Translations:

Ōbushīrudo – orb shield

Kyohi kabe – rejecting wall

Kakusareta shīrudo – hidden wall.

Lanzador Verde – Spanish: green lancer. Japanese: Jade lance.

Salvaje Verde Atravesar - Savage Jade Pierce.

Hey there! Once again, thanks for all the R&Rs! I read one yesterday and it made my day. Thanks for all the positive support! Hopefully I can continue to impress.

Chapter 4

"Normal Speech"

"Hollow Speech"

'Thoughts'

Day 4:

Ichigo woke up feeling warm. Not a sweaty, uncomfortable warm, but a warm feeling like waking up on a winter morning and snuggling into the blankets. That wonderful kind of warm that makes you never want to wake up. Then he realized what was so amazingly warm. "AH!"

"What's wrong, Ichi?" Nel awoke with a start.

"When did you... what happened last night?"

"You were so tired, you fell right to sleep. You were training all day yesterday, remember?" Nel reminded him, giggling.

"Oh... yeah," said Ichigo, dazed. He remembered what day it was. His eyes widened. "Kisuke! Go alert my friends! I'm going to my house," He yelled downstairs. Then jumping out the window, he ran towards home with Nel close behind.

Unfortunately, as he approached home, he felt very, very high spiritual pressure approaching his house at an alarming rate. Realizing that at the pace they were moving, they wouldn't get there in time, he yelled back, "Come on Nel, we need to sonido the rest of the way." So they did, both disappearing in an instant. And boy, did they go fast. They made it into Ichigo's room just as they heard a knock on the door. "Dad! Soul Society's here! Get ready for a fight!"

"MY SON! WHEN DID YOU GET HO— A WOMEN! OH MASAKI, OUR SON HAS FINALLY BECOME A MAN!" Isshin ran to the poster of his late wife crying in happiness. Until what Ichigo said registered. "Oh. Ok then." He left his gigai behind, drawing Engetsu as the front door was knocked in.

Two captains walked in the door. "Kurosaki! Please come quietly! No one has to get hurt any more from your rash actions." It was Toshiro... and Soifon. Why her? She hated him the most out of anyone.

"Hey Toshiro," Ichigo answered. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going with you. I have more important things to do." The two captains drew their Zanpakuto. Ichigo began to as well but...

"Don't worry Itsygo... I'll make quick work of them for you." She grinned. "Every second I'm with you I get stronger." She stepped forward as Ichigo smiled as well. She immediately tore a garganta and sonido'd to snag the two captains. "Come on Itsy, wanna watch?" She asked cutely. Then she beckoned to him as she walked through the garganta with Ichigo following close behind.

"Dad, you stay here. Make sure more don't come for Yuzu and Karin." Then he walked through the garganta.

As he stepped into Hueco Mundo he saw quite a beautiful display. He saw Nel hold her sword out in front of her horizontally. "'Declare!' Gamuza!" A massive rush of pink raitsu engulfed Nel and the immediate area around her. When it cleared, he saw her in her centaur-like form.

He suddenly remembered her fight with Nnoitra. "I was able to return to this form because you brought the little me here and protected me the entire time. Now it's my turn to protect you." Her words from long ago echoed in his head.

"This is your last chance shinigami. Return to Soul Society while you still can and never come back." Nel wore the serious look on her face that she had when she told Nnoitra she wouldn't fight him.

"We don't take orders from hollows. Though you may be closer to a Soul Reaper than most, there is still a hole where your heart once was. You are disgusting." Soifon spat.

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "They're going to regret that."

"I may have no heart, but I do have feelings. Not all hollows are soulless monsters." Nel retorted. "Let's go Gamuza." She immediately unleashed a massive amount of reiatsu. Now it dawned on Ichigo. His and Nel's reiatsu was extremely similar. Now he knew why she just absorbed his excess reiatsu, instead of being crushed by it. And with a very powerful effect. Her spiritual pressure alone had the Captains struggling to stand.

