Well, thanks to Thanksgiving break (haha, a pun!), I have a couple more days to procrastinate on my big reports due next Monday. I still don't know when I can update, considering I spend 10 hours at school a day now; but I'll try to get something up every weekend.
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Chapter 4
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The small group lifted their heads toward where the cero was released. Dondochakka and Peshe looked at Nell nervously; he was also looking at the starting point of the blast, and then at Ichigo's hut, and back. Their worm pet, made an apprehensive grunt from under them.
"It'th okay, Bawa. Ichigo-than is alright." said Nell, patting the giant worm's head optimistically.
Bawabawa made another unsure grunt, but continued toward Aizen's strong-hold.
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Ichigo got up from his chair, which in reality was nothing more than a thin cushion on the ground. The orange haired shinigami hybrid looked over at Zangetsu, lying undisturbed against the wall. He hadn't touched his zanpakuto since he brought it up with him that one time that Aizen was nearby. However, he hadn't officially used it in over half a decade. On another note, he hadn't even talked to Zangetsu in years.
He walked over to Zangetsu, and picked it up gently. Ichigo smirked, and walked out the door of his hut. The orange haired shinigami jumped onto his roof, and unsheathed his zanpakuto. Zangetsu was kept in his shikai form, despite the fact that Ichigo could seal it if he felt like it. He never did, unless he was leaving his vicinity. Having the large clever on his back became a nuisance when trying to be as small as possible.
Zangetsu's blade was dug into the thick roof of Ichigo's house, and the owner sat near it. The orange haired boy focused his reiatsu to an extremely fine point, and Zangetsu slowly came into being outside of the sword.
"I never thought you'd drag me out here."
"Yeah, neither did I."
"Why'd you summon me?"
Ichigo thought for a moment before responding. "I don't know."
Zangetsu looked down at Ichigo, and shook his head. "You're still running."
"Huh?" the orange haired boy responded, looking up.
"Even after all these years, all without contact with others, you still haven't realized that."
"No, I know I'm running."
"Then why do you keep fleeing?"
"I don't know. Maybe I'm afraid." Ichigo said as he leaned his head against his drawn knees.
"Afraid that you'll lose something close to you, afraid of killing another friend, afraid that-"
"I get it!" yelled Ichigo as he stood up, and faced his sword.
Zangetsu narrowed his eyes a little. "Then why do you not try to solve the problem. You can control your reiatsu now, and your hollow is under control. What is there to be afraid of?"
"I'm more than enough of a reason to be fearful!" shouted the orange haired boy.
"You're afraid of yourself then?"
Ichigo was about to vent more kept up anger, but stopped, and lowered his head. "Yes. I don't want to kill another friend, I don't want to deal with what Kurostuchi put me through again, I don't want to put anyone in danger."
"Then why aren't you over at the real world, fighting?"
"I..."
"You can only be afraid for so long. Ichigo, you should go back."
"But-"
The orange haired boy was cut off, by a swift punch to his head. His body was sent a few inches to the old man's left. Ichigo jerked his head in the direction of Zangetsu, his scowl deepening a little. The black haired man turned on his wielder, and lifted him up by his shirt; for the first time since bankai training, Ichigo looked at his zanpakuto with a small amount of fear.
"You're an idiot Ichigo," his voice was rougher than normal, and he sounded like he was trying to keep his temper. "You're afraid of the 'what-if's.' You have the power to make sure those 'what-ifs' don't happen. Now get a hold of yourself!" He threw the boy to the ground, before lifting him back up to his feet. "Start acting like you're old self again, Ichigo; that way, you'll have nothing to fear."
"Ojii-san." mumbled the orange haired hybrid. "Thanks." He smirked, and it was filled with confidence and pride, the two things he needed, but threw away years ago.
Zangetsu smirked as well, before starting to fade. "Remember, Ichigo. Do not run, it will only cause you hardships in the future. That future is now and later, have confidence in your actions, and live a life of no regrets."
Ichigo nodded slightly, his smirk still present. "Right."
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Grimmjaw walked down the halls of the practically empty palace. Soon after he blasted the cero, he felt anxious. The teal haired arrancar needed to do something, anything, to occupy his turbulent mind. It was then, that his green eyed comrade appeared before him, his arms loosely crossed over his chest.
