Earlier in the Seireitei, Head-Captain Yamamoto was seated in the main meeting room where the Captain's meetings usually took place. He was currently speaking with his Lieutenant, Chojiro Sasakibe, about the Ryoka sightings.

"Do we know the identity of the Ryoka?" General Yamamoto asked as his lieutenant shook his head.

"No sir. They haven't even made any attempt to enter the Seireitei what so ever." The Lieutenant replied.

"Keep the patrols alert. We must know who these Ryoka are and why they are here." The General said. Suddenly three members of the Punishment Force flash stepped into the room from the balcony.

"General Yamamoto sir. We're sorry for the interruption but we've received an urgent message from Captain Soi Fon." The leader said as he opened his hands, revealing a hell butterfly.

"Captain Soi Fon is on a mission to the world of the living. I can assume that this is her report on the Black Wrangler issue." General Yamamoto replied.

"Sir with all due respect, she's here. The hell butterfly has an urgent message for you from her that will explain everything." The leader said as the butterfly flew to Lieutenant Sasakibe's finger. After a moment, the Lieutenant gasped in shock and turned to the General.

"Sir, Captain Soi Fon is here but her reasons are justifiable. You should hear this message for yourself sir!" the Lieutenant said as the butterfly flew to the General's finger. After a moment he dropped his cane in shock.

"Call an emergency Captain's meeting! Have the Lieutenants standing by as well!" Yamamoto ordered as his Lieutenant bowed and ran out. Yamamoto then returned his gaze to the small butterfly on his finger.

"Can…can it all be true?"


Meanwhile…

Isshin flew in with a swing of his fist and Kukaku did the same, both of them growling angrily and delivering a blow to the face at the same time. Their fists separated as they staggered back a bit.

The crowd around was noticeably stunned and taken aback by the sudden outbreak of a fistfight. Kaichou was standing nearby with her arms crossed and her eyes rolled up towards the ceiling. She was far from being impressed.

Isshin recovered from the blow first and grabbed Kukaku by the bandages on her head and spun her around him before releasing her and launching her towards one of the closed doors.

"YOU OLD HAG! TAKE A FLYING LEAP!" Isshin shouted as Kukaku flew through the door. Isshin then started charging at her.

"TAKE THAT!" he shouted but was quickly kicked in the face and flew clear across the other side of the room.

"I'LL TEAR YOU APART!!!" Kukaku shouted mid-kick and chased after him. She grabbed him by the ankles as sinister grin swept her face. She then shoved her foot hard against his crotch causing him to cry out in agony.

He managed to kick her off though, sending her through the front door and startling one of the twin guards. She quickly recovered and ran back in to continue the fight. Kaichou was standing in the middle of the room, ignoring the carnage her brother and Kukaku were inflicting around her when suddenly she felt her cowboy hat get knocked off. She glared up at the lack of a hat while shaking in a suppressed urge to murder the two at the moment for that.

She then looked at the ground and saw her hat lying helplessly on the floor, just I time for her to see Kukaku step on it and flatten it. That did it.

"YOU!!! IDIOTS!!!" She shrieked as her fists glowed with bright red magic. The spectators took it as a quick cue to run for it and they were right. Kaichou angrily slammed her fists into the ground and caused a massive explosion to rip through the house, causing the two opponents to get blown to opposite sides of the house, and a burst of explosive energy to tear the banner above the house off after blowing through the roof. It was so powerful that the two giant stone arms fell away from the house.

"Kinda…excessive don't ya think?" Karin asked. She and everyone else were understandably shell-shocked.

"I think we know why Kaichou was kicked out." Ichigo said.

"They have it rough." Rukia said as they finally recovered and headed back down stairs. They found Kaichou with Isshin's back pinned under her boot.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?! Huh?! You start beatin' each other the second you see one another again after one hundred ten years?! That ain't safe! Look at this I jacked the whole house up! Look! Look!" Kaichou growled at Isshin, stomping on him a couple of times for emphasis.

"But sis…" Isshin pleaded but got stomped again.

"Don't back talk!" Kaichou replied. She then noticed the crowd of onlookers. The vain on her forehead looked ready to burst.

"You got something to say?!" she asked the on lookers who shuddered in fear.

"NO MA'AM!!!" they said in unison.

"What happened here?" Kukaku asked as she recovered. She then saw Kaichou glaring at her.

"Uh-oh." She whimpered and started shaking as Kaichou approached and grabbed her by the head, yanking her up to her level.

