a/n - Thanks randomguy for explaining what happened after i deleted the profiles at the beginning of the story, if you tried to review last chap but couldn't it was because the chapter numbers matched up with my chapter numbers after i deleted the first chapter (which wasn't really a chapter) so, this should prolly help XD
"Let Uryuu go" Ichigo said confidently, standing forward from his group "I'm the one you wanted to fight"
"Idiot, if fighting you was our only goal than do you think we would have run away so many times or bothered kidnapping your Quincy?" Emi shot back "Kira-san could have taken the lot of you before even requiring her Bankai"
Kira stepped forwards and clapped a hand on Emi's shoulder, who shut up and stepped back
"If you're here to stop us, then come on… talking when we could be fighting is pointless"
As one, five zanpakuto's were removed from their sheath's, A black liquid like substance formed on Chad's arm and solidified into his Right Arm of the Giant, and Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka detached from her hair clips and began flying around
Ichigo watched as Kira's group moved into a ready stance, and then glanced at everyone beside him
I'm going to be the one to beat Kira… it's going to be rough without help… but Layne was the only one who wasn't power sealed
"Let's go!"
They jumped forward, splitting in four directions, aiming for a different member of Kira's group
"Kill, Kira!"
Kira went into Shikai off the bat, watching Ichigo leap towards her and swinging her scythe around like it was nothing
I would have liked to enjoy this… but I'm so close to my revenge, and I'm not letting these brats take it from me!
"Bite the Moon in Two, Enkaiookami"
Emi waved her whips around, attempting to intimidate Renji and Joel, who had ended up with her as their opponent
"Strange that you would come straight to me" she said, aiming her remark to Joel "I obviously didn't scare you last time we met"
"I figured that you'd be out to get me cause I beat up your boyfriend… so I decided to save you the effort" Joel replied easily "Make Your Choice, Riku!"
"I can't use my Bankai in such a small place with everyone around, Joel" Renji warned
"That's fine… I still got mine, Bankai!"
"Look, Tsssubaki it'sss the cow titted bitch from lassst time" Sendo Hebi hissed as Matsumoto and Hisagi appeared closest to her
"Growl, Haineko!"
"Letss-"
Tsubaki clamped a hand over Sendo Hebi's snake mouth
"What's wrong?" Matsumoto taunted "Arguments among the family?"
Tsubaki spoke up "I want to kill the guy who ruined my jacket… not waste my time with you two"
Chad, Orihime and Ikkaku were the slowest to move, and so ended up with Ren
"Heh, you guys can stand back" Ikkaku said confidently "I'm more than enough for this guy"
"Madarame Ikkaku, 3rd seat Squad 11" Ren recited confidently "I've never actually fought against you… but your reputation as an arrogant bastard is legendary among the 3rd"
Ikkaku said nothing, beginning to do his Lucky Lucky dance
"Well, even if you want to go one on one, which would just waste my time… Show your Fangs, Ookami"
Ren's sealed Zanpakuto morphed from a katana into two smaller versions of Kira's shikai, with only two of the six blades but to make up for the loss of four blades, each shaft had four large flails at the top, with blunted spikes on the balls
"I only use Ookami when I'm taking on multiple opponents… so even if you want to fight alone, you got no choice in the matter"
And with that, he leapt forwards, the scythe-flail in his left hand going forwards and forcing Ikkaku to dodge, and the one in his right swinging backwards, catching Chad with one of the flails
"Dammit" Daisuke growled, in the lowest part of Kira's hideout "I want to fight too… why won't you let me fight?"
