I present to you chapter 4 of To My Death I Fight. This chapter gave me a little trouble, all of which came about after Episode 18 of Kill la Kill was released and I witnessed first-hand just how evil and completely insane Ragyo is. So while I had this chapter done on Thursday, I had to rewrite a lot of it in order to not completely veer off canon. In retrospect, I think that made this chapter flow much better. And, for those of you keeping track, this is the last full chapter before the Kill la Kill anime starts so expect to see events that happened in Episode 1 appear in Chapter 5, with some modifications of course.

Oh, I have decided that the theme music of Ichigo's interactions with Mako is Ditty for Daddy.

...

Chapter 4 - Instant Karma

"Be careful with those Life Fibers!"

Ioir Shiro, president of the Sewing Club and designer of all the Goku Uniforms currently spread throughout Honnouji Academy, cursed behind his breathing mask as he watched the procession pass below. Leaning over the railing of the scaffolding that hung over the dozens of currently empty sewing machines below, Iori carefully watched as several members of his club in full biohazard suits moved a large bundle of glowing red Life Fibers that had recently arrived at the academy towards Concepts and Designs.

Turning towards the monitor to his right, Iori tapped a few keys and pressed a finger against his ear, "What is the status on containment?"

"No problems to report, sir," one of the Sewing Club members responded as she watched the Life Fibers being brought carefully through the steel door separating the rest of the club from Concepts and Designs, "Everything is proceeding nominally. Full containment will be achieved in less then three minutes."

"Good. See that you inform me once containment is obtained. I do not want a repeat of the last breach," Iori closed the connection and turned away from the railing towards the series of monitors behind him. It was from here that he was able to monitor and view the progress on every single Goku Uniform being created by the Sewing Club. Most of them, the One-Star and Two-Star uniforms, did not need him to constantly watch their progress. The only uniforms that Iori monitored beyond the initial creation were the experimental Goku Uniforms his club was currently trying to produce.

What they were creating was the culmination of months of effort and sweat. It had taken more time and money than he originally thought, but Iori was finally ready to move beyond the conceptual stage and actually sew a Five-Star Goku Uniform.

Iori had to thank Inumuta when he got the chance. If it wasn't for his financial backing, the sheer cost of the Life Fibers needed for this experimental uniform would have bankrupted the Sewing Club long before this point.

While he was observing the various cameras and monitors throughout the club, there was a hiss of static in Iori's year. Without looking away, he said, "What is it?"

"Containment has been obtained," the Sewing Club member from earlier informed him from outside the door separating her from the dangerous Life Fibers, "Everything is green down here."

"I'm getting the same readings up here," Iori rapidly pressed a few buttons and brought up three-dimensional model of the room, "Everything is working at full efficiency. Negative pressure has been obtained. Have the team brought to decontamination before returning to work. It's better to err on the side of caution."

As he hung up on the club member, Iori leaned over the desk and groaned, "Creating a Five-Star Goku Uniform will be child's play compared to finding someone that can actually wear it."

Contrary to popular belief, while willpower and strength of mind were important for gaining control over a Goku Uniform, the real variable was the wearer's Life Fiber resistance percentage. Iori, as well as Lady Satsuki, did not understand what genetic factor made some people more resistant to the influence of Life Fibers than others. Lady Satsuki had financed genetic testing of twin students that had wildly different resistances in the hopes of finding some previously unknown genetic marker, but unfortunately apart from the normal differences between the genetic codes of twins, there was nothing to indicate such a wildly differing resistance value.

The common One-Star uniform, which is composed of only 10% Life Fibers, required a paltry 4.2% resistance for the wearer to not be consumed by the power. A Two-Star uniform, on the other hand, required the wearer to have a resistance above 16.5%, which was still less than the 29.3% that each of the Elite Four had to control their Three-Star uniforms. The fact that the resistances increased drastically with each level of Goku Uniform had Iori trying to guess how high someone's resistance needed to be to wear a Five-Star uniform and not go berserk.

"The data from the experimental Four-Star uniform indicated that a minimum resistance of 45.4% was needed. If I extrapolate that value upwards, I should be able to obtain a reasonable volunteer resistance."

When Iori heard the elevator doors behind him open with a pressurized hiss, he turned around and saw Satsuki Kiryuin walking towards him, flanked on either side by Nonon Jakuzure and Uzu Sanageyama. All three were wearing the same type of breathing apparatus as Iori in order to prevent breathing in any microscopic Life Fiber fragments inadvertently released during the creation of Goku Uniforms.

"Greetings, Lady Satsuki," Iori bowed respectfully to the Student Council President as she walked towards him with a determined gait to her step, "I was not expecting you to respond to my message so quickly."

"I was informed by Inumuta that you have valuable information concerning Ichigo Kurosaki."

