Italics + ' = Thoughts (Etc. = 'What is that?')

Bold + '' = Inner Hollow/Secondary Spirit (Etc. = ''Fucking Quotation marks!'' He roared) (Or Zangetsu in Ichigo's case).

Italics + '' = Zanpakuto Spirit (Etc. = ''Do not hesitate, Ichigo'' Zangetsu said) (Quincy part of Zangetsu for Ichigo's case).

I DONT OWN BLEACH!

Chapter 15: Off the Radar - Invasion ARC

''How far are we from the execution grounds?'' Chiro asked as we hopped across the rooftops.

''Not long now, maybe another fifteen minutes at the speed we're travelling at'' I reply.

''Oh, that's good'' She smiled and looked over her shoulder and spoke louder ''Cause we're being followed by very bad ninjas''.

She skidded to a stop and by extension me as well, our hands break apart as we draw our respective swords. A huge pressure crashed down on us as four figures landed on the rooftop across from us, two lieutenants and two captains.

''Captain Bucket-head! Captain Justice!'' Chiro cheered and waved, as if the situation wasn't a dangerous one ''Lieutenant Numbers! Lieutenant Glasses!''.

''Lieutenant numbers...'' Hisagi mumbled in confusion.

''You are here to fight us, I presume?'' I call out to the four.

''If you refuse arrest, then yes'' Tosen nodded ''You must pay for the damage to the barrier and city from your initial attack''.

''That wasn't us'' Chiro said ''That was nee-san and Ku-chan''.

''It does not matter which one of you committed the act, you all invaded the Seireitei and therefore are guilty of several crimes'' Tosen stated ''Not to mention that both of you have kill-on-sight orders on you''.

Chiro nodded and grinned slightly ''Toshi you take the lieutenants, I'll take the captains''.

''Can you handle-'' I begin but she nods to confirm what I was about to say, so in a quieter voice I say to her ''I'll be back in a minute''.

She turned to me, her grin fading into a sweet smile as she nodded. She disappeared in a blur over to the two captains, Tosen barely got his blade out before Chiro crashed hers into his and sent him crashing into a building behind him. Before the lieutenants can react I Shunpo over to them and grab them by their collars, throwing a few streets away.

I Shunpo over to the pair and dodge a swipe from Hisagi, I counter my Shunpo'ing behind him and slamming the butt of my Zanpakuto into the back of his head, the same happened to Iba before they even realised it. Their unconscious bodies hit the ground with a thud, but I was already gone.

I powered up a Hado spell that Asami and Chiro taught me, one of their own custom ones that went past the #100 mark. Technically they are unofficial, but they gave them the numbers for easier ordering. My two fingers glow a bright yellow as I Shunpo onto the same rooftop the battle is taking place on; dozens of blades were scattered amongst rubble as Tosen and Komamura fought together in an attempt to overpower the far smaller girl. I appear behind Komamura, Chiro spared a quick glance at my free hand and nodded. She Shunpo'ed away and Komamura attempted to, but the attack was already primed.

''Hado #163: Tsuin Raikoho!'' I yell, the moment the attack flies I move as far back as I could to avoid the massive blast radius. (Tran: Twin Thunder Roar Cannon).

Hado and Bakudo #101-#200 were improved or altered versions of the original Kido, while #201-#900 were just a randomly compiled mass of Kido spells, though the higher the number the more powerful. Anything above #901 Asami refused to teach not only me but anyone else, claiming they extremely deadly to those who use them but are almost unimaginably powerful. The problem with them was that for someone of our level it would take almost all of our Reiryoku just to cast them once, even then it was a danger to use.

Most Kido spells had what was called a safelock, which meant that if you were trying to cast a Kido spell but didn't have a sufficient Reiryoku to do so the spell wouldn't work. This prevented people dying from losing all their life force but the seal reduced the spells effectiveness by a small margin, however those spells above #901 didn't have those spells and as such were incredibly powerful, though could cost your life if you weren't careful. The 'final ten' Kido spells (#990-#1000) were unimaginably powerful according to her, you could potentially destroy a whole human world continent with one of them. Problem being is that even when she is at full strength she could probably only use one before she ran out of Reiryoku because of the huge cost.

