Chapter 6: Hornet's Nest

Last Time on Eclipse!

Our gang of heroes entered into the Soul Society, only to be faced by the gatekeeper, Jidanbo! Despite his immense physical might, he was no match for Chad, who easily dispatched of him. After his defeat, Jidanbo agreed to open the gate, allowing the rescue team entry into the Seireitei. But as soon as the gate was open, Jidanbo was killed by a lethal blow from Gin, one of the Captains of the Gotei 13. Just as it looked as if Ichigo and company were going to be shishkebabed, they were saved from the mysterious Captain's skewer by none other than Yoruichi!

"Yoruichi?" Uryu burst out. "That's—"

Between that word and the rest of his sentence, his methodical brain listed out several facts for him:

-The cat is no longer there, and its former location is the centrepoint for the smoke

-She told us that the cat wasn't her 'true form'

-This woman's eyes are decidedly feline

"—quite plausible actually," he finished, his voice trailing off.

Her eyes practically sparkled as she stared the Captain down; blood ran down her hand from where she'd grabbed the sword, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Ah...first time in this body for a century...I'm feeling a bit stiff. Care to help me warm up, Captain Ichimaru?"

Gin's expression didn't flicker; after a silent moment, he twitched-the pair of them vanished, moving far faster than any of the others could follow, reappearing facing away from each other with a swirl of wind.

Gin raised his now-empty hand, chuckling. "You call that stiff?"

Yoruichi twirled the now-retracted sword she'd stolen as they passed around her fingers, sighing.

"If I was a bit faster I could've taken one of your eyes, too. Assuming you ever open them."

She turned back towards her younger companions.

"Go. We've drawn enough attention—reinforcements will be on their way already. Get as far as you can, and lay low if it's too much for you. I'll meet up with you later."

"Where you headed, hmm?" Gin asked, leaning towards them. "Are you after what I think you're after?"

"You be quiet," she snapped.

"What about you?" Ichigo asked, hesitating to go. "If all those Shinigami get here and you're still-"

"I'll be fine!" she insisted. "Do you know why I'm called Flash Master Yoruichi?"

"I can hazard a guess," Uryu muttered, still averting his eyes from her.

She rolled her eyes. "No, you...look, it's the...the Flash-Step technique...I'm the...fastest...ugh, just go already!"

When they had all left her sight, Yoruichi turned back to Gin. She gritted her teeth in frustration as she noticed that the sword was back in his hands, the glow of Kido fading the only indication as to how he'd taken it back.

"You shouldn't turn your back on your opponent," he lectured, tossing the blade from one hand to the other. "A little sloppy after your retirement? My dear former Captain Two."

"Come and see." She brushed a swathe of untamed hair back from her face, eyes flashing as she stared him down.

The next moment he'd released his zanpakuto once more, lunging at her-but by the time the weapon was fully-extended, she was standing to his left, standing in the same relaxed pose.

"Still so slow," she said. "What exactly have you been doing for the past century?"

A heavy-set man, starting to bald, runs into spartan living quarters in a panic. Gasping for breath, he shouts about the ringing alarm, only to find that his superior has already left.

A notched sword, its handle wrapped with white bandages, rests against a windowsill. This blade has clearly seen countless battles and slain just as many foes. Even though it sits still, the sword hums, the light from the window flickering against the worn steel. It's restless, like an apex predator wrapped in chains, struggling to free itself.

The alarm sounds.

A psychotic grin gleams from the steel as its owner grabs the blade roughly.

Video monitors flicker, rapidly showing every nook and cranny of the Seireitei.

A pure white hand, its finger nails painted a unhealthy shade of purple taps methodically against a cold, metal table.

Hisagi briskly walks down a wooden corridor. His face is grim; the ringing of the alarm can be heard faintly outside the barren walls that surround him.

Reaching a door, he doesn't hesitate to throw it open.

"Captain."

Tosen sits in meditation in front of a beautiful, marble fountain, fashioned in the form of the blind Lady Justice.

