I don't own Bleach, it belongs to Tite Kubo.
"Ahhh," Haruno plopped a spoonful of parfait into her mouth, letting the sweet taste tingle her taste buds. "Mmmmm, so good."
Haruno was sitting at the front bar of Café Hikari, where behind stood Maria who had a pleasant smile after serving the sky blue haired girl a strawberry parfait.
"Glad you like it," Maria let out a small chuckle. "I pride myself in making sure my customers enjoy a nice treat from a busy day, don't you think?"
Haruno nodded, her cheeks full of the soft serve. "I agree, I can feel the love."
"You're too kind."
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(Orihime's Apartment)
"Toshiro." Momo voiced.
"It's you, Hinamori. You woke up." Toshiro said in disbelief.
Momo nodded.
"Oh, is it alright for you to be walking around?" Toshiro asked.
"Yes, I'm feeling alright." Momo assured.
"That's good." Toshiro noted. 'You don't look like you're all better, you dummy.'
"Toshiro, forgive me." Momo muttered. "I'm so sorry, that I…I ever doubted you and I'm sorry, I drew my sword against you. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm really, just such a..."
"Stop." Toshiro cut her off. "I never let that bother me, it doesn't matter just forget about it. Because I know I already, now hurry back to bed, you're starting to get bags under your eyes."
"Thank you so much, Toshiro." Momo wiped off her tears.
"Because, Momo, you know." Toshiro scoffed. "Even though you're older now, you still look like a little kid and children need twice as much sleep as grown ups, or they'll stop growing. Just take a look at Rangiku. You'll have to sleep for ten years straight just to grow as big as she is."
"Shut up, Rangiku is a freak of nature!" Momo complained. "Besides, You of all people shouldn't talk about growing big, Toshiro."
"Momo!" Toshiro snapped. "How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not just Toshiro anymore, I'm Captain Hitsugaya."
"Yes, of course." Momo conceded. "Hey can I ask you something, Captain Hitsugaya?"
"Yes, what is it?" Toshiro wondered.
"Are you going to fight Captain Aizen? Are you going to kill him? Please save him. Don't kill Captain Aizen, please, I know that everyone thinks what Captain Aizen is doing is really bad. But I'm sure he must have a perfectly good reason for doing all this. That's it. If we find the wayward princess, maybe she'll give Captain Aizen what he wants, then maybe he'll return..." Momo hopes.
"I'm sorry." Yamamoto stated, knocking the hysterical Momo out with 'Inemuri ' and letting Lieutenant Sasakibe catch the unconscious Shinigami. "I was trying to respect her wishes by allowing to speak with you but it seems it was too soon."
"I apologize, thank you very much." Toshiro assured.
"Captain Hitsugaya." Yamamoto replied.
The screen turned into static, Toshiro took the moment to see his childhood hasn't recovered and still in a delusional state that Aizen is still a good guy and his actions have reason for doing.
"Aizen." Toshiro tightened his fingers.
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(Urahara's Underground Training Facility)
Chad fired his energy blast at Renji, who proceeded to dodge it by leaping onto another mountain, with Renji already being in his Bankai.
"Poor, Chad! What's the matter?! Are you getting tired?!" Renji taunted, as both of them were located in Urahara's underground training facility.
"No, not at all! I'm fine!" Chad exclaimed from down below, trying to keep up as much energy as possible.
Not too far away, Urahara was watching both of them duking it out, all while holding his fan that shadowed some of his face, remembering how this went down in the first place.
(Flashback)
"Huh, you want me to train Chad?" Renji repeated confused. Who was currently staying at Urahara's Shop and eating some lunch too. "Why the hell, should I?"
"I'm afraid the poor boy won't leave, if we turn him down." Urahara said.
"Your not answering my question." Renji said, looking at the shopkeeper.
"Why shouldn't you help him?" Ririn questioned. "It's not like you have anything better to do."
"Yes, help him." Kurōdo said.
"Show everyone how big hearted you are." Nova adds.
"Hey, idiots. Mind your own business." Renji said then looked back at Urahara. "He asked you, so you should be the one that helps him. There's no need to drag me into this."
"Chad needs to train against the power of a Bankai, in order to get stronger." Urahara said.
"Which is all the more reason, why you should do it yourself, Kisuke. You have a Bankai, don't ya?" Renji questioned.
Urahara had a colorful background and banner above, reading 'Oh Come On.' "Oh stop, while I'm just a lowly-but-handsome merchant. How could I possibly perform Bankai?"
"Look don't give me that lowly merchant lie, Urahara! You used to be Captain of Squad 12 and your the one who created the Hōgyoku. So don't tell me, you don't have a Bankai because I know that's a lie!" Renji yells, spitting out rice everywhere.
"Ew, gross." Ririn said, disgusted by the rice flying everywhere.
"Say it, don't spray it. Didn't anyone tell you it's impolite to talk with your mouth full." Kurōdo scolds.
"Rude." Nova nods.
"Shut up!" Renji exclaims. "Anyway, he asked you, not me. Just leave me out of it."
"He's right, you should do it Boss. Renji would just screw it up anyway." Jinta said. Teasing the older red head. "Since we're saying it out loud, Renji is nothing but a big, fat mocher."
"Yeah." Ururu agrees having a teasing smile.
Ririn jumped on Jinta's shoulder. "I can't think of anything he does around here."
Kurōdo stood between the children. "I think we should make a new rule. Those who don't work, don't eat."
Noba joined Jinta's side. "I absolutely agree."
"Can it! I wouldn't talk if I was you, you guys are in the same boat as me!" Renji argues.
"Actually your a better man at this, than I am." Urahara admits.
Renji seemed surprised.
"To be quite honest, my Bankai isn't the kind that's best suited for training people or helping people for that matter." Urahara admits.
Renji stayed silent.
"Wait, I got it." Urahara closed his fan. "I know how about we do this."
