a/n - What's up people? Bit of a shorter chapter today, but the ending felt right to cut this one out here, it's pretty exciting
"Go Ahead Ulquiorra" Aizen entreated "Show us what you saw and felt in the human world"
Ulquiorra reached up to his face, and pulled out his eyeball
"As you wish" he replied, crushing it
The room was treated to the visions of Orihime, Chad, Layne and Ichigo getting absolutely crushed, and Yoruichi and Urahara kicking ass
Aizen turned attention to Visera
"I trust you were satisfied with your accomplishment?"
"For now, Aizen-sama"
"I see" Aizen said "That's why you didn't kill him"
"Our orders were to kill them if they became a nuisance" Ulquiorra justified
"That's weak" A thick voice said cockily "If it were me, I would of killed them all with a single attack"
"It is fortunate for Aizen-sama, that we aren't you, Grimmjow" Visera replied, turning to look at the blue haired, open shirted arrancar sitting in the corner
"If your orders have the phrase… kill them, then its better that you kill them isn't it?"
"There is no value, or honor in killing an opponent that is not strong enough to provide you with a challenge"
Grimmjow ignored Visera and turned to Yammi "And Yammi, look how badly you got beaten up, you can say there was no point… but all I'm hearing was that you were unable"
"Weren't you watching, I didn't get beaten up by the kid… but by the Sandal Hat and Black Woman" Yammi replied
"You didn't hear me, I said I'd kill all of them, with a single attack"
"Eh?" Yammi growled, getting up
Ulquiorra held his hand out "Enough, you do realize... that we are not worried about the Shinigami as they are now... but as they have the potential to be?"
"Why allow them to achieve that potential?" Grimmjow argued "Better to cut it down now, in case they do achieve their potential"
"If they do" Ulquiorra replied coldly "I'll destroy them, i trust you have no problems with that"
"Apart from what your brothers might say" Aizen interrupted before Grimmjow could retort "I am pleased with your work, Ulquiorra"
"Thank you, Aizen-sama"
Grimmjow sneered, but silently
"So when are you guys headed back?" Ichigo asked Renji
"I dunno, we can't even think about it until this Arrancar crisis is over" Renji replied
"Well, staying in the human world is fine... but I can't keep all of you here in my room"
"What?" Matsumoto asked "What good are you then?"
"What good am I, don't think you can just freeload here... didn't you all stay at Layne's last time?"
"Would you really shove all of us off on a blind person... who can't help with this anyway. It would A. Put him out, and B. Hurt his morale incredibly, Joel going over there I only allowed because of their history" Hitsugaya said, his tone slightly reprimanding Ichigo for suggesting it
"You're right...but that still doesn't mean you can stay here"
"Not even me?" Matsumoto pouted, unbuttoning the top button of her shirt and kneeling so her skirt rode up
"Button that shirt back up!" Ichigo shouted, covering his eyes with one hand, but having a crack open in between his fingers "Seduction won't work on me, I'm a real man"
"You could at least close that peephole" Rukia muttered to herself, unimpressed
"Aight dude, I can't stay at yours this time around, so I'll go find Renji and those guys and see what's doing" Joel said, outside the front door of Urahara's store
"Aight man, don't forget to come get me when we need to do some fighting"
Joel burst out laughing
"What's so funny?"
"Your sense of humor never fails to amaze me Layne"
"I wasn't joking"
"Dude... you're blind, I'm sorry, but as it stands that means your useless to our side at this point"
"I see"
"Said the blind man"
"..."
Joel walked off; still chuckling at what he thought was Layne's humour
Layne did a three sixty turn, walked three steps back into the Urahara store and tripped on some carpet, falling flat on his face
"If I still had eyes" he said dejectedly "I'm pretty sure I'd be crying in frustration right about now"
"Well" Matsumoto said, as they all walked out Ichigo's front door "I guess i could go stay at Orihime's"
"Sounds good" Ichigo replied, "You get permission from her?"
"No, but I'm sure I could arrange something"
Ichigo just raised an eyebrow as Matsumoto walked off, entreating Hitsugaya to join her
"We'll head off too, Yumichika and I will find our own cots" Ikkaku informed Ichigo
"Where are you guys going?"
