Bounty

Hey guys, I know this update took forever, and I'm not going to bore you with my personal life reasons, just a lot was going on. However, I just really didn't like the first version, it was just off kilter in so many areas. I'm pretty satisfied with this, but if there are any mistakes or if there's any places that it just doesn't flow or feel right; feel free to point it out to me.

Anyways, so we're getting the Soul Society are really rolling now. Like I said in the last chapter, this arc is going to hopefully stay fast paced. I'm not too sure how "involved" I'm going to get with each fight that occurs in this arc, cause let's face it, there's a lot. I'm probably going to just point out that they're happening and what not, if they don't really involve Ichigo and co. Let me know how that sounds.

Also, a GIANT thank you to all that have reviewed, followed, and added to their favorites; you guys were my bursts of sunshine through these past few terrible weeks.

As always, please review, criticism or not, always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the amazing Bleach, only my little Ashwina and all that are attached to her presence in the story.

Chapter 5

'We've finally reached the Seretei...'

Ichigo stood tensely beside me as we both stared up at the giant gorilla man blocking the gateway. He had an ugly face and stood on all fours, just like a gorilla.

'Yet we're stopped by someone so powerful already...'

Looking at Ichigo, I couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going through his mind at this moment. Was he prepared to fight an elite of the soul society? Was his training enough?

Is he resolved to kill this man if necessary?

I watched quietly from beside Ichigo as the gorilla man swung his gigantic axe straight down, aiming directly for the orange head next to me. He glanced at me momentarily, a cocky smirk on his lips before facing the giant. The smoke cleared quickly as Ichigo faced him head on.

Smirking slightly, I could only shake my head. 'Yeah, he's ready.'

"Bring it on! Attack from whatever angle you want."

"ICHIGO, ASHWINA, RETREAT!"

Ichigo and I looked back at Yuroichi, his eyes wide as I turned back with half lidded eyes. "We have to make a battle plan!" Yuroichi looked frantic. I smirked slightly, pointing at the two teenagers that had started forward. It looked like the cat was about to have a heart attack as she took notice of their advancing figures.

"CHAD! ORIHIME! DIDN'T YOU GUYS HEAR ME?!"

Suddenly, a shadow fell over me. I jumped quickly, appearing beside Ichigo as we watched the giant swing down his axe again. "HENGON!" The ground separated, flying up and creating a solid wall of rubble. It completely separated us from the others, Ichigo looked at me with unease, his eyes drifting to my scythe. Shrugging my shoulder, I stuck it in the ground and leaned against it while pulling a cigarette from my cleavage. "Sorry kid, but this is your fight."

"What?" His eyes widened, watching me with disbelief as I lit the cigarette. "I thought you were here to help me!" I glanced away from him, instead watching as the giant berated the teens about having no honor and interfering in fights. "I am, but I can't fight any of these guys unless I'm challenged first. It's part of my contract." The ground rumbled slightly as the giant turned back towards us, his eyes narrowing at me.

"YOU!" He pointed his axe directly in my face, a giant scowl pulling his lips down. "Why is the bounty hunter here, outside the wall with these intruders? Do you plan to fight, if so, then go outside the barrier until this fight is finished. It is dishonorable-"

"To interfere in a one-on-one fight, yes I know your rules. No worries big guy, I'm just a silent observer with no intention on fighting you. Besides," I smirked up at him, exhaling a plum of smoke from my lips. "You know my rules as well, Gatekeeper." He frowned deeply at me, a thoughtful look on his face. "So be it, just stay out of my fight." With that, I was forgotten on the sidelines as he focused on Ichigo. "I plan on it. This isn't my fight to win."

Ichigo glanced up at the giant, his face unconcerned before leaning towards the wall. "HEY! Chad! Orihime!"

"Kurosaki-kun! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I snorted at the girl's question, which put me on the receiving end of Ichigo's glare. I stuck my tongue out at him as he turned back to the wall.

"Oh, I'm okay!"

"Hold on a sec, we are almost there!"

"Ah, I just wanted to talk to you about that," Ichigo looked back at me, his eyes darting up to the giant with a silent question. 'Can I beat him?'

I thought about it for a second, looking at the giant and his axes. Looking back to him, I gave him a shrug. He glared at me again, clearly stating I was of no help. I chuckled quietly, before nodding, looking back at the giant. "Yeah, you got this, homes." He nodded once, a determined look in his eye as he started forward.

"You and Chad just stay there. Don't do anything, alright?"

"What are you talking about Kurosaki?" The girl's annoying voice travelled back over the rubble. Ichigo looked back, a slightly exasperated look on his face. "Don't worry, just wait there." He started forward again, his eyes growing determined.

"What are you talking about?!" I slapped my face, glaring through my fingers at the wall as the male voice carried over. These kids were taking up too much time with all the questioning, couldn't they just believe in the dandelion head and sit back quietly. "You've seen for yourself just how strong Jidanbo is! I don't care what you have learned in the past 10 days..." I raised my hand, making it talk along with the condescending voice. Ichigo looked at me, his scowl in place but his eyes thankful that someone else understood his frustration. "He is not the type you can handle by yourself!"

"Ah there you are Ishida." Ichigo smirked at me, and I could only roll my eyes as he purposely riled up the quincy boy. "DO YOU WANT TO PISS ME OFF?!"

Finally, having enough of this useless chit chat, I slammed my fist against the wall, causing a thunderous boom to echo around us. "Shut the hell up already and let your friend defeat this giant oaf so we can get the hell inside!"

"Who exactly do you think you're speaking to!" A vein appeared over my brow, throbbing at the snobbish voice. Rearing back, I punch the wall again. I watched in satisfaction as a crack appeared before falling through. Putting my arm through, I grabbed a hold of that ridiculous cape and dragged the boy until he was in my view. "I'm talking to you, you little shit, now shut up and let him fight already!" His eyes narrowed, pure anger flooding their deep blue pools. "He cannot face an opponent of that caliber alone," he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, glaring down at me. "Or do you want him to fail?"

