"Xcution?" Kisuke said.

"That's what he told me." Ichigo said. The day after Ichigo encounter the mysterious Tsukishima and Kugo, he and his Rukia, Chad, Renji, and Orihime went to speak with Kisuke and Yoruichi about this. "Though I'm not sure what the deal is with these guys." He thought back to what he and Kugo talked about.

…

Flashback

"So you know what's going on?" Ichigo said. Ichigo just got done with his duel, but Tsukishima managed to escape. Kugo arrived and claimed he knew what this was all about.

"I do." Kugo said.

"You better start talking. Why did that guy I beat go after Uryu?" Ichigo said.

"That guy was probably just doing what Tsukishima told him to do." Kugo said. "It's really you that Tsukishima seems to be after."

"Me? Why?" Ichigo said. Kugo reached inside his jacket and pulled out a passkey with a piece of paper. He handed it over to Ichigo. "What's this?" Ichigo took the card and saw a name on it. "Xcution?"

"It's the name of a group I'm a part of." Kugo said. "We've been keeping an eye out for Tsukishima for a long time. If you want answers, go to the address on the paper and use that passkey to let yourself in. We'll be waiting." Kugo just left things there and Ichigo wondered what this was all about.

End of Flashback

…

"It took me by surprise myself." Ichigo said. "I don't have a clue as to who these people are, but I think it might be worth checking out."

"Ichigo, you're not really thinking this guy is telling the truth, are you?" Rukia said. "Isn't it a little convenient he just showed up right when that other guy vanished?"

"What are you saying?" Ichigo said.

"All I'm saying is that I don't trust these guys and I don't think you should either." Rukia said.

"I'm with Rukia on this." Renji said.

"Well, I say we give this the benefit of the doubt." Orihime said. "If someone is after Ichigo, these people would know something."

"Kisuke, Yoruichi, what do you two think?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm not sure. We don't really have all the information about these people." Yoruichi said.

"It does sound like this requires some looking into." Kisuke said. "Perhaps you should go and meet these people, but keep your guard up. This could easily be a trap."

"I'll go with Ichigo as backup." Chad said.

"Shouldn't we inform the Soul Society about this?" Orihime suggested. "Maybe they can help us."

"If it's only focus on Ichigo, I doubt they would want to get involved because it's only affecting one person so far." Kisuke said. "They're already trying to cover up all the damage Aizen has done and make sure no one like him rises again. If things get worse than they already are, we'll contact them."

"By the way, how is Uryu doing?" Yoruichi asked.

"He's got bad bump on the head, but he'll be alright." Ichigo said as he got up. "Alright. Let's go, Chad. I have the passkey and the address on me." Chad agreed and the two of them headed out.

"Be careful, Ichigo." Orihime said.

…

Ichigo and Chad

The two of them headed further into town known as Naruki City. Chad and Ichigo came up to a place that looked like an apartment building.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Chad said.

"The address is all the same." Ichigo said as he looked at the paper. "These guys are at the top. Let's at least see what they want." Both of them headed near the top of the building until they came up to the door with the same number as the address. "Guess this is it."

"Remember to be careful." Chad said.

"You do the same." Ichigo said as he took out the passkey. He swiped it against a scanner and heard the door unlock. Ichigo opened up the door and the two of them headed inside. They looked around and saw three people already in there. One was a boy dressed in black with blonde hair and playing a video game. The other was an older man that was cleaning glasses and had a dark leather strap over his right eye with him behind a counter cleaning glasses. The third was a women who just sat in the back.

"This it? The place looks nicer on the inside, but I thought there would be more members." Ichigo said.

"Is there something we can help you with?" The man asked.

"Is this Xcution? I'm looking for someone named Kugo Ginjo." Ichigo said.

"Over here." Both of them looked to see Kugo come out from another room. "Ichigo, I'm glad you decided to join us."

"I never said anything about joining you. I'm just here for answers." Ichigo said. Kugo looked and took noticed Chad.

"Who's the big guy?" Kugo asked.

"He's Chad. I brought him depending on how things go." Ichigo said. "I want to know who you people are and who this Tsukishima is."

"Of course. Let me introduce you." Kugo said. "The one ready to serve drinks is Giriko Kutsuzawa. The one playing video games is Yukio Hans Voralberna. The girl hanging in the back is Jackie Tristan. There's one more, but where is she?"

"Riruka, get out here, idiot!" Yukio called out.

"What?!" A door was kicked open and a girl with magenta hair in pigtails. "What is it? I was in the middle of something."

"I just want to introduce you to Ichigo." Kugo said.

"Why do I care about some…?" Riruka stopped talking when she saw him. She felt like someone just shot an arrow at her heart with her face turning red.

"Stop standing like that. You're going to drool." Yukio said and got Riruka to snap out of it.

"So what?" Riruka said as she tried looking away.

"Enough stalling. I want answers as to who this Tsukishima is and who are you people?" Ichigo said.

