Chapter 28: A Change In Tactics

Karakura Hospital

Ryuken glances dejectedly outside of his office, still seeing the smoke from the wreckage of the battles, "The Hospital is booked already… the Shinigami failed to protect the living world… like I failed to protect her…"

Uryu suddenly storms into Ryuken's office, "I was in the middle of looking for Yuzu, this better be important!"

Ryuken gives his son a defeated look, "The Shinigami have captured her… she's in the Soul Society now."

Uryu stares at his father with a horrified expression.

The white-haired man emotionlessly explains, "There is nothing either of us can do now… it's out of our hands. We ought not meddle in Shinigami affairs."

Uryu growls, "Coward! I'll go to the Soul Society to save her regardless of what you say!"

Ryuken eyes the box his son is carrying, before scowling, "Fool… that glove isn't going to help you save her!"

Uryu snaps, "Well, it's better than nothing! This is the last remnant of grandfather—I'll use everything he taught me to save my cousin, even if it kills me!"

The bespectacled boy then runs out of the room before his father can get out another word.

Ryuken sighs before eyeing a picture on his desk. The picture contains a dark-haired woman holding a similarly dark-haired boy with glasses.

Ryuken shakes his head, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion, "If only you were still here, Kanae…"

Yukio's Memories

After running away from my family, that's when I met Ginjo…

Yukio lies on the street, rain falling readily as the boy clutches his stomach, "So hungry…"

The boy hears footsteps approaching, shifting back slightly in self-defense.

A man's voice calls out, "What do we have here? It's concerning to see a kid as young as you out on the streets… would you like me to take you home to your parents?"

Yukio replies coldly, "I don't ever want to see them again… they'd just throw me back in the room…"

The man notices the game Yukio has in his hands, "Are you fond of games?"

The boy nods, "They are the only thing that brought me any joy in that place…"

The man with slicked back hair narrows his eyes, "If you come with me, I can offer you a life that is sure to be anything but boring."

Yukio shifts, interested, "Really?"

The man smirks, "You have the ability to see those masked creatures and spirits, don't you?"

The boy's eyes widen, "I thought I was the only one who could…"

The man shakes his head, "No. There are quite a few people who can do that… but fewer people have abilities like we do, to develop powers."

Yukio looks even more interested at this, as the man extends his hand, "You are a Fullbringer, like me. If you come with me, then I can help you develop your spiritual abilities."

The boy thinks about this for a moment before asking, "What happens if I disagree?"

The man responds, "Then you will never see me again."

Yukio ponders this for another moment before taking the man's hand, prompting Ginjo to give the boy a smile, "Welcome to Xcution!"

Urahara Shoten

Yukio pulls himself out of his thoughts at the sight of Candice scowling at Urahara, "If what you're telling us about her is true, how could you let Yuzu get captured?!"

Urahara looks away somewhat guiltily, "Yoruichi and Ryuken told me they'd handle it... How was anyone supposed to know that the hollow White and Shinigami captains would show up right in front of her?"

Yoruichi nods, "Ryuken and I were about to approach her when two captains showed up…luckily, Isshin was one of them, so it's best to leave things to him at this point…"

Candice huffs, before backing off, a dejected look on her face, "If I hadn't told her those things…"

Bambietta, next to Candice, scolds the woman, "Indeed, Yui would not have gotten captured at all if not for your careless words!"

Candice looks away in genuine shame as Bambietta regards the cat, "Where did Ryuken Ishida go, anyway?"

Yoruichi sighs, "He went to the hospital… there were quite a few humans caught in the crossfire…"

Shinji speaks up, regarding Urahara worriedly, "And what about Hiyori? How's her condition?"

Urahara glances over the table to find all of the Visored, save for Hiyori, as well as Chad, Tatsuki, and Tsukishima, seated with various worried or concerned expressions.

Urahara sighs, "Both her and Mr. Ginjo are still in pretty bad shape… but they'll live, I think…"

Shinji and the Visored gasp, the blonde man asking, "You mean, Hiyori's still alive?"

