I feel like since I have been inactive for a while, I should give you guys another chapter…

~FAKE KARAKURA TOWN~

Aizen stayed with his back to the three falling captains as they fell to the ground. His eyes, however, were kept on the girl on the roof. Despite her wounds, her hollow powers will allow her to live and heal quickly. Though what will happen when she wakes up, he would have no answer to. Would she be too weak to move? Probably. Will she allow her anger and her hollow inside to control her? That's a strong possibility. This is one question Aizen would never know the answer to until the time comes. All he knows, is that her reckless nature would definitely be a factor in the outcome.

"I will not kill you," he said monotonously, talking to the three captains behind him, "Your powers will allow you to remain conscious." Toshiro's Bankai shattered, disappearing in tiny fragments. "But your wounds have been targeted specifically so you won't be able to move," Aizen continued, "I want you to watch the outcome of this battle, as you lie paralyzed on the ground. Unable to do anything to affect the end result."

Ichigo stood frozen in shock, staring wide eyed at the traitor. "He's… too strong…" he said to himself. He looked down to the ground and saw Hachi and Unohana next to an unconscious Hiyori. Ichigo then looked over to the rooftop, seeing Ryoko in a pool of blood. He frowned sadly and angrily, gripping his sword tighter.

"Ai…zen…sa…ma…" Aizen and Ichigo turned to see Ryoko with her eye open and her hand stretched outward weakly, tears streaking down her face, "W…hy…?" Her voice was broken, as everything that had happened came crashing down on the poor child. Ichigo watched her with sad eyes, knowing that she was broken in more ways than one.

Suddenly, Aizen aimed his hand at Ryoko's body. "Hado Number 63: Raikoho." As he said that, a large bolt of electricity shot toward Ryoko. As soon as it connected, an ear-splitting scream ripped out of Ryoko's throat as she arched her back upward in pain. Her eyes were shut tightly as her skin was burned from the intense lightning.

Ichigo watched with wide eyes, unbelieving. "Oh god…" The Hado finally stopped, and Ryoko lay limp on the cold roof, her head tilted to the side. Ichigo looked back at Aizen, gulping, "Aizen…!" He shot forward, ready to take on the man.

Fwoosh!

Ichigo jumped back quickly as a pillar of fire shot up from the ground. Aizen looked behind him at the fire and saw the Head Captain glaring at him, sword gripped tightly in his right hand. Aizen turned fully to the angered man. "It's about time the Head Captain showed his face in this fight. But you're too late, Yamamoto. You have no support team. You're the only captain left who can still oppose me," Aizen smirked, "Your desperation is evident. Your death would mean the end of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. You shouldn't have come on your own. You've missed your best opportunity to defeat me, old man."

Yamamoto simply walked out of the fire pillar, glaring at Aizen. "Don't get cocky, boy," he said, "Believe me, you are not the first fool who thought he could take me down."

"I'm not really worried about whether I can or not. Because I already have."

"Enough talk!" Yamamoto charged forth, swinging his sword. Aizen simply vanished, appearing to the captain's right, and stabbed him in the side.

The battle between the Head Captain and Aizen has begun.

—

Ichigo watched as they fought each other, fire versus illusions. Finally, he turned away as he saw a garganta being broken through. Uryu stepped onto the ground, Orihime behind him. Both looked in bad shape, but Orihime healed most of their wounds. Ichigo shunpo'd down to them, making them jump slightly. "You guys made it."

"We figured Unohana could use help with the injured." Orihime said to Ichigo. Ichigo nodded and the three of them went to the closest captain. "Captain Hitsugaya!" Orihime gasped. She knelt down to the collapsed boy's body and held her hands out, forming an orange barrier to heal the wounds. Ichigo and Uryu stood behind her, watching.

Uryu looked around for a moment before turning to Ichigo. "Ichigo, where's Ryoko?" he asked in confusion. He figured she'd be here since they didn't see her in Hueco Mundo. Ichigo turned his head away from his friend, making him even more confused. "Ichigo, where is she?"

"Ori…hime…" Toshiro's weak voice caught the three's attention. Orihime smiled gently.

"Don't worry, Captain. I'll heal you and you can go back and fight—"

"N-no…"

"Huh?" Orihime looked at him in confusion. Toshiro turned his head slightly, and everyone's eyes widened at the tears still on the boy's face.

"I'll be… fine… But…" Toshiro took in a shaky breath.

"But what, Hitsgaya?" Uryu asked, looking anxious at the look the young captain was giving him.

