A sadistic princess? Oh, that's just wonderful. Not to mention the Accidental Child that just favorited/followed one of my other stories. You okay, dude (or girl)?

Ahhhh it's two in the morning. I have an essay to write after this; while I struggle and curse my way through that, you guys can enjoy this chapter, which hopefully flows more smoothly than my brain keeps telling me.


Chapter 29

Ichigo's bedroom was deathly quiet, only the sound of rain pounding against the roof disturbing the odd kind of silence that pervaded the room despite the large number of people inside.

At some point during the reading, the power had flickered back on, but the light was weak in comparison to the lightning that flashed, bright even through the wood that covered the window.

Thunder rumbled, shaking the walls, and it seemed to startle those inside enough to prompt them to speak.

"This story has taken a rather serious turn," Uryū remarked. His face was pale, and he looked like he was desperately trying not to say something. Ichigo, on the other hand, was perfectly capable of saying what he was feeling.

"My mom was a Quincy?" He went quiet for a moment, his eyes becoming unfocused as his inner hollow said something in his mind. His face slowly lost all color. "That's not possible . . . not Mom. She would've . . ."

His voice faded to nothing as shock set in. That didn't last long; as Ichigo blinked, his eyes filled with black and his irises lightened. When the Shinigami in the room gave him accusing looks, Ichigo—now with his inner hollow in control—shrugged.

"He's in shock. It ain't gonna make a difference who's in control."

"Then why did you take control? You had no real reason to," Renji asked, his eyes narrowing. Despite the fact that the hollow had been practically docile while Orihime had been reading—minus certain times during the chapters when Ichigo had begun physically shaking—no one really trusted him to remain that way.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed and he scowled, his distinctly hollow Reiatsu coating the room but not going beyond it, remaining tightly controlled and nearly undetectable to anyone who wasn't specifically looking for it.

"Well if ya don't want explanations, I won't give ya any. That's fine by me."

Uryū was still looking decidedly uncomfortable, and Ichigo looked at him, his scowl turning into a grin.

"Having fun, Quincy? How about the revelation that your friend is related to you?" Ichigo's smile turned mocking. "Is your superiority complex suffering?"

"You cannot be serious," Uryū replied, his tone as cold as ice. "There is no way that Ichigo could possibly be a Quincy. The idea is utterly ridiculous."

Ichigo's knowing smile said otherwise, and Uryū began twitching again. Ichigo's next words only made things worse.

"Technically, I'm related to you, or something like that."

Uryū looked on the verge of throwing up, and he hurriedly took his leave as Ichigo watched with an air of bemusement that was entirely the opposite of the aura he normally projected.

"I cannot believe that Ichigo is part Quincy," Rukia muttered, her pen and notebook forgotten. "That makes him Quincy, Shinigami, hollow, and human."

"That's just unfair," Renji said, though he offered no elaboration on his words.

"Life's unfair, dumbass," Ichigo said. He then glanced sidelong at Orihime, his thoughts switching tracks as he did so. "You're not a bad reader. Better than Ichigo and that Quincy prick."

Uryū's muffled "I heard that!" went ignored by the rest of the group.

"Hold on, hold on," Renji said, rubbing his forehead. "If Ichigo's Quincy and Shinigami, and his mother was a Quincy, how did she die by a hollow attack? Wouldn't she-"

Renji cut himself off upon seeing that Ichigo had frozen, a surprised expression on his face. The black drained from his eyes and his irises darkened. After a moment, Ichigo blinked, bringing one hand up to his face and breaking the stillness that had settled over the entire room.

"That bastard didn't even bother to ask," he muttered, squeezing his eyes shut for a second. "This is not helping my headache."

As if to accentuate Ichigo's point, thunder rumbled in the background, though it was quieter than it had been before. Apparently, the storm was beginning to recede, albeit slowly. Uryū walked back into the room, pale but otherwise expressionless.

