This chapter was a ton of fun, and I should probably inform you all that after this we have two chapters left in this arc. Once it concludes I'll be taking a short break of yet undetermined length.

See the end for a few notes on some more changes to canon.


Part I

Day One 17:00

There was something about sitting at the bottom of a pit, craning your neck to see your food get lowered to you by a rope that was quite unpleasant.

Scratch that, it was downright degrading, or at least that was what Rukia thought as she watched her dinner slowly approach from above.

"Hope you like fruit, kid!" Kukaku's voice echoed through the chamber, and just as Rukia was about to ask her what she meant, an item rolled from the tray, flew through the air several meters, and landed on the ground with a resounding splat!

Rukia looked at the pulpy mess distastefully. It was an orange, and as she saw her food lower to eye level, she noticed it wasn't the only one.

The tray was piled high with all kinds of fruit, actually. There were apples, plums, bananas, mangos, a single large watermelon (graciously cut in half), and yes, oranges.

Rukia was instantly reminded of how her arms were bound behind her back by literal magic. How the hell did they expect her to eat any of this?

With a stubborn frown, she thought, Hey, if I managed to open the water bottle, I can do this!

She would later be very glad that no one was there to see the embarrassing moments that followed. (Repositioning pieces with her feet, digging in face first, the works.) All that really mattered was that it solved her hunger problem, and she now had the energy to focus on other, more important matters. Rukia sat on uneven ground.

Now, finally, she was able to focus on the fact that she had literally no idea what she was doing.

She was supposed to talk to her Zanpakuto, but about three hours ago, she didn't even know that Zanpakuto could talk. She only learned yesterday that they had names or special abilities, and today she was learning that they were fully sentient.

Okay, she could accept that. She's been given plenty of curveballs in her life, and this was hardly the worst one. That still left the question of "Then, how do I talk to it?"

She knew her powers resided in her Soul, and since right now that was all she was (all she'd ever be if she didn't hurry it up), then it was as good as saying they were a part of her, that she should be able to access it with the right…and that was where things got a little fuzzy. She wasn't sure what she needed, maybe some magic key or spell or incantation, and Kukaku didn't seem eager to give any kind of answer.

The one thing Rukia seemed to be sure of was that she needed to clear her head, get a better view on this thing. Usually clearing her head would involve reading a book or taking a walk.

She didn't have a book on hand, and she had tried pacing around the chasm, it didn't help.

So, instead, she remembered something her old karate sensei taught her, meditation. As a nine-year-old child, nothing was more daunting, more frustrating, but as she stuck with it, she realized it wasn't so bad, though it never became a part of her routine. She dropped it with the class itself at the end of middle school.

Now, it just may be the magic key she was looking for.

Rukia brought her legs into a lotus position so poor that her old sensei probably would have yelled at her for it, closed her eyes, straightened her back, and tried to clear her mind, to focus on the only thing that mattered to her, now.

She focused on her own power, meager as it was. The behemoths of energy that were Kukaku and Tessai didn't make this easy, however. It was like trying to keep your eyes on the flame of a candle while someone was shining two industrial spotlights in your them. They were blinding in a way that was almost painful, and Rukia had to wonder yet again what kind of power those two were really hiding.

Still, she kept looking, kept searching for that tiny little flame, and every time she did, she would hold on, even if it was only for a few seconds.

This ended up being worth it as the time she could hold on for steadily increased. She held on to every gained second until it became minutes, until she got just enough time to pry into what she was actually focused on.

At first, it was just her. It was her own power, her own Soul, but weaker than usual, but as she pried further, she came across something that markedly wasn't her. It was…well, she wasn't sure what it was. At the moment, it just felt like static from a bad transmission. Still, she would take it.

Rukia continued prying, slipping back now and again, taking every small victory she could get. All the while, she ignored her steadily shrinking Chain of Fate.

Part II

Renji fired an attack at a vaguely human shaped target, hitting it right in the chest with a detached spike.

"Again!" yelled Yoruichi. He followed the order without question.

He fired again, and again, and again until the muscles in his arms trembled, and he still didn't stop.

"You are strong," the cat had said, "but not strong enough. These long-range attacks may save your life."

Renji didn't doubt it, didn't question it. That just wasn't the type of student he was, but he did reason that his new sensei was right on that one. He needed more than just one attack, especially if he ever hoped to take down someone powerful enough to defeat Rukia.

He continued to launch spikes from his arms until they simply stopped coming. His arms shook, and every summoned spike retracted on their own.

