(A/N: Hello everybody. Had enough of a wait for a new chapter? Get used to it. This is what happens when I go to college. Anyway I finally collected some research notes together so I managed to put together what was necessary for this chapter. Please note that I do not enjoy doing fight scenes unless I am looking forward to them so that is what will delay the next chapter).

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Code Geass


3rd Person pov

Talbumosuke had gathered all the Espada and arrancar together to address them. Many were perplexed and confused by Aizen's absence. All of them knew who Talbumosuke was, but none of them believed he could lead the in Aizen's stead.

Of them, Baraggan was the most vocal. "Ridiculous. You expect us to believe that you can defeat a man that defeated the one that brought us all together. You expect us to follow you. You who have shown no ability thus far except how to cling to Aizen like sap to a tree?"

"I do." Talbumosuke stated. "However, if it is hard for you to believe that I am a competent leader and fighter, then I only request this: follow me for now, watch me and make your own judgments of my leadership. I will not steer you wrong, the power of my master's plans is carefully locked up within my brain." Talbumosuke tapped his forehead with his right index finger and smiled. "I am not our master, but that may not necessarily be a bad thing. Our master was overconfident and underestimated the enemy. I will not underestimate or overestimate the power of the foes we face. I will make sure we confront our opponents with the proper data. Victory will be ours to claim with rather few casualties. Those of you willing to make the sacrifice shall be remembered once I achieve my ultimate goal. And of course," Talbumosuke reached into the folds of his kosode and held out the Hogyoku, "This here is the means to our end. The Hogyoku is a tool of which bestows great power to those who can control it and you can be sure that I can. If you follow me we will win and the Soul Society and all of its inhabitants will be a thing of the past."

Talbumosuke's speech went over rather well. Many of the arrancar and Espada seemed to accept his statements. Many stayed simply because they felt they would not be comfortable anywhere else. Aizen had given them purpose, Talbumosuke was making sure that purpose wasn't being let go. That alone was enough for many of them. Baraggan still though was rather uneasy and very unsure that the "young pup" could hold a candle to Aizen. Besides his raw strength, Kyoka Suigetsu had been what strong armed Baraggan into following Aizen. He would play Talbumosuke's game for now and when it came time to see that he didn't have the power to match Aizen, he would kill him.


One month later…

Karakura Town

It was a chilly October day. It had been an entire month from the start of the new semester. Business proceeded as normal for Ichigo and his friends, only that Rukia was not here to enjoy said business. She had become as much a part of his nakama as the others. If it wasn't for his Substitute Badge indicating that he was indeed a Soul Reaper, Ichigo would've thought that everything that happened over the summer had been a creation of his imagination. His mind had been put at ease by Soifon when she told him that Lelouch had been released and reinstated as the tenth division captain. Ichigo was relieved to hear that.

Now he sat in class, talking with Chad, Orihime, Tatsuki and Uryu, causing an easily excited Keigo to feel left out as he began to whine to his displeasure.

"It's like you all have a secret club that I'm not allowed to join. It's like I'm an aging puppy that no one wants to pet." Keigo complained.

"Got that right 'puppy' so why don't you just go stand in the corner and whimper until the meetings over, then you can pester Ichigo with nonsensical drivel and wag your tail all you want?" Tatsuki teased.

"You are mean Arisawa!" Keigo pointed, tears streaming down his face. "I hate all of you!" Keigo stormed out of the room and down the hall.

"What a nutjob." Tatsuki sighed.

"I think you might've hurt his feelings Tatsuki-chan." Orihime said.

"He'll get over it." Ichigo mused.

As if Keigo's antics weren't enough to make that morning out of the ordinary, Chizuru jumped out of nowhere and hugged Orihime just underneath her bust line. "Good morning!" she cried only to get a foot in the face from Tatsuki. As Chizuru went flying across the room and landed on her hands and knees she clutched her bleeding nose. "As expected of Arisawa to be so protective of my beautiful Orihime…I think I'll pass out now." Chizuru collapsed upon the floor.

"Jeez, nothing ever changes around here. Asano's still an idiot, Honsho's still in heat, and Kojima's still texting away." Tatsuki said facing front to wait for Soifon to show up and teach. She did and announced that the class would be getting a new transfer student.

