Uwah, it's been a while, because my post graduate studies have eaten me alive!

Masters is a pain in the brain, let me tell you! I haven't had time to write anything in a while and I'm starting to have withdrawals. :D

Anyway, here is the next chapter. Sorry for the delay. Hope you guys enjoy it as the action starts to pick up.

(Not by much, but it will get better…)


人形: 水の双子

Bount: Twins of Water


"Hoho, now this is an unexpected development!"

Urahara closed his fan with a snap and a bright smile that made Rukia's eyebrows twitch. She and her friends were sitting around the table with Yoshino, waiting for their eccentric host to arrive after everyone made him agree to take them all in for the night.

"For you to actually bring a Bount here in my shop, I must admit I didn't see this coming!" The light haired man went on. "But are you sure that she can be trusted?"

Yoshino, to her credit, remained unruffled in between Ichigo and Ishida as the substitute Shinigami stepped in to explain. "She's here to tell us about what the Bounts are after, and she helped us fight off one of them earlier."

"Besides," added Rukia in a low whisper. "If in the event that she does turn traitor, being here would put us in a better position to defend ourselves. But I don't think she will, since by agreeing to come here, she had already put herself in a significant disadvantage."

"Weeell, when you put it that way, and since you did mention she has information," Urahara slid down to a cross legged sitting position on the tatami flooring. "Unfortunately, Yoruichi won't be able to join us but I'll be sure to pass anything worth knowing."

"And now that everyone is here," Ichigo sent a prompting look at Yoshino who had just put down her tea cup.

"...The Bounts are planning to invade Seireitei."

Looks of varying levels of surprise were on everyone else's faces at Yoshino's declaration. Even Rukia, who did not expect for the lady Bount to dive right into the meat of the conversation.

"When we Bounts first came into this world, we followed an unwritten but ingrained rule to never consume the soul of a living being. However, the current leader of the Bounts, a man named Kariya Jin, changed all that. We have dwindled as a race, but the ones who remain are formidable fighters and Jin has convinced them to aid him in his cause."

"Which is to invade Soul Society." Urahara concluded, his tone now grim. "But to what end?"

"Domination," answered Yoshino flatly. "He hides behind his farce benevolent goal of creating a utopia for us Bounts, but I have seen the truth. He wants to use us to enter Soul Society and create a new world where he can reign supreme."

Ichigo scowled and ruffled his hair in irritation. "Argh, just what we needed. Another power hungry psycho with a God complex!"

"Indeed." Urahara concurred. "And you claim to be against this, why?"

Somewhere in the store, a water drop leaked from a faucet.

"Because he is not fit to be a ruler of anything! His kingdom will be built on nothing but lies, oppression and cruelty! I—" Yoshino drew a calming breath. "I have seen how vicious he is. He can be charming when he needs to be, can put on that kindly, compassionate leader facade. But when you do not bend to his will, he will break you until you do! And I will never bow down to that two-faced, heartless monster!"

The way Yoshino's voice rose and hardened with each statement made Rukia remember something Ishida said about her before. More than just a difference in ideals, Yoshino's hate for Kariya had more personal roots.

"She said Kariya used her. Made her fall in love with him because he said she was his reason for living. A lie she had believed for perhaps the most of her life."

/What a heartless thing to do, indeed!/

And I wouldn't blame her if that was what made her this jaded. Rukia quietly agreed with her zanpakuto. Though I want to think that perhaps some part of her is doing this not just for herself or for revenge on Kariya. She did save Ishida several times in the past.

"I noticed that you and the Bount from before kept pointing out my status as the last Quincy." Ishida spoke up. "Should that mean anything?"

"From what I know, Kariya's plan to enter Soul Society requires the powers of a Quincy. Unfortunately, I do not know what that exactly entails. Kariya kept the most important details of his plans between himself and another Bount, Ugaki."

"Ugaki?" Ishida echoed. "Was he the Bount from earlier?"

Yoshino shook her head. "No. That was Utagawa Ryo, Kariya's right hand man. He has always been a shadowy, self-serving character, as slippery as his Doll, Fried."