The #1000 were 'The ultimate sacrifice' as she called them, because they not only cost you your entire soul to use they prevented you from joining the cycle of reincarnation. Hado #1000 drew in an impossible amount of Reishi to fill in your reserves far beyond its normal capacity before using your soul as the bomb, exploding with the force of a billion Raikoho. Bakudo #1000 used your whole soul in sealed away an opponent in a separate dimension, an isolated one in the corner of the fabric of space. Whatever that meant.

The attack died down, revealing a scorched and bleeding Komamura and slightly grazed Tosen but both stood strong.

''Guess I can't help it'' Chiro grinned as she held her blade in front of her, pointing at her opponents ''Slice and dice, Kamisori-Fu''.

Her blade shortened and she swiped the air in front of her, sending those nearly invisible wind sickles at her opponents. Both men avoided it despite their weakened conditions, giving me time to release my own Shikai.

''Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru!'' I cry and send several ice dragons at my opponents, both avoid again but the second Tosen appears Chiro was there with her blade glowing silver. Her shorter blade crashed into Tosen's and a loud deafening clang, another unusual but powerful technique of her Shikai. Tosen winced as he tried to Shunpo back but the second he cleared more tha striking distance from her she shot several more wind sickles at him.

''Tenken!''.

I narrowly avoid the large blade and mentally scold myself for getting distracted, I Shunpo closer to the large captain and gather more Reiryoku in my hand. I bring my blade to meet his and a loud clang resounded, as we fight for dominance I raise my two fingers and point it over my blade.

''Byakurai'' I state, going over the numeral and other details. The bolt struck out and pierced his shoulder, making him grunt in pain and shove me back with his larger size. I skid to a stop when I hear;

''Suichoku setsudan!'' Chiro cried as a large pillar of wind sickles engulfed Tosen, several other wind sickles shot out and stalled Komamura. (Tran: Vertical Cutting).

The pillar dissipated to reveal Tosen, hundreds of cuts littered across his body and blood leaking like rain. He eyes fluttered shut as he fell to the ground, unconscious.

''Tosen!'' Komamura bellowed before he turned his angry gaze on us ''Bankai!''.

A large, black metal giant samurai appeared behind him, nearly as tall as the Seireitei barrier would be. Without any further warning he swung the blade down at us with surprising speed, we both Shunpo out of the way and stand on the air. Chiro began muttering something that sounded similar to an incantation, the blade came swinging up at us and I grab Chiro and Shunpo both of us away as she continues the incantation.

She extended her free hand to the giant ''Hado #190: Okina Kurohitsugi!''. (Tran: Larger Black Coffin).

Four black walls shot up from around the giant and by extension Komamura (who was on the shoulder), rising above the giant and forming a roof. Several hundred spears pierced the black coffin from all four angles, gravity forcing the man inside still. The black box disintegrated into dust just Komamura's Bankai disappeared and the man fell through the sky and crashed into the ground.

''Lets go, we're close to the fourth division so they'll help them'' Chiro smiled at me as he sealed her Zanpakuto, me doing the same after a moment. I nod to her and we take off in a burst of Shunpo, our hands unconsciously finding the others.

When I reached the large hill it was night, Ukitake having gone to squad 4 to check on his friend Shunsui Kyoraku and look into Aizen's supposed death. According to a hell butterfly he received we, the Ryoka, defeated the Captains of the 2nd, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th. Five captains down already, geez. Not to mention the death of this Aizen fellow, which I replied to Ukitake that we had a no kill rule/order so if he was dead it wasn't us.

I found the secret passageway through a hatch amongst a bunch of bushes, I went down the ladder that ended in a sloped cave which I cautiously followed down. It eventually stopped in a large underground cavern similar to the one under the Urahara store. A small flare of Reiatsu drew me a corner of the cavern, the group was gathered there outside the large Jikan Yari portal, which was unexpected.

Asami and Ichigo were laying back on against a diagonal rock with their eyes closed and occasionally talking to each other, Chiro was sitting next to a heavily blushing Toshiro who had wet hair, Inoue was sleeping against a rock and Sado was just sitting, watching over everyone and occasionally speaking to the talking cat beside him.

''Shouldn't we be rescuing Kuchiki-san?'' I ask as I approach the group.

''We're waiting until her execution'' Yoruichi the cat stated as she walked in front of me ''The traitorous captain who set this up could easily do it again if we bail her out now, so we wait until then so that we can rescue her and expose the man when he appears from hiding''.

''And how will we do that?''.

