AN: Hey everyone, sorry for such a long wait for the chapter update. I'm still working on the story so no worries, but I'm really being swamped with stuff. Anyways, as some of you are probably still in school then whether you're doing distance learning, a hybrid class, or attending class face-to-face, I hope all of you continue to be safe and that everything goes well.

This chapter is slightly different because Kishin doesn't actually appear in this chapter. He will next chapter though so we'll get back to him. A little bit of light will be shed on Ururu and Jinta as well as Grimmjow. Anyways, you can read it for yourself down below on what's up with them.

Again, sorry for the long wait on the chapter.

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.
*Seijotokyorin = Tranquil Forest of Residential Towers. The living quarters of the Central 46 members that is completely forbidden to all except the members of the Central 46.
*Daireishokairo = Great Spirit Book Gallery. A repository of all the knowledge and history of the Soul Society with restricted access to very few. Even many Captains are unaware of its inner workings.
*Negacion (Negation): A pillar of yellow light that Menos use to envelope their comrades to save them. Within the light is a completely isolated space that cannot be interacted with from the outside.
*Auswahlen (Holy Selection): Forcibly steals the power of a Quincy and returns it to the Quincy King.
*Oken (Royal Key): The method in which one can open the path to the Royal Palace where the Soul King resides. The conditions needed to create one is an enriched spiritual zone of at least half a spirit-mile in radius (1 spirit-mile across) and the sacrifice of 100,000 souls.
*Wild Lands: Unexplored and undeveloped lands beyond the perimeter of the 80th districts of Rukongai.
*Tekai Kecchu (World Shifting Binding Posts): A variation of the Senkaimon on a much larger scale where four giant pillars are erected at four different corners replacing the space inside with the space of a different area.
*Garganta (Throat/Black Cavity): Void between worlds that is mainly used by Hollows to travel between the World of the Living, Hueco Mundo, and Soul Society.
*Jokaisho (Emblem of Buddhaksetra): A powerful large spherical looking device that was used by Ran'Tao and her fellow scientists to control the generation of reishi for their experiments. They were sealed away by the Kido Corp under the command of the Central 46 Chamber all around the Seireitei.
*Canyon of Rift and Sorrow: A location somewhere far beyond the 80th districts of Rukongai in the Wild Lands of Soul Society where The Great Hollow War took place 870 years ago.
*Zankensoki: A term referring to the 4 basic combat techniques of a Shinigami. Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hoho, and Kido.
*Gentei Reien (Soul Limiting Symbol): A seal placed on Shinigami that possess Lieutenant and above level of reiatsu while in the World of the Living to prevent them from adversely affecting the Living World. The seal locks away approximately 80% of the Shinigami's total reiatsu leaving them only at 20% strength.
*Gentei Kaijo (Limiter Release): Removes the seal of the Gentei Reien granting a Shinigami full access to their power.
*Kaiser Gesang (Emperor's Song/Kings Hymn): A Quincy folklore that tells about a sealed King who will regain his heart in 900 years, his intellect in 90 years, and his power in 9 years.
*Jujin Race (Beast Person/Beast Man): They are a race that have qualities of both Humans and Animals. The Shihoin Clan and the Komamura Clan are part of the Jujin race. All those locked in the Beast Realm are also part of the Jujin race.
*Sky Claw Citadel: A place in the Bi'an Kingdom of the Beast Realm that is similar to the Seireitei.
*Shinrin-ju (The Forest of Beasts): A place in the Bi'an Kingdom of the Beast Realm that is similar to the Rukongai. It is where Jujin souls that are not part of the Sky Claw Citadel live and reside.
*Musabori Kuu Hito (The Devourer): An extremely powerful Adjucha that once rampaged through the Soul Society and attempted to consume the Soul King. It was sealed away by the Royal Guard into a Zanpakuto and renamed Ikomikidomoe. The Hollow Lord Athotep seems to know about this as well.
*Hyakki Yako (The Night Parade of 100 Demons): The name given of the first attack sent during The Great Hollow War led by 3 Vasto Lordes.
*Tengoku No Godai Senshi-ka (The Five Greatest Warriors Under Heaven): A title given to 5 Captains of the Gotei 13 during The Great Hollow War for their outstanding feats, ability to command, and fighting prowess on the field of battle. Title given to 5th division Captain Minamoto Raiko, 6th division Captain Ashikaga Takauji, 7th division Captain Nichiren, 10th division Captain Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and 12th division Captain Hojo Tokimasa.

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.

Chapter 43

One Month Later

Deep within the desert land of Hueco Mundo stood a giant gray palace of incredible size. It was large enough to rival the size of the Seireitei itself if not even larger than that. Currently inside the palace walls within one of the tall towers was a dimly lit room with a dark black incredibly tall ceiling. A long silver table with 11 tall silver chairs surrounding it was located inside and sitting on those chairs were precisely the Espada with an empty seat at the head. That was the spot where Aizen normally sat, however he was currently absent.

Sitting to the right of the head seat were Espadas number 6, 7, 8, 2, and 10. They were respectively known as Luppi Antenor, Zommari Rureaux, Szayelapporo Granz, Barragan Louisenbairn, and Yammy Llargo.

To the left of the head seat sat Espadas ranked number 4, 1, 5, 3, and 9 respectively. Their names in order were Ulquiorra Cifer, Coyote Starrk, Nnoitra Gilga, Tier Harribel, and Aaroniero Arruruerie.

Each had their own unique distinctive features asides from the number tattooed on their body. Luppi had a youthful effeminate male appearance. He had short curly unevenly cut black hair and lavender colored eyes. Three pink stars were tattooed just above his left eyebrow and the left side of his head was where the remnants of his Hollow mask was located. The number 6 was tattooed on his right hip. He wore an extremely long sleeved white Arrancar jacket that had a square opening exposing the left and right side of his hips, but kept his Hollow hole concealed. He wore a white Hakama to match.

Zommari was a 196cm tall dark skinned Arrancar with the remnants of his Hollow mask being a row of bony spikes protruding from the top of his head. He also wore a pair of thick skull earrings and a necklace made of bone. He was bald and had golden yellow eyes. His presence seemed to give off the vibe of that like a witch doctor. His attire consisted of a mandarin style white Arrancar jacket with matching hakama pants. He wore sandals on his feet and had three black triangle tattoos on his chin and four black lines that ran down his head just above both of his eyes. His Hollow hole was centered on his right nipple.

The 8th Espada Szayelaporro had pink colored hair and gray colored glasses being the symbol of his Hollow mask. His Hollow hole was strangely located on the tip of his glans. As for his attire he wore a long shirt with a high neck collar that had three black lines running down it. He wore a regular white hakama and white colored gloves. His aura was similar to that of a crazed scholar.

Barragan was the oldest of the Espada currently present and was once the God King of Hueco Mundo before Aizen defeated him and took his place. He was elderly looking with a left green olive colored eye, a white mustache, white hair, and had a scar that ran down his right eye down to his left chin and neck. He had a stocky muscular build and stood at 166cm in height. He wore a white hakama and a white leather coat with black fur lining, short sleeves and with three black fur stripes along the hem. A golden wristband was present on both his wrists and the remnants of his Hollow mask took on the form of a five pointed crown atop his head.

Yammy was the last Espada sitting on the right row and was one of the Espada that encountered Urahara and Yoruichi from a while back. He was the largest of the Espada standing at a full height of 230cm with a large bulky build.

On the left side of the table sat Ulquiorra and next to him was Coyote Starrk, the first ranked Espada. He was approximately 187cm tall and had a slim but muscular build. He had blue gray eyes, unkempt wavy dark brown hair, and a faded goatee. He wore an upturned collar Arrancar jacket and white colored gloves. The remnants of his Hollow mask appeared as a fanged collared jaw around his neck with his Hollow hole on his sternum.

Nnoitra, whom Kishin had encountered once before in Hueco Mundo, sat next to Starrk.

Harribel was after that. She had olive colored skin, aqua green eyes, thick lashes and golden blonde hair. She wore a high collar Arrancar jacket that zipped up to cover half of her face while only covering the top of her chest. She had black colored gloves and her Hollow mask covered an extensive portion of her mouth, jaws, and neck area. Her Hollow hole was located down in her womb.

