Here's Johnny! Haha! Guess who's back! Ya miss me?

*Applause, The Crowd goes wild!*

*Bows* Haha! Well, joking aside, thanks for awesome reviews on Chapter 2, hoping this one will do better because of the changes setting in, but we'll see.

To Storylover213, Sorry for the delay and all, bro, My apologies.

To my fans who have been waiting, I sincerely apologize to you as well.

I'm ranting, I'm sorry for that too...

Well! I'm not Dead! On with the Story!


Byakuya exited the holding cells only to be greeted by a voice he really didn't want to hear.

"Mah mah, Kuchiki-taicho, not even a hint of pity, do ya not care 'bout the fate of dear little Rukia-chan?" the Sixth Division captain only turned his head slightly, greeted by the sight two other individuals dressed in white haori.

One a silvered haired man with a large smile going ear to ear and his eyes squinted and the other a vicious man with his black hair in several spikes topped by small bells, one eye covered by an eye-patch and a grin on his face.

"Damn Kuchiki, I knew you nobles were an uptight bunch, but no remorse even for family, Harsh" said the black haired man.

"It is rather surprising to hear that you know anything about the ways of nobles, Zaraki-taicho, and judging by the absence of your Fukutaichos, I suspect this is not a formal visit" Byakuya retorted.

"Right ya are, Kuchiki-taicho, I just thought I would drop by and give my condolences to little Rukia, but I take it now isn't the best time since you're here" the silver haired man said. Byakuya did not reply.

"If you want Byakuya, I could go in there right now and execute her myself, one clean slice right through that thin little neck of hers, it save you the hassle of watching the life leave her eyes at her execution" Zaraki said, his grin growing slightly. Gin noticed an incredibly subtle change in Byakuya's expression.

"I was unaware that you possessed enough skill to even properly wield your zanpakuto, Zaraki-taicho" Byakuya said, his own hand slowly reaching for the hilt of the zanpakuto at his side as Kenpachi placed a hand on his own sword's hilt.

"Gonna mock me, are ya Kuchiki, and just when I was gonna do you a favor too? If my sword can't have her blood, then I guess it will have to settle for yours instead" Zaraki said, exposing a small portion of jagged steel.

"I would advise against drawing your sword against me Zaraki-taicho, your Reiatsu makes no difference to me, I would cut you to ribbons before you could get near me" Byakuya said, finally grasping his own zanpakuto hilt.

"That sounds like a challenge?" There was a sigh, Byakuya moved his eyes to the silver haired captain, but he was not there, and neither was Kenpachi a second later.

"Hey! Let me go you sunovabitch! Let me at 'em!" Byakuya looked over to a nearby rooftop to see the silver haired captain standing there with Zaraki tied up in cloth behind him, thrashing around, trying to escape and get on with his fight.

"Kuchiki-taicho, you have my sincerest apologies for Zaraki-taicho's behavior, please, give my condolences to Rukia-chan…that is…if you plan on actually talking to her anytime soon, Ja Ne!" the smiling captain jumped away with a thrashing Zaraki in tow.

"Bastard!"

Byakuya stared for another moment before releasing his zanpakuto hilt and walking away without another word.


The Dangai...

"This place is freaking creepy" Ichigo said as he and his friends ran through the dark tunnel on their way to the Soul Society. The walls looked to be made of black liquid that never stopped moving.

"The surroundings do not matter Ichigo, keep focused on what's ahead that alone" Yoruichi said, running just ahead of the group.

"Hey!...I think I see a light!" Orihime said, it was small but it was there, a light at the end of the tunnel, except this was one they wanted to get to.

"Yes, focus on that light!" Yoruichi said, trying to give them some encouragement. Suddenly the room began to shake, the walls began to move. The rescue team was not stopped by this occurrence, when Uryu looked over his shoulder; he was shocked at what he saw.

"The tunnel is collapsing!" he said loudly.

"Dammit do not look back! The Exit! Focus on the Exit!" Yoruichi yelled. Uryu's cape was caught by the dangai, Chad thankfully saved him and carried him the rest of the way, having no time to let him go.

"I'd hate to interrupt your concentration guys, but there is something coming straight for us, something Big!" Uryu yelled, as he had a clear view of the collapsing tunnel, from the black goop came a light, and what looked to be a massive street sweeper was speeding straight towards them.

"It's the Sokotsu, the cleaner that comes through here once a week, and unfortunately, today is the day" Yoruichi said, the black cat and the four teens speeding up in an effort to escape the Sokotsu that was coming closer and closer by the second.

