Byakuya barely concealed his shock "What did you say?"

Ichigo smirked "Don't make me repeat myself. You heard me, or maybe you just don't want to believe it. I'm not gonna repeat myself over and over, you might not believe what I'm saying but you can't deny what you see with your own eyes Byakuya Kuchiki!" he held his Shikai to the side and began gathering Reiatsu, creating a sort of vortex in the sky.

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Orihime and the others noticed it from where they were "That's… Kurosaki-kun?"

"No one fights crazy like that except him." Uryu pointed out.

"Really, I'm glad I didn't pick a fight with him." Ganju muttered.

This led to an argument over a certain saying, but in the end, Chad informed them that the correct saying was "Even a dog won't eat a married couple's fight."

Uryu was incredibly dismayed over this.

It was bad enough that he was arguing with Orihime about this, but now he was being corrected by Chad.

Ganju was confused as to whether Uryu was smart or stupid, it was hard to tell with him.

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Ichigo finished gathering Reiatsu, and held out his Shikai in front of him "Bankai." and he was engulfed in a massive white light, the force nearly blowing Byakuya off of the hill, followed by it forming a cyclone that reached the sky.

When it dissipated, it revealed Ichigo, his robe changed, sporting a smaller sword that looked like a black Zanpakuto "Tensa Zangetsu."

Byakuya tried to conceal the fact that he was gobsmacked "What is that? That little thing is your Bankai? It's just a regular Zanpakuto. I see, first the execution and now Bankai, it seems like you enjoy treading on the things we hold sacred. I'll show you then, I'll show you what happens when you insult our honor." a wave of cherry blossoms swarmed past him.

Ichigo suddenly appeared, holding his Bankai at Byakuya's throat "Our honor, you say? It seems like your so-called honor has something to do with you killing Rukia, then I'll treat on it just like you said, which is why I got this power in the first place!"

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Having regained consciousness and left the infirmary, Hinamori raced across the rooftops with Aizen's letter in hand.

She had to know.

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At the same time, Kenshiro's group arrived at the Central 46 gate.

Rangiku looked around "There's no one guarding the front gate?"

Toshiro pushed the gate door open, and they made their way towards the building in the center.

"There's nobody here either." Kenshiro noted "This isn't right."

Toshiro pushed on the door "It's closed from the inside. This is Captain Hitsugaya of Squad 10, it's a matter of an utmost importance! Requesting permission to enter the Central 46!"

Then it locked even further.

"Well the emergency defence lock is working." Kenshiro commented "Something's definitely not right."

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At the same time, Kagome and the others reached the stairs leading up to the Sokyoku hill, and could sense Ichigo fighting Byakuya, but couldn't sense Kenshiro anywhere.

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Ichigo and Byakuya stared each other down.

Byakuya eyed Ichigo 'For a moment, I lost sight of him. I couldn't react. Impossible. You… Why did you take the point of your sword away from my throat? Are you just confident? Arrogance destroys the footholds of victory. I'll say this once more, that is not a Bankai. A Bankai can never be so small and fragile, and a lowly Ryoka could never reach Bankai." the cherry blossoms around his feet gathered "You will regret not slitting my throat when you had the chance, a miracle only happens once. There is no second time boy!"

Waves of cherry blossoms swarmed towards him, but Ichigo dodged and attempted to slash at Byakuya, who used his Bankai to make a cherry blossom shield.

Ichigo dodged an attack by Byakuya's Bankai, which couldn't keep up with Ichigo's speed.

Ichigo blitzed around Byakuya and his Bankai at high speeds "What's the matter, can't keep up? I can go a little faster you know."

"Don't get too cocky, kid!" he started using his hands to attack, doubling his speed.

Ichigo dodged several attacks, but eventually got cornered and was forced to slash all of the cherry blossoms away.

"A miracle only happens once, huh?" Ichigo then appeared behind Byakuya "Then what do you call it a second time?" he then attempted to stab Byakuya, who blocked it with his bare hand, which was now visibly bleeding.

Then Byakuya realized it "I see… By compressing all the fighting power of the Bankai in that small blade, that Bankai gives you maximum fighting power at unimaginable speeds. So that's the true power of your Bankai. Very well, then I shall completely crush that power!"

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Orihime, Kagome and the others race up towards the Sokyoku hill, where they reunited with Yachiru, who informed them that Rukia already escaped.

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Ichigo and Byakuya broke away from each other.

"Take a look Ichigo Kurosaki." Byakuya's blood and surroundings suddenly turned into cherry blossoms "This is what happens when I abandon all defense and risk everything to kill my enemy, this is the true form of the Senbonzakura." hundreds of blades lined up, surrounding the two in a dome-like fashion "Senkei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi. Don't worry, this procession of a thousand swords will not attack you all at once. This Senkei is the form I show to only those who I've vowed to kill with my own hands." he summoned a sword "You are only the second person to see it."

"I'm flattered." he flared his Reiatsu.

"Here I come Ichigo Kurosaki." and he charged, clashing his blade with Ichigo's, resulting in a massive shockwave of Reiatsu.

They continued to do battle and clashed their swords once again, repeatedly clashing their blades, Flash-Stepping throughout the area.

They eventually broke away.

'He's fast.' Ichigo noted 'He's become faster since he revealed his Senkei to me, but it's still not a speed I can't match. I can still go a little faster too!' he swiftly dodged a slash from Byakuya, then blocked another strike.

"What's wrong? You've gotten quite a bit slower Ichigo Kurosaki." Byakuya noted.

"You think so? I still think you're moving so slow that your sword looks stationary."

Byakuya then summoned a second blade and stabbed Ichigo in the foot "Hado four, Byakurai." he then unleashed a blast of spiritual energy on Ichigo at point-blank range.

Ichigo stumbled back slightly.

"It seems like this is it for you Ichigo Kurosaki." Byakuya noted.

"What… did you say?!" Ichigo found himself unable to move 'My body, I can't move!'

"It seems that you thought that I've gotten faster after using my Senkei, but that's not true. Senkei compresses my numerous sword fragments into blades in order to explosively increase its killing capabilities. I haven't gotten faster."

