Reincarnated Into the World of Bleach

by onetim3

Kishin. Chigetsu Kishin. He was an assassin, student, grandson, one could call him many things but there was none more accurate than what he was right now. Dead...or so he thought. A loud roar echoed in the streets as a creature with a giant hole in its chest approached. He watched in disbelief as several Shinigami intercepted it. "I-It can't be. A Hollow? Did I...reincarnate?"

29. Ryoka

AN: Hey everyone, back with another update. Not much to say for this Author's Note after leaving such a long one last Chapter.

Anyways, as always, thanks for your continued support!

Vocabulary Terms:

*Baka (Bakamono) = Fool/Idiot
*Onii-sama = Big Brother
*Obasan = Aunt
*Chappy = Most popular soul candy with a cutesy personality and depicted as a bunny.
*Ryoka = Traveling Evil(s)/ outsiders not associated with the Seireitei
*Senzaikyu = Palace of Penitence/Repentance Palace
*Sekkiseki =Spirit reducing stone, a special mineral with properties that allows it to repel all reiryoku.
*Shakonmaku = Soul-Warding Membrane. A large spherical barrier surrounding the Seireitei that vaporizes any reishi that tries to pass through the barrier.
*Sokyoku = Twinned Punishment. A giant halberd currently sealed on the Sokyoku Hill and used to execute nefarious criminals of the Soul Society.

Reading the story:

-Scene change: "888"

-Rated M Scene: "XXX"

-Hello, how are you? (Someone in their own thoughts)
-Hello how are you? (Zanpakuto Spirit speaking in a Shinigami's mind)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bleach.

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Chapter 29

Kishin yawned and walked out of the bathroom with only a towel draped around his waist after taking a morning shower. His arm rose in the air as he stretched his back a bit. His head slightly moved from one side to the other as he loosened his stiff muscles. His hair was still a bit damp and left hanging down his head flowing slightly past his shoulders. He made his way over to the bed and smiled at Rukia who was still asleep beneath the covers. Her attire consisted of a simple underwear with a large white t-shirt that belonged to him. The lotus flower necklace that he gave her was still laced around her neck. Her soft breathing filled his ears as he neared ever closer. A warm fuzzy feeling attacked his heart and butterflies fluttered in the pit of his stomach.

I don't think I'll ever get over how cute and beautiful she is.

He sat at the edge of the bed causing it to dip down beneath his weight as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. His action caused her to stir awake.

"Kishin?" She groggily inquired.

He smirked and softly brushed the side of her cheeks. "Morning sleepy head."

She pouted and rubbed her eyes to clear her vision as she took in the sight of him. "Hmpf. Are you saying I'm lazy?"

Kishin just let out a light chuckle. "Hahaha, what's wrong with that? It's only been about two weeks so you've still got more than 5 months of punishment to serve. It's okay to take this time and sleep all you want. I'll take care of you. Promise."

Rukia pouted again and sat up in bed whilst crossing her arms. "I'm not a useless person. I'll pull my own weight around here thank you very much."

Kishin gave her a curious glance and simply replied, "Sure sure, but you don't have much weight to pull around."

Whack!

"Ow!" He rubbed his head where she had hit him. She blushed at his teasing remark and glared daggers at him. "I-I eat a lot okay!"

Muah!

He quickly pecked her on the cheek leaving a wet kiss mark on her face before walking over to the closet to get dressed. "Senpai, while I don't mind you sleeping as much as you want, I think that it's best for you to get up. It's better for you to be up and about stretching and using your muscles. If you rest too much then you'll get stiff."

"I don't think I'll ever grow stiff with you around…" She whispered near inaudibly.

Kishin widened his eyes and immediately understood the underlying meaning in her words. A large grin formed on his lips as he tied his hakama around his waist. "On second thought, I change my mind. Just lay in bed. I'll make sure to stretch you out every night. Full body. With me around I promise you'll get more than the daily recommended exercise." A playful glint flashed in the depths of his eyes as he imagined their sweaty bodies rubbing and grinding together deep into the night.

Rukia's face flushed crimson red at his comment so she threw one of the fluffy pillows on the bed at him.

Fwump!

A dull sound echoed from the pillow hitting his back. "B-Bakamono! I'm more likely to be super sore the next day…"

"Hahaha, don't be like that Rukia." He turned around still shirtless and pressed her down into the mattress planting light airy kisses along her jawline. His left hand slipped beneath her shirt and rested over her smooth cute bellybutton. "Tell me you don't like it when you feel me inside here."

She shuddered at his touch and his teasing dark voice. The memories of their carnal nights together flooded her thoughts causing her to quiver beneath him. Her breathing grew rapid causing a mischievous smile to form on Kishin's lips. He gave her one long and deep passionate kiss before standing back up and completed dressing himself in his shihakusho. Rukia just laid on the bed sprawled out on her back huffing and panting with her eyes closed. She mentally cursed Kishin for leaving her in that state of physical lust. After a few minutes of her lying there she finally managed to return to reality and sat back up with a grumpy glare in her eyes.

"And where are you going today?" She asked with a slightly unhappy undertone.

Kishin just smirked and poked her forehead. "Don't be like that. I promise to make it up to you. I didn't mean to tease you like that."

"Hmpf. You totally did." She replied unbelievingly.

"Hahaha, c'mon senp-" he didn't finish his sentence as a thought came to him. He turned around and stared at her scrunched up face which only accentuated her cuteness. It was like watching a bunny bare its non-existent fangs at him. "Senpai...say the word and I'll take you right now."

"Eh? Ah...w-wait-" she noted the hungry desirous look in his eyes and pulled the blanket up to cover her face. "I'm fine now Kishin! Ahem, are you seri-"

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Kishin and Rukia were both thrown out of their thoughts and turned to look out the window at the same time. Both of them furrowed their brow in contemplation. Rukia broke the silence first as she questioned, "Is that...is that the warning bell? Someone is actually invading the Seireitei?"

