A/N (Edited Mar. 25, 2020): Before you dive in, I want to thank you so much for checking my story out and giving it a read! Chapters 1 and 2 are revised versions of the original (which I honestly might as well do for the remaining chapters to clean and modify some small details to polish up the story as a whole). However, the revisions won't change the overall essence of the fanfic.

As mentioned in the summary, this fanfic is in fact discontinued and will no longer receive future updates. An explanation as to why is at the end of this chapter since I don't want to keep you from reading the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach nor any of the characters, worlds, and other things related to the series. Tite Kubo is the rightful owner (who I'm hoping he is doing much better in terms of his health). The only things I own are the original characters and anything else not created by Kubo.

I'm hoping y'all will enjoy as much as you can out of this story!

ONCE AGAIN, there is a MAJOR AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END that I strongly advise y'all to read!

Happy Reading!

Chapter 1

'I can't see… I know my eyes are wide open, but even so, I still can't see anything… There is nothing but darkness, and there isn't a single dot of light anywhere…' A female voice thought as she found herself surrounded by nothingness. A quiet yet sad chuckle escaped the girl as a forced smile curved at her lips. 'Am I falling? I can't exactly feel anything touching my body, nor do I feel my feet touching the ground, if there is any, that is…'

Her assumption was correct. Right now, her body—dressed in a pink, light jacket, a white shirt, and long, black shorts—was descending in what seemed like a never-ending abyss or void. It was ironic how the girl was so calm and taking the situation so lightly, for she was actually terrified of the dark. The term for this was known as nyctophobia, meaning 'fear of the dark'. There were other names for it, but for now, this one would be used.

One would have thought this girl would flail her limbs around in hopes of catching something—anything at all—to stop her from falling. But, it appeared that she knew this would be futile, so she stayed put and allowed herself to continue to drop in this realm of pitch black. She did this because she knew it would only make things worse if she struggled and fought with it.

"Alex…!"

"Huh?" The girl, apparently named Alex, responded to her name being called by another's voice. It sounded muffled and barely audible. It was a miracle she was even able to hear it. Or…was that it? Was it just a figment of her imagination, and that the voice wasn't really there? 'Maybe I'm just fooling myself to believe what my heart wants to hear…'

"Alex!" There it was again—the voice from before. But, this time, she was able to actually hear them. By the sound of their voice, she imagined this person to be male. They sounded pretty deep, so this man could have either been in his teens, or his twenties, maybe somewhere in between.

After the male's second time calling for Alex, a speck of bright white faded in above her floating/falling body. Feeling a sense of hope to be freed from this accursed domain of nothingness, she felt her right arm stretch and reach out towards it, extending her hand as its thin, delicate fingers tried to take hold of the light. Alex felt that she probably should've at least answered this man, letting him know she was all right. But, just the mere sight of her trying to reach out for him was enough to give him the motivation to increase his speed, hastening his fall by the second. And, with each passing second, the once small, dot of bright white grew. The newly grown light helped Alex make out the appearance of the young man that seemed to be getting closer as he was catching up to her.

On the boy's torso was a long-sleeved, black robe with red on the inside that closed in at his stomach before flaring out to his ankles, its ragged ends furiously flapping as they cut through the air. His lower body wore black hakama while being tied at the waist by a white obi sash. When he was close enough, white bandages could be seen wrapped around his lower abdomen. Meanwhile, in his left hand was a long and thin, black sword with a hilt of the same hue. The guard was of four, bent out prongs forming a sort of box-like shape.

As for his physical features, tanned skin covered his being as it most of it was clothed by his black attire. Brown eyes filled with a determination to save Alex burned into her very being. And finally, the one feature that stood out the most was his hair—short, bright orange spikes. This one alone was enough to shock and surprise Alex, causing her emerald green eyes to widen at what she saw.

'I…Is it seriously him? But, shouldn't he be in his own world, back home in Karakura Town?' she thought to herself as Ichigo Kurosaki, a substitute Soul Reaper that originated from the world of Bleach, was right in front of her very presence. 'Why is he the one trying to save me? Well, not that I don't appreciate it, but why him, out of all people?'

"Alex, take my hand!" ordered Ichigo as his hand stretched forth to grab hers. She did as she was told with slight hesitation, finally having their hands join together. As if it were the key to being free from the world they were in, the light from above drastically and suddenly consumed them and the darkness.

