Hey guys, here's the next chapter.

Translations:

Ōbushīrudo – orb shield

Kyohi kabe – rejecting wall

Kakusareta shīrudo – hidden wall.

Chapter 3

"Regular Speech"

"Thoughts"

"Hollow Speech"

Ichigo tore his hand though the air, opening a garganta and throwing Nel in after making sure to give her enough raitsu to allow her to maintain her form for at least a week.

Just as the garganta closed, Soifon and Hitsugaya flew at him, swords aimed for his heart. Komamura raised his zanpakuto and yelled "Tenken!" Causing a massive spectral sword to fall down from above.

Ichigo swept his hand up, causing a wave of reishi five times as dense as normal reishi to rise up and form a wall in front of him. Komamura's spectral sword along with Hitsugaya's and Soi Fon's zanpakuto crashed into and glanced off the massive shield. "Huh," mused Ichigo. "I didn't know I could do that." Then looking towards the still disorientated captains, said, "Well, Captains, if you're done attacking me, you should open a senkaimon and we can get going."

The captains narrowed their eyes suspiciously, but opened the gate. Marching in, Soifon, with suzumebachi pointed at the back of his neck, and Toshiro with Hyorinmaru at his Adam's apple, escorted Ichigo through the senkaimon.

They arrived in Soul Society seconds later with the aid of hell butterflies. Ichigo immediately felt raw power filling him. He could feel the reishi around him. Unlike when he could just feel the air, here he knew he could not only create garganta, but bend the reishi – and therefore reality – around him to his will. He would have to try that later.

As he walked through the seireitei with his three escorts (They made the intelligent decision not to add any regular soul reapers), he passed a few of the squad barracks. Captain Shunsui Kyoraku lay on a mat with Nanao flitting around him with paperwork. As Ichigo passed by though, Shunsui looked up with interest. Focusing on something only he could see for a split second, his eyes widened. He looked at the escorts with fear. He was scared for them.

Captain Jushiro Ukitake looked on in pity, though who for it was hard to tell. As per the usual, his two lieutenants buzzing around him, competing to be the best.

The last barracks they walked by were squad eleven. None other than captain Kenpachi Zaraki stood there staring with fire in his eyes. "Hey Ichigo! I swear, if you die before you fight me again I will fucking kill you!" The escorts sped up a little at this. They knew what the verdict would be, and didn't want to get their asses kicked by Kenpachi.

Finally, they arrived at squad one barracks, and entered the Head Captain's quarters. Ichigo stood in front of Genryusai Yamamoto. "Ichigo Kurosaki!" The Head Captain boomed. "You have become a blight on the Soul Society. Central 46 has decided that you are to be executed by the Sokyoku on Sokyoku hill. Though I would much rather not take such extreme measures, Central 46's orders are indisputable. You will be in a cell in the prison for 5 days, and your family and friends will be interrogated in four." Ichigo's eyes narrowed at this. "On the sixth day you will report to Sokyoku hill at noon. That is all."

Ichigo was escorted back to a cell in squad 2 barracks. He, though unthrilled with being locked up by the captain who likely hates him the most, was excited to see what he could do with this reishi saturated dimension.

Day 1:

The first morning was rather horrible. He woke up to a bucket of cold water on his face. The worst part? It was just some obscure stealth force member. They couldn't even bother that fatass lieutenant to get up and do it. He could just imagine the fatso eating his chips, watching little kitten videos, and complaining to Soifon simultaneously. The nerve.

He wasn't even fed. Some people actually need food, ya know. Damn dead people.

He began to experiment with the air, first opening the smallest garganta possible, just to make sure he could. It would be unfortunate if he didn't have an escape route.

He then tried bending the bars of the cell. Though he met some resistance, it wasn't very difficult to make a hole large enough for him to slip through. He replaced the bars how they were. He didn't want his captors knowing he could get out any time.

Obviously, his zanpakuto was taken from him when they imprisoned him, but he couldn't think of a way to access it. Then, suddenly, he heard a familiar voice. "Ichigo... call my name Ichigo..."

