Rangiku insisted that Orihime come with her to Urahara's shop. "We're having an huge meeting at Urahara's," she said mid-yawn, watching Orihime make breakfast, "And since you're very much involved, Urahara says you should come as well. A lot of high ranking officials are going to be there too."

As she was placing eggs on two plates, Orihime looked into the dining room at Rangiku. "But, what about class?" she asked. "We all have missed so much as it is…" Worry drifted over her.

Rangiku's eyes narrowed, pondering Orihime's dilemma. Human schools were such a pain in the neck to maneuver around. "I understand," Rangiku replied. "However, we have come to such a critical point that we need to make every second count."

Orihime slid a plate of food in front of her, her eyes filled with hesitation. "You guys need to understand," she countered, sitting across from Rangiku. "I do want to train. I do want to help. But, there are ramifications here in the World of the Living if we constantly are gone." Rangiku took a bite of toast, nodding. Orihime sighed. "I just don't want my friends and myself to end up ruining our futures here in this world while we try to save it in the spirit world, you know?" she said before taking a bite.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, the mood drastically going down by the moment. Rangiku knitted her hands together, resting her head on them, thinking. "I'm sure we can figure something out," she said. "Your concerns are definitely valid, but right now, things are getting worse. Just come with me today, and I'm sure we can figure it out. Urahara is the master of figuring things out, as you probably know by now." She smirked, laughing a little. Orihime remained stoic, looking down at her plate of food. Rangiku sighed, saying, "We just need you. All of you." It wasn't at all like Rangiku to be this serious. In fact, she wished she could make a few jokes and laugh with Orihime, like they had been the past few days. But it just wasn't possible for either of them right then.

"Alright," Orihime said, finishing her plate off quickly. "I'll go. I also want to see if Ichigo is okay."

Quickly, the two women cleaned up the dishes and made their way out of the apartment. After Orihime locked the door, she took Rangiku's hand and in an instant, they vanished.


At the edge of Karakura town sat a small, old-style candy store with a sign that simply read Urahara Shop. Nothing about it was impressive, and, save for the unused van that sat in the narrow alleyway next to it and the clean windows, it would have seemed abandoned.

Chad and Keigo stood in front of the glass sliding doors for a few minutes, listening for any sort of movement inside. After yesterday, Chad wanted to make absolutely sure there were no threats around them before he entered the shop. Keigo looked around, slightly confused. "I know you said that you had to come here, Chad," he whispered, "but, like, are you sure that people actually, you know, live here?" His face was taut with confusion, ducking his head down as if there were people listening in on their conversation. Chad nodded, opening the door.

"Just don't touch anything when you get inside," he said. "There's a lot of weird stuff in here."

"Weird like wha-?"

Before Keigo could say anything more, Ururu appeared at the door, opening the door more for Chad and Keigo. "Welcome," she said, her voice small and high. "Mr. Urahara was just wondering where you were, Chad." She looked at Keigo, who seemed to be shocked to see her standing there. She blinked, her head tilting slightly. "Who are you?" she asked.

Keigo began to sputter incoherently, "I- er… well, uh-"

Chad interrupted, trying to get the two of them in quickly, "He's a friend of ours. I've informed him of a lot of what's going on."

Ururu sighed. "I dunno how Mr. Urahara is gonna feel about you bringing another human into this, but that's not my place."

Keigo walked past her, gawking at the sweets and Shinigami products mixed on the shelves. It was tidy inside the small, dark and crowded store, which also shocked Keigo. "W-who knew that this place actually had people in it?!"

"Come on, Keigo," Chad called back, already at the far end of the store. "We don't have a lot of time to waste." He opened another sliding door, waiting for his astonished friend to enter into the back hallways.

"Is this where you guys go all the time?" Keigo asked, his voice still in an obnoxious whisper.

"Not really," Chad replied. "Just if something goes down with the Soul Society."

Keigo's eyes lit up at the mention of the Soul Society. If this whole thing was real, that meant that the Soul Society was definitely real. He felt excitement rush through him. "Does that mean I get to go to the Soul Society, too?" he exclaimed, walking alongside Chad. "That'd be rad!"

