Previously on Dragon Ball Z! (danaa na na nanana naaa! Danaa na na nuh nah nih naaa)

Oops, wrong show.

Wow, I can't believe I haven't updated this in so long, where has the summer gone? Well either way, Its time to reward you AIS faithful with another awesome chapter. I gotta say this one was hard to write, which contributed to this unseemly delay. I actually started, deleted it, started again, had my laptop delete it and then finally my muse struck me about a week ago. And of course, as muses sometimes do, she changed everything.

This is an uber-long update, 15 pages on word single spaced, so get comfy folks. For future reference, Hollow Ichigo's statements will be In bold.

Disclaimer: Although this statement holds as much water in court as a leaky faucet, I still don't own bleach.

Kisuke Urahara's words ricocheted around Ichigo's skull, giving him no quarter as he tried to focus his mind. Rukia is the messenger. You will lose her. The messenger will seal the door with chains of flesh. You will lose her. The chalkboard that Ms. Ochi wrote upon became an obsidian blur, the white streaks of graphite letters just stripes of bleak detail. The board seemed to morph before his eyes, becoming the raven hair of the girl behind him. Suddenly Rukia stood before him, turning to meet his gaze. Her violet eyes shone with an ethereal light, drawing his gaze and holding it fast. He tried to lose himself in the knowing smile on her lips but before his own made contact, she was jerked suddenly backward.

Chains flew from the walls and wrapped themselves around her limbs, pulling her until they splayed apart, leaving her spread eagled in midair. The walls themselves began to crumble and fade as a massive black shadow rose up behind her. Enormous, arched double doors pulled the world into the dark, open maw between them, the chains themselves seeming to wrap around the edges, pulling Rukia inexorably inward.

Ichigo lurched forward, reaching out to her but found himself mired in quicksand, unable to move forward. The girl's wide eyes betrayed the fear Ichigo himself felt, and she was pulled into the maw, disappearing from view.

"RUKIA!" Ichigo shouted, jolting to his feet.

The class around him broke into laughter, Keigo Asano's being the loudest and most obnoxious voice. His senses returned to him and he realized where he was. Sitting quickly he hung his head under Ms Ochi's harsh glare. She turned and resumed writing once the laughter had died down and Ichigo couldn't resist glancing into the window to see the curious expression the real Rukia wore behind him. Ichigo kept his head down and his eyes awake until the final bell rung an hour later. As soon as he stood to leave, however, Ms. Ochi called his name.

He watched the other students slowly filter out before answering Ms. Ochi's call. She stepped toward him gingerly. "Mr. Kurosaki, I've watched you closely in these last months and I must say, you seem to have a lot going on in your personal life. Very few students have missed as many days of school as you, and yet you still manage to complete most of your work and maintain respectable marks."

Ichigo resigned himself to the teacher's concerned spiel, tuning out and silently thanking Kon for at least not being an idiot while he was in class. It took several minutes to finally assure Ms. Ochi that he wasn't becoming a juvenile delinquent before she let him leave. He stepped out into the hallway and immediately noticed the tuft of black hair appear at his left shoulder. He forced himself to look away from her, his gut wrenching mercilessly as he did so.

So she hit him in the gut, stopping him cold.

"Ichigo, what's going on? What were you dreaming about?" she asked. Always direct.

"Its nothing Rukia," Ichigo said, straightening up and quickening his pace to leave the short-legged girl behind. He braced himself in anticipation for the inevitable blow that was sure to follow such a rude action, but surprisingly, none came. He glanced back and saw her standing still, just watching him, an almost unbearable expression of pain on her normally jovial face. Almost unbearable. Ichigo turned away once again and donned his most imposing frown, barely concealing a burning pain that made him long to fight Ulquiorra again.

Patience is a virtue, Demuza reminded himself for the thousandth time. He found it…irritating that Runuganga had chosen that very moment to interfere with his kill, but the three battered Shinigami would soon be overwhelmed in the Menos Forest. No matter how powerful they were, he had given them each quite a beating to overcome, and the last one…that girl… She had apparently done the impossible…to wake the beast sleeping beneath the cave was unprecedented good news. Demuza knew he had to act quickly to take advantage of this. He focused his Reiatsu briefly and suddenly, he was invisible again to anyone who happened upon him. Sliding through the trees without making so much as a twig crack beneath his feet, he reached the cave deep within the bowels of the forest.

He didn't even have a mask to attempt to pry the door open like the last time. He would try again with his zanpakutou. Walking up to the great gates, he felt the spiritual pressure in the room sucked toward the tiny orifices his previous attempts to open it had left, as if all that were behind it were a huge empty vacuum, destined to assimilate any who opened it. It had been enough to scare off every other hollow that ventured this far into the pits of Hueco Mundo, but Demuza knew the truth. He had seen it through that white-haired Shinigami's eyes. The pages upon pages of text that only one man had ever written, and by miracles of fear and fate only one man had ever read.

He unsheathed his blade, focusing his immense power into it. Demuza thrust it into the gap between the doors, willing the soul cutting steel to remain strong. Placing both hands on the hilt, he shoved the blade toward the wall painstakingly slowly, attempting to leverage the doors open. He moved the blade millimeter by millimeter, not daring to thrust too violently.