"Do you really have so little faith, man?" That caught him by surprise, he looked at me shocked before glancing away. "The kid'll win, just wait and see, my dear Watson." I smirked through the hole, before pulling my arm back and slapping the wall. Rubble fell, filling the hole once more.

I waited quietly, when no one said anything, I turned and waved dismissively at the pair. "Go on now, make yourselves bloody and sweaty already." With that Ichigo gave a resolute nod before stepping forward, his hand on the hilt of his zanpakuto. The white wrapping around the blade began to unravel, and Ichigo pulled it from his back, sending out dust as he swept it out to his side.

"Are you finished?," Jidanbo asked, staring down at the orange headed boy with calm eyes.

"I'm ready. I don't remember asking you to wait for me." I slapped my face again, smoke billowing from my lips as I stared blankly at the boy. "He's all about respect, moron." And I watched as now Ichigo received a disapproving comment about disrespect before suddenly, Jidanbo brought his ax down in a mighty swing. The strong intent to kill rolling off of him in waves, he was determined and completely unwavering in his task. Destroy the attempted intruders before they could land a foot inside the walls. He would be a tough, but good first opponent for Ichigo.

Smoke filled the area, and I had to squint my eyes to watch, waving my hand rapidly. A small smirk curled my lips as I saw Ichigo, still standing with his sword holding the ax above his head. The smoke began to clear, and I could see Jidanbo looking down at the boy in shock that he had stopped his swing. He looked down at the boy with a confused face before throwing his head back in loud raucous laughter. Ichigo's face dropped, and I don't know how, but it looked like his mouth completely disappeared. 'Weird.'

"You're not bad! THIS IS GREAT! It's been awhile since someone could block my ax!" Ichigo looked over to me his eyebrow raised as the giant threw back his head and laughed again. Shrugging, I took a deep drag from my cigarette before pointing back up. "Don't take your eyes off of him, bro." Eyes comically wide, Ichigo watched in surprise as the ax rose a second time in the air."Good luck Kiddo, there have only been 3 people to block my first strike, but the second..." Jidanbo raised his arm, preparing for another brutal swing as Ichigo raised his zanpakuto in preparation.

"THERE HAS BEEN NONE!"

There was another great burst of smoke as the ax swung down, but it was clear by the excited smile on Jidanbo's face that Ichigo had stopped it yet again. "Good, you're still standing!" With that he brought his arm back, a determined look in his eyes. "I'm not finished yet! Now die! JUTSU PON JIDAN DAMATSURI DA!" I sweatdropped at that, looking at the man in mild amusement. "That's a damn mouthful, man."

"ONE!"

"TWO!"

Jidanbo swung his ax down repeatedly, yet even through the smoke I could tell Ichigo was blocking each strike.

"Three!"

"Four!"

"Maaan, how long is this going to go on for?"

"SEVEN...SEVEN...EIGHT...um...six...four?"

Did this oaf really not know how to count past 4? Seriously, this is the guy they have protecting the gate? I let out a low whistle, realizing that infiltrating these idiots was going to be way too easy. And boring...god, I'm so tired of getting such boring jobs.

Suddenly, there was a gigantic blast, cutting clean through the top layer of the rock wall. I watched in slight awe as Ichigo stood there, holding the ax away with only one hand supporting his zanpakuto. Another low whistle escaped my lips, the kid actually pulled off looking kind of cool just now. The blades shook against one another, each straining for the upper hand. "H-how can you still be standing?"

Instead of answering, Ichigo swung his blade once before glaring up at the gatekeeper, his eyes dark with determination. "Are you finished yet?" An unexpected chill ran through me at those words. This kid was actually pretty scary strong. "Then, It's my turn." Jidanbo's eyes popped open in surprise as he reached into his robe. "No! It's still early! I'm not done yet!" He yanked out another axe, brandishing both before raising them high above his head.

"TAKE THIS, MY FINAL ATTACK!"

With an enormous amount of strength, he swung them both towards the earth, aiming for Ichigo. "BANZAI JIDAN DAMATSURI!" Well, at least that wasn't as much of a mouthful. I watched from the sides as Ichigo stood perfectly still, the axes closing in on his puny dandelion head. "Sorry..." He looked up, oblivious to the slight stir of dirt centering around his body. "I'll have to destroy those axes."

And he did just that. With one monstrous swing of his zanpakuto, the blades shattered. Jidanbo stared in shock as his body flew back, landing with a thunderous smack as he fell to the ground. "What...happened?" I stepped forward, looking down at his giant eyes which slowly rolled to look at me. "You just bit it homes, you're down, now open that inconvenient gate." I smirked down at him as a smile slowly spread across his face. "Haha, you are funny Bounty Hunter." He suddenly leaped up, landing on his feet in front of Ichigo. Who by the way, was extremely shocked as a gigantic finger appeared in his face.

"AH, what an expression! There's no way I could be defeated by a boy like you!" And there goes Ichigo's mouth, just disappearing from existence again. "That's why I hate these uncivilized ones! Hold on...right now I'll use my.." He brought the now broken handle up, a disgruntled look on his face. "my ax?" Looking back and forth rapidly, a look of pure horror took over the poor oaf's face as he took in the broken shafts in his hands. "WHERE IS MY AX?!"

And with that almighty roar, the great giant Jidanbo fell to the ground in tears as he threw an enormous temper tantrum over his broken axes. "Oy, dandelion head!" The boy looked over to me as our bodies lifted up and down from the shaking ground as Jidanbo's fists repeatedly hit it. "Fix this, now." He looked at me with the most brain dead stare causing me to roll my eyes with a scoff. "Either kill him or apologize to the big baby," I pointed a the wailing man, his lower lip quivering as tears ran down his face, snot mixing with it. "Dude, that's so gross."