Turning to Keigo, Chad simply said, "Keigo, I don't know what's happening right now, but we need to keep calm. This is a very serious situation, not a time for jokes." Without another word, he continued, reaching the room at the far end of the hall. Keigo was shocked. No one, especially not Chad, had every gotten frustrated with him for his antics like this before. He felt a little guilty and embarrassed, wondering if he should have come after all.

But, before he let the thought dwell, Chad motioned for him to follow, and Keigo ran to him, the door closing behind them.


The first thing Ichigo saw when he opened his eyes was the wooden, cobwebbed roof of Urahara's place, the light in the room dim. His body felt heavy and exhausted, eyes wishing they'd never opened. It'd been the first night in weeks since he had slept more than four hours, and he felt he could sleep for days. It was also in that moment he realized he was still in his spirit form. He groaned, wondering if Kon had remembered to go to school for him or if he had decided to completely disregard everything Ichigo had asked of him. "Dammit," he whispered, eyes closing. He felt legitimately awful, his mind wandering to the night prior. He suddenly thought about Rukia, his body jerking forward.

"Rukia!" he said aloud. "I need to find Rukia!"

Whether it was fate or just coincidence, he saw one of the doors open to his right and there, bandaged up and wearing a white robe, was Rukia. Her hand resting lightly on the door, she leaned in, dark circles under her eyes. "Hey," she said weakly, "It's early, no need to yell so loud." But she was smiling softly, glad to see that he was awake now.

Ichigo's eyes lit up, both surprised and relieved to see her. "You're… you're okay!"

Rukia laughed, "Of course I'm okay, dummy. Orihime patched me up last night." She placed one of her hands on her stomach, resting on top of the bandages. "I'll admit," she said, her voice lower now, "it still stings a little, but I think after a little more rest, I'll be ready to go." She looked at him again, noticing the look he was giving her, distant and tinged with guilt. "The important thing here, Ichigo, is that we both made it out okay, and no one got seriously injured."

"No one, except for you," he countered, his eyes downcast. "Which wouldn't have happened if I had already fixed myself sooner."

Rukia's face became a little more serious. "Don't beat yourself up again, Ichigo," she said. "See your reality for what it is, rather than what it was last night. We both made it, and we can prepare for the future. That's all I want you to focus on for today."

Not looking up from the floor yet, Ichigo nodded. "You're right," he said quietly. But the fact that we are still here is by sheer luck, he thought to himself. He hated himself for thinking that, but the thought lingered there, glaring at him from the dark corners of his mind.

"I will say," Rukia continued, a smile returning to her face. "Orihime's powers seem to be growing by the day. As soon as I can, I'll have to take her up to the Soul Society. The sooner I train her, the faster we can prepare." She thought back to yesterday, remembering the determined look in Orihime's face as she requested to be trained. It was very inspiring, keeping back the tinges of despair that had been trying to take root in her mind for the past few days. "Your friends have definitely been inspired by you, Ichigo." Raising his head, Ichigo looked at her saying nothing. "You should be proud to have such good friends."

Before Ichigo could respond, the door on the opposite side of the room slid open, revealing Shinji, smiling at them. "Rise and shine," he sang out, leaning against the door way with his arm. "Another day to burn away as we wind closer to the big day, whenever that may be." He glanced down at Ichigo. "Although, I was disappointed we couldn't get together yesterday, Ichigo, I'm glad to see you've recovered from your fight yesterday. Especially without Hollowfying."

Ichigo nodded. "I tried my hardest," he said.

"Well today," Shinji replied, "once we wrap up our business here with Urahara, I'm taking you with me to start the process of… taming your Hollow, so to speak."

"Are we having a meeting?" Rukia asked. "I would suppose we should after all that happened in the past two days."

Shinji nodded, straightening his pose. "Sure are, and a number of big wig Shinigami officers are gonna be there," he said. "Or so I heard."

Ichigo sat up straight, confusion in his eyes. "Who all is coming?"

Shinji laughed, "Well, I guess you'll just have to come to the meeting and find out, now won't you, Kurosaki?" With that, he slid the door closed, but not before calling out, "Meeting starts in ten minutes, ya better hurry!"


