Hello and welcome to chapter 15 and the first chapter of this year. Last time, Ichigo took the next stage of his training and made contact with Old Man Zangetsu. At the same time, Orihime began her own training to control her powers, Haruko resumed her Quincy training with the other Bambis, and Tatsuki recieved new training from Yoruichi. Now for the final step in Ichigo's training where he unlocks his Shikai. Now, let's get started.

Chapter 15

The Blade and Me

In the basement, Orihime was walking through a field of boulders, just minding her own business. Behind her, Kon, still in Ichigo's body, was stalking her behind some of the boulders. Once he got close enough to her, he made his move.

"GOT YOU, ORIHIME!"

Orihime turned around. "HINAGIKU, LILY, BAIGON: SANTEN KESSHUN! I REJECT…!"

Kon's assault stopped dead in its tracks. He was splat against the barrier like a bug on a windshield.

"Gak… I guess you saw my sneak attack coming," he choked.

Orihime giggled. "It's hardly a sneak attack if you yell it out loud."

Kon slid off and chuckled. "I guess not."

From atop the largest boulder in the subterranean field, Yoruichi nodded approvingly.

I can't believe how quickly Orihime has awakened her powers and become a capable individual. Yoruichi mentally noted. That advice she got from Hachi really helped out. At this rate, she might even become powerful enough to handle a high-ranked Soul Reaper.

Suddenly, Orihime was groped from behind by Momone. "Ah!"

"You let your guard down, Orihime." Momone started moving Orihime's breasts up and down. "It'll cost you."

"Momone, stop!"

"Hey, stop that Momone!"

Yoruichi shook her head. Then again.

Suddenly, there was a loud scream.

"Ichigo!" Orihime naturally ran up to the entrance of Shattered Shaft and looked down, only to see a horrific sight. The encroachment to Ichigo's chain had reached his chest and a hole was forming. What was worse was that a white substance was erupting out of Ichigo's eyes and mouth, showing that he was undergoing Hollowfication. "Ichigo!"

"Fight it, Ichigo!" Rangiku told him. "I know you're strong, you can resist this!"

"I-I can't!"

"Yes you can!" Rangiku encouraged him. "Just look at yourself! When a soul becomes a Hollow, first the spiritual body explodes and then it reforms! But in your case, the order is all mixed up! The mask is trying to form while your body is still a hole, and that means that you're resisting!"

Ichigo was shocked. "I'm… resisting?!"

"Focus, Ichigo!" Rangiku continued. "You can still become a Soul Reaper, but you have to keep fighting back!"

"I'm trying!" Ichigo continued to fight back against the Hollowfication process. Again and again, a mask tried to form, but was quickly repelled.

At the top, Orihime couldn't bear seeing Ichigo go through this any longer and she prepared to jump into Shattered Shaft to help. "Ichigo…!"

But just as she was about to jump, Yoruichi grabbed her wrist. "Orihime, wait!"

Orihime tried to break free. "Let me go, I've got to help him!"

"No, Orihime." Yoruichi told her. "If you go down there, you could be killed and Ichigo will be heartbroken!"

"I-" Orihime stuttered. "I can't just stand here and watch Ichigo suffer!"

Yoruichi gave Orihime a reassuring smile. "Have faith in him, Orihime. Remember, Rangiku's down there too. She'll handle it."

While still worried, Orihime nodded and watched as Ichigo continued to hold off the Hollowfication process.

Down below, perhaps on impulse, Rangiku ran to Ichigo and hugged him tightly. "You can do this Ichigo! I believe in you!"

She stayed there for a full minute, clinging tightly, as if willing Ichigo's power to yield to him. A Hollow mask finally started to form on Ichigo's face and Rangiku jumped away with alarm.

"It's no use, I've got no choice." Rangiku drew her Zanpakuto. "I'm sorry Ichigo, please, forgive me! GROWL: HAINE—"

"No, don't!"