Kishin let out a sigh and strapped his Zanpakuto to his waist.

So it begins. Yushiro, I'm counting on you.

Rukia turned to see Kishin standing in silence and raised her eyebrow both curiously and concernedly. "Kishin, what's going on?"

He shrugged his shoulders and walked out of the bedroom. "If I'm not wrong then it must be Ichigo."

Rukia's eyes nearly popped out of her sockets. "W-WHAT?! What do you mean it's Ichigo?" She hopped out of bed and immediately started dressing herself in her shihakusho while continuing her line of questioning, "What makes you say that? Why would he be here? How would he even know how to get here? Wait! Don't tell me it was Urahara who helped him? Who the heck is that Urahara person really? After all the work that we went through to keep him alive he decides to offer his life up to the Soul Society? What is he thinking?! I'm gonn-"

Huff. Huff. Huff. Huff.

She huffed and puffed in anxiousness and worry as Kishin cut her off by placing his hand over her mouth. His lips curled into an amused smile. "Senpai. Take it easy there okay? Just trust me. I won't let Hinamori get executed and I already made some plans to help out Ichigo."

Rukia took a good minute to get her breathing under control before a look of confusion and astonishment flashed in her eyes. "W-Wait...you are really going to help stop Hinamori's execution? And you already made plans to help out Ichigo? Then...that night on the day you rescued me, you and Urahara-san were talking. It didn't make sense to me but something really is happening isn't it?"

Kishin nodded and patted her head reassuringly. "Yes. That's why, don't worry too much. You only need to trust me. Senpai, I need to get going because there are things I need to take care of. You are still technically under house arrest so you can't go anywhere. Stay here and don't leave, but keep your Zanpakuto on you just in case alright? And call me if something happens."

Rukia gritted her teeth feeling completely useless. She wanted to help, but she couldn't argue with Kishin's reasoning. She let out a drawn out sigh and clenched her hands into fists unwillingly. "A-Alright. Fine. I'll stay here for now. But if something bad is happening then don't expect me to just sit tight like a statue."

Kishin nodded. "Alright, fine."

Rukia was a bit taken aback as she thought Kishin was going to fight her more on that point, but he instead readily agreed.

Kishin just smirked and poked her nose. "I wish I could tie you up to the bed."

She pouted and crossed her arms. "You're being a bit extreme aren't you?"

He simply gave her a quick wink. "Love you."

Fwish!

A burst of wind breezed in the room as he blurred into the distance before Rukia could reply. She tried to keep a grumpy face, but her feelings betrayed her and so she let out a sigh of defeat. "Haaah...love you too...be careful, Kishin."

Kishin made his way into the midst of Seireitei and took note of the giant Sekkiseki walls that had already fallen down from the sky preventing anyone on the outside from entering. His gaze turned towards the western gate in the far distance knowing that the cause of everything was due to Ichigo and his entourage making a fuss in that direction.

I wonder how things went...did Ichigo fight Jidanbo? Did they encounter Gin? Did Ichigo really come here with his Human friends?

Kishin narrowed his eyes, remaining still in silence for a few long minutes before he dashed out to the secret underground training area beneath the Sokyoku Hill where he had asked Yushiro to bring Ichigo and the others. He arrived unhindered and took a seat on the flat surface of a giant rock formation simply waiting.

"Hopefully everything goes well. So far it seems that Aizen has planned things to go exactly as I recalled the events of the future, however he's using Hinamori as a pawn this time instead of Rukia."

He laid down on his back relaxedly and flipped open his denreishinki that currently tracked and monitored Rukia's status.

She really stayed put and didn't secretly leave.

A smile found its way to his lips. "I know you wanted to join in the fray senpai, but not just yet."

He frowned as he thought more about Aizen wondering what his next move would be. "Since I had Yushiro intervene they shouldn't need to use Kukaku's cannonball to break through the Shakonmaku surrounding the Seireitei. Now the question is, does Aizen know that I'm the one pulling the strings behind the scenes and messing with his little game and how is he going to react…"

He furrowed his brow and let out a sigh as he simply continued waiting. An hour passed. Four hours passed. Evening came and turned into night. Kishin frowned at how long it was taking and was just about to sit up and leave when he felt a few reiatsu presences enter the training ground.

Oh? This is definitely Yushiro's reiatsu. Mmmm...Yoruichi's with him, so is Ichigo huh? There's four others…

It was then he heard in the distance Ichigo's voice. "Oi, uhhh...Yushiro right? Look, I still have no clue what or who you're talking about. And this place...it looks really familiar. It looks like hat 'n clog's underground training area. Also, you keep saying that Yoruichi is your sister, but no matter how you look at it Yoruichi is a cat. Not only that but isn't Yoruichi a male cat? But maaaan, thanks for your help. Without you we wouldn't have gotten into the city."

Yushiro simply ignored Ichigo's comments and waved his hand in the air shouting aloud, "Kishiiiiin! We're here!"

Everyone by Yushiro's side plugged their ears at his loud voice.

Yoruichi, who was still in her cat form and held in Yushiro's arms, widened her eyes in shock. "E-Eh? Kishin? That's who you're taking us to meet?"

Yushiro amiably nodded. "That's right. This was all Kishin's plan."

"Kishin? Who's that?" Ichigo curiously asked.

It was then that they stopped before a giant rock and all looked up. At first they saw nothing, but then Kishin sat up and revealed himself to everyone down below.

"Yo. What took so long?" He asked as he jumped down.

Thud!

A little dust cloud rose around his feet as he landed on the ground in front of everyone. Yushiro just beamed and held out Yoruichi in front of him as he excitedly replied, "You didn't lie! You were telling the truth! Big sis was with the Ryoka! Hahahaha! This is awesome! I got to see my sister again!"

He then rubbed his cheeks against Yoruichi's cat face causing Yoruichi to give a helpless look at Kishin. "You! How could you tell Yushiro about me? And how did you know where we'd be?"