"Huh?" Renji said.
"Look, Renji. You have a lot of questions for me, right?" Urahara said, pointing his closed fan at Renji.
"Huh, yeah." Renji responded.
Urahara opened his fan. "Alright then, let's make a little deal. You do chores for the next three months, nothing major just routine stuff and in return I'll answer any question you may have."
"I wouldn't call being a training partner a routine chore." Renji said.
"Of course, it is. Mopping the floors, putting your life on the line, it's all the same thing." Urahara dropped his cheery tone. "Or you no longer curious..about all those questions you have for me."
Renji groaned, finding himself with no choice but to accept.
(End of Flashback)
Renji swung his snake-like Bankai against Chad, who tried to stop it with his armored arm, except Chad got pushed aside easily before crashing onto a mountain. Chad fired another blast at Renji but he missed by a mile, with the dust clearing itself, Renji could see Chad was panting to which Renji took advantage off as he leaped in the air, swinging his weapon back at the human.
"For all the fuss Renji was making, it sure seems like he's really getting into this." Kisuke commented, still seeing the sparring from far away.
Boulders and small mountains were crumbling down as Chad was running away from the large snake.
"Come on! Running away won't help you get stronger!" Renji yelled out. Chad stopped running before turning around to use his blast to hit the Bankai snake, but Renji turned it around as he was about to hit Chad with it. Chad barely managed to leap high in the air before landing on a cliff.
Chad did a battle cry as he punched the ground beneath him, causing large rocks to fall on Renji which he managed to roll out of the way.
"Hey give me a break?!" Renji exclaimed, moving his arm as his Bankai attacked Chad, giving him a hard hit as he fell down on the ground.
Urahara was watching with keen interest, as he more so focused his attention towards Chad.
'Chad… there's still room for your power to grow.. that much is for sure, and by repeatedly fighting against a Bankai you'll certainly advance to the next level' Urahara thought as he watched the two of them charging at one another. 'One thing concerns me, your power isn't like that of a Soul Reapers..not even a Quincy for that matter, yes it's almost if your power is —' Urahara's thoughts were interrupted by Chad's blast, as it grew much more powerful than before.
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(Café Hikari)
Haruno propped her elbows on the counter, with an empty parafit glass beside her.
"That was filling, Maria." Haruno said.
Maria took the empty glass. "Glad, you like it."
Haruno twisted in her swivel seat, taking in the layout of the cafe. Being nice and cozy while having moderate booths and tables with chairs.
"Your cafe is really nice."
Maria who was wiping the counter down smiled. "Thank you. When designing the cafe, I thought of a cozy cottage, a place where my customers could feel relaxed and unwind from a hard days work or a place for teenagers to hang around."
"Ah. Makes sense," Haruno tilted her head back, seeing Maria upside-down. "I feel cozy right now."
"See. it's working already." Maria said.
Haruno hopped off her seat, "That it is, that it is. Anyway, I'll be going. See ya." Walking out of the cafe.
Maria watched Haruno leave having a thoughtful gaze, Hikari jumped on the counter and Maria offered a head pat.
"Did a good job, Hikari."
"Meow." Hikari meowed then purred.
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Haruno could be seen walking through the large bridge that went across the side towards Naruki City. Other people were seen walking on the side as cars and other large vehicles took the majority of the bridge road.
Honk, Honk, Ho-
Sounds from people chattering and cars honking, ceased in an instant.
"Huh?"
When Haruno looked to the bridge road, instead of seeing cars or people. She found herself in a black space alone.
"W-What is this?" Haruno said confused while staying cautious because she doesn't know what could be lurking in the dark.
The sound of a breeze moved Haruno's hair so slightly, her right tuft wiggling. In slow motion with Haruno looking entirely grey, a lone glowing, white feather passed through then almost instantly everything resumed and the black space disappeared, Haruno's eyes trailed after the feather passing the bridge rails. Haruno immediately ran up to the railings, but didn't see the feather and looking down to the massive river below provided no help.
Pulling back, Haruno was very confused. 'Did I imagine it?' Shaking her head and deciding to return home.
Unaware that small feather was a sign of something approaching.
(Vizards Warehouse Underground)
Ichigo's training for his Hollow mask was underway, the Vizards were on edge considering a Hollow…well no ordinary Hollow, a Vastro Lorde to be exact and Ichigo's Inner Hollow. Shinji along with the others were trying to understand how Ichigo tamed his Inner Hollow without their help.
From Ichigo's answer, 'A white cloak man. He gave no name.'
Which wasn't much help, since Shinji or the others can't really go much on the vague description. They first thought it was a spy sent by Aizen to spy on Ichigo but going the extra mile to place him in a secluded place and help tame his Hollow, sounds like too much work. So that thought was thrown out and on top of that, this mysterious cloak person knew their method and home structure..that being said, could only mean that this cloak person was spying on them without being detected.
'Just great.' Shinji sighs, watching Hiyori train Ichigo train for his Hollow Mask.
The Vasto Lorde, Shiro, from what Ichigo said watched, while throwing insults towards Hiyori to throw her off. Which worked.
As Ichigo was thrown back by a strong blow he forced himself up but his Hollow mask suddenly shattered to pieces, shocking him as he hadn't expected it to burst apart so quickly. Hiyori got in front of him before she kicked him in the chin, making Ichigo roll backwards onto the ground before crashing into a boulder and getting trapped by the ruble.
"I told you not to release your Hollow Form without permission!" Hiyori yelled as her own mask was at the side of her face, running towards the strawberry haired teen.
Ichigo shook off the rocks as he glared at Hiyori. "What are ya, stupid!" He called out.
"Shut up, dumbass!" Hiyori kicked Ichigo in his chin again, sending him through the same thing as before. "Going until your in trouble, is what trouble is all about!"
"What you say?!" Ichigo yelled out as he shook off the rubble again.
