Disclaimer insert here: I don't own or have ever owned Bleach or Rosario Vampire. Please buy their stuff however to support them poor bastards. Thanks.

All characters belong to their rightful owners, except any OC monsters I make up. As usual an M rating is for future violence, dismemberments, gore, language, very foul language, and of course lemons are now in, but don't expect a ton of them. Again, enjoy your time here.

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Response to Reviews Corner 2: Review now located at the end of the chapter.

Updated April 16, 2018.

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"Speech"

'Thoughts'

'Memories'

"Shiro/Inner Moka when sealed/Shōgetsu"

"Zangetsu"

XXXX

'Quite now young lady, you now belong to our Queen to serve her every pleasure.'

Unknown

XXXX

"Ichigo, I'm bored… How much longer do we have to stay out here for?" Kurumu whines - no, asks politely... again.

Glancing over to his only other companion on the rooftop with him and Kurumu, Ichigo sees the younger Shihōin Princess sign to him: 'one hundred and fourteen'.

Closing the book that he has been reading during their 'stakeout' while using one finger as a bookmark; the former Substitute Shinigami patiently answers the young succubus Yōkai... again.

"Kurumu, you know we are supposed to stay here watching for anything unusual to happen until the sun rises, which shouldn't be very long from now. Yoruichi said that most of the kidnappings that have occurred, have occurred during the very early morning hours just before sunrise, and that's less than an hour away. We'll call it a night if nothing happens by then, but not before hand, understand?" He sees the blunette sigh and grumble something about it being 'morning' by that point, before she reluctantly picks up her binoculars and again begins sweeping the surrounding blocks in the area for any unusual energy sources.

Ichigo can't help the small smile that forms on his face when he sees Yūshirō give him an appraising look then a small nod before continuing to read the manga he had gotten her that morning. He has to chuckle at the thought that a Shinigami Princess would be hooked on reading a manga about a vampire heiress and her one true love who happened to be a young werewolf she had fallen for since his birth. Opening his book to the page marked by his finger, he is about to continue reading when Kurumu suddenly speaks up again with some hesitation.

"Ichigo, you said Yōkai show up as red, humans blue, but what is white supposed to be?" The young succubus asks, shaking the binoculars then peering through them again with a frown, as if they aren't working correctly.

Ichigo immediately tucks the book back into his pack, all thoughts of relaxation forgotten. "White? Are you sure what you saw was a white indicator Kurumu?" The orange-haired Vizard asks as he stands up with a guarded look on his face, the same expression on the younger Shihōin's face as she also stands up and begins to scan the rooftops more carefully for unseen enemies.

Still shaking the binoculars absently, Kurumu answers. "Yeah, like three or four white thingys instead of red. Remember you had us practice finding each other back in the hotel on the first night? Well, these marker thingys are white, not red or blue."

Casting his senses in the direction Kurumu is looking at, Ichigo immediately confirms both her words and his worst suspicions. "Kurumu, listen to me very closely. I need you to fly back to the motel as fast as you can and get Yoruichi. Don't stop; don't look back no matter what you hear, just go…go right now!" Ichigo and Yūshirō both sense the Reiatsu of four beings suddenly stopping in their tracks, then immediately start heading towards their rooftop stakeout.

"NO! Yūshirō should go! She's faster than me and we both know it! I-I'll stay with you and fight, or we can run and buy us some time until the others get to us!" Kurumu doesn't give him or Yūshirō time to respond when she immediately steps off the ledge, only to pop back up again with wings spread and flapping. "Come on Ichigo, I can carry you."

Ichigo still wants to argue, but he senses the unknown Reiatsu signatures approaching them very rapidly and knows there simply isn't enough time. Looking to his side, he gives the young Shihōin princess a frustrated look. "Go! We'll try and give them a merry chase if we can!"

To her credit, the Shihōin Princess doesn't question his command. "Good luck!" Yūshirō shouts before she disappears in a flicker.

"Ready!?" Ichigo shouts to the airborne succubus.

"Let's go!" She swoops down, grabbing him by his shoulders before flapping her wings and pulling up mightily.

Ichigo nearly cringes when they immediately drop two floors before Kurumu is able to stabilize and get enough air under her wings to start climbing, doing her best to fly away from the unknown entities chasing them. The succubus and former Shinigami are both unaware of the conversation now taking place inside Ichigo's inner-world.

XXXX

"What the hell is going on!? Four! How can there be four Quincy bastards coming after us! I thought Four-eyes and his Otou-san were the fucking last of their kind!" Shiro shouts to the silent Shōgetsu.

"And where the hell is Zangetsu at dammit!? Fine time to disappear and leave the King to fend for himself…?" The Hollowfied spirit suddenly pauses when he sees the former Hōgyoku looking away.

"What is going on? Ya know something don't ya Shōgetsu?"

The female spirit visibly grimaces. "Protect him as you have always done, we will speak soon of what may transpire here today." With those words, the black kimono clad woman fades from Ichigo's inner world, leaving behind only the thoroughly confused Hollow.

"What the…?" Shiro slowly turns around, staring at the empty shoreline, the crashing of the waves breaking the quiet stillness of the air.

XXXX

Yūshirō Shunpos as fast as she can while trying to suppress her Reiatsu, one of the techniques she has learnt while training as a Shihōin. Now and then she casts a wary glance back over her shoulder to gauge whether or not she is being pursued. Her wariness pays off when, nearing the hotel that they are staying in, she suddenly veers to her right and dodges the arrow of light that passes through the empty space she had just vacated. Moving as her sister had taught her years ago, the young Shihōin princess bounces off of several flat surfaces and ricochets through the shadow of a building, immediately anchoring herself and coming to a stop when she is completely hidden within the pitch-black shadow. Not moving a muscle, she casts her senses out to study the surrounding environment, using her ears, nose, eyes and Reiatsu sense to search for her enemy. Falling into a slight trance, she even stills her heartbeat to merely four beats a minute as she continues to observe, and she quickly notices the faint shifts in Reiatsu indicating someone's presence before a young man's voice is heard speaking from near her hiding place.

"I knew Soul Society would send someone to investigate sooner or later when people began to disappear, though I didn't think they would send some young brat to do the work of adults. So, tell me Shinigami, how did you sense we were here? I'm pretty sure we had hidden our Reiatsu well enough that even one of your Captains would have a hard time finding us..."

'Perhaps... but you fired an arrow made of Reishi at me and I sensed that, you moron.' Yūshirō snarks back in her head without missing a beat. Outwardly, her body remains perfectly calm and still.

The male is clearly not one for patience, and his irritated tone reflects this. "I won't shoot you if you answer, brat, but if you make me force it out of you, I can guarantee it will not be a pleasant experience. Not to mention I can't and won't stop those who came to this city with me. Now tell me Shinigami, how did you find out?"

Narrowing down the man's position through his voice and Reiatsu, Yūshirō runs through a list of Kidō in her mind before picking one that allows her to communicate without giving away her position. Searching the rooftops, she finally spots a red-headed man on a rooftop two buildings over, and a strange sense of unease forms in the pit of her stomach at the sight of his pristine white clothing which is visible even in the poor light.

Slowly sliding deeper into the shadow, Yūshirō edges around the corner of the building then immediately performs the hand movements required. "Bakudō Seventy-Seven: Tenteikūra." The glowing rectangular box flares dimly into existence as she feeds it the minimum amount of Reiatsu required, glancing out from the corner of the building to note that the red-head is clearly on alert now. Feeling the Kidō net snap into place, she swiftly abandons her current position and begins to circle around the wary Quincy - for that is the only thing he could be -while he continues to search for her.

"Unusual choice to answer my questions with Shinigami, although I do have to give you credit for using this technique." The redheaded Quincy remarks as he scans the shadows she had just vacated, failing to spot her.

Smirking at his miss, Yūshirō knows that this will buy her some time for her sister to come and rescue her. "What are you doing here, Quincy? Or perhaps you are just a pretender to the title? I've been told that only two of your kind now live, one of them being Ishida Uryū, but that can't very well be you, now can it? Not when I sensed four more of your kind a few city blocks to the west, and Uryū's hair isn't red anyway. So, tell me Quincy wannabe, what are you really?"

She nearly stumbles when the man steps into the light of an overhead neon sign, revealing that his red hair is styled into a Mohawk haircut. "Ishida huh? He's around here somewhere, but he's at the bottom of the food chain right now. The kid gots to prove himself worthy before we trust 'im. So how about it little one, gonna tell me how your kind got here and why?"

Her blood nearly chills at the casual answer. If what he said is correct... Ishida Uryū is now working with the Quincy, who are responsible for the kidnappings that are happening across town. Ichigo's friend, Ishida Uryū... the same Ishida Uryū who had fought alongside them to rescue Rukia from Soul Society and to rescue Orihime from the grasp of Aizen in Hueco Mundo.

Ishida Uryū, who is now their enemy.

Her moment of distraction costs her dearly as she barely reacts in time to avoid the arrow coming from her blind spot, but she is still thrown forward by the foot planted in the small of her back. Tucking her lithe body into a roll, she manages to realign herself and land on her feet, turning to face the man who has somehow snuck up on her in her distraction... only to pause when she finds herself looking instead at a slender young woman with brown hair and eyes, wearing a hat and uniform that she has only ever read of in top secret Shihōin historical records.

A white coat covers most of the woman's body, ending at her thighs. Black stockings disappear into white knee high boots trimmed in red, the same as her gloved hands. On top of the woman's head is a peaked hat with gold trim and a black peaked rim.

As Yūshirō starts to back away, her senses alert her to four more presences that have surrounded her without her notice, and she nearly curses out loud at her predicament.

'Shit, I was too careless! The red-haired guy even said it himself, WE, meaning more than one person! Not only did I miss that, I also forgot to check the number of links on the web to count the number of Reiatsu-actives it connected to!'

Her eyes quickly dart about her surroundings, paying attention to the fact that the four other presences are also females dressed in the same white attire as the first one... meaning they are all Quincies, or at least are supposed to be. 'Dammit, five on one…not good fighting odds, and I still have no idea if they really are Quincy or can only fire those Reishi arrows.' The Shihōin heir's mind races as she continues trying to find an escape route, but so far, she is coming up blank.

One of the surrounding figures, a girl with raven hair speaks up loudly. "We really gonna waste our time on this loser Bambietta? She looks rather scrawny to me… How old is she anyway?"

The brunette in front of her sneers back rudely. "Shut it Gisselle, she's one of the Shihōin. Look at her eyes, remember: cat-like eyes are one of the distinguishing features of the Shihōin Clan. No Shihōin is ever unarmed..." A predatory smile grows on her face. "And now we now get to kill one…"

"... Hunt, Tiburón."

An ocean of power suddenly crashes down all around them, and Yūshirō nearly cries out in relief at the familiar sensation of Tia's Reiatsu surrounding her. The Quincy are not nearly as fortunate, each of them visibly buckling under the heavy weight of the Reiatsu before regaining their equilibrium... only to be blindsided when several missiles of water streak out from the shadows towards them.

"What the AHH!" The green-haired Quincy screams in pain and shock as a missile clips her shoulder, nearly tearing her arm off. Immediately the Quincy scatter in all directions, the brilliant blue of Blut Vene glowing beneath their skin... all except the brown-haired Quincy who stands firmly in the center of the alley.

"Don't think you can hide from me!" With a snap of her fingers, the shadows are engulfed by multiple explosions, rattling the windows above them with the force of the detonations. As a fast-moving blur is forced to vacate the shadows, the Quincy throws her arms forward. "Got you now, you rat!"

Just as swiftly, the approaching figure raises her sword. "La Gota!" Water engulfs the blade and starts firing rapidly towards the Quincy, each of the missiles fast and powerful enough to punch through solid steel... and each of them destroyed by explosions before even crossing half the space between them. With a manic grin on her face, Bambietta ramps up the frequency and accuracy of her explosions, and the figure is instantly consumed by multiple powerful explosions that shatter all the windows above and sends glass raining down on the alley.

Smirking as shards of glass tinkle to the floor, Bambietta starts to turn away. "Now that one rat has been dealt with, time to deal with the URK!"

The faint crunch of booted feet on glass sounds out from behind her, and she wordlessly looks down at the blade stabbing through her ribs, then back over her shoulder at the blonde figure behind her. Her eyes widen at the sight of the woman's left arm, which is smoking as it rapidly regenerates back from a black and mangled mass, while the other arm wields the blade pierced through the Quincy's body.

Before any of the Quincy can do anything, Tia utters a single word.

"Cero."

