Chapter 11: Deathberry's "Rebirth"

"You don't get it, do you, Kurosaki!" shouted Ishida, all pretense of calm thrown aside in blind panic. "THE MAN WHO CUT ME...IS STANDING RIGHT BEHIND YOU!"

Eyes wide in disbelief, Ichigo had little time to react, and was just able to turn around as Ginjo prepared to stab him.

Ishida fired off a shot quick as lightning, but Ginjo deflected the bolt, his sword raised high before he brought it down...only to be intercepted by Rukia's blade, her snow-white sword trembling against the might of the Fullbring.

"Rukia!"

"Ichigo, quickly! Change into your-"

"YOU'RE IN MY WAY!" roared Ginjo, the follow-up swing blocked, but with enough power behind it to send Rukia flying.

Ichigo had no time to yell her name, as he quickly found Ginjo's blade embedded in his chest, his mouth curled into a sneer while Ichigo slumped to his knees.

"Kurosak-ack!"

Ishida folded like a wet paper bag, a red line carved from his left shoulder to his right lower back. He hit the ground and twitched in agony, while Tsukishima smirked from behind him.

Ginjo let out a cruel laugh, one that got louder as he took in his surroundings. Ragged breathing from Ichigo got his attention, and he turned to regard him.

"Ginjo...why...Tsukishima's power worked, after all?"

Ginjo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it 'worked', all right. Don't get me wrong, though. I didn't become your enemy because he cut me..."

Reaching into his back pocket, Ginjo pulled out a Substitute Shinigami Badge and slapped it onto his Cross of Scaffold. The badge merged with Ginjo's hilt, and formed an ornate skull with a black X on its' forehead.

"I made him cut me a second time, so I would return to my original self." He smirked. "I'll be taking your Fullbring now."

Uryu cursed, pushing up onto his arm as he watched the beginnings of the power transferral. Suddenly, a white circle appeared beneath the two men, and Ginjo forcibly disconnected from Ichigo, leaping back as the circle transformed into a towering pillar of ice.

When the pillar shattered, Ichigo was slumped over, breathing heavily as Rukia landed by his side.

"Ichigo! Are you okay? I'm so sorry! I didn't stop him in ti-"

"R-rukia."

She paused in helping him to stand.

"It's not your fault. I got careless, trusted a man I barely knew because he seemed like my only ally. If I think about it now, it all seems pretty set up. I assumed that they didn't know a lot about Soul Society, but when you think about it, they already knew about a Shinigami Daiko, which few people knew about before I showed up to rescue you. Hell, most of the lower seats thought it was a fake I.D badge, remember?"

She nodded, and picked up said badge. The small blade that had been Ichigo's Fullbring weapon had reverted to his Substitute Badge. The pulse was not as strong as it had been beforehand, but there was still some Fullbring power left in the badge. She handed it to him, and he slapped it to his chest.

Ginjo and Tsukishima regrouped, and were just in time to see the explosion of reiatsu, the vortex of energy parting to reveal Ichigo in his Shinigami garb.

Ginjo's eyes were wide. "Th-that's...impossible."

Ichigo clutched his chest in awe. Rukia noticed this. "Ichigo?"

"M-my Fullbring...what was left of it...merged with my Shinigami powers."

Rukia blinked. Before she could reply, a loud laugh echoed through the air.

"Fullbring? Shinigami powers? Cut the bullshit. You have no powers left, Kurosaki. Remember?" Hefting his blade, Ginjo smirked. "I took them all."

"Just because you look like a Shinigami now doesn't mean your powers are intact, or that they've returned. Besides, even if this woman over here" he gestured towards Rukia nonchalantly "had given you a power transferal, it only worked the first time because you had Shinigami powers inside of you to begin with. But you HAVE NONE!"

"And even IF all of that weren't the case, how could one measly Shinigami's pitiful reiatsu manage to accomplish all that?"

"Because it wasn't her that did the transferal, baka."

Whirling at the sound of a new voice, Ginjo gaped as a massive Senkaimon opened, revealing Soifon, Renji, Toshirou, Momo, and Yuuto, the one who'd spoken.

Shaking his head, Yuuto stepped out of the gate, followed by the rest of the Shinigami. "Honestly, Ichigo. I gave you a simple reconnaissance mission, and-"

A foot to the side of Yuuto's head caused him to soar across the rooftop, before slamming face-first into the side of a wall. He was up in an instant, a large bump on his head as he roared in anger.

"What the HELL was that for?!"

"For giving me this so called, 'simple reconnaissance mission', you lazy jackass!"

"I try to help you out, and THIS is the thanks I get?"

"HELP ME?! YOU TRIED TO PAWN YOUR WORK OFF ON ME!"

