A/N: So, guess who's still alive! Yeah, I didn't die, though I felt like I would from the bull shit. School's a real bitch sometimes, you know. Well, enough about me, time to entertain you!... wait, two things. If you guys want a lemon between Ichigo and a girl, the easiest being Yoruichi right now, I'd be happy to try my hand at one. Never written one before, but whatever. Also, if you'd prefer I do English titles(Captain as opposed to Taicho, etc), tell me. Never gotten any complaints until somewhat recently. Review with a yes or no on those fronts. NOW it's time to (hopefully) entertain you!

Execution in 2 Days

Ichigo stared at Zangetsu for a long moment, and he got a cocky smirk in return. They were both laying on their fronts, for the most part, atop a large boulder. As one, they extended their hands outward, grasping each other's. Their elbows slammed into the boulder they were on with enough force to leave dents as they tightened their grip. Above them, a once more teenage Ywach(T Ywach from now) raised his hand, looking at both of them and getting a nod.

Then, as T. Ywach's hand dropped, all hell broke loose.

Zangetsu exploded into a cloak of reiatsu, mainly white with a red trimming, while Ichigo had a mainly black reiatsu with red trimming pour out of him. The force of that clash was enough to shatter the boulder they were on, leaving them to drop to the floor and continue their clash. They were evenly matched as they pushed against one another, trying their damnedest to overpower the other.

Eventually, though, Ichigo's stamina won out, having the added reiatsu absorbing abilities from Ywach's assimilation into his soul. It was a long and hard road, but, in the end, the victory in extreme arm wresling was Kurosaki Ichigo, making it a resounding 4-2 victory for Ichigo in their best of 7.

Ichigo jumped up from the small crater they'd made and flexed. "Who's the best!? C'mon, say it!"

Zangetsu just got up, dusted himself off, and flipped him off. "Shut it, you lucky little shit. My arm cramped up." The excuse sounded weak no matter how you put it, but Zangetsu stuck to it.

Not even bothering to tear that one apart, Ichigo just returned the bird he was so graciously gifted with. "Sure. Twice in a row. How unlucky." He jerked his head to the side to avoid the red cero that flew at him. "So, wanna go again? Or is your arm sti-" He was cut off by a puff of smoke from above them, which indicated someone coming into the secret base. When all of them were already there.

Sighing at the interruption, Ichigo blurred over there using pure speed, his sudden arrival a surprise to Yoruichi, Ganju, and Hanataro due the lack of a buzzing sound. "What's going on?" was all he asked, not really bothering to explain his stealth mode arrival.

Yoruichi, being the most level headed among them, recovered almost instantly. "We have company."

When whoever it was finally landed, Ichigo was surprised to see who it was. "Oh, it's you... guy that was beat by Ishida." Ichigo didn't know it, but the man, Abarai Renji, was someone Ishida was a bit too acquainted with.

Most of the others had a bit more of a concerned reaction. Ishida immediately summoned his bow, Chad's arm transformed, and both Ganju and Hanataro drew their swords, though they were prepared to run. Yoruichi and Inoue were both rather calm, seeing that he wasn't looking for a fight.

Renji, with Zabimaru on his shoulder in its shikai, just looked at Ichigo with a critical eye. "The name's Abarai Renji... Kurosaki Ichigo, right?"

Ichigo was a bit surprised that he knew his name. "Huh. Am I famous or something?" If only he knew.

He was about to get informed, though. "Yes."

Ichigo stumbled back at that one. "What?" was his intelligent response.

"I said yes," responded Renji. " You defeated multiple taicho alone and won without a scratch. You faced Kenpachi Zaraki, the zanjutsu specialist taicho, in a 1-v-1, zanjutsu only fight and demolished him. You took on Yamamoto-Soutaicho, the strongest shinigami alive, in a shikai versus shikai death match and not only survived but hurt him. And you don't even HAVE a bankai, from the reports. You're the monster on everyone's minds, Kurosaki-san."

Despite what was just said, Ichigo managed to blush, though it was barely noticeable. "Okay, I don't think it was THAT big of a deal. Only one of the taicho used their bankai, and Kyoraku-san and Ukitake-san didn't even fight. It was really only 3 of them."

Renji looked at him like he was insane, but Ichigo either didn't notice or didn't care as he went on. "As for Zaraki, he didn't even take me seriously until I released my Gentei Rein. Then I had to end it quickly because of time constraints. He might've been able to beat me otherwise. As it stands, he nearly bisected me. Yama-ossan..." Ichigo had to think on that one, coming up with nothing. "Okay, that one was 100% bad-ass."

Everyone there was staring at him, not having really grasped the scope of his power previously. Even Yoruichi wasn't able to openly take on more than one taicho at once. Renji's dream was to surpass Kuchiki Byakuya, one of the taicho he beat, yet the achievement was downplayed by so much.

Ishida just sighed. Shaking his head, he said, "Learn to take a compliment, Kurosaki."

