A/N: Here it is! One of you requested an epic battle scene, and I did my best to fulfill that request. First things first, Review Responses:

skylark dragonstar: Oh yeah, it's a huge mess for Ichigo to get into, especially his reaction to Toushirou calling him an idiot for going after him. That part made me cry when I wrote it.

marsreikosan16: Thanks for the support, Sister Dear. :)

PartyPony2: Yeah, I was wondering why you didn't review last time, but I had to get Chapter 9 up, so I couldn't wait for you, but now I know. And yes, to clear your head, Toushirou can use kidou at will. He doesn't have a zanpaktou (yet), which leaves all the sword fighting to Ichigo, because Ichigo doesn't know how to use kidou. And you will find out everything else later on in the story, if not this chapter.

550: I'm glad you like it.

Black Cat Angel: Thank you. It really helped.

ExorcistWhite: You'll see later on.

Shiro Neko: I'm really glad you like it.

Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts! It makes me so happy! ^^

Disclaimer: All credit for Bleach goes to Tite Kubo, not me, sadly. *tear*

~10~10~10~10~

Chapter 10: Brotherly Struggle and Toushirou's Decision

"H-Hinamori..." Toushirou looked up at the Shinigami in front of Ichigo. "What are you doing here?"

"Helping you get back home. It's dangerous here with Shinigami on the loose and after you for some reason that's unknown to me. I'm here to save you from whatever they want with you. Izuru-kun! Renji-kun! Lay off of him! Leave him alone!" Momo turned to the two Lieutenants.

"Can't," Renji said. "We have a strict order to apprehend this kid straight from the Soutaichou himself."

Momo's eyes widened a fracture. "The Soutaichou...?!"

Renji merely smirked. Izuru only nodded. Toushirou decided that Izuru was the nicest one in this trio of Shinigami.

"You okay, Toushirou-kun?" Momo directed this question at him. "They didn't hurt you too bad yet, did they?"

Toushirou shook his head. His eyes wandered to an unconscious Uryuu on the ground next to him.

"So...you finally...called me friend..."

Uryuu's words kept ringing in his head. Toushirou was somewhat of a jerk to him, when all this time, all Uryuu wanted was for Toushirou to be a friend, just like Ichigo was.

Ichigo...

His mind wandered to Ichigo. Toushirou had called him an idiot, just for disobeying a request not to come after him. Tears welled up in his eyes.

But deep down in his heart, Toushirou knew that he was glad that Ichigo had come. Had he not run into these Shinigami, he would have not been so glad. He was glad that Ichigo arrived when he did, or Abarai would have succeeded in possibly killing him.

Toushirou thought. Tears were threatening to fall now. The more he thought about Ichigo, the more tears he had to fight to keep back.

'Don't say thank you. Don't say thank you. Don't say thank you! Dammit!'

Ichigo's voice prevented his thought train and his emotion train from colliding. This he was grateful for.

"Oi, Toushirou, you okay?"

It somehow took him a while to answer.

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine...just a little spooked, that's all."

"You cold?"

"No...just spooked, that's all..."

Ichigo said nothing. His expression said it all.

Ichigo was worried about him.

Toushirou looked straight into his eyes and said nothing.

Ichigo read his eyes: Toushirou was grateful that he had come.

For a while, neither of them said a word. Toushirou's turquoise eyes traveled down to Ichigo's shoulder, then back up at Ichigo, this time with a different expression.

Toushirou was asking if his shoulder hurt.

Ichigo merely looked off to the side, but then looked back at Toushirou, smiling, his eyes saying, 'I'm okay'.

Toushirou didn't buy it, though, and activated a healing kidou against Ichigo's shoulder.

It was Renji who broke the silence. "Kidou, huh?"

Toushirou looked at him, as if to say 'I dare you to come closer', his eyes blazing with anger, anger for Abarai for hurting his brother.

Renji stepped forward, ready to accept Toushirou's challenge. Izuru tried to hold him back, but no avail.

Each step, he got closer. He was only a couple steps away when Momo blocked his path.

"Momo! Get out of the way!"

"No! You're not taking him! I'll fight you! I'll kill you if I have to!" Momo protested.

"Idiot! Hoero, Zabimaru!"

Momo easily dodged it. She landed behind Renji and prepared to strike.

"No, Momo, don't! You'll be accused of treason!" Izuru shouted at her. Too late. She was going to strike.

Izuru blocked her attack. His eyes blazing with anger now too.

"Izuru...out of the way...he tried to kill Toushirou-kun..."

"And you tried to kill Renji...For that, I will not forgive."

Momo's face quickly contorted with anger. "Hajike, Tobiume!"

Izuru was knocked down and away a few feet with a fireball from Momo's Tobiume.

"Stay there, Kira!" Momo's eyes blazed. "Or I'll kill you too!"

Izuru refused to take another step further. He only wordlessly watched the fight between Zabimaru and Tobiume.

Momo was the one attacking. Renji was dodging. One slice from Tobiume made his goggles snap off in two. Again, she made to strike him. This time, the fatal blow.

She kept gaining speed, faster and faster, until Renji was no longer keeping track of where Momo was. It was her chance.

She suddenly stopped. Renji looked on bewildered.

Standing behind Momo was Kuchiki Byakuya. On Momo's torso was a terrible wound that caused to look down and then fall to the ground, out cold and bleeding freely, just like Uryuu.

"Taichou...you didn't have to. I had it handled..."

