Hey all! I'm baaaaaaa-aaaaaaaaaaack~~

So, I know it's been well over two years, so I'll cut to the chase right away. Since it's been so long, I don't know who's reviewed/faved/subscribed, but you know who you are, and you are wonderful, so thank you, especially if you've been sticking with this story for all this time

This isn't the greatest chapter ever, but I'm getting back into the swing of things. The next one will be better.

Chapter 22-Fragments of Chaos

Inoue Orihime

We landed in some kind of tunnel, with the only light coming from the hole above our heads. However, there was enough so we could see quite well.

"I'll bet this goes to the castle," said Kurosaki-kun. "If we follow it – we might even get there without -"

'Heeeeeey," drawled a new voice. "Long time, no see Kurosaki."

We both turned. I didn't recognize the Arrancar approaching us, but Kurosaki-kun glared at him.

"Grimmjow," he hissed. "Orihime," said Kurosaki-kun. "This is something I need to do myself."

"Yep, me and Strawberry here, we got some unfinished business," said Grimmjow. "So run along, girl. I don't got any interest in you – and I'd hate to see a pretty girl cry when I kill her friend."

"I've fought this guy before," said Kurosaki-kun. 'I've got this."

I know you have…and you lost.

Another voice cut through the semi-dark.

"Come, girl, we shall watch from the side," he said gently, ushering me over with a slender hand, not touching me, but hovering over my back. "Don't worry," he went on in a soft, smooth, almost musical voice. "I don't want to fight. No need for such things. A little pleasant conversation never hurt anyone, and passes the time quite effectively, wouldn't you agree? Names are always a good place to start, I find. If you will, then, allow me to introduce myself – my name is Mariioqa Mareilai."

This strange Arrancar had beautiful enormous eyes of the darkest blue, sparkling and bright but impossible to read. He seemed pleasant, gentle even, but I knew I couldn't trust him. There was no way he was innocent or honest. If he were, he would be trying to help Kurosaki-kun, instead of sitting and watching. But the only way I knew was because of where we were. If I met him in the streets of Karakura, it would probably be different, and terribly so...

"What's your name?" he asked, startling me.

"I – what?"

"What is your name?" he asked patiently, a small smile twisting his mouth into something somehow sinister.

"Inoue."

"Inoue -?"

"Inoue Orihime…"

"Ah," he said, nodding as if in approval. "A beautiful name for a beautiful young girl."

The sound of two zanpaku-tō being drawn from their sheaths made me spin my head around.

"Look, Orihime-chan, it's starting!" cried Mariioqa-kun, unnecessarily. Kurosaki-kun and Grimmjow-san leapt at each other, and the two blades met with a loud ring that echoed throughout the tunnel. I couldn't help but tense up, wanting to run to Kurosaki-kun's side, but feeling only a burning sickness inside myself knowing there was nothing I could do.

Mariioqa-kun's face was suddenly right next to mine. "Relax," he whispered, and placed his hand lightly on my shoulder. The instant he touched me, I could no longer feel my legs; I could not even feel as they gave way under me and smacked into the rocks. If I could not see them twisted under me, I'd've thought they'd ceased to exist. Mariioqa-kun casually sat down next to me, ignoring my look of horror. "There now, that is more comfortable, wouldn't you say?"

"What have you done?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"Oh, nothing permanent," he responded loftily. "Now, shhh, we're missing the show."

Kuchiki Byakuya

Since I'd re-encountered Shihoin who had led us back to Soi Fon promptly thereafter, it made no logical sense to part ways from them once again, although I would have preferred to abandon the arrogant smirk that Shihoin seemed to permanently wear on her face whenever she was in my presence. Nevertheless, the most efficient option, since our paths had crossed, was to continue on together.