Urahara's shop was filled with more people than usual. The back room, usually reserved for meetings and debriefs for the spiritually-inclined inhabitants of Karakura Town, was now a semi-official meeting room for both Shinigami and Humans alike. Captains and lieutenants were in attendance, many in low-voiced conversation with peers. Some of Ichigo's close friends were sitting near each other, discussing something quietly, sitting on patched-up cushions Ururu and Tessai had provided last minute. Jinta ran amongst the guests, delivering tea reluctantly.

"Don't spill that on our floor!" he yelled at Keigo before leaving. "It's hard sopping that out of tatami mats!"

Keigo, already feeling self-conscious in a room of people he'd never met and under extremely odd circumstances, felt his hand shaking and the hot liquid splashing a little. "Keigo!" Orihime exclaimed, sitting between Chad and Rangiku, "I didn't know you were involved in today's meeting."

Keigo gave a small nervous laugh, with Chad saying, "He wasn't really, he just invited himself."

A voice chimed up behind them, "I was surprised to see you here, too, Keigo." They turned to see Uryu, taking a seat next to Keigo. His stern blue eyes surveyed the room behind his glasses, wary of all the Shinigami in the room.

"Uryu!" Orihime exclaimed again, "I haven't seen you in months! Where've you been?"

Adjusting his glasses, Uryu's eyes met hers. "I've mostly been training here with my father," he said. "We've been down in the training room. Between that and catching up with school work, free time has been few and far between, that's mostly been for sleeping."

Keigo seemed perturbed, "I didn't know you were a part of the Hollow-fighting team, Uryu. I just thought you were a sewing-obsessed thespian."

Wincing at the word thespian, Uryu replied, "Well, yes, why do you think I would always disappear when Ichigo and the rest would as well?"

Keigo shrugged. "I dunno, just thought you were weird and wanted to get out of going to class, honestly."

Uryu groaned, frustrated at Keigo's lack of perceptive skills.

"Wait," Keigo continued, a thought dawning on him. "Are you one of these Shinigami, too?"

Uryu's face was filled with revulsion. "I would rather be mistaken for a homeless man than a Shinigami!" Uryu hissed, attracting the attention of a few Shinigami, eliciting a few glares but nothing more.

"Easy there, Uryu," Chad said. "He meant nothing by it, he didn't know. Calm down."

Orihime gave a small nervous laugh, turning to Keigo, "Sorry, he's not really a fan of Shinigami. It's a long story."

Calming himself, Uryu cleared his throat. "To answer your question," he said, "I'm actually a Quincy, and we have a long, terrible past with the Shinigami."

Keigo, still terrified from Uryu's outburst, squeaked, "O-oh, okay!"

"I thought Ichigo would be here by now," Uryu noted, as if the little outburst never happened.

Rangiku piped up now, slightly offended at Uryu's statements still, "I heard he'll be here shortly. He took quite a beating last night." She glared at Uryu slightly.

Blue eyes filled with confusion, Uryu asked, "What happened last night?"

"A few Arrancar came to Karakura Town last night," Orihime answered. "They tried to attack Chad last night, and one of them even injured Rukia pretty badly." Chad nodded in confirmation.

Uryu's eyes became deadly serious. "I guess that explains why everyone seems to be on edge," he mused, "and why so many Shinigami are here."

The sliding door behind them opened again, this time with Ichigo and Rukia entering the room. Ichigo appeared to be slightly helping Rukia steady herself, which she didn't need much of, but she allowed it. "Ichigo!" Keigo called out, waving.

Ichigo's began to sputter. "K-Keigo?!" he said in surprise. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Orihime's eyes lit up, delighted to see her friends were up and moving. "Good morning!" she called to them, ignoring the question. "We saved some seats for you two!" Her hand pressed on two cushions across from her.

"Good thing you got here when you did," Rangiku said. "The meeting's gonna start in a few minutes." Rukia sat next to Rangiku and Ichigo next to Uryu, completing the circle of friends.

"It's good to see you, Kurosaki," Uryu said. His arms crossed over his chest. "I was told you had quite a tussle last night with an Arrancar."

Ichigo grunted, trying not to think about the night prior at this point. It was a sore subject. "Yeah," he mumbled. "It was… something." Trying to move away from the topic of last night, he addressed Keigo again. "But what I want to know is why you're here, Keigo. How'd you get all wrapped up in this."

