Chapter 4: One Breath Provokes a Storm

"Speech"
'Thoughts'
"Zanpakutō"
"Hollows/Vizard"

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Ever since Ichigo had slain Grand Fisher and – more importantly – been reassured that his mother didn't blame him for her death, he had never felt lighter. A weight he'd spent the last six years carrying had been lifted from his shoulders. Though right now, some of his good mood was ruined as he and Nemu left the movies, having just seen the horror movie; Marebito. To say his brain hurt trying to figure out what actually happened would be an understatement. Nemu wasn't much better off, "I don't understand. Why would he feed his daughter blood? The human body can't survive off that for any length of time."

Shaking his head, Ichigo replied, "I think the whole story is supposed to be ambiguous. Was F a vampire? Was Masuoka insane? Generally, if the movie doesn't tell you, it's because they want you to decide for yourself." Honestly, the strawberry was starting to regret having chosen to see the movie; he always hated movies designed to screw with your head, especially ambiguous endings, which just felt like a cheap copout to him. Shaking off his distaste, he turned to his companion? Friend? Other? 'Now that I think on it, what are we to each other? I'm pretty sure we aren't dating but Nemu's more than a friend.' Once more pulling himself out of his thoughts, Ichigo addressed Nemu, "Hey, we've got some time before we have to go home. You want to go get some ice cream?" The way Nemu's eyes lit up in delight told him that yes, she absolutely wanted some ice cream.

Before they could go any further, something streaked towards them. Moving instinctually, Ichigo moved to the side, channeled Reiryoku to his hand, and punched the object as it passed. The object in question turned out to be an… arrow? An arrow apparently made out of Reishi. As it careened into the sky, both turned towards the direction the arrow had come from. Some fifty meters away and holding a bow composed of Reishi, stood Ishida Uryū. Under normal circumstances, Ichigo would be questioning why his cousin had a bow made of Reishi. But under normal circumstance, he wouldn't have just almost been shot with an arrow of all things. Understandably, Ichigo's reaction was slightly more volatile than normal, "What the ever-loving fuck, Ishida?!" Storming right up to the other teen, Nemu right behind him, Ichigo grabbed him by his collar and growled, "The hell are you doing shooting at me with a fucking arrow?! And for that matter, since when have you had spiritual powers?!"

Shaking himself free, Uryū growled back, "What am I doing? What are you doing, Kurosaki?! I had long since accepted you had no ability as a Quincy, but to consort with Shinigami?! Such a thing is unconscionable to any Quincy! Consider this a warning: Leave protecting Karakura to me. You'll only get in the way." Without giving Ichigo a chance to respond, the bespectacled teen vanished with some speed technique. Had he been in his Shinigami form, Ichigo could've kept pace. As a human, he could barely follow Uryū's movements.

Behind him, Nemu held her chin in thought, "A Quincy? He must be a descendant of the survivors of the last culling. Curious though, I thought all the surviving Quincy were located in Europe." Catching, Ichigo's inquisitive look, Nemu told him, "Let's continue this over ice cream." In response, Ichigo shook his head fondly, most of his anger at Uryū fading. It seemed nothing was going to keep Nemu from her frozen treat.

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Ten minutes later, Ichigo and Nemu were seated outside their favorite ice cream parlor and enjoying their confectionary treats. Putting down the dish of cookies and cream he'd been half-heartedly eating, Ichigo continued their earlier conversation, "So who or what are Quincy? And why would they apparently hate Shinigami? And for that matter what do they have to do with me?"

Nemu reluctantly halted in her enthusiastic licking of her strawberry ice cream to answer, "The Quincy are a group of humans who first gained spiritual powers approximately 1,700 years ago in the region known as Germania. While the exact details are unknown, we do know that a relatively small group discovered a method to obliterate Hollows and taught their ways to many others." Here, Nemu paused to lick up a bit of ice cream that was about to dribble onto her hand. 'This woman can be way too erotic at sometimes,' Ichigo thought. "Unfortunately, their methods didn't purify Hollows. They completely eradicated them, removing their souls from the cycle of reincarnation."