"WHY I NEVER-"

"THEN DON'T!"

"THAT TEARS IT! COME HERE, SO I CAN TURN YOU INTO A REAL STRAWBERRY!"

The scuffle began, and sweatdrops were present all around. Rukia palmed her face and sighed, while Hinamori giggled at their antics. Soifon was developing a tick on her forehead, while Toshirou was working on his second. Renji walked over to Rukia, and leaned close to whisper, "You SURE this is the guy you want to date?"

Rukia gave him a blank stare. "I was sure before THIS happened."

Renji nodded. "Good enough."

Tsukishima turned and regarded Ginjo as the fight began moving back and forth across the rooftop, chunks of concrete and various debris flying left and right like some kind of cartoon scuffle. "Amusing, isn't it?"

Ginjo roared with laughter. "I'll say. One thing that Kurosaki has in spades is comedic presence. Probably his only good quality, but it's a doozy."

A resounding THWACK followed by Ichigo being bodily hurled from the cloud of debris ended the fight, the Substitute skidding on his face before he slid to a stop at Renji's feet. The pineapple nudged the body with a toe, before looking towards Rukia and shrugging.

Yuuto emerged from the scuffle with a few tears in his haori, but none the worse for wear.

"Ahh. That's much better. Now that Ichigo has learned the value of teamwork and camaraderie, let's get down to business, shall we?"

Another round of sweatdrops from all present, but they were shaken off much quicker this time.

Renji hauled Ichigo to his feet, where the latter proceeded to dust himself off before unwrapping his Zanpakuto. "I got to thank you, Ginjo. Your training of my Fullbring really gave me a power boost. I appreciate that, if nothing else."

Ginjo sneered. "I told you once already: You HAVE no Fullbring. It's mine."

"HOW UNDERHANDED OF YOU, KUGO GINJO!"

The new voice had heads turn to regard the other Fullbringers, where Giriko stood with fists clenched. "You promised to SHARE Kurosaki-san's powers with us, remember?!"

Riruka's eyes widened. "WHAT?! I NEVER AGREED TO THAT!"

Ginjo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I didn't forget."

Ginjo disappeared, and seconds later, all four Fullbringers gasped as Ginjo's blade cut through each of them. All four tensed, and reiatsu burst from each of them.

Giriko crowed. "This...this is...brilliant...this..."

A small explosion kicked up dust and dirt, which quickly faded as the wind took over, blowing it aside to reveal the four in new outfits, their power dramatically increased from using Ichigo's stolen power.

"This...this is Ichigo's Fullbring power! So much power! It feels as if I've become 20 years younger!"

Yukio scoffed. "You're such a geezer, Giriko."

Giriko's outfit had become much more pronounced, with white armor covering his hips and the upper part of his left chest and shoulder. 9 circular clocks float in a circular position behind him, and his eyestrap gained several gold circular decorations.

Yukio's outfit remained mostly unchanged, with the only real difference being the two metallic gauntlets that reached to mid-forearm.

Jackie's outfit received the most change, with her original Fullbring's scarf now completely covering her upper body, her pants went from being black and white to pure white, and four motorcycle engines appeared on her body, two on her right shoulder, and two on the backside of her thighs.

Riruka's outfit had gained white armor as well, with a broken heart-shaped piece covering her breasts, her once floppy bunny ears now rigid and bent atop her head. Two white armor gauntlets covered her arms up to mid-forearm, and each had two yellow spikes on each end, curving like horns on a bull. A yellow collar and pink tie completed the new outfit.

"Aren't you going to give some to Shishigawara-kun? We should include everyone, Ginjo."

Ginjo turned and regarded Tsukishima with a bored stare. "Nah, it would be far too troublesome if his powers got any stronger than they are. As a matter of fact, when we're done here, make sure to kill him."

Tsukishima's small smile disappeared, and a neutral look overtook his face.

"That's...too bad. I kinda like his power. I think it's interesting."

Giriko stepped forward from the group, arms aloft as he regarded Ichigo's passive look of disdain. "BEHOLD, KUROSAKI ICHIGO. YOU WILL NOW EXPERIENCE, WITH YOUR OWN BODY, THE VERY POWER OF THE FULLBRING YOU SO GENROUSLY DONATED TO US!"

Renji growled. "Don't go boasting off of stolen power, you creep-"

"Renji, it's okay."

He looked at Ichigo, and the orange-haired man nodded. "It's my fault they're stronger. I let my guard down, so I'll take responsibility and take them out."