Urahara smirks, glancing to the orange-haired girl sitting next to him, "That's right… Miss Inoue here has a unique power that allows her to reject a phenomenon. This means her healing powers are better than even the most advanced Kaido spells. I think, she may even have the potential to resurrect the dead…"

Shinji prostrates himself, bowing in appreciation to Orihime, "Thank you, Miss Inoue. Thank you for saving our friend."

The rest of the Visored repeat the action, bowing at the girl appreciatively.

Orihime sheepishly rubs the back of her head before waving her hands out in front of her, "Oh no, it's nothing! It's the least I could do, really!"

Shinji glances back at Orihime, "I see… you must be a good person. We are in your debt, regardless."

Hachi, meanwhile, eyes Orihime, "As a healer myself, would you mind if I helped you develop your skills sometime?"

Orihime's eyes widen slightly before she gives a friendly nod, "No, I don't mind! Thanks!"

Hachi nods, "You surely must be tired by now, having to heal all our wounds by yourself…"

The orange-haired girl shakes her head, "Not really…"

The pink-haired man sweat drops, "Huh?"

Tatsuki, seated next to Orihime, snorts, "Orihime used to wipe out after healing just one person, but after a year of training, she can heal twenty people, no problem!"

Hachi and the Visored all wear slightly shocked expressions, as the pink-haired man mumbles, "For a human, that kind of endurance is quite impressive…"

Tsukishima cuts in, "It's because she's a Fullbringer like us, actually. Both of you girls are Fullbringers, I can feel it in your reiatsu…"

Orihime and Tastuki look at the man with intrigued expressions.

Kensei stares off, "Speaking of which, that fellow with you—you said his name was Ginjo? I can't believe that he was able to go toe to toe with Aizen by himself, considering he's just a human…"

Mashiro scolds Kensei loudly, "Kensei, you dummy! He's Kugo Ginjo—that Substitute Shinigami from a while back! Idiot!"

Kensei forms a tick mark on his head, "How am I supposed to remember someone like that? We were too busy trying to evade the Shinigami for the last one hundred years! Besides, we didn't even fight him back then!"

Bambietta stares at the duo briefly before looking down at her hand, small blue flashes of light popping out and exploding, "My powers are returning… is he…"

The black-haired Quincy eyes Orihime, who notices the woman's somewhat worried gaze, "Is he dead?"

Orihime looks down, prompting Urahara to explain, "Technically, Mr. Ginjo was on the precipice of death when we arrived. If Miss Inoue had gotten to him even a second later, he very well may be dead right now…"

Bambietta breathes a slight sigh of relief, something that Yukio, Chad, and Tsukishima do as well.

Candice looks off distantly, with a downcast expression, being uncharacteristically quiet.

Suddenly, Chad gets up, "Well, what are we still doing here? We've got to go save Yuzu, with or without Ginjo!"

Urahara eyes Chad coldly, "That's a quick way to get yourself killed, boy…"

Chad looks to the ground, clenching his fist.

Tatsuki sighs, sharing a glance with Orihime before speaking, "Orihime and I agree with Chad. If Ichigo's sister is in any danger at all, then we'll stop at nothing to save her!"

Chad nods appreciatively before the group all turn to regard the noise of a loud girl, "Hey put me down you oaf! NOW!"

This is followed up by the cries of another individual, "Don't listen to her—I can see her panties from here!"

Tessai opens the door suddenly before tossing Riruka to the floor, who groans. Kon walks nonchalantly into the room after her, sighing, "Well it was good while it lasted…"

Tessai glances at Urahara, "I caught her and mod soul following us when we carried everyone here…"

Urahara nods, eyeing the girl with an amused expression, "What do we have here…?"

Riruka rubs her head as she attempts to sit upright, "Where is Ginjo?"

Urahara raises a brow as Yukio nonchalantly addresses the girl, "He's still recovering from that battle… speaking of which, why didn't you come and help? Too scared?"