Behind Satsuki, Nonon Jakuzure turned to Sanageyama and whispered, "Who's Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"He's the kid that Lady Satsuki's taken an interest in," Sanageyama explained. When he saw Jakuzure still had a perplexed, and irritated, look, he continued, "He has short, spiky orange hair with a perpetual scowl. He's the one you have a crush on."

"I don't have a crush on him," Nonon squeaked as she kicked Sanageyama squarely in the shin, "I just didn't remember his name. That's all!"

Ignoring the argument between her two subordinates, Satsuki followed Iori over to the nearby monitor, who began feverishly typing in commands. After a few seconds had passed, without turning to Satsuki he said, "Here is Ichigo Kurosaki's profile. Until Student Evaluation Day it was normal, apart from his means of getting accepted into Honnouji Academy. Take a look at what his Life Fiber resistance value is."

As a picture of Ichigo Kurosaki, scowl and all, appeared on the screen, Satsuki leaned in, her eyes narrowing as she beheld the displayed data, "That is impossible."

"I'm afraid it's true," Iori didn't bother looking at Satsuki. He knew her long enough to know that she was displeased with what he was showing her, "It has been confirmed that Ichigo Kurosaki's resistance to Life Fibers is close to 90.3%. A value, that I don't think I need to say, is higher than yours."

The origin of Satsuki's resistance to Life Fibers was a secret to all but her and the one who did it to her. While she publicly announced her resistance of 83.5% and how it was proof how far above everyone she was and why they needed her to govern them, internally it was a bitter gift from the one she hated the most. Yet out of nowhere came Ichigo Kurosaki, the son of someone who supposedly had nothing more than a chance meeting with her mother, with a resistance even higher than hers.

She did not believe for a moment that Isshin Kurosaki, Ichigo's father, only met her mother once and was able to live his life as he saw fit. Soroi had been adamant that her mother had been injured in the explosion before Isshin rescued her, a completely and utterly laughable notion to Satsuki, and yet she could not find any trace of her mother being admitted to a hospital. She needed to find out what the true connection between Isshin and her mother was, but it was not going to be easy or simple.

"Iori, have you double-checked the data?"

"As soon as Ichigo Kurosaki's resistance was discovered," The Sewing Club president answered, "We even triple-checked it before having him retake the examination a second time under the pretense of a mechanical issue. The same percentage was displayed on the second machine as was on the first."

"I see," Satsuki closed her eyes and evaluated how this discovery was going to affect her plans. She, of course, could adapt to many variables, but she needed more information. If Ichigo Kurosaki was special enough to warrant her mother's personal attention, it could only mean a few things. She needed to find out why he was sent to Honnouji Academy.

"Sanageyama," she barked out, catching the Athletic Committee Chair by surprise, "I believe it is time that we tested Ichigo Kurosaki's resolve and worthiness of attending Honnouji Academy. Do you have anyone available for such a task?"

"Unfortunately I don't," Sanageyama chuckled nervously. It was never good to give Lady Satsuki bad news, "All athletic clubs captains are currently out participating in the Japanese Inter-school Sports Tournament and should be back by tonight. I would have been there myself if this business concerning Ichigo Kurosaki hadn't come up."

"You disappoint me, Sanageyama," Satsuki said, "But I suppose I will have to make due with what is available. I'm sure there are members of the athletic clubs that crave strength and power. You will choose one of them for this task. Tell them that if they want to remain a Two-Star, they need to dispose of Ichigo Kurosaki before the day is out."

"Yes, Lady Satsuki."

"I should be able to create the necessary Two-Star Goku Uniform within two hours," Iori chose that moment to give his personal input, "It should be finished before the academy finishes lunch."

"Good," Satsuki continued to stare at the data displayed on the monitor, her eyes never leaving the picture of Ichigo, "I don't want Ichigo Kurosaki to assume he is safe at Honnouji Academy."

...

"This place sucks."

As he ate his lunch in relative peace and quiet, Ichigo quickly decided that his day had been anything from normal and, coming from someone like him, that was saying quite a lot. He still wasn't quite sure what had happened, but ever since he took that stupid exam he couldn't help but feel as he someone was watching him. Perhaps he was being just a little paranoid, but his experience dictated that something was going to go down and, whether he liked it or not, it would most likely be involving him in some way or another.

"I wonder what dad is up to?"

After being forced to take his exam a second time due to so-called 'technical issues,' he had decided to go speak to his dad. Ichigo knew without a doubt that Isshin would be sticking around for as long as Ichigo would allow him to stay. That usually meant he would have to physically force him to leave. Once he made his way back to the entrance to Honnouji Academy, however, he found his dad long gone without so much as a goodbye. While he was silently grateful for the lack of a large, tearful and hammy goodbye from his dad, Ichigo couldn't help but feel just a little upset.

