Requiem for the Hollow Rose

by sreshtiyer

After witnessing the death of Pyrrha, white fills her vision and the Rose huntress finds herself in a desolate and bleak place. Confused, lost and still grieving the loss of her friend and her own helplessness, little does Ruby realize that was just the beginning of her arduous journey. Innocent to Mature Ruby. Rated M for psychologically disturbing themes (non-sexual).

20. Chapter 20: Battles in the Soul Society

Chapter 20: Battles in the Soul Society

~Soul Society~

(Quincy and Shinigami abilities slightly amplified, Hollow and Togabito abilities slightly dampened)

No sooner had the group of invaders landed, battles were already being fought. Three simultaneous battles to be exact.

When the twins landed, they didn't expect to face enemies right away. Their heads were still ringing from the crash, though most of the impact was softened by Yuzu's blut. Karin expected that the two of them would be in serious trouble. But instead, the man started dancing.

"What the…" asked Karin with a blank face. Yuzu however, was watching enthusiastically the whole time.

"Whoa! Nice dancing!" she cheered.

"Hu..huh…?" asked Ikkaku confused. That was certainly a first, he thought to himself. Of all the people he'd shown his lucky dance to, no one had seriously praised him for it "Yo..you think so?" he asked deadpanned.

"Yeah! That was so cool!" she chimed.

Karin though, simply turned around and started to leave. Ikkaku slashed at her, barely inches away from her.

"That wasn't very nice, little intruder. You should be honored to see my lucky-lucky dance" he said with a smile. "And you! Although I appreciate the compliment, why the heck were you simply watching instead of attacking?!" he asked Yuzu.

"Bu…but you were so good!" she insisted. "It would be rude to just attack!"

"Well…..can't argue with you there" he said, rubbing his head. "But it matters not! So, who's fighting? Or will you both attack at the same time?" he asked, pointing his Zanpakuto towards Karin and Yuzu.

"Aaah help, two grown ass men are assaulting two little kids" said Karin in a monotonic, sarcastic and deadpanned voice.

"Pl..please just let us pass peacefully…we really don't want to hurt anyone" said Yuzu with her puppy dog eyes. It almost looked like it would've worked, because Ikkaku was already having second doubts. Yumichika on the other hand, wasn't going to be drawn in.

"Nice try, girls. But in the end, you're still intruders and it would bring shame to our squad if we just let the two of you go without even trying. And besides, you CHOSE to enter enemy territory. If you had enough courage to do that, then surely you must have been prepared to face the consequences" he said with a sly tone.

"Oh well, it was worth a shot. Why, oh why, should everything end this way?" said Karin shrugging, charging at Ikkaku. The latter barely had time to defend himself from the sudden advance before he found himself at the receiving end of Karin's practiced movements.

"Yuzu! Take care of that one!" said her sister before she focused solely on her fight with the bald shinigami.

"Heh would you look at that! You can fight after all!" exclaimed Ikkaku, before getting into the fight himself.

Yuzu wasn't lying to Yumichika when she said she wanted to resolve things peacefully. She wouldn't openly attack herself, but if her enemy was looking for a fight, she wouldn't simply stay put.

---

Uryu, Orihime and Chad crashed into what appeared to be a relatively empty area. Orihime used her powers to create a shield and cushion them from going through the roof they crashed on. They managed to avoid the regular ranking soul reapers looking for them initially, and even one with reiatsu so titanic it was maddening. But luckily, that soul reaper didn't notice their presence, telling them that he was likely bad at sensing reiatsu like Ichigo was. Right then, Orihime was nearly sliced in two by a large shinigami who introduced himself as the 4th seat of the 7th squad of the Gotei 13 after ambushing her. If not for Chad pushing her out of the way, Orihime would most certainly have been dead.

The shinigami continued to use every bit of dirty and dishonorable tactic he could think of against the 3 of them. But Uryu and Chad were simply far too strong to be taken in by any of it. Orihime, feeling left out, decided to help by directing an attack towards the Shinigami only for it to be swatted out effortlessly. Soon, the shinigami released his zanpakuto, which turned into dozens of spinning, radially symmetrical, dual-edged blades that began to whirl through the air around him. But Chad destroyed half of the blades with a single hit while Uryu made short work of the rest, utterly shocking their enemy. In a last ditch effort, he tries to take Orihime hostage, only for him to be punched away by Chad, following which Uryu shot his soul chain and soul sleep rendering him useless as a shinigami.

As the three regroup, Orihime somberly expresses her disappointment in herself, for being so useless when her two friends did all the work. Uryu cheered her up by saying that attacking or battle abilities were not the only ways to prove herself, and that shielding her friends from harm and healing them was just as remarkable, and that something uncharacteristic as attacking someone simply wouldn't suit her.

---

Tatsuki was getting worried. For Orihime. And for Yuzu. But atleast Yuzu was with Karin. Orihime though, she knew her better than anyone else. And she was the one person she could ever imagine as a fighter. Let alone being part of something like this. Not to mention, she didn't trust the two she was with. If it was herself or even one of the Kurosaki siblings, she wouldn't have felt as uneasy.

Or perhaps, it was simply from the foul odor she could feel from practically everyone.

"Oy! How much longer?!" snapped Tatsuki at the soul reaper known as Hanataro, who was supposedly leading them towards Rukia. She really would prefer if they could go on like this, rescue her and get the heck out. "And for the love of god, do we HAVE to be here?!"

"I…I told you Arisawa-san, this is the best way to get to Rukia without being detected. Only we members of the 4th squad know our way around these tunnels.." replied Hanataro in his usual meek manner.

"Tatsuki, it's not like you to get so worked up" said Ichigo to her discreetly "Calm down a bit, will you?"

"How can I calm down when Orihime's out there all by herself with those 2?!" she hissed back.

"That's what you're worried about? I'm not sure about Chad, but Uryu is plenty strong. She won't be in any danger" he said.

"It's not that…forget it" she said dismissively. "And how you can tolerate being in the sewers I can never understand" she sighed.

"Come on, it's not that bad" mused the orange haired soul reaper. Tatsuki nodded her head in disbelief, mouthing 'Urgh, boys' to herself.

"We're almost there" he said. They reached an alcove along the passageway, with Hanataro suggesting they rest for a while before moving on.

"Tell me something, why would you even help us?" asked Tatsuki. "Aren't we supposed to be your enemies?"

"Because Rukia always spoke about you and your sisters" said Hanataro looking at Ichigo "The first time I went to clean her cell, I had no idea what to expect of someone who had committed a crime grave enough to warrant execution. But she treated me like she would anybody else. She even asked me not to address her using honorifics. I simply couldn't believe someone that nice could ever commit a crime that warranted execution. From that day on, I would be eager to go visit her to listen to her. And whenever I spoke with her, she would always speak about her time with you, Ichigo. You and your siblings" he said.

"She always spoke about us…..?" asked Ichigo startled.

"Yeah. To her, the times she spent with your family were irreplaceable. And she only feels guilt for twisting your fate. And helplessness. She always spoke about how she could never make up for dragging you into her mess. But at the same time, she was strangely happy too. Because otherwise, she would've never met y our family"

"Who would've thought…..all this was going on with Ms. transfer student" remarked Tatsuki. Ichigo then swiftly got up and began to walk ahead. Tatsuki called out to him, but he merely said that after hearing something like that, he couldn't just stay put and that rescuing Rukia was the entire reason he was here in the first place.

"And besides, I'm the one that owes her for what she did. That idiot's got it all backwards" he said, moving on. As the trio climbed out of the hatch that led to the surface, they could make out a huge structure in in front of them, with steps leading up to it. Hanataro informed them that that was the prison cell where Rukia was being held.

Just as they were about to make their way into the cell, a heavy pressure fell on them.

"Th….this spiritual pressure…!" he exclaimed

"Renji….." called out Ichigo, looking at the approaching red head.

"Hrrmmmm…" said Tatsuki, faltering slightly under the heavy spiritual pressure.

"You…..how can the two of you remain so unaffected under Lieutenant Renji's spiritual pressure?!" exclaimed Hanataro.

"Heh, we're faced worse" smirked Tatsuki "That cat had a much heavier presence than that guy and after being forced to move….wait, there's one more!"

Indeed, that was so, for along with Renji who was descending the steps, was Lieutenant of 5th squad, Momo Hinamori following after the red head.

"Lieutenant…..Hinamori…!" said Hanataro. "Th….this is bad! Ichigo-san! Arisawa-san! This is really bad! There are two lieutenants after us! We….we need to retreat! Let's-"

*BONK!*

Hanataro fell flat to the ground comically as Ichigo bonked him with the flat side of Zangetsu.

"Just stay quiet and don't get in the way will you? I'll take care of them" said Ichigo. "And besides, I have a score to settle with him"

"Bu…but.."

"You mean we'll take care of them, don't you Ichigo?" said Tatsuki, veins popping in her head. Ichigo comically started sweating, correcting himself. "You take that one. I'll take on the girl. Knowing you, I'd be surprised if a wuss like you could ever bring yourself to hit a girl"

"Tch, whatever….but….." said Ichigo hesitantly.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, buster. As I said, you're the one that still fell down to my punch in one hit. You needn't worry about me. Just focus on fighting that guy. And…..don't get killed". Ichigo listened to her in mild surprise and then smiled to himself. "Right back at you"

Renji and Momo….were surprised to say the least. Well, Renji not so much. But the girl surely was. How could they not be? In front of them were two of the intruders, along with one of their own who was seemingly aiding them. And that wasn't all. Renji for one, hadnt expected to see the orange haired teen here of all places, let alone as a soul reaper. But he wasn't complaining, because there was a score to be settled.