And finally, next to her sat Aaroniero in the last seat on the left side row. He had an elongated white mask with eight holes covering his face and wore a white colored dress garb and a frilly nobles coat. His Hollow hole was located on his left thigh.

As everyone took some time to settle in Luppi put on a complacent smirk and commented condescendingly, "Ehhh? So this is where Grimmjow used to sit huh? Hahaha! It's too bad that he wasn't able to come to the meeting today. Oh! Wait. It's cause he's nothing but a drop out Espada. Oops! Hahaha, how could I forget."

Harribel remained unamused and replied, "You're being quite brazen about the fact that he is no longer the Seis Espada. Does it make you that happy to take his place?"

Luppi instantly frowned and glared daggers at the golden haired woman. "I have no idea what you're talking about?"

Szayelaporro then chimed in with a disinterested voice, "Allow me to translate. She means to say that you sound like you accomplished a great feat when really the only reason you're in that chair is because there happened to be an open spot. You didn't earn it with your own power and so you feel the constant need to bring up someone else's shortcomings. It's quite unsightly and irritating."

FWOOM!

The reiatsu around Luppi instantly weighed down on the air as his face contorted into one of anger. "I dare you to say that again, Szayelaporro. Let's not forget here which of us ranks higher."

Starrk let out a sigh and tried to defuse the tension as he amiably replied, "Ahhh...why don't we all just settle down and get along?"

Barragan let out a grunt in disdain. "Heh. What a sight for sore eyes you lot are."

Before the situation could escalate any further the sound of Aizen's voice echoed in the room. "I see that everyone is quite lively today."

"Hm?" Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to glance at the entrance of the room.

There stood Gin, Tosen, and a third man with long black hair tied in a bun behind his head with a few bangs hanging over his forehead. He had red eyes and was pale skinned with a tall lean build wearing the standard Arrancar clothes, however he was most definitely not an Arrancar. In fact he was a Shinigami, hence his association with Gin and Tosen.

The three of them followed behind Aizen who wore a white jacket and white colored hakama with a dark pink colored sash tied around his waist. Aizen slowly made his way over to the head of the table and took a seat before continuing his greeting.

"Hello, my fellow Espada." He then glanced at Luppi and commented, "I see you are quite proud of being named Espada number Seis, Luppi. However, while Grimmjow disobeyed, acted on his own, and failed to accomplish anything in the end, there is a fact that cannot be ignored."

Barragan doubtfully questioned, "Oh? Is that so? And what is that exactly? He was nothing but an unruly brat."

Aizen snapped his fingers prompting Tosen to step forward to pour him a cup of tea. This irked Barragan greatly as a burning fury welled up inside of him at how Aizen nonchalantly brushed his inquiry aside. After Aizen took a sip of his tea he finally replied, "The person sent by Soul Society as reinforcements to guard Karakura Town after Ulquiorra and Yammy infiltrated was no ordinary Captain of the Gotei 13. Grimmjow's opponent was Chigetsu Kishin after all. In fact, there are very few of you who would be able to contend with his power."

Yammy rested his cheek against his fist and scoffed. "Heh. So you're saying that he's strong right? Then let me at him! I'll grind him into dust! Bahahaha!"

Szayelaporro ignored Yammy and decided to bring the topic back to focus. "Lord Aizen, surely you didn't gather us all here to talk about Grimmjow's failure."

Aizen merely took another sip of his tea in a relaxed manner. "Indeed. As Chigetsu Kishin was the person who was stationed in Karakura Town I gathered you all here to warn you not to disobey my order and infiltrate the World of the Living on your own whim. Grimmjow was quite lucky to return with his life."

"You seem to hold this Chigetsu Kishin in quite high regard, Lord Aizen. Is he that much of a threat?" Aaroniero curiously inquired.

A slight grin appeared on Aizen's face as he recalled his fight with Kishin back in the Seijotokyorin. "Aaroniero Arruruerie, you may be one of the esteemed Espada, however even you would be nothing but a mere ant against him." Aizen then glanced at all 10 Espada and continued, "Do not be afraid, my dear Espada. I tell you all this not to raise alarm nor to cause you doubt or worry. As powerful as Captain Chigetsu is his strength alone will make no ripples in my plan." A complacent smile formed on his lips as he continued in a relaxed manner, "As long as you follow me and obey my orders then things shall proceed without fail. Luppi, Grimmjow is only temporarily stripped of his title as the Seis Espada as I have taken into consideration of whom his opponent was. He is currently in penance which means that if you wish to remain as the Seis Espada then you must show your worth."

Luppi gritted his teeth with dissatisfaction but agreed in the end. "Is there a task you'd like me to do then?"

"Heh. Interestingly enough Captain Chigetsu has been recalled to Soul Society and taking his place in Karakura Town is Hitsugaya Toshiro. It is time to place the next plan into action. Luppi, Yammy, Zommari, go into Karakura Town and cause a disturbance. Take Grimmjow with you and draw the attention of the Shinigami to you."

Yammy's face instantly brightened out of his bored look. "Ha! Hahaha! Finally I get to see some action!"

Luppi smirked and immediately agreed. "Heh, is that all? And you want us to take Grimmjow with us? Hahaha, alright. I'll show him what being the Seis Espada should really look like!"

Aizen then turned his attention to his left. "Ulquiorra. What we discussed the last time. I'm counting on you."

Ulquiorra slightly bowed in response. "It will be done, Lord Aizen."

"Then you all may be dismissed."

Just as everyone was leaving the room, before Barragan could exit through the door Aizen spoke up. "Just a moment."

Barragan paused and answered without turning around. "What is it?"

Aizen smirked at Barragan's discontented behavior but otherwise didn't comment on it. Instead he placed a black colored letter on the table.

"I've been meaning to ask you about this for quite awhile now, Barragan Louisenbairn."

Barragan furrowed his brow in confusion and turned around only to deeply frown when he saw the letter. "I see. I was wondering where that went. You took it from my throne room when you remodeled Las Noches. So? What about it?"

Aizen calmly sipped his tea and asked, "Not much was stated in this letter of invitation and it seems to be several decades old. It appears you've yet to respond. The one who wrote this letter..."

Barragan furrowed his brow remaining silent for a good long minute before dryly replying, "Curious? Hehe...It was sent by the Hollow Lord...Athotep."

Aizen's expression showed no change as Barragan's answer had confirmed his suspicion. "So it was indeed him."

Barragan merely scoffed at Aizen's nonchalant tone. "Hmpf. What of it?"

Aizen shut his eyes as if deep in thought. "I see. I had suspected that he was still alive. The records of the Soul Society never directly mentioned his death. I assume you know where he is?"

Barragan scoffed once again and shook his head. "If you want to recruit him for your army then you should forget it. You are indeed powerful, but even your powers would pale in comparison to the Hollow Lord. He's been around even longer than I."

Aizen remained unfazed by Barragan's taunt in comparing his power level to Athotep's and continued, "There is no need for you to concern yourself about that."

Barragan simply turned around, starting to leave once more. As he walked out the door his retreating voice echoed through the hall. "If you have a death wish then by all means, head to that wretched place yourself. Athotep resides beyond the Hueco Mundo Dunes in The Dark Land Borders in a place known as Los Castillo De Pesadilla."

Once the sound of Barragan's footsteps disappeared the third Shinigami standing next to Gin and Tosen stepped forward and curiously asked, "Lord Aizen, exactly who is this Hollow Lord?"

For a few moments Aizen didn't answer as he stared at the dark letter on the silver table. After collecting his thoughts on the matter he picked up the letter and caused it to disintegrate between his fingertips. "Hn. There's no need to concern yourself over this matter, Sojiro. You can free Grimmjow from his isolation chambers and see to it that he properly follows orders this time."

Sojiro simply nodded and obeyed, but before leaving the room he curiously questioned, "Lord Aizen, why send the Espada to cause a disturbance in the World of the Living now?"