Despite his usual brusqueness, Hisagi knows the value of these moments of introspection to his Captain. "I'm sorry to intrude, but—"

"You would not be here if it was not important," Tosen replies calmly, rising from his reverie.

He begins to walk slowly alongside his Lieutenant while listening to the report.

He moves quite a bit faster once he's heard it.

"This way!" Ichigo shouted over the sound of the ringing gong.

The rest of the Karakura Gang sprinted along behind him. They were enclosed into a narrow road, blocked in by monotone, grey walls. They just stretched out as far as he could see, forming a never ending maze.

In fact, it was so similar that none of them even realized that they were coming up on a dead end. They slid to a stop, bewildered. In this unfamiliar territory, none of them had a clue what their next course of action should be.

Ichigo stepped forward, placing himself in the center of the crossroads.

"Left or right? Quick, everyone just blurt out whichever pops in your mind first."

"Right!" Tatsuki exclaimed.

The first thing that popped into Orihime's mind was pancakes, but she knew better than to yell that randomly by now, so she kept quiet.

Chad began to move right; Ichigo nodded, satisfied by the group's quick decision. However, Uryu put his arm in front of the giant, blocking his path.

"This is foolish, Kurosaki."

Ichigo frowned.

"You want to go left?"

Uryu shook his head, dead serious.

"No, I fear remaining a single group will endanger the mission."

"Huh?"

"We're hardly going to take the entirety of Soul Society head-on," he explained. "Our best chance is to slip past them. If we split up, it'll be much harder for them to catch us all."

"If we're split up, it'll be easier to be captured," Ichigo argued. "The saying is strength in numbers! I thought you were a reader, Ishida."

"That is the saying, yes. There are six of us. And several hundred of them, at minimum." Uryu tapped his head. "Who has the strength in numbers here?"

Ichigo was at a loss, but wasn't ready to give up yet.

"What if one of us gets into trouble? How are we supposed to keep each other safe if we're scattered throughout this damn maze? I know you guys went through all that training, but only me and Ishida have really been in a serious fight before. What if- Urk!"

"Excuse me?" Tatsuki wrapped an arm around his neck, growling into his ear, equally amused and frustrated by him. "I gotta remind you of that mass Hollow attack one more time? Or you forget we were all there when Rukia got taken?"

"That's not the same!" Ichigo argued from within her headlock. "It's just—"

Orihime pried them apart, smiling at the two of them. "Okay, okay, you're both very cool…"

Ichigo looked to Chad, hoping for a voice of reason. He only received a determined stare. Sighing, he slumped his shoulders, conceding defeat.

"Alright, alright. So IF we split up, how are we going to know where to meet up? Rukia could be anywhere! How will we know where to find each other?"

The group was stumped by Ichigo's question. He smiled a little, almost unconsciously.

Until Chad raised his arm, pointing up into the sky. In the direction he pointed, at the very centre of the Soul Society, lay an enormous white tower; with the light gleaming off its distant surface, it was almost hard to look at.

"Excellent thought!" Uryu said upon seeing the gesture. "Out of all the buildings we can see, that one has the highest likelihood of being Rukia's prison. Failing that, it's a significant landmark so even if we're wrong, it will suffice as a reference point from anywhere in Seireitei. We'll all make our separate ways there and regroup. By that time, I'm sure Yo—Miss Yoruichi will be able to track us down."

Ichigo was silent for awhile, his face cast in shadows. With a sigh, he looked up, his eyes full of determination.

"Alright, let's do it. I better see all of you there!"

The group nods, all fiercely devoted to the task at hand. Coolly adjusting his glasses, Uryu leaps to the top of the wall behind them.

"I'll loop around and distract some of the guards. That should give you all a better chance."

Ichigo smirked.

"Always the hero, huh, Ishida."

Uryu rolled his eyes, but couldn't help returning the grin.

"You're a fine one to talk, Kurosaki. See you at the tower."

With a billow of his cape, the glasses-sporting crusader vanished.

Ichigo turned to Chad. The two didn't say a word, simply grasping onto each other's arms firmly. Locking eyes, they made a silent vow, then with a nod, Chad took off running down the right passageway.