Unbeknownst to Ichigo, or even said transfer student, who would soon come to be identified as Hirako Shinji, Soifon knew all about what was about to unfold, Urahara had told her all about it. In the middle of attendance, Ichigo's badge began making the most awful noise. Soifon knew that only she, Ichigo, Tatsuki, Chad, Uryu, and Orihime should be able to hear said noise. She glared at Ichigo, wondering what he was going to do about it. "Uh, sensei may I use the bathroom please!" his hand shot in the air.

The bathroom excuse, really. Soifon thought to herself. "Make it quick Kurosaki." She said with an annoyed look on her face.

"Right, sure." Ichigo said.

"I have to use the bathroom too sensei!" Tatsuki declared and began to follow Ichigo out the door.

"Me too!" Orihime said getting to her feet.

Though aware of the situation, Soifon still had to act like a teacher. "Hey hold on a minute!" she shouted, calling down the hallway. "You two get back here. Young women such as yourself should have better bladder control than that!"

"We'll make it quick!" Tatsuki said.

"Yeah, just like every other pair of female friends that go to the bathroom together!" Soifon shouted sarcastically down the hall. She could go chasing down after them if she felt like it, but she figured she may as well get used to it. She knew this sort of stuff was bound to happen. I swear if this keeps up I'm actually going to have to punish them for their work just so no one gets the idea that I'm going soft.

Keigo headed out the door and began pacing, preparing to take off. "Bathroom! Bathroom! Bathroom!"

Soifon grabbed him firmly by the shoulder. "Take your seat Mr. Asano." She said crisply.

Keigo began more frantically running in place. "Favoritism! Favortism! Favortism! Freedom to pee!" Keigo whined.

Chad and Uryu simply looked at Keigo from their seats with sweat trickling down the fronts of their foreheads.

Blocks away, Ichigo dispatched the offending hollow with ease and turned around to see Tatsuki and Orihime. "Looks like you guys came out here for nothing. I was able to take care of this thing on my own." He said. He then noticed the absence of a certain half-mexican. "Where's Chad?" he asked.

"Oh I guess we never told you." Tatsuki said. "Chad and I play Rock-Paper-Scissors every morning; loser has to play second to you."

"Okay, but what are you doing here Inoue?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh, I always wanted to lie to get out of class." Orihime admitted.

"It's nice to be honest about stuff like that." Tatsuki said. "But it's another thing to be proud of it." Orihime just laughed.

Business went about as usual for the rest of the day with no more interruptions. It was the following day that things started to become rather odd.

As Soifon had mentioned there was a new student joining the class. His name was Hirako Shinji. Both Shinji and Soifon knew who the other was. Neither was about to comment on the situation till lunch though. As sort of a gimmick, when introducing himself, he wrote his name on the blackboard backwards.

"So let's see, where am I going to put you?" Soifon asked aloud. "Hmm," she looked around the room to open seats. There were only two. One was at the far back of the room and the other was right next to…"Kurosaki meet your new neighbor." Soifon stated. Shinji went and took his seat next to Ichigo.

"Well hey there carrot top," Shinji said with a grin, "nice to meet you. I hope we can be friends."

"Whatever." Ichigo turned his head.

"Right then," Soifon said, getting back on track, "To help kick off the start of the new month and with the annual Cosplay Festival coming later this month I'm assigning you all a project. To be presented at the start of next month, I'm breaking you all up into partners and you'll be presenting a ten minute acting presentation for class." Soifon declared. "And just so there are no issues with partners and the like, I'm assigning pairs." A lot of students moaned but a scowl from Soifon silenced the room.

As far as Ichigo and his nakama were concerned, Orihime got partnered with Tatsuki and Uryu got paired up with Chad. Keigo had hoped that would leave him with Ichigo, but Soifon put him with Mizurio. Ichigo wound up getting partnered with Shinji. Ichigo wondered if perhaps his sensei had lost her mind. As far as he knew, Shinji was just a normal student. If Ichigo had to go out hollow hunting how the hell was he supposed to explain that to his partner. Not to mention Kon always had to open his mouth when not warranted.