"What the hell do you want, Ulquoirra?" Grimmjaw snapped at the seemingly emotionless arrancar.
"Aizen-sama wants to see you. He's in the monitor room," replied Ulquoirra calmly.
"Tch," was the only response that Grimmjaw made, as he stomped off to see why Aizen wanted him.
Ulquoirra shook his head, and continued walking towards the hollow and weaker arrancar barracks. He also had to inform them of Aizen's commands.
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Rukia yawned, as she slowly woke up from an uneasy sleep. The black haired shinigami got out of her bed, and changed from her off-white sleeping kimono and into a light blue dress with navy strips lining the bottom. She quietly closed the door to her room, and drifted across the hall, into the dining room of the Urahara Shoten.
The blond owner, Tessai, and Kon were already there. Kon was already eating, while the other two seemed to have been discussing something.
"What's going on, Urahara?" questioned Rukia.
"Oh, nothing," answered the green clad male. Tessai nodded in agreement.
"It better be nothing..." she grumbled to herself, and seated herself across from Kon.
"I'd better tell Jinta and Ururu to hurry, or else they won't get any food," stated the tall shop assistant.
"Hm, that might be for the best, or else Kon will eat everything," continued Urahara.
Rukia rolled her eyes, and Kon remained oblivious to everything but his food.
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Grimmjaw stormed through the door; the walls trembled slightly, as the doors hit them with a strong force. The teal haired arrancar bowed to the brown haired ex-shinigami, and knelled respectfully. He may not like his leader, but his power was enough to gain some respect, even if it was severely damaged from his last fight with Ichigo.
"Ah, Grimmjaw. I'd appreciate it if, you'd not slam through my palace. It ruins the walls," said Aizen, a hint of light humored sarcasm in his tone.
"Hai, Aizen-sama," responded the teal haired arrancar. "You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Oh, right. I'm sending a small group of the newly formed arrancar to the human's world. I'd like you to watch them, and only intercede if things are getting seriously out of hand."
"Hai, Aizen-sama," said Grimmjaw, still on his knee.
"Remember, only if things get seriously out of hand, can you join the fighting."
"Uh, Aizen-sama, could you give an example of 'seriously out of hand?'"
"An example? Well, one would be if Kurosaki-kun intervenes. That, however, seems highly unlikely, seeing as how he is living here."
"But, Aizen-sama, I'm sure he knows of our movements-"
"Regardless, the fact that he is living here can only mean two things. One is that he was banished to dwell here, and the other opinion is he came here of his own will for his own reasons. Judging by his past movements that have been recorded during his stay, I don't think that he is in that big of a rush to leave."
"Maybe they found out about that bastard's ability..." whispered Grimmjaw, to himself.
"Well, that may be possible. Especially if he still can't completely control his hollow."
"Some-how, I doubt that, sir."
"Well, I'm still sending you out there with a few other arrancar."
"Hai, Aizen-sama."
"You can leave now, Grimmjaw."
"Hai," the teal haired arrancar said, and quickly left the room.
"Let's hope that can calm him down long enough, and allow Kurosaki-kun to come out of hiding." Aizen murmured at the screens infront of him. He also took note that Ichigo had once again disabled – by disable, he meant destroyed - the camera watching his hut, and sighed. 'Kurosaki-kun is getting on my nerves with this.'
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Rukia and Kon left Urahara Shoten a few hours after breakfast, and after Kon got his ass kicked by Jinta for eating so much. They were heading over to Inoue and Ishida's home, just to catch up and spend time together. Urahara also had sent them out to get some ingredients for their dinner that night, so they decided to kill two birds with one stone. The married couple met them outside of their apartment building, and started walking towards the mall. Rukia and Inoue were in the front, chatting, while the two males remained silent in the back.
Inoue and Rukia went around the mall, just looking at things. Kon and Ishida decided to stay at the food court, and wait out this thing they called torture, but their friends called window shopping.
"Any signs of Kurosaki yet, Kon?" asked the black haired Quincy.
"Nah, I haven't seen him in years. No one seems to know where he went either."
"Tch, and usually it's so easy to find him; he's constantly spilling his reiatsu all over the place."
"Yeah, but from what Nee-san told me, Ichigo can control his reiatsu."
"Since when?" Ishida questioned, shocked at the feat Kurosaki had actually accomplished.
