And here's a new chapter! and I hope you all enjoy it. Kudos to EternalDream for doing the beta!
Standard Disclaimers Apply
The Ties That Binds
Chapter 14
Momo didn't know how the head of the Kuchiki clan was able to do it, but he managed to convince the council to give her access to the book they needed. However, one of the many conditions imposed by the council was that she was always guarded by a ranking officer from another division at all times. Shuuhei Hisagi had agreed to be tasked with the role. Word on the street was that he may have even volunteered for the job.
"Hinamori, are you alright?"
Momo just nodded as she slowly traced the butterfly pattern with her fingers. "I can't believe a book like this could hold so much power." She gently opened the first page of the book and flipped a few pages as she read a fable about a weaver and a farmer, and smiled as she traced the page and chanted the incantation.
"Wings of Psyche, release the light from the cocoon you have created and lead me to the path of the Morning Star."
Behind her, Shuuhei watched in wonder as the fable disappeared and red ink began to emerge. The kidou looked dangerous, and he narrowed his eyes as he read the page.
Sensing his interest in the book, Momo glanced at Shuuhei, and a small smile spread across her lips. "Would you like to seat beside me, Hisagi-sempai? It might be easier for you to see what I am doing."
Shuuhei eagerly sat next to her, and Momo turned her attention to the book.
"Have you heard of this before?" he asked as he watched her read the page.
"There was a passage about it in the book that Aizen gave me. This just gives it in more detail, as well as how to cast it."
"So, what exactly is it?"
"It's a temporary soul binding technique. First, the caster needs something from the intended target. A lock of hair, a drop of blood, a note in the target's handwriting—anything will do. The caster will then say the incantation, and whatever the caster does to his or her own body, the target will feel the same thing."
Shuuhei looked at the page and frowned. "I thought you said it shows how to cast the spell? There's no incantation written."
"There is, but it's hidden. If you read this opening passage: The lover of Eros has brought the gifts of the northeastern wind…" As she spoke, she pointed at the scroll, and Shuuhei looked at a larger image of the broken disc that Momo had drawn.
"Psyche is known to be the lover of Eros, so the northeastern wind would refer to the northeastern part of the disc."
"Do you think the soul poison is in this book?"
"I hope so. We can uncover every single kidou in this book, but without finding the spells for the soul poison, we might not be able to find a way to counter it. And even if we find the soul poison in this book, we still need a full disc. I'm hoping there may be a picture of the disc in here with the incantation, but to be honest, I'm not holding my breath."
Shuuhei just kept silent as Momo turned another page to reveal another kidou. This time it was to trap an enemy into an illusion. The next three kidou all dealt with illusion and how to use it against the enemy, how to break out of an illusion, and how to render illusions useless in battle.
"Those would be helpful," Shuuhei muttered, lost in thought, and Momo sighed.
"Unfortunately, this talks about the southwest wind. We would need the other half of the disc to complete the kidou."
As Momo continued to work on the spell and searching through the book, Shuuhei was thankful that she'd never uncovered the secret of the book when her ex-taichou had given it to her. He hated to imagine how Aizen could have twisted her devotion even more to fill his own purposes. And then once he had discarded her, as he did with all of his pawns, Shuuhei doubted she would have recovered from it.
Shuuhei aptly watched Momo as she uncovered spell after spell. She explained each one in further detail on what each spell could do and if it was something they could use. A few hours later, Shuuhei laid a gentle hand over Momo's to get her attention.
"Hinamori. That's enough," Shuuhei ordered, and the young woman looked at him. Her eyes were noticeably tired. "Your reiatsu is getting weaker."
"I've only seen a few pages, sempai. There's many more to go."
"You can do the others tomorrow. You need your reiatsu to solve the rest."
"But..."
"You do realize they have given me jurisdiction over you in relation to this exercise, right?" he asked as he stood up and offered his hand to her. "You need to rest. We can figure out the others tomorrow."
