AN* Hello again, I am sorry it took so long but life is what it is and my own personal projects have been taking up more time then I thought they would. Anyways there are no reviews that demand my attention in this note so please enjoy the newest chapter and feel free to leave more reviews.

Breaking And Entering

"Kurosaki-kun! Are you ok Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue shouted as she ran towards him with the others.

"ARGH! That son of a bitch! He nearly killed me with that!" Ichigo shouted as he sat up, still gripping Cloud Strife in his right hand.

"Be thankful you can still complain." Cloud remarked "That Shinso was dangerous."

"He's lively, he's okay right?" Inoue asked.

"Be thankful it ended this well." Youichi remarked.

"Sorry... Because of me the door." Ichigo sighed.

"Forget it. There is no point in feeling bad about it, and even though the door is closed that was Ichimaru Gin. Even if we had passed through the results would have been the same if not worse. Be thankful that you weren't too injured." Youichi replied. Nodding Ichigo stood up and returned his zanpakuto to his back as he turned towards the village at the slight sound of movement and saw that there people coming out of the houses now.

"People..." Uryu noted.

"Who are they?" Ichigo frowned "Were they hiding all along?"

"Why?" Inoue asked.

"Can't blame them." Youichi remarked "Anyone that was not guided here by a Shinigami is considered an intruder. They are seen as the troublemakers of Soul Society. They were hiding because they were afraid."

"Are they dangerous?" Ichigo asked quietly.

"Well they are showing themselves now so probably not." Youichi mused. Before they could worry more about the sudden appearance of the people they heard the sound of a young boy pushing his way through the small crowd towards the front.

"Mister! Long time no see! It's me, the parakeet Shibata!"

"Shibata?!" Chad said in shock at seeing the young boy.

"That boy was a parakeet?" Cloud asked in confusion.

"It was before we met." Ichigo replied.

"I gathered that much." the zanpakuto deadpanned.

With Shibata's approval the men were soon moving Jidanbou's severed arm back towards his body so Inoue could start the healing process while Ichigo stood nearby to help with the healing once Inoue got it started.

"A lot of Shinigami are jerks." One of the men said who was standing by Ichigo "But Jidanbou's from the alley too. So he is nice to us. Seeing you go against Ichimaru Gin for Jidanbou must mean you're a good guy too."

Ichigo let Inoue work for a few hours before he walked up and tapped her shoulder, getting the girl to jump in surprise.

"Take a break. I'll work on it." he said.

"It's ok, I'm almost done." she smiled.

"Yeah, but Cloud will chew my ear off if I don't work on this." Ichigo sighed as he placed a hand on the wound and closed his eyes. This was one of the basic spells that Cloud had insisted that he learn, making the argument that he may need it in a life and death situation and it was better to know how to treat your own wounds in battle then having to rely on someone else, especially if you got separated from the medic of your group.

"You can heal people too?" Inoue asked in surprise.

"Yeah. Cloud Strife won't explain everything but he has said that my abilities will be pretty varied." Ichigo nodded "Cure..." As the last word left his mouth a green glow appeared from his hands and a small chunk of the wound was healed, no larger then the palm of his hand but it was still there.

"That's amazing Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue exclaimed.

"It's useful, but it only works on a small area. Not like yours that was doing everything." Ichigo replied.

"It will get stronger the more you use it." Cloud replied "Now go make her rest. She was at it for five hours before you decided to relieve her. Now you get to finish this off for your dilly dallying."

"Go rest, I'll finish up." Ichigo sighed as he focused on continuing the healing.

"N... No." Inoue tried to argue, just as a large group of men ran over and told her that she had done enough and told her that they were thankful for her on Jidanbou's behalf. As she finally left to go and rest Ichigo overheard several of the remarks the men had to say about them and heard Cloud starting to chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"Your girlfriend is very popular."

"Sh.. She's not my girlfriend!"

"Oh? Then it's this Rukia that you are trying to save?"

"NO!"

"Oh... I didn't realize that you played for that team."

"WHAT TEAM?!"

"Well I'm sure that Chad is a nice"

"SHUT UP!" Ichigo roared in anger.