Takeda, who had jumped down to ensure the gates condition stayed optimum even during the fighting upstairs, glanced at Daisuke and returned to his work on the gate
"I'm not sure… it's not like you aren't in perfect fighting condition" Takeda replied sarcastically "Shattered ribs, I barely managed to stop all the bleeding… and you'll probably die if we don't get you some medical attention soon, so sure you can go fight"
"You don't have to be sarcastic about it" Daisuke said lowly "It's not like I want to go fight that Joel guy again, even at full power I'm not sure I would of won and so, I'll go seek someone else"
"Forget it" Takeda replied "You made me use Sai to hold you down, so you're not moving until we go"
Daisuke gave up and just lay back, staring at the ceiling
"All finished" Takeda said, standing up and wiping his forehead with the back of his arm "All that fighting upstairs disturbed the gate a little, but now all I need is the reiatsu from a Quincy's arrow"
He glanced at Uryuu, tied to a chair in the corner, who was staring up at the floor above, following the fights with his reiatsu sense
"Ready to help us yet Quincy?" Takeda asked rhetorically
Uryuu didn't reply, but his eyes widened as he felt a familiar reiatsu moving closer at a stupidly fast rate
The roof exploded as Ichigo shot through it, raining chunks of mortar, brick and other debris onto them
"Good thing we were the only people in that room, eh Ichigo Kurosaki?" Kira commented as she jumped down after him "I'm pretty surprised you're still able to fight back, I haven't been holding back as much as I should be to keep the fight this interesting"
"Shut…up" Ichigo replied, pushing himself up with Zangetsu
He looked like he had taken a beating, with cuts and bruised all over his visible skin, in stark contrast to Kira who's only visible signs that she had been fighting a few small cuts on her arms
"I'm not going to let you continue to slaughter people" Ichigo intoned with confidence
Kira started laughing "Silly boy, do you really think that killing people is the only thing I do?"
Ichigo just charged forwards, swinging Zangetsu in a diagonal sweep
Kira caught Zangetsu with the blades of her scythe and twisted it out of his grasp, flinging it away, and then swept the shaft so it caught Ichigo in the stomach, throwing him backwards into the wall
Ichigo stood up again, blood leaking from a new wound on his forehead
Shit…did she get more powerful as I got thrown through the floor?
Kira chuckled "I have to admit kid; you're the first person that gave me a challenge with my Shikai out in years, but that might only have been when you had your friend with you"
Kira flashstepped next to Ichigo "Without him… you might as well be dust"
She swung her scythe around before Ichigo could react, stabbing through his gut with the smallest blade and throwing him to the other side of the room
"Come on! Where is your Bankai? If you're going to die that easily then why did you come down here?"
"…What" Ichigo choked out, moving slowly and picking himself up as Kira continued
"I know all about you, Bankai, your triumphs over Kenpachi Zaraki and Byakuya Kuchiki, but since you won't oblige me, I guess I'll just have to kill you… after I explain my true goals"
"Kira-san!" Takeda interrupted in alarm
"Its okay, Takeda… I don't like to be known as a mindless killer… all the time"
She flashstepped next to Ichigo and picked him up by the throat
"I just want my revenge… On the Soul Society, Shunshui Kyoraku, Jyushiro Ukitake… and most especially, The Royal Family"
Ichigo was unable to speak due to her chokehold, but he made a strange sound of surprise
"Surprised? Heh, I'll kill anyone, anything that dares get in my way… and unfortunately for you, you're doing that right this very second
She threw him away
"So either show me your Bankai… or die painfully within the next five minutes"
Ichigo stood up "I don't care how much you hate Soul Society, that's no excuse to kill people as you see fit… Getsuga Tenshou!
The blue crescent of energy flew from the tip of Zangetsu directly at Kira, who simply redirected it with her Zanpakuto
"So you still had enough power to do that? Very well then"
Once again Kira flashstepped next to him, this time delivering a backhanded punch to Ichigo's face, knocking him to the ground, and making him drop Zangetsu
"I know that deaths from Kira are very painful, so out of respect for your fighting spirit… I'll kill you with your own Zanpakuto… Zangetsu isn't it?"
Is this the end?
Images of Ichigo's friends flashed through his mind, Rukia, Renji, Chad, Uryuu, Orihime and Layne
No… I didn't come this far to fail and let everyone down
Kira stabbed Zangetsu straight down, but Ichigo somehow reached up and caught it
"What are you doing Zangetsu… Show yourself to me"
Ichigo brought Zangetsu down impaling himself… and both he and Zangetsu disappeared
"What the hell?" Kira exclaimed
Inside Ichigo's inner world, he stood on the side of the building and opened his eyes, completely restored and watched as Zangetsu jumped down and balanced on the pole
"Have you formed your resolve?" Zangetsu asked
"Whenever I get pushed into a corner… there was always my Bankai, but then I was told I couldn't use it in the real world" Ichigo replied "But I was probably still thinking it within a little corner of my heart"
"Bankai is the ultimate way to feel pain together with your blade… you must not fear pain Ichigo, or my blade will become as dull as a useless stick, Now I shall ask you once, If you have formed your resolve then, Why do you fight… Why do you want power?"
