Yes, I'm still alive and no this story is not abandoned! I'll explain more about where I've been and whats up after the chapter so if you're curious then read the A/N at the end.

Some terms you may or may not need to know for this chapter.

Shizentai – The natural standing position.

Taito – Holding the Shinai at the left hip, ready to draw. The tsuka should be in front of the centre of the body.

Ritsu Rei – Standing bow at about fifteen degrees for your opponent. When bowing to your opponent it is important that you keep constant eye contact, in fact, it is considered rude to break eye contact.

Sonkyo – A crouching position which is performed at the beginning and end of every match.

Men – The Kendo armour which protects the head, face and shoulders.

Shinai – The bamboo sword which is used in Kendo.

Zanshin – Mental and physical presence of spirit, especially after completing an attack.

Tenouchi – The usage of hands to tighten/loosen the grip on the Shinai or adjusting the balance between the hands when striking or responding to an opponent.

That's all, on with the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Highschool DXD, nor any of their respective characters.

Guardian of the Dead

- Chapter 10 -

~ Thursday Evening

"You're being far too dramatic about this, Ichigo," Ryujin breathed out with a tired sigh, further shaking his head when his young wielder remained silent, choosing instead to continue his brooding in his apartment.

"You're letting something which is based on speculation affect you far too much, we can't even be sure that the Devil's spotted you with the Exorcists. Judging from the position in which they were located it's all too likely that you were cut off from their view, leaving them with two exorcists talking with an unknown person or person's.

And even if they did so what? What does it change?"

"A lot," Ichigo finally spoke, a hint of sourness to his tone.

"It changes nothing," Ryujin barked out, drowning out any other thoughts Ichigo may have had.

"What's the worst that could happen? The Hyoudou boy tells his master who in turn alerts the Sitri heiress resulting in both of them growing weary and coming to you for answers? Hah! A lot of good that would do, I'd enjoy seeing those arrogant brats try and force something out of you, though I sincerely hope they are not so foolish as that."

"Don't be crazy, if I tried whatever the hell you're thinking in retaliation I'd end up with at least two pissed of Satan's at my doorstep who – as much as it pisses me off to say – could very easily kill me in my current state."

"Perhaps, but in return Amaterasu would blanket the underworld in the wrath of the sun, leading to one of the worst massacres in known history," he spoke flatly, voice hollow and emotionless as the brutal scene which he just described didn't bother him in the slightest.

The pen in Ichigo's hand stood frozen mid stroke as his mind wondered about the spirit which he now called partner. Still so unaware of who Ryujin Jakka really was, or why the spirit was able to so freely talk about such horrible things without the slightest hints of emotion in his voice.

"I wonder Ichigo, if you truly understand what it is you're asking for," the Zanpakuto spirit cut in again sharply, voice firm and bubbling with frustration though clearly not directly pointed at his wielder. "This is the second time the idea of Amaterasu saving or avenging you has been brought up and both times you have firmly protested against it, even though you haven't said it out loud I can hear your thoughts clearly."

"To not need protection from the Goddess of the Sun, someone who could be considered in the top five most powerful beings of this world ignoring the two ultimate beings, do you truly understand what that means?" Ryujin's voice trailed off slightly as he finished speaking, content to leave the conversation at that but not before mentally saying his final thought, 'Do you understand what kind of lonely existence you are asking for?'

Much like Ryujin Jakka could hear Ichigo's thoughts it worked the other way as well and so Ichigo did hear the final question proposed by his partner as well as the solemn tone which accompanied it. It was the first time the young Shinigami had ever heard such an emotion from the spirit and it prompted him to finally ask about who Ryujin Jakka really was and how he came to be bound to a Zanpakuto. "Do you ask that question from experience?"

"I'm old Ichigo, so much so that a thousand years is insignificant to me. I've been with Shigekuni now for going on 5 millennia but what do you suppose I did before that? As a wayward spirit who could render man or beast to naught but ashes before it's foe could blink, a demon of fire who could reduce cities to barren wastelands of charred earth, bitter smoke, and smouldering remnants of a civilization that used to be on the slightest of whims, I was alone."

"The type of loneliness and endless silence that eats away at your sanity until there is nothing left but madness. Sure some beings revel in silence, the aforementioned Dragon God's being prime examples but I am no exception like they are, I loathed that silence and was willing to do whatever I could to break it," Ryujin's tone was dark as he finished, doing nothing to hinder Ichigo from piecing the next part of the story together himself.

"I escaped my realm of fire and ash, ignoring the laws of the spirit world I shattered the chains which bound me to that world, that prison and I made way for the human world leaving a path of destruction and death in my wake. Acres of forest, quaint little villages and large bustling towns, thousands of innocent lives ended, their souls sent through the gates of the afterlife screaming in agony as the memory of my flames licking at their skin lingered on.

And all for the purpose of ending the silence."

"Are you saying such a fate will befall me?" Ichigo asked tersely, voice strained as his heart wavered listening to the story his Zanpakuto told. It was hard to hear that his partner, the being now bound to his soul had done such horrible things and yet Ichigo could still feel not even a shred of regret from the spirit.

Ryujin aware of his wielders inner turmoil spoke bluntly, "I will create no delusions for you Ichigo, I am by all definitions an evil being without remorse or care for anything or anyone, even now all these years later I feel nothing for the countless atrocities I've committed. If everyone in this town were to suddenly die I wouldn't bat an eye, as long as you are safe the world can burn.

I cannot say if such a fate will be yours to live as well but always remember, it is lonely at the top by yourself."