"Not to worry, son! I have the perfect remedy!"

Ichigo was so surprised by the familiar voice that he was frozen in place right up until a foot connected with his head, sending him flying across the room. He crashed against the wall and collapsed onto the floor, groaning.

Every single person's eyes in the room slowly shifted to look at Isshin Kurosaki, who was standing over where Ichigo had been sitting with an expression on his face that was a mix between triumphant and disappointed. Clearly, the latter was directed at Ichigo, who was climbing to his feet, holding his head and muttering to himself. The fact that Isshin was in a heroic pose only made the situation seem all the more ridiculous.

Ichigo looked up, a scowl on his face and his eyes a smoldering gold, only to switch to an expression of surprise. His eyes returned to normal so quickly that the Shinigami weren't sure if it had just been a trick of the mind.

"Dad? What are you doing up here? Why are you up here?"

Isshin Kurosaki struck a different pose, a most-definitely-triumphant smile on his face. "What, a father can't visit his son?"

"This is not the right time!" Ichigo shouted, his gaze darting between his father and the two Shinigami in the room. Rukia and Renji, for their part, were staring at Isshin Kurosaki in both surprise and confusion.

Rukia hadn't missed the way Isshin had looked directly at her the second he had come in.

Could it be true? She wondered. Could he really be a Shinigami?

"Well, I had to check if my son was furthering the Kurosaki family!" Isshin declared, winking at Orihime. She blanched, and Ichigo scowled.

"Of course not! Uryū's here too, you know!"

"So you swing that way?" Isshin said, raising one eyebrow. Then a large smile plastered itself onto his face. "That's fine! I will accept my son no matter—"

"DAD! I'M NOT GAY!"

Isshin's smile faded. "Huh. And I thought you were special." His expression brightened again. "That's okay, son! I'm sure you'll find someone out there!"

Ichigo grit his teeth, one eyebrow twitching as he managed to speak around the fury that squeezed his chest. "Dad. Why. Are. You. In. Here?"

"Ah, that would be me, Ichigo!"

Ichigo's eyes shot wide open and he looked to his window to see none other than Kisuke Urahara perched on it. Somehow, Tessai had also entered the room, alongside Ururu and Jinta. Kisuke, of course, was smiling and waving like the entire situation was perfectly normal.

Uryū shook his head and muttered something in a despairing tone about Shinigami while Orihime just waved back.

"Hi, Mr. Urahara!"

Ichigo, on the other hand, looked like his brain was no longer functioning. With a groan he collapsed again, saying, "this isn't happening" over and over, probably trying to convince himself that his words were true through repetition.

Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain. After realizing this, Ichigo sighed and got up, keeping a wary eye on his father. He wasn't willing to put a second surprise attack past the man, and he was annoyed that the first one had connected at all.

"Kisuke, what are you doing here?"

The weariness in Ichigo's tone spoke volumes about what he thought of the candy shop owner. Kisuke hid his expression behind his fan, but when he answered his voice was sincere.

"Well, I do believe it's what brought everyone else here. That fascinating little story of yours, Ichigo."

Ichigo went white. "How the hell do you even know about that?"

"That's not important."

"Y—yes it is! Are you spying on me?"

"It's all in the past."

"It's right now!"

"Quit worrying."

Ichigo's mouth hung open and he looked to be seriously considering homicide, though a glare from Uryū stopped him from saying anything. Sensing the mood, Kisuke relented and snapped his fan shut, instantly drawing everyone's attention to him.

"First things first. Yes, Ichigo, your dad is a Shinigami, and your mother was a Quincy."

Ichigo just sighed, though Renji and Rukia looked like they'd been slapped. After a moment, however, they recovered. Rukia nodded to herself, as did Renji, like it made sense to them.

"That explains the resemblance to Kaien," she muttered, her voice too quiet for anyone else to hear.

"That's not why you came here," Uryū pointed out, his glasses flashing.