Muttering to himself as he heard Cloud laughing at his reaction Ichigo focused on healing Jidanbou. It was slow going and by the time he stopped the wound was now shallow enough where it would heal the rest of the way on it's own in a day or two. Sighing Ichigo walked back towards the house that the others were in and nodded to Uryu as he walked in.

"Good, you're here." Youichi nodded from next to Chad and across from the headman "How is Jidanbou?"

"Almost back to 100%." Ichigo sighed "Inoue did all the hard work but I managed to finish it up."

"Good. Come and sit. I want to discuss our plan for tonight and tomorrow." Youichi stated. Once they were all seated Youichi began explaining the situation.

"First, once the gate is opened the security behind it will increase dramatically."

"So then beating the guardian for passage won't work anymore." Uryu noted.

"Breaking in like that was never a good idea in the first place." Youichi snarked "Anyways we won't be able to use the Hakutoumon anymore."

"What about the other gates?" Chad asked.

"They are at least ten days away. We would be wasting a lot of time just going there."

"Th... Then how are we going to..." Uryu trailed off.

"Don't worry. If we can't get in using the gate entrance, we'll just have to go in without using a gate." Youichi said with a smug look.

"Oh I am going to like this plan." Cloud chuckled.

"Elder-dono. Shiba Kukaku. Do you know where Shiba-san is?" Youichi asked as the elderly man looked shocked at the request "In the past the place used to be somewhere around here but since Shiba-san is a drifter there is a chance"

"Shiba Kukaku... Can it be that you plan to go into the city through "That"?" the elder asked in shock.

"What do you mean" Ichigo began as as strange sound was heard, getting him to pause as he looked towards the door "What is that sound?"

A moment later a person was sent flying into the door, holding what looked like a broken set of reigns as he skidded across the floor. A moment later a large pig walked into the doorway to the shock of Ichigo and his friends.

"Well there's breakfast." Cloud remarked.

"Ahh... I got thrown from my pig again." the man said as he stood up and then addressed the elder "Yo! Long time no see old man."

"Ganju! It's you! What are you doing here? Go back home!" the elder exclaimed.

"It's just I haven't seen you in awhile so I came by, but you're already kicking me out? You're scaring the guests so don't be impolite." Ganju remarked.

"That's because of you!"

"Hold on a minute." Ganju said as he stared at Ichigo and then pulled down his goggles "What the?! What's a punk ass Shinigami doing in here?!"

"Be the bigger person Ichigo. It's not worth attacking him." Cloud said.

"I know." Ichigo agreed.

"Yo, say something. I asked you a question." Ganju said as he got in Ichigo's face "What is a punk ass Shinigami like you..." He then lightly slapped Ichigo's right cheek before he grabbed his chin "Doing in a place like this?"

"Fuck it." Ichigo sighed.

"Make it count." Cloud agreed.

With that Ichigo slugged Ganju across the face with a left hook that sent the man skidding across the floor.

"Why the heck did you punch me Dandelion Head? Are you trying to pick a fight? Huh?"

"That's my line you pig riding barbarian! Suddenly barging in here, who the hell do you think you are?!" Ichigo shouted back.

"They... They're going to fight... What should I do... I have to stop them..." Inoue freaked out.

"Just as I thought." the elder sighed.

"What do you mean just as you thought? Who is that Elder-dono?!" Uryu exclaimed.

"What? You really don't know who I am? You sure are an ignorant Shinigami." Ganju huffed "Alright, I'll tell you." he paused to take a breath before shouting "I'm Ganju! Self-Declared "Nishirukongai's Crimson Bullet"! Self-Declared the number one "The man that is most wanted to be called Boss of the Nishirukongai" for 14 years! Also, Self-Declared "The man who hates Shinigami the most in Nishirukongai"

"If he added any more self-declared to that title of his he would be the biggest idiot that I had ever seen." Cloud sighed "Kick his ass already so we can find Shiba Kukaku."

As Cloud finished Ganju charged Ichigo and rammed into him sending both of them flying outside, where Ganju's underlings moved in to stop the rest of Ichigo's group from interfering. Ganju stood first and glared down at Ichigo.

"You better leave this place! As long as I'm alive I will not allow a Shinigami to reside in Nishirukongai"

Before he could finish speaking Ichigo slammed a foot into his face and sending Ganju back a few steps to the shock of his subordinates.

