Shana struggled, trying to get up. Five people had taken down Ichigo right before her eyes. She recognized only one of them—Margery Daw, a well-endowed blond woman with glasses—but the others were completely unknown to her.
"Honestly, Shana, you're too weak," Margery said, "If I didn't show up you'd be dead. Now get out of the way and let me take care of him."
"No!" Yuji said, "He's not a Denizen! He's a friend!"
"Get out of the way, kid," Margery said, turning to him, "It doesn't matter whether he's a Denizen or not. He's breaking up the balance! I have to finish him off!"
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't," the man with the glasses spoke up, "We need him." "Oh, and who are you?" Margery asked.
"That's not important right now," the large Hispanic man said, "I don't know who you are, but we need that orange-haired one, alive."
"And what are you going to do with him?" Yuji said, eyeing the newcomers suspiciously. Ichigo had been so damaged, he didn't know if he trusted these people or not. Shana was also eyeing them intently.
"Oh, shut up!" the black-haired girl said, "It's clear you don't know what's going on, so just hand him over to us already!"
"No!" Yuji said, "He's hurt way too bad! If you want him, you'll have to deal with me first!"
"Calm down," the Hispanic man said, "It's clear you don't understand everything that's happening, or who we are, so let's just…"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Shana said, raising her sword. "I'm dealing with him. So don't get in my way!"
The red-haired girl sighed. "Please, just let my friends take care of Ichigo!" she said, "We're really the only ones who can—"
"Shut the hell up, little girl," Margery said, "What's the big deal? He's a Denizen! We need to kill him already!"
"No!" the Torch of Ichigo said, running up to Margery. "What the hell is your problem?" he shouted to her, "It's not all black and white! Just because of what the real Ichigo seemed to be, you think he's evil! But that isn't any indication of who he really is!"
"You're getting on my nerves!" Margery said, slapping him aside. "What do you know about it anyway? You're just a Torch!"
"N-Nah, the kid's cool," Hollow Ichigo said, getting up, "He tried to get Ichigo back, knowing he'd likely die. Anyway, that blast did me in, so…." He began to pull off his mask. "I'll….decide….what that guy's….made of….and lacks!" the real Ichigo shouted, finally getting the mask off. "Those guys over there are my friends," he said, pointing to the four that Shana and Yuji didn't recognize, "If it weren't for their interference, I wouldn't have gotten back to normal. I can't vouch for the lady, but…." he fainted.
"Pathetic." Margery said, "Just pathetic. I've wasted a trip." She sped off.
"Alright," Yuji sighed, deciding to trust these newcomers, "We need to get him to my home. Can the big guy help out?"
"Oh, don't worry about that!" the big-breasted woman said, "I'll just heal him right here! Shuno! Ayame! Soten Kishun! I…..reject!" she shouted. Suddenly, Ichigo was surrounded by an orb of energy, and it looked to Yuji like he was being healed. Ichigo woke up. "Thanks, Orihime…." he said, rubbing his head, "There's just one thing, though…."
"What's that?" the other Ichigo said, leaning in.
"YOU!" the first Ichigo shouted, pointing at him. "What the hell, Kon? How'd you get here?"
"I'm not Kon!" the second Ichigo shouted, grabbing Ichigo by the collar. "I happened when that lady made a Torch of you!"
"That should actually be impossible," Alastor said, speaking up. "If Ichigo wasn't actually consumed, there shouldn't have been anything to replace."
"I think I can answer that," the second Ichigo said, sitting down, "Ichigo's soul is separate from his body, and it was his body that was attacked, so they probably used that to create me."
"Oh, will you shut up, Nigo?" Shana said, deciding she couldn't take two Ichigos.
"Wait, Nigo?" the second Ichigo shouted.
"Yeah, Nigo," Shana said, not even looking at either Ichigo. "I've got to call you something now that the real Ichigo's back, right?"
"It actually makes sense," Uryu spoke up, "Ichigo's name contains 'Ichi,' which means one, so Nigo has to have a name with the syllable 'Ni,' meaning two."
"But….but that name sucks!" Nigo said, his head down. "It means 'Two who protect,' right? That doesn't even make any sense!"
"Oh, Nigo-kun," Orihime said, "It's a really cute name! I like it!"
"You….you think so?" Nigo said, blushing.
"Okay, but one more thing," Ichigo said, "I don't have Zangetsu…"
Hoo-wee! That could have been written better. I did, however, improve on my spacing as per a reviewer's criticism. And this is my answer to another reviewer's suggestion for a pairing: NO! I'm focusing on the main story at hand. Of course Toshiro's gonna show up, along with Renji, Byakuya, Retsu and Kenpachi, but I'm not going to do pairings! Besides, we know who she ends up with…
