AN: Finally! Sorry, but this one's going to have larger gaps between chapters than the first one did. This quarter is looking... difficult to say the least. Anyways, I'll be working on this whenever I have free time, so don't worry, I won't forget about it. I've also been rewatching the arc of Bleach the story is in right now, so I just need more time than usual to get everything right, and I hope that I have so far.

Side note, I'm glad Something Witty finally got Episode 11 back up. What a great season finale!

Now, for CH1 responses.

To ssjzohan: Well, first Jaune has got to start from almost scratch. He was trained by a Dark Keyblade Wielder after all; I doubt that the concepts carry over one-to-one. But he's going to get stronger fast, given he's got a Keyblade in this story and is going to be going up against people like Aizen.

To HelpSomeone: Thanks! Don't worry, Sora and Ruby are still definitely going to show up in this story. They're having their vacation, looking around and keeping an eye on everything. They'll pop up more once Jaune meets the Cloak for the first time.

To G3r1k: I'm glad you like my world choices! Unfortunately, Fairy Tail isn't going to factor in too much. It was more just to have fun and just mention there are more worlds out there they haven't visited.

To Mr. X: I can understand why the Jaune-Yang team seems weird. The idea behind it was that Jaune is wallowing, and Yang has at least some experience with doing that. Also, her boisterous attitude compared to Ren and lack of 'respect' compared to Nora would be fun to play off of Jaune. I almost put Sora as part of the group, too, but I didn't want too many Keyblade Wielders in the main group. Sora at this point is basically god-tier, so putting him next to Jaune would raise the question 'why isn't he doing this himself' rather than 'how will Jaune get stronger.' Sora's going to have an important part, especially after Jaune meets the Cloak.

To Aoi Hyoudou: I get that Jaune-Yang doesn't seem like the immediately obvious choice. I just thought she'd be the most fun to play off of Jaune, and the two of them had the most character growth aside from Sora and Ruby in the last story without their arcs feeling complete to me. As for Sora, he's going to play a big role, even if he's not a main character per se. I wanted Jaune and Yang, who as we see are pretty cocky considering they're a Keyblade Wielder and someone who nearly fought a Keyblade Wielder to a standstill, to see that they're not as strong as they think before Sora and Ruby show up to display the power gap.

To cturner971: So this story is, in a way, Jaune's Mark of Mastery exam along the same lines as Sora's in DDD. As for the reunion scene, I'm definitely going to do it! It's probably going to be somewhere after either world 2 or 4. That shouldn't be absurdly far away; each world adventure should take 2-4 chapters.

To Huj: I'm unsure about the Yang-Jaune romance. I've definitely been considering it, but as of right now I'm just going to see if it starts to develop while I write. Pyrrha, however, is gone. That's a big part of the prequel, actually.

To EmD23: I agree with you. I didn't attend to the group's emotions regarding Jaune enough. Using Ruby and Sora as the POV characters made their reactions more weighty, even if the others had known Jaune longer. I guess the way I viewed it was that Sora has a tendency to sweep everyone up in his emotional viewpoint, meaning that the fact he'd experienced this before and seemed sure they'd get Jaune back gave everyone else the same feeling. Still, I'm going to try to do that better in this story, especially since I'm going to focus on a much smaller cast – probably 5 main characters. Also, I'm glad this story has started strong. I agree about the breathing room; I can definitely let a chunk of characters do as they did in the background without too much work. For instance, we won't be seeing much of Orihime, Uryu, or Chad's storylines in the Soul Society arc.

Chapter 2: Scattered

Yang grinned and waited for the dozens of Soul Reapers around her to try closing in on her. She had been itching for a fight for a while. She hadn't had a really good fight since everything that had happened with Salem, when she'd gone toe to toe with a mind controlled Jaune. And that fight had mostly been trying to wake him up, not beat him down. No, Yang was long overdue a chance to kick some butt. She slammed her fists together impatiently and glared at the surrounding Soul Reapers. "What, I punch one of you in the face and now none of you are brave enough to fight little old me?" She sighed and shook her head. Placing one arm behind her back and said, "How about if I fight you all with one arm behind my back? No? You're still afraid to fight me?"

"We aren't afraid of any human!" one of the Soul Reapers shouted. "We are Soul Reapers of the Eleventh Court Guard Squad!"

"Cute. I'm Yang," she responded, winking and waving at her opponents. Yang threw her arms down to her sides, causing a pair of small, sharp studs to extend just past her knuckles on both hands. She took a step forward, then another, then another until she was sprinting at the wall of black clad swordsmen. "Of Team RWBY!" She leaped into the air, both hands raised above her head. Flames erupted from within her palms, growing until they covered her arms from the fist all the way down. Her bracers were glowing red hot as she slammed into the wall of enemies, causing a wave of Soul Reapers to be thrown away from where she had landed.

Yang's head snapped backwards to avoid a clumsy stab, the blade hissing just past her ear. She raised her robotic hand and grabbed the sword before it could damage even a single hair on her head, then surged to her feet and delivered a powerful kick to that Soul Reaper's chest. He was thrown away, quickly replaced by another. Yang had already moved on, however, slapping one sword away before ducking under another. She lashed out with and uppercut that stunned a rather large opponent and followed it up by launching one of the Firas in her fists at the dazed Soul Reaper's head. The Reaper flipped in midair and landed on her face, unconscious.

Yang spun around, using her bracer to block the sword slash that came at her throat. She lashed out to grab onto his arm, then began to spin around. The Soul Reaper cried out in surprise when he was lifted from the ground and suddenly began to be used as a club by the young woman. Yang swept him around her, his feet slamming into the head of a nearby Reaper, then he was brought back around at full speed and into another Reaper. Finally, Yang brought him overhead like a hammer that flattened a third of his comrades.

Yang stepped on his back and grinned wildly. She looked around with her glowing, red eyes at the now stunned and cautious Soul Reapers. "No one wants to dance with me? Come on, we can still be friends, right?" she asked mockingly. The Reapers didn't respond, besides a low, grumbling snarl. Yang's grin turned into a scowl. "Hmph... Well, I guess I can see why you guys are the Eleventh squad."

That very nearly got the response she wanted. "Shut up, human!" one of the Soul Reapers snapped.