"R-Ryoko… she's in… worse shape…" Uryu's eyes widened and he took a step back in shock.

"R-Ryoko's hurt? What happened?"

Toshiro looked away. "Ryoko's Bankai… it made us… think that… she was Aizen… She can copy… others' Bankai… and their appearance…"

"No…"

"I see now," Ichigo said, looking down sadly, "That's why I thought it was her. If Aizen used Kyouka Suigetsu to do that, I would have seen through it."

Uryu looked at Toshiro, his fists clenching. "Where is she?" he said in a low voice.

"I know where she is." Orihime and Uryu turned to Ichigo. Ichigo looked at Toshiro with a sad look in his face. "Are you sure you want us to stop healing you?"

Toshiro nodded, then looked at Uryu, who looked ready to break down. "Quincy…" Uryu looked at him, "What Ryoko is… It's not normal… She's not like the last time you saw her… Just be ready," he warned.

Uryu looked confused, but nodded anyway. Ichigo took Orihime and Uryu's arms and shunpo'd toward the building's roof. "What did he mean by that, Ichigo?"

Ichigo sighed. "Ryoko… she…" he tried to come up with a good way to say it, "…she made a deal with the devil." Uryu got even more concerned.

They finally reached the roof, and Ichigo let go of his friends' arms. They landed a few feet away from Ryoko, and they saw the extent of the damage. Orihime covered her mouth.

Ryoko was laying on her stomach. She had a small hole where Suzumebachi had stabbed her. Under it was a large gash that went through her stomach, not very thick but pretty long horizontally. She had cuts on her right arm from Toshiro freezing her sword and part of her arm in ice. And in the middle of her chest was another hole that went straight through her from Toshiro's Hyorinmaru. There wasn't as much blood from it, but the hole in her stomach was one of the worst wounds. It was oozing blood, creating a puddle under her and staining the back of her clothes and the front of her shirt.

Her eyepatch that was on her eye had slid off slightly. The ends of her hair was also stained a dark red, and blood was seeping through the side of her lip and adding to the puddle. The worst part, out of all of it, was the rest of her. Her skin was a reddish color from the burns, some of her skin being burned off completely. Her clothes were singed, some of it burned off bits, like part of the boots, shirt, and skirt. Her hair was also singed at the bottom. Her eyes were closed, though she still looked to be in intense pain.

Uryu, eyes wide in fear and shock, raced toward her. He fell to his knees next to the girl's body, not caring in the least about his white clothes being dyed red. His shaking hands hovered over her body, not wanting to touch her because it might worsen her condition but also wanting to pick her up and hold her close to him. "Ryoko…" Tears threatened to spill, and he had to close his eyes to keep them in. "AAAAAUGH!" He screamed out in anger, punching the area next to him and causing blood to splash onto his hand and Ryoko's cheek.

His head down and his body shaking, he wanted nothing more than to rip Aizen to shreds. He looked at his sister's face, and his blood ran cold. He shakily moved his hand toward her head, and felt the largest horn on her head. "No…" Uryu whispered in horror. "God, no…" He looked down and saw the gash left by Shunsui. There was a gaping hole within the gash. He stared at the hole, tracing it lightly, before he clenched his fist over her body and in the blood, cutting his palm with his nails.

The light reflected off his glasses as tears formed in his eyes He bit his lip to keep them in, but he knew it was no use. Tears cascaded freely down his cheeks, burning with rage. "Aizen… you will pay for this…!" he ground between his teeth, trying to control himself enough to not get up and fire never ending arrows at the bastard. He knew it would do no good.

Orihime watched as Uryu broke down, a sad frown on her face. "Ichigo… What happened to her?" she whispered. Ichigo shook his head.

"I don't know…" he answered, "But I wish I did."

Orihime frowned, but didn't say anything else to Ichigo. She walked quietly toward Ryoko and knelt on the other side of her body, holding her hands out and forming the barrier around her body and getting to work. She frowned, "Uryu, I…"

"What kind of brother am I?"

Orihime looked up at him in surprise and sadness. He was looking at Ryoko's face.

"I allowed this…" he whispered, "I wasn't there when she needed me… She was alone and hurt. She just wanted a family. I'M her family. I'M her older brother. I should have been there for her! And now… because of me… because of me she's an Arrancar at death's door! How could I have done this to her?! It's all my fault! I—"

"Enough, Uryu!"