When Hinamori's cry had pierced its way into our hearing, I'd felt as though a fist had clenched itself inside my chest. Soi Fong had looked stunned, and Shihoin sombre. So, Hitsugaya was dead. Our main mission objective could no longer be carried out, and if we were to follow orders, we should have immediately abandoned our plight and returned to Soul Society. But Hinamori screaming meant that she was still alive, and even if that turned out to no longer be the case once we breached the castle walls, I was certainly not willing to forget that Aizen had very nearly killed Rukia, not to mention Abarai as well. If he thought he could cross a member of the Kuchiki household in such a fashion and escape consequence, then he was most gravely mistaken.

As we circled the behemoth of a castle that loomed over us, it appeared that three may very well be better than two as we approached to see the thirty hulking Arrancar who stood guard at the front gates, which were closest to us.

Even with our respective reiatsu cloaked, they surely had to have known we were there, what with the sounds of the fighting that had taken place only minutes ago, and yet they gave no signs of acknowledgement, nor did they make any move forward to try and prevent us from coming any closer, which was rather arrogant of them, considering they had not one, but three captain-ranking shinigami coming towards them. Surely they had to be strong, else they wouldn't have been given the responsibility of guarding the wall. However, there were but ten Espada, and far more than ten of the gatekeepers, and all appeared more or less identical-about seven feet tall, with bare chests and burly arms, and heads hidden by large masks adorned with rams' horns- so it was unlikely that there was an Espada hidden among them. In short, it shouldn't even be a challenge.

A sidelong glance at Soi Fong and Shihoin was enough to realize that they had also come to the same conclusion. Soi Fong met my eyes and declared, "Let's not waste any time." Shihoin and I both nodded, and in near-unison we bounded forward in shun-po, stopping amongst the gatekeepers; Soi Fong and I immediately drew our zanpaku-tō while Shihoin assumed a position of combat, ready to leap.

Within seconds of each other, all the gatekeepers had drawn their weapons that they wore slung across their backs, which appeared to be a bizarre combination of a sword and an axe: a wooden shaft, long enough to place both their large, horned hands upon, bore an adjacent pair of curved axe blades on one end. The bottom was a long sharpened spike of metal, about as long as a wakizashi.

It only took a second or two to devise a strategy. The height of the beasts would be mildly annoying, but it would be a simply enough matter to cut their legs out from under them and slice their throats as they collapsed. Simple and efficient. With three of us fighting at the same time, it would be surprising should it take more than a minute.

I leapt forward at the closest guard, only to be jolted further than I'd expected by the explosion of a cero hitting the sand where I hand been a fraction of a moment ago; immediately after I was forced to dig my heels into the ground to avoid running into another that hit directly in my path. No sooner had I found my footing on the too-soft sand than I was forced to crouch and parry three of the axe-blades swinging at my head. I spun out of the way and slashed at the leg muscles of one of them, but Senbonzakura only produced little more than a scratch on them.

"Hadō 33: soukatsui," I intoned, but the result ball of blue flame only succeeded in putting a crack in one of the ram-skull masks.

Damn, they're armoured…

NO sooner had the thought crossed my mind than there were four, five, or possibly six axe blades coming at me from all directions, forcing me to fall back.

And they're fast!

Perhaps we had misjudged how easy this was going to be.

Kira Izuru

As Hisagi-san and I made our way to the side of the wall, I could not ignore the anxious thought that kept cropping up in my mind.

"Do you think it was really alright to leave Matsumoto-san behind like that?"

"She ought to be fine," Hisagi-san replied. "She knows how to take care of herself…besides, you patched her up alright, didn't you?"

"As best as I could while in a hurry. She will definitely need to see Unohana-taichō once we get back, but…I suppose she should be alright for the time being, seeing as we won't need to be here for long…." I trailed off, knowing I would not need to say anymore. With Hitsugaya-taichō having died, we only now had to determine whether or not we could save Hinamori-kun. Currently her reiatsu was very weak, but still present. So long as it did not vanish entirely, we would keep moving forward.

Hisagi-san, too, was contemplating what I hadn't said. "It's a shame, really," he said quietly. The kid had so much potential…he would've made history someday, I'm sure."