Kishin just smirked and lightly patted Yoruichi's head. "This is what you get for being in your cat form. You can't outrun Yushiro in that visage. And it wasn't hard to guess where you'd be. The western district is Urahara's base of operations." He then looked at everyone else taking in their looks. He already knew Ichigo. He was the orange headed spiky haired one wearing a black Shinigami shihakusho with a red string wrapped diagonally across his chest. He stood at about 178cm tall with a lean somewhat muscular build. He had peach colored skin and brown eyes and was about 15 years old in age. His facial features bore a striking resemblance to that of Shiba Kaien.

Next to Ichigo was a man with glasses with chin length dark blue hair that fell on either side of his face. His build was quite lean and slender and he stood at an average height of 175cm tall. He was fair skinned and blue-eyed also seeming to be around the age of 15. Kishin knew that this person was Ishida Uryu. He had seen Ishida through the spy cams he had hidden in Karakura Town during Rukia's stay there. Ishida wore white Quincy style clothes looking almost like a priest. A blue line ran down the middle of his clothes and a white and blue striped glove was worn on his right hand.

Next to Ishida was a woman with waist length long flowing burnt orange colored hair. Like Ichigo she too had brown eyes. She was average in height standing at about 159cm tall with a slender but quite curvaceous build. She was fair skinned and had quite a prominent bust size as well. She seemed to be the same age as the others and had her hair tucked behind her ears held in place by blue colored hairpins on the side of her head. Kishin recalled her name as Inoue Orihime. Orihime was wearing a simple pink t-shirt and gray colored pants.

Standing in the back of the group were two men. One was extremely tall standing at a height of 197cm. They were just a bit older than the others, though they physically looked much older. They had a dark tan and somewhat short shaggy brown hair with brown eyes and they had a tattoo on their left shoulder that read love and death in italian. They were quite muscular and wore a gray tank top with a red stripe mark on the left side and black pants to match. Kishin recalled this person being named Sado Yasutora.

And last but not least, the final member of their entourage was a somewhat burly man who stood at 183cm in height. They had chin length black hair that was held back and mostly covered by a green colored bandanna. They were partially missing part of their left eyebrow and they wore a light tan shirt with a green vest over it with matching green pants. This person Kishin knew about as he had researched him when looking into the Great Noble Clans. This was Shiba Ganju, the younger brother of Shiba Kukaku and Shiba Kaien.

Finally after he finished noting who everyone was he couldn't help but wonder why Urahara and Yoruichi even let Sado and Orihime come. Their battle power wasn't anything significant. It was then the silence in the air was broken by Ichigo's voice. "Hm? AH! It's you!"

Kishin raised his eyebrow in curiosity and pointed to himself. "What about me?"

Ichigo frowned and immediately placed his hand on his Zanpakuto. "You're the one who took Rukia away! Where is she?!"

Yushiro immediately stepped in between them and glared at Ichigo. "If you attack my good brother then I'll take you out first."

Ichigo stared confusedly at Yushiro and then to Yoruichi. "Are you serious?! This is the guy who let those other guys take Momo away and no doubt he took Rukia away as well! We came here precisely to save them. I'm not just going to stand here and pretend that he wasn't involved!"

Before Kishin could make a move or say anything Yoruichi jumped out of Yushiro's arms to mediate the situation. "Hold on a second Ichigo. And Yushiro, you too. Stand down."

Yushiro pouted, but he could only listen to his older sister. Yoruichi let out a sigh and took a seat on the ground whilst wrapping her tail around herself. "Listen here Ichigo. Kishin is not our enemy. It's true that he took Rukia away, but there's no need to worry about her." She looked over her shoulder and up at Kishin before continuing, "Isn't that right? Kishin."

Kishin just smirked and leaned against the rock wall nearby. "You don't have to worry about Rukia. I wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. She's fine and resting well back at my place. Her punishment was 6 months of house arrest. The problem here is Hinamori. There's only ten days left before her execution."

Ichigo frowned again, having a hard time believing Kishin's words. "I'm supposed to just believe this guy? I'll believe it with my eyes when I see Rukia."

Kishin furrowed his brow and took a step forward. "And what is she to you?"

"Huh?! You're asking me that? More like I should be the one asking YOU that. Why should I believe anything you say about Rukia?"

"You don't have to. And I don't need to explain myself to you."

"What's that?!"

Yoruichi let out a long sigh in frustration. "AHHH! Quiet! Both of you! Look, can we have a civil conversation. We need to figure out what's going on." She turned to Kishin and asked, "How did you know we were going to be at the western gate? And why did you have Yushiro bring us here?"

Kishin glared at Ichigo for a moment longer before turning his attention to Yoruichi. "How I know about the western precinct doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm helping in the rescue of Hinamori."

"Oh? Kisuke did say that you'd help. Care to fill us in on what your plan is?"

Kishin crossed his arms and stared Yoruichi in the eyes confusedly as he asked, "I would but...I'm curious. What exactly was YOUR plan? Just waltz into the Seireitei and one man army your way through?"

Yoruichi awkwardly coughed in guilt before she recomposed herself. "Ahaha...well things went a little off the rails at the start. We came through the Dangai using Kisuke's Senkaimon, but we were chased by the Kototsu. We entered a time tunnel that blasted us out earlier than our expected arrival time. This worked in our favor, but we ran into some trouble. We ran into Jidanbo, the west gate's guardian and had a scuffle with him. Afterwards we had a brief encounter with Ichimaru."

Kishin had an unperturbed look on his face as he had already expected those turn of events to happen. "What happened after?"

Yoruichi turned to face Yushiro and continued, "Well, we treated Jidanbo's injuries and were taken in by the elder of the Rukon district. That's where we met Ganju and soon after, Yushiro found us. I was going to take everyone to Kukaku, but Yushiro told us about some sort of plan and insisted that he help sneak us inside Seireitei. We still ended up seeing Kukaku, but in the end I decided that our best bet was to have Yushiro sneak us in. Using Kukaku's cannonball method would be too flashy."