Aizen merely narrowed his eyes with a look that showed as if he could see all that was about to unfold. "You will know when the time comes."

Sojiro was still confused, but since Aizen didn't elaborate he decided not to question any further. Gin on the other hand was mentally confused as he tried to wrack his brain over what Aizen's actual plan was. Coming up with nothing he shelved the issue to the back of his mind and amusedly watched Sojiro exit from the side.

"Whata lucky kid. T'think that Kusaka Sojiro actually survived after being killed decades ago n' ended up here in Hueco Mundo."

Aizen smirked and stood up from his seat. "Indeed. It was thanks to the Oin that he survived. When he was forced to enter a death match against Hitsugaya Toshiro for having the same Zanpakuto the Oin happened to be within the Central 46 Chambers being prepped for movement. When he was killed under the command of Central 46 his soul happened to be within the Oin's sphere of influence which reverted time and recreated his reishi body before teleporting him into Hueco Mundo."

Tosen then chimed in shifting the topic as he wasn't interested in Sojiro's matters. "Lord Aizen, this Hollow known as Athotep seems like it could pose to be a problem later. Should we travel to this Los Castillo De Pesadilla?"

"No. There is no need for us to bother with such a thing for right now. Going there would be a waste of time."

Without saying anything more he slowly walked off into the distance.

Athotep. To survive a battle against both Yamamoto Genryusai and Unohana Yachiru, how interesting...now what could he be waiting for all this time hiding in the shadows?

888

Toshiro currently sat within the Urahara shop drinking some tea in peace and quiet. Rangiku, Ikkaku, and Renji were currently out and about somewhere in the town doing their own things. In fact Rukia was somewhere in town as well. She had been assigned as extra backup a couple weeks ago just in case. It was currently the weekend and nothing crazy was really happening. After the whole incident with Amagai and the Kasumioji Clan things seemed to have calmed down. There weren't even any disturbances or movements from the Arrancars or Aizen. Whether that was a good sign or a bad sign remained to be seen, but at the very least it made Toshiro's job much easier.

He was currently the only one inside the Urahara shop having no clue what everyone else was doing, but he wasn't complaining. Just as he was in the middle of taking another sip of his tea he heard the shop door open and the sound of a very familiar voice.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

Toshiro immediately turned his head to the entrance and took in the appearance of none other than Kurosaki Karin. She also caught sight of him at the same time. Their eyes met from a distance and they held each other's gaze in silence for a long minute with neither one of them saying a word. Just as the atmosphere began to turn awkward Karin blinked and turned to browse through some items on a shelf nearby completely unfazed. That immediately ticked Toshiro off as he slammed his tea cup down on the table.

"Oi! I know you saw me! Why are you acting like I'm not here!"

Karin simply continued browsing the items on the shelf and dryly replied, "Yesterday you complained about me. The day before that you were grumbling about seeing me. The week before you made an excuse to ditch me. The week before that y-"

Toshiro stuck his palm in the air to stop her and interjected, "A-Alright alright, I got it. You don't have to remind me."

Karin paused what she was doing and commented with a slightly hurtful tone of voice. "You find me bothersome huh…" She then sighed and started walking away.

Just as she reached for the door Toshiro sighed and stopped her.

"Wait."

He rubbed the back of his neck and continued, "You're already here so you might as well stick around for a bit. Did you need something?"

Karin glanced back over to the white haired Captain and questioned, "You don't have to pretend to be nice to me. You find me bothersome right? If you don't want me around then just say so. I'll come back when Urahara returns."

Toshiro clicked his tongue and set another cup of tea across the table from him for her. "Just sit down. You're being stubborn. And...I never said you were bothersome."

Karin took a good long minute mulling over her thoughts before finally deciding to take a seat and sipping her tea. Toshiro waited for her to relax a bit before he commented, "So...let me guess. You're here to ask for more instruction?"

Karin simply nodded without beating around the bush. "Yeah."

Toshiro sighed once more and slapped his palm to his face silently mumbling to himself. "Kishin...what the hell were you thinking...teaching a Human how to use Kido? And a kid at that?"

Karin took a piece of sweet bread that was next to the pot of tea and chomped making a comment with a muffled sound. "What's so wrong about me wanting to learn more? Besides, when I asked for your help a few weeks ago you taught me too. Why are you feeling guilty now?"

Toshiro glanced over at her with a somewhat defeated look. "That's because you kept bothering me. I only taught you one thing so you'd leave me alone. Besides, you weren't supposed to be able to figure out how to do it so quickly anyways. I was sure that it would take you years before you could perform a level 1 Bakudo."

Karin shrugged her shoulders. "Kishin taught me how to sense and use my reiatsu. And he taught me how to perform a level 1 Hado spell. A level 1 Bakudo spell wasn't that hard."

Again Toshiro face-palmed completely unsure what to make of the situation. Ichigo still wasn't around so he definitely had no idea what Karin was up to and it didn't help that Urahara dumped all the responsibility onto him. In the end for the past month he had been teaching Karin here and there how to fight deep beneath the Urahara shop in the underground training area. It also didn't help that Orihime and Sado who periodically stopped by to do some training of their own never voiced their discouragement of Karin's resolve to get stronger.

Just as Toshiro was lost in thought on how to proceed he shot up and stared out towards the 3 o'clock direction where he felt a heavy and dense pressure in the air. Karin noticed the disturbance as well. After a month of improving herself she had gotten a lot better at sensing reiatsu signatures. The moment she focused her sense in the same direction as Toshiro her face slightly paled in shock.

"W-What kind of reiatsu is this? It's...It's so powerful!"

Toshiro frowned and immediately popped a green soul candy into his mouth which ejected his soul out of his gigai.

"Stay here." He commanded with a serious tone of voice before disappearing right before Karin's sight.

888

At the same time deep beneath the Urahara shop in the secret underground training area stood Urahara atop a rocky platform as Tessai remained down on the ground with a worried look on his face. Before he could say anything he frowned and dashed to his right avoiding a powerful crushing punch from Ururu. The moment he landed he ducked low to the ground just in time to feel the breeze of air from Jinta's kick whizzing past his neck. Tessai took in a heavy breath to calm himself down as he stared concernedly at the two kids who normally took care of the shop. He wasn't sure what happened but the moment that they all felt the powerful reiatsu signatures of the invading Arrancars outside, the demeanor of both Jinta and Ururu changed. It was as if they had shut down and were acting solely on a pure animalistic instinct to destroy everything around them.

Just as Jinta and Ururu turned back around to face him, Tessai formed a blue and white rod in his hand and shouted, "Bakudo #62: Hyapporankan!"

FWOOSH!

The rod flew through the air and split into a hundred more aiming to pin the two kids down into some solid object. To Tessai's shock the two kids were accurately dodging and shattering apart his Kido. He was at a loss for what to do so he quickly shouted aloud, "Urahara-dono! Have you discovered why these two are acting this way yet?! If this goes on it'll be bad!"

Urahara furrowed his brow as he watched the entire ordeal, but he let out a sigh in the end and shouted back in seriousness, "Tessai-san, please restrain them now!"

Tessai immediately nodded in relief. "Very well!"

Just as he turned back his attention to the two kids he took note that they had split up. Ururu dashed towards him from the right whilst Jinta dashed towards him from the left.

"I see. Not a bad pincer attack...HOWEVER!" He quickly crossed his middle finger over his pointer finger and clapped his hands together with a serious expression on his face. "Bakudo #99 Part 1: Kin!"

FWOOM!

The instant Ururu dashed in the air to gain momentum for her attack she was instantly bound by two large and thick powerful ropes that dragged her back to the ground before being pinned in place with stone blocks immobilizing the ropes. In that time Jinta had closed the distance between him and Tessai and was just about to deliver a powerful kick when Tessai clapped his hands together and defended.

"Bakudo #84: Hachikaku Kabe!"

BANG!

A large orange rectangular barrier appeared just in time to block Jinta's kick. Tessai didn't stop there and quickly placed his palm out in front of the red headed boy. Just as the barrier disappeared he shouted, "Hado #58: Tenran!" A swirling vortex of wind instantly engulfed Jinta, thrusting him through the air before he crashed into a giant boulder. The moment Jinta fell to the ground Tessai's loud shout was heard.