"H-hey, bit strange to say but..." Ichigo reached forward tentatively, sweat drops forming on his head. "Sorry for damaging your axes...I shouldn't have broken both of them...should I?" What kind of shit apology is that? "You..." We both looked as the giant's sobs ceased, sniffling as he looked up at Ichigo. "You are such a good guy!" He settled his hands on Ichigo's shoulders, snot still dripping down his face as he looked at me. "You both are such generous people, caring for me even after I was defeated." I nodded once, my face dead as I tried not to shudder at the disgusting snot dripping onto the ground by my feet.

"What am I doing, crying like a baby because of a broken ax!" He stood, wiping his face. I jumped as a wave of snot and tears flew at me, sending a glare to the man. "I was defeated both as a fighter and a man, utterly defeated!" He wiped his face again before looking down on our little group of vigilantes. "Go inside. I, Jidanbo, grant you my permission to pass through the Hakudou gate!" Ichigo jumped slightly, a look of relief on his face as he smiled up at the man. "Are you serious! Are you sure you can allow passage?!"

I elbowed the kid in the side, sending him a glare as my lips pulled into a thin line. "Don't ask that idiot, just be happy we're getting an easy pass here." He didn't even glance at me, instead watching intently as the man approached the gate. "Yes, your boss defeated me! A loser like me will not be able to in your way." Ishida suddenly appeared beside me, looking highly miffed at the gorilla man. "DID YOU SAY BOSS! WHAT NONSENSE!"

"Is it necessary to get so angry?," Ichigo asked, an insulted look on his face. "Oh, brush it off. Wonder boy over here is just jealous." 'Wonder boy' turned his glare on me, raising one hand to push his glasses back up his nose. "I ask you once again, who do you think you're talking to you perverted woman?" Smirking, I tugged the collar of my shirt down to reveal the tip of my bra. Immediately, his face turned red and he looked away, focusing on the giant again. "That's what I thought, Wonder Boy."

"OY, stop showing off your underwear, you old hag." Pouting, I turned towards Ichigo. "Oh ho, old hag is it? Then take this, dandelion head!" I tugged my collar down again, and Ichigo quickly snapped his head away, a dribble of blood running from his nostril. Laughing to myself, I pulled my shirt back up before bumping my shoulder against the embarrassed teen's. "Hey, Ichigo." He cautiously looked down at me, pointedly keeping his eyes above my chin. "You did good, kid." His usually scowl lifted just the tiniest bit as he brought his hand up to ruffle the back of his head. "Aa, it was nothing. And stop calling me kid," a tick mark appeared above his eyebrow. "We're look the same age, idiot." Smirking to myself, I just shook my head before looking away.

There was a loud creak, and we focused on Jidanbo as he slowly began to lift the gate using nothing but pure strength. We stepped closer, until all of us were directly in front of the gate, watching as it began to lift higher. Lifting it high above his shoulders, Jidanbo suddenly froze, a look of pure terror upon his face. "Is there something wrong, Jidanbo?" Ichigo and I stepped closer, peering around the man's gigantic leg.

"AH...Ah...!"

We both stared as the creepiest mother fucker I have ever seen stepped forward. His silver hair and fox like grin the first thing to register in my mind as I locked my eyes on his closed ones. 'Snake.' It was the first thing to come to mind as I stared at him, frowning at the way he stared at us all. "Who is this guy?," Ichigo asked quietly, staring at him intently. "The captain of the third division, Ichimaru Gin." Jidanbo shook as he answered, his eyes wide with fright at the appearance of the captain.

"Ah, this simply isn't allowed." The silver voice seemed to slink down the spines of our group, but I could only stare. A deep feeling of unease set into my stomach at the sight of him. 'Ichimaru Gin.' I watched with a frown as he quickly released his zanpakuto from its hidden space in his sleeves, slicing the gate keeper's arms clean through. My eyes narrowed, ignoring the blood now spraying down over the ground.

"You are a gatekeeper, opening the gate is not your duty," he smiled widely as he spoke, never once opening his eyes. There was a loud thump as Jidanbo's arm landed somewhere behind us, completely dissected from his body. I could hear the giant man panting in pain and from the strain of holding the gateway open one armed. "OH!" He seemed surprised at the gatekeeper's strength. "You can still hold the door open with one hand? No wonder you're one of the elites in soul society!" His voice was mocking, you could tell that this creep saw himself as higher then the gate keeper. Then again, he did just lop off his arm without even breaking a sweat, but then again...that was a cheap shot.

"However, you still fail as the guardian." Something in Jidanbo seemed to snap at that comment, and I looked up as he finally lost that look of fear and replaced it with confidence. "I lost. The guardian opens the gate when he loses, it is only natural." Kudos to you, Jidanbo, finally growing a pair. However, that seemed to only amuse the man more. "What idiotic rules are you talking about?" He began walking closer, I could see Ichigo move, preparing his zanpakuto at the man's actions. "Even if the guardian loses, he may still not open the door. IF the guardian lost...then that would mean..." I could feel the malicious aura permeating the area, and in that moment I actually wished it was aimed at me. "He must be executed."

Gin Ichimaru produced that blade again, extending it towards Jidanbo so quickly I almost didn't follow it. If I hadn't seen it earlier, I would've missed it, but I didn't move. Instead, I watched as Ichigo blocked the attack, getting right in the man's face. They separated quickly, both swords out and in the ready. "What do you think you're doing punk?!" Oh my gods...this boy.

I could only smirk, realizing he was never going to change being such a lame hero. I glanced down at Yuroichi, watching in amusement as her fur bristled in astonishment. "We won against Jidanbo fair and square, then you just pop out of nowhere and start attacking?" He dropped down, his body coiled and ready to attack. "Come. I'll be your opponent. For a no good punk like you who attacks an unarmed man so hastily..."

"I'll rip you apart!"

