Everyone, I am so, so, so SORRY for taking so long. But life's been hard recently. I've been having exams, exams, exam preparation. Then, the school's English literature teacher started telling a few of his students to come to me for help with their coursework. So, I've been pretty much buried in work the past month or so. And the ads news is, that I have a full week of exams staring next week! Sob. :(

Anyway, enough of my life problems. Feel free to enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 11:

Preparation

(Gremory estate):

Training continued for the next few days, with Ichigo overseeing and instructing the Gremory peerage on what to do. He'd been making each member focus on one main thing primarily, but did shift them around on what they were doing from time to time. He himself would train in private, attempting to become more familiar with his sacred gear. However, one thing was painfully obvious to him. Issei really needed a lot of work.

The resident pervert had potential, Ichigo knew that much, but his current state was kind of pitiful. It was as though he was unsure of himself, holding himself back with doubts that he had. He couldn't allow things to carry on like that. Otherwise, Issei would probably be taken out immediately after the rating game began.

"Looks like I need to have a little chat with him," Ichigo muttered to himself before he began making his way towards the possessor of the Boosted Gear. Issei was currently holding his knees and panting, having just finished a half an hour spar with one of the robot training dummies. Due to this, he didn't notice Ichigo approaching him.

"Hey, you doing okay?" Ichigo asked him.

"F-fine," Issei breathed as he stood up properly. He then looked to the substitute soul reaper as though he wanted to ask him something, but was unsure of whether he should or shouldn't.

"Dude, just spit it out already," Ichigo assured him. "I don't bite."

"How did you do it?" Issei inquired. "How did you get so strong?"

The orange haired teen looked at the brown haired teen for a moment as he thought.

"Mind telling me exactly why you're asking me this?" Ichigo asked casually.

Issei released a breath before he began. "I've realised… that I'm actually the weakest one here. I thought that I could just do whatever I wanted and beat up anyone in my way, just because I have the Boosted gear. But… back in the clubroom, when you stopped me from charging that asshole's pawn, I realised that I was nowhere near that." He moved his gaze from his hands and looked to Ichigo. "I want to help Buchou, I really do, but what can I do? I'm useless."

Ichigo nodded in understanding of the situation.

"I wasn't always strong you know," he told Issei, causing the latter's eyes to go wide.

"But then, how?" Issei stammered.

"It was my friends, or rather, my intense desire to protect them," Ichigo clarified. "I constantly pushed myself so that I could protect them no matter what. Your heart's in the right place Issei, I can see that clearly. However, your fear is holding you back."

"Huh?" was Issei's intelligent reply.

"You want to protect the others, but you're afraid you'll fail. When you fight someone and try avoiding their attacks, you're afraid they'll hit you. When you're trying to hit someone, you're afraid you'll miss. You can't afford to think like that. You need to cast your doubts aside, believe in yourself and steel your resolve. When you're protecting someone, you have to believe that you will protect them. When you're dodging an enemy's attack, you need to believe that you will dodge it. When you're attacking, you need to believe that you will hit them. Understand?"

Issei looked at Ichigo in shock, before he regained his composure.

"Yeah, I think I do," he said as he nodded his head.

"That's good," encouraged Ichigo. "You're one of the guys of your group. A guy's duty is to always protect what's dear to him. Become strong, help Rias escape marriage to that grilled turkey and protect all of them."

"Yeah, I think I'll do just that," Issei agreed, a newfound resolve in his eyes.

"Great, now get to work on becoming stronger. After about an hour, go train your magic with Akeno and Asia," the spikey haired substitute soul reaper instructed.

Ichigo turned around and walked away from Issei, who was preparing to have another session with the training dummy. The substitute soul reaper went back behind the house, into the forest and began his own training with his sacred gear.

(Forest):

Ichigo was sitting on the ground, catching his breath. He'd been training with his sacred gear for around forty minutes before training his regular powers for roughly twenty minutes. Overall, he was quite pleased with his progress. He'd become familiar in the usage of his sacred gear, enough to have gained the ability to prevent it tripling his strength unless he wanted to. It would be a useful tactic in turning a battle around and catching the enemy off guard.

"Not bad King, not bad at all," complimented his inner hollow.

"Thanks," replied Ichigo.

"By the way King, me and old man Zangetsu here found a little technical issue we think you should know about," informed his hollow.

"Really, what is it?" inquired Ichigo.

"It is regarding your fully hollowfied form and your sacred gear," answered Zangetsu.