"Ah, Uryū, you're so suspicious of my motivations!"

"I have good reason to be."

Those words shut Kisuke down for all of two seconds before he recovered himself. "Okay, fine, fine. You see, a long time ago, during a period of my exile that I would prefer not to talk about—"

"It was six years ago," Isshin clarified with a grin, completely ignoring the look of utter betrayal that Kisuke plastered on his face.

"Isshin!"

Ichigo's dad simply smiled, giving Ichigo a conspiring look that his son most definitely did not share.

Kisuke let out a deep breath, glanced at Tessai, and then back at Ichigo. "As I was saying, a while ago—"

"Six years ago."

"—I was doing some things that I have not done since. Among those things was creating a website. It was run by an advanced AI. Frankly, I'd forgotten about it until activity spiked on it recently. More specifically, mentions of your name, Ichigo."

"I can tell that you're referring to the site that this story is on," Uryū said, staring at Kisuke intently. "But what are you alluding to?"

"Well, apparently things got a little out of hand with the site while I wasn't looking at it," Kisuke said, looking like he really wanted to whip out his fan again even though Tessai was staring at him as though daring him to do it. "I can't really go into the details, but suffice to say the program somehow got a hold of documents that described future events."

"So your website can predict the future?" Orihime asked, tapping a finger on her chin. "That's kind of cool. Not as cool as I was expecting, though." Her expression fell. "There aren't any robots with cool guns and lasers and cannons."

Kisuke blinked. "Ah, no, there are not." Apparently, even Kisuke could be caught off-guard by Orihime's words. "Nevertheless, I realized that you had somehow stumbled upon the website. Acting upon that knowledge, I came here to inform you of the situation."

"You didn't come very quickly," Renji said, raising one damaged eyebrow. Kisuke ignored him.

"What are you getting at, Kisuke?" Ichigo asked, frowning. "Is there a point to all of this? And have you read this already?"

"Of course not, Ichigo. What kind of scientist do you peg—"

Kisuke's voice faltered under the combined gazes of everyone in the room. Even Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu joined in. Kisuke's smile wavered, and in an instant he had his fan out so that only his typical calculative gaze was revealed.

"I see. I will . . . keep this in mind."

"You never said what you were doing here," Uryū pointed out. Kisuke grinned—at least, the lines around his eyes seemed to indicate that he was grinning.

"Well, I want to hear the story, of course! I'm curious how it ends!"

"I thought you said you hadn't read it," Ichigo said.

"And I was not lying! I was listening to you read it through the listening devices I have in your room."

Ichigo's face lost all of its color, but as he stood up the anger he radiated was nearly palpable.

"The what you have in my room?"

Kisuke blinked, and then became a whirlwind that swept around Ichigo's room in less time than it took the Substitute Shinigami to blink. When he was back in the position he had occupied a moment before, Kisuke held a cardboard box full of miscellaneous technical equipment.

"Jinta, if you would," he said, handing the box off to a grumbling Jinta. The redhead almost immediately tried to give the box to Ururu, only to have Tessai grab him, move the plywood away from the window, and drop Jinta outside. Tessai putting the impromptu shutter back up and the storm outside easily muffled the boy's yells. The gesture was largely pointless, since the water on the umbrella Kisuke had brought in and the water soaking Tessai and Ururu had already dripped onto the floor.

"You—you . . . "

Ichigo looked to be on the verge of running at Kisuke, his gaze transfixed on the window that Jinta had been pushed out of seconds before. Only Renji's hand on his shoulder stopped Ichigo from moving.

"Let it go, Ichigo," the Shinigami said.

"Let it go? He was eavesdropping on my room!"

"Well, a lot of important things happen in here, you know," Kisuke said, waving one hand around.

"You're not helping your case," Rukia pointed out, crossing her arms.

Orihime looked between all of them, at the computer she held in her lap, and then back up.

"So, Mr. Urahara . . . why did you come here?"

