Disclaimer: The following is a fan-based parody. 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). Please support the official release.

Chapter 55: A Couple's Spar

(Que Story OP – Hello Sleepwalkers "Hyakkiyakou")

Somehow, and for some odd reason, they had lost Uryu that night. Senna thought it was her fault that they lost their friend when she metaphorically snapped and use the full might of her Shikai. That way, Uryu or some other force took Uryu in the chaotic mess. Ruby and the others did not blame the girl as they shared the blame themselves for their mishap.

'Because honestly, how do you lose someone who can barely stand up?!' Exclaimed Ruby in her head.

He couldn't have gone far from the hospital, yet still they couldn't find Uryu anywhere in town. Ruby chalked it up to the reason that since Uryu no longer had access to his spiritual powers they couldn't sense him. Still, it made them feel uneasy that they lost their friend like that, especially after defeating two of the Bounts. It was a shame too that they weren't alive, or else they could've possibly gleamed some information on the possible plans they have in Kuoh Town and why they were targeting living beings.

Fortunately, the one sure way to find Uryu was through the Bounts since they have been oddly focused on the powerless Quincy for some reason. The short side of it however is that the night was already over and the Bounts were not going to risk open daylight after taking out the first one with the snakes. To be honest, Ruby could not remember the name of the creep after killing him. When she did her sadistic tendencies, she always made sure her compatriots were far from harm... At least she used a blunt whip.

'Like I said, sister.' Said the voice of Cristina. 'The whole Rose family is full of sadists.'

A few months ago, Ruby would fervently deny it with all of her passion. But after having become more in tune with her powers, her awakening as a hybrid, and training under Yoruichi, the reaper was a lot more hesitant to say. She could blame her teacher of encouraging the behavior when it was discovered, but it was a very weak excuse. Ruby did have the option of saying no; her heart cried out for yes every time Yoruichi taught her the ways of Squad 2 and the Stealth Division.

'Stop getting your head in the clouds.' Cristina grumbled. 'Your thoughts are annoying as it is, and our boy toy is on our six.'

The warning snapped Ruby to attention and her instincts screamed at the last second of danger. Her fingers twirled the pale blade of her zanpakuto and held it vertically across her back in a literal second guard position. Ruby collapsed on one knee from the force that surpassed an Atlesian carrier falling on top of her. A crater of a five meter radius formed at her feet from the impact, and Ruby cringed from holding back the blow with her weakly-made guard.

In the present, Ruby and Ichigo were in the gigantic 'basement' under Urahara's shop, engaged in a heated spar that, in Ruby's opinion, was long overdue. Both she and Ichigo have gained new power boosts, and it was up to Ruby to see how they compared. It followed the Ichigo's philosophy that clashing blades allowed the duelists to understand each other. This also served to release their frustrations of losing Uryu at the hospital and at the fact they couldn't find him until tonight.

"You know," The voice of Ichigo spoke behind her as he locked his dual Zangetsu blades in their Shikai with Ruby's blade, "with our little connection, I sometime hear what you think, and it is... disturbing."

Ruby didn't need to see the uneasy smile on Ichigo's face, and she blushed in embarrassment. It looked really bad when one's boyfriend seemed to be 'kink shaming' her. She wasn't going to do that on Ichigo; it was just a little afterthought. Or was it about using a whip in the morning on her teammates?

"Uhm, sorry?" Ruby said meekly. "I guess I let my thoughts wander."

"I don't blame you." Ichigo replied. "I blame that freaking cat for putting that in your head."

If only he knew that all Yoruichi was simply bring out what was already there. With an 'Eep!', Ruby pushed out of the lock with her standing foot and disappeared in sonido, leaving a static buzz in the air. Ichigo tried chasing after with shunpo, but Ruby had the advantage of staying ahead given her natural speed and Semblance that outclassed the orange-haired reaper by a few leagues. His only terms of closing distance was using his own Semblance of substituting to teleport by her, and even that was a stretch.

Off in the distance on a cliff were Yang, Weiss, Blake, Jaune, Nora, Yoruichi, and Ren watching the 'spar'. The former first three, WBY, were staring in silent shock at the battle they could hardly track with their eyes, with only small windows of sight when Ruby and Ichigo clashing. Each blow created a visible shockwave booming through the air and cratering the earth. Only Nora seemed not to mind having brought a bucket of popcorn to watch the show, and letting out excited squeals every time their clashes made explosions of pure force.

