"No luck" said Ichigo, bringing his sword down on the ground with frustration. Mei jumped a little and the noise, not aware that he was about to do the act he just had.

"You seem pent up" Toshiro noted. "You didn't tell us what happened back there"

"I didn't for a reason" He said. "Because nothing's there to tell. Nothing happened. Any of you know how to handle a fl-."

Before he could finish, Mei kept two fingers between her lips and blew out a small fire, lighting up the firewood she had collected a few hours ago. "Yes" she said, smiling at him. Ichigo shivered slightly. The smile didn't all too friendly. He gathered Zangetsu and took out some water from the pack he slung on his hip, washing his sword. A few blood stains here and there.

"You clean your sword?" Toshiro asked.

"You don't?" Mei asked, sitting next to the three.

"Never had to"

"Yeah, we get it. You're a saint and never make wounds that cut someone. Sadly, I don't share your-."

"It's not that, idiot" Toshiro interrupted, causing Ichigo to raise his eyebrow at the snide insult. "I cut my enemies all the time. But I can't think of a day I've ever had to clean it. It's always like this" He unsheathed his sword, showcasing that it was indeed, clean.

"How?"

"You apply chakra to it" he said, demonstrating by applying a little. Sure enough, a green tinge surrounded the blade. It changed nothing, but it piqued Ichigo's curiosity a great deal.

"Is it the same with a Kunai as well?" Mei asked, taking one of her weapon which was also bloodstained. Toshiro shook his head.

"Only works with zanpaktou" He said. "They're...more than just a weapon you wield. They symbolise a part of you"

"I thought that was just a metaphor. How do you immerse your soul into an inanimate object?"

"It's...kind of complicated to explain" Toshiro admitted. "But no, it isn't a metaphor"

"It really sucks being the only one who can't understand this. I mean, being the only non-Shinigami certainly does not have its benefits"

"Oh, yes it does" Ichigo said. "We need diversity. They take away our swords, and we're pretty much fucked"

"I'm not completely clueless, Ichigo" She said. "I know your swords can come back to you even if you don't want it to"

Ichigo frowned. "We can't do that"

"Not now, at least" Toshiro said. "We need our swords to be in Bankai form for that. Only the really good ones can manage that with a Shikai. Someone of Urahara's level, if you want that specifications"

"What's that guy's deal, anyway?" Mei asked. "He's Yagura's right hand man, and acts like that"

"Looks can certainly be deceiving. Whatever that man is, he's not what he's showing us" said Ichigo. "I mean, my dad would beat me around after my mom died, just to improve my reflexes. I'd beat him up, and he'd laugh. But boy, he was a monster on the field. He was really powerful, and he got pissed when anyone threatened me or my sisters"

The other two teammates just stared him, much to Ichigo's surprise. "What?" He demanded.

"N-nothing" Toshiro stammered. "Not a lot of people just openly say they beat their dad. It's...awkward"

"Yeah, my dad was an oddball. What about you guys? How's your family?"

"I live alone, remember?" Mei pointed out. "And Toshiro over here lives with his grandmother"

"Oh...sorry" Ichigo muttered.

"No reason to apologize. Like I said, living alone's fun. No rules, no parents behind your back"

"I've always wanted parents behind my back, though" said Toshiro. "Someone to take care of me constantly"

"That sounds boring" said Mei. "Why? You can do whatever ya want, without anyone stopping you. Tell me Toshiro, what's the worst thing you've ever done?"

"I...uh..." Toshiro looked away, scratching his cheek slightly. "Um...uh...I once hid Rangiku's zanpaktou from her. She didn't find it for three days"

"Wow" said Ichigo, trying to feign awe. "That's..."

"Pathetic" said Mei. "Calling that a prank would be generous, actually. What about you, Ichigo?"

"Well, I punched my dad a lot" Ichigo said. "Don't know if that counts as something bad. Does destroying a friend's house count?"

"Was it on accident?" asked Mei.

"Yes"

"No" she smiled.