She grinned and picked a number. RWBY had four members, so four it was! "Maybe the Fourth squad would actually be fun to fight. You pansies are worthless."

That got more than the response she wanted. An almost palpable hatred ran through the crowd of Soul Reapers that had surrounded her, causing a shadow to come over all of their eyes. Yang blinked nervously and looked around at the faces stunned by pure rage. "Kill her!" The mass of warriors rushed her all at once again, some of their swords flashing and changing shape. A halberd slashed over Yang's head, only missing because someone had gotten in the way of the attacker's arm as it lashed around.

The Blonde Brawler yelped and jumped backwards. I maybe made a mistake, she thought to herself. She shrugged a half second later and raised her fists to battle again. A huge, thick club covered in small, metal points slammed into her side, causing her to stumble and a jolt of pain to run along her spine as her aura took a blow. Yang snarled and used her Semblance to immediately return the favor, lashing out with her foot to snap the club in two. The handle was torn from its wielder's hand by the sudden jolt, flying into the air so Yang could catch it. She spun on her heel and tossed the broken end directly into its user's chest. "That hurt," Yang growled. She raised her fist and tossed another Fira into the crowd.

She turned and raised both arms before the spell could explode, using her bracers to deflect a claymore that had been aimed at decapitating her. The blade clanged when it rebounded off of Ember Celica, then its wielder spun around. The blade missed the Reaper's comrades by only a few inches, and only because the entire group had thrown themselves either to the ground or away from the attack. Yang's eyes widened. "Those are your allies!" she shouted in disbelief as she shot a pair of distracting Blizzard spells at the Claymore wielding Reaper. "You'd risk killing them?"

The Reaper didn't respond, instead simply slapping the attacks to the side and launching himself at the blonde again. Yang snarled and blocked another attack. What's going on? She wondered as the other Soul Reapers began to stand up and shout angrily at her current opponent. "What are you doing, Shinfuzen!?" Yang sidestepped another stab from the claymore and kept her eyes locked on the man's face. His eyes were dull – glazed over with something resembling blind hatred.

Yang was only able to see it for a moment before the other Reapers began to swarm her. From every side she was attacked by the Reapers, their arms wrapping around her and trying to tackle her to the ground. She roared in rage at the mere idea that they'd lay hands on her. "Let me GO!" she screamed, fire bursting out from her hair and sending dozens of Reapers flying into the air away from her. Her hair was glowing even more than before, literal flames rising from her skull. Yang raised her hand as the claymore rushed down at her again, and slapped it to the side. The blade became lodged deep enough in the stone for the Reaper using it to lurch forward and slam his gut into the pommel of the handle. Yang raised her feet above her, placing them at the center of the Reaper's chest, then grinned. "You are just going to be shocked by what comes next." Then she cast a Thunder spell, charging the soles of her boots with yellow electricity, and kicked as hard as she could. The Reaper shrieked in pain, some semblance of 'intelligence' returning to his eyes. The sword buried in the ground flashed and became a katana of average size once again when the Reaper finished his eight foot ascent and descended headfirst back to the stone.

Yang pushed herself to her feet surrounded by groans of pain as the Soul Reapers slipped in and out of consciousness. "Wimps," she muttered as she looked around at them. One of them tried to struggle to his feet, only for her to slam her boot heel into his face. He unconscious with a final hissing groan. Yang smirked at him, then looked up and laced her fingers behind her head while she stared up at the blue sky. She clenched her fists after a couple seconds and threw them down at her side with a huff. "Stupid Vomit Boy! I can't believe I have to spend all my time in a brand new world looking for him! Ugh, what the hell, you couldn't have just let me fly the ship instead of crashing landing like an idiot!?"

Yang sighed and shook her head. "Idiot," she muttered again, then placed her hands in her jacket pockets. "And I bet I've got to go save him, too." Yang began to walk down the street. "This way's as good as any."

Yang did not notice the small, black cat that was perched on the top of a nearby building. Its bronze-golden eyes were locked on her as its tail smoothly flicked back and forth behind it. "Interesting," the cat suddenly muttered to itself. It stood up in a single lithe movement, then bounded after the girl. "Someone else breaking in to the Seireitei on the same day we did? What a coincidence..."

S M H S

Jaune glanced between the bald Soul Reaper, Ikkaku, and his odd looking companion, Yumichika. Ikkaku was currently dancing around excitedly, singing about how incredibly lucky he was to have found the three of them. "Who is lucky? I'm so lucky! None so lucky but... ME! That's right I said..."

"Okay, while he's singing like an idiot, let's run," Ganju whispered, putting one hand around Jaune's right shoulder and the other around Ichigo's left.

"What? No!" Ichigo shouted, interrupting the Lucky dance and drawing attention back to the three of them. Jaune glanced at Ichigo and then Ganju in turn, wondering what was going on with the two. "You can run away if you want to, but I'm not going to act like a coward!"

"It's smart, not cowardly!" Ganju retorted. He grabbed onto Ichigo's collar and yanked backwards. "They have too much power for an amateur like you!"

"Let go of me, moron!"

"Excuse me, but are we bothering you?" Jaune looked up to see Ikkaku glaring at the three of them with venom in his eyes. He pointed at the trio standing knee deep in the sand and began to violently gesture, tossing his sword about and thrashing around. "I did my lucky dance and you won't even get out of your sand box to fight me!?"

"Look, there's no reason for us to fight," Jaune cut in. He raised his hands to show he had no weapon. Well, at least no weapon that they could see. "I don't want to have to hurt you."

Ichigo, Ganju, Yumichika, and Ikkaku all traded a glance before breaking out in violent laughter. "I... I... Oh, you?" Yumichika asked. He shook his head, derision evident even with his eyes closed. "Please, at least your ugly friend knows he's worthless!"

"Hey!" Ganju snapped indignantly. "You aren't exactly a looker yourself, weirdo!"

Jaune fumed quietly. Why had they all laughed when he had said he could hurt them if it came down to a fight? They might not have known he was a Keyblade Wielder, but it seemed like a big deal for anyone to make it into this place. Jaune sighed and let his hands fall to his side. "I'm being serious," he said quietly.

