The Punissons and its pet Esclave approached an angered Yuzu after blowing Ichigo away.

"Yuzu! Run!" Karin shouted as the Punishment force members stood in the path of the two LeBlancs with their weapons raised.

"You shall not get past the Punishment Force!" one of the squad members said determinedly as the Punissons laughed and the Esclave hissed and fired a smaller stream off arrows at the guards. The ones who attempted to block with their Zanpakuto's fell quickly to the steady stream while those that flash stepped out of the way in time met their end as the Punissons effortlessly smashed them into the ground.

"I believe I just have." The Punissons said as it resumed its approach towards Yuzu.

"Yuzu what are you just standing there for?! RUN!!!" Karin shouted as she ran towards her angered sister but her path was blocked by the Esclave.

"You girl are more trouble than you're worth and you are worth nothing to me." The Punissons said as the Esclave prepared to unleash another barrage of arrows. But before anyone could do anything Yuzu let out a bloodcurdling scream and there was a sudden and continuous bolt of lightning that rained down onto the ground where Yuzu stood. Yuzu herself stood seemingly unharmed.

Suddenly a massive beam of light burst up from where Yuzu stood, knocking the Punissons, the Esclave, Karin, and all the students away a fair distance. Renji finally came to and sat up in time to see what was happening. Ichigo appeared still in Bankai form next to him.

"What's going on?! That spiritual pressure's going through the roof!!!" Renji asked but Ichigo just stood in stunned disbelief.

"I…I think that's…that's…that's Yuzu! Or is it?!" Ichigo said finally as the light dissipated revealing a tall woman that appeared to be in her twenties with long flowing blond hair that went all the way to the floor. She was wearing shimmering white ceremonial garb and standing barefoot while holding a Zanpakuto that looked like a crisp polished silver, two handed broadsword with a royal blue handgrip on the hilt. She also had a pair of golden Angel wings on her back and a shining gold halo around her head. She continued to glow with shining gold colored light.

"Bankai…Sanctus Curator Lux lucis" the woman said with an echoing voice. She opened her eyes which had a blinding white glow within them. (Latin: Holy Guardian of Light)

"Penitentia astrum." The woman said as beams of pure white light shot from her eyes and pierced clean through the Punissons, causing its bone armor to quickly rot as if time had been accelerated for it until it finally dissolved into dust. (Penance Stare)

The Esclave quickly lunged at the woman but it suddenly froze in midair before crumbling into dust like the Punissons had. With that the woman looked at Ichigo and smiled before closing her eyes and outstretching her wings.

"Ilicet." She said before becoming engulfed within a column of golden light. The column then started shrinking until it revealed an unconscious Yuzu at the center on her back and with her arms outstretched. (It is finished).

The pillar continued to shrink until it was a simple narrow beam sitting right atop Yuzu's chest then it finally was absorbed into her chest, giving a brief glow of energy before vanishing completely.

Resting in Yuzu's hand was a small katana shaped Zanpakuto in a royal blue sheath with matching handgrip.

"What just…happened?" Ichigo asked as his Bankai form vanished around him.

"I think she just went Bankai." Renji said as he attempted to stand up but his arm was still bleeding from the attack the Punissons had dealt him and he winced with pain.

"Easy Renji, you took a hit." Ichigo said as Renji shot him an exasperated glare.

"Thanks for the update." Renji grumbled. Finally Yoruichi and a group of uniformed Soul Reapers arrived.

"We sensed the spiritual pressure and saw the lightning. Is everyone alright?" Yoruichi asked as Ichigo motioned to Renji and to Yuzu. A pair of Soul Reapers arrived to take care of Renji while Ichigo insistently chose to carry Yuzu.

"I think she's got her Zanpakuto now." Renji grunted as he passed while hanging onto the two other Soul Reapers. He then looked at the students, "Class dismissed."


Back at the Kurosaki Estate…

Ichigo, Yoruichi, and Karin walked back to the estate where they explained everything to Isshin, Orihime, Tatsuki, Chad, and Uryu. Kaichou had even arrived from the Squad five barracks after hearing of the occurrence.

"It was like watching Nel return to her adult form only like ten times as powerful." Ichigo explained as something popped up from behind a rock formation.

