Chapter 22:

-Continue-

Ash felt someone coming. His body was still far too weak and too hurt for him to defend himself. 'Hopefully they don't know about this place.' He felt the person coming closer and closer to the entrance and hoped that someone would get here quickly. He shifted inside the healing water and made sure he didn't make a sound.

The cave's entrance was suddenly much darker than before and crowds of shinigami piled in, all wearing a full body garment. "Ash Kita." A female voice shouted. "We know you are here. You have five seconds to turn yourself in. Do not resist. If you do, you will be killed." The voice sounded militant and sounded as though she had rehearsed that line before.

Five seconds past and he heard a sigh. The rock formation he was hiding behind was then blown up and his eyes shot open. Ash immediately recognized the Stealth Force uniforms and glared at the captain. "How did you find me?" His voice surprisingly calm. He didn't expect an answer.

Soi-fong just stood there silent, as if taking in his appearance. He looked the same, save for bandages covering his arms; spanning from the palm to mid-forearm. It made him look far more intimidating and the tape covering his abdomen completed the look. "I take it you won't come quietly?"

Several Stealth Force members lunged at the injured boy, having long since resigned themselves to murder. Ash raised his right arm slightly and his hand ignited in his black flame. Soi-fong instantly recognized that stance and her eyes widen. "Stop! Retreat for now!" She commanded.

No one listened however, even her lieutenant Omeada blatantly ignored her order. "Shunk-." Ash was then cut off by a swift knee to the stomach, making him lose consciousness instantly. The boy fell forward, only to be caught by Yoruichi, standing angrily in her human form. She glared at everyone in attendance and vanished for a split-second before all of the Stealth Force members flew back violently. "Soi-fong." She said sternly.

"Y-y- yorucihi-sama."

-With Toshiro-

"Damn it. That was too close." The white haired teen whispered to himself. A sudden flash of orange hair was his indication to stop. "Kurosaki!"

Ichigo looked a little worst for ware himself, having multiple cuts and bruises over his body. He seemed to be struggling to stand and his knees trembled ever so slightly. "Toshiro." His voice sounding pained.

He fell backwards slowly and was about to hit the ground until Hitsugaya shunpo-ed in front of him and grabbed his collar. "Toshiro, I couldn't save Rukia. I had her in my arms, but then Kuchiki Byakuya came and… it all went to shit so fast. He took down Ganju and took Rukia back to prison." The orange-haired boy spoke, voice barely above a whisper. Ichigo wanted to say more but broke out in a violent coughing fit, which shook his weakened body to the core.

The shorter teen narrowed his eyes ahead of him and propped Ichigo up on his own shoulders. Taking off in a shunpo, he ignored all the boy's protests and all the people that could surely sense him. He bobbed and weaved past buildings at a great pace, so fast that it made Ichigo temporarily pass out. As he neared the hidden base, he tried to seek out Ash's but for some reason, he couldn't. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

The entrance to the underground training area had been busted open and the door was now gone completely. Toshiro started to worry but tried to assure himself that Ash was fine. Despite being in such a weakened state, he was sure the red-eyed boy could still take down several third seats without the use of his Shunko. Evidently he didn't use it and the room look fairly destroyed. Was there a fight? Did they sneak up on him? Did anyone die?

"Toshiro." Ichigo's voice brought him out of his musing. "Let's stop here. The night is falling."

It was true, the sun had just began to set and he didn't like traveling at night. "No Kurosaki." Ichigo winced at the name, it usually meant Toshiro was about to do something stupid or he was upset. Now seemed to be a mixture of both. "I have to go find my brother. I'll put a kido barrier in front of the door. Just go into that healing pool for now and by God man, don't leave this place." Toshiro started off seriously but finished in a more resigned tone.

Ichigo looked as though he wanted to argue but Toshiro's chilly glare made him swallow his words and settle for a nod. Hitsugaya wasted very little time in shunpo-ing away and heading towards any direction that wasn't here. He noticed that not very far was the kanji for 'one' on a large board. Figuring that was the first division, he turned on his heel and went elsewhere. The First Division's captain was the strongest according to Urahara and was to be avoided at all costs. He remembered that warning very clearly because it was the only time he saw Hat-n-Clogs serious.