No, Ichigo did not 'rip him apart'. Instead, he got himself, and the rest of us blown back outside the wall. We watched as the gate began to slide back down. Ichimaru could still be seen, leaning down as he waved at us. "Bye Bye!" I stood up then, catching my fellow silver head's attention as I smirked widely at him. "Hey, creepo! I hope we get to meet again real soon!" I gave a lazy wave of dismissal, my smirk growing as his smile dropped forming a small 'O' of surprise before returning even bigger. "Same to you, Bounty Hunter-san."

Turning back to the group, I crossed my arms before looking down at Yuroichi, ignoring the shocked and confused gazed from the kiddies. "So, what's the plan now?" She looked around, her eyes taking in the growing crowd of citizens before focusing on me. "I think it's about time you played your role in this mission. We will find another way into the Seretei. Besides, I didn't truly believe we would be able to enter through a gate, I was just hoping we wouldn't have to resort to plan B." I nodded once, watching as that Orihime girl began healing the giant's wounds with some tiny fairies. I snorted once at the sight, muttering to myself. "It would be fucking fairies for a space cadet like her."

"So, what's your plan B?" The citizens were really flocking now, talking to Ichigo as they watched Orhime in wonder. I guess her powers were pretty rocking, but what use would she be on the offensive?

"Kukaku Shiba." I looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, drawing question marks at the name. "Who's that?" The cat started walking away, her tail waving in the air. "Tomorrow, we will be breaking into the Seretei."

By nightfall, we were all gathered in a small house, huddled together around the fire in the center of the room. An old man sat across from us, obviously the owner of the small home. Stifling a yawn, I pulled a lollipop from my stash and quickly stuck it in my mouth, ignoring the shiny eyed girl to my left. Looking back towards the fire, I watched as Yuroichi quietly spoke the elder, her body curled up on the floor with her paws tucked beneath her. A pink shirt suddenly appeared in my peripheral vision, which I ignored. Chad and Uryu were next to Yuroichi, the quincy ranting about the cape he had lost in the dangai while the taller boy sat in silence. Shining grey eyes, wider then my hands, took up my vision to left. Finally, there was Ichigo, who was currently glaring at me.

"You didn't help at all."

Sighing, again, I turned to glare at the girl who was inching those puppy dog eyes closer to my face. "I already told you kid," reaching into my pocket, I tossed a piece of candy to her. "I'm not allowed to begin any conflict, it'll break my contract." The orange haired girl squealed in delight, stick the lolipop into her mouth instantly.

"Tank yew, Ashwiha-sah!"

"Don't talk with your mouth full," I glared at her as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, a big smile on her face. Sighing, I turned back to the other orange head while muttering under my breath. "Fucking space cadet."

"What is this damn contract you keep going on about, anyways?" The kid scowled at me, but his question had caught everyone else's attention. "I already told you, it prohibits me from starting any fights with shinigami that are not my bounty. It's just to keep the peace between that old pervert and the head guy of the shinigami, don't worry about it."

"Basically what you're saying is that you are of no use to us unless one of the shinigami initiate a fight with you? So," Wonderboy glared down his nose at me, his voice annoyingly condescending and snide. "You are just dead weight. Why even come?"

'This brat.' I took a bite of my lollipop, flicking the remaining stick into his face. "Because I was asked to. Annnnnd...I gotta follow this idiot around no matter what," I stuck my thumb over my shoulder, pointing to the dandelion head. "So, shove it, you nosy little turdcicle."

I could literally see the steam billowing from his ears as his face steadily grew more red in anger. Hopping up, he pointed down at me with tick marks all over his puny little head. "You are nothing but dead weight! We don't need someone so useless to hold us back!" The kid waved that finger more and more, which was starting to piss me the hell off. "And you are a rude lecherous woman!"

Groaning, I rolled myself over, prepared to just ignore this kid and enjoy a cigarette. Pulling the cigarette out, I nearly dropped it as a sandalled foot nearly stomped my head.

"Shut the hell up!" Wide eyed, everyone and I stared at Ichigo as he pulled the quincy to him by the front of his shirt. "Where do you get off telling anyone they're dead weight? So she can't outright fight them, there's gonna be some idiot who challenges her, and as of right now, we need every person we can get. There's only us against an unknown number of them," he threw his arm back, pointing towards the general location of the Seretei. "Back off!" With that, he shoved the now stunned boy away before dropping back to the ground with a huff. I watched him from the corner of my eyes, slowly lighting my cigarette as he pointedly avoided my stare. 'This kid...'

"Kurosaki-san," Orihime reached her hand towards him. Blushing quickly, she pulled her hand back and instead turned towards the others. "So, um, Yuroichi-san?" The cat, whose eyes were narrowed at the orange haired boy and quincy, turned its head towards the girl. "What are we going to do now?"

The previous tension was forgotten as everyone instead focused on the black cat. "Well, first Ashwina will be infiltrating the Seretei in the early morning-"

"Infiltrating?" I could feel the quincy brat's glare piercing the back of my skull as I lazily took a drag of my cigarette, my body still facing the other wall. "Yeah, Wonder boy, gotta problem with me doing something useful?" I heard him scoff in reply. "It would be useful, if you could actually pull that off."

"Oh please, ye of so little faith," I waved my hand lazily, turning my head enough to wink at the uptight little prick. "Wanna make a bet on it? If I can, I get to burn all of your capes, but if I can't..." He scowled at me, obviously not enjoying the thought of a cape burning. "I'll show you my tits." Deadpanning, he turned away from me hurriedly, but the little trail of nose blood was still visible. "As if I'd want to see something so deplorable." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Liar."

I smirked at him before turning towards Ichigo, but he only glared at me. Pouting, I stuck my cigarette in my mouth before looking back towards the angered quincy boy. "You are nothing but a perve-!"

"ENOUGH!" Yuroichi glared expressly at me, her fur raised high in irritation. "Ashwina will be infiltrating the Seretei, and we will be entering shortly after her to begin the rescue mission. Are there any questions actually about the mission?" Space Cadet's hand quickly shot into the air, a goofy smile plastered across her face. "Yes, Orihime?"