Kishin nodded in agreement. "Well, say that you made it into the Seireitei, what then? You all would have been fish on a chopping block."

Ichigo frowned and retorted, "What's that?! You underestimating us?"

Kishin simply waved his hand dismissing Ichigo's comment. "I'm not underestimating you all. Rather, I'm stating a fact." He then pointed to Orihime and said, "I can tell from your aura that you don't have what it takes to fight." He pointed to Sado right after and said, "The amount of reiryoku you possess is too little to be of any use here. There are thousands of Shinigami in the Seireitei and 13 Lieutenants. Not to mention the 13 Captains. You'll only end up dead." He then pointed to Ganju after and said, "Your strength isn't that great either. None of you stand a chance at saving Hinamori."

Ishida furrowed his brow and took a step forward. "Oh? Then what about Kurosaki and I?"

Kishin shook his head. "You're a quincy huh?"

"Wha-? How did you know?" Ishida warily asked.

Kishin just shrugged. "From my interaction with Yoruichi, you should have been able to guess that I'm acquainted with Urahara. I know who all of you are already. I really don't get why that guy let all of you come here."

Yoruichi quickly interjected before another heated argument could start up. "Let's! Just all calm down. What's done is done. They are here. So, Kishin. I realize that our plan wasn't great, but we had to work with what he had with the time given to us. What about you? Since you knew we were coming and had Yushiro bring us here I reckon you have a better plan?"

Kishin took a moment to recollect his thoughts before nodding. "I do. Leave the saving to Toshiro, Yushiro, and Kinji. We'll wait until the day of the execution to save her when she's brought out of the Senzaikyu."

Ichigo widened his eyes in shock and anger. "WHAT?! NO! Why should we wait until the very last moment? It could be too late then! We should save her before then!"

Yoruichi held up a paw to stop anyone else from voicing dissent before she continued, "I reckon there is a reason why you want to wait until the last moment?"

Once again Kishin nodded. "That's right. Several reasons. It's only 10 days until her execution. The Sokyoku will be released, but Yushiro and Kinji will destroy the Sokyoku using the Shihoin Shield."

Yoruichi's eyes widened in realization. "The Shihoin Shield?! But that was given to Ukitake."

"That's right. I've enlisted the help of Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyoraku."

"AH?! Even Ukitake and Kyoraku are helping?"

"They are. So you see my plan is better than your half-assed run amok in the Seireitei plan. Anyways, the real reason why we need to wait until the last moment has to do with Aizen."

Yoruichi frowned at the mention of Aizen's name. "And why's that?"

"I already know what Urahara-san did. Aizen wants to use the Sokyoku to obtain the Hogyoku. You know that don't you?"

Yoruichi narrowed her eyes before letting out a sigh. "So you know about that...I see."

Ichigo and the others tilted their head in confusion as Ichigo inquired, "Know about what? Who is this Toshiro, Kinji, Ukitake, Kyoraku, and Aizen person you guys are talking about? What the hell is the Hogyoku? What the hell is the Sokyoku? What the hell is going on here?"

Kishin crossed his arms and stared at Yoruichi. "I see you and Urahara really didn't tell them anything. Well, I suppose they don't really need to know since it'll just distract them."

Before anyone could comment, Yoruichi put up her paw and said, "It's fine. Everyone. There's no need to concern yourself with these matters just yet. It'll only confuse all of you more. Right now your only concern needs to be the rescue of Hinamori." She then turned to look back at Kishin and asked, "Your plan wouldn't happen to include us in it would it?"

Kishin took a moment to glance at Ichigo and the others before letting out a sigh. "Unfortunately you all didn't enter Soul Society discreetly. Now everyone is looking for all of you. The best choice for you all is to simply remain here and train for the next 10 days and prepare yourself for the final confrontation."

Ichigo frowned and shook his head. "I refuse! I'm here to rescue Rukia and Momo. You think I'm just going to wait around here and do nothing? I can't trust a single word you say! I haven't forgotten that you did something to me that night, knocking me unconscious."

Kishin smirked and immediately released his reiatsu into the area.

FWOOM!

"UGH!" Ichigo, Ishida, Sado, Orihime, and Ganju cried out in shock and alarm at the same time as they struggled under the weight of Kishin's spiritual pressure. Their breathing became labored and sweat began dripping down the side of their faces. Kishin narrowed his eyes and said nonchalantly, "Look at the state you guys are in. This is merely the level of a Lieutenant's reiatsu but you all are having such a hard time standing already. You think you guys can accomplish anything like that?"

Before anyone could answer Kishin increased the level of his reiatsu again immediately causing Ichigo to fall down on his hands and knees. Everyone else laid completely flat against the floor desperately trying to breathe.

"This is only the level of an average Captain's reiatsu. Look at all of you groveling on the ground. You can barely breathe let alone move. And you think you're some hot shit? Don't get snarky with me. If you want to go out there and die then I won't stop you, but if you want to save Hinamori then shut up and listen."

Whoosh!

The heavy pressure in the air immediately dissipated as Kishin reigned in his reiatsu. Yoruichi slapped a paw over her face in awkwardness whilst Ichigo and the others took several long minutes to catch their breath and to calm down their beating hearts. Ichigo had an unwilling look in his eyes as he stared at Kishin with frustration.

"You bastard! Huff...huff...I-"

"Ichigo!" Yoruichi shouted and interjected.

"Y-Yoruichi?"

"Haaah...just let it go."

Ichigo frowned and angrily inquired, "Why should I? This guy's dangerous...and no one even told us who he is yet!"

Yoruichi let out a slight cough before answering, "Right. Well then, allow me to introduce him. As you all have probably guessed by now he is a close acquaintance with Kisuke and I. His name is Chigetsu Kishin and he's the Lieutenant of the 13th division."