Ichigo just shrugged. "I hate fame. Also, you said I don't have a bankai, Pineapple? Well, cross that off the list. Already earned mine. Yesterday, actually.

Once more, everyone just stared at him, though Yoruichi was no where near as surprised this time, only unaware that he'd done it. Then, after a moment, Renji registered what Ichigo had called him, making a vein bulge on his forehead. "Oi! Who the hell're you calling Pineapple, Strawberry!?"

A matching vein appeared on Ichigo. "Oh, what was that? I swore I heard a fucking fruit talk. But that's craaaaaazy."

"Oh?" Renji responded, glaring so hard Ichigo could've burst into flames. "You MUST be crazy. Or high. Or maybe both. 'Cause I don't know of any RED pineapples."

"There it is again." Ichigo was in front of him in an instant. "I swear it came from over here. Somehow, I can only find this RED PINEAPPLE, though. How strange. I think I need to get my ears checked, 'cause fruits don't talk, as far as I know." Both of them looked like they were about to explode, much to everyone's amusement.

In that instant, Renji headbutt Ichigo, and he fell to the ground, Renji jumping on him. A cloud of dust soon enveloped them as they wrestled on the floor, though it did nothing to stop the grunts and occasional remarks of "Fuck you!" and the like.

It cleared up at one point to show Renji holding Ichigo in a head lock, only to have Ichigo, after struggling, shove his head back to hit Renji in the face. They fell to the ground once more, the fight being resumed and the dust cloud being renewed.

Then, with the next lull in the dust, Ichigo with a black sword in his hands, standing on Renji's chest. He stabbed each side of Renji's head over and over, only missing because the terrified Renji kept dodging. Renji's foot came up and hit Ichigo in his family jewels, making him squeak and fall forward. Then, as Renji regained his wits, he pounced on the hollow that tormented him moments before.

After another round in the dust, their previous positions switched, with Renji sawing his spiked shikai across Ichigo's neck, only to have it create nothing more than sparks due to Ichigo's hierro. Ichigo sat there, laughing at him as he flipped Renji the bird. "The fuck are you gonna cut with that!?" Then, after enraging Renji further, he did a sit up, throwing him off and resuming the match on the floor.

In another calm(er) moment, Ichigo was standing above Renji, holding both of the man's legs open. With his face holding the most malicious look known to man, quincy, shinigami or hollow, Ichigo's foot loomed ominously above a man's greatest weak-spot, taunting the, once more, terrified Renji. Renji was holding Ichigo's foot above his groin with the flat of his blade, but Ichigo's foot was slowly inching closer and closer, making his terrified face get mixed with panic.

Despite how much she loved the sight, Yoruichi figured it was time to end it. In her cat form, she jumped at Ichigo's head, but changed back to human mid jump. Her foot was outstretched, hitting him square in the side of the head and sending him flying into a nearby boulder. When he impacted, Ichigo was buried a foot or two INTO the boulder, making Zangetsu, who was watching from afar, burst into laughter, which he'd been holding in the whole time.

"Enough of that, you two," was her insincere comment as she returned to her cat form.

Pulling himself from whole he'd created on impact, Ichigo walked back to the gathering, though, for some reason, it looked like he was stalking towards them with a purpose. It was only then that everyone, including the recovered Renji, noticed that his hakama pants were... flaming. But they weren't ON fire. It was more like they WERE fire.

With the backed up view, and the lack of fighting, it was easy to then notice everything else, too. His arms had chain tattoos going down them, ending on his palm. Unseen to them, there was a manji(the swastika that is his bankai's hilt) in the center of his palm, surrounded by a circular ouroboros(a serpent eating its own tail). He had a matching ouroboros on his back, but no one could see it at that moment, and they were focused on the fight earlier, so they missed it.

Arriving within a few moments, which didn't really give them much time to ponder the new marks, Ichigo, after sending a quick glare to Yoruichi, glanced at Renji. "What was it you came here for, Abarai?"

Renji, surprised that he wasn't called a fruit once more, took a moment to gather his wits. "Oh, uh, I just..." His face taking on a far more serious look, Renji took a deep breath and began to walk away. "Time's almost up before Rukia's execution, and as I am, I can't do much." He held out his sword to the side, his Zanpakuto spirit materializing from his released shikai.

To Ichigo, Yoruichi, and Hanataro, who knew how Zanpakuto worked, it was a rather big surprise when not one but two separate beings materialized. One was a decently tall, curvaceous, and buxom woman with green fur covering most of her body, though both her head and an area of skin going down from her collar to her stomach was open. Her red hair was more of a mane, with two black markings on each side of it. Around her waist she had a chain attached that connected her to the other spirit.