"Sensei, why do I have to get stuck with the new guy?" Ichigo complained. His complaint was answered with a piece of chalk to the forehead. "Ow." He put his hand up to rub the sore spot.

"Kurosaki, you and Hirako are going to be seating neighbors, you might as well get used to one another." Soifon told him.

Ichigo just growled as he lowered his hand.

At lunch, Shinji made his way to the teacher's lounge to see Soifon. He found her at her desk doing work. Soifon knew what Shinji's intentions were and the two of them went to an empty classroom.

"I take it Kisuke didn't tell you the whole story." Soifon said with a smirk, arms folded.

"He just said to transfer to class 1-3. He didn't say you were the teacher, not that it would've made any difference." Shinji stated.

"I take it this means he wants Kurosaki to learn to control his hollowfication." Yoruichi had told Soifon about it. "If he didn't tell you about me, I suppose it also means he wants you to recruit Kurosaki without him knowing the connection between Kisuke and you, if that's at all possible anyway."

"Well that last part won't exactly be easy by assigning us that project together." Shinji rubbed his head.

"On the contrary, once Kurosaki finds out about what you are, a close-knit friendship will be necessary. Also he'll come running to me once he finds out and ask if I know anything if you fail to persuade him. I've given you an opportunity Hirako. Don't waste it." Soifon told him.

"Don't worry, I won't." Shinji stated and began to leave the room. "By the way, you might want to think about ditching the whole cloth and braids look. Most women wear their hair long now or in a ponytail. You should get with the times. You look like you're stuck in the 16th century."

"I don't need fashion tips from you!" Soifon snapped.

Afterschool, as Ichigo and his nakama began to leave school grounds, Shinji came up from behind the group and slung his arms around Ichigo and Tatsuki's shoulders the pair of which was standing side by side. "Hey, what's up new friends?" he asked.

"Hey, overbite, ever heard of personal space?" Tatsuki asked.

"What do you want Hirako?" Ichigo growled.

"Well, Ichigo since you and I are assignment partners, what's say we get a jump start on the project?" he asked. He slid his arm off of Tatsuki and leaned his elbow on Ichigo's shoulder. "As they say there's no time like the present."

"Here's another thing they say," Ichigo said, walking forward with his bag over his back, "Don't do today what you can put off till tomorrow."

"Actually you might want to keep off the streets." Uryu said to Ichigo as he pushed in his glasses. "Gangs tend to grow bold in the autumn months around here, especially when the Cosplay Festival approaches. Unless you want to be caught in a fight it might be best if you and Hirako get a jump start on the assignment. I know Sado and I plan to." Chad nodded in agreement to Uryu's statement.

"Ugh, fine." Ichigo surrendered. "Just follow me to my place. My dad said he'd be getting home late tonight so we'll have some peace and quiet at least."

"Sure thing pal." Shinji said with a huge grin.

"And quit the buddy-buddy act," Ichigo said and he and Shinji began to walk away from the rest of the group, "It's really irritating."

"Aw c'mon don't be like that. Don't you know that the best of friends…"

Shinji and Ichigo were far too outside of the rest of the group's earshot.

Tatsuki was staring intently at Shinji. "What is it Tatsuki-chan?" Orihime asked.

"That guy…has spiritual pressure." Tatsuki stated.

"It's more than that." Uryu pushed up his glasses. "He has a red spirit ribbon." Uryu stated.

"Wha-are you serious?" Tatsuki asked.

Uryu nodded. "Yes, but at the same time there's something odd about the way his is constructed. I can't quite place my finger on it."

"Is Kurosaki-kun in danger?" Orihime asked.

"Not likely." Uryu said. "Sensei's reiatsu is considered captain level. She obviously knows that Hirako-san has reiatsu. It's likely she also knows what he is as well. She may have even paired Kurosaki and Hirako-san together for that reason."

"So then what do we do?" Tatsuki asked.

"For now we shouldn't do anything." Uryu said. "If we wait, the truth will be revealed to us eventually."

"Well, you're the smart one. If you think that's what we should do, I have no problem with it." Tatsuki said, rubbing her head. In the short month they had been home, she, Ichigo and the others had formed a small little five man band of sorts. Ichigo was the leader, Tatsuki was his sidekick, Uryu was the smart guy, Chad was the big guy and Orihime was there more or less to look pretty.