"Yeah, it looks like your hollow form and your sacred gear aren't compatible," elaborated his pale copy. "Meaning, you can't use your sacred gear when you go full hollow. But don't worry too much Kingy, your first fully hollowfied form is almost unstoppable anyway."

Ichigo frowned for a moment.

"But I can still use the Shock Burner if I'm only wearing my mask, right?" he asked.

"Yes, there is no problem with that," answered Zangetsu.

"Good to know," murmured Ichigo. He then got back on his feet. "I guess I should start making some food, it's almost lunch time."

Since the first day, he had been the main one cooking the food, because the peerage of devils had practically begged him to. Although, there were times when Akeno, Rias and Asia would insist he let them cook, saying that they couldn't just make him do it all the time. Without any further delay, he began making his way to the kitchen.

(Issei's room):

"Alright," said Issei in triumph. After Ichigo's little talk, he'd been burning through the full day. Frankly, all the others were pretty shocked at how hard he'd started training after that. He was also feeling quite pleased with his results. Everyone in Rias' peerage could tell that all of them had gotten stronger over the past few days. Even sweet little Asia. She could now make an emerald green bubble around herself that could block attacks and another one that could deflect them back in the direction of the attacker.

His own magic reserves had improved too. In the beginning, it was just about a grain of rice. Today, it had reached slightly bigger than a marble. His greatest progress had been in his physical attributes. His strength, speed and stamina had improved considerably from what they initially were. He was planning to work on his own special move from tomorrow night, one that he believed would tip the scales colossally in their upcoming battle, whilst simultaneously satisfying his libido.

Issei lay down on his bed and closed his eyes as he began to fall asleep.

(Issei's mind):

Issei was in a dark place. Literally. He couldn't see anything.

"What the? Where am I?" he questioned out loud, despite no one else being there with him. Suddenly, he heard a sound. "What was that?" he said in confusion as he turned around.

A few moments of silence passed. Then, he heard something again. It was faint, like a whisper, as well as extremely difficult to make out.

"P…n… ca… y… r… e… an… u… er… e…"

"Hello?" Issei called out. "Who's there? Are you trying to call me?" he received no response.

"N… et… ur… ot… ady… oon… e… ll… me…"

Next, the dark place vanished as his mind returned to dreaming.

(A few days later):

It was currently morning and Ichigo was sitting alone at the table, having a simple breakfast consisting of some toast and tea. They had been training intensely for the past seven days now. Everyone had made great leaps in their progress, even Issei. He'd also told Ichigo that he'd heard some sort of voice in his sleep a few days previously, as well as that he was working on some sort of secret 'sure kill' technique for the upcoming match.

As for the others. Rias had managed to stabilise her power of destruction, consequently improving its power and efficiency. Akeno was now able to recharge her magic reserves more quickly and was also more efficient in expending it when she was using magic. Koneko's speed had increased a good deal. She wasn't on Kiba's level, but would at least be able to read the movements of opponents going at a speed similar to his. Kiba had increased his defence a good deal, he could now withstand a few good hits from a rook class enemy and keep fighting fairly effectively. Asia's barriers had gotten stronger, to the point that Koneko had to give it three powerful punches to break it.

Ichigo heard footsteps entering the room. Turning his head, he saw it was Issei who had entered. Except that he had an excited expression on his face, as though he'd won the jackpot in a lottery or something.

"It happened! It finally happened!" he said excitedly.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down," said Ichigo with his hands raised to emphasise his point. "Just what exactly happened?"

"The voice became clear last night! I heard it properly! Turns out that it was the dragon in my sacred gear trying to get through to me," Issei explained.

"Did you actually meet it?" inquired Ichigo with a slight inquisitive frown.

"Yeah! He's the Welsh dragon, Ddraig. I actually had a proper conversation with him!"

"What did you talk about?"

"Oh, nothing really. He was just telling me how he'd been trying to get through to me for a long time and that I was finally strong enough to hear him. I can talk to him whenever I want through the sacred gear."

Ichigo's mouth formed into a small smile. He clamped his right hand onto Issei's shoulder.

"Way to go Issei! I told you that you had potential," he said in congratulations.

"Nah, it was all thanks to you to be honest, otherwise I doubt I'd be strong enough," replied Issei with a large, friendly grin. His eyes then widened as though he'd just remembered something. "Oh, yeah. I forgot, Ddraig said he wanted to talk to you."

"Me?" asked Ichigo in confusion. "How?"

Issei then summoned the Boosted Gear onto his left hand. For a second, nothing happened, then the jewel began to light up and a voice spoke out.

