The Nymph's Blade

by Redacted Author

Larxene is dead,but when you fight the keyblade, death is not always the end. Watch as the Savage Nymph guides Sora to his true strength. SoKai ?LarxenexSora?

7. Chapter 6 Part 2

The Nymph's Blade, Chapter 6 part 2

As you undoubtedly noticed, the first half of the chapter completely predates canon. I'm pleased to announce that the timeline is now even with the canon. I've decided not to retype the canon, as updates are too few and far between as it is. For this reason, I'm only typing up points where the plot diverges from the canon. Don't worry though, I'm only doing this up until Ichigo's first battle with a Menos Grande. Why? Because that is the point when drastic changes begin to occur.

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Grimmjow watched Riku tear a portal into the human world. It seemed the Vasto Lorde had gained an interest in the events going on there. Grimmjow considered going with him, but decided to stay and find someone to fight. After all, a lack of hunger for souls didn't mean a lack of hunger for battle. He tore away across the sands of Hueco Mundo, his black form vanishing as his speed carried him away in search of an opponent.

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Tatsuki Arisawa blinked. She'd been having a normal enough day up until now. Now things were getting creepy.

A barely perceivable creature was moving around. She wasn't sure she saw anything at first, but then she saw it bump into a car; the vehicle shifted on impact, it's alarms going off.

She quickly backed up, eyes wide, and flinched as it turned towards her. The creature ran towards her, its massive, unseen bulk moving with surprising speed.

She sprinted into a tight alleyway, hoping it wouldn't fit, but to no avail. She turned to look at it, and fell to the ground. It had almost reached her! She scrambled back-and collided with something-something soft. She turned her head, and almost shrieked at the appearance of a cloaked figure behind her.

She wasn't normally the type to run from something which is seemingly human, but something primal inside her told her that this wasn't something that she could fight. Every instinct told her to run, to flee and never look back. Unfortunately, her path of retreat would take her to the massive near-invisible creature.

She froze up, she couldn't fight or flee. Fear had left her trapped.

The cloaked figure's 'head' tilted towards her, and then looked up. The invisible creature was coming, and she realized it had been seeking the cloaked figure, not her.

A small section of the figure's strange cloak-which she could now see was closer to scraps of some kind of cloth in the shape of a cloak-stretched forward, wrapping itself around the monster. The massive creature was obscured from sight for a moment, and when the 'cloth' came away, the creature was gone.

Tatsuki began to run, only to scream as the cloth shot towards her, piercing deep into her chest. She closed her eyes at the intense pain, unable to scream. She waited to black out, waited to die. Moments of agony passed, and no peace was granted. Eventually the pain faded, and she opened her eyes. The alley was empty.

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Karin Kurosaki, on her way home from soccer, could only watch as Tatsuki fled from a massive spirit. This was bad! She followed the terrified girl, and found Tatsuki alone shaken, but seemingly unharmed.

A sensation passed through her, but nothing was there when she turned around.

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Yuzu Kurosaki stared down at Sado. He was badly wounded from the car crash(you should have seen the car). His ribcage had been effectively caved in, puncturing both lungs. Between that and the bleeding, he probably wouldn't survive for the ambulance to arrive.

Sado, aka Chad, was a good friend of Ichigo's. She could already imagine his expression when he got the news. At first, he'd assume he'd misheard. Then he'd attack their dad for the 'horrible joke.' Then his expression would crumble, for one second she'd be able to see a deep sadness within him. Moments later his expression would harden again, and he'd leave the house and go get in a fight.

'Oniisan will be so sad if his friend dies, but I can't help him…' Yuzu covered her face with her hands, weeping over the dying body of Sado. She never noticed as the teardrops glowed with a green light as they struck his chest.

Slowly, Sado's previously declining pulse stabilized.

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The creature towered over Karin Kurosaki's teammates from behind. After the incident with Tatsuki, she was mentally prepared for such a thing. She moved quickly, hoping Sado would respond in time. She leapt towards it, swiftly kicking the creature.

It flew back a ways, and she watched as a blast of light shot through the spot it had been. Sado's left arm had become armored and he had fired some kind of projectile at it.

Unfortunately, he seemed near collapse. He stood panting, and seemed to be trying to continue fighting, but it was clearly difficult. 'I can at least buy him some time.'

Spotting a soccer ball, she ran over, and poured everything she had into kicking it at the creature. The soccer ball disintegrated as her foot met it. In its place a ball of crimson light flew at the creature, exploding on impact. Her eyes widened in shock, as did Sado's, moments before the Mexican collapsed.

Wiping the sweat from her brow and then pulling the same hand back through her hair, she was surprised to see flecks of white fall to the ground. 'Dandruff I guess? I'll pick up some shampoo later.'

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Tatsuki stared in horror as her classmates turned on her and Orihime, apparently possessed. Rushing to help her friend, she knocked the other students aside.

A monstrous creature similar to what had pursued her down an alley while ago sat taunting Orihime and manipulating the other students into attacking them. Tatsuki viciously kicked the students aside and charged towards the monster, holding off the other students as she advanced. Suddenly she was grabbed from behind.

She spun to attack, but was shocked to meet the eyes of Chisame. Before she could regain her bearings, something bit into her flesh. The creature taunted her, "How are you feeling? Those seeds driven into you take root in your body and control it. Soon the right to control your body will transfer from you to me."

He didn't stop speaking, but she had stopped listening. She could feel the seeds sinking into her, she tried to fight it, to keep control, but to no avail. She felt her limbs leave her control.

'Orihime's gonna die. That monster will destroy her. It's all my fault…I was too weak. It's my job to protect her. It's my job! ALL I HAD TO DO WAS PROTECT ORIHIME! THAT WAS ALL! I HATE THIS! WHY AM WEAK?! I'M THE STRONG ONE! I DON'T LET PEOPLE GET HURT!' Her rage faded into misery, "I couldn't protect her… I have to be stronger than this…power…I need power…to protect Orihime…and so that I'll never have to be helpless like this again. I need power…

The misery and hunger for power that was born of her weakness, echoed down to the core of her being, and something else responded.

A vision flashed through her mind. A strand of darkness pierced into her from the other end of an alleyway; the cloaked figure locked its gaze on her.

She remembered pain as something entered her, and more pain as it joined with something inside her, then darkness. She embraced that Darkness, and flowed into her, a torrent of power.

Blackness was all she could see, and suddenly the figure stood before her. "You have accepted my gift. Know that this power isn't free though, it comes with a price."

"What price-my soul? Is that what you want? Because that's too much, even for this. Despite how wonderful this gift is, it still isn't that valuable." The figure chuckled amusedly, "Come on, I'm not a demon. I don't want your soul. All I want is your loyalty." Tatsuki's eyes narrowed, "What do you want me to do for you? I won't be your slave." "All you have to do is be my ally. When I need your help, you will help me. Basically, you protect me and help me when I need you. Not a bad price for your life, I'd say."

"Tatsuki nodded reluctantly; it was a high price to pay, but Orihime would die and Tatsuki herself would remain weak otherwise. Darkness engulfed her.

Tatsuki felt dark power surge through her. She raised a hand and a black energy radiated from it. Clenching her fist, the girl furiously struck at the hollow, breaking through the mask and embedding her fist within it. A wave of dark energy burst from her hand, annihilating the hollow.

The strange rage which had engulfed her faded away; leaving her disoriented. She tried to focus, and eventually regained her equilibrium. Looking behind her, she saw Orihime standing over Chisame, bright lights shooting out from Orihime and forming a dome over Chisame. The wounded girl began to heal before Tatsuki's eyes. 'Amazing…'

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Sora met Zaraki's Zanpakuto with Fenris, the blades crashing together.

As Zaraki moved to kick Sora away, the student vanished, reappearing farther away and behind Kenpachi with an octet of kunai already flying from his hands.

As Zaraki spun and lunged, ignoring the knives that pierced his flesh, Sora vanished again before reappearing above Kenpachi and hurling a flaming chakram at the taicho, who stepped forward to avoid it.

Sora landed, immediately shooting towards Zaraki with Fenris in his hand. Zaraki blocked by swinging his blade behind his back with one hand, then threw off Sora's sword and spun to strike him.

Sora let go of his Zanpakuto with one hand and summoned a kunai into it in time to block Zaraki's Zanpakuto. He brought Fenris around and cut into Zaraki's side. Kenpachi ignored the injury as usual, which was a mistake.

Sora's eyes blazed green as a torrent of lightning shot through Fenris and into Kenpachi Zaraki. The Taicho threw himself away from the sword and grasped his Zanpakuto with both hands. Sora felt the man's power triple and leapt away, summoning up Roxas' power to bolster himself.

He now gripped Oblivion and Oathkeeper, his two blades meeting Zaraki's single blade over and over again in a maddened clash of power. He felt himself being pushed back by the Captain's overwhelming might.

Sora hurled himself back a short distance and crossed the blades horizontally in front of him, false Twilight building up where they met.

