Ichigo panted as he continued to run within the underground chambers in Urahara's shop, dodging lethal Kido blasts that threatened to put him out of commission. Ichigo couldn't remember how long it's been since he started being on the defensive. All he knew was that the opponent he was fighting was completely ruthless, having been on the run since the very start of this fight.

Ichigo could even feel his claws starting to hurt with how much he'd been digging through the walls. His opponent had been sending all sorts of elemental attacks, whether they be fire, lightning, or large energy balls with an area of effect that Ichigo couldn't possibly dodge from. His clothes were torn apart, as though he'd been through a war zone. No matter what strategy he made, his opponent was 10 steps ahead of him, as though he read Ichigo like a book.

The vast experience between them was abundant. If Ichigo couldn't come up with something, then he'd die for sure. It wasn't until a Shakkaho came close to him, with its explosion sending a shockwave directly against Ichigo, knocking him off balance as he fell on the ground. Even with his precognitive danger system, it was impossible to keep up with so many attacks at once, and for so many hours as well. The injuries he sustained looked as though he'd been fighting in the Soul Society all over again, but unlike his spiritual body, his human form didn't have as much resilience. His muscles ached as they begged him to stop.

Ichigo looked at Tessai, who had remained unmoving since the start of the fight. Ichigo wasn't able to get close to his defenses at all, having been the prey this entire time. Tessai's calm and analytical expression hadn't changed this entire time, whilst Ichigo was ready to die, but nevertheless he continued to get up, despite his body and clothes being stained by blood all over the place.

"Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro!" Tessai pronounced the name of the Kido, though for a Master of his caliber there was no need to call it out. Six wide beams of light penetrate his weakened target's midsection, causing Ichigo to yell out in pain.

"What… the hell… is this?!" Ichigo demanded to know as he struggled to move, "I can't move at all!"

"If you could, then I'd be more rusty than I thought," Tessai said as he walked over to Ichigo, hands behind his back, "You can't so much as shoot your webs anymore. Struggle all you want, but in your condition it's impossible. Those beams of light are meant to paralyze not just the body, but the soul as well."

"When I get out of this…" Ichigo spoke, trying to push his body upwards.

"You'll do what?" Tessai asked, crouching down, "Don't bother. Even if you could get out, you'll just damage your spine, and that's if you're lucky. The soul is far more valuable, and you're discarding it like it's nothing. That's not how you're supposed to get out of this technique."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo grit his teeth.

"To escape is to understand oneself, which you clearly lack. Think. These rods are meant to incapacitate you by targeting the pressure points of the body. You're not just a human. So how do you escape?" Tessai ambiguously asked.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?!" Ichigo argued, "I don't know any of this Kido crap!"

"And you'll continue to be like this with the rest of your enemies!" Tessai argued back, his presence becoming intimidating, "If you don't gain knowledge, how are you supposed to fight?!"

"Maybe tell me instead of trying to beat it out of me like I'm yesterday's trash," Ichigo sarcastically replied.

It was then that a clapping sound was heard, drawing both Ichigo and Tessai's attention as Yoruichi was walking towards them, "Alright, that's about enough! I do believe that Ichigo learned his lesson!" Yoruichi exclaims as she gets between them. She then crouches down on Ichigo, "So, how does it feel to be on the short side?"

"Hilarious. How about you join in so you can know how it feels like," Ichigo sarcastically replied.

"Tessai," Yoruichi looked at her ally, and without an exchange of words the large man nodded his head before he let go of the Kido, freeing Ichigo in the process. The orange haired teen began to get up, before Yoruichi forcefully planted his head against the ground, caving it in. "Oh, I'm sorry. My hand must have slipped. Maybe it had something to do with that comment you just made?"

"You bitch!" Ichigo tried to get up, but he wasn't making much progress.

"Whoops," Yoruichi smirked as she planted Ichigo's head deeper into the ground, "Well would you look at that, my hand slipped again."

Ichigo then broke out of her grip, glaring vehemently at the older woman, "You love doing this on purpose, don't you?!" He argued.

"What makes you say that?" Yoruichi innocently blinked her eyes.

"Ah, it seems my favorite love birds are going at it yet again!" Kisuke appeared out of nowhere, walking towards the others, "So, how did the training go?"

"Love birds?!" Ichigo and Yoruichi exclaimed with their eyes widening, "You take that back! I'd never get with this werecat!" Ichigo yelled out with a furious blush.

"Excuse me?!" Yoruichi seemed offended by this as she glared at the younger man, "You wouldn't wanna get with someone as hot as me if the opportunity presented itself to you?!"

"I thought you hated what he just said?!" Ichigo was baffled.

"I do! It would be more appropriate for me to say I wouldn't get with someone so damn shy!" Yoruichi butted heads with Ichigo.

