Disclaimer: This is a nonprofit fictional story, a FanFiction based on Ken Akamatsu's Negima. I do not own Negima, or most of the other characters included in this work, excepting where it is stated in the author's notes. It is not intended or presented for any commercial profit or personal gain; it is simply a story written for personal fulfillment and presented for public enjoyment, and as an honest homage to the fine story conceived and written by Ken Akamatsu, as well as all the other (innumerable) works that find place herein (and their authors).

Chapter Four: The Fury Unleashed, Part Two: Dropping the Hammer

"I really hate to get involved in things like this…I'm just not the type," Hat-and-Clogs stated airily, swinging his sword around. It was short but somewhat thick-bladed, single-edged, straight, and with an angled point. There was no particular guard on it, but the Japanese handle angled out at its bottom as well. "Still, there are things I like even less…and these people seem to be one of them…."

The little blond man was suddenly behind him, leaping onto him, one hand going for his hat. The man whirled around, creating another scarlet blast with his swing as he retreated…into the air. Like Momo, like these 'arrancar', he was now actually standing on air, not hovering, but standing in place as if the air was just another home for him.

The blond man 'stepped' into the air after him, standing oddly, not at attention or seeking to attack, at least in appearance. "You're a funny one. What are you?" To his surprise, the man raised a hand and a red-colored energy gathered there. The next instant the energy blasted out towards him in a small cannon-like shot. Hat-and-Clogs blocked it as he retreated. "That's an interesting move I've never seen before. What was that?"

Suddenly a similar shot impacted him from behind, and, gasping out in pain and shock, he collapsed to the ground below, falling out of sight behind a pillar. Yammy was standing in the air above him—and at this moment still had full view of him—and laughed as red energy crackled around his fist. "I'll tell you what that was! It's called a 'bala'! It's a shot of an arrancar's spiritual pressure…not as powerful as our trademark 'cero', but ten times faster!" He unleashed another bala on top of the man's position, and, laughing, continued to rain them down on him. "Hey! Wonderweiss! Good job distracting him! Do you want to play, too, or do you mind if I just pound him to dust? Ha!"

Luppi stared dourly at the hulking figure. "I wanted to get that man, too, before those two stepped in. Oh well." He turned his smile on the two girls, who were once again in his tentacles. "Well, you two are pretty pathetic, really. That strange man just saved you, and you've gotten yourselves caught again. Oh, well…too bad for you…."

And then another explosion interrupted him. Four forms came appearing out of thin air and crashing down on top of him, causing him to drop his burdens. With this latest distraction, a blue cat with wings came flying in at high speed and collided with the bird carrying Natsu. As it fell stunned from the impact, dropping its burden, Happy caught his friend and flew to safety with him.

Happy had timed his attack well; due to the dramatic manner of the newcomers' arrival, no one but Arietta paid him any attention. Instead, they were focused on those newcomers…Nodoka and Lucy were now kneeling behind the dramatic silhouettes of Akari, Kiami, Hikaru, and Delryn.

"Are you all right, Honya-chan?" Akari demanded of the girl. "We've come to rescue you!"

"N-no…" Nodoka gasped. "Y-you can't…it's…!"

Suddenly magic circles appeared underneath the pair and they vanished, reappearing at the feet of Legretta as she held up a talisman. "I remember you three, at least…that means our plan is working. Sorry, but I already marked these two earlier…."

"That's pretty low," Delryn growled. "What, you're so scared of us you're trying to use those girls as hostages?"

"Nothing of the sort," Van said as he used magic to restrain the pair. "This is bait, not a hostage. In fact, you should be grateful…I'm preserving them with this action…."

"Be careful," Kiami murmured. "This one is strong…and he seems to have a trick up his sleeve…."

"Be careful all you like…you are quite correct. Your turn, Dist."

Dist's maniacal laugh sounded from around them. "It's time, then! Let's prepare the fireworks!"

A massive magic circle suddenly appeared under the feet of the newcomers, and immediately they found themselves rooted in place. "H-huh!? W-what's this!?" Akari demanded, quite put off.

"Some kind of enchantment…" Hikaru mused.

Delryn swore. "Enchantment, nothing! This is the highest-level magical trap…an anti-army magical landmine!"

Lightning erupted in a storm, completely obscuring the four youths. Dist appeared in his chair, hovering above them, laughing maniacally. "That's right! A carefully-refined version of this weaponry from the war! You little brats are surrounded on all sides for a hundred meters by a storm of those powerful lightning bolts for a hundred seconds! No matter how skilled and cheeky you brats are, no matter what defensive measures you have, you can't withstand this…."

Nodoka called the names of her friends in despair as she watched.

Van reached down and grabbed Nodoka by the back of her hair and hauled her head up. He placed a finger to the back of her neck and unleashed a spell, and Nodoka heard the 'voices' transmitted from her hidden books via the 'Reading Ear' to go silent. "This counterspell should put an end to your dangerous power for now. You're still useful as bait…these ones are a nice bonus, but they're not even the ones we're after…but I'm sure you already know that, don't you, little girl? Don't worry…all your friends will be joining you soon…."

And then the lightning bolts suddenly began to slow down their strikes. Dist looked over the effect in surprise. "What? It's stopping way too early…none of my calculations should have gone wrong…."

Finally there was a kind of anti-explosion, a soft 'pop', and all the lightning stopped. There, hovering in the middle of the swirling dust, in front of the other four gasping youths, was….

"M-Mai-san!" Nodoka cried in shock.

"So the big prize has already come," Van chuckled. "The Crystal Princess herself, eh? Well, well…that makes things easier…."

"If this magic is useless, then it's my turn!" Luppi demanded, stepping forward again. "All these interruptions are annoying. So, let's play together!"

His tentacles streaked towards the stoic Mai…but then he was suddenly flying, crashing through rocks and disappearing from sight. Kain settled lightly upon the ground, energy crackling around him. "I'd advise you to take your hands off both of those girls now," he told Van flatly.

Van smiled slightly at him. "You must be the whelp of the Grand Archmage. Eminus said you weren't worth anything…but to send an arrancar flying like that is no small feat. Obviously you've been busy since your defeat at the Gateport. But Nagi and I prepared well." There was a high-pitched whining sound as nine tears to space gaped opened in the air and nine more white-suited figures stepped through. "Let's see how this goes, shall we?"