Ishida widened his eyes in shock as he struggled to stand back up and asked suspiciously, "How can that be? You said he's a Lieutenant...but he said that he raised his reiatsu to the level of a Captain's. Doesn't that mean he's a Captain?"

Yoruichi shook her head. "No. The truth is that Kishin is really a Lieutenant, however his true power has transcended far beyond that. The only reason why he's not a Captain is because all the posts are already filled. Anyways let's get back on topic. If you can't trust Kishin then at least trust me. There's no need to argue against Kishin. He's telling the truth and is trustworthy. I can guarantee that."

Ichigo and Ishida clicked their tongues at Yoruichi's answer whilst the others simply felt a hint of fear grow in their hearts at the memory of how powerful and dangerous Kishin's display of power was just a moment ago. Kishin clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "Great, so now that that's all settled can we get a move on?"

Ichigo furrowed his brow still feeling displeased, but in the end he held back his temper. "Tch. Move on to what?"

Kishin pointed at Ichigo and said, "Of everyone here, you have the greatest potential. You should spend this time training to become stronger. If I'm not wrong...it's possible for you to gain the strength of a Captain within the next 10 days. As long as you're willing to suffer a little and put in the effort that is."

Ichigo furrowed his brow. "Suffer? What do you mean?"

"Heh. Look, there's not a lot of time left before Hinamori's execution. That means you can't take it easy and learn step by step. That means the only way to uncover your potential and have you grow stronger is to suffer and fight over and over again and again to the death."

"Fight...to the death?"

Yoruichi took a moment to stare at Kishin before asking, "Kishin...are you planning to train him?"

He took a moment pondering to himself before nodding. "It's bothersome, but I promised Rukia that I'd do something about the whole situation. These kids are too weak and useless to be of any help the way they are right now and honestly speaking, I already laid the groundwork for everything. Even without them we can save Hinamori. They're only useful as a distraction."

Ichigo clenched his hand into a fist and stepped forward. "Useless?! You talk as if we aren't here. We aren't here to be one of your disposable pawns. I'll show you useless you bastard! I'll take on your little challenge. If what you say is true and I can become as powerful as a Captain in 10 days then I'll train and become stronger than you in 10 days!"

An amused grin found its way to Kishin's lips.

He thinks he can be stronger than me in just 10 days? There's confidence and taunting, but this is blatant cockiness. He really is still a brat. Isshin, you should have taught your kid some more manners. If it wasn't because he was your kid and Rukia caring about him I might have killed him myself already.

"What about the rest of us?" Orihime ventured to ask.

Kishin glanced over at the others and shook his head. "Sorry. No matter how much you guys train in the next 10 days you won't be useful in battle. You'll only end up being a burden."

"WHAT?!" Ishida, Ganju, and Sado exclaimed at the same time.

"You're looking down on us!" Ganju retorted.

"Yeah!" Sado and Ishida agreed.

Kishin gave an annoyed sideways glance at Yoruichi to which she sighed and started walking away. "Sado, Ishida, Ganju, you three come with me. I'll continue your training as we wait for the next 10 days."

Orihime then pointed to herself and asked, "W-What about me?"

Kishin pointed to a nearby rock. "You go wait over there."

"Eh? W-Why?"

A dark glint flashed in his eyes as he replied, "You've got the unique ability to heal injuries right?"

"Uh-huh...but how did you kn-"

"Just wait over there because your power will be needed to heal Ichigo's injuries while he trains."

Ichigo furrowed his brow. "Oh? Just MY injuries huh? You're saying that you won't get hurt at all aren't you?"

Kishin smirked and walked several dozens of meters away. "Once we get started then you'll understand just how different our level of powers are. Maybe then you'll learn to be a bit more humble and start acting less like a cocky brat. Just because you gained power quickly doesn't mean you're THAT special."

Ichigo frowned and took a few steps forward while drawing his Zanpakuto. It had no handle or guard and simply had white bandage cloths wrapped around the hilt. The blade seemed to be as long and tall as Ichigo himself. It somewhat represented that of an oversized khyber knife. The top half of the blade was black in color and the bottom half was white. Ichigo took up his stance and retorted, "Heh. Cocky? I'm not cocky. I just hate being looked down upon. I'll show you that it's you who's being cocky."

"Really? Earlier you got a glimpse of how different the strength of our spiritual pressures were yet you still act like this. I won't go easy on you. I'm not as kind as Urahara or Yoruichi."

Ichigo tightened his grip around his Zanpakuto inwardly knowing just how strong Kishin was from his earlier display of power. He also couldn't help but feel that Kishin's appearance seemed very familiar.

Have we met before? Even before the time when he took Rukia away? I feel like I've seen him somewhere a long time ago…

Ichigo shook himself out of his thoughts as he asked, "So? What kind of training are we going to do?"

Kishin just smirked motioning with his finger for Ichigo to attack him. "The type of training we're going to do is fight to the death. I want you to come kill me."

Ichigo widened his eyes in shock and wariness. "W-What? You want me to kill you?"

Kishin nodded. "That's right. Come at me with not only the intent to kill, but to actually kill. Every swing of your blade should be meant to take my life."

"Are you serious? Even though I don't like the fact that you took Rukia away, it remains a fact that Yoruichi trusts you. You haven't even drawn your Zanpakuto yet. I'm not going to attack an unarmed opponent."

Kishin frowned and shook his head. "Seems you still don't understand just how different our strengths are yet."

"No, it's you who's taking me too lig-UH?!" Ichigo never got to finish his sentence as he had already crashed into a giant boulder smashing it into pieces.

"GAAAHH!" He shouted out in pain from the violent impact. He had no idea what happened. One second he was talking and the next he crashed into a boulder. Blood dripped down from Ichigo's lips as he lay unmoving in the middle of the rubble.

What...happened?