"Interesting," hummed Urahara. "And what can you tell us of his other allies?"

"He is currently gathering them together, last time I was there. Aside from Ryo and Ugaki, I assume Go Koga, Yoshi, Mabashi and Sawatari will be joining him as well. And there is also that Shinigami…"

Renji sat up straighter at the last bit. "What? A Shinigami, fighting with the Bounts? Are you serious?!"

"I cannot be mistaken." The lady Bount said coolly. "Kariya is keeping that one under wraps, but I have seen them together in the mansion a few times. I do not know how they have met or why he is siding with Kariya, but I can tell that he is above average in skill. He appears to be doing much of the leg work for Kariya after all."

Maki Ichinose. A memory of a disgruntled Shinigami from the 11th Division appeared in Rukia's mind: short hair, dark eyes, a constant scowl. A man of great potential who had fallen so pathetically from grace.

"Before we proceed, I have to make certain, Yoshino-san," said Urahara. "Not that I am not grateful for your help, but I think it's only fair that we know what you intend to do from here. By being here, does this mean that you wish to join us, or do you still intend to fight on your own?"

Yoshino crossed her arms and leaned back on the wall with a huff. "Truth be told, I have never fought alongside anyone in a long time. After Kariya, I didn't think I had it in me to trust again."

"But you really don't think you can win on your own, can you?" Rukia countered, speaking for the first time. "From the looks of things, Kariya is someone very formidable, be it alone or with his allies. And his plan to invade Soul Society has been going on for a long time, hasn't it? If you really wish to stop Kariya as much as we do, then our chance of succeeding will be better if we become allies."

Yoshino's smile was wry. "Allies? With Shinigami? The very beings who persecuted us and the very reason we have been doomed to this miserable existence in the first place? Our kind trusted you Shinigami once, but the majority of you rejected us as abominations and had us hunted down like animals. If anything, it was your fault that Kariya turned out the way he had! He had been there to witness your merciless extermination of the Bounts while we were only trying to live in peace!"

A chorus of gasps and an angry yell from Renji surrounded Rukia, who felt a stab of guilt in her chest at the justified accusation. But there was also empathy, and a spark of determination.

The faucet continued dripping.

The girl Shinigami's eyes were burning when they met Yoshino's. "What happened to you in the past was a terrible thing, and something I won't be able to change even if I wanted to. But right now, Kariya's plan will put all of us in danger. And I'm not asking you to fight with us as a Shinigami on a mission. I'm asking you as someone who wants to save everyone who could need a little more help."

"And I get that some Shinigamis can be total assholes. Trust me, all of us here, especially Rukia and Ishida, knows that." Ichigo added. "But if what you're saying is true then even us humans will be good as dead if Kariya succeeds in his plans. And if you're against eating living human souls to begin with, then that must mean somewhere deep down you got some good in you. We don't care if you're a Bount or whatever. We're pretty much a mixed bag here. Doesn't matter who we got fighting with us as long as you're fighting with us."

"...I guess when I look at things from your perspective, I can't blame you for hating Shinigamis as much as that Quincy over there." Renji jerked his thumb at Ishida. "But hey, if you end up helping us out, I won't turn it down. Guess we'll just deal with what the higher ups have to say later."

"We'd be happy to have you on our side, Yoshino-san!" Inoue said brightly. "I—I don't know how much of a help I'll be, but I promise to do my best!"

"The more, the merrier, so they say," added Sado. "And if Soul Society has a problem with us having a Bount ally, we have a track record of not doing what they think we should anyway."

"I understand if you'll never be able to forgive Soul Society for what happened to the Bounts. Trust me, as the last Quincy, I can understand where you're coming from." Ishida cleared his throat. "But I think I speak for everyone when I say that we are not asking you to fight with Soul Society. We're asking you to fight with us."

A lengthy pause followed Ishida's statement, silent save for the sound of buzzing light and dripping, before Yoshino let out a rueful chuckle. "I have lived for centuries, but I have never met such a stubborn yet interesting group of children."