Bambietta eyes Yukio with a deadpan, "You're one to talk. I swear I saw you pee your pants…"

Riruka huffs, as she grabs Kon and starts strangling him, causing the plushie to gag, "So what if I was? You guys needed someone to come in and save you… this guy in the hat just beat me to it…"

Chad eyes Riruka, "Yuzu was captured… I think we should go save her. Are you in?"

The twin-tailed girl's eyes widen, causing her to drop Kon, "Oh no-! Not Yui…"

Kon also scrunches his brow in worry, "I should've been there to protect her…"

Yukio shrugs, "I'll go no matter what. Yuzu has been a good friend ever since I met her…"

Riruka glances at the boy before nodding, "In that case, I'm in too. How about you, Tsukishima?"

Tsukishima, seated in the back, sighs, "I'd rather wait on Kugo to make a decision… besides, we don't have any means of actually getting into the Soul Society…"

Riruka gawks, "THE SOUL SOCIETY?! YOU DIDN'T TELL ME SHE WAS TAKEN THERE!"

Urahara eyes the two Quincies dubiously, who seem to be deep in thought at the mention of the Soul Society, before speaking up, "Well, you all may be in luck, because I know of a way that I can get a group of you into the Soul Society!"

A glimmer of hope shines in the eyes of the Fullbringers.

Shinji snorts, "You can't be serious, Kisuke. This ragtag group of humans could barely handle Sosuke by himself without our help… What makes you think they have a chance in the Soul Society?"

Bambietta glares at Shinji, "Not like you have any room to talk, bowl cut! He had you guys played just as bad as us!"

There is tension between the Visored and Quincy, prompting Urahara to raise his voice, regarding Shinji, "Can I take this as you not wanting to help the girl?"

Shinji glances at Urahara, "Look, Kisuke, we may owe you and Miss Inoue for saving our necks, but I'm not willingly going to get myself and my friends killed to help someone I don't even know. I'm not taking any more chances when Sosuke is involved!"

Tatsuki snorts, "We don't need you guy's help anyway, right Orihime?"

The orange-haired girl glances between Hachi and her friend with a troubled expression.

Shinji waves his hands, "Hey now! I didn't say we wouldn't help you guys at all! You all look like you could use some training before you're ready to face Shinigami again—especially captains. Training with us should help you with that."

Bambietta glares at Shinji venomously, "I don't need help from your kind!"

Shinji furrows his brow, an action all of the Visored repeat.

Urahara eyes the Quincy dubiously, "From what I could gather, your pride blinded you when fighting Aizen… I'm not going to tell you that you are wrong to have pride, but it is unwise to not make use of every advantage you have right now, Quincy…"

Bambietta narrows her eyes.

Urahara tilts his hat in front of his face, "But I will admit, I've never witnessed a Quincy train before. Ryuken is a secretive man… am I wrong to assume that you Quincy would train better away from us?"

Bambietta nods, scowling, "Every moment I have to look at you filthy Shinigami is painful! My pride as a Quincy is screaming at me to kill you all right now!"

Urahara smirks, "Scary… well, don't let me keep you…"

The Quincy gets up to walk out of the room, dragging Candice behind her.

The woman pauses at the door before giving Yukio a look, "Call me whenever Kugo wakes up. I'm going to have a 'chat' with him."

Yukio can't help but have a bad feeling, "O-ok…"

Bambietta walks out of the room as Candice solemnly follows.

The Fullbringers then glance over at the Visored.

Kensei and Mashiro get up as the former points at Chad and Tatsuki, "You two are with us! I'd rather train brawlers like me!"

Tatsuki and Chad get up and follow Kensei and Mashiro out of the room.

Hachi glances at Orihime, "Shall we, Miss Inoue?"

Orihime nods, following Hachi out of the room with great enthusiasm.

Shinji eyes Yukio and Riruka, "I'll handle you two… your powers strike me as being more complex than those of your friends. As someone with complex powers, myself, I think I can help you come up with a few nasty techniques…"

Yukio and Riruka nod hesitantly as they follow the man out of the room, Kon trailing after.

This leaves Tsukishima, who Rose, Lisa, and Love look at awkwardly.