Silence fell on the two as Ichigo's heart waged war between it's conflicting emotions. He understood the purpose of the story and the point his Zanpakuto was making, that if he really wanted to protect everyone who couldn't do so themselves he would need to become the strongest, strong enough to defeat any enemy be they man or God. Already he could see what a lonely existence that could be.

He'd already had a small taste when his powers were restored and the seal on his latent abilities had been broken he witnessed firsthand the negative effects an uncontrolled power like that could have on the surroundings, that was why Gods never left their realms, why it was forbidden for them to walk amongst mortals.

If Ichigo gained the power to protect everyone like he'd always wanted then would he be forbidden to walk alongside mortals as well? The possibility was all too real and all too frightening. 'With great power comes great responsibility.' Ichigo scoffed as the phrase crossed his mind, it was such a cheesy line said by all the cartoon hero's you could imagine yet even still it was so true.

"So what changed? How did you end up as a Zanpakuto spirit?" that was one question still bugging the teen, how could Ryujin go from what he was to being a weapon used for protecting the souls of the dead?

Said spirit let out a mirthless and bitter chuckle at the question, "What happened? I was struck down. With a righteous fury born from the loss of so many of her children Amaterasu came down from Takama-ga-hara and crushed me, the flames of the sun overwhelming mine to a frightening degree.

Normally she would have been completely content to let me fade into oblivion but as a divine being with the lives of millions under her protection she cannot always opt for the 'morally correct' decision, thus I was given a choice. I could fade away into oblivion and be forgotten or give my soul to her and be bound to the first ever artificial Zanpakuto, becoming the most powerful weapon ever created by man or God."

"What better way to combat evil than with another evil?" A simple sentence with a much more complex meaning, Ichigo understood the concept even if he didn't agree with it. He didn't like the things that Ryujin had done during his life and the fact that the spirit was more than content having done them really bothered him but really what could he do? Nothing.

The old man had been working with Ryujin for thousands of years to protect the souls of the dead and now that torch was slowly being passed to him, something he would continue and so much more. Even if Ryujin didn't care about what he'd done in the past the fact of the matter was that he'd been inadvertently using his power for good this whole time because he could've very easily not let Ichigo or the old man wield his flames, but he did and still does.

So with some twisted justification that the young Shinigami wasn't completely okay with he could somewhat overlook the things his partner had done before.

"Hmph, inadvertently using my powers for good? I told Amaterasu when I agreed to her crazy plan that I didn't care what I would be used for I just wanted the silence to stop, whether I'm used to do good things or bad matters not."

"Oi, stop adding fuel to the fire," Ichigo cut in with a mental glare to his vexing spirit, "It may not matter to you but it does to me and I'm trying to justify everything anyway I can, you keep making it harder, so shut it if you have nothing better to say." he finished in an annoyed tone drawing a small huff of laughter from Ryujin which marked the end to their conversation.

Ichigo had much to think about now anyway.

~ Friday Morning, ORC Clubroom

"Kiba?! Why are you here? I thought.." Rias trailed off lightly as her only Knight walked in the club room followed by an oddly serious looking Issei. She was at a loss for words, he had made it very clear the last time they'd spoken that revenge on the holy swords was his only goal no matter the cost so why was he back here already?

The possessor of Sword Birth could only direct an apologetic look towards his master before bowing at the hip, "I'm sorry President," he began, slowly rising once more to meet her gaze, a small, sad smile present as their eyes met. "I was overcome by my emotions and I regret the way I handled the situation. Issei and Koneko called me out and we talked, thanks to them I've begun to see reason in all of this confusion."

The Gremory heiress' eyes lit up with hope as she assumed this meant he was abandoning his suicidal quest for revenge, "does that mean..?" Her question was simple however when a shake of the blond-haired knights head accompanied it her face began to fall once more.

"I haven't given up- I can't give up.. but, I've realized there are better ways to accomplish my goals and abandoning my friends, my comrades, my family is not the way to do it." The passion in his voice as he spoke was palpable though before he could say anymore he was enveloped in a big hug from the girl who saved him all those years ago.

Hearing that was good enough for Rias right now, she still wasn't completely okay with him wanting revenge even if she could understand why but this was enough for now. She was just so happy that he was back with her and everyone else. When two hands rested on her shoulder and gave a small push she relented her hold on him and pulled back only to be met with a now serious gaze from the swordsman, an expression she could see Issei mimicking behind him to the side.

"What's wrong Kiba? Issei?" She asked softly, making eye contact with both of them, all sorts of horrible ideas began playing out in her head of what could possibly be bothering them but nothing could prepare her for the headache-inducing news she was about to hear.

Kiba's eyes knitted themselves further together as he began to speak, "After Issei and Koneko finished convincing me that I was taking the wrong path yesterday we decided because of the time that we would eat dinner together before heading our separate ways and going home, however it was during our trip to a diner that we made an alarming discovery, something that could mean much larger things are moving behind the scenes than we can imagine."

"What did you see Kiba?" She asked sharply, her own eyes tilted down in a frown.

"We saw the new transfer student having dinner with those two exorcists from before," Kiba's own voice dropped at the mention of those two, thinking about them meant thinking about his humiliating defeat he was handed by the blue haired girl, something he had already begun to correct by vigorously training so that he would never be humiliated like such again. Pulling himself from his thoughts he continued, "We were too far to make out what they were saying and didn't wish to alert them of our presence by going closer however one thing I can say for sure is that it wasn't just a gathering of old friends."

Rias' eyes met that of Issei's and a simple nod of the head confirmed with her what Kiba had just said, it wasn't that she didn't trust the knight, not at all, she just couldn't afford to have any 'what if's' in this situation so finally she turned around and faced the smallest of her peerage who was for once not munching on snacks, instead just sitting quietly beside Asia.

