+_+_+--

"Pleased to meet you I'm Lisa Yadomaru."

The woman was wearing what Ichigo could best describe as a school uniform complete with thick rimed glasses and knee high socks. Despite her unorthodox fighting apparel this Lisa person easily drew her sword from it's sheath with a satisfying sound and held it ready in front of herself.

The doorway had closed immediately behind her, leaving Ichigo still trapped inside.

He stared at her from behind his mask. She stared back clearly bored, yet attentive to his every move like a wary predator.

The teen's eyes darted around searching for something, a way out, anything really.

"No good King, you'll have to rip your way past her and the others before we can high tale it out of here." The hollow sounded maliciously gleeful at this prospect and Ichigo's mind was suddenly filled with images of blood and gore.

Holding back a gag he mentally shook his head. 'Um, let's make that a last resort. Maybe I could talk to them-'

"Aw King, that's so boring! And what makes you think they would even listen to you in the first place? They're trying to kill us!"

Ichigo cracked a wide smile that went unnoticed by the wary woman standing impatiently in front of him. He flexed his hands into fists causing a series of very unpleasant sounds correlating with joints popping.

'I never said I was going to talk without leverage.'

The hollow had apparently caught onto his train of thought. It grinned evilly too. "Oh, hostage situation! Let's get to it then!"

The masked teen leapt empty fists swinging. Lisa, who had been preparing for just that moment, easily parried his strikes with her sword. He tried to punch her face, but she caught him and threw him bodily over her shoulder and flat on his back.

'This isn't going as well as I'd hoped it would.' Ichigo shook his dazed head free of stars just in time to roll away from the woman's sword, which would have had an overly friendly meeting with his face had he not, but now had to contend with the newly formed crater beneath it.

As his attempt to kick her legs out from under her was thwarted by her leaping into the air and landing a heavy foot on his face, he thought angrily, 'I can't beat her like this, I don't even have Zangetsu!'

"Well when you can't beat someone fairly do it the other way!"

Ichigo frowned and dodged a swipe for his head, 'You mean cheat?'

"Were you born yesterday? Of course that's what I mean!"

'And pray tell how I would cheat in a situation such as this?' One close swing cut lose a strand or two of orange hair.

"Well-"

'I'm not going to eat her, that's disgusting.'

"…what about that cero thing you used in Hueco Mundo? Think you could manage it again?"

Without giving an answer the teen leapt away to gain some distance and focused his power into the tips of his fingers. He thought he nearly had it when the orange dome's doorway opened again expelling a man with a dagger, tank top, and short white hair, who immediately ran up and elbowed him in the face giving Lisa enough time to escape before the door closed again.

"Call me Kense, nice to meet you."

He retracted his elbow from the teen's mask and landed on the ground in a ready stance.

Ichigo stood still, partly from the pain of having his spiritual nose almost shattered, and partly from the increasingly fast thoughts organizing themselves into a plan in his mind.

'You saw Zangetsu out there too, didn't you?' his eyes lingered to where the door had closed of the sight of his grey sword.

The hollow nodded. "You just keep fightin' and I'll handle getting our sword back."

Ichigo nodded and faced his newest opponent.

'I just have to keep this up till they open the door again, gotta stall for time.'

The teen stood still watching, waiting, and enjoying the growing look of frustration forming on Kense's face.

Ichigo heard voices muffled by the barrier shouting things like," What's he doing?" "Kense what's going on?" The man shook his head, eyes never leaving his still opponent.

Ichigo deciding that doing nothing was getting him nowhere fast, took a running jump at the shinigami fists ready for a downwards strike at his head, missed his target spectacularly, and created another crater in the stone floor.

'Didn't know I could do that.' Ichigo thought amused as the dust around him settled, revealing his stunned opponent, whose temple was bleeding from flying rock of debris.

Ichigo's wide smirk was back in place as he crawled from the hole and engaged himself in a game of punch tag, made even more deadly with his monstrous strength.

Much sooner than he expected he saw another person through the orange box dome preparing to switch places with Kense. The door opened and the dagger wielding man leapt back.

"King, call Zangetsu!"

Without question Ichigo threw out his hand mentally calling,'Zangetsu help!' The giant cleaver rattled in the dirt then practically flew past the rapidly closing barrier, nearly beheading Kense, and with a satisfying smack landed in its owner's hand.

It was with apprehension that the newest (and hopefully, thought Ichigo, last) opponent faced him.

The man had an afro, sunglasses, and wore what wouldn't look out of place at a gym.

Ichigo chuckled as he felt the comforting weight of his sword in his hand.

"Let's end this quickly." He held the sword in front of himself and felt the grey ribbon wrap itself around his arm. "Bankai."

------

To the people outside the barrier it looked as if the world exploded. When the dust finally cleared they could see their friend, Love, held captive with a long thin black sword held ready at his neck.

The teen holding the sword said something quietly to Love, whose face grew pale and sweaty.

Next his eyes turned to the audience to whom he shouted in the deadly calm voice of one in control, "Let me out of here, or I will kill your friend."

The Vizards froze. All eyes turned to their leader Shinji, whose face looked worried.

Seeming to think that he was not heard their captive, much to their astonishment, pushed aside his mask revealing a scowling face. "I said let me out! I'm not just going to sit here and let myself be killed by a bunch of Soul Society's lackeys!"

Shinji blinked, and a look of dawning grew on his face. He motioned for Hacchi to open a door and calmly entered the barrier.

"I believe that there has been something of a misunderstanding between us," he tried not to flinch at the glare sent his way by the teen. "We are not apart of Soul Society, and we are not planning on killing you. Now if you promise not to behead my friend here we will let you go, provided that you listen to what we have to say."