"Impressive. Your endurance is improving quite well." It still wasn't good enough, he thought.

Renji panted out, "I…I'm n-not much of a long-range fighter." That was always more of Ishida's thing, and he's pretty sure that if he compared his aim with the Quincy's he'd be laughed at.

That wasn't a problem, though. All that meant was that he had to get better.

"You may not be," Yoruichi agreed. "To be honest, you don't have the temperament for it, but learning this will help you avoid confrontation when possible."

Yoruichi then took the time to inspect the mutilated target. Pieces were cut off, holes were hacked into it, and it was barely recognizable any more. The cat looked at it appreciatively, hopping up on a nearby ledge to nudge at the head where a sizable hole was torn through right between its dot-eyes. Renji didn't remember when he did that one.

"Besides, I think your aim is better than you think, boy."

Renji nodded as the cat hopped from the ledge, and towards another more open area of the warehouse.

"Would you be able to activate your powers?" Yoruichi asked. Renji shrugged in response, trying for a moment. Yoruichi's eyes flicked back to him the moment he was able to summon them, studying the spikes with a scrutinizing eye.

"I won't be firing anymore, right?" Renji asked. He wasn't sure if he had any more in him.

"Nothing of the sort," Yoruichi said offhandedly, approaching him. The cat slinked closer, nearly brushing against the spike on his leg. "These come from your tattoos, right?" Renji nodded. "I assume they are important to you."

"They are," he immediately answered. "My mom actually works as a tattoo artist."

It was the job she always wanted, the one that made her the happiest. She had a few tattoos herself, and he'd always been impressed by them. (His favorite was the dragon she had going down her shoulder, no question.)

"She didn't do any of these!" he quickly cleared up. "I got them somewhere else, but they keep her close, you know…"

The hole story was a bit embarrassing, honestly. Renji really wasn't the sappy type, but this seemed to be the kind of story Yoruichi was looking for based on the pleased look on his face.

"Good," he said. "You should know, the emotional power you have behind these mean they carry great potential."

Though it was still a little difficult to grasp, Renji was starting to understand just how deeply tied these powers were to his emotions, in the same way that Rukia's were to her Soul.

Yoruichi continued, "We'll be trying something a little different for our next exercise." Renji was ready for different. Different was all he'd been getting for the last two days, after all. "I want you to land a single hit on me."

Renji paused for a moment.

"So, a spar?" he asked.

"That's one way of putting it, yes," Yoruichi answered with a nod.

Now, Renji may not have been the smartest kid, but he wasn't a fool. Catching a normal cat was difficult, and this was clearly not a normal cat. This cat had power, power that he had not yet made Renji privy to, and that made Renji nervous.

Then again, if he couldn't handle this, then he shouldn't be going to the Soul Society and putting himself up against guys that will doubtlessly be more intimidating than a Super-Powered cat.

Said Super-Powered cat continued, "The fight will be simple. I will keep to physical attacks and you are forbidden from using your long-ranged technique. Other than that, anything goes, and we stop the moment you manage to land a hit on me."

"Sounds good to me."

Yoruichi smiled.

The two got into position, Renji feeling a little silly squaring up against a cat. Meanwhile, Yoruichhi's tail flicked back and forth as he stared up intently at Renji. The cat waited, not making a single move.

Renji had been in a few spars before. He knew this tactic. Hell, he was intimately familiar with it. His first sensei regularly used it on him, and not long after, Rukia started taking up the tactic in his stead. It was simple baiting, an attempt to run out his patience and get him to attack first in order to control the situation better.

There was, of course, a reason that Rukia used it on him until this day. It worked.

Renji sprang forward, diving down for the cat. He skidded on cement, his arms plowing through thin air.

"You will have to do better than that," Yoruichi chided. Renji's eyes snapped up to the ceiling, where the cat currently was, gazing down amusedly from the rafters. The cat jumped down a moment after on a large crate, legs slightly bent.

"I'm just getting started," Renji said with a grin, picking himself off the ground. He sprinted to the crates, smashing through them easily, spilling piles and piles of what looked like Soul Candy on the ground. Yoruichi stood right next to the mess.

Renji quickly kicked out a leg at the cat, swiping in a large arc, but the cat was simply too fast. It jumped over the strike, landed on his extended leg and jumped up right to Renji's face, pushing off like a spring board. Renji was sent stumbling to the ground, back first.

His eyes stung as he brought a hand up to his nose, feeling shallow cuts on the bridge. Damn, those claws hurt!