"Ichigo!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice rapidly approaching him, Ichigo turned and saw Mako Mankanshoku waving vigorously at him. Hesitantly waving back at her, he bore witness to an amazing scene as Mako literally sprinted at him, her body ducking and weaving through the crowd of confused students. Just as she reached Ichigo, Mako tripped over her untied shoelace, causing her body to hit the ground face first and roll for several meters, leaving a trail of dust in her wake.

Ichigo stared at her most likely unconscious body with a mixture of confusion and bewilderment evident on his face, "Are you alright?"

In one swift motion Mako planted her hands on the ground and pushed herself back onto her feet. With a trail of blood dripping down from her nose and several cuts on her face, she gave him a thumbs up, "I'm peachy!"

Ichigo looked at the blood on her face before shaking his head and focusing back on his lunch. He had already realized that Mako was her very own breed of insanity. Asking any questions would be tantamount to encouraging her behavior. Just as he was about to take a bite from his food Ichigo, to his annoyance, found Mako hovering inches from his face.

"What do you want?"

With a wide smile on her face, Mako asked, "Good afternoon Ichigo! How did your Student Evaluation go?"

"Fine, I guess," he replied with nothing more than a passing shrug. He didn't see the point in telling her about the commotion that had occurred after he received his score.

"I did fine as well!" Mako thumped a fist against her chest, "I managed to break my all time high score with a 50!"

Ichigo was nearly blinded by the pride being emitted by Mako but, being the person that he was, he felt the need to point out the obvious to her, "I don't think that's something you should be taking pride in."

"Of course it is!" Mako exclaimed excitedly, "Being special isn't limited to just being good at sports, chess, or even public speaking. It can mean many things. I am special because of the impossibility of my low exam score. Mako Mankanshoku achieves the impossible despite all the odds stacked against her!"

Ichigo stared at Mako's reaction with a disturbed expression, "I think your definition of special is not the same as mine. Why don't you go and make some more friends or something?"

"Make more friends?" Mako brought a finger up to her lip and appeared to be deep in thought, "I suppose if I make more friends, since you're a boy it should be a girl so it all evens out. She will need to be friendly, selfless, a total badass and have a great figure."

As Mako's tirade devolved away from what type of personality her imaginary friend would have towards her chest size, Ichigo could only continue to stare at her, his mind trying to put together what was going on in front of him.

"What the hell's going on in that mind of hers? She's worse than Orihime."

Even though he was unfortunately focused on Mako, Ichigo's ears managed to pick up the faint whistling of something sailing through the air towards him. Without thinking, he quickly raised his lunch tray just as the thrown knife reached him, causing the steel weapon to become embedded up to the hilt in the tray.

"The hell is this?"

After blocking two more thrown knives, courtesy of his hidden assailant, Ichigo had decided that was enough. Standing up, Ichigo looked around the area for the perpetrator. It did not take him long to locate the thrower, but that was mostly because he either wasn't trying to hide or was simply doing a terrible job at it.

Ichigo stared up at the mysterious figure that had dared to ruin his lunch, "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Prepare yourself, Ichigo Kurosaki!" His mysterious assailant shouted brazenly with his tongue sticking out from between his sharpened teeth. Licking the knife held in his hand, he pointed the weapon at Ichigo, "I, Jack Naito, president of the Knife Throwing Club, will take you down!"

Even as Jack Naito was giving his introduction, Ichigo was already trying to figure out who the hell he was and what he wanted. Shifting his gaze away from Jack to his murdered lunch tray and then back, once again, to Jack, Ichigo decided that he didn't have a clue what was going on.

"Eh?" Ichigo scratched his ear with a confused expression on his face, "Who are you?"

"Are you deaf?" Jack angrily asked as he leapt down off the building, which had to be three stories high, and landed on the ground nearby without any difficulty. Spreading his arms to his sides, several knives magically sliding in between his fingers from somewhere deep in his sleeves, he grinned sadistically at Ichigo, "I am here to take you down, Ichigo Kurosaki! Your presence at Honnouji Academy is no longer permitted!"

Ichigo continued to stare at Jack in confusion. Determining that he was getting nowhere fast he turned to Mako, "Do you have any idea what the hell this guy is talking about?"

"He's a Club Captain," Mako began explaining in a sage-like tone, "That means he is wearing a Two-Star uniform. Although I thought he was part of the Acrobatics Club…"

"You are correct!" Jack said, "I was part of the Acrobatics Club until Sanageyama honored me with my own club. I get to keep this Two-Star uniform as long as I take you down, Ichigo Kurosaki!"

"Two-Star uniform?" Ichigo stared at Jack Naito's uniform with a discerning eye. It was the standard gray of Honnouji Academy, but embedded along his sleeves were dozens of knives. What made him stand out the most was the large, glowing red blade sticking out from his head, "From his ridiculous uniform, I thought he was just nuts."

With a twitch in his eyes, Jack swung his arms back and shouted, "Perish, Ichigo Kurosaki!"

