[A/N: Sorry for the unexpected hiatus, although I fear it shall continue on for a while. College is kicking my butt (technically, my Japanese minor is kicking my butt. Pulling straight A's in Japanese is not easy). I should be updating through the end of the series consistently come the week of December 15th after finals and NaNoWriMo have ended. Anyway, as always, please review and, as always, any suggestions as to how I can it improve it would be appreciated!]

[A/N II: Also, welcome new readers! A lot of you have popped up since I've gone on hiatus! Welcome, welcome, welcome and please enjoy your stay!]

Chapter Sixteen: Maybe I'm Crazy

Once I got my pants and shirt back on and finished scolding Ichigo and Hiei, we were ready to deal with the rest of the Ginyu Force who seemed to be waiting patiently for us to finish arguing.

"What can we expect from the rest of them?" Hiei asked.

"Nothing much from what I already told you," I said. "Ginyu has the body switch technique and Burter is supposed to be the 'fastest in the universe.'"

"I am the fastest in the universe," Burter said.

"These guys are awfully cocky," Ichigo said.

"Looks like we need to put them in their place," Hiei said.

"Recoome will handle this," Recoome said stepping forward.

"Ugh, he speaks in the third person. That's so obnoxious," I said.

"Who does this guy think he is? Mr. T?" Ichigo asked.

"The name's Recoome. It rhymes with doom. And you're gonna be hurting. All. Too. Soon," Recoome said striking a series of poses as he did.

"I must be in hell right now," Hiei said.

"Let's get this over with," I said.

"Not so fast there, Sheila," Jeice said. "I'm countin' three of you and only one of Recoome. Now that don't seem fair now does it?"

"Yeah. It'd take at least six of him to equal one of me," I said.

"Burter, let's fix these odds shall we?" Jeice said.

"Good idea, Jeice," Burter replied.

"How do we play this?" Ichigo asked.

"Jeice and Burter work together as a team. Recoome is more like punching a tractor tire," I said.

"I'll take Recoome then," Ichigo said.

"Don't want you to wear yourself out. You have to finish them all no matter what," I said.

"Yeah, but if those two are fighting as a team, then we're going to need to have to take them on as a team," Ichigo said.

"And now's not really the time for us to be learning how to work with someone new," Hiei said.

"Right. Then be careful," I said.

"You guys too," Ichigo said.

I nodded and turned to Jeice and Burter.

"So which one do you want, the red one or the blue one?" Hiei asked.

"I don't know. I really like blue, but Burter seems to think he's the fastest in the universe and I think it's just because he's never met you," I said.

"No way that little runt's faster than me," Burter said.

"That's what they all say," Hiei said. "But I'll give you the opportunity to prove yourself. I'll try not to humiliate you too badly while Kairi wipes the floor with your friend."

"Burter, I think we oughta give them a taste of the Seizure Procedure," Jeice said.

"Seizure Procedure?" Hiei asked.

Jeice and Burter leapt into the air and, started flying around in a circle, until they became nothing but a purple swirling disk in the air.

"I'm getting nauseous," I said.

"Then stop looking," Hiei said putting his hands over my eyes and shifting my gaze downward. "I've had enough of this."

He took his sword and chucked it up toward the pair of idiots and the seizure procedure came to a halt. The sword had gone right through Burter's armor and his shoulder.

"Aye! You can't throw a sword!" Jeice shouted.

"Sorry. I thought he was going to be quick enough to dodge," Hiei said. "I'll give him some credit though—I was aiming for his head. But I don't miss twice."

"I'll show you!" Burter protested.

Jeice and Burter both moved from their spot and came at Hiei and me from behind.

I managed to nail Jeice right in the face as he reached me, Burter however, was unlucky enough to still have Hiei's sword in his shoulder. Hiei grabbed it by the hilt and did a 360, sword in hand, lopping Burter's arm off in the process.

"OH MY GOD! HE CUT OFF YOUR ARM!" Jeice exclaimed.

"I CAN SEE THAT!" Burter replied, staring at his limb on the ground.

