AN: First of all I would like to thank LIGHTNINGFFXIII for another wonderful review! Secondly I'm very very very sorry about the fact it took me so long to update but between state tests SAT's and other school stuff this got pushed to the side unfortunately. I'd like to say that it was worth the wait but this is has some plot development that will more effect the next chapter more than this one really. By the way just as a warning, and I'll repeat this at the end too, It will take me up to a month possibly to write the next chapter because of school stuff and the fact that I've barely started it but it will be more worth the wait.

Warnings:

1. Plot Development

2. Mild Fluff

Updated for spelling and such on 10/16/13

Chapter 25: Prepare For the Fight for the Key

Recommended Song: "In My Remains" Linkin Park

(Visored Warehouse, 3rd Person POV)

For once the warehouse the Visords called a home wasn't as quiet and still as it seemed. Anyone who had passed by during the morning would have seen large groups of people entering into the seemingly abandoned warehouse but luckily no one had noticed the great number of teenagers who went into the abandoned building. But inside there was a tenseness around the building that got worse inside.

The upper two levels were abandoned like the ground floor since everyone was gathered into the underground training room that was for once not being used for fighting. Hitsugaya's group of soul reapers and the Visoreds including Ichigo, Orihime, Chad, Uryu and Mizuki were all gathered around each other. Hitsugaya glanced up at Shinji who was leaning back against a boulder lazily. "So we've decided almost everything, anything else that we need to discuss?" The young Captain asked, he had just gotten done assuring the Visords that they weren't going to be attacked by Yamamoto and explaining what the soul society had told him about Aizen's upcoming invasion that was tomorrow. Aizen had sent a warning to the soul society yesterday promising to attack the human world before moving on to the soul society and ever since soul reapers in the human world and in the Soul Society were preparing for the expected battle.

Shinji scoffed at the question, sitting up straight and glancing over at the white haired boy. "Yeah, I've got one for ya. How do ya expect us to get through the barrier that's around the Fake Karakura Town? You said that Yamamoto and the Kido Corps made the barrier, unless Hacchi can break through it we're going to be stuck here." The blonde ex-Captain asked seriously as he glanced over to the pink haired man.

Hacchi thought a moment before shaking his head. "No, I don't think any of my kido would have any effect on their barrier." He explained and as soon as he was finished Hiyori jumped to her feet and glared at Hitsugaya's group of soul reapers hatefully.

"And there's no way that we're going to just sit back and watch you fight Aizen! I want a piece of that bastard just as much as any of you!" She yelled loudly with a glare which Shinji rolled his eyes at and pulled her down to the ground to sit down again, which she rewarded him with a hard smack to the face.

Hitsugaya sighed at her outburst and was quick to think of a solution. "Then we'll just have to open the barrier from the inside. As soon as I get there with everyone I'll convince Chojiro to open up the barrier and let you and the Visords in." He explained and Shinji nodded in agreement.

Lisa glanced up from her book she was reading and looked up at the young Captain sternly. "So what about everyone else then?" She asked curiously, glancing over at Ichigo, Uryu, Chad, Orihime and Mizuki who were neither a real part of Hitsugaya's team or the Visord's.

"Yamamoto shouldn't have any problems if we bring Uryu, Chad, Orihime and Ichigo." Renji spoke up.

Hitsugaya glanced over at the blonde ex-Lieutenant who was taking in the conversation around her intently. "Mizuki do you mind invading with the Visord's since Yamamoto wouldn't exactly appreciate it if we brought you there?" He asked and her expression fell serious.

"On what planet would that work?" She challenged him. "It's already going to be hard for the Visords to convince Chojiro to open up the barrier, if he sees me there's no way he's going to let any of us in. And even if he does for some reason then it's not like I'm going to be able to stay after the fighting's over and then I'll just be stuck in the fake Karakura Town." Mizuki pointed out to him.