Kain observed them carefully. ('The big guy, that strange kid wandering around through the air, the octopus I sent flying…and these nine. Their energy signature is alien…they feel almost like a hollow, and almost like Momo. What are they? Regardless, they're using reiki, spiritual energy, and reiatsu, spiritual pressure, not mana or ki. That makes this tricky….')

The nine began to advance, using a stepping maneuver similar to Momo's flash step. Kain and Mai moved to intercept them, with the swiftly-recovered Akari, Kiami, Hikaru and Delryn moving to back them up.

Van watched the fight with interest as his new fighters dueled with the six children. ('What wondrous power these children possess…not only is the son of the Grand Archmage spectacular, but the followers he has attracted are first-rate as well….')

"Commandant, behind you!"

Van, hearing Legretta's warning, managed to dodge the ice, fire, and swords that suddenly came his way. Natsu, Grey and Erza all now stood protectively in front of Lucy and Nodoka, staring determinedly at him. "Oh? I thought we had all but eliminated you…you're certainly durable."

"Don't underestimate Fairy Tail!" Erza barked. "You may think to pluck our wings, but we will never bow our heads to you!"

"We won't let anyone hurt our nakama," Grey snapped. "We'll smash you to pieces for trying."

"Nobody lays their hands on our guild and gets away with it," Natsu breathed. "We'll show you why Fairy Tail is the most feared guild of Fiore!"

8-8-8

One lone arrancar appeared in front of Kain, standing in the air, dressed similarly to Yammy in an open white jacket in addition to his baggy white pants. In his case, the jacket was very short, still had a high upturned collar, and had its sleeves rolled up as well, leaving most of his torso, including another of those disturbing holes, completely uncovered. While not as huge as Yammy, he was tall and muscular, with light spiky blue hair and light blue eyes with some strange green markings below them. Like all the others, he wore a white bone-like adornment on his head, in this case a very distinct right jawbone (top and bottom sections) located over that portion of his face, with wicked teeth within it.

Kain stared at him levelly. "You're a strange creature. What are you, exactly?"

Before his foe could reply, a massive mechanical golem suddenly rose up behind Kain. "Ha! You left yourself wide open!" Dist crowed. "Go, Kaiser Dist DSX! Smash that boy to pieces!"

Kain glanced over his shoulder at it, preparing a spell, but to his surprise a figure suddenly appeared and interposed himself between them, catching the golem's huge mace-like hand on his blade. "What a cheap shot," Delryn muttered. "So, you're the famous Kain Lockeheart-sensei, huh?" Kain stared back at the man, really taking him in for the first time and identifying the similar characteristics. "Well, you seem tough enough…but that guy there seems the toughest of them by far. You think you can handle him?"

Kain turned back to the foe confronting him. "If you can handle that 'bot, I'll deal with this guy. Just worry about yourself."

Delryn chuckled. "Suit yourself. This quack'll be fun to play with." He threw off the golem and sent it flying with a savage swing to clear it from the area, then followed after it to continue his assault.

Kain stared at the man before him. "You didn't attack during that distraction. That was kind of you."

"Kind?" The man threw his head back and laughed, and, creepily, his mask laughed with him. "Hell, don't make those kinds of assumptions. I don't give a damn about honor or any of that lame crap. I just find you interesting, and it'd be too disappointing to kill you when you aren't watching. I have to see the fear in your eyes as I tear out your throat.

"But I will be 'kind' enough to answer your questions. I am Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, an arrancar, a fusion of a hollow and a shinigami. I am one of the rulers of Hueco Mundo, the Hollow World."

Kain glanced at the sword at his side. "A fusion? So that sword you carry is a zanpaku-tô of some sort?"

"Who knows?" Grimmjow replied, shrugging. "If you fight well enough to live, maybe you'll learn a few things first-hand!"

He dove in to attack. Kain blocked the attack and winced at the strength of it. He retreated backwards into the air and Grimmjow pursued him, striking out again. Kain dodged this time, but even as he avoided the attack Grimmjow vanished. He was now behind Kain, and Kain barely blocked his strike and went flying to the ground.

Kain landed easily and retreated back into the air with little concern. "That was interesting. Not quite an instant step, or a shunpo…but essentially the same."

Grimmjow, in response, appeared behind him again. Kain disappeared before this attack, however, appearing behind Grimmjow this time. He grabbed the arrancar's arm with his left hand and twisted it into a quick lock, then brought an elbow to his ribs. He winced as the elbow rebounded off as if it had struck the hardest of stone. Grimmjow reached a hand over his back, grabbed Kain by the shirt, and threw him away. Kain managed to get his aerial movement under control. He stood to observe Grimmjow carefully again. ('What's that? It was like hitting solid steel, or something even harder. What is his skin made of?')

8-8-8

"It's called 'hierro' [iron skin]," the arrancar with the long mustache told Mai. "An arrancar's skin is enhanced by his reiatsu to be harder than any armor. You won't be able to break that armor with normal attacks."

Mai rubbed her hand as she glared at the arrancar, Patros, and the one next to him, who introduced himself as Shaolong Kufang. She had attacked without her kanka and was now regretting it due to the smarting in her limb. Still, she was unaware of the capabilities of the pair and had decided to keep as much as she could in reserve while testing them—she had picked up quite a few habits from Kain during the long training sessions over the summer, and had even used Kagutsuchi only enough to get them to the battlefield so that she could call on him one more time if necessary. So far, the fight looked troublesome….

"Your power is great, Crystal Princess, but it is ineffective against us," Shaolong informed her. "You are designed to break down mana and all related energies, including ki, but reiki and reiatsu that hinigami and arrancarproduce bypass that ability—you were not built to rule over them."

Mai smiled humorlessly at him. "I guess that's the truth…but you shouldn't underestimate me. I haven't been spending these last three months surviving bounty hunters for nothing, after all!"

She powered up her kanka and braced herself for battle. Patros chuckled. "I admit you're probably right about that. We shouldn't underestimate a figure like her…so we, too, should fight with our all from the beginning." He put a hand to his sword and began to draw it. "Pollute…Gerifalte [Gyrfalcon]."

Shaolong likewise drew his sword. "Snip…Tijereta [Earwig]."

Smoke engulfed the creatures, and when it cleared, they were…changed. The white skull-like mask remnants on their heads had grown to mostly cover their faces, and both were more armored. Patros' upper body was covered by a machine-like shell, with two hoops in the apparent position of his arms. Shaolong wore an exoskeleton with a breastplate-like armor, a blade-tipped tail emerging from the back of his helm/mask (rather in the shape of an earwig's tail), and had long, razor-sharp claws adorning his hand.

