It was currently morning, and the Kurosaki residence was lively as per usual.
Isshin was tending to some injured or sick patients in the clinic, Karin was getting ready for Football practice and Yuzu was busy preparing breakfast. All in all, it was a regular Saturday morning.
Except there was one thing out of the ordinary, Kurosaki Ichigo was up in his room, currently being scolded by his new Zanpakutō.
"Ichigo, last night I finally managed to finish sifting through all your memories and I was really disappointed to find out that you're a brainless brute!" Sayafushi scolded with a stern look. This caused Ichigo to hang his head in shame.
"I can explain! Zangetsu was meant to be wielded like that!" Ichigo tried to defend himself, but Sayafushi was having none of it.
"Ichigo, you must have noticed this, but your Inner Hollow wielded Zangetsu a lot differently then you did, am I wrong?" Sayafushi paused to get a response from the orange haired teen.
"Yeah, now that you mention it, he did," Ichigo answered, he placed a curled finger on his chin as he thought back to the time when he had fought him.
"That was how Zangetsu was truly meant to be used," Sayafushi stated, gently placing her hands on her hips.
Noticing Ichigo looking rather guilty of his actions, Sayafushi walked up to him and placed a hand on his cheek "Ichigo, I am only trying to help you by pointing out your weaknesses, there's no shame in accepting them, as long as you work hard to improve yourself."
"Yeah, I know…" Ichigo replied in understanding, his eyes lighting up with a fiery resolve once more.
"Oh, and by the way Ichigo, I won't allow you to use brute strength when wielding me, okay?" Sayafushi held a sweet smile, but Ichigo knew for a fact that he'd be in serious trouble if he didn't do what she said.
"So what are we going to be doing today?" Ichigo asked curiously, deciding to change topic.
"Today we shall be focusing on your Reiatsu control, awareness and if you managed to finish the exercises I give you for those two, a few low level Bakudō and Hadō spells," The ivory coloured Zanpakutō listed off. Seeing Ichigo flinch slightly at the mention of Reiatsu control, Sayafushi could only sigh. "Ichigo, if your Reiatsu is left unchecked you could possibly turn this entire country into spiritually aware beings,"
"What, how?!" Ichigo gaped, not having known about this disastrous side effect.
"The giant never-ending flow of Reiatsu you emit is slowly turning other people around you into spiritually aware humans, just think of it like it's radiation," Sayafushi explained.
"Okay, okay, I get it," Ichigo conceded, his shoulder's sagging in defeat. "I definitely don't want anyone I know getting involved with the Soul Society or getting attacked by Hollows, so I'll try my best,"
"Good," Sayafushi simply stated as a small white sofa appeared next to her, she took a seat and began speaking once more. "Now, I want you to take the same position you do when you're performing Jinzen, just like how I showed you earlier," She instructed.
Ichigo did as he was instructed, taking the meditative pose on the crystal building they were on.
"Next, I want you to imagine a small bubble, one about the size of…Hmm, a Melon," She motioned the size with her hands in the air. Ichigo simply nodded and began focusing. "Now I want you to locate the source of your Reiatsu, once you've done that, tell me,"
Ichigo muted out all external noises, trying to sift through the enormous sea that was his Reiatsu. "This is way harder than it sounds," Ichigo thought to himself, a few beads of sweat appearing on his face. After about thirty minutes of searching, Ichigo finally managed to locate the source of his Reiatsu.
"Alright, what next?" Ichigo was panting heavily and sweat was dripping from his chin, clearly exhausted from the mentally strenuous task.
"Next, I want you to put all of that Reiatsu into that bubble you imagined before," Sayafushi simply explained, fixing her position in her seat as she did.
"All of it, into that tiny bubble?!" Ichigo gaped in utter horror. "How am I supposed to do that?!"
"I can't give you all the answers now can I Ichigo," She replied, getting up from her seated position and moving towards Ichigo. "But I can give you a hint, Instead of pouring the Reiatsu into the bubble why not put the bubble around your Reiatsu?" Sayafushi explained cryptically, tracing a small circle at the centre of Ichigo's chest causing Ichigo to blush at the contact.
Ichigo grunted and focused his mind once more. He imagined a bubble and located the source of his Reiatsu once again. Ichigo noted he found it a lot quicker, near instantly this time.
Heeding Sayafushi's words, Ichigo imagined a bubble around the epicentre of his Reiatsu, but as soon as he did, it instantly burst causing his eyes to snap out in recoil.
