A/N: I gotta admit that I'm not so sure about this chapter. I re-wrote it at least three or four times, but I don't know.

Anyway, I just want to take the time to thank those supporting this story by adding it your favorites or following it. That sincerely means a lot to me, dead serious. Thanks you guys, especially for hitting over 200 or mores favs. and followers! I also want to thank the reviews of those who kept me going, especially the ones that have been patient with my updates.

One last thing, though. It would be great if I didn't see another review like the one I deleted recently. I honestly don't tolerate with people who are inconsiderate of my social and school life outside this story (something that many people have), and who are also impatient. If my updates are taking too long for you, then I apologize for life being life. That's just how it is. I can't always be working on writing on the story when I have to think about my well-being. Now, it doesn't mean that I won't try to get them done at a better pace, but its just that chapters like these take time to write and finish. Not all authors are the same and can do an update in under a week or finish a 30-something chapter long story in a month or two. Please try to understand and think about what you say before posting your review, because it honestly irked me while reading that one review. Don't be that one person who ruins it for everyone; there usually is.

With that out of the way, I present to you the 36th chapter!

Chapter 36

Both beings of water and spiritual entities stood before each other. The former blocked the latter's path, preventing them from regrouping with their companions. The substitute Soul Reaper prepared herself while she stared at the Doll. Her emerald optics wore a look of indifference, making it somewhat impossible to know what went on in her head. Meanwhile, a white stuffed bear dressed in red nervously glanced from the substitute to the Doll, anxious as to who would attack first.

"…Conducts their deaths," came a quietly spoken command from Alex. She reached behind for the horizontally sheathed sword in its lilac scabbard. Her hand gripped the matching cloth that was wrapped around the hilt, slowly removing it from its sheath. She watched as the Doll suddenly went into the attack mode. It advanced by shooting what appeared to be bullets of water from its tentacle-like arms. But in that instant, the gray and majestically carved scythe of Chishi Setsuko's Shikai was released. Its silver blade was swung at the water creature, easily slicing through it.

"That's not going to be enough!" Reiko stated, a bead of sweat rolling down her head as she saw that the Doll was already beginning to reform itself.

Alex responded by narrowing her eyes to concentrate. What the Doll and Mod-Soul didn't take note of was the electric blue spirit energy coating Chishi Setsuko's blade. Once coming within contact of the Doll, it was released and erupted. As a result, Reiko was momentarily blinded by the sudden action as their enemy turned into water vapor. Alex took that as her chance to make a dash for the stairs to get on the same floor as everyone else.

Meanwhile, Reiko was still caught off guard and amazed at the surprise behind Alex's initial attack. "When did you learn a technique like that?"

"When I was asleep," she answered casually, ignoring the incredulous, comical stare she was given.

A sweat drop rolled down the side of the plush toy's head, "When you were…asleep?"

"Uh-huh."

"Oh…well…all right." Her head turned to the side while her eyes continued to glance at Alex, a little concerned and worried if she might've have bumped her head before coming to help out back at the parking lot. "Anyway, do you have a plan in mind?"

"A plan?" Alex blinked before looking over her shoulder. "Plan for what? All we're doing is catching up with the others. It's not like there should be any complications with something as simple as that."

"I don't know. I just have a bad feeling that something could go wrong, especially with that Ichigo boy, considering what I've been told from Kisuke."

Her gaze gave a comical deadpan. "Good grief… He already has a record being kept on his recklessness and idiocy."

Minutes later, they found themselves closing in on the stairways. Just when they were close to exiting that floor, the Doll reformed again, quickly moving in its liquefied state to stop them from advancing any further. Alex skidded to a halt as she shot daggers at it. Both of her hands firmly grasped the gray staff before swinging her scythe at the Doll. All the while, the blade lit up with spirit energy. A repeat of what happened the first time occurred, rendering the Doll into water vapor once more.

Reiko furrowed her brow, "It's only going to keep coming after using that technique!"

An eruption of a grand scale was felt from beneath Alex's feet. It caused the bemused girl's eyes to widen from both confusion and shock. She wondered what in the world had caused such a thing. "…Hold on; now I remember. That idiot used a lighter and some oxygen tank and nearly cooked everyone alive.' As this thought ran across her mind, the Doll had just enough time to return to its form again. Reiko became exasperated as Alex glanced at the nearby windows. She looked back at the water creature before an idea came to mind.

Reiko noticed the silence coming from her companion, eyes glancing and blinking at her. "Alex, what are you think—what the hell are you doing?! Alex!" She held on for her dear life as she felt Alex's body suddenly sprint towards a set of windows near a small vending area. The girl was even crazier than that orange haired boy….

Shards of broken glass then surrounded Alex as she shielded her vital organs, both her and her plush Mod-Soul now airborne in the late night atmosphere. Peeking through one of her eyes, Alex saw that her assumption was right, and that the entire chain of windows on the seventh floor had been completely destroyed, save for the window sills/frames. Continuing to grip onto Chishi Setsuko, she used the released Zanpakutō as a sort of grabbling hook. Her arm swung with its full length to jab the scythe into the wall of a random window frame and immediately pulled herself inside, somersaulting into a receptionist's area. A new pain throbbed inside Alex's head. She winced as her hand slowly reached up to soothe her aching cranium while seeing her world upside down, literally. "Ow, my head… I should probably think before I leap like that again…" she groaned.

