Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Ranma 1/2

The young couple swaggered out of the ice parlour hand-in-hand; the female practically reeling to and from the male's chest like a yo-yo covered in his waist-high navy blue jacket to hide the unfortunate strain dirtying her top. Well, it was waist-high for Ichigo, but because Ranma was so petite it fell just above her knees.

"That was the bested date ever," Ranma swooned, rolling her back against Ichigo's muscled torso.

"That was our only date," Ichigo felt the need to correct, not stopping the smile from eclipsing his own features despite his girlfriend's weird baby speech, "And 'bested' isn't a word, you klutz."

"Don't smart me!"

Ichigo was feeling frisky enough to try his hand at needling her. Their steamy make-out session had done the trick overfilling his confidence thermometer, fitting his face with a suggestive smirk, "Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it if I do, honey?"

Ranma inhaled in surprise but quickly found herself smiling in appreciation of her boyfriend's newfound kinky edge, "Why don't cha come down here and I'll show ya just what I'll do to ya, beanpole," She insisted, hooking an index finger underneath the collar of his dark grey t-shirt before tiptoeing slightly. Despite her jerk tendency to tease him of his height from time to time, Ichigo wasn't actually tall. She was just petite. He was of an average height for a Japanese teenager.

"As you request," He quipped dryly, slightly dipping his head down to lock lips again with Ranma. Their palms didn't coincide with the other's plans for their body. His snaked around her slender waist. Hers swept through his pointy locks, messily ruffling it as she curled herself against him. Ichigo groaned hotly into the kiss, contrasting Ranma's soft moan before their tongues found their way to the centre of the metaphorical dance floor, drenching their lips in their saliva. Ichigo's rough, calloused hands began to explore the heavenly, smooth realm of Ranma's curvy back.

Jolts of electrified pleasure erupted through Ranma. She giggled against his lips, unintentionally tickling him too.

Ranma reluctantly parted lips, the colour cheeks now complementing her hair, "Mm, that was nice." She murmured, fiddling shyly with Ichigo's shirt.

"Yeah." He whispered in kind, content to enjoy the moment with his first high school sweetheart.

Too bad fate had other ideas.

The immersion of their budding romance was comprehensively shattered by the opera-like girlish squeal of the overzealous excitement of the romance fanatic of Ichigo's current bane, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!~" Of course, his sisters caught a front row view to his make-out with Ranma. Life just hated him like that, "You kissed! You kissed! You finally kissed!" Yuzu gushed as though her favourite show had just confirmed her favourite shipping, jogging over to the two.

"Hi-ya, Yuzu-chan!~" The flustered redhead warmly greeted, kneeling down and inviting the little girl into an embrace, which she accepted, throwing her small arms excitably around her neck.

"You. Kissed!" She repeated, emphasizing the importance of the lofty milestone the two had reached. It was all she could do to somewhat bottle her exhilaration to keep from squealing until she was blue in the face.

Ranma endearingly held the girl by her shoulders, rosy-red blush brightening, "You got that right." She preened, looking all too proud of herself as though she had just won a renowned martial arts competition featuring the world's best, "A girl has her needs, y'know?" She winked, powering up Yuzu's sunny beam.

"About time," Even the infinitely cool Karin was stoked about their overly protective grouch of an older brother finally legitimizing his relationship with a girl they could all bond with. It had been a long time since the twins had seen their brotherly protector truly smile from pure, unbridled joy, so seeing him radiating such euphoric elation warmed their hearts.

But Karin would be damned if she let him know that.

"We thought it taken until your wedding for Ichi-nii to finally laid one on ya, Ranma-nee." Ichigo goggled with a stare of bamboozled annoyance but his apparently oblivious girlfriend didn't notice his sister's endearing use of the sisterly honorific with her name; too intent on needling him.

"That's Ichi-chan for ya!" She snickered, rising up to her full height under Ichigo to cup his chin, "A mean grouch on the outside and a little puppy on the inside!"

"Oh, screw you!"

"Only if you screw me first!~"

"R-Ranma!"

Ranma stared blankly at Ichigo's overly flustered expression of bamboozled annoyance. He scowled at her look of total ignorance.

"Not in front of my sisters!"

Oh.

OH.

A dry smile curled her lips, "You're such a wuss."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too times infinitely!"

"Am-," He opened his mouth to shot back his own insistence when the realization of just how absolutely childish this back-and-forth engagement became all too apparent. How she managed to goad him into it was far beyond his level of comprehension. He was the muscles, not the brains of this relationship, "We're not doing this."