"So you are the one who made my partner strong enough to hear my voice," said Ddraig. "You have my sincere thanks, Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Oh, uh you're welcome, I guess…" Ichigo responded. He then noticed something. "Wait a minute, how do you know my name?"

"Oh, that would be me," said Issei happily. "I kind of told him who you were from what I know about you."

"So, what did you want to speak to me about?" asked Ichigo.

"Nothing in particular to be honest, I merely wished to thank you. It was getting annoying having to wait for my partner to be able to hear me."

"Oh, I see," said Ichigo.

"Well, I'll leave you to the training," said Ddraig before the Boosted Gear went silent.

Ichigo remained silent as he pondered over something. Finally, he looked to Issei.

"I think I know what I'm going to do with you for today," he told him.

"What's that?" asked Issei.

"You'll see, but first, we need to get the others."

(Outside the Gremory estate):

Ichigo and the others were standing in a line, except for Issei and Kiba, who were standing in front of them.

"Alright," announced Ichigo. "Issei, I want you and Kiba to spar with each other. Issei, use your sacred gear. Kiba, take this. If it breaks, you can use your Sword Birth, but make sure you create your sword with a dull edge." Ichigo tossed the blond boy a wooden bokken, which he caught.

"Um, what's Sword Birth?" asked Issei with his right hand slightly raised.

"You don't really need to know yet," Ichigo told him. "Alright, both of you get ready."

The two combatants took their places opposite each other. Issei summoned the familiar red gauntlet onto his hand. Kiba took a stance with his bokken at the ready.

"Begin!" Ichigo called.

Immediately, Kiba rushed towards his fellow Gremory, taking advantage over his superior speed. Issei just about blocked the wooden sword in time by using the Boosted Gear.

"What the hell?! At least give me a warning you damn pretty boy!" Issei screamed.

"Sorry Issei, but in battle, your enemy won't really give you any warnings," Kiba replied with a smile before pulling away.

"Damn you. Fine!" Issei responded, just as his first boost occurred.

The pattern continued for some time, with Kiba attacking and Issei blocking or dodging them. However, that in itself was impressive, considering what his starting point had been. Issei attempted to land a few strikes of his own, but the knight avoided them. One thing they all noticed though, was that the Issei was responding better and becoming more effective as he gained more boosts.

"Alright, here goes!" exclaimed Issei as his tenth boost occurred. "Explosion!" The jewel of the Boosted Gear lit up as Ddraig's voice mimicked Issei's cry. Suddenly, a green aura and sphere briefly appeared appeared around the brown haired teen's form.

Without warning, Issei began to rush Kiba with a flurry of strikes. Kiba blocked them all, however more and more cracks were appearing on the bokken with each hit. Finally, it shattered into splinters.

The blond teen immediately leaped back as he drew out his Holy Eraser, making sure that the edge was dulled as he'd been told. He rushed back towards Issei, slashing horizontally at his midsection, but the resident pervert deflected his strike by punching the sword with his armoured left fist. He then struck out with his right, aiming for Kiba's gut. He almost made contact when his opponent stepped to the side and retreated by jumping back.

"Issei!" Ichigo called out. "Use a magical attack!"

"Alright!" Issei agreed.

Issei thrust his left arm forth and gathered his magic power in front of his open left palm. It stopped at the size of a ping pong ball.

"Damn, looks like I'm still lacking in the magic department," he commented to himself. "Oh well, guess this'll just have to do!" He reared his fist back and punched the red sphere. "Dragon shot!" he shouted.

What no one expected, was for it to turn into a huge laser-like attack, which Kiba frantically threw himself to the side to avoid. It carried on past the knight and hit a neighbouring mountain. As soon as contact was made, the tower of rock exploded.

"Reset!" cried the Boosted Gear. Issei fell onto his back side from a mixture of shock and slight exhaustion. "Wh- whoa," he muttered in amazement.

Ichigo gave a whistle. "Damn, I honestly wasn't expecting that," the orange haired soul reaper commented. "Congratulations man."

"Yes, well done Issei," agreed Rias. "That attack was on the same level as a high class devil."

"S-seriously?!" Issei asked in shock.

"Ara ara, our little Issei''s grown so much," giggled Akeno.

"Issei-san, congratulations!" Asia exclaimed happily.

"Well done Issei-kun," complimented Kiba.

"… You've improved," Koneko monotoned.

"Ah, heh heh. Thanks guys," Issei smiled with a slight blush and a goofy grin as he got back to his feet. He then dismissed his sacred gear.