"Kingy, don't listen to Snaggletooth. You have a better grasp on your other Hollow abilities while she just has a mask." Shiro called in a mocking tone while perched on a rock formation.
Hiyori stopped in her tracks, pointing a finger at the Vastro Lorde. "Pipe down! If he doesn't have mastery over his Hollow Form than he has no mastery over anything, except being a dumbass!"
Shiro rolled his eyes behind his mask. "Jealous Snaggletooth?"
In response Hiyori kicked Ichigo away again.
"Well they're getting along swimmingly..." Rose said sarcastically as he saw the training from afar, sitting on a boulder with Love right next to him.
"Oh yeah..." Love commented with amusement in his tone, as he held a bowl of rice in his hand.
(Outside the Warehouse)
Orihime finally managed to reach the destination that held Ichigo's Spiritual Pressure, as she was seen outside the Vizard's hideout.
'This is it.' she thought as she watched a cat walking to the warehouse, before it started to walk away as something disturbed it. 'That cat… it looks like it's walking against an invisible wall, nothing will go near it. The birds and all the other living things too, their all staying away. They can't get close because there's a force field there.'
Orihime looked up at the large bright shield in front of her, as she brought her hand closer to it before being in contact with it. 'And what an incredible barrier it is, it's very powerful, but it's kind of similar to my Shun Shun Rikka shield.' she thought as she managed to get her hand through it, breaking it in the progress. 'I can do this'
(Back Inside The Vizard Warehouse)
"Faster, Ichigo! Again!" Hiyori ordered.
"Shut up! I know what to do!" Ichigo replied with annoyance, and once more he summoned his Hollow mask, right before Hiyori made a Flash Step behind him, to which Ichigo managed to block it in time by blocking the kick with his wrist.
"That hurts." Ichigo felt.
"Your first move after you put on your mask is too slow! If the fight were decided by the first move, you'd be done for!" Hiyori exclaimed as she kept kicking Ichigo's arm, to which Ichigo backed away with Hiyori following him.
Ichigo stood back up just in time before a large shadow started descending from above, Ichigo quickly dodged away as Shiro started chuckling.
"Where's all that hard training we put in, King? Don't tell me your slacking off?" Shiro pointed his zanpakuto towards Ichigo. "I don't follow a king weaker than me!"
It was fast and swift as Shiro cut off Ichigo's left arm with a single slice, the Vizards stared in shock with their hands inching towards their zanpakutos. What happened next was Ichigo suddenly regaining the lost limb in an instant.
"Damn it, Shiro! Why'd you go and cut off my arm!" Ichigo cursed, flexing his returned limb.
"So you can use High-Speed Regeneration without a problem, but keeping a mask on is different, huh?" Shiro scoffed.
"Says the person who said 'I didn't need to harness a mask'," Ichigo pointed his zanpakuto towards Shiro. "Now you're criticizing me..? Or you're finally admitting that you should've taught me how use my mask in the first place, huh?."
"Are we complaining because their arm just been cut off or because we can't master a simple mask? Either way, were relive our training session." Shiro said.
"Both." Ichigo responds
"His retention time isn't increasing… very quickly." Hachi commented as he saw the sparring from the sidelines, with Shinji sitting next to him. "But regrowing his arm in an instant seems like second nature"
"Well it's not a simple thing, the mask I mean. Lucky him to regrow a lost appendage" Shinji replied as he watched Ichigo's Hollow mask shatter again.
"4 seconds." Kensei remarked as he kept an eye on his watch the timing of Ichigo's mask.
"Only?!" Shinji remarked incredulously.
"Hey, how come you guys are making the carrot top kid go through all of this?" Mashiro asked from behind.
"It's practice so he can maintain his Hollow form for longer periods of time. You did it too." Kensei said.
"Oh no, I didn't~" Mashiro teasingly remarked.
"What? You liar." Kensei was annoyed by the answer.
"No it's true actually." Shinji spoke up. ''Mashiro was able to Hollowfy for over 15 hours from the very start, so she was the only one who didn't have to go through the training."
"Is that how it was? I forgot all about it…" Kensei grumbled under his breath.
"See, Kensei, you big grouch? You're such a jerk." Mashiro insulted him.
"Hey, shut up!" This provoked Kensei as he got up from where he sat and looked as though he was about to attack Mashiro.
"Now, now—" Hachi got in between them to stop a fight from ensuing, but then his eyes widened in shock when he looked over in another direction.
"What's the matter, Hachi?" Shinji asked seriously, seeing his ally get disturbed.
"There's a problem… someone just slipped through my force field and entered the building." Hachi informed everyone about this, which shook all who were present with him.
"A Soul Reaper?" Love asked, with a clear tone of edge heard in his voice.
"No. The Hachikyo Sogai I put around this location is a technique that I devised on my own when I became a Vizard. It can't be broken by a Soul Reaper's Kido." Hachi explained.
"Then who is it?! Are you suggesting that it's a Vizard like us?!" Kensei asked.
"I really don't know…" Hachi put his fingers under his chin. "The thing that puzzles me the most is that they didn't get in by destroying the barrier, rather they just slipped right through it. A Vizard wouldn't be able to do something like that, not at all..."
"Your right. then what the hell is it?" Kensei was starting to get on edge, being confused on just what potential enemy they would have to be up against.
It was then that they could sense the unknown figure approaching closer to where they were, and since they left the hideout plain open, the enemy's advances made it easy for it to find them.
''Here it comes…" Kensei spoke as he formed a fighting stance. Tense moments passed by, and by now they were hearing soft footsteps coming by large stairs before the figure revealed itself, it being none other than Orihime. Needless to say, the Vizards were flabbergasted by this.
"A human?!"
Orihime scratched the back of her head, now feeling nervous. "Uh… hi there! Excuse me…anyone know where the restroom is… just kidding!" She chuckled, trying to make an attempt at lightening the mood.
"Say what?!" Kensei was aggravated by this, growing a tick mark on his forehead.