The six knives held in between Jack's fingers sailed through the air towards Ichigo, only to be stopped when Ichigo, with a bored expression, brought up his lunch tray with a single arm and expertly blocked all of them.

"What?" Jack took a nervous step back before angrily asking, "How the hell did you do that? No one can block the attack of someone wearing a Two-Star uniform!"

What Jack Naito didn't know was that Ichigo was friends with someone that could fire over one thousand arrows a second. Compared to something like that, a few knives were nothing, even as a normal human, "Is that all you got? Because right now, you're just making yourself look like an idiot."

"That's the spirit!" Jack Naito grinned and leapt back, six more knives already between his fingers, "I wouldn't want this to be too easy! Let's see how you deal with the next salvo!"

"Hold on just one moment," Ichigo held his hands up in the universal symbol for 'timeout' and turned to Mako. As he handed her his knife-riddled tray, he said, "Get out of here."

"What?" Mako seemed shocked that Ichigo was telling her to leave. At first Ichigo thought it was because she was worried about him, but that quickly changed when she asked, "But what about your lunch?"

Quickly catching himself before he face vaulted, Ichigo sighed and said, "You can have it. I'm not that hungry anymore."

While Mako ran away to who knows where, Ichigo focused completely on Jack Naito. Upon seeing Ichigo staring at him, the club president crossed his arms across his chest and laughed, "You are either very brave or very stupid to fight against me without a Goku Uniform, Ichigo Kurosaki, but it wouldn't matter if you did! You will fall to my power!"

As Jack threw his knives at Ichigo, more appearing in his hands just as he threw the ones already held between his fingers, Ichigo quickly vaulted over the shoulder-high wall he had been sitting on. As knives rained down on the other side of the wall, Ichigo carefully analyzed his options.

"I hate to admit it, but he has some skill," The problem Ichigo was facing wasn't so much Jack Naito's skills and power, but his own diminished powers. Seven months after he lost his powers fighting against Aizen, Ichigo sometimes needed to consciously remind himself that he was just an ordinary human without any spiritual powers. That meant no spiritually enhanced reflexes, strength or speed. If he had even one of those three things he could take someone like Jack down with his eyes closed but now, as a normal human, he needed to rely solely on his intellect. If he was going to beat Jack, and by god he wasn't going to be killed by this asshole, Ichigo needed a plan.

"I can't get close to him," Ichigo began stealthily moving behind the wall. He couldn't afford to stay in the same spot. Eventually Jack Naito was going to get annoyed, and possibly pissed, that Ichigo was hiding, "He doesn't seem to be that bright. I should be able to take him by surprise."

"Hiding like the coward you are, Ichigo Kurosaki?"

Ichigo's eyes widened as Jack Naito's voice mocked him. Looking up, he saw the Knife Throwing Club president standing on the wall above him, a disturbing smirk on his face.

"Did you really think you could hide from me?" Jack mockingly asked Ichigo. As he spread his arms open, dozens of knives appeared in a flash of light in Jack's hands, "Now, witness the true power of a Two-Star Goku uniform! Trillion Drive!"

"Damn!" Ichigo cursed and leapt back as the knives in Jack's hands suddenly shot forward accompanied by trails of smoke and fire.

...

"Oh man," Sanageyama chuckled at the display hundreds of feet below, "Ichigo has guts, I'll give him that much."

"It is unbecoming of you to support an enemy of Lady Satsuki," Gamagori rumbled, "Shall I be forced to discipline you?"

"No need to get antsy," Sanageyama folded his arms and grinned, "I'm just saying it can't hurt to give the kid props when he deserves it. How many people do you know that would willingly stand up to a club captain?"

"Hmph," Gamagori grumbled but did not press the issue any further, "Ichigo Kurosaki is a fool if he thinks he can take on a Goku Uniform by just relying on his own strength."

"I would not worry too much about the outcome of the fight," Inumuta answered, the collar of his Goku Uniform automatically unzipping as he began speaking, "By my calculations, the probability of Ichigo Kurosaki successfully avoiding that last attack with only minimal injuries is less than five percent. The only conceivable way that he could survive is if he is hiding some innate talent or skill that my programs have failed to find. There is only one person in Honnouji Academy that could avoid such an attack without wearing a Goku Uniform, and that is Lady Satsuki."

"Are you suggesting that this hoodlum is in the same league as Lady Satsuki?" Gamagori growled at the much smaller Inumuta.

"I am just reiterating what the data hypothesizes," Inumuta defended without showing any signs of nervousness. Pushing up his glasses using a single finger, he began explaining to the relatively less intelligent Gamagori, "Although, I find it strange that Ichigo's behavior upon the start of the fight goes against both his appearance and personal history. Instead of simply rushing head on, he retreated to where he could not sustain any damage from the club captain's attacks. A bold, but curious, move on his part. I'm looking forward to analyzing the valuable data I will undoubtedly obtain later on."