At that, Ichigo couldn't help but interrupt, "But most Hollows were innocent people in life, weren't they? And the Quincy just annihilated them?!" Even if Ichigo forgot about the sole Hollow he'd known in life, Inoue Sora, there was still the fact that only one of the dozens of Hollows he'd purified had gone to Hell. "I get that Hollows were probably hunting them, but couldn't they have tried just weakening them enough for the Shinigami to purify them?"

Nodding, pleased at his deduction, Nemu elaborated, "We had indeed attempted that. Initially, Soul Society had rather foolishly attempted to keep the Quincy from using their powers at all. Naturally, that failed. You can't convince a man trapped by a bear to put down his rifle, after all. However, even out later attempts at negotiation were immediately shot down. And eradicating the souls of Hollows is worse than you realize. There is a balance between how many souls exist in the living world and the afterlife. Soul Society and Hueco Mundo are both meant to have far more souls than the living world. A few thousand souls here and there won't tip the balance, but over time, tens of thousands of Hollows and the hundreds of souls they may have consumed? Such actions could have irrevocably unbalanced the scale, causing souls to flood into the human world. This would have eroded the barriers between worlds until all three merged into a single dimension."

Frozen in silent horror, Ichigo couldn't help but picture such a scenario. A world where Hollows roamed free to feast on the living and the dead alike. Would death even have any meaning in such a world? Truly, it would be hell on Earth. That thought was what snapped him out of his imaginings, "Wait, you said there was a balance between the worlds but only named three. What about Hell?"

Nemu shrugged in response, still enjoying her frozen treat, "Honestly, the majority of Soul Society's information on Hell is theoretical. The only concrete evidence we have is that it exists and that something within that realm takes the souls of the damned into its depths. From time to time, a soul emerges from Hell into Soul Society, but they've unilaterally been "wiped clean" so to speak. No memories, no Reishi traces, nothing. But we are getting off topic. One thousand years ago, the Quincy population grew too large to be allowed. If even half of them killed a Hollow every day, the worlds would have fallen out of balance within a matter of months. So, the Shinigami of the time did what they felt was necessary… and culled them. Naturally, the Quincy fought back, led by their self-styled emperor, Yhwach. In the end, their entire army was slaughtered and only one in a thousand Quincy was allowed to live. Mostly children." One thing Ichigo had to hand to Nemu, despite being a Shinigami herself, her tone made it clear she wasn't taking a side in the conflict. She was merely stating what happened. "Then, 700 years later, the Quincy once more rose up. This time it wasn't their numbers that were the issue, but that they were directly attacking Shinigami. They wished to wage war against Soul Society for the genocide of their race in the past. All they achieved was another genocide. Since then, their numbers have never gone above a few thousand at most. The last estimate suggests there are less than a thousand Quincy throughout the world now."

Ichigo needed to process this. He wasn't surprised Soul Society and their Shinigami weren't exactly pillars of morality – what with allowing someone like Mayuri in their ranks – but to nearly exterminate a race twice? Even if their intentions were noble, that was still a hard pill to swallow, to say the least. In the end, the strawberry latched onto the one thing that could help distract him, "Wait, but I still don't know why Uryū thinks I should be a Quincy? …Is that my ice cream?"

Looking up from where she was gobbling up Ichigo's abandoned dish, Nemu got a deer in headlights look for a brief moment. She quickly wolfed down the rest of Ichigo's ice cream and tossed the dish in a nearby wastebin. A moment later, the violette wiped her face and answered his first question as though nothing happened, "You said Ishida-san is your cousin, correct? Quincy powers are generally inherited so I can only assume you have other family that have Quincy powers and Ishida-san expected you to have them as well. Now come along. There's still time for training before your patrol."

As Ichigo followed her away from the ice cream parlor, he couldn't help but think, 'She's lucky she's so adorable or I'd be annoyed at losing my ice cream.' Unbidden, the teens eyes strayed downwards to Nemu's lower half, fixating on the way her pants struggled to contain her ass. 'Okay, that certainly helps too.'

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Only a few days later, Ichigo was on patrol and about to cleave through a Hollow's skull when it was suddenly pierced by a Reishi arrow. As it dissolved into nothingness, Ichigo disappeared in a flash towards the direction the arrow had come from. Sure enough, there stood Uryū, his bow in hand and looking both cross and condescending. Frankly, Ichigo didn't give a damn about Uryū's anger issues. Much like their last encounter, Ichigo grabbed Uryū by his shirt, this time even more livid. "What the fuck, you jackass?! What gives you the right to go around obliterating souls like that!" He shouted in the other teens face.