A brilliant beam of dark red energy rips through the brown-haired Quincy's body, the roar of energy drowning out Bambietta's screams as her body is incinerated at point blank range by the signature Hollow technique. As the beam of energy rips out through the alley and disappears into the distant night sky, Bambietta's charred body crumples forward, a smoking hole in her torso where her heart and left lung used to be, her eyes glazed and unseeing.

'One down.' Tia doesn't spare time for gloating or posturing; it is a painful lesson learnt from the past. Her eyes immediately lock on to the closest of the remaining Quincy.

"BAMBI!" The petite raven-haired Quincy screams in shock, before her words are choked off by Tia's blade cleaving her nearly in two from stomach to shoulder blade. 'Two down.' Ignoring the spray of blood, Tia vanishes again in a burst of static, reappearing beside the wounded green-haired Quincy who is frantically barking orders. She feints an overhead swing; the Quincy ducks, and is met by a rising knee to the forehead before being stabbed through the back. 'Three down.'

"Shit! She's too strong, use Vollständig!"

"I can't! It's not working!"

Dodging several arrows of light, Tia darts forward in a burst of static, then changes direction mid-stride as her opponent tries to escape with Hirenkyaku. Seeing the blonde Quincy instinctively raise her arms to block, Tia wordlessly charges up La Gota and rams the water-sheathed blade straight through her opponent's Blut Vene enhanced arms and into her chest, the shocked look in the Quincy's purple eyes not fading even as the released water missile crushes her chest and sends her smashing into a wall. 'Four down.'

"The fuck are you doing Bazz! Help us already!" The remaining pink-haired Quincy shouts in panic.

Tia chances a glance at the lone male Quincy of the group, and her rage spikes when she sees him facing another direction on the rooftop while aiming with his crossbow. 'Yūshirō!'

This time, her attacks are more brutal: the pink-haired Quincy bulks up her muscles in an attempt to hit her, but Tia dodges the hastily-thrown punch with minimal effort and cuts off the extended arm and leg in retaliation, then slashes the Quincy through her throat and kicks her away. 'Five down.' Ignoring the frantic gurgles coming from the downed Quincy who is clutching at her ruined throat with her remaining hand, Tia scans the rooftop for her real target... and realizes that the coward has abandoned his comrades and fled.

That is absolutely unforgivable.

XXXX

The moment the battle started, Yūshirō had been whisked away from the fight with such speed that she didn't even think of screaming... which is fortunate as she recognizes the Reiatsu signature behind her just a moment later and nearly collapses into the person's arms in relief. "O-Onee-chan!"

Hugging Yūshirō close to her chest, Yoruichi pulls them behind a ventilation duct on a nearby roof and crouches down, flashing her younger sister a small smile. "It's okay Imouto, you're safe now." Her eyes glint dangerously however: she doesn't care where the Quincy came from or why they were here, but the very fact that they had attacked her younger sister was good enough reason for her to enlighten them on why it was a very bad idea to make an enemy of the former Onmitsukidō Commander.

As she straightens up to join the fight however, she is stopped by Yūshirō latching onto her arm. "Nee-chan! Ichigo... Ichigo and Kurumu were ambushed by another group of Quincy! Ichigo sent me to get help while he led them away!"

Yoruichi freezes in momentary indecision: on one hand, she really wants to teach the Quincy who had ambushed her younger sister a painful lesson; on the other hand, Tia appears to have the situation well in hand while her protégé is under attack somewhere else by another group of Quincy. Before she can make up her mind, her senses blare out a warning and she immediately throws herself down on Yūshirō. "Get down!"

There is a resounding clang as an arrow of light punches through the ventilation duct, tearing through the space where Yūshirō's head originally was and continuing on into the distance. Her heart thumping wildly at this narrow miss, Yoruichi quickly checks over her younger sister. "Yūshirō! You okay?"

Eyes wide with shock at her near-death experience, Yūshirō barely manages to nod at her older sibling. Seeing Yoruichi leap to her feet with righteous fury however, the younger Shihōin immediately grabs hold of her leg. "Onee-chan, Ichigo!"

Gritting her teeth in aggravation, Yoruichi realizes that the battle is already over and she senses the redheaded male Quincy - the obvious culprit of the assassination attempt - fleeing the battle with Tia in pursuit. Knowing it is pointless to chase after him even though she is faster than Tia, Yoruichi finally nods in agreement. "I'll go help Ichigo, Imouto... I promise."

Closing her eyes to sense for Ichigo's Reiatsu signature, a single dark thought goes through her mind. 'You had better catch that bastard, Tia, and make him pay!'

XXXX

'Shit! Shit! Shit!'

Pushing himself as hard as he could, Bazz-B speeds across the rooftops using Hirenkyaku, not even needing to look behind him to know that the monster is still in hot pursuit.

It had seemed like such a simple mission, really: Just sneak into the Yōkai realm on Yhwach's orders, kidnap some of the disgusting creatures and bring them back for whatever purpose. Not like he particularly cared about the reasons for doing so, so long as he got to hunt down strong opponents he was perfectly fine with it.

When the Shinigami brat had fallen into their trap, it just made things more interesting for him. She was too small a target for him to care about, but there was the possibility that she could lure in bigger targets for him to kill, and that was enough to keep him interested.

Only, it wasn't a big fish that she lured in, but a monster shark.

Bazz had never considered himself to be weak, far from it in fact. Even amongst the female Sternritters he had accompanied on this mission, he was confident that he could take them all on by himself and still win. Sure, it would be a tough fight, but the thing is he would still win.

Which is why, when he watched that monster woman tear through the female Sternritters like they were made of wet cardboard, he felt the chill of absolute fear gripping his spine.

Shivering again at the memory, Bazz pushes himself even harder forward. Those useless bitches hadn't even bought him enough time to take out the initial target, never mind that there was yet another Shinigami with her. He had only gotten off one shot before the pink-haired bitch had drawn the monster's attention to him, and seeing that the other female Sternritters had already bit the dust he decided to just cut his losses and run.

Thinking of how best to phrase his report so that Yhwach doesn't interpret it as him abandoning the female Sternritters to die, Bazz is caught completely off guard when he lands on a roof and a mass of thorny brambles suddenly burst up from the tiles, wrapping themselves painfully over his body as a female voice shouts out. "Yukari, now!"

Glancing around for the threat, Bazz immediately spots what appears to be metal wire flying in his direction. Scoffing in derision - and no small bit of disgust - the Quincy designated 'The Heat' stomps hard on the ground, releasing a shockwave of heat and fire that incinerates the vines binding him, accompanied by a pained female scream.

"Two fingers are overkill, but I'm in a really bad mood right now... Burner Finger Two!"

Raising two fingers, Bazz swipes at the metal wire as it reaches him, expecting it to melt into slag.

Instead, he feels a cold numbness, followed by an intense pain on both his hand and his face.

Staring down in disbelief at his hand that is now missing two fingers and part of his thumb, Bazz's other hand slowly reaches up to touch his face, the scent of iron and the painful wet sensation on his cheek easily telling him what has just happened. As his fingers trace the deep cut in his cheek, his mind is reeling at this utter impossibility.

'This cannot be happening! This cannot be happening! !'

His disbelief boils over into rage as he turns to glare in the direction of his attacker, where he senses the Reiatsu of what feels to him like a half-breed Yōkai. Seeing a small black-haired girl hiding fearfully behind the wall while wearing - of all things - a wide-brimmed witch's hat and holding a wand, he feels his already volatile temper reaching the end of its tether.

'There is just NO fucking way a little shit like that could have injured me through Blut Vene and Burner Finger Two, much less maimed me with metal-fucking-wire of all things!'

And when the little shit waves her wand to summon up another batch of metal wire, his temper literally explodes.

Roaring in absolute fury, Bazz-B's Reiatsu pours out from him in a torrent of flame and heat that scorches the rooftop black and melts the incoming wire into slag. No longer caring about the mission or the consequences, he just wants to kill the little shit who has managed to wound him. With another roar of anger, he leaps straight for the terrified little witch.

"DIE YOU BITCH!"

"No, YOU die!"

He had forgotten about his hunter, but his hunter most certainly hasn't forgotten about him. Falling on him like a meteor from the heavens, Tia slams her Zanpakutō through his shoulder and sends him crashing straight into the ground, the heat from his Reiatsu being drowned out by the torrents of water that are unleashed from her Zanpakutō. Struggling to look over his shoulder, Bazz-B freezes at the sight of the Cero building up just inches from his face.

'No! Not like this! I haven't even..! Jugo! YHWACH! !'

His vision is completely obliterated by a violent burst of heat and light.

XXXX

Panting harshly, Tia glares down at the charred, headless body of the formerly redheaded male Quincy lying in the crater of her Cero.

That had been far too close for comfort. If she was just a little slower, Yukari would've been... Cutting off that line of thought, Tia looks around, spotting the young witch half-collapsed on the ground and shivering with fright.

Hesitantly, the former Arrancar walks over to Yukari's side and places a comforting hand on her shoulder, only for the young witch to immediately throw her arms around her leg and burst into tears. There are times for comfort, and times for further action; unfortunately, now is a time for further action. Bending down and scooping the sobbing witch into her arms, Tia leaps into the air and dashes via Sonído towards the other familiar Reiatsu in the area, finally coming to a halt over a clearly unconscious Ruby.

Wiping at her eyes, Yukari sees her unconscious mentor lying on the ground then looks up at Tia in confusion. "W-What happened to her? Wasn't she supposed to..." 'To protect me', the words go unsaid, Yukari not wanting to criticize her mentor despite the trauma of her near-death experience.

Frowning, Tia kneels down and places two fingers on the side of Ruby's neck. Finding the witch's pulse to be steady - if somewhat weak, Tia shifts Yukari so she is clinging to her back before scooping Ruby up in her arms. "I'm not sure what happened to Ruby, but she doesn't seem to be in any life-threatening danger..."

"You... you can do something for her, right, Tia-sama?" Yukari asks her hesitantly.

Inwardly, Tia grimaces at Yukari's change of address towards her. 'Ichigo is never going to let me live this down... Tatsuki too...' Is the first thought that goes through her mind, followed by 'Oh Kami not another one.' On the outside though, her expression remains as stoic as ever.

"First things first, let's regroup with Yoruichi and Yūshirō. After that I'll call the others to regroup as well. Too much has happened tonight, we need to re-evaluate the situation back at the Academy."

Seeing Yukari nod in acceptance, Tia holds on to her two passengers and Sonídos back to where she had last sensed Yoruichi and Yūshirō hiding. Less than a minute later, she lands beside Yūshirō who is peering out at something from behind her battered air duct. "Where is Yoruichi, Yūshirō?"

Much to her credit, the younger Shihōin princess doesn't even flinch at Tia's sudden presence. "Yoruichi-nee went to help Ichigo, she asked me to stay behind and watch over the ones lying there." She explains. "Though I don't think Nee-san was expecting something like that..."

Looking to where Yūshirō is pointing, Tia is immediately stumped by what she sees. Crawling about in the middle of the Quincy bodies is the small black-haired Quincy girl - the second one that she had cut down earlier. Much to her consternation - and horror - the Quincy is gathering the blood that spills from the large wound in her body and spreading it on the body of her fallen comrade, then shaking the body vigorously. After a moment or two, she crawls over to the next body and repeats the same process. Tia notices that the Quincy girl had pulled together all the bodies of her comrades so that they are lying close to her, and had even taken the time to collect the limbs that she hacked off the pink-haired female Quincy, and place them on her body.

"She has been doing that for the past ten minutes or so." Yūshirō whispers. "At first I was shocked that she could even still move, but she doesn't seem to care about herself or anything else at all. Every few minutes she will just stop and sit still, then shake herself and continue doing... whatever it is she is doing."

Acknowledging her words with a brief nod, Tia notices Yūshirō's and Yukari's expectant gazes on her and considers what to do next. With Yoruichi away, she is the most experienced combatant on the field and so the decision falls to her to make. Honestly, it leaves a bad taste in her mouth... as a former Arrancar, she is no stranger to killing her enemies in battle, but executing a helpless enemy is something she has never had to do.

As the situation stands, however, she might not have any other option.

With a soft sigh, Tia steps behind the kneeling Quincy with a faint buzz of static, Zanpakutō poised to strike her down. Since she no longer holds any ill-will towards the defeated Quincy, she is prepared to give her a swift and painless death even if she tries to fight back or escape.

To her surprise, the Quincy girl does neither: she spins around on her knees and throws her arms out wide, trying to protect her fallen comrades from her would-be executioner.

