It took longer than I thought it would, but at long last the Xcution enter the story in this chapter. Chapter went longer than I wanted it to be, but wanted Ichigo to meet all of the members in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach in any way or form.

What was he doing out here? He asked himself that for what felt like the hundredth time. Night had long consumed the last vestiges of the day. Most of the clouds had disappeared along with the day, leaving only a few stragglers in the skies with a crescent moon for company. The streets were scarcely populated and all the activity happening mere hours ago had crawled to a near stop. Ichigo was the only one out on the block as far as the eye could see. In the time he was there he saw no more than three people pass him on their way home.

Home was a place he should have been at this hour. He had missed dinner that was for sure. His stomach was more than happy to express its displeasure with his decision in a loud revolt, reminding Ichigo that he hadn't had a proper meal since lunch, which had been almost ten hours ago. Hunger nibbled away at his strength to the point where he felt light headed. To stave off a headache threatening to come and needing to have his wits about him he found himself in such desperate straits that he did the unthinkable and ate the special snacks Orihime usually made for him for their lunch together. God help him if he not only devoured every last bit of her customized rice balls mixed with soy sauce and mustard, but found it tasty. Hunger was said to have been the greatest seasoning and Ichigo thought that was the case here. He thought, or wanted to think, he wouldn't have found soy sauce and mustard covered rice balls so delicious if he hadn't been starving.

He had no one to blame except for himself. After he followed a series of absurd and unnecessary instructions from the operator, Ichigo got hold of Ginjo in person. The whole thing was a real pain in his ass, but Ginjo insisted that it was necessary, although he could hear the amusement in the man's voice. Seeing no benefit in starting an argument, the ex-substitute ignored it and set a meeting with the man. Ginjo originally wanted to meet tomorrow night, but he couldn't wait that long. He was too anxious to wait any longer. He waited too damn long as it was and he was paying the price. If Urahara was up to something he knew he needed to obtain answers as fast as he could if he even wanted a prayer of stopping it. Ichigo proved to be as insistent as Ginjo was. He ended up agreeing to meet with Ichigo that very night, but said it would take time.

He didn't think twice about Ginjo's condition. They agreed to meet at Naruki City at 10 pm on the nose. He received the name of the area they were to meet at and he raced off to the neighboring city as soon as he hung up the phone. He had been too fast. By shooting to be punctual Ichigo had gotten to the meeting point a good twenty minutes before the agreed time. Keigo's place was in Naruki City. He played with the idea of going there to wait, especially when his hunger had been plaguing him, but there were just too many problems with that plan. First, if he went to Keigo's place he would need to explain why he was there. As much as he freaked out about Ishida's attack telling Keigo about everything with Urahara and Ginjo would probably cause him to have a full blown melt down.

Second, if Urahara was watching him then it stood to reason he would also be watching his friends. Keigo would keep what Ichigo told him a secret, but it would require him to act the way he would normally act. Any deviation in the slightest could tip his old mentor off. Keigo's place wasn't exactly a block over from where Ichigo was right now. It would take time to get there from here. By the time he got to Keigo's place he would have to turn right back around just to make it back on time. Ginjo stressed punctuality and Ichigo wasn't eager to test how serious he was about that rule. Ultimately he decided to wait on the corner for his mysterious informant. With all this waiting he had to put up with he hoped Ginjo's info was worth it.

There was always the question on whether or not Ginjo was trustworthy at all. He would have to be on guard just in case he pulled any funny business. Ichigo was still certain that whatever Ginjo wanted from him required him to be alive for it. Would that be enough to secure his safety? No matter how he looked at it he was still taking a big gamble.

"Yo." Ichigo could feel his body stiffening instantly. He silently cursed his body for betraying him and hoped that Ginjo hadn't noticed that change. "Five minutes early. You really were serious," the man merrily announced.

He was off by fifteen minutes, but there was no reason for Ginjo to know that. Ichigo put on mask of indifference and exasperation. "It's not five minutes, it's three." That wasn't bad. He sold that pretty well. Unless Ginjo had been there for a while he couldn't call his ruse, at least not based on Ichigo's face or voice.

The man's lips curved into a mild grin. Ichigo couldn't read if he was humoring him or if he genuinely found his remark humorous. Ginjo wouldn't be as easy to read as he might have hoped, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. "I was surprised to get your call so fast. It's only been a couple of days since I last met you. I was sure it would take you a lot longer to call me." He hadn't planned on ever using that card. He contemplated giving it to Urahara to study. How drastically things had changed in only two days' worth of time. The universe was teeming with surprises.

"Can I assume that the fact that you called me out here much earlier than I anticipated means that something major happened recently?" Ginjo ventured cautiously.

He wasn't the only one trying to read the situation. Ginjo was just as uncertain as Ichigo was or he made himself appear to be. "You could say something like that," Ichigo said, making sure to be as vague as he could. He had no intentions of playing his hand this early. Let Ginjo fish for answers. It would give Ichigo more to go off of.

"What do you want from me?" Ginjo asked point blank.

The former vizard wasn't sure if he should be happy for having the man cut to the chase or be disappointed that he wasn't playing coy in order for Ichigo to get a better gauge of him. Ginjo being straight point did give him something about his personality, even if it was tiny. "You told me that you would answer my questions if I called you. I'm putting that to the test now. Will you answer my questions?"

He witnessed the odd sense of admiration shade Ginjo's expression. Did he actually like the fact that Ichigo was questioning him? Shouldn't he be trying to make sure he didn't ask any questions if he wanted to pull something over him? "I meant what I said," the large man stated. "I will answer your questions."

Now it was time to test the waters. "Why should I believe anything you say?" He homed in right onto Ginjo, searching for any tick or telltale he might have.