"What the hell happened there?" Ichigo thought to himself. Ichigo tried once more to form a bubble around the source of his Reiatsu, but once again the exact same thing happened. "Okay, I'm definitely doing something wrong, but what? Every time I create a bubble around the point where my Reiatsu is created, it fills up way to quickly and I can't be keep the expansion rate of the bubble up." Ichigo paused for a moment, thinking over what he could be doing wrong, he then thought back to Sayafushi's words.
"Instead of pouring your Reiatsu into the bubble, why not put the bubble around your Reiatsu?" Ichigo repeated inside his head. "What could she have meant by that…Wait…I think I got it!"
Ichigo tried once more but this time, instead of imagining a bubble, he used his entire body as the bubble itself. He had to grasp out at the Reiatsu that was overflowing from his body and guide it back into himself, consciously making sure that none of it leaked out. This was a lot harder than it seemed, he had to differentiate his own Reiatsu from Sayafushi's, carefully separating his from hers.
After about an hour or so, ichigo had finally managed to draw nearly all of his Reiatsu back inside his body, there was a tiny bit leaking out, but Ichigo knew with some more hard work, he would be able to completely hide his presence.
"Well done Ichigo, it seems like you understand what I meant," Sayafushi praised, a proud smile gracing her lips.
"Yeah, instead of using a mental imagine of a bubble to contain my Reiatsu, I just had to use my body as the bubble instead," Ichigo reiterated, wiping the sweat of his brow.
"I knew you could do it," Sayafushi praised once more in a pleased tone, causing Ichigo to smile a little in satisfaction.
"Okay, so what's next, Reiatsu awareness?" Ichigo questioned, getting up from his seated position.
"Well I would say yes, but you have already managed to do it," The white clad Zanpakutō simply answered.
"Huh?" Was ichigo's intelligent response.
"When you were trying to draw your Reiatsu back into your body you had to consciously feel for it didn't you?" She explained. Ichigo simply nodded in response. "So from now I want you to spend as much time as you can consciously feeling other people's Reiatsu signatures, this will help you improve your own control of your Reiatsu and your awareness at the same time."
"Okay, got it,"
"Now, onto the fun part, Bakudō and Hadō," Sayafushi smiled when Ichigo seemed to perk up at the mention of that. "You're just like a child," She laughed softly, whilst using her Kimono sleeves to cover her mouth.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Ichigo asked, his face having already gone bright red.
"Oh nothing really," She replied with a knowing smile. Ichigo just grumbled something about stupid Zanpakutōs in response.
"Anyway, what am I going to learn first, Hadō or Bakudō?" Ichigo asked trying to get back on topic.
"Bakudō of course," Sayafushi simply answered.
"Isn't Bakudō a lot harder than Hadō, for someone like me?" Ichigo gulped.
"It is, and that is precisely why we are doing it first," She explained.
"I don't get it, how does starting of harder help me in this situation?" The Substitute Shinigami asked confusedly.
"If you start of learning the more intricate and more Reiatsu control demanding Bakudō spells, Hadō will become extremely easy for you to do," Ichigo could only nod at her logic, it's not like she was going to take no for an answer anyway. "We shall be starting off with the simplest of all Bakudō spells, Bakudō No Ichi: Sai."
"How do I do it?" Ichigo remembered back to the time when he had first met Rukia, how she had used this exact same Bakudō to bind his arms behind his back.
"Just guide your Reiryōku through to your finger tips and say the Bakudō's name," She simply explained motioning to her own hand as she did.
Not wanting to waste anytime Ichigo immediately funnel his Reiryōku into his fingertips, he then felt a slight tingling sensation indicating he had the sufficient amount of Reiatsu to perform the spell.
"Bakudō No Ichi: Sai!" Ichigo yelled. Almost instantly Sayafushi's arms snapped behind her back and become utterly useless.
"Well done Ichigo, you managed to cast it on the first try, it may be the lowest level Bakudō, but for someone who has just started training in Reiatsu control, it's the quite the feat," Sayafushi praised. Ichigo could only blush slightly in response.
"Nah, it was just dumb luck," Ichigo responded, scratching the back of his head as he did.