"You're done already?" Yoruichi asked, tone mocking, and back in the rafters.

"No way." Renji got back to his feet again, and with a wild grin brandished the spike on his arm.

The two went at each other again and again, Yoruichi practically teasing him as the cat darted in and out of range. Renji missed every single attack, but the failure only drove him forward. It was one particularly aggressive pursuit that led him up to the rafters with Yoruichi.

He had the cat, he just knew it, and with that grin on his face he dove after Yoruichi again, ready to take the cat down with him.

He ended up face down on the floor, Yoruichi sitting on his back.

"That's enough for today," Yoruichi said. "I'll see you here, same time as tomorrow. For now, just get some rest." Renji said nothing as he climbed back onto his elbows. He just watched as the cat slinked out of the warehouse door.

As the door closed, Renji peeled himself the rest of the way off the floor.

"Don't want to do that again," he grumbled. That had been a hard fall and glancing up the rafters he realized how high it had really been. He supposed being able to make a jump like that was a victory of its own.

Before he could celebrate, however, he needed to go home and ice his…everything.

Part III

Day Two 8:14

Rukia jerked awake. She didn't even know when she fell asleep. The last thing she remembered was meditating, and here she was, slumped over into the dirt, pebbles digging into her cheek.

It was a difficult thing getting herself upright without the use of her arms, but it didn't take too long. The second she was up, she was shaking the dust out of her hair, and trying her best to rub off the dirt and debris stuck to her face. She spent a bit of time getting her bearings and trying to get herself fully awake. Somewhere during that process, she was forced to face the chain on her chest.

It was her time limit, her Chain of Fate being eaten before her eyes, disappearing bit by bit, piece by piece, and something she noticed today that hadn't registered yesterday was that it hurt.

It wasn't a literal hurt. It didn't feel like someone was stabbing her in the chest, but it still hurt, in a way she couldn't quite explain, like a deeply aching wound without a source, and today it was barely half the size of yesterday.

Rukia scrambled into position and tried to meditate again. The results were…mixed.

"Come on," she muttered to herself. "this is not the time." She was anxious, off form, and her position was even sloppier than yesterday. Her focus was off, and she knew it.

She sprung to her feet after a few minutes of fruitless efforts and began walking around her tiny prison. Her worry was getting the best of her, and all she needed right now was for it to go away.

At first, she tried to rationalize yesterday's success, that she had done fairly well, that all she needed to do was recreate that focus and she might be able to hear more than static and garbled words. This did not help.

Her mind quickly drifted to other things. She wondered what would happen if that timer ran out, if she really became a Hollow. Auntie and the others would have to destroy her, no question. After that, she'd be dead and end up in the Soul Society, completely powerless. Her friends would go ahead with the mission alone. There was, of course, the chance that they wouldn't succeed, especially being down one member. They would be killed, Ichigo would be executed, and it would be all her fault, just like how it was all her fault they were in this position to begin with.

"Worrying will do you no good."

Rukia's steps paused. Who said that? It certainly wasn't her. It didn't sound like Kukaku or Paku. She was alone here, so…

"My Zanpakuto," she whispered to herself. "My Zanpakuto!"

She did it. She finally heard something! She heard a voice, and it was soft and lilting and sweet, even if the words it was saying were blunt. She couldn't quite make out if it was a man or a woman, but she knew it was her Zanpakuto.

Rukia took a deep breath and sat back down. Holding onto the words she had heard she began her concentration again. No, she wasn't able to hear anything else, but now that she knew there was something to be heard, she was able to go forward with much more confidence. She stayed there, eyes closed, until breakfast came to interrupt her.

"Special delivery!" Ganju called down, lowering the tray of fruit. Rukia didn't think she could get so tired of fruit, but now she was sure she didn't want to eat it again for the rest of her life. Still, she said thank you as she watched the tray be lowered down, closing her eyes the moment it touched the ground.

She continued with her meditations.

Part IV

Uryuu hadn't slept in three days and it was starting to show.

His fingers were bleeding, his tongue was dry, his legs ached, and that wasn't even the half of it. Despite that, he dutifully continued firing arrow after arrow into imaginary targets (specific branches and rocks for the most part.)

In the back of his mind, he knew that he couldn't go on for much longer, that in far too many ways he was just as human as anyone else, and that his short five-minute breaks of stuffing his face and gulping down water straight from the spring just weren't enough. Still, he didn't want to stop, not yet.