Next to her, on the other end of the chain, was a younger looking, androgynous, but more feminine, spirit dressed in mostly white. Their stomach was out in the opening with a yellow-trimmed white top that had excessively long sleeves, while their shorts were puffy on the bottom, though the bottom was only at knee level. Around his/her neck was a yellow collar, which the chain attached to. His/her hair was far tamer than their counterparts, being smooth, and he/she had two white ear protectors for some reason. The most interesting feature, however, was the extremely long, and apparently dexterous, tail that he/she balanced on.(A/N: Google Zabimaru human form for a image if you want.)

Turning his head to give his audience a look, Renji continued. "I need to achieve bankai to fight on that level, so I'll be borrowing this place. I'm almost there already, just need another push. I won't get in any of your way."

Ichigo shook his head, about to comment when Zangetsu appeared in a blur of speed, leaning on Ichigo's shoulder, T. Ywach fading in behind them with his hoodie on. Zangetsu looked them up and down before grinning wildly. "Never seen another Zanpakuto spirit before. Apparently we all look as good as me, or at least you do." He winked at the furry half of Zabimaru, making Ichigo face-palm and Ywach follow suit.

Said Zanpakuto just grinned back, though. Unfortunately, the positive moment was ruined by the boy(?) in white, who, if the devious smirk on his face was anything to go by, knew exactly what he was doing as he said, "Sorry, but I'm not interested. Thanks, though."

His/her counterpart glared, bringing her fist down on his/her head. "He was TALKING to me, baka-Hebi!"

Hebi glared back, though he(?) was tearing up slightly. "Well how do you know that, Saru-teme!?"

Butting in with a smirk, Zangetsu did what he hoped would stoke the flame. "I WAS talking to your curvaceous comrade, Hebi, but you don't look too bad either..." He winked at Hebi before pausing, a thought coming to mind. "For the record, though - you aren't a dude right?"

A vein appeared on Hebi's head as Saru burst out laughing. "Of course I am, dumbass! We don't ALL have giant udders on our chest like Saru-teme, you know!"

Instead of getting mad at the insult, Saru just leaned down slightly to reach Saru's level, making the "girls" bounce intentionally. "No need to be jealous."

Zangetsu just strolled over to them, his flaming, white hakama pants catching everyone's eye. "Now, now..." he appeared behind the two arguing spirits with pure speed, shocking them stiff. "You can BOTH be the best. But you gotta prove it first~." Both of them blushed ever so slightly at that, though Saru didn't look all that opposed to it. Hebi did seem quite a bit annoyed, though.

Ichigo had had just about enough, though. He sighed, bringing attention to himself, before looking to Ywach. "Would you mind...?"

Ywach nodded almost happily. "Gladly." With that, he disappeared for a moment, reappearing with Zangetsu tied up in black chains that sprouted from one of his sleeves. Hebi was more than slightly relieved, looking up at Tensa Zangetsu with visible thanks.

Ignoring the struggling and cursing Zangetsu, Ichigo turned to Renji, a small grimace on his face. "Sorry about him."

Zangetsu shouted, as a response, "Oh fuck you! You DO know who I'm modeled after, right!? YOU totally would right now! If you had the balls, that i- Ack!" Ywach tightened the chains suddenly, making his fellow occupant of Ichigo's soul choke as the air was forced from his lungs. After a moment of silence, Ywach just nodded at the slightly blushing Ichigo, telling him to continue.

Managing to ignore Zangetsu again, though a small blush remained on his face, Ichigo continued. "Seriously, though, you shouldn't just rush in once you attain bankai. Take the full time to practice a much as possible. I slammed into, and through, a boulder the first time I used my bankai's speed, and I only wanted to move forward a few feet. If you don't know how to control its power properly, it'd be better if you didn't use it. You could get yourself, or others, killed."

Renji, after he was done burning holes into his Zanpakuto spirits' skulls with his eye, responded. "We'll see. If I have time, I'l practice. If not... I'll improvise." Walking away, he could only think to himself, 'THAT'S what everyone is so scared of!? He's a clown! I barely sensed more reiatsu from him than the Kuchiki-taicho, let alone enough to match Yamamoto-soutaicho...'

Ichigo looked over to everyone else with a raised brow. "So, how's it going on your end, guys? I already reached bankai. How about you?"

Being so suddenly addressed threw them off for a moment, so Yoruichi answered for them. "Things are going quite well, Ichigo. Chad is gaining proficiency in your "sonido" rather quickly, and Ishida-san is trying hard to stay ahead in speed, even if he doesn't admit it." At that, Ishida "Hmph"ed and looked away. "He's also attempting to attain taicho level power without releasing that glove of his, and is coming along nicely. Inoue has come rather far as well, creating some new ways to use her powers, and Hanataro and Ganju can now match the speed of one of the slower taicho."

Now that was a surprise to Ichigo. Giving the group another once over, he nodded, thinking, 'Maybe I won't have to babysit this time...' His thoughts her interrupted by Zangetsu, who cleared his throat rather loudly. Ichigo just rolled his eyes and waved a hand at T. Ywach, giving the signal to release the pissed Zanpakuto spirit.