"She said she was just kidding, Kensei. It's a joke, don't get mad." Lisa remarked blankly.
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't kid around if I was in her situation." Love commented as he folded his arms.
Orihime continued to chuckle nervously before she saw some smoke building up next to where she was at, and when it cleared she saw Ichigo lying on the ground.
"Come on, King. Do better." Shiro demanded.
"Damn..." Ichigo cursed in annoyance as his Hollow mask shattered again.
Orihime was surprised to see him from here. "Ichigo, it's you!" she exclaimed.
Ichigo looked up from where he was, seeing Orihime which spread confusion over his face. When did she get here? More importantly, how did she even find him in this place? "Orihime?"
Orihime then noticed the Hollow, becoming frightened. "Ahhhhh, Ichigo there's a Hollow here!"
Ichigo and Shiro sweatdrop.
"Better explain Kingy."
"If I don't, you'll scare her."
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After a few minutes of explaining both their parts.
"I see… so that's what's going on. Well thanks for informing me." Ichigo remarked, having been allowed to take a break from his training, as he and Orihime were sitting together on a rock.
Ichigo noticed Orihime staring at him. "What you staring at?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing…I was just thinking that you don't seem very surprised by all of this." Orihime said.
''I'm surprised alright, just don't know how to act. After hearing about this royal key and princess I think it hasn't quite sinked in yet." Ichigo stood up. "Wipe that worry, look off your face, Orihime. It'll be o.k I'll stop Aizen, I promise. I'm already getting stronger, I appreciate you giving me the heads up, thanks a lot." Ichigo said, smiling at Orihime before walking over to Hiyori, getting back to his training.
"Alright, let's get back to training Hiyori, Shiro." Ichigo said.
"That's Ms. Hiyori to you." Hiyori corrects.
"Ms. Snaggletooth is better." Shiro corrects.
'Oh Ichigo...he can't really process what I told him, because he 's so busy training and getting stronger. Doesn't matter what Aizen is planning. Ichigo knows exactly what he has to do. He's not afraid…yes, he really is getting stronger.' Orihime got up and started to head back. 'It doesn't feel heavy or scary like before, but it also doesn't feel as nice. It's such a strange feeling…'
"Just what the hell was up with that girl?!" Kensei grit his teeth in annoyance as he saw Orihime leave their underground base.
"She talked to Ichigo for a while and then just left in a blink of an eye." Lisa said.
"It looked to me like she and Ichigo are close friends." Rose commented with a smile on his face.
"That girl is Orihime Inoue." Shinji said.
"Huh? What the hell, Shinji. Do you know that girl or something?" Kensei growled, teeth gritting.
"Orihime…was my first love." Shinji said with a depressed look.
"I can tell your lying." Kensei said.
"Shinji. You always say that about all the cute girls, even said that about me once." Lisa points out.
'She's blind, if she's one of the cute girls?' Rose thought.
"All the cute girls, huh? Funny I don't remember you ever saying that to me." Hiyori shouts.
"Because I didn't Snaggletooth." Shinji responds.
"Don't take your eyes off me!" Ichigo shouted as he made a downward strike, to which Hiyori dodged.
"Hachi." Love said.
"Yes." Hachi said.
"You know I think your barriers are flawless, there's no doubt about that." Love said.
"Of course." Hachi nodded his head, and was starting to see where his colleague was heading with this.
"So how was that girl, Orihime, able to find this place? And moreover, how was she able to get inside?" Love asked.
Hachi thought about it. "I am not entirely sure… However, having examined her Spiritual Pressure at close range, I believe she possesses the same type of force field and ability that I do. I could feel it, if she does have the same ability which would explain a lot. Only someone like that could find this concealed barrier and slip through it… although I must say, it does seem incredible that a human being could actually possess such powers…"
(Outside the Warehouse)
Orihime was running out, only to stop when a familiar figure crossed her path.
"There you are, Orihime."
"Miss Yoruichi."
"I've been looking for you for sometime now." Yoruichi says. "Kisuke asked me to find you."
"Mr. Urahara?" Orihime said.
"Yes, that's right. He wants me to bring you to the subterranean training ground, right away." Yoruichi informed.
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(Suzuki Residence)
Sometime after Haruno had left to explore Karakura Town, Di Roy had woken up and seeing the young girl wasn't around, leading the Arrancar to scavenge for some food. Right now, Di Roy sat in front of the tv with a bag of crunchy, yellow things (chips).
The front opened and closed, making Di Roy freeze. He doesn't think it was the parent from him not announcing his arrival to Haruno, looking over his shoulder, he saw a glimpse of sky blue hair going up the stairs.
Di Roy blinked, confused by Haruno not bugging him or greeting him.
(Upstairs/Haruno's Bedroom)
Once she entered her room, Haruno fell on top of her bed. A light squeak emitting from beneath turning her head to the left, Haruno saw her curtains slightly parted and allowed rays of light to enter.
Haruno let out a frustrated groan before burying her head under her pillow and falling asleep. Outside her door which was ajar stood Di Roy on the other side who complicated at to whether he should ask the little cry baby if she's alright or just let her be.
Groaning, Di Roy quietly entered the room. The door squeaking a little as he made his way over to Haruno's bed, crouching down to have a better look at the girl with her head under the pillow having no better ideas and with quiet movement slid into the bed.
(Under Karakura Hospital)
Uryu was panting as his arm was supporting him against the wall, barely holding himself together as his body was shaking immensely. He saw a Quincy arrow heading straight for him, to which he barely managed to dodge in time, except his foot caught the edge of the roof and he started falling, but Uryu quickly took some Ginto to save his fall by summoning a chant. He managed to save himself as smoke got covered before Ryuken walked over to where he was at.
"So you had some Ginto stashed away? Haven't you become quite the over cautious one..." Ryuken remarked, a hint of mockery in his tone.