Her words managed to break up the impending fight and Kisuke focused his attention on her.

"Well, Miss Inoue, that's a simple answer! I merely wanted to hear the end of the story. I'm sure I'm not the first person to say that! And, while I'm here—and Isshin as well—we should take a new vote in your little notebook, Miss Kuchiki."

Rukia stiffened. "How—" She quickly cut herself off after meeting Kisuke's eyes. "Never mind."

"I bet he's going to vote for me," Renji said, nudging Ichigo with his elbow. "Since, I'm definitely going to win. It's foreshadowed all over the story!"

"You wish!" Ichigo retorted. "I'm the main character of the story! Of course I'd win!"

"That's a pretty weak argument!"

"Well it's better than yours!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Ah, I can't really make up my mind with all this yelling," Kisuke said, looking at Ichigo and Renji over the top of his fan. "It's too loud."

Shinigami lieutenant and substitute Shinigami glared at each other for a few more seconds before crossing their arms and turning away in a childish manner. Isshin started forward, but Kisuke stopped him.

"Now, now, Isshin. If you start something we'll never get anything done."

"But Kisuke—"

Kisuke shook his head, and Isshin sighed, stepping back. Not once during the entire conversation had Ichigo stopped looking at his father, his posture clearly indicating that he expected an attack at any moment.

"Now, I was going to vote, wasn't I?"

Kisuke's question was clearly rhetorical, and he took a second to look contemplatively at both Ichigo and Renji. Then he sighed.

"Ah, I vote Renji."

"WHAT? Hat-n-Clogs, why him?"

"Oh relax, Ichigo." Kisuke snapped his fan closed, revealing his sly smile. "It's fairly clear, if you pay close attention."

Rukia put another tally under Renji's name. A moment later, everyone in the room looked expectantly at Isshin. The man was suitably offended.

"Put me down for my son, of course! He'd never lose in something like this!"

"I have no control over it, Dad! It's just a story!"

"Don't talk like that, Ichigo! That's the talk of a loser, and you're a winner!"

"You're insane!"

"That hurts, my son!"

"So, Miss Kuchiki," Kisuke said, ignoring the father-son brawl that had broken out behind him. "What are the current votes?"

"Hm. For Renji, there's Renji, you, and Kon. For Ichigo, there's Ichigo's father, Ichigo, Orihime, Uryū, and myself. So it's three to five, in Ichigo's favor."

"Because I bet I'm going to win!" Ichigo called, simultaneously avoiding a hit from his father. Taking advantage of the opening, Ichigo grabbed his father's arm and threw the surprised man into the nearest wall hard enough to stun him for a few seconds. Dusting off his hands, Ichigo turned back to the situation at hand, knowing that his father would stop with his antics for at least the next few minutes.

"So, now that we've gotten all of this out of the way, why don't you go back to reading the story, Ichigo?"

Ichigo scowled at Kisuke, only to freeze.

Isshin stiffened as well as the Reiatsu that constantly leaked out of Ichigo turned distinctly hollow. He turned to see his son glaring at Kisuke, his eyes a smoldering gold framed in black, and his heart seemed to stop in his chest.

"Ah, Mr. Hollow! I didn't expect you to make an appearance so soon!"

Ichigo growled low in his throat. "Don't act like you planned all this. You're hiding something. Ichigo's too soft to straight up ask you, so I'm doing it instead. What do you know about this?"

"Are you angry?"

"Of course I'm angry! This stupid story screwed up my plans and now I have to start from scratch! I was going to drive Ichigo insane until he had no choice but to give me control! I was going to break him! How the hell am I supposed to do that now that—gah!"

Ichigo's head snapped to one side, an expression of complete surprise on his face.

"I've come to terms with my son having a hollow in his soul," Isshin said, his voice calm and his expression serious as he lowered his hand, "but I will not tolerate you speaking of doing such things to my son."