"Okay, let's move onto a slightly harder Bakudō shall we?" Sayafushi stated, clasping her hands together, having already broken out of Ichigo's Bakudō with ease. Ichigo simply nodded his head, letting Sayafushi continue. "Bakudō No Yōn: Hainawa." Sayafushi demonstrated the use of the spell as she elegantly brought her hand up, pointing a finger at Ichigo, before firing the spell directly at him.
A smooth yellow rope shot its way towards the teen, rapping tightly around his arms, completely voiding his upper body movement. "So, I'm guessing Hainawa is just an enhanced version of Sai?" Ichigo questioned, struggling to break out of the yellow bindings.
"Yes, Sai restricts just the movement of the arms with force, but Hainawa, creates a physical construct which is considerably sturdier, though it doesn't stop the flow of Reiatsu that normally comes out of a Shinigami's wrists, therefore it can be overpowered within enough exertion from bounded individuals Reiatsu." Sayafushi explained in detail.
"Does this method work with most Bakudō?" Ichigo asked, curious to know just in case he got caught in one himself.
"Most of them yes, but some require massive amounts of physical and spiritual effort to break, such as Bakudō No Rōkujuusan: Sajō Sabaku and one of the forbidden Bakudō known as Bakudō Kyujuukyu: Bankin," She explained, happy that Ichigo was getting involved and asking questions.
Ichigo then exerted as much Reiatsu as he could trying to test if it worked, instantly the golden ropes that had ensnared his arms disintegrated into invisible spirit particles."I'll definitely have to keep that in mind," Ichigo said, rubbing the soreness out of his wrists as he did.
Ichigo then spent the rest of the day practicing his Bakudō under Sayafushi's tutelage, he had gotten down quite a few low level spells down without a hitch, but once it came to Bakudō of the forties number, Ichigo started to struggle. He mainly had trouble with Bakudō No Yonjuuyon: Sekishō.
With his current lacklustre control of Reiatsu, Ichigo found it difficult to form the barrier-like Bakudō. Though when he was able to maintain the barrier, it didn't last too long, shattering instantly on contact.
Sayafushi assured him that with time, practice and patience, he would be able to pull it off effortlessly. Ichigo took her words to heart and kept at it until he had become too exhausted to even move.
"You did really well today Ichigo, I'm really proud of you," Sayafushi praised stroking his hair gently, his head resting on her lap. "I don't think any Shinigami has ever learnt forty-four Bakudō spells in one day,"
"Well, they didn't have an awesome teacher like I have now did they?" Ichigo replied, smirking slightly. Sayafushi simply smiled at the praise he showered her with.
"Since you've worked so hard today, tomorrow, I'll let you rest for the day," Ichigo nodded and then he blinked, suddenly realizing something.
"Sayafushi, can you tell what time it is right now?" Ichigo asked suddenly.
"Hmm, I think it's about ten o' clock or so," She answered having quickly checked through Ichigo's material body's eyes. Ichigo gaped at that.
"Damn! I haven't told Dad about what I was planning to do today, Yuzu and Karin are probably really worried," Ichigo cursed out loud, bolting up to an upright position. "I need to go and check on them," With that Ichigo dissipated out of his Inner World.
Ichigo's eyes snapped out, accommodating themselves once more to the sight of the material world. Ichigo noted he was feeling extremely hungry. "I guess doing none stop training will make any guy hungry…" Ichigo grumbled pushing the cries of his stomach to the back of his mind.
Instantly Ichigo could sense exactly where everyone in the house was, he could even sense a few people walking by outside. It was a rather weird sensation, going from being able to barely sense something two metres in front of him to being able to perfectly focus and hone in on people on the other side of the street from his room.
Ichigo climbed down the flight of stairs and made his way to the living room where his father was watching some T.V.
"You know, Yuzu and Karin were pretty worried about you, it took a whole lot of convincing to tell them you were alright," Came Isshin's voice, who simply kept watching T.V without turning around. "Yuzu more so then Karin."
"I figured as much…" Ichigo replied, running a hand through his hair whilst sighing. "I'm guessing they've already gone to bed?"
"Yeah," Was his father's simple reply. A moment of awkward silence encompassed them both.
"Look, I'm sorry ok? I just forgot to tell you guys what I'd be doing today," Ichigo explained, noticing his father was acting serious for a change. Isshin got up and made his way towards his son, a stern looking plastered on his face.
"Ichigo my boy, you don't have to tell your old man everything you do anymore, you're not a kid, you're a grown man, and I know that more than anyone." Isshin stated placing a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "Just make sure not to overdo it ok?"
