Bleach Rebirth of the Guardian Chapter 54, a Bleach + High School DxD/ハイスクールD×D Crossover fanfic

Here is the new chapter, thank you to Mattock345 and Aroneden for the proofread, I hope you all enjoy.

Also real quick I got a few reviews asking what Serafall's beef with Karin was when she said she accepted her apology. The key part of that was that nothing was said about Forgiveness. While Serafall has been called worse things, people who are connected to the one she loves. Who are going to be her family some day, they can hit her a lot harder with there words. Plus she is a Maou, she aint going take what she sees as Karin's bullshit.

The light of day did nothing to warm the cold within her, she would not let it. Below her shopkeepers, workers, and other non-combatants moved about their work. Though they seemed to notice the odd lack of any Gotei 13 personnel.

It was good, whatever was happening in the political sphere, Yamamoto was covering his people...well, except for her. But that was the price that had to be paid, if not by her, then by Renji or perhaps one of the Vizards. And if one of those went, the rest would too.

With her, the potential losses were still there, in the form of Renji or, on a really bad day, her Brother. Though that was going to tear him apart….no, she had to stop thinking and move forward.

Her targets were approaching, six members of the Death guard. Dressed in full battle gear, forsaking the black robes for skin-tight black shirts and pants, covered by a vest that had to be some kind of armor. Shoes with spiked ends for kicking, a belt from which their Zanpakuto was sheathed, and the skull mask upon their faces. No eyes could be seen, just a red glow.

The people scrambled to get out of their way, she watched one kick an older man who had not been fast enough, the boot coming away red, the old man hitting the side of a building with a sickening crunch.

That was going to make her angry, when she let go of the cold, all it did right now was harden her resolve. She notes that the Commands were silent within her Soul. Perhaps they sensed her resolve, her will to do this.

She watched the Death Guard, waiting until they were in the right spot. One of them glanced up, but his gaze moved over her and he shook his head. They moved below the empty watchtower and it was only then that Rukia stood.

The Death Guard did not have names when they put on the mask, you had a letter and a number. That was how you had to think of yourself. That's how you were taught, when the mask came on you were a part of a greater whole.

You were part of Soul Society's last defense against the enemy within. Unless you earned your name, you were the faceless cells that acted as the immune system.

G-14 understood that it was new to the group, its training was done and its first mission a simple escort. It did not know or care what they were escorting. That was not its job to know, he...no it, G-14 chided itself, It had heard that they were moving some sort of weapon. But it did not know any more than that.

It could not shake a feeling that it was being watched, which was only good sense. Four others G-12,13,15, and 16 were following, hidden and watching for trouble.

But it felt something cold, an itch that would not go away. Squad Leader G-1 did not seem to find anything amiss and G-14 had no desire to be on the receiving end of their wrath. That old man had been on the end of his mere annoyance, still killing a civilian without orders was distasteful. So G-14 figured that G-1 had orders the rest of them had not been made privy to. They entered the shadow of an empty watchtower, unmanned apparently at the behest of Its commanders, a show of force to the Gotei 13.

The itch grew more insistent, G-14 winced at the recognition of his Zanpakuto, he did not even know the name of it yet. But now was the worst time for contact, he pushes it away with his mind. Fuck, he was losing focus, it, he was it with the mask on. There was an itch so strong his head snapped back and he saw what his Zanpakuto had been trying to warn him off.

The figure fell like a dancer's shadow, graceful, lovely, and absolutely lethal. In its hands was a Zanpakuto that looked familiar, though it could not place the blade. Its length was average for the size of the person holding it. Its color was an azure blue, the hilt, the steel, all of it, the only difference was the ribbon of azure fire that trailed behind the hilt. G-1 looked up and the figure's lower half erupted in fire and moved. Moved faster than G-14 had ever seen, the sword left behind a thin sheet of fire as long and thin as the blade. The azure color was somehow sensual and violent at the same time.

G-1's head fell off his shoulders clattering into the stone road. G-14 got a good look at their attacker even as he and his….they drew their blades. The attacker was very clearly feminine, the skin-tight outfit-making even modest curves clearly defined. She had a hood over her head, the shadows seeming to suck in light. G-14 felt a flash of recognition they could not place.

She slammed her hand on the ground with the words of a Kido ending in a flood of fog spreading out from the attacker. G-14 knew that kido and thus knew the amount of power it took to cover almost a fourth of a district in heavy fog. It did not bode well, for any of them.

There was a flash of blue in the fog, a scream of pain, a battle cry, another slicing sound. The top half of G-61 almost knocked him over and it took a second of back peddling before he regained his footing. G-14 looked around and found nothing, heard nothing. There were at least two others with him and the four hidden watchers. He leaped up using the Spiritual Particles in the air to fly, leaving the fog which reached several hundred feet in the air. He searched with his mind and eyes, spotting two of the hidden watchers dead, their blood leaking off the roofs they had been hidden on.

At any other time, this would have had the Gotei 13 swarming, but not today. Which G-14 figured was why it happened. There was not much time and G-14 had a mission and getting rid of this fog seemed like the only path he had. He let go of his Zanpakuto, focusing his power into it, letting it levitate in the air. He lightly tapped the hit and the blade began to spin like a fan. He continued focusing his power on the weapon. "Hado 58," G-14 snarled, "Tenran." There was a flash of light as something slammed into his chest

The moment it made contact five other shafts of light slammed into him, paralyzing him and he fell, he fell back into the fog, bounced on the ground hard enough to break something. The cry of pain was impossible to suppress as his ribs broke. When he could see again he was looking into the empty mask of G-23 and it struck him that he could only feel two living Souls, his own and the one behind him.

G-14 never saw her coming, barely felt the cut which severed his head from his body…and everything went quiet.

Rukia let her Zanpakuto shift back to its sealed state. The passion, the anger that had flooded her receded. It felt so wrong to have enjoyed that, it had not been a fight, not in the slightest, and she killed them all for the simple reason that she needed as much time as possible.

But during the moment, the Waltz of Battle, she had felt more exhilarated than any fight she had been in, throughout her whole life. It was such a stark contrast to the cold of Shirayuki's normal dances. And she was still so angry about that old man that it masked the need to throw up in horror at her assassinations.

The Commands helped as well, driving her, keeping her focused when necessary. With a gesture, Rukia cleared an orb of space around the coffin. She put a hand on it and gently pushed, the lid slid open and Rukia stared at the unconscious form of Masaki Kurosaki.

"No," She whispered, "Why?"

Yamamoto stared into the fire as the horror of what she had just heard set in. "It is a method that can work. Find a weakness, and exploit it." The old man looked older than ever. "We attempted to head them off, fast track her into the Wheel of Reincarnation. But we were not fast enough, they were able to capture her before it was completed."

