A/N: This is the last of the Filler Arcs, the next chapter will wrap them up and then the Arrancar ARC starts, although they'll be considerably different because the Espada are Asami's and Ichigo's allies and that during all these fillers arcs its near the time Orihime originally got captured.

Anyway, this is a fairly languid one but has a few teases at their (Asami and Ichigo's) powers and stuff.

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 30: A New Comrade and Reigai - Alliance ARC

We sat on a nearby tree, me with my back against the trunk with my legs stretched out along the length of the thick branch while Asami sat next to me on, legs lazily swinging back and forth. We had been here for almost an hour, awaiting for Koga Kuchiki to awaken via Muramasa and then for (in Asami's words) the inevitable betrayal. While Asami had expressed her distaste for this tactic, it was required if they were going to convince Muramasa to join us, since while it was brutal it was closure all the same.

''Its actually quite peaceful here'' Asami smiled, looking at me out of the corner of her eye.

I gaze out of the tree we were sat in to the clearing around us, flowers dotted around the grassy plain and the sun sweeping over the land ''Yeah, it is''.

''I wonder how Chiro and Toshiro are doing?'' She wondered after a few moments silence.

''What do you mean?'' I inquired, adjusting my trench coat that somehow kept me cool despite it being a coat - I wonder if this is how Quincy Zangetsu feels all the time?

''They're dating'' She said and I blinked in surprise, making her chuckle slightly ''I'm pretty sure they think I don't know, but you can tell they're closer than before, its kinda obvious''.

''Huh, never noticed'' I shrugged and smiled wryly at her ''Think anyone's found out about us? Besides the school I mean''.

''Bambietta and her gang noticed, probably Akuma and my father too, along with your father... possibly your sisters too'' She replied smoothly as she returned her gaze to the clearing.

I smiled slyly and wrapped a hand around her, pulling her to me. She sighed and gave a wry smile as she relaxed against me, only to let out a quiet but surprised yelp when I bit her neck, chuckling at the reaction.

''Meanie'' She pouted with a blush on her face.

''Have I told you you're cute when you blush?'' I smiled and her blush darkened slightly and she looked away, prompting me to bite her exposed neck again.

''Will you stop that?'' She complained, but her tone said otherwise.

''Nah'' I say in an amused tone, making her roll her honey brown eyes ''Its too fun''.

''I assure you I can be even more fun'' She purred seductively, making a light blush come to my own face ''Maybe after Muramasa and the Reigai are sorted, we can having another go?''.

She grinned, silently referencing what 'having another go' was. Not one willing to back down though, I continued.

''Oh? Why wait?'' I purred in her ear, pulling her onto my lap as I nibbled her ear, making her current blush deepen.

''...Baka'' She murmured shyly, twisting her head to kiss me.

Later on...

''That's just sad'' I murmured, wincing when Koga lashed out with a long diagonal cut to the already stabbed Muramasa, sending the poor Zanpakuto to the ground.

''Mm'' Asami agreed as he straightened her uniform and put her scarf back on, a sudden blush dusting her cheeks ''I can't believe we just did it outside''.

I smirked at her ''This isn't the time to have perverted thoughts''.

She gave a light glare and I held my hands up in a universal sign of surrender, to which she smirked smugly before gesturing to the fight, where Byakuya was now fighting Koga. I gave a nod and adorned a serious face, which she mimicked as we both took off. In the combined high-speed movement we landed beside the surprised Zanpakuto.

''Ichigo you carry him'' She ordered as she rapidly dialled a number and brought it to her ear while opening a gateway back to the world of the living ''Tessai? I'm bringing Muramasa... he needs healing, it shouldn't be too much trouble... alright, be there in a few seconds''.

By the time she finished we were already in the Dangai with a groaning Muramasa in my arms. With a quick and silent high-speed movement we blurred forward and blurred through the blinding white light at the end of the Dangai tunnel. We broke out in the middle of the air but it was resolved with a quick Sonido-Shunpo-Hirenkyaku mix of high-speed movement as we landed outside the Urahara store.

