept over to the couch, stepping over Chad's arm. He shook Orihime awake first, and then moved on to Tatsuki.

"I wouldn't-" Ichigo's protest fell on deaf ears.

Mizuiro was on the ground in mere seconds, Tatsuki kneeling on his chest. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked, glaring at Mizuiro. Ichigo blinked and then leaving them to figure it out, moved to wake up Chad and Uryuu.

It took a bit of work to wake up Chad, but eventually, they were all awake. A loud crackling, like a microphone just being plugged into the speakers (though it came from no where in particular) was heard. "This thing on?" a male's voice muttered. Orihime looked around wildly, searching in vain for the source of the sound.

"Yes, it's on," another voice, this one female, said. "They can hear us. Stop wasting out time and get to explaining everything."

"Shall I explain it?" Another male's voice, this one a good deal deeper than the first's, asked.

"Yeah, go for it."

"Welcome to The Game," the third voice said. "I am Sosuke Aizen, sponsor of the Hueco Mundo Group. With me are Kisuke Urahara, sponsor of Karakura Group, Yoruichi Shihoin, sponsor of Rukongai Group, and Soi Fon, sponsor of the Seireitei Group. Outside of the cramped quarters you are currently inhabiting, you will find six backpacks. Each of these will contain your uniform, your weapon, and, for the young man in Karakura, your glasses. Kisuke, would your group like to go first?"

"Okay!" the first voice, now identified as Kisuke Urahara, said. "Karakura group, step out of your room! And we can see you, as well as hear you, so we know what you're doing at all times," he added as if it were not important in the least.

Tatsuki released Mizuiro and was the first one to head for the door. Orihime and Ichigo followed, then Chad and Uryu. Mizuiro brought up the rear, rubbing his ribs.

Just as the mysterious Aizen had said, outside the room were six backpacks. Leaned against two of the backpacks were long packages. "Okay, so now what?" Ichigo yelled.

A low chuckle was heard. "You don't have to yell, we can hear you. Anyway, first up, Ichigo Kurosaki! Please open up the package leaning against the backpack farthest to the right!"

Ichigo ripped open the wrapped weaponry. Inside was a long, black katana. "You're giving Ichigo a sword?" Tatsuki muttered. "Somehow that doesn't strike me as a good idea."

"Next! Mr. Uryu Ishida, please open up the package next to the second backpack." Uryu walked quietly towards Ichigo stumbling a few times. Orihime rushed ahead of him and pulled his glasses out of the side of his backpack.

"Here," she said, handing the eye-wear to him. The teenager nodded a thanks, and slowly opened the package.

Inside was a longbow and a quiver full of arrows. Uryu took it in stride, sitting cross-legged on the floor, inspecting them. "How would you know to give me a bow? I've taken archery lessons for years," he said, raising his voice so he could be heard.

Urahara ignored him, instead moving on. "Yasutora Sado, also known as Chad! You generally wouldn't get a weapon, but, to be fair, you've got some brass knuckles. Tatsuki, you've got some bandage wraps, just so you can wrap your wrist when you injure it. Now, Mizuiro..."

Mizuiro stared at the backpack in front of him, unzipping the side slowly. Out fell a small pair of silver headphones.

"You were a special case, so I spent a few days creating these. They're not headphones. Look at them closer. They're actually a pair of blades, one on each end of the wire. Now, get dressed in your uniforms. Yoruichi, over to you."

Rukongai Group – Hanataro Yamada – 7:26 AM, July 16

Hanataro glanced around at the others. They'd already put on their "uniforms", as Mr. Urahara had called them, while the Karakura Group was given their weapons.

The uniforms were weird, to say the least. They were puffy, and black. Comfortable, but kind of loose. Pajama-like.

He was one of the two boys in his group. The other male was his best friend, Rin. The other four were rather, well, to put it delicately, attractive females. First was Isane Kotetsu, his science partner and her sister, Kiyone. Nemu Kurotsuchi, who was in his math class, then Rukia Kuchiki, the girl he'd had a crush on for quite a long time.

She didn't know he existed, but, hey! Maybe this would change that. The female voice that had spoken before took over. "Hello Rukongai Group! I'm Yoruichi, your sponsor," she said. "We're going to go through the same procedure as the last group did. I've elected to give all of you weapons, however. You've already taken a peek into the backpacks, as I see you've got your uniforms on, but thank you for not touching your weapons. It's more fun this way."

Kiyone rolled her eyes. If Yoruichi was able to see the small movement, she took no notice of it. "First, Hanataro Yamada."

"Me?" Hanataro squeaked, completely taken off guard. Sure, she'd said they'd all get weapons. But...somehow he didn't think that it would apply to him. He'd never held a weapon in his life.

"Yes, you. When you were figuring out whose uniforms were whose, did you keep track of which backpack it came in?"

"I did," Nemu said. "Hanataro, yours is the one over there, by Rin."

"Thanks," Hanataro said, scurrying over to the backpack.

"Hanataro, you've got a first-aid kit and a katana. Isane?"

The silver-haired girl looked to Nemu for help. She pointed to the bag at Isane's feet. "Oops," Isane said, unwrapping the package leaning beside it. Fortunately, they'd had the good sense to keep everything that was with the backpacks with the backpacks.