"Meaning I win and you are too," Naturally Ranma was going to thoroughly rub his surrender in his face, just because she was egotistical, sticking out her tongue at his dry frown. To further hammer the point of her undisputed victory home, Ranma struck low, turning to his sisters with a cheerful smile while holding up the "V" sign for victory with both hands, "Right, girls?"

"Onee-chan does have a point, Onii-chan," Ichigo gawked. Yuzu too!? They were going to be the death of him. What was wrong with them? They weren't married, yet. Were they just trying to poke fun at him?

The short answer was yes.

The long answer was yessssssssss.

"Karin-chan and I already know the birds and the bees."

Ranma turned back to him with an absolutely smug-faced grin of cheery delight with a finger still pointed toward her, "See? Told ya so. You're just being a total girl."

"Guess we know who wears the pants in this relationship, don't we Ranma-nee?"

"Yep." Ranma snickered. Then blinked; recognition spurring her awake, "Wait. What'd ya call me?"

Karin lifted an eyebrow, not bothering to repeat herself for the sake of proper courtesy. Her expression couldn't get any drier even if she was baking in a desert's sands, "You're only now realizing?"

Luckily for the Isshin-proclaimed Yuzu-Karin fusion, the nice side of one of her components was there to offer an explanation, "Uh-huh!" Yuzu nodded peppily, "You're with onii-chan, onee-chan. So that makes you our big sister!"

"Aw, thank you, girls." Ranma swept the bright-eyed twin up in a smothering embrace, locking her smaller arms under hers and squeezing her against her bosom, getting an awkward laugh from the girl.

"Wait! Hold on a sec!" Ichigo frantically insisted, flailing his arms about. Ranma calmed, much to Yuzu's relief. The dubbed sister-in-law set her supposed sister on her arm to look blankly at her unofficial spouse, "We're not married yet!"

"You might as well be!" Yuzu argued, puffing out her cheek like a balloon. She punctured that with her finest cheerful smiley nail, "Onee-chan is the best girl you can get!"

"She kinda has a point," Karin said, "I mean, you're pretty good-looking," She took some amusement watching her older brother squirming in awkward ignorance of not knowing how to handle being complimented on his looks, "But you don't ever use them to skirt girls along."

"Oh my god," He held his head in his hands, wishing he could bury his embarrassment as well as his head, 'This is so embarrassing.'

The girls all shared a short low laugh at his expense before Yuzu took mercy on the guy of their world by deflecting the conversation, addressing her self-proclaimed sister-in-law with warm affection in her gaze, "By the way, onee-chan."

Ranma's eyes softened affectionately, "Yeah, sis."

A giggle, "Don't you have anything else to wear?"

"Uh, huh?" Ranma blinked. Muttered, "What'd do ya mean 'Xactly."

"You've only been wearing martial arts stuff since you got here," Yuzu explained, dawning recognition on the redhead, "I thought once onii-chan brought your clothes over from that mean place in Tokyo you would've other stuff to wear."

Ichigo's heart momentarily stopped, then resumed at a hundred times the pace, 'Crap! Did they find out she doesn't have any girl clothes?!' He panicked, his face flooded in sweat as though a rain cloud had appeared over him. He draped his hand over his sweaty face as though it was a mask, 'Not good. What do we tell 'em if they find out?' Oh, your potential sister-in-law was also half boy. What? It's not gay if she didn't have a junk right now. Wait. Does she-?

No. No.

He wasn't thinking about that.

She had boobs. She had to have everything else - Womanly!

He was forgetting she was more than well-versed enough in the ways of manipulation. Sweet-talking their way out of a potential sticky moment was a walk in the park for her, "Blame my dumb jerk of an old man," She began to evade. A dry smile of manufactured restrained annoyance curled her lips, "He didn't know how to raise a lady."

"Really?"

"Heck yeah. Heck! I don't even wear a bra 'cause of him."

"That's awful."

"That sucks."

Ranma nodded in agreement with the twins' exclamations. Part of her felt a little dirty for selling her father down the river, but when the other part of her played a brief series of memories in her mind's eye of all the times he had sold her down the river at the first chance to save his own hide, all semblance of what little guilt she felt toward him evaporated like a vampire on a hot unforgiving day, 'Feeling sorry for that rotten old man?' She had to wonder if she was feeling alright; face crinkling in disgust, 'Yeah right!'

"Uh, onee-chan?" Yuzu hesitated, feeling slightly perturbed by the darkening look of annoyance shadowing Ranma's face, "Are you okay?"

"Probably still ticked off at her old man," Karin rationalized in her trademark Ichigo-inspired nonchalance. One hand tucked into the pocket of her shorts and the other extended outward in a sweeping gesture as though she was illustrating a portrait, she explained, "I mean, I would be if old goat-chin treated us like that."

