I know you were expecting Kazui in this chapter but unfortunately, I still had things to say in Hueco Mundo before finding out what's going on in Shun Nya.

This chapter was inspired by Hero Academia, lol. Even though I've read the manga arc with Class A vs Class B a while ago, I was inspired watching it again during the anime. Enjoy!

-x-


Chapter 20: Training the Next Gen

"Why couldn't we do something along the lines of Hunger Games, fend for ourselves?" Tatsunari whined, looking down at the mini rectangular structure of a makeshift forest.

Yumiko watched her father's expression turn to irritation having been interrupted again by Tatsunari. They were using Riruka's fullbring 'Dollhouse' for more aggressive training within a controlled environment that both Ichigo and he could agree upon. Instead of them being trained outside the walls of Las Noches.

"I have no idea what Hunger Games is," Uryu clarified and he continued interrupting Tatsunari before him having to explain, "We decided on teams because you need to work amongst yourself in strenuous situations," Uryu pointed out.

Tatsunari groaned.

"Tatsu enough. The only reason why you're complaining is the team you are with," Ichigo intervened.

"No offense Raven, but I much rather take Jacinto's place," Daichi added, fist-bumping Raven who agreed with his recently acquired friend.

"Not offended, lucky guy to be teamed up with those cuties." Raven winked at both Yumiko and Miume who rolled their eyes.

"This is exactly why the teams will remain the way they are." Ichigo eyed Raven and Daichi whose smiles faltered a bit.

"Are you lumping me with these two? Are you saying you don't trust me?" Tatsunari argued.

"First he's not lumping you with us, we're not virgins. Secondly, it's his daughter he doesn't trust," Daichi chuckled.

"That's strike two Daichi," Ichigo held up two fingers.

"What was the first offense?"

Ichigo walked closer to Daichi who swallowed a bit but held himself upright.

"Your presence."

Daichi held off from saying anything else as he sat in his seat arms crossed.

"Without further interruption. I'll continue," Uryu stated, giving a stern look at Tatsunari who sighed.

"Each team is placed at the edge of this structure. You're to head towards the tallest tree around this parameter while also defeating opponents with skill and intellect," Uryu explained, showing a huge tree surrounded by a red line in the middle of the forest.

"The teams were specifically created so that each will have some form of aerial, projectile, defense, and healing. We know Daichi is still working on his healing powers, but this training will be a good way to show what you've learned these few weeks and what you still need to work on."

Daichi remained quiet, his teacher, Orihime, had taught him how to conjure up a healing dome. It had been pretty pathetic, but after a week of learning, he was able to slowly heal critical injuries. He wasn't sure how he'd be if there was a serious injury that needed healing quickly, but he was confident that he could at least try. Even though he was teamed with Tatsunari, he was competitive and he didn't like losing.

"We have Quincies and Arrancars who volunteered in this exercise."

Once Uryu divulged the information, the volunteers entered the room. Three of the Arrancar Yumiko recognized as Hallibel's fraccion knights, 'tres bestias'. The other five girls that were with them, wore the standard white Quincy uniform.

"You already met Mila Rose, Apacci, and Sung-su. The others are former members of the Sternritter, one being a former Vandenreich of Yhwach. Let me introduce you to Liltotto Lamperd,"

A young childlike girl with blonde hair and purple eyes waved with a serious look on her face.

"Candice Catnipp,"

Another blonde with long hair, a skinny feminine body, showing mostly her legs in her shorts. She didn't say anything and rolled her eyes.

"Meninas McAllon"

A pink-haired woman with a sweet face and smile, waving at them. Her uniform looked more constricting due to it clinging to her large breasts and hips.

"I'm looking forward to hurting you," Meninas promised with a smirk.

"Is that a promise?" Raven announced, receiving a grin from Daichi.

"Enough!" Uryu asserted, when the room was quiet, he continued with the introductions.

"Giselle Gewelle."

A long black-haired girl with round eyes, happily looked at her opponents, she was carrying a chain wrapped around another girl's neck. The other girl, also with black hair had sickly pale skin with darkened circles under her eyes, her uniform looked to be of high rank but looked timid. Giselle interrupted Uryu.

"Thanks, Ishida. I will introduce this cute girl next to me. This is Bambietta Basterbine, she belongs to me, anyone who touches her ...will die."

"We already informed them that they are forbidden to kill you, they are of course allowed to hurt and incapacitate you. It's necessary for you all to go to such lengths to get stronger. We asked those willing to hurt you since we as parents are unable to. I apologize." Uryu confessed.

"Well, as long as I'm able to hurt that bitches daughter I'll be satisfied."

All eyes looked at the newcomers who entered. Two arrancar females with hollow masks on one side of their faces. The black-haired pigtails girl who spoke had it on her left side, while the pixie blonde walking beside her had hers on her right eye.

"You're late, and would you refrain from calling Princesa by that horrid name, Loly." Mila Rose ordered as Loly brushed one of her tails to the side of her shoulder.

"I came here to see Aizen-sama but since you fools lost him. I can't see why I can't have fun. Right Menoly?"

The blonde Arrancar next to her nodded but seemed to timidly look down when Ichigo's eyes glanced in their direction.

"Are you still jealous of Orihime, Loly? Learn to get over it. I learned a long time ago, it's easier to be friends with that sweet pathetic girl than to be enemies," Riruka interjected, brushing her magenta pigtails to the side as she laughed.

"No one asked for your opinion, human."

"I don't know if I could shrink this Arrancar, Ichigo. She's doesn't seem cute to me."

"I look cuter with pigtails than you, you ugly nobody," Loly yelled back at the Fullbringer.

"Oi, fuck off. Don't talk to my mother that way, you piece of shit Arrancar," Raven warned.

"Leave the fighting inside. For now, all should calm down," informed Uryu. "We will also put the Arrancar and Quincy in teams as well. We can't separate the 'tres bestias' so they will partner with Giselle and Bambietta. Giselle refuses to leave Bambietta's side. That leaves Liltotto, Meninas, Candice, Menoly, and Loly."

Meninas was staring at Raven who winked at her causing her to yell. "Candice, Candice, doesn't he remind you of Bazz."

The skinny blonde looked at Raven, who was enjoying the attention. "How can that be, he's dead."

"I also was going to inform you that, Bazz is unfortunately not dead," Uryu murmured.

"Don't sound so glum when informing them that I'm still alive Uryu," the man in question came out from the shadows, waiting for his introduction.

The other Sternritter looked at Bazz with widening eyes as Giselle held onto Bambietta.

"So this is your son?" Meninas questioned.

