Hey all, sorry for the long wait. Had a hell of a time with college finals.

Because of the long wait, and the length of my story, a quick summary of recent events seems in order.

Recently, Ichigo lost his second fight against his Inner Hollow, and then learned his Hollow's name was Cazador de la Luna. Cazador discovered that because Ichigo was a Shinigami, when he had taken over he was already an Arrancar. He immediately left to Hueco Mundo and began to eat, almost immediately becoming a Gillian. After some initial confusion as to his sudden inability to perform Bankai, Cazador met up with Ichigo and Zangetsu in his Inner World and gained the release phrase required to activate his Resurreccion. Not long later, he encountered Nnoitra and Grimmjow, the 5th and 6th Espada - yes, I made a typo last chapter. Sorry. They were both in Resurreccion and fighting. Nnoitra had been stalking Grimmjow for some time, and was seeing if Grimmjow had truly been growing stronger as he boasted. Much like Kenpachi, Nnoitra lusted for a good fight, even if it would break Aizen's rules.

Upon sensing Cazador, Grimmjow warned Nnoitra, who called him out. Nnoitra attempted to kill Cazador upon discovering that he was Adjuchas-level power while being only a Gillian Arrancar. Cazador has just called out his release phrase, "Tear the sky asunder, Zangetsu!"

Hitsugaya Toushiro, taicho of the 10th division, talked to Urahara, who confessed the truth of Ichigo's sudden disappearance. Hitsugaya promised not to reveal it, instead reporting that Ichigo was training with Yoruichi.

Chad has unlocked his Brazo Izquierda del Diablo, but realized that it changed his mindset drastically after he killed his grandfather's tormenters. He is now confused and desperate to talk to his Abuelo for guidance. He has requested Yoruichi to retrieve Inoue to restore Oscar Joaquin's arms, which had been removed by the tormenters.

Ishida began training with his father, Ishida Ryuuken, after promising upon his Quincy honor that after the current war, he would focus more on the living world, than being a Quincy. Their fight came to a close last chapter, with Ryuuken winning, but Uryuu has gained valuable experience and developed his skills during the fight. Ryuuken is currently treating Uryuu's injuries.

Chapter 10: Evolution

When Cazador re-emerged from the plume of reiatsu his Resurreccion had created, he had transformed into a mixture between his Arrancar form, which was essentially human in shape, and his anthropomorphic lizard-like body that he had first found himself in when Cazador won against Ichigo. His vest was gone, instead replaced by a white scale-like armor with intricate red tattoo-like markings that began from his Hollow hole. The armor encompassed Cazador's entire torso, but ended at the shoulders, where frills that would befit any lizard grew to either side and around the back of his neck.

Cazador's hair was longer now, down to his shoulders in length. Down his arms were crimson wavy lines, exactly as they had been in Cazador's original Hollow form. His hands grew slimmer and longer, resembling claws, while his bare feet had changed shape, each foot now having three claws, like a bird's talon or a reptile's hind claw. His crimson leggings had gained a white pattern to them mirroring that of the crimson on white of his armor.

Behind Cazador was a thick, powerful white tail about five feet long, with the same blood-red wave pattern as on his arms, though the tip was purely that red color. The tail was only about two-thirds as long as the one his purely Hollow form had had, but Cazador was glad for that – it was just long enough to be useful in battle, without being so long that it could easily be used against him.

Cazador's mask had changed as well, reforming the top half, down to the upper jaw, so only Cazador's lower jaw to his chin was visible. The left half was almost completely red, with only a few traces of white, and the right half was white as bone. Zangetsu had become Tensa Zangetsu, the familiar black Japanese long sword that had led Ichigo to defeat Kuchiki Byakuya, and Cazador himself.

Cazador smirked arrogantly as he held Tensa Zangetsu in his hand, confident in his win. "You want to play, Nnoitra? Let's play!" Inwardly, Cazador was glad his voice had returned to his own Hollow voice – it felt strange hearing Ichigo's tones from his own lips.

"Not a bad Resurreccion," Nnoitra admitted. "You might even be able to beat the old cat over there." Grimmjow growled. "But there's no way you can cut through my Hierro!"

Cazador grinned wickedly even while listening to Ichigo talk rapidly in his head.

You're in full blown Hollow form now – I don't think you can use much, if any, Shinigami powers here. No Kido, no Shunpo, Ichigo thought quickly.

You are correct, Zangetsu concurred. The Shinigami power left within your body is insufficient for any practical usage, save identifying you as an Arrancar.

Well, that sucks! Guess it's time to wing it then! Cazador dashed with all his Resurreccion-given speed at Nnoitra – and this speed was not insignificant, even minus Shunpo. It was on par with Ichigo's Shinigami form Shunpo speed. He swung Tensa Zangetsu, only to be blocked by two of Nnoitra's scythes, and two more were swinging back at him. Move, damn it! Cazador demanded of his body, pumping reiatsu through it.