Rangiku stopped her Shikai activation and looked behind herself to see her Zanpakuto spirit standing behind her. "Haineko?"

"It's alright, Rangiku." Haineko reassured her Soul Reaper. "Everything's going to be alright."

"Huh?" Rangiku turned back to Ichigo as he started to try and break free of her Kido spells.

Rangiku watched as Ichigo slowly but surely fought back against his Hollowfication. Next thing everyone knew, there was a huge burst of energy that erupted from Shattered Shaft like a volcano. Ichigo jumped out of the shaft and landed a few meters away from it. Orihime and Yoruichi stood at least 10 meters away from Ichigo, waiting for the dust to clear so they could see what had become of their boy.

Yoruichi paused at the thought. 'My boy'?

Orihime called out first. "Ichigo, is that you? Please answer me!"

They saw a silhouette of Ichigo in the dust. Suddenly, Ichigo's eyes glowed, catching the two off guard. When the dust cleared, Ichigo was revealed, wearing a Soul Reaper shihakusho, in place of his Human clothes, and a Hollow mask on his face, and carrying a Zanpakuto on his back.

A shihakusho and a mask? Yoruichi mentally noted. Is he a Hollow, or is he a Soul Reaper?

Orihime trembled upon seeing that mask.

Rangiku emerged from the Shattered Shaft and saw this as well.

Ichigo took hold of his sword and unsheathed it, revealing it to be the very same oversized blade he had when he was borrowing Rangiku's powers.

Like the ground was covered in eggshells, Rangiku approached with caution. "Ichigo, can you hear me?"

Ichigo looked at Rangiku, then used his Zanpakuto's handle to smash the mask in two. The lower half fell to the floor in pieces while he used his left hand to take off the upper half. Once it was off, he smiled at her. "Yeah, I hear you, Rangiku."

Unable to hold back, Rangiku teared up and smiled before jumping at Ichigo and embracing him, much to his shock. "I'm so happy, Ichigo! You passed the test!"

Although confused at first, especially upon feeling her boobs press against his chest, Ichigo let his instincts take over and hugged Rangiku back. Yoruichi made a phone call.

In town, a lingering Hollow swooped out of nowhere and attacked an innocent soul. But just as the Hollow was about to devour the soul, a Soul Reaper arrived and cut the Hollow down. Once the Hollow was gone, the Soul Reaper walked up to the soul, preparing to send it into the Soul Society.

"You alright?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Well, if you don't want that to happen again, you should pass on."

The Soul Reaper then performed Konsō on the soul, sending it away. Once that was done, the Soul Reaper got a phone call.

Amazing headband of justice in place. Amazing armor of justice, protect me. Amazing headband of justice in place. Amazing armor of justice, protect me.

The Soul Reaper picked up her phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, Tatsuki."

"Oh, Yoruichi."

"How's the day been?"

"Oh, I just took out another Hollow and sent a Plus to the Soul Society." Tatsuki reported. "So, what's up?"

"I just thought I'd let you know that Ichigo's made it out of Shattered Shaft," Yoruichi told her. "Now, he's entering the final stages of his training, unlocking his Zanpakuto."

Tatsuki sighed. "Oh I see. Then I guess my time as a Substitute Soul Reaper will soon be coming to an end?"

"Don't count yourself out just yet, Tatsuki," Yoruichi assured her.

In the basement, Rangiku and Ichigo continued to hug each other for a while until it hit Ichigo.

"Um Rangiku, I think we're a bit– close."

Rangiku's eyes widened and she frantically pulled away. Why did I embrace my student like that?

"You alright?"

Rangiku turned towards Ichigo. "Oh, it's nothing to worry about, Ichigo."

Rangiku giggled it off, leaving Ichigo confused.

"Ichigo!" Orihime ran up to Ichigo and embraced him, which he returned.