"That is hard to answer wouldn't you say?" Ginjo asked rhetorically. "You were right when you said you knew even less about me than you do Urahara. It is hard to trust someone like that. I can't give you some long winded answer on why I'm trustworthy. In the end it is up to you to decide whether to trust me or not. All I can say is that I'm making an effort to win your trust by coming here when you called and agreeing to meet you here."

As far as answers went Ichigo had to begrudgingly admit that was a good one. Ginjo just basically told him he would have to decide for himself, but it was no less true. He might have been warier of the man had he given a more detailed response. He could use that response to his advantage. "If you are interested in my trust then you won't mind helping me out with a little problem."

The dark clothed man snorted loudly. "You are something else. Has anyone ever told you that?" he grumbled. One glance at Ichigo told him that the kid was being deadly serious. He would have to humor him if he wanted to get anywhere. "Can I at least ask you what I'm supposed to be helping you with?"

"One of my friends was attacked last night," Ichigo revealed. Ginjo made no reaction. "I want your help in getting answers."

"Getting answers? That means you don't know who attacked him or her." Of course he would word the question like that. He may have been playing the part of the Good Samaritan, but Ginjo wanted to obtain information from him that would benefit him as well. Knowing whether it was a he or she that was attack could alter his game plan. Ichigo wasn't going to make it that easy for him.

"Right," Ichigo replied.

The kid really wasn't going to give him much to work with. Every time they talked Ginjo was more surprised by how cautious Kurosaki Ichigo was. He respected that. If the kid was an idiot he would be useless for their purposes. Still he could be less of a smart ass. Perhaps it was time for him to be a bit of a smart ass himself. "What makes you think you can trust me to do this job or that I can even help you?"

He expected to see Ichigo get annoyed, but instead he remained composed. "The fact that you know who Urahara is and know about the shinigami tells me you aren't a normal human." The kid was already using his little comment about shinigami tales against him. He was intelligent. "If you aren't a normal human you might just be able to help me get answers. As for why I can trust you, I never said I would trust you. I just wanted you to help me get answers. Whether I believe what you find is true or not is a different matter altogether."

"That's pretty compelling reasoning," Ginjo praised him. Ichigo hadn't wanted it nor appreciated it. "If you are coming to me for answers instead of Urahara you must have a bit of faith in me."

He was testing him. "Don't misunderstand. I'm not coming to you because I trust you. Just because I have my doubts about Urahara-san does not mean I trust you. However, it doesn't mean that you can't help me either."

What a well thought out and constructed answer. He shouldn't have expected any less from Ichigo. He wondered if he realized that he let it slip that he was having doubts about Urahara. There was the possibility that little nugget was something Ichigo didn't care if he knew or not. "Using me to get answers then discerning if the information I obtain for you is truthful or not is what you are aiming for isn't it?"

The orange haired man's lips curved into a half smirk. "That sounds about right." This task would be perfect for telling him more about Ginjo. Ichigo knew the scar man was behind Ishida's attack. He hadn't seen the man with his own eyes, yet having this knowledge would be useful. It gave him some basis to test Ginjo on better than any info he might have procured about Urahara's plans. If he played this smart and felt him out more than Ginjo might unintentionally reveal more things about Urahara that could help him out later on down the line.

Ginjo smirked back at him. "Come with me." That sounded unappealing. Why should he go anywhere with this man? They already discussed how he didn't trust him. Moving to another location was the last thing Ichigo wanted to do. Ginjo sensed his reluctance. The cool dark brown eyes probed him trying to peel back the layers that made him up. "It's not anywhere far. It's over there." He pointed to the rundown and old apartment buildings behind him. "I know you don't trust me, but it is easier for both of us this way."

It could be a trap. He mentioned that he needed to get things ready before their meeting. Ginjo could have been talking about setting things up in that apartment to trap him. Would he go to such lengths though? If he wanted to trap him, couldn't he have asked for an even more secluded place to begin with? 'You didn't come all this way to play it safe,' he told himself. This was a gamble. If he wanted a big payoff he would have to take big risks. With a heavy heart Ichigo followed him.

Ichigo remained alert. Ginjo led him into the elevator. He was amazed it worked with how raggedy this apartment building was. They rode in silence all the way up. So far nothing out of the ordinary happened. The elevator was just what it seemed. When they got to the floor they wanted Ginjo turned around to face him. "We're here. Do you have the card I gave you on you?"

"Yes," Ichigo replied.

"Good. This way we can activate it so you can come here on your own."

He wanted to ask the ramen lover what he was talking about, but Ginjo departed as soon as the doors opened. Ichigo was forced to follow. They were standing before a door with an electronic lock which had a card reader along with several buttons. 'What the hell,' the ex-substitute thought.

"Just slip your card in here and I'll tell you the code to type in."

Ichigo's face fell. "Give me a break. I have to do more complicated cloak and dagger stuff? You really like to do unnecessary things," he complained.

Annoyance found its way to Ginjo's face at last. "Quit complaining. I already told you it would be a pain in my ass if I didn't do this. Besides, once you put the code in the lock will remember your card and you can just slip it in later."

Just like he thought he had to type in an overly long and damn annoying code. The light went from red to green. Ginjo said it was a good thing. He opened the door, but let Ginjo go first just in case. The man didn't protest, which he took as a good sign that this wasn't a trap. His eyes bulged out of their sockets as soon as they beheld what was inside. Contrasting the exterior of the rundown apartment building was a luxurious and spacious room.

The first thing to jump at him was the full sized bar off to the side of the room. To his amazement it didn't take up a large chunk of the room itself. They went all out. There were chairs for people to sit at, a number of drinks resting on one side of the counter. To complete the picture there was even a bartender cleaning a glass just like in almost every old movie Ichigo had seen with a bartender in it. It was an accurate comparison for the man came right out of old films.

