a/n - Sup =D, lotta time switches in the chapter, so pay attention cause i sure as hell hope i marked em all XD
***3 Days after last chapter***
Layne rolled out of bed and groaned as his head impacted the speaker next to his bedside table
"Goddammit!" he yelled as he looked at the clock, which had the glowing red numerals of '6:02'
"Shut the hell up!" Ichigo shouted out, from Joel's old room, exactly next door
"Oh right, I forgot I wasn't alone in my own house anymore" Layne muttered to himself
Urahara had asked Ichigo to stay at Layne's house because Urahara had reinforced his basement with Sekkisekki stone after Layne's first Rain had torn right through it. So now the basement was pretty much invincible to reiatsu based attacks, and it already dampened reiatsu, and was immune to collapse, earthquakes and any other random natural disaster that might occur
Which meant it was the perfect place to stay off Kira's radar until they were ready
A little school skipped was fine, seeing as Kira was an ancient renegade that was more powerful than most of the current captains so Ichigo and Layne had spent the last two days sparring and training… even if they couldn't beat her by themselves though she was sealed at 40%... there was help coming from Soul Society, and Layne, despite not being that interested in fighting simply for the hell of it, thought it would be badass to fight alongside the likes of Byakuya… or Kyoraku and Ukitake
Since they still had no idea as to Kira's motives other than she was interested in Layne and Ichigo. Chad, Orihime and Uryuu still went about their normal lives, Orihime stopping by in the evenings to heal everything
Seeing as he was awake already, there was really nothing to do except eat breakfast and go outside
Layne sat on top of one of the canyons watching his house, with a glass of orange juice and a huge stack of toast on a plate
Good thing I made all this toast, I'm freakin' hungry
Layne reached for another piece of toast, but frowned as his hand felt no resistance
He patted his hand around and eventually felt a leg… and the plate the toast had been on
He spat out his orange juice and turned to see Yoruichi finishing off the last piece of his toast
"Good thing you made all that toast Layne, I was really hungry" Yoruichi thanked him, in between bites
Layne's mouth started moving, but no words were coming out
"That was good toast"
"Oi, that was MY toast" Layne growled "But I'm more amazed at how fast you ate the toast"
"Well" Yoruichi replied with a smirk "I'm still the Goddess of Flash"
"Ahh…no…I don't think you…" Layne demurred, waving his hand and looking away "Either way, why are you down here so early? It's like six in the morning"
"It's closer to eight… making all that toast takes time you know"
"That didn't answer my question"
"Kisuke wants to talk to you and Ichigo"
"Why didn't he come down here himself?"
"He's a lazy bastard"
So am I!
But Layne knew that point wouldn't go over well, so he just downed the rest of his OJ and followed Yoruichi
***Present***
"Oi, oi Ichigo" Layne said, a hint of worry coloring his tone "They've got Uryuu"
"But…I still feel Chad and Orihime…weren't they all together?"
"It doesn't matter" Ichigo told him "As long as they aren't hurt"
Layne shook his head, indicating a negative for that
"Why would they just grab Uryuu and leave the others unhurt though?" Layne wondered
"I already said" Ichigo said calmly, reaching up over his shoulder and pulling Zangetsu free from its ribbon sheath "That it doesn't matter"
Layne unhooked both of his katana from his shihakusho and tossed them to the side
"Drift, Roxas!"
Oathkeeper and Oblivion appeared in his outstretched hands and he grinned at Ichigo
"Your right, I suppose it doesn't"
They turned to look at the sky, where Kira and the four people with her stood
"Let's go" they unintentionally said in unison, kicking off from the ground and launching themselves upwards
Kira and co watched the two of them flying upwards
"Heh, you gonna take them both on Kira?"