The unspoken question still hovered in the air between us, but there was no need to speak it aloud, as we both knew what the other was thinking.

Can we succeed where Hitsugaya-taichō has failed?

Does it matter? Whether or not we can, we have to. For Hinamori-kun.

Hinamori-kun was my own motivation, at least. For Hisagi-san, it was almost certainly something else…

We reached a portion of the outer wall that was nowhere near a gate, and there appeared to be no Arrancar around. I wasted no time in calling Wabisuke into shikai form and using it to increase the mass of the stones so they would eventually crumble under their own weight. Hisagi-san climbed over the rubble first, and I followed swiftly behind. On my way down, I stumbled and fell near the bottom of the rocks, luckily landing on sand rather than stone. As I picked myself up, though, I noticed Hisagi-san was standing, zanpaku-tō drawn, clenched in both his hands, so tense in his whole body that he was nearly shaking.

Only a moment later did I see was he was seeing, and my heart beat harder.

"It was a mistake for you to come here, Hisagi, Kira."

Tōsen-taichō?!

Inoue Orihime

I can't move I can't move I can't move…!

"L-let me go!"

"Oh don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to you," said Mariioqa. "That's not my style. I prefer to not get my hands messy if I can avoid it."

I knew he was lying; I could the dried blood on his white clothes and the equally white plates of bone hat encased his forearms. I knew, I knew just by looking into his eyes that seemed like blue bottomless pits, that this was a person who liked to torment his prey and watch it squirm before he killed it.

But I believed he wouldn't do anything to me yet. He wanted to hurt me first by making me watch Kurosaki-kun lose again. Only after that would he…I couldn't let myself finish the thought. I had to have faith in Kurosaki-kun, and believe that he had gotten stronger, and even though he had lost to Grimmjow-san before, that this time he could win, and then he could defeat Mariioqa-kun too.

Grimmjow-san moved around Kurosaki-kun so quickly, as quick and lithe as a wildcat, and managed to put a scratch on his arm. A few drops of Kurosaki-kun's blood fell to the ground, and I couldn't hold back a small cry. I could feel Mariiqoa-kun smiling next to me; he thought I had cried out because Kurosaki-kun had been hurt, and though the sight of his blood made my stomach clench with fear, that had not been the reason.

At that exact moment, I had realized something awful. I was counting on Kurosaki-kun to win and save me right now, like a princess in a fairy tale, trapped in a tower guarded by a loathsome beast and waiting for a dashing hero to save me. Just like always. It had always been that way, ever since I'd met him.

And not just him…I'd always needed someone to save me. Whether it Sora-nii, or Tatsuki-chan, or Kurosaki-san, for my entire life, whenever I was in trouble, I'd always needed someone there to save me. I was always powerless to do anything for myself.

I'm powerless…helpless…

So weak.

So I'd helped him defeat Yazlin-san

. Suddenly that seemed like years and years in the past. What good did it do right now? I'd immediately gotten myself caught, forcing Kurosaki-kun to have to save me again, and himself as well.

And it was possible that neither of us would make it out. Before my eyes, more and more of Kurosaki-kun's blood spattered the ground, and I bit my lip as hard as I could to keep from crying out again.

All because I'm always so useless….!

Kira Izuru

Had it not been a matter of life and death, the sensation of being trapped inside a void with no light, no sound, no smell, and no perception of reiatsu may have been merely curious as opposed to terrifying. But at this time, when death may strike down at any instant, I had never felt more helpless in my life.

No sooner had we come upon Tōsen-taichō than he had drawn his zanpaku-tō and begun to summon his bankai. Hisagi-san had only been able to yell out, "Kira, the hilt-!" Then the world as I had known it had vanish, and I could neither see nor hear nor sense Hisagi-san. Clearly he had been trying to give me a clue as to how to survive in this senseless world, and with the words he had chosen, I vaguely remembered hearing that Tōsen-taichō's bankai was ineffective against anyone who was grasping the hilt of Suzumushi. Finding the hilt, however, was of course far easier said than done.