"Yep, so make sure you beat the shit out of him. He can take it."

"He sounds a little like Isshin, doesn't he?" Uryu whispered to Ichigo.

"Don't remind me," Ichigo growled out.

Meninas stepped closer to Raven, touching his pink hair while giggling. She then glanced at Riruka, eyeing her. "He stated that you were his mother, is that true?"

Riruka nodded then glanced at her nails, getting bored with the conversation.

"You do like pink, Bazz," Meninas laughed suggestively, which caught Riruka's attention.

"What does that mean?" she yelled causing Bazz to come to her side.

"Listen, Ruka. It's all in the past I'm with you now."

"Who else in this room did you sleep with?" Riruka yelled.

All the Sternritter raised their hands (Giselle helping Bambietta lift her arm) except Liltotto who was finding this conversation aggravating.

"Fucking hell, Dad!"

"Technically Gigi was a different story, he only gave me head."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm a girl, Bazz."

"Apologies," Bazz quipped.

"Don't worry, Bazz. Gigi is still a cock sucking slut if you're wondering and Bambietta is just a slut for Gigi's cock."

"Fuck you, Liltotto," Giselle interjected, glaring at the pint-sized female. "We all did it with him one time, except for Meninas she was his favorite."

"Favorite?" Riruka looked up to Bazz.

"Shut the fuck up, Gigi," Bazz growled as he comforted Riruka who was angrily gripping her fists. "Listen Ruka, sure I was a slut back then, but that means nothing now, it was all in the past. You and Raven are all I care about now."

Riruka looked into his eyes, at how sincere he was, and nodded her head. He kissed her for good measure.

"Does this mean we can no longer have sex?" Meninas questioned, receiving looks from everyone.

"I'm going to answer your stupid question. No, Meninas." Candice answered her, while the pink-haired girl nodded in understanding.

"Does that mean we can watch?"

"No!" Riruka yelled.

"The cute girl is just asking questions, who knows what fucked up orgies these Sternritter's get into," Daichi uttered.

Meninas was about to happily explain when Candice covered her mouth. "I think that's enough. So are we going to begin the fucking training or do I have to continue covering Meninas mouth to prevent her from saying any other stupid shit?"

"No, we can begin the training now. You have five hours to complete it."

"Five hours?" Miume mused.

"You will be given supplies, food, and water. You have to survive, we will take turns keeping watch from above. I know you can do this." Ichigo encouraged, grasping his daughter's shoulders.

"How can we be sure you won't go in there yourself, for hurting your princess?" Loly quipped, eyeing the auburn-haired girl.

"I don't need my dad to fight for me. I think you should be worried about yourself." Miume's eyes burned with anger, remembering the stories her father mentioned. How powerless he felt trying to fight Ulquiorra while Menoly and Loly battered her mother. Loly smiled seeing the same look her father gave. This girl had the same features as Orihime but not the same patience, this one seemed less forgiving.

"You will have about ten minutes in there to prepare before we send them to attack you," Uryu disclosed. "I will designate team leads for each group, based on experience and intellect that will be Raven and Yumiko."

"Why are you putting Quincies as team leads, someones a bit biased." Tatsunari joked, causing the older Quincy to shake his head.

"It's not about him being biased, Tatsu. As far as battle intellect, you know Yumiko is a genius," Miume exclaimed.

"What about him?" Tatsunari pointed to Raven.

"In test scores, he outperforms both, you and Daichi. He also has more experience with Bazz teaching him war tactics. Anything else, Tatsu?" Uryu answered.

"No," he mumbled.

"You also cannot help the other group, your group will be disqualified and would have to start the whole process again," Ichigo said, looking at Tatsunari.

"I get it. I don't know why you have to give me the eye," Tatsunari confessed.

"Because he knows little Romeo will suicidally go into battle to save his princess. I for one will kick your ass, along with Raven to prevent us from losing. So don't be an idiot, Tatsu," Daichi argued.

"Well, don't be an asshole." Tatsunari shot back.

"Begin!" Ichigo yelled, Riruka shot out several hearts causing those with hearts onto their clothing, began to shrink down. They were all scooped up and placed in the designated areas on the map.

-o-


Team Yumiko, Jacinto & Miume

"We're about halfway to that tree, and still no enemies," Yumiko proclaimed, standing on her Reishi board she created using her Hirenkyaku technique. Miume was sitting on her dome with Jacinto, waiting patiently for their next move. It had been an hour since they were in here, and the enemies hadn't faced them yet. They probably weren't close or were just toying with them.

"We should take things slow, but be vigilant," Yumiko presented to her group as they agreed. She swerved suddenly to the right, to doge a red cero headed in her direction. The young Quincy flipped from her board to land safely onto the ground. Miume landed next to her.

"That was a small cero, wasn't it?" Miume asked as Yumiko nodded.

"Cero?" Jacinto asked.

"It's a powerful blast of concentrated spiritual energy, its power, and speed depending on its user. These feel more like Balas."

Jacinto dodged a Bala while Miume used her shield to hold off one headed towards her.

"So you inherited mommy's golden shield," Loly came from the shadows, but there were no signs of Menoly, but the balas were coming from the forest. Loly smiled, " Let's see if your shield can handle this?"

"Escolopendra!" she yelled while shoving a tanto dagger in front of her releasing her centipede-like transformation. Her tentacles lashed out hitting Miume's shield while Yumiko hit the balas that were heading towards them with her arrows. Each hit caused an explosion, thankfully Miume's shield blocked the full force for her team. Loly's acidic was still clutching to her golden dome, as the poison bubbled it still couldn't penetrate through the barrier, upsetting the pony-tailed girl.

"Jacinto use your powers to drag Menoly out of hiding," Yumiko commanded as Jacinto nodded.

"Cuchumaquic," he hollered, transforming into his Mayan form.

He bent down and punched the floor, the spiderlike poison through the ground several ways. They waited a few moments to find that the ceros ceased their firing. Yumiko still held her bow while Miku still fought Loly off as her tentacles whipped at her frantically in anger.

Menoly dragged herself out of hiding holding her arms as she groaned in pain. "Loly... it hurts." Her right arm and leg were grossly dark as poison continued to crawl up her neck.

"Menoly!" Loly looked at her friend worried, looking at Miume trying to decide whether to help her friend or not. Menoly fell to the ground as she screamed in agony. Jacinto continued to leave his hand on the ground until the blonde Arrancar seemed to pass out. A large hand-picked the Arrancar up and heard a giant sneeze.

Jacinto lifted his fist to conserve his energy. What he currently had expelled left him feeling a bit worn out.

