In the end, it really wasn't so much a "celebration" as it was a "hearing" where all the Captains gathered together again and questioned everything Ichigo had seen and done since being overcome by his Hollow. By the end of it all, though, it was really just a case of Ukitake trying to get Kurotsuchi to find out if there was any lingering Vizard-like effects that he could dissertain from Ichigo's personality. Rukia had been told to retire for the night and the other Captains made sure she left the inner core of Seireitei before retiring themselves, leaving Ichigo and the freakshow Captain to their own devices.

Ichigo wasn't oblivious to what was going on and begrudgeningly answered the Captain's questions as they came.

The one thing he wasn't expecting to hear though was something that set his skin cold like ice.

"Bankai."

Ichigo backed off quickly as the massive caterpillar-bodied baby-headed halo-topped creature manifested, coughing gouts of noxious poison all over the place. Instead of fighting, Ichigo took off as fast as he could, hoping to avoid the gases he'd heard plenty about from Ishida back then.

"Is he crazy!? He'll poison the whole city being so careless!"

"Don't be stupid, Kurosaki." Mayuri's voice caught up with him quickly, "The entire city had been given the antidote long ago, in case an attack came here and I had to use Bankai. That leaves only you without it."

"You bastard!"

The Bankai creature flew forward, faster even than Zabimaru, crushing Ichigo in the process as its mouth enclosed over him and sent him deep into a wall. The gases came out again, and Ichigo had no way to block them. The best he could do was attack the monsterous demon and push it away from himself, dropping the short distance to the ground, clutching at his shoulder with his free hand, hoping to stop the bleeding. He hadn't fought anything this powerful in almost two decades and yet now, his very life depended on him fine tuning his skill in mere moments.

Zangetsu felt weak in his hands; he'd lost his connection to that spirit ages ago. In its sealed form, it looked pathetic and weak, regardless of its size. It shook, just as Ichigo himself did, brittle and frail in the grasp of that massive hellspawn. It charged for him again, mouth open wide for another crushing strike, but much like the Hollow that had attacked him in the very beginning, Ichigo planted the edge of his blade between the demon's front teeth and resisted its bite radius. It pulled back and Mayuri flew threw, his image initially hidden by the cloud of purple gas floating all around. Ichigo's block missed, his sword slightly pulled away by the Bankai. Blood sprayed against the tall white wall in a gruesome manner.

Ichigo desperately tried to regain his footing, but he'd already been injured too badly. Zangetsu's tip dropped to the ground, then Ichigo fell to his knees, panting heavilly, the two gaping slashes in his flesh oozing thick blood that coursed down his body. Mayuri finally relented, the experiment finished. As Ichigo collapsed fully, he felt something liquid enter his mouth, then his eyes, and then all went black.

When he awoke, he was at Division 4 headquarters, his torso and left shoulder wrapped in stiff bandages. He felt better, but the pain still lingered. In the corner of his eye, he saw someone familiar; Isane. He dared not speak, knowing what he had unwittingly done to her so long ago. It must still haunt her. It would explain why no living being was standing within a ten foot radius of where he lay. However, one image finally did appear, one wearing white.

"Ichigo," She said, "You're awake?"

"I'd rather not be.." He answered sullenly, "What happened..?"

"Captain Kurotsuchi gave you the antidote to his Bankai's poison and then called for 4th Squad to gather you up to heal your other injuries."

"Sounds pretty planned out."

"To a degree, it was." Unohana pulled a chair to Ichigo's bedside and sat down, "We are not without our doubts. Captain Ukitake has been in declining health for many many years. Recently, especially, he has become forgetful and overlooks important matters. We remaining Captains act as a failsafe system for him, at his request from as far back as when he was appointed Commander-General. Please do not be conserned though. All of our precautions are for the wellbeing of Soul Society. Your history has us reasonably conserned."

"Did you get the answer you were looking for? Or should I worry about having Captain FreakyPants jumping me again at random?"

"For the moment you shouldn't need to worry about being attacked. We only hope you get better."

"I can't say I'm enjoying my return here..."

"I apologize," Unohana stood again, placing a motherly hand on Ichigo's face as a sign of reassurance, "You are safe here. We may or may not attempt another test when you recall how to release your zanpakuto to shikai form." She then walked away, returning the chair from whence it came, and disappearing into the mass of 4th Squad trainees."

Ichigo returned to staring at the cieling, the Captain's words having a heavier effect than she probably anticipated. Ichigo couldn't get Zangetsu to change forms. It was stuck in its unreleased form, just the same as it started way back in the beginning. There was a sudden commossion in the front area of the building, and a quick exodus of several 4th squad regulars. People were calling out names, and then the entire building was empty, save for a few shinigami who were told to remain in care of those who were already admitted.

"What the..?"

He sat up in his bed despite his better judgement and grabbed Zangetsu from where it was laying on a table nearby. The small room he'd been placed in faced the way to the entrance, and that's the direction he headed. One or two Shinigami insisted he go lay back down, blood seeping to the surface of his bandages, but he pushed them away trying to get to the exit. When he found his way out, he saw several people nearby that had collapsed.

"What happened?"

"Don't know..." Someone answered, "They all just suddenly fell down. It wasn't this bad last time.."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo glared at the source of the voice, seeing a rather lanky, tired-looking, black-haired boy there.

"It was just one or two people last time. That collapsed, I mean."

"Hanatarou!?"

"Uwaahh!"

"How long have you been here!?"

"...I've always been here..." He looked utterly and hopelessly clueless. "Ahhhh...hold one one second.." He turned away from Ichigo and focused for some time. When he returned to his...albeit strange, usual self, he looked up again and made a note, "Lieutenant Isane tells me that the people affected extend beyond Shinigami and has gone so far as to the outskirts of Rukongai. This is baaddd..."

"It's just like before.."

"Huh?"

"Hana, I don't know what you guys experienced before, but Rukia collapsed once, too. She was out cold for three days and then woke up without any issues. If it's gone so far as to afflict this many people..."

"...it's possible there might be an unusual source for it." Came a voice. Ichigo twisted his head sharply towards it, "Long time no see, Ichigo."

"Renji!" Their greeting was brief, clasping their hands together tightly as they had in the past, "Where the Hell have YOU been?"

"On assignment. You?"

"Stuck at home. It's a long story, I'll tell you later. I need your help for a minute though."

"..Oohh?"

In a flash, Ichigo was sailing towards the sky on the skull of a massive snake's skull. It stretched its reiatsu-linked coils as far as it could go, giving Ichigo a bird's eye view of the entire city, and a greater sense of clarity in order to focus. He closed his eyes and listened carefully to the wind as he lept away from the highest point Zabimaru could launch him from. What he felt was weak, distant..persistant. That same feeling he had followed through the mountains and again at Nell's gravestone. That strong reiatsu.

"Could it be...that thing?" He asked himself, "What is it?" He reached the pinnacle of his leap and then slowly started to descend again, bragging Zabimaru's mane tightly to avoid falling off as the massive bone-snake returned him to the ground.

"So?"

"We need to go west, towards the mountain Rukia took me to before. That's where I first felt it...the same reiatsu I could sense from the sky."

"Looking at you, I don't think you're really in for something like that.." Renji muttered, making quick note of the bloody bandages and unreleased Zangetsu.

"Shut up and run, you idiot!" Ichigo was already off, trying not to pay mind to the main running through his body. Renji dissolved his Bankai and took on after him, muttering something to the extent of 'this is going to suck.'