"But that would destroy the Soul."

"Most would, but her Soul, like her Son's, is strong, stronger than we realize. However, ripping her Soul out of the cycle did damage her and in the end, it was a blessing." Rukia just stared at the man. "They had to expend a great deal of time and resources restoring her and that gave us time. Time to plan, time to prepare you."

Rukia felt sick to her core. "They want to turn her into a living bomb?"

"The most powerful one that could be managed, the trigger would be her Son's touch." The Captain shrugged. "What I think would have happened and what the few I have spoken to agree is that Kurosaki and his Father would survive...His Sisters would be likely casualties, as well as a decent number of mortals in his town." The fire flickered. "He would then grab every ally he could beg, borrow and steal. And come for our throats, this, on top of those among our number who would support him."

Rukia read the report Nemu had given her, detailing in a cold clinical way the current state of Masaki Kurosaki.

With the intervention of Aura, the body of Subject Alpha has been reconstructed to the degree that it can sustain itself. The body however has a different appearance than what was on record. Aura contends that as she did not have the whole body to work with, we should be grateful that she accompanied this Miracle at all.

There were no photos so Rukia did not know what that meant in real terms, nor had she ever heard of a Shinigami called Aura. But then again the Death Guard were good at keeping any high rank hidden.

Subject Alpha is conscious and is showing some distress as to the state of her physical body and confusion as to her current confinement to Site D.

Subject Alpha refuses to cooperate with site personnel claiming she can, "Sense our malice". Request for additional testing to ascertain her abilities.

Request refused by Site Director. "We only need her to be stable and even that is only for the short time required for task fulfillment."

Recommendation to sedate Subject Alpha followed by a Kido enforced coma when stability is assured.

Request granted.

Stability 100%

Off-site resources prepared.

Beginning operation.

Rukia looked down upon the woman, she had seen her pictures and poster...what she now looked like was different, a woman smaller, younger. Was this what Aura had meant when they had been able to reconstruct her body? She looked Ichigo's age, her body was surprisingly normal looking. Which told her that they had been deliberately keeping her body from atrophying. They had her in a simple thin white gown as you might find in any number of medical facilities. Her hair had grown long and clearly had not been taken care of.

She could almost smell the layers of Kido keeping her unconscious. Though they were unraveling quickly which was normal when used on someone with a lot of Spiritual Power. It was just odd that given what she was sensing from the woman, that the Gotei 13 had not recruited her.

Rukia reached into her pack and pulled out a small black gemstone and placed it on Masaki. The thing was based on something that Aizen's Arrancar had used. Some sort of thing that sealed away the target in another dimension. What she was using sealed someone inside the gem, or rather a dimension contained by the gemstone.

Like what was wearing, it was prohibitively expensive and time-consuming to make. Rukia had been told hers was the only one, though she doubted it. A feature built into the gem was that by shattering it, the thing contained was released.

Apparently, it was also fragile from the inside as well, which was fine, Rukia was not here for a prisoner, she watched as space folded around the woman and caught the gem as her body vanished. It was time to...her senses warned her and she vanished, a single Flash Step moving her from the ground to the top of the tower.

Below her, she saw a beam of forced light slice through her fog closure, "White Lighting.", she mumbled. Had she missed one?

"Seek, Sureddou~ībā(Thread weaver)."

A Death Guard shot out of the fog, their Zanpakuto taking the form of a sword hilt with a fist thick glowing strand of spiritual power that looked vaguely like a thread. It extended towards her and she leaped up and back as it twisted and slammed down into the watchtower, suturing itself to the building in three blinding quick stitches. The Man holding the hilt was jerked forward as the length of the thread rapidly shrank and it hurled him like a slingshot past the tower and right at her.

The man flipped and let out a cry of effort and ripped about a ton of stone, wood, and ceramic of the watch power and the thread snapped, hurling it at her.

Rather than dodge, Rukia retreated, letting the debris Arc and fall short. The blue thread surged after her twisting in a spiral pattern around their body, Rukia used the Flash Step a heartbeat before it closed around the space she had been in. The thread knotting and abruptly it was jerked back to the hilt where the knot began to undo itself.

Notably, it did not happen quickly, but before she could get a real lead on him, there was a flash of light above her and five iron pillars took form, Rukia spun, words flying from her lips, her mind analyzing the Kido and matching her power to it. "Bakudo 39: Encosen(Arc Shield)." A blue shield of sparkling blue light interposed itself between her and the iron pillars. It cracked and splintered at once only holding for a moment, but that moment was all she needed. The pillars slammed through the barrier and down, missing her and slamming into the ground below, sending up a shockwave of dirt and stone.

The blue thread shot at her and Rukia spun in a defensive attack, her blade slamming into the tip of the thread. There was a shock of pain that went through her arms as she turned kinetic force behind the attack away.

The thread spun making a loop and flying right back at her, Rukia let her reflexes, honed in her fights with Renji take over, perhaps this Zanpakuto had the same weakness. She twisted and let herself fall, avoiding the thread, it looked again to chase her and she dodged, kicking off the air and spinning to slash at the side of the thread. Her blade went through like butter and the thread shot back to the hilt where it started to reform. However, it seemed some of the energy of the attack backlashed into the Death Guard, staggering him.

Rukia wove two Kido in the same verse, a rare ability with her as one of its few users. With her left hand, she sent a line of white lighting into the thread, the spell skewering him on the Lance of power. It did not kill him but he did fall out of the sky, his Zanpakuto returning to its sealed state. With her other hand, she kept a hold of the Azure fire that had built in it.

She only had to wait as above her a man appeared holding a javelin of blue energy, the hallmark of Bakudo 62: One Hundred Step Fence. He took a moment to aim and Rukia unleashed a torrent of blue fire, "Hado 33: Blue Fire Crash Down."

The man panicked and his javelin went wild as he dodged in a blind Flash Step, the javelin split into hundreds of small javelins that rained down upon the housing below them. They did not explode as that was not the point of the Kido, they were, however, fast-moving and numerous projectiles and acted as such. Rukia snarled a curse as her Flash Step launched her at the caster.

He tried to draw his blade, but she was coming at him too fast. He must have been young because he abandoned the effort to try and spit out a Kido, splitting his limited time, and her Zanpakuto spitting him from shoulder to thigh ended his attempts perfectly.

Rukia let out a breath, which turned into another curse as over her the sky began to shimmer, someone had fully activated the Shakonmaku(Soul Shield Membrane). Which was bad, it meant the Death Guard were reacting incredibly fast. That they had someone seemingly on standby to do this, she grit her teeth. It would make things harder, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Lowering her power as far as she could and she cast the camouflage Kido, making sure to keep high against the blue sky. It brought her dangerously close to the Shakonmaku. She might have the personal power to break through it, but it would cost her dearly, even within the sphere of its protection she could feel its oppressive force on her Spiritual Power. Most who tried to pass thought it would be destroyed as their Soul was ripped apart.