The white-haired school mascot's perceptive and sensory abilities were far above any other in her peerage including herself, so if she wanted to know something about someone like what race they were if the person was particularly good at hiding it or if she met someone and wanted to know if the way they acted was their 'true self' and they weren't trying to deceive her than the first person she would always go too was Koneko, and this time was no exception.

"What's your take on it Koneko?"

"They were very docile.. When they were fighting Issei-senpai and Kiba-senpai they were confident that they would win and it showed, but with Kurosaki-senpai it was the complete opposite.. like they felt what we have."

Rias' eyes shut slowly as a sigh left her body. So Ichigo Kurosaki was a part of the supernatural, if they didn't have proof before then this was it. But, that didn't change the fact that they still knew nothing of who he worked for or how strong he was, though now she had a better idea and it wasn't very comforting. Sona, herself, and both of their respective peerages had both spent enough time around the new transfer to know what 'that feeling' was.

He felt almost like a regular human, he gave off just enough energy to tell them he had potential to grow stronger but not enough for them to think he would ever be anything special even with training. Yet even knowing that whenever they were in his presence they felt on edge, the hairs on the backs of their necks stood and it felt as if they were sat below an ocean, like he could crush them at any second.

The two exorcists weren't weak by any means, they easily dealt with Issei and Kiba and Rias knew that if the both of them got serious it would take herself and Sona to defeat them and it wouldn't be easy either. If those two really felt the same thing around the transfer student as they did and it was enough to make even them docile then that meant they believed they stood no chance in a fight against him which also meant that Rias and Sona probably wouldn't fare too well in a fight against him either and that just made all of this an even bigger headache than she needed.

Clearly the Gremory heiress' queen had pieced together everything just as Rias had and something was bugging her about it all, so with a troubled look on her face she stepped forwards from her position by her King's desk and spoke up. "Kurosaki-san can't be with the Angels." She began bluntly, "No matter how you feel about him personally we can all agree that he hasn't once made us feel threatened, quite the opposite actually. Even Koneko has said she feels no malice from him so I can't see them being fearful of him due to his personality, but if it isn't that then all that's left is his power, but that doesn't make sense either because if he was their ally then no matter how strong he was there wouldn't be a need to fear him, in fact, the stronger he was the better it would be for them."

Everyone in the room agreed with her deduction, it really didn't make sense.

"But he was definitely meeting with them about something supernatural related.. maybe their goals align?"

Even though none of them disagreed with what Issei said as it was most likely that they were working together because their goals were the same to some extent however that fact only made things more confusing. "He definitely isn't a Devil, and we're pretty sure he isn't an Angel which just leaves the possibility of him being a Fallen, but the problem with that idea is the exorcists want to retrieve the stolen Excalibur fragments, that isn't something the Fallen Angels would go along with which rules out the idea of him being a Fallen.."

A couple seconds passed in silence before Rias groaned and tousled her hair in frustration, there were too many unknowns in this. The possibility that another faction could be pulling strings behind the scenes here made this all a lot bigger than they originally thought. Should she tell her brother immediately? She honestly couldn't say. First and foremost she would discuss it with Sona and go from there, but for now, she had a little reconnaissance mission planned for her sole rook.

When the final bell rang and he made to exit from his classroom he quickly found two girls blocking his path of escape, Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima, Kuoh's two great Onee-sama's. 'They sure don't waste time do they,' he mused, his mood souring rather quickly as he waited for the duo to state their business. It was pretty obvious that the Gremory group had informed the Sitri Heiress of their findings during lunch period as the red-haired girl and her queen wasted no time in ushering the other two out of the classroom for some 'important business.'

Perhaps they were trying to intimidate him now with the serious air around them or the determination they held in their eyes while the standoff between them continued, but really it wasn't working. Ichigo was the king of flat, intimidating stares and he could make almost anyone become timid with a simple downwards tilt of his eyebrows. Obviously, this time was no different because as the seconds passed he could already see cracks beginning to form in their expressions.

Ignoring the two Devils, Ichigo was completely aware of the fast-growing crowd around the three, most likely wondering if they were going to see an epic drama unfold right before their eyes. He'd already become quite famous after his verbal match with the Student Council President upon his arrival, something that no other student had ever been brave – stupid – enough to do.

Unfortunately for the spectators, they wouldn't be seeing anything of interest as Ichigo had no desire for more attention than he already had, more so he actually had somewhere to be right now so with a curious glint in his eye he spoke, "Is there something I can help you with Gremory-san? Himejima-san?"

As if a switch was flicked both girls gained warm smiles on their faces, a stark contrast to the expressions they held just seconds before. Along with the smile's, their eyes glinted with mischief and with the case of Rias, some arrogance. Could he have been wrong about his assumptions before? Did he actually not get spotted with the two exorcists and this was something completely different? He could picture Ryujin's smug expression already should that be the case.

Or, perhaps did they believe they had the upper hand in this situation? 'It's true they don't know much about my powers or abilities, for all I know they could think I'm some talentless punk.' That thought honestly pissed him off more than it should but the more he thought about it the more he realized that might be for his own benefit. Say for instance they did spot him with the exorcists, that would be enough for them to confidently say he was a part of the supernatural and likely associated with Heaven and the Church, also it would affirm that he was likely stronger than they believed but it would be impossible to say how much.

Sure it could be that she was just always naturally arrogant but if Ichigo were to hazard a guess he'd say that right now the Gremory heiress believed she was in complete control of the situation, that she and Sona could suppress him or pry whatever information the wanted from him at any time they wished. It was an assumption that if true he would be more than happy to crush.