Tia's eyes widen involuntarily at the Quincy's actions, then at the sight of her face: the raven-haired Quincy's blue eyes are dull and lifeless, the formerly bored expression on her face replaced by an emotionless mask. Blood still spatters the lower part of her face and neck, seeping from the deep wound on her body and dripping to the floor beneath her legs, forming a slowly spreading pool of blood.

Most of all, Tia notes the complete absence of fear - or any emotion at all - in the Quincy girl's body language.

Moments pass as Vizard stares down at Quincy, neither side moving or saying anything. The stand-off is finally broken by the Quincy, whose raspy voice is very different from the bored, almost childishly-petulant voice she originally was using.

"Let my friends go." She rasps out quietly, her blue-eyed gaze boring into Tia's. "You've hurt them enough... don't hurt them anymore."

A part of Tia wonders whether the ravenette even knows that her friends are already dead. The brunette she killed with a Cero is the most obvious, but the others had all taken lethal injuries as well; Nothing she does now can 'hurt' them any further... at least, not in any way that they would be aware of.

Yet another part of Tia notices that the ravenette has not asked for herself to be let go.

Frowning inwardly, Tia lowers her blade to the Quincy's throat and pushes the tip in slightly. Despite the trickle of blood coming from the wound, the Quincy girl's expression does not waver in the slightest, her dull blue eyes still boring into Tia's and her arms remaining outstretched.

"... You tried to attack my friend." The blonde Vizard points out.

The Quincy says nothing. Both of them know that the statement is true, and it is obvious that the Quincy does not intend to argue the fact.

"Why do you protect them?" Tia finally asks, wanting to know the answer. "The man you came with left you to die. Why didn't you do the same?"

For a brief moment, the ravenette's face contorts with a mixture of anger and contempt. "Bazz-B can just go to hell!" She spits out, before her expression smooths out into one of contemplation. "Since you mentioned him, I'm assuming he's dead? Good." Her voice is cold and uncaring.

Tia hums noncommittally. "And the others?" She prods.

For a while the ravenette is silent, her dull blue eyes turning stormy and her Reiatsu fluctuating with her grief. Through it all, her face remains completely expressionless, only Tia's ability to read her Reiatsu, lets her know how much turmoil the Quincy is going through internally.

As she watches the Quincy, it suddenly hits Tia without any warning. Those empty eyes, that expressionless face... the apathy in the face of death... the lack of consideration for her own wellbeing and her protectiveness of her friends...

This Quincy... this Quincy was...!

"... No matter what happens..." The ravenette's voice is low and hoarse, almost a whisper. "No matter what they think of me... they are mine. Bambi, Lili, Meni, Candy... they are my friends."

A flicker of anguish crosses her face before being suppressed.

"... Mine."

The last word seems to hang heavily in the air between them, weighed down by the fact that those same friends had been robbed of their lives by the blonde Vizard who was defending her own friend.

Tia stares at the ravenette with wide eyes, seeing the image of a blonde child superimposing itself over her. The situation is completely different, and there are big differences in their personalities, yet she understands the fundamental similarity between them.

Just like her, the Quincy was also once a 'Sacrifice'.

Once before, she could have hardened her heart and ended the Quincy's life without hesitation. Perhaps she would even have considered it a mercy killing, knowing how much that burden would have weighed on the Quincy girl.

But after finally coming to terms with her own past and sharing her burden - and her pain - with Ichigo... Tia can no longer find the heart to do so.

Pulling her Zanpakutō away from the Quincy's throat, Tia silently sheathes her blade before pulling something out from her pocket. Flipping it open, she dials a number into the Denreishinki then holds it to her ear and listens.

Several dial tones later, there is a click as the other side picks up.

'Moshi-moshi? Is that Tia? Ah, this humble shopkeeper is so delighted that you are already starting to use my wares, and using it to call me!'

"Cut the crap Urahara." Tia states bluntly. "I need you to come to my signal to pick up a package. A big one."

'A package?' Kisuke's voice radiates with curiosity. 'What kind of package?'

Tia glances at the still-kneeling ravenette and the bodies of the other Quincy. Brown, green, yellow and pink hair. Somehow, she feels that they'll fit right in.

"... A Quincy package." She clarifies.

There is dead silence from the other end of the line. Finally, Kisuke speaks up again.

'Alive?' Sometimes it is easy for her to forget that the shopkeeper is not only a former Captain, but is also an actual genius... It seems he has figured out most of the context just from the brief description she had given him.

Tia glances at the kneeling Quincy again. This time, the ravenette is looking at her with evident curiosity in her eyes. "One alive. The others... just don't damage them further. I'm sure you'll think of something."

"Oh?" For some reason the word sends chills down her spine. Had she just unknowingly given the maniac free reign to do whatever he wanted? "In that case, I will be there within twenty minutes. Stay in the area so I can lock onto your signal."

The line goes dead and Tia flips the device shut, sighing and tucking it back into her pocket. Once she is done, she turns to face the Quincy, whose expression is now exaggeratedly curious. A defense mechanism, the Vizard notes. Constantly making use of over-the-top expressions and reactions to divert attention from the real personality lying beneath. One that has seen so much use that the ravenette seems to default to it purely by instinct.

Yet another concern that she will have to hold in for now, until she has the time to properly speak with the Quincy.

"I've just called a... friend." Tia states, hiding an internal wince at the word. Sadly, she doesn't have a better descriptor for Kisuke, at least not one that wouldn't create undue suspicion from the Quincy. "He's coming down to bring you and your friends to a safe holding place. Please don't cause any trouble for him."

After some thought, she adds, "If anyone can do something for your friends, it will be him."

The ravenette's eyes had narrowed at her initial words, but at this statement her eyes grow so wide that Tia can almost see sparkles in them. "Really!? Your friend can do something for Bambi and the others? Yatta!" The Quincy throws her arms up in delight, oblivious to the way it aggravates her wound and causes fresh blood to spurt everywhere. "I was so worried for them! Trying to revive them with my blood wasn't working, but I didn't know what else to do..."

Wait, what?

Before Tia can say or do anything, the Quincy glomps her legs and starts hugging them tightly to her chest, smearing her blood all over Tia's leggings. Due to her position, Tia is unable to see the brief flash of calculation that goes through the Quincy's eyes, followed by an equally brief flash of resignation as nothing happens.

"Please allow me to call you Onee-sama, Onee-sama!" The Quincy girl rubs her cheek against Tia's legs like a cat with its favorite person. "If you can help Bambi and the others I'll do anything you ask of me! Anything!"

At a loss for words, Tia resists the urge to facepalm when she feels a spike of jealousy shoot up from the direction of Yukari's Reiatsu. Glancing down at the ravenette's twin ahoge that are bobbing up and down contentedly as their owner nuzzles into her thigh, Tia just sighs and ruffles the ravenette's hair, an action which only causes both the contented nuzzling and jealous envy to double in their intensity.

'Yoruichi is so gonna kill me for this...'

XXXX

"Yoruichi is closing in on us King, so are the assholes chasing us, but the biggest problem we need to get a handle on now is landing before the kid drops us." Zangetsu observes, his concern growing over the laboring breaths that the succubus can no longer hide.

'I agree.' Ichigo replies, before shouting to the young Yōkai carrying him. "Down there Kurumu! Take us down near that service tunnel!"

Kurumu doesn't reply, instead, she angles them towards the ground and pulls her wings back to help her descend quickly towards the door that is barely visible from their height, then expanding them fully to gently set them down next to the locked steel door. Ichigo barely registers the still approaching predators as he kicks opens the locked steel door and grabs the blue-haired succubus, dragging her in before she can offer any resistance. Closing the door behind him, he frowns when he doesn't see anything to block the door with, then grabs Kurumu's hand and pulls her down the poorly-lit corridor.

"Ichigo, we can't be here!" Kurumu shouts out as Ichigo drags her further down the tunnel.

Glancing back at the succubus, he barks back at her. "Not a whole lot of choices! It's either we try and lose them in here or get our asses kicked out there where they have mobility. Now run dammit!"

Kurumu snaps her head backwards when the steel door is blown off its hinges, ricocheting down the hallway until it comes to abrupt stop when Ichigo's foot crashes against it. Reaching a junction, Ichigo pushes her down the side passage while he turns to face the unknown threat.

"Show yourselves assholes!" He shouts down the hallway.

Kurumu turns to Ichigo only to see a barely perceivable streak of blue light smashing through the steel door, aimed straight for the orange-haired male. The next few seconds will play out in her memory for weeks as she watches Ichigo's hand snap upwards and smack aside the arrow, faint blue lines appearing under his skin as the arrow crashes into the wall behind him and opposite of her hiding spot. Her eyes remain glued to his skin however; staring at the faint blue lines she has only heard legends of from her family and the much older Succubi of her race. A skill only one race of humans possesses: Blut Vene, the defensive ability of a Quincy.

Her instincts scream at her to run away from this human that she has grown to call a friend.

'Is, is this why Tatsuki and Tia warned us not to mention anything about Quincies around him?' Kurumu thinks in horror as she sees Ichigo stares daggers at the approaching Quincies.

"Ishida." Ichigo growls out before his voice races to higher volumes. "What the fuck are you doing!? Why the fuck did you shoot at me!?"

She hears a male voice speaking from further back up the tunnel. "Kurosaki, how did you do that? That technique...it belongs only to my kind!"

"I don't fucking know what you are talking about you bastard! Tell me, tell me why you tried to kill me just now, or so help me you'll wish…"

"Blut Vene!" The male Ichigo calls Ishida shouts back at him. "You used Blut Vene, only Quincy have that ability! You can't be a Quincy, you are a Shinigami!"

"Quincy! I…"

"H-He's right Ichigo, only Quincies can use that power…" Kurumu stammers as she backs away from him, moving further down the side passage. "You… I don't know how you did it, but you, Tia and Tatsuki lied to us Ichigo! You are one of those Kurosaki's! Your Clan is the worst of all the Quincies! They murdered thousands of my kind, thousands of Yōkai kind! Get away from me! Get! A! Way! From! Me!"

"Wait Kurumu!" Ichigo tries to shout after the retreating young succubus, only to snap his hand up once again to smash aside another arrow headed for him. Rage filling his soul at the ridiculous accusations coming from Kurumu and Uryū, along with Uryū's betrayal, he twists his head towards the four men, feeling Shiro's influence filling his Reiatsu and pumping the wanton killing of these men through his veins.

"I once thought of you as a friend Uryū! Ever since Rukia and Orihime, I thought we could work something out... but not now! You tried to kill me not once, but twice just now, so let me return the favor!"

Uryū scowls as Ichigo's mask begins to cover his face, his mind still racing after seeing him use something that shouldn't have been possible. No Shinigami he knows of can ever use the techniques of the Quincy, but Ichigo had used Blut Vene twice to deflect his Heilig Pfeil. Now, seeing Ichigo's Hollow mask and the Cero building at his fingertip, he realizes that Ichigo somehow still retains his Hollow powers as well, something that shouldn't even be physically possible for anyone who has or might have Quincy blood flowing through their veins. Knowing how powerful Ichigo had become at the end of the war, he cannot even comprehend how someone who was supposed to have had his powers destroyed is now standing before him with both Quincy and Hollow powers, the rapidly-building Cero filling him with a sense of danger.

"Fall back! Fall back now dammit!" Uryū shouts to the three Wandereich soldiers with him as he fires off multiple Heilig Pfeil in a vain attempt to distract the enraged abomination.

"Ishida-sama! What is going on!?" One of the three soldiers shouts as he pulls his comrades arms to get them to obey orders.

"Something impossible! Now get out of here! I'll try and stave off his attack, if I fail…" He grits his teeth before firing his Heilig Pfeil in the hundreds, filling the entire corridor with an endless stream of arrows.

To his horror, the Heilig Pfeil does next to nothing to the masked teen, any arrows that aren't outright destroyed by the Cero in front of him barely nicking him without any real damage. Uryū grimaces as he walks backwards, seeing the Cero growing larger and more ominous as it fills up the entire corridor. With an uttered curse, he fires one final barrage as the Cero is set loose, causing the ceiling he had been shooting at to drop on top of the Cero and creating a chain explosion as his Heilig Pfeil and the falling concrete finally destabilize the destructive beam of energy. Only his Hirenkyaku saves him as he flees the collapsing tunnel and reaches the safety of the outside world just moments before the entrance collapses. Panting slightly as he casts his senses outwards, he feels a powerful Arrancar approaching his position rapidly after turning towards him from another direction. Glaring towards the rapidly closing danger, he is forced to admit that his mission is now completely unsalvageable.

"We are leaving, now." His command leaves no room for question; jumping into the air, he is followed by the three Quincy soldiers as they make their way back towards the shrine that they used to enter the World of the Living.

