A Hollow Queen's Dark Knight

by Wiggles-n-stuff

What if Harribel found a way to keep an eye on the hero of the Winter War? Why is she feeling drawn to continue watching him when she doesn't even know his name? And what happens when a new invasion of Hueco Mundo brings the hero to her rescue? An A/U of the Bleach universe starting just before the timeskip. Cover image credit to Rtenzo.

11. Chapter 11: Sacrifice

A/N Part 1: I just want to thank you all for reading my very first fanfic, for sticking with it, and for the praise, hints, suggestions, and all that. Thank you all *Bow* Enjoy the last chapter of A Hollow Queen's Dark Knight.

Chapter 11: Sacrifice

~ Vandenreich HQ ~

Throne Room

Ichigo felt Tia's soft lips against his cheek. For that brief moment he absolutely wasn't sure what to do. He had never been kissed by anyone aside from family. A strange and exciting experience to be sure. He was brought back to reality when she collapsed against him, and white mist began to float off her body. Tier's skimpily clad Resurrection dusted off her, returning her to her normal attire. Grant it her clothing wasn't much better than it was before, in Ichigo's eyes. Eyes which almost instantly fell upon the small white open jacket, and her almost fully exposed breasts. Her only saving grace was her mask fragment's kind coverage of her intimate parts. Luckily the woman in his arms had lost consciousness, or he would be in a world of hurt now.

If Ichigo's face burned any hotter he was sure smoke would be pouring out of his ears. He followed her white fragment up to her face, and the largest part of her mask. The lower half of her face was covered in an ashen, and a fearsome looking, toothy maw. His initial reaction was to turn away, but he forced himself to look again. While certainly a terrifying addition to an otherwise beautiful face, he found it had it's own primal attractiveness.

Before he got lost in thought, the sky outside the windows lightened almost as if the sun was rising. The room quaked, and Ichigo averted his gaze from the woman in his arms. 'This is no time to be admiring her.' Ichigo looked out to the illuminating sky, and felt the heat of Ryujin Jakka's Reiatsu from inside the room. 'They did come after all. Thank god.'

"Oi Kurosaki! You got her or what! The shit is hitting the fan outside, and I want to bloody some skulls!" Grimmjow called up from the bottom of the ethereal stairs.

"Yeah I got her." Ichigo called back before turning, and blurring down the stairs. His natural speed had increased greatly since the Dangai training, and he didn't need to use Shunpo to cover small distances like this in moments anymore. Stopping at the bottom next to Grimmjow, they both felt the stronghold quake again. "Things must be really heating up outside. Let's get her back and join the fight."

"Music to my ears. Nel we're leaving!" Grimmjow smirked and called to Neliel who was still at the throne room doors. The two of guys dashed out of the room, and down the hallway to the area they entered. Nel fell right into line next to them. They had all activated their cloaks before leaving, and quickly exited the castle.

A blinding light, and intense heat met them outside the cool building. The sky almost seemed like it was on fire. Flames licked almost every part of the courtyard and buildings surrounding. The Captain Commander was in a deadlock with the Quincy Emperor. Yamamoto surrounded in brilliant red and orange flames, Yhwach in a sphere of white. The sphere was breaking down Reishi from Old Man Yama's flames. Fire turned into white ribbons, and reinforced the shield. It still wasn't enough to extinguish them all, and Yhwach was beginning to feel the heat, quite literally.

The courtyard was a mess of Stern Ritter, Gotei 13, and Hueco Ejercito forces. The Quincy foot soldiers and Hollow subjugates were mostly forced from the battlefield or killed off at this point. It was down the the strongest of the respective forces. The Quincy were easily outnumbered in that aspect. Large amounts of Reiatsu was being thrown around in the war zone. Which the three observers took as a good sign.

"Looks like these stupid badges actually work. Guess I should thank the nerd." Grimmjow's viscous grin widened. He wanted to jump into the fray so bad, but he had agreed to make sure Harribel was safe before he could. His excitement was so great he was actually trembling.

"Yeah, but he could have come up with a better design. I mean seriously." Ichigo looked down at the badge on Grimmjow's coat. It was a chibi-fied bust of Kisuke giving a V sigh with his right hand, and the kanji for 'victory' underneath. A sweat drop fell down Ichigo's brow, as did the suddenly quiet Grimmjow.

"I think it's cute." Nel chimed in happily. Both men looked at her, the top half of their faces obscured by shadow. Nel just gave them an award winning smile.

"Right. Well let's get going." Ichigo shook his head, and made sure Tier was secure in his arms. Her body involuntarily clung to him, which Grimmjow noticed, along with her unzipped jacket. His inner smile could cover a city block, but it would have to wait. The two conscious Hollows nodded to Ichigo, and they all took off toward the meeting area with Orihime and Rudbornn. The three made sure to use their natural speed and the cloaks.

~ Courtyard Battleground ~

The Tres Besitias were once again together fighting in the courtyard. They were each taking on a Stern Ritter, which all happened to be women themselves.

Mila Rose, back stepped an arrow meant for her chest with practiced ease. Ichigo's words were true about the close quarters combat of the Dangai training and the Quincy's advantage being lost. Despite not being Captain Class level just yet, all the training against those much stronger than her, gave her the combat experience and technique to go toe to toe with the Quincy woman. Again, Franceska shifted her weight right, and missed an arrow, as she quickly closed in on the tall, busty, long light-colored haired Quincy. She wore a female version of the Quincy uniform, and a black belt with a heart shaped buckle. Two of her bangs looked slightly like bolts of lightning.

Leona was thrust forward, it's point aiming for the Quincy's bow arm. The the girl was frustrated, and her temper was blinding her. Unlike Mila Rose's cool calm demeanor, another thing she learned to use more during the Dangai training. The Quincy's bow shot up parrying the blade, which Mila Rose took advantage of, and continued to rush her. Cradling her left fist, she drove it into the Quincy's stomach hard. The punch was reinforced with a Bala, which lifted the woman off the ground a few inches, hunching forward over the amazon's fist.

"GAH!" The woman spat out along with some blood. Her Blut stopped the majority of the damage, but the sheer blunt force trauma knocked the wind out of her. Mila Rose, quickly pulled back her fist, readjusted her stance, and sent her left knee into the woman's exposed right side, again reinforcing the strike with a Bala. The Quincy woman was kicked some distance away, and rolled against the ground.

Franceska looked at her feet and spotted the Quincy's blood. She knelt down, and swiped her right pointer finger in the red liquid. She brought the blood to her lips and licked it clean. Her body trembled slightly, just before her eyes shot open, her brown hair and yellow mane spiked and bristled. Her eyes glowed with a red hue, before she let out a pleasured breath.

"Juego de Caza." (Game Hunt) Mila Rose breathed out slowly, her body tensing, muscles flexing constantly, and her eyes fixing on the Quincy.

"You're gonna die for that bitch!" The woman shouted back, just before vanishing. She appeared in the ramparts above Mila Rose, an arrow pulled taught, aiming at...nothing. A dark skinned hand captured the back of the woman's neck, and turned the stunned woman to face a silent Arrancar. Mila Rose's grip tightened cutting pressing her fingernails into the straining Blut Vene.

"I have your scent now. You can't run anymore." The largest of the Tres Bestias growled lowly.

Apacci, put her speed to use against her opponent. This Quincy woman was taller than Apacci, almost Mila Rose's height, and looked a lot like an older Orihime. Something that originally made Apacci double take. The Quincy wore a variation of the female uniform that consisted of plenty of frills, and even a bow around her neck. She looked the epitome of girly, which Apacci took delight in ruining.

"Stay still dang you!" The woman called out, in a cutesy fashion. She was launching rapid fire arrows, which all fell just behind Apacci's Sonidos. A vein popped on Apacci's head from just hearing the woman sound so girly. She again changed direction and ducked under an arrow, which was launched about two feet from her head. Grabbing the Quincy's bow wrist with her right hand, she hopped up, in one motion brought her knee up against the Quincy's right elbow. The arm bent unnaturally up at the joint, causing a scream of agony from the woman. She was to slow to activate her Blut Vene, and her arm was broken at her elbow. The energy bow she had vanished, as she stumbled back, only to have the doe-like Arrancar appear behind and over her.

"How the hell is someone so girly even a Quincy? Cuerno Corona." (Antler Crown) Apacci taunted, as the long horns on her head exploded in growth. They launched like malleable tendrils, and quickly surrounded her opponent, digging into the ground and preventing any escape or dodge. Apacci axe heel kicked the woman's head backward then. The Quincy had activated her Blut just before the impact, but the force of her head smacking into the stone below caused her incredible pain. She was almost knocked unconscious, and was staring at the blurry figure of the brown suited Hollow, who's antlers retracted and returned to their original form. Apacci just cracked her right hand knuckles in her left hand, and gave the woman a dangerous smile. Fear spread over the Quincy's face.

Sung-Sun watched Apacci out of the corner of her eye. Apacci, unlike Mila Rose and herself, took to both Grimmjow and Yoruichi better as trainers and examples. Since her speed was her most valuable aspect she focused on learning to strike fast and hard, and to disable an opponent in hand to hand combat. Sung-Sun was amazed at how far her friends had come.

"That tail of yours must be such a turn on to men." The Quincy Sung-Sun was facing said lewdly but sarcasticly, as she twirled to the right, avoiding another strike from Sung-Sun. This Quincy was dressed in something resembling a winter coat, which ended mid thigh, and had long sleeves. She had dark hair and two hair antenna coming around the front. The two actually had a similar appearance and fighting style. Thus their battle had probably been going on the longest of the Tres Bestias. Their fight broke down to strike, dodge, strike, dodge. Each would send an attack, but both would keep their distance, so they could avoid.