Rangiku got a good look at Ichigo's Zanpakuto and, like before, it was very similar in appearance to her sealed Zanpakutō but oversized, with an equally-oversized brown sheath hung by a strap across his back and over his right shoulder. The tsuba was in the shape of a cat's head, with two triangles on the top half curving into ear-points, and the bottom half tapering down into a single point. The hilt's handle had a red wrapping and two light tassels attached to the handle's base, which was decorated with a flame design on its short sides. The large size was due to the unfocused but immense amount of Ichigo's spiritual power, which he did not yet know how to control.

Ichigo and Rangiku turned their attention to Kisuke upon hearing him clapping.

"Congratulations, Ichigo." Kisuke covered his mouth with his fan. "It seems you went and unlocked your Soul Reaper powers. Well done. Lesson two completed."

"Oh shut up." Ichigo crossed his arms. "Like you did anything to help."

"Ignore him, Ichigo." Rangiku waved it off. "Now before we begin Lesson 3, there's something you need to know about Zanpakuto."

"Okay, what's that?"

Rangiku began her explanation. "Zanpakuto are more than just weapons, they are part of all Soul Reapers, each generated from our souls. Basically, they're alive."

Ichigo was confused. "Okay?"

"And that's not all." Rangiku took her Zanpakuto and activated her Shekai. "GROWL: HAINEKO…!"

Ichigo watched as Rangiku's blade turned into ash and then, with one swing of her hilt, she turned a nearby boulder into sand. The ash then reformed into her blade and Rangiku sheathed her sword.

"What was that?"

"That was the power of my Zanpakuto, Haineko."

But Ichigo got the wrong idea. "Haineko? I've heard that name before. You used it during the battle with the Shrieker and again against Grand Fisher. Does this mean that you Soul Reapers name your Zanpakuto?"

Rangiku couldn't help but laugh at Ichigo's naivete. "No, no, no, no. Ichigo, you silly boy. That's not how it works."

"O-kay?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Rangiku cleared her throat. "All Zanpakuto carry a unique name and, as I already revealed, this one is Haineko, the ash cat. They're able to change their shape and size in response to their wielders' spirit energy. Not only that, but all Zanpakuto have alternate forms that we call released states, two to be more precise. The first level you need to learn is called Shikai, the initial release."

"And what about the second level?"

"That level is called Bankai, but we won't be focusing on that." Rangiku unsheathed her sword again. "First you need to learn how to achieve your Shikai, and that's where this third test comes in. I'll tell you this about Bankai though: it's a very difficult level to achieve. I haven't even achieved mine yet. Also, I think I should tell you something, Ichigo, about your Zanpakuto."

"Oh, that sounds ominous." Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Rangiku took a deep breath, then exhaled. "When I loaned you my powers, my Zanpakuto, Haineko, made contact with yours. Apparently, you have two Zanpakuto spirits within you, but one of them is an imposter."

This news really caught Ichigo's attention. "What do you mean?"

"One of those spirits is only pretending to be your Zanpakuto while the other is your real Zanpakuto."

Ichigo dipped his head downwards. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"I didn't want to distract you from the Shattered Shaft test," Rangiku answered.

"But how do I know which one is which?"

"There's only one way." Rangiku crossed her arms. "You'll have to reenter your inner world."

"Okay." Ichigo nodded. "So what do I have to do?"

"Disarm me of my sword, that's all you need to do." Rangiku took up a fighting stance. "But I assure you, I won't make it easy."

"Okay." Ichigo also took up a fighting stance. "Orihime, stand back."

"Okay." Orihime shuffled out of the way.

Both then drew their swords and prepared for battle. Rangiku went first as she suddenly disappeared in a flash and reappeared right in front of Ichigo before slashing down with her sword. Fortunately, Ichigo managed to block the attack with his own sword by turning it sideways. But Rangiku continued to batter Ichigo's blade again and again and again, slashing at his legs, forcing him to give ground until they reached a large rock. Ichigo found himself cornered as Rangiku attacked his body again, each strike getting closer to cutting him before he blocked.

