Shinji Hirako was already sitting at his desk when Toshiro arrived in class.

Toshiro approached Shinji's desk and glared at him. You've got some explaining to do."

Shinji grinned and put a finger to his mouth.

"Not now. During our next free period."

Uryu looked at them curiously over a book he was reading.

Toshiro opened the door to the roof, expecting to find Shinji waiting for him. But the blonde student was nowhere to be found.

Toshiro looked to and fro.

"Psst. Up above."

Toshiro looked up. Shinji was floating upside-down in mid-air. A sword was sheathed at his side.

"So what is this? Are you a Shinigami?"

"I was, a long time ago."

"An evasive answer," Toshiro said.

"I'd think you'd be a bit more grateful," Shinji said in a playful tone. "I could have laid this all on you last night, but you seemed to have a bit much on your plate then."

"What is this proposition?" Toshiro asked.

Shinji spun around slowly so that he was rightside-up and landed. "I'd like you to join us, Toshiro."

"And who is us?"

Shinji grinned and lifted his hand above his face. White energy gathered around his hand, forming a large white mask.

Toshiro reflexively stepped reached for his substitute Shinigami badge.

"I see you know what this is," Shinji said. "I have a zanpakuto and a hollow mask."

"But you're not an Arrancar like the Grand Fisher," Toshiro observed.

"No. Arrancar are hollows who have overcome their limits and gained the powers of a Shinigami. I am a Shinigami who has overcome his limits and gained the powers of a hollow.

"They call us Visoreds."

Toshrio gripped his substitute badge tightly. "Are you with Aizen?"

Shinji's brow curled in anger. "That son of a bitch? If there's one thing I can assure you, it's that we are not with Sosuke Aizen."

"Say I believe you," Toshiro asked, "what do you want with me?"

"You're one of us," Shinji said softly, lowering his mask over his face. "Yes. You have an inner hollow, too. You just haven't learned to control it yet."

"A hollow mask just happens to appear in the perfect place to prevent me from being sliced in half. Another me just happens to be in Hyorinmaru's world. And then that thing that briefly took over me when I was fighting Byakuya."

"You know exactly what I mean," Shinji said. "Surely you've realized that you don't belong with them - "

Toshiro grabbed the front of Shinji's shirt.

"Don't ever tell me where I belong."

Shinji gave him as serious look.

"It's already too late. Once the symptoms appear, Visoreds can never become normal again. No matter what you think, the die is cast. You're already on our side."

"Orihime, the big guy, Mr. four eyes, do you really think that they are all friends of yours? Only for the moment. Sooner or later the hollow will take over if you continue to be a Shinigami. And then you will destroy everything around you, including your so-called friends."

"You have no choice but to come with us, Toshiro Hitsugaya."

Toshiro let go of Shinji's shirt. "No choice, huh? I'm afraid I'm not in a trusting mood right now."

"I can see that," Shinji said. "But soon you'll be desperate, and that's when you'll come to us."

He began to float into the sky again. "The message has been delivered. I'll see you soon, kid."

Toshiro didn't see Shinji or any other zanpakuto wielders for a week.

He, Chad, and Orihime continued their training regiment every day after school. They practiced several combination attacks, especially after Toshiro figured out how to use his zanpakuto's chain while in Bankai form.

One week after Toshiro's conversation with Shinji they began their training by having Chad attack barriers created by Toshiro and Orihime.

Chad's strength and stamina grew the more he used his power, and Orihime's shields were proving to be far more effective than her attack. Combined with Toshiro's ice walls they could create a multi-layered defense.

Chad blasted away the first layer of ice Toshiro made with his Shikai. Orihime's shield absorbed the remainder of the attack.

The three of them moved at the same time. Chad launched another attack as Orihime dropped her shield and Toshiro threw up another ice wall in its place.

The ice shattered again, revealing another orange energy shield behind it.

Toshiro looked at Orihime and nodded. "You're getting really good at putting those shields up quickly."

Orihime smiled. "Thanks."

Toshiro looked at Chad. "All right. Now let's try that again with my Bankai. I want to see how hard and thick I have to make the ice to block your attacks. Then we'll work on getting you to break through that – "

BOOM

The entirety of Karakura town shook as something large struck the ground at the other end of the forest.

But what shook Toshiro, Chad and Orihime was the sudden heaviness of the air around them,

"This reiatsu!"

"I haven't felt anything like this since we were in the Soul Society!" Chad said.

They looked up. Souls were being drawn through the air to the epicenter of the earthquake.

"Are those-" Orihime began.