'I hope Bazz-b had better luck than us.' Uryū thinks as he glances back at the billowing dust cloud that signals the burial spot of Ichigo Kurosaki.

XXXX

Tia lands next to Yoruichi as she stands on a nearby tree, both unseen by the humans who are scurrying around the collapsed tunnel under the now destabilized roadway. The blonde-haired Vizard wants nothing more than to jump down and tear the debris away to reach her missing mate, but she holds herself back as she watches the humans trying to figure out how and why the tunnel had collapsed so suddenly and violently. Even Tiburón is raging in their inner-world at their inability to reach or even sense their missing soulmates.

"Yoruichi…" Tia finally manages to sound out.

A dark-skinned hand places itself on her arm. "He's alive, but he is no longer in that tunnel. Just as I arrived, the entire place lit up like a gaudy nightclub from the various spells that activated. Whoever did this, has been preparing a carefully laid trap for weeks or even months. Whether it was for us or for the Quincy, I can't tell. All I know is that I can't sense Ichigo or Kurumu anymore. We'll have to get Ruby and Moka to help us search once the witch regains consciousness."

Shaking the growing feeling of loss, the same feeling she had when she thought she had lost her Fracción, Tia turns to the older woman. "Is there nothing we can do now?"

The former assassin slowly shakes her head. "I wish I could say yes Tia, but for now we have to retreat, get Ruby on her feet and then, only then we track down Ichigo and Kurumu using her magic. Night is fading fast, which means we'll have to wait until dusk to resume our search for them. Tia, I know you are worried, but we have to do this the smart and right way. You understand why?"

Glaring at the rubble filled opening of the tunnel, the tan-skinned Vizard replies through gritted teeth. "To keep the secrets of the Yōkai and prevent another genocide by Soul Society."

"I'm truly sorry Tia. We will get them back." Yoruichi takes the younger woman's hand and they both disappear in a flash.

XXXX

Kurumu groans as she blinks her eyes open, the dull throb of pain no longer pounding as it had when she lost consciousness after getting clubbed in her head as she raced away from the fighting. Eyes snapping open after she realizes what had happened to her, she sits up and finds herself in a small room, only a door and another occupied bed furnishing the room as far as she can see. Looking over at the other bed, she begins to panic and try to push herself in the opposite direction when she sees Ichigo's blindfolded, chained body lying on the bed next to her.

"Don't worry, he won't wake up until I wish him too."

Kurumu's entire body freezes upon hearing the sexually charged voice coming from the shadows of the room. Her mind begins denying that voice, a voice she has only heard once from her childhood, a voice that still echoes in her nightmares. 'No! No! No!'

From the shadows, the epitome of Succubus beauty reveals herself in the dim light of the room. Kurumu's body betrays her as she subconsciously feels her arousal roaring to life just by looking at the elder Yōkai. The Succubus Queen known as Kiana stands before the younger Yōkai, who immediately throws herself off the bed and prostates herself before the most powerful of her kind.

"Queen Kiana! Please forgive me!" Kurumu shouts as she bows her head low to the floor, her body no longer under her conscious control.

"I like you like that Kurono-chan, just as I once had your Okaa-san in such a position to serve me when she was but your age." The sensual voice invades the younger succubus's mind with hints and promises of eternal bliss, but it also leaves her with a growing sense of dread.

Fighting the tears that threaten to fall after hearing this woman disparage her Mother, Kurumu's voice unwillingly pledges her allegiance to the Queen. "I will serve however you wish me to, your Majesty."

The Succubus Queen hums to herself with a dark smile. "Perhaps you can prove your loyalties Kurumu-chan. Tell me truthfully, did you know that he is a Quincy?" She gestures to the bound young man beside her.

"No!" Calming herself, the blue-haired Yōkai teen answers again, this time entirely of her own volition. "I had no idea he was one of those murderous bastards, my Queen….although…"

"…although what?"

Kurumu raises her head to answer, fury dancing in her eyes. "I should have suspected what he might be when his friends ordered us not to discuss anything about the Quincies in his presence. I thought, we thought that he was their enemy, but tonight he spoke to one, knew his name, even said he thought he was a friend! I swear I didn't know! That's, that's why I ran away from him, I couldn't stand to be near one of those murderers!"

Skin as soft as silk gently strokes her tear-stained face. "Shhh, I know you are telling me the truth Kurumu. As you laid asleep, I took a peek inside your mind."

The younger succubus feels the bile trying to worm its way up her throat while her body trembles in pleasure, to know that this woman had violated her mind while she was sleeping, bringing forth all the worst nightmares her Mother had warned her about this practice yet exulting in the fact that her Queen had deigned to meld with her mind. Keeping her smile plastered on her face, she allows the Queen to stroke her face like a master with its pet, despite the growing revulsion and adoration she feels for this creature before her. A soft groan draws the attention of both Succubi to the waking male in the room, and Kurumu finds herself being lifted by the Queen and escorted to the now open door.

"Cleanse yourself Kurumu and meet me in the great dining hall. One of the servants shall show you to your room for your stay here." The Queen turns from the younger woman and moves back into the room, Kurumu's eyes once again being drawn to the bound Quincy.

"What, what about…him?"

The Queen half-turns to Kurumu. "Worry not about this one, he and I shall have a quiet talk about what he is doing here. Now go."

Kurumu hurries away from the closing doorway once she hears the displeasure in Kiana's voice. As she reaches the end of the hallway, a scream rips through the stillness of the hallway, driving the young succubus to flee even faster as the fear of whatever torture Ichigo is facing is left to him to face alone.

'Forgive me Moka, but I can't. Not for him... not for a Quincy.'

XXXX

Shōgetsu fights the feelings of agony from the torture her true soul-mate is having inflicted upon his human body at the hands of the Succubus Queen. Regretting her promise to Ichigo that they try and hold out until Yoruichi finds them, she begins to doubt her ability to endure and obey his orders, despite having her words thrown back in her face about Soul Society discovering her existence before they can complete their fusion. Without looking, she grabs Shiro's and Zangetsu's hand, the two Zanpakutō spirits also gritting their teeth and bearing the pain and humiliation begin wrought upon their wielder. Even if she wants to disobey, even if she wants to tear his tormentor to shreds, she cannot, will not go against the greatest desire that Ichigo and his mate has. She will not allow her anger and pride to ruin the only chance of retrieving Rukia without consequences by disobeying him right now.

She flinches again as another small sliver of skin is painfully torn from Ichigo's badly damaged body, her patience nearing its limits…

'I can handle it Shōgetsu, just keep him from doing anything stupid.'

The promise she had agreed to, and she damns herself again and again for agreeing.

As Ichigo writhes again in sheer agony, she makes her decision: this torture cannot go unpunished.

Turning towards the quiet, still and absolutely furious Hollow, she speaks with matching rage. "If she follows through with her promise, you will end her life…and take her soul as retribution."

"Agreed." Closing his golden orbs, Shiro begins concentrating his powers towards the cuffs sealing away his King's power.

XXXX

Ichigo fights back the darkness closing in on his mind, cursing for the hundredth time and wishing that he wasn't stuck in his own body. He had forgotten how much getting beaten on in the flesh really hurt like hell. The torture had gone on for hours before the Succubus Queen left him to bleed silently, her appetite filled, or she said when she had finished the last and unforgivable violation to his body. It was shortly after he regained consciousness that she began to slice and prod into his skin with her talons, speaking of the pained pleasure she would put 'the Quincy' through before her loyal court. He hadn't even been able to defend himself, the special gag she forced into his mouth after his first few denials made sure he couldn't speak anymore 'untruths' as she had called them, although the gag still allowed him to scream. The succubus, calling herself Kiana, declared him a mortal enemy to all Yōkai and she promised to deliver a fitting punishment upon him for all to see.

When the succubus Queen finally removed his gag and left him alone, still bleeding and blindfolded, he tried to remember what exactly had happened after he and Shiro let loose their Cero and caused the tunnel to collapse. It wasn't much, all he could recall was turning to run before something very hard slammed into his face and knocked him out until he woke up like this. He thought he had heard Kurumu speaking as he woke up, but he couldn't be sure as the person was declaring her hatred for him. The last puzzle was why Uryū, Kurumu and Kiana all believed him to be a Quincy.

'Shōgetsu…' He stops when he remembers telling her not to interfere unless the others do not find him in time; he then decides to test his bindings.

Fighting back the increasing need to lapse back into the blackness that offers him a reprieve from the pain, he struggles against the restraints holding him down. Unable to break them, he tries to push his Reiatsu against his bindings, but feels one of his own spirits blocking his efforts. Enraged by the succubus's last violation against him, he is about to try again when a calming influence forces its way into his mind.

'Wait Ichigo, soon you'll be able to repay the bitch…'

Slumping back on the bed after hearing Zangetsu's words of promised vengeance, Ichigo forces his body and mind to relax next, trying to push aside the pain of his body. Once he has calmed down, he curses himself for falling apart so quickly: the pain he feels is only physical, none of it can compare to what he has already suffered in his time as a Substitute Shinigami. Testing the cuffs on his wrists again, they feel old and worn to him, a discovery that is filed away as he stretches his senses outwards. The next thing that is obvious to him is the blood flowing from the many cuts and holes on his skin, he can even feel some of the skin flapping when he moves.

'Great, more scars to decorate my body.' He can't help the small chuckle that escapes his chapped lips.

"How can you laugh Ichigo?" Kurumu's whispered voice asks him. He hadn't noticed the young succubus return, but right now he realizes he doesn't care.

Ichigo laughs once more before answering her cynically. "She isn't Grimmjow or Ulquiorra, so she ain't got nothing on either of them. My turn, Kurumu: tell me, why are you here? Was I dreaming or delusional when you called me a murderous bastard? Remind me again who exactly it was that I murdered?"

Angered by his question, the young succubus lashes out at him. "You damn well know who your Clan killed! Yōkai! By the hundreds and thousands, so many of my kind were killed by the Kurosaki Clan! How!? How did you deceive us Ichigo!? How did you fool the Headmaster and enter our school so easily? Why did you even approach us? Tell me what you were trying to do!"

Spitting a bit of blood from his mouth, Ichigo turns in the direction of Kurumu's voice and repeats what he has said over and over again. "I have no idea what you are talking about. My Tou-chan's name is Kurosaki, and I know for a fact that he isn't a Quincy. The only Quincy I know of are Uryū and his Otou-san."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" Kurumu shouts at him. "You called that Quincy your friend! Quincies, the darkest of scourges to any and all Yōkai across the world! No one is safe from their depravity, not even the young or babies are spared from their murder! I saw you use one of their techniques in the tunnel, a defensive ability said to be used only by the most powerful of Quincies, that none but the strongest of Yōkai can break through! I don't know how you managed to fool the Headmaster, one of our Yōkai Darklords, but now that I've seen the truth I won't be a part of your deceptions any longer! I hope you rot in Hell for all the innocents you've murdered Ichigo!"

Ichigo doesn't say anything as Kurumu turns and stomps towards the door. Just like the stubborn fools in Central Forty-Six, it is evident that she has made up her mind and nothing will sway her from it. As the succubus reaches the door, however, he feels that he owes it to Moka to give her one last warning.

"Then know this Kurono Kurumu, don't be here when Tia, Yoruichi, Tatsuki, Yūshirō and Moka arrive. If I am murdered, any Yōkai responsible for my death won't be alive by tomorrow morning, and it won't be Quincies slaughtering them. You fear and hate Quincies, but none of you have any idea of what Shinigami and Vizards are truly capable of. Especially a bonded soulmate, my mate, who will unleash true Hell against your kind if I die here at your hands. It will also end our involvement in your upcoming war, and even if your kind are driven to extinction, none of my Kazoku or friends will lift a finger to help. So, don't blind yourself with hatred, Kurumu; you know I have done nothing to earn it."

"You're a Quincy, and that is my answer Ichigo!" The blue-haired succubus replies heatedly as she yanks open the door.

Twisting to glare at the bloodied young man when she hears him bark out a laugh, a chill goes down her back as she sees him grinning ferally at the ceiling. "Well then, you should start running; Death comes in many physical forms, Succubus, and I know them just as intimately."

Kurumu runs out of the room, slamming the door behind her as she flees the sound of his cackling laughter as fast as she can.

XXXX

Mizore pats the sweaty and hot skin of the younger witch with a wet cloth cooled down by her power. Ever since Yukari and Tia had returned with Ruby in the early morning hours, the younger witch had refused to leave the older witch's side, mumbling incoherently as she rocked back and forth next to the corset-wearing aide to the Headmaster. Mizore had tried to calm the young genius down, but every attempt was rebuffed by fractured sentences from the child prodigy. The Yuki-Onna had even pushed aside her increasing worry for her lover's fate to ensure the younger Yōkai was taken care of first, but what she feared would happen did, as Yukari came down with a fever.