The rest of the Shinigami watched as Ichigo landed in front of the Fullbringers. Giriko scoffed. "Really, Kurosaki Ichigo. You intend to defeat us all? How narrow-minded-"

In an instant, Ichigo was behind them, Jackie, Yukio, and Giriko falling to the ground with deep slash marks on their chests. Only Riruka was spared, and she turned to Ichigo with wide eyes.

"W-why...?"

He smiled softly. "Because I heard you. You never intended for this to happen, and I believe you."

She frowned, and her eyes became bright with unshed tears.

"Anyway, they are gravely wounded, but I avoided their vitals. They won't die."

"Won't die, you say? How unabashedly arrogant."

"Huh?!"

Ichigo turned around, spotting the bodies of the three Fullbringers crumbling into...pixels?

"It wasn't a case of, "Enemy was Defeated" but rather, "Enemy avoided Attack!"

As soon as the bodies disappeared completely, the three Fullbringers emerged unscathed, Yukio smiling as he rubbed his gauntlet, a small radar dish folding up and disappearing inside it.

"Digital Radial Invaders. This is the power of your Fullbring, Ichigo. It covers the body, and brings the inner power out into the open. That is how my Invaders Must Die was allowed to escape the game console. I can now freely control space in the real world, and create entire separate dimensions with my control gauntlets."

Looking around, Yukio smiled and pressed a few buttons on his gauntlet. "Looks like the players are all in place. Time for a little sparring practice."

First, Renji and Jackie disappeared into a dimensional doorway. Next came Rukia and Riruka. Followed by Hinamori and Shishigawara. Then came Yuuto and Tsukishima. Next were Soifon and Giriko. Even Ichigo and Ginjo got a room. Finally, Toshirou and Yukio disappeared, leaving the entire forest area deserted.

Soifon sighed as she watched Yuuto disappear with Tsukishima. "Damn him for getting the strong one. Can't believe I got stuck with this weakling."

"Weakling, you say? How unsightly for a young lady to be so rude towards her opponent!"

Turning, Soifon regarded Giriko with bored eyes. "Can you hurry up and die so I can go help Yuuto? If you have a sword or something, can you just fall on it? Better yet, I'll lend you mine."

Giriko smirked, showing perfect white teeth below his thick mustache. Reaching up, he tweaked a small knob attached to his armor, the dial clicking as it settled on the number 3. "I suppose an ignorant young girl such as yourself doesn't know what true power is. The likes of you can only be taught through brute force; therefore, I shall grant your request."

Almost immediately, his clothing shredded, the armor kept in place preserving his decency as he grew into a massive, hulking monstrosity, skin turning green as his muscles bulged and expanded grotesquely. He easily towered over Soifon, his hand as large as her entire body.

"BEHOLD! MY TIME TELLS NO LIES ALLOWS ME TO MAKE A CONTRACT WITH THE GOD OF TIME! THE CONDITION OF EACH CONTRACT IS THAT THE SIMPLER THE CLAUSES, THE MORE POWER I'M GRANTED. AS A RESULT, THIS CONTRACT CALLS FOR THE SIMPLEST, MOST BRUTAL STRENGTHENING OF POWER IMAGINABLE! I AM NOW THE STRONGEST-"

*CLICK*

A thin, almost invisible line ran diagonally across Giriko's face, running down his neck and across his chest before ending at his inner left thigh.

Soifon's hand left the hilt of her sword, a hateful look on her face. "Don't preach to me about power, worm. I know a man with TRUE power, and he would never waste his time on the likes of you."

Giriko let loose a gurgling groan of pain, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

"Im...impossible...I am..."

His body split in half, blood and internal organs showering the white room as the two halves of Giriko Kutsuzawa impacted the ground with a tremendous THUD.

Immediately, the bloodied room went up in digital smoke, leaving Soifon in the forest, alone, with a vertically bisected corpse for company.

"I'm the first one out, huh? Fucking perfect."

Ichigo looked around, cocking an eyebrow at the virtual reconstruction of Karakura town. "Neat trick. Can he make a balloon animal next?"

"Hardly. Yukio isn't nearly that skilled."

Ichigo chuckled as he turned to face Ginjo. "So, you and me, huh? By the way, love what you've done with the place."

Ginjo laughed in reply. "Same old Ichigo. Even if you are a worthless Shinigami pawn."

The small smile left Ichigo's face, and he brought his blade to bear. "We gonna talk, or fight?"

"Hold on, Kurosaki."

Ichigo glanced to the side, and saw Ishida stroll up. "Can't let you fight fairly against him, now can I?"

Ginjo whistled. "Two versus one? Guess I better power up, huh?"

Reiatsu flared wildly, erupting from seemingly nowhere and coalescing around Ginjo, the purple flames of spirit energy shooting outwards when Ginjo finished.

