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"Bastard!" Ichimaru yelled, his fist connecting with the brunette's cheek. Ichimaru balled his fists at his sides, careful not to push past Aizen's limit, less the man kill him on the spot. No, Ichimaru Gin was not stupid. Still, he couldn't understand. That orange-haired substitute Shinigami and the rest of the Soul Society had already defeated all of the Espada and the Arrancars that were left. Even Tousen had been killed during one of the fights. Ichimaru watched as the brunette turned around and sat back down on his throne chair, no matter how worn down it looked. "Answer me Aizen." He growled.

"I'm truly sorry, my friend." Aizen's expression was starting to piss the other male off. "But at least she isn't dead. I knew she was stronger than that. You shouldn't doubt her so much."

"Irrelevant." Ichimaru glared. "You broke our deal."

"Oh come, now." The brunette waved his hand dismissively. "I merely pressured the terms of it."

"Aizen!" The Shinigami with the purple-tinted silver hair was beyond angry now. "I'm tired of your petty excuses!" Ichimaru grabbed his Zanpakuto from his robs, his right hand grabbing the hilt and unsheathing his sword, posing it at the man in the marbled chair.

The brunette didn't blink as he sighed and rested his hand on his chin. "You're against me too Gin?"

"You know that isn't true." He frowned. "But I am against—"

In the blink of an eye, Aizen had moved from his spot on the chair to stand directly behind the former Shinigami Captain of the Third Division. He had noticed that Ichimaru had been getting restless lately, and Aizen was just bidding his time, waiting for the right moment to appear before he made his next move. "I'm disappointed, Gin." He stated as he pressed the end of his own Zanpakuto into the thin man's throat. "I truly expected more of you."

Ichimaru huffed and thrusted his sword up in between Aizen's sword and his throat, elbowing the man in his stomach as he jumped away. He turned around to keep his eyes on the brunette only to be slammed in to the ground, a hard hit to his head making his vision waver. "Che."

Aizen once again put the end of his Zanpakuto against Ichimaru's throat and stepped on the middle of the lithe figure's back. "Go blow off some steam. Then return to me."

Ichimaru growled and glared before he shoved the brunette off of him, sheathing his sword and storming out of the room, ready to kill the first thing that crossed his path.

The brunette smirked before he replaced his own Zanpakuto back in the sheath, returning to his chair, resting his chin in his hand. "Kurotsuki." He didn't even blink when the big black mass appeared before him, kneeling down and head bowed.

"Aizen-sama." The many voices blended together. "I'm here to serve you."

Aizen resisted the urge to roll his eyes. How many times had he heard that one before? And now all who said it were either dead or missing. He pondered a bit on his next move. This...chess game of life was getting more difficult as more days passed by. When he was a Taichou in the Soul Society, he would often spend his free days challenging Yamamoto-taichou to a match. Aizen never being able to win but putting up one hell of a fight. The brunette smirked to himself. It's a good thing he never really tried against the old geezer. He might've given himself away back then. "What's the situation with Toshiro?"

"Toshiro, my lord?"

"The Shinigami I left you to deal with."

Kurotsuki blinked and bowed even deeper. "The sash that held his Zanpakuto was all that remained. I left it with the woman."

Aizen's eyes narrowed. "What did you use?"

"Hado #88."

"Tch." The brunette bit his thumb. There was no way that Toshiro died from an attack like that. At the most, it would damage him for a while, preventing him from fighting or using his Bankai anytime soon. 'Fool. He underestimates Toshiro's ability. Regardless of how small his body may be, he is skilled in unfathomable ways.' He sighed. Now he'd have to change his strategy once more. But it mattered little. There was now one less Taichou fighting for the Soul Society, even if it was only for a small amount of time. Aizen would use this time for the best. "Kurotsuki."

"Yes?"

"I advise you next time," He told the Hollow. "Make sure you survey the dead body."

"My lord?"

"Hitsugaya Toshiro is not dead. Not from a weak attack like that. But he will be injured in the meantime."

Kurotsuki raised his arms, pulling out the swords that he used in battle against Toshiro. "I also struck him with these two Zanpakuto. The poison from these blades will eventually consume him, my lord. He has no future."

Aizen seemed to contemplate this. He knew that Toshiro would get eventually get help, but for now he would let this slide. It didn't damper his new plans at all. "We move now."

"As you wish Aizen-sama." Kurotsuki bowed once again before he disappeared from the room.