Their movements were elegant, and precise. There was little wasted movement. The biggest difference between the two aside from the obvious was their personalities. Sung-Sun's reserved attitude, versus the Quincy's lewd and brash nature. Another arrow was dodged and Sung-Sun launched her right sleeve forward, a white snake shot out aiming at the woman's right side. The girl moved left, and Sung-Sun launched her left arm snake where the woman would be. The Quincy stepped right and now stood between the snakes, aiming her bow at the Hollow they came from.

"So many long appendages. To bad you weren't one of us." The Quincy woman announced, launching a super speed arrow at Sung-Sun. Cyan rushed forward to meet the attack.

"Cobertizo: Mellizo." (Shed: Twin) The arrow sunk into and through her body, leaving a large hole in her chest. Her entire body paled, and burst into skin flakes. Sung-Sun reappeared right behind the arrow and continued to rush forward. Another arrow was quickly launched, almost sloppily, as the Arrancar's tactics suddenly changed more aggressive.

"Trillizo." (Triplet) The snake woman whispered. The arrow exploded another husk of Sung-Sun. The Quincy suddenly found herself wrapped tightly in Sung-Sun's tail. Sung-Sun constricted her opponent, and held her still. She moved in so close that their faces were only a few inches apart.

"My dear you're not my type." She whispered suggestively, as she continued to crush the woman. She learned from Ichigo, that mixing up your tactics is a brilliant way to off balance your opponent. She would have to thank him later for his insight.

"I don't know what you are doing to stop our draining ability, but it doesn't matter. His Majesty will obliterate you..." The young looking, light haired Quincy girl, ducked under Loly's long left centipede-like tentacle, as it lashed toward her. She slipped into sight a few feet away, and closer to Loly.

"...Fine! Be a bitch and don't let me finish." She let loose several tiny, insanely fast, arrow bolts from her right handed, glove-sized bow. Loly's right tentacle, which she kept slithering near her body, was brought up and encircled her top half twice, creating a shield against the arrows. The arrows dug into several segments, but were stopped before reaching the teen Hollow's body. The arrows exploded, severing parts of her arm. Loly just gritted her teeth, and uncoiled the rest of her arm from around her, then lashed her left one forward again. The little Quincy expertly dodged that one too, mocking Loly's attack with high pitched laughter. She launched another volley of arrows, but this time they were destroyed mid flight by a blur of white and flash of blades. Menoly landed next to her companion, wielding her short blades in front of her.

"Oh ho! Looks like the wittle Hollow can't win her own battles. She needs help. Pathetic!" Loly bit back a series of colorful insults, and looked to her sister. Menoly nodded once, flashing her a smile. Loly threw her destroyed arm back behind her and Menoly, and it immediately started to grow out again, new segments connecting from inside her large shoulder pauldron. The Quincy didn't give them time to recover, and launched a huge arrow above them. When it was directly above the two Hollows it burst into a rain of smaller, but still deadly arrows.

"Disolverse Baluarte!" (Melt Bulwark) Loly shouted, and coiled both her centipede arms around her and her sister. They created a beehive shaped dome around the two. Immediately violet fluid began to coat the outside of the dome. The arrows descended upon them, and dug into the fluid. Instead of exploding the fluids melted the Reishi arrows upon contact, neutralizing them. Inside Loly looked to Menoly. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Menoly gave her another smile, and hunched into a ready stance.

"Desove!" (Spawning) The twin tailed Arrancar shouted from under her dome. The same dome that expanded and then exploded apart, as each individual segment of her right arm launched outward separately. They spun in the air, spewing acid like a fountain, as they went. Their opponent kept her distance from any of the segments, avoiding the poison, but dodging so many left her open.

"Got you!" Loly shouted triumphantly, and launched her left arm at the distracted girl.

"You thinks that's gonna work you stupid worm!" She solidified the Reishi in the air at her feet, and hopped up over the speeding tentacle. Menoly was already running up Loly's arm, when she launched it, and was closing in on the rude girl, her blades held out behind her. The girl noticed this and grew a scary wide smile. She brought her bow arm forward, launching arrows at Menoly. The blond Arrancar didn't stray from her path.

"Rayuela." (Hopscotch) The arrows seemingly just flew through her, not a one hit, as if she were a ghost. The mad smile on the girl Quincy faltered, as her target suddenly gained a speed boost, along with her arrows completely passing through her. Menoly pushed off Loly's arm, which buckled hard under the amount of force. Menoly shot up at a natural speed that rivaled Sonido. She closed the distance in a millisecond, and was immediately withing striking distance of the girl, who was still searching for the Hollow. The blond sister, swung her right short blade into the Quincy's stomach, the line pattern on the Quincy's skin formed at the impact point, warding off damage.

"Chirrido del Grillo." (Cricket Chirp) Menoly's blade began vibrating so fast it made a chirping sound. The chirping blade broke the Quincy's Blut Vene, and cut into her midsection, leaving a bleeding gash.

"AHHHHHHH!" The Quincy shouted in pain, as she flew backward from the strike. Her head was caught in the three clawed right hand of Luka Vermillion. Who just pulled her up above his head, her body rag-dolling, and slammed her face first into the stone below. A sickening crack was heard, followed by blood curdling screams, as Luka didn't hesitate to ignite the Quincy in flames.

Menoly landed next to Loly again, and both turned their heads from the viscous sight. They had a deep hatred for their Quincy enemy, but even they couldn't find the stomach to watch such a death. They quickly picked their next target and went to work.

Chad let loose another blast from his left arm. The close range attack was quickly avoided by the male Stern Ritter he was fighting. The heavily built man in the luchador mask was much faster than his appearance led to believe. He was easily avoiding the large teen's attacks, even at close range. Unlike most of his allies Chad wasn't that fast. He could easily keep up with a high speed fight visually, but his strengths never lied in speed. However this didn't mean his impeccable defensive skills weren't frustrating the wrestler-like Quincy to no ends. Chad's left arm easily blocked and absorbed the arrows sent at him, and the high speed attacks were just as easily broken.

"Why are you even here human?! This fight has nothing to do with you." The masked man shouted, as he came to a halt about fifteen feet in front of the teen. Chad kept stoic, and succeeded at pissing the man off more. He watched the Quincy take another vanishing dash toward him from his visible eye. He swung his left arm up over his head, where the Quincy drop kicked down from the sky. Chad braced himself, widening his stance, as the attack connected with his Left Arm of the Giant. The stone beneath him cracked and sunk. The power behind the drop kick could have taken out a lesser man. Chad however wasn't anything that could be considered lesser. His left arm muscles bulged under the red and black coating, and he swung his arm up.

The Quincy was tossed into the air, only to appear behind Chad. Chad back spun left, and blocked the hard strait punch from the man. A thundering boom was heard from the impact, but like all the other attacks was easily absorbed by Chad's arm.

"Annoying child." Mask growled, and pulled back his arm again. He unleashed a deadly barrage of high speed high impact punches. Chad just weathered the storm, as she was being pushed back from the assault.

Then it came. The Quincy reeled back his right arm, focusing all his strength into this one blow. Chad's eyes hardened, and he braced for it. The fist struck forward, rings of air flying off it. Chad felt his supernatural shield dent in painfully from the attack. The bones in his arm strained against shattering, but he held strong. The residual energy from the punch, blew around and past Chad, destroying the wall behind them, and leaving a trail of crushed stone along the way.

Chad knew this was the last attack he needed. His right hand opened, blue disks forming on each finger and thumb. He crushed each disk into his fist, and punched forward. The Quincy smirked, and vanished, separating himself from the strike zone. He appeared about ten feet back from his spot, and watched the punch miss by a mile.

"What was that slow..." His eye's bugged, as something impacted against his ribs. The invisible force exploded around him, forcing him to double over in pain. Chad's right fist was dug into his chest. He purposely held back his speed to make the Quincy get full of himself, and in that one surprise move caught him totally off guard. The giant teen pulled his right arm back, and then grabbed the wheezing Quincy's right shoulder with his left hand. Mask looked up with bulging eyes.

"I'm here for my friends. Lamento de Titan." (Titan's Lamentation) The red markings on his left arm burst into crimson light. Then the force of every attack absorbed during the duration of their fight, was redirected into the Quincy from Chad's left hand. The ground below him cratered nearly ten feet, and the kneeling man hacked up some blood, before his eyes went white, and he fell forward into the crushed stone. Chad hovered on solidified air, above his downed opponent. He watched for a few moments before launching himself toward another ally's fight.

The battle was again becoming one sided, this time in favor of the invaders. The Quincy were outnumbered and out matched. Their leader was currently deadlocked in a power struggle with the Captain Commander, and the Stern Ritter were being picked off slowly. Ywach observed this. He watched the Shinigami fight along side their mortal enemies with deadly proficiency, and all he could do was smirk.

"Haschwalth! Begin our counterattack!" Yhwach called out, making Yamamoto look down to the two Quincy figures not currently fighting. The taller blond man nodded, and tapped his ear.

"Vollstandig approved. All Stern Ritter activate your Vollstandig." The blond Quincy said calmly. Almost every fight was stopped for a moment as the Quincy participants backed away. Six pillars of light, shaped like Quincy crosses at the top, shot up all over that battlefield. These six were shortly followed by two more, and suddenly the badges wore by the Hollow and Shinigami forces couldn't restrict all the Reishi absorption. The drain was to powerful for the tiny mechanisms to keep up.