Something that sounded akin to glass breaking was heard below the adolescents. It continued as all of the white light that briefly surrounded them was replaced by another realm, one of a more calm and different environment similar to that of a plain on earth. Said plains stretched out far and wide as there was a wind blowing against Ichigo and Alex's bodies. In the skies that were soon revealed once all of the hot white light was gone, clouds like fluffy pillows slowly swam in the sea of blue. The only thing that was still, yet shined radiantly, was the sun. Its rays beamed down on Ichigo, silhouetting his body.

Alex was forced to somewhat shield her eyes with her free hand. At that moment, she felt a hot liquid come from them as said liquid flew up and dotted Ichigo's cheek. Removing her free hand, she touched his face and then the edges of her eyes, receiving a chuckle from him at how oblivious she was to her own actions. 'I'm…crying… Why am I crying…?' Alex asked herself, confused about her reasoning for releasing salty tears from the dam that rarely broke within her. She guessed that it was her heart's way of saying, 'Thank you', to Ichigo for rescuing her from the terrifying yet blissful nightmare she once lived in. Strange…but, it was how Alex was…well, Alex.

Noticing that they would soon land, Ichigo returned to his scowling demeanor as he pulled Alex towards him before cradling her into his arms as a groom would to his bride. Alex rested her hands on his chest while his sandaled feet made contact with the grassy plains all around them, somehow reducing the force of impact.

"Um…thank you…Ichigo," spoke Alex as she meekly thanked him, feeling slightly embarrassed at how he was holding her.

"Hm?" He blinked his brown eyes before gently lowering his head to look at her. A small smile then found his way onto his lips as he said, "No problem. Anything for a friend, right?"

"Wh—f-friend?!" This was the first time she'd ever met him, and now they're all of a sudden friends? What in the world happened before she was falling in the pitch-black abyss? "I-I…"

Ichigo carefully set her down on her bare feet before resting his Zanpakuto, the black sword, on his shoulder. "What is it? Something wrong?"

"Wh…" Alex merely sighed, closing her eyes as she tucked strands of her chocolate brown hair behind her left ear as they fell at her shoulders, grazing them. "Never mind… If you say we're friends, then I guess we're friends, although I'm not sure how that even happened…"

"Well, at any rate," he started while heading in a particular direction, "we should head back to the others."

Sighing once more, Alex thought it would be best to just play along and follow. Maybe once catching up with the 'others', she might have some answers to her questions. However, she abruptly stopped in her tracks. Her body froze momentarily before she looked over to her right, spotting a lone flower dancing gracefully in the breeze that often blew. Not moving very far, she crouched down close to it before gently caressing its five, lavender petals. "Where'd you come from?" she quietly asked with a soft smile.

"Alex, you comin' or what?" Ichigo called to her, easily tearing her attention away from the flower.

"Uh—yeah, I'm coming!" She stood to her feet and started running towards him to catch up. But, she only ran a few feet before feeling a pulsing sensation shake her entire body. It caused the whole world around her to stop as her eyes went wide and appeared empty and lifeless. Before she even knew it, Alex was falling face down as she felt everything was dramatically slowing down.

Sensing that something was wrong, Ichigo turned around and saw her fainting, immediately going into a frantic run just in time to catch her before she hit the ground. "Alex! Alex, are you all right?" He faced her body up to see that she was barely conscious. Worry struck his features as he cupped her face, trying to keep her awake. "Alex. Alex! Come on, answer me, dammit!"

She couldn't answer him, though, for she felt her vision begin to fade and become a blur. Alex did her best to stay conscious, but her body just couldn't do it. It was failing her. It wasn't like she was dying, just that she was much too tired right now… Alex's limbs were beginning to feel as heavy as lead. Her eyes weren't feeling very light, either. She was nodding off as Ichigo shook her, desperate to keep his friend awake as he called out her name, over and over again, begging her to hold on and answer him.

"Alex! Alex… Ale…" His voice was even starting to sound muffled.

The darkness that Alex once escaped from came back to claim her again. So, she had no other choice but to let it…but not before she felt strong arms tightened its grasp on her body while the owner of them hurried to find help.