"Bakudo #75: Gochutekkan!"

CLING!

The five giant iron weighted pillars fell from the air and right onto Jinta's four limbs and head, effectively holding him down in place. Tessai waited for several moments with a bated breath, but after seeing that neither Jinta nor Ururu were able to break free of his spells he finally let out a sigh of relief. It was at that moment that Urahara appeared by his side.

"Ugh...boss, exactly what is happening to them?"

Urahara took another moment to glance at the two kids before slightly pulling down the frame of his hat over his eyes. "It's as I thought."

"Hm? What do you mean?" Tessai curiously inquired.

Urahara glanced at the fake sky in the direction that he felt the reiatsu of the invading Arrancars with interest and concern. "The last time Ururu lost control and acted like this happened back when Kishin was here facing off against some of the Arrancars, but it didn't happen when the two Arrancars named Ulquiorra and Yammy invaded. Jinta was also on edge then but he didn't lose control yet...until today."

Tessai was still confused. "What does that mean?"

…

"There is only one thing in common between the last time Ururu lost control and this time."

"What is it?"

"The same Arrancar that appeared last time and this time...Grimmjow Jeagerjaques."

Tessai frowned, still not understanding the situation. "Urahara-dono, exactly how is that Arrancar affecting Jinta and Ururu to act this way?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure, but if I were to guess then it must be their blood."

"Eh? Blood? What do you mean?"

"Tessai-san, do you know why I took Ururu and Jinta into my care?"

Tessai remained silent as he had no idea why. He never bothered to question Urahara's means or methods. They were long time friends after all so he knew that Urahara had his reasons and since Urahara never mentioned the reason before he never elected to ask.

Taking note of Tessai's silence Urahara continued, "These two kids aren't normal. They look like Humans, but they aren't. Humans aren't capable of the feats that Ururu and Jinta can perform unless they were affected by certain special circumstances like with Sado and Orihime."

"If they aren't Human then what are they?"

…

"Jujin."

"WHA-?!" Tessai widened his eyes in shock at this revelation. "You mean to say that Jinta and Ururu are children that come from the Beast Realm?!"

Urahara simply nodded his head. "That's right. I don't know how or why but it's true. They're currently too young and their powers are mostly dormant. That's why they don't have very distinguishing physical features resembling that of the beast race they belong to. Then again they could be like Yoruichi-san where most of their beastial physical traits remain suppressed inside until they learn to transform. Truth be told I'm not really sure. What is the difference between Yoruichi-san's appearance vs. Komamura Sajin's? I still need to research further into this matter."

Tessai glanced at the two kids still pinned on the ground with a complicated expression in his eyes. "I still don't understand. That doesn't answer the question of why they are acting like this."

Urahara sighed and started walking away before giving an answer. "It's their blood. They are young and so they are still heavily influenced by their beastial instinct to follow the alpha leader. Most likely...their blood felt the resonating power of their King and so they were unable to control themselves from wanting to return by their King's side."

"Their King? Don't tell me...that Arrancar is-"

Urahara waved his hand in the air cutting Tessai off. "I have no proof. I don't know how strong the bloodline that Jinta and Ururu come from is and so it might not be that they wish to follow their King, but it's their instinct to follow a stronger bloodline. And this Arrancar, Grimmjow, he's a Hollow...but I reckon that at one point and time he must have consumed a Jujin who possessed a very...very powerful bloodline. Well, at the end of the day it's only a theory of mine. Anyways, please stay here and watch over the kids. I'll go outside and take a look at how things are progressing."

888

Toshiro dashed with his fastest speed through the clear blue sky and soon quickly arrived above a park centered in the middle of several residential areas in the surrounding vicinity. He noted that he wasn't alone. Ikkaku, Rangiku, and Rukia were also present. Aside from them there were three Arrancars standing on the opposite end.

Rangiku already had her Zanpakuto drawn when she took note of Toshiro's presence. "Captain, you're here!"

He nodded with a serious expression on his face. "Mn. Have they said anything yet?"

Rangiku furrowed her brow also with a serious look on her face. "There were four of them originally. One of them dashed away. They called him Grimmjow. Those three in front of us called themselves Luppi, Zommari, and Yammy."

Toshiro nodded and drew his Zanpakuto. "Grimmjow and Yammy? Those names have come up before. Kishin said that Grimmjow was the Seis Espada. Then these other three must also be Espada."

Luppi who heard what Toshiro said scoffed and chimed in with a condescending tone of voice, "Ha! Think again. Grimmjow is nothing but a loser. I'm the Seis Espada now! Remember that."

Zommari took a step forward and politely placed his right hand over his chest as he introduced himself. "Greetings. It would appear that you are a Captain of the Gotei 13. My name is Zommari Rureaux, the Septima Espada."

Toshiro also took a step forward and replied, "Hitsugaya Toshiro. 10th division Captain of the Gotei 13."

Yammy raised a curious eyebrow and let out an amused laugh. "Huh? 10th? Bahaha! Sweet, I'm also a 10. Oi, fight me. If you're a Captain then you must be strong right?"

Toshiro frowned and whispered to Rangiku, "Did you contact R&D?"

Rangiku gave a slight nod. "I already got the okay for a Gentei Kaijo."

"Good. And what about the one named Grimmjow?"

"Renji already went after him."

Luppi clicked his tongue in annoyance at how nothing was happening. "Oi! The hell are you guys mumbling about over there? Not going to attack huh? Heh! That's fine. Then I'll attack first!" At the end of his sentence he immediately charged a pink colored Cero and fired it right at the center of Toshiro and the others while laughing.

FWOOM!

A giant flash of light erupted in the sky from the blast before everything returned to normal. Luppi clicked his tongue again in annoyance as he took note that his attack didn't connect.

Toshiro and the others had all Shunpo'd out of the way just in time.

Yammy remained unimpressed and snidely commented, "You missed."

"Tch. Shut up. I wasn't even trying." Luppi fired back.

"Eh?" The three Espadas curiously voiced as Toshiro, Rangiku, and Rukia said at the same time, "Gentei Kaijo."

FWOOSH!

Instantly the seals on their body dissipated allowing a powerful burst of all their reiatsu to flow back into their bodies. Zommari stared with great intrigue. "Oh? It appears that they are getting serious now. This should make for an interesting battle."

Luppi grinned and took a step forward. "Zommari, Yammy, don't you dare interfere. They are all mine!"

Zommari slightly frowned. "You should not underestimate them."

"Shut up Zommari. I'm the highest ranking Espada here right now. These four are trash. I'll show Lord Aizen exactly why I'm better as the Seis Espada instead of Grimmjow."

Rukia returned to Toshiro, Rangiku, and Ikkaku's side at this moment regrouping with them before asking, "Any specific orders Captain Hitsugaya?"

Toshiro thought for a second before nodding. "Kuchiki, go back Renji up. I'll handle this Luppi guy. Matsumoto, Madarame, you both keep the other two Espada in check."

"Understood!" They all nodded in agreement and instantly dispersed.

Luppi just laughed witnessing the whole event. "Ha! Hahaha! That was a big mistake. You all should have come at me together!"

Toshiro simply ignored Luppi's boasting and instantly disappeared out of sight.

"Eh?!" Luppi questioned, however he turned around just in time to dodge Toshiro's sword strike from behind.

"Tch. Cheap tricks."

Toshiro again ignored Luppi's comments and instead released his Shikai. "Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru!"

FWOOSH!

A giant dragon of ice quickly flew out from his Zanpakuto right towards Luppi who reacted by performing a Sonido to dodge the attack. Just as Luppi landed, Toshiro turned and chanted, "Bakudo #63: Sajo Sabaku!"

"What the?!" Luppi exclaimed as he was instantly bound by yellow chains. Once more a giant ice dragon came flying in Luppi's direction, however he quickly fired out a pink colored Cero to intercept it.

BOOM!