"That's enough. You didn't even hear me out and you just go around hitting people. Even if you really wanted to fight me you aren't good enough to be my opponent." Ichigo remarked as he stood up.

"Punk! That's twice in a row that you punched my handsome face!" Ganju shouted through the hand that was holding his injured face.

"I kicked you the second time, Idiot." Ichigo retorted.

"Oi! Ichigo, stop it! Don't waste your energy on a useless fight!" Youichi shouted.

"Might be useless but I'm not going to turn my back on him." Ichigo countered.

"If you're not going to leave Shinigami, it seems that you and I... Are destined to fight!" Ganju shouted as he drew his blade.

"Ganju! Stop this at once! He is not a bad Shinigami!" the Elder shouted.

"Shut up!" Ganju shouted back "You should know very well Elder! A Shinigami is a Shinigami, there are no good or bad ones!" Ganju then turned his attention back to Ichigo and charged at him with a roar. As Ganju charged towards him Chad had grabbed Cloud Strife and threw it to Ichigo who called out a thanks as he brought the buster sword into a block, stopping Ganju easily.

"Don't assume that with a larger sword you'll be able to beat me!" Ganju grinned.

Stamping his foot on the ground Ganju grinned as Ichigo looked confused at the sound before Ganju put a hand on the guard.

"Sink down!" he shouted as he pushed down and Cloud Strife sank into the ground up to it's hilt. As Ichigo blinked at the trick Ganju launched a kick at Ichigo that got a grin out of the teen as he held up his hand towards Ganju.

"Barrier!"

As Ganju's kick got closer a wall of pale green appeared in front of Ichigo and seemed to absorb the impact of the kick and had Ganju leaping backwards as he glared at Ichigo for a moment before charging back in. Ichigo contemplated blasting him with more magic but decided that he could handle this himself as he blocked the overhead chop that Ganju tried with a simple karate block before grabbing his arm and then smashing his fist into Ganju's face as he was off balance. Ganju shocked Ichigo as he kept his footing and glared at Ichigo who blinked at that.

"That didn't knock you out? You are tough." Ichigo noted.

"Punk." Ganju glared as blood dripped out of his nose. It seemed like they were going to keep going for a few seconds until the sound of an alarm clock ringing stopped them as one of Ganju's men shouted for him.

"It's not good Boss! It's already 9 o'clock!"

"What?! 9 o'clock?! Oh no! Come here Pig-chan!" Ganju shouted then whistled. The pig did arrive, leaping over Ichigo's head and then ramming into Ganju, sending him tumbling backwards as he got back up and mounted the pig.

"Ok then..." Ichigo muttered in confusion.

"I'm not runnin away Dandelion-Head! I've just got somewhere I've got to be! Wait here until I get back! Don't you run away like cotton in the wind!" Ganju shouted at Ichigo as he and his lackeys rode off at high speed.

"Ichigo..." Cloud began.

"What?"

"Two things. First things first. PULL ME OUT OF THE GROUND ALREADY GOD DAMMIT!"

"Right... Sorry." Ichigo chuckled sheepishly.

Walking over to his Zanpakuto he gripped the blade and pulled it out of the ground with a little effort and could feel Cloud was displeased with how the fight had gone.

"Now, second thing. He's not worth it."

"What?" Ichigo blinked.

"He is some small town punk that you are likely never going to see again. What does it matter what he thinks? We have more important matters to attend to then settling some spat with an arrogant fool. Rukia is depending on you, do not let her down."

"But..."

"If it means that much to you we will track him down later and make him beg for his life. Is that better?" Cloud asked.

"I guess." Ichigo sighed.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue began.

"It's fine." Ichigo sighed as he shook his head "What are the odds that I'll see him again?"

"Slim to none." Youichi remarked.

"Then there's nothing to worry about. Let him have his bragging rights." Ichigo grumbled "I don't like it but Rukia needs us more then I need to beat up some idiot."

"Very mature." Youichi snorted as they made their way back inside.