Love rubs the back of his neck, "I guess we'll take turns with you then…"

Tsukishima smiles, "I guess you will…"

The group of four leave the room, making Yoruichi and Urahara the only occupants left.

Yoruichi gazes at Urahara dubiously, "Why are you letting them go through with this? Isn't the best course of action to wait on Isshin?"

The shopkeeper tilts his hat with a sigh, "I have a bad feeling that no matter what Isshin does, the girl's life will be in danger… whether from Aizen, the aristocracy, or something else… and besides, if we tried stopping them, that may only lead to further conflict… we can't afford for the Soul Society to find out about us, not while that is still here…"

Yoruichi nods, seemingly accepting Urahara's explanation, "Then in that case, I'll go do some secret training of my own…"

Urahara watches the cat leave with a sigh, "Probably for the best… one hundred years of complacency can't be good for anyone…"

Karakura Town Outskirts

Uryu huffs in mild amount of pain as he slips on an intricately designed white and blue glove, "That should do it…"

The boy glances at a waterfall in front of him that leads down into a small pond, "This takes me back… grandfather… what would you think of Yuzu if you were still here… I have a feeling you two would've gotten along."

Uryu flinches as he feels something grab his right gloved arm.

The boy looks with widened eyes at the form of Bambietta Basterbine, who casually inspects it, "This thing's ancient, isn't it…"

Uryu pulls his arm away, backing away before bumping into another form, feeling two plump lumps against his back.

The boy shifts to the right to break the contact with a slight blush as he eyes Candice Catnipp, who wears a distant expression—not reacting to the boy's movement.

Uryu scowls, "Who are you two—I… wait a minute, aren't you Candice Catnipp?"

Candice reacts with a slight nod, "And you must be Uryu Ishida…"

The boy's eyes narrow slightly, "What do you want with me…?"

Bambietta sighs, "Come now, boy, that's no way to talk to a fellow Quincy, especially one who is vastly more powerful and accomplished than you are…"

Uryu's eyes widen slightly, as Bambietta continues, "Don't worry, I'm not going to make you lick my boots or anything—unless of course you want to~."

The teen groans, "No thanks!"

Bambietta drops her jovial tone, regarding the boy seriously, "If you want to go to the Soul Society, you are going to need the help of Kisuke Urahara."

Uryu raises a brow, "The candy shop guy?"

The woman nods, before glancing at Uryu's gloved hand again, "You're a real dummy for wanting to use that nowadays!"

The boy scowls, "I got this from my grandfather! I'll do what I must to master his techniques—I don't care what anyone else says! If it comes to it—I'll use its true power."

Bambietta shakes her head, "I was hoping to help train you using more state-of-the-art methods, but since it seems like your mind is set on the old way, there's nothing I can do now, is there?"

Uryu raises a brow, "What do you mean? Is this not how Quincies reach the apex of their power?"

Candice and Bambietta share a look before the latter regards the boy once more, "Oopsie! Forget I said that!"

A tick mark appears on Uryu's head, "As if! What methods are you talking about?!"

The black-haired woman shrugs, "Even if I did tell you, it's impossible for anyone who isn't on a level of power similar to us to achieve it… quite honestly, that glove of yours might be the best ace in the hole you could find at your level of power… although it does come with that nasty drawback."

Uryu sighs, "I'll take your word for it then…"

Bambietta nods as both her and Candice walk away, the former waving to the boy, "Well, we'll see you around, boy!"

The boy sighs slowly as he watches the women disappear from sight.

After walking out of earshot, Bambietta grabs a star-shaped pendant from her pocket. Candice eyes it before immediately knocking it out of the woman's hands.

The black-haired Quincy eyes her partner with fury, "What was that for?! We have to go back and report!"

Candice hisses as Bambietta, "Are you in that much of a rush to die?"

Bambietta raises a brow, gawking at the other Sternritter, "W-what do you mean?"

The green-haired Quincy scowls, "Really? I thought you were smarter than that, Bambi. Haschwalth said if we failed to return back with Yuzu, we're dead."