"No one cares about your stupid data Doggy," Jazukure grinned mischievously at Inumuta's slight tick in his eye before turning back to the scene below. She had thought watching Ichigo Kurosaki get the crap beat out of him would be boring. After all, who could stand up to a Goku Uniform? But Ichigo Kurosaki was surprising her, "This day is getting more and more interesting, wouldn't you agree Lady Satsuki?"

Satsuki ignored Nonon's question in order to focus entirely on the fight below. Standing on top of Honnouji Academy, her sword planted on the ground and her eyes locked squarely on Ichigo Kurosaki, she appeared to be the epitome of regality. In spite of her stoic outward appearance, Satsuki's mind could not help but notice something off about Ichigo Kurosaki. Upon first glance everything seemed normal, but soon enough she began to understand what it was that had caught her eye.

"Gamagori."

"Yes, Lady Satsuki?"

"When Ichigo Kurosaki arrived this morning," Satsuki's eyes narrowed imperceptibility as Ichigo's form was enveloped in Jack Naito's Trillion Drive attack, "Was he wearing the mandatory No-Star uniform?"

"No," the Disciplinary Committee Chair answered with a shake of his head, "Ichigo Kurosaki was blatantly ignoring the dress code of Honnouji Academy upon his arrival. When I ordered him to change, he refused."

"I see…and tell me, did he call his uniform by any specific name or refer to it as such?"

Gamagori thought back to his limited interaction with Ichigo Kurosaki before answering, "No. He seemed to view it as nothing more than a standard uniform. Do you wish for me to confiscate it upon the fight's conclusion?"

"No. Let him be for now," Satsuki ordered. Perhaps she was simply over thinking things. There was no way Ichigo's uniform could be what she thought it was. The number of people in the world that could successfully create one could be counted on one hand, and they all worked for her mother. If Gamagori's knowledge was to be taken as accurate and correct, Ichigo was wearing nothing more than a uniform. If it happened to be what she thought it was, the answer should come soon enough.

Gripping the hilt of her sword, Bakuzan, tight enough to cause the leather on weapon to crackle audibly, Satsuki waited for Ichigo to make his next move. She would know soon enough whether he deserved to stay at Honnouji Academy.

...

"Ha ha ha!"

Jack Naito gloated as he witnessed Ichigo Kurosaki take the full force of his attack, Trillion Drive, at point blank. Although, now that he thought about it in hindsight, Sanageyama had ordered him to test Ichigo Kurosaki, not kill him. Jack didn't care if his attack killed Ichigo as much as it might mean the loss of his new Goku Uniform.

Leaning forward on one knee, Jack Naito surveyed the dust floating in the air for any sign of Ichigo, "Don't tell me that did you in, Ichigo Kurosaki. The fun's only just begun!"

It was at that moment that Jack made a stupid mistake. When he had assumed Ichigo perished in his attack, he had stepped as close as he could in orderl to witness the results, which allowed Ichigo to reach out and grab his ankle.

"Fun, huh?" Ichigo's voice said from inside the smoke, "I guess I can work with that."

"Hey! Let go!" Jack tried to pull free from Ichigo's grip but it was like trying to escape a vice. Before he could even consider using his knives, Ichigo pulled downwards, causing Jack's body to bounce on the wall before being dragged to the ground in an undignified heap.

As he shook his head to regain his bearings, Jack looked up and saw Ichigo looming over him. Ichigo had a gleeful look on his face and was cracking the knuckles on his hands in preparation for the beatdown he was about to give. Reaching down and grabbing the front of Jack's Goku Uniform, Ichigo lifted him off the ground before slamming his knee into his stomach. That should have ended the fight.

Key words being should have.

When Ichigo's knee made contact with Jack Naito's stomach, it had felt as if he had slammed it into a wall. Sure, by the gagging sounds, it had done some damage to Jack but there was no reason why his knee felt like it had almost been shattered.

"Inconceivable!" Jack gasped as he quickly recovered and appeared back on his feat. Leaping back up onto the wall, he pointed an accusing finger at Ichigo, "How did you survive my Trillion Drive? I threw hundreds of knives at you!"

"First of all, you only threw like thirty or forty knives," Ichigo nonchalantly corrected the new club captain as he brushed dust off his Kamui. Apart from a small cut on his cheek that was beginning to leave a trail of blood, he was completely fine, "Second, your attack wasn't even that special. Your knives moved in a straight line, which means that if your opponent happens to be faster than you, they can simply dodge it. Your attack caught me off guard initially, but I managed to avoid almost the entire thing."

What Jack didn't know, and Ichigo couldn't understand, is that more than one of his knives had hit Ichigo. While only one managed to graze his skin and draw blood, a few more made contact with his body but, to Ichigo's astonishment, were easily stopped by his Kamui without so much as a sting of pain. It was remarkable, and probably something he needed to keep a secret for the time being.