Uryu continued his pants. "It sounds to me… like you're might be calling me out as a coward."
"Exactly." Ryuken fired multiple arrows at Uryu, to which he did a Hirenkyaku to get away. Ryuken looked over where his son was standing now.
"What's wrong?! You call that running away?! Your dodging speed is getting slower! Have you reached your limit?!" Ryuken said, as he continued his onslaught of arrows with one arm at his son, to which he could do nothing but dodge and get away.
'I have...I am at my limit.' Uryu thought as one arrow nearly struck him in his arm, which he rolled back, hitting his back against the wall. 'My arms and legs are getting so weak they can barely move anymore. But his Spiritual Pressure is definitely getting weaker as well. He said if I keep dodging his arrows, my abilities would return. But so far there's no sign of that happening. I don't know how much Ryuken told me was true, but either way at this rate he's going to kill me.' Uryu thought as he was running away from the arrows.
'I'm at my limit, I have no choice but to try and stop his movement and end the training! And my only chance is—' another arrow was fired at him, which created smoke.
Ryuken couldn't see where Uryu was at, but it was then he saw Uryu jumping at him, 'Now! My last Ginto.' throwing his last Ginto. "A silver rod strikes the five-fingered stone bed! Gritz!"
Successfully traps Ryuken in a man-sized pentagonal Quincy cross.
"Alright." Uryu said to his success but quickly became shocked when Ryuken easily managed to destroy it as he was pointing his own arrow at Uryu.
"What a shame for you… that it's now over." Ryuken said, as he fired his arrow at Uryu's chest, piercing him, which made Uryu's eyes wide open from the pain he felt.
'He got me… damn.' Those were Uryu's last thoughts before crashing down on the ground, his eyes closed off as his glasses fell on the ground.
Ryuken started to walk over to his son's fallen form. "Push the body and the spirit to their utmost limits and while in that exhausted state, attack with a shot from the spiritual bow, exactly 19 millimeters to the right of your heart. That is the only way to reclaim the Spiritual power lost of Quincy's final form." Ryuken explained as he knelt down to Uryu's side. "Why didn't you use your Heizen? If only you would have used that back then instead of Grits, I would have at least been injured, if not defeated. You made a stupid choice… you're so frustrating. You make me sick." Ryuken said, with disgust heard in his tone before getting up. "However... I'll let you live… This time."
(Suzuki Residence)
When Haruno finally awoke from her unexpected nap, she found hues of orange being casted in her room.
'I fell asleep?' Haruno thinks then turned over in her bed, only to find someone else in her bed with her.
Di Roy was fast asleep next to Haruno having light snooze coming out of his mouth, Haruno had a deadpanned look before shoving the sleeping Arrancar off her bed and with a loud thunk before Di Roy sat up with an annoyed expression.
"What that for!" He exclaims.
In response, Haruno leapt at Di Roy, sending them both crashing on the floor. Haruno began chuckling while playfully hitting Di Roy all over his face and chest.
"Damn, brat! Quit it." Di Roy cursed, while he wasn't shielding himself from the punches.
"No." and Haruno continued with her punches.
Only having one eye Di Roy really couldn't close his only good one, lightly having his closed slightly. However, the assault of punches stopped as Di Roy found Haruno staring up in deep thought but what stood out was that her eyes were clouded.
"Cry Baby..?" Di Roy called, sitting upright and placing hands on Haruno's shoulders, shaking the ten year old girl lightly. "Hey, snap out of it."
A few more shakes did Haruno finally regain life in her eyes.
"Hm?" Seeing Di Roy across her with a new expression, worried.
From behind a view, Haruno wrapped her arms around Di Roy's neck, hugging the Arrancar close. Switching to behind Haruno's back, you could see Di Roy was slightly confused by the sudden gesture but made no attempt to stop it.
(Night - Urahara's Shop)
"Well, hello! Long time no see, Orihime!" Urahara cheerfully exclaimed, waving his ever-present fan with a wide grin plastered on his face. Orihime hadn't said anything yet, rather she was wanting to know why Kisuke called her here in the first place. Yoruichi only stood on top of a boulder from there as she folded her arms as she observed the conversation.
"Yeah, I'll tell you that I've been surrounded by these two filthy men for so long now that it just brightens everything right up to have a woman in the workplace again. I'm glad you're here" Urahara jokingly said for the most part.
"Oh, so that's how it is, huh? Guess you don't see me as a woman anymore then." Yoruichi replied, amusingly rolling her eyes.
"Oh come now, Yoruichi, I was talking about down here on the training ground! Because of your feminine charms, it's always bright and cheery upstairs in the shop!" Urahara exclaimed.
"Yeah, right…whatever Kisuke." Yoruichi wasn't convinced at all, not because of what Kisuke was saying but what he was doing. She was sure he was about to say something very imprudent.
"Please, Orihime, sit down right over here!" Urahara said, as he grabbed a table out of nowhere and put it down on the ground.
"Uh… okay?" Orihime looked more confused, still not understanding why she was called here. It was then a crash occurred to everyone's ears, turning around to see Chad jumping away from Renji's Bankai. "Oh, it's Chad! And Renji too!"
"And they're being just as loud as usual." Yoruichi simply remarked.
"Urahara, I'm pretty sure he's done now." Renji informed, pulling Zabimaru back "I'm going to go ahead and finish up for the day."
"Oh, no. Chad." Orihime was about to help her friend, when Urahara stopped her.
"Tessai, Ururu, Ririn. Kindly wake up Chad, please." Urahara requested.
Huh?" Orihime looked towards the Mod-Souls.
Ririn held up a teapot. "Just leave it to me, he'll recover fine once I give him some of this magic tea."
"Yes, hang in there Chad. You're only slightly injured and soon to be good as new, so try and stay cautious until help is on the way." Kurōdo said.
"We got your back." Nova adds.
Renji stared confused, being momentarily distracted as Chad started getting up.