''I'll tell you another time'' Yoruichi smirked slightly ''For now we'll have to go into hiding ourselves, since this location has been discovered in the past and we'll need to let them fall into a false sense of security''.

''I assume we'll be hiding inside there?'' I gesture to the portal and Yoruichi nodded.

''Lets get going before they know we're here'' Asami spoke and began walking to the portal, Sado picking up the unconscious Inoue and Chiro wrapping her arms around one of Toshiro's and dragging the boy. Ichigo followed behind Asami and I fell in line with the two kids, Yoruichi climbing onto my shoulder and Sado bringing up the rear.

It didn't take long until we broke through into the stunning world that Asami had created, it not having changed since they last were present. We all land on our feet outside as the glass fracture in space faded away, just as Inoue woke up.

''Huh? Where are we?'' She asked drowsily as Sado put her down.

''Inside my world'' Asami commented ''Yoruichi, can you show them the house? They only saw a part of it during their training and I need to... attend to something important''.

Yoruichi gave a nod and Asami disappeared in a blur, her Reiatsu completely gone.

''And this is the library'' Yoruichi said as we got to the last room in the house, a giant library that had books lining the walls fifteen feet up... then two hundred feet down. It was basically like the great spirit library; books lining the walls with a pathway clinging to the walls, then an elevator that went down to the next floor and so on, except this one felt a bit more homey.

''Its huge'' Ichigo commented, his demeanour that same 'calm' ever since we left for soul society. When I had arrived at the cave with Chiro I saw the pair conversing on a first name basis, which must've happened after we split up. His personality was easily different to how he was when I first met him, determined and thick-headed. He still held that fiery determination in his eyes, yet looked almost as stoic as Byakuya Kuchiki. He still smiled and acted somewhat like his former self but he just emanated strength, like a leader would.

''Its technically night time'' Yoruichi stated ''I suggest returning to your rooms I showed you, when you wake up it will likely still be night time so don't be surprised when it is''.

''What should we do for until the execution?'' Sado asked.

''Its up to you really, train, read, relax, whatever'' Yoruichi told them ''I myself will be enjoying the peaceful lull, goodnight''.

At her dismissing words we all turned and left, turning down several halls before reaching the hall with all our rooms. One by one we all broke off into our rooms; Inoue across from chad, Ishida across from Yoruichi's (Why in her cat form I don't know), Ichigo across from Asami and me across from Chiro. The room was a simple design; the beige double bed across from the door, a bedside cabinet on each side of the bed, a wardrobe on the left side of the room and a desk with chair, a door on the right leading to a bathroom. A small side-ways rectangular window stood above the bed.

The bathroom had white tiled walls and dark wood floors, several plain white towels hung on a rack next to a shower. A small square window stood near the door, likely to stop any excess steam building up. Sighing, I strip down and hang my clothes on the ravk where the towels were and step into the shower... time to figure out these damn human contraptions.

I lie down onto the soft bed, wearing plain white pyjamas that I found in the wardrobe. Even after five years of exile it was still strange wearing these clothes compared to Yukata. I pull the soft quilt over my small frame and stare up at the ceiling, just relaxing in the calm emptiness of night.

After an innumerable amount of time passed, I hear a slight swishing sound and turn my semi-sleepy gaze around the room. I was slightly surprised to see Chiro, dressed in plain pink pyjamas, sleepily but silently walk over to the side of my bed.

''Can I sleep with you tonight, Toshi?'' She asked quietly but with tiredness evident in her voice, if she noticed my cheeks heat up she didn't show it. It only took a moment of internal conflict to decide, with Hyorinmaru saying it was polite and my hollow yelling to the heavens that I am 'getting somewhere'.

''S-Sure'' I say quietly and lift the bed cover for her to climb in, which she does in her sleepy way. Whether it was because of her tiredness or todays... events... she snuggled up to me and rested her head on my chest. I flushed but didn't stop her, merely pulling the bed covers over us as I tried to find sleep again.

Oddly enough it came quicker than expected.

Another awkward morning, which seemed to happen whenever I fall asleep in the same room as Chiro.

I had woken up naturally and the first thing I noticed was the awake Chiro, my arm had looped around her in my sleep and while she could leave, she clearly didn't. I attempted to wriggle away while pretending to thick she was asleep, though she just nuzzled into my chest making me blush heavily.

''Uh, Chiro?'' I call and she twisted her head to look at me.

''Mm?'' She hummed curiously.