Once again the tides shifted. The Hueco Ejercito and Gotei 13 had their advantage greatly diminished. The fighting was already more about physical combat, and less flashy or dangerous powers. The badges gave them the means to prevent their energy from being sapped directly from them. As any floating Reishi or Reishi created by attacks could still be absorbed. Now that strength was lost. The fighting again started to favor the Quincy.

Yhwach however was through with this prolonged fight. He wanted this pointless resistance smashed. "Your forces are weakened once again Genryusai. The day and future is ours." The Emperor's blade of light expanded as he started to siphon Reishi from everything around him, buildings, downed or out enemies and allies alike, even the air. "Everything here is against you..." Yhwach gained a lopsided smirk. "...even yourself." Yhwach began to draw energy from Yamamoto, as even the Captain Commander's badge began to falter.

The old man pushed back and away from the monarch, staring his ancient enemy down while they floated in the sky above the courtyard. Yhwach's body illuminated in a blinding white outline, as he activated his ultimate form. His pillar penetrated the sky, almost to a point it couldn't be seen. A sphere of white energy around him manifested, and then lines formed splitting the orb into six sections. The sections peeled back, slowly, gracefully, until they formed six brilliant angelic wings. Yhwach's black cloak was gone, replaced by a cape of four white flowing cloths, silently flapping in the air around him. His left arm gained a full arm guard, emblazoned by the Quincy symbol at the shoulder section. Armored energy greaves covered his lower legs, and flowing around them was a white waist cloak that came down to his ankles. The blade he wielded was no longer just a blade in appearance, it shaped into a definite longsword, with white energy encasing it. The five point star halo was not over his head, it was floating vertically behind his six wings, slowly spinning in place. It was about three times larger than a normal Vollstandig halo too.

This release was felt even with the noncombatants outside the battlefield. Everyone not full blooded Quincy felt the effects of the Reishi draw. However inside the castle had the worst of it, almost all were slowed or outright stopped from their fighting. Yamamoto fought against this by increasing his Reiatsu, as did most of the others...those that could.

"I will not allow you to succeed Yhwach!" Genryusai shouted, his rage evident. The Captain Commander held his flaming blade out to his side. "Bankai." The flames surrounding him, and spread over the castle sputtered, and then fell away into nothingness. His sword grew charred, old, and worn. One stream of black smoke flitted off the sword, and the air grew dry and hot for a mile. Zanka no Tachi (Longsword of the Remnant Flame) was brought forward, and all it's power focused on the Quincy before it. Yhwach only smirked.

"You have already failed." The Quincy leader said softly. He pulled out a hand sized disk with his left hand, and aimed it at the Shinigami leader. Yamamoto instantly recognized the warning, and pulled out his own modified disk. Out of nowhere an arrow blasted through the older man's disk, shattering the device into a million pieces. Yamamoto's slitted eyes widened considerably, and focused down the path of the arrow. Uryu Ishida, the young Quincy Ryoka (Traveling Evil/s) had his bow held up toward him, and his right hand in an arrow released position. The unbelievable action had shaken the Captain Commander. The young Ishida's and old Yamamoto's eyes fixed on each other for the briefest moments. Hardened neutrality stared into incomprehensible betrayal. Uryu slowly lowered his bow, and looked away from the eldest of the Gotei 13. Yhwach's hardy laughter brought Genryusai's attention back to him.

"Failed...Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto." The ringed eyes staring at him were full of victory. The Bankai capturing device launched forward, black tendrils capturing Zanka no Tachi, before the white sheets enveloped the Soul Reaper. The fighters below watched the spectacle in horror, the strongest of them all had now been dethroned. Several of the Shinigami Captains broke from their fights to rush into the sky to aid their leader. The unheard command that was sent to the Quincy Stern Ritter, further broke their hope for victory. Four Quincy landed on a corner of the courtyard, and spell circles formed at their feet. Columns of transcendent light shot from each corner of the yard, and up from the four members of the Stern Ritter. The four were Haschwalth, the tall Quincy with a visor and five pronged hair, a young handsome Quincy with a scar over his lips, and an older dark skinned man with a white beard and sunglasses. All aside from the Emperor's right hand in their Vollstandig. White energy shot from each circle, connected them to one another, and from those lines white walls shot up between the corner pillars. Everything inside the courtyard stopped as soon as the walls went up. The flying Shinigami stopped and fell back toward the ground below.

Yamamoto emerged from the white sheets, and he too began to fall down to the courtyard. That is until Yhwach grabbed onto the front of his black robes, and pulled him back up so their eyes could meet. "This is the last of your hope being taken from you Yamamoto. This is Kirchenlied: Geheiligt Leere. (Church Hymn: Hallowed Emptiness) Everything inside and above these walls is now devoid of Reishi. With no Reishi nothing can happen, no powers, no air, nothing. Now join your precious Shinigami in death." For the first time in centuries Genryusai Yamamoto shone fear in his eyes, even the hard defiant stare couldn't hide it. Yhwach let the old man go, who just fell limply to the ground.

Each Stern Ritter left inside the courtyard had a white energy ribbon connected to the walls, and they were standing among the fallen Hollow and Shinigami. The Arrancar and Hollow inside found that they were suddenly empty inside. The Reishi they naturally absorbed to keep alive was gone, leaving them to a slow painful death. The Shinigami were no better off, as the Reishi they breathed was absent aswell. They couldn't raise their Reiatsu to stop it, as it just evaporated as they forced it to the surface. Even sound was dulled, as there was no real air left.

Six explosions of Reiatsu from outside the courtyard caught Ywach's attention. His eyes hardened as he felt the energy rapidly approaching. "Stern Ritter! Protect the Hymn. Let nothing inside until I am done!" His orders rang out loud and clear to his subordinates. The remaining Star Knights that were not holding the Hymn in place, went to five spots outside the Hymn, circling it. They each held their hands out forward, a white line connecting each, creating a pentagonal barrier around the courtyard, and sealing it from attack. The six Reiatsu's appeared just outside the barrier. Ichigo, Grimmjow, Neliel, Tier, Unohana, and Urahara, stood there, before Ichigo shouted and charged the barrier.

. . . .

~ Minutes Earlier ~

Ichigo and his two Arrancar companions appeared out of thin air in front of Orihime's group. Retsu and Isane had stayed behind with Orihime for medical support of their forces, as well as to keep an eye on the Quincy woman that Kenpachi had beaten within an inch of her life. Kisuke had also stayed out of the fight for technical support, and to monitor the progress of the badges. Orihime was looking on at the battle, more feeling it than actually watching. And Rudbornn was continuing to create his Calaveras, to join in the fight. The Hollow had an entire field of skulls behind him, and his now twelve branches were continuing to produce more at an alarming rate.

Most of them started slightly when Ichigo, Grimmjow, and Neliel suddenly appeared next to them. The cloaks were obviously doing their jobs well, but Kisuke was tracking them by their badges, so he wasn't surprised.

"Orihime we have her. She needs healing, she's really weak." Ichigo moved over to his school mate, and knelt down gently placing Tier on the ground. Orihime took a moment to check the woman over, noting the unzipped jacket, and horrible condition she was in. She quickly set up her Soten Kisshun (Twin Sacred Return Shield) around Harribel. She observed that the older woman was certainly just as beautiful as she had been during their first meeting. Orihime fleetingly remembered the few times she heard Ichigo asking about this woman, and grew the faintest frown.

"How's the fight going?" Grimmjow asked no one in particular, as he felt the battle with his Pesquisa.

"We are currently at the advantage Arrancar. The battle seems favorable." Retsu surprisingly was the first to answer. She took up a spot next the the blue haired Arrancar. Grimmjow turned his head just enough to get a view of the woman, and then back to the battle.

"Favorable my ass. I bet if we were in there now it'd be over already Shinigami." He postured.

"Retsu Unohana." Unohana replied sweetly.

"What?" Grimmjow's face scrunched in confusion as he looked back to her. The older woman had a kind smile on, while still looking ahead at the fighting.

"My name is Retsu Unohana. A pleasure to meet you..." She let the unasked question hang. Grimmjow just huffed, and rolled his eyes.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, and the pleasure is all yours." He retorted snidely. Even Ichigo, as oblivious as he was, could feel the cold power Retsu exuded to the suddenly cringing Grimmjow.

"Hello Retsu. I'm Neliel Tu Odelschwanck, but you can call me Nel. Everyone else does." Neliel saved Grimmjow from the deadly wrath of Unohana, as she happily introduced herself to the two members of the Gotei 13.

Ichigo watched Harribel carefully as she was being healed. It only took a minute for the woman to groan and open her eyes. He let out a sigh of relief, and knelt down next to her as she groggily looked around her. Her teal eyes fell upon the smiling face of Ichigo, and her mask's jaw turned up slightly, matching the small smile she held behind it.

"Welcome back to the land of the living Harribel." The irony of his statement wasn't lost on him, but he was trying to be comforting. Tier's eyes closed for a bit, as she let out a sigh.

"Thank you, but where am I? What's going on?" She slowly sat up, and the orange light surrounding her vanished. The small sprites flittered back to the pins on Orihime's shirt.

"We are outside the Quincy stronghold right now. We attacked the Quincy to keep them distracted so we could free you. Right now the battle is going well, thanks to our Shinigami allies." Tier just blinked a few times at Ichigo after he said this. 'Attacked the Quincy's? Shinigami allies! Just what happened in my absence?' She asked herself. Then she noticed the redness on Ichigo's cheeks, and raised a brow in question. Ichigo being polite, turned his head away from the sight that caused his blush.