In response, Uryū snarled back, "Don't presume to judge me, Kurosaki! I have my reasons and I warned you to leave the Hollows to me! They're a pestilence and should be stamped out as such! Karakura doesn't need-"

Uryū's tirade was interrupted by Ichigo's forehead smashing into the cartilage of his nose. "I! Don't! Give! A! Fuck!" Ishida stumbled back, hand rising to his face, "That Hollow could've been a goddamned child for all you know, and now they're gone forever! Anyone they ever ate? Gone! Whatever your issue with the Shinigami, whether it's them destroying the Quincy or something else, you have no right to bring innocents into it!"

Gingerly setting his nose, Uryū glared back at him, "I'm busy saving innocents! Innocents you Shinigami refuse to save! And to prove my point, I'm challenging you to a duel." From his pocket, Uryū removed a small white tablet, like an oversized aspirin. "This is Hollow bait. If broken, it will attract numerous weak Hollows to the area for the next day. Whoever kills the most Hollows wins the duel. If I win, you give up being a Shinigami and leave protecting Karakura to me. If you win, I'll concede, and you can continue playing with your sword."

For a long moment, Ichigo didn't react, stunned at the utter ludicrousness of the proposal. Shaking himself, he counter-offered, "How about instead, you put that away and I don't make you right-handed?" With that, Ichigo reached to grab the tablet, but Uryū was faster and crushed it between his fingers. Almost immediately Garganta sprung open across the city and Hollow roars rang throughout the city. After a moment, almost all emotion drained from Ichigo's face. A stern glare on his face, he released Uryū and calmly told him, "You're going to pay for every person that gets hurt because of your fucking pride." With that parting comment, Ichigo vanished in the direction of his home.

Summoning his bow once more, Uryū scoffed even as he took aim at the nearest Hollow, "Going to protect your family, Kurosaki? There's far more than just them that will be targeted. But it doesn't matter. I'll kill every single Hollow, protect everyone, and prove my superiority."

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Alfred was currently using Ichigo's body to enjoy some rather nice green tea when the substitute suddenly arrived right in front of him. Before he could ask what was going on, Ichigo was already belting out orders, "Alfred! There's a horde of Hollows coming! Get home and protect my family! I don't care what happens to my body, just keep them safe!" The moment Ichigo finished talking, he was already gone. Still, Alfred had his marching orders. And even without them, he was rather fond of Ichigo's younger sisters, especially the rare times he got to sit and watch that "Star Trek" show with them. As much as it offended him to waste good tea, Alfred gulped the whole cup down, slapped some money on the table and sprinted off.

However, as the Gikon arrived at the Kurosaki residence, he spotted Ichigo's father standing outside. Rather than his usual lab coat, the Kurosaki patriarch was clad in a Shinigami's shihakusho. As Alfred approached, the older man turned and greeted him, "Ah, Gikon-san. Sorry I don't know your name but don't worry, I'm strong enough to keep the kids safe. Now get on inside and watch more Deep Space 9 with the girls; they've been waiting on you so they could start the next season." Too stunned to speak, Alfred quietly obeyed, entering the home and leaving its protection to Isshin. As such, he didn't hear the man mutter, "Wish this could've waited a couple months though; I'd have wiped all these Hollows out before the opening credits finished. As is, this is going to take a while. I'm not even back to lieutenant level."

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Orihime and Tatsuki were still at school when they felt it. A sudden malevolent pressure filled the air as numerous shrieks and roars echoed in the distance. Fearfully looking around, the pair spotted an inhuman figure atop the school roof, watching them. "H-h-hey Hime," Despite her best efforts, Tatsuki's voice betrayed her growing terror, "What do you say we get the hell out of here right now?" Unable to speak, Orihime merely nodded as she stepped backwards. However, before she could properly flee, two pairs of arms grabbed her from behind, three grabbing her arms and one covering her mouth. As she tried to shake off her attackers, the busty teen saw they were a pair of upperclassmen. However, they had strange seeds protruding from their bodies and green tinted veins.