"Well," Ichigo began, "that's good. We have a few days, so keep it up. I have to go back to training, though, 'cause I'm definitely gonna have a few taicho swarm me at once. And more than just my bankai will be released." The double meaning of that was lost on everyone else, but his eyes met with Ywach and Zangetsu for the briefest of moments, a silent message passing between them.

Just as he went to walk away, his companions following him, Ishida cut in. "Actually, Kurosaki... would you be able to show me your bankai? I wish to know what we're up against."

Ichigo had to think on that for a moment. "Uh, mine is a bit out of the ordinary, from what I can tell."

His misgivings were waved off by Ishida, curious as he was. "I just want to feel the power, Kurosaki."

Sighing, Ichigo relented. "Alright." Taking a deep breath, the return of his pants to a normal form was the only indication something had changed. Then, opening his eyes suddenly, he brought one hand up to his face, his shikai appearing withing it's grasp. Swinging it out to the side, Ichigo decided to put on a show. His power flared up around him, giving him a blue glow for a moment. The rocks around his feet started to break apart, and, after a few moments, he was standing in a small crater, one about as wide as he was tall, though it was barely a foot deep.

"BAN..." Bringing his arm around, he pointed his sword towards Ishida, the bandages around his arm coming loose before spinning around and covering his arm. Then, as everything seemed to explode around him, he finished the command, placing his other hand on his outstretched arm's bicep. "KAI!"

The others were left covering their eyes as smoke swirled around him in what could only be described as a god damn tornado. Then, from within the eye of his own little storm, Ichigo flared his reiatsu, blowing away all the dust and debris. Standing in the center of it, Ichigo showed his bankai fully for the first time, dust swirling around him despite the dispersion of the previous tempest.

He had on a black coat that was completely open in the middle, showing his chest, abdomen, and tattoos. Along it's edges, it had a dark red fur lining, going all the way up and over the hood that he now possessed. Like his pants were earlier, and are now, his coat seemed to be made of a similar, black flame, though the ripple was the only real way to tell. Unseen to them, there was an ouroboros on the back of the jacket in white, standing out clearly on the flowing surface of the black coat. Then he flicked his wrist, making a sword shoot out from the depths of each sleeves, which were a good bit wider than they needed to be and partially covered his hands.

His swords were a bit different now, too. Instead of the single, obsidian black sword he possessed as a Vasto Lorde, he now had a sword with a serrated edge down the blade's back end, the part that was supposed to be flat. Toward the manji that was his hilt, though, there were 3 rectangular holes going halfway up the blade. It would've been just a bar, but there were separations in it. As usual, the chain at the end seemed to wrap around his hand as it disappeared in the depths of his sleeves.

When he spoke, Ichigo's voice rang out in the silence, gaining a slightly doubled tinge to it before he regained control. "Tensa Zangetsu." He stood there, letting it all sink in for them as he took a moment to control his own power.

The first response he got, though, was the most unexpected one, though it made sense that it came from Yoruichi. "It's so tiny."

Blushing, Ichigo prepared to defend his pride. "Oi!" he shouted indignantly, holding the still visible sword in the air. "My bankai is not "tiny"! It compresses the explosive power of a bankai into a smaller form to enable high speed combat and far stronger, far more concentrated attacks!" Slightly ticked, Ichigo took a moment to calm himself, throwing his coat off for comfort and making it disperse into black trimmed red reiatsu that flowed to him. Inadvertently, he revealed the tattoos on his arm once more, showing that he'd been in bankai from the moment they'd seen him.

Yoruichi decided to play devil's advocate here and stoke the flame while getting some of her own fun in too.. "Hmm. So it's tiny for a bankai, but you're saying that's a good thing. Well..." Just as Ichigo's eye started twitching, she shunpo-ed behind him, turning back into a human and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I guess you're a shower, not a grower. Not that you're showing anything bad."

The instant Ichigo felt her generous... assets on his back, he felt certain instinctual urges stronger than when she'd teased him earlier, though it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. No, all he showed was a twitch of his hands. "Yoruichi," he warned, "I'm pretty sure we discussed this. Clothes, personal space, or gtfo. Three choices."

She reluctantly relented. "That was boring... but nice tattoo."

Ichigo nodded. "I'm not sure if they should be called tattoos since they just appear, but thanks. Now, this good enough Ishida? It's not full power or anything, but I doubt you'll be facing the Soutaicho, so you don't need to see that." Ishida scrutinized him for a little while, trying to discern the current gap between him an Ichigo. Then, after a good few seconds, he nodded, turning and blurring away with Hirenkyaku.

Slowly, once the awe and/or curiosity of seeing a bankai for the first time wore off, everyone trickled away, going back to their training as well, though they were glad for the distraction. Everyone but the still butt-naked Yoruichi and Ichigo.

Glancing at her, Ichigo's face took on a serious expression. "I have but one question for you, Yoruichi." His face became near comical as he asked/demanded, "Why you no wear clothes!?"

She only shrugged, though. "Why don't you wear a shirt?"