"Well then, Miss bad girl, what's the worst thing you've ever done?"

"Oh, in due time" She smiled again. There was nothing reassuring about it, other than a sense of impending doom. "Well then, we'd better sleep. Gotta find her soon"

"I'll take first watch" Ichigo said.

"I'll do it" said Toshiro. "I've already set up explosive kunais around place. Any foreign contact and they get frozen. So, I'd advice against going outside without my knowledge"

"Why can't I go?"

"Because, if you falter once more like that when someone's coming at us, you're gonna cost us a lot" said Toshiro.

"It was one screw up! Nothing serious" Ichigo growled. Toshiro just dismissed the thought with a wave of his hand, and moved ahead.

"You know, you can trust us" said Mei. "Like it or not, you're going to be seeing us a lot. So, if you're going to keeping things from us, don't expect us to tell you everything about us" She turned around and snuggled into her sleeping bag. Ichigo sighed, pressing his back against a tree and trying to sleep.

"Mayuri-san!" the person in question groaned as he heard that voice. He really hated that man. He tried to duck, tried to get away from that man. Too late. He felt a familiar iron grip at his shoulder, turning him around to be faced with the Blonde Shinobi.

"What is it, Urahara...san?" The last syllable forced way too much.

"Why, I was under the impression that you were running away from me" said Urahara, his goofy smile nearly blinding Mayuri. Words could not possibly describe how much Mayuri Kurotsuchi despised this man, how much he wished the man would drop dead. But alas, matters like that would simply not happen without...another, much stronger force.

"That was indeed, what I was planning, Urahara-san"

"Oh, you hurt me Mayuri-san" The man feigned hurt, but recovered immediately. "I heard you captured one of the seven captains of the rebellion. How is your progress on extracting information?"

"It is going quite well" said Mayuri, finally having something dull out the pain of having to converse with Yagura's most trusted man.

"I suspect that means we are having good results?"

"Oh no, we haven't gotten anything useful yet. However, I get to test a myriad of drugs on her. And since when were you under the impression that she was a captain? None of the captains would be captured so easily. Oh no, this woman is strong, but she is not captain worthy. Did Ulquiorra refer to her as a captain?"

"He most certainly did. He also stated that you were then who said as such. And he also did not confide in me that this person was a woman"

"Then he is quite surely, an idiot" said Mayuri. "If he thought a captain would go down to someone of his calibre so easily"

"You seem to underestimate him"

"You seem to overestimate him" Kisuke smiled.

"It was that charming wit you possessed that made me speak most highly of you, Mayuri-san" said Urahara. "Would you mind if I saw this female rebel?"

"My answer doesn't really carry much weight, does it, Urahara-san?" sighed Mayuri.

"No, I'm afraid it wouldn't" Urahara smiled, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, since you are already here" said Mayuri, standing up from the HQ cafeteria. He directed the blonde Shinigami across a series of halls and corridors before leading him to a small room that had a large glass window overlooking a dark room.

"Fire up the lights, Zommari" ordered Mayuri, before opening a door which conveniently led him into the room. The lights turned on to reveal a girl, her wrists had metal cuffs attached to chains that made it so she was forced into a standing position. She had black dishevelled black hair. A scanty piece of clothing kept her modest. A battle of wounds could be soon all over her body, cuts, bruises, and multiple tiny punctures marks showing just how many drugs Mayuri could have tested.

Urahara stared, not all too pleased at Mayuri's work. No human being should ever have to go through such torment, ever. "Don't you think you...overdid it, Mayuri-san?"

"Showing pity, are we, Urahara-san? How very unlike you" Mayuri smiled, looking at the punctures before taking a very thin stick and smacked her across the back. No movement.

"I find it very unethical to carve up a corpse"

"Not a corpse yet, Urahara-san" he said, using the stick once again. She finally stirred, a single eye opening. "Now then, Miss Shutara. Must I ask the same questions as before?"

No answer. Slap. To her defence, she didn't scream, or do anything of the sort. The only sign of pain was a wince, and even that was slight.