"I expected better of you Kukaku! Going off like that on Isshin! What the hell is this feud all about anyway?!" Kaichou said as Kukaku sweat buckets.

"I am so sorry." Kukaku muttered in fear.

"Okay. Just so you understand. So kiss and make up already." Kaichou ordered as she released Kukaku who flopped back onto the floor and walked off. Kukaku then quickly scurried on her belly over to Isshin, who was still lying limp on the floor.

"Your sister's scary." Kukaku whispered.

"Ain't she?" Isshin replied.

"Uh, Aunt Kaichou…what just happened?" Ichigo asked as Kaichou rolled her eyes.

"(Psh) Just an old feud that's been raging between the Kurosaki and Shiba clans for ages. Isshin and Kukaku take the feud a little too seriously. It all started generations ago…I don't get it." Kaichou explained as Ganju and Ichigo exchanged glances.

"So…how do you know my sister?" Ganju asked curiously.

"Simple…she was my Lieutenant." Kaichou replied.

"HUH?!?!" Ichigo and Ganju asked in unison.

"My sister was a Soul Reaper?!" Ganju asked in disbelief.

"Yep. Many members of the Shiba clan have become Soul Reapers. Your brother Kaien was the last member of the Shiba clan to become a Soul Reaper. Kukaku left when squad fourteen was disbanded and I was exiled." Kaichou explained as the two on the floor climbed slowly onto their feet.

"Ugh I hate it when that Kido is used on me." Kukaku groaned.

"You want more?"Kaichou asked, making a fist.

"No-no-no-no-no." Kukaku cowered.

"Ha! My sis is just as scared of her as I am of…Ku-ka-ku?" Ganju laughed but then whimpered as he saw Kukaku's angry face glaring at him.

"That's enough violence for now. We came here to lay low not set off a bomb." Kaichou said as she recovered her flattened and now scorched hat.

"Ugh do you have any idea how much it costs to buy a Stetson Stallion?" Kaichou asked as Isshin leapt fearfully into Kukaku's arms.

"So what's the story? Why did you come here in the first place?" Kukaku asked nervously.

"Easy." Kaichou said as she quickly explained about Yuzu's carrying the King's Key in her soul and that it had accidently entered Shikai form.

"Ah so you're hoping to get her into the Soul Reaper Academy to help her learn to seal it back eh?" Kukaku asked as Kaichou nodded.

"Yes but Isshin and I don't have the authorization to enter the Seireitei unless General Yamamoto or the Central 46 gives us authorization. Since Central 46 is dead we just have to wait until General Yamamoto gets word about us and makes a decision. So that's why we came here so that the two of us can have somewhere to stay in the Soul Society while the others go in." Kaichou explained as Kukaku smiled.

"I can't refuse you Captain. Make yourself at home. Isshin if you scratch the walls or make a mess I will kill you!" Kukaku warned as Isshin sweat dropped.

"No problem." Isshin said as Toshiro interjected.

"Does this mean we can go now?" He asked.

"That depends. Are you ready to go into the Seireitei, Yuzu?" Ichigo asked as Yuzu nodded and grabbed his hand.

"We'll try and be back as soon as possible." Ichigo said as he and the others turned to leave. As they reached the surface they all felt a powerful Spiritual pressure that made them all freeze in place.

"Whoa do you feel that?" Ichigo grunted as both Captains recognized the pressure and paled at the mere feeling of it.

"My message was received." Soi Fon grunted.

"Huh?" Yoruichi asked.

"I sent a message to Head Captain Yamamoto that we were here." Soi Fon replied. Soon Kaichou, Isshin, and Kukaku emerged upon feeling the powerful Spiritual Pressure and they two froze in place.

"Whose is that?" Tatsuki asked. Her question was soon answered as a group of Soul Reapers appeared out of nowhere. But they weren't ordinary Soul Reapers; they were the Captains…every last one of them. Unohana, Byakuya, Komamura, Kyoraku, Kenpachi, and Mayuri…but the one that made them shake the most was none other than General Yamamoto himself. Ukitake however appeared to be absent at the moment.

"Ah so these are the Ryoka who arrived. I somehow suspected it was the Deputy Soul Reaper again. Given the circumstances I am more relieved than annoyed by your presence here Ichigo Kurosaki." Yamamoto said as he surveyed the group.

"Which one of you is the girl Yuzu Kurosaki?" Yamamoto asked as Ichigo held Yuzu close.

"This is her General, but please if she get's afraid it will cause the key to grow unstable and open up holes in the world barriers and allow enemies to flow through like water." Kaichou pleaded as Yamamoto glared at her with his eyes open, causing her to collapse to the ground as if paralyzed.