Her little Mod-Soul companion pushed herself up off the floor and tried to get herself balance, dizzy swirls replacing her eyes. "Never…do that…again…please?" With that said, Reiko collapsed with a squeak of her plush body.

Positioning herself upright on the floor, Alex continued to rub her head as she sat with her legs crossed. There was still plenty of steam, but she could still see her surroundings. Her eyes roamed the area before finally spotting two figures arguing with each other, both having distinct hair colors that was visible even through the water vapor. She would merely sigh at the two. There were some things that never changed, even when one of your friends were in a comatose state. Alex stood to her feet and brushed off any dust from her robes. She was ready to break up the annoying quarrel until hearing a soft voice from behind her.

"Alex…is that you?" It was Orihime, her large, gray eyes staring in shock.

"Um…yes?" It's not like she was going to say 'no'. Next thing she knew, Orihime joyfully jumped on her with open arms, bear hugging the poor girl and nearly suffocating her from the tight squeeze.

"Oh Alex, I'm so glad to see that you're all right! When you passed out in the parking lot and didn't wake up, we were all so worried about you! I almost thought you were actually going to be in a coma, but I couldn't imagine something so terrible happening to you!"

Alex could only sigh. She used a single hand to pat the burnt red hair of her bubbly friend, sweat dropping at how worried she was. She must've given all of them a scare if Orihime was this worried about her.

"But everything's all right now, because you're okay!" Orihime continued. Her eyes sprinkled tears of comical joy.

The brunette could only give a weak smile, "Sorry for scaring all of you back there… I never did mean for anything of it to happen. I promise I'll explain everything later, but right now, we need to get out of here and get Uryu someplace safe, away from the Bounts."

Lifting her head from her shoulder, Orihime nodded, removing her arms from around the hug and using the back of her hands to wipe her tears away. A bright smile spread across her gentle features, "R-right."

"A-Alex… You're awake…"

Both gals turned to face a shocked yet relieved Ichigo.

"No, Ichigo," she gave him a lazy glare, "I went into a coma after all. This is just a figment of your imagination."

Of course she would ruin the moment with her sarcasm. His relief then turned to annoyance. "Hey, at least I worried about what was gonna happen to you, Knucklehead!"

"I know, I know…" She went down to pick up her Zanpakutō. "And I'm sorry for causing any worry or concern. Like I said to Orihime, I'll explain everything once all of this is over."

"Huh…?" Ichigo was surprised by how she didn't shoot any comebacks at him. Did something happen to her while she was asleep…?

"What is it humans call water? The Staff of Life?" Ban smirked. Soon after these words left him, all sorts of appliances began pouring out tons of waters everywhere. This brought a slight panic and sense of frustration within the group.

Gritting his teeth at how useless his previous action turned out to be, Ichigo lead everyone back to where the elevators were before pushing the button to request for the lift, waiting a moment before it arrived shortly afterwards. "Chad, take the elevator and get Uryu out of here; I'll stay and take care of those water boys."

The others gasped in shock. Surely he wasn't serious. They've all seen that most of their efforts were useless on the Bounts' Dolls. Regardless, he urged them to enter the elevator, "Get going."

"…I'm on it," Chad nodded whilst entering with Uryu on his back.

Ichigo glanced at Orihime as she too saw that it would best for her to go. He then turned to Renji, not even going to waste his breath at the look he held in his eyes. It was apparent that he would stay and fight with him. His eyes then landed on Rukia, "Make sure nothing happens to them."

"Right," after giving a quick nod, she went inside as Ririn switched shoulders. She turned around to glance at the last person that had to decide to either stay or go. "Alex…are you coming with us?"

She hesitated and paused to stare at her feet, unsure of what to do. If she stayed, then Ichigo and Renji would have a better chance of holding the Dolls off. However, if something happened to Uryu, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. "…Try not to get your asses whooped by water, all right you two?"

Ichigo smirked at her concern, nodding before she entered the elevator and disappeared behind the closed doors.

With the others gone, Ichigo and Renji prepared themselves to battle the Dolls of Hō and Ban.

"Let's go!" Ichigo yelled, dashing towards their opponents with Zangetsu firmly in his grasp.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on…!" Kon continued to repeatedly push the button for the first floor, annoying the mess out of Ririn. It wasn't going to make the darn thing go any faster, so what was the point?

Meanwhile, out of the corner of her eye, Alex noticed Rukia staring at her quite oddly. It made her feel a bit uncomfortable. "Um…Rukia?"

The petite Soul Reaper kept her gaze fixated on whatever was on Alex. "Hm?"

"Is there a reason why you're staring at me like that?"

She was brought out of her trance and looked up at the female substitute. "Oh! Well, it's just that I don't remember seeing your Shikai this close up before. It's quite an interesting weapon. Such detailed and intricate designs…" Becoming entranced by the Zanpakutō once again, Rukia held her chin while continuing to examine the staff and silk ribbons.

Alex just blinked with a comical blank face, unsure of how to respond to that. A sweat drop appeared on her temple, "Right…"

"You know, come to think of it," Uryu mumbled, lifting his head to get a better look at the majestic scythe, "I don't see you use is so often… Why is that?"