"Oh. That makes sense."

Ranma snapped back to reality with a sheepish laugh, "Oh, sorry girls. I was just… reminiscing," She excused flimsy, "And not of good times."

"Uh-huh."

'What an airheaded,' Ichigo scowled at her

Ranma kneeled, placing Yuzu on her own feet with an affectionate ruffle of her hair. A warm-hearted smile was shared between them, "I was thinking about going on a shopping spree once I got some money."

An imaginary flashing light bulb symbolizing Ichigo's idea appeared above his head, "Don't worry about it," He said, reaching into his pocket. Out came his leather wallet. "Here. Take my sisters and go treat yourself to some things."

Ranma playfully touched her heart melodramatically, "Aw! Are you treating me?" He cringed in realization, "You're so sweet!~"

"Aw." Yuzu cooed.

"I… walked into that one, didn't I?"

"Yes you did," She smiled. Caressing his wallet-held hand Ranma tiptoed up and pecked him on the cheek, "But seriously, though. Thanks, Ichi-chan. I'll pay ya back."

Ichigo smirked, "You better."

Ranma pouted, "Meanie." Ichigo's smug expression melted in the soft caress of his girlfriend's lips on his cheek again. Tiptoeing down with a content hum, Ranma turned toward her escorts, "C'mon girls. Let's go get me some actual casual clothes to wear."

Excitement electrified Nabiki's spine all through her night out. Sosuke knew just the right buttons to press to arouse her. He was just so… bad: exactly the kind of man Nabiki longed for. There was nothing more romantic than stealing some poor sucker's wallet and using his money to fund their meal, having a hot steamy make-out session in a taxi before bolting from said cab without paying, and cheating on every casino game in Las Vegas available and racking in an infinite amount of dollar bills.

Well, fucking like animals on a Russian roulette table after rendering every security guard in sight unconscious for trying to throw them out on the suspect of cheating definitely topped her list of most enjoyable activities.

"Oh, you really know how to show a lady a good time, Sosuke-baby," She praised, staggering drunkenly into their palace within his embrace, parading herself in an extravagantly sexy dark purple dress, sticking tightly to her curves like glue, complementing the elegant neck scarf draped over her supple shoulders.

Aizen smiled slightly, tightening her to his side. She gave off a small, playful moan at the kinky action. She was rocking his world again for sure, "I'm relieved our nightly schedule was to your enjoyment," Oh, him. Even from a night drunk on passion and childish abandon he still refrained his calm eloquence. She shook her head with a dried flirtatious smile, grasping his chin. Aizen basked in the unexplainable sensation of her touch before continuing, "It is to my embarrassment to reveal that I had spent the improper preparation for our evening studying contemporary media," He said, taking her gape in stride, "To my dismay, the majority of my research resulted in inaccuracies. It seems, most creators of fiction are as much in the dark pertaining to the intricacies of a relationship as am I. Although, I did find solace in the more infantile works."

Nabiki made no attempt to hide her sly smile, "You watched chick-flicks," She summarized. She savoured every last drop of ammunition the near flustered tinge his normally composed smile adapted. She held his chin in her palm, "My Sosuke-baby, the sentimental criminal mastermind."

"I'd argue this unusual side of my personality only emerges when I'm in your presence, dear," He said in defence of his newfound emotion, relaxing against the intimate touch of his queen.

"So I bring the best out of you, do I?" The queen teased.

"I'm inclined to agree that's a fair deduction."

"Oh, enough." Nabiki turned into him – warm palms caressing his tender cheekbones – before luring him in for a deep-throated kiss. Tongues aggressively clashing like two prideful warriors battling for superiority, hands swimming roughly through a sea of brown locks and tightly pressing a slender waist against a slim physique, the aspiring rulers of all spoiled themselves senselessly, ravaging each other like two wild animals.

And Nabiki's exotic moans steamed the vicinity like boiling hot water.

"Oh. I wondered why it was so hot in here," The familiarized conceited snide tone of their subordinate froze the moment over, prompting them to pull away with sighs. Of course, Gin was entirely unapologetic, "Oh, please. Don't stop on my account. I was rather enjoying the exposure to a sauna."

Nabiki burned into him with a baleful glare, but the sick insane glow from a rare parting of his eyes never melted, "Subordinate." She emphasized. Hate wasn't a strong enough word to do her extreme dislike of the smug Shinigami justice. She loathed him with every fibre of her being; a feeling that unironically grew when she manifested her manipulative powers. He was utterly, frustratingly immune to her lure, free to taunt his independence in her face like a special kind of reward.