"Ahem. Um you might want to zip up." Orihime said with closed eyes, filling in for Ichigo's lack of words. Tier looked down, and a sudden wave of fear and shame washed over her. Her eyes went to the ground half lidded, as she closed her jacket. 'He probably thinks I'm disgusting now.' Tier scolded herself for her ineptitude in showing her fragment to him. Even she wasn't sure why she thought this, but it worried her greatly. She saw his hand come into her field of vision staring at the ground. Ichigo was standing, and offering her a hand up, a relieved smile on his face. She carefully reached out to allow him to, when many bright lights illuminated the night sky.

Almost everyone there knew what was happening when the pillars broke into their sight. Urahara's wrist Holo Computer suddenly broke the silence with warning alarms. The group turned to him, and sweat started to roll down his face.

"This is bad...oohhh this is very bad." Kisuke said, as the others approached him. "The badges aren't strong enough to withstand that level of Reishi absorption. They are failing." Ichigo was about to say something, and Grimmjow was about to rush into the battle, when the dry heat hit them, and the Reiatsu that created it halted their movements. The ice all around them evaporated almost instantly, and the crescent gates vanished from in front of the castle.

"Captain Commander." Retsu said softly, but worry was there. "For him to go this far." They all saw the six winged being and the Captain Commander floating in the sky. The then black tendrils launched from Yhwach.

"No! He's stealing his Bankai!" Ichigo shouted. The rest watched on as it somehow succeeded, and then every Reiatsu signature inside the stronghold vanished. The erected white energy walls, cut off everything, even their senses.

"Mayuri! What is going on?! We lost everyone!" Kisuke shouted at his Holo Computer. A small visual image of Mayuri Kurotsuchi popped up on the screen.

"I don't know! But whatever they have erected it has zero traces of Reishi inside the area." Mayuri said as his feed showed him looking over many screens at once.

"No Reishi...That means..."

"That means there is nothing inside that field to support their lives." Kurotsuchi finished, as his fingers flew over his keyboard.

"You mean their gonna die inside that thing?!" Ichigo blurted out frightened. A gasp from Orihime, Isane, and Nel brought his attention back to the castle. He saw as the Bankai steal finished, and Yamamoto was being dropped into the Reishi void.

"Kurosaki we need to get in there NOW!" Grimmjow roared, as he threw off his cloak, and pulled out his sword. "GRIND, PANTERA!" The Caballeros Oscuros shouted, as he activated his Resurreccion, and then shot off toward the massacre.

"Declare, Gamuza." (Chamois {look it up}) Nel shouted going into her Resurreccion too. Tier looked curiously at the woman who's power rivaled her own, and was obviously Arrancar, but it would have to wait till later. Nel followed closely behind Grimmjow. Tier turned to Ichigo, and saw the dangerous look in his eyes, which caught her off guard.

"Bankai!" He shouted right after Neliel's transformation. Black energy rushed around him, and shortly off him, revealing his new Bankai to Tier. Ichigo caught her looking. "Tia are you okay to fight. We'll need your help."

"Of course." Teir said, before pulling Tiburon from her back sheath, flipping it around by the ring with her finger, and then holding it downward in front of her. "Destroy, Tiburon." Harribel was covered in a cocoon of water, before she sliced free, in the form Ichigo had first seen her in. They were about to follow when Retsu walked up to them.

"I'm going as well. Isane watch after Orihime and our friend." She nodded to Rudbornn, who had stayed very stoic the entire time, focusing on creating his army.

"Me too. This is a bad situation and we'll need all the fire power we can muster." Urahara stepped up next to Retsu. Ichigo looked back to Orihime, Rudbornn, and Isane.

"If things go south, get them out of here Rudbornn, somewhere safe." Ichigo said, only to receive a confirmation nod from the Hollow. With that the four took off after Grimmjow and Nel.

. . . .

~ Present ~

Grimmjow's blur slammed into the shield around the courtyard. A blinding shower of sparks exploded off the impact point, and the Arrancar ricocheted off the wall. He fell to the rampart, and landed in a crouch. His right hand was burnt black, his eyes burning with anger. Nel landed next to him, and seeing his scorched hand, hardened her gaze at the barrier. She pulled her spear back, ready to pierce the barrier, before Grimmjow held up his unburnt hand in a halting gesture. Ichigo and the other three landed next to them at that point.

"This god damn thing absorbed my attack. Fucking Quincy's!" Grimmjow roared, as Urahara stepped up and held his Holo Computer hand in front of the white wall. His readings came in a moment later. Everyone watched him with hopeful looks.

"It absorbs Reishi, just like the Quincy, and enough to be distributed among five of them in that form. It's neigh impregnable. Mayuri?" Kisuke asked his screen.

"It's as you said. The only things that could pass threw it would be a Quincy, or enough power that it overloaded their absorption." Kisuke turned to Ichigo, who nodded in agreement. He was the only one with Quincy blood in his veins, and probably the only one that could get inside the barrier.

Ichigo took a few steps back, and his group watched with baited breath. His eyes briefly locked onto Uryu off in the distance, and then up to the Emperor descending slowly to the courtyard. A small twinge in the back of his head was shaken off quickly. He flared his Reiatsu, and charged. Yhwach tilted his head up to see the young mixed blood, only to smirk. Ichigo swung his sword above his head, and with both hands on the hilt brought it down against the translucent shield.

The barrier held fast, ringing and sparking, but repelling Ichigo's attack completely. Zangetsu's white cracks splintered further, making the blade almost half white and black now. He pulled himself from the barrier, and landed in a kneel. He caught Yhwach's smirk, before the Quincy landed in the courtyard.

"It's not letting me through! What now!" Ichigo shouted, and he attempted the break again, with the same result. Ichigo's head started to buzz, and his thoughts began to grow distant, as if something was calling him. The Shinigami and Arrancar on the ramparts began to launch their strongest attacks on the wall, only for them to crash against it uselessly. Ichigo looked to each one individually. Grimmjow, anger and hatred pouring from him, as he pushed every ounce of strength he had into attacking the barrier. Neliel, worry and determination, as she watched her friends dying. Kisuke, desperately trying to figure out a way around this obstacle, but time was against them. Retsu, using that well hidden strength outwardly now, her expression darkened almost as if the power corrupted her. Tier, desperate to save her Fraccion and all the Hollows, not wanting to let them down again. Forcing everything she had into her attacks. All of it just wasn't enough.

What Ichigo saw next forced everything to go black. His gaze landed on Yhwach, standing over Yamamoto, with his Father in between them. Isshin was trying to protect the Old Man's life in hopes to somehow save them all. A ragged obstinate smile on his face, as he stared obliteration down. He caught his son's image out of the corner of his eye, and his defiant smile grew. Ichigo's mind finally blanked, tears falling down his scared eyes, as he poured everything he could into Zangetsu. The blade almost roared to life as black and red flames ascended from the blade into the sky above. The size of the attack was astounding, and continually growing.

His allies paused as they saw and felt his pain and anger in those flames and eyes. Eyes that started to bleed black. Tier felt a chill of fear run down her spine. Her savior, the one who defeated Aizen, and united Hollow and Shinigami, was fueled by a rage she hadn't seen before. Backed by a power that mirrored his emotion. Ichigo struck forward, and fell into his inner world.

. . . .

~ Ichigo's Mind Scape ~

'Ichigo, it is time to make your choice.' Zangetsu spoke softly to Ichigo's astral form. Ichigo for his part was flustered and full of anger. Zangetsu was once again in his youthful form, and he stood on the right side of the sword, of the same name, embedded in the ground. Ichigo's Hollow stood to the left of the cracked blade, he in his full Hollow form, the horned mask pulled up showing his face.

"HOW CAN YOU CALL ME HERE NOW! MY FATHER, MY FREINDS, THEY ALL ARE DYING AND YOU..." Ichigo was a hair's breath away from strait up attacking Zangetsu at this point.

'SHUT THE FUCK UP KING! THAT'S WHY YOU'RE HERE! So shut yer yap and listen, there isn't much time." Hollow Ichigo's voice boomed over Ichigo's, suppressing their host's emotions. Ichigo's fingers dug into his palms painfully, he could feel his flesh starting to tear against his grip.

"Fine. Just hurry." Ichigo's bit out.

'Ichigo for some time now your heritage and powers have been at war. This much you have surmised. Your Quincy heritage which has just recently been violently awakened, is now struggling to find it's place alongside your dominate Shinigami and Hollow heritages. While in turn your dominate heritages are fighting to stay dominate. This is the choice you must make: To absorb and wipe clean your Quincy heritage, or to allow that heritage to find it own place among them.' Ichigo just stared agape at the young personification of his Zanpakuto.

"Are you shitting me! That's it?! That's why you brought me here!? This is bullshit, and has nothing to do with saving my..."

'Shut up!' Ichigo was again interrupted by his Hollow. The Hollow Ichigo pinched the bridge of his nose, and shook his head before looking at Zangetsu. 'Stop pussy footing around already you stupid imposter.' Ichigo cringed back in confusion at the statement, and looked again at Zangetsu. Yet his Hollow continued without explanation. 'What he's not telling you is that the Quincy side is your Mom's side. If you wipe out the arrow slinger in you, you wipe out any trace of your Mother's heritage too. That and if you take this road you and I merge. The Quincy, your Mother's protection, is the only thing stopping you from becoming a full Hollow. And it goes without saying that you can't be human again.' Ichigo's white copy let that sink in for a moment before Zangetsu spoke up.

'If you absorb your Quincy heritage, you will gain considerable power. Enough to challenge the Quincy Emperor, but it will take time to absorb completely.' Zangetsu was reserved in saying the last sentence. Ichigo just looked between the two for a moment. Power enough to help his family and friends now, but at the cost of his Mother's protection, his heritage, and his life as a human. Or allow that power to come naturally, but with the great possibility of losing so many right now. The choice was obvious to him, the answer right there, but...the negatives clawed at his heart. His mouth felt dry, his chest heavy, his emotions running the gambit over his face.