The orange haired boy seemed to have an internal debate, then, "Alright."

Shinji nodded to Hacchi, and Ichigo released Love as the barrier around them fell.

The blond grinned widely and clapped his hands together.

"Let's talk over some lunch!"

He yelped as the sandal Hiyori threw at his head left a big red mark on his face.

+_+_==--

"So let me get this strait," said Ichigo over his fifth helping of curry, "You guys are called vizards, " nod, "which are shinigami with hollow powers, "another nod, " and you aren't allied with soul society?"

Shinji shrugged, "Well not directly allied."

"And you only caught me cuz you thought I was a hollow?"

Shinji sighed, "Well we didn't know that you had already killed your hollow, so sorry."

Ichigo shrugged uncaring and busied his utensils with his plate, secretly overjoyed to be eating some real food.

"So what about you?" asked Hiyori suspiciously " We lost track of you when you went to rescue that Kukichi girl."

Ichigo's fast paced eating slowed to a stop and he looked pensively into his plate.

"I wouldn't tell them everything if I were you."

'If you were me we'd all be dead, but I agree.'

To the expectant Vizards he said, "Well soul society tried to kill me when they realized I was part hollow, and I've been hiding out in… well I've been hiding ever since, till I came here."

She wasn't satisfied and opened her mouth to ask something more, but was interrupted when someone shouting down to them.

"Hellooooooooo! Kurosaki- kun long time no see!"

A prickle of fear shot down the teen's spine as he looked over his plate to confirm who the unexpected visitor was.

"Sandal-Hat! What are you doing here?"

Yes, it was Urahara in all his striped hat and wooded shoed glory. He had a paper fan in his hand, and was currently hiding behind it while an annoyed Hyori yelled at him.

"Who said you could come in here uninvited, Urahara?" her eyes blazed and her shoe was clutched threateningly in her hand.

Big puppy-dog eyes looked at her pleadingly over the fan. "I just heard from Shinji that Kurosaki was back, and wanted to tell him what was going on. Please don't hurt me!"

Hiyori turned her rage now to the other grinning blonde in the room, "You invited him?"

As she was otherwise occupied Urahara was able to escape to Ichigo's side.

He leant down and conspiratorially whispered behind his fan, "Ne, Ichigo, I need to tell you something important!"

The teen grunted and warily continued to eat.

The shopkeeper took a deep breath, "Aizen is at war with Soul society, and kidnapped Orihime for her powers. She is currently being held captive in Hueco Mundo. Chad and Ishida left yesterday to try and rescue her."

Ichigo spat out a mouthful of curry.

"They did what?" he choked.

"Went off to Hueco Mundo to save Orihime."

The teen scrambled to his feet, "I've got to go help them!"

Urahara beamed, "I hoped you would say that! The portal will be done by tomorrow morning. Come by my shop then!"

Ichigo shook his head, "No that's not soon enough! Do you even know what is in that place? They'll be eaten alive before they make it ten steps. I have to go now!"

He grabbed Zangetsu and clambered out of the underground training area, and out of the warehouse above it, till he was standing in the sunlight outside.

Ignoring the confused calls of the Vizards and Urahara behind him he drew his hand across the air, as if clearing a window of soot.

A dark doorway appeared with the sound of breaking glass. With hardly a backwards glance Ichigo stepped through it and vanished.

+_---=-=-=-

"Did he just…?"

"Yep."

"But not even we can…"

"Yep."

"Urahara-san what just happened? How did berry-kun do that?"

"… I have to go back to my shop and look something up. Ta!"

Hiyori threw her shoe at him, but he was already too far away for it to hit. "Urahara get back here and explain!"

-___---__--__:#

Meanwhile in Hueco Mundo…

Ichigo was already running. To where exactly though, he wasn't sure. He had never been very good at sensing others, and was too used to relying on his death defying luck to stop now.

That was why when he heard a familiar scream he didn't hesitate to follow it.

He called up his mask out of habit, and let his sword hang lazily behind him. As he rounded another white sand dune he saw the originator of the scream along with a large hollow with a face like a sand castle.

Mind quickly putting two and two together, Ichigo leapt, jaws agape, and bit down hard on mask of the unsuspecting guardian of the white sands.

Immediately the hollow collapsed into a pile of sand. Satisfied, Ichigo landed lightly on the ground.

"ITHIGO!" with a fierce battle cry a tiny figure launched itself at him and proceeded to snuggle into his robes.

"Nel, are you ok?"

The childlike arrancar grinned happily up at him with her gap tooth smile. "Nel is great Ithigo-sama, look Nel even made new friends thee?" She turned and looked behind herself, and Ichigo for the first time did to.

Both parties blinked shocked at each other, until Ichigo (who had much less to be shocked about) broke the silence.

"….Chad, Ishida, long time no see."

+_+_+_+_+---

Keep in mind that the vizards weren't trying to kill him, and they weren't hollofied. That's why ichi could beat love so easily.

Omake

"You know I just thought of something, " Hichigo said.

"What? Is it relevant to us breaking into Las Noches?"

"Not at all. I was just thinking that since I was born thanks to Urahara and the shattered shaft he threw you into, would that make him my father?"

"…"

"And then I was thinking, " continued the hollow oblivious to Ichigo's discomfort, "would that make Yoruichi my mom? You know since she and Urahara are like a couple…" he thankfully trailed off.

Meanwhile Ichigo decided that he would never look at Yoruichi the same way again.

"Stop thinking of my mother that way pervert!"