He was adorned as a proper gentleman with a dark waist coat worn over a white long sleeved shirt and a black bow tie. He was an older man judging by wrinkles on his face, but he was far from an old man, perhaps he was at the end of his middle aged years. There wasn't a gray hair in sight. He retained the jet black locks and like the rest of his appearance it was just as proper, short and neat. On the middle of his face was a thick mustache. The bartender looked perfectly average except for dark leather strap he wore over his right eye. Briefly he was reminded of Kenpachi's eyepatch. Surely a simple eyepatch would have worked better and been simpler. The bartender's good eye went over to where he and Ginjo were. If he found Ichigo's presence out of place he didn't show it.

The man was entirely dispassionate. He carried on with his own business, finishing up the glass he was working on when they came in and moved on to another one. The whole scene was tedious to Ichigo, so he decided to check out the rest of the room. A scan revealed that the bartender was not the only one present in the room. A table adjacent to the bar had a young man, younger than Ichigo, but a bit older than Karin and Yuzu, sitting on top of it. His head was buried in a video game. Unlike the bartender, his eyes hadn't left the screen to assess the newcomers. The boy served as a foil for the bartender. Where the bartender was old the boy was young. The boy had spiky and wild almost tousled hair. It covered the left part of his face, hiding one of his eyes. For the difference they shared the two had some things in common.

The boy's attire was different yet still proper compared to the bartender. He wore all black, with a cap, coat, and pants, and boots. There was a white cravat in place of a tie, which tied the whole outfit together, giving him a timeless look, and a pair of white gloves. The boy was as detached as the man at the bar was. Ichigo couldn't tell if this was because he was just that into the game he was playing or if he was trying to be too cool as people his age liked to be. "This better be worth it, Kugo," the boy remarked.

"Calling this emergency meeting at this time of night is unreasonable, even for you," he continued. He never looked up from the game once.

"Give it a rest already," Ginjo groaned. "I already told you this was important. It can't be helped you know."

The boy was hardly impressed or satisfied by Ginjo. "This couldn't have waited until tomorrow? It's unbecoming for us to be going out our way for someone who is not even a member yet. Giving him special treatment now is only going to set up bad habits in the future."

"Noted," Ginjo said with a hint of frustration. "Considering he doesn't trust us it would benefit us to work with him and not against."

Getting sick of being talked about while he was still there Ichigo continued his scan of the room. Everything was furnished well. There was a lounging area with couches, a living room chairs, a coffee table in the middle of it, and a big flat screen T.V. hanging on the wall. There was a pool table at the other end of the room, opposite of the bar. Just like the bar it was a complete set with a rack for the pool sticks to rest in. That might not have been all of it. He spied doors on either side of the room that led to god knew where. The place looked more like a high end club than an apartment.

One of doors opened and produced a woman. She was a tall lean woman. There wasn't even an ounce of fat on her, even her cheeks were flat. She was dark skinned, had short dark hair that reached the length of her chin, and had vibrant brown-chocolate colored eyes, and full lips. She was good looking, some might even say exotic. She wore white trousers that clung to her long legs, showing them off even though they were covered. Her shirt was dark brown, low cut, exposing a fair amount of cleavage without being overdone, and long sleeved. It hugged her curves making it obvious that this woman didn't give one wit about showing too much of her body. At the same time she wasn't crying for attention with her clothing either. She simply didn't care from what he could tell. Unlike the other two she looked at him and smiled. It was one of those friendly welcoming smiles people gave to be polite or to at least acknowledge another person.

The woman went to the lounging area and flopped down on a couch. She was relaxed and unburdened. Compared to her associates she was chipper. This strange ensemble of people seemed to both fit in this setting yet stuck out like sore thumbs. Ichigo couldn't see these people interacting with each other out in the world. Who were they? Did they all really gather together for him like the boy implied? Was this an actual club of sorts? Until he knew more about these people it was best he stayed near the door, just in case he needed a quick escape.

"Everyone's still not here," Ginjo stated. He looked over the room, searching for the remaining members. "Jeez, where the hell is Riruka? Don't tell me she thought she was too good to come to this emergency meeting of ours." He wouldn't put it past her. She could be such a stuck up bitch when she wanted to be. God forbid she actually be a team player for once and listen to him.

"I am afraid she is still out on assignment," the bartender spoke up. His voice was soft, not quite befitting his appearance.

Ginjo scowled. "She's still not back yet? There is no way it should've taken her this long." It wouldn't if she was doing her job and not fooling around shopping for "cute" things. He was regretting agreeing to let her go out so far away from them. Give her an inch and she takes a whole mile.

"You were the one who let her go out with our newest member," the boy retorted. Ginjo's scowl worsened. He turned it on the boy. Ichigo thought it was useless since the boy's nose was still buried in his game.

The bartender interjected, "When I spoke with her she said that both of them were close by. They should be here for the meeting."

That erased the scowl from Ginjo's face instantly. "That's good. I was starting to get worried. I didn't think this assignment would take him this long. Riruka didn't say anything was wrong with either of them did she?" The bartender shook his head, confirming that this Riruka and some other guy were fine.

"Did they at least complete the assignment?" the boy asked.

Ginjo sighed. "Do you have to be so cold hearted?" he asked the boy. "At least pretend like you care about their wellbeing more than money."

"Giriko already said they were fine. It is redundant for me to ask the same thing you asked," the boy reasoned. "We need money to stay afloat. I'm the one who watches our budget and keeps track of our funds. Since we moved out here we haven't gotten a big bounty."

Ginjo threw the boy another annoyed look. "We're hardly in need of money."