"Yes Itsygo?!" Nel shouted as she threw her arms around him from behind.

"Nel! I'm trying to explain something import-…-ant?" Ichigo asked as he turned back towards Nel who seemed slightly different.

"Is it my imagination or has she actually grown older since this morning?" Kaichou asked curiously. She was correct. Nel now looked to be around ten years old but her lisp was still present and the scar across her face was half healed. They looked at her mask which looked like it was even more repaired than the last time.

"How did that happen?" Ichigo asked as Tatsuki and Orihime fidgeted nervously.

"Uh well…" Orihime said as Tatsuki started whistling. Kaichou walked around in front of them and drew Hensen Tatsujin which quickly morphed into the chop hand.

"You've got five seconds…spit it out." Kaichou said calmly.

"All we did was give her some milk and orange juice we got when Rangiku took us to the market in town today." Orihime explained.

"Yeah and the next thing we know, there's Nel looking ten years old." Tatsuki added as Kaichou sheathed her sword, knelt down to Nel's level and plucked a small loose piece of Nel's mask off with a pair of tweezers.

"Fascinating. It seems that the Arrancar mask is physically made of the same substance that human skeletons are made of only magically reinforced to be far more resilient. But apparently this magic works both in preservation and repair. It would seem that the vitamins and minerals in the milk and orange juice you gave her helped to cut the amount of time it took for Nel's mask to repair in half and as a result she's almost grown back to her original size and form." Kaichou said as she closely examined the piece of mask.

"The moral of this PSA is always to drink plenty of milk and orange juice! Right kids?!" Isshin added before Kaichou delivered a Shinigami Chop to his head.

"So wait a minute. If all we do is feed her milk and orange juice she'll return to her normal form?" Ichigo asked as Kaichou nodded.

"In theory, yes." Kaichou replied.

"She's going to need new clothes." Rukia said, startling the others.

"When did you get here?!" Ichigo asked.

"Just before Nel ambushed you." Rukia replied.

"Oh. Now where was I?" Ichigo asked himself.

"You were explaining Yuzu's strange power." Yoruichi answered.

"Actually that was pretty much it. She's got her Zanpakuto now though." Ichigo said as Karin huffed.

"Lucky stiff." Karin mumbled.

"Hey come on. You'll get your Zanpakuto too eventually." Rukia said as she knelt down to Karin's level.

"Thanks Shorty." Karin grumbled. Rukia was insulted.

"You DARE insult my height?! I'll-I'LL-I'll-!!!" "SHINIGAMI CHOP!" "Owwwww!" Rukia whined as she rubbed her head.

"I think she just got shorter." Karin snickered before she too suffered a Shinigami chop.

"That's for being disrespectful of a fully ranked Soul Reaper." Kaichou reprimanded.

"You're in an excessively choppy mood today sis. What happened?" Isshin asked as he appeared with a helmet on.

"I can't legally talk about it. I will say that it had to do with the therapy session I had with Lieutenant Hinamori today. Poor girl's so shaken up because of Aizen's betrayal." Kaichou said as she sheathed Hensen Tatsujin.

"Any progress?" Yoruichi asked curiously.

"It's too early to tell. I'm seeing her again tomorrow and hopefully we'll make some progress." Kaichou replied as Isshin had an idea.

"Hey why don't you tell her about old Grim from the academy." Isshin said as Kaichou glared at him surprised.

"I normally would have chopped you for even mentioning that but you might actually be on to something there bro. I need to go collect some things real quick." Kaichou said as she raced into the house.

"Whose old Grim?" Ichigo asked as Isshin sighed.

"Captain Ikatsui Karite, the Captain of squad eleven from when Kaichou and I were in the academy. He was Kaichou's hero growing up…that's until they finally met." Isshin said as everyone arched an eyebrow.

"Why have I heard that name before?" Yoruichi pondered.

"Because he was the leader of one of the most famous task forces in Soul Reaper history. From 1347 to 1351 was one of the most trying times in Soul Reaper history, it was when the Black Death plague swept through Europe and people were dying in piles. So the Central 46 ordered the assembly of a special task force to be formed to help keep the number of wandering souls to a minimum and to keep the hollows from getting too numerous. See there were so many souls wondering around there that many of them finally became hollows either by encroachment or by having their chains of fate ripped out by other souls under the assumption that it would help them pass over quicker." Isshin explained.