"Are you saying that it's my speed that's changed and that I've gotten slower?!"

"You fought well, you've defeated many captains and survived slashes from the Senbonzakura. It is impressive that you have fought this far. But you can feel it, can't you? Your flesh and bone are already dead, you're only a human, there is a limit to what you can endure. This is your limit." he summoned a blade "This is the end Ichigo Kurosaki!"

Ichigo's mind was racing 'Move… move… move! Move… move! Why have I come all this way? Nothing will change if I don't win! I want to win… I need to win!'

Ichigo then grabbed the blade.

Byakuya was shocked, to say the least.

"I thought I told you." Ichigo's voice sounded warped "It's a big problem for me if you get yourself killed."

"Impossible… Who are you?!"

"Who am I?!" part of a Hollow mask materialized on the right half of Ichigo's face "I have no name!" he slashed Byakuya across the chest, wounding him heavily "Ichigo you really suck, you were crushed by your own Bankai's Reiatsu! All the bones in your body are creaking, you really are hopeless. I'll show you how to use the Bankai!" he crushed Byakuya's sword.

Byakuya summoned another one.

Ichigo fired a black version of a Getsuga Tensho.

Byakuya dodged the attack, as well as the next one.

That is, until Ichigo got him from behind.

The resulting blast of dark Reiatsu covered the entire Sokyoku hill.

When it was over, Byakuya was bleeding heavily "This Reiatsu… that mask… Are you a Hollow?!"

Ichigo smirked "Who cares?! You don't need to know, since you're going to-"

"Disappear!"

Ichigo suddenly grabbed the mask and began tearing at it "Don't interfere, disappear! You're the one who's interfering! Don't you get it?! You'll win if you just leave it to me!" Ichigo then fully tore off the mask, shattering it with an ear-piercing scream "Sorry for that unwanted interruption, where were we?"

Byakuya stared at Ichigo like he was crazy 'An interruption?! I see, I guess defeating me in that form is not what he wants. Very well, I won't ask you what just happened. I don't think either of us has enough strength left to continue this fight for very much longer, we'll finish this with the next attack."

"Yeah. Can I just ask you one more question? Why don't you save Rukia?"

"If you defeat me, I will answer that question." Byakuya then raised his sword and unleashed his ultimate technique, forming white wings of Reiatsu "Shukei Hakuteiken."

"That's amazing. Sorry, but I don't have any techniques like that." Ichigo admitted "Zangetsu only taught me the Getsuga Tensho, the only thing I can do is put all of my Reiatsu into one attack." he began charging his Reiatsu "Here I come, Byakuya Kuchiki!" and with that, he charged.

Their blades clashed, resulting in a massive shockwave of Reiatsu that shook the cliff itself.

When it was over, the Senkei had vanished.

Ichigo and Byakuya stood on opposite sides.

Blood spurted from Ichigo's wounds first, and he used his Bankai as a crutch "I won't fall!"

Then blood spurted from Byakuya's wound, and he stumbled "You wanted to know why I would kill Rukia. Sinners must be brought to justice. Once their punishment is decided, it must be carried out. That is the law."

"So it's because of the law, you'd even kill your own sister?!"

"Sympathy towards a relative? It's worthless."

"What… did you say?!"

"Compared to the law, feelings mean nothing. I don't have such worthless sentiments like that to begin with. The Kuchiki family is one of the Four Great Noble Clans, we have to serve as examples for all Soul Reapers. Who would enforce our laws if we didn't uphold them?"

"Sorry, I still can't understand. If I were in your position, I would fight the law."

Byakuya's eyes widened slightly 'I see, I was never his true enemy. He's been fighting the law of the Soul Society from the beginning. Ichigo Kurosaki, my sword was shattered by your reckless ambition. I won't chase Rukia anymore, you win." and with that, he disappeared via Flash-Step, leaving Ichigo alone on the battlefield.

Ichigo let out a victorious roar, but found everything spinning 'Oh no, now I can't stand.' he fell back, but ended up slamming into Orihime, and ended up clutching his head in pain.

Orihime started freaking out "I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun, are you alright? Sorry I have such a hard dead, I was trying to catch you!"

Ichigo looked at the group "Inoue, Ishida, Chad, Ganju, Kagome! Thank goodness… you guys are alright."

"We're not alright, but compared to how beat up you are, we're like unharmed." Uryu pointed out.

Ichigo turned to Orihime "What about you Inoue, are you hurt?"

Orihime started freaking out "M-Me?! I'm fine! I wasn't of any use, but Ishida-kun protected me, and Zaraki-san carried me and Kagome-chan piggyback, so I'm fine! I wasn't in any danger. It's just…" she started tearing up "It's just… I was so worried about you… Sorry… I couldn't protect you… Thank you… for surviving… I'm glad… you're alright…"

Ichigo gave a soft smile "Thank you, Inoue."

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"What's the plan?" asked Kenshiro.

"I got no choice." Toshiro drew his Zanpakuto and shattered the door "The alarm hasn't gone off, I broke down the door but the alarm hasn't gone off. Someone must've defeated the guards and gotten inside, then locked the door and made sure that the alarm wouldn't go off if someone tried to enter after them."

"To keep things quiet."

Toshiro rushed in first, with Kenshiro and Rangiku behind him.

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Once they reached the main hall, they couldn't have been more shocked.

"Wh-What is this?!" Toshiro got out "What's going on?!"

Every single member of the Central 46 was dead.

Kenshiro checked out the bodies "The blood's dry Toshiro-sensei, it's blackened and starting to crack."

"They weren't killed today or yesterday, it must've been a while ago." said Toshiro "After Abarai was defeated and martial law was declared, this central underground assembly hall was locked down and no one was allowed to enter, and its defense system was engaged until we forced our way in just now, so there was no sign of a forced entry."

"So they must've been killed before then."

"And all the decisions given to us from Central 46 since then have all been fake. But who did it? Ichimaru?"