Only Orihime and Tatsuki remained, and Ichigo's taunt face loosened a bit as he looks at the pair.

"Orihime, stick with Tatsuki, she'll keep you safe."

"You know it," said Tatsuki.

"If you guys ever need help, just call, and I'll be there."

Orihime giggled. Instinctively she began to reach out for a hug, but pulled away, remembering who she was dealing with. Unsure of how to react, Ichigo looked to Tatsuki, pleading for help. The martial artist just gave him a playful shrug.

Hesitantly, Ichigo opened his arms and braced himself, catching the now flying Orihime. He stiffened as her arms wrapped around him and her head buried itself into his chest. Awkwardly, he gave her a timid, reassuring pat on the back.

Releasing him, Orihime blushed as she backed away, hiding behind Tatsuki. Ichigo rubbed the back of his head, a little embarrassed as the two girls began to head down the left path. Turning around, Tatsuki gave him a quizzical look.

"If we're going this way, and you're not with Chad, where are you going?"

Grinning, Ichigo pointed straight towards the tower.

"That's where we're heading right? I don't see any reason to not just go straight for it."

"There's a wall…"

"You're sweating the small stuff. Now get going, or people will start to think we like each other."

Sticking her tongue out, Tatsuki turned around, smiling to herself. Orihime gave Ichigo one last wave goodbye before the pair disappeared around a corner.

SMACK SMACK.

Ichigo slapped his face repeatedly. His confident smirk transformed into a determined scowl. Looking over the wall that stood directly before him, he glared at the tower. His eyes narrowed, and as he crouched, they never left his destination.

He leapt, soaring over the wall with ease. His eyes remained on the tower, the singular goal that now drove him forward. Nothing would stop him, nothing could distract him from reaching his goal.

Ichigo prepared himself for another bound as he began to reach the end of his jump. He did not want to stop his progress towards the tower for even a second. He was so focused, in fact, that he didn't realize when his foot dug into a Soul Reaper's face.

"AAARRRGGH!"

"What the fu—"

Instead of leaping into the sky, Ichigo's balance was thrown off, causing him to topple on top of the Soul Reaper and his companions. Tangled in a mass of flailing limbs, Ichigo pushed his way out of the mess. When he finally got to his feet, he dusted off his robe before looking up to see…

An entire platoon of Soul Reapers staring slack-jawed at him. For a few seconds, the Shinigami and Ichigo just eyed each other. Finally, it registered with them that the strange boy who had stumbled upon them was one of the intruders, and the Soul Reapers started reaching for their weapons.

With a sigh, Ichigo's hand wrapped around Zangetsu's hilt.

"Alright, Mr. Hat-and-Clogs, let's see if all that training was really worth it."

"Listen, we're taking her to the Senzaikyu, because we were ordered to. With Ryoka running around, that's protocol. There ain't no arguing it, it's just what we got to do. Why the hell are you even here?"

Squeezing the handle of his broom, Hanataro kept his eyes locked on his feet. He couldn't believe he was being questioning by a Lieutenant! Especially one as volatile as Renji Abari.

"Well, sir...I, uh, I always come here to clean the cells at this time of day."

"We're being invaded right now, Broom Boy! Did you not think that would affect the routine just a little bit? I thought you wimps in Squad 4 would at least be smart."

Hanataro whimpered, flinching as Renji brushed past him.

"Is Ru—the prisoner ready?"

A burly guardsman saluted the Lieutenant before nodding.

"Good...good," said Renji. Hanataro hesitantly gave him a glance. The usually brash, reckless man looked distracted. He had to be worried about the Ryoka.

Renji turned back to Hanataro, who quickly averted his gaze.

"If you've really got a hard-on for cleaning, you can do it after we've taken her out."

"Ye-yes, sir," Hanataro stammered. He meekly moved to a corner, as the vanguard of the Senzaikyu exited the cell.

His heart jumped into his throat. Chains seemed to cover Rukia's entire body. Her arms, feet, even her neck were all wrapped in cruel iron. She ambled out of the room, stiff from her bounds and from weeks of confinement. Hanataro stole a quick look at her face. The fallen noble's eyes were locked to the floor, full of sorrow.