"We're not going to make it!" Uryu said loudly.

"Quit being so freakin' negative!" Ichigo yelled back. Orihime had a thought and slid to a halt, turning to confront the Sokotsu, she held out her hands.

"Lily, Baigon, Hinagiku! Santen Kesshun (Three Sacred Links Shield)I reject!"

"No Orihime!" Yoruichi yelled. The auburn haired girl formed the golden shield, which grew to try and combat the cleaner, upon contact, there was a bright light followed by a powerful explosion, the rescue team and cat were propelled out of the Dangai by the blast, and sent plummeting in to the ground below.

As the smoke cleared, the rescue team was safely on top of Orihime's shield. Chad and Ichigo had landed in their own poses, Orihime had landed on her bum and Uryu was dazed, Yoruichi was twitching on the ground, most likely scared out of her mind.

"Yay! We all made it out all right!"

"No thanks to you!" Yoruichi headbutted Orihime.

"Oww! Myyy Eyyyee!" Orihime cried.

"You deserve it! If you had waited a moment longer I would've told you that using any sort of energy based technique against the Sokotsu would back fire and if Any one of the Shun Shun Rikka had touched the Sokotsu, they would've been obliterated!" Yoruichi scolded her.

"I'm sorry…I didn't know" Orihime said, saddened by the thought of losing of them.

"Lay off Yoruichi, if it weren't for Orihime's shield we might've been caught by the Sokotsu" Ichigo said, picking the cat up eye level with himself. Ichigo yelled out in pain as three scratches appeared on his face, Yoruichi landing on her feet.

"Where are we?" Uryu asked, the others thought the same once they looked at the surrounding area.

"This is known as the Rukongai, 80 districts North, South, East and West that surround the Seireitei, 1 being the richest and safest, inhabited by the nobles and aristocrats and 80 being the poorest and most dangerous" Yoruichi said. Ichigo looked around and noticed no one was on the streets, not walking around, not even looking at them, despite all the noise their entrance made. There was a soul around. He then noticed something strange.

"Hey, what are those buildings over there?" Ichigo asked, the others looked to see an area where the ground looked to be made of white, pristine stone, buildings were cleaner, more well-built, an incredibly large building stood in the distance.

"Do not worry yourself with that place Ichigo, for now let us formulate a plan" Yoruichi was interrupted by the voice of the orange haired teen.

"I know! That's got to be the Seirei-whatever! That's where Rukia is right? Let's go!" Ichigo said, taking off for the city.

"You Fool! You'll be killed!" Yoruichi shouted after him, Chad and Orihime running past her as well.

"By what?" Ichigo yelled back, the moment he got within a few feet of the Seireitei, the defense system activated and a massive wall fell in to place around the perimeter, piece by piece it fell, Ichigo saw this and launched himself back, crossing his arms and bracing himself for the shock wave that came by.

"By that" Yoruichi said.

"Damn…Huh?" Ichigo noticed a large shadow looming over himself and his friends, the four look up to meet the sight of a massive man, easily five times larger than themselves, dressed in a shihakusho of the Shinigami, his left arm covered by steel armor, a large red fez on top of his head.

"And him" Yoruichi said with a deadpan expression.

"Holy hell! He's freaking enormous!" Ichigo said loudly.

"Who…or what is he?" Uryu asked.

"His name is Jidanbo, Guardian of the West Gate, picked from elite of the Shinigami, he, along with three others guard one of the four gates that grant access to the Seireitei" Yoruichi explained. The large man finally noticed the four intruders and laughed.

"Ahahaha! What foolish souls you are! Did you really think you would be able to enter the Seireitei that easily?" Jidanbo taunted them; he pointed a thumb at his own chest.

"I am the Gatekeeper of the White Road Gate, Jidanbo Ikkanzaka, if you wish to enter then you must defeat me in battle, only then shall I open the gate" Ichigo smirked and cracked his knuckles, Uryu prepared himself to form his Quincy bow while Chad and Orihime prepared to use their respective powers.

"Well if that is all it takes, let's go!" just when all four were about to strike, Jidanbo spoke to them…

"Just what do you think you're doing? Are you a bunch of country bumpkins or something?" he said in a rather angered tone. Ichigo looked at the giant of a man with a deadpan expression on his face.

"Uhm…What?"