"Aa, Yuroichi-san, are we going to enter through the gate Jidanbo had opened for us? I'm sure if we asked, he'd open it again. His arms are all better!"

"No, we will not be entering through the Hakutoumon."

"Through another gate, then?"

Yuroichi shook her head. "No, the other gates are at least 10 days away. That would be a waste of the little time we have. Besides, now that the Hakutoumon had been opened, the whole of Seretei will be on guard, especially near the gates." She paused, glancing out the corner of her eyes to stare at us with those deep gold eyes. "We will be entering without using the gate entrance."

"Without...using the gate entrance?!" The kids shared a confused look as Yuroichi began to address the old man. "Elder-dono, do you know where Shiba-san is?" I had forgotten the old fart was even here, he was very old looking with a gray beard and no hair atop his head. He looked surprised at the black cat. "Shiba...Kukaku?"

"I know she used to be in this area, however, being that she is a drifter..."

"Do not tell me, you plan to enter through the city using 'that'?" The elder's eyes opened wide as small droplets of nervous sweat gathered along his forehead. Confused, and irritated by the vague conversation, Ichigo leaned forward to look at the two. "What do you mea-"

DA-DUP DA-DUP DA-DUP

The sound echoed loudly off of the walls, growing louder by the second. The kids looked around, confused and on guard. "What is that sound?" Sitting up, I scooted myself back, away from the doorway directly behind me.

Suddenly, the door crashed in, a man laying on top of it. "WHAAAAAA? Who the hell is that?!" We watched as the man slid across the floor. Orihime stood up in alarm, her eyes wide as she watched the intruder. "Someone broke in!"

"OINK!"

Turning back towards the broken in door, I felt my jaw drop at the enormous pig standing angrily in the frame. "AHHH...looks like I got thrown off my pig again..." The man, his face and head covered with a bandanna and sunglasses, brushed himself off as he stood. The hilt to a sword poked out from behind his back, it was short and squared. "Yo! Long time no see Old Man!" And he was obnoxious.

"Ganju!" The old man suddenly grew angry, he leaned forward to glare at the man now inside his home. "What are you doing here? Return home!" The man waved nonchalantly, an easy smile on his face. "I haven't been here in a while, so I came by, but you're already kicking me out? You're gonna scare your guests away by being so impolite..."

"That's because of you!"

Without warning, the guy turned towards Ichigo, staring at him with a long face. Scowling, Ichigo turned to face him, his own scowl making its grand debut. 'What creepy faces.' "What?" He pulled at his sunglasses, his mouth turning down to sneer angrily at him. Dark eyes covered by thick black eyebrows glared heatedly at the orange head, it was starting to piss me off.

"WHAT THE HELL IS A PUNK ASS SHINIGAMI DOING HERE?!"

I couldn't help it, I started laughing at the completely serious look on that ugly bastard's face.

Ichigo's P.O.V.

"Yo," this ugly dude brought his face closer to mine, glaring heatedly into my eyes. " I asked you a question..."

"What is..." Suddenly, he brought his hand up to slap the side of my face.

"A punk ass..." Slap

"Shinigami like you..." Slap

"Doing in a place like this?"

And all the while, Ashwina laughed in the background, which pissed me off even more. Without a second thought, I punched the guy straight in his ugly face, sending him flying away from me. Scowling, I turned my glare on the laughing girl, who had stopped at the sudden hit. She met my eyes, her smile growing even larger before she broke out in laughter again. "Oh my gods, kid, you can't avoid trouble anywhere, can ya?!"

"WHY THE HECK DID YOU PUNCH ME, DANDELION HEAD?! ARE YOU TRYING TO PICK A FIGHT WITH ME?!"

Irritated and pissed off, I turned back to yell at the idiot, but stopped when Ashwina suddenly appeared in front of me, her cigarette hanging haphazardly from her lips. "I'm pretty sure that's our line, you brain dead dolt. Also," She stepped forward before completely disappearing from sight. "Only I can call him Dandelion head." The guy turned around, his eyes wide at the girl standing only centimeters behind him. "Remember that." Suddenly, she jumped, her foot connecting soundly with his skull, sending him through the wall and into the street.

"Alright," she turned towards me, hand on her hip with the other gently holding the cigarette. "I helped, it's all you now, dude." Smirking, I walked past her and out the hole. "My pleasure."

"So, who the hell do you think you are, suddenly barging into someone's home and picking fights, you pig-riding barbarian?" The guy slowly stood up from the rubble, dusting off his pants. "Don't forget to call him ugly, dandelion head!" I smirked back at the silver haired girl, who was waving her fist out of the hole as she glared at the man.

"You sure are an ignorant shinigami," suddenly, he pulled his thumbs back to point at himself. "MY NAME IS GANJU! SELF-DECLARED 'THE ONE WHO HATES SHINIGAMI MOST'!" And then he lunged, burying his shoulder into my stomach and tackling me into the ground. I could hear Orihime and Uryu calling my name, but they were stopped by, who I'm assuming, Ganju's buddies. They were all riding pigs, so...

Finally, we stopped sliding as Ganju stood back up, screaming at me to leave this place. Lifting my foot, I planted it right over the already imprinted smaller shoe print and kicked him back.

"Enough already, you haven't even heard me out. You can't just go around hitting people," I stood up, rubbing my now sore neck. "Besides, you're not good enough to be my opponent."

"THAT'S TWICE NOW YOU'VE PUNCHED MY HANDSOME FACE!"

"HE KICKED YOU'RE UGLY FACE THE SECOND TIME, GET IT RIGHT YOU MORON!" Ganju glared back at the broken wall, only to turn away in a huff as Ashwina merely smiled at him before giving me a thumbs up. "Take this moron down, maybe it'll improve that ugly mug of his." With that, she turned to face Ganju's goonies, before leaping up and kicking each of them in their faces as well.