A plume of giant smoke erupted in the sky from the blast. Just as Toshiro was about to follow-up with another attack he paused and frowned when he heard Luppi's voice from the other side of the smoke. "I guess you're not half bad after all. But if that's all you've got then you're toast. Strangle, Trepadora!"

A burst of reiatsu came from Luppi blowing the smokescreen away revealing his new look of 8 long white tentacles protruding from his back.

Toshiro narrowed his eyes at the transformation. "A Resurreccion."

"Eh? So you know what this release is called already? Well, not that it matters. You'll end up dead in the end either way." Without warning Luppi flung his tentacles out towards Toshiro enclosing him in different directions.

Toshiro remained unfazed and unamused in the face of Luppi's new form and attack. "Bankai: Daiguren Hyorinmaru!"

BAM!

Before the 8 tentacles could converge on Toshiro's location the release of his Bankai instantly froze the surrounding space around him stopping Luppi's attack dead in its tracks.

"What?!" Luppi exclaimed in shock.

Toshiro stood in the middle of the frozen tentacles and commented indifferently, "So this is your Resurreccion? All it does is gives you some tentacles. So what if you have a couple more arms. They're useless if you can't move them."

A look of anger and dissatisfaction immediately appeared on Luppi's face. "Don't get cocky with me kid!"

888

Rukia dashed with her fastest speed towards Renji's direction feeling the signatures of a fierce battle raging in the air. In fact it wasn't only Renji and Grimmjow's reiatsu she felt. There was also Ichigo's which surprised her since she hadn't seen him at all yet. It made her wonder where he was and it also caused her to feel somewhat nervous because she wasn't sure how to look at him yet. She had found out that his father was Captain Shiba and that he was technically Kaien's cousin. It was still a bit hard for her to swallow that down, but those thoughts aside she began to worry because from the feeling of the reiatsu in the air, Renji and Ichigo were losing instead of winning.

She unsheathed her Zanpakuto and released her Shikai as she continued to rush full speed ahead. A couple miles in the distance stood Grimmjow with a scowl on his face and some blood dripping down his left thigh and right arm as Renji and Ichigo laid on the cracked street struggling to stand back up.

"Where's that guy Kishin at? I've got a bone to pick with him." Grimmjow slightly growled in disdain.

Ichigo groaned and stabbed his Zanpakuto into the ground to help prop himself back up. Both he and Renji had already released their Bankai yet they were still beaten back by Grimmjow. Even though he trained with the Visoreds to obtain his Hollow mask his time limit was still too short and it only barely gave him an edge against Grimmjow. Once his limit was up it was deja vu all over again back to the time when he and Renji first fought Grimmjow.

After Ichigo took a moment to catch his breath he responded, "Don't be so quick to write me off just yet you bastard. You got a lucky hit. That's all."

Grimmjow scoffed and stuffed his hands in his pocket. "You sure like to talk back with empty threats. I don't know what kind of power you used earlier but seems like 11 seconds was your limit. I'm not interested in you anymore. Nor am I interested in that tattooed barbarian beside you."

Renji groaned and managed to sit back up at that moment. "You want to fight Captain Chigetsu? Heh, did you forget what happened last time you guys fought? You got your ass handed to yo-GAH!" Blood spurted out from Renji's mouth as Grimmjow had instantly appeared in front of him and kicked him right in the chest sending him flying several blocks away in the distance.

"RENJI!" Ichigo shouted, however he barely managed to react to Grimmjow's sword swing.

CLANG! BOOM!

The force behind Grimmjow's attack sent Ichigo smashing right into three different buildings before he came to a halt. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as he struggled to remove the debris off of his bruised body.

"Ufff! ...Damn it." He breathed heavily and managed to get back into a crawling position, however the moment he looked up to see where Grimmjow was he widened his eyes in shock to discover that Grimmjow was right in front of him.

"Lookin for me?"

PSH!

"AHHHH!" Ichigo screamed in pain as Grimmjow stabbed his sword right through both of Ichigo's hands pinning them into the ground.

"Now tell me where that shit head Kishin or whatever is hiding. Why ain't he out here yet?"

Just as Ichigo was about to respond, the sound of Rukia's voice echoed from behind them. "How dare you talk about Kishin like that! Tsugi No Mai, Hakuren!"

FWOOSH!

Before Grimmjow or Ichigo even had a chance to register what was happening a flash of freezing wind blew right through Grimmjow and encased him in crystallized ice. Ichigo blinked several times before reality finally came back to him.

"R-Rukia?!"

Rukia sighed and stood in front of Ichigo. For a good long minute she gave him a complicated look, but in the end she shook herself out of her thoughts and attempted to pull Grimmjow's Zanpakuto out of Ichigo's hands.

"Nggh! He sure stabbed his blade deep in the ground." After struggling for a full ten seconds she finally managed to remove the blade from Ichigo's hands. Just as she was about to toss the blade off into the distance the ice cracked and Grimmjow's hand gripped the hilt of his blade.

"Wha-?!" Rukia and Ichigo exclaimed in shock.

Before either one could react, Grimmjow tore back his sword from Rukia's grasp and slashed at her chest.

"RUKIA!" Ichigo screamed in panic, but Rukia managed to just bring her Zanpakuto in front of her to avoid getting cut. She was, however, forced a good distance away from the power of Grimmjow's attack. Ichigo quickly reached out to grab his Zanpakuto laying on the ground nearby, but before he could make a counter attack he was kicked right in the face and sent flying once more through the air by Grimmjow.

Instead of pursuing Ichigo this time Grimmjow turned his head and dashed in the direction of where Rukia fell. Rukia groaned and managed to stand back up just in time to see Grimmjow appear before her. They glared at one another for a few moments in silence before Grimmjow broke the ice. "You. You mentioned something about that guy Kishin. Seems like you know where he is. Spit it out."

Rukia furrowed her brow and shook her head. "You're wasting your time. He's not here. You should be happy about that too."

"Huh? He's not here?! The hell?! Did he run back to the Soul Society?"

Rukia frowned at the condescending way Grimmjow spoke about Kishin. "He'd never run. Especially from someone like you."

Grimmjow grinned as he took a good look at Rukia. "Is that so? He's a loser."

"Says the one who was dragged back to Hueco Mundo by a leash a month ago."

A thick vein instantly popped on Grimmjow's forehead. "Shut it! You're testing my patience woman. No one dragged me back!"

"Really? I heard you got scolded and were forced to go back."

Another vein popped on Grimmjow's head in anger. "I'm gonna fucking kill that bastard! It was Kishin who told you wasn't it? I'm gonna enjoy tearing him apart limb from limb!"

"You're delusional. There's no way Kishin would want to waste his time with you."

Grimmjow was about to burst in frustration when a thought struck him. "Oi. You seem pretty defensive about the guy. Everyone else didn't have much of a reaction when I badmouthed him. Your relationship must be quite good with him huh?"

Rukia didn't bother answering as she instead slashed out with her Zanpakuto and chanted, "Some No Mai, Tsukishiro!" A bright white circle lit up on the ground beneath Grimmjow causing him to widen his eyes somewhat startled. Just before he could be encased in a tall column of ice he escaped the range of the technique by utilizing his Sonido.

Rukia clicked her tongue in dismay at her failed attack. After the incident with the Sokyoku execution she had trained even more to the point where she was now able to utilize her Tsukishiro attack from a distance. She slashed out once more creating a circle beneath Grimmjow and once more Grimmjow dashed out of the way with his Sonido. This process repeated again and again as Grimmjow laughed and taunted Rukia.

"Ha! Hahaha! I'm right aren't I? You do have a closer relationship with Kishin! Then does that mean that if I torture you he'll come running over here? Hahaha! Great! I wonder what kind of expression he'll have on his face when he sees how badly I tear you up!"

Rukia frowned and quickly Shunpo'd next to Grimmjow slashing out with her Zanpakuto. Grimmjow simply raised up his own to block.

CLANG!

They stood interlocked in midair as Grimmjow took note of the scowl on Rukia's face.

"Heh! It's fine if you don't say anything. Your facial expression and actions told me everything that I needed to know."

"Don't underestimate me!"