"This is amazing!" Nora exclaimed, shoving down another handful of popcorn.

"...I feel very small." Yang admitted.

"Welcome to the club." Jaune muttered.

"So who do you think is gonna win?" Blake wondered.

"Well, I have no damn clue!" Weiss screeched, grabbing fistfuls of her hair. "They are both crazy powerhouses."

"What do you think?" Yang said, glancing to Yoruichi and Ren. "Yo-yo's been the one training them both, and Ren has been here the longest."

Yoruichi held her chin between two delicate fingers in a thinking posture. Her usual smirk turned into flat lips as she pondered deeply on the possible outcome between two of her (cute) students. Ren hummed in thought as he sat at the edge of the cliff.

"I'd say it would be Ruby." Ren said, earning surprised looks from everybody. "In this world, there aren't any schools like Signal or the academies like Beacon outside of the military. Yes, Ichigo is a natural fighter, but he is just a brawler fighting off bullies, and constant attacks from his father Isshin. Ruby, on the other hand, has been trained from an early age at Signal and has fought monsters, that being the Grimm, before Ichigo had attained his own powers and began the fight against Hollows. So with that, Ruby actually has more experience than Ichigo does in both battle and training. Her superior speed also overwhelms anyone she faces, and Ichigo can only keep track for so long."

"But that is not a big factor, Ren." Yoruichi countered. "If you remember from our little excursion into the Soul Society, Ichigo went even against Byakuya Kuchiki, and as one of the finest captains of the Gotei 13 that I have seen he has centuries of refining technique and experience, especially his own use of shunpo. But despite that, Ichigo managed a win after freshly acquiring Bankai. That takes more than just some impressive instincts, and let's not forget that Ichigo is the powerhouse compared to Ruby. He has so much spiritual pressure, I doubt he wouldn't stop fighting for a whole day at full power."

"Even so," Ren said, "that gap of raw power between them isn't as big as you would believe. It is surprising to me as well how boundless Ruby's own spiritual pressure is."

'Not to mention how she even toe-to-toe when they were both turned into Vasto Lorde.' Ren thought, shivering slightly at the memory of the oceans of spiritual pressure they emitted that threatened to drown him. 'Is it because they are hybrids that they have so much spiritual pressure?'

"Who cares who's gonna win, Renny?" Exclaimed Nora, her grin widening at the beautiful explosions the hybrid pair were creating in their duel.

Their attention went back to the battle between the pseudo death gods. Their eyes widened in awe of the massive clashing of dark purple, black, red, white, and blue reiatsu clashing in tidal waves of energy. They heard the great clang of steel smashing against steel throughout the desert expanse. Only Ren and Yoruichi could accurately follow the movements of both Ruby and Ichigo, analyzing every feint, parry, and arc of their blades.

Back to the fighting pair, Ruby had gone all serious since the start. Her sensitivity to spiritual pressure screamed that Ichigo was not to be downplayed with even in his Shikai. It slightly scared her really how powerful Ichigo was now access with one-hundred percent of his zanpakuto as he claimed. As Ruby discovered with her new state of being as an Arrancar, her abilities were significantly stronger than she was in Bankai, yet Ichigo was more than able to keep pace in his dual Shikai. Everything about Ichigo screamed raw, untamed power that had no rival, and every swing carried so much strength with the same dexterity and speed of a normal sword swing.

Ruby didn't know whether to feel frustrated or amazed with Ichigo. At least she got to ogle the godly masterwork that were Ichigo's blades, which were more refined and smaller versions of that enormous trench knife the three-way hybrid once swung around. This was only his Shikai, and if the comparison was anything to go by he was currently just slightly stronger than he was with both his previous Bankai plus the Hollow mask. Then there was that weird thing with the horn and the twelve wings Ruby saw when he first came back with his newfound power back in Remnant. Bringing up the memory brought an intense warmth to her cheeks as she thought to how close Ichigo held her bridal-style. How his hold made her feel the safest she has ever felt, and it made her favorite boy in her life much more like her personal guardian angel.

However, Ruby's internal distraction cost her defense and she was blow back by the white blade of Zangetsu Y unleashing a burst of blue and white reiatsu that blew her back through a few rock formations. This was another result of Ruby exploring the possible applications of Ichigo's zanpakuto. It wasn't a significant technique like Getsuga Ransu or Tsuki no Hogo, but it still applied to how the blades were very conductive in channeling one's reiatsu. Ruby gave the term of this new skill reiatsu burst, and as the name implied Ichigo would focus his power into his blades till he can unleash it in an explosive-like attack on his opponents, or even use the fallback to gain some distance.