"The hell do you mean shy?!" Ichigo bickered.

"You know what I mean! Do I have to bring up the hot springs?!" Yoruichi said.

"That's completely different!" Ichigo replied.

"This is what I mean," Kisuke nudged at Tessai.

"You shut your mouth!" Ichigo and Yoruichi exclaimed.

Ichigo grumbled under his breath as he landed on a rooftop, letting go of his web. He held his shoulder in pain, his body still aching from the beating he took from Tessai despite the healing Yoruichi provided for him. She wasn't nearly as good at it as Orihime or Unohana in this aspect, but she still patched up his body enough so that it could heal on its own, and Ichigo could feel the regeneration kicking in.

"Damn nutjobs…" Ichigo complained, rolling his shoulders, "They're crazy. Every single one of them."

"Who's crazy exactly?" Ichigo spun his head quickly to see Black Cat standing behind him, a grin plastered on her face as she held her hip.

"Black Cat?!" Ichigo nearly jumped out of his skin at seeing the older woman once again, "What are you doing here?!"

"Well this place isn't as big as say, New York, so it's inevitable we'd run into each other," The feline heroine said as she walked over to him, "So, what have you been up to lately? And what's with those clothes you're wearing?" She teased him.

Ichigo as of now was wearing his regular clothes, save for the gloves and mask he had on him, as those were the things that weren't damaged by Green Goblin's pumpkin bomb until a new suit was made for him until then, "Oh, uh… ran into some problems," He vaguely responded.

Black Cat shrugged, "You know I've seen your fight with that flying whacko on the news, right?" She said, as though teasing him, "Whatever tailor made that suit for you must be pissed off at you for ruining it just like that."

"Uh… I won't confirm or deny," Ichigo responded.

"I'll take that as a yes. You're not a very good liar, you know that?" She said.

"So I've been told," The youth responded.

"I think I've heard of that maniac you fought," The white haired woman began, "His name is—"

"Green Goblin, I know," Ichigo interrupted, "There's not much known about him, other than he fought Metal Man a while back."

"... Metal Man?" Black Cat was confused, "Who the hell is that?"

"I thought you heard of him?" Now Ichigo was confused.

"I never heard of anyone by that—" Black Cat then felt a clockwork gearing until it grinded to a halt, "...It's Iron Man."

"Come again?" Ichigo blinked behind his mask.

"It's Iron Man, you idiot!" Black Cat argued, "How did you possibly misremember that?!"

"Oh yeah!" Ichigo put his fist on his hand, "That was his name!"

"Don't just dodge the question!" Black Cat exclaimed.

"I wasn't dodging! I just remembered what the name was!" Ichigo argued.

"It's two words! How do you not remember two words?!" Black Cat put two of her fingers in front.

"I got one of them right!"

"You're supposed to remember the whole thing! It's a code name!" Black Cat slapped her hand, "That's like if I forgot what yours is!"

"But I don't have one!" The hero argued.

"How is Spider not your code name?!"

"That literally sounds half assed! And you're the one who made that! I didn't even agree!"

"Yet you're using it?!"

"Until I come up with something better!"

"So you're using it!"

"No!"

"But you just said—!" Black Cat sighed out of frustration as she put her hands on her head, "You know what, I'm not gonna argue about this," She then gave a serious look to Ichigo, "I heard you got involved with the Kingpin. Without me for that matter. How did that come to pass?"

"Uh… it's a bit of a long story," Ichigo said, unsure where to start.

"Go ahead and tell me from the start," The feline folded her arms, "Unless you got school or something to go to right now."

"I got some time… so it started like this…"

Norman was sitting in his office, calmly analyzing the reports given to him by the men working under him. Everything was simply standard procedure about work, but if one were to take a closer look, then they'd see he was transfixed on something else.

'I saw him…' Norman thought, thinking back to his previous battle with the Spider. 'It was only a portion, but I saw his face. Brown eyes… and orange hair? That seems quite the unusual hair color in Japan. Who is he?' Norman put down the pad on his wooden table, and rested his back against his chair, crossing his fingers together as he stared at his ceiling, 'It can't be that many people have hair colors such as that. I mean, really, people get picked on for having different colors they're not accustomed to. So who is this masked figure?'

Norman thought deeper to himself, 'Maybe I could ask Fisk for a tip on his identity, see if he knows anything. We may hate each other, but he's useful for information such as this. Knowledge has always been Fisk's greatest strength, and once I take that knowledge for myself, then I'll be the King of the Underworld,' The man put his fingers under his chin, 'And once I first obtain who he is, it should be a simple matter of me getting rid of him for good. A simple blackmail will suffice.'

