White Sun Rising: Ultimate Rewrite Edition

Chapter 3: Through the Fire and the Flames

Back in Karakura, Ichigo's closest friends (Tatsuki was closer then Chad and Orihime, but they were the closest non-family members he knew, so it stood) arrived at the Urahara Shoten, and waiting for them was the man who owned the place and the woman that they knew as Yoruichi Shihōin, with the arrogant-looking Uryū Ishida looking at Yoruichi like she kidnapped him. She probably did. "Ah, customers! I'm sorry, but-"

The yellow-eyed woman slammed her fist on his head, shutting him up. "Shut up, Kisuke. Come in, children: we have something we need to talk about." Yoruichi sent a look at Uryū, and Tatsuki smirked as the prick walked in, followed by the larger group. They all saw Ichigo sitting at a low-cut table, and Tatsuki KNEW that look.

"Did Ichigo go crazy again? Because I only remember that happening once."

Urahara, still nursing a goose egg on his head, decided to explain. "Well, that's because it isn't Ichigo. It's an artificial soul."

Tatsuki narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"You see, Ichigo was training here, and while he was taking a break outside, he was...kinda taken to the Soul Society. Kon, here-" Kon waved before staring at Orihime's...impressive bust. Tatsuki's foot interrupted that.

'I'll say sorry to Ichigo later.'

"Well, Kon brought his body back here. I asked you here so I can help you train so you can rescue him and Rukia!"

Uryū turned to leave. "And where are you going?"

"This is none of my business, Urahara. Even if I wanted to help, I will not train with-"

Yoruichi pounced on Uryū, and let out some of her restrained reiatsu.

"That's the reiatsu from a typical unsealed 4th Seat. You think that you can train yourself to take on any shinigami in the Soul Society, none of whom have limiter seals? You couldn't take on a sealed lieutenant: what makes you think you can take on an unsealed one?" Uryū had two choices: relent or have the woman that was currently crushing him with her power continue to do so.

Uryū decided pride was rather tasty, and sighed. "I can't train here. None of you know how to help train a Quincy."

"That'd be where you're wrong, brat." All eyes turned to find a blonde man with a bowl-cut and the Karakura high school uniform.

"Ah, Shinji! You're early!"

'Shinji' scoffed. "Kisuke, we're not all going just because that damned Hollow that ended up in Masaki's soul woke up in her kid's."

Uryū finally stood up, remembering his father speaking about a 'Masaki' once, soon after his mother's death. "Who are you talking about? For that matter, who are you?"

Shinji chuckled.

"Oh, me? I'm Shinji Hirako. And that lady I was talking about was Masaki Kurosaki, who just so happened to be your father's adopted sister."

Uryū was now VERY confused about how this tied in to Ichigo. "Wait, Ichigo's mother was your aunt?!"

Thank God for Tatsuki's knowledge of Ichigo's family. "WHAT?!"

Urahara, meanwhile, was looking at Tatsuki, and gauging her reiatsu levels. 'Low, but higher then most humans, even here in Karakura. And she wants in on the rescue mission, so I'm going to need to find a way to get those levels up.'

He just hoped Ichigo didn't kill him for it later.

"Well, if this drama is over, we've got a team to train!" He looked at Uryū. "And since Yoruichi knows how to train you in what you need, young Ishida, she'll be training you!"

Meanwhile...

Shirayuki was pleased with herself.

The Quincy spirit was broken and wasn't going to be causing any problems for her or Zangetsu anytime soon. Zangetsu, meanwhile, was enjoying this far too much to be healthy.

Then again, 11 years of being chased by someone and seeing them on the ground in pain wouldn't be a bad thing. "Do not enjoy yourself too much, Zangetsu. We still need to contact Ichigo and get him here so we can put an end to this once and for all."

She glanced at the unconscious Quincy part of Ichigo's soul.

"Otherwise, this will simply begin again, and I doubt you want that."

Zangetsu looked horrified at that. "Fuck no!"

Shirayuki had to agree with her fellow spirit's sentiment, although not his words. Fighting Quincy Zangetsu was the hardest thing she'd ever done.

She didn't want to ever again.

