Hours have passed ever since Orihime's departure from going to Hueco Mundo with the Arrancar known as Ulquiorra. The morning sun had risen by now as the skies themselves were in a lighter color, but the skies themselves were out together which made the weather seem gloomy and it looked like it could rain at any moment.
Ichigo himself was putting all his clothes back on from the early morning's events that transpired. He had closed his window as enough air had taken out the smell of sex from his room. He had put his long shirt over his shorter shirt before he took the chance to sit down on his bed and think.
'I should have asked if there was some way I could get to Hueco Mundo. But she probably wouldn't have really known how that could happen.' he thought to himself, feeling guilt weight down on him. 'I wish I could have stopped her somehow, but I would made things worse for her, and maybe myself as well. I hate that. I couldn't have saved her despite how much I wanted to. But this time I will make a difference. But I don't know how to get where she is…'
It was just then that he heard the sound of his window being opened. He looked behind to see Toshiro crouching at the edge of his opened window.
"Oh… hey, Toshiro. What are you—"
The Captain cut him off before he could finish what he was gonna say. "Kurosaki. You have to come with me right now." he remarked
Ichigo blinked his eyes by this. Well this was unexpected. "Uh… why? What's the problem?"
"Just come with me right now. It's an emergency."
Ichigo didn't really get what was so urgent that had to involve him right now. Could it be related to Orihime's disappearance? Did they find out what happened? Either way, Ichigo didn't really question as he took out his Combat Pass, thinking that maybe everything could be explained if he got to wherever everyone else was.
He wasn't starting to like this.
Ichigo got inside Orihime's apartment, and he saw everyone else in the squad be there as well. And along that there was a large looking TV that seemed to be spazzing out as if it was having trouble getting connected. Where and how and when they got inside this was beyond him. But what he didn't like was how everyone was looking at him seriously, as if something big was about to happen.
He didn't like that at all.
"How is the Spiritual interference removal going?" Toshiro asked, looking at his Lieutenant for an answer
"It seems to be complete now." Rangiku nodded before she looked back at the static screen. "Connect to us."
The screen had lighted up completely, and showcased a person being that of Jushiro Ukitake. Needless to say this took someone like Hitsugaya by surprise. "Ukitake? What are you doing here? I requested the Head Captain to be here." Toshiro remarked with confusion, as he didn't seem to understand the sudden change.
"Because I'm the one who requested to take his place." was the answer of Jushiro.
"And why is that?"
Jushiro on the screen seemed to have looked down for a brief moment before looking back at the crew again. "From all the reports you have given us, we believe that we may have found a reason for Orihime's disappearance. At least from what we think..." the Captain took a breath. "Since Rukia was the last person that has been with her before she got knocked out, Orihime Inoue must have been comforted by the Arrancar… so we believe that she must have been abducted… or killed."
"Captain Ukitake!" Rukia shouted in slight outage from what her Captain has just suggested on the last part.
Jushiro had sighed from the screen. "I know how you all must be feeling about this. I didn't want to say it either but we're only suggesting possible explanations. According to our information, we know that she must have been alone with the Arrancar. And if she has disappeared with him then that means—"
Ichigo clenched his fist from what he was hearing from the Captain's mouth. And he was already having enough all he could take. "Cut the crap already!" he waved his hand in denial. "There hasn't even been a body found, yet you assume she's dead?! What kind of bunch of bullcrap is that?!" to be fair they didn't really know the reason as to why she really disappeared but to make assumptions such as this was ludicrous. You know what. That was it. He was gonna tell the truth. "Since no-one in this room has any idea what the hell is going on, I'm just gonna say it instead! I managed to sense Orihime when everyone else couldn't!" he saw Jushiro widen his eyes by this. "That's right! I went ahead myself to find her as well!"
"I see… that is most unfortunate indeed."
Ichigo was surprised when he heard the Head Captain himself in the screen before he got shown as well. But he was also confused by this declaration. "Unfortunate? What are you talking about?"
"If what you say is indeed true, then it suggests that Orihime Inoue is very well alive. But at the same time it also suggests an act of betrayal. If she really had been abducted, she would not have been allowed to see anyone. If she wasn't, she would have easily been with all of you. The fact she wasn't there to heal anyone's wounds when they returned to battle means that Orihime Inoue has joined the Arrancars of her own free will." Yamamoto said, bluntly expressing it like it was nothing to him.