"Maybe if Hirako-san turns out to be a nice guy he can be the sixth ranger to our five person group." Orihime chimed in. She then began to go off on one of her little tangents.

"I guess Orihime and I will go to her place and work on our project. If you guys learn anything call." Tatsuki said holding up her hand like a cell phone.

"The bad guy is huge it's time to create the Super Special Mecha God! Kill! Eliminate! Rawr!" Orihime said, now daydreaming aloud. Tatsuki sighed and waited till her friend was finished before the two girls headed off to Orihime's apartment.


That Evening

Ichigo and Shinji had been sitting around for quite a few hours trying to come up with some kind of idea that they both could agree on and actually do. Every idea they had come up with thus far had either been rejected by the other person or fallen short by varying degrees of being doable. They had come close at one point. Ichigo had come up with an idea of enacting a scene from one of his favorite anime's, which Shinji knew, only for both to wonder how in the hell they were going to simulate giant fighting robots or find an ornamental sword that could both clash with a carving knife without getting sliced up since most fake swords were made of plastic.

Ichigo lay on his bed, face up, staring at the ceiling. "Look this isn't getting us anywhere. You wanna call it a night and try it again another time?" Ichigo asked.

"Well excuse me for not having the same interests as a delinquent except for a couple of cartoons." Shinji said with a bored tone.

Ichigo just growled. As if things couldn't get any worse. His hollow badge started to go off. Oh great. Ichigo rolled his eyes. He got up from his bed and went for his desk and headed for the door. "I'll be right back." he told Shinji.

Shinji stood up. "And just where do you think yer goin in such a hurry, eh Ichigo?"

"The bathroom." Ichigo said lazily.

"Liar, you're on your way out to fight hollows, aren't ya?" Shinji asked.

What? Ichigo wondered how he could possibly know about this kind of thing. "Hirako," Ichigo turned around sharply, "how do you know about that?" His answer was given to him when he saw Shinji holding up a long sword with a red handle and an 'I' shaped guard. "Is that…a Zanpakuto? Hirako…who are you?" Forget it. I don't have time to wonder about that kind of thing right now." Ichigo emerged in Soul Form and then opened the window. "I've got substitute duty. This conversation isn't over."

"Of course it isn't. That's why I'm gonna come with you." Shinji said. Ichigo just sneered and he and Hirako headed out together to where Ichigo slashed the offending hollow in half with one strike of his blade.

"Now then, mind telling me who you are? How did you get a Zanpakuto? What are you doing in my class?" Ichigo asked.

"Is your memory that bad? Don't you remember what I said to you?" Shinji asked. "I said I wanted to be friends, remember? Your sensei obviously realizes you and I need to be friends." Shinji's face reflected a particularly crooked smile. "Otherwise she wouldn't have partnered us up for our project now would she?" Ichigo became shocked at the prospect that Soifon knew the entire time.

"What the hell do you want with me? I don't get it Hirako. Who are you?" Ichigo asked.

"Will you calm down?" Shinji asked. "You are such a pain sometimes, do you know that?" He held up his hand up by his forehead as reishi began to gather together until it began to take a unique shape. I Shinji's hand was a white mask that vaguely resembled the mummy of an entombed pharaoh. "Pop quiz," Shinji said, "What do you suppose this is?"

"That's…that's a hollow mask!" Ichigo became alarmed.

"Yup, a Zanpakuto," Shinji held up his sword with the hand that wasn't clutching his mask, "and a hollow mask. Do you get it now? I'm a Soul Reaper that's crossed over. A Soul Reaper with the powers of a hollow. I'm what's called a Visored…just like you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo slammed his palm against his chest. "I'm a Soul Reaper and proud of it. So you can take your little Visored friends and just go home!"

"Oh really, well it won't matter either way, your sensei has us partnered together for that little assignment. I'll get you to see things my way one way or another." Shinji said. "After all, do you think your sensei would be dumb enough to partner you up with a rogue spiritual entity?"

Ichigo realized what Shinji was saying. "You mean you…and her…"

"That's right we know each other. And unless I'm mistaken your sensei is about as protective as they come. If she thought you were in any danger don't you think she'd be here by now?" Shinji asked.