"A..Abarai-kun…..how can they resist your spiritual pressure….?!" asked Momo meekly. "How strong are the intruders…?! And the girl…..she doesn't even look like a soul reaper….wait….she's a human…?!" exclaimed Momo. "A human….who can resist your spiritual pressure!? Why is she even here?!"

"Hell do I know…" he said. "But I'm glad you remember me, Ichigo Kurosaki! Looks like we'll settle our match from back then right here and now! And this time, don't think things will go your way" he declared, drawing his sword. "Momo, think you can take care of the girl?"

".. .." she said, "But…do I really have to fight a human…?"

"Momo, you know what's to be done with intruders. It matters not if they're human, soul reapers or what not. And besides, what would they say about your squad if you engaged an opponent and let them get away?"

"Ye..yeah you're right" she agreed "If I don't get her here….Captain Aizen's name would be tarnished. I…won't let that happen!" she said with determination, approaching Tatsuki.

"Heh, come on!" challenged Tatsuki, approaching Momo.

"Bring it, rooster head" challenged Ichigo, pointing Zangetsu.

---

Yumichika felt something was strange. The girl he was fighting was much too good to be a regular officer. Though he was trying his hardest to hit her, she had managed to avoid every blow so far. And at times he did connect, it was as if he was striking at a wall. The girl's zanpakuto was shaped like a regular dagger with a wheat colored scabbard and a faint, starry pattern, the same color as the girl's hair. The guard was shaped like a 6 petaled jasmine flower and the hilt was wrapped in wheat colored wrappings. The pommel was engraved with the motif of the full moon. It was a beautiful weapon to his eyes. But she was yet to even draw her blade. She wasn't even fighting back, regardless of how much he tried to goad her into it. In fact, her expression was one of unease, as if she really hated doing what she was doing.

Ikkaku on the other hand, was having more fun than he thought he would be having. He admitted to himself that he hadn't expected much from this little girl. But she was actually quite formidable. So far, the duo only had minor injuries on each other, with Karin being mostly unharmed. But then again, the lieutenant of his own squad looked even younger than Karin here so he felt he shouldn't be too surprised.

"Heh….hehehehe! This is fun, girlie! It's been a while since someone has been able to keep up with me!" he grinned.

"Well, I for one would rather get this over with, it's nothing more than a pain" she said flat faced.

"Hold up Ikkaku" said Yumichika, stopping. "These girls aren't really taking us seriously. Especially this one" he said, looking at Yuzu.

"Huh..? Really? Wait a minute…..now that you mention it, you're right" he said in realization. "This girlie is definitely much stronger, but I thought she was prolonging the fight to enjoy it more. But with what she said earlier, that doesn't seem to be the case"

"You!" snapped Yumichika at Yuzu, which made her jump slightly "What's the meaning of this? An enemy is engaging you. And yet, you won't even draw your weapon? Even if you're strong, it's quite an ugly thing to belittle your opponent who's giving it their all. Is that how little you think of us? Are you just that confident in your abilities?!" he asked her.

"N..no that's not it! It's just…!" she stammered. Yumichika narrowed his eyes.

"Or wait….don't tell me you actually meant what you said earlier. That you're still hoping to get lucky and get away without even drawing your blade?" he asked her. Yuzu looked away guiltily.

"What…?!" exclaimed Ikkaku. He then looked at Karin, who was grimacing. "You're serious…?!"

"It's just…why…?! We only want to save Rukia-oneechan! Why do we have to settle this by fighting?! Why do we have to hurt and maim each other when there are other ways of settling this?!" she protested.

"Unbelievable" replied Yumichika, the disappointment in his voice evident. "It's clear you lot aren't from around here, are you? Because nobody that lived and grew up in the Soul Society would say such nonsense. I don't know how things work from wherever you're from but its foolishness to expect your rules and way of thinking to apply in an alien place. The fact of the matter is, you took the stance of invading the soul society. And you dared to fight half-heartedly against us of the 11th squad of the Gotei 13"

"Dammit Yuzu, why now?!" she thought to herself. She then turned her attention to Ikkaku. "Oy! If you're looking for a fight, I'll gladly give it to you! You leave her alone!" declared Karin, pointing her sword at Ikkaku. But even he wasn't looking too amused.

"No can't do. Carrying a zanpakuto and spouting such nonsense is an insult to both soul reapers and the art of kendo itself. As members of the battle squad of the 13 court guard squads, I, Yumichika Ayasegawa, 5th seat of squad 11 will show you the consequences of such an act" he said. "Bloom, Fujikujaku!" And with that chant, his blade morphed into a sickle with multiple curved sickle like blades.

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" declared Ikkakku. "But as the 3rd seat of squad 11, I, Ikkaku, Madarame, won't be satisfied until I have both of you take us seriously. Extend, Hozukimaru!" With that chant, Ikkaku's blade morphed into a long spear with a wooden shaft, a spear head and red fur at the end. He then charged at Yuzu.

"You don't have to worry, we're not so cowardly as to charge against a single opponent together. However" he said, slashing at Yuzu which she avoided. "A sword is a weapon!" Another slash, which Yuzu had no choice but to parry with her dagger. Ikkaku's smile grew wider. "And as such, it is a tool used to do battle! To fight! To kill! To draw blood!" he said, repeatedly striking at her, the last blow being evaded by Yuzu side stepping. Just then, the spear split apart into three segments, slicing into her sideways. She barely had any time to react before she was sent crashing into the nearby wall. There was a thin line of blood trickling down her forehead. "Now do you get it?"

"YUZU!" roared Karin, rushing towards her, but her path was blocked by Yumichika.

"You're not going anywhere until you fight seriously" he said, approaching her with Fujikujaku.

"Dammit, get out of the way!" she roared, attacking with her sealed zanopakuto, which took on the form of a regular length katana with a black scabbard in which a starry motif was present. The guard was in the shape of a six-pointed clematis flower, with the hilt wrapped in black and white wrappings. The pommel was a beautiful silvery white color with the motif of the new moon engraved in it.

"Make me!" he said, continuing to exchange blows with Karin.

Back with Yuzu, she groggily picked herself up, her head wincing with pain. Her opponent was approaching, with the same excited expression. She couldn't understand it. She couldn't see it at all. Thoughts continued to flow into her head as she continued to parry his blows, while trying to defend herself with blut in the process. Yes, her dad had confronted them about their resolve. But were these really the kind of people she had to fight? To her, they appeared no different than her own brother, Rukia or even her dad. And them fighting like this had no meaning or purpose. All they were doing is maiming each other. What was so exciting about cutting and hurting each other? About drawing blood? To her, the very thought of holding a weapon and pointing at others was a scary thing to picture. Weren't soul reapers like officers of the afterlife that helped people pass on? So then why was she fighting them? The same people that were like her dad? Her brother and Rukia-onee chan?

"Why?!" she asked, half grimacing and half in pain, swatting away his Hozukimaru with her blut activated hand rather forcefully. The action…..stunned the bald shinigami to say the least. One second, she was quivering and unsure, and now, she was actually fighting back with force, in a rather uncharacteristic way. "Hey….you're supposed to be a soul reaper right? Ones that help people pass on, like guardian angels? Like my dad? Like my brother? Like Rukia-onee chan? So then why?!" she asked once more. "Why do I have to fight you like this?!"

"Because that's the way of the sword!" he declared, striking at her again. "Anybody that says otherwise is a fool unworthy to be holding one!"

"I can't accept it! I won't!" she said. "Tell me, what will it take for you to stop making me have to hurt you?!"

"My life or yours!" he said confidently, approaching her. With that sentence, the world and everything else around her drowned out. Life…? she thought simply. She couldn't believe someone would say such a thing so confidently, so proudly while sporting a smile on their face. Her expression darkened. Memories of her mother and her big sister came rushing into her mind. Life? Was such a precious thing so easily taken for granted? As Ikkaku thrust Hozukimaru towards her, she simply stood by, receiving the blow with a blank look on her face. Ikkakku watched agape as he felt Yuzu's reiatsu spike, and her face become dangerously blank. When his zanpakuto connected, he felt resistance for just a bit, before cracks appeared and his zanpakuto broke. Reishi was flowing into her from the surroundings. Yuzu's entire body was glowing with blue, vein like patterns brimming with reishi.

".…!" Ikkaku was beyond speechless. Not only had this girl broken Hozukimaru, but she was absorbing reishi from the surrounding as well. He never knew any other shinigami to possess such an ability.

She looked at him, the glowing blue veins on her simply accentuating her blank, dangerous looking eyes even further. For once, he felt a different kind of unsettling feeling that he never felt so far.

"Life, you say, Ikkaku-san? Do you really mean that? Are you really ok with giving up your life so easily? Do you….even know what that means? Don't you want to live? Wont there be people who will be sad if you died? Would you really be ok if I just took your life now?" she said in a voice that was pained but also contained a hint of danger. Ikkaku watched, dumbfounded as the girl formed what appeared to be a glowing bow made from reishi. Her almost crying, blank eyes were sharply focused on him alone, like an eagle locked on to its prey. Reishi from around her gathered at the focus of her bow. And with an unspoken word, she released the dense, foreboding arrow at him. He could only watch wide eyed as the reishi dense arrow sped past him faster than he could react just barely grazing the left side of his head. The arrow sped past him and towards the wall, going through it and multiple walls behind it like a piercing shot. Ikkaku gulped, his body starting to shiver. If that had been a few centimeters to the right, he wouldn't be standing there alive. It would've been over so quickly, he wouldn't have any time at all to think.

And it wasn't just Ikkaku. Yumichika was equally shocked. He could only watch wide eyed as all this transpired in front of him.