A loud, blaring alarm rang through a teenager's bedroom as its sound eventually awakened the fourteen-year-old girl lying in her bed facing up. Her brown hair was splayed across the fluffy pillows she rested on. At the sound of her alarm clock going off, green eyes fluttered open as they tiredly glared at the blasted contraption. Lazily did she force herself to sit up in her full-sized bed, not quite ready to wake up on this lovely, Friday morning. To gladly shut off her alarm clock, Alex groggily got out from under her plush covers and plugged it out, opening the double, glass-paned doors of her balcony inwards before tossing the clock over it. Sighing heavily through her nose, she felt a sense of ease and returned to her comfortable, warm bed, crawling back under the covers to see if she could get in a few more minutes of sleep.

Unfortunately, Alexandria Rosewood had forgotten that it was indeed Friday, a weekday, which meant that there was a reason why she was awakened by her alarm clock. Realizing this, she shot up with doe eyes and cursed herself while rushing out her bedroom door and down the set of carpeted stairs that led to the first floor of the two-story home her family of three lived in. Alex was greeted by her mother, a woman in her thirties with short brown hair and bright green eyes, as she ran to fetch her thrown alarm clock.

"Morning, Sweetie," said the mother. She was in the kitchen cooking breakfast for her husband as he was getting ready for work.

"Mornin', Mom!" Alex quickly replied so she wouldn't look like she was ignoring her.

While fixing a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon, she added in a casual tone, "Threw it out the window again?"

"Yup!"

"Your father has it."

Alex skidded to a stop on the tiles of the dining room adjacent to the kitchen. "How?"

"Maybe because it landed on my head for the second time this month?" A male's voice guessed sarcastically as he entered the room with Alex's alarm clock in hand. He rubbed his freshly cut, short black hair while trying to style it upwards, somewhat. "I was outside in the backyard checking for something I thought I saw, and then it was suddenly raining alarm clocks."

"Thanks, Dad!" Alex chimed, quickly giving her father a quick peck on his stubby cheek, took the clock, and rushed upstairs back to her room to get ready for school before he could protest or say anything about her bad habit of throwing things over her balcony.

But, since his daughter was no longer in hearing range, Ted sighed while throwing his hands up. He gave his beloved wife, Sophia, a look that said, 'What are we going to do with her?'

In response, she tried to act innocent. "What?"

"She's your daughter," Ted stated, going over to give her a nice bear hug.

"True," Sophia began, handing him his plate, "but I'm not the one that bought certain cheap items from a certain corner store that guaranteed them to be 'just the right thing for you', now am I?" She then pecked him on the lips with a smile as she left to get his things ready to go.

Knowing Ted was looking back at her with a look she'd seen so many times now, she heard him defend himself with, "You said you wanted a kid!"

"Yes, but I wasn't ready for one, yet," Sophia called back, heading towards his office.

Ted was about to shoot another excuse her way but realized it was useless since she would end up winning the teasing argument one way or the other. So, he decided to let it go and enjoy his breakfast.

Back up in her bedroom, Alex was nearly finished getting dressed for school that Friday. Already on her body were beige cargo capris and a white camisole that went underneath the black, V-neck t-shirt that hugged her torso, revealing the curves she eventually developed through middle school. She went into her closet to take out a light, zip-up hoodie of a soft, black material that surprisingly kept her warm in frigid, cold weather. After taking said article of clothing from her closet, the body-length mirror that hung outside the door reflected this appearance to Alex, allowing her to examine her outfit.

One thing that bothered her, though, was her hair. She had put it up in a ponytail with two small chunks of it framing her slim, fair-skinned face as a few strands on both sides were tucked back into the ponytail. This was the usual hairstyle she wore, mostly because she never felt like styling it. But today, she wasn't feeling it and simply took out the hair-tie, letting her hair fall on her shoulders, never going past them. Alex then grabbed a black and white-capped hat and slapped it on, smirking in satisfaction and getting her dark blue messenger before exiting her bedroom.

Closing the door behind her, posters of fictional characters from anime shows, as well as a few video game characters, were littered all over it. The same went for the walls of her room, but there weren't as many outside as there were inside. Watching anime and playing video games of all sorts of genres were a part of Alex's current day-to-day lifestyle, adding on to the fact that she was similar to other girls like her, being a tomboy, that is. Even so, it wasn't like that for everyone. It was just how certain people were.