Uryu's eyes widened. He hadn't realized he had started yelling. He looked up and to his right at Ichigo, who had a hand on his shoulder. Uryu looked down. "B-but I…"

"It's not your fault," Ichigo said, "If it's anyone's fault, it's Aizen's." Ichigo looked back towards Toshiro. "Toshiro's probably thinking the same thing you are. Judging by his expression…" Ichigo sighed then turned to his friend. "Don't worry, Uryu. She will be fine. She will live, and you guys can be a family once again." Uryu looked doubtful, but nodded anyways.

BOOM!

Uryu and Ichigo turned toward the battle as a large explosion was set off. "Well, if that didn't kill Aizen, it gave us a few more minutes," Ichigo said, then turned to Orihime, "How is she?"

"Her wounds aren't life threatening anymore, but she won't wake up for a while," Orihime informed them. Uryu and Ichigo nodded. Ichigo turned away to join the fight, but was met by Gin, and jumped back in surprise.

"What the hell!" Uryu turned toward Gin as well, standing and activating his bow.

"Gin!" Uryu exclaimed in shock. But that shock quickly turned to anger as he aimed the bow at his supposed enemy. Gin threw his hands up quickly.

"Hold on! Hold on!" he exclaimed quickly, "I'm a good guy!"

"Yeah right! You did this to Ryoko, and now you'll pay!" Uryu spat. Gin frowned, lowering his hands.

"You're right. But it was her choice. We did not make her do any of it," Uryu's eyes widened, "She wanted the power. So we gave her her wish." Gin opened his eyes slightly, looking down at the girl. "I will not justify my actions with a lame excuse other than that it was her decision. However, I do think that my façade has gone on long enough."

"Façade?" Uryu asked in confusion, lowering his bow but not deactivating it. Gin nodded.

"Yes," he looked at Ryoko, "This will be for the girl, too," he looked to Uryu, "You're little sister has wormed her way into the hearts of almost everyone she has met. Including a certain bat you may have encountered."

The three's eyes widened.

"No way…"

"I can't believe it…"

"Ulquiorra?"

"Yes. Ulquiorra was her best friend. With you three being here, you must have fought and killed him," Gin said with a frown, his eyes once again closed.

Ichigo shook his head, confusing Gin. "We didn't kill him."

"What?" Gin asked in shock, his left eyebrow raising.

"We didn't even fight him." There goes his other eyebrow.

"You didn't?"

"He said something about not wanting to risk breaking a promise." His eyebrows rose even more.

"Interesting…" Gin said in shock, "Ulquiorra put that pesky promise as a higher priority than disposing of you three?"

"I… guess so?" Ichigo confusedly said.

"That's shocking, really. Considering how Ulquiorra's a loyal servant to Aizen. Where is Ulquiorra now?"

"Hell if I know. He sent us through a garganta and left. He must have felt that Ryoko may need help," Uryu explained, looking at his sister. The stab wounds she received were healed for the most part, but it was her burns that were taking too long to fix. Though they weren't life threatening, they'd hurt like a bitch when she woke up. He walked over to his sister and knelt down on one knee, putting his hand through the barrier and stroking her head gently with a solemn look in his eyes.

"Oh Uryu…" Orihime sighed, watching him.

They heard another boom, and Ichigo left to fight Aizen.

Gin walked over to them and stood next to Uryu, looking down at the girl. "I have a plan." They turned and looked at him. "But I need her help." Uryu instantly stood.

"No!" he said quickly, "I'm not letting her take part in any plan you have! You've hurt her enough! There's a possibility she won't wake up, anyways!"

"Listen, Quincy. Unless you want Aizen to take over and destroy all of us, I suggest you let me do this. Besides…" Gin looked at Ryoko, "She will wake up. She has the powers of a hollow now. She will heal and wake quicker than you'd expect. However…"

"What?" Uryu asked.

"She will not be the same…" Gin looked away with a frown. Uryu grit his teeth and walked up to Gin, grabbing his collar and bringing his face close to his own.

"What do you mean?! Tell me!" Uryu demanded, his patience thinning. Gin looked at him sadly.

"She was tricked for most of her life, forced from her home, turned into an Arrancar, told she was a monster, thought her own brother tried to murder her, thought of Aizen as a father, got tricked by said father figure, forced to fight her friends, stabbed by them and almost killed, and almost turned into french fries by the one person she thought she trusted. You tell me you can retain some form of innocence after all this shit she went through!" Uryu flinched slightly, and let go of Gin's collar, taking a couple steps back with his head down. Gin fixed his collar and turned to Orihime. "Orihime, don't lose your focus and don't stop no matter what." Orihime looked confused, but nodded. Gin sat down next to Ryoko and closed his eyes in concentration.