July 21st, 2002, 1716 hours: en route to 6th Division cell block, Seireitei, Soul Society

Ichigo, escorted by Ukitake and Kyoraku, walked within the halls of the 6th Division, privately enjoying snubbing Byakuya just by being there.

If he could pick his favorite captains at this point, Kyoraku and Ukitake were definitely them. Easy to get along with, kinda approachable and more understanding then the rest of them.

He still had the feeling that they were also not to be screwed with.

"So, how is Rukia doing?"

Ukitake shook his head. "Not well. She's highly-"

Ukitake started coughing and began to collapse, and thanks to his instinctual desire to protect, Ichigo rushed to his side to support him. "Are you OK?"

Ukitake spat out a small amount of blood, but nodded. "It happens."

Ichigo was confused. "Wait, don't you have doctors here? Uh-"

Ukitake understood his confusion. "Unohana doesn't know what it is. I sometimes have coughing spells."

"Sounds like tuberculosis or something."

Ukitake looked at Ichigo, now curious. "Excuse me?"

Ichigo sheepishly chuckled. "Uh, it's a decease in the world of the living. Easily curable with the right medication, though."

Now Ukitake was confused. "Really? The last I heard, humans used herbs for medical reasons."

Ichigo sighed. "Some do, but we've got better medicine nowadays."

Kyoraku chuckled as he helped Ukitake to his feet. "Things change down there quickly, don't they?"

Ichigo didn't respond, as Shirayuki decided to pay him a visit.

'Ichigo, we...have a situation in here.'

All three continued walking down the hall, and Ichigo only responded a few seconds later.

'What's up, Shirayuki?'

'It is a complicated story, but to make it short, you have a VERY chaotic soul.'

'Not sure whether or not I should be insulted.'

Shirayuki didn't respond. Instead, another voice piped up.

'Oi, K-er, Ichigo! We're gonna need you in here when you've got the time!'

Ichigo's eyes widened before he blinked. 'Uh, who's the new guy?'

'New guy?! I've been here longer then she has!'

Shirayuki decided to play mediator.

'Both of you, stop. We do need you in here as soon as possible, otherwise we are going to have a small war on our hands.' Ichigo wanted to sigh, but that would've attracted unwanted attention.

'I hope you have one hell of an explanation for this, Shirayuki.'

They arrived at the cell, although Ichigo and Kyoraku were gestured to remain out of Rukia's line of sight.

"Rukia, how are you?"

"Captain Ukitake?"

Ichigo blanched at the depressed tone she had.

"I have someone who wants to see you, Rukia."

"If it's Renji-"

"Oh, no. It's someone I think you'll want to see."

Rukia now sounded perplexed. "Who?"

Ichigo finally gave in and ducked his head into her line of sight, smirking at her. "Me, midget! What, you thought you could get rid of me that easily?"

Back in Karakura

The training session were as follows: Uryū was working with Yoruichi while Orihime and Chad were being taught by both Tessai and Shinji. Tatsuki, who needed more work then all three combined, (but seemed to have the unbreakable will Ichigo had) was being handled by Urahara and a short blonde in a tracksuit by the name of Hiyori Sarugaki.

Urahara had given her something that would let her absorb reishi and reiryoku into her body as quickly as possible without killing her, and now both were firing at her with kido attacks. Well, kido in Urahara's case: mostly low level spells like Sho and Byakurai. Hiyori was blasting at her with the Hollow equivalent, the ubiquitous cero.

Tatsuki used her skills honed via martial arts training to avoid most of the shots, although she was missing the lower half of her top and the upper half was in tatters, barely covering her.

Not that it mattered: Tatsuki was going to knock Urahara's head off.

"Hey, girly!"

She spun around to see Hiyori behind her, charging at her with sword, (she corrected herself by calling it a zanpakutō) ready to hack her in half. Tatsuki narrowly dodged a strike meant to cut her head in half. "Hado 32: Ōkasen!"

Tatsuki lost her footing dodging the yellow sideways beam of weaponized reishi, falling to the ground and destroying what was left of her shirt. Other then the sports bra she wore underneath, she was practically topless.

But any embarrassment could wait until Urahara was nursing a few broken bones. She subconsciously channeled reiryoku into her hands and feet: a kind of bootleg shunko, as Yoruichi would later note. She charged at Urahara, who was clearly surprised at Tatsuki's new ability to do that. 'Shit.'