The next morning they were on their way out again, heading a distance away from the village following a map that the elder had drawn for them. It had led to a short conversation about why Kukaku would live so far away from the village and when they saw the house Ichigo and Cloud were both pretty sure that it was because of how the house looked. The house itself was pretty normal but the two gigantic human arms holding a giant banner with Shiba Kukaku written on it were definitely cause for concern as was what appeared to be a gigantic chimney that was larger then the arms itself, though the top of it was sealed off.

"I don't want to be seen going in there!" Ichigo shouted.

"Unfortunately invisibility is not one of the skills I can teach you." Cloud replied.

As they followed Youichi towards the house they heard a shout of "Hold on!" as two giant men leapt down in front of them, staring down the group.

"Who are you?" the first one of the twin guardians asked as he stared down at the group.

"You're clothes are really weird, and one of you looks like a shinigami." the other remarked.

"A bunch of suspicious people!" the first one declared "We, Koganehiko and Shiruganehiko will not let you pass!"

"Get out or else you will die here!"

"This appears to be a running theme." Cloud noted.

"Should I just beat them up?"

"I'd advise against since we are here to speak to the owner of the house."

Before Ichigo could prepare to fight Youichi walked towards the group and the brother on the group's left hand side widened his eyes in surprise.

"Youichi-dono!" he exclaimed. This seemed to be all that was needed for them to be allowed in as they walked into the house and started down a long flight of stairs as Shiruganehiko waited outside while his brother led them down while apologizing for the inconvenience to Youichi who in turn apologized for not making their presence known.

"Please wait here for a moment." Koganehiko said as he went to the door to the next room.

"Is it Koganehiko?" A voice called out from the next room.

"Ye... Yes!"

"Seems like there is a rare guest... Hurry up and open the door! Don't be slow!"

"Yes! I will open it immediately!" with that Koganehiko pulled open the door revealing a woman lounging against several pillows with her right arm missing and wrapped up just above where the elbow would be and the hilt of her weapon just visible over the bandaged arm.

"Hi. Long time no see, Youichi." the woman smirked.

"Well this is certainly a surprise." Cloud noted.

"Kukaku is a woman?!" Uryu exclaimed in shock.

"Who are these kids?" Kukaku asked looking at Youichi who had padded into the room.

"Kukaku actually, I came here to ask you a favor." Youichi said.

"I thought so. Isn't it the same every time you're here?" Kukaku replied "Is it really complicated?"

"I think so."

There was a moment of silence between the two before Kukaku spoke.

"Ha! It's been a very long time since we had this type of conversation... Okay, tell me. I love complicated stuff." Kukaku grinned. So Youichi began explaining everything as the four sat down and waited. During the conversation Kukaku had gotten started smoking from her pipe but listened without interruption until the very end.

"I see. I think I understand. Alright I'll accept the job." Kukaku nodded.

"Really?!" Youichi blinked in shock.

"Yeah. Since Urahara is a part of this I can't really refuse. However, even though I trust you, That doesn't mean I don't trust those kids. I'll send one of my men with you just to make sure. No objections?"

"Of course not." Youichi replied.

"Your man?" Ichigo frowned.

"Yeah, he's my little brother. But he's just a punk, he's still not good enough." Kukaku explained as she stood up and when to a door on the side of the room "Oi! You ready?!"

"No wait!" a voice on the other side called out.

"I'm opening the door! Be courteous!"

"Got it! Ok Big Sis."

With that she opened the door and revealed a very familiar face.

"Hello everyone! I'm Shiba Ganju! Pleased to meet you!" Ganju smiled, dressed in more formal clothing compared to ruffian appearance he had the day before.

"Well what do you know. Karma." Cloud chuckled.

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared before Ganju shouted "AHH YOU!"

Ichigo remained calm as Cloud warned him that starting a fight in front of his older sister was a quick way for them not having a way to save Rukia.

"What? You guys know each other?" Kukaku said in shock. As she said this Ganju leapt towards Ichigo who was about to put up Barrier again when he saw Kukaku move and slam her fist into Ganju's head and stop him from attacking.

"Stop this right now!" she roared as she brought Ganju to the ground "What on Earth has gotten in to you?! You attacked the moment you saw him!"

"B... But Onee-sama" Ganju began, and was promptly kicked in the face for it.

"You dare talk back to me?!" she snapped as she put Ganju down again and then looked at Ichigo with a glare.