Or maybe he was completely off base and way overthinking things because when the red-haired girl finally did speak to him it turned out that it had nothing to do with the subject he'd originally thought it would be about.

"Kurosaki-san! Sorry to bother you but I just came to ask about a little rumour that's been circulating recently, it's created quite the buzz among the girls of Kuoh Academy."

"A rumour?" He asked in a cautious tone, brow raising to express his confusion.

"Right!" She chirped out with a clap, her smile growing wider. "Rumour has it that you'll be having a match against our school's top Kendo practitioners Murayama-san and Katase-san today, I'll admit all the hype has kind of gotten me excited too and I was wondering if we could tag along?" at the word 'we' her hand swept out in a gesture which reiterated the fact that Akeno was the one she was referring too.

Face falling deadpan Ichigo resisted the urge to sigh out heavily, it seemed that the rumour mill had been doing what it did best and exaggerated things recently. "Look, I hate to burst your bubble but I never agreed to a match or anything, just that I'd stop by and check out the club."

Ichigo could only scratch the back of his head awkwardly when a collected cry of 'aw' rang out from the crowd of girls around him, 'Was it really such a big deal?' Hell, even Rias and Akeno were pouting slightly at the correction of information. It's not like he be able to even take a duel seriously right now, this wasn't like before where he could get back into his human body and his powers would be suppressed, right now his body was being augmented drastically by his reiatsu and there wasn't much he could do about it, it wouldn't be a fair duel if it happened.

Not one to be deterred however the Gremory Heiress didn't give up, "Well that's unfortunate to hear, though you never know when something.. interesting might happen so if it's alright with you I'd still like to tag along."

'If that doesn't scream ulterior motive I don't know what does.' To the Shinigami the fact that she was so obvious about it told him one thing, that she really did believe she had the upper hand in all of this and that made him want to play into her hands even more, then finally when the truth all came out and her arrogance was knocked down a few pegs it would be all the more satisfying for Ichigo.

"Suit yourself," he breathed out, shoulders raising slightly in a shrug, "it's not up to me where you can or can't go."

With a smile that was far too sweet to be sincere Rias turned and began down the hall alongside Ichigo, Akeno one step behind her.

The attention as they walked was just as if not more annoying that he thought it would be, back at Karakura he had a reputation of being a merciless delinquent who sent groups of thugs to the hospital on a daily basis, and while it wasn't actually true it did have the added benefit of keeping people and their gazes away from him, here though? Not so much.

"So how's your time at Kuoh Academy been so far, Kurosaki-san? Rias asked innocently drawing a sideways glance from the tall man next to her, ignoring the shiver the ran up her spine as she fell further into the depth of his gaze she continued, "It's not often someone transfers to a new school so late in the year."

Ichigo snorted mentally at the question, 'That's right, they probably tried looking into my background and couldn't find anything. I have no doubt that Amaterasu would have created some phony story for me but for someone of the supernatural it isn't hard to spot a load a crap when you see one.' The Gremory and Sitri heiress's had probably been pulling out their hair in frustration at the lack of anything they could find on him, he was just a ghost who came out of nowhere, it was bound to drive them up the wall.

That was an amusing thought for the Shinigami, "Mm, it's been good, a little busy with all the catch up I have to do but it hasn't been that hard."

Raising a hand to her mouth the second of Kuoh's two great Onee-sama's released a soft laugh,"Ufufufu, not that hard he says? Kuoh Academy has always been known for having a much higher standard of learning than other school's, for you to say it hasn't been hard is quite something."

Ichigo merely shrugged again as Rias joined in laughing with her Queen, "I think there would be quite a lot of frustrated people around here if they heard that considering how hard they have to work to stay here, for some new guy to transfer in a couple months after the semester's already started and rise up the rankings as quickly as you have must be aggravating."

"Che, it's not like I've never had to work hard for something in my life, I wasn't born with everything handed out to me, I had to give everything I had to get where I am today. If they have time to complain about me doing well then they just aren't working hard enough." It could be argued that because of his heritage he did have a slight advantage in the supernatural world, but at the same time, he really didn't.

His heritage was kept a secret from him until after the war was already over. From the moment Rukia first awakened his powers to the moment he used the final Getsuga Tenshou to defeat Aizen he fought with an imbalanced soul, a soul which was constantly at war with itself, and a dismayed soul cannot grow and flourish to the full potential that a soul in harmony could. That coupled with the fact that the Old man had actually been suppressing most of his latent abilities meant that in reality, he was at a severe disadvantage throughout everything, yet he still won.

He didn't win with handouts, he won with hard work, blood, sweat and tears.

The two girls walking alongside him didn't miss the flash of darkness that swept through his expression as he spoke and it told them that there was a lot more to his words than what most would hear on the surface. As must as they wanted to inquire further with the new student their arrival at their destination killed any hopes of that occurring, well for now at least.

The sound of screaming girls and Shinai's colliding drew Ichigo form his thoughts, as he entered the Kendo Club's Dojo he was positively taken back by what he saw. It was large, a lot larger than what the outside of the building let on, high risers for seating stood on two of the walls, a third wall in the building held a couple of doors which led to changing rooms for the members of this club as well as a separate one for visiting schools that were separated by old Japanese texts and paintings depicting famous swordsman and the virtues and codes by which they lived. On the wall which he'd entered from there was obviously a door sat at the far end where he stood and all along the remainder were dummies ready for those of the Kendo Club to practice.