"Now I'm really mad" said Karin snarling. Yumichika snapped back into focus, only to gasp even more. Covering Karin were red glowing veins, similar to Yuzu's blue veins. Yumichika was able to barely receive her blow, but staggered under the sheer force of her attack. She continued, as if in a flowing motion, she continued her combo, with a sideways slash to the right, and two vertical slashes from overhead. At the third slash, Yumichika couldn't hold his Fujikujaku any longer and his grip slipped slightly. With a quick tap, she knocked Fujikujaku out of his hands, and then gnashed her teeth, punching him in the chest. The dark haired 5th seat went flying into the wall, coughing out saliva and a bit of blood. She then rushed at Ikkaku, who could do naught but cross his hands in hopes of defending himself against Karin who, like an angry beast, made quick work of him in a similar manner and sent him crashing just near his partner.

"Yuzu! Are you alright?!" she asked her sister frantically, shaking her. The wheat haired girl could only whimper. "Y..yeah…" She then breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that her sister was in no danger and was practically unhurt. She then took a deep breath and let loose.

"You. BIG. DUMMY!" she scolded her, and Yuzu shrunk into herself even more. "What did dad tell us before we left?! How could you forget so soon! You big IDIOT!" She continued to berate her sister, all while a downed Yumichika and Ikkaku continued to watch.

"But….but…! He…!" she whimpered.

"No BUTS! I'll ask dad to send you back saying you were too much of a wuss to fight back!" she reprimanded her. Yuzu had nothing to say in her defense except to shrink back even further.

"Tch…you two are the weirdest bunch I've ever seen" said Ikkaku, lying down. "Urgh….damn that was a good punch" Yuzu noticed him, running towards him. "But don't think our fight's done just yet!" he said, picking himself up. "I'm not dead just yet!" A vein popped in Karin's head.

"You really don't-" But Yuzu cut her short, going towards Ikkaku. He readied himself, groggily standing with flesh wounds here and there. He braced himself for a blow. An attack. Anything. But nothing came. Instead, he only saw the flaxen haired girl stand in front of him with an unreadable expression, extending her arms to her side T-posing.

"Go on. Here. If you really want to fight so badly that you'd rather go on till you were dead, if you won't get satisfaction till one of us falls, then go right ahead. I'll take on your hits for however long you want" she said stubbornly. "If you really want to see blood, strike at me however you want. I won't resist"

"Yuzu, stop being so stubborn! If these dorks could be persuaded with just that-"

Ikkaku clenched his teeth, in anger and frustration. Was this girl for real?! How naive could any sane person be?! No, this was beyond naivete. This was sheer stupidity. It irked him, that someone this strong, was such an airhead and totally undeserving of the power she had. He clenched his fist, drew his arm back, and was totally prepared to knock her out, aiming straight for her face. But…

Her expression never wavered. Even as his fist was approaching her, she didn't look away. She still had the same determined expression on her face. In contrast, it was his fist that stopped. He just couldn't. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't. But he knew, that even if he hadn't stopped himself, she would've taken that hit.

"Tch….it's my loss" he said, giving up and falling down. "Dammit…..you're weird, you know that? How can you be that strong and not want to use that power? Where the hell did you pop up from….." But Yuzu just smiled in relief.

"I don't care….I know it sounds strange….but I'll continued to do things my way, even if that's not how things are done here" she said.

That's when they realized. This girl wasn't weak willed or naive. No, it was just that she had her own beliefs, her own principles. Principles that she was willing to uphold regardless of what the world told or did to her. Even if it meant she died for it. A kind of resolve and willpower that far surpassed his notions of going on fighting till one of them was dead. Ikkaku and even Yumichika felt ashamed, having mocked this girl when she was…..truly remarkable.

"Girl…..you said your name was Yuzu correct?" asked Ikkaku.

"Yeah, I'm Yuzu Kurosaki! And this is my twin sister, Karin!" she said with a smile.

"I'll remember that name as the name of a truly remarkable soul reaper. This is truly….my loss" Normally, he would never give up so easily. Not when he could still move about. Not when he was still not dead. But now, he simply couldn't bring himself to face her.

Yuzu assured them that she didn't look at it that way, and was infact quite concerned about their injuries first. She approached the two of them, asking them if there was any place nearby with medical supplies. At first the bald headed shinigami declined knowing of any such thing, until Yumichika pointed out the medicine in Hozukimaru's pommel, much to the baldy's dismay. And the scene couldn't look more comical. It was such a stark contrast considering that not moments ago they were trying to kill the siblings.

"Oy, stop meddling with my sword!"

"No way! You stay put right there until I'm done applying this on all of your wounds!"

"I said stop girlie! Don't you dare waste my emergency battle medicine when I'm not even that injured!"

"I said no! If you wont stay put, I'm going to keep chasing you until I've treated all of your wounds!"

"Yuzu this one's getting away~~"

"Hey! Come back here! I'm not letting either of you go until I'm done!"

"You can do whatever you want with him, girl. But you won't be doing…hey hey hey, stop that! Ow! Owww! That stings!"

"Oh don't be such a baby, whatever happened to 'Oh I'm so great, I'm a soul reaper from the 11th squad'?"

"Why you?! Dammit if only I could move! Aaaaaooow!"

"Almost done now! Turn over!"

"What?! You kidding?! Hey, stop, don't touch there! Ah dammit! Oy?! Yumichika, why are you helping her?!"

"Why, I'm only helping my fellow squad member~"

"You bastard, just you wait..!"

"Hey come one, I helped you with Ikkaku, why're you after me now?!"

"Urgh, the smell! Why do you have to use medicine that has such a pungent odor?! Ack, my eyes!"

"There, all better now!"

"Phew, finally.."

"The two of you better stay out of trouble until you're healed otherwise I'll be ultra mad!"

"Yes mom…" came their combined deadpanned reply.

Ikkaku asked the Kurosaki siblings if they wanted anything for defeating the two of them, expecting that they would ask something like his birthday. But instead, they asked about Rukia. When they reveal that they planned to save her, Ikkaku and Yumichika asked how many were in their team. The pair was almost in disbelief when they heard that their entire team was only composed of 9 people. Even so, they did reveal where Rukia was being held. Karin was hesitant to believe them at first, but the pair stated that Rukia didn't really mean anything to either of them so they had nothing to lose by lying. But….something was bothering Yumichika. It was the way Karin fought earlier. He could have sworn he knew someone who fought like that.

"Tell me something, who taught you both swordsmanship? The two of you fought much too well to be at the level of a regular officer. Defeating the two of us without sustaining any lasting injury by itself shows that. You couldn't have been trained by just anybody. Who was it?" he asked.

"It was dad that trained us for the most part, though we did spar against Mr. Hat and clogs now and then" replied Karin.

"Your father? I remember you mentioning that he was a soul reaper, correct?" asked Ikkaku.

"Yeah! In fact, you might have heard of him! Rukia-onee chan did say that most people knew about him! His name is Isshin!" she said.

Yumichika and Ikkaku didn't react at first. The name was on the tip of their tongues, almost as if that name was one they knew very well. Then, it hit them. And when it did, the shock was great enough that they needed to take a couple of steps back.

"Is….Isshin?! Isshin Shiba…..?!" exclaimed Ikkaku. "He's…..your father….?!" he asked. "I fought against his…damn…"

"No..way…." exclaimed Yumichika, sweating "Suddenly, I don't feel too bad about our loss anymore"

"Yeah he is…so I guess the old pervert was considered a badass huh…? But….why did you call himIsshin Shiba? Our family name is Kurosaki" said Karin, correcting him. "Ah but now that I remember, he said it was his family name before he met mom"

"Well I'll be damned…..and he's here with you?" asked Ikkaku.

"Yeah but …we got separated after we broke through. Maybe we should find him first, what do you think, Karin-chan?" asked Yuzu.

"Maybe. Now that we know where Ruki-nee is, maybe it's better to find everyone first" she agreed. "Well, in any case Ikkaku, Yumichika, thanks for the information"

"Yeah! And as I said before, the two of you better stay put until you recover! I'll get super-duper mad otherwise!" said Yuzu sternly pouting.

"Yes yes mom, we wont" said Ikkaku sighing. "Urgh, and I thought there couldn't be another Yachiru..."

As the two of then left, Ikkaku and Yumichika were left to their own devices. Partially, knowing that THE Isshin Shiba was part of their rescue team unnerved them and excited them. No doubt that the captain of their squad, Kenpachi Zaraki would choose him as his target. In that sense, the kids would be better off without finding their dad for the time being.

---

Ideals vs ideals. Blame vs determination. Zangetsu vs Zabimaru. Sparks flew as all these clashed in a fierce battle between red and orange. One who blamed the other as a form of self denial vs one who would do anything to save the one he cared about. But Ichigo made one miscalculation. Renji's strength was much more than he remembered from his previous encounter. Because of the seal imposed on him in the world of the living which was no longer acting on him. But the orange haired soul reaper wasn't going to let Renji of all people from saving Rukia. What made his situation worse was the fact that despite her assurance, there was no way he could completely forget about Tatsuki, who was now fighting against the other lieutenant away from them so as to no interfere with each other.

Meanwhile, Tatsuki was…..preplexed. Her opponent outclassed her in every way. She was faster, more dexterous and highly skilled too. And yet, she wasn't having as much trouble with her as she thought she should be. This fight should have been over long back. But this girl simply didn't put her heart into it. Though she considered herself lucky, as a martial artist, she was also annoyed that her opponent wouldn't give it her all when facing her.

"Urgh, somehow this is so annoying. Hey….did your boyfriend break up with you or something?" asked Tatsuki deadpanned.

"What?! How rude! I'm not with anyone I'll have you know!" snapped Momo.

"Then what's with all this half assed fighting?! Fight me like you mean it! Or am I just not worth it?!" she asked, scowling.

