Wheee--!! I'm bringing back some old characters...well not old like in old fart old as in, you haven't heard in these guys for a while. Man I hope nobody hates these people -.-
"Taichou, this is boring" Ikkaku yawned boredly as he lay down on the floor lazily gazing up at the sky above.
"Too bad, we have to be on guard" Zaraki told him as he too was bored and tired. "The Espada might come and attack us, that'll be our chance" He explained.
"But why wait here when there are 2 down there?" Ikkaku asked bringing up a good point.
"I dunno, ask the old man of the mountain!" Zaraki told him as he set his head down on his desk.
11th division was really bored, they had nothing to do. Normally they'd be training but for the time being, they had to conserve their energy for the upcoming fight…which was never going to come by the looks of it.
"WE'RE SCREWED, WE'RE SCREWED, WE'RE SCREWED-!!!" Some random shinigami shouted out zipping past 11th division. It was some 12th division member that none of the 11th division members cared about since they weren't that strong and was what Zaraki called them—geeks.
"Wait a minute, what if an Espada showed up here?" Ikkaku thought contemplating what the shinigami had said when he ran past.
"Give it a rest, if there was another Espada here, then we'd be kicking his ass by now" Zaraki told him. "Wake me up when they get here" He told them as he took a nap.
---
"Why are we doing nothing?" Tori questioned Toshiro. "You always say we have to do something and now you say do nothing!" Tori exclaimed as she threw her hands up into the air from confusion.
"They're orders from Yamamoto-soutaichou, we have to be on guard and ready in case an Espada shows up…or an arrancar or hollow for the matter" He explained to her.
"Can I go down to Earth and get Rina back up here?" She asked slumping down on the couch.
"She can take care of herself, besides they have strong people down there" He pointed out.
"Can I go down there to get a taco?" She asked him.
"…Make your own taco!" Toshiro told her pointing at the Old El Paso Taco Kits that conquered a shelf in the office for some reason.
"Yeah but then I have a tough time deciding if I want the soft shells or the hard ones that can stand up on their own!" She whined. "And it takes too long for me to make one, I'd rather buy one in 2 seconds then make one in 1 minute" She whined.
"You are unbelievable" Toshiro muttered. "Oi Matsumoto, where the hell are you, you need to be here!" Toshiro yelled out. Rangiku walked in the room, apparently she had been outside the room in some other place. "I was making a taco taichou and—" She never got to finish as Tori tackled her for the taco screaming TACO!
---
"You know, I think this is the actual war we're supposed to have with the arrancar" Mika piped up from the silence in her division.
"Really, how so?" Hisagi asked her.
"The last battle was "The War of 2 ½ hours" that's a sad war for us to win" Mika pointed out.
"Yeah, now this is The War of WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY!?" Renji yelled out boredly.
"Maybe they're not coming and they're all in Karakura Town…" Mika said quietly. It got very quiet in her division all the sudden. "Or…" Mika started up again. "Maybe they're at a taco stand before they come kill us all!" Mika told them, not really helping the solemn situation they were in.
"Crap I'm hungry now…damn you Mika" Hisagi groaned.
---
"Well…this is just…dandy!" Rina shouted out staring at the thing Szayelaporro who seemed to be enjoying tormenting people.
"What just happened…again?" Yoruichi asked her needing Rina to explain the story again to her. She re-explained the story to them as they got on guard to fight Szayelaporro. Mayuri glanced at his daughter's limp body then back at Szayelaporro.
"Such an intriguing ability" He muttered. He dropped Nnoitra down on the ground and approached Szayelaporro ready to fight him again. However, he didn't stop when he was in front of Szayelaporro; he walked past him and stared into Nemu's glazed over eyes.
"Ma…Mayu…ri…sama…" She gasped out slowly.
"Saddened by your adjutant's desiccated form?" Szayelaporro asked Mayuri. "You're weaker than I thought"
"What an amazing ability" Mayuri smirked as he turned back towards Szayelaporro. "But I'm afraid that you've wasted your time coming back to this world" Mayuri continued causing Szayelaporro to wonder what was going on. "Looks like you're going to die here while your poor friend over there gets to live… for…… a……… whi……………le……" Mayuri told him.
What the…his words just now…they're so…slow! Szayelaporro's mind seemed to fog up as everything to him happened in super slow-motion. The words he was hearing became slurred and warped to him and movements that he perceived seem to be stopped. What's going on? What did he do?