''Could you get off please?'' I ask politely.

''But Tooooshhhhiii~'' She whined cutely with a slight blush ''Your such a comfy pillow though~''.

''B-Be that as it may'' I say and try to keep my voice as stern as possible ''If your sister caught us like this... I don't even want to imagine what would happen''.

'Probably the apocalypse...'.

''Oh?'' Chiro said in a teasing tone ''Your not saying you don't like me using you as a pillow~''.

I sigh, not even bothering to find the right words to say. A few minutes pass by in the darkness of the night before Chiro reluctantly raised her head off my chest and slipped out of the bed, not before giving a brief peck on my cheek and a wink.

''I'll see you in a few~'' She whispered cheerfully, her voice turning a tiny bit seductive at the end, making me shiver slightly. She left the room and closed the door silently, after I was sure she wasn't going to return under the minute I move to the wardrobe and pick out my standard Shinigami attire. How my exact size was there I didn't question, likely just Asami doing her usual... Asami-things. I took my clothes to the bathroom and hung them on the rack and took off my sleepwear, turning the shower on and setting it to cold. The water doused over me in a cool shower, successfully removing the blush from my face as my mind clears.

After my shower I equip my clothing, dumping my dirty sleepwear in a metal basket that 'magically' empties itself whenever you weren't looking. I return to my room and find Chiro, sitting on the edge of the bed fully dressed in her Shinigami attire and swinging her legs back and forth while humming a tune innocently.

''Nee-san has breakfast on the table'' She said before I could complain about her being in my room ''I've woken all the others, but Ichi and Nee-san are gone''.

I frown slightly ''Do you know where they went?''.

She shrugged ''Nee-san is normally gone before anyone else is there, but Ichi isn't in his room - though some food is missing from the table, which might be a clue''.

I nod, it is normal for Asami to not be present at meals unless necessary or on rare occasions, she normally dismisses it as she prefers to be alone. Chiro says that she might secretly be shy.

A shy Asami, that would be something to see.

Nodding to the girl we both proceed to the door, our eyes adjusted to the darkness of the extended night time as our hands find the others. I swear I heard a banging against the back of my mind and double-toned screaming, though I dismissed it as my imagination.

I had woken up and freshened up shortly before Asami departed, she had just finished making the large breakfast for everyone; all different types of food from both western and eastern cultures. Plates were already set and the table set, yet she just took a small bowl of rice and some water and upon finishing it left. I almost copied her, taking some toast and western-styled bacon, an apple with me as I left in a blur after the powerful hybrid.

Both of us travelled for several minutes before she went into a large clearing in a forest of oak trees, easily several miles from the house. The grassy clearing was littered with large boulders, which seemed ineffective for most training considering it limited your movement. I decided to take a seat at the edge of the clearing, watching and quietly munching on my apple.

She reached up with her left hand and dark purple Reiryoku built up in her palm, she placed it above her eyes and dragged it down and forming a hollow mask on her face. It was a V shape with two slits for eyes, yellow and black shone from them. Two purple teardrops lay under her eyes, a rack of large jagged teeth at her jawline of the mask. The top right part of her mask was concealed behind her brown hair, though the other side that was unconcealed showed that the tip of the V shape formed into three spikes that stretched out a few inches.

The let her left hand fall to her side while she raised her right and pointed two fingers forward, the small red orb of a Cero formed into existence. Instead of firing it however she held it there for a brief moment before closing her eyes and her Reiatsu rose slightly, the small red orb floated sluggishly towards her hand until it was touching her outstretched fingers. It slowly pushed on and distorted, its ball-like form bending and turning into what you could best match it with; lava.

It slowly flowed across her hand all the while letting out a hissing sound and a slight amount of steam, Asami grit her teeth but kept going. The Cero melted and formed a gauntlet up to her wrist, the fingertips spiked as did the knuckles. The accessory glowed a vibrant red, gleaming in the darkness like a beacon.

She spread her fingers apart from each other and made a clawing slash in front of her, several strips of bright red shot out and made thrumming sound before they impacted with some rocks and exploded much like a Cero but less potent. The gauntlet glowed a faint murky grey-red, as if the nameless attack drained it. She raised her finger to a boulder not far from her, with her eyes still closed, and shot out a solid bolt of red energy that pierced the rock before making a small red explosion. The gauntlet was now a onyx grey before it suddenly cracked and crumbled into dust, revealing her burned hand.