He shunpo-ed in the shadows as he was taught, and kept his senses open. So far, he hadn't seen Rukia at all and was the only one to not fight with anyone yet. The boy felt a strong presence to his immediate left but he felt it too late. The pain was sharp but brief and all my forward momentum was stopped. He bit down on his lower jaw so hard, he thought his teeth my crack. He then felt a blow land to his ribs and violently threw into the ground below.

'Why the hell do I always get snuck up on?' He thought with a scowl. He hit the floor with a thud and a bit of a dust cloud formed. He laid on the cracked tiles for a second; allowing his body to adjust to the pain before he slowly rolled to his feet. His eyes snapped open when he saw that annoying grin and silver hair. Toshiro glared. Not this guy again. He knew there was no more running and a fight was inevitable.

He parted his feet slightly and felt a soft lump by his foot. He looked down quickly and jumped back in horror. The body of that girl he had saw earlier that day lay motionless in a puddle of her own blood. "Ichimaru. D-did you do that to this girl?" Hitsugaya for some reason got very angry. Furious.

Gin smiled, completely ignoring the boy's icy glare. "Nah, she did it to 'erself." Gin shrugged. "Whatcha gonna do about it?" 'Do something boy, Aizen is watching.'

Toshiro started to emit a white aura and his eyes began to glow white. The white haired teen didn't even bother unsheathing his blade. Settling for just tearing it out of the sheath, he lunged at Gin with a strike primed to kill. Ichimaru's grin widen to an incredible extent and he withdrew Shinso at a blinding pace. Hyorinmaru met Shinso with a resounding clang and Toshiro felt the vibration through his hand.

Gin shunpo-ed above Toshiro's head and prodded downwards. Hitsugaya, stunned at the speed, barely managed to avoid the attack. He rolled out the way in the nick of time and quickly raised his sword to block an impending strike. Gin's volley didn't stop there. Hit after hit, one after another coming at an incredible pace.

'What the fuck? His movements are damn-near perfect.' Toshiro thought angrily. Time seemed to slow down for a bit before he could fully understand what was happening. Hitsugaya stuck out Hyorinmaru at an odd angle and adjusted his stance.

CLANG

Gin's eyelid's cracked very slightly. It was as though Shinso met a wall. 'About time boy.' Toshiro had very little cuts on his person but the scratches were visible. Gin's balanced was broken when Toshiro threw a sweeping kick at his legs, causing the man to jump. He happily stole Ash's move and quickly tapped his palm on the ground and forced a powerful kick towards Gin's chest.

Despite the kick being blocked, Gin still felt the force and flinched very slightly. Toshiro noticed Ichimaru's arm move slightly and rolled over to avoid the impending slash. Gin seemed to very happy about Toshiro's performance but wanted to see more. Ichimaru then stopped holding back and went full power without using his shikai.

Toshiro's eyes widen at the sudden reiatsu spike and on instinct, guarded his body. Gin disappeared and a cut appeared on Toshiro's cheek. Then another one appeared above his right eyebrow. Then finally a final cut appeared across his back. Hitsugaya shut his eyes tight and bit down on his lower jaw.

'Come on boy.'

"Reign over the frosted heavens, Hyorinmaru." Toshiro suddenly exclaimed. The gust of cold wind and reiatsu pushed Gin back a bit. Dark clouds formed over the area and the entire Seireitei got cold. So cold in fact that a vague mist began to form around Hitsugaya. The boy had a slightly smirk on his face as Gin looked at him with concentration. A thin layer of ice started spreading beneath Toshiro's feet and the wind picked up. Hitsugaya's sword went skyward and a dragon of ice shot out.

Hyorinmaru went directly into the clouds and roared a mighty roar, getting everyone's attention. Toshiro's sword guided the beast as right when his sword was pointed at Gin, the mighty dragon soared at the man with amazing grace and speed.