The lowly janitor couldn't stand the sight of it.

The head of the vanguard stepped towards Renji, addressing him.

"That's all we need, Lieutenant Abarai. We'll escort the prisoner to the Senzaikyu now."

Renji nodded.

"Right. I'll tag along."

The red-clad Shinigami paused.

"There's no need for that, sir. We can handle it."

Scowling, Renji took a step closer to the man.

"I know you 'guards' are a little out of the loop since you just sit in one spot all day. So I'll let you in on it. We are currently under attack. All the proper...protocols and whatever have to be taken. I'm going."

The guard stepped back, bowing to Renji's wishes. The Lieutenant nodded, satisfied. "Let's get this over with."

The escort could only take two steps before a hoarse voice spoke.

"Wait."

Hanataro looked up, surprised to hear Rukia speak. Everyone else in the room too was staring at her. One of the guards behind her finally managed to regain his composure enough to speak.

"You've lost the chance to beg, traitor. Now move it," he said, prodding her with his polearm.

In a flash, the guard had been thrown against the wall, Renji's blade glittering with ill-intent against the man's throat. The vanguard all drew their own weapons but held them gingerly, unsure of what to do about their commanding officer's actions.

"DID YOU JUST ASSAULT A NOBLE!?" Renji roared.

"Why does i—aaagh!"

A trickle of blood began to stream down the man's neck.

"APOLOGIZE!"

"Okay! Damn, I'm sorry!"

"To who?"

"To yo—aah—Miss Kuchiki. I'm sorry, Miss Kuchiki!"

The man collapsed to the floor the moment Zabimaru was removed from his neck. Two of his comrades rushed to his side, helping him to his feet. Hanataro could only watch in stunned silence as the Senzaikyu guards all eyed Renji warily, weapons down, but still at the ready.

Ignoring them, Renji simply gave his old friend a slight nod, before turning away.

"You have thirty seconds."

The Lieutenant disappeared up the stairs, the glaring eyes of the guards following him.

Hanataro watched too, until he felt a soft, warm touch gently grasp his hand. Looking up in total disbelief, he was met by Rukia's sad, yet beautiful, smile.

"Thank you, Hanataro. For being kind to me."

Up the stairs, Renji's nails dug into the wood of the railing.

"Of course...of course, Miss Kuchiki. It was my pleasure, no, honor! I'm-glad to have met you."

Rukia grasped onto his hand tighter as tears welled up in her eyes.

"I'm happy to have met you too, Hanataro. Goodbye."

And just like that, the soothing, calming touch was torn away from Hanataro. He watched, helpless and empty as Rukia was led up the stairs. One step closer to the gallows.

For awhile, he stood there, alone in the holding room. Finally, unable to think of anything else to do, he did what he always did. Follow orders. Sweep the cell.

As he swept, with only the sound of his broom's bristles scraping the stone floor to keep him company, a thought struck Hanataro. For the last few weeks, the only thing that had given him joy was his daily conversations with Rukia. Only the comforting tones of her voice had kept him afloat in his life as a fuckup. Even by Squad 4 standards he was a total disgrace. She was the only one that had believed in him, that had encouraged him. Now she was gone, and all he could do was remain there cleaning her empty cell?

Hanataro's shoulders began to shake, his vision becoming blurry. When had he started to cry? His hands turned white as they wrung his broomstick.

SNAP.

Two pieces of splintered wood clattered to the ground of the empty cell.

Dodging another sudden stab, Yoruichi placed a hand on Gin's forearm and crouched down, pulling his arm and upper body with her, flipping him fully upside-down. While he was still disoriented, her other elbow lashed out, striking his solar plexus; he bounced twice as he skidded away from her, not making a sound, ending up on his back.

After a motionless second, he sat up, rubbing at where she'd hit him. "Oww…" His protest of pain didn't seem particularly genuine.

She rose, re-folding her arms. "So, what do you think? Have I got 'sloppy'?"