Bambietta scrunches her brow, "Well, he'll kill us if we go to the Soul Society for sure."

Candice chuckles pathetically, "Yeah… except, a captain's already seen us and who knows if Yui's willing to spill the beans to them, especially considering her dad's a captain…"

Bambietta's eyes widen, "You mean…"

The green-haired Quincy nods dejectedly, "We're dead no matter what we do, Bambi…"

The other woman looks to the ground in shock, the revelation just now hitting her.

Candice continues, now with resolve in her eyes, "I don't know about you, but if I'm going to die, then I'd rather spend what little bit of life I have left to make sure Yui is safe!"

Bambietta is silent as Candice's gaze softens, further elaborating, "I've been happier than I've ever been at the Wandenreich when I was with Yui… something about her is just undeniably good… she brings out the best in people. Her life is worth so much more than someone like me…"

Bambietta remains silent as Candice attempts to appeal to the woman, "And Bambi… I'd recommend you act on your own feelings before it's too late… I've seen the way you look at Ginjo—and I've seen the way he looks at you. If I were you, I'd treasure that connection while you have it… now if you'll excuse me, there's someone I need to say goodbye to…"

Candice marches off, leaving Bambietta speechless with a conflicted, yet thoughtful, expression. After another moment, footsteps can be heard approaching the woman. Bambietta turns to regard the individual before letting out a gasp in recognition.

Squad 1 Barracks

Sasakibe sits in front of Yuzu's cell, maintaining a serious expression as he questions the girl, "What can you tell us about the Quincies currently residing in the world of the living?"

Yuzu looks at the man with a forced, passive expression, "There are only a handful of us—them. They present no threat to the Soul Society, to the point where they fear you."

A scribe stands next to Sasakibe, jotting down notes as the man nods, "I see… and who trained you to use your powers?"

Yuzu answers, maintaining her neutral tone, "My uncle, cousin, and some of my friends."

"Their names? Do you know where they came from?", Sasakibe pries.

The girl once more answers without hesitation, "Ryuken and Uryu Ishida are my uncle and cousin's names. They were living in Japan since before I was born. The other two are called Bambietta Basterbine and Candice Catnipp and they are foreigners. They've known my uncle for a long time and came to Japan to check in on him."

Sasakibe nods once more as the scribe writes this down vigorously, "I recognize the name Ishida from one of Squad 12's reports… based on what your father told the Central 46, I doubt the Ishidas are the ones who attacked Captain Aizen."

Isshin, standing behind Sasakibe, notes to himself, "She's gotten better at twisting the truth…"

Sasakibe continues to the next question, "Did either of these foreigners give you reason to believe that they would want to attack the Soul Society?"

Yuzu is silent for a moment before her gaze softens ever so slightly, "No, they did not. I was only ever under the impression that they wanted to help me."

The veteran Vice-Captain narrows his eyes, "For what purpose did they want to train you?"

Yuzu shakes her head before staring directly into Sasakibe's eyes, "I was the one who approached all of them. I wanted to develop spiritual powers like my sister, but I don't think dad would have ever let me be a Shinigami… so, I chose the path of a Quincy. I understand that I made a mistake now, sir."

Sasakibe nods as the scribe finishes writing her answers.

The Vice-Captain rises to his feet, "That should conclude the interrogation. Speaking personally, I hope the Central 46 lets you free. It would be beneficial if you were allowed to become a Shinigami like you sister and father."

Yuzu nods briefly before he exits the room with the scribe, prompting Isshin to approach his daughter.

As he walks down the hall, Sasakibe scrunches his brow, deep in thought, "It makes sense that some Quincy would want to get as far away from Japan as they can after everything that's happened… but, Catnipp… I think I've heard that name somewhere before…"

?

A small, orange-haired boy finds himself on the business end of a swift and calculated punch, which immediately knocks him to the ground.

After a moment, the boy begins to cry loudly, "That was too fast Suki! No fair!"