Keigo raised his hands in the air, like everyone in the circle was prepared to attack him. "W-well," he started, "Chad came over last night, asking to stay over because he said there'd been an intruder at his apartment. I kiiiiiinda pressed him to tell me more about it, and it became a full-fledged story time where he told me all about your crazy adventures in the last few months."

Rukia's eyes narrowed. "And you believed him from the start?" she asked. "I would have thought that you would have told Chad he was crazy."

Shrugging, Keigo continued, his face serious now. "Well, I did, at first. I mean, I like some good ol' ghost stories here and there, but I never believed in the concept of ghosts and spirits. However, as he went along, it kind of explained a lot of the weird shit going on here in Karakura Town. Like, why do all these buildings and roads get all messed up with no clear evidence of someone doing it? Why do you guys keep disappearing out of nowhere? And, especially, why does Ichigo keep acting weird for a few hours, days even, and then goes back into his old grumpy self?" Ichigo gave Keigo a small glare at that last point, but he didn't interrupt. Rukia gave a tiny smirk, and Orihime laughed a little.

"The point is," Keigo said, "is that, while none of this would make sense normally, the past number of events that have happened just in these last couple of months alone correlate with what Chad told me. Since there seems to be no other good explanation as to why these things are happening, I was willing to believe Chad. Plus, I doubt he would just make up some bull and lie to my face. That's just not Chad." The group was silent, shocked to hear Keigo, who usually was the least serious of anyone, appeared to be a little bit more perceptive than they had given him credit for. "As for why I'm here," Keigo said, looking at Ichigo. "I wanted to see it for myself. And knowing all that you've done in the past, I wanted to help in any way I could."

Chad spoke up first, "Well, I thought you just wanted to skip class. But, I guess at this point, any help would be good, honestly."

Rangiku chimed in, her eyes a little skeptical, "It's all well and good that you want to help, but we want as few casualties in this fight as possible. If you want to help, you need to show us what you can do."

Ichigo nodded. "I appreciate the sentiment, Keigo," he said. "But none of us here want you to get hurt."

Keigo's felt a little overwhelmed with the amount of concern his friends had, laughing nervously. "Oh, I can take care of myself!" he said. "I'm pretty strong, and smart, and…uh, dedicated…uh..." He just realized how much he procrastinated, didn't do much but nap and scarf down food. But he'd never felt so sure about anything in his life.

Uryu tilted his head. "I'm sure we could find something he could do," he mused. "I bet you Urahara could use a hand around his store, especially with all the preparations it's going to need."

Orihime nodded emphatically. "I think that'd actually be a good idea!" she said.

Keigo's eyes dimmed, shoulders slumping. "You want me to work in an old candy store?" he said, feeling a little defeated. "How's that gonna help you guys?"

Rukia spoke this time. "Actually, that would be a tremendous help, and you would be able to further understand some aspects of spirit potions and what not." Her eyes were trailing off, thinking further. "I would caution you on letting Urahara… experiment on you, but I think you working here would be good. Plus, you'll still be able to go to school and not disrupt your schedule all that much."

Feeling a little bit better now, Keigo nodded. He wasn't quite sure how much help he'd be at this candy store, but if his friends thought he'd be good here, he wouldn't press it further. He just hoped they weren't trying to sweep him under the rug. "Alright," he said. He smiled a little, happy they had taken him a little seriously. "But who exactly is this Urahara guy, anyways?"

"That's him," Chad whispered in Keigo's ear.

As if on cue, a cane began to tap loudly on the wooden ceiling, calling the attention of the room. Silence came, and all eyes turned on Urahara, who had removed his striped hat. It was a rare sight for those who knew him in the World of the Living, wondering why he had decided to remove it for this occasion. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen," he called out. "Shinigami and Humans, and I do see at least one Quincy amongst us today, too!" Uryu nodded once, acknowledging Urahara. Many eyes fixed on the young Quincy, and a few whispers were passed back and forth.

A Quincy? The same one who came to the Soul Society?

Clearing his throat, Urahara continued. "Let's start with the elephant in the room, so to speak. Last night, as many of you well know, there was another Arrancar attack in Karakura Town. Luckily, thanks to the combined efforts of both Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya's expedition team and the team work of Lieutenant Kuchiki and Ichigo Kurosaki, we were able to manage the situation." Murmurs filled the room, whispers of surprise and fear filling Urahara's ears. "From what we have learned," he said, "the Arrancar who came through the door did so against the orders of Sosuke Aizen. All but one of them were destroyed, and the one who lived was an Espada. He has been identified as Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, the Sexta Espada. Or, at least, he is the former Sexta Espada." The room was filled with a dull roar of panicked, low conversations.