Urahara tried to dodge, but her fist connected with his head, sending him flying back a few feet. And by 'few', read 'thirty and unknowingly into the same boulder that gave him third-degree burns less then six hours earlier'. Didn't mean she wasn't happy about that, though.

Meanwhile, Chad was using that new arm armor of his to launch a sort of energy attack at Shinji, who dodged and returned fire with a cero. Sado knew he couldn't dodge, so he used his arm as a shield. Thankfully, his power's Hollow-like properties allowed him to partly absorb the attack, allowing it to evolve slightly. It changed from the form it first appeared in to something more compact, although the shoulder extension had fused into one piece that was long enough to put it above his head. The white designs were gone, and the magenta-colored pattern became more intricate while the color itself was slightly lighter.

The extension split and Chad launched a more powerful attack at Shinji, who had a harder time dodging the blast due to its' size and speed. "Bakudo 81: Dankū!" Shinji quickly formed a barrier against the attack (it wasn't as powerful as it could've been, but some protection was better then none) and avoided harm. Chad was on his knees, but it was better then being out cold.

"El...Directo. That's what that attack is called."

Shinji could ignore the Hollow-like name of the attack: he knew, to a point, what Sado's power was.

He was improving on the stamina front. Another few days and he'd be able to handle a few dozen seated officers.

Orihime, meanwhile, was doing her best to deflect hado blasts that Tessai was shooting at her, and she was doing a fair job of it, as Shakkahō and Sōkatsui were just not getting through her Santen Kesshun shield.

"I applaud your defenses, Inoue-san, but you cannot stay on the defensive forever! You must attack!"

Orihime, on the other hand, was too scared of her only offensive attack, Tsubaki's Koten Zanshun. She would have to be creative, as killing Tessai was not on her to-do list.

Tessai, on the other hand, was ready to go on the offensive once more with one of the most powerful kido attacks in his massive arsenal in order to force Orihime to go on the offensive.

"Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky. The road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders. Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, grey fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and cleanly when fired!" Ten bolts of spiritual pink energy appeared around Tessai. "Hadō 91. Senjū Kōten Taihō!" Orihime paled at the attack coming toward her, but her will was ironclad. She had an idea.

If she couldn't attack without harming the target irrecoverably, she would turn her enemy's attack against them.

"Shiten Kōshun, I reject!" Hinagiku, Lily, Baigon and Tsubaki launched out from her hairclips and formed a sort of pyramidal barrier around her, which absorbed the attack. And due to Tsubaki's offensive abilities, it was reflected back at Tessai.

'Son of a-'

The attack hit him instead, and Tessai screamed in pain for a moment.

Orihime blinked confusedly in her ditzy sort of way. She quickly rationalized it away. 'Technically, I didn't harm him. He harmed himself.'

With Uryū, training was a bit of a bitch.

Mostly because of Yoruichi's speed. She couldn't train him in the use of Quincy techniques (both of them knew that) but she could train him in refining his Hirenkyaku, as shunpo was used in more or less the same manner.

But if anyone could say anything, it was that Yoruichi was much better at shunpo then Uryū was at Hirenkyaku. She at least ten times faster then he was, and Uryū knew she was holding back.

Despite that, Uryū just couldn't get her in his sights long enough to get off a shot.

Of course, this was a modified version of tag, and Yoruichi would allow him to shoot at her as long as he kept up his speed.

She, of course, had to touch him, but considering the speed difference, Yoruichi was actually going easy on Uryū.

He was improving, however, although not at the speed Tatsuki and the others were.

Still, they would, all of them, be ready to rescue Ichigo and Rukia by the week's end.

Back in the Soul Society

Rukia Kuchiki could say she was used to the unexpected.

When she was forced to make Ichigo a substitute shinigami, she thought quickly and decisively.

When she realized that she was going to be executed, she was depressed (mostly at Ichigo's death) but resolute, accepting her fate.

But seeing Ichigo Kurosaki alive and well, in the Soul Society?

That was a shock she was not prepared for.

She tried speaking, but only things that sounded like words escaped her mouth.

In short, her thought process was 'Wha...?'