"Remodeling and refurnishing all of this wasn't cheap you know," the boy snapped. "Don't become complacent just because I'm contributing to the funds until we get on our feet."

"For a rich guy you sure are stingy," Ginjo muttered under his breath. Unfortunately the boy heard him.

"The rest of you can't keep sponging off of me forever. You better start kicking in your fair share and start getting us some bounties. It's been forever since you or Jackie went out into the field. If the new member actually bagged someone like Big Gamma it would go a long way in replenishing our funds."

Bounties, funds, what the hell was going on? All of this was going over Ichigo's head. He didn't care to learn about any of this either. It had nothing do with him in the first place. "What's going on?" he asked Ginjo. "Why did we come here?"

Realizing, or remembering, that Ichigo was there Ginjo turned back to him. He bestowed an apologetic expression. "An explanation is in order. I was hoping that everyone would be here, but it can't be helped." He invited Ichigo to sit in the lounging area, but Ichigo declined. The orange haired man gave him a look that demanded he be told everything or else he was gone. The last thing they needed was for Ichigo to leave. "Let me start with introductions. The guy at the bar is Kutsuzawa Giriko."

The bartender acknowledged Ichigo with a simple nod. "The smartass sitting over there is Yukio Hans Vorarlberna," he introduced the boy playing the game. "He is our wealthiest and stingiest member." He couldn't resist getting one dig at the boy. It failed to get a raise out of Yukio. The boy ignored him completely and focused on whatever game he was playing. At times he could be just as annoying as Riruka, but thankfully he was infinitely more mature than her.

"She is Jackie Tristen." He pointed out the woman sitting on the couch.

Jackie smiled at Ichigo once more. "Hey," she greeted. "I see Ginjo hasn't explained anything to you yet. He always has to do the cloak and dagger stuff even though it's a pain in the ass." Her words caused two reactions. Ginjo furrowed his brow at her, while Ichigo smirked. She was probably the one he liked the most out of this odd band. One likeminded statement aside, he wasn't going to trust any of these people. He was tired of standing around not knowing what the hell was going on.

"I'm betting you all know who I am." Ginjo had enough sense to cough up to that. The ex-substitute kept his sights on the ramen loving man. "I'll ask again. Why are we here?" He took in the whole room, looking over each person, carefully. "You're talking about members and funds, so is this some kind of club? What's your interest in me? Just who the hell all are you people?" His tone made it clear that he would accept nothing less than a straightforward answer.

Ginjo became sheepish. Ichigo was only made more uneasy. "Well, all of those are some long answers. You might want to sit down, maybe have a drink."

"Quit stalling," Ichigo demanded. "Either you start giving me some answers or I walk out right now." He hoped that Ginjo didn't call his bluff. Ichigo still needed answers to his questions, but if he threatened to leave them he might maintain some control over the situation. He couldn't let these people know just how desperate he was.

Ginjo frowned at him, but Ichigo kept up a wall of impassiveness. The older man caved in and let out a huge sigh. "Do you have to be so untrustworthy about every little thing?" The question wasn't really for Ichigo. "I'm not trying to stall."

"You can't blame him," Jackie added. "He doesn't know a single thing about us and yet we seem to know who he is. If he wasn't this cautious he would be a fool." The fact that he refused to leave that door hadn't gone unnoticed by her. If Ginjo stopped trying to be hospitable and just offered answers it would go a long way in winning over some of the Kurosaki kid's trust. The reason for this meeting was to have all the members here to meet with him and give him some peace of mind that they weren't up to something.

"Jackie-san has a point," Giriko said. He was making a drink. "It would do better to just explain to Ichigo-san who we are first." He finished the drink and came from around the bar to give it to Ginjo. Giriko returned to his place at the bar without saying another word.

"Looks like I'm out numbered here," Ginjo said to himself. "I guess I should start with the basics. You weren't wrong when you asked if this was a club. In a lot of ways our organization works as a club of sorts."

"Your organization," Ichigo repeated, not bothering to conceal his skepticism.

Ginjo found Ichigo's reaction humorous. The kid was amusing if nothing else. "The name of our organization is on the card I gave you. Did you happen to read it?"

That was a stupid question. He had time to look over that card. While he found no clues he had seen what was written on it. He saw those letters so often that even his horrid memory couldn't forget what it spelled out. The operator had told him the name anyway. Never the less he humored Ginjo. "Xcution."

"That's right. Welcome to Xcution, Ichigo."

"I'm overwhelmed," he said mockingly.

"The Xcution is a group made up of special people. You could say I'm sort of like its chairmen. I call the meetings and lead discussions on our future endeavors and actions we take." Great he was a long winded. This was going to take forever. Ginjo did warn him this would take a while. "As you can guess we're an exclusive club, but all of our members are human." Now he was getting somewhere. These people were humans. For the first time since meeting Ginjo it was one thing that Ichigo felt confident that he could believe. They were all too familiar with how things ran in Human World to have been shinigami that was for sure. Rukia had no clue about anything here when she stayed with him at the clinic.

"You were right when you said I wasn't a normal human. None of us are normal humans." Ginjo stirred the drink in his hand. The way his chocolate eyes lit up, the drink could have been the most important thing in the world. Reflexively Ichigo studied the glass. He saw nothing out of the ordinary with either the glass or its contents. "Each and every one of us has a special ability that we were born with."

'Special ability,' thought Ichigo. The first thing that came to mind was that they possessed the ability to see spirits. It was a mundane spiritual power, but among humans it was extremely rare. He could see a group of people creating an organization around that, but if that was the case he couldn't see these people being terribly useful in helping him uncover Urahara's plans or learning about the scar man.