Ichigo couldn't believe what he was hearing right now. Here he was, about to tell the truth of what actually happened, yet this cynical son of a bitch just casually decided to Orihime that she was a traitor without question. It was making his blood boil. "Why you... You better take that fucking back right now—!"
"Stop!" Renji firmly put his hand on the Substitute's shoulder, knowing that things would escalate now that Ichigo was getting angry. "You're going to end up making yourself look worse if you say anything else." Renji saw him turning around to look at him, and he didn't say anything else. Renji went ahead to step beside Ichigo to look at the General Captain. "Sir. I understand completely where you're coming from this. Therefore, as a member of the Advanced Troops, and because I'm a Lieutenant of Squad 6, I will head over to Hueco Mundo to bring the traitor Orihime Inoue back to her senses."
"Renji…" Ichigo seemed a bit surprised by this. Despite the words he could tell Renji didn't really mean what he was saying like how Yamamoto did.
The Head Captain merely hit his crane on the ground for everyone to hear. "You must not!" he declared firmly.
Both the Substitute and the Lieutenant were taken aback by this. "What?!"
"With this new information, we learned that the Arrancars are ready for battle. All members of Captain Hitsugaya's advanced troops are to retreat immediately, and defend the Soul Society!"
"Head Captain… are you saying we should just abandon, Orihime?" Rukia asked.
"Exactly. We cannot risk chasing one human soul when the entire world is at stake. In order to do that, we must sacrifice a few to save the many."
Something about that struck a nerve in Ichigo's veins.
Rukia frowned by this. "With all due respect, Head Captain, I unfortunately cannot obey that order."
"...Unfortunate indeed. However, I had managed to prepare for something like this. And I am glad I did."
It was just then that a Senkaimon had opened up behind everyone else. They looked behind to see Byakuya and Kenpachi stepping out.
"Captain Kuchiki…"
"Alright now, I want every one of you to head on back." Kenpachi said, with a tone that had commandment in it.
Byakuya could see the orange haired boy clenching his fists, looking as though he was ready to fight. He didn't want something like this to happen now. "Don't fight us. We were ordered to take you back by force if necessary." the stoic Captain threatened, as he wanted to avoid any confrontation happening. Especially with Zaraki on his side.
Byakuya saw the boy let go of his fists and look down at the floor with hair covering his eyes. He could understand if he was feeling frustrated and angered by all of this. Actually he couldn't blame him. And he couldn't stop him even if he wanted to.
Ichigo took a hitched breath. He could feel his anger bubbling up, and was quite close to getting released, but he had to keep it in. "Alright then… since no-one is gonna help me here… the very least you could do is tell me how to get to Hueco Mundo." Ichigo said, as he looked back at the screen. "By myself if I have to. Orihime is still someone who's important to me now."
Yamamoto had opened his eyes in the screen. "You must not!" he declined once more.
Ichigo widened his eyes again by this before he went ahead to glare at the old man. 'Why does he keep saying no?!'
"Your power will be needed in this upcoming battle, Ichigo Kurosaki. I will not allow you to act selfishly and die for nothing like a dog. Stand by till you receive further orders."
Ichigo started to clench his fists again. "I'm not doing that till I get what I want."
"... I beg your pardon?"
"You heard me. I'm not going anywhere till I get the information on how to enter Hueco Mundo!"
'Idiot! What are you doing?! You're making things worse!' Renji thought, as there was some sweat rolling down his head.
"That cannot be done. As I have said before, I won't allow you to go there blindly and die so soon."
'Dear God! How blind is he?! If I went to Hueco Mundo then I would be able to cut down every Arrancar, and reduce their number significantly!' Ichigo thought. "I can't exactly just stand still and do nothing."
"Your reliance on your emotions is going to be your downfall, boy."
Ichigo was very aware that he was being stubborn right now. If he had continued to do this, he would rile up the Head Captain and force him to make his move. But he did expect this to happen. If the old Captain had ordered to attack him, he could use his Bankai and momentarily use his Spirit Energy to blind others, giving him enough time to get away from the apartment and move to the skies.