To his surprise, his Hollow reiatsu instinctively formed a pattern based on Cazador's need, and he found himself out of the scythes' reach, a sudden minor booming sound echoing from where he'd been. What was that?Ichigo demanded. That almost sounded like you broke the sound barrier!

Grimmjow smirked, recognizing Cazador's sudden stop as surprise. "Was that your first time using Sonido?"

"Sonido?" Cazador repeated, burning the word to memory. Must be that high speed technique I just accidentally used.

I imagine that most basic Hollow techniques are first done instinctually, Ichigo mused.

We can ponder it later; right now, I have someone to fight! "No matter," Cazador replied to Grimmjow with a wider grin than before. "Now for the ultimate question, strength or speed?" He disappeared in a burst of Resurreccion-enhanced Sonido, appearing behind Nnoitra and slashing with all his strength.

Unexpectedly, Nnoitra used the top two of his four arms to block by flipping his scythes over his shoulders, catching Tensa Zangetsu even as Nnoitra moved to try to tear Cazador's weapon out of his grasp. Cazador Sonido-ed away just in time to avoid being cleaved in two by the third of Nnoitra's arms.

Unwilling to give up the fight, Cazador reappeared at Nnoitra's left side. "Getsuga Tenshou!"

Nnoitra didn't even get the time to curse as one of his arms completely obliterated by the technique, though he did manage to Sonido away before his torso was injured. Damn, he's better than I thought. I MUST kill him, or he will kill me! If not now, then when he has evolved to Adjuchas! Nnoitra thought furiously, channeling his reiatsu to the stump of his missing arm. I'll just save this for when I have an opportunity…

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Cazador cried, suddenly appearing within Nnoitra's guard, too fast for the Espada to block or counter…

Or so Cazador thought. Suddenly, he was impaled in the stomach, through his scale-like armor, by another hand. One, two, three… four? I know I destroyed one! "What… the hell?" Ignoring the pain, he tried to cut off Nnoitra's head with his blade.

Nnoitra used the hand to throw Cazador away before he could finish decapitating his foe. "Regeneration is such a useful ability," Nnoitra gloated confidently. "With my Hierro powerful to stop most anything, and my regeneration to quickly heal up anything that gets through, I'm unstoppable!"

Cazador got to his feet, his own high speed regeneration already mostly done healing up his injury. "What do you know, sounds like we have something in common," Cazador observed with a maniacal grin. "I know it takes quite a lot of reiatsu to regenerate an injury, especially one as grievous as losing an arm. So tell me, Nnoitra…" He hooked the end chain link from the hilt of Tensa Zangetsu on one of his fingers and began twirling it around, building up another Getsuga. "How many times can you regenerate it before you're out of power?"

"I won't need to!" Nnoitra cried out in success, seeing Cazador's open stance as a sign of weakness, rushing in and attempting to slice Cazador in three with his two right arms.

Cazador merely disappeared, reappearing behind Nnoitra, and slightly to the left. "Too slow. Getsuga Tenshou!"

Nnoitra was suddenly hit point blank by an extremely powerful Getsuga, even more powerful than the one that had taken his arm. It sliced into his back, cutting very deeply into it despite his Hierro. However, between his Hierro and regeneration abilities, Nnoitra was not out of the fight yet, and spun around on his heel to cut off Cazador's left hand.

Cazador completely ignored the loss of his free hand and stabbed with his sword, which was glowing darkly with the power of yet another Getsuga. It pierced Nnoitra's right shoulder before Cazador viciously swung downwards, cutting off both of Nnoitra's arms this time before disappearing with Sonido, reppearing on the other side and using a point blank Getsuga to completely obliterate the other two of Nnoitra's arms.

Cazador barely used Sonido in time to narrow avoid being impaled in the stomach again by a third arm on Nnoitra's left. Wait, what?He backed off to regenerate his free hand, and to figure out what had just happened. "Hiding your power, are we?"

Nnoitra extended the third left arm, and then a third right arm. "Yeah, I have six arms, not just four." With a flick of his wrists, the other two suddenly had scythes of their own. "It's a pity I didn't catch you with that – you truly are quite fast, but I refuse to lose to a newborn Hollow!"

Grimmjow watched with narrowed eyes. A battle of attrition, it looks like, he thought to himself. They both have regeneration, and they're both insane enough to completely ignore any wounds that don't interfere with their ability to attack.

"Heh," Cazador chuckled. "No matter. I'm faster than you, and I can cut you. Your Hierro means nothing to me. All you have are six weapons. You've lost this one way or another. If you win, you've succeeded in taking out a Gillian Arrancar. Well done," he added mockingly. "If you lose, it's even worse!"

"Who cares about reputation?" Nnoitra countered. "I just want a good fight!"