Nabiki Aizen tended to hate things she couldn't control. Control was secure and uncontrollable was not. She would never understand how her scouse-in-arms could enlist the services of such an insubordinate man. He didn't even attempt to hide his snide remarks. She couldn't stay off her toes around him, feeling like he would take the chance presented to slice her neck in her sleep.

"Your highness," Smug sarcasm oozed from his tone like venom, never ceasing even when he addressed his king, "Cap'n."

"I'd hope you have a good reason for interrupting your king and queen, for your sake," Nabiki pointedly said, "Subordinate."

"But of course," He assured, slimy confidence oozing from every corner of his being, "Seems little Ichigo's adorable romance with the redhead one hasn't made every one of his ragtag group pleased."

"Oh." Nabiki's eyes widened briefly. Just the faintest of moments Gin preened himself on before her expression chilled over with a blisteringly cold smile of frosty arrogance, "This is good."

"Pleased I could be of service to ya."

"While I'm certainly in agreement of your commendable work Gin," Aizen's itch of curiosity had to be scratched, "I'm curious. Of whom of Ichigo's motley crew has shown the vulnerabilities making he or her susceptible to Nabiki's power."

"Sorry, the name escapes me," He said, unapologetically, "But if it helps, she's the big-breasted one."

It did, "Ah, Orihime Inoue."

This got Nabiki's interest, "You know her?"

A shake of a head, beautiful chocolate hair swaying in the motion, "It would be inaccurate to say I know her," He said, "I know of her. She was one of Ichigo's comrades when the latter launched on a rescue mission for Rukia Kuchiki. I never met her directly."

"Righttttt."

Aizen paid his queen's snark no mind, "From what intel I could gather on her abilities, she was the medic of the team." He explained, shadows darkening his grin, "We are in need of a medic."

"That too," Nabiki smiled slyly, "But I was thinking of all the psychological damages it'll do to those fools seeing a dear friend of theirs switching sides."

"That too," Aizen quoted, smiling sheepishly, "All the more reason her recruitment should take precedence above all else."

"Oh, I'll get to it," She assured before gripping hold of her lover's collar to pull him eye-level with her, noses caressing. Heavy seductiveness deepened her tone, "As soon as I'm done with you."

"As expected, but before memory fails in midst of our passion, I would like to make a request."

"Oh. And what that is?"

"I need you to take a detour as it were to Soul Society to recruit another vulnerable soldier to our army."

"I'll get right on it," She dragged him past a widely sneering Gin, "After I'm done with you."

XxX

City of Insanity

C

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FOURTEEN

The Queen's Terrifying Power

Life was a definite bitch nowadays to the former, or rather, suspended, Lieutenant of the fifth division and diehard fangirl of the fifth's former captain, Momo Hinamori. Not only did everyone treat her as though she was a glass cannon that would explode at the slightest provocation, she also couldn't speak of her lost fatherly-figure in fear of being branded further unstable and given more therapy sessions to attend as a result.

She subconsciously tightened her fists resting docilely on her lap within her room at the mere thought of those painfully tedious therapy sessions. Such a waste of time, if she said so herself. There was nothing mentally wrong with her. She was just a girl suffering from the heartbreak which comes when a female loses her most cherished person in the entire world.

Honestly, Momo didn't completely buy into Aizen's apparently villainous nature. She couldn't. He had always been so kind to her, so warm to her, so fatherly-loving to her that her heart merely wouldn't allow her to even so much as tolerate the notion that the fatherly-figure that she had come to love had been a ruse; a plastic existence contrived by the man himself to conceal his true nature.

'Captain-Aizen wouldn't betray us,' She quietly told herself, terrified of uttering her strong belief aloud, 'Not without a reason, I know.' But no one would believe her, regardless of how technically sound her theories were, they continuously persisted that she was ill; that she had been deluded by his manipulative lies and thus, needed to be disillusioned.

She clicked her teeth involuntarily. She despised all this ill talk of what should've been remembered as one of the greatest servants in the Seireitei's history. Things may have turned sour, but his one wrong mistake shouldn't invalidate all of his achievements just like that.

"I wish I could tell him it's not his fault."

A wish that could be granted.

"Who's to say you can't?"

She stiffened as if she was struck by a thousand volts of electricity, spooked out of her mind, "W-Who's there!?" She mentally kicked herself for her startled stutter, but she couldn't help herself. The voice – decidedly feminine – had emerged spontaneously with a dark alluring confidence that sent shivers down her spine.

She rose to her feet carefully, hands hovering over the guard of her Zanpakuto. 'Steady, Momo,' She told herself, calming her breathing, 'Remember your training from Captain-Aizen.' Her heart warmed in secure contentment at remembering her mentor's wise words, 'When faced with an unknown entity, stay calm and let them make the first move. If you let the enemy detect your fear, you've lost.'