Asami led the way into the store as I trailed behind with the man still groaning as he gradually bled, we ended up in one of the spare rooms at the back of the store. I lay the Zanpakuto down on the blue mat as Tessai came in and nodded at us, immediately Asami pulled the phone to her ear again, saying something about a Gigai before depositing her phone in her pocket again.

''Ririn will be here shortly to deliver his Gigai after he's healed'' She informed he as we left the room ''Hey I wanna try something, come on''.

''Sure'' I shrugged and smirked at her ''Per chance does it having anything to do with that?''.

''Pervert'' She rolled her eyes at me, a tinge of pink dusting her cheeks ''No I mean the transcendental abilities we still haven't tested''.

''Oh'' I chuckled, sheepishly rubbing the back of my neck as we walked out of the store, Asami opening a gateway with a flick of her wrist. Moments before we entered it however I caught sight of the stealth force on the rooftops, I pretended not to notice them and they didn't react, meaning they didn't notice that I noticed them. I followed Asami into the blinding light and into the hallway between dimensions, Asami instantly closing the gate with a sharp flick of the wrist.

''It seems like Soul Society has taken to stalking us'' Asami mused irritably as we walked down the hall ''I assume you noticed them?''.

''Yeah'' I nodded with a frown ''Aside from making it look like we betrayed them, I totally don't see why they would be suspicious of us''.

She rolled her eyes at my sarcasm ''Yeah, Yeah I know... but I told you the plans right?''.

I sighed ''Yeah I know''.

We reached the end of the tunnel and walked out of the gap between worlds, ending up in HQ. With another flick of the wrist she broke the air as if were glass, once again leading me through the darkness of the worlds, a purple-glowing breeze being our only guide. Asami broke through the barrier and I jumped after her, landing in the grassy plains not far from where we originally became transcendental.

Asami closed her eyes for a few moments before nodding, opening her eyes ''Only my helpers are present in here, and they're miles away''.

I nodded in turn, before drawing a blank ''Uh... how do we activate the whole transcendental thing?''.

She blinked, then laughed lightly ''Right, I never explained that did I?''.

''Firstly, release both of our seals'' She said as we both flared our Reiatsu in sync, muttering ''Gentei Kaijo''.

Our power exploded into two spires of power, which eventually merged into one, larger spire of purple energy tinted with red, black and a hint of blue. Dark, black energy outlined in deep purple began to seep out of us, its presence almost welcoming like death. I sent I slightly worried look at Asami and she returned one of gentle reassurance, closing her eyes, both which had become visible from the gust.

''Mugetsu'' I muttered as the name flew out of my mouth without my consent. (Tran: Moonless Sky).

''Bokyaku'' Asami muttered as well. (Tran: Oblivion).

Then darkness engulfed us.

As the darkness subsided I realised how... strange I felt. Like I was weightless but heavy at the same time, like I could destroy a moment with the flick of my wrist... granted I could do that in Bankai already but still. I finally got a look at Asami as the darkness disappeared. Her usual short-ish brown hair had now turned pitch black and went down to her shoulders, being more puffy with strands of hair sticking out occasionally, with some of her hair covering her right eye and falling down to just above her chest. Her eyes were a dull crimson and grey bandages covered her face from just above her nose to her chin, leaving her neck and her shoulders bare.

The bandages continued just above her chest, wrapping around her whole torso down to her waist where it stopped, instead changing into pure black energy, likely Reiryoku. Both of her arms were bare but had intricate black tattoos all over them, leading up to her exposed neck and shoulders where they went under the bandages and seemingly continued under them.

I looked down at myself and realised I was wearing much the same, having the same black energy below my waist, the strange grey bandages around my torso, only with one arm - my left - exposed along with my left pectoral.

''...Ichigo?'' Asami's quiet voice brought me back from my musings and I looked at her.