"Everyone knows that there are three rules that are to be followed at all times in the Rukongai, Rule One; Wash your hands when you come home and before you eat, Rule Two; Never eat food that has fallen on the ground and Rule Three; Fights are nothing more than one on one" Jidanbo explained.

"Huh, is that so? All right than, Chad, Orihime, Uryu, you guys stay back, I'll handle this" Ichigo said, doing stretches to loosen himself up for this fight.

"Ichigo you can't be serious?" Uryu said.

"He's huge!" Orihime added on.

"Yeah, but he's dead set on a one on one fight, so I'll give him a one on one fight" Ichigo stepped up to fight the behemoth, leaving his friends slightly shocked at his attitude towards the situation, like he wasn't worried about the fact that he was currently about to go up against the Goliath that was Jidanbo.

"Ah, I see that you have some manners unlike your three companions. Very good" Jidanbo said.

"Not really, I just wanted to get this over with and save my friend, if the only way to get past you is in a one on one fight, then that's how we're gonna do it" Ichigo said. Jidanbo seemed to be angered by the statement.

"I…I complimented you…you're supposed to say…Thank You!" the large man reached in to his shihakusho and extracted a massive axe, he raised it high above his head and brought it down towards the orange haired youth.

"Orihime! Shield yourselves Now!" Ichigo barked out, the auburn haired girl was shocked for a moment before nodding her head and activating her holy golden shield after calling out the respective fairies names. Ichigo stood there as the axe came down, the impact turning large chunks of earth upwards to the sky underneath it; a large wave of smoke engulfed the three other teens and black cat.

"Ichigo!" they all yelled out. Jidanbo chuckled to himself, all too sure that the orange haired youth was dead as only two had ever survived an attack from his axe.

"Hehehe, I warned the lot of y-What?!" as the smoke cleared away from the impact zone, Ichigo stood there, leaning against the right side of the axe with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked up at the clearly surprised giant with a smirk on his face.

"Not quite, Tiny"

"He's all right!" Orihime said loudly, relieved to hear Ichigo's voice after the attack. Chad sighed in relief himself and Uryu adjusted his glasses.

"H-How!? You're completely unscathed!" Jidanbo said loudly.

"How Did you survive that Ichigo?" Uryu questioned past the wall of earth between them.

"My training with Yoruichi-san" he stated simply, unbeknownst to them, he kicked off of the axe and stretched his arms, Jidanbo bringing the axe level to his own chest.

"I see…Care to elaborate? A powerful technique perhaps?" Uryu questioned.

"Nah…" the Quincy stumbled.

"You're are strong Shinigami, surviving the first strike of my mighty axe is no easy feat, yet you are completely unharmed…Very well…" the grip on his axe handle to the point his knuckles whitened

"Jidanbo Ten Strike Festival!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as he raised the axe high above his head. Ichigo watched as the axe rose higher, as the sun glinted off of the blade edged, he smirked and at that moment, the blade came down.

"One! Two! Three! Four!" Every time Jidanbo brought down the large axe with double the strength of the first strike, each one creating a large dust cloud and a powerful shockwave that began forming cracks in the earthen wall before them on the third.

"Five! Six! …Uhm…Eight! Six! Seven! Three!" if the situation hadn't been so dire, the three teens watching the spectacle would have face-faulted, the Goliath going far over the limit of his attack number. Orihime and Chad were worried for their friend, Uryu worried to fight this giant if Ichigo failed. Yoruichi, though they could not see it, was smirking.

'He certainly is more lax than he used to be, if it wasn't spilling out constantly, I'd say he's barely using any energy at all' the cat thought.

"Last One! There is no way this Berry head has survived! Tenth Stirke! Rrraaagghhh!" Jidanbo brought the axe down at breakneck speeds. The sheer force of the impact created a sonic boom that finally shattered the earth wall blocking the other teens' view of the fight. Orihime, Chad, Uryu and Yoruichi looked on from behind the golden shield as the smoke began to disperse.

The reactions varied at what they saw…

Jidanbo's jaw nearly came unhinged, Orihime gasped happily, but her eyes gave away the sheer shock she felt, Chad's only visible eye became noticeable behind his dark brown bangs and Uryu's jaw dropped, his glasses going askew. Yoruichi's smirk only deepened.

As the smoke cleared, Ichigo stood there, left hand on his hip and his right arm held above his head, holding back the axe and its goliath wielder with relative ease. No blood, no cuts, not even clinging dirt from the smoke.