Ah, such strong words, they brought her comfort amidst the unknown potential danger she could face. She knew, as long as she followed her guidance she could come out of this safely.

And so, Momo waited, fiercely surveying her room for any oddities out of place. Nothing occurred. For a while, she assumed the voice was a fragment of her imagination, that maybe she was beginning to lose it as everyone feared.

Then "it" happened; "it" being the only viable term Momo could use to describe the occurrence before her, causing her to involuntarily widen her eyes. The very air itself was pried open like a curtain being dragged open to a crescent shape as though it was a Garganta, birthing entrance to a slender young woman.

"My, my," The woman began, the sinister purple screen of her portal acting as her backdrop, "You're quite patient, aren't you? I can see why he remembers you fondly."

The unsettling implications of the enigmatic woman knowing her through an associate of hers dried Momo's throat absolutely. Her heart beats accelerated way over the limit of what was acceptable for a warrior no matter how hard she tried to slam on the brakes, "W-Who are you?" She demanded in an attempt to masquerade her fear of the young woman, but all for naught.

Three things happened.

First: The woman smirked as though she found her show of attempted defiance amusing in the way a little boy tries to be tough.

Second: Her eyes glowed an eerie red, stunning Momo whom eyes followed the same process.

Third: Her smirk just… vanished. Or rather, softened to a warm smile and Momo wandered if the set of complex sequences had ever been.

No, she knew nothing of the latter two, only of the warm smile the woman had presented her with to reassure her of her safety, that she meant her no harm in spite of her cryptic entrance and statement. Suddenly, she felt her grip loosen on her Zanpakuto's guard.

"A friend of a friend," Nabiki assured vaguely, devilish smirk warped in the young woman's perception. Stepping out of her portal, the young mastermind strolled confidently over to her prey, "Well, to put it mildly."

"Mildly?" Momo asked softly. The woman reached forward with her palm when she was in front of her, eliciting a flinch from her which quickly subsided with the comforting touch of an elder sister that the woman bestowed upon her.

"Yes," Nabiki said, loud, exotic moan softened to a melodic, endearing admittance to Momo, "Aizen and I have grown rather fond of each other since he walked into my life."

Aizen.

Aizen.

Aizen.

She simply heard nothing else after the young woman mentioned her father-figure's name. It echoed in her ear, filling her heart with hope, "Captain-Aizen!" She exclaimed, slapping a hand to her mouth; afraid to enquiry what her heart yearned for, that her head insisted. Common practice dictated nice people were drawn to other nice people. There was no way Aizen could be evil and associated with this warm-hearted young lady, "So then…" She hurried, inhaling deeply, "He's not… evil?"

The released of her bated breath was imminent already with the woman's comforting smile, "Whoever said he was?"

The sigh Momo released felt like no other. All that imaginary weight she barely managed to carry around since Aizen's mysterious abandonment fled her shoulders and she could finally tall stand, "Thank goodness," She teared up, voice breaking, "I knew Captain-Aizen wouldn't betray us without a reason. I just knew it."

"Who said he didn't betray them!?" Momo gasped, startled at Nabiki's strong use of the word them as she stared uneasily into her deadly serious gaze.

"What do you mean?" She gulped.

"I mean have you ever considered the possibility that the organization you hold in such high esteem may very well be in fact the evil ones," Nabiki repeated with a levelled tone, "Think about it logically. You do recall Tousen, don't you?" She continued after getting a timid nod from her prey, "Well, do you honestly believe a man who values justice and goodwill above all else would ever turn to the 'dark side'?"

Momo shook her head slightly, "Well, no," She answered and the more she thought about it, the more convinced she became, "No! I know Tousen wouldn't ever turn evil. He couldn't. He was always so honourable, just like Captain-Aizen. We had to have pushed him over the edge."

"As you're right to think," Nabiki said, truly revelling in the work of her powers, "It was those corrupt fools in the Seireitei who led him astray. His sister was murdered, but her murderer escaped punishment." She could feel Momo dangling from the edge of delusion and added the final push, "To make matters worse, they framed an innocent woman for her death because the real murderer paid them off under the table."

That was it. Momo was sent plummeting into the abyss of no return, seething in pure enraged disgust, "Those monsters!" She screeched, "How could they? That's so," She struggled to grind out her condemnation, such was the fury she was feeling, "Awful. No wonder Captain-Aizen escaped this cruel, unjust place. He did nothing wrong!"