He thought back to when the enhanced formula increased his powers. His men had worked carefully and diligently to make sure everything was smooth. The formula was a success… if it weren't for the untested side effects of the human psyche. Normally, it'd be safer if it were to be tested on animals first before himself, but who knew just when the next kidnapping would happen like with Vulture, and the next after that, and those who threatened his position. It would take longer, and Norman did not have the patience for that.

The equipment for the Green Goblin had been enhanced as well. Electricity that can shoot up to 100,000 volts, heat incinerators that are as hot as the surface of the sun, slimy balls that once made contact with a living organism can glue them for half a day, and so on and so forth. The hacking frequency that he used to originally hack into Iron Man's earliest suits had also been improved, but he doubted he'd need it for a foe who had no technological advances in his weaponry.

Thinking yet again, he thought of the young blonde girl, and a faint smile curled on his lips. Though it reminded him that he needed to head to a meeting with Captain George Stacy discussing the matter with the vigilante at hand.

"And that's the end of it," Ichigo finished his explanation of his alleged partnership with the pair of assassins and a mafia boss, and his skirmish with the Green Goblin, "My costume was torn apart, so this was the best I could go with."

Black Cat remains silent, being unsure as to what to say of everything Ichigo told her, "I can't lie to you… this is some serious and heavy stuff you're getting involved with. I mean, assassins? Mafia? This isn't exactly gonna paint a good picture on you if the public were to find out about this. One minute you're fighting for your life against them, and now you're just buddies? And you're telling me you're even getting paid by them?"

"I didn't want to," Ichigo protested, "Yulan insisted on paying me—"

"The woman that can backstab you?" The heroine glared at Ichigo, "I knew you were naive, but this is ridiculous—"

"Hey, I'm not exactly friends with them, alright?" The youth rebuked, "I'm still wrapping my head as to how I got into this mess."

"Please tell me you didn't just accept the money from them," Black Cat hoped.

"No I… I don't even know. I haven't gotten back because I had to hide for a bit until I get a new costume," Ichigo answered her, "Which I really wish I had something tougher than some normal clothes."

"Look, I'm glad that you didn't accept any money from criminals, but still, this is the type of organization where they may as well use your kindness and throw you under the bus when you're no longer needed. That's the most basic 'Don't listen to strangers' rule ever," Black Cat scoffed as she folded her arms.

"I know that. I'm still trying to figure things out. But right now they don't want to get rid of me," Spider answered.

"And how do you know that?" Black Cat wasn't convinced.

"Because if they wanted to get rid of me, they already had the chance to kill me when Yor beat me," The teen pointed out, "She attacked my nerves, and only used it to knock me out. She could have killed me. The same goes for Yulan, but right now we're just dubious allies at best."

"I swear, I take my eyes off you and you're thrust into the strangest situations," Black Cat muttered.

"You have no idea," Ichigo put his hand on his head, scratching it, "But apparently the money thing might not be so illegal after all."

"What do you mean?" Black Cat was confused.

"Yulan has ways of giving money to me that's not exactly illegal, at least according to how she explained it. I didn't exactly get the whole process, but it's something that wouldn't bite me back in the ass." Ichigo said.

"Please tell me you don't actually believe that," Black Cat scoffed.

"Of course I don't. It's not like I have a choice," The masked vigilante scoffed back, "I don't want to be in this business, but now she's willing to hold her end of the deal by hiring me."

"As much as I want to argue about this with you all day long," Black Cat sighed, "I'm at least glad you told me about what happened since we last met. Still, don't blame me if tomorrow the police come knocking on your door for accepting that money."

"Like I said, she needs me. So I doubt she'll be rid of me that easily," Ichigo shrugged his shoulders.

"Speaking of costumes…" Black Cat remembered something, "Would you mind if I made one for you?"

"Huh? What for?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

"To give you a tougher suit. You're complaining about your suit not being tough enough. So I'm offering to give what you need. I can't exactly give you an Iron Man type of armor, but the fiber I have might help you last a good while," Black Cat tells him.

"Really? You'd just do that?" Ichigo was surprised to hear this.

"I'd feel bad if I didn't. Besides, without protection, how would you last in this field?" Black Cat shrugged.

"... I can't tell if you're being sincere or just mocking me," Ichigo grumbled as he folded his arms.

"Take it however you want," Black Cat answered, "Though it's gonna take some time, since I don't really have a lot of free time on my hands. So, you got school now or are you free at the moment?"

The masked teen stayed silent for a moment, soundlessly clenching his fist, "I was hoping you could help me with something…" He said.

"Sure. What do you need? More information on Kingpin? Any clue you obtained to help us take him down?" Black Cat asked.

"No…" His triangular lenses made a deep stare at Black Cat, "This one is something personal. I need to find someone."