Hour after hour he stood there, nearly motionless, drilling his mantra into his head. Patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue. The doors seemed to push back on the fulcrum of the blade, resisting as always, yet this time he felt a surge from beyond, a sliver of reiatsu pushed itself through the door all insubstantial and black as night. It reached around his blade, four tiny tendrils of fate, searching out their master. Demuza's eyes widened in unadulterated glee, daring to push just a millimeter further. The door finally cracked and jet black energy poured forth, threatening to overwhelm him in its intensity like an orbiting comet that passed too close to a star. He knew his life would be snuffed out instantly if he made so much as the slightest misstep.

Pushing his own energy back against the torrent pouring forth, Demuza made his stand against the void. And slowly but surely, just as the archaic text had described, a presence became tangible just beyond the limits of his perception. He had no way of knowing that it was there, he just knew. His glee rose again. He began to speak out, to call forth the servant that would surely be his own, but before he could utter a word, an ethereal message was drilled through his consciousness. No speech or sound was necessary, but Demuza understood. Sacrifice.

The servant was demanding payment for its services. It would be a deal, and blood would be required. Two images appeared in his consciousness. The only acceptable blood sacrifice. He had to provide one or the other if he wanted this power at his disposal. One or the other and the world would be his.

The door slammed shut, the pouring black reiatsu dried up at its source and the very tip of Demuza's zanpakutou sheared completely off.

"So…CLOSE!" the Vasto Lorde yelled furiously. His tongue worked the air, tasting the smell of Shinigami far too close for comfort and he roared in frustration, throwing his pointless sword into the nearest rock wall. It buried itself to the hilt and he retrieved it, hate burning in his eyes.

You want sacrifice, he thought at the ethereal being behind the gate, then I'll get it for you. Hell, I'll have them sacrifice themselves…

And he stalked out of the cave, his Reiatsu a beacon of his position to any creature within miles. He didn't care. Let them all come. He was hunting.

Karai focused her energy inward, pushing the kido through her stomach as she was taught and back out through her hands. The healing green glow appeared once more, Nanao Ise lay before her, the hole in her stomach slowly closing, the individual fibers of her organs and muscles being stitched together from sheer concentration. Karai had already restored her reiatsu, as she'd been taught while healing. 'Heal the spirit and the body follows' had always been one of Unohana taicho's favorite sayings, but healing a laceration this deep was immensely difficult and complex. After about an hour of strenuous concentration, beaded drops of sweat dripping amply from her furrowed brow, Yoruichi leaned over her shoulder, eyeing the molecules of Nanao's body spontaneously attaching themselves, finally closing the nearly fatal wound.

"Kind of a useless power don't ya think?" she asked, her voice sounding misty and faraway.

Feeling insulted, Karai turned slowly. She couldn't believe that Yoruichi Shihoin, of all the Shinigami in the universe, had just uttered those words. "What? I just healed the three of us from near fatal injuries and you call my Kido a 'useless power'?"

Yoruichi laughed heartily, waving off the girls concern. "No, silly! I was talking about that big sand thing that dumped us down here! Seriously, we would have died if it hadn't tossed us away like that…or at least done something USEFUL with the sand, like Heineko's dust blades or something…"

Karai fell back on her haunches, tired from kneeling over prone bodies for hours on end. Of the three of them, her own injuries had been the least life threatening. Her mind replayed her loss of control again. Not a few seconds after properly executing a Hanki on a high level Arrancar's Cero, she lost control of her own Shunko and blew herself up. Fortunately, she had now blown herself up several times and she knew which organs to protect an instant before she lost control of the blast. The first time she'd attempted Shunko she'd been in Unohana's care for a week. She shuddered at the memory.

She turned to Yoruichi, opening her mouth to say something witty, but her voice died in her throat at the sight she beheld. The normally cheery woman looked thoroughly crestfallen, staring not at the Shinigami she'd risked her life to save, not at the silt and dirt she lay on, but almost through. As if she could stare through the fabric of space and time to see the one face she longed for so openly.

"Yoruichi-san?" Karai asked, finding the courage to interrupt her reverie, "Is everything okay?"

She looked up, startled. "Oh, yeah!" A wide, undeniably fake smile spread across her face, her eyes squinted shut and she threw up a quick peace sign. "Im fine, why do you ask? Nanao's the one we should really be worried about." Her expression morphed to one of a concerned parent and she began fussing over the unconscious woman, checking her pulse, breathing and pulling her eyelid back to stare into her retina.

"Do you even know what you're checking for?" Karai asked incredulously.

"I haven't the slightest!"

Karai lowered her head and sighed, flopping down and landing on her butt in a tiny puff of dead pine needles and browned leaves. Karai looked around puzzled. She hadn't seen any living branches, so how were there any dead leaves? She looked at Yoruichi, who was staring at the leaves in a similar fashion.

"You notice that too, did you?" Karai asked quietly, now thoroughly scared.

"Maybe…maybe the only thing that exists here…is death," Yoruichi proposed. Her voice was so quiet Karai could barely hear, even in the still forest's deep silence, as if she were terrified of the very idea her words represented.