"Even he can't pull off something this big by himself, he must've had some kind of accomplice."

"I thought you'd come Captain Hitsugaya." a new voice entered the conversation.

Toshiro looked to see Izuru standing above them "Kira! Are you the one who did this?!"

He walked away without a word.

"After them!" Toshiro, Kenshiro and Rangiku charged, Flash-Stepping after them to the upper halls and out into the open.

Izuru then took to the rooftops, and Toshiro followed after him ahead "Wait Kira, answer my question! Are you the one who did that to Central 46?!"

"No, I was just let into the underground assembly hall before you arrived." Izuru told him "They opened the lock from the inside."

"Who let you in?!"

"Why Central 46 of course."

"Are you making fun of me?! What about the seal?!"

"Never mind all that Captain Hitsugaya. Instead of chasing me, shouldn't you be concerned about protecting Hinamori-kun?"

"What are you talking about? Hinamori is…"

"She's not in squad 10 barracks anymore. Captain Hitsugaya, you put up a barrier around the room that Hinamori was sleeping in, didn't you? You used Kyomon, a high-level barrier that reflects all attacks from the outside. That's why you left her there, thinking she'd be safe, but that barrier can be easily broken from the inside. Hinamori-kun is a master of Kido, it's easy for her to break your barrier from the inside or move while completely hiding her Reiatsu." he saw how shocked Toshiro looked "You didn't notice? Hinamori-kun was following you the entire time."

Toshiro looked back to the others "Matsumoto, can we leave him to you!"

Rangiku nodded "Go ahead!"

Toshiro and Kenshiro then quickly turned around and kept on running, leaving Izuru and Rangiku to fight it out.

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Hinamori made her way into Central 46, and was horrified by what she saw 'What is this? Everyone in Central 46 is dead. Everyone… Hitsugaya-kun was surprised… There was Kira-kun… Hitsugaya-kun followed him… What's going on? If Hitsugaya-kun is the one who killed Captain Aizen, then he must be the one who did this as well, but… So that means the one who did this… is Kira-kun? Then what about Hitsugaya-kun? Is Captain Aizen…?'

That was when Gin appeared behind her "Welcome Hinamori-chan."

She turned to face him 'Captain Ichimaru?'

"Come this way." he started walking away.

Hinamori did, and was surprised by where he led her "This is the Seijoto Kyorin, the living quarters of Central 46. Why would you bring me here?"

"How many times have you been here, Hinamori-chan?"

"No way, this area is completely off limits. This is the first time I've seen it."

"There's someone I want you to meet."

"Want me to meet?" Hinamori hesitantly followed him inside.

"That's right."

"But…"

"Take a look. Behind you."

"Behind me?" she couldn't have been more shocked by who she saw "Captain… Aizen…"

Aizen smiled "It's been awhile, Hinamori-kun."

"Is it really you, Captain Aizen? I thought you were dead…"

"I'm alive, as you can see."

"Captain Aizen…" she latched onto his robe.

"I'm sorry, you must've been worried." he patted her head affectionately.

Recognizing him as the real Aizen, Hinamori began sobbing in joy 'I thought there was no hope… I thought I couldn't go on… but I was wrong… That was a lie. A lie. Yes, I knew Captain Aizen wouldn't die. I knew he wouldn't die and leave me behind…'

Aizen wrapped his arms around her "You've become a bit thin… I'm really sorry, I'm sorry for hurting you so much… But you understand, right? It had to be you. There was something I had to do. I had to fake my own death and…"

"It's alright… It's alright now. I can't wish for anything more as long as you're alive…"

"Thank you, Hinamori-kun. I'm really glad I had you as a subordinate. Thank you Hinamori-kun, thank you very much… Goodbye." then he stabbed her through the chest with his Zanpakuto.

Hinamori looked down and touched the blade, then look at Aizen, then collapsed to the ground.

Aizen turned to Gin "Let's go Gin."

"Yes Captain Aizen."

They both walked out of the room, leaving Hinamori for dead.

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At the same time, Unohana and Isane made their way.

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Aizen and Gin made their way out of the room when they came across Toshiro "Hello Hitsugaya-kun."

Toshiro was absolutely gobsmacked "Aizen?! But how… is it really you?"

"Of course. As you can see, I'm the real one. But…" he turned to Gin "Captain Hitsugaya returned a lot faster than expected."

Gin smirked "Sorry, Izuru must've failed to keep him."

"What're you talking about?" Toshiro snarled.

"What are we talking about? Just strategy." replied Aizen "Dividing an enemy's fighting power is the basics in strategy."

"Enemy?!" he looked around "Where's Hinamori?!"

"I wonder…"

"In the room behind them." Kenshiro appeared beside Toshiro "Just be careful Toshiro-sensei, you're not gonna like what you see."

Toshiro blitzed behind them, and saw that Kenshiro was right "Hinamori…"

Aizen didn't lose his smirk "How unfortunate, you found her. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you. Maybe I should've chopped her into little pieces so you couldn't find her."

"Aizen… Ichimaru…" Toshiro snarled "When did you team up? Since before you faked your death?"

"From the beginning of course, since I became a captain. I never considered anyone other than Gin as my lieutenant."

"Then… all this time… Hinamori… Me… Your subordinates, all the other Soul Reapers… Everyone…" he turned to face him "You've been deceiving us all?!"

"I never thought of it that way. It's just none of you understood my true identity."

"Didn't understand? Hinamori… she looked up to you… She joined the Gotei 13 so she could be closer to you. She worked so hard to become your lieutenant, to serve you, and she finally made it!" he failed to notice Kenshiro and Gin sharing a look and shaking their heads.

"I know, that's why she was so easy to manipulate. That's why I requested her to be my subordinate."

Toshiro froze.

"This is a good opportunity. Remember this Hitsugaya-kun, admiration is the state furthest from understanding." he noticed both Gin and Kenshiro nodding sagely in a comical manner.

Nearly going ballistic in a blind rage, Toshiro drew his Zanpakuto "Bankai!" and he initiated his Bankai, a suit of ice armor that looked like the claws and wings of a dragon "Daiguren Hyorinmaru!"

