Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and RWBY. Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and the late Monty Oum (rest in peace you saint of a man).

A question one would ask why type this up? Simple – why not?

Chapter 7: God Level of Shock

The Rioka spent the whole day practicing to concentrate spiritual cores. The only ones who had zero clue how to do that were Ruby and Ichigo. Ruby looked like she was more likely to pop a vein than get it at all while Ichigo was at a point where he considered just smashing the spirit core. The twins' constant "no!"s didn't help.

"Here." said Ren to Ruby, "Let me show..."

After a little explanation, Ruby got the hang of it. Her spirit core in short time started to glow with her energy. To her, it was hardly different from manipulating Aura. A smile of childish amazement stretched her face, but Ichigo in his spot twitched his eye a bit. There was no way he was letting pipsqueak get ahead of him.

"Alright." said one of the twins to Ren and Ruby, "Show us yours."

Ren and Ruby concentrated their energy into the spirit cores. Once the cores glowed, a sphere of energy surrounded them like a giant bubble. They weren't just in perfect shape like Orihime's, but they also had their own colors to them. Ruby had red while Ren's was green.

"Do you see that?" said Shiroganehiko, amazed, "They have different colors."

"Like Uryu over there," noted Konaganehiko, "it must stem from their personalities, but it could also be their unique reiatsu."

As for Ichigo, his was... there's no way to describe it but pathetic. The twins instantly scorned him rather give him encouragements to keep trying. Ruby saw his eyebrows twitch and already knew what was coming. With just one throw with the spirit core, Ichigo sent one of the twins flying. He was terrible and agressive Ruby knew that after spending five days with him, but she could see a drive that was full of selflessness akin to her. She could see that all that anger was stemming from being powerless like this.

Everybody left for dinner, but Ichigo and Ganju remained. However, Ruby purposely trailed behind the group and went back to the training room. There she found Ichigo still practicing, but to no avail. Ruby made her presence known as she approached and Ganju kept himself quiet as the scene unfolded.

"How much is she to you?" Ruby asked Ichigo out of the blue.

"Not much." said Ichigo flatly. Ruby raised an eyebrow unsure in his tone.

"C'mon." persisted Ruby, "There has to be something about her."

"You already know." said Ichigo, raising his voice, "I owe her, and I haven't repaid her yet. She gave me her power to save her so I could save my family, even though she just met me. Because of that, Rukia was captured and is going to be executed for it. I don't want to turn into some deplorable guy who would just turn his back on her."

Ruby couldn't quite put it. There was something about Ichigo that just made one follow him to the bitter end. On some level, Ruby understood herself.

"I get that." said Ruby, walking closer, "You feel like if you were or weren't there, that person would still be okay. That's what I thought when I lost two of my best friends. Penny and Pyrrha. I kept on thinking maybe if I got there faster I could've saved them. But, things like that can't be changed."

"I," said Ichigo, sounding a little sympathetic, "didn't realize you had it that rough."

"However," continued Ruby, "what I can do is save the friends and family that I have. I use my memory of them to motivate myself to push forward and cherish those I still have. And maybe make more in the future. Like Mr. Urahara said, 'When you protect someone, you don't let them die.'"

Ichigo smiled a bit, amused that she used a quote from that clown. Ruby approached and put a hand on his shoulder. Ichigo twitched a bit, but didn't shove her away.

"Try bringing up your reiatsu." said Ruby, bringing up her own as silver light surrounded her, "I'm going to try something that could help. What was it that Pyrrha said..."

Ruby tried to remember the words that she used when tapping into Jaune's Aura. It took some digging but she got the words, and tapped her reiatsu into Ichigo's. Ruby chanted, "... For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee."

Ruby was a bit speechless at the ocean of power she felt. Not only in Ichigo's, but in her own as well, like two seas of blue and silver. Ruby stepped away from Ichigo, and could see his eyes closed in deep concentration. As his reiatsu burned around his body, the spirit core in his hands glowed brightly. A bubble of energy grew around him in definite form, putting a smile on Ruby's face. However, the bubble was getting humongous that it engulfed the entire room. The whole house started to rumble, and Ruby was having trouble keeping balance.

"You stupid idiot!" cried Kukaku, "Concentrate your spiritual energy."

Ruby was pretty sure that her words were drowned out by the roar of the shaking of the house. The only idea she had was to concentrate her own power into the core and concentrate it all herself. At first, Ruby only served to make it more worse with her own energy. As Ruby concentrated on controlling the sea of power, the bubble started to shrink down and stabilize.

Kukaku gasped. "I don't believe it. Her reiatsu is calming down Ichigo's."