Didn't mean she had to like the fact that Ichigo was using it on her. Even with her Hierro, it hurt like hell!

"Oof, that had to hurt." Yang commented with a wince. "I could hear those from here."

"Well, just be glad that she doesn't have any broken bones." Yoruichi said.

"How can you say that when they are fighting as if they are trying to take down a country!?" Weiss exclaimed.

"Oh, you little snowflake." Yoruichi chuckled darkly. "You simply you have no idea how far they can go before it can be actually harmful to either of them. It's not inaccurate to say they can take on a country by themselves. This is only a taste of the power of a shinigami right here."

Blake stilled visibly. "Just how powerful are you people?"

"Let me put it this way." Yoruichi said. "Our name of shinigami, also known as death reaper, has another meaning. We are called death gods for a good reason."

Though her smirk was there, her words were spoken with no joke to them. Yoruichi stayed silent, allowing WBY, Jaune, and Nora to let that information sink in. Then to realize Ruby had given the means to achieve a similar kind of power.

'Okay, Ruby, get your head in the game.' Thought Ruby, pulling herself out the rubble. 'Ichigo has more raw power and stamina for days, but you are tougher and a whole lot faster. You can use that to your advantage. Plus, I've got my own destructive moves.'

Purple reiatsu exploded off of Ruby's body, blowing away the rubble of rock like an erupting volcano. Ruby herself rushed out of the dust cloud, completely unharmed due to her Hierro and Aura, and she was making a beeline for Ichigo. The orange-haired hybrid was caught off guard by the speed Ruby rushed at him and formed an X-guard with both Zangetsus expecting an overhead. However, Ruby feinted at the last moment sliding down to ground and swiping at Ichigo's legs. Unbalanced and his guard broken, Ruby pointed her right index finger at Ichigo where at the tip of the nail was an orb of concentrated reiatsu glowing a sinister purple.

'Ah crap-baskets!' Ichigo cursed in his head.

"Cero."

The light was overshadowed as a massive blast blasted forth with a deep thrum, and the ground was gouged out in its path. Ruby made sure that the doom blast was 'hollow' that it made Ichigo have a few treatable burns than anything worse. Her wolf ears perked up at the sound of feet just touching the ground and she fired another Cero in that direction.

"Holy crap, Ruby, chill!" Exclaimed Ichigo, his voice loud enough to be heard by the spectators.

"Is it normal that I am afraid that Ruby can just pull those out as much as she wants?" Jaune noted, referencing to the Cero. "Those things can obliterate a whole neighborhood."

"And you say that Ichigo's has even more raw power than that?!"

His only sign of damage were the burns that ate away at some of Ichigo's shihaksho around the torso revealing his bare muscled chest, and smoke coming off his body as if Ichigo escaped from being grilled alive. Ichigo's Aura thankfully tanked most of the blast from the first Cero, but it wasn't perfect to protect his spiritual-made clothing. Ruby paused, staring at the really solid pectorals that Ichigo carved through a lifetime of fitness.

'You meant to do that, didn't you?' Cristina teased with a coy smirk.

'N-No!' Ruby denied.

'Those hungry eyes of yours say otherwise.' Cristina replied. 'Do you want see or maybe feel his abs perhaps?'

'I-I'm not a pervert!' Ruby mentally shouted.

Yet despite her fervent denial, her thoughts automatically lingered off, imagining a shirtless Ichigo standing before her in all his glory. How absolutely ripped he was and how his muscles felt like solid iron. Even as Ruby tried to control herself, she could not stop the streaming trickle of blood from one nostril. Or the drool trying to escape from one corner of her mouth, and her ears twitching a storm.

'He-he-he.' Snickered Zangetsu Y picking up Queenie's thoughts.

'Do I want to know what that's about?' Ichigo thought.

'... If you are going to be thick-headed still, then I'm just gonna watch you suffer in your ignorant bliss.' Zangetsu Y deadpanned. 'It baffles me how you and I are technically the same person when everything you need to know is right there.'