Pulling them apart violently, a black and white sphere expanded outwards from Sora, throwing Kenpachi back.. The Captain recovered quickly, and they stared each other down.

Each gathered what strength they had left and…were interrupted. Kairi and Toshiro had arrived separately at the same moment. Toshiro spoke quickly to Zaraki, "Yamamoto has called a Captain's meeting, it seems that Rukia Kuchiki is missing, and we believe that her power may have been stolen. If not, then Rukia Kuchiki has either abandoned or betrayed Soul Society. Come, now."

Meanwhile Kairi spoke quickly to Sora, "Rukia went missing on a mission a while ago, but someone else just killed a Menos Grande in the area she vanished from. Some are claiming that she has been training spirits to fight hollows without Soul Society's support. They're calling it treason. I know Rukia! She isn't the traitor, but no one's going to believe me.'

Sora nodded, "It isn't Hitsugaya or Zaraki either. Kenpachi would just attack someone if he wanted to betray Seiretei. Hitsugaya on the other hand is far to loyal to be the traitor." Kairi noted that for future reference before returning to the subject of Rukia, "Sora, I need you to go find her. I'd go myself, but everyone knows we spend time together. I'd just end up being labeled as an accomplice. Please, Sora, find her."

Sora sighed, he had been hoping to graduate properly, but this was too important. If the traitor was making his move and framing Rukia, then he needed to find her soon. He agreed to find her as soon as he gathered his belongings. Kairi smiled and thanked him profusely.

As he prepared to leave, Sora grabbed Hitsugaya's arm before the Taicho could shunpo away, "Hitsugaya-taicho, I'm fairly certain that Rukia isn't the traitor. Do you believe that this is Gin's work?" Hitsugaya responded quietly, "He's the most likely suspect, but I can guarantee nothing." "I'm going to find Rukia, you watch things on this end." Hitsugaya nodded and vanished via shunpo.

Sora did the same, appearing in his dorm. Ven looked over to him. If Sora knew Ven, which he did after six weeks, then he was going over his notes on the various Captains, trying to find the traitor.

Sora spoke briefly in explanation, "I have a lead, you won't see me for a while. Good luck with exams." Ven nodded vaguely as he looked over his papers, a faint smile momentarily passing over his face. Sora vanished as he grabbed his remaining belongings.

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Toushiro Hitsugaya spoke quickly at the meeting of Taichos, running damage control, "We should wait a while longer before retrieving Rukia." Yamamoto glared at the young Taicho, "These are orders from Central 46."

"Central 46 told us who to send and their basic objective. They did not tell us the exact method in which to do it. We do not know what other threats there are there. I can however, name one.

I did my research into Karakura; you see. I have determined that it is the home of one Kisuke Urahara, an Exiled Captain. We have not bothered capturing him, as has made no move against us. If, however, we attempt to capture Rukia, who may or not be his ally, then he may intervene.

Instead, I recommend that we wait a short while longer, and see if anything else strange occurs or if he clearly associates himself with her. If not, then we will make our move." Yamamoto addressed the others, "Who agrees with this plan?"

Zaraki(who was aware of Sora and Hitsugaya's suspicions), Ukitake(who was fond of Rukia), Kyoraku(who wasn't eager to deal with something so stressful), Byakuya(who was happy to find a loophole in the commands of Central 46), Aizen(who wanted to maintain appearances), and Unohana(Who was in no hurry for conflict) voiced their agreement. With Hitsugaya, that was seven.

Yamamoto spoke again, "Who stands opposed?" Gin and Tousen immediately voiced their opposition, as did Soifon. Yamamoto followed suit, and the ever-loyal Komamura followed his example.

It all came down to…Hitsugaya groaned mentally. It all came down to Mayuri. If the strange 'man' voted in opposition, then it became Yamamoto's decision. Of course, it was always Yamamoto's decision, but the Sotaicho preferred to allow a level of democracy in the group. Mayuri spoke after a moment of consideration, "We should not get hasty. Observation is the first step to success, as any good scientist would know. I agree with the plan that the brat has presented."

Yamamoto stared at him momentarily, before sighing heavily, "In this case, I will bow before the will of the majority. We will postpone the retrieval for two weeks. You are dismissed."

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Sora watched the Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki chatting in the boy's bedroom. It was clear that their relationship had grown to be quite strong. He should probably retrieve her and make it look like she'd been held against her will or something, but he got the feeling that this was important in some way.

A voice spoke from behind him, "Why are you here?" Sora turned and found that he shared the rooftop with another occupant.

The man was strangely garbed, wearing heavy clog-like sandals, and a rather gaudy green and black hat and cloak. After seeing people like Yen-Sid however, his outfit seemed rather mundane.

"Watching them; a friend of mine was worried for Rukia. At first I thought she was fine. Then I realized that I can't feel her Reiatsu."

"That's because she gave her Reiryoku to the boy, Ichigo."

"I'd understand her feeling weak, but she's like a blank spot. I can feel more reiatsu from the empty air than I can from her. What did you do to her?"

"Why do you think I did anything?"

"I've seen your file, Urahara Kisuke, you like experimenting on people. What kind of experiment is she?"

"The gigai suppresses reiatsu, this way she can hide out here safely with Ichigo."

"It does more than that, or her power would have returned by now. She would have at least come to soul society to prevent accusations of treason and desertion."

"You're a smart one aren't you? You're right, the gigai also drains away her Shinigami reiryoku, eventually she'll be no different from a human. A powerless soul trapped in an effectively human body, no different from any other."

Rage ate at Sora; the scientist's experiment was a horrendous violation of Rukia. Why would someone…unless? He narrowed his eyes, "You're trying to keep her away from Soul Society. Why?" He was still angry, but it was set aside for the moment by his curiosity.

Kisuke seemed a little panicked at his prying, but spoke quickly, "I'll tell you if you swear to not tell the other Shinigami." After a moment of thought, Sora went along with it. He could still act on the information even if he couldn't tell most people. "I swear to tell no other Shinigami besides Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, or my friend Kairi of this. Even then I will ask for a similar oath." He glowed for a moment, and realized that a Bakudo had been used to hold him to his oath. Sora understood the man's paranoia, and didn't complain.

Kisuke sighed "I'd ask you to keep this from Rukia and Ichigo, but somehow I don't think that you'd agree. Fine, I'll explain. There is something concealed within Rukia which a traitorous member of Soul Society wants for himself, in order to gain power."

He nodded in understanding, despite still having reservations about the man, "Who is it?"

"You believe me? Why should you believe an exile?"

"Because the King said the same thing. A traitor indeed exists within Soul Society, I just want to know who." Urahara's eyes widened comically, "The King? How?"

"A long story."

"I have time."

Sora presented Urahara with a toned down version of events. No details of any events outside of this world were given and Riku, Kairi, and Ven were not mentioned. He of course left out Larxene, Roxas, and Axel. Even without Sora mentioning that he heard voices in his head, Urahara clearly thought that Sora was mentally unstable. He also didn't seem to care much-he was quite familiar with mental instability.

The shopkeeper smiled at Sora from behind his fan, "So, any news from Soul Society?"

Sora rolled his eyes, "Like you don't have spies there." Kisuke seemed to deflate, "Unfortunately, I don't. The last of my eyes has been blinded I'm afraid. I have no idea what's happening."

"That explains why Rukia's still here."

"Hmm?"

"A team is being sent for her soon. That Gigai can't hide her now that they know. I'd recommend that you dispose of it now."

"No, not yet, it has other advantages. I will, however, give her a normal one before her power is truly gone."

Sora nodded, "Fine, just keep to your word on that, otherwise I'll have to come deal with it myself."

Kisuke was clearly not intimidated, "Where will you go now?"

"I think I'll stick around, keep an eye on those two." Sora indicated Ichigo and Rukia. Kisuke voiced his agreement, the pair needed every guardian they could find. Kisuke vanished, and Sora remained on the rooftop, watching.
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Ichigo Kurosaki stared up at his ceiling. Rukia said that Soul Society would probably come for her soon. He didn't know how he felt about that.

On one hand, he could go back to his normal life once she was gone and he was returned to normal-he didn't doubt that they had some way to make him a normal human again.

On the other hand, life without Rukia…did he really want that again? Did he want to go back to being alone?

Oh, he had family, but he could never tell them about Hollows or Shinigami. They lived happily in a world of harmless ghosts, how could he disillusion them?

He had friends, but the normal ones would never know of his time as a Shinigami, while the powerful ones would always wonder what he could have become if he'd kept his power.

Without Rukia, he had no one that he could truly be open with. She was the only one that wasn't separated from him by barriers. Well, just one-the closet door. He turned his head to stair at the door in question. It was strange to think that here he was, at home, and she was just feet away. She'd wormed her way into his life in more ways than one. Sometimes, he just wished his closet was stuck open, that she was always there with him. He sometimes wished that he could just glance over at her in the dead of night, just to remind himself that she was still there. It was only the closet door separating them, and yet he wished it gone.