"I haven't talked in three days...what makes you think I'd talk now?" Every word was an effort. She stared at Mayuri's yellow eyes, staring at her with a sadistic high. It was surprising how she could possibly stay sane through this ordeal. Especially at the mercy of a man like Mayuri. The only thing that could make the man more frightening would was if he wore face-paint.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll think of something that will rid you of this...shyness" said Mayuri. "However, I have a guest who would like to meet you. Come on in, Urahara-san"

"I'm fine from here, thank you, Mayuri-san" said Urahara, smiling through the glass before looking at Shutara. "If you give us the information, we'll let you go"

Shutara scoffed. "I didn't believe it the first time he said it, and I don't believe it now. Besides...I've gone through all this, you think I'd just give it up if you promised me freedom? Go to hell"

"All we need are the plans. Those people, they aren't coming to save you, so I doubt they'd be coming anytime soon" Urahara saw something like a flicker of sadness in her eyes, though it vanished the moment it had come back.

"None of us expect to return. Which is why we never send rescue teams. If we die, we die" said Shutara. "That's just how the Rebellion works"

"That...is a very flawed thinking" said Urahara. "What's the point of sending a soldier if you don't come back?"

"It's ironic, isn't it? Kisuke Urahara, giving me a lecture about the life of a comrade. Funny, how you let your friend die" Urahara frowned.

"That's irrelevant, and you do not know the circumstances under which I had to take that decision. So, I'd prefer if we stopped swaying from the matter, which is that all of this could stop if you just gave us the information we needed"

"My answer isn't going to change. No"

"Well then, I'm afraid Mayuri-san will be getting all the more friendly with you" and with that, Urahara walked out the door. The woman had awoken bad memories within him, memories even a man such as Urahara dreaded.

Morning came by fast. Toshiro hadn't gone on a lookout for too long, so he was well enough to continue with his team, albeit a little tired. "I'll be lagging behind quite a lot" he'd informed. Mei noted that he was very shrewd, and to perfect Shinigami techniques at such a young age, was surely something to marvel at.

Ichigo, as far as she could tell, was quite intelligent. Not to her or Toshiro's extent, but he could use his head if his brute force didn't guarantee him the win in a battle.

Ichigo, on one hand, was determined to find Azami and give her what he called 'revenge'. His teammates seemed to be making a mountain out of his small slip up (He couldn't talk with Zangetsu, or even enter his inner world now. Great). He'd somehow convince Zangetsu to explain to him about that...thing and make sure slip-ups like that never happened again.

"Split up, I guess" said Ichigo, moving to the front of his team.

"Hope you fight somewhere vines can't distract ya" said Mei. Ichigo, despite himself, smiled slightly.

"Good luck!" He grunted, and moved away from his team.

Azami growled in frustration. She needed to get out, but this forest was proving to be annoying. She'd marked a tree, just in case she'd somehow stumble upon it. The tree now had six markings. She was still tired from her summoning the previous day. Those brats...they were powerhouses. All three of them, she'd played all of her cards, and now she had nothing but her skills. And if what she thought was right...those three were already singlehandedly as strong as her.

However, what surprised her most was the orange haired one. Ichigo Kurosaki. That was a strong name he bore, carrying almost as much significance as Uzumaki, Uchiha, Senju and the like. He held a strong bloodline, and when the Shiba Clan merged with his, he housed an unnatural power.

She still didn't understand the concept of all of this. Why not just have Kisuke Urahara track her down? Surely, this was a 'test' but the job would be so much simpler if the sensei was there as well. The other two were even more dangerous. They carried no big family name and were still capable of extraordinary feats, though she could swear she'd heard of the name Hitsugaya before.

Something sped towards her, effectively pulling her from her line of thought. She jumped back just in time, as a huge cleaver-like sword buried itself onto the ground. She frowned, looking at a long piece of cloth stuck towards the hilt. It was stretched, yet the hilt of the sword was still covered with a lot of that cloth. She looked to where the cloth came from. It was the Kurosaki brat.