Cazador grinned widely. "Now you're talking. Getsuga Tenshou!"

Nnoitra put all of his arms up to block the Getsuga, using his weapons to hide the fact that his mouth was open, and his tongue – tattooed with the number five – was sticking out. He quickly charged a Cero and fired, moving his weapons just out of the way.

The Cero pierced through the Getsuga, covering most of the distance to Cazador before he realized what was happening. It took Cazador by surprise, but Cazador narrowly managed to escape the full brunt of the Cero, losing his left foot despite Sonido. Shunting more reiatsu to regenerate it, the orange-haired Arrancar smirked. "A Cero? Nice improvisation. Betcha mine is better."

"Ha! Fine then, Gillian, show me your Cero!" Nnoita invited mockingly.

His left foot almost completely regenerated now, Cazador put his right foot back, twisting himself so he was looking down his left arm, which was pointed directly at Nnoitra. He pointed the middle three claw-like fingers at his foe and focused his power. A tri-focused crimson orb, spinning clockwise from Cazador's point of view as some of the energy spun off, began growing at the tips of his fingers. "Cero!" Cazador bellowed triumphantly as he fired it.

Nnoitra's eyes widened as he felt the amount of power in that Cero, and he knew, even if he would never admit it, that his own Cero didn't match up. The Espada-only Gran Rey Cero would completely dominate it, however Nnoitra didn't want Aizen to interrupt his fun. While fighting regularly occurred among normal Hollows, and use of Resurrecion could be attributed to training, the Gran Rey Cero was expressly forbidden in Las Noches and even use of it in Menos Forest would prompt an immediate investigation, and test to see if the opponent was worthy of joining the Espada. This was the last thing Nnoitra wanted to happen.

Nnoitra managed to dodge, but once again lost one of his arms – in this case, the lowest one of his right side. "This is getting old, Gillian!" Nnoitra taunted. "You hit me, I lose an arm or two, I hit you, you lose a limb, we both regenerate and start anew!"

Cazador waggled his fingers at Nnoitra. "Perhaps so, but you apparently haven't realized… I do my damage more consistently, and I have far more reiatsu left than you do, if my senses are correct. I will win this battle of attrition, and then devour you!"

"Nnoitra, I'm disappointed," a voice suddenly rang out. Everyone there turned to face a new figure in Aizen's outfit. If Cazador's senses were telling the truth, this character had no Hollow power in him whatsoever. This was only enhanced by the fact that Cazador could see glimpses of the usual Shinigami black colors underneath the loose white uniform. Shinigami. Ichigo, is this Aizen?

In Cazador's Inner World, Ichigo shook his head. That's not Aizen.

Not Tousen either, Cazador replied with narrowed eyes, not that anyone could see behind his mask.

Must be Ichimaru Gin, the third traitorous taicho, Ichigo deduced.

Huh. Cazador quickly inspected the figure. Gin had silver hair with a slight purple tint, while his body was quite slim. His eyes were curiously narrowed to slits, and given the slightly mocking smile on his face, his expression could easily be placed on a fox's face. "Who're you?" Cazador demanded.

"Me? I'm Ichimaru Gin," the traitor responded cheerfully. "As you plainly deduced, I work for the same person these two do."

"It is rather obvious, given that you all wear the same uniform, with minor alterations," Cazador replied sarcastically. "So why are you here? Putting a leash on these two rabid dogs?"

Grimmjow bristled. "Rabid dog am I?!" He only just managed to contain his urge to lunge and try to rip Cazador's throat out. "As soon as Gin's gone, I'm gonna…!"

"You'll do nothing," Gin responded in that same cheerful manner. "Not yet, in any case. Anyways, I've given you my name, what's yours?"

"Cazador de la Luna."

"Tell me, Cazador, how did you become a complete Arrancar?" Gin asked curiously. "The only ones I've seen are those created through the Hougyouku."

Cazador shrugged. "I just remember waking up as a Hollow, and when I relaxed I looked rather human. Maybe there's more than one of these, what did you call them? Hougyouku? Whatever, I'm out to go eat some more; fighting made me hungry."

"Would you be interested in joining us?" Gin proposed. "If you were able to fight on even grounds with Nnoitra you'd at least be the Sexta Espada, though you would have to be tested."

Grimmjow growled at the idea. He goes, he dies. I will find and eat him, and work my way up to Aizen so I can kill him!

"Not interested in the least in belonging to any organization in which I'm not the King," Cazador replied bluntly. "You have nothing to offer me, and I don't feel like working for anyone but myself. Even if I did feel like working for someone else, you're obviously a Shinigami, and I bet your ruler is one too. That means that you must've betrayed Soul Society, and how could I trust a traitor not to kill me when my back is turned? No, I refuse to work for you."