After hurrying down the steps of her staircase, Alex hopped down the last few and slid across the tiles in her white anklet socks, grabbing the money left of the island for breakfast and lunch at school as she ruffled her father's hair. That earned her a sideways glance from the said person as he sipped his coffee mug. In return, she smiled teasingly and said, "Love you, too, Dad. Bye!"

Ted couldn't help but chuckle at her. "Bye, Sweetie, and try not to doze off during class today, all right?"

"I won't!"

Fast walking from the master bedroom, Sophia struggled to find the car keys in her handbag as she sported a comfortable look of pants and a casual blouse. "Okay! After I find my keys, we can—." The jingling of the desired item could be heard from Ted. He held them up while still drinking his morning cup of Joe. Sophia sighed and slumped her shoulders, going over to him and playfully snatching the keys out of his hand. "I'll see you later, Honey."

"Watch out for the door," he warned casually, just before she ran into the wooden structure.

"Thanks," she deadpanned. Unlocking it, she opened it and continued on her way out the door, then found herself smacking right into a clear, glass door.

"She forgot about the storm door, didn't she?"

Alex tried to hold in a laugh, opening the said door for her mom as she left their home. "Yup."

"You two leave me alone," Sophia mumbled, soothing her hurt forehead.

Soon after that, both mother and daughter were headed towards Alex's high school, trying to beat the traffic that usually occurred every morning during the weekdays because of other parents and adults going to work. Meanwhile, in Sophia's dark violet car, it was silent, the only thing heard being the wheels riding on the gravel road they drove on. Alex sat in the passenger seat with her headphones in, listening to her music player. Since there wasn't much else happening around her, the volume was at a low in case her mom would speak to her.

Something that Alex would usually do when she stared out into space with a distant look in her eyes was daydream about anything her mind came up with at the time. It happened whenever she felt she had nothing to do, or when she would get off track of what she was currently doing. Of course, this often happened during class while Alex tried to pay attention. But sometimes, there was always that one teacher a student had trouble listening to.

"All right, Alex," her mother began, abruptly bringing Alex back to earth, "you know the usual: don't fall asleep in class, don't let anyone provoke you, and for goodness sake, try not to let your temper get the better of you. Okay?"

'It's not my fault that so-called 'player' didn't listen to me.' An incident with a senior womanizer that happened not too long ago was part of the reason why Alex was feared by nearly all of the male population of the student body. "Yeah, okay. Later," she unwillingly agreed as she got her stuff and left, heading inside the large, main building of her school. Alex wasn't sure why, but she felt today was going to be…interesting, for once. Not because it was Friday, but for the same reason she had that strange dream that morning.

A sweating, red-faced Alex entered through the front door of her home, calling out to her father, "Dad, I'm home!" Why was she panting, you ask? Well, because of her History teacher (surprisingly, not the boring one) being absent that day, the substitute allowed Alex's class to get some fresh air for the rest of the period once everyone completed the assignment and homework left for them. And, since it was the last period of the day, the adrenaline of being active was still fresh.

From his office, Ted yelled out, "How was school today?"

"Great!"

"Get into any fights or anything?"

"None!" she replied in the same loud voice as she kicked off her black and white sneakers and trudged up the stairs to her room.

"Let's just hope it stays that way for the rest of the semester," Sophia added, locking the door behind her. "If you keep up the good behavior, maybe we can talk about getting you that new game you wanted for Christmas…"

Slowing down momentarily, an excited expression flashed across Alex's face. A huge smile grew on her lips while she continued and hurried up the rest of the steps. Upon entry of her bedroom, she threw her bag to the foot of her bed on the carpet floors. Her jacket was then stripped off and hung up on the top corner of her closet door to let it dry from her sweat. Afterward, she went into the bathroom adjacent to her room, but not before pausing to the sound of giggling, like a small child's, followed by a sort of bell fairies would make.

"The hell…?" Alex mumbled to herself, searching around the area for where it possibly could've came from. As if her mind was playing jokes on her, silence was the only thing that filled her ears, save for the sounds she heard outside her bedroom door. Furrowing her brows in bafflement, she briefly closed her eyes and hesitantly continued to her task: taking a nice, hot shower.