"Get the fuck off her!" Tatsuki roared as she kicked away both boys. But even as they fell away, more students approached, shambling forward like zombies and all with those same seeds embedded in them. Undeterred, the ravenette smashed their assailants left and right, making sure to keep herself between Orihime and the possessed teenagers. Still, no matter how many she felled, they just kept coming. And worse, the ones she'd put down simply got back up again, ignoring their injuries. The few that didn't were ones whom Tatsuki had broken at least one bone in their legs, leaving them unable to stand. Yet even those crawled towards the girls.

As Tatsuki floored yet another of the zombie like teens, a new hand grabbed her shoulder. She whirled around to face her newest opponent, only to see Chizuru staring back at her, tears flowing down her cheeks as she brokenly whispered, "R-run." The martial artist hesitated for just a moment. But that was all it took. One of the possessed high schoolers grabbed her other arm while the one she'd just knocked down grabbed one of her legs. Before she could gain any leverage to wrestle them off, Chizuru's fist slammed into her gut hard enough to make the tomboy vomit. More of the infected grabbed her remaining limbs even as Chizuru repeatedly struck her. The redheaded lesbian unable to do more than sob, "I'm sorry." over and over.

Just as Tatsuki thought she'd black out, the blows stopped and a new voice cackled, "Well, well. You put up quite the fight didn't you, little morsel?" It was the figure from before. Up close, it resembled a mass of purple tentacles with a bone mask for a face. On its forehead was several bumps, two of which suddenly enlarged and fired right at her. Two of those infernal seeds struck Tatsuki's body; one in her scalp and another in her side. As they burrowed into her flesh, Tatsuki felt her control over her own body slip. No matter how she struggled mentally, her limbs refused to obey her commands. The other teens released the tomboy while another group came forward with Orihime in their clutches. The monsters cackled as it took in their misfortune, "Another delectable treat, though not as spirited." One of the creature's tentacles reached out. Starting at Tatsuki's thigh, it rubbed and slithered its way up her body before finally cupping her chin. "I wonder what I should do with you. Perhaps I'll make the two of you beat each other to death? Or maybe I should let my slaves have some fun with you? You could spend the last few hours of your life as their whore before I force you to hang yourself. I know! I'll make you choose your fate! So tell me, my tasty little slave, what tortures should I put you through?"

Tatsuki opened her mouth, but rather than speak, she bit down on the tentacle in front of her face. In her rage and hatred at this vile monster, the schoolgirl bit a chunk of flesh right off its tentacle. "Listening to your voice is torture enough, you bitch." Howling in pain and fury, another tentacle struck her across the head. Even as she lost consciousness, Tatsuki swore she saw an orange glow burst into being between her and the tentacled fiend.

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Orihime screamed into the hand of her captor as she watched her best friend beaten before her very eyes. The one she cared for the most was fighting and bleeding to save her while she couldn't do anything. 'She can't die! Tatsuki-chan can't die! I love her too much to let her die!' That single sentence caused things to snap into place for Orihime. She'd been crushing on Kurosaki Ichigo for longer than she cared to admit, but for nearly a year now, she'd found her eyes lingering on various women. Her classmates, actresses on tv, even just random women in the street. More and more, the young woman found herself fantasizing about kissing someone with distinctly softer, more feminine lips than Ichigo. Someone shorter and with darker hair. 'Someone… like Tatsuki.' With her revelation, six orange lights burst into being from her hairpins, resolving themselves into tiny fairies.

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When she came to, Tatsuki found herself completely healed, along with the rest of their schoolmates. But before she could check on Orihime, another monstrous presence made itself known. "Must be my lucky day. So many souls just lined up and waiting for me to feast on." It was another monster like the one before, though this one resembled a lanky, man-sized frog. 'Of fucking course. When it rains, it floods.' "Now, who do I eat first?" Unlike the last monster, this one sounded… slimy. If not for the unnatural reverb, Tatsuki would say the voice belonged to a used car salesman in a bad suit with greasy hair.

Having been attacked by possessed students, molested by a tentacle ghost, and now dealing with the world's largest frog, Tatsuki reached her limit. "You know what? I'm done with today. This whole goddamn day can. Just. Fuck! Right! OFF!" With that last declaration, a purple aura exploded out of her body, kicking up an unnatural wind and hiding her from view. When everything settled, Tatsuki had transformed. Her hands were dusted with purple scales and ended in black claws while her teeth had all turned into fangs. The tomboy's eyes were amber and contained slitted pupils. Finally, a pair of small black horns emerged from her forehead.

