A little piece of Heaven

by mlickko

The first time Ichigo met a Shinigami, he died. Quickly realizing that Soul Society is no heaven, he aims to make it into one. However, turning a dream into reality is a long and difficult journey, especially if you are Kurosaki Ichigo and you stand in the center of everything. A long story of adventure, drama, conspiracies but also action.(Pairings not a main focus)

17. Chapter 16 : A Noble & the Black Sun

Chapter 16: A Noble & the Black Sun (New Servant of Despair)

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"Normal speech"

'Inner speech/thoughts'

'Inner Quincy/Yhwach speech'

'Inner hollow/Zanpakuto speech'

xxx

"Bleach their souls, Zangetsu!"

Firmly grasping the hilt of his zanpakuto with both hands, Ichigo felt incredible power grow and surge within his whole body. From the center of his chest to the tip of his toes, the tingling sensation didn't seem to stop and continued to spread further until it crossed the boundary between his body and his surroundings. Amazing spiritual energy exploded all around him and enveloped him in a raging aura of raw savageness. Standing in its center, the teen couldn't see anything; the energy was too thick, too heavy and too dark. It burst out of him with such strength that it created a powerful shockwave and a pillar of impenetrable inferno of pure reiryoku, which rose up in the air and reached as high as to the ceiling of the secret training area he was in. However, despite the storm of potent energy around him, Ichigo kept his eyes opened. He didn't need to shield them. The spiritual energy belonged to him and so it wasn't going to harm him.

He felt an odd sensation within his grip. It was as if the hilt of his sword began to move around in his palm and it forced him to loosen his hold on it. Robbed of his sight, he couldn't see what was happening yet he didn't panic. He understood the situation soon enough and when he did, it left him speechless.

His sword just divided itself into two pieces.

Slowly, he opened his arms to the sides. The raging reiryoku obeyed his will and spread away from him, finally allowing him to see it with his own eyes.

His new zanpakuto.

Zangetsu.

Slaying Moon.

A spontaneous laughter filled the area as a hard realization stroke the teen. It made him laugh until tears flowed from the corners of his eyes and his abdomen hurt. He remembered all those times when the gears of fate caused him to see, hear and smell the notion of the moon everywhere. Now, it all made sense.

Twisting and turning his hands, he marveled at his zanpakuto, which took a form of two separate, purely black, blades. One had the shape of a khyber knife, its length being as much as half of the teen's own body. It had a grip at the base of the blade and a handle was extending back from it about roughly the width and length of Ichigo's forearm. Strangely, there was a thin, hollowed-out portion running along the back edge of the blade from the base to the middle of the blade. As soon as he laid his eyes on it, Ichigo instinctively knew that the sword was simply meant to be a killing weapon, designed to cleave enemies in half. The second blade was different. It was relatively small, about the size of the teen's arm, and resembled a trench knife more than a sword. It had an enclosed handle with a portion acting like a hand guard. In pure design, though, it was similar to the first blade.

"Amazing…" Ichigo muttered with a smile. It was his first time seeing his Shikai, yet it instantly felt right, like it was made just for him. But the transformation was not completely over.

The gap between his body and the energy swirling around him began to slowly decrease until it swallowed him whole. All the reiryoku gradually returned to him and entered his body, making him feel another surge of tingling sensation that traveled to his hands and then jumped over to his two swords.

An immense pressure exploded around his arms and ripped the clothes covering them up to his shoulders, revealing his quite thin, yet iron-like muscles. After that, all the energy commotion gradually died down and allowed him to finally release the breath he had been holding in the whole time.

'So, how do you feel, Ichigo?'

Ichigo lowered his arms and closed his eyes to try and calm down his emotions.

"…giddy? Full of energy, I guess. Like I want to just go out and find somebody to fight."

'Good. Before you do that, though, I think I should tell you the last few things you need to know.'

"Go on, Zangetsu." The teen said out loud, his smile widening. It felt good, to be able to finally call his zanpakuto spirit by his name.

'First things first. As you have noted some time ago, your reiryoku has been drastically changing its color and is now mostly black. To avoid confusion, I'll tell you right now that this is how it should be. It is the color of your shinigami powers. The light blue you had at the beginning was because of Yhwach. I told him to lend you his power until you could accept mine. The more you accepted, the darker your reiryoku got. I'm sure that by now you understand that the tiny blue parts of your energy represents your Quincy powers while the red one represents the hollow part.'

Squinting his eyes during the whole explanation, Ichigo tried to follow Zangetsu's words but when the spirit stopped for a moment, the teen shook his head.

"Wait a minute. I met you first, didn't I? Wasn't I using you the whole time?"

He could almost hear the sigh of exasperation.

'Let's go from the beginning. You meet me, your zanpakuto that represents your shinigami and hollow powers. But because of my mixed nature, until you have something to balance it out with, you can't start accepting my power. Here comes Yhwach who releases your Quincy powers. You get blue reiryoku and can start to gradually accept my powers. I send you shinigami powers but, in small doses you receive the hollow ones too. The color of your reiryoku begins to change. Once it reaches a certain point, you can't accept more until you have further balance. So, you accept the hearts of your sisters and we advance further. Now, you accepted everything you could and so you reach Shikai, resulting in this black reiryoku with red and blue outline.'

While Zangetsu talked, Ichigo went over to a large boulder, sat down and leaned into it with a sardonic expression. He felt like banging his head against the ground.

"If I were just a bit dumber, I wouldn't have understood any of this. It sounds like you're describing some kind of experiment."

'Well, having four different parts of soul isn't just about honey, you know. Moving on. Your eyes have changed their color.'

The spirit spoke in such a matter-of-fact tone that Ichigo almost overheard him. Almost. He sprung on his feet and hastily touched his face.

"What?!"

'Do you remember the time when your ice queen told you that your eyes were changing their color? Well, when you are extremely angry, you subconsciously tap into your hollow part, which results in a partial change. Now, in your Shikai, the change is complete.' Zangetsu said in a regretful tone.

Ichigo hastily began to flash across the area until he found a body of water. He leaned over it to see his reflection.

"Shit!"

His irises became yellow and he had black sclera and pupils. They looked exactly the same as the eyes of his zanpakuto spirit. Feeling the teen's inner turmoil, Zangetsu quickly continued.

'Don't worry, it reverts back as soon as you seal your Shikai.'

As soon as he heard that, Ichigo sighed in relief and tentatively sat down. He put a hand on his face and lightly rubbed his brow.

"That's… good to know."

'Hmm… you sure calmed down quickly. I have to say, I thought you'd be freaking out a lot more.'

Ichigo snorted.

"Honestly? After I saw you with that mask, I thought that the same thing would appear on my face as soon as I'd utter your release phrase so different eyes aren't that much of a shocker."

An unnatural silence fell in his mind, causing a few beads of sweat to form on his forehead. In a strained voice, the teen called out to the spirit.

"O-oi, Zangetsu… don't tell me…"

'I'm sorry, Ichigo, but the eyes and the mask are the full package that comes with my Shikai. They exist because of our hollow part. You have only different eyes simply because I'm actively limiting the amount of hollow power you can tap into. However, it is inevitable that you'll eventually gain a full mask. That is, if you want to use more of my power.'

"Great…"

The teen let out a heavy sigh. It wasn't enough that he was different, now he was going to look different too. And by different, he meant weird. And scary. Definitely scary.

'Ichigo…'

"I'm fine, Zangetsu. It's not like you can help it. I'll deal with it somehow."

The spirit sent a mental nudge in his direction.

'That's not it. Ichigo, what you have to remember is that your anger lets you tap into your hollow powers without my consent. That's dangerous. You have to learn how to control your emotions, even more so when in Shikai because if you don't and a mask forms on your face before you're ready for it… you'll have to face the consequences, whatever they may be.'

…

Half an hour later

Standing with his back straight and facing a set of boulders, Ichigo's brow creased into a deep frown as he concentrated on his reiryoku.

