Hi guys. Wow, it's been a while right. Well, Hopefully I can update more. He's a chapter that should set the story in motion. it may not make a lot of sense, but hey, theres a method to my madness. Isn't there always? Anywho

please read, review and as always, enjoy.

Ichigo pushes his hair back from his face.

"If it keeps getting in your way, why don't you cut it off princess?" The overly burley man sitting in front him rumbles. Ichigo only stares at the man. The man is wearing a dirty dingy white shirt. His greasy black hair hangs in poorly made braids from his head. His pants are equally dirty to his shirt and hangs loosely around his waist.

But to Ichigo this man is gray. He's gray like the dingy establishment which smells of sweat, blood and antiseptics. In the background, there is noise of grunts and flesh meeting flesh as the other occupants practice in pointless fights. They are pointless because when they are in the ring with Ichigo, all of their training, their practice…it all becomes irrelevant.

The only reason why he is here is because Cyrus wanted to talk to him. Otherwise, he practices at home.

He doesn't know why Cyrus has asked him to come. He is actually starting to regret coming here at all. Mingling with the competition is not his style. It never has been. He hopes that whatever Cyrus has called him here for is worth this splitting headache.

He hears Cyrus's familiar footfalls on the metal steps.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

He looks up at the man. Behind him he sees a face that he wasn't expecting. He snarls.

"What the fuck is he doing here?"

Cyrus stops in his spot and looks from Ichigo to his companion.

"I've been looking for you you son of a bitch!" Renji states, balling his fists tightly at his side, barely containing his fury at his best friend.

"Do you two know each other?" Cyrus asks. He isn't heard. The two yokai stare each other. Each looking like their about to pounce on the other.

"You coming here was pointless. I'm not going back to The Organization, so don't even bother."

"What have you been doing with yourself?! You look like shit!"

"Its no concern of yours."

"You're my friend. I haven't seen you in months. I didn't know whether or not you were alive or eating well, or anything about you. I've been worried fucking sick about you and that's what you say to me?!"

"Leave. Now."

"Well wait one goddamn minute. Red here has agreed to fight my toughest guy. Now I see what he can do and well…this is too good of an opportunity to pass up."

"I'm not fighting him. Now either he leaves. Or I do."

"Be rational about this Ichigo," Cyrus tries to reason with him. "A fight between the two of you. Two…incredibly powerful yokai…that'll rake in some big bucks. Now I'll pay out the ass to see that."

"You heard me!"

"And you heard me!"

"Forget it. He's been out of training so long that he's afraid that hes lost his touch."

"Baiting me isn't going to work."

"You've been in isolation for so damn long, the only kind of fighting you can do is the underground stuff. I bet you're sloppy and slow."

"Shut up. I'm through talking to you." Ichigo pushes himself off the wall and walks away from the both of them.

"Even if she was to come back do you think that she would want you?"

Ichigo's blood turns to ice in his veins. All at once his heart stops beating and he stops breathing.

In less time it takes to blink an eye, he's upon Renji, holding him by the throat and pinning him to the wall. Renji doesn't flinch. Ichigo growls, however Renji keeps talking.

"You're pathetic and you're wasting away. Why would she want you when you're like this? Exactly what will she be coming back for?"

"Do. Not. Mention. Her. Again." He emphasizes each and every word slowly and clearly.

"Why? Does it make you feel something? Do you even care that she's gone? Have you even looked for her?"

"AAARHHHHHH!" Ichigo reels his fist back and releases it in Renji's face. Blood spatters from his nose and down his face; however the soft cartilage is already healing and fixing itself.

He can't help but be affected by his words. They break right past his defense and stab him right where it hurts. A pain that he's been poorly keeping buried. It was a pain that he was trying desperately trying to keep to himself, away from anyone else. These questions that have been circulating since she left.

He releases Renji and pushes away from him. He turns away from the two men, unable to deal with the emotions that are going through him right now.