Ichigo grinded his teeth and glared at Shinji.

"So come on, join up with us. We can show you how to control that beast inside of you." Shinji said.

"No way." Ichigo held up both his hands.

"Well that's too bad Ichigo," Shinji said, "even if you don't want to join you're gonna wind up coming to find me and my pals anyway. After all it's only a matter of time before that thing inside you completely takes over your mind."

Ichigo was about to say something back when a spiritual pressure could be felt a few blocks away. "What the hell…is that?"

"Man, that's some reiatsu. Wanna check it out…friend." Shinji asked as he turned to go after it.

"Hey! Don't go acting like we're buds or anything!" Ichigo shouted. "I've got no interest in your little group."

"So what?" Shinji asked, glancing back at Ichigo. "Just cause I've got hollow powers doesn't mean I'm one of them. I'm not one of the Soul Society and I'm not one of the hollows. I'm my own guy on my own side. If you don't want to join me now, you're just delaying the inevitable. That doesn't mean we can't be comrades until then. So what do you say…amigo?" Shinji asked.

"Fine, whatever." Ichigo growled. "Just don't get in my way!" Shinji and Ichigo both tore after the giant hollow that had emerged.

It was Shinji who got to the hollow first. "Gotta keep up Ichigo." he said. "You'll never be a good Soul Reaper if you're slower than me."

This little game of race to slay kept up for a little while until a gigantic spiritual pressure could be felt by both Ichigo and Shinji. The garganta opened up right on their location. From it, emerged a large hollow, the size of a small town house. It was covered in dark tan and olive green fur and had a human-like build with a human-like face and tiki shaped mask around the face. "Kurosaki Ichigo!" the hollow took a big swing at Ichigo, who dodged. The hollow laughed. "Well, well, well, I've found you at last, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"H-how does that hollow know my name?" Ichigo thought aloud.

"Whew, that smell is downright rank." Shinji waved his arm in front of his nose and then looked at the giant hollow. "You know they invented something called soap a few decades ago. You should try some."

"Insolent little whelp!" the giant hollow took a swing at Shinji who blocked with his bare palm.

Impossible…without a weapon at all! Ichigo looked at Shinji, wide eyed.

With a sly smirk, and a firm grip, Shinji pulled his arm back by his ear and then pushed, sending the giant hollow into a nearby building. "Hmm, I guess I overestimated him." Shinji said. "You wanna crack at him Ichigo?" Shinji asked.

"Huh?" Ichigo was still half-aware of his surroundings.

"Oh come on," Shinji said in disbelief, "That hollow knows yer name. It's always nice to keep appointments, Ichigo. Even if your appointment is a battle to the death with a foul smelling hollow."

"Oh haha, very funny!" Ichigo griped sarcastically, bouncing his head side to side. "Whatever though, I've got a pretty good idea what that thing is and you can bet your ass that I'm going to turn that thing into paste." Ichigo took off after the hollow that he was convinced was Grand Fisher. He landed on the ground and stared at the giant hollow. "Get up!" Ichigo thundered.

With a low growl and a few grunts, the hollow, that Ichigo had correctly identified, got to its feet. "Kurosaki Ichigo, how I have waited for this moment."

"Grand Fisher…what the hell happened to you?" Ichigo asked chuckling. "You look like you got beaten with an ugly stick by a very hairy man."

Grand Fisher growled and attacked Ichigo. Ichigo jumped back and fired off a Getsuga Tensho, knocking Grand Fisher into the ground. He prepared for the counter attack as Grand Fisher side swiped at him, but Ichigo dodged to the side. Ichigo sent out another Getsuga Tensho, firing blindly, kicking up dust and smoke, but he found, once the smoke and dust cleared, that his second attack hadn't done very much. Grand Fisher was now about the size of a menos grande. Ichigo landed on a roof.

"What the hell? How the hell did he get so big?" He saw the handle of a sword sticking out of Grand Fisher's back and the bald head of the creature. "And is that…a Zanpakuto. What the hell is going on?"

"Confused? Then allow me to explain. I am an Arrancar, a hollow interested in obtaining the powers of a Soul Reaper by removing parts of my mask to become more powerful. In our last encounter, my wounds were too severe from you for me to recover on my own and so," Grand Fisher gripped his sword and drew it completely out. "I was transformed!"