The smile on Gin's face never dimmed. "Oh well, if that is your choice, I suppose I can't force you. Grimmjow, Nnoitra, we're going back to Las Noches now. Aizen-sama will be most disappointed. He was anticipating a new, powerful Espada since you both felt the need to use Resurreccion."

Grimmjow sighed and returned to his pre-Resurreccion state. Nnoitra did the same after he realized that he wouldn't get to fight anyone now. Seeing this, Cazador followed suit – he wanted to keep his Shinigami skills available, even if they were watered down a bit. I'm still far more skilled at Shunpo than I am at Sonido, Cazador recognized. I'll need to practice using Sonido and Cero faster.

Ichigo remained silent; he was busy looking through Cazador's eyes, keeping a wary watch for trouble; he and Zangetsu had long since dispatched the Hollows that Cazador had consumed.

"My, you look exactly like Kurosaki Ichigo!" Gin exclaimed in surprise. "I should have realized from the orange hair…"

"Grimmjow had the same reaction," Cazador replied. "Maybe he was turned into a Hollow, and that became me? It doesn't matter."

Gin's grin grew wider. "Aizen-sama will be most pleased with this information, even if you don't join. I will likely see you later, Cazador de la Luna." He vanished with Shunpo, and the two Espada quickly followed suit.

Cazador shrugged. "So, those were the fifth and sixth Espada? Hmph. Seventh through ninth must suck almost as bad as Yammy."

They must have some sort of skills, or they wouldn't have become Espada, Ichigo reminded his alter ego. Don't underestimate them.

"Whatever. I'm gonna go eat some more; like I said, fighting made me hungry." He grinned. "Time to start going after Adjuchas."

"Orihime-chan."

"WHA?!" Inoue jumped in surprise, spinning around to see Yoruichi the cat. "Don't scare me like that!" she said, breathing hard and trying to get her heart to stop trying to hammer its way out of her chest.

"Sorry." Yoruichi sounded more amused than anything else. "You up for a trip to Soul Society? Chad found his grandfather, but he needs your special brand of healing. It may take a few days to get there."

Inoue's face hardened as she nodded. "Alright. Let me just pack a lunch, leave a note for Tatsuki, and let's go."

Several minutes later, they arrived at Urahara's, and opened the gate to Soul Society.

Meanwhile, Chad returned to the farmhouse from working the fields, immediately going to check on his Abuelo. He vaguely registered everyone else doing the same. He really is loved by these people, he realized fondly. Good. "How's he doing?" he rumbled to the man who had been tending his Abuelo's wounds.

"Better than we expected," he answered with a smile. "His will to live and heal must be quite strong."

Chad smiled back. "I wouldn't be surprised if it was his will to protect us all."

"Ha! That would be just like him, wouldn't it?" laughed one of men that Chad had worked with in the fields.

"Oi, Sado-san, when did you say that your special healer would come by to fix his arms?" another asked.

"My messenger likely made it to her by now, but she doesn't have a high-speed technique. It will likely take her a few days," Chad murmured. "With luck, she arrives before Abuelo wakes, and he will never know that he lost his arms at one point."

"Yeah…" The mood turned somber. "Masataro, please let us know if Oscar wakes up?"

The healer smiled and nodded. Chad felt his stomach rumble – he had not eaten since breakfast earlier. "Sorry…" he muttered. "Any chance of some food?"

"Of course. We keep some food in stock just in case anyone with spiritual power comes to us," Masataro replied. "A few of the children do, as a matter of fact. Please, go eat. It's the least we could do for you saving our leader."

Hitsugaya Toushiro was not having a good day. He'd finished reporting to Yamamoto-soutaicho, and had been denied temporary reinforcements to replace Kurosaki Ichigo's presence. He'd sent Abarai Renji to fetch the Quincy Ishida Uryuu to discuss the possibilities and implications. Shortly thereafter, Renji had returned and announced that he couldn't find Ishida, and Rukia couldn't sense his reiatsu anywhere.

"Damn it, could this get any worse?" Toushiro murmured under his breath.

"Hitsugaya-taicho!" Matsumoto Rangiku, Toushiro's fukutaicho, rushed in. "Inoue Orihime has disappeared!"

I need to learn to stop tempting fate, Toushiro thought bitterly. "Are there any clues as to her whereabouts?"

"She did leave a note to her friend Tatsuki. It mentioned that Yoruichi-sama had taken her to Soul Society to heal someone," Rangiku replied swiftly, procuring the note from in between her breasts.

"So let me make sure I've got this straight. Kurosaki Ichigo is training with Yoruichi-sama, Sado Yasutora has been in Soul Society for an unknown purpose, Ishida Uryuu is nowhere to be found, and now Inoue Orihime has gone to Soul Society as well?" Toushiro put his forehead down on the table he was working at. "So now it's completely up to us to defend Karakura town."