Those of a Captain level could ram through unprotected, though it would cost them much of their power. Even people like Yamamoto and Kenpahi would at least be somewhat hurt by the process.

Rukia ran through her options as she flew, trying to parcel out the best way to accomplish her goal. She would have to go through one of the four gates now. Gates that would most likely be shut to everyone. Perhaps Lieutenant Kuchiki had enough clout to be let through though. Or she could get really lucky and the gate would be open for some Soul King forsaken reason…she sighed and moved faster.

"Tsunayashiro," the Head Captain's tone was gratifyingly annoyed, "There has been an incident within the Gotei 13's district, I am sending in my people now, your Death Guard will support their efforts."

"I think not Captain," Tsunayashiro said, leaning back in his chair, "It's all an internal security matter, and, as you well know, that is my job." The old man opened his mouth to speak again, but Tsunayashiro took great pleasure in cutting him off. "That is the will of the Central 46 Captain." He emphasized the last word. "I am dealing with the problem, you and yours stay out of my way, are we understood?"

The old man looked at him and the sending cut off, Tsunayashiro leaned back and let out a breath as the kind of pleasure that only came from telling more powerful people what to do, flooded him.

"Lord," He glanced at his bodyguard, "It seems the Head Captain is calling for a full mobilization of remaining Gotei 13 personnel. With strict orders to return to base and ready for a call to arms."

Tsunayashiro's mouth twitched. "He would be a fool not to." The pleasure faded as he returned to the issue at hand. "What have we learned about this incident?

Yamamoto kept his face at an angry natural expression until the sending was over before it turned into a rueful smile. "Proud men." He said it in the way one might throw an insult. It was almost too easy to get him to do what he wanted. How long could he do it? Yamamoto did not know, but for now, it was enough. The Gotei 13 was covered, all that remained to do was wait and hope.

The Black Ridge gate was closed, of course, the gate was the color of its namesake, jet black and huge, with small doors for individual passage at the bottom. There were Death Guard there, seven of them, and the gatekeeper was nowhere in sight.

Rukia took it all in and went with the plan she felt Ichigo would approve of the most, it helped that there were no civilian buildings nearby. With that restriction removed she could risk this attack. "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki."

Her weapon changed to its familiar form, the blue-white steel of its blade, the pure white handle the weapon appearing as if forged from Ice itself. The Death Guard reacted quickly as she landed among them, but it was far too late. Even as she landed she spun her blade in a circle. "First Dance: White Moon Variation, Niflheim." Under her, around her, there was a snow-white flare of energy that encompassed everyone around her. Normally it would have sent a pillar if ice erupted upward for her position. But there was a new understanding she had for her Zanpakuto and its power.

A wave of white mist shot up like a geyser, blinding the sight I'd everyone for a brief moment. When it vanished a moment later Rukia stood among seven frozen statues. The eighth had leaped up, hoping to avoid the attack and her frozen body slammed into the ground shattering into grizzly chunks. Rukia was thankful for the cold of Sode no Shirayuki. It kept her distant from the sight, for the moment she was alone and walking forward she placed her hand on the black stone.

It was not made of the same material that the walls were made of, otherwise, it would have been prohibitive to open. With a breath, Rukia let the cold flow from her and out through her hand. Channeling the Absolute Zero cold within her core. She stood there for a time, it could not have been longer than sixty seconds.

That was how long it took for her to sense the heat and souls of reinforcements. It was at the extreme end of her range, but that just meant she might have another half a minute.

She opened her eyes and looked at the Black Ridge Gate. The whole thing had a bluish coating, her cold had penetrated the rock to its very core, rendering every particle of Spiritual Matter in the Gate frozen. She clenched her fist, let out a breath. Sliding into a stance, her legs rooted to the ground, her center of gravity slightly lowered, her fist drawn back. "Waltz." She whispered, and the cold vanished, replaced by a roaring flame from her core. She took that power and focused it on her fist.

She let her mind fall into the surge of passion and anger, her eyes glowing with azure flame and stuck. Her fist collided with the frozen stone, she could feel the heat leave her fist, causing all the matter in the Gate to rapidly expand at the same time as the force of her punch ran through it. The gate….shattered, it shattered into a million tiny pieces with the sound like shrieking steel.

A flood of pride and elation flooded her, but Rukia forced it down and ran. Passing through where the gate had been, out of the Seireitei and into the Rukongai. There were a dozen civilians standing there slack-jawed at the impregnable might of Soul Society being shattered by a masked assailant. The last time that had happened it had been a bunch of Bounts and siege equipment.

Rukia moved, vanishing from where she stood and appearing on the top of a house, she ran along with it, letting her Zanpakuto fade back into its normal form and calling up her veiling Kido, using even less power, so that it was only making her blurry to the eye. She leaped and flew up the wall of a watchtower, blurring past the startled personnel within. She paused only for a moment to look back, a lot of Death Guards were streaming from the gate.

Rukia leaped off and let herself fall until she was near enough to the tower to use her legs and run straight down, kicking off at the last second and shooting over a dozen houses of even height. Using her hand to catch the top of a pipe she flipped over a wall, twisting twice before landing on the ground in a roll and coming up to her feet.

Above her, the air began to fill with groups of Death Guards. Almost unconsciously she moved through the area, as memories of the multitude of years spent within this place resurfaced. She made her way deeper into it, eyes watched her move, but did nothing. Though devoid of hunger, this existence was hard for many. You did not start with money, you often did not start with family. There were few ways to move upward save to be one of the lucky few born with Spiritual Power. Which came with the downside of needing to eat once it manifested.

She had done as much as she could for them, spending more time than most moving among them looking for recruits. Listening to them and bringing justice where she was able...but it was never enough. Never close to enough to make up for the fact that she had been given so much more than any of them could dream of.

On the bright side, that guilt was gone. Because after what she had done the removal of her Nobility would be the least of her worries. She knew these people, they would not go out of their way to do anything about her, they would also not care in the slightest about telling what they had seen.

It was how she wanted it, an easy way for her pursuers to locate her, people to talk about how she had run past them, dashing through a house, hopping a wall here, and most of all nowhere near any entrance to the place she wanted to go. One might think that underneath Soul Society's enormous inner districts there would be nothing. After all, no need for eating in this district meant no need for a sewer or any such system.

It would be a reasonable assumption, it made sense, it was logical...so that was why there were different tunnels, it was why the shield of the Seireitei was a sphere. Because if it had not been the case, the old tunnels would allow for several paths into the Capital.