Finally, looking to the members of the Club – who were 'surprise surprise,' all girls – all but two of them were sat in Seiza with their Shinai at their side watching the centre of the three rings where the two girls who had come to talk to him originally were sparring. They were good, their footwork was fluid and quick and their strikes were sharp and light-handed. Kendo wasn't about beating your opponents with a wooden stick using all the strength you had, it was light, precise, and rewarded technique when cutting or defending your opponent, and as he watched them he could see the talent they possessed, Ryujin wholeheartedly agreed.

When the spar ended the two combatants settled into a more relaxed posture and it was then that one of the other club members who had been studying the match closely noticed that they had guests. The shocked 'Oh!' that escaped her then alerted everyone else to their presence and for a brief moment everyone just stared at the trio of Kuoh celebrities – yes Ichigo had already made it into that list – in shock and awe, much to the Shinigami's relief Murayama and Katase quickly removed their Men and padded over.

"Kurosaki-senpai, I'm glad you could come!" Murayama began, her tone a pitch higher than normal giving away her excitement at seeing the boy in question in their club. Thoroughly enjoying the bashful look on his face at their reactions she turned towards the two great Onee-sama's of Kuoh Academy who she was honestly surprised to see him with. "Gremory-senpai, Himejima-senpai, what can I do for you?"

Raising her hands up in a defensive manner Rias's hair swayed as her head shook in the negative, "Don't mind me and Akeno, we were simply curious much like the rest of the school when the news that Kurosaki-san would be coming here to spar with you today spread." Even though she couldn't see his face at the moment she knew that if the three were still alone the new transfer would be giving her a glare that could freeze the very bowels of Hell themselves.

Ichigo inwardly bristled at her words, he'd clearly told the heiress that there would be no sparring today and as if it went in one ear and right out the other the first things she says after arriving is that he will be sparring with them. "Actually I-"

"What?! A spar with us?! Really?!" The pink haired girl blurted out, hands clasped before her chest and her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Hearing the other members of the club who were stood a short distance away break out in a hushed, excited chatter Ichigo resisted the urge to sigh out and pinch the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Rias's plan had worked, she put him in a position where he couldn't say no and he really couldn't say no, not after seeing how happy it had made the girls. Pushing the irritation to the side he put on a still genuine half smile and nodded, "That was the plan but I forgot to bring anything with me today so.." he could still turn this around if he was lucky, or so he thought as he temporarily forgot who he was, he was Ichigo Kurosaki, the man who always had and always would get the middle finger from lady luck.

"That's okay!" Murayama quickly jumped in, not letting the opportunity slip, "When Kuoh Academy went Co-ed the Kendo Club received male gear as well but since we don't have any male members it's just sat unused in the male change rooms, I'm sure there's something that would fit you!"

With a slightly more strained smile that thankfully none of them picked up on, he praised her for her quick thinking and started towards the male change rooms. 'So, any ideas? I can't spar fairly with them right now.'

A low hum was his only response for the first few seconds as his partner mulled over their trivial dilemma, "I have something in mind that could work but honestly the thought of using it for a situation like this is beyond ridiculous.."

'Well ridiculous has been my life for the past couple of years so just say it,' Ichigo responded with a roll of his eyes.

"There is an old Onmitsukido technique that isn't really well known to the masses due to the nature of it. It's used for missions that go awry where the Shinigami faces a high chance of death, essentially it allows the Shinigami to 'play dead' until such a time comes that the threat has left and they can attempt to return to the Seireitei."

'Sounds a lot like just suppressing your reiatsu to me.'

"Completely suppressing one's reiatsu is unreliable because one small slip of their concentration and their energy will fluctuate briefly alerting the pursuer, this technique is a much more extreme version of that and was made to completely mimic death. To sum it up a Shinigami's Zanpakuto temporarily locks their soul stopping it from releasing out any reishi for a short period of time."

'So what's the catch?' the Shinigami could already think of a couple potential negatives to using such a technique, to lock one's soul up was not something you just did on a whim for fun so it was understandable why they only used it for the direst of situations.

"Do you remember when I was explaining to you the reason why your power was completely uncontrollable back in the Muken?' he paused briefly to wait for Ichigo to nod his head, 'Good, now imagine once more that your soul is a dam and then put a lid on top of it to completely close it off, with that image in mind I want you to think of this; A Shinigami in a dire situation, low on reiatsu and potentially heavily wounded closes of their soul in an attempt to trick their pursuer into believing they have died so that they may attempt an escape to safety. However, being low on reiatsu doesn't mean completely exhausted, what would happen to the reiatsu still swirling around in that closed off soul?

The answer to that is what makes this technique such a gamble. The remaining reiatsu slowly seeps into the gap between your soul and the lid containing it melding the two permanently together. Now, what would happen to a soul like yours which is brimming with reiatsu if one attempted to temporarily close it off? There is no telling how quickly that lid would meld itself completely closed."

The Zanpakuto had to say no more, 'ridiculous would be an understatement,' Ichigo could understand why Ryujin hadn't wanted to even bring it up, to use such a technique and risk losing access to one's powers all just for the purpose of having a fair spar.. 'What kind of idiot would do that?'

With no hesitation, the one he was bound to answered the question, "You would."

The teen's chest puffed out with indignation at the suggestion, 'I'm not that reckless.. I'm not!' he repeated when no response was given, '..Okay fine, I am.' he finally mumbled out when it was clear that no one else agreed with his statement.