"Sure, Blondie," Ikkaku said with a roll of his eyes. "You don't even have a weapon."

"You'd never be able to fight one us us," Yumichika said with a flip of his hair. "It wouldn't even be a beautiful death if you -" The man frowned and stopped talking. "Where did your ugly friend go?"

Ichigo and Jaune glanced at one another before turning to where Ganju had been standing a moment earlier. Indeed, the man was gone, a trail of sand leading out of the pit and down the street. "Ganju, you..." Ichigo growled, clenching his fists at his side.

"Well, he won't get far," Yumichika said, placing his right hand on his sword's handle and sprinting after the trail of sand.

Jaune shook his head and jumped out of the sand pit, landing in front of the Soul Reaper. The Reaper slid to a stop in front of Jaune's crossed arms and blinked in confusion. "I have never seen anyone so excited to die," he said simply.

Jaune growled. "I told you, I don't want to hurt you. But I will." Jaune held his hand out to his side and summoned up an explosion of golden light. The Kingdom Key appeared suddenly, its golden guard glinting in the sun as he raised it in front of his body. "You're not going to follow him."

"Get out of my way, weakling," Yumichika growled. He drew his sword slowly and held it out in front of him. "Though, I suppose I can kill you first."

"Heh, looks like we both get to have a fight," Ikkaku grinned. He launched himself forward before anyone could react, his blade sliding out of its scabbard like a streak of light. Jaune's eyes widened and he was about to call out for Ichigo to dodge, but the other man had already thrown himself to the side. The katana hit the ground, shattering stone while Ichigo began to pull his huge sword from his back. The cloth wrappings covering the blade unwrapped of their own accord, shrinking down until only a foot or so hung from the handle of the weapon.

"You should really concentrate on your own battle." Jaune turned and raised the Keyblade just in time to block the attack coming his way. The katana glinted as the Reaper shoved Jaune back, forcing the blonde to backpedal clumsily. He grimaced and raised the Kingdom Key to block the next incoming attack, then regained his footing and sidestepped an incoming stab. Jaune brought the Keyblade down on top of the blade, causing it to slam into the ground and initiate a struggle of strength between the two. Jaune grimaced and pushed as hard as he could, knowing that as a Keyblade Wielder he should have the upper hand in this type of fight.

"You're not bad," Jaune's opponent admitted as they struggled vainly against one another. They were locked in place, and Jaune couldn't figure out why. The spells he had learned wouldn't come to his mind, he couldn't remember how to transform his Keyblade, and – he barely wanted to admit – he was not nearly as strong as he had thought he should be. It became much more obvious to Jaune when Yumichika grinned evilly. "Bloom for me, Kujaku!" The blade in the Soul Reaper's hands glowed for a moment as it suddenly changed its form, the blade curving far more until it was almost sickle shaped. Jaune felt the Keyblade rattle when the sickle split into four blades, extending and throwing Jaune backwards. He flipped midair, throwing out his left hand to try and deftly return to his feet. Instead, his fingers soared just a few inches over the ground and he landed flat on his chest. "You're certainly not very good, either."

Jaune pushed himself to his knees and glared at the Soul Reaper that began to slowly advance on him. "Oh, good. That's a good look for facing your death." The Reaper dashed forward, swinging his multibladed sword down at Jaune's body. The Keyblade Wielder threw himself to the side, rolling across the ground and then pushing himself up to his feet. He readied the Keyblade in front of him again and narrowed his eyes. What was going on with him? Why couldn't he fight!?

Jaune shook his head. He couldn't focus on that, he had to figure out a way to beat this guy instead. How, with lowered strength, speed, and – apparently – skill could he manage to win? He took a deep breath and glared at the Reaper. He was cocky, sure of his victory. If Jaune could manage to summon just one spell, just do one surprising thing, he could win! Jaune sighed inwardly... He was doomed.

Ichigo, meanwhile, was engaging in a much more even fight. He was trading blows with Ikkaku, whose weapon had also transformed. His, however, had turned into a three-segmented spear that he was using to its maximum potential by quickly alternating between different styles of battle. Spear, then using the bladed end as a whip, then trying to smack Ichigo around with the base of the handle. Ichigo was bleeding profusely from above his eye, the red covering almost the entire left side of his face. The bandages of his weapon extended up his right arm. Ichigo was managing to hold his own, deflecting whatever blows came his way, and began to advance on his opponent. "You may not be a greenhorn, Ichi, but you don't have what it takes to beat me," Ikkaku stated, his tone painting it as fact.

"Is that so?" Ichigo asked as he spun around Ikkaku's defenses, his blade slashing a shallow cut across the bald Soul Reaper's side. He smirked at Ikkauku and readied his blade again. "Because then how did I do that?"

That was when Jaune saw it. "Both of you, look out!" he shouted. Jaune slapped the next of Yumichika's attacks away and shoved him away with his shoulder. The Reaper stumbled backwards, giving Jaune enough time to run forward and slide to a stop behind Ikkaku, raising the Keyblade and blocking a huge black blur from impaling the Soul Reaper from behind.

"What!?" Ikkaku snapped, turning around and freezing.

Jaune was struggling against a creature made of shadows, a monster emanating pure evil. Burning yellow eyes glared down at him from beneath a silver, demonic mask. Horns curled out from its forehead and came down parallel with its jawline. A red outline of a heart with stitches crossing it in an 'X' covered similarly plated armor draped from its shoulders. It had legs like baggy pants, and a large sword in its right hand while the other held the scabbard on its hip. The Heartless looked about five and a half feet tall... and dangerous. Very dangerous, if the flames dancing along the edge of the weapon were any indication.

Jaune flicked his wrist and the creature flew away, disappearing in a burst of smoke and reappearing in another a dozen yards later. Jaune narrowed his eyes as portal after portal suddenly appeared in the path and more of the same Heartless materialized suddenly, about a half dozen in total each accompanied by simple Shadows. "These aren't Hollows..." Yumichika muttered. He looked over at Ichigo. "Are these Ryoka with you!?"

"My friend here just saved this crazy baldy!" Ichigo shouted, insulted that anyone would consider him on a team with those monsters. Suddenly, Ichigo's voice became measured and he glared at the creatures. "Besides, I don't take help from sneak attacking monsters."