"Not at all," he replied with a laugh. "My bad. I'll start fighting dirty now."

He rapidly skidded a foot along the ground in front of him, the inhuman speed and force of the simple movement throwing up a cloud of dust around him.

I see what you're doing. She raised her guard, scanning the obscuring cloud for signs of movement. If I don't know where exactly the attack's going to come from…

There!

Shinso's blade came soaring out of the cloud, angling towards her from the left. Still in intense focus, she shifted right in an instant, the attack flashing past her head, too close for comfort. But now I know where you are.

Then, unexpectedly, the sword fell heavily to the ground, no longer held in the air by anything.

"Did I say I was still holding it?" came Gin's voice from by her ear, before a hard blow knocked her back into the nearest house's wall. Somewhere behind her, she heard the foundations crack.

"Rgh…" She shook her head, trying to clear the daze, but he was already pressing his advantage; Shinso was back in his hands, coming down with an overhead swing. Her own hands shot up, clapping around the blade, holding it back inches from splitting her skull. Have to get out of this corner—!

She hauled his sword off to the side, letting it go on to dig into the building by her shoulder, freeing up her hands. One quickly locked his sword-arm while the other smacked a palm into his chin, his head rocking back. With him dazed, she spun them both around, dumping him on the floor and tightening the lock until it was just on the verge of breaking his arm.

"Submit," she commanded.

"Look again," he giggled. He'd twisted his hand around until Shinso, back to its shortest length, was aimed directly up at her heart.

"Hey, you're pretty fast. If you break my arm I can't release it. But I can do that pretty damn quick, and then you're pretty damn dead. Wanna bet on it?"

She stared down into his lifeless eyes for almost a full awful minute, trying to work out if she could do it.

He twitched.

They both vanished, reappearing a few yards apart after their simultaneous Flash-Steps.

"I thought you were the best at those," he taunted. "Mine didn't take any longer than yours."

"Not quite," she said with a smug expression, one of her folded arms waving two fingers. "You did one. I did two."

She took a step forwards as his smile froze.

"What did I do on my pitstop, you're wondering? Not much. Just planted a little kido."

She snapped her fingers, and tendrils of hard-light energy burst out of the ground around him, making for him and aiming to hold him in place. He slashed the nearest few in two, dissipating them, leaping up out of reach of the rest.

He had, however, quite literally failed to look before he leapt, and she was waiting up in the air for him, her foot crunching against his side, pinballing him back to earth as she landed gracefully in the exact spot she'd jumped from.

"Haa...haa...hah…" He crawled back a few steps, using an abandoned cart to pull himself halfway off the ground. "Guess you're too much woman for me to handle."

He raised his head, speaking slightly louder.

"Care to tag in?"

"Who—" was as far as Yoruichi got, before hissing as a sharp, stinging pain blossomed in the centre of her lower back. Soon after, a butterfly-shaped mark sprung up around the injured point, an instant four-petalled tattoo.

That was the last Gin saw of her before the area was filled with rapid movement. If not for all of his training with his Bankai, Gin would have been able to see their movements as blurs at best. As it was, the Captain could barely keep track of their fight

The high-speed combatants soon streaked off over the rooftops. He picked himself up, dusting off his robes.

"Well now. What fun today is shaping up to be."

"Wow, this place is straight out of an Edo period movie!" Orihime cooed, pointing excitedly at the rows upon rows of old-fashioned buildings they ran past.

"Yeah, yeah, fascinating, keep it down please," Tatsuki grumbled. "The less we gotta fight, the more often I can go all-out."

"Aw, don't be mad," Orihime mumbled. "I don't get to go to cool places like this often…"

Tatsuki laughed in spite of herself, rubbing her head. "I can't stay mad at you…"

Movement from their left snapped her back to attention. From a side-alley, a pair of junior Shinigami emerged, bearing down on them with swords drawn. Orihime hadn't even noticed yet, so Tatsuki dragged her back out of the way by the shoulders, throwing up her forearm to block both descending blades.