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Rukia Kuchiki lay on her small cot in Ichigo's closet, staring at the inside of the door. It was annoying. She didn't like not being able to see him. As long as she could see him, this new life she'd made wasn't over yet. As long as he was there, she could just be Rukia, not Rukia Kuchiki, just Rukia. After all, he was the only one who knew who she truly was, and still just called her Rukia. Even Renji had forgotten that. Rukia knew that Kairi tried, but Rukia also knew that Kairi still saw her as a teacher. It didn't make sense; Kairi never seemed to care about rank. Why else would she act so guarded all of the time though?

No, Rukia cherished Kairi, Renji, and all of her other friends back home, but Ichigo was the only one who she never had to hide herself from. For him, rank and nobility didn't matter. The only thing separating them was the stupid closet door. She almost laughed at herself, raging at a piece of wood. Smiling, she reached up, and opened it just a crack, just so she could see his face. She laid back contently, and fell asleep in moments.

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Ichigo slammed his Zanpakuto into yet another Hollow, watching hit vanish from sight. Behind him, Rukia nodded in satisfaction, the day had been going well so far, this was Ichigo's fifth hollow today, and it wasn't yet noon. Ichigo spoke to her as they headed back to his house to await another Hollow signal, "Tell me about yourself Rukia."

Rukia looked at him oddly, "Why are you bringing this up now?" "Because I just realized that I don't know anything about your life back in Soul Society. I don't know about your friends or family, or anything else for that matter. I'm just curious."

She humored the man, "I grew up in Rukongai-which is the home of souls which are not Shinigami. I had reiatsu, but had yet to enter the academy. Instead, me and my friends just lived on the streets. You see, Rukongai is very much like feudal Japan. It isn't the paradise humans dream of, but it's peaceful at least.

There is no hunger, so there is less conflict over wealth or food. On the other hand, there are still murderers and thieves. It's usually better than the living world though, if you end up in a prosperous section of Rukongai.

Myself and my childhood companions weren't that fortunate. We not only lived in the slums of Rukongai, we also experienced hunger due to having Reiryoku. It was anything but wonderful. Eventually, however, I entered into the academy with a friend, Renji Abarai.

We were like the closest siblings, both trying to make a better life for ourselves by becoming Shinigami. We both attended the academy together for quite some time, and they were some of the happiest days of my life.

I later was adopted as a sister by a man by the name of Byakuya Kuchiki, though his reason eludes me to this day. I became Rukia Kuchiki that day, and I still don't know if I'm happy about it.

You see, the Kuchiki family is nobility, and Renji, overawed or terrified, never treated me the same again. Our friendship grew tenuous with time. We still care for each other, but we aren't close as we once were.

Byakuya is cold, caring I believe, but merciless. He doesn't show whatever emotions he may have, so it is hard to say. He might care about me, and yet he would not hesitate to hand me over if I was accused of a crime. He always puts his own beliefs after the Kuchiki family's reputation. He's my brother now, but we've never been close in any way.

Life since then has been only moderately pleasant, always wrapped up in responsibility and 'proper behavior.' Honestly, I prefer it here."

Ichigo stared at her for a moment, "Well, Rukia, there will always be a home for you here. If you need to get away, or lose your ability to tolerate Soul Society, then come back here. You'll be welcomed with open arms."

Rukia smiled warmly. Maybe life wasn't as hopeless as she'd thought for all these years.

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Two weeks since the Taicho's meeting.

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Byakuya Kuchiki slumped in his seat. He sat in the meeting chambers for the Taichos. It seemed that he had orders to collect Rukia for her-it was hard to give thought to the next word-her execution. He steeled himself, shoving away his emotions, and left the room, heading for the Senkaimon.

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Ichigo and Rukia sat out in the park, watching the night sky. The hollow they'd been hunting was dead, and now they just wanted to enjoy the night. Ichigo had lit up a small campfire with Kidou, glad that Rukia had taught him the basics.

If only she'd taught him to stop time, then they could have enjoyed this moment forever.

A branch cracked behind him, and he hurled himself to his feet, spinning to face the sound. A man in a white cloak stood before him. A white scarf and hair ornaments drew his eye. No, he realized, they were not some generic accessories, but were in fact the Ginpaku Kazahana no Uzuginu and the kenseikan.

This man was Byakuya Kuchiki, Rukia's adopted brother. Remembering what Rukia had told him, he attempted to be respectful as he addressed the man, "Welcome, Kuchiki-sama, may I ask why you're here?" Rukia looked at him like he'd grown a second head, but quickly hid her expression.

Byakuya addressed the young man, "I'm here to collect my sister, it seems that she has broken a rather prominent law in Soul Society. You will need to stand aside so that she may brought in for her punishment."

"Which is?"

Byakuya stiffened momentarily, "Execution via the Sokyoku."

Before Byakuya finished his response, Ichigo was upon him, his Zanpakuto sweeping out to meet Byakuya's. "You think I'll let that happen. I'll kill you if I have to! Rukia will not die!"

Byakuya blocked Ichigo's cuts with relative ease, but was surprised to find it more difficult than he expected. Byakuya knocked Ichigo back, wishing he'd brought Abarai along so he wouldn't have to fight, but his Vice Captain had an ongoing assignment in the human world. He wouldn't be back until tomorrow.

Calmly gesturing towards the boy, he spoke, "Byakurai."

Ichigo dodged the bolt of lightning before beginning a chant, "Ye Lord! Mask of blood and flash, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!" He accompanied his chant with a swing of his Zanpakuto, keeping Byakuya off balance, before gesturing with his hand and finishing the spell, "Hadou #31, Shakkahou!"

Byakuya took the hit to his chest, being pushed back a short distance, but was barely harmed, "An admirable effort, but this ends now." He shunpoed towards Ichigo, performing a technique that Rukia knew as Senka. Before he could finish the strike, Rukia shunpoed into his path, taking the hit for Ichigo.

Byakuya's eyes widened in horror as he spun from his position behind the two, his shunpo completed. He rushed towards Rukia, who had suffered severe wounds. He could tell that her Hakusui had been severed, although her Saketsu had been spared-little use though it was. Ichigo had lost both in the attack, but Byakuya cared little.

He grabbed Rukia's face, looking into her eyes, "Where is there a healer, a doctor, around here? I will not let you die in this way."

Rukia smiled weakly, "I'll only tell you if you take Ichigo too."

Byakuya started to protest, but stopped. If saving the boy was the price to pay for allowing Rukia to live a while longer, then so be it. "Fine."

"The Kurosaki family clinic, it's run by Ichigo's father. It's the only place close enough." She gave him rough directions, and Byakuya shunpoed to the Clinic, where Rukia knew Isshin was still working late. He knocked on the door heavily, then laid the two down, having restored Ichigo to his body(which was laying in the park).

He waited, knowing that the boy's father wouldn't be able to see him, but wanting to keep an eye on Rukia. The door opened, and Byakuya nearly had a heart attack as Isshin-taicho of the Gotei 13 looked straight at him. The man spoke quickly, ignoring for the moment the sight of 'Bya-kun' at the door to his clinic, "Grab Rukia and come on!" Byakuya instinctively obeyed, carrying his sister to the clinic's emergency care room as he followed Isshin. It was hardly the ER, but it was suitable for stitching up large wounds and such until the injured could be taken to a hospital.

Setting her down on one of the room's tables, he watched as Isshin set the boy-Isshin's son-down on another table. Isshin spoke to him, already stitching up the two's wounds(Ichigo's had transferred to his body when he was returned to it.), "What happened?"

"I was sent to retrieve Rukia, in accordance with the will of Central 46. Ichigo opposed me, and I used Senka. Rukia intercepted the blow and was injured as well."

Isshin nodded calmly, "Remind me to beat the shit out of you later. For now though, get Rukia out of her Gigai, I'll work on Ichigo in the meantime. Byakuya followed his instructions, shocked at the amount of resistance he found when attempting to remove Rukia. It was almost as if it was a real body instead of a Gigai. When he finally freed her, he stared for a moment at her white kimono, realizing at last what he'd taken from her with his Senka.

He turned to Isshin, "What should I do now?"

"Go get my daughter Yuzu, she may be a child, but she is quite capable. She can work on Ichigo while I handle Rukia."

Byakuya started to leave, then remembered, "How will she see me?"

"Tell Karin, the dark-haired one-that Ichigo's injured and I need Yuzu's help. Don't be surprised if she doesn't acknowledge your presence. She'll bring her sister hopefully. When they're both in reach, Shunpo them here."

Byakuya shunpoed to Isshin's home, which he'd seen Rukia and Ichigo leave before they went to the park. He'd wanted to give his sister one last fond memory before he brought her in, so he'd let her go. He opened the door, breaking the lock in the process, and hurried up the stairs, talking to Karin, "Your father needs your sister's help, Ichigo's been injured."