At least ten to fifteen minutes later, a naked Alex emerged from her recently closed bathroom door in a towel covering her damp body. Her once straight hair was now wet curls clumped into thick strands. She rummaged through her dresser to find something to wear around the house and for bed. Once mostly dried off, she put on a white t-shirt and long, blue shorts made of cotton-like material. Sighing in content from the relaxing shower, Alex plopped down on her neatly made bed, have her still damp hair spread out on the comforters. She stared up at her ceiling, eyes wandering over its light blue paint. Suddenly, a flashback of her dream from that morning pulsed through her head, frightening her dearly as she gasped and shot right up. What had gotten her panting so heavily, now, was the image of a worried and frantic Ichigo as he did all that he could to keep her awake.

Alex tried to calm down, placing a hand on her chest to slow down her heart rate. She hadn't been scared like that in while… Chuckling at her own fright, she consoled to herself, "It was just a dream. It's not like any of it was real or will ever happen, right?" She brought her knees up close to her chest, hugging them tightly as she rests her head on her kneecaps. "Right…?" A heavy sigh escaped Alex while her eyes closed for a moment. "Why am I even asking myself this? Bleach is anime, and this is the real world. There's absolutely no way I'm able to find myself in that universe, even if I seriously wished that I could go there. I mean," she paused to lie back down, her imagination beginning to go wild, "it really would be amazing if I could meet all the characters, laugh with them, laugh at them, fight in epic battles like theirs, and maybe even cry for them…"

Giggling, along with a fairy's bells, reached Alex's ears a second time. This time, she definitely knew it wasn't just a sick mind trick. "All right, that's it. Either come out and show yourself or I'll force you out of hiding!"

"Alex, what are you talking about?"

Her head snapped in the direction of her opened the room door. Standing with the knob in her hand was mother as she stared at Alex like she was losing it. "No! There was this noise and—."

"I don't want to know even know," Sophia said, raising her hands up to stop her right there. "Just come on downstairs and have some dinner. Maybe you're just hungry?"

"…Yeah," Alex started, relaxing and laughing at how crazy she must've looked, "yeah, I'm probably just…hungry and tired…that's all."

Nodding at her daughter—though a little worried about her—Sophia left to return to the kitchen and fix her plate. She wasn't sure if this was a result of too much video games or anime.

Throughout the entire evening meal, Alex just couldn't think straight and simply eat her food. She kept playing with it, barely getting a single bite out of the delicious dish her mother prepared for the family that night. Both of her parents began to worry for Alex, asking if everything was okay, or if anything happened at school that they needed to discuss. Grateful and appreciative of their concern, she simply denied about having problems going on with her.

"…May I please go to the room for the night? I don't think I'm that hungry…" requested Alex, a distant look in her eyes as she rested the fork on her plate.

Ted and Sophia exchanged looks of worry between each other, having a silent conversation in a language only they could understand. Soon after, Ted spoke up. "Sure…your mom will put your food away for tomorrow until you feel better. Why don't you go ahead and go to bed early?"

"Okay…" she meekly replied, excusing herself from the table before silently going up the stairs leading to her room. Alex knew her parents were worried. She could even feel their troubled stares bore into her disappearing being, even after she closed the door behind her. As a tiresome exhale of breath was forced out through her mouth, Alex went across her room and opened the glass doors leading to her wooden balcony. Once outside, she looked up into the darkened sky dotted with little specks of white lights that twinkled and shined in the night. They surrounded and grouped around the centerpiece: a palish, round full moon that radiated its lunar rays below, giving it an ominous yet soothing feel in the atmosphere.

Alex was glad to have lived in that part of North Dakota because where the city lights were, not many were able to see such magnificent sight. And not just the city, but anywhere. If where a person lived didn't allow them to see many stars, then that was how it was.