'Are you ready, old man? Can your Shinigami's stand up to my might? My strength?' Aizen felt the laughter at finally getting his revenge bubble up in his chest. 'How will you defend your precious Soul Society? It's your move.'

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"Ma, ma, Ichi-nii!" Yuzu's voice yelled up the stairs. Her hands folding over her chest as her foot tapped on the wooden. "Ichigo!"

"What?" The head full of orange-hair appeared around the corner, the usual scowl on his face as he glared down at her. "Stop yelling."

The little blonde girl held up a white envelope. "A letter."

"So?" He huffed. He had better things to do with his time.

"Addressed from that woman you were with the other day—" She blinked as her brother spun around on his heels, practically jumping down the stairs, missing all of them, to land right in front of her. "Uh..."

Ichigo held out his hand. "Well, give it here."

"R-right." Yuzu moved her left arm to hand the letter to him only to have her twin sister rip it out of her hand and sprint into the dining room, putting the table between her and Ichigo.

"Karin you little—!" Their brother yelled as he jumped after her.

Karin only smirked as she tore open one side of the envelope, also running around the table to keep it between her and Ichigo. She gasped and jumped over the back of the couch as the orange-haired male leapt onto the table. "No fair!" She exclaimed as he lunged after her, tackling her to the floor and wrestling, grabbing the envelope from her hands. As Ichigo let her go she quickly got up and ran back around the table.

"What the – it's empty!" He growled as he crushed the envelope in his hands, his gaze snapping back to his little sister as she proceeded to unfold the letter. He watched her expression as he stalked over to her, Karin's face changing from smirking to one of complete surprise. Ichigo snatched the letter from her hands and glared at her. He resisted the urge to hit her, not like he would really ever hurt her, before he turned around and walked back towards his room. He stopped as he heard the black haired girl's quiet voice. He took a glance back at her before he winked. "Don't worry so much about it, Karin. I haven't decided yet." He informed her before he disappeared back into his room.

"Karin?" Yuzu asked as her twin shuffled her way towards the couch, falling down face first. The little blonde walked over to her sister and sat down near Karin's stomach, softly rubbing her back. "What's wrong?"

"Ichi-nii is leaving."

"Aw, c'mon!" Yuzu smiled. "He leaves all the time. He'll be back."

Karin looked at Yuzu with a worried gaze. "He's moving."

The corner of Yuzu's mouth twitched before she suddenly stood up, her fingers entangled in her hair as she shrieked out loud. "Nooooo! He can't do that! Ichi-nii wouldn't leave us!"

The raven-haired girl sighed. "Face it Yuzu, he's grown up now."

"What's with all the dramatic screaming?!" Isshin bursted into the living room, his arms full of the groceries that Yuzu had sent him out to get earlier. "Yuzu, baby, what's wrong?"

The blonde was currently in a crouched position, her arms around her knees as she rocked back in forth, her depressed aura hanging above her head.

Isshin blinked at his other daughter.

"Ichigo's moving."

"That's it?" Their father let out a relieved sigh as he set down the groceries on the counter.

"What do you mean 'that's it'?" Karin asked. "Usually you'd be the one in Yuzu's position."

Isshin shrugged. "I understand, although, I don't know why you two want the smaller room-"

"You big idiot!" Karin kicked her father in his shin. "We aren't moving rooms! Ichigo's moving out of the house!"

All of the color suddenly drained from Isshin's face as the man finally understood what his daughter was talking about. His little boy was growing up so fast. He completely forgot Karin as the next second he found himself in a big hug with Yuzu, tears streaming down their faces as they muttered and cried about Ichigo leaving them and never coming back. Both Isshin and his blonde haired daughter ignored the raven-haired girl as she folded her arms and rolled her eyes, scolding both of them underneath her breath at how ridiculously childish they could be.

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Ichigo entered his room, closing his door and locking it making sure that he could have some privacy. Not that he got any, especially with his eavesdropping father and sister. He threw his sippers next to the chair as his desk before he flopped backwards on to his bed. Blinking as something soft kept hitting the back of his head and a muffled voice kept screaming. He reached behind his head only to grab a hold of the stuffed lion's leg, the yellow animal currently being host to the mod soul Kon. "Oh, sorry." Ichigo said as he tossed the stuffed animal towards the end of the bed where his feet were.

"What's your deal?" Kon asked as he picked himself up off the mattress.