'What will happen to my Shinigami powers?" Ichigo managed to ask Zangetsu. "...Aren't you as much a part of me as he is?" Nodding toward his Hollow when he said this.

'You will retain them to a degree, only you will be a Hollow instead of a Shinigami hybrid like the Visored. However Ichigo I... I will not be able to continue my journey with you.' He saw Ichigo's questioning expression. 'I...'

'For fuck's sake, we don't have time for this! He's the Quincy manifestation in you, take a good look at him.' Ichigo did just that, unbelieving his Soul Slayer Spirit could have been lying to him this whole time. Then he saw it...an image of Yhwach, the Quincy Emperor, alongside Zangetsu. Zangetsu was a younger version of Yhwach. Ichigo stumbled for words, this revelation confounding.

"But you've been a part of me since the beginning, how..."

'There is no time Ichigo... you must make your choice now, or this whole endeavor will have been for naught.' Zangetsu said harshly. Ichigo again looked between the two of them, his inner mind in turmoil. Then the last image of his father ran before him, followed closely by everyone inside the courtyard. He closed his eyes, steadying his breathing, before opening his steeled eyes to the two.

"I need the power now to save everyone. I'll deal with the consequences once they are safe. Do it." Ichigo faced his Inner Hollow. The Hollow broke into a victorious smile, and turned to Zangetsu. He pulled Zangetsu's blade from the sideways building, and stabbed it into Zangetsu's chest. Zangetsu didn't flinch, only a small sorrowful frown on his face.

'Not quite the way I saw me winning, but hey I still won. Goodbye my friend.' Hollow Ichigo, twisted the blade in Zangetsu, who then began to dissolve into particles, which were absorbed into the cracked weapon.

"I'm sorry Mom, Zangetsu." Ichigo watched the whole thing without turning away, even if tears stung his cheeks. Once all off Zangetsu was inside the sword the Hollow turned to Ichigo, and tapped the blade against his shoulder a few times.

'Well Kingy, looks like we are about to get to know each other a whole lot better. Don't worry I'll give you this day, but you best be prepared for what comes next.' Ichigo's double walked up to him, and brought the blade from his shoulder.

"I'm not ready, but I can guarantee neither are you. Get it over with." Ichigo met up with his Hollow half way, and stared just as defiantly at him. The Inner Hollow flipped Zangetsu in his hand once, then drove it into the orange haired teen's chest. A Hollow Hole formed immediately around it. His Hollow gave Ichigo one last face splitting smile, before he too started to dissolve into the sword.

'We'll see Ichigo...we'll see.' The Inner Hollow's last words faded along with him. Ichigo grabbed Zangetsu's hilt, and ripped the blade from his chest. He felt pain, blinding pain, but also release. As if his spigot had been only partially open until now. Now the stopper has fully opened, and the power was...glorious.

. . . .

~ Vandenreich HQ ~

"MUNFORU HEDATERU-TEN!" (Moon Fall Sunder-Heaven) Ichigo's voice was warbled, dark, and powerful. The pulses of energy that were washing off of him, were downright bone chilling, but the power...the power behind them was indescribable. When his weapon collided with the shield, it's flames just continued to grow, and expand. The gargantuan black energy blade easily towered over the large stronghold, and blocked off the rays of the moon, casting a shadow over the fortress. The red outline around the energy lightened until it was white now surrounding the darkness.

Ichigo's body itself was engulfed in his own black and white flames, covering any from seeing the rebirth inside them. As the blade pushed into the barrier, it's energy was spreading over it in black waves. Each of the Quincy holding the barrier felt power enter them. At first it was invigorating, but the five Vollstandig Quincy soon realized there can be too much of a good thing. The power they were absorbing wasn't stopping. The enormous flaming sword looming over them, casting a shadow upon them, wasn't stopping. If anything it was growing, pouring out more Reiatsu with each second. The white walls chipped, as the weakest of the Quincy felt his body burning, begging to stop the drain, before it exploded.

"RAHHHHHHH!" Ichigo's primal warbled roar sounded, as he pushed even more of his now unrestricted Reiatsu into his attack. Black energy engulfed the white of the barrier, and inside the Quincys' bodies began to rip apart from the inside. His dark energy forcing it's way out of their bodies, by breaking out in fountains of blood and abyssal flame. The barrier shattered. Yhwach only moments from cutting down Isshin and Yamamoto, looked up to see the titanic attack fall toward the Hymn. His eye's shot open, he couldn't fathom the amount of energy descending upon them.

Ichigo's Munforu Hedateru-Ten was cut in half when the energy hit the square that made up the Hymn. The Hymn did it's job and cut off all Reishi above and inside, letting the ends of the separated energy obliterate the throne room of the castle behind it, and what was before him without a trace. Tier, Grimmjow, Nel, Retsu, and Kisuke, floated in the air behind and above Ichigo. They had to put some distance between them. His power was suffocating them, literally, and they needed to get away. All watched in wonder and terror at what the teen just accomplished. His energy was so boundless is overpowered the shield, something none of them thought could be done. Tier's eyes never left Ichigo's flame enveloped body, not even to marvel at the attack. His Reiatsu changed completely, he felt like a complete Hollow now. 'Would he go so far for us?' She questioned, until she saw the flames die away from him.

Ichigo stood on air, letting his cracked sword fall to his side in his right hand. The weapon was almost completely white now, only veins of black remained to stain it. The front of his now white coat was gone, and his sleeves were torn off up to mid biceps in tatters. His coat flapped behind him in no better condition. His skin was ebony black, talons adorning his fingers and toes of his exposed feet. A long thick tail twitched out from under the cape, with an white X marking just before the tip. The orange hair he had now trailed down to his lower back, flowing along with his cape. Red tufts of hair covered the back of his neck, wrists, and ankles. His head was once again covered in the complete mask, with a now white X covering it's face. He opened his mouth, letting streams of mist flow from inside. Ichigo looked back to his allies, they all caught the golden iris's inside the black recesses of the eye slits. He turned back and locked eyes with Uryu.

Uryu faltered in his stance. The creature that had almost killed him, giving him nightmares for countless nights, was standing across the courtyard, staring him down. This time however Ichigo's eyes were inside the dead black of the sockets. 'He...he's become a complete Hollow...of his own free will. Ichigo was willing to make that sacrifice for them. And I...' Uryu's inner thoughts halted, as he resolved himself to something. Ichigo's eyes went down to Yhwach, who just watched the beast from below his smile returning to him. Even this creature's power wasn't enough to stop the Hymn. 'The day is still won.' Yhwach thought, returning his attention to the man holding his ground before Yamamoto. The same man who was now staring at his Son, complete loss in his expression.

"I won't let you kill anyone else." Ichigo's voice rang out, as he pointed his blade at the Emperor. Ichigo's Reiastu had stabilized now, and was half of what he had displayed during his last attack. The Hollow teen used that much power to bust the shield, but he still had enough to be more than dangerous. The five Quincy in Vollstandig gathered in front of Ichigo, and all attacked. The closest drew a huge energy bolt back, only to have Grimmjow's right hand grip his face, and drive that face into a far wall. The others jumped into the fray against the transformed Quincy. The overloaded, and wounded opponents couldn't draw anything more, and were back to fighting normally. Which put them at a great disadvantage.

Another charged at Ichigo, who was ready to cut down the man, when a giant shark tooth shaped blade stabbed into the man's back. A yellow burst of energy sent the man into a fall descending to the smoking crater made by Ichigo's last attack. Harribel floated before Ichigo, taking in his whole appearance.

"You need to take out that barrier, we'll handle them." Tier pointed back to the courtyard covered in white walls.

"Thank you Tia, be careful." His power laced voice made Tier grip her Tiburon harder. 'So much raw power, and still he's himself.' She cracked a smile, and charged down at her opponent. The Hollow teen moved his right foot forward, before an explosion caught his attention. The white walls of the Hymn flickered then vanished. Ichigo looked over to the smoke, and saw Uryu holding his bow, aimed at the blond haired Quincy next to him. The older Quincy had to fend off the surprise attack, thus breaking the Hymn.

Uryu gave Ichigo a pained look, before engaging in combat with the Quincy he attacked. Ichigo immediately sprung into action, he moved to take a step, only for the sound of a jet breaking the sound barrier to follow. Yhwach pulled his sword back from the killing blow he was about to deliver. He felt Ichigo move, and swung his longsword vertically in front of him to block the incoming strike. The Hollow teen's white blade struck against the Monarch's, and both flew back across the courtyard. Yhwach pushed back and stopped before they reached the far wall, deadlocking to two together.

Yhwach's eye flashed rage, he had been denied his final blow again. This stupid child was more of a pain than he realized. Aizen's words came back to him, but he could only scoff at them. This abomination was still nowhere near strong enough to stop him. "I will end you now abomination." The Quincy's wings stretched out as far as they could, and the halo floating over his back began to spin faster. Ichigo felt his Reiatsu being drawn from him fast. Without his Quincy heritage he was just as vulnerable as the rest. Still the badge he wore prevented as much as it could, which wasn't much.