Momo, half-reluctant, half-grateful, closed the book and accepted Shuuhei's hand. "Tomorrow, then."
-0-0-0-0-
Tatsuki whistled as she locked secured Sora's milk formula in her motorbike compartment and was about to get on when she noticed a familiar face.
Uryuu looked positively uncomfortable as Ayame held his hand as they walked side by side. He looked up, and Tatsuki tried not to laugh at the expression on the Quincy's face. He gave a nod of acknowledgement and she waved back, and was surprised when he made his way towards her, Ayame unhappily in tow.
"Ishida, Nakamura-san, how are you?"
"Good, Uryuu was just showing me around Karakura. It's nowhere near as pretty as Lucerne, the town I stayed at when I was living in Switzerland, but I suppose this place is okay."
Tatsuki discretely studied the young woman, unsure of how to respond to her friend's fiancée. She settled for giving a smile before she placed her helmet on. "Well, I hope you both enjoy what little Karakura has to offer."
"Are you heading back to Urahara's?" Uryuu asked, and Tatsuki nodded. "Please give my apologies to Isshin-san. I'll be back a little later to help him with Kakei."
"But Uryuu, we're supposed to be watching a show tonight," Ayame reminded him, her tone just short of sounding pitiful. Clearly, she was used to getting her way, and it was obvious she was unhappy at the prospect of him leaving her. "Mom got us box seats for Les Miserables."
"Ayame..." Before Uryuu could continue, all three of them froze as a howl pierced the sky.
Ayame winced at the noise. "What is that?"
Tatsuki and Uryuu looked at Ayame in shock. Even Yuzu, with all her years exposed to hollows and other Shinigami, had never heard a cry of a hollow.
"You heard that?" Tatsuki asked, amazed, and Ayame rolled her eyes.
"Of course I heard it! I'm not deaf."
Uryuu looked up, and Tatsuki followed suit. She held her breath as the sky opened and a hollow began to appear. "Shit."
"What?" Ayame asked as she looked up as well. "What are we looking at?"
"Come on, get on!" Tatsuki urged. She tried to keep the panic out of her voice as she turned the ignition on her bike and handed a spare helmet to Ayame. "Put this on!" she ordered.
"I just had my hair straightened!" Ayame cried out, and this time, it was Tatsuki who rolled her eyes as Uryuu took the helmet and gently placed it on Ayame's head.
"What's going on?"
Uryuu silently got on the bike and practically hauled Ayame in front of him as they sped off.
"What is going on?" Ayame repeated, but she was ignored.
Uryuu turned his head and watched as the hollow, now out in the sky, began heading straight for them. The hollow gave another howl before it increased its speed and dived for them.
"Arisawa! Turn left!"
"Lean to the left!" Tatsuki yelled out as she saw the first street they can turn to, and Ayame, sandwiched between her and Uryuu followed but not without a scream of terror.
"Ishida!" Tatsuki tried to yell above Ayame's voice, but it was hard to tell if Uryuu could hear her. "Call Ichigo! Tell him to send someone now!" Before Uryuu could reach for his phone, Tatsuki let out a curse as she looked at her rear view mirror. "What the hell is that thing doing?"
Uryuu looked behind, and watched as a ball of flames gathered in the hollow's mouth. "Arisawa!"
Tatsuki sped faster as she prayed that they won't encounter anyone else in the quiet street. "Lean to the right!"
They made the right turn just in time to avoid the ball of flame and Tatsuki swore again as another hole in the sky began to open. "Ishida, you need to move to the front!"
"What?" He asked as he looked at the speedometer. With their luck, he wouldn't be surprised if they were pulled over for speeding by some unseeing, ignorant human cop.
"I can't keep on dodging them, especially if I can't see them! You have to move to the front and start fighting them! I drive, you shoot!"
Knowing their options are limited, Uryuu nodded as began to take a deep breath.
"On the count of three!" Tatsuki yelled out as she got herself ready. "One...two...three!"
Ayame screamed as Uryuu move from behind to settle himself in front of Tatsuki.