Renji and Rukia blinked, both realizing that they hadn't even seen Isshin move.

Ichigo's expression closed as he reached up to wipe his mouth. "Tch. It was going to make him stronger."

"No, it wasn't."

Ichigo straightened and looked Isshin dead in the eye, scowling. "What do you know? It's not like you've been a very good father to—"

Ichigo choked, his muscles going taut as his eyes widened. He stayed like that for a second before his eyes narrowed, giving Isshin one last accusatory glare before the black drained out of them, indicating that Ichigo was back in control of his body.

The teenager took a moment to collect himself, ignoring the stares of the other people in the room. Isshin looked like he'd been punched and was trying not to show the pain. After a moment, Ichigo let out a deep breath.

"Sorry, Dad. He's lying."

Isshin swallowed, unsure what to do. Luckily, Kisuke broke the tension before anything could come from it.

"Ah, Ichigo, was that your inner hollow?"

"Yeah." Ichigo winced. "We've got an uneasy truce right now." He winced again, emphasizing just how uneasy that truce was. "He doesn't really know when to shut up."

Kisuke nodded, his eyes taking in every inch of Ichigo in a way that made Uryū think the scientist was taking extremely detailed mental notes. That only made the Quincy want to fill Kisuke full of holes, but, not for the first time, he pushed that feeling aside for the greater good.

Outside, thunder rumbled. The room vibrated slightly, but no one was paying attention.

Ichigo sat back down on his bed, keeping an eye on his father. He could see the slump in Isshin's shoulders; clearly, Ichigo's father was still dwelling on the hollow's words.

The orange-haired teen thought for a moment, and then sighed. There was a better time for this, he knew, but he couldn't bear to see his dad with that kind of slump in his shoulders. Isshin was always happy. As disturbing and outright concerning as his behavior often was, it was also a high point in Ichigo's day to see that Isshin was happy. Knowing that some piece of his soul had just said something so downright cruel to his father made Ichigo want to apologize.

"Dad, we've gotta talk."

"Now?"

Ichigo glanced at each person in the room, and they all got the message and nodded with the barest movement of their heads, evidently realizing that the father-son talk was happening whether they wanted it to or not. Plus, the rest of the group wanted a more private chat with Kisuke Urahara in the meantime.

"Yeah. Now."

Ichigo stood up again—he wondered why he'd sat down in the first place—and after one last glance into the room he followed his father into a different room. Isshin shut the door after making sure that Karin and Yuzu wouldn't be able to listen.

The light in the room cast severe shadows over the occupants, and the sound of the storm provided a constant background thrumming only interrupted by the occasional clap of thunder.

Ichigo moved to the wall opposite the door and then turned around, facing his dad with a neutral expression on his face.

"All right, Dad. We've never been good at talking; hell, I kind of made it that way. But even I can tell that what Shi—my inner hollow said hit you harder than I thought it did."

"It's fine." Isshin smiled his usual goofy smile, but this time it carried heavy undertones that, unbeknownst to Isshin, made Ichigo clench his fists.

"No, Dad, it's not fine." Ichigo took a deep breath, automatically glancing at the wall that his friends were behind and lowering his voice just a little bit. "Look, you haven't exactly been the greatest father to me." Isshin looked like he'd just been slapped even as Ichigo continued talking. "And I'm fine with that. I needed that space after Mom—" Ichigo paused, took a deep breath, and continued, "after Mom passed away. Karin and Yuzu were the ones who really needed support, and you did a better job than I did when it came to giving them affection. I was too wrapped up in my own problems at first, and if you hadn't been there for them, I don't know how things would've turned out. By the time I realized that I needed to start protecting Karin and Yuzu as a big brother, and that my responsibilities would begin to encroach on yours, your window for being the same kind of father to me as you were to Karin and Yuzu was over."

Isshin swallowed. His face was blank, but his eyes spoke volumes about what he felt.