"Well," Ichigo responded after thinking for a moment, "it's not comfortable, as I was a hollow WITHOUT a shirt for two years straight. It feels weird now."

Yoruichi nodded. "Exactly. You know how long I stay as a cat at a time? It's been a LONG time since I bothered to return to this form again. Clothes feel so... restricting now."

That was a feeling that Ichigo understood completely. "Okay, but must you flaunt yourself? I mean... really?" Zangetsu mentally shouted at him to stop complaining, but Ichigo ignored him.

Yoruichi smirked mischievously. "No... but I will. You young ones are so fun to tease, and 5 of the six of you are susceptible to my charms... unless one of you is swinging for the other team?" Ichigo just stared at her, the deadpan look on his face speaking for him. Yoruichi nodded. "Figured as much."

Sighing, Ichigo gave up. "Fine, whatever. But..." Ichigo had to take a moment to make sure he knew what he was getting into. "Could you, uh, do me a favor?"

Yoruichi smirked. "Oh, so NOW you grow a pair? Well, better late than never, Ichigo." With a burst of shunpo, she appeared in front of him, prepared to deal the dreaded finisher. The glomp.

Being prepared for her, Ichigo blurred to the side the moment she moved, dodging. "No, I don't mean that." He winced at a particularly loud shout from Zangetsu in his head. 'Fucking hell, man. I'll see what I can do with an at least semi-clear conscience later, but I got shit to take care of right now.'

Unaware of his internal struggle, Yoruichi raised her brow. "Oh? And here I thought you were taking your Zanpakuto's advice." Ichigo actually had to put his hand to his head in pain as Zangetsu LOUDLY agreed with her. "You okay, Ichigo?"

He waved her off. "Yeah, yeah. Zangetsu is just being a cunt."

Yoruichi was surprised by that. "Huh. Haven't heard you say that one yet." Then, instead of pursuing it, shrugged. "Well, whatever. What is it you wanted?"

Ichigo nodded. "Oh yeah. I need you to..."

Execution in 1 Day

Moments before, Ichigo and Renji had had another argument, but, instead of wrestling on the ground like children, Ichigo had suggested a spar. One that everyone was interested in seeing. And one that he intended to kick Renji's ass in.

It was a good thing that Renji had achieved bankai as well, or the battle would've been extremely one-sided.

Ichigo had already done a dramatic release of his own bankai for Renji to be amazed and/or cowed at, and it was pretty awe inspiring to see him emerge from the dust column, but Renji had no intention of letting Ichigo know that. No, he just chose to respond in kind.

Pulling his shikai up to his face hilt first, Renji began to radiate a deep, red reiatsu. The ground immediately around him began to shake in recognition of the power he was building up, seeking to release. "BANKAI!" A small twister erupted around him for a while, whipping the dust of the training ground into a small tornado. It only lasted for a few seconds, but that was enough to cover their spectators in a decent layer of dust. Yes, everyone was there to watch the spar. Seeing a bankai being released and seeing one fight were two different things, and they wanted to be prepared for what was to come.

When the twister dissipated, Renji was still surrounded, though it was no longer by a column of wind and dust. No, coiled around him was an enormous bone snake, its body made of vertebrae. At the connection to the head, there was red fur, creating a mane of sorts, similar to that of a lion.

The head itself, though, was menacing. Standing about as tall as Renji was, it was even longer than that, its many bone teeth looking sharper than the sword it came from, matching nicely with the glowing golden eyes in the two eye sockets. No, eyes weren't the correct terms. Laser sights were more accurate. They were glowing lights in the darkness of their respective eye sockets, focusing onto their target with laser-like focus.

Renji just smirked at the awed looks he received, pride in his partner and himself evident in how he stood, and how he spoke. "Hihio Zabimaru(Baboon King Snake Tail). Try not to die, Kurosaki."

Ichigo wasn't all too impressed by it, though. 'Good defense, but what happens if... WHEN I get passed that, Abarai? Your new cloak won't save you...' And Ichigo would make sure Renji got at least a few lacerations, red fur cloak or not.

Ichigo, feeling it to be the right thing, allowed his own cloak to return, covering his body in a comforting but alien way to him. Flicking one wrist, he brought out one of his swords. Now that he held it, prepared to fight, the true murderous nature of the blade could be felt by everyone, making all of them shiver at least a bit, even though Renji was the only one facing him. The serrated back of the blade glinted dangerously as Ichigo raised the blade, covering his chest diagonally.

His grip tightening in response to Ichigo's movements, Renji stopped shaking easily, smirking instead. "What is that puny thing? You call THAT a bankai!?"

Ichigo's eyebrow twitched as he took a deep breath, stopping himself from murdering Renji in an instant. "Don't go there, Renji. My power is compressed to the point that releasing just a little would match your highest kido, with the incantation. Also, it lets me do this..."

With that, Ichigo began to blur around Renji, appearing to be in multiple places at once. When he spoke, his voice came from just about everywhere. "Hard to fight what you can't touch, ain't it?"