Her wide golden eyes were fearful for the briefest of moments before they returned to their normal, energetic glow. "Well, then we'll just have to prove this dumb forest wrong! You can't hold us!" she shouted into the distance.

"Uhh…Yoruichi-san, I'm not sure yelling is the best idea…"

Yoruichi clamped her hands over her mouth quickly, smiling guiltily behind them. "Hehe, kinda got carried away there…"

"Yeah."

"Yeah." The older woman stuck her index finger into a clear patch of ground and began drawing shapes in the darkness.

"So what now?" Karai asked.

Yoruichi shrugged. "I dunno. I suppose we wait for Nanao to wake up, then we start marching. I really wouldn't want to waste energy in this place carrying people too far. I'd hate to know what you have to eat here to replenish your reiatsu…"

Karai nodded sagely, trying to simultaneously take in what the experienced Shinigami told her and reverse-engineer her reasoning for coming to those decisions.

They were solid choices given the predicament, Karai thought. They knew that they'd have to eat sooner or later, but Hollow flesh was generally the only thing she could think would be readily available and the very thought made her want to vomit. Especially after healing the three of them, even the young girl's vast reserves of reiatsu were rapidly draining. In addition to having to carry Nanao, they knew nothing about this place. They could just as easily walk into a battle as they could stay put and avoid it. And if someone did happen across them, their chances were that much better if Nanao were awake and they could operate far more efficiently from a position that they knew the layout of, even if from just a cursory walkaround.

"Yoruichi-san, I realize the wisdom in your choice is far greater than it seems."

Yoruichi looked surprised. "It is?"

Karai blinked and proceeded to recite all the reasons that she came up with to support Yoruichi's choice.

"It is, isn't it?" Yoruichi said, beaming while she scratched the back of her head. "I mean, Yeah, of course! After all I was head of Soul Society's intelligence branch for a hundred years! Cant be head of intelligence and make stupid choices!"

"Exactly!" Karai agreed, oblivious to Yoruichi's bluff. "Which is why I humbly ask you, please teach me to be a better kunoichi and a better Shinigami! You are one of the premier talents in both, and I would give anything to be your-"

But she stopped at Yoruichi's downcast expression. "I dunno if you noticed, kid," Yoruichi said sadly, "But I don't really do the whole apprentice-slash-sidekick thing anymore. Turns out I'm not to good at honoring my commitments when I do."

Karai instantly knew she was talking about Soifon and felt a pang of guilt in her gut. A fuzzy memory tried to surface at her mention that caused a certain heat in her cheeks but she smashed it down as always. She knew from Soifon's reaction that had been a mistake and was determined not to let that disappointment affect her.

"Yoruichi-san…" Karai whispered, wishing there were words to comfort the woman, but none came. One glance from Yoruichi's pain filled eyes told her exactly why. The words that could ease that suffering simply did not exist. A hundred years of exile and agony had sharpened that pain to a dagger point.

It was that moment that the forest chose to finally respond to Yoruichi's earlier shout. Or maybe the creatures were around the entire time and the Shinigami simply did not realize it. Either way, the tiniest tear rolled down the Shihoin's caramel face and they attacked.

Within seconds, a dozen hollows had become nothing more than insubstantial blurs of free reiatsu. Karai stood at Nanao's feet, Hanokaze held across her chest in a backhanded grip and Yoruichi stood facing away from the fukutaicho's raven hair.

Karai cursed silently, and stopped seeking out the faint traces of reiatsu her opponents gave off and trying to pinpoint the monsters' locations. She was quickly overwhelmed by the fact that the creatures were, for lack of a better word, everywhere! "Uhh, Yoruichi-san…" she called out nervously. Even her lifetime of arduous training could not keep her fear from causing her voice to crack.

"I know," Yoruichi snarled. "They're sure are a lot of you ugly bastards!" she ducked a sudden strike seemingly from nowhere and responded with a kick that tore the lowly hollow in half. The crowd surged and the two of them fought desperately, the only sounds that escaped their lips the grunts and gasps of a warrior locked in a battle for her very survival.

Karai slashed through a dozen hollows, then two, and three before the first wave finally subsided. She inhaled deeply slid her feet once again into a solid stance, holding Hanokaze wide behind her and holding her off hand before her defensively. She exhaled and the second wave began, more ferocious and tiring than the first. At one point, Karai thought they would be overwhelmed before Yoruichi shot a Kido blast over Karai's shoulder that obliterated a swath of the horde before them. Still, the Hollows kept coming. Humanoid demons with white faces, crablike creatures with vice-like claws, Hanokaze cut through them one and the same. Karai focused on her training, letting Soifon's words swim through her mind, blotting out all else. "One hit, one kill. You are an assassin. No wasted strokes, no wasted movement." Karai pivoted slightly and slashed upwards across the face of a charging hollow. Its mask split and it died before her. another hollow charged only a split second later. She sliced the heartless demon in two as she brought Hanokaze down. Her return to her defensive stance killed another as she brought hanokaze around wide, stabbing and slashing through another's mask.

She was lethal, efficient, everything Soifon had taught her to be. But it wasn't enough. More and more came, and one by one was not thinning the herd. They needed to protect Nanao, but the more they focused on just staying alive, the higher the chance was that the girl would be simply snatched from beneath them.