"Why do you even want to fight? Why can't you just leave me alone."

"I want to have a bet with you."

"I told you that I'm not-"

"I heard you. But we-I need your help. Just training some new guys. Since Ikkaku and Yumichika died…and since you left and…there's a shortage of good fighters. Just help me train guys."

"I'm sorry that the organization is short on me. But that's not my problem."

"Just fight me for it. If you win, I'll forget that I ever saw you in this shit hole. I'll forget everything and you won't have to worry about me or The Organization ever again. But if I win…you have to at least…at least give it a try for one month."

Ichigo let this mull over in his mind. He didn't want to.

"Wow, wow now. If he goes off and plays mentor to some baby hunters, that means that he won't be able to fight for me? Sorry. That's a no go."

"I believe I gave the offer to Ichigo. Not you."

"Okay." Ichigo agrees to the offer with a sudden finality that ends the conversation. He will humor Renji. But only to get him back for making him re-experience the pain that he didn't want to. Only to prove to him that he hasn't lost his touch. That he can still kick his ass.

He will not lose.

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.

.

Orihime concentrates as hard as she possibly can. She places all her strength into her power. A migraine forms along the outer edge of her mind. Her head begins to pound and her breath becomes short. She doesn't stop. She keeps pushing herself further and further.

"Come on already! You've been here for hours, trying to lift that damned feather. Just do it already. It's not that hard!"

"I'm trying. Please-"

"Oh don't beg me. That's pathetic. Almost as pathetic as watching trying and failing I might add, to lift a feather. Something that the wind can do, but oh, you cannot make wind either? Can you?"

Hopelessness fills Orihime. She can't do this. Why did she ever think that she could? This is pointless. All so darn hopeless! She can't do this. She just can't. Her mother is right. She is pathetic. She's hopeless. She can't do this. She just can't.

Suddenly. She feels a pang in her. A pang of wanting and longing. She knows its him. He wants to see her. He wants to know where she is. How she's doing. Because of her connection to him, she always knows what he is feeling, although he doesn't know what she's feeling.

She doesn't know the details. But she can feel his pain for her and she feels guilty. She feels like a terrible person. And although she wants to go to him she cannot. Her mother will not allow for her to leave and at her current state, it's not like she can defy her mother. She can't even lift a feather.

More hopelessness encases her. She's becoming more and more devoured by her depression. She's lost her powers. Most likely for good. She's nothing more than a simple human now. A human with a monster for a mother.

"I can't…I can't do this. I'm sorry." She apologizes.

"You are sorry. You're sorrier than your pathetic brother. Than your loser father. And you're even more pathetic than your beast of a husband. Oh that's right. You weren't even able to get married. And after you lost the child…tell me…what did she look like again?"

"STOP IT!" Orihime screams, covering her ears, unable to take the pain that came with her mothers words. They rang true, yet, laced with falseness. The ones she loves aren't pathetic. They're good people, with good hearts. They don't deserve for her to speak ill of them. They don't deserve it!

"You know, it's great that you lost the baby. What type of mother would you have been? You couldn't even take care of yourself, yet you expected to take care of another life? Between dumb and dumber the child would've grown up demented."

"I said stop!" Orihime stands, fed up with her mother. "How dare you talk down to me about how I would've raised my child?! I would've been a great mother. Not perfect but great. Ichigo would've been the best dad that there ever was. How would you even know what a good mother would be? You're a terrible mother. You're awful. You're literally, the worst kind of person. And if you think, that for even one second that I would believe that either Ichigo or I would've made bad parents, then you're more demented than I could have ever imagined because as long as I kept my child from you. As long as to them, you didn't exist…I would have been doing my job. I would have been keeping them from the greatest evil in the world."

"Words of flattery will get you nowhere dear."

"You are the only person in the world that I have ever hated."

"Oh I'm touched."