Rangiku wasn't impressed. "Come on, Ichigo, you can do better than that!"

Ichigo grimaced. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You'll get yourself killed with that kind of attitude!" Rangiku slashed down hard, forcing Ichigo to crash through the rock and he rolled backwards.

When he stopped he looked at Rangiku who came in for another strike. Ichigo finally decided to retaliate as he too slashed down, but Rangiku jumped aside and spun. The other girls watched as Rangiku came back around and cut a large gash in Ichigo's right shoulder.

"Ichigo!"

Naturally, Orihime tried to go and help, but was stopped by Yoruichi.

"Not yet."

"But Yoruichi!... Oh…!" Orihime looked on as Ichigo nursed his shoulder. She was fidgeting nervously, unable to stand still while watching him bleed.

"You don't want to hurt me, you say?" Rangiku began a lecture. "Ichigo, do you know why Grand Fisher almost killed you that night?"

Ichigo had no answer, but Rangiku did. "It's because you hesitated and left yourself wide open!"

Ichigo's eyes widened upon hearing this.

"It's fine that you want to protect the people you love and I adore you for that, Ichigo." Rangiku went on. "However, you must not hesitate in the middle of a fight, otherwise, your opponent will use that opportunity against you, either to attack or retreat."

Tatsuki saw what Rangiku was trying to do.

Ichigo ranted. "That's easy for you to say, Rangiku! Unlike me, Tatsuki, Orihime, and Haruko, you weren't affected by his lure!"

"But, she's not wrong, Ichigo!"

Ichigo turned to Tatsuki.

"Remember what I said to Grand Fisher that night?"

Suddenly it hit Ichigo as he remembered Tatsuki's monologue towards Grand Fisher.

"First of all, your acting is terrible. Orihime sounds nothing like that! Second, Orihime's right over there, you idiot! And thirdly: even though I would never hurt Orihime, I'm not afraid to rough her up a bit."

With that, Ichigo found the resolve and got back up, ready to continue the fight. "Sorry for being so late to the fight, Rangiku. I think now I'm ready. And thanks, Tatsuki."

Tatsuki grinned at seeing Ichigo's resolve restored. Yoruichi then led the two away from the area so they didn't get caught in the crossfire.

"Okay." Rangiku tightened her grip on her sword. "Let's continue. GROWL: HAINEKO…!"

Using the ash of her Shikai, Rangiku attempted to slash her student with countless tiny blades. Naturally, Ichigo jumped up to it, but Rangiku swung her hilt and the ash flew up after him. Using his oversized sword, Ichigo attempted to block the ash, by swinging his sword in multiple directions, up, down, forwards, backwards, right, left, but the ash quickly overwhelmed him. In no time at all, he was enveloped in it. Using his spirit energy, Ichigo was able to escape the cloud, but not without receiving who knew how many cuts to his body. None of them were deep, but he realized that his roommate wasn't holding back.

"Ichigo!"

"Itsygo!"

"Is that all you've got, Ichigo?" Rangiku stood there, waiting to see what Ichigo's next move would be.

Ichigo, in response, got back on his feet and stood still.

Rangiku took notice. His Spiritual Pressure is increasing. Good. I'll do the same.

Rangiku raised her own Spiritual Pressure to match Ichigo's. As more power condensed around their Zanpakuto, the smaller objects around them were crushed as they unleashed a powerful wave of Spiritual Pressure. For Ichigo, the tassels on the hilt of his sword burst off, and for Rangiku, the pebbles around her were turned into sand.

"Well, look at that," Kisuke noted quietly. "Rangiku's a lot stronger than she was when she first came here, almost at a captain's level."

Yoruichi approached him. "Do you think it's because of the Hogyoku you placed inside of her?"

"Probably," Kisuke dipped his hat. "Gin mentioned something about Aizen taking a large chunk of her soul when he was growing his Hogyoku. It's possible that the Hogyoku inside of Rangiku right now is Aizen's, which has the missing piece of her soul."