"At least I'm not gonna sit on my ass doing nothing like a lap dog! If you're such a know it all, and think that compete logic is gonna save everyone in the world like how you see fit, you might put yourself as wrong as you see me! Remember when the Bounts came back to bite your asses? Oh wait, how about when Aizen showed his true colors? Great job stopping him there!"
That had it. Ichigo could tell that Yamamoto had to be riled up by that when he had slammed his cane down and give a glare to the boy. "Enough! Put him down! Now!" he ordered to Byakuya and Kenpachi.
"Oh no…" Renji murmured.
Byakuya grabbed the handle of his sword and pulled it out from its sheath before he charged at Ichigo. He didn't wanna do this but he had no choice now. It wasn't until the boy grabbed his massive cleaver and black energy started coming out. "Bankai!" the black energy had been released all around the room, and was dense enough to blind everyone in the room before they covered their eyes.
With the increase of his power, it gained Ichigo enough time to speed past everyone in the room till he managed to get out of Orihime's apartment in a mere second.. The Substitute started flying away, more so to the skies themselves so he could be able to fight properly, knowing that running away would be useless to do.
The others were shown through the hole as they saw the two Captains following Ichigo immediately. "Has he lost his mind now? What is Ichigo even thinking? Taking on two Captains at once?" Rukia remarked.
"Oh hell yeah! I've been waiting to see this happening!" Ikkaku had a grin on his face from seeing Ichigo and his Captain fight each other to the death.
"I have to agree on this one. This will most likely be quite a fight." Yumichika agreed.
"Shouldn't we stop this?" Rangiku asked.
Ichigo then stopped till he thought he was high enough for a battle to commence. 'There. This should be good enough to fight properly.' the teenager thought, as he waited for the two Captains to show themselves. It took about less than a minute for Byakuya to show up behind him by Flash Stepping, and seconds later for Kenpachi to show up next to Byakuya.
Ichigo turned behind to look at them both. 'Guess the old man had two of the more powerful Captains on my way. Byakuya and Kenpachi.' he clenched the grip of his sword tighter. 'I shouldn't worry too much… both of their powers can only be used up to 20% of what they're actually capable of now that they're in the Living World. However I still shouldn't underestimate them. I can tell… they've gotten a little stronger back when I fought them in the Soul Society.' memories flashed back to his first battle with Kenpachi, and his final battle with Byakuya at the Sokyoku Hill.
Byakuya closed his eyes before he went ahead to open them again. "I shouldn't be so surprised… knowing that you could pull a stunt like this." he pulled his sword vertically, ready to activate his Shikai at a moment's notice. "It would be advised if you could stand down."
"Do you honestly think I would do that?"
"I suppose that won't be the case then… but do you truly think you have what it takes to stop both of us at once?"
Ichigo raised his blade against them. "Bring it on then. We won't know till we find out!"
"...Very well—"
"Enough talk!" Kenpachi interrupted as he charged right at Ichigo, raising his sword and swinging it down at Ichigo who proceeded to block it with his own. The mad Captain was grinning wildly. "It's time to fight!"
''Nnngh… " Ichigo was struggling somewhat to take care of Zaraki's sword as their blades were chasing sparks to come out of them. "I see you're excited as ever to get in a fight, Kenpachi!"
"And just why wouldn't I be?! It's been too long since the last time we fought! I wanna see just how strong you've gotten now!"
Ichigo scowled. "Not like I can run either way…" he then looked up to see scattered rose petals coming after him, and he responded to this by doing a Flash Step to get away.
Ichigo hovered in the air as he stared at Byakuya as his Shikai had been used. Ichigo went ahead to charge at Byakuya downwards with his sword placed with both hands as it was behind him. Byakuya used his rose petals again in a circling style as they were coming at Ichigo from different sides. Ichigo had used a Getsuga to wipe out the rose petals before he Flash Stepped in front of Byakuya, and swung his sword diagonally from downwards to upwards his chest. Byakuya had barely managed to to block it with his sword but he was clearly struggling not to get overpowered.
Ichigo sensed danger from behind as he looked over his shoulder to see Kenpachi charging at him again with his sword raised. Ichigo leaped out of the way and got behind Kenpachi before he crouched down in the air and got up again. He flied towards both of them at once, and so did both of them.
