This is a requested scene (Nixie the Bloody Pixie – I'm finally getting to it!) that I'm doing because – well, it's sort of needed. Hint, hint. It's more detail on what happens in Chapter 32 of Bleached Phoenix, when the group is in Soul Society practicing Kido with their wands. So you may want to re-read that Chapter, then come back here and read this.

And yes, I AM working on book three, it's just going slowly. I have a lot handwritten (for point of reference - the Trio are at Number 12) that needs to be typed.


Chapter 12

When they entered the training grounds, Captain Kido (Ichigo didn't bother asking his name; he would never remember it anyway) gave orders that the shields on the grounds be raised to their maximum levels, and that all members of the Squad evacuate the grounds.

Ichigo gulped. What, he thought, is he expecting? A nuclear explosion?

:Perhaps,: Zangetsu replied thoughtfully, while Hichigo just hmmed a response. Ichigo looked over at the others, his anxiety starting to show. Rukia stared back at him, wide-eyed, as did Momo, while Toshiro was frowning straight ahead, although Ichigo could see his own anxiety mirrored in the Tenth Squad Captain's teal green eyes.

"Now," Captain Kido said, standing just behind him on his right side, "As you practiced it, but with your wand."

"Are you sure about this?" Ichigo asked under his breath nervously.

"Go ahead," Yoruichi told him, "We'll be fine," she gave his left shoulder a squeeze before stepping back, and Ichigo stared at the group until they were all safely ensconced behind several layers of shielding, leaving only the two of them outside. Ichigo could no longer put it off.

He turned back around and pointed his wand at the target.

Zangetsu, protect my wand, will you?

:Of course.:

:We both will, King.:

Ichigo took a deep breath, a bit unnerved by Hichigo's sudden willingness to help.

"Well, here goes nothing," he muttered to himself, "Hado 88, Hiryugekizokushintenraiho!"

The force of the blast was more intense than anything Ichigo had so far produced, so powerful it threw him backwards, and this time he did not have Renji or Komamura to brace or catch him. The force of the blast was so powerful, he found himself flying through the air as if Kenpachi had hit him with all of his strength; he felt his back impact something which only slowed his flight briefly before it cracked under the pressure and he continued his trajectory until he landed on – someone or someones. His vision dimmed and went black.

The moment Ichigo was blasted backwards, Yoruichi cursed and immediately had started to drop the shields, but not quickly enough; Byakuya had also started to mutter under his breath as well as he also raised his hand to lower the shielding, but not in time before Ichigo crashed into them with all of the force of Soifon's Bankai.

A moment later he was through, they were both reaching out to stop his momentum, the words of a Kido spell on Byakuya's lips when the ground rumbled, shook and bucked as the spell's impact reached them. Instead of catching him, all three went down in a tumbled, uncoordinated heap.

When the explosion started and Rukia and Momo got their first glimpse of it, they automatically turned and grabbed hold of each other.

"Oh. My. God," Momo whispered as she clung tightly to Rukia, who stared at the burgeoning mushroom cloud dumbfounded.

Only Ichigo, she thought, could cause a nuclear explosion… And when the ground heaved underneath them, they, like Yoruichi and Byakuya, ended up in a pile – with Toshiro – on the ground.

Toshiro was staring at the now – roiling explosion, his face as white as his hair and his teal eyes wide with shock.

Ichigo groaned and struggled to sit up.

"Well, that certainly exceeded my expectations," he heard Captain Kido say with some satisfaction. Ichigo blinked and looked around shakily, his ears ringing, vision blurry, and his head pounding, before he was able to focus on the blast, which still had not dissipated. He froze when he spotted it, and stared at something he thought he would never see outside of documentaries on television.

A mushroom cloud.

A fairly large mushroom cloud.

In the Soul Society.

"Did…I…do that?" he asked shakily as someone pulled him to his feet.

"You most certainly did," Yamamoto said with a great deal of satisfaction.

Yoruichi looked over at him, as did the others; he appeared to be quite satisfied, much like a cat who'd been locked in an aviary overnight and had indulged itself. The Kido Captain could barely contain his glee, and as always, there was no telling what Unohana was thinking. Byakuya on the other hand – he looked quite shaken and ill, and his gray eyes kept darting to look at Ichigo uneasily.

Oh, she thought, this is priceless! Bya-bo really is afraid of Ichigo now! She could not wait to exploit this in her favorite pupil's favor, and immediately began plotting, even as she helped that same student to his feet and steadied him as he regained his balance.

She felt the brush of air as Byakuya flash stepped away and disappeared, leaving the grounds quickly, and stifled a laugh even as Rukia called a puzzled "Nii-sama?" after him.

"Leave him be, Rukia," Yoruichi said to her, a smug, satisfied grin stretching across her face as she guided an unsteady Ichigo towards the exit. "He's just had a shock to his senses."

"But…"

"You have someone else to worry about."

Rukia turned immediately to her boyfriend, who was staring at his wand as if he'd never seen it before.

"Broken windows," he muttered.

"What was that?" she asked him.

"I broke windows. Zangetsu's upset. He has to clean up."

"He's not making sense," Momo said, worriedly as she peered closely at him.

"Actually, yes he is," Rukia shook her head. Ichigo had once described his inner world to her. "He's talking about – well…" she glanced at Yoruichi, the only other person aware of what Ichigo's inner world looked like, who shrugged, "the spell damaged his inner world."

"It – did - what?" Toshiro's eyes widened.

Rukia nodded. "He described it to me once, so what he's saying makes sense – in that context."

"Head Captain?" The Tenth Squad Captain turned to look at Yamamoto, who still appeared to be somewhat smug.

"Not to be used every day, but something to be held in reserve," he was studying Ichigo closely. The young man had lost what little control he had on his Metamorph abilities, and his hair had started to change colors at an alarming rate.

"I suggest you take him somewhere to rest; he appears to be quite shaken," Unohana suggested to them. They all looked at Ichigo, who was still staring at his wand as if he'd never quite seen it before. His hair was now a bright neon green.

Toshiro nodded and took over care of Ichigo from Yoruichi, who for some reason had a smirk on her face, as if she had something planned...

Unohana looked over at Yamamoto. "You look too pleased with yourself," she said to him.

"Do I? I wasn't aware," he replied with a shrug.

"Try not to let your glee overrun your good sense," she said, almost sharply.

"I will keep that in mind – Retsu."

"See that you do," she answered sternly with a dark frown, before following the others out, succeeding in having the last word.


Hado 88: Hiryugekizokushintenraiho (Flying Dragon-Striking Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon) — Fires a gigantic electricity blast of spiritual energy resulting in a truly enormous explosion. Its full strength is however unknown since Aizen used Splitting Void (Bakudo 81: Danku) before it could hit him. Incantation is unknown.