"Th…that's not it" she assured, "I'm really trying!". She extended her palms, firing off red blasts of reishi, which Tatsuki countered with her own orange blasts. They created mini explosions and smoke as they impacted.

"That's obviously a lie. If not, what's that sword doing in your hip just sitting there?" she asked.

"I'm more comfortable fighting like this" she said.

"Tch, whatever. Have it your way then" she replied, closing in the distance. So far, this girl had been using a variety of different projectiles all generated from the palm of her hands with weird chants, almost like she was casting spells. She did consider closing in the distance as her first instinct, but if she countered with her sword, she would have almost no chance defending herself effectively with bare hands. She wasn't sure if the arm and leg guards on her were enough to block sword strikes. But maybe, just maybe, this girl really was seriously not going to use that thing. In that case, things were really simple. She moved past a few speeding projectiles, ducking and circling around while moving towards her. Drawing in close, she started a series of close combat, fast strikes, imbuing her fists with her orange reishi. She blocked a few, stepped back, and raised her arms again. By now, it was too easy. She saw that the girl always needed to maintain her hands in a certain posture to cast those weird spells. All she needed to do during those times was to simply interrupt her before she finished.

"Why is a human like you here in the Soul Society? Why would you risk your life like this?" she asked. "Please stop. You can't defeat me. I don't wish to hurt you" she said with a pleasing voice.

"Sorry but not happening!" declared the raven haired girl, continuing her assault. Momo only sighed solemnly. "I'm really sorry" she apologized, before saying "Hainawa!" Glowing yellow ropes of reishi materialized, speeding towards Tatsuki and binding her before she could react.

"Kuh…! Wh…what is this…?!" she growled.

"I'm really sorry, but I had hoped you would turn back on your own. I know that death is the only punishment for intruders and I didn't want you to die, especially when you're just a human. That's why I didn't want to capture you. Please forgive me" she said with a sincere apology, her face reflecting her words. Momo approached her, but before she so much as got close, two glowing blurs sped just past her face. Shocked, the lieutenant of the 5th squad of the Gotei 13 swiftly turned her head to see two figures in black garb running towards them.

"Tsuki-nee! Are you alright?!" asked Karin's voice.

"Wh…..who are you two?! Which squad are you from? Why did you attack me?" asked Momo, looking at Karin and Yuzu.

"Karin! Yuzu! You guys alright?" asked Tatsuki, still struggling to break free. Karin cut apart the bakudo with her zanpakuto. "Thanks, but I could've taken her you know" she said. "It hurts my pride a bit to be defended by the two of you" she said with a weak smile.

"Eh, don't feel too bad, Tsuki-nee. Kido is no joke. And I can tell her reiatsu is much more than that baldy who was a 3rd seat. So, she must be a lieutenant. Actually, I'd say you did a pretty good job fending her off till now" said Karin.

"You stay away from Tatsuki-oneechan!" said Yuzu, stepping in between Momo and Tatsuki.

"Don't tell me…..you're the intruders…?!" she asked, exclaiming. "Just like that boy…you're also soul reapers…but why would you attack your own?!"

"I don't know who the heck you are, missy. But we never said we were on your side. We're only here to rescue Rukia" said Karin.

"Karin-chan! Look, there's oniichan!" said Yuzu, pointing towards Ichigo and Renji, whose battle was still going. Yuzu was about to rush towards him, but Tatsuki stopped her, saying that Ichigo wanted to handle it by himself. Instead, she told them that since the two of them were already here, they might as well work together to take care of Momo.

"She uses weird spells with chants! I could fend them off at first, but then she used this weird rope thingy which immobilized me" explained Tatsuki.

"Yeah I know, as I said, she seems to be proficient with Kido" sighed Karin. "Yuzu, this one's a lot stronger than Ikkaku, you take care of her kido spells, I and Tsuki-nee will launch an offensive at her" suggested Karin. "We need to work together to beat her". Yuzu and Tatsuki nodded their heads in agreement.

"Shroud, Mangetsu!" chanted Yuzu, and her dagger morphed into the familiar bladeless ring handle. She poured her reishi into it, causing a spinning blue energy shield to manifest.

"I…I don't believe it….a zanpakuto release….! They're not just any soul reapers…." exclaimed Momo. "Looks like I really have no choice" she said. "Snap, Tobiume!" Her blade morphed into a double-edged blade with multiple prongs along the blade's length.

A battle as fierce as Renji's battle with the orange haired soul reaper began. Karin and Tatsuki received Tobiume's explosive blasts, with Karin either intercepting them with her quincy arrows combined with blut arterie and Tatsuki using her fire blasts to do the same. Whenever Momo used Kido, Yuzu would shield them using Mangetsu's energy shield which would quickly shred and dissipate any energy-based projectiles, bakudo included.

"What is this….?! I've never heard of shinigami being able to fire reishi arrows or using bows of reishi!" she breathed out as he dodged another blast from Tatsuki. Momo then changed her strategy, opting to try swordsmanship over her kido spells. But that proved to a mistake too, for Karin was able to match Momo and even overwhelm her in terms of sheer physical force. But the three fighting her weren't totally unharmed. With explosions raining from each side, the blast damage leaking from each blast was slowly but surely making its mark. Singed and covered in dust and soot, neither party was willing to give in, only dishing out stronger and stronger attacks. Karin's right arm was caught in an explosion, the stinging sensation making it hard for her to maintain a firm grip on her zanpakuto. Tatsuki's right leg guard and left arm guards were in tatters, only hanging onto her 'costume' by a few reishi threads. She was also limping slightly, and her ears were ringing and in pain from mthe constant noise and shockwaves from each explosion. Yuzu on the other hand was relatively better thanks to her improved defenses, but once again, the blast waves and noises from being in close proximity to such explosions weren't things she could avoid. Momo on the other hand, was doing far worse. Scratches and singed skin all over, she was also bleeding from her abdomen and from her left forehead. Her hair bun had come loose, and her loose hair was covered in soot and ashes. They had no idea how long this was going on. Because the sky had already turned from a bright blue to a pale orange. They were tired, burnt, singed, soot covered and panting.

"Momo-san…why won't you stop…..any longer would be pointless…" asked Yuzu. "Please, you've tried your best, go back, rest and recover"

"No…..I can't….if I went back now….Captain Aizen's name would be…" she panted.

"Stubborn little…." started Tatsuki. "Come on….even duties have their limits…" she panted.

"….don't you think you've done enough? I can tell you admire the guy, but surely even he wouldn't want you to keep going on when you're this worn out? Neither I nor Yuzu have fought you all out till now, you should know you don't have any way of winning" suggested Karin.

"But…I…." she started.

"GUUUUAAAARRRRHHHHH!"

A loud flash and a violent scream interrupted their battle and their conversation. That scream had undoubtedly been Renji's.

"Abarai-kun!" screamed Momo in concern.

"Onii-chan!" called out Yuzu in a similar fashion. In that moment, they forgot they were supposed to be fighting, and instead rushed to tend to their respective comrade/sibling. The match had concluded. In the drowning rays of the twilight sun, stood the orange haired soul reaper, victorious. He was barely standing, with grievous injuries to his left shoulder, abdomen and a bleeding forehead. Beneath him stood a beaten and battered Renji, with his hair loose, and completely down in defeat. The moment Momo, Karin, Yuzu and Tatsuki got to the scene, he gave one look of surprise followed by a brief expression of relief before collapsing himself.

"It…it can't be….Abarai-kun was…." said Momo with her hand over her mouth.

"Onii-chan…!" said Yuzu frantically, examining him. "This is horrible….."

"Oy! Hanataro!" snapped Tatsuki at the gob smacked Hanataro who had watched everything transpire from start to finish. "Come on, do something! You can heal him right?!" she asked.

"Ye…yeah I can but…" he said hesitantly, looking over mainly towards Momo and Renji.

"Heal…? You can heal him…?!" asked Yuzu with hope, looking towards Hanataro. The 4th squad member nodded his head. She immediately scurried over to him. "Please, you have to help him! I'll do whatever you ask!"

"Ah…alright…" he agreed. Yuzu then gave a deep bow of gratitude, before Hanataro instructed Tatsuki and Karin to carry him back towards the tunnels.

"Wait" said Yuzu. She then went over to Momo. "Please, bring him along as well" she requested. "And you're hurt too"

"Wh….?!"

"But Yuzu, they're the enemy!" insisted Karin.

"I don't think we should be going out of our way" said Tatsuki. "And besides, what if they capture us in the meantime?!"

"I can't just leave someone injured to fend off for themselves, not when one of them is helping us" said Yuzu. "It wont be right otherwise. And besides, Momo-san was only following orders. I'm sure its the same with him too. I can't….just leave them"

"Urgh,….argh fine! Just bring them along before we get caught by someone else too!" said Karin, giving up. "Oy, Momo! You heard her! You can move right? Bring him along!"

"But…." she hesitated.

"Oh for the love of!" cussed Tatsuki. "If you're not coming along, we'll beat your ass and drag it along with us! So move it!" she snapped. Momo yelped, but agreed reluctantly nonetheless.

"Wait, are we really going in there?!" asked Karin with disgust as Hanataro opened the hatch that led down towards the sewers.

"I know, but try not to think too much about it" advised Tatsuki.

"It…..couldn't be a lot worse right….?" said Yuzu with an awkward smile.

Oh but it could. Battle worn, injured and tired, the heavy and foul odor did nothing to calm the minds of those that simply wanted to rest and be done for the day.

"Heh…..you really were stubborn….but it's alright, I totally understand. People do tend to overburden themselves with work after an especially nasty breakup…."

"I told you I'm not with anyone!" she said, pouting and shaking her fists. Things were quite again until-

"Why would you-"

"Hey, about that-"

Started Momo and Karin simultaneously, causing them to awkwardly stop mid sentence before allowing one to speak first.