"So what will you do now, now that you know the truth?" Nabiki asked, positively licking her chops in sadistic delight inside at the sheer efficiency of her powers, 'Oh, where have these been all my life?'

Momo perfectly validated her own self-bragging with a determined gaze, "Please take me to Captain-Aizen." Although as supremely assured of herself as she was that she was making the right decision abandoning such a corrupt organization, her lack of familiarity with the one to open her eyes ruined some of her lustre, "Um."

"Oh, how rude of me," Nabiki declared with her sly, sarcastic charisma, "It seems, amidst these dark matters we had been discussing, I had forgotten to introduce myself. What's say we amend that, shall we?"

Momo smirked good-naturedly, "Let's." She really got the sense she was going to enjoy this young woman's company from here on out. She had quite the natural knack for dry wit, leading her a pleasant air, "I'm Momo Hinamori," She giggled demurely behind a hand, "Though I assume you already know that."

"No, what gave it away?" She erupted into a fit of giggles, earning a rueful shake of the head from her imminent partner in true justice, "Anyway, I'm Nabiki. From this day onward, you'll be working directly under Sosuke-baby and I."

A pause.

"…Um, Sosuke-baby?"

"Yes." A blunt admittance preceded another awkward pause. A raised eyebrow followed, "Is that a problem?"

"No-No-No!" Momo hurried, waving her hands and shaking her head, "It's just," She wasn't sure how to articulate her discomfort of Nabiki referring to her father in everything but blood so endearingly without sounding like a petty brat, but it was what she was, admittedly – a little kid who didn't want to see her father with any other girl not her in his arms, "Forget it! It's nothing!"

Nabiki's cold, mocking smirk was again twisted to a comforting smile, "I understand," This was a lie, spoken with all her manipulative flair, "If it's any consolation, I don't intend to come between you and Sosuke-baby. He obviously means a lot to you."

A shade of light red coloured Momo's cheeks, "Yes," She admitted softly, hands touching her heart; where precious memories of her time spent bonding with her fatherly-figure slumbered peacefully, "Thank you for understanding, Captain-Nabiki."

Nabiki nodded, gesturing to a make-believe exit over her shoulder, "Shall we be going?"

"Yes!" She enthused. For the first time since being forced to bear witness to Aizen's departure from the Soul Society she felt alive;invigorated with real enthusiasm and energy. Such sayings like a "Fairy Tail ending," "dreams coming true" or "prays being answered" couldn't do her immense euphoria justice, 'I'm coming, Captain-Aizen!~'

Creak.

Or maybe not.

Momo's heart stopped, sliding up her mouth at the almost slow opening of her door, "Hey, Momo. I just came to-." A pale blond-haired young man stepped through, bamboozled surprise momentarily concealing the perpetual sad frown mulling his expression, "What the hell?!" He exclaimed, 'Where has she come from and why she is in Momo's room?'

"Please try and understand, Kira," Momo's regretful expression plummeted a sinking feeling of dread into Kira's gut. Her next set of definitive words blew his mind, sharpened resolve hardening her expression, "I'm going to Captain-Aizen."

NANI!

"What!?" He exclaimed, suddenly finding it hard to breathe, "So she's.-" Momo's shameful turn away from his eyes said it all, "Momo, you can't!" He beseeched, "How could you forget that man betrayed us? He played us for fools and nearly orchestrated third seat Rukia of the thirteen division's death!"

"He had a good reason for that!" Momo screamed, mentally slamming Kira in the jaw with her defence of the traitorous Shinigami's deeds. He involuntarily stepped back as though he couldn't recognize the young woman before him. Momo breathed heavily from her ferocious roar, "…He had his reasons," She repeated, softly, "Don't you see, Kira? The very system we've been serving is corrupt. They've pushed Captain-Aizen to this so he can overthrow and restore order. He's a misunderstood hero."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this," Kira whispered.

"How tragic," Kira unleashed his best enraged-fuelled glare on the invader with all the unbridled fury of the head captain's mountain-extinguishing flames, but she remained unaffected, "Your friend clearly wants to follow her heart yet you can't even find it in yourself to wish her luck." She shook her head in mock-pity, offering a comforting pat on Momo's shoulder when she looked down, "A pity."

"Are you the one who's done this to her?" Kira asked levelly.

Nabiki smirked, "I only opened her eyes to the truth. Perhaps you ought to follow her example?"

"Shut up!" He bellowed.

"Well," She placed her hands on her hips, "Rude."

"Kira, please," Momo begged, "I can finally be happy. Why don't you understand?"

"Because this wench has clearly cast an unidentified spell on you, Momo," Kira explained, drawing his Zanpakuto out, "I don't know what it is or how she was able to affect you so easily, but what I do know is," He dropped tightly into a stance, previous undimmed eyes of depression alit with a determined fire, "I can't let her take you away."