The bubble was still unstable as Ichigo was recklessly pouring more power. Ruby bit her lip and had to get his attention.

"Ichigo," shouted Ruby, "For Monty's sake, concentrate your energy."

Ichigo realized what he was doing and focused on controlling his power. The bubble shrank more and stabilized around Ichigo. Ruby released her hand from the spirit core, and stepped out. Despite the whole mess, Ruby couldn't help but smile at Ichigo.

"You did it." Ruby congratulated.

"I did it." said Ichigo.

That moment of distraction was enough to break his concentration on his spiritual energy. The bubble cracked like an egg then exploded. The dust settled to find Ichigo covered in burns and bruises on the ground. Before he could get up, Kukaku pinned him down with her foot.

"WHAT ARE YOU?!" shouted Kukaku, "FREAKING DEAF OR FREAKING STUPID?!"

"I vote stupid." said Uryu.

"I second that." added Ren.

Ruby put on an innocent smile and slid away. "Well, I'll just..."

Before Ruby even had a chance to use her Semblance, Kukaku's prosthetic arm stopped by holding onto her cloak. She looked back, and a cold sweat went down her neck as cold, dreadful eyes stared back at Ruby.

"Where are you going, missy?" said Kukaku menacingly.

(Time-Skip)

Yoruichi's tail got messed up when Ichigo passed out from using so much spiritual energy. Ruby was able to do what she did best. She grabbed the nearest brush to manage his fur and gently massaged his tail back straight. When Yoruichi saw her tail back to normal, he almost cried making Ruby almost cry.

"Thank you." praised Yoruichi, bowing to Ruby, "Oh, thank you for saving my pride and joy."

Ruby sniffed and hugged the cat. "Oh, anything for a cute, little snuggle of fur."

Soon, Uryu arrived with Ichigo and Ganju. Ganju was in his battle costume, wearing braces on his arms and legs that had rough edges for igniting bombs. He and Ichigo had some talk that put some stone hearts to melt.

"Alright then," called Yoruichi, "are we all ready for the cannonball?"

"Yes." said the seven Ryoka.

"If you're all ready," cried Kukaku, "the final countdown begins now."

Kukaku opened an entrance into the cannon. All the Ryoka and Ganju gathered into the slightly cramped space. They all held a spirit core in the center of them, while Yoruichi stood on top of it.

"Our goal is to save Rukia." briefed Yoruichi, "We must avoid taking unnecessary risks if possible."

"Okay." said Ruby. Ren nodded.

"Now it has begun." signaled the cat.

All of them focused their energies into the core, creating the cannonball. It shimmered with green and red from Ruby's reiatsu. Without warning, they were blasted into the air. Ruby had to hold in a gasp as the ground instantly shrank away faster than she had ever seen. It would be a shorter journey if she lost consciousness.

"Huh," said Ren, "I expected more-"

Suddenly, they felt turbulence as the cannonball raced in a horizontal direction.

"Yep, there it is." groaned Ren.

Ganju pulled out a book and all the pages unfolded before his eyes. He began to chant something, but Ruby couldn't afford to listen as she managed her energy. She only listened to Ganju as he explained to everyone that they should all keep their spiritual output at the same constant level.

"Ichigo, I think you're releasing too much energy."

"All right then, I'll back off."

"Ruby, you're too high."

"Simmering down."

"Ichigo, you need to lower your spiritual power."

"What? I already brought it down to half."

"Ruby, Ichigo, dial it down. I can't keep up with you two."

"Alright! Alright!"

"Ruby, Ichigo!"

"I know! I know!"

"Dammit." cried Ganju, "You made me repeat the same line twice."

"Stop whining." barked Ichigo, "It's not my fault you can't memorize your stupid chant."

"That stupid chant might save your life," said Ganju, glaring at Ruby, "if you two quit yapping."

"How is this my fault!?" growled Ruby.

"Crap." said Uryu.

"They're upsetting the balance of the spirit energy." exclaimed Ren. The surface of the bubble started to become unstable as Ruby, Ichigo, and Ganju were upsetting their concentration.

"Hey look." said Chad.

Everyone turned their attention forward to the city of the Sereitei. Ruby had never seen a city so huge. It must've been ten times the size of Vale alone.

"The only way for all of us to survive this is to pour in all the spirit energy you've got." cried the cat.

The Ryoka didn't hesitate. Ruby, Ren, and Ichigo let go of any concentration and just focused on pouring in their sea of powers. They impacted the shield, making electricity flash out and ripples pushing outward through the membrane. Finally, the spirit bubble pierced through the membrane, but they the bubble bursted and they were suddenly flying as though they used hoho.