"That is completely inappropriate!" Ayame cried out as she observed Tatsuki and Uryuu's position.
"Screw being appropriate! Ishida—do your thing!"
Ayame just watched as Uryuu moved his hands, as if he was holding an invisible bow and arrow and she closed her eyes, a memory resurfacing in her head.
"Show me again how you did it, grandpa! Please!"
Ayame opened her eyes as she looked behind her. She couldn't see anything, but she could definitely hear something going on.
It took two arrows to dispose of the hollow, and as he prepared to launch an attack at the other hollow coming for them, he glanced towards Tatsuki, who was keeping her eyes on the road as best as she could. "How much further until we reach Urahara's?"
"Ten minutes, give or take," Tatsuki responded as Uryuu another volley of his arrows.
"Okay," Ayame said, a shaky, unsure smile making its way to her lips as she tried to keep it together, "I know Japan is known for some weird stuff, but this is just too much. Is this some sort of a welcome initiation? Because really, there's no need for it."
"I'll explain when we're safe," Uryuu replied as he prepared to fight yet another hollow that emerged from the sky. "You're going to need to turn soon, Arisawa."
"Lean to the right!" Arisawa instructed, and Ayame closed her eyes as she bit back another scream. She knew she should've never have skipped taking her medication, but ever since she met Uryuu, everything started to feel right. Her father and doctor would be upset that it had been months, but the hallucinations had stopped when Uryuu came to her life. Now, she was seriously re-thinking her decision.
"I knew it! I swear, I swear, I swear I will never skip my medication again!" she muttered she heard another howl above them.
-0-0-0-0-
Back at Urahara's store, Isshin watched in sadness as Yuzu and Karin avoided each other. He'd heard their argument—who hadn't?—and he felt his heart break as he watched his two daughters. The twins had never really fought, and Yuzu was always the one to bridge the gap from any arguments, no matter how small within their family. But now, he watched as Yuzu avoid Karin, who looked like she wanted to speak to Yuzu but kept on backing down, very unlike his more headstrong daughter, he just felt defeated.
He was also worried about the future, the relationship between Yuzu and Mamoru, and that she had kept this relationship a secret. According to Sora, Yuzu never had the chance to explain why she didn't introduce Mamoru to them. He wondered why Yuzu would've hidden a relationship from her family in the future. It slightly hurt him that his daughter felt that she had to hide it from them, and anger at himself that he was not able to sense that something was different with Yuzu. To know there was a future out there where he failed his daughter was bitter taste to his mouth.
"Has anyone heard from Ishida?" Renji asked as he looked around. "Isn't he supposed to be training with us?"
"I believe he's playing the role of a dutiful fiancé," Kisuske replied. "Kakei? Perhaps you'd like to start now?"
Kakei nodded, and he walked Renji as they made their way to the training ground only to stop as they felt an immense number of spiritual presences. Kisuke's hand gripped his cane, ready to use his Zanpakuto.
Back in the shop, everyone in the room felt the rift at the same time, and Ichigo grabbed Orihime and Sora as he instructed Orihime to put her shield up.
"Yuzu, Karin! Stay behind Orihime! Keigo and Asano! Go behind her as well! Kakei, stay with them!"
The wall furthest to them glimmered, and everyone watched as Hideyoshi, Jiro and Kusanagi walked out of the portal, followed by a man no one expected to see.
"Aizen!" Ichigo gritted out as he gripped his Zanpakuto.
"It's been a while, Ichigo Kurosaki."
"Not long enough." Ichigo snapped. "I should've known you were behind all this!"
Aizen simply smiled. "And now you do. Tell me, Ichigo. Are you strong enough now to protect everyone?" He looked at everyone in the room before his gaze settled on Orihime.
With such a cramped space, Kisuke knew that there were too many things that could go wrong. How Aizen and the others managed to penetrate his shields was a mystery that he needed to solve later. At present, he needed to find a way to open the Senkaimon to separate everybody from Aizen and the Taira crew.