''This feels... weird'' I intone and she gave a slow nod, as if the form would dissipate if they moved too much. She gradually stretched her arms and other muscles, yet the bandages did not break. She lightly punched her own stomach (it was like something out a manga) and the bandages barely cracked, only doing so because of her apparent strength increase, yet they repaired themselves quickly.

''Interesting'' Asami mused as I silently watched her closed her only visible eye, reopening it a few moments later and forming a, for all intents and purposed, rod of black flaming energy. She gently moved it about and it flickered dangerously like a Cero, but maintained itself. She face to the side of me and took a breathed, bringing the rod above her head and taking another breath, before swinging down.

''Bokyaku'' She uttered, her voice echoing. The rod suddenly expanded, creating what looked like a wall, that while seemingly only a few inches thick, shot like a bullet for almost three miles long before it stayed like that, seemingly frozen in time. The entire world around us had greyed over, time seemingly slowed as the tree rustled slowly, before with a thunderous roar that made me wince the energy was vacuumed skyward where it faded to nothingness.

''Incredible...'' Asami muttered in awe ''Ichigo, you try it too''.

Nodding, I turned in the direction she fired her, taking note of the long but thin crevice where the attack hit. I calmed my breathing and instinctively drew on my well of power, a similar flame-like rod appearing in my bandaged hand. I raised it over my head with less caution and swung, quick but precise.

''Mugetsu'' I said, my voice ringing throughout the clearing as it had a similar if not direct copy of what hers did, ending with another thunderous roar.

''Interesting... I wonder-'' She was interrupted as the bandages on both her and me shattered, stunning us. For a moment we said nothing, merely watching as the bandages disintegrated to nothing. Then all of a sudden I felt a rush of nausea and I saw the black hair and energy on Asami disappear like it was blown off and I felt it too, before I collapsed to my knees as the nausea became too much to bear.

''Shit...'' I muttered, rolling onto my back as the world spun. I closed my eyes and heard Asami land next to me, groaning as she felt a similar if not identical experience to my own. We stayed like that for almost five, ten possibly even a damn hour before it lessened, then eventually faded.

I opened my eyes and looked to the side, Asami meeting my eyes a moment later ''That... was not pleasant''.

She chuckled lightly, slowly sitting up and slouching ''...understatement of the century''.

I smiled wryly and sat up with her ''Yep... well that was an experience and a half''.

''As I had tried to say, I wonder if like our mask training? In that the longer we trained with it the longer we can maintain the form and more attacks we could use'' She explained ''Megami told me that entering that form is essentially the truest form of our power, our soul completely whole with itself and we are in total control. We can't communicate with our Zanpakuto as we are our Zanpakuto, their consciousness temporarily erased as they become a power source for us to become, meaning that we can manipulate the energy to our whim''.

''Huh'' Was all I said, earning a light punch from her. Doesn't mean it didn't hurt.

''I wanna try something else'' She said again with a small smirk ''Do you remember that time I entered your inner world when you were perfecting your Bankai?''.

I nodded and she continued ''That technique is, as you may have guess, one of my own design. It allows me to enter someone's inner world if they are unconscious or in Jinzen, though the Zanpakuto spirit of said person can reject me out of their inner world on a whim. More so however it temporarily combines my soul with theirs, similar to how we did the fusion a while ago''.

''Get to the point'' I say flatly, making her huff.

''Fine, here's the short version; I can merge us into one being for a time, making you capable of all the things I am, and me capable of all the things you are. For example you could use any of the Kido in my arsenal simply from reflexive memory, though I would have to tell you the incantation obviously. I also am sure it means it would combine our reserves, essentially doubling our strength while mixed'' She explained with scientific glee in her tone ''To sum it up; we'd be even more badass than we are now''.

''Huh'' I smirked, making her glare and give me another punch, this time a little harder (Read; a lot harder) ''So how do we do this?''.

Asami abruptly glowed a golden yellow before she sparked, her form zapping into a lightning bolt and moving faster than I could follow, swirling around me a few times before impact my left arm. I hissed at the feeling but it left quickly, replaced by a warm sensation all over my body, which again left quickly replaced by a dull overshadowing feeling, like someone was standing behind you or on your back.