'Good, now release it.'

Ichigo twitched and slashed the very air in front of him with his larger knife.

"Getsuga Tenshō!"

A large wave shaped like a crescent moon shot out of his blade with extreme force, destroying everything in its path until it detonated in a powerful explosion. Ichigo stared at its path of destruction with half-terrified, half-excited expression.

"Holy crap! You weren't lying, Zangetsu. Knowing the name really increases the power. It's at least two times more powerful than the last time I used it!"

'Indeed. A name has great importance. Don't forget it, Ichigo.'

"I won't. So, is there more?"

Hearing the excited voice of his owner, Zangetsu unintentionally let out a snort.

'You still haven't even mastered this technique and you want to know another one already? Not happening. Also, try to use it with your other sword.'

Sulking, Ichigo glanced at the small blade in his left hand and crunched up his chin.

"Really? I think swinging this one would look rather comical."

'You don't have to swing it per say. Just push your energy into it, point it forward and make a small slash with it. Then release your energy the same way you do with regular Getsuga.'

Listening to his zanpakuto words, Ichigo raised his left arm and pointed his smaller blade at the already destroyed portion of the area. With a flick of his wrist, he sliced a small portion of the air while pushing his reiryoku into the sword. His action left a short incision hovering in the air.

"Getsuga Tenshō!"

All the energy accumulated within the incision exploded forward, slowly widening its blast radius as it consumed a large portion of the area, leaving Ichigo stupefied. Still, he noticed that the blast looked different. Not only it was lighter in color, it also looked as if it was made from a myriad of tiny shots.

"That… was different."

'That is because the large sword represents me, your shinigami and hollow powers, while the short one represents your Quincy powers. Me and Yhwach are separate spiritual beings but, at the same time, we are both your powers. But because one blade cannot contain all of it, there was no other choice than to split the sword in two.'

The teen processed the information with a nod and glanced at his two blades once again. When he concentrated enough, he was able to feel a lingering presence in each sword, just as Zangetsu implied.

"Interesting. Now I'm not even mad that you showed me only one technique. I can just switch my sword and it becomes something different."

'You could say that… now, time to learn how to seal my blade.'

Ichigo blinked. While he wanted to get rid of the color of his eyes, he almost forgot about sealing his zanpakuto. It just felt so good to have all that power flowing through him.

"How hard can it be?"

'Well, to do that you have to be able to suppress the flow of your reiryoku and bring your reiatsu level down until it is no longer enough for me to feed on it and stay in a released state. Easy, right?'

Ichigo scowled at the taunt but didn't respond. Instead, he slammed his eyes shut and concentrated. He was going to show Zangetsu he wasn't nearly as inept at handling his energy as he had been all those weeks ago.

…

Even later

It took the teen more than fifty different scowls, an hour of constant sweating, swearing, punching the ground and boulders around him in frustration, and a dozen attempts to murder his surroundings with a heated glare to finally learn how to seal his zanpakuto.

'You should be glad that you have been learning how to improve your reiryoku and reiatsu control for a while now or this would have taken you a lot more time. Nevertheless, good job, Ichigo.'

Wiping the sweat from the palms of his hands with a piece of cloth, Ichigo formed a miniscule smile. He was glad that sealing his zanpakuto also meant suppressing the link between him and his hollow reiryoku. Otherwise, he was sure he wouldn't have calmed down as easily as he did and that would have resulted in him snapping at Zangetsu.

"Yeah, thanks."

Satisfied with himself, he glanced down at the sword on his lap and leaned against the rocky wall behind him to rest for a moment. He stared at the ceiling made of stone. A stray thought entered his mind.

'What time is it?'

He was sure it had already been a late evening when he had finally entered his mindscape to face his zanpakuto spirit. Since then, it was hard to tell just how much time had passed. That worried him a little. Before he had left to visit some remaining members of the Shiba Clan, Isshin had informed him that the Captain-Commander had nullified the punishment he had received from the now dead Central 46 but that meant Ichigo had to return to the Academy.

'…I was told that because of the incident, the next day was supposed to be free. Which was today… or still is?'

Because he was deeply immersed in his thoughts, the teen didn't even notice that somebody else entered the area and slowly walked towards him. He only realized it after he heard a voice that caused his whole body to stiffen.

"I thought I felt a somewhat familiar reiatsu from somewhere beneath the Sōkyoku Hill. So Isshin told you about this secret training area, huh?"

Ichigo raised his head to look at the one person he had been dying to meet again. Without him noticing, the fingers of his right hand coiled around the hilt of his sword and gripped it so much, his knuckles turned white.

"Shihoin Yoruichi…" He growled and slowly stood up.

Yoruichi, the black cat that was staring at him from a nearby boulder, wagged her tail. She opened her mouth to speak but had to hastily jump away when Ichigo's blade suddenly descended on her from above.

The large rock shattered into thousand pieces.

"Oi, kid, wait just a mi-"

"Turn into your human form, now."

Ichigo didn't shout. He didn't yell or scream. He didn't even raise his voice at all. He simply stated his words in a deadly serious tone and turned around to give Yoruichi a glare that sent a chill up her spine and made her fur bristled. Before she could retort, Ichigo continued.

"I'm giving you a chance to turn into your human form so you can defend yourself. If I were you, I'd listen to me."

There wasn't an ounce of anger within the energy that began to pour out of him, its amount increasing by every second, yet it was clear his mood was worsening with every passing second. He stood completely still and didn't blink even once. He just kept his gaze at the black cat and followed her every movement with a sharp eye.

"Listen to me, kid, I-"

Once again, he didn't let her finish.

"No, you listen to me. I know why I'm reacting this way. You know it too, so there's no need for you to spew meaningless words. I am aware you are not the one completely at fault. Urahara Kisuke is. He told you not to save her that night. I know that and trust me, I plan on confronting him. But that doesn't mean I can't get angry when I see you. In the end, it was still your decision to heed Urahara's words. So, the least you can do for me now, is to listen to me and turn into a human being so I can vent my emotions on you." He said slowly, carefully choosing every single word until the very end. The hand, in which he was holding the sword, shook a little and this small detail didn't go unnoticed. Looking quite hesitant, Yoruichi nodded and began to release her spiritual energy.

It lasted only for a split second after which she was enveloped in a bright flash of light. When it died down, Ichigo saw a human outline, obscured by a cloud of smoke. Once Yoruichi took a step forward, he blinked but, otherwise, his expression remained largely impassive.

Shihoin Yoruichi, in her human form, was a slender, dark-skinned woman with long purple hair. The reason behind Ichigo's reaction, or rather the lack of it, was that she was completely naked. She appeared to be looking at him with some sort of expectation in her eyes but when she saw his expression, she frowned and inaudibly muttered something for herself.

When Ichigo raised his sword, she reacted by raising one eyebrow and putting one hand in front of her.

"Wait, I'll just get my clothes and we can-"

"Don't bother."

"Huh?"

The spiritual energy pouring out of Ichigo became visible and enveloped him in a dark aura. Then, he flashed out of existence.

Moving fast, he reappeared directly in front of Yoruichi and jabbed forward. For just a split second, when his eyes met hers, he saw a bit of surprise clearly etched on her face. An instant later, she vanished.

"You've gotten awfully fast, kid."

He spun around but before he could completely do so, he noticed an elbow making its way to his side. Arching his backside, he managed to escape the worst injury and felt the elbow only lightly scratching him. With a tightened jaw, he finished his spin while trying to slice the woman.

He wasn't nearly fast enough and before his blade could connect with her skin, Yoruichi jumped above his strike and aimed a kick to his head. Unintentionally, she offered him a clear view of her exposed privates but, fortunately for the teen, everything was moving way too fast and so he didn't see anything properly. In an act of instinct, he let out a burst of reiatsu out of his body and forced the woman to abandon her kick and retreat.

"That was… interesting."