"You've got a first-aid kit as well as your rather...unique blade." The blade looked, to say the least weird. It would have been normal, except for the two extra blades protruding from the hilt. Next was Kiyone. She, like Hanataro, had a simple katana. Nemu's was also like this.

"Rukia! How are you doing?" Yoruichi asked. Rukia blinked.

"Good?" she said, a bit freaked out. Hanataro understood. He'd be a bit freaked out, too.

"You've got a pretty one. Go on, open it!" Rukia had apparently kept track of where her backpack had ended up, because she bounded towards it right away. She ripped away the paper, revealing a pure white blade with a ribbon dangling off the end of the hilt.

"Ooh..." Isane and Kiyone said appreciatively. Rukia stared at it, an expression of awe on her face. Yoruichi laughed over the "loudspeaker"? (How was there a loudspeaker, when they were outside? Were they outside?)

"Rin, you've got a normal one, too. Soi Fon, it's your turn!"

Seireitei Group – Izuru Kira – 7:38 AM, July 16

"Seireitei Group...well...I see you found your uniforms..." Soi Fon trailed off. Izuru scratched the ground with his foot, stirring up the dirt. Shuhei stood near him, eyeing without any real attempt at discretion Rangiku. Being Rangiku, she hadn't left when they were all changing, instead, she just turned her back and expected them to do the same. Izuru had. He wasn't so sure about the others, though. Yumichika probably was too busy with marveling at his own beauty to care, and it was difficult to take a stab at the narcissist's sexuality in the first place, unless he has a twin somewhere.

Some things you just shouldn't think about.

"I see that, like the others, you haven't opened up your weaponry yet. We'll start with, um, Kira?" Izuru carefully opened up the package at his feet. A hook-like, sword, thing, whatever, was what he was met with. After running his fingers over it, he deduced that the inside was the sharp part. How more of an unusable weapon could you get?

"Next, Ayasegawa."

She'd gotten a hold of herself now, and seemed to give orders with a snappiness that wasn't there before. Yumichika stripped his weapon of the wrappings immediately, looking curiously at the sickle-shaped blade. "Push the button," Soi Fon instructed. He pouted at being ordered around by an ugly, bossy voice, but obeyed, pushing the button found on the hilt. Immediately, it sprang into four blades. A gasp of admiration emitted from his mouth.

"These are pretty creative," Kaien muttered to Renji. The red-headed teen nodded.

"Hisagi!" Izuru's friend's weapon was larger than most of the others, with the exception of Kaien's, and he dove into it enthusiastically, actually tearing his eyes away from Rangiku. When he saw his weapon, he actually looked a bit insulted.

It was a, well, pinwheel sort of thing. Two scythes, one inverted, the other pointing outward, were positioned on the end of a chain. Looking closer at the weapon, Izuru noticed that there was another set on the other end of the chain. It could be useful, Izuru observed, if he was good enough.

"I think you guys can figure out the rest for yourself," then Soi Fon said after a small pause, "probably."

"Soi Fon, it's not fun if they do it for themselves!" Yoruichi complained.

"Okay. We'll keep doing it as we have been," Soi Fon changed her mind immediately, getting a snicker from Renji. "Abarai! You next."

Renji's weapon was one of the larger ones as well. It was about six segmented blades, each with pick-like protrusions sprouting from the front and the back of each one. He gave it a experimental flick, and the blades went flying out, narrowly missing Yumichika, who was still admiring his blade.

"Shiba." Upon opening the package that held his weapon, Kaien was met with a trident-like weapon. A grin stretched over his face. "And Matsumoto."

Rangiku's weapon was just a regular katana. She looked disappointed at not having a special weapon, but got over it quickly. "So, now what?" she chirped.

Hueco Mundo Group – Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez – 7:50 AM, July 16

They hadn't waited to open up their weapons. Why should they? Their deaths. No use in letting other people control them more then they already were. "You didn't wait," their sponsor's voice echoed throughout their desert. Nnoitra stretched, grinning.

"Sure as hell we didn't," he grunted. Nnoitra's weapon was a huge, axe-like weapon. Grimmjow didn't feel like explaining it. Most of the others had normal katanas, except Tesla's.

Like everything the kid did, his weapon had something like Nnoitra's. There was an odd circle-thing near the hilt, but other than that, it was kind of normal.

Their sponsor sighed. "Very well. I am Sosuke Aizen. Defeat the others, and you will live."

Luppi – Grimmjow hadn't paid any attention to him, still sore about the thing that had happened back in eighth grade - giggled. Giggled. Damn...thing.

"Welcome to The Game."

Author's Note: I know, I know, not much happened this time. Just to make this clear, if you didn't see in the summary, this is an AU. Every one of the contestants is a high school student, various grade levels. People will start dying by the third chapter. :D

Oh, and fun fact – the starting of this story takes place on my birthday. Because I'm awesome like that.

Thanks to the wonderful person who's beta-ing this, Dementia777. Read her stories. Yumichika x Ikkaku. Ikkaku x Hanataro. They're all very wonderful. :D