Karin had been ignoring him, but promptly went and grabbed Yuzu. They started down the stairs. Byakuya quietly grabbed their arms and Shunpoed to the Clinic, lifting them slightly into the air as he pulled the two along. The girls seemed disoriented, but ignored the strange event in favor of helping their father as they ran into the clinic.

Yuzu rushed to Ichigo's side, following her father's orders, "Disinfect his wounds, stitch anything you can, and bandage the rest. Karin, call this number." He handed her Urahara's phone number." Byakuya just watched the former Taicho numbly. The world had gone mad.

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Ichigo's eyes opened slowly. All he could see was white. 'Hmm…well, Soul Society isn't all white and glowy, so that means…shit. I'm in a hospital.' "ICHIGO!" His father's foot was incoming. 'I was stabbed damnit!' The attack was approaching, only to be interrupted by…Byakuya? Ichigo's eyes nearly came out of his head. "What the hell are you doing here."

"Keeping you alive, it seems Isshin is still as violent as ever. Why didn't you mention that you were his son Ichigo? Everything could have been much more civil then."

Ichigo's mouth just gaped a little as his jaw raised and lowered, fishlike. "What the hell is going on old man?!" He hurled himself from his hospital bed, his fist slamming into his father's stomach, who responded with a kick towards Ichigo's head.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Rukia watched the fight numbly. The world had gone mad.

Ichigo was fighting his father, while her brother watched peacefully. She was clearly dreaming. Wait, no, the pain in her chest spoke otherwise. Wait…Ichigo was fighting his father after being cut open by Byakuya? Shit, that idiot would reopen his wounds! She quickly pulled herself from the bed and threw herself at the two, dragging Ichigo back to his bed, while kicking Isshin aside. She lay herself back down quickly as she felt one of her wounds trying to reopen. Byakuya might as well have not been there.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Byakuya watched his sister thrash the two mercilessly. Since when did Rukia act like this? It was completely inappropriate for her station, but she seemed very happy, so much more alive. Maybe this was why she hadn't come back. Maybe her reason for remaining in the living world was simply a desire to keep this carefree life she seemed to be living. Knowing that, could he really take her back to be executed?

No, he had to, he had to obey the laws of Soul Society. In accordance with those laws, the only way for Rukia Kuchiki to avoid execution was to die and be reincarnated as a human. No, wait….no, the law was worded a little differently. It said that a Shinigami could only escape punishment by being severed from the spiritual plane. This was generally considered to be via death and resurrection, but could possibly be interpreted to allow the severance of the Soul Chain and placement inside a body in the Living World.

As long as he didn't give Yamamoto or Central 46 a reason to make a decision to the contrary, he could leave her here without violating the laws of Soul Society. He smiled. It seemed Rukia would be able to enjoy this new life after all. He turned towards his sister, "You are hereby banished from Soul Society. You may not return on pain of death."

Ichigo turned towards Byakuya, rage forming in his eyes, but was stopped as Rukia threw her arms around Byakuya in a loving embrace. She spoke simply, tears in her eyes, "Thank you, Oniisan." Byakuya's eyes widened, it was the first time he'd heard her call him brother in any way besides cold politeness.

He wrapped his arms around her momentarily, allowing himself to soften for only a moment, warmth suffusing his voice, "Live happily, Imouto." He stood, and left promptly, his face once again masked in ice. Isshin spoke to him as he opened the door to leave.

"Do you understand why I left now, Bya-kun?"

"Yes, I believe I do. Take care of her." Without a word Byakuya shunpoed away, waiting until he was calmer to return to Soul Society.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Ichigo watched the moment in confusion. Rukia was happy to be banished? This made no sense! Rukia smiled at Ichigo and explained, "He was telling me I didn't have to go back. He was telling me that he's found a way to keep me alive."

Ichigo's eyes widened in understanding, before he grinned in joy, something which looked distinctly odd on his face, "Then, I guess I don't need to say goodbye."

Rukia smiled back, "Nope, I just hope you don't need your closet back anytime soon."

"Never, my closet is yours."

"Thank you Ichigo."

Karin just stared at the pair for a moment before writing it off as psychosis. Madness was common enough in both her family and Rukia's apparently(if her brother was anything to go by). Isshin and Kisuke walked in a few minutes later, Kisuke speaking in his usual manner, "So, aren't you glad I was here to fix you up?" The two just glared at him, Ichigo snapping at him, "Somehow, this is your fault sandal-hat." Isshin laughed at that, until he was silenced by an elbow from Kisuke.

Ichigo turned towards Isshin, "Now, how the hell do you know Byakuya?"

Isshin grew somber, "Bya-kun and me go way back. I haven't seen him for, oh I don't know, a hundred and ten years?"

Rukia stared at him for a moment, before suddenly spewing her tea, which Yuzu had left next to their bedsides, "You're that Isshin? But, you're Ichigo's-oh, I really need something stronger than tea. Where's the alcohol?"

Karin, who'd been sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, tossed her a bottle of vodka, "We ran out of normal disinfectants."

Rukia took a swig from the bottle, enjoying the freedom from saucers and sake. Meanwhile, Ichigo had apparently broken down completely, as he was completely silent and still.

Isshin explained, "I was a taicho in the Gotei 13 a century ago. I left when my wife was executed-although she was spared the Sokyoku-for unjust reasons. Later, I met her reincarnation, your mother, and we married. I'm one of the few men to have a second chance at a life with his soul mate. I stopped leaving my Gigai after I met her. Now, I can barely tell it from a normal body, although that is as much thanks to Kisuke here as anything."

Urahara laughed from behind his fan, "High praise Isshin, not that I don't deserve it. That Gigai was an impressive work, as is Rukia's. Oh, and Ichigo, I'm ex-taicho of the Gotei 13, Kisuke Urahara, not 'sandal-hat.'"

Ichigo didn't even register the comment, still in shock that he'd somehow ended up in the family business despite everything he'd done. Rukia, however, snapped at Urahara with a mild slur, "What cha' mean, Rukia's Gigai? What the hell did ya' give me?" Kisuke blinked at the vodka-induced slur, but quickly explained the workings of the Gigai.

Unfortunately for him, Ichigo did hear that. "WHAT THE HELL! YOU PURPOSELY GAVE RUKIA AN IMPROPER GIGAI!"

"Hey, it isn't all bad. You see, this Gigai doesn't just weaken someone, it steals their power. What does that mean? It means that all of Rukia's Reiryoku is stored inside her Gigai. I can give her power back.

Rukia perked up at this, "Cha' mean I'll be a Shinigami again?"

"Precisely, now give me that!" Kisuke stole the vodka back from her. He found that speech pattern to be quite obnoxious. "As for you Ichigo, your power was just Rukia's. It's gone, but you still have your natural abilities asleep within you. I will help you access them. In the meantime, you rest up. We start in two days!"

Ichigo just stared as his father and Kisuke shot out of the room. "They're hiding something."

Rukia nodded, "I don't wanna' know what."

Ichigo scowled, "Me neither."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Karin Kurosaki was cleaning up the local hollows. With Rukia and Ichigo out of commission, she'd been helping out the last few days. She was getting pretty good too. She was learning to create that same ball of energy as before with relative ease. She'd learn to tie the strength of the blast to the force of the kick. It wasn't necessary, she could shoot a massive blast with a half-hearted kick, but by mentally linking the two, she gained more control. More than that, she'd found some other abilities. She could move really fast if she poured some of her power-err…reiryoku she guessed-into her body. It wasn't quite as fast as she'd seen that Byakuya guy move, but it was definitely easier to control. She didn't have to preprogram her movement, so she had a lot more mobility.

It was funny, getting used to this was really easy. She'd thought she would never get over all the stuff Dad had told her. Shinigami, Hollows, Soul Society, it should have left her perpetually freaked out. Instead, things almost seemed easier. The weirdness that had been going on recently was now explainable. The biggest difference was her own personal changes.

She felt different. She felt somehow disjointed from the rest of the world. It wasn't that she didn't care about her family or friends, in that aspect nothing had changed. No, it felt like she existed at a slightly different frequency than everyone else. She also felt more alive, than before, like her body was just hiding something greater. She knew she sounded egotistical, but she felt like she had grown into something more.

Sensing another Hollow, she blurred towards it, leaping towards its head and grabbing the front of the creature's mask. She crushed it in her hand, deciding to try a new method. She felt power pour into her as it died, a feeling of euphoria falling over her in the process. 'I wonder why Ichigo never mentions that feeling. Is it taboo to talk about or something? Well, I'll just keep my mouth shut just in case.'

Karin wiped away the sweat on her face and hair. White flecks littered he shirt. Her dandruff was getting worse.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Tatsuki sat with Inoue, Ishida, and Sado as Kisuke spoke. Apparently he wanted their help dealing with something going on in this Soul Society place. Tatsuki just nodded along with Inoue. Internally, she was wondering if she would meet her benefactor there. Part of her was scared of that possibility, but part of her was eager.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Within Seiretei, the traitor's lips creased into a frown. This morning, Byakuya Kuchiki had worked his sister free of her sentence. Worse yet, the way he had done it-severing her from Soul Society and the spiritual plane all together-took her out of Central 46's jurisdiction. It seemed that other methods would have to be used.