"What's going on?" exclaimed Ichigo, "We're not falling to the ground."

"Don't get separated." said Yoruichi, "The reishi from the spirit bubble, but we've got to hang on until it dissolves."

Just on those words, Ruby instantly grabbed a hold on Ichigo, followed by Ren.

"Uh," said Ruby, a little nervous, "What will happen after it's gone?"

"It will turn into whirlpool," said the cat, "then explode and vanish."

"That doesn't sound good at all." whimpered Ruby.

Suddenly, they all found themselves in that whirlpool of reishi. Ruby and Ren kept a good hold on Ichigo and each other. Then Ganju joined in by holding Ichigo by his collar.

"Oh great." exclaimed Ichigo.

"What do you mean by that, dandelion?" barked Ganju.

"It's actually strawberry." said Ruby with a snicker.

"Hey!" barked Ichigo.

"Do not let go of each other." cried Ren.

They lost track of the others, but they couldn't afford to find them in the whirlpool. As the cat, they had to ensure their own survival. Before Ichigo and Orhihime could grab each other, a bright light blinded them, and Ruby, Ren, Ichigo, and Ganju found themselves crashing down to the ground.

"Damn." said Zaraki. "They split into four."

Zaraki Kenpachi, Captain of Squad Eleven, was excited to fight the Ryoka. He looked at the four "meteors" crashing down in different directions. He was about to head out when Yachiru looked back and had a smile on her face.

"Hi, little sister." said Yachiru, looking at a woman seemingly far older in her teens. She had a sharp glare as deadly as her "father's" sword, but still held that air around her as Zaraki did. The woman was looking at one of the meteors only.

"That one." said the woman, "I sense the more from that one. I'll go destroy them myself. I can't let you have all the fun, Father."

Zaraki looked at his adoptive daughter with an unsure look, then a smile crossed his face. "Sure. Whatever makes your blood boil, my deadly daughter."

"Let's hope," said the woman, smiling like a demon, "they will be able to cut me."

Ichigo, Ruby, Ren, and Ganju crashed into a street surrounded by walls with tiled roofs. Ganju extended out his hand and moved into a circle.

"Seppa."

Right before they crashed, the ground turned into sand to soften their landing. Despite the bruises and aches in their necks and backs, they were fine and kicking. The four crawled out of the sand and coughed out the grains.

"I'm never going to the beach again." whimpered Ruby.

"That was not enjoyable." groaned Ren.

"How'd did sand get in there?" groaned Ganju, who was kicked by Ichigo.

"Your skill did this, so stop complaining." barked Ichigo.

"This skill just saved your life." growled Ganju, holding Ichigo by his robes.

"Woohoo, lucky."

Ruby, Ren, Ichigo, and Ganju looked up. Standing on the wall were clearly two Soul Reapers. One had long hair going down all sides except the front that stopped just before the shoulders, with two strands of yellow and red hair. The other's looks made Ruby to hold in a snicker. He was completely hairless, not even eyebrows were on his face and he used red face painting as a substitute.

The two Soul Reapers jumped to their level with smirks on their faces.

"First we skip out on our guard duty." said the bald one, "And these four fall right into our hands." The bald one pointed his sheathed Zanpakuto at them. "You two aren't very lucky."

The bald one started to sing a song of being lucky, and it was making it harder for Ruby to control herself. He somehow danced and jumped on his toes. His final stance was wide with his sword in his hands. The sun shined off his bald head, and Ichigo, Ganju, and Ren felt an awkward sweat go down their necks.

"Oh come on!" roared the baldy, "This whole time while I was singing my song, I've been waiting for one of you to come out and fight instead of looking at me like a bunch of-"

"Ha-ha-ha-ha." laughed Ruby uncontrollably, clutching her stomach, "No, I can't. I can't. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. That dance- ha-ha - and your bald head. It's too funny. Ha-ha-ha-ha."

A vein bulged on the baldy's face. "Why you... Don't start calling me 'Baldy'. My name is Ikkaku Madarame, Fourth Seat of Squad Eleven."

Ruby was laughing even harder when she heard "Baldy". "Baldy. HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA. I don't care what your name is. I'm gonna call you Baldy."

"You little twerp." cursed Ikkaku, a brow twitching.

In the wake of this, Ganju made a run for it. Ikkaku's friend went after him, but they were closely followed by Ren.

"Don't worry." said Ren, "I'll keep him safe."

Ruby nodded after getting out of her laughing fit. Ichigo faced Ikkaku as he climbed out of the pit with Ruby at his side.