"Ichigo, he's baiting you! Don't fall into it!" Isshin ground out as he gripped his own weapon.
The hollows began to appear, and everyone began to separate in battle formation, each ensuring to keep Orihime and the others safe from the line of fire. The warriors stood still, until the hollows released a howl and launched themselves against the Shinigami.
Ichigo had no trouble fighting the hollows, it was Aizen that he wanted, and the bastard stayed back, along with the members of the Taira clan.
"Pull back, Ichigo."
Ichigo gritted his teeth as he ignored Zangetsu. It was Aizen he needed to finish off, and none of these hollows could stop him.
All the kidou that Kisuke placed was starting to fall, and the physical structure of the building was beginning to crumble from the massive spiritual pressures fighting in such a closed space.
"Isshin!" Kisuke called out. "We need to retreat. The structure of this place won't hold for much longer! I need you to cover me!"
Isshin just nodded as he continued to systematically dispose of the hollows attacking him. There was something wrong. There was something troubling about the fact that Aizen and the others were not attacking them.
"I should be out there!" Kakei muttered, but Orihime's hand on his arm stopped him. "I can fight!"
"I know you can," Orihime said softly as she watched the fight. She could see Ichigo making his way to Aizen, and each step closer made his reiatsu darken. His hollow was fighting to be released, and Aizen's appearance was making it worse. "But your safety will be Ichigo's top priority. He won't be able to concentrate if he knows you are in danger."
Kakei chose not to respond, but in the end, he knew it was better for him to be right next to her, where he can protect her better. He gripped his own weapon, and for the first time since he arrived, he no longer cared if people found out who he really was. Protecting his family, his friends, and the future is what mattered most.
Ichigo finally made his way towards Aizen, who looked too cocky for his liking. "If you think you can take Orihime and my son, you have another thing coming!"
Aizen drew his Zanpakuto and attacked Ichigo. "Let's see how much you've improved since the last time we fought!"
"Pull back, Ichigo!"
Once again, Ichigo ignored Zangetsu as he blocked Aizen's attack. Urahara's store was too small, and the place was collapsing at a fast rate. Fighting Aizen wasn't difficult, but it was the closed space and the chance that the others would be hurt that made it difficult. As he concentrated in ensuring that neither Aizen nor his new allies didn't get closer to his family, he never noticed the wall behind Yuzu shimmer.
Kisuke finally managed to open the Senkaimon, and his eyes widened as he noticed the rift opening behind Yuzu. "Yuzu!"
Yuzu turned to face him, but it was too late. She screamed as an arm reached out from behind to grab her.
Instantly, Renji appeared and tried to pull Yuzu back, but was stopped with swipe to his torso as the figure holding Yuzu captive appeared.
"Aizen?" Renji cried out as he turned around to see Ichigo fighting with a man that looked exactly like the one standing in front of him. "What the hell?"
The man holding Yuzu just smiled as he stepped back into the wall and disappeared with the girl.
"No!" Renji cried out as he tried to follow, but the portal disappeared, and Renji slammed his fists into the wall as they turned around to see the other Aizen appear next to Hideyoshi.
"YUZU!" Karin made a move to run towards Yuzu, but was held back by Renji.
Kisuke swore under his breath as he tried to order everyone to retreat. "Renji, you need to bring them in now! This place is collapsing!"
Kisuke dragged Orihime and Sora, who was crying as they helplessly watched as Yuzu was held hostage by Aizen.
Renji grabbed Kakei by the arm as he tried to move forward. "Don't! The whole place is collapsing!" he shouted as he tried to push Kakei through.
"I don't care!" Kakei yelled out, but was overpowered by Renji and Kisuke. Chad, having already dragged Karin inside, pushed a completely distraught Keigo and Asano into the portal, and everyone could only watch as Ichigo's reiatsu began to flare with darkness.
Kakei managed to push Renji and Kisuke away from him as the roof above them began to fall. "Let her go!"