Soifon looked at Nel in horror and disgust. Toshiro turned to Ichigo with wide eyes. "What have you done with her? How is she this powerful, Ichigo?"

"Every second she spends with me, she absorbs my reiatsu. She could be just as strong as me." Ichigo said grinning. "Run while you still can."

Toshiro did the smart thing. He opened a senkaimon to report to the head captain. Soifon did the stupid thing. She Flash Stepped behind Nel and brought her already released suzumebachi towards the gothic three on Nel's back.

Yeah. Stupid thing.

Nel swung around and grabbed Soifon's forearm. She proceeded to stab Soifon through the stomach. "How..." She coughed, "did you..." Her eyes glazed over.

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Um, Nel? I don't think Yoruichi will be very pleased if you kill her favorite pupil..."

"Oops! Oh no Itsy! What do I –?" Nel threw the second captain into a sand dune. "I see you are very skilled in kido as well, O great Captain." She mocked.

"Shunko!" Soifon cried as she shed her captain's haori. White reishi erupted from her back. Suddenly she had no trouble moving, and her stomach wound closed. "I refuse to fall to a disgusting hollow! I will kill you!"

"Maybe this will be fun after all!" Nel exclaimed. "I normally don't like fighting, but if it's for Itsygo, I would take on all of Soul Society and love every second!"

Soifon Flash Stepped behind Nel with Suzumebachi aimed once again at the gothic three. Nel jabbed her in the stomach with her elbow, and once again she flew into a sand dune. Nel drew her lance arm back. "Lanzador Verde." With insane speed the lance flew towards Soifon. If it was any other Soul Reaper in Soul Society, their head would have been drilled through. But it was Captain Soifon of the stealth force. She just barely managed to – mostly – dodge the spear, with just a shallow wound on her cheek. This time she dashed toward Nel head on, with the grace of a falcon. As she reached Nel, she delivered a massive kido-charged punch straight to Nel's stomach. Or, at least she tried to. Nel simply caught her fist and twisted her arm until she heard a crack. It was at that point that Nel called Gamuza to her. "Come, Gamuza." As Gamuza flew to Nel's hand, she flung Soifon to the ground and stepped on her chest to keep her in place. Then, she rested the spear over Soifon's right lung. "Salvaje Verde Atravesar." She said sadly. Gamuza pierced through Soifon's ribs and punctured her lung.

Soifon coughed up blood. "I will not fall to a filthy hollow. Arrancars are just a mockery of shinigami." Blood drizzled from the corner of her mouth. "I hate my Bankai. It is much too loud and flashy for my taste. It is not fit for an assassin. However, in times like this, I am forced to use it... Bankai," she began. "Jakuho Raikoben." A large missile launcher appeared around her arm as a pillar of yellow-gold reiatsu shot into the sky. "Goodbye, arrancar scum." She finished as she jumped back, aimed, and fired.

Ichigo, fearing for his own safety, called up his mask. "Ōbushīrudo," he said, throwing up his hand.

Nel drilled the biggest hole she could in the sand and ducked down. Needless to say, the explosion was massive. Ichigo, though he couldn't see, felt the mass of reiatsu used in the attack. It was almost as much as his own. Scary.

When the explosion ended, Ichigo took the shield down. He then beheld the devastation that was the landscape around him. There was a massive crater in front of him, and at the very bottom, was Neliel. "Nel! Get up! Please!" Ichigo was paralyzed with worry. He actually couldn't move as Soifon, panting, aproached Nel in shikai. Nel's Heirro was all but destroyed. It wouldn't protect her now.

"'Kick about!' Los Lobos!" He heard a thundering, but somehow lazy, voice boom. It was at that moment that Soifon, who had just reached Nel, turned to see who it was.

And immediately took a Cero to the face.

Had she been anything less powerful than a captain, her head would have been disintegrated. Instead, she was just knocked out; she wouldn't wake for a while.

"I really would have preferred to continue sleeping, but Lilynette insisted that I see what was going on." A man walked up to Ichigo. "I see. You are the one who defeated Aizen."