"However." That one word seemed to bounce around the room while Ichigo looked his father straight in the eye. "You're not bad at the whole 'father' thing, Dad. Yuzu's the kindest person in the world, and one day Karin's going to reinvent sports. They're the best sisters a big brother could ask for. And yeah, we've never really had any heart-to-heart talks that lasted more than a minute. I've never been good at them and honestly, it seems like you're even worse. Really, Dad, all I'm trying to say is thank you. If you weren't so ridiculous, I wouldn't have pushed myself so hard to become what I am now. If you weren't so unpredictable, I never would have learned to expect the unexpected. If you hadn't done everything you were capable of to help us after Mom passed away, Karin, Yuzu, and I could've turned out a lot differently."

Ichigo smiled, though it was the barest upturn of his lips. "Can you understand that, Dad?"

Isshin turned away for a moment, reaching a hand up to his face to wipe something away. When he turned back to face his son, he was smiling, something akin to pride shining in his eyes.

"Why are you thanking me? I should be thanking you. You're the one who really protected my two baby girls."

"Who's the person that gave me my name?"

The two descended into silence, but only for a moment. Ichigo went stiff, his eyes rapidly filling with black as his irises turned yellow.

Isshin assumed a guarded stance, unsure of what to expect. Seeing the hollow inside his son pained him in a way he would never be able to describe aloud, and he wished that he knew more about the circumstances. Kisuke had described everything to him at one point, but he hadn't really been paying attention, too focused on his beautiful wife.

"Fuck. That asshole forced me into control." Ichigo glanced at Isshin and scowled, his eyes flashing. "He wants me to apologize."

Isshin didn't say a word; he had no idea how to react in this situation, and instincts long buried were screaming at him to attack now more than ever. But he couldn't bring himself to move; that was his son. Weird, twisted, and sadistic, but still some part of his son.

Ichigo let out a deep breath, rubbing the back of his head. "Here's a fun fact for you. I'm more than a hollow fused with Ichigo's soul. I'm everything he keeps buried; his darkest instincts and things he wants to keep away from the world. Kind of funny how that worked out, isn't it?"

"Sure." Isshin's voice was tight and he couldn't look Ichigo in the eye for more than a second.

"You have no sense of humor." Ichigo glanced outside at the sound of a hollow's roar. "Must suck to be them, don't you think?"

"I don't sympathize with hollows."

Ichigo grinned crookedly. "'Course you don't. You're a Shinigami."

"I was a Shinigami."

Ichigo raised one eyebrow. "Your powers are coming back. I can feel them." His grin widened. "I'm surprised you haven't attacked me yet."

"Only because you're in my son's body."

"I wonder what it's like to be like them," Ichigo said, completely switching topic at the sound of another roar being abruptly cut off as Ikkaku did his job. Isshin didn't bat an eye; he knew that Ichigo was referring to the hollows he had brought up earlier. "Those mindless hollows, or the ones that were lucky to be powerful without needing to constantly eat souls."

His grin turned razor-sharp and Isshin couldn't help the unease that stole through him upon seeing that expression on his son's face. It was disturbing.

"They're so easy to kill. What is the point of existing if another being can wipe you out so easily?"

Isshin's expression didn't change. "I don't know."

Ichigo continued as though Isshin hadn't spoken at all. "The answer is simple: there isn't one. In order to really exist, you need to be strong. Otherwise, you might as well not be in this world at all. Ichigo understands that deep in his core, but he refuses to admit it out loud. Good thing I'm here."

"What are you getting at?"

"You didn't make Ichigo strong enough to exist. He nearly got blotted out of this life by the first hollow he met, and the first two Shinigami other than that Kuchiki girl easily rid him of any power he gained."

The grin on Ichigo's face faded as quickly as it had come, replaced by a thoughtful expression.

"But he probably would've been dead ten times over by the time he met Rukia if you hadn't been attacking him at every opportunity."

"How do you know about that?"

