Soul Society: Seireitei: 11th Squad Barracks.

11th squad Captain, Kenpachi Zaraki, was noticeably irritated. He was currently sitting behind his desk as he watched his Lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi, playing a game of tag with the defected Arrancar Neliel Tu Oderschvank. The reason Nel was there was partially his fault.

After Ichigo and the others had defeated the Espada and the other Arrancar loyal to Aizen and his minions, Nel was left homeless since she had helped the Soul Reapers crush Aizen's plan and destroyed the very device that gave the hollows the abilities to gain Soul Reaper powers. She was stuck in her child form but was loyal to the Soul Reapers to the end. She had quickly made friends with Yachiru, so Kenpachi (who has a weakness for kids no matter who or what they are) offered to let Nel live with him and Yachiru in the 11th squad Barracks. The Soul Reapers that had encountered Nel each vouched for her and Head Captain Yamamoto finally conceded. Apparently, old man Yamamoto also has a soft spot for kids too.

But today was an exception…Kenpachi was bored and this boredom made him irritated. He was itching for a fight and was constantly watching the former third Espada carefully in the hopes that she would have a sudden surge of memory and regain her former powers...then maybe he could fight her and have some actual fun.

"(Sigh) this is annoying. The hollow-brat has been here for over three weeks and yet she hasn't once transformed into that super powerful version that nearly crushed Ichigo to death. Ah Ichigo. He needs to get his lousy bum to the Soul Society so we can fight…too bad he's busy in the world of the living. I could really afford to have someone to fight against right now. Blasted Madarame and that flaming idiot are in the real world so there's no one else for me to fight. (Sigh) I hate this…where's Aizen and one of his halfassed plots to shake things up when you need him to?" Kenpachi thought as he continued watching the two youngsters playing. He then heard a knocking at the door.

"Whoever it is better be willing to fight me!" Kenpachi shouted. He then heard a horrified scream and footsteps racing away from the door. Kenpachi grinned and raced after the now fearful figure, crashing through the still closed door as he ran without slowing down.

"Come back here and fight me!" Kenpachi shouted as the figure tripped and fell flat on his face. Kenpachi skidded to a halt with his Zanpakuto drawn. The figure rolled over to reveal Aramaki Makizo, cowering for his life.

"Ugh, what did you want Aramaki?" Zaraki asked impatiently. He knew Aramaki was no challenge and thus no fun.

"Captain Kuchiki is calling you to a special meeting at his manor sir!" Aramaki cowered.

"Kuchiki? What the hell does he want?" Kenpachi asked as he sheathed his Zanpakuto.

"What's that Kenny? We going to see Petals?" Yachiru asked as she lay slung over Kenpachi's right shoulder.

"You sure you want to go with me? Aren't you and the hollow-brat still having fun?" Kenpachi asked as he felt something flop onto his left shoulder. He turned to see Nel lying over his shoulder like Yachiru.

"That's the thing with eternal tag; you can put it on pause for as long as you want jingles." Nel lisped as she swatted at the bells at the end of Kenpachi's hair spikes. She had unfortunately inherited Yachiru's penitent for giving people nicknames.

"Yeah well whatever. Let's go." Kenpachi grumbled as he rocketed out of the barracks and into the street towards the Kuchiki manor.


In the Kuchiki manor…

Byakuya Kuchiki sat with Captain Unohana as they both sat waiting patiently for Zaraki to arrive.

"I'm still curious why you called me here Captain Kuchiki. What is the nature of this meeting?" Unohana asked curiously with her usual gentle demeanor.

"I will explain when Zaraki arrives." Byakuya said in his typical stoic manner. Soon enough however one of the walls exploded and in ran Kenpachi with Yachiru and Nel on his shoulders.

"Would it hurt to use the door next time?" Byakuya asked calmly.

"Would it hurt you to come to me personally Kuchiki?" Kenpachi asked as he sat down with the two Captains.

"If I came to you, then you would only want to fight me and what I have to discuss is too important to waste time fighting you for." Byakuya said as Kenpachi groaned.

"Fine then, what the hell is so important that you called me here for?" Kenpachi asked curiously.

"I recently received word through some of the Soul Reapers in the world of the living, that a mutual friend of the three of us has been spotted nearing Karakura town. This is the first sighting of her in over one hundred years." Byakuya said as Unohana and Kenpachi looked surprised.

"You don't mean her do you?" Unohana asked as her eyes lit up with hope.

"I mean the Black Wrangler herself." Byakuya replied with a nod.

"Well…this was indeed worth barging through the walls to get here for." Kenpachi said with his usual grin.

"If it is her then shouldn't the Soul Society send someone to verify it?" Unohana asked as Kenpachi grinned.

"I'll go. Maybe she'll be nice and warmed up for a fight." Kenpachi said as Byakuya shook his head.