"You ain't seen nothing yet!" Ichigo exclaimed and swung down his sword, letting a moderately big wave of energy out of its blade. When he saw Yoruichi tense and prepare to jump away, he realized the attack was moving way too slowly and that it wouldn't connect and so he instantly began to accumulate his reiryoku into his index finger.

"Hadō #1, Shō." He aimed his finger at the spot where he thought the woman would land and fired off the Kidō as soon as she came into his view.

But the distance between them was too great for such a weak spell and Yoruichi managed to avoid it with a feline-like smooth movements. Ichigo felt a small throb of annoyance pulsing in his skull.

'She's too fast… damn it. This makes all my Kidō useless, unless I can surprise her and fire one right into her face….I definitely have to up my Kidō training after this.'

"You incorporated Kido into your fighting style? Unexpected."

Ichigo's left eyebrow twitched but he decided not to react. He knew it would only rob him of his focus. Still, for some reason, Yoruichi was quickly getting under his skin. Utilizing his Shunpo skills, he flashed forward to appear a bit behind her only to release another wave of energy at her back. Once again, she fluidly bent over and let the attack harmlessly pass her by. With a small grin, she landed on all four and prepared to retaliate by jumping at the teen but received a big surprise in from of Ichigo relentlessly swinging down his sword and releasing a continuous barrage of weaker, but faster moving energy waves.

After he shot out about a dozen or so of them, Ichigo slowed down and took a deep breath. He ignored the small bead of sweat that formed on his brow and stared at the destruction his attack brought upon the area.

Because of the multitude of small detonations, the air around the place where Yoruichi should have been got filled with dust, making it impossible to see anything.

'…that wasn't that bad.'

Since he couldn't see anything, the teen tried to feel reiatsu around him but then realized his mistake. Yoruichi was supposed to be a former Captain of the 2nd Division as well as a former commander of Onmitsukidō. There was no way in hell he could locate her like that. His ability to sense reiatsu definitely wasn't so good.

It turned out he didn't need to worry about it.

"A century of a relatively peaceful life sure made me rusty. Still, you are forcing me to hold back less and less, kid. Either I got so much weaker… or you got so much stronger." Yoruichi stated when the dust from the explosions cleared out, revealing her crouching on the ground with a few shallow cuts covering her brown skin. Seeing them made Ichigo feel a bit better about himself. Nevertheless, there was one thing that continued to bug him.

"So you say but you still won't take out your zanpakuto, will you?"

Yoruichi formed a tiny grin.

"No."

When she disappeared from his sight, Ichigo cursed his own foolishness and flashed to a random direction. The ground on which he had been standing cracked when a slim foot hit it with great force.

"Don't take it personally, though. I simply prefer Hakuda over my sword."

Staring at the ruined piece of ground, Ichigo subconsciously tightened his grip on the hilt of his zanpakuto. He had gotten so used to his sword he couldn't really imagine fighting without it anymore. However, Yoruichi's words planted a seed of a challenge into his mind. He felt extremely tempted to just drop the sword and start using his Hakuda skills. Even before becoming a shinigami, he had been confident in his skills and, going by the words of one of his friends, Tatsuki, it hadn't been just his pride talking. Despite that, the sword remained in his hands.

He wasn't sure if Yoruichi was challenging him intentionally or not but, in the end, it didn't even matter. She was definitely stronger than him and so he wasn't about to make it easier for her and fight her in her field of expertise.

No, he would fight her like he had fought the others.

With his instinct.

"Your choice." He said in a low voice and raised his sword.

Pumping the reiryoku into his legs, he sprang forward. What followed next, completely threw Yoruichi off.

She expected him to use Shunpo but what she certainly didn't expect was the direction in which he flew. Instead of flashing next to her to swing down his raised sword, he flashed directly into her. That surprised the former Captain so much, she reacted a millisecond too late. The teen crashed into her with enough force to send them both sailing through the air.

Ichigo wasn't sure what Yoruichi was thinking at that moment but, as the momentum carried them forward, he spotted an opportunity.

'Now!'

Gathering his reiryoku as fast as he could, he placed his index and middle finger directly at the skin of her stomach and opened his mouth.

"Bakudō #1, Sai!"

Not having enough time to concentrate on his energy, he managed to slightly overpower the spell but, despite the pain in his arm, it worked. He grinned.

Yoruichi's arms locked behind her back, leaving her vulnerable even if just for a short moment. It was then when Ichigo finally gripped the hilt of his zanpakuto and swung the sword down.

"Gah!"

However, the owner of the grown was not the woman. It was Ichigo. Before he could finish his strike, he received a kick to the abdomen that changed his trajectory and sent him flying upwards.

He corrected himself a second later and landed on one knee but he was gasping for breath and feeling a bruise already forming on his skin. With a scowl, he raised his head and glanced at a distant boulder shrouded in a cloud of dust. He was sure that his Bakudō was still in effect when Yoruichi kicked him. Then he felt something drip from the tip of his blade.

Blood.

His scowl melted.

'So I did cut her!'

There was some movement in the distance and Ichigo squinted his eyes to try and see it clearly. It was definitely Yoruichi but her silhouette was obscured. It took a few more seconds before the teen saw her walk forward. One corner of his mouth twitched upwards.

'She definitely felt that.'

Yoruichi had a cut on her abdomen that ran from her left side horizontally all the way to the other one. It didn't appear to be a particularly deep wound but it was a wound nevertheless. Other than that, she looked the same as before. A bit banged up but mostly fine. There was one big difference, though.

She had lost her smirk. Now, the gaze she was giving the teen felt more calculative, more serious.

"Finally feel like fighting for real?" Ichigo asked. He suppressed the urge to grin. He couldn't afford to lose his focus. Not yet.

He still had some emotions he needed to vent on her.

"Yes. I will no longer hold back… but you won't like it." Yoruichi stated without even a hint of humor on her face. She lowered herself and a powerful reiatsu slowly began to surround her. As her leg muscles tensed, the ground beneath her feet caved in.

Then she vanished from Ichigo's sight. Literally and completely.

Before he could react in any way, the teen felt a blunt hit to the side of his head and, an instant later, his body sailed through the air, crashing through a whole row of boulders on its way. It happened so fast, the pain came only after he came to a stop. Portions of his clothes were shaved off and he sported multiple small cuts all over his body.

'T-The hell just happened?' He thought and quickly shook his head to clear the dizziness that washed over him. But there was no time to ponder about anything as he felt, rather than saw, something approaching him extremely fast. With a push, he rolled over to the side, an action that allowed him to barely see a fist smashing the ground he had just been lying on.

With a grunt, he ignored the debris hitting his face and slashed at that place, releasing a weak energy wave while doing so. Once it hit the ground, a small detonation bought him a mere second to recover.

Ichigo didn't wait and quickly got up.

"Gah!"

Blood spurted from his mouth when an elbow plunged into his abdomen and sent him skidding backwards. The pain was sharp and caused him to grit his teeth. Using his sword as a brake, he managed to slow his own body down and coughed.

He was kind of glad Zangetsu decided not to comment on the fight, else he was sure he would have been listening to a lot of criticism.

'I… can't keep up.' The realization made him momentarily lose his focus and ignited a feeling of anger within him. When a brown-skinned ankle appeared only inches from his face, he accepted that anger and let out a burst of energy.

It robbed him of a good portion of his reserves but it also blasted Yoruichi backwards. She recovered before she hit the ground but it didn't matter. It gave the teen enough time to make a decision.

"Bleach their souls, Zangetsu!"

The release of his Shikai was accompanied with a discharge of even more reiryoku. But this reiryoku was different. It brought upon a reiatsu that was heavier and denser than before. He noticed Yoruichi briefly stop and stare at him.

'Good.'

Gathering his energy, he poured all of it into his larger blade.

"Getsuga Tenshō!" A potent wave of black reiryoku shot from Zangetsu and flew straight at the surprised Yoruichi. However, before it actually connected with her, Ichigo heard a loud exclamation.