"Let me explain" Mayuri offered. "Nemu's body is prepared with several drugs in case she is ever eaten or invaded like you have done." He pulled out a vial of some sort from his haori and waved it in front of Szayelaporro's face. "This is…well, it could be called a superhuman serum. Like its name, it can give the host superhuman abilities for the time being. To you, my movements should seem sluggish due to the fact your brain has adapted to the drugs effects. Usually I'd dilute this to halt its amazing effects but, I used a special undiluted dose on you. In other words, 1 second…should feel like 100 years to you" He explained to him.
"This guy's a freak!" Isshin commented silently on Mayuri's superhuman serum.
"Now you understand why I stay away from him" Rina commented.
"They chose this guy to replace me?" Urahara wondered out loud.
While Mayuri was going on about his experiment, someone woke up and was not in a good mood.
---
Back in Seireitei... nothing happened… still. However, news of the activity down below in Karakura Town got to Soul Society. Yamamoto wasn't sure whether or not it was a good idea to send anymore people down there. Nemu's condition was known of and also of the Espada that had caused it. But they were able to breathe a little easier once they heard that the Espada that caused Nemu's downfall was taken care of and was eliminated. It was the other one that caused worry now. Aizen, Ichimaru, and Tousen were locked up in holding cells with their spiritual power sealed away. They were now subjects of interrogation since they seemed most suspicious of whatever was going on in Hueco Mundo.
A knock on the door caught Yamamoto's attention; he looked up and allowed whoever it was in. It was Ichigo and he wasn't in such a great mood. Yamamoto sighed heavily knowing already what Ichigo had come for. Ichigo opened his mouth to say something but Yamamoto beat him to the words.
"There's no need to say what you are here for, I already know" Yamamoto told him. "My answer is still no, there are enough people down there and they can deal with the Espada that is still alive."
"Actually…that's only part of what I came down here for…" Ichigo said once he had the chance to. "I'm not the only one that wants to go down to Karakura… and also, I don't think the other Espada or arrancar or anybody for the matter is going to attack us…" Ichigo told him.
Yamamoto automatically knew who the other people who wanted to head down to Karakura were but pushed the thought away once he heard Ichigo's assumption. "Why is that?"
"Well, they would've already and we have their 3 leaders in our cells and they can't do anything…" He said trailing off.
"Kurosaki-taichou, don't forget that the Espada are very strong and smart. For all we know, they could be trying to throw us off by not appearing for a while. They may come or they may not, we do not know but we have to be on guard at all times now."
"But what if, they are really planning on attacking solely Karakura Town? That was their objective when Aizen was in command; they wanted to have the souls of all the people in my hometown in order to replicate the key that leads to where the King is" Ichigo pointed out.
"That may be the case but however; there are people that you obviously know of down there that can maintain control. There hasn't been a major hollow problem down there because they are able to keep them away. There are 2 ex-captains and the ex-commander of the Onmitsukidou as well as the 2 remaining Quincy's, your friends and those other people called vizards." Yamamoto listed.
"But—"
"That is my final answer; I won't speak of this again. Is that clear?" He inquired towards Ichigo who seemed shocked and pissed off as well. But rules are rules, and one coming orally from Yamamoto-soutaichou was one that must be followed.
"U-understood" He muttered clenching his fists tight regrettably.
He exited silently and walked down the corridors of 1st division. Once he was out of the vicinity of 1st division and was in an empty courtyard, he met up with someone.
"Well?" The person, who turned out to be Byakuya asked him. Ichigo hesitated for a moment but told him.
"He said that we can go, now let's go!" Ichigo replied rushing off towards where the gates were. Byakuya raised an eyebrow at Ichigo's sudden rushed response but brushed it off as he assumed it was because he wanted to go to see his family and friends. With that, both captains of 5th and 6th division left Soul Society.
---
"Oi, Kurotsuchi, its only right that you remain with your daughter while she's in the healing process" Ishida snapped out at the 12th division captain as Orihime was tending to Nemu's desiccated form. "Are you even listening to me?" Ishida asked now irritated. Mayuri heard Ishida loud and clear but at the moment he was real pissed that the Espada that was thought to be detained, escaped from his grasp and was now in a sudden battle somewhere far from where they were.
"…Ma…Mayuri…sama" A hoarse voice gasped slowly. It caught Mayuri's attention as he looked over his shoulder at Nemu.
"What?" He asked harshly but it was actually softer sounding than what he was usually known for.
"I'm sorry, please… go after the enemy…you don't have to wait for me" She told him.
"You have such a great daughter…" Urahara sighed to himself; he then glanced at Mayuri who seemed to not care. "How'd he find out what feelings were?" Urahara wondered comparing the differences between Mayuri and Nemu. As he was contemplating this, Mayuri walked over to his daughter's side and kneeled down so that he was beside her. Orihime and Ishida tensed up slightly being so close to the captain that nearly killed them so many years ago.