"That training…I didn't learn much…What I did would be difficult to explain at the moment, but as for what I did gain from it, Tremendous Stamina…" Ichigo moved his arm along the blade edge, the bandages not even shifting, until his hand gripped the blade, he brought his arm down, Jidanbo unknowingly leaning in and the orange haired teen pushed the axe in to the air and throwing Jidanbo off balance, shocking three out of the four spectators,

"Speed…" The orange haired teen crouched low on his haunches and pushed off of the ground, disappearing from sight, three looked up behind themselves, seeing him doing a series of back-flips, before placing his feet on an invisible force in the air and pushing off, disappearing from sight in an instant, appearing in front of Jidanbo at sternum level, barely a few feet away and still moving, his knees to his chest and feet facing the giant.

"And Strength!" he thrust both of his feet forward and the dropkick connected with the giant man's sternum, knocking the air out of him, as well as a little blood. Jidanbo fell back as Ichigo kicked off and flipped a couple times, landing safely on his feet. The goliath continued to fall, falling on his butt with loud crash, the very earth shaking, his upper body slamming against the gate he guarded.

"…So, what did you think Yoruichi?" Ichigo asked, turning back to his stunned friends. The black cat held up a white card with an 8.5

"Only 8.5? I thought I did pretty well?" Ichigo said, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

"One point deduction for Showing off and half a point deduction for the sloppy landing" Yoruichi said, the shocked teens were only more shocked that they were treating this like nothing.

"Sloppy Landing?! Bull!" Ichigo argued.

"Your footing was slightly off" The two continued to argue, ignoring the large rising shadow behind them, as well as the rising killing intent bearing down on them.

"Uhm…Ichigo?" Uryu said, adjusting his glasses.

"Huh? What's up?" his three friends pointed to the shadow behind him, he turned and saw the massive figure of Jidanbo standing over him, a red aura of rage surrounding his body, his axe in hand and a large tic mark on his forehead.

"You…You treat fighting me like it is some sort of game? How Rude! You turn your back on your opponent to talk with a Cat?! I will teach you proper manners you country bumpkin!" He reached in to his Shihakusho and extracted a second axe.

"That…might be a problem" Ichigo said, his face turning serious again and stepping up to the giant.

"I was just having a friendly conversation, you're pretty rude yourself, interrupting it like that" Ichigo said, spreading his feet and bending his knees for a slight bracing stance, he crossed his arms over his chest, smirking to himself, knowing he had gotten to the giant.

"No talking! It's time I crush you! Jidanbo Dual Axe Executioner Strike!" The Giant of a man held his arms out wide, slightly behind his back, the blade edge of the large weapons glinting in the sunlight.

"Ichigo" Yoruichi said.

"I know…" the orange haired teen closed his eyes in concentration; he could feel his spiritual energy traveling to his fists and throughout his body.

'My opponent is on the offensive…Focus my energy to one point…Listen to my surroundings and wait for the moment to strike…' Despite his eyes being closed, Ichigo could still see his surroundings, his ears becoming his eyes. Jidanbo's enraged breaths and battle cry as he swung both his axes in unison. Orihime's gasp and Chad and Uryu's cries for him to do something, Yoruichi telling them to stay back.

'Let my energy build then cut the flow…the axes are coming closer…three…two…ONE!' Ichigo's eyes snapped open. He swung his arms out just as Jidanbo's axes came within a few feet.

'And Release!' Ichigo's fists glowed a brilliant white; his body surrounded by a faint blue aura the moment his middle knuckles made contact with the axe blades, energy exploded out form his fists in powerful blasts, Orihime having to shield them again from the shockwave of the attack.

As the smoke cleared, they could clearly see Ichigo with his arms spread wide, smoke rising from his fists, Jidanbo stood their stunned at the display of power, Yoruichi smirking proudly at her pupil's progress.

'What power!' Uryu thought, steel shards ranging from the size of Yoruichi to Chad fell from the sky and hit the ground with heavy thuds. Those shards were the remnants of Jidanbo's axes, the only thing that remained were the yellow hilts in his hands and a small stub of steel.

"Very nice Ichigo, but that technique is meant to repel, not destroy…but you created a new use for it so I suppose it's acceptable" Yoruichi said. What the black cat had said had shocked Ichigo's friends.

"Ha…Hahahahaha! You…You tiny berry head are incredibly strong! No man has ever survived my Executioner Strike! Hahahahahaha! No matter, using that much energy must have tired you out! I can finish this with one…more…strike?" the goliath of a man finally noticed that his axes were no longer whole, but scattered.