''Huh... so this is what it feels like to be a Zanpakuto spirit'' Asami's voice said inside his head ''Alright! Try using your Shikai, throw a few swings around at the trees and unleash a Getsuga or two''.

Following her words, I drew my blade and flared my Reiatsu ''Pierce the Heavens, Zangetsu!''.

In a bright flash of Reiatsu, my sealed sword split into the familiar large Khyber Knife and Trench Knife. With a single swipe I dispelled the remaining Reiryoku, Shunpo'ing towards a tree and swung without a Getsuga. The ground shattered from the sheer gravitational force of it, making me jump slightly in surprise, Asami's laughter ringing in my head.

''Well that's that'' I grumbled as I let my Reiryoku flow into my Khyber knife as I aimed at a bolder ''Getsuga Tenshou!''.

What I was expecting was an enlarged version of my Getsuga, not a literal wall of it! The blue and purple wave screeched towards the boulder and tore right through it, continuing on until it hit a mountain and exploded in a very much nuke-like fashion. Once the aftermath disappeared half of the mountain was gone, making me slightly awed by how much damage my Shikai could do, let alone Bankai... or Bankai-Vollstandig-Resurreccion...

''Is that possible? A Bankai-Vollstandig-Resurreccion?'' I asked aloud, knowing Asami could hear me.

''Of course it is'' Asami said with a slightly breathless tone ''Nice Getsuga by the way''.

''Thanks'' I smirked lightly ''What next?''.

''Try wielding my blade, Tsuki no Megami to be precise'' Asami said and I complied as I resealed Zangetsu, focusing on drawing the graceful woman's Reiatsu to my hand. It came easier than expected and in a flash of silvery white light the elegant blade appeared, already in Shikai. I sheathed Zangetsu and swung the blade, cracking and destroying the ground with a mere swing.

''I ask that you do not swing me around like you do with Zangetsu-san'' Megami's voice cut into the conversation, her tone sickly sweet like Unohana ''I require precision to be wielded, Ichigo-san''.

''H-Hai'' I stuttered, cold sweat running down my head, who knew a Zanpakuto could be so scary?

''A-Anyway... try using her Mikadzuki techniques... just be more gentle with her... she's scary when angry'' The last part she whispered despite it being obvious Megami would be able to hear her ''Its like your Getsuga... just with less Reiryoku requirement... a lot less''.

Sighing, I set to work following her orders.

*Bzzzzzz**Bzzzzzz* *Bzzzzzz*

I blinked at the faint buzzing hum of a phone, hearing Asami flick open her phone (how does she do that when we're merged?) and muttered a few things before I heard it flick shut. My whole body glowed a faint golden yellow before Asami came out in a bolt of lightning, landing in a crouch next to me upon reforming.

''Drop your Bankai, we're needed in the world of the living'' She said as she pocketed her phone, gathering purple Reiatsu into her hand and flicking her wrist, shattering the air beside us and opening a path to the world of the living. During the short time she did that I dropped my Bankai, returning it to the sleek sealed version before sheathing it at my hip ''Lets go''.

''So what's going on this time?'' I sighed, scratching the back of my head as Asami held her hand to my chest, resealing my power before repeating the process on herself.

''If my information is correct, a man by the name of Kageroza Inaba has or is creating Reigai, a form of mod soul. He's replicated most of the Gotei 13 and if my presumption is correct, he'll get rid of most of the current Gotei 13 by kicking them to the world of the living, though I don't know which ones'' She listed off ''They won't be much stronger than the Zanpakuto, and I doubt he's recreated the commander, so its all good''.

''Can they not solve it themselves?'' I grumbled lightly, it was becoming slightly ridiculous how much we had to save their ass.

She laughed lightly, giving me a light peck ''Nope, come on''.