Aizen gave a mocking smile to Kakei. "It appears the father and son have failure in common."
"Aizen!" Ichigo grit out angrily, helpless to do anything to the other Aizen who had Yuzu in his grip.
Behind him, Isshin watched in fury as his daughter struggled against their old nemesis. It didn't matter that there was two of them; it was the one holding his daughter hostage that made him see red.
"Let my sister go, you bastard!" Ichigo cried out as his body trembled with rage.
"Now, now, Ichigo. Can you really attack me without hurting your sister?" Aizen challenged, and smiled at Ichigo's expression. "I thought so."
"Ichi-nii! Daddy!" Yuzu cried out as Aizen handed her over to Kusanagi who turned around and began to take her away.
Before Ichigo could follow, Aizen moved swiftly and tried to slice Ichigo's neck, which he deflected easily. "Stay out of my way!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that," Aizen replied as he continued to block Ichigo effortlessly.
Kakei tried to surge forward, but was held back by Kisuke, who'd again come for him, and was dragged behind just as another beam fell, blocking his path.
"Kakei! We will get your Aunt Yuzu back, but we can't do it here!"
Kisuke watched Kakei glare at him hatefully, and he knew that the boy was about to call out Tsubaki. With no other choice, Kisuke knocked Kakei unconscious before hefting his body and moving him in the safety of the Dangai.
Meanwhile, Yuzu continued to struggle as the man holding her leaned down and whispered against her ear. "Would you like to watch as we defeat your brother and your father, little one?"
"Let go!" Yuzu cried out as Kusanagi held her arms tighter, and even as she tried to kick the man on the shins, there was no reaction from the man holding her.
"I think it's time for us to go. We wouldn't want to keep Mamoru waiting for us."
At his words, Ichigo's eyes widened as he watched as the man holding Yuzu began to leave through the a portal with the other Aizen.
"Come back here!" Ichigo cried out as he fought to reach her. "Just why the hell are there two of you?"
Aizen laughed as he watched Ichigo carefully. Flecks of amber began to appear in Ichigo's eyes. Aizen grinned as he felt Ichigo's control slowly falling apart.
"AIZEN!" Isshin cried out in anger as he bolted towards the man, ready to slice him with his Zanpakuto when Aizen turned around and grabbed Yuzu by the neck and shifted her position in front of him.
Isshin stopped his sword a few inches from Yuzu, who looked in shock. Aizen just smirked as Isshin heard Yuzu scream in fear as he felt Aizen's Zanpakuto slice through his midriff. With a sneer, Aizen twisted the Zanpakuto, causing Isshin to cough up blood.
"Stop it!" Yuzu cried out as she continued to struggle against his hold. "Daddy!"
Isshin grabbed Aizen's sleeves who sneered at him before the exiled Shinigami kicked him away, causing him to crash through the several pieces of wood that have already fallen down.
Isshin coughed up more blood as he stood up. There was no way he was letting Aizen walk away with his daughter. As he moved to charge Aizen again, Jiro blocked his path, but Isshin easily dispatched the man with a simple flick of his fingers.
"Let my daughter go, Aizen."
"I'm afraid I can't do that. After all, I'm only following orders."
Isshin did not move as his mind searched rapidly to find a way to get to his daughter, but before he could try launching another assault, the Aizen who spoke to him moved first, and Isshin barely managed to block the blade aimed at his head.
As he clashed his own sword against Aizen, Isshin gritted his teeth. Urahara's store was falling around them, and there was barely anything left. If this kept up, they'd all be buried. A presence behind him alerted him to danger, and Isshin moved in time to avoid a deadly lunge from Jiro.
"It's over, Kurosaki," Jiro sneered.
Isshin watched a small nick on his hand began to glow red.
Before he could respond, Isshin's vision began to blur as he moved to a defensive stance, Kisuke raced back from the Senkaimon followed by other Shinigami.