"Gotta finish up all my fights here before we go to Soul Society and these two…are the last two alive" Kira replied "I think I might enjoy this"
Layne and Ichigo stood on the same level as Kira and her friends
"This shouldn't have to be said, but we should get Uryuu out of there before we go all out" Ichigo muttered to Layne
"That, is a no brainer"
"OI!" Layne shouted in Kira's direction "We're right here… so come and get us"
Kira grinned "Let's make this last"
She leapt at the two, who split up, Ichigo moving to intercept Kira's blade and Layne jumped to the side and flashstepped forwards, aiming for the creepy looking guy, with dark blue hair, camo pants, a featureless black undershirt and an unzipped loose dark green jacket, who was currently holding the unconscious Uryuu
Layne aimed a side cut, intending to disable his arm but was shocked when the guy merely sidestepped it and countered with a snap kick to Layne's jaw
What the… I should have been moving far too fast for any of these sealed Shinigami to avoid
"Oi, Takeda!" Kira shouted, as she exchanged blows with Ichigo "Send him back here, without hurting him too badly
Takeda nodded and turned to Layne, who was still dazed from the kick
"If you want to rescue your friend, you shall have to defeat Kira-san… and then the rest of us"
"Why don't I just start with you" Layne replied, straightening up and attempted an overhead slash with Oblivion
Takeda merely caught the black keyblade and extracted a yoyo from the inside of his jacket
"Show yourself, Sai"
The yoyo rose up into the air, and Takeda let go of Oblivion, enabling Layne to stumble backwards as the Yoyo transformed into a white, featureless marionette doll
"What the hell…that's not a Zanpakuto" Layne said, staring at it in confusion
Takeda grinned
"No, it isn't…Sai!"
Sai extended its arms and suddenly Layne felt restricted and unable to move
"What's going on?!" Layne shouted "I can't move!"
"Sai" Takeda repeated, gesturing to where Ichigo and Kira were fighting
Layne began walking, somewhat jerkily in that direction
"You can control my movements huh?" Layne assessed
"Precisely" replied Takeda "I shall relinquish them back to you as soon as you are ready to fight with Kira-san, because although I could control your movements to fight with Kira-san, that control is nothing compared to the instincts and reactions of a true swordsman"
Layne finally made it close to the fight and he felt control return to his limbs
"But… I don't want to fight, I'd rather free Uryuu" he shouted, turning around
"Riptide Strike: Rain!"
The green crescent of energy shot forwards, threatening to envelope Takeda and Sai
"Riptide Strike: Rain" Takeda parroted, and Sai generated a similar green crescent from the arc of its kick
Sai's Rain cleaved Layne's in two, and the two halves passed harmlessly over, and under Takeda
"No way" Layne said, his shock clearly visible on his face
"An explanation at this point would be pointless" Takeda said arrogantly "Suffice it to say, that I may regain control whenever I want to at this point in time, so the only choice you have… is the one Sai gives you"
Layne turned around involuntarily and was given control back of his movements, just in time to duck a swing from Kira that would have lopped off his head
"Don't tell me you two are afraid of a little two on one" Kira taunted Layne, and Ichigo who came up beside Layne
"The way I see it" Layne muttered "We take them down one by one… we got no other choice"
"Yeah" Ichigo replied "With both of us, this should be no problem"
"Then let's go!"
"Wait up," Kira said "If you two have finally decided to get serious, then I guess I can finally get serious as well"
"Huh?"
"Kill, Kira!"
Her Zanpakuto has the same name as her?
Kira's Zanpakuto changed shape from an ordinary sized katana, to an overlarge, scythe shaft, with three massive black blades on each side of the shaft, which itself was colored black
Layne gasped and pointed at it with Oathkeeper "That thing's freaking huge!"
Kira grinned maniacally
"Come on, if you two don't use your Bankai, then this will be no fun for me at all"
Down at the store, several Shinigami watched the fight for a while, noticing how Ichigo and Layne were just holding their own against Kira's gigantic Zanpakuto, and there were four other guys still hanging back
"Them having Ishida wasn't in our expectations" one of them noted
"Screw it" another said "Let's go!"
"Extend! Hozukimaru!"
"Howl! Zabimaru!"
"Growl! Haineko!"
"Make Your Choice! Riku!"