"But that's just a guess." Yoruichi pointed out. "Is it even possible for the piece of her soul to be restored?"

"Who can honestly say?" Kisuke fanned his face. "However, we can't deny the possibility, since restoring that large chunk of her soul would restore her Spiritual Pressure. She might even achieve Bankai soon."

Next thing everyone knew, Ichigo surged towards Rangiku and slashed her left shoulder as he leapt into the air behind her. Upon landing, Ichigo turned to face Rangiku, who nursed her injury.

"Not bad, Ichigo." Rangiku smirked. "You've learned to increase your Spiritual Pressure."

"That's not all that's happened." Ichigo grinned back. "I don't know if it's because my spirit energy has increased, but it looks like I've gotten faster because of it."

"That's the result of raising your spirit energy," Rangiku explained. "When you increase it like this, you become stronger, faster, and tougher."

"I don't fully understand it, but I like it." Ichigo twisted from side to side, trying to aggravate the cuts he'd taken. "My injuries don't hurt anymore. In fact, I feel totally invincible!"

"Don't get overconfident." Rangiku's smirk disappeared. "If you really believe you're 'invincible', then come at me like that again!"

Ichigo pointed his sword at her. "You asked for it."

The two then surged at each other and slashed at each other with a horizontal cut. Both ended up at least 10 meters behind each other.

Rangiku giggled.

"Hey." Ichigo turned to Rangiku. "What's so funny?"

"Is this yours, Ichigo?" Rangiku showed Ichigo something that was familiar.

Ichigo's eyes widened as he saw that Rangiku had what looked like the blade of his sword in her left hand, but without the rest. He then checked his sword and saw that the blade was missing. Somehow, she was able to cut his sword in spite of its superior size.

"You- You cut my sword?"

"As if it were butter." Rangiku dropped the blade and put her left hand back on the hilt of her Zanpakuto.

In spite of his sword being broken, Ichigo grasped the hilt with both hands. "I don't know how you did it, but-"

"Don't know how I did it?" Rangiku moved in close and cut off another piece of Ichigo's blade.

Ichigo was shocked. Again?

"Don't you get it, Ichigo?" Rangiku looked Ichigo in the eyes. "Your sword has no concentration of spirit energy in it. It has size, but that's apparently all that it has. It carries a Zanpakuto shape, but it has none of the necessary internal strength."

Ichigo flinched.

"Because of that, I can cut it," Rangiku then proceeded to cut the tsuba in two, "just like that."

Now Ichigo doesn't have any sword at all. Yoruichi mentally noted. Does he plan to keep fighting with nothing but the hilt? Maybe he could manage to disarm Rangiku. But this time, he's going to need a lot more than just blind luck or courage.

"Hey, that's not fair!"

"Will Grand Fisher play fair?" Rangiku reminded him. "Was him using the image of your mother, Orihime's brother, and Haruko's ex-boyfriend fair?"

Ichigo scowled as he realized that Rangiku was right. Grand Fisher didn't play fair, Shrieker didn't play fair, Fishbone D didn't play fair, and there were likely to be other opponents out there who wouldn't play fair. In fact, Ichigo had a feeling most of them wouldn't.

"Indeed."

Ichigo found himself inside of his inner world again. Standing in front of him was Old Man Zangetsu. "Master?"

"Why would anyone trying to kill you also play fair, Ichigo?" Old Man Zangetsu tested his resolve. "Why haven't you called me yet? Face forward, Ichigo, and you should be able to hear it now."

Before Ichigo could do anything, another voice sprang out. "Ichigo Kurosaki."

Ichigo looked behind himself and saw a cute pink-furred cat girl standing there. "Who are you?"

"Oh, it's you again," said his unnamed Zanpakuto.

"I'm Haineko," she said.

"Haineko?" Ichigo quickly realized who he was talking to. "You're Rangiku's Zanpakuto!"