"Zangetsu?" Ichigo said in surprise. Suddenly, he felt a weight in his hand that wasn't there before. He looked down. "Whoa. That's cool." Zangetsu was in his hand. Except it was made of red-black reishi. It felt exactly the same as when he put on his mask, but it was made with reishi similar to that used in getsuga.

"I know what you're thinking, and yes it works like getsuga." Ichigo drew his arms back. "No! Don't throw it! The destruction will draw everyone towards you. Just let go and it will dissipate."

Ichigo opened his hand and, as Zangetsu explained, the reishi blade dissipated. "cool."

"You probably shouldn't let the guards see you do that. I have no idea what possessed them not to put you in a cell with seki seki stone. At least then all you could do is open a garganta to escape. Though you are incredibly powerful, you do have limits."

Good to know. He needed to know his limits. If he was to protect his family, he would have to be able to avoid any limiting factors.

Well, now that he could defend himself, he continued his experimenting. He knew he could throw up a solid wall of reishi as a shield, but he wanted to see if he could manipulate the properties of that reishi as well. First he tried to add an explosive effect to it, similar to Orihime's Shiten Koshun, but that didn't work. Next, he tried adding an absorption filter, which would weaken reishi bonds and disperse an attack that hit the shield – much like Uryu's Seele Schneider – making it more durable.

Success! That worked. Good. Kido would be a bitch if he couldn't diffuse it. No matter how strong the shield was, if an explosion did manage to get through, it would hurt. A lot.

Next, he tried to expand the utility of the shield, attempting to layer it. That didn't work, so he tried to surround himself in an orb. That did. He could tell the shield was weaker, but it would prove much more versatile.

Finally, he added a light filter in, to create camouflage. This also worked. Cool.

He was done training. Now he would wait a day, then make his escape.

Day two:

Another unpleasant morning. Don't these people know he saved them? No respect. Anyway, now he could figure out what to do to get back to the human world. So, he waited for the guards to walk out of earshot, and bent the bars apart. He stepped out and crept along the squad two barracks. If Soifon caught him in a sonido he would have to deal with just about every soul reaper in the seireitei.

He sensed a group approaching around the corner. He ducked into a gap in the wall, "Kakusareta shīrudo." He whispered, and threw up a wall of concealing reishi. The group walked past, thankfully turning before they got to the empty cell. "That's cool. And very useful."

He walked out of the indent and kept walking. He crept around the corner, silencing his footsteps, and walked right into a squad member. Thank God for increased reflexes. He almost immediately knocked the member out before he could make a sound. Close one.

Ichigo finally made it outside of the barracks, and started walking down one of the roads in the seireitei. He sonido'd over to Kyoraku's barracks. Ichigo figured if anyone would open a senkaimon for him, it would be Shunsui.

He sonido'd into the captains quarters, but no one was there. Oddly enough, there was, of all things, a radio playing. "'Undah dah sea, undah dah sea, down where it's wettah, here take a sweatah, undah dah sea!'" It chimed. For some reason, Ichigo was pretty sure someone changed the lyrics. Weird.

Anyway, he figured that he could wait a while. He backed up into a corner, drew his hands up and called, "Kakusareta shīrudo." A wall of concealing reishi formed in front of him, and he closed his eyes.

Time skip

Slam!

"What do you mean Ichigo disappeared?" He heard Captain Ukitake ask.

"It's not like I would know. Soifon called me to her barracks to ask me if I had seen him." Ichigo heard Captain Kyoraku's laid back voice. "It's not like he's going to try to destroy the seireitei or anything. He has no motivation to do it, and even if he did, he's not the kind of person that would. Honestly, he's probably just trying to find a way out of the seireitei back home."

Wow, he hit the nail on the head. He may be lazy, but he's really intelligent. Maybe he'll be the next head captain. Wait, what am I saying the current one isn't going anywhere.

"Anyway, if there's nothing else Jushiro, I'm going to take a nap."

"Okay. Well, tell me if you see him. He might not be the same person as he was before he became hollow." Jushiro walked out of the room. Ouch.

"Okay, you can come out now Ichigo." Kyoraku said.

Ichigo dispersed the reishi wall. "How did you know I was here?"

"I could feel your spiritual pressure from outside. Jushiro was just too excited to notice." Kyoraku began. "So Ichigo, was I correct in assuming you aren't going to try to destroy the Soul Society?"