The human didn't say anything as he read the letter in his hand. His excitement steadily increasing as he kept reading more and more. "YES!" Ichigo punched a fist in the air his excitement reaching its limit as he jumped up and danced around the room before falling back on his bed, his arms stretched out above him. 'This is great!' He closed his eyes, relishing in his accomplishment until he heard someone clearing their throat. "Karin?" He bolted upright, crossing his legs and sticking his hands down in between them. "How many times do I have to tell you," He was scowling at her. "Quit picking my lock!"

"Don't be stupid." She crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out. "I didn't pick your lock. Kon let me in."

Immediately Ichigo glared at the lion stuffed plushy snorting in satisfaction as the yellow blob dived underneath his bed. "What do you want?" He asked, turning his attention back to the raven haired girl standing in the doorway.

Karin immediately moved from her spot, walking over and hopping up on her brother's bed, sitting down and drawing her knees up to her chest as she avoided an unnecessary eye contact with him. "Well…"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. He didn't have time for this right now. He had preparations to get done! "Spit it out already."

"You don't have to be such a jerk." She snapped back at him. "Yuzu and I…we…"

"Karin—"

"We want to go the festival!"

The orange-haired male blinked as he watched the blush appear on his sister's neck up to her ears and form across the bridge of her nose. Well, now…this was rare. 'Since when did Karin blush?' He mused as the blush on her face deepened the longer that the silence was in the air between the two. "So go to the festival." He said, raising an eyebrow at her when she mumbled something below her breath. "What?"

Karin frowned at him. "Dad said you had to take us."

"Why?" He asked. Karin was a big girl. She could take care of herself, let along little Yuzu. He stifled his laughter at the blush that remained on her cheeks. If she knew what he was laughing at she'd kick his butt a hundred times to Timbuktu and back again. Hell, she'd probably kill him for what he was thinking. Rather than admitting it out loud, Ichigo concluded that sometimes, the tomboy I'll-kick-your-ass-if-you-even-so-much-as-think-about-it Karin was cute when she was embarrassed. "You're responsible enough."

"I know that!"

"Well, we…kinda." Karin closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she practically screamed out what she was trying to say. "Yuzu and I want to go with you!"

Ichigo leaned forward, peering at his sister, shoving the fact that her blush deepened even more into the back of his mind as he watched her. Her thumbs rotated around each other, her vision never met his as she looked around the room, then out the window before she stared down at her knees. "Fine, fine." He sighed as he stood up, his arms raising to the ceiling as he stretched, wincing as his back cracked in a few places. "Fine. When are we going?"

"Tomorrow!" Karin grinned up at him as she jumped off the bed. "The carnival starts at one!"

"Whoa, hold it a sec." He frowned at her. "You said it was a festival, not a carnival."

"Same thing." She waved her hand dismissively at him before she bolted out of the room to go and tell her sister. "We'll warn you when we're ready to go!"

"Karin!" Ichigo's hand was outstretched towards the doorway only to hear the sound of the wooden door click shut. His fingers twitched and so did his eye as he sighed in defeat, his arms falling to his sides as his head dropped. 'What've I gotten myself into?'

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"Enter Matsumoto." The old, bald man with a long white beard, weaved with a dark purple ribbon beckoned the orange-haired lieutenant of the tenth division into the Taichou's meeting chamber. Yamamoto did not fail to miss her obvious distress of speaking in front of all of the Division Captains. Funny, Matsumoto was always father straightforward and confident when matters of high importance involved her. The Captian-Commader sat in silence as the other Captains patiently waited as well.

Rangiku had walked inside the huge doors, by order of Yamamoto, before the Division Captains, immediately falling to her hands and knees, bowing. Her gut clenched as she relayed the latest news that would bring forth a heavy atmosphere. "Captains…forgive me for interrupting—"

"Be calm Matsumoto." Ukitake told her. He gave her a small smile as she looked up at him but Juushirou frowned on the inside. 'Her eyes hold so much hurt.'

"Continue." Yamamoto commanded her.

Rangiku bowed again before she spoke. "Earlier this week, there was contact with Aizen." She ignored their quick intakes of breaths and small murmurs. "Along with Aizen, Ichimaru Gin was also sighted."

"For what reason would Aizen return?" Komamura growled. "He has lost his army."

"They had come to offer Captain Hitsugaya as place at their side." She informed them.