The power that flowed from them stunned Mai. ('This is…no normal power-up…they're completely different…!')

"Let's try a level 3 attack," Patros intoned, and one of the hoops on his body swiveled up, opening and revealing a hole. Energy built in and fired from the hole at Mai. She just managed to dodge aside, deflecting the attack with her shield, but the impact sent her tumbling to the ground….

Where she was met by Shaolong, who slashed at her with his long, razor-sharp claws. The blades cut across her chest, tearing through her battle uniform and drawing blood. She retreated away again, clutching at the wound, panting, watching the pair.

"We are the arrancar," Shaolong informed her. "The culmination of forbidden research conducted to surpass the limits of two polar opposite creatures of great spiritual power. There is no way you can stand against us. And the one who is our strongest, the one fighting that red-haired boy, is stronger than all of us combined. Your doom is at hand…but worry not, for you will not die here with your friends. The Obsidian Star requires you to return with them…."

8-8-8

Akari threw herself into battle with the two largest arrancar, the big fat one named Nakeem and the muscular giant with the half-long-red-half-short-black hair named Edrad. They responded to her attacks with their own fists, and she dueled with them, employing her usual repertoire of varied techniques to throw them off.

She withdrew from the very first exchange and assumed one of her odd, wide stances, spreading her limbs out in separate directions, carefully balanced. Her two opponents sized her up in response. "Not bad," Edrad murmured with a wide grin. "I thought a little human girl would be dead instantly, but you not only went toe-to-toe with us, you made contact with our hierro with your bare hands and have nothing to show for it. You're pretty tough…far from an ordinary human."

"I certainly wasn't raised by 'ordinary humans'," Akari replied with a smile. "You're both very tough…I haven't had a real fight like this in quite some time, even with the adventures I've had so far in the magical world. I'll have to be totally serious here…."

She exploded towards them. They prepared to receive her charge, but she suddenly vanished. ('She's fast…that's not the same as our sonìdo [echoing movement], but it might as well be!') Edrad thought. She was now standing behind the dumbstruck Nakeem, and planted a fist right into his kidney. Despite the holes they had, these monstrous humanoids seemed human enough in their weak points, and he began to buckle from the pain, but Akari didn't let up. She moved right up in close to him, then swung her legs up to grapple him around the neck. Focusing all her ki in her legs, she pulled him up and slammed him acrobatically into the ground behind her, shattering it in a large area around her.

As she began to pick herself up, however, Nakeem suddenly leapt up and lashed out, connecting and sending her flying. He used his sonìdo to get in front of her, but to his surprise she recovered and stepped back behind and above him even as she tumbled. An elbow came dropping down across the back of his skull, and as Akari finished lighting upon the ground, she danced up in high, sweeping, twirling kicks. Each kick sent Nakeem higher and higher into air, until she slammed him back into the ground with a powered-up punch. She then finished by driving a knee into him at full power, and rose shortly thereafter from the still, broken form.

Edrad regarded her with bemusement. "Even if it was Nakeem, it's amazing that a girl like you can do that to an arrancar." He began to draw his sword. "I thought I'd be able to handle this just with my fists, but I guess I should actually take you seriously…."

8-8-8

Kiami's two bodies dueled the separate entities of D. Roy, the maniacally-grinned tooth monster, and the blond pretty boy, Ylfordt. Both found the girl's split bodies, seemingly unlimited supply of throwing weapons, and acrobatic agility to be quite perplexing…but her attacks were also quite weak, and neither one was sustaining much damage.

"Interesting techniques," D. Roy said as the kunoichi and her clone withdrew from the combat. "You're one of those weird humans they call 'ninja', right? But you're nothing but a little game to be played, not a real threat…."

"Enough fooling around," Ylfordt barked. "You're so pathetic, D. Roy. You're the weakest of us, but you play around as if you're all that. Let's just kill the wench and move on, before all the interesting ones are killed."

Kiami smiled in bemusement. "You're certainly confident…well, to be fair, you are certainly powerful. But…that one, D. Roy, is the 'weakest here', then?"

"So…strategizing?" Ylfordt said sarcastically. "Because I just admitted to being stronger, you'll fight me yourself and leave your clone to handle D. Roy? You can try, if you like…it doesn't matter what you do, you're going to die here…."

"Ah, I'm so obvious! Already figured out," Kiami sighed. "Well, it seems all I can do is try my best…."

She split herself into a dozen clones and came charging both of them en masse. "Only one's the real one!" Ylfordt barked, his sword out, preparing for the brawl. "That's the only one you have to worry about!"

"Stop lecturing me! I'll leave you behind, bro!"

They readied themselves for the fight…but then all twelve Kiamis vanished. As the two arrancar stared in shock, one appeared off to the side and hurled a gigantic four-pointed star-like blade their direction. They scattered, dodging the missile, but then another Kiami appeared in its path, caught it and sped it along towards D. Roy. D. Roy dodged again as Ylfordt chuckled over his strategic victory, but a third Kiami then intercepted the redirected the missile again, this time towards him. He dodged aside, and yet again a Kiami clone changed the course of the weapon.

The tempo was increasing, so that while at first they were hesitating from counterattacking just to prepare the best interruption, they were now forced to dodge continuously. Finally, nearly simultaneously, Ylfordt and D. Roy found their retreats blocked as they were suddenly snagged by wires. "W-what's this!?"

Too late they realized that Kiami's giant shuriken-like weapon had been trailing a line all this time that now filled the sky of their battlefield, and they were caught in it like in the spider's web. Kiami appeared in twelve copies around them, smirking. "That's a fine catch," she said, her words disturbingly being passed along from clone to clone. They gestured in unison, and the lines suddenly sprouted, like flowers, a collection of Japanese prayer strips, these papers depicting the kanji for 'explode'. A second collection of identical gestures caused them to, indeed, explode in a cascade wave of destruction all around the two arrancar….

They both burst from their prison using their power and their swords, narrowly avoiding the destructive force. They glared down at Kiami in fury. "You little bitch!" D. Roy snapped at her (them?). You think you can take us out that easily…!?"

"D. Roy, behind you!" Ylfordt cried in vain.

D. Roy's face was almost comically quizzical as it turned around, just in time to see the spinning razorblade of doom before it came back, slicing off his head cleanly. It sailed off out of sight as the body collapsed, disintegrating, to the ground, and Kiami let go of the cord she'd used to reel in the weapon so she could catch it.