There were a number of places that most knew you could get into them, but like so many street brats before her, Rukia and Renji had found their own secrets to protect them. Things like, which buildings were empty when, who would ignore them, and a few places with access to the underground.

They had never made it a point to stay there any long amounts of time, there were far too many stories of people vanishing. Hollows, living shadows, soul-destroying horrors...but really it was just old, it was not in repair, and if parts of it collapsed it did not affect anything above it.

Rukia took a step around a corner, leaving the sight of the people watching her, and used the Flash Step, it was the furthest Step she had ever made, a movement that, while not matching what some of the other Captains could do, did move her half a mile from the spot.

She took a moment to catch her breath and slip under the cover of a broken house, its roof mostly intact, making sure her Spiritual Power was hidden. This place was a bit out of the way, and in her childhood, most of its walls had been standing, it made a good place to hide from the deprivations of heat and cold that could plague the Souls here. While she was catching her breath and bearings she moved over to a standing corner, one of only two. The dust of decades caked the walls, but she brushed it aside and smiled at the crudely carved double R.

The fact that it was here after all this time did her heart good. She let out a sigh and began to walk over every part of the floor tapping with her foot, she did not remember exactly where it was but, when her foot made an echo below the floor she moved to knock away rubble and dirt revealing an old wooden floor, not rotting as it might in the human world, just slowly crumbling like this house, fading back into its constituent Spiritual Matter. The floor bent when she pulled up part of it, there was enough space for a child to slip down the hole, but she had to break more pieces to allow her...admittedly small adult body to fall through. Her feet landed on solid ground and she knelt, closing her eyes and sensing for anything.

Nothing was close, and as far as she could tell nothing was on this level, the drop had been about thirty feet and required a makeshift rope when she had been small.

Rukia murmured the words of a light incantation, creating a small ball of luminescence letting her see where she was. As a child she had not cared that the walls looked different, differing materials, construction, even what she assumed was old writing looked odd, off somehow.

According to some of the older adults with more time than sense, the writings could give you some idea about where you were going, just based on the number and frequency of the unknown letters. It was not a skill she had ever picked up or needed to, she had been one of the lucky ones with the power to join the Academy. To become part of the military and leave this place behind.

Still in the interest of not causing further major damage to Soul Society, these half-remembered tunnels were the best option she could think of. With her light orbiting her head, Rukia made her way into the darkness.

The Sitri Peerage could see something awkward had happened to their King, something in the way she was not meeting anyone's gaze. Or the way Ichigo was fighting to keep an embarrassed flush from taking over his whole face. "Ok, I give up," Tsubasa said, "What happened?"

Ichigo coughed, "Don't you have a club to discuss that?"

The Rook gave him a fond smile. "I was not asking you." Her gaze moved to the head of the table where Seras Sitri sat, the reason they were all her eating good food at a good restaurant. She looked gorgeous, just like her daughters, taller than both with a bust size larger than Sona's but smaller than Serafall's. Her violet eyes sparkled in the light of the restaurant, she seemed to be going business casual with a white shirt and black skirt, making her fit in nicely with the crowd around them. Her features were like a mix of both her daughters, the sharp eye and cute nose of Sona, the curves of Serafall. And that long black raven hair was done up into a single braided tail that trailed all the way down to her butt.

That face had been a hell of a thing to wake up to. As mornings went, your soon-to-be mother-in-law's amused face staring at your junk, while her two daughters lay across your body naked as the day they were born...Well, it was not fun to say the very least.

"Well..." The woman started.

"Mother," Sona interrupted with a desperate look in her eyes, "How is Saji doing, in his training I mean?"

"Par excellence." She replied, looking fondly at her daughter's flushed face. "Without the distraction of a romantic rival, he has committed himself fully to his training. Your Father is quite impressed and that is why your Aunt will be taking over that aspect for a while. She is much harder to impress than your Father when it comes to anything, not you." Sona nodded, seeming happy to have derailed the conversation.

"I hear you got him a training partner, some cute cousin from the branch family?" Serafall said.

Ichigo recognized from her voice and smile that she was conveying more information than the words implied. "Indeed, without Sona to pine after he is more willing to enjoy the scenery." She sent a smile Ruruka and Momo's way. "I might have asked for you two, but I hear you are quite happy where you are."

Both girls glanced at each other with a fond smile. "We very much are," Momo nodded, "Though thank you for thinking of us Mrs. Sitri."

"Seras," She chided, "You're my family too, remember."

Ruruka grinned. "Yes, mom."

Seras leaned back and laughed. "That is much better dear. Now, back to your question honey," she nodded at Tsubasa, "My little girl..."

"Please don't," Sona begged.

"Dear, you make quite the presentation of when you punish your Peerage, consider this the other end of the stick." Sona put her face on the table and did not lookup. That seemed to excite the Rook and Ichigo, for his part, kept his mouth shut. "So let me explain to you our Family Power." She leaned in as if she was giving away a great secret. "The Sitri family can transmute water and really any liquid so long as it is outside the body into Amoraqua."

Tsubaki blinked at her King. "I have heard of that." Sona whimpered at the words.

"I know what it is," Momo raised her hand, "Serafall gave me some."

"I also know what it is because Momo told me."

Reya blushes. "I read it in a book."

Tomoe looked distant still, never contributing much to conversion...well unless Issei was around. It seemed the boy might have found a best friend who loved boobs as much as he did.

Sona just seemed to shrink into the table with every word. "Right, then recap, the Amoraqua is a powerful aphrodisiac."

"Among other things," Momo murmured.

"Among other things." Seras agreed. "Now, for obvious reasons I am sure you can all deduce, my daughter never wanted to learn how to use the Family Power." That got a series of nods from most of them, Sona groaned. "Now that is not normally a problem, except when someone turns out to have a natural talent." Her smile was as radiant as Sona's full-body blush.

"So, last night when my daughter was participating in certain activities, she lost control of her power and used the Family Skill."

"Oh really," Tsubasa was grinning, "How does one do that?"

"Have some power, the talent to use the power, be….incredibly aroused."

"Moooom!" She wailed into the table.

"And lose total control of one's self-control, magic or otherwise."

"Guess you had a good time Kaichou?" The Rook laughed, though it subsided as Sona's glare no doubt made her ass clench.

"Indeed, a good enough time that her little slip, up and turned every bit of liquid in a half-mile radius of her house into the Amoraqua." Sona did not look up as the table went quiet. Ichigo made sure to find his food incredibly interesting.

"Thankfully that Priest had enough knowledge and inhuman self-control to...summon help, and that was me." She smiled down at Sona. "Took me a while to contain that and get to the source...of course, you all were still going at it."

"Moooooooooooooom!"