Without giving her opponent a moment to react to her change, Tatsuki shot forward. In response, the frog Hollow spat globs of green liquid at her, but the tomboy easily evaded. "Too slow, you slimy bastard!" Tatsuki crowed. With a burst of speed, she was upon him, slashing at him with her new claws.

The frog-like Hollow leapt backwards, "Fucking bitch! I'll break your limbs and make you watch as I eat your friends!"

Appearing behind him, Tatsuki snarled, "Like hell you will!" Digging into his back with both her claws and her teeth, she stared tearing into the monster. The amphibious monster screamed in agony as she ripped into him. She refused to let go, even as he ineffectually clawed at her with his webbed hands and leapt backwards into a wall in an attempt to dislodge her. All he accomplished was tearing his wounds further as the martial artist was jostled. Finally, Tatsuki removed her jaws from his back, only to bite down into the Hollows neck from behind, biting straight through and all but decapitating the monstrosity.

As the Hollow dissolved into nothingness, Tatsuki's transformation receded, leaving behind an ordinary, if blood soaked, teenager. Once more, she found herself blacking out, though this time from exhaustion. As such, neither she nor the still-unconscious Orihime noticed the figure approaching them. "My, my, this is certainly a mess we've got on our hands."

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Elsewhere, Uryū continued to snipe every Hollow he spotted. But no matter how many he slew, more kept coming, much faster than he had anticipated. At this point, his fingers were starting to bleed from overusing his powers. '71. They just keep coming. That bait shouldn't have summoned so many. What is going on here? ' In the distance, he spotted multiple flashes of light and echoing booms. 'And of course, they had to get involved. No matter. They're not a part of this. I will endure. And I will prove to Kurosaki once and for all that Karakura doesn't need him or any Shinigami!' So intent was Uryū on ignoring what was going on in that direction, that he never noticed there wasn't a single Hollow anywhere near the local hospital.

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Urahara watched the sky as he waited for the last of his helpers to arrive. Occasionally, a Hollow would be stupid enough to attack but a simple flex of his power was enough to purify them without requiring he physically move. 'We're well into the triple digits at this point. There's no way that Quincy boy had potent enough bait to call this many. What are you planning, Aizen?' Through his ruminations, the former captain stared at one specific crack in the sky. While the other Garganta had either closed already or continued spewing Hollows, nothing had emerged from this one. Not yet anyway. Instead, it simply kept growing larger and larger as time went on. In a way, its size was actually reassuring; a Garganta that large could only mean that a Gillian was coming. 'The boy can handle a Gillian. Were it an Adjuchas or worse, a Vasto Lorde, I'd be forced to intervene. Hm. Aizen would know that too. So, if this is his doing, it's not a test for me but for Kurosaki. I'll have to keep a closer eye on him.'

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of the last person he was waiting on. A small black cat appeared in an instant. One moment there was nothing, the next, there was a cat sitting there calmly. Turning its gaze to the same crack in the sky, it spoke in a masculine voice, "I checked on the last hot spots. Ryūken is holding the hospital and has assured me that Uryū will be… disciplined for his actions. As for the other location, it wasn't any of Kurosaki's classmates and the duo there had things in hand. They said they'll head this way once they've taken care of the Hollows in that part of town."

Urahara nodded in acceptance as he finally turned from the massive Garganta. "And Kurosaki-kun should be meeting up with Ishida-kun shortly. Which means it's time for us to get ready to play our parts." Turning towards the paralyzed forms next to him, the shopkeeper addressed Ichigo's friends and teacher, "Sorry about this, but I'm afraid you four would simply get in the way right now. But not to worry, Tessai-san will be looking after you while Kurosaki-kun and Ishida-kun wrap things up."

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Despite his best efforts, Uryū knew he was in trouble. The Hollows were coming far faster than he could kill them and he was now surrounded. Still, if this was to be his end, he'd take as many Hollows with him as he could. Despite the blood running down both hands at this point, Uryū nocked another arrow and prepared to make his last stand. 'Sorry grandfather. I'll be seeing you sooner than expected.'