"Why would you…..do all this, invading the Soul Society, risk getting killed, all for the sake of her?" asked Momo.

"Then, I'll answer your question with one of my own" said Karin. "If your Captain was in the same position, would you not do the same?" she asked. Momo's eyes widened. She knew the answer before she even spoke, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"And there you have it" she added.

"But in that case….why would you treat your enemy's wounds? Why would you care about us instead of killing us and going on towards Rukia…?" she asked.

"Enemy…?" sighed Tatsuki. "The same kind as your one of own that you people sentenced to death?"

"Th….that's not…"

"I heard that soul reapers were supposed to be those that helped humans pass on, like the angels of purgatory or something like that. Then…..arent such 'angels' supposed to be the embodiment of good? After coming here, all I've seen is the complete opposite" said Tatsuki. "Execution for a soul reaper that decided to help out a human soul, adults that are several decades old attacking kids that are barely teenagers, surely some of you must think the system here is messed up?"

"Of course not everybody is like that!" argued Momo. "Even I don't want Rukia to die….but….". She couldn't come up with anything further. Because the more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed. The people she knew, the soul reapers that she grew up with, not once had she seen this side of the soul society. Never did she have to witness such a phase in the long time she grew up here. In a sense, she had been living in her own fantasy land with straightforward rules with a clear sense of right and wrong. But the more she thought about Tatsuki and Karin's words, the more her doubts grew.

"Sigh….forget it" dismissed Tatsuki. "It's not our place to butt in. But still, if you ask me, the sooner you guys realize something is wrong with the way things are done here, the better it'll be"

"Then…how is it in the place you guys come from? Are you telling me that things are done differently in the world of the living?" she asked.

"Obviously. Which is what surprises me, since it is the same humans that go on to the soul society to form its residents. Crime, good and bad are never decided just like that. If people did that, half the innocents would be sentenced to death under false charges while the guilty got away scoot free. It's the reason why so many checks are set up in place to ensure that the law is upheld in a just manner. Looking at this just reminds me of how things were done long long ago in outdated days. Mark my words, it won't be long before someone makes use of this flawed system to mess up everything" said Tatsuki. Momo hung her head, unable to frame a response. Tatsuki just shook her head.

"Let's just drop it for now" she suggested. "In any case, I'm glad you were atleast sensible enough to reach a ceasefire. All hope may not be lost just yet"

Time passed by as Hanataro moved over to Ichigo after treating Renji.

"If I may ask" began Momo "How do…..the 3 of you have soul reaper powers…? From the way you were speaking, it would seem all of you are from the World of the Living. But to be a soul reaper, one should train at the soul reaper academy for 6 years before joining a squad. So then how…?"

"There's an academy for soul reapers?!" asked Yuzu. "That sounds fun!"

"Huh, so you guys DO have some things just like we do!" said Karin. "But our old man simply said that we had powers because he was a soul reaper. Actually, you might know about him. Ikkaku and Yumichika were pretty shocked when they heard his name"

"Yo…you met the 5th and 3rd seats of squad 11?! But then….why aren't you…?" she asked.

"Why we're not dead? The two of us whooped their asses of course" said Karin. "Don't worry, we haven't killed them. Heck, Yuzu here even treated them. Unlike you guys, we don't take killing as lightly"

"No way…" she said to herself. "The 3rd and 5th seat were already….but then…I need to…I'm sorry, but I can't stay around here any longer. I need to report…" she said, helping up the healed but unconscious Renji and supporting him. But she was surprised that the intruders didn't try to stop her.

"You're….not going to stop me?" she asked.

"Well, someone probably found those two idiots by now, it's not like you reporting to your superiors is going to change anything. And besides, I'm too tired to be fighting you again" said Karin.

"We need to look after onii-chan" said Yuzu. "I'm sorry Momo-chan…I hoped you would stay till you were healed but if you want to go, we won't stop you" Momo's eyes grew wide. Even now, these intruders, the same ones that Renji and herself had tried to capture and kill were showing her, their enemy, such mercy…?

"Thank you…..! I won't let this go unpaid so I won't try to bring you back just this once. But…please, pray that we don't meet again. Otherwise, I'll have to follow through my orders.…" she said.

"Tch, whatever. Just go before we change our minds. I'm already pissed at rooster head there for what he did, these two really are too nice for their own good" she scowled. "And YOU better hope that we don't meet again, because their softness won't save you next time" Momo said nothing, simply bowing a little before going away.

The rest of them spent the night there, making sure the coast was clear before heading out the next day. Just then, as she was taking Renji back to his squad, she remembered she forgot to ask the twins about their father. Their father must be extremely powerful for the twins to be this strong against her. Not to mention the weird arrow abilities and the vein like reishi on their skins. Perhaps next time, should their paths cross, she would get her chance. But the things that the intruders told her would grind her gears for the following days to come.

---

Isshin Kurosaki was unsure where to be heading to next. Soon after he had separated from everyone, he and Yoruichi initially thought it would be best for the two of them to stay in hiding while finding everyone and regrouping before rescuing Rukia. Both of them were prominent figures during their days, and neither was too inclined to reveal themselves just yet. The enemy knowing about their presence alone would topple things in the blink of an eye. And so, to cover more ground and move about more freely, Yoruichi suggested the two of them split up while looking for the others. So far, Isshin didn't come across any specific soul reapers that he needed to be wary of. Sure, he did run across some low level regular officers, but they wouldn't recognize him and he would take them out before they even knew what happened.

But nothing lasted forever, and in his case, he groaned when he realized whom he ran into. Because only one idiot would be dumb enough to give away his not-so-hidden killing intent so blatantly out in the open. And the reiatsu raining down on him was a dead giveaway. He had hidden himself so well, so how in the world did the berserker manage to run into him when he was so bad with directions and sensing reiatsu?

"He he he, look what we have here! If Ikkaku hadn't told me about you, I would've never guessed it was you, Isshin! You look much different than I remember. But who gives a shit? Let's fight!" he thundered. Spiky, black hair. Yellow eyes with no eyebrows. A cracked and chipped blade. And perked over his shoulders, was a small pink headed figure.

"Isshi! You're back! It's been sooo long! Isshi! You got a stubble!" chirped the familiar pin haired figure on kenpachi's back.

"Yo pinky! I see you're looking lively as usual" said Isshin, slinging his sword over his back.

"Heeey, bad Isshi~~! Only I can give names~~!"Cooed Yachiru pouting. "But now that you're here, Kenny can have lot of fun! Isn't that right?!"

"Hehehe yeah…!" he rasped, pointing his chipped blade. "Imagine my surprise when Ikkaku said you were actually part of the intruders…I thought I might get to fight someone decent but this is way better! Back then, you would always try to run away whenever I challenged you to a fight and the old man would get all pissed off. Now, I can gut you for real without feeling bad about pissing off the old man!" he grinned madly. Isshin made rolled his eyes grumpily. As much as he wanted to stay hidden, he didn't see that happening now. Of all the people he could run into, his only saving grace was that this one wasn't going to be as difficult to deal with as some of the others. After all, this one only cared about fighting and nothing else. So, it was really simple. He only needed to defeat him and be on his way to the others.

"Urgh…fine then, let's do this" challenged Isshin.

"Go get him Kenny!" cheered Yachiru, jumping up and watching from the roof of the nearby building.

The two figures charged at each other, crossing blades with Kenpachi mostly grinning widely the whole time and Isshin fighting with an un-amused expression. But what surprised Isshin was how much easier it was than he thought. Kenpachi's strikes were far too predictable, and for some reason, he had the feeling that the 11th squad captain was weaker than he remembered. Three quick blocks and an equally fast counter left kenpachi with three gashes in his face, arm and abdomen.

"Hehehehe, good! That's more like it! You can cut me from the get go!" he grinned. "Don't be backing out now!"

"Dumbass….why will I run away now" he said, blocking another hit. With their blades locked, he flicked his finger at kenpachi's forehead, the force sending him flying through multiple constructs.

Yachiru was…..not as cheerful as she was in the beginning. Sure, Isshi to her was strong enough to be a worthy challenge to Kenny. But Isshi himself was not taking it seriously. Almost as if he simply wanted to be done with this fight and be on his way. Because right after he sent Kenny flying through many walls with a single finger flick (which she did admit was cool), he turned away from Kenny preparing to walk away.

"That's not very nice, Isshin, walking away from my fight like that" came a voice from afar. Isshin sighed. A torrential pillar of yellow light emerged from the area where Kenpachi had crashed after he was sent flying with the finger flick.

"Sorry…..I can't be hanging around here too long. I need to find my adorable little daughters and my idiot son and his friends" he said. "So I'm kinda in a hurry"

"Dont be like that" he rasped, bleeding from multiple places as he approached Isshin. His eyepatch was gone. "Ikkaku told me he fought your daughters. If you continue our fight, I just might be happy to tell you about it" he grinned. "How's that sound?" Isshin raised his eyes.

"You sure know how to get what you want…" he smiled in a coy manner "Well, you haven't changed at all. Fine….but don't be dying on me now. Because after saying something like that, I'd be disappointed if you just fell flat after giving you what you want and I don't get to hear about my cute little daughters"

"You don't have to worry about that, because the one dying will be YOU!" he roared and the two fighters grinned, crossing blades once more. But this time, the force of their clashes sending powerful shockwaves throughout their vicinity. Kenpachi was getting more and more hurt, while Isshin remained relatively unharmed. But that didn't matter to Kenpachi.

"Hehehehe, I'm glad you arent using any flashy cheap tricks like Kido" he grinned, taking another slice on his face.

"Well, I can't be drawing attention to myself, now can I? In that sense, I'm glad I ran into you of all people" he replied. Kenpachi continued to put more and more force behind his attacks, his sword being imbued with his glowing yellow reishi. With each strike, the buildings next to them were being rent and sliced apart.