Black Cat blinked for a moment, her mind processing what her companion just said, putting her hands on her hips, "Is… everything alright?" She asked out of concern, "What exactly happened?"

"It's a bit of a long story," The vigilante replied, "I've been trying to find this guy for a while now, but I haven't had any luck in finding him. I was hoping you could help me with that."

"Uh... I wouldn't mind, but…" Black Cat began, "It would help if I knew what exactly I was dealing with here. You don't have to tell me the whole thing, but give me some idea what I'm dealing with here."

"It was back when I just got these powers," Ichigo looked at his hands, "I was confused, and I had no idea what I was doing. While I was trying to find this out by myself, there was a robbery that happened where some of my friends got involved. When I got there, things got messy. The guy that held them hostage shot a close friend of mine..." He clenched his fists, and merely thinking of that incident angered him enough to pop out his claws, "I wanted to go after that bastard… but my friend's condition was more important. But I wanted to go after him, to make him pay for what he did."

"I'm sorry for what happened," Black Cat muttered, "Is your friend…?"

"She's okay," Ichigo nodded his head, "Much better now."

"Well… shouldn't you feel better from that?" Black Cat asked in concern.

"I do, but it's not enough. I need to make that guy pay for what he did," Ichigo muttered, "It's one thing to do that to me. But once you involve my friends… you crossed the line. I know what that's like," He remembered all too well of the day he lost his mother.

"Look…" Black Cat put her hands in the air, "I'm just worried about you. I've seen what happens when people get too wrapped up in personal feelings, and I just don't wanna see you do the same thing."

"I'll be fine," Ichigo assured her.

"Do you know who this guy is?" Black Cat asked.

"No, but I know what he looks like. That's all I need to remember," Ichigo retracted his claws. Ever since the day Orihime got shot, despite his horrible memory of remembering names and faces, he made certain to remember this one, "I've tried asking on Kingpin's territory, but it's like nobody knows who he is."

"That probably means he's on the opposite side then," Black Cat put her fingers under her chin, "But have you seen them?"

"Sometimes, but not as much these days. Probably because they're busy doing their stupid gang war," Ichigo answered.

"Well you know the layout of this area better than I do, so maybe you can show where you've met these guys?" Black Cat suggested.

"That sounds good. I'll see where to start," Ichigo said before he leaped out of the building and started swinging, with Black Cat following him from behind.

It took a while, but eventually they figured out how to track down the gang members that were linked to Orihime's shooter. Due to how constantly active they were in getting illegal firearms to increase their fighting power against Kingpin's men, it wasn't a big wonder when Black Cat tracked down their shipment in the middle of the docks in Karakura.

Ichigo and Black Cat were crouching on the nearby metal crates. The young man, seeing the goons were holding onto their weaponry, didn't have any patience and lunged at them, ignoring his partner's cry and made his presence known as he fired his webbing at two of the members, making them trip and fall right on their backs.

"What the fuck—?!" One of the members immediately raised their weaponry in surprise.

"It's that spider guy!" The other member began to raise his weapon and fired it at Ichigo, who twisted his body, but he moved closer before he opened his claws and with a single slice shredded the weapon into two. The barrel made a heavy thud as it hit the ground, and the member became mortified as he started backing away.

The other member from behind was about to fire at Ichigo as well, only for Black Cat to interfere by scratching the member's back, making him howl in pain as he started bleeding, groaning as he laid on the ground, "Don't just rush in like that without warning!" Black Cat exclaimed.

"What's there to worry about? We handled these guys before," Ichigo responded as he leaped out of the way from a gunfire shot before he stuck his hand on the ground, making a sweep kick too fast to be seen with the human eye, making another member fall down.

"Give a warning next time, won't you?!" Black Cat exclaimed in annoyance as she dodged multiple barrages of high speed bullets coming at her, using her acrobatics to move out of the way. She skillfully managed to get between two other gang members and hit them by using her elbows on their stomach, making them groan out in pain as she incapacitated them, "Don't just rush in like that!"

Ichigo didn't say anything as he grabbed the other member's arm and started spinning them around. He let him go before clashing against another member, making them roll against the ground. Black Cat took down the last one before they were all thrown together in a circle, barely keeping their consciousness.

"Alright, I got a very important question I need to ask, and for your sake, I hope you can answer it," Ichigo crouched down as he stared at the punks with his triangular lenses, "Tell me… you know about a guy named Kurosaki?"

"Kurosaki?" One of the gang members were trying to steer themselves awake, "Wait… why does the name sound familiar?"

"You idiot! It's that orange haired punk that trashes on those kiddy school punks that bother him or whatever!" One of the other members replied with a scoff.

"So you do know him. That's good," Spider made a cartwheel, landing on the other side as he glared at the punk who indirectly gave him an answer, "See, there's something that's been bothering me. Why exactly would you give Kurosaki's friends problems? And more importantly, why would you go as far as to shoot one of them?"