Another Espada? Just how many of them are there?

"The Espada was mortally wounded last night by former Captain Kaname Tosen, who stated that Aizen had banned him from Hueco Mundo, declaring him an enemy of his forces," Urahara called out over the eruption of conversation, trying to calm them all. "We have Orihime Inoue to thank for her healing powers of Shun Shun Rikka, as we were able to detain the Espada here in the store."

"You kept the Espada alive?!" a voice called out in protest.

It was Renji Abarai, rising in his seat slightly. All eyes turned to him, watching the confusion and frustration cross over his face. "Why would you keep one of the enemy alive after what he did to Lieutenant Kuchiki?"

Rukia gritted her teeth, calling to him, "Lieutenant Abarai, perhaps we should let Urahara explain himself. I'm sure he has a good reason to keep the Espada alive." Although, upon learning the Espada was alive, the thought didn't settle too well in her gut. Hearing Rukia's voice, Renji sat back in his seat, silent. He was happy to see her amongst the assembly, but he was outraged to hear that her assailant was in the building.

Urahara nodded, grateful that Rukia had spoken up. "I understand your concerns, Lieutenant Abarai," he said, addressing Renji. "But, as Lieutenant Kuchiki has said, I do have a good reason for keeping Grimmjow alive. He has the potential to not only provide us with much-needed information on Aizen's future plans and resources, but he could possibly become a reluctant ally, if time proves me right." He gauged the assembly's grumbles before he continued.

"Right now, he is in this building, unconscious and recovering from his wounds. With Orihime's help, we also have a healing barrier surrounding him. He is incredibly weak at this moment, so much so that we had to put him in a gigai to prevent destabilization. When he does regain consciousness, he will not be at full power, but, for now, we will be keeping him here at the shop." A hand raised in the assembly, and up rose Nemu Kurotsuchi, Lieutenant of the 12th division. Urahara was surprised to see her here sans Captain Kurotsuchi, but he addressed her nonetheless.

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

Eyes forward, Nemu spoke, "Captain Kurotsuchi had been curious what you were going to do with the Espada and asked that he take charge of him and his healing immediately."

A few gasps could be heard, and Urahara felt a shudder go through him. Most in the room knew that when Captain Kurotsuchi wanted a person to be taken to their lab, it was almost a death sentence. "Tell Captain Kurotsuchi," he replied, calmly, "that his request will be denied. The only way I will allow that at this time is if the Head Captain commands me to do so, and even then, that will be under direct supervision of the Soul Society." With no trace of a reaction from Nemu, she sat back down. Urahara, however, knew that wouldn't be the end of Kurotsuchi's "request."

Clearing his throat once more, Urahara moved on. "That is currently the extent of what I can tell you about our Espada 'guest,' so I will move on to the next topic of discussion… unless anyone has any more questions or objections?" No one spoke up, the room silently waiting. "Very well, then, we'll resume.

"With the rising threat of Arrancar in Karakura Town, we all understand that the Soul Society needs to take a more direct approach to keeping the World of the Living safe. That is why we will have Captain Hitsugaya come up here and discuss his findings and suggestions." From the back of the room, Urahara saw Toshiro pop up, his white hair reaching slightly over the top of many of the attendee's heads. Urahara stepped to the side, standing next to Yoruichi and Tessai in the far corner of the room.

"Thank you, Urahara," Toshiro said, his blue-green eyes serious, as per usual.

Standing to his full height, he addressed the room. "During our time here in Karakura Town, my team and I have found that the number of Hollow sightings have exceeded the record amount in just the past few weeks alone. Recently, we have been communicating with the guardian of the area, Zennosuke Kurumadani, and we've determined that we need at least five more Shinigami to stay here in the World of the Living while we prepare for the oncoming battle." From the audience, an afro could be seen bobbing up in down, Zennosuke nodding in reluctant agreement. He appeared unhappy that more Shinigami would be cramping on his opportunity to prove himself an extraordinary guardian to the Soul Society, but he understood the risks of being so understaffed.