As this happened, Unohana and Isane arrived on the scene.

"Aizen…" Toshiro snarled "I'm going to kill you."

Aizen smirked "Don't use such strong words, it'll make you look weak."

With a roar, Toshiro lunged at Aizen and stabbed him in the chest, freezing him solid.

But Aizen smirked from inside the block of ice, then appeared behind Toshiro with his Zanpakuto drawn.

Blood suddenly sprayed out of Toshiro's arm and his Bankai shattered "This can't… be happening…" he then collapsed.

Aizen looked around "What a beautiful sight. Ice is not in season, but it's not so bad to see it at this time of the year."

Kenshiro drew his Zanpakuto and summoned his Shikai, but Gin grabbed him and disappeared with him via Flash-Step.

"Captain Aizen." Unohana addressed him "No, we probably shouldn't call you captain any longer. You're just Sosuke Aizen, the traitor."

Aizen smirked "Hello Captain Unohana, I thought you'd have shown up by now. Did you immediately figure out that I would be here?"

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Kenshiro and Gin faced each other down.

Kenshiro quickly summoned his Bankai, which clashed with Gin's Shikai, the blades repeatedly striking each other.

Gin broke away first "It's been awhile since we fought like this. Just to warn you, I won't be holding back this time."

Kenshiro smirked bitterly "Yeah, not since before the incident at Mount Hakurei."

"That was your final exam. But now, this is your true final exam. Come at me Kenshiro."

"Right, Gin-sensei!" and he charged.

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After Aizen departed for Sokyoku hill, Isane sent out a message to every captain, every lieutenant, and the Ryoka about the betrayal of Aizen, Gin and Tosen.

Then Kenshiro appeared with a deep wound in his shoulder "I'll take care of Toshiro-sensei, just concentrate on treating Hinamori's injuries." and he disappeared via Flash-Bullet.

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Kurotsuchi and Nemu heard the message, as well as the others.

"Did you hear that, Mayuri-sama?" asked Nemu.

Kurotsuchi scoffed "Of course I did."

"What shall we do?"

"I'm not interested."

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Renji was just as confused as Rukia "This is the Sokyoku hill?"

"Welcome, Abarai-kun."

Renji turned to see Aizen, along with Gin "Captain Aizen? It can't be. Ichimaru… What's going on?"

"Leave Rukia Kuchiki and back away." was all Aizen said.

"You think it's all true?" asked Ichigo.

Ganju seemed skeptical "It could also be the enemy's trap."

"No, it seems to be true." Uryu told them "Kurosaki, can't you sense the Reiatsu that just appeared up above?"

Ichigo froze "Rukia?!"

Then Kenshiro appeared via Flash-Bullet "Hey guys, no time for the long version. Traitorous captain who faked his death, one of my sensei's went rogue, the other one is half-dead, need Kagome to heal him as fast as she can." he gently placed Toshiro on the ground, then gave Kagome a long and passionate kiss on the lips "I really needed that. Gotta go guys, later." and he blitzed away.

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Aizen froze, but didn't lose his grin "What?"

"I said I refuse." Renji said firmly.

"I see." he noticed Gin preparing to draw his Zanpakuto "That won't be necessary Gin." he slowly stepped forward "You are stubborn Abarai-kun. If you don't want to leave Rukia Kuchiki and back away, then you leave me no choice. But I'll take your feelings into consideration. She can stay in your arms, but the rest of you goes." he drew his Zanpakuto and slashed Renji almost instantaneously, wounding his arm, but found that Renji wouldn't go down "My my, you've learned to dodge well Abarai-kun. I'm happy to see that you've improved, but I hope you won't struggle for too long. It's difficult to step on an ant without crushing it. As your former superior, I'd prefer not to kill you if I can help it."

Rukia eyed Renji with concern "Renji…"

"Shut up Rukia!" Renji barked, taking her by surprise, before turning to Aizen "You don't want to kill me, right? Then why did you kill Hinamori?!"

Aizen smirked "I'd trained her so that she couldn't live without me, so don't you think it was merciful of me to kill her? It's also true that I didn't want to kill her myself, so I went to all the trouble and tried to have her, Kira-kun and Hitsugaya-kun kill each other, but that didn't work out, so I had no choice but to kill her myself."

"I see." Renji snarled "So you were the one pulling the strings on Kira and Hinamori!"

"And you too Abarai-kun."

"I get it, you're not the Captain Aizen I knew. I don't know why you want her, but I'm not handing over Rukia even if it costs me my life!"

"Now the Sosuke Aizen you knew, huh? Unfortunately, the Sosuke Aizen you used to know was just an illusion Abarai-kun, he never existed in the first place."

Renji blitzed above him "Roar, Zabimaru!" and he unleashed his Shikai.

"Shikai, huh?" Aizen merely raised his Zanpakuto to block the attack "I guess it can't be helped with the condition you're in, but that won't even buy you time."

"You never know!" Renji swung his Shikai again.

"What a bothersome kid you are." Aizen stopped the attack with his bare hand "You really are the most troublesome of the three Abarai-kun." he ripped Renji's Shikai to pieces, wounding him heavily.

Renji fell to his knees.

"I knew that I could use you three when I first met you, so when you three joined the Gotei 13, I had you all assigned to squad 5 right away. Then I made the two who were more useful, Gin and my subordinates. I sent you away because you seemed to be troublesome, it seems my instincts were right. This is the last warning, leave Rukia Kuchiki here and back away."

"Please wait, Captain Aizen!" Rukia pleaded "I will…"

"I refuse." Renji snarled, tightening his grip on Rukia "I won't let you go… Like I'd ever let you go… You idiot."

Aizen raised his Zanpakuto "I see. Too bad." he brought the blade down.

That is, until Kenshiro appeared and blocked it with his Bankai "Hey Renji, what're you doing on the ground like that? Rukia's not that heavy." he and Renji both broke away "Okay, here's the deal: Ichigo is down with the others trying to heal Toshiro-sensei's injuries."