"I think I've indulged you long enough. So, what do you say we finish this?" he said, taking up a stance. Kenpachi took up a stance of his own, his reishi flaring around him in a skull shaped aura. The two rushed at each other, creating an enormous explosion as they clashed. The remains of the buildings near them were obliterated ever further. When the dust revealed, Isshin stood victorious over a defeated Kenpachi who simply slumped to the ground.

"Gurh…..how disappointing….I couldn't even land a single…." groaned Kenpachi.

"Where the hell are you looking…?" said Isshin, with a light gash on his arm. "I'm pretty damn impressed you managed to do that without even releasing your zanpakuto or even knowing its name or even using both hands for that matter. Even after all this time, you still haven't learnt to fight with your zanpakuto…..dumbass, if you simply did that, you wouldn't have lost like this. If you had….I would actually be a little scared" he said, sheathing his zanpakuto. "Ack dammit, with this it's going to be impossibly harder to stay hidden" he said, scratching his head. With so many buildings levelled and rent apart, it would be incredulous if someone DIDN'T notice. "I should've taken this much more seriously"

"Borrowing the strength….of a weapon…..is the thinking of a loser who…can't fight on their own…." he rasped, coughing. Isshin simply sighed, nodding his head and started walking away.

"Wait…!" called out Kenpachi. "Your daughters….they defeated Ikkaku…..don't know where they are…..kept my word…..you better…pay me back with a fight…" he managed to tell him before collapsing completely. A pink blur jumped from down from above, bowing at Isshin.

"Isshi….thanks for letting Kenny have so much fun! Next time….fight him seriously k? I promise Kenny will be real strong then!" she said with her ever sweet voice. She then hoisted Kenpachi over her shoulders, jumping over from building to building before disappearing.

"So….the two of you beat baldy and peacock eh? Heh, you've made your old man proud" he smirked, before using flash step to disappear.

---

And just like that, in a short span of just 24 hours within the intruders appearing, 3 seated officers, 2 lieutenants and even THE Kenpachi Zaraki were taken out with no apparent sight of the intruders. Things had escalated to levels much beyond anything they expected. Ikkaku and Yumichika were still recovering in the 4th division's barracks. Momo and Renji were intercepted by Byakuya, who demanded that the two of them be thrown in a cell for daring to lose so badly and even letting the intruders get away despite being lieutenants. However, Aizen's intervention prevented Momo from being locked in. An announcement from the head captain was sent out informing all of the lieutenants and captains were allowed unrestricted use of their zanpakuto as part of the wartime circumstances.

Momo spent the night at Aizen's quarters. Once there, in a place that she considered the safest place in the soul society, the fatigue from the day's events led her to pour her bundled thoughts and feelings to the man she respected the most.

"Cap…captain Aizen…?" she called out.

"Hmm?" he asked, still focused on his notes.

"You won't get mad if I ask something will you…?" she asked.

"Momo, why will I ever get mad when my lieutenant clearly has something in her mind?" he said in his gentle voice. "In fact, I think it's better if you speak your mind if you want to feel fresh starting tomorrow. But only if you promise not to fall asleep in my room again" he said smiling.

"Ah but thats….I…I'm sorry captain, I wont…" she said bashfully. "But…..earlier, when I was fighting the intruders….they mentioned that the system here….is flawed. That the way things are being done here isn't quite right. At first, I couldn't even think of something like that. After all, they were the ones in the wrong to invade us. But…..as I thought more about it, I couldn't help but feel that there was some truth to what they said….you don't think that…..our ways are flawed, do you captain Aizen?" she asked meekly. Unseen to her, Aizen's mouth curved into the tiniest of smiles before he put on his 'gentle captain' mask before facing her.

"Momo. Before I answer your question. I would like to ask you something. Do you think what's happening with Rukia Kuchiki is just?" he asked.

"I…..at first, I figured that it had to be, since she did transfer her powers to a human. Which is forbidden and punishable by death. But…then, the intruders….they mentioned how it was the soul reaper's duty to protect humans and guide them to a peaceful life. That got me thinking. There was some truth to it. After all, Rukia-san did it to save that intruder boy from being eaten by hollows. Death for such a thing is…..I….I don't think its fair" she replied.

"Then, don't you think that in itself answers your question?" he said. "I too, think that her execution is somewhat odd by itself. After all, as you mentioned, she was only saving a human, something that falls within the duties of a soul reaper. Even now, Renji, who put his body and soul to stop the intruders, gets thrown in jail instead of being treated the way he deserves to be. I have tried my best to oppose the decision of the higher ups to confine him in prison. But don't these things fundamentally tell you that our system is indeed flawed?" he asked.

"Yeah….I think it's wrong too…..Abarai-kun really gave it his all" she said meekly.

"It's not just this time" he informed her. "There are many such cases in the soul society where the line between justice and injustice have completely switched places, that I just felt I had to do something about it. Alas, there's only so much I can do by myself" he sighed. "In fact, captain Tosen has been a victim of the system here as well" he said.

"Ca..captain Tosen, captain Aizen?" she asked.

"Indeed. This isn't something he wishes to talk about with others, so I would be happy if you don't mention this to anyone" he said with a small smile. "But, years ago, Tosen had a dear friend who meant a lot to him. One day, that friend of his was killed by her husband who was a Shinigami. Back then, he was still only a citizen of the Rukon district and as such, there wasn't much he could do to get justice for his friend. Though he tried many times to gain an audience with Central 46 to get what he was due, that time never came. Just another example of many others that shows the corrupt nature of our ruling system" he explained.

"Bu..but that's…..that's awful….." she whimpered.

"That's why I felt that there needs to be a change. In the way we do and look at things" he said.

"If….if I wanted to help you….would that bother you, captain Aizen..?" she asked.

"Not at all, Momo. Quite the opposite. It's just that, I didn't want to drag you into all of my selfish problems. And opposing a system that has existed in place for more than a thousand years can get you on the bad side of those still living in outdated days. And if you chose to side with me, that would mean potentially going against your fellow comrades in the future should that possibility arise…I simply…..didn't want you to get caught up in all this. You have enough on your plate as it is", he said.

"No, please don't say that captain Aizen! If I can do anything at all, I'll be most happy to help you!" she said with a determined face.

"Alright then, if you say it that way, I can't really refuse you, now can I? I'll be counting on you, Momo" he smiled gently.

"No, I'm the one that most happy to be in your care, captain Aizen. I..I promise I'll try my best!" she said.

With that, despite her earlier promise of not falling asleep in her captain's room, she still did. Unbeknownst to her, Aizen silently walks past her, looking down, smiling slyly at her and murmuring something to himself before taking off. The next day, Momo woke up flustering, apologizing to her captain for dozing off only to realize he had already left. She realized then that she was late for her day's duties and dashed out towards her destination, only to find it blocked. Not being disheartened, she took a not-so-acceptable detour going over the roofs, still in high spirits. Once she landed near the East Holy Wall however, they came crashing down. Because atop the wall was Sosuke Aizen, with his own zanpakuto running through him and pinning him to the wall, his blood flowing down in a wide stream.

---

Ichigo Kurosaki groaned as his stirred awake, only to find himself surrounded by a bigger group than he remembered being with.

"Urgh….Karin…?! Yuzu…?! What are you guys doing here?!" he asked.

"Ichi-nii! Onii-chan!" came the combined cries from his sisters. Tatsuki smacked him on his shoulder.

"Oww! What was that about?!" he groaned.

"That's what you get for promising not to die and then nearly dying! 'Right back at you my ass!'" she scolded.

"Ah…sorry" he said apologetically. "To be fair, I didn't think he would be a lot stronger than he was the last time I fought him. He mentioned something about not having his seal anymore. Actually, how did you win against her?! I'm surprised you were able to defeat a lieutenant with almost no injuries"

"Heh, I told you didn't I? If I'm good enough to kick your ass, and if you nearly got your arse handed to you by rooster head, then that automatically makes me pretty awesome, doesn't it?" she grinned.

"We helped her -_-" said Karin deadpanned, causing both Ichigo and Tatsuki to slam hard onto the floor comically.

"Karin-chan~~!" called out Yuzu sweatdropping.

"But to be fair, our abilities seem…..a lot more stronger after coming here as well" added Karin. "I don't know if it's because of the reishi here or something, but…"

"Yeah!" said Yuzu "My arrows here are as strong as Karin-chan's arrows back in the world of the living! And forming them takes so little time too!"

"Huh so we all get ability boosts? Not that I'm complaining" said Ichigo. "Guess we can ask the old man or Mr. Hat and Clogs"

Yuzu then turned out Hanataro, holding his hand and offering a deep bow. "Thank you so, so much for healing my brother. I'll forever remember your help" she said.

"No, please. Raise your head" he said "As a soul reaper who cant fight, it's the only good thing we members of the 4th squad have for us" he said.

"What the heck do you mean by the 'only good thing'? I think personally that's a wonderful skill" said Karin. "We have our own clinic back home and both of us do help out the shitty old man from time to time. You could say we know what it's like being a healer"

"Yeah….in fact, I think I would like to visit the 4th squad after we rescue Rukia-oneechan" said Yuzu.

"Which brings us to topic, Ichigo" called out Tatsuki. "What's our next move?"

"Well, the two of us know where Rukia is" said Karin. "We were thinking of regrouping with the others before heading out to rescue her"

"But…..that would mean going away from here" said Hanataro. "Rukia's cell is quite close by"

"True…..then, do we rescue her first and then meet up with the others?" asked Ichigo.

"That works for me" said Tatsuki "And with all of us here, this should go a lot more smoothly than when we were separated. Although….I do want to find Orihime soon" she said.