Ichigo, meanwhile, braced himself as Rukia's mental OS rebooted.

'Eardrums, brace for impact.'

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

All parties winced at the yell that escaped Rukia. It was always surprising how someone so small could be so damn loud.

She then remembered the other visitors, those being her captain and 8th Division captain Shunsui Kyoraku. She flushed in embarrassment before slightly bowing in respect to both before returning her glaring gaze to Ichigo, who was checking his ears for bleeding associated with broken eardrums. "Sheesh, no need to yell, Rukia."

Rukia's temper flared slightly for the first time in four days as she walked to the bars of her cell and grabbed them while glaring at Ichigo. "Why. Are. You. Here?"

Ichigo's answer was just like him: straight to the point. "I'm here to rescue you, Rukia."

Both captains looked at Ichigo, with Kyoraku raising an eyebrow. "Legally! If I wanted to break her out, coming here with two captains would be suicide!"

Rukia was tempted to facepalm.

Ichigo was not subtle, so why was he trying the legal way to get her out of this? Better yet, why were they even letting him try?

At this point, Rukia finally noticed what was wrong with this picture.

The massive sword on Ichigo's back was gone. Instead, Sode no Shirayuki, in her sealed state, was hanging from his belt.

"Ichigo..."

Ichigo finally noticed the staring. "Oh. Yeah, she's still here." He was slightly embarrassed now.

But Rukia was more ashamed. "I ruined your life. If I were any better, you would still be a normal human."

'She's being stupid. I might not've wanted this at first, but she gave me a gift, not a curse.' 'Smooth, Ichigo. Now tell her that, then get your ass in here!'

Ichigo scowled at the voice of the other, but it had a point. "Stop being an idiot, Rukia. You gave me a gift. Now I can defend my friends and family when Hollows go after them."

Rukia tried to argue with that, but Ichigo suddenly grabbing onto one of the the cell bars stopped her. "The Hollows would've found me eventually. You saved my life, now let me return the favor, damn it!"

Ichigo was not going to let her die. Stubborn, but that was Ichigo for you.

"You know, I think it's time to go, Ichigo." Ichigo glanced at Kyoraku, nodding.

"I'll be back later, Rukia." The group left the cell block, not noticing a trace of black reiatsu enter Rukia's hand.

Neither did Rukia, for that matter.

13th Division barracks, Seireitei, Soul Society, 1745 hours local time

Ichigo entered the former quarters for the 13th Division's deceased lieutenant, Kaien Shiba.

The two third seats said something about irony, as Ichigo looked a LOT like him. ("It's like Kaien-dono never left!" "Shut up, Kiyone! It's more like Kaien-dono took a long vacation and just came back!")

After yelling at them to shut the hell up, they paled and ran off, screaming something about Ichigo acting just like Kaien at that moment. He walked over to the bed, not comfortable using someone else's bed, even if they were dead and wouldn't technically mind. He laid himself up against the wall, entering his inner world at will.

When he opened his eyes, he discovered that his cityscape was having a bit of a snowstorm.

"Well, at least it's not rain."

"Amen to that, King!"

Ichigo spun around, facing a whitewashed copy of himself in a matching shihakushō. Shirayuki stood off to his left, casting a glance at a small icy dome a few meters away. Ichigo blinked three times in confusion.

"That's kinda creepy. Why does my zanpakutō look like me?" The clone scoffed. "Not like I chose to look like this!" Shirayuki, again, decided to play mediator. "That's enough, both of you. We have larger problems to take care of." Ichigo's nameless zanpakutō snapped his fingers. "That's right! Hey, can you hear my name?" He spoke his name, and while Shirayuki heard Zangetsu's name as clear as a bell, Ichigo once more had the feeling of wax in his ears.

"Sorry, but no."

Shirayuki sighed. "My presence is responsible for that. I am still technically Ichigo's primary zanpakutō. But that is not the biggest problem-"

The dome cracked, and all glanced at it. "Shirayuki?" "THAT is the biggest problem."

The dome exploded, and a tall man dressed in black emerged from it. Ichigo and Zangetsu drew their respective swords, the former releasing Shirayuki's shikai in the process.