Opening a Garganta, he stepped through into Hueco Mundo. He sought out a suitable Adjuchas from among those he had been watching(After all, he'd need test subjects later). Finding one, he shunpoed to its location.

Upon arrival, he was shocked to find a black-robed Vasto Lorde level Hollow standing over it. The Adjuchas-level Hollow was changing, evolving he realized. He was seeing the birth of a Vasto Lorde.

Quickly, he slipped out of sight, watching from behind an illusion he'd conjured. The Hollow shrank, until it resembled a large deer, with black fur and antlers. It distorted again before the traitor's eyes. It wasn't getting stronger, it was just changing. The Hollow's flesh rippled, and the fur changed in texture. antlers receded back, and triangular ears took their place. The 'bone' structure of the creature shifted. When it was again recognizable, the traitor found himself gazing upon a canine hollow.

The figure stared at it for a moment, and he felt something else happen, but he didn't know what. The figure vanished shortly after through a black portal.

The traitor shunpoed to the canine, stooping down in front of it. Moments later, he'd convinced it that he'd made it a Vasto Lorde and that it had to complete a task for him in payment or be destroyed. The creature was through the Garganta in moments.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Rukia stretched her muscles, they were finally cleared to leave. As her and Ichigo happily strolled out the door, a dark Reiatsu hit them. Ichigo chuckled, "You know, that's just not right. We're injured and barely able to walk, and yet we can't go outside without being attacked."

Rukia wasn't laughing, the hollow felt strong, and its Reiatsu was still suppressed, as if trying to get them to underestimate it. The problem was, its suppressed reiatsu was stronger than a Gillian-class menos. That meant it felt like an Adjuchas-class menos. Which meant that it was truly Vasto Lorde class. In simple terms, it was time to run.

She grabbed Ichigo's arm and dragged him back inside the clinic. The building wouldn't help much, but it was better than nothing. Running deeper into the building, she glanced over her shoulder and saw a small canine hollow, no more than twice the size of Rukia herself. The creature loped towards them. She ducked into a dark room, pulling Ichigo with her.

The hollow stopped outside the door, barely visible to Rukia, who was for once glad for her and Ichigo's almost nonexistent reiatsu. The Hollow sniffed the ground, before turning towards the door. A hollow who could track by scent? She'd forgotten what made Vasto Lordes the most dangerous (besides their absurd amount of reiatsu). They were fully sentient and clear minded. There were no voices in their heads to distract them, nor was there overwhelming hunger to make them into mindless beasts.

The creature knocked down the door as she and Ichigo backed up, the orange-haired Shinigami having realized the danger at last.

The creature lunged at her, only to grab her arm. It growled at her, and began to drag her towards a portal which had suddenly opened.

Realizing that this wasn't random, she grabbed at its face, trying to pull free. It didn't budge. She watched the portal grow larger in her vision. She wouldn't lose this life, not now, not when it was so close. She beat at it with her free hand to no avail. Finally, she slapped her hands over its eyes, doing what she could to keep it from getting to the portal. She shouted at it, "Stop! Let go of me! JUST STOP!" She wanted it to let go, she just wanted it to let go of her!

She unconsciously reached out for her reiatsu to help in pushing it away. Instead, she found something else. Her hand glowed a deep blue verging on black, and she felt power flowing from her. The Hollow writhed as some kind of energy poured into it. Before her eyes, it collapsed. The power she'd unleashed was still doing its work.

The blue glow engulfed the hollow for a moment, and when it became visible again, it had been replaced with a…human? A young woman lay before her, naked. As the glow faded away completely and her face was exposed, Rukia saw a piece of cartilage on her face. Not human, an Arrancar.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Karin Kurosaki felt the Hollow from across town, and arrived moments after the Hollow's transformation. She looked down at the Arrancar in confusion. It felt familiar, similar to what she'd felt when Tatsuki was attacked, but not just that. It also felt similar to someone else. Someone close to her. She just couldn't place it.

Looking down at it, at her, she lifted the girl up and blurred towards one of the other rooms, placing the Arrancar girl on a bed. She quickly blurred to a linen closet for a blanket, and then back to place it over the girl. Blurring back to Rukia and Ichigo, she spoke, "What the hell is going on?"

"That was a Hollow you just carried away."

"Well duh. What I want to know is, a) why the hell does it look like a human girl and b) why was it lying naked in the clinic!?"

After they explained the situation, Karin nodded, "Ok, that makes sense. You just turned a hollow into a naked girl by accident." She promptly tossed a nearby table at them, "YEAH RIGHT!"

Rukia and Ichigo shook their heads, "No, it's true!"

Karin decided to solve this the easy way, "You two get Kisuke and Dad, I'll watch the girl. See ya!" She blurred back to the girl's bedside.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The Hollow slowly regained consciousness. There was a human-shaped hand on her arm. Wondering which Arrancar had found her, she glanced at her fellow Hollow. Her eyes widened in shock as she found herself staring at a human girl. No, that wasn't right, she didn't feel human-but she didn't have any mask fragment. What the hell was going on?

A pair of humans walked into the room, grimfaced. The taller, a orange-haired male, spoke roughly to her, "Why did you attack us, hollow? Who sent you?"

She opened her mouth to explain, then closed it, and then finally spoke hesitantly, "I-I don't know. I don't remember…"

The black haired female who'd accompanied the male cut in aggressively, "What do you remember?"

"I remember a hooded figure in a black cloak. I remember feeling my body transform. I remember becoming a Vasto Lorde. Everything is a blur after that until I woke up here as an Arrancar."

The black-haired human groaned, "Great, we have an amnesiac Arrancar sitting in the clinic. On top of that, we have no clue who sent it or anything else. Wonderful…"

At that moment a pair of Shinigami walked in, sending a wave of terror through her. "Please, don't kill me! I don't want to die!"

One of the Shinigami-his hair was blonde- raised an eyebrow, "Now why would we do that? You're much more useful to us alive."

"W-What do you mean? I'm a hollow, what use could I be to you?"

An 'evil' grin engulfed the Shinigami's face, "Oh, I could think of quite the list: test subject, moving target, test subject…"

The other Shinigami snorted, "Okay, that's enough Kisuke, you'll scare the poor girl to death."

The blonde smiled mildly at the other Shinigami, "A bit late for that, but you're right." He looked at her again, "It's simple; we want you to tell us everything about Aizen Sosuke that you know."

She did as he said, "Who's Aizen Sosuke?" The Shinigami groaned.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Two days later, the Hollow-she had no name-watched from a distance as the young non-human from before assaulted a hollow. Ripping it's reiatsu from it and absorbing it. She had to admit, it was much cleaner than literally eating a hollow. The shinigami hadn't even kept her locked up once they found out she didn't know anything. Instead, the blonde-Kisuke Urahara- had attached a strange collar to her, locking away her reiatsu.

The non-human, 'Karin,' had caught her interest today, and she jumped down to speak to it. The girl spun towards her, and the Hollow's eyes widened as she saw that the being's face was covered in mask pieces.

The non-human calmed as she saw who it was, and the mask pieces began to fall away from her face. "What do you want?"

The Hollow said the first thing that came to mind, "I was impressed by your technique, but your Cero needs some work."

"Huh?"

The Hollow's eyes widened, 'She doesn't know…' "That ball of energy you, um, kicked. That's called a Cero. At least, that's what I've heard it called." That last sentence would make it seem less like she had intimate knowledge of the topic, and more that she'd seen it done. That would hopefully keep Karin from realizing what she was becoming…not that the Hollow knew exactly.

"Oh…so what am I doing wrong."

The Hollow responded immediately, "The reiryoku isn't being focused properly. It all needs to be centered around a single point, not just jammed together. The more precisely you do it, the better the result will be."

Karin nodded vaguely, her eyes thoughtful as she created a Cero. The sphere-previously just a loose mixture of red and black energy, was now more organized, with all of the energy and light radiating from a center-point.

The Hollow smiled, "Perfect. Do you know about Bala?"

The Hollow was never sure exactly when it was that she decided to take the girl under her wing, even years later.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Ichigo looked around the underground chamber. The painted sky overhead made it seem much more open and spacious than it truly was. That wasn't to say it was small, the cavern was immense.

Kisuke laughed psychotically from behind the gaping Kurosaki and the accompanying Kuchiki.

Kisuke calmed after a moment and addressed the two, "Now, we shall began the process or restoring your power. First though…Tessai!" He punctuated the statement by knocking Ichigo from his body. A cleaver held by Tessai cut through the boy's soul chain. Next, Rukia found herself ejected from her gigai. She was fortunate in that she had no soul chain to cut.