"…I'm not sure how to answer, really. I guess I just didn't want to depend so much on her power all the time when I'm fighting, you know?" She bore a distant look in her eyes as she zoned out.

The spiritual pressures of their friends were felt in the elevator, sensing that they were beginning to struggle with Guhl and Günther. The small space was filled with tensity and anxiety as their eyes intently stared at the glowing numbers above. They were still a few floors from the main level.

Back with Ichigo and Renji, the former had momentarily paused, glancing behind him at the elevator. 'Come on…just a little longer…' He faced his opponent once more, clenching the grip on Zangetsu before swinging with great force at the liquid creature, whether or not it was Guhl or Günther.

As if finally relieving them off their seemingly endless wait, the elevator 'dinged' before the doors slid open. "Finally!" yelled Kon. The group hurried and ran for the automatic glass doors. However, they would soon realize that it would've probably been better to stay in the hospital…

Renji fired Shakkaho at the Dolls for the umpteenth time, stopping and checking if the others had reached. Once confirming that they had, he turned to Ichigo, "Now that they've made it, I'd like to hear how you plan on getting us out of here?"

A smirk played upon the boy's lips, his form twisting around to face the pair of elevators. "Easy, like this!" Slashing at the metal doors their friends once went through, he received a grin from Renji as if approving.

"Heh, I like it…"

Before they both made their exit, Renji put his sword away as he decided to give the Dolls a little going away present. "Something to remember us by!" he shouted, blasting another orb of red energy their way.

Yelling could be heard from the two as they fell down the whole seven to eight stories of the hospital. Their hair and robes violently moved about as they cut through the air at high speeds. Reaching the bottom in a not so graceful manner, Ichigo and Renji groaned in pain from the fall, struggling to move their slightly aching bodies while covered with metal and parts of the elevator they crashed through.

"Do me a favor, will ya? Never let me do that again…" Ichigo requested in a strained voice, wincing in pain.

The two males then freed themselves out of the rubble, eventually catching up with the others. But for some reason, they were all just standing there like they had seen a ghost.

"What's wrong?" asked Renji, jogging up to them.

"You made it…" Orihime noted, although her tone didn't sound as rejoiceful as they would've expected it to be.

Ichigo looked around the bunch and headed to the front where Rukia stood. He gave a quick pat on her shoulder to possibly bring her out of her daze, "What're you guys standing here for? Let's go…" His own eyes had finally saw what had stopped them, widening in pure disbelief as his ears heard the continuous drops that fell from the heavens. "It's…rain…"

There was nothing but the pitter-patter of rainfall and the sounds of the world that continued to go on. The sirens of police cars or the ambulance had been the only noise that filled the silence that came from the bunch. They continued to stare at the seemingly harmless rain in horror, like it would suddenly transform into a monster that would drown them in its fury.

Kon broke that silence, though, screaming in comical horror as he had possibly figured out what was going on. "This could be a disaster!" he yelled while flailing his paws about, running around before stopping in the front.

"What is it?" asked Orihime, the only one that was probably brave enough to do so, considering it was Kon…

"I know exactly what's going on; something terrible is happening to us as we speak!"

"Kon!" Ichigo interjected, his tone having a sense of slight irritation as he wasn't going to put up with his frantic behavior. "Settle down; what's wrong?"

The plush toy leaned forward as if talking about it out loud would only upset whoever possibly listened to them. "The only explanation to all of this is that there's a Rain Man involved! A Rain Man, right here among us, and—!"

Ichigo's foot connected with Kon's head, squashing the poor, idiotic doll into the ground as a vein throbbed on his cheek. "Your dumb superstitions aren't helping!"

"Just so you know I am not a Rain Man…" Renji added, making sure they weren't suspicious of him.

"Don't even say that," Ichigo turned to him with a sweat drop rolling down his face. "You'll only encourage him." Another yell from the recently injured lion, who now had two crossed bandages on the upper right of his head and cheek, caught the others attention again. "Just give it up, would ya?"

"No, it's for real this time, honest!" He pointed his paw out to the parking lot in front of them. Two, swirling whirlpool-type circles were beginning to form in that area. "I…I told you…"

As their beloved Dolls appeared thanks to their infinite supply of water, Hō and Ban smirked and smiled in delight at the group's frightened expressions. How naïve they were…to think they could actually escape a valuable and required element of life that easily. These humans were so simple-minded, they both thought, believing that the number one solution to all of their problems was to run away from them.

"We've told you before, but it seems your simple minds must've forgotten already," Hō spoke before his brother finished his thoughts.

"You can't escape from water…"

"You four losers with your so-called 'detective skills', why didn't see this coming?!" Kon scolded the other plush Mod-Souls.

"Because we couldn't; it's not our fault!" Ririn replied in an offended tone. "Things are practically impossible to track when they're covered in water."

Reiko shot a glare at Kon while her fellow Mod-Souls defended themselves. She folded her arms over her chest while sitting on Alex's shoulder. "I don't see you trying to track the enemy down in these conditions. In fact, I'd like to see what you can do."