"That was great," Kiami said. "Against that hierro, a normal weapon from Earth would have shattered easily, but that magical Fûma shuriken I picked up did the trick. I'm glad I found it…." She turned to Ylfordt. "Now that the deadly distraction is out of the way, I can focus all of my power into sending you to him."

Ylfordt grimaced in anger, his forehead veins throbbing. "Don't underestimate me, you wench!" he cursed her. He held his sword up. "Skewer! Del Toro [The Bull]!"

Kiami's eyes widened in surprise as the man emerged from his release covered by white armor, including a bull-like horned helmet or mask with massive shoulder pads. "Now, you die," he growled threateningly at her.

Hikaru danced around the red-haired effeminate Menis and the burly Aldegor. "This method of combat is quite annoying," he remarked, recalling his duel with Momo at the tournament. "Standing on the air like that…and my sword style is the least efficient to use in the air."

"Some sort of sour grapes complaint?" Menis teased.

"Let's use our resurrecións and finish this fool quickly," growled Aldegor.

"Right. Stab, Erizo [Hedgehog]!"

"Get them, Jibali [Boar]!"

Menis became a nearly entirely-covered hollow-like creature with a large, eyeless alien mask with a massive mouth, a tail, and two tentacle-like appendages for arms. Aldegor had the usual type of massive armor with eight hinged appendages emerging from his back. Hikaru observed them coolly. "Hmm…resurreción, you call it? Your swords cause you to transform?"

"Arrancar are a fusion of hollow and shinigami," Aldegor explained kindly. "We take upon ourselves the powers of shinigami by breaking our masks, resuming portions of our humanity and sealing our original hollow powers into the shape of a sword. Via our resurreción, we actually return to our original hollow powers, but greatly magnified from how we were before. In this state, this will be over quickly!"

Aldegor swept in and attacked with one of his hinged appendages, enlarging it and sweeping it towards Hikaru. He dodged aside, and Menis stepped in behind him. He caught the attack with his half-drawn sword and pushed off. An iai strike made a cut across Menis' arms as he fell away.

"Quickly?" Hikaru replied with a small smile as he took a stance opposite the pair. "I hope not. This kind of battle is exactly the reason I came to this magical world…."

8-8-8

Yammy actually 'sat' on the air, staring down at the various battles, scowling. "Man, this sucks. That hat-and-clogs guy didn't last long, and even though there were a whole bunch more, they're all being taken by the stupid newcomers. I was here first…but it's too much trouble to get in the way, or go looking for others. Man, what a pain…."

He turned his gaze to Wonderweiss, who was pandering around the air (at low altitude) on, sort of, all fours, pawing at a butterfly. "Hey, Wonderweiss, you new guy! What are you doing?"

Wonderweiss seemed to not hear or to ignore the giant, and continued his innocent pursuit of the insect. Sighing, Yammy set his chin on his hand and his elbow on his knee and glared down at the fights below.

8-8-8

Three-on-two was a more interesting battle than the one-on-two Erza fought against Van and Legretta before. Without Legretta to back him up, Erza, even with her previous injuries, was a far more even swordswoman against him than she was before, and the constant shifting with Natsu and Grey only added to their discomfiture. The three seemed impossible to keep down, sustaining injuries and recovering with superhuman durability…and gave out more than their share as well.

Natsu found his next attack cut off as he was attacked from behind by Arietta's monsters. "I won't let you hurt Van!" she insisted. She raised the doll in her hands. "Go!" she commanded her friends, and the leonine monster and the blue raptor lashed out at Natsu.

"Open! Gate of the Giant Crab!"

Lucy's summon unleashed the strange crab-man, with his dark shades and dual-wielding scissors. It charged into the two beasts and in short order defeated them…by shorning them of all fur and feathers. He posed as the naked animals lay on the ground, pathetic and comatose. "That's a cut above the usual, ebi," he said with finality.

Happy, now hiding safely behind cover with the rescued Nodoka, sighed. "That one's still as uncool as ever…."

Lucy wasn't done, however. As Arietta stared in shock, she grabbed another key. "Open! Gate of the Maiden!"

The pink-haired maid, Virgo, adorned with her manacles on her wrist, appeared before her. "Do you wish to punish me, mistress?" she asked almost hopefully.

"Enough of that! I need your help right now! Capture that little girl right now before she can do anything else!"

"I see. Spica Lock it is." Virgo began to twirl at supersonic speed, becoming a blur, and drilled into the earth, vanishing in short order. As Arietta began to round on Lucy, Virgo suddenly appeared behind the girl, and, with an expansive gesture, sealed Arietta inside a massive boulder.

8-8-8

"Strike first, Raijin!" Delryn's sword transformed as he took it to the machine. It was durable and well-built, but with his sword released his speed was so much greater it was almost comical. Dist, floating in the air in that strange chair of his, watched on in concern while the swordsman beat on his machine.

Still, it was not easy. Delryn dodged one mighty swing of its mace-arm and dashed underneath, swinging up. His blade gouged across the shell of the machine, scarring it but causing no more than superficial damage. A hatch opened and a gun barrel extended, but Delryn had already retreated before the blast of magical energy took him.

Delryn ran around the side of the machine, pulling a magical charm from his coat. He tossed it at the golem, and it burst into a surge of electricity. The bolts struck the machine rapidly but futily, causing no more apparent harm than his sword strike. He raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Dist laughed. "You fool! Just because it's a machine doesn't mean it can't be well-grounded against magical lightning!"

"Well, this will be a little more annoying," Delryn muttered.

Before he could start his next attack, the Kaiser Dist went on the offensive. It raised one hand that had some sort of barrel in it and fired a missile. Delryn dodged aside, but the robot was gaining speed as it began to charge him. Multiple weapons began to sprout and blast attacks that were part-tech and part-magic his direction. The shots grew more and more skilled, as the robot's AI (or Dist's magical remote control, whichever the case was) seemed highly effective. The shots began to herd Delryn into disadvantageous positions, not allowing him to use his speed to escape directly.

Finally, after being put quite off-balance by one near-dodge, the machine suddenly surrounded itself with a bubble of translucent magical energy and charged at Delryn. Seeing the incoming cannon ball, Delryn managed and set himself and charge in, despite his impossible position, muttering an arcane phrase under his breath. The two forces met and surged past each other. The armor on Delryn's left arm cracked, shattered and blew off into nothingness, revealing his bare arm as blood started running down the side of it, but two of the Kaiser Dist's four arms fell off, severed (in that slow, dramatic anime fashion).