Hiyori chuckled at the statement as Hitsugaya thought of a solution, she smiled over at the ex-Lieutenant. "If you're going to be such a big problem why are you even going to come with us? You'd probably be safer staying in the human world anyway, if you go you're only going to be fighting against the soul reapers and Aizen." She told Mizuki who only smirked at the suggestion.

"I'm not saying that, believe me I can't wait to get my hands on Aizen." Mizuki answered with a scoff.

Hitsugaya glanced up at Mizuki and sighed. "But Hiyori does have a point, you're going to have a really tough time out there and you'll probably be nearly captured by either Aizen or the Soul Society. You're pretty good at kido, right?" He asked and waited for the blonde to shrug in response. "Then if you run into any trouble you should force open the barrier from the inside and meet us back in the human world. I heard Yamamoto say that the outside of the barrier was virtually impenetrable but if you try to get out from the inside the barrier it should work." The blonde girl nodded in agreement.

Shinji glanced over at the four humans sitting together and raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "So what are ya guys gonna do?" He asked.

Orihime smiled widely. "Hacchi's been helping me with my healing abilities so I'll be healing whoever's hurt." She explained.

Uryu glanced over at Chad before back to the Visored leader and answering for both of them. "Chad and I have been training for this for the past few months, we're ready." He reassured the blonde ex-Captain.

Shinji nodded and glanced over at Ichigo with a smile before chuckling. "I already know you're going to do whatever you feel like, so you think you're ready for Aizen huh Ichigo?"

Ichigo scoffed at the question and rolled his eyes. "I know I'm ready." He answered confidently which caught Kensei's attention.

The light haired former Captain smirked at Ichigo's confidence. "So how long can you use you're hollow mask?" Kensei asked and watched the substitute soul reaper smirk self-assuredly.

"Long enough." He answered back quickly.

(A few hours later, Mizuki's POV)

I nodded along with Rangiku as I listened and climbed the stairs with her. The strawberry blonde woman smiled over at me widely. "So what do you say huh Mizuki? We've already sorted out all of the nitty-gritty details of the invasion so can we go out drinking?" She asked hopefully, her face lighting up but I merely smiled.

"Sorry Rangiku, I'd rather not fight with a hangover tomorrow. Maybe some other time." I told her with a small smile and watched her bright expression fall to a pout in about a second flat.

The well-endowed woman sighed dramatically as we reached the ground floor of the Visored Warehouse. "You always say that! Mark my words Mizuki Yasuko I will get you drunk by the time this is all over and you're a Lieutenant again!" She promised loudly with a laugh that made me smile.

I opened my mouth to respond when I heard a chuckle and glanced over to find Lisa by the front door of the warehouse and she smirked at Rangiku's statement as she glanced over to the Lieutenant. "You'll have plenty of chances to get little innocent Mizuki drink, but not tonight. I don't want to stay up until midnight waiting for her to come back here, I need my beauty sleep for this invasion tomorrow." Lisa explained with a chuckle.

Rangiku raised an eyebrow at me. "You're coming back here?" She asked in a confused voice and I nodded.

"Yeah, Lisa's letting me stay with her tonight so I don't have to worry about arrancars and Espada's trying to hunt me down." I glanced over at Lisa and smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be back here sober by the time it gets dark." I reassured her and she smiled.

"Good, that's what I want to hear sugar." She replied before walking off reading her perverted manga as I walked outside with Rangiku and the other soul reapers. Rukia glanced over at me and smiled.

"Are you sure you don't want to come patrol with me and Renji, Lieutenant?" Rukia asked nicely and I smiled, it was so good to hear someone call me by my title. Usually people only mentioned my title now to mock me for it but when she said it it was a rare moment of peace.

I nodded. "Yeah, thanks though. I'll see you guys tomorrow." I said with a wave to her and Renji and the rest of the soul reapers as we split up and took two different directions down the sidewalk. As soon as I had my back to them my smile fell a little and I glanced up to the sky to see all the shades of pink and orange and purple telling me it was dusk and would be getting dark soon. I sighed, knowing I didn't have much time until I had to go back to the Visored Warehouse but then again I didn't have anywhere to go anyway until then.