"I thought you weren't allowed to throw the first hit?," Uryu asked her, running out of the house with Orihime in tow.

"These thugs ain't shinigami, idiot!"

Suddenly, Yuroichi came dashing towards me. "Stop it, Ichigo! Don't waste your energy on a stupid fight!"

"He started it! You should tell him that," I turned back towards Ganju, he was already up and in a fighting stance. "If you're not gonna leave, it seems that you and I are destined to fight!"

He dropped low, getting ready to charge again. "Shinigami are shinigami, there are no good or bad." With that, he took off, his body picking up momentum with every step.

"HERE I COME SHINIGAMI!"

Suddenly, Chad appeared from inside the house, throwing my zanpakuto across the road. "Thanks, Chad!" I caught it with ease, the hilt fitting naturally in my palm as I swept it down and over. The bandages unfurled, revealing the blade as I brought it up to connect with Ganjo's short blade. "Don't assume because you have a larger blade, you'll beat me!"

"Ichigo, the ground!," Ashwina's warning came to late, the guy had already stomped his foot and pushed my blade deep into the earth. "SINK DOWN!" I watched as in slow motion, the blade became stuck, then my head exploded in pain as I was sent flying away.

"Kurosaki!" I could hear Orihime shouting, and Uryu tried to run forward, but was stopped. "I already told you Wonder boy, have some faith in that kid."

Sliding to a stop, I looked up in time to see Ganju appear in front of me, his leg prepared for another kick. Quickly, I caught the sandalled foot before pulling the shocked man towards me, punching him harshly in the face. "That punch hurt didn't it?" He recovered quickly, bringing his sword down on my head, but I blocked it quickly, grasping his wrist and forcing him to release his blade. With the blade gone, I reared back, sending a strong right hook into his jaw, which catapulted him away.

He stood up, eyes defiant as he wiped the blood from his chin. "That punch...it didn't knock him out?" Suddenly, another presence appeared beside me, and I looked over to see Ashwina landing soundlessly on her toes. "He's not some punk teenager from the living world, spirits have a higher physical limit then mortals." Nodding, I looked back towards Ganju, preparing my body for whatever he was about to dish out.

SHIIIIIIIIII

Ganju suddenly froze. "BOSS! BAD NEWS! IT'S ALREADY 9!"

Completely forgotten on the sidelines, Ashwina and I watched as he turned and ran, yelling to himself about being late. As he ran, he let out a loud whistle. Suddenly, a giant shadow fell over me, since Ashwina had conveniently sidestepped multiple feet, and then another shot of pain rang through my skull before I was sent tumbling forward. Picking myself up, I watched as Ganju mounted his boar.

"OY, DON'T RUN AWAY YOU COWARD!"

"DID I SAY I'M RUNNING AWAY?! WAIT HERE UNTIL I COME BACK, DON'T RUN AWAY LIKE COTTON IN THE WIND!"

And then, they were gone.

"I'm gonna kill him!"

Ashwina's P.O.V.

I looked up at the night sky, watching as the horizon turned to a light orange as the sun began to peek over the mountains. Tossing the chewed up lollipop stick, I jumped from my 'bed' a.k.a. a tree branch, landing soundlessly on the ground below. Yuroichi stepped out from the house, walking slowly towards me as I stretched my arms above my head with a wide yawn.

"So, you're going without saying goodbye."

I nodded once, stretching side-to-side. "Aa, yeah. Figured it be best."

"Well then, Good luck. You know how to reach me if there's any news."

I began to nod again before stopping short, a sweat mark appearing on the back of my head. "Yeah, totally, but will you explain a few things to me?" The cat glared up at me, her tail lashing quickly. "You don't remember, do you?" Laughing quietly, I shook my head. "Sorry, but you should know better then to tell me things when I'm drinking."

Sighing, Yuroichi shook her head before pointing with her tail at the bottom pocket of my cargo shorts. "Kisuke gave you the communication device which will project an image of you directly to my location via the chip he implanted on me." Deadpanning, I crouched down to poke the feline's neck. "You willingly let that creep implant a chip on you? Are you asking to be raped?" A sudden aura of hate and vengeance surrounded the cat as she glared at the sky. "You're not the only one with faulty memory when drunk."

Scratching the back of my head awkwardly, I let out a little chuckle before standing back up. "Alright, well I guess I'll be going now. Keep the kiddies safe." Yuroichi nodded once before turning and walking back towards the house. Sighing, I began walking towards the great walls, digging through my pocket for one last piece of candy.

"Really, you're not even going to say goodbye?"

"Sorry, but I'm not really a fan of goodbyes," I didn't turn around, instead lifting my arm to wave once. "See ya later, dandelion head."

"Good luck, Ashwina."

Going against my better judgement, I turned my head enough to see the orange headed idiot standing behind me, scowling deeply. He looked disappointed, but he'll learn that's a normal feeling when it comes to me. "Aa..." I turned back, blocking those scorching eyes from my mind. "Same to you, Ichigo."

With that, I disappeared, leaving only a small blue cloud in my place. Darkness surrounded me, gravity seeming to take a break as all the dimensional rifts pulled at my being. Then, as suddenly as it occurred, it was gone. Breathing in slowly, I opened my eyes.

I stared at the my surroundings in disdain. White walls with tiled rooftops surrounded me on each side. Looking up, I could see a large tower in the distance, a bridge connecting it to a large cliff. 'Gods do I hate this place.' I started walking, glancing around for anyone who might see me. Seeing no one in sight, I rolled my head, working the kinks out of my neck as I stretched my arms high above my head. The pale flesh of my arms tinted a light shade of blue momentarily before becoming tan, the tattoos slowly morphed, spreading out evenly to become dark tribal markings. I blinked slowly before opening my eyes, noticing everything was now at a taller view point as a chunk of dark red hair landed on my shoulder. Sighing, I reached out my arm, calling the black scythe into existence before it dissipated into black smoke, reforming as a normal sheathed zanpakuto. I stared at the sword disdainfully before sliding it into the obi around my waist.

