Going to post more than one chapter today. It's been a while since I've done this…I'm not very good at regular updates, but when I do update my stories, I'll probably be posting more than one chapter. When the authors I like only post one, It's never enough! I'm really impatient…
I'm thinking I might update Bonds of Fate tomorrow for those of you following some of my other stories.
Looking back on this one, it's pretty obvious I was intending to write a Manipulative!Dumbledore fic. I don't normally write those, don't know why. I have a bad habit of redeeming all my villains. I need to break out of that…
Anyways, I do not own Harry Potter, Bleach or Fairy Tail!
Hitsugaya returned to his office looking exhausted only an hour later.
"How's Momo?" Rangiku asked worriedly.
"They've detained her." He admitted, though Harry could hear the hurt and sadness behind the ice in his voice, "She'll be fine."
She has to be, were the unspoken words.
Harry worked through the night, testing out various substances still when his latest experiment failed.
"Damnit!" He shouted, his book falling to the ground.
He let out a sigh. That was just perfect…he picked the book up and turned it over. His eyes widened at the new page the book had opened its self to.
"It can't be…but it's so simple."
Hitsugaya had fallen asleep at his desk, while Rangiku was sleeping on the couch across from him.
Harry bit his thumb nail.
"But if I did that…then what about? Oh…" he realized, "If I were to use the magic stamp properties…" he let out a laugh, then prepared a potion.
It bubbled until it was red. Then Harry bit his thumb, breaking the skin. He let his blood drip into the potion, it turned thick and black.
Harry grinned.
"I did it…I've got it!" He shouted causing Rangiku and Hitsugaya to wake up.
"You've done it?" Hitsugaya asked fiercely, yet still cold.
"I've got it. I found the bonding agent." Harry said proudly, "Blood magic, mixed with the skin installment potion used in guild stamps." Harry ran a hand through his hair, "It was so simple. I can't believe I didn't see it before." He shook his head, "I need one of you to test this one out. This test might be a little more dangerous so you'll have to wait five minutes before leaving this office so I know there aren't any dangerous effects."
He pulled out a calligraphy brush from his bag and dipped in in the ink.
"Who wants to test it?" He asked.
"I will." Hitsugaya said, getting up.
"Alright." Harry said, "Now, be warned, this isn't like the paper stuff I was using. I'm going to use this, and paint it onto your face. Like…face paint I guess. But more permanent. I can get rid of it, I've got the antidote here if need be." Harry assured, "And if you don't like the look of it, you can cover it up with invisibility potion, that's something people often use for blemishes and scars and stuff."
"Oh, can I have some of that?" Rangiku asked.
"Sure, I have two vials of it…er, but I'm afraid Hitsugaya-taichou has first dibs since he's the one acting as a guinea pig." He added thoughtfully.
Rangiku pouted but decided it wasn't worth arguing over.
"Alright, come sit on the couch right next to me." Harry said.
Hitsugaya made his way over to the couch and sat down while Harry drew an eye of an almost Egyptian style design on his forehead. Around it, he drew a series of runes that began vanishing into his skin. Rangiku watched on in intrigue.
After he was done, only the eye remained.
"Does it hurt anywhere?" Harry asked Hitsugaya.
"No." he shook his head, "I feel the same. Although…I seem to be seeing much more than I should…and from several different angles."
"Close your eyes." Harry said.
"I can still see." Hitsugaya said, "It's like those papers, only more powerful."
"Alright, just stay here a while longer." Harry said, "I don't want to take any chances. This is some experimental magic we're doing here and there's no way I'm taking the chance that this goes wrong. Five minutes' max for us to see ill effects."
He nodded, though it was clear he was itching to test the whole thing out. After more than five minutes had passed, Harry painted an invisibility potion over top of the mark, then let Hitsugaya go.
"You think you've got it this time?" Rangiku asked.
"I think I do." Harry said, "I found the right bonding agent. I'm confident this time."
Rangiku looked at him out of the corner of her eye,
"It wasn't frog intestines, was it?"
Harry chuckled,
"No. I used blood. My blood to be exact. I realized that the spell would have to be integrated into the nervous system, so I'd need a bonding agent that would do just this. I mixed a potion with my own blood in it. Because not only is my blood capable with Shinigami, due to Shinigami having human souls, though you often seem to forget this. My blood has magic in it too. Normal blood might not have worked, but a wizard's blood…" Harry's face took on a look of determination, "I know it will work."