'That's what the sizzling was... she used the Cero to make an armour of sorts at the cost of burning herself'.

She scowled at her burned hand and charged another Cero, this time slowly pulling her hands away from it and using her palm to touch it. Both hands sizzled against the intense heat of the Cero but the only show of pain was a deeper scowl, she slowly closed her hands on the orb as if to squish it before making an O shape with her hands like she was holding a pole. Her hands slowly moved in opposite directions from each other while taking the energy with them, thinning out the red mass into a pole around five feet. With gentle precision she formed an arrowhead at one side and a flaming tail at the other.

She opened her eyes and inspected her creation with a critical gaze, her face showing no emotion about doing what she just did. Her eyes suddenly darted to my position, a sigh escaping her lips.

''Your not terrible at it, but you're nowhere near the level to hide from my senses'' She stated as she returned to inspecting her weapon. I shrug and get to my feet, walking out of the bushes and stopping a few feet from her.

''I want to say I'm not surprised you can do that, but that'd be a lie'' I say coolly.

''It is not difficult'' She stated ''It only requires patience and control''.

''So what do I do?'' I ask, getting a mildly surprised look from her ''What? If we're going to rescue Rukia I'll need all the strength I can get''.

She was silent for a moment before saying ''Form a Cero but don't say its name, otherwise it will fire. Slowly focus on melding it onto your hand if you want to make a type of armour or focus on the Reiryoku composition of the Cero and meld it to what you want it to be''.

I nod, reaching up and pulling my mask down onto my face. I extend a hand and push my Hollow Reiryoku into it, forming a small red orb of energy that grew to a normal Cero. Instead of doing the whole gauntlet thing I try to form in into a sword, similar to Tensa Zangetsu. I raise both palms to the orb and mimic what Asami did, slowly closing my hands on the orb but instead of making my hands like a tunnel I make them flat, my four fingers on top in a flat line and my thumb under the red energy. I drag my hands along through the air and successfully make the blade part.

I move my right hand to the bottom of the blade and turn it into a tunnel shape, as if I was holding a rod. The energy condensed and formed a grip, unconsciously I formed the chain though it lacked the complex cross guard.

''Hm... so you made something similar to Tensa Zangetsu?'' Asami commented.

''Yeah'' I nod approvingly at the energy blade ''How about a spar with the Cero weapons?''.

Her eyes flashed with interest and she gave a small nod, raising her javelin/spear in preparation. I charge in with my weapon and swing it at her, ignoring how holding the grip burned slightly. She blocked my blade with the pole length of her spear-type weapon, spinning under my guard and thrusting the bladed edge towards my abdomen. I lean back to avoid the Cero weapon and slash downwards but like me she bounced back to avoid it, charging in a moment later jabbing and slashing with the pointed edge.

Taking advantage of that I managed to force her onto the defensive by constantly avoiding the bladed edge and locking blades with the body of the spear, though it would only work for so long. I locked blades with her when she smirked slightly; which was never a good sign with her. The javelin in her hands suddenly glowed far brighter than normal as it made a thrumming sound, making my eyes widen before the javelin exploded in a brilliant display of power.

I skidded back from the blast, my Blut Vene active as the burns on my arms and hands showed. I dissipated the Cero sword since it was burning my hand to the point of making my groan in pain. The smoke cleared showing an equally burned Asami, though she was looking down at an old-fashioned phone like the one Rukia always had for hollows.

''The date for the execution has changed'' She stated ''Its tomorrow afternoon on the outside and its technically around 6 AM outside''.

''Damn'' I grunt ''Was this Aizen's fault?''.

''Most likely'' She grunted back ''Come on, we'll leave here when it turns 11 AM outside but for now we need to get ready''.

''Right'' I nod.

It seemed the Shinigami were tired of me killing them off, mainly because a captain stood in front of me.

We fought almost immediately, he was good, very good. It just made me angrier though, he was stopping me from completing my goal. I dealt numerous wounds to him but he also did to me, I was winning though, and he knew it.

So when a Quincy of all things joined the fray, I was not happy. Not at all.

My instincts had went into overdrive and for some strange reason I had the urge to bite her, so I went with my instinct. She seemingly let me get close and I bit into her shoulder, but I had realised my mistake too late.

''Got you'' She whispered but before I could stop it she summoned her bow.

Then everything went dark, and I knew I had failed to find my eternal companion... till death do us part...