Shirayuki herself saw that they were clearly in sync despite not knowing one another's name nor wielding the same blade. The man noticed Ichigo's presence for the first time.

"I was hoping to avoid this, Ichigo."

"I should really be surprised that you know my name." The spirit extended his hand, expecting a sword to appear in his hand.

It didn't. "I beat you, asshole: I ain't giving you a chance to try and absorb my mind again!"

"So I have gathered. I am Ichigo's power: it is my right-"

"Like HELL it is!"

Shirayuki stepped in to end the confusion and the coming battle.

"You BOTH are." She looked at Ichigo. "Both of them are two sides of your power. Zangetsu-" She gestured to the whitewashed Ichigo, although Ichigo himself still couldn't hear his name. "Is your zanpakutō, but due to the actions of the other, he was forced to merge with your...Hollow powers."

Her arm then gestured to the black-clad man. "I sensed the same sort of power that that fool Ishida has, meaning you are a Quincy and that he is the embodiment of your Quincy powers."

Ichigo blinked. "What. The. Fuck. If you guys are part of my soul, why the hell are you fighting?!"

The Quincy spirit scowled at that. "I will not allow you to stay as a shinigami. You will be exposed to needless harm."

"Shinigami, Quincy, what the fuck does it matter?! I choose one or the other, I'm putting myself at risk! So stop fighting, damn it!"

The Quincy part of his power was clearly surprised by Ichigo's proclamation, but pressed on. "Then you must choose: the Hollow cretin-" Zangetsu snarled at that. "Or me."

Ichigo chose the option no one thought of, as usual. "How about both, old man? I can't protect anything if my soul's at war with itself. So stop trying to kill Shirayuki and him, or I'll fight you myself." Shirayuki's shikaied blade glowed with power as Ichigo spoke. The Quincy spirit admitted defeat, as he would not and could not go against his master.

"Very well, Ichigo. Unlike him, you do not need to know my name in order to truly use my power. It is yours to command."

Ichigo's veins glowed a light blue at this, and all but the Quincy avatar of Ichigo's power were shocked to see it. "Be warned, Ichigo: this power is yours, but you must learn to control it. When you are truly ready, seek me out." The spirit disappeared, using the Quincy equivalent of shunpo.

Zangetsu fell onto his back, finally relaxing. "Finally: fucker has to leave me the hell alone now. Thanks, King!"

Ichigo sealed his copy of Shirayuki, returning the blade to the sheath. "Why are you calling me that?" Zangetsu poked his head out of the snow. "Side effect of merging with the Hollow. At least I'm not completely crazy and trying to kill you. If Shirayuki didn't show up, that's exactly what he would've done to me!" Ichigo shuttered at that thought.

His soul would be in chaos if that happened. "So, how the hell are we getting Shirayuki back to Rukia?"

Zangetsu snorted as he got to his feet. "Seriously doubt those idiots'll just let us hand her over to Rukia."

Shirayuki bristled at that. "They are not idiots!"

Ichigo gave Shirayuki a look. "He's got a point, Shira. They won't just let me hand you over to her."

Shirayuki's face was marred by a scowl.

Zangetsu DID have a point, rude remark or not. "Then we will need a plan."

"A damn good one."

Whoops, did Ichigo just screw over the old man?

Of course he did. And it's about fucking time someone showed that happening.

Now that we know Hollow Ichigo, whom we've assumed was just the Inner Hollow for over a decade, is, in reality, Zangetsu himself, it's time he got what he deserved: his rightful place as the avatar of Ichigo's shinigami powers.

And the old man just got shafted. My revenge for what clearly happened in canon.

As for the rescue team, it is as follows:

Ichigo Kurosaki (In Soul Society)

Uryū Ishida

Yasutora 'Chad' Sado

Orihime Inoue

Tatsuki Arisawa

Yoruichi Shihōin

Shinji Hirako

Hiyori Sarugaki

The latter two are for support: unless the shit hits the fan, they will not be fighting, meaning they'll be wearing those fancy reiatsu-concealing cloaks Urahara developed.

And you know the shit is going to hit the fan: in my fics, it ALWAYS does.

Wilhelm Scream count: 5

Next Time on WSR URE: The Rescue Team in the world of the living heads out, although they have a...slight setback.

Ja Ne!