Grimmjow simply smirked and applied more strength in his arms. He slashed out and blew Rukia back down to the ground. She skidded along the empty street and stabbed her Zanpakuto in the ground to reduce her speed to a crawling halt. Grimmjow had a smile on his face as he slowly descended to the ground walking towards her with an excited look.

"Guess I'll take you back to Hueco Mundo with me."

Rukia remained completely silent, having nothing to comment. Just as Grimmjow got within ten meters of her she smirked in triumph.

"I told you not to underestimate me."

Grimmjow frowned in confusion. "Huh?"

"Juhaku."

Clank!

Clink!

Fwoosh!

The cracked line on the ground where Rukia had stabbed her Zanpakuto through earlier to reduce her skidding speed left a thin trail of ice behind. The moment Grimmjow had stepped on the crack, Rukia activated her technique causing the ice to instantly freeze his feet. The ice then began to slowly creep up to the rest of his body freezing him from the bottom up.

"What the hell?!"

Rukia didn't stop to explain and quickly chanted out, "Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro!"

Swish!

Six yellow rods flew out from Rukia's finger and bound Grimmjow in place whilst the ice below him continued to steadily creep on up. She then readied her stance and was about to run her blade right through Grimmjow's heart when she took note that he had charged up a Cero by his hand.

BOOM!

The red Cero blasted the ground beneath him destroying the rods of Bakudo and the ice on his body. The force of the residual wind made Rukia's hair and shihakusho wildly flutter about. She kept her eyes trained on Grimmjow, but the smoke obscured her vision. Just as she was thinking of what to do next she heard Grimmjow's voice behind her.

"You're surprisingly craftier than you look, but you lack raw power."

Rukia's heart skipped a beat in panic as she knew she was in a bad spot. Just as Grimmjow was about to run his blade through her chest the loud sound of a roaring creature echoed in the vicinity. Renji's giant bone snake Bankai weaved through the air and crashed right into Grimmjow's side propelling the blue haired Arrancar up in the air.

"Tch. This guy's back?" Grimmjow grumbled unhappily.

It was then that the sound of Ichigo yelling could be heard as he arrived behind Grimmjow and slashed out with his Zanpakuto. "Getsuga...TENSHO!"

CRSH! BOOM!

A giant smoke cloud erupted in the sky as Ichigo regrouped by Rukia and Renji's side.

"Rukia, are you alright?" Ichigo asked concernedly.

She simply nodded in response. "Yeah. I'm fine. Did you get him?"

Ichigo frowned and shook his head. "Who knows. That guy is surprisingly tough."

As if on cue, Grimmjow walked out from within the cloud of smoke with a little bit of blood dripping down his left arm. He stared at Ichigo and snarled, "That hurt you fucking bastard." Just as he was about to release his Resurreccion he was stopped by Ulquiorra who promptly appeared out of nowhere and gripped his arm.

"That's enough. We have accomplished what we came for."

Grimmjow growled in dismay and was about to argue, but he was cut off by the yellow light of Negacion that fell from the sky to bring them back. Without any choice left he stared down at Ichigo, Renji, and Rukia in disdain.

"Count yourselves lucky you bastards. This isn't over. And if you see that shit head Kishin, tell him that he better watch his back."

Fwoom!

They then disappeared into the Garganta.

Rukia finally lowered her Zanpakuto, however there was a frown left on her face. "Another Arrancar? What did he mean when he said that they accomplished what they came for?"

Ichigo clenched his hand into a fist staring off into the distance. "I don't know, but it can't be anything good."

Renji clicked his tongue somewhat frustrated and confused at the whole ordeal. "What now?"

Rukia sheathed her blade and started walking off. "We report to Captain Hitsugaya and wait for orders. That's all we can do."

Ichigo frowned and nodded.

It wasn't long before everyone arrived inside Urahara's shop. The moment Ichigo glanced at the wooden table in the back room he paused with a somewhat bewildered expression. "K-Karin?! What the heck are you doing here?"

Karin just shrugged. "Why can't I be? You've been missing for nearly 2 months you know."

Ichigo opened his mouth to retort, however he stopped himself as he had no good response. Once everyone was settled in Urahara started the conversation.

"Well...I can't help but notice that it's a bit crowded in here eh?"

When no one responded to Urahara's attempt to lighten the mood he awkwardly laughed and moved on. "Haha...ahem. Alright, I suppose we should start with the elephant in the room. Did anyone find out why those Arrancars decided to show up today?"

…

Again a still silence loomed in the air. Toshiro pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. "It doesn't make any sense. Why would Aizen send in several members of the Espada to the World of the Living now after not making a move for nearly a month?"

Rangiku furrowed her brow, also deeply confused. "It's true that it doesn't make sense. Captain, you even managed to kill the Seis Espada named Luppi. There's no way that a crafty guy like Aizen would have done this without a purpose. And the other Espada didn't even stick around to really fight."

Rukia nodded in agreement. "There was one Espada that showed up later that didn't come with the rest. His name was Ulquiorra. Right after he showed up he mentioned something about accomplishing their goal and then the light of Negacion swept them away. It's just that I have no idea what goal he was talking about."

Urahara frowned, feeling somewhat uneasy at the whole situation. "Captain Hitsugaya, for now it is best if you send a report to the Captain Commander about the situation. Unfortunately there's nothing we can really do at this moment and time. I just received word from Mayuri that he finished creating the fake Karakura Town and I already have the Tenkai Kecchu ready."

A serious look shadowed over Toshiro's eyes. "Then it's finally time to bring the fight to Aizen."

Urahara nodded. "Indeed."

Ichigo widened his eyes in shock as he wasn't informed about this since he had been missing for the past two months. "Wait! What's going on? The Gotei 13 are heading to Hueco Mundo? Wasn't the plan to fight Aizen here in the fake Karakura Town?"

Toshiro shook his head. "The plan has changed since then. Kurosaki, you will stay here alongside Urahara and Yoruichi. Some Lieutenants will be stationed here too just in case. Only the Gotei 13 Captains will be going to Hueco Mundo."

Ichigo immediately slammed his fist on the table. "What?! I thought that you guys wanted my help?!"

Rukia lightly patted Ichigo on the shoulder to calm him down. "Don't get so worked up, Ichigo. You are helping. If things don't go well in Hueco Mundo then that's why you're here. If Aizen somehow manages to slip past the attack and comes to the World of the Living then you will join the others that are stationed here to stop him."

Ichigo let out a deep breath to mull over the idea meanwhile Urahara started fanning himself and added, "We need to be cautious and prepare against all variables and possible outcomes."

Ikkaku clicked his tongue in annoyance and grumbled to himself. "Tch. Why only the Captains. I wanted to go fight too."

Rangiku smirked and teased, "Really? You got smashed into the ground by that Yammy guy though. If it wasn't for Urahara's timely arrival you would've been a pile of mush. Would you even be much help?"

A thick vein popped on Ikkaku's forehead as his face turned red in embarrassment and anger at the mention of what happened. "Oi! Don't go mouthing off like you know what was going to happen! Hmpf! I was still just warming up okay! Besides, you weren't any better off against that Zommari guy. He was dancing circles around you!"

Now a thick vein popped on Rangiku's forehead as she glared at Ikkaku with irritation. "Hah?! I wouldn't exactly say that he was dancing circles around me. And besides, I had it under control. I was just waiting for the right moment to strike!"

Everyone in the room had a deadpan expression as they listened to Rangiku and Ikkaku banter back and forth for several minutes.

SNAP!

The loud sound of Urahara shutting his fan finally silenced their bickering and caught everyone's attention. He sighed and scratched the back of his head before saying, "Alright, now that you're all up to speed I think it's best if you all go get some rest. No doubt it'll be a big day tomorrow. Whatever it is that Aizen had his Espada accomplish is the least of our worries."

Toshiro nodded in agreement. "Urahara's right. Get moving everyone. I'll make a report to Soul Society. You're all dismissed."

Several Hours Later

With the meeting over and nothing else to do Rukia slowly made her way over towards the Kurosaki Clinic. The sky had turned dark with the moon illuminating the night. She let out a sigh and glanced down at the broken denreishinki in her hand.