Rangiku smiled at him,
"You must be tired."
"A little." Harry yawned, "I mean…I haven't slept in two days. I've been running on pepper up potion. Which isn't exactly good for anyone to be doing."
"Just go to sleep, I'll wake you up if anything happens."
"Alright." Harry said, laying down on the couch and closing his eyes.
He heard Hitsugaya enter the office only a few moments later.
"Harry, it works! When I close my eyes, I can see through the illusion, and even with my eyes open I can still tell that there's an illusion there."
Harry opened his eyes tiredly,
"I did it then…" his world went black…he'd gone to sleep mid-sentence.
He was aware though before he passed out that both Rangiku and Hitsugaya were smiling.
"Harry…Harry, wake up."
Harry's eyes flickered open to see Rangiku standing over him, shaking him awake. Harry let out a moan.
"Harry…they changed the time."
"What?" Harry frowned.
"Rukia's execution date. It's at noon…tomorrow."
Harry jerked up quickly,
"What time is it now?" he asked.
"About twelve o'clock. We have twenty-four hours before Rukia is executed." Rangiku said, "Which means we're going to try to get our work done so as not to arouse suspicion…then we're going to Central forty-six."
Harry sat up,
"Before we do, we should use the spell I created…come to think of it, I should probably think up a name for that…"
"Ooh, how about the eye of ruby?" Rangiku suggested, "Cause, you used your blood and rubies are red. Plus, you based the idea off of the eye of emerald, right?"
Harry slapped his hand with his fist,
"That's brilliant!"
"Is it really?" Hitsugaya's eyebrow twitched.
"Think about it, Taichou, how often do you get to name a real magic spell?" Rangiku said.
"Well, I think we should draw the design on you, Rangiku. I don't want you to be taken in by Aizen's illusions, even if I doubt you'll fight him head-on." Harry said, "And could you draw the ruins on my forehead as well? All you need to do is use a normal brush. My blood should do the rest." Harry said.
"I'll do it." Rangiku nodded, then kept her face still as Harry dipped his brush into the potion and began applying the ruins to her face.
Once again, she was left with an eye in the center of her forehead. Harry brushed some invisibility potion over the markings, as he doubted she would enjoy the design either way.
Rangiku added the design to his face soon after. The whole thing took less than five minutes. Harry could immediately feel the spell get to work.
"Wow, this is so cool!" Rangiku said, "It's like I can see everything even clearer than before, and all at once too…"
Harry smiled slightly,
"Why thank you. And I don't just mean for the compliment. You both helped me more than you know in the development of this spell." He looked thoughtful, "I'm going to go off now. I'll see you later though at Rukia-san's execution."
Hitsugaya nodded,
"I'd prefer you stayed…but I have a feeling you have something to do…and you won't see me." He said grimly, "I think I know where Aizen is hiding. I'm going to try and buy you some time to get Kuchiki-san out of there. Use it well."
Harry nodded, seeing the determination on his face,
"I'll see you two around. Don't go dying on me, I worked way too hard to help you for that to happen yet."
Toshiro nodded, then he and his lieutenant were off.
Harry put his bag on and transformed into his battle outfit, the scarf wrapping around his head, disguising his identity.
Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out his compact mirror.
"Black Cat." He said.
The glass simply reflected himself a moment, then it showed Yoruichi's face.
"Yo, Harry. Where have you been? I haven't heard from you in a while."
"Yeah, I managed to infiltrate the tenth division with the captain's help. Seems he had already suspected something was off with Rukia-san's execution. We're friends now, by the way."
Yoruichi blinked,
"Really? What did you do? Did you do some information gathering?"
"I already know who's behind all this. The fifth division Taichou. Sosuke Aizen. I also know about his compete hypnosis. The tenth division Lieutenant and Captain have helped me developed a way of countering the effects."
"You can counter it!?" She exclaimed loudly.
"Yes." Harry confirmed, "As soon as we found out about his Zanpakutou from Urahara-san, I began looking through my books at similar mind magics that dealt in hypnosis. I found something similar, but I had to create the spell and that took a lot of testing. Luckily, Hitsugaya-taichou and Rangiku volunteered as test subjects. They had to test several of my prototypes, but I finally did it."
"So then," Yoruichi said slowly, "We have Hitsugaya-taichou on our side…Do you think you could use this spell of yours on me or other Shinigami?"