"Shoot one of — what the hell are you talking about?" The members were confused as to what Spider was saying.

"Let's get something straight here…" Ichigo then put the member's hand onto his, and began to bend it downwards, "I am not in the mood for waiting games. You know who Kurosaki is, so that means you know who his friends are as well. If you don't, then your buddies surely do. None of you are the ones I'm looking for," He began to apply more pressure than what a human hand could handle, "So now you're going to tell me, which one of you was the one who shot that girl on the streets? You have the jackets he wore, but you don't have the face. That means you're all in the same group. So who was it?"

"I... Who are you talking about?!" The gang member that gave him indirect answers before started to buckle under the pressure, "I don't know!"

Ichigo wasn't convinced, so he started bending the hand further. At this point the gang was starting to grow afraid of the yelling their companion was making, "Oh fuck!" The gang member tried to move, but Ichigo's grip was too strong, "Stop! You're gonna break it!"

"I will if you don't give me what I want," Ichigo calmly said with intense anger boiling in him, glaring intensely at the gang member. Now the pressure of bending his hand was on the verge of breaking, and the member was on the verge of tears.

"Alright, alright! I'll tell you! Just let me go!" The gang member pleaded.

"Who was it?" Ichigo refused to let go until he got the information he needed.

"I don't know the exact name! But there's a base we have! You'll find who you're looking for! I swear!" The gang member couldn't handle the pain anymore, giving Ichigo the information he was hoping to give.

"Where…?" Ichigo demanded to know.

Back in the hideout where Ichigo was interrogating the gang, the punk he'd been looking for was playing card games with another gang member, just looking to pass the time before the others returned with illegal weaponry to increase their firepower against Kingpin's army.

"So, when do you think they'll be coming back?" Daisuke asked out of boredom.

"The hell do you care?" The other gang member from inside the base replied.

"Because I'm bored, asshole," Daisuke replied.

"Then just shut up and wait," The other member replied.

"How do you expect me to shut up when I'm looking for some entertainment?" Daisuke asked in annoyance.

"Come on, you of all people should know that's pointless when we asked for shipment of those weapons. It might take a while for them to come back," The other member replied.

"Lame."

"You're lame. Now shut up and make the next move."

Suddenly, they heard sounds of yelps coming from outside. There were multiple guards taking places to protect their base in case outsiders decided to make themselves known. But those noises their men were making were unnatural at how they were being attacked, as if someone or something made themselves known without being aware.

"The fuck is that?" The other members tensed up, and prepared themselves with their weapons as they headed outside.

Once they made it through by unlocking the doors, the sight that greeted them made them shocked. They saw the Spider and Black Cat, taking out a good chunk of the men like they were bowling pins.

"What the fuck?!" One of the members exclaimed, "It's one of those super freaks! How the hell did they find us?!"

"Who cares?! They're trespassing! With these babies on our side," They prepared the weapons in their hands, "We'll toast these suckers alive! Let's get them!"

Everyone but Daisuke, who stepped back out of fear, blindly charged at the Spider and Black Cat. The result goes about as well as expected. The men were getting torn apart despite having dozens of more numbers on their side. With experience and incredible power on the heroes' side, the sloppy crew were getting manhandled like they were bugs in comparison. It didn't help that they were just amateurs who had no idea how to wield these types of guns to begin with.

So, Daisuke, despite performing a cowardly act in the eyes of the gang, ran back to the base, shutting off all lights so as not to spot himself. There was a back door that'd allow him to get away, and if he ran far enough, then he wouldn't get spotted to begin with, and it would somewhat keep the gang alive. Daisuke wasn't stupid, he knew that he was no match for these super powered folks, and he'd get arrested.

It took the others seconds to get knocked down, scratched, webbed, and so on. Ichigo saw Daisuke running away despite all the chaos enveloping him. He saw that all of them had been taken down, and that his partner was practically unscathed, "You go ahead and call the cops. There was another one that's trying to run away. I'll get him," He told her before he dived through the metal door, destroying it completely and utterly like it was made of paper.

Daisuke, having a second before he opened the back door, instinctively turned his head and gasped in fear at seeing Spider standing menacingly at the front door, with darkness enveloping him as though it naturally became a part of him. Before Daisuke could form another thought, Ichigo turned his head to look at him.

Neither said a word as the two made eye contact. Daisuke became frozen with fear, holding his weapon as he thought whether he should open the door or stay and fight. Ichigo on the other hand stared intently, realizing this was the same punk who shot Orihime.

"So it's you…" Ichigo began.

