AN* Hello again everyone. I have got to say that I am surprised by the positive feedback that I got for this and hope to see it continued. Now this chapter won't have any action in it, more of a buildup chapter to be fair. One last thing from me, a lot of you asked about what materia will Ichigo be using. To answer he will have only the spell materia at this time, so any of the magic skills that you can learn in FF7. Summoning, Enemy Skills, and so one are not present at this time, though that may change in later chapters. Ok, enough out of me, enjoy the story and leave some more reviews.

Soul Society

It was just after midnight on the day that Urahara had told him that they would be going to the Soul Society to save Rukia and while Ichigo waited Cloud Strife was talking to him.

"Spells to use against a fast water type opponent?" he asked.

"Bolt and slow against them, and haste on myself."

"Good." Cloud Strife chuckled "Ice opponent?"

"Bolt or Fire?"

"Fire is the preference however Bolt can work as well in certain situations." he nodded.

"Why are we going over this?"

"To make sure that you are not caught off guard. During a fight I might not be able to give you advice fast enough for it to be effective so I need to know that you are fully understanding your own abilities."

"Still, how many more will I unlock?"

"Most of the techniques that I have told you about you are still not ready to use yet, though you are growing closer." Cloud remarked "Not to mention the more powerful versions of spells that you have already learned. There are a number of techniques that you will learn but knowing them is only a part of it. Knowing how to use them, when to use them, what works best and what doesn't. That is what I am really teaching you. You need to understand an opponent at a glance, need to be able to come up with ways of fighting them in seconds, because that may be all of the time that you have."

"If you say so." Ichigo nodded.

"Good then let's continue."

For another thirty minutes Cloud Strife quizzed Ichigo until it was only a few moments before 1 in the morning when Ichigo turned to look out the open window to see the sphere with Urahara's face on it come flying through the window to splatter in what looked like blood, telling Ichigo to meet outside of Urahara's shop immediately.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Ichigo shouted.

"Wow... I expected more from him to be honest. This looks like a dying message from some cheesy horror film." Cloud Strife noted.

That was when the rest of the message revealed itself to say that anyone that thought it looked like a dying message in blood had no sense of humor, getting a chuckle from Cloud Strife as Ichigo threw a pillow at it in anger. As Ichigo finished getting ready and started walking out the door he muttered a goodbye to his family and opened the front door.

"GOOD... MORNING... ICHI... Wow." Ishin Kurosaki shouted as he leapt off the roof intent on slamming into Ichigo, though the teen had taken a step too far ahead and the man had slammed head first into the ground instead.

"How is he sill alive?" Cloud Strife asked, completely stunned.

"When I figure it out you will be the first to know." Ichigo promised.

"You dodged my attack just now... No wonder you are my son." Ishin said as he pulled himself up from the ground.

"YOU! What the hell are you doing?!" Ichigo shouted.

"Before... Before you leave... I wanted to give you this." Ishin said as he handed Ichigo a charm.

"This dirty safety charm?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

"Don't call it dirty, that's rude!" Ishin exclaimed in outrage "That's the charm you mom gave me! It will bring fortune and good luck!"

As those words left his mouth Ichigo's eyes widened before he shouted "What're you doing?! How can you give me this!"

"Of course I'm not giving it to you!" Ishin countered "I'm only lending it to you while you're out traveling."

Ichigo looked to the charm in his hand and for a brief moment was stunned by the gesture his father was giving... Until the man opened his mouth again.

"Oi! Why don't you answer me?! If you lose it then you have to shave! My beard!" Ishin shouted as he flailed about in a somewhat comical fashion.

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Cloud Strife asked in confusion.

"From him, I am not sure." Ichigo replied.

Ichigo stared at the charm in his hand for another moment before speaking.

"... Then, I'm borrowing this."

Ishin only smiled as Ichigo ran off towards Urahara's shop while Cloud Strife spoke up.

"He is one of the weirdest people I have ever seen, but he really does care about you a lot." Cloud noted "We better be sure to get back alive and well."

"Yeah."

As Ichigo ran he eventually came up to a corner where Inoue Orihime was coming from, giving Ichigo the chance to call out to her.