"The one and only!" Haineko nodded. "Ever since you gave the Soul Reaper powers you borrowed back to Rangiku, I've been able to manifest in both your Inner Worlds." She bit her knuckle and giggled… suggestively? "Definitely gonna make the most of it."

Ichigo was confused.

"Anyway, you see that man in front of you?" Haineko pointed to Old Man Zangetsu. "You know who he is?"

Ichigo turned to Old Man Zangetsu. "I think so. He's gotta be my Zanpakuto-"

"NO!" Haineko corrected him. "I can't say his real name, but he's only pretending to be your Zanpakuto!"

Ichigo flinched.

"That man is not the manifestation of your Soul Reaper powers!" Haineko exposed Old Man Zangetsu to Ichigo. "He's the manifestation of your Quincy powers!"

Tatsuki showed up behind Kisuke and Yoruichi, her eyes fixed on Ichigo's busted sword. "Hey guys, what's going on?"

"Ichigo is trying to unlock his Shikai," Kisuke explained. "Unfortunately, he hasn't succeeded as of yet."

"Shikai?" Tatsuki was confused. "What's a Shikai?"

While Yoruichi explained the concept of Shikai to Tatsuki, Rangiku made her next move.

"NEKO RINBO…!"

Rangiku once again surrounded Ichigo with a cloud of ash.

"But I don't understand!" said Ichigo. "If he's not my Zanpakuto, then where's my Zanpakuto?"

Haineko turned to Old Man Zangetsu. "Well, why don't you explain it to him, Old Man?"

Before Old Man Zangetsu could say anything…

"RIGHT HERE!"

Ichigo flinched while Haineko smirked.

Next thing Ichigo knew, a what appeared to be a white version of himself manifested from Old Man Zangetsu's cloak and stood just a few meters away from him.

Haineko crossed her arms. "About time you showed up, White Boy."

White Zangetsu smiled at Haineko and jabbed a thumb at the Old Man. "Only 'cause you blew the whistle on him."

But Ichigo was still confused. "Wait a minute! You can't be my Zanpakuto! Your spirit energy… It's like a Hollow!"

"So what if it is?" White Zangetsu smirked. "Hollows got spirit power, too, you know. Fact is, I am your Zanpakuto!"

"NO!" Ichigo recoiled in horror, memories of Grand Fisher and his mother's corpse flashing through his mind. "IT'S A LIE! YOU'RE LYING!"

Now it was Old Man Zangetsu's turn to speak. "I'm afraid it's not a lie, Ichigo."

Ichigo flinched again, but then he remembered something that Toshiro told him that day.

"The strong don't fear being vulnerable, nor do they fear the truth."

"He is your Zanpakuto," Old Man Zangetsu continued, "and so am I."

"I don't get it!" Ichigo placed his hands on his head. "How can I have two?"

"There will be time for that later, Ichigo." Old Man Zangetsu reminded him. "For now, you must call upon our shared name."

"He's right, King," White Zangetsu added. "Shout it!"

"ZANGETSU!"

In a flash, Ichigo released a cross slash that cut through the ash cloud, revealing to everyone else his Shikai. What was presented was a pair of purely black blades. One resembled an oversized khyber knife instead of a formal katana. It had a grip at the base and a handle extending back from this about roughly the witch and length of Ichigo's forearm, a thin hollowed-out portion running along the back edge of the blade from the base to the middle of the blade. The second blade was relatively small, about the size of Ichigo's arm, and was similar to the first blade, but resembled a trench knife more than a sword. Unlike its counterpart, it had an enclosed handle, with a portion acting like a hand guard.

Rangiku smiled. "All right, Ichigo! You've unlocked your Shikai!"

Ichigo looked at his two blades for a moment, then back to Rangiku. "Rangiku, I hope you're ready for this!"

"Huh?"

"Because honestly," Ichigo raised his larger sword, "I can't control this yet!"