"Hyapporankan!" A new voice shouted and a moment later, scores of glowing blue rods rained down upon the area. The Hollow closest to Uryū were pinned to the ground and rendered immobile. Carving his way through the mob was Kurosaki Ichigo, his oversized Zanpakutō cleaving Hollows left and right until he finally stood before the Quincy. "You know, for the smartest kid in our grade, you're a goddamn moron. Even most of the local gangs know better than to start shit in my town. And even the ones who do cause trouble never summoned a horde of murderous ghosts. But frankly, we'll deal with that bullshit later. Right now, we're gonna fix your mess so nobody else gets hurt." So saying, Ichigo turned back to the mob surrounding them. Those that hadn't been caught in his Bakudō were even now climbing over the ones that were. Almost nonchalantly, Ichigo asked, "I don't suppose you have any multi-target abilities? All I've got is that one Bakudō and it can't hit enough of them to make much of a difference."

Despite his misgivings about his cousin, Uryū replied simply, "I do not." At least with a friendly fighter at his back, he wouldn't have to worry about being ambushed from behind. But they were still grossly outnumbered.

In response, Ichigo sighed, "Of course not." Under ideal circumstances, they would be in decent shape. If he could keep all the enemies in front of him while Uryū offered ranged support, there wouldn't be too many problems. Obviously, that wasn't going to work here. The only time being surrounded wasn't a problem was when your enemies were so weak, they posed no threat anyway. Much like his reluctant ally, Ichigo readied himself to face the coming horde.

Before they could engage, dozens of gunshots rang out, loud enough to be mistaken for cannons. Numerous Hollow fell before the onslaught, revealing Urahara and a trio of children. The little girl was carrying a multi-barrel cannon bigger than herself while the redheaded boy wielded a massive club and the blonde one had metal greaves on his legs. The blonde shopkeeper cheerfully waved his fan as the two teens stood stunned. "My, my. Seems like you two could use a hand. How about me and the kids take care of these small fry? That'll leave you two to handle the big one," As he spoke, Urahara snapped his fan closed and used it to point at massive crack in the sky that was finally opening. Without waiting for a reply, the three children leapt into action and quickly began decimating swarm of Hollows.

Those Hollows not on the ground all swarmed towards the crack which had now widened into an actual hole. A pair of colossal hands reached through and pulled the sky apart like a curtain. Behind the sky was an unending void of unfathomable darkness and within that darkness, a pair of red eyes appeared, followed by a mask and an inky black body. The Hollow was so gargantuan that even its face dwarfed all the other Hollows around it, standing a dozen stories tall.

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Ichigo's friends all watched in absolute horror at the abomination tearing its way through the sky itself. Of them, only Nemu had a modicum of control. This wasn't her first time seeing such a creature, but right now she lacked the power to fight it. "A Gillian. What is a Gillian doing in the Living World? Ichigo-kun can't fight something like that." As her agitation grew, Nemu turned her head, the only part of her body she could move, towards Tessai and demanded of him, "What is Urahara playing at? He knows Ichigo-kun will die if he fights a Menos Grande." The violette's words both worsened the humans' terror and confused them. They knew how strong Ichigo was so for her to be so certain of Ichigo's impending demise boded poorly for both him and them. On the other hand, they couldn't help but wonder what she meant by suggesting that oddball shopkeeper was "playing games".

Despite her demands, Tessai remained unmoving. His reply was as confident and unshakeable as his stance, "Urahara-dono knows what he is doing. He won't allow Kurosaki-san to perish. Trust in your friend."

Unable to actually do anything, bound with Bakudō as she was, Nemu could only watch and hope. 'Don't die, Ichigo-kun. I won't forgive you if you die!' Her face was as expressionless as ever, but her thoughts betrayed her dread. Finally having someone who truly cared about her had changed the woman. She wouldn't have dreamt of having thoughts like that months ago, 'Please don't leave me…'

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At the moment, both Ichigo and Uryū were staring down the Menos Grande as it fully emerged, unsure how to proceed. Even as they tried to strategize, their thoughts were interrupted when the Gillian's mouth opened and its tongue shot out, spearing several lesser Hollows before retreating back into its mouth. "It's- it's eating them," Uryū uttered in shock. As they watched, it repeated its actions, consuming every Hollow that had gathered around it. Once it finished feasting, the horror turned its attention their way.