"My…my axes…" he said incredulously. Ichigo scratched behind his head sheepishly.

"Yeah…sorry about that…went a little overboard with that technique…!" Ichigo and the others jumped in surprise as the giant fell on his behind, crying like a child who had just broken his favorite toy. Ichigo continued to scratch the back of his head; he didn't know how to deal with this kind of stuff. Sure he had comforted his younger sisters Karin and Yuzu when they cried, but those were prepubescent girls and family and this…this was a grown man twenty times his own size.

"He sounds like a siren" Orihime pointed out.

"Very nice work Kurosaki, now the entire Seireitei is going to know of our presence" Uryu said, adjusting his glasses.

"Oh so I was supposed to let this guy cut me in two! Yeah! That would've helped a lot on this mission!" the orange haired teen said sarcastically.

"Hey, it's all right, please, calm down" Orihime stepped up to try and console the giant, and despite her tone of voice, Jidanbo heard the words over his blubbering, calming down slightly, but still spilling tears.

"You put up one hell of a fight big guy, you've got the power, you just need to work on the speed to back it up" Ichigo said. Jidanbo looked at him in bewilderment, not believing what his ears were hearing.

"…Y-You're my enemy…and yet you give me advice for battle? W-why?" the goliath asked. Ichigo scratched behind his head in thought, wondering that himself, then he thought back to what Yoruichi had told him during training.


Flashback

"Gah!" Ichigo was sent crashing in to a large rock by a powerful kick from Yoruichi. The orange haired teen was resilient and pried himself out quickly, just in time to avoid Yoruichi's daggers that she hid among her person.

He used Shunpo to get in close and attacked with quick punches and kicks, Yoruichi avoiding them with fluid movement, like she could see them in slow motion or predict them. Ichigo attempted a sweep kick, the cat woman jumping up and nailing him in the chin with a back flip kick, Ichigo being sent sailing through the air and hitting the ground.

"…Ow" He sat up, rubbing his sore chin, he looked up and scrambled away as Yoruichi came crashing down from on high with her axe kick, this one with much more power, leaving a crater in the ground where he once lay.

"I told you Ichigo, treat me like an enemy just as I am doing you, attack with holding back" Yoruichi instructed him, Ichigo did so and lashed out with a crescent kick which Yoruichi mirrored and the two jumped away.

"I know this is combat training, but you're supposed to be helping me with my Zanpakuto as well and so far I haven't learned a thing about it other than how to release it" Ichigo said. Yoruichi disappeared in a burst of sheer speed, far outclassing the stunned orange haired teen.

Bam.

Ichigo doubled over in pain, Yoruichi's knee planted firmly in his stomach, the force behind it causing him to empty his stomach contents with a little blood.

"I cannot help you with the powers of your zanpakuto, those are aspects you must discover on your own and there is no better way…" she drew her knee away and Ichigo fell on all fours, coughing violently "Than in a combat situation, where the chance of death…" she raised her leg to perfect vertical split over her head.

Ichigo turned his head and his eyes widened, see the cold look in her golden eyes.

"Is very real" she brought her leg down and made solid contact with Ichigo's back, driving the orange haired teen in to the ground and creating a large crater. Yoruichi brought her leg away and stood there, a moment later; Ichigo struggled to get to his feet, but eventually did, though still a little shaken.

'Damn, this is one tough strawberry'

The cat woman smirked "Don't be so tense all the time, a skilled hakuda fighter can predict their enemies next move by reading body language."

Ichigo tried to catch his breath, but the knee strike and combined with the axe kick to his back, the intense, agonizing pain he felt was making it very difficult. He saw something, the slightest of movement on Yoruichi's right leg. On gut feeling, he leaned back, and at that moment, Yoruichi's foot shot in front of his face.

To say the Cat Woman was stunned would've been the understatement of the year.

"You know…giving an enemy advice…isn't very smart…they could…use it against you" Ichigo said between breaths.

"Yeah, but I'm still your teacher…and you never know Ichigo, showing an enemy a little respect may go a long way, even a new ally"

Flashback End…


Ichigo shook his head for a moment.

"I respect you as a fighter I suppose is why, despite you being my enemy now, doesn't mean I can't help you improve so we can have a better fight next time we meet" Ichigo said, Yoruichi hopped on to his shoulder.