"It'll be quicker if I show you," Ginjo declared. He hadn't realized it, but he eliminated Ichigo's first thought about them. If he could show this special ability then it couldn't merely be seeing spirits. It wasn't an ability a person could easily show another person who was not blessed with spiritual awareness.

Attention was drawn to the drink again as Ginjo held it out for all to see. He raised a questioning eyebrow. He failed to see how this had anything to do with a demonstration. The ex-substitute was starting to lose his patience. That was when the magic happened, so to speak. Light emitted itself from within the glass. No, he was wrong. It wasn't the glass, but the liquid within it. A bubbling sensation of wonderment swirled together with prickling confusion. He wasn't prepared for what he saw next.

Without warning the liquid rose while the glass was being held steady. Soon it left the glass entirely, twisting and turning on its way out. Ichigo could only observe the impossible. The liquid traveled into Ginjo's waiting mouth. In the blink of the eye the glass was empty and the liquid consumed. Ichigo was no stranger to parlor tricks. Being a friend to Keigo had required him to endure whatever silly little form of amusement he could think of. What he just saw now was different. It was stupid to think what he saw was real and maybe he should have been studying the glass or even the bartender more for any oddities, but he was a man who trusted his instinct above all else. His instinct told him that what he saw was more than a parlor trick, much more.

"What you just saw me do was pull at the soul of the alcohol that was within the glass. I pulled on it and made it help me swallow it up." Ginjo's explanation hadn't lifted the fog of confusion. If anything it made it worse. How could alcohol have a soul? How could pulling on it make it jump from the glass into his mouth? That was absurd. Then again there was a time when he thought a midget of a girl's tale of being a shinigami was absurd as well. Just because he didn't understand it didn't mean it wasn't real. Rukia entering his life had taught him that much.

Ginjo recognized Ichigo's confusion. He had seen it before when he had to explain to prospective new members their abilities. He knew what to expect and how to best explain things in a way that they could comprehend. "Our ability allows us to pull on souls that reside in matter." He was impressed. Usually people made an outburst by this point. Ichigo just stood there and processed it all. He was no less confused, but he was working out what Ginjo said as best he could. If he had any doubts Ichigo wasn't the right person they would have all been expelled right there. "I know that sounds confusing. When most people think of souls they think of people or sometimes animals. The truth is everything in this world possesses a soul, not just living things. Grass, tress, this glass, your cellphone, all of it has a soul. The mass of a soul varies. People and animals have more complex and massive souls compared to the soul in my glass or your phone of course."

"My point is that even tools you haven't given a second thought to possess a soul. When we use those tools over and over again we start to become familiar with that tool's soul. In other words when people say things like I hit better with my own bat or I run faster in my own shoes, it is not complete bullshit." He thought that would earn him a small smile, but Ichigo was as grim faced as ever. Didn't this kid ever lighten up? "When people become familiar with the souls of the tools those souls react to them and help them out a bit. They raise their user's ability a little more. The increase is so small it is negligible for most people. However, a smaller percent of people have the ability to pull on souls further to make them help us out. Things like making a drink get into my mouth without moving the glass becomes possible."

He paused to give their visitor time to process. Ginjo examined him closely. Ichigo seemed to understand what he was saying to some extent. The kid wouldn't be able to write any essays on the concept, but he absorbing the key points well enough. "The more we pull on the soul of an object the more we can manipulate and boost the object to help us. We can make it into a power greater than it was originally designed for."

"Like what?" Ichigo questioned.

"For example I could pull on the soul of asphalt in the street to increase its elasticity to help me jump higher or pull on the soul of a body of water to increase its solidity to stand on it. The more familiar we are with an object or tool the more we can manipulate and boost its capabilities to the point of changing its physical form to grant us new abilities." He freed the cross shaped pendant on his necklace. "Watch this," Ginjo told him.

Ichigo watched him. The otherworldly light emerged from the pendant. It grew large rapidly. Its shape was changing to take on a familiar form, one he hadn't seen in a long time. The pendant was gone and in its place stood an enormous sword. It might have been as tall as Ginjo was. It was large enough for him to use with both his hands if he needed to. Given his large stature Ichigo thought he might be able to use it with one hand if he wanted to. What struck him was that he could see it. He could see this sword. He could see Ginjo pull the alcohol. He shouldn't be able to see any of this. Without spiritual awareness seeing spiritual powers was impossible. He couldn't feel the familiar warmth of reiatsu flowing through his body. "Wha….How can I see any of this? Are these abilities not spiritual?"

"Of course they are spiritual abilities." He almost sounded offended Ichigo would even ask him that. "It takes spiritual power to pull on the soul you know. The reason you can see my sword is because it was created from a physical object composed of atoms instead of reishi. Unlike the quincies that use a physical object to draw reishi to create weapons we use our spiritual powers to alter the physical object itself. Reishi is invisible to people without spiritual awareness, while objects made of atoms here in our world can be seen by anyone."

That made sense. If he compared that to shinigami and hollows he could see the clear difference. They each used their own innate spiritual powers to generate their abilities in their spiritual bodies, causing only a select few to see them at all. "This ability is called Fullbring," Ginjo said proudly.

"That was a real roundabout way to explain things to him," Yukio chimed in.

"Shut up," Ginjo moaned. "If you thought you could explain things better you could have jumped in."

"Getting prospective members up to speed is your duty," Yukio said.

Ginjo was about to hurl back his counter when Giriko cleared his throat and interrupted him before he could speak. "Ginjo-san, please be more mindful in the future when you demonstrate your Fullbring so as not to cause any needless damages." The sword embedded itself into the floor when it came into existence. The flawless marble had been defiled by the large gaping hole that led to the room below. Once Ginjo was alerted to the damages he recoiled in shame. The sword dematerialized and reverted back to its original form. "The damages to the floor will be billed to you I am afraid."