Ichigo turned to Kiba.

"What was your opinion of the battle?" he asked the knight.

"To be honest, I tried to end the match with the first few strikes, but he kept avoiding or blocking them," replied Kiba. "even when he blocked them, he didn't budge, despite me putting so much force into them that it actually caused strain on the bokken and made slight cracks. Then, he actually broke it through raw force."

"See? You've become a lot stronger Issei," Ichigo told him. "In fact, that bokken was actually reinforced and made to withstand strikes, yet you managed to break it."

"Yeah, I guess I have," agreed Issei. "Although, it's really all thanks to you… senpai sensei."

"Relax, there's no need to be so formal with me remember?" Ichigo replied with a smile.

Suddenly, a white magic circle with the Gremory insignia appeared on the floor, about two metres away from them, making every head urn towards it. Then, a figure appeared before them. A woman in a maid uniform. Also known as Grayfia.

"Grayfia!" Rias said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Greetings Miss Rias, and everyone else," said Grayfia. "I've come here regarding Ichigo Kurosaki –san's request."

"By the way, just Ichigo is fine. I'm not one for the formalities," Ichigo told her.

"Very well. As I was saying, I have looked into what you requested."

"Did you find anything?"

"Yes," replied Grayfia in the affirmative.

All of the Gremory peerage gave a sigh of relief. With the substitute soul reaper on their side, they felt like they were almost bound to win.

"What was it that you found exactly?" Ichigo inquired.

"In a rating game, each team is allowed to take two 'treasures' with them," began the maid. "However, if a peerage doesn't have a complete set of members, like Miss Rias', then they are allowed to take one additional person onto their team, at the cost of not being able to take any treasures. Furthermore, the additional person does not necessarily have to be a devil. It can be anyone."

"That's fine. Thanks again Grayfia-san," Ichigo said appreciatively.

"You are welcome," replied Grayfia. "It was not an issue."

The silver haired Ultimate queen then went back to wherever she had come from, via magic circle. Ichigo turned to face the devils.

"Alright guys, looks like I'll be joining you in your match against the turkey," he stated. "But that doesn't mean we stop training," he clarified. "We all need as strong as possible."

"Heh, I don't have a problem with that. After all, I aim to become the Ultimate Pawn!" Issei declared.

"I don't think any of us have an issue with getting stronger Ichigo-kun," said Akeno. The rest of the peerage nodded in agreement.

"Alright then, let's get to it!" Ichigo ordered.

"Yes sensei!" was the unanimous response, which Ichigo decided to not bother refuting.

(Gremory estate: sunset):

Everyone was resting as they finished training for the day. Ichigo was sitting down with his back against a tree behind the building. Hearing footsteps, he turned his head to see Koneko walking towards him.

"… Can I sit with you Ichigo-senpai?" the white haired rook asked when she was standing next to him.

"Sure, I don't mind at all," Ichigo consented.

"Thank you," she muttered before taking a seat on his right. A few seconds of silence passed. Koneko turned her head to face the orange haired teen. "Ichigo-senpai… can I… ask you something?"

Ichigo thought for a second. He closed his eyes as he relaxed his body. "Yeah, go ahead," he told her.

"I've noticed… that you seem more… open and relaxed with me and Asia-senpai. Why's that?"

Ichigo's eyes opened in slight surprise. His face formed a light frown as he pondered over it. His face relaxed as he found his answer.

"I guess," he began, "it's because the two of you remind me of my own little sisters."

"Your sisters?" Koneko asked with a confused expression. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I've got two sisters. They're both younger than me and are twins. One of them has light, sandy hair and an innocent, loving personality. She's the one that Asia reminds me of," he explained. "The other one, she's a little more straightforward and isn't afraid to give someone a beat down if they need it. A bit like you." He began ruffling Koneko's hair in a brotherly way.

Koneko's mouth formed a small smile and she began to make a faint noise that sounded like purring. She realised what she was doing after a few seconds and her face lit up bright red in embarrassment before she quickly moved her head away. Her reaction made Ichigo smile.

"Aw, what a cute reaction," he commented. She kept her gaze averted, not looking at him directly. "Don't worry, I won't do it if you don't like it," Ichigo reassured her. Koneko's face returned to its normal colour. She turned her face to him.

"Did… anything happen to your sisters?" she asked.

She immediately wished she hadn't, since Ichigo's expression became one with a slightly sad look to it.

"No, nothing happened to them," he said. "But unfortunately, I can never see them again."