After a few moments of listening to nothing but the sound of my shoes against the cement with each step I heard a familiar voice call out to me. "Hey Mizuki wait up!" Spinning on my heel I saw Ichigo was the one who had yelled for me and I waited for him to run up to me before smiling at him as he lightly panted from breathe.

"Hey what's up Ichigo? Is this the part where you tell me you're really scared about this whole invasion thing instead of acting all tough?" I asked jokingly and smiled when I saw him narrow his eyes at me at the insult before walking along side of me.

"I'm not acting!" He snapped back at me and I smiled at the cute angry look on his face we walked along the side walk together and he narrowed his eyes at me a little. "I just wanted to talk to you about tomorrow." Ichigo quickly explained and I nodded although I was a little bored of talking about the invasion tomorrow since we just spent the entire day talking about it.

"Yeah? What about it?" I asked curiously and he glanced around and noticed that surprisingly for kind of late there were a lot of people in this area of town.

"Let's go to the park and talk about it, it's only a block down." He said and I expected to just follow behind him but I felt his hand grasp mine tight as he pulled me with him around people, I couldn't help but blush at the fact that my heart was beating faster and I tried to suppress my blush. When we had gotten to the park the two sat down on the opened swings and she almost smiled when she remembered when he taught her how to use the swing however she glanced over at him.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" The blonde haired ex-Lieutenant asked curiously as she swung her legs back in forth a little.

Ichigo sighed, running his fingers through his vibrantly orange colored hair as he looked over at her. "It's nothing really I guess. It's just…what Hiyori said kind of got me thinking." He explained and she raised an eyebrow trying to figure out what he was talking about since she knew that Hiyori had said a lot of things. He seemed to understand his confusion and glanced away from her with an almost serious look. "It's just, are you sure it wouldn't be just easier for you to stay here?"

She wrinkled her nose at the suggestion but laughed at him anyway. "So you're doubting me too huh? You know I should really beat you up for thinking I'm weak, I was a Lieutenant you know I'm just as qualified to fight as anyone else." Mizuki retorted back half-jokingly in the beginning.

"I'm not calling you weak or not able to fight, dumb ass. I'm saying that wouldn't it be easier so you wouldn't have to fight against soul reapers and Espada? You know I can't guarantee that I can save your ass from everyone while I'm fighting too." Ichigo pointed out to her starting out serious but his tone quickly turned joking.

Mizuki smiled at the last part of what he said and chuckled, standing to her feet. He thought that he had offended her somehow and expected her to hit him like Rukia would but the blonde girl looked over her shoulder at him and smiled over at him. "Ichigo, if I wasn't confident then I wouldn't do it. I may be stubborn but I'm no idiot." She informed him calmly and waved over at him as she started to walk off back to the warehouse. "See you tomorrow, Ichigo." The blonde girl called out as she walked off and Ichigo watched her walk off and somehow felt more at ease by her short and simple explanation.

AN: Again I'm so sorry this was filler after such a long wait. Also I'm sorry to say that the next chapter will be horribly delayed but it'll contain Aizen's invasion of the soul society which in my story happens before the invasion of Heuco Mondo but for more explanation see the next chapter.

Chapter 26:

"Hado #91 Senju Koten Taiho." Mizuki said and Gin was immediately hit with a pink reitsu and she didn't try to stick around to see what happened and immediately started to flash step towards the barrier around Fake Karakura Town.

However before she could get very far a figure flash stepped in front of her, sword already shooting out towards her. Gin smirked as he noticed she was caught off guard by the attack, her green eyes widening as her brain processed the attack that was too close and going too fast to even begin to dodge. The sword stabbed through her stomach hard and blood trickled out of the wound and she tried to fight but Mizuki was too effected already from the previous battles she'd been in already. Even though she knew it was useless she fought to stay awake, glaring over at Gin weakly as her eyes began to shut on her own. Damn it I can't move. She thought mentally as she tried to push the sword out of her stomach but her vision started to go dark and she fell unconscious.