"Of course it will," Ginjo said, unable to keep the irritation out of his voice. The bartender paid him no mind and started writing something that Ginjo suspected was the bill he was getting. Kutsuzawa needed to get his priorities checked. He could get a bill any time after tonight. The old man was such a stickler for the rules sometimes, but this was sad. He wasn't an idiot. He knew Kutsuzawa was only doing this to prevent an argument from breaking out between him and Yukio. He could have come up with another way that didn't involve him sticking Ginjo with a bill.

Giriko finished writing out the bill. He would give it to Ginjo later after their guest left. It would be in bad taste to do otherwise. He also realized that it was bad taste to not offer a guest any refreshments. Giriko had to rectify his folly. "Ichigo-san, would you like a drink? It would be non-alcoholic of course since you are underage."

Ichigo declined the offer. He was bothered by the bartender's mentioning his age. It might have been an innocent comment, but it was a reminder about how much these people knew about him and how little he knew about them. For every new thing he learned about them there was still much more he didn't know. That was assuming everything they told him was true. Their power was real that was for sure, but everything else was still up in the air. The way they referred to him as prospective member struck a chord. Why on the earth would they want him to join? What could he offer them that they were giving him this whole song and dance for?

If he could learn that he could gain some leverage on them. With their abilities leverage could very well be the only thing standing between him and an early grave. "Wha…" The door burst open from behind him. Startled by the unexpected sound Ichigo spun around before the door could fully open. His hands balled into fists as he entered into a battle ready stance. He was face to face with a woman with pigtails and an ugly expression of absolute loathing. Like him she had oddly colored hair, except hers was magenta instead of orange.

She jumped backward at the sight of him. Fear marred her expression, but only for a second. She recovered quickly and mustered the best glare she could, he imagined it was only a fraction of the animosity she could normally gather. "Who the hell is this?" she cried.

Ichigo should have been the one to ask that. The girl looked him up and down, unsure and disgusted. He couldn't care less about what she thought of him. Ichigo was put off by how rude she was. It reminded him a bit of Tatsuki, but she knew him. Her actions were born from years of friendship, while this woman had just met him. "Riruka," Ginjo half greeted, half reprimanded.

This was the Riruka he was talking about before. She was the one out on assignment. "What?" Riruka barked. The way she turned up her nose a person might have thought she was the one offended. This woman had a bad attitude. "You called this stupid emergency meeting, demand I show up, even though I was already doing you a favor, and what do I get for all my trouble?" Ichigo heard Ginjo give an agonizing groan. He thought the Yukio boy annoyed him, but this Riruka had a talent for getting under his skin. "I get scared half to death by whoever the hell this guy is! Why the hell are you bringing some random guy to our hideout when this is supposed to be a meeting?"

"Will you just shut up for a minute?" Ginjo whined.

Riruka did not take all too kindly to that. If the girl was offended before, now she was outraged. "How dare you tell me to shut up? You aren't the boss of me you know! I don't have to listen to you! To think after I brought such a big bounty for us and you treat me like this!"

"She can be a handful at times," Ginjo told Ichigo. Ichigo wasn't listening. A huge jolt ran through his body. His blood ran ice cold. Behind Riruka was a giant of a man he would recognize from anywhere. A man he hadn't seen in over a week. After all the worry, all the fear, and speculating, here Chad was, staring him right in the face. Ichigo couldn't even fathom what the hell was going on.

"Ichigo?" a surprised Sado called. "What are you doing here?"

What was he doing there? What was Chad doing there? How the hell could he ask him that as if all the phone calls and visits their friends made never happened? He shut them all out for over a week and he had to nerve to ask Ichigo why he was there. Anger simmered inside of the ex-substitute. "Where the hell have you been?" he almost hollered.

Chad cast a dark glance at Ginjo, missing or overlooking Ichigo entirely. "I told you not talk to him yet! You promised me that you wouldn't talk to him without telling me first!"

"We couldn't wait for you to stop dragging your feet. This is important to all of us Chad."

Sado continued to glare. "Ginjo," he growled.

Ichigo erupted. All he could see was red as rage flowed through his veins. "You know who these guys are!" Chad peeled his eyes away from Ginjo. "Do you know what's been going on? None of us have seen you in over a week. You won't return any of our calls. We visited your place. Everyone was getting worried about you. Shit! Keigo thought you might have been attacked by someone!" Shame laced the giant's gaze. The first thing that came to Ichigo's mind was how good it was to see it in Chad. He should feel ashamed. He was in league with the Xcution and told none of them about it.

He was their new member. He was out there doing assignments for them while all of them were worried sick about him. How many people were keeping secrets from him? Urahara, Ikumi, his father, Ishida, and now even Chad was keeping him in the dark. Just who could he trust at this point? Was Chad the reason the Xcution knew so much about him? "Were you planning to take me to these guys? Were you even going to tell me about them?" He couldn't control the volume of his voice. He was hollering, but couldn't stop it. Ichigo wasn't sure he wanted to stop. "Chad, were you going to sell me out!?"

"It's not like that," Sado defended.

"What is it like then?!" Ichigo demanded. A hand touched his shoulder. The ex-substitute shoved it off him before bearing his teeth, making him look more like a rabid dog. Ginjo kept his cool.

"Calm down," he implored Ichigo.

The rage refused to loosen its hold on him. Ichigo directed it at the other man. "Why is Chad here? Did you use him to get to me? Is this some kind of trap?" Ginjo remained silent. He tried to appease Ichigo with a sympathetic look. It failed. "Stop fucking with me! What are you after!? Why are you interested in me!?"