A heavy sigh filled with unease escaped the most powerful Zanpakuto, he would do it if that was what Ichigo wished but it was risky, very risky. He didn't understand how Zangetsu managed to stay sane after working with this kid for so long, perhaps he got used to it and hopefully, Ryujin would too. "I could give you maybe an hour, even that is pushing it.. I will need to be focused solely on stopping your reiatsu from binding the seal so it will be up to you to break your soul back open when the time comes."

'.. do it.'

~ In the main hall with Rias

Things were going wonderfully for the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess, she could tell pretty quickly that under his brash and cold exterior there was a warm heart that cared for others, you could see it in the way he acted. He never shrugged anyone off, whenever someone actually got the courage to speak to him he would speak back, not just give short and uncaring replies. Whenever someone needed help be it picking something up, needing help carrying something heavy or aiding in cleaning he just did it, without a word he would just step in and help, he was genuine in his own way.

And so when the opportunity came to box him into fighting she just had to take it, she knew he wouldn't refuse if he seen the girls get excited for it so she laid the trap and let it fall into place, sure it was cunning and wrong but she was a Devil after all.

As if on his acceptance to duel the girls it was as if a broadcast had been sent out to the school because the risers in the arena had already filled with mostly girls but there were some boys who probably had less than noble reasons of being here. This would be the perfect chance for them to do some ogling and not get beat with Shinai's.

Her peerage was, of course, all present and there was a good chance that Sona would eventually show up well. When the battle permits it you always try and match yourself up with the enemy who you have the best chance of winning against so Kiba was particularly interested in this as the sole swordsman of her peerage. When Ichigo announced that he was practising Kendo it automatically put the transfer student on his list of potential future enemies so right now Kiba would watch him closely and determine the level of swordsmanship he was up against.

As the moments passed Rias was honestly getting a little suspicious, he was taking quite a long time in the change rooms and his energy kept fluctuating ever so slightly which was odd because until now whenever in his presence his energy never had so much as flickered once, it was always perfectly smooth. The only guess she could make at this point was that he was attempting to use some sort of spell without alerting them all, for what reason she couldn't say.

Letting a few more seconds pass she almost wanted to take a step back from shock when his energy just vanished, like a snap of the finger one second it was there and the next it was gone, instantly her eyes met those of Akeno's who looked just as puzzled as her. She bit her lip in frustration as her mind worked, even when someone passed away their energy didn't just vanish so quickly. To only further show how absurd the phenomenon was Sona followed by the Student Council came briskly through the door her eyes screaming 'what the hell just happened?!'

But before an answer could be given as smooth as ever Ichigo came gliding out of the changing rooms dressed in full gear, his Shinai held in his left hand in a 'sheathed' position and his Men hanging in his right hand at his side. All eyes immediately went to him including hers and for the briefest instant their gazes met, there was a playful sort of mockery in his heavy stare almost as if he was saying 'did you really think you had won this?' truthfully it made her bristle with frustration.

~ With Ichigo in the changing rooms

He would admit panic took over for a moment when the change first occurred, it felt like he was back to his former self after the winter war had finished, powerless. If he had to describe being a Shinigami he would use the word weightless, or maybe like everyone and everything except for him was moving in slow motion. You're so agile, you can run so fast, jump so high, lift heavy things like its nothing, your senses are heightened to a level much higher than that of a normal human and of course you get the extra ability to sense the energy of all living things. Now though it felt as if his body was in slow motion and everything around him had been sped up, that coupled with the fact that he could no longer sense any spiritual beings left him feeling very vulnerable.

'Lets get this over with quickly,' he mused as he went to the door, time was already short. As he reached for the handle and actually left his thoughts he noticed that it had gotten quite a lot louder outside, it didn't take a genius to figure out the cause for such noise in this situation and his assumptions were affirmed when the chatty crowd all turned their gazes to him.

Ignoring all of them however Ichigo was only looking for one set of eyes, the blue eyes of the Devil that put him into this situation, as soon as their gaze's met her confusion was made apparent and that look alone made up for everything she was currently putting him through. He couldn't just leave it at that though and thus let a little smugness seep into his expression, now while he was enjoying some good Kendo spars she would be wracking her brain about what the hell happened.

As he strode over to the outside of the centre most arena where Murayama awaited he put on the Men which had been hanging in his right hand, upon stepping foot into the arena where Murayama awaited opposite him the Dojo fell silent in anticipation. Standing in Shizentai Murayama and Ichigo leant forwards in a bow and as if perfectly synchronized both parties assumed Taito, took 3 large steps forwards and drew their Shinai. With their Shinai's poised and the tip level with the opponent's throat finally they both fell into the position of Sonkyo and after a couple of seconds stood back up signalling the start of the match.

~ With the two peerages

"I honestly don't know what to tell you Sona, one second everything was normal and then faster than I can blink all of his energy is just gone." knowingly or unknowingly the Gremory Heiress' fingers were drumming in irritation as she stood cross-armed, "I've even asked Koneko about it and there's just nothing."

Sona's own lips were pursed as she stood, first the mysterious interruption during the duel between Rias and the two exorcists and now a phenomenon like this. She'd never heard of the ability to completely erase one's magical presence, at least not without the aid of a magical device and both her and Rias were sure that none were currently in use. 'circle-less casting and an ability to appear human.' both frighteningly powerful abilities in their own right and both having appeared within the last couple weeks, was it a coincidence that these things began happening when the new transfer arrived? She couldn't say.

"It doesn't make sense why he'd use such an ability now of all times as we already know he is a part of the supernatural, it would have been more prudent to use such a technique from the very beginning if he wanted to try and hide." the Student Council President finally responded.

"Perhaps it is taxing to use or it has some sort of negative side effect?"