"Eat something," Yumiko addressed sweetly, sensing his lack of strength.

"You even talk sweetly when you order me around," Jacinto joked and smiled seeing the red tint on the Quincies cheeks. Jacinto snacked on a trail mix bar, keeping an eye on his surroundings.

Miku was holding her shield until Loly used her tentacles to extend it more. The Arrancar conveyed a furious look on her face, as she extended it until it grabbed a hold of Jacinto's leg.

"How dare you flirt in front of me, you piece of shit. How dare you hurt Menoly." Her poison began to eat through his pant's leg as she smiled. "I won't kill you, but I will make sure my poison eats to the bone."

Yumiko tried to fire a shot when an arrow sailed across her face. An arrow shaped like a bolt of lightning hit a tree that was behind her. The tree disintegrated into a crisp.

"Good reflexes, your fight is with me now. Don't concern yourself with your boyfriend, unless he's a pathetic loser who needs your help." The leggy blonde grinned as she swiftly showed up next to Yumiko's side to punch her, sending a volt of electricity throughout her body.

Menoly laughed dangling the boy in the air. Jacinto glared at the centipede Arrancar shooting black poisonous darts out his fingers in Candice's direction. It stalled the Quincy from reaching Yumiko but not by much, Candice's speed surpassed most normal Quincy Hirenkyaku.

"How cute, your boyfriend is trying to help," She quipped, kicking up her leg to try and smash down on Yumiko's form. Yumiko left so fast leaving an afterimage of her form. Candice upset followed the young Quincy who was swiftly dodging her lightning attacks. Yumiko ran to one end of the field only to dodge and speed across the other end.

"WOULD YOU JUST STAND STILL!" Candice yelled, summoning a lightning bolt so large crashing down in front of Yumiko's path. She prevented most of her body from taking the brunt of the hit, but her leg received the most damage, causing her to scream and bend down to the floor.

Candice jumped in from above summoning her electric bow, pulling the string. She smiled licking her teeth watching the arrow slide with ease towards her prey. Unfortunately, the bow collided with an orange dome instead.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?" Candice growled, glancing back at the auburn girl who was desperately holding back Loly's tentacles with her glowing shield.

"You!" she narrowed her eyes. Jacinto ripping with what strength he had to loosen his footing, shrugged out of Loly's grip. Loly saw that his foot was fine from her poison, she looked up to find him smiling.

"You forget I'm poisonous too," he stated running up to Miume, grasping her hand only for them to disappear before Candice's leg could connect to Miume's head.

"Where the hell did they go?" Loly whined, only aggravating Candice.

"Would you shut up, you useless bitch."

Candice growled, looking around to find the dome had disappeared with Yumiko's leg healed. Yumiko shot an arrow in between the Arrancar and Quincy, as she continued to run to another part of the field.

"Oh, no! We're not playing this game again," she shot quickly in front of Yumiko blocking her path, Yumiko pulled out a glowing blue sword, her Seele Schneider to block Candice's hit.

Loly growled looking around the field not finding the bitch's daughter or the other annoying boy. She saw something begin to disintegrate as Miume and Jacinto reappeared in the same spot they were in. Jacinto ran towards Yumiko as Miume used her shield once more to prevent Loly from thrashing her tentacles and hitting her friends.

"Are you planning on hiding behind your shield forever?" she mocked. Miume ignored her glancing behind her a bit, satisfied that Jacinto was close enough to Yumiko.

"Hageshi Kaze no nagare (Furious Wind Currents)," she whispered still holding her shield as the winds whipped around her, causing the tentacles to whip around in disarray. She held her Zanpaktou once it materialized and shrunk her shield down, so the output of her power funneled more into her sword. She guided the winds as they ripped through the air, cutting one of Menoly's tentacles.

"Arggh, you bitch," she yelled, angrily glaring at the younger girl in front of her. She was able to maneuver her tentacle, since the shield was smaller, to get near the girl. The tentacle wrapped around Miume's waist startling the girl, having her scream out in pain, as the acidic bubbles cut through her skin. She cried out but held the winds just enough to cut the remaining tentacle that was wrapped around her. Loly screamed in anger from losing another part of herself once again, reverting to her base form. She rushed bringing her small blade to cut Miume while the auburn girl winced at the pain.

Miume glanced at her stomach, almost hurling at the acid eating through her skin, seeing some of her muscle and bone. She heard the yell of Loly in time to dodge the thrust of her blade that was aiming for her head.

"Let me ruined that pretty face of yours or pluck out those eyes."

Loly was able to slash her cheek. Miume winced at the pain from her cheek and her stomach. She needed to heal, and Loly was preventing her from doing that. She called her winds to knock the small blade from her hands. Miume straddled the Arrancar, punching at the girl's face. The pain shot through her arm as she broke the bones in her fist, not realizing how hard hierro could be. This wasn't a normal girl she was fighting.

Loly only chuckled hearing the crack and scream from the young girl on top of her. "You stupid bitch, my Arrancar skin is not as pathetic as yours," she stated proving this by digging her fingers into her stomach that was slowly disintegrating. Loly smiled seeing the princess whimper in pain and feeling her insides around her fingers. "Hope your daddy is watching, itching to come in and save his princess," Loly whispered to her, digging deeper into her stomach.

The ceiling a two-way mirror, the reflection of a sky to them, but she was sure her father was seeing everything. She remembered his sorrowful eyes when Grimmjow had taken a chunk of her while her mother was healing her.

No, she wasn't going to disappoint him and have him worry about her. She used whatever strength she could muster to use her shield to knock it against Loly's face, having the pig-tailed woman conole her broken nose. While Loly focused on her face. Miume focused on using the dome to cover herself, she could already feel its effects healing her.

Loly stood, hitting her dome but finding that the strength in her hits bounced off causing no damage. She growled forming a pink cero and aimed at the dome. Loly had to move out of the way, when it too bounced off the glowing surface, only causing it to shake, but nothing more.

"Hiding behind your powers again," Loly taunted, glaring at the auburn-haired girl.

"Shut the hell up. As if I'll let you taunt me into doing something so stupid as to not heal myself," Miume gasped out, feeling the acid burn leave her as well as her bones mending.

Loly tapped her foot, crossing her arms in wait, glaring at the girl as she bent down to her eye level. "Even if you are at 100%, I'll still have you crying out to your daddy."

"Stop mentioning my father," Miume glared.

"Awww a Daddy's girl. I think I struck a nerve." She grinned, watching the anger in the auburn-haired girl's eyes, the same feral look like her father's. "I don't doubt your father's strength in this coming war, but having a weak pathetic daughter like you, is going to get him killed."