"Kurosaki?" Orohime called back slightly surprised as Ichigo ran alongside her.

"You were also summoned?"

"Yeah."

"What's wrong? Seems like you're kind of down." Ichigo noted.

"Um actually... I was told I have no sense of humor." Orihime shuddered getting Ichigo to blink and Cloud to let out a low chuckle.

"Well... Before Uruhara-san mentioned it... I didn't know that you were really going to be coming." Ichigo remarked.

"Yeah." Orihime smiled.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, because I made the decision myself!" she smiled wider.

"I see. Then let's hurry." Ichigo nodded as they picked up the pace. It only took about ten minutes to reach the shop and found that the third member of their team was already there waiting for them.

"... Hello..." Ichigo panted out as he saw his friend Chad sitting outside the shop.

"You... You're fast... Chad..." Orihime gasped.

"Yeah... I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk and got the notice around here." Chad replied.

"Around here?" Ichigo blinked, just as Chad pointed towards a spot where indeed the message was written much to Ichigo's shock.

"Urahara doesn't do anything by halves it seems." Cloud Strife noted.

"Oh yeah.. Where's Ishida? I heard he was coming too." Ichigo asked as he looked around.

"Ishida will come, just wait." Orihime said with certainty.

"He won't come." Chad remarked.

"Chad!" Orihime exclaimed in an admonishing tone.

"It's no big deal Inoue. Ishida... It's better if he doesn't come. Among us he's... the most complex. The more complex a person is the weaker they are, that's just who he is. So I think he's the weakest amongst us. If he didn't come I think that would be better..."

"Who did you say won't come?" Uryu asked as he approached, dressed all in white "Didn't I tell you? I can't forgive myself losing to those shinigami, so I had to train hard. Since I said that I won't stop until I win, for that I'll go anywhere."

"Ishida." Orihime smiled "Thank you."

"You... You misunderstood..." Uryu panicked "This has nothing to do with Kuchiki, why can't you understand that?" The young quincy took a moment to collect himself before turning to look at Ichigo "I also want you to see, Kurosaki, how strong I've become."

"Ishida... Did you walk all the way here in that weird clothing? That's very brave of you." Ichigo noted as he took in Ishida's appearance.

"How can you say this is weird?!"

"Oh, everyone is here. That's great!" Urahara noted as he walked up and opened the door to the shop "Now everyone come in and I'll explain to you how you're getting to Soul Society. Please listen carefully, otherwise you might die before you get there."

The four teens followed the eccentric shopkeeper into the shop and then down the massive ladder into the underground training room that Ichigo had been in to regain his shinigami powers. As they reached the ground Orihime exclaimed about the place and how it was amazing and like a secret base, getting Tessai to tell her how touched he was by her reaction.

"At least someone appreciates this place." Cloud Strife chuckled "It is a little over the top to be fair though."

"Ok everybody!" Urahara called to get their attention "We're about to go!" with that he snapped his fingers and from four black portals emerged four stone rectangular cubes that formed a large doorway right behind where Uruhara was standing "This is the doorway to Soul Society, Senkaimon. Please listen carefully. I will not teach you the way to go through this door without dying." With that Uruhara walked over and used his cane to remove Ichigo's soul from his body, just as Chad caught his human body.

"He's been completely separated." Uryu noted as he crouched down next to the human body, poking the left arm.

"So then Kurosaki can't enter the Kurosaki over here?" Orihime asked as she poked the other arm.

"Of course. You're saying it like I'm Kintarou's candy." Ichigo remarked and after a moment added in "Why are you guys freely touching my body?"

"That's right! That body will soon be temporarily mine! You guys should not just touch it!" Kon shouted as he popped up on Ichigo's left shoulder.

"Wuagh?!" Ichigo exclaimed in shock and even Cloud Strife blinked in shock at the sudden arrival of the talking toy.

"Where the hell did he come from? I don't remember us grabbing him."

"Ah! But Inoue-san can touch it!" Kon exclaimed.

"Kon! Why are you here?!" Ichigo shouted, slightly oblivious to the fact that Ishida and Orihime were stunned by the fact that the stuffed lion toy was talking.

