Chapter 8: Meeting Again After Seventeen Months! Ichigo and Rukia!

Ichigo slowly looked behind his shoulder and saw Ginjo standing on his feet with a murderous look in his eyes. Uryu fired an arrow at the fullbringer and it was deflected with ease. Ginjo lowered his sword towards Ichigo, cutting him down. Ginjo started to mechanically as both Ichigo and Uryu fell to knees.

"Ginjo…" Ichigo said weakly. "Why…"

Ginjo places his combat on the guard of his sword and the sword started to transform with a skull in the middle of the newly repaired guard. "Now your fullbring is mine." Ginjo picked up his sword and Ichigo stabbed in the middle of his chest. "The bottom line is that I'm not really interested for what his reasons were for thinking to get our help." Ginjo said. "Whether he liked it or not, we put this thing in motion so he could up with us from the start." Ginjo drove his sword deeper into Ichigo as the blade started to glow. Then the armor from Ichigo's fullbring started to turned a liquid and pour into Ginjo's sword. "Good, here it comes." Soon, Ichigo's fullbring armor disappeared and Ginjo removed the blade from Ichigo's chest. Ichigo's combat pass fell to the ground as it started to rain.

'My fullbring...' Ichigo thought. 'It's gone…I wanted to regain my power bit I couldn't figure out a way to do that on my own. I just have to tolerate my condition, powerless for seventeen months.'

'I thought that I finally found a way.' Ichigo thought. 'I thought that I could protect everyone with my own hands. Now…it's all gone.' Tears started to form in Ichigo's eyes and the rain started to pour down from the sky. Ichigo let out a cry of anger and sadness, knowing that he's now more powerless than he was before. Uryu closed his eyes, knowing he couldn't anything either in his condition. Also, this was the first time he saw Ichigo like this.

"He's gotten very emotional." Tsukishima said. "I almost feel sorry."

"Just let him cry." Ginjo said coldly, turning away from Ichigo. "We have no use for him anymore. And to be perfectly honest, we probably won't see him again." Ginjo started to walk away with Tsukishima following him.

Ichigo looked at the ground, motionless, feeling as if there's nothing he could do. In his mind, he was bind in chains as he was plunged into the ocean that is his inner world. It was the same inner world where he fought Tensa Zangetsu to learn the final Getsuga Tensho.

'Is that it?' Ichigo thought. 'Am I finished? Completely useless?' Ichigo looked up and saw a light in the ocean. The light started to glow brighter and grow bigger as image of Ichigo's past began his mind from gaining his powers from Rukia and everyone he meet and fought as the substitute soul reaper. Then the chains around Ichigo started to break as he stood up on his feet.

"Give it back." Ichigo said, causing Ginjo to stop. "My powers…give it back to me, Ginjo."

"What are you babbling about?" Ginjo questioned. "The only reason that you got your power back at all was because of me. Now I'm through giving you things. Even though I'm done with you, I'm not going to kill you. With all things considered, you should be thanking me."

"I said, give it back!" Ichigo said as he starts to stand back up.

"And if I choose not to, what are you to do about it?"

"I don't know yet. But I promise, I have no intention of giving up until it's returned."

Ginjo widen his eyes, hearing Ichigo's resolve. 'What the hell?' he thought.

"I'll say it again. Give it back! Give it back right now, Ginjo!" Then Ichigo widen his eyes as a sword ran through his chest from the back. He slowly looked behind his shoulder and saw two people who he didn't expect to see. "Dad…Kisuke…" Ichigo's vision slowly starts to blur. "No…So that's it then. He played with your memories and changed you too."

"You idiot." Isshin said to his son. "I'm not holding the sword. Look behind you. Open your mind and you'll see. You should be able to see who it is now."

Ichigo did what his father said as the person who stabbed came into focus. It was a certain person who Ichigo hasn't been in seventeen months, Rukia Kuchiki. Rukia smiled as the sword that impaled Ichigo stated to glow, created an explosion. Ginjo and Tsukishima covered their faces from the gust of wind blowing towards them. When the smoke started to clear, Ginjo saw something that made widen his eyes. He saw Ichigo in a new soul reaper's uniform, holding Zangetsu over his shoulder.

"No way…impossible!" Ginjo said shocked.

Ichigo stabbed his zanpakuto in the ground and turned towards his friend. "Rukia…" Ichigo said, happy to see Rukia again.