"They are that, aren't they?" Urahara laughed over the indignant yells of "HEY!" from Ichigo and Renji. "But they are good kids, Yoshino-san. The very best. I myself would be hard pressed to put my life in the hands of Soul Society and Central 46. But this stubborn lot, I would trust with everything I have."

Rukia's violet eyes widened at the eccentric Shinigami's declaration. Urahara…

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

/Goodness, can someone do something about that dripping?/ Sode no Shirayuki suddenly complained. /It is becoming really distracting! Where is it even coming from?/

...wait, dripping?! Rukia shot up from her seat, her heart hammering in her ears as she strained to listen.

Drip.

Drip. Drip.

Drip.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

"Rukia?" Renji called out in concern at her sudden tenseness. "Is something—"

He was silenced by a snap of Urahara's fan at his direction. "Quiet." The scientist said, having gotten up as well.

Ichigo's eyes flashed in realization, hand quickly going for his sword. "Is it the enemy?" And, as if on cue, Ririn's head popped up in alarm. "Ichigo! They're here! I can sense them!"

Yoshino sucked in a breath. "They've found us already?"

"No shit!" Ichigo shoved the shoji door open with a snap. "Urahara-san, get everyone out of here and ready to—"

DRIPDRIPDRIPDRIPDRIPDRIP!

SWOOOSH!

Renji and Ichigo barely got out into the hallway when a huge arm of water went soaring towards them.

Ichigo's feet skid against the wooden floor. "The hell—!"

"Out of the way!" Renji dragged the orange head by the collar. "EVERYONE, OUT!"

Not like they had a choice in the matter.

Within seconds, the arm of water grew in size and sent everyone out into the streets with a loud bang, with some landing with a harsh thud on the ground and the others spinning in the air.

"KYAA!"

"—Inoue!" Rukia quickly got a hold of herself as soon as in mid-air and flickered to catch the human girl and a helplessly flailing Ririn.

"Kuchiki-san!" Inoue breathed in relief when Rukia managed to break her fall and support her with one arm.

"You OK?"

"Y—yes, thank you for helping me." The brunette nodded quickly. "And Ririn?"

Rukia held out the hand holding the Mod Soul who now had spirals for eyes. "Ah, it could have been worse."

"OI! OI! WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!" The girls turned their heads to see a furious Jinta with Ururu and Tessai behind him. "AND WHERE DID THOSE WET SNAKES COME FROM?!"

"Ara ara, look at what these Bounts did to my precious store." From in front of her, Rukia saw Urahara stand up and dust his haori before spinning his cane. "I wonder who's going to pay for all the damages?"

"Sado! Yoshino-san!" Ishida called from Rukia's left. "Is everyone all right?"

"We're fine," answered Sado. "So are Noba and Kurodo."

From Sado's arms, Kurodo waved his two rabbit ears. "Ah, yes, yes, we're all just fine. A little wet but no injuries at all!" Noba, at Kurodo's right, also raised a hand. "Fine."

"So Kariya's brought the fight to us." Yoshino said, her frown deepened. "But to think he actually sent…"

"Oh that's just rude, Yoshino-san—"

"—squealing us out on the enemy."

Rukia drew her blade as the others readied themselves when the arms of water covering the damaged shop exit parted to reveal two young boys in casual street clothes and posed just as casually.

"Hou. Ban." Yoshino gritted her teeth, but not out of irritation. "But why? Why did Kariya send you two? You still haven't mastered your Dolls properly!"

"Who are you to know that?" One of the twins said with a smirk. "It's been a long time since we last saw you—"

"—a lot has changed since then, you know." Added the other.

"We're here for you and the last Quincy, Yoshino-san—"

"—give up quietly, and maybe we won't have to kill the rest of you."

"And it doesn't matter how many of you are there." Several arms of water sprouted from around the store. "Ban and I have all the water we'll need to beat all of you."

It was only then that Rukia's mind acknowledged the light flurry of rainwater beating on her back. Right. It was raining back then too when we first met these two.

"So Kariya sends two children to test our strength." Urahara sighed dramatically. "Not something you can't handle, right, Kurosaki-kun?"

"Ha? You're not going to fight with us?"

"We'll take care of the other arms of water as they show up. The Bounts are all yours." The older Shinigami said with a wave. "Think of this as a training exercise."