Leaning on the wooden railing of her balcony, a soft smile was carefully painted on her features. Closing her emerald gems, a lullaby about the stars above her flowed off her tongue like a peaceful river.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star

How I wonder what you are

Up above the world so high

Like a diamond in the sky…

When the blazing sun is gone

When there's nothing he shines upon

Then you show your little light

And twinkle, twinkle through the night…

In the dark blue sky, you keep

And through my curtains, you often peek

For you never shut your eyes

Till the sun is in the sky…

Then a traveler in the dark

Thank you for your tiny spark

He couldn't see which way to go

If you didn't twinkle so

No, I don't know what you are

Twinkle, twinkle, little star

Twinkle, twinkle, little star

How I wonder what you are

Up above the world so high

Like a diamond in the sky…"

Not really considering herself to be singer whatsoever, she only sang this lullaby, and this one alone, every single night before going to bed. No matter how tired she was, no matter how much she bottled up anger inside of her, no matter how many tears were shed, Alex sang this song to the stars and moon watching her, most of the time being thought of as her audience. Only then would she be able to sleep, for there would be no nightmares poisoning her mind. 'Hey…I actually feel a little better now—.'

"You have a really pretty voice!" a child giggled, causing Alex to slowly open her eyes, only to see a little girl standing on the railing with a bright smile on her little round face. And, of course, this caused her to jump a mile in the air before scurrying back inside her room.

Alex felt her heart practically leap out of her chest as a terrified, yet not so shrill, scream came out. All the while, she tried to lower her heart rate for the second time that hour.

"Are you okay? You're acting like you saw a ghost," asked the little girl with light brown pigtails, her gray eyes filled with concern for the frightened Alex.

Meanwhile, said teen merely stared at her incredulously, trying to find the right words to say. "…Are ya lost?"

The girl giggled again, smiling brightly like the pale green dress she wore that sparkled in the moonlight. The same went for her silver boots of the same material. "No, I'm not lost, silly~!"

"Then why are you just standing there on my balcony like you absolutely don't have to worry about possibly falling over and hurting yourself?"

"Because I know that I'm not going to get hurt."

Quirking a brow, Alex then asked, "And how are so you of that?"

"Well, just watch!" As if pretending to be an acrobat, the little girl did handstands on the railing, performing a couple of cartwheels and balancing acts while not once showing any signs of slipping off the wood. The entire time, Alex watched with great worry, her heart stopped each time she thought the girl seemed like she would fall.

"Okay, okay, I believe you! Just quit doing that and get down from there!" Alex urged, rushing over to pick her up and gently set her down on the balcony. But unfortunately, she accidentally pushed her off by accident, sending the poor thing over. Alex frantically reached out to catch her, but she slipped right through her fingers. A grave expression flashed across her face, but it was immediately replaced with awe and astonishment. "I don't believe this…"

"See? I told you!" the girl sang, cheerily. Her small figure was floating above the air as what appeared to be stardust particles sparkled down from her being. She watched as Alex's jaw was in danger of dropping to her feet, giggling at her reaction. "My name is Botania, by the way, but you can call me Bobo if you want!"

"…Alex…"

"That's a pretty name you got there, Alex! Is it short for Alexandra?"

Slowly shaking her head, she answered, "Alexandria…" 'Someone please tell me why I'm introducing myself to some random, strange little girl that came out of nowhere and suddenly starts flying near my balcony. I must be dreaming right now…' "Botania, was it?" She received a nod of confirmation. "Um…would you mind telling me exactly…what you are? Now, I don't mean to sound rude, but considering the situation I'm in, I think I have a right to know."

"Wow…" Botania flew up before slowly descending on the wooden planks of Alex's balcony. "How are you able to stay so calm?"

"Because—!" Alex stopped herself by taking in a deep breath. "Because I know that yelling isn't going to get me anywhere. Besides, I think that staying calm is probably best for both of our sakes. So, if you could please explain to me how you did what you did, that would make me very happy."

Holding her hands behind her back while swaying her body around, Botania simply and easily replied, "I'm a star."

"…You're…a star?"

"That's right! And I use my magic to fly, more specifically my stardust."

Alex blinked once, blinked twice…blinked a few more times…and then just one more time to make sure she wasn't asleep. When it was proven that she wasn't, she took in a very long, deep breath before speaking. "So, what you're trying to tell me…is that you come from the stars above…"

"Uh-huh."

"And, you're in my room because…?"

"Oh, that's right!" Botania stopped swayed before smiling again. "I forgot all about that! You see, because we heard you sing our favorite lullaby to us every night for so many years now, I wanted to repay your kindness by granting you two wi—where are you going, Alex?"

Clapping her hands together, finally thinking that she really has lost her mind, Alex spun around on her heel with a sarcastic smile. "I am going to go call the nice people in the white jackets to take me away and put me in a straight-jacket, then put me inside a room with four cushioned walls."