Ichigo made his signature irritated scowl and his left brow began to twitch. A buzz of sonido from his right was his only warning before Ichigo felt reiatsu shoved onto his back. He was blow forward and tumbling off the ground before using both Zangetsus to anchor into the ground and thus break his velocity. With shunpo, Ichigo avoided a Cero, disintegrating the ground he once stood on. Looking ahead, Ichigo saw that his girlfriend relaxed the arm with her sword and kept pointing with another Cero forming at the fingertip.

'So she's trying to zone me out of the fight.' Ichigo thought.

Another doom blast came rushing at him at terrifying speeds to the average person, but Ichigo did not make a move to dodge. Rather he faced the raging reiatsu head on and swung Zangetsu X forward to split the reiatsu blast in two at his sides.

"My turn." Ichigo proclaimed, readying Zangetsu Y. "Getsuga Tensho."

In an upward swing, Ichigo unleashed a tremendous wave of white and blue reiatsu. It rushed over to Ruby like a massive tsunami of pure energy and it outclassed anything she had to counter it. The only option she had was to dodge out of the way, disappearing in the buzz of sonido and reappearing at the far left flank of the Getsuga Tensho.

"Holy shit!" Yang exclaimed, gobsmacked of how a swing a sword unleashed a tidal wave of destruction to carve a new canyon. "That thing was enough to kill that giant mech and the Leviathan in one go."

"Nothing." Muttered Weiss in disbelief. "Nothing in Dust manufacturing or Atlesian weaponry can equal that kind of power. They could take on a fleet and win."

Ruby's wolf ears picked up the sound of cloth flapping in the wind coming closer and she angled her blade in an upside down vertical defense. When the cry of clashing steel came to her ears, her crimson eyes stared back at chocolate brown eyes.

"If you're going to get aggressive," Ichigo said, pushing down on Ruby with his superior height and strength, "then I will just have to push back harder."

"Just try, Ichi-kun." Ruby challenged, grinning enough to reveal her canine-like teeth.

She almost lost herself in that staring contest before realizing the lack of Zangetsu X in Ichigo's left hand where instead of it was the long white band. Her crimson eyes followed the strand as Ichigo pulled back on it and saw the black blade being used as a rope dart to snare Ruby in a pincer attack. There was no time to use the sonido, so instead Ruby used her flexibility by hopping in the air and angling her body horizontal to the ground to dodge the blade. At the same time, she settled her free hand on the flat of Zangetsu Y for leverage and throw a swiping kick to counter Ichigo. He was too busy catching his own blade to avoid getting Ruby's boot bashing into his jaw to stagger him back.

"Gah!" Ichigo cried. "Fine, I'll give you that one since that was damn impressive."

"Points to you, too." Ruby complimented. "You're always thinking of more plans on the fly."

Ichigo smirked. "Speaking of..."

Ruby suddenly felt the world blur and fold on itself before focusing, but Ichigo was nowhere in sight. However, a sudden kick made the Arrancar collapse onto one knee. Familiar, calloused hands took hold of her own arms. Her left arm was quickly tied by the bands of Zangetsu Y that then anchored close to the ground while her right was hooked and locked underneath an elbow. Crimson eyes glared back to find the face of Ichigo with a victorious smirk.

"I win." Ichigo announced.

Ruby growled. "Your Semblance is so cheap."

"Don't be like that." Ichigo chided playfully. "Would Yuzu's cookies be an acceptable apology?"

"... You're forgiven." Ruby mumbled before planting a loving kiss on Ichigo's cheek.

Ichigo released Ruby from his hold and the pair settled into a more relaxed state. The Zangetsu blades reverted to their sealed states as Ichigo sheathed them at his hip, and the pair settled sitting on the ground for a bit.

"Do you think Uryu's okay?" Ruby asked.

"If there's one thing about Uryu is that he is incredibly resourceful." Ichigo assured Ruby. "Even without powers, he is sure to figure out how to get out of trouble with his wit. It's not like he went to some girl's home without us knowing."

That was only half the truth. In some part of the town, Uryu was spending the day recovering while drinking tea with a lovely-looking bruenette. The situation was not what it seemed, but Ichigo's opinion of Uryu would have plummeted if he saw him.

Watching the Bount arc, I realize the shit show I have walked in and now I am trying to write it out despite that. Seriously, how do you lose Uryu like that when he can barely walk in canon!?

I can't exactly focus on this story much. Not until I finish The Sins' Return. Don't worry because I will work on the next chapter of this immediately before updating any other, but don't expect anymore until The Sins' Return is finished and Rose Dragon Empress is updated.

Up next is Chapter 56.

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