"Stop" He ordered the two.
"What?" Orihime and Ishida gasped shocked at Mayuri's decision.
"I said stop" He hissed at them shooting them a cold glare at them. They stopped hesitantly and wondered what he'd do.
"What're you going to do?" Urahara asked walking over to the scene not thinking it seemed 'safe' anymore.
"Hmph, you didn't really think that Nemu could be easily defeated by the likes of that incompetent fool over there now did you?" Mayuri asked casting a glance at what was Szayelaporro.
---
"Dammit, what the hell do you want with me!?" Rina yelled out as she blocked desperately against Nnoitra's freakishly large weapon. Nnoitra just grinned at the fight he was getting, the more she blocked the more he wanted to slice her up.
"I've noticed for some time now" Nnoitra started out confusing Rina. "Your reiatsu is a bit different than everyone else's" He told her.
"Huh?"
"Forget it; it won't matter anyways since you're just going to die!" He screeched and raised his weapon well above his head to strike at her.
"Not if I can help it" She muttered under her breath. Just as she said that Hanabi emitted a smoky mist that filled the air. In a matter of seconds everything was smoke; it was hardly visible at all.
"What the hell did that idiot do?" Nnoitra grumbled as he looked around desperately. Not only was his vision blocked but the temperature started to rise…rapidly! And it was strange too since it was just the beginning of winter. "What's going on?" He wondered as he started to feel dizzy and lightheaded from the sudden rise in temperature. It was like a tropical forest now except with buildings instead of trees. Suddenly he felt a searing, burning pain in his shoulder, a warm liquid trickled down his arm. He realized that he had just been attacked from behind while he was out of it. Obviously the smoke and temperature was getting to him; he gripped tightly onto his weapon swung it high above his head and swung down randomly at a spot. He hit pavement, he'd hit nothing.
"What're you trying to kill, rocks?" Someone spoke from behind him. He knew it and whipped around only to meet a punch in the face. He stumbled backwards but regained his posture; however his clumsiness cost him as he was attacked again from the side and then the back.
"Shit!" He cursed enraged. "How can she stand this heat?" He hissed having the heat get to him, he was sure he'd pass out if he didn't find a way to stop the technique.
"I'm just used to it" Rina replied kicking Nnoitra in the back and had Hanabi follow her as Hanabi stabbed Nnoitra in the back. Nnoitra coughed up some blood as he stumbled forward; at this moment he was drained of power. "…I thought you were the self-proclaimed strongest Espada" She remarked as she gave one more punch to Nnoitra's head. "Guess you're not all that, huh" She said as she saw him stumble backwards and fall against the ground. She knew she hadn't killed him; there was no way that with her power alone that she could kill an Espada anyways. At least she had separated Nnoitra from his weapon and also, he was drained of power and he was in no condition to fight anymore. Seeing as he could no longer be a threat, she dissipated the smoke and heat technique she had used to her advantage. Immediately after that she cast Nnoitra under Bakudou once again. Mayuri would be happy, no doubt about it.
"I finally caught up, what'd I miss?" Isshin asked shunpoing to Rina's side. He glanced at the bound, critically injured Espada and immediately his heart sank. "Damn I missed the fun part" He pouted.
"…You went to see your kids, don't feel guilty" Rina tried to comfort Isshin, but Isshin was a man of many faces.
An astounding reiatsu crashed down on them, except it was a familiar comforting one. The 2 shinigami looked behind them to see the gates that connected Soul Society to Earth. It opened up revealing Ichigo and Byakuya. They looked like they were on a business meeting or had just attended a funeral because their facial expressions were one of solemn.
"Uh…hey guys…" Rina started out surprised that two more captains would come down to Karakura, although practically everything was well taken care of.
"ALRIGHT FAMILY REUNION" Isshin shouted out happily to the world once he saw his son.
"…Now I regret returning…" Ichigo muttered trying to pretend not to know Isshin. "Oh yeah…the Espada…what happened to them?" Ichigo asked them.
"Well, Clown-taichou killed the scary butterfly" Rina told them in her own terms. "And the Grudge Girl is in a straitjacket" She said pointing at Nnoitra's nearly unconscious form.
"…You did that?" Byakuya asked her.
"Yeah…he was asking for it anyways…"
Just as Rina said that, Nnoitra groaned in protest and tried to break free. Instantly the 2 captains and ex-captain got on guard. But they didn't need to as Mayuri appeared, excited that he hadn't lost his lab rat after all.