"So what happened?" Ichigo asked as Isshin turned towards the manor.

"I'd rather not say yet. I'll tell you guys tomorrow after Kaichou leaves to see her lieutenant." Isshin said as he straightened his helmet.

"You're afraid she'll chop you again aren't you Isshin?" Yoruichi asked as Isshin chuckled innocently.

"Why whatever gave you that idea? Oh hey what time is it?" Isshin asked.

"Almost three. Why?" Ichigo asked as Isshin nodded.

"I promised Captain Unohana that I would give a demonstration on human world medical techniques to squad four today." Isshin said as he walked off to go prepare.

The group sat in silence for a moment before Nel suddenly popped up.

"Look what I found in my pocket!!!" Nel shouted as she waved a small dagger over her head.

"DAH! Nel! Put that thing away before you hurt yourself or someone else for that matter!!!" Ichigo ordered as Nel giggled and continued waving the dagger around.

"But I'm a serious maso-kiss. I'm supposed to make someone cry ain't I?" Nel asked as Ichigo gave a defeated sigh and grabbed the arm that was gripping the dagger.

"Where did you even get this thing anyway?" Ichigo asked as he pried the dagger from her hands.

"It's my Zappy." Nel replied happily.

"Your what?" Ichigo asked confused.

"I think she means Zanpakuto." Uryu answered as he pushed his glasses up.

"Oh great even the hollow girl gets a Zanpakuto!" Karin groaned.

"Oh for crying out loud. Here you can hold onto Nel's for now." Ichigo groaned as he casually tossed the dagger towards Karin. The dagger landed straight into the ground between Karin's index and middle fingers without cutting them. Karin was frozen stiff by the near miss.

After slowly sliding her hand away and picking up the dagger from the ground…

"ICHIGO YOU IDIOT YOU ALMOST KILLED ME!!!"Karin shouted as she kicked Ichigo in the jaw.

"What's going on out here?" Yuzu asked as she finally emerged.

"Yuzu! You're awake!" Orihime said as she, Tatsuki, Yoruichi, Rukia, and Nel hurried over to her since Ichigo and Karin were too busy grappling with each other to notice.

"How are you feeling?" Yoruichi asked as she and the other comparatively taller women knelt to Yuzu's level.

"I feel fine, why?" Yuzu asked.

"Don't you remember? The LeBlanc that attacked you and you destroyed?" Tatsuki asked as Yuzu thought for a moment then shook her head.

"Nope sorry. All I remember is practicing for Lieutenant Abarai's Zanpakuto class then waking up here with this Zanpakuto laying next to me on the ground." Yuzu replied as she looked down at the katana attached to her side.

"You don't remember anything that happened?" Rukia asked as Yuzu shook her head.

"Nope sorry." Yuzu replied with a smile.

"Hmm…perhaps she didn't realize she was doing it." Yoruichi said thoughtfully.

"Or maybe it's a side effect of that key." Tatsuki suggested.

"That's a possibility that we can't rule out Tatsuki. Unfortunately we don't know what kind of power the king's key possesses. For all we know it may not have had anything to do with that transformation, it could all have been Yuzu. The strain of such a powerful ability might have caused her memory loss." Yoruichi suggested.

"Or she could be like what happens when Nel transforms from her child form to adult form. When she reverts back she forgets what she did as an adult." Orihime suggested as Yoruichi cocked her head to one side in thought.

"That's quite a possibility Orihime." Yoruichi said with a glance towards the young Arrancar.

"So what do we do now?" Ichigo asked as he approached finally.

"Well classes at the academy have been canceled for the rest of the day so there's nothing much to do for today really." Yoruichi replied as a sinister smirk swept her face, "That's unless you don't want to hit the hot spring Ichigo."

"GAHH!!! NOT ON YOUR LIFE!!!" Ichigo freaked as Yoruichi laughed.

"Shame." Yoruichi said with a shrug before flash stepping away.

"I hate it when she does that." Ichigo grumbled.