"Inoue-chan..? Wait hold on" said Yuzu, closing her eyes. "There!" she said, pointing to a direction completely opposite to their location. "But…..she's really far away! She's still with glasses-onii chan and Sado-kun"

"Ah…fine, forget it. I'll….trust in what you said, Ichigo….however, if anything happens to her because of them, you'd better be prepared to face the consequences" she said with a vein popping in her head as she cracked her knuckles.

"Hey! How is this my fault?!" he asked bewildered.

Once the commotion had settled down, the group decided to go along to rescue Rukia in the end. They took the same path that was blocked by Renji and Momo the previous night, only to see that there was nobody in sight when they reached the top of the steps.

"Huh….you'd think they would tighten security after we took down two of their lieutenants" remarked Karin.

"It could be that they didn't think we would still hang around the same spot" theorized Tatsuki.

"I….dont like this place" said Yuzu, shivering. "There's something really wrong here.." she said.

"…we aren't far off. Let's keep going" said Karin.

"Halt! Who goes there?!" came a voice, and they saw a group of Shinigami standing in front of them.

"Ah shit, company!" said Karin, drawing her sword.

"Wait you guys, they're soul reapers too, and look!" called out one of them. "Sorry, we thought you were the intruders"

This was…..unexpected, thought Karin.

"Heh, might as well play along" she thought. "Yeah, we are" she replied, surprising the rest of her group. "With so many intruders still running around, sorry if I was a bit jumpy" Then they understood where she was going.

"That's understandable!" replied the nearest one. "It's at times like these that fellow Shinigami have to look out for each other!" he said, approaching closer. Tatsuki though, found something fishy.

"Hey, wait a second, I'm not in Shinigami garb so why would they assume that we're on their side? And besides, don't you think that they would've realized you were an intruder considering Momo went to report yesterday's events? Orange haired soul reaper with a huge carving knife isn't really a hard thing to make known now is it?"

"Yeah, you're right!" realized Karin, putting up her guard again.

*SPLAAAAAAAAT!*

It happened so fast, even the enemy was surprised. The soul reaper who approached them hadn't gotten too far from his comrades, before his whole body exploded, sending his blood and organs splattering everywhere. Some of which fell on Tatsuki, Karin and Yuzu. They stood there, wide eyed and pupils dilated, unable to do or feel anything. Ichigo was shaking, wide eyed that something this horrific happened right in front of him. But more importantly, his sisters had witnessed it.

Chaos ensued. The enemy soul reapers frantically began running away, shouting that this wasn't what they were told. And soon enough, one by one they began to explode in a gruesome display of gore and violence as well.

"Do…don't' look! Urggghhhh, DON'T LOOK!" shouted Tatsuki, intending to cover the twin's eyes from the twisted and demented scene in front of them. But she herself was just barely hanging. But the damage was done. It was already too late.

"UR…..URRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" barfed Karin, he stomach giving away. "URRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH" she was down on her knees, crying. Yuzu was completely immobilized before dropping unconscious.

"My~My~" came a sickly shrill voice. From one of the walls emerged two figures, both of them appearing as if a chameleon revealed itself from its hiding spot. "Thrown grenades shouldn't come running back" he said with a sick twisted grin. Standing in front of them was the most bizarre person they could see. Face painted completely white with black markings on it. Golden eyes with teeth barred at them sadistically. Two mechanical looking golden stubs for ears and a hat with two ends pointing to his right. His whole body infact, was painted black and white. He was holding what appeared to be a detonator in his hands. It was unsettling, terrifying, and downright disturbing being in his presence. Next to him was a girl with long braided dark hair, bangs framing her face and a neutral expression on her dark green eyes.

Many thoughts were going through Ichigo Kurosaki's mind. Right after the gruesome display of blood, gore, flesh and bits of it, the first thing that came to his mind was his sisters. They had seen something they were never meant to see. Sure, he'd seen scenes like this in horror movies with his friends. But seeing it for real had a whole different effect altogether. Shock, disbelief, concern, worry were all running rampant inside him. But the emotion he felt the most, was rage.

"Such a simple thing and three of you can already no longer battle" he said in an almost disappointed voice.

That was it. He could no longer hold it in. He charged, rushing at that thing's face, intending to carve him up.

"AAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH"

As Ichigo bellowed in a bloodthirsty cry, the only thing he saw in front of him was his sickly grin. Not his unconscious sister, or Tatsuki or Karin who was still quivering. Just his face that he wanted to break apart.

*WHACK!*

Something hard and heavy impacted on his left side, sending him flying towards the wall on his right. With inhuman speed, the girl next to him sent Ichigo flying, protecting the person she was standing next to.

"I have absolutely no interest in mere soul reapers. Nemu, make sure he doesn't get in my way" ordered the man. The girl did as she was told, going towards Ichigo. The man on the other hand, was approaching them slowly.

"It…it cant be….its captain Kurotsuchi…." Bumbled Hanataro.

"Captain….you mean that sick bastard is a captain…?!" breathed Tatsuki.

"How amusing…! I would've never expected a human to be here of all places…!" he said beaming. Tatsuki looked towards the Kurosaki twins. One of them was barely managing to stand up, the other one was unconscious.

"Yo…stay away!" she snapped, changing into her costume and flaring her fists.

"What this…?! That feels like reishi! The human girl has just displayed an unknown form of ability…you there, girl!" he called out to Tatsuki. "What do you think about being the subject of my glorious research?"

"The fuck do you mean?!"

"Now now, no need for foul language. This is hardly the way that intellectuals should conduct conversation" he said grinning. "Of course, there's more to my offer. I promise to be real kind to women. I offer the best possible terms even you can't refuse! I'll be tending to you personally, with only 8 doses of drugs and only 5 hours of cybernetic experiments every day. I'll even personally feed you as you lay there to recover from your experiments. Normally, I don't even bother you know? I even promise I won't modify your body in a way that would be fatal. I'll even consider anesthesia. And I….."

And on and on he went describing the twisted nature of things he planned for Tatsuki. Karin was gnashing her teeth furiously while Tatsuki clung to herself in pure disgust and horror.

"Fucking bastard….you BETTER STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THEM!" roared Ichigo, violently sending Nemu out of his way before clashing with Kurotsuchi once more. This time, Mayuri blocked it with his blade.

"How annoying…." Said the mad scientist, tilting his head. "I already told you I have no interest in a mere soul reaper like you. You really should learn to mind your own business. I even allowed you to get out of here completely unharmed. Why you would waste such an opportunity is beyond me"

"SHUT UP!" roared Ichigo, slicing into him.

"Ichigo, wait-!" called out Tatsuki.

"Tatsuki, take my sisters and Hanataro and get out of here" said Ichigo. "I'll follow after you"

"No way, this guy says he's a captain! Ichi-nii, I can't allow you to!" started Karin.

"GET GOING NOW!" roared Ichigo, startling Tatsuki and Karin. "Please…..I'll handle him…..I have to!"

Tatsuki was reluctant, but obliged nonetheless. "Ichigo…what I said earlier still stands…if you died, I'll chase you around even after your dead" she said.

"Don't worry…..I wont lose…..not to a filthy piece of shit like him" declared Ichigo with a nasty scowl.

Reluctant but still trusting Ichigo, Tatsuki urged Karin to follow her along. Hanataro supported Yuzu and carried her over his shoulders as they made their way onwards to the tower where Rukia was being held.

Mayuri sighed in disappointment as he watched Tatsuki leave.

"You allowed my research subject to escape. How dare you boy" he said simply. "Though, it matters not. I only need a strand of her hair to locate her. After I'm quickly done with you, I'll make sure to study her until there's nothing left but a pile of meat. Every second of experimentation is precious after all" he said grinning.

"ENOUGH!" roared the orange haired soul reaper clashing against Mayuri.

---

They kept running. Until they couldn't hear Ichigo's roars and the clash of swords.

"Hey…..that…" started Karin. "There's no way…..someone that sick could be a soul reaper right….?" She asked grimacing. Tatsuki turned away her head in distaste.

"I understand….how you feel…." Said Hanataro "Even in the soul society, nobody particularly likes him. They're often put away by his cruel experiments. If not for his contribution to the soul society, he would be long executed…."

"Tch….I'm starting to hate this place more and more. 'Contribution' my ass. What he's doing is despicable beyond any means. Breaching on basic human rights at the very least, if such things even exist here" said Tatsuki growling. They soon reached a long bridge at the end of which was the entrance to the tower. Hanataro used a key he swiped from the storage shed before he met Ichigo to unlock the doors. And sitting by herself, in plain white garb, was Rukia.

"Ru….Ruki-nee…" called out Karin.

"You…..Karin….?! Yuzu….?! You guys are soul reapers...?! And Hanataro…?! And you're...Tatsuki...?! Why are you all here?!" she asked, utterly shocked. "And…..what's with all that blood….?!"

"Ah…this is….don't worry….it's not ours…but, I don't want to remember it again" she said repulsion. "Leave that, Ruki-nee. Let's get out of here!" she urged Rukia.

"You….dont tell me you came here to the soul society just for me…." She asked with a small voice. "Is…..is Ichigo here too…?"

"Duh, of course! And why else would we be here but to save your scrawny ass?!" she snarled. "Now start moving, Ms Transfer student!"

"Bu…but…!"

As Tatsuki was arguing with Rukia, Karin was shaking Yuzu back to consciousness.

"Oy..! Yuzu..! Wake up…!" called out Karin. The flaxen haired twin was slowly stirring awake.

"Urgh…..Karin-chan…?" she called out softly.

"Yeah, it's me! Look, we found Ruki-nee!" she said excited, pointing to Rukia.

