Hey there, guys! I have come back with the latest chapter of the story. I already had it typed up during the time I didn't have internet and was waiting for the perfect time to post it. I think that now is acceptable. This chapter has to do more with giving hints about their plans for the mystery guy. Also, two of our favorite youngsters make an appearance with some delightful news. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoy it!

Chapter 4

I was a little surprised about the fact that my mind hadn't shut down from the shock of Ichigo's words. Instead, my thoughts were racing as I analyzed every detail that I had received so far. I knew this guy was fast and he had a strange ability with his blade, one that could suppress a person's Soul Reaper powers. He could also move so fast that not even Ichigo could see him move. This guy had to be strong and the one thing that bothered me was the fact that there was a good chance that he was a part of a group.

"You should have said something earlier, Ichigo," I told him sternly, pushing down the sudden urge to punch him a second time. "This was a very important detail that should have been shared right from the start."

"I'm sorry," he said softly, avoiding my gaze. He wouldn't say another word to me and I began to feel bad for the way I had treated him already. With a sigh, I sank to my knees in front of him as he watched me cautiously out of the corner of his eye. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sure your jaw hurts," I said. "I've got a wicked right hook. I'm going to heal it for you as an apology."

I lightly placed my hand on his jaw, a warm glow appearing around the palm of my hand as I healed him. He was still acting on edge around me, but I could understand why. I hurt him to get the answers I wanted, regardless of the fact that he didn't want to reveal what he knew just yet. When I was done healing him, the swelling going down and no longer looking bruised, I decided to do the one thing that was extremely rare for me. I moved closer and gave him a comforting hug, startling him just enough that he jumped in surprise.

"What are you doing now?" he asked nervously. "I don't want to be killed if Toshiro sees this."

"I'm hugging a good friend who looks like he needed one," I said kindly. "You've been through a lot already and I just wanted you to know that you're not alone. You've got friends that will help you in any way they can. If it makes you feel better, I have an idea about how to get this guy."

"How? He doesn't appear unless he wants to."

"He's gone after an Arrancar and now a human. He'll be coming after a Soul Reaper next and we'll be waiting for him."

"You're not going to use yourself as bait, are you?" he asked me suspiciously.

"Of course I am," I said with a grin. "All of us are going to give off enough spiritual pressure to draw him out. Then we'll find out what he's really made of."

"You're going to fight him," he whispered in disbelief.

"Fighting someone is the only true way to find out about them. I'll discover his secrets faster that way, especially since time is not something we have anymore. Tier Harribel is getting restless."

Just as I pulled away from him and stood up, I could feel a gateway open in the park. I could feel the presence of two new Soul Reapers and with a groan I realized who they were. I pulled Ichigo to his feet and led him back to where Toshiro was waiting. I could hear excited yells before there were two horrified gasps when we got closer. I saw two small shapes disappear behind trees and I sighed when I noticed them. Toshiro had a smirk on his face as he still sat on the branch, looking over at us as we approached him.

"Your kids are here," he told me. "Apparently, Head Captain Yamamoto had been bombarded by those two because they had something important to show you. He was rather impressed and decreed that you can babysit them. I'm sure they can be of some help and it would be a good training experience for them as well."

"Kids?" Ichigo asked incredulously. "You have kids?"

"Kind of," I said with a laugh. "They're my youngest trainees. Kitsune and Gingka, come on out and meet a friend of mine."

They peeked their heads out from behind their respective trees before hesitantly walking over to me. I saw them look a bit nervous and tried not to laugh at how sheepish they seemed over being here. I pointed at the dark haired one to tell Ichigo that he was Kitsune and the other was Gingka. Then I gave Ichigo a light shove so that he was standing before the two trainees and chuckled at the looks of skepticism they gave him.

"This is my good friend, Ichigo Kurosaki," I told them. "He's the Substitute Soul Reaper that I'm sure you've heard about."

"This guy is one of the Ryoka that invade the Soul Society two years ago?" Kitsune asked in disbelief before turning to Gingka. "Certainly doesn't look that strong to have beaten both Captains Zaraki and Kuchiki."

"Why, you—" Ichigo growled angrily before I cut him off.

"Don't you dare," I told him, glaring a little. "Try to harm them and I'll have to hurt you. Again, might I add."

"It's okay, Lady Imayru," Gingka said with a grin. "We can take him together if he tried. That's what we came here to tell you about!"

"Let's hear it," I told them, smiling a little.

"We've got our Shikai now!" Kitsune shouted excitedly, both of them starting to bounce on their toes.