Sensing what was about to happen, Rangiku used another of her sword's techniques. "HOUSE…!"

Using her Zanpakuto, Rangiku created a multilayered wall of ash to block Ichigo's next attack.

"SANTEN KESSHUN! I REJECT…!"

Orihime's barrier protected herself and Tatsuki from the oncoming hurricane. At the same time, Kisuke drew a sword from his cane and activated it.

"AWAKEN: BENIHIME!"

Upon activation, it took on the form of a sleek, medium-sized sword.

"CHIKASUMI NO TATE…!"

Kisuke then formed a hexagon-shaped crimson barrier in front of his blade to protect himself and Yoruichi.

As Ichigo swung down, his larger Zangetsu sword unleashed a wave of spirit energy that sliced a trench into the ground. Fortunately for Rangiku, the multilayered ash wall protected her from the blast. Unfortunately, this didn't stop her Zanpakuto from being knocked out of her hands.

The blast from the collision smashed into the others' conjured barriers, cracking them. Orihime and Tatsuki held their breath as Orihime's orange triangle… held up.

Tatsuki sighed. "Phew, that was a close call."

"Yeah," Orihime nodded.

"Good thing we all protected ourselves from that attack." Kisuke noted. "Without my Blood Mist Shield, Yoruichi and I might have been pushed into a rock."

"That hardly seems like a necessary reason to activate your Shikai," Yoruichi pointed out. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you did just to show off your Zanpakuto."

"Zanpakuto?" Tatsuki turned her head towards them. "Since when did…"

Before Tatsuki could finish, the dust settled and they all saw Rangiku, disarmed of her sword, and Ichigo, passed out.

"That was too close." Rangiku sighed in relief. "If I'd slipped up, I might've lost an arm there."

"Rangiku!" Orihime and Tatsuki ran up to Rangiku. "Are you alright?"

Rangiku felt the pain from the wound Ichigo gave her earlier. "I'm a little nicked, but I'm okay."

"I'll heal you right up!" Orihime prepared to used her Sōten Kisshun

"No!" Rangiku stopped her. "Go heal Ichigo first! He's sustained more injuries than I did!"

Orihime was hesitant at first. "Don't worry, Nel can help Lonjiku."

Rangiku rolled her eyes at Nel's inability to spell her name right.

As Nel got to work with her Nel Shower to heal Rangiku, Orihime ran over to Ichigo to heal him. "AYAME, SHUN'Ō: SŌTEN KISSHUN! I REJECT!"

While Rangiku and Ichigo were being healed, Kisuke took the time to say, "Lesson 3 cleared."

At Silbern, Bambietta was taking her turn with Haruko. But unlike the others, she came at her with a sword rather than a bow and arrow. Haruko responded with a sword of her own.

"Take this!" Bambi slashed at Haruko with a diagonal cut.

"I don't think so!" Haruko responded with a diagonal cut of her own, making their swords clash and blade-lock.

Before Bambi could go further, Haruko disappeared and reappeared behind her. She then unleashed a fury of sword thrusts at Bambi, taking great care not to strike any vital spots. The strikes came in so fast that Bambietta didn't have time to react to them. By the time Bambietta completed her pivot to face Haruko, Haruko stopped and Bambietta fell to her knees.

"Not bad, Rookie."

"I learned from the best." Haruko sheathed her sword.

"You got lucky, Haru." Giselle referred to Haruko by her nickname. "That is, lucky that you used our kind's high speed technique, Hirenkyaku."

"The only high-level Quincy Technique you ever mastered, really," Liltotto noted. "Actually, perhaps your Shrift could be S: The Speed."

"That's up to his Majesty to decide," Haruko giggled. "Anyway, I'd better get back. I'm sure the others will be worried about me."

The other Bambis nodded their heads in agreement, though with Haruko referring to Ichigo and the rest of his harem like they were friends had them suspicious of her loyalty.