It was then he heard Kishin's condescending voice. "Do you understand the power difference between us now? I told you I wasn't going to go easy on you. I know what I'm doing, but you're being too naive. If I tell you to come kill me, then don't waste words on your nonsensical moral crap. You know who gets those privileges? Those who are on a similar level of power as their opponent. If you aren't even near the same level of strength as someone, then don't start spouting stuff about fairness, justice, moral code, honor, and all that other stuff. Words only matter when you're still standing in the end."

Ichigo gritted his teeth and groaned trying to stand up, but he couldn't. His bones felt broken and his muscles ached all over the place. Kishin shook his head and said, "Oi. Inoue. Heal him."

Orihime hesitated, staring fearfully at Kishin. She couldn't follow anything that happened. She only knew that Ichigo had lost. The person in her heart and mind that she never imagined would ever lose, lost without being able to utter a single sentence. Finally her senses came back to her as she heard Ichigo cough up blood.

"Kurosaki-kun!" She shouted and ran towards him. She immediately placed her hand over her hairpins and shouted, "Soten Kisshun, I reject!" A golden light lit up on her hairpin before an orange barrier covered Ichigo's body, healing him inside.

After several moments passed by Ichigo stood back up and huffed in frustration. "You bastard...what did you do?"

Kishin relaxedly stood in place and answered, "I slapped you in the face. Wasn't that obvious?"

Ichigo's eyes wavered in shock and fear. "You...that's impossible! You were standing so far away, there's no way you were able to hit me without me-" He stopped himself from finishing his sentence as realization struck him.

Kishin smirked at Ichigo's reaction. "Seems you finally understand just how vastly different our strengths are. Are you ready to start taking the training seriously now?"

Ichigo tightened his grip on his Zanpakuto and said, "Inoue. Get back."

She was about to refuse since she didn't want to see Ichigo get hurt again, but Ichigo cut her off. "Inoue! Please. I can't fight at full power if you're too close."

In the end Orihime could only grit her teeth standing off to the side. Kishin nodded approvingly and once again, motioned for Ichigo to attack. "Come kill me. If you can."

Ichigo frowned and dashed out with his sword. His reiatsu began to flare up around him violently kicking up a storm of wind in the area as he swung his blade right at Kishin's chest, however Kishin merely held out his hand and caught the giant blade between two fingers.

TING!

"UH!" Ichigo widened his eyes disbelievingly.

N-NO WAY?! Impossible! With only his fingers? He caught my blade with his fingers?! What is he? A monster?!

Kishin had a complacent look in his eyes as he simply held Ichigo's Zanpakuto off to the side. He then curled his middle finger and thumb together with his free hand bringing it near Ichigo's stunned and scared face.

"Hmpf." He huffed out in contempt and flicked.

BOOM!

The force of his flick sent Ichigo flying through the air and crashing into several giant boulders before falling to the ground. Ichigo's grip strength wasn't strong enough to keep hold of his Zanpakuto and so his sword was ripped free from his hands at Kishin's move. Kishin just tossed Ichigo's Zanpakuto to the side and once again said to Orihime, "Go heal him."

And once more Orihime healed Ichigo's wounds.

"Pick up your sword and come at me again."

Even though Kishin said those words, Ichigo simply stood unmoving from his spot. His legs and hands shook in fear.

Me? Kill him? Have him draw his sword? Won't attack an unarmed opponent? What the hell was I thinking before...there's no way I can fight him! What the hell is he? How can there be such a huge difference in our strengths?

Kishin frowned at Ichigo's trembling form in the distance. "So, this is it huh? This is the resolve you came to Soul Society with to save Hinamori and Rukia?"

BAM!

Without warning he blurred right next to Ichigo and slapped him so hard across the face that Ichigo was sent crashing into another rock.

"You thought you could do something with this measly amount of strength and willpower?!"

BAM!

Once again he slapped Ichigo around without letting up with every criticizing remark he made.

"You got scared just because you can't beat me?"

BAM!

"You thought you were some hot shit because of how fast you gained power didn't you?!"

BAM!

"Where's all your bravado now?!"

BAM!

"Where did your courage go?!"

BAM!

"Did you give up?!"

BAM!

"What a waste of Hinamori and Rukia's efforts!"

BAM!

"I don't see what Rukia sees in you."

BAM!

"You're worthless!"

BAM!

"Useless!"

BAM!

"If you can't respect the power that you gained then why come here at all?!"

BAM!

"If you can't even muster the courage to fight me right here and now then rip out your own power and just live as a Human brat!"

BAM!

"What did you obtain power for huh?!"

BAM!

"If your life didn't matter to Rukia then I'd have killed you by now!"

BAM!

"Tell me Ichigo? What were you thinking when you came here?"

BAM!

"What did you expect when you came here?"

BAM!

"Well let me be the one to break it to you."

BAM!

"You!"

BAM!

"Aren't!"

BAM!

"Anything!"

BAM!

"SPECIAL!"

BAM! BOOM!

Ichigo laid on the ground completely bloodied at this point. He was barely breathing and he was barely conscious. Kishin had effectively beat him til he was literally an inch away from death. Kishin scoffed and stared down at Ichigo's pitiful state and remarked, "This is your best? What a joke. Just lay there and die groveling and begging for whatever is left of your pathetic life to the very end. You can't even save yourself. Don't expect to save anyone else. I can't believe I wasted my time on you." He then turned and started walking away.

Orihime was shocked to the extreme. Everything happened so fast that she didn't have time to say a thing. She ran as fast as she could and shouted, "Soten Kisshun, I reject!"

Fwoosh!

Immediately an orange barrier enveloped Ichigo beginning the process of healing his injuries. Tears fell from her eyes non-stop as she knelt crying beside Ichigo's bloodied body repeating his name over and over and over again. His face was so swollen that he was unrecognizable. It was then that everyone else took notice of what happened.

"ICHIGO!" They all shouted.