"Oh yeah?" he clenched his paw in a fist. "Why don't you come on down and find out? I'll easily beat the damn stuffing out of ya!"

"Hey!" Alex interrupted, cutting the both of them off. "Would you two mind doing that another time? We obviously have a situation to take care of right now, so shut up and quit your damn bickering!" She sounded as if she were scolding children. Her gaze then fell upon the seemingly young twins that stood a good distance from the hospital's entrance. They had their arms folded over their chests, smirking while looking down on them. It made her eyes of emerald narrow irritably in response. "Oh, look, they were nice enough to wait for us to finish…"

Their smirks would only grow on their lips. "…Don't you think it's time for us to finish them off, once and for all?" Hō asked his brother.

Ban chuckled, acting as if the fight was already decided. "Yes…that sounds like a good idea." Combining their Dolls together to form a massive water creature that towered above all, they commanded Guhl and Günther to attack their enemies.

Ichigo clenched his teeth as he narrowed his eyes. "Orihime, Chad, you two take Uryu and get out of here; it isn't safe for him to be here."

"Right," they both nodded, getting ready to quickly leave the area.

Before they could, though, Kurōdo and Noba hurried to latch themselves on their respective companions with the former warning them of the incoming attack. "Look out!"

Small orbs of water were split from the combined Dolls before being shot towards the group that soon separated for the sake of the injured and defenseless Quincy. The remaining four, as well as three Mod-Souls, dodged them as Ichigo was the first to counter with an unsheathed Zangetsu. He slashed and swung the giant blade at the shots of the water that tried to stop him until finally reaching his target: the head of the Dolls where the bottle caps were located. He pulled his Zanpakutō back before giving a mighty blow to its head. Afterwards, he landed and crouched down behind it, gritting his teeth as he saw it reform.

Renji had then followed in suit, releasing Zabimaru to attack the enemy as a whole instead of just its head. Unfortunately, even after the body exploded and showered down on everything, it was useless with the protected bottle caps summoning more water to create a new body.

'None of their attacks are working. And even with Shakkaho and my technique, they'll just reform again, especially with all this rain.' Alex grunted in frustration at their severe disadvantage, tightening her grip on Chishi Setsuko. By now, Orihime and Chad had successfully escaped, so there was one less thing to worry about. But now there was the issue of possibly defeating their enemy, since firepower alone wasn't going to be enough at the moment. She tried to come up with a plan as she avoided the Dolls' attacks, quietly gasping as they captured her friends into pillar-like columns of water. "Dammit," she hissed through clenched teeth, grasping her scythe while preparing to launch herself at the enemy. The blade was then coated in her spirit energy, her legs propelling herself towards the center. She used her foot to force herself to stop before performing a wide-ranged spin with Chishi Setsuko extended outwards. All of the pillars of water exploded simultaneously the second her spirit energy exploded.

Hō and Ban had a slight flicker of worry in their eyes as they frantically commanded their Dolls to quickly trap them again. "Oh, no you don't!" Alex made haste with her next move, hurriedly advancing towards the twins with Chishi Setsuko pulled back for a full on swing of its blade. Fear struck them as they dodged her scythe, unintentionally being separated before they realized it soon after.

"Ban!" said Hō, quickly getting back on his feet as he hurried to his brother. While that happened, the barrier of water the Dolls created weakened for a split moment. Alex took note of this as the twin Bounts reunited with each other, gladly repaying her for her actions. Avoiding them wasn't hard, but keeping up with the speed and consistency of their attacks was another thing. The fact that the entire battle ground was practically to the enemy's favor didn't exactly make things any better. Ichigo and the others were forced to watch Alex struggle outside while they struggled on the inside, desperately trying to find a way to break free from their water imprisonment.

Managing to actually breathe and speak for just that moment, Rukia held her hands out before her to perform a Kido spell. "Shakkaho!" she yelled, releasing the red orb of energy and blasting a large hole in the Dolls barrier. Air had never felt so good to her and the rest of them as they got in as much as they could, just before the Bounts sealed them in again in fear of their escape being successful, as well as being slightly worried for their Dolls. Ichigo had then tried using Zangetsu, succeeding for the most part. But their attempts were just a waste each time the hole closed.

Hō smirked at their struggle, "No matter how many times you try to find an opening to break free…"

"We'll just keep sealing you in until you've finally used up your last breath," Ban finished, his lips curved into a smirk as well. Unfortunately for them… "Huh?"

Thanks to their attention being focused on keeping her friends imprisoned, Alex was able to find an opening and swiftly took it. With Chishi Setsuko pulled back with one hand, an exceptionally bright hue of electric blue spirit energy covered the silver blade, time seeming to slow down for the Bounts. Alex bored an expression of indifference while she came closer and closer to her targets, "…Subito Forte."

Before either one of them could realize it, they were separated and forced to the far corners of the hospital's parking lot, a large crater where they recently stood as Alex was now alone in that space. Since Subito Forte, the name of the explosive technique with the ribbons giving off an electric blue color, required physical contact with anything, including lifeless objects, she was able to use the small space between the twins and stab at the concrete before releasing it. The distance between them resulted in their powers weakening, and the barrier that held the others had collapsed afterwards. Hō and Ban clenched their teeth at how a human could've possible known. But that would be dealt with later, after they have retrieved the Quincy. The two quickly escaped the scene with Günther and Guhl, beginning to trace the location of their target.