Now, as day faded into night, Yoruichi sticks her head into their room.

"We're going to look for Ichigo and Kurumu. Call us if you hear from either of them Mizore." The woman instructs her quietly.

"Yes Yoruichi-sama." The ice fairy replies stoically.

Hearing the others finally leaving, Mizore allows herself to move towards the food brought up earlier by the staff of the hotel. Pushing the rice and meat around, she admits she can't even eat as her worry for Kurumu increases with each passing minutes. Lost in her worry, she jumps when the phone she had been given for the stakeout begins to ring, and touching the screen, she breathes a sigh of relief when she sees the Caller ID.

"Kurumu where are you!? Yoruic…."

"Get out of there now Mizore! Get out of there and meet me near the shoreline where the dimensional tunnel lies closest to Lake Biwa!" Kurumu's voice is both urgent and frantic.

"What is going on!? Kurumu talk to me! Yoruichi said I had to call her if I heard back from you or Ichigo!" The ice maiden is shocked when she hears the next words that come from her lover's voice.

"Ichigo is a damn Quincy Mizore! That's why those two didn't want us to talk about the Quincy in front of Ichigo! He really is one of those Kurosaki Quincy! Now get our stuff and meet me at the tunnel!" The succubus screams into the phone.

Looking down at the feverish Yukari, Mizore asks what she should do with the young witch.

"Bring her; she ain't safe as long as they are around! Don't wait for Ruby, she is probably under their control or she knows about him and kept it a secret from us! Now, get out of there before it's too late!" The phone goes dead.

Without hesitation, Mizore quickly gathers their belongings, stuffing each bag with whatever she can grab. Using her powers, she creates two ice clones of herself and Yukari before she picks up the younger witch and escapes out the window. Racing down the alleyway with another ice clone carrying Yukari, she flees towards the dimensional tunnel with only one thought going through her head.

"Ichigo is a Quincy? How? How? How?"

XXXX

Hovering in the air and hidden by Yoruichi's Kyokkō, the six women watch hundreds of humans scurrying around the collapsed tunnel and roadway. Tatsuki holds onto Tia, her Reiatsu fluctuating under her feet in her first attempt at using it to airwalk. Ruby holds onto Yūshirō, the young princess easily holding up the witch's weight while the witch focuses her magic on examining the array that Yoruichi had felt earlier. The former Squad Two captain herself scans the surrounding area looking for any sign of the hybrid Shinigami or the succubus teen who is supposed to be with him, with the silver-haired Moka clinging tightly to her while scanning their surroundings just as intently. Ruby is the first to speak when she points her finger away from the tunnel and towards a lightly populated neighborhood a few miles away.

"There, the fading magic is pointing towards that direction." The Headmaster's assistant remarks quietly. "There is an old shrine in that area that was destroyed during the war and then buried over by the Americans afterwards. Perhaps there are still underground portions in use?"

Yoruichi frowns. "Perhaps, I know I used some of the sewers and old subway tunnels during my investigations. Maybe they moved back after I left, or they were just that good at hiding with magic Ruby. It's our only lead right now, so let's get over there fast." The mocha-skinned Shihōin declares.

"The sooner the better." No one in the group misses the worry and eagerness in the blonde-haired Vizard's voice as she and Tatsuki disappear first, followed by Yūshirō and Ruby, then Yoruichi and Moka bringing up the rear.

XXXX

Ichigo doesn't react when the door slams open and two sets of footsteps announce the arrival of his 'escort'. He barely flinches as they roughly drag him from the bed then half drag - half carry him down a corridor. With his eyes still covered, he is unable to see anything but darkness, but he feels his bare feet drag over rough stone before they transition into smoother planes the further they get from the room he was held in. Hearing a wooden doorway creak open followed by the distant murmuring of a large crowd, he figures that this is the place he is going 'die' at the hands of the Succubus Queen for the entertainment of her court, as she had promised him before leaving.

"Strip him, bind him and keep him blindfolded. I only want to hear him scream." The now familiar voice of his torturer announces seductively as numerous voices greet her announcement with an enthusiastic roar.

He is unable to stifle the grunt of pain when his feet and arms are forced into cold metal straps that pin him awkwardly upon a metal rack, which reminds of him medieval torture devices he had studied once for a project. He feels cold blades running along his skin and the sounds of cutting become evident as his bleeding skin is exposed to the cool air. Once they finish cutting away the tattered remains of his clothing, they roughly push his limbs and torso against small spikes which begin digging into his skin, reopening the wounds on his back. What he isn't prepared for is the clanking sounds and the accompanying stretching of his limbs from his sockets as gears are turned beneath him.

"You will scream sooner or later Quincy. All of your kind do when they realize there will be no rescue, so give us some entertainment and I might consider ending your suffering sooner rather than later." The Succubus Queen remarks in a pleased voice, as if this were an everyday event for her and her court.

"For the last fucking time, you bitch, I am not a Quincy…" Ichigo grits out through the pain.

He can hear the smirk in the Queen's voice. "I beg to differ young man. I have tasted a Quincy's soul before, and yours tastes just like theirs, almost…"

Ichigo wants to laugh at the absurdity of his situation. He is being accused of and might possibly die for being something he isn't, and nothing he says makes a difference... It's almost as if he's the butt end of the worst cosmic joke ever to be told. "Then tell me what the fuck these Kurosaki Quincies you claim me to be did to your kind!"

Immediately shouts of rage erupt in the room around him, and even though he cannot see, he just knows that everyone is glaring at him right now..

"Are you still going to claim no knowledge of being a Quincy?" The Succubus Queen asks in derision.

"Didn't I just ask you that you dumb bitch? My Tou-chan isn't a Quincy, he's something else entirely, I was born and inherited my Tou-chan's powers and if I didn't have to worry about dropping the roof on our heads to prove it I would've fucking done so by now. So, will one of you fucking morons tell me what the fuck these Kurosaki Quincies have done to you!?" Ichigo nearly roars out, feeling his Hollow slowly slipping into control and doing nothing to stop it.

Hearing footsteps approaching him, Ichigo grunts as a fist slams painfully into his stomach, before his jaw is clamped by a firm grip. "Then let me show you what your Clan has done to our kind over the centuries, you filthy Kurosaki bastard."

Before he can ask how she plans to do that, he feels something attach itself to the top of his head, then pain explodes through his mind as something punctures his skull. However, rather than a tortured scream of pain, the deranged laughter of a Hollow echoes off the walls of her court.

"Wrong move bitch, King lied about dropping the roof on your head."

XXXX

Tia and Tatsuki come to a complete stop when a towering pillar of black Reiatsu bursts out from beneath the ground a few miles North and West of them.

"Ichigo!" Both women scream as they recognize the spiritual pressure that blasts out of from the epicenter of the explosion.

A few yards back, Ruby and Moka stare in awe at the growing pillar, their eyes widening when a large skull similar to Ichigo's Hollow mask roars soundlessly into the night sky as it forms in the middle of the black Reiatsu.

Yūshirō turns to yell back at her older sister. "Onee-sama! We better hurry up and get over there before Soul Society finds out he isn't so powerless!"

"Move it! Everyone get your asses in gear!" Yoruichi shouts as she dashes forward with the silver-haired vampire clinging to her tightly. Fishing out her phone, the purple haired goddess dials a pre-determined sequence of numbers before hanging up.

Tia and Tatsuki are the second to close the distance, quickly becoming neck and neck with Yoruichi as the ground passes beneath them in nothing but a blur. Seeing the pillar of Reiatsu collapsing back in on itself, they hurriedly come to a stop at a near-perfect circular tunnel drilled through countless meters of dirt, stone and concrete. At the bottom of this tunnel, they see a very nude and bleeding Ichigo choking a woman with one clawed hand, while the other hand grasps at a flailing tail attached to his head. His head is half-covered by his Hollow mask and surrounding him is a barrier of pure Reiatsu that is being besieged by a large number of Yōkai with spells and weapons.

"Hunt, Tiburon!" Tia shouts as she and Tatsuki drop straight down, the hybrid-witch aiming her palm at the nearest group and speaking rapidly during her descent.

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hadō Thirty-One: Shakkahō!"

Unlike a normal Shinigami Kidō, Tatsuki's combination of Reiatsu and magic changes the normal fireball into one long, flaming-red stream of napalm that clings to the creatures it touches, burning off their clothes and charring their skin black as they scream and burn into white ash.

Yūshirō releases Ruby as the elder Witch extends her wings, the princess dropping down into another group of armed Yōkai with a Shunkō-powered axe kick. Her first opponent is pulped into a massive crater as the younger Shihōin smashes onto his head, using the recoil to whip around and punch another Yōkai in the face, the back of his head violently exploding from the kinetic force and showering the Yōkai behind him with his bone and brain matter.

Snarling in fury at the sheer amount of blood she scents from Ichigo, Moka pushes off of Yoruichi and lands in a crouch in the center of several Yōkai guards, using the lessons learnt in her spars against Ichigo and the others as inspiration to tear the Orcs and dwarves into bloodied piles of meat, bone, armor and blood. Her rage is kindled higher at seeing Ichigo's naked body covered with hundreds of cuts and shredded flesh. Next to her, she can almost feel Tia's fury as an overpowering force as she sees what was done to her mate, a single swing of Tiburón leaving behind a wave of bifurcated corpses and blood. As Tia tears through the fleeing Yōkai, endless streams of Byakurai blast from Tatsuki through her targets, sometimes catching multiple targets with a single bolt as each cast causes the next to ramp up in potency.

Ruby had cast a wide-range Briarthorn Barrier spell on every entrance to the room except the one they came from, and when she sees who Ichigo is choking to death with his hand, she hurriedly turns to Yoruichi who has just punched her fist through the chest of an attacking Succubi guard.

"You have to make Ichigo stop Yoruichi-san! He can't kill the Queen of the Succubi without repercussions!"

Twisting around, the purple-haired Shinigami points towards the nude orange-haired male, her voice dangerously clear despite the violent battle raging them. "Look at him! Look at Ichigo! Why should I stop him from killing her? Why the hell should I stop him from exacting his vengeance for the obvious pain that she inflicted upon his body!?"

A small part of Ruby wants to let him to do just that, but the greater part of Ruby tries to make them see reason. "B-Because Queen Kiana has never harmed any human before! Yes, I admit she has used them sexually, but she has never attacked or killed any human she has taken for herself! Please, I have to know why she attacked him!" The black-winged Yōkai begs, trying to make herself heard over the din of the battlefield.

Seeing the brief struggle that occupies the elder Shihōin, Ruby sighs in relief when Yoruichi flares her Reiatsu, crushing the remaining Yōkai guards to the floor and causing the angered females to stop attacking. "Tia, Moka, Yūshirō, Suki, hold your ground!"

Each of the named women stop fighting, but they continue to glare at the Yōkai guards who are torn between rage and fear as they try to get back to their feet.

Turning away from the Yōkai with a sneer, Yoruichi beckons to the blonde Vizard. "Tia, see if Tiburón can reach Ichigo now."

Nodding once, the blonde-haired Vizard closes her eyes for a second, before opening them. "She was able to reach their inner-world."

XXXX

Tiburon races through Tia's and Ichigo's shared connection, pausing as she enters Ichigo's inner-world only to see roiling black skies over head. As the skies open up on her, the downpour limits her vision to only a few meters distance, but it only takes her seconds to find her mate's and Ichigo's Reiatsus near one of the shorelines. Racing there as fast as she can, she comes across a clearing in the middle of the storm where Ichigo is sitting and Shiro, her Hollow mate, is gripping a broken and battered succubus by her throat, the same way that Ichigo is doing in the World of the Living.

Cautious in her approach, she gently pulses her Reiatsu several times, hoping that Shiro doesn't attack her out of blind rage. The first to react is Ichigo, who slowly turns his fully-masked face towards her and after studying her for what seems like an insurmountable length of time, nods silently towards her. Hesitantly stepping forward until she reaches Ichigo's side, she turns towards Shiro and speaks softly.

"Shiro, can you hear me?" Tiburón places her tanned hand on the bulking muscled arm of the Hollow's Resurrección form. "Please Shiro, answer me."

The arm she is touching relaxes slightly, but the Hollow still tightly grips the neck of the writhing succubus in his other hand. "Tib-urón?"

"Yes, it is me Shiro. Please, let this woman go. I know she doesn't deserve it, but you have to let her go…"

The storm howls in renewed fury "Why should we?" Both males ask as one.