Ichigo and Kenpachi both clashed with their swords locked with one another for a brief moment before both of them let go and started clashing with their swords again and again as sparks came out. Kenpachi tried to slash Ichigo's head horizontally but he had managed to duck his head in time before Ichigo countered by a diagonal slash upwards the Captain's chest that cut through his shihakusho and drew some blood. Kenpachi tried to kick Ichigo down but the teenager jumped above and cut Kenpachi's cheek.
"Bankai." Ichigo widened his eyes when he saw swords crossing parallel from each sides. ''Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." a hundred million rose petals have scattered and all of them have went ahead to attack him at once. Ichigo had Flash Stepped below to get away from the rose petal waves that were coming after him.
'I sometimes seriously wish I had those amount of numbers on my side!' Ichigo thought as he seemed to be now flying above in the air. He looked to see Byakuya controlling this with his hands, meaning that the speed of the rose petals were now twice as fast. Despite this, Ichigo was still managing to dodge and get away from the death petals, however he was struggling a little bit in doing so.
"He's… actually fairing a lot better than I thought he would be capable of." Rukia commented.
Byakuya had ten or more so of the rose petal waves going after Ichigo. Three of the pink waves had gone to his right while the rest were going towards the left. It seemed as though it was going to connect but the boy had disappeared from sight by Flash Stepping again, except this time he was coming at him downwards. Ichigo had Flash Stepped from behind the Captain and went ahead to slash his back diagonally. Except that Byakuya managed to turn around in time and he striked Ichigo with his rose petal wave directly to his chest which send him back away.
"Ah damn…" Ichigo flinched as he started rubbing his chest. "It feels like I got cut by knife." he commented as he was shown to have no physical damage on his body nor his cloak.
Byakuya was analyzing while Ichigo was still rubbing his chest. 'He took a direct hit from my Bankai at such a close range, yet it barely did anything? Even if Zaraki and I can only use about 20% of what we're very much capable of, he shouldn't be having this much of an advantage against both of us.' it also didn't help that Zaraki was a terrible partner to work with. But he didn't get how the boy was winning this much. Did whatever training he went through really made him this strong in such a short amount of time?
"Hahahaha!" Ichigo looked up to see Kenpachi heading down with his sword raised wildly at him. Ichigo raised his blade horizontally above his head before he felt Kenpachi's sword strike against his. Ichigo struggled somewhat to not make Tensa Zangetsu buckle down from the pressure. He then widened his eyes when he saw Byakuya moving the rose petals with his arm again, seeing the wave coming at him.
Ichigo had then used a Getsuga on his blade as he pushed Kenpachi's sword away before he fired it at the rose petals, destroying them in the process. Ichigo also Flash Stepped out of the way to get away from both of them. 'Damn…at the rate we're going through, it'll take too long before this battle is even finished. I can't have that happen. I need to finish this now. And the onto way I'll have to do that is…' he hesitated. If using that thing was the only way to finish this as quickly possible, then he would have to. He had a feeling if this continued, then things would escalate against him. 'No choice… I have to resort to using that.'
Ichigo had pulled his hand towards his face. 'I can only use this for about 16 seconds at most. If I fail to take them both down, then I'm screwed. Here goes nothing…' he had closed his eyes and opened them again before he had pulled his face in a ripping fashion, as black and red energy had wrapped around his face and formed it to a white hollow mask with 9 red straps on the left side. "Graaaaaagh!" he shouted as his energy had taken a drastic increase.
Everyone, who was now outside of the apartment, were shocked at what they were feeling right now.
"Hang on… is that really, Ichigo?" Rangiku asked with her eyes going wide at the dark Spiritual Pressure she was feeling now.
"What the hell… what did he do to himself?!" Renji commented.
"It's as if I'm sensing an Arrancar now…" Toshiro commented, as he himself also seemed shocked by this sudden change.
"Whatever he did… the amount of power he's releasing is more ridiculous than it usually is. It's like he just used a Bankai on top of a another Bankai." Ikkaku stated. "Kinda like mine…"
"Maybe… but the energy is like that of an Arrancar's Resurrection." Toshiro then looked Ikkaku at the last part he heard. ''Wait… did you say you have a Bankai?"