After what seemed like hours, the hollows stopped charging, realizing the futility of the head on assault had taken them quite a while, and they had not yet realized the benefits of victory by attrition. If such a victory were even remotely possible. Karai silently cursed and thanked their stupidity. She took deep breaths, letting the tiniest bit of her reserve reiatsu flood into her body, easing the burning in her joints and bolstering her for the next attack. But they sat for several seconds that way, Karai and Yoruichi staring into the sea of yellow and red eyes, the sea gazing back at their prey hungrily, longingly.

Suddenly, the reason for their retreat became obvious. An Adjuchas level hollow stepped forth, his army of minions shrinking in fear from the one infinitly more powerful creature. Karai assessed it quickly. Tall and gangly, its form was barely humanoid, with its shoulders splayed unnaturally wide and its mask fully intact. It had long, gangly arms and legs with its white sinews almost visible beneath its papery skin. Enormous claws stretched from its fingertips, sharp enough to shred a being in a bare second. Not a very strong creature, by her standards.

The adjuchas smiled, and leapt to attack without further ado. Its first strike was parried by Karai, its claws contracting to entangle Hanokaze before it thrust its other hand at the girls' ribs. Karai began to twist away, but before it mattered, a second speeding ball of Kido dealt with the problem a different way. The one armed Adjuchas yowled in pain and staggered back, attempting to dart between cover, but another Kido blast slammed into it, melting its mask and killing it instantly. The legion of hollows looked from their former master to the Shinigami lying on the ground with her hand in the air, thumb crossed across her open palm, and decided against pursuing the trio. Briefly. No sooner had they turned to flee than they seized up, freezing for a split second before charging again, now possessed by a new entity. Yoruichi killed nine of them in the time it took them to change their collective minds and change them back.

Karai thrust back against the surge, her confidence renewed as Nanao stood shakily behind her. The woman quickly gained her bearings, though and to her immense credit, began firing one handed Kido wordlessly into the crowd while drawing her zanpakutou from her overlarge sleeves. No sooner had she done so than the three broke formation, finally moving freely as they fought. No longer did they have to be the target, defending a point. Now they attacked freely, choosing their next strikes at will. The hollows hadnt stood a chance against the two Shinigami. Now that there were three, they had to know there was naught but slaughter awaiting them. Karai leapt high above the crowd, reciting a quick incantation but she faltered in mid-chant. The sea of glowing eyes stretched on as far as her eye could see, all pushing and shoving to reach the morsels that had stumbled into their lair.

Karai let the Kido die on her lips. "Uhh…Yoruichi-san?"

Karai had never before seen an army this size, of Shinigami or hollow alike. If all these creatures were here, why didn't they simply attack Soul Society with sheer numbers? Not for the first time, fear began to tug at her heart and she questioned the sanity of her desperate race to save Nanao from the fate that awaited her.

"I see them!" Yoruichi replied, clearly busy. Karai alighted on a nearby branch and leapt off, towards her two defacto teammates.

"What are we gonna do?" She asked, fear evident in her voice.

"Remember step two?" Yoruichi asked, reciting a Kido in her head to aid their escape.

"What's step two?" Nanao asked confused. The sharp girl was adapting commendably, and Karai easily forgave her foolish question.

"RUN!" the other two women shouted at her, turning to dash away. The three of them flash stepped from the area as fast as possible, passing over the heads of thousands of soulless undead before they reached what appeared to be a relatively safe cliff face. They settled to the rocky outcropping before sheathing their respective weapons.

Nanao looked noticeably more winded than the two stealth force officers, as her training generally consisted of far fewer Shunpo practice sessions.

"Are you alright?" Yoruichi asked the young woman cautiously. "Can you keep going?"

Nanao nodded bravely, though it was plain to see that she was struggling mightily just to stay on her feet. "I just-"

At that instant, the Hollows caught up to the beleaguered trio. Bat-like creatures swarmed around them, emitting an ungodly shriek that drove Karai to her knees, clutching at bleeding ears. Yoruichi seemed to be the only one unaffected, as she leapt into the air, killing two with blows to the head before flash stepping between the rest of the group and killing them with some sort of Kido whip that Karai had never seen before. It was as if she had a chain made of lightning itself.

By the time the caramel skinned woman alighted on the ground, the sound had ceased, and Karai tried to rub away the sticky red fluid pouring from her ears. Nanao looked visibly shaken, and her normally black uniform was now a strange hue of purple from the amount of blood it had absorbed.

"What was that?" Karai asked. Her voice sounded to her as if it were through a long tunnel, louder in her own head than it seemed outside.

"I think… I think they were all adhuchas. Their reiatsu was far too high for even a Gillian, and that shriek attack never should have incapacitated you two that easily."

"Why weren't you affected then?" Nanao asked, her face still a mask of pain.

"Huh? Oh! I never go anywhere without these!" Yoruichi produced a pair of fuzzy, orange earmuffs from her jacket pocket and slipped them onto her head. "I hate when my ears get cold and occasionally they work on Kisuke too!"

Karai looked at her, puzzled. She hadn't even seen her slip them on or off. It amazed her how fast this woman and Soifon really were sometimes, and she vowed to herself to become her taicho's equal, even if it took her a hundred years.