That's his Zanpakuto…it's huge! What the hell? Ichigo thought to himself.

Shinji was watching the spectacle off to the side, his garments flapping in the breeze kicked up by the spiritual pressure. "Well, well, this looks like it's starting to get interesting. I might just have to save the kid's life if things get dangerous."

"Don't bother," a deep masculine voice stated, "let me." Shinji looked off to the right to see a Soul Reaper with a haori tucked and folded along his left shoulder and a Zanpakuto with a red handle, sheathed at the hip of the same side of the man's body, standing next to him. He had black hair and a fuzzy beard. "After all, he's my son."

"Kurosaki Isshin." Shinji recognized. He didn't know Isshin by face, but he knew who he was by name. He also had been told about Ichigo bloodline, but not the details. It made sense to Hirako though. He now remembered the less than famous branch family that extended off from the Shibas. So he's that Kurosaki, interesting. Shinji thought.

"How long do you think he'll last?" Isshin asked.

"You say that like you think he might fail." Shinji said.

"It's his first arrancar, plus his inner hollow is out of control. He'll never be able to properly control his spiritual power right now. Not on a revenge hype anyway.

Isshin was right. Ichigo contended with Grand Fisher's monstrous sized Zanpakuto and massive power, but was unable to counter. The power of his Shikai was very limiting and he wasn't getting the breathing room necessary to pull out his Bankai. Grand Fisher took another swing at Ichigo and sent him colliding with the ground. "What's the matter Kurosaki Ichigo, despite your increase in power am I so much stronger than you now?" the hollow began laughing wildly.

"Screw you!" Ichigo shouted and held up his sword to the sky. "Getsuga Tensho!" With his massive fist Grand Fisher punched the attack and dissipated it. "What?" Ichigo could not believe that he just saw his attack get punched into little bits. The shockwave knocked him down on his ass.

"It's over Kurosaki Ichigo, you lose!" Grand Fisher took a swing at Ichigo.

"That's far enough." A deep voice called out and slashed Grand Fisher right in the wrist and severed off his sword hand.

Ichigo could only stare at the person before him. "D-dad?"

"Hey," Isshin gave a thumb's up to his son, "What's the matter Ichigo, you're getting your butt handed to you by this overgrown furbag?"

"When did you get your powers back? You told me you lost them!" Ichigo shouted as he sat on the ground.


One month earlier

It had been about a day after Ichigo had returned home. His dad had tried waking him up in the usual manner and Ichigo stopped him…in the usual manner. It was after their little tumble and tussle that Ichigo asked about Isshin's being a Soul Reaper.

"Who blabbed?" Isshin asked. "Wasn't Lelouch was it?"

"Well, Lelouch told me the details after I found out, but it was this guy Stefan. He said something about you being a phantom and a martyr." Ichigo rubbed his neck.

"Well I—"

"You don't have to tell me why you didn't tell me before. You probably had your reasons. I can't ask about it without traipsing all over your feelings and staining them with dirt. So I'll wait. Until you decide someday that you want to tell me, until you decide it's time for me to know. Until that time comes, you don't have to say a thing." Ichigo said. "I do want to know a few things though…if you don't mind."

"Sure what's up?"

"If you're a former Soul Reaper, how come you can't see spirits?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh that…I…well you see…I sort of…lost my powers." Isshin rubbed his head.

"Uh huh." Ichigo didn't seem to buy it.

"I'm telling you that's what happened!" Isshin said. "I couldn't become a Soul Reaper right now even if I wanted to."

"Whatever." Ichigo said. "What's for breakfast?" he began to head for the front door.

"Wait, Ichigo." Isshin said. "Just how much do you know?"

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked.

"Ah, never mind. Another time maybe." Isshin said. "Go eat."


Present Day

"Hey wait a sec! This is why you blew off work and said you were coming home late? So you could get your powers back? What gives?" Ichigo asked.

"I'll explain it to you in a little bit. Right now why don't you let me be a father and take down this hollow that's giving you trouble boy." Isshin said.

"Dad, wait a minute! That's not an old hollow. It's a special hollow he—"

"Killed Masaki, I know." Isshin said.