Later that afternoon, Karin was holding a large stick and was swinging it around like it was a sword in an effort to try and summon her Zanpakuto. She was growing increasingly frustrated in her constant failed attempts.

"RAUGHHH!!! I'M NEVER GOING TO GET IT!!!" Karin shouted angrily as she threw the stick down.

"With that attitude you never will." A familiar voice from behind her said. She turned around to see…

"Toshiro. What brings you here?" Karin asked as the tenth squad captain approached her.

"I came to check on you. To make sure you were alright after what happened earlier at the Academy. Lieutenant Abarai said that you were having trouble finding your Zanpakuto so I decided to see if I can provide some assistance as well." Toshiro said as he picked the stick back up off the ground and tossed it to her.

"How do you do it Toshiro? Lieutenant Abarai said it had something to do with knowing its name." Karin asked as Toshiro nodded.

"That's the hardest part of acquiring a Zanpakuto. Some gain their Zanpakuto first then they may or may not learn its name later. Ichigo is an example of one who acquired his Zanpakuto first and learned its name second. One of my fellow Captains, Kenpachi Zaraki never has learned the name of his Zanpakuto. Typically you must be brought to a point of near death, to the point where your life flashes before your eyes, and then for you time will stop and your Zanpakuto will reveal itself." Toshiro said as he placed a hand on Hyorinmaru and slowly drew it from its sheath.

"Why didn't that red headed pineapple say that the first time?!" Karin asked annoyed as Toshiro gave a slight smirk and entered a battle stance.

"Because then it would be too easy for you." Toshiro said with a smirk before suddenly vanishing in a flash step. He reappeared overhead with Hyorinmaru raised over his head prepared to strike.

Karin wasn't sure if he would actually bring the blade down on her or not but tried to use the stick to parry the blow anyway. Less than a second before Toshiro brought the blade down she realized that he was serious, he was going to run her through.

Suddenly time froze and Karin found herself in a strange looking field of blue grass with soccer goals at either end of the field. The clouds were sinking into the horizon as if from out of nowhere.

Karin looked around and saw no one. She then heard a semi-familiar tapping noise from behind her. She turned and saw a girl about her age with vibrant blue hair that was bound up in a single jagged spike going straight back. She was wearing a white soccer uniform with red shoulder lining and two short blue stripes between the collar and the edge of the shoulder. She also had a pair of cleats on her feet with white socks pulled all the way up to the knees. The socks had a lightning bolt decal on the rims. She also had a pair of stylish yellow tinted sunglasses on her face. The girl was performing a series of elaborate tricks with a soccer ball.

"You know ticking off a Captain is not the smartest thing, Karin." The girl said as she continued bouncing the ball up and down.

"I guess you're my Zanpakuto. Ichigo told me about how he met his, and this is almost exactly how he described it." Karin said as the girl caught the ball in her hands and tucked it under her arm.

"Yep. Wanna know my name?" the girl asked as Karin nodded.

"More than anything." Karin replied.

"Then listen closely because I'm only going to say it once…" the girl said as a sudden gust of wind picked up.

"My name is…"


End Chapter 16.

What's the name of Karin's Zanpakuto? Find out in the next chapter…

Soul Reaper Illustrated guide.

Captain Wrangler sits at her desk, filling out paperwork when someone knocks at the empty doorframe. She looks up to see Lieutenants Nanao Ise and Isane Kotetsu.

"Wait, wait. Let me see if I can get this right…Uh…Lieutenants…Ise and Kotetsu?" Kaichou asked as the two nodded.

"Yes Captain Wrangler only we are not here on immediate Soul Reaper Business…instead we are here to represent the Soul Reaper Women's Association." Nanao said as Kaichou arched an eyebrow while maintaining a serious look.

"Eh?" she asked curiously.

"We were hoping to ask if you would join us." Nanao said as Isane made a pleading gesture.

Kaichou simply cleared her throat and pointed to something on the wall. The two women turned and instantly gasped in shock. It was a framed picture of a younger Kaichou and Unohana, both in Captain's uniforms, with a plaque at the bottom that read…

"Captains B. Wrangler & R. Unohana."

But the part beneath that was what made the two women freak…it read…

"Soul Society Women's Association – Founders."

End