"I have no reason to destroy the Soul Society. Though they may be trying to execute me, I'm not going to punish every soul reaper in the Seireitei for Central 46's idiotic decisions. I just want to go home. As long as you leave me alone, you'll never see me again. If you don't, I'll fight you off until you leave me alone. So... are you going to open me a senkaimon or what?"

"Ichigo, you know that would be treason on my part, right?... Though, life is no fun when you follow all the rules." Shunsui drew one of his twin Zanpakuto and held it out in front of him. He turned it ninety degrees t to the right, and a senkaimon opened. "Oh, and Ichigo... I am going to have to report that you overpowered me and forced me to do this. You are aware of that?"

"Yes."

"Okay then, go right ahead. If you would excuse me, I have a report to have Nanao go file." Ichigo went through the senkaimon chuckling.

Unfortunately, he was sent right into a group of soul reapers. They must have heard of his escape and were guarding the precipice world. Looks like Yamamoto really was intelligent after all. Or maybe it was Central 46 making all the decisions. He didn't know anymore.

After a little fist fighting his way out of the crowd, he sonido'd to the exit with tattered bankai robes. Of course, of all places, he landed in the underground of Urahara's shop. "Damn you Shunsui!" He could picture that goofy grin on his face at this moment, probably knowing there had been soul reapers in the precipice world. That captain had a lot of faith in him. He could have easily killed all those soul reapers, but Kyoraku knew he wouldn't. At least someone believed he was still good.

"Well hello there Ichigo," he heard a familiar teasing voice. "I just knew you couldn't stay away."

Ichigo looked to his left and saw a – thankfully – submerged Yoruichi in the hot springs. Last time I was here, those weren't. Why did they have to add them? He thought. Suddenly, Yoruichi's eyes grew wide.

"Wow... I heard you had fused with your hollow, but I didn't think your spirit energy would change this much. Or grow this much... I wonder if anything else grew..." Yoruichi's eyes drifted down as she stood up.

"AH! I'm gonna go find Urahara! Bye!" Ichigo sprinted like his life depended on it. He almost flew up the ladder into the shop. When he got to the top, he walked through the shop until he got to the front, where he found Kisuke. "Hey Kisuke, did you have to put in a damn hot spring?"

"Ah! Mr. Kurosaki! I figured you would show up sooner or later. What do you need?"

"I need help getting stronger." Kisuke turned and looked at him in surprise.

"Why the hell would you need –" he paused when he saw Ichigo. "What happened to you?"

So Ichigo told him the tale of how he got 'detained' and escaped.

"Impressive. Well, I can't think of how I could help you train. It's not like you couldn't destroy the Soul Society on a whim."

"I need help controlling my spiritual pressure." Ichigo began. "I know I can use it to defend myself, but I can't risk hurting my family. With the control I have now, if they were anywhere near me they could get hurt. If I had to fight the head captain, I could kill them."

"Okay. I'll train you. Just like old times. Except this time we only have 1 day instead of thirteen."

"Ooh! Does this mean I get to see your Bankai?" Ichigo asked excitedly.

"Patience Ichigo. I can't use it unless the author knows what it is. You will just have to wait till Thursday when the next chapter of the manga comes out."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo was confused.

"I promise it will be cool though."

"Okay..."

Yoruichi then walked in, thankfully fully clothed. "Talking about me? I'm sure Ichigo wants to know a lot of things about me."

Ichigo went red at this. "Actually he was asking me for help controlling his spiritual pressure." With that they descended down the ladder and began. "First, let's test your defensive capabilities. 'Scream' Benihime!" He launched an arc of crimson energy at Ichigo.

"Whoa! Kyohi kabe!" A wall of reishi swept up in front of him.

"Interesting. That's a handy power you got there. Let's see how you take this one." He jumped up into the air. "Shibari, Benihime!" A net of crimson energy flew at Ichigo from above.

"Ōbushīrudo!" Ichigo shouted. An orb of reishi flew up around him.