"Hey, get back here!" Alex demanded with a growl. She would've gone after them, too, had she not heard her friends gasping for air and coughing up any water that got in their lungs. Friends came first, so she jogged over to them. "Everyone all right?" she asked as Ichigo used Zangetsu to hold himself up, trying to get himself together.

Said boy cough a few more times, making sure he got all the water out. "Yeah, I think so…" he paused to straighten himself up as Renji spoke.

"What the hell happened, anyway? That thing just cracked open all of a sudden…"

Ririn answered him, though not sure of exactly how it opened. "It came apart when those twins took off, because now, they're more interested in going after Uryu!"

"What?" Ichigo's eyes become narrowed slits as he gritted his teeth. "Dammit…"

Heavy and light footsteps were heard down empty streets. They splashed in the puddles formed by the pouring rain, the latter belonging to Orihime as the former was Chad as he carried Uryu on his back. Kurōdo and Noba hung on to each of them while they hurried to get as far from the Bounts as possible. But what was more important at the moment was to get out of the rain, mostly for Uryu's sake. He was beginning to develop a fever, and it wouldn't bode well with his still recovering body. Chad was aware of this as he headed for a specific area in particular where they would be safe and wouldn't be putting anyone around them in danger.

Although he knew of their destination, Orihime was somewhat left in the dark as she followed. "Chad, where are we going?" she asked him while panting a bit.

"To the old factory; we need to get Uryu out of this rain. And with any luck, I'm sure that the others will guess that that's where we went." Soon after answering her, he stopped. His eyes narrowed a bit at the sensation he felt.

Orihime paused in mid-step after stopping close to him, though confused as to why he wasn't running. "W…what is it?"

"…It's them." Just as he predicted, a circle of water a short distance before them appeared, creating Hō and Ban's Dolls.

"This is not good, this is not good at all!" Kurōdo began to panic exaggeratedly, as usual, after letting go of Orihime's hip. Noba released himself from Chad's shirt while making a quiet grunt to acknowledge the situation.

Not even a moment later, they were already being battered with shots of water, splitting up as they dodged the sudden assault. Most of them had managed to avoid the Dolls, but Chad had been unlucky and slipped, accidentally losing his grip on Uryu. He slid from his back and skidded to a halt in pain, wincing.

"Uryu!" Chad called out to him, hoping that he was all right.

Orihime narrowed her gray eyes while pursing her lips together. She quickly put herself between Uryu and the enemy, her hands at her hairpins as determination was etched into her features. "Santen Kesshun, I reject!" A triangular shield of orange formed in her hands as a barrage of bullets of water was sent her way. Despite the pressure of them against her shield, she wouldn't dare allow them to get Uryu.

"Ori…hime…" the injured boy forced out, wincing as he strained himself to look up at her. He didn't want to see her get hurt…nor did he want any of his friends to risk their lives to save him. He was a burden to them once losing his Quincy powers, so he obviously felt guilty for having to make them worry after his recklessness with the male Bount from before. How stupid was he to have even thought that he could've done something… Had he just stayed put at school, they wouldn't have been in this mess in the first place. And now here they were: him watching Orihime put herself before him, knowing full well that she could get hurt. "You don't have to do this…just leave me and g-go…"

"We're not leaving you, Uryu!" Orihime strengthened her Santen Kesshun at the signs of cracks from the numerous blows it received so far. As long as her heart was strong, then it would be reflected in her powers. "We didn't go through all this just to leave you behind and let you get captured by the enemy; I wouldn't forgive myself if that ever happened, nor would the rest of us…ugh!" She was pushed back a few inches, almost losing her footing. Unfortunately, the Dolls quickly took that chance to launch a larger shot of water at her, completely drowning her as her shield was finally broken.

Chad was there to catch her after getting back up. "Are you all right?"

"Mhm…" She nodded, though still getting herself together from the blow.

"Did you really think you can get away from us?" Hō said, a sly smirk on his face as Chad looked over his shoulder.

"You are such fools to believe you can actually escape from us," Ban added.

He was right, though; they couldn't escape from them, at least not while they were being surrounded and corned. "…Kurōdo, Noba," he called for the present Mod-Souls. They answered and popped up at their names being called, ready for any order he would give. "You two protect Uryu."

"What?!" questioned Kurōdo in disbelief. "Just the two of us? What in the world can we do?"

He didn't answer, summoning the strange armor on his right arm before getting ready to advance.

As Orihime and Chad fought, Ichigo and the others were hurrying to catch with them. Remembering the battle earlier, Ichigo had noticed something about their enemies. Not even then, but all the other times they fought.

"…You know, there's something about those twins," Ichigo spoke up, finally not being the only sound other than their heavy breathing, the rain, and their running footsteps coming in contact with the puddles in their path.

"What?" Rukia queried.

"Whenever we fought them, they never attacked us separately and were always together."

Renji began to realize the same thing. "Yeah… You're right about that!"

"I think that it's because it's the only way to keep their Dolls in control, by combining their powers together," he added.

"So they're using that resonance phenomenon that twins are said to possess…" the smallest of them pondered aloud, surprised that such a thing was possible.