"Wait. I'm…not done yet." Chad said, sitting upright.
"Don't get carried away, hmph, the tough guy act won't work on me." Renji said.
Chad got to his feet. "I'm fine."
"No, Chad. You need to heal first." Ririn urged.
Kurōdo nods. "Hmm-mm, listen Chad, it sounds like your mouth is trying to write a check that the rest of your body can't cashed. So remember even if you can't still fight, it could lead to a disaster. So you really need to let us treat your body. What's going on, howcome no one is listening to me?"
"Because you talk too much." Nova whispered.
Chad and Renji resumed their training without Chad taking the Mod-Souls advice.
Ignoring the two for now, Orihime turned her attention back to Urahara. "Mr. Urahara…hum, what was is it you wanted to talk to me about?"
All the cheerfulness that was previously seen from Urahara now disappeared without a trace. "Well a little while ago, Rangiku Matsumoto came here for a visit. So you know about the Oken and the princess and the dangers that lie ahead? This new situation is sudden and a little unexpected. But whatever the case may be, all of us, including the Soul Society will have to focus on preparing for the upcoming battle this winter. From here on out, it's going to be an all out war, more blood will be spilled than ever before. Both we and the Soul Society will need more offensive power than what we already have."
"I see then." Orihime nodded her head in understanding,remembering Ichigo's words to stop Aizen. ''I..I wanna become strong too!"
"Is that so? In that case, I'll say this. Orihime, when war breaks out, I want you to stay out of the battle." Urahara bluntly told her, and in doing this Orihime paused in confusion, along with Chad and Renji stopping their sparring when they heard this. "Tsubaki. Since he was destroyed in the skirmish with the Arrancar, you been unable to restore him, correct?"
"Yes, your right, Tsubaki was so badly broken that I was unable to fix him. I don't even know how to heal him, if I could." Orihime slowly nodded her head as she looked down on the ground.
"Tsubaki is your only means of attacks so…without him, I'm afraid I can't allow you to participate in combat. It's only reasonable." Urahara added on.
"Huh?" Orihime gasped.
Chad did not take too kindly to those words. "Wait hold on, Kisuke, that's not fair! Orihime is our friend! Don't forget she fought successfully in the Soul Society and battle against the Bounts as well!"
"Chad." Orihime breathed.
"If she says she wants to work on getting stronger, then you can't just cast her aside so easily!" Chad adds on.
"You should think about this, Chad. Do you want get her killed?" Urahara asked.
"No! She has defensive and healing powers, which is more important than attacking abilities!" Chad argued.
Urahara sighed as he tipped his hat. "The defensive power of Santen Keshun is quite limited. It would most likely be no use in the upcoming war. As for healing abilities, we have Squad 4, and this time Captain Unohana and Lieutenant Kotetsu squad members will be on the front lines. They will be compensated many times over for Orihime's absence."
"But I don't understand—"
Urahara interrupted Chad. "No! That's enough. A warrior who has lost his strength will only end up getting in our way."
"But Urahara!—"
"It's okay…" Orihime spoke up, as she had her hand wrapped around her left arm.
"Orihime." Chad looked over to his friend.
"Thank you, Chad. But really…It's o.k." Orihime reassured then turned to Urahara. "And thank you, Mr. Urahara, I appreciate it, I'm really glad you've been…so honest with me….Guess, I'll be going now."
Orihime walked away as Chad stretched an arm out to stop her. "Orihime, wait-" he was suddenly halted and looked over to see it was Renji who stopped him. "Hey, what you doing?"
"Take it, easy. Kisuke is absolutely right, you know." Renji advised. "While Squad 4 does specialize in healing, there also in the Gotei 13 which means their trained in combat. And all though Orihime has some powers, you have to remember that she is still a Human being. Also I got to say, her personality just isn't suited for battle…right now has been the best time to tell her."
"Just hope your right." Chad said, admitting that it's true.
"Well, she's gone." Ririn said.
"Poor little kid." Kurōdo said.
Urahara had a hard look, as he watched Orihime leave.
(Karakura Park)
A Hollow with a boar shaped mask was cut down in mere seconds, the halves drop on the ground. Revealing the culprit to be Di Roy who was out Hollow Hunting, he had a sour mood right; not from being rudely pushed off the Cry Baby's bed or receiving punches from said person then staring out in space before hugging him.
Di Roy sighs. 'This is my fucking…life now.' before crouching down and started eating the Hollow he just killed. Consuming human food was just for show.
"Lookie here? An Arrancar out here in the dark, no doubt hunting for tonight's meal?"
A sudden Spiritual Pressure fell upon Di Roy, making the Arrancar freeze in his place.
'The hell?' Using little strength he had, Di Roy managed to look over his shoulder eyes going wide at the Hollow or… 'Vasto Lorde? Im-Immposiible?! There's no way one could come to the World of the Living without Lord Aizen and those Soul Reapers detecting it. Just its appearance and Spiritual Pressure is strong and high.'
Shiro was enjoying the sight of the frightened Arrancar, he remembers correctly from Ichigo's point of view that he was supposedly destroyed by the midget's zanpakuto ability but here he is, alive and hunting for his meal.
"So…going talk or go the hard way?"
Shiro got his answer by watching Di Roy use Sonido to escape, grinning behind his mask. "The hard way makes everything much funnier."
Halfway through the park, Di Roy was catching his breath as he continued moving, his mind working fast to think of a way to escape back to Haruno's home without Vasto Lorde following him.
'Crap crap crap! I have to think of something quick or I'll end up dead, I can hold my own against the Vasto Lorde but I don't know how long the bracelet can-'
Di Roy's train of thought was interrupted by him suddenly being knocked across the ground and skidding deep in the ground before stopping, opening his visible eye just before a clawed hand grip around his neck.
"Gah!" He choked.
Shiro easily lifted up the lanky Arrancar in the air his strong clawed hand, having a tight grip on the poor guy's neck who struggled to escape and feet kicking.