"Kurotsuchi, what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked somewhat surprised. Mayuri didn't answer but instead knocked Nnoitra out and grabbed him so that he was on his feet.
"I'll be on my way back to Soul Society now" He told the 4 shinigami. "Nemu" He called out, Nemu walked out in perfect health which surprised Rina and Isshin. With that both 12th division members returned to Soul Society with the wounded Espada. A few seconds later, Urahara appeared looking around for Kurotsuchi.
"Where'd the freaky guy go?" He asked them.
"He left a while ago" Isshin told him.
"Thank god!" Urahara sighed in relief. He then looked up at the sky watching hollows of all kinds retreat back into the rip in the sky. "Looks like they're gonna come back sometime" He sighed now disappointed. "Oh by the way, Rina how're you feeling?" He asked her.
"…never felt better…" She stated sarcastically. She sheathed her now brittle zanpakutou that had nearly split into thousands of shards from making impact with Nnoitra's extra-hard skin. Her arm and leg that she'd used to kick and punch Nnoitra were feeling crapped up as well. The bones had surely shattered in some part. "Oh and by the way," She started turning her attention to Ichigo and Byakuya. "Why did it take 24 minutes for Soul Society to approve my wish of releasing the seal?" She asked them recalling the critical moment when she'd needed to release the seal, except it took an extra long time just to get it approved.
"I dunno…maybe because those idiots couldn't function properly without Kurotsuchi Sr. and Jr." Ichigo shrugged.
"Hey I raised those idiots!" Urahara snapped out at Ichigo…not really making a comeback.
"Hey I just noticed this but uh," Isshin started out catching everyone's attention. "You don't look that injured Rina" He pointed out.
It was true she barely had any visible wounds on her. It was strange since she fought with the 5th Espada, and she was remarkably weaker than him. How'd she end up winning and having barely any wounds, was definitely strange. Now everyone looked at her and wondered how she had done so.
"Oh about that…I had a little help…" She said causing confusion amongst the group.
"Help…?" Ichigo wondered out loud.
---
Elsewhere, in an old abandoned shack…or so it had seemed. 8 people inside were carrying on with their normal daily routines…well except for 2. A girl and a boy, they were having an argument and the girl was winning by a landslide.
"SHINJI YOU DICKHEAD, WHY THE HELL DID YOU GO AND HELP!?" The girl shouted out furiously, grabbing her sandal and slapped it across the boy—Shinji's face. He flew back and slammed into the wall without a fight.
"Hiyorin, don't kill Shinji!" A green-haired girl named Mashiro called out to Hiyori, who was beating the crap out of Shinji.
"Don't worry Mashiro, there's no way Hiyori would kill Shinji" A man with a muscular build and white-ish hair told her. "Cuz then she'd have no one to pick on…"
"Ugh…" Shinji groaned rubbing his head as he stepped out of the rubble. "What choice did I have, they were making so much noise" He told her.
"Who cares?" Hiyori asked ready to smack Shinji upside the head again. "They are shinigami, we WERE shinigami once before, but we had to leave because of our inner hollows" She told him. "We don't ally ourselves with them!" She snapped at him.
"But we helped Berry-tan" Mashiro pointed out.
"He was a shinigami representative, a phony, he didn't count" Hiyori countered.
"Speaking of Ichigo, he's here isn't he?" The large one of them spoke up.
"…You're right Hacchi…looks like he's gotten stronger" Shinji said smirking slightly.
---
"Well I guess we'll he—"
"—WHY DON'T ALL OF YOU COME OVER FOR A REUNION OF FRIENDS?" Isshin asked them—Ichigo, Byakuya, Rina and Urahara—and hugged them tight in a deranged group hug.
"Uh…we really should get going back though" Rina told him trying to wrench out of his grasp.
"No you don't, they can wait" Isshin told them.
"Actually, we really do dad" Ichigo told him.
"We do…?" Rina and Byakuya asked Ichigo surprised. They'd expected that he'd want to stay a bit longer with his family and friends after worrying about them for so long.
"Yeah…uh…the guys up there uh…" He started shakily. "They don't know that we—as in you and me Byakuya—came down here" He admitted sheepishly.
"What?" Urahara asked confused.
"You said that Yamamoto-soutaichou permitted us to leave" Byakuya said.
"Yeah…that was a lie" He admitted taking small steps back.
"That's not good Ichigo, you two could be branded as traitors you know" Someone told them. Everyone turned to the direction of the voice, everyone except for Ichigo wasn't surprised by the person's appearance. "Long time no see, Ichigo"