"That explains why they prefer using a massive water Doll and not two separate ones," Renji stated.

What started out as a hunch was beginning to become a fact, as well as a serious advantage on their part. "If this is all true, then getting them separated is how we win."

As time passed, and the quartet of Soul Reapers and substitutes hurried with a trio of Mod-Soul by their sides, Rukia became curious about something that piqued her interest during their battle not too long ago. "By the way," she looked over at the other female Soul Reaper, "what was that technique you used against the Bounts earlier?"

Alex snapped out of her focused state, blinking a few times. "Oh… That was Subito Forte."

Poor Ichigo, and even Renji…they were so dumbfounded by her words of a foreign language. Their faces held comical expressions of confusion. "Subi…what?" they said in unison, trying to repeat what she said.

Both Alex and Rukia lightly glared at them for their ignorance, even when Rukia was a little clueless at the name, as well. "You idiots…" mumbled the latter.

Sighing, Alex explained, "It's a musical term that means 'to suddenly get loud'. It describes the technique nicely, since the explosion builds up without my opponent knowing before I suddenly release it. Chishi Setsuko was the one that told me its name, actually. I'm a little surprised, though, because I didn't think she had other abilities…"

"I see…" After that, Rukia was silent the rest of the way.

Ichigo glanced at her in a strange fashion. "That was pretty random."

Well, most of the way…

Kurōdo walked up to a forming puddle of water inside of the abandoned factory Chad talked about before, "I don't know how you figured this to be a place with no water inside when the roof is leaking like it was made of Swiss cheese!"

"Sorry…" Chad apologized, rubbing the back of his head.

Noba defended for the kind giant, "It's better than being outside."

Orihime turned to the others, sitting next to Uryu while checking to see how he was doing. Although…it wasn't exactly good news. "Um, Chad?"

"Hm?"

"I think his fever's getting worse…"

He lowered his eyes. "That's not good…"

Straining himself to speak again, "I…I've told you before, you've gotta just…l-leave me behind."

"And we've told you that there's no way we're going to leave you," said Orihime, a saddened look in her gray eyes as she gazed at her friend.

Uryu wanted to give a reassuring and thankful smile towards the red-headed girl. But as his condition felt like it became worse, even that became a difficult task. "I appreciate your concern, Orihime, but I don't want to be…a burden to you guys… There's a limit to how pathetic I can be…"

A derisive sort of laughter filled the factory a moment later, causing the small bunch to search for the source. "Then why not just come with us, Quincy?" Hō's smirk could've been easily imagined as he spoke.

"You're going to eventually, whether you want to or not," Ban added in the same manner.

In the next instant, Günther and Guhl went into their physical forms, one of them cascading gallons of water down on everyone. It either forced them away or kept them occupied while Uryu was captured in the grasp of water tentacles. Once recovering, Chad summoned his right arm again.

"Don't even try it."

"Or the Quincy gets this…" Hō finished for his brother before ordering Guhl to tighten its grip on Uryu. The action nearly crushed his bones completely. He cried out in pain while trying to breathe at the very least as the air from his lungs felt like they were being cut off entirely.

Orihime watched in horror as she and the others were left to do nothing about it. If they did, Uryu would no longer be a part of the living… "Please, stop hurting him!"

Ban simply smirked at her, "Then back off."

"That is, if you care what happens to this Quincy…" Hō had to keep in a chuckle at their priceless face expressions. 'Looks like they won't be trying to interfere any time soon, though I must admit that they are persistent in protecting the Quincy.'

"Chad, Orihime!" a voice came from a doorway, belonging to an orange-haired Soul Reaper as he entered with Rukia, Renji, and Alex with the Mod-Souls on their shoulders.

'Great, these humans again.' Ban thought in annoyance, although his smirk never left his face. The only thing he did as a response to their arrival was fold his arms over chest. His brother mirrored this image. 'It doesn't matter, anyway. They'll soon face the true power of our precious Dolls…'

'And once they're out of the way,' Hō continued mentally, 'we can finally leave and bring the Quincy with us.'

"You two," said twins were pulled out of their shared thoughts as their gazes landed on who they assumed was their leader, "put him down right now!"

'As if we're going to take orders from a human.' Hō grinned at them, "Why should we? Besides, if any of you had a brain…"

"You'd all be running away right now and still had half a chance," Ban finished.

Brown eyes narrowed at the two as a step was taken forward. "What did you say?"

This was surely going to be fun. "Just wait until you see our Dolls' full abilities; then we'll see if you still feel that way."

"Guhl and Günther can't wait," Ban added, "They say they are just dying to kill you…"

A pair of emerald green eyes darted upwards at the head of their Dolls. They watched as the ring circling it formed into small orbs of water that were headed straight for them. Alex narrowed those same eyes, gripping Chishi Setsuko's staff. Should she stop the Dolls from using their full abilities on her friends or do nothing and allow it to happen? Either way, a decision had to be made, fast. But because of her hesitation, Alex was too late. The multiple orbs of water had already reached the others as they were caught off guard, being filled with the Dolls' water through their mouth and nose. 'D…dammit!'