"They're evil. Really evil," Jaune said, as he glared at the Heartless. The Keyblade in his hands grew lighter, but he could have been imagining that. "Heartless are attracted to Darkness in strong Hearts. They must be after... " Jaune's eyes fell for a moment before he looked up again. "We need to take them out before they hurt anyone."

"Lucky me, more Ryoka to fight!" Ikkaku shouted, an evil grin coming to his face. He ran past Jaune before the blonde could tell him to watch out for the Heartless' abilities. His spear's segments slammed together as he jumped into the air and twirled it over his head, readying to bring it down in an attack on one of the Samurai looking Heartless. The name Ronin came to mind. The creature hissed and disappeared in another burst of smoke, something which seemed to set the rest of the monsters off.

Jaune prepared for battle as three of the Ronin rushed him, their Shadow companions jumping towards him as well. Well, time for his first battle with real Heartless. How hard could it be?

He got his answer when the three Ronin attacked him with an almost professional level of teamwork. The first blade crashed into the block he raised, forcing him to move into the path of the second enemy's blade. Jaune had turned and deflected this attack, too, but that just left him wide open for an attack from three of the Shadows. Their claws raked at his back and Jaune could somehow feel them raking against his Aura even through the armor. He was shoved forward, right into the flaming sword of the third Ronin. The spell exploded against his face and Jaune was flipping through the air. Not again... he muttered. However, he was able to land on his feet this time. He wobbled from side to side as the Heartless began to surround him again, but it felt like he was getting better at this.

Ichigo blocked blow after blow from the Ronin and Shadows, though he was being driven back with every attack. His weapon was huge, better for annihilating enemies rather than defending against them. He soon found himself back to back with Ikkaku, who had found himself in a similar predicament after charging ahead without thinking. "So, Ichi, why'd your friend save me, you think?"

"It was the right thing to do," Ichigo responded simply. He parried a blow from a Ronin and swept his blade around, slashing through the Heartless and causing it to turn to dust.

"The right..?" Ikkaku groaned. Impaling a Shadow on his weapon's blade he shook his head. "I owe him my life, now! Do you know how bad that is, owing my life to someone greener than you, Greenhorn?!"

"How bad could it be, moron? You're alive." Ichigo jumped forward, Zangetsu's silvery edge flashing as it struck down one, two, three more Heartless in a single blow. He only had to fight with one Ronin now, which seemed to make the creature apprehensive about the battle. It backed off a step.

"Oh, no you don't!" he snapped, jumping after the creature while Ikkaku dealt with the rest of his Heartless. Ichigo swept his blade around, narrowly missing the creature as it disappeared in a flash of Darkness.

Jaune prepared for another onslaught from the Heartless that had surrounded him, meanwhile. He took a deep breath, trying to center himself. He had to stay calm. One of the Heartless jumped at him, and he moved in time to deflect its attack. The Ronin's slash went wide, and Jaune laughed triumphantly. He just had to stay positive, and he'd – His thoughts were thrown off when a blade slammed into his midsection and he doubled over, thankful for his Aura and armor suddenly. He stumbled backwards, feeling frustration rising in his gut. He parried another blow, the move crisp, and turned it into a counterattack without thinking. The Heartless disappeared, replaced by a gleaming Heart that floated away. Jaune turned on his heel and destroyed a Shadow with a quick upward slash, leaping into the air as he did, then brought his Keyblade down and aimed it at the remaining monsters. "RAGH!" Jaune landed and slashed at each of the monsters, blocking their attacks or otherwise annihilating them. He hated them. He hated the Darkness. He hated that he'd brought them back!

Jaune froze as the last Heartless disappeared. He had brought them back... He exited his fighting stance and glanced nervously at the ground. It was his fault the Heartless were here. Not only had they followed his Keyblade to this world, but he'd helped bring them back. He fought against the buckling of his knees and leaned against the wall to remain steady.

"Jaune, that was... pretty good, man." Jaune looked up at Ichigo, who had returned his sword to his back and was blinking away surprise.

"So you were serious about being dangerous then, Blondie?" Ikkaku asked. He grinned and pointed at Jaune. "I'd like a fight with you, sometime!" Then he sighed and shook his head. "But, you saved my life. I don't like being in debt to someone. Ask me any favor, I'll do it."

Jaune shook his head to clear it. "Uh... I don't need anything," he muttered after a moment's consideration.

"Come on, I'm trying to be nice here!" Ikkaku snapped, grabbing hold of Jaune's collar and shaking him violently back and forth. Jaune groaned as his back was repeatedly slammed into the wall. "Just ask me a favor! It's rude not to at this point!"

"Fine! Fine... Ichigo, do you need anything?" Jaune breathed. He placed his hands on Ikkaku's shoulders and shoved him off.

The warrior glanced at the ground, then at the two Soul Reapers staring expectantly at him. "Where's Rukia Kuchiki?"

"The traitor scheduled for execution?" Yumichika asked, his eyes widening in surprise. "That's why you're here?"

"Well, it's why I'm here. Jaune is... uh..?" Ichigo glanced at Jaune. "Why are you here?"

"On accident," Jaune admitted with a sheepish grin. He shook his head. "I crashed our, uh... I kind of crash landed here. Me and my friend, Yang were arguing over who should be in control, and..." He trailed off and grinned nervously again.

"Well, then I guess I'm stuck helping the Greenhorn," Ikkaku grumbled. He turned to Ichigo. "The Kuchiki girl? She's in the Repentance Cells. That big tower over there." He pointed to a large plateau and white towers in the distance. He frowned. "How many of you are here to save her?"

"Other than me? Three and a cat."

Ikkaku and Yumichika stared at Ichigo, then looked at each other before bursting out laughing. "A cat!? Oh, that's great! You're dead meat!"

"Hey, I was going to beat you!" Ichigo shouted angrily.

"Sure you were, Greenhorn!" Ikkaku shouted before laughing even harder. "And I bet you're the strongest one!"

"And so what if I am!?"

Ikkaku fell to his knees. "Oh, Ha! Oh... The Captain is going to kill these Ryoka!"