"You mean Captain Hitsugaya? What happened to him?" asked Renji.

"He tried to fight Aizen alone but got his ass kicked, now I'm here to avenge him." he stepped forward and held up his Bankai "By the way Renji, I think you're smothering Rukia."

Sure enough, once Renji loosened his grip, Rukia uppercutted him in the jaw and started yelling at him.

Gin grinned "Sorry, I didn't think I should interfere so I let the boy pass."

"No matter, it's fine." Aizen assured him "There's no difference whether there's one piece of dust to brush off or two."

Ichigo appeared behind them, but didn't bother getting involved since he was too weakened from the fight with Byakuya.

Kenshiro turned to face Aizen "Renji, do you still have enough strength left to get away."

"Yeah, but I'm going to stay and fight. You know damn well that running away won't do, don't you? We may not be able to defeat them, but let's try to immobilize them and walk out of here."

"Not like we've got a choice, so let's do this."

"Right!" Renji raised his Zanpakuto "I can only use this technique once, but if it hits then the enemy will be left open. Strike in that opening."

"Right."

'This may hurt a bit, but please hang in there Zabimaru. Here we go Zabimaru! Higa Zekko!" he unleashed the attack, channeling Reiatsu into the broken pieces of his Shikai and having them all charge at Aizen.

Seeing the chance, Kenshiro charged in and attempted to attack Aizen.

That is, until Aizen stopped his Bankai with one finger, then bent it, dealing Kenshiro a devastating injury "I thought I cut you in half from the waist down, but it seems it was too shallow."

Renji looked on in awe and horror "That's… impossible…"

Then Aizen blitzed past Renji, wounding him severely as he walked towards Rukia, subduing her with his Reiatsu "Now stand, Rukia Kuchiki." he pulled her to her feet "I see, my Reiatsu has caused your body to go limp." he saw Kenshiro struggling to stand "The poor thing, he's still conscious. Having too much life force without abilities to back it up may work against you, give up already." he sheathed his Zanpakuto "You've all been useful enough, you've served your purpose."

"What purpose?" Kenshiro snarled weakly.

"I knew that you would enter through the West Rukon District, that's why I had Squads stationed around the area so that Gin could be there if something happened. The walls of the Seireitei were lowered and there were captains within the gates, so the only way to get in would be with Kukaku Shiba's Flower-Crane Cannon. A very flashy entry. And those intruders were skilled enough to get past a captain. As a result, the eyes of all the Soul Reapers within the Seireitei focused on them. Your actions after entering the court were quite impressive indeed, and thanks to you, the news of a murdered captain did not create too much fuss. It really made it way to make my move."

"Hold on, how did you know we'd come through the west Rukon District?" asked Ichigo.

"What a strange thing to ask, what else could it be? The West Rukon District is Kisuke Urahara's base of operations, West Rukon District is the only place you could've entered through with his Senkaimon." he noticed how shocked both Kenshiro and Ichigo looked "What's with that face? You both work for him, don't you? Didn't you come to retrieve Rukia Kuchiki under Kisuke Urahara's orders?"

"Wha-What do…" Kenshiro stammered.

"I see, it seems neither of you were told anything. Oh well. This is the end anyway, so I'll tell you. Did you know that Soul Reapers have four basic fighting methods?"

"Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hoho and Kido."

"Correct, but there is a limit to how strong you can get in any one of them. There's a limit to how much a soul can take, and that's where the growth stops. In other words, there's the limit as a Soul Reaper. Is there any way to get past that and surpass the limits of those four abilities to get stronger then? Well, there's a way. That is to become a Hollow. A Soul Reaper to a Hollow, or a Hollow to a Soul Reaper, only by removing the border between those two opposing existences can one become an even greater existence. In theory, it was thought to be plausible. So I secretly tried to turn various Hollows into Soul Reapers. A Hollows that could hide its Reiatsu, or a Hollow that could destroy Zanpakuto with a touch and fuse with Soul Reapers. But none of them worked out as well as I had hoped. In the end, nobody could find a way. But Kisuke Urahara made a way. It was something that could instantly remove the border dividing Hollow and Soul Reaper, something that defied all logic within the Soul Society. It's called the Hogyoku. Dangerous stuff. He probably felt the same way. He tried to destroy the Hogyoku, but he was unable to find a way to destroy his own creation. So he reluctantly resorted to another method. That was to create a shield around the Hogyoku and hide it somewhere deep within a soul." he turned to Rukia "Now do you understand? The place he chose to hide it was within you, Rukia Kuchiki."

Rukia couldn't have been more shocked.

"But when I found that out, you had already gone missing in the World of the Living. I instinctively knew Kisuke Urahara had something to do with it. He was once exiled from the Soul Society for creating an untraceable gigai that contained no Reishi. There's no other way a Soul Reaper in a gigai can go missing. There was another reason why he was exiled. That gigai continues to break down the spirit energy of the Soul Reaper using it. Because of that, the Soul Reaper never recovers their power. The connection with the gigai becomes dim to the point that all of their spirit energies are lost. Their soul is reduced to that of a mere human. Do you understand now? He didn't help you, he was just trying to hide the location of the Hogyoku by turning you into a human. But luckily, you were found in the World of the Living a few months later. I immediately went to Central 46 and-"

"AIZEN!" Komamura suddenly landed behind him and brought down his Zanpakuto.

Aizen blocked Komamura's blade with his bare hand "It's been quite some time since I saw your face, what's with the change of heart Komamura-kun?"

"How can you still smile like that Aizen?! You betrayed all of us, I will not forgive you! You too Tosen!"

(A/N: I'm not rewriting the flashback. If you don't know what it's about, why are you reading this?)

With a furious roar, Komamura unleashed his Bankai "Tosen, explain yourself if you can!" no response "Or can't you? How regrettable Tosen!" he was suddenly struck down by Aizen using his Shikai and an extremely powerful Kido, leaving him to collapse with severe injuries.

Aizen turned back to Kenshiro and Ichigo "Kyoka Suigetsu's perfect hypnosis is flawless, there's no way to escape it even if you know it's coming."