"Whatever they were," Karai replied, "We need to get out of this forest. We'll never survive down here."

"The question is," Nanao interjected, "How do we get out?"

The three of them all looked up the enormous cliff face they stood on. It seemed to be an outer wall of some sort, blocking passage from any sort of exit. Nearby there was a pile of boulders as if some unknown force had triggered a rock slide. Karai's eyes were drawn to it. In Soifon's exercises she had been drilled constantly to examine her surroundings not with just her five senses, but also with her reiatsu, and her reiatsu was telling her that there was something unique about this rockslide. It held a faint trace of energy that was both familiar and foreign. Every rock screamed with reiatsu but these…

"It feels as if a Shinigami has been here," Yoruichi said, completing her thoughts.

"Exactly!" Karai grabbed at the rocks excitedly, yanking one out of place and examining it closely. "the energy is faint but it goes completely through. Wait, it stronger on the bottom! Its like somebody was moving the rocks with their reiatsu from underneath!"

She looked up in triumph, proud of her realization, only to see Yoruichi and Nanao standing a good distance from her, hands over their mouths in amusement. "Whats so funny? Aaaaah!"

The rocks fell atop her in a mini avalanche, the rock she had picked up to examine apparently had been holding up a small surge. Karai forced her dizzy head from the pile and spit rocks. "Ha. Ha." She said drily. The two women pulled Karai from the pile but the three of them froze at what they felt next. The first sensation was something that was far too familiar in Hueco Mundo already. The unmistakable energy of Demuza was moving toward them at breakneck speeds. The second sensation was something entirely alien to this world. A gentle breeze floated through the gap that the rockslide had previously occupied. Pale moonlight seeped through tiny cracks between the rocks.

"This is an exit," Yoruichi realized. "The rockslde must have sealed it a long time ago…" She looked toward the rocks. Even if it was, it would take hours to excavate. Hours that they didn't have.

"We've gotta be able to find this place again." The woman decided.

Karai looked in the direction Demuza's reiatsu was coming from. "Whatever you're going to do, make it fast!" She drew Hanokaze as Yoruichi began reciting some incantation, getting ready to perform yet another Kido she had never heard of. No wonder Yoruichi didn't need her zanpakutou. Between her speed and her Kido, a sword was overkill.

Yoruichi finished the spell and…nothing happened. The woman frowned. "I thought something more would happen. I'd better tell Kisuke about this-"

Demuza appeared, not in front of Karai, as his reiatsu indicated, but beside and behind her, barreling straight for Yoruichi. Karai brought her hand around firing a reflexive Sokatsui blast, but it merely crashed into the rocks behind the creatures' feet, not even singeing his tattered clothing.

Tch! Not fast enough! Yoruichi was lifted from her feet, her head in the creature's right hand as he slammed her into the cliff face, sending her skidding up the wall at breakneck speeds. Nanao's eyes were wide. She hadnt even seen the creature. One second Yoruichi was there and the next, she wasn't. Before Karai could bring herself around, she was next. She felt an explosion of pain in her neck and realized that Demuza's hand was at her throat. For a split second, a moment that seemed to last an eternity, she stared into his eyes and he into hers, the anger and rage in his red irises perfectly opposed to the shock and fear in her grey ones. And then pain became her world.

Ichigo couldn't believe his eyes. He stood in the training room of the Vizard's warehouse, watching a battle unfold before him. It wasn't watching Vizard spar that surprised him, it was who he saw watching the fight from the sidelines that dropped his jaw. A tuft of unruly purple hair stuck up from behind a towel. Tatsuki Arisawa stood next to Orihime, cheering on Kensei as he took on Rojuro Otoribashi.

Shinji Hirako tumbled down the stairs behind Ichigo. He'd tried to stop him from entering for some reason or another and the bruises he suffered were evidence enough that no one should try to stop Ichigo from doing something he wanted. Ever. Ichigo approached the two girls in a trance. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be. Urahara's words danced through Ichigo's brain.

"Tatsuki, she's alive…the sword…Rukia…the messenger…"

But what did it all MEAN?

Sounds like you've got some thinking to do King.

Shutup, you.

"Tatsuki?" Ichigo called when he got close enough. The girl turned, slowly exposing the tomboy features that Ichigo remembered. "Tatsuki, how?"

"Ichigo…" she breathed as se laid eyes on the strawberry headed young man. But no smile came to her lips. Recognition flashed in her eyes, but no joy came from seeing him. In fact, if Ichigo had to guess…he thought he saw…anger?

A fist connected with his jaw before he could comprehend what was happening. A fist that dropped him straight to the ground. "Wha?" Tatsuki, what is going on-"

And she leapt atop him, pounding every inch of flesh he left exposed, raining blows on him until all her energy was spent, and she listed off to the side, falling onto the dirt. Tears shone in her eyes and she sobbed softly. "Ichigo why didn't you come for me? Why didn't you rescue me?"

And the weight of the world crashed down onto his shoulders. He went from overjoyed at his friend's return from death to completely guilty for her loss in less than three seconds. "Tatsuki…I…"

Inside his head, a maniac laughed raucously, taking delight in his peril.