"It's either dismemberment or disintegration. There's no in between with you is there?" I asked.

"It's no fun otherwise," Hiei said.

"You're gonna pay for this," Burter said.

"Sure I will," Hiei said. "How about I tie both hands behind my back to make it a fair fight?"

This really set Burter off. Despite the fact that he was missing an arm he went at Hiei with all the gusto he could muster.

Jeice was visibly upset by his friend's unfortunate run in with Hiei's sword. He set a barrage of energy blasts at me, and I countered with my own. They cancelled each other out as they connected.

Once he got all of the rage out his system, he started to charge up one more powerful attack. It looked like he was ready to finish this, so I returned the favor and charged up my own Kamehameha Wave.

But I stopped before I even got the chance to fire the blast at him, because things took a turn for the strange.

Captain Ginyu moved from his stationary position on the ground and leapt into the sky and he devoured Jeice.

I immediately stopped charging my attack and I went slack jawed. Before I could alert Hiei to what had happened, Ginyu was on the move again and Burter suffered the same fate as his partner.

"The hell is happening?" Hiei asked.

"I have no idea," I said.

Ginyu abandoned us and immediately found Recoome and Ichigo. It wasn't long before Recoome had been devoured.

"Ichigo, what's going on? Last time I checked, Ginyu wasn't in the habit of eating his comrades," I said.

"He must've been a lot more powerful than the others. The more powerful a hollow becomes, the more unstable it is and it can't survive on human souls alone, so it eats other hollows," Ichigo said.

Ginyu's ki start to grow, but the amount of Spirit Energy he was packing was immense.

"That's troubling," I said.

"It shouldn't be too bad," Hiei said. "He'll just take a little extra effort."

"Yeah, for you maybe," Ichigo said.

There was a slight power gap between Ichigo and Ginyu.

"Do you think you can do it?" I asked.

"Probably," he said. "No way he's stronger than Byakuya."

"And you managed to beat Byakuya?" Hiei asked.

"Sure," Ichigo said.

"What do you mean 'sure?'" Hiei asked. "Either you did or you didn't."

"Don't worry—I did," Ichigo said.

"Sorry for the confusion," Ginyu said "My appetite become a bit overwhelming and since you're off limits, I had to satisfy myself somehow."

"Clearly," I said.

"But now it's time to get down to business," Ginyu said.

And without another word, he charged the three of us. With his new found power, he was impossibly, fast. We had to play this delicately. We couldn't just annihilate Ginyu in one go. We had to make sure he exhausted enough of his energy so that when Ichigo went to finish him, he actually stood a chance.

Ginyu was faster than me—most people were, so it wasn't helpful that he kept coming at me. Clearly Ginyu wasn't an idiot. He'd been watching us with the others and pegged the wink link. Despite making up for my lack of speed with brute strength, it was all useless if I couldn't get an attack off. There was only one thing I was going to be able to do. I was going to have to take a hit in order to get one off on him and gain the upper hand.

He came right in for my ribs and I let him. I took the opportunity to get a punch as hard as I could muster right in the face, sending him a few feet into the ground. He was back on his feet coming at me quickly, but I was prepared for that. Just as he got arms' length away, I fired off a quick Spirit Gun, point blank.

Ginyu was down, but not out. I had definitely cracked a rib (or two or three) taking a direct hit from Ginyu and every breath I took was painful, but for now I'd survive. It wasn't like getting punched through the side of a mountain or having a hole punched in your gut.

"You're just as talented as your father, but much more reckless than he is," Ginyu said.

"Can't make a soufflé without breaking a few eggs," I said.

"Don't you mean omelet?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm ten times more awesome than an omelet," I said.

". . . You just really made that metaphor your own didn't you," Hiei said.

"Damn right," I said. "And now I'm gonna make you my bitch, Ginyu."

Ginyu laughed. "Such arrogance. Are you sure Vegeta isn't your father?"

I scoffed. "You think I got these good looks from Vegeta? Puh-lease."

Ginyu came at me again, and flipped back out of the way.

"Your plan of beating him down to size isn't going to work," Hiei said. "You're going to have to get him all in one go."