"I'm sure you did, Abarai...Kira, you may move now..." Izuru came out of his hiding place, looked horridly at Momo. "We will take her as prisoner. Kira, close her wound."

"Yes, Sir," Izuru said as he sheathed his sword and also sheathed Momo's. He healed her wound to make it close up.

Renji turned to Ichigo and Toushirou, the only two remaining who weren't out cold or injured too badly.

"Now then, Substitute...hand him over."

Ichigo didn't have to think about an answer. He already had one. "Over my dead body."

His answer was firm. He meant it. They would have to kill him if they wanted Toushirou.

"You asked for it, kid...you want me to kill you? I'll kill you."

"Don't!" Toushirou's voice was filled with authority and his eyes pleading.

Ichigo was caught off guard by this. "T-Toushirou...?" Then Ichigo got a sudden pain in his chest.

He looked down. His blade had been near the hilt, leaving nothing but a stump. And his chest was now bleeding freely.

Ichigo fell to the ground, seemingly out cold. "His booster has been destroyed. He is a Shinigami no more."

Toushirou said nothing.

"Let us go. We are leaving. Kira, Abarai."

"Yes, Sir," they both said simultaneously. Kira threw Momo over his shoulder.

Abarai used his zanpaktou and opened the Senkai Gate, the same one Rukia had gone through days before.

Not three, but five Hell Butterflies flew out, one for each person.

Before Byakuya could take even half a step, a hand reached out and grabbed his leg.

"O-oi...I'm not dead yet..." Ichigo never gave up. By some miracle, he was still alive. This surprised Toushirou greatly. He never knew Ichigo had this big of a life force.

"Release me, human..." Byakuya said quietly.

"Not without an explanation first. Why do you want Toushirou?"

Byakuya said nothing. Renji said it for him. "It's none of your damn business, kid!"

"I'm not letting you go that easy..."

Ichigo's hand gripped Byakuya's ankle tighter. A foot then stepped on Ichigo's wrist.

All eyes turned to Toushirou, eyes blazing with anger, trying to hold back the tears.

"You're just a lowly human. How dare you grab a Shinigami Captain like that?!"

"T-Toushirou..."

"You're going to die anyways. So why not stay put and live just a few seconds longer?" Toushirou took his foot off of Ichigo's wrist, which had unintentionally released Byakuya's ankle.

They all entered the Gate, Toushirou being the last one. Before the Gate closed, Toushirou looked back and whispered to him, "I'm sorry..."

Ichigo felt a tear fall. He looked up and saw raindrops fall from the sky. "N-no...it can't be..."

Just before Ichigo passed out, he saw Urahara standing over him, with an umbrella in hand and a black cat perched on his shoulder.

Ichigo had felt cold before, but now he felt warm. He opened his eyes.

There was Tessai, right up in his face. Maybe a little too close.

Ichigo screamed.

"Oh, good reaction! Hey, Boss, you told me to tell you when Ichigo woke up! Well, he's awake!"

"What the hell are you doing under the covers with me?!" Ichigo threw him off of him and off to the side.

"Hello, Ichigo..." Urahara said.

"Hat-And-Clogs...is this your house?"

"Yep. I treated Uryuu, but he didn't stay. He was worried about you though and your wounds were worse than his were. He was also really worried about Toushirou..."

"Who the hell is Toushirou really?"

"Before he became a Kurosaki? His real name is Hitsugaya Toushirou. He was formerly the Captain of the Tenth Division. In other words, he was a Shinigami, and a prodigy at that."

"You met him before?" Ichigo couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Once or twice. He was here to inform of some items that the Soul Society needed for some odd reason. I forget what those reasons were though."

"Well, he's joined them..."

"Did it ever occur to you that he told you what he told you in his last line to you in order to protect you?"

"How do you know what he was trying to do?!" Ichigo half snapped at Urahara.

"Because I knew him in his previous life and I got to know him in this life, most specifically while you were fighting with Don Kanonji. Just by observance of you two during that time, I could tell he really cared about you. He loves you, Ichigo, as a brother would. A lot. He would never betray you."

"How do you know this?"

"Not just because I kept observing him, but he also told me some things about himself. About how he had amnesia. About how he felt so close to you. And about how much he really cared for you."

*Flashback*

Urahara, Tessai, and Toushirou were watching Ichigo, Rukia, who had just gotten her powers back, and Momo fight alongside Don Kanonji against the Demi-Hollow.

"You okay?" Urahara asked Toushirou.

Toushirou looked at him and then looked back at the fight. "I'm just worried."

"Worried? About Ichigo? Don't worry. He's fought worse hollows before. This is a small fry for him."

"Well, I can't help but worry about him. He's my brother for God's sake!" Toushirou retorted. "Besides...he can't die...I've never felt so close to anyone in my entire life."

Urahara merely looked at him. It was small, but then he smiled.

*End Flashback*

"He said that...about me?" Ichigo felt a light blush crawl onto his face.

"He sure did. Now..." Urahara pointed his cane toward Ichigo's face. "Are you going to give up and let that connection between the two of you just go to waste? Or are you going to act upon it and go after him and save him?"

Ichigo's brown eyes suddenly filled with determination. He smiled. "No! I won't! He may not be showing it, but he wants me to come! I just know it!"

Urahara smiled. Again, it was small, but it was real.

'That's the bond of true brothers there for you...' he thought.

~10~10~10~10~

A/N: There we go! With new determination, Ichigo prepares to enter Soul Society to save Toushirou.