Delryn, seemingly ignoring the wound on his arm, rounded on the machine somewhat slowly, chanting again and making a sign as he put his hand to his chest. Then, just as he finished lowering herself as slow as a glacier into a charging position, he rocketed in at maximum speed. Faster than the eye could see, he planted a sword in the robots central torso and leapt up, tearing open a hole, then cut the other two arms off with two quick slashes. A flurry of slashes followed and Delryn finally leapt back, standing straight after landing and flicking his sword out to the side dramatically. After a moment's pause, the frozen machine sprouted the lines which completely bifurcated it and it fell to pieces, one piece at a time.

Dist stared at the mess, twitching, and Delryn turned slowly to him. "Well, Doc? Are you next?"

8-8-8

Kiami just managed to dodge Ylfordt's charge, but his horn caught her arm and opened a gash along its length. She danced back, clutching at the injury, warily watching the new beast.

Ylfordt rounded on her. "Do you see, you little brat? Your human tricks are no match for the might of an arrancar!" He opened his mouth and a red surge of energy started to build there.

She vanished before the blast struck, and it leveled part of the terrain where she had been. She reappeared in the air above him, using her right arm to inscribe the blood on her left into a series of symbols. She then ran a hand across the symbols, and the blood actually evaporated into the air, transforming into smoke and then exploding into a chain.

Ylfordt swung his head up to intercept her, but she danced through the air even as she fell, flinging the chain around Ylfordt's neck. Ylfordt howled and began to swing his head around, whipping the chain through the air, with Kiami dangling futily at the end of it. He brought her flying towards a rock, but Kiami managed to plant her feet on it and start running along with no impact before leaping off, still bound to the fate of the chain she held.

"Lightning Style: Power Surge Jutsu!"

A great blast of electricity flowed up the chain from her hands and reached Ylfordt, charging through him visibly. Roaring in rage, he again whipped his head, throwing it up to send the girl and her bond flying high into the air, then slinging them back down again.

Kiami vanished before she struck the ground, dropping the chain, then reappeared almost instantly some distance away. She pulled a small, thin sword from her usual pocket (i.e. nowhere) and assumed a guarded stance. Ylfordt roared and charged in….

And then used his sonìdo to step behind Kiami and slammed her back with a savage punch. Kiami gasped out in shock as she began to fly…and then transformed into a boulder that burst to pieces and collapsed uselessly to the ground.

"What!? A substitution!? Where is she? Behind? Above?" He glanced around as he pondered her position.

A hand suddenly shot out of the earth and grabbed his foot. "Below. Earth Style: Ravenous Earth Jutsu."

Suddenly he began to fall into the earth as if it were a body of water, dropping down helplessly into the rock and sand until he was neck-deep. Kiami appeared above the sealed pit and grabbed the back of her victim's head. She prepared to plunge that blade into the back of his skull….

With another roar, Ylfordt tore himself free of the prison, the force of his emergence throwing Kiami off. She recovered as he hauled himself out of her pit, and set himself to charge again.

Kiami fled in retreat as he came charging in, bellowing in rage. In near-desperation Kiami drew a single kunai and hurled it….

…And it buried itself into Ylfordt's eye. He was instantly silenced and hit the ground, bouncing and rolling form his momentum as his conscious, intentional activity all ceased. Kiami stared in bemusement at the body as it began to disintegrate. "Well…not a very heroic end to the battle, but in this case, I'll take what I can get…."

8-8-8

Edrad, with his Volcánica resurreción released, was now a massive monster with huge arms, adorned at the shoulders by two massive fins. Flame erupted from these fins as he charged up his power to unleash flame-powered punches that struck like volcanic eruptions. He stared down at the tiny girl opposing him. "What is your name, girl? I may as well carry your name with me," he offered her.

Akari slammed her fists together and bowed. "Heiro Akari, disciple of Hokushinryû. I will be your opponent." She assumed her natural stance, her jeet kune do stance, her right hand extended and turned to the front.

"Edrad Liones, arrancar of Las Noches." He then stepped up to her and brought his fist down. Akari dodged and watched with appreciation as the blow shattered the ground and turned the fragments molten all in one punch.

He stepped into her retreat path and slammed her from behind. An explosion of fire followed the impact, and Akari was consumed by the flames. Nothing was left when they faded an instant later…but Akari then stepped up behind Edrad and, dropping to the ground, planted one hand and used it to push herself up. She turned this into a kick that hit Edrad from behind, sending him flying into the air. She stepped into the air to intercept him and began to punish him with rapid-fire boxing punches, alternating jabs to the face, keeping him stunned. Eventually one right hook sent him flying back down into the ground. Akari quickly followed, using a step to stop her fall and reposition herself and charging in from the side towards her prone opponent.

Edrad's gigantic fist came swinging to intercept her, coming out of nowhere and connecting perfectly. She went flying back into a rock pillar in a ball of fire, shattering it.

Edrad picked himself up as Akari emerged slowly from the rubble, coughing and smoking. She seemed to almost stagger as she pulled herself to her feet, coughing up a bit of blood. "What an incredible power," she muttered with a smile. "One hit can do this much to me. Still…."

She didn't seem to move as Edrad came charging in again, bringing his fist down onto her. Suddenly she raised her head, her eyes alight, and met Edrad's power-filled punch with one of her own. The reiatsu of the arrancar clashed with her ki for a long moment before Edrad was repulsed, his armored hand cracking and partially shattering as he staggered back. "Your punches aren't as strong as Armstrong-sensei's!"

She charged in towards him, and as he moved to meet her, she suddenly stepped behind him. "You aren't as tactical as Ogata-sensei!" She jumped up and grabbed him by the hair, then, planting her feet in his back, she performed a complicated throw to toss him to the ground.

She then dropped an elbow on his stomach. "You aren't as tenacious as McTavish-sensei!"

Edrad gasped, then hurled another punch Akari's way. She blocked it, and the force of the blow threw her away again, but she recovered quickly and moved in to meet the man as he rose. "You aren't as fierce as Quan-sensei!" She began to unleash a storm of attacks on him, too quickly for him to stop or retaliate against.

A series of kicks low, mid, and high, shattered his guard, and she leapt into the air and turned over before unleashing another kick that sent him flying away and into another pillar, one large enough to stop him dead. She then stepped in front of him, crouching low, gathering her ki for one massive strike. "And you aren't as passionate as Peres-sensei." She slammed him in the stomach, driving the fist in, causing the adorned armor of his resurreción form to shatter. Then the rock behind him shattered, blowing to pieces and scattering to the wind.