"Dodging is not fighting!" Jack Naito shouted to cover his nervousness. He had been sure that Ichigo Kurosaki had been hit by his knives and yet, here he was, standing in front of him with only a single scratch in his cheek as proof he had even been subjected to his attack. What the hell was Ichigo Kurosaki? Jack Naito didn't know and he wasn't about to let himself be caught off guard again. He had foolishly gotten too close to Ichigo after unleashing his Trillion Drive attack and had suffered because of it.

Jumping away from Ichigo along the wall, Jack flicked his wrists and summoned six more of his knives into his hands. He had been foolish to think that he could have memorized and learned everything his Two-Star Goku Uniform could accomplish after barely an hour. Trillion Drive was his most powerful attack but, as Ichigo so frustratingly pointed out, it wouldn't work against someone like him. Once he was done here, Jack thought, he would spend time working on upgrading Trillion Drive. All he needed was a target.

Perhaps he would go after that girl that Ichigo had been talking to.

Ichigo, on the other hand, was not looking forward to a fight on his first day at Honnouji Academy. Watching Jack jump away from him, he rubbed the bridge of his nose and decided to ask the question plaguing his mind, "I don't have time for this. Can you just tell me what I did to piss off Satsuki so I can go finish my lunch before Mako eats all of it?"

"Don't think you've won!" Jack jumped in the air and twisted his arms back, "Your luck can only last so long before I hit you, Ichigo Kurosaki!"

As the latest salvo of knives shot towards him, Ichigo sighed and decided enough was enough. He had hoped that coming to Honnouji Academy would allow him to have a semi-normal high school experience without the constant reminders of all that he lost as well as the gangs of thugs who kept trying, and failing, to kick his ass for stupid reasons. Seeing Jack Naito exhibiting superhuman abilities due to his Goku Uniform meant Ichigo didn't need to hold back anymore.

He leaned his head to the side to avoid the first knife and sidestepped two more before shooting forward. Ducking beneath a fourth knife, Ichigo leapt off the ground and easily made it to the top of the wall. In one swift motion, he pushed forward and began sprinting along the narrow wall towards Jack, his body leaning to the left and right to avoid the obvious, and hastily, thrown weapons.

"Stay away!" Jack shouted as he continued to try to hit Ichigo with his knives. This was impossible! How the hell could Ichigo Kurosaki, who up until just a minute ago couldn't even stand up to him, be able to easily avoid his attacks? He was a club captain! His Two-Star Goku Uniform should have been able to deal with Ichigo Kurosaki without any effort. This shouldn't be happening!

"Shut the hell up!"

Ichigo's hand shot out and grabbed hold of Jack before he could jump away. As he pulled the bewildered president of the Knife Throwing Club towards him by his collar, Ichigo remembered what had happened the last time he had tried to hit him. So instead of trying to do the same thing a second time, Ichigo decided to go for the low blow. Picking his leg off the ground, Ichigo swung it back as far as he could before driving it forward into Jack Naito's groin.

Much like Ichigo expected, Jack collapsed as soon as his knee made contact. Letting go of Jack's Goku Uniform, Ichigo allowed the club captain to fall to the ground below, his hands holding his injured pride. Rubbing his sore knee, thankfully not the same one as last time, Ichigo watched with annoyance as Jack managed to get back to his feet, albeit on shaky knees.

"Don't…don't think you've won," Jack gritted out as he stood up fully erect, knives sliding back into his hands, "Can you fathom the difference between your power and my own? I don't need to get close to you to hit you. As long as I keep my distance I can continue to attack you without worrying about your cheap shots!"

Ichigo stared at Jack before summing up his opinion on the matter, "Are you serious?"

With an exasperated sigh, Ichigo rubbed the blood from his cheek onto the sleeve of his Kamui. Kisuke did say that he shouldn't get blood on it, but Ichigo had made it a point to not take everything Kisuke said at face value unless given a very good reason. A hastily scrawled postscript at the bottom of a mysterious letter was not, to Ichigo, a very good reason. If avoiding getting blood on his Kamui was so important, then Kisuke would have told him why.

Hopping off the wall, Ichigo landed on the ground with a slight grunt and rotated his shoulder to loosen up the cramp in the joint, "Don't you have anything better to do than fight me?"

Jack growled fruitlessly at Ichigo. If he didn't beat Ichigo Kurosaki, then his new Goku Uniform would be confiscated and he would be demoted back down to a lowly No-Star. Jack was not going to allow that to happen ever again.

As he prepared to attack Ichigo, both of them missed the blood on Ichigo's sleeve slowly disappear into the Kamui until there was nothing but the original pigmentation remaining. They also failed to see the eyes near Ichigo's collar opened ever so slightly, exposing just a hint of red and black irises.

"Oh ho. This is completely unexpected."