"Have Tessai and the others take care of Yoshino-san and Ishida!" Rukia said, moving to stand in the front with Sado and Renji.

Yoshino's eyebrows narrowed. "Goethe and I can fight even in the rain, Shinigami."

"But you'll be in a disadvantage, won't you? Besides, this is a good opportunity for us to prove ourselves." Rukia raised her blade. "Trust us, we'll be more than enough for these two."

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE US!" The twin Bounts shouted in unison. "Gul! Gunther! Let's go!"


/So our opponent uses water. This will be an interesting match, to say the least./

Do you think we'll need to release our Gentei Ren? Rukia asked while jumping away from one of the water pellets sent her way.

/That depends. The limiter only works on the reiatsu present at the moment it was applied. Remember that I am still holding most of the reiatsu you have once had in the past. If the situation calls for it, I can send additional energy that can move past the Gentei Ren./

Decades together and you still manage to find ways to surprise me.

/But of course! You are not the only one who is still capable of growing, you know./

…Do you think I'll be capable of using a bit of your true shikai's abilities?

/There is only one way for us to find out./

"GACK!"

Ichigo. With a wave of her hand, Rukia fired an attack. "Hado 31: Shakkaho!"

The arm of water surrounding Ichigo dispersed momentarily, making Ichigo plop gracelessly to the ground.

"Hoero, Zabimaru!" Renji's hand slid over his transformed blade. "Looks like I'll need to be little more serious for this one."

"It's useless." Hou and Ban taunted. "No matter what you do, you won't be able to escape our attacks."

"No matter where you run—" Numerous water pellets emerged.

"Under this rain, we outmatch you!" The aqueous bullets came raining hard.

"URK!" Sado managed to dodge a few, but then huge water stalk wrapped around his torso and encased him.

"Sado!" Ishida instinctively moved forward, but Tessia slammed his hands to the ground, and a luminous barrier encased him, Ishida and Yoshino.

"Please calm yourself, Ishida-kun," said the bulky Shinigami. "The enemy is after you and Yoshino-san. We can't leave you two open for capture, especially given those Bounts' abilities."

"But—"

"Hey, leave this to us!" Jinta brought out a huge gun and aimed at the water stalk holding Sado captive. "Stay still or Imma kick you so hard you won't be able to move anyway!"

Sado managed to break free with Jinta's help, while Renji and Ururu moved for Hou and Ban.

"Take this!" Renji slashed Zabimaru forward, the segmented blade extending to where the two boys stood. The pair dodged in sync, but Ururu cut in between them.

"HAAA!" The girl brought her leg down, forcing the two to jump apart as her drop kick hit the ground, causing a huge rupture.

"BAN!" One of the twins shouted in alarm.

"Che, pesky fools!" Ban quickly made his way to his brother's side. "Guhl! Gunther!"

"Ack!" Ururu doubled over, her mouth brimming with water.

"Ururu—ARGH!" Jinta fell to his knees, clutching his throat as water from his mouth gushed out and encased him in a sphere.

"Jinta! Ururu!" Ichigo turned to the twins with a curse. "You bastards—!"

"We told you it's no use!" The two boys spoke in unison. "There is no way you can defeat us in a battlefield brimming with water!"

"I'd rethink that claim if I were you."

Heads swiveled to Rukia whose sword was glowing with white energy.

"Rukia?" Ichigo blinked in confusion while Renji's face split in a grin. "Oh hell yeah, this oughta be good!"

From inside the barrier, Tessai turned to Urahara who was standing in front of him. "Kisuke-san, is that—?"

The sandy haired Shinigami nodded. "It's the first time I'll be seeing it, the most beautiful zanpakuto in all of Soul Society."

"Mae!" Rukia twirled her sword in graceful circles, her initial release revealing itself from the tip of her white blade to the end of the ivory ribbon. "Sode no Shirayuki!"

A blast of cold wind encircled the area upon Sode no Shirayuki's release, making Ichigo raise his arms to block it. "That's…Rukia's zanpakuto?"