"Stay away!" Daisuke raised his gun at Ichigo and fired a direct shot despite his clumsiness, but nevertheless Ichigo grabbed the bullet with his hand, wrapping it in a fist as he clenched the bullet with enough force to crumble it to dust. Daisuke remained dumbfounded.

Ichigo began to run towards him at blinding speed. Daisuke barely had time to shoot one bullet at close range, only for Ichigo to duck his head out of the way before grabbing the man's wrist, clenching it painfully before skillfully flipping him over with enough force to crash on the same table he was playing cards at. The gang member was groaning in immense pain.

"You're the same punk that shot Orihime Inoue…" Ichigo could feel his burning anger boiling ever more, walking towards Daisuke with his fists clenched.

"Wh… wh — who are you? How do you— ugh!" Daisuke got roughly picked up as Ichigo grabbed him by the collar.

"There's one simple question I want to ask you…" Ichigo glared at him with intensity that threatened to boil the man's soul, "That day, when you confronted those defenseless girls, why did you shoot them?" He demanded to know, "I know all about this gang war between you and the Kingpin… so why did you involve some girls that had nothing to do with this?"

"Girls…?" The punk muttered as he seemed to struggle to remember until he widened his eyes, "Wait… you mean those chicks from a few weeks ago? What do they matter to you?"

Ichigo clenched his teeth behind his mask. As much as he wanted to hit him with everything he had, it would result in his death. The dark part of him whispered into his ear in a seductive manner to give into his impulses. He gave a backhanded blow to Daisuke's face, making him yell out in pain, "Answer the question," Ichigo demanded, "Why did you do it?!"

"I panicked, alright?!" Daisuke admitted, whimpering in pain, "I didn't mean to! I swear! I was just going to rob them! But when that orange haired punk came out, I just pulled the trigger without thinking! That's all there is to it!"

"You just expect me to believe that?!" Ichigo threw him away, making him roll on the ground as the punk dropped his weapon. After believing that his mother's death had been an accident for so many years, only for it to be a murder, it was too good to be true, "Answer me! Did someone order you to go after those girls?!"

"I…" Daisuke groaned, "I was ordered to take money… because we needed it as much as possible to buy as many weapons to defend our territory. It ain't right. But I never meant to shoot that girl, I swear… besides…" He weakly looked at Ichigo, "You know this is war, right? People are gonna die anyways, so the hell do we care if some bitches die on the sidelines?"

Ichigo didn't really know what happened next. For weeks he'd buried his anger, blaming himself for the day he couldn't stop Orihime's shooter. Now that he'd finally met the man once again, then what would he do? Arrest him? Beat him? He didn't know. But after what he just said, he lost control of his anger, violently lashing out as he leaped over to the punk, picked him, and started giving him a brutal beating.

Ichigo raised his knee to connect to the punk's stomach. He then connected his fist to his face, and did it to the other side. Blood erupted from his face, and his teeth started getting knocked down. Ichigo violently threw backhanded strikes to the man, throwing him around like he was his toy. The teen protector made a roundhouse kick to the punk's hip, making a loud crack.

There were noises sprouting from the punk, but Ichigo couldn't hear anything. Whether he was pleading or not was irrelevant to him. He wanted to cause him pain. Ichigo grabbed Daisuke by his hair and started beating him within an inch of his life with his other fist. Blood sprouted, a nose was broken, tears were falling, and Daisuke's face was broken. Ichigo let go of his hair and kicked him across the chest, sending him flying before he landed on the ground.

Ichigo angrily ran to the battered man who could barely move. He crouched on top of Daisuke and started beating him with his fists, his claws unconsciously popping out, though the sharp weapons made no contact with his face. The sounds of beating were like mashed potatoes, with blood staining Ichigo's gloves.

As Ichigo was about to deliver another blow, something stopped him as he looked at the mess the punk was in. He could barely breathe, and he was suffering bone fractures. His face was completely battered and broken, and he was losing blood, with his breathing being hazy.

Ichigo blinked, as though consciousness came back and so did his senses. What was he doing? Did he really suppress that much anger? Was he blinded by it that he almost killed a man? What was he doing anyway? The punk there gave him practically all the answers he needed. In the end that's all he was. Just some punk. Was he really worth taking all that anger out on?

… The answer was no.

After thinking it over, Ichigo got off of Daisuke, "You're not worth it," The teen told the man, and began to dial the hospital. If he didn't get help soon, he'd die for sure.

After that was said and done, with Black Cat giving him scolding about his beating to Daisuke, he could only apologize, realizing that she was right, and that his anger was blinding him. Both the police and the hospital arrived, but by then the two heroes had been long gone. The members back at the docks had also been taken care of by another police squad.