"The first stage of your training is simple, stay alive." Ichigo was shoved aside by Rukia as she sensed a Reiatsu directly behind him. A cloud of sand erupted as something struck it. Ichigo turned to see…a little girl? Kisuke continued talking, " Now Ichigo, Ururu here is going to be your opponent. Don't get hit. Rukia, how do you feel, any difficulty moving about?"

The Kuchiki shook her head slowly, "I feel weaker, I doubt I could use Hoho. Besides that though, I feel fine."

Kisuke smirked, "Very good! Well then, let's just watch the show. Have at it Ururu!"

The child lunged at Ichigo, who just barely threw himself out of the way. A moment later, he was forced to roll to the right as a fist embedded itself where his face had been moments before. Ururu paused slightly, and Ichigo took the chance to escape.

Ichigo ran for his life as the little girl pursued him. Once he had some distance on her, he turned. She struck only a second later. Ducking her punch, he followed up with a strike towards her stomach. At the last second, he hesitated. The punch launched him into a wall as Ururu struck.

Kisuke noticed the hesitation, "Why are you holding back Ichigo? You almost had her there!"

Ichigo just glared at him, "She's just a kid! I'm not going to beat up a little kid!"

Kisuke scowled-a rare expression for him, "Ichigo! It doesn't matter who or what she is! She will kill you if you don't fight back!"

Ichigo began to argue, but was cut off by another incoming punch. He dodged again, and this time followed through on his attack. A swift, relatively gentle, strike knocked the girl back. He felt guilty, but he couldn't get killed now.

Kisuke spoke, "Okay Ururu, that's enough. I believe Ichigo is ready now. Next is…" He casually knocked Ichigo across the room into a deep pit. "Alright Ichigo, now you need to find your Shinigami powers. Just get it done before you become a hollow, ok?"

Ichigo's protests fell on deaf ears as Kisuke turned to Rukia, "Alright Kuchiki-san, this is your last chance to back out. Are you sure you want to do this. Rukia nodded and leapt down into another pit adjacent to Ichigo's.

Kisuke stood and waited as the seconds ticked away.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kairi smiled widely, she had tested out of her last class the day before. Today there would be Division members here to evaluate her. She would then be able to choose from among those who offered her a position in the Division.

She was waiting for them in a large circular chamber. Presumably, it was designed to allow room for impromptu testing. The center of the room, where she stood, was well lit. The outer edges, where the Division members would stand, were shrouded in darkness.

A group of shadows appeared from the doorway. She couldn't make out individuals, but she could tell that they were all at least Lieutenants. Two captains had arrived as well.

She heard muttering as they argued over something. Eventually, a figure stepped from the shadows. Kairi cringed, it was Mayuri. The thing spoke, "Now, I'll be your new captain. Welcome to the 8th division."

Kairi blinked before glaring, "I was under the impression that it was my choice, not yours."

Mayuri seemed amused, "Oh, officially it is. The problem is that you have to be offered a position elsewhere. I managed to convince the others to give up on you. Now, come along." Kairi's blood was ice in her veins. She'd heard about Mayuri's twisted experiments. There was no way she was going anywhere near his division.

Summoning her mana, Kairi focused on a Kidou incantation. Kurohitsugi should handle this well enough.

"I'm afraid that I-"

Kairi's sentence was finished by a soft, masculine voice from behind her, "-have received another offer." The voice continued speaking, "Did you really think I would miss the graduation of the Academy's most promising Kidou student?"

Mayuri sneered, "You can't have her! Each division can only accept one recruit each month!"

She could almost hear the voice's owner smirk, "I have already chosen my recruit for the 5th division, but I am allowed to recruit one student into the Kidou Corps as well. Now, please leave us."

Kairi turned to face the speaker as Mayuri snarled and departed. The Captain before her smiled gently, his messy brown hair framing his smiling face. His glasses reflected the light. "Come Kairi, I have much to show you."

Kairi nodded, "Yes Aizen-taicho."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Rukia opened her eyes.

She stood at the base of a pillar of ice. Above her she could see a vast palace, balanced upon the pillar. Now she had to reach the top. She sighed. This was just like when she obtained Shikai. She had to climb to the palace.

This was more easily said than done, seeing as it was a pillar of ice. As she clawed at the pillar, seeking purchase, her hands began to go numb.

'I did this before. I can do it again.' Unfortunately, she wasn't quite sure of that. Last time she had used her reiatsu to reshape the ice. This time, she didn't have that luxury.

Staring at the pillar, Rukia pondered her situation. There was clearly no simple way to do this. Her hands couldn't get a grip, even if she could manage to ignore the numbness. No, she needed to think this through.

She turned to survey her surroundings. It was a frozen wasteland. There was nothing that she could see to use. It hadn't been so barren once. When she first came here, it had been a snow-covered forest. She hated seeing what her life as a Kuchiki had done to her mind.

Something in her thoughts caught her attention. This was her mind. She was in her own mind. That meant…

Rukia focused, visualizing a staircase winding about the pillar. Slowly, it coalesced into 'solid' form. She stepped onto the first of the glittering stairs of ice. It held. She sighed in relief, only to find herself on the ground as the staircase disappeared. 'I can't lose focus. I can't afford for the stairs to vanish when I'm halfway up.'

She reformed the stairs and began her climb. Thirty steps up, she felt the stairs begin to melt. She frowned, searching for the problem. Above, the sun was shining brightly, its light and heat melting her frozen creation. The palace itself seemed to ignore it, but her stairs were rapidly turning to liquid. She focused, trying to block out the sunlight. Nothing happened. She tried to create a wall of ice to protect the stairs, but her mindscape denied her. 'What…?'

Rukia tried again, but still to no avail. She thought to herself aloud, "Why isn't this working? It's my mind. It should work. Then she realized it. "This isn't just my mindscape, it's my soulscape. I can't just create things through thought. I need reiryoku to affect this world. I'm just a human though. I need more reiryoku, but I'll just have to try my hardest."

Rukia focused all of her will on the stairs, attempting to consciously focus what little reiryoku she had. They regenerated a little. Next, she thinned them out and made them less detailed to conserve reiryoku. Then she began to climb again.

With each step, she felt more exhausted. Her scant reiryoku was fading fast, and she was not yet halfway to the top. She focused harder, trying to buy more time. She continued her ascent.

Several minutes later, she was about halfway there. The stairs were beginning to melt and she couldn't stop them any longer. 'If I fall from here…' Rukia shook off the worrying thought and returned her focus to the task at hand.

Time passed and Rukia was most of the way there. She had removed all the stairs beneath her and bought time, but the stairs were barely supporting her weight. She heard a cracking sound, and looked down. The stair she was on was beginning to crack!

She began running up the stairs, each step falling away behind her. She looked up. 'I can see it! Just a few more stairs and…!'

She stepped on the last stair, and it broke instantly. Rukia fell.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Sky-kun! Where are you Sky-kun?!" Yachiru had been looking around all day, but she couldn't find Sky-kun. Ken-chan had been looking bored all day, and Sky-kun was the only person he got to fight with. Yachiru wished he'd let her spar with him, but Ken-chan didn't like fighting her. Only the kitty would fight her…it had been so long…

Feeling a strong reiatsu, she ran towards it, "Sky-kun? Is that you?"

A voice spoke from behind her, "I'm afraid not."

Everything went black.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Rukia's eyes widened as she felt the stair give. Now free falling, she searched for a handhold. Nothing was there. She willed one to appear and nothing did. She was out of Reiryoku. She was going to die.

'I knew it would come eventually. I'm a Shinigami. Death is nothing to fear. I'm just going home. This is just my destiny…'

She looked down. The landscape was gone, replaced by a vast darkness. She closed her eyes, smiling in acceptance as it approached.

An image appeared her mind's eye. Brown eyes gazed at her from beneath orange hair. A determined gaze met hers. 'Ichigo…'

New thoughts flooded her mind, 'I'm not a Shinigami anymore! I'm human! I don't want to lose him! I don't want to die, not now that I finally have the chance to live! I don't care if this is my destiny, I WILL LIVE!"

Her eyes snapped open an instant before she hit the void beneath her. She slipped through soundlessly. She glared back at where she came, willing herself back. To her shock, she found a flood of strange reiatsu entering her. Her feet hit solid ground. Then she was flying upwards back into the sky, carried aboard a thin, rectangular, pitch black platform. The platform glowed deepest blue along its edges. She looked up, ferociously willing herself up to the palace above her.

The platform stopped at the doorway, which opened into thin air. Rukia stepped through the door.

As Rukia stepped inside the room, her eyes immediately fell on a beautiful young woman. She was sitting at the far end of the vast entrance hall. She sat upon a massive chair that could only be called one thing-a throne. Upon her head sat a tiara of ice. Rukia spoke, "Hello, Sode no Shiroyuki."

Her zanpakuto nodded at her coldly, and the world vanished.

::::::

Rukia opened her eyes. She stood at the bottom of the pit. She felt the reassuring weight of her Zanpakuto on her back, and stood clothed in her Shinigami garb. She had finally regained her powers.

