Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, all rights belong to Tite Kubo and the Viz media company.

A/N: Hello readers! I welcome you to the prologue of To Love A Little Ichigo and I'm glad and also appreciate that you decided to read it. For those of you who have been with me from the very, very beginning I do tend to talk a lot in my Author's Note but I'm trying to cut back, for those of you just joining then there's not need to worry about it! I hope you enjoy readers!

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To Love A Little Ichigo~Prologue~

It was a hot summer's day in the Soul Society, the sun beat down harsher than it would and everyone tried to stay cool during the heat wave. Work was slow due to the vicious rays of the sun and the fact that the uniform consisted of black.

Ichigo grunted as he carried paperwork to squad twelve of the Gotei 13. Damn, these shinigami need to change their uniform colors or at least change it for the summer. Black clothing did not help on a summer's day especially like today. Beads of sweat continued to form down his neck as his feet were practically burning from walking.

What was he doing in the Seireitei?

After Rukia had found out that Ichigo was going to be searching for a job this summer she went out of her way and asked the Gotei 13 for a part time job for him. Since they held a great gratitude for him after the Winter War with Aizen they gladly offered a few open jobs for him. First he was reluctant (Kenpachi would try to slit his throat, Rangiku would try and persuade him to drink although he was underage, and there was a certain someone that wouldn't be pleased to know he was in the Seireitei) yet as Rukia kept persisting (constant threats, tried guilt, and puppy eyes) he finally accepted the job. All he had to do was the simple task of delivering packages and messages to the soul reapers and carry out paperwork to the squads. The pay was good and was better than what the World of the Living offered so for the past days it hadn't been so bad, although today was different because of the massive heat wave.

Once he finally entered the twelfth division he sighed in relief as a blast of cool air hit him.

"Here to deliver squad twelve's paperwork!" he announced. There was no answer and he set down the huge stack of paperwork. He glanced at the clock as he tried to remember the schedules for the squads.

Oh! Lunch break! So that's where they must be. No wonder it was so empty. He rubbed the back of his neck and his lips thinned in disgust at the amount of sweat he had produced. After wiping it off his brown eyes scanned his surrounding as he looked for a parcel to be delivered. Once he laid eyes on the object he smiled and picked it up scanning to see if it was the right one.

Yep, this was Squad Fourth's package all right; how Hanataro could wind up miss placing it here he would never know. Looking outside the young teen groaned as reoccurring thoughts of going outside in the blistering heat again scratched at his dry throat. When he was just about to open the door something caught his eye and he looked over.

It was a small glass of water. Renji had warned him never to drink anything that came from the twelfth squad (on account of the last incident the red head experienced with being turned into a monkey) yet what harm could a single glass of water do? Damn it, the glass was just sitting there and it was beckoning his dry throat.

One sip couldn't hurt could it?

Placing the package down he picked up the glass and before he realized it he swallowed the contents in a few gulps. Ichigo sighed in satisfaction and placed the empty cup back in place. It was just a glass of water, it's not like any one was going to miss it. Pleasant chills were sent up his back and he picked up the package again. What he missed though, was that the glass was somewhat shaped as a beaker…

-Earlier-

"Failed, Nemu get rid of the rest of the formula," Captain Kurotsuchi ordered his subordinate.

"Yes sir," she bowed and took the beaker away. The other squad members then called on Nemu and she placed the beaker down on a desk. Afterwards her captained called her to assist her with remaking the experiment. One of squad members noticed the beaker and mistook it as a glass of water so they placed it on their desk but then lunchtime rolled in and they hurried for their break. Nemu came back looking for the beaker and she shrugged it off inwardly thinking someone must have emptied the container all ready. She was the last one to leave along with her captain and a few moments later Ichigo walked in and noticed the 'glass'…

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A breeze swept through and Ichigo almost hummed in delight (almost) as it cooled him off. He entered the fourth division and was greeted by Hanataro then spotted the captain.

"Captain Unohana!" she turned her head and smiled toward him.

"Good evening Ichigo I see you have my package," she smiled.

"Right, here you are," he handed the package to her and turned to leave.

"Would you like some water Ichigo? You're cheeks look red and it appears you've sweat a massive amount, it might help cool you off," Unohana offered.

"Thank you," he accepted gratefully.

He was led to the small break room and he sat himself down on a bench. Unohana handed him a glass of ice-cold water and thanked him for the delivery. After thanking her once more she left him after telling him to take it in small sips. He did as he was instructed and by the time he was half way finished his eyelids started to feel strangely heavy…

"Weird…" he muttered then yawned, "Getting tired…" Ichigo tried to stand up but failed in doing so. Limbs started to grow numb and the chill turned unpleasant for him. The glass that was in his hand shattered on the floor, he fell on the bench and grabbed his head in pain. What was…happening? The teen tried to call out for help but it only came in small rasps and sounded strangled. His eyes started to play tricks on him…the world around him seemed so big…his hand seemed so much smaller. He passed out on the bench and the ice from the water started to melt…

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Hanataro hummed as he swept the floors Rukia and Renji entered the building and Hanataro smiled.

"Good evening Renji, Rukia," he bowed to them.

Rukia returned the bow but Renji spoke instead, "Have you seen Ichigo?"

"Yeah he was just here a while ago," Hanataro replied.

"Did you see him leave?" Rukia asked yet Hanataro didn't catch the concerned in her voice.

"No…I just remember him taking a small break at our break room," Hanataro recalled.

Renji and Rukia looked at each other with concern. "He was suppose to deliver Captain Ukitake's vitamins an hour ago," Rukia muttered.

"Squad six didn't get their paperwork yet," Renji addressed.

"I thought you would like that," Rukia snickered.

"Well Captain Kuchiki didn't…" the red head shivered. That man could be scarier than Captain Kurotsuchi. That was saying something but he couldn't voice it in front of the Captain's sister.

"Anyway, we checked with all the other squads and they reported that they haven't received anything in a while. When we checked his station they said he hasn't reported in over an hour," the young Kuchiki stated. Just then Captain Unohana walked by with her lieutenant and they called out to her.

"Captain Unohana! Have you seen Ichigo?" Renji waved at her. The captain turned and smiled at them.

"Yes I have seen him. He was at the break room when I gave him a glass of water he should have left by now though," Captain Unohana informed.

"That's the problem, no one has seen him since," Rukia muttered in thought.

"Oh my, let's check the break room then," Unohana waved a hand for Hanataro, "Hanataro let's led the way for Lieutenant Abarai and Lady Kuchiki shall we?"

"Y-Y-Yes Captain Unohana!" Hanataro stuttered and led the way. After walking down a few halls they stopped in front of the door. Hanataro opened it and introduced the room, "This is the break rooooooom!" They all watched as he slipped and hit his head on the floor. Renji had nearly laughed his guts out from his friend's clumsiness until Rukia smacked him backside of the head. Unohana opened the other door with a sigh then her eyes widened in curiosity. A puddle had formed and it led to shattered glass…after ordering Isane to go get someone to clean the glass her gaze fell to the bench when her eyes widened.

Renji and Rukia saw this and followed her gaze; they both dropped the unconscious soul reaper when they saw what was before them…

It was a small child wearing a shihakusho, beside him was a small sword yet was big as the child itself. His skin was lightly tanned and his hair was orange…

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A/N: Yes I know it was rather short, but some of the future chapters do get longer so I hope you decide to continue the story. Anyways as you flip through chapters I suggest reading the Author's Note if you have the time since they hold warnings, notes, and information. It's a pain I know since you don't like to hear me blab about things but if you read them you might even get to me a little better. Well, this is ShadowWolf XIII logging off!