"I remembered, I became a Shinigami to protect those precious to me, and by making a promise with my soul, I obtained Bankai… I must have been relying too heavily on those around me… and not maximizing my own contribution to the group effort… Zangetsu, Lend me your power, the power to protect everyone"
"I am your power… you have but to believe in it"
Ichigo reappeared in front of Kira, brandishing Zangetsu
"What?!" she exclaimed in alarm
"Let's go Kira… this is my resolve! Bankai!"
The explosive power of Ichigo's reiatsu rapidly compressing around him kicked up dust, and forced Kira to jump back
The dust cleared and Ichigo stood and pointed his blade at her "Tensa Zangetsu"
"Shall we finish this up, Kira?"
In the corner, Uryuu had nearly finished with the ropes binding him to the chair
"Excellent" he muttered to himself "Now I just need to go help Kurosaki"
Ichigo and Kira jumped apart as a blue arrow nearly impaled them both
"Watch where you're shooting that thing, Ishida!" Ichigo growled
"My apologies Kurosaki" Ishida said, pushing his glasses up, "You should probably move faster than me to avoid it"
Takeda's eyes widened and he saw his chance
Uryuu fired off another arrow, but Sai lept up and caught it before it could even get near Kira
"My thanks… Quincy" Takeda said smugly, as Sai absorbed the arrow and fired one of her own through the gate, which immediately changed color
"Mache Sogliech das tor fuer unsere Bount auf!" Takeda intoned
A strange symbol appeared above the gate and Takeda moved his hands as if to open it
"Kira-san… the gate is complete"
"Excellent!" Kira shouted
Ichigo appeared in front of the gate "And just where do you think you're going?"
"To take my revenge" Kira replied coldly "Haburi Kei Gai!"
Black shapes began forming between the six blades of Kira's scythe and she swung it directly into Ichigo, who was somehow slowed down and couldn't dodge in time
Horrific injuries opened up all over his body as he fell to the ground and Kira smirked "I'd kill you, but I'm out of time"
Emi, Tsubaki, and Ren appeared in next to the gate, Emi and Ren picking up Daisuke, who was still sulking about not being allowed to fight
"Adios, suckers" Emi taunted as they all vanished through the gate
Hisagi, Matsumoto, Ikkaku, Renji and Joel appeared, Matsumoto carrying a wounded Orihime and Ikkaku with an unconscious Chad
Matsumoto began fretting "Oh no… Captain Hitsugaya is going to be really mad… we'd better inform Soul Society"
"I'll do it" Joel said "Captain Ukitake is still one of the major players in this situation" He pulled out a mobile and began dialing a number
Ichigo struggled to his feet and turned to the collective Lieutenants "You guys knew… didn't you"
"About what?" Renji asked, rubbing the blood off a cut on his arm
Ichigo sat down and let Orihime begin to heal him
"About Kira… what her true goal was this entire time"
Renji nodded
"Did you not tell us because you'd think we'd wipe our hands of something that should have been Soul Society's problem?"
Renji nodded again
Joel finished his conversation on the phone and turned around and karate chopped Renji's head
"That's why we didn't tell them?!" he said angrily "That's the stupidest reason I've ever heard"
"Yeah" Ichigo agreed "She nearly killed my sisters, I would have been out for her blood even if the only person out to get her was Aizen"
"Forget it Kurosaki… we aren't going to do anymore good here" Uryuu said regretfully
As they exited the Senkai gate in a remote corner of the Seireitei, Kira glanced down her robe to see the flower inscribed above her left breast had vanished… and she immediately felt better, and exulted in the pure rush of power, seeing that Tsubaki and Emi did the same
"It's so good to feel the power flowing again" Kira announced "And this should be good for you… Takeda"
Jankz appeared in front of them
"I came as soon as I felt your reiatsu, Kira-sama"
"Ahh Jankz, good I've got a job for you and Ren"
"Yes?"