The silence weighed heavy before Byakuya spoke. "I see you've suffered some injuries. But that does not explain where your Captain is."

Rangiku's reiatsu took on a depressed aura, her body shaking as she swallowed hard, trying her best to answer in a steady voice. "He's missing."

"Treason?" Mayuri questioned as the other Captains spoke at once.

"No!" Matsumoto cried. "There's more!"

Yamamoto knocked the end of his wooden staff on the ground. "Enough." He waited until there was silence once again before nodding at Rangiku.

"Aizen has created a new…monster." She explained, rising to her feet, her arms outstretched as she used her hands. "It's power is incredible—it's like he took an Espada and Hollowfied it even more, it's like nothing we've ever seen.

"It's nothing we can't handle, we've beaten Aizen's other Espada."

"It's not like that!" Her fists balled at her sides. "This, thing, is an extreme danger to anyone. Anything it kills, not only does it absorb the soul but it gains the power of that person too. This monster carries, at least, fifteen swords on its back and it has the ability to use Shunpo, Kido and Cero."

Kyoraku sighed, tugging the pink flowered kimono that rested over his shoulders. "Well that could be a small problem."

Komamura spoke to her. "So you fought this…monster. Where was Toshiro?"

Rangiku frowned as she reached into her Shihakusho, pulling out the olive green sash that belong to her Captain. She held it in her hand as she walked forward, placing herself in the middle of the other Captains, holding it up for all of them to see. "This is all that was left of him after a kido-cero combination." Her grip tightened on the sash as she looked at each and every one of them. "I can't even find his reiatsu."

All of the Captains gapped at her. Even the usually shut eyes of the Captain-Commander opened wide with shock. "If you'll excuse me. I must find my Captain." She bowed deeply before she straightened and quickly removed herself from the room, cursing as she hastily wiped away the tears that threatened to spill from her icy blue eyes.

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Ichigo saw a slight movement out of the corner of his eye and immediately pounced on the object that had gathered his attention, his foot stomping down on the back of the stuffed animals head, effectively pinning it to the ground. He grinned evilly as he heard the muffled cries of the mod soul, crossing his arms over his chest and laughing as Kon's arms flailed uselessly around. He grabbed the lion by the back of its head and picked it up to be on eye level with him. "What did I say ab—"

Ichigo didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as the white nail of the stuffed animal was shoved into his eye. He yelped and threw the lion against the wall, his right hand covering his eye as he tried to rub the pain away. "Kon you rotten little twerp!" He yelled as he grabbed a random book off his desk and threw it.

"Ouch!" Kon fell to the ground, the heavy book on top of him as he cried out loud. "Rukia! Save me! Rukia!"

"Shut up you idiot!" The orange-haired male snapped at him. "She's not even here!"

"I'm not?"

Ichigo and Kon paused in their argument to look towards the window, which was now open, a slight breeze blowing the curtains back as the raven-haired Shinigami appeared, crouched down as she entered the room. She slid the window shut and sat on the bed, crossing her legs Indian style as she glared at the two of them. "Just what are you doing?"

"R-r-r-rukia!" Kon screamed and lunged at her, tears streaming down his face and his arms spread out wide.

Rukia didn't even flinch as she punched the lion in the face, sending him backwards and into the closet. She kept her gaze on Ichigo. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Ichigo brushed his hands together as he grabbed the back of his desk chair, spinning it around as he slouched down into it. "Why are you here?"

"You sound as if you don't want me here."

"I never said I didn't."

She raised her eyebrow at him. "That didn't even make any sense."

"It made perfect sense, what are you talking about?" He said, grabbing a white t-shirt and a pair of athletic shorts from the dresser in his closet. "Close your eyes." He instructed her, waiting until she did as she was told before he quickly changed his clothes. Throwing the dirty articles of cloth into the hamper next to his desk he sat down on the bed and stared at her. "Are you staying?"

Rukia matched his look. "Are you going to let me stay?"

"Tch." He sighed, pulling the comforter out from underneath his body as he covered himself up. "You've never let it stop you before."

She smiled, even if the orange-haired male couldn't see it, he knew it. 'I'll tell him tomorrow. No use getting him worked up about it.' Rukia slid of the end of the bed and in to her little space in the closet, getting ready to close the door, she paused for just enough time to let Kon slip in to sleep with her. If she didn't all she'd hear was his complaining and she really didn't need that right now. 'Goodnight, Ichigo.'

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