She stepped back and watched as Edrad finally collapsed, first to his knees and then to his face, his body slowly shattering (literally) to pieces. "Heiro…Akari, was it?" he murmured with a small smile on his face. "I'm glad I asked…." And then he was gone, vanishing into dust and fading away, just as the rest of his kin.

Akari stared down at the vacant spot, panting heavily, and then fell backwards to the ground, her limbs all spread, still panting. She laughed and then winced. "T-that was…the kind of fight I've been waiting for…for sure…."

8-8-8

Aldegor, his hinge-like appendages wrapped around him, making him into a rolling ball, descended upon Hikaru. Hikaru caught the living boulder with his sheathed blade, struggling against it and finally stopping its momentum. As he retracted his shell pieces to prepare a new offensive, Hikaru drew his blade in one great slash, shattering all the upper appendages at once, and then following with a series of faster strikes that destroyed the rest of them. He then leapt up and used a mighty kick to send the arrancar flying. Sheathing his sword, he then turned as Menis came in to attack, his tentacles lashing out.

Hikaru tossed his sheathed sword into the air, reached out, and grabbed the incoming tentacle. He then pulled Menis in, right into this other fist as it went flying forward. He let go and allowed Menis to fly backwards through a few small stone pillars, and then caught his blade. Setting himself, he charged in, cutting Menis in two from the draw and then sheathing the blade before the arrancar could even begin to defend himself. He fell in half, disintegrating silently as he went.

Aldegor, his form broken and effectively useless, stared at the swordsman in shock as he turned slowly his way. "H-human? This guy? No way…no human could do something like this…not to us…."

He turned and began to flee, and Hikaru stared after him. Then he set himself again, lowering his body and putting his hand to his hilt, then drew it as fiercely as he could. The ki-charged strike sent a rending blade from the sword that chased down Aldegor and cut him in half from behind.

"The strongest and weakest of all creatures," Hikaru murmured as he sheathed his blade. "That is the human."

8-8-8

Mai dodged the blast from Patros and stepped away as Shaolong moved to take her from behind. A wave of her hand sent a cascade of fireballs towards her foes, who were forced to scatter from the attacks.

They regrouped and considered the girl. She was pretty much getting the worst of it—panting as she hovered there, some of her clothes shredded and some obvious wounds underneath—but there was something obvious about the situation that disconcerted them. "She's getting stronger every second that we fight," murmured Shaolong. "Even as we injure her, her attacks become stronger, her moves better, her speed greater…this must be the power of the Crystal Princess…."

Mai smiled at them. "Yeah…that's pretty much true. I still don't have all the Crystal Princess' memories or power, you see, even after all my training and everything. But situations like this…tend to bring it out. I guess that means you'll have to finish me off quickly, huh?"

"Taunting us?" Patros scoffed. "Very well. We are not supposed to harm the Crystal Princess if we are able, but if you wish to dismiss our power, I shall give you a full taste: my level twenty attack." He exploded with an aura of power as the attack built, and then his left 'arm' opened itself to unleash the attack.

As he was preparing it, Mai set herself, apparently in preparation, half-turning to set her right side towards him and extending a hand as if to prepare a shield to block the attack. With her left hand she casually reached out and touched a large boulder that was just behind her. Then, as the attack came, she suddenly vanished. She reappeared in the air above him and hurled the boulder, which she had taken with her…and the rock slammed into place, caught in between the two sections of separated hoop and preventing the 'arm' from closing again.

"You iaijutsu is too obvious," she told him. "I've seen Hikaru-kun fight and train as well, so I know how it works. You build up your power in the sheath and unleash it with the draw. Even in that form, your attack works the same way—and by actually assigning levels to the amount of power you use, you're making it way too easy to see through. The bigger the attack, the more that 'blade' has to open out of its sheath. And if it can't go back in…you can't use that power at all." She then wrapped herself in fire and charged into Patros, slamming into and through him, blasting him to pieces. The flame evaporated away as she slowed to a halt and turned to watch his final moments.

Shaolong watched her stoically and then raised a clawed hand as he smiled. "Most impressive. This has been a worthy battle. I think I foresee the end, but it is my duty to see it through." He charged in at her.

Mai dodged and blocked the attacks, then finally grabbed one arm and then the other. She threw her head forward, connecting and shattering Shaolong's mask. She then let go and sent him flying with a double handful of flame.

As usual, a convenient rock stopped his sailing, and as he picked himself up Mai flew into the air above him. He raised a hand and the dark chaos energy of the cero began to build. Mai responded by gathering all her fire in the palm of her own hand and pouring the whole of her kanka energy into it. As Shaolong fired, she threw the ball in, and it pierced the oncoming energy and burst through it to collide with Shaolong. The flames of the ensuing explosion died quickly, but Shaolong didn't linger much longer before he, too, fell to dust.

8-8-8

Grimmjow's sharp, almost claw-like nails raked across Kain's shoulder, causing blood to spray from the cut. He followed it up by kicking him down and away. Kain skipped off the ground and somersaulted in mid-air to land crouched on his feet, but Grimmjow was already there. He grabbed Kain by his face and held his other hand in the air, powering his cero. "I guess this is it, kid. Goodbye."

To his surprise, Kain reached up with one hand and powered energy of his own as Grimmjow released the attack. They flew away from each other as a result of the explosion, Grimmjow's hand burned and smoking. Kain's hand was also smoking as he settled himself to hover again, but there were no recognizable burns there.

"You're actually really tough," Kain consented. "And I'm not used to your power at all…I have only limited experience with reiatsu, really, and pretty much none with real hollow powers. I guess I should get serious…you'll be a great test of just how far I've come."

Grimmjow stared at him in shock, then let a manic grin return to his face. "You sure are cocky, aren't you, you little brat? Fine, then! It won't be any fun if you don't get serious…bring it on like you mean it, so I can kill you without regrets!"

Kain was suddenly standing behind him, back-to-back. He was now throbbing with his True Kanka power…a power he didn't have activated previously. "You don't even know what you're asking for. But I'll show you, all the same."

Grimmjow rounded on him, but Kain stayed in the shadow of his back and then punched out an elbow to hit him in the side, sending him flying again. Kain turned to face him as Grimmjow righted himself. The mage raised a hand above his head. A series of circles, two-dimensional arcane images laying at all sorts of angles and intersecting evenly, appeared in the air above his hand. He then pointed that hand at Grimmjow, the circle following with it, and unleashed a slew of magical bolts, a whole swarm of missiles that closed in on Grimmjow.