Hō and Ban had especially smirked at Alex, seeing as to how she wasn't able to escape their assault like the last time. It's funny, though. The one thing humans needed to survive is the very thing that would kill them. The twin Bounts watched as their bodies were outlined in a whitish blue tone, the transparency of their forms coated in aquatic lines. It was almost as if they were actually underwater. But of course, it was just their lovely Dolls slowly killing and drowning them.

A scream of distress came from Kurōdo as he threw his arms/ears into the air, "What in the world is going on?!"

"Stop this! What are you even doing to them?" Ririn demanded, jutting her sleeve at the Bounts.

Hō simply laughed at their misfortune, "Isn't it obvious? We can go anywhere where there's water, remember?"

"And the human body is seventy percent water," said Ban. "Convenient, isn't it?"

"Now, Guhl and Günther…"

"Fill their bodies up with water…"

"And tear their bodies apart from the inside out." They finished the other's thoughts.

Hearing this made Ichigo widen his eyes in horror, but it was mostly due to the sudden sensation in his chest. The water actually felt as though it was beginning to rip in his lungs or fill them up with tons of water. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. He tried to grab at his chest in hopes of him getting some air back. Unfortunately, nothing would work as he fell with a heavy thud. His form continued to tremble furiously, brown eyes almost lifeless as they stared out into space.

The same went for the rest of them. Orihime had collapsed as well, though a little while before Ichigo did. All of the Mod-Souls present were appalled and frightened for Ichigo and the others, some of them by their side with Kurōdo over-exaggerating his panic. However, Noba appeared to be the only one that was calm.

Out of nowhere, he suddenly took off in his plush, turtle form. This didn't go unnoticed by Kurōdo. "Wait, where are you going?" he started, following after his friend. After he wasn't given an answer, "You can at least tell me what you're planning!"

"Hm…it won't be long until they're all dead," said Hō.

"Once that's done, we can take the Quincy and finally get out of here—." Ban's words were cut short as he disappeared from his brother's side. Reappearing a few feet away from him, a dumbfounded look could be seen on his young features. "W…what?"

"B-Ban!"

Said brother vanished once again, finding himself further away from him than before. As this happened, the water-like aura around everyone began to slowly fade. The powers of the Dolls were weakening by the second.

"Hō!" Ban ran and reached out for his twin, but he only found himself being sent back again. 'What the hell is going on?!' he nearly screamed in his head. The same went for Hō as he hurried to catch his disappearing brother.

"Ban, I'm coming—!" He fell on his back after being transported to a random area, two meters from where he stood.

"I…it's actually working…" Reiko stood there in astonishment at the power her fellow Mod-Souls held, even in their current forms. Regardless of only being able to move them by two meters, it proved to be quite effective. Their thoughts weren't being shared, which also meant that the same went for their powers and control of their Dolls. Noba continued to transport the twins as far as possible from each other, eventually knocking Ban out after he fell into a few barrels a long ways down. That had caused the connection to crumble, causing Günther to crash down upon Hō as he tried to get away butt fell because of the gallons of water that fell on him.

Water spurted out from everyone's mouth, allowing the sweet air around them to fill their lungs while they tried to cough up any that remained. Noba and Kurōdo ran back to check if everyone was all right, the latter asking himself.

"Yeah; thanks for saving us," Ichigo answered, a grateful smile on his face. He then looked up at the separated Bounts, "It's just like we thought: the two of them have to stay together and share their thoughts to get that resonance, which means that if one of them is unconscious, they can't resonate and control their powers. Isn't that right, Noba?"

The green turtle nodded at his spot on assumption, "That's right."

Hō was seen rushing towards his unconscious brother, leaping from the platform and landing safely on the ground before hurrying to examine his condition, as well as try to wake him up. While that happened, Ichigo freed Uryu from Guhl's grasp with a single swing of Zangetsu. Chad caught him and set him down where he wouldn't get hurt. Worry had spread across the Bount's features as their plan completely fell apart.

"You might as well just give up, now; it's over," Ichigo warned him.

Hō shook a little, both angry and scared that they had knocked his twin out. "You think so, huh…? Ha, I don't need him! I can do this all by myself!" Standing to his feet, he summoned Guhl again using both of his bottle caps this time. "Zeige Dich, Guhl!" Although it appeared a bit unstable at first, he still managed to summon its presence. Both sides were ready to attack, but the opposing side struck first using whip-likes arms. They were all aimed at Ichigo, so he was the only one that needed to dodge them. Rukia rushed in front of him with Shakkaho ready to be fired. Releasing the orb from her palms, it straight went for Guhl. But because her aim was a little off, the spell missed and hit the roof instead. Although the second time she fired had turned out to be a direct hit, the Doll easily reformed itself.

Feeling a little left out from the whole mix, Alex bored a comical expression of irritation. "I'm not just gonna stand here and let you two do all the work," she said more to herself, her grasp on Chishi Setsuko tightening as she darted for Guhl. She spun the scythe in her hand while the blade began to charge up in spirit energy. Not too long afterwards, her legs propelled her form into the air to allow her to slice their enemy in half. The Doll, of course. "Subito Forte!" Whether she hesitated or didn't make the spiritual energy more unstable, the attack wasn't enough, seeing as Guhl eventually reformed itself. "Damn."