Yumichika, who was stifling his laughter slightly, agreed. "Oh, agreed. They'll die the moment they meet him."

"Five and a cat." They stopped laughing and turned to look at Jaune. The blonde Keyblade Wielder took a deep breath and repeated himself. "Yang and I will help you Ichigo... Well, if we find Yang."

Ichigo smiled earnestly at Jaune, gratitude clear on his face. "Thanks."

The Soul Reapers shook their heads. "Then it looks like I won't be getting that fight with you, Blondie. Too bad." Ikkaku motioned with his hand. "Leave, before we change our minds." Then he and Yumichika turned around and began to walk away.

Jaune watched them go for a moment, then turned to Ichigo. "So who is Rukia?" he inquired.

Ichigo turned away from the Reapers and crossed his arms. Jaune waited for an answer. "She changed my life." Jaune looked at the ground. He sure could understand that, so he didn't ask any more questions on the subject. He wasn't going to let anyone else lose someone like that if he could help it.

Jaune looked over to Ichigo. "Then let's go save Rukia."

S M H S

Captain Sosuke Aizen of the Fifth Squad sat within his room, preparing for the next few days. The Head Captain of the Soul Reapers had restricted travel into and out of the Seireitei via most portals, locking off the Shinigami headquarters in a pocket dimension that would prevent the invaders from being able to escape. Unfortunately for Aizen, this meant that it would also make it slightly more difficult to escape. He pulled his glasses away from his brown eyes and placed them on the table in front of him. He ran a hand through his brown hair to get it out of his face and sighed. He would just have to figure it out, he supposed. Keeping the Seireitei under lockdown was one of the few things that Head Captain Yamamoto could do that did not require the approval of the Central 46, the main governing body of the Soul Reapers. In fact, it was also one of the few commands that they could not rescind after the fact. This meant that it was one of the few orders he could not rescind once he was controlling the Central 46.

He stood up and walked around his room. He honestly had not expected Yamamoto to do this, and that infuriated the man. He was always on top of things with his plans, always guessing what was going to happen exactly. And yet, he had missed something. The world began to blur slightly, and Aizen narrowed his eyes in self disappointment. The Captain took a deep breath; it would not do to lose control of his power right now, not when his plan was in full swing.

"Looks like you need some help."

Aizen whirled on the source of the voice, preparing to draw his Zanpakuto to fight the newcomer. "Easy, easy!" the intruder said. He raised a pair of black gloved hands beside a similarly colored hood that hid his features. Aizen noted they were nearly the same height. "I'm not here to fight. I've just heard you're an... intelligent guy. I thought we could make a trade."

Aizen glared at the person in the long black coat before letting his blade drift back into its scabbard. He stood up tall and let his natural smile return to his face. "What are you talking about? Wait, I'm guessing you've been talking to Momo. Are you one of her friends from another Division? That girl is so sweet, thinking I'm -"

"Cut the crap." Aizen's smile disappeared, replaced by his cold fury for a half moment. The intruder gestured at Aizen with one hand before crossing them over his chest. "I'm here to make a trade, remember? Information in exchange for me lifting the lock on this world."

"What do you want to know?" Aizen said tersely. If this stranger did not want to mince words, Aizen would accommodate him in that regard. And then kill him when he was no longer of use.

The figure examined Aizen for a moment, cocking its head to the side. "How do I get to another Dimension?" he finally asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Aizen raised an eyebrow. "If you don't know, then you couldn't help me," Aizen said dismissively. "This world is locked in another dim -"

The figure raised one finger expressively. "Oh, I guess I used the wrong word! I meant how to get to another timeline."

At that, Aizen stopped speaking again. That was an... interesting question. "Why?"

"That's not part of the deal, Sosuke."

Aizen's teeth ground together at the insult. "Isn't it?" he asked. The figure laughed and shook his head. Aizen stared at the intruder for another few minutes. "Fine." Aizen turned and walked towards a back room of his office, opening the door and pulling out a single scroll. He then turned and walked back to the other man, who reached for the scroll. Aizen pulled it back and smiled cruelly. "No. After you've helped me."

"Then I don't have a guarantee you won't betray me."

Aizen scoffed. "Nor I you."

The figure glared at him for a moment before holding his hand out to his side. Black and white crackled in his fist, a shower of sparks and smoke that summoned a large, black key to his hand. Aizen's eyes widened. "A Keyblade?"

The hooded figure looked up at Aizen. "... Yes."

Aizen masked his surprise, even if he knew it was too late. "I thought they were a myth," he explained casually, dismissing his surprise with a simple shrug. "And yet you have one..."

"There's others. In fact... one's already here." Aizen raised one eyebrow as the figure continued to speak, saying, "He's making a mess out there, fighting Heartless and Soul Reapers. … I wonder what he wants." The intruder shook his head. "How about this? You give me the information now and I show you my face."

Aizen stopped breathing. He had to admit, the idea suddenly... intrigued him. This figure was a complete unknown, he was – "Stop guiding my Heart," the captain demanded, letting a fraction of his cold power loose.

The figure shrugged. He seemed unaffected by Aizen's sudden exertion, and grunted ambivalently. "Worth a try." He turned and aimed his weapon at the ground a few feet in front of him, then placed both hands on the hilt. A wind began to blow within the building despite the closed walls, forcing the clothes of both the Keyblade Wielder and Aizen; simultaneously, the ground beneath him began to glow with the image of a cat like eye made of light. The wind tore the man's hood from his head, piquing Aizen's curiosity.

A moment later, the Keyblade disappeared. The intruder turned back to Aizen, pulling his hood up as he did. Aizen did get a quick glimpse at the man's features, though it was only enough to give Aizen a general idea of the man's face. "Now, I'll be taking my information," the Keyblade Wielder said.

Aizen clasped the scroll in both hands and smirked. "Prove it worked."

The Keyblade Wielder stared at the scroll for a while, then sighed in exasperation. "Really? We're doing this? Ugh, fine." He raised his left hand, summoning a large portal of Darkness. He moved the hand towards Aizen again, the palm facing upwards expectantly. "Satisfied?"