"Shunkō!"

Everything exploded.

…

The whole Sōkyoku Hill was shaking in its roots, causing parts of the secret underground training area to crack and release a shower of rocks. A cloud of smoke, mixed with debris, dirt and dust filled the air in its every corner, making it impossible to see anything or anyone. There was a deafening silence that lasted for more than a minute and until the air became transparent again.

An orange-haired teen stood in the center of the area, in the middle of the carnage. His back was bent forward and he was taking shallow and quick breaths. His forehead glittered with sweat yet he stubbornly kept glancing at his surroundings, both of his swords tightly secured in his hands.

A second person suddenly appeared right behind him and placed her fingers at his jugular. Her body was surrounded with a white, lightning-like aura.

"Enough! If we continue this, one of us will die and trust me, it's not going to be me. I admit, you're strong. You forced me to use Shunkō simply with your raw power and that is very impressive. I don't even remember the last time such a thing happened. But you lack in other areas. While your fighting style is generally unpredictable, your Flash Steps are not. You lack finesse, which is the one thing you need if you ever want to defeat me. You released your zanpakuto but your posture, the way you're holding your swords screams inexperience to me. Dual wielding isn't as easy as you may think." Yoruichi quietly stated straight into Ichigo's ear while pressing her body against him, causing him to shudder. He grabbed her fingers and forced her hand away.

"Get off." He muttered and felt Yoruichi taking a step backwards.

"If you want us to fight again, I won't mind. Like you said, it's the least I can do for you. But right now, it's enough."

With his backside facing the former Captain, Ichigo couldn't see her expression. He just heard the tone of her voice. It was calm but firm. He let out a deep sigh, slightly swaying on his feet.

'Damn… I'm exhausted…'

Quickly withdrawing his energy, he let his zanpakuto revert back to an ordinary sword and used it to steady himself.

"…fine by me." He muttered and took a shaky step forward.

He lost and he knew it.

Now, the only thing he wanted to do was to take a shower, spend a few minutes pitying himself then resolve to get stronger and then finally hit the sack. However, Yoruichi's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Wait, did you notice those hot springs? You should take a dip in them. Trust me, you'll feel better."

Slowly, he turned around just enough to stare at her with an unreadable expression.

"Don't worry about me and take your time. I'll just clean myself off and be on my way."

…

Ten minutes later, Sōkyoku Hill

After she changed into her clothes, Yoruichi left the teen alone in the hot springs and went her way. Once she crawled atop the Sōkyoku Hill, she let out a deep sigh.

'Well… that went well.' She thought bitterly and placed one hand on her tender abdomen. Truth be told, she did expect Ichigo to snap at her in some way. Now, after having the chance to try him out in a fight, she pitied a certain scientific genius. While that man was a bit stronger than her, she had no doubts Ichigo was going to give him a rather sound beating. Even without actually beating him.

She blinked.

'Screw that. Kisuke brought it upon him himself. If the two of them meet, I think I'll be actually cheering for the kid.'

A dark chuckle escaped her lips when she recalled all those spars she had had with the scientist when the man had defeated her and then had forced her to participate in some of his experiments.

Oh yes, she really wanted to see Urahara Kisuke beg for his balls. She let herself dream about such a scene for a moment longer but then felt a tiny flicker of reiatsu near her position. Recognizing the miniscule amount of energy, she sighed again.

"You still remember my spiritual pressure, huh, Sui-Feng?"

A white haori fluttered in the air when the petite Captain of the 2nd Division landed in front of Yoruichi with an impassive face.

"I do, Yoruichi."

"So… how do you want to do this?"

The corners of Sui-Feng's mouth twitched. It looked like she just barely stopped herself from making a grimace.

"You wish to kill me?"

"I… do."

Yoruichi watched the Captain grit her teeth. As expected from a master assassin, Sui-Feng kept her spiritual energy in a complete check. Yet when she stared at Yoruichi's face, small leaks started to appear. A miniscule waves of reiatsu that were filled to the brim with emotions. Emotions that Yoruichi fully understood. She knew she couldn't blame the girl for feeling them.

Resentment.

Anger.

Admiration.

Hate.

Yoruichi closed her eyes. She had planned to confront Sui-Feng. There was no way she could have avoided the girl forever.

"…but I'm the Captain of the 2nd Division and the Commander-in-chief of the Onmitsukidō now. I have learned how to not let my anger control me."

Yoruichi's eyes snapped open and she gave Sui-Feng a quizzical look.

'Is this really my cute little bee…?'

Her question answered itself in the next moment when Sui-Feng's face fell and an expression of dejection appeared on it.

"Why didn't you take me with you?"

…

"Did you hear? The Central 46 itself threw him in prison for punishing all those bastards back in Rukongai. I swear, those bigoted idiots can't stand the true justice."

"Shh, do you want to get yourself erased? You can't talk about the Central 46 just like that. Not that I disagree with you…"

"Yeah, Tora is an example of how things should be done. If you ask me, I think he should have gotten a big fat thanks and not a punishment."

Ichigo tried to ignore the words of a group of students that just passed him by. Though, being in the long and heavily populated corridor of the Academy, it was really difficult to do so. Especially since they didn't even attempt to lower their voices. It made him mentally cringe. It wasn't as if he didn't appreciate the words. He was glad that the students that had admired him ever since he had come to the Academy no longer hailed him as some sort of a dark hero so much and, instead, simply viewed him as a man with a goal now. He was glad they believed in him. He really was. But such words easily penetrated even through the loudest chatters and inevitably evoked an expected response.

"They sure did the right thing, locking him up. He's just like a wild animal. Why did they even release him? Is the Captain-Commander insane?"

"Right? I don't want to study next to this barbarian."

"Just wait. The Central 46 will be reassembled and they'll send him back to his cell once again. Be patient."

It was the other side of the coin which, in most cases, meant the children on Nobles. Some of them had started to accept him as somebody who they could look at without contempt but the knowledge of the recent events visibly slowed that process down. Incredibly so. Moreover, it also convinced the stubborn ones of their conviction; that Ichigo was simply beneath them.

He didn't really mind. As he had said on his first day, Ichigo hadn't come to the Academy to make friends. But these recent indirect quarrels had had the tendencies to end up in a scuffle, which had resulted in an increased tension between the two parties. And that wasn't good for the general atmosphere in the Academy.

With a steady gaze, he crawled through the blockage of human bodies and left the students argue with each other in yet another pointless dispute. For some reason, the details about his short detainment, courtesy of the now dead Central 46, had managed to find their way to the student body in the Academy and had become the hottest topic of all conversations. It annoyed the teen but, at the same time, he was kind of glad.

Glad that nobody in the Academy heard about the rest of the past days' events. It seemed that the members of the Gotei 13 had been strictly forbidden from discussing the Aizen Sosuke incident with anyone outside the organization. So far, that tactic worked. Yet Ichigo wasn't naïve. He knew that sooner or later, every information becomes a public knowledge.

'Speaking of things yet to become public knowledge…' He mentally muttered. Apparently, nobody in the Academy had heard anything about him actually being a member of the Shiba clan yet and, in the teen's opinion, it was for the best. He didn't even want to be known as Shiba Ichigo. That name was alien to him. He was, first and foremost, a Kurosaki and he was considerably proud of it. Even more than he was proud of his unusual orange hair.

Finally, he found the classroom and quietly, without causing a ruckus, sneaked inside.

The next several days flew in a relatively peaceful atmosphere. Ichigo continued to ignore any and all comments about him and immersed himself in the training instead. The fight with Yoruichi still lingered in the back of his mind and was one of the reasons behind his new motivation.

It's not that he hadn't been training hard enough until now. No. Ichigo knew that. Still, he refused to become satisfied with his current skillset. He didn't want to just get stronger, though. For now, that was a secondary priority for him. No, Yoruichi had showed him that he had to increase his skills in his basic abilities first. His swordsmanship was good. Some would even say impressive. But such statement was true only when he wielded one sword, his sealed zanpakuto. To improve himself further, he needed to become accustomed to dual-wielding.