Sighing with a small smile I nodded, following her into the darkness and walking through, following the purple wind. Asami broke through the invisible barrier and we ended up in her fathers basement, with a large portion of the Gotei 13 on the other side of the training grounds.

''Hm... Soi Fon, Gin Ichimaru, Byakuya Kuchiki, Sajin Komamura, Shusuke Amagai, Kenpachi Zaraki and Mayuri Kurotsuchi are present, meaning the only captains in soul society are Retsu Unohana, Shunsui Kyoraku and Jushiro Ukitake'' She said analytically ''Lieutenant Marechiyo Omaeda, Izuru Kira, Renji Abarai, Tetsuzaemon Iba, Rangiku Matsumoto, Yachiru Kusajishi and Nemu Kurotsuchi are present, along with Rukia Kuchiki''.

I let out a low whistle ''If anything this Kageroza knows how to get rid of the Gotei 13 quickly''.

She chuckled ''Yep, he's after a mod soul by the name of Nozomi Kujo, who is currently being protected by my father. From what information he had text me it seems she is quite reclusive in nature, and he has been mostly unsuccessful in getting her to talk even casually. The only success was that Ururu had a short conversation with the mod soul, although both were slightly more cheery afterwards''.

''Huh'' I muttered ''Anyway lets go, knowing them some'll be surprised we appeared and some will draw their Zanpakuto''.

''Probably'' She shrugged as she took off in a blur, me following a moment later. Even with only a small portion of our power we retained enough strength of almost a captain and a half, as such we cleared the distance in only eight steps over ten seconds.

We landed on top of a rock silently but it only took a moment for the group of Shinigami, plus Urahara and Yoruichi, to notice us. Like I guessed some looked surprised at our appearance while others narrowed their eyes dangerously, reaching for their blades.

''Yo'' I greeted with a nod, my trench coat tails whipping slightly from the high speed movement.

''Ichigo!'' Rukia smiled at us.

''You been okay midget?'' I smirked faintly and she twitched dangerously, Renji smirking beside her only to twitch after my next comment ''You taking care of her pineapple?''.

''Shut it strawberry!'' They retorted and I twitched but held an amused smile on my face, our interaction having removed most of the tension in the air.

''Anyway as I was saying'' Urahara cut in, drawing all attention to him ''Kujo-san is the reason Kageroza kicked you out of soul society, he wants to capture her for an unknown reason, likely to empower himself and take over soul society''.

Soi Fon scoffed ''As if a whelp like him would be able to match the captain commander''.

''I think you'll find most people bent on domination either have a god complex, or are not right in the head'' Asami said dryly.

''So how do we get back? He's locked us out of the Soul Society'' Komamura asked.

Urahara whipped out his fan to his a wide grin ''Asami~''.

Said person twitched ''You were waiting for us to return so we could open it instead of you, weren't you?''.

''I have no idea what you're talking about'' Urahara sang, ducking when Asami sent a Bala his way.

''Baka'' She scowled and sighed ''Fine, give me a minute''.

She closed her eyes and outstretched a hand to the side, her thumb and index finger together as it hovered randomly at the air. For almost a minute nothing happened before Asami let out a pulse of Reiatsu and her fingers parted, creating a large Garganta.

''Its harder without the mask and with the jammer on'' She muttered to herself before shaking her head, turning to the observers ''Come on, he'll detect the Garganta in less than a few minutes, we need to move now. Father, you come too, Yoruichi stay behind encase of lingering Reigai''.

''Okay, daughter of mine!'' He cheered happily, barely dodging another Bala.

''Why are parents so weird?'' I murmur to her and she stifled a laugh.

Everyone jumped up to the rock platform and taking the initiative we led them through, with Urahara bringing up the rear. Asami formed a pathway of blue Reishi as we ran, the only sound being over a dozen footsteps echoing in the darkness before Asami alerted us to the exit, which opened seemingly automatically. In a burst of speed we all jumped out, landing on the Sokyoku hill funnily enough.