His outfit had changed drastically. His black, skin tight suit was covered with white, bone-like armor, a ribcage over his chest and sheath of bone covering his legs up to mid-thigh, a white bone belt wrapped around his waist, bone shoulder pads, bone arm guards, and bone-covered gloves. A white fur collar completed the ensemble.

Ishida was shocked. "Y-you...you're..."

"The First Shinigami Daiko, Kugo Ginjo."

Ishida turned to Ichigo, while Ginjo's eyes had widened. "How...how did you know..."

"Ukitake-san told me all about you in preparation for my mission. When I met you, I couldn't believe that you were the same person. He described you as full of hatred: For the Shinigami, for other Fullbringers, for everyone who'd ever betrayed you."

Ginjo smirked. "You don't know the truth though, do you, Kurosaki? About what the Substitute Shinigami Badge REALLY is, right?"

Ichigo shook his head, getting Ginjo to smirk even more. Yet before he could continue...

"Ukitake-san told me everything."

Mouth agape, Ginjo's eyes were wide as possible. He took a step back, then another. "Impossible. If you knew, you wouldn't...you wouldn't side with them...you WOULDN'T!"

Ishida was stunned. "Y-you knew?"

Ichigo shrugged. "I suspected. Why was I given a badge when it did me absolutely no good? No one knew of a Shinigami Daiko. The first time I used it as I.D only confirmed my suspicions, but I assumed that Ukitake-san had a good reason."

Ginjo growled. "Enough talk, traitor. If you know what they've done, what they're planning to do, and STILL choose to ally yourself with them, I'll kill you with the rest of them."

Toshirou calmly sped down a hallway, avoiding or slicing through pixellated rockets.

"Well, at least we know one of his abilities: To be able to trap people in different dimensions of his making."

"How very accurate! Would you like a few bonus points for being so smart?"

Another rocket shot his way, and his blade passed through it like a knife through butter, the two halves detonating seconds after they were cut. "I think I'll pass."

Turning, he swung his blade and the door behind him was covered in ice, the interior frozen solid.

Laughter made him turn back to face a digital screen. "Don't tell me you honestly though I was in there. Have you completely given up on finding me? We've only been at this for, oh, 15 minutes or so. Do I need to say something corny, like 'That girl's life is in my hands.' for you to power up?"

Toshiro growled. "Such an annoying twerp."

Rukia blinked at the comment. "You DON'T want to fight?"

Riruka nodded, looking off to the side. "That's right. You're a friend of Ichigo's, right? I wouldn't want to harm someone whom he cares about."

Rukia wanted to say she COULDN'T harm her, but if she could avoid a fight altogether, that would be much better. So, swallowing her pride, she put on a nice smile-and-nod routine.

"Yes, that's right."

Riruka nodded, then managed to get closer to Rukia, so close that she felt her personal space was being invaded. Riruka leaned forward and whispered into her ear.

"Sorry about this."

Before she could react, two yellow spikes slammed into her chest, Rukia's gasp of surprise echoing as a bright green light enveloped the room, before Riruka vanished. Eyes closing, Rukia fell to her knees before slumping to the ground, unconscious.

Yuuto sighed, gazing up at the night sky.

"You honestly think you have time to stare at the moon?"

Turning, Yuuto grinned. "Actually, I was thinking."

Tsukishima smiled. "Thinking? Of what?"

Yuuto smiled back, drawing his blade. "That you're incredibly lucky to be my opponent."

Tsukishima's smile turned into a frown. "Really? How so?"

Yuuto shrugged. "Oh, you know. If you'd fought Ichigo, he would have held back out of the possibility that he could convince you to undo the damage you've done to his friends and family. Soifon would have considered you beneath her, and would have possibly lost because of that. By the way, I'm working on her personality. It's a tough slog, but it'll work out."

Tsukishima's grin returned. "And you? What makes you so special?"

Yuuto replied with a grin. "I won't hesitate to kill you, and I know that you're a fairly dangerous opponent, with that nasty little ability of yours. So I'll be careful, but ruthless."

Tsukishima smirked. "You make it sound as if I can't even TOUCH YOU!" He swung his blade, but it was blocked easily by Yuuto's left hand, not a single scratch appearing on his skin.

"I think..." he began, while Tsukishima looked on in growing concern as black reiatsu built up around Yuuto, "that you and I are going to have a Hell of a time."

Chapter 11 is up, and we're getting near the end of the much-shortened Fullbring Arc. Made some radical changes, and I like where it's going. Like, Favorite, Follow, Subscribe, etc. If you don't, Rabid Warbot Monkeys From The Future will break into your house at night and wreck up the place! Muwahahahahahaaah!

Anywho, do any of the above which you want to, and have a good rest of the day.

-Sgt. Assassin