I drew Wabisuke and held it upright, hovering on the balls of my feet, ready to react to anything that came my direction. My heart was pounding, sending blood roaring through my ears. Perspiration began to bead on my forehead, and I struggled to calm my breathing.

Focus,I told myself. You must be more alert than you have ever been in your entire life, or you will not make it out of this.

Out of nowhere, I felt a rush of air against my face, like a blade being swung through the air at my neck. I had only half an instant to react, and I threw myself to the ground and rolled away, then leapt back to my feet and held Wabisuke at the ready in the direction the invisible slash had come from. I breathed in and out slowly….in, out…

Focus.

In, out….

Another rush of air, this time a stab towards my back. I jumped back and spun around, slashing blindly at the spot from where the attack had emerged. Heart racing even faster, all I could do was wait for the next attack, but it did not come.

"Hisagi-san!" I called, with as much force as I could muster. But I could not even hear my own voice. I could feel my lips moving, and the vibrations of air passing through my throat to produce what should have been sound, but…nothing, not so much as a gasp could be heard.

It was all I could do to keep myself from panicking. I had no way of knowing whether or not Hisagi-san had already been killed. And it was he who knew his own captain's fighting techniques better than any other. If he was already dead, then I would certainly never get out of this blinding, deafening, darkness alive.

Inoue Orihime

So useless….

"Are you crying?" asked Mariioqa-kun, noticing my trembling – I could tremble despite being held fast by whatever spell he'd placed me under.

"N-no," I managed to reply. I wasn't crying, but I was very near it. Could I be more hopeless?

"All right, no hurry; there's always time for that later," said Mariioqa-kun cheerfully, but with a glimmer in his eyes that made my skin crawl.

If only I could move…!

But even if I could…what then?

How does he have me trapped?

Mariioqa-kun shifted in the corner of my vision and I noticed then—being unable to have turned my head at all—that he wore no zanpaku-tō at his waist.

Does his power not come from a sword?

"Don't you carry a zanpaku-tō around, like the other Arrancar?" I asked him.

He seemed surprised that I would ask that of him, but it didn't seem to concern him. "Ah, so you noticed. No, I do not have a piece of soul-steel to call my own. I instead of more…refined methods. It's not that I lack physical strength – had I been interested in doing so, I could have ripped you to pieces already. Oh! don't worry; you're far too pretty to be destroyed so callously. I prefer to make my way into the minds of others, numbing them and destroying all hope. I make my opponents feel lost in their despair and break them from the inside first." He lowered his voice to a whisper and moved his mouth closer to my ear so that it was almost touching. "So, my practices are more specialized perhaps, but equally dangerous, make no mistake about that." I shivered, feeling as though a bucket of ice-water had been poured over my heart and stomach and liver and all my other organs.

He'll kill me…..

Kurosaki-kun, I'm going to die…!

Kuchiki Byakuya

Currently, the Gatekeepers were more of an annoyance than an imminent threat, but they were diminishing our strength at an alarming rate. Between Soi Fong, Shihoin, and myself, we had only managed to bring down four out of the thirty thus far, either by wounding their horned feet enough times to slow them up, or my deflecting their own weapons into others of their number. The size of the beasts made it difficult to reach any of their vital areas, and their speed made it nearly impossible to land more than one blow at a time on any one Gatekeeper.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura," I intoned, and my blade burst into a thousand razor-edged pieces. My shikai was more effective than any other attack used so far, but with the creature's armour, it merely cracked its exoskeleton in several places, drawing meagre amounts of blood. I was forced to redirect the blade-fragments back at the Gatekeeper twice more before it finally collapsed. In less than a second there was another there to take its place, and I called Senbonzakura back into sealed form in time to defend myself from the massive axe-blade.