Turning to face Ichigo, Tiburón responds. "The Witch Ruby needs to speak to her. She claims the succubus has never hurt any human other than to use them as sex-slaves, and she wants to find out why you were attacked. She says that if you kill her without justification there will be heavy repercussions."

"Taking humans for sex slaves is good enough reason for us to kill her Tiburón." Ichigo replies emotionlessly. "Especially after what she did to us tonight."

Tiburón pales at this statement, but presses on. "Please Ichigo. You must know you are not alone anymore. Can't you feel them out there? I know you can if you try. They are all waiting for you, and they won't let her escape justice. Please Ichigo, Shiro, please; for us, for Tia and for me. For Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki."

Ichigo and Shiro visibly struggle with their emotions, the blackened sky churning with their rage and their torment. Turning towards each other, growls of anger erupt from both Vizard and Hollow as they reach a silent accord.

"Get out of my mind, NOW!" Shiro snarls at the Succubus Queen as he throws her violently to the ground.

Smashing heavily onto the ground, the Succubus Queen gasps in pain and disappears. When she is gone, Shiro begins reverting back to normal before collapsing in the arms of his mate and grabbing onto her tightly.

"I'm here Shiro, I'm here now." She runs her hands through his white-spiky hair soothingly. "Ichigo, they are waiting out there for you."

"You going to be okay with him?" Ichigo asks emotionlessly, knowing how possessive Hollows can be if they feel their mate is endangered.

"A-Are you okay, Ichigo?" Even in here, his skin is shredded and bleeding heavily. Getting no response from him, she turns away quietly. "We'll be fine Ichigo, Tia-chan is waiting for you."

Ichigo vanishes from his inner-world, leaving Shiro to growl at his mate in grief and frustration.

Sighing, Tiburón tries to lift her mate up, only to see him move his face away from hers. "Shiro?"

Slowly, reluctantly, the Hollow spirit tells his mate what had happened to his King.

XXXX

Dropping to the ground in the real world, Kiana painfully pushes herself away from the young Quincy; no, not Quincy, something far more dangerous that is standing before her. Wincing as she feels the phantom pain wracking her body, she knows that she is in no shape to fight with this being, not to mention six new additions that are glaring murderously at her from outside of this barrier.

It shocked her to the very core that she, the Queen of the Succubi, had been completely overwhelmed the moment she latched her tail onto his head to show him what the Quincy had done to the Yōkai before flaying his mind from the inside out. Within moments, she found out just how outclassed she was compared to the orange-haired teen in front of her when he shredded through his restraints like they were paper and grabbed her neck and tail in a vice-like grip, the sudden barrier cutting her off from her loyal guards, unable to scream or cry out as his eyes slowly changed from white and brown to black and gold, and her mind gripped by what felt like pure primal rage and hatred. At the same time, she felt herself being bathed in heat and light as a pillar of black energy erupted from all around him and tore through the ceiling, blasting straight up into the sky. Then, a white bony mask started to form over his features, the white and red providing a chilling contrast to the black and gold as the monstrous teen finally spoke.

"Now we are connected bitch; time to show you true pain."

And true pain is what they did show her, dragging her into his mind against her will and hurling her forward. As she found herself sprawling on her hands and knees in a strange world being buffeted by a ferocious storm, she barely had a moment to wonder where the normal nothingness where she would project the images she needed to conquer a human's mind was before the same white clawed hand that was choking her in the real world shot out of nowhere and grabbed her by the throat, dragging her to her feet.

"Our turn." Was all the horrifying beast said before it threw her straight through the nearest wall.

Her screams were meet with deranged laughter as the nightmare continued to hunt her. Never in her life had she been filled with such terror, never had she imagined such a creature to exist, yet the pain on her body could attest that it did. The nightmare creature stalked her, taunted her, baited her, let her try her best to fight or escape and crushed every single attempt with sheer brutality. Her claws shattered, her bones broken, Kiana staggered to her feet again as the nightmare stalked towards her, murder evident in his orbs and filling her mind with each step that the tall, white, heavily muscled body wearing tattered black cloth took towards her, the Succubus Queen whimpering as she backed away from it in primal fear. Sneering at her, the creature lowered its head, a glowing red orb forming between the two forward pointing horns on the bony mask on its face and filling her with a greater sense of terror.

The beast spoke one single word. "Cero."

Pain again greeted her when she put her wings in front of her to shield her body from the ball of raw power. Every bone in her wings shattered, every scrap of flesh was flayed away as she was sent screaming through yet another wall. Crumpling to the ground in so much pain that she couldn't even scream, she felt her head gripped by the powerfully clawed hand, lifted, and once again thrown violently through yet another stone wall. Rolling to a stop in the middle of the storm-blasted road, she found herself staring at a pair of tattered white socks and sandals.

"Welcome to my world succubus. Here you are mine and Shiro's plaything."

A hand grabbed her hair and painfully pulled her broken body upwards, until she was staring into an exact replica of the mask of the creature that had been hunting her all this while. Unlike the creature, this person looked like the damned Quincy she had wanted to torture.

"What... what the hell are you?" She managed to spit out with a lungful of blood.

"Definitely not a Quincy, now am I?" A powerful punch forced out all the blood from her stomach, before her body was once again thrown with such force that she smashed through both walls of a building and rolled to a stop on the other side only for a clawed foot to slam down on her body, a tall white creature with black markings trailing to the center of its chest glaring down at her.

"See, me and King, we are what you would call a Vizard, a Shinigami-Hollow hybrid. We ain't no stinking Quincy, and we'd told you so a couple dozen times, but since you decided to torture us instead, now we are gonna do the same to you until we're satisfied you understand what we really are."

Coughing out more blood, the Succubus Queen tried to grab at the clawed foot pinning her down. "Please! Mercy!"

She saw the masked face shake its head back and forth even as a clawed hand grabbed for her neck again. "Sorry, you bled us dry several dozen cuts ago."

"Mercy!"

"Take her to the beach Shiro, we'll finish it there."

"Gotcha King."

"Mercy!"

Only the arrival of the tanned skin woman saved her from her death, they had even told her how she was going to die while slowly strangling her bleeding form.

'Could it really eat my soul?' She thinks to herself as she regains consciousness after blacking out briefly, her body flaring up with debilitating pain that matches the abuse she had suffered through her mental connection with the teen male even though none of the physical damage was transferred.

Opening her eyes, she is a second too late to react when a clawed foot stamps down on her body, crushing her unceremoniously to the floor. Coughing and gasping, she tries to push herself back up but is forced down again, her body too weakened from the mental backlash to put up any kind of fight.

"Hold still." A female voice says before a hand is pressed against her throat and she feels healing magic at work, easing the bruises that had formed from her strangulation. Instant relief floods her throat and spreads to her chest, allowing the Succubus Queen to inhale without struggling to breath. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet, if I don't accept your answers, she's going to finish what he started." Craning her head to see the speaker, she sees a raven-haired witch stalking over to stand beside a tan-skinned blonde woman with emerald-green eyes burning with rage and promises of death.

"You tortured my mate. I promise you, I will find a way to respond in kind." The blonde woman quietly states with utter conviction in her words. The raven-haired witch touches her arm gently.

"Tia-san please, let me find out what happened before anything else goes wrong. If what Yoruichi-san says is true, we don't have much time before Soul Society sends Shinigami to investigate."

Despite the pressure on her chest, Kiana twists her body enough to sneer towards the corset-wearing Yōkai whom she recognizes. "Shinigami? Soul Society? Don't make me laugh! You know as well as I that those are just old tales without a single grain of truth to them!"

The raven-haired witch narrows pink eyes at her. "My name is Tōjō Ruby, Kiana-sama, and I am Mikogami Tenmei's assistant. He and I know of the Shinigami, they are real and they will come here because of him." She points at the orange-haired abomination that is pinning her down.

"Him! That fucking Quincy! I should've killed him the moment I set my eyes on him!" Kiana screams in anger at her captors, only for the foot to press down harder on her body.

"Why the hell do you keep calling me a Quincy!? I'm not a damn Quincy!" Ichigo bellows at the Succubus Queen in frustration.

Turning her hate-filled gaze towards the still-naked teen, she snaps back at him. "Kurono Kurumu saw you using Blut Vene! Only a Quincy can use that! Your soul tastes like a fucking Quincy! I don't care what Tōjō claims, you are a filthy Quincy! Kurono! Tell them what you saw!"

There is a moment of surprise, then the women around Ichigo start looking for the blue-haired teen succubus.

"Kurumu?" Moka hesitantly calls out. "Kurumu!"

Yoruichi shakes her head. "I didn't see her when we were fighting, she must have left before we arrived."

Tatsuki lifts her hand and casts a spell that she had recently learned, frowning as she sees the results. "She was here, but not anymore. I can't even sense her in the city Yoruichi-sensei."

"Worse, Shirayuki and Sendo are both gone as well. All three of them are gone." Tia adds as she focuses her Pesquisa towards the hotel room.

"Even if she isn't here, there's no denying what he is!" Kiana screams out angrily. "His soul doesn't lie! He is Quincy!"

As Tia turns towards the helpless Succubus Queen with a dangerous glint in her eyes, she is stopped by a suddenly tired-looking Yoruichi. "She's partially correct Ichigo, Tia." Her voice is heavy and filled with defeat.

Everyone's head turns towards the former Captain in shock, Ichigo summing up the collective thought on everyone's mind. "What, what the fuck did you just say?"

Pinching the bridge of her nose, the purple-haired goddess responds with a sigh. "You and Uryū weren't supposed to learn of your shared heritage until a year from now. Isshin and Ryūken both asked that we wait to tell you what is to come. Now all of that is all for naught because of this colossal fuck up. I shouldn't have let you come here; I should have sent you with Gin to take care of that other problem. This...this is really a clusterfuck beyond anything that I had thought possible."

The righteous fury filling Ichigo drains away, replaced by a sense of complete horror. "How Yoruichi...how could I be a Quincy?" Ichigo's stunned voice echoes in the silent room.

"I promised not to say anything about it until you were supposed to be ready Ichigo. I have already broken enough of my promise; at least allow me to respect their wish to tell you themselves. Everything just got thrown through the wringer and... ah hell, let's just go home and sort it out there. Soul Society is most assuredly sending someone to investigate and I doubt any of us want to be here when they do arrive."

Yoruichi turns to stare at the Succubus Queen pinned under Ichigo's foot. "You, Kiana, today is your lucky day. You'll scram and do nothing more until Mikogami sends word to you. Don't worry about your tracks; we'll take care of erasing everyone's presence. Moka, Ruby, we'll drop you off at the Academy before the rest of us head home." She motions towards Tia. "Open a Garganta for Yōkai Academy Tia."

"Wait!" Moka cries out. "I-I wish to go with you."

Kiana stares incredulously at the silver-haired Vampiress. "You would go with a Quincy!? You, you would betray your race for this murderer!? Is his blood worth the spilled blood of our kind?"

Red-slitted eyes turn their heated gaze upon the fallen Succubus Queen. "I will determine if he is a threat to me and all of Yōkai-kind after I find out how and why his Quincy heritage was hidden from him, succubus. I care not for the deeds of his ancestors, only for the deeds that he himself has performed. As Sensei, has said begone now!"

Feeling the foot remove itself from her body, the Succubus Queen is about to try and get up, only for that same foot to hook itself beneath her body and kick her over to the largest remaining group of her guards. Crashing into them painfully, Kiana drops down into a painful heap, hissing as the phantom and real pains on her body leave her nearly crippled. Slowly getting to her feet while glaring at each and every one of the females who had participated in humiliating her, then glaring at the male who is the reason her countless dead Yōkai subjects now littering the ground, she gestures sharply to someone along the walls. "I will remember all of your faces. Velesta, open a doorway home."

Ruby narrows her eyes at a witch who seems to have materialized from one of the walls, where she had been standing silently. Raising her wand high into the air, the witch drags it down vertically and chants an unknown spell, causing a tear in reality to form where a strange world can be seen beyond the opening. "Kiana-sama, a way back to your world is ready."

"Leave the dead behind, they'll be destroyed along with everything else." Yoruichi commands sharply.

Glaring at Yoruichi, the Queen turns away and strides through the portal, the few remaining survivors of her guards and court attendants following after her and within minutes none save Ichigo and his friends, the witch named Velesta, and the dead remain. Velesta's light-green eyes survey the group before stopping on Tatsuki.

"As Kiana-sama said, we will meet again. I look forward to hearing your story Arisawa-chan. Kazoku such as yours openly siding with the Quincy, that makes me wonder what really happened in Karakura when it left the physical plane of existence..." Without waiting for a reply, she steps through the void which closes after her.