Grimmjow dodged and stepped back, retreating, but still the swarm finally caught up with him, engulfing him in an explosion. He threw his hands out to use his power to negate the last vestiges of it and turned his gaze back skyward. Kain, however, wasn't there.

Then he was floating behind Grimmjow again, one finger pressed up against the man's back with his thumb up and 'cocked'. He released his magic again, a simple burst of force that sent Grimmjow crashing again into the ground with great force.

As Grimmjow began to pick himself up, Kain continued staring down at him, his expression so unmoved that Nodoka, turning her attention back and forth between her guild and her sensei was almost chilled by it. ('I-is this…really Kain-sensei? He seems…so much different than before….')

Suddenly a swarm of tentacles came at Kain from behind. Nodoka shouted his name in shock as they smashed in with great force….

Luppi laughed. "Take that, you stupid fool! One hit and you thought you'd gotten rid of me!? Arrancar of our caliber do not go down that easily!"

Grimmjow glared and snarled up at Luppi. "Luppi! That was my kill! How dare you interfere!?"

"I was here first…and besides, I owed him that after he dared to strike me," Luppi responded. "You had plenty of time. If you aren't quick enough, you'll lose your kill…."

"Exactly," Kain murmured from behind Luppi. Luppi, whirling in shock, began to rain more blows on the young man while retreating at the same time. Kain advanced into him, chanting. "Energy of the Polar Realms, gather together and bring eternal sleep to this one."

As he chanted, Kain laid hold on each tentacle that came his way. By the time he finished, he had all eight tentacles in his hand, and he released his spell. "Absolute Zero." Ice instantly traveled from his grip up the tentacles and onto Luppi's main body, encasing him in ice. Kain let go and allowed the arrancar to crash into the ground below…where, almost surprisingly, he didn't shatter into pieces.

Grimmjow actually grinned as Kain turned his attention back to him. "You really are pretty good. Eminus' data on you didn't mention any power like this. This is getting interesting." He drew his sword and came charging in at Kain again.

8-8-8

Yammy stared down at the devastation below. "I can't believe it! Those idiots! They're all letting themselves get killed by this trash!? Real arrancar don't have that great of numbers! If we keep taking losses like this…."

"Nagi and Eminus will get mad at us!" Hat-and-Clogs finished for him, loudly, from right behind him.

Yammy's eyes were wide in disbelief as he recognized the voice, but he swiftly turned to rage and whirled around, a mighty fist swinging to pulverize him. The man vanished and then reappeared on the other side of Yammy, forcing him to turn back.

"I know what you're thinking," Hat-and-Clogs said with a smile. "You felt your spirit pressure in those balas strike home—every single one. So how am I still alive?" He held up a small black marble-sized sphere. "The answer…is this." He then squeezed it, causing a small indentation to blossom out, and put his lips to it. A mighty breath caused it to inflate, and after it grew to a certain size it exploded, becoming an exact copy of the man. "Ta-da! A portable gigai!" he declared, holding it up and pinching its cheek.

"W-what's that!?" Yammy barked. "I've never heard of anything like that!"

"Of course not," the man replied. "I only recently invented it and haven't shown it to anyone before." He began to push on the sides of the fake's face, and it deflated slowly until it popped back into being a little black ball. "Of course, it's not a perfect tool—it works better than normal means of decoys and substitution, but I doubt there's anyone besides me who could get the timing down enough to actually be able to use it effectively in a fight. Well," he amended, turning his gaze over slightly to observe the young man battling down below them, "that kid might if I gave him enough time to practice. But it's okay…I've seen all I need to. That attack of yours won't hit me again."

"Bull$#!%!" barked Yammy, extending a hand to make a bala. It burst out, but the man was now standing on his back, his blade lying millimeters from the side of Yammy's face.

"I told you, that won't work on me anymore," the man murmured dangerously, and released a blast of energy from his sword.

Yammy streaked away, coughing, his face scarred and smoking. He turned and tried once more, but Hat-and-Clogs waved his sword in a circle and the energy dissipated before it finished gathering. "It's just plain useless. I've memorized the reishi composition of that attack, as well as the position and action of your muscles when you prepare to fire it. Knowing those two things, I can now either cancel it or dodge every time you use it without any effort at all. Well…shall we finish this?"

Roaring, Yammy charged in…but then a hand suddenly caught him on the back. He turned and stared at the person who had dared interfere. "Ulquiorra!" he breathed.

The arrancar called Ulquiorra had pale skin almost the color of his robes. His hole was high, almost near his throat and nearly covered by his jacket. He had short dark hair and wore a half-helmet like mask on his head, and had teal lines, almost resembling a clown or mime's fake tears, running from his eyes to the bottom of his face. His expression was cold, machine-like, and utterly empty.

"That is enough," Ulquiorra murmured. "Our casualties we've sustained were too great. This operation is no longer profitable. It is time to retreat."

As he spoke, the sky above them seemed to open, and pillars of light shot down, casting a haze over Yammy, Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, Van, Legretta, Wonderweiss, Dist, the ice encasing Luppi, and the stone encasing Arietta. Then all nine of them began to rise into the sky.

Grimmjow scowled as he glanced up at this. "What, running away? It was just getting good." He turned to Kain and pointed at him. "You lucked out today, Kain Lockeheart…next time, I'll use my resurreción, and then we'll see how that power does."

The ice around Luppi shattered, but, while he was alive, he had been reduced to his original state. He glared down at Kain, too. "You failed to kill me, you brat. Just wait until next time. First thing, I'll break your skull and spill your pretty brains out!"

Ulquiorra was also staring at Kain, although it seemed to be in response to his popularity. "It seems you are more capable than reported," he murmured. "You have some unique power. The tests of it will continue…you seem to have many eager to see it."

Van, at least, wasn't paying (much) attention to Kain. "Hmm…for the three of you to fight us to a draw," he chuckled as Erza, Grey, and Natsu glared up at him. "Fairy Tail's reputation is well-earned. I look forward to the next time myself."

Kain stared after them until they had disappeared into the black holes in the sky and the holes, too, had vanished. Then he turned his eyes downward and met Nodoka's gaze. Letting his power go, he teleported down to her and considered her carefully. "Nodoka…are you all right?"

"Y-yes…thanks to everyone."

He sighed and shivered slightly. "I'm…I'm glad. If something had happened to you…." He shook his head and finally smiled. "But you're fine…I'm really, really glad. It's good to see you again, Nodoka."