"Alright." Kugo said. "I'll start by explaining who we are. I guess you can say we're a dueling gang."

"A gang?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, but you don't need to worry. We're not going to shake you down for money or anything." Kugo said. "We were once much larger in numbers. What we all desire is to be among the best in the dueling gang because we all come from a bad past. It's like we were exiled from others."

"So you all decided to come together?" Ichigo said.

"Something like that." Kugo said. "We thought that if we all were exiled out, we help each other and rise together."

"A band that comes together with a common goal." Chad summarized.

"What about this Tsukishima?" Ichigo said.

"Oh…him." Kugo said. "The truth is we've been on a lookout for him for a long time. He actually use to be one of us."

"He was?" Ichigo said.

"That's right, but something happened to him." Kugo said. "Tsukishima claimed that he doesn't need the strength of others anymore. He thought he wasn't getting anywhere with us. He decided to quit. Many of our members were lost because of him."

"He just turned against you guys? That's bad, but what does any of this have to do with me?" Ichigo asked.

"For reasons we don't know, Tsukishima is after you." Kugo said. "I want you to join us because you can help us bring him in and we can get payback. We can also protect you."

"No thanks." Ichigo said and that was not the answer Kugo was expecting.

"Say what?! Who turns down protection?!" Riruka said.

"I don't need protecting. I can handle this guy by myself. He's just one guy." Ichigo said.

"Ichigo, Tsukishima is not to be taken lightly." Kugo said. "He's dangerous. There's no telling what he'll do."

"I think I can handle it. Let's go, Chad." Ichigo said and the two of them left the place.

"So much for him." Jackie said.

"Don't give up on him yet." Kugo said. "Once he sees what Tsukishima is really capable of, he'll come back."

…..

Orihime

"Later, Orihime." Tatsuki said as she and Orihime were parting ways after hanging out. Orihime was on her way home, but she couldn't stop and worry about Ichigo.

"I hope Ichigo is being put in any kind of danger." Orihime said.

"You should be more concerned about yourself." Orihime heard someone behind her and that someone was Shishigawara. He looked like he was ready to rumble with Orihime. "You're in trouble now." He went to attack her, but when Orihime turned around to face him, he was the one who got swept off his feet. 'What a knockout!' He thought.

"Who are you?" Orihime said.

"I'm…..I'm…." Shishigawara really didn't know what to say being around her.

"Honestly, Shishigawara? Surely you can handle a simple girl like her." Orihime looked down an alleyway and saw Tsukishima and she didn't recognized him.

"What's going on? Who are you people?" Orihime said.

"You might know me. I am Tsukishima." That named scared Orihime because she knew this was the person after Ichigo. "What's the matter?" Orihime didn't answer. She just took off to escape the two of them.

"Mr. Tsukishima, allow me to go after her. After all, I am your henchman." Shishigawara said.

"I've told you before you don't have to call yourself that." Tsukishima said. "How strange. I thought that if she was a friend of Ichigo Kurosaki and his girlfriend that she put up a fight."

"She's taken? Oh man." Shishigawara complained.

….

Naruki City

"Ichigo, are you sure about this?" Chad asked as they left the building.

"So far, this Tsukishima guy doesn't seem to be a major threat or anything." Ichigo said. "How bad can this guy really be?" Ichigo heard his phone go off. He took it out and saw it was Orihime. "Hey, Orihime. What's up?"

"Ichigo, I need help! Two guys are after me." Orihime said.

"What?! Okay, head to your apartment and lock the door. Chad and I will be there." Ichigo said and hanged up. "Let's go. Orihime needs help."

…..

Orihime

Orihime made it back to her apartment and there wasn't any sign of Shishigawara or Tsukishima. Orihime thought she was safe.

"It looks like I lost them." Orihime said with relief.

"Not quite." Orihime turned around and saw Tsukishima and held out his duel disk. "Don't worry. This will be over before you even know what happens." He held up a card and suddenly there was a bright green flash. When Orihime called Ichigo, he and Chad hurried right over.

"Orihime!" Ichigo called out when they arrived. When they made it to her floor, they saw she was just sitting on the floor. "Orihime!" Orihime had a blank look on her face, but she snapped out of it when she heard them.

"Orihime, are you alright?" Chad asked.

"Ichigo, Chad!" Orihime said and checked herself for any injuries. "I think so."

"Didn't you say Tsukishima was after you?" Chad said.

"Yeah, but it's strange. I thought he was here." Orihime said. "I remember this bright green light, but everything is a blank after that."

"That sounds like his work." All three of them turned to see Kugo.

"Kugo? You followed us?" Ichigo said.

"This is what I'm talking about." Kugo said. "Tsukishima is dangerous. There's no telling what he'll do. This is only the start. He'll go after your friends and maybe even your family. We can help you though. We can get you strong enough to face Tsukishima and help protect those closest to you." Ichigo would have turned down, but he needs to protect his friends and family.

"Fine. I'll join you guys." Ichigo said.

"Welcome to Xcution." Kugo said.