The twin katana made a jarring impact against the Reiatsu crackling over her skin—more jarring for them than her. Before their attackers could get over their shock, she punched straight down into the ground between them, the shockwave throwing them both back down the alleyway.

Orihime finally noticed what was going on. "Oh! You saved me," she said, embarrassed.

"Yeah, I do that. C'mon." She took off, pulling Orihime behind her, unable to go at full speed because of it.

They were about to turn the next corner when a whole troop of Soul Reapers came scrambling past, heading for where they'd initially entered the citadel. The two girls flattened themselves against the wall to stay out of sight. I could take this lot, Tatsuki decided, but we aren't big on time to spare, and somebody who's an actual big deal could notice and get involved. Most average Soul Reapers, it seemed, weren't very threatening, but the higher-ranked ones—like the pair that they'd fought back on Earth—were a different story altogether. And there were plenty of those around, judging by the enormous spikes of spiritual power she could feel dotting Soul Society.

"Um…" Orihime got that embarrassed look again, wringing her hands.

"What?" Tatsuki hissed. "Whatever it is, say it."

"Am I in your way?"

Tatsuki blinked. "Huh?"

"Those people back there, they were pretty weak, right?" Orihime sighed. "But I didn't even notice them. You had to rescue me like always. And I know you could go faster without me. Aren't I just a nuisance?"

"What? Don't be stupid."

The coast seemed clear, so Tatsuki lead the way across the square and onto the next street.

"Physical stuff's just my specialty. Your powers are awesome, okay? We'll need 'em. 'Sides, it's hard to ever feel down with you around. Worth having you just for that—"

She came to an abrupt halt, sticking her arm out in front of Orihime to stop her.

"What is it…?" Orihime followed her line of vision, finding what her stare was fixed on—a gangly, bald Soul Reaper swaggering towards them. "Powerful?"

Tatsuki nodded, taking a step forwards. "Pretty damn. This might actually take a while. Get behind me, but get ready to back me up. Specially if his buddies arrive."

The man raised his still-sheathed sword in salute. "Yo! I—"

Tatsuki had crossed the distance between them in a blink, swinging a fist into his face. His body shook once, but he didn't move from where he was standing. He frowned as a trickle of blood made its way down his chin, slowly rotating his head back to where it had been before her attack.

"Now that's just rude," he said. "I was tryin'a start our fight off proper!"

"Yeah, well, we're in a bit of a hurry, pal." She stepped back, suddenly wary. It's not that it didn't hurt him...he just had no interest in dodging it.

That...might be scarier.

"Wow, scary face you got there," he laughed. "You must be the tough one."

He swung his sword up to rest it on his shoulder, dramatically indicating himself with his off-hand. The main achievement of this was that they finally noticed the bold swoops of eyeliner he was sporting.

"Name's Ikkaku Madarame, 3rd Seat, Squad 11!" His mouth jerked upwards into a crazed half-smile. "Survive a few rounds and I might care enough to ask yours."

"Last more'n a couple hits and I might be bothered to give it," Tatsuki replied, mirroring his expression.

Ichigo darted around yet another corner. He was sticking to the ground for now; everytime he tried going over walls, he seemed to run into patrols. Sick and tired of mowing through mooks, Ichigo was hoping that by running he'd be a little less conspicuous. He didn't mind the fights, just the fact that they were a waste of time. He had more important matters to attend to.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glint of red.

He turned his head, before coming to a complete stop as he sees a passing glance of Rukia.

She was surrounded by six men dressed in red Shinigami robes and helmets. Her hands were pinned against her back by cold steel and she and she was led along by chains. Her face was hidden by her black hair, looking down at the ground. Already defeated, accepting her impending doom.

Then, just as quickly as he had spotted her, she was gone, whisked behind another gray wall.

A pit of fury began to boil inside of Ichigo until he was unable to contain it anymore. In an instant, Zangetsu was in his hand and he was racing forward. His heart pounded as he leapt into the air, easily hurdling the wall that stood between him and what he came for.

"RUKIA!" he roared, sailing down towards the vanguard.

Raising her head, Rukia's sorrowful eyes widened in shock as Ichigo descended. A glimmer of both hope and worry dashed across her face as she whispered.