"You know, if you'd been a little faster, I wouldn't be the joke of my team" he said. Why was he smiling? "Time to return the favour"

And with that, he jumped.

He landed a few hundred feet in front his sword, so that he was just in front of Azami. He pulled the cloth in front of him, sending his sword back towards the kunoichi, who dodged.

Not today, Ichigo growled, moving his hand so that the cloth moved the blade towards Azami, who instinctively ducked, slowly trying to decrease the distance between them. His long range wouldn't be as deadly if they were closer in proximity to each other.

She whipped up a kunai and threw it at the boy, who lazily moved out of the way. Ichigo pulled the cloth, the hilt finding itself in his hand. "Hey, lady...I'm going to finish this in an instant" and with that, he pushed his feet to the ground, and with a burst of speed appeared in front of her, slashing sideways.

The sword found her shoulder, cutting through her armour as though it were nothing. Before she could even react, he grabbed her free hand, and pulled it down, making her hit the ground, before sending his sword through...the ground inches away from her head.

"I wasn't kidding when I said a flash" He replied to the now unconscious body of his target. He sighed, picking his blade up and trying what Toshiro had bragged about. He willed his chakra into the blade, and was very surprised when he watched the blood disappear. Soon enough, it was completely gone. "Oh well" Ichigo said, placing his sword on his back and picking up the woman, placing her on his shoulder before forming a hand sign and slamming his palm to the ground. Markings appeared on the floor, until a huge ray of light surrounded him and blasted into the sky. He felt nothing, though. This was just to signify that he'd finished the job.

His teammates didn't seem happy when they found out the result. "You were supposed to use it the moment you saw her" Toshiro pointed out. Ichigo shrugged, which almost resulted in his baggage falling off.

"Big deal"

"She could have had reinforcements"

"It would have said something in our scroll about something as vital as that. Though, she didn't put up much of a fight at all. Wasn't she supposed to be a Jonin or something?"

"You're right" Mei frowned. "In theory, she should have kicked your ass the moment she saw you. You might be slightly stronger, but Kirigakure Shinobi would probably defeat you easily. The particularly hardcore ones should have no problem slitting your throat and moving on to fight the rest of us"

"I feel so loved" Ichigo mumbled. "Trust me; I know just how strong Jonin are supposed to be. A friend of mine's obsessed with her brother, who has a hobby of kicking my ass. This one's nowhere near as strong as him, and all her brother does is screw with me"

"Sounds like a charming man. I take it you refer to Kuchiki-sensei?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow at Toshiro's comment.

"How-?"

"Connected the dots. He has a sister, so I figured he'd be the only one who could beat you while 'screwing around'. Not to mention, Kuchiki-sensei doesn't really like a lot of people. Matsumoto learned that the hard way once..."

"Great. As much as I'd love to hear this story of yours, I'd probably enjoy hearing it home. So can we go? Please?"

"Somebody is homesick" Mei smiled. She still hadn't gotten a chance to show case her trump cards (Having more than one trump card surely spoke a great deal about her prowess). She might not be a Shinigami, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let these to dominate the team. "Okay then. We leave immediately"

Yagura smiled at the corpses that now littered the Ai Park. The scent of blood was thick, making his smile all the more sinister. Despite the way things looked, Yagura didn't enjoy killing. However, he did enjoy stepping on bugs that posed a threat. And sadly, the Izuru clan had been exhibiting rather rebellious tendencies. Tendencies Yagura didn't find very appealing at all.

He had been forced to come down here and it had started off as a friendly ordeal. But of course, the head of clan, Kira, had been adamant that Yagura 'get his Royal ass out of our house', and had rather stupidly brandished his sword at the ruler of 'the bloody mist'. Yagura had been nice enough to comply and walked out, only for his guards to be ambushed by others of the Izuru clan, after which Yagura had been forced to the park. Kira only instigated the fight further, giving a huge speech about how the Izuru clan would, after dealing with Yagura; bring back Kirigakure to its former glory.