Rukia looked up at the top of the shaft, and leapt out. She landed calmly. Ichigo was not there to welcome her.

She turned towards Urahara, who was now relaxing in a foldable chair with an umbrella-adorned drink. She did what any logical person would do.

She leaped at him with her Zanpakuto drawn, "Urahara!"

Kisuke barely threw himself from his chair in time. He sat up from his place on the ground, blinking at her. "Rukia? I'm glad to see you but…"

"Why the hell are you just sitting here when Ichigo's still in danger?!"

He shrugged, "It's not like I can do anything for him. He's on his own."

Rukia grimaced before walking to the second hole to watch Ichigo.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Time passed, and Ichigo remained at the bottom of the shaft. His eyes were closed as he struggled to meditate.

Rukia gasped as his soul chain began to encroach faster and faster. Her eyes glistened with tears as she saw a mask trying to form, she screamed, "ICHIGO!"

Tessai stepped up to the pit, and began using binding Kidou on Ichigo. Rukia could only watch in horror as a black light flooded the hole. Suddenly, it shot up towards the top. Tessai's kidou shattered as Ichigo landed, a mask on his face. Rukia smiled. He'd made it! She could tell that he was still under that mask. This was still Ichigo!

Then she did it. She ran up to the young Shinigami, and kissed him.

That was the moment everything changed.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sora watched the touching scene from afar. It was good to see those two finally figure it out. After a little while, the couple was interrupted by Kisuke. Sora couldn't tell what he was saying, so he glided unseen over to a closer boulder, listening in. "Well that was surprising. You're such a cute couple! Here's the thing though…I don't care. Whatever your personal issues are, training will go on as planned. Now, here's the next step. Ichigo needs to land a solid blow on me with his Zanpakuto. Good luck!"

And so, the battle began.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The battle ended as Ichigo finally landed a hit, wielding the power of his newly released Shikai in order to defeat Kisuke. As the proceedings advanced and Kisuke started to propose a multi-day battle training method, as opposed to actually teaching Ichigo and Rukia something, Sora decided to step in. Drawing upon the Lightning mana within him, he traveled to the point next to Kisuke as loose electricity and then regained physicality.

Ichigo reached for Zangetsu, but was stopped by a gesture from Kisuke, "I didn't expect you to actually make an appearance. What seems to be the problem?" Kisuke was clearly being serious for once, his eyes shadowed by the brim of his hat. Sora rolled his eyes at the former Captain, "What's my problem? My problem is that you intend to send those two-and the others-to fight Captain and Lieutenant level Shinigami with nothing more than Shikai and limited Kidou. They Captains will eat them alive. I'm not going to just watch while you doom these two."

Ichigo lost it at that, "WHAT! How dare you! I'm strong enough to deal with-!"

Sora just sighed, "No Ichigo, you aren't. There is no way for a normal Shinigami with Shikai to defeat someone with Bankai. That's just how it is."

Kisuke fanned himself, looking exasperated, "Well, what am I supposed to do? I can't teach him Bankai-so what?"

"You could teach them Bankai."

"I just said-"

Their voices were slowly be raised as they argued, "I know what you said! I also know that you can teach someone Bankai in three days!'

Rukia's eyes widened comically, "Three days?! This is Bankai!"

Kisuke nodded slowly, "Fine, but I don't think they're ready."

"It doesn't matter. It's better for them to risk the dangers of Bankai training rather than have to fight Captains with Shikai."

Kisuke relented and sent Tessai for the Bankai cutouts.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Several days later…

Ichigo stood before Urahara, still showing signs of injury from his training. Rukia stands beside him, looking no better. The rest of the group slowly files into the basement. Uryuu walks in with a strange glove on his hand and what appears to be a sword hilt strapped to his hip. He smirks at Ichigo.

Tatsuki smiles at Ichigo, her expression failing to conceal her grim mood, "Ichigo, Orihime send her best. Seeing as we can only barely bring six people, I asked her to stay here. She'll be safer that way." Ichigo nods.

Last is Sado, who simply grunts and nods at Ichigo.

Ichigo had been ready for their arrival-apparently that Sora guy was more willing to reveal information than Urahara.

A cat sits nearby and it begins to speak, "My name is Yoruichi. I will be your guide once we reach Soul Society. For now, we must pass through the Senkaimon. Be ready, we only have 4 minutes."

Sora, who Ichigo now notices atop a rocky outcropping, smiles at the group, "I'll be over there too, so I can step in if I have no other choice. Remember though, I need to avoid helping you if at all possible. If my cover gets blown, then we've got no inside contacts. That means no scouting, no help, and nowhere to run."

Rukia spoke up, "Actually…I had a student by the name of Kairi. She might be willing to help."

Sora sighed, "Unfortunately, Kairi isn't in a position to do so. I did a little scouting earlier. Kairi was recruited into the Kidou Corps; which is-as you know-controlled by Aizen himself.

Competely missing the fact that Sora new Kairi and the girl's imminent danger, Rukia stiffened, "Kairi graduated!? When?"

"About two weeks ago."

Rukia's face dropped, a sigh escaping her lips. 'Damn it Kairi! How dare you graduate! I can't believe I lost…'

The others watched, confused, as Rukia sulked over the lost bet. After a moment, everyone seemed to remember what was going on.

Ichigo looked to Rukia for a moment, "Are you sure you want to go? I mean, you just got them to leave you alone."

"Of course! I'll stay behind and let you run off and die!" Sarcasm dripped from Rukia's words, leaving her decision rather obvious to all.

Ichigo sighed, "Fine then." A slightly insane looking smile overtook his face, "I'll just have to be ready to cut them apart." A slight laugh issued from his lips before he caught himself.

Kisuke spoke up, "As…err…touching….as this is, we don't have time to waste. Is everyone ready?" A flurry of affirmatives followed and he opened the portal. "Go!

Sora stepped through a dark portal to rendezvous with the others on the other side.

:::

Sora watched the group emerge from the Senkaimon into the area of rukongai adjacent to the West Gate. As the portal ripped open, he heard Rukia casting a Kidou, "DANKU!"

The group was propelled out of the portal. The pressure wave from the collision between the barrier and-presumably-the cleaner created a slight breeze, ruffling his hair. The group landed in a disorganized pile.

After everyone had struggled to their feet, each brushing off the dust from the ground, Yoruichi addressed the group. "We need to enter Seiretei itself if we hope to eliminate the traitor. This is the Western Gate-" Ichigo interrupted, "What gate? Looks like we can just walk in!" He began heading for the seemingly unprotected Seireitei, only to be stopped as the wall descended down upon them from above. Yoruichi smacked its forehead with a paw, its deep voice conveying great exasperation, "Did you really think that would work? Seiretei is almost impossible to break into. I have a friend who might be able to help."

The cat's words fell on deaf ears, however, as Ichigo headed for the gate. Yoruichi growled at the substitute Shinigami as he arrived at the gate and challenged Jidanbou. The guardian of the gate was roughly thirty feet tall. He was heavily muscled and carried a pair of massive hatchets.

Needless to say, Ichigo won with ease.

Jidanbou moved to open the gate, only to be stopped as Sora appeared next to him, "What are you doing Jidanbou?"

The giant was confused by this, "I'm opening the gate. They won, so…"

Sora just shook his head, "You're the guardian of the gate, not the doorman. Even if you lose, the gate should still remain closed. Just be glad I stopped you. Gin's waiting on the other side."

The giant paled rapidly and released the gate. The dust from the impact blinded those watching long enough for Sora to carry the soon-to-be ryoka away via a Warp spell.

Yoruichi grabbed Ichigo's ankle and dragged him towards the home of its friend Kuukaku. The rest of the group followed behind. Rukia just looked mortified-her …whatever Ichigo was to her…was making a complete fool of himself. She sighed, 'I wonder how Kairi is doing…'

:::::::::::::::::::::

Kairi was doing great. Aizen-taicho had been teaching her new Kidou. She hadn't even heard of most of them. He had even taught her some of his own personal Kidou. They were ones he had written himself. He was the perfect Captain for her.

Today he was showing her around Seireitei. He apparently wanted to introduce her to the other Taicho's.

Kairi hated to take advantage of his kindness, but it was the perfect opportunity to question them. She needed to find the traitor soon. They'd been here for far too long already. 'If we don't move on soon, then Leon and the others…'

Kairi shook off that thought as they approached the Third Division headquarters.

She stiffened, and noticed that Aizen had as well. It seemed he wasn't quite as calm as he seemed. Kairi turned, taking in his forced smile as her gazed passed over him. He was good-very good. If she wasn't so paranoid these days, she would have missed it.

Her gaze stilled as it reached the source of the footsteps. She nodded at the approaching individual, "Hinamori-san." She wasn't terribly fond of the Fifth division lieutenant. Kairi admired Aizen. Hinamori worshiped him. Besides that, she seemed to have a grudge against Kairi. Kairi knew that it was simple jealousy over Aizen's attention, but it was still frustrating.