"We're not your enemies, Ichigo." He was so sick of hearing him talking around his questions. He was so sick of everyone knowing everything and leaving him out of the loop. "In fact our goals intersect with each other."

"Stop avoiding my questions!" Ichigo screamed back. He refused to be patronized any longer. He deserved to know what was going on around him and he was going to find out no matter what, even if that meant he had to force Ginjo to spill everything to him.

"Let me talk to him," Sado suddenly said. "It would be better if he heard answers from me. Let us talk outside for a bit."

"You're excluding us," Riruka accused.

Sado dismissed her accusation diplomatically. "I owe Ichigo an explanation. Frankly, I think you owe it to me since you went against my wishes." The words were not cruel or spilled with hate, but the unmistakable implications of betrayal were strong.

Ginjo conceded at once. "We'll do things your way then."

Initially Ichigo wanted to protest and get answers now, but realized that he would be alone with Chad away from the rest of these people. They could talk freely there. Despite all the anger he had at Chad for keeping this secret, Ichigo still had more faith in him than he did Ginjo and his club members. Chad had Ginjo's trust or enough of it that he could lead them outside without one of the other members tagging along.

It took a considerable amount of willpower for him not to bombard Chad with questions in the elevator. Ichigo was proud of himself for not saying anything until they set foot outside. "What's going on here, Chad? I don't understand why you've been keeping us in the dark about these guys."

"I didn't want you to find out like this." It was all Ichigo could do not to scream again. That was about the worse thing to say to someone in this kind of situation. Chad caught on and became remorseful. "I'm sorry. I wanted to keep you away from the Xcution until I was confident they were on the level."

"Are they?" Ichigo inquired.

"I can't say for sure. From the time I spent with them I can tell they are holding some things back from me, but at the same time I can understand their need for secrecy."

"How much time have you spent with them?" Ichigo surprised himself by how eager he was to hear this reply.

Guilt's claws sunk themselves into Chad. He wasn't going to like this. "Six weeks."

"Six weeks," Ichigo repeated. Chad kept this from him for that long. He had only been missing for a week. All the times they had hung out, all the times they ate lunch together, hell all the times he was over at his house in that time and his best friend hadn't said one word about this. He wasn't sure if he was more angry or hurt. Why was he so surprised? He did the same thing when the Privaron Espada invaded last year. They all kept that from him. "Do Ishida and Inoue know?" Were they all lying to him again?

"No." Chad kept secrets from him, but hearing that Orihime wasn't was the best news he heard in the last two days. After learning that so many people he loved and trusted had been keeping all these things from him, he was fighting not to be crushed by the weight of it all. He feared that he couldn't trust anyone anymore, but just as things looked their darkest his Hime provided a small ray of light. It was enough to know he had one person he could trust without a shadow of a doubt.

"I met Ginjo one day after I got done studying with Keigo. A hollow appeared. I went to confront it, but ran into Ginjo instead. He pulled a sword out of nowhere and killed it. He knew about us. He was looking for one of us." He could scratch the idea off that Chad told them about him much to his joy. "He told me about Xcution and what they were about. He took me to meet the others and they asked me to join."

"Why? I mean why did they ask you specifically to join?"

"I think they were interested in me joining them from the start. After you, I think they wanted me the most."

"But why?" he interrupted.

"My power is the same as theirs."

Fullbring, Chad's power was Fullbring? He had never seen Chad demonstrate anything similar to what Ginjo preformed. His arms transformed, but that couldn't be the same thing that Ginjo did with his pendant could it? "How can you be sure?"

"I was skeptical at first too, but it did explain some things I noticed about my powers. I tried to do some of the things Ginjo described on my own to confirm if he was right. I was able to do what he could do, but even before that I knew he was telling the truth about our powers. This probably sounds weird to you, but from the moment I met him I got a weird feeling."

Strangely enough that made sense to Ichigo. Instinct was something Ichigo understood all too well. Often times it wasn't logical or even reasonable, but that didn't mean it should be dismissed. How many battles had he won because he followed his gut?

"I've noticed how my powers were different from yours or Ishida's. When we went to Hueco Mundo for the first time my power resonated there and my arms went through an evolution. That's when I learned that my powers were closer to a hollow's."

"Hollow's!" exclaimed Ichigo. Chad's powers were hollow based! He never suspected or even heard about this. He was aware that Chad's powers were different from a shinigami's or a quincy's, but he never made the connection to a hollow. Of course Chad made this discovery in Hueco Mundo. But with all the battles they had to fight to save Orihime they didn't exactly have time to exchange notes. After the war he hadn't been eager to talk about what happened.

"Did Ginjo tell you how Fullbringers gain their powers yet?"

"No." He was curious how that little tidbit was going to add to the conversation.

"According to Ginjo and the others, every Fullbringer has at least one parent who was attacked by a hollow. That means that each one of them had a parent who was wounded by a hollow, but survived the attack. The wounds they suffered were infected by hollow reiatsu and remained in their bodies. When they had children the infected reiatsu was passed on to them and became a part of them."

"They become part hollow," Ichigo added. Memories of his inner hollow flashed before his eyes. The wicked smirk and feral eyes would forever be burned into his brain. The times he took control of his body were a nightmare come to life. The first time he could only watch as he butchered Byakuya with murderous glee. The second time he couldn't even remember what happened, but he did see the aftermath. Ulquiorra's body destroyed and his sword coming out of Ishida's stomach were devastating sights to behold. If he hadn't been knocked out of it sooner there was the possibility that he could have destroyed Ishida.

As terrifying as losing control of his body and soul were, Ichigo had to admit he benefited greatly from his hollow powers. All this time he thought he was the only human to possess those powers. He had a kindred spirit in Chad and he hadn't even known it. "Fullbringers have hollow powers. That's how you knew Ginjo was telling the truth."