"They've already started killing people," Chad said in horror.

Toshiro gritted his teeth in anger as he gripped his sword.

Many people gathered around the smoking crater.

"Was that a meteorite?"

"I don't see anything."

The humans could not see the two figures in white emerging from the smoke.

The larger of the two had tan skin and was a mass of muscle. A white jawbone covered the lower part of his mostly bald face.

The smaller figure had skin almost as white as his uniform. He was slender, with messy black hair and part of a white bone mask covering the left side of his head and his left ear like a piece of a horned helmet.

"Uch," the large one said. "I came here a few times while I was masked. I see the world of the living hasn't changed at all. It's still as boring as ever."

"Stop complaining, Yammy," the smaller figure said. "I told you I could handle this on my own. You're the one who insisted on coming."

Yammy scowled and began to walk out of the crater. He stopped when he saw all the people gathered around the hole in the ground.

"What's with you people?" he demanded. "You'd better stop staring at me or I'll suck out your souls!"

He opened his mouth and drew in a deep breath. The humans began writhing in agony as their souls were violently ripped from their bodies. A few moments later they were dead.

Yammy continued to draw in breath, gathering souls from people beyond the park as well.

When he had devoured the souls of two hundred people, Yammy finally exhaled.

"Blech! What an awful taste!"

The other one came up behind him. "What did you expect, Yammy? Weak souls like those will always taste nasty."

"I only did it because they kept staring at us," Yammy said.

"Those people weren't looking at you. In fact, they couldn't see us at all."

"I don't care! So, how many people are we supposed to kill here anyway?"

"Only one," the smaller one said. "There is no need to kill anyone else."

Yammy laughed. "There are so many humans here and you only want to kill one?"

"That is correct. I have been told that there are only three people in this town with the power to fight us. It should be easy to find them. The rest are just trash."

He stopped as he heard someone struggling.

Tatsuki was lying at the edge of the forest, trying in vain to push herself off the ground.

"Surprising," the small one said. "There seems to be a survivor."

"What happened?" Tatsuki asked. She looked at the two figures as they approached. "And who are they?"

Yammy stood over her and grinned.

"I'm guessing that if my Gonzui didn't suck out your soul, then you must have a pretty tasty reiatsu!"

He turned to his friend. "Hey, Ulquiorra! Is she one?"

"Look closely, you idiot," Ulquiorra responded. "She's being crushed just by your standing next to her. She's trash."

Yammy looked down at Tatsuki in disgust. "So you're saying she just got lucky? Well then, her luck's run out."

Yammy raised his arm to crush Tatsuki.

There was a burst of wind as another figure appeared between Yammy and his prey. He was small and wore a black kimono. His white hair was ruffled from the flash step he had used to get there. And he pointed a sword longer than he was tall at Yammy.

'What's going on?' Tatsuki thought. 'Is that … little Toshiro from school?'

Toshiro examined the devastation around them. He had never seen so many dead bodies.

"Bankai."

There was another burst of wind as the ice wings wrapped themselves around Toshiro.

"A Bankai, huh?" Yammy said. "Hey, Ulquiorra! Is this the one?"

"Yes," Ulquiorra answered. "Considering how clumsily you've dealt with the situation, I'm surprised we were able to flush him out at all."

"The white hair, the winged Bankai. There is no doubt about it, Yammy. This is our target."

"Toshiro!"

Yammy and Ulquiorra turned to see two other people running towards them.

Orihime and Chad stopped behind Toshiro. Chad summoned his arm as Orihime bent down to help Tatsuki up.

Chad looked at the holes in Yammy's chest and Ulquiorra's neck. "What are they? Are they hollows?"

"They're Arrancar," Toshiro said. "Hollows who have removed their masks. But these are different from the last one I fought. They're more advanced, somehow."

"Orihime, get Tatsuki somewhere safe and start healing her," he said.

Orihime nodded. "Santen Kesshun."

Ulquiorra stared at Orihime as she summoned an orange shield to protect herself and Tatsuki.

"What about these two?" Yammy aksed. "You said there were three strong people in this town."

Ulquiorra closed his eyes. "These are not them. They are also trash."

"Trash?" Toshiro asked angrily. He glanced at Chad.

"Alley-oop?"

Chad nodded.

"Alley-what?" Yammy asked.

Toshiro threw the chain of his zanpakuto at Yammy. It wrapped around the hollow's arm, covering the limb in ice.

The young Shinigami then launched into the air, dragging Yammy behind him.