"That's what she said Urahara told her. You know that year and a half vanishing trick he pulled before the one he's on now?"
"Yes, I heard from Hitsugaya-san that he probably went to Hueco Mundo."
"I'm still trying to figure out why he'd go to such a shitty place like that."
"Well, if he ever comes back, we'll ask him. Now, you were saying that Kurosaki can mask his reiatsu now?"
"Yeah, Urahara confessed to training him in kidou during his first absence."
"Did he give a reason?"
"He said Ichigo didn't want to be followed; and Ichigo threated him to not tell anyone about it."
"Wow, Urahara-san took a threat to heart, that doesn't sound like him."
"Ah well, that's what I was told, so until we learn anything else, we're stuck believing it."
"And why didn't anyone try to stop him from leaving?"
"Apparently, he said he'd kill anyone who came after him. Nee-san, Hitsugaya-san, and Urahara believed him."
"All this threatening doesn't sound like something Kurosaki would do."
"How would you feel if Soul Society performed a couple of tests on you? You also need to remember that these tests caused Ichigo to change into a hollow, and kill Renji."
"I heard about that; Ichigo seemed really depressed when he found that out, then he disappeared, right?"
"Yeah," Kon stated, and noticed that Rukia and Inoue were heading toward them.
"I hope we didn't take too long, Uyruu-kun, Kon-kun," said Inoue, in her usual perky voice.
"That's okay, Orihime," answered Ishida.
"No, you weren't gone that long, Orihime-nee-san," replied Kon.
"That's good."
The two girls sat down next to Kon and Ishida, all sat in a comfortable, yet uncomfortable silence.
"Well... who's hungry? It's almost one." voiced Inoue nervously, the silence was getting on her nerves, and making her uneasy.
"I'll go, I haven't eaten since breakfast. Not to mention I didn't get much," Rukia voiced, and glared at Kon for a second.
Ishida shook his head, and Kon did the same.
"I'm not hungry, Nee-san; I'll skip."
"You better not eat everyone's food at dinner then, Kon," warned the black haired shinigami.
Kon nodded, a tinge of fear in his eyes. He didn't like Rubia's "learning sessions", as she had called them. These learning sessions involved tying Kon, and tossing him against the wall, while everyone else ate infront of him.
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Ulquoirra entered the hollow housing area, his expression as emotionless as always. His presence was gradually noticed, and the more who saw him, the more that stopped, and stood at attention.
"I'm going to be taking some of you with me, to talk to Aizen-sama personally. If any of you decide to decline his wishes, I will kill you," the green eyed arrancar stated simply. "If I call your number, wait outside this building, and I will escort you to Aizen-sama."
The hollows and arrancar waited while their superior called out the numbers of some of their strongest and weakest members. No one could predict who would be called, the order and choice was too random.
"Now that I have all those who are desired, the rest of you be prepared for anything. We will be moving out to conquer the human realm soon."
"How long is soon?!" yelled one of the arrancar, who was in the front row and 3 beings off to the left of the center.
"You will be informed of when we move out, when it is known. Remember your place, trash, or you'll be disposed of," Ulquoirra said.
Everyone in the room could sense the killing intent coming from the green eyed arrancar, and thought it be a good time to make no noise until he left.
Ulquoirra turned and walked out, the ones he called followed him at a respectful distance.
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Nell and his brothers watched as Ulquoirra left with some of the arrancar and hollows. They had left Bawabawa behind, in order to not draw attention to themselves, and so far, they had been over looked.
"I wonder what they're going to do with thothe arrancar and hollowth." whispered the small one.
"I'll go ask," offered Peshe.
Nell nodded. "Be careful, pleathe."
"You don't need to tell me, we're in Aizen's strong-hold, how could we have gotten in here without being anything but careful?"
Peshe quietly snuck into the barrack that the green eyed arrancar just left, meshing himself with the rest.
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GAH! This chapter was so hard to write, and half of it seems redundant! Well, I hope this is okay; if it urks anyone, let me know. I'm hoping that the next chapter will be relatively interesting. I was faced with writer's block with this chapter, I had no idea what to chuck in here, so I typed whatever came to mind. I've got all the later chapters planned out, it's getting to those that is the problem.
Anyways, read and review. I'll try to get chapter 5 up as soon as my schedule permits it.