Orihime stood over the two of them, clenching and unclenching her fists anxiously. Even the Vizards had stopped their fight, turning to see the commotion. Kensei especially looked rather disturbed.

"Ichigo…" Tatsuki murmured through her tears, "I don't blame you. I just wish…I just wish you had been there to save me…"

Ichigo watched his friend cry, his friend who had been there through his years of happiness and his years of pain, who had remained loyal to him throughout his lies and his posturing and even when he gave up his life as a teenager to be a Shinigami. He had rushed off to save Rukia, who he'd met just weeks before, battling the legions of heaven to bring her back alive. He had rushed off to save Orihime, battling the soldiers of hell to recover her soul. So why, when Urahara had told him that Tatsuki was dead, did he just believe him? Simply accept it and try to move on?

Either way, it was a question for another time. Ichigo rose to his feet and knelt next to his lifelong friend. "I'm sorry, Tatsuki. I failed you, I know. I'll be stronger next time. I won't let anyone down, not for me, not for Rukia, not for anyone. I'll save everyone, no matter what it costs me."

The tiniest corner of a smile peeked through the waterworks on the young woman's face. "That's the Ichigo I remember," she murmured.

Ichigo wrapped his arms around her and lifted his friend as if she were no more than a child, his body long since toned by years of battling to the death. "I wont let you down Tatsuki," he whispered. She nodded, leaning her head against his shoulder, asleep before the last word left his lips.

Suddenly, Ichigo stood awkwardly. The moment was past and now a half dozen Shinigami stood crowded around, looking on anxiously, some with smug looks on their faces, most notably Lisa and Rose.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Ichigo barked, stepping aggressively toward Lisa. "This isn't one of your mangas!"

"You'd know, you read em too!" Lisa retorted hotly.

"Yeah, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a thing for Tatsuki.," Rose continued. "And I don't."

"Whatever," Ichigo spat. "Tatsuki is a friend. Hell she's almost a guy!"

Tatsuki woke up. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I thought you were asleep!"

"I was until you called me a dude!"

"I didn't say you were, only you act and kinda dress like it!"

"Whatever, Ichigo, just take me home."

Ichigo looked queasy. "Uhh…Tatsuki…your family thinks you're…uhh…"

"They think I'm dead," She finished bluntly.

"Yeah. Who filled out the police report anyway?"

Shinji kicked a rock guiltily, whistling up at the air.

"Idiot," Love muttered. "Always fuckin up, Shinji."

"It doesn't matter," Tatsuki proclaimed. "I'll just be happy to prove them wrong."

Ichigo shrugged. It made no difference to him. "Alright. He nodded to the vizards and began the long ascent up the stairs.

"Just one thing, Ichigo," Tatsuki murmured again.

"Yeah?"

"One day, can you take me flying with you? I've seen you flying away from school before."

"Sure thing," he replied, burning the promise into his memory. "Sure thing, Tatsuki."

When he reached the landing, Ichigo turned to close the trapdoor behind him only to find a white haired head emerging from it. "Kensei? Where are you headed?"

He just looked past Ichigo, staring at a wall somewhere. "I'm making sure you guys get there safe, alright?"

Ichigo shrugged, not asking anymore questions. Kensei's behavior had been rather odd lately, turning up at Urahara Shoten, acting all antsy when Tatsuki attacked Ichigo and now following them.

About halfway the Arisawa house, Ichigo broke the silence. "So, why are you all protective all of a sudden?"

Kensei snorted. "You're a perceptive little runt."

"That's not an answer," Tatsuki said aggressively from where she was curled up like a baby in Ichigo's arms.

Kensei merely sighed, hanging his head. "I…have a sister. I was the last family she had, but when Sosuke… when Aizen hollowfied me, I was forced into exile with Kisuke. I never saw her again. She'd be about your age, Tatsuki. Well, Shinigami-wise anyway. I guess protecting you, kid is like making up for not being there for her."

Ichigo absorbed all this silently, but Tatsuki was not as easily quieted. "So if you care about your little sister so much, why don't you just go back and let her know you're ok?"

Kensei swung around aggressively. "Look, it aint that easy! Even Urahara and Yoruichi don't just meander back into Soul Society! You cant just walk back into Seireitei after you've become a hollow! They'd shred me to bits for daring to do something that stupid and they'd do worse to her for being my sister!"

"Okay," Tatsuki said, apologetically. "Sorry, I didn't know."

Kensei realized her ignorance and his aggressiveness melted. "No, I should be sorry. You're right. You can't have known."

Ichigo's biceps were burning now, but he wasn't about to make Tatsuki walk. Not after all she'd been through. Besides, if he wasn't even strong enough to carry her home, how could he be strong enough to make sure her home stayed safe?

"Kensei," Ichigo finally spoke. "Is that why you hardly train in your hollowfied form? Why you always train your Bankai instead?"

Wordlessly, Kensei nodded, and picked up his pace. Ichigo lengthened his stride as well, and the rest of the journey went in silence. They finally arrived at the Arisawa's building and Ichigo made to let Tatsuki down, but she clung to his neck. He shrugged and stepped onto the elevator. Kensei didn't follow. They went up to the apartment Ichigo had visited so many times before, but this time felt somehow different. As if before he was coming to take from them, hospitality, friendship, but now he was returning to give something back that they had lost. He liked the feeling.