Chopping his head off of the man's neck had truly been wonderful. The Izuru clan fell like bowling pins, each one's death more gruesome than the one before, Yagura taking all the more time into making sure that was the case. Kirigakure hadn't seen a massacre of this length since the Kaguya clan ordeal, and even then Yagura hadn't been directly involved.

He watched as the people looked him, some scared, some marvelled, some awed, some horrified. At the end, he was still far too good for any of them. "Y-Yagura-sama, what's this?"

"Ah, Kisuke. Exactly where were you?"

"I received word that my team would be returning, my lord. I was merely making certain that there were no complications with their mission"

"They have arrived?"

"I went myself. A friend of mine goes by the name 'goddess of the flash', my lord. You could say her talents rubbed onto me. B-but my lord, that has nothing to do with why I'm here. Wh-what is the meaning of this?"

"I don't think I can remember the last time you ever stuttered" Yagura swayed a little, before steadying himself.

"Neither do I. Yagura-sama, this...this is big. You shouldn't have done this"

"And who are you to oppose me, Kisuke?" Yagura snapped, still not facing Urahara. "You could be one amongst these corpses if I saw fit"

"We both know that's not the case" Yagura felt a hand on his shoulder. "Yagura...stop"

"Y-yes" The voice was getting unbearable now. He reached a hand, rubbing his temples. "I-I'll be leaving to the Hokage building...N-no, I'll be fine, Kisuke"

"I didn't say anything"

Yagura nearly swore. He needed sleep, and he needed it now. He needed it badly. Anything to make the voice stop.

Ichigo grinned at Urahara, who for some reason, seemed very down. Azami was now conscious, and very pissed. She struggled against the rope that held her, frowning up at her captors, or in this case, just Ichigo. Mei and Hitsugaya were satisfied, but not to the point where their teeth showed.

"Good work, all three of you" Urahara mumbled. "Y-you can leave"

"Is everything alright, Sensei?" Mei asked, frowning.

"No, it...never mind. You three best be off home" Urahara sighed, taking Azami away.

Ichigo frowned; all traces of his grin had died out. "What's his problem? He seemed extremely down"

"Well, we'll find out soon enough" Toshiro said. The three of them made their way home, when the stench of gore hit their noses. Mei was the first to see it, and she abruptly stopped.

None of them could believe what they were seeing. Bodies lay scattered all over the place, some lacking a head, some a limb, all of them grotesquely placed such that you couldn't step in the park without somehow touching a part of the corpses. Toshiro looked at the scene, aghast at the sight before him. Was this how the Kaguya clan had looked? No. None of them would have been this badly treated.

Ichigo had an expression similar to that of the other two. It didn't last, soon to be replaced by unspeakable anger. He clenched his fists, and looked around at all the people who were still here. "What the fuck happened?" Nobody answered. Ichigo repeated the question, a hundred times louder. A few people stirred, mumbling something about a member of the Izuru clan insulting Yagura.

"And you assholes just sat here, while all this happened?" Ai Park wasn't a large park, and the whole park wasn't littered with bodies. However, there were more than fifty bodies all over the main section. Bodies floating on the small pond, bodies stuck in between bars of the small bridge that had been built over it. He knew that none of them could have possibly fought against Yagura, but right now, he didn't care.

"Ichigo..."

"What?" He growled, turning around to face one of his good childhood friends. Rukia Kuchiki.

"You know none of them could have-."

"Your brother sure as hell could! Don't you guys know Kira? You think he deserved to be part of this?"

"Nee-sama isn't in town, and don't you dare try to put the blame of this on him, idiot!" Rukia growled, glancing at the bodies with slit eyes. She had indeed, known Kira. He had been a good man, usually reserved. So when she had heard that he had been the one to initiate the fight, it had deeply hurt her. "Nobody could have stopped this but Kira"

"Oh, so this is now his fault?" Ichigo yelled.