"Wha…bu…how…I don't…" Ichigo couldn't form a coherent sentence.

"Remember how I told you that I didn't blame you for Masaki's death. Well, that wasn't pure sentimentality you know. Mostly that was it, but the real cause is right in front of our face. If anyone else should be blamed," Isshin said as he took a stance with his legs spread apart, "it should be me for not being able to save Masaki," Isshin put a hand on his Zanpakuto, "not you." In the next moment, Ichigo watched as Isshin disappeared and then reappeared only a few inches to Ichigo's left. However, Isshin's sword was mostly sealed and his back was to the enemy. However, after he clicked it shut a wound ran across Grand Fisher's body as he split in half and dissolved. Isshin smiled. "Looks like I still got it."

"Got that right." A suave voice called out as the sound of wooden shoes could be heard clomping across the rooftop.

"Hat and Cloggs?" Ichigo stared at Urahara.

"Well, if it isn't the men of the Kurosaki household. How's it goin for ya?" Urahara asked, tipping his hat.

"We just avenged my mom." Ichigo said.

"Oh, well that's good to hear then isn't it?"

"So…I take it Aizen's made his move." Isshin said.

"You're a bit behind in the news Isshin, Aizen's dead." Urahara stated.

"You don't say." Isshin said.

Hearing the word Aizen and dead used in the same sentence, Shinji inched closer to listen in. "Apparently Lelouch used some power he calls 'Geass' to get Aizen to commit suicide." With his name cleared, Urahara had been briefed on the situation by Head Captain Yamamoto, and given extra detail by Yoruichi and Soifon. Yamamoto wanted Urahara in on the fight against Atrumier Talbumosuke, Aizen's second, and to do that he needed the bucket hatted shopkeepers help.

Lelouch got him? Shinji asked himself and grinned widely. We'll ain't that just swell.

"You said Atrumier right?" Isshin asked.

"Indeed I did. And indeed I am referring to the former lower noble family beneath the Kuchikis. Talbumosuke-kun seems to have struck out on his own and he's already made himself known that he's not to be screwed around with." Urahara said.

"How did you or the Soul Society work that out?" Isshin asked.

"Talbumosuke-kun left a paper trail brighter than the moon reflected off the head captain's dome. Within the Milky Way galaxy the Soul Society has lost contact with over five hundred Soul Reaper outposts in the last month. All were found defeated by time manipulated reiatsu as well as reiatsu that is a mixture of Soul Reaper and hollow energy."

"That bastard!" Ichigo shouted.

"It gets worse. We think he's just testing the strength of his crew until he's ready to you on Ichigo. Aizen had his eye on you. It's only a matter of time before Talbumosuke tries the same thing." Urahara said. "We'll let you have the first crack if you want, but be prepared to not have an easy fight or being required to be bailed out."

Ichigo simply glared.

"Well, have a good night gentleman. I'll be seeing you later." Urahara began to walk away and stopped after about ten paces. "I know you heard every word we said Hirako, make of it what you will." Urahara said and then vanished.

"Hey! Wait! Hat and Cloggs."

"Oh yeah, good luck trying to get him to come back." Shinji's sarcastic voice penetrated Ichigo's ears as he dropped behind the Kurosaki men. "Kisuke does what he wants and doesn't care what anyone thinks. That's just the kind of guy he is. He loves messing with people. Which is odd when I consider how laid back he was as a captain."

"Wait, you knew Hat and Clogs when he was a captain?" Ichigo asked.

"Urahara called you Hirako right?" Isshin asked. "I was right, you are who I think you are: former captain of squad five, Hirako Shinji."

"That's me." Shinji said with a big grin.

Former…captain? Ichigo stared at Shinji. This guy?

Shinji saw Ichigo staring holes at him and decided to fes up since Isshin IDed him. "Well the cat's out of the bag now. So here's the thing Ichigo, I've been sent to help you become a Visored because that's the only way you're going to be able to control the hollow inside you."

"I won't become one of your club flunkies. I don't know how you got your powers. I really don't care. If you're a former captain with powers the Soul Society considers illegal, with good reason, that doesn't exactly give me reason to trust you so easily. I don't care if you know my friends and family, you don't have my trust and until you prove to me that I can trust you, there's no way I'm just going to submit myself to whatever it is you want me to do. Not unless there's no other option." Ichigo said.