"Yo Punk!" she said as she grabbed him by the head and made sure that he was looking her in the eye "This is my home, if you don't like the way I run things the get the hell out!"

"Got it..." Ichigo nodded.

"Okay. As long as we're clear." she said as she released him.

"See, if you had attacked like you first wanted to you would likely have gotten your ass kicked by that woman." Cloud chuckled.

"No kidding. She is scary."

"Alright Everyone!" Kukaku shouted getting their attention "Now, follow me this way."

With that she led the group down another level where it was now even brighter, prompting Uryu to make a comment on the matter about how it was so bright with no signs of electrical wiring, and Kukaku's comment on how she had put light vines in between the ceilings and walls before she ordered Ganju to open a particular door that she had stopped outside of. As Ganju opened the door they entered a large circular room where in the center of the room was a black column on a giant circular pedestal.

"What... Is... That?" Ichigo asked in shock.

"I'm using that to send you in the Seireitei, from the sky!" Kukaku grinned.

"The sky?!" Uryu exclaimed.

"I'm Shiba Kukaku, the first class fireworks master in this place!"

"... Fireworks Master?" Ichigo repeated in shock.

"That's right." Kukaku nodded "Koganehiko! Shiruganehiko! Pull us up!"

"Yes Ma'am!" The two shouted. As they did whatever it was that they were doing on the surface the ground started to shake as the room was slowly raised up to the surface and the ceiling opened up allowing them to reach the surface.

"So?!" Kukaku called out getting them to focus on her "Amazed kids?! This is my personal firework station!"

"Kukaku Cannon!" Ganju shouted from where he had climbed up on the pedestal, and was promptly kicked in the face for being up there without her permission.

"This is no time to joke around!" Uryu shouted "I don't know what kind of technician you are but shooting us with that thing is impossible! We'll die for sure!" before he could complain any further Kukaku had tossed a large crystal like sphere that smashed into his head and bounced into Ichigo's hands.

"What's this?" Ichigo asked.

"It's a Reisyukaku(Spirit Core). Hold on to it and give it your reiatsu." Kukaku stated.

"How do I do that?" Ichigo asked.

"Just focus your power in your palm like when you're using Kido." Kukaku replied as she demonstrated.

"Like casting a spell Ichigo." Cloud reminded him.

"Oh."

Before Youichi could explain that Ichigo didn't know anything about Kido Ichigo started pouring his reiatsu into the sphere. The reaction wasn't instantaneous but when it did happen it shook the entire platform and knocked almost everyone over as the sphere formed around him.

"That was excessive." Kukaku remarked with a snort.

"Well he hasn't been trained like other shinigami so be thankful he made it that far on his own." Youichi remarked.

"So what is this sphere?" Ichigo asked as he panted a bit.

"This is the cannonball." Kukaku stated "Listen up. If you think that the wall around the city is the only defense then you are dead wrong. The wall is made of a special mineral that completely blocks out all spiritual energy. If you don't make a hole in the wall you can't get in. More importantly this mineral releases a special energy wave from the cut surfaces. In other words both above and under the ground the city is protected by a sphere shaped protection field. Therefore if we just fly in bluntly our body made out of spiritrons will be turned to dust. That's why we need this." Kukaku paused as she tapped on Ichigo's barrier.

"Hurry it up." Ichigo growled out as he was starting to sweat from the exertion of pouring his reiatsu into the barrier.

"Quit your complaining." Kukaku chided "My invention there creates a specially hardened spiritron shell. By providing spiritual energy to the core, you can create a cannonball that can break through the protection field. I will then use the Kukaku Cannon to fire you up and break you in with one clear strike. This may sound a little ridiculous but there is no other way. That's all for now? Any questions?"

"Can I stop?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah sure." Kukaku replied with a shrug as Ichigo let go of the Reisyukaku and the barrier dropped with Ichigo letting out a sigh of relief.

"Ok meetings over. To the training room you go." Kukaku said as she had the two giant helpers grab everyone up and taking them down to the training room to work on using the Reisyukaku.