"Right, this is the first time you guys are seeing it." Renji's entire being was brimming with pride. "Wait till you see her in action with it! Those Bounts are in for it now!"

"Kuchiki-san…" Inoue murmured, her eyes wide with admiration. "Beautiful!"

Yoshino's own gaze however had an analytical glint. "That girl…"

"Shit." Hou hissed before surging his arm forward. "Gunther!"

Countless stalks of water shot for Rukia, but the girl didn't even look concerned as she arced her sword in front of her. Almost at once, the stalks turned into ice.

Hou balked and took a step back. "What?"

"Payback time." Rukia said lowly. "Some no mai: Tsukishiro!"

A circle of ice glowed below Hou and Ban.

"Damn it—!"

"Hou, move!" Ban grabbed his twin's hand and pulled them both away in time to avoid the pillar of frost that shot upwards from the circle. At the same time, Jinta and Ururu were released from their watery prisons, coughing and choking on their knees.

"Fuck this! Guhl!" Ban cried out at one of the water stalks.

"It's no use!" More water tendrils attempted to attack her, but they all froze and collapsed into nothing before they could reach her. "While you were busy with my friends, I was lowering my body temperature with my zanpakuto, enough so that any water that comes in contact with me will just freeze. You may be surrounded with all the water you can want, but none of that will work on me!"

"Holy shit," Ichigo breathed. "Has Rukia always been this badass?"

Renji let out a laugh. "You only figured that just now? Sode no Shirayuki is one of the most powerful snow-type zanpakutos in Soul Society, and also the prettiest. Some even say its power is second only to Hitsugaya-taichou's Hyourinmaru!"

"And I'm not letting up for a second!" The girl drove her blade several times into the ground, forming the trails of ice for her second attack. "Tsugi no mai: Hakuren!"

A beam of ice propelled forward at the twins, who jumped back to avoid it.

"Ichigo, Renji, Sado, I've got a plan!" Rukia hollered to her friends while keeping her eye and attacks on the twins. "Did you notice it? It looks like the twins are always trying to stay together every time we separate them!"

"So we oughta split them up?" The orange head Shinigami smirked with determination. "I can work with that!"

"Good. I'll keep them busy. Inoue, back me up, OK?"

"Yes, Kuchiki-san!" Inoue raised her hands to her pins. "I'll do my best!"

"Well what are we waiting for?" Renji raised his sword. "It's our turn to attack!"


And just like that, the tables have turned.

Before Hou and Ban could redirect their dolls to attack the Kuchiki, Ichigo, Renji and Sado were quick on their heels, forcing them apart each time. And every time they would try to come back together, another blast of Hakuren from Rukia would force them back.

"BAN!" Hou's voice was wavering with panic as he tried to send some water on Sado's way. But Rukia sent a blast of Hakuren towards the trendils, causing them to freeze, and Sado easily shattered them with his arm. Not missing his chance, Sado pounced and delivered a hard punch at Hou's gut.

"HOU!" Ban screamed when he felt his twin was sent further away from him.

"Not so cocky now, are you, brat?" Ichigo sneered as he swung Zangetsu at the smaller boy's direction.

The boy choked when the heavy blade hit his side and sent him flying to the air, only to be wrapped tightly around Zabimaru's coils.

"FUCK—!"

"Got you!" Zabimaru's red haired wielder said in victory, and the sword sent Ban flying to the ground, and wide open for Ururu who came flying upwards.

"Stay down please." Ururu said, her face calm as ever, before shooting forward with her fist clenched.

The prostate twin couldn't do anything but scream. "HOU! HELP!"

But it was no use.

There was a loud crack, a burst of wind, and a scream of gut wrenching pain. And from where he lay, a few feet away from his brother, Hou froze as he attempted to sit up. His eyes shrank in terror. "BAN!"

"…Look! The water!" Jinta pointed, and everyone paused to observe that the pillars of water around them were wobbling haphazardly.

"So Kuchiki-san's observation was right." Urahara nodded in approval.

"Ah." Tessai agreed. "This battle is about to reach its conclusion."