Ishida immediately shot forth a blue arrow at Kishin, however Kishin simply caught it in his hand and squeezed. The arrow was instantly crushed turning into pure reishi particles. Ishida frowned and shot several tens of more arrows, however the moment any of the arrows came within ten feet of Kishin they were instantly crushed from the force of Kishin's reiatsu.

Sado attacked next as his right arm transformed into an armored black and magenta colored arm as he shouted, "El Directo!" A giant blue energy beam shot right for Kishin, however he simply stared indifferently at the attack and swatted it away off into the distance.

Before any of them could make another move, Yoruichi dashed between everyone and shouted, "ENOUGH!"

Everyone stopped in their tracks and stared at Yoruichi with unwillingness in their eyes.

"Yoruichi. Please move." Sado said in a commanding tone of voice.

Ishida fixed the glasses on his head and also said, "Yoruichi, I can tell from Ichigo's reiatsu that he seriously almost died. I won't tolerate this kind of behavior. He clearly meant to kill Kurosaki just now."

Yoruichi just shook her head and took a moment to stare Kishin in the eyes. She then let out a sigh and said, "Everyone, go back to training."

"What? But Yoru-"

"I said enough!" Yoruichi interjected, cutting everyone off. She then proceeded to explain. "I understand how you all must feel, but trust me. If Kishin truly intended to kill Ichigo then Ichigo would undoubtedly be dead right now. While Kishin's training method is...extremely harsh. There is a reason why he beat Ichigo to nearly an inch of his life."

WHAM!

It was then a large burst of reiatsu erupted from Ichigo's body. It was no weaker than a Lieutenants level of reiatsu. In mere seconds Ichigo crawled back up and stood on his own feet. His breathing was labored, but he otherwise had a more resolute look in his eyes. His body was no longer trembling in fear and his wounds had healed for the most part.

Kishin smirked and nodded in approval. "Well. It seems you finally understand what kind of resolve you need to have if you want to gain the power to protect the things you want to protect."

Ichigo gripped his chest feeling sore, but he nodded in confidence. "Yeah. I'm not going to give up."

Ishida and the others stared in shock at Ichigo's spike in reiatsu.

"H-How…" They all simply stared unbelievingly at the new development. They then looked to Yoruichi and then at Kishin before they all thought to themselves.

No way...Yoruichi was telling the truth? Kishin's method actually worked to bring out Ichigo's latent potential?

Yoruichi smirked at everyone's reaction. "See? While Kishin's method is harsh and cruel, it is the only method that can help Ichigo grow faster with the limited amount of time we have to work with. If you all understand that then get back to training. I said it before and I'll say it one more time. You can trust Kishin."

Two Days Later

Kishin was just returning to the 13th division barracks when he halted his steps and took note of Jushiro's worried facial expression.

"Captain!" He shouted as he ran over. "What's the matter?"

Jushiro felt his heart pounding within his chest as he struggled to give Kishin an answer. The look in his eyes were painful and anxious, but in the end he let out a sigh knowing that he needed to let Kishin know. "Shin-chan. Listen to me carefully. Rukia has been taken to the Senzaikyu."

WHAM!

A burst of reiatsu immediately rolled off of Kishin's body for several long seconds before he reigned in his emotions. A murderous look glossed over his eyes as he clenched his hands into fists. Jushiro felt his skin crawl from Kishin's little outrage and he immediately tried to calm Kishin down. "Shin-chan, take a deep breath. I won't let anything bad happen to Rukia."

Kishin gnashed his teeth and frowned. His thoughts were running through hundreds of different situations until he came to an understanding. In the end he asked Jushiro to explain the situation, though it came out as more of a low growl.

Jushiro sighed again and began to recount what happened. "The Ryoka that appeared two days ago haven't been found. They were able to defeat Jidanbo, the western gate keeper and survived an encounter with Captain Ichimaru. After that they disappeared. The west precinct of Rukongai has already been swept, but nothing was found. Captain Ichimaru was going to be punished by the Head Captain for letting the Ryoka escape, however Ichimaru informed everyone that the Ryoka were here for Hinamori. It's a known fact that these Ryoka were indeed close with Hinamori and was confirmed by the members of the Onmitsukido who had done reconnaissance in the World of the Living. One of the Ryoka was reported to have bright orange hair which was synonymous with the Human who received Hinamori's powers. In light of this Ichimaru's punishment was going to be even more severe."

Kishin clenched his hands even tighter, nearly drawing blood in his palms as he commented, "Let me guess. Before punishment was given Captain Ichimaru informed everyone that because Rukia also knew the Ryoka, she must be the one helping them escape detection from Soul Society, therefore she is being held prisoner in the Senzaikyu along with Hinamori."

Jushiro nodded in defeat. "That's right."

"But the Senzaikyu is a place only for prisoners on death row. Specifically prisoners meant to be executed by the Sokyoku."

Again Jushiro nodded. "That's right. Once this matter was brought to Central 46's attention they determined that due to Rukia's potential and very likely involvement in the Ryoka's invasion of Soul Society she is being treated as a criminal of the highest order. As you know Central 46 does not tolerate any rebellious behavior against the Soul Society. They have sentenced her to be executed alongside Hinamori 8 days from now."

Kishin's heart tensed up.

I need to see her!

He immediately began walking out of the division.

"Shin-chan wait! Where are you going?"

"There are things I need to do. And...I need to see Rukia. I need her to know that everything is going to be alright. I promised to protect her but...I...I-"

Jushiro quickly interjected seeing the pained look in Kishin's eyes and said encouragingly, "Shin-chan. Don't forget. We still have a plan which will work in favor of protecting Rukia as well as Hinamori."

Kishin nodded before dashing off.

Damn it! I should have left Ichigo and the others alone. If I simply let them run around the Seireitei then Aizen wouldn't focus his attention on Rukia. He probably guessed that the Ryoka's disappearance had something to do with me since I'm the only one who knows the truth about him. This is his way of saying that I shouldn't have overstepped my boundaries…

FWISH!