"Yeah, yeah I get it," Ichigo replied with a faux annoyed look, but in actuality he was happy he had, had this little heart to heart with his dad, it was quite refreshing.
"And Ichigo, remember…TOO MUCH MASTURBATION WILL MAKE YOU GO BLIND!" He roared, pumping his fists into the air as he did.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU CRAZY, PERVERTED OLD FART!" Ichigo began pummelling his father into the living room floor, relentlessly beating him to a bloody pulp.
After ichigo had beaten his dad to the brink of death, Ichigo quickly ate some food and made his way back upstairs to check on his two sisters. He silently tip-toed to each of their rooms, peering through the door as he did.
"They both seem alright, I'll have to apologize to them tomorrow," Ichigo thought to himself, still feeling rather guilty.
Ichigo quietly slipped back into his room and made his way towards his bed, getting ready for a good night's rest. "Today was absolutely hectic, who knew learning Reiatsu control, manipulation and Kidō would be so challenging," Ichigo groaned out mentally as he slipped into the comforting embrace of his duvet covers.
"Remember Ichigo, you shall soon have to learn my techniques as well," Sayafushi reminded him form the confines of his Inner World.
"Damn, I almost forgot about that," Ichigo remembered. "Sayafushi I thought you were a pure melee type Zanpakutō," Ichigo questioned through their mental link.
"Though I am considered that, I have quite the arsenal of potent short, medium and long ranged techniques," She answered with a hint of pride.
"So how about, instead of me taking tomorrow off, I start learning those techniques of yours?" Ichigo suggested, rolling over to the cold side of his bed.
"Are you sure Ichigo? I wouldn't want you to overwork yourself," She responded with a worried tone.
"It's fine Saya, I've had a lot harder training in the past," Ichigo simply stated.
"Oh? It sounds like you're saying my training is too easy for you," The white Zanpakutō quipped making Ichigo gulp out of fear. "Maybe I should make it more challenging?" Her tone was sweet, a little too sweet for Ichigo's liking.
"No I didn't mean it like that! I swear!" Ichigo yelled out, fearing for his life. Sayafushi simply laughed lightly at his expense causing Ichigo to grumble something unintelligible in response, finally realizing she had been joking.
Ichigo spent the next day training away once more, Sayafushi had taught him a few more Bakudō spells and had told him that they would be soon moving onto Hadō, but only once he had fully mastered a single Bakudō and could utilize it without an incantation
Currently what Ichigo could manage was the most bare bones structure of a Bakudō, one that would buy him a few seconds in actual combat. He needed a lot more training to be able to properly seal people for extended periods of time.
The Substitute Shinigami had also been sparring with Sayafushi, she had insisted he learn how to wield her properly. Though they did have to use materialized Bōkkens to spar, otherwise they would run this risk of slicing each other to bits.
The style Sayafushi was teaching him seemed extremely bizarre to Ichigo. It fully focused on fluid motions that quickly transitioned themselves into the next. Each movement he was taught was very situational.
Ichigo, having been a fighter who solely relied on instinct, brute force and speed, had found it very uncomfortable at first, but he was slowly picking things up bit by bit the more they sparred.
Sayafushi had explained to him that she could only give him the ground works for his fighting style, he would have to make it his own through constant practice and proper combat.
"I~chi~ go~!" Came the enthusiastic, over the top cry of Keigo as he ran down the hall way of Karakura High.
"Get lost Keigo, I don't feel like putting up with you today," Ichigo sidestepped the brown haired boy, letting him to crash into the wall behind him.
"Mizuro, Ichigo's being really cold with me! What should I do?!" Keigo cried, turning to the black haired boy who was his supposed friend.
"Isn't that how everyone treats you?" He simply replied, heading towards his own classroom, completely blanking him.
"Yo," Ichigo greeted his three spiritually aware friends.
"Morning."
"Good morning Kurosaki-kun!"
"Kurosaki, I noticed I could barely sense any Reiatsu emanating from you, is this due to the fact you no longer possess a Zanpakutō?" Uryu bluntly asked, not wanting to waste time with idle chatter.
"Oh? The mighty "Last Quincy" can't detect my Reiatsu? Isn't this a surprise," Ichigo mocked with a wide grin, causing Uryu to simply push his glasses up and walk away highly annoyed. "I think I offended him somehow." Ichigo snickered through his teeth.
