merry christmas :] you get 2 chapters in 1 week! how awesome am i? jk lol

if i have time tonight, i'll write a crack fic :D

*starts handing out panda bears and lollipops to the (probably) only 2 or 3 people who reads my crap* xD ily 3


It wouldn't be a lie if I said I felt helpless, which is something I've never felt before ever since being a shinigami. Ichigo and Renji clashed their zanpakutos once again, their reiatsu increasing sharply, causing the wind to blow my hair and my shinigami robes back violently. Figuring it would be safer, I walked around them and went to the other side with the shinigami boy and the man in green.

"They're not going to stop, are they?" I asked sadly, though I already knew the answer.

"S-Sorry, Fukutaichou," the shinigami boy said. "I'm Yamada Hanatarou from the 4th division by the way!" he said, trying to lighten up the mood, but it wasn't working.

"Oi, Ichigo! The opponent is a Vice-Captain! No matter how strong you are, you won't be able to win!"

"No, that may not be the case, Ganjyu." Hanatarou said. "Look closely! Ichigo-San is overpowering Abarai- Fukutaichou!" It seemed to be true as Ichigo pushed Renji all the way back to the giant stone wall where I was just standing earlier.

They were arguing, I could tell by their facial expressions and the way their lips moved. But before long, Renji pushed him back and released Zabimaru into it's shikai form. Judging by the way Ichigo's zanpakuto looks like, I'm pretty sure it's already in it's shikai form so this will make it a bit more even. I just hope they won't overdo themselves.

Zabimaru extended, throwing Ichigo back and the 3 of us quickly scampered away before he hit us, letting him fall through the wall instead.

"Ichigo!" I gasped.

"It seems you think you already know my strength just by fighting me once. Let me tell you something interesting." Renji pulled Zabimaru back and walked over towards him. "When we leave for the outside world, Vice-Captains and Captains like us limit our strength to it's lowest, so that we won't hurt innocent bystanders. The strength I possess now is 5 times greater than last time. No matter how strong you've become, there is absolutely no way you can defeat me!"

"Huh?"

I let out my breath. So Ichigo was concious, thank god.

"So you're telling me that was all you've got. It has no effect at all!" he walked back outside with his sword and a big bloody wound to the head.

"Are you... okay?" Hanatarou asked.

"Heh, I can take this," his eyes narrowed, never taking them off his opponent.

"A-Amazing... he's still standing in that condition..."

But Hanatarou was wrong. He was struggling, barely able to stand. Renji continued chasing after him, swinging his weapon, but all Ichigo was doing was running away and dodging. There was no way he could win if he keeps it up.

"Stubborn bastard. You want to rescue Rukia that badly?" Renji panted, stopping his attacks.

"Idiot, I don't want, to rescue her, I will!"

Renji was taken aback, his eyes widening with the intent to kill as he swung and extended Zabimaru once again, injuring Ichigo's right shoulder. "Rukia's sin became more serious because you stole her powers!" He pulled back his weapon, about to thrust it again for the final hit.

"Ichigo, you have to fight back or you'll be killed!" I screamed frantically. It must've knocked some sense back to him because he finally started blocking his attacks.

Something else was occupying his mind though, I could just see it. Did he figure out Renji's weak point already? But just as he was about to swing his blade at him, Renji moved at the last second, "I already told you, you can't defeat me!" and he landed a hit on his other shoulder.

"Oh no..."

Ichigo landed on his knees, listening to Renji explain how he evaded his attack. He smirked as he raised his zanpakuto, then bringing it down on him.

"Ichigo!" The 3 of us screamed. The cloud of smoke blocked our view of the battle.

'If Renji's reiatsu rises anymore, people are going to come here and they'll find Ichigo...' I thought. As much as I want this battle to be over with already, I didn't want either of them to be harmed anymore than they already were.

"He's alright!" Hanatarou announced happily, watching Ichigo stand up.

'But he wants to continue...' I furrowed my eyebrows, controlling myself not to hop in and give them both a good smack on the head. "His reiatsu..." my eyes widened as Ichigo's reiatsu started to rise too, blowing me back a bit. "Damn these two stubborn idiots..."

They were done standing and went back to attacking each other, but something was different about Ichigo. He just seemed... stronger than he was a few minutes ago... is that possible? He dodged Renji's first attack and before I could blink, Zabimaru was in pieces and Renji was struck by Ichigo's zanpakuto.

