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Disclaimer: I don’t own Bleach or any of the awesome characters in it.

Prologue Part 1: Beginning of the End

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"Every beginning has an end. Unfortunately, our beginning... was the end."

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"EVERYONE GET DOWN!!"

KABOOOOM!!!!

An explosion created a huge crater in the ground. Several Shinigami clothed in shihakushou scattered, some having received injuries from the explosion.

"What the hell just happened?!" Then a loud, beastly screech was heard and a large Hollow came up from right behind the Shinigami.

"AAAAAHHH!!!" The Hollow slashed at the Death God, spilling his blood everywhere.

"Shiranai-san!" The others turned their attention back to the Hollow they were previously fighting, but then another huge Hollow appeared from the crater.

"Crap! Where did this other one come from?!"

The group backed up with their Zanpakutou shaking in their hands. The Hollows were so big, just the two of them were enough to surround the Shinigami.

"Sir! W-What are we going to do?" desperately asked a female Shinigami to the Eighth Seat Officer.

"I don't know! We were just suppose to perform a Konso!"

The first Hollow raised its claw high in the air and threw it down with all its might. All the Shinigami shut their eyes tightly and braced for the monster's attack, but then-

ROOOOOAAAAARRR!!!

The Hollow shrieked in pain.

The group opened their eyes again and saw its severed claw flying far away. In front of the Hollow stood a young white-haired Shinigami, wearing a white haori over his shihakushou and the Kanji for 3 on his back.

He was there Captain: Kaminari Shiromaru.

"Kaminari-Taichou!"

"Sorry I'm late. I was looking around for any other souls, but I should have stayed with you."

The one-handed Hollow roared again and threw its remaining claw at the Captain, only to have that cut off with speed so fast that the others couldn't see him drawing his blade or returning it to its sheath. The monster backed away screeching yet again in pain when, in another burst of speed, Shiromaru cut the Hollow completely in half down its mask.

"One down," said Shiromaru, "and one to go." He turned around and gripped the hilt of his weapon, ready to attack.

Then suddenly, and enormous hand came out of nowhere and grabbed the Hollow.

Everyone looked on shocked at what they were witnessing. The sky looked as if it were being ripped open as another hand appeared and slowly forced its way through the large crack in the sky. Then a huge, white, boot-like food stepped through the opening. The hand with the Hollow in it rose higher and higher, and a large white mask-like face appeared and bit the Hollow's head off.

The group of Death Gods, whose courage had been refueled when their Captain arrived, now looked in terror at the enormous beast that appeared. They had never seen something so gigantic.

"Impossible..." Shiromaru was almost too stunned for words. "Is that... a Menos Grande?"

"Captain! We have to call the Soul Society for help!"

At first the Captain was going to agree, but then he noticed a large sphere forming in front of the Gillian's mouth.

"NO! Get everyone as far away from here as possible! NOW!!"

"Uh... y-yes sir!"

They helped assist the injured to quickly get far away. Now all alone, Shiromaru watched the sphere suddenly shrink and disappear. The Menos opened its mouth, and shot an enormous Cero blast.

Acting purely on instinct, Shiromaru drew his sword and, much to his surprise, was able to block and hold off the beam with the blade alone. The pulsing energy was incredibly intense. Yet, for some reason is seemed as if he could handle the reiatsu easier and easier with each passing second.

When he felt use to the pressure, Shiromaru raised his sword higher against the blast and swung hard, slashing right through the blast, dispersing it, and even managed to give the Menos a large cut up its whole body.

It cried in pain and started to retreat back into the hole in the sky.

"I don't think so!" Shiromaru raised his left hand and pointed directly at the Hollow. "Hado 33: Soukatsui!" A blast of Kido energy shot out of his hand, enveloping Menos Grande completely.

The Kido completely eradicated the Gillian. When the burst of energy disappeared, Shiromaru saw that nothing was left of the Hollow, but the great hole in the sky was still there. The darkness of the hole was easily noticeable, even in the black night sky, but something wasn't right.

The hole wasn't closing. And as if that wasn't unsettling enough, he could sense the malevolent spirit energy emitting from within.

Reacting quickly, Shiromaru tried to sense where his subordinates were, found them, and used a single flash step to reach them. They all looked at their Captain in utter astonishment. Not that they were surprised to see he survived - more like surprised at what they had witnessed him do to the Gillian.

"Taichou, h-how did you-"

"There's no time! Call the Kido Corps and tell them the portal to Hueco Mundo is still open," he ordered the female Shinigami.

"Yes sir!"

"How are the injured?" he asked his Eighth Seat Officer.

"The three who were hurt from the explosion have minor cuts and bruises, but Shiranai-san lost a lot of blood from the Hollow's attack." Shiromaru reached Shiranai and noticed how fast the blood was escaping his body.

The Captain knelt down and put his hands over the gash. Concentrating, his energy flowed through his hands to the wound.

"I can only halt the bleeding for a short time. Contact the Fourth Company and ask Unohana-taichou to send healers immediately!"

"Yes sir!"

The Eighth Seat Officer walked away preparing to contact the Soul Society while Shiromaru gave his full concentration to Shiranai's injury.

"Hold on! Just hold on!"