Walking forward, I adjusted the wooden armband around my bicep, swearing at it for not staying straight. "How the fuck do they keep these things so straight?!" Suddenly, a small shinigami ran past me, her brown hair whipping around her face. She waved once, a small blush on her cheeks. "Ohayo, Abarai-fukutaicho." Waving lazily, I smiled back at the girl. "Ohayo!"

3rd Person P.O.V.

Renji Abarai, lieutenant of the sixth division, prided himself on thinking he was a fairly observant and smart man. He had worked his way up from the lower districts of the Rukongai, achieved Shikai in a decent amount of time, and now was a lieutenant in his own right. That didn't happen to someone who couldn't hold their own in many aspects. He, however, could not for the life of him figure out why everyone was staring at him with such weird confused looks on their faces.

"Ohayo, Abarai-fukutaicho?"

There was another one, her face was lit up with confusion as she looked at him before glancing behind her a few times as if looking for someone. Grunting, he nodded his head before hurrying past. With a quick knock, he entered the division office to see Kuchiki-taicho at work behind his desk.

"Ohayo, Kuchiki-taicho."

He bowed once before sitting behind his own desk. A stack of papers were already waiting, so he lifted the first one to read over it. It was permission for a un-seated officer to join squad 6. He began reading the information, but a cold shiver suddenly ran down his spine. Shifting once, he tried again to read the paper. Once again, a cold wave of disdain washed over him. Shaking slightly, he looked over to the captain. "Isn't a bit cold toda-"

Cold amethyst eyes pierced his very soul, causing his body to turn to stone in fear. "Abarai-fukutaicho, why are you here?" Kuchiki-taicho was the perfect picture of poise and elegance as he sat behind his desk, shoulders squared with an ink brush held delicately above a crisp piece of paper. His eyes left the frozen taicho to return to reading the paperwork on his desk. "Aa...I'm here to do my paperwork, Kuchiki-taicho." Those eyes froze him in place once again, an electric current flashing in their depths. "I do not remember giving you permission to enter this office after your unruly behavior this morning. Remove yourself from my sight immediately if you do not wish for further punishment."

"WHAT?!"

Peeking a look through the sixth division's window, another Renji Abarai smirked widely at the scene in front of him. "Aww shit, this is too funny. Who knew that guy would be so easy to rile up?" Laughing to himself, he walked away quietly, waving and smirking at the many greetings he received.

Ashwina's P.O.V.

Earlier That morning

Yawning widely, I sluggishly made my way towards the sixth division's office. Sleeping in a tree was a lot more difficult then t.v. made it out to be. There was a cold reiatsu just barely pulsing from the other side of the door. A small smile lifted at the corner of my mouth as I recognized the robot man's energy. Pushing the door open, I sauntered in with a casual wave as the man raised his amethyst eyes. "Sup, my dude?"

Without missing a beat, I continued to the unoccupied desk before dropping into the seat. Leaning back, I raised both feet onto the desk and rested my head back. A large belch escaped my lips, and I sighed contentedly afterwards. Silence met my ears, but I could just feel the storm about to blow.

"Abarai-fukutaicho."

I rolled my head to the side, one eyebrow raised as I smiled casually at the captain. "What?" His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, an elegant frown on his face. 'This guy...is too much like that old bat...'

"Exactly, what do you think you are doing?"

"Showing up for work, dude, what's it look like?"

There was only a minuscule twitch in his eyebrow that revealed the sheer magnitude of his irritation. Slowly, with the practiced elegance of a woodland fairy, he placed his ink brush back onto his desk. "If this is retaliation due to your feelings about Rukia, I will not overlook them. I will warn you to think carefully about your actions before I issue a suiting punishment."

Yawning widely once again, I waved a lazy hand at him. "Come on man, get the stick out of your ass and lighten up a bit. Oh, I know!" Smirking widely, I reached into the top of my uniform before pulling out a magazine. Tossing it, I watched as the magazine flopped onto the desk, scattering paperwork everywhere. A naked woman smiled teasingly from the cover, her hand held up in a come hither motion. "Bet that'll help ya release all that tension, am I right man?"

"Abarai-fukutaicho," his voice was almost strained as he merely brushed the magazine off of his desk with the butt of his brush, it plopped into the waste basket. "I would advice that you leave immediately. You will clean the barracks, kitchen, every bathroom, and will not return until you have repented on your actions and have my permission." He then pointed at the trashcan, igniting it with a sudden blast of lightning.

"Sheeesh, I was just trying to help, man. What's with the all this mega hate?"

"Your pay has been suspended for one week."

"Man, stop sipping on all that haterade! She was cute, wasn't she?"

"Three weeks," he lifted his eyes, piercing my own. "Leave now, or else..." His hand lifted, aiming one finger towards me. Blue electricity danced on the tip, crackling the air around it. "Yikes, dude, fine." I stood up, making my way towards the door before glancing back. "She was pretty cute, though, huh?"

ZAAAAAP

Present

Laughing to myself, I continued on my way through the street of the Seretei. Many shinigami stopped to bow respectfuly, offering many polite greetings. I waved lazily to each one, but man, this was getting pretty annoying. How does that baffoon put up with this all day? Turning down another street, I passed by a large gateway with a bold '9' on the top. There were a bunch of shinigami running around here, it was absolute chaos.

"Ah, Renji-san!"

Stopping, I turned to see a tall man with dark spiky hair approaching him. He had three long scars over his right eye and cheek with a '69' tattooed on his cheek. "Ahh...sup?" A sweat drop formed on the back of my head, realizing how difficult this would be without knowing anyone's name. He didn't seem to notice the slip, though, his eyes presumably focused on all the other shinigami running around. "Hey! You four, get over to the North gate!" The shinigami froze before bowing deeply and shunpoing away. 'Ah, so he's a lieutenant as well...' I noticed the armband tied securely to his bicep as he turned to yell to another group of shinigami. 'I gotta be careful around this one. He seems to know Renji pretty well.'