Because of that, he initiated a lot of sparring matches between him and Zangetsu.

'You keep forgetting the short one, Ichigo. If I were your enemy, you'd be one limb shorter!'

"Bite me, Zangetsu! I'm trying my hardest here and the only thing you do is scold me."

'Well boo-hoo. That's because somebody is whining too much. Suck it up, Ichigo. Do you want me to scold you but improve your Zanjutsu or would you be happier if you simply fought an enemy and got your ass kicked? Again?'

The training with Zangetsu wasn't all beer and skittles. At all. The zanpakuto spirit was a slave driver with a knack for a bit of sadisms. However, thanks to his tutelage and harsh criticism, the teen felt steady improvements.

Although, he could get by without Zangetsu trying to remind him the fight with Yoruichi over and over again. For many reasons. Like 'finally getting some action with a naked woman'; a comment that was unnecessary on too many levels.

It wasn't the only training he did, though. As soon as the morning after his fight with Yoruichi had come, he had gone to Gengorō to ask him for a favor.

"Is there any way for me to get some extra lessons on Hohō?"

"Why? You are most likely beyond the Academy curriculum in it already."

"Maybe, maybe not. I'm only good at Flash Steps that are straightforward. I can change the trajectory but it takes too much time and too much redundant energy. I'm not asking for much, you know? It would be just few instructions twice or thrice during the week."

"…I'm sorry, Kurosaki, but with what has been happening lately, we have no time to do anything. The Gotei has been putting a lot of stress on us to make some changes. I'm afraid we're all far too busy for things like extra lessons."

Well, it hadn't gone as well as he had hoped it would. In the end, it was up to him to learn it all by himself. Somehow.

Unable to attend any extra Hohō class, Ichigo had the time for one of the last few things he wanted to focus on though. Namely, his Kidō skills. He had been in such a bad mood after the fight with the former Captain that he had been tempted to shout: 'I suck at Kidō!'. Once he had had a good night sleep, he changed his mind.

He didn't suck at it. He was just inexperienced. Nevertheless, he had sworn to change that.

He spent hours and hours just staring at the pages of his Kidō books, trying to see every tiny detail in the small pictures that depicted the proper spell usage. Speed was the one thing he was mostly interested in. He wanted to know how to fire off a Kidō in a matter of instants, so it could actually be useful when fighting a powerful and fast opponent. Like Yoruichi.

Damn her.

Lately, she had been on his mind too much.

Of course, Zangetsu, being the dick he sometimes was, readily and happily explained him the reason behind it every single time. To Ichigo's exasperation, the explanations were always filled with blatant sexual innuendos. The teen was really starting to worry his zanpakuto spirit was horny for both of them…

Either way, just thinking about Yoruichi managed to push him far, further than he had hoped it could. Besides improving his skills in the Kidō spells he already knew, as a byproduct of his efforts he learned a completely new one too. It was Bakudō #4, Hainawa. Hainawa was a fairly basic Bakudō and as such, it didn't even have an incantation. The spell produced a simple reishi rope that could bind enemies and stop their movement. It wasn't particularly powerful and opponents like Yoruichi could probably break it in a matter of seconds but it was still strong enough to create a small opening.

And a small opening was all ichigo needed to win his fights.

Most of the time.

Aside from his fight with Yoruichi.

'Shut up Zangetsu! These are my thoughts!'

…

He was reluctant but he still kept walking. The barracks of the 11th Division were already too close to just turn around and run away with a tail between his legs. And Ichigo didn't want to do that. To be a coward.

'To hell with it.' He mentally grumbled and crossed the remaining distance with an annoyed Flash Step.

Once inside, he asked around only to learn that the man he was looking for was at his usual place, at the porch in the back. He was resting there after beating several of his colleagues in yet another training unit.

"Ikkaku-san." He said once he cut the last turn and saw the 3rd Seat of the 11th Division thirstily guzzling down the contents of a small jug.

"Oh, Ichigo. What brings you here?" Ikkaku asked once he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. When he noticed the teen's expression, his eyes visibly widened.

"Don't tell me you've finally decided to spar with me." He exclaimed happily.

"Yeah."

The tone of Ichigo's voice must have been too rigid because even Ikkaku realized that the teen sounded less than excited.

"Go on, spill it."

Ichigo released a heavy sigh and took a seat opposite of Ikkaku. Giving the 3rd Seat a questioning look, he reached for the jug. Ikkaku raised one eyebrow.

"You sure you want it? It's sake."

The teen shrugged.

"Just a mouthful. I heard alcohol can calm a man down."

In response, Ikkaku grinned and handed him the jug. Once Ichigo unscrewed it, he cautiously poured a bit of the clear liquid into his mouth and swallowed.

"Bleh, this is disgusting." He muttered with a grimace and shook his head as if trying to get rid of the bad taste.

Ikkaku sniggered.

"Well, it is a grown men's drink. You handled it better than I thought, though. I was honestly expecting you to break down into coughing fits. Renji sure did that on his first time."

When he heard that, Ichigo raised the jug again and took a second gulp.

"Yep, definitely disgusting." He said and returned it to Ikkaku who mirrored his actions and took one gulp himself.

"So, why did you need calming down?"

Ichigo turned away from the man and took a deep breath, feeling the lingering taste of sake on his tongue. He scrunched up his nose. Whoever had said that sake could calm him down had definitely lied.

Or maybe he simply didn't drink enough of it.

"I learned the name of my zanpakuto."

Ikkaku quietly hummed in acknowledgement.

"That's cool. You got to it real fast too."

Ichigo released his breath.

"I'm a dual-wielder."

He heard Ikkaku choke on the sake. The man coughed several times to get rid of the liquid that somehow entered his wind pipe and of the burning sensation that accompanied that. Ichigo glanced at him with a small grin.

"Only Renji, huh?"

Swallowing his own saliva, Ikkaku raised his hand in protest.

"This doesn't count… but man, you sure did surprise me. Do you even know how rare it is for a shinigami to be a dual wielder? As far as I know, only the Captain of the 8th and the Captain of the 13th Division are considered to be such."

"Yeah, I've heard."

Both of them were silent for a moment.

"Is that why you're here? Because you want to get used to dual wielding?"

"Yes. You've told me some time ago that your zanpakuto changes into a sword with multiple parts in its initial release and so when I discovered that I'm a dual wielder, I thought to myself 'hey, you know who could be a good person to spar with? Ikkaku-san'. I mean, it makes sense, right?" Ichigo replied and blinked. His head wasn't spinning but he finally felt the sake affecting him a bit.

'Right, no more sake for now.'

"It does. It would be better to spar with another dual wielder but, somehow, I think neither Captain Kyoraku nor Captain Ukitake has the time to do it. I can try, though. Show me." Ikkaku stated and got up. He walked to the center of the backyard that also served as a small training ground and expectantly gazed at the teen.

"Okay, but don't freak out once you see me." Ichigo replied, causing Ikkaku to raise one eyebrow. The teen stood up and got opposite to the man. Then he took out his zanpakuto and released his spiritual energy.

"Bleach their souls, Zangetsu!"

…

He could see the surprise written all over the 3rd Seat's face. The first hint of it appeared immediately after he let out his reiatsu which was a lot more potent than what he had ever showed him.

"Damn it, Ichigo, just how much energy do you actually have? Are you sure you're not some long lost Captain?" Ikkaku half-joked, half-said seriously. The teen wanted to retort but before he could do that, Ikkaku noticed his two swords, the lack of clothing on his arms and then his changed eyes.

The man reacted instinctively and took a cautious step backwards. He didn't appear to be alarmed or scared, though. It felt more like a subconscious action, developed from the myriads of fights he had been involved in.

"Okay, I definitely didn't expect that."