"Hado 90 without the chant, how scary." Gin commented "When did you learn how to do that?"

"No, it was a failure. I didn't even get ⅓ of its true destructive force, 90 really is hard to control. Now then…" he grabbed Rukia by the collar "Sorry, I hadn't finished explaining had I?"

"Ichigo-kun, Kenshiro!" Kagome and the others ran towards them.

"Stay back!" Kenshiro barked, stopping them in their tracks "Anyway Aizen, you were telling us about how you slaughtered Central 46."

Aizen nodded "Thank you. Anyway-" he was cut off by a massive Reiatsu hitting them, courtesy of Gin, then continued his business "Rukia Kuchiki, when I found out you were in the World of the Living, the first thing I did was to eliminate Central 46, like Kenshiro Kamikaze said. Isane-kun probably told you I faked my death and hid my whereabouts, and slaughtered Central 46 afterwards. But that's not true. As soon as I discovered you, I immediately killed Central 46 and used my Kyoka Suigetsu on the entire central underground assembly hall, so that it looked as if Central 46 was still alive and having meetings. We always had one of us three in the underground assembly hall. Since then, we had been acting as Central 46 and been issuing all of their orders. To make sure of your arrest, I sent those two from Squad 6 to apprehend you. In order to separate you from the humans, I ordered the immediate return and destruction of your gigai. In order to completely evaporate your soul and take the Hogyoku from within you, I decided to have you executed with the Sokyoku. The only time we weren't in the underground assembly hall were the few hours surrounding the two Captain's meetings. I faked my death soon after that and hid underground because I knew there was a possibility that the execution might fail because of you guys. There are only two ways to remove a foreign object planted directly into a soul. You can use an intense thermal disruption like the Sokyoku which will evaporate the soul that envelops it, or by some other method that will interfere with the soul's composition and forcefully separate them. In the unlikely event that the execution by Sokyoku failed, I had to find that other method." he pulled something out of his robe "For that, I needed the information kept within the underground assembly hall's Deireishio Archive. I looked up Kisuke Urahara's past research. He was the one who developed the technique to plant a foreign object into a soul." he pushed a button on the capsule he pulled out of his robe "So I figured that the technique needed to remove it must be hidden somewhere in his research." several green spikes suddenly rose from the ground around them "This is that answer." his arm was covered in the same substance, and his hand pierced Rukia's chest, then removed it, holding a very familiar looking jewel "I'm surprised, it's so small. This is the Hogyoku… I see." he watched the hole in Rukia's chest closed "The soul is unharmed, what a wonderful technique."

"A-Aizen…" Kenshiro slowly rose, feeling a tremendous amount of pain "You… don't know… the power… you're toying with…"

"Oh really?"

"Aizen… what you're holding… is the Shikon Jewel!"

Aizen blinked, then looked at the Hogyoku "And how would you know this?"

"Because I've fought a whole damn war against that thing and sacrificed almost all of my power to destroy it! But somehow, you and Urahara-san brought it back in the form of that thing!"

Aizen marveled at the Hogyoku, also known as the Shikon Jewel "I see… Interesting." then he looked at Rukia "Well, I have no use for you anymore… Kill her Gin."

"Oh well." Gin drew his Zanpakuto and unleashed his Shikai "Pierce, Shinso!" and his blade extended.

But instead of striking Rukia, it struck Byakuya.

Rukia was more shocked than anyone "N-Nii-sama!" she caught him as he collapsed "Nii-sama! Nii-sama… why? Why did you save me?!"

Aizen made his way over to them, before…

"Let's go Jidanbo! Bones of beasts scattered far and wide! Steeple crimson crystal! Steel wheels! Wind in action, and the sky at rest! The sound flying arrows, fill the hollow castle! Hado 63: Raikoho!" and she fired a blast of lightning.

Aizen dodged, but the moment he did, he found himself captured by Yoruichi and Soifon "This is another face I haven't seen for quite some time."

"Don't move!" Yoruichi warned "If you move a muscle…"

"We'll cut off your head." Soifon finished.

Aizen looked completely uninterested "I see."

Yoruichi turned to see "Kukaku!"

"Hey Yoruichi!" Kukaku waved "I had too much free time, and since I was out on a walk I thought I'd check in!"

"Well, that sure was flashy." Gin noted "What should I do?"

Rangiku suddenly appeared behind him with her sword to his throat "Don't move."

"Sorry Captain Aizen, I got caught."

"This is it." said Yoruichi.

Aizen turned to face her "What did you say?"

"Don't you understand Aizen? There's no place left for you."

At that moment, Ukitake showed up with everyone else "Aizen…"

"It's over Aizen."

Aizen smirked.

"What's so funny?!"

"Oh sorry, it's time."

Yoruichi and Soifon leapt away as Aizen was engulfed in a pillar of light, and several Menos Grande appeared, as well as something else.

Along with Tosen, Gin was engulfed in the pillar of light as well "It's a bit of a let down, I wouldn't have minded being your prisoner a little longer. Goodbye Rangiku, I'm sorry."

Rangiku froze.

Aizen and his accomplices were lifted off of the ground.

Yamamoto stopped anyone from attacking "That light is called Negacion, the Menos use it to help save their fellow Hollows. Once enveloped by that light, it is impossible for those within and without to interact. It's an isolated world. All who have fought Menos know… The moment that light fell on Sosuke Aizen, it became impossible to reach him."

Despite being injured, Komamura punched the ground furiously "Tosen! Come down here Tosen! I don't understand! Why did you become a Soul Reaper?! Wasn't it for your friend who passed away?! Wasn't it to carry out your justice?! Where has your sense of justice gone?!"

"I told you Komamura." said Tosen "The only thing I can see with my eyes is the path with the least bloodshed. Justice is always there. The path I follow is justice!"

Ichigo helped Kenshiro up to his feet, despite his own injuries.

Ukitake went to Aizen "You've joined with the Menos…"

Aizen said nothing.

"Why?!"

"To reach higher." he finally answered.