The elevator door opened and Ichigo was flabbergasted to see Kensei standing there. "What…how did you…?"

"Took the stairs," Kensei monotoned. "I don't like elevators."

"Riiiiiight…." Ichigo said as he walked to the appropriate door. 27B. "This is it Tatsuki. You gonna get down?"

She shook her head, not wanting to look up. Ichigo understood. He knew what it was like to see your family after they thought you were dead. It was…awkward to say the least. He silently thanked Karin for that experience and knocked three times on the door. After a few seconds, a suspicious male voice answered.

"Who is it? There's nothing of value here."

Ichigo was struck by the bleak despair in the answer. Mr. Arisawa had always seemed to be a lively man, and his wife seemed to love life the same way he did. They weren't a perfect couple by any means, but they loved each other and their lives greatly. And their daughter. Ichigo realized. He let the sentiment burn in his heart for just a moment before adding it as fuel to the fire never to fail again.

"Its…" He cleared his throat. "Its Ichigo Kurosaki, Mr. Arisawa."

"Ichigo, damn you!" The man shouted back, pain as obvious and plentiful as evening rain in his voice. "Havent you heard! Ta- our daughter is-"

"Right here, sir."

"What?" the sound of unlocking bolts replaced the man's pained voice and he threw the door open with abandon. "TATSUKI-CHAN! KIMIKO COME QUICK TATSUKI IS ALIVE! ICHIGO HAS HER RIGHT HERE!"

The man snatched his daughter from Ichigo's arms and lifted her as best as his slight frame allowed. Mrs. Arisawa came around the corner, still in her smock and oven mitts from cooking dinner and threw her arms around the young girl. "Tatsuki you're home! Don't you ever scare us like that again young lady!" But she hugged her deeply with the biggest smile a mother could have.

The relief in the room was palpable, and even Ichigo couldn't maintain his entire scowl. One corner of his mouth turned upward in the tiniest semblance of a grin. Somehow, though, Kensei was looking away, staring off into the night. Scowling.

Ichigo elbowed him forcefully in the ribs. "Aww, lighten up, Thundercloud. People are happy today. You said you wanted to protect her like your own sister."

"Ichigo, thank you!" Mr. Arisawa called out, finally breaking away from his family's group hug. "Did you save her? Where did you find her? What happened?"

Ichigo faltered. He honestly had no idea about anything that happened, but he did have an idea about what should happen going forward. "No, Mr. Arisawa. I just carried her home. This man saved her life. He's the one you should thank."

The short man bowed deeply to a very uncomfortable looking Kensei. "Thank you, kind sir! You have the eternal gratitude of the Arisawa house. We will throw a feast in your honor! Please, allow us to show that small token of our thanks!"

"I uhh…thanks but…" Kensei protested lamely, but his stomach growled loudly at the mention of the word 'feast.'

"Then its settled!" Mr. Arisawa exclaimed delightedly. "Tomorrow at 8 pm sharp! It doesn't matter what you wear, bring your friends, family, anyone! Ichigo, you're invited too! And Tatsuki-chan, all of your friends! We'll celebrate the right way!"

Ichigo met Tatsuki's eyes one last time before her mother swept her away. Her expression was, for once, one of peace. "Thank you," she mouthed to Ichigo. He nodded and watched her go, and began the arduous task of convincing Mr. Arisawa that they should be allowed to leave the house without the family's life savings.

When they had finally escaped, albeit with heaps of food shoved into their arms (all Ichigo would allow him to give them), Kensei looked noticeably relieved.

They both looked out over the view of Karakura that Tatsuki's family's high-rise apartment afforded, leaning on the safety railing and letting the cool evening breeze blow across their faces. "Feel better, Thundercloud?" Ichigo asked jokingly.

Kensei responded with a surprisingly strong punch to his shoulder. "Shut up, twerp." But he too adopted the tiniest semblance of a smile. For a moment. The scowl returned though, as he looked across the night sky. Ichigo looked up at the full moon above, sighing heavily. "You know, Kisuke is in pretty good standing with Soul Society nowadays. And Yoruichi goes there all the time, I think. You could get a message to your sister pretty easily I think."

Kensei shook his head. "After all this time? She's probably better off thinking I'm dead. And a traitor."

"Quit being all melodramatic," Ichigo replied, cracking his knuckles. "The Arisawa's weren't any better off thinking Tatsuki was dead."

Kensei opened his mouth but shut it, having no good response to that. "I suppose you're right. I wonder what division she's in? What rank she is?"

"Only one way to find out. See ya, Thundercloud."

Kensei snorted as Ichigo walked toward the elevator and rode it down. Then he turned his attention to what had renewed his scowl. A tiny dot, a flare of icy reiatsu on a rooftop not far enough away to be out of sight. He leapt onto the railing and out of his gigai and flash stepped to the roof in a single motion, grabbing the lone Shinigami roughly by the neck and slamming her tiny frame against a wall.

Rukia Kuchiki's wide eyes stared back at him, surprise and fear evident. She hardly knew the vizard, and had never met this one in particular.