He continued hitting his imaginary targets one after the other with the simple methodical motions that he had known since he was five, when his grandfather gave him his first practice bow.

This training was demanding, but there was no use whining about it. He needed the power, and this was the only way to get it. It was as simple as that. He wasn't going to stop and wasn't going to take any breaks.

He turned to the next target and stumbled as the single tree blurred and split into two. Okay, maybe he needed a break. Uryuu let the next arrow dissipate as he stumbled back to the stream, bow still activated.

That was the thing about the Raidenhanto. You had to keep it activated for seven uninterrupted days, and if you deactivated by, let's say, passing out, it was all over. You had to start from the beginning, and he couldn't afford that.

Then again, resting his eyes for a few minutes wouldn't hurt.

Uryuu gulped down a generous amount of water before lying back into the grass. His eyes stayed on the sun and the clouds as he pumped as much power into the bow as he could. He let his eyes slip close.

Part V

Day Three 14:22

Rukia screwed her eyes shut in an effort to listen to the voice in her head. (Yes, she knew exactly how crazy that sounded.) The chain on her chest was only a few centimeters long, and she was out of time. She needed to do this now.

"Come on, say something else, anything else," she muttered. Why didn't her Zanpakuto listen! It was still only static and garbled words, and she was starting to get the impression that her Zanpakuto didn't even want to listen. Didn't it know what was at stake here?

Rukia didn't want to fail. She didn't want to leave Ichigo to die. She wanted to repay him, make sure he was safe, and help her friends with the invasion that she put upon them. She wanted to protect as many of them as she could from her mistake, and she couldn't do any of that if she was dead.

Sadly, all the conviction in the world couldn't seem to stop that chain from shrinking centimeter by centimeter. Above her she could hear solemn whispers and mutterings, even Ganju's worried voice.

She kept chanting prayers, practically begging her Zanapkuto for any kind of answer or clue or sign, and she got nothing. She stood there, panicked as the minutes ticked by and the Chain of Fate shrunk further. It was nearly gone.

It can't just end like this. Not now, not here.

The last link of the chain was being eaten up. Her breath stole away.

I won't let it!

It disappeared entirely, and in its place was an empty hole through her chest.

Turning into a Hollow felt even worse than it looked. The forming hole was absolute agony. She would have cried out if it weren't for the thick putty-like fluid pouring out of her mouth and nostrils, choking her. She collapsed to her knees as it formed over her face blocking her vision. Panicked shouts were heard from above. Everything went dark.

It took Rukia a couple of seconds to realize that the darkness she was looking at wasn't the inside of a Hollow Mask.

The darkness couldn't have simply come from something covering her eyes. This darkness was as endless and vast like the sky itself. It even had a lovely full moon.

Wait.

Rukia moved to push herself off the ground, flat on her back as she was, but the second her palm landed, it slipped, and she crashed back down with a heavy impact.

"Ow…" she groaned, turning her head to the side. She was on ice, for some reason. No wonder she slipped.

The second time around, Rukia got up a bit more carefully. (It was now that she realized her arms were no longer bound.) With wide eyes she took in this new mysterious place.

She was on a frozen lake, one that impossibly went on as far as the eye could see. It was perfectly flat and pristine, and above it all hung a starless sky and a full moon. Where she was, she had no idea, but it couldn't have been on Earth, or the World of the Living, for that matter.

She took a few unsure steps, feet moving slowly on icy ground. They were bare, but they didn't burn with the cold like they should have. The ground felt cool, comforting, but not cold. (It was all made stranger by how her breath still puffed out white with every exhale.) She was about to try and walk, pick a direction and move until she found something or someone, but she was stopped by the perfect silence being broken by a quiet voice.

"You are here." Rukia gasped, glancing around the lake. There was no one here, no one for kilometers, so… She looked down, her eyes catching something strange.

The surface of the lake was not clear. It was covered in frost and tiny imperceptible patterns, but her reflection was still barely visible.

Well, she thought as she looked closer, someone's reflection.

She couldn't see it clearly, just noticing certain colors where they shouldn't have been. She crouched down to the ice, and with a hand wiped away some of the frost to get a clearer view. The eyes that stared back were not her own.

In the ice was the most beautiful woman Rukia had ever seen. Her hair was as white as snow and she had skin that shined like starlight. Her eyes were a clear pale blue and she was clad in a traditional kimono as white as her hair.

"You're it, aren't you," Rukia breathed. "You're my Zanpakuto." The woman gave a gentle nod.

