It shouldn't have been there. It couldn't have been there. But there it was: a hole in the Shakonmaku, the barrier that had defended the Seireitei for millennia.

The Gotei 13 was in a panic, and search parties were being organized to locate whatever had caused the hole. Surprisingly, it was the highest ranking members that made no move at all, because they recognized the reiatsu emanating from the hole. And in each and every one of them, they felt confusion and dread unlike any of them had felt before.

-Karakura Town-

It was nighttime when the two hell butterflies fluttered through Kurosaki Ichigo's bedroom. Ichigo was already at the window, having felt their reiatsu from miles away.

"Rukia! Renji! What's wrong?" Ichigo asked as the butterflies turned into his two shinigami friends.

"There's…a problem," Rukia stammered, which alerted Ichigo that something was very, very wrong. Rukia never stammered.

"A hole's opened up in the Shakonmaku, and we identified the perpetrator," Renji said, averting his eyes.

"What? Someone dangerous? I'll help you take care of him!" Ichigo assured his friends.

Rukia and Renji looked at each other for a long time, before Renji sighed and mustered the strength to break the news.

"It's a her, not a him, Ichigo. The reiatsu has been identified as Orihime Inoue's."

It took a while for the news to sink in.

"…What?" Ichigo whispered.

"Urahura came to investigate earlier, and confirmed that the reiatsu is indeed Inoue's. Remember when you first broke into the Seireitei through the Spirit Orb with Chad, Uryū, and Inoue, and you guys had to use your reiatsu to control it? Some of Inoue's power must have remained in the Shakonmaku. After lying dormant, her power started activating, and now it's reverting the Shakonmaku to nonexistence, to a time when it didn't exist."

"But that's impossible! How can mere reiatsu act like that?" Ichigo demanded.

"The thing is…as you know, her power, or fullbring, originates from a hollow. I don't think the power would react very well with a shinigami-designed barrier."

"Then just get rid of it! Why has nobody done anything?"

"We're unable to. No power exists in Soul Society that can erase reiatsu."

Ichigo sank into his bed. "Then what can we do?"

At this, both Rukia and Renji went silent. Ichigo looked up. "What?"

Still, neither of them replied. Ichigo became alarmed. "What is it? Rukia!"

With a pained expression, Rukia barely managed to answer. "The Central 46 have determined that the only way to get rid of the reiatsu is…to extinguish its owner."

There was a moment of dead silence, and then Ichigo yelled, "What the hell is wrong with you guys! You want to kill Inoue over something like this?!"

"We have no choice, Ichigo!" Renji yelled back. "Even now, hollows are streaming into the Seireitei, and there have been numerous casualties! If the hole gets any bigger, we'll have Menos Grande to deal with!"

"Is there no other way? How can you decide on something like that without thinking about other methods?"

"We already have! You think we don't care about her? We risked our lives alongside yours to get her out of Hueco Mundo!" Renji shouted.

"Enough," Rukia said softly. "I'm sorry, Ichigo. We have no choice."

"Well, you're going to have to get past me first!" Ichigo declared as he slipped out of his body with his substitute shinigami badge. He drew his Zanpakuto and glared at them.

"We have already anticipated your reaction, Kurosaki Ichigo," a gruff voice announced behind Ichigo.

Ichigo spun around to face an image of Captain Commander Genryūsai Yamamoto floating above a projection device.

"I truly regret how things have turned out, but we cannot continue to lose lives for the sake of one. You will either step aside, or go to war with the entirety of the Gotei 13," Genryūsai stated.

Ichigo and the Captain Commander stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds. Then, Ichigo closed his eyes and huffed. "You already know my answer, don't you, Commander? After all, you were there when I invaded Soul Society just to save Rukia."

Captain Genryūsai bowed his head. "Is that your final decision, Kurosaki Ichigo?"

"Yes. Even if I'm up against the world, I will not let anyone touch my friends."

"Very well, then. Soul Society hereby declares war against Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo. We will not underestimate you like we did in our last engagement."

The image blinked out, leaving the room in darkness.