Ichimaru focused his most of his power into the tip of Shinso and pointed it directly into the mouth of the beast. Hyorinmaru roared once more before biting down on Gin's blade and forcing the man back quickly. After a few seconds, the dragon dissipated into mist and Gin smirked; but the smirk fell off of his face when two small cuts appeared on his cheek and eyebrow. Toshiro and Gin met each other once more with a powerful clash, and grinded their blades against one another for a second.

Toshiro glared at Gin's eyelids for a second before summoning another ice dragon to attack the man. Gin jumped back and easily pointed Shinso's tip at the dragon to shatter it again. But at the last moment, the dragon flew upwards and tried to flank the man. Ichimaru turned on a dime and tried to point the blade at the icy beast again but his arm went numb. He turned to his right arm and saw a narrow chain wrapped around his arm to the elbow, freezing it on contact. Toshiro smirked and Gin's eyes opened slightly to reveal troubled blue eyes. The dragon hit both men and bit into Gin's shoulder.

Toshiro made a mistake when he turned away from Gin, thinking the fight had been won. "Shoot to kill, Shinso." The reiatsu boost alone caused Toshiro's ice to fall off of his arms and the incredible sword shot at Hitsugaya with his unholy pace. The white haired teen turned just in time to see the blade nearing his eye. Somehow he managed to block the blade and fell onto his back.

"You sure you want to dodge that? The girl's gonna die!" Gin knew Toshiro didn't know the girl and he didn't expect for him to care in the slightest, but was mildly surprised when Toshiro's focused turned to the downed Momo.

The blade got closer and closer until a flash of orange appeared onto the scene.

-With Ichigo-

The boy slept peacefully in the healing pool and didn't notice when Yoruichi came back with Ash. He also didn't when Yoruichi threw Ash into the healing pool nor when she got into it herself.

It had been an hour before Ichigo awoke and he took in his surroundings. Ash was sitting upright in the pool with Toshiro not too far away from him. Yoruichi was nowhere to be seen, nor was Uryu, Chad, Orihime or Ganju.

"Guys, get up. We have a problem." Toshiro hadn't been sleeping in the first place and made a sound of acknowledgment. Ichigo opened his eyes fully and looked at the cat. Ash didn't move nor make a sound, but Toshiro didn't seem to see a problem.

"Don't worry, he's listening." He assured.

"If you say so. The others are back with Kukaku and from what I tell, you guys are all back to at least 90%. Rukia's execution," She paused and locked eyes with Ichigo. "Is tomorrow. I didn't want to tell you about this, but we have no choice. Do you know what Bankai is?"

Ash's eyes open slightly and Toshiro scowled. Ichigo's eyes narrowed on her and after a moment of silence spoke, "Yes, I've heard something about it. What is it?"

"It's the full power of a zanpakuto. Good question. It's ten times stronger than the shikai and it what's makes the captains Captains. Almost all captains have one, Kenpachi Zaraki being the only exception. You should know just how powerful is Zaraki is Ash," Yoruichi turned to face him slightly. The boy in question just shrugged and unconsciously rubbed the bandages still covering his arms. "Each of you have faced a captain and should know the power they hold. But that's just them in the base form. You'll need a bankai to beat a bankai."

Ichigo listened in silence until the last sentence. "So, how do we get a bankai?"

"Another good question. You usually train for about ten years to perfectly master it, but we don't have that time."

"So you've found a way to short-cut that, I assume?" Toshiro suddenly questioned. Yoruichi nodded seriously.

"It would take three days, but we don't have that time either." She then pulled out three purple pills with a with aura at the center. "These are reiatsu cultivation pills. They will power you up enough to learn bankai in a few hours."

"But? No way in hell that it does exactly what you said. And even if it has no more side effects, why isn't this mass produced?" Ash's voice, however lazy it was, spoke with a very serious undertone.

"Great questions. Well, this thing is very dangerous. Kisuke made a few of these and tested it on someone. Sadly, that guy's reiatsu imploded on itself and he died." That statement made each boy to fully give Yoruichi their attention. "There's a chance it might happen, so is that a risk you're willing to take?"

There was an immense silence in which everyone pondered the words just said to them. Everyone had a scowl and a tiny sweat drop along their brow. "Fuck it." They said collectively before each one took a pill and the power began to surge.