Ichigo jumped back, breaking the lock, before slipping from sight. Yhwach felt him coming, and brought his sword downward in an arc, slicing at the Hollow who appeared in front of him. The sword slashed right through the afterimage, as a black clawed fist collided into the left side of his face. The Emperor's Blut Vene absorbed the majority of the impact, but the brute force rattled him. He had to take a balancing step to the right, before he thrust his right elbow at the incoming boy off to his right side. The afterimage faded as the strike passed by it, and the Quincy felt something thin and hard strike his stomach horizontally. Zangetsu slashed into the man's stomach, again the Blut stopping the deadly attack, but the power behind it forced the man a step backward. Before Yhwach could swing his sword this time, Ichigo uppercut the him with his sword fist, pushing him off the ground an inch. The Hollow took advantage of that inch and spun backward, sending his right foot into the Quincy's gut.

Yhwach left a gaping hole in the courtyard wall behind him when he flew into it. Ichigo was about to follow, when the three unoccupied Quincy started raining bolts down on him, all the while drawing power from him. Even with his increased power having this much taken would whittle him down fast.

"Millones de Marzo!" (Million March) Rudbornn's voice came from above the quickly crumbling castle. He aimed his spear down toward the stronghold. The ground shook and the sky began to darken further. Thousands of Rudbornn's Calaveras descended upon the castle from the sky and the destroyed outer wall. The literal waves crashed into the battle, hundreds of them each attacking the Vollstandig Quincy a piece. Freeing up the fighters, and rescuing their downed allies. Unohana and Urahara appeared next Rudbornn's, and started to defend him against incoming attacks.

Ichigo couldn't help but smirk. Then he felt the arrows coming. The entire wall behind him burst outward, hundreds if not thousands of arrows perforating the wall, and all aimed at Ichigo. He pulled his sword back, ready to take on the hail of death. A wall of water intercepted and blocked the entirety of the rain. Ichigo looked up seeing Tier falling down toward him. She landed next to him, her weapon aimed forward keeping the water shield going. Neliel and Grimmjow appeared next to him right after.

"Damn kid, I never would have thought you had the balls. Still welcome to the family." Grimmjow said, making light of the situation.

"Ichigo you are so cool like that." Nel chimed in after, her gaze sparkling as she look at him. Ichigo turned his horned head to look at the quite Tier, who gave him a small sideways smile.

"As much as I want to fight him alone, he's draining my power to fast. We need to separate him from the rest, and take him down quick." Ichigo said, acknowledging nods came from the three, before the wall of water evaporated away, floating into Yhwach's halo. The Quincy Emperor was floating off the ground a few feet, his wings spread out. Each shined for a moment then launched hundreds of arrows a piece toward the group.

"Scatter!" Ichigo shouted, as his companions took off in different directions, but all toward Yhwach. Ichigo pulled his sword across his chest, and shot forward. His sword blurred, as he took all the arrows head on, destroying each with an unseeable swipe of his sword. Yhwach flew forward still launching arrows, and met Ichigo halfway, their collision ringing out, and blowing debris out away from them.

"RAHHHH!" Ichigo roared, pushing forth more of his Reiatsu, and putting both hands on his hilt. He pushed the Monarch back, both rocketing away from the chaos of the castle. Yhwach's wings moved forward surrounding Ichigo. 'Crap!' Ichigo knew what was about to happen, and he couldn't block it all.

"DESGARRON! / LANZADOR VERDE!" Grimmjow came from above, blue tears streaking behind his right hand. He swiped that hand against the right set of wings, cutting them in two. Nel's spear came from below, and impacted into the left wings, blowing the majority of them apart, before flying off into the sky. Yhwach's eyes widened, as Ichigo broke free flying back away from him. Tier appeared behind him, with Tiburon pulled back, streams of water swirling around the tooth-shaped weapon.

"Tombra Marina!" (Waterspout) Teir shouted thrusting Tiburon forward. The encircling streams connected at the front and launched forward. A giant cone of of boiling water spiraled toward Yhwach's back, smashing into and breaking the large halo on his back, before engulfing him. The water twister curved downward, and slammed into the ground below them with enough force to cause cracks to form out from the impact point. The four Hollows looked down at the impact point.

"I am not that easily defeated monsters." Yhwach's voice boomed, catching them all off guard, as he appeared in between the four of them. His halo reformed in an instant, and they all felt their power cut almost in half, as his wings took their energy and were recreated. The Hollows scattered away, putting as much distance as they could. Nel barely saw the wing launched toward her. One of Yhwach's wings elongated out from him, and sliced off her right arm and a chunk of her right side.

Nel's screaming pulled their attentions to her, as she was falling to the ground, blood flying off her right side. She landed hard, tumbling to a stop. Her separated right side and lance fell next to her.

"NEL! / NEL!" Grimmjow and Ichigo shouted in unison. Grimmjow charged Yhwach in a berserker state.

"Grimmjow!" Two wings shot toward the blue haired Arrancar, who expertly spun around inside avoiding them, blue tears forming from his claws. Then arrows shot from the wings he was traveling in between. Grimmjow's body was riddled with white arrows, as he fell from the sky battlefield to the ground as well.

Tier flew next to Ichigo, and they had to split just as quickly as four wings launched toward them. Tier kept her distance taking shots at the tendriling energy, barely avoiding each consecutive attack. Ichigo attacked each wing that came at him, his sheer power enough to break them, but Yhwach kept reforming them. Ichigo was closing in on the Quincy, until he heard a scream. He looked back, and his golden iris's shrunk at the sight. Harribel was missing her left leg at the knee, and she was impaled by the tip of a wing through her stomach.

"You can't save anyone Kurosaki. She and your pathetic allies will all become a part of my power. This assault was an inconvenience at best." Four wings closed in on Ichigo, and he lost it.

"YHWACH!" Black and white flame surrounded him, and he shot forward, his sword held out to the side in his right hand. It too streamed black and white flames, the trail following it growing but not dissapating. Ichigo ghosted between the wings, the energy still collecting in his blade. The Quincy smirked, and met Ichigo half way. Their swords connected once again. "MUNFORU HEDATERU-TEN!"

The Reiatsu he'd been gathering wrapped around the Emperor, like a chain, breaking his six wings, and halo once again. Tier dropped from the sky, as the wing impaling her shattered. As soon as Ichigo's attack completely surrounded Yhwach, Ichigo detonated it. A miniature nuclear explosion tore across the sky. The force from the attack flattened the ground around them for half a mile, and sent the barely conscious forms of the Hollows barreling across the barren land. Ichigo streaked down from the explosion. He managed to dig his feet into the ground and skid to a halt nearly fifty feet away, his left hand claws digging into the stone to stop him.

He looked up to see the smoke swirl around and then scatter away. The Quincy Emperor floated there almost entirely unscathed. His clothing and parts of his armor were cracked and torn, and his wings and halo were broken, but he himself was still smiling down upon Ichigo. In a moment everything besides the torn clothes returned as if nothing happened. Ichigo's toothy maw broke open, as he panted heavily.

"You just don't get it beast. Everything you see is mine to command and control. I am invincible. I already contained the power of a thousand years, and you all just continue to add to it. Your resistance is only making me stronger." The Quincy shouted down to Ichigo. His wings flapped behind him once, before the came around to his front, and spun together, making a twisted barrel. Ichigo stood up shakily, as he saw ribbons of Reiatsu stream toward the tip of the barrel from everywhere. A ball of white energy pulsed in front of the barrel, it's power already growing beyond what Ichigo had left in him. Even his energy was fueling the attack.

The Hollowfied teen looked around him, spotting Tier not to far away, lying still on the stone. 'No! I can't let it end like this! I won't. This man is mad, he has to be stopped. No not just stopped eradicated. There can be no end until he's gone.' Ichigo faced the attack again, steadying himself, and bringing his sword forward in both hands, he lifted the blade back behind his head, ready for the incoming attack.

Yhwach's psychotic smile turned into mad laughter, as the white ball of energy finished forming. "You've failed!" He shouted, and the energy ball flattened then transformed into a beam. The giant white beam hurtled toward it's one target, Ichigo. It was easily three times his size, and twice his power, but Ichigo wasn't going to go down till his last breath escaped him.

"GETSUGA TENHEI!" His white blade swung down, black and white energy creating a dome of energy around him. The beam completely engulfed Ichigo and his barrier. Already Ichigo was pressed downward by the force. He had the flat of his lower left arm against the blunt end of his blade, to hold it before him. "AHHHHHHHH!" The power was tearing away at him, his body began to scream in pain, wanting to just give in. Even his shield flickered or broke slightly. Rays of the beam would get through and cut into Ichigo, before he could seal it off in a futile attempt to resist.

'DAMMIT I CAME SO FAR! I CAN'T DIE HERE! I NEED TO SAVE EVERYONE!' Ichigo's mind screamed to his body, willing and begging it to withstand this.

'Finally it's done. Just in the nick of time too.' Ichigo's Inner Hollow's voice stopped his pleas. 'Took a bit longer than I thought, but now we've completely absorbed the Quincy in you.'

"How does that help!? We're gonna die here!" Ichigo desperately shouted back.

'Well the imitator left us one last parting gift once the merge was complete. Make it count this is a one time trump card Ichigo.' Inner's voice grew distant, as if fading. 'Don't kill us.'

Ichigo's body thumped loudly. He felt power coming into him from outside. He was regaining his strength, his lost Reiatsu. When he opened his eyes he saw Zangetsu's blade. The last of the black on the sword burnt away, leaving only a pure white sword. And connected to that sword were ribbons of white energy from outside his barrier. He was absorbing the attack! Zangetsu's last gift was the only thing that could stop a thousand years of Reiatsu, the power to take it away. 'Thank you Zangetsu.' Ichigo thought before hardening his gaze. "RAHHHHH!" With a mighty shout and push Ichigo launched himself up into the beam.