Loly felt something hard collide down to her chest, causing her to lay down on her back, preventing her from getting up.

"H...Hey. What is this?" Loly tried to push the shield off her chest, but it was pressing her body down to the ground. "I... I can't breathe."

'Slash' Loly screamed when she felt her arm being slashed by pressurized winds. Then the cuts felt like they were slicing her everywhere, as she whimpered in pain finding it hard to push away the shield.

"Wait! T...They said you can't kill me." Loly gasped out, it didn't help that shield was crushing her airway.

Loly then passed out.

"Who said anything about killing your pathetic ass, idiot."

Miume stood dusting herself off, seeing hands picking Loly's form from the battlefield.

She glanced around to find, Yumiko running and dodging Candice's attacks. Jacinto poisoned the ground while throwing darts, missing the fast Quincy. At least, they were fine in keeping Candice distracted. Miume then saw the petite form of Lilotta standing beside the trees, just watching. Her mouth began to elongate, heading towards Jacinto. Miume made to bring her shield to prevent the mouth from snapping at Jacinto's leg.

It was then Miume felt her whole body being lifted and thrown with immense strength. Her body collided with several trees, she used her shield behind her before she slammed against a rocky mountain. She was dazed for a bit. She felt huge arms lift her again.

Miume saw the pretty features of Meninas smiling at her, "Hi there. I can't have you preventing my friends from having fun with your healing and shield getting in the way. So you get to play with me."

Menina's punched Miume's face so hard, she knew she had several broken bones on her cheek. She could already feel the pain radiating from her face. She made to heal her face and use her shield to block a punch that was heading to the other side of her face.

Miume held onto her shield, but her powers were focused more on her healing that she could sense her shield was close to cracking from the strain.

"No fair. That glowing shield thingie is getting really annoying. If I break your arms, will it prevent you from forming that shield?"

Meninas didn't think too much about it before the shield broke into pieces and grabbed both Miume's arms.

Meninas smiled and then broke them.

-o-


Yumiko saw a hand grab a body out of the battlefield, it was too far away to get an idea of who it was. She focused on dodging the swift attacks of Candice instead of wondering if Miume was alright, but she could feel her strength draining. Jacinto was fairing as well, with him using what he could to dodge the bites that bit the earth instead. He could only dodge so much, thankfully one of his poison tendrils on the ground finally attached to Liltotto's leg forming up to her small body. Her face didn't seem to be in pain. She then saw her mouth eat the affected body and use a rag to suture the missing leg. Jacinto amazed by this action, didn't notice Liltotto's mouth aimed at his legs, biting both.

Jacinto screeched in pain reaching out to legs that weren't there anymore. He looked pale from the tanned skin he once had. Yumiko gave him medication to prevent him from feeling any more pain, but the immense blood loss caused him to faint. The hand bound down to snatch up what may be the last of her party from the battlefield.

She glanced around to find herself alone, with two Quincies in front of her. She pushed aside the fear of thinking that there might be a third enemy, she had to deal with these two.

Liltotto was sitting down on the ground, with no motivation to move, but Yumiko still kept an eye on her. Candice grinned from ear to ear as her arrows pierced through the air towards Yumiko, who flipped backward until her back hit the edge of the tree.

Candice noticed Yumiko glance around from side to side and chuckled.

"Planning on running away? In case you haven't figured it out yet, you're fast but I'm faster. So go ahead and run I'll-"

"No wonder guys aren't lining up to spread your legs, you keep

running your lips constantly," Liltotto spouted glancing up at the sky as if bored.

Candice yelled still keeping an eye on her opponent, "You shut your damn mouth, Liltotto."

"Spread the lips between your legs instead of the one on your face instead."

"I'll finish this. I don't need help from a rotten mouth little shit," Candice growled, as she pulled out another arrow this time absorbing more reishi around her, the arrow grew in size. As she was absorbing reishi, Yumiko thrust her Seele Schneider in front of her and then pulled out a small container.

"Ginto?" Candice mouthed out, releasing the arrow.

Candice felt frozen in place as a massive barrier in the shape of a pentagon. The arrow smashed through the border once the trigger was set. Yumiko dropped the liquid that stored her Reinryoku onto the thrust weapon on the ground, creating a massive explosion.

"Sprenger," Yumiko mouthed.

Yumiko felt her strength wean as she leaned against the trunk that was behind her. She saw a hand pull something out of the smoke-filled area. She kept her guard up if two were pulled out now that possibly leaves the third one if Miume didn't make it.

Yumiko felt like crying as nausea filled her body, she tightened her fist and held her tears at bay as she moved away from the smoke.

She wasn't able to move when she saw Liltotto standing beside a trunk, waiting.

"Candice is fast and strong, but the bitch is stupid. She didn't realize you strategically placing all those Seele Schneider around the area while she chased you."

"Why didn't you warn her?" Yumiko asked, watching her opponent's movements.

"She needs to work on watching her enemies' movements instead of going in without a plan. Plus, the bitch annoys me." She chuckled as her mouth elongated, chopping at Yumiko.

She dodged, causing the petite Quincy to eat the tree trunk she was resting on.

"Gross, this fake tree shit tastes nasty," she grumbled biting near Yumiko again while she dodged the best she could. She wanted to just drop but she continued to push on. She used up all her Seele Schneider back at the last attack, so she had nothing to guard her in close combat. She dodged trying to use the trees as a source of protection, but Liltotto seemed to dodge the trees, getting closer every time.

Finally too exhausted she felt herself drop and could hear the swish of her opponent's mouth getting closer.

She felt a familiar warmness cover her once again. She looked up to see her wounds and powers being restored. She noticed Miume shielding herself from the bites of her opponent while she healed her.

Miume looked down and smiled at Yumiko. She saw the worry in her friend's expression seeing that she held one of her arms.

"I was only able to heal one of my broken arms, I'll heal the other one once you're okay. Meninas did a number on me, but I was able to surround her with winds so aggressive, her strength gave up."

"I have an idea, you think you could get her attention for 2 minutes?" Yumiko asked her friend, she felt her strength was returning and she knew her friend needed to heal herself, but she had a plan that may end this. Miume nodded and let the dome release her as she shielded the mouth that was trying to get Yumiko.

Yumiko trusted Miume to shield her as she ran into the field, seeing that the smoke dissipated. She searched.

Miume was having difficultly blocking the lunges that were hitting her every second. She knew her shield could take the abuse at full strength, but her strength was slowly depleting. She wanted to rest so much.