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked. Anyone that could hit the fastest Shinigami in Soul Society with a surprise Cero must be incredibly powerful.

"Coyote Starrk." He raised his left hand and pulled off his glove to reveal... a gothic one. "Primera Espada."

"Wow. You are deserving of your rank." Ichigo sonido'd over to Nel and picked her up bridal style. To his surprise, Starrk appeared next to him. "What do you want?"

"… is that Neliel? It's been a while. I have nothing better to do, so can I come with you?" Stark asked.

"Um... ok." Ichigo was a bit stunned. "Anyway, let's go." He opened a garganta and they stepped through to their house. Isshin acted like a dumbass as usual.

"WELCOME BAAAAAACK~ ICHIGOOOOOO~!"

"Call Orihime," Ichigo said after kicking his ridiculous father in the face. "I'll be right back." Ichigo took Soifon to Urahara and left her outside the door after knocking. He then sonido'd back to Orihime's house. "Orihime, I need you."

Orihime went red at this, but was startled when Ichigo grabbed her and Sonido'd to his house. When she saw Nel, she immediately knew what to do. A few long hours later, she was done. It was at that point that she noticed Starrk and screamed. "You're... You're... why are you here? Get away from me!"

Ichigo was confused. "What's wrong?"

"He's the one... who took me to Aizen's throne room after Grimmjow freed me." She whimpered.

Ichigo swung around and glared at Starrk. "Zangetsu." A red black reishi sword formed in his hand. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't obliterate you right now." At this point everyone that was conscious was scared. Nel was smiling; she was absorbing Ichigo's reiatsu in her sleep.

Starrk, though starting to sweat a bit on the inside, kept his cool. "I'll give you two," he began calmly. "One: if you attack, it is likely you will destroy the house and everyone in it. Two: I was only doing my job. I didn't want to kidnap your friend, I was ordered to. I actually quite like humans; they interest me." That little speech calmed Ichigo down quite a bit.

"I-I-Itsygo?" He heard a weak voice call his adorable nickname. He almost immediately dashed to Nel's side.

"Hey there," he smiled, "Are you doing okay?" He asked. Nel suddenly clutched the mask on her head. The crack was wider. "Orihime, can you heal her mask?"

She walked over and said, "I think so. I wasn't really focusing on the mask. I kinda forgot she had it for a second." The mask closed up, but not before a substantial amount of reiatsu came rushing out.

"I feel really weak... come closer, Ichigo." He leaned in, and he felt her arms wrap around him. He felt some of his reiatsu draining rather quickly, but he was happy to help Nel. At least until she kissed him. At that point his mind blacked out for what seemed like hours, but he heard the door slam and a few sobs outside just seconds later. He snapped out of his trance and looked around. Starrk had dozed off in a chair, and Orihime was nowhere to be seen. He opened the front door and saw Orihime's retreating back. He sonido'd over to her.

"What's wrong Orihime?" He asked in concern. She didn't answer with anything other than pushing him out of the way to continue running. The message was clear.

'I don't want to talk to you right now.'

Ichigo returned to his house. "Did I do something wrong?" He asked Nel. She just shrugged.

'I've won. He's mine now.' Nel smiled to herself. Orihime should stop pursuing him now. She tried to get up. She wobbled a little, but she managed to stand steadily after a minute. "I need to train more. If a single captain could beat me, I'm not strong enough. I'm going to go to Kisuke's training ground." She gave Ichigo a quick peck on her way out. He just stood there stunned.

He looked around, but the only one there was Starrk, and he was asleep. Suddenly he felt very tired. He just manage to get to the couch. He was asleep before he hit the cushions.

Thanks once again to my Beta Reader Astromormy! I'm sorry for the waiting, but you can probably expect 2-3 updates a month (unless I'm really inspired for some reason.) Now, because I don't think we ever saw Starrk specifically perish, I thought it would be cool to have him in the story. Also, I chose to repress the memory of Lilynette dying, soooooo... yeah. And by the way, the training Nel is going through is going to be very fruitful. R&R please~!