Nabiki sighed, amused by the bleeding heart's diehard speech, "People always seem to make a point of how foolishly stubborn they just really are."

"Are you saying you can defeat me?" Kira rationalized, narrowed gaze never leaving his diabolical opponent.

Nabiki smirked, brushing an arm across Momo's body to stop her newly recruited subordinate from stepping in, "If you think you can even so much as touch me," She reflected, voice dropping her octave, "Then I'd really like to see you try."

"Damn you!" Kira obliged, rushing the woman with all his might. Maybe he was just being rash, but for the life of him, he couldn't sense an ounce of spiritual pressure from her. If he was in a better frame of mind, he would've rationalized she was likely an expert in concealing her true power, but alas, the villainous woman's tampering of his childhood friend's mental state had blinded him to such obvious truths.

His sword struck low and fast, striking the space in between himself and the demoness gazing upon his blade in bored indifference; the air rippling as though it was a pool of water being bombarded by someone's dramatic dive.

"…Impossible." He murmured, unable to cease his mind's overload desperately trying to ascertain the demoness' invulnerability without even moving a single finger, 'She summoned a barrier! But how? I didn't even see her make a move!' He subconsciously bit his bottom lip out of the innate fear of the unknown, unintentionally falling into Nabiki's paws. He felt his eyes dilate seeing her eyes shift to an ominous red, 'What is-.'

Whoosh.

Eyes were left blinking in the wake of Nabiki's sudden dematerialization, "She's gone…?" He wondered, surveying every inch of his dearest friend's room in his view for any sign of his terrifying opponent. He scrutinized every inch of Momo's private quarters from what he could see directly in front of him, but didn't look behind him. He couldn't look behind himself. A powerful, potent presence the likes of which he had never felt before paralyzed him to the spot. 'Look.' It was useless. No matter how much he commanded his brain to turn around, his body wouldn't obey, 'Look.' His breathing quickened to paces far outmatching lightning itself, but still, he couldn't bring himself to simply turn around.

He just couldn't bear to bring himself to look at the thing enveloping him so. The presence was all-encompassing and overbearing, making him feel as though he was standing meekly on a giant's palm just waiting to be crushed at a moment's notice. And she hadn't even so much had laid a single finger on him. Madness!

The footsteps of his adversary thundered in his ears, paving the path for a shiver shooting up his spine when she grasped both of his shoulders.

A whisper; warm breath oddly cold on his neck.

"Have you ever been touched by a woman before?" Widening eyes preceded a bloodcurdling scream.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" He slumped over, extended eyes of paralyzed fear fossilizing his expression in horrified terror. Foam seeped from his lips.

"Kira?" Momo asked with concern.

There was no remorse to be detected in Nabiki's tone, "He's dead."

A tear followed a startled look from Momo, "I'm sorry, Kira," She whispered, dipping into a bow with her hands held in a prayer-motion, "I'm so, so sorry it had to come to this, but I have to be with Captain-Aizen."

Nabiki smirked in sadistic pleasure. This WAS her nearly-unstoppable power. She could warp the perceptions of those around her.

Certain conditions had to be met before she could initiate her mind-altering power, but once it was triggered, there was little to nothing anyone could do to stop it. Chikaku mōsō (Perception Delusion) served two primary functions, dictated on the flow of her interactions with anyone she targeted with it. She could make them unreasonably biased toward her to the point she could murder their grandmother directly before their eyes and they would still justify it in her favour or make them so terrified of her they would be unable to strike back, feeling like any attack they threw at her would be deflected with the slightest of ease.

'There's no telling how far I can go with these powers.'

That wasn't even mentioning the barrier she could shroud herself in or the telekinesis that she could move at high-speeds with.

She was certainly special and she had the world of the supernatural to thank for awakening her vast potential. The spiritual world was so much more rewarding than the outside world. To be this powerful in the normal world, one would've to train for years from a very early age like those fools Ranma and Ryoga. The same rules simply didn't apply in the world of spiritual powers. It rewarded potential. Training was redundant. If one was blessed with a powerful ability born from their ambitious personality, they could eradicate someone with ten times the experience and development. Conversely, it didn't matter how long someone trained, they could instantly be surpassed by someone with ten times less the experience and development. Everyone had a certain amount of potential, whether big or small, that they had to reach in order to achieve their own personal maximum level. Some would plateau very early on and wouldn't past the level of scrub while others would continuously grow stronger even after passing a level far above everyone else, like Nabiki's and Ranma's boy toys.