Ikkaku, Renji, Matsumoto, and Joel appeared from where they had been hiding, along with Hisagi and Nemu, who didn't particularly feel the need to release their Zanpakuto
Ikkaku collided with a guy with spiky black hair, wearing an ancient and faded Shinigami uniform, who drew the Zanpakuto hanging over his back just in time to avoid being impaled by Hozukimaru's blade end
Matsumoto's ash surrounded the small girl in black jeans, pink tank top, and blue jacket, which made an incomprehensible sound, drew the Zanpakuto hanging over her back and sprayed some kind of liquid from the oddly patterned blade, neutralizing the cloud of ash
A girl with dark brown hair, wearing tight blue jeans, and a green t-shirt knocked Zabimaru out of the air before it could hit Takeda and jumped at Renji
"Earth's Power: Formation!" shouted Joel, bringing the tail of collected earth materials around to where Zabimaru had been a second ago
"Sai" muttered Takeda
Sai jumped in front of the Formation, taking it head on
While Takeda was distracted with Sai's battle, Nemu relieved him of Uryuu and disappeared, setting up a silent cue for everyone to jump back, surrounding Kira's group
"Alright" Layne said, with a grin "Ambush complete"
"So was that you getting your ass kicked up there Ichigo?" Renji asked "It sure looked like it"
"Shut the hell up, I didn't notice you up there fighting with that gigantic scythe" Ichigo replied
"Only because it would have been over too fast"
"Yeah with you on the ground"
The tension was palpable
Ichigo and Renji jammed foreheads against each other
"Wanna fight?" they snarled in unison
The sweatdrops on the back of Layne's, Joel's, Ikkaku's, Matsumoto's and Hisagi's heads were probably visible from the ground below
"How about you fight with me?" Kira snarled "That's the only reason I came here"
"Kira-san" Takeda interrupted "I must respectfully request that we stop playing around… the Quincy is now out of our hands"
Kira shook her head "What!"
"Guess we won this one" Layne grinned "I'm not sure why you wanted Uryuu, but with him safe and the seven of us here… I guess you're screwed"
Kira growled "Why don't all seven of you come at me at once and we'll see just how screwed I am"
"Kira-san!" Takeda repeated, more urgently than before "We must retreat, based on the restrictions to everyone's except my powers, currently those seven would win in an engagement"
"Going to run huh?"
Kira growled "Daisuke, Tsubaki, Emi, Takeda"
"Yes, Kira-san?" The four replied in unison
"Carry me home… Mi Gai Dageki!"
Three black energy spheres were hurled from the top of Kira's scythe pole at the group
They scattered, but the spheres followed them, one aiming for Joel, one for Renji and one for Ichigo
Out of the corner of his eye, Layne watched as Kira collapsed, and her four minions grabbed her and bailed
She must have put all her power in that move
But the orbs still chased their targets, quickly gaining on Joel, who was the slowest of the three at flashsteps
"Dammit!" Ichigo shouted "Getsuga Tensho!"
The blue wave of reiatsu cleaved through the orb chasing Ichigo, and by pure coincidence, the one chasing Renji too
But the third one was just about to catch Joel
Layne knew that there was instantly only one thing to do
A small explosion engulfed the area around Joel, and when the smoke cleared, Joel was amazed to see that he was completely unharmed; he hadn't even felt the orb touch him
Because it hadn't
At the very, very last microsecond, Layne had jumped in between Joel and the orb, taking the full force of the blow
The explosion had blown off the top half of his shihakusho, and the entire front of his body was covered in blood
He fell to his knees and began coughing and spitting out a fair amount of blood, before looking up at everyone, who had rushed to his side
"Guess… I owe that bitch one now too, eh Ichigo?"
"You…you jackass!" muttered Joel "I coulda taken that one, but nooo Mr I'm going to sit myself on top of a goddam reiatsu explosion and say some dumbassed line like that…
Ikkaku and Ichigo went to lift Layne up and carry him down to the store, but he stood up
"I'm fine, takes more than some 'Goddam Reiatsu Explosion' to keep me down"
All of them headed down to the store with Joel still muttering under his breath "Look at me, I'm Layne… I'm just so much faster than everyone else, so I'm going to leap in front of a goddam bomb and pretend to be perfectly fine"
"Screw you" Layne replied "I can hear you perfectly"
"Thanks you idiot"
Layne smiled
"Was that so hard?"