Several stories up in the main Honnouji Academy building, a shaggily dressed man scratched at the back of his neck as he observed Ichigo's fight against Jack Naito through a pair of binoculars. It had been extremely fortunate that the angle allowed him to see Ichigo wipe the trace amount of blood onto his sleeve. A few more feet to the right and Aikuro Mikisugi would have never witnessed what just transpired.

"Oh man," Aikuro drawled out with a wistful sigh, "Talking to him is going to be really weird…"

...

Singing in a terribly off-key tone as he drove down the nearly empty highway back to Karakura Town, Isshin was willfully ignorant of the strange glances he was receiving from his fellow drivers. He was fully aware that he had an awful singing voice, as Masaki made sure to point out several dozen times during their marriage, but he refused to let something like that deter him. Tapping his hands against the steering wheel as he continued singing along to the song in a voice that could shatter glass, Isshin abruptly froze when he detected a new presence in the car.

"Gosh, you really can't sing."

Isshin stopped tapping his fingers at the hauntingly familiar voice. Glancing into the rearview mirror at the teenager sitting right behind him, he frowned and asked, "How did you get back there? The doors were locked."

Sitting in the backseat with her hands folded cutely across her lap, Nui Harime giggled playfully as she turned her attention away from the rather interesting cloud passing in front of the sun. She could feel the amount of annoyance permeating the vehicle rising, which brought a saccharine smile to her face, but the Grand Couturier really wished she had managed to record Isshin's awful singing. Having something like that was priceless. It would have made the perfect blackmail material or, better yet, a Christmas gift!

"That's a silly question, you old goat," Nui bobbed her head back and forth, smirking at Ichigo's nickname for his dad, "I can go anywhere I want. Nobody can stop me! I thought you of all people would know that by now, you know."

"I am aware of that," Isshin reluctantly admitted, pulling his eyes away from the rearview mirror and back onto the road.

Nui Harime huffed and pouted at Isshin's rather callous dismissal of her grand entrance. Didn't he know how polite she was being? It wasn't every day that she decided to introduce herself instead of getting right down to business. Leaning backwards in the seat with her single sapphire eye focused solely on the back of Isshin's head, the Grand Couturier playfully kicked her feet through the air and sighed dramatically, "Gosh, I guess you don't have a sense of humor anymore. Anyway…I'm only here because Lady Ragyo wants to see you."

"Is that right?"

Isshin drummed his fingers against the steering wheel while resisting the urge to look over his shoulder at the Grand Couturier, who was undoubtedly smiling. He should have known there was more to Ragyo's plans besides using her position as the chair of Honnouji Academy's board of directors to admit Ichigo on a full scholarship. But wanting to meet him after what happened last time? That came as a complete surprise. Subtly clearing his throat while adjusting the rearview mirror in order to better see the blonde teenager sitting right behind him, Isshin waiting until the sole oncoming vehicle passed them before remarking, "I thought I made it perfectly clear that I never wanted to speak to her again. Not after what she did to Ichigo…"

"Gosh, you really like thinking about the past!" Nui exclaimed with a hint of annoyance, her face twisting into a beaming smile as she clapped her hands together and leaned forward in the seat, "Lady Ragyo forgives you for betraying her trust, you know. She told me so herself! So you don't have to worry about her trying to kill you!"

Whether or not Ragyo was still upset, and likely plotting to either kill or horribly maim him, after all this time didn't bother Isshin in the slightest. Stuff like that came with the job. He was more concerned about what she had in store for Ichigo, "Well…Ragyo has quite the imagination. If my memory is correct, and it is, she was conducting inhumane experiment on unwilling volunteers. Including her own daughters."

"That's not a very nice thing to say, you old goat! Besides, it's not like Ichigo died or anything!" Nui's singsong tone contained the barest traces of menace and annoyance before she sat up and reached down into her pink Lolita-style dress. Pulling out the crisp and unblemished photograph she took just a few hours ago during Student Evaluation Day, the scowling visage of Ichigo as clear as day, the Grand Couturier hummed thoughtfully and added, "But that's all in the past! What's really important is that Ichigo is at Honnouji Academy where I can see him any time I want!"

"Don't patronize me," Isshin attempted to glare at Nui Harime only to give up when she stuck out her tongue in response, "Whenever you take an interest in something, it always ends up badly. So I strongly recommend that you stay far away from Ichigo."

The Grand Couturier's saccharine expression forcibly tightened at Isshin's blatant threat, the sapphire color of her remaining eye slightly darkening. Pouting childishly while kicking the back of his chair with her pink boots, Nui tilted her head and mockingly sighed, "Golly, that was quite that rude thing to say! I know when I'm not wanted, you know. But I can't help wondering what Ichigo will think when he finds out the truth about you and Lady Ragyo."

A small frown pulled at the corners of Isshin's mouth as he scratched his chin, "The truth, huh? I already regaled Ichigo with my heroic exploits the day I met Ragyo."

"Don't be coy, you silly old goat."