"Have you fallen so much Aizen?"

"You're too arrogant Ukitake. No one stood at the top from the beginning. Neither you, nor me, nor the gods." he removed his glasses "But that unbearable vacancy of heaven's throne ends now." he pushed his hair back, leaving only a single strand in front, and then proceeded to crush his glasses "From now on, I will stand atop the heavens. Goodbye Soul Reapers." then he looked to Kenshiro and Ichigo "And goodbye Ryoka boys, you were both quite amusing for humans." and with that, they disappeared, and the hole closed.

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Not long after Aizen and his lackeys escaped, members of Squad 4 arrived and started work on the injured, namely Byakuya, Renji and Komamura.

Rukia had to be restrained from rushing to Byakuya's side.

Komamura stubbornly refused treatment and told them to look after the others.

The squad's 3rd seat, Yasochika Iemura, told some members to work on the Ryoka, then looked at Kagome and Orihime at work 'Those Ryoka girls, their abilities seem similar, but what are they?'

At the same time, Unohana showed up "Lieutenant Hinamori has escaped death, it's up to her now. Isane is continuing to treat her. Who's left?"

"Captain Kuchiki and the Ryoka boys."

Unohana looked at Kagome and Orihime at work "It doesn't seem like the Ryoka need our help."

"Is… that so?"

Unohana knelt down beside Byakuya "You were reckless Captain Kuchiki." she heard him mumble something "Rukia Kuchiki-san, come here. Captain Kuchiki is asking for you."

Rukia complied.

"Rukia… Are you there?" Byakuya asked weakly.

Rukia knelt down beside him "Yes, Nii-sama."

"There's something I want to tell you. An old story… From 50 years ago. In that year, before the first plum-blossoms bloomed, I lost my wife."

"I know. Hisana-sama. I was told that I looked like your wife, that's why you took a liking to me and welcomed me into the Kuchiki family as your younger sister."

"That's right. I ordered everyone in the household to tell you that lie."

"Huh?"

"Hisana was… your older sister."

Rukia froze.

"Hisana died in the World of the Living and was sent with you to Hanging Dog. But life was too difficult there, she said she left her baby sister and ran away. Hisana regretted that. Even after she became my wife, she searched for you almost every day. Then, in the spring of our fifth year together, she begged me to find you and welcome you into the clan as my younger sister, but not to tell you that she was your older sister, for she felt that she had no right to be called your older sister, and then she passed away. I found you the following year, and I immediately welcomed you into the family. It was the same as with Hisana. The people of the household objected, saying that allowing someone from the Rukon District into a noble home was against their law and would tarnish the name of the Kuchiki family. But I defied everyone, I wanted to fulfill my promise to Hisana no matter what. But it's also true that I'd gone against the law, so I made a vow in front of my parents' grave in order to admonish myself. I vowed that I would never again break a law, that from then on, I would uphold it no matter what. I was so desperate to make Hisana's wish come true, I made two vows that I should not have made. When you were sentenced to death, I didn't know what to do. My vow to my parents to protect the law, and my promise to Hisana to protect her younger sister. I didn't know which vow to uphold." he looked over to where Orihime was healing Ichigo and recalled what Ichigo said before 'Ichigo Kurosaki. I thank you. Rukia… I'm sorry…"

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A week passed, and things were settling down.

Kenshiro was sparring with Ikkaku in the Squad 11 barracks "Come on Ikkaku, is that all you've got?"

Ikkaku smirked "Not by a long shot." and they clashed their blades.

Then Kenpachi came in "Hey!"

Yachiru popped up from his back "Morning Big-Shiro!"

"Are your wounds alright?"

Kenshiro shrugged "Thanks to Kagome's healing, I'm completely-" he stopped when he realized where this was going "Of f*ck."

"I see, that's good. That means now I can fight you without holding back!" and he brought down his sword, leaving a crater in the floor, but found Ikkaku lying in the center "Hey, that's the wrong guy!"

"Never fighting you again asshole!" Kenshiro ran away as fast as he could.

Yachiru pointed "Ken-chan, he's getting away!"

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Yumichika sighed "My my, rowdy as ever."

"It's better than too quiet." Iba pointed out.

"Why are you here so often? What happened to Captain Komamura?"

"Well I wish I knew, but lately it seems like the captain just wants to be left alone."

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Komamura stood by the grave Tosen showed him 'Friend of Kaname Tosen, you whose name I do not know. What would you have done, what would you have said to stop him?' he turned to see Shuhei walking towards him.

"Captain Komamura, do you think Captain Tosen will ever come back here again?" asked Shuhei

"Of course, let's find a way to open Tosen's eyes."

Their path was clear.

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At the same time, Rangiku was thinking of Gin.

The was when Izuru came in to apologize, and this led to drinking. Lots of drinking.

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At the same time, Toshiro had visited Hinamori in the infirmary, and now he was catching up with Kenshiro "So you beat Naraku and won her over?"

"Her name is Kagome and yes, we've been dating for over a year now."

"And you both destroyed the Shikon Jewel?"

"Yeah, only now it's resurfaced and Aizen has it in his clutches."

"You mean-?"

"The Hogyoku and the Shikon no Tama are one in the same."

"That means Aizen is far more dangerous than we could imagine."

"Apparently when the Shikon Jewel disappeared from our world, it somehow ended up in the Soul Society about 100 years ago, when Urahara-san created it in the form of the Hogyoku. But after being in Rukia's body for so long, it's gone into some kind of dormant state, and it'll take some time for it to reawaken to its full potential. If we don't stop Aizen before that happens, we can kiss the living world, the Soul Society and everything in between goodbye."

"Right. By the way, Zaraki is looking for you."

"I know. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna run like hell and get as far away from Kenpachi as I can. Wish me luck." and he took off running.

Kenpachi suddenly burst onto the scene "Where's Kenshiro?"

Toshiro pointed in another direction, and Kenpachi took off running.

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Uryu was making new clothes for everyone, since they wouldn't be able to go back to the World of the Living dressed like Soul Reapers, having re-designed the shirts Chad and Orihime worn, and made a new kimono for Kagome.