Rage replaces the feeling of hopelessness and despair. How dare her mother belittle her? She's trying. She really is. And what she said about her brother and her father….and Ichigo…

She will never forgive her for that.

Unbeknownst to her, the feather trembled. As her emotions swirled further and further out of her control, the feather trembled and shook, lifting into the air slightly before it combusted in flames.

Orihime eyes widen and her breath stopped.

Did she really just do that? Was she really able to…?

"I think the word you looking for is thank you." Her mother smiles, her blood red lips revealing a row of abnormally white teeth. Orihime looks back to where the feather once was. She can feel the remenants of her power flowing through her body. Its weak but its there.

Its there!

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.

Ichigo grunts as Renji's fist connects with his face. His face snaps to the side and blood spills out of his mouth. Sweat plasters his long brightly colored hair to his face.

"Come on Carrot Top! You were talking a lot shit earlier today. Nearly had me shaking in my goddamn boots!"

Ichigo growls. He rushes to Renji and grabs him at his midsection, preparing to lift him. Renji laces his fingers together and comes down hard on Ichigo's back. He does so repeatedly until Ichigo crumples to the ground. He bends over and lifts Ichigo up and tosses him across the ring.

"I remember when you used to be one of the greats. You're slow and your hits are uncoordinated. I don't even know why I came to you to ask for your help with training the recruits. What are you going to teach them? How to lose a fight?"

He kicks Ichigo in his stomach, flipping him on his back. He raises his foot to stomp on him; however, Ichigo grasps it firmly in his hand.

"Shut…up…you bastard!" He crushes Renji's foot in his hand. Renji howls in pain. Ichigo quickly gets up and places his hand around Renji's throat and slams him into the ground. "I'm tired of hearing you speak!" he snarls as he crushes his windpipe. Dots of blackness dance behind Renji's eyes. He holds on to consciousness.

Renji roars as he gets Ichigo off him, he pounces on him, his fist flying, sometimes connecting with Ichigo, sometimes missing. He's struggling to breathe. He needs to end the fight before he passes out. He's only on the cusp of conciouness as it is.

He can see Ichigo struggle as well. He's swaying on his feet. Basically fighting blindly. He lauches towards him on his crushed foot, using the uninjured to kick him in his chest, using as much power behind it as possible. Ichigo flies across the room and lands in a heap on the ground.

Renji rushes to him before he can get up and gives him one final punch in his temple. Ichigo falls unconscious almost immediately. Renji falls to his knees, his breathing harsh and weak. He wheezes for a few moments, trying to gather his breath. That bastard really fucked over his windpipe. He'll have to make sure to make him pay for that.

Renji pushes his long red hair out of his bloody and marked up face. He gets back on his feet and grabs Ichigo by his hair, lifting him up. Grunting, he puts him on his shoulder, and makes his way towards the exit.

"Hey, hey, you can't just take him!" Cyrus demands. His best fighter, his number one attraction was being taken away from him. He couldn't just stand by and let that happen.

"A deal is a deal ass face."

"Yeah, but what if I don't like the results?" Cyrus folds his arms. Renji sighs and turns to face him. Three large Yokai's are backing him up. He really doesn't have the energy to fight him. Ichigo was really close to beating the shit out of him. He can barely walk and carry the bastard.

"Babe…a little help here?" he calls out.

terra mater , dea vitae fac eas creaturas succumberet tua tenebras conscientiam

One by one, the beings in the building fall down, unconscious. Renji smiles as his girlfriend appears besides him.

"Just when were you going to help me out?"

"I thought you had things under control." Rukia smiles.

"Yeah, I could tell from the way I was getting my ass beat."

"Oh so you admit that you're not the best?"

"Just take us to home. I can barely stand."

"Always the grumpy one." She teases before they are surrounded by golden smoke and begins to disappear. "But at least you got him, right?"

Renji nods, sparing a glance at the man on his shoulder. Maybe he'll finally get better.