Ichigo gripped the hilts of his swords and gave him a somber grimace.

"My zanpakuto is… unique in the fact that it doesn't change just its own appearance but mine too. I think you understand why I have troubles showing this to Rukia, or to anyone else. At least for now."

Ikkaku stared at him for a long while. In the end, the man shook his head and slammed the hilt of his zanpakuto into its sheath, a grin forming on his face.

"Well, on the battlefield, it doesn't matter how you look. The only thing important is your ability to fight. Grow, Hōzukimaru!"

…

Captains' meeting, 1st Division Main Hall

On the morning of the eleventh day after the sudden defection of Aizen Sosuke and his two associates, the rest of the Captains assembled in the main hall of the 1st Division, each one of them taking his usual place on either side of the room.

"As you all know, Divisions 3, 5 and 9 are currently without their Captains, a state which is of great concern. In light of recent events, I have taken necessary steps in an attempt to close these gaps but I'm sure you all realize that a Captain does not grow on a tree. A Captain is not just any shinigami. A Captain is not just any person. A Captain is a position that can only be filled if there is a candidate that could meet many different requirements. Loyalty, power, leadership, responsibility and more. Despite such hard conditions, I have been able to find a suitable man who will be filling one of the vacant positions. Captain Sui-Feng, if you could." The Captain-Commander stated without any opening and glanced in the direction of the Captain of the 2nd Division. Sui-Feng nodded and took a step forward.

"Ten days ago, I have given the Commander a list of candidates that could potentially represent a whole Division and become a Captain. One of these is a man who has been serving in Onmitsukidō for many years and therefore, I'm sure none of you have ever heard of him. But I can assure every single one of you that despite that, this man is highly capable." She said and stepped back into the line.

Yamamoto continued in her stead.

"Yes, me and two other Captains have summoned this man and tested his qualifications. We have determined that he is indeed a man worthy of a Captain position and so, without any further ado, I introduce you a new Captain of the 3rd Division. Amagai Shūsuke!" He exclaimed and tapped the floor with his cane. In response, the large doors to the hall opened and revealed a man in a white haori.

"Captain Amagai, welcome." Yamamoto said and motioned the man to enter the room.

Amagai Shūsuke was a man with a rather unkempt appearance, caused by his messy hair and chin stubble. As soon as Yamamoto nodded to him, he took several steps forward and let other Captains take a good look at him. He was rather tall and from his wide back and his general posture, it was easy to see that he was also quite muscular. His hair was chin-long and blueish in color. What caught the curious eyes of many Captains, however, was an extra sword sheath on his obi sash. Yet nobody made a comment about it.

"My name is Amagai Shūsuke. I'm new to this position but I'll do my best to prove myself."

…

Same day, with Ichigo

"You know, you could have simply sent a hell butterfly." Ichigo muttered and followed his father with a rather grumpy expression.

"No way! Daddy wanted to see how is his delinquent son doing at the Academy with his own eyes!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes and suppressed the urge to kick the man in the back of his knees. At least they were already out of the Academy ground and so no student could hear them.

"So, why did you pull me out? I swear if it isn't important…"

"Life isn't just about hard work, Ichigo. Don't let that poison you. You need to relax from time to time or you'll turn into something I couldn't even look at."

The teen sighed.

"Okay, I'll bite. What could I possibly turn into?"

Isshin stopped walking and slowly turned around to show him one of his incredibly terrified expressions. The man audibly gulped and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"You could turn into a decent person!"

A moment of silence passed between them. Ichigo's whole face twitched.

"…I'm going back."

Isshin chuckled but before Ichigo could turn around and really walk back to the Academy, he placed a hand on the teen's shoulder.

"You're too stiff, Ichigo. Calm down, this is really important." He said in a more serious tone.

Giving him a dirty look, Ichigo scowled but reluctantly followed him once the man began to walk again. The teen was confident he knew where they were going but kept his mouth shut until they arrived there.

Once the doors to the office of the 10th Division Captain closed behind him, Isshin pointed to the sofa.

"Sit down, there is something I'd like to talk to you about."

Ichigo took the seat but felt a bit uncomfortable. It took him a few moments to actually realize what was wrong. The revelation hit him once Isshin sat on the chair and looked at him from behind the table.

'Right. It feels odd to see the old man acting serious.'

A snort escaped him.

"Well, we're here and I'm sitting. What's this about?"

Isshin ignored the snort and looked at him with an unusually calm and humorless face.

"Ichigo, what would you say if I were to tell you that I could make you into a temporary member of my Division? Would you be interested?"

Ichigo's first reaction was to instantly reject the notion. Serving under his own father seemed like a very bad idea. Not to mention, it smelled of favoritism. But the man's tone piqued his curiosity.

"Why?"

Isshin shrugged.

"Well, you seem to be hell-bent on getting stronger. I understand that so I thought about giving you a helping hand. Right now, I can't really spar with you as I'm too busy but I can do this. Don't worry, though, this is quite a standard procedure. When a student is exceptionally talented, a Division of Gotei 13 can offer him a collaboration so he could learn to work in team and to see how a Division works. It is also a good way to gain experience, which is the thing you need most." He explained and leaned into his seat.

Ichigo did the same and released his breath, surprised by the amount of sense his father was making. The idea, unacceptable at first, suddenly seemed good. Isshin was right, Ichigo needed real experience from real work.

"I suppose that's not a bad offer."

"Right?" Isshin stated with a grin. He quickly grabbed a sheet next to him and put a stamp mark on it.

"Done. Now you're officially, for an indefinite amount of time, a 10th Division proxy."

Ichigo shuddered. The grin on his father's face was a bit disturbing.

'Why do I have the feeling that I just did something hasty?'

"I was hoping you'd accept so I took the liberty and already assigned you to a joint mission between the 10th Division and the Academy to the Human world. You'll be inspecting a suspiciously increased hollow activity of at the outskirts of the Karakura Town but mostly within Naruki City."

…

In the evening

As he trailed behind the group of shinigami, Ichigo couldn't help but shudder. He always felt something ominous when crossing the borders between the worlds. Once the Senkaimon gate closed behind him, he felt a cool breeze washing over his face.

The sun had already set and darkness seeped through every part of the Naruki City, covering everything with its black blanket of secrecy. The late evening was chilly; winter was coming. Breathing out, a bit of vapor emerged from Ichigo's mouth but, despite wearing only his Academy clothes, the teen wasn't cold.

"Been a long time, Kurosaki-san. Hello." He heard a female voice coming from his left side. Briefly glancing at the owner of the voice, he saw a familiar girl with pink hair.

"Kyoraku-san."

The teen couldn't help himself and kept looking at her for a few more seconds. Yuno noticed it and formed an honest smile.

"I'm fully healed, don't worry. You stepped in at the right moment. If you didn't… well, I don't think we would be having this conversation. I owe you a big one so... thank you, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo turned away from her.

"Don't thank me. I didn't do it for you."

She chuckled.

"Still, it's because of you that I'm alive. I know now that I wouldn't have been in danger if I hadn't tried to play the hero in the first place, though."

"Yeah, that was a bad idea." He let out a snort.

"But I learned from that. Moreover, thanks to that, I found out what I want to do once I graduate."

The whole group moved to their destination. Because of the nature of their mission, they had to lower their voices. Still, Ichigo felt like he wanted to hear more from the girl and so he kept close.

"And? What do you want to do?" He asked quietly while keeping his eyes on his surroundings. Yuno kept her smile and did the same.

"I'll join the 4th Division and work in the Sōgō Kyūgo Tsumesho as a nurse. I'm not really cut out to fighting and there is always a large demand for shinigami who can use Kaidō."

Recalling the scarce information about the medical Kidō, Ichigo threw a quick glance at her.

"You must be really good in controlling your reiryoku, then."

"I pass. I also really like the 4th Division's insignia. Bellflowers are really pretty."