For someone who did not know these tunnels, she felt that she was making good time. It took a few utility Kido to keep direction when things got annoying. A tunnel collapse here, a tight squeeze there, a gang hideout with people smart enough not to mess with a person with no face.

Rukia frowned as her foot touched the water, sinking almost three inches until she touched the floor. Water was not uncommon in Soul Society, but it was not found underground, it did not exist naturally. It was created by kido for the most part. Which did not bode well. Keeping her feet above the water she moved forward, wishing she knew a Kido for night vision.

The first thing that struck her was the mess, someone had made a home here, carved into a broken tunnel, evidence of bedding and an overflowing basin of water. Feed by a study drip from a crack in the ceiling of the tunnel. It looked quiet and perhaps has been cozy If the small fire pit was anything to go by.

But the place has been destroyed, a little dried blood on the wall, shattered wood, broken possessions, senseless. Rukia let out a breath and moved by but she glanced down into the basion and froze as the grinning death guard mask looked up at her.

What the hell had gone on down here? And suddenly she felt a lot less safe, a lot less clever. So it was at full alert that she moved forward, turning off the light and risking the darkness, using hands to move along as best she could.

Minutes passed in total darkness, step after careful step, but no noise pierced the darkness. What in the world had they been doing down here, what had that scene meant? Rukia froze as voices reached her ears. Floating against the wall. She saw a hint of light, it flickered so dimly, just enough for her to make out the shadows of the walls and the deeper shadows of the tunnels splitting into four directions.

She waited, closing her eyes and letting her ears adjust. "Another one, the Scrap Gang said it walked right through their camp."

"More masked freaks?"

"Nope, this one did not even have a face."

"Fuck, what the hell do we do?"

"What we are doing now is moving, we will have to go to the surface for a while, safety in numbers, the Mask's have never gone after large groups, at least not so far as I heard."

"Fuck man, just fuck."

Rukia moved as their voices began to fade, keeping to her direction, in that choking darkness, people disappearing. It had been something she had been looking into when this mess started, now put into context with those words and the knowledge that they would go so far as to weaponize an innocent Soul. Even going so far as to rip it out of the cycle of reincarnation...she could believe just about anything when it came to the Death Guard. But why? What was the point of dragging people off in ones and twos, even adding what she had heard, doubling it to be conservative, that was only around two hundred people. None of whom had any Spiritual Power...then again Masaki apparently had not had any power worth noting. Otherwise, she would have been picked up. That had apparently changed when they were doing...whatever they had been doing to her...perhaps they could do that to others as well?

The darkness was getting to her, she was thinking too hard, so she called upon the cold and the commands to focus her mind and steel her Soul. The roaring in her mind went quiet under a blanket of white snow, and that was when she saw light coming down...it was time to leave the shadows and see where the hell she was.

Rukia half expected the suit to tear as she finished wiggling through the hole, the lack of stench told her how far she had come. Around her, she could sense people moving in the sky, but none of them were close yet and so she took her time to get out and take her bearings. She had just wiggled out of a building that had been destroyed, judging by the equipment left around whoever was doing it was still working. But no one was around, then again before her the mighty Tower of the Senkaimon, the only way in or out of Soul Society...Well, that was not quite true, but any other ways were behind the very active Seireiheki (Pure Soul Wall) and while it was active, the Personal Gates of the noble families were just nice lawn decorations.

Before her was the large tower, raised to a mighty height above the City of Souls, she could just make out the Stone Structures that surrounded the peak, upon which resided the Gate itself. She reached into her pack and pulled out the thing that was going to make her escape possible.

To go through the Senkaimon required a special winged insect...she never really understood why or how that worked….but it required a Jigokucho. Which on the bright side was adorable so that was a plus, any way you had to have one of those, and even then if you were of a certain power level the gate would automatically place a seal on your person to stop you from affecting the human world too much with your power. It was the only way to go through unless you were cheating...like she was about to do.

There was a single black pill given to her, no more, one to make sure she could leave and not come back. She tried not to think of what was in that pill, which would make her body act as a Jigokucho. Thus letting her pass through the gate and avoid the seal. She ran a finger over the black gem feeling the spiritual power within and it was growing stronger.

As far as she understood this was custom made for her to transport Masaki, and if left alone it would eventually break on its own, sooner if the person within had a powerful Spiritual Force. Rukia murmured. "Don't worry, I will get you back to your family." Perhaps it was her imagination, but it felt like the stone pulsed at those words.

Rukia covered the distance to the tower in a single Flash Step, calling up her camouflage Kido, and flattened herself against the tower. Above her three Death Guards circled on their patrol, she watched as they passed another group going the opposite way.

It did not take a genius to figure out where she would need to go. She could only hope her little stunt in the city proper had drawn away as many as possible. If word had spread about her in the tunnels, and what she suspected about the Death Guard was true, then the word of her in that area would be truly wild.

Still, she was running out of time, tensing her legs she leaped upward, hand locked around the hilt of her Zanpakuto. Her heart pounded as she ticked off the seconds in her head, one, two, three, no deviations, four, five, six, seven, still nothing, eight nine, the lip of the tower was close, behind her a patrol swung about in their normal pattern, ten. Rukia flattened herself to the odd stonework on the top of the tower, it looked like nothing less than a series of Roman arches linked by stone, ringing in the Senkaimon. The large gate looked normal, the white void inside of it, as familiar as it ever was. The dozen Death Guards around it were in the middle of setting up fortifications, a checkpoint, some sensors of some kind, her heart continued its fast beat as she took in who else was there. Ten Shinigami from Squad 11, the highest rank arguing with one of the Death Guard.

She could also sense the myriad of barriers, invisible to the normal sight that had been erected. It meant that she could not fight here and risk hurting her fellow Soul Reapers.

Mad dash it was then, Rukia let out a breath and prepared to speak the words when she felt something powerful, truly powerful, approach. Automatically she knelt making herself as small as possible, pulling her camouflage around her as tight as possible, called on the cold inside of her to slow her breathing down to a crawl, and made sure her Spiritual Power was covered by the suit.

She did not have to wait long before a woman who she had never seen before landed on the tower. She was a woman of average height, but strikingly beautiful, with jet black hair cut short on one side. She was dressed in a suit that looked like it had come straight from the human world, black pants, a white shirt, a black coat, black gloves, a white scarf, and an X-shaped lapel pin.

Rukia was stunned by the power that women had, it was on the level of Aizen, Kenpachi, or Yamamoto. It was powerful enough that she should have heard about a person like that. But she did note something odder than the women's dress, she had no Zanpakuto. She looked bored, detached; she spoke to one of the Death Guard who pointed at the Soul Reapers from Captain Zaraki's division.

The men looked appreciative of the powerful woman, but like their Captain, they were stubborn to the core and pointed at the gate. They were too far away from her, but the Death Guard shrugged at the women.