Orihime and Chad simply sweat dropped at the rivals' antics, knowing this was how they usually treated each other.
"What's this?! Beauty, Beast and the glasses?! Then did this combo happen?! Keigo cried, feeling completely left out.
Ichigo sat down in his usual seat, completely ignoring Keigo's antics, instead he began drowning out all the sound in his classroom, closing his eyes and tightening his focus. Ichigo began slowly using his Reiatsu to feel his way through the classroom, identifying each individual.
Sayafushi had taught him this little exercise, saying it would help him gain far better control over his Reiatsu whilst improving his sensory capabilities.
Suddenly, a ginormous pressure washed over the entirety of Karakura. Ichigo having been in a state of complete focus, physically recoiled at its presence.
The orange haired teen quickly looked over to his spiritually aware comrades, noting each one of them had noticed the influx of unknown Reiatsu.
"Sensei, I'm going to go to the bathroom!" Ichigo didn't even give his teacher chance to respond as he dashed straight out the door without looking back. He quickly took out Kon's soul pill, before throwing it into his mouth.
"Kon, I need you to go home, and stay there, this is serious, got it?" Ichigo's tone left no room for argument, Kon nodded before he dashed off to the Kurosaki residence using his enhanced leg strength.
Without even focusing, Ichigo was immediately able to tell exactly where the Reiatsu signature was emanating from. "The park?" Ichigo questioned, leaping from building to building. He soon noticed two white clad figures standing near the centre of the Karakura Town Park.
Without wasting anytime, Ichigo gripped Sayafushi's sealed forme tightly in his hand and Shunpō'd down to a spot just a few feet in front of them.
"Yo, is this the guy, Ulquiorra?"
"Yes, It seems he's done us the favour of coming directly to us," Ulquiorra Cipher replied evenly, causing Yammy to let out a toothy grin.
"Who the hell are you guys?" Ichigo questioned, fixing his stance.
"We're Espada, Aizen-sama's most elite group of Arrancar," Ulquiorra answered stoically, analysing Ichigo.
"Yeah, we're also here to kick your ass!" Yammy declared as he charged forward, his arm already flying forward ready to pulverize anything in its way.
"Hah! Keep dreamin' ugly!" Ichigo shot back easily back flipping away from the giant's fist.
"Quit squirming around, you fuckin' ant!" Yammy roared, he then soon noticed something very wrong. His entire left arm was missing. Yammy let out a bellowing roar of pain, falling to a knee as he did. "You little shit! I'll fuckin' murder you!" The ogre like Arrancar stood back up and began his reckless assault once more.
Ichigo fluidly dodged every attack that came his way, weaving in and out of the giant's sloppy punches, infuriating Yammy even further.
The tan skinned Hollow began charging a Cero in between his jaws, trying to kill Ichigo with sheer destructive force. "Die!" Yammy roared, unleashing the crimson attack.
Ichigo simply Shunpō'd out the way. Not letting his opponent recover, Ichigo channelled some Reiryōku to the tips of his fingers before chanting-
"Bakudō No Yōn: Hainawa!" The static like yellow ropes stopped the hulking Arrancar in his tracks, giving Ichigo enough time to stab him cleanly in the gut.
"You fuckin' Ant!" Yammy roared, using Sonidō to get to a safe distance. "Now you've done it! I'm really fuckin' pissed now!" Yammy began reaching for his Zanpakutō but before he could he was violently punched in the stomach curtesy of Ulquiorra. "W-what the hell are you doin', Ulquiorra?!" Yammy bellowed at the short male man, as he reeled in pain.
"Unless you have a death wish, you shall back off here, Yammy," Ulquiorra simply stated. This enraged Yammy even further.
"Why the hell should I back off from this shitty orange bastard?!" Yammy angrily snapped back.
"If you ever bothered to gauge your opponent's strength, you'd have seen how he clearly outclasses you, he hasn't even released his Shikai yet," Ulquiorra chided, clearly annoyed at Yammy's incompetence. "It seems that you are far stronger then Aizen-sama mentioned in the briefing, I will have to assess you myself." Ulquiorra stated, turning his attention back to the Substitute Shinigami.