"Hiasobi, Benihime!" Kisuke stabbed the net covering ichigo's shield. There was a rather large explosion. Like, a crater was in its place. Miraculously, the orb of reishi was still there. "Well Ichigo, I think it's safe to say your defensive capabilities are immense. Now you are going to practice attacking with your spiritual pressure without hitting others. That starts tomorrow.

By this point Ichigo was pretty damn tired. He slept till morning.

Day three:

Ichigo woke to a fresh dose of PTSD. Aka a nice cold bucket of water to the face. "WHAT THE HELL YORUICHI?"

"Morning Ichigo." She said sweetly.

"Damn exhibitionists. All of them are sadistic." He muttered as he got out of bed and got dressed, not realizing Yoruichi was still watching him.

"Thanks for the show, Ichigo." She grinned and strutted out of the room. As Ichigo's face turned into a strawberry.

Ichigo made his way to the training ground. When he got there, he discovered a range of rocks set up in rings all over the place.

"Good morning Ichigo. What you are going to do today is try to break as few rocks as possible in each ring, with a minimum of one. In other words, break one rock in the ring. Break any more, you fail.

"I know how I can control that! I'll be right back." Ichigo tore a garganta into reality and stepped through.

Grimmjow was waiting on the other side. "I don't have time for you." Ichigo released 3 percent of his spiritual pressure to be safe, and Grimmjow was crushed to the ground. Ichigo casually walked by. He stopped. "Oh, have you seen Neliel? I need her back."

"Just call her name. God knows she's so in love with you she would hear you from Soul Society." Grimmjow snarled.

After a bit of blushing, Ichigo called out. "Nel? Wanna come back to the human world with me?"

After a minute of waiting he heard: "ITSYGO~! I missed you so much!" She yelled as she tackled him, arms around his neck.

"Why aren't you being crushed too?" Grimmjow managed to grind out.

"Oh, I just absorb Itsy's raitsu. Turns out that I don't even need to eat when he's around." She grinned.

"Bye bye, Grimmjow!" She said happily as Ichigo opened another garganta and they walked through.

Ichigo and Nel walked back into Kisuke's... 'basement.' "Well who is this lovely lady?" Kisuke asked.

"Hands off!" Ichigo shouted as he slugged Kisuke in the gut when he reached out and tried to grab Nel. Ichigo didn't even realize he had his arm around her.

"Hypocrite." Kisuke went to throw a fit in a corner.

"Anyway," Ichigo began, "I need some help Nel. Do you think you could absorb some of my excess raitsu when I use it to attack enemies? I don't want it hurting my friends when the whole point of the attack is to protect them. You seemed perfect since you're immune to my power."

"Of course! I'd do anything for you Ichi!" Nel chirped happily.

Anything, huh... NO! BAD ICHIGO! It's not like that... Grimmjow's words echoed in his head. I think.

Then he heard what he thought sounded suspiciously like his hollow laughing. Damn echo.

HA! Remember, I can't influence you if you don't already want it on some level...

Ichigo chose to forget about that. "Okay Nel, let's get going." They walked over to the center of one of the rings, and Ichigo focused on one of the rocks. He placed Nel directly behind him, trying to ignore certain objects pressing on his back.

"Okay, here we go." He released some raitsu. Half the rocks shattered. "Damn."

"I'm so sorry Itsy! It's all my fault!" Nel pouted.

"It's okay Nel. It's not your fault." Ichigo consoled her. "We can't expect the first try to go perfect."

After a few more times, Ichigo managed to narrow it down to 3 rocks. It was at that point he noticed Kisuke struggling to stand. "That's some woman you got there. Good... night..." He proceeded to pass out and sleep. After Ichigo moved him to the other side of the training ground by the ladder, they continued training. By the end of the day, he got it to two rocks.

Nel smiled happily, "Glad I could help Itsy!" Ichigo drifted up to bed. He was so tired that he didn't even notice when Nel got in the bed and cuddled up beside him.

Hey Guys! Sorry about the long wait for this one, but I had other stuff to do too. I hope you liked the chapter! Btw, if anyone got the Dunkey reference, comment. I love you. I'm pleased to say I no longer need a beta, and even more pleased that my beta is Astromormy, whose story, Equal to None, was what inspired me! Thanks dude. Thanks for all the positive reviews! Keep up the R&Rs! You guys are great.