"Captain Wrangler. I never expected to see you in the Soul Society again after the Central 46 had you exiled. Why have you returned?" Yamamoto asked tersely.

"To…pro-tect…my…niece." Kaichou grunted as the Captains realized the situation. Yuzu was Kaichou's niece. Yamamoto instantly ended his Spirit Pressure induced paralysis.

"I see. This brings on a new topic of discussion. We must reexamine your case before we pass sentence. Captain Wrangler will you come peacefully?" General Yamamoto asked as Kaichou drew Hensen Tatsujin and returned it to its original form. She then knelt down and held the handle out to General Yamamoto in a surrendering bow.

"I surrender my life and my trust willingly into the hands of the Soul Reapers. I surrender my Zanpakuto as a symbol of this trust." Kaichou said as General Yamamoto took the Zanpakuto and handed it off to Soi Fon.

"Captain Soi Fon, take her to the Penance Cell. She is allowed supervised visits." Yamamoto ordered as Soi Fon bowed and snapped her fingers. Instantly four members of the Punishment Force appeared and attached a red collar to her neck that made Rukia wince at the sight of. It reminded her of her own narrow escape from execution.

"Aunty Kaichou!" Yuzu cried out as she reached for her aunt.

"Yuzu stay back! I'll be okay little one. Don't worry." Kaichou comforted as Ichigo held Yuzu close. The guards bound Kaichou's hands behind her.

"General Yamamoto…" Rukia interrupted, "…May I escort the prisoner to the Penance Cell?"

"Very well. If that is what you wish, but be warned that if she escapes, it will be on your head miss Kuchiki." General Yamamoto replied as Rukia joined in with the guards and led Kaichou, who held her head up high, off to the Penance Cell.

"Now, Former Captain Isshin Kurosaki, you are granted entrance into the Seireitei and will you join us in escorting this young soul to the Seireitei?" General Yamamoto asked as Isshin nodded.

"She's my daughter sir, and only if Ichigo and his friends can escort her as well." Isshin replied as General Yamamoto nodded.

"It is agreed." Yamamoto said as he and the Captains formed a circle around Yuzu, with her companions in the center. Yamamoto then revealed a small gem from his pockets and a bright flash of light enveloped them all. When the light faded they were no longer there, leaving Ganju and Kukaku behind.

"Where did they go sis? The Seireitei?" Ganju asked as Kukaku gave a somber nod.

"Yeah…and we need to see if we can get in too. I have a feeling that we're going to be needed at some point in the near future." Kukaku said as she turned and reentered the house.


Later…

Ichigo and his group along with Isshin and Yoruichi were resting in a room within the Senzaikyu as they eagerly awaited news on either Kaichou's fate or if their submitted plan of action regarding Yuzu and Karin's admission into the Academy was approved or not. Renji, Matsumoto, and Toshiro had left to join their fellow officers, and Ikkaku and Yumichika had returned to the Squad 11 barracks. Rukia hadn't returned yet but they had heard that Kaichou was successfully deposited into the Penance Cell without incident.

At the moment Kaichou was laying against the wall. She had been put into a plain white robe with the red collar around her neck. She then noticed the cell door open and Rukia entered with one of the masked guards.

"You're still here? I would have thought you had gone back to Ichigo and the others." Kaichou said as Rukia sighed.

"I figured you might want some company." Rukia said as Kaichou's keen intuition kicked in.

"I think we both know you're here for a different reason. You wanted to ask me something." Kaichou said as Rukia sighed and looked away nervously.

"Am I that transparent?" Rukia asked as Kaichou let out a soft chuckle.

"Tell me what's on your mind. I'm not going anywhere…at least not at the moment." Kaichou said as Rukia sat down on her knees.

"Well I…I wanted to ask…When you see Ichigo and me together? What do you think we are?" Rukia asked as Kaichou chuckled.

"I remember two friends of mine. Well a relative and a friend of mine. They tended to get along quite well, sure they'd bicker and quarrel but there was one thing that neither of them knew about the other. It took a third pair of eyes to see the truth and a third mouth to tell them what the eyes saw and the ears heard. Do you know who they were?" Kaichou asked as Rukia looked confused and shook her head.

"The friend was a beautiful young woman by the name of Masaki. And the relative was my brother Isshin. I was that third pair of eyes and ears and that third mouth. Think about it…then put yourself and Ichigo in their place and you'll see what they didn't know about the other." Kaichou explained as she leaned back.