"Don't you get it you idiot. There is no other option. This problem isn't going to just go away. And you can't control it on your own. Your only choice is to become a Visored." Shinji stated.

"I have time to seek out other options though and I'll be damned sure to find them if they exist. I still have my mind to control. I'm not going to just turn myself into a Soul Society hating bastard just because you want me to give into my hollow self. I won't hollowfy! I won't!" Ichigo took off.

"Man he is so stubborn." Shinji said.

"He kind of takes after me in that respect." Isshin beamed. "But what can you do, he's young and stupid. Just hang around, try to earn his trust, he'll come around."

"Well I've got at least a month considering his teacher assigned us as partners for a project." Shinji stated. "Hopefully before then he'll come around."

"Well, just try acting like a friend and he might accept you. All you gotta do is earn his trust. That's a little easier done on paper than for real though." Isshin said.

"I figured that was gonna be the case." Shinji said. "Well whatever, I guess I'll be seeing more of you two more often. What a pain in the rear." Shinji took off.

Isshin sighed and began to trudge on back to Urahara's house where his Gigai was. "Well, best head for home then." He looked up at the sky and saw the glistening stars. "So you took him out eh? Way to go Lelouch." Isshin then shunpoed and left the scene.

End of Chapter 51


(A/N: Next time on Soul Chess some old favorites, for those of you who loved the Espada, will be making their Soul Chess debut and also we'll get to see who the Soul Society sends for reinforcements this time. Since canon called the arc the Arrancar arc, as a contrast, until I note otherwise, this arc is hereby dubbed the Visored Arc. As you can see, I've already changed quite a bit from canon and I'll continue to divert things from canon. Don't change the webpage just yet though. My friend who writes omakes had gotten some more together for you so here's one for you all to enjoy. Once again please note that I do not write the omakes, I just supply them. It is up for you, the fans to choose if you want to let any of the omakes be canon or non-canon. Also note that any of you lovely fans who would like to try your hand at writing omakes for this series you are certainly welcome to do so).


Chapter 33.17

Lelouch was burning the candle at both ends; his high position in the seireitei was not one that tolerated slackers. Adding that he was running perhaps seven gambits that would have made Xanatos proud, including an illegal but morally just organization, and he had not much time to himself.

Which was just as well, really. He performed at his best when under pressure, his genial mind requiring a stimulus to function properly.

"Lelouch-sama..."

It was Nemu. Lelouch sighed. Ever since that first time they had sex, she had been increasingly needy. She wanted it all the time, as soon as they had a moment to themselves. To make the thing more annoying, she insisted on pleasuring him orally when they didn't have the time for a longer sexual act, and when they did have time, she would often insist he tied her to the bed and have his way with her.
When he hadn't taken a hint, she had told him up front that she wanted to be pleasured everywhere, including her rear end. Not to mention the whips, the bondage, the roleplaying, the sex toys so absurd you would have to be Nemu to think of them...

Lelouch sighed to himself. How was a man supposed to enjoy life when his incredibly attractive girlfriend wanted to pleasure him every five minutes?

"I am busy working, dear." He said off-handedly.

"Well, I am going to bed... don't stay up late." At that point, Lelouch noticed she was wearing nothing but a single piece of string.

He nodded. "I'll be coming."

"Oh, I should hope so..." She purred.

"Do you mind?" He said, irritated.

"Forgive me, Lelouch-sama. I have been disrespectful to you. Please, forgive me!" A tear was showing at the corner of her eye. Worried that he had actually hurt her feelings, he walked up to her.

"Listen Nemu, I am just a bit swamped-"

"You must punish me... master." She whispered. Her voice low and seductive. "I was so, so disrespectful. I see no other option than my wicked, naughty behind being whipped red and raw, so I learn my place!"

"Oh, get out, woman!" He said, gently but firmly shoving her out of his office. Honestly...

Sighing, he sat down by his desk, pulling out the latest issue of Lesbian Bondage Paradise. How was a man supposed to get some time to himself with a woman constantly nagging at him?

Chapter 33.17 End