He appeared once more deep within the secret training ground beneath the Sokyoku Hill and slowly walked over to Yoruichi who was still in her cat form currently watching Ichigo and the others continue their training.

"Eh? Kishin, you're back already? You just left." She then noted the scowl on Kishin's face and frowned. "Did something happen?"

"There's a change in plans."

"Hm? What happened?"

"Rukia's been sentenced to be executed with Hinamori."

"WHA-!" Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at Kishin.

For a long while no one said a word or made a sound. It was Ichigo who finally broke the silence. Anger was shone all over his face as he marched over to Kishin and gripped him by the collar. "You! You said that she was safe! Why is she now being executed?!"

"Ichigo, hold on. Cal-" Yoruichi was interrupted as Kishin brushed Ichigo's hands off of his shirt. "She's being framed because you all disappeared."

"What are you talking about?" Everyone inquired in confusion.

"Soul Society has been searching for all of you for the last 2 days but came up empty. The only one who made contact with all of you was Ichimaru Gin."

"And?" Ichigo asked.

"He was going to be punished for letting you all live, but then he accused Rukia of being the one who helped you all escape detection from Soul Society. Now she's been imprisoned in the Senzaikyu and will be executed with Hinamori in 8 days."

"WHAT!" Everyone exclaimed once more.

Ichigo frowned and clenched his hands into fists. He then started walking towards the exit.

"Wait Ichigo! Where are you going?" Yoruichi shouted.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to go save both Momo and Rukia right now!"

"What? D-Don't be a fool! You haven't finished your training!"

"So what?! I can't just sit around and wait while they rot in a prison cell."

Yoruichi was about to retort, but Kishin placed his hand in front of her. "Wait, Yoruichi. This is for the best."

Yoruichi glanced questioningly up at Kishin. "What do you mean?"

Kishin then whispered back, "This actually works in our favor. You know as well as I do that Aizen is behind this."

Yoruichi frowned and nodded. "Yes. But why? What's his goal in doing this?"

"Isn't it obvious? He wants Ichigo and the others to run amok around Seireitei. It's all a game to him."

"A game? Doesn't he want the Hogyoku within Hinamori?"

"He does, but while he waits he wants to observe Ichigo's progress. You know the truth about Ichigo's birth don't you?"

"Tsk. Damn Sosuke. Then what? We simply go along with it? You said it yourself earlier. The others don't stand much of a chance running around in Seireitei."

Kishin shrugged his shoulders. "Not necessarily. The Captain's won't be on the move just yet. There's 8 days before the time of execution. In those 8 days Ichigo can become stronger the more he fights. I can't sit around and train him here anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm still a Lieutenant. I need to give some semblance of my presence above ground pretending to search for the Ryoka."

Yoruichi gritted her teeth. "Then we just run around for 8 days?"

Kishin nodded. "That's right. Head towards the Senzaikyu and attempt to retrieve Rukia and Hinamori. Hide every so often to heal and conserve strength."

"We're essentially using Ichigo and the others as bait then huh?"

Kishin let out a sigh. "Yes and no. Think of it more as a risky way of training them. Split into two groups. Ichigo will be one group and the rest will move together. You keep track of Ichigo's movements and Yushiro will keep tabs on the others. That should ensure that no one will die. The Seireitei is huge and luckily the divisions don't really move as one cohesive military entity. With you and Yushiro guiding them you all should be able to avoid any major mishaps."

"Why don't we just keep them here and continue to train them like you suggested earlier? You already plan to destroy the Sokyoku. There's not really a point to follow through with the silent pressure that Aizen is putting on is there?"

"Tch. Normally no...but I can't rule out the possibility that the next person to be framed and thrown into the Senzaikyu would be Captain Ukitake or Toshiro. Maybe even Yushiro or Kinji. If any of them are forced to be imprisoned in the Senzaikyu then the final plan that involves them will be ruined. Right now Aizen doesn't know how or if we'll destroy the Sokyoku and he doesn't know that we have a plan to take Hinamori to the World of the Living. He also probably wouldn't expect that I would be the one to confront him and prevent him from chasing after. To ensure that none of the important pieces are out of line the role Ichigo and the others will play is to serve as a distraction from our overall plan."

"Oi! The hell are you two talking about over there?" Ichigo yelled by the exit.

Yoruichi let out a sigh ignoring Ichigo and nodded at Kishin. "I guess we're left with no choice. Very well. We'll do as you say."

Just as she got up to walk towards the others to explain the new plan, Kishin added, "Yoruichi-san. When you think Ichigo is ready, you should teach him how to unlock his Bankai."

Without waiting for a response he left the training ground and headed for the Senzaikyu.

"Rukia, I'm on my way. Just bear with the situation for a little longer."

---

MISC.

Well, things are set in motion. Aizen is being a real thorn in the side. Ichigo and Kishin's first real interaction wasn't all too friendly. Ichigo sure got a beating. What will Kishin and Aizen do now? What will become of Ichigo and the others? Will Kishin's ultimate plan to keep Hinamori away from Aizen work? How will Byakuya and Renji react to the new development? How is Rukia feeling right now? Until next chapter :)

RYOKA (Last, First):
1. Kurosaki Ichigo
2. Sado Yasutora
3. Ishida Uryu
4. Inoue Orihime
5. Shiba Ganju
6. Shihoin Yoruichi

Orihime's Power: Shun Shun Rikka (Six Flowers of the Hibiscus Shield): Sealed form is in the shape of a six flower petal hairpin on the side of her head.
1. Soten Kisshun (Twin Sacred Shield Return): Creates an orange barrier around her target reversing and rejecting an event that an object has experienced.

Uryu's Power: Quincy Techniques
1. Heilig Pfeil (Holy Arrow): Uryu draws in reishi from the surrounding area to create blue arrows that he can shoot at his targets.

Sado's Power: Right arm transforms into a black/magenta colored armored arm.
1. El Directo (The Direct): Fires a blast of concentrated spiritual energy as a mid/long range attack.