"Why didn't you run after your friends?" said Ikkaku, "They knew that my power is stronger than theirs."

"If your power is stronger than mine," said Ichigo, drawing Zangetsu, "then it would be useless to run. However, if my power is stronger than yours, then all I have to do is beat you."

"We're a team." said Ruby, drawing her Zanpakuto in its sealed form, "And we look out for each other."

Ikkaku's smile disappeared. "Guess you're not stupid after all."

The three prepared for battle. At first, Ikkaku had the widest smile on his face. His eyes looked passed them, and his smile was crushed into a frown with a hint of dread. Ruby heard the footsteps accompanied with the clink of metal. Before she turned around to face her opponent, her voice sent a shock through Ruby. It was a voice she never though she would hear.

"What the-"

"Save it, Baldy." said a feminine voice Ruby knew exactly to memory, "There's plenty of prey for both of us."

Ruby dreaded what she would find as she turned her head back. She saw a woman Soul Reaper Yang's age with the normal cloak. However it was sleeveless and it reached just below the knees. On her arms were iron braces and custom-made sandals of leather and steel. Her eyes widened when Ruby took a full look at the shinigami's face. Red hair made into a ponytail held by a gold brace, teardrop chin with not-too round cheeks, and subtle pink cheeks. Ruby could never forget that face, not ever since she saw her disappear into dust. But that smile on her face was something alien to Ruby. It was a smile that called for blood.

"No, you can't be." said Ruby, looking at - Pyrrha Nikos alive again.

Pyrrha ignored Ruby and glared at Ikkaku. "You take the orange-head. I'll take care of this brat."

"Why you..." grumbled Ikkaku, "Stop stealing my fun."

"Interfere and I will cut you down as well." exclaimed Pyrrha, death in her eyes.

"Great." said Ichigo, "I'll take the baldy. You handle the redhead. You got it? Ruby?"

Ruby was petrified on the spot. Ichigo could see her legs wiggle like jelly. It wasn't out of fear, but joy.

"Ruby, what's wrong?" asked Ichigo worried, but no response.

"Hah." laughed Ikkaku, taking a swing which Ichigo dodged, "Your partner is scared out of her mind. That is the strongest out of all of us below our Captain of Squad Eleven. Third Seat-"

"Pyrrha," said Ruby softly, losing grip on her Zanpakuto, "is that really you?"

Pyrrha raised a surprised brow. "How do you know my name? Who are you?"

"You can't be serious." said Ruby, "It's me, Ruby. Don't you remember me?"

"I've never heard or seen you." said Pyrrha.

Ruby gasped. "What?! How could you not remember? What about our friends? Jaune, Nora, and Ren? Your Team JNPR?"

"Your talking nonsense." shouted Pyrrha, drawing out a Zanpakuto with a red hilt and golden guard. She raised it to Ruby's neck, and she deflected it away from pure instinct. Ruby could feel her intent to kill, and it shattered her world.

"Wait a minute." said Ikkaku, "Perhaps this one knows you truly. At least from your life before."

"What are you on about?" asked Ichigo.

"Souls that come to the Soul Society lose all their memories of their previous life." said Ikkaku, "And only retain their name."

"What?" whimpered Ruby, "No, but..."

Pyrrha smiled. "Ruby, was it? You knew me from a passed life. This should be interesting."

'She still plans to fight me?!' thought Ruby.

"Pyrrha," cried Ruby, "This isn't right. Your a warrior, not a killer. You're Pyrrha Nikos of Team JN-"

Before Ruby knew it, Pyrrha smacked Ruby into the wall. Stone crumbled around her in a pile.

"Ruby!" cried Ichigo running to her aid, but Ikkaku blocked his way.

Ruby crawled herself out of the rubble and coughed out dust. Pyrrha smiled, impressed that she was still alive. Ruby had a resolved look in her eyes, and held her Zanpakuto in opposition to Pyrrha.

"Good." said Pyrrha, raising her Zanpakuto as well, "Maybe you'll actually entertain me. And let's make one thing clear. I'm not this Nikos of this Team JNPR. I am the Third Seat of Squad 11, the strongest squad of Soul Society, and I am the daughter of the strongest captain, and so my name is Pyrrha Zaraki."

A dark reiatsu brimmed off of Pyrrha. Ruby recognized the color whenever she used her Semblance, but it felt completely different. It had a vile nature that put the fear of Grimm to shame. It told nothing but a terror Ruby would never feel from anyone, even from that illusion of Salem.

Pyrrha is back, but with a twist. Her character is inspired from when I read the manga that had revealed Kenpachi's Bankai. Up next Chapter 8: Roses and Steel.

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