I admit, I hadn't expected this to be quite so draining.

I was startled out of my own thoughts by a sudden groan from somewhere behind me followed by Soi Fong's shriek:

"Yoruichi-sama!"

Hisagi Shuuhei

"Well at least now I can ask—why are you doing this?" I called out, knowing that Tōsen was able to hear me, even though I was faced with the bizarre sensation of not being able to hear myself. Despite this, I knew I had to remain calm and incredibly focused in order to get out of this. All I had to do was find Tōsen and get close enough to touch the hilt of Kazeshini. The biggest complication was the fact the Kira was in here with me, and, being unable to see him or communicate with him, I was in danger of attacking him by accident, and vice-versa. Although I could trust him to have the sense to stay put and stay on the defensive, both of us wouldn't last for long in this situation. This needed to end quickly.

I called Kazeshini into shikai form, stepping about quickly and making sharp turns so that the chains would swing and hopefully brush against something – rather, someone. At the same time, I needed to be prepared to be attacked at any moment, from any direction.

"Why can't you see that you've been deceived? You always talk about seeking the path to justice and righteousness-how can you say that this is it?"

I detected a slight shift in the air movement behind me and was able to lash out and catch an attacking arm – almost certainly Tōsen's – with Kazeshini's chains. However, my aim was not wholly accurate, and was easily shaken off.

Every hair on my body stood on end; every muscle was tensed, waiting for the next attack. Without being able to sense reiatsu, my perception of movement was focused to its limit.

"Can you honestly believe that following in Aizen's shadow will lead you down the just path?"

Of course, there was no answer. The seconds seemed like hours in the deafening darkness.

Movement! Directly behind me, and so close; I had only an instant to react -

My blood felt as though it had turned to ice in my veins as Suzumushi impaled me through the right shoulder, only inches from my heart, through where it would have gone had I not twisted away at the last second. I felt a hand grasp my wrist and place it on the hilt of the zanpaku-tō, preventing me from pulling myself from the blade, but also allowing my sight, hearing, and reiatsu perception to return, a multitude of sensations that, combined with the pain, were nearly overwhelming.

"I have no doubt that Aizen's motivations are purely self-serving," said Tōsen behind me. "But I will continue follow him, for though his intentions are narcissistic, his methods will ultimately create peace. Assimilating Shinigami and Hollows, two species that exist only to kill each other, into one species, under a single dictatorial rule, without the façade of democracy, will eliminate the need for dissent, for war. The initial cost for perpetual harmony will certainly result in much bloodshed, but it is a necessary evil for an eternity of peace."

"You've been misled—further than I thought," I replied, my breathing unsteady from the pain. "if you honestly believe that Aizen - gives a shit about Shinigami and Hollows - living in harmony once he's king. He's only- 'assimilating' them for the purposes - of testing the Hogyōku's power and for - creating an army to serve him. Nothing more."

"Do not speak of things that are beyond your understanding, Hisagi. I'm sorry that it had to come to this."

"But I'm not sorry," I retorted. With that, with my free hand, I brought up Kazeshini and reached behind me, looping and flinging the chain around Tōsen's neck and pulling taught. At the same time, I delivered a kick with as much power as I could muster into his solar plexus, forcing his to stumble backwards, releasing Suzumushi at the same time, which slid out of my shoulder and fell to the ground with a clatter, retreating to its sealed form as it did so. A short distance away, I saw Kira blink as his senses returned to him.

Before Tōsen could do anything, I twisted around and thrust one of Kazeshini's scythe-like blades into his stomach. Tōsen gasped and choked, and I was able to wrestle and pin him to the ground, almost too easily. Kira came rushing to my aid, but unnecessarily, for I had already won.

"I'm not sorry," I repeated, "because I knew – from the moment you left that –if I could survive long enough –that it would certainly come to this. Surely—somewhere inside—you knew it would too."