Around him is the interior of a traditional, Japanese style dojo. The building is held up by wooden beams and trusses while the floor is covered by mats. Everyone inside, including the adult supervisor, are wearing white Karate Gis.

This includes the young girl in front of him with spiky black hair, who scoffs at the boy's actions, "Well maybe you should toughen up, Ichigo! This isn't a place for cry-babies!"

That's right… I wanted to join a Dojo to get stronger… but why…?

Suddenly, a gentle, loving voice calls out to the boy, "Ichigo, it's time to go home sweety!"

The boy immediately stops crying as he wipes his eyes and stares off at the voice's owner with a wide smile, "Yes, mommy!"

The woman has long wavy, light brown hair that she wears in a ponytail and wears a long-sleeved shirt and long skirt. The light from the outside of the doorway seems to emphasize her figure before the boy.

As Ichigo reaches for his mother's hand, she bends down and wipes his face, seeing the bruise on it. All the while she gives the boy a gentle, loving smile.

That's my mother?

She's beautiful…

…and incredibly kind.

I wish…

…I could see her again.

Hueco Mundo

Ichigo slowly opens his eyes to find himself in a dark, lonely place.

The hollow sighs, "I guess I can't dream forever…"

Ichigo jolts up as he can hear giggling to his right, finding Loly and Menoly shifting about jovially.

The Vasto Lorde questions this, genuinely curious, "What's so funny?"

Loly stifles her laughter, "Oh nothing… momma's boy!"

The Adjucha continues to giggle at this, making Ichigo take on an annoyed tone as he sighs, shaking his head, "So I talk in my sleep… that's just great…"

Menoly interjects, clarifying, "We don't mean anything bad by it, Master Ichigo, but we just think it's… um… cute, that you love your mother that much…"

Ichigo grunts, walking past the two Adjuchas towards the cave's exit, "Yeah, yeah… let's just get out of here."

The two Adjuchas stifle their laughter once more before exiting the cave.

Not long after exiting the cave, Ichigo and his followers find themselves before the pit, or trench, where the white bat hollow had been born.

Loly stiffens, "Uh, Ichigo? What is this place? How'd you know it's here…?"

Ichigo looks down at the pit wordlessly for a long moment before sighing, "It's nothing… it's not even worth talking about…"

The two Adjuchas look at their leader in slight confusion before he continues, "Let's go across… you two know how to create a path of reishi underneath you, right?"

Loly sounds offended as she scoffs, "Of course! Even the most primitive of Menos know how!"

Menoly, however, looks down at the pit in slight fear, "There are some powerful hollows down there… aren't you worried we'll be attacked?"

Ichigo doesn't bother looking down at the pit as he explains with a hint of bloodlust, "No. None of those wretches will attack us… they know better."

The sisters glance at each other in confusion before Ichigo sprouts his red reishi wings, "Let's go." As Ichigo flies across the pit, the sisters follow closely after.

Soon after the group makes it to the other side, out of eyesight, a muscular bipedal tiger Adjucha steps out from behind the side of the cave, thinking to himself, "What is that pit?! Lord Barragan has always forbade us from coming this far out…"

Ggio shakes his head before approaching the pit, "Whatever… this is for Lord Barragan's sake! I must continue observing White."

Ggio begins to cross the pit before he hears a bloodcurdling screech as he is about halfway across.

The tiger flinches as three black, winged hollows fly out of the pit. Ggio observes them in horror as they look like nothing he's ever seen before. The hollows have uniquely shaped masks with sharp, fanged teeth and horns not unlike that of a demon. Their tails and black fur seem to exude the same soul-sucking emptiness as the pit from whence they came.

Ggio snaps out of his momentary fear as he growls, bearing his fanged arm blades in bloodlust, "Don't take me as easy prey!"

The tiger's body radiates red reiatsu as he charges at the trio of bats. However, just as he is about to reach them, the trio breaks formation, dispersing in various directions at incredibly fast speeds.

Ggio gasps as he suddenly feels both of his arms being restrained by two of the bat hollows, wrapping their tails around his arms. The tiger struggles before shuddering in fear as he sees the third hollow snicker viciously, before making a motion to lunge at the exposed tiger.

