The shinigami leapt away from the clearing in alarm. Her gigai was not strong enough to handle all the incoming Hollows. Stupid Quincy. For whatever reason he had felt the need to lure them to Karakura town, despite her best efforts to convince him not to pick a fight with her.

Rukia cursed Urahara under her breath, this gigai restricted her powers greatly, and she couldn't even get out of it fast enough to be able to draw her zanpakuto. Instead she focused on using her kido, knowing that she couldn't just let the Hollows wander around freely. The Quincy had disappeared, running off and taunting her over his shoulder. God, she hated that boy right now.

Her thoughts turned to Chad and Inoue as she kept blasting the Hollows that seemed to appear out of thin air. They had eventually warmed up to her, after a month of hanging around them at school, and she had convinced them to go through with training. However, they still weren't quite powerful enough to do much good against the horde of monsters. She had instructed them to pair up, trusting that they would each work better if someone covered their back.

But Ishida? Not friendly by a long shot. In fact, before his actions today, he had spoken to her exactly once. And that was just to tell her to stay out of his way. She sighed as a moment of peace befell the clearing, before heading to another part of town riddled with the creatures. She caught sight of the Quincy, effortlessly firing reiatsu arrows into the Hollows, and winced at the thought of all the souls lost to Soul Society with each one he destroyed. But there was no helping it, the living souls of the town came first.

Everything was going fine until the sky split almost in two and the spiritual pressure fell upon her shoulders as if it was going to crush her. She looked up in shock, there was no mistaking the giant form stepping through the rip. "A Menos Grande..." she whispered, heart sinking. There was no way she could handle that in this state, and she knew for a fact that Ishida couldn't either. She cast a glance in his direction, and saw him visibly pale as he struggled to fire his bow at the giant Hollow. The arrows merely glanced off its black form, making it roar in anger. There was something different about this Menos, however... weren't they all supposed to look like the ones from the books back at Soul Society?

xxx

It had taken him several years to amass this much power. His hunger had been great, and he had eaten as many of his fellows that dared to get close to him. It hadn't been enough, he had searched for more. The second transformation was not nearly as painful as the first had been, and somehow he had retained his mind during the merging of Hollow souls. He was still Ichigo, even if the boy he had once been was gone.

When his prey had suddenly all gone missing he followed them, finding a tear in the fabric of darkness where light of a blue sky peeked through. He remembered the blue sky. Everything in Hueco Mundo was devoid of color, save for the dull flashes that sometimes marked a Hollow's mask. His own mask had shifted in his transformation, losing the horns and the stripes narrowing to thin lines under his left eye. He pulled at the edges of darkness, seeking that blue sky and any food he could get his claws on.

He stepped though slowly, feeling a prickle of discomfort as someone shot him with reaitsu. He roared at them, quailing them into fear. With a shock, he recognized his old hometown, and the anger from his past rekindled into a blaze. He opened his mouth, a Cero forming there, big enough to wipe out a good portion of the town when a searing pain tore across his chest.

He screamed in shock as he felt his body threatening to tear open, and his eyes found the form of a man glaring defiantly at him, standing in the sky as if he were on solid ground. His robe flapped behind him in the wind, and the look in his eye was menacing from underneath the green-and-white hat. Convinced that this would be more trouble than it was worth, Ichigo pulled himself back into the darkness, the gap sealing in front of him as he did so.

He growled in annoyance, the reishi flowing around him and healing his wound. He was lucky to have escaped with his life, yet again. Turning his head, the Menos lumbered off in search of easier prey.

xxx

Urahara Kisuke sheathed his zanpukto back inside his cane with ease, looking over his shoulder at Rukia and Ishida. The boy was still in shock, and Rukia looked like she might fall over with just a breath of wind. He sighed, pulling his hat down over his eyes. This wasn't going as well as he had hoped.

Rukia sank to her knees, staring at Urahara who jumped down to the ground. "Wh-why did it look like that?" she asked, voice trembling. Not only had it looked different from the Menos in pictures, it had also carried an immense spiritual pressure. She was terrified that there could be a new Hollow species to worry about.

Urahara shook his head slightly, keeping his eyes on the Quincy boy. "There's no easy explanation. It could be just a mutation, or it could be forming into something even more powerful."

More powerful than a Menos Grande? Rukia shuddered, pulling her arms in close. "Urahara-san. Thank you."

He nodded, before walking over to the Quincy. "So Ishida-kun, will you accept the offer of training that Kuchiki-san proposed now?" he flipped out his fan and fanned his face slowly.

The boy blinked, seemingly come back to himself, before nodding slowly. "I still...I still hate shinigami." he muttered, to which Kisuke only smiled. "But...I admit that I need more training."

"Perfect." Urahara grinned at him, turning to face the kneeling shinigami. "Do you hear that, Kuchiki-san? Ishida-kun will join Sado-kun and Orihime-chan in training." his eyes flashed back to the boy. "But, I believe that you should handle him yourself, and let Yoruichi-san train the other two."

Rukia nodded slowly, wincing as she got to her feet. She walked towards Urahara and Ishida, offering her hand to the Quincy. "Truce? For now?' she added quietly.

"For now." he muttered, clasping her hand and quickly dropping it again.

She threw a sharp look towards Urahara, who looked to all the world like the cat who got the cream. Just what was he planning?