"Ichigo isn't going to be able to handle him if I don't get him to exhaust more of his energy first," I said.

"And just how many more ribs do you plan on breaking today?" Hiei asked.

"Dammit, if you can do a better than job than I can then feel free to step in," I said.

"Unfortunately I can't do a better job than you," he said. "But I can keep him still."

"What about Ichigo?" I asked.

"I have a feeling that neither of you is giving him enough credit. I think he's far more capable than he's letting on," Hiei said.

"Like Yusuke?" I asked.

"Except not a moron," Hiei said.

If Hiei was certain that Ichigo was going to be able to stop Ginyu despite an obvious power gap, then I did have to have a little faith in him. Hiei didn't give out "compliments" easily after all. He didn't even like Ichigo very much.

"I sure hope you're right, Hiei," I said. I started charging up for the Kamehameha wave that I had been planning to use on Jeice.

Hiei disappeared from beside me and I spotted him again beside Ginyu, sweeping his legs beneath him, sending Ginyu toppling to the ground.

Ginyu was no amateur, and he rebounded quickly, but not quickly enough as I had already fired off my attack.

When I was finished, Ginyu had vanished.

"Did you get him?" Ichigo asked. "I can still sense his spiritual pressure."

"I got him. His ki is gone," I said. "Nothing left but a hollow for you to kill."

"But where did he go?" Hiei asked.

"Good question," I replied.

The three of us glanced around a bit, unable to lock onto his Spirit Energy exactly, but he was definitely close by.

"I don't like this," Ichigo said.

"Me either," I said.

And then the most curious thing happened, his Spirit Energy disappeared completely.

"Hn. He's hiding, trying to rattle us," Hiei said.

"I think he's doing a pretty good job at the moment," I said, "unless you happened to know what he's up to. I don't recall anyone telling me that Ginyu was adept at being sneaky."

Things were practically silent as we held our breath waiting for him to reappear, completely unsure of what was going to happen next. Our reaction time had to be quick. Sadly, that wasn't high on my list of skills when I couldn't actually see my opponent.

Ginyu didn't make us wait for much longer. I didn't see his return, but I felt it as he delivered a powerful kick to my already injured side. I slid forward on the ground a few feet, before Ginyu got the jump on me once more, quite literally, stomping on my side. I could feel more of my bones cracking under his foot.

I was freed quickly when Ichigo came at Ginyu with his Zanpakto out.

"Are you all right?" Ichigo asked.

"Totally," I said, moving to sit up. This was a bad idea as I was thrown into a world unbelievable pain. "Nope. I lied." I propped myself up against the school bus I had previously been beneath. Every breath even hurt, even just moving hurt. "I'll be fine. Just take care of Ginyu."

"You sure I can do this?" Ichigo asked.

"Whether you can or not is irrelevant now. You haven't got much of a choice, Ichigo," I said.

Ichigo nodded and took off after Ginyu. He swung down on Ginyu with his Zanpakto. The Captain didn't even bother evading the attack, he merely blocked it with his forearm before pushing Ichigo back. Ichigo went back in after Ginyu time and time again, but Ginyu was too strong and too fast for Ichigo. Ginyu may've seemed like he was on the defensive, but he was clearly just wearing Ichigo down and waiting for an opening. At the very least, Ichigo had adapted better this lack of speed by being able to guard himself. A lesson I still clearly hadn't learned.

Ginyu seemed pleased when Ichigo started to appear winded, and what was worse was that Ichigo seemed distracted somehow. This was not going according to plan at all.

"Your death is nigh Soul Reaper," Ginyu said.

"I don't think so," Ichigo replied, holding his Zanpakto out in front of him horizontally. "Bankai!" Ichigo's energy exploded and suddenly, Ginyu was really on his guard. Ichigo had been holding back after all. The gap between him and Ginyu had closed greatly. As long as Ichigo could get the upper hand, he could definitely win.