"So, with that, we open this time for any volunteers to step forward," Toshiro continued. "I know many of the officers have stayed here in the past and are familiar with the layout, and I highly encourage those of you who have to volunteer." Immediately, four hands shot into the air. Toshiro, taken aback by the enthusiasm of the volunteers, asked them to stand. As instructed, Renji Abarai, Rangiku Matsumoto, Yumichika Ayasegawa and Ikkaku Madarame stood, hands lowering. Of the four, it seemed that Yumichika was the least willing and that Ikkaku had forced him to raise his hand.

"We are willing to station ourselves here in the World of the Living, Captain," Rangiku spoke, her eyes resolute.

Rolling his eyes, Yumichika nodded. "We will station ourselves here as well," he said, glaring at Ikkaku.

Renji looked to Rukia before speaking, "We'll find accommodations immediately."

Nodding his approval, Toshiro instructed them to sit down. "Thank you," he said. "Anyone else? We need one more."

Slowly, another Shinigami rose, revealing Shuhei Hisagi, Lieutenant of the 9th division. "I also volunteer, Captain, Hitsugaya," he said. "I will make arrangements with the 9th division immediately."

Surprised at Hisagi's eagerness, Toshiro nodded. Without a captain to direct the 9th division, he could understand the strain, but the 9th division had many decent members that could over see their proficiency in Hisagi's absence. "Very well," he said. "I am grateful to all five of our volunteers. After this meeting, I advise that you all find your accommodations immediately. My team and I, sans Lieutenant Matsumoto, will return to the Soul Society and share our findings with the Head Captain. For now, we encourage everyone to resume their current tasks and be vigilant. We will send out word as soon as we have any further plans."

Sounds of approval filled the room, many nodding. Urahara appeared at Toshiro's side. "Thank you, Captain," he said. "We will be adjourning this meeting, unless anyone has something they wish to discuss?" Muttering was the only response, but no one was chomping at the bit to speak. After a few minutes, Urahara nodded, "Be safe out there, folks."

Amongst the buzz of conversation and exiting Shinigami, groups formed in the meeting room. Rukia surrounded herself with Chad and Orihime. "Orihime, I will be heading back to the Seireitei after this as well," she said. "If you are still serious about training, now is the time for you to come with me."

Orihime nodded. "I am," she said. "But I also want to discuss how we're going to do this and… keep ourselves in school still."

Rukia nodded, understanding the concern. "I'm sure Urahara will come up with something," she said. "He'll probably find a gigai and give it a Mod Soul, for all I know, but he'll most likely find a way."

"I'd like to go as well," Chad said. "If Orihime is going to train for this fight, I might as well do the same."

Orihime turned her head to Chad, surprised. "Oh, you should go with us, Chad!" she said. "We can help each other!"

After thinking for a moment, Rukia agreed. "I think training will be good for the both of you."

Ichigo, Uryu and Keigo were off to the side. "I have my own training to do, still," Uryu said. "My father is… helping me out with a few things."

The disdain in his voice was evident to Ichigo, but he simply nodded. "I have my own things to take care of as well," he said, eyeing Shinji in the crowd. "So, we'll all be relatively busy." He looked to Keigo, who seemed quite in awe of the situation. "Keigo, I'll go talk with Urahara," he said. "We'll see if we can get you set up here."

"Did I hear my name?"

Urahara, with a huge grin on his face, stepped in between the two groups. They all turned to him, starting to speak at once. With a hand up, Urahara laughed. "One at a time, please," he said. "I know we're all busy bees, but please understand I can only hear you one at a time."

Rukia went first. "Do you have any gigais laying around here, Urahara?" she asked. "We have a few concerned kids here who don't want to fall behind in school while they train."

Urahara's face brightened up with surprised. "Ah, are Chad and Orihime going to the Soul Society to train?" The two nodded, eagerness in their eyes. "I'm sure I do," he said. "I'll have Tessai and Jinta look in the back while you guys are gone."

Orihime breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mr. Urahara," she said. "That takes a lot of stress out of all this."

Chad nodded. "Yes, thank you."