"No you are not going. The reason I called you here is to inform the two of you of this new development. General Yamamoto has requested that Yoruichi Shihoin and Captain Soi Fon of squad two investigate the matter before we do anything." Byakuya said as Kenpachi groaned.

"So you basically called the two of us here to tell us that little bit of pointless information?" Kenpachi asked as Byakuya nodded.

"I find the news to be wonderful. I never thought we would ever see her again." Captain Unohana said with a smile.

"We still might not. It all depends on what Captain Soi Fon and Yoruichi Shihoin discover regarding her sudden reappearance. It doesn't make that much sense really. The Wrangler is supposedly a master of concealing her spiritual pressure yet she gets detected anyway? That sounds too convenient doesn't it?" Byakuya said as Kenpachi nodded.

"You're right about that one. It's not like her to sneak around and just miraculously get detected. No I think she wants us to know she's there." Kenpachi said as Unohana pondered.

"If that is the case then why is she revealing herself now?" Unohana asked concerned.

"We'll just have to wait until we receive the report from the punishment force." Byakuya said as he took a sip of his tea. He then noticed there was a large hole in the bottom of the cup and noticed that Kenpachi had his Zanpakuto drawn.

"If all we've got to do is wait, then let's have some fun." Kenpachi said as Byakuya stared at the broken pieces of the cup.

"That cup was an antique handed down from my parents and their parents." Byakuya said calmly as he drew his Zanpakuto.

"Scatter Senbonzakura." Byakuya said as his blade disintegrated into pink cherry blossoms and the fight was on. Unohana sighed and shook her head.

"Boys will be boys." Unohana said as Yachiru nodded. Nel was sitting next to Unohana with a box of popcorn in her hands.

"Yep-yep GO KENNY!!!" Yachiru shouted while watching the duel.


In the world of the living…

"What are you talking about Ichigo? Did you get whacked upside the head somehow while fighting a Hollow or something?" Renji asked after Ichigo finished explaining his encounter with the Black Wrangler.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ichigo asked angrily as he got into Renji's face.

"It means that you might be suffering brain damage and imagined this whole Black Wrangler woman yourself!" Renji declared.

"Oh yeah?!" Ichigo shouted as he reared his arm back to deliver a blow but both were stopped by a well timed Kido spell from Rukia.

"Can we please get on with the meeting?!" Rukia pleaded as Ikkaku groaned.

"And I was looking forward to see who would win between the two…otherwise I probably would have joined in and beat the two of them senseless." Ikkaku said with an evil grin.

"Madarame that's enough!" Hitsugaya said with a groan as Ichigo and Renji both sat down with a growl towards each other.

"I don't know who or what Ichigo is talking about but it is quite clear that he firmly believes that he's seen this woman. I for one don't want to rule out the possibility that she is real." Toshiro said as Uryu looked thoughtful.

"I can't believe that I'm saying this but I think I've heard of this Black Wrangler." Uryu said as everyone looked at him curiously.

"What do you know Uryu?" Ichigo asked.

"My grandfather once spoke of an ex-Soul Reaper who met with his parents in his youth. He said that she even observed his training and studied the effects our weapons had on what we killed. He said that she believed there was more to our powers than what both the Quincy's and the Soul Reapers knew and she was searching for clues into it." Uryu explained as Hitsugaya looked curious.

"What would an Ex-Soul Reaper be doing investigating the Quincy's and their powers?" Toshiro asked.

"I don't know. My grandfather died when I was young and my father is pretty adamant that I not associate with Soul Reapers so going to him would be futile." Uryu said as Toshiro nodded.

"Yes and he wouldn't be happy to hear about you hanging out with us." Toshiro said as Uryu pushed his glasses up.

"Well as the old saying goes, what he doesn't know won't hurt him." Uryu said as Orihime entered with a tray of food.

"Okay everyone, I brought some snacks for us all! Red bean paste and peanut butter crackers." Orihime said as everyone turned a bright shade of green, everyone except for Rangiku Matsumoto who happily chowed down.

"Uh-heh. Thanks Orihime but I just ate." Ichigo said as he and everyone but Rangiku moved away from the poison.

"Anyway. On to the other business of dealing with-." Toshiro was saying before they heard a sudden flurry of cell phone rings and Ichigo's Badge beeping.

"Oh great a hollow. So who wants to deal with it?" Ikkaku asked casually as his glare directed towards Yumichika who was admiring the photo of Orihime's late brother.

"Well certainly not me. It might ruin my clothes or worse my hair." Yumichika said as Ikkaku grabbed one of the bean paste and peanut butter crackers and held it close to his comrade's face.

"Kill the hollow or I'll mess you up!" Ikkaku snarled.

"You wouldn't?!" Yumichika asked in horror as Ikkaku grinned sinisterly and reared his arm back, causing Yumichika to turn white as a sheet and fly towards the door with his Zanpakuto in hand.

"Now then where were we?" Toshiro asked but Yumichika suddenly reappeared with his Zanpakuto sheathed.