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Orihime went to bring Rukia the dress Uryu made for her, only to find that Rukia wasn't in her room.

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Ichigo was wandering around "Dammit, I hate days like this when I've got absolutely nothing to do."

"Kurosaki-kun!"

Ichigo turned to see Orihime "Oh hey Inoue, what's up? What's the problem?"

"There's something wrong, I can't find Kuchiki-san."

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Renji was whittling away at a piece of wood out of boredom.

"Renji." said Byakuya "Why are you here?"

"Because I'm your Lieutenant." said Renji.

"You probably wish I was dead, huh?"

"No way, if you die then what reason would I have to get stronger? Captain… I…"

Then Ichigo burst into the room through the window "Renji!"

"What the hell do you want?!" Renji barked "I was just about to say something heartfelt, dammit!"

"Oh, sorry. Anyway, do you guys know where Rukia went?"

"What about Rukia?"

"No, if you guys don't know then nevermind. Sorry to intrude Renji, Byakuya. Later." and he jumped out the window.

Renji noticed Byakuya seeming unsettled about something "Something wrong Captain?"

"Nothing, it's just, I wonder if he plans on calling me without titles."

"I'll start calling you Captain the minute you didn't try to execute your sister!" Ichigo called.

Then Kenshiro came into the room "Sorry to bother you two but-"

"Zaraki?" Byakuya guessed.

"Zaraki."

"Get under the bed."

Kenshiro dove under the bed.

Then Kenpachi came in "Have you guys seen Kenshiro?"

They both pointed "He went that way."

Kenpachi ran off.

Kenshiro came out from underneath the bed "Thanks for not ratting me out Renji, Byakuya-san. Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta keep running like hell." and he jumped out the window.

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Ganju was being punished for being useless by Kukaku, when Rukia came to apologize for her involvement in the Kaien, but Kukaku waved it off, eventually becoming annoyed by Rukia apologizing over and over again, and then invited her to dinner.

That was when Ichigo showed up, with Kenshiro not far behind "So this is where you were. Looks like you're finished here, let's head back. They said they'd open the gate to the World of the Living tomorrow, and you're still not fully recovered, so you'd better get some rest so you're ready."

Rukia gave a sad smiled "Oh, that's right… I think you two should be the first to know this. I'm going to stay here in the soul Society."

Ichigo paused, then smiled "Well it's your decision, who are we to stop you? If you want to stay, then you should stay. You know I remembered why I was trying so hard to save you."

Then Kukaku came up to them "You two finally showed up, what were you doing?! You're going home tomorrow, huh? That's quick. Have dinner with us, it'll please everyone."

Kenshiro quickly covered Ichigo's mouth "Thanks for the offer Kukaku-san, we'd love to."

Kukaku lowered her first and nodded.

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Morning came, and everyone was getting ready to leave.

Ukitake opened the gateway "This is the official Senkaimon. Of course, I incorporated the Reishihenkanki for you." then he turned to the Soul Reapers of the group "Ichigo-kun, Kenshiro-kun." he handed them both badges "These are for you two."

"What're these?" asked Ichigo.

"Substitute Soul Reaper combat passes. It's our old custom to give this to a Substitute Soul Reaper who is deemed useful to the Soul Society. If you two use these, you can become Soul Reapers whenever you want. Of course, this won't make up for what you've done for us, but…"

"It's alright, we did it because we wanted to." Ichigo assured him "But still, we'll gladly accept this."

Ukitake eyed them both 'These men are… truly…' then he turned to everyone else "It's time!"

Sure enough, the gateway opened.

After saying their goodbyes to Rukia and the others, they left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They found themselves being chased by the Cleaner.

"Official my ass, it's exactly the same as before!" Ichigo barked "Dammit Yoruichi-san, what the hell?!"

"Only Soul Reapers can use the Hell Butterfly!" Yoruichi called "Stop complaining and run! Look, we're almost at the exit! Don't stop, just run through it!"

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Once they did, they found themselves in mid-air, and falling.

That is, until Urahara and his team caught them "Welcome back everyone!"

Ichigo blinked "Urahara-san?"

"Welcome back Kurosaki-san, Kenshiro-san. You've both heard about me, right?"

Ichigo stood "Yeah."

Urahara turned to them, took off his hat and bowed his head "Words cannot express how sorry I am."

Ichigo looked away "Just stop, it's fine. We're not mad, you really didn't do anything wrong. Your motivation aside, you did save us and make us all stronger. We owe you. But just one more thing: Did you not tell us the truth because you thought we'd get scared and run away?"

"Exactly right!" Urahara used a voice that made him sound like some kind of game show host.

Ichigo elbowed him in the face "Now that just pisses me off." then he turned serious "But if you should be apologizing to anyone, it should be Rukia. Be sure to do that, even though she'll probably say the same thing."

"Okay…"

"Now then Urahara-san, can you drop me off around here?" asked Uryu.

"You got it!"

He got off once they were low enough "And don't forget Kurosaki, you and Kenshiro-san are Soul Reapers while I'm a Quincy. The next time we meet, we'll be enemies." and with that, he hopped off.

A few minutes later…

"We'll get off here." then Orihime and Kagome hopped off.

Then Chad.

Then Kenshiro finally spoke "That was pretty cool what you said back there Ichigo, you've really matured from that spunky little turd I left behind in Karakura all those years ago."

Ichigo grinned "You've done enough growing up Kenshiro, now it's my turn. Well, I'd better get off. Later." and he hopped off.

Urahara noticed something off with Yoruichi "What's wrong Yoruichi-san?"

"It's just that it's been quite a long journey."

"It sure has." said Kenshiro "So what's gonna happen now Urahara-san?"

Urahara sighed "Let's see… We started after we suffered a big defeat, so all we've done is get things back to normal. You, Kurosaki-san and the others have your work cut out for you, so I guess it depends on you now."

"Figures. Well, I'd better get off here. Later." and he hopped off.

A storm was coming.

To be continued…