While Chad, Uryu and Inoue worked on making their cannonballs Ichigo took the time to sit with Cloud Strife and meditate. The Zanpakuto had told him that once he was ready that he was going to teach him how to use some more advanced skills then just his spells and now was the perfect time to start studying. It took a few moments for Cloud to explain to him how to relax enough to enter his world but once Ichigo got it he was once again standing in the desert with the iron gray clouds floating over head and Cloud Strife standing there waiting for him.

"Are you ready?" the blond man asked as a buster sword appeared in his hand identical to the one in Ichigo's.

"Yeah." Ichigo nodded.

"What I am going to teach you will help you turn the tides of a bad fight but don't become reliant on these techniques. They are only as good as the person using them and we are just as mortal as any other enemy." Cloud warned "But first let's see if you are ready for them."

"Right." Ichigo nodded as he and Cloud squared off. Cloud made the first move, crossing the distance between them in a flash as his blade came crashing down as Ichigo turned the slash aside and launched a kick of his own into Cloud's stomach and began his own attack, with the Zanpakuto blocking each strike with ease.

"Good. You are relentless in attacking, but form is important as well." Cloud chuckled as thrust the tip of buster sword into one of the two gaps in Ichigo's and with a flick of his wrist sent the blade flying into the air "You must be aware of your own weapon's weaknesses."

"What?" Ichigo blinked.

"I am not some ultimate weapon that can't be stopped." Cloud chuckled "I am not vain enough to even say that they are so small as to be negligible. That does not mean that you can't turn a disadvantage into an advantage."

"How?" Ichigo frowned as he picked up his blade.

"The holes. They are a design flaw in some ways as a clever enemy will use those to disarm you like I did. However you can use them to your advantage as well and counter an enemies strikes by letting them go for those targets and disarming them in turn. What other flaws can you think of in my design?" Cloud prompted. Ichigo frowned as he thought a moment before he came up with something.

"The size."

"Exactly. The larger the weapon the harder that it is for you to fight in an enclosed environment. That doesn't mean that you are defenseless but with the size of this sword being the way it is you will fare better in less confined spaces."

"But I won't always be able to fight outdoors or in open areas."

"Exactly. You must tailor your combat style to your environment. Alter your tactics to suit your environment. Your spells will be of much greater use in a confined area where your enemy can't dodge as well either."

"Turning a disadvantage into an advantage." Ichigo nodded.

"Exactly. Now for the first of those special techniques I promised you." Cloud nodded "The technique is called Braver. It's simple to learn and use but the power behind it can be startling."

Leaping into the air the blade glinted as Cloud brought the blade slamming back down delivering a powerful slash that caused the ground to shake since he wasn't aiming at Ichigo.

"Whoa." Ichigo blinked in shock "That's it?"

"Simple is best." Cloud chuckled "The trick is that the enemy will just think that it is a basic slash. The truth behind it is that the power is amplified by your reiatsu to deal more damage to an enemy. This will likely break the guard of any unsuspecting enemy. Now try it."

Ichigo nodded as he focused and attempted the Braver technique. Leaping into the air he brought the blade down into the slash but nothing seemed to happen.

"What the hell?"

"Focus Ichigo. Pour your reiatsu into the blade as you do this." Cloud chided. Again Ichigo tried and again he failed. He kept attempting this until on his twentieth try he felt the ground shake as he came crashing down with the slash.

"Good. Remember that feeling Ichigo. It may save your life one day soon." Cloud chuckled "Now go and eat. You are as ready as we can be for now."

With that Ichigo exited his inner world and saw that the others were stopping as well to go and eat. Once finished and told to rest as they would be up before dawn in order to have the best chance of breaking in with minimal resistance. When morning arrived Ichigo and the others stopped outside of the giant cannon where Ichigo noted that the only person missing was Ganju.

"Where's Ganju?"

"Not sure." Kukaku shrugged.

"Hold on a minute!" Ganju shouted as he had apparently run to the surface, and having changed his clothing "The heroes... are always a little late."

"What are you wearing?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

"This is my special Battle Suit! Cool huh? No matter how much you beg I won't let you try it, sucker."

"What the hell do you need a battle suit for? Aren't you just here to see us off?" Ichigo countered. There was a moment of silence before Ganju stormed over to Ichigo with a glare on his face as he tried to glare down the orange haired shinigami before speaking.

"My Oni-san was killed in cold blood by a shinigami." he stated causing Ichigo and the others to blink in shock.