The feeling of teeth biting her shoulder broke her out of her stupor, she narrowly escaped having her whole arm eaten. She hadn't realized her carelessness of closing her eyes.

Liltotto hopped closer with one leg but stopped looking annoyed. The petite Quincy saw her mouth becoming affected by Jacinto's poison. Miume didn't realize Jacinto was still here, her father made it a point to nullify reiatsu sensing on the battlefield. It made things a bit more difficult, but it was necessary, there were times when the enemy could cloak their reiatsu any time he had stressed.

She saw Yumiko walking towards her aiming some small black projectile, that was infecting her fingers aimed at Liltotto. Yumiko shot the arrow again, the black dart hitting the smaller Quincy's leg. It was spreading around her face and legs. The poison was too much for the smaller Quincy as she fell face first. The huge hand extended picking her up, as they heard a huge sneeze.

Miume used her healing on her friend first as she laid her head on the ground.

"It's not over until we reach the big tree in the center." Yumiko declared as Miume sighed.

"Stupid tree," the auburn-haired girl pouted.

-o-


Team Raven, Daichi & Tatsunari

"Why walk to the tree anyway?" Tatsunari complained.

"It's probably for endurance and vigilance. If this was put as a tournament setting, we would already be aware of which enemy we are facing, this way we are attacked unawares. They need to see how we'd react to a surprise especially being unable to sense the other enemies' reiatsu," Raven informed the black-haired boy.

"I get all that but why have to reach the tree even after defeating our enemies."

Daichi shrugged, "Who gives a shit. We have a set marker, a time limit, and enemies we have to defeat. So stop bitchin', Peeta."

"What the fuck did you call me?" Tatsunari growled.

"You know exactly what I called you."

"I know it's just ..." Tatsunari blushed, "I... I didn't realize you wanted to roleplay as Katniss and Peeta. I'm flattered but I'm already taken." Tatsunari looked away embarrassed.

"I hate you," Daichi shot back following Raven.

"Is this because of Gale?" Tatsunari looked heartbroken, he used his wings a bit to flip in front of Raven, hugging the huge man around the waist. "Gale, please at least tell me... when you guys kissed you didn't use tongue, did you?"

"For fuck sake, Tatsunari. I'm trying to listen," Raven chucked him away.

"You guys are no fun," Tatsunari whined.

" We're taking this shit seriously," Daichi stated.

"And I'm-" Tatsunari stopped his steps, sensing something odd as he put his full armor and yelled. "Move away from me."

Raven and Daichi leaped away, protecting themselves behind Daichi's shield.

As bombs manifested onto Tatsunari's dragon armor and exploded. Some more developed, creating more explosions.

Gigi dragged Bambi out of their hiding spot. Gigi was sucking on a lollipop, clearly upset.

"Why didn't you burn?" Gigi crossed her arms as Bambi looked up at the sky.

"I'm too hot for you guys," he winked, Gigi not finding the fullbringer the least bit funny.

"Bambi, attack the other ones, this one is immune to heat. I'll deal with him," she chuckled.

Tatsunari watched Gigi cut her hand, narrowly dodging the blood that she was splattering around her. He heard the stories about a Quincy who was able to turn people into zombies with their blood.

"You don't have to worry, I was under strict rules not to turn you into a zombie." Tatsunari was relieved but he wasn't sure what the hell else would she be able to zombify, the only zombie was Bambi that she was currently controlling.

Out stepped hordes of zombies. He wasn't sure how the hell she was able to obtain a fresh supply of bodies.

"If your wondering, these are Gigai I received from Kiskuke Urahara. I didn't understand why, when it was simpler to just let me use dead Shinigami or humans. He didn't find that was appropriate, so he wasted his time creating fifty artificial Gigai for me. They have brains but nothing complex or functional, brain dead."

Tatsunari attacked the multitude of zombies using his fighting skills making sure he hit the head hard enough to cave it in, at least the ones that were near him. The zombies dropped down dead. Gisselle decided to rip a body part from another zombie while Tatsunari was bombarded with the horde, she shoved the remains onto the caved-in heads.

Tatsunari saw from the side of his eye, the ones he fatally wounded began to rise again. 'She had healed them?'

"That's such bullshit!" Tatsunari yelled while kicking the chest of a zombie that was trying to bite him.

Raven and Daichi weren't faring any better, they were constantly blocking Bambietta's view of them with a shield or Raven lifting the artificial ground to cover them. They couldn't let her produce bombs onto their reiatsu, it was one thing to block an oncoming bomb but it was another thing to block something that was produced onto themselves.

"What do we do now, we can't keep hiding?" Daichi proclaimed as he watched Raven think.

"I know, and judging from what's going on outside, Tatsunari isn't doing any better." Raven thought of a plan it was risky but he had to try something. "We need to separate, you head in the direction of the tree with your shield then circle back, while I head to Tatsunari. We have to switch enemies and Giselle is the main one we have to incapacitate, she's the one that controls the zombies."

Daichi nodded. They broke apart into a sprint with Daichi shielding himself and Raven covering enough of himself that it didn't block his eyesight, he headed in the direction of Tatsunari. He could feel the bombs exploding outside of his constructed wall. He had a feeling Bambietta was going to follow him, with his reiatsu being stronger than Daichi's. The stronger the reiatsu the stronger the explosion and he didn't want to know how that felt like. He rammed through a horde of zombies to get to Tatsunari, who punched in the head with his armored fist.

"We need to incapacitate Giselle, I think she's the key to stopping the horde and Bambietta. I have an idea, you might not like it but you're the only one who is immune to her explosions."

"What's the plan?" Tatsunari asked taking a breather with Raven encompassing them with his wall, they just had a bit of time before the horde or the explosions broke through.

"We need to get Giselle extremely pissed off, losing her focus and that's when I can take her."

"So what won't I like?"

"You have to pretend to be into Bambietta like overly flirting with her."

"You're right I wouldn't like it."

"It's just fucking pretending. What is Miume going to cut your balls off for flirting with a zombie chick?"

The walls began to crumble as Raven growled and shoved Tatsunari.

"Can I count on you?"

"FINE!" Tatsunari grumbled. Raven nodded.

"On three I will fight Giselle and keep her occupied while you handle Bambietta. One, Two, Three."

The two broke apart.

Giselle noticed a moving wall heading in her direction and saw Raven jump out, shooting a multitude of arrows from his compound crossbow.

"Shit!" Giselle squeaked, she wasn't expecting this, she dodged the arrows using the horde, and used most of her zombies to surround Raven. He was moving farther away from her, which she didn't mind, she had a vast supply of zombies close to her. She just needed to focus on where the other two went, specifically the one that she was just fighting who wore the armor. She heard the explosion near her and a man's voice giggling.