Yhwach's triumphant laugh halted as he felt something drawing energy from him. 'Impossible.' He looked down at the beam, and saw it bulging as something was climbing up its path. "IMPOSSIBLE!" He yelled, recognizing the Quincy's drawing technique. The beam shrank away, absorbed into Ichigo's pure white sword. The collected power flew at the furious Quincy. Ichigo roared as he swung his sword in a downward arc, connecting with and consuming the wings. Yhwach struck forward bringing his sword down on Ichigo, who brought his up horizontally blocking the strike.

"You impudent boy. You will not steal anything from me. I am still stronger!" Yhwach's wings sprung out again, and all thrust forward to impale Ichigo.

"Empuje Verde!" Nel shouted from next to Ichigo, as her lance rushed past his head, creating a shield against the wings, shattering them. Ichigo glanced back to see Grimmjow holding Nel up by the waist. He was full of bleeding holes, but his smug smirk was present. Nel was smiling weakly, as she continued to bleed heavily, and flashed her blood stained smile to the Hollow teen.

"Trident!" Three devastating slashes broke Yhwach's concentration, as they cut into his back. Yhwach was so focused on attack he negated his Blut Vene to strengthen it. Bloody wounds were cut into his back, after they obliterated his absorption halo.

"GAH!" His body recoiled, letting his sword slip from the lock. Ichigo's eyes flashed to the opening. It was now or never.

"THIS ENDS NOW!" Ichigo screamed, as he pulled his blade back and thrust it forward to Yhwach's exposed neck. The point stopped at the skin as markings appeared there, the Emperor's Blut Vene activated again. Yhwach's wild fearful eyes met Ichigo's anger and resolve. Ichigo put his left palm on the end of the hilt, and he twisted the blade in his hand, then pushed with all his might.

The Blut Vene failed, Ichigo's sword pierced the Emperor's neck, coming out of the back just as easily. Yhwach's eyes trembled momentarily, and he gagged out breaths and blood. Then his eyes dulled, his body stopped spasming, and his Vollstandig burst apart. Ichigo slid his blade violently out of the dead man's neck, and backed away. Tier, Grimmjow, and Neliel backed away too, and they headed to the ground. Ichigo to one last look at falling the man before him. The puncture in his neck suddenly spewed forth a fountain of Reiatsu. Followed by the gashes on his back doing the same. His body was convulsing as more fountains broke free from inside.

'A thousand years of trapped energy is coming out all at once!' Ichigo looked on as the energy grew and grew. Then he realized what it meant. All that energy wanting to come out at once, it would explode with such force it could level almost everything around them for miles. Ichigo looked down to his fellow Hollows. They were staring up at him and the dead Emperor's body, all realizing what was happening too. Ichigo looked from them to the time bomb falling to the ground, and back again. He focused on Tier this time. She could see what he was thinking, her eyes wide with realization.

"No..." She breathed out weakly. Unable to move as she and the others used the last of their strength in the last attack. Ichigo let out a breath, and smiled, his mask following suit. He dropped down toward Yhwach, and flew forward. He looped his right arm around the man's mid section, and blasted off into the sky. He climbed higher and farther away, never slowing down. He needed to get this away from everyone he cared about. Everything he needed to protect. His sacrifice meant their safety, and that was more than enough reason to do it. He pushed everything he had into his speed, and in a blink he was gone past the horizon, nothing but a ghost.

"NOOOOO ICHIGOOO!" Nel cried after him, trying to stand and run toward him, her Resurreccion dusting off her. Grimmjow grabbed onto Nel, and pulled her back as she struggled to get to her friend. His Resurreccion had been deactivated as well.

"ICHIGO! ICHIGO! NO ICHIGO!"

"Nel you can't."

"NO I CAN SAVE HIM! ICIHGO!"

"NEL STOP! You can't...we can't..." Grimmjow tried to calm Neliel down, but only made her more hysterical. She continued to scream and cry for Ichigo long after he was gone.

Tier felt the tears fall from her eyes...she didn't care. She felt the pain and sorrow in her chest...she didn't care. She wanted to go after him...but knew is was impossible. Harribel fell to her knees, her Resurreccion long since evaporated. She could only look off in the distance where her savior...her knight...vanished.

The blinding flash that followed moments later didn't make Tier blink. She made sure she watched the entire event, to burn it into her memory, her soul. A giant light grew and grew on the horizon, dwarfing the moon, as if a new sun came to this place. The sound followed, then the wind. The explosion though never reached them, never burnt anything close to them. Ichigo had saved them, all of them.

. . . .

~ 9 Days Later ~

Los Noches

Sung-Sun greeted their guest at the entrance to the new palace. Urahara had come by several times in the last few days to check up on everything and deliver reports to the Arrancar.

"Greetings Mr. Urahara. How are you today?" Sung-Sun asked as the two of them left the entrance and started to walk through the large halls.

"Not to bad Miss Sung-Sun. A few complaints about my hectic schedule, but nothing really important. How have things been here? The Queen still not leaving the chamber?" Since the death of Yhwach and the return to Los Noches, Tier had been unusually quiet and withdrawn. She retired to her chambers and has rarely been seen outside of them since. Sung-Sun nodded her head to the last question.

"Mistress Harribel is still in there. At least she is eating and sleeping. So that is something." The Arrancar woman sighed, but continued. "Lord Grimmjow is still out in the waste making sure that there are no more roaming bands of Quincy. Of course he is to capture only." Sung-Sun anticipated Urahara's look, and cut it off with the last sentence.

"Whew...I was worried he'd kill them all on sight." Kisuke over exaggerated his relieved expression. When the Quincy Emperor died, immediately his right hand, Haschwalth, had the remaining Vandenreich lay down arms and surrender. Several resisted but were quickly silenced. They had returned the stolen Bankai, with the exception of the Captain Commander's. His Bankai had been destroyed along with Yhwach. The Gotei 13 took custody of the remnants of the Quincy army, and imprisoned them in the Maggots Nest until further action could be taken, but execution was withheld. This was also a sort of amends for their history. Enough blood had been shed, and old wounds needed to be mended. The Hueco Ejercito demanded the Quincy be executed, and another fight was about to break out, until Harribel stepped in and commanded them to relent.

She agreed to an armistice so long as the Soul Society left Hueco Mundo to her and her kind. Yamamoto agreed to this, and the two factions left on those terms. It was a few days later that word came from the Soul Society to Hueco Mundo about potential stragglers of the Vandenreich in the wastes. Urahara mediated the discussion, and the agreement was capture and turn over to the Soul Society. The Queen was not present for these talks, but her Fraccion, Neliel, and Grimmjow were. They decided to agree to the terms, even if Grimmjow was the biggest opposition.

During the last nine days a great change in leadership occurred in the Gotei 13. With Yamamoto's Bankai gone forever, he retired from Captain Commander, and Shunsui Kyoraku took his place. Genryusai now took a spot in Central 46, and acts as an adviser to the new Captain Commander. It was thanks to this change that communications had opened up between the Hueco Ejercito and the Gotei 13. Uryu Ishida was released at the request of Isshin Kurosaki and Ishida's father, and for past assistance's to the Soul Society. Ryuken Ishida openly revealed himself, and even agreed to have a watch kept over his home on the condition the Shinigami don't directly interfere in their lives.

"Lord Grimmjow changed since the Dangai. He's more level headed now, even if it takes Lady Neliel to bully him into seeing it." Sung-Sun chuckled at remembering Nel forcing her power upon him, almost a dead ringer for Retsu Unohana of the Gotei 13. Grimmjow only agreed as long as Nel would fight him at his hearts content. For some reason the pacifist Nel agreed to this happily.

The two turned another corner and followed a long corridor, that was still being built.

"Right well that's good to hear. So how are the girls?" Kisuke asked, at this point making small talk.

"Franceska and Emilou are trying their best to keep things in order, but their opposing viewpoints usually get in the way. Lady Neliel intervenes when necessary, but has stayed mostly silent in leadership matters. Still things are oddly running smoothly. Menoly and Loly are around here somewhere. Loly doesn't want to stray to far, and Menoly is still happy to be at her side. That reminds me Menoly has been wondering when Mr. Yatsutora will come by again?" Sung-Sun informed him, and asked with a sly smile.

"Uh huh. Well the kids are back in school, but I'm sure they'll want to come visit during the weekend. What about Rudbornn? Luka?" Urahara was now just going down the list of the Caballeros Oscuros.

"Rudbornn is back to roaming the wastelands, but he checks in from time to time. Lord Luka is with Lord Grimmjow on the hunt." Sung-Sun said as they came into the housing section of the castle.

"I see, well you'll have to inform me of Luka and Grimmjow's return. I have something both may like to see." Urahara said with a large smile.

"You were able to finally unseal it?" She looked to the shopkeeper with a wider gaze from behind her sleeve.

"Yup. That's why I'm here actually. I wanted..." He was cut off by Sung-Sun who raised her free sleeved hand up to his face.

"Shhh...do you hear that?" Her gaze intensified, as she strained her ears. She heard talking coming from the room that was their destination. The intensity in her eyes melted into relief when she did indeed hear voices speaking.

"Well well what an opportune time for my arrival." The two ninja'ed to the door of the chamber, and cracked it open slightly and quietly, listening intently.

"...back to the land of the living." Harribel said in a soft, but happy voice. A masculine chuckle followed her words.

"More than happy to be back Tia." Ichigo's voice followed his chuckle.

. . . .

~ Moments Earlier ~

Harribel's Chambers

Tier had been keeping a vigil on him since they returned to Hueco Mundo. She, the Caballeros Oscuros, and a good portion of the Shinigami, once healed, returned to the land outside the destroyed Quincy stronghold. The searched for hours in hopes of finding the hero. It was Grimmjow who discovered his bloody mess of a body among the ruined landscape. He was missing his entire left arm, his right horn was gone, his mask cracked and broken off in multiple places, his entire body burnt, but he was just barely alive.