As the bat closes in, there is suddenly a bright flash of red light, buzzing with heat so intense that Ggio can feel it on his face, through his mask. The light bisects the bat's body, incinerating one of its wings and head, before its body flacks off into nothing but dust. Ggio can feel the two other bat hollows shudder before immediately letting him go and descending back into the pit, seemingly as fast as they can.

Soon after, Ggio turns to find Ichigo, flanked by Loly and Menoly.

After a moment, the Vasto Lorde questions, "Yo. You alright there?"

Ggio shakes himself from his momentary shock, "Y-yeah…"

Ichigo tilts his head to the side, contemplating something, before questioning the tiger, "Good to hear. Do you have a name?"

Ggio narrows his eyes before answering, "Ggio Vega…"

This causes both Loly and Menoly to let out gasps, prompting Ichigo to look back at them questioningly, "You two know this guy?"

Menoly calls out, a bit fearfully, "Y-yeah… he's one of Barragan's most powerful and loyal generals! But he shouldn't be this far away from Las Noches!"

Ggio chuckles at this, seemingly pleased by the female hollow's words, "I see my reputation proceeds me. Although…"

Ggio now takes on an aggressive tone, "That is Lord Barragan to you, Adjucha."

Menoly flinches, "S-sorry!"

"Don't apologize to this guy.", Ichigo tells Menoly in a serious tone, causing her to nod slowly.

Ggio matches Ichigo's gaze as he can tell it is far more serious than it was previously.

The Vasto Lorde questions, "So then, Ggio… why have you been following me?"

The Adjucha flinches in shock, "H-he knew!"

After a moment, Ggio gathers himself, "I want to determine if you are a threat to Lord Barragan or not."

Ichigo grunts uncaringly, "Well, I don't care about Barragan as much as I used to…"

The hollow immediately turns his back on the Adjucha, walking away from him.

Ggio begins to contort in anger, shouting at Ichigo, "DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE ME!"

Ggio flares up his reiatsu in bloodlust.

Before the tiger knows it, Ichigo appears in front of him with a buzz before immediately kicking the tiger in the chest, causing his insides to rattle around. His back extends out in a comical fashion, as if Ichigo's kick dented his back out in an unnatural manner.

Ggio gasps, blood flying out between the teeth of his hollow mask, dropping down and staining Ichigo's orange hair. The Adjucha immediately falls to its knees grabbing its chest in pain as Ichigo removes his leg and turns his back on the Adjucha again with a grunt.

"Keep following me if you want, but direct bloodlust at me or my pack again and I'll end you.", Ichigo states matter-of-factly.

Ichigo walks away without another word, earning questioning gazes from the sister Adjuchas, as he declares, "Let's go."

The sisters follow Ichigo as he soars off into the distance, leaving Ggio astonished, "Why am I still alive?"

Author's Note:

I suppose I ought to explain where I'm going with Candice's character… well, without revealing too much, anyway.

First of all, having overanalyzed scenes with Candice and Bambietta from the manga, Candice is the only one of the Bambies to express genuine concern for Bambietta's well-being, at least in my opinion, specifically when she asks her what's bothering her after she blows up the wall after killing that guy in her room.

Taking this into consideration, in the scene where Bambietta is killed by Giselle, Candice is looking down at Bambi with an expression that looks a bit like pity or perhaps sympathy of some kind. Meanwhile Meninas wears a blank expression, as if she's just curious and is watching what will happen, while Liltotto looks away like she doesn't care. And Giselle… well I don't think I need to explain that her intentions with Bambi were NOT pure.

With all of that in mind, I made the decision to make Candice a character that, while evil/morally questionable in many regards, WANTS to be good, at least deep down. In my fic, Yuzu had gradually brought out that goodness in her, which now prompts her to act in ways she just simply wouldn't in canon.

With that, the Bambies will be the focus of the next chapter. Furthermore, Ichigo's plotline will naturally continue as well, as this is his arc.