"Of course, I can. I already said I tested it out on Hitsugaya-taichou. He's immune to the effect now…or at least he should be. We tested it out on the fake corpse Aizen left behind. Anyways, I was hoping you could tell me a bit about what happened to Orihime, Uryu and Chad. I'm guessing Ichigo is training now, otherwise he would be in a fight by now…you know, he's not very subtle." Harry pointed out.
Yoruichi smirked,
"But you've far than made up for that with your own subtlety. How long did it take to invent that spell of yours?"
Harry groaned,
"One day and one night. Normally stuff like that takes a week, at least…Hitsugaya-taichou said I had two days…I don't think he realizes just how difficult that stuff really is."
Laughter filtered through the mirror,
"Kid, you are a force to be reckoned with. So, why are you calling me up again? Oh right, the others…I believe they're in prison. My sources say that Zaraki plans on breaking them out though."
"You mean Kenpachi Zaraki? The eleventh division taichou?" Harry asked skeptically, "How the hell did Ichigo make friends with him?"
Yoruichi shrugged,
"Zaraki respects Ichigo. Ichigo beat him in battle so I guess…"
Harry just shook his head,
"Alright, I guess that makes sense. Where are you? I was hoping to get a bit of training done before tomorrow."
"A secret underground training grounds." Yoruichi said, "Head South of the tower and you should begin to feel Ichigo's reiatsu."
"Alright." Harry said, "I'll see you soon, Kick-ass-sensei."
"See you soon, Harry." She smiled, then the glass went black a moment and returned to reflecting all around it. Harry closed the compact and put it in his pocket.
He shunpoed away, out of Hitsugaya's office.
At first Harry didn't even see it. It was a small, trap door hidden between two rocks. Anyone would have missed it, really. He knew that Ichigo's reiatsu was coming from around that point, but it seemed to be emitting from somewhere underground.
He opened the trap door and jumped down, letting the trap door slam behind him.
"There you are." Yoruichi said, "So…this spell…"
"I'll tell you all about it." Harry promised, "Although, there's something I'm rather hoping you'll teach me in exchange."
"Oh?" Yoruichi asked with intrigue.
"Your cat transformation." Harry said seriously, "Where I'm from Wizards can change into animals. Those that can are called Animagi. I know what form I'll take." Harry admitted, "But I can't change. I've noticed that your energy, and the way you change is a lot like an animagus transformation."
Yoruichi looked surprised,
"I suppose I can…Well, who am I to say no? Especially after you figured out a way to get passed the hypnosis."
Harry nodded,
"I can cast the spell on you now if you'd like. It will leave a sort of tattoo or mark on your face, but it can be covered up."
"That's fine." She said.
"Then let's do it now." Harry decided.
The two of them sat down while Harry took out the potion and a brush for drawing the ruins. Yoruichi sat still, as Harry applied the potion like a face paint over her forehead. The ruins he drew disappeared, leaving only the eye tattoo.
"Wow, that's rather impressive." Yoruichi said.
"It's a side effect." Harry admitted, "I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you. There weren't any negative effects that I've observed from the potion so far though." He added.
"That's fine. Actually, that's great. This could come in handy in more ways than one." She said, and Harry could tell that she was thinking of what she might be able to do with her new 'sight.'
"So then…transformation training…First you start with circulating your reiatsu through your body, though it seems you've already go that down…"
[0000000000000000000000]
...
Harry watched Ichigo train on his own every now and then while he played flash tag with Yoruichi. They'd pause in between their game of tag to do animagus training. It was clear that Harry wasn't going to get his form by the next day. But it was still a start.
"You've gotten faster." Yoruichi commented.
"I've been using Shunpo at every opportunity." Harry admitted, "I want to get faster."
Yoruichi nodded approvingly. Harry's style had drifted closer to something stealthier. Though often times that clashed with his more dazzling spells.
That night, Harry fell asleep, exhausted. He rather hoped Hitsugaya and Rangiku would be alright…
The next day, Harry woke up and packed up his bag, making sure he had everything he needed.
"Where are you going?" Yoruichi asked him.
"I'm going to Sokyoku hill." Harry admitted, "That's where Rukia's execution is going to be held. If Ichigo ends up being late, I can at least stall a while."
Yoruichi nodded,
"Good luck…and be careful."
"I will." Harry said, then disappeared in a shunpo.