"Quite struggling," Shiro added pressure on his grip, making Di Roy spit up a bit of saliva but ceased struggling. "Good. Now explain how your still alive…or better yet why are you in the World of the Living? Shouldn't you have gone back to your home where Aizen is?"
Took Di Roy a few seconds to find his voice, "I…can't go…back…"
"Why not? Afraid of punishment?" Shiro questioned.
"Yes…but also…" Di Roy choked having an image of Haruno's teared face passing through his mind, making him reach up his hands and wrap them around the clawed hand, trying his hardest to pull the fingers away. "I have…someone to protect…Grimmjow would beat me if I leave or if ever found out about me being alive."
"Grimmjow. You say?" Shiro knows that name very well and tossed the Arrancar onto the ground, watching him cough. "Explain or get a good Cero." while holding up a clawed hand with a cero forming in it.
Di Roy panicked. "O.k o.k. Grimmjow has history with a Human and would rather return to Hueco Mundo than have that Human he holds dear being involved, even calling it his own Cub."
"Cub? Now that's rich, tell me the cubs name. Maybe the King would know that person." Shiro said.
"NO!" Di Roy quickly got on his hands and knees before lowering his head to the ground. "Please…don't involve her or take her away. We haven't seen her for the last five years!"
Di Roy mentally kicked himself for saying that.
"A her? How old are we talking about?" Shiro asked, thinking that maybe the girl is the same age as his King.
Di Roy continued staring down at the ground, feeling himself stuck and unsure how to respond. His fingernails slightly dug up dirt from the ground debating that exposing Haruno's real name to a Vasto Lorde will be trouble and Soul Reapers will be nothing but trouble.
His only option….
"DIE!" Di Roy looked straight towards Vasto Lorde in crouch position before thrusting his hand forward.
In a swift motion, Shiro easily swiped his sharp claws at Di Roy, blood spurted from his helmet shaped mask. Di Roy had a surprised look feeling blood trailed down his face.
'He's…fast.'
Just before Di Roy could collapse, Shiro grabbed him by his neck again.
"Bad move."
Di Roy was slowly slipping into unconsciousness with one thing on his mind.
'Sorry…Haruno.'
The bracelet on Di Roy's wrist emitted a faint glow, then in an instant vanished from Shiro's hold. Leaving the Vasto Lord very confused but quickly distracted by a familiar Spiritual Pressure appearing and taking another familiar Spiritual Pressure back to those Vizards hideout.
"Snaggletooth took the hairpin girl back to the warehouse, better get back to the King before he restricts my out time." Shiro took his leave too. Making sure to tell Ichigo what he encountered.
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(Suzuki Residence)
Di Roy suddenly appeared in Haruno's room, landing with a thud on the bedroom floor. His eye was slightly opened taking in where he was before passing out.
The door opened as Haruno stepped in, a white towel wrapped around her body and hair partially frizzy. She paused when seeing Di Roy laying on the floor with a gash on his mask and a small pool of blood forming, slowly she walked over and stood over the fallen friend already the sight of a tear could be seen forming.
"Di…Roy…*sniff*..." Haruno curled her hand into a fist. "BAKA!"
She raised up her barefoot and started to repeatedly stomp on the injured Arrancar's head, ignoring the pain that might cause him.
"Baka baka baka baka baka!" Haruno continued stomping her towel falling off, giving one more, powerful stomp before dropping on her knees. "*sniff*...I don't care about being called a Cry Baby…Nnngh…at least it means I care…and can't bare to lose anyone important to me."
Trails of tears streamed down Haruno's face, dropping on Di Roy's mask. Before she leaned over and forehead pressing against his mask.
"Waaaaaahhh! Baka!" Haruno cried.
When Orihime ran out of Urahara's Shop, she came face to face with Rukia. Both girls had a conversation with each other on nearby building, uplifting Orihime's spirits, however the mood was quickly interrupted by Hiyori crashing in-between and taking Orihime back to their hideout.
Hiyori set Orihime down on the ground hard, which made the girl since as she rubbed her behind.
"Ow… that hurts." Orihime complained, as she and Hiyori were back to the underground base with the Vizards.
"Hey, Hachi, I brought the one you wanted!" Hiyori exclaimed.
Ichigo Flash Step on a rock. "Orihime?" surprised to see her back.
"Alright, that's it, Ichigo. Your break is over!" Hiyori called.
"Hey, wait. Hold on for a second, what you-" Ichigo was cut off by Hiyori slapping his face with her sandal, sending him back through a mountain and sliding down.
"I said. That your break is over." Hiyori repeated.
"Alright, that's it." Ichigo leaped towards Hiyori, clashing their swords.
Orihime watched this unfold as she laid down, but then she heard footsteps approaching her, and turning her head she saw Hachi standing in front of her, and the man's sheer height made her a bit uncomfortable.
"Hachi is just a nickname, my real name is Hachigen Ushoda, nice to meet you." Hachi greeted the girl properly, showing a gentle smile.
"Ehehe… it's nice to meet you." Orihime greeted him back, before the man sat down like she was. "Uhhh… so what was it you wanted to see me about?"
Hachi put two of his fingers on Orihime's head, turning her head around.
"Ow! Hey, what you doing? Please stop it, your going pull my head off like that." Orihime said frantically while comically crying out to stop.
"Just as I thought. These hairpins are the real form of your powers. Their like a zanpakuto, this is truly rare. But this one is chipped. I've been curious about these ever since you came here earlier to speak with, Ichigo."
"Yes, but I'm afraid I can't fix it. Because part of it was shattered" Orihime said.
"Well would you like me to fix it for you?" Hachi offered.
Orihime became surprised. "Huh? What can you really do that?"
"Why of course." Hachi smiles.
"Oh, goody. Thank you, thank you so much." Orihime cheered.
"It's nothing really." Hachi said.