"I don't like the odds, taicho," Rangiku conceded.

"Nor do I, Matsumoto. Nor do I." He looked at her piercingly. "You and Rukia find the Quincy. I don't care how you do it, just do it."

"Yes sir!" She disappeared with a flash of Shunpo.

Toushiro got up and made his way to the interdimensional communicator. "Looks like I need to talk to Soifon-taicho."

A few minutes later… "Hitsugaya-taicho, I am quite busy. What is it you need?" Soifon asked, getting to the point.

"I need you or one of your Onimitsukido to locate Yasutora Sado, and persuade him to return to Karakura Town. In the last twenty-four hours, both Kurosaki Ichigo and Ishida Uryuu have vanished, and they are taicho level Ryoka. We need someone to fill in the gap, and Yamamoto-soutaicho has denied my request for Shinigami reinforcement."

"I understand. I will contact you again when we have located him."

"Urgh…" Ishida Uryuu groaned as he awoke. He began to sit up, trying his best to ignore his aching muscles. Blinking, he located his glasses on a bedside table, and he put them on. The first thing he saw were the bandages on his fingers. Bandages? He suddenly remembered his fight with his father. I see. Tou-san must've healed me after I passed out. He clenched his right hand into a fist. I barely even touched him! Is this my limit?!

He took a deep breath and calmed himself. Anger is not useful at this moment, Ishida reminded himself. Now I know where I stand in terms of ability. The next step is to analyze my weaknesses from that fight. Coldly, logically, he began to list them. My fingers began to bleed and weaken after my Quincy bow cut through the gloves I wore. Tou-san was able to fire arrows without his second hand – I must work on that. He was also capable of firing far more arrows at once than I can at this time. He was faster than I am with the Hirenkyaku, and his arrows were faster, stronger.

Uryuu nodded to himself. Speed, quantity and quality of arrows, and the ability to fire the Quincy arrows with only one hand. Those were the skills he displayed, along with his incredible tolerance to continuously drawing spiritual energy. He didn't use a single piece of Quincy equipment. No Seele Schneiders, no silver tubes, nothing but his own bow and arrow. Strength and speed will come with experience – if I understood my father's words correctly, he implied we would fight again. But firing with one hand will take practice.

Uryuu lay back down, resting. First though, I must finish recovering. I doubt my body can handle drawing any significant amount of spiritual energy for some time. In the meantime, he reached into his backpack, which his father had been kind enough to allow Uryuu to bring along, and pulled out one of his school texts. He began to st udy, feeling rather productive.

"No."

"Ishida-san, my taicho merely wants a status report on your son. Namely, where is he, or lacking that, will he be able to respond to an Arrancar attack in the near future?" Matsumoto Rangiku asked reasonably.

"And what makes you think I know where my son is?" Ishida Ryuuken asked, peering over his hands at the two Shinigami in his office.

"Because you are both Quincy, and while we may be unable to locate Ishida Uryuu, only a spiritually adept person would know how to hide another," Rukia responded. "We have already checked with Urahara Kisuke and his underground chamber, and he suggested that perhaps Uryuu-san had come to you for training. That follows what we know of him."

That meddler! "He did indeed come to me for training, and he is currently recovering. I am not certain when he will be at full health once again, but have you forgotten? Quincy do not like Shinigami. We do not work with Shinigami. Perhaps your time would be better spent getting Shinigami reinforcements."

"Hitsugaya-taicho has already attempted just that, with failure. The majority of our forces remain in Soul Society to prevent Aizen's forces from attacking our home," Rangiku explained. "Besides, would you not call it necessary to work with us to protect your own home? Karakura town appears to be Aizen's next target."

"Should it come to that, I will protect the hospital," Ryuuken conceded. "But why is Uryuu so needed?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo, the resident Shinigami Representative here for Karakura Town, was taken by Yoruichi-sama for emergency training," Rukia replied. "Please note that this was not by our decision, it is something the two of them apparently decided to do."

"That said, he and Ishida Uryuu are the only taicho-level combatants here that are not under a power limiter," Rangiku added. "Lacking one is bad, lacking both is a disaster waiting to happen."

"Unless you or Urahara-san take their place in the event of an invasion," Rukia corrected. "If Uryuu-san needs to recover from training with you, then your help would certainly be welcome. Urahara-san has declined helping unless absolutely necessary."

"Then I too, will help only when absolutely necessary," Ryuuken said with finality. "Uryuu will return when he is ready."

Rangiku and Rukia glanced at each other, recognizing that they were being dismissed. In tandem, they Shunpo-ed away through an open window.

"Not good," Rangiku said to Rukia as they dashed back to report to Toushiro. "I don't think we'll be allowed to keep our limiters off. You've got it easy, Rukia, you don't have such a limiter."