"I am your Zanpakuto Spirit, Rukia. You have wished to see me." The voice was exactly as she remembered. Soft and gentle. Rukia was in awe, and then suddenly it all came back to her, and she was left there wondering how she ever forgot.

"Yes, please," she pleaded, "I need you back. I need the power to be able to save my friend."

Her Zanpkakuto continued to look at her, expression unreadable.

"I do not give my power so freely, Rukia Orikasa. Now, however is a poor time for such decorum. Your world is crumbling, Rukia."

Rukia hadn't noticed until now, but she was shivering. She was sure the air here was comfortable moments ago, but then she could feel the temperature quickly dropping as the ice began to numb her hands and knees. It became more brittle, gentle curves and crevices becoming sharp and uneven. Even the moon's light was dimming.

"If your world crumbles all it lost, Rukia," the Zanpakuto continued, sadness in her eyes, "but if you can find me, hope remains."

"How do I find you, then?" Rukia rushed out. Her hands were shaking on the ice. "I need to find you!"

"Things will not be the same, Rukia. I will change, you will change."

"I don't care!" Rukia finished her cry by slamming her fist against the ice, and cracks began to form, radiating from the impact. They spread out like a spider's web growing larger and larger, quickly obscuring the woman from view. They grew and deepened, and before she knew it, she was falling into freezing water.

For a moment, Rukia was unable to move. She just stayed there floating, facedown below the surface and she quickly began to sink. It was paralyzingly cold, but beautiful in a way. Light still streamed through the surface in ribbons landing on the floor of the lake below.

She almost forgot she was suffocating.

That last thought was enough to make Rukia spring back into motion. She struggled and pulled her way back to the surface forcing numb limbs to move, gasping the moment she broke through.

The perfect frozen lake was in pieces, jagged bits of ice floating through dark murky water. The moon above was waning, down to half. It was already approaching a crescent.

It was a timer. It had to have been, and boy, was she sick of timers. She had to find her Zanpakuto by then, and since there was no where above to look for it, that left only one option.

Below.

With a shuddering breath, Rukia dove back under the water, squinting against the quickly dimming light. She sunk deeper and deeper, ignoring the cold that settled in her bones. She didn't stop until she saw her fingers touch the sandy lake floor. (She had stopped feeling them a while ago.)

Looking back up briefly, she saw the moon through the surface of the water, and it was bad. There was barely any left, a sliver of a crescent being all that was there to guide her. By the time she looked back down, she realized that it wasn't enough to see by, so she simply started digging, hoping the limited sensation she had left would be enough.

She kicked up sand and dirt, digging through and searching for something, anything. Just as the light left her completely, her hand brushed against something. It could have been an oddly shaped rock, or a particularly large branch, she didn't know, but the second she got a hold of it, she pulled.

Before Rukia knew it, she was breathing air, actual air. She was disoriented, stumbling slightly. Her sandaled foot hit a rock.

She was back in the pit. She was wearing her black Shinigami robes, and in her hand, she was clutching the hilt of her broken Zanpakuto.

Wasting no time, with shaky feet she leapt out of the hole, landing just on the edge. In front of her stood Kukaku, Tessai, and Ganju.

Kukaku was holding her knife in front of her. Tessai had a spell readied at his fingertips. Ganju just looked horrified.

Why did they…?

Rukia then realized something. She reached up to her face, and realized she had a mask on. She pulled it off, and immediately a sigh of relief went through the three wary watchers.

The mask she was holding was a Hollow's there was no doubt about that. It was bone white and had an elongated snout that had ridges running down the nose. Long interlocking fangs were at the end, and it had eyes that were wide and empty. No wonder the others had been so afraid.

The mask was taken from her by a gentle hand.

"Congrats for making it out alive, kid," Kukaku said with a smile, turning the mask over in her hand. She quickly handed it to Tessai, who tucked it away into a pocket in his apron.

"I guess I did," Rukia sighed out. She cracked a relieved smile of her own.

"I should let you know," Kukaku started, a certain glint in her eyes, "this next part won't be any easier." Rukia had expected as much.

"I'm ready for it," she said. Kukaku grinned wide.

"Then let's begin." Rukia turned her Zanpakuto in her hand, feeling as if she were ready for anything. She wasn't ready for what Kukaku said next. "Paku, come down here!"

Displeased murmurings could be heard as a figure climbed quickly down the ladder and to the training area. Much to Rukia's surprise the figure wasn't her own.