''Alright, the Reigai are all present at the outskirts of the twelfth division, so you may want to go there and take them by surprise'' Asami said seriously ''Myself and Ichigo will go to the Captain Commander, Father you know what to do''.

''Aye, Aye!'' He said cheerfully, making Asami's wrist twitched as a Bala almost formed.

''Lets move'' Asami said in a serious tone before disappearing in a blur, me following sharply. We sped through the air towards the first divisions barracks, only for a massive wave of flames to draw our attention. Off to the right of the division, near the bottom of the hill, was Yamamoto's Reiatsu, Kyoraku's and Ukitake's, only the latter two being slightly warped.

''Well... looks like we don't need to see Genryusai then'' Asami said flatly as we skidded to a stop, with an annoyed grumble Asami landed on the roof of the commanders division with me landing beside her, taking a seat on the edge.

A massive explosion blew up almost a quarter of the twelfth division, even from our perch it could be considered huge, which I verbalized with a low whistle.

''Lets go save their assess'' Asami smirked as she took off in a blur and I swiftly followed, jumping and gliding through the air like I was skateboarding. We approached a blown-out tower and skid to a stop in the air, silent as ever. All of the current captains, sans Yamamoto, were surrounded by their Reigai counterparts.

''You guys can't do anything without our help'' I said, loud enough for them to hear as cocked my fist and thrust, sending a Bala towards the Reigai Kyoraku who was about to sneak up on the real one and sent him evading back, if anything its nice to be able to use Bala without needing my mask.

''Hello Kurosaki-san, Asami-san'' Ukitake welcomed cheerfully despite the situation ''We are in a bit of a pinch, aren't we?''.

''I'd say so'' Kyoraku chimed in just as cheerful.

''We'll solve it, like always'' Asami quipped, giving me a quick glance as her first limiter glowed ''Gentei Kaijo''.

I followed swiftly ''Gentei Kaijo''.

Our power exploded into twin spires of blue and purple, and purple with a tint of black. All present shuddered momentarily under the abrupt power level increase, straining to stay standing straight. Asami gave me a devious smirk that made me blink, only for realisation to cross my face when she glowed golden. In a bolt of lightning she stung my arm, creating two small lightning bolts under my eyes as a symbol of our merging. I felt my left eye numb slightly before the feeling returned, now as her honey brown.

''Alright, lets test this out'' I smirked dangerously at the Reigai, who all readied their blades even as I turned my gaze of the Gotei 13 ''I'd suggest getting out of the area, I don't want to hurt you guys in the crossfire''.

''Shine, Tsuki no Megami'' I said and in a flash of white, the graceful blade appeared in my right hand. Due to my own Shikai being a duel-wielded, I didn't draw it but instead called upon her Shikai ''Strike from the Heavens, Denki Sukai''.

In a flash of golden yellow the spear-based Shikai appeared in my left, feeling as heavy as Zangetsu's Khyber Shikai ''You ready?''.

Reigai Soi Fon retorted by appearing behind me with her Shikai already primed, even though I could see her clear as day. When she struck out with the intent to sting me I contorted my body out of the way, hitting the petite woman in the stomach with the blunt of my spear, knocking the breath out of her and sending her a few feet back.

I spun said spear and jerked it in her direction, sending several bolts in her direction that would've hit if not for Reigai Unohana's cry of ''Bakudo #81: Danku!''.

The bolts struck the barrier, stopping two before the rest pierced through and shocked the stunned Reigai Soi Fon. She only let out a cry that made me wince before falling towards the ground, her body turning to dust - immediately Asami reassured me that Reigai did that upon death, to my relief (I thought the lightning did that).

''I feel like Kenpachi; I want them to attack me all at once'' I mutter to myself as I jump back to avoid Reigai Kyoraku's Shikai wind-thing.

''Its the only way they'll be a challenge, unless the Senior captains release their Bankai - be wary of that'' Asami reminded in my mind.

''Guess I should have some fun with this'' I mutter to her again as Komamura and Kenpachi charged me from each side.