It was eleven-thirty when he left, and he had seen Ichigo getting ready. At Ichigo's speed though, Harry was worried he wouldn't make it.
Harry was still faster, far faster. He shunpoed close to the hill, then cast a disillusionment charm on himself.
When he reached the hill, still hiding his presence, he found himself unnoticed. He had been a bit worried that he would have been sensed, but as long as he hid his magic, and his emotions, he was invisible.
Rukia stood under the giant wooden rectangle while a small group of captains and lieutenants surrounded her.
An old man with a hiyori that said number one in kanji approached her. He was obviously the sou-taichou. He had a long beard, a lot like Dumbledore. But unlike Dumbledore, Harry could vaguely see the outline of muscles beneath his robes. His beard was tied with a purple ribbon that went all the way down to the very tip. His head was completely bald and his hands rested on top of a wooden cane that emitted the same energy a Zanpakutou did.
Harry could tell that he was the strongest out of all of them.
"Now the time has arrived…let us begin the execution." He spoke in a warn voice, but there was still power behind it.
"It seems odd that so few people showed up." A young-looking woman in a white hiyori said, there was a number two written in kanji on her back, "The captains and lieutenants from squad one and squad two are here. And Kyoraku's squad eight. It's no surprise that squads five, eleven and twelve are missing, given their casualties, and I think Zaraki's lost it." She said the last bit with a tone that said, 'well we all saw that one coming.'
"But what about all the rest of the officers?" she wondered with a frown on her face, looking over her shoulder, "I thought that at least Unohana would have wanted to be here…"
Unohana…Harry thought, she seemed interesting. He hadn't actually met the woman or anything like that, but that's part of what intrigued him. Hitsugaya had hinted that she knew about Aizen's deception and now the fact that she was missing ignited Harry's curiosity once again.
And then she let out a gasp as a very elegant looking man (Harry was hesitant not to call him 'pretty') came walking over to the execution grounds gracefully. He wore a captains hiyori, though Harry couldn't see the number from the angle he was at, he could guess the number. He'd seen the man's back before when he'd gone to pick up Rukia from the world of the living. Number six. And Harry wouldn't forget that.
Rukia's eyes went wide,
"Nii-san…"
He was her brother…Harry thought, that…explained a lot somehow…Had someone told him that before?
"Rukia Kuchiki." The old man said again, "It is time for your execution. Any last words?"
Rukia looked upwards, then said in a soft, yet resolved tone,
"Yes…only one." She said, then her gaze settled on the head captain, "Please, allow the Ryoka to return home. They only came here for me. I…can't bare the thought of them dying for me either."
The old man gave a small head dip,
"Agreed, after this is all over, I shall allow the Ryoka to return to the world of the living, unharmed."
"Thank you so much, Sou-taichou." Rukia said, eyes watering with tears from relief.
A rather tall woman with silver hair looked away,
"How cruel." Harry heard her say, "Even though he has no intention of sparing them…"
"It's actually not cruelty." A woman said, she had black hair braided down her front.
When had she gotten there? Harry wondered, then he realized, this was Unohana, the mysterious captain who seemed to know what was really going on.
"It's kindness." She said.
"What do you mean?" said the silver-haired girl, who Harry assumed now was her Lieutenant.
"Her fate is unavoidable, but now with the sou-taicho's promise, she won't have to worry about her friends. So…she will at least die with some peace of mind."
A bunch of men in green masks, dressed in identical, ceremonial looking robes marched up to the giant spear that stood directly behind the wooden rectangle. They began performing hand gestures, which seemed to help in channeling their reiatsu. That was interesting…Harry vaguely wondered if that could be used to channel magic as well, but the thought quickly left his mind in favour of the danger of the situation Rukia was in at the moment.
Blue flames surrounded the spear, then the old man cried out in a demanding voice,
"Release the Sokyoku's seal!"
A jet of blue light shot up into the sky. The robes, holding the spear up were burned until they broke, then the robes began to swirl around and around, climbing higher and higher. Until it had unraveled completely.
The ropes seemed to become sharp spears as they were thrust far away, leaving the spear bare.
"Thank you…brother." Rukia said sadly, "Thank you."
Three blocks seemed to float out of the floor beneath her feet. The ropes that bound Rukia's wrists were released, then her arms shot out, somehow being held by the energy of two of the cubes, while one remained at her feet.
She started floating up. Up the shaft of the wooden rectangle. And then she reached the top and stayed there. Her face wasn't of fear. That scared Harry a little bit. She was accepting.