She nodded as if someone had told her there was some mud on her tailored black shoes. Glancing over at the Soul Reapers she tapped her foot on the ground once, what happened next was, swift and brutal, the stone under the Soul Reapers from Division 11 seemed to fall away, the stone morphing and shifting into the jaws of a huge dragons head, rows of pointed stone teeth sharp as needles. The dragon's eyes glowed a hellish red and there was not even time to scream as the jaws snapped shut with a horrific crunch.

The worst part was that the floor molded itself back to its original shape, tile and all, and there was not any hint of the violence that had just happened. The Woman's expression never changed the whole time, she turned to the Death Guard and pointed at the fortifications. Everyone there began to work faster, with a nod she gestured at the one she was talking to and they followed without question.

Rukia called on all of her internal cold, slowing her body to the point where she might as well have been dead as their voices came into hearing range. "...been doing this the whole time, Squad Leader?" The woman sounded bored as if every word from her lips had so little consequence as to be laughable.

"The barriers Lady Aura, I decided that since the Kido barriers could be erected faster and given several layers relatively quickly that we would start on them first."

"Hmm.." was Aura's reply and the women must have stopped and leaned against the arch Rukia was hiding directly behind. "Alright then, give me an update."

"The last sightings of the aggressor..."

"Rukia Kuchiki of Division 13," Aura replied, "We know it is her now."

"The last sightings of Kuchiki were in the Rukon District, we are currently tearing that place apart, but so far nothing."

"Makes sense, she grew up there, perhaps still knows her way around that place."

"We have the Kuchiki compound surrounded, but as per the orders of Lord Tsunayashiro have not violated its sanctity."

"Are the forward guards in position?"

As of two hours ago, they are in position around Karakura."

"Five miles away at least?" She asked.

"Ten, to be safe, we don't know what sort of things Kisuske Urahana has done with the town."

"Prudent." Rukia's heart would have clenched if it had been capable of that. "They know the Rules of Engagement?"

"Yes, Lady Aura."

"Good." The woman sighed. "Honestly. I wonder what Tokinada's hardon for this plan is about. Sure it might work, but if it does not..." She sighed. "Damn him and his fetishism." She shook her head. "Get everything done by tonight, if I come back and it is not, you will die."

"Yes, my lady."

At those words, the woman leaped off the tower seeming to bounce along into the air rather than run, step or fly. She heard the Death Guard let out a sigh of relief and move to return to his squad, orders already flying from his lips.

Rukia waited, so long as she could sense the woman called Aura, she would not allow herself to move. It did not seem like a long distance between her hiding place and the gate, but given what she had just seen, making sure she would make it was the only sensible path.

For the first time in the week, Ichigo relaxed with both of the Peerages he belonged to. Using the black card Rias had given him to rent out the upper floor of a restaurant, it also let him order a catering service to set up everything. Food, drinks, tables, chairs, everything.

This was the end of a long, amazing week, and he was going to spend it with everyone. His Dad was on his way once he closed the clinic, Karin and Yuzu were coming once they finished a bit of shopping. Oddly enough it had been Karin who insisted on the trip. Which told Ichigo and his Dad that she has something private to discuss with her sister.

All of his friends were invited and all were attending with the exception of Ishida, who had begged off saying he had to finish something. If this has been a High School movie no one would have shown up and he would be soaked by the rain.

But this was turning out rather nice, and speaking of nice. "Tatsuki." He said, keeping his voice normal.

The girl had her back to him and stiffened like an angry cat. She whirled on him and stalked over, though she seemed to lose all her steam in the few steps it took to reach him. "I never got to ask you if you liked your eggs."

She glared at him. "That was not fair, Ichigo."

He shrugged. "I did not make you look." She punched him in the chest, it sort of rebounded with nothing in the way of pain registering.

Ichigo held up his hands in surrender, but that just seemed to piss her off more and she stepped close to him, so she could glare into his eyes...only seeming to realize belatedly how close they were. Her face flushed and she stepped to the side and leaned on the rail.

"What you did was not fair."

He frowned. "I seem to remember a lot of practical jokes coming my way because of you, Tomboy." He said the word fondly, but it only made her bunch her shoulders.

"Yeah, just a practical joke for a tomboy." She sounded defeated, and that worried him.

"Tatsuki." He turned so he could see her, but she had her head tilted away to hide her eyes. "If I hurt you, I am sorry and I won't do that again." Of course, he would manage to fuck up something on a week this good.

"It's not like I would not want you to do it again."

That knocked him a little and he noted that Tatsuki had her hand over her mouth. "I'm confused."

Tatsuki seemed to bite her lip and look down to speak very quietly. "Look, I know it was a prank, I know I am not that attractive, it just hurts to know you did it as a joke." Her shoulders bunched even tighter. "Even a Tomboy wants to feel attractive, you know."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes, taking a step to the side so his body would shield anyone else from seeing her and spun her around. Her eyes were watering her spiked hair drooping. 'Be right back.' He sent to the Devil's present and grabbed his friend's shoulder.

She blinked at the sound of the Flash Step, her head turning left and right, finding themselves in a forest. "Clearly we need to talk," Ichigo said, "Because I am lost, and you are making plenty of assumptions, one of which is so false I am disappointed I have to tell you. Tatsuki," He said slowly, "You are attractive, you always have been. Now with the obvious out of the way, what the hell is going on?"

"Nothing." She mumbled, a blush having joined her display of emotions. "I'm sorry for snapping at you, I'm happy for you."

"Tatsuki do you remember the time you made me talk about my mother. When I really needed to, but would not."

He waited until she nodded. "I think you gave me a black eye and split lip that time." She nodded, looking embarrassed.

"Well, it's my turn to return the favor, though I am not going to hit you," He tilted her head up, "I don't understand you."

"I," She tried to look away, "I want to understand myself too."

He let go and stepped back. "What is going on?"

"I liked it! My best friend in the world has the boyfriend of her dreams and I have spent this whole fucking day distracted by the memory of his junk!" She yelled at him. "I promised my best friend that I would help her get you, fat lot of good that did her, she had to go do it all by herself." Her fists were clenching. "Then you show back up, cool as you please, with a whole gaggle of girls as if that is fair to the one who wanted you the longest."

She put her hands to her head. "And everyone treats that as normal?!"

"You're not going to want to hear this...but you get used to that."

"Fucking wonderful!" She shouted. "Good for fucking you!" She lunged at him, her fists flying. "I'm happy for you!" She stuck him on the cheek, and he turned his head with the blow to keep her from breaking her hand. "I'm happy for her!" She hit him again. "I'm happy!" She hit. "I'm happy!" She hit. "I'm happy." She hit and hit and screamed the words over and over again.