"That's great, you two!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands once before beaming at them proudly. "Well, let's see them!"

Kitsune stepped forward and pulled his Zanpakuto from its sheath, giving me a cocky smile before yelling, "Tear the Sky, Gingitsune!" The Zanpakuto lengthened by a few inches and turned translucent, almost reminiscent of quartz. There was a long silvery ribbon that looked razor sharp and that looked like a fox tail. The hilt was silver and the guard was circular with a nine tailed fox emblem on it. Kitsune looked so proud of himself that I had to walk over and give him a quick hug.

"Silver Fox, huh?" I laughed. "That's the perfect Zanpakuto spirit for you."

"Thank you, Lady Imayru," he said with a nod of respect. "Your turn, Gingka!"

"Strike, Sutomuburinga!" His Zanpakuto shifted into the form of a lightning bolt, blade itself turning bronze. The hilt was white and light blue and the square guard had what looked to be a white horse with wings.

"Storm Bringer? Interesting spirit, indeed."

"Think you can beat us now, Lady Imayru?" Kitsune asked cheekily, Gingka grinning excitedly as well.

"Guess we'll just have to see," I told them as I reached up to grab Tatsuya by the hilt and pulled it free from the chain on my back. Pointing it at them, I yelled, "Blaze Brighter than the Stars, Tatsuya!" My Zanpakuto erupted into light and dark flames for a few seconds before revealing a black and silver falchion, a royal blue hilt and a silver fang-like guard, one fang curving up towards the hilt and the other towards the blade itself.

"Don't hurt them, Imayru," Toshiro said from his tree branch. "I actually like these two."

"I'll try to keep them safe," I said.

They gave each other confused looks for a split second before readying their stances, eyes blazing ecstatically as they realized that I wouldn't take things so easy with them. I was actually happy to be in a place with a strong limiter on me if I was going to fight these two. They ran at me as fast as they could and I held out my Zanpakuto to block both of their strikes, pushing them back a little before running at them instead. I slashed outward and forced them to dodge me, both of them looking slightly worried now but more determined than ever. They both tried to thrust their Zanpakuto at me and I jumped backwards with a flip, watching their grins get bigger when they thought that they had me on the ropes. I couldn't let them get too brash and so decided to put their fun to an end sooner rather than later, especially since we had things to do still. I still kept it fair and didn't flash step, but I picked up the ferocity of my attacks until they were forced to back away, which I took the chance to side step to their right when they tried to stab at me and held my Zanpakuto close to their necks. They gulped a little in distress and gave me a wide eyed look.

"Sorry, Kitsune and Gingka," I said to them. "I had to make it short. We're in the middle of a crisis and I have a few things to discuss with the task force that are here in the Human World with us. I am proud of you both for obtaining your Shikai."

"Imayru, remember your promise," I heard Ichigo say softly, turning around to see him practically pleading with his eyes. Toshiro looked a little confused and was staring blatantly at Ichigo, but there was nothing I could do right then.

Are you going to tell Toshiro? Tatsuya asked indifferently and I felt him stretch lazily in my mind.

No, I plan on letting him figure out on his own so that I won't actually break the promise I made to Ichigo, I told the dragon before speaking up to the orange haired Soul Reaper. "I won't break it. I promised not to reveal that secret and I have no intentions of going back on it."

He nodded before saying, "The others are currently at my place. My father is keeping them entertained until we get back."

I groaned. "Great, wonder how that's going."

"I'm not looking forward to it either. Anyway, let's head back now and save them. Just be prepared in case he plans an ambush."

"I'm always prepared for it when it comes to your father."

As we headed out of the park, Toshiro told me that Renji had taken my Gigai with him. That reminded me that I was going to need him to create two Gigai for my trainees. I told the others that I would meet up with them at Ichigo's house and if I left now, I could make it there by the time they did. I flash stepped away before Toshiro could say a word but I knew that he would have to stay to watch out for my trainees. By the time I made it to Kisuke's shop, he was already waiting for me out in the courtyard.

"Here again, I see," he said as he sat on the stoop. "What seems to be the news?"

"Well, we've discovered that the mystery guy has already struck in Hueco Mundo and killed an Arrancar, nearly leaving me with the blame," I told him, tapping a finger lightly against my jaw as I thought over everything that had happened so far. "Oh, and let's not forget that I now have formed a temporary alliance with the Espada Queen. We now have two Espada following me around, both of which are standing on the building behind me off in the distance and not doing a very good job at hiding like they are supposed to. They are supposed to be helping with stopping the mystery guy. So far, they don't approve of my nicknames for them."