The world favoured the gifted and she was indeed gifted.

XxX

(Sometime Later - Hueco Mundo)

XxX

The identical strides of barely contained impatience echoed off the thin walls of the magician-like Arrancar's sanctuary, causing the numerous bell-like skulls tied to the ends of his extended hair to rattle off of each other, producing the sounds of a hollowed metal.

"I can't take this anymore!" He vented, covered from head to toe in his waves of shadowy black hair, lending his entire posture a silhouette-like camouflage, "What's the point of waiting around? I'm not gonna get promoted to the Espada."

It was stonewalled obvious only the very best of the best; the absolute elites, the cream of the crop and the freakishly talented had a chance of ever breaking into the top ten of Aizen's and Nabiki's main forces much less the top five, and for a justified reason. Each member was rumoured to be so strong in various degrees of either very skilled, very intelligent, very powerful or just plain broken, to where they could solo ten Shinigami of that scumbag Kisuke's calibre.

Kisuke… just thinking of the despicable jerk who dared to bar him from his beloved boiled his blood. He was truly a disgusting man, using his power to bully three helpless youths only doing what made sense to them. He flaunted his power and restricted access to his town as if he owned the place! He was no better than a schoolyard bully picking on smaller kids to validate their own feeble strength.

No. That was screwed up on his part, comparing a murderer to a bully. Bullies were jerks at the core of their nature but even they had their own principles and internal logic that governed their actions. They were little more than children just wishing to be king of the jungle but not having the strength to tangle with the big dogs in their school.

Kisuke was a different kind of beast altogether. He killed people under the guise of justice.

"I'll deal with you, Kisuke Urahara," He levelled a grim stare at a phantom image of the diabolical store owner conjured from his own mind, "Just after I deal with you, Yasutora Sado," A ghostly figure of the muscled freak of inhumane nature appeared next to Kisuke's, the deluded warrior's clenched hand tightening, "Wait for me, Shampoo. I'm coming."

Mousse flicked at the air itself, opening the wormhole-like portal of his people's pathway to the World of the Living.

Yasutora Sado had better be prepared to die.

Or not.

Revenge was always sweeter when they didn't know what hit them.

Character Profiles.

Grading System

(S=Outstanding - A=Very Good - B=Good - C=Decent - D=Semi-Decent - E=Mediocre/insufficent)

Ichigo Kurosaki

Power: S

Speed: A

Durability: S

Ability: E

Destructive Power: Large City Level

Speed: Hypersonic+ and Massively Hypersonic in Bankai

Ability - Getsuga Tensho

Ranma Saotome

Power: C

Speed: S

Durability: E

Abilities: S

Destructive Power - Small Town Level

Speed - Massively Hypersonic +

Durability: City block level

Abilities: Jinsokuna Jokyo (Swift Removal) Kaze ni dengeki (Blitz in the Winds) kuri no burēdo (Blades of Roasted Chestnuts) Teisatsu sukauto (Reconnaissance Scouts)

Ryoga Hibiki

Power: S

Speed: E

Durability: S

Ability: E

Destructive Power: Small City level. Small Country Level with his ultimate attack.

Speed: Faster than the Eye Can See.

Durability: Small Country Level.

Ability. Kamikaze Rush.

Sosuke Aizen

Power: S

Speed: S

Durability: S

Ability: S

Destructive Power. Mountain level +

Speed: Massively Hypersonic+

Durability: Mountain level +

Abilities: Kyoka Suigetsu: Mirror Flower, Water Moon. Kido abilities: El Escudo. Millón Escudo. Bakudō #26: Kyokkō. Hado #63: Raikoho and many more.

Nabiki Aizen

Power: E

Speed: S

Durability: E

Abilities: S

Destructive Power: N/A

Speed: Massively Hypersonic.

Durability: N/A

Abilities: Chikaku mōsō (Perception Delusion). Baria tōei (Barrier Projection) Mirā henkō (Mirror Deflection) Sekai no Torabāsaru (World's Traversal)

There you have it. The main bunch's character profiles. We'll get into the others as we go along. Keep in mind, though, while Ryoga does have much greater destructive power and strength than Ranma, he still wouldn't be able to beat her. It just means he's a powerhouse like Ichigo and Kenpachi but Ranma's more than that. That's why she has much more abilities to play with. Her approach will always be to outsmart and out-skill her opponents rather than out strength them.

Join me next time when we cover Chad's and Shampoo's fight against the newly buffed Mousse. What strange abilities did he gain in his transformation? Find out next time. Now if you'll excuse me, my order of the classic game Simpsons Hit and Run on PC have arrived and I'd like to explore the different levels of Springfield.