Before Ichigo could respond to the green-eyed Arrancar, he felt a cold hand connect with his back, instantly sending him rocketing through the empty park. "What the hell, he's so fast!" Ichigo cursed mentally, righting himself in mid-air before digging his feet into the ground to dissipate his momentum. "Seems like I'm going to have to step it up against this guy,"
"Sever the Heavens, Sayafushi!" Ichigo proclaimed, raising his Zanpakutō as he did, allowing Sayafushi to take on the trademark characteristics of her Shikai.
"I do not believe that was what Aizen described your Zanpakutō as, it even has a different name, how strange," The paled Arrancar commented, slightly intrigued by what he had just seen.
Ichigo didn't reply, he simply changed his posture, preparing himself for any attack.
Ulquiorra noticing that Ichigo wasn't taking any offensive means, deciding to initiate the confrontation himself. Using Sonidō, Ulquiorra appeared behind Ichigo once more, ready to beat him down like he had just done. This time, Ichigo was completely ready, he spun around on his heel, sword in hand ready to cut off the top half of Ulquiorra's body.
The black haired Arrancar brought his hand up to deflect an attack which should have bounced off harmlessly due to his incredibly sturdy Hierro. But to his mild shock, the obsidian blade sliced right through his hand as if it weren't even there.
Before Ulquiorra lost anymore body parts, he quickly smashed his heel into Ichigo's gut, sending him flying across the grass once more.
"How peculiar, you managed to slice right through my Hierro, even though my Reiatsu is significantly higher of level than yours," Ulquiorra examined the injury he had just sustained and with a quick application of Reiatsu, his hand regenerated within seconds. "But if this is all you're capable of, then you're of no concern to Aizen-sama," He finished, flexing his new hand as he did.
"Oh yeah? I guess I'll have to start getting serious!" Ichigo yelled, getting up from where he had landed, slightly out of breath. He charged straight at Ulquiorra, bringing Sayafushi up with both arms he slashed vertically downwards, wanting to slice Ulquiorra right down the middle.
"Such simple movements," Was all Ulquiorra said before blasting off to the right in a static boom of Sonidō. Whilst still moving, Ulquiorra lifted his pale index finger, aiming it carefully at Ichigo, before uttering-
"Cero"
A colossal wave of green erupted from Ulquiorra's finger, relentlessly making its way towards Ichigo.
Immediately panicking, Ichigo was about to try and dodge the oncoming attack but stopped when he heard Sayafushi's voice.
"Ichigo, do not run! A simple attack like this should be easy for you to deal with," Sayafushi chided from within his Inner World.
"Yeah, you're right!" Ichigo suddenly realized how to deal with such an attack. He could feel his soul screaming it out to him, as if berating him for not using it earlier.
Ichigo readied himself, steeling his body and mind to take on the onslaught of green energy. He then uttered…
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
A bright, super condensed, thin streak of blue effortlessly cleaved through Ulquiorra's Cero, dispersing the energy back into the atmosphere as it did. What was most astonishing about the attack was that it didn't stop there, it continued to race towards Ulquiorra, silently slicing through everything that got in its way.
Ulquiorra, though being surprised that a mere Human could defeat his Cero so easily, casually stepped aside, letting the Getsuga glide past him, allowing it violently explode behind him.
"It seems I have a lot to report to Aizen-sama when I get back to Huecō Mundō," Ulquiorra stated, making a mental note to himself.
"Do you think I'll just let you got?!" Ichigo roared, readying himself to charge once more.
"You don't have a choice in the matter, Kurosaki Ichigo," He simply replied, appearing in front of the Substitute, a finger pointing mere centimetres away from his chest, encompassed in the green light of another Cero.
"Shit!" Ichigo cursed aloud, he was about to Shunpō out of the way, but his eyes widened in horror as his entire body suddenly went numb. Before Ichigo could realize what had happened, the tidal wave of green washed over him, blasting him off into the forest-like area of the park.
"Just because I don't accept you, you're going to get in my way? Asshole…" Ichigo seethed, trying to ignore the searing pain that ravaged his entire body. The orange haired teen's entire body had taken on severe amounts of burns, though he was able to sponge most of the attack by instinctively hardening his Reiatsu around his skin, it still had taken its toll on him.
"So, this is all you're capable of, Kurosaki Ichigo? This farce was quite the let-down indeed," Ulquiorra announcement coldly, having already made it in front of Ichigo. "I suppose I should put you out of your misery, before you can embarrass yourself even further."
Ulquiorra raised his index finger once more and began charging a Cero once more, before letting it loose upon the defeated Substitute Shinigami. Ulquiorra simply waited for his Cero to rip through the landscape, but to his surprised, it simply got re-directed into the sky.