"Ganju! Shut" Kukaku began.

"Sis don't interrupt me! Just listen!" Ganju shouted back, getting the older woman to stop in surprise "My Oni-san was a genius. He passed the entrance exam for the Shinigami Academy in one try. His reiatsu was level 6, on par with the vice captains of the Gotei 13. Then he finished the six years worth of curriculum in just two years and became an official shinigami. Five years after that he became a vice captain. But then he was killed! Betrayed by his Shinigami partner! I was young and I don't know all the details, but there are two things that I will never forget! The cold eyes of the shinigami that brought my brother my dying big brother back, and that smiling face the shinigami made when thanking my big brother. I don't know why but not once did my brother speak out in hatred against the Shinigami! I want to know the reason why he never hated Shinigami! The reason why he believed in Shinigami even in death!" Ganju paused as he grabbed Ichigo's shoulder and pulled him forward a bit to make eye contact with him "You are different from the other Shinigami! I can feel it! If I go with you I know I will uncover the reasons. So I will lend you a hand on this one! I will see with my own eyes what Shinigami are like!"

Inoue looked stunned as Chad and Uryu watched, while Ganju's underlings were weeping along with the two giant twins at the sight of Ganju's resolve.

"It seems like you've made up your mind. Just don't run away mid-way brat!" Kukaku grinned "If you want to do it, give it everything you got!"

"Yeah!" Ganju shouted as Ichigo knocked away the arm that was still holding him as he pulled Ganju towards him this time.

"Welcome aboard." Ichigo stated before releasing Ganju. The small group was then walking towards the cannon when Ichigo realized that he didn't know if Youichi could use the Reisyukaku.

"I doubt that Youichi would suggest this path if he couldn't use it himself." Cloud noted.

"Good point." Ichigo conceded after a moment of thought.

With that they walked up where Kukaku slammed her fist against the side of the cannon where in a spiral pattern an opening appeared and she ordered them inside so she could begin. Once inside the five humans each placed a hand onto the Resyukaku with Youichi standing on top of it when the cat spoke up about what they were going to do.

"Everyone listen up. Don't wander off by yourselves after we get in. If you encounter a Captain Class enemy run! Our objective is to rescue Rukia, that's all. Do not take any unnecessary risks!"

The group nodded as they heard Kukaku begin her chant.

"There! The red bronze desire demands 36 degrees of adjustment!"

"It has begun! Install your energy!" Youichi shouted sa the group began forming the cannonball.

"72 pair of shade! 13 pairs of whistle! The ape's right hand grabs the star!" Kukaku shouted "Embracing 25 suns, the cradle of sand is bleeding. Kukaku Style Version 2! Kakizaki!"

With the final shout the cannon fired sending the group flying straight up into the air. Looking down Ichigo noted that they were indeed high but hadn't felt any impact.

"The impact wasn't as bad as I thought." Ichigo noted.

"Idiot." Ganju smirked "It has just begun."

Before anyone could ask what Ganju had meant by that they had reached the peak of their launch and then defied physics as they shot off at a ninety degree angle towards the Seireitei. As they continued at their extreme speed Ganju pulled out a tied up parchment that he opened and began explaining what was about to happen.

"This is the follow up incantation! The version 2 has a two part incantation, the "Initial Incantation" decides on the direction with the follow up incantation maintaining the speed and stability! This way we land right on target! Next to pass through the barrier the cannonball must be kept stable! Thus everyone must achieve a balance in energy discharge! However I have to read the incantation so I won't be able to focus on my emission. Therefore I need everyone to compensate for me. You should be able to detect any change in my emission through the orb so adjust accordingly. If we mess up we're screwed, please be careful!" Ganju paused there as the group nodded their consent on the matter as he then began reading the follow up incantation. It soon became apparent that Ichigo couldn't lower his reiatsu enough as everyone with the exception of the chanting Ganju and Youichi told him to lower his reiatsu.

"Cloud, a little help!" Ichigo mentally shouted.

"I can't do anything more then what I am." Cloud countered "We need a new plan and fast."

That was of course when Ganju was distracted by Ichigo's inability to lower his reiatsu and misread a part of the incantation.

"Damn you! I read the same line twice!"