"Who are they?"

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and Ulquiorra Cifer. I refer to them as kitty and batty."

"Keep that up and you'll end up dead."

"Nah, they're cool with it," I told him, waving off his words. "Besides, they were warned not to cause any harm or allow anything bad to befall me so long as I do the same for them."

"Just be careful. I don't think you want to find yourself burned when you play with fire."

"Please, nothing can burn me," I said flatly before giving him a bright smile. "I came here for a purpose. I need two Gigai made up for two trainees of mine." I lifted my hand up with my palm down until I reached about the height near my ribs. "They're about this tall and really lean, like Toshiro had been a couple years ago. One has shaggy black hair that's kind of short with tawny-gold eyes and the other has short auburn colored hair a shade darker than Ichigo's with chocolate brown eyes."

"Bring them by tomorrow," Kisuke said, nodding decisively. "I can get the body aspect ready by then, but I need to see them in person to make the finishing touches. Now, please take the Espada away from my shop. It's bad for business."

I grinned and flash stepped away towards the building they were watching me from, appearing before them fast enough that they took a step back in surprise. "Hey, kitty," I said to Grimmjow, watching as his face turned red in anger. "I see you followed me. Being sneaky is not your strong suit and neither is it yours, batty."

When Grimmjow took a wrathful step towards me, Ulquiorra grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back. "We have orders to assist in any way possible and to guard you should you need it. We can't defend you if we are too far away. By the way, I am still opposed to that little nickname."

"Yet I didn't think I would be able to find you so easily," I sighed. "Right now, I am asking you not to follow me to Ichigo's place. They'll sense your spiritual pressure right off the bat and immediately assume that you are a threat. Wait until I can discuss things with them first before you can start following me this close again."

"Fine, but don't call me kitty again," Grimmjow growled before they both disappeared into thin air.

"As if that will happen," I huffed to myself before flash stepping away as well.

I made my way to Ichigo's place as quickly as possible, making it there in record time. I was a bit tired from all that had happened that day and wanted nothing more than to curl up in Toshiro's arms so I could fall asleep. As I walked inside the house, I saw a large shape fly through the air towards me. With a spinning kick to the shoulder that slammed him into the wall to the left, I looked down disinterestedly to see Isshin Kurosaki, who looked a bit dazed. I saw everyone come out from the dining room to see what the commotion was and noticed that Ichigo covered his mouth with a hand to stifle his laughter along with his sister, Karin. Toshiro was standing between him and Rangiku with my trainees in front of him, all of them shaking their heads in disbelief.

"It has been over a hundred years," I said wearisomely as Isshin slowly got to his feet. "Eventually, you will learn that it's not so easy to sneak up on me. In fact, it's damn near impossible."

"I'll get you one day," he said with a hopeful smile. "You're more fun to ambush than my own son!"

"I don't know if I should be happy or insulted about that," Ichigo said under his breath to Karin, who nodded in acknowledgement.

"Just let it go. He'll leave us alone for once if you do," she whispered to him.

"If I just let you ambush me, will it be over with faster?" I groaned.

"It wouldn't be the same!" Isshin yelled. "I've been trying incessantly to sneak attack you ever since you'd slink into my Squad just to check up on Toshiro! Not once was I able to and I refuse to allow you to take pity upon me!"

"Wait a minute, what did he just say?" Toshiro asked, looking over at Rangiku.

"You didn't know, Captain?" she questioned incredulously. "You would always ask about why he was covered in bruises whenever you saw him and yet you didn't figure out what happened?"

"I just figured that some woman he was interested in was fending off his advances and I was proud of that woman for doing so," he said to his lieutenant.

"Well, you're half right," Rangiku sighed. "It was during the time where you and Imayru wouldn't speak to each other after that bad fight. She started spying on you from different places in our Squad so that she knew how you were doing and that was how I caught her one day. I didn't say anything but she sensed me coming, telling me to keep it a secret from you. I told the captain and he said that he was going to scare her, discovering quickly that it was going to be a failure right from the start. This inspired him to be even more persistent until he started the sneak attacks. She started kicking his ass whenever she slinked into the Squad and that's why he would always be seen with bruises."

"Why didn't I know about this?" he asked.

"Because you're oblivious," I yelled over to him. "Can I sneak into the kitchen and get some food? I'm starving."

Yuzu gave me a bright smile. "We had just finished cooking five minutes ago and were just about to start eating! You're welcome to eat with us!"

"Alright, I will!"