"Huh?" Ikkaku then realized what he just said. ''Ah! Goddamnit! I should have just kept my mouth shut!"
Yumichika sighed. ''I had a feeling that wouldn't have lasted long."
"Shut up!"
Byakuya had physically widened his eyes from the spectacle he had just witnessed. 'A hollow mask? But when did he…' memories had flashed back to him to where Ichigo had gone out of control with a partial white mask in his Senkei field where he nearly died.
Kenpachi merely grunted. "Huh… well this is definitely new." he commented casually.
Ichigo let go of his hand and showed off the mask, along with the black sclera and yellow eyes. He said absolutely nothing. Kenpachi had then made a smirk on his face, not minding something like this one bit. "Well now... I don't know what the hell happened to you. You seem so much stronger all of a sudden! And I love it!" the battle lusted Captain had then went ahead to pick his hand over to his eye patch. "I guess it should only be fair if I went ahead to do the—"
Kenpachi suddenly saw blood coming out of his body. "What the…" he looked down to see that Ichigo's blade had cut from his stomach to his throat as blood was spraying out of him. Kenpachi looked somewhat surprised by this as he looked at Ichigo's eyes, and then he began laughing as he fell down from the skies. "Hahahahahahahaha! Yes!" he hollered as he was looking at Ichigo. "Now that's much more like it, Ichigo! You're starting to see things my way now!"
Ichigo said nothing to this, as he had turned around to look at Byakuya instead. The Captain of the 6th division had been staring at him, as if thinking on what he should do next. Ichigo wasn't going to allow him any time to formulate a plan as he raised his blade that was charging with his black energy. "Getsuga…" Byakuya widened his eyes again when he sensed the amount of power this strike was coming from. He quickly proceeded to use all of his rose petals against the boy. "...Tenshou!" Ichigo unleashed his now more powerful attack as well.
The hollowfied Getsuga and the rose petals have clashed against one another for a brief moment before the Getsuga had started to overpower the Captain's Bankai. Byakuya had widened his eyes by this, as he was trying to use all the restricted power he could but the resistance was weak. 'I… can't stop it!' Byakuya thought before all of his 100 million petals have been overpowered and the attack hit him head on.
There was some smoke that was in the air from the attack that engulfed him. When the smoke cleared, it showed Byakuya was kneeling on the air with his hand trying to support himself. His right arm and face were shown to be bleeding, and he was panting as well. He moved his head to look at Ichigo.
Actually he couldn't think he could call the boy that. This twisted Spiritual Pressure he felt was very similar to the one back in the Soul Society. But it felt more… in control? He couldn't describe it correctly but… it felt like he was looking at a completely different person. "Tell me… who are you? Are you Ichigo Kurosaki? Or are you that demon from before?" he asked.
Though it couldn't be seen very well, Ichigo was having a smirk on his face behind his mask. "If you have energy to ask me such a pointless question like that, you should probably get down to treat your wounds. After all, it's not very fitting for a noble Captain to have that now, is it?" he insulted his pride before he went ahead to take off his mask. "Don't bother coming after me again." he told him before he leaped away.
Ichigo had taken a major sigh as he was now seen in his school rooftop all by himself once more. He had managed to get away from the Soul Reapers before any of them could ask about his Hollowfication mask he had used. But as of now he had gotten late to school, nagged by his homeroom teacher, and waited till lunch break to get to his usual spot and think about all that's happened.
'I just don't really know how I could explain to all of them that I'm technically a Vizard now. A Soul Reaper with the powers of a Hollow now. That's not exactly something that happens very often.' and not to mention he might be in trouble for not only insulting the Head Captain, beating two top tier Captains, and now having supposed forbidden Hollow powers.
What else could possibly go wrong now?
It was then that Ichigo heard the door getting forcefully slided open. He looked behind, and to his surprise he saw Tatsuki there, except she looked like she was almost out of breath, as if she just came back from a marathon.
Needless to say, Ichigo was confused by this. ''Tatsuki? What exactly are you… is something wrong?"
"Ichigo… where is she? Where is, Orihime?" Tarsuki panted as she started to walk to her oldest friend with a frustrated and desperate look on her face.