Ichigo moved with each blow, watching her, willing himself to understand. "I.." She sobbed. "I..." her blows had no strength anymore. "I..." She fell against him and she weakly beat her fist against his chest. "I'm so jealous."

The words seemed to physically hurt her and she sagged into his arms. "Oh." He replied.

"I'm so selfish, I was going to be happy for Orihime, I would have been happy, but then you show up with everyone and my first fucking thought is..." She closed her mouth.

"What?" He asked.

"It does not matter, it never will." She seemed so light at that moment as he held her. "I'm aware that compared to everyone back there, every single one, I am nothing and I am so jealous. I hit you with everything I had and you did your best to make sure I would not break my hands."

She shook her head. "I thought things might be different when you lost your power but..."

"I ran away." He replied, his voice rough.

"Ya, never really thought you would do that." She smiled sadly. "I…never mind, I can't stand next to her, no matter how much I want to. Every time you all waltz into danger, I get left behind to wonder and worry, or on some fun occasions be choked out until you show up."

She was talking into his chest now. "I'm just a lowly, stupid, simple human and I can't do anything that matters to me. I hate it, I hate it so much." She was shaking in his arms. "I hate being this way, I hate being a mess, I hate being jealous, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it." Her breathing was rapid now. "I don't want to be left behind, I don't want you to give me that look, when you can't tell me something for my own good. I don't want to be the damsel in fucking distress!"

"Did you know that Orihime awakened her powers to save me?" He nodded. "Why, why, can't I do that?" She leaned into him and he was quiet for a time.

"What was your first thought?" Ichigo asked. She stuttered and he said it again. "What was your first thought?"

"Perhaps I could get one thing I wanted in this world." She whispered. "One thing for a useless tom..." He grabbed her head and pulled it back, she looked up at him eyes wide and frightened, the words she had been saying fading away from her parted lips.

He leaned forward and kissed her, kissed her as she had never been kissed before. Pulling her close to him, their bodies pressing against each other in that single frozen moment of time. It took her a moment before she returned the kiss, the motion somehow desperate. They kissed until she did not have any breath in her body and she pulled back gasping, her chest rising and falling with the effort.

"Does that put things to rest?" He asked, not letting her look away.

She blinked a few times. "I, I don't know if I can do the whole harem thing."

"That is ok, you don't have to, but you do have my response if you did."

"And that is?"

"I am willing to try."

She blinked a few times. "If that was your 'let's try', what is your 'yes'?"

Ichigo pursed his lips looking around before nodding. "I bend you over that stump right there and take you until you are screaming my name."

"Oh." Her voice was very small as she said that word.

"I plan on being around for a while, Tatsuki." He put a hand on her head and gently moved it through her hair. "So, when you want to talk or try something, you will be able to find me." He smiled. "Hell, I can get you the right paper and you can summon me."

Tatsuki relaxed in his arms. "I don't know, I really don't know if I could take it, being part of a harem."

"That is more than OK and reasonable. As for the other thing, if you want power all you have to do is ask."

That made her blink and blink hard. "Really...it's that easy?"

"That's easy." He agreed her hand closed around his, and she looked at him in a way that made his heart skip.

"I want it."

"You want me to bend you over the stump?" He teased.

She flushed in anger, but did not deny it. "I want power, give me power!." She went stiff as his hand touched her abdomen. "You're not a Devil, so perhaps I can give you a bit more."

People would later tell ghost stories of the Golden Light that filled those woods, and when Ichigo and Tatsuki returned to the party, she had two black gloves with white metal knuckle guards belted at her waist.

Rukia moved the moment she felt the woman finally leave her sensory range. Granted, her range was very far, so it took a while. When she let her body return to normal, her heart rate skyrocketed and she spoke the words. "Waltz, Sode no Shirayuki."

Passion, anger, rage, they all flooded her, the fire banishing the cold in her core. She could see everything in her way, they had not finished the wall, so she headed for the gap. A vision of ten Soul Reapers murdered for being an inconvenience making her Azure Flame burn all the brighter.

There was a moment of stunned surprise and she was halfway across the ground before they reacted. Zanpakuto were drawn, the words to Kido, or even just simple cries of alarm. She did not waste time on a battle, on a fight, she focused on the area ahead of her and leveled her Zanpakuto. "Final Waltz;" she whispered, "Whisk." The blade of Sode no Shirayuki turned the color of molten metal. "Wing." Azure fire spread out from her blade, like two wings of pure flame. Around her Death Guard were moving, before her, several of their members appeared with the blur of Flash Steps. "Lock." She finished the word spoken with all the passion in her body. All her heat, all her fury was focused into one pure point of incandescent power. The air itself screamed at the heat and the first barrier before her exploded, the second one did not slow her down and the third and final layer held out a heartbeat longer before it too shattered to pieces. Rukia hurled herself at that gate just as a dozen offensive Kido howled through the air at her.

She entered the space between the gate and flew through the space inside of it, aiming for the location she wanted to find. To those with the ability to see the gate open it would have looked like Rukia tore clear through it, paper and wood shattering as she spun in the air over Karakura Town, only just righting herself in time to see a dozen more doors open behind her. In the distance, she felt Death Guard on the move, those sent to this place for precisely this reason. And currently, she was unable to use Sode no Shirayuki, the cost of using a Bankai level attack in a Shikai.

However she was not worried, she was among friends now and leaned back to flare her power for all to see.

Her betrayal was complete, she stood as an enemy of Soul Society, her Zanpakuto power temporarily suppressed. Every one of them was coming for her, and she smiled, she smiled in pain, smiled in joy, and spoke the words in her heart. "It is done, I am dead…." Her grip tightened on her blade and she felt her abdomen burn as more power flooded her body. Her suit began to fall apart, to flake away into spirit particles. It seemed the thing needed the spiritually rich environment of Soul Society to function. It all fell away to save for the pack still strapped to her back. It all fell away leaving her naked save for the azure flame around her chest and hips. The fire was as coy as dancer's feathers, far more seductive in and over themselves than she felt or really ever was.

She brought her blade up in a high guard, perhaps it was time to indulge her passions a bit more. "I live again." She moved and her sword nearly cut her closest attacker in half. "I am Rukia." She countered an attacker, catching his blow on the edge of her blade and letting it slide off before spinning, in a graceful arc, bringing her blade in low and slicing up, feeling his blood hit her bare skin as his arm flew off.

"I am Rukia!" She howled again, her body blurring in a Flash Step as a sword passed through the space she had been, appearing behind her attacker and severing the woman's spine with a flick of her blade.

"I am Rukia!" That was her name now, no last name, just Rukia. Oddly as she felt Ichigo approaching, as she felt Masaki's soul pulsing within her pack. Oddly, at least right now that was fine. "I am Rukia..." The command pulsed within her Soul. "I am Rukia, and now I belong to him." Her abdomen burned and she felt approval and acceptance.