"Don't care, it's not about the destination, the journey is what matters"
Ikkaku and Yumichika walked off, leaving Renji, Rukia and Ichigo standing outside
"Got any ideas Renji?"
"I'll try Urahara's with Joel probably... I want to see how he got you and Layne too your current levels so quickly... and there's a couple of other things I need to discuss with him as well"
Renji walked off, leaving just Ichigo and Rukia outside
"So... Rukia, where are you staying"
Ichigo turned around and caught sight of Rukia sprinting back into his house
"Oi!"
Yumichika sniffed the air
"Can you feel that hollow scent?"
"Yeah, but leave it... this place probably smells terrible to hollows with all the Shinigami reiatsu concentrated here"
"Wierd" Yumichika thought "There's something a little off about that scent"
A few blocks away from Yumichika and Ikkaku, a portal ripped into the sky, Grimmjow appearing, grinning evilly
"I wonder where Urahara and Yoruichi have gone?" Layne muttered, still lying on the floor
"If i get up without help... i'll just trip over again"
"How's life without eyes?"
"Actually, since you can't see either, I'm pretty satisfied at the moment"
"..."
"That's right, reply to that, you cocky bastard, Score one for the Republic!"
"Finally" muttered Grimmjow, eyeing the Arrancar that appeared before him, then doing a double take
"Wait, what the hell you are doing here?" he asked furiously
"Forgive us Grimmjow-sama... she caught us and wouldn't let us go unless she was allowed to come"
"Are you all retarded... just kill her"
"You know perfectly well, Grimmjow, That the only reason I'm not in the Espada is because there's not enough spots" the Female Arrancar said
Grimmjow growled
"Anyway, I only came to kill one of them; you can have all the rest"
Grimmjow nodded "Just don't get in my way"
The female Arrancar smiled and disappeared
"Cocky bitch" Grimmjow spat, "Now what have you got for me you cowards"
The Tallest Arrancar stepped forwards
"There seems to be several entities in the area with reiatsu levels that are far above the norm... but none as large as the two reported by Ulquiorra"
"Damn, reinforcements... Let's do our Pesquisa!"
Grimmjow closed his eyes and saw several bright lights
"You were right Shawlong...all right De Roy, Nakim, Edorado and Illfort... I don't care who they are... if they show the slightest bit of reiatsu... kill them, kill them all!"
"Oh...this wasn't what I expected" Rukia said, frowning
"Yeah, it was real difficult to see this coming" Ichigo replied, rolling his eyes at the third bed set up in his sisters room for Rukia
"But I was planning to stay in your closet"
"Don't bug me about it, go ask Dad about it"
"But I brought some things to decorate the closet"
"You can't just pretend this is your own personal hotel you realize?"
"I can't believe we are waiting out here dude, we can just walk in" Joel complained
"I don't want to talk to Layne... I want to talk to Urahara" Renji replied
"There's something strange about these things, don't you think Yumichika?"
"What's that?"
"These premade Onigiri... it's so artistic in the roll and the wrapping, and the shopkeeper said they stock the shelves with these nightly... no way could ordinary humans pull this off, there has to be someone controlling them from the shadows"
"Well how about that, I was just thinking the same thing"
"Im so full" Matsumoto said, sounding satisfied "Your food looks so wierd, but it's so tasty"
"I'm so happy... no one ever wants to try my food"
Up on the roof, Hitsugaya's stomach growled
"Im sooo hungry" he muttered
"Good, they're all accounted for, so don't let a single one escape" Grimmjow instructed his underlings "Go!"
"This reiatsu!" Ichigo exclaimed in alarm "It's them!, Rukia!"
"I know!" she shouted back at him "1...2..7! So many?"
"Are they heading this way?"
"Not yet... they are combing the town looking for significant reiatsu levels... they are planning a massacre" Rukia said hollowly
"My god, Layne, Chad, Inoue!"