Renji's eyes widened at the sheer speed he was seeing, and how casually it was being thrown about. Then, narrowing his eyes, he tightened his grip on Zabimaru, causing the snake like sword to slither around him, ready to move at a moment's notice. "I don't need to fight you. You have to come to me, you know."

One could feel the smirk on Ichigo's face the instant Renji said that. "Oh, really now." Still speeding around, Ichigo pointed his hand towards Renji, extending only two fingers. It looked like there were 20 of him doing it at once, though. A rather intimidating sight, actually.

Then, in a turn that shocked Renji, Ganju, and Hanataro, all of which thought he lacked the ability to do this, Ichigo shouted, "HADO#4 Byakurai(White Lightning)!" But, before anything happened, Ichigo disappeared from view. Then, milliseconds after, a small bolt of lightning slammed into Renji's shoulder, piercing it.

'Shit!' was all Renji could think as he sent Zabimaru upwards, using the angle of the Kido to determine Ichigo's general position before he even looked.

It was nothing but a feint, though. Once Zabimaru completely left its master to chase after where he was, Ichigo blurred away from the giant snake and in front of Renji, kicking him in the stomach and sending him flying backwards.

Ichigo let him get up, though, not wanting to end it too soon. Instead, he taunted the redhead. "Still got somethin' to say about my bankai!?"

Renji, as he pulled himself up, discreetly called Zabimaru down on Ichigo's head. "No," he responded, rubbing his stomach with one hand. "But I think you'll have a few choice words about mine when we're done." At that moment, the snake slammed into Ichigo, causing a small dust cloud, a bestial scream from the Zanpakuto accompanying the blow.

Having recovered, Renji just stared into the cloud, prepared for whatever he saw. He was slightly disappointed when Ichigo was there, blocking the snake head with his sword, holding the blade up with both hands. Renji didn't taunt him, though, having felt just what a single kick from Ichigo could cause. Instead, he stared at the strawberry-blonde before raising one hand to the immobilized Ichigo, his palm facing forward. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado#31: Shakkahō!"

From that, Renji built up then fired off a huge red ball at Ichigo, who saw it coming and narrowed his eyes. 'Son of a bitch!' was his only thought as he enacted countermeasures. Ones he could've used a while back, actually. Charging some reiatsu into his blade, he called out, "Getsuga Tenshou!" as he released a black wave of reiatsu from his blade, batting away Zabimaru and obliterating the Kido sent towards him.

When the move died down, though, Ichigo was gone. Having learned from his mistakes, Renji just pulled Zabimaru towards his person, prepared to defend against whatever Ichigo had planed... or at least he thought he was.

See, Ichigo had perfected the art of hunting a long while back. It was essential for survival in Hueco Mundo, at least when you weren't most likely to be the strongest thing in any given area that lacked a Vasto Lorde. It wouldn't have worked too long on, say, Yoruichi, but it was more than enough to hide himself from Renji long enough to prepare his move.

So, as he hid behind a boulder, Ichigo could only smirk at Renji's caution, knowing it was warranted but futile. He knew exactly where Renji was, being a stationary target, while Renji had no clue what was coming. Placing a hand on the ground, he focused, a chain shooting out of his sleeve and into the ground as a result.

It burrowed under the rock separating the two combatants, following Ichigo's direction as it went. Eventually, it reached Renji's location and Ichigo could feel it. Smirk falling from his face, he focused and, flicking his sword back into his sleeve, shot a Byakurai through the boulder, aiming at Renji. Keeping up the diversion, he fired multiple Byakurai the now on guard and defending Renji.

Now knowing where Ichigo was, Renji sent Zabimaru slithering towards him menacingly, the pattern of its path enough to block all of Ichigo's shots completely. This time, though, he left some of the tail surrounding him, retaining some sort of defense, and made sure he was aware of Ichigo's position instead. Renji had found out just how fatal an error it would be to give Ichigo an opening only moments before, and he didn't intend on letting a repeat performance go down.

Sadly, he wouldn't really be getting a say in the matter.

Before his bankai could actually reach Ichigo, a chain shot out of the ground, wrapping his body in a vice like grip. At the tip was a sharp point that wasn't too far from his face, so he couldn't struggle too hard, even if he had the ability to. Then the chain came out of the ground, splitting it as it drew taut between Renji and Ichigo, even splitting the rock that separated them and gave Renji a glimpse of Ichigo as he called, "Tensa: Yokusei(Heavenly Chain: Suppression)."

In a desperate move, Renji tried to make Zabimaru rush the now smirking Ichigo's "hiding" spot, but, as it smashed the remnants of the boulder in an attempt to smash the warrior behind it, the bankai was wrapped in chains from the mouth all the way down to the second vertebrae.

Victorious, Ichigo wrenched the bankai upwards as he leaped towards the ceiling before throwing the head towards Renji, making the enormous snake body follow, as was natural. As it impacted the ground, it fell apart, many pieces littering the ground.