Aizen and Jiro stepped back, and Isshin could feel his whole body turn to lead as he felt Kisuke grab hold of him. There was chaos all around him, and he tried to fight Kisuke's hold on him as he tried to reach for his daughter. "I'm sorry, Masaki."Isshin's last vision was Yuzu's frightened face and the world became black.
"DADDY!"
Ichigo felt his hollow stir within him with his sister's cry. He turned around and watched as his father was carried off and focused his attention on Aizen.
"That's it, King! I know you want to tear off his limbs. Let me help you!"
"Aizen! I don't give a fuck why there's two of you...but I'm warning you, let my sister go!"
The man smiled pleasantly at him as if he were a little kid crying over candy. "It appears that you are never going to be strong enough, Ichigo Kurosaki," the older Aizen taunted, and stepped back as Hideyoshi stepped forward. "As good as it is to see you, I'm afraid we can't keep Mamoru waiting for his gift."
Yuzu tried once more to escape from Kusanagi's grasp, but his hold on her was too tight, and she never had a chance to fight back as she was dragged into the portal, followed by the two Aizens and Jiro.
"Ichi-nii!"
"Yuzu!"
The portal closed before Ichigo could reach it, and he turned towards Hideysohi who looked momentarily shocked at being left behind.
"Ichigo!" Kisuke called out. He could tell that whatever it was that was holding Ichigo's hollow inside and contained was growing weaker. "We need to go, now!"
Ichigo ignored Kisuke as he grabbed Hideyoshi by the neck. "Open the gate!" he growled.
Kisuke noted with dismay the tendrils of dark smoke that began to pool at Ichigo's feet. "Ichigo, release him! We will get your sister back, but we need to leave now!" The roof began to crumble. "Ichigo!"
Ichigo turned sharply towards Kisuke, and Ichigo's eyes were no longer brown, but yellow.
"If you think I will let you..."
A rumble of a motorcycle interrupted whatever Ichigo was saying as Uryuu, Tatsuki and Ayame crashed through a wall and headed straight towards him.
"Ishida! Pull him inside!" Kisuke ordered, and Ishida followed Kisuke's instructions, and used all his remaining strength and dragged Ichigo by the sleeves of his uniform, with Hideyoshi still in his grasp as they raced through the portal. Once everyone was inside, Kisuke quickly closed the portal, as the store that was his home completely crumbled to the ground.
In the Dangai, the speed and the weight was too much for Tatsuki and the bike skidded to the side. Everyone was thrown to the ground.
There were too many things that Ichigo was angry with, but he focused all his anger on one person. He grinded his teeth as he stood up and hauled Hideyoshi up and held him by the neck again.
"Open the gate."
"I can't," Hideyoshi wheezed as he tried to breathe.
"Ichigo! Let him go!" Renji commanded as he tried to take Ichigo's hands away from Hideyoshi.
"They have my sister!"
"I know that! He's not going to be much use to us if he's dead!"
Ichigo ignored Renji as he slammed Hideyoshi's head against the rock. "Open the gate!"
"I can't!" Hideyoshi replied. "It doesn't matter even if I lead you to the land of the Taira...they're not in this time!"
Ichigo didn't release his grip on Hideyoshi, but he stopped trying to shake or hit him, and settled for a deep, disturbing glare.
"Gampa!" a loud wail caught his attention, and he turned around to see his father lying underneath Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka.
He let Hideyoshi drop to the ground as he walked towards his father. Kneeling next to Orihime, Karin cried as she saw him. "Ichi-nii!"
"Orihime..." he said softly as he wrapped his arms around his sister.
Karin's body shook as they looked at their father. Sora just continued to cry as Chad held him, and Kakei looked pale as he stared down on the ground, his fists clenched tightly closed.
Tatsuki walked towards the group, followed by Uryuu and Ayame. "What happened to
Isshin-san?"
"He's going to be okay, right?" Ichigo whispered painfully. "You can heal him?"
Orihime's tears began to fall as she shook her head. "I'm sorry Ichigo-kun, I don't know if I can."