An expression of irritation crossed Ichigo's face. "I'm a part of him. Once I fully formed in the Shattered Shaft, I had access to everything that makes up Ichigo, including his memories."

Isshin did not looked thrilled about that, but he held his tongue as Ichigo continued to speak.

"Whether I like admitting this or not, your attacks on Ichigo and the traits he inherited from you kept him in shape to the point where he could defend himself and fight off anyone else, at least until the Shinigami and hollows showed up."

Ichigo blinked, and when he opened his eyes the colors were back to the amber that Isshin was familiar with. Immediately, the teenager put one hand to his head and groaned.

"I hate headaches," was all he said for a few moments. When Ichigo recovered, he straightened and looked at his dad. "You okay, Dad?"

"Of course." The slight tremble in Isshin's voice said otherwise, but Ichigo chose not to comment on that.

"That's the closest I think I'm going to get to an apology from that guy," Ichigo muttered. "Anyway, Dad, are you ready to go back? Orihime is probably getting pretty anxious to keep reading by now."

Isshin, sensing that his son was feeling just as awkward as he was now that the air had been cleared, latched onto the excuse to leave.

"I would hate to keep Miss Inoue waiting, especially since she's going to be—"

"Whatever you're about to say," Ichigo said as he walked out of the room, a slight smile in his tone at the familiarity of the situation, "don't."

Five minutes later, Ichigo was back in his room and Uryū was balancing the computer on his lap, his expression smug and very satisfied. Ichigo was sulking, clearly irritated that he hadn't gotten the laptop, and Orihime was oblivious to it all.

Rukia and Renji had taken to observe Isshin to find any sign other than his spiritual pressure that he was a Shinigami, and Kisuke, Tessai, and Ururu were waiting patiently in one corner, though Kisuke didn't look too thrilled about the waiting portion.

After taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Uryū began to read.


A/N Nothing too huge. Kisuke shows up, mixes things up, and we have a nice heart-to-heart between Ichigo and his father feat. Ichigo's inner hollow. Fun, right?

I've been typing more lately, so I don't think I'll have to wait another two weeks, so the next chapter should be coming out on schedule. After that, I can't say, since I am up to my neck in homework and hockey.

Reviews:

Kira Akuma: Hope you enjoyed!

Krazyfanfiction1: Meh, this fic isn't really about exploring Ichigo's full capabilities. There probably won't be much at all on his Quincy side more than what relates to the plot of the main fanfic.

Lord Necrotis II: If (emphasis on if) there is a fight between Ichigo and Kenpachi, I can promise that Ichigo won't be running away. It would go against all of the character development he's had.

Crimson Homura: I think we talked via PM. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Chick1996: They're not really in this story, so no.

mallets2012: Thank you!

Heavenly God (you changed your name, I think): Yeah, their relationship is closer to siblings than spirits. It's entertaining.

jcampbellohten: I hope this is enough to tide you over. There are probably more grammar mistakes than I care to admit in this chapter, and at the moment I'm too lazy to go back and fix that other one. Oh, well. I appreciate that you take the time to point those out to me.

Guest: I hope you found that your anticipation was well founded.

Arrancar 01: Ooh, fun. I can almost hear the clapping.

Guest: Thank you!

Embers of Inspiration: Love the pen name, and your review was awesome. I can understand why this fic is weird at first; honestly, writing it was weird at first. Hopefully, it got better as you went on. Man, I hope your praise is well-founded!

ChiVall: You squeezed this review in as I was typing the responses to the other ones. Nice timing, bud. And yes, they reacted. As you saw.

That's all the reviews for this time (and it's a lot; you all are awesome reviewers), so thank you to all of you who took the time to leave feedback!

Reviewer of the week is Embers of Inspiration. Nice job!

My computer is at 3 percent, so I'll sign off here.

Until next time,

-RoR

Coming up: "I see you, Nariaki."

Please review.