"But…why would you want to do that?"

"Because honestly," her smile was wiped off her face, "your whole story of being a star with magical powers that can grant a person's wishes like a genie is just crazy! I might as well just deem myself legally insane for thinking for a measly second that any of this was even real!"

Pouting like the child she was, Botania placed her small hands on her hips and said, "Then why don't I prove to you that you really are seeing this and that you're not going crazy? I'll grant you two wishes that are not of malicious acts or thoughts, and then you'll believe me!"

'Is she seriously BSing me right now? She really thinks she can do it!' Regardless of what she thought, Alex answered, "Lemme think about it—no. Just go back home before your parents call the police for a child search."

"Aw, come on! Please?" Botania begged, clasping her hands together. This wasn't going to be pretty.

"No, and I mean it!"

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No!"

"Please, please, please, please, please, please—!"

"Okay!" Alex shouted, exasperated at how consistent she was being, not to mention annoying. Her fingers were like claws as she restrained herself from strangling anyone. "Okay, I'll make a friggin' wish."

"Yay!" She jumped for joy, smiling like an idiot—or, child.

Sighing in aggravation, Alex rubbed her temples before thinking of something to make the little girl happy, knowing that she was able to prove her wrong about everything being unreal and make-believe. '…Should I really?' she started to ask herself. 'I know it's just to test this girl, but what if she can actually do it?' Pursing her lips with a final decision, Alex told Botania, "For my first wish, I want to be a part of the world of Bleach from the very beginning. And by that, I mean the very first episode."

Botania tried not to smile softly. "Is there anything else you want me to add to it?"

Green eyes gave her an incredulous look, surprised that she was confident in abilities Alex knew wasn't real. "…Yes. Let me be able to gain the power of a Soul Reaper, a power that I wish to be dormant inside of me until I need it the most."

"Aye, ma'am!" After given all the details she needed to grant the wish, Botania went on her toes before instantly twirling her little body around in circles, performing countless pirouettes as her speed actually seemed to be increasing by the second. And with each twirl, her stardust began to sparkle and fill the air as it soon touched Alex. It wasn't long before she felt her vision beginning to go in and out of focus.

'Wh…what did she do to…me…?' The effects of the stardust finally settled in, forcing Alex into unconsciousness as she fell back and disappeared with the sparkling particles taking her place before fading away. The same went for Botania as her body thinned out into nothing but dust.

Post A/N (added Mar. 22, 2020; Mar. 25, 2020):

First and foremost, I now go by Zaequeenoflazy or Zae for those who've been with me since I had the username Luna Cosima or XxLuna_CosimaxX (I think that was the exact one, but my memory is awful and I try-).

Very important information below! I'll be covering a good chunk of stuff, so buckle up cause this note might be on the long side! (There's a TL;DR at the bottom!)

I want to personally thank everyone who decided to give my story a chance! I also want to thank y'all for reading this author's note since it shows your concern and interest in this fanfiction. And for those who had stuck through with me since I first posted this fanfic, I can't thank you enough for your patience and commitment to this me and/or this story!

At the same time, I want to apologize for how long this hiatus turned out to be. Life got busy and a little hectic (still kinda is but not as bad as before) and I was hoping it would only be a simple revision process. The more I read the first few chapters, though, the more I wasn't sure about the direction I was taking with Alex, Botania, and most of the Canon characters of Bleach. I was just having fun with the fanfic and wasn't thinking much about finding a place to stop it.

What pushed me to finally write this author's note on the first chapter was seeing how many people still click on and read this fanfiction from the beginning. Rather than writing one last chapter and have an official update alert for those who favorite/followed myself or the fanfiction, I decided to do this instead as I felt it would reach and inform more readers. Plus, with news of the anime coming back hopefully by 2021 (also because I didn't want to continue leaving you all in the dark) I finally got around to making this author's note in an existing chapter rather than write a new one. It's also because I currently don't have much inspiration to continue this fanfic the way it is. I honestly wished that I did but forcing myself to wouldn't serve the story its justice.