We all heading into the dining room, Ichigo walking over to his father and dragging him after us so he wouldn't try another sneak attack, and saw all of the food set out for us. I barely even paid much attention for what was there, instead just grabbing a bowl of food and walking out of the way so that everyone else could get their own. I ate what food I had quickly before going back for more, finally noticing the strange looks I was being given for going for seconds.

"What?" I asked, forcing myself to not take another bite yet.

"You usually eat like a bird," Rukia said. "You would always take small portions in case you had to run out for some reason."

"No reason to run out right now," I told her before walking off. "I'm starving!"

"It's because we have two Espada observing the area right now," Toshiro said after swallowing a bite of noodles.

Silence fell like a shroud over the group and I groaned inwardly. This was not how I had planned revealing their presence to them. I looked over at my husband as saw the sneaky look in his turquoise eyes and knew he had planned on doing that the entire time. Most of them just looked shocked, but Isshin had a grim expression on his face. I knew he was about to protest but Ichigo tapped him on the shoulder, shaking his head slightly.

"What does he mean by that?" Ikkaku asked, turning his harsh gaze to mine.

"Tier Harribel, the ruler of Hueco Mundo, has made the decision to form a temporary alliance with us until we can neutralize this threat," I explained. "We have Grimmjow and Ulquiorra here in the Human World and they are going to be assisting us for now."

"In other words, the faster we stop this guy, the faster they can leave," Ikkaku growled. "I don't like the thought of working with the Espada."

"The enemy of your enemy is your friend," Yumichika said softly, making Ikkaku grumble under his breath.

"Still don't have to like it…"

"Deal with it," I said with a sigh. "We all have to do things that are hard and there is no sense in whining about it. Let's focus on finding the guy."

"Why are the kids here?" Rukia asked curiously. Kitsune and Gingka glared at her and she said, "Don't give me that look. I don't mind you being here, I was just curious if there was some ulterior motive behind it."

"They begged the Head Captain to let them come to the Human World to show me their latest accomplishment," I told her. "Now, they're here to get a little experience and we are all going to watch out for them while they are here. I don't want them to get hurt."

"But, Lady Imayru, we're strong!" Kitsune protested.

"That might be true, but the guy we are dealing with could be as strong as a captain, if not even stronger than that. We need to be very careful when dealing with him. If you get injured because of him, there will be hell to pay. By the way, I need to take you both someplace to get your Gigai adjusted. You can't stay here the entire time without one. Trust me, you don't want to be like me that much."

They grinned a little to themselves before going back to eating quietly. Any other attempts at talking to me were met by silence as I did the same, hopping up on the counter where there was some free space and eating in peace. Toshiro and Ichigo came over to stand at my side, both of them watching the other and making me wonder what was going on. I had a feeling that Toshiro was suspicious of him after we had our talk in the woods, so I sent an ember of warmth over through the bond and saw some of the tension ease. He edged closer to me inconspicuously so that my leg was brushing against his side.

"What were you two discussing in the woods?" he finally asked, narrowing his eyes at Ichigo even though he was mostly addressing me.

"It's up to Ichigo to talk about it now. I promised not to say a word to anyone until he felt it was time."

"It's about what happened to you that night, isn't it, Ichigo."

"That's right," he said stiffly. "Imayru is lucky that I told her in the first place. I really didn't want to at all, but after being punched in the jaw I changed my mind."

"So what happened?"

"I'm not talking about it right now."

"Can we not start a fight with me in the middle?" I asked after swallowing a bite of my own noodles. "I'm right here, you two, and I don't want to get involved."

They completely ignored me and went straight to glaring at each other. I gulped down my food so I could focus more on that and not on the tension in the air around me. They both looked very confrontational when I glanced up every so often, but it also seemed as if they were waiting for me to settle it for them since they didn't say a word. I grumbled inwardly to myself before finishing up the last of my dinner, gazing over at them cautiously in case the whole thing exploded around me.

"Are you going to stop staring each other down any time soon?" I asked curiously, setting the bowl next to me. I could see that the others were observing the whole thing and I couldn't say that I blamed them for doing so. Something told me that this was going to be a sight to see.

"Not a chance," they both said simultaneously.

"Are you going to stop being angry with each other?"

"No," they said.

I paused a little as I thought about my words, a devious grin slowly forming on my face. "You know what you two should do?" I stated, watching as both of them turned their heads to look at me. "You should just kiss and make up. It will solve all of your problems."

"Hell no!" Ichigo yelled at the same time that Toshiro said, "Absolutely not."

I heard a few people snickering to themselves and I forced myself not to see who it was just yet, opting to torment the two in front of me for a little while longer. "Fine then. Just hug it out. Make amends."