Aizen glared at the young man for a moment. He could betray the boy, refuse and kill him now... Then again, he may be of use later. Aizen smiled at that. He would be of great use later. "Of course." He handed over the information and watched the Keyblade Wielder begin to enter the portal. Aizen said one more thing before the man disappeared completely, however: "I'll see you again, Keyblade Master."

The man stopped and turned his hood back to Aizen. "... Sooner or later." Then he entered the portal and shut it behind him.

S M H S

"Where the hell are we going, Em? It's not like there's anything for you to steal here," Mercury grumbled as he walked after Emerald for what seemed to be the thousandth hour. She didn't respond. "Come on, Em, you've made me run around in sewers across this entire stupid place all day! What are we doing here?"

Emerald stopped and turned around to glare at her partner. "Merc, don't be stupid," Emerald berated her partner. "First off, there's always something to steal. Always. Secondly, it's always good to have an escape route."

"We can't escape."

Emerald glared at Mercury. "Look, if you shut up, I'll give you half of my cut when I finally steal something worthwhile," she growled. She let that hang in the air for a second, then turned and continued walking down the path.

Mercury groaned to himself, but stopped complaining to Emerald. There was no point when she got like this in pointing out inconsistencies. Whatever, the two of them would figure it out eventually. "Fine." Mercury quickened his pace a bit to walk beside her.

"What?" Emerald asked when she noticed him staring at her. She raised the eyebrow on the same side Mercury was standing.

"What 'What?'" Mercury retorted with a smirk.

Emerald rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the path in front of them. "Idiot." She continued walking down the street just a half step in front of him.

"Oh, you l – want me," Mercury said, grinning at his friend.

Em tossed him a sly grin. "L-want?"

"I wanted to say 'like,' but that didn't sound true enough." Mercury shrugged, then grinned evilly and added on, "Babe."

"You're disgusting."

"Yeah, yeah. That's what you s –" Merc stopped talking when he caught sight of a mob of black in front of them. He and Emerald traded glances. "What the hell's going on?"

"No!" Emerald hissed.

"'No' what? What do you think I'm going to do?" Mercury asked innocently.

"Don't go try to figure out what's going on." Emerald narrowed her eyes and demanded, "Don't do it... I can tell you're thinking it – 'Let's go run in there and find out what's going on.'"

Mercury matched her gaze, keeping a completely calm face. He blinked twice, then grinned excitedly. "That's a great idea, Em!" he said with a smirk. He grabbed hold of her wrist and began to sprint towards the mass of Soul Reapers.

"Merc! Merc, no!" she hissed as she was dragged along behind him, constantly trying – and failing – to resist his speed. "Mercury Black, no, you will make our disguises worthless!"

He wasn't listening, however. He was just sprinting along with a goofy grin plastered on his face. "It'll be fun!" he shouted as he barreled through the back layer of Reapers. They flew into the air, blown away by the speed wake that Mercury was trailing. He slid to a stop beside whatever the Reapers were watching, and immediately regretted everything. An arm looped around his neck, quickly followed by someone grabbing onto Emerald. A huge sword placed itself at Merc's neck, and a dagger at Emerald's.

"Ha, now we have hostages! You can't attack or we'll kill your friends!" Someone shouted.

"Guys, I don't know if I'm comfortable with this." Emerald straightened up as that voice came from behind her. She tried to look around, instead only catching sight of an orange haired Soul Reaper with a huge sword threatening to kill Merc and a man in green holding her hostage. "Hostages!?"

Mercury groaned when he recognized the voice. "No..."

The voice said something next: "No..!"

"Blondie?"

"Cinder's lackeys?"

The swords left their throats. "Oh, great, they're not even real Reapers." The orange haired Reaper groaned. He turned to Jaune. "I thought you said you only came here with one friend."

"We're not his friends!"

"They're not my friends!"

"That clears... nothing up," the man in green muttered.

"Ahem." The fake Reaper, the man in green, Jaune, Emerald, and Mercury all turned towards the source of the noise. The Soul Reapers had all recovered and were glaring at the five surrounded warriors.

"This is... a lot of guys," Mercury muttered when the Reapers began to slowly advance on them.

"Like... a lot," Jaune agreed.

Emerald sighed at that moment and did something against her better judgment. She raised her right hand beside her head... and snapped her fingers. The Reapers advancing on them stopped moving, lost in some sort of unseen fantasy for a moment. She turned around to the stunned faces of Blondie and his friends. "Nice move, Em," Mercury complimented. His voice turned arrogant. "But we could've taken them."

"You were as worried as me!" Blondie shouted, waving the bright gold and silver weapon in his right hand around.

"Ugh, just shut up and follow me," Emerald groaned. She turned and looked around. "Where are... Oh!" She ran through the crowd of Reapers, expecting everyone to follow suit. They did after trading a glance of confusion.

"Where are we running?" the not-Reaper asked, sprinting for a moment to catch up.

"Yeah, where are we going?" Mercury echoed.

"I – Merc! We've been mapping this place out all day!" she yelled in exasperated disappointment. "Come on, you didn't remember any of it!?"

"I meant why are Blondie, Strawberry, and Moron with us?" Mercury clarified angrily.

"But I don't have Strawberry – Hey!" the guy in green snapped.

"Just... Just follow me," Emerald sighed before hooking a right into a building. She tore one of the panels in the floor off and pointed into the newly opened alcove. "Go."

Jaune looked at her distrustfully. Why were they helping Jaune and his friends? He was their enemy! He had almost killed Cinder and then them under orders from Salem, and these two had helped with everything at Beacon and beyond. They were criminals to the core more accustomed to vengeance than forgiveness! "Blondie, those Reapers are going to be following us soon. I'm not holding the illusion anymore. Move." Jaune looked into her eyes, seeing a combination of angry annoyance and... something else. Compassion? He hesitated half a moment before he nodded and jumped in, Ichigo and Ganju on his heels. Emerald and Mercury dove in not a moment later, pulling the panel back into place above them.

"Is this a sewer!?" Ganju shouted in surprise.

"Don't mind him," Ichigo grunted. He walked over to Emerald and Mercury, holding out his hand. "I'm Ichigo. He's Ganju. Nice to meet some friends of Jaune's!" He grinned at the two.