"Well said" Ichigo nodded and turned back hearing a loud sniff. Jidanbo was smiling brightly with tears brimming in his eyes.

"You…You are so generous! Thank you berryhead! And here I am bawling my eyes out over my broken axes, I am such a disgrace" Jidanbo said, the strange thing about it all, was that he was smiling.

"Right! Since you have defeated me, I shall allow you and your friends passage in to the Seireitei" Jidanbo said, he tossed the remains of his axes away and turned towards the door.

"Is he…" Orihime started to say but didn't finish as Jidanbo grabbed the underside of gate and pulled, veins popping up along his arms and one pulsing in his temple. It began to raise, Jidanbo bringing it higher and higher.

"Damn…" Ichigo said.

"Rrraggghh!" Jidanbo gave a battle cry as he lifted the gate above his head at arms-length, bringing it down on to rest on his shoulders.

"Thanks Jidanbo!" Ichigo called up, walking past the giant, he looked up when he didn't get a response, Jidanbo, the axe-wielding goliath looked…scared.

"Ichigo, retreat Now" Yoruichi said sternly from his shoulder. The orange haired teen looked at his sensei before a powerful Reiatsu registered on his radar, a split second after a woman appeared. A lithe woman with the face a battle hardened soldier, navy blue hair with twin tails wrapped in white cloth and tipped by gold rings, cold steel grey eyes and black body suit that looked to by a variant on the normal shihakusho like his own, but hers showed much of her upper thigh and all of sides. Over that she wore a white haori.

"S-s-soi-fon-Taicho" Jidanbo stuttered out. The woman did not respond, keeping her cold gaze upon the orange haired teen and his three companions. The black cat jumped off of Ichigo's shoulder.

"Do as I said Ichigo" Yoruichi said just as seriously as before, but the teen did not budge.

'I knew we would be met with some resistance because of the ruckus earlier, but I never expected a Taicho class Shinigami to come this far out, especially Her' the black cat thought.

"Who're you?" Ichigo questioned.

The woman did not respond to this either, merely moved her steely gaze to the goliath holding the gate.

"I will deal with you later you oversized buffoon" the Giant visibly flinched in fear of her statement, gulping loudly. The woman turned her gaze back to the orange haired teen, who was matching her glare with his own.

"Among the Military forces of the Gotei 13, I am Soi-Fon, Taicho of the Second Division, Commander of the Onmitsukido and Corp Commander of the Executive Militia, but none of these titles are important to the likes of you except for one."

"And what's that?" Yoruichi's eyes widened.

"Ichigo!"

In the blink of an eye she had disappeared and reappeared in front of him with a short wakizashi unsheathed and on course for his heart.

"Your executioner, Ryoka" to her surprise, Ichigo dodged, though she managed to nick the stomach of his shihakusho. He thrust out with a swift crescent kick, the lithe woman dodging this and aiming to slice his calf muscle with her blade but the teen and retracted his leg quickly and lashed out with two swift punches.

"You damn Fool!" Yoruichi yelled out, Ichigo ignored her and followed up by using Shunpo, greatly surprising the navy haired woman, though she remained outwardly stoic. She back flipped away as the teen appeared beside her and attempted an elbow thrust to her ribs.

'What?!' Soi-Fon did let shock grace her face as she landed and saw the fighting stance the boy took, it was all too familiar to her because she used it herself.

'No! That is impossible; the only people who know of that style are myself and the Shihoin! And this intruder is certainly Not of Shihoin blood! Wait…' her eyes moved to the black cat that was glaring daggers at the teens back, the woman could see the muscles of its legs tensed, as if wanting to jump in but restraining itself.

'It can't be…' Soi-Fon inwardly seethed with rage and charged at the cat instead of her opponent who stepped in to her path, his knees bent and his left hand moving to strike.

"Mah mah…" the sickly sweet voice reached all occupants ears. In a fluid motion of unmatched speed, Soi-Fon was wrapped up in white cloth and sent tumbling away; Ichigo was faced with a silver haired man with a smile plastered across his face, going from ear to ear. The orange haired teen saw a glint of light by the man's side, it flashed back and the two of them stopped.

"Soi-Fon-Taicho, letting a Ryoka in to your guard, I must say I'm a little disappointed" Gin said as he turned towards the Second Division captain who struggled against her bonds.

"You're using excessive force Ichimaru, that is no better than I so you have no room to speak of disappointment."

"Excessive force?" The male captain's grin grew slightly wider as he shouldered his wakizashi.