Nui's single eye widened dangerously as she giggled childishly and leaned forward, a deranged expression on her face, "I bet you told Ichigo the old story about how you saved Lady Ragyo from a bombing! That's really cute, but we both know that's simply not true! You must really be scared of telling Ichigo the truth if you're lying about something as silly as that!"

"There are some things that should only be learned when the time is right," Isshin answered, refusing to play along with the Grand Couturier's mind games. Truth be told, she actually had a point. But as much as he wanted to tell Ichigo the truth about how he really met Ragyo twenty-two years ago, Isshin knew it would be far better for his son to figure it out on his own, "Ichigo might not be a genius like Ryuken's son but he's a lot smarter than you think. I'm sure he'll be able to figure out everything about Ragyo given enough time."

"Aw, that's really sweet of you," Nui's voice dripped with saccharine happiness as she clapped her hands together. While she would love to keep talking with Isshin, especially since it was all about Ichigo, she did have a job to do. It would be really disappointing, not to mention a large and ugly blemish on her nearly perfect record, if she returned to Lady Ragyo without the old goat. Shuffling over in the backseat until she was sitting exactly in the middle, the Grand Couturier cutely fixed her dress before smirking, "But you're worrying over nothing. Lady Ragyo just wants to hear about Ichigo, including all the intricate and personal details. That's all! I super promise there's no ulterior motive!"

"She could have called."

Isshin's answer was punctuated with a small shrug of his shoulder, one eye focused on the visibly pleased Grand Couturier in the backseat while he subtly reached towards the hidden compartment underneath the steering wheel. Given Ragyo's propensity for overly dramatic reveals, not to mention her fashion sense, he figured something like this would eventually happen. Coughing lightly as he pressed a finger against the concealed latch, the compartment silently sliding open, Isshin arched an eyebrow, "But it's interesting that Ragyo sent you of all people…"

A deathly silence filled the vehicle as Isshin trailed off while raising his hand, the miniaturized Bleach Bomb clasped firmly between his fingers. Based on the same designs as the one Kisuke constructed in the hidden chamber underneath his shop, which detonated and injured Nui Harime when she decided to investigate, glowing blue circuits intersected across the device's pure white surface. Holding his thumb over the button that would trigger a five second countdown before the Bleach Grenade, one of only three in existence, went off, Isshin narrowed his eyes and jokingly chuckled, "Of course, this will hurt…a lot. After all, it is a grenade. But I'm sure it'll hurt you a lot more."

Nui's sapphire eye widened in shock and fear at Isshin's thinly veiled threat before she recomposed herself and cutely pouted. It wouldn't be proper for the world's best couturier, whose designs are worn by most humans, to get all riled up about something so trivial. A smile once more stretched across her face as she crossed one leg over the other and leaned forward, the Grand Couturier's voice was full of venom as she spoke, "Gosh, that is a real thoughtful gift but Lady Ragyo knew would be a stick in the mud! I think her exact words were 'Isshin is not a man that can be bullied' or something. So I went on a little field trip and did some extra credit!"

Cautiously staring into the review mirror when Nui gleefully reached into her dress, the saccharine smile plastered on her face widening, Isshin choked and nearly dropped the Bleach Grenade when he saw what she pulled out, "Those are – "

Held mockingly in each of the Grand Couturier's hands were Karin and Yuzu's most precious keepsakes. There was the special mint-condition autographed card Karin received from her favorite football star, which Isshin was absolutely sure she always kept next to her bed, as well as the stuffed animal Masaki had given to Yuzu only a few days before she passed away. Isshin knew his daughters were too smart to fall for any of Nui's tricks, so the only way she could have gotten her hands on them was if…

"I see you understand now, you silly old goat!" Nui announced cheerfully, cutting off Isshin's train of thought in the process, "You may be super strong but your family is an entirely different game!"

Isshin gripped the steering wheel hard enough to turn his knuckles white as he let the Bleach Grenade fall harmlessly into the passenger seat. Leaning back against the headrest while letting out a deep sigh, he hunched his shoulders in defeat and muttered, "I suppose I really don't have a choice. So when does Ragyo want to see me?"

As Nui Harime leaned forward and happily explained that Lady Ragyo wanted to see him right away, because it was super important that they meet and talk about Ichigo, they failed to pay any attention to the bus traveling in the opposite direction down the highway. Yawning loudly as she propped her head against the window, one hand curled protectively around the handle of the guitar case at her feet, Ryuko Matoi stared out over the bleak landscape with an absolutely bored expression on her face. She was bored out of her mind. After nearly five hours of traveling, with only a single pit stop along the way, she could feel her mind beginning to unravel.

Stretching her back while stifling another yawn, Ryuko looked away from the window and closed her eyes. It wouldn't be much longer until she reached Honnou City. If she wanted any shot of avenging her dad's murder and hunting down the bitch that killed him, she couldn't afford to be at anything less than one hundred percent.