"I told you I'm too hot, Bambi. Can I call you that?" She watched the one they called Tatsunari, remove his armor and get closer to her Bambi. Bambietta seemed to be producing bombs and getting frustrated with it doing nothing and looking around frantically.

"N...No" she mumbled, trying to kick him, but he only dodged.

"I mean it sounds so much cuter." He walked closer, causing her back to hit the tree. Tatsunari slammed his hand beside her, leaning closer. Tatsunari inwardly cringed at himself, acting like a typical shoujo love interest, not that he read them... a lot. Okay, maybe he did so what. He concentrated on exuding sexual tension. He placed his other finger near her face, playing with her hair.

"cuter?" She meekly mumbled. She wasn't much for words with her being a zombie and all, but seeing the small hint of dark tinge on her cheeks showed Tatsunari that it was working.

'Fuck. I swear if I get zombie stalker after this, I'm going to kill Raven' Tatsunari thought, as he grinned when she looked up at him.

"Yeah, you're pretty cute yourself," he lifted her chin when she went to look at the ground. He leaned forward slowly like he was going to kiss her. Bambietta's eyes widened as she blushed at his proximity.

"LEAVE MY BAMBI ALONE!" Gisselle bellowed, leaving the safety of her zombie fence while using her bow to shoot a skull-like arrow that narrowly missed Tatsunari's head. "HOW DARE YOU TRY TO MOLEST HER." She yanked the neck chain of Bambietta who dumbly followed. Gisselle glanced at Bambietta, squeezing her face to give her a passionate kiss.

SLAP.

Bambietta fell to the ground from being smacked by Giselle, she wrenched the chain collar again, Tatsunari cringed at how violent it was, but Bambietta seemed to blush.

"It's your fault that everyone wants you because you're cute and sexy. But you belong to me, Bambi."

"G...Gigi," she whimpered when she felt hands squeezing her neck.

Tatsunari went to knock Giselle out from being distracted when a wall surrounded them. He looked up to find Raven with his crossbow aimed at the open of the prison he just created.

"Divine Prison," he said, as multitudes of arrows blasted into the hole the girls were caged in.

The walls fell, with the two girls on the ground. A huge hand reached down to grab the unconscious bodies as they heard two consecutive sneezes. Tatsunari looked around to find the zombies reverted to a pale faceless Gigai, who all slumped to the ground.

"What kind of fucked up relationship was that?" Daichi questioned, running towards Raven, who came down when the wall that was holding him, slowly lowered.

"It's best not to even try to figure that out," Raven stated, "Good work, Tatsu. If we weren't in a fight I was almost inclined to see how far you'd go."

Tatsunari ignored the pink-haired brute, walking towards the direction of the tree while the other two chuckled and followed.

"Yeah, well... It wasn't going to go that far anyway."

"Awww would that be your first kiss?" Daichi mewled, putting both hands near his mouth in mocked surprise.

"Bullshit, that wasn't his first kiss," Raven commented.

Tatsunari ignored them, wanting so much to fly up to a higher altitude away from them, but it was established not to use flight when they weren't sure where the enemy was.

"You're probably right. The way he made Bambi cream her zombie panties, there's no way in hell," Daichi added.

Tatsunari continued to trudge along remaining silent.

"Looks like Mr. Comedian ain't pulling jokes out of his ass anymore," Raven quipped.

Tatsunari turned to grin as he shook his head, "The abundance of jokes I have I couldn't possibly fit them in my ass. I'd appreciate it, Raven if you didn't look at my ass while I walk in front of you."

"Hey fuck you."

"Sorry already taken," Tatsunari winked, only infuriating the Quincy.

Tatsunari dodged an incoming attack, prompting the others to stay on alert as the figure crashed into Daichi's shield. It easily broke into small pieces as he fell onto the floor.

The figure yelled in anger from not being able to hit any of her targets. Apacci moved her roman legionnaire helmet away from her face, glaring at her opponents.

"You guys are so fucking loud we can hear you from several yards away. If this was an actual life and death situation, you'd all be dead."

"Well glad we got attacked by someone who can't aim for shit," Tatsunari stated, enveloping himself in his armor once more.

A huge wall knocked the fraccion into a tree as she made to dodge several arrows that aimed towards her head.

"Cierva!" She pulled the collars wrapped around her wrists as they formed crescent-shaped chakrams with three blades protruding. She flung one at Raven while the other one flung towards Daichi. Daichi held up his shield as Raven shot an arrow deflecting the throwing weapon. Apacci pushed her head down as the tip of her horn on her helmet shot a red cero.

Tatsunari flew up to the sky flying high enough to dodge the red blast, that blasted a wide hole through the superficial forest.

"Come on, I'll take on all three of you," she yelled arrogantly as her heterochromatic stare glared. Her icy blue and amber eyes looked around her surroundings, grasping the swirling weapons that returned to her.

"That last part sounds positively disgusting when heard out of context, Apacci. Especially coming from an ugly bitch like you," a soft-spoken feminine voice called out.

"Shut the hell up, Sung Su. If anyone is disgusting it's you letting that dumbass fraccion touch you."

A pink cero fired at Daichi, he was able to block the brunt of the blast but once his shield shattered the velocity of the blast knocked him back into a tree.

"You leave my pet Peschy alone," Sung Su reprimanded, floating out of the forest, with her eyes glaring daggers at Apacci.

Raven shot an arrow while Daichi released his fairy, as they together aimed at the newcomer.

The floor shook as Mila Rose crashed down in front of her comrades punching the arrow while using her Zanpakuto, Leona, to block the incoming fairy's attack.

"Can both you ugly bitches pay attention to the fight at hand and leave your squabbling for later," the Amazonian Arrancar growled, glaring at the pink-haired Quincy.

"You calling us ugly that's rich, coming here like a damn bull," Apacci shot back as Sung Su held her long sleeve to her mouth hiding her giggles.

"If you don't mind me adding ladies, I don't believe any of you are ugly. I'd sleep with all three of you," Daichi panted, trying to block out the pain from his back. He could heal himself but he wanted to use his healing powers for something dire.

All three women glared at Daichi, causing him to flinch at the attention. Mila Rose rushed with her longsword only to be blocked by a wall.

"Daichi such a lady killer," Tatsunari chuckled, flying swiftly in the direction of his nearest opponent, Apacci.

"Don't get all conceded cause you made a brain-damaged female wet," the fae argued while blocking a three-speared trident that came out of the sleeves of Sung Su.