Nodoka smiled bravely at him. "Y-yeah…you too, Sensei…I'm so relieved…."

He turned as the four members of Fairy Tail suddenly flanked him. "And…you must be Nodoka's new friends…the Fairy Tail guild, right?" He bowed to them. "I am Kain Lockeheart, Nodoka's teacher. I'm very grateful to you for taking care of Nodoka all this time…."

"No, it was our pleasure," Erza replied, bowing. "Nodoka is a strong girl, and a worthy member of our guild. We're helping her, you could say, but she has also been of great assistance to us as well. I am Erza Scarlet."

"Grey Fullbuster," added the shirtless mage. His usual scowl changed into a small smile. "Well, it's interesting to finally meet Nodoka-chan's knight in shining armor…."

As Kain attempted to respond to that comment, Natsu suddenly ran up close to him. "Oh, man! Even while I was fighting, I saw it! That power was awesome! I want to fight you!"

As Kain stared at this unique proposal, Lucy slammed him over the head from behind, dropping him onto the ground. "Please forgive this guy…he's an idiot. He's Natsu Dragneel. This is Happy," she added, pointing up to the blue cat, flying on his wings just above her.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

"And I'm Lucy. We're so very honored and blessed to meet someone like you…the son of the famous Grand Archmage, the wizard who saved the world! Tell me, could I please have your autograph…?

Kain was even more taken aback by this. "Ah, well…I guess…."

"Hey! Kain!" Mai suddenly came swooping to next to him. "What was that all about? That was some pretty crazy power you were using!"

Kain shook his head. "No, that was just my kanka variant, nothing more…."

"No…well, it was, but somehow, that's not it." She began to inspect him carefully. "I felt something was different about you before, but now I know for sure. What have you done to yourself?" She grabbed at his shoulder, moving aside the cloth to inspect the flesh underneath…despite the present bloodstains, utterly perfect and devoid of any marring. "I knew it…not only did you have crazy power that let you sleep-walk through that fight, you're healing like a vampire." She sighed. "I know you feel you have to be responsible for everyone, but still…just what have you been doing?"

"Only what he had to, I'm sure," chuckled Hat-and-Clogs, approaching the group. "He does have to follow in his father's footsteps, after all."

Those present considered him carefully. "You…were helping us out earlier," Kain noted. "You seem to know us, but you have us at a disadvantage, mister…?"

"Urahara Kisuke. Well, usually I just say I'm a humble owner of a candy shop, but in this case, I should add a little more. I'm a friend…well, more like an acquaintance, but, I hope, a good acquaintance, of your father's. I was once a hinigami, but that was a long time ago, ancient history."

As Kain's eyes widened in surprise, he continued, "I'm sure your next question is what someone like me is doing here. The answer involves this." He removed a small white pin, a little badge in the shape of a white wing. "Most of your scattered party is arriving on that airship that's just about here." He pointed to his right, where the El-Hazard was coming into view. "But you're still missing a few. I've been tracking your progress since you first arrived in Arcanus Myrror and I've been finding all of your scattered party as best I can. And I've come here because I've finally found your most vulnerable, lost member…and she's in real trouble. I'll continue when we get aboard your ship there, and I'll tell you the whole story…and you can decide what you're going to do about it."

F I N

Author's Note: Character Introduction: Kisuke Urahara

And here was a taste of Kain's new power…battling a pair of powerful Espada-class arrancar, he easily resisted them, nay, overpowered them, without really showing his true potential. True, Grimmjow was a tough enough foe that he was losing in his 'natural' state, but all he had to do was turn on his True Kanka to rise head and shoulders above him. Grimmjow threatened him boldly, but truth be told, even released he'll be just another stepping stone testing Kain's true power as he prepares to fight his real enemies.

Besides Van and his crew that we've seen before, this chapter introduced the arrancar, another group of enemies I've planned on using but wasn't sure exactly how many/which ones…but since I have so many combatants, I decided to start tossing them in. The arrancar, of course, were the big bads through most of Bleach, the foes Ichigo and his friends had to fight and overcome in order to save Karakura-chô, the terrible creations of Aizen, as described here, half-hollow and half-Soul Reaper using his completed Hôgyôku. Of course, in this history, that isn't true, because Kalan defeated Aizen back during the initial uprising twenty-fourish years ago before he got his hands on Kisuke's Hôgyôku, which he then destroyed.

However, Nagi, the 'diplomat' between Aizen and the Obsidian Star, escaped with Aizen's research notes and his version of the sphere, along with his two lieutenants, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tôsen. Those latter two perished in the previous war in ways that will be revealed in flashbacks, but Nagi survived the destruction of the group at the end of the war and, during the last twenty years when those remnants were secretly rebuilding, he went into Hueco Mundo, the hollows' plane, and began to rule it as Aizen did in the Bleach series, using the Obsidian Star's power to complete the research Aizen started. Now his army of arrancar is finally ready, and he set the first pieces of them on the party here. They will, of course, be primary adversaries for the Soul Reapers when Soul Society's army finally shows up, later on in the big battles.

For starters, to give out some foes that could battle our hero and his friends, I introduced Grimmjow and his fracción, and added three arrancar from an anime filler mini-arc. They are quite useful for powerful enemies that can push our heroes to their limits, and quickly be defeated by them. There are no specific numerical ranks and special designations like Espada amongst Nagi's arrancar, but those that are most powerful do serve as lieutenants and such.

Far more important than the minor arrancar enemies is our new hero support Kisuke Urahara. His role here, just as in his origin, Bleach, is that of the analytical, strategizing companion. He aided Kalan twenty years ago just as he aided Ichigo, and now he has come out of the shadows of his peaceful candy shop to help Kain put a stop to the Obsidian Star. Kisuke was once a captain of the Gotei 13 and the creator of its R&D, but he was framed by Aizen in the midst of the latter's evil experiments and banished from the Soul Society. Kalan's work, of course, cleared his name and that of the Vizoreds that Aizen corrupted, but since Kurotsuchi is now the head of the R&D, he's decided he prefers living on Earth and Arcanus Myrror. Thanks to that, he's on hand to help battle against the foes that are now confronting our heroes. A powerful fighter and master spellcaster, as well as a brilliant tactical mind, he only gets his own hands dirty if he has to but he provides excellent support when he does. Most likely he'll be one of the champions that helps hone out Kain's final training regimens before the end. Most importantly, however, right now he's going to help retrieve one of the most significant lost lambs….

So, let's move onward to the next battle!