"Hey I thought you went to kill the hollow?" Rangiku asked as Toshiro silently groaned. The meeting was interrupted yet again.

"I was going to but my scanner detected nothing." Yumichika said as everyone checked their cell phones and blinked in disbelief.

"He's right captain, that Hollow is gone." Rangiku said as Ichigo leapt to his feet.

"Now do you believe me?! That's what happened the last time I went to kill a hollow! It was dead before I could get there." Ichigo said as Toshiro nodded.

"Your story and the sudden disappearance of the hollow could very well be related but for all we know it might just be a fluke." Toshiro said.

"In case you forgot Ichigo, that was the same thing that happened when I first confronted you with my Quincy powers by destroying Hollows before you could get to them." Uryu said, pushing up his glasses.

"Yeah but you're right here and didn't you say at school that your dad was out of town for a business meeting?" Ichigo asked as Uryu nodded.

"Yes, so that rules me and my father out. This means there are only four people who could defeat a hollow that aren't present at the given moment." Uryu said as Renji scratched his chin.

"You mean Kisuke Urahara, Tessai, and Yoruichi right? But wait you said four people." Renji said as Uryu nodded.

"Okay five people. Those three plus that snot nosed brat that keeps giving poor Uluru a hard time and Uluru herself." Uryu said as Renji nodded.

"Oh yeah I forgot how lethal those two can be." Renji said.

"Don't forget Karin. She's pretty deadly with that soccer ball." Ichigo said as Toshiro thought back to that time on the soccer field.

"This is true." Toshiro said with the slightest smile at the corners of his mouth.

"Captain we also heard this morning that Captain Soi Fon of the Punishment force was sent here recently." Rangiku said as Toshiro blinked.

"And you're only telling me this now?!" Toshiro asked in frustration.

"S-sorry Captain." She whimpered as Toshiro sighed and whipped out his cell phone. It was going to be the longest meeting in Soul Reaper history.


Meanwhile at Urahara shop…

Yoruichi was having a purely cat like moment and was privately rolling on her back on the ground in her cat form.

"Ooh that feels so good, why can't I just scratch my back this way all the time in both forms…oh yeah no clothes…hmm…okay put that away in the one hundred and one plots to make Ichigo freak file." Yoruichi said mentally as she continued scratching her back.

"You keep doing that furball and you'll let your guard down." A male voice said from out of nowhere. Yoruichi froze and opened her two golden eyes. She saw a shadow pass over her from overhead and quickly leapt to her paws. She continued looking around as she heard the call of a hawk from above and behind her. She quickly whirled around to see a great black hawk swoop down towards her with talons primed.

Yoruichi instinctively popped her claws out and took a mean swing at the hawk which pulled back just in time and started circling around for another pass.

The hawk let out another one of its shrill calls as it pulled straight up and folded it's wings under its body, causing it to lose speed. It quickly pulled off a full one eighty, head over tail feathers and extended its wings again, flying straight down towards Yoruichi who quickly turned and scrambled for the underside of the car parked in the alley way.

The hawk flew low over the roof of the car just as Yoruichi flash stepped in the hawk's path, causing the bird to turn sharply. Yoruichi managed to deliver a well placed swipe at the fleeing hawk. By now Yoruichi was glaring straight at the hawk as it circled.

It let out another cry as it swooped down again. Yoruichi simply sat down casually on the roof of the car, causing the hawk to stop its descent immediately and hover in mid air for a moment as if trying to figure out what it's pray was planning.

Yoruichi gave a distinguishable grin towards the hawk which gave a tough snort before continuing its attack.

The hawk was getting closer with its talons ready to claw through the black furred feline in an instant.

Before the hawk could reach its prey, it found itself with a human hand grasping its throat. The hawk turned to see none other than Captain Soi Fon holding it in its grasp.

"I don't believe you were expecting that now were you?" Yoruichi asked as Soi Fon quickly chucked the bird away towards the ground. The hawk managed to gain a good wind and flew up into the air only to land on the drain pipe near the roof.

"Get out of here vermin! Don't you dare try and lay a hand or talon on lady Yoruichi again!" Soi Fon barked at the hawk as it stared straight at them.

"Whoever said I was going to harm her?! Seriously Yoruichi, your prized pupil here is just no fun!" the Hawk said with a deep male voice, taking Soi Fon by surprise.

"Well she just doesn't understand this game of cat and mouse the two of us have been playing for one hundred years." Yoruichi replied as Soi Fon's gaze darted between the two animals.

"Lady Yoruichi?! What's going on?!" Soi Fon asked in disbelief.

"Ah, Captain Soi Fon, of squad two, meet an old friend of mine. The Black Wrangler." Yoruichi introduced as the hawk landed next to Yoruichi and bowed to the Captain with respect.


End Chapter 2.

I wanted to include Nel because she's cute in her baby form and smoking hot in her adult form.