Retracting the now useless chain, Ichigo grabbed the one holding Renji with both hands and began to spin, dragging Renji with him. The two went faster and faster until they were nothing but blurs to their audience. And still faster they went.

For a full thirty seconds, Ichigo built up speed, amounting in a crazy amount of force being exerted on Renji. Then, with the command, "Tensa: Kai(Heavenly Chain: Release)!" he allowed the chains to release Renji.

The sheer speed was enough to tear a normal human apart, and this was still enough to turn Renji into a living meteor. He streaked towards the ground in less than a second, slamming into it with thunderous force and leaving a crater.

In the resulting silence, Ichigo, as he stared down into the dust cloud obscuring the crater, spoke aloud, "Ten Kara Tsuihō(Expulsion from the heavens)."

With a deliberately slow fall, Ichigo floated down towards the dust cloud, scrutinizing it. "Oi, Abarai!" he shouted out, trying to draw out Renji. When he got no response, he rose a brow, but flicked his wrist to recall his sword as a precaution. "You alive in there?"

He got his response in the form of Renji shouting, "Higa Zekkō(Bite of a Broken Baboon's Fang)!" Suddenly, pieces of Zabimaru rose from the dust around Ichigo, circling him for but a moment before shooting inwards at him.

Thinking quickly, Ichigo batted them all away, swinging his sword so fast that it looked like it was in multiple places at once. Each and every one of the vertebrae were deflected after what was mere seconds, but those few seconds could've ended the battle.

Ichigo jumped back as the deflected shards moved again, but this time they went back to Renji, re-configuring themselves into the massive snake form they originally held. Renji didn't want to give Ichigo a chance to regain his bearings, though, as he'd seen what would happen. No, he went on the offensive, knowing there was no defense he had that could block Ichigo.

The snake shot towards Ichigo, its pieces coming apart to show the red, flame-like reiatsu bonds that held them together. Then Renji pulled together every scrap of reiatsu he had left, charging this move with it. His bankai opened its mouth with a scream, Renji following suit with his own roar of exertion as he called "HIKOTSU TAIHO(Baboon Bone Cannon)!" Within the maw of the massive bankai, a red ball of concentrated reiatsu came into being, existing for only a moment before firing off at Ichigo, whose eyes were wide at the sudden burst of power.

Mind you, it wasn't anything life-threatening by his standards, but it was still unprecedented.

Narrowing his eyes, Ichigo commanded the chain that still hung from one of his wrists to envelop him, creating a ball of chains that protected him from the blast. Just before the impact, Ichigo said something that almost broke Renji's spirit. "Kago(Divine Protection)."

The beam of concentrated reiatsu split around the ball of black chains, making trenches in the ground that went on far into the distance. Even then Renji didn't give up, pumping as much reiatsu as his body would allow into the attack. 'Come on!' he screamed at himself, hating how weak he seemed compared to Ichigo. 'Zabimaru and I have worked for decades to reach this point! I should be... no, I AM stronger than this!' With a roar, he used the dregs of his power to kick it up a notch, outright enveloping Ichigo's defense in a sea of his reiatsu.

Within the ball, though, Ichigo wasn't idly waiting out the attack. No, he'd figured Renji wasn't the type to give up, and the moment he heard Renji shout, he focused on his chains, doing something he'd never thought of doing. He activated his Getsuga Tenshou, but let it travel down the chain, enveloping him in an extra layer of protection. With his ungodly amount of reiatsu, and the potency of it, no one but Yamamoto had any chance of breaking through that defense.

Feeling safe, he kept up the steady stream of reiatsu, fully prepared to ramp it up if Renji proved to be even stronger than Ichigo's highest estimate. Then he began to concentrate reiatsu into his other hand's finger tips, the one holding the sword.

A red light appeared inside the ball of chains as Ichigo charged up a cero, but there was something off about it. Normally, a cero had a power limit determined by the user's level. This one just kept absorbing his power, growing denser, stronger. Then Ichigo realized why. "My cero is back," he whispered excitedly. This whole time, he'd had to deal with the power cap. He'd never hit it, but he could always feel how close his cero was to hitting the limit. NOW he was using the same cero he had against Starrk, the one that would get as strong as he wanted, as long as he had enough reiatsu.

With a grin, he shook his head. "Check mate, Abarai." Then, he felt Renji kick it up a notch. As a precaution, he fed more reiatsu to his chains, but then the amount of power he was putting out started to get to him. When the reason hit him, he couldn't help but scowl slightly. "I can't absorb anywhere near as much reishi in this thing. Well, that may prove to be... problematic in the future." Keeping that in mind, he hoped Renji ran out of steam soon, as he was draining his own power supply noticeably for the first time since the "spar" began.