His Bankai looked completely different and unassuming compared to his shikai. It looked more like a regular sword, except that it was jet black. Dangling from its hilt was a short length of chain with one broken link on the end. Ichigo's appearance had changed as well. His robe was gone and instead he wore a long, black coat that was buttoned down to the waist. At his legs it flared opened revealing a red lining inside.

He seemed more confident now, and Ginyu less so. All the same, Ginyu wasted no time going on the offensive moving in to hit Ichigo with a powerful punch. Ichigo held his sword up so that it made contact with Ginyu's fist. Ichigo didn't budge an inch, but Ginyu was clearly pained by the contact.

"What the hell is that?" Ginyu asked.

"This is Tensa Zangetsu," Ichigo said, clearly prepared to go on the assault again. "Let's see you try and stop him."

Ichigo's speed had increased dramatically as he went back to Ginyu, pushing him back keeping Ginyu on his toes. The advantage was Ichigo's if he was able to get in a final hit, but Ginyu, despite being on the defensive, was still that much faster and that much stronger. If Ichigo didn't think of something soon, Ginyu's experience was going to kick in and he'd be able to take the fight back. I hoped that Ichigo would think of something quickly.

Ichigo came down on Ginyu with a powerful swing, but Ginyu reached up and grabbed Ichigo's blade with his bare hands. It had clearly been difficult for Ginyu to do as his face twisted in pain, but it was a worthwhile move for Ginyu as it had left Ichigo wide open. All it took was for Ginyu to fire one powerful blast and Ichigo was down for the count.

"I'll hand it to you kid, your little sword trick is pretty tough, but not tough enough," Ginyu said walking over to Ichigo who was lying on the ground. Ginyu gave him a swift kick sending him flying several yards. "You should take solace in knowing that you fought valiantly to save your friends before I killed you." Ginyu walked over to Ichigo again charging a ball of energy over him. "Farewell, child."

But suddenly Zangetsu was in Ichigo's hand, and it had sent the ball of energy that would have surely killed him flying off into the horizon. Ginyu backed off of Ichigo and I could see why.

"Sorry, Ichigo can't play right now." The voice was coming from Ichigo, but it wasn't his. It was sinister and yet somewhat amused as well. Ichigo climbed to his feet, but I knew that this person was not Ichigo. "But I'm more than happy to step in on his behalf."

A mask was now covering half of Ichigo's face—a hollow's mask. His eyes were empty, except for the yellow irises. This wasn't Ichigo—this was a hollow.

"Who are you?" Ginyu asked.

"I guess you could say I'm a friend of Ichigo's, though he wouldn't call me that. But if the dumb kid would learn to use this sword properly then we might get along better," the hollow said. "Here, let me show you how this sword is supposed to work."

He held Zangetsu in his hand and I could feel the energy from the sword growing. The power it was emitting was more than enough to handle Ginyu and anyone else that got in the way. A display of energy like this could only be described as showing off.

The hollow swung Zangetsu violently and a blast of black spirit energy came shooting from it like a bullet.

I assessed the situation—Ginyu was a goner for sure this time, but I was sitting in the perfect position to get hit as well. I started to climb to my feet, trying to ignore the pain in my ribs, but that wasn't happening. The blast was getting closer and closer and it soon became apparent that I was too slow and too injured to make it out of this in a good way. The hollow who had fired that attack clearly had no regard for anyone's safety as long as he proved his point to Ginyu, and, apparently, to Ichigo as well.

Just as the blast reached me the pain my side got to be so unbelievably horrible I actually cried out in pain.

I heard Ichigo's attack make contact with the bus and it soon became apparent that I had been moved.

"You okay?" I heard Hiei ask over the sound of debris hitting the ground.

"Let go, you're hurting me," I said. Hiei moved his arm from around me and came to rest it on my back instead.

There was silence for a moment, before I heard the sound of something clattering to the ground. I looked over and saw the Hollow's mask lying on the ground before it simply disappeared. Ginyu was gone Ichigo's face had returned to normal and he was running over to me.

"Kairi are you-?"

Ichigo didn't get the chance to get near me or get his question out as Hiei had left my side and now had the tip of his sword to Ichigo's throat.