"One of the few good things to happen for Nii-sama keeping me from being promoted to a seated officer," Rukia replied with a sigh. She looked up, her face determined. "We'll just need to prove that we can take care of things until Ichigo and Uryuu return."

"Don't you find Ichigo-san's disappearance a little strange?" Rangiku queried. "I don't know him that well, but he seems like he wouldn't just up and disappear without telling anyone."

Rukia nodded. "Yeah. But he's also not one to turn down advanced training if it could help protect his friends. If I know him, he's probably training himself to the bone under Yoruichi, like Hitsugaya-taicho said. Last time, he achieved Bankai in just two days, and had learned Shunpo. I wonder what he'll be able to do after this training?"

"You're right," Rangiku said, reassured.

Rukia was glad at least one of them believed her words. Despite all this, I'm worried… He mentioned that his battle with his Inner Hollow was only days away. He disappeared right around the time he said he'd have to battle. Could he have lost? She shook her head. No, I can't think about this right now. I've already lost Kaien-dono to a Hollow I couldn't protect him from, I won't lose Ichigo too! She looked at the setting sun. Come home soon, Ichigo. Her eyes hardened.

Inoue smiled. "Hey there, Kenpachi-san!"

"Oh?" The incredibly tall taicho of the 11th division turned to view his addresser. "Hello, Inoue. Is Ichigo with you?" He gave a bloodthirsty grin. "I'd love to spar with him again."

"Afraid not," Inoue replied cheerfully. "I'm actually on my way heal someone. Yoruichi-sensei said it could take a couple of days to get there…"

"That's too bad," Kenpachi responded. He scrutinized Inoue. "You look stronger than before."

"I am!" Inoue replied with a grin. "Been training with Kurosaki-kun and Chad and Uryuu."

"Now THAT'S interesting," Kenpachi said, his grin returning. "Would you care for a spar? If you've been training with Ichigo, even a little bit, you might just be strong enough to take me on."

"Sorry," Yoruichi the cat interrupted, "but she really does need to go heal Sado Yasutora's grandfather. We won't be back for several days."

"Nonsense, I'll take her there personally if it means we can spar later," Kenpachi insisted.

"Yay! Ken-chan gets to fight big-boobie-chan!" Yachiru, Kenpachi's extremely child-like fukutaicho, piped up from his shoulder.

"Hi Yachiru-chan!" Inoue greeted.

"Kenpachi-taicho, don't you have to take care of your squad and toughen 'em up a bit?" Yoruichi argued. "Besides, if we were really in a rush, I could take her there faster than you ever could. I'm planning on using this opportunity to train her to discover her own high speed technique."

"Bah, she's human!" Kenpachi pointed out. "She can't use Shunpo, and she can't use whatever Hollows use. The only way she's going to get faster is by doing it the same way I do, hard physical training and learning to use reiatsu to strengthen the legs instinctively."

"He has a point, Yoruichi-sensei," Inoue reluctantly concurred. "My powers are a healing bubble, a defensive shield, and a slicing attack. Between those powers, all of my Shun Shun Rikka is used." She looked up and put a finger to her chin in thought. "I suppose I could ride my Santen Kesshun if I needed to, but that would mean sacrificing my defense ability…"

"That depends," Yoruichi pounced on the idea. "How large can you make your Santen Kesshun?"

Inoue glanced at her in surprise. "I've… never really thought about it, actually. I've always just made them large enough to cover what they needed. The largest I've ever done is about Kenpachi-san's height, I suppose. The larger they are, the more reiatsu they take. Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking that if you could make your shield curved, you could protect yourself while flying on it," Yoruichi suggested.

Inoue bit her lip. "I'll talk to my Shun Shun Rikka and see what we can do. Kenpachi, I'm honored that you want to fight me, but I'm afraid our match will have to be postponed."

"Meh, that's fine. Get stronger, girl, I want to fight you the same way I fought Ichigo." He grinned. "You Ryoka are getting more and more interesting. Later." He stalked off.

"Bye, big-boobie-chan!" Yachiru waved goodbye.

"Bye, Yachiru-chan!" Afterwards, she turned to Yoruichi. "In the meantime, let's get to Chad's grandfather. Santen Kesshun!" Her golden triangular shield appeared, resting a few inches above the ground. Stepping on it lightly, Inoue tested to see if it could support her weight. When it did so without any apparent difficulty, she got fully on it and sat down. "Yoruichi-sensei, would you please lead me to Chad?"

The cat jumped into Inoue's lap. "Sure."

With a thought, the shield-turned-transportation rose up into the air above the buildings and rushed to the exit from Seireitei. Half an hour later, Inoue began to sway, and the shield flickered. "Land!" Yoruichi commanded. Inoue quickly did so, stepping off her shield before allowing her fairies to return to their hairpin state.

"Ooh boy I'm dizzy," Inoue giggled, sitting down and leaning back against a boulder.