The person that came down was lanky and thin. She had brown hair that laid down perfectly flat ending halfway down her back and ears that stuck out just a little. She walked to Rukia, looking very unsure. It took Rukia a moment to even recognize this as Paku.

"I decided to give Paku her own gigai," Kukaku explained. "I didn't want you feeling like you had to hold back because you were fighting your own body."

"Wait," piped in Paku, "we're going to fight? Also, I get to keep this, right."

"More of a spar, really," Kukaku corrected. "This is just some simple training. I'll call it off when Rukia can land a hit on you, and yeah, you can keep it."

Paku's eyes lit up at that. Rukia wasn't sure exactly what they were lighting up about, to be honest. She also wasn't sure about this whole situation in general.

She'd seen Paku in battle. For how annoying and lazy the Mod Soul could be, she sure could fight. Rukia had never gone against the girl in a straight up brawl before, and she wasn't planning to, either, not until now, anyway.

With a gulp she remembered how the Mod Soul's feet could crack a full-sized Hollow's mask straight in half, and how, out of all those who fought the in the Hollow-bait incident, she was the only one too come out unharmed.

Rukia had her work cut out for her. That was certain.

Part VI

Ichigo sat quietly in his cell.

It was a nice cell, really. It was large. He had a chair, a little bed. There wasn't much to complain about. It was probably the most peace and quiet he's gotten since his sisters were born.

Not many people came by his cell. There was the occasional low-ranked officer that swung by to drop off a meal, and that was about it. His dad had yet to come by, and as far as he knew his sisters weren't allowed to see him.

Yes, it was quiet today, like it was every other today, and all that quiet made it easy for him to think.

Ichigo's mind kept playing through the events leading up to this, his incarceration.

He thought about his carelessness that caused the initial incident. (Underestimating that Hollow was a mistake, and he knew it. He was a Lieutenant. He should have done better.)

He thought about how the report of him was even filed. (He should have been more careful with Uryuu. The kid didn't mean anything by what he did, but Ichigo should have known better.)

He kept thinking about Rukia, and how she was mercilessly killed by his own father. (Goat Face was just trying to protect Tatsuki, though. What did Ichigo do? Nothing. He should have done something.)

Ichigo let each mistake, each "should have" and "would have" sink deep in his mind in a way that he hadn't since Uncle Kaien died.

He was dragged from his thoughts when the silence was broken. There were approaching footsteps, light and steady. They stopped right before the thick bars of his cell. He didn't move, and for a while, his visitor didn't either. He was the one that had to break the silence a second time.

"I'm glad you're alright, Tatsuki," he said. She didn't answer at first. She just shuffled about, nervous.

She eventually said, "They cleared me for duty yesterday, which is good. Captain Hitsugaya's probably getting antsy without his Lieutenant."

"I hear he can be a bit demanding, huh?" Ichigo asked, cracking a smile.

"Yeah, he can." She sounded like she wanted to say more, but she hesitated. The words hung in the air, and the moment passed. Ichigo ended up saying something, instead. Something was on his mind for a while.

"You came for me."

Tatsuki scoffed, "I wasn't going to leave you in this cell alone."

"No, I mean back there, in the World of the Living."

"Oh." She paused for a moment before quietly saying, "Well, someone had to knock some sense into you."

Ichigo didn't answer, just silently agreed.

"Hey," she started. "Isshin's going to get you out of this. You know that, right?"

Ichigo still didn't respond. This time, the silence stretched on, and though she waited for a while, eventually Tatsuki seemed to have enough. She walked away. He heard the door shut quietly behind her.

Ichigo didn't know if his father would be able to get him out of this, and really, he didn't care. He deserved whatever was coming to him. Death didn't frighten him. He was ready.

That's what he told himself, anyway.


Hope you had a as much fun with this one as I did. Now, to talk about some changes.

First off, I gave Pakku a body, something that (to my knowledge) never happened to Kon. This is all a part of my "Make Paku a Well-Rounded Character" Campaign. I'll have a drawing of her up eventually (also a drawing of Miné, some of the OC Zanpakuto Characters [yeah, there are more coming], and possibly a casual!Byakuya), but probably not for a while.

A more major change is how (curveball) Tatsuki is actually Hitsugaya's Lieutenant, not Isshin's. This is mostly because Matsumoto was canonically Isshin's Lieutenant before she was ever Hitsugaya's, so I figured that in a world where Isshin never left, that never would have changed. Similarly, Isshin is still Captain of Squad 10, while Hitsugaya is now Captain of Squad 6.

Your reviews and favorites give me life!