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A couple hours later, Shiromaru was walking down the halls of the Fourth Company's treatment station. His squad had all made it back after the healers and Kido Corps arrived. After Shiromaru reported to the Captain General, he stopped by the treatment station to see how Shiranai was doing. Thankfully, his injury was almost completely healed.

The young Captain sighed silently to himself. Now he was walking back to his office where he knew would be a pile of paperwork waiting for him.

'I may as well take care of it now. I can't ignore it forever.'

He was halfway to his office when-

"Niiiiii-saaaaaan!!" Someone jumped on and hugged him from behind.

"Wha... Kuroko?"

The person continued to hold him tight a few more seconds, then finally let go. Shiromaru turned around. There, grinning happily, stood a girl with black hair and a captain's uniform like his. She was younger and a head shorter than him.

This girl was the Captain of the Second Company, Kaminari Kuroko.

His younger sister.

"Whatcha doin' Nii-san?" Shiromaru sighed again, only this time it wasn't about the paperwork.

"Kuroko, how many times do I have to tell you? We're both captains in the Gotei 13, and as captains we have to be examples to our subordinates by using proper titles... as well as refraining from such public displays of affection."

"Proper schmoper," she pouted. "If I can't hug my Nii-san whenever I want, then I don't wanna be a captain. And besides; we can't both be walking around calling each other 'Kaminari-taichou'. I'll call you Nii-san and you'll call me Imouto-chan, like we always have." She looked at him smugly with her arms crossed as if she had already won this argument.

"But Kuroko-" She looked at him sternly.

"I-mou-to-chan."

Shiromaru watched her unwavering eyes a few more seconds, eyes he knew he could never beat.

Just as he was about to give in, another person came from behind and grabbed Shiromaru in a head lock.

"What's up Shiro? I heard your assignment didn't go so hot," spoke a slightly deep male voice.

Shiromaru struggled to free his neck enough to speak.

"K-Kuma-taichou, would you stop already?"

"Hey, would you drop the formalities already? We've been best friends since our academy days for crying out loud."

"But Kuma-"

"We may not be family like you and Kuro, but best friends have to count for something, right?" Shiromaru finally escaped Kuma's grasp and gasped for breath.

Kuma laughed slightly. He was half a head taller than Shiromaru with brown hair and quite muscular. He too wore a captain's uniform.

Captain of the Seventh Company, Kuma Kyo.

Shiromaru's closest friend.

"Friends or not," started Shiromaru, "we have to stay professional."

"Man! You're so uptight Shiro! Come on, you're going to call Kuro what you usually call her. Why not me?"

"Kuma, that's different. That's... she..." He sighed frustrated and rubbed his temple with his fingers. "Can we just drop it already?"

"Rambunctious group as always, eh?" The three of them turned around and spotted two young men, slightly older than Kuma, whom was the oldest of the three, walking towards them.

Captain of the Eight Company Kyouraku Shunsui, and Captain of the Thirteenth Company Ukitake Juushiro.

Shiromaru bowed to the two approaching captains. "Good afternoon Kyouraku-taichou, Ukitake-taichou."

"Aw come on," spoke Kyouraku again. "We're all the same rank here, so there's no need for such manners."

"Uh... okay." Kuroko and Kuma grinned smugly at Shiromaru. Kyouraku stepped up and bent forward slightly, looking Kuroko right in the face with a smile.

"And how are you doing today, Kuro-chan?"

Before Kuroko could react, Shiromaru stepped between them, looking calmy yet emotionlessly at Kyouraku. "Is there something you wanted Captain?"

Kyouraku backed away and Ukitake spoke this time. "Ah yes, we heard about what happened in the human world."

"Oh yea," said Kyouraku, having quickly given up trying anything else on Kuroko. "A Menos Grande huh? I heard the Kido Corps managed to close the portal just before any more could escape."

"Yea," spoke Kuma. "It's really weird. The last time I was on a mission to kill a Hollow, an even larger one appeared."

"The same thing happened to me," said Kuroko. "Do you think something is happening in Hueco Mundo that's causing it?"

Ukitake shook his head. "I doubt it. If they were organizing some kind of attack, they wouldn't use regular Hollows, or a single Gillian for that matter." Shiromaru would have like to talk a little longer, but he had paperwork to get to.

"Oh well, we can talk about it some other time. I have work to do." He turned and started walking away.

"Oh, I almost forgot," called Ukitake. "How is Shiranai doing?"

"He's doing just fine. Unohana said he should be out in just a couple hours."

"That's good to hear."

"Well, I gotta go too," said Kuma. "There are some new recruits who need some torturing-I mean-training." He grinned at them and walked the opposite direction of Shiromaru.

Kuroko watched her friend walk off, and then looked at the remaining Captains. First she glared at Kouraku, then smiled and waved at Ukitake. "Bye Ukitake!" Then she disappeared using her Shunpo.

Kyouraku chuckled. "Those three really are something, huh?"

"Yea. Younger than us, yet the next three to become captains straight from the academy, right after us."

"And don't forget; all three of them have achieved Bankai in only a week."

"Yea..." suddenly their expressions saddened.

"What do you think Juushiro... will old man Yamamoto really go through with it?" There was a long moment of silence.

"Knowing our master... most likely." He sighed heavily. "Those poor kids. Who would have guessed that their beginning... would be their end."

Prologue Part 1: Owari