"Ichigo?"

Her escort looked up, completely stunned by the sudden ambush. Ichigo was much too fast for them, especially with his adrenaline and anger pushing his body into overdrive. Focusing his sight on the guard directly behind Rukia, Ichigo whipped his sword back for a devastating blow.

He was going to demolish these bastards before they could even think of putting up a fight. It didn't matter to him what sort of shape they were in either. Whichever would lead to him getting Rukia back quickest would do.

Zangetsu was a mere blur as he unleashed his attack. The guard was completely defenseless, unable to raise his weapon in time to block the blade aimed for his chest. The man gulped, a painful task thanks to the cut on his throat. Closing his eyes, he accepted his imminent death.

A loud clang rang out and the guard opened his eyes, surprised that he even had the chance. He couldn't help but let his jaw drop when he discovered Renji Abarai standing in front of him, hand on the back of his sword as he fended off Ichigo's attack.

"Not on my watch, you Ryoka bastard," the Lieutenant growled, as the two stood, swords locked together, with matching scowls.

Flash: Well hey there everyone! Been a little while...again. Sorry about that, I know you guys don't believe us, but I promise that with all of us having nice, concrete schedules now, we're working out a system where we can have more regular updates. We're all really excited to be writing this story and now we're getting to the good parts, I don't think you could force us to stop writing it! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or followed the story since last update! We appreciate ya!

Space: He lies. There's never been a schedule. None of us know what we're doing. The universe is aimless and chaotic. The next update will be when it is written. Ask no further questions of the Mighty Zuul.

Ace: Who is Zuul exactly?

Space: FIND OUT NEXT TIME, ON DRAGON BALL Z!

Ace: Wrong show.

Space: Then I guess you'll never find out.

Lucif: And I did stuff this chapter! You know, changing some punctuation and fixing some sentences and… hey, I do stuff too, okay? I promise!

Q: And no Japanese for Shi/Bankai? I think that's a real shame…

Space: Well, it's just...ordinary words they're saying. Like, it's not some magical mystical untranslatable moonrune, it's just the word for "howl" or whatever. So to give you the same experience as the Japanese audience who can understand that language fine, we translate the activation phrase.

Flash: Yeah, we don't need to be even more Weeaboo than we already are.

Ace: That said, we shall weeb where it's necessary. There will be weeabooing. THIS I CAN PROMISE YOU. MAYBE.

Q: Oh, and it's not completely necessary, but I think a "Previously on Eclipse..." Would be quite useful.

Space: Tadaaaah

Flash: A lot of people asked for this, and since when I started writing this chapter, I had to remind myself what had happened in the last chapter, so we figured it was a pretty reasonable request.

Q: got Few idea's for Hoco Mendo land scape,other Ghost types ,Planer beings ,Future villains ,Lot of Oc's and Some Idea's For Hell that you might like .

Ace: Oi, oi, wait a minute. We're slow enough with our own ideas, any more and nothing would get done.

Lucif: One of the benefits of FFN is that you are free to write your own ideas in a story. Who needs us to do that?

The Process:

Space: "Was it your intention to Ship Tease Ichigo with the entire Karakura Gang in that scene"

Flash (Writing): An entire platoon of Soul Reapers staring slack-jawed at him. For a few seconds, the Shinigami and Ichigo just kind of eye each other. Finally, it registers with them that the intruder has stumbled upon them and the Soul Reapers start reaching for their weapons.

Alright, time for class! See you in an hour or so!

Ace: —Ichigo stuttered out. "Yeah, I'm just, uh… a student. Took a wrong turn, you see. So, if you don't mind, I'll just be on my way. Wouldn't wanna be late!"

Ace: *Darth Hanataro intensifies*

Space: Remember one of the earlier Process segments was like, "Okay fine it's a Hanataro story now!" FORESHADOWING

Ace: And now we know why it's a Hanataro story. This entire plot was but his Start of Darkness.

Space: "When did you come under the illusion, exactly...that Aizen was the one controlling this Zanpakuto?"