"What didn't they know?" Rukia asked as Kaichou looked at her square in the face.

"Ah but that would be ruining the story." Kaichou replied with a smile as she gave a relaxed sigh. Rukia pondered for a moment then stood up and took a brief glance around the room, remembering when she was the one wearing the white robes and red collar. She then turned with a sigh and left in silence.

"You'll figure it out Rukia…and when you do, you'll end up like Isshin and Masaki…only alive." Kaichou said into the empty room after the door sealed shut behind Rukia.


Back with our heroes…

Ichigo and the others were sitting in the room quietly. They then heard what sounded like running footsteps, but they were too light to be from an adult as Isshin noticed.

"What is that?" Isshin asked. Suddenly…

"Supa-Speed!" a young voice shouted before blowing clean through the wall, and crashed straight into Ichigo head first, sending him into the opposite wall.

"Welcome back Itsygo! I-missed-you-I-missed-you-I-missed-you!!!" A certain young female Arrancar said excitedly as she nuzzled her face into Ichigo's chest.

"Wha-?! Nel!?!?" Ichigo asked bewildered.

"Uh Ichigo is there something you want to tell us?" Isshin asked with an amused smile.

"DAD IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK!!!" Ichigo shrieked as Nel crawled onto his back.

"It certainly isn't Mr. Kurosaki! This is Nel; she helped to rescue me from Aizen!" Orihime explained.

"She's also the former third Espada." Uryu added.

"Aww she's so cute." Tatsuki gushed along with Yuzu, causing everyone to shoot a surprised look at the tomboy. No one was surprised at Yuzu though.

"What?" Tatsuki asked confused.

"Hey Itsygo who are all da new girls?" Nel asked with a suspicious glare at the Deputy Soul Reaper.

"These are my sisters Karin and Yuzu, mine and Orihime's friend Tatsuki, and one of my mentors, Yoruichi Shihoin. You remember Orihime right?" Ichigo asked as Nel looked Tatsuki, Orihime, and Yoruichi over carefully.

"What are your relationships wit Itsygo?" she asked interrogatively.

"(Sigh) She's gotten quite attached to me since Hueco Mundo." Ichigo added as Yoruichi chuckled.

"Well she is cute." Yoruichi said as she patted the young Arrancar on the mask.

"So what's everyone wait n for?" Nel asked as she leapt off Ichigo's back.

"We're waiting for news on what the Soul Reapers are going to do to our aunt." Yuzu said worriedly as Nel sat down between her and Karin.

"Really? Wow she must be in twouble." Nel said as Orihime, Uryu, and Chad noticed something.

"Ichigo is it my imagination or is Nel pronouncing some of her words better?" Uryu asked as Ichigo scratched his head.

"Possibly. I didn't notice." Ichigo shrugged.

"Well there's your reason why Ichigo." Yoruichi said pointing to Nel's hollow mask. They looked at the mask for a while before noticing that there were little stumps where the edges of some new teeth were growing.

"Is her mask growing back?" Uryu asked as Yoruichi nodded.

"It seems that way." Yoruichi said.

"Does that mean she'll eventually gain her powers and memories back?" Ichigo asked as Rukia finally returned.

"You just want to see her adult form again Ichigo." She said as Ichigo paled, causing Yoruichi to giggle and Ichigo to scowl again. Suddenly a Hell Butterfly arrived.

"What have we here?" Isshin asked the butterfly landed on his finger. He remained silent for a moment.

"Well?" Karin asked as Isshin sighed.

"They've made a decision but we're going to have to go to them to hear what it is." Isshin said as everyone nodded silently and started heading out towards the meeting chambers.


End Chapter 12.

What will become of Kaichou? Will Yuzu and Karin make it into the Academy? Find out in the next chapter.

Small note, I purposefully mimicked the fight between Ganju and Ichigo in the scene above but with Isshin and Kukaku instead.

Soul Reaper Illustrated Guide

Shinji of the Visoreds is snickering privately to himself as Hiyori approaches.

"What's so funny stupid?" Hiyori asked impatiently.

"Urahara accidently put the mod soul for Ichigo in Rukia's Gigai and vice versa. It's hysterical!" Shinji snickered as Hiyori turned to see the Rukia Gigai acting all grumpy and the Ichigo Gigai acting all girly.

Hiyori watched for a while before a sinister smirk swept her face.

"Want to have some fun and switch the Gigai and mod souls of some of the others?" Hiyori asked as Shinji rubbed his hands together with sinister glee.

To Be Continued…