Back in the World of the living, Haruko and Meninas arrived back in the spot in between the dumpster and the cinder block-and-mortar bathrooms.

Haruko bowed. "Thanks for the training, Meninas."

"You can thank me and the others by stealing Ichigo's Bankai." Meninas took out the bangle. "Might want to put this back on and leave your cross with me for now."

"Oh right." Haruko handed her cross back to Meninas and put the Quincy Bangle back on her wrist. "Anyway, I'd better get going."

"Good luck, Cousin." With that, Meninas disappeared back into the shadows and Haruko made her way back to Kisuke's shop.

At Kisuke's basement, Ichigo regained consciousness.

"Welcome back, Ichigo." Rangiku greeted him.

"Rangiku," Ichigo muttered. "What happened?"

"You passed the third test," Yoruichi chuckled. "That's what happened.

"Way to go, Ichigo."

Ichigo looked at Tatsuki and saw that she was… different. What he saw was her in a Soul Reaper Shihakushō. More than that, she was carrying a Zanpakuto, though hers was considerably smaller than his and even Rangiku's. Her Zanpakuto was a tantō with a rectangular tsuba with a light brown handle and she kept it on the left side of her waist.

"Tatsuki?"

"Yep, it's me, Ichigo." Tatsuki gave Ichigo a big grin, showing her teeth while she was at it.

"When did you become a Soul Reaper?"

Tatsuki explained how she received her Soul Reaper powers from Yoruichi and that she had been taking care of Hollows while he was training. But this only raised suspicions for Ichigo about Yoruichi. It didn't help either when he took note of Kisuke's sword.

"What the hell's going on here?"

Yoruichi took a deep breath before explaining, "Here's the thing, Ichigo: Kisuke and I are not humans. We're Soul Reapers; captain-level, actually."

This naturally raised Ichigo's anger as he realized that, all those times they were in danger from Hollows like the Shrieker and Grand Fisher, Yoruichi was useless. "I don't get it! I-If you're a Captain-Level Soul Reaper, why didn't you take down all of those Hollows we faced? You could have gotten us out of those situations without much trouble!"

"You're right about that." Yoruichi nodded. "I could have taken out Shrieker and Grand Fisher 100 times over, but that would have defeated the purpose."

"Purpose, what purpose?" Before anyone could answer, Ichigo remembered what Rangiku told him the day after the Fishbone D incident. "Oh, I get it now. You were waiting to see what I would decide, weren't you?"

Yoruichi smiled and nodded. "So, now that you know the truth, what will you do now, Ichigo? Are you going to retire from your monster fighting days or are you-"

Ichigo cut her off. "I already made up my mind. I'm going to keep being a Substitute Soul Reaper for as long as I need to be, and I'm going to keep getting stronger until I can beat Grand Fisher or any other Hollow that threatens my friends, my family, or anyone else in Karakura Town."

Suddenly, something strange happened to Haineko. Rangiku picked it up with her right hand as it glowed for some reason. Next thing she knew, a second Zanpakuto blade appeared in her left hand.

Haruko then showed up. "I'm back!"

"Haruko?!"

"Where have you been?" Rangiku raised an eyebrow.

"I've been improving my Quincy skills." Haruko told her, leaving out the part about her cousin and the Bambis. "So, did I miss anything?"

And that was chapter 15. As you can see, Ichigo has unlocked his Shikai and has two blades, Orihime has learned how to control her powers, Haruko has shown her skill at the Quincy high-speed technique, Hirenkyaku, and Tatsuki is a Substitute Soul Reaper now. Next chapter will be a special chapter and a break from the main story as it will cover Ichigo's birthday. Be sure to stay tuned for that.

Author's Note: Now for those who haven't realized it by now, Ive been working on Haruko being a secret member of the Bambis since chapter 7. I understand if there are those who don't like this idea and if you want to back out, I won't stop you. But you're more than welcome to come back if you ever change your mind.

Chapter 16: A Day for the Strawberry