"Right, time for gawking is over! Time for action is now!" Ichigo declared. Shouldering his Zanpakutō, the strawberry raised his other hand and chanted, "Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Bakudō #61, Rikujōkōrō!" Six rods of light slammed into the Gillian, freezing it mid-step. But before the duo could capitalize on their opponent's paralysis, the Bakudō shattered and the Menos continued lumbering forward. Ichigo shouted in disbelief and frustration at seeing his Kidō destroyed so easily, "Oh come on! That's bullshit!"

Unfortunately for him, not only did the humongous Hollow not care for fairness, it also wasn't amused by being attacked. A crimson orb appeared in front of its teeth and quickly grew until it was larger than Ichigo himself. The Gillian's mouth opened in a roar and the orb fired at him as a crimson beam of destructive energy. While Uryū quickly dodged, Ichigo, perhaps foolishly, stood his ground and blocked with his Zanpakutō. With one hand bracing against the flat of his blade, Ichigo struggled to hold back the awesome power of his enemy's attack. Burns and scars carved themselves into the concrete around him. Parts of his shihakusho started disintegrating from the intense energy. In that moment, the teenager felt like he was trying to hold back the ocean with his bare hands. Even as his form stood firm, the concrete beneath him gave way, cracking then crumbling under his feet.

Just as Ichigo's body felt like it would explode from the strain, a new surge of power welled up within him. It felt like a fire starting in his chest and engulfing every cell in his body. With a great roar of effort, he swung his Zanpakutō and deflected the blast off into the sky. Screaming his wrath, Ichigo slashed downwards and despite the dozens of meters separating him from his target, a massive laceration appeared in the Gillian's body. For a moment, the beast appeared merely injured but alive, then its mask split and disintegrated. The rest of the abomination's body followed, dissolving into nothingness as the portal into the void behind it sealed itself. Ichigo panted as his victory registered in his mind.

However, his triumph was short-lived as he collapsed in agony, his own power threatening to rend him asunder. Thinking quickly, Uryū rushed over and began absorbing Ichigo's overflowing energy. His bow held aloft, the bespectacled teen fired arrows larger than his own body into the air, over and over again. Gradually, he managed to bleed off his cousin's excess power, saving the other teens life in the process.

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Urahara held his fan in front of his face, seemingly to conceal his smile, but truly to hide his thoughtful frown. 'I didn't think the boy had it in him to destroy a Menos so soon. I'll definitely need to keep an eye on him.' Glancing back at Ichigo's companions, the former captain fought the urge to grimace. 'Especially once Soul Society becomes aware of this little episode. No way they missed a Menos Grande appearing in the Living World. Things are going to start moving soon.' With a gesture from him, Tessai released Nemu and the others from the Bakudō keeping them immobilized. Immediately, all four rushed over to Ichigo's unconscious form, seeking to reassure themselves he was alright.

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In Soul Society, two men watched the day's events unfold with varying levels of interest. One of them – a man with silver hair and perpetually closed eyes- chuckled in amusement. "Well, well. It seems your little pet project is advancing faster than expected, Captain Aizen. This gonna interfere with things, ya think?" Despite his cheerful tone, the man's demeanor was like a serpent watching a mildly amusing mouse.

His companion, a brunette man wearing glasses, shook his head, "No, I don't think so. If anything, this might actually help matters." Somehow, Aizen seemed even more malevolent even though his own smile appeared much more genuine. Rather than a predator watching its prey, his gaze was more akin to a man deciding if he was going to step on a particular ant or not. 'And who knows, perhaps Ichigo-san will actually be even more useful than I had anticipated.' The thought crossed his mind. It appeared as if allowing that hack Mayuri's attempted abductions rather than sending Kuchiki's inexperienced sister had borne unexpected fruit, "Regardless, I'm sure Captain Kurotsuchi's scanners have detected this. It'll be time to move once more, soon."

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AN: Meaningful foreshadowing is meaningful! Anyway, things are starting to change more. Next chapter should be the end of the Substitute Shinigami Arc. And lest I forget, Next time on Vow Of The King! Ichigo gets to first base and lets an older man stick it in him!