Aizen himself smiled kindly at the girl, "What bring you here, Hinamori?"

"I heard you were introducing Kairi to the other Captains. Would you mind if I come, Aizen-taicho?

Aizen shook his head gently, "I'm afraid that I've already informed them exactly who will be coming by. It would be rude to change that now. I'm sorry Hinamori."

The girl seemed to deflate a little, and Kairi felt a tinge of pity. It faded rapidly as the girl threw a glare at her.

Aizen sighed, "I'll see you at the barracks Hinamori. I'm truly sorry." He turned towards Kairi, "Let's go. We shouldn't keep Gin waiting." Kairi nodded.

They eventually reached the Third Division Captain's office. Gin nodded at them, his typical Fox-like expression hiding all emotion. Kairi couldn't help being suspicious of the man. No one else hid so much.

She tapped into her mana supply, keeping it ready. It didn't hurt to be careful.

Gin spoke, "So, you're the girl I've heard so much about. A kidou prodigy…" He turned his gaze upon Aizen, "Very convenient."

For a moment Kairi saw a strange glimmer in Aizen's eye, but dismissed it as a trick of the light. Aizen spoke, "Kairi, would you excuse us for a moment. We need to discuss something private." She nodded calmly and stepped out onto the front step. She then muttered a short spell, "Audite Totus."

Aizen and Gin's whispers were suddenly audible. Gin was speaking, "…sure she's safe? What if he knows?" "The King wouldn't send an untrained child. No, all is well with Kairi."

Kairi's eyes widened in shock, 'Aizen-taicho is the traitor. Aizen-taicho…' She sighed with melancholy. She had finally found someone to teach her…and now she had to turn him in. Her ears caught onto something new.

Aizen was speaking again, "The Hogyoku is on its way. Rukia is here, in Soul Society. Once she enters Seireitei we can take it from her. Then it will be time for our departure."

Gin's voice hissed a question, "When? How long do we have?"

"Six hours. She will enter Seiretei today. Then we just have to retrieve the Hogyoku from inside of her."

Kairi's mind rushed back to the files Xine had given her. She needed to return with proof. There was no way to prove what she had just heard. Memories could be falsified. 'How am I supposed to find proof in six hours?'

An idea leapt into the forefront of her mind. She steeled herself and entered the room.

She looked her Captain in the eye as he spoke, "Is something wrong Kairi?"

She took a deep breath. She spoke, "I'm sorry Aizen-taicho. Rikujokoro (Six Bars of Light)." The shining Bakudo slammed into her Captain, holding him in place for a moment. Gin's sword was rising to point at her as she cast her next spell, "Haien." A burst of shining purple flame struck the Third Division Captain in the chest. His Reiatsu took the hit well, and he was only thrown backwards. A slight burn was visible beneath a charred hole in his uniform.

Aizen flexed his reiatsu, shattering her Bakudo effortlessly, he sighed, "Kairi, why did it have to be you? Why couldn't have it been Hinamori?"

Kairi looked at him incredulously, "Hinamori? You think she would have ever caught on?"

He laughed, "No, I suppose not." His eyes grew steely, "Now, I'm afraid I have to kill you Kairi. I…will regret that."

She nodded, "Likewise." She gestured, "Hado #90, Kurohitsugi." The Black Coffin formed around Aizen, whose eyes had widened greatly. She cast again, "Hado #63, Raikoho." A torrent of golden lightning leapt from her hand, plunging into the core of the Coffin, just as it began to fade. Aizen took the hit directly. It was followed by a pair of Byakuyarai bolts-one leaping from each of Kairi's hands.

Aizen fell to his knees, his body bleeding badly.

Kairi grimaced, drawing her Zanpakuto to finish the job. She brought it down towards his throat.

He caught it. "You should have kept casting. You were actually winning." He closed his hand, shattering the Zanpakuto's blade.

Kairi leapt backwards, resheathing her Zanpakuto-it would regenerate in time.

She gestured again, this time using something less local, "Firaga! Blizzaga! Thundaga! Graviga! Waterga! Holy!"

Aizen gestured, extending both arms outwards from his sides. A shining barrier appeared, holding the barrage of elemental energy with minimal difficulty. He vanished, reappearing to strike the back of Kairi's neck. She collapsed into unconsciousness.

::::::::::::::::::

Aizen looked down at the girl. Kyoko Suigetsu was already descending towards her throat. It was over.

'But…'

His sword stopped.

'I don't want to kill her.'

She was valuable. She was the only person skilled enough that he could trust her with the preservation of The Kidou.

She was also…pleasant. He couldn't help but have a fondness for the girl. He truly cared for this student of his, this protégé.

He didn't feel as lonely with her around.

::::::::::::::::::::

Ichigo's cannonball dissolved on impact. With him were Rukia, Yoruichi, and Uryuu, who had managed to keep their portions of the cannonball stable. Sado and Tatsuki hadn't been so lucky. Yoruichi had barely stopped her friend Kuukaku from sending her little brother along.

Unfortunately, they still had to be shot out of a cannon to get into Seireitei. That wasn't fun.

Apparently, they needed to meet with a contact within the Gotei Thirteen. He was a man by the name of Toushirou Hitsugaya.

Rukia reached down to help Ichigo up. He gratefully took her hand. He was eager to get out of the dust cloud. Her skin was soft, a mark of her noble upbringing and preference for Kidou. Not that Ichigo was thinking about the reasons for the softness of her skin-he was paying more attention to the texture of it.

Ichigo snapped out of his daze to ask her a question, "So, where are we supposed to find this Shiro guy anyway?"

Rukia flinched, "Don't call him that. Hitsugaya-taicho is Hitsugaya-taicho. No nicknames. It doesn't end well."

"That scary?" Rukia just nodded.

Ichigo sighed. Hopefully he wouldn't have to fight this tough guy. He'd stand a chance, but…

:::::::::::::::

Squad 10 Barracks

"Hey kid, I'm looking for Hitsugaya-taicho. Is he around?"

Rukia whispered in his ear, "Ichigo…that is Hitsugaya-taicho."

One shouting match later…

Toushirou Hitsugaya, the youngest Captain of the Gotei 13 (and showing it) glared at the 'human' in front of him, but spoke calmly, "Setting this…discussion…aside for later, I believe that you came here to assassinate the traitor, Sosuke Aizen?"

Ichigo nods, "Yeah. That bastard already sicced a hollow on us-a Vasto Lorde."

Hitsugaya scoffs, "That is impossible. We would have detected anything of that level. Besides, there would have been mass destruction. We would have known."

Rukia surprises herself as she responds, "Your corrupt organization, which has been infiltrated, would have known? I've lived here my whole life, and even I'm not that naïve."

Hitsugaya cringes almost imperceptibly, looking at Rukia out of the corner of his eye, "You're not acting like yourself, Kuchiki-san. What happened to you?"

Rukia smiles, "I got rid of that name, for one thing. No more forced decorum from me. I'm just Rukia, and I don't have to fall in line with the Kuchiki house's opinions."

Hitsugaya actually smiles, "I'm happy for you, Rukia-san."

His face grows stony as he hands her a folder, "Now, on to business. Here is all the information I have on Aizen. Just so you know…it's probably all wrong."

He reached into one of his desk drawers, withdrawing something, "I can, however, offer you some other help."

He placed a badge on the table in front of him. It was a simple diamond, marked with the kanji for "10." Hitsugaya explained, "This indicates that you're acting on my orders. No normal member of the Gotei 13 will interfere with your actions if you wear this.

"You'll still need to worry about Lieutenants and Captains, however. Furthermore, if someone challenges me about it, I will have to claim that it is a fake. It should, however, be of use for a time. I wish you the best of luck against Aizen. If you fail, his elimination falls to me."

The group nods, and begins to head for the exit, but the Captain speaks one last time, "Use the trapdoor under the doormat. It leads to the sewers. You should head for Division 5 barracks-Aizen will return there eventually."

Ichigo nodded, and dropped down into the sewers as Uryuu lifted the trap door.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Yes, I'm back from the dead...again. I'm considering just declaring this story Undead and leaving it at that. I do intend to update more often in the future, but...well, I have failed in my past endeavors to do so. For now, enjoy part 2 of 3 of the Bleach Arc. 3 will be released in the near or distant future, but you've waited long enough as it is.

One large announcement, however, is necessary. Reviewing earlier chapters, and playing the various KH games that have been released since this was planned out (KH2 Era-358/2 Days and Birth by Sleep were known from preview videos) has caused me to realize that this story needs to be repaired some. Recent plot and world changes in Canon have heavily disrupted my designs. Besides that, my capabilities as a writer have grown substantially. Therefore, I will be releasing updated versions of each chapter over time. These will be posted as a new story: Kingdom Hearts RE: The Nymph's Blade. There won't be severe plot changes, but it will integrate information from the more recent games-among many small tweaks.

The prologue should be released soon. Don't worry, however. I plan to release at least 6-3 here before dropping this version of the story. Maybe more, we'll see.