"NO! NOT YET!" Hou sprang to his feet, his gaze crazed and desperate. "I CAN DO THIS EVEN WITHOUT BAN! GUHL! GUNTHER!"

The two biggest pillars of water wobbled some more before sped towards Hou and fused into one giant liquid structure.

"WE WON'T LOSE! NOT TO YOU PATHETIC HUMANS OR YOU SHINIGAMI BASTARDS!" Hou spat. "I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MY BROTHER, YOU BITCH!"

"Bring it on you sore loser!" Ichigo challenged. Everyone brought their weapons at the ready at his words.

The boy Bount's body glowed with provoke reiatsu as he charged forward. "DIE! SHINIGAMI!"

Rukia readied her sword for another freezing attack. "Tsugi no mai: Haku—"

BANG!

Eh?

A sizzling sound erupted out of nowhere, followed by a ball propelling in high speed towards Hou, whose eyes widened in shock. "Wha—?"

And then boom.

"Ouch, what's with all the bright lights?!" Jinta complained, shielding his face with his arms when the ball exploded into several colorful fireworks.

"Fireworks?" Ishida stiffened in realization. "Could it be?"

"Oi, oi, what's with this big party and why weren't we invited?"

"…Ganju?! Hanataro?!" Ichigo gasped both in surprise and delight when their two friends made an appearance standing on the roof of the shop.

"It's been a while, Kurosaki-san, everyone." Hanataro bowed amiably.

Rukia blinked before lowering her blade. Huh. Would you look at that?

/Look at what?/

This is exactly how our battle with these two Bounts ended. Rukia shook her head in amusement. No matter what we change, some things just remain the same.

"A—Argh!"

Everyone's attention went back to the fallen Hou, who lay prone on the ground.

The pillars of water had evaporated away, revealing two bottle caps that sizzled into nothing before they could even hit the ground. And Hou, pathetically crawling, had his arm stretched out for his fallen twin who was still so far from him.

"B—Ban…" The brokenness in Hou's voice evoked a touch of pity in Rukia's heart. They may have been their enemies, ruthless and cocky at one time. But right now, as the two bodies were on the verge of disintegrating, they looked nothing more than doomed children.

And this time, they didn't get to die side by side, as the twins' bodies finally turned into dust without even being in arm's length of each other.

"We won." Rukia whispered, her hand tightening on Sode no Shirayuki's handle.

The rain continued pouring overhead.


"So when the Doll dies, the Bount dies as well?"

Yoshino nodded at Ichigo's comment from where she and the rest of the group were sitting in one of the underground chambers of Urahara's shop. With Tessai, Jinta and Ururu busy cleaning upstairs with Ganju and Hanataro busy helping out (to pay for the damages the fireworks caused, so Urahara claimed), the exiled Shinigami ushered his guests inside, all wrapped in blankets and served warm green tea, while he went to inform Yoruichi regarding what happened and everything they've learned thus far.

"There are two ways you can defeat a Bount." Yoshino elaborated. "One is by destroying the doll itself or the seal controlling them. Another is by rendering the Bount so weak that the Doll turns against them."

"What? Why would your Dolls do that?" Inoue frowned in confusion. "Don't your Dolls work like zanpakuto? Why would they turn against their masters?"

"Because Dolls will never work for a master too weak to wield them." The lady Bount answered, her smile sad. "Even if it would mean the deaths of both the Bount and the Doll themselves, they would rather die than fight for the weak. Though…" Yoshino's hand went to her finger claw. "Some Bounts are different from others."

Rukia was only half-listening to the rest of the discussion, having known most of the details Yoshino was currently sharing with them from her experiences in the past.

/Rukia-sama?/ Sode no Shirayuki questioned her silent mistress in obvious concern while the other continued to question Yoshino on the finer workings of their Bount enemies.

Sorry, it's just that… The girl shook her head. Those two, now that I think about it, they probably turned out the way they did because they had no other choice. They must have known no other way of life than what Kariya taught them. I wonder, had Soul Society shown them mercy, and helped them like what Ran Tao hoped they would. Perhaps things would have turned out differently…

/…Perhaps they would have. But it does not matter anymore./ Sode no Shirayuki answered. /You said it yourself, Rukia-sama. There is nothing you can do to change the past. What the Bounts went through was cruel and unjust, but so had what you went through because of Central 46. And yet you did not turn against them or those who once left you to die./

Kariya went through far worse than what I have. Yoshino-san was right. It is also Soul Society's fault he turned out the way he had.