Yoruichi wastes no time after that. "Yūshirō, Tia, Tatsuki, I'll need your help. Moka, do you mind?" She gestures towards Ichigo.

The silver-haired Vampiress crosses the distance and takes Ichigo from Tia. She flushes slightly when she realizes that Ichigo is still naked, but her embarrassment immediately disappears when the scent of blood hits her even more strongly and she sees how badly he is wounded up close.

"Ruby, last chance." The mocha-skinned woman commands.

"I will go with you." The witch answers as she moves to support Ichigo's other side. "I can contact Mikogami-sama from wherever we are going, but you may need my help with Ichigo."

"W-Wait a damn minute Yoruichi!" Ichigo wheezes, his words growing weaker from his exhaustion and loss of blood. "What the hell are you planning, and more importantly why the hell do I... do I have to..."

He slumps heavily against Moka, causing her to panic as she tries to support his weight. "Ichigo! !"

Ruby hurriedly checks his pulse. "He's weakening, we need to get him to safety quickly."

Rather than answer, Yoruichi immediately pulls her three assistants closer to her, forcing Tia to focus on her instead of Ichigo. Speaking lowly and using hand gestures, she explains to the group what they need to do, and Yūshirō is the first to squeak out in shocked surprise.

"That, that's forbidden Kidō Onee-sama!"

"And it is forbidden for a good reason Yūshirō. Now hurry it up, we don't have any more time!"

Moka supports Ichigo with Ruby's help, both of them watching as the four women chant in synchronized verse while pouring large amounts of Reiatsu into a small glass orb Yoruichi had produced. Once they are done, Yoruichi gingerly places the orb on the ground and touches it while lowly speaking another phrase that Moka doesn't understand.

"Tia, now!" Yoruichi shouts as she moves away from the orb quickly. "Once all of us are inside, close the Garganta, we don't want to get caught up in the blast!"

As Tia rips another hole into reality, Yūshirō and Tatsuki jump in to form the road, then Moka and Ruby carry Ichigo through with Yoruichi helping and finally the blonde-haired Vizard leaps in and promptly shuts the opening.

"What did you do Yoruichi-san?" Ruby questions of the older Shinigami as they hurry onward.

Frowning as she helps Tia maintain the walkway of Reiatsu, the purple-haired goddess answers reluctantly. "We just wiped out a portion of reality Ruby, that orb physically and spiritually destroyed everything existing within those tunnels along with any lingering traces of magic or Reiatsu. With luck, no one from Soul Society will know who did it and why."

XXXX

Kiana dismisses her servants and her court once they have placed her upon her throne to recuperate. All alone, the Succubus Queen tries to understand what had gone wrong and who those females were who had broken into her lair and slaughtered her followers by the dozens. She can only identify one as Tenmei Mikogami's pet witch, one as the daughter of the missing Vampire Darklord Akasha Bloodriver, and the third as a witch of unusual pedigree considering the power of her spells. The others are a mystery to her, although it is likely that the two purple-haired, mocha-skinned females are related to each other. However, even after hearing what Tōjō had said, even after hearing what that Quincy brat had claimed, she refuses to believe that ancient myths of the Shinigami have any basis in reality. Shinigami, a word that once instilled fervent reverence amongst all Yōkai, a race of beings that had long since disappeared into legend. Yet the witch spoke as if she had true knowledge of them, and the Quincy brat even claimed to be one.

Before her thoughts can continue, she senses an attack coming but is too late to respond with her weakened body; a tail exactly like hers clamps down on her skull and four dagger-like talons stab into her heart, while the hand over her mouth keeps her from screaming to her bodyguards, who are only a few short meters away behind the closed doors. Struggling as her life-force is drained from her, she doesn't have to wait long to hear the assassin's voice speaking into her ear.

"My, my what a mess you are Kiana-chan. You, who claimed the throne because you were only a day older than myself and then put me through such humiliation during your coronation, did you think I would forgive or forget your trespass against my honor, dearest friend?"

Twisting her head slightly at the hissed words, Kiana sees the face of the older Kurono staring mercilessly into her dying eyes, tears of panic leaking down her face as she feels her essence being stolen. Trying to beg for mercy, Kiana sees only a small portion of regret behind those purple orbs, but the rest of it is steely determination as Ageha Kurono claims the throne for herself and her Clan.

Kiana feels her hair begin gently pushed aside as Ageha steps out from behind the throne chair, moving to stand in front of her as she continues to slowly and painfully extract every last bit of life, magic and even memory that the former Succubus Queen has in her.

"Imagine my surprise when Ku-chan called me in hysterics, the tale she told me so unbelievable, that I immediately came here to see if it was true. Now again imagine my surprise to learn that you were actually in the human world, living underground in some tunnels so that you could, what, hunt for a male to finally help you bear the heir that you need? Pity that actually, if your Clan had listened to my Clan generations ago, we would not find ourselves in this position now, facing extinction. Now we Succubi will move forward and join with Mikogami and Fuhai's plan to integrate ourselves with the humans openly. That is the only way we will survive, to find strong and willing partners to plant their seed within our wombs or accept our own seed into their willing wombs, instead of taking seed weakened by charms and force. Their solution is the only way to help us edge away from the disaster your Clan has guided us to." Ageha turns her face to the side. "Velesta, did you find my Musume yet?"

Kiana's blurring vision sees her pet-witch move out from the shadows and walk towards her and Ageha, a small and nearly-imperceptible smile on her lips as watches her former mistress dying.

"She is at the Yuki-Onna village with her mate, the one she calls Mizore, Ageha-sama. I believe you and her mother were students together at Yōkai Academy, my Queen." Velesta answers politely. Ageha smiles down at the fading Succubus Queen.

"Ah, I can see it in your eyes Kiana, you forgot all about my old-school rival, didn't you? Let me enlighten you about her and I, she brought me back from the brink of death after being your lovely plaything for the first year of your reign. She is also the one who tracked down and exterminated your assassins after they had taken Richard from me and my Musume. Oh, yes Kiana-chan, I know it was you who killed my Destined One, the father of my Kurumu. It is also the day I began plotting my vengeance against you with Velesta, to strip you of your crown, your throne, your life and everything you own, as well as the few remaining members of your tyrannical Clan. Even now as we speak, the survivors should all be suffering quite nicely at the hands of my Clan. Today marks the end of the Legu Clan and we Succubi will move forward down a path of peace and resurgence. For my first act as the new Queen let me show you my benevolence, Kiana."

Kiana feels a hand reaching into her clothes and removing an object that she has held in her possession for nearly half a century; a golden locket. As her vision darkens even more, she hears Ageha speaking once again.

"I set you free Velesta, however I wish to ask you for one favor before giving this to you." The new Queen solemnly says to the waiting witch.

"Anything Ageha-sama."

"Stay with me Velesta. You will never be denied your family again if you remain by my side and act as my council." Ageha asks.

Velesta nods once as she grips the golden locket. "I will serve you willingly, Kurono Ageha."

"Then reclaim what was stolen from you by this thing and set yourself free."

Kiana's fading vision sees a golden glow surrounding the witch who helped orchestrate her demise, the aura blooming violently before swiftly receding into the trembling body of the fair-skinned witch. Kiana is jerked back from the darkness when Ageha slaps her face a few times.

"This is the second thing I wish to say before I end your life Kiana. I will go to Mikogami and extend an apology towards the young man my Musume foolishly abandoned and you tortured. Unlike my Musume, I believe more in the person that she wrote to me about several times in the past, than the person she thinks he truly is after today. Even if he is a Quincy, a Kurosaki Quincy, I don't think Ku-chan judged him fairly, but I do intend to find out everything from him before passing my own judgment. That was your other weakness Kiana, you never took the time to learn the usefulness of other races, you only saw them as potential slaves, much like you tricked Velesta into sealing part of her life-force into that locket, always holding the threat of destroying her soul if she didn't comply with your wishes. And now those same races that you looked down upon are responsible for tearing down your throne. Thank the gods your reign ends now." Standing up, she plunges both talon-tipped hands deep into Kiana's near dead body and steals the last bits of the succubus's soul for her own.

Velesta silently watches as Kiana's body decays rapidly, first mummifying, then turning black and grey and then lastly collapsing into ash as the last bit of her soul and life is consumed by Ageha. Wiping away a tear that suddenly trails down her face, the witch is unable to comprehend the emotional upheaval that she is feeling after witnessing the execution of her and Ageha's shared tormentor. Looking up at her new Queen, the witch is surprised to find the succubus's face so close to hers. Before she can ask what is going on, Ageha kisses her lips lightly.

"Go Velesta, go home and see your family. Return when you are ready to do so. My kin are almost here so there is no need to worry about our future." The new Queen gently remarks as she wipes the witch's tears away.

Throwing her arms around Ageha, Velesta murmurs her thanks before stepping away and creating an opening to a small village high in the Alps. Stepping through, Velesta feels the weight of her complicity evaporating as she sees her family's home still standing and smoke gently whiffing from the chimney. The witch never sees the true and genuine smile that is on her Queen's lips as she runs towards a group of witches and mages that turn to her in shock and excited recognition.

As the portal closes, Ageha's smile turns towards the first of her Clan to arrive; the blood of the executions they had performed still dripping from their extended talons. Among those to enter the throne room along with Ageha's kin are the elders of the Succubi race, once a voice revered for reason and guidance, now an impotent, pale and useless shell of what they once were. Ageha holds the gleaming crown in one hand as she takes her place upon the empty throne. Motioning towards those entering or standing in wait outside, the new Queen speaks.

"The tyrant known as Kiana has been removed. Now, the Kurono Clan's reign begins and the first order of business is to reestablish the Elder Council immediately. Spread the word, those who wish to become a member of the Elders best make haste to come before me in two nights' time. Go and spread forth the news of your new Queen."

As her kin start flocking from the room, the new Succubus Queen leans forward to address two of her closer kin. "Go to my Musume in the Yuki-Onna village and order her to wait there until I send for her. Do not inform her of this development. Then seek out Tsurara and bring her to me, she and I have much to talk about before we confront Mikogami and Fuhai."

"Yes, my Queen." The two younger Succubi of the Kurono Clan intone respectfully before leaving the throne room.

Looking out at the dreamscape of the succubus dimension, Ageha sighs at the thought of another human that had once captured Kurumu's heart.

"If only the Vampire didn't make her claim so soon again."

XXXX

Ruby and Moka stop when Tia and Yoruichi give the signal to halt. Watching closely, the two Yōkai women see Tia step forward and rip open another opening into a sparsely furnished room. As the blonde hybrid steps out of the darkness first followed by Yūshirō and Tatsuki, they hear the witch calling out into the home as they stand in wait for their turn.

"Orihime! Orihime!" The hybrid witch shouts loudly until a reply is heard.

"Suki, you're home! I'm coming, we're coming I mean! Hold your horses Suki!" A very cheerful voice replies from deeper in the house.

Rounding a corner, a busty and beautiful orange-haired woman enters the living room before stopping dead when she sees the group, behind her are two other women, a tall ebony-skinned woman and a shorter and paler woman with heterochromatic eyes.

"Tia-nee! / Tia-sama! / Tia!" Three voices greet the blonde-haired Vizard who quickly gestures for them to approach.

"Hime, Ichigo is hurt. Apacci, Mila go and find Otou-san and bring him here." The blonde Vizard looks worriedly back into the Garganta where Moka and Ruby are climbing out with Ichigo between them.

"What!? Move him to the couch now!" The orangette shouts as she rushes over towards the couch and pulls it into the sofa-bed configuration.

"Oh, Kami…" Mila gasps as she sees the terrible condition of the young, completely undressed male. "Apacci, you go get Otou-san! I'll get a sheet to cover him!"

"Sōten Kisshun." Orihime manages to say as Ichigo is carefully placed on the couch, Moka and Ruby moving away to a safe distance while watching the healer work.

The moment the healing barrier stabilizes, Orihime darts away from the sofa-bed and begins to vomit on the floor, Apacci hurriedly places a basket under her. "In the wastebasket Hime!"

As the young woman continues to puke into the basket, the Arrancar turns towards her mistress with fury in her eyes. "What the hell happened to Ichigo!? I've never seen Hime react this way to healing anyone before! What in the world is going on!?"

Tia pulls her Fracción into her arms, feeling the deer Arrancar trembling with helpless anger. "It is complicated Apacci. The Yōkai in question is a Queen, so we have to seek other avenues to punish her. Rest assured she will be punished for her crimes."