"Part of my motivation for joining the Xcution was to learn more about my powers," Sado revealed. "I was happy. You had Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san to teach you how to use your shinigami powers and then later the vizards to control your hollow powers. Ishida had his grandfather and father to teach him. Even Inoue got help from Hachi-san in figuring out her powers more. I was happy to have someone to teach me. If nothing else, I thought I could learn more about my powers and unlock something new to get stronger." He hadn't let up on his training even when the Privaron Espada fell. They managed to defeat Silva on their own without Ichigo, but she did prove just how unexpected powerful enemies could appear out of nowhere. There was a lot of room for him to improve in.

"I get that." He really did. Chad had training partners, but in terms of figuring out how his powers worked he had to do it on his own. Xcution could have been to Chad what Hirako and the vizards were to him.

"I also wanted to keep all of you safe. By joining the Xcution I could keep an eye on them and make sure they didn't do any of you harm. I told Ginjo not to approach you and wait for me to tell you about them. I wanted to make sure they were who they said they were before I introduced you to them. It looks like I was out on assignment this week Ginjo decided to act without me."

"I don't get why you couldn't tell any of us about them though? We could have been prepared just in case things went south or you needed to get out of there."

"Urahara-san thought it would be better not to say anything."

Ichigo felt his heart stop. "Urahara-san told you not to tell us?"

"Yes. After I met Ginjo for the first time I went to Urahara-san. We came up with the plan for me to watch them from the inside. I told him about their interest in you. He thought it would be better to not tell you, so we didn't tip them off."

Urahara knew. He knew about the Xcution for six weeks and kept them all in the dark about it. He had Chad watching them because they were interested in him. That was why he had Ikumi watching him. Damn that man! First he had Ikumi watching over him and now he was using Chad to make sure he had someone within the Xcution. What was he trying to do? Was this some kind of war between Urahara and the Xcution? Were they all caught in the middle? Which side was the one they should be on? "Ichigo." The concern in Chad's voice was dripping.

"Has Urahara-san been acting weird?" Ichigo asked him. He had his answer when he saw Chad's face darken. This was worse than he ever thought it was.

"You know how Urahara-san is. He plays things close to the vest, but recently he's been more secretive than usual."

"How so?"

"He's been on me to report to him more and wants more details. I had to leave my phone here when I went out on an assignment with Xcution so my cover wouldn't be blown. Whenever I saw him it was always outside of the shop, like he didn't want me there."

Tessai and Hiyori made sure he left the shop. Could Urahara be working on something in the shop, something he didn't want any of them to know about? 'Is that why he wants Ikumi-san to watch me more closely and why he's pressing Chad for more details on Xcution?'

"Did Ginjo tell you anything about Urahara-san?"

"He told me that I shouldn't trust him. It seemed obvious he was just trying to make me distrust him."

"What if he's right?" The words rushed out of Ichigo's mouth before he could stop them. "What if we can't trust Urahara-san? What if he is our enemy?"

Disbelief masked Sado's face. The last thing he expected to hear from Ichigo was doubt in Urahara. "Why would you say that? What did Ginjo tell you?"

"The same thing he told you. I didn't buy it at first, but tonight I saw him with my boss. He knows her, Chad. He knows her and he has had her spy on me since she hired me."

"What?" He never met Ichigo's boss in person. Everything he knew about her was second hand knowledge from his friend, but it was still unbelievable that she knew Urahara of all people. Ichigo met her through chance and was only hired through his old co-worker.

"I don't know how they know each other. Ikumi-san was scared. She wanted to know if he was trying to help me or…" He couldn't even tell him what Urahara-san might have wanted to do. The more he learned the less certain he was of his intentions. "He wanted Inoue to watch me as well. Shit! She told me about that weeks ago and how bothered she was by it, but I dismissed it."

"This doesn't make any sense," Sado said. "Why would he be watching you?"

"Ikumi-san said he was interested in if my reiatsu returned or not. I think he did that with Inoue as well." He saw the color fade from his friend's face. Whenever Chad experienced fear it always made Ichigo nervous. If someone as strong as him could succumb to fear then it had to be serious. "What's with that face?"

"There was another reason I joined the Xcution," he said mindlessly. "I knew it was a long shot and I didn't want to get your hopes up."

"Spit it out," Ichigo ordered.

"Ginjo told me that they want to help you get your shinigami powers back."

He almost swallowed his tongue when he heard that. Considering how much his body was trembling he was happy he hadn't swallowed his tongue. He cursed his body for its insubordination. He was better at sorting through his emotions than this. For god's sake, it had almost been two years and yet the mention of his powers returning could reduce him to this sorry state. He should be over this by now. He'd been down this road before and it never ended well. "T-that's impossible."

"I don't know the details myself, but Ginjo told me there is a way."

"How could he do that? My dad and Urahara-san didn't even know how to do that? How could they do it?"

That was when Chad said the words that shattered his world and instilled him with unadulterated dread and immense hope at the same time. "What if Urahara-san doesn't want you to get your shinigami powers back?"

Sado finally makes his long, dragged out appearance, in this story. Now that he is here he will play a bigger part in it. The chapter didn't explain everything about how the Xcution works in my story, but do not worry there will be more explanations on how they are run, what they do, and more about its history. The assignment that Riruka and Sado were on will be elaborated on more and we'll learn why it took Sado a week to complete. For the people who missed Orihime in this chapter she will make an appearance in the next chapter. I might be able to work in some fluff between her and Ichigo there for you. Orihime will be important to the story, especially since she is the one person who has told Ichigo everything this time around, which makes him feel like she is the only one he can trust completely. Naturally that puts a target on her back.