Her Dance of Swordplay became light, moving between a dozen people, swords flashing and the closest thing any of them came to touching her was when they passed through a lick of azure flame.

Blood spiraled around her, Death Guard fell. "Wreck, Jaiantobein (Giant Bane)." A Death Guard threw his Zanpakuto, a javelin which locked onto her Spiritual Power and homed in on her with breathtaking speed. Even as it happened, Death Guard threw themselves at her, slowing her for the time needed. One ran herself through on her blade, hands grasping onto it holding her in place.

Her vision of the Javelin was blocked by a broad back, covered in black cloth, there was a symbol on it, a necklace encircling a red rose, the two held together by a Quincy cross.

He turned to look down on her, twin horns coming out of the side of his head, his skin was paper white with black stripes running down his face, starting at his hairline and flowing down his neck. They joined in a single large black spot on his skin. His Shihakusho opened at the chest to show him in all his glory. His legs and feet, the parts that could be seen under the robe were covered in skin-tight dark wrappings. His yellow eyes glowed like those of a Hollow, his orange hair looked almost half dyed black, his arms were paperwhite the fingers ending in pointed tips, the sleeves of his coat artfully torn so that they were in full view. He was a bit taller from when she had last seen him. And perhaps the most striking change was his Spiritual Power was Royal Gold. However, Ichigo Kurosaki's soul could not be mistaken.

He looked at her, his eyes flicking up and down. "Hey Shinigami."

She smiled, she could not help it. "I'm not Shinigami, my name is Rukia."

He looked around, staring in anger and defiance at her attackers. "And I am Ichigo, Ichigo Kurosaki and before you ask, the Gold Reiatsu is new."

"No," she added as she turned, pressing her back into his, her blade on guard, "You are a fool, lovable fool and I don't care what color your Soul is at the moment, what the hell did you do to your skin?" He did not answer, he did not need to, back to back she could feel his Soul. That vague sense of his emotions now solid, he could probably feel the same thing.

Her hurt, her pain, her love, whatever form that was, and her resolve to protect, to protect Soul Society, to protect her ideals, and to protect him. It was enough, it did not need words, and as the Death Guard began to move, the time of words was over.

Hello everyone, the big secret is revealed, the weapon is laid bare;..I am sure you can all see what would have happened if Masaki had detonated like a bomb inside the Kurosaki Household….anyway with that scary thought I would like to make one thing clear to everyone. This is where I say that I have no plans, but I want to be clearer, this is a promise…. "Masaki and Issen are one of my favorite couples, they are staying together. Or to put it a clearer way: Ichigo is not going to be getting together with his mom…..just wanted to make that clear since it might be brought up. Anyway have a good day and enjoy the comments of the week."

Zathol

Serafall really is an interesting character. On one hand she can show she is dangerous and cold while in the other she is supportive and understanding. With how she laid everything down that Yuzu needed to hear I think it was done very well. It doesn't imply Ichigo will return Yuzu's feelings but at least Yuzu can try and work towards it even if it might not work out. She really came off as the mature adult who wants to carefully guide the young girl from making any mistakes that could cause a lot of harm not only to her but Ichigo.

But hey, she has a experienced devil king at her corner. (also looks like Mori is to, the path of a maid should break those sibling barriers! (maybe)) One who has a deeper understanding with the younger girl. Yuzu trusts her to because of Ichigo's love for Serafall so even if Serafall brought up her potentially manipulating her into a contract Yuzu isn't worried because of it. Serafall has only good intentions for her and as shown during dinner that the Maou loves Ichigo very much to do anything to hurt him.

That is what I was going for, I spent a long time thinking about Serafall and how the person I made in this story would respond to someone in her situation, and she would answer it seriously. While some might see this as kicking the can down the road I see it as more of a realistic way (Keeping in mind that is is an Anime) to deal with that.

Fellbane

I really love this fic but I hate what you are doing to Rukia so so so much. It has been dragged out for such a long long time and it's just severely depressing. It literally makes me feel dropping the fic every time time I read about it.

She made the choice herself so why the hell do we have to keep reading about her hypocritical sadness every chapter? What she is doing is no different than betrayal and she doesn't deserve any sympathy.

...Wow...ok um...people don't work all logicly, if you have never made a choice in your life which regret and will keep regretting for the rest of your life...good on you. But things hurt, our minds hurt, yes she made a choice because she felt it was right, but that still hurts. That does not go away I really fail to see how it is a hypocritical sadness to wish that it was not the case. She is throwing away her life and future in the the only world she has ever known, that kind of stuff does not shake off easily.

The Free Loader

Hey I wanna congratulate you on reachibg this far in your series. Hope you keep it up but more importantly, that you always find comfort and joy in your writing. I really like how you expand the lore of both worlds to advance the plot and set up futher events your writing of Chad exemplifies this perfectly.

One of the things I like to see unfold is Ichigo's relationship with Tatsuki.

Generally this is the biggest dropped ball character in Bleach, but theres a depth in it that I believe should not be overloomed.

More or less a tomboy she is but is able to relax and take life easily.

The duality of that is apparent when she acts like a protector or even big-sister to Orihime, and a real friend towards Ichigo.

My worry in how you're characterizing her is that you appear source her turmoil as a result of her wanting to be with Ichigo herself, combined with her wanting to sacrifice herself to see Orihime happy.

Will wanting him was one of the things, but I think I got into what she hated about her current state of being. So I hope you enjoyed the direction I took it, if not sorry about that.

Comment of the Week

Scionofreven

So first off, you spelled Isshin as Issen a couple time's in the chapter. Secondly I'm glad you will be taking time with the whole yuzu thing. It will make it feel more natural. Next King pieces do not work the way you describe. They exist but were used by Pure Blood Devils like steroids as they boosted their power by a factor of 10 to 100. Most kings just go to a monument as part of a ritual to bind their evil pieces to them. Furthermore getting your peerage does not free you from your king. Issei is still Rias's pawn. Xenovia is still Issei's knight. Tannin is still Mephistopholes Queen. Despite this they are given evil pieces that they are the "King" of. But they still remain the pawn knight and queen of the other peerage. So there should be nothing stopping Ichigo from becoming king of his own peerage, as there is no king piece he would take and no need to remove his rook pieces.

For the first part sorry about the spelling, I am not good with it and my proofreaders have there work cut out for them.

As for the second part, I did not know that, I really did not know that was how the king stuff worked even without a King piece. (I will be the first to say I don't know all of dxd as there is so much, its why I add in things or change things) This can change some things and Opens a lot of fun roads. For this information I award you with the Comment of the Week. Thank you very much sir.