I was holding my hands against my chest, white from clenching them so tightly. Renji flew back, leaning on a broken piece of a wall for support, his hair tie had been snapped off and his glasses were gone. "Renji..." I whispered, he fell to the ground, blood splattering everywhere. "Renji!" I shouted.

He slowly got up, making his way over to Ichigo and grabbed him by the collar, "It's your fault Rukia got put in senzaikyuu!" he yelled. "When I thought of that, my insides began to boil. But... that's not it! It's because I didn't stop her! Back then, I didn't tell her to go the Kuchiki clan so she could become a death row prisoner. I thought she could be happy there. I believed that! I wanted to surpass Kuchiki-Taichou, ever since that day... But I haven't beaten him once!" He was trembling now, barely able to hold himself up.

"Taking Rukia back by force was beyond my ability! Kurosaki...I know this is shameful, but I'm begging you! ...You better save Rukia!" Eventually, his gripped loosened and he fell.

The scene was so hard to watch I had to close my eyes. But then there was the sound of metal hitting the floor, followed by the sound of a body . "Ichigo!" I quickly ran over to them, checking their pulses. It was still beating, but they had lost so much blood so I was still worried.

"People are coming," Hanatarou warned. Ganjyu picked up Ichigo, "Let's go hide for now then."

Hanatarou nodded, "Are you coming or staying, Kurosaki-Fukutaichou?"

"I think I should st-"

I squeaked when I felt a pressure on my wrist, "Renji?! You're awake?" I brushed the hair out of his eyes to get a better look at him. "Go with them Kinomi."

"But you're injured!"

"So is your brother... Look, it's rare for someone in Soul Society to have memories of when they were still living, so take this chance while you still have it. I'll cover for you if anyone asks."

I smiled lightly, "Thanks Renji... I owe you!" I caught up with Hanatarou and Ganjyu, following them under a passageway underground.

"I didn't know there was such a place down here," I looked around. It was like a sewer down here, but it didn't smell bad and it also had lights on the walls.

Ganjyu laid Ichigo on the ground while Hanatarou started working on him. "How bad is it?" I asked, sitting down next to Hanatarou.

"Very bad..." he sighed. "I'll start healing him right away, but it'll take me a whole night."

Watching Hanatarou heal Ichigo was the only entertainment I had, and it was far from entertaining. I was laying on my stomach, my head supported by my tired arms. Only an hour through it, I was half asleep, my head nodding every so often.

"Oh, you're awake, Ichigo-San."

I snapped out of my daze and saw that he really was awake.

"Don't move around, your wounds haven't fully healed yet," he gently patted the bandages on his stomach with a tired smile.

Ichigo looked clueless, "Wounds?... I was fighting Renji and... Kinomi!" he shouted, sitting up.

"Shush, I'm right here," I waved with one hand, my head resting on the other.

He smirked, "You're here..."

"Well duh!" I rolled my eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"...Tired... But I have to find the others, they don't know Rukia's location!" he winced as he tried to stand up.

"Others? Who else is here?"

"Sado, Inoue, and Ishida... oh, and Yoruichi but you don't know him."

"Wait, are they shinigami too?"

He shook his head, "No, but Ishida is a...um... one of those... Quincy things..."

A Quincy? I thought they were all extinct?

He stood up and began to wobble his way over to his zanpakuto. "Ichigo-san, you can't move yet! You're not fully healed!" Hanatarou protested, but he was ignored. "Ichigo-san!"

I winced as a fist came out and smack my brother across the face, knocking him out and falling to the floor. "Sleep quietly until you're healed, idiot."

I winced, "Ganjyu!" And I really wanted to talk to him too.

"Darn it, now he's injured again," Hanatarou grunted, pulling Ichigo back so he could bandage him up again. "You're so violent..."

I dropped my disappointed expression, realizing that he was lucky enough to still be alive. That's when I noticed the mask laying in front of me. I had no idea why or even how Ichigo had it, but it looked a lot like a Hollow mask. He was lucky he had it though, or the wound on his shoulder might have been more serious.

"Um, Kurosaki-fukutaichou?"

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?"

"...I'm fine... I'm just wondering what's going on up there now that a Vice-Captain has been defeated. They're going to be more serious about this and won't take things lightly."

"Maybe you should go back up?" he suggested.

"Nah, I should be here when he wakes up," I said, looking at Ichigo. "Plus, I need to come up with a good excuse if they find out I'm not chasing the Ryoka with everyone else."

"Well in that case, maybe you should get some sleep."

I smiled, "Yeah... I should."