Nodding her head at Tsubaki's words Sona's brow creased further, "That would be the most logical reason, but it still leaves the question of why now of all times."

Kiba who had been silently watching the match with great interest broke his silence and offered up a far less sinister reason than any of them were expecting, "He did it out of respect for his opponent."

".. out of respect?" Rias deadpanned.

"Yes, he likely didn't want to compete in the first place because of the advantage he had as a supernatural being, his body and senses are heightened far more than a normal human, it simply wouldn't be fair."

"But to suppress one's magical signature wouldn't change the fact that his body is enhanced, to even the playing field he would need to become human again.." as the words left Akeno's mouth her eyes widened at the implications.

Sona immediately shook her head, unwilling to accept such a thing, "No, as far as I know there is no technique in existence that allows you to become mortal, and even if there was why would you use it just to level the field in a couple of Kendo matches, that's ridiculous."

Once more Kiba stepped in as the voice of reason, "I don't think he became human completely but the evidence is there to support the theory that he's somehow sort of blocked his bodies ability to draw in and harness magical energies. I know it's ridiculous sounding but after watching him fight I believe that Shinra-san's theory is correct."

That brought another confused glance from the two groups as to each of them it looked like he had been the same the entire time. Seeing that no one other than him had caught on he shook his head lightly and continued further, "He was fine during his spar with Murayama-san but I noticed when he went up against Katase-san that he was becoming more and more distracted as the match continued, even now his movements are much more hurried, like he's trying to get this over with as quickly as possible."

"So basically he doesn't have as long as he thought he had and now things are looking bad for him," the Student Council President sighed out before breaking from the group and heading towards Ichigo who was currently giving some instructions to the newer students. Murayama and Katase were both incredibly talented but Ichigo had completely dominated them and if what Kiba said was true he basically did it on autopilot versus Katase at least which made it even more impressive. At least the two of them didn't look discouraged by the loss, instead, they immediately began asking him to join the club and teach them.

Honestly, Sona had rather liked the new transfer from what she'd experienced about him so far, he was a no-nonsense kind of guy who wasn't controlled by his libido unlike most of the other male students. He was intelligent, skilled in combat if this was anything to go by and he was quick-witted, for Sona there wasn't really much not to like about him. Yes it was a shame that he could be a potential enemy but she would hope for the best, innocent until proven guilty, right?

"Kurosaki-san?" she piped up from behind the crowd, ignoring the annoyed looks from the group at losing the attention of their Sensei. Seeing that his attention was on her she continued, "We've just received a call from your home and it seems that your presence is required immediately, they wouldn't say what for, however."

'Quick witted sometimes it would seem,' The girl resisted the urge to roll her eyes as the transfer student looked at her like he had no idea what she was talking about, 'Well at least I know that backstory is fake now,' that was one positive from all of this it seemed. Adjusting her glasses she watched half amused when his eyes finally widened briefly at the realization of what she was doing and the implications it held.

"Thanks for the heads up, I'll get going now then," he spoke genuinely before turning back to the girls of the Kendo club.

Sona nodded once herself and began back towards the group of Devil's which she came from, each one surprised at the actions she took, they all knew he could be a potential enemy and so for her of all people to help him like that was surprising, well there were two exceptions, Saji wasn't looking at her and instead was choosing to glare jealously at the transfer student and Issei was comforting him, 'oh brother..'

~ With Ichigo

The first spar against Murayama had been really fun, it was nice not to worry about crazy supernatural power's and abilities or over the top attacks, just simple swordsmanship. He had beat her pretty badly however it wasn't just to prove he was better, he knew firsthand that to reach the next level you couldn't be complacent, but to break out of that complacency you need to suffer a loss, one that shows you that you're nowhere near the top yet and that you have a long way to go. It was for that reason that he went all out and gave her such a one-sided thrashing. He was pleased to see that it didn't dishearten her but instead lit a new fire within her to grow stronger and to further improve herself.

Katase was much of the same, she just like Murayama was incredibly talented but had become complacent due to their continued success so he gave her the same treatment. Unfortunately, he couldn't enjoy this one like he could the first because he could tell really quickly that the hour time limit Ryujin had suggested was way off the mark, it hadn't even been half an hour and already he could feel his inner world growing dimmer and dimmer.

He really wanted to call it right there, he did what he said he would and had a match with the two girls and now it was time to reverse his stupidity and re-open his soul, or so he wanted. It seemed that the other members of the Kendo club weren't through yet with 'Kurosaki-sensei' and they had now dubbed him much to his chagrin, then she came.

Sona Sitri, or Souna Shitori as she went by in the human world, 'how creative,' She alerted him that his family who was currently in another parallel to his own had called Kuoh Academy saying his presence was required immediately at home. It was one of his slower moments he would admit, it took him a good few seconds for what she said to actually click into his mind and for him to realize that Sona had just saved his ass.

So with an escape route secured he thanked her genuinely and turned towards his 'students.' "It's unfortunate but you heard her," he began, earning a chorus of disappointed aw's from around him, it looked like each of them wanted to argue and try and convince him to stay and he really didn't want to disappoint any of them so he threw on a small smile and said the one thing that he knew would placate them, "I'll come back again sometime soon, this was fun."

It really was fun, did he actually want to come back? That was a tough one to say. He didn't really care for all of the female attention and he wasn't much of a teacher so while the sparring was nice he knew that every time he did return it would just turn into a 'please help me now, please help me now' sort of thing which he wasn't really looking forward too.