"Layne and Inoue will be fine, Captain Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto are there, and Renji and Joel are at Urahara's where Layne is... but Sado"
Rukia paused and went white as she looked at her phone
"One of them... is already there"
Ikkaku flipped and landed on a roof railing, in his Shinigami form
"Gotta be... that way" he said, leaping left "Let's go Yumichika"
"Of course"
Hitsugaya popped a green pill and emerged from his gigai
"Go and hide" he instructed the mod soul, who nodded and ran off
Matsumoto flipped onto the roof
"I asked Orihime to watch my Gigai, so she won't take part in this at all"
"Good, get ready... they are here"
Shawlong and the fat one of Grimmjow's underlings appeared in the air above Orihime's house
"How do you do?" Shawlong asked
Shawlong appeared behind him and suddenly Hitsugaya blocked, his sword drawn
"I am the Undecimo Arrancar, Shawlong"
"Tenth Divison Captain, Toushiro Hitsugaya"
"A Captain, excellent, I appear to have hit the jackpot"
"You're wrong" Hitsugaya replied "You managed to pick the unluckiest lot of all"
"Sado-san, the treatment isn't finished yet" One of Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka wailed at Chad as he bailed out the front door of his house
"It's fine, go back to Inoue" he called back
Chad exited the house, Right Arm of the Giant formed and ready to roll
"Bah" Someone complained "Not a Shinigami"
Chad widened his eyes in shock as an Arrancar with cloth over half its head appeared in front of him, arm poised to strike
"You lose"
The Arrancar thrust his arm forward incredibly fast with fingers flat, intending to rip a hole through Chad's chest
Even faster, was the hand that reached out in front of Chad and grabbed the Arrancar's hand
"Cut the you lose crap" Ichigo said "The winner is decided after the actual fight"
"Oh, that's right; I'll just wait until I've killed the both of you before I say it then"
"How's everyone else?" Renji asked
"Looking good, Ichigo's with Rukia, Ikkaku and Yumichika, Matsumoto and Captain Hitsugaya, That bastard Layne who won't let us in is inside"
"What about those guys?" Renji said, indicating the two figures standing in the air above them
"They appear to be the only two here, I can only sense six, two here, two with Captain Hitsugaya, one with Ikkaku and one with Rukia"
"Good, guess our opponents are clear then"
"Yeah" Joel replied, leaping up into the air
The Arrancar yanked his arm from Ichigo's grasp and took a couple of steps backwards, as Ichigo reached for Zangetsu, slung over his back
"I'd really have died...if Ichigo had been half a second slower, I would really have died" Chad thought, readying his arm
"Chad...run"
"Wait Ichigo, I'm already"
"Chad!" Ichigo repeated "Don't worry, leave this to me"
"Ah... alright, I'll leave it to you then Ichigo"
Chad turned heel and ran
"I guess, I just can't watch your back anymore... Ichigo, I just can't"
"Fuck this" Layne growled, standing up "I can't just sit here, blind or not blind"
Layne got up and tested his surroundings, feeling his way to the front door of the Urahara shop
"At the very least, I can fire Rain's blindly" he muttered, walking out the door
"Manager... is this really ok" Tessai asked, observing Layne leave
"If he doesn't learn like this, he won't ever learn how to cope with a lack of eyesight" Urahara said
Outside, Joel crashed into the ground right next to Layne
"What the, fighting's really intense out here, that crash was so loud"
Joel leapt up
"Layne you retard, what the hell is this?"
"I'm not going back inside; don't treat me like an invalid"
"I could care less about that right now, I'm talking about that!" he yelled, pointing at the female Arrancar that had joined them
"You do realize, that if you're pointing at something, it's useless to me at the moment"
"He's talking about me" The Arrancar spoke, in a voice Layne knew all too well, yet didn't know at the same time
"Layne...why is this Arrancar Moll?"
"Sup?" Mollow asked, grinning widely
a/n - So who honestly saw that one coming, seriously... i bet none of you did ^^
Aight, catchya's next time, with a proper length chapter
Go and read/reread Chapter 4: Spirit Split if you dunno what i'm talking about D=
oh and R&R too ;D