What does she mean by that? Is she refering that she hasn't been at school? Maybe he could play dumb on purpose to see what she was talking about. "Wait, you mean Orihime has been missing? Didn't you check where she was or…?"
"I did! I checked everywhere she could be! I went to her apartment, and she wasn't there! I checked through all of her favorite spots where she could possibly be, but I still couldn't find her!"
Ok so she was worried that she wasn't anywhere all day. He could understand that. "Hey, listen, how about we try to find her after school together? So maybe this way we could see if—"
"But you know something about it, don't you…"
Ichigo widened his eyes slightly by this. He certainly didn't expect her to say something like that. "Wait, hold on… don't you think you're jumping to conclusions a bit too quick here? Why would I kmow where she could be right now? Couldn't you call her on her phone or something—?"
"CUT THE CRAP WITH ME!" Tatsuki had picked up Ichigo's collar, and gave him a glare that would have most men fear for their lives, but Ichigo didn't seem phased by this. "Stop pretending that you don't know stuff when you really do! Don't think I don't know what's happening with you as well!" Ichigo looked a little confused as to what she meant by this. "You really think I haven't noticed? Every time you put on that black kimono, fighting with people against those strange monsters? Up until now, it's been hard sensing where her presence was, as if she was on the other side of a wall. But right now, I felt complete nothing yesterday!"
Ichigo widened his eyes by this, realizing what she now meant. She could see spirits now? Since when? Wait, did she also know about his Superhero side as well? She continued to talk. "That's right... I've known for a while. So, just please, stop with the lies and just tell me where Orihime is!"
Ichigo stayed silent for a moment, not very sure as to tell wherever about Orihime kidnapped by beings higher than she could comprehend. "You're right about one thing… I do know where Orihime is. But you don't have any business to know that whatsoever."
Tatsuki widened her eyes from what she heard. Anger had now irrationally taken over her mind as she clenched her other fist and went ahead to punch Ichigo's cheek. Before the contact was made, Ichigo made sure to lower his strength so that he couldn't break Tatsuki's bones in doing so, and stumbled backwards on purpose to make it seem like she layed a direct hit.
Physically, Ichigo didn't felt any pain coming from that blow. He looked to see Tatsuki giving him a death glare, looking as though she could barely suppress her rage. "It's not any of my business to know where my friend I'd…? Then what the hell am I to you in the first place?! Are you meaning to tell me that all those times I defended you on getting picked on and crying so many times meant nothing to you?!"
Ichigo had felt more guilt within him when he heard her say that. But he couldn't allow that to be seen. "Let me give you my point of view compared to what you think really happened. Those dumb kids that picked on me, and made fun of me for my hair, I could have fought back easily without your help. I only choose not to because I thought I deserved all those things for being responsible for my mother's death. Maybe the reason why I kept crying wasn't just because how much I missed my mom's death, but may be more so because I felt constantly conflicted between doing something I really wanted, and keeping my mom's promise on what she wanted me to do. Or maybe it's all because I felt guilty for surviving that day when my mom didn't! It could be all for all I know! Hell, it would explain how that created the personality I now have!" his last few words had him raise his tone
He took a breath to calm himself down. "Also, I probably should worded that one better. I didn't mean as in you don't have rights to know where Orihime is held now, I meant that you wouldn't be able to help at all. Let's just say she's at a very far place where she's being held by beings that are higher than you can possibly imagine. I'm sorry, Tatsuki, but… you won't be any help at all."
Ichigo started to walk past his oldest friend, who seemed speechless on what to say now. "But I swear it to you... I will bring her back. If it means losing my sanity, then so be it."
In the middle of the night, Urahara had been leaning his back against his shop while he had his arms folded. "Welcome back. I was wondering when you would come to me, Ichigo." the shoopkeeper remarked in a somewhat playful tone as he saw the bright haired young man emerging from the corner.
"And just what made you think I would come to you?" Ichigo asked.
"Cause you though if I might know a way to get you to Hueco Mundo?" he had a smirk under his covered hat. "You're just in time as well. The preparations have already been made. Come with me."