His wish came true when Renji collapsed, falling to his knees and staring at the ball, which was now covered in Ichigo's black, flame-like reiatsu, in shock and no small amount of anger. And, when it opened to show a slightly sweating Ichigo, Renji bitterly lamented to himself. 'It took everything I had to make him sweat a little... I'm out of my league with him.' What he didn't know was that Ichigo had gained a new level of respect for him.

The technical king of Hueco Mundo actually broke a sweat fighting him! That's not something many can boast.

Still, though, Ichigo buzzed over to him with a quick burst of sonido, appearing with the dense ball of reiatsu pointed directly at his head. "My win... Renji. Unless you have some last ditch move you wanna use."

Laughing bitterly, Renji fell onto his back, not even glancing at the power filled attack pointed at him. "I'm no match for you anyway. It took everything in my arsenal to make you sweat a bit. And I barely have the strength to talk, let alone fight again." Ichigo nodded at that, noticing that his speech came slow and labored. "Your... win." With that, Renji passed out, his bankai returning to sword form on his chest.

Lowering his fingers and releasing the cero he never even had to use, flicked his wrist, sending his sword into the depths of his sleeve, and retracted the chain. "Not bad, Renji. Wonder what you'll be like when you master that..." Still slightly tired, he dispersed his coat into reishi, which he immediately absorbed for power, which was enough to satiate him for the most part.

Pondering the thought, Ichigo strolled over to their awestruck audience, Renji and his Zanpakuto slung over his shoulder and in his hand respectively. "'Sup," was his only greeting, which was a bit... underwhelming after his performance. "Enjoy the show?"

There was a moment of silence before Yoruichi turned into a human, marched over angrily, and slammed a fist down on his head. "DON'T "ENJOY THE SHOW?" ME, BAKAYARO! THERE ARE TWO, HUGE-ASS TRENCHES AND A FUCKING CRATER IN MY TRAINING GROUND!"

Regaining his bearings, Ichigo leveled an equally annoyed glare at her. "WELL I WASN'T THE ONE WHO SAID WE COULD TRAIN HERE! AND HOW MANY BANKAI SPARS ARE NEAT AND TIDY, HUH!? BESIDES, IF I HADN'T BLOCKED IT, THERE WOULD BE A LOT MORE THAN TWO TINY TRENCHES AND A DEPRESSION MARRING YOUR PRECIOUS TRAINING AREA!"

Despite that carrying quite a bit of logic, Yoruichi wasn't one to give up. "THERE WAS STILL NO NEED TO FIGHT THAT HARD TO BEGIN WITH!"

And Ichigo's response was one that shocked everyone, even the more than a little irate Yoruichi. "I DIDN'T FIGHT HARD!"

The silence that followed that was the most awkward one yet, as each and everyone conscious person stared at him with a mixture of awe, fear, and general "WTF!?". Yoruichi voiced the question on all their minds as Ichigo recomposed himself. "U-uh... H-how much s-stronger can you g-get?" Her voice was shaky as she imagined the answer.

Ichigo had to think about that for a moment. "Well," he began, looking away as he thought, "I have... three other levels beyond this that I'll probably use against Yamamoto."

Yoruichi, along with most eveyone else, were slighty relieved at that. Yoruichi asked a question, though, that ruined that relief. "That mask, those red markings, and something else, right?"

Shaking his head, Ichigo clarified things to her, and the group. "Nah, those are just power ups I can activate at any time. If I factor those in..." He stopped to do some quick math, in which time his audience almost passed out. "I have at least 11 other levels of power I can attain, though that's be complicated to go to each level progressively, as that'd need activating and deactivating different powers and such. A bit awkward mid battle, so I'ma just keep it simple and go with 3." And then Ganju and Hanataro passed out, joining Renji in unconsciousness.

Oblivious as usual, Ichigo just blinked, confused at the responses he was getting. "What?"

A/N: I'll stop right there! This A/N will be brief, but informative. First, I'll address the chapter. Ichigo hasn't even come CLOSE to mastering his bankai, and hasn't really messed around with Quincy powers too much, so don't think that this is the limit to his power. Also, i'm taking his bankai's theme of compression and using to create new powers, along with letting Ichigo use powers I'm sure he could've used if he was smart enough in the canon series. Once more, though, he hasn't mastered it. He's just feeling it out right now, deciding what works better and what works worse. He could've activated Blut Vene, stood in Renji's attack, and come out unscathed if he tried, but this was him pushing the limits of his chains... and naming them on the fly. When he DOES master bankai... well, you'll know when that happens.

Spoiler: it won't be for a LONG while.

Also, I hope you noticed Ichigo's use of an actual Hado. That's what Yoruichi helped him with, if you couldn't tell. He's not gonna be pulling out any "Hado#90: Kurohitsugi"'s any time soon, but he does have a few in his arsenal, which is better than none by far. I do want him to pull of a Kurohitsugi against Aizen at least once, though. Poetic justice, you know?

Anyway, things will be explained more, and better, later on in the story. All will be clear when you read it, but, until then, enjoy life! I'll try not to die for such a long period again. Bye!