"Hi, it's been awhile, hasn't it Ichigo?" Rukia said. "You've become strong and matured since the last time I saw you." Then Rukia comically kicked Ichigo in the face, knocking him to the ground. "IN YOUR DREAMS! Here you are crying like a fool! You turned into a wimp the moment I took my eyes off of you! You're pitiful, Ichigo!" Rukia took a breath and calmed down. "Kisuke told me all about Tsukishima and his power. Apparently, he can write over the past. That's pretty terrifying. But so what if he can?! You still have power even if he's able to change your past! He can't change your future! The damage it may be effective in the short run but lost bonds can be forged again! Am I right Ichigo?!"

"Rukia…there's something you should know." Ichigo said, getting Rukia's attention. "He didn't change my past, despite what you've heard."

A tick mark appeared on Rukia's forehead as she swung her sword at Ichigo and he quickly dodged. "Why are you always so nit-picky, you jerk?!"

"Man, what is your problem?! I was trying to explain things and you're trying to kill me!"

"Don't be ridiculous! This blade can't cut people!" Ichigo looked down the spot where Rukia stabbed with the sword she's holding and saw that it didn't leave a scratch.

"Now that you mentioned it, what exactly is that sword?" he asked.

"This is special that Kisuke prepared specifically for you, Ichigo." Rukia answered. "Thanks to this, I was able to give you Soul Reaper powers once again. It's extremely effective."

"Oh please…" Ginjo said, butting into Rukia and Ichigo's conversation. "That's completely absurd. So his appearance is now like a Soul Reaper. That doesn't mean that his powers are back. The transfer of Soul Reaper worked in the past because Kurosaki already had those powers in him. But that's all changed now. Those powers no longer exist. That's because I was able to reach in and remove them. Believe me, there's nothing left in this boy. There's no way that your spirit energy alone will be enough to change that. It's waste of your time."

"Shut up, dumbass!" A very familiar voice shouted. "What makes you think she's doing this alone?!" A rip opened in the sky as a row of shoji door appeared with nine figures were seen behind them. The door opened up and revealed all nine members of the Straw Hat Pirates.

"Luffy…Zoro…Nami…Sanji…the Straw Hats…" Ichigo said, happy to see Luffy and his crew and they descend to where Ichigo is standing.

"Listen carefully; we put all of our energy into the sword." Luffy said. "That's more than enough to bring back Ichigo's powers!" Ginjo glared at the pirates when he heard that.

"Ginjo, was it?" Rukia said, getting Ginjo's attention. "When you attacked Ichigo, you were only to steal the top layer of his power, the part that has been fused with his fullbring. The power within Ichigo is another story. It's not something that you could ever take and have access to." Rukia turned towards Ichigo. "Ichigo, these guys don't know you like I do. They think that they were able to fill you with despair. But it's going to take more than this to make you give up. They don't know the types of hopeless situation that you had to overcome in the past. Show them Ichigo. Show them that despair, no matter how deep, will not be enough to stop you."

"Right." Ichigo said as he prepares to fight.

"Yeah, I'm very impressed." Ginjo said, charging towards Ichigo and the two crossed blades. "But it's not going to be that easy." Their swords continued to clash with Ichigo getting the better of the exchange. 'His spirit energy has increased as well.' Rukia, Uryu, Tsukishima, and the Straw Hats watched on as Ichigo and Ginjo continued to trade blows. "Ok I admit that you were a bit stronger now, but you're not as strong as you were before. You can be defeated." Ichigo slashed his sword upwards, firing a wave of spirit energy at Ginjo and sending him to the ground. "Your Getsuga Tensho is much more powerful. But is that all you got? The bottom line is that isn't going to be enough to kill me, Kurosaki."

Ichigo landed behind Ginjo and said, "You got it all wrong. That wasn't a Getsuga Tensho at all. It was just a strike." A light blue aura started to wrap itself around Ichigo's body. He pointed his zanpakuto at Ginjo as his spiritual pressure increased rapidly.

Ginjo looked at the orange hair substitute with wide eyes. "What's happened?!" he exclaimed. "What the hell is this spirit energy?!"

"Getsuga Tensho!" Ichigo shouted, fired his signature attack at the fullbringer. Ichigo's spirit energy reached high into the heavens, parting the storm clouds in the sky. Ginjo looked at Ichigo with widen eyes at the power that was displayed. Ginjo was unharmed but the mansion behind him was cut in half.

To be continued…

Next Chapter: The Getsuga Tensho Strikes! Ichigo's Soul Reaper Powers Returns!