Ichigo pushed Keigo forward gently, hand on his shoulder. "You also have a volunteer for your shop," he said, patting his friend. "Keigo wanted to be given something to do, and we figured you could help him."

Urahara's smile became slightly dangerous, leaning in close to Keigo. "Ah, another friend of Ichigo's!" he said. "Welcome to the team! We can't pay ya, but we'll take any helping hands we can around here!"

Keigo, slightly creeped out, said, "T-that's fine! I'm just trying to help out."

With that, Urahara put his arm around Keigo's shoulders, stealing him away from Ichigo. "Well well! Let's go find you an apron and Tessai will show you around the store…"

As the two walked away, the group stood there for a moment, preparing to go their separate ways. "Good luck, you guys," Ichigo said to Orihime and Chad. "Do your best."

Orihime blushed, happy to hear Ichigo's encouraging words. "Good luck to you as well, Ichigo," she said. "When we come back, we'll all be ready to fight by each other's side. You'll see." With her words, her body seemed to straighten, her back extending. Her face was filled with confidence.

Chad simply said, "We'll see all of you soon."

Rukia looked to Ichigo, smiling. She was sad that she had to leave him here again, but she knew he'd do what he needed to address his… problems. "Take care, you guys."

Uryu stayed with Ichigo, watching the three of them make their way out the door. "I hear you're having some internal problems," he said, not taking his eyes off the receding friends.

Ichigo sighed. "Yeah, there've been some hinderances," he said. "But I'm fixing that in the next few days. Urahara and Shinji are helping me."

Uryu's eyes turned to Ichigo, serious. "Shinji," he said. "That odd foreign exchange student Orihime had been telling me about? What does he have to do with all this?"

Ichigo looked at him. "He's dealt with Hollow problems like I have," he said. "Hopefully this… Hollow will settle down, at the very least."

From the side, Shinji appeared, resting his arm on Ichigo's shoulder. "Well," he said, his signature wide grin on his face. "Shall we tango, Ichigo Kurosaki?" Uryu's eyes narrowed, slightly unsettled by the blond man. Ichigo nodded, parting ways with Uryu.

"Good luck, Uryu," he called back. "I'm counting on you when I get back."

Sighing, Uryu watched as Ichigo exited the room. A Shinigami depending on a Quincy. If anyone had told him of such a ridiculous thing months ago, he would have laughed it off. But, life always finds a way to surprise the skeptic, he thought to himself. A wry little smirk crossed his face before he departed on his own mission.


On the other side of Karakura Town, a new visitor arrived. From head to toe, the figure was dressed in gray and black, a tinted visor reflecting the bright morning human world beneath. Beneath the visor, a hand pulled down the gray fabric, revealing a pair of lips. The visor was lifted as well, and two sharp, aquamarine eyes stared down, revealing the figure to be a young woman. She looked about, as if she were trying to find someone. Raising her arm again, she tapped on a device that sat just at her wrist. Upon first appearance, it looked to be a watch, but the square screen revealed an audio bar. "I've made it to the targeted location," she said, her voice discernibly American, with a slightly unrecognizable twinge to the r's. "But Amelia does not seem to be in the vicinity, despite what your reports tell me."

A short spurt of audible screeching could be heard before a male voice answered in her ear. "Well, I don't know what to tell you, Ash. Her energy is near that area, but for now it seems to be oscillating between there and a space undetectable by my sensors."

Scoffing, the woman, known simply as Ash, rolled her eyes. "Dammit, Will, you're the genius of us all! You should be able to find her by now!"

An audible sigh came from the transmitter. "Sorry, I can't always be perfect! But don't worry, I'm working on it. Meanwhile, a little manual search couldn't hurt, now could it?"

Ash's face contorted. She hadn't talked to regular humans in a long time, let alone someone from a different region on the planet. She sighed. "I guess I don't have another choice, do I, Will?" she said, her voice resigned.

"We need to find her," Will said, his static voice tinged with slight emotion. "She's been gone from us for way too long. Who knows what the hell she's doing right now."

Eyes closing, Ash leaned her head forward. A pained look was in her eyes. "I… I just hope she's alright." She hesitated again before saying, "I'll let you know if I find any new information. For now, Ash out." The transmitter beeped, and the screen went black.

Determination in her face now, the visitor began her descent to the ground, hoping to find Amelia...