"You've drained too much reiatsu to continue flying like that," Yoruichi told her. "We shall rest here for the night. Well done, by the way – you've taken us almost halfway there. We're in District 36."

"That's good." Inoue said absently, her eyes drooping from exhaustion.

The Goddess of Flash took pity on the girl. "Sleep, Orihime-chan."

"Alright." And Inoue dropped off in seconds, her head falling forward towards her chest.

The cat blinked once and shook her head. "I shall keep watch."

Ichigo jumped back from the Adjuchas that Cazador had eaten just a few minutes before. This Hollow appeared to be a large human-porcupine blend, and its fighting style involved long distance attacks, usually throwing the spike-like needles that kept regenerating from its back. Ichigo was having a hard time getting close, and the Getsuga Tenshou wasn't fast enough to catch him. At least, not in Shikai form. Ichigo didn't want to go Bankai, not if he didn't have to. He could sense Zangetsu's agreement; Bankai was overkill, while beating the Adjuchas in Shikai would be a test of skill.

"Not bad," Ichigo complimented, dodging another set of a dozen spikes. "But you're no match for me. Getsuga Tenshou!"

"Haven't you learned by now that that's not going to work?" The porcupine Adjuchas taunted, nimbly dodging, only to find Zangetsu piercing his head. The Adjuchas disintegrated, its power becoming Cazador's.

Ichigo shook his head, pulling on the cloth from several meters away. The blade practically leapt back into his hand. "Man, Cazador was really onto something when he showed me how useful throwing Zangetsu could be…"

"Indeed," Zangetsu's true spiritual form agreed from nearby. "While I do prefer being wielded as a blade instead of as a flail, it is an effective long distance attack."

"Especially for high speed piercing instead of cutting," Ichigo continued with a nod. "I prefer the Getsuga Tenshou, but it is rather visible, and hiding you behind the Getsuga seems like a powerful strategy."

Zangetsu merely nodded. "Ichigo, Cazador de la Luna is growing stronger and faster with every Hollow he consumes. For you to win your next battle, you too must grow stronger."

Ichigo nodded, but sat down next to a nearby flagpole. "We can spar in a few minutes then, partner. In the meantime, tell me a bit more about yourself? I'm curious."

Zangetsu gave a rare smile and leapt onto the flagpole, both Ichigo and he staring up in the sky, looking at the blood red moon. "As much as I enjoy being your Zanpakuto, I miss forests, seeing the simple beauty of nature."

"I don't get to see too much of that back home," Ichigo commented. "Comes with living in a suburb, I suppose. I'm not sure I see the appeal."

"It is difficult to describe," Zangetsu conceded. "Perhaps the best way is to simply experience it."

Ichigo glanced around, seeing nothing by sideways skyscrapers under the crimson-hued moon. "How would I go about adding to the variety here? Maybe put a park or two, or something?"

"Your Inner World evolves as you do," Zangetsu said simply, as if that explained it all. And in a way, it did.

Ichigo's brows furrowed as he thought heavily. "So, because I haven't seen very much of nature, and don't understand the appeal, there are no forests, or lakes, or anything else? But if I began to spend time there, and have it begin to affect my personality, then part of my Inner World would change?"

"Correct. Remember, Ichigo, that no one stays the same forever. Change is a very large part of life."

Ichigo merely nodded. This was a lesson that he knew well. "Change cannot be avoided forever," he added. "It is the ability to adapt to change that marks the most successful in any aspect of life."

"Indeed."

They spent several minutes in comfortable silence. "Do you enjoy stargazing?" Ichigo suddenly asked.

"Very much. Especially where there are no artificial lights to hide the light of the stars," Zangetsu replied. "The view is quite exquisite."

"Really? I didn't know that. Maybe I'll have try it sometime; I stargaze from the roof of my house, but there are lots of lights, so maybe I'll see if there is a good forest I can stargaze from."

A Hollow roar disrupted their relaxation, and Ichigo jumped to his feet. "Well, looks like Cazador certainly isn't slacking off!" He readied his weapon. "Guess I better give it my all too!"

Cazador grinned as he faced off against another Adjuchas. He'd taken several minutes to relax after feeling his latest evolution to Adjuchas. Funnily enough, simply eating an Adjuchas was enough to transform, instead of eating dozens of Gillian. Cazador liked it. More efficient. Maybe I WILL get to Vasto Lorde in this single session of control. Becoming an Adjuchas had created quite a significant increase to his power, and that was a feeling the Arrancar liked very much.

Only one part of Cazador had changed in his pre-Resurreccion state, and that was his mask. Before, a red-on-white patterned mask had covered only the top-left part of Cazador's face, the part between his hairline and his eyebrow. Now, the mask had changed, and covered his entire forehead, with what looked like two jagged crimson hooks facing each other on a white background. I wonder what my Resurreccion mask looks like…? Hell, I wonder how my Resurreccion has changed!