"Not happening," they said, Toshiro shaking his head and Ichigo crossing his arms.

"I won't allow you to leave until you do."

"What are you going to do about it?" Ichigo said incredulously.

"You really shouldn't ask her that," Toshiro said, sighing a little. "She can probably find a way."

"Do you really want to hug me though?"

"Not at all. I'm just saying that you should taunt her like that," he said just as I snapped my fingers, a column of white fire swirling around us and keeping us in that space. The fire wouldn't burn anything I wouldn't want it to and before long it became invisible except for what touched the floor.

"Now hug and say you won't be so cranky with the other," I said, placing my hands behind me on the counter for support and leaned back with a grin, lightly kicking my feet a little while they dangled off the counter.

"Never," they said simultaneously, both of them using different levels of derision when they spoke.

"Guess you're never going to leave from here then," I said with a shrug before looking over at Rangiku. "Hey, toss me a bread roll!"

"You got it!" she said, her grin already wide at Ichigo and Toshiro's expense. She threw me one that burst into flames once it passed through the barrier and I caught it easily, the fire disappearing into my skin and leaving the roll only toasted. As I took a big bite, Rangiku said, "Guess you know that the barrier works! I doubt you'll get out of there anytime soon unless you just do as she says."

They looked at me in exasperation, slight amounts of misery in their expressions at being forced into this, and it only sent my glee over the situation ever higher. I hopped down beside them after setting the roll down on the counter and threw my arms around their shoulders. "Come on, I'll even be a part of the hug if it will make you feel better! Let's get it over with so you can go off somewhere on your own and curse my existence in your own time."

"I can settle with that," Toshiro mumbled under his breath.

"I'd rather just hug you and not him as well, but I'll put up with it," Ichigo grumbled.

Before either of them could say another word, I pulled them closer together in a hug, both of them immediately wrapping an arm around my waist and hesitantly smacking each other on the shoulder with the other. When I growled threateningly over their guy version of a hug, they quickly hugged in a way that was more appropriate before letting go as if an electrical current was passed through them. They at least stopped glaring, so it was a start. As I let go, Toshiro growled softly and pulled me close to his side, yanking Ichigo's arm off of me in the process and glaring at him once more. I tilted my head back in frustration, shaking my head and staring up at the ceiling for a few seconds before looking at Ichigo.

"I thought I told you a while ago that you shouldn't hit on a married woman," Karin called over to Ichigo, who immediately became flushed in embarrassment.

"I am not hitting on her!" he yelled to his sister when he turned to face her, who was snickering to herself.

"From what I've heard so far, you have been!"

"Let's go," Toshiro whispered in my ear. "There's something we should talk about."

"Can I bring my partially eaten roll?" I asked, chuckling when I saw a look of annoyance pass over his face.

"Yes, you can bring it," he said, sounding slightly irritated as he grabbed me by the wrist after I picked up my roll, leading me away while everyone was arguing about Ichigo. He took me up the stairs to what would be the room we were staying in and led me over to my Gigai. With a dejected sigh, I jumped back into it, barely even having long to adjust to being back inside one when Toshiro led me to the window. After opening it, he led me out onto the roof and jumped up onto the higher portion of the house itself with me in tow.

What do you think he's up to? Tatsuya asked curiously.

If it doesn't have to do with what Ichigo discussed with me at some point, I will be extremely disappointed with him, I told him with a chuckle. Aside from that, I don't have a clue.

I felt him tug on my arm, realizing that he had already sat down on the roof and wanted me to do the same. "You always zone out a lot," he said softly. "Is it because you're talking to Tatsuya during those times?"

"That's right," I told him, sitting down beside him.

"So what are you planning for tomorrow?" he asked me, getting right to the point.

"Well, I'm obviously taking Kitsune and Gingka to Kisuke's shop later. While they're busy with that, I'm going to wander around Karakura Town in search of the mystery guy's reiatsu. So long as I can find something similar to my own that's feral in nature like mine, even if there is only trace amounts of it left, I can track him down."

"Don't try to hunt him, not while we're all in school," he said. "If you want to search for faint amounts of reiatsu, that's perfectly fine. I just want you to wait until we are all there and ready to help should you need it. Stick to our plan."

"Fine then," I sighed in mock exasperation, laughing a little when he pulled me close.

We stayed like that for the longest time until we decided to head down from the roof to our room. With my head on his chest, I fell asleep with ease, thankful for Toshiro always being there for me and keeping my nightmares at bay.