"Enough. Focus!" Raven interjected as his arrows changed from the bright blueish glow to a more dark red tone. He used the ground to elevate himself, jumping off to create a snowboard from his Hirenkyaku. As he glided through the sky, his red arrows blasted each girl.

"Daichi, hop on! Tatsunari, follow me," he hollered, gliding past the fae user as he hopped onto the board, holding onto Raven's shoulders.

"Daichi as we are keeping our distance, heal yourself."

Daichi nodded at the older man, using his small dome to hover around his back. It took a while but healing was bearable now, not drastically absorbing his strength when he first learned the technique weeks ago.

When he was healed, Raven settled down on top of a rocky hill, they didn't have time to catch their breath when an orange cero blasted straight at Raven. He used a Seele Schneider blade to block, one of the Arrancar's shouting at the top of her lungs while shoving him aside. Raven received a hit to the jaw by Mila Rose, who was in a different form, Amazonian Armor with more skin.

She straddled the young Quincy, grabbing his pink hair punching him again in the jaw.

"That little blast could have killed us, you Quincy little shit," she screamed.

Raven lifted his foot to knock as hard as he could to the head of the Amazon. She fell forward as he materialized his compound crossbow to shoot at her side, wounding her.

"If that hurt you, you're hierro is weak as shit," He kicked her off as she held her side.

Apacci's blades zoomed almost past his head, blocked by the shield from Dachi.

Tatsunari grabbed Apacci by the waist, clothed in her furry second form, and lifting her to a higher altitude. He let her go, only to spit a ball of fire, enveloping the girl as she screamed a good distance away. Her furred skin burning as the ground shook a bit of the impact of the fall.

Daichi was held by an anaconda tail, it seemed like Sung Su came out of nowhere as if she had cloaked herself in something that concealed her location. The area around her began to fade, a fallen mirrored image covering her skin. Daichi felt the pressure of the hold. He was trying to remove the hold with all his strength but it was difficult.

He called out his fairy that sliced bits of Sung Su, but it wasn't doing enough damage. He was losing consciousness, from how hard she was squeezing him.

Raven's red arrows blasted under the lower part of her snake form, causing it to cut in half while her other half floated away.

Daichi felt the pressure release, coughing and gasping for air. He probably had a few ribs that were broken since it was difficult for him to breathe.

"Can you heal?" Raven asked him.

He nodded, feeling so fucking useless. This was the second time he was using his healing powers but on himself. He looked over to find Tatsunari donned in his armor as his wings collapsed landing near them.

"ARGHHHHH" they heard a loud inhuman growl in the distance.

"What the hell... is that?" Daichi tried to convey, but it was difficult to talk.

"Don't talk just concentrate on healing, Daichi," Raven advised, focusing on the direction of the growl.

Tatsunari looked towards the direction that held the massive tree.

"We're probably a few miles away from the checkpoint but that means shit if we don't deal with Gladiator, Medusa, and Wonder Woman."

Raven could only give a hint of a smirk, still focusing on the area around them. He could feel the ground's vibrations becoming more erratic, something was heading towards them and it was massive.

"Tatsunari, grab Daichi," was all Raven could say before something large and fast bashed into him taking him off the hilltop. Daichi and Tatsunari couldn't see what the hell had just taken their leader, it was too fast for them to see.

"Fuck, Come on Daichi," Tatsunari grabbed the blonde under his arms as he swiftly flew in the direction of where they last saw the thing.

"Fuck!" Daichi moaned out as he tried to concentrate on healing, dangling from an uncomfortable height didn't help his injuries, but he had to endure it.

"Sorry!" Tatsunari explained.

"Don't worry about it," he coughed spitting a little blood, he really needed to concentrate on healing his internal bleeding.

They found Raven dodging ceros and large fists from a beast that had large fur and a skeletal mask with antlers for a face. Its reptilian tail whipped in the wind as it roared. They also saw the three fraccions off to the side watching the fight, each of their arms gone.

"Rip that Quincy son of a bitch apart, Ayon," Appaci shouted, her features looking borderline crazy as she grinned hysterically.

Tatsunari set Daichi down behind the tree as he headed towards the fight, Raven didn't seem injured but the massive monster was becoming a hassle.

Ayon managed to grab Raven picking him up and slamming his body to the ground. Tatsunari flew towards them spitting at the creature's arm that held his partner. The monster growled as the fire quickly began to eat away at his arm, releasing the Quincy when he ripped it off his own body. Tatsunari spewed a wall of fire towards the fraccions who growled when they tried to head in their direction.

Raven shot arrows at the creature's face as it wailed, only aggravating it more. It picked Tatsunari up when he tried to fly away. The monster squeezed as hard as it could but his armor wouldn't break Tatsunari just felt the pressure. He spewed flames into the creature's mouth, it only upset the thing as its mouth enlarged abnormally shouting in Tatsunari's face.

"Gross, you smell like death and shit."

The creature tilted its head, in response, it used one of its large arms to try to rip one of his wings off. Tatsunari's wings weren't made from the same hard scales but they were tough and much lighter. The durability of the wings was no match for this creature's strength.

"ARGH," he yelled the pain hurt like hell, with its wings being strong the monster was slowly ripping it off his back.

Tatsunari bared his teeth, trying to get away from the creature's grasp. He saw a lance jab its way through to the beast's eye. It hollered releasing its hold on Tatsunari, he felt unbalanced as one of his wings limply sagged. He stored them away into his back until he was able to heal. He could only manage a few steps before he felt the harsh impact of a fist collide with his side. The armoured boy crashed into a rock, knocking the wind out of him.

Tatsunari was a bit dazed glancing in front of him, the beast hollered once more receiving another puncture to its other eye. Tatsunari saw Daichi use his formed knight shield to block the beast's flailing arms. He noticed the whip of the tail heading behind Daichi. Tatsunari steadying himself, with his wings out of commission, tried to run as fast as he could.

"Daichi, its tail from behind," He hollered, knowing he wouldn't make it in time.

Daichi didn't react quick enough feeling the impact of the whip on the back of his legs, before he was hit again a wall covered the blonde boy.

Raven a bit battered, shot a red arrow at the monster's mask. With a blast, its ugly features growled as its muscles grew before it aggressively rampaged.

Daichi was on the floor trying to set his shield from the angry stomps, his legs were possibly broken from him unable to move. The shield shattered and its hoof stomped onto his arm and its tail flicking to the side of his head. Daichi was unconscious and Tatsunari raced to remove his motionless body out of the way. When he knew he was at a good distance he set him on the ground, only for a hand to take the fae out of the battlefield.

There goes their healer.