"Come on Nanao." The captain who's hiyori was only vaguely visible beneath a pink flower-patterned robe over top. He spoke to a strict looking woman with oval-shaped glasses, hair pinned back tightly.
"Don't you go getting all emotional on me now." He said looking her right in the eyes.
Was he planning something? Harry wondered curiously.
"Or else you know I'm likely to come apart too." He grabbed the brim of his straw hat, and Harry figured that it must be a habit.
Nanao looked down in resignation,
"Yes sir." She said quietly, "But you needn't worry, it's not sadness I'm feeling."
Then the spear began to glow, it burst into flames, which swirled around it. Encompassing it into a fiery vortex of light.
The spear floated upwards, then began to curve and change shape. It was a bird now, a great bird of fire that spread its wings, prepared to carry out righteous judgment.
"Be calm!" the sou-taichou demanded, "The Sokyoku has taken on its true form, in order to render the ultimate punishment! When the prisoner's body has been pierced, the sentence will have been carried out!"
Come on, Ichigo, Harry thought to himself, muscles tensing. If that idiot didn't show up soon, then he'd have to start playing hero again.
"Farewell." Rukia said, but Harry picked it up, despite how soft her voice might have been.
Harry smiled, right on time, he thought. Ichigo flew in front of the bird and intersected it. He was wearing a brown sort of cape that blew around him, tied with a thick rope. His sword was at his back as he faced Rukia and blocked the firebird effortlessly.
"Hey." He greeted.
Harry almost deadpanned.
"Ichigo…" Rukia murmured, her face took on an array of expressions, when she finally settled on what she wanted to say, "Idiot! I said, don't come back!"
"Wha-I-eh…" Ichigo stuttered out.
Harry wanted to laugh at this point, but had to force himself not to.
"What's if going to take for you to finally realize!? You can't defeat my Nii-san! He'll kill you, for sure this time…" Her eyes were filling with tears, "I'm not asking you or anyone to rescue me! I'm resigned to my fate, go away!"
The firebird let out a cry and backed away, then it lunged again. Ichigo stumbled momentarily, but turned around and raised his blade.
"I guess it figures that in the end it was the Ryoka who saved the day…" Harry heard the man in the pink hiyori say.
Harry smiled, he had a feeling that there were more people on their side than he'd originally believed.
"Backing up for a second attack, huh? Bring it on." Ichigo challenged.
"You'll never be able to stop it a second time!" Rukia shouted, "Enough already, Ichigo. You have to quit! Ichigo…please! You'll be torn to pieces!"
The firebird got ready, Ichigo got ready. They flew at each other.
"Ichigo!" Rukia shouted.
But they didn't collide. A rope was thrown into the air and tied its self around the bird's neck. Harry smirked, in the end, he supposed he should have been expecting this.
A captain with white hair appeared holding a red shield.
"Captain Ukitake?" the squad two captain asked in disbelief.
The white-haired man had two subordinates behind him, all looking very determined. A weight seemed to drop on the ground from the rope that had its self looped around the bird's neck.
Kyoraku, the eighth division captain in the pink hiyori jumped over to the weight and put his hand on it, as though holding it down.
"Hey there, Mister Handsome." Kyoraku grinned, Nanao leaped to his side, "I was starting to wonder when you'd show up." He tilted his hat upwards.
The sou-taichou turned around,
"Hm?" he looked at the two of them expressionlessly.
"It took a while to break the seal." The white-haired captain explained, "But…" he thrust the red shield forwards, then implanted it into the ground, "This ought to do it!"
"Stop them!" The second squad captain said to her Lieutenant who was a rather large man.
"Who? Me?"
"They'll destroy the sokyoku!" she hissed.
"What can I do?" her lieutenant asked panicking. And really, he probably couldn't do much if anything.
Both captains unsheathed their swords, then plunged it into the shield, the ropes surrounding the bird began to glow, it traveled all the way up to the creature. Then the great bird of fire burst apart in an array of flames that fell to the earth.
"I'm not sure what's going on, but I can use the diversion." Ichigo said, then backflipped up onto the top of the wooden rectangle.
His eyes glowed blue.
"Ichigo, what are you doing!?" Rukia cried with horror.
Ichigo raised his blade up high.
"Isn't it obvious?" His hand slid down to the wrappings around his Zanpakutou's handle, then began to spin it around fast, "This stand…is about to tumble down."