"Go kidnap a couple members of the 4th, and bring them here to heal Daisuke"
They nodded, and flashstepped off
"It's so nice to be back" Kira said with a wicked grin "Now I can begin my revenge
In his secluded office Ukitake was working on paperwork late, when the phone rang
He gave a start of surprise and picked it up
"Hello?"
"Hello, Captain Ukitake" Joel greeted from the other end
"Ahh, Joel-kun, what can I do for you?"
"Sorry, Captain, we chased Kira to her hideout, but she and her subordinates escaped to Soul Society"
Ukitake nearly dropped the phone in shock
"What?"
"We'll head back to Seireitei immediately… also we're bringing Ichigo and Orihime-san back with us, so if you could modify the Senkai gate accordingly for Orihime-san"
"Yes of course" Ukitake agreed, recovering a little
"Also, go shake that lazy shit Layne out of bed, if he's wasting time by sleeping in the 4th division he can go pay rent by going and beating up Kira"
Ukitake could sense Joel's grin at the other side of the phone, even if he couldn't see him, and despite himself he chuckled
"Of course, I'll go wake up Layne-kun after the inevitable Captain's meeting that your news brings"
"Layne"
"Goddammit, I've been back asleep for all of ten minutes, what in god's name do you want!"
Layne sat up and realized he wasn't in the 4th division anymore
Roxas stared at him weirdly and moved away
"Ok, before I go any further, this shit has to stop"
"Fuck that, I love my sleep"
Roxas sighed
I meant confusing your own zanpakuto spirit for something else, but either way
"What do you want anyway Roxas?" Layne asked "Moll finally succeeded in waking me up, and I did a full day's work, delivering paper work, and I was going to go back to the real world tomorrow, but I find myself here"
"I'll cut straight to the point, Ichigo got his Bankai back"
"I think I was aware of that… on some subconscious level" Layne admitted "I suddenly just felt better for some weird reason at a point during the day"
"What about you?"
"Eh?"
"Can you keep your promise of being someone that can stand at his side if you can't access your own Bankai?"
"Of course not… but our reasons for fighting are totally different now"
"Don't you want the power to protect?"
"There's no point to great power if only one person can use it, I'd rather all my friends be equally as powerful, so there isn't feelings of people being left behind"
"That doesn't fit with what I know about you"
"Wasn't it you that said you needed to stop underestimating me Roxas? That I know more than I let on, even to myself?"
Layne summoned Oathkeeper, and after a moment's hesitation, Oblivion as well
"Bankai!"
"I know you never lost the ability to do it like Ichigo did, but it's still incomplete"
"That's right; it's only gloves at the moment… but if I concentrate"
Layne rolled back the sleeves of his Shihakusho, and from his shoulder down it appeared to be shimmering and glazing over
"But it's pointless in a Shihakusho" Layne admitted, and the shimmering on his upper arm stopped "I'm human, so I'm just as concerned with style and looks as anyone else, even if I don't seem to care, so it appears that I can't use my Bankai to its fullest extent unless it's clothes that I'm fully comfortable in… and you know it"
Roxas nodded "I think I'm just going to explain things straight up in the future, this vague prodding hasn't slowed down your growth at all"
"Strange that you would try to slow down my growth"
"Wouldn't be any fun otherwise" Roxas said, forcing a grin
And this way the hollow's takeover is slowed too
"Don't worry about me Roxas, I'm going to continue to fight… for as long as Ichigo needs to fight to protect, I'm going to hang around and be a general pain in the ass, to keep him grounded… cause this isn't my story, it's his… I've always been much better as a supporting act"
"So who's on duty tonight?" Ren asked "They would have changed the shifts after I bailed"
"We should get Lieutenants Isane, and Third Seat Rone" Jankz said "It wouldn't matter how many lives we had if we went after Captain Unohana"
a/n - The bit of german that Takeda says is from the Bount filler arc, it translates loosely to something like "Open the gate for us Bount"
i predict ~5-6 more chapters for this arc, but i won't know exactly till i get writing XD