"You're asking me why?! Of course I'm going with you!" Kon shouted, shaking one his arms at Ichigo, completely focused on the shinigami that he didn't notice Chad moving towards him "You want to leave me behind?! As the man, Kon, I will go through all difficulties and reach the Soul Society" Before he could get any further Chad had grabbed him and lifted him towards his face, earning a scream of pure terror from Kon.

"Ok, look over here! I'm ready to start the explanation about the door!" Urahara shouted to get their attention "Usually the door is made by adding Reishihenkankon to the top of the Sankaimon, and the use of Ketsugofou to cover it up."

"Reishihenkanki?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes. As you know the Soul Society is the world of souls, in order to go there you have to be a soul. But the only one that can move around as a soul is Kurosaki, who is a shinigami. For others, even if their souls are separated from their bodies, they're still chained by the chain of fate, not to mention to go to the Soul Society it's even hard to move. That's why there is a need for a Reishihenkanki. This thing changes the Kishi, which makes up the things in the living world, and turns it into Reishi, which is the main component of souls!"

"So it means that we don't have to separate the souls, we just have to go through this door." Uryu said as he finished looking over the doorway.

"Right!" Uruhara grinned "You guys can go to Soul Society in your original form!"

"Okay, I got it." Ichigo nodded as he started forward.

"STOP!" Cloud Strife shouted, causing Ichigo to stop, just as Urahara put his cane in front of Ichigo, showing that it would have jabbed into him if he had kept going "What he has spoken of so far is not dangerous, let's wait for him to finish."

"Ok, sorry." Ichigo sighed.

"Patience before anything else Ichigo." Cloud Strife reminded him

"Now is the important topic." Urahara continued "There's no problem going through the door. Reishihenkanki won't bring pain, as long as you go forward you can go to Soul Society. The problem is "Time". The time allowed to go through the Senkaimon to Soul Society is only four minutes."

"Four minutes!" Orihime whispered in shock.

"Once the time is up, the door will close, and you will be forever locked inside the Dangai." Urahara added "Plus inside the Dangai, in order to prevent enemies such as Hollows, is filled with a current called Kouryuu which can stop souls from moving. Just one foot caught by it, and the chances of leaving the Dangai in time are almost impossible."

"... Then... What should we do?" Orihime asked.

"Just keep moving forward." A rough voice to the side said, and as they turned to look it was a cat walking towards them.

"Yoruichi-san!" Orihime exclaimed.

"Didn't I tell you? The heart and soul are connected. What's important now is what your heart thinks." Yoruichi stated, stopping in front of the Senkaimon "Only those who can do it may follow me."

There a was a moment of silence amongst them before Ichigo spoke up.

"What are you talking about? Those who chose to gather here have made the decision and have chosen to follow it."

"You should know very well kid. If you lose you will never return." Yoruichi noted.

"Of course we have to win!" Ichigo stated.

"... Well said." Yoruichi nodded as Uruhara began opening the door.

"Are you ready?" he asked "The moment it's open you'll dash in there."

"Got it." Ichigo nodded.

"The time has come Ichigo. There is no more time left for hesitation." Cloud Strife said "We shall bring war upon Soul Society to save our friend."

"Yeah."

Behind them they could hear Kon struggling through the tape that was holding him to the ground, and Ichigo spoke one last thing to the mod-soul.

"Kon. Please take care of my family." Ichigo said.

"It's open!" Urahara exclaimed as the door opened and the four humans and one cat charged into the opening, entering a corridor of darkness and what looked like melting walls.

"This is the Dangai..." Ichigo muttered.

"Come on! Don't zone out!" Yoruichi roared "The Kouryuu will close in!"

That galvanized them into a full sprint and after a minute or so Uryu looked back and shouted that it was catching up to them, covering the places they had been.

"If you have time to look back then you have time to run faster!" Yoruichi shouted, as a section collapsed on the side a little ahead of them, causing them to stagger a moment, and for Uryu to be grabbed by his cape by the Kouryuu.

"Idiot! It's because you're wearing that weird outfit!" Ichigo shouted as he reached for the hilt of his sword.