Tatsunari still felt pain aching in his back, from his wing being ripped. He decided to elongate one of his scales to form a sword, snapping it from his armour. He was still learning what else his armour could create, right now he was still a novice. He ran towards the beast, armour still fully intact. Raven continued to shoot arrows, angering the beast even more. It was just mindlessly roaring, stomping, and shooting ceros around itself.

Tatsunari tried to dodge one of the three ceros aimed at him, while the others shot by him, one impacted him square in his chest. It felt like a wrecking ball rammed right into his stomach, he bent down to his knees spitting out blood from his mouth.

He felt like he couldn't breathe.

His armor didn't break, but the impact of the hit rocked his insides. Cold sweat doused his whole body as he tried to exhale. He looked up to find the creature still rampaging with Raven used his red arrow to rip through the creature's hierro, creating a hole into its shoulder blade.

His hearing sounded muffled with an annoying ring as he tried not to vomit. He was able to breathe in and out with much difficulty with the pain in his chest. It was difficult to move so he breathed fire onto his blade and managed to throw it in the direction of his enemy. The blade skewered the beast's leg into the ground before everything turned black.

Raven watched the flames from the blade start to surround the beast. He turned to watch Tatsunari fall backward, then being carried off by a hand.

So it was just him.

Good.

Raven brushed against his Quincy emblem that was clipped to the side of his pocket.

"Heaven's Stream!"

A sound of metal screeching as his wings sprouted and floated behind him. It formed jet-like wings with small missiles for arrows were formed on both sides of him. On the top of his head was a glass frame on the side of his eye, locking onto his target.

The creature was within his sights while the beast roughly ripped its leg out to prevent the flames from consuming it.

Raven fired a missile. The tiny device barely made a noise as it zipped through the air. Once it crashed into the monster, a blast exploded disintegrating it until there was nothing left.

"Oi, Oi, Oi, isn't this practice?" Apacci hollered while sounding frightened.

Raven's wingspread further as he flew in the direction of the girls with blue jet flames pushing him to elevate from the ground.

Instead of firing missiles, a machine-gun spray of arrows bombarded the three fraccions, ripping through their hierro.

"I suggest you claim defeat or I can just erase you out of existence."

"You're bluffing," Mila Rose growled out, holding the punctured skin she received from the barrage of arrows from the Quincy.

Raven chuckled as a missile was set to fire. "Okay, I guess I am bluffing," he shot at them point-blank when a shield covered the tres bestias, removing them from the battlefield.

Raven sighed from exhaustion, casting off his Vollstandig. He fell once the form evaporated. Shit did that take up most of his strength. He hadn't been able to work on that form as much. He pushed forward finally reaching the massive tree. Once he was there, a large hand removed him, and was face to face with his mother. This was the part that he hated so much. He watched as she tickled her nose and sneezed all over him.

"Fucking hate that shit!" Raven yelled, feeling the wet globs of spit all around his body. He wiped it from his face, then locked eyes with angry stares. Eyes that belonged to the tres bestias who were under Orihime's dome, getting healed.

"Why remove us? This is complete bullshit," Apacci questioned, stomping her feet and waving an arm as the other was forming back.

"Your bodies would have been consumed and not existed, Apacci," Orihime glanced at her, with a sorrowful look. She knew this form of training was necessary but she still hated it.

Apacci remained quiet, not wanting to upset Orihime any further as she gritted her teeth.

"Although it was necessary, try to use other methods that are less dangerous, Raven. I know you held back that form for your teammates being there, but once they were out of the equation you reverted to using your Vollstandig. But I'm wondering if your teammates were still there, would you have been able to rein in your strength so that your teammates weren't consumed in the blast?" Uryu informed the young Quincy.

Raven nodded and before he could answer his father interrupted.

"In times of war, you can't always dial it down as you say. My son isn't going to try to make sure idiots aren't caught in the circumference of the blast. Waiting can get you killed." Bazz added, leaning against the wall watching the exchange with Uryu and his son.

"I'm not implying that your son's methods were wrong. I'm informing him to be more responsible with his powers, especially with those he leads."

"I understand Ishida-san. My father did teach me how to dial back my strength. That last missile was nothing compared to the first one I used on the beast. The first one was a scare tactic."

"Y...You mean you were bluffing?" Apacci looked at him scrunching her brows downward, waiting.

He didn't say anything only turned to her and winked. Apacci growled and headed towards him, only to be blocked by Orihime's shield. Orihime was already done healing them and it was Raven's turn.

"Enough!" Uruyu shouted, pushing his glasses up in aggravation.

"Both performances of the teams were outstanding, some of you still need to work on your powers and defense, but that is why we do this. It's a training exercise. Both teams removed enemies from the map and reached the destination before the time limit. Although Team A had the most survivors that weren't unconscious or almost fatally wounded. I hope that the Arrancars and Strenritters who helped in this training also understand the flaws they also lack. I'm just expressing to enhance your skills and get stronger in the upcoming war. We should all understand that the people in this room are no longer enemies, there is a greater threat we should be focusing on. Please put away your petty squabbles and work together."

Uryu saw some that understood and agreed with his sentiment while some were still stubborn but not enough to not take heed to his warnings. This was a difficult test run, he couldn't help but smile at how well his daughter took on the leadership role. There were times that it broke his heart to see her going through such pain.

The successor of Yhwach glanced at Ichigo who leaned against the wall beside his daughter protectively. He had been silent for most of the training. There were times Uryu could feel the hybrid's hollow wanting to break free, every time he saw Miume going through hardship. But then felt the overwhelming power dissipate whenever he watched his daughter push through. Once Miume was removed from the small structure and healed, Ichigo could only hug and press his forehead to her. Whispering something into her ear, causing her to hug and cry in his arms.

Uryu was pretty sure Ichigo told his daughter what he had told Yumiko.

He was proud of her.

-x-


This chapter was really difficult to write with trying to familiarize myself with the Arrancar and Sternritter's powers and mixing them with the OCs I created. Sigh. I promise the next chapter is Kazui and I already have it written. I wrote part of the next chapter first before this chapter, but it wouldn't have fit if I showed Shun Nya's chapter first.

I also apologize if I happened to get a detail wrong. I was trying to make sure some characters weren't OP, because they are still in training while others have been training since birth.

I really enjoyed writing about Miume's fight with Loly. *evil grin*

I'm sorry also if you felt the fight between Bambietta/Giselle vs the boys was more comedy than fighting. I couldn't help myself.

Also, Liltotto Lamperd, reading the Thousand Blood War arc again. I was laughing at how pouty mouth the chibi girl was.