"I had – feared it might," Tōsen admitted, his voice a low rasp as Kazeshini was still restricting his breathing. "But I had hoped – that it might wait – until justice had been served. Then – you might have - been able to – understand…"

"No," I interrupted. "I understand perfectly. I understand that – in the past, you have suffered. I understand that – what you seek - what you wish for is—something truly valuable. Your goals are admirable, but – your methods – are insane. There is – no good – to be had by forcing - a harmonious world upon the world's people. Who the hell - is Aizen – and who the hell are you – to interfere with the ways of the world or to – decide what is best? Not even – the most powerful of shinigami – is justified in placing himself in the – position belonging to the gods. Such arrogance – is folly. You were –mistaken – in believing yourself to be - above ordinary men. And in the end – you will see – that justice truly will be - served."

Inoue Orihime

He'll kill me…

Kurosaki-kun!

"Inoue…. if you won't let me thank you, you have to promise me something. Promise – you will never call yourself 'useless' again. Because you're not."

And then he'd smiled at me, something I'd given up hope of ever seeing, but it was the most wonderful thing in the world, and I would never see it again….

"Promise you will never call yourself 'useless' again."

Unless…

"You're not."

Kurosaki-kun believed I wasn't useless…I could not betray his confidence in me. If I gave up and died, he would never forgive me.

I can't let that happen!

Perhaps Mariioqa-kun and I were not so different. My powers were also one of a kind, being wielded in my shun-shun-rikka I wore in my hair instead of a sword. In fact, if any powers could beat his, they would be mine…

I won't let you down Kurosaki-kun! I'll show you that you were right to believe in me!

This thought seemed to light a fire in my heart, and as my heart pumped, it sent hot blood through my body, blood that was red hot and full of strength and reiatsu.

"Santen kesshun! I reject!" I cried, and my shield burst from me, instantly severing whatever hold that Mariioqa-kun had on me. I could move again; I was free.

Mariioqa-kun was instantly alert, poised to leap at me, but I left my shield up; its orange-gold glow highlighted the lines in his face, which was suddenly crunched up in a livid expression. I knew that as long as I could keep Kinagiku, Baigon, and Lily between us, I would be alright. I'd noticed that Mariioqa-kun had needed to touch me earlier in order to paralyze me. Just a light brush of his hand had done it, but he'd needed that contact.

He tried to use his speed to attack from behind, but my rikka-spirits were fast enough to match him and protected me from those brutal hands. Even still, I couldn't keep my shield going forever; I needed to think quickly about what to do.

Should I call out Tsubaki again? It was likely he was tired, and Mariioqa-kun, furious and on edge, ready to react to anything, may be abke to fight him off.

There was only Ayame and Shun-ō left…..Sōten Kisshun, the ability to negate existance in a confined space. I said the words, and Mariioqa-kun was in that confined space, confused and battering the orange globe imprisoning him. Focusing my thoughts and strength, I began to turn back time around Mariioqa-kun, eliminating from his existence the event of having been exposed to the Hogyōku and turned into an Arrancar. His tall, slender, white-robed form began to shimmer and dissolve, until he was a very small Hollow, a dark four-legged creature with a humped back and a wolf's skull for a head. The Hollow threw back his head and howled miserably.

I focused even harder, undoing more events in Mariioqa-kun's experiences, and the wolf-pup-Hollow dissolved too, and for an instant there was a small boy with silver hair and enormous blue eyes, eyes that were confused and scared, eyes that no longer held the desire to hurt, only to go home…

Then he was gone. His soul had become human again, and so had returned to Soul Society, no longer a monster. What exactly remained of him, I did not know, for I did not know what events had shaped his life when he had been alive in the human world an unknown number of years ago. But he was in a place now where he could do no harm, and likely would no longer be inclined to do so anyway.

Kurosaki-kun and Grimmjow-san had paused their battle to see what had become of Mariioqa. Grimmjow muttered something under his breath; I didn't hear exactly what it was but it sounded like "Serves the little bugger right."