So with that said, one side of the gang was taken down in Japan, Orihime's shooter was caught, so everything should have been fine afterwards. But Ichigo didn't feel like that. Honestly, he didn't know how to feel right now. He was conflicted all over in his head. That's why he went to Urahara's Shop, so that he could talk to Yoruichi about this, as the two of them had their discussion on this particular subject before, so Ichigo figured she'd be the best person to talk to about this.

That's why he was now in the underground chamber, sitting on a boulder as he had long since returned to his civilian clothes, "Hey, what's with that look on your face?" He heard Yoruichi's voice call out to him, feeling her breasts pressing against his back, a grin plastered on her face as she put her hands on his shoulders, "Don't tell me you called me on my break just because you were feeling gloomy. I don't want that kind of energy in my place."

"Your place?" Ichigo sarcastically replied, "And here I thought this belonged to Kisuke and you were just a freeloader."

"You better watch your mouth," A thick mark grew on Yoruichi's face, "I'd like to remind you that it was both me and Kisuke who built this place, again mind you. Sure it was originally his idea, but I contributed plenty."

"Is that so?" Ichigo bitterly smiled.

"So, what did you call me for?" Yoruichi asked, backing away from Ichigo for a bit, "If you called me here just so you can brood, then I might as well kick you out. That stuff is reserved for your friends."

Ichigo didn't really say anything, rather he remained silent, being unsure what to say, even though the words were so simple in his mind, "I managed to catch Orihime's shooter," He started.

"Oh…?" Yoruichi raised her eyes as this piqued her interest. Of all the things he called her for, she wasn't expecting this, "Well I wasn't expecting that. So, how did it go?"

"I'm… not sure," Ichigo answered as he looked at the ceiling, "Well, I managed to capture the guy, obviously. He's being sent to a hospital first before he can rot in jail."

"Hospital?" Yoruichi caught the meaning of Ichigo's words, "Something happened before that, didn't it?" She frowned, "And I have a feeling it's because you were the one who was responsible for it."

"You could say that," Ichigo sighed, "When I found him, when it was just me and him, I let my temper get the better of me. I nearly lost control, Yoruichi. The things he said made me so mad I just couldn't think straight. At any point in time I could have stopped pulling my punches and just… I could have killed him without realizing it. I kept beating him so much that he could barely breathe. If I spent another minute beating him, I could have killed him…"

"And you're feeling guilty about it, if I'm guessing right?" Yoruichi asked.

"I went too far, Yoruichi…" Ichigo muttered, "I kept beating him when he was already down."

"But that can't be all you're feeling bad about, is it?" Yoruichi asked, "I seriously doubt the beating you gave him is what's making you feel so guilty. If you were that soft, you never would have won against Kenpachi."

Ichigo took a deep breath, taking a long minute pause, "Yeah, you're right… it's the fact I wanted to kill him when I kept pummeling him. Even against the Bounts, I only killed Kariya because I didn't have any other choice. I had plenty, but I just wanted to kill him so badly…"

"So what made you stop? It couldn't have just been your sense of morality, could it?" Yoruichi questioned this.

"...No," The teen answered, "I realized the guy was not worth it in the end."

"In what sense?"

"When my mother died, for the longest time I thought it was an accident. When I realized it was just a senseless murder that Grand Fisher caused, I was angry. I was so angry that I wanted to do anything to kill him. The Hollows being purified was just an excuse so I could kill the bastard myself. I don't regret a thing," He thought back to when he killed the upgraded Grand Fisher, "I thought this was someone manipulating behind the scenes again, but no, he was really just some punk that caused an accident. That's all there was to it. As mad as I was, at the end of the day he was just some punk that got unlucky. I mean, why would he deserve to die? Besides… it's better to let him see his life is ruined when everyone he knows realizes he's in jail."

"Well, it seems our little Ichigo is finally growing up," Yoruichi put her hand on his spiky hair, "Good on you for realizing that. Though I guess you set up an interesting path for yourself…"

"What kind?" Ichigo was confused.

"Remember that talk we had about what you were looking for to pursue Orihime's shooter? About what you were looking for was justice or vengeance? Let me tell you this: If you picked justice you wouldn't have beaten him so badly the way you did. But if you picked vengeance, you would have gone through the whole thing of killing that guy outright. But you picked something in between those lines," Yoruichi told him, pulling her hand away.

"So… what does that make me?" Ichigo asked.

"I have no idea," Yoruichi shrugged, "I was formerly an assassin, so I have no idea how this hero and villain stuff works. All that I understand is that you're your own person at the end of the day. That's likely what makes you intriguing."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo was confused.

"Well how to explain this… You don't exactly follow the rules completely, but you don't really break them either, and you have a personality that only belongs to you, so mix all that in and you're a unique specimen among men," Yoruichi explained.

"In other words, I guess I have to figure it out on my own," Ichigo sighed, "Still…"

"Something still bothering you?" Yoruichi asked.