Orihime had healed his body up as fast as she could, but his Reiatsu was in disarray. They could only guess it was because of his absorption of the massive amount of Quincy Reiatsu. He was taken to Hueco Mundo at the behest of Harribel, only argued briefly by several of the Shinigami Captains and Soul Reaper friends. It was Isshin Kurosaki who settled the matter, as his father. He let Harribel take him only as long as he could check up on his son, and she take the utmost care of him. Tier readily agreed, and they returned to Los Noches with Ichigo.

She made sure he was comfortable, and his condition didn't change. For nine days she slept and ate in her room, only leaving when she was needed the most. Then it was right back by his sleeping form. Her Fraccion, the shopkeeper, Grimmjow, Neliel, and even Loly and Menoly came to check up on either him or her. Nine days of uncertainty and waiting.

Tier was sitting on the couch under the large hole window. She was resting her chin on her left knuckles, as she looked out into the night sky. She let out a soft sigh for the hundredth time that day, when the sheets move. Her eyes went from half lid to fully open, and she looked to the stirring form of the Hollow in her bed. She was off the couch and sitting in the chair next to the bed in a few quick movements.

"Ugh...Where am I?" Ichigo asked weakly, as his golden iris's blinked open behind the black slits of his mask.

"You're in Hueco Mundo. My chambers to be specific." Tier's voice was soft. She had a relieved smile on behind her mask and collar. Ichigo turned his head and blinked slowly up at the tanned Queen of Hueco Mundo.

"Oh...how...how long have I been out?" Ichigo was to groggy to be a prude about being in her chambers. He just decided to take that he was alive as a blessing.

"You've been unconscious for nine days." Tier answered methodically, unsure of how to be comforting aside from blunt. Then something came back to her, something that may help ease him. "Welcome back to the land of the living Ichigo."

Ichigo's mask grinned dumbly, but he was happy to hear those words. "More than happy to be back Tia." He chuckled after saying this, and Tier joined in with her own slight titter, breaking the slight tension in the room. At least until the doors burst open and Urahara strode in, followed by an embarrassed Sung-Sun.

"Indeed you had us most worried there Mr. Kurosaki. Please don't make a habit of it." Kisuke joked as he took up a spot at the end of the bed. Tier's body went slightly rigid, like she was caught doing something wrong, which Sung-Sun noticed.

"Your voice hurts." Ichigo's iris's closed in the black, as he slowly propped himself up into a sitting position. Tier wanted to help him sit up, but she restrained herself.

"You wound me Ichigo. And here I come bearing great news." Kisuke continued unimpeded.

"And what could possible be better news than me being alive?" Ichigo chided, slightly annoyed.

"Well first lets catch you up on what you missed." Urahara and the others explained the past nine days, the Quincy's status, the new power structure in the Soul Society, Ichigo's familys' well being, the status of his friends including Uryu, and the happenings in Los Noches. "And that's about the long and short of it. Any questions?" He said happily from behind his fan.

"A million, but lets start with what that great news was first." Ichigo processed the information rather quickly considering, and now he was looking at his new hands, and body. He knew what he sacrificed to save everyone, but it was still unreal, even if he could see and feel it. This transformation saddened him. How could he ever see his family like this?

"This." Hat's N' Clogs pulled from inside his coat a small shimmering object. The room suddenly went silent, and Ichigo's attention was fully on the object in Kisuke's hands.

"The Hogyoku..." (Crumbling Orb) Ichigo breathed out.

CHAPTER 11 END

A HOLLOW QUEEN'S DARK KNIGHT END

A/N Part 2: I'm so very sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I had it finished two weeks after chapter 10, and had it sent to my BETA. However my BETA currently is busy with University, and progress was very slow. I took it upon myself to edit it again, and get it out finally. Sorry again. It's always hard to see something you enjoy end. It took me a few weeks to finish this chapter, because of it. Still I hope everyone enjoyed the ride I created, and I really hope I didn't disappoint. So here is the end of the story, with the promise that there will be a continuation by the name of "Days of Night" Look for it to show up in the near-ish future. I'm so very surprised by the responses I've gotten about this story. It really kept me motivated to work on this story. Thank you all again. Well I guess I should get to some technicals.

I hope the Ichigo's power imbalance was explained reasonably enough, as well as his choice. I needed the choice to be hard but rushed too, so I hope you didn't mind it. Ichigo's Hollow transformation. I basically took his final transformation to more represent White, the Hollow that infected his mother. I figured we'd come round full circle with that. What do you think? There are several techniques I created that I didn't really explain very well during the battle. Mila Rose's 'Game Hunt' is more of a passive ability. It make it so that she can follow a target by their blood, making it impossible for them to evade her. It also gives her a stronger resistance to their techniques, as her blood is mixed with theirs temporarily. Sung-Sun's Shed: Twin and Triplet technique basically creates a husk of her, which she slips out of invisibly, making a decoy. Its more or less an escape dodge maneuver. Menoly's technique Hopscotch is a passive acceleration ability. Based on vibrations, she vibrates her legs at high speed, allowing her to hover over surfaces, increasing her speed, and she's able to use incredibly small movements to dodge attacks, making it seem like they just pass through her.

I know I've probably raised some questions with this chapter, but I promise I will get to them in the continuation. So again thank you for reading, and till next time, this is Wiggles-n-stuff waving goodbye.

~ Wiggles

Gunbladez19: I seriously doubt I will have them get together, but the future is uncertain.

Mexican ninja1996: Sorry for the wait. Here it is.

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Thank you I really enjoyed making hers up. I believe he did lol.

BashToGlory: Sorry I hope I didn't kill you to much. So happy you like my work. Yeah writing that part made me aww a bit too.

awesomeness4286: Of course I will, but I will also be covering other characters too. Glad you enjoyed the ride my friend.

Orchamus: Ha surprise it happened before the final battle lol. It's the nicest ending I could come up with honestly. I had two more in mind, a bad end and a neutral end. But I liked this one the best.

Kuroi Rin: Kuroi I'm so glad you enjoyed my last chapter, and I hope this one is enjoyed just as much. The sequel will see a Grimm and Keny meet up, look forward to it. Your review was kawaii my friend.

AKOSI AGATAR: Why thank you AKOSI. It's always nice to receive delicious kudos. Trust me I will make it as slow as needed. I hate quick romances, that aren't Sekirei related lol.

friaku: Thanks for being with me since the beginning, I hope to see you in the sequel. Here is more.

AlAlva: Always nice to hear from new readers. Thanks for the reviews.

The Night Hunter: Here it is...long overdue NH, but here finally. Thanks for sticking with me on this story man. I hope my future works don't disappoint.

Kenji Riku: Why thank you. Hope this chapter was great too.

7: Wait no longer.

kevinplr2h: Keeping

Deus Orion: Graci my friend. I hope this one is just as good.

sami217: Yes a continuation is planned, so fret not good buddy. Here is the epic conclusion.

LonelyHollow117: Here's more to sate you.

SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan: Shall I tell you a tale of humiliation and hilariousness? Yes I will, but not until the sequel. Hee hee. Thanks for being with me since the start Gohan, hope to see you in the sequel too.

Grinja: I know I struggled with it too, but if you think on the fact they were constantly draining her power, while breaking her will, after roughly 5 days, she would be weak. Still I hope it didn't turn out to mushy. Oh you bet I will be playing up the lady problems. Hee hee hee.

CM: I hope you kept that fire, cause here it is.

Evil Reviewer: *Pulls out Reality Gauntlet, and destroys all bagpipes in the universe, as well as all knowledge of how to make them.* BWAHAHAHAHA!

Andre'Johnson125: Wait no longer, but please wait for the sequel lol.

jwill21: Sorry for the long wait. Situations you know. Here it is.

Thunder Tyrant 77: OC? Sure send me a PM and we'll take a look at it. Heh royal we.

Akuma-Heika: O_o Wow corrections up the wazoo. I may have to go back and re-edit my previous chapters. I do recognize the incongruities in my earlier chapters, but it goes to show how much I improved right? Kay the Tia Tier thing was actually on purpose. It was a subtle nickname thing for later. The pic btw is the one that is the pic for the story. Thanks for reading, here's more.

Guest 1: Cool thanks

Kevin: Awesome I have a fan! Thanks for the review.

VicRB: "Days of Night" and relationship building.

Helmsmanjoker: First thanks for being with me since the start joker. I'm glad you enjoyed the story so much. I will definitely take their relationship slow as that is how it should be done. I agree with the Gotei 13 stubbornness, but I hope this chapter gave you a smile towards that. Here's the rest, see you in the sequel.

Evil Reviewer (part 2): Either way thanks for sticking with us. I've tried to balance out the powers, and make the enemy's advantage great. And just in case you were wondering, Ichigo's power up in this chapter only puts him close to Kyoraku's level, it just he can actually use his massive reserves of reiatsu now instead of just leaking it.

derrickalex1: They are gonna bring it!

Kagega: Thank you, have more.

TheWickedTruth89: So are you saying I have greatness? Huh. I know her name is that, mispronunciation I shall probably fix in the future. Thanks for reading them all back to back.

Guest 2: Wait no longer.

Harbringer-of-script: Well here is the choice. I hope it was everything and more.

: Indeed hee hee

Guest 3: Did they say she was an Adjuchas? I'll have to look into it. But either way she's on Tier's level, but not as strong, at least until after the training.

Thanks to everyone of you reviewers and readers. You are all awesome! See you in the next one!