"Why are you yelling at me for?" Ichigo snapped back.

"You kept yapping and I lost my concentration!"

"Calm down Kurosaki-kun, Ganju-kun!" Inoue exclaimed.

"Yeah, stop that!" Uryu agreed.

"Hey..." Chad said just loud enough to be heard as he was looking over his shoulder in the direction they were heading "Look outside."

The group turned and did indeed see that they were only moments away from the Seireitei, with no time to fix their error.

"We're going to crash!" Uryu shouted.

"It's unavoidable. Everyone emit as much reiatsu as you can!" Youichi shouted "Make the cannonball as hard as possible!"

"Let's do it!" Ichigo said as he felt Cloud release the hold that he had on his excess reiatsu right as they crashed into the barrier. As the cannonball hit it managed to get them past the barrier but lingered enough where the six of them were still hanging in midair.

"What's going on?" Ichigo asked "Seems like we passed the shield but why aren't we dropping down?"

"Everybody don't separate!" Youichi shouted getting their attention "The shield was melted by the high concentration of reiko, this is just holding us temporarily! Soon a tornado will begin! If we separate then we will be sent flying in different directions!"

No sooner had the warning past the cat's lips then the tornado started to form around them and pulling them away from each other. They were soon separated far enough away that Youichi told them to grab the person nearest them and hang on for dear life, leading to Ichigo grabbing Ganju and Youichi landing on Ichigo's shoulder while Chad grabbed Inoue. As the larger teen reached to grab Uryu the Quincy was pulled just out of reach and forcing Chad to act. Sending Inoue back a ways as he launched himself towards Uryu just as he was exiting the remains of their cannonball. Grabbing hold of him Chad threw Uryu back into the tornado before being launched away himself towards the ground.

"Chad!" Ichigo roared.

"Don't worry! He'll find a way to survive!" Youichi said over the roar of the wind "Don't mind it! If you want to find him you have to worry about yourself first!"

"She's right!" Cloud shouted "Survival first. We will find Chad later but we can't do that if we wind up dead first! Now grab your remaining friends and pray to survive because I don't know any skills that will let you fly!"

"Inoue!"

"Kurosaki!"

The two shouted as they reached for each other, coming so close to grasping each other's out stretched hand when the tornado ended an sent them flying in opposite directions of each other as even Youichi was ripped off of Ichigo's shoulder and sent flying. As Ichigo and Ganju were heading for the unforgiving ground Ichigo racked his brain for a way to mitigate the damage when Ganju moved in front of him and made a strange hand sign before speaking.

"Turn into sand! Sebba!" Ganju shouted as he used some strange form of magic to turn a large circular area into a giant sandpit that had cushioned their impact.

"Impressive. He has his uses after all." Cloud chuckled.

"No kidding. I should thank him I guess." Ichigo sighed.

"A wise choice since it is just the two of you." Cloud agreed.

"Well your weird magic saved us." Ichigo began as Ganju was couching up sand that had gotten into his mouth and did so for several moments "Thanks Gan..." pausing to see if the fit was over Ichigo got impatient and slammed a foot into Ganju's back ending the fit "This was your own magic, how long are you gonna cough for?"

"Punk! How can you kick your own savior?!" Ganju shouted in anger.

"I didn't kick you, that was a modern way of saying thank you!" Ichigo countered.

"What? Is that so?" Ganju asked in shock.

"That is the worst lie I have ever heard Ichigo, and I have heard some pretty outlandish ones." Cloud sighed.

Before the zanpakuto could remark further, or Ichigo question the remark footsteps drew his attention. From the rooftop directly behind Ichigo two people stood with one talking as he and his partner leapt down to the street.

"Yoho! So lucky!" the man laughed as landed "I originally thought standing guard was too troublesome so I wandered off, but here's the prey right in front of me. Lucky! Today is my lucky day!"

Turning Ichigo looked at the man holding his sheathed katana pointed at him. A shaved head and a battle ready grin met Ichigo's gaze as his partner stood behind him and to his left.

"As for you, you are very unlucky!" the man finished with his grin still in place.

"Well it seems we are out of the frying pan and into the fire." Cloud noted.

Ichigo responded to both men the same way with a scowl "Hah?"