"Hold on! Don't use your zanpakuto here! Kouryuu traps souls! If you use your zanpakuto here it will trap you!"

As Ichigo quickly ran through his list of spells Chad reacted first, grabbing Uryu by the back and ripping away the cape, then throwing him over his shoulder and sprinting towards their exit.

"Put me down Chad! I can run by myself! Put me..." Uryu had started shouting before he looked up and quieted down "Wait... Guys look... It seems like something is coming..."

Yoruichi glanced back and the look on the cat's face was one of terror as out of the Kouryuu emerged a gigantic thing that was best compared to a train rushing towards them, a giant light at it's top.

"What is that?!" Uryu shouted.

"That's Seimicho! The janitor that comes out every seven days... Why today of all days?" Yoruichi exclaimed "Anyways let's just escape! That thing is really fast!"

There was no argument as they ran faster, quickly approaching the exit, but Seimicho was gaining much faster and was almost about to hit them when Orihime glanced over her shoulder and her face solidified into determination.

"Himusaku, Umeigen, Ririi, Santenyuitate! I Summon Thee!" Orihime shouted as she created her triangle shield in between them and the Seimicho. What they hadn't expected was the shield to send them flying out like a shot and the only reason they survived the entrance was due also to Orihime's shield managing their landing, though Uryu and Ichigo's landings were not pretty compared to the crouching Chad.

"You alright everyone?" Orihime asked as she loked at them before her gaze stopped at Ichigo who had landed on his shoulders with his lower body bending around so his face was almost level with his crotch "Wha! Kurosaki's landing pose is so artistic!"

"You talk too much." Ichigo grumbled as he righted himself.

"I wish I could say that I have seen worse landings, but I really haven't." Cloud Strife sighed "But I guess we should just be thankful that we're alive."

"You talk too much too." Ichigo grunted, getting a chuckle out of the spirit.

"Ouch..." Uryu sighed as he sat up "I really didn't expect us to be this pathetic. Totally unexpected. I didn't think I'd have to use the backup so soon."

That got slightly stunned expressions out of Chad and Ichigo who just stared at the Quincy.

"But it's great! Looks like no one was hurt!" Orihimi smiled, until Yoruichi headbutted her in the eye.

"What's so great about it?!" the cat snapped "Did you even listen to what I said?! Good thing it was only the shield that was touched by Seimicho! If it was the main body of Rokka you would have been dead by now!"

"Sorry..." Orihime muttered.

"It's ok, why do you have to be so angry? We're all fine because of Inoue." Ichigo remarked.

"You..." Yoruichi growled out "Seems as though you don't understand the current situation."

"Oi!" Uryu called out as he finished changing his cape "The smokes clearing."

True to the Quincy's observation the smoke was clearing revealing what looked like old japanese style homes that would be seen in small villages back in the world of the living.

"This is Soul Society?" Ichigo asked looking around.

"That's right." Yoruichi nodded "This is the outskirts, the so-called Ryuutamashiikai. The place where souls first live when coming to Soul Society, it's located around the Tororei. Ryuutamashiikai is the poorest and most free area, while also holding the most souls."

"But we can't see anyone." Uryu noted as he glanced around, as did Ichigo who made an interested noise.

"What? The streets over there is not that different from the ones we live on." Ichigo noted, and indeed he was right as the streets did look much newer and better treated.

"Ahhh... That one." Yoruichi began, as Ichigo started towards it at a jog.

"I know! That should be, whatever it's called, where Shinigami live right?" Ichigo remarked as he got closer to it, and Yoruichi began to freak out.

"Idiot! You can't just go near there! You'll die!" Yoruichi screamed.

"Er?" Ichigo blinked as he looked back, stopping short of being crushed by the giant falling gate and walls that fell from the sky, creating a gigantic barrier between the two sections of Soul Society. As the smoke started to clear a voice spoke.

"It's been so long... Someone who wants to go through Torureimon without a pass." Ichigo turned at this point to see the giant figure standing there, tall enough to likely open the gate and with armor on his right arm he looked down on Ichigo before continuing "I finally have something to do. I'll treat you well kid."