Ichigo did so. He and Urahara had gotten down to his underground lair, with Kisuke following the lead as he also looked down at the ground. "... I was afraid that Aizen would have gone after Orihime's powers from the start of this battle. Which is why I decided to remove her from the battlefield. But I do think that considering her feelings and not removing her sooner may have been my mistake." the former Captain admitted with a seemingly guilty look on his face. "Which is why I decided to do everything I could do to help."
Ichigo nodded at what he was saying. But there was something in the back of his mind that told him it wasn't like what it seemed. That there was much more than what he spoke. But Ichigo shoved that out of the way for now. "And you're doing this out of Soul Society's orders as well?"
Urahara turned around to grin at the boy. "Well duh. I kept disobeying them from one way or another since the beginning. This isn't anything too new for me."
"Really? Have you really thought this whole time that you would do this by yourself?" Ichigo turned around in surprise to see Uryu sitting on a boulder that was above him. "I sometimes think you either underestimate others around you or you overestimate yourself." the Quincy mocked him before he went ahead to jump on the ground.
Ichigo smirked by this. "I'm going to assume that you have the guts to nag again, that would mean that your powers have restored themselves haven't they, Uryu?"
"Well someone would have to keep you in check in case you do something stupid."
"Guess that means you're going to Hueco Mundo as well?"
"He's not the only one…" Ichigo turned around again to see Chad walking towards him. "When Urahara informed us the news, I couldn't sit back and do nothing. Ichigo, I'm going to come with you as well."
Ichigo hesitated a bit. He knew that they'd have to have gotten at least a bit stronger than what they were before. Although… if he could push their buttons to see how much they progressed… "I appreciate your assistance. Both of you. But... I'm just not sure if your power could—"
"Ichigo..." Chad's right arm had completely shifted to his usual battle armor, bur except it looked a tad bit different. He charged at Ichigo like a rocket with his fist raised. Ichigo unsheathed his massive sword and managed to block his friend's attack with ease. The impact on that had a bright beam of light shooting up as boulders around the area have been thrown back and destroyed. "Now do you think... I'm still not strong enough? Even after that? You don't have to carry all the burden by yourself. It's what friends are for… remember?"
...Ok there was no way he could say no to that face right now. "Yeah... I guess you're right." he replied simply before he sheathed his sword again on his back.
"Alright!" Urahara clapped his hands to get everyone's attention again. "All of you done?... Well that's good. I say it's about time to head to work."
Urahara had then jumped onto a large wooden platform and went ahead to put his sealed crane of a sword onto the wooden platform, resting his left hand onto the crane as he crouched down. "In my right hand, I hold the stone that connects the borders of worlds. In my left hand, I hold the blade that binds existence. The black-haired shepherd. The seat of the noose." Kisuke's left hand started glowing with blue fire. "A bank of clouds comes, striking us and the crested iris." suddenly a blue wave of energy striked against the opposite side of the wooden platform.
Suddenly there was an enormous sized black hole that would easily fit enough to fit three persons. "This is the hole the Arrancars use to come in and go as they please. It is known as Garganta. There isn't really any path to follow, just a turbulent flow of Reishi swirling about. Make a foothold of those and use it to move forward. If you head towards the darkness, you should be able to get to Hueco Mundo." Urahara explained.
Ichigo nodded his head. "I understand. Hey, Urahara, if it's not too much trouble… could you send a message to my family? Tell them about the good stuff with me so they don't have to worry much."
Urahara nodded his head. "I'll do what I can. And the same thing with your friends as well?"
Ichigo looked down before looking at the shop keeper again. "Probably... I'm not sure to be honest. But… when I do come back, I might have to explain the whole situation to someone. Till then, keep up with good news about me." Ichigo then punched his hand. "Now, let's do this!" he announced before he, Chad, and Uryu jumped inside the Garganta before it got closed.
Urahara had then looked like he remembered something. "You know… you three can come out now. There isn't any point hiding behind that rock anymore."
Suddenly; Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro came out behind a rock they tried hiding at. "Uh… how long did you know we were here?" Keigo asked with an awkward sheepish look on his face.
"Since before you came in here. I knew you were going to follow Ichigo, so I left the shop door get unlocked on purpose." Urahara had then chuckled. "Still though… it seems Ichigo is still naive if he thought he could keep a secret forever. But at least he had the decency not to cut any ties…"