Ulquiorra watched calmly as Toshiro stopped high in the air and began to spin Yammy around at the end of the chain.

He glanced at Orihime, who had dragged Tatsuki behind a tree and had out her in a healing field.

'That's not a healing technique,' he realized as he watched the girl at work. 'It's something I've never seen before.'

A torrent of energy shot out of the top of Chad's shoulder as he began to charge up to full strength.

High above, Toshiro continued the spin at the center of a circle, dragging Yammy around the circumference.

"Whoa….oooo ….oooo….oooo!" the large Arrancar screamed, unable to stop his motion.

Toshiro threw Yammy down. The Arancar's arm, still attached to the chain through the ice, was ripped off by the force of the motion as he plummeted towards the ground at tremendous speeds.

Chad clenched his fist as Yammy plummeted towards him. He put everything he had into the punch he unleashed just before Yammy hit the ground, striking the Arrancar in the face.

Ulquiorra turned his attention back to his comrade as Yammy was knocked back, landing over a hunder meters away.

Yammy lay still as Toshiro landed near him. The boy watched as the Arrancar struggled to rise.

'He used the momentum of his throw to amplify the strength of his friend's attack several times over,' Ulquiorra realized as he saw the pieces of the remains of Yammy's mask break off. 'I'm not sure if Yammy had his hierro up or not, but that attack, which should have been nothing, managed to break Yammy's jaw thanks to the momentum he built up.'

He looked at Toshiro intently. 'That was a clever maneuver, and he also tore Yammy's arm off, not something I would have expected from someone who just learned Bankai.'

'His reiatsu is strong, but even with his tricks, he couldn't possibly pose a threat to Lord Aizen at this level of power.'

Yammy glared at Toshiro, but he could not say anything with his jaw broken.

Ulquiorra appeared behind him. "It seems you're having a hard time, Yammy. Shall I take over?"

Yammy's shook his head and reached with his remaining hand for the sword sheathed at his side.

"I can't believe you need to use your zanpakuto to deal with a runt like this," Ulquiorra said.

Toshiro assumed a battle stance.

"Why are you two here?" he demanded. "Did Aizen send you?"

"Lord Aizen did send us," Ulquiorra answered.

'Crap,' Toshiro thought. 'I thought we'd have a lot more time than this.'

He looked at Yammy, who was slowly drawing his sword. 'The Grand Fisher changed forms and became stronger when he drew his zanpakuto. Will these guys do the same?'

"If they do, you can always let me take over."

Toshiro suddenly hunched over, holding his left hand over his face.

'No. Not now.'

Chad and Orihime looked at Toshiro in shock as his reiatsu flared wildly.

Yammy also noticed something was up and resheathed his sword. He kicked Toshiro in the stomach, sending the boy flying.

Toshiro rolled onto his hands and knees. Yammy was on him before he could rise, punching him in the back of the head.

'I can't move!' Toshiro thought. 'The hollow – it's blocking me from moving my limbs!'

An orange force field appeared between Yammy and Toshiro. The Arrancar looked to the side to side Chad running at him, swinging his arm to launch another attack. Orihime was not far behind him.

Yammy caught Chad's arm mid-swing and threw the large teenager at Orihime, knocking her out.

"Orihime! Chad!" Toshiro screamed.

Ulquiorra grew more concerned even as he watched Yammy punch and kick Toshiro again and again

'Something strange is going on. His reiatsu keeps fluctuating. One second it's normal, and then it suddenly spikes. When its low it's inconsequential, but when it's high it's stronger than mine. What the hell is going on?'

Yammy threw Toshiro into a nearby tree, cracking it in two.

'If Yammy's jaw wasn't broken he could finish this in an instant with his cero,' Ulquiorra thought. With his bare hands this might take a while.'

Toshiro groaned in agony.

'One shot,' he thought. 'It's dangerous, but it's the only thing I can do without being able to move.'

Ulquiorra looked up as dark storm clouds gathered above them and snow began to fall. There was a rustling of wind as lightning streaked overhead.

"That's enough, Yammy!" he called out. "We're leaving."

The larger Arrancar looked at his partner in confusion.

Ulquiorra turned and gestured, opening a tear in space. "We've completed our mission. Now we must deliver our report to Lord Aizen."

Yammy gave Toshiro one last look of disgust before obeying. He walked over to Ulquiorra and stepped through the portal with him.

"We will tell our lord than the boy he was so interested in has no value whatsoever. Nor do his allies. None of them are even worth killing."

The portal closed behind the Arrancar, leaving Toshiro, Chad, and Orihime behind, all unable to move.