"That's crazy!" Rukia gasped out, "Ichigo, you can't! You'll only end up killing us both! The sokyoku is too strong!"
"Don't worry about it." Ichigo brushed aside her concerns, then poised his Zanpakutou's tip directly over the wooden beam, "Just shut up and watch."
"Ichigo…" Rukia murmured.
Then he plunged the blade straight into the wood with a grunt. The whole structure began to glow a bright blue light.
"Boom!" Dust and debris flew everywhere, and Harry actually had to shield his eyes for a moment.
"I don't want you to rescue me, you said." Ichigo's voice broke through his clouded vision, "Just go home, you said. You know, sometimes you talk too much, Rukia. Good thing I don't listen to you. Now, this is the second time I've had to tell you this…" Harry looked up to see that Ichigo was carrying Rukia like a football, tucked under his arm, "I've come here to rescue you. Got it?"
Tears began to fall down Rukia's face and dripping down her chin,
"What a fool, I'm not going to…say 'thank you'…I won't!" she sobbed.
The center of the wood at the top of the structure was completely destroyed, they were standing on the side away from the dangerous edge.
"I didn't expect you to." He said.
All the captains and lieutenants were staring up at the two in awe.
"Um…Ichigo?" Rukia asked, "How are you planning to get away?"
"We'll make a run for it." He decided and Harry nearly facepalmed, he had the sense that he hadn't exactly thought this plan through.
"How stupid, those are captains! They'll catch up to us." Rukia glared.
"Yeah? Then we'll just kick their asses first." He decided.
Despite the rather shaky plan, Rukia smiled up at him.
"We're not alone you know." Ichigo said, "Uryu and Chad, Orihime…oh, and Harry, you know he turned out to be that masked guy?"
"What!?" Rukia shrieked, "All this time?"
"Masked guy? Who's that?" the girl with silver hair wondered.
Harry turned around at the sound of fighting…oh, it was that red-haired guy…what was he called again…Red…Abe? That didn't sound very Japanese…
He'd taken out the guys that had lifted the seal on the sokyoku in the first place.
"It's about time, Renji!" Ichigo shouted down at him.
The red-haired man was wounded greatly; he was using his sword as a crutch now.
"Renji!" Rukia cried with relief.
"Rukia!" Renji called back up to her.
"Oh Renji, it's you, I'm so glad you're still alive!" Rukia said quickly.
"I figured you'd show up." Ichigo said, the two seemed to share a look, before it quickly passed.
"What choice did I have?" he smirked, "I couldn't just rely on you to save Rukia, could I?"
Ichigo grinned, then lifted Rukia up over his head,
"Alright, here you go." He said.
Wait…he wasn't going to…
"Ready?" Ichigo asked, looking like he was about to throw the winning pass in a game.
"Wait, Ichigo!" Rukia said panicking.
"Look out below!" he shouted, then through her.
Rukia screamed as she was tossed down, flying through the air.
"Gya! You're insane!" Renji shouted, then he was hit by the flying Rukia and they both tumbled backward, skidding across the earth in a flail of limbs.
"Go!" Ichigo ordered Renji, "Get her away from here."
The redhead just looked up at Ichigo dumbly.
"Protect her with your life. That's your duty." Ichigo said, and they exchanged another secret look.
Without saying anything more, Renji took Rukia in his arms then took off running.
"Don't just stand there watching, you fools!" The second division captain shouted, "Go! All lieutenants after them!"
They all made their way to run after Renji. Sucks for them that Harry decided to lower his disillusionment charm. In a blur of speed, he knocked them all out using nothing but his hands and feet, kicking and punching them each only once.
"Oh, Harry." Ichigo called down, "When did you get here? I haven't seen you in a while."
Harry looked up at him,
"I've been here this whole time. I thought I'd watch you get the chance to be all cool and stuff."
"You know…" Ichigo's eye twitched, "Sometimes you really piss me off."
"Then my life's purpose has been fulfilled." Harry rolled his eyes.
Ichigo shunpoed down to stand next to him, then blocked an attack that came from none other than Byakuya Kuchiki.
"You can handle things here, right?" Harry asked Ichigo.
"This one's mine." Ichigo said firmly.
"Then I'm going after Renji. I need to make sure he and Rukia are okay."
"Go." Ichigo told him, and Harry shunpoed away off to find Renji.