Orihime sobs as she continues to hover over the wastebasket. "It wasn't only physical torture Tia-nee, she, she…"

"I know Orihime, I know." Tia says in pained reply to her younger sister's unfinished comment.

"What? Orihime, what did she do to him?" Yoruichi asks worriedly, sensing that something is being kept from her by the former Arrancar and the human teen.

The young human woman begins shaking her head violently back and forth, even as Tia places a comforting hand on the Healer's back and hands her a wet towel to wipe her tears and mouth. Apacci quietly takes away the wastebasket to be emptied.

"Yoruichi…" Ichigo suddenly calls out to his Bankai mentor, surprising everyone.

The were-cat immediately gestures for everyone else to stay back, before moving towards Ichigo as he lays under the orange dome of healing. Squatting down until her head is as close to his as possible, she listens silently to what the young man says for her ears alone. Once he has finished speaking, Yoruichi slowly jerks to her feet and walks away so no one can see her face contorting with misery and rage-driven hatred. With a snarl, her fist easily punches through the wall she has targeted for her abuse, and she hangs her head down in grief. Behind her, Yūshirō motions with her hand to keep anyone from interfering.

"Ruby, I want the Headmaster here tomorrow. Call him." The former Captain's death filled voice says as she harshly tosses the witch a phone. "I mean it Ruby, tomorrow his ass better be at Kisuke's."

As the witch acknowledges the order, they suddenly hear a loud and boisterous male voice begin yelling from the front of the house. "Tia! Tia is that you? I knew it was you when you came home through the Garganta!"

Everyone just stares as a large dark-haired man wearing black clothing and a torn white haori rushes into the room and pulls up suddenly when he sets his eyes on the young male on the couch, the smile evaporating from his grinning face. "Ichigo? Ichigo, what in the seven hells…"

Isshin's hands tighten into fists as he stands over his son's sliced-up body, Orihime's distress causing her shield to waver in place before she can restabilize it.

However, Ichigo's eyes weakly turn towards the two younger girls who had unwittingly followed his father into the house. His eyes widening in shock at first before giving way to fury and sorrow, Ichigo looks up at his father with a lost expression.

"What the fuck am I Tou-chan? And why are they wearing Shihakushō?"

XXXX

The blonde-haired Monstrel frowns as he surveys the ruined tunnel system leading towards the faux throne room of the Succubus Queen. He had arrived hoping to collect the blonde-haired bitch already chained up and waiting for transport after he informed the Queen of the Masked King's desires. The ancient hand-cuffs, he had been informed would render the mysterious blonde powerless, had been given to Kiana as payment and to aide in the capture of the blonde for her promise to side with Fairy Tail once the war against humanity broke out. Now, he finds nothing living, not even bone or blood remain behind in the scorched tunnels. He also had to wait for his turn to search after sensing rather than seeing several very powerful beings moving around the tunnels. For three hours the unknown beings stayed in the area, until just as suddenly as they appeared, they vanished through some means he could not decipher.

Doing on last scan of the court room, he finds nothing of value or use. Turning in place, he grimaces as he ponders what his punishment will be for failing a second time.

"Oh well, at least the game is getting interesting."

XXXX

AN: Not much to say, except it has been too long since I wrote for this story. Currently I am working on Darkness Yielding, The Returned and haphazardly for Destiny's Path. Once those are done, I will be working on Waters of Life, maybe the Lost King and definitely Naberius Heir after that. I might add 1 or 2 more chapters to A Ripple in the Pattern here and there as well. So, hopefully we will see you soon with new chapters.

Liam and regfurby.

XXXX

Response to Reviews Corner Two:

To Something Ancient and Fifth Horseman, you both gave sound arguments for your reviews and I respect them both. However, I have always said canon is optional for me: change, twist or outright discard to make a story work is my belief. With that said, I have always envisioned his return because I honestly like the guy, that and one story in particular made me see it could work. I hope you understand my reasoning.

Everyone else, I thank you for well wishes from the last time I let you guys and gals know what was going on. We are still fighting with the insurance companies even now. One day it might really, really be over with.

Liam_G

Translations List

Honorifics

-san (さん) : Used to address people with a generic level of respect (equivalent to Mr/Mrs/Ms)

-sama (様) : Used to address people with a higher level of respect (equivalent to Master/Madam)

-chan (ちゃん) : Used to address people with familiarity (usually females)

-kun (君) : Used to address people with familiarity (usually males)

-dono (どの): Used to address people with great respect (equivalent to Lord/Lady)

-ue (上) : Used to address one's parents with great respect

Addressing people by their family name without honorifics can be seen as disrespectful.

Addressing people by their given name without honorifics implies a high degree of familiarity.

People may not always use the same honorific when addressing the same person; it depends on the situation and what they are feeling at the moment.

Special

-tachi (たち) : Used as a suffix to refer to a group

Family Titles

Chichi (父) / Otō (お父) : Father, usually addressed as Chichi-ue or Otō-san/sama (also written as Otou)

Haha (母) / Okā (お母) : Mother, usually addressed as Haha-ue or Okā-san/sama (also written as Okaa)

Ani (兄) / Onī (お兄) : Older Brother, usually addressed as Aniki or Onī-san/sama (also written as Onii)

Ane (姉) / Onē (お姉) : Older Sister, usually addressed as Aneki or Onē-san/sama (also written as Onee)

Otōto (弟) : Younger Brother, usually addressed as Otōto-san/chan (also written as Otouto)

Imōto (妹) : Younger Sister, usually addressed as Imōto-chan (also written as Imouto)

Sofu (祖父) / Ojī (お爺) : Grandfather, usually addressed as Ojī-san/sama (also written as Ojii)

Sobo (祖母) / Obā (お婆) : Grandmother, usually addressed as Obā-san/sama (also written as Obaa)

Oji (叔父) : Uncle, usually addressed as Oji-san (not to be mistaken with Grandfather/Ojī-san)

Oba (叔母): Aunt, usually addressed as Oba-san (not to be mistaken with Grandmother/Obā-san)

Itoko (いとこ) : Cousin (can be written with different Kanji depending on age, gender and which side of the family they come from)

Oi (甥) : Nephew

Mei (姪) : Niece

Kyōfu (教父) : Godfather, usually addressed as Kyōfu-san/sama

Kyōbo (教母) : Godmother, usually addressed as Kyōbo-san/sama

Ōoji (大叔父) : Great-Uncle, usually addressed as Ōoji-san

Ōoba (大叔母) : Great-Aunt, usually addressed as Ōoba-san

Sōsofu (曽祖父) : Great-Grandfather, usually addressed as Sōsofu-sama

Sōsobo (曽祖母) : Great-Grandmother, usually addressed as Sōsobo-sama

Relations

Otto (夫) / Goshujin (ご主人) : Husband, usually addressed as Goshujin-san/sama

Tsuma (妻) / Oku (奥) : Wife, usually addressed as Oku-san

Musuko (息子) : Son, usually addressed as Musuko-san

Musume (娘) : Daughter, usually addressed as Musume-san

Magomusuko (孫息子) : Grandson

Magomusume (孫娘) : Granddaughter

Sofubo (祖父母) : Grandparents

Ryōshin (両親) : Parents (also written as Ryoushin)

Fūfu (夫婦) : Married Couple

Kyōdai (兄弟) : Brothers (can also refer to Siblings in general)

Shimai (姉妹) : Sisters

Itoko (いとこ) : Cousins

Kodomo (子供) : Children

Mago (孫) : Grandchildren

Kazoku (家族) : Family

Shinseki (親戚) : Relatives

Nakama (仲間) : Comrades

Tomodachi (友達) : Friends

Senpai (先輩) : Senior (also written as Sempai, can be used as a suffix '-senpai')

Kōhai (後輩) : Junior (also written as Kouhai, can be used as a suffix '-kouhai')

Sensei (先生) : Teacher, Doctor, Respected Person

Deshi (弟子) : Student, Apprentice

Informal

Tō-chan (父ちゃん) : Dad (also written as Tou-chan)

Kā-chan (父ちゃん) : Mom (also written as Kaa-chan)

Nī-chan (父ちゃん) : Big Bro (also written as Nii-chan)

Nē-chan (父ちゃん) : Big Sis (also written as Nee-chan)

Jī-chan (父ちゃん) : Gramps (also written as Jii-chan)

Bā-chan (父ちゃん) : Granny (also written as Baa-chan)

Disrespectful

Oyaji (親父) : Old Man

Jiji (爺) : Old Geezer

Baba (婆) : Old Crone

Bō (ぼう) / Bōzu (ぼうず) : Boy (also written as 'bou/bouzu', can be used as a suffix '-bou/bouzu')

Boya (ボヤ) : Boy (literal translation, used as a suffix '-boya')

Insulting

Teme (てめ) : Jerk, Bastard etc. (can be used as a suffix '-teme')

Dobe (どべ) : Dumbass, Moron etc. (lit. Dead Last)

Baka (バカ) : Stupid

Hentai (変態) : Pervert

Chibi (チビ) : Midget, Runt

Gaki (ガキ) : Brat (can be used as a suffix '-gaki')

Speech

Yare Yare (やれやれ) : My my (exasperation)

Ara Ara (あらあら) : My my (surprise)

Maa Maa (まあまあ) : There there (comforting / calming down)

Moshi Moshi (もしもし) : Hello (greeting over a phone)

Hai (はい) : Yes

Ano (あの) : Umm...

Are (あれ) : Huh?

Yosh (よし) : Alright! (excited)

Yosh yosh (よしよし) : Good good (approval)

Itadakimasu (いただきます) : Let's eat (appreciative)

Gochisousama deshita (御馳走様でした) : Thank you for the feast (appreciative)

Arigatō Gozaimasu (ありがとうございます) : Thank you very much

Dōitashimashite (どういたしまして) : You're welcome

Ohayō (お早う) : Good morning

Konnichiwa (今日は) : Hello/Good day

Konbanwa (こんばんは) : Good evening

Nicknames

Geta-Bōshi (ゲタ帽子) : Hat-and-Clogs (refers to Kisuke's choice of clothing)

Yagi-Ago (山羊顎) : Goat-chin (refers to Isshin's scruffy beard)

Ichigo (苺) : Strawberry (a play on Ichigo's given name)

Ichi (一) : Shortform for Ichigo (一護)

Tats (竜) : Shortform for Tatsuki (also written as Tatsu)

Suki (好き) : Shortform for Tatsuki (also means to Like)

Hime (姫) : Shortform for Orihime (also means Princess)

Yori (ヨリ) : Shortform for Yoruichi

Nicknames

Bōgu (防具) / Kendōgu (剣道具) : Kendo Armor/Equipment

Men (面) : Face Mask and Shoulder Protectors

Kote (小手) : Hand and Forearm Protectors

Do (胴) : Torso Protector

Tare (垂れ) : Groin and Leg Protectors

Sune-ate (脛当て) : Shin Protectors

Bokken (木剣) / Bokutō (木刀) : Wooden Sword

Shinai (竹刀) : Bamboo Sword

Keikogi (稽古着) : Upper garments

Hakama (袴) : Lower garments

Soul Society

Sōtaichō (総隊長) : Head Captain (also written as Soutaichou)

Taichō (隊長) : Captain (also written as Taichou)

Fuku-Taichō (副隊長) : Vice-Captain / Lieutenant (also written as Fukutaichou)

Kidō (鬼道) : Way of the Demon, the Shinigami Spiritual Arts (also written as Kidou)

Hadō (破道) : Way of Destruction, Spiritual Arts focusing on attack (also written as Hadou)

Bakudō (縛道) : Way of Binding, Spiritual Arts focusing on capture (also written as Bakudou)

Kaidō (回道) : Way of Returning, Spiritual Arts focusing on healing (also written as Kaidou)

Locations

Seireitei (瀞霊廷) : Court of Pure Souls, the Inner District of Soul Society

Rukongai (流魂街) : Wandering Soul City, the Outer Districts of Soul Society

Dangai (断界) : Precipice World, a Dimensional Corridor linking Soul Society to the Human World

Daireishokairō (大霊書回廊) : Great Spirit Book Gallery, the Repository containing all the Knowledge and History of Soul Society

Shinōreijutsuin (真央霊術院) : Spiritual Arts Academy

Urahara Shouten (蒲原商店) : Urahara's Shop, owned by Urahara Kisuke

Rosario Vampire

Yōkai (妖怪) : Monsters (also written as Youkai)

Daiyōkai (大妖怪) : Greater Monsters (also written as Daiyoukai)

Yōki (妖気) : Demonic Energy (also written as Youki)

Yōkai Gakuen (妖怪学園) / (陽海学園) : Monster Academy (also written under the fake name of Living Sea Academy)