Hō smiled, but it was one that held more…delirium. "Get them, Guhl!" As ordered by its master, the Doll shot bullets of water at the group. One of the whips from near the ground went for Alex. They all avoided the attacks in time, though, much to his chagrin, but it appeared that he didn't care, as long as they were dead in the end.

"Hado 31," Rukia began, but Guhl wouldn't allow her to fire another Kido spell and whipped at the ground between her and Ichigo. The disruption forced her to lose her footing and control of the orb of energy, sending it off towards the roof again as it made yet another hole.

"Ha! You can't even aim those things! I knew I could do this all by myself!" Hysterical laughter followed after Hō's remarks. Even if they were the enemy, Alex felt a little sorry for him, seeing as how he had to fight them off alone without his brother by his side. And since they were twins and lived for decades, maybe hundreds of years, the thought of them being either separated or having the other majorly injured didn't bode well with him mentally and emotionally.

Alex was pulled out of her thoughts at the sound of a familiar voice, "This has gotta be the place; hurry up, Hanataro!"

"I'm coming," a smaller and gentler voice replied.

"Huh…?" she mumbled in a quiet tone. Her eyes blinked a few times at the wall on her left, confused.

"Seppa!" An explosion of sand erupted from the wall, burying Guhl in it. A circle formed during the eruption with two figures standing behind it. "There they are! Told I knew this had to be the place."

As everyone turned their attention to the hole in the wall, Ichigo was the only one that reacted in comical shock. "A… What the hell?!"

"Hey, Ichigo! Good to see ya again!"

"G-Ganju?" said boy responded with the same look.

The smaller of the two formally bowed, "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"And Hanataro…?" His eye twitched at the casually dressed men he met in the Soul Society. They must've been in their Gigais. "How in the hell did you get here?"

Ganju only chuckled at his shock, walking in all manly-like with his hands stuffed in his jacket's pockets with Hanataro following behind normally. "That doesn't really matter right now. What does matter is that you need more firepower, and excessive firepower is a Shiba Clan specialty," he stated reassuringly, holding a thumb up.

"You mean fireworks?" questioned Rukia, remembering that was indeed their forte.

"Go for it, Ganju!" Ichigo urged, just before Guhl remerged from the tons of sand. Everyone took a fighting stance as they braced themselves for anything that might happen. "Whip up a big one and blow that thing to pieces."

"Coming right up, but you're all gonna wanna step back, 'cause things might get a little messy…" He reached behind him for something that would do the trick perfectly. Pulling out a large, palish orange object that resembled a sort of bomb with writing on it, he lit it up with a grin on his rough features. "Here goes," Ganju said, holding it up.

The entire time, Guhl had just stood there and did nothing, simply watching as it appeared that its end was coming near. But this didn't slide past Hō. "Guhl, why are you just standing there?"

"Fire in the whole!" He wound his arm back before launching the bomb at the Doll.

"Move, Guhl! Attack!"

It's unfortunate for him that his Doll didn't obey him. The bomb Ganju threw went right into its head, though the wick was put out by the water…

Ichigo snapped at the youngest Shiba for this. "You idiot; it's a dud!"

"Just give it a sec…"

As promised, the wick ignited again by itself, eventually setting off within Guhl. The head exploded, which allowed a chain of smaller fireworks to go off, as well. It created such a beautiful sight above them all, mesmerizing a certain green eyed brunette. The only thing they could do without were the sparks that flew and occasionally hit their skin, singeing them a bit. Although harmless, it still hurt them as they tried to avoid the hundreds of colorful lights.

Despite the magnificent scene and death of Guhl, Hō was appalled and watched in horror. He looked left and right for the bottle caps of his Doll. The search wasn't needed, though, for they were soon set ablaze and turned into ashes. An unbearable feeling pulsed through him and his brother. Their life force was literally being sucked out of them in the form of green particles that resembled tiny fireflies. 'This…this isn't happening… We can't be dying… We're supposed to be immortal! Damn those humans…those weak, worthless…humans…' Till the very end, his spite towards the mortal beings would still burn as his skin began to age and wrinkle quickly. His arms reached for someone to save him, someone like a fellow Bount. However, no one appeared to be his and his brother's savior…

Everyone huddled near the edge of a platform and watched as their foes had their life drained out of them. Hō was no longer able to stand, collapsing on Ban before their bodies couldn't take it anymore and vanished, leaving only their clothes behind.

Witnessing the whole scene made Orihime gasp and jump in slight horror. "W…what happened to them?"

"Their bodies just turned into dust…" Renji noted.

"Even though they might've seemed young," Rukia began to explain from what she believed to be the answer, "they were probably centuries old and well past their limits. As a result of losing their Dolls, there was nothing left to hold them together…rendering them back into mortals before being welcomed by death."

Solemn looks were worn among the group's faces. It's just like what Alex had done before: they felt some sort of pity for the Bounts, especially after witnessing a scene like that. Although, there was one thing that didn't feel quite right with Orihime, a presence that felt weaker and weaker by the passing moments… "Uryu!"

All eyes were on her now, save for a pair of emerald green that lowered from already acknowledging the issue. Ichigo spoke for them, "What is it Orihime?"

"It's Uryu," she paused to search the area. "I can't find him anywhere!"