"Don't make me start muttering again"
***3 Days before***
It had totally blown Layne's mind when he had walked through that door, and seen Joel, Hisagi, Matsumoto, Ikkaku, Nemu, and Renji sitting around the table with Urahara
"What are you guys doing here?" Layne asked, sitting down at the table, next to Joel
"We're your backup" Joel explained "Captain Ukitake and Kyoraku have joint command of this operation, so I'm down here, and I asked Renji and Nemu to come with… and Renji asked Ikkaku… and Nemu asked Matsumoto and Nanao… who Captain Kyoraku was deadest against coming, so Hisagi came instead
Layne's gave them an odd look…because they were all doing a weird group pose "Is this some kind of in-joke I should know about?
Layne blinked and they were all back in their seats
"What are you talking about Layne?" Joel asked
"Uhh…nothing"
"Anyway" Urahara cut in "Let's discuss tomorrow, I have an idea how to lure them out
Everyone leaned forward and listened, even though Layne couldn't get the odd image of Joel handstanding on Nemu's shoulders out of his head
***Present***
Layne was getting bandaged by Tessai and Ururu, and everyone else excluding Uryuu, Nemu, Urahara and Yoruichi were sitting around Urahara's ubiquitous table
"So that failed" Joel said "Anyone else got an idea?"
Uryuu and Nemu were sitting in a side room
"I know" Nemu said unemotionally
"Know what?"
"That you have lost your powers as a Quincy"
Uryuu looked shocked
"H..how did you find out?"
"During your battle with Mayuri-sama, I observed after you exited the final state, you could hardly maintain your Ransotengai"
"Have you told anyone?"
"Only Joel"
"Good, do not tell anyone else"
"It wouldn't matter"
Nemu reached inside her uniform and extracted a small bracelet, and passed it to Uryuu
"This is…" Uryuu muttered, completely stunned
"A Quincy artifact, used to simulate Quincy powers for the elderly and infirm…or those that have lost their powers, I Stole it from Mayuri-sama…as an apology for the loss of your powers"
Uryuu breathed again
If anyone had found out that he had lost his powers, he wouldn't have been able to be of any use to Ichigo's group at all, and he didn't like the idea of knowing that shit was going down, and not being able to do a thing about it
Even though all he had done today was get caught, though that could be attributed to the loss of his powers
In one more of those dark corners of that hugeass basement, Urahara was working at a computer while Yoruichi lazed behind him
"So what's the big deal about pulling all this Bount information up now?" Yoruichi asked idly
"One of the people with Kira" Urahara muttered "He was using a Doll"
Yoruichi sat up and stared at the screen
"And if she has a Bount with her… he's obviously strong, and under no power limit"
"That's not what worries me"
"Oh?"
"What worries me, is that Bount can use Quincies powers for some of their special techniques…and a gate to Soul Society"
"But you told me that Uryuu had lost his powers as a Quincy"
"They don't seem to know that, and from the wire's I've got going through the Shoten… He just regained them in some form
"How would Kira have known that Ichigo and I can do Bankai?" Layne muttered in his sleep "She's supposed to have been cut off from all contact from Soul Society for ages"
"Dammit Jankz, Yumichika" Moll cursed "I didn't really want to deal with your 11th division shit tonight"
Moll was in the 4th, patching up Jankz and Yumichika, who had been at the center of an 11th division drinking brawl that day
"It was a most unbeautiful injury, but you have healed it beautifully" Yumichika thanked Moll
"Keep it up, Yumichika, I'll break your other arm" Moll growled
"And what about you, you jackass" she turned to Jankz "Jumping in the way of Captain Kenpachi's blade… you trying to get yourself killed?"
"I thought healers were supposed to be sweet and kind" Jankz joked, good naturedly "You should take after Lieutenant Isane, or Captain Unohana"
"I try" Moll admitted "But both of them could probably kick your asses a lot better than I could"
Jankz and Yumichika gulped at the thought of fighting Unohana, and Moll exited the ward, chuckling
a/n - Finito... XD, slowly working my way through this arc... i really want to get to the arrancar arc... i got some excellent ideas for it, but i'm motivated to kick some... i mean finish this arc then go there XD
...check out drabble collection... and review both or one or w/e