Nothing's wrong with writing just to write or to have fun, though. I originally wanted to follow along with the canon plot with a few filler arcs from the anime (I even did a poll to see who would've been interested), especially since back then the manga was still going while the subbed of the anime was in its last few arcs (even though it wasn't the technical end of the canon). But as I started writing more chapters, I thought about where I was going with everything and what kind of story I wanted the fanfic to be. I started getting writer's block out the ass, and I couldn't figure out how to incorporate Alex in the overall plot while finding room to include her own separate plot. I kind of lost faith with this fanfic at one point, I really did.

Even so, I don't regret uploading and writing as much as I did When Stars Align! I genuinely loved the shenanigans and craziness, along with the bit of potential romance present later on. I wrote every word and chapter mainly for the other fans of the series who might love the ideas I had! I'm forever grateful for that support and will continue to be grateful.

But I don't think I'm capable of continuing this fanfic, at least not with the way When Stars Align is.

That's where the NEW story I have in the works comes in!

Since the last update back in 2014, I've been approaching this fanfic at different angles to figure out what was missing or what could work better (hence the long-ass hiatus; it only got longer because of the transition to college). I can now say with confidence that I'm working on the first batch of chapters to be put out hopefully before summer starts or sometime during the summer. The new fanfic will be under a new name with a new original MC, a few new supporting OCs and a new concept in comparison to the current one. It'll still have a "Us in Their World" sense but less of a Self-Insert feel. I have an ending in mind, but it's still getting revised and polished up to be more solid (though things never really stay the same and might end up changing). All in all, I'll actually have an idea of the fanfic's direction along with a more original story idea I've been working out since 2016, 2017.

Now, considering this will be quite the change for a lot of you, especially for those who have been with me back in 2012 (remember when we thought the world was gonna end? Good times...good times). Change isn't always easy to accept, and I don't expect everyone to be on board with this new change. With that in mind, I plan on keeping this fanfic up, but I will make sure to include "Discontinued" in the summary for anyone who wants to still read this fanfic but doesn't mind that it won't receive future updates. I intended to set up a poll about what to do with When Stars Align, but I figured this would be the better move to make. I'll also be keeping this author's note up for any future readers picking this up or old ones re-reading it.

I'm always reading everyone's reviews (and I mean EVERYONE'S) as I appreciate the compliments but appreciate the constructive feedback even more. Learning about what's working and what isn't helps me figure out what to keep or revise for the new story. Reviews are very important for me in both senses, especially with constructive feedback!

All that said, I'm personally excited to introduce my new fanfiction: Tadaima! ( a shortened version of "Tadaima Kaerimashita" which means "I just came home" with the shortened version meaning "I'm home!" Both expressions are announced when returning home, which will play a huge part in the new story's plot!)

I really hope many of you, if not all, will enjoy the new story! However, I understand that not everyone will enjoy the new change and would want me to continue and even finish When Stars Align. Everyone also may not care much for the new idea in general whether a new or old reader. However, I can live with either scenario as long as enough people hopefully like the new approach as I'm really doing this for y'all! A story isn't worth much if it's never told. So, here's to me actually finishing and completing it this time!

TL;DR:

I'm not dead, I swear! Life just got busy and a little hectic. I haven't (completely) abandoned this fanfic. I just took the time to step back and see what could've been done differently since I wasn't sure of the direction after re-reading the whole thing. I will be starting a new story under the name Tadaima! which will have an overall new approach to When Stars Align (different main OC, a few new supporting OCs, new plot, lots of new things happening). Expect the upload before the start of or during the upcoming summer. When Stars Align will have an updated summary to inform everyone that it's officially discontinued while this author's note will remain to help direct readers to the new story (or for those who still want to read WSA, they'll just get a heads up that this fanfic won't get future updates).

I truly can't thank you guys enough for giving my fanfic a chance! I read y'all's reviews (new and old) because I always appreciate the time y'all took out of your day to write and leave those reviews. You chose to write those reviews, just like you chose to read my fanfic. I'm hoping the new version will receive generally positive feedback from those who read this fic and that new readers picking it up will enjoy it just the same!

With all the love I could possibly offer,

Zae.

P.S.

I'm actually FRIGGIN excited that the anime is coming back to finish up with the final arc from the manga (I read the manga after finishing the Lost Agent's Arc and plan on re-reading it in case I possibly include the TYBW Arc into Tadaima - because no, it currently isn't entirely set in stone that it will be included in the new story considering the new direction I'm taking with it).

See you guys again soon!