Changing back into his school uniform he walked briskly through the halls towards the exit, fast enough to cover more ground quickly but not fast enough to make it look like he was trying to run away. Once he had left the building and knew for certain he was out of eyesight his pace did change and he broke out into a sprint. His destination was somewhere on the outskirts of town in the surrounding forested area and not his home for the simple fact that he had no clue what would happen once he broke through to his reiryoku again.

There was a high chance that once he broke through a large release of reiatsu would occur which would be bad to do in the city for a couple of reasons. The main one being that it isn't safe to expose regular humans with an average amount of reiryoku to high doses of reiatsu under any circumstances, the second reason being the fact that he could potentially become an arsonist. While doing his training in Takama-ga-hara he'd already experienced many time's the surrounding area's catching on fire due to the nature of his reiryoku and being in the human world was no different, there was an all too real possibility that he could set some buildings ablaze right now and he'd like to avoid such a situation if at all possible.

~ Kendo Club, with Koneko

It was only just a few hours ago that she'd been given the task of monitoring the new transfer student by her master and so even if this hadn't turned into such a school-wide spectacle she would've been present. This was her second time now being given the task of observation and this time unlike the first she could actually say she was interested in the target. She hated perverted things, there was no mistaking that and so when she was told that one of the perverted trio may possess a sacred gear and that it was her job to confirm or deny it her mood understandably soured. As it turned out one of them did, and he possessed the Boosted Gear, one of the thirteen Longinus no less just to rub it in her face.

In the end, he was reincarnated and added to their family and Koneko was forced to get to know him at least a little bit due to that but thankfully it turned out her Senpai wasn't so bad after all. He was kind, hardworking and bull-headed to a fault when it came to helping his friends but even so, the perversion was just too much, when your power and techniques are based on the strength of your libido then you know you have a problem.

Hell, she still resisted the urge to strangle him when their battle with the two exorcists was brought up because it reminded her of how close she was to getting stripped naked before the beast's eyes. The new transfer was different to the other male students at their school though, his eyes never strayed lower than a girls chin, and when he did speak it wasn't only about boobs or porn.

He was fascinating to the young Nekomata because no matter how much she racked her brain she couldn't figure out the smallest clue as to what he was. No matter how much she hated her heritage and feared her powers because of what they turned her sister into and what she did because of them she still prided herself on her ability to read people's energy and emotions, that's what she had always been good at yet with him she had nothing, he was an enigma and so he interested her.

As always she stayed silent and observed while the spars went on, partially listening to the conversation between her master and her best friend but mostly focusing on the energy of the new transfer or lack thereof. What Kiba had suggested was correct, he had managed to seal off his bodies ability to take in the energies around them and disperse it through their bodies. He felt like a muted star which grew dimmer with every beat of his heart, Koneko didn't want to guess what would happen when that light fully faded.

Seeing him walk through the door and out of the hall thanks to the unexpected intervention by the student council president the lithe girl gave her body a small stretch and glanced in the direction of her master who was already looking expectantly at her, with a simple nod of her head she turned and headed for the door herself. She was in no rush even when she noted that her new Senpai was nowhere in sight, his scent was still strongly lingering in the air and tracking him down would be easy.

~ With Ichigo

Asides from getting some odd looks from people around him as he sprinted throughout the town he'd made it to his destination with little to no distraction, but now that he was there and sitting in a meditative position for Jinzen he hadn't the slightest clue of what to do. The Shinigami admonished himself mentally with a deep sigh and a shake of his head, yes he had gotten better at not being so stupid but it seemed he wasn't fully cured yet, it wasn't so much that he went along with it in the first place but at his lack of foresight to learn more about how to break through once again after all was said and done.

Then again knowing Ryujin Jakka any questions he might have had on the subject would have probably been met with a response along the lines of 'if you can't figure it out yourself then you aren't worthy of wielding the power at all.'

Ignoring that distracting thought he focused back inwards towards his increasingly frustrating problem on hand, it wasn't that he couldn't find his inner world, it was just as easy to find as it ever had been however there was quite literally a barrier blocking him from entering. The best way to describe it was like putting a flame inside of a glass ball, the flame was where he needed to get to but no matter how much he searched around the globe he couldn't find any cracks in it to squeeze through.

Sighing in frustration for the umpteenth time he opened his eyes and leaned back using his arms as braces so he could gaze upwards, what he didn't expect to see however was a head of white hair and a pair of golden, feline-like eyes staring back down at him.

~ A/N:

So there's chapter 10 finally, I'm sorry it took so long.

So, where the heck have I been? There isn't really a complicated answer. I've said it before so I won't go into too much detail but the ending of Bleach really killed a lot of the passion I had for the series and writing fanfiction for it. Honestly, the only thing that's kept me going this whole time was reading other great stories like 'Do Me A Wrong,' however, as I'm sure you all know that story hasn't been updated in like half a year now. More so, all the other stories I followed for motivation have all been abandoned too and so I just haven't really had the drive to sit down and write myself.

Also, I've just honestly gotten a little burnt out of GOTD at this point. Now before you freak out no I'm not abandoning this story and no I'm not putting it on hiatus, I will still be writing it. I guess if I had to explain how I feel I'd say I want to do something more. I love GOTD and what I've created so far but really it isn't anything groundbreaking, Ichigo is with the Shinto and wields Ryujin Jakka instead of Zangetsu, not really anything crazy there.

Quite simply I want to write something unique and new but it's easier said than done. Anyways that's enough of that, like I said this story isn't on hiatus, nor is it abandoned and I am still writing it, so yeah.

If you have any thoughts on the chapter than feel free to leave a review, I'm always looking to improve my writing and so constructive feedback is appreciated. If you have any questions then feel free to message me, I always reply when I can.

- Vertius