"Emerald," the girl said. She shook his hand and pointed with her other hand's thumb at Mercury. "And don't worry about your idiot. Mercury here is just as bad." She let go of his hand. "Again, though, we aren't Blondie's friends." Emerald began to remove the Soul Reaper shihakusho from over her regular clothing.

"But you saved us," Ichigo said, confused.

"Yeah, why did you?" Jaune asked, stepping forward. He was watching Emerald worriedly, hoping that this didn't end badly. Emerald looked over at him and let her eyes fall on the weapon in his right hand. It was Keyboy's weapon.

"Is Keyboy alright?" she asked, gesturing at the weapon.

"Sora? He's fine. Why?" Jaune asked. He shook his head. "And answer my question!"

"You didn't kill Cinder. It's a thank you," Emerald growled. Jaune's eyes widened in surprise and he glanced between her and Mercury. That was true; Pyrrha had stopped him from murdering Cinder for vengeance.

"Hey, Man, I don't really care," the silver haired assassin said. He tore off the Soul Reaper uniform that rested over his own clothes. "I think we should've left you behind."

Jaune glanced between the two before shaking his head in disappointment. "Is this what you've been up to? Running from world to world?"

"Until we got here," Mercury admitted simply. He shrugged. "We're locked in here."

"Jumping from world to world?" Ichigo asked in confusion. Jaune grimaced and started to panic.

"You idiot, he means the human world and Soul Society. They must be souls of some kind." Jaune breathed a sigh of relief. Ganju, saving the day.

"What are they talking about?" Emerald asked, her voice annoyed.

Jaune glanced over at Ichigo and Ganju, who were now arguing about... something. "Just... Just roll with it." He returned his attention to the fugitive criminals. "And what do you mean we're locked in here?"

"Exactly what it sounds like, Blondie," Mercury cut in. He scoffed at Jaune and shook his head. "We can't open portals to get out of here."

"You can't?" Jaune asked. He glanced down at the weapon in his hand and it clicked. He scoffed and glared at the two fugitives. "Oh, I get it. You saved me so I could unlock whatever barrier is keeping you here. Of course it wasn't out of the kindness of your hearts."

"Smart, Em!" Mercury complimented his partner.

"I didn't – ugh! Morons... Well, you brought it up, so can you?" Emerald asked with a sigh.

The Keyblade Wielder hefted the weapon over his shoulder. He bit the inside of his cheek before nodding. "I'll trade you."

Mercury and Emerald looked at each other nervously. "You'll... trade us?" Emerald asked after a couple moments. She crossed her arms and glared at him inquisitively. "And just what could we have that you could possibly want?" Emerald really hoped that Jaune's eyes weren't going to dart down to the Genie's Lamp hanging from her waist. She'd rather use a wish getting out of this than lose the rest to Blondie.

"My friends here need help," Jaune said, turning and gesturing at Ichigo with his head. He looked back at Emerald and Mercury and let a disarming grin come to his features. He'd seen them with Sora and Ruby back when Salem had been controlling him, so he knew they were a big part of helping to save him. They deserved a chance. "And you two seem to know your way around here better than we do."

Emerald studied the blonde's goofy, good natured smile. It was a far cry from how he had looked the last time she had seen him in control of himself. He'd been fighting Cinder one moment, blind fury and endless rage filling his eyes. He had wanted to kill Cinder and make her suffer for killing Cereal Box. Then a moment later he'd been broken and ready to cry on the ground. This person standing in front of her was different. "Fine. What do you need?" Emerald asked, much to Mercury's chagrin.

"Wait, really? You'll help us find Rukia?" Ichigo asked, cutting off his argument with Ganju by shoving the man away by his face. "Really?"

"Rukia? Oh, no, we're not helping you find your girlfriend," Mercury stated, trying to 'put his foot down' at helping solve people's relationship issues.

Ichigo turned red and shook his head violently. "Wh- I – she's -"

"Just tell us how to get to the big, tall, white tower at the center of this place," Jaune said, dismissing the Keyblade from his hand. "And once we save Rukia, I'll help you get out of here."

Emerald looked over at Mercury. "No..." Mercury cautioned.

Emerald blinked once, keeping her face mockingly calm. "'No' what?" she asked. She placed her hands on her hips and stared at Merc. "What do you think I'm going to do?"

"We shouldn't do this! We should lay low, not risk our lives to get killed by a bunch of crazy swordsmen and Heartless that are going to chase them!" Mercury stated. He jabbed his index finger at Jaune, Ichigo, and Ganju. "Help them? Help them!?"

Emerald blinked once, then grinned evilly. She placed her hand on her partner's shoulder and said through gritted teeth, "Well, as a moron once said... Good idea, Merc!" She turned back to Jaune and nodded. "You've got yourself a deal, Blondie."

S M H S

"I can't believe this. I've been wandering for hours and I still haven't found Vomit Boy! GAH!" Yang shouted in exasperation as she neared a large white tower at the center of the city in which she had arrived. Fog was rolling in from every direction, obscuring everything around her. She ran her robotic prosthetic through her hair and groaned angrily. "Godammit, Jaune, I told Sora and Ruby I'd keep you safe and now you're running around getting in trouble without me... What would Pyrrha say if I let you get your face punched in by someone stronger than you?"

Yang sighed and stopped walking. "What the hell am I going to do?" she asked the fog. She looked around for a moment, hoping someone would respond, then sighed and continued to walk.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura." Yang looked over her shoulder, catching sight of a massive cloud of what looked like pink flower petals rushing towards her. She readied her gauntlets with a grin and summoned a Fira spell into her left fist. She lashed out with that hand and the pink swirling towards her exploded away in a burst of energy.

Yang stood up to full height and stared out into the fog towards where the attack had come from. "Wow, looks like someone is trying to steal my sister's style," she snapped at her unseen attacker. "Come on out." Another swarm of pink petals flew out of the fog, these ones moving faster than the first attack. Yang threw herself to the side just in time, letting the petals slam into the ground where she had been standing a moment earlier. She rolled to her feet and looked at where she'd been standing. The ground was destroyed, with flower petals floating all around. She caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of her eye and jumped backwards, avoiding the next attack and rolling to her feet, adopting a ready position. "Okay, I'm getting really tired of this! Come on out!"