"Alright, you can let go of her head now..." Kensei bluntly told Hachi from behind.
"I don't get iiiiiit! This makes no sense!" Mashiro complained as she started rolling over the ground, kicking her feet as if throwing a tantrum. ''Why is Hachi so willing to fix that girl's weapon and why bring her here all of a sudden?! She's annoying! I can't stand her!" she continued her rant.
"Would you quit yapping?!" Kensei yelled at Mashiro, with an ever-growing tick mark shown on his face.
"Well, Hachi seems to be happy." Rose said, which stopped Mashiro's rant. "Yes, because we hardly meet anyone with powers similar to his own, It sort of makes me feel like…Well, it sort of makes me feel like our family is growing. I bet Hachi feels that way and some others."
Ichigo donned his mask and was ready to attack Hiyori, only for her sandaled feet to hit his face.
"Not good enough." Hiyori said.
Shinji watched them train.
Back to Hachi and Orihime, who after politely asking Orihime if he could borrow one of her hair pins for a closer examination, and along with Orihime giving out an explanation to her side of the story of the upcoming war, and asking for a suggestion for an improvement of her abilities.
"I see, he was broken so not even a single splinter remained and you were unable to fix him and as a result of that, you were asked to stay out of the upcoming battle. Do I have the situation correctly?" Hachi asked for confirmation as he examined her hairpin, while forming a barrier.
"Uhm…not quite but since I already explained it about five times, let's go with that." Orihime answered.
"However, this is still strange." Hachi continued to observe the hairpin, and upon spending more time on it, the more his eyes widened. "From just looking at your Spiritual Pressure, you should have powers very similar to mine. But if that was the case, you'll still be able to return him to his original form even without a shattered fragment."
Orihime's hairpin started to glow and the broken pieces reformed. The earring then disappeared in a puff of smoke and Tsubaki appeared, his body completely reformed.
"Huh? What you want, woman?" Tsubaki asked as he saw her staring at him. "What's with that look on your face?"
"Tsubaki! I'm so glad you're finally back, I missed you so much!" As soon as the barrier came down, Orihime picked Tsubaki up and hugged him against her face. "I can't thank you enough for this, Hachi! Oh, Tsubaki I just want to hug, squeeze and never let go!"
"Orihime." Hachi called for the young girl, causing her to stop hugging Tsubaki, much to the latter's relief. "I now just fixed Tsubaki for you. And with this you'll be able to return to the front line. However, I too cannot recommend that you should fight alongside them. If your powers are similar, like mine, then your definitely not suited for fighting. Especially when your opponents are Arrancars...Despite all I told you, are you sure you still wish to fight?"
"Yes!" Orihime answered after pondering for a while. She remembered Chad and Rukia's words and decided that she wanted to follow the same path as them. "Yes, I still want to fight!"
"Well, you have to get stronger than." Hachi said with a smile, before he got back up.
'You have not yet mastered your own abilities, Orihime. But surely there is a means for you to fight. Always keep this thought in mind 'What's important is not how you should be but rather how you want to be.' ' Hachi thought to himself.
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(Outside the Warehouse)
Orihime left the hideout, with Tsubaki on her shoulder. As she crossed the outside barrier, she saw someone that had been waiting for her.
"Rukia!" She then remembered no one was supposed to know who lived inside the warehouse so she quickly got nervous. "Um listen, Rukia, listen Rukia the truth is, inside this place..."
"Don't say anything, I don't need to know. I came here and I felt a little of Ichigo's Spiritual Pressure." Rukia crossed her arms over her chest and looked the other way. "If he didn't say anything then he probably knows what he's doing, it's enough just knowing he's safe... Let's get going"
Orihime looked back at the Vizards hideout. 'Ichigo. I'm weak and it always seems like I'm looking back to you…but now, I'm going forward and not look back. So that the next time I see you, I'll be able to fight without looking back, at all.'
"Alright, Rukia. Let's go." Rukia nodded and followed her friend, after taking one last stare to the warehouse where Ichigo was.
(Las Noches, Hueco Mundo)
Ulquiorra could be seen walking down the hallway before arriving to a specific room, opening the door with a squeak.
"Ulquiorra? What do you want?" Yammy asked without looking back, since he was in the middle of his arm treatment. Roka Paramia, the Arrancar nurse, removed the bandages that surrounded his reattached right arm.
"Your healed. It's a good thing I decided to bring your severed arm back here, just in case." Ulquiorra stated.
"This took too long! My arm's felt like it was going to rot away!" Yammy complained, while the nurse started to remove the stitches. "You know it would be nice if our bodies healed on their own like your eyeballs do."
"Stop complaining. Your lucky to have an arm at all. If it been completely destroyed like Grimmjow's, you would been kicked out from the Espada too." Ulquiorra informed the Decima Espada, who grunted in response.
"I guess your right." Yammy responds.
"I've completed the treatment." Roka informed her patient, who started to flex his arm and hand. "How is it? Is the movement and responsiveness the same before being severed?"
"Hmm?" Yammy wondered, before he delivered a powerful backfist blow to the female Arrancar, sending her crashing against the nearby wall. Her head was crushed on impact and blood was spread through the wall. "Not good enough. If it were in it's usual condition I would've split her right in half..."
"Idiot..." Ulquiorra commented, as he turned around to leave.
"Nevertheless, I know it will get better sooner or later, and when it does. I'll get my revenge on that Soul Reaper." Yammy vowed.
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(Throne Room)
Aizen could be seen laid back on his throne, quizzically reading at a holographic screen in front of him, watching Orihime summoning her shield to block Yammy's attack, and using her healing power to heal Chad's broken arm.
The man grew a grin on his face, showing a keen interest as he continued to watch the girl's powers taken to work. Now having given a close study on how Orihime Inoue's powers truly worked, he couldn't be more eager to continue with his plans.
"You have an interesting ability, young lady…" Aizen said.
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