A/N Hi everybody! Sorry it's taken me so long to update... life's been hectic! Anyways, this chapter is more of a transitional one, so it doesn't go into too much depth, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!
Sorry if there are any mistakes, I try to keep my posts as error-free as possible, but let me know if you catch one and I'll gladly correct it!

I do not own Bleach, I'm just a fan.

Keep the reviews coming, I love them! Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy the story!


Considering the amount of blood that Chad had lost, the fact that he was still alive was amazing. Then again, Chad is amazing. The sudden appearance of Ichigo and the others was exactly what Chad had been hoping for. Chad nodded a painful greeting to the Ichigo, Inoue, and a stranger carrying Kuchiki.

Since Chad was still alive, it was much easier for Orihime to heal him. The energy she had saved while travelling was enough to not only heal him a bit, but to completely restore his body. She worked quickly and the group managed to move on without any confrontation.

Having gained another person, the travelling pace had to slow down significantly. Flash steps were replaced with running. Rukia remained unconscious in the arms of her former lieutenant—a fact that never left Ichigo's mind—so there was urgency their travels. They ran towards the direction of Renji and Ishida's reiatsu in silence.

When they reached their destination, it was clear that Renji and Ishida were having trouble with their opponent; however with the help of a sneak attack from a very focused Ichigo, the situation was dissolved rather quickly. Not even eating his healing minions could help the dead Espada. Orihime flinched at the extremity of Ichigo's violence, but one look in his eyes kept her from voicing her concern. This is still Ichigo, it's not his Vizard side, so just be happy at that.

Renji and Ishida, injured and extremely tired from their battle, looked through the smoke at their friends. Then, Renji's eyes widened. "Lieutenant Shiba?! Oh my God! Rukia! What happened?" Renji was bursting with confusion and concern. The shock of seeing his formerly dead superior holding his unconscious friend had pushed all the nasty comments he had wanted to say to Ichigo aside.

"Yes, it's me Kaien Shiba. We'll save explanations for later though. Right now, we need to get back to Soul Society and heal Rukia." Kaien looked down in his arms. She was still breathing, but her breaths had significantly weakened since she lost consciousness.

"Abarai-kun, Ishida-kun, do you need me to heal you before we move on?" Orihime eyed them. They didn't look too severly injured, but she wanted to ask—just to be sure.

"I'm alright, thank you Inoue." Ishida dusted off his white Quincy suit and pushed up his glasses "I'm ready to move."

"Nah, I can wait until we go back to Soul Society, I'm not that badly hurt." Renji sealed Zabimaru and eyed Rukia "we should probably move quickly before we get any more company."

"Agreed. Now c'mon, I know the quickest way out of here." Kaien began to run and everyone followed suit.

How is this possible? Renji ran deep in thought. He died. Rukia killed him. Now... Renji looked at the figure of Rukia in Kaien's arms What the hell is going on?! She better be okay. How could we let this happen to her? Then Renji smiled a bit. Heh, I'll bet Kurosaki's pissed. He glanced to his side, and sure enough, Ichigo looked like he was ready to murder someone.

Soon the group reached the portal to Soul Society. Kaien opened the portal, and everyone ran through towards the light, relieved that they were leaving Hueco Mundo alive.