The very moment he did, blood sprayed from the cut that opened across Ichigo's neck, his eyes wide.

"I have no idea what you mean" he said innocently.

"Ichigo!" Chad and Uryu yelled, Orihime gasped as tears came to her eyes.

"No!" Yoruichi said.

"That's how you deal with Intruders!" he said in a rather chipper tone, turning his upper body and catching Ichigo by the scruff of his shihakusho, the orange haired teen was holding his bleeding neck and gasping for whatever he could get in to his slowly filling lungs, cough up blood that flecked on Gin's face, the silver haired man only grinned wider if that was possible.

'So this is him, hmm' he thought. He tossed Ichigo to his friends, Chad catching his orange haired friend and setting him on the ground, Orihime quickly activating her powers, though this went unnoticed by Gin who turned his attention on Jidanbo who was visibly shaking, though he did not know if it was from the weight of the gate or the presence of two captains, though the latter brought him greater joy in the thought of the goliath's fear.

"So…What made ya think you could just let those Ryoka there waltz on in to the Seireitei, you're supposed ta be protectin' the gate, not just lettin' the riffraff come in here when they please" Gin said, twirling the wakizashi by the hilt between his fingers.

Jidanbo gulped "I…I was…I was defeated, Ichi-Ichimaru-Taicho, and as a-Aaaaaggghhhhh!" Before he could continue any further in his explanation, his arm was severed from his shoulder without hesitation from the Third Division Captain who had his zanpakuto in an after slash position.

"Jidanbo!" Orihime yelled, blood gushing from the wound. The goliath fell to one knee, desperately trying to hold on to the gate or risk being crushed and killed by it.

"As…As a Gate Guardian I-I am p-permitted to…Ugh! Open the gate upon my defeat and allow the one who defeated me to pass, It…makes perfect sense!" Jidanbo said. Gin stopped twirling the blade.

"You idiot…" Jidanbo looked at the man in fear, hearing the edge in his voice "There are only one 'Rule' as a Gate Guardian, and that is to kill anyone who tries to enter the Seireitei, you ain't supposed to open no gate!" Gin took a bracing stance, right foot ahead of him and his left foot behind him.

"And if you just so happened to lose…" he drew back his right arm, his zanpakuto pointing forward.

"It means…Death" Jidanbo could feel a large amount of pressure bearing down on him.

"Shoot'em Dead, Shinso" he thrust the wakizashi forward and it was engulfing by white light, the blade extended to incredible lengths, closing in on Jidanbo's heart in seconds. An orange blur appeared just before it pierced and something blocked it, but the goliath was still sent flying, far overhead of Ichigo's friends and the gate was launched high in to the air.

Jidanbo hit the ground hard but the blade hadn't moved but a few feet outside of the gate. Gin's eyebrows rose and his grin turned in to a small frown.

"Wasn't expecting that…" Ichigo stood there, the tip of the wakizashi a few inches away from the right side of his chest, his bandaged wrapped hand bleeding from his tight grip on the blade. Only a blood stain was left from their earlier altercation, not scar on his neck.

'Now that is interesting…'

"Ichigo!" Yoruichi yelled as he ran to other side of the gate as it began its descent.

"What's your name?" Ichigo asked. The frown disappeared and the man grinned from ear to ear just like before.

"Name is Gin Ichimaru, Taicho of the Third Division, and you're Ichigo Kurosaki, correct?" the silver haired man asked.

"…Yeah" the Substitute Shinigami pushed the blade away and Gin retracted it, the wakizashi returning to its normal length.

"Well…Bye-bye" the Taicho waved just as the gate fell past him and hit the ground with a loud crash.

'How does that Fox-faced bastard know my name?'


Behind the Gate…

"Well that certainly was interesting, don'tcha think Soi-Fon-Taicho?" Gin asked, turning to the bound woman who finally managed to break the wrapping.

She did not respond, for her mind was somewhere else, she looked towards the gate.

'Could it…Could she have finally returned? No! No it could not have been her! My revenge will have to wait until another day' Soi-Fon thought.

"Ichimaru-Taicho, I do hope you will be able to explain the use of your Shikai to Captain-Commander Yamamoto, after what has occurred, he will no doubt be calling for a Captain's meeting soon" the navy haired woman said, sheathing her own zanpakuto behind her back.