"Sort of… it's still about this war with Aizen… if I nearly killed that guy then… would I have to kill Aizen as well?" Ichigo questioned.

Yoruichi remained silent, as though stunned at the question, "Look, Ichigo… you probably already know this deep down… but killing Aizen is about the only choice we have. We're about to enter a war. This should be obvious to anybody, but in a war there are going to be casualties, and those might include your friends. If they were to die, would you honestly say you'd still have mercy on your enemies even then?"

"That's not—"

"I'm stating a likely possibility, Ichigo. In a war you have to consider stuff like this might happen, you'd be a fool not to. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but chances are you'll see a lot of bodies piling up. Besides, you're not alone. We have the entire 13 Court Guard Squads backing you up. It might not even be likely you get to fight Aizen. You don't have the experience either way, so you might not even fight him. Just focus on those in your weight class, and if you do fight someone more than you could handle, then get help. I could go on, but you get the picture. If you could kill Kariya when you had no choice, then the same applies to Aizen."

Ichigo stood silent for a minute, as if contemplating Yoruichi's words. Suddenly the atmosphere shifted, as the protector grew resolved, "Well, thanks for this Yoruichi. I needed this. I still don't have all the answers, but I'll figure them out."

"Whatever. So, how about I get a favor in return?" Yoruichi shrugged her shoulders.

"What favor?" Ichigo was confused.

"Since you took care of Orihime's shooter, are you gonna have time to date girls now?" Yoruichi grinned.

"Not this again," Ichigo rolled his eyes, "I told you I'm still busy."

"Oh come on," Now it was the Flash Goddess' turn to roll her eyes, "You can't actually think you'll enter in a war without getting laid first, are you?"

"Getting—" Ichigo choked on his words, "Are you serious?! Who could I possibly find for that?!"

"That's up to you, so not my problem," Yoruichi shrugged, "Although, I do still hold the offer of you and I going on dates so you could practice."

"You're still on about that?!"

"At this point, I'd do anything to see you getting lucky with a girl. Could be Orihime, she's open minded, shy as she is with you. So she's an ideal candidate," Yoruichi said.

"Absolutely not! And don't talk to her like that!" Ichigo's face was a furious shade of red, "Why are you so dead set on getting me on a date?!"

"Because being a workaholic with no fun is as dull as it gets. Ask Soi-Fon, I'm sure she'd be perfect to explain this," Yoruichi shrugged, "Besides, you deserve to have fun every once in a while."

"But I can't just—"

"Ichigo, we have until December until the war with Aizen starts," Yoruichi cut him off, "You literally have months of time until then. Besides, you already felt my breasts on your back… granted, not completely but—"

"Don't just bring it up like that!" At this point, Ichigo felt like his heart was ready to burst.

"Hey, I do whatever I want with my body," Yoruichi shrugged, "If I don't mind standing naked with you, then I can talk about this as well," She sighed, "Besides, it'd be a waste of life if you were just busy with work. You gotta balance things out, in your case at least. And I do find you interesting," Before Ichigo could get a word in, the older woman still continued, "Or… and well, I won't shame you for this, but are you not interested in girls or…?"

"Of course I am!" Ichigo said, flustered, "I just… don't really have the time."

"What kind of an excuse is that?" Yoruichi wasn't convinced, "Look, I get your mom taught you to be a gentleman, but that's when you were a kid. You do know not to apply this for every single thing now that you're older, right?"

"Well…" Ichigo looked over, "Yeah…"

"Like I said, try to find the right girl. If you can at least have a date, then I'll die happy," Yoruichi sarcastically remarked, "So… any girls you're interested in at the moment?"

Realizing that this would never end unless he complied, Ichigo bowed his head in defeat, "Yeah I guess…" He sighed.

"Goody…" Yoruichi was pleased to hear this, "Now… tell me who the lucky ones are?"

Honestly had a bit of a tough time writing this chapter, cause for a while I wasn't sure what it'd be about. I didn't really want this to feel like filler in a sense, because I want practically every chapter to feel important. When I was looking back at the earlier chapters of Overflow, I realized that I never really did get to draw a conclusion of the guy who shot Orihime, which is pretty important for Ichigo and his development in this story.

Not to mention that writing Ichigo's anger here was a little difficult for me to do considering this is him in the Arrancar saga. He's not the loud type that shows their anger like when he first fought Grand Fisher, but not the silent anger he demonstrated in the Thousand Year Blood War arc, so I had to balance things out. My Co-Author did say the scene with Ichigo and Felicia felt a bit over the top, so I toned it down while making sure the anger was there within the best of my abilities. I hope this was worth the wait.

With so many stories and new ones I'm writing in secret it's really hard to keep up with everything. So I'll see you all next chapter