/Bad experiences do not excuse bad actions, Rukia-sama. While we can both understand the reason behind his actions, an act of senseless cruelty can never be right./

You're right, as always, Shirayuki. Rukia sighed. But…damn it, I didn't feel this way the first time we fought with the Bounts. It would have been easier if I were that way again but now…

/It is because you are far more mature than the last time you encountered them, Rukia-sama. Do not be hard on yourself for feeling compassion for your enemies. That itself is a great kind of strength that not all Shinigami possess./ The Shinigami felt Sode no Shirayuki's arm around her shoulder. /Take pride in it. It will not be able to save everyone, but it can make a difference. I am sure of it./

Shirayuki… Rukia smiled at her spirit friend. Thank you.

"—Rukia? Oi, Rukia, were you listening to everything we just said?"

"Oh, uh," The girl turned to Ichigo with a sheepish grin. "Sorry, I was thinking of something. What were we talking about again?"

The strawberry let out a sigh. "As I was saying, now that we know they're seriously after Ishida and Yoshino-san, we better come up with a new plan. We can't remain in the defensive forever or they're gonna wear us down. It's good we managed to kick those two Bounts' asses, but from what Yoshino-san just said, they're technically small fry."

Ishida raised a brow. "So you're saying that we should launch a direct attack against them then?"

"Hey, since they'll keep bringing the fight to us either way, I say we go straight to the source."

"While I'm all in for an all-out attack type of strategy," Renji added his insight. "What good would it be for us to charge in blind? We may know now what the other Bounts are capable of, thanks to Yoshino, but who knows what other tricks that Kariya has up his sleeves? We don't even know who that Shinigami he's got on his side is."

"Can't you ask someone from Soul Society about that?" Sado suggested. "They're bound to have a record of Shinigami who had gone missing for the last hundred years or so."

Renji shrugged. "Eh, I could, but there's gonna be a lot of them."

"A lot who could have a grudge against Soul Society?"

"Honestly? We could be looking at several pages worth of names." The Lieutenant scratched his head. "But I guess I could give it a shot. At least we have a place to start."

"In the meantime, we should think of moving to a location where we can better defend ourselves." Rukia said. "There's no doubt the Bounts will send more capable fighters once they find out the twins are dead. And I don't feel comfortable fighting underground, even if we're under Urahara's protection."

"Some protection." Ichigo huffed. "The geezer didn't even lift a finger to help us out."

"Because he knew we were capable of handling it ourselves. You know how he is." Rukia shot him a sidelong glance. "Besides, it was a good training exercise for you, as Urahara just said. Which is something you needed. You have your bankai back yet?"

"…I'm starting to regret that I told you and Renji about that."

"Here is what I suggest we do." Ishida spoke up. "Abarai will get that information Kuchiki-san requested for; Inoue-san, Sado and I will consult with Urahara-san regarding the idea of scouting the Bount headquarters; Kurosaki, you and Kuchiki-san stay down here and—"

"WHAT?! Why do I have to stay locked down here?!"

"Because you need to work on getting your Bankai back." Ishida snapped irritably. "At this point, we don't know what the other Dolls are capable of, so if we can get the rest of you up to full strength, that would be very helpful."

"That leaves…" The Quincy turned to Yoshino. "Yoshino-san, what do you plan to do now?"

The brunette lady huffed in resignation. "Considering the circumstances, it appears I have no choice but to throw my lot in with yours."

Rukia's lips tilted to a smile. "Does that mean—?"

Yoshino nodded. "If you are planning to attack Kariya's base, I'll help you as much as I can. It will not be easy, though. Prepare for heavy resistance from him and his minions."

"Sounds like a plan then." Renji nodded before getting up. "And once I'm done getting the info we need, I'll see how I can help you get Ichigo's bankai back, Rukia. Any excuse to beat the living crap out of him is good enough for me!"