When the group leader turned his head and gave the two of them a meaningful stare, they stopped talking and joined the silence around them. But the girl's words lingered in Ichigo's mind.

'A bellflower, huh? That means… Those who grieve are loved. Yeah, somehow, I get the feeling this girl will find herself there.'

He shook his head and interrupted the train of his thoughts. He needed to focus on the mission and not to dwell on things that couldn't be changed. In that moment, the group leader stopped and ushered all of them to form a circle.

"Listen up everybody. We're at the place. This is where groups of hollows appear in certain intervals. We don't know why this is happening and so it is our mission to determine the reason. The report also didn't specify the amount of hollows, it just says 'small groups', so be careful. No heroics. Academy students…" He trailed off and looked at the small group of shinigami clad in academy clothes.

"Your mission here is to watch us from a safe distance so you can learn how a real mission works. Under no circumstances, I repeat, under no circumstances are you to interfere with our job. In the worst case scenario, you can help taking care of the wounded. Keep your reiatsu at minimum too. Kurosaki…" He directed his gaze at the orange haired teen.

"I'm told you are a special case so you'll take point. Carefully observe the scene and in case a hollow breaks out of our formation, your mission will be to hunt him down and purify him. We can't let any hollow roam free and potentially harm a human soul. Is that clear?"

"Yes."

Ichigo felt the uncomfortable stares from the other Academy students but chose to ignore them. He didn't blame them anymore, though. He really was a bit of a special case.

Since they had a bit of time before the hollows were supposed to appear, the group leader began to give orders. Using short words and a firm tone, it took the man only a few minutes to position every single shinigami from the group into strategically convenient places. It mildly surprised the teen.

So far, he had gotten used to see incompetence from the shinigami of the Gotei 13. It was very refreshing to see that there were officers who actually knew what they were doing. He suspected his father purposely chose this particular mission and this particular group leader so the teen could see the other side of the Gotei. The one that felt like a military organization and not like a group of kids playing in a minefield.

"It's starting…" One of the officers said in a low voice but the silence around them easily carried his words across the whole clearing. True to the man's words, a tear appeared in the air high above them. It wasn't as large as the one Ichigo had seen back at the Sōkyoku Hill but it also was too big for a single hollow.

'…you've got to be kidding me.' He thought in disbelief when he noticed the amount of hollows that began to pour out of the tear.

However, he wasn't the only one who noticed it.

"Damn it 12th, that's not a small group at all… everyone, hold your positions! This is going to get messy!"

…

Ichigo felt the palms of his hands getting sweaty as he watched the officer in front of him just barely dodge a swipe of a large hollow. The man retaliated and sliced the creature's hand off only to follow it up with a stab to the head. The hollow turned into spirit particles moments later but there was another one already taking its place. The officer quickly resumed his stance but, from his sluggish movements, it was more than obvious that he was getting tired, fast.

For the last thirty minutes, Ichigo watched as the group of Gotei 13 officers bravely took on the horde of hollows and began to systematically cut them down, one by one, using not only their power but also the strength of their teamwork. All of them were clearly experienced fighters, tough and tenacious, but, as they mowed down hollow after hollow, it became clear they couldn't hold out forever. The amount of hollows was simply too much for them.

Twenty minutes after the combat started, they suffered a first loss. A tall officer wasn't fast enough and sharp claws of a mantis-like hollow tore a deep gash on his torso. The man wasn't an officer for nothing, though, and after one of his colleagues snatched him away and tossed him to the anxious students, Ichigo saw the man whispering. That meant he was still alive but in a dire need of first aid. That was when the girl with pink hair, Yuno, moved to him and took a small medical kit from her backpack. Her actions encouraged the other students to shake off their shock and to start helping her.

But from that point onwards, the injuries started to increase to the point where only a half of the officers remained standing. Ichigo was sure that if just one more fell, the rest would inevitably follow.

Despite that, he didn't jump in and join the fray. He wanted to but the voice of the group leader still echoed in his mind. Ichigo had his orders. On the other hand, the group leader most likely didn't know just how strong Ichigo was. So there he was, struggling not to break his orders.

A hollow showed up behind the group leader and aimed its horned tail to the unaware man's back. In that moment, Ichigo made a definitive decision. In a flash, he appeared behind the man and intercepted the attack with his blade, only to slide it up the hollow's tail and slice its head off.

"Sir, I'm sorry but I'm breaking your orders. You can't hold on forever!"

The man purified the hollow in front of him and arched forward, visibly exhausted.

"Damn it… Kurosaki… fine. Just don't take any risks. I've… I've already called for help." He said while wheezing uncontrollably.

"Got it!" Ichigo replied and then set his sights at the group of hollows moving towards his positon.

'Come, you bastards.'

Flashing forward, he moved around the animalistic creatures and cut them down before they could land a single attack on him. He landed in front of a larger hollow just in time to block an uppercut that sent him up in the air. Ichigo let himself get pushed and used the new position to observe the situation.

"This is bad." He muttered. Then he noticed a pack of smaller hollows trying to flank the officers and attack the academy students from left side. The students were far too preoccupied with trying to bandage the bleeding officers to realize that they were in danger.

'I could use Getsuga but… this should be safer.'

While quietly whispering a long incantation, the teen quickly gathered his reiryoku and redirected its flow into the palm of his left hand, generating an orb of yellow lightning while doing so.

"…empty castle. Hadō #63, Raikōhō!"

A powerful lightning strike shot down from his palm and hit the pack of hollows dead-on. Its destructive power was more than enough to completely decimate the creatures while also controllable enough to keep the students from harm's way.

"Take that." Ichigo stated confidently and flashed again.

…

Ten minutes later, the number of hollows finally began to decrease to the point where only a handful remained. It wasn't a minute too soon as only the group leader and six of his men were still able to swing their blades. The others were incapacitated either because of injuries or because of depleted stamina.

Ichigo just cleaved the centipede-like creature in two halves when he heard a yell from his right side. Instantly, he turned his head only to see a trio of hollows trying to stealthily leave the battlefield.

"Kurosaki, hunt them down! We can take care of the remaining ones here!" The group leader forced a yell out of his exhausted body. He was ready to keel over and Ichigo didn't really want to leave the man but the tone of his voice was still strong.

The teen got his orders.

"On it!"

In an instant, he disappeared from the clearing and followed the hollows' trail. It wasn't hard to do that as they were constantly pouring their reiatsu to the surroundings in an amount that allowed even Ichigo to sense them. It took him only a minute or two before he found them.

"Oh no you won't!" He exclaimed when he saw that the hollows were descending upon a lone kid. Using his speed, he easily outran them and landed right in front of the kid just as they were raising their claws.

"Disappear!" Pumping a bit of reiryoku into this zanpakuto, he cut through all three hollows in one mighty swing, purifying them at once. Once they turned into spirit particles, he released a sigh.

"Whew. Finally."

"We thank you for your assistance, shinigami."

At the sound of a soft feminine voice coming from behind him, Ichigo spun around to see the kid he just saved sitting on the ground and looking directly at him. It was a little girl with green eyes and long blonde hair. He blinked and pointed at himself.

"You can see me? That means…"

His brow creased into a frown as he stared at the girl with confused eyes. She was wearing a formal pink kimono, a type of clothes that certainly wasn't usual for a soul of a recently deceased human. One of her arms was raised and stuck forward. All in all, she looked completely out of place.

"Who are you?"

"That… isn't important. Now, how long do we have to wait until you help us up?"

His stare intensified. Something about the way she spoke felt a bit familiar. Like he had heard it before. In that moment, an image of a certain Captain flashed within his mind.

'She addresses herself with we… yeah, she totally reminds me of Kuchiki Byakuya.'

"Right…"

Gently grabbing her hand, he helped her stand up and watched as she put a large hat back on her head. Once she did it, it completely covered her face.

"Rurichiyo-sama! Are you alright?"

Two man clad in a shinigami garb landed on their knees right behind the girl, instantly firing a series of questions and fully ignoring Ichigo's very presence.