Kurosaki-kun was tired and had several wounds that were bleeding freely. It made my heart ache to see him like that and I wanted so much to turn Grimmjow-san back into a human too so Kurosaki-san didn't have to be hurt anymore, or at least to heal his wounds and make him strong again so he could do his best fighting. But I knew Grimmjow-san would not let me heal Kurosaki-san, and I also knew that I could not defeat him like Yazlin-san or Mariioqa-kun. Grimmjow-san had a zanpuk-tō with which he could easily strike at me, and he was an Espada, so he was much stronger and faster than the other two. Even though I knew all of this, the last thing I wanted was to leave Kurosaki-kun. What if…?

Kurosaki-kun met my eyes and flashed me a thumbs-up. "Good job Inoue! Now go help Renji and Rukia back on the surface; they're badly hurt." He glanced at Grimmjow-san. "Don't you even think about going after her."

Grimmjow-san shrugged. "Why would I bother? It's all the same to me what happens to her; why waste my time?"

But what about you, Kurosaki-kun?

It would be selfish to stay, I knew. But what if I never saw him again…?

It's alright to have faith in Kurosaki-kun.

I didn't have to count on him to save me. But I could count on him to come back.

"Inoue…go. Please," said Kurosaki-kun.

Okay. But what to say in response? "Good luck" seemed too ominous. "You can do it" too easily proven horribly wrong.

"See you on the surface, Kurosaki-kun," I said, looking him right in the eyes. I wanted nothing more than to go to him and wrap him in my arms and never let go, but there were more important things, so I just kept my gaze steady.

Kurosaki-kun, his jaw tight with determination, said nothing, only nodded in response.

With that, I turned away and, as quickly as I could, climbed up the rubble that had crumbled away when we fell through the roof of the passageway. As I made my way back into the light under the blue sky, I heard the sounds of colliding zanpaku-tō ringing behind me once more.

Tōshirō Hitsugaya

With a jolt, my eyes flew open to behold a field of ice and snow. For a horrifying instant, I feared I had been duped after all, but then I recognized the destroyed corridor in which I had fought and died only – minutes? hours? – ago. I could feel my heart pounding, a reassuring fullness in my chest, pumping life and strength through my veins once more. I clamoured to my feet and gave myself a brief examination. My previously amputated hand was back in place, and I couldn't see a scratch, bruise or burn on myself. Even my shihakushō and haori appeared to be in pristine condition. Drawing Hyōrinmaru, I saw it too, was fully restored, and its familiar spiritual resonance was sound.

So Death had been true to her word. Very well then. That meant I had one hour remaining to me in which to kill Aizen.

One hour – last chance.

No time to waste, then.

Let's go.

So…hopefully I gave Mariioqa a decent end. I'm not quite as fond of him as I was when I originally introduced him, but I think he has potential and will hopefully return in one of my works of pure I-made-it-all-up-myself fiction (although I haven't been writing any of that lately, either *sigh*)

Anyway, I know this is ages old, but I just have to say: at the end of the Fake Karakura arc, am I the only one who was fucking pissed that we didn't get to see Ichigo's dad fight Aizen? Apparently he was able to force him to a limit in his normal shinigami (non-Hogyouku) form, but we didn't get to even see how he fucking did it! This whole time, Aizen has been portrayed as this unstoppable force, in that no one can even *touch* him, and suddenly Isshin steps in and then he's near his breaking point, just like that? Not cool, Kubo, not fucking cool. That doesn't even qualify as a cop-out; that's just bullshit! Or lazy. Not sure which. *otaku rage! otaku smash!*

Speaking of bullshit, the Fullbringer arc was just that. And so is this current arc. Yet, I'm still reading Bleach anyway, even though I think it's gotten really stupid. Maybe by the end it'll improve? (Here's hoping)

Old rant, I'm sure many people have said it, but I needed to get it off my chest. Three more chapters people! Stay tuned for number 23: The Storm Before the Storm.