Ichigo's brows twitched. "Really starting to regret I told you and Rukia about that!"

"It's not our fault you're being such a loser, stupid human! Be thankful that Rukia and I are wasting time on you!"

"WHY YOU—!"

"So we're all good then?" Rukia said over Ichigo's and Renji's renewed arguing.

"As good as we're going to be." Ishida agreed.

"And if fortune favors us," Yoshino added. "This will be what finally ends Kariya's madness for good."

I hope so too. Rukia thought to herself.

Because somewhere deep inside her gut, there was a churning sense that, despite winning their earlier battle, the way to winning the war won't be as easy as they all hope.


A little bit of action at last, yay! So what do you guys think? Feedback very much appreciated.

I was tempted to have Rukia finish the twins' Dolls off herself, but I find something funny in Ganju suddenly showing up and saving the day (unnecessarily) again.

Might take a while before the next chapter shows up again. Post grads, yeah?

To those who watched the Bount arc, remember how the first arc about that was around almost 30 episodes long? Yeah, I'm gonna cut it down to size, because I want to get to Soul Society already! (laughs) Also because seriously, that arc is soooo dragging!

See you in the next one. Though since this isn't beta-ed, I'll probably make some minor edits at some point. Feel free to send suggestions. I'm trying my best to write this as close to canon as possible, but I may miss out on a few (many) details so any help on that front will be appreciated!

Thanks again for reading! (hugs)


OMAKE:

Ichigo slammed the door violently with an angry curse. Stupid old man, drop kicking me out of nowhere. What's the big deal of me bringing friends over anyway, even if they are girls? Jeez.

"Ano, Kurosaki-kun? Is everything all right?" Orihime piped up worriedly, grey eyes watching warily as Ichigo sat on his chair with a grumpy expression on his face.

"No big deal. Just my dad being my dad. As usual." The teen sighed in exasperation.

"Ah, it must be nice to have such a lively family like yours! I bet you never have a dull moment with your father and sisters around. It makes me a little envious." Orihime said brightly.

Ichigo cleared his throat with a scratch to his head. "Eh, it's fine most days, I guess. You're right about there being no dull moments, for sure."

Sado coughed from his seat on Ichigo's bedroom floor. "It always seemed strange to me that Ichigo possessed keen spiritual awareness even before he became a substitute Shinigami, but his family doesn't seem to show any special prowess in that."

The substitute Shinigami frowned at the thought. "Oi, much as my dad drives me insane, I'd rather be the only one in this family involved in this crazy Soul Society shit, thank you very much. Even if Karin is getting stronger spiritually."

"No, not that I mean it that way, Ichigo." Sado amended hastily. "It's just that, you and Karin should have gotten your abilities from somewhere, right? From either your father's or mother's side of the family?"

"Heh, never really thought of it before." Ichigo tapped his chin. "Now that you mention it, Mom and Dad never talked much about their families before. Wonder if any of our relatives are spiritually aware too?"

"Ah!" Orihime suddenly raised a finger in the air, her eyes shining. "Ne, ne, what if Kurosaki-kun's parents actually know about Soul Society? What if Kurosaki-kun's dad is actually a Shinigami who left Seireitei to be with Kurosaki-kun's mom?"

Ichigo and Sado stared at Orihime blankly before the red headed teen mumbled. "Are you serious?"

"Haha, of course not, silly. It's a joke! A joke!" Orihime laughed with a wave of her hand.

"Jeez, the next thing you know, you'll be thinking about my mom being a Quincy or something!"

Sado hummed. "That would be interesting, wont it? Your father being a Shinigami and your mother being a Quincy?"

"Get out of here! As if something like that's even possible!" Ichigo snapped. "Now can we get back to talking about what the hell are we supposed to do about those Bounts before my dad decides to barge in here because of something stupid?"

Orihime and Sado nooded, their expressions turning serious as they dived right back into the discussion on the Bount dilemma, not noticing that Rukia had been strangely silent for a while now or the uncomfortable half-smile, half-grimace she had on her face.

"Right, sure, impossible. Ahaha…"