"What are you doing?" Uryu asked skeptically.

"I'm going to see how bad she is, and see if I can get her consent with something." With that, Gin went silent.

~RYOKO'S INNER WORLD~

Gin opened his eyes and stood, looking around. "Oh no…" The blue fire that was once raging around this world were nothing but embers, and a few buildings were collapsing to the ground, unable to be upright any longer. "This is bad. I need to find her and fast."

Gin raced through the area, passing buildings and trees as they collapsed. Finally, Gin spotted a pure while and blue person. He shunpo'd over to it, and stopped behind them. He opened his mouth to speak, but she spoke first.

"What are you doing here, intruder?" she asked angrily, without turning around.

"I need to speak with Ryoko. Who are you?" he asked.

The spirit turned, her icy blue eyes staring Gin down. "I am Ryoko's Quincy spirit. My name is Manna."

"Manna… Where is Ryoko?"

Manna looked down, then behind her. Gin walked next to her and frowned. Ryoko was laying on the ground, cringing in pain and mumbling incoherent words. There was a tiger laying next to her. "She's been like this for a while," the tiger said solemnly.

That must be her zanpakuto spirit, Gin thought.

Ryoko looked over at him. "G-Gin…?" she whispered before cringing in pain. Gin knelt down next to her.

"Ryoko, I need to ask you something…" She opened her eyes and looked at him, tears threatening to spill but refusing to when it would hurt her more.

~FAKE KARAKURA TOWN~

Gin opened his eyes after a while, and stood. He looked at Ryoko's limp body for a moment before nodding and shunpoing away.

Uryu watched as he disappeared, then looked down at his sister. He gently grabbed her hand and squeezed lightly. "Oh Ryoko… I'm so sorry…" His shoulders started to shake.

Twitch…

His eyes flew open and looked at her hand as it moved again. He watched as her fingers slowly wrapped around her older brother's hand. His eyes widened. "Don't be sad… big brother…" Uryu turned his head to look at Ryoko. Both her eyes were shown, and she was smiling sadly at him. Her right eye was red, with the white part black, in huge contrast to her left eye which was blue and white. She smiled faintly, her few shed tears flowing more out of her left than right. "It's not… your fault…"

"Oh Ryoko…" Uryu wanted to hug her tightly, but knew she was still in pain. He settled for gently touching her cheek. Her skin was still hot, but he didn't mind. Ryoko leaned into the cool touch of her brother's hand, her eyes closing. Her grip on his hand started to loosen as she went in and out of consciousness.

"I'm sorry… big brother…"

"Don't speak, Ryoko," he said softly, "Orihime's healing your injuries and soon you'll be alright. Get some rest, alright? Don't try to stay awake if you can't." Ryoko nodded with her eyes half-lidded, before she closed them and fell back to sleep. Her hand went limp, and Uryu gripped it tighter. He smiled lightly.

Orihime and Uryu turned toward the fight and watched as Ichigo's dad appeared to fight.

"We can't help them," Orihime said, getting the Quincy's attention, "If we do, something will happen to get one of us very injured or even killed." She looked down to Ryoko.

"Yeah…" Uryu agreed reluctantly.

—

Aizen dodged another attack by Ishin, and stared at him, but inside he was seething. How can that runt still be alive? I thought my last attack would have killed her! And yet, he turned his head toward Ryoko, yet she's still alive and healing. It seems I underestimated her strength. But that won't be a problem for now.

"Hey, keep your eyes on me, Aizen!" Ishin exclaimed. Aizen ignored him, simply pointing toward Ryoko, Uryu, and Orihime. Ishin's eyes widened. "URYU, ORIHIME, GET RYOKO OUT OF THERE!"

Uryu and Orihime turned their heads, but it was too late. "Hadō Number 54: Haien." A purple blast of energy shot toward the three at an extreme speed, giving them no time to—

"Make them scatter, Los Lobos!" A huge burst of energy was felt as a blue cero fired, intercepting the attack and destroying a couple buildings in the process. Everyone turned their heads, eyes wide in shock.

"What?" Ichigo said in shock.

"Impossible… You were supposed to be dead…" Aizen looked up, "Starrk."

…but that doesn't mean I should be merciful with the endings.