"Rurichiyo-sama, I told you before but you can't just leave out sights like this. Especially not this late. I agreed on regular walks but this just won't do! We should return."

"But we're already sick and tired of that place!"

Watching the interaction, Ichigo decided he wasn't needed anymore and turned around to leave. While it irked him that the men completely ignored him, he didn't have the time to ponder about it. But as soon as he took a step away, he was stopped with a voice.

"You! Academy student!"

Ichigo's left eyebrow twitched.

"What is it?"

However, the man who called out to him didn't get the chance to give him a reply as something crash-landed next to them, causing everyone to shield their eyes from the debris.

"Damn it, they are here. Enryū, take Rurichiyo-sama and run. I'll be right behind you!"

"Wait, Kenryū, what is going on?"

"Go, Enryū!"

When the dust from the air cleared, Ichigo could only see the larger of the two men running away with the girl on his back while the other one gave Ichigo a short look.

"Please sacrifice yourself for Rurichiyo-sama. Goodbye."

Then he ran after the larger man, leaving baffled Ichigo behind. But that moment of surprise lasted only until the teen felt some movement behind him. He turned around just in time to block an attack from a man wielding an unusual sword.

'So he's the one who crash-landed just now. What is going on here?'

"Who are you?"

But the man didn't make any attempt to reply. Instead, he slashed at the teen again. Ichigo easily parried the strike but he was getting more and more confused with every passing second. Not only he had no idea who the girl and her two bodyguards were, he was at loss as to who the man that was currently attacking him was too. Moreover, the man did not look like a regular shinigami. His clothes were reminding him of members of the Onmitsukidō only with slight differences.

Blocking another strike, a realization hit him in the guts. He realized what the man reminded him of.

'An assassin.'

If Ichigo's suspicions were really true, then it was no surprise that the man looked like he belonged in Onmitsukidō. They were, after all, specialized in assassinations and covert operations. Yet knowing that didn't help Ichigo in the least. He still didn't understand the situation. It was obvious the man did not come to fight him. In that case, what was his target?

'That girl?'

He jumped over the man's sword and kicked him in the chin, while still deep in thoughts.

That girl he had just met, Rurichiyo, excluded an aura and behavior of a princess. An aristocrat. That fact pointed towards the girl being some kind of noble. Ichigo didn't know why somebody would want to kill a little girl but even thinking about it caused him to grit his teeth.

'I guess thing like these are common in Soul Society.'

He didn't like it for many reasons. The one that made his blood boil, however, was that somebody would want to kill a little girl. A little girl that was most likely the same age as his sisters had been before they died. He audibly growled and when the man attempted to stab him, he sidestepped the attempt and brought his sword down like a guillotine.

His opponent's face, so far emotionless, betrayed his emotions for the first time when his attempt to block Ichigo's attack almost failed. His eyes widened and he visibly struggled under the pressure the teen put on him. A split second later, Ichigo used his full weight and pushed forward.

The man was unable to resist and got blasted backwards.

"Guys like you make me sick." Ichigo muttered in a low voice and when the man finally landed on the ground, he was off like a shot.

But before he could swing his zanpakuto and land a hit on his enemy, the man tilted his sword and a brief flash of light blinded the teen.

'What the…?' Ichigo blinked in an attempt to clear his sight only to see a blade inches away from his eyes.

"Shit."

Hastily, he leaned backwards and then rolled away. He felt a burning sensation on his face and something wet dripped down on the ground but he managed to avoid a critical injury. Raising his sword, he parried the oncoming diagonal blow and glared at the man, as if trying to let him know just how much he had pissed the teen off. In that moment, the man tilted his sword again and Ichigo noticed that the circular mirror in its hilt glowed before a flash blinded him again.

'Damn it!'

When he could see again, Ichigo instantly jumped high and felt as a sword cut a portion of his clothes.

'I think I see a pattern here…'

Immediately after his feet touched the ground, Ichigo pumped the reiryoku into his legs and flashed around the man. Raising his index and middle finger, he released a tiny amount of energy.

"Bakudō #1, Sai!"

Before he could react, the man's arms instantly locked behind his back making it easy for the teen to knock the sword of out his hand. Placing his zanpakuto under the man's neck, Ichigo lowered his voice.

"Now start talking. Who are you and why are you targeting that little girl?"

He felt the man tense. Still, he heard no answer. With a growl, he pushed edge of his blade into the man's skin.

"I'm waiting."

Then, something he never expected to happen, happened. The man used Ichigo's grip and willingly pushed his neck into the blade and jerked his head from side to side, effectively cutting his own jugular.

As soon as he felt the red liquid on pouring all over his hands, Ichigo let go of the man and watched him hit the ground. In his last few moments, the man crawled to his sword, grasped it with one hand while releasing something small from the other one.

In the next instant, the small area around him exploded.

Hastily backing away, Ichigo grimaced.

"Oh, shit."

End of chapter 16.

So, another chapter, another example of me not being able to plan a chapter. To clarify, this chapter was supposed to be 4k words shorter but, at the same time, it was supposed to contain 2 additional scenes. Oh well, what can you do.

I changed the Shikai release. Too many readers told me that this is better and I listen to my readers. And you're right, it does sound better after all.

Ichigo met Yoruichi and things got heated (heh). I tried to show that while Ichigo is strong, he still has a lot of room to improve. Moving on, Ichigo's troubles with his hollow side are and will be different than in canon. My Ichigo and Zangetsu are different from canon too, so it's just logical.

I don't think I can write much about the rest of the chapter. On the other hand, I'm really looking forward to your reaction to it. Oh, btw, I was surprised you got the Amagai thing so easily. Clearly, I should work on my use of obvious details. Just one more thing... don't think that this arc will only be about Amagai...

To reviews:

*Takei_Daloui - thanks, yes, that was my intention.

*Dinner - that means I did a good job! Yay! Hogyoku twist is only at the beginning...he-he-he. This Zangetsu is a bit of a schizophreniac in this one. He is being constantly influenced by his hollow part yet he tries to control it.

*McCabeRz - i respectfully disagree. My version of ichigo, after he achieves a full version of his Bankai, will be one of the strongest beings in the story, if not the strongest. Because of that, I want to show his steady progress over the span of multiple chapters. It's not about trying to cut down on his power. Look at this chapter's fight with Yoruichi. Do you think the canon version would be able to force Yoruichi to use Shunko against him? The current canon Ichigo? Most likely. The canon Ichigo at the SS arc? Not bloody hell likely. Things will get better for ichigo, though. Worse too.

*blarg7865 - no. Their hearts are with Ichigo but they won't appear like that. They are represented as lingering emotions they hold towards Ichigo. Don't know Bleach games, so i won't use them. I may look some info from them but I'd rather come up with something original too. They already did :). Don't have the specifics for Muramasa arc thought out yet (he may not even appear at all). That part will come up in the next few chapters.

*Lord_Wolfie - yoruichi trusts Urahara too much and, as I tried to show with that short paragraph in the last chapter, Urahara is somethign between a hero and a villain in this story. I hope he did.

*Kragh50 - thanks for the response ;)

*Harbinger_Of_Kaos - yes, Yama's wake up call will force some changes. They will come to light in the future. Yes, Ichigo will meet Urahara...sooooon. Yes, Byakuya will try to be a better brother. A bit more emotional when with Rukia. Don't really know about the last one atm.

*reality_deviant - Ichi will not get one but yes, I'm thinking about the potential use of the technology behind them.

*NieveDrop - thank you, i tried. Rukia maybe is a side character but she is also important for this story. I want to develop her.

*Talsbreath, *WhoFeedYasuo, *Kragh50 - so, i changed the release phrase. Should have a better feel now.

Many thanks to the other reviwers as well!
Look forward to the next chapter. I don't know when I'll have it but ideas for this story just don't want to leave me alone so it may be sooner than you'd think.

Anway, see ya!