"…I … I'm sorry," Koneko whispered sadly. "I didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry about it," Ichigo cut her off, shaking his head slightly with a small smile and his eyes closed. "You didn't know about it."

The teenage soul reaper then stood up.

"Come on, we should head inside with the others," he stated before he began walking away.

Koneko remained as she was. Painful memories of her losing her own sister and the events that followed played through her head. In that moment, she knew that someone who was the closest thing to a kindred spirit had come to her. Someone who shared a similar pain. She recalled what Ichigo had told her about why he was more relaxed around her and Asia.

"… Ichigo… nii-san," she whispered, as though she was testing it. It sounded alright, but she didn't think it'd be right to use it just yet.

Releasing a sigh, the petite girl stood up and began making her way to the entrance.

Omake:

Ichigo was taking a stroll in the park. It was a peaceful and quiet evening with a clear sky. The beautiful full moon was visible. He took a deep breath, relaxing himself. Without warning, a magic circle appeared beneath him.

"Seriously?!" he exclaimed as he was transported away.

When Ichigo could see again, he found himself in a forest. Not just any forest. The familiar forest.

"What the hell?" he murmured. "Why have I been brought here?"

Suddenly, he heard the fast approaching footfalls of someone who was running. Turning around, he saw Kuro running directly at him. He looked frantic, as though he was running for his life, with the small fragment in his arms, its round yellow eyes looking up at him.

"Ichigo! Help me!" he screamed as he approached.

"What's going on?!" Ichigo shouted back to him.

Kuro reached Ichigo, but he didn't stop. Instead, what he did was shift the small fragment, so that he was holding it with his left hand only, leving his right hand free to grab Ichigo's arm as he neared him, pulling the substitute along with him.

"Kuro?! The hell?!" Ichigo exclaimed as he released himself from the humanoid fragment's hold and ran alongside him. "What's wrong?"

"I brought here using the magic circle! You have to help me! She's trying to eat me!" Kuro screamed in response.

"Who?"

"Her!" said Kuro whilst pointing backwards with his thumb.

Ichigo looked back and saw a snow-white wolf chasing after them, its gaze fixed on the teen garbed in black. It was frighteningly close.

"What the hell did you do to get a wolf chasing you?" he asked Kuro.

"I don't know!" Kuro frantically replied. "The thing's been stalking me for days! I used to throw some food to it when I was eating, but when I tried to actually approach it today, it tried to pounce on me!"

Ichigo gave a depressed sigh as he ran. He was seriously doubting if having a normal life had really been all that bad. After all, he didn't have to deal with crazy things like this.

Kuro ended up tripping on an exposed, oversized tree root. The little fragment and his hat fell out of his hands as he fell to the floor. Ichigo stopped in his tracks and turned around. Kuro turned over when he saw a shadow cover him, attempting to roll out of the way. However, fate had other plans for him, as the wolf landed on top of him, pinning him down with his back to the ground.

The little fragment retreated into its shadow out of fear. The orange haired teen was about to move when the wolf began to unexpectedly glow a bright white. There was a brief flash of light, temporarily blinding all of them. When the light died down, the wolf was no longer on Kuro. Rather, what ichigo saw on top of the fragment, was a girl.

She looked the same age as Kuro, had waist-length silver hair, a fair skin tone, bright blue eyes and a pair of snow-white wolf ears on her head, as well as a matching wolf's tail. She was wearing a white kimono that reached just above her knees. She had a look of pure excitement and happiness as she looked down at Kuro.

"I finally caught you!" she exclaimed joyfully before hugging him without any further ado.

"Kuro, please explain the meaning of this," Ichigo demanded with a tick on his forehead, annoyed that Kuro had dragged him here simply for this.

"Hey, hey, easy! I'm just as dumbfounded as you are!" Kuro said in defense.

The little fragment came out of its shadow and simply stared at the scene. The wolf-girl was still hugging Kuro and it didn't look like she intended to let go anytime soon.

"Please let me stay with you!" she asked excitedly without relenting her embrace.

"Wait, what?" Kuro asked in shock.

"Please let me stay with you and please look after me," she said. "I want to stay with you forever!"

"What!" exclaimed Kuro.

"For ever and ever and ever!" she said whilst she continued hugging him.

Ichigo face-palmed from where he was watching on the side.

"Good grief," he complained.

So, did you like this chapter? Please comment, review, whatever you want to call it. If there's any questions that you have, them just PM me. I'll answer them if I can. See you in around a month, hopefully :)