There was no answer, simply another stream of what was obviously not flower petals. Yang snarled and cracked the knuckles in her flesh and bone hand. "Okay then," she hissed. She raised her hand. "Gather." A ball of black and golden energy gathered in Yang's palm and she slowly clenched her fist around the spell. The energy, in turn, began to surround her hand up to the end of her weapon. Yang took a half step towards the petals, then threw her fist forward. The spell flew from her fist, launching forward until it collided with the top of the flower petal vortex. The energy exploded into a large sphere of magnetic energy, drawing in all of the flower petals into a vortex. Yang raised her other fist, bathing it in flames, and fired off another spell. The petals exploded away from her, flying away and into the fog once more.

"That was interesting." Yang turned to her left and watched as the source of the voice walked towards her. At first, it was just a silhouette, just above average height, thin, and dressed in a Soul Reaper uniform that managed to hide the entire length of his arms. Yang could barely make out a long white vest that hung over his shoulders when he got closer, then a scarf coiled around his throat. Finally, when she got close enough, she could see him completely. He had odd headpieces that kept his hair in sharp bangs on the left side of his face and out of his face on the right. His lavender-gray eyes looked cold and uncaring, though some sort of pain was barely visible behind them. His lips were curled downward in a sad scowl. "I cannot sense any spiritual pressure coming from you, yet you are fast enough to dodge Senbonzakura's petals and powerful enough to stop them in their tracks." He cocked his head to the side and glared at Yang. "You are one of the Ryoka."

"I keep hearing that word. I keep not knowing what it is," Yang responded. She slammed her fists together and grinned wildly at her new opponent. "For me, it just means I get to kick some butt."

"Vulgar. You are human, then." He blinked once, for the first time since he had arrived.

Yang laughed in confusion. "Uh, what else would I be?" she asked, shooting the tall, thin man a smile. She frowned when he didn't respond. "You know, when someone asks you a question, you're supposed to answer. It's only polite."

The man didn't respond, instead just locking his gaze on Yang and summoning the storm of petals towards her again, spiraling down from above. She glanced up just in time to notice them coming and raised her arms above her head and hoping that her Aura would be able to take the brunt of the blow. The pink petals rushed around her, tiny blades glancing off of the energy field surrounding her skin and clothes, every attack taking a small albeit noticeable chunk out of her Aura reserves.

The newcomer watched the attack land with disinterest. When the assault ended, he turned and began to walk away from his dead opponent. He thought, at least.

"Nice try." He turned around to see the girl running at him, unhurt visibly by his attack. The Reaper's eyes widened slightly in surprise; he had not been expecting her to shrug off his attack so easily. He summoned the petals back to form a wall between them, an impenetrable barrier she through which she could not attack him. Yang smirked and leaped into the air. She taunted, "Nice try, Mr. Flowery Disposition, but it isn't going to be that easy!" She landed a two handed blow on the wall, causing a massive explosion of force.

The wall cracked under the pressure, the force causing the petals to fly away from each other and the Reaper to be thrown back. He flipped while still midair and landed on his feet, though he seemed slightly rattled by what had happened. "You get it? Flowery Disposition? Because of the flowers and how angry looking you are?" she asked when he didn't chuckle or even grimace at her pun. "Hey, that was a good one."

"I had not expected a human to be so strong." The man stood up to his full height, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. The calm slowly began returning to his features. He opened his eyes a moment later and the petals flew back to his now outstretched hand, forming a sword blade. He turned the blade towards the ground in front of him. "Before I defeat you, why are you here?"

Yang rolled her eyes. "You? Beat me? Funny. Real funny, Chuckles," she mocked. She shrugged and decided to humor him regardless. "I'm Yang Xiao Long. I crashed here on accident; now I'm just looking for my idiot friend so we can leave." She grinned and waved her fingers at the Reaper. "And who are you, tall, pale, and serious?"

The figure glared at her for a moment, considering what to say in response. "You are worth more of my time than I had suspected," he said, his voice arrogant but still hinting that he had earned that arrogance. "I am Captain Kuchiki of Squad Six, and I am the Soul Reaper who killed you." His blade fell from his hand. "Bankai."

Yang raised an eyebrow in confusion as his blade drifted towards the ground. Why would he possibly drop his weapon? It left him defenseless, so why – She stopped thinking when the sword drifted into the ground, disappearing completely. The world darkened around her, the fog replaced with a pitch black dome. Swords the size of men began to grow from the ground, pillars of steel forming a pathway at the center of which stood Captain Kuchiki. Yang raised her arms defensively, knowing what was coming next. She had one chance. "Senbonzakura Kageyoshi," Kuchiki stated, and the swords exploded into a trillion petals each.

"Reflect!" Yang snapped under her breath, gathering the magic in her gut and forcing it outward. The blades consumed all vision of her, hiding from the Reaper the magical shield as it appeared. The blades bounced off of the spell, keeping Yang alive. But she knew it wouldn't hold; she was a tank, so she knew how long shields could hold out. Between the beating she had taken earlier, and the one she was inevitably going to take when the Reflect went down, she knew she'd be lucky if she survived.

As if the event was brought into being by her thoughts, the blades clattering against the Reflect wall finally shattered it. Pink petals slammed into Yang, sending her flying. She shut her eyes and focused on keeping her Aura up, on keeping herself alive. It wasn't enough, as blades soon slammed into her and she hit the ground unconscious.

The black dome slowly disappeared, and the blade of Captain Kuchiki rematerialized in his hand. "You held on much longer than I had expected." He sheathed his weapon, then turned and walked away without casting another glance at Yang's body.

Luckily for her, someone else was there to cast a glance. "I suppose it was a good thing that I've been keeping an eye on you. Not many Soul Reapers can even stand up to Byakuya for as long as you did." A small black cat bounded over and sat down beside the unconscious, barely bleeding Yang. "And even fewer would be in such good shape afterwards. Your clothes are not even damaged!" The cat leaned down and sniffed Yang's forehead. "Hm... but you still require some time to regain your energy."

The cat stood up and stretched its back, mewling slightly. "Well then, better get moving." A bright blue light began to emanate from the cat, and a moment later both she and Yang were gone.