"It's not Nii-sama's!"

"It's not the dead guy's either!"

"Ichigo, stop" said Toshiro. "It's not her fault..."

"He knows!" Rukia snapped. "He just needs someone to shout at"

"Why did this happen?" Mei asked. Rukia stopped her glaring competition with the orange haired boy, and turned to his comrade.

"Kira said something about Yagura, and started an attack against him. His whole clan followed. The children are still alive, though...they're being taken care of by the city officials right now" she said.

"The bastard had no right to do this..." Ichigo mumbled.

"You're right, he didn't" said Mei.

"He didn't start the fight..." Rukia muttered. "He didn't have to do this" She gestured to the fallen clan. "But the fault isn't completely his"

"The bastard...Urahara did nothing about this. That's why the asshole was so nervous with us"

"He actually looked a lot more sad than nervous" pointed out Toshiro.

"Ichigo, I think you should go back to your sisters. Th-this'll be handled" Rukia said. Ichigo would have loved to stay and argue, but Rukia was right.

"Tell Byakuya from me to go fuck himself!" He yelled, before going around the park, using his flash step now. He greeted Shunsui outside his apartment, whose expression was grim.

"This will all end one day, Kurosaki-san..." he mumbled. "Now then, if you'll excuse me" Ichigo still didn't understand where he went. He rushed up the stairs, and opened the door to his apartment.

Yuzu was a mess. Her eyes were red and puffy; a box of tissues lay on the table near the couch. Karin sat next to her, trying her best to comfort her sister. Ichigo closed the door and laid his sword on its handle. "You...saw it?"

"She went to the grocery store. When she came back...well..." Ichigo's anger still hadn't left him, but he knew better than to cause a scene right now. His sister needed him.

"H-he killed them so easily" Yuzu whimpered, shivering slightly as Ichigo sat next to her. He wrapped his arm around her trembling form and hugged her.

"Just...close your eyes" Ichigo mumbled. "Karin, go to bed. Unless of course, you don't wanna sleep"

"I want to stay here" she said, frowning at her brother's words. "Yuzu's my sister too, ya know"

"Yeah, but I don't have to go the Academy tomorrow. You do" Ichigo said. "And you're going to need the sleep"

"Fine" muttered Karin, clearly reluctant on leaving her sister. Ichigo sighed, stroking the side of Yuzu's head to calm her down. He really sucked at stuff like this, his Dad was loads better. Every time Ichigo had gone on his tantrums, his Dad with soothe him up somehow. With no Isshin around, Ichigo had been forced to pick up the mantle, a mantle that he was in no way ready to take up.

This was going to be a long night.

"Ichigo" Toshiro knocked on his comrade's door. No response. After about three minutes, the door opened. Toshiro found himself looking at a thirteen year old female version of Ichigo. Or at least, the scowl helped.

"What?" she pretty much snarled, running a hand through her black hair.

"Does Ichigo Kurosaki live here?" Mei asked, also noticing the slight resemblance the girl bore to her elder brother.

"Come on in...You're his teammates?" Toshiro nodded. "He's on the couch. Good luck waking him up" she said, and proceeded to go inside some room.

"My, my...what do we have here" Mei chuckled. "It almost looks like he's nice. Huh Toshiro?"

"Well...I didn't expect this either" said Toshiro, his lips curving slightly at the sight of Ichigo sleeping with one hand protectively around his sister, who seemed to be asleep on his shoulder. Toshiro poked Ichigo in the cheek slightly, stirring him back into consciousness. He drowsily opened his eyes, studied Toshiro's face, and yawned.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" He muttered, scratching his hair. "How are you guys even in here?"

"You read this?" Mei asked, holding up an edition of some really old manga.

"Dad" Ichigo explained, straightening up. "Now then, answer my question. What the hell are you guys doing here?"

"Your sister was kind enough to let us in. I have to ask, does everybody in your family frown?"

"Just Karin and I, actually" he said. "My dad smiled an awful lot, and that rubbed onto Yuzu. At least, enough to make sure that she didn't scowl all the- What's with that grin?"