"Anyways, Renji-san, I was told to let you know that there will be a lieutenant's meeting today during the captain meeting. It probably has to do with the gate opening." I nodded once, bringing my hand to my chin. "Aa, yeah I did hear about that. Do they know who the intruders were?" The guy shook his head, his eyes serious as he frowned at me. "No, all they know is that they defeated Jidanbo and after that, Ichimaru-taicho forced them back into the Rukongai."

'Good, it doesn't seem like they know I'm here yet. Which buys me a little more time before he comes looking.'

"Anyways, I'll let you get back to your work. See you at the meeting, Renji-san." With that the guy walked away, already focused on ordering the other shinigami around. I nodded to myself before realizing a very familiar energy was moving in my direction. Looking around once, I jumped to the farthest away rooftop. Landing quietly, I leaned down beneath an overhang to watch as my 'twin' came walking down the very same road I had been on. His head was hung with a large depression cloud overshadowing his entire being.

He walked until he reached the squad 9's entrance way, letting out a shout and wave to the man I had just spoken to. "HEEEEY, HISAGI!" Confused, the guy waved slowly in return, his eyebrows raised up in an unspoken question, before turning back around to his squad. Tick marks appeared above the original Renji's head as he looked, shocked and angrily, at his fellow lieutenant.

"WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT?!"

Smirking to myself, I let his image fade away from my body. "Well, I've had enough fun with him, time for a new look." There was a small flash, my skin tinting blue momentarily before lightening to a paler complexion. Stretching once, enjoying the lankier build, I leaped down from the hidden shadow in the rooftop, before casually walking away from the ninth division.

"Yoo-hoo, Hisagi!"

Turning my head quickly, I watched as veeeeery blessed woman with strawberry blond hair waved as she walked in my direction. "Ohayo." Pouting, the woman suddenly pulled my face into her well endowed chest. "Don't be so cold, Hisagi-kun. Let's go out drinking! 3"

'Sweet jesus, thank the gods, someone interesting in this horrible place.'

"Sounds great!"

Smiling brightly, the woman began to drag me along, tittering away about some fantastic bar she had found the other day when she had been skipping out on work. Laughing obnoxiously, I nodded along the her story, keeping a wary eye on the ninth division gateway as we drew closer to it.

"Hey, Hisagi, are you feeling alright? You don't seem to be yourself today." Pausing mid-laugh, I frowned over at the woman. 'Seems I over exagerated his personality type...she's more perceptive then I originally thought.' Shaking my head with a small tilted smile, I looked back towards the gate. "I'm just stressed from all this crazy intruder stuff. They have me ordering everyone around, and no one wants to do what they're supposed to. It's starting to get a bit overwhelming, honestly."

"Really? You don't seem like the type to get overwhelmed so easily."

"Aa, really?" I could feel a sweat drop slowly forming on the back of my head as I rubbed it anxiously, trying desperately to find an answer to get this chick to back the fuck off already. Without warning, her face appeared extremely close to mine, her large blue eyes boring intense holes into my skull. "Hisagi..."

"MATSUMOTOOOOO!"

Leaping back quickly, the woman suddenly released me from her grip. "Ah, taicho sounds pretty mad. Looks like I'll have to rain check with you on that drink, Hisagi-kun. Don't overwork yourself! 3"

Waving quickly, the girl jumped away, before shunpoing over the rooftops. "Aa, yeah. Rain check..."

Glancing around quickly, I started walking in the opposite direction, my form morphing into a less known body. Turning down the road quickly, I passed by a small window, and a petite, brown haired plain looking shinigami stared back. Smirking once, I continued down the road towards a large group of shinigami. The gateway reading a large '5'.

3rd Person P.O.V.

Typing filled the dark room, the only light coming from a large computer screen at the very end of the hall. The tapping halted momentarily, a deep chuckle permeating the silence. The screen showed three frozen videos of a blue skinned girl with silver hair in separate locations around the Seretei. Three separate screens showed Renji Abarai, Hisage Shuuhei, and an unseated officer known as Rin Kuzuchi in the same exact locations only seconds after the girl.

"Oh-ho, Taicho will be highly interested in this."

The figure tilted his head slightly, revealing a large thin grin. His finger tips rested lightly against his chin as if in thought. "But..." Another sequence of taps resounded quickly as all six images suddenly disappeared.

"Surprises are much more fun."

Giggling, the figure continued to type, focusing instead on the group of human teenagers entering Kukaku Shiba's residence. Zooming in, the video paused on a blown up image of the orange haired boy, his face serious as he conversed with the others in his group.

"Gin, what are you doing?"

Spinning around quickly, the silver haired captain waved enthusiastically at his visitor. "Yare yare, Tousen-san, you sure know how to sneak up on people. Scaaaaary."

The dark skinned man frowned, his sunglasses reflecting the image of the computer screen. "Aizen will be displeased if you are doing nothing but playing, he gave you a job to do."

Waving lazily again, Gin returned to the computer, his smile stretching slightly. "I am, I am; I'm gathering information like he asked, now run along. Sightless eyes have no use for watching videos."

The tapping resumed, echoing once again throughout the dark room as Tousen stared unseeingly at the screens. Frowning deeply, the blind man turned and walked away, but stopped at the door. "Ichimaru-taicho, I would deeply suggest you do not play games with Aizen-sama. He knows much more then you seem to think." With that, the man was gone, the door sliding closed without a noise behind him.

"I know that better than anyone," Gin brought up the video again, revealing a blue skinned girl, ducking on a roof with a smirk on her face. It disappeared suddenly, a trashcan icon blinking rapidly in its place. "I know that better than anyone."

Alright, Chapter 5, now onto Chapter 6! Please let me know your thoughts, concerns, yada yada

Ghostdoor out baby!