He felt his heart constrict as he turned his attention back to his father, and placed the palm of his hands over the shield. His father was loud, annoying and boisterous. To see him lying still felt surreal. He could feel Karin sob beside him, hear Orihime as she tried to stop crying, and Sora who was calling out for his grandfather, trying to wriggle out of Chad's grasp.
"What...what do you mean?"
"The soul poison. Oka-san's Shun Shun Rikka can only stop the poison from spreading...but..." Kakei couldn't finish the words, and everyone who heard him refer to Orihime as his mother was too shocked to say anything.
"But what?" Ichigo asked as he felt his throat constrict.
"This is why we have never launched an attack against the Taira. One small nick, that's all it will take for the poison to get to the system."
Ichigo looked at Kakei as he remembered Mamoru's words.
"There has to be a mistake... He can't..." Ichigo looked back at his father, unable to believe that his father was about to lose his soul and die for forever. He had never imagined a world without his father. Couldn't imagine one.
"Ayame and Shun-o are trying to find a way..." Orihime said softly as she took Ichigo's hands. "We're not giving up."
"Accept it, you will never defeat us. The throne will revert back to the Taira clan where it belongs," Hideyoshi spat out, his hands bound as Renji hauled him up to his feet.
"Shut up," Renji muttered darkly. "Don't push your luck."
Hideyoshi just sneered. "Heh. You might as well just give up now; nothing can stop Seishiro-sama, especially now that that child is in his hands."
At the mention of Yuzu, Ichigo's whole body became taut as he stood up and Renji was tempted to knock the man out to shut him up.
"Ichigo-kun," Orihime called out, and tried to hold on to Ichigo. He stopped before gently removing Orihime's hand.
"Don't worry, Hime. I won't take long."
His voice made everyone pause in worry, but Hideyoshi just continued to gloat.
"No need to worry, Kurosaki-san. I'm sure that your sister would make a fine addition to the Taira clan. After all—"
Hideyoshi never finished his taunt because Ichigo disappeared, and before he could blink, the orange haired man was in front of him, eyes feral and bright as he seemed to stare straight into his soul.
"After all, what?"
"Ichigo!" Renji called out as he tried to pull his friend away from Hideyoshi. "We need this asshole for information. We can't kill him!."
"I won't hurt him," Ichigo promised as his eyes continued to gleam, and Renji watched as a mask slowly surfaced on his face. "Much."
Ichigo and Hideyoshi disappeared, and all they could hear was Hideyoshi's howl of pain from a distance as Ichigo reiatsu burst like an open flame, the darkness of his hollow finally unleashed and ready to conquer its King.
-0-0-0
Another chapter completed! Hoped that you all liked this one! Reviews and comments are much appreciated, they'll keep me warm these winter months :)
Magdalena88: You got it!
Lord Jaric: Crap... my apologies. Some scenes have been re-arranged, but Seishiro's interest in Orihime will be explained soon, and Nadeshiko will be in Ichigo's other interlude, but that will be much, much later.
RainingLight: Thank you! Hope you liked this update!
melnel: Not exactly his fault, he does have a reason for doing what he did, and his Interlude would hopefully explain that. Thanks for reading!
Xtremefairy: Correct! Thank you for the comment!
robin aries: Hehehe! Yes, you are right! Thank you! Glad you liked that scene, that was my favourite in that chapter.
nypsy: There will be more explanations in what happened to Orihime's power later, and future Sora will get a chance to kick ass soon!
DeathBerryLover1995: I'm sure Renji learned his lesson! No Aizen jr here, I'm afraid! The world is not ready for one! Ichigo will have another interlude that will delve deeper on where he went and what he did, but it's going to be a while. In regards to other pairings: stay tuned. Seishiro has reasons for wanting Orihime, but you'll have to wait :)
Ichihime supporter: No worries, and thank you for the comment and hope you continue to enjoy what I dish out!
Anna: Thank you! Hope you like this chapter too!
And thank you all again for all your reading!