"Why are you spying on us?" Kensei demanded of the girl. He didn't know her either, but a memory stirred, trying to invoke recognition.

"I'm not spying," Rukia spat defiantly. "I'm following Ichigo since he can't man up and talk to me anymore!"

"What are you, his girlfriend?" Kensei snorted derisively.

"No! Nor would I want to be, since he obviously cares so much about Tatsuki."

Her nose went up in the air somehow, even though she was being held above the cement roof by the collar of her robes. Kensei let her down slowly and only when she straightened her robes and stood did the memory hit him. Hisana Kuchiki. That's who this girl was. Why was Byakuya's wife interested in some lowly human kid?

"Shouldn't your husband know where you are right now?"

"What? My who?"

"Kuchiki. That noble brat."

"Don't you dare speak that way about my Nii-san!" Rukia roared, drawing Sode no Shirayuki. Kensei cocked his eyebrow, yanking Tachikaze carelessly from his pocket.

"Do you really want to try that? I was the Captain of the 9th division you know. Wait, did you say 'nii-san'? Byakuya is your brother?"

Rukia's face fell. "Yes. His wife was my older sister. He adopted me as her dying wish."

Kensei was taken aback. He muttered something about "Sorry for your loss," and "spitting image" before turning his back. "Anyway, I don't like being followed all the way from home. Next time you want to come in our hideout, just knock."

Rukia turned away sadly before Kensei disappeared into the night. "As if Ichigo would let me…"

Not my problem, Kensei thought coldly, and he left, headed for a nice hot spring to clear his thoughts. He had a long letter to write. Dammit, Ichigo, you'd better be right about this.

And now! Review Corner! This week, we have none other than Ichigo Kurosaki answering your every review! Ichigo?

I: … (scowl)

Well, he's definitely ready! First up: Aizawa Ayumu again!

AA: owh man...Kurotsuchi...you're so...urgh..i don't know what must i say to his attitude...
i always hate that person...hey..please make IchiRuki scene...i want to know what happen to Rukia...
okay...do your best...and don't forget to PMs me again...owh..and thanks before..you had PMs me ^^

I: Yeah, I liked Kurotsuchi better when Uryu blew a hole in him. Prick. And I dunno if you got it dude, but I need to stay away from Rukia for a while. That's what got Tatsuki killed remember? And yeah, I think author guy's got you on PMs.

Next up, Sinistercurt!

Sc: "S: It amazes me how so many people show the same enthusiasm for a chapter containing Yoruichi-sama's disgraceful defeat. The Onmitsukido only allows dispatch updates on the second day of each week, as we are the second division. That would be Monday. And if by potential you intend to imply that the forces of good and the opposition are evenly matched than you should consider that you left Yoruichi-sama's possible recovery out of you calculations…"
I lol'd

I: (mumbling) stinkin fast ninja. Doesn't even have a real power. How was I supposed to fight a friggin bumblebee anyway…I hate bugs.

Yeah…okay Ichigo. Now for a new reviewer! Ryu Eiyuu

RE: Really good story please up date soon!

I: (scratches head guiltily) Yeah… sorry on the update soon thing. I'll try to pick up the pace.

And now for the good Master Bombadil!

MB: Nice new arc! Hope this one will show what Demuza is plotting.
I am still amazed at how Yamamoto can so love declaring people traitors and still be in character. It's almost enough to make me root for Aizen in the manga. It's nice to see assorted captains plotting behind his back.
Can't wait to see what Karai woke up in Hueco Mundo, or what Kurotsuchi is doing with all that creepiness.

I: (tch) Friggin Demuza this, Demuza that. Just wait until he gets a taste of my GETSUGA TENSHOU!

KM: OWWW! ICHIGO!

I: Heheh, sorry! That one got away from me a little bit! Anyways, aizen's gotta bite the dust. Wait till you see what I did to him. And that geezer Yamamoto's gone senile. He caught his lieutenant fixing his tub and thought his bubble bath betrayed him the other day.

And last but not least another newcomer, lets all welcome Naybi!

N: Awesome story o.o
The plot is intruiging and it just keeps getting better
I didnt like much how Yoruichi behaved when she took SoiFon shopping I think Yoruichi would be bossy but not to that extent but beside that everyones personality is accurate.
Also Karai hasnt reacted much from Sois kiss,its like it had never happened to her.
I lol´d at how Yamamoto tagged everyone as traitors and had the need to execute them, lol kinda reminded me of the red queen from Alice in wonderland, at some point i was half- expecting him to say "Off with youur head" xD
Uraharas losing his sanity part was diisturbing but sad while Kurotsuchi is a manipulative bastard, things really are sacrificed when one is a mad genius.
Now i cant w8 to see what happends to Tatsuki, Yoruichi and Karai plz update soon :D

I: Constructive criticism? Im not too fond of it myself, but I hope author guy can take it. Hell, he probably likes crap like that. And I guess you found out what happened to tatsuki…

HI:Or did you? MWAHAHAHAHHAAHAH! Now I have a new friend! Ahahahahaah!

And that's quite enough. We don't want another ulquiorra here, so could you put your pet freak away Ichigo? Thanks.

That's all for Review Corner! Drop a line to get your review answered next time by Kisuke Urahara!