"I no need to worry about little ol' me, I'll think of something I'm sure" Gin said. There was a silence between the two, broken by Soi-Fon who merely grunted and disappeared via Shunpo. Gin hummed to himself as he walked off, twirling Shinso by the hilt.

'I don't think Aizen-Taicho will be very happy with me after slitting Ichi-chan's throat like that…' he thought.

"Sigh, Oh well…I'm going to have to explain the bloodstains too I suppose…" Gin mused.


Outside of Seireitei…

"You idiot! Those were Captain class Shinigami, there power is far beyond your own, even with the use of your Shikai either one of them could've killed with their sealed zanpakuto and even with their bare hands!' Yoruichi scolded Ichigo who stood there, looking at the gate door. His thoughts were elsewhere, the cat's words falling on deaf ears.

'Gin Ichimaru…Soi-Fon…Byakuya Kuchiki…only three out of Thirteen and it doesn't sound like their power level is based on ranking, who knows where they really place' Ichigo thought, his fists clenching. He was broken from his thoughts by the sound of Yoruichi's voice.

"Ichigo! Are you listening to me?!" the orange haired teen looked down at his sensei.

"No…sorry, what were you saying?" the golden eyed cat could pick up on a dejected edge in Ichigo's voice, she sighed, despite his not listening, he had already figured out the dangers he would be facing.

"Jidanbo's injured, the others are with him so let's go" Yoruichi said, the teen didn't respond, merely followed along.

"Will you be able to heal him Orihime?" Chad asked. The three of them stood at Jidanbo's side, the giant was down and breathing heavily as blood loss started to take its toll, Orihime thought for a moment before nodding

"Of Course! It'll only take a minute!" she said cheerfully despite the grim sight before them, she placed the tips of her fingers against the six point hair pins holding her auburn locks.

"Shun'o, Ayame, Soten Kisshun (Twin Sacred Return Shield) I Reject!" Orihime said, she held her hands in front of her, a light shot from each clip and formed an oval shaped golden shield over the goliath's shoulder. From the stub muscle and bone began to reform and from nothing the same thing happened as well.

"Ichigo, Chad, I think we have company" Uryu said, the Hispanic giant and orange haired teen turned to the town where the Quincy had set his gaze and saw many of the of its occupants from the elderly to the small children were coming out of their homes, giving them wary looks, looks of worry directed towards Jidanbo and looks of awe from the approaching crowd for Orihime's abilities.

"I thought they were afraid of us" Ichigo said.

"We were, people like yourselves are rarely seen around these parts except for the occasional Shinigami, but even they few and far between as they rarely leave the Seireitei except when on missions, but, after you risked your life to help Jidanbo, we saw that you were not so bad" an elderly man with white hair on the sides along with a beard and moustache walked up to them.

"Jidanbo is well liked in these parts, such a kind soul, always helpful when needed, but I digress, I want to extend my dearest thanks for saving his life" the elderly man said.

"Not a problem, it was the least I could do for him for trying to help us" Ichigo said, Yoruichi jumped on to the orange haired teen's shoulder once again.

"Yoruichi, how are we going to get in to the Seireitei now, we can't go to another gate, no doubt they'll have heavier security on the inside this time" Ichigo asked, Uryu, Chad and Orihime, having finished healing Jidanbo, gathered around for the answer.

"There is more than one way to enter the Seireitei, using one of the four gates was one of the simpler means but seeing as how that plan did not work…" the black cat pawed at Ichigo's cheek "We still have one other option, excuse me Elder-dono" Yoruichi said, getting the old man's attention.

"Hold on Yoruichi…You don't mean…" Ichigo trailed off.

"I do…Elder-dono, Would you happen to know the whereabouts..."

"There's gotta be another way?" Ichigo said. Yoruichi pawed his cheek for interrupting her, trying to get him to stay quiet.

"Who're you talking about?" Uryu questioned.

Ichigo gulped.

"Kukaku Shiba"


All Righty! I really hoped this chapter made up for the long absence, which I sincerely apologize for once again, I just could not get this done, no matter how much I wanted to.

Yeah, some of the promised change in series besides the Zanpakuto, though I'm sure some of you saw it coming.

I got a couple reviews asking if Chad, Orihime and the others were going to be stronger than their Anime/Manga Counterparts.

Yes, I will be making them stronger and giving them a few touch-ups. My character development skills are amateur at best so let's hope for the best.

I'm ranting again, I'm sorry! Let me know what you think, any questions and I'll get back to you as quickly as possible.

Ja Ne! Killswitch Out!