"O..onee-chan's here…?!" she exclaimed, completely stirring awake. She rubbed her eyes, to clear out her blurry vision. The scenery looked different. She was no longer out in the open but inside what looked like a big tower. And indeed, right in front of her was Rukia.

"Rukia Oneechan…." She called out meekly. Rukia rushed over to her side.

"Oh Yuzu…." She called out slowly, tearing a piece of fabric from her clothing and wiping her gently. "Why….why did you risk your lives just to come after me….?"

"Rukia-oneechan…I'm glad you're safe…" she said smiling weekly. Rukia helped her up, and hugged the two of them. "You guys….."

Before she could say anything more, a massive pressure interrupted her mid-sentence. This pressure was nothing like Renji's or Momo's. But rather than its strength, what surprised the twins was the familiar feeling it gave out. They knew this reiatsu. How could they forget? For it was the same reiatsu that dwarfed Ichigo's that fateful day. Hanataro was absolutely shocked. Tatsuki was in a similar state. Karin tightened her hand around Shingetsu. Yuzu's face was wide eyed in recognition. But Rukia, was absolutely terrified.

"B…brother….!"

Just across the entrance of the tower, halfway through the bridge, looking down on them was the familiar figure of Byakuya Kuchiki.

---

Omake 3

Grimmjow was lying down after a rather irritating meeting with Aizen. Though he had his duties to perform, he couldn't give two shits about it now. He simply wanted to be alone for a while. Considering he had no fraccione, that wasn't really difficult to do, but he was in no mood to meet with or talk to those he knew.

"Hey….Mind if I come in?" asked the familiar voice of Ruby Rose from the window. He said nothing, merely looking at her with one eye to acknowledge her presence. But she knew him well enough to know that it was a sign that he was ok with it.

She climbed out of the window, and sat down near his bed. "Aah….that was tiring" she said, stretching her hands. "Sorry to barge in, big-sis and Nel are busy, I just wanted to take a quick breather. Running around with those two is quite taxing" she said, referring to Nel's fraccione. "Ah but they're such sweet little things, I can't bring myself to refuse them" she said with a smile.

"You really should stop indulging them. We Espada have enough to deal with as it is" replied Grimmjow. Ruby knew that he was grumpy from the get go. Still, she didn't mind. In a way, it was one of the reasons she came here and not to someone else's quarters.

"Yeah I know.." she replied "But what can I say? When someone asks me like they do, I simply give in…." she chuckled lightly. "I'm….not bothering you with my ramblings am I?" she asked.

"After that bastard, nothing else could possibly be annoying" he said waving off.

"That's good….but it wont do me any good either if I spend my free time thinking about tiring things again….hihihihi!" she mused to herself "If you don't mind, I'm going to lie down a while, alright?" she said, closing her eyes "Aah, I'm so tired….after looking after those 2…and training with pacci and the others…..teaching Nel…..talking to Ulquiorra...not to mention...stopping you from challenging him all the time...hih...ihi...I hardly have time these days…sorry, I wont ram…ble any…..more…..good night…." She said, dozing off. Without even waiting for Grimmjow's reply on the matter. He simply tsked to himself, lifting her gently and placing her on his bed. As usual, she could never sleep on something comfortable like a bed on her own. He covered her with the comforter in his room. The only time he would ever be ok with Aizen giving them something. He didn't like it. Not one bit. The fact that she went out of her way, over and beyond to help just about everyone that she came across. But that's what made her, her. And he simply couldn't stop her. Aizen's meeting was no longer bothering him. He then slowly began massaging her shoulders.

"Hmm…tha..t's…the spot…" she said drowsily in her sleep. "Thanks a bunch…..Grimmjow….you're a lifesaver...…you know that…? Mmmm..." she said, smiling in satisfaction, her eyes still closed in half sleep. Even after she fell asleep, he continued to massage her.

Nelliel thought she would pay a visit to the jaguar arrancar, but when she inched closer to the entrance of his quarters, she witnessed the aforementioned scene. She smiled happily to herself, content on leaving them alone for the time being and pushing aside her visit to another time.

Omake 4

Ulquiorra couldn't understand it. Her actions and why she went out of her way to do something like that. 'That' being arranging treats to go with tea, which he alread thought was pointless. It was inconcievable. She, a powerful being who could fight even himself, doing something that mundane. he just had to know. And so, he approached her when he got the chance.

"Ulquiorra" she greeted him with a smile.

"Tell me, Ruby Rose. Why would you do something as pointless as making treats?" he asked monotonously. "We are hollow. We do not require sustenance. Or food or water. Putting in energy on things that have no meaning is pointless. So why would an Espada like you do something like that?" he asked. Ruby continued to smile, nodding her head.

"You may be right. But...why does it need to have a point? Whether you're eating cookies or talking to someone about something, or reading books, or simply love to gaze at the moon every now and then, why should it have a purpose? Or rather, why does it need to be practical?" she said. "If it gives you satisfaction and doesn't do anyone any harm, why shouldnt you? That's the bigger question if you ask me"

"That still does not answer my question" he said.

"Let's put it this way then" she said. "When you ate mom's cookies, you didn't dislike them right? You better say you didn't, otherwise I'll get slightly mad" she said, a small vein popping in her smiling face "Anyways, you got to try something new. You learnt the existence of something that made you feel something. Felt positive even. In that case, what's wrong with it being there? Life is too short to be simply doing things practically all the time. It's not so bad indulging in things like these, is it not?" she asked. "I can tell you still think it's weird. But don't think too much about it now" she advised. "Don't think too much about many things in fact. I'm sure, you'll understand in time. And I'll help you understand" she said.

With that, he left her, with conflicted thoughts. But despite that, he still felt better after talking to her.

---

Alright, another lengthy chapter done! As you saw, I took things a lot slower this time around since I think rushing here will be bad in the long run. Ichigo, Karin, Yuzu and Tatsuki are important to Ruby, so they need their own screentime in one of the best arcs of the series if I need to make their reunion impactful. And besides, things are a lot, lot different from cannon. So I wont be rushing through this.

Anyways, thank you so, so much for sticking with me on this story till now, I'm really grateful for all of your reviews and feedback. I'll continued to try my best! Happy holidays, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

---

Response to reviews:

Argorok: As always, thanks!

Lucian Naruto: Haha I think Ruby would be part amused and part annoyed. Amused at her baby brother's reactions but at the same time she'd be like "Yoruichi! Come on, not in front of my baby brother!"

Zacatac: Yeah I get what you mean. We'll see when we get there. But of course, I'm glad to hear your thoughts and your review and thanks! I'll try my best not to disappoint!

Momentei: Thanks a lot! Ahahaha true! Hmm…perhaps. Or maybe, Aizen is secretly a fan of them as well. Big brain time requires a lot of energy and carbs so what better than Summer's cookies? *wink wink* Time will tell!

Mobian: Ahaha definitely! And thanks!

C3l2st14: Hmmmm…I mean, she could use Hado for that, but Crescent Rose will definitely appear soon, no doubt. And yes, it will look quite different than the original.

Conner Worsnop: Yup, a form of power even Aizen doesn't have ;)

firewyrm2: Hmm, it's not a true omake per se, those events are still 'cannon', just that the mood isn't as serious as the main story. There's a RWBY chibi? Ahaha had no clue! As for Ruby's time as an Espada, coming real soon my friend, once this arc is over. Remember, I did promise I would talk about the 6 years time gap. And that's not far off. And besides, you'll get your wish too, because after all, Rukia and Renji are part of the team that goes to HM. Huh, is that so? Its just that 99% of the fics I see start with the soul reapers, and never in HM. As for D'nnome's story, I actually got to reading it recently since he's been a great help in beta reading my chapters. And yeah, his story sorta have ruby going through SS as a hollow. And yeah, of course Yamamoto will know about Summer. Anybody that was around 1000 years ago will know her.

The-Killer40513: Eh, kinda. It'll come up in the 6 years time gap part. I mean, it would be weird if he didn't right? A mysterious power that can wipe out hollows in a flash? Of course he would be interested. It's just that, the circumstances didn't allow him to learn about them. Back then, Aizen was amongst common soul reapers, without showing himself. Then, Summer supposedly died. With Ruby, Szayelaporro didn't know her eyes were special, so he saw no special value in them. And in those 94 years, Aizen had no idea that Ruby was Summer's daughter or that she even had silver eyes. But in bleach verse, silver eyes were not special per se. To Aizen, it was 'Summer's eyes' that were special. Hence why. But did he research them after Ruby joined? Will come soon.

ccl1995: Well, wouldn't you say she kinda is like a mom already to most of Ruby's arrancar friends? And yeah, you're not far off.

Guest: Kinda. I would say distaste rather than pure hatred.

Zifryt: Thanks! As you saw, none of the battles are taking place like in cannon (except Uryu, Chad and Orihime's). The core cast's battles are completely different.

How much control does she have? Actually, they can interchange quite easily as you saw. Picture them as Greed and Ling Yao from FMAB. That's how I would say Ruby and Summer are exchanging body wise.

Ah its you? Nice to know you're still reading my story! Thanks for the continued support!

NEGATARO: Thanks a lot! Yeah, as you saw, they indeed fought. And yeah, the battles of all of the core cast were completely different. I think that's how it should be, since otherwise, it would be too similar to cannon.

Spartastic 4: Ahaha that would be a such a scene! Thanks! And yeah, that's really what I wanted to highlight throughout the SS arc. Ruby may not be here, but the effects of her staying with the Kurosakis can definitely been seen. Like the butterfly effect. Things are so very different, people are acting differently than in cannon. All because she stayed with Masaki.

Vedahzii: Being compared to cyberpunk, that's a praise that I'm honored to hear. I only hope I can hold up to that! I'll try my best and thanks!

PoofyOhio: You're completely right. That's why I slowed down things a bit in this chapter.