"Nothing...just, never expected you to be the caring type" said Mei.

"Well, you learn something new everyday" said Ichigo. "Now then, for the last time, what-"

"We've got a mission" said Mei.

"That quickly?" Ichigo asked, taking the scroll from Mei and reading it. "This isn't till a month"

"I know...Urahara-sensei wants you to start training for your Bankai. Toshiro already started ages ago" said Mei. "And I've already started trying to perfect my techniques"

"I started my Bankai training the moment I got my Shikai. Unlike Toshiro over here, my Shikai is pretty straightforward. I hit stuff with Zangetsu, and that's about it" said Ichigo. "No very special power, other than the fact that it's strong as hell"

"That's not how it works" Toshiro frowned.

"In my case, it kind of does" said Ichigo. It wasn't the truth, though. He had taken sometime to try and learn a few more tricks with his Shikai, which he did. "The point is I started my Bankai training. So, I don't have to come to the academy today. Now, go tell Urahara to go fuck himself"

Toshiro frowned. "What was that comment for?"

"Well, considering what 'Yagura-sama' did yesterday night, I think that comment was much needed" Ichigo smiled. "Now then, if you'll excuse me, I've got a sister to take care of"

"Urahara-san expects you now, actually" said Mei. "The training regiment he has for us is supposed to be mortifying. At least, that's what he's got us saying. Besides, the Chunin exam starts in three months. You're going to need your Bankai to stand a chance against all the other Genin. They're going really overboard with this stuff"

"I get it" Ichigo growled. "The thing is, right now, I don't give a damn. All I care about is staying here"

"Well, that's too bad. Because, according to Urahara, Byakuya-sensei's gonna be there as well" said Toshiro. His smile grew as he watched Ichigo mull over the decision of either staying here or going.

"Well then, tell him to come back tomorrow, so that I can kick his and Urahara's ass"

"It's not Urahara-sensei's fault...'that' happened..." said Mei. "It's Yagura's. You shouldn't be blaming our Sensei for that. And besides, you need to get to the training now, if you're gonna want to learn Bankai"

"Fine. Let's have a bet" said Ichigo. "I'll learn my Bankai, without ever coming a single day to your training. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal" said Mei, smiling. "You know, the odds are extremely against you"

"Oh, don't I know it" said Ichigo. "Anyways, if you don't mind, I think I'll be staying home"

"Suit yourself" said Mei, and immediately Toshiro and her left. Ichigo closed his eyes, and soon found himself in the familiar skyscraper habitat that was his inner-mind. His Zanpaktou stood tall on one of the poles, staring at his wielder.

"Why are you here, Ichigo?"

"You already know the reason" said Ichigo. "I need to learn Bankai"

"Yes, and the training has been going well"

"Not well enough" said Ichigo. "I need it in three months"

"I can prepare you much faster" said Zangetsu, appearing in front of him in an instant. "However, there is only so much I can do. You are going to need a lot of physical training as well, if you are to truly achieve Bankai"

"I can handle that" Ichigo grinned. He frowned the next second. "Zangetsu...that thing I saw, during my fight with Azami. What the hell was that?"

"All in due time, Ichigo. You will know soon enough. Now, draw your blade. It's about time you used all the techniques my Shikai allows" he said, and whipped a cleaver blade, one similar to the one Ichigo used. Ichigo nodded as a blade materialized on his hand, and with a roar, he initiated the fight.

Author's note: From the reviews I've been getting (Thanks a lot guys!), I've been asked to describe Kirigakure. Something, which I plan on doing, but what I plan on doing slowly. I wrote this chapter just to kinda show the relationships the characters are trying to build\have built. The chapters will be getting longer, and I'll do my best to update faster. Also, this chapter might bring about a slightly weird point. Shutara, a member of the Zero Squad, should surely be much stronger than I portray her, right? Well, that will have an explanation in future chapters, so bear with my till then. Until next time!