"My, my, I hope we aren't late to the party?" Came a familiar cheery voice.
"Urahara-Kisuke I presume?" Ulquiorra identified, unfazed by his sudden appearance.
"The one and only!" The green clad man cheered bringing his Zanpakutō Benihime up, before uttering. "Nake, Benihime!" A blood red streak rocketed its way towards the short Arrancar who casually brought his hand up and batted the attack away without any effort. "My, we have a strong one over here," Kisuke compliment, adjusting his hat as he did.
"Yammy, we have no further business, we're leaving," Ulquiorra ordered, but was surprised when there was no response.
"Oh, my bad, was this guy with you?" Came the mischievous voice of Yōruichi Shihōin, who was simply sitting atop a defeated Yammy. "He was so weak, it felt like he was some random stray Hollow."
"That is to be expected, he is the weakest among us Espada, though I highly doubt you could defeat him in his Reserrección," He idly replied, casually walking towards Yōruichi as he did.
"Kurosaki-kun!" Came the distraught cry of Orihime as she ran up to the bleeding body of Ichigo, finally having caught up to him after noticing his Reiatsu had been fluctuating wildly. She quickly created a bubble around him and began healing him as fast as she could.
"What an interesting power," Ulquiorra mentally commented, observing the girl closely. "Though her Reiatsu levels indicate she is barely stronger than the average human trash." He coldly analysed. He was about to rip her head off her shoulders, but was stopped in his tracks by an incoming presence.
"You know, it's not very polite to turn your back on your opponent like that," Ulquiorra felt the cold steel of Benihime press against the back of his neck, though it didn't pierce his flesh thanks to his high level Hierro. "Nake, Benihime!" Kisuke let loose a point blank wave of red with the intention of severing Ulquiorra's head, but to his dismay Ulquiorra came out of the smoke unharmed, only his clothes taking some minor damage.
Quickly seizing the moment, Yōruichi pounced into the fray, sending a flurry of devastating punches at the black haired Espada, who simply Sōnidō'd away to where Yammy was still lying.
"El Directo!" Chad's voice boomed as he charged recklessly at Ulquiorra, his signature attack surging forth from his black armoured arm.
"It seems like more and more trash keep appearing, I have no time for this," Ulquiorra sounding almost annoyed. He simply fired a Bala, which sailed right through Chad's attack without resistance and blasted his arm to smithereens.
Once he had finished disposing of Chad, Ulquiorra snapped his fingers, allowing a Garganta to burst forth into existence. He quickly threw Yammy inside it and began to make his leave.
"You runnin' away?" Yōruichi jabbed provokingly, though she didn't make chase.
"Such a simpleminded taunt, I'm sure you're fully aware of the consequences of fighting me whilst protecting such trash," Ulquiorra coldly rebuked, letting the teeth of the Garganta snap shut but not before sparing a disappointed glance at Ichigo.
"Yōruichi-san, we need to get Chad and Ichigo to safety, especially Chad, he's bleeding extensively," Urahara quickly instructed. Yōruichi nodded before heading back to Kisuke's shop whilst carrying the three teens.
"Wasn't that a crazy show, eh' Aizen-taichō?" Gin spoke in his usual sarcastic manner.
"I would have to agree, never would I have thought he would gain a new Zanpakutō after I had unintentionally broken his old one," Aizen responded, his gaze still fixed onto his holographic monitor.
"Hmm, I wonder why his Zangetsu broke so easily, do ya' have any ideas, taichō?" Gin's smile grew a little in anticipation of his captain's response.
"Maybe I do know. Why, are you curious, Gin?" Replied, turning to face his lieutenant with a knowing smile.
"Of course," Gin simply replied back, but to his disappointment Aizen simply chuckled mysteriously before heading to his throne room. "Aw' don't be like that Captain! You always do this!" Gin wined, voicing his displeasure.
"You keep getting more and more interesting, Kurosaki Ichigo."
Did I say two weeks? I meant four days.
I greatly overestimated how long it would take to write this chapter it seems.
I've got already got chapter three planned out in my head, so it shouldn't take too long to write, hopefully...
EDIT: I just uploaded a quick sketch of Sayafushi. I drew it for you guys, so you'd all know what she looks like, the link of it is on my profile if anyone is interested.
WeirdoKen.