Just a minute ago, Cazador had jumped down and taken a bite out of an Adjuchas before slaying it with Zangetsu. He was a bit disappointed – he'd expected the Adjuchas to at least put up a decent fight. Oh well. At least this other guys looks like he's ready to go.

"Who the hell are you?!" the Adjuchas, this one looking remarkably like an enormous 16-legged spider, demanded. "You're obviously an Arrancar, so why aren't you up in Las Noches with Aizen-sama?!"

"The name's Cazador." He grinned. "And your name, is food. Show me what you've got!"

And that's that in terms of the chapter. Yes, it is a bit short, but I felt there was plenty to go on in here. Some fighting, some character development. That said, let me go over a couple of things.

Yes, Cazador is now an Adjuchas. Does anyone honestly think that's too fast? To go from Gillian in one chapter, to Adjuchas in another? Would you expect any less from Ichigo's alternate personality? I mean, seriously, Ichigo has gone from unseated officer level (when Rukia gave her powers to him) to fukutaicho level (during and after fighting Renji), to taicho level (see Ichigo versus Byakuya Bankai fight) in less time than it takes for a nobody to finish through Shinigami academy! To compare against Hollow evolution, the equivalent is going from a newborn Hollow to Gillian to Adjuchas. Given that Cazador has Ichigo's power at his disposal, plus his own not inconsiderable power, plus their skills at wielding Zangetsu, I figure it had to happen pretty quick. Don't worry though, he won't get to Vasto Lorde yet.

In regards to Inoue flying with her Santen Kesshun, it's something I randomly thought of while writing this chapter, and it makes a level of sense once you think about it. She can reject external forces. The stronger the force, the more reiatsu it takes. I can also think of no reason why the fairies can't fly while maintaining the shield. I already had her ride the shield down to land softly once, and even outright mentioned rejecting gravity - this happened in Chapter 4. So, I can't think of a good reason she can't ride the Santen Kesshun where she needs to go. The only problem could be her reiatsu reserves - unlike Ichigo, who has monstrous reserves and can stand on air to his heart's content, or Ishida, who can replenish himself using the environment's energy from using Hirenkyaku, or even Chad, whose reserves must have grown quite large as well during his training to fire his energy blast at will, she has a relatively small pool of reiatsu, and I feel that the shield would take more energy to constantly use than the airwalking technique. So she can't use it for long, hence why she couldn't go for more than half an hour.

I was happy to have an opportunity for more Zangetsu/Ichigo bonding time. As for Zangetsu preferring nature, that's actually canon. Take a look at his Bleach wiki article if you don't believe me. I figured that stargazing was a logical step, and something both of them enjoyed. I have seen, in anime, Ichigo sitting on the roof, looking at the stars. Throw in Zangetu's own name (Cutting Moon) and I figured that enjoying watching the heavens was plausible.

Kenpachi fighting Inoue? Now that would be an interesting match. He slashes. She blocks. He keeps striking the shield, she keeps blocking, but uses Koten Zanshun to strike Kenpachi from the side. Only concern would be Inoue collapsing from Kenpachi's force of reiatsu, being so much more intense than her own. But I figured Kenpachi's interest in Inoue was plausible, since Inoue admitted she trained with Ichigo, the only person to tie against him without his eyepatch.

Next, Yachiru's nickname for Inoue. That's also canon, along with "Squishy". Please do keep in mind that her father figure is Kenpachi, and he is hardly a good role model in regards to restraint. Plus, she IS only a child.

Finally, Cazador's new mask. This is actually a fragment of his new Hollow form's mask, the one that managed to kick Ulquiorra's ass after the Arrancar blew a hole in his chest with his Instananeous Cero in his Resurreccion: Segunda Etapa form. Yes, yes, I've heard it described as an open-ended heart before, but you kinda need the entire mask to see that. That said, I'm still trying to figure out what his Resurreccion form would be in that case. Hmm.

A hint of what's to come: I'm considering having Ichigo's mask usage come in stages, similar to his sword. I mean, there are STAGES for a Zanpakuto. Default (aka Sealed), Shikai and Bankai. Ichigo's default is Shikai. Why should the mask be different? So, it'd have the Gillian mask (bone white on the right, red tattoo-like markings on the left), and then when that's not enough, Adjuchas mask (the one where he kicks Ulquiorra's ass in), and eventually, Vasto Lorde mask (undecided how that'll look). Not sure yet, just something I'm considering. I might throw that idea completely out the window and instead focus on other thoughts, like "Do I want Ichigo to be able to use Resurreccion? How would he do so? Is that too overdone? Hmmm...." Anyway, I've never seen a "mask in stages" idea, so I'm looking for opinions on this.

OK, think I got everything. Please read and review!