Guess I'll have to buy a new one.

As she turned the corner of the dark street she quickly paused and looked up finding a familiar face waiting nearby.

"Eh? Renji? What're you doing here?"

Renji awkwardly coughed and attempted to make up an excuse. "Ahem. Uhh, I was just-you know, out on a walk. A-Anyways, what are you doing here Rukia?"

Rukia just blinked at Renji's awkward answer but she simply shrugged it off. "I'm going to the Kurosaki Clinic."

"Eh? The Kurosaki Clinic? What for?"

"Well, that's where I'm temporarily staying. You already know that though."

"A-Ah, right, haha. Ahem, then let me walk you."

Rukia put her broken denreishinki away and nodded her head. "Sure. By the way, are your injuries okay?"

Renji placed a hand over his chest where he was hit during the battle against Grimmjow feeling a slight sting, but he gritted his teeth and nodded. "No worries. Something like this isn't enough to stop me. But what about you? Were you hurt anywhere?"

"Me? Not really, though I can't say the same about my denreishinki. I can't help shake an uneasy feeling that we're missing something."

Renji raised a curious eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about what that guy Ulquiorra said. What exactly did they accomplish?"

Renji sighed and amusedly shook his head. "Honestly you're still thinking about that? You need to learn and relax a little Rukia or you'll only tire yourself out. I know, there's a place nearby that serves some pretty good ramen. Want to go get a late night meal?"

"Eh? Ramen? Just us?"

Renji nervously shifted in place and nodded. "Y-Yeah...w-why not? Don't want to?"

"Hmmm…" Rukia took a moment to observe Renji's strange expression. "This sounds suspicious."

Renji immediately panicked inside feeling beads of nervous sweat drip down the back of his neck. "D-Does it? Haha...h-how so?"

Rukia narrowed her eyes deep in thought before she had an epiphany. "Ha! So that's it! You need someone to pay for your meal don't you? I heard from Jinta a few days ago that you've been freeloading off of them in Urahara's shop."

Renji immediately felt as if a bucket of ice cold water was dumped on him. Truthfully he wanted to spend some time alone with Rukia and hoped that he could still sway her heart. He was nervous that Rukia had picked up on that and was going to reject him, but in the end he never expected that her response was a hit to his pride and self-esteem. She had instead called him out for being poor and labeled him as a useless freeloader. Though she didn't directly say it, that was how Renji inadvertently felt. He wasn't sure which outcome was better at this point.

Rukia placed her hands on her hips and let out a light chuckle in amusement at Renji's flushed face. "Hahaha! Alright Renji, don't worry. I won't let you starve!"

She pointed off into the distance and continued with a triumphant voice, "Off we go!"

Renji could only swallow down his pride and agree. "Y-Yeah…"

Meanwhile back at the Urahara Shop Toshiro just hung up his denreishinki with a serious look on his face. Yoruichi in her cat form took note and licked her paw before asking, "What's the matter? Something happen in the Soul Society?"

Toshiro gave a cursory glance at the black cat being reminded of Yushiro for a second before answering, "Not really. I've been ordered to return to the Seireitei as preparations are being put in place for our departure sometime tomorrow. For now Matsumoto, Abarai, Kuchiki, and Madarame will stay here until further notice."

"Hm. I see. Well you don't have to worry about things here. I highly doubt there will be any more moves made by Aizen and his Arrancars tonight."

"Yeah. It bothers me that we still don't know what he accomplished by mobilizing his Arrancars earlier this morning but stressing out about it won't help the situation."

He quickly opened up a Senkaimon and stepped inside before giving Yoruichi one final glance. "Will you all be alright?"

Yoruichi simply smirked and swayed her tail back and forth. "Heh. Your worry is unnecessary. Focus on your own task first so you don't get distracted."

Toshiro nodded as the doors to the Senkaimon closed, disappearing with him inside.

MISC.

So...Jinta and Ururu are part of the Jujin race? And what's going on with Grimmjow? Why are Jinta and Ururu affected by him? What's with their bloodlines? How will this manifest in Grimmjow?

And Karin is learning how to fight using Kido and she's training in honing her reiatsu? What'll happen to her in the future?

Plus, it won't be long before the Captains face off against Aizen and his Arrancars.

Is Athotep aware of what's happening in Hueco Mundo? His place of residence is in the Dark Land Borders inside a place called Los Castillo De Pesadilla.

Hmmm...more to come.

*The Dark Land Borders: A place that exists beyond the sand dunes of Hueco Mundo. It is a place with no light and no sand. Not even the moon of Hueco Mundo appears in this place. It is a dreary place that is filled in darkness and mystery.
*Los Castillo De Pesadilla (The Nightmare Castle): A large castle deep within The Dark Land Borders where the Hollow Lord called Athotep resides.

CURRENT CAPTAINS/LIEUTENANTS/3rd/4th/5th/6th/7th OFFICER (Last, First)
1. Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni/Sasakibe Chojiro
2. Soi Fon/Omaeda Marechiyo/Shihoin Yushiro
3. Chigetsu Kishin/Kira Izuru/Togakushi Riku/Ran'Tao/Ichinose Maki/Gori Takatsuna/Katakura Asuka
4. Unohana Retsu/Kotetsu Isane
5. Amagai Shusuke/?
6. Kuchiki Byakuya/Abarai Renji
7. Komamura Sajin/Iba Tetsuzaemon
8. Kyoraku Shunsui/Ise Nanao
9. Tsunayashiro Kinji (Kido Commander)/Hisagi Shuhei
10. Hitsugaya Toshiro/Matsumoto Rangiku
11. Zaraki Kenpachi/Kusajishi Yachiru/Madarame Ikkaku/?/Ayasegawa Yumichika
12. Kurotsuchi Mayuri/Kurotsuchi Nemu
13. Ukitake Jushiro/Kuchiki Rukia

POINTS OF INTEREST:
-Aizen and his Arrancars/Gin and his message to Kishin
-Kishin's level 100 Kido Spells/Kishin's Bankai
-Kishin's Division/Kira Izuru, Ran'Tao, Ichinose Maki/Kishin's Relationship with Rukia and the Kuchiki Clan
-Kinji's Shikai and Bankai/Kido Corp and the 9th Division
-The Bakkoto and the Kasumioji Clan
-Azashiro Soya, the 8th Kenpachi locked down in Muken/Unohana Retsu, the 1st Kenpachi
-The assassination attempt on Ran'Tao's life
-Tokinada and his killing of Kakyo/The shady way he became Head of the Tsunayashiro Clan/Tsunayashiro Clan Hidden Archives
-Karin's growing involvement with the Shinigami/Awareness of the Soul Society
-The stolen prototype of Urahara's Tenkai Kecchu
-The Five Great Noble Clans and their Ancestral Weapons.
-The Dark World Mirror
-The truth of the Soul King/Origin of the World
-The Beast Realm/The Beast King, Shukenja Amo/Bi'an Kingdom/3 Alpha Clans/Jujin Race
-The First Gotei 13 Captains
-War with the Quincy's 1000 years ago/The Quincy King Yhwach/Kaiser Gesang
-The Great Hollow War and its purpose/Night Parade of 100 Demons/The Wild Lands/The Canyon of Rift and Sorrow/The Great Hollow Lord
-Amagai remains 5th division Captain
-Athotep/Shogo/This new dark eerie unknown land and dark castle
-Ikomikidomoe/Musabori Kuu Hito/Royal Guard

-Grimmjow's connection to the Beast Realm. Jinta and Ururu being part of the Jujin Race.

APPROXIMATE TIMELINE: Hope this helps put things into a bit of perspective and hope I fit the timing of things to make sense...there may be slight nuances from this timeline and actual Canon timeline which I adjusted to fit my story.

More Than 2100 Years Ago (Jujin Race sealed away into Beast Realm)
More Than 2100 Years Ago (5 Great Noble Clans Established)
More than or around 2100 Years Ago (Musabori Kuu Hito sealed away by the Royal Guard)
~2100 Years Ago (Yamamoto establishes Shinigami Academy)
~1000 Years Ago (Gotei 13 established)
~1000 Years Ago (Shinigami war with Quincys)
~870 Years Ago (Athotep Appears/The Great Hollow War/Captain Kasumioji Kanata's death/Tenjiro Kirinji was the 2nd division Captain)
~600 Years Ago (Ran'Tao joins division 4 under Captain Nakayama)
~590 Years Ago (Captain Nakayama dies)
~570 Years Ago (Ran'Tao and other researchers experiment on eternality/immortality and creation of the Bounts)
~200 Years Ago (Eradication of most Quincys)
~200-110 Years Ago (Tokinada kills his wife Kakyo)
~110 Years Ago (Assassins kill the main lineage of those in line for the Head of the Tsunayashiro Clan/Kinji's parent's death/Tokinada becomes new Head of the Clan)
~110 Years Ago (Vanishing Souls Incident/Visored creation/Urahara and Yoruichi disappear)
~60-50 Years Ago (Rukia is adopted into the Kuchiki Clan)
~50-40 Years Ago (Kishin reincarnates)
~25-20 Years Ago (Isshin is exiled)
~16-15 Years Ago (Ichigo is born)
~10-9 Years Ago (Kurosaki Masaki and Katagiri Kanae dies/Auswahlen)
~1-2 Months Ago (Sokyoku Execution and Aizen/Gin/Tosen defects)
~1 Week Ago (Bount insurgents enter Soul Society/Kishin, Kinji, Amagai become Captains/Bounts Defeated/Ran'Tao and Ichinose Maki join 3rd Division)
Recently (Kasumioji Conspiracy/Amagai's betrayal and truth/Reveal of Athotep's Character into the story)
Present (Grimmjow, Zommari, Luppi, Yammy invade Karakura Town/Toshiro kills Luppi/Jinta and Ururu's Jujin bloodline reacts to Grimmjow)

Time left until Hogyoku fully awakens = ~1 month and 4-3 weeks

KIDO (Demon Way): Original Spell/Incantation
-Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro (Six Rods of Light) Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six!
-Bakudo #62: Hyapporankan (Hundred Steps Fence)
-Bakudo #63: Sajo Sabaku (Ethereal Binding Chain)
-Bakudo #75: Gochutekkan (5 Iron Weighted Pillars)
-Bakudo #84: Hachikaku Kabe (Eight-Pointed Wall): Creates an orange colored three-dimensional eight-pointed rectangular wall.
-Bakudo #99 Part 1: Kin (Restriction)

-Hado #58: Tenran (Orchid Sky)

Rukia's Zanpakuto: Sode No Shirayuki (Sleeved White Snow)
Shikai Release Command: Dance
Shikai Appearance: Her Zanpakuto transforms into a color that is completely white. The blade, hilt, and guard included. The guard also transforms into a hollow snowflake-like pattern and a long white ribbon extends from the end of the pommel.
Shikai Abilities:
1. Some No Mai, Tsukishiro (First Dance, White Moon): Rukia slashes horizontally with her sword and creates a white circle on the ground beside her. That circle lights up with a white light and freezes everything in its influence including anything stationed above the circle creating a towering column of ice that reaches high into the sky.
2. Tsugi No Mai, Hakuren (Next dance, White Ripple): Rukia performs and vertical downward stabbing motion towards the ground 4 times creating ice particles to float in front of her and a large white circle to light up beneath her. She then points her blade in the direction of her intended target(s) and a burst of freezing ice fires out in that direction flash freezing everything in her line of attack.
3. Juhaku (White Tree): By stabbing her blade along solid surfaces she can create a trail of thin ice. That ice can travel towards her intended target and freezes them from the bottom up until they become encased in a crystalline white tree of ice.

Ichigo's Zanpakuto: Zangetsu (Slaying Moon)
Shikai Release Command: Always in Shikai Release state.
Shikai Appearance: It has no handle or guard and simply has white bandage cloths wrapped around the hilt. The blade itself is as tall as Ichigo himself. It somewhat represents that of an oversized khyber knife with the top half of the blade black in color and the bottom half white in color.
Shikai Abilities:
1. Getsuga Tensho (Moon Fang Heaven Piercer): Ichigo fuels his reiatsu into his Zanpakuto and fires it out creating a giant amplified swing of his sword. His Getsuga is blue in color.

Bankai: Tensa Zangetsu (Heaven Chain Slaying Moon)
Bankai Appearance: In this form Ichigo's shihakusho transforms into a black slim fitted long coat and his Zanpakuto shrinks into the form of a black colored katana. The guard takes on the shape of a manji and the handle has red colored diamond patterns on it.
Bankai Abilities:
1. All of Ichigo's physical abilities are enhanced by having his reiatsu condensed into the cloak and blade of his Bankai granting him greater speed, strength, reaction, jumping, throwing, etc.
2. Getsuga Tensho (Moon Fang Heaven Piercer): Ichigo fuels his reiatsu into his Zanpakuto and fires it out creating a giant amplified swing of his sword. His Getsuga is black in color with a red tint.

Renji's Zanpakuto: Zabimaru (Snake Tail)
Shikai Release Command: Howl
Shikai Appearance: His Zanpakuto transforms into a large blade segmented into six different sections with the top half of the blade colored in black and the bottom edge of the blade colored in white. The beginning and the end of each segmented blade has two sharp and pointed protrusions extending from the edge. The guard is bronze in color with the handle a dark red.
Shikai Abilities:
1. Can extend and retract at the joints between the segmented points of the blade making it useful as a very long whip as well as a sword.

Bankai: Hihio Zabimaru (Baboon King Snake Tail)
Bankai Appearance: In this form his sword completely transforms into a large skeletal snake with many segments making up its body held together by Renji's reiatsu. These segments that have sharp bone spikes protruding form them can be detached and reattached at will. The end of the giant skeletal snake has a large snake bone skull with a red fur mane around the neck portion. Renji himself gains a fur cowl around his neck and shoulder with the skull of an ape shown on his left shoulder.
Bankai Abilities:
1. Renji can swing his Bankai like a whip which can slam into objects. The skull of his Bankai can crush things between its teeth and the protruding spikes of his Bankai can detach and re-attach via his reiatsu allowing for more fluidity and control of his Bankai's movements.

Toshiro's Zanpakuto: Hyorinmaru (Ice Ring)
Shikai Release Command: Sit upon the frozen heavens.
Shikai Appearance: A normal looking katana albeit longer in length than normal at about 1.4 meters long. The guard has the shape of a four-pointed bronze colored star. The hilt is light blue in color. A crescent shaped blade is attached to the pommel by a long metal chain which can extend if necessary.
Shikai Abilities:
1. Can transform water into ice. His slashes can generate long Chinese looking ice dragons with red glowing eyes that can fly out to freeze all things it touches.

Bankai: Daiguren Hyorinmaru (Great Roaring Coldly Shining Moon)
Bankai Appearance: Toshiro's right arm transforms into an ice dragon head whilst his left arm transforms into an ice dragon claw. Giant ice wings protrude from his back and a long ice tail extends from behind him. His feet are covered in icy talons and 3 giant diamond-like purple colored ice flowers float above his head consisting of 4 petals each
Bankai Abilities:
1. Grants Toshiro the ability to control the moisture in the air and freeze the surrounding area creating large waves of ice.
2. Zanhyo Ningyo (Lingering Ice Puppet): Toshiro can generate an ice clone of himself to fool and trick his opponents though the trick usually only works once.

Luppi's Resurreccion: Trepadora
Resurreccion Release Command: Strangle
Resurreccion Appearance: Grants Luppi a total of 8 long white tentacles behind his back.
Resurreccion Abilities:

Other Abilities:
1. Cero: Luppi's Cero is pink in color and can cause great destruction upon impact.

Grimmjow's Resurreccion:
Resurreccion Release Command:
Resurreccion Appearance:
